“Have a seat,” she said to Cannon and Camila, motioning to the table. She waited until they chose their chairs before settling in the open one across from Cora. The table was only big enough for four people, which was all they would have needed.
Opening her briefcase, Shayna took out two folders. One was labeled Blue Creek Channings, the other Casen Channing.
“What are those?” Cora asked suspiciously, taking another sip of her coffee. She seemed casual for all intents and purposes, but Shayna knew she was anything but. She was very cautious of what Shayna was about to tell them, leery of the woman who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and knew things about their family. Shayna couldn’t blame her. She would be on high alert, too, if she felt threatened.
“As I told you before, my name is Shayna Cromwell. I’m a private investigator.” She let that sink in for a second before continuing. “I was hired a few months ago to find your brother, Casen Channing, who was last seen in Turnbalt, Washington.” Ignoring Camila’s gasp, she went on, “I went to Turnbalt, retraced his steps to the best of my ability, but came up short. I decided it would be best if I started at the beginning. So, when I couldn’t find him, I found you instead. His family. I was hoping in finding you, I would be able to dig up more information that would perhaps lead me to Casen.”
“You were hired to find our brother?” Camila asked, her eyes clouding over in confusion. “I don’t understand. Who would be looking for him besides his family?”
Shayna smiled at the woman, reaching over to gently squeeze her hand before saying, “You’re absolutely right, Cami. Only family was looking for him.” Opening the folder marked Blue Creek Channings, she took out the photo on top, placing it in the middle of the table. “Meet Knox Channing. Alpha of his family. He runs a horse ranch in the small town of Blue Creek. And that’s his sweet mate, Emery, with him. She’s a bunny shifter.”
“Wait,” Cora interrupted, holding up a hand. “We’ll get back to exactly who these people are in a minute. But is he a bear?”
“Yep,” Shayna said with a grin, knowing where the question was going.
“You’re telling me a bear mated with a bunny?” she asked incredulously.
Shayna couldn’t help it, she burst into laughter at the look on the other woman’s face. “Yes, Emery is a bunny, and there isn’t anything Knox wouldn’t do for her. She’s actually pregnant with his cubs now.” She frowned. “Or his bunnies. Guess we will have to wait and see what she has.”
“He’s our family?” Camila whispered, reaching over to touch the picture in awe. “He looks like my brothers.”
“Yes, he’s definitely related to you. I’m pretty sure you are cousins.”
“Oh.” She could see confusion in Camila’s eyes, but also something else. Hope.
Taking out the next picture, Shayna set it in front of them. “This is Noah Channing. He’s an attorney in Blue Creek.”
“That’s his mate?” Cora asked, her eyes on the woman next to Noah with long auburn hair and bright emerald green eyes.
“Yep. That’s Aurora. Boy, she gave Noah a run for his money before they finally mated.”
“What is she?” Cannon asked, his eyes narrowed on Aurora. “She looks really powerful.”
“That she is,” Shayna agreed. “She’s a witch, and trust me, she’s one you don’t want to mess with.”
“Wow,” Camila whispered, her eyes widening in awe.
Shayna took another picture from the folder and slid it in front of them. “These are Brayden and Briar. Twins. Brayden is a history teacher at the high school in town, and Briar is a computer genius. She does all of the financials for the ranch, and I believe hires out her skills to other businesses sometimes.”
“Their eyes are like mine and Cannon’s,” Camila whispered, pulling the picture closer to her, looking at it intently.
“That they are,” Shayna agreed before setting another picture down. “This is Miracle. She’s the youngest sister. She isn’t related by blood, but the Channings claimed her as their own. She’s a teacher in Blue Creek as well, but…” Shayna hesitated, before saying, “I won’t go into details, but the young woman has been through hell. A hell she has been clawing her way out of, and she is slowly getting there. She’s very special to the Channings. There isn’t anything they wouldn’t do for her.” She smiled at Camila. “Noah said it sounds as if she’s a lot like you, Cami. Sweet, gentle, kind, but also strong.”
