Mateo, a jaguar nagual descended from Mayan shamans, attends the Northern Nevada Con-fur-ence furry convention to hide in plain sight. Who will look twice at a long, black tail and inhuman yellow eyes when there are neon huskies and dancing dragons around? There Mateo meets Dazi, a mountain lion skin-walker who is at the con with friends from his Shoshone-Paiute reservation. They want to find out if the furries are close to stumbling across their tribe of shifters. When these two big cats rub up against each other, their cultures collide in a way neither Mateo nor Dazi could predict. But Mateo has trouble being entirely human around his alluring new companion, and Dazi puts his tribe at risk when he reveals their secrets to an outsider. Can Mateo and Dazi overcome their natural secretive and bestial instincts to find their purr-fect ending?

Beasts Like Us

Mateo flopped onto his side, panting. Dazi stopped to fix his fur, which had gotten ruffled in their play and mildly irritated him in some places. When Mateo stood up, Dazi thought their grooming session was going to resume, but instead the large black cat plodded to the bathroom. Dazi followed, confused and curious. Mateo reared up by the sink and clumsily pawed at the handle until it turned on. He lapped up the water then stepped back to offer it to Dazi. It was strange drinking from a sink. Water got in Dazi’s nose, causing him to snort and sneeze trying to get it out. Mateo chuffed in what Dazi assumed was a laugh.


Chapter 12