The thugs hadn't taken Mandy's phone, so calling a cab was an easy affair. The problem – if it was a problem; Mandy was of the opinion that it wasn't a problem for her – of Nico's nudity was solved when he kissed her, bringing her whole body alight, and then turned into a cat again.
Los Cazadores. City of magic. Nico really did turn into a jaguar – he turned into a jaguar – and the taxi driver who came for them didn't even bat an eyelid when she sat down and Nico hopped in after her, settled himself on the seat beside her, and laid his great furry head in her lap.
She didn't know what to do with that. After a moment, she sank her fingers into the short, smooth fur of his head, scratching behind the ears. Nico made a soft chuffing noise, and then started to rumble.
Mandy paused for a moment, then started laughing. "You purr!"
Nico blinked up at her, and his face wrinkled in what looked like amusement.
"New in Los Cazadores?" the driver asked.
Mandy nodded, still looking at Nico. She couldn't believe this, even with the evidence of her own eyes. Or maybe she could believe it, but she was afraid that if she looked away it would all evaporate. "Is it that obvious?"
"Oh, you get to recognize them," he said. "Where to?"
"Um." Mandy looked at Nico for a moment. "I don't know your address," she said.
Nico opened his mouth, displaying alarmingly large fangs, and then shut it again with a look of feline consternation. He moved a bit, and Mandy put her hand between his shoulderblades.
"No, that's all right, stay like that," she said. "Nico's Deli, please."
The driver leaned forward and punched something into the smartphone mounted by his wheel. "Nico's Deli," he repeated, and pulled out into the road.
City of magic. A timid hope had flickered to life in Mandy's chest. Maybe it could all be true. Maybe it wasn't too good to be true...
She returned her attention to the magical creature beside her, enchanted by the play of muscles under his skin, the animal warmth of his body. She was entranced by Nico in this form in a way which was decidedly not sexual, but was almost as magnetic.
She'd never thought she'd get this close to a wild animal, much less one of the beautiful great cats. And the fact that Nico wasn't a wild animal, the fact that he was a compassionate and passionate man in animal form...
He put one of his paws on her hand, and she turned her palm upwards under it. His pawpads were calloused and rough, but very soft beneath that. She couldn't help but giggle. All the stress and the fear of the last hour seemed to be changing into something else entirely.
I hope it's not hysteria.
Nico's paw flexed in a way that had her momentarily frightened of claws, but it was only a reassuring squeeze. She squeezed back, and Nico nuzzled his great broad head into her belly. For one insane moment she had an image of him pressing his furry ear to her stomach, listening to the stirrings of life there.
No. Stop. I can't start imagining that. It's irresponsible of me.
Still, the image had its charms.
So did other images. A toddler, giggling, rubbing cheeks with Nico the jaguar as he rumbled in pleasure. Nico surely feigning affront as Aimée brought a string out from behind her back with her trademark joking smile...
Surely just imagining it wouldn't hurt. She wouldn't start planning on it. Just enjoying the thought a little.
The driver took them to Nico's deli and Mandy paid him, then let Nico lead the way up to the little studio. A couple passers-by caught sight of them and stared for a moment; one of them looked away with a knowing grin.
Mandy had to wonder how many people in Los Cazadores were in the know.
Inside the studio, close and cozy with so many memories already, Nico shook out his fur and resumed human shape. Mandy watched fascinated and still half-believing: there was such grace, such raw power in the way his body, either body, moved.
Then she realized she was staring at his naked body, and flushed hot.
Not now. We need to talk. That's what we're here for. Talking.
She swallowed, and fixed her eyes on his face. That, though, just made her look at the way he was looking at her, which hardly helped matters.
"You didn't have to do that," she said.
Nico was already shaking his head. "I was happy to."
"Why?" Mandy demanded. "You have no reason to! I'm just... I'm some random person who came into your deli one day, and I don't know why you're acting like this toward me, and I don't know what you're getting out of it, and I don't understand why it's so hard to think around you!"
It all came out of her mouth in a rush, and she had to stop herself before she said anything more incriminating. She wanted to clap her hands over her mouth to stop any further words from emerging.
Nico looked guilty, at that. "It's... I should have told you. I should have told you. You had every right to know." He stood up, paced to the window, and turned back. Mandy could see something of a wild cat in him: a cat in a cage, like the times she'd taken Aimée to the zoo. "It's something that happens with shifters like me. We'll find the person we're meant for, and the bond is... intense. From the beginning."
Mandy was almost vibrating in place. "What do you mean? The person you're meant for?"
