by Eden Cole
The Shifter's Mate
The Shifter's Mate
The Shifter’s Mate
Copyright © March 2010, Eden Cole
Cover art designed by Jordyn Tracey © March 2010
ISBN 978-1-936110-61-2
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious or used fictitiously. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
Sugar and Spice Press
North Carolina, USA
www.sugarnspicepress.com
The Shifter's Mate
The Shifter's Mate
Chapter One
Serenity hooked her mask behind her ears and unscrewed the top on the small brown bottle. She dumped a pool of the contents into the waiting bowl and then set the bottle aside. Taking a deep breath, she grasped a Q-tip, dipped it into the clear liquid, and leaned in close to the painting in front of her. Just a millisecond before she connected with the delicate canvas, a breeze disturbed her hair, blowing a wisp across her face. She paused, knowing what was coming.
“Darling! What are you doing?”
Serenity sighed. “Mom, what a surprise.” She set the Q-tip down and wiped her hands on a rag. “It’s been all of what, two days since you last visited me? Isn’t it Salacity or Sky’s turn?”
Her mother, floating a good foot above the floor and transparent as usual, pouted and clutched her hands together in front of her. “Don’t be so snippy, Serenity, and stop frowning. You’ll never get a man like that.”
Serenity cocked an eyebrow in her mother’s direction. “Please, Mom, the way my life is going, I’ll never get a man anyway. And certainly not with you popping in every moment of the day and night. I asked you to come to the door and knock like a normal person. You don’t respect my boundaries.”
Her mother waved a wispy hand. “Boundaries, smoundaries, Serenity. Besides, what would I look like, a ghostly figure standing outside your door ringing the bell? If I could even get it to sound.”
“Whose fault is that, Mom?” Serenity glanced at her watch and stood to begin cleaning up. She’d thought she had more time to work on her current painting, but apparently not. Not with her mother nagging at her, wasting time. She tried to muster some sympathy for the woman, but dealing with her at all hours wore Serenity out. She would never admit it to her mother, but Serenity thought she understood why her father had run off when he did.
While she packed away her things, her mother flitted about, surveying the room they occupied. Serenity loved this particular room in her house. The ceiling was vaulted, stretching two stories, and all the walls were lined with books. Serenity enjoyed working in the loft at one side of the room with the windows thrown open for ventilation. Peace—that was her motto for life, but somehow she seemed cursed to never have it, especially with a mother who was determined to drive Serenity to drink.
“This room is perfect, darling,” her mother chirped behind her as Serenity strolled toward the stairs. Warning bells went off in her head.
“What are you up to, Mom?”
Her mother tsked. “Oh nothing, just . . .” She rested a slender finger alongside her pink lips. “I want a party.”
“A what!” Serenity was already forming the words to say ‘hell no’ when her mother rushed on.
“Hear me out, darling. It could be so much fun, and what better place to have it than right here in the house your father left you? In this very room. It’s perfect, I tell you.”
Serenity rolled her eyes. “Mom, you say it like the man is dead.”
“He might as well be.”
“Lord, help me.” Serenity ran a hand through her hair and shoved the heavy mass over her shoulder. She’d been considering whether to chop it all off but hadn’t found the time to think much about it between dealing with her mother and her business, along with Lenny’s issues. “Mom, I don’t have time for this today. I’m taking Lenny in for his operation. If I don’t hurry up, I’ll be late. The answer is no. You are not having a party in my house just because you think it will spite Dad. End of discussion, and have a good day.”
Before her mother could say another word or think up some new way to manipulate her, Serenity passed out of the library and shut the door behind her. She wiggled a finger, uttered a few choice words, and smiled knowing she had sealed her mother off from following her. The spell wouldn’t work long against a relative and certainly not one in spirit form, but it would give her time to get Lenny and head over to the vet’s office.
When she entered her bedroom, she greeted her cute little pooch, tickling him behind his ears. His big, sad eyes struck a soft spot in her heart. “Aw, don’t look at me like that, Lenny. Your wandering off and sowing your wild oats is what has gotten you into this mess, and I don’t need another male reminding Mom about the unfaithfulness of men. So snip, snip, bud.”
Lenny whined as if he knew what was coming. Serenity wasn’t giving in to her cockapoo this time. She’d spoiled him enough.
Within an hour, they had driven the forty-five minutes to the vet’s office and were waiting to be called. Serenity surveyed the other patrons and was somewhat surprised that they were almost all women—primped women. Most of them were fixing their hair, staring in compact mirrors and whispering nervously to each other. She wondered what was going on since she had never been to this particular vet. Her old vet, Dr. Samuels, had gotten sick recently, and his wife had insisted he retire. Dr. Samuels had suggested Jon Blackwood and said he was good with animals, had a natural ability. He’d better be good for the price she was paying to have Lenny fixed.
“Ms. Powers?”
Serenity glanced up. “Yes?”
“Dr. Blackwood will see Lenny now.”
The assistant held the door for Serenity while she scooped up a whimpering Lenny from under her chair. From the extra weight she felt, she was also going to ask the doctor about a diet. Her canine Romeo was out of hand.
