Jazz woke to the sounds of her kids’ favorite animated movie playing in the background. She looked around the empty bedroom. The television was on, and coloring books were scattered on the floor, but Rafe and the boys were nowhere to be found.
“Hello, my Jasmine. Did you sleep well?”
She smiled. Hearing Rafe’s voice in her head always made her happy. It was a benefit of their mate bond.
“I did, but I hate waking up to an empty bed.” She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “It’s only noon.”
“And I couldn’t amuse the munchkins any longer. They were hungry.”
And that was his secret code for saying he was hungry. The man could easily eat six to seven meals a day.
“Really? And what were they hungry for this time?”
“Chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, and bacon.”
She rolled her eyes. “Bacon. Again?”
“Bacon is good, woman! It’s full of protein. Now be nice or I’m eating your share.”
“Okay, I’ll be right down.”
Jazz slipped on a robe and followed the scent of food to the kitchen but stopped dead in her tracks at the sight that met her.
“Puppies?” Jazz looked at the four little Rottweiler pups rolling around on the floor with Seth and Levi. “When did we get puppies?”
Rafe rubbed the back of his neck. “This morning. Josh dropped them off.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Peggy Sue was lonely. She needed friends.”
At the mention of her name, the older dog came over and bumped her hand. Jazz gave the dog’s head a scratch. Because of the severity of Mr. Wilkins’ injuries, he’d been forced to move into a nursing home. Until he recovered, they were taking care of Peggy Sue while the younger dogs stayed with their neighbor.
Jazz glanced from Peggy Sue to the puppies. “But four?”
Rafe wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her against him. “Sure. One for each of us.”
One of the pups ran across the floor and skidded into the wastebasket next to the desk. Balled-up papers and loose scraps tumbled out, scattering over the hardwood. As if the trash was a brand new toy, all four dogs descended on the mess.
She sighed. “Do you know how much work they’ll be? They’ll need training and until they’re housebroken, constant babysitting.”
Rafe cleared his throat. “Devin and Mira are going to stay with us for a while. I figured between us and the dog trainer I contacted, we’d be fine.”
She ran her fingertips over the muscles in Rafe’s arms and rested her head against his chest. “So does this mean we’re not moving back to Virginia?”
She hoped, at least. They’d talked about it for hours, discussing all the pros and cons.
“No, we’re staying. I decided you’re right. It’s best not to uproot the kids. Besides, I’ve realized living apart from humans isn’t always best. Had I left our property more often, our paths might’ve crossed sooner.”
“True, but sometimes things must play out the way fate has it planned for us.”
“You’ve been talking to Kade again, haven’t you?”
She shrugged.
“His trust in the goddesses’ plans for us is unfounded. They’ve failed us.”
“They brought us together.” Or maybe sheer luck had, but either way, Jazz was glad she’d met Rafe.
“And what have they done for Nina? She’s still missing.” He lowered his voice to a mere breath of sound. “Or Seth?”
Jazz dropped her gaze. She didn’t have an answer. In the few weeks since Jon was killed, there’d been many discussions about Seth and why he was “broken” but none offered a good explanation.
The facts were that Seth carried two animal souls—a tiger and a jaguar—but only a shadow of his lion. The animal was tied to his soul in the same manner as the others, but it wasn’t whole. After a long talk with Rafe, Seth admitted he could see through his lion. That was why he couldn’t shift into it. It didn’t have a solid body.
“How about Molly and Megan?” Rafe asked, proving his point.
“Okay, you win. Your goddesses are fickle. Is that what you wanted me to admit?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” He sighed. “I just hate not being able to solve all our problems.”
She leaned against him, offering her silent support. Rafe settled his hands on her hips and nuzzled closer.
“We do have some good news about Molly,” Rafe said.
“What?”
“We have a possible address on where she’s been staying.”
“That’s wonderful news. Where?”
“Delaware. Kade, Devin, and Xander are on their way there now. Zach and Evan will be staying to help me watch over you and the kids.”
“That’s not necessary, is it? Jon’s dead.”
“But there are plenty of other males out there like him, and your stubborn friend refuses to stay here where I can keep an eye on him and Megan.”
“Josh likes his independence.”
Rafe made a noncommittal sound.
“What?” she asked.
“The constant back and forth driving to Virginia is wearing on Kade. He’s considering moving here also.”
“That’s a good thing.” Because when Kade wasn’t close, Rafe worried about him.
“I think so, but we’ll need to find a large tract of land for sale close to here.”
“There’s an old logging company nearby that’s selling off some property. The place is having financial problems. You should get a good deal.”
“I’ll tell Kade to look into it.”
“Perfect. See?” She smiled. “Things work out. Maybe not exactly the way we’d like, but we’ll find our way, and it’ll be better than we could ever have hoped for.”
“I love your optimism and your ability to conquer the challenges of life.”
“I knew it. Sweet-talker. That’s what you are.”
She tipped her head for the chaste brush of lips that warmed her as easily as his wicked kisses could. He pulled back and stared into her eyes.
