Page 77 of Riot of Autumn

“Hey, wait. You don’t have to hang it up,” I protest, but Ezra shuts me up with one look.

I cross my arms and keep my mouth shut, while he hangs the painting on the wall like it’s a fucking Monet or some shit.

After adjusting it until it’s straight, Ezra claps his hands together and turns to look at me. “Perfect. What are you up to now?”

“Not mischief, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I say with an innocent shrug.

“Now that’s exactly what I think you’re up to. But I meant, are you doing anything, or do you want to assist with a project?”

“That depends. If the project is cleaning out closets or, like, holding a flashlight while you fix a drain, then I’m going to pass.”

“I was going to see if I can shift into any other animals. I was thinking you could suggest animals and I’ll try to change into them.”

“Oooh, yay! That sounds much more fun than working on your pipes.”

“Why are you making that sound sexual?”

“I am not. Get your head out of the gutter. Let’s go to the patio. I want to see how big you can get.” I don’t waste any time, swiping up my phone and googling cool animals as I walk outside.

All my nervous energy from earlier is completely gone. My stomach does a flip seeing my painting hanging on Ezra’s wall. The way he’s treating it like it’s something incredible, but also, somehow, no big deal, is exactly what I needed. And now he’s giving me an even bigger distraction. I’d kiss him so hard right now if I didn’t want to see some cool animals.

It’s chilly out today. I’ve got on one of Ezra’s sweatshirts and a boring pair of leggings from Lena, since my wardrobe is still limited. Ezra follows me out, but he stays standing when I flop down on the rattan couch on his patio. The sun is shining, but it’s slowly setting, the spectacular view taking my breath away. The sky is purple and pink, the sun a huge burning orb.

I turn my attention back to my phone and hum. “Half of these unusual animals are fish. That’s a pass.” I keep scrolling through the list, “What about a slow loras, or an okapi?”

“I don’t even know what the hell those two animals are. Let’s stick to the more common animals to start with. I feel like it’s important that I know what they look like before I try to morph my body into it.”

“Didn’t you go to school to study animals?” I gaze up from my phone.

“Standard household pets,” Ezra grumbles.

“Spoilsport. Fine, why don’t you try to shift into a panther?”

Ezra nods in approval, taking off his clothes. I can’t help but giggle. Dammit, how does he keep getting me to make that sound? Ezra cocks a brow, and his perfunctory undressing suddenly turns into fucking Magic Mike. I turn on some music on my phone, but it’s like a record scratch when the Spice Girls song “Wannabe” starts playing. Ezra blinks at me with unimpressed golden eyes and I snicker as I dance in my seat.

“At least turn it down so I can concentrate.”

I turn off the music, and Ezra drops his boxer briefs. I let out a whoop, but then Ezra throws them at me, like they’re something I’d want to catch. I duck to the side like a ninja.

“I don’t want your dirty undies!”

Ezra starts laughing, which is so damn distracting since he’s naked. “I thought you’d want to stuff them in your pocket. Isn’t that what they do in all your romance novels?”

“The guys do it with the girl’s panties. Not the other way around.”

“That’s awfully limiting.”

“Oh my God, just shift.”

Ezra winks at me and then closes his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. For once in my life, I sit still. I don’t want to distract him or interrupt mid-shift. What if he was partly transformed and became some human-beast hybrid? I do enjoy monster romance, but I don’t think I’m into that in real life.

All it takes is a minute before the air around Ezra starts to shimmer. I feel the magic coating my skin, like a cool breeze that reminds me of Ezra in some unnamable way. One second, he’s a man, all gorgeous brown skin and muscle on display for me, and the next, he’s a sleek panther, on four legs.

“Holy shit,” I gasp. “That is so fucking cool.” I stand up, slowly approaching panther Ezra. “Do you have an animal brain, or are you still yourself? Can I pet you? Are you going to chomp off my hand with your massive teeth if I try?”

The enormous black panther can’t answer me, obviously, but the look in his eyes is all Ezra. As if he’s a big old house cat, no, that’s not right–because cats are assholes–a giant puppy, he sits down. I take it as an invitation to close up the rest of the space and reach out my hand to touch his head.

His fur is soft and sleek, and oddly, he still feels like Ezra to me.

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