Chapter Two

We slept like that, cuddled up on the couch, the entire night. At some point, we scooted down enough so that we were lying on the couch, rather than sitting. I rested almost completely on top of Tony, purring contentedly while he stroked my hair. I fought the urge to shift and curl up with him in my cat form. That sort of behavior had been the cause of our separation to begin with.

Tony had stayed the night a few times at my house growing up. He'd wake up the next morning and ask where the cat was that he’d heard purring and meowing through the night. That cat was me. I’d never shifted— that didn’t happen until I was older—but I still had a lot of animal tendencies. That's when my parents decided living in Vale Valley, amongst other shifters, would be the best choice for me. I loved it, but I’d always missed Tony.

I woke up the next morning before the sun was up and realized right away that I was alone on the couch. There was a pillow under me, not Tony. I sat up and looked around. Tony was at my computer desk with my laptop open, cup of coffee in his hand.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“An alarm went off on your computer. It woke me up. I saw that you had some photos up from a session you'd done. This is amazing work, Eric,” he said.

I bit back a purr at the compliment. “Thank you,” I said. “Which ones are you looking at?”

“Um…” He leaned forward and looked at the screen. “Two guys standing in your studio.” He clicked a button on the keyboard.

Oh, shit. I realized that if he clicked too far forward, he'd find….

“Holy smokes! Is that a reindeer and a snow leopard?” He leaned closer to the computer, and clicked to view more.

My body wasn't quite ready to move yet this morning. If I was smart, I’d launch forward and take the laptop from him. I could tell him I was playing around with Photoshop and got carried away, but if he intended to be in Vale Valley for his vacation, he needed to know about everything. And, since he’d found the town, that meant that he could know our secrets, right? That seemed logical to me.

“This is amazing,” he said. “How did you get the lighting to be so perfect? Your editing skills are on-point, dude.”

“About that,” I said. “I'm going to need coffee before I have this conversation…”
He hadn't even mentioned the pregnant belly on Ren, yet. Maybe he thought Ren was just a plumper guy.

I went to the kitchen, poured myself a cup of coffee, and took a sip. Tony came over and stood in front of me and smiled like a goof.

“What?” I said.

“You're adorable. I'm just so happy to be here.”

“I am, too. Happy that you're here I mean.”

“Hey, I was looking around your apartment and where's the cat?” He gestured to the cat tree I had in the corner. That had been a housewarming gift from my dads, sort of a little joke. Although the joke was on them, I did like to play with it while in my cat form. I may also have a few empty boxes around, just in case I wanted to shift into my cat form and sit in them.

“Umm… we're going to need to sit down,” I said.

“Why?” Tony asked.

“Because we need to talk.”

“Is it all right that I'm here? Did I intrude? I'm sorry,” he said. “I can stay at a motel if that would be better or I can leave entirely if that's what you want. I saw that there was an inn and some other place called The Dozing Dragon, I could stay there.”

“No, no, no,” I said. “I'm happy you're here. You are more than welcome to stay for as long as you need.” Forever if you want. I wasn't quite ready to say that one. “It's just… How much of the town did you see last night?”

He shrugged. “Not much. I came straight here once I got into town.”

“Did you… see anything weird?”

“No.” He laughed. “Why? Is the town full of crazies?”

Some of the residents were quite eccentric, but in the best way. “Sort of. Don't you think it's odd that you made a twenty-hour trip in about twelve hours, and you managed to arrive right to my apartment without any GPS whatsoever?”

Tony tilted his head to the side as he thought about it. “I guess I didn't think much of it. I just felt like I had to be here with you.” He stepped forward, put his hands on my hips, and lowered his lips to mine.

The move took me by surprise, but my body responded quickly. I leaned against him, losing myself in the kiss momentarily. It was brief, but amazing. I never allowed myself to dream of this and even if I had, my dreams could never have matched reality.

He rested his forehead against mine. “It's just so great to see you. All grown up.”

“It's good to see you, too. I just can't believe this, after all these years, you're here.”

“Yeah, I am. Why did we stay apart so long?”

