by Zoe Chant
“And like I already told you, I’m not interested in the money anymore,” Pritchard said. “I was, before. But now I think I’m going to have to take Kenneth’s other offer.”
“What offer?” Natalie asked – though she was more and more sure that she didn’t want to know.
Pritchard smiled, showing all his teeth. “Your son.”
For a long moment, Natalie was sure she couldn’t possibly have heard him correctly. “M-Micah?”
“Is that his name?” Pritchard shrugged. “Then I suppose so.”
Natalie could only stare at him, uncomprehending.
Then, fury flooded her, and she charged toward him, eyes blazing, her fists raised. “How dare you – you will never lay one fucking finger on my son –”
Pritchard laughed, catching her hand easily as she swung it toward him. “Temper, temper, Ms. Nelson. Kenneth signed an agreement – and contracts like this go back centuries in shifter law. You make an agreement, and if you can’t pay up when the time comes, you forfeit your heir. It’s all perfectly within shifter law. And Kenneth signed the contract. There’s nothing you can do.”
“Like hell there isn’t,” Natalie yelled, swinging her other fist. Pritchard caught that one too, holding both her wrists in a vise-like grip. “You will never –”
“Oh, but I will.” Pritchard glared down into her face, his eyes dark and malevolent. “I admit, I didn’t really see the use of it – a small human boy, who probably can’t even shift. But my organization has uses, even for humans. They make good scapegoats, if we ever have to pin a crime on someone. Better that than one of our own.”
Natalie couldn’t breathe. How can this be happening?
She felt dizzy, and gritted her teeth. “I’ll never let you take him.”
“It’s not up to you,” Pritchard snarled. “You’re a human. You have no say in shifter affairs.”
“Casey won’t let you,” Natalie said. “The pride – you said I was under their protection. They won’t –”
“If they respect shifter laws, then they’ll have no choice,” Pritchard said. “And unless they want to risk being declared rogues, they will respect shifter laws.”
He laughed, releasing her wrists and pushing her backward.
Natalie felt a sob welling up in her chest. How can this be happening?
And could what Pritchard said possibly be true?
Suddenly, Natalie realized how very little she knew about the shifter world she’d joined. But if what Pritchard said was right, and it was possible to sign a contract for children…
She shook her head. But what about the stories Charity and Sasha told you, about how they were saved by their mates when they were in danger?
Natalie couldn’t bring herself to believe that Casey – or anyone else in his family, his pride – would just bow down to what Pritchard wanted, shifter law or not.
But then again… she thought, as a chill ran down her spine.
“Casey will never let you do this,” she said, but she wondered who she was trying to convince: Pritchard, or herself.
Just as Pritchard began to respond, there was a sudden shout from behind them.
“What the hell are you doing with my mate?”
Natalie gasped, and turned to see Casey, his face livid with fury, as he ran across the school parking lot toward them. Natalie had never seen anyone look more infuriated in her life. His brown eyes, usually so soft and gentle, were blazing with anger, his muscles corded against his skin, huge hands bunched into fists. She swallowed as he reached her, putting himself firmly between her and Pritchard, his hand on her waist.
Relief flooded her so quickly that she felt her knees trembling. His touch seemed to soothe her, despite the fact she knew the danger was far from gone.
Gazing up at his straight back and broad shoulders, she wondered how even someone like Pritchard – tall and wide as he was – could hope to stand up to him.
Biting her lip, she looked around him at Pritchard. He looked enraged, but was trying his best to hide it.
“Well, well, well,” he said, his top lip twisting into a snarl. “Your mate, is it? I should have known. I suppose she’s told you all about the big bad man who’s been threatening her.”
“Shut up,” Casey snarled, and for a moment, Natalie could almost see the lion in his human features. “I don’t give a flying fuck why you’re here or what you want. But you need to step back. Now.”
“I don’t need to do anything,” Pritchard growled. “I’m here to collect what’s mine by right. I made an agreement according to shifter law, and I expect it to be honored.”
He reached into the front inside pocket of his suit jacket, before tossing a folded envelope into the dust at Casey’s feet.
“Read it,” Pritchard snarled. “You’ll find it’s all in order. I’m not careless about these things. Mates or not, you’re bound to honor this contract.”
“I’m getting sick of telling you to get out of here,” Casey said, balling his fists again and taking a step toward Pritchard. “I’m not gonna say it again.”
For a moment, Pritchard bared his teeth, his shoulders going tense – almost like an animal raising its hackles, Natalie thought. He backed away, teeth still on display, until he reached his car.
Casey’s hand never left her waist, but neither did he take his eyes off Pritchard for a moment. It was just like two wild animals facing off – which, Natalie supposed, was pretty much what it was.
At last, Pritchard gave one last snarl, before opening the door to his enormous Mercedes and climbing inside. There was a squeal of tires and spray of dust, and the car pulled away, hurtling down the street.
“Natalie –”
The second she heard Casey’s voice saying her name, Natalie felt herself go faint. Her knees wobbled, and she might have collapsed if Casey’s arms hadn’t been there to catch her.
“Natalie, who was that? Was it the man who came to your door and threatened you?”
