Palm Haven Shifters: Complete Five-Part Series

by Sennah Tate

  Palm Haven Shifters

  The Complete Five-Part Series

  By Sennah Tate

  Copyright 2016 Sennah Tate

  Copyright Sennah Tate 2016

  Cover design by Sennah Tate

  This book is a work of fiction. All the characters in this book are fictitious and any similarity to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidence.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Table of Contents

  Author’s Note

  Dedication

  BOOK ONE: Tempting the Tiger

  BOOK TWO: Claimed by the Bear

  BOOK THREE: Bound to the Wolf

  BOOK FOUR: Catching the Tiger

  BOOK FIVE: Falling for the Bear

  About the Author

  More From Sennah Tate

  Author’s Note

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  Dedication

  To my wonderful family and friends that never cease to support me.

  Palm Haven Shifters

  Tempting the Tiger

  Chapter 1

  SARAH

  The clock on the wall taunted her. Being late for work wasn’t generally a part of Sarah’s routine, but it had become a bad habit lately. More and more she found herself distracted and unable to complete tasks that had once seemed easy for her. Her arms ached from the stack of dusty books she held at her side and she shifted the mass to rest against her hip.

  It wasn’t like the library couldn’t run itself without her for a few minutes. She tapped her foot against the tiled floor of the busy coffee shop. Normally, she’d make her own coffee. Normally, her coffee pot at home wasn’t a smoking charred victim of her unruly magic. Normally she could keep her powers under wraps enough to avoid mishaps like that.

  “Sarah?”

  But not today. On this day, her magic decided to fry her favorite counter-top appliance, forcing Sarah to stand in this never-ending line for coffee. How long did it take to make a latte anyway? The clock taunted her still with the steady tickticktick she was sure only she could hear over the bustling crowd shuffling mindlessly for their morning caffeine fix.

  “Sarah?” The voice nearly pierced her incessant internal chatter.

  Her fingers drummed against the well-worn spines in her grasp. She’d stumbled onto a new piece of information about Silas Kerris, the namesake of the Kerris Memorial Library, and she was itching to get to the library to see if any of her other documents corroborated the story. There had long been rumors about the Kerris and the man that donated the land it sat on.

  Sarah didn’t like rumors. She liked facts. Answers. Mysteries and questions were nice, but what Sarah really liked about a good mystery was finding the answers. She’d been looking for answers about Kerris for years — had she finally stumbled on something?

  “Vanilla latte for Sarah?” the bored voice of the barista finally broke through and Sarah realized she’d been off in space while they called her name.

  A flush of heat warmed her cheeks as she pushed through the crowd, garnering annoyed huffy glances from the other patrons. Without realizing it, she’d held up the entire procession.

  “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” she muttered to every angry glare as she ducked her way through. No one made any attempt to move out of her way. No one ever did. She was used to it.

  What Sarah wasn’t used to was having all eyes on her. She snatched the coffee from the kid behind the counter and sheepishly made her way over to sweeteners, still feeling the burning scowls of morning commuters on her back.

  Her hands shook as she dumped a packet of sugar half in her cup and half on the counter. Were they still staring at her? Surely they’d lost interest by now. Back to their devices and self-involved world. So why did she still feel eyes on her? Nerves bubbling up in her chest? She re-arranged the books on her hip and took hold of her latte, poised for escape. She needed to get out of here. Get to work. Forget this whole harried morning.

  She turned and walked into a wall, dropping her books and coffee in one fell swoop.

  “Of course,” she muttered, dropping to the ground to clean up her mess.

  The wall stooped, too. It wasn’t a wall at all, rather a man —a very broad man. His hand entered her vision, offering a stack of napkins.

  “Let me help,” he offered, his voice rich and smooth.

  Sarah realized a moment too late that she’d bumped into him and blushed again.

  “God, I’m sorry. I’m such a klutz. Did I spill on you?” She hardly spared a look for him as she frantically wiped down books already yellowed with age, now stained with coffee. Hopefully nothing was irreparable. Jerry would kill her. The Library Director told her a million times not to take work home with her. Things like this always happened.

  Of course, normally it was her magic’s fault.

  He chuckled and shook his head, “No, I’m fine. Are you?”

  His words of concern — while everyone else in the shop stared at her like she was an escaped mental patient — made her pause. She finally took a moment to meet his gaze. Impossibly green eyes struck her first. Only two percent of people in the world had green eyes — why was she thinking of trivia at a time like this?

  “I’m…” she sighed, unable to form the lie to tell the stranger she was fine. He was handsome. No. He was hot. She had no business talking to someone this good-looking. All rugged sexiness wrapped in an impeccably tailored suit.

  “Late,” she finally finished, gathering her things before hurrying out, her heart hammering wildly as the bell above the coffee shop door clanged, announcing her exit.

  She’d barely stepped foot into the library when Janine, her co-worker, pinned her with a knowing glance. The older woman took one look at Sarah’s coffee-stained blouse, disheveled bun and — undoubtedly — stressed expression, and clucked her tongue in disapproval.

