Hearts Unleashed: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection

by C. D. Gorri

  “In all the squabbles over the past six months, I forgot about your problems with him and Ocean.”

  “I didn’t,” Donovan said with a dark chuckle.

  “Yeah, listen, for all it is worth, I’m sorry I got you into this mess. I should have never pushed you to allow Lenox to stay here in the mountains, to begin with. Frankly, if some members of the council weren’t blood-related to members of his pack back east, we wouldn’t be in as much trouble as we are now.”

  Donovan shook his head.

  “If I thought it was a horrible idea, I would have never agreed. The fact is, it had been a couple of years and, like you, I thought he had changed. So that makes us both in this same messy boat.” Donovan said as he patted Takoda’s shoulder. “Let’s just make sure that you and I wipe the floor clean—if you catch my drift. I’m not ready to die, and I know you aren’t either. But before we do this, I need to ask you a favor, my friend.”

  “Of course! Anything!”

  “Please see to it that Sonya goes with your pride. If anything were to happen to her while we are fighting Lenox and Nayati, I’d never forgive myself.”

  Takoda clasped Donovan’s forearm with the palm of his hand and gave it a good shake.

  “Consider it done, my friend. I will let my right hand know to take her kicking and screaming if he has to. Care to join me in a smoke?” Takoda asked as he pulled out a peace pipe that was wrapped in ivory-colored leather and had a turquoise bear carved on the end to hold the tobacco. He pinched in some kinnikinnick into the circular bowl and then lit it up. Rings of smoke intermixed with the swirls of smoke coming from the fireplace.

  “I’d love to. It’s been a long time since I’ve been invited into a sacred circle. Being rogue, I haven’t been with a pack in a long time.”

  “What made you want to come to Wyoming, anyway? I mean, there was like a population of one when you first settled in the town that you’re in—right?”

  Donovan shrugged his shoulders.

  “Didn’t trust myself around humans. Ocean didn’t exactly take me under her wing once she bit me. I mean—not that I left her a choice. I basically broke up with her the instant she broke skin with her bite. It wasn’t until a few days later that I realized what I had become.”

  “You,” Takoda’s voice trailed for a moment before continuing, “you were human?”

  “Yes! Why are you so surprised?” Donovan said with a raised brow.

  “Because no half has the strength to control their shifter side like you did at first. It can take decades for a pup to grasp its powers fully. But you? You’ve been so in control since I’ve known you.”

  “Yeah, well, Ocean wasn’t exactly a garden variety werewolf either.”

  “She’s a dire?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine—though that would make the most sense, I guess. I just know I wanted nothing to do with her or humans after she bit me. Of course, Sonya changed my mind on all of that.” Donovan said with a smile.

  “Right. Can I ask you something? I mean, you can totally not answer if it’s too personal.”

  “Spill it, Takoda.”

  “Did you know right from the start that Sonya was your mate?”

  “I wouldn’t say within the first minute or anything like that, but yeah. I knew on the first day of meeting her that something was different about her. My wolf did, too. Why are you asking me this? Is it because the perpetual bachelor has finally found Treasure as someone to tame those unruly wonton ways of yours?” Donovan said as he palmed his chest for a dramatic effect before letting out a hearty chuckle.

  “Stop!” Takoda said with a chuckle. “But—yeah. I guess she always has had a pull on me. The thing is, I didn’t realize it until now. Sure, my cougar always wanted to protect her, but my human side only saw her as a child back then.”

  Donovan shrugged.

  “We don’t get to choose really, man. It’s fate. Fate—like shit—happens.” Donovan said with another chuckle before continuing. “Like you, I really thought no woman would get on my radar. I was too busy shielding them all from the monster I’d become.”

  “But I was born a shifter. There’s a difference there.”

  “I get that. And that gave you an advantage in taming that cougar of yours—something I never thought I had.”

  “Not from where I’m sitting,” Takoda said as he took in a long drag from the pipe before handing it over to Donovan. “To me, you are a natural-born shifter. It’s in your blood. I’m telling ya—I’ve never seen a newb as in control as you are.”

  “Is that so?” Donovan also took a long drag from the pipe and then passed it back to Takoda.

  “If she isn’t a dire, there’s another explanation for all of this. Some people are born shifters and don’t have the capability to shift. I suspect that might be what happened to you and you just weren’t aware of it.”

  “Wait, so it’s possible that my powers had laid dormant all of my life until Ocean bit me?”

