“Don’t harm her in any way, he means!” Noah shouted into the phone, shooting a look at the Beta. “The alpha ordered it.” He clicked off the phone and placed it in the cup holder between the two front seats.
Elijah, ever the serious one, gasped in the back seat. “Oh, Reid is gonna kick your ass. You know he doesn’t like it when we tell people he ordered something when he didn’t.”
Noah spun around, pinning Elijah with a glare. “Me ordering the guards at the border to leave Remy unharmed and you ordering twelve pizzas in his name are two completely different things, Eli.”
“It was only eleven,” Eli muttered as he leaned back in his seat, arms crossing over his chest.
16
Remy
The night air, while warm, still caused goosebumps to rise on Remy’s skin. Her hand shook with nerves as she stood next to her family, waiting for permission to cross the border. “What the hell is going on, Dad? Those assholes are just holding us here. Do you think the Alpha woke up? What if he’s on his way here to go all crazy serial killer on me?”
Todd frowned. “Just you? I think he’d have to off all three of us. No witnesses and all that.”
Remy scoffed but stayed silent. Todd had a point.
Her dad’s arm came across her shoulder, hugging her to his side, pulling her attention away from her brother. “Whatever it is, I’ll take care of it. I’ve already alerted my team of possible trouble. If we have to fight our way out, we’ll have reinforcements.”
“I’m sorry I messed everything up for you. I know you were looking forward to being part of this new inter-species council.” Remy’s anger had long since diminished.
Yes, she’d put up a stink when they first arrived at the border and one of the guards refused to lift the gate, allowing them entrance to human-run territory. The longer they waited, though, the less pissed off she became and now she was too exhausted to hold onto her anger. Remy counted fifteen Shifters guarding the gate. She was sure there were more unseen guards around the perimeter. They stood with rifles, dressed in full fatigues. With a cursory glance, they looked like human soldiers. When you took a closer look, they didn’t wear flak jackets nor combat boots. They wore sand colored t-shirts with camo pants, but their feet were bare. Shoes would only slow down a shifter in theory.
All the guards watched her family closely while still keeping an eye on the surrounding area. Remy considered her odds of escape if she hopped into her car and plowed through the guard dogs. A quiet giggle escaped her at her own joke. She wasn’t certain if the guards were canine Shifters, but it was funny nonetheless.
“Why are you laughing?” Brody asked wearily. He was nervous for a bear Shifter. He didn’t appear comfortable around her and her family. It amused Remy and she wished she could stick around and torture him as much as she did Bruce. She only just learned Bruce is one in a set of triplets. Brody and the honey bandit, Bryant. Bryant must still be bitter about Remy taking the last jar of natural raw honey from the store during her first week on the compound. He had yet to directly speak to Remy and the only time he acknowledged her existence was to call and ask Bruce if he could shoot her. She thought of him as a giant whiner. It was only one jar and they had plenty of other, not so delicious, processed kinds available. He could have made due.
Brody cleared his throat, pulling Remy’s attention back to him and his question. She thought for a moment about sharing her inner joke, but with all the Shifters around, she decided against it. She attempted to muster up a different reason for her giggles, but the sound of a roaring engine and the incessant beep of a horn distracted her.
Headlights aimed directly at Remy and her family. The approaching car showed no signs of slowing down and her father must have noticed. He pulled Todd and Remy away from the road, glowering at the car as it skidded to a stop mere inches from where they stood seconds ago.
Remy fully expected to find the Alpha behind the wheel of the car. Instead, her eyes widened at the sight before her. Bruce sat in the driver’s seat, one hand on the steering wheel. His large body turned nearly all the way around and his free arm was swatting at a man in the back seat. Remy remembered Chrissy’s uncle, Noah, from the recent fire incident. He sat in the passenger seat, pulling on the massive bears arm and shouting at him. Even with the windows rolled up Remy could make out the words “insane,” “maniac,” and “revoked license.”
