Craved by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates Shifter Romance Series Book 4)

by Felicity Heaton

  Craved by her Cougar

  Felicity Heaton

  Craved by her Cougar

  For the last twenty years, Cobalt has burned with a need of one female, a beautiful raven-haired cougar who captured his heart the moment he set eyes on her. His position as pride protector has been a blessing at past mating gatherings, keeping females away, but this time it feels like the worst of curses, because the female who has bewitched him so thoroughly is taking part for the first time and all he can do is watch as males battle for her.

  As much as she hates the way her mother controls everything in her life, Ember is thankful for it as she constantly turns away suitors, unaware of the pain she’s sparing Ember from with every male she rejects. Every male who isn’t the gorgeous blond with darkness in his eyes and an easy smile she burns for with an intensity that scares her, awakens feelings in her that have her verging on doing something reckless. Damaged goods he might be, dangerous and unpredictable, but with every contest over her that pulls her closer to her doom, she grows more determined to follow her heart, no matter the consequences.

  With every fight over the right to Ember, the tethers on Cobalt’s feelings twist and threaten to snap, a torment he cannot bear and one that has him willing to risk it all, because a single kiss would make even the harshest punishment worth it. He would die for one moment with her… his fated mate.

  OTHER PARANORMAL ROMANCE BOOKS BY FELICITY HEATON

  Stories in the Cougar Creek Mates romance series

  Book 1: Claimed by her Cougar

  Book 2: Captured by her Cougar

  Book 3: Courted by her Cougar

  Book 4: Craved by her Cougar

  Stories in the Eternal Mates romance series

  Book 1: Kissed by a Dark Prince

  Book 2: Claimed by a Demon King

  Book 3: Tempted by a Rogue Prince

  Book 4: Hunted by a Jaguar

  Book 5: Craved by an Alpha

  Book 6: Bitten by a Hellcat

  Book 7: Taken by a Dragon

  Book 8: Marked by an Assassin

  Book 9: Possessed by a Dark Warrior

  Book 10: Awakened by a Demoness

  Book 11: Haunted by the King of Death

  Book 12: Turned by a Tiger

  Book 13: Tamed by a Tiger

  Book 14: Treasured by a Tiger

  Book 15: Unchained by a Forbidden Love

  Stories in the Guardians of Hades romance series

  Book 1: Ares

  Book 2: Valen

  Book 3: Esher

  Stories in the Vampire Erotic Theatre romance series

  Book 1: Covet

  Book 2: Crave

  Book 3: Seduce

  Book 4: Enslave

  Book 5: Bewitch

  Book 6: Unleash

  Stories in the Vampires Realm romance series

  Book 1: Prophecy: Child of Light

  Book 2: Prophecy: Caelestis & Aurorea

  Book 3: Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising

  Book 3.1: Spellbound

  Book 3.5: Reunion

  Book 4: Seventh Circle

  Book 5: Winter's Kiss

  Book 6: Hunter's Moon

  Book 7: Masquerade

  Book 8: Hunger

  Books 1-3 are also available in one anthology ebook: Prophecy Trilogy

  Stories in the In Heat romance series

  Book 1: In Heat

  Book 2: In Heat: Mating Call

  Discover more available paranormal romance books at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk

  Or sign up to Felicity's mailing list to learn about new titles, be eligible for special subscriber-only giveaways, and read exclusive content: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/newsletter.php

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Turned by a Tiger - Preview

  About the Author

  Paranormal Romance Books by Felicity Heaton

  Copyright

  CHAPTER 1

  Cobalt’s heavy black boots chewed up the loose gravel at the edge of the river where he had been wearing a trench since ending his shift six hours ago, pacing relentlessly through the night as he wrestled with himself.

  He should have spoken to Rath when he had arrived at Cougar Creek weeks ago, shouldn’t have let it go this long without talking to his older brother. Now, it was getting harder and harder to find the right moment, or even the right words, or the damned courage to tell him what had happened, even when he needed the advice.

  He needed to unburden his shoulders before he broke under the weight of it all.

  It was a solid plan, and all his brother could do was shoot it down, but fuck, it was difficult just thinking about approaching Rath and laying it all out there. It had him awake most nights, restless and pacing, and he was lucky his cabin was secluded, set away from the others on its own small parcel of riverfront land, or someone would have noticed that he had gone the past four days without sleep.

  Shit, someone was going to notice it soon regardless. There was only so long he could make it before one of his brothers took a look at him and finally saw just how thinly spread he was, how stretched tight and in danger of breaking.

  Although, the reason he had been losing sleep might have more to do with the spring mating gathering that had called him back to Cougar Creek and a certain female who was participating for the first time.

  He tried not to think about Ember, about the fact his raven-haired beauty had finally hit a century old and had matured, and how he had felt the second he had set eyes on her at the creek this time.

