She’ll be the death of me or my salvation.

King strolled the length of the lion enclosure. Being in his animal form meant he could watch the visitors to the zoo with no interruptions. They gawked at him and the lionesses, and he snarled and strutted for them. Not a bad life—if he were just a lion. No, he had to be born a shifter.

He snorted and shook his head. That’d give his artist something to look at. He watched her. The saucy woman with warm brown skin churned something inside him. He wanted to see her, talk to her, curl his arms around her. Her scent wafted to him. She smelled of flowers and sweetness...things he hadn’t smelled in a long time.

She tipped her head and focused on the page again. Was she looking at him? Or admiring the lionesses? Goddess, he wanted her to be paying attention to him.

One of the lionesses strolled past him and sniffed, then continued on her way. He knew the score. He’d been sold into slavery by handlers wanting to give him to the zoo. He flopped on his side and stretched out.

If he’d found his mate before the handlers attacked him, he wouldn’t be in this situation. He wouldn’t be locked in a zoo with lionesses who hated him for not being an actual lion

Two of the zookeepers entered the feeding room behind the rock face of the enclosure. If they only knew what he really was, would they let him out? Cage him up tighter? He snorted again. Their voices floated out to him, thanks to his hypersensitive hearing.

“If he doesn’t mate with the lionesses, we’ll have to bring in another one,” the female zookeeper said. “He’s not working out.”

Well, no shit. He wasn’t a full-blooded lion. The lionesses didn’t understand his shifter self. They wanted an animal. He glanced over at the artist again. She stared at him, her brow scrunched and her lips twisted, like she was deep in thought. A man sat beside her. King’s inner man growled. Odd, since usually the animal roared, not the man. His lion wasn’t real thrilled, either. Was she his mate? If the cat and the man both claimed ownership, then she could be. But the real wild card was her. If she didn’t accept him, he’d spend another year locked in his cat form. He loved the cat, but the man needed a chance to stretch and exist

The zookeepers grabbed his attention again. “He’ll work out down in Cincinnati. They need a lion. He’ll be alone for a while, but he can handle it. I’ll start the paperwork. They won’t move him on Halloween, so we’ve got a couple days.”

Like hell. He wasn’t going to be lonely much longer, especially if it was indeed Halloween night. King sat up tall. He roared at the man next to his dark beauty. Get away from my girl.