It wasn’t what Lillian had been expecting to hear. She glanced over; Cal was looking casually out the window. “A bit,” she said cautiously. “I’ve done some reading, since Teri was changed. We have a few books on big cats in the library.”
“One of the snow leopard’s biggest weapons is camouflage,” Cal said quietly.
Lillian perked up. “Oh, yes! I saw this on the Internet. There were pictures of rocky mountainsides, and you’d have to try to find the snow leopard in the picture. And I never could, it was impossible! Then they’d circle it for you on the website, and I’d finally see it, but really the snow leopard was so well camouflaged it might as well be invisible.”
Cal looked over at her, smiling a little bit. “You did do some research.”
Lillian shrugged, suddenly a bit uncomfortable. “Well, my sister just became one. And I’m a librarian, it’s my job.”
“No, I admire that. Most people just make assumptions about things, don’t take the time to look deeper. It’s a good trait.”
His warm approval seemed to wash over her. Lillian looked away. What was it about this man?
Maybe the fact that he’d ditched everything to help her out of a dangerous situation. That probably had something to do with it.
Although that didn’t explain why she found his face so compelling—his features weren’t classical handsome, rougher than the smooth lines of a Hollywood actor, but she felt like she could watch him forever.
He was talking again, and she shook herself out of her reverie. This wasn’t like her at all.
“Snow leopards are masters of camouflage. I’ve never been as good at it as some others—too big, not as good at darting around. But I still like to fly under the radar a bit. We all do. We’re not like stags or wolves or lions, making big displays all the time. Only if we absolutely have to.”
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sp; Lillian nodded, still not quite understanding where this was going, but willing to listen until it got there.
“All that’s just to show you that I mean what I say when I tell you how impressed I am at how you’re handling that situation at home.”
“Oh,” Lillian said faintly.
“Sometimes, you can’t make a big display,” Cal said. “Sometimes you’ve got to stay in a dangerous situation, and if you push a big confrontation, you’ll mess everything up. Sometimes if you fight, you’ll lose more than just the fight. And the person who can keep going under those circumstances, who can move forward day after day, keeping themselves inside and getting what they need slowly but surely—that person is strong. That person is someone to watch out for. Because they know how to win.”
“...Oh,” Lillian said again, and this time it was only the faintest breath of sound.
Never once had she thought of her situation in those terms. She wasn’t someone who knew how to win, was she? She was someone who was making the best of having lost big.
“It’s a hard thing to do,” Cal added. “It’s hard as hell, pardon my language. So I hope you get breaks from it. I hope you’ve got somewhere you can get away. And now that you’re part of our pack, you’ve got more help and a better escape, if you choose to use it.”
Lillian’s brain caught on one specific phrase in that. “Part of your pack?” she repeated.
Cal nodded slowly. “Forgive me if I’m overstepping. It’s up to you, of course. But your sister’s part of the pack, and you don’t need to be a shifter to be one of us. One of my best rangers, Jeff, has a mate and a stepdaughter who’re both human, and they belong with us just as much as anyone else.”
That—was too much. The whole idea was too much. Another family? Lillian part of Teri’s happy little community? It didn’t seem possible.
But Cal looked serious.
“I’ll—I’ll think about it,” she managed faintly.
Cal seemed to accept that. “No problem. Take your time. Nothing’s set in stone.”
The lack of pressure helped her relax a bit more. And then they were pulling back into Teri’s driveway, and the conversation ended.
Cal got out, and said, “You can follow me to my place. I’ll make sure you’re close behind. It gets a bit winding toward the end.”
Lillian promised to follow closely, and soon they pulled away again, heading...up into the mountains.
Lillian should’ve figured—he’d chosen to devote his life to the Park, so it made sense that he wanted to live out in the wilderness. But she was suddenly apprehensive about what his place was going to look like. A rickety cabin? No indoor plumbing? He seemed like the kind of man who wouldn’t mind living rough. Particularly considering he was a shifter.
But she was wrong. After following a winding mountain road for less time than she’d been anticipating, they pulled out into a wide clearing with a solid-looking little house. Not a cabin, a house. It didn’t seem rickety at all, and there was no sign of an outhouse.