Mine for Eternity [Council Enforcers] (Siren Publishing Classic)

wake up and come outside looking for her son.
    Tessa screamed at the top of her lungs and started running toward them. In hindsight, Mitch realized how bad the scene looked. From her point of view on the porch, all she would have been able to see was his lion covering up her son on the ground. The only part of Nico she would have been able to see were his little legs sticking out which, of course, weren’t moving. Mitch had to admit that if he didn’t know any better, the scene looked exactly like he was about to eat the cub.
    As Tessa got closer to them, he could see that she had tears streaming down her face and sounded like she was about to hyperventilate. Her chant of “ no, no, no ” reached them before she did, and Mitch knew he had to do something to ease her worries. Taking a deep breath, he shifted and caught Tessa in his arms just as she reached them. He stared into her wide eyes and saw the shock on her face just as they rolled into the back of her head.
    Well, that went well.
    “Yeah, hopefully she doesn’t hate us when she wakes up,” Mitch told his lion as he lifted Tessa in his arms. “Come on, Nico. Let’s go get your momma taken care of.”
    “Aww, come back, kitty,” Nico complained, but he did as told and followed Mitch into the house.
     
    * * * *
     
    Tessa rushed to awareness at the sound of her son’s voice. He was laughing and giggling at something Mitch was saying. They were both in the same room with her, so Tessa took a peek. She didn’t want Mitch to know that she had regained consciousness yet. She needed time to think. It was taking all of her power to not leap across the room and snatch Nico from his arms, but her son seemed safe at the moment. The fact that Mitch had only ever been gentle and attentive to Nico kept her still.
    The night before when she had told Mitch about the man she had seen having claws and fangs, he never flinched. He never showed surprise and shock at what she was saying, which she thought was weird but was too tired to question. Now, she knew why. He was one of them. Tessa didn’t know what to think about that. On one hand he wasn’t human. Mitch was the same as the man she had seen murder a woman and who was now after her. On the other hand, Mitch had opened his home to her and Nico even after they had broken in. He had been nothing but caring and concerned and never even showed a hint of being violent or deranged.
    “I know you’re up. Your breathing changed. Please don’t be scared of me,” Mitch interrupted her thoughts.
    Tessa sighed. If her son could be brave and still be willing to climb all over Mitch after seeing him change into a huge lion, then she could suck it up and at least listen to the man. There was just one thing she needed to know first. “Did you try to eat my son?”
    Mitch laughed and ran his hands over his face. “No. I had been chasing him, and we both collapsed. My lion was covering him up to protect him. If you had seen us from another angle, you would have seen Nico laying there laughing and petting me.”
    In Tessa’s heart, she knew he was telling the truth. “I’m sorry I got hysterical, but in my defense, it’s not every day you walk out of the house and see a lion cuddling your two-year-old son.”
    “No need to apologize. It was my fault. After what you told me last night about the rogue chasing you, I figured you would think I was the same. I didn’t know how to tell you that I was a shifter also, so when Nico woke me up this morning and asked if he could play with the kitty, I thought it was a good idea. I thought if I got him used to me and you saw that I wasn’t going to harm him, then you would be comfortable around me as well.” Mitch laughed again. “We see how well that idea turned out.”
    Yeah, she didn’t know the man well, but she could have figured out that it wasn’t one of his best ideas. Any mother would have done the same as her and freaked. Surprisingly though, Tessa realized that she wasn’t scared of Mitch. She was curious but not afraid.
    “You said a rogue was after me. What does that mean? Is a lion the only thing you can change into? Do you have to wait until the full moon? Wait, don’t answer that. You changed during the day, so I guess I know the answer to that. Are you still you when you change? How is any of this possible?” The questions just started spewing out of Tessa’s mouth.
    “Whoa, whoa, slow down. I’ll answer all of your questions. Just give me a moment