Stray Cats [High-Country Shifters 2]
Page 1
High-Country Shifters 2
Stray Cats
Hunky security experts Will and Gage Anderson meet the tall, toned, and adventurous Sella on a ski vacation in Spirit, Colorado, and are immediately drawn to her in a way they don’t understand. When she tells them they are lion shifters, they don’t believe her. The preposterous idea intrigues Will, but Gage wants nothing to do with this potentially life-altering event.
Their skepticism is put to rest when Sella’s friends teach them to shift. Will and Gage are soon called upon to use their enhanced abilities to fight off a large group of enemy wolf shifters. Sella sees the men’s instinctive, selfless bravery tested in the heat of battle and insists on taking them to Anterra to heal their wounds. How can they keep both the loving ménage relationship they have with Sella and their rich lifestyle they’ve worked so hard to create in Miami?
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 47,672 words
STRAY CATS
High-Country Shifters 2
Melody Snow Monroe
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
STRAY CATS
Copyright © 2012 by Melody Snow Monroe
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-523-6
First E-book Publication: November 2012
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
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STRAY CATS
High-Country Shifters 2
MELODY SNOW MONROE
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Will grinned. “First one to reach the bottom buys.” His eyes had that devil-may-care attitude that Gage feared could get his brother killed.
Gage Anderson shook his head at his twin. “These snowmobiles aren’t the same as an ATV or our WaveRunners. You crash and it’s going to hurt a hell of a lot worse than hitting water.” They were Miami boys and only came skiing for two weeks a year in Spirit, Colorado.
In fact, this was the first time either of them had ever driven a snowmobile, and it had disaster written all over it.
Will shrugged. “The guy showed us how to use it. It’s not rocket science.”
Will would never listen. “Just stay away from the moguls.”
His twin dropped his head back and laughed. “On the count of three.”
Jesus. He prayed he didn’t have to scrape him off the snow halfway down the hill.
“One, two.” Will revved the engine. “Three.”
As Gage shoved off, the cold air froze his nostril hairs and nearly iced his lungs, but he loved every clean breath. Adrenaline sliced through his veins in a good way. This was nothing like the bad adrenaline rush of having bullets fly at him or jumping out of a plane that was about to go down. No. This made him know he was alive.
The snowmobile tipped to the right. Whoa. Gage compensated by leaning to the left. As he zigzagged his way down the slope, he avoided all the moguls while keeping an eye on his crazy brother.
Will soared over one of the mounds. Oh, shit. Gage slowed and held his breath until his brother landed safely.
Fuck. That cost Gage valuable seconds.
More determined than ever to win, he chanced going straighter. Once he got the hang of the powerful machine, he realized Will was right. This baby was basically a cross between an ATV and their watercraft.
No one else was on this slope, so at least no bystander would get injured if Will did some daring stunt. As he neared the bottom he turned up the throttle. Will jumped the last mogul, landed, and came straight at him. While Gage couldn’t hear Will’s laugh, from the way his mouth was open, that’s what he was doing.
Both reached the bottom at the same time. Damn. He should have won decisively since he didn’t spend time in the air. Each pulled to a stop. His pulse raced, feeling more alive than he had in a while. Running a company wasn’t the thrill he’d imagined when he started Anderson Security.
Will put his machine in idle. “I guess we’ll have to do this again on skis to see who wins.”
The joy on Will’s face invigorated him. Maybe they both needed this vacation more than he thought.
* * * *
“What do you miss most about Earth?” Sella so loved her visits with her new sister-in-law.
Lara shrugged. “I guess my friends.”
Lara had had the chance to be a big star in the movies, but she had turned down the opportunity after she’d stumbled through an alignment point that connected their two alternate realities. “You don’t regret not being a star?”
Lara’s mouth opened then closed. “Somewhat, but being with Taryn and Kellum has given me a whole new meaning of life.” She patted her slightly bulging belly. “This, too, gives me a much better opportunity to be happy than spending three months in Monaco on a film set.”
“Mom is going to go crazy when her first grandchild is born.” She looked up to the ceiling. “Let me amend that. Mom is already going crazy. It’s all she tal
ks about.”