  Cobalt tried not to think about that every damned second of the day and night, but it haunted and tormented him.

  Realising she had come to attend the gathering, that males were going to fight for the right to ease her as her need to mate mounted and he was unable to be among them because of his position within the pride, had been a hard punch to the gut followed by one right in his chest that had felt as if it was going to smash his heart to pieces.

  It had left him reeling, off balance and dangerous.

  He had arrived at the creek in time to discover Storm, his younger brother, had gone off to fight a bear shifter, and the combination of seeing Ember at the creek looking for a male to take care of her needs and his brother in danger had sent Cobalt into a rage so deep he had come close to chasing the bear shifter when he had retreated, determined to end the bastard and uncaring whether he had to take on the male’s entire pride to do it.

  Only the realisation that Storm had been badly wounded had stopped him in the end, giving him something else to focus on and allowing him to pull back on the reins and regain control.

  Cobalt shoved his hands through his platinum-blond wild hair and growled as he clawed at it, pivoted and began pacing back along the clearing in front of his cabin, faster now as his emotions started to get the better of him again.

  He needed to fight. His muscles felt too tight, clamped on his bones, his entire body pulled as taut as a bowstring and, fuck, he was in danger of snapping.

  His claws lengthened, his fangs sharpening as frustration mounted, an explosive mix of anger, shame and bitter disappointment. He snarled, lips peeling back off his teeth, and wheeled to pace back the way he
had come, his strides clipped as the need to fight merged with an ache to shift.

  Gods, he wanted to surrender to that soul-deep ache.

  He wanted to purge every damned feeling that was boiling inside him, twisting him and pulling him apart, and let instinct take over. Shifting into his cougar form would give him that release and the relief from it all he so desperately needed.

  His animal form dampened his emotions because it couldn’t process them as easily as his human side so it suppressed them instead. His messy feelings would fade into the background if he remained as a cougar for long enough as his instincts rose to swamp him.

  In that form, he obeyed a more basic and uncomplicated set of needs.

  Fight. Feed. Fuck. Survive.

  It was all that mattered when he was running as a cougar, and it was tempting to let it sweep over him, but it was dangerous too.

  Those instincts were liable to send him straight to Ember.

  He wanted to fight for her, as the other males could, and, sweet gods almighty, he needed to ease her needs, ached to give her the relief he could feel she desperately needed. Whenever he was close to her, it drummed in his blood and drove him to do something, whatever it took to ensure that she found the release from her instincts, from the mating heat that had brought her to Cougar Creek.

  Cobalt tried to push her out of his head, but need flared inside him, made him want to claw his own damned skin off as he twitched restlessly, body primed for the delicate, beautiful female who had caught his eye two decades ago and had been on his mind ever since.

  In his heart.

  The sun crept higher, breaking the tops of the mountains as he turned away from the creek and paced back towards the other side of his small territory. It chased the crisp coolness from the morning air and from his arms, making him aware of how cold he had gotten in just his black t-shirt and jeans.

  Cobalt slowed his step to bask in the light, letting it warm him and wash over him, wishing it would carry away all his troubles as it used to whenever he had bathed in it when he was a kid.

  The mist swirled as the air heated, rippling over the surface of the shallow broad river to his right and snaking around his ankles.

  He stared at the horizon and drew down a slow, deep breath of the cold air. Narrowed his focus to that distant point where jagged snow-capped mountains met the sky and let everything else fall away from his shoulders, until they felt lighter again.

  He couldn’t let this go on any longer.

  He would go mad if he did.

  With Ember’s presence pushing at his restraint, cranking him tight with emotions that were tearing him apart and instincts that were making him volatile, he needed all of his focus to control himself around her and the other males. He didn’t need to be distracted by what had happened.

  But Rath was always caught up in Ivy, his beautiful mate, and it pained Cobalt to see them together, so happy and swept up in each other. He couldn’t even talk to Storm because his younger brother was away in England looking into his mate’s half-brother’s background, trying to determine whether he really had been working alone and not with Archangel, a hunter organisation that had attacked his pride almost four decades ago.

  An organisation that had taken their parents from them and had come close to taking Storm too.

  Just thinking about that night had the need to fight rising again, a wild and feral urge to bloody his claws and fangs in order to protect his brothers.

  Cobalt focused on the sunrise again, using it to calm that urge. It was slow to leave him, his fatigue and another night of worrying leaving him worn down and weak to it.

  When it had finally flowed out of him, he looked down at his hands.

  At his extended claws.

  He stared at them, willing them to go away, but they refused.

  Fuck.

  He needed to speak with Rath.

  It needed to be today.

  Before he became a liability, a male not on the edge but firmly over it, one who was likely to fight over the slightest thing.