  “Rough morning, hun?”

  Sarah dropped the stack of books on the reference desk with a heavy thud and took her seat next to Janine with an exaggerated sigh.

  “Aren’t they all?”

  Janine laughed and patted her on the arm, “You need to slow down sometimes. You get a lot further walking in one direction than you do running in circles. Jerry brought donuts in.”

  Sarah’s eyebrows shot up and she looked around for the tell-tale flat box of pastries.

  “What’s the occasion?”

  Janine shrugged, “Not sure there is one. I’ve got my eye on that Boston Cream, though. I’m saving it for my ten o’clock coffee. Hands off,” she teased.

  Sarah offered her a lopsided grin as she picked out a vanilla creme-filled with sprinkles. Her favorite. It wasn’t like Jerry to bring something in. Maybe he had a feeling that she’d need the comfort eating today. Her suspicions would have to wait until her stomach was appeased.

  She took half the donut in on
e bite before looking around again, her mouth still coated with sticky sweetness as she tried to force out, “You said there’s coffee?”

  Bless Janine’s heart. She was already pouring a mug for Sarah. She sipped her coffee, inhaled the other half of the donut and sighed. She had the best co-workers in the world.

  Chapter 2

  SLOAN

  He watched her leave the coffee shop with a mixture of amusement and disappointment. A slight smiled still curved his lips as she darted out like she had someone hot on her heels.

  Any other day, she might. Any other day, Sloan would listen to the insistent roar of his tiger that told him to chase her. Claim her. Make her scream his name until she was hoarse and incoherent.

  But today wasn’t any other day. The beast inside of him chuffed in annoyance but Sloan pushed it aside. Not today, buddy, sorry. The Elder, the leader of the Tigris clan to which all tiger shifters in Palm Haven and the surrounding area belonged, wanted a word with him.

  A word. The thought alone made Sloan uneasy. Not an easy feat — he prided himself on being unflappable in most situations, but when the Elder tiger called you in for a word… all pretenses dropped and you became that sniveling third grader called into the Principal’s office for tugging on Mary-Ellen Cross’s pigtails.

  He couldn’t help but watch the bleary-eyed humans, mulling around waiting for their orders, with envy. They had no idea what was coming. The destructive force that would tear apart their pretty little lives. They knew nothing of shifters, the territorial disputes between them, or the Cold War amongst the three clans that was dangerously close to boiling over.

  Is that what the Elder wanted to talk about? Clarence Cunningham wasn’t the type of man to mince words. He’d lived through both World Wars and — if rumors were true — the Industrial Revolution. Shifters were a long-lived bunch in general, but even Sloan couldn’t comprehend the tenacity it must have taken for the man to stay in hiding since before the advent of electricity.

  “Quad shot for… Sexy?” the pimple-faced barista rolled his eyes and called across the room, clearly looking for a patron of the feminine persuasion. He was about to be sorely disappointed.

  Sloan’s earlier flirtation with the register girl seemed distant and foolish now. When she’d asked for a name for the order he’d simply said ‘Call me whatever you’re going to scream out later’.

  His tiger delighted in the flush of warmth that colored the 20-something’s cheeks, but now… He pictured the other woman. He’d probably never see her again — hell, depending on how his meeting with the Elder went, he might not see anyone ever again. He couldn’t get too worked up over a missed opportunity with the tardy bibliophile in the tight pencil skirt.

  Sloan snatched the cup from the crestfallen teenager and tried to steel himself for the coming day. He wasn’t sure he’d ordered enough espresso for this meeting, but there was no turning back now.

  Chapter 3

  SARAH

  “Hello, yes. My name is Sarah, I’m with the Kerris Memorial Library…”

  “Yes, sir, we appreciate your generous donation, what I’m actually calling about today is a community even—”

  Sarah dropped the receiver and her forehead hit the desk.

  “Another hang-up?” Janine asked, concern written all over her kind features.

  Sarah sighed and nodded.

  “Why is it so hard to get people interested in literacy?”

  Janine shrugged and poured them each another — Sarah’s third and her fourth — cup of coffee.

  “Hard to say. Maybe they’re just jerks.”

  Sarah had to smile at that, “No, I don’t think so. I mean, I guess I should be grateful that they’re on the donor list at all… I suppose they think they’ve done their part already.”

  Janine rolled her eyes, “By donating…” she glanced at the list in front of Sarah, “fifty dollars a year? Big whoop.”

  “It’s better than nothing,” Sarah said, forcing a hint of optimism that she didn’t feel into her voice. She’d been at this for months. Trying to find sponsors for the Annual Community Literacy Event, calling, being hung up on, cursed out, called greedy — one of the nicer names she’d been called, actually — and generally dismissed.

