Shifters Forsaken: Shifter Romance Collection Bks 1-5

by Mia Taylor

  “You’re not neglecting me,” she insisted but Cypher knew her well enough to tell she was hiding her true feelings. He brushed a strand of red hair out of her face and studied her face closely.

  “Everything will go back to normal soon,” Cypher promised her. “You’ll see.”

  Chloe chuckled and tipped her head back.

  “What is this normal you speak of?” she teased. “I don’t think I’ve seen a normal day since I met you.”

  “Are you complaining?” he asked with mock seriousness. “Because if you want normal and boring, we can get a white board for the kitchen or something. Go sock shopping? Maybe have date night at Appleby’s?”

  “No, I am not complaining,” she replied softly. “What do I have to complain about? I’m living the dream with my soulmate. I just worry about you, Cypher. You might have abilities that make you more powerful but you’re still susceptible to the same things I am.”

  “Falling in love with a devastatingly handsome man, you mean?” Cypher teased. “A rock star, no less?”

  “Cypher, you can’t brush off my concern.” Her voice was flat.

  “Is something else bothering you, Chloe?” He could see that he was pushing her limits with his teasing. It was unlike her to be so on edge. He felt himself tense as he suspected there was more to Chloe’s words than met his ears.

  She was silent and he instinctively knew that it was about his family.

  She doesn’t want to bring it up because she knows it’s a sore subject with me, but I can’t let her wallow in it, even if I don’t agree with her.

  “Just say it, Chloe.” He braced himself for the words.

  She inhaled sharply and let the words spill from her lips quickly.

  “It’s been five years since you’ve started your search and I’m starting to think that it’s not really worth it anymore. You’ve found Briar and Vaughan. Maybe it’s time to forget about your biological mother and Ryker.”

  Cypher eyed her in disbelief. His neck stiffened.

  “How can you say that?” he demanded gruffly and Chloe rose, sensing that their intimate moment was over. “This is a process, Chloe. It took three years to find Vaughan.”

  She didn’t answer, her eyes shifting away from his face, but Cypher continued to stare at her.

  “I thought you were on board for all this.”

  “I was,” she replied quickly. “But Cypher, are we going to spend our whole lives looking for this woman? I mean, she clearly doesn’t want to be found or she would have come looking for you before this.”

  “Where is this coming from? If you felt this way, why didn’t you say so before?” he demanded, trying to keep the anger from his tone.

  “Mr. Maison? We’re going in for our landing now. Can you please secure yourselves in your seats?” The pilot appeared from the cockpit and Cypher nodded curtly.

  “Forget I said anything,” Chloe said, sinking back into her chair and fastening her seatbelt. “I’m just tired.”

  “So am I, Chloe.”

  Probably more tired than you, he thought, but of course he wasn’t stupid enough to say that out loud.

  Their eyes locked and Chloe released a long sigh.

  “Cypher, you knew Berlin and she knew you.”

  The hairs on the back of Cypher’s neck prickled.

  “What?”

  “You knew each other from before and you never said anything when we landed on Briar’s doorstep. You pretended you didn’t know each other but you did.”

  “Have you been festering about that for years?” Cypher asked in shock. She had never brought up that she had known, not even hinted at it.

  Holy shit. Women are insane with their damned elephant memories.

  “I’m asking now. Why did you lie to me?”

  “I-I didn’t lie to you, Chloe! The relationship I had with Berlin had nothing to do with you…”

  He trailed off, realizing how that sounded, and shook his head.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I know that you had been meeting with her for years and never told me about it,” Chloe conceded. “And that I had to find out about it through her and not you.”

  “It wasn’t my place to tell you her secret!” Cypher hissed defensively. “She’s a shifter just like us and I had no idea who she wanted to know about it. Why are you bringing this up now? You know everything you’re supposed to know!”

  “I feel like there is a whole lot more going on that either of us know,” she answered and there was a sadness in her face that he didn’t understand.

  “So what? You want to stop looking for Ryker and my mother now?”

  “Cypher, Briar has parents who love him. Both your brothers have women who adore them. We have a good family, all of us as it is. Why do we need to pursue this?”

  He couldn’t understand where her change of heart was coming from.

  She’s changed. She’s not the same shy girl I met at that concert what feels like a hundred years ago now. She’s harder, colder. What did that to her? Is it because she knows there are more of us out there?

  He knew the answer. It was him. He had changed her and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  All couples change, he told himself. The idea is that we grow together, not apart.

  The plane began its descent and Cypher collected his thoughts before speaking again.

  “I don’t expect you to understand,” he told her softly. “You’ve been raised with a family, even if they aren’t perfect. You have always had your siblings, your parents…”

  Again, he stopped himself from speaking, knowing that the pain of losing her parents was still somewhat fresh to her.

  “I have never felt connected to anyone like you are to Blaine and Maddison, Chloe, not until I met my brothers. So yeah, I want to know about my mom. I want to know what it’s like to call someone ‘mom’, you know? I’ve never been able to do that with anyone.”

  “I get that, I do,” Chloe insisted, her eyes clouding. “I know you think I’m being unreasonable but…”

  She took a deep breath and he waited for her to finish her thought.

