Jaguar's Passion: A Shifter Romance (Guardians of the Fae Realms Book 5)

by JL Madore

  I zone out thinking about the ‘too soon’ part of his comment. Adahy believes Raven was drugging Father and that’s why he’s dead. She saw her lacing his food with something and immediately afterward, she was cursed and lost her place as my weapons instructor.

  Could Adahy be right?

  Raven has always been solid support for both my parents. Keyla doesn’t believe it’s possible. I just don’t know.

  I close my eyes, focusing on the mating bond which is lit and glowing with the love of my mates.

  I take a knee when Mother approaches with Father’s laurel and try not to see the lack of faith in her gaze as she places it on my head. “May the reign of wildlings continue and the members of the fae rejoice in their new king. To my son, Nakotah, may you live long and rule as a Fae Prime of the people and for the people.”

  Mother’s words ring in my ears and then it’s done.

  I stand, sweep the train of my cloak to the side, and turn to the gathered masses.

  Despite my trepidation, the smile I offer the fae community is genuine. I love our people and will do my best to serve them well. The crowd stands as the drummers begin. It’s done. I’m Fae Prime, king of the preternatural world on earth.

  The roar of celebration is deafening but doesn’t drown out the alarm going off on my mating bond. Connected as we are, I sense the moment the chain of love is broken by fear.

  Both Brant and Hawk are looking at their FCO watch communicators. When they lift their heads, things flip into high alert.

  “Gun!” Hawk launches and takes me to the ground.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Calli

  Brant tackles me at the same moment Hawk shouts and races toward Kotah. I don’t hear what he yells over the noise of the crowd, but I feel his alarm and recognize the look on his face.

  We’re under attack.

  It takes a moment for the danger to register to the masses but when the air explodes with the tat-tat-tat of semi-automatic gunfire the ceremony erupts into chaos.

  “Let me up,” I say, breathless under Brant’s weight. When he hesitates, I push harder. “Bear, I’m bulletproof, remember? Let me shift and I’ll be safer than flattened underneath you.”

  He grunts and rolls to the side, his bear weighing in on that with a growl as he shifts to his bear.

  Freedom reclaimed. I kick off my shoes and launch into the air as my body explodes into flame. My phoenix ascends fast and with a fury.

  Where are my mates?

  I level off my flight, circle around, and hover over the scene, searching for—there –Jaxx’s jaguar and Brant’s bear are racing through the crowd, weaving between panicked guests and heading for the men shooting indiscriminately to scatter innocent people.

  With everyone wearing their finest for the coronation, it’s easy to spot the offensive team dressed in black battle fatigues. It’s thoughtful of them to wear a uniform.

  The party crashers are moving in on Kotah.

  With a shrill scream, I push forward and swoop the crowd. My coordination has become lethal good. I have no trouble plucking the attackers out of the crowd with my talons, squeezing them tight, and then dropping the crumpled men to grab the next ones.

  When they realize they are getting picked off, the offensive team turns its weapons on me. That’s fine. If they’re wasting ammunition on the fiery phoenix there’s less for them to spray through the crowd.

  I draw their fire and continue to swoop, clutch, and toss. My phoenix is fueled with the power of retribution and though the balance of power between me and my wild side is a give and take, I admit I’m more than a little influenced by her lust for vengeance.

  Gunfire rings off behind me and I arc back around to check on my mates once again. Kotah has gone wolf and is fighting with Doc and Keyla, ripping the throat out of the man closing in on his sister and mother.

  Hawk is moving with Lukas to secure the members of the Fae Council pinned and being picked off. I launch forward and move in to help them. The Fae Council might not be trustworthy or even my favorite people, but next to the Fae Prime, they are the most important members of the realm.

  I’m locked on and descending when I recognize a face in the opposing team. Mischief, Sonny’s Sergeant at Arms in the Sovereign Sons, is here and he’s moving in on Hawk’s back.

  Bile builds at the base of my throat as the memory of his hold on me rages forward. I feel the pain of his pointy fangs clamping closed over my collarbone and smell the stench of his breath flooding my sinuses as he drew his hot, wet tongue up my cheek.

