by A. C. Arthur
The Assembly Leader shook his head. None of them had been overly optimistic about the human government being able to come to amicable terms with the shifters. That had been one of their greatest fears with exposure. But they’d agreed to the meeting, agreed with Dorian that it looked better for them, and it put forth the peaceful approach the agent now believed the shifters needed to take.
Dorian’s appearance had also been a huge question. But the agent had explained how he met Rayna and how the Lormenian shifter had wanted to help the Shadows by exposing and killing Boden. She’d wanted her sister’s safety, but she’d also wanted them to be able to live cohesively with the humans in this world. She’d left him a letter with the directions to the tunnels—which she knew because she’d been there to help them work on the construction—and she’d told him that if she did not return to the hotel by a certain time that night that he should assume that she was dead and get to Rome as quickly as possible. The agent had done just that.
“We are a peaceful species,” Rome told the President. “What happened last night was not our fault.”
“Big ass cats jumping over cars, biting and killing people, that’s not your fault?” Wilson inquired “When I’ve been told that you are yourself one of the big cats.”
Rome paused a moment, the room going completely silent as everyone waited for his response.
“Yes. I am one of the big cats. I am the Stateside Assembly Leader of the Shadow Shifters,” Rome said with confidence and pride.
Wilson stood then, squaring his shoulders so that his stance mimicked Rome’s.
“Then I command you to release the names and locations of every member of this species. I demand to know where every one of you are hiding so that we can deal with you appropriately,” Wilson said without hesitation, his angry gaze locked with Rome’s.
“I will not do that,” Rome told him calmly. “There’s no reason for any of us not responsible for last night’s fiasco to be, as you put it “dealt with”. And furthermore, I will not stand for the persecution and execution of my kind.”
Wilson nodded as if in resignation, before saying, “Then you have made the United States and possibly the entire world your enemy.”
Rome’s reply was immediate and was said just seconds before the Assembly Leader turned and left the room, his team following dutifully behind him.
“No, Mr. President. It is my goal to work with the humans, with your government, so that there will be no need for any of us to be enemies,” Rome said seriously. “You knew my parents. You know what type of man I am. You know what I stand for and what I believe. There is no reason for us to work against each other here. The Shadow Shifters simply want peace.”
Wilson Reed looked from one of his advisors to the next, then back to Rome and the others who stood with him. He sighed heavily, smoothing down his tie as he lowered himself slowly into his seat.
“I only want peace for my country,” the President said to Roman. “Can you promise that from your people?”
“We only want peace as well,” Rome told him. “So yes, I can promise you that. And if we all work together peace and harmony shall be what we have.”
CHAPTER 1
20 Years Later
Oasis
“She’s young,” First Female Kalina Reynolds told her husband, Assembly Leader Roman Reynolds.
“She’s smart,” he replied.
Kalina nodded. “She’s tenacious.”
Rome agreed before adding, “And stubborn.”
“Intelligent,” Kalina said as she moved across the room.
“Beautiful.” Rome followed her. “She is the best of both of us and the best Topétenia guard of this generation.”
Then the composure that she was known for possessing, the cool and always in control leader that the Assembly had come to expect whenever their First Female was around, slipped.
“I don’t care about that, Rome. She’s our baby and we’re letting her go into unchartered territory with a lion. We’re campaigning for first place in the bad parenting department.”
Rome knew it was coming and had been waiting patiently while she took her time admitting what was obvious. He resisted the urge to smile and stepped closer to his companheiro’s side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. After all this time with her he still couldn’t believe she was standing by his side. So much had happened in the years since he first met Kalina in his office at the law firm. Some good things and some bad, but everything—from that very first day—impacted them together. One unit. One joining. With one daughter. The love of their lives.
“We’re doing what is necessary,” he said. “You were the one who came to me advising that she was restless.”
“Well, we should have found her a hobby. Not send her off to another part of the world, to do who knows what. The very unstable world that we now live in, I might add.”
Her hands had been clasped in front of her. Now they moved as she folded her arms across her chest and then dropped them again only seconds later. Before he could speak her hands were moving once more, this time to link at the back of her neck as she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.
“I do not regret coming to you after seeing how unhappy she was,” Kalina said finally, rotating her head and then letting her arms fall heavily to her sides. “But I did not expect this. You very wisely waited until the last minute to tell me about a new assignment.”
Rome leaned in to kiss her at the temple. He inhaled the sweet floral scent that was distinctly Kalina’s and shook his head.
“None of us expected things to turn out like this,” he said quietly.
“Magdalena’s prediction came too late,” she replied, turning slightly to look up to him.
“Yes, Baxter delivering the news from the Seer was ill-timed. Her prediction of death and destruction. The complete end of the race or a catastrophic change in who and what we were. All of that should have been known to us sooner. However, I don’t know what we might have done differently,” he said.
“I might not have wanted a child as much as I did,” she commented quietly.