Lara crossed her fingers, an action that seemed strange to Sella even after she’d explained what it meant. “I’m praying it’s a girl. I know nothing about raising a lion shifter.”
“It’s not that hard.” Not that she had any experience, but she was a few years older than Taryn and Kellum, and though they’d been hell-raisers, they’d grown up to be fine men. She figured causing trouble was the nature of the beast. “You know my brothers will do all the work when it comes to taking care of the baby. They’re so excited.” They’d already talked about redecorating one of the guest rooms for the new addition.
“I know.” Lara leaned forward. “To answer your question about what I miss the most, I think I might miss sonograms and seeing my baby move and grow.”
“I know you explained how the instrument was able to see inside of you, but we have devices that can determine the sex.”
“I know, but right now if I can’t see the baby move around, I want to be surprised.”
“I guess that would be kind of fun.”
Lara leaned back against the seat. “If you’re so interested in what my life was like on earth, why don’t you see Spirit firsthand?”
She’d dreamed about the adventure for a long time. “If Taryn or Kellum found out, they’d probably tie me to a tree and leave me for the wolves to find.”
Her mouth opened. “My husbands would do no such thing.”
She rolled her eyes, something else she’d learned from Lara. “To you, maybe. It’s not really safe for a woman to go over to the other side alone. I’ve seen cars only on television. I’m afraid I won’t be paying attention and get hit.”
“That’s not likely. There’s basically one main street in Spirit, and people don’t zoom down the streets. Think of the experience you’d get.” She slapped her thighs. “I think you should go to Spirit. Absolutely. It would be good for you.”
“Easier said than done. I need some shifters to find the alignment point for me.” If there was one talent she wished women possessed, it would be to find that damned elusive place by herself.
“You don’t think Malik and Cavon would do that for you?”
They had been her best friends forever. “Maybe.” Malik was a loose cannon. Sometimes she had a hard time even convincing him to stay in his human form. If he had his way, he’d run around all day, catching his own prey and not even addressing his human half.
Lara stood. “Come with me. It’s cold right now in Spirit. There’s snow on the ground, but I have some gear you could borrow.”
Her pulse raced. It was like Lara had taken the decision out of her hands. Getting a chance like this charged her up like nothing had in a long time. She followed her down the hallway. Lara dragged out a box from a closet and opened it.
“See if any of these clothes fit. I certainly won’t be getting into any of them in the near future. You’ll need boots, long pants, a jacket, gloves, and above all, a shirt. Remember, the humans aren’t as uninhibited as the Anterrans are.”
Sella wouldn’t have labeled being practical the same thing as being uninhibited, but she didn’t want to get into a discussion of semantics. “I know. TV is very instructive.”
Lara chuckled. “Go try on some of these clothes.”
For the next half hour, Sella pulled on one outfit after another. “I can’t imagine wearing so many layers at once.” She was already sweating from putting them on and taking them off. Good thing they were more or less the same size, except she was three inches taller than Lara. The only issue came when she put on the pants.
“Remember, it’s cold. Your blood is probably thin from living in this temperate climate.”
“I’ve been up in the mountains, so I understand cold.”
“Good.” Once she removed the outer gear, Lara brought in a trash bag. “I hope you can carry all of this.”
“I’m thinking I’ll hide the bag in the woods and change right before I cross over.” She carried the bag down the hallway.
Lara went back to the kitchen and poured another glass of water. “You want something to drink?”
“No. Do you think my brothers know that Malik and Cavon go to Spirit on a regular basis?” She prayed their devil-may-care attitudes wouldn’t be the death of them.
She laughed. “Taryn and Kellum are head of security. They better know everything that is going on in this world.” She held up a finger. “If you do manage to make it to Spirit, you’ll need some money.”
Lara disappeared again but returned quickly. “Here’s my credit card, along with a number for a padlock that houses more money and clothes. Oh, yeah.” She dug in her pocket again. “Here’s my driver’s license. We kind of look alike, but you’ll have to say you highlight your hair now.”
