by Anne Conley
Text copyright ©2017 by the Author.
This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Latin Goddess Press, Inc.. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Paranormal Dating Agency remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Latin Goddess Press, Inc., or their affiliates or licensors.
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Fated to Mate
A Milly Taiden Paranormal Dating Agency Kindle World Book
Anne Conley
Other book series by Anne Conley:
Pierce Securities-Meet the men and women of Pierce Securities, a group of misfits who just want to do the right thing, even if it’s done the wrong way. Some of them see the shades of gray, while some don’t. But they’ll always save the girl and see their justices served.
Book B!tches-Welcome to Mystic, Texas, where the past stays alive in more ways than one. Vanessa, Tiffany, Kristie, Wren, Melanie, and Samantha are a motley crew of women who have formed an unlikely alliance. Under the guise of a book club, where they read only indie authors, they discuss men, relationships, and the current mystery surrounding the town. There’s a serial killer on the loose, and he’s targeted the Book B!tches.
Stories of Serendipity-Serendipity, Texas, where the days are hot and the nights are steamy. This series of standalone stories takes place in small-town, Texas where the heroes aren’t all alpha jerks and the problems they face are real. The HEAs will take you on a wild ride.
Four Winds-God’s archangels have been serving him for a millennia, faithfully and without question. It’s time for them to get lives, and loves he’s chosen for them. If they can make their women fall in love with them, they’ll fall to earth and become men.
Acknowledgements—I would like to thank Milly Taiden for allowing me to write in her world. This isn’t my normal fare as a Romantic Suspense writer, but I have a soft spot for all things shifter stories, and have a couple floating around in my head all the time. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to write mine.
Chapter one
Chapter two
Chapter three
Chapter four
Chapter five
Chapter six
Chapter seven
Chapter eight
Chapter nine
Chapter ten
Epilogue
Chapter one
Gerri Wilder set out a platter of cookies for her friend, Gloria, whom she was visiting for a brief time this summer while her apartment was being painted. They had spent all morning chatting and catching up, the way old friends did, when Gloria perked up.
“That will be Chase,” Gloria said as she stood to go to the door. Flinging it open, she announced, “Get down here and hug my neck!” Gloria had told Gerri all about Chase, and she was eager to meet the young man and, of course, try to help him.
A tall, broad, golden young man strode in. “Hey, Gramma. Which lightbulbs?” His eyes immediately went to Gerri as he focused his intense light-brown eyes on her. She could see how that would make women stupid. “I’m sorry. I didn’t remember you had company.”
“Chase, this is my dear friend Gerri Wilder. She’s going to be staying with me a little while.”
He extended his hand and Gerri shook it, his grip warm and meaty. “Nice to meet you. Goodness, you are a tall drink of water, aren’t you?” She craned her neck to look at him. “I bet you have all the girls panting after you.” Gerri shot him a wink.
Chase flushed a deep scarlet and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not really, ma’am, no.”
Gloria elaborated, not that she hadn’t told Gerri the entire story earlier. “He’s getting a divorce. Supposed to be final today, I think. He needs to find a mate for real now.” She glanced at Chase with a smile, but he wasn’t looking at her; he was still staring at the floor.
“I see,” Gerri mused, then in a louder voice said, “Gloria, would you mind making us all some tea?”
Gloria hurried to do her bidding, a secret smile on her lips. Like the meddling old women they were, they had already discussed Chase’s problems and had a plan.
“Sit next to me and have a cookie.” Gerri smiled innocently at Chase, but he did as he was told, like a good boy. “I bet you can get any woman you’d like.”
“Not really,” Chase’s eyes had gone dark as he picked up a cookie and shoved it into his mouth.
“Well, you’re the next alpha, right?”
He looked at Gerri, his eyes flashing with anger. “We don’t call it that, but yes.” Chase and his family were cougar shifters, the solitary panthers. But the way Gloria had explained it, they did things strangely here. In the old-fashioned way of the ancestors, they only mated with other shifters, but in some ill-advised, new-fangled method, instead of alphas and packs—since the community had begun as a retreat for rogues and loners—it was a mish-mash of different shifter animals. They had a mayor, whose position was passed down to the eldest son of Chase’s family. Allen, the current mayor, was a bit of a prick, in Gerri’s opinion.
“Then you need a woman. I can help.” She pulled a card out of her handbag with Gerri Wilder—Paranormal Dating Agency printed on it and handed it to Chase. “Tell me about your dream woman. I’ll find her and set you up with her.” She smiled. “Promise. I haven’t failed yet.”
“These cookies are really good, ma’am,” Chase said, attempting to change the subject, but Gerri knew better. She simply raised her eyebrows and counted on his good manners to do the rest. With a loud exhale, he rested his head on the back of the sofa, closing his eyes. “Okay. My woman is big, like, really tall. Five foot ten or so, with long blond hair that gets frizzy when it rains, the biggest smile that lights up the whole world, a dimple on her right cheek, emerald-green eyes that dance when she laughs, and hips that make me want to do illegal things. She’s kind, and loyal, and will do whatever it takes to make others happy at the cost of sacrificing her own happiness.” He lifted his head and looked at Gerri with an expression that said, there, are you happy now?