  I land on the ground between him and Hawk and hold my wings out to screen his view.

  “Barbie, I was hoping we’d meet again.” His words don’t affect me half as much as the lust lacing his tone. How did he slip through the cracks? He must not have been at the Sovereign Son’s compound when we took out Sonny and his men.

  Well, he won’t escape his funeral twice.

  I launch twenty feet in the air and swoop at him. My approach is aggressive, and I extend my talons. The razor-sharp tips are extended. We’re not going for a grab and squeeze this time. We’re going in for the kill.

  Right before I get him in my grasp, he throws his arm out and hits me with an icy fireball.

  The magical projectile explodes against my skin and frizzles and fritzes out my heat. Stupid drow assholes. I land in an uncontrolled run, stumbling into him and knocking us both to the ground in a tangle of limbs. My skin is molten and I’m not human.

  Still, in my fiery female form, I fight him on the ground and grip his throat. His eyes flare wide. The smell of burning flesh is sweet revenge.

  “You should’ve stayed under your rock, Mischief.”

  His eyes roll back and then power explodes off him like a sonic wave. Wind whistles in my ears as I’m thrown back. I hit a row of seating and crash to the grassy ground buried beneath a pile of folding chairs.

  He stomps at me and I roll to my feet.

  Part of me is glad he didn’t die easily. There’s still so much I want him to suffer for. The other part of me wants to be done with him so I can focus on my mates.

  Before I debate which option I want more, Mischief raises his palm and throws a pulse of energy at me. I dive to the side and roll back to my feet unharmed.

  Straightening, I hold my wings out to shield his view from the rest of the battle. My wingspan isn’t as impressive in this form, but it’s still impressive. “I’m not the same woman you bullied and beat on a few months ago, asshole. You won’t be hopping on your bike and riding away from this one.”

  “If you say so. Personally, I like my odds.”

  I chuckle, focus on the fire inside me, relinquish my hold, and let my phoenix ascend fully. My firebird reignites and more than doubles my size. Towering over my old tormentor, I tilt my beak back and scream.

  As I stomp over the chairs in my way, Mischief stumbles back, the fear in his eyes so damned rewarding.

  Hawk

  Lukas and I pick off another half a dozen men as we secure the members of the Fae Council. We haven’t saved them all. There are at least two down with fatal wounds and another two not looking good. As we move in, the scent of dark magic singes my nostrils. I rub my nose and frown. “Is that you?”

  Lukas ejects his empty magazine and reloads. “Are you implying I stink like rotten magic?”

  “Just a question, sunshine. Don’t get defensive.”

  Lukas grunts. “Nope. Not me.”

  “Then who’s here that we don’t know about?”

  I barely have the words out of my mouth when a pulse of energy brings the hair on my arms up on end. Twisting, I raise my gun and search for the source of the disruption. “A portal’s opening. Where is it?”

  Lukas and I close ranks, standing back to back as the air on the other side of the auditorium lights up with an electrical field. “Fuck. Kotah’s right there.”

  I launch into a full-out run, not knowing who or what will come out from the other side of that
portal. All I know is no one will take Kotah from us. Whether this is about stopping the Fae Prime from taking power or the Phoenix Quint from uniting the realms, my mates are off-limits.

  I’m fifty feet from Kotah and Keyla when an eight-foot-tall greater fae steps through the energy-charged air. Shrouded by shadow on a bright and crisp autumn afternoon, I fight to see through the illusion of his glamor.

  The massive rack of antlers rising from his head and the massive horn hanging from his neck send a shiver down my spine. The maze of antlers points in every direction and reach more than four feet. They are speared with dagger-sharp points so he can drop to all four and become a beast in battle at a moment’s notice.

  “The Forest Lord,” Lukas says.

  “Fuck. I was hoping we’d seen the last of him.”

  Lukas and I push harder, but no matter how hard our legs pump, there’s no getting there in time.

  “Kotah!”

  Kotah turns, grabs his sister, and throws them both bodily out of the beast’s path. Calli’s squawk of rage means she sees it too. A fiery wall of flames shoots from the sky, dividing the massive monster from Kotah and his sister.

