Page 27 of Lucius

Yeah, but also because he’d scared the hell out of her.

“I’m not scared.”

He arched a brow. “You smell scared.”

“Is that something you can do being an animal? Smell when people are scared?” She sat up and scooted away from him, but stayed on the bed. She was angry and confused, but she didn’t want to be to far from him.

“I’m not an animal, I’m a shifter. A human who can turn into an animal.”

“I think you’re splitting hairs.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Okay, I’ll give you that. But yes, I have heightened senses in my human form. I can hear better than a human and can smell better. I can run faster and I’m stronger than a human also.”

She mulled that while she stared at him.

“Where are we?” she asked finally.

“Underneath the park.” He told her about the massive underground space where the shifters who called Amazing Adventures home lived and went about their daily lives. “Every shifter lives and works here. The groups have their own private living areas, and we share a central marketplace with a cafeteria, offices, and a few shops. Anything we can’t get here, we order in or go out to get.”

“And no one knows, huh? Like…you’re just a total secret from humans?”

“It’s a secret that’s taken very seriously,” he said. “It’s about life and death. We can’t risk the general public knowing. So when we started sending out the VIP coupons, it was understood that if someone’s soulmate was found, they couldn’t share the truth of their shift until the couple was in love. That ensures the soulmate is just as serious about keeping the secret as their shifter mate.”

She frowned. “How are the VIP coupons related to any of this?”

“The alphas decided to send out coupons for VIP tours to bring single males and females from the tri-state area into thepark in hopes that some of them might be soulmates. It’s worked for a few of our people. My brother Jupiter’s mate Celeste is human and she came here because of the VIP tour. And of course, it worked for me too.”

He smiled but he looked worried.

She hummed. “Really? I was sent the coupon for the tour because I was single?”

He nodded.

“That’s…wild. How many coupons have they sent out?”

“Thousands.”

“And only a few have been soulmates?”

“Yes. A soulmate for a shifter is that one right person for them. Some shifters don’t want to wait to find their soulmate and will just take a mate from one of their kind, but I wanted to wait for you. I hoped I’d meet you soon.”

Her anger was leeching away because she could understand why his people wanted to keep the secret of shifters safe. If she was a shifter and it could mean their people getting hurt by humans if they found out, she’d be damn sure whoever she fell in love with wouldn’t tell a soul.

He reached for her hand, and she let him hold it. “I really am sorry about everything. I wish I could have just told you the truth last night. I wanted to. My lion was being so bossy in my head and wanted me to mark you as my mate and tell you everything.”

“Mark?”

“For lions, the male will sink his fangs into his mate’s neck and the marks will scar, which tells anyone who sees them that she’s mated. It’s like a wedding ring you can’t lose.”

“Don’t the girls get to bite?”

“You can bite me anytime.” He waggled his brows, and she didnotthink it was adorable.

She let go of his hand and swatted his arm. “Would you stop being cute? I’m traumatized over here.”

He barked out a laugh, and she was suddenly on her back and he was looming over her, his eyes a beautiful amber color. “Sidney, I’m crazy about you. Since the moment you stepped foot into the park, I felt connected to you. And making love last night, well, it was the best night of my life. Please tell me that you can forgive me. I have so much I want to share with you.”

She stared up at him as he held himself over her.

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