“Well, that was specific. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you already had your eye on someone.” Gerri’s heart broke for this boy. Gloria had told her about Kelli, the human Chase’s dad had run off, insisting that he mate with a shifter. So the poor boy had given it a shot, and the divorce proved Allen was an arrogant leader who only wanted things done his way. “Why don’t you go get this one?”
Chase’s lips twisted. “Because she’s a human, and I can’t mate with her.” His head dropped back to the sofa. “And she’s gone, so it doesn’t matter.”
“I’ll be in touch with you. Wait for word from me, and I’ll get you your dream girl.” She just had to find her. “Your Gramma has lightbulbs for you to change?”
Gerri had some work to do. Normally, she just had to get the people together and they felt the pull. Apparently, these two had fought the pull long enough they didn’t believe in it and thought they had to change chemistry. Gerri blamed Allen for putting ideas in their heads and knew it would be hard to fight the long-standing, ingrained prejudice against humans.
Chapter two
Chase’s cougar was running the jogging trail of the enormous park bordering his property, on his way to the trail head where it was more secluded. He was trying to outrun his thoughts, which were overwhelming him to say the least. His divorce was finalized this morning, but instead of jubilation, he felt like a fucking failure.
Of course, he should have known it wouldn’t work out with Angelica from the start. They weren’t a fated bond. They’d tried to force the mating, two agreeable shifters bot
h wanting a union. And they had at first. But apparently, she was more into the gardener now. And he wasn’t down for a threesome.
So Chase was running, letting the powerful feline inside him take over, like he should have years ago rather than trying to force it to do something it didn’t want. Not that he could have what his cougar wanted, either.
With a powerful leap, Chase jumped, allowing his cat to dictate where he went—to the trees. He actually made better ground up here, jumping from branch to branch in the canopy of spruces, cedars, poplars, and enormous maple trees. He was almost to his property line, where he intended to stay until he had to come out, which unfortunately wouldn’t be too long. A day, maybe.
He had business to attend to, a life to pretend he loved, and a leadership position to be groomed for, whether he liked it or not. That was the root of his problems.
How could Chase forget? If it weren’t for the fact he was the eldest son, he could have had Kelli from the beginning and none of this stuff with Angelica ever would have happened. Angelica was a constant reminder of the woman he could never have.
The one who had left him. His cat let out a primal scream of defeat at the thought.
His nose contracted as he inhaled a debilitating scent that brought him up short. He couldn’t believe it. It was as if he’d conjured her.
Kelli.
**
Kelli was on the jogging path, trying to be aware of her surroundings but lost in her own thoughts. She usually liked jogging here, as it was more crowded with casual strollers and picnickers instead of the die-hards who walked the entire trail’s forty-two-mile length around the canyon and lakes.
Nope. She preferred the people around her, especially with the unpredictable wildlife in the area.
But even as she told herself she was being safer here, she didn’t realize how far up the path she’d jogged until she saw the dense poplars signaling the beginning of the “hard” part of the trail. She pushed on, her head and heart not ready to turn back.
She hadn’t come up here in years. Not since she and Chase had been a thing. Before he’d found Angelica and she’d found Dan.
Dan. Ignoring the bitter taste in her mouth at the thought of Angelica, Kelli focused on her own problem.
Jeez. What was she going to do about Dan? She was realizing way too late in the game she didn’t really love him. That was why she was running today. Kelli was trying to figure out how to break off their engagement. For some reason, running helped her think, usually cleared her mind. But today was a little bit different. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess of her issues with Dan. The fact she was running here made thoughts of Chase loud and clear, as if vying for attention she’d tried not to give for years.
This was a hard decision, though. She didn’t really have a good reason to break off the engagement, except for that whole pesky “love” thing. Dan was nice, good-looking, liked animals and babies, played a good game of poker, made a mean Manhattan, and was altogether not Chase.
Which didn’t matter. She couldn’t have Chase, either. That had been decided years ago, but it didn’t change the fact she’d moved away from this community to get out from under his spell. She’d only come back to finalize wedding plans for a marriage she didn’t want to go through with.
Kelli’s thoughts blurred together as she felt a stitch in her side. Looking around, she realized she had gone deeper than she’d intended. Time to turn around.
Bending over and putting her hands on her knees, Kelli breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth in an effort to catch her breath without hyperventilating. Her brain barely registered the soft rustle of leaves above her. When the ground shook under her feet, she didn’t at first realize exactly what it was, but when the chuffing sounded near her ear, clarity dawned with crackle of danger in the air.
She was deeper further down the trail than she needed to be. Movement in her peripheral vision heralded danger.
Without looking at it in the eyes, Kelli saw the cougar as it stalked toward her on lithe legs. Taking in the animal as a vague whole that can only be accomplished by not actually looking directly at it, Kelli took in the creature. She knew it was a shifter, mostly because it was huge, but when she risked a glance at it, the knowing intelligence shining through its amber-colored eyes meant it could only be one shifter—Chase.
