by Dana Archer
My gaze strays to the tents set up in the park where the coward who targeted her met his end. Commercial heaters warm the space where people are gathered, and tables are set up with covered takeout plates to be enjoyed here or elsewhere. There’s another table with more to-go plates, along with bags stuffed full of packaged foods and personal hygiene supplies.
People—both shifter and human—have been slipping through there, sometimes grabbing several bags and hightailing it out of here without even wishing Lyla and Uri well. Sam and Colin have simply put out more bags without batting an eye at the rudeness while Lyla and Uri chat with whoever is decent enough to stop and talk.
Me? I can’t stop staring at the male who stole my pride mate.
As if Bryon feels my glare, he brushes the ponytail of braided hair from his shoulder and glances back at me. “What?”
Although my twin suggested I leave things alone, Rafe is not the one who has to worry about every member of the Alexander pride, including the ones who are scattered across the world. Or the one who is no longer joined to our family’s spirit. I do. That’s my job as alpha.
I make my way to where Bryon is waiting near the makeshift dance floor for the father-daughter dance. Since Bryon gave Lyla away, he gets this honor too.
It should’ve been mine.
Angling my body so Uri can’t see my mouth move, I address his new alpha in a low tone Uri would have to strain to hear over the music and many conversations around us. “You realize you need to change how and where you live, don’t you?”
“Do I?” Bryon’s lips quiver as if he’s fighting a laugh. “And why is that?”
“Living on the streets is no longer acceptable. You are now responsible for my cousin and his true mate.” Because even though I’ve offered to rejoin Uri and Lyla to the Alexander pride, they’ve refused.
“I’ve done quite well living on the streets for centuries. I don’t see what the issue is with my living arrangements or how they affect Uri and Lyla. They’ve bought a nice little home in the city not far from here.”
“Our enemies have been targeting alphas.” I step closer to Bryon and breathe in the scent of evergreen with my harsh inhales. The soothing smell clinging to Bryon does little to soothe my anger. “Their family spirits are being ripped from them and given to single shifters. If that happens to you, Uri and Lyla will die.”
“No witch, warlock, or shaman would dare touch me.” Bryon’s calm tone smacks my fury back at me.
“Because you’re cursed.” I never believed the rumors spread about Bryon. I won’t start doing so now.
“Because I’d devour them.” Bryon grins, showing off the tips of fangs. “Anyone who even remotely dabbles in the dark arts would sense the danger I pose to them.”
“And do you pose a danger to Uri or Lyla?” Because I’ll figure out a way to steal them back, even if I have to embrace my shamanic heritage just as my little sister has.
Bryon shakes his head. “They are clan. Family. You know how it is. Family takes care of each other.”
“Which is why I want to ensure Uri and Lyla will be safe under your watch. They’re my family. Doesn’t matter if they’re tied to you. They’ll always be Alexanders.”
“Then your pride has earned itself another protector in the Murphy clan.” Bryon pats my back as he walks away from me. “Stop by my street sometime, Kade Alexander. We can chat.”
On a grunted curse, I step after him. Uri grabs my shoulder. “I’ve been trying to get you alone all night. I may have found something in Cedric’s files you’ll find interesting.”
Jaw tight, I force myself to turn my back on the homeless alpha who doesn’t understand the lengths an Alexander will go to to keep his family safe, and take in the image of a male who does get that facet of the Alexander pride’s values. “What?”
“Cedric’s file has a list of his surviving siblings. So I did a little research on them, thinking they too might be involved in the distribution of Elixir. Cedric’s twin is Theo Yuran, a kindergarten teacher living near the Jager pack lands, and their youngest brother is Vince Catania, a barely mature male who’s incarcerated for assault and other charges. Vince’s name rang a bell, so I dug a little deeper.”
Every inch of my body tenses with the mention of the man who’s in prison for what happened to Zoe Conway, my beloved human and the woman I can’t stop thinking about.