"Our mate," Nico said.
He fixed her with a look that went straight to her gut and her blood. Mate. The word was strange, primal. So unlike herself. She swallowed, and tried to think of something, anything, sensible to say. None of this makes any sense. Can any of it be real?
"So this is something that's happened before?" she asked. "For you?"
Nico shook his head. "No. Mandy, shapeshifters like me have one mate. One true mate. One person in all the world we can ever feel this way about." He paused, looking at Mandy sadly. "I know it's not the same for humans. But I always hoped that when I found my mate, if she were human, she would feel something."
Mandy's heart leapt into her throat. "I do," she said. "I do. Since we first met." And that was the answer, there: for her instant attraction to him, for her behavior, for how hard it had been to control herself. She marveled at it: real magic. The universe, looking out for her and for Nico both, making sure they had someone out there to find.
And, if she was honest with herself, she wanted this. She wanted the kind of relationship she never had the chance to have with Aimée's father, and she wanted it with someone like Nico: someone who had his life together, who was considerate and talented and who'd be there for her.
Maybe she had to trust the world, even after all the knocks it had dealt her. Maybe she had to trust that if shapeshifters and magic and one true mates existed, such an exquisite system wouldn't lead her into disaster. Trust that it would lead her safely home.
She would have thrown herself forward into his arms if it hadn't been for one thing.
"I don't know how to deal with this," she admitted. "I... I ran because I realized how stupid I'd been. I was so stupid! Running was stupid. I was just overwhelmed." She shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order. "I realized we didn't use protection, and I panicked. Everything is happening so fast. And I don't think I can change everything so quickly; get involved with someone, risk pregnancy... it's not fair to Aimée."
He looked down, and Mandy felt wretched for both of them.
But then he looked up at her again, and his face was full of resolve. "I understand," he said. "It's not stupid. Mandy, you're not stupid. A child is not a little matter; you have every right to want to control when or if you have one. And I'm sorry. I should have remembered. I was there, too."
He took a deep breath.
"Mandy, I know your daughter is everything to you. As for me... I always wanted a family. If I could meet her, if I could be a friend to her... I wouldn't presume I'd be her father. She might not want one, after all these years." He offered a crooked smile. "But maybe I could be a friend for her. You could bring her for a visit, let me get to know her. If she would approve of my joining your family..."
He trailed off, and Mandy could feel the weight of his hopes and fears on his tongue.
"Mandy, if all I could have was being your landlord and treating you to food from my kitchen, I would take that in an instant. I don't pretend I'd be satisfied. I'd always want more. But I swear, if that's all I could have, I would honor it with every part of my being."
Mandy's heart was beating so hard she thought it might escape her chest. With the possibility in front of her, she didn't want Nico as a landlord and the owner of the deli. She wanted him. All of him.
Her mate. She tried the word on for size: its wildness, its heat. Yes. But...
But what?
She'd spent two decades sacrificing for Aimée. It hadn't always been easy. She'd resented it powerfully, at times. But her love for Aimée had always been stronger, in the end.
Now, she felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff. What if Aimée couldn't stand Nico? What if she wanted no part of him? What if she didn't want a stepfather, or even a mother's boyfriend? Would Mandy really turn her back on all of this?
Would she be strong enough to pursue what she really wanted, or was that just selfishness masquerading as strength?
"Mandy?" Nico asked.
Mandy shook her head. The fear must have been visible on her face.
Nico took her hands. "Is there anything I can do?"
I want Aimée to like him, she thought. And that was always a possibility: Aimée might be fine with everything. She might give Mandy her blessing. They'd been best friends as much as mother and daughter, after all. And Aimée had sent her to Los Cazadores to find some happiness.
Happiness had just arrived in an unexpected form. A man who turned into a jaguar, who baked the most amazing pastries. Who could have expected that?
Mandy laughed, though it was equal parts anxiety and humor. "You know, she has a sense of humor," she told Nico. "I bet she'll love hearing about this."
Nico looked like he was actually holding his breath. "So, you'll..."
"I need to talk to her," Mandy said. "I want to do everything I can to make sure that she's okay with all of this. I don't want to alienate my own daughter. But..."
She squeezed Nico's hands, and looked deep into his eyes.
"Whatever happens, I want to work through it with you beside me."
Because I deserve to find my own happiness, too. And she's an adult. I don't have to protect her from the world changing.
Nico almost glowed with his joy. And the look in his eyes was love, and more than love: it was the great, heartrending elation of a man who could finally come home.