What were the odds? She’d just been thinking about him. This was insanity. Of course, it had always been this way with him—some polarity that brought them together. That was why she had gone so far away in the first place.
He stopped a few feet in front of her and sat back on his massive haunches. Waiting for her to make a move. Watching her. Growling at her? A strange noise came from his chest, not a growl exactly, but it sent a chill up her spine. It was a strange cross between a growl and a purr.
She hadn’t seen Chase in ten years and wasn’t sure what protocol was since she wasn’t shifter—a fact she was painfully reminded of on a daily basis. Every time she thought about him. Or tried not to.
Would he be angry she’d left? Hadn’t said a word to him? Shifters in their animal state were unpredictable, at best, so she did was her instincts told her to.
She dropped to her hands and knees.
The massive tawny cougar chuffed again at her, but she wasn’t looking. Her eyes were on the ground, as she refused to look up into the eyes of Chase’s cat again. She saw two paws bigger than her hands approach in her vision—enormous paws almost as big as her head. She watched in awe as the fur melted away and they elongated into a pair of human feet.
He’d never shifted in front of her before. Not even when she’d begged him to, so long ago. And now, since she’d been so careful to not be looking at him, she’d missed most of it. Damn.
Knowing he was standing naked in front of her brought all sorts of wicked images to her brain. Memories of their past she had to choke back. But not before she indulged in them for a brief moment.
Chase had been her first everything—her first kiss, her first sexual encounter, she’d lost her virginity to him in the back of his pickup after he’d made a bed of wildflowers. They’d discovered so many things about each other and themselves in the bed of his old truck. His lanky torso had been the stuff of wet dreams for most of her life. She remembered how sensitive the flat disks of his nipples had been, how his hisses of pleasure had rocked her to her core.
And then there were the things he’d discovered about her body …
Kelli felt the moisture pool in her panties at the memories before she slammed the door on them. She concentrated on her breathing and the present. Breathe in. Breathe out. She could do this. She could face the man she’d vowed not to torture herself with seeing again. Kelli had been the one to leave. Kelli had taken control when her heart was breaking back then, so she could stay in control now. And try not to let her heart break again.
When she was confident Chase was human again, she drew her eyes up his leanly muscled body, conveniently skipping over the hard length abed the mass of curls at his groin before traveling up his chiseled torso into the face of her dreams.
Kelli lost all coherent thought, along with the ability to breathe. The air was suddenly thick and heavy, as if the mist coming off the leaves was a tangible entity, choking her.
Chase sure had grown up well.
If he’d been a well-formed teenager the last time she’d seen him, now, he was a superb specimen of a man.
“Kelli,” he said, his voice rough and his eyes unreadable. His shaggy, light-brown hair was messy, as it always had been, and she resisted the urge to smooth it down. His eyes retained the amber color they always turned when he was doing some epic internal battle with his beast.
“Chase,” she reciprocated, unable to match the intensity of his expression, embarrassing herself with a croak instead of her normal voice.
Her eyes drifted down, an attempt to not look at the amber glow of his eyes, but they only fell on the hard
rod jutting between his legs.
Damn her eyes for looking at his erection, the thick, long length standing tall and proud between them. Why was he erect, anyway? Was that a part of the shifting? Did shifting make him hard?
Well, hell, she was on her hands and knees in front of the man, what else was she supposed to look at?
“Why did you do that?” His voice sounded pained, guttural, almost feral. Her eyes snapped to his to see the pretty amber color, and she realized his cat wanted to take over, still.
Kelli sat back on her heels, trying to ignore his nudity, as if this were an everyday thing. She knew shifters were comfortable with their nudity, that was nothing new. She’d grown up in this town and understood it better than most people. But this was Chase, and she was having a hard time controlling her body’s reaction to it.
“Do what?”
He waved his arms at her. “Do that submissive thing. You’re on your hands and knees, Kelli.” He said that like it was a bad thing, and she wondered what she’d done wrong.
“I wasn’t sure how your cougar would react, and I didn’t want him to feel threatened. I was trying to be small. Was that not right?” She fought all the old feelings rising to the surface—feelings she’d fought long and hard to contain. All the questions she still wanted answers to.
His mouth twisted into a snarl, and Chase took a step back, making a strange noise in the back of his throat. “No. It was fucking perfect.” He offered a weak smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes, still the amber color of his cat. It was clear the cat wanted something.
She only hoped it wasn’t dinner.
“You get home, okay? I’ve got to go.” The words were spoken so fast she almost missed all of them. And then he was gone, shifting back into the magnificent cat and melting into the surrounding forest. But when the words registered, she beat feet to get home.
As Kelli ran back the way she’d come, she realized she wasn’t exactly scared. She remembered the clean, perfect lines of the cougar as it approached her, easily reconciling the animal with the man. He was beautiful, whichever form he was in.