Excerpt 1
Alter Shape could make Nekoka look human with effort, but it wasn’t her default.  Instead, she sported cat ears, tail, eyes, and a body covered in soft fur.  She had impeccable control over her appearance; therefore, she never needed to bother with clothing.  She loved her image and all its wondrous possibilities; why would she want to look human?

…………..

“What are those papers?” Nekoka demanded.  The world had suddenly gotten hot, and with a ripple, her fur thinned out over her body.  The blood was pounding in her ears as her gaze homed in on the papers.

They couldn’t do this.  They wouldn’t do this.

They were her friends.

Her family.

“It’s just a trial,” Zack said, finally facing her, his silver eyes barely meeting hers.  “Temporary.  So, you can see how it won’t be that big a deal.”

Nekoka charged forward and snatched the papers off the tiled countertop.

Application for Hero Certification – New Orleans

“I told you,” Minnie said, crossing her arms over her ample chest.  “We can’t do this without everyone’s say so.  Nekoka and I aren’t certain this is the best path for us.  It takes away our autonomy.”

She’d told him.  Told Zack she didn’t want this.  They’d talked about this.

“I know you think this is going to be some big Supervillain versus Superhero all-out war.  That’s ridiculous.”  Zack shook his head, then returned to staring at Nekoka, his silver eyes red around the edges, a sign of sleepless nights.  A sign that this had been planned, and he had been worried.

“We have power,” he continued, pleaded.  “We’ve a duty to help people.”

“No!”  Then she took in a breath.  The air felt stiff.  “We do not.”  Her voice sounded hard, alien.  Then words kept coming, flowing from her mouth.  “We have a duty to ourselves.  That’s it.  Bottom line.  All else is simple choice.”  Everything went numb inside.  “Listen, you go ahead.”

Would her mouth stop talking?  Would her friends not do this?

Her sour gut churned.  Everything was hot.  So hot.

“You go ahead,” she said.  “Go Certified.  Do what you want.”

She walked away.

Excerpt 2
One of the cars crawled up from the parking lot near the east wing.  Jenni.

“Get in,” Jenni said.  “Let’s go.”

Nekoka climbed into the car.  Her heart rabbited in her chest, a sensation that wasn’t at all comfortable.  Her cat eyes didn’t cry like a norm’s, but they still watered, and now she blinked rapidly, making sure no wetness dropped.

Relief so heavy pushed the strength out of Nekoka’s bones.  Jenni glanced over at her, eyebrow raised.  Nekoka guessed she’d leaked some stray thoughts out loud to her friend.  It wasn’t unheard of.

“I can’t force my decision on you.  I know you have to do what you feel is best for you, but I can stick by your side,” Jenni answered Nekoka’s unspoken gratefulness. The car eased down the long drive to the road.

“I don’t mean to drag you along,” Nekoka said.

“You so effortlessly charge into the unknown, Nekoka, how could I want to be anywhere else?  So, where’s this rum run going?”

“Portland.”

Excerpt 3
Propped against the railing of the second level, Pablo smiled down at them.  Nekoka waved as he descended the stairs.

With Pablo’s every stride and strut, Nekoka’s inner hot bod aficionado purred deeply.  Cyrus was lovely, but Pablo oozed desirability.  Damn.

“Pablo, looking lickable today,” Nekoka said with a husky burr.

“Oh, a licking.  Is that why I had the bar opened early?” he asked with a smirk, leaning against the bar with one hip, the long lines of his body on display, the cheeky grin holding promises and secrets.  There was always an element of grace and fluidity to Pablo’s movements, and it wasn’t any surprise to Nekoka that every pose, every posture he presented, cast him in an elegant light.

How could he simply lean and look sexy?  And not be attainable?  It wasn’t fair.