  And he knew with a sickening sense of certainty that if he fought, it wouldn’t end there.

  He would kill.

  Cold went through him, his blood icy sludge in his veins, and his stomach churned.

  He growled at himself. He had let this go on long enough, couldn’t put it off any longer or he would be a danger to the pride.

  Cobalt twisted on his heel and marched along the riverbank, heading away from the sunrise and towards the area where most of the cabins at Cougar Creek were situated.

  Ember’s family’s one included.

  His pulse jacked up as he spotted it through the trees nearest the river. The lodgepole pines and spruces sheltered it, providing some cover for it where it stood just ten metres from the riverbank, facing onto the large swath of green that formed the main area of the creek.

  Smoke curled lazily from the chimney, signalling someone was up.

  His step slowed and he couldn’t stop himself from glancing across at the front of the L-shaped cabin as he entered the clearing and started up the two-hundred metre stretch of grass to where his brother’s cabin stood at the top of it, nestled beneath the trees.

  The curtains were drawn across the small windows that flanked the door of her cabin, blocking him out. An ache started inside him, throbbed deep in his bones and had his step slowing further, until he almost stopped and surrendered to it.

  He wanted to see her.

  That yearning burned inside him, a need he found hard to deny. His instincts pushed him to step up onto her deck and knock on her door, to go to her. Fuck, they more than pushed him.

  They demanded it.

  She was his.

  He knew that.

  Gods, he knew it.

  It blazed inside him like an eternal flame that was only growing fiercer, burned so hot he felt as if it was going to devour him sometimes, utterly destroy him unless he found a way to calm the raging flames.

  There was only one way that was going to happen, and while his position as pride protector had been a blessing before, keeping the females away from him because his duty meant he couldn’t participate in the gathering, it was the worst of fucking curses now that Ember was taking part for the first time.

  And he couldn’t.

  He had never hated his duty before, but he hated it with a vengeance now.

  When he and his brothers had taken it on in the wake of the Archangel attack over thirty years ago, a brutal assault that had left the pride shaken and had forced them to move to a new territory, he hadn’t cared. But then, shortly after they had settled at Cougar Creek, he had set eyes on Ember for the first time.

  She had been a long way off maturity, a cherub-cheeked young female who would have looked like a teen nearing twenty to any passing humans.

  He had watched over her whenever she had been at the creek, and had used his position as pride protector to keep the females away from him during every gathering, and damn, she had grown into a stunning female with supple curves that set him on fire every time he looked at her.

  Idiot that he was, he had wanted to give her time to reach maturity before approaching her, figuring she would make an appearance at the creek at some point and he would be there when it happened since Rath kept him up to speed on who was visiting.

  He just hadn’t thought her first appearance after maturing would be a damned spring gathering.

  Now he was stuck on the side lines, acting as security for the pride while they were caught up in the mating heat and overseeing all the fights for dominance over females that were breaking out.

  Females like Ember.

  But she was his, and he needed her.

  He needed to knock on that door that separated them. He needed her to open it and look at him with soft eyes, ones that told him he wasn’t alone, that she ached for him too, craved him with the same ferocity as he craved her.

  And he needed her to open her arms to him, because what he really nee
ded most right now was to rest his head on her shoulder, wrap his arms around her and just hold her until he felt he was back on solid ground, everything put back in place and right again.

  Gods, he needed to hold her until this pain went away, just wanted one moment with her without anyone seeing them, or judging him.

  He needed her to hold him together, to lend him her strength and give him courage and hope.

  Hope that she would be his and hope that his life could only get better from this point.

  He scrubbed his hand over his mussed blond hair, did it so much these days he was surprised he had any left, and huffed as he pushed away from her home and forced himself to head towards Rath’s one-and-a-half storey log cabin at the top of the sloping green.

  He trudged up the gentle hill, the growing distance between him and Ember tearing at him, and wanted to growl when a dark-haired male emerged from the woods to his right and he caught the male looking towards the river.

  Towards Ember’s cabin.

  The hunger in the male’s pale golden eyes had Cobalt looking over his shoulder, seeking the one he was looking at.

  Ember stood on the deck, dressed in dark blue jeans and a thick black sweater that hugged her curvy figure, her damp ebony hair blending into the wool as it tumbled around her shoulders. She nursed a steaming mug, gently blowing on it, her profile to him and the other male.

  A male who was still staring at her.

  Cobalt itched with a need to change course and close the distance between him and the male to drive him away and make it clear that Ember belonged to him. The gods only knew how he managed to stay his course, finding the strength to keep moving towards Rath’s cabin instead.

  He glanced at the male again before taking the step up onto the deck that stretched the length of the gable end of the log cabin, finding him still watching Ember. Maybe he could just shoo the male away before rousing his brother. It probably wouldn’t take much. A flash of fangs and a growl might be enough.