“The same Vince who was responsible for Zoe losing her baby?” And for killing the human male Zoe claims was her true love.
“Yes, that male.” Uri nods. “But a jury of his peers found him not guilty in any charges associated with the attack on Zoe Conway or the death of her fiancé.”
“Peers?” I lower my voice more. “He was tried as a human and sentenced as a human. Those who sat on that jury were not his peers.”
“True. As an adopted shifter, his shifter status was never revealed during the trial, which is why his case is set to go before the Shifter Council later this month for a retrial.”
And that means I need to have a little talk with Anton Alexander, our sitting council member who happens to be the eldest. “Get me that file on Vince.”
“I don’t have access to it. As a juvenile, his file was sealed.”
Hands clenched, I fight the anger slithering through me. With a park full of innocents close by, I can’t let my control slip. “Then I’ll get Ella to unseal it.”
“She won’t be able to do that. It’s got a higher-level security clearance than she has.”
“Then, I’ll—”
“Take the piece of information I found and hopefully reconnect with your lost human.”
“How?” There’s hope in my voice. Maybe desperation.
Uri retrieves a folded piece of paper from his tux pocket and holds it out. “Shifter Affairs has a database of humans associated with shifter-related crimes whether or not they knew they were involved with our world.”
“Zoe was listed in this database. Is that what you’re telling me?” A database I’ve had access to since signing on with Shifter Affairs, except I didn’t know I’d find my lead in there. Nobody informed me Vince Catania was a shifter.
Uri dips his head. “She updated her contact information less than a month ago.”
I pluck the folded paper from between Uri’s fingers and open the lined sheet. “Her phone number.”
“I didn’t call it, but a search shows it as active.”
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me. You’re—”
“Family.” Lyla finishes her mate’s sentence, then steps next to him and loops her arm around his waist. “And family helps each other.”
“Yes, it does.” Uri brushes his lips over hers. “Even if love and friendship are the only ties family members can claim.”
Lyla smiles at her mate. “They want to start the dances. Me and Bryon, then you and me. Are you ready? Or do you want us to start without you?”
“You’re not leaving me behind, baby.”
She steps away and holds out her hand. “Then let’s head to the dance floor together.”
Uri takes her hand, then glances at me. “There’ll be a video, and we’ll save you a plate of food. Thank you for coming out, Kade.”
I nod my appreciation, then head deeper into the park once the music starts, in search of the best phone reception. I find it in a deserted children’s play area. I lean my ass against the metal merry-go-round and dial.
Blaring rock music fills the line along with Zoe’s curse. “Hold on a sec.”
The music fades with the slamming of a door. “Yeah?”
I open my mouth, but after so many months of searching, I don’t know what to say to this woman I was obligated to claim and now crave more than any other.
“Hello? Anyone there?” Zoe says in a singsong voice that speaks of her annoyance.
“Zoe.” Her name is all I can manage with my dry mouth.
A long moment of silence passes before she clears her throat
. “Kade? Is that you?”
“Yes.” I wet my lips. “Are you safe?”
“I’m taking care of myself.” Zoe coughs, a muffled sound that comes off as nervous. “How’s Mira?”
The woman Zoe assumed I was going to mate. The woman Zoe assumed would bear my children. The woman Zoe skipped town because of.
“Mated to your brother and ready to have his babies.”
The silence stretches for so long, I’d assume Zoe hung up if it wasn’t for the sound of her breathing on the line. Finally, she exhales loudly. “Is she healthy? Are the babies healthy?”
After losing her unborn child, I’m not all that surprised at Zoe’s question or the pain in her voice. “All good. They’re having a baby shower next Sunday at the Black Widow. It starts at two.”
“I’m working. I’ll send a card or something.” Her words are rushed.
“Where are you working?” All I need is a name. I’ll find the place, then convince my beloved human to come back home where she belongs.
“A bar.”