They both looked through the soundproof glass shield that served as a window stretching the length of the main hall of Assembly Headquarters, where their daughter stood. Oasis was where they had been living for the last twenty years since the shifters had been unveiled to the world. The underground haven had begun as a series of tunnels to carry the shifters quickly from one place to another secretly. The night that all hell—or rather all the shadow tribes—had broken loose, those plans changed and for the last twenty years Commanding Officer Nick Delgado, as head of security for the Assembly, had worked alongside the other Faction Leaders to turn the tunnels into the shifters’ underground world.
Nobody knew they were here, no humans and no shifter that wasn’t in agreement with them and their desire to keep a low profile during the continued unrest above ground in the human world.
“We both wanted her and we’re both proud of her,” Rome stated solemnly.
Their daughter was a beautiful twenty year-old with her whole life ahead of her. She was packing the back of a black Tracer which was one of the Shadows’ vehicles that were specially re-designed for them and their new way of life underground. Among the many shifters in Oasis, a Bosinian couple who at one time had worked for a large automotive company above ground, had technologically enhanced the SUVs the Shadow guards and enforcers drove. They created the Tracer, Wrangler and Attacker vehicles for them to use on the mostly matted clay roads throughout the tunnels. Guard teams mostly drove the Tracer. Enforcers and upper level command used the Attacker, while the Wrangler was designed solely for personal use.
Nisa Reynolds was scheduled to drive her Tracer from Assembly Headquarters in the eastern zone to Central Headquarters located just beneath the state of Texas where Jace, the Pacific Zone Faction Leader and acting Central Zone Faction Leader, was waiting to meet her. Jace and Rome had worked together for going on thirty-five years now. He was
a friend and Rome trusted him with his life. Now, Rome thought heavily, he was trusting him with his daughter’s life.
“She can do this,” Rome said. “I trust that she can get the job done.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Kalina replied. “You’ve taught her everything there is to know about being a good leader. What I’m more concerned about is how well she’s going to adapt to taking instructions from someone other than you and Eli. And what’s going to happen to the person who has to teach her that lesson.”
That person was Decan Canter.
A Serfin, white lion shifter.
He was standing next to the vehicle behind the one Nisa was loading another duffel bag into. Tall, around six-feet five-inches, muscular build, keen and intelligent eyes, United States military and Shifter Tactical Team trained, Decan had been Rome’s first and only choice for this assignment. Rome needed someone he could trust and someone he knew could protect Nisa during the trip to Central Headquarters. Decan’s father, Jalil, had been of great assistance to Jace as he’d worked to get all of the Shadows in the Central Zone entered into the Shadow Shifter database and scanned into the intricate security systems developed as the primary source of entry into Oasis. The Canter family was from Houston where Jalil had, at one time, held a job in telecommunications. Decan, had been one of the few Shadows able to secretly continue throughout the human school system after the Unveiling. He’d graduated with honors and immediately enlisted in the United States Marines.
“He looks hard and rigid,” Kalina continued, tearing Rome’s thoughts away from the dossier on Decan Canter which he’d reviewed for the hundredth time this morning.
“He’s a trained soldier with excellent tracking skills. He comes from a tribe reputed for its integrity and strength. He’s exactly what we need right now,” Rome told her.
“I fear this outing you’re sending them on is no longer about what we need as a species, but instead, how well these two will get along.”
Rome watched as Decan approached the back of the Tracer where Nisa stood. Even from this distance he could scent the tension rising between those two—the lion shifter and the jaguar one. Kalina was right, this was a test of sorts. One which he hoped with all his being his daughter would pass. Because if she didn’t, Rome had no idea what he would do with his spirited child. He had no idea how he could continue to protect her.
“I’ll take us south,” Nisa said when she smelled the lion coming up behind her.
Each feline in the Shadow family had a different scent. The Serfins possessed a very dominant fragrance, like burning cigars. This one had something else, a more potent aroma that doubled the intensity of his presence. Nisa refused to turn to face him, just as she decided not to explore his scent and how or why it was so different from any other shadow she’d met before.
“We’ll make it to Florida tonight and in the morning we’ll begin our journey west. There’s a high population of Croesteriia once we get into swamp territory. So far they haven’t been too much trouble in the eastern region, but Jace has reported needing to police them a little more in central and pacific. My thought is they’re restless. The tunnels do not provide enough space for satisfying the need to run and stretch. They want to go above ground more frequently,” she continued.
When her bags were as neat as she could get them in the tight space left after she’d ensured she had all the supplies needed for this trip, Nisa gave herself a little nod for a job well done. She took a step back and had to come up on her toes to reach for the door to close it. Just before her fingers could touch the cool metal, she watched as he came closer, one rope-veined arm extended as he pushed the door so that it came down slowly but still closed with a thud. He leaned against it then, crossing his arms over his chest as if he now wanted applause for his assistance. Nisa wasn’t about to give it to him. Nor was she going to acknowledge the quick leap in her heart rate at the sight of him up close, dressed in full guard uniform looking like he should be on a door length poster for hot hunks.
