Page 55 of Easy, Tiger

Watching the fluid motion of his work—spreading the false migration data across the table—eases the tension strangling me since finding that tampered journal. We have a name now, false as it might be. A thread to pull.

It's more than we had this morning.

20

NOLAN

The fire crackles in my hearth, warm light spilling across the cabin's worn wooden floors, while Halsey curls against my side on the couch. We've spent the last hour picking apart the hunter's false identity, working out contingencies for whatever he tries next. The documents rest in a neat stack on my coffee table, and with the constant vigilance finally resting, the burden has lifted from my shoulders.

"Strange to think that not that long ago I was worried about finishing illustrations on schedule," Halsey reflects against my collarbone, her fingers idle against my flannel shirt. "Now I'm helping plan escape routes for an entire community of shapeshifters."

"Any regrets?" I ask, though her presence here, warm and solid in my arms, already answers the question.

"About discovering your world? Not one." She tilts her head to stare at me, firelight catching in her eyes. "About falling for a man who turns into a six-hundred-and-fifty-pound predator? Jury's still out."

"Six-fifty, actually."

"Oh, well then. That changes everything." Her smile turns mischievous. "Good thing I like them big."

I laugh. "You're terrible."

"You love it."

The simple truth of those three words washes over us, rewriting the air in the room. She's right. I love her terrible sense of humor and the same stubborn courage that had her digging a bullet out of my shoulder with tweezers. I love everything about her.

She stirs in my arms, suddenly serious. "What happens when this is over, Nolan? When the hunter's caught and the enclave is safe?"

"What do you want to happen?"

"I want to stay." She blurts it out, as if the secret has been bursting to get free. "I want to build a life here in Red Pine, and most of all, with you—fully integrated into this world rather than only visiting it."

A profound sense of safety washes over me, and I have to close my eyes for a moment. When I open them, she's regarding me with that cast to her features when she's trying to read my thoughts.

"I was terrified you'd run," I admit. "That learning the truth would be too much."

"The only thing that terrifies me is the thought of losing you." She reaches up, cupping my face with one hand. "I've spent the last six months rebuilding my life from nothing. I'm not afraid of starting over again if it means starting over with you."

"You wouldn't be starting over. You'd be coming home."

I surprise myself as much as I surprise her. I've never thought of the enclave as home for an outsider, never imagined bringing someone fully into our world. But reflecting on Halsey these past few days—her fierce dedication to protecting people she barely knows and her complete acceptance of truths that should have sent her running—I realize she already belongs here.

"Is that what you want?" she asks softly. "Really? Driven purely by your own genuine choice rather than some mystical bond dictating our path?"

"The bond merely helped me recognize the love for you that was already growing, Halsey." Brushing a curl away from her face, I let my thumb caress the line of her cheek. "I choose you. Every day, I choose you."

She kisses me then, soft and sure, tasting like the coffee we shared and the undeniable essence of Halsey. When she draws back, tears stand bright in her eyes, unshed but close.

"So what does that look like?" she asks. "A human woman in a tiger enclave?"

"However we want." I gather her closer, marveling at how perfectly she fits against me. "There's no rulebook for this, sweetheart. We write our own."

"Good," she says, melting back into my arms. "Because I have some ideas about improving your winter migration routes. And maybe designing better camouflage markers for the hidden trails, something an artist's eye could actually improve."

"Of course you do."

"You knew what you were getting into when you decided to fall for an obsessive researcher."

"Best decision I ever made." Nuzzling her closer, I bury my face in the crook of her neck. My big cat instincts hum, a low, possessive rumble vibrating against her skin as I press a lingering kiss to her pulse point.