Wait Until Dawn by Bailey Bradford (book club suggestions .txt) 📕

hunt or just to run. There was another reason Levi declined, too. “Besides, I know you don’t particularly enjoy shifting.”

Oscar made a rude noise, not quite a word but if it had been, Levi was sure it’d’ve been worse than the F-word. “It hurts! I know if I did it more, maybe all my ligaments and bones and crap would get used to it or something, but—” Oscar glared at his damaged hand. “Do I really need to shift? What’s the point in me turning into a snow leopard? I don’t have to do it.”

Levi silently disagreed. He believed their leopards needed to be released, or…or something would happen, he didn’t know what and didn’t care to find out. Still, Oscar would shift if Levi nagged enough, which he would do in a day or two. He understood Oscar’s aversion to being in his leopard form, considering the steel trap had hurt him when he’d been a curious cub. He just believed Oscar needed to get past the trauma caused from the incident—but not right this instant. “It still hurts when you’re used to it, Oz, but it’s not unbearable. And it feels really, really good to let go and just run, let the leopard have my mind, sort of.”

“You do that, then,” Oscar said. He didn’t say anything else, just stood beside Levi as the sun began setting. Levi felt strangely edgy, unsatisfied as if his skin itched from head to toe. It was a weird sensation and one he’d not encountered before. The Aspens and pines called to him, promising relief in their shade, in the soil beneath his paws.

Levi shook off his melancholy thoughts and grinned at Oscar. “I’m in a weird mood anyway. Would you let everyone know I’m going out?”

“Sure.” Oscar eyed him for a few more seconds. “Be safe.” He turned and loped up the pebble path to the house.

Levi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, observing the pink and orange colours fading in the sky as the sun began to sink further behind a mountain in the distance.

If he was honest with himself, he thought he might be feeling a little envious of some of his cousins. He’d listened as they talked about boyfriends and girlfriends, even casual fuck buddies, but it was the ones who had somebody special, or somebody potentially special, that Levi was jealous of. A petty emotion he wasn’t proud of, but he wanted such happiness for himself.

Maybe if I got out more, went to the bigger cities… Holton was the nearest town, and calling it a town was charitable. There was a solitary blinking yellow light and a diner that looked decrepit but served the best Mexican food ever. A couple of gas stations, the bare makings of a town, really, and not much more. There wasn’t even a school. The few kids in Holton were either bussed or driven to the next closest town, Blankenship, where they joined other kids gathered from tiny towns in the county. Still, it wasn’t bad. The people of Holton were generally good-hearted and friendly. It was just lonely for a gay man in this area.

I need to stop this fricking pity party right now. Levi crossed over to a pouch tied to a pine. He stripped then stuffed his clothes in the bag before dropping to his knees. The sun began its final farewell for the day, and Levi pressed his palms to the cooling earth, giving himself up to the change. Shifting wasn’t instantaneous or painless, but the freedom he had in his feline form was worth any price.

His groan morphed into a mewl as bones popped and muscles rearranged themselves. His jaw ached, his entire skull throbbed then the pain vanished like a bubble bursting. Euphoria replaced the agony and Levi chuffled, the comforting sound tickling his nose when he exhaled. He arched his back and twitched his tail, then growled playfully and bounded off into the woods.

He easily picked out the trail he wanted to take despite the darkness made even more so by the heavy foliage. In minutes he was deep in the forest following a promising scent for dinner. The rabbit was fast, but not fast enough, and Levi pounced, making the kill quick and painless as possible.

Once his stomach was full and his paws licked clean, he lolled on the ground for a while, soaking in the peace he always found here. If he wasn’t quite as at peace as usual, he was still okay. Levi knew he wasn’t an asshole. He was happy for his cousins, and maybe, if he was lucky, he’d find his own special man. Of course, the man would have to be really special—special enough not to look at Levi and judge him by his appearance as so many others did.

Levi was big at six-one and a little over two hundred pounds, and he had rough-hewn features. He’d been told a couple of times his height and build along with his looks made him appear more masculine than the average guy. Looks and all the rest were deceptive, though. None of it meant he was some big dumb brute who wanted to shove down smaller men and fuck them until they screamed.

On the contrary, Levi kind of wanted to be the shoved guy, wanted a little tussle and battle before having another man’s strength hold him down. It wasn’t that he wanted violence, not force or rape or anything like that. It was a muddle in his mind at times, but what he wanted was someone strong enough to overpower him, but gentle enough not to do so if Levi didn’t want to be overpowered. He thought he’d like it, but considering he’d always topped except for one disastrous attempt at bottoming years ago, Levi suspected his fantasy would be better remaining just a fantasy.

Still, even in his leopard form, the thought of being taken was arousing. He imagined a strong body on top of his, a thick