Page 2 of Claimed By the Panda
I blinked at her, not sure how to respond.
“I’m such an ally.” She reached across the table to squeeze my hand. “I didn’t even realize you were bisexual.”
Neither did I.“None of us are fully straight, are we? And it’s impossible to deny my panda.” In all honesty, I often denied mypanda, the inner voice that belonged to my other form. All it took was some meditation and the ability to ignore whining.
Darla reached out and clasped my hand. “Am I the first person you’ve told? How long have you been together? Have I met him?”
The questions came rapid-fire, and I stumbled through answers, each one digging me deeper into the lie.
“You wouldn’t know him… he’s also human.” It slipped out before I could think it through, but I realized my mistake instantly. There was only one reason a shifter would mate long term with a human, only one thing we’d risk exposing the secrets of our very existence for: a fated mate bond.
Her eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open. “Oh shit. Damn, I can only imagine the intensity of finding your fated and realizing he’s not one of us.”
“I mean, I’m only 23, I didn’t envision… any of this.”Mostly because I’d made it all up five minutes ago.
“Hmm, this could be good. Dad thinks I’m out with a trustworthy Wei panda. I can go anywhere without his overbearing protectiveness!” “Darla,” I warned. “Even if he does get angry, I’ll tell him you’ve found your mate and he’ll be too distracted to ask what I was up to the rest of the night.” She winked and grabbed her purse.
“But it’s a secret!”
“Oh, come on, Jian. They’ll find out soon enough, so why hide it?” She was right. Shifters were nothing if not nosy gossips. “Halloween’s the best night to prowl, and I’ve got an excuse locked and loaded. There’s no way I’m dropping this.” I couldn’t argue. She was already turning away and texting someone on her phone. I watched as she sauntered toward the door, her costume’s tiger tail swinging behind her.
That had been my lowest drama failed date yet. Why was my dad so down on lies?
My dad.What the hell had I done? I’d told the daughter of one of my father’s oldest friends that I was gay and fated to a human who didn’t exist. And Darla was going to tell her dad, so my family was sure to find out. And sure to meddle.
Mate bonds with humans were the stuff of legend; dramatic, wildly intense, and most likely fictional.
“Dammit.” I dropped my chopsticks and pressed my palms against my eyes.
The waiter approached with the check, eyeing the empty chair, and I shrugged and winked at him as I pulled out my wallet and threw down enough cash to cover the bill and a generous tip, trying to figure out what to do about my lie.
Outside, Virginia Street blazed with Halloween revelry. Costumed partiers stumbled between casinos and nightclubs, their laughter carrying on the crisp autumn air. I pulled out my phone and dialed my brother, Alex.
He answered on the fourth ring. “Jian! How’s your date with the tiger chick?”
“I screwed up.” I stepped away from a passing group of drunk zombies.
“What’d you do?” Distorted music thumped in the background. “Dad’s gonna kill you if you were rude to her. And her dad will eat your remains. Have you seen Mr. Li’s teeth? Terrifying.”
“Um, nothing like that.” I paced along the sidewalk, eyeing the people in costumes lined up to enter nightclubs and bars. “I told Darla I’m gay and already have a mate. A, um, human mate.”
Silence stretched for three heartbeats, then Alex burst into laughter. “You what? Holy shit!”
“It’s not funny.” I kicked an empty beer can. “She was showing me panda videos. You know how I get.”
“Right, so you saw some videos of our animal kin being silly and the only recourse was to invent a rare mate bond with a gay human.” Alex snorted. “Such a logical choice.”
“I panicked! She kept showing those damn videos.” Looking around at the revellers, I wondered if any would be willing to pose as my gay fated mate for the next 3-4 decades, until everyone had forgotten about my lie.
Probably not the best way to keep the shifter community secret from the humans.
“She probably wasn’t even making fun of you, right? Girls fucking love pandas. I fucked a wolf shifter the other day who wanted me to breed her full of panda babies and—”
“Alex. What’s done is done.” I interrupted. “I’m sure she’ll keep my secret.”
He cracked up again. “Darla Li? Keep a secret? Family breakfast tomorrow is going to be full-on drama!”
“She won’t tell anyone by then, will she?” Truthfully, I hadn’t even thought of family breakfast.