Natalie couldn’t answer him. She could only cling to his arm, looking down at the envelope on the ground as if it were a snake.
“He said – he said he’d come for Micah,” she eventually managed to say, closing her eyes to hold back her tears.
“For Micah?” Casey sounded horrified. “Why in the name of hell –”
Natalie looked up into his wide eyes, taking in his shocked expression.
Oh, God.
Surely, surely he wouldn’t let Pritchard take Micah away from her, shifter law or not?
Natalie’s heart wrenched inside her chest. But what would she do if he told her his hands were tied, and he had to obey shifter law? Could she go on the run again?
The thought filled her with despair.
“Natalie, talk to me,” Casey said, taking her shoulders in his massive hands and leaning down to look into her eyes. “Tell me what he said. Tell me why he wants Micah.”
Natalie swallowed. Looking into his eyes, she felt his love radiate through her.
“You’re my mate, Natalie,” he whispered, raising his hand to brush his fingers over her cheek. “Please, tell me how I can help you. Will you tell me?”
Closing her eyes, Natalie could only nod.
Chapter Nine
Casey
Casey stared down at the document in front of him on the kitchen table at the B&B.
It was exactly what that asshole Pritchard had said it was: a contract, signed by him and Micah’s father, promising to hand over ‘his heir’ in the event that he couldn’t pay back the money he had borrowed from Pritchard’s pack.
Contracts like this had once been common in the shifter world – about a hundred years ago. He knew some shifter packs still adhered to the old ways. The Cedar Hill Pride had still been fairly old-fashioned, until recently. He himself had grown up hearing that shifters and humans didn’t mix, and the two ought to keep separate from each other.
His cousin Mason’s parents, his aunt and uncle, had been a lot more open in their thinking, and had raised
Mason amongst humans, which Casey supposed was why, of all of them, Mason had been the first to find his human mate. He had accepted her despite the fact she wasn’t a shifter, and had fought for her to be accepted by the pride.
Casey still burned with shame to think about how he had been so close-minded back then. He barely recognized himself.
But even he would never have stooped to thinking such archaic contracts like the one in front of him should be honored.
“He said that Micah’s father signed this?” he snarled, looking up to where Natalie sat across from him, holding onto a cup of coffee.
Natalie nodded. “He… he said that Ken’s mother was a shifter, and that he owed her a favor. That was why he lent him the money.”
Casey nodded, before glancing over to where Micah, Link and Faith were playing quietly together in the lounge, under Charity and Sasha’s watchful eyes. They had taken the older two children out of school for the day – and over both their protests – just to be safe. Charity and Sasha had immediately come home from the diner as soon as Casey had called them, and Mason and Joe were on their way.
Natalie drew in a deep breath. “Casey, was he telling the truth? Is this really part of shifter law?”
Casey lowered his eyes. “It is. Technically.” He heard her shocked inhalation, and clenched his fists.
Will this make her turn away from the pride? From me?
But he couldn’t skirt the truth. She had to be told. She had to know.
“Most shifters would never adhere to it now, though,” he explained, forcing himself to look her in the eye. “It’s still shifter law, but only because no one has ever gotten around to getting rid of it. I don’t know any pride or pack that would enforce it. I know there are some who still stick to doing things the old-fashioned way, but that’s not us, Natalie. Maybe once, but not now. We’re past that.” He lifted the contract from the table, before dropping it again. “And never something like this.”
Natalie looked into his eyes for a long moment, before licking her lips. “But can he… can he appeal to shifter law, or something like that? He said that if you didn’t honor the contract, you’d be declared rogues…”
Casey shook his head. “That can’t happen. Maybe, wherever Pritchard’s from, those kinds of laws still apply. But not here.” He leaned forward, taking her hand. “And even if they did, I wouldn’t care. I won’t let him take Micah. Never. Not in a million years.”
Anger roiled in Casey’s stomach as he spoke. The idea that someone – anyone – might try to hurt either Natalie or Micah sent a spout of pure rage straight up from his belly and into his throat, making it feel too tight even to breathe.
He still couldn’t quite explain how he had known to go to the school parking lot this morning. He had been simply taking care of some minor gardening work at the B&B, when a sudden chill had come over him – the strange but undeniable feeling that something was wrong.
The lion’s instincts had kicked in almost immediately, and Casey had known that this was just something where he’d have to trust his shifter abilities, rather than trying to think it through rationally. The lion knew something was happening. He had let it take over his mind, come as close to the surface as it could without actually shifting.
Natalie. It’s Natalie. She’s in danger.
After that, everything had been a blur. He had run until he’d found her, letting the lion’s senses guide him.
He had been in time to see that man holding Natalie’s wrists in his grip, before pushing her away, and it had been everything Casey could do not to shift right there and then, and tear him to pieces.
He had forced himself to remain human, though, even as his fury had misted his vision with red.
How dare anyone touch Natalie that way. How dare anyone frighten or hurt her.
If he had been younger, he might not have been able to stop himself. But Casey had worked hard to rein in his hot-headedness. And transforming into a lion in the middle of the school parking lot wouldn’t have helped anyone – least of all Natalie.