Three inches wasn’t exactly the same height, and she had dark-blonde hair compared to Lara’s brown locks. This was getting more complicated every second, but she was determined to give it a try. She hugged Lara. “Thank you.” She wasn’t sure what else to say.
Am I really going to do this?
She so wanted to go.
“You’ll need a place to stay. I’ll write you a note for Amy Thornton. She’s the manager at the High-Country Inn. She’ll fix you up. If you want to experience human living, perhaps you could get a job at a shoe store.”
All Sella sold at her store were sandals and an occasional hiking boot. It might be a disaster if she had to talk about the differences in the hiking boots. “I used to bartend. That might be a better job.” She didn’t know if the drinks were the same, but perhaps she could carry the drinks from the bar to the tables instead of mixing them.
Lara grinned. “That’s perfect.”
With her housing issue most likely solved, this adventure was taking shape nicely.
“Not that I don’t love having you visit, but I’m anticipating your brothers returning any moment. If you want to go undetected, you might want to leave now.”
Sella hugged her good-bye. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”
“Just stay safe.”
Sella picked up the bag of clothes and headed to the front door. Once she opened it, she looked around the forest. She didn’t sense the men were anywhere near, so she stepped onto the elevator platform and went down to ground level.
Knowing exactly where she was going to stash her goods, she headed off to the site. There was a small cave on the edge of lion territory that she bet no one would find. She rarely wandered this far without a male escort, but desperate times called for desperate measures. When she reached the cave without incident, her blood pressure lowered. She hadn’t realized how tense she’d been. To make sure she was alone, she’d constantly scanned the area for wolves but detected none. After she put the bag in the cave, she placed some downed branches over the top to better hide it. If it came time to cross through the point and her clothes were gone, she would freeze to death.
Not wanting to stay here any longer than necessary, she eased out of the cave, checking once more for unwanted creatures. She had a phobia about snakes, but those creatures could be anywhere. Real wolves didn’t bother her half as much as the stupid shifter wolves, as they were downright mean. She was still in lion territory, so the wolves better leave her alone.
She hadn’t gone more than a hundred feet when the hair on the back of her neck prickled.
Shit. They’re near.
Running would only encourage real wolves, but from the way her stomach was churning, these were those damned shifters. As she continued toward her home, her sixth sense picked up more intense vibrations. These were definitely shifter wolves, and they were getting close. She spun around and tried to spot them. Nothing moved, not even the leaves on the trees.
Growing up she’d been taught one thing. Wolves couldn’t climb trees, but she sure could. If they wanted to get her, they’d have to shift. At least then she might be able to reason with them. Her rueful chuckle came out too loud. Who was she kidding? Wolves never listened to reason.<
br />
Many of the trees were pines, which wouldn’t hold her weight, but the oaks were made for climbing. She spotted the perfect tree fifty feet away. Keeping an even stride, she made it to the tree just as she heard the growls. Crap. Her heart skipped a beat despite knowing that if they smelled fear, they’d attack faster.
Inhale then exhale. Stay calm.
The lowest branch was above her head. She crouched then jumped up and grabbed the limb. The best she could do was swing her legs up and thread them between her arms. While the wolves might not be able to reach her hanging upside down, this wasn’t a position she wanted to find herself in. Why did she have to stash her gear this close to wolf territory? Dumb, dumb, dumb.
She bet she could have left her stuff with Malik and Cavon, but she hadn’t thought of that. Until Lara arrived in Anterra, her wanderlust hadn’t been overly strong. It was too late now for a do-over. She was up a tree with nowhere to go.
After inching her way toward the trunk, she strained her stomach muscles to help pull her upper body to a point where she could grab the next branch. Got it. Out of breath, she waited until her legs were steady enough, and willing enough, to stand up on the branch so she could climb higher.
Growls resonated all around her. Skelak. The wolves had arrived. She glanced down through the leaves at their upturned faces. Their brown eyes confirmed they were shifters. Regular wolves didn’t scare her, but if any of these really wanted her, all he had to do was shift into a man and climb after her.
“Go away.” She had a few more choice words she wanted to toss at them, but she kept those to herself. No need to incite any of them further.