Because, surprise, I turn into a house cat and I’m also an omega who can get pregnant and I have no idea how to tell you all of that.

“Well…” I took a deep breath. “Okay. I've tried to have this conversation a couple of times and now I think maybe I just better spit it out. This town is magic,” I said.

Tony stepped back, a half smile on his face. “What?”

“The snow leopard and reindeer in the pictures that I took yesterday, they’re real. That’s Ren and Max. They are a newly mated couple. Ren’s a reindeer shifter and Max is a snow leopard. They change into animals. And that's pretty low on the crazy scale as far as the secrets that this town holds. This is Vale Valley. It's a town surrounded by magic, hidden to all those except for people who need a home.” And love. But once again, I didn't want to scare him away. “And Ren’s pregnant with their first baby.”

Tony's eyes widened at that. He seemed to soak in the information for a moment, his brow furrowed. “Will the baby be a reindeer or a snow leopard?”

“Really?” I said. “That’s what you want to know?”

Tony shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, it’s an odd combo. A predator and prey, but anyone can see from your pictures that they love each other very much.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It shouldn’t have been this easy.

“Prove it,” Tony said.

“What?” I nearly dropped my coffee cup. “Prove what?”

“That this town is magic.”

“All right. I can do that.”

***

The trick to Vale Valley was seeing it to believe it. At least that's what I assumed, since I'd never had to explain any of this to a human before. I thought it would be best if I just showed him around. I wasn't quite ready to strip down and show him my own personal cat, but I could take him around town and let the magic do the talking.

First stop: Vale Lake. We walked there, hand in hand. It was odd but comforting how quickly we fell into a cuddly routine. I didn't want to question it. Tony and I had stayed in contact over the years, but we hadn't seen each other. Maybe he was just a cuddly person with everyone. My cat yowled in dismay. Mine. I couldn't agree more. But that wasn't necessarily up to me. Tony had to want me as well.

I took him past Sweet Bites and told him he'd have to try that place for breakfast sometime. It was quite delicious. I pointed out the Vale Valley Restaurant and Inn and told him about the swan and his mate that lived there.

Within a few minutes we were at the lake, which magically stayed warm year-round for the dolphin shifters and other water creatures that lived there. Oh, and the mermaids.

We sat on the bench overlooking the lake. I settled next to Tony and he put his arm around me, holding me close to him, protectively. He remained quiet, but content.

Apparently, we arrived at the perfect time, because a family of geese shifters arrived. The kids and parents piled out of the car. The kids ran for the shoreline, stripping off their clothes as they went. The parents followed. Once they were all ready, they shifted into their geese form and slid into the lake for an early morning swim.

Tony sucked in a breath and tensed next to me. His eyes were wide, but not with fear, and he didn’t seem like he was ready to run. Just surprised.

“So,” I said. “Do you think I’m crazy?”

He shook his head. “No, I could never think you’re crazy. You really didn’t even have to show me the magic around here, I can feel it. I’ve felt it humming through my body since I arrived. Earlier even. The minute I decided to come here, I felt it pulling me. Do you think that’s how I drove here so fast? I barely remember the drive now that I think about it.”

“Probably.” Against my better judgment, I leaned into him, nuzzling my face against his neck.

“This place is amazing,” he said. “I can't believe this all exists, and I knew nothing about it.”

“We keep it protected,” I said. “Only those who need love and a home can find Vale Valley.”

He raised an eyebrow at that. “Really? Guess that makes sense as to why I found you here easily enough then.”

My cheeks heated. I wished that could be true. But what did I have offer him here in Vale Valley? Tony was a world traveler. Could Vale Valley and I be enough to keep him here? It was too soon to tell. Tony had a life outside of Vale Valley, adventures to go on.

“Do you have any questions?” I asked.

“When can I see your cat?”

I chuckled. “Later.”

“Do you really play with the cat tree?”

“Yeah,” I said. “My cat is quite playful.”

“Let me guess, you’re a tiger cat. Great coloring with a little bit of white on your nose?”

I looked at him abruptly. “Yes. How'd you know that?”

“Whenever I used to stay at your house when we were kids, I could have sworn that you had a kitten running around. I even asked your dad about it one day, but he told me that I must have been dreaming. Since then, I've always had dreams about the tiger kitty with a little white on this nose, keeping me company on my travels.”

“Wow,” I said, “that’s crazy.”

“Yeah,” he said, “feels like fate.”

“Maybe,” I said with a shrug. I wouldn’t put anything past the power in Vale Valley, but my own skepticism didn’t allow me to actually believe fate would be that nice to me.

He tucked a finger under my chin and lifted my face until we gazed into each other's eyes. “Don't you feel it, Eric?”

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. “Yes, of course I do. Feels too good to be true.”

“It's not, though, it is true. I’m here.” Tony's lips descended on mine, and his hands went to the back of my neck. He gently urged my mouth open to dip his tongue inside and taste.

I moaned against him and purred.

He groaned at that and backed away. “God. That’s sexy,” he said. “You purred.”

I smiled “For you, I'll always purr.

He groaned again. “Can we go back to your house? Do you have any sessions today?”

I shook my head. “No, I don't. I need to work on a few strategies to drum up some more business, so today is just editing and brainstorming.”

He stood, adjusted his dick in his pants, then grabbed my hand. “Is there any quick magical way to teleport back to your apartment so I don't have to walk around town with a hard on?”

I shook my head. “Sorry, I'd say take a dip in the cold lake, but it's warm year-round.”

“Come on. I want to spend some time alone with you, away from prying eyes.”

I followed. “That sounds amazing.”

***

Even though the walk back to my apartment was quick, I found myself wishing that we did have a transporter-thing for Vale Valley so we could be there instantly. I could ask the local coven if they could whip up a potion….

When we got back upstairs Tony pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I opened for him, letting him take the lead. His tongue dove into my mouth and I welcomed it. Before I could even think twice about whether this was a good idea or not, he had me hoisted into the air. My legs wrapped around his waist as if they had a mind of their own.

My cat purred inside of me, and I couldn’t bring my human half to protest. I didn’t want to protest. I wanted Tony, wanted to be his in the most intimate way possible.

He placed me on the bed and held himself above me. Our gazes locked together. His eyes searched my face for permission and I nodded.

We both stood up and undressed quickly, then returned to bed. I flipped onto my stomach, pulled my knees under me and presented my ass to him.

“Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” Tony chucked.

I rolled my eyes. “Just fuck me already.”

“Curious, are you? You know what curiosity did to the cat, right?”

“Yeah, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Satisfy me. Now.”

He grabbed the lube from the nightstand and coated his fingers. “Gladly.”

I hissed as he massaged around my hole, the lube taking a moment to warm. He gently slipped one finger in, then another. I leaned into his touch, welcoming all that he had to give. “I’m ready,” I said. “Please.”

He kissed my shoulder as he covered my body with his, lining up his cock and breaching my hole.

I groaned and rocked back as he thrust inside. My channel stretched as it was filled by him. Mate. My cat insisted, but I ignored it.

Tony held my hips, his fingertips digging into my skin, hard enough to leave red marks as he thrust into me again and again. I arched my back, drawing him deeper.

“Oh Eric. So, fucking, good. I knew it would be.”

My mouth wouldn’t work, I could only grunt and moan as he drove into me.

He reached around and grasped my dick and I screamed. “Tony!”

Though I couldn’t see his face, I knew he had a smug grin on his face. He knew what he did to me, there would be no hiding it now.

“That’s it kitty, come for me.”

He pumped my cock to the rhythm that his dick pummeled me and it wasn’t long before I was howling my release. Cum coated my stomach and his hand. He thrust again, as deep as he could go, and he shouted my name as he came.

My knees nearly gave out, but I held strong. I’d never come so hard in my life. Tony held himself above me with shaky arms and he kissed my shoulders. “Oh God, Eric. That was amazing. Way better than I ever dreamed.”

All I could do was purr.