Logan unknowingly touched the tattoo that was just for him.
“Well, let’s go enjoy the party,” Indigo said, swallowing back the ball of nerves. He just hoped his mate liked and realized what it meant.
“Want to go shift and run around for a bit now that the festivities are over?” Indigo asked.
They cleaned up from Samantha’s party, and Gabriella was already done with them, going to hang out with her favorite person, Ava.
“I do need to run off the double helping of cake.”
Indigo helped carry in a few birthday decorations. The sun was still out, and they had another hour or two before sunset. Logan smiled up at his mate. His lynx was always down for a good run.
“Race you,” Logan said, getting a head start for outside.
Logan stripped, and the brisk air felt good against his skin as he crouched down and let his lynx step forward. His bones cracked and reshaped into his lynx. The pain was there, but it was almost like a warm blanket that all shifters were accustomed to.
Logan shook his fur out and stretched, kneading the grass as he got accustomed to his shifted form. He glanced over in time to watch Indigo shift. He was already bent over as the sounds of his bones breaking echoed in the otherwise empty backyard. Silky black fur sprouted all over him until he was fully covered.
Logan stood up and waited till the very last second before he approached his mate. Indigo also stretched in his feline form. He was bigger than Logan, not as big as Rhy or Dezi, but he was closer to Clyde’s jaguar size. Logan rubbed up against his mate, scent marking him. They twisted and turned around each other. A deep purr rumbled out of him before he knew what was happening. Indigo head-butted him, and Logan felt so content with his lynx, happy to have their other half.
It went on for a few more minutes before Logan pulled back and nipped playfully at Indigo’s ear, earning him a mewl before Logan took off on a mad dash toward the small forest they had access to.
His paws hit the ground, and he kept his body low as he tried to outrun his mate. It was a thrill being chased. He didn’t give in to his mate; he made Indigo really work for it as he continued to run until his lungs burned. Just as Logan thought he’d slow down a bit, a black blur moved in from the side right before a body collided with him. They rolled around on the ground until they came to a stop.
Teeth bit into the back of his neck, holding him in place, and a deep growl vibrated along his spine. Logan flattened his ears back, his heart thudding erratically in his chest. His lynx easily submitted to their mate. He won; he’d caught them fair and square.
A rough tongue licked along his head and face. Logan responded the same way, cleaning his mate, sharing in the affection. Indigo wrapped his body around Logan, thumping his tail against the ground. Logan purred against his mate once more.
They chased each other a few more times and even made it to the small creek to get some water. They only started making their way back to the pride house when the sun started to go down. As much as Logan wanted to stay out all night and be with his mate in their feline form hunting under the moon and stars, they had responsibilities as parents.
Logan had a lot of pent-up energy, but they put their clothes on quickly. It was a blur, but Logan thought he’d glimpsed a new tattoo on Indigo. Logan had studied the man’s body closely, so he knew instantly when something new was there. He moved toward his mate.
“We better check on Gabriella. It’s getting late,” Indigo said.
Logan nodded and followed him inside, and they made it to Ava’s door. She opened it, already in pajamas.
“Our little cake monster in there?” Logan asked.
Ava didn’t have to say anything. There was a fit of giggles coming from inside of the room. “No,” Gabriella said in an extra-high-pitched voice.
Logan chuckled.
“Come on, princess,” Indigo called out.
Gabriella came out, and Indigo picked her up.
“Night, Ava,” they all said in unison.
“Night.” She closed her door, and they made their way to their own part of the house.
Gabriella was an unwilling mess during bath and bedtime stories. It took approximately five books to get her to finally crash. And she