Bruce finally spun back around when one of his brothers opened his door. He spoke to Bruce lowly and Remy couldn’t understand what he said, but it calmed the bear down a bit. Movement in front of her startled her and she took a few steps back. Noah and Elijah stood in front of her, both rambling at full speed.
Remy searched around for help. Her brother stood there laughing hysterically at the two men in front of her and her father just shook his head and walked over to speak with Bruce, demanding to know what happened to their original plan. The men before her continued to shout, hoping to be heard above each other.
“Oh my god, shut the hell up, both of you!” Remy couldn’t handle the two men vying for her attention any longer. She didn’t understand a word they’d said as they shouted to be heard above the other. “One of you better tell me what the holy hell is going on here! Right damn now before my patience runs out.”
“You have patience left?” Todd, of course, had to get his smart-ass remark in. It earned the little turd an elbow in the gut, but he seemed happy with himself despite coughing from the impact.
“Uh oh.” Elijah’s whispered words drew Remy’s attention. She turned in time to watch a huge wolf rushing right for her from out of the wooded tree line. She squealed like a little girl and held her hands in front of her, trying to ward off the attack.
After a full thirty seconds nothing had happened and Remy felt stupid standing there in a defensive position, so she lowered her hands and searched the area, wondering if she’d finally lost her marbles and imagined the wolf. She wasn’t that lucky, though. The wolf sat crouched about five feet in front of her. She watched in awe as he whimpered and backed away a few more feet. His body shook and the shape slowly morphed from wolf to that of a man. Reid stood before her, his bare chest heaving. His gaze was fixed over her shoulder, glaring at Elijah and Noah. Two thoughts entered Remy’s head in that moment. First, she wasn’t sure why the Alpha was mad at the other two men now instead of her. Second, Remy was dying to ask how a wolf could Shift and still have pants on in human form when she knew she hadn’t seen pants on the wolf.
For once, she kept her mouth shut and stood stone still. In her head, she debated which of her questions she would’ve asked first. While most people wouldn’t need to ponder such things as they waited to die, Remy’s brain refused to allow her to continue to panic and dwell on the inevitable.
All thoughts of peculiar Shifter traits disappeared as Reid stalked up to her and lowered his head so his eyes could meet hers. Warm spread through her frozen limbs as he growled possessively. “Mine.”
She was sure she heard him wrong until he picked her up like she weighed as much as a kitten and tossed her over his shoulder. The air left her lungs in a whoosh and she used her hands on the crazy Alpha’s back to push herself into a somewhat upright position, stalling the blood flow to her head.
“Are you completely mental?” she screeched and kicked her legs. He simply huffed, and wrapped an arm around both her legs, holding her still. Remy’s desperate gaze sought out her father. “Are you seriously going to stand there and do nothing? Shoot him or something!”
Her father blinked at her repeatedly, his eyes wide with shock. She wondered if his surprise was over the way the Alpha decided to manhandle her or something else. She didn’t have to wait long for an explanation. Clive shook himself, cleared his throat and glanced from Bruce to the Alpha, then to Remy. “Honey, we should probably go back with Alpha Reid. He needs… You should… It’s just…”
“I need to explain what happened earlier. I wasn’t attacking you. Please, give me a few mi
nutes to explain. If you still want to leave after, I’ll order my men to let you pass,” Reid implored softly, his hold on Remy tightening.
Between her father’s subtle nod and the plea in Reid’s tone, Remy found herself relenting. She felt Reid relax under her as he sensed her surrender. He turned his back to Noah and Elijah, who stood standing dumbstruck and slack jawed. “You fuckers were too slow.”
Remy didn’t understand what the Alpha meant, but the daggers the two shot his way proved they understood him perfectly. Still, they followed behind and Remy found herself pleased they planned to tag along.
