Page 68 of Edward’s Bunny
He jerked his gaze back to me. “He’s a monster. Ali… he…. he transformed. He turned into a huge black jaguar. You’ve got to believe me. I’m not crazy. I went to the police, and they thought I was nuts, but it’s true. He’s a monster and he won’t leave me alone.”
I sighed. I could feel the fear emanating from Randy. I knew Ali was a shifter the night I found them together at the hospital. He must’ve told or shown his cat to an unassuming Randy.
“Randy, it will be okay,” I tried to soothe.
He lifted his head. “You believe me, right? Please tell me you believe me. I know I’m not crazy.”
I hesitated for a moment, looking into Randy's fearful eyes. "Yes, Randy, I believe you. I know you're not crazy."
Relief flooded Randy's face. "Thank you, thank you so much, Brian. You're the only one who's listened to me."
Edward spoke up, his voice low and controlled. "Randy, let's get you some water and sit you down to discuss this calmly."
Randy looked at Edward as if he just noticed him. “Who are you? I…”
“Randy, it’s okay. This is Edward. He’s….my partner.” I said slowly.
“You’re partner? We just broke up a couple of weeks ago. You already have a partner.”
“Randy, we’ll discuss all that. Let’s go sit down.”
As we guided Randy to a seat, I could feel the tension in the room. My family's eyes were filled with confusion and concern, and I knew there would be a lot more questions and discussions to come. But for now, I needed to focus on helping Randy and finding out more about the situation with Ali.
“Ma, can—”
Before I could finish my sentence, a loud roar tore through the air. I jumped in surprise, and Edward moved in front of me, ready to defend me.
“Oh my god, he’d found me. The monster found me,” Randy cried.
The sounds of snarls and roars echoed in the house. Edward looked back at me before running out the front door. I quickly followed along with my family and Randy.
It was a battle royal. Two massive jungle cats were fighting on my family’s front lawn—one a lion, the other a black panther. The lion roared again and lunged, tackling the smaller cat. He bit for the neck, but the panther scratched and bunked the lion from its body with its powerful legs.
The scene was insane. Edward took a step forward, and I grabbed his hand. He looked back at me and gave me a reassuring smile. “It will be okay.”
Edward gave my hand a squeeze and turned back to the action. He stepped forward down the front steps.
“Enough!” he shouted.
I could feel the power emanating from his body. This was a power reserved for an alpha. The power to command and lead, and Edward was a leader. He was the king of beasts. Immediately both cats stopped and drooped to the ground.
“Stupid predators,” I heard Olivia whisper.
I glared at her. “Shut—”
My words were cut off by Edward as he continued to confront the fighting cats. “Shift, now,” he commanded.
The lion’s fur and body blurred, and where a beast once stood, now was Talon. The black cat bowed its head and transformed into the handsome Latin doctor, Ali.
Edward turned toward the crowd at the front door. “Mr. Bondar, do you have—”
“Get those beasts off my property, and you leave too,” my mother interrupted.
The fight had solidified her opinion of predator shifters.
“Enough!” Edward yelled again, and my whole family took a step back at the wave of energy in his word.
“There is a time and place for your antics, Mrs. Bondar. You can dislike me and my kind all you want, but this has to do with the safety of all shifters. Do you not see where this is happening? Your neighbors are on the other side of this lot. Do you want us exposed?’