She was glad she’d brought it up when a smile lit Camila’s eyes before the woman looked back at the pictures on the table.
“This is Nolan Channing and his mate, Teine,” Shayna said softly, placing their picture in the middle of the table. “Teine is a fox shifter who came into Nolan’s life just a few months ago. She was on the run from her skulk with her niece, Athena.” Shayna smiled, placing a picture of the little girl on the table, then one of Nadine next to it. “Athena was born over a year ago. Her mother, Nadine, is a fox. Her father a bear.”
“No,” Cora whispered, her hand going to her throat, her eyes wide in disbelief as she stared at the young child with curly, light brown hair and big brown eyes — so much like her father’s.
“Nadine found her mate in a bear shifter. They fell in love and completed the mate bond, even though Nadine’s alpha had forbidden any of his fox to mate outside their species. Nadine was going to leave with her mate, but he went missing before she could. She found out she was pregnant, and hid the fact that her child’s father was a bear until she had her baby, and it was evident that Athena shared her soul with a bear. Nadine was bleeding heavily, and she and her grandmother weren’t sure she was going to make it, so they sent Teine on the run with Athena before the alpha could have a chance to kill her.”
Several low growls filled the room, and Shayna wasn’t surprised to see large claws appear from Cannon’s fingertips, or to see the large fangs that appeared on all three of them.
“Nolan and his family saved Teine, and then after they realized Nadine was still alive, they went to Turnbalt and rescued not only her, but also their grandmother.” Shayna tapped her finger on the top of Nadine’s picture. “She is the reason I’m here. She lost her mate, then lost her child for over a year. She was stuck deep in a hole, away from everyone, literally alone except for when she was given water and food. Which was scarce. She is going mad without her mate. She and her daughter need Casen, and I am going to find him for them.”
The room was silent for a long time, and then Cora whispered, “This is all so much to take in. We have cousins and a niece. Casen has a mate.”
“When are we leaving?” Cannon asked, rising from the table.
“What?” Shayna asked in confusion.
“You can’t come in here, tell us we have family we didn’t know about, that Casen has a mate and child, and then expect us to just sit here and twiddle our fucking thumbs while we wait for you to track down my brother.” Cannon’s eyes darkened, and he growled, “I want to go to this Blue Creek place. We can figure out where Casen is from there, just as easily as we can here.”
“I need to look into all avenues here first,” Shayna protested. “What if there was something that happened here that put him in danger?”
“Why do I have the feeling you’ve already managed to dig up dirt on our past lives, as well?” he asked dryly.
She shrugged, “Probably because I have. This other file has information on your brother, and all of you, from as far back as I could go. I don’t fully know what’s going on as of yet, but I do know that you are being chased by someone. Trouble is following you wherever you go. From Virginia, to New York, to Florida, to Tennessee. You need me to go on?” When he just looked at her, his gaze hard and unyielding, Shayna sighed and stood, making her way over to the window to peek out between the curtains. It was dark and still, but she wasn’t fooled. They weren’t alone. “Look, I know it seems like an invasion of your privacy, and maybe it is, but I have a job to do. I couldn’t find Casen, so I found his sibl
ings instead. And no matter how upset you all might be with me right now, it doesn’t change the fact that you are in danger. You’ve stayed in this area longer than you’ve lived in any other. And, if I’m not mistaken, I think that danger may have found you here.”
“What?” Camila exclaimed, quickly rising and running over to Shayna. “They’ve found us?”
Shayna gently moved her back from the window, saying, “I believe so.”
“Shit,” Cora growled, standing so fast she tipped her chair over. Ignoring it, she moved to what looked like a pantry, opening the door and retrieving a shotgun.
Shayna held up a hand, shaking her head. “Let me handle this.”
“We can’t keep them alive,” Cora said, checking to make sure the magazine was loaded. “They will take our location back to Baxter, if they haven’t already.”
“I said I will handle it,” Shayna snarled, her temper starting to rise at how stubborn the oldest Channing sibling could be. “Go pack only what you need to take with you. Be ready to leave in ten minutes.”