“I’m only speaking the truth. You, my Jasmine, were an unexpected find, but one I’ll treasure for an eternity.”
She linked her hands around his neck. “And I’m glad you found me, my mate. You truly are a wonderful man.”
He kissed her nose. “I know. That’s why you love me.”
“You’re right.” She hugged him tight and let happiness surround her. She’d finally found her prince charming and a love to last a lifetime. And it was one she’d never lose.
The series continues with Devin.
READ Chapter One
Devin Moore peered through the windshield at the sprawling mansion. He took in the small pond, the English garden with its ornate fountain, and the hedge maze. Butterflies fluttered above the bushes. A frog hopped from a lily pad into the water. And a squirrel ran down the side of a tree.
There were no standoffs. No fighting lions. No gun-toting agents. No people whatsoever. For the scene of a shifter trafficking deal, the property was essentially deserted. Only the fancy red sports car parked near the front door offered any indication that the large home was occupied.
“Are you sure this is the place?” Devin asked.
Kade, his pride leader, caught his gaze in the rearview mirror. “I put the address Shifter Affairs gave us into my phone’s GPS. I’m sure.”
Six hours ago, Shifter Affairs, the small unit of the government dedicated to shifter-related issues, contacted their pride with an update on Molly, their missing lion cub. The agent working her case had not only found their preschooler but was in the process of organizing a retrieval. Time was of the essence. He’d discovered Molly was set to be sold to a lion shifter pride.
The older human had broken protocol by contacting the Alexander pride directly. Devin, along with his pride members, were liaisons to the department, not full-fledged agents. They did recon, followed up on low probability leads and helped rehabilitate recovered shifters. As civilians, they weren’t supposed to be exposed to any dangerous situations.
Devin didn’t care if his life was endangered. He’d wade into a gunfight, a fire, anything, if it meant saving a kid, but the closer they got to the quiet house, the stronger his unease grew. The three predators who shared his body—tiger, lion, and jaguar—matched his wariness.
They were walking into a trap.
Trained task force members should’ve been called in to deal with any confirmed shifter trafficking case. Yet, no government cars were on site. There should’ve at least been a Delaware state trooper here. Although not all humans knew shifters existed, many larger law enforcement agencies had at least one individual who did. That person was often the first responder. Not today.
Devin focused on the expensive car. “It’s odd nobody from Shifter Affairs has arrived.”
Xander, the male Devin considered a brother despite the fact Xander housed wolves instead of big cats, turned in his seat and leveled a stare from hardened brown eyes at Devin. “You know how slow the humans can be, especially when it’s not one of their own in jeopardy.”
“But why call us immediately?”
“Guilt?” Kade shrugged. “The agent who called is the same one who had Rafe escorted out with an order not to return until he could act like a civilized person, not an animal.”
Rafe, Kade’s twin, had contacted the humans for help finding the little girl a few weeks prior but hadn’t been given the warmest of responses. The agents had hundreds of missing shifter cases. Molly was only one of many lost kids. The explanation hadn’t soothed Devin, not when Molly’s sister, Megan, was crying for her twin.
“Look.” Xander motioned to the side of the house with a jerk of his head, his black hair swinging with the move. He shoved it out of his eyes with an annoyed grunt. “Guess the humans will have to sit this one out.”
Devin turned his attention to the group moving from the house to the five-car garage. Close to a dozen shifter males surrounded a human woman and a little girl. Only glimpses of the two females were visible between the tight circle of bodies, but Devin saw enough. Molly’s white-blonde hair was unmistakable. So was the human’s hand twined with the largest of the lion shifters.
“Recognize them?” Xander asked.
“Yeah. They’re members of Edmund’s pride.” The aura surrounding them was one Devin was intimately familiar with. He’d watched it fade as his sister’s rapist lay dying in a pool of his own blood.
“Devin’s right. They’re from the Krisban pride.” Kade gripped the steering wheel with claw-tipped hands. “Last I heard, they were in trouble with the human government for keeping human females as sex slaves too.”
“So what are we going to do with them?” Devin asked, even though he knew the answer. As a lower member of the pride, he knew his place, and that didn’t allow him to order his alpha around.
“Invoke Pride law.”
“I want first blood.” And if the government decided to punish them for it, Devin would be the one who paid for the crime. Just as he’d paid for his sister’s crime when she’d murdered her rapist.
“It’s yours.” Kade turned the wheel hard, exposing Devin’s side of the car to the group.
Devin leapt from the moving vehicle, hitting the blacktop on a roll.
Two fully shifted lions charged him. He spread his legs and waited until they jumped him before unleashing his claws. One swipe. Two. And their heads fell with a thump. He kicked them aside and ran toward the throng of males.
Kade’s car spun, coming to a stop on the other side of the group. Devin didn’t look to see if Xander and Kade ran to the house or attacked the rival shifters. His gaze remained locked on the human female’s fingers twined with the guy who’d thought to kidnap Molly.
Devin wanted the woman away from the male. The urge built into a compulsion. His cats fed it. Devin didn’t know why it suddenly seemed important, but he wasn’t about to give in to it. Getting Molly away from the pride known across the globe for their cruelty was all that mattered.
