Fighting Destiny

by Tamsin Baker

  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2013 Tamsin Baker

  ISBN: 978-1-77130-502-0

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Karyn White

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  To the lovely ladies of the Hotter than Hades blog—you guys inspire and encourage me every day. Thank you!

  FIGHTING DESTINY

  Shifters of the Land, Sea, and Air, 1

  Tamsin Baker

  Copyright © 2013

  Chapter One

  Jeremy stood in his cold bedroom, shirtless and in need of a smoke. He knew it was just above freezing, but his skin burnt hot, and he was in no danger of getting sick. His shifter genes meant his body ran several degrees higher than the average person, especially on nights like tonight. The nights when he felt the call of the shifter, his tiger blood beating a steady tattoo against his heart, unable to be denied.

  In his mind he remembered a conversation he’d had with his father when he had been ten years old. It was a conversation that he had replayed over many times before.

  “Daddy, will I be an Alpha like you?” He looked up at his father, his hero.

  His father moved across the room, his movements strong and graceful. He sat down in a nearby chair so that he could look directly into Jeremy’s eyes. Eyes that were the same silver. Eyes of a tiger.

  “Jeremy, I am one of the pack leaders, but I am not the Alpha.”

  Jeremy stared at his father with a frown. He didn’t understand. Of course his father was the Alpha male of their pack

  “What do you mean, Daddy?”

  His father’s sigh was full of longing as he flexed his large shoulders.

  “There hasn’t been a true Alpha in our pack for two generations. Our pack is ruled by a group of five male leaders, but if we had an Alpha, he would rule us all.”

  “I still don’t understand Daddy.”

  “The legend goes that ‘the true Alpha will be strong and he will protect us all.

  He will be of pure blood and mated to one of pure blood.’ "

  That confused Jeremy further because his father fulfilled those requirements.

  “But you and Mum are full blooded tigers, Dad.”

  “Yes, Jeremy. But there is more to the legend. More words that I only learned after I had proven that I was not worthy. You may grow to be the Alpha of the land shifters. I hope that you are. But I am not.”

  Jeremy lifted his hand and lit his nightly cigarette. The end glowed red before dying down to a deep gray. He inhaled the smoke deeply, an artificial sense of calm invading his anxious body. Something felt wrong, very wrong, and he couldn’t shake it. It had been present all day, and everything in him screamed to get moving.

  The shrill ring tone on his phone rang, breaking into Jeremy’s daydream. It was close to eleven PM. No one he knew would call this late on a Wednesday. Something was wrong.

  He picked up the iPhone and swiped the keypad. The number was as familiar to him as the hair on his chest. Jeremy put the speaker to his ear with a grimace.

  “Hey, Dad. What’s wrong?”

  “Natalia’s missing.”

  A pain similar to what the thunk of a well placed axe would feel like, lodged in his chest. Nothing could have surprised him more than that statement.

  There was only one question to ask.

  “How?”

  A heavy sigh vibrated across the phone.

  “We don’t know. She went hunting this morning and never came back. Everyone is out searching for her, but … she’s just disappeared. Her parents are worried sick.”

  Jeremy could feel his father’s true concern and knew he had to help. He had left his home ten years ago with no real intention of ever going back, not really. But if there was anything on earth that would get him home again, it was something wrong with the woman who was his mate. She had been a mere child when he had left.

  Maybe there was another explanation? He hoped to God there was.

  “Are you sure she’s missing, Dad? She could just be playing a game or run off with a friend.”

  His dad made a noise in his throat close to disgust.

  “Natalia is a twenty-year-old woman, Jeremy. She’s not ten any more. She is also the only remaining tiger shifter of breeding age that we know of.”

  The pain in Jeremy’s chest increased. His heart was being cut into two. He needed to go, so he would. Who else cared for her as he did? As he was designed to?

  “She’s a tiger?”

  The answer had already been revealed, yet Jeremy couldn’t help repeating the question. He needed to be certain what he was getting himself into.

  “Of course she’s a tiger! You knew she would be!”

  Jeremy nodded to himself. At twenty years old, he had been so disturbed by his attraction to the ten-year-old Natalia, he had left home. He wanted nothing to do with the old legends that told him that a child was his life-long mate. He had fled and made a life for himself outside of the shifter community.

  Jeremy swallowed the lump in his throat and asked the much needed question. “Is she mated?”

  If she was, he didn’t know how he’d feel. It would change things, make it easier for him to go home because then he would be able to return as soon as everything was sorted. But it would make his tiger furious to see her with someone else. If his attraction to her ten years ago had been so strong as to drive him away, what would it be like now?

  There was a long silence before his father finally answered.

  “No.”

  Another squeeze of his heart, and this one left him breathless. Oh fuck!

  His dad continued. “She has a boyfriend, but…”

  Every protective instinct over Natalia Jeremy thought long gone, stood to attention, and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. Who was she being intimate with? And why was his dad disapproving?