  “Cypher, you and I, we’ll never move forward if your past is constantly dragging you back.”

  Cypher gritted his teeth. It wasn’t like them to argue and he knew if Chloe was rousing this after years of stewing upon it, it was weighing too heavily on her.

  What does she ask of me after all? For years she has been following me around as I tour and play. She’s been perfect, giving up her own career after graduation to be at my side. I can’t dismiss this even though I think she’s being unreasonable.

  “Why are you bringing this up now?” he finally asked. “If this has been bothering you for so long?”

  She dropped her gaze and looked at her long, pale fingers. She was silent for a long moment, lacing them to avoid speaking.

  “Chloe?”

  “I just think it’s gone on long enough.”

  “Yeah, you said that, but why?” Cypher insisted.

  “It just has.”

  Cypher was growing frustrated with the conversation and he threw up his hands. When she was like that, there was no point in trying to get through, but he had to try.

  God forbid she goes through another five years in silence.

  The wheels of the plane touched the runway and they taxied toward the airport but Cypher kept his eyes on her face, his eyes narrowing.

  “Something must have inspired this,” he insisted. “What?”

  She grunted and looked up at him, her mouth forming a thin line.

  “I didn’t want to do this here,” she sighed. “Can’t we just wait until we get home? I’d rather wait.”

  “Do what?” Panic seized him suddenly and he wondered if she was considering leaving him. “Is there someone else?”

  Shock colored her face and she laughed in surprise.

  “Of course not!” she choked. “How can you even ask that?”

 
; He could read no guile in her response but he couldn’t stop the doubt from mounting in his gut. No matter what their problems were, he had never thought for a minute that he and Chloe couldn’t work them out.

  “What is it, then? Chloe, just spit it out!” He realized he was beginning to hyperventilate in his distress.

  “Oh, wow, Cypher, just breathe. Everything’s okay, babe!”

  “Is it? IS IT?”

  “Yes!” she insisted, grabbing his fingers. “I’m pregnant!”

  He fell back against the pod and exhaled in a trembling breath. “What?”

  She raised her eyes and stared at him, nodding slowly. “I’m about eight weeks now.”

  “Oh, baby…” His voice caught in his throat. “That’s amazing news.”

  “Is it?” she asked dully. “It seems to just complicate things, doesn’t it? It’ll just be one more thing on your already overflowing plate.”

  He shook his head and leaned forward to grab her hands. They were still buckled in but their fingertips touched as their eyes locked.

  “No,” he said firmly. “Don’t look at it like that. It brings our family closer together.”

  But he understood then why she was pushing for him to slow down and shame flooded him. She had been subtly trying to explain that she needed him and he was too bullheaded to listen.

  “Chloe, look at me,” he pleaded. “You have my full support throughout this pregnancy and all through parenthood. I hope you know that.”

  She nodded but Cypher could see the doubt in her eyes.

  “Have I ever let you down?” he insisted and she shook her head without hesitation.

  “No, of course not,” she replied quickly. “You just have so much going on now, Cypher.”

  “Well, then, I guess I’m going to have to make room for the most important things, aren’t I?”

  She eyed him warily. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. You have always been and always will be my first priority. So we put the search for Ryker and my biological mom on hold for a while. Yours and the baby’s health are paramount.”

  Relief flooded her face and Chloe exhaled.

  “I feel like a nagging shrew,” she muttered. “I’ve just been so worried—”

  “You’re a mother-to-be,” Cypher told her firmly. “It is your job to be a nagging shrew now.”

  “That’s the most sexist thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Oh, then just you wait. I’ve got way better ones!” Cypher assured her. Chloe scowled and Cypher laughed, unbuckling his seatbelt to scoop his wife into his arms.

  “We’re going to be parents,” he murmured. “How amazing is that?”

  “How do you think Briar and Vaughan are going to take it when we tell them we’re dropping out of the search for a while?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Cypher insisted but even as he said it, he knew he was lying to himself. It did matter. He knew he wouldn’t rest until he found the rest of his family.

  But it will have to wait. Chloe is your priority. Ryker and Fallon can wait. It’s already been three and a half decades. What’s another seven months?

  Chapter Two

  Thirty-Five Years Ago: Fallon

  Five thousand dollars. That’s what Beatrice had given her.

  It was true that Fallon had seen much more money than that since marrying Daniel but in that moment, it seemed like millions and she tucked it into her purse. And Fallon knew exactly what she intended to do with it.

  She didn’t have to look around—she knew instinctively that she was being followed. It was a well-honed instinct she’d held onto since being homeless. It was easy to know when other people were watching her every move.

  But it was not a thief looking to steal her purse or a kid up to no good. No, there was someone else following her, no one she could see, but he was close enough that Fallon could feel him.

  Beatrice had not set her free out of the goodness of her heart. Fallon was no fool, not any more.

  My wisdom came too late. I am enlightened now and left with nothing. My sons are gone. My reasons for living.

  She couldn’t dwell on all she had lost. She could only struggle to get through the next days and resist all urge to run back to her children as she so desperately wanted to do.

