Chasing His
Lynx’s Sass
A Sassy Ever After Story
Dawn Sullivan
Chasing His Lynx’s Sass
Sassy Ever After
Copyright 2020 Dawn Sullivan
Published by MT Worlds Press, Inc.
Winter Springs, FL 32708
http://mtworldspress.com
Cover by Tracie Douglas with Dark Water Covers
Edited by: Jamie White and CP Bialois
Formatting by Celtic Formatting
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
http://mtworldspress.com
Chasing His Lynx’s Sass
Hired to track down the missing mate of a fox shifter in Blue Creek, Shayna Cromwell is thrilled to finally have found a lead. It may not be in the direction she was originally hoping for, but if it pans out, it just might lead her to what she was looking for. Her cat is on the hunt, and she won’t stop until she finds her prey.
His brother had been missing for over a year now, and no matter what Cannon Channing did or where he looked, he kept running into dead ends. He was beginning to lose hope when a sexy lynx walked into his bar. Strong, bold, and sassy, she was unlike anyone he’d ever met before. And… she was his.
She’s a private detective on the prowl for a grizzly, but instead discovers something she never thought she wanted. He’s a bear on the hunt for his brother, blindsided by what he thought he would never find. As they delve through new leads and face the unexpected, Shayna and Cannon realize they are now the hunted. Question is, which side will survive?
Dedication
For my readers. Live, love, sass!
Chapter One
Shayna Cromwell drove down the long drive to the sprawling ranch on the edge of Blue Creek, exhaustion weighing on her. She’d been up all night, full of excitement at the information she’d finally found, and knew she wouldn’t be getting any sleep anytime soon. It had been almost two months since she accepted the assignment from Nolan Channing and his mate, and since then she’d done nothing but try and track down Casen Channing, who’d been missing for over a year. She was good at what she did, one of the best in the business, but even she was having trouble with this one.
Stopping her car in front of the house, Shayna cut the engine and opened the door, reaching over to grab her briefcase. Sliding out of the vehicle, she inhaled deeply as she silently let her gaze wander around the ranch, allowing herself to take a moment and enjoy the sight of the sun that was just coming over the horizon. It was early, and she may have just arrived in town, but she wasn’t staying long. She needed to keep going if she was going to hit her destination by nightfall. The Channings were just going to have to deal with her showing up at the ass crack of dawn. She had her first real lead on the case, and she wasn’t waiting around until a decent hour to chase it.
After one last deep breath, Shayna pulled her gaze away from the beautiful kaleidoscope of pinks, oranges, and blues above and made her way to the front door of the large house. She’d just raised her hand to knock, when the door was yanked open by a breathtaking woman with long, light blonde hair and clear blue eyes who was smiling at her. Miracle. The youngest of the Channing siblings. A woman who bore no resemblance to them, had no part of their DNA, but was considered no less a sister to the bears than was Briar.
Shayna had done her homework on all of the Channings, not just the one she was hired to find. It was her job to know all of the factors involved when she took on a new case. She’d learned a long time ago that not involving all aspects connected to that case could mean the difference between life and death. She wasn’t ready to die.
“Can I help you?”
Miracle’s voice was timid, but kind. There was nervousness there, which didn’t surprise Shayna after all the woman had been through. Shayna had a dossier on her all the way back to her birth, which included everything from what kind of cat shifter she was to what those bastards, the Howard brothers, had done to her before Knox Channing put them down, ending their existence slowly like the sleezy fuckers deserved.
Realizing Miracle was still waiting for a reply, Shayna smiled. “Good morning. I’m Shayna Cromwell. I know it’s early, but I’m looking for Nolan, please.”
Miracles eyes widened, beginning to fill with hope as she stepped back and opened the door wider for Shayna to enter. “Is this about Casen?”
Before Shayna could respond, a little bear cub came scampering down the stairs, lost her footing toward the bottom, and tumbled the rest of the way. Shayna resisted the urge to go scoop the child up and cuddle her close when the cub raised big brown eyes to look at them. Then, a small laugh slipped free when the cub rose on all four paws and shook her head a couple of times, and let out a small grunt before taking off down the hall.
“Athena! You know you aren’t supposed to go that fast!” A woman with dark red hair made her way down the stairs, laughter in her light blue eyes as she watched Athena slide into a wall before turning to go into another room. “She has so much energy. If we could bottle it up and sell it, we would all be rich.”
Miracle giggled, her eyes twinkling as she replied, “She definitely keeps us on our toes.”
“I would love even a small portion of that energy right now,” Shayna said, laughing again.
“Teine, get back up here. We aren’t finished with our morning… discussion.”
Shayna’s gaze rose to the top of the stairs where Nolan Channing stood in a pair of well-worn jeans unbuttoned at the waist and nothing else. She hadn’t seen him in close to a year, and she realized she’d missed him. They’d never had anything serious, but he’d been a friend… with benefits… until he and his family moved to Blue Creek. She grinned, cocking her head to the side as she drawled, “Nolan Channing. Just the man I’m looking for.”
