Page 45 of Purrfectly Trapped

“Like what?”

“Guys, I don’t know.”

“Come on, Gretch, tell us.”

“Fine. You really want to know?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do,” Uncle Uzzi insisted, and Gretchen could tell he meant it. Something about the older man made her want to trust him.

“After the sex and everything Reg sort of said he could turn into a Tiger,” she said in a rush.

“I see,” Uncle Uzzi said, calmly. “Did he explain what he meant?”

“He claimed he was a Shifter. I mean, he could have seen some books on my shelf earlier, but then he was saying he bit me because I’m his soulmate, or something like that, and he was shouting that I needed to let him explain but I could not take it. I didn’t know what to do, so I kicked him out of my apartment, and asked him to leave me alone.”

“Oh, Gretchen,” Elissa said, and covered her mouth.

“He bit you?” Uncle Uzzi asked.

“Yeah. It didn’t hurt at the time. In fact, it felt great,” she shrugged.

Her stomach was really bothering her again. She placed a napkin over her uneaten food and put a hand to her stomach.

“Oh Gretch, you should’ve let him explain,” Elissa began, her expression worried.

“Explain what? He’s crazy Liss. People don’t turn into Tigers.”

“Gretchen, I need to make sure he didn’t hurt you in any way,” Uncle Uzzi wiped his hands with a napkin before leaning closer to Gretchen.

“No, he didn’t hurt me.”

“Good. Okay. What I am about to tell you is going to sound strange at first,” the older man began. “But I swear to you that everything I tell you is the truth. I don’t lie, Gretchen. Not ever.”

“Okay,” Gretchen took a second to glance at him, then at the other women.

They all wore the same sympathetic expressions on their faces, and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why. What exactly was going on here? And what was that smell?

It was sharp and strong, and it made her nose twitch. She rubbed it with a clean napkin while listening to Uncle Uzzi. Maybe she was coming down with something, she thought as she tried to stay focused on the conversation.

“Reginald didn’t lie to you, dear, and he is not crazy.”

“What is he then?”

She huffed and shook her head. The smell was really bothering her, why didn’t anyone else notice it? And of course, Reg was crazy. People did not turn into animals!

“Want the truth?”

Uncle Uzzi’s electric blue eyes zeroed in on her, making Gretchen shiver. Still, she nodded. Yes, she wanted the truth. She’d been searching for someone special for so long, and for a moment she thought it was him. All Gretchen had ever wanted was someone to love her for who she was, flaws and all. Emailing Uncle Uzzi had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, but she knew how happy Elissa was, and yes, Gretchen had wanted some of that for herself.

She deserved the truth, especially since things moved so fast with Reg. Perhaps that was where she’d gone wrong. Either way, she never had a man make up something like that before.

A tiger?It’s nuts,right?

Her thoughts were all jumbled. Gretchen’s stomach clenched. Confusion clouded her brain as exhaustion threatened to take over. Shit, when had she become so very tired?

“Okay, Gretchen, I want you to brace yourself,” Uncle Uzzi began claiming her attention once more,

“Reg really is a Shifter. A Tiger Shifter to be precise. You see Shifters exist in the real world.”

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