  “May I help you?” the receptionist stared at her and Fallon realized she had been standing in the lobby, staring blankly into space for several minutes.

  “Uh… yes,” she squeaked. “I need to make an emergency appointment with Dr. Philips.”

  “Are you a patient here, ma’am?” The clipped tone told Fallon that she already suspected the answer.

  Fallon shook her dark head of hair.

  “No. But it’s an emergency,” she said again, in case the prim woman before her had missed it the first time.

  “I’m afraid Dr. Philips isn’t accepting any new patients at this time.”

  “I don’t care!” Fallon insisted. “Please… can I just speak to him for a minute?”

  The blonde behind the desk looked taken aback by her outburst, blue eyes narrowing.

  “That’s impossible,” she said curtly. “And please lower your voice. May I suggest you call in the future before embarrassing yourself?”

  But Fallon couldn’t rein in her emotions. Everything was mounting like a pressure cooker in her mind and snapping was inevitable.

  The half dozen people in the waiting room were watching the drama unfold with unbridled interest.

  “What will it take?” Fallon pleaded. “I have money—”

  “What is going on out here?” A distinguished man in his late forties exited the rear hallway, his brow crunched behind his wire-rimmed glasses. “I can hear you all the way into the back!”

  “Everything is fine, Dr. Philips. I was just about to call security and have this woman removed—”

  “Dr. Philips!” Fallon breathed, hurrying toward the man. “Please, may I have two minutes of your time? Please!”

  The man opened his mouth and Fallon could read the refusal ready to spring from his lips but something seemed to stop him short as he stared into her face.

  “Ma’am, you can’t just burst in here and cause a scene,” he told her softly. “Make an appointment if you want to see me.”

  “I was trying!” Fallon protested miserably. Tears welled in her eyes but she blinked them away furiously.

  “What’s the problem, then?”

  “She says you’re not accepting new patients.”

  Dr. Philips stared at her impassively. “I can’t prescribe you any drugs here, Miss.”

  “D-drugs?” Fallon sputtered. “I don’t want drugs! I need to speak with you!”

  They stared at one another for a long moment and he hung his head heavily, perhaps under the intense pressure of the eyes of the other patients in the waiting room. He turned to the receptionist.

  “Katia, can you please schedule her in on my lunch break,” the doctor told his receptionist. He looked at Fallon.

  “I’m in the middle of a session right now. You’re going to have to come back in a few hours, ma’am. Preferably making much less noise.”

  Fallon nodded eagerly. “I can do that,” she agreed gratefully. “Thank you, doctor. Thank you.”

  His eyes remained narrowed. “Don’t thank me yet. I’m not sure if I can help you.”

  “You can,” Fallon told him firmly. “You might be the only one in Ashbridge who can.”

  ~ ~ ~

  At twelve noon, Fallon was back in the lobby of the office. Katia was not at the desk and no patients waited but she took a seat on the edge of one of the simple leather chairs and waited anxiously.

  Did he forget about me? God, I hope not.

  She’d spent hours wandering through Ashbridge, pausing outside the coffee shop where she had first run into Beatrice after years of living on the street.

  Shivers spilled down her spine as the rain trickled beneath the collar of her thin jacket. She ran for cover under an awning of a coffee
shop, knowing that it would give her little reprieve from the weather but it was a temporary fix.

  Just like everything in my life—a temporary fix, Fallon thought grimly.

  Long, matted strands of hair plastered against her face and she reached a dirty hand through the mass to clear her vision, her chocolate eyes darting about as if she expected someone to venture from the storefront and chase her away.

  It had happened before, after all. She did not expect that it would be long before someone either called the police or tried to bully her away from the windows. She wasn’t good for business in her hole-littered clothes and tangled hair. No one wanted to snack on a scone while thinking about the too-skinny homeless woman on the other side of the glass.

  She peered toward her reflection, hoping that maybe the acne-faced barista was working. Sometimes he took pity on her and brought her a coffee and bagel but only if his manager wasn’t looking. On the other hand, if he wasn’t and the shrill blonde was behind the counter…

  Her cheeks flushed with humiliation as she remembered the last encounter she’d had with the woman. It shocked her that people could treat one another so inhumanely.

  We all live on the same planet, the brunette thought mournfully. How can we be so cruel to one another?

  “Fallon?”

  She whirled at the sound of her name, leaning away from the woman as if she was a feral cat and the exquisitely dressed woman was doing her harm merely by uttering a single word. But what a word to say! How long had it been since she’d heard someone call her by her real name?

  “Fallon Rusholm! I can’t believe it!”

  Her mouth parted slightly as she tried to place the tall redhead with sparkling emerald eyes.

  Where have I seen her before?

  “It’s me—Beatrice Wexley. From Pierpont High. Go Stingrays, right?”

  Fallon still could not find words, possibly because they were logged in the depth of her throat or maybe because she couldn’t understand how Bea Wexley was standing on a sodden sidewalk in downtown Ashbridge, striking up a conversation with someone that anyone could plainly see was homeless. They had nothing in common, not anymore. It was hard to reconcile they had ever shared a lunch table, let alone a conversation.