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

After that, Dazi pretended he did know other furries in the parade, that behind some of the strange masks were familiar faces. The painted and glass eyes seemed more friendly. Their antics were more amusing. Dazi waved to them all and cheered when a few formed an impromptu conga line, kicking their feet in unison despite having no music to dance to.


Someone further up in the crowd put out their hand for a high-five. Half a dozen furries immediately changed their trajectory to give him one. Dazi stepped up and held out his own hand. Six soft plush paws hit him one after the other. The last one in the line let out a whoop that made Dazi laugh. When Dazi turned around, Mateo had the biggest smile on his face Dazi had seen all day. Even if Dazi hadn’t received a mood boost from the enthusiastic furries, Mateo’s smile alone would have been worth it.


Oh, spirits, if you are merciful, don’t take away that smile


Chapter 37