He focused on the need to save Molly and charged them. The other shifter released the female’s hand and spread his arms wide, inviting the fight. The male’s cockiness wouldn’t last, not once Devin ripped him open with a single slash from his sharpened nails.
Movement caught his attention. The female picked up Molly and ran toward the house. He wanted to go after them, but it was better if they hid. Molly didn’t need to witness the bloodshed he’d deliver. However, the sooner he eliminated the threat, the sooner he’d be able to help Kade with Molly, calming her and easing her fears.
Devin curled his upper lip, exposing his fangs, and met the lion shifter, slamming into the smaller male’s body. They hit the hard pavement and rolled onto the grass next to the driveway.
The lion shifter pinned Devin to the ground with clawed hands dug into Devin’s shoulders. Glowing hazel eyes focused on him. Hatred burned in them. The sight of them yanked a memory out of the depth of Devin’s mind when another lion shifter had stared at him. Those hazel orbs had been unfocused and hazed with pain, yet the depravity in them had been clear.
“Your sister sealed her fate. She’ll suffer for this. My pride will make sure of it.”
Devin shook his head to clear it of Edmund’s dying words. It didn’t do any good. For three centuries, they had replayed in Devin’s soul, taunting and angering him.
Reminding him of his biggest failure.
Devin slammed his forehead against the other male, knocking him back, then reversed their position. Edmund’s image superimposed over his distant relative. The male’s hair lengthened, and his lips thinned. It wasn’t real. Devin’s mind was messing with him. He recognized the signs. Couldn’t stop them. His hatred for Edmund had never abated. Devin had failed Mira. Gotten to her too late. She’d had to save herself.
A snarl tore from Devin’s throat. He gave himself over to the anger—to the guilt he could never escape—and ripped the male’s throat out. The shifter’s death didn’t ease his remorse, but the sneering laugh echoing in Devin’s head cut off. At least for the moment.
He dragged his hand across his bloody mouth. A weight landed against his back, knocking him to the ground. With his eyes closed, so as not to be pulled into another memory, Devin rolled with his attacker.
Devin’s cats supplied the sensory details to replace the loss of his vision—the male’s heartbeat betraying his rage, his scent identifying him as a Krisban and the flexing of his muscles warning of an attack. Devin took the clues his cats supplied him and acted.
With a swipe of Devin’s hand, he tore his opponent’s gut open. Another blow and the male’s growls stopped.
More males came at Devin. All met the same fate. He lost track of how many lives he took. Didn’t care, either. They meant to steal Molly. Hurt her. Just like the Krisban males had wanted to do to Mira. Their women were treated as slaves, breeders. That hadn’t changed over the three centuries since Edmund wanted to trap Mira into the role of his breeding mate. Devin knew. He kept tabs on this pride.
He pivoted on his heel to attack the last male. The other shifter’s heartbeat grew fainter. Devin glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the sound and got the rear view of the other shifter’s arms and legs pumping as the coward fled across the front lawn.
Devin took two steps after him, then stopped. The screech of squealing tires pierced the air. He turned. Taillights disappeared around the bend.
He swept his gaze over the scene of carnage. Bodies littered the ground. No sign of his friends, the human female, or Molly. He glanced toward where the expensive car had been. Gone.
He snarled, fists clenching and releasing at his sides. His anger fed the predators sharing his body until he vibrated with the effort it took to contain the three big cats he’d been born with. The animals wanted to be released. To hunt. To kill.
Colors faded from the world around him. Vertigo took hold, making the ground tilt under his feet. He stumbled and nearly fell in the blood-soaked grass.
A door slammed behind him, saving him from slipping into one of the mental episodes that had plagued him since his youth. For years, he’d hidden the blackouts, a result of time spent in the shifter prison serving Mira’s sentence. Lately, he’d had trouble keeping the episodes in check, not surprising, really. Stress and rage triggered the memories. He’d lived with both these past few months, ever since the prophecy involving Mira became a hot topic at the Shifter Council meetings. The reason given to Devin by one of the single shifters—curiosity—didn’t satisfy him.
The Council was up to something. Devin was sure of it, but he didn’t know what. That lack of knowledge had left him frustrated and tense. And the situation with Molly? Yeah, it drove him to the brink of insanity. No way would he walk away, though. He hadn’t saved Mira, but he would save Molly.
He faced the house. Kade and Xander ran toward him.
“She tricked us. There are hidden corridors in that house. We lost them,” Kade called out.
Devin pointed in the direction the car had gone with a thankfully steady hand. No need to let his pride leader know how close he’d come to losing complete control. “She took off.”
A savage grin spread over Kade’s face that didn’t match his blond-beach-bum features. “Then let’s go round us up some prey.”
That was exactly what they’d be. Devin had no mercy for anyone involved in the trafficking of shifters or humans. One question remained, though. What side did the brown-haired female fall on?
No matter what her involvement in Molly’s situation, the woman wasn’t getting away. Devin would make sure of it.