The floor was covered in what seemed to be artificial grass. She wiggled her bare toes. It felt like good-quality artificial turf. The massive water fountain couldn’t be ignored, and she approached it in awe. The lighting gave the waterfall a natural look. It was beautiful. Even the air around her stirred as if there was a breeze. The lip of the fountain turned out to be taller than Mary, reached by a gentle moss-covered slope.
One touch with her fingertip proved the moss wasn’t real, either. Curiosity had her touching the short green sprigs…and then climbing upward to the water’s edge. It was the size of a small pool. She dipped her fingers into the water and found herself in for another surprise. The temperature felt pleasantly warm.
She had a better view from at least six feet off the floor, and she looked around, searching for a lit exit sign, but didn’t spot any. The walls were dark, making it difficult to find the boundaries of the large space. She turned and scooted down the slope, deciding to just walk the perimeter to find a way out.
Something large dropped about six feet in front of her, and Mary gasped. It took her a few seconds to realize what it was.
She blinked, but the sight didn’t disappear or change.
Crouched before her was the biggest New Species she’d ever seen. Not big as in fat. Far from it. He was muscled and big boned.
If that wasn’t shocking enough, he had some seriously wild, long hair. It was a light rust color, with some orange streaks, and very fluffy. His chin lifted, making it possible for her to make out his face.
Pure terror struck.
He was a New Species—but more animal than man. His eyes were pure feline, the color a startling gold. His nose came out a bit, as did his jaw, making the bones in his face seem more animalistic. It reminded her of a mini muzzle. His lips were human, at least. They were also generous. But her gaze fixed on his hair. It reminded her of a lion’s mane.
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.
Those words kept repeating in her head.
He rose up from his crouch, and she was in for another surprise. He had hair on his naked chest, but it looked more like a patch of fur. It wasn’t a whole lot, but enough to freak her out even further.
That’s when she also noticed he wasn’t wearing pants. Mary simply stared. She’d never seen someone sporting an actual loincloth before.
He growled low, causing the hairs on the back of her neck and on her arms to raise. She knew she shouldn’t have come to Reservation. Mel said she’d be safe, but her bestie had been wrong. She was about to be killed by a lion man.
His lips parted, and he revealed scary fangs. They were shiny white and looked lethal.
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.
Mary wanted to faint but she wasn’t that fortunate.
He stepped closer, and she scrambled back, falling onto the slope of fake moss, praying she could dig her way under it. Her fingers even clawed at the material.
The man loudly sniffed, and she froze.
He lunged forward.
All Mary could do was twist her head to the side and squeeze her eyes closed. She didn’t want to watch her own death happen. It would be bad enough feeling it.
Chapter Two
The lion man didn’t slam into Mary, but she could hear him breathing. It sounded close—and then she felt his hot breath against her neck. Some of that fluffy hair on his head brushed her cheek. She whimpered.
He was probably picking the right spot to bite into so he could rip out her throat for maximum blood loss.
He sniffed at her again and growled deeper. It was more of a rumble, really.
Another whimper escaped. She couldn’t scream. Her body wasn’t functioning properly at this level of terror. She expected to piss herself before she remembered she’d just used the bathroom prior to her failed escape attempt.
The lion man lowered his head, that soft hair touching more her jaw.
Then it suddenly went away.
Long seconds ticked by…until she felt something grip the front of her dress.
Warm fingers brushed against the sides of her breasts.
That startled her enough to open her eyes and turn her head a little.
She wished she hadn’t. The lion man was crouched over her, yet only touching her with his way-too-large hands. He had a grip on each side of her bodice, where the vee revealed some cleavage. He wasn’t looking at her, but giving her chest a glare that wasn’t friendly.
He suddenly tore the dress open.
The buttons down the front gave way, and Mary almost managed to scream. Her mouth even opened, but his head jerked up and those golden eyes muted her. She stopped breathing.
He snarled and lowered his head. Then he scooted down a bit, and continued tearing open her dress.
Lions ripped out the bellies of their prey. She was pretty sure she’d read or seen that somewhere.
He bared her stomach and adjusted the position of his big body, until his face hovered over her middle.
His mouth opened and Mary whimpered, knowing it was going to be a horrible way to die. Slow. Him tearing out her throat would have been faster.
He sniffed at her again and released her dress with his freakishly large hands. They appeared normal, except there was enough light coming off the waterfall behind her to see that they weren’t totally human. Fine hairs covered the back of his fingers.
Fur. That’s fur. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God!
He planted one open hand on her stomach, and Mary gasped. It didn’t hurt, but he did it with enough force that it wasn’t exactly gentle. His fingers curled, and she felt sharp fingernails press into her skin. They didn’t hurt, either, but she could distinctly feel the tip of each one.
He wasn’t going to bite into her. No. He was going to claw her skin open instead to reach her internal organs.
He lowered his head and sniffed her stomach. Mary figured he was probably deciding what would be the tastiest part of her to start with. He moved lower, and she realized that he’d ripped her dress completely open. She lie there with her underclothing exposed.
He dipped his head, sniffing at her white panties.
Not there! God. Kill me before you bite or use your sharp nails to rip me open there!
He leaned in closer, and all that wild fur/hair on his head touched her stomach. She whimpered again when he pressed his nose right up against her pelvic bone.
He growled in response. It was a mean sound, not happy. His chin lifted, and he glowered at her as he rose up a bit. He also adjusted his body higher over hers.
He’s part human.
She desperately tried to think past her fear. He looked human, but so…not. His body was human in shape, though, despite the mane of hair flowing to his shoulders, the patch of fur on his chest, the back of his fingers, and his facial traits. And Mary was desperate to live…
She reached up slowly. He noticed, and stared at her hand. It was trembling badly as she gently stoked his chest.
The hair was fur. The texture of it surprised her. She hadn’t petted many of her friends’ pets, since they tended to try to take a bite out of her. He probably would, too, but at this point, she was desperate.
Nice kitty. She would have said it out loud but was afraid the sound of her voice might set him off, and then the bleeding would begin. Hers.
His chest hair was super soft and short. She stroked it again. Nice kitty. Nice big freaking kitty.
She stopped though when a loud noise emanated from him. It took her a second to realize he was purring.
That gave her hope, and she started stroking him again.
Nice kitty. Please don’t kill me.
He wasn’t tearing her to shreds or biting into her. He just purred and watched her with golden eyes that were going to be in her nightmares forever if she managed to survive.