A low growl slipped free from Teine, and Shayna stiffened, knowing right away that she’d screwed up. Nolan had a mate now, and she sure as hell wouldn’t appreciate another woman coming into their home stating she was looking for him. Shit.
Shayna dropped her briefcase to the floor and held her hands out to her sides, prepared to defend herself against the very pissed-off fox shifter if she had to. She wouldn’t hurt the other woman, but she wasn’t going to just stand there and get her ass kicked, either.
Teine sprang at her, baring fangs at Shayna as she swiped out with her claws, shredding the sleeve of the lightweight shirt Shayna wore, digging into the skin underneath and drawing blood. Shayna felt her own fangs punch through her gums, but she held herself back. Barely.
“I’ll give you that one for free,” she growled. “Don’t make the mistake of doing it again.”
“Don’t, Teine!” Nolan was down the stairs in a heartbeat, his arms wrapped tightly around his mate. “Stop, little fox. It’s okay. It’s just Shayna.”
Teine froze, blood dripping from her claws, her chest heaving. “Shayna?” she gasped, her eyes flashing to her fox and back before she sucked in a breath, as if trying to calm herself.
“What the hell is going on down there?”
Shayna ignored the man’s voice as it thundered do
wn the stairs, not taking her eyes from Teine. She knew who he was. Knox Channing, the head of the family. Alpha of the small bear clan. He was a force to be reckoned with, but right now, the only threat in the room to her was the fox shifter who was visibly struggling to get a hold of herself.
“Dammit, I asked a question.”
“Fuck,” Nolan muttered, holding his mate close, his eyes full of regret when they met Shayna’s. “Shayna…”
She thought for a moment that maybe she should be offended that he didn’t say more, but she shrugged it off. While Nolan may have been fun to hang out with, and good in the sack, that was all it had ever been. Just fun. He wasn’t her mate. Hell, if he was, she probably would have run away as fast as she could go in the other direction. She didn’t want a mate. Didn’t need one. Ever.
Squaring her shoulders, Shayna finally tore her gaze from Teine’s and reached down for her briefcase. “Everything is fine,” she said, taking a step back toward the door to give the woman some space. Or maybe it was more to keep herself from retaliating. Her arm hurt like a bitch, and if it would have been anyone else, they would have been eating her fist right about now. But she couldn’t do that to Nolan’s mate. No, she just needed to get out of there.
“Who are you?” Knox demanded, making his way down the stairs to stand beside his brother. He raised an eyebrow as he waited for her response, and finally Shayna decided she’d had enough. Anger filled her at his highhanded attitude. She was just doing her job, a job she wasn’t sure she even wanted anymore.
“I don’t get paid enough for this shit,” she muttered, turning toward the door. After opening it, she glanced back at them. “I’m headed east, chasing down a lead on Casen Channing, and my path took me through Blue Creek. I stopped to fill you in on what I had so far, but I should have just called. This was a waste of time.” Shaking her head, she looked at Teine and then back to Nolan. “Maybe you should find someone else for this gig, Nolan. Your mate obviously has a problem with me for some reason. She might feel more comfortable with someone else.”
Stepping outside, Shayna shut the door quietly behind her, making her way back to the car. Her decent morning had just been ruined. She looked up at the sky and sighed. Even the beautiful sunrise was gone. Opening her door, she sat her briefcase in the car and then slowly peeled her arm out of what was left of her sleeve. Wincing in pain, she slipped the shirt off, standing there in only a tight tank top as she cursed quietly to herself. She heard the front door slam, but ignored it. She couldn’t take much more right now.
Fighting back tears of frustration at what a shitshow her life was lately, Shayna popped the trunk and went to retrieve a tee shirt. She’d just slipped it over her head when she heard a soft voice whisper, “Please, don’t go. I’m so sorry for what Teine did, but please, don’t leave.”
Shayna stiffened, taking a deep breath before sliding the shirt down over her stomach. Taking another deep breath to try and calm her emotions, she slammed the trunk shut and turned to look at the woman who was standing just a few feet away, wringing her hands together in front of her. Her long, brown hair hung limply around her pale face, her dark, golden eyes filled with despair. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who she was. Nadine Carlson. Casen Channing’s mate, and the only reason Shayna had accepted the assignment in the first place. The woman reminded her so much of her mother that she couldn’t turn Nolan away when he contacted her. She’d set aside all of her other cases for this one and refused to accept any more until Casen was found. No matter what she might have said a few minutes ago, she wasn’t going to stop looking for him. Even if the Channings did fire her.
Shayna was aware the moment the front door opened again, and Teine walked slowly out of the house. She was followed by several others, but Shayna ignored them all. She only had eyes for the woman who stood in front of her, sorrow and fear flowing from her.
“I’m sorry,” Teine said quietly, walking over to them. “I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”
“Why did you?” Shayna asked, finally looking over at her.
When Teine hesitated, her gaze going to the ugly claw marks that ran up Shayna’s arm, Nolan stepped up, rubbing a hand tiredly over his face. “It’s hard for my mate to deal with some of the things I’ve done in the past, Shayna.”
Shayna’s eyebrows furrowed and she cocked her head to the side. “I don’t understand.”