  For a moment, I breathe a sigh of relief… and then I read the telegraphing of his gaze. Turning back to where Kotah and Keyla had been standing a moment ago, the Forest Lord changes targets and grabs Raven and Kotah’s mother.

  A split-second later, they’re gone.

  “Well, fuck.”

  Jaxx

  “Is everyone alright?” Most of the crowd has scattered by the time I get back to where my parents are helping people regroup. It looks like most injuries are scrapes and bruises, but others won’t see tomorrow.

  “We’re fine, son,” Daddy says, straightening. He’s taken off his shirt and has torn it into strips to be used to tie off wounds. “Tend to your guardian duties. Your mother and I aren’t going anywhere.”

  I kiss Mama’s cheek and continue over to where Doc and Hawk are trying to calm Keyla. She’s a wreck and my heart drops. “What happened? Where’s Kotah?”

  Hawk straightens and grabs my arm. “He’s fine. It’s not him. The Prima was taken.”

  “What? Why?”

  “That’s yet to be determined, but our boy is fine. He’s right there with Calli and Brant.”

  I peel off and bolt to the side of the raised dais not slowing down until I’m chest to chest with my wolf. Breathing deep, I take his scent to the bottom of my lungs.

  “Are you alright? Dammit… I was so scared when I saw Keyla crying.”

  Kotah’s arms come around me and his hold grounds me enough to stop my cat from breaking free and going on a clawing rampage. “Jaxx… you’re crushing me.”

  “Shit. Sorry.” I ease off the rib-cracking hug and ease back. I’m trembling and I shake out my hands trying to shed the panic. “I love you, Wolf.”

  He palms my jaw and smiles. “You’re the one who’s good in a crisis, remember. I’m fine. I’m whole. And I’m right here with you. Calm down.”

  I swallow and let that sink in. “Good. Okay, I’m good. Just lost my shit there for a minute, but I’m back to being a cool cat once again.”

  Calli chuckles and hugs me. “Glad you’re whole too, puss. I saw your cat securing the guests. Your jaguar is badass and super sexy.”

  It dawns on me then that Calli’s wearing Kotah’s ceremonial fur robe. “Why isn’t this burning off?”

  Her grin splits wide, filled with delight. “I went from phoenix to woman aflame back to phoenix and then human. I think I’ve finally got a handle on my transitions.”

  “And with that, a handle on regulating your body temperature afterward?”

  “Let’s not jinx it, but maybe. I still can’t manifest clothes, but I can cover up with whatever’s lying around.”

  I laugh. “Whatever’s lying around… like the royal ceremonial robe of the wildling wolves?”

  Calli shrugs. “Yeah, just something I threw on.”

  I take another deep, steadying breath and exhale. “Okay, I’m good. Back to the problem at hand. Do we know what this was about? Why’d they take your mother and Raven?”

  “I think I was the first target,” Kotah says, “but Calli ended that with a wall of flame and a dive-bomb offensive.”

  “Nicely done, kitten. So then the Forest Lord changed his mind and took the Prima and her right-hand female?”

  “Not just them,” Lukas says, joining us. The ex-military warrior looks a little torn up and wind-blown, but other than a few scuffs and scrapes, unscathed. “Three members of the council were taken too.”

  “Do we think this was Hawk’s father and his Black Knight minions?”

  Lukas shrugs. “We can’t say yet, but who else?”

  “Mischief was here from Sonny’s gang. If the Sovereign Sons were part of the Black Knight’s illegal money-making operation, it makes sense that he’d be with them. He lost his entire club when we took them down.”

  Kotah frowns. “I thought the FCO got everyone in that gang during their raids.”

  “One slimeball dripped through the cracks.”

  “Are you okay, kitten?” I ask.

  She lifts her chin and smiles. “My phoenix stomped him out of my life for good.”

  I’ve seen her phoenix stomp and the guy didn’t have a chance. Too bad. Not sad. “So, do we think the people taken were targeted because they were in league with the Black Knight or his opposition?”

  Kotah frowns. “I hate to speak ill of my mother, especially when she’s been kidnapped and can’t defend herself, but I would be more apt to believe she’s in league with them.”