  “Yes. And that might also explain why it was so easy for you to reject her as your fated mate. No newb can resist a Queen—even Alphas have a hard time with that unless they are born into the role.”

  “I recall Morgan rejected Keme,” Donovan said as he shrugged his shoulders before continuing. “Wasn’t that a similar thing? The packs in the northeast talk a lot, so I got a lot of info on them and Lenox before he showed up here.” Donovan said as he took another puff from the pipe. “But the thing is, Morgan wasn’t Keme’s fated mate. He found his fated as Chepi reincarnate—right?”

  “He did. I think that was about a year ago now. Her name is Arizona now. But Morgan is also a werewitch dire and was Alec’s soulmate in a prior lifetime.”

  “Yeah, um, shit like this makes my head spin. It’s hard enough navigating through this lifetime, so perhaps I’ll just quit while I’m ahead. But I’m merely bringing it up because maybe Ocean just wasn’t meant to be my fated mate. It could be as simple as that too.”

  “Well, it’s not that simple. Remember, we all have free will too. We shifters don’t have to choose the same partner throughout every lifetime—unlike the witches—but even they have a bit of leeway when it comes to the gods.”

  “I always wondered why Raine and Skye found each other in each and every lifetime they have managed to reincarnate. Guess that’s no mystery anymore.”

  Donovan shrugged his shoulders.

  “They have an epic love that’s not much different from fated mates,” Takoda said as he took another puff from the pipe before continuing. “What if we fail, Donovan? What if I lose her?”

  “Let’s not think about that right now. Plus? It might not come to that. Like I said—we can either try to pin Nayati against Lenox or we devise a brilliant plan to bust her out of there undetected and no one will get hurt.”

  “This is true. It could happen, I guess. But we’d need a layout of the land. Anyone happen to have the blueprints of his compound lying around somewhere?” Takoda said with a chuckle.

  “As a matter of fact, I do, but they’re at the house. I’ll stop by first thing tomorrow morning, and we can look for weak points to enter his compound undetected. Then tomorrow night I’ll bring my night vision cameras and we can look for areas less guarded by the Omegas. It’d be ideal if an entrance had little to no guards.”

  “Perfect.”

  They took the last few puffs from the peace pipe as the embers disappeared from the dying fire in the fireplace. Donovan got to his feet.

  “Get some rest so those bones of yours recover,” Donovan said as he opened the front door to leave Takoda’s.

  “Will do, my friend.”

  Chapter Four

  Takoda paced back and forth in his living room with a cup of coffee in his hand. He was so deep in thought he really didn’t realize he probably wore out the floor with his constant pacing since three this morning. But this was something he couldn’t help. His heart squeezed as thoughts of Nayati’s grip on Treasure raced through his min
d for the hundredth time this past hour. He needed Treasure safe and as far away from Nayati and Lenox as possible. Nothing else was more important to him. Not even his own safety mattered.

  He tossed and turned most of the night, going over every likely scenario to get Treasure out of there undetected. Many of the scenarios that crossed his mind had too many flaws, but a handful of them might work if they were executed properly. He wasn’t certain of anything, though, and grew anxious for Donovan’s arrival so he could run them by the man. As he was about to start on cup number four of coffee, he heard Donovan knocking at the door. Takoda opened the door to see Donovan sporting an enormous smile on his face.

  “There’s a great way to get into the complex undetected on this map, and since it’s a national forest reserve that leads to his compound, I’m hoping that it’s not heavily guarded by his Omegas.”

  He laid the map out onto the coffee table and pointed at a large forest area on the map.

  “It’s butted up against the mountains here. We should be able to get in and probably out with no problem.”

  “I never noticed that he was so close to the national forest before,” Takoda said with widened eyes.

  “Me neither. It’s better if we wait till nightfall, and then we can scout this pathway out before we go in and get her. Being the photographer I am, I have plenty of night vision cameras we can work with.”

  “This really looks like it might work.” Takoda rubbed the area of the mountains with his index finger in hopes that the motion would bring Treasure some comfort.

  I’m coming for you, baby. I’ll be there soon!

  “My guess is that he’s keeping her in the community building located in the center area of the compound,” Takoda said as he pointed to one building on the map. “There’s always one house where they have pride meetings held. It would also be the one place that would have a room they can hold rogues in. I’ve never had to detain any of the members of my pride. They were all born shifters, so there was no need. But given the war 10 years back, Nayati had to, once. It was a newly bitten shifter and struggling with his new powers. He had trouble controlling himself the first time he shifted. I had to help Nayati bring that shifter to the lockup area.”