“I’m coming with you,” Cannon growled, his amber eyes now black in color. Shayna loved how they changed with his emotions. From the stunning amber they normally were, to a deeper, glowing brown when he was turned on, to pure black when he was pissed the fuck off. At least, she would always know how he was really feeling.
Shaking her head, she began to toe off her boots. “No, it’s easier for me to work alone.” Unbuttoning her jeans, she quickly slid them off, her panties and socks with them. Glancing up, she said, “I’m going to need you to open a window at the back of the house.”
“You aren’t going alone,” Cannon growled. “What kind of mate would I be to let you go face someone like Nate Baxter without me?”
Shayna grasped the hem of her shirt, and slid it up over her head, tossing it on the ground with the rest of her clothes, her bra quickly following. She stood naked in front of him, but it didn’t seem to faze him. His eyes stayed connected to hers, not roaming lower to where her full breasts were, or where the small triangle of light-colored hair was at the junction between her legs. He may have only met her a few hours ago, but he cared about her. That earned him more brownie points. Several more. “The kind of mate I need in my life if this is going to work,” she said honestly, leaning over to pick up her clothes and boots and holding them out to him. “I’m a thick-headed, opinionated, independent, pain-in-the-ass, Cannon. I spend the majority of my life alone, making my own decisions, doing whatever the hell I want no matter what anyone else thinks. I can’t change who I am. That’s one of the first things you need to realize, or this is a waste of our time.”
He stared at her, his chest heaving in anger, low growls rumbling around the room. But in the end, he didn’t argue. Closing the distance between them, he grasped the back of her neck and pulled her forward, placing a hard kiss on her lips. “You better come back to me,” he snarled before accepting the clothes and stepping back to wait silently.
Shayna’s heart pounded in her chest at the possessive look in his eyes. He may be agreeing to let her go take care of this business on her own, but that look said he wasn’t giving her up. Ever. She would fight that battle later if she needed to. For now, she had a job to do, along with Cannon and his sisters to protect. “Thank you,” she whispered, right before initiating her shift. It didn’t take long. One moment she was human, the next a lynx. Her cat was a little bigger than a normal sized lynx of her breed at approximately thirty-five pounds. She was fast and deadly in this form, and she was ready to show those bastards roaming around outside her mate’s house just how deadly.
Shaking out her fur, she walked over to Cannon and gave into the need she’d had since she met him, rubbing up against his leg. Marking him as hers. Then, she stiffened when she heard a sound coming from the back of the house. A scratching noise, as if someone was trying to pick the lock. She growled, a low, deadly sound. Her eyes went to Camila and Cora, and she growled again.
“I hear it,” Cora whispered, releasing the action and pumping the shotgun to chamber a round. Taking the safety off, she nodded toward Camila. “Get our go bags, Cami, while we take care of the asshole at the backdoor.”
Shayna hissed, shaking her head, her eyes going to the kitchen window. She wanted out. Needed to get to the bastard before he got in the house and to the people she was quickly starting to care for.
“You want out?” Camila guessed. When Shayna purred quietly, she moved to unlock the window and pushed it open, making sure to stand off to the side so no one would be able to see her.
“I will not be happy if you get hurt, kitten,” Cannon bit out, anger dripping from his voice.
Shayna glanced back at him, giving him her version of a cat grin, and then leaped through the window, landing on the soft grass below it. She would never tell him, but she kind of liked it when he called her kitten. She’d never had someone give her a pet name before. A low growl slipped out at the thought. She was nobody’s fucking pet. But she did like the endearment. It made her feel… special.
Shaking off thoughts of her mate, Shayna crouched low, blocking out everything except the person who was stupid enough to try to break into a house full of bears. She grimaced when his stench hit her. Why the hell was it so hard for some people to pick up a fucking bar of soap and stand under some water for a few minutes? The dumbass was taking on shifters, ones who could smell him from a mile away. He should be smarter than this.