Serenity was shown to a room and instructed to wait with the dog resting on the table. She had been expecting a good fifteen minute delay but was pleasantly surprised when the door opened right away. She kept a firm hand on Lenny’s back and swung around to face the doctor. All the breath left her body in a noisy rush before she sucked it back in.
The room was small of necessity, but it grew smaller still with the big, hulking man that stood in the doorway, shoulders so wide, she thought he should turn sideways to keep from hurting himself. He might have said good morning, but Serenity wasn’t sure. The gentle smile on his face arrested her along with the mesmerizing midnight eyes that twinkled and made her insides tremble. Dr. Blackwood shut the door and advanced on Lenny, but her kind-hearted pooch began to growl.
Serenity was about to whisper a calming spell, which she should have done before the man came in, but all thought to how to do it went right out of her head when she caught the man’s natural woodsy scent. Not cologne. That would be too much for his poor patients, but something earthy, something wild, and all male.
Good Lord, no wonder the women in the waiting room were primping with this Greek god back here.
“Ms. Powers, are you okay?” he asked.
No, not a Greek god. A Scottish god, if there was one. She knew zip about the subject. He had a sexy lilt to his words that made her want to hear him speak dirty words in her ear while he brought her to the fiercest orgasm.
Okay, Serenity, get a hold of yourself. Her mind wasn’t listening. Common sense had fled. He was tall, too. Most men she seemed to attract stopped at her nose since she was just one inch short of six feet. Dr. Blackwood was at leave six inches taller, making her feel average height in comparison. That was refreshing.
He laid large hands over hers
and leaned in with that sexy smile aimed at her. “Ms. Powers?”
At last, she snapped out of it. “Oh, yes, um, sorry. I-I...” She put a hand to her head and closed her eyes a second. “I’ve had a screaming headache today and haven’t been able to concentrate. Sorry about that.”
“No problem at all.”
She was not so out of her head that she didn’t notice he left his hand on top of hers. Snatching her hands away, she rambled to cover her nervousness. This was not her. She was the calm one. Sky, her youngest sister was the shy, awkward one, poor thing. “About Lenny, yes, he’s gotten a few girl dogs pregnant in the neighborhood, and it was a real task to placate the owners. So I had to break down and get it done. You know.”
“Yes, I know. Don’t worry. He’ll be right as rain in no time.” He glanced at Lenny who was still growling and raised an eyebrow while clicking his tongue. Lenny settled down right away, making Serenity stare at him. He had never calmed without a little magic before. The man was a natural. After he had gotten the dog quiet, the doctor looked at her again. “I should have introduced myself since you are new. I understand I have Dr. Samuels to thank for bringing you to me.”
“I...”
“I mean bringing Lenny to me.” He held out his hand to shake. Serenity hesitated a second before allowing him to take hers in both of his. She swayed a little toward him but caught herself. Okay, Serenity, this is not a regency novel. Control, calm! “Jon Blackwood,” the doctor was saying through her haze.
She felt obligated to give him her first name as well, and not that she didn’t want to. She wanted to give him a whole lot more. “Serenity Powers.”
“Mm. Beautiful name, Serenity.” His voice rumbled over the syllables giving her chills. Her normal confidence surfaced, and she quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Do you get fresh with all of your patients, doctor?” She tilted her head toward the door. “The waiting room was like a harem.”
He grinned. “Jealous?” Serenity tugged her hand free of his hold and took a step back. He rushed to calm her. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for, especially since we’ve just met. But you have to admit you were wrong, too?”
Her agitation dissipated. “True. All right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. It’s not your fault the women have dragged their poor pets to the place they least want to go just for an excuse to see you.”
Dr. Blackwood gave a great impression of a cat sound, and Serenity laughed. She held up her hands in surrender. He was interesting, she had to admit, but there was no sense getting herself worked up. Dr. Blackwood was no doubt an ordinary human, and those were not on her eligible list no matter how delicious they looked. Her mother would snap the last nerve she had, and frankly trying to hide her family’s secrets would be too much to deal with. She sighed. Oh well, it had been fun teasing him and feasting her eyes on his face and body for a few moments.
“So,” Dr. Blackwood said, as if he sensed her resolve to dismiss him from her life, “I will do the procedure in about an hour when my assistant has everything in place, but Lenny will have to stay overnight for observation to make sure everything went fine. You can wait and see him after the procedure, or my assistant can call you when he’s ready to be picked up.”
“Thank you. I will see him tomorrow then.” Rather than tempt herself a second longer, Serenity said her good-byes and hurried for the door. After filling out some paperwork, she made it to her car and heaved a sigh. Sometimes it sucked royally to be a witch, and today was one of those times. All signs pointed to her dying an old, bitter woman with nothing to show for her life but a few paintings no one but her and her clients gave a damn about.
The Shifter's Mate
The Shifter's Mate
Chapter Two
Serenity surveyed the crowd below—wall to wall people, middle-aged women, and younger men. Her mother was in fine form, flirting with every man. She gave a whole new meaning to cougar when she’d instructed Serenity on whom to invite. Any other set of sisters would assume their mother had invited a minimum of thirty young men for them to choose from, but no, their mother wanted all of the men for herself—all to seduce, make them fall in love with her, and then dump them cold.