Teine bowed her head in shame as she whispered, “It’s no secret that Nolan’s been with many women.” She shrugged helplessly. “I can be overprotective because of it now.”
“So, you attacked me because Nolan and I have a past?”
Teine swallowed hard, leaning into her mate for comfort. “I didn’t know who you were at the time. But, yes, I was worried you might have one.”
“We do,” Shayna confessed softly, her hands going to rest lightly on her hips.
“I know,” Teine whispered. “Nolan told me before he hired you to find Casen, and I was fine with it. Everything just happened so quickly this morning.” She gestured toward the angry wounds on Shayna’s arm. “I really am sorry, Shayna. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Shayna was silent for a moment, her gaze wandering around what looked like the entire Channing clan standing outside now, before going back to Nadine. Sighing, she reached into the car and grabbed her briefcase. Opening it, she pulled out the file that she’d made for them. Tossing the briefcase back in the car, she slammed the door shut and walked over to where a large table set on an outdoor patio. Pulling out a chair, she motioned to Nadine. “Come, sit down for a moment. I have something to show you, and then I need to be on my way.”
Nadine quickly closed the distance between them, sliding into the chair and looking at her expectantly. Her body trembled slightly with nerves, her eyes full of trepidation. Shayna sat down beside her, opening the file.
Nadine gasped, her eyes filling with tears as she covered her mouth with one of her hands. Reaching out with the other one, she picked up the photo on top, tremors beginning to rack her entire body. “Casen!” The picture was of a man who looked a lot like the four hulking Channing males surrounding them now; Knox, Noah, Nolan, and Brayden. Brown hair, dark eyes, a strong chiseled jaw.
Shayna was aware of Teine sitting beside her sister, taking Athena from Miracle and snuggling her close. Nolan sat beside her, and everyone else crowded around close. Shayna rested her hand lightly on Nadine’s wrist. “No matter how hard I tried in the beginning, I couldn’t find Casen. I flew out to Turnbalt, Washington and retraced your steps. Where you worked, where you told your sister you went to spend time alone with Casen. All of it. I even snuck into your old house to look for clues.”
Nadine gasped, looking over at her in shock. “That wasn’t safe! You could have been killed!”
A faint smile crossed Shayna’s lips. “I’m a lot tougher than I look.” When Nadine glanced at the red marks on her arm, Shayna’s smile widened. “Trust me, if I wanted to, I could have easily put Teine on her ass earlier. I told her, she gets that one free shot, but that’s it.”
“My sister was an enforcer with our skulk,” Nadine whispered. “She’s really good.”
Shayna squeezed her wrist gently. “I’m better.” Ignoring the low growl coming from Teine, Shayna spread the rest of the pictures out over the table. “When I couldn’t find Casen, I decided I needed to start at the beginning. Maybe, if I could locate his family, I would be able to figure out where he was.” Picking up a picture of a beautiful woman with dark brown curls that had caramel highlights throughout, she said, “Meet Camila Channing. One of Casen’s sisters. Sweet, shy, with a head full of dreams. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, but that doesn’t mean she won’t protect her family. She would die for each and every one of them.” Camila’s amber colored eyes were soft and kind. Happy.
“She looks kind of like Briar,” Miracle whispered in awe.
“Sounds like she has more of your disposition, Miracle,” one of the other men
said.
Shayna glanced at him, before looking back down at Camila’s sweet smile. He was Noah Channing, with his witch, Aurora, held tightly at his side. She knew he didn’t live at the ranch, so someone must have contacted them as soon as everything went down inside the house. She knew a lot of witches had special powers, one of them called blinking. They could get from one place to the other in a blink of an eye. That must have been what they’d done. Interesting. She’d make a note of it in their file later.
“This is Cora Channing,” Shayna said, placing another photo in the center of the table. Cora had captivating hazel eyes that were a dark brown with flecks of emerald green. They were full of courage and determination. Dark hair, almost black in color, hung just past her shoulders, and she had a small dimple in both cheeks. “She’s the oldest of the siblings. Runs the family business.”
“Which is?” Knox asked, raising an eyebrow.
“A bar called The Hide Out.” Shayna’s eyes went to the last picture in the folder, and her breath caught in her chest, just like it did every time she looked at it. Heart-stopping amber eyes stared back at her, a kindness in them that matched Camila’s, but that was where the similarities ended. Cannon Channing was all man. Thick, dark hair that was cut short, a hard jawline covered in a neatly trimmed beard that she wanted to touch, lips she wanted to trace with her tongue. Shoving her inappropriate desires down deep, she said, “This is Cannon. He tends bar for the family, although, I don’t think that’s what he would be doing if he had a choice.”
“No?” Knox picked up the photo, looking at is closely. “Let me guess, he’s a nerd like Briar.”
Shayna felt a low growl begin to build in her chest, not liking the way Knox had spoken about Cannon, and it took her a moment before she could reply. “Quite the opposite, actually. Cannon is a crack shot with any gun you give him. A fighter like no other. He’s a fierce protector who would do anything for his family. I think, if he had a choice, he would be in law enforcement.”
Chasing His Lynx’s Sass (Sass And Growl Book 4) Page 1