  “And what’s wrong with him, Dad?”

  His dad huffed. “He’s a wolf.”

  Jeremy rolled his eyes. His parents, two tiger shifters, thought themselves superior to many other shifters because of their size and rarity. They were beautiful, Jeremy had to agree, but he didn’t think himself better because of winning the genetic lottery.

  “It’s Natalia’s choice, Dad.”

  Another long pause.

  “Will you come, Jeremy?”

  Jeremy dropped his cigarette into an empty beer bottle and began moving to his closet. His decision had been made before he had even picked up the phone. “Yes. I will be there by morning.”

  He went through the quick to-do list in his head. Work would be the hardest thing to sort out. He had worked his way up to a high level of responsibility within the local council, so he would have to pass on his cases and responsibilities for a short time. He had a lot of leave piled up, and he’d have to use that. He would also have to contact a friend look after his apartment because he needed to leave tonight.

  He may have stayed away for a decade, but it was only because no one had ever asked him to come home. He couldn’t refuse his father’s direct plea.

  “You can still shift?”

  His dad’s question annoyed Jeremy. Just because he hadn’t shifted in a long time didn’t mean he couldn’t. He was born to do it. It was in his ve
ry bones.

  He frowned as he thought about all of those things that would be forgotten if repetition was the only reason to remember. He hadn’t had sex in a very long time, but that didn’t mean he had forgotten the mechanics.

  “I’ll see you in the morning, Dad.” And he hung up, his heated blood hotter now that anger had been added to the mix.

  A strong breeze blew through the window and Jeremy inhaled, his tiger aching to be released. He hadn’t shifted in a long time, but tonight he would run.

  ****

  “Thanks, buddy. I’ll leave the key under the mat.” Jeremy hung up his phone and removed his jeans from his hot body. He sure hoped he still had some old clothes at his parents’ place because he couldn’t carry any.

  Now naked, his flaccid cock brushed against his thigh, and the sensation had him releasing a growl, the sound a deep rumble that began in his belly and extended out along his veins. He hadn’t felt it, heard it, in so long.

  Despite what he’d told his father, he hadn’t shifted in almost five years.

  But it was inside him, wild and wanting to be released. It was time to stop fighting his own instincts and embrace them.

  Jeremy locked his door, slid the key under the mat, and faced the woods that boarded the yard of his small house. He had bought the only house in the city that looked out onto a forest. At the time he had ignored the obvious need to live in an area similar to his home town, but now the similarity was achingly clear.

  He didn’t know when he would be back, or if he could come back, and he couldn’t seem to find the energy to be sad about it. He was going home.

  The growl vibrated along his limbs and the hairs on his arms and legs. He went down on all fours and felt it rip through him.

  His hands became paws, and his smooth skin became fur of orange and black. His tail extended and curled. His senses extended to superior hearing, sight, and smell.

  Jeremy began running, pure joy filling his body with every breath he took.

  God, I’ve missed this.

  Chapter Two

  Jeremy, naked and covered in a thin film of sweat, plucked the sweatpants off the mat at his parents’ house. They had obviously anticipated what he needed, and he was grateful for the thought.

  He pulled the gray sweats on. They were long enough, but tight. He had filled out a lot since his gangly teenage years.

  The black t-shirt slid over his head moments before his mum pulled the door open.

  “Jeremy!” She flung herself into Jeremy’s arms, her solid weight and warmth knocking the air out of his lungs.

  “Hi, Mum.”

  She hugged him tighter, and he laughed to brush off the guilt he felt. His mum had missed him, and he had stayed away. He hadn’t seen his parents in years, and they barely left their town except for the few times they had visited him. It was so good to see them, feel their heat and smell the familiar scent of his home.

  Jeremy picked her up and squeezed her hard, as much to reassure her as to comfort himself.

  “Son.”

  Jeremy put his mother down and looked up into the blue eyes so similar to his own.

  “Hi, Dad.”

  His dad, stooped but still strong, stepped back and waved his hand.

  “Come on in.”

  Jeremy stepped inside the kitchen he had grown up in and sat in the chair his mum pointed to. Nothing had really changed. Same wooden table, same old orange tiles.

  “I’m so glad you came.”

  Jeremy shrugged. “I didn’t have much choice.”

  His parents shared a look, and he clenched his teeth against the urge to ask what they were silently communicating. Surely they knew he hadn’t come back to claim Natalia. That is, if they could even find her.

  “What do you know, Dad?”

  His dad moved forward in his seat and rested his elbows on the table.

  “Just about nothing. Natalia went out hunting alone yesterday morning as she often does. But she never came back. You’ll want to talk to her friends. They’ll know a lot more than we do.”

  Jeremy nodded, fatigue hitting him hard now that he’d stopped running.

  “I think I’ll have a quick nap if you don’t mind. I ran all night.”

  His dad nodded and pushed back in his chair. His mum stepped up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder.

