Page 19 of Wrong Number, Right Cougar

Wilder took my hand and led me into the house. We removed our boots, and he washed his hands before removing one of the scrapbooks from a shelf in the living room.

That was different. He wanted to scrapbook or maybe just reminisce. I was a little disappointed, but this was the getting-to-know-him part of our… relationship? I couldn’t call it that because what we had might end when I left town.

Wilder paused on the page with pics of cougars and people, Uncle being one of them.

“This is why the town and the body of water in the middle is known as Cougar Lake.”

A history lesson. Unexpected. “Okay.”

He tapped a finger on one of the cougars. “This is one of my family members.”

Definitely different.

“The townspeople felt a special connection to the cougars.” I was hoping he’d continue because I didn’t know what else to say. I hoped he wasn’t going to tell me the wild animals were pets that were kept in captivity.

“My grandmother, actually.”

This was getting weird, and I calculated how quickly I could get out the door and to my car.

But Wilder paced over the threadbare carpet, hands behind his back.

“The cougars who settled in this area were not wild animals. They were like me.”

If I thought he’d clarify, I was disappointed.

“Humans aren’t the only two-legged mammals to walk the earth.”

My mind scrambled, trying to think of other mammals with two legs.

“There are people who appear to be human, but inside them, they have an animal.”

I didn’t understand the purpose of this conversation. Perhaps Wilder had been smoking something. He didn’t smell of alcohol. Or maybe it was the air. It was thinner up the mountain than in town.

“I am one of those people, and we’re called shifters.”

“Shifters,” I repeated, because when someone is telling you a fantastical story, you either leave, protest, let them speak, or repeat what they said.

“The animal inside me is a cougar. My family and the original settlers in this area were all cougar shifters.”

He kneeled in front of me, his dark eyes searching mine. There was an easy way to prove if he was under an illusion.

“Show me.”

“That’s it? You don’t have any questions?”

“I have a heap, but first I want to see your cougar.”

He jerked his head toward the window. “In the woods.”

I made a face. “Ummm, there’s no one around. How about I stay here and you do your thing in the garden.” It was so overgrown, no hikers with binoculars or mountain climbers could see.

“Smart. If I were in your position, I wouldn’t go into the forest with a guy who said he had a wild beast inside him. I admire your self-preservation skills.”

And I was closer to the car if I stayed put. My heart was so heavy, thinking he was telling me a tall tale and there was no future for a relationship.

“Don’t go anywhere.”

He raced outside and stripped off his clothes. I peered at his enormous semi-hard cock. This was worth it just to catch another glimpse.

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