“Where?” My growled demand that Zoe obey me gives the word a dangerous inflection.
“None of your business.”
“It is. You are.” My chest heaves with my harsh pants and the air around me heats, turning the snowflakes into light rain, as my control slips. “Tell me where you are.”
“No.”
There’s anger in Zoe’s voice. It incites mine. “You don’t have the right to say that word to me. You’re my beloved human.”
“And you’re my pretty kitty.”
If I could see Zoe, there’d likely be an amused smile on her face. “This isn’t a game. Tell me where you are. You’re in danger. I have enemies. Once they smell my claim on you, they’ll target you.”
“And you’re annoying me. Go back to whoever’s currently warming your bed and leave me alone.”
“My bed is empty. Freaking cold.” And waking up day after day reaching for a woman who spent one night there and didn’t even make me come has pushed me to the edge. Of what, I have no clue, but I’m ready to snap. “And it’s been empty since you left it.”
“Yeah? Do you prefer to take your lovers in their beds and walk away from them?”
“I haven’t been with anyone since you.”
“Sorry to break it to you, buddy, but a little kissing doesn’t qualify as being together.”
And she’s right. Too bad my body thinks otherwise. “There’re a few misunderstandings between us. Tell me where you are, and I’ll do my best to correct those assumptions that are not based on fact.”
“Oh? Are you saying your poor little human didn’t—”
“Zoe.” This time, the sound of her name on my lips carries a primitive tone, reflecting my need for this woman. I have to get her body under mine. Just once. I’ll go mad if I don’t. “Come home to me.”
“Why?”
My body stirs with the lust-hazed inflection in her voice. “I want you back in my bed.”
“How does it feel to want and know you’ll never get it?”
“All I have to do is trace your number. Shifter Affairs can do that for me. Once they do, I’ll come for you.”
“And all I have to do is ditch this phone and take off.” Zoe’s threat is as calmly delivered as mine.
“I know. That’s why I’m talking to you.” She has to willingly accept me into her life. I won’t risk losing this woman again.
A mumbled voice in the background tells Zoe to get back to work. She sighs. “I’ve got to go. Dishes don’t wash themselves, you know.”
“Come home to me.”
“Not for you.”
“Then for your soon-to-be-born niece and nephews. Triplets. Your brother and Mira are having triplets.”
“Maybe.”
The line cuts, and I step away from the merry-go-round, spinning the base fast enough, the whine of metal cuts through the air. Deep breaths do little to soothe my temper, but the knowledge I’ve most likely lured my beloved human home takes the sting off. Zoe will come to meet her niece and nephews. Then I’ll make sure she never leaves me again.
The series continues with Kade.
Kade
Shifter World: Agents of Shifter Affairs, book 4
by Dana Archer
He thinks we’re destined to be together. I think he’s crazy.
Ideally, I’ll get justice for my family and leave my pain behind, sans soul mate. But the past has a way of digging its claws in…
Zoe
All I wanted when I came home was to see my brother, Josh, and his mate, Mira. If only things were that simple.
I’m called the “beloved human” of Kade, the alluring golden-eyed leader of the Royal Alexander pride. Its members consider me his possession. I avoid thinking too hard about what that means by teasing him mercilessly. Did I mention I borrowed his prize car and skipped town when I thought he was being a jerk to one of his pride mates?
Since I’ve returned, I’ve had bigger problems. My nightmares are back, stronger than ever, and they’re starting to bleed into the real world. To make them stop, I have to discover the truth behind the attack that cost me my baby and my fiancé. Their deaths need justice. And I need my revenge.
Kade
Ever since I healed Zoe, the human sister-in-law of one of my pride mates, she’s been my responsibility in the group to handle—and to control. I never asked to claim her, and I didn’t want to.
Until now.
She’s the one. My true mate. I’ve known it ever since she returned to the pride, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Other shifters are making bets on how soon I’ll lose my title, and fears from a prophecy about Josh and Mira’s children have made our group a target.