“I’ll drive,” he said while she thought about what else she wanted to say to him.
“We’ll be in Florida before nightfall. There’s a secure location near the Everglades where you can go above ground and run. Tomorrow we’ll move out early and make it to Central Headquarters by nightfall. You can have another run then.”
His voice was deep, not so much as her father’s, but still a low timbre with a raspy edge that rubbed something inside her in an unexplainable way. Nisa kept her gaze trained on his icy blue eyes. The strong line of his jaw masked by a light coating of a beard and the black and white spray of tightly curled hair was of no interest of her. None at all.
“This is my truck. My mission. My call,” she asserted and just to make sure he knew she was serious, Nisa took a step forward, folding her arms over her chest as well.
His gaze immediately dropped to what she realized when she finally followed it, was the generous swell of cleavage displayed with her actions. Her uniform jacket was in the front seat where she’d tossed it earlier. For now, she wore only a blue tank top with a sports bra that didn’t offer her as much support as her size D cup breasts required.
Instantly annoyed, and much warmer under his perusal than she thought was acceptable, Nisa snapped her fingers and waited while he slowly dragged his gaze back up to her face.
“It might also be a good idea to stay focused on this mission. We might be underground but there are still dangers lurking,” she told him in what she hoped was a supervisory tone.
Even as a senior guard in the Assembly, Nisa had learned a long time ago that male shifters did not like dealing with the Assembly Leader’s daughter, unless it was to flirt with her. She hadn’t wanted the latter with any of the ones that had ever crossed her path, so she’d decided the light frost in her tone and steady eye contact usually hammered that fact down pretty quickly.
To his credit, this Shadow didn’t look like the type to argue. Nisa supposed that was a good thing. While she could easily out-argue someone—according to her best friend and daughter of one of her father’s best friends, Shya Delgado—she was relieved that he didn’t seem interested.
Relief dissipated almost instantly, leaving Nisa a bit deflated as he came closer to her and lifted a hand to smooth over his beard. No, that’s not what he was really doing. The arrogant lion was showing her the band of white stripes around the wrist portion of his jacket.
“I’m a Senior Enforcer,” he told her, in case she couldn’t count the stripes that marked his superiority. “This mission is mine to lead. We’re leaving in five minutes.”
Before Nisa could even consider a reply, he’d moved past her and was heading toward the driver’s side of the vehicle.
Names she could call him, ways she could insult him for being obnoxious and everything short of stomping her foot in anger, crossed her mind. But the tingling at the base of her neck held her still a few seconds. Then, she turned slowly, tilting her head back until she could see them.
Roman and Kalina Reynolds, the best parents a Shadow could have. As for a young woman, well, Nisa was certain that she was not the only person to go through the phase of wishing her parents would let her go without doubt. From the looks on their faces—even though her mother was waving and her father was giving her his best political smile—they were filled with doubt about letting her go on this mission.
She remained still while anger bubbled inside. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Nisa wanted to scream, and then she wanted to yank the Senior Enforcer’s smug self out of the driver’s seat of her vehicle.
That thought only fueled her anger.
Hadn’t she aced her tactical training, moving quickly up the ranks to become a Senior Guard at just twenty years old? Didn’t she know the Shadow Shifter history as far back as the very first jaguar shifter in the Gungi rainforest? Hadn’t she been instrumental in designing the new holodeck in the main control room? Didn’t she know all there was to know about each trib
e, Magdalena the Seer, Baxter the Overseer and even the enemy Rogues? What more could she do to prove to them that she was ready?
Finding Cole Linden, the Central Zone Faction Leader, would be a start.
Cole had been missing since the night of the Unveiling twenty years ago. However, Nisa wasn’t as certain as her father and his friends that he was still alive. Even with that in mind, Nisa’s plan for this mission was, to lead this team from east to central without incident and then to help Jace Maybon and the Lead Enforcer in that region to train their guards on how to use the new boards that she’d designed to assist them in logistics and strategic mission planning. Eventually, that would lead to Jace recommending to her father that he turn the region over to her. Then, finally, Nisa would be in a position to not only lead, but to help her father in the battle he refused to fight against the humans that would see their entire species terminated. How was she going to do that now, with Mr. “This mission is mine to lead” on her back?
Nisa’s parents were her life. They meant everything to her. In turn, she was determined to make them as proud of her as she was of them and all that they’d done for the Shadows. That was her focus, her one goal in this life, and she would not let anyone or any situation deter her.
Not even the sexy lion who had already aroused pricked the cat inside of her.
She was sitting too close to him.
Even with the console and their ready box between them as he drove, she was too close. Her scent was too strong. Her breasts too alluring. The sound of her heartbeat too loud. The slight parting of her lips as she read over the maps on the board—and hand-held replica of the holodeck she’d created for the control room at Assembly Headquarters—she’d pulled out of her pack was too sexy.
He should have declined this position.
But the message that had come from the Assembly Leader a week ago was simple and really left no room for negotiation.