  “I can’t say that I can relate to his situation because I moved here out of fear of losing it. But I can sympathize. Was he better after that first time?”

  “We had to call in Zhang.”

  “Well, that was probably for the best. That old man knows what he is doing. I’ve never met a sorcerer with such control over the elements. Very wise and powerful.”

  “Indeed. I mean, if he could tame Keme—he could tame any shifter.”

  “No wonder the council appointed him as the trainer for all the shifters of the world.”

  Takoda got up and headed to the kitchen.

  “Since we’ve got a bit of a wait and I’m already 4 cups of coffee in for the day, how about a beer? It’s 5 o’clock somewhere—right?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  The two sat and made idle small talk over a couple of beers and leftover takeout that was in Takoda’s fridge until the sun lowered on the horizon, dipping down into the tree line. Once dusk turned into nightfall, they packed up Donovan’s night vision cameras and headed out of Takoda’s compound toward’s Nayati’s.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea to shift. If they see us in our animal form, they will take it as a threat.” Donovan said as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. “In fact, I’m going to hide the night vision cameras until we absolutely need them because the last thing we need is for them to think we are spying on them.”

  “No, exactly. We can’t risk them moving Treasure. We may never find her then.”

  “I will not let that happen. If we can avoid a war—I’d rather do that. But getting her out isn’t going to be so easy.”

  “No, you are right, and once she is out, Nayati will be gunning for me.”

  “Let’s hope we can convince him otherwise, my friend,” Donovan said as he patted Takoda on his shoulder.

  The forest was thicker than Takoda remembered. Part of it had to do with the fact that he was hiking in human form—something he rarely does these days. It was just so much easier to hunt the woods in his cougar form. To run through the trees with the wind bristling through his thick reddish tawny coat gave him a sense of freedom he knew he didn’t have with the females of his pride. The Omegas fawned over him constantly. All of them wanting their piece of his crown. And not only did Takoda have no feelings other than protecting his people, but he also wanted nothing to do with the Omegas that thought of him as nothing more than a change in status.

  In all of his years of being a born shifter, he never felt like the prey until he came of age and the females wanted the prestige of being the queen of the pride. Not one of them loved him—all they loved was the power. A lack of love suited him just fine since the feeling was mutual. But the thing that bugged him the most was that feeling of having to pick one of them the queen of his pride. He couldn’t stand the idea of being in a loveless union. It wasn’t uncommon for a leader of their pride to take on a mate for the sake of the people. His grandfather had done so, but his grandmother was a strong leader. Something that none of the Omegas vying for the position of Luna understood. All of them lacked the responsibility of being a true leader.

  To wield any kind of power means that it comes with responsibility. He knew that firsthand when his father groomed him to become king alpha. But these girls didn’t know the first thing about being a queen. They all thought of the position as sipping tea and eating crumpets. The title of a queen of a shifter pride was far more complicated than the human’s dignitaries that mostly threw charity balls.

  The title of a queen was hard work. The woman had to be a powerful leader—if not a naturally born one. And Takoda didn’t have the time or the patience to make them understand that with the title comes the responsibility of protecting and providing for the entire pride in his absence. His mother would have been more than willing to train any woman he wanted to have as his mate, but she died too early in his adolescence to train anyone. Any woman he took on as his mate would be his responsibility alone to train to fight in his absence.

  A memory of discovering Treasure in that cave so many years ago rushed through his mind as he passed some thick brush.

  I can’t survive on my own. I’m not strong enough.

  The words stung him then. They were full of innocence, full of fear. But now? They were killing him. What if those same thoughts were running through her mind now? She was, no doubt, being beaten for loving him. His heart squeezed at the thought of Nayati holding her against her will. All because of him, she wasn’t safe. The one thing he tried to protect her from all of these years, and he couldn’t keep his promise. The thought that he failed her, shattered him.

  Most women in his pride were fearful of another civil war among the shifters. None of them fought by his side, nor did they take on the responsibilities of hunting for the pride during the Civil Were War. They only took care of the children and the elders of the pride, thinking all the while that a man was supposed to protect them. Takoda, Nayati, and a few of the other male beta warriors protected the parameters and fought in the war by his side. Takoda never knew what it was like to have a Luna as his equal. One that would protect him and his people during a war. But something was telling him that he had found that Luna in Treasure and nothing was more important than her safety.

  