Swallowing heavily, Casey closed his eyes, trying to push down the spike of anger that suddenly threatened to overtake him.
Inside his chest, his lion snarled, baring all its teeth.
Someone hurt our mate. Someone threatened her cub. We should find them. Make them bleed for what they’ve done.
Not now, he told it. Now, we have to make sure Natalie is safe. And figure out what to do about this fucking contract.
The lion lashed its tail, dissatisfied, but at least it seemed to listen to him. For now, anyway.
Natalie took a shaky breath. “How bad is this, though? What will they do if you won’t let them do what they want? What can they do?”
Casey reached across the table, taking her hand. “Nothing, so long as I’m here. I won’t let them do anything. And you’ll have the protection of the pride, as well – Joe is alpha now, and there’s no way he would let anything like this happen. The first thing we need to do is get both you and Micah to our pridelands – once you’re there, nothing can hurt you. Other shifters aren’t allowed to come onto our lands without permission. If they care about shifter law, they won’t break that rule. You’ll be safe there.”
Natalie looked up at him, eyes wide. “Your pridelands?”
Casey nodded. “The lands of our ranch. The B&B and most of the town are well outside of them. But once you’re over the border of our lands, you’re untouchable. They’re ours. Even rogue shifters think twice before trespassing on another shifter’s lands.”
“You said the B&B is outside of the pridelands, though,” Natalie said. “Will I be able to come here to do my job? That’s why I’m here, after all – I can’t just –”
“Oh no, none of that,” came Faye’s voice from the doorway. “There’s no question of you working while this is going down.”
Casey looked up as Faye entered the room, followed by Mason and Joe. Mason looked furious, while Joe had the serious expression on his face that Casey knew meant he was extremely pissed.
Faye’s own expression was firm and no-nonsense – just as it always was when she wasn’t going to hear any arguments.
Natalie stood up as they entered. “Faye, I can’t let you do that. You hired me to come out here to do a job. It wouldn’t be right –”
“Good thing it’s not tourist season yet, then,” Faye said. “We have exactly two guests at the moment, and I think I can manage to clean one room. I hired you early so we could see how things worked out before it got too busy. But now that we know you’re Casey’s mate, there’s no question of you not staying on. I can handle things here for the next few weeks, until they start to get hectic. And if I know these Whittaker boys, then things will be sorted out well before then.”
“They will be,” Casey said instantly. In fact, he’d make sure this was sorted out before sundown tomorrow. He’d run this Pritchard out of town himself, and give him enough to think about that he’d never come back.
“And we’ll help,” Mason said. “Any way you want us to. If these fu –” He checked himself, glancing toward where Faith, Micah and Link were playing in the lounge. “ – If these individuals want to mess with us, we can mess right back.”
Joe nodded. “I hope you know, Natalie, that as alpha of the pride, you have my support. I don’t know what Casey has told you about us, but I’m sure he’s made it clear we don’t have anything to do with those outdated shifter laws. You can rest assured that we’ll do everything in our power to protect you and Micah.”
Casey watched as Natalie looked, wide-eyed, between them.
And then, she burst into tears.
Horrified, Casey reached out for her, taking her in his arms and letting her rest her head against him. He didn’t understand why she was crying, and his lion was even more bewildered. It only knew that something was upsetting its mate, and it didn’t like it at all.
“Natalie, are you okay?” he asked, stroking his hand down the back of her head
.
“Yes,” she said, her voice soft. She sniffled a little, before peeking up at him, embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m not normally like this – I never cry. It’s just that… I’ve been on my own for so long. And even when I had Ken, I always felt like I was on my own. I guess just… hearing you say you’d help me. I just…”
“Shh.” Casey pulled her head back to his chest gently, letting her cry. “It’s okay. Don’t worry. I’m here.”
“Mommy?” Micah came out of the lounge, his little face screwed up in concern. “Mommy, what’s wrong?”
Natalie pulled away slightly, though not before she’d looked up at Casey, her eyes sending a lightning bolt straight through his heart.
She leaned down, pulling Micah into a hug.
“Nothing, sweetheart. Nothing’s wrong. Mommy’s just fine.”
Chapter Ten
Natalie
It was late afternoon when Natalie and Casey arrived at the ranch house, the sunlight filtering through the clouds and illuminating everything in a warm golden glow.
Natalie had a hard time remembering the dire peril she and Micah could be in when everything looked as beautiful as this – and when she looked across the cabin of Casey’s truck to see him sitting next to her, handsome, strong and utterly immovable.
She couldn’t think of a better protector, either for herself or for Micah.
“So this is the head office of operations,” she murmured as she looked out of the truck windshield at the ranch house. She’d never been on a ranch before – and she’d never expected to be. They’d driven through long stretches of fields, past happily munching cattle and horses, until they’d turned onto a dirt driveway, signed with the name WHITTAKER and a large billboard reading Welcome to Cedar Hill Ranch!
“I hope you like it,” Casey said, glancing across at her. “It’s not exactly the Ritz, but…”
Natalie laughed. “Like I’ve ever stayed at the Ritz! As long as it has four walls and a ceiling, I’m happy. Three walls would probably do it, honestly.”