Even if they both came after her acting like lunatics, she still felt the need to be around them, something she’d been fighting silently since meeting them. If she was honest with herself, it was the reason she cried when Reid yelled at her after the fire as well. She hated that she’d upset him and it disappointed her when he clearly wanted her far away from him.
Reid walked away from the border, not bothering to put Remy down. Instead, he swung her down until she was cradled in his embrace. Taking in the stubborn set of his jaw, Remy didn’t bother to point out her ability to use her own two feet. Remy had a million and one unanswered questions and even more inexplicable feelings raging inside of her. She hoped tonight at least a few of her questions would be answered, settling her emotions somewhat.
Despite the craziness that started to occur the moment she arrived on the compound, Remy felt at home in the charming village. She didn’t want to leave and she hoped Reid’s explanation would be enough to keep her here. As the quartet passed into the tree line, Remy heard Bruce let out a breath. “Thank fuck that’s settled! I need a new damn job. They don’t pay me enough for this shit.”
The End
About The Authors
AJ Anders is a new and upcoming author with a lot of different hats. She is an active mom, keeper of a full-time job, and has a passel of friends whose antics always keep her hopping. It's amazing she finds any time to craft her stories for her readers to enjoy. Fiercely loyal and protective of those she cares for, AJ enjoys creating stories where there may be strife and tears, but in the end, it will be a well-earned happily ever after. Outside of writing, AJ enjoys terrifying her friends with her driving skills and relaxing at home with a good book.
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My name is Amanda Perry, and I have a writing problem. Really, it's true. I've been writing stories for as long as I can remember thanks to my Grandmother who is a script writer. When I married the love of my life things got a little crazy and I took a step back from writing for a while. We had our first baby and I became a stay-at-home mama. Time flew and my baby became my big kid! While my Big started school, I decided to take up writing again. We became pregnant with our angel baby boy a while later. God decided he needed our baby boy more, but a few months later blessed us with our youngest child. My Little has become very active lately and keeps us all on our toes. While my spare time is minimal, I do enjoy dancing with strangers in casinos, googling odd facts, and drinking my weight in Diet Coke. My family means everything to me and in that I include a few close friends. Writing is my passion and as long as I'm able, I'll continue to pursue my dream.
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Eclipse
Daughter of Bastet 1
Angelique Armae
Eclipse
Daughter of Bastet 1
Mummies are a girl’s best friend…
I’m Keti, the sole Cat’Hu mortician this side of ancient Memphis. I’m also the only earth-born daughter of the Egyptian cat goddess, Bastet, a fact that puts me at war with several pantheons of gods—Egyptian, Roman, and Greek. But thanks to the curses I’ve placed to purify the mummies of three big cats, I now have a trio of immortal Roman Praetorians willing to aid my supernatural needs…including those off the battlefield…
First there’s Lucius The Tiger, my dream-seer guardian who’s assembled a dungeon packed with cursed blades. On an intimate level, he’s the slow-burn type of guy who knows exactly what to do to polish and forge me into the weapon I was born to be.
Then there’s Marcus The Lion, my spell-binding protector who owns a library of hexed books. To the outside world, Marcus is studious, classic, and usually very prim and proper. Behind closed doors, and by that I mean just the front door of the house, not necessarily locked away with me in private, he’s my guaranteed wall banger. And he’s built to do the job with ease.
And last but definitely not least, is Horatio The Panther, my introverted but magickally apt healer with a wickedly masterful hand that often leaves my ass with a reason for him to have to soothe me.
Warning: Contains one magickal war with the gods, three hunky feline shifters, one kickass heroine and a supernatural spanking that takes her out of this world.
Glossary
Aaru – Fields of Reeds. Heavenly afterlife ruled by Osiris.
Ammit – Egyptian demoness with a crocodile head and jaw. She eats the sin-riddled hearts that fall from the goddess Maat’s scales of justice. If a person’s heart is eaten, then his or her soul will spend eternity restlessly wandering through the Land of the Dead.