  “I’m sorry, Wolf.” I squeeze his shoulder and send him as much reassurance as I can. “We’ll figure it out and do our best to get her back quickly, I promise.”

  “Okay,” Lukas says, eyeing the crowd and security scurrying around us. “I hate to tell you guys what to do, but with a portalling Forest Lord in the mix, I’d rather see you head inside for this chat session.”

  I nod. “Yeah, probably a good call. Thanks, man.”

  “Was it you who sent the alarm to Hawk and Brant?” Calli asks.

  Lukas nods. “I was patrolling the palace grounds for the ceremony when one of my wards picked up an incoming force. I warded the auditorium to notify me if an influx of metal crossed the boundaries.”

  “You warded for bullets?” Calli says. “Clever boy.”

  He shrugs. “When that lit up, I hauled ass back here and sent Brant and Hawk the message on their personal devices. I figured no one would have their phones in the middle of the ceremony and that was the fastest way to warn you.”

  Calli hugs him, ignoring the fact that the guy goes all stiff and awkward. “You saved our butts once again.”

  “You’re awesome, my man.”

  Kotah shakes his hand and then we head inside where it’s—I’m not sure ‘safer’ qualifies—but safe from a portal shifting Forest Lord anyway.

  Brant

  Jaxx and Doc take Calli, Kotah, and Keyla inside the palace, and I join Hawk and Lukas on cleanup. I want to avail myself and try to figure out what exactly went down. “Was this about Kotah, or the Prima, or the Fae Council, or stirring up shit?”

  Hawk scowls at the carnage and scratches at the back of his neck. “No idea. Let’s see what we can find out. Lukas, I want the casualties from the attacking force identified ASAP. Find out who they are, where they were from, what species, and what their alignment was.”

  “And from there?”

  “Move to the Fae Council dead, and then guests.” Hawk scowls at the scene and sighs. “If my father is recruiting militia, it would help if we knew from where and what he’s promising them. And if it’s not him—and that’s a big if—knowing that will help us figure out who we’re dealing with.”

  “On it. Stay tight.”

  “Always. And thanks for the heads-up.”

  “Always.”

  Lukas jogs off and leaves the two of us to take on the ta
sk of questioning the Fae Council. “How hostile toward you do you think they are right now?”

  Hawk arches a brow. “Let’s see, I called them out to the entire realm and questioned their allegiance, I shut down their positions and took their jobs from them, and now I’m going to interrogate them about colluding with fae terrorism. I can honestly say I’m not expecting any Yule gifts this year.”

  I chuckle. “As a male intimately familiar with pissing people off, maybe I can be of assistance. How about you let me take the lead and you stand there looking autocratic and deeply upset by the entire event.”

  He frowns and leans close enough that I can smell the expensive cologne he wears. “I am autocratic and deeply upset by the entire event.”

  “Perfect, then you should be able to pull it off.”

  Hawk chuckles and falls in behind me. The fact that he’s giving me the lead is a small miracle. Two weeks ago, we would’ve been at each other’s throats pushing buttons and butting heads.

  Crazy what a no-holds-barred night of BDSM and wild, rough sex can do to recalibrate the way you look at someone. Yeah, he’s a tough, alpha ass, but he’s so much more.

  And hey, he’s my tough, alpha ass, so there’s that, too.

  The members of the Fae Council are clustered together in the dignitary’s box to the side of the raised dais.

  I head straight to the Feline Prime, Dane. He’s a wildling and, as such, I understand his senses best of all of them. The broad-shouldered male possesses the keen gaze of a hunter and a full mane of tawny hair.

  “Minister,” I say, holding out my hand. “Brantley Robbins, we met a couple of months ago regarding us being the Guardians of the Phoenix.”

  The lion nods. “I remember. You’re Jaxx’s mates. His Alpha Prime informs me that the quint is fully mated and from what we saw of your phoenix just now, Calliope has come into her powers.”

  Until I know who’s side he’s on, I’m not sharing anything he could use against us. “She’s a remarkable female. We’re very proud of her progress.”