To Tempt A Tiger by Kat Simons

she asleep yet?”
    He paused to listen. “Even breathing, little snores. She’s out.”
    Rose faced forward and pressed her lips together before saying, “This shifting business scares me.”
    Vlad forced himself to drop the subject of their relationship. He couldn’t fix that without first helping Zoe, and to help Zoe, Rose needed to understand what being a shapeshifter meant for their daughter. “What specifically scares you? Outside of everything.”
    She flashed him a half smile before turning serious again. “At the moment, the thing that freaks me out the most is the idea that she might start to change shapes and then get stuck.”
    She faced him finally, her beautiful blue eyes wide and glistening. The fear in her scent broke him.
    “Can that happen?” she asked. “Can the shifting hurt her more than not shifting has?”
    “No. Not for a tiger shifter anyway. Once the process starts, it finishes. Even if a tiger wanted to, they couldn’t stop the shift once it really gets going. We don’t do half shifts or get stuck.”
    “You said not for tiger shifters. Does that mean there are other shifters?”
    “Oh, yeah. Lots of species.”
    “What? How is that possible and no one knows?”
    “Centuries and centuries of hiding in plain sight. I don’t know for sure with other species, but for tigers, we have enough problems at the moment. We don’t need the complication of fending off human hunters. So we are very careful to keep our natures secret. That’s the whole reason killing a human is a death sentence crime.”
    “I didn’t think it was possible to keep anything secret anymore.”
    “It might not be for much longer. But for now, we’re careful.”
    Rose blew out a breath that lifted the tendrils of red hair curling on her forehead. “This is a lot to take in.”
    “I know. And there’s a lot more. Maybe we should focus on what Zoe needs for now and I’ll explain the other stuff as you feel able to face it?”
    “Probably a good idea. But I want two questions answered first.”
    “Okay.”
    “One, other species can do half shifts or get stuck mid-shift?”
    “Getting stuck is a problem for a couple of shifter species—mostly the ones that can ‘convert’ humans. Werewolves, for example. The humans turned wolf are the ones that get stuck. If it’s not natural to the individual, it’s complicated and potentially dangerous. Dragons are one of the species that can do half shifts. Elephant and bear shifters can, too.”
    Vlad watched her eyes grow bigger with every sentence and was afraid she’d just shut down. He shouldn’t have gone into so much detail so quickly. “This is too much, isn’t it?”
    “Yes. Dragons? There are shapeshifting dragons in the world?”
    “Most legends have some basis in reality.”
    “Yeah, but the reality behind dragons is supposed to be dinosaur bones. Not real dragons.”
    “Little bit of both contributed to the various legends.”
    “ Dios ,” she breathed. Then shook her head. “I need a drink. I’m gonna get a glass of wine. You want anything?”
    “Tea would be nice.”
    She smiled and some of the shock eased from her features. “Teetotaler,” she teased.
    That had been an ongoing joke between them. He’d never really developed a taste for alcohol but couldn’t get enough tea. For some reason, Rose found that quirk both charming and amusing. He didn’t understand why, but since he liked her smile so much, he wasn’t going to argue with her.
    “Be right back.” She disappeared into the kitchen.
    Leaving him to consider everything he’d just said to her. They’d gone off topic a bit, but there was a lot she’d need to know once Zoe entered the shifter world. And though his people were insular and didn’t interact much with other shifters—or any other species of otherworldly creatures for that matter—knowing the world held such beings would be important for Zoe’s survival.
    When Rose returned with his tea and her wine, she