I’ll do anything to protect Zoe, to ensure our pride is a safe place for the future we could have together. All that’s left is to convince her—and to prevent my enemies from claiming what’s mine.
NOTE: This is the Paranormal Suspense (clean/tame) version of Possessed (by the Alpha) by Nancy Corrigan (Dana Archer’s mainstream fiction pen name)
Read an excerpt:
Zoe
“All we got left is fox piss.” The guy in a lumberjack flannel glances over his shoulder. “You want that? Otherwise, I got more cover scents coming next week.”
“Ugh…sure.” Nose scrunched, I slap a twenty on the counter. Hiding from predators is messing with my beauty regimen, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
Being a shifter’s property sucks. Big-time. Knowing my new life goal is to trigger my “owner” makes up for it.
Lumberjack guy hands over a small paper bag and my change. “This weekend is supposed to be the warmest on record for the end of February. Your man gonna enjoy it by doing a little hunting?”
A twisted chuckle escapes me. I pocket the money without meeting the guy’s eyes or trying to figure out where I saw them before. “Maybe. He won’t be getting anything, unfortunately.”
“Don’t he know anything ’bout hunting?”
“Oh, he’s an expert.” I just don’t plan on allowing Kade Alexander to capture me, even if the mighty Royal pride leader finds me. Unless he locks me up, escaping is as easy as walking out the door. He’s too honorable to stop me. He proved that the night I would’ve drowned my sorrows in him. His decency irritated me when all I wanted was to get lost in sex, but that’s Kade. He’s all about honor when it suits him. Sleeping with his obligatory human possession would’ve complicated things and been bad for his image.
“Well, don’t be too hard on him. Hunting around here ain’t good these days. I blame that damn wolf reintroduction program. Too many predators getting all the deer and shit now. Or scaring them off. Ain’t just us here in West Virginia either. Up in Ohio, my cousins got the same problem and the same damn reintroduction program. Freakin’ predators all over the woods there too. Not for long. A group of us are gonna start hunting them. We’re gonna make ’em fear us. If your man wants to join in, send him over.”
A shiver of unease slithers over me. Only immortal Royal shifters can take a bullet and walk away without a scratch. They only have to worry about losing their heads or hearts. Single shifters, on the other hand, possess one animal, not three, and are long-lived, not immortal. For a single shifter, a gunshot might very well end their life, and there are a lot of single shifters who call this neck of the country, home. “When are you planning on going out?”
“After it snows again. Your man got time to join in on the fun? We’re scouting the woods now, trying to figure out what areas they’re favoring and where they’re hunkering down. Seems like they’re all over the damn place.”
“I’ll tell him.” I swallow against the dryness in my throat and hurry to the door, but I don’t step out.
Another car is parked next to mine. Well, technically the black muscle car belongs to my “owner,” but it’s mine now. At least temporarily. Possession is nine-tenths of the law. Besides, I’ve decided this car is payback for messing with what little sanity I have left.
A black man climbs out of the other car. A huge black man with muscle upon muscle, a hard cut to his jaw, and skin so dark, it almost carries a purplish hue. He takes in the ’Cuda, sweeping his gaze over the muscle car I spent all morning washing and waxing, with the same appreciative admiration most guys exhibit when they happen upon Kade’s car until they realize it’s being driven by a girl. Then they get all condescending, assuming I can’t handle what’s under the hood.
Huffing, I cross my arms, the paper bag crinkling in my fisted grip, as he hunkers down to inspect the silver—bug-free and gleaming—grille. “It’s a ’71 Plymouth Barracuda with a HEMI, and it was restored less than a year ago with custom detailing, modern security, and a kick-ass sound system.”
Without taking his eyes off the car, he skims a finger over the glossy black paint. “It’s a beauty.”
“Thanks. I love my car.” I lean against the shop’s doorjamb. His haughty look should be coming any second now.