Anubis – Egyptian dog-headed god of embalming and the dead. He weighs the hearts of the dead against the weight of a feather on Ma’at’s scales of justice.
Bastet / Bast – Cat goddess of Ancient Egypt. Associated with perfume.
Bubastis – Center of worship for Bastet.
Cat’Hu – an immortal human with the powers to morph into feline form. A Cat’Hu has a human soul. They each have their own scarab amulet which contains their powers to morph. If the scarab is lost, they can’t shift between human and cat. If they are in cat form when the amulet is lost or taken, they can shift once more to change back to human. But their cat form is rendered dormant until the amulet is retrieved.
Cat’Hu Warrior – Elite class of Cat’Hu shifters, named by Bastet. Most were born in Rome and had a Roman father and an Egyptian feline shapeshifter mother (personal priestesses to Bastet). They bear a gold aura.
Cult / Tradition / Old ways – Terminology for ancient religion.
Denarius – Roman money. Plural: denarii
d’Ma’at – A term used to label a Cat’Hu incapable of being able to shift form, outside the law.
Duat – Egyptian Land of the Dead/The Everafter rule by the god Osiris.
Galea – Feathered helmet worn by Rome’s Praetorian Guard.
Hall of Two Truths – Egyptian hall of judgement in the land of the dead.
Ka—The soul.
Kalasiris – Long, sheath dress worn by Egyptian woman. Usually made of linen but wealthier women, it is believed, had them made of finer woven material. In hieroglyphics the kalasiris is depicted as formfitting. Beading or feathers could be used to embellish the dress.
Khepri – Egyptian scarab-headed god of beetles.
Keti – Bastet’s daughter sired by a Roman Senator. Keti is now a veterinarian in Manhattan. She is the sole keeper of Bastet’s full secrets, but Selene and Maahes have waged war against her, both wanting to usurp the powers Bastet gave to Keti.
Khonsu – Egyptian moon god. Brother to Bastet, uncle to Keti and Maahes.
Luna – Roman goddess of the moon. Often considered the moon itself.
Maahes – Lion-headed Egyptian cat god, son of Bastet, grandson of Ra. Maahes is a god of war. He now oversees Bastet’s sun worshiping colony of followers, known as Ra’ians. He’s a half-brother to Keti.
Ma’at – Egyptian goddess of Justice. Specifically, the Weighing of Hearts in the
afterlife. If a person’s heart fails to balance Ma’at’s scales, it will fall to the crocodilian-jawed demoness Ammit, who then eats it. If a person’s heart is eaten, then his or her soul will spend eternity restlessly wandering through the Land of the Dead.
Osiris – Egyptian god of the underworld, afterlife and rebirth. He has green skin that symbolizes rebirth.
Praetorian Guard – Elite guards who protected the Emperor and other high-ranking Roman officials.
Ra – Egyptian god of the sun, father of Bastet.
Ra’ians – Sun worshipping cats that can shapeshift into human form. They have an orange aura. Their leader is Maahes, son of the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet and grandson of the Egyptian sun god Ra.
Sacred Scarab – a scarab belonging strictly to one of the gods or their offspring.
Selene – Titan moon goddess, often considered the moon itself. She rides a moon charity and wears a crescent moon on her head as a crown.
Selenians – Moon worshipping cats that can shapeshift into human form. They have a blue aura. Their leader is the Titan moon goddess Selene.
Tradition – Magickal path/religion.
Weighing of Hearts – Part of the rite of passage for a heart journeying through the Egyptian Land of the Dead. This is where one’s soul (ka) either passes through to Aaru (Heavenly fields of reeds) and is greeted by Osiris, or fails and falls to the crocodile demoness Ammit. To judge a heart, Maat weighs it on her scales where one scale holds an Ostrich feather. If the heart balances the scales, then it passes. If it bears too much sin, it tips the scales and is devoured by Ammit where it will then remain in Duat, but in a state of unrest.
Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection Page 106