Ordinary human men, Serenity thought, with no magic ability. Her mother would never consider a man like that marriage material, not after her father had run off and broken her heart. Serenity’s sister Sky strolled up, all wide eyes and sweet innocence. Just looking at her always brought out Serenity’s big sister protective instinct.
“Why did you give into her, Serenity,” Sky asked.
Serenity took the glass of red wine Sky handed her with thanks. “I had no choice. Didn’t you hear? Mom, haunted my clients, scared most of them off, making them think I had ghosts in my house. My business is my livelihood, so I figured one night was better than being tossed out on the street because I can’t pay my bills.”
Sky laughed. “Poor, Sis. But aren’t you being dramatic? I mean your house is paid for, and Salacity and I get some money every month. We could pay the electricity at least.”
Serenity patted her sister’s hair that would have matched hers to a tee if Sky hadn’t been cursed with static-y, flyaway hair. At least the colors matched. With their red hair and hazel eyes, they could have been triplets rather than being two years apart in stepladder. “Dramatic or not,” Serenity said, “I can’t have Mom interfering with my business, so here we are at this ridiculous party where she’s keeping all attention on her.”
Sky crinkled her cute little nose. “I know, and none of them are interesting.”
Serenity laughed. “So you’ve talked to them?”
“Not exactly.”
Knowing her sister, Serenity was sure Sky hadn’t said more than a quiet hello to anyone male or female. She took her sister’s hand and led her down from the loft to the first floor. They weaved through the people milling about, discussing political current events that Serenity knew nothing about, nor did she care to know.
When it became obvious that they were heading toward a couch in the corner where two handsome men sat alone talking to each other, Sky pulled back on Serenity’s arm. Serenity held on. “No you don’t. We’re going to introduce ourselves.”
“But they’re ordinary. I don’t sense a drop of magical ability from them. Mom won’t approve,” Sky justified.
“Who cares what she says. Besides, it’s just practice for when destiny brings your mate,” Serenity told her. “If you’ve warmed up to talking to men, then you won’t push the right one away because you’re too afraid to take a chance.”
“Bah,” Sky grumbled. “You don’t believe in destiny, and I haven’t seen you talking to any of the men either.”
“I can’t get past Mom’s breasts,” Serenity quipped.
They both laughed and turned to survey their mother’s outfit once again. The dress hugged her slender figure like a second skin from the waist up, and from the waist down fell to the floor in sensuous flowing silk. However, it was the bodice that commanded attention of all in the room. The V cut at the front dipped almost to their mother’s navel, and she had never been flat-chested. The swell on either side of the V made Serenity blush every time she looked at her mother.
When she turned to Sky, she saw what was probably a reflection of her face, flaming red cheeks. “I can’t believe she dresses like that at her age, and it embarrasses me more than anything she’s ever done.”
Serenity agreed. “Exactly. So to catch these two men away from Mom is a treat. Let’s take advantage of it before she turns her attentions to them and we’re left chatting with Mrs. Hildegarde or Ms. Corinne the rest of the night.”
Sky heaved a sigh. “You’re probably right. By the way, where is Salacity?”
As if on cue, their sister strolled into the room on the arm of one of the men. Her flaming hair, usually kept in order, was all over her head. Her cheeks too were red, and her lips looked swollen. Serenity rolled her eyes. That girl would never b
e outdone by their mother. If she had to climb on a man’s lap to get his attention, she’d do it, and from the looks of it, Serenity thought, her sister had done more than that.
“Never mind her. Let’s have fun of our own.”
They started to walk again when the butler her mother had insisted on hiring for the evening came strolling into the room. Serenity winced at the formality in his uniform and the way he stood at attention with his chin raised high in the air. Serenity knew he was about to announce another guest, but when the name Jon Blackwood fell from his lips and the sexy vet strolled in after the butler, she couldn’t move. Nor could she take her eyes off him.
While he didn’t have formal wear on in keeping with her mother’s dress code, his short sleeved shirt, showing off bulging biceps, made him no less appealing to any red-blooded woman in the place. The dark, inquisitive eyes scanned the room, and Serenity found herself wanting to be the person he sought. Then commonsense retuned when she remembered of course she must be who the doctor searched for. If he was here, there might be a problem with Lenny. Her heartbeat quickened with her fear, and she released Sky’s arm to start off in Dr. Blackwood’s direction.
Serenity barely heard Sky’s question of what’s wrong as she weaved through the crowd. By the time she was within shouting distance of him, Salacity had beaten her to the doctor’s side. Serenity paused frowning. Her younger sister had quickly released the poor man she’d been kissing and wound herself around the vet’s arm, pouting too damn beautifully up at him.
Telling herself that the pang she felt was still about her concern for Lenny, Serenity drew up in front of the couple with their heads close together. “Is Lenny okay, Dr. Blackwood? What’s wrong?”
Salacity looked around at her with an expression of a cat having gotten into the cream, and Dr. Blackwood looked guilty. Serenity wanted to toss them both out of her house for no good reason.