  Every year it was the same song and dance. Every year it became harder and harder to get people involved and excited about reading. Without events like this to bring in donations, the Kerris wouldn’t survive for long. Already, they were the only library left in Palm Haven. Sarah couldn’t bear the thought of living somewhere that didn’t have a library. She shuddered and found the next number on the list.

  The phone rang twice before the line went dead. Sarah whirled around in her chair, preparing to affix Janine with a stern look, but found Jerry with his chubby finger on the hook, an apologetic frown etched into his ancient face.

  “What’s up, Jer?” she asked, trying to hide her annoyance. For all intents and purposes, Jerry was her boss — the library’s director. Nevermind that she did at least eighty-percent of his duties for him. She couldn’t — and wouldn’t — give him attitude about cutting her call short.

  He sighed.

  Oh no. That sigh was never a good thing. Jerry was like their kindly old uncle. Always with hard candies of indeterminate age in his pockets, always a friendly word on his way into the office for an afternoon nap — or as he liked to call them ‘meditative hours’. For Jerry to look so concerned, so guilty…

  Sarah’s stomach dropped. What was it this time? More lay-offs? She and Janine were the only employees left. Was the Kerris closing all-together?

  That thought alone was enough to make Sarah nearly cry. Kerris had been her home away from home since she was a little girl. If she were really honest with herself, Kerris was more of a home than home had ever been. Fantastical stories of magical places and people helped her cope with the uncertainty of her own blossoming powers.

  Her mother had tried to help her hone and control her unruly powers. She’d bought Sarah her very first charm — the all-seeing eye — to focus and tame the roaring current of magic that flowed through her veins, but nothing had ever worked. Her magic was wild… and a major pain in the ass.

  Jerry ran a weathered hand over his rotund face, “I’m sorry, Sarah, the event’s not going to happen this year. There aren’t enough sponsors and there wasn’t enough turn-out last year to make room for it in the budget—”

  “That’s some bullshit,” Janine said, jumping to her defense. “Sarah’s been working on this night and day for half a year and you’re going to put the kibosh on it less than two weeks out?”

  “I know it’s not ideal,” Jerry tried to defend himself. He fidgeted with the buttons on his shirt, unable to look at either woman.

  Sarah sighed. She was thankful that Janine went to bat for her, but she couldn’t muster up the energy to fight on her own behalf. The event was her baby, but Jerry wasn’t to blame for the bad economy or lack of interest. If she’d made more calls… worked a little bit harder… Maybe if she’d dedicated a little more time to it…

  A heavy hand dropped on her shoulder as Jerry patted her absently, “I really am sorry,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

  It wouldn’t take a particularly astute person to see that the job had taken its toll on Jerry. Puffy dark bags tugged at his eyes, giving his expression a droopy effect. A look of perpetual anxiety was permanently etched into his forehead and Sarah wondered how many times he’d delivered the bad news to an employee throughout his decades at the library. Was it selfish of her to keep fighting tooth and nail for the Kerris to stay open?

  Janine still sputtered protests about the injustice of the whole thing. Sarah calmly tapped the donor list on the desktop to straighten the stack of papers before slipping the whole thing away in a nearby file cabinet.

  “Thanks for telling me,” she said, her voice hollow and distant even to her own ears. Inside, magic crackled to life, fueled by the emotional torrent she shoved deep dow
n.

  Her co-workers weren’t sure how to respond; Jerry backed away slowly, as if he thought it were a trick and she’d strike like a cobra the moment he turned his back. Janine was pure anger. The moment Jerry was back in the safety of the office, she turned on Sarah.

  “What the hell was that? You gotta stand up for yourself!”

  Sarah rested her elbows on the desk and cradled her chin in her hands, “What’s the point?” she groaned. “It’s not his fault no one cares. Look around,” she waved her arms to the habitually empty library, “we’re not needed anymore. The three of us do four times the work for half of the outcome. When’s enough enough?”

  The charms on her wrist clattered against the desk as she collapsed forward in defeat. Maybe it was time to move on. Time to forget silly childhood dreams and let go of her security blanket.

  Janine’s arms enveloped her in a warm hug that smelled like Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamond perfume. Sarah let herself be comforted for a moment. It wasn’t like her mom never hugged her, but it was different. Janine was an honest to goodness friend.

  Just as she felt her body relaxing into the embrace, content to wallow in her defeat, Janine released her and turned her chair so they were face-to-face.

  “I know it sucks to do a thankless job, but you are needed around here. Me an’ Jer? Not so much. But Kerris needs someone like you to love it and watch out for it. Now, the Sarah I know wouldn’t give up that easily. The Sarah I know would never abandon this place.”

  Sarah sighed and fiddled with her bracelet, unable to meet Janine’s gaze. She was right. Of course she was right. But would she admit that out loud?

  Her fingers closed around the sterling book charm, a gift from her favorite professor when she’d graduated library school. Ever since she was a little girl, this was what she wanted to do. Be a librarian. Work in the Kerris. She couldn’t turn her back on it just because some plans fell through. She’d figure something out. One way or another, she’d make other people care about this place as much as she did.