  “Your bed is still set up. Go lie down, and we’ll get you up later.”

  Jeremy nodded and staggered to his old room. Nothing had changed. The walls were still decorated with his favorite bands, the small bed still adorned by his blue sheets and blankets.

  Jeremy sighed and fell face first onto his old pillow.

  Peace settled into his soul, and he fell deeply asleep. There truly was nothing like home.

  ****

  Jeremy awoke to the sounds of people talking outside his window. What time was it? How long had he been sleeping?

  He got up and stretched his arms above his head, the joints in his neck popping in relief.

  Growling in frustration, Jeremy got to his feet and made his way to the door. He pushed it open and looked out. There were groups of people milling around the yard and common areas.

  Their small town was filled almost completely of shifters. The biggest city was a good hour’s drive. They needed the privacy and the space. Plus their community of more than a thousand people was enough to be almost completely self-sufficient.

  They had a school, shops, and the most beautiful lands imaginable.

  Jeremy blinked and looked out at the people he had known since he had been born. Amongst them were new faces he hadn’t seen before. It was easy enough to assess them all, because everyone was looking at him.

  “Hey, Jeremy.”

  Jeremy looked over at Alex, his father’s oldest friend. He extended his hand and shook the shifter’s warm hand.

  “Hey, Alex, good to see you.”

  The old man nodded, his eyes running quickly over Jeremy’s body as though he could determine Jeremy’s worth with a look.

  Jeremy couldn’t stop the way his spine stiffened in response.

  “You’re here to help us find Natalia?”

  Jeremy nodded and stretched his arms once again. He felt so rested after only one quick sleep in his old bed.

  “Did you have much trouble getting out of work, Jeremy? Your dad has told us how much responsibility you have.”

  Jeremy felt his eyebrows rise in surprise. He hadn’t realized his dad took any interest in what he did.

  “Yeah, well, I had to shuffle a few things around, but this was more important.” Well, that was an understatement. “Can you point me in the direction of her friends?”

  Alex turned and pointed across the yard, to a group of three men.

  “That’s Natalia’s boyfriend, Tommy.”

  Jeremy turned and knew straight away which one he was. Natalia’s choice stood out like a flame against the night, burning bright to Jeremy’s eyes.

  Natalia’s boyfriend was young but beautiful. Sensual, too. Jeremy could see why a woman would be attracted to the smooth olive skin, green eyes, and sculpted body of the beta male.

  Determined to get on top of the situation as soon as possible, he thanked Alex and set his sights on Tommy. He walked straight up to the young man who stood with two other male shifters.

  “Are you Natalia’s boyfriend? Tommy?”

  Tommy turned towards him, his eyes even more striking close up. Green, with flecks of yellow and violet. They knocked the air right out of him.

  “You’re Jeremy.”

  Jeremy nodded, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling up at the sound of Tommy’s voice. How strange.

  “I’m here to help. What do you know about Natalia’s disappearance?”

  Tommy shrugged and flicked his shoulder length hair back over his shoulder.

  He was trying to look unaffected, but Jeremy could feel the vibrations of awareness within the wolf. His tiger had that effect on some shifters.

 
“Nothing. She liked to hunt alone. Run alone. No one can keep up with her.”

  Pride flared within Jeremy that his intended mate was so powerful and independent. He caught the smile just before it flickered to the surface. Now was not the time.

  “Well, if you’re her boyfriend you should be able to lead us to her. If you can tell us in what direction she has been taken, then at least we can form a plan to rescue her.”

  Jeremy hated the envy that ran through him at the thought of this young man enjoying the woman who was meant to be Jeremy’s mate.

  “I can’t lead you to her. Why would you think I could?”

  Jeremy could feel the confusion and the fear within Tommy. He didn’t understand either emotion. Tommy should know that once you share a female shifter’s bed, you can sense them wherever they are.

  “If you are her boyfriend you should be able to sense her.”

  Tommy shuffled his feet and shoved his hands into his pockets.

  “I can’t.”

  Jeremy ran a hand over his forehead. What was wrong with this kid? Maybe there was something more to Natalia’s disappearance than he’d been told.

  “Tommy … if you know anything you’re not saying about her kidnapping…”

  Tommy made a faint howling sound, and Jeremy’s cock hardened in his jeans. Shit! What is wrong with my body today?

  Tommy glared at him as though he was mightily offended. “I don’t know anything, and I can’t help you because I can’t feel her!”

  Now Jeremy was confused and frustrated. He had been counting on Natalia’s physical draw on Tommy to help them.

  “Why the hell not? If you’ve claimed her then you will be able to sense where she is.”

  Tommy’s face flushed hot and red, yet his eyes stayed focused on Jeremy.

  “She’s unclaimed.”

  Shock rippled through Jeremy, and it took a moment for his brain to register what had been said. Natalia was a twenty-year-old virgin? She hadn’t slept with the beautiful man that stood in front of him? Impossible.