Shayna paused, tilting her head to the side and inhaling deeply. He wasn’t the only one at the farm who didn’t belong. There were two others. And, while he was human, the others were definitely not. But they weren’t bears, either. What were they? Wrinkling her nose slightly, she stopped by the corner of the house, eyeing the man at the door. He was going down first, then the others. She really didn’t give a damn what they were. They’d made the mistake of coming after her mate and his family, now her family if she was strong enough to accept it, and for that they would die. All three of them.
Shayna lowered herself close to the ground and began to slowly stalk her prey. He cursed quietly when he almost dropped the tool he was using to try and pick the lock, then went back to business. It looked like he didn’t have a clue what he was doing. She was pretty sure he’d never done it before. Not successfully, anyway.
She waited until she was just a couple of feet from him, then sprang at him lightning fast. He must have heard her, because he turned just as she slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. Before he could get a shout out to the men he was with, she sank her teeth deep into his neck and twisted, effectively ripping out his throat. He lay on the ground, his eyes wide in horror as death claimed him.
Shayna stood over him for a second, blood dripping from her fangs as she cocked her head to the side, listening carefully. The sound of shoes against gravel came from somewhere close by, and she leaped lightly away from the downed human to round the side of the house. There, just a few feet from her, was her second target. A man, at least six feet tall and approximately a hundred and fifty pounds, if that. Now that she was away from the human, she breathed in the shifter’s scent, freezing when she realized what he was. Snake. A boa constrictor, if she wasn’t mistaken. Fuck. She couldn’t allow him to shift, not if she wanted to make it through this alive.
Not thinking twice about it, she raced across the yard to him, slamming into his legs and sending him down hard on his back. A loud hiss filled the night, and the air around him began to shimmer. Shayna snarled, raking her razor sharp claws across his exposed stomach, slicing deep into his skin and effectively halting his shift.
“Shit!” he cried out, grabbing for her with one hand while he covered his stomach with the other, trying to hold the flesh together. “You bitch!”
Shayna jumped gracefully out of his reach, then came right back at him again, her claws slicing through his neck. She watched dispassionately as blood spurted out, and the man grabbed at his neck with both hands, trying to stop it.
It was too late. The bastard was already dead. Nothing would save him now.
Shayna heard the sound of a hiss and then swung around to see a snake slithering through the grass behind her. She almost didn’t move in time to miss the snap of the large jaws that came at her. Leaping high, she just barely managed to make it over the top of him, landing a few feet away. He turned, rising up, hissing loudly in challenge.
Shayna wasn’t going to disappoint him, but she wasn’t stupid, either. He was huge. She’d been right. He was a fucking boa constrictor, at least nine feet long. If he got ahold of her, he would squeeze the hell out of her, suffocating and eventually killing her. No way was she going out like that.
Letting out a hiss of her own, she sprang forward, quickly slicing into his scaly skin, jumping back just as fast so that he couldn’t get to her. She did that several times, drawing blood each time. She was confident she had the upper hand, when suddenly he began to slowly wrap himself around her, squeezing tighter and tighter. Panic hit her at first, and she struggled to shove her fear aside, knowing he would only use that fear to his advantage. She’d heard of it happening before, and she refused to let it happen to her. Stilling, she tried to decide what to do. The only thing that came to mind was that she needed help. She needed Cannon.
Sucking in as much air as she could, Shayna threw her head back and let out a long, loud wailing yowl, calling for her mate. She did it again and again, even as black spots began to appear before her eyes, and she had to fight to stay conscious. Cannon would come for her; she was sure of it.
Chapter Six
Stark terror like he’d never felt before entered Cannon’s heart when he heard his mate’s call. The pain and fear in that call was plain for all who heard it. His shift slammed into him hard and fast, pain hitting him as he went from human to bear more quickly than he’d ever done before. His clothes shredded, falling from him as he barreled out of his room from where he’d been grabbing some weapons he kept hidden there. Rushing past his sister, Cora, he raced down the stairs and crashed into the back door, ripping it from its hinges.
Chasing His Lynx’s Sass (Sass And Growl Book 4) Page 4