Page 123 of Tiger Summer
In summer, it would have meant nothing. Counselorswalked around barefoot all the time, especially if they weren’t mythic shifters.
But there weren’t any other staff on site now.
And the footprint was fresh.
She grabbed Shan’s arm, pointing. He inhaled sharply as well, claws sliding out. They didn’t need to exchange words; not even telepathically. In perfect unison, they approached the cabin.
The door should have been locked, yet it swung open at her touch. Shan went in, soundless as a hunting tiger. Leonie stayed outside, guarding the exit.
A pause. Down the mate bond, she could feel Shan’s intense focus. A sudden surge, a pounce?—
A man yelled in pain and shock. It wasn’t Shan.
Leonie charged into the cabin. Shan was in the main dorm room, whichshouldhave been empty of everything except bare bunk beds. He had a tall, ragged figure pinned to the wall, a clawed hand around his throat.
The man struggled, choking. He looked to be in his late twenties, and also like he’d been living in a cave for years. His dark hair fell past his shoulders, tangled with twigs and leaves. His ripped Camp Thunderbird T-shirt was several sizes too small, tight across his muscled chest. Apart from heart-covered boxers and a blood-stained rag around one arm, he wore nothing else.
And she’d never seen him before in her life.
Shan was snarling in the stranger’s face, yellow-on-black eyes glowing with protective rage. Most people would have passed out in utter terror, yet the man seemed more indignant than alarmed.
The man prized at Shan’s hand, glaring. Despite his unkempt appearance, he didn’t smell bad; just a faint trace of moss and leaves. He had a pale, silvery mark right in the middle of his forehead, like an old scar.
“Release me,” the man managed to choke out. “Release me this instant, Mountain!”
Shan’s grip went slack. So did Leonie’s jaw.
“Alder?” she exclaimed.
“Alder-in-Winter,” the former unicorn corrected. He slumped against the wall, rubbing his throat. “And you cannot tellanyoneabout this.”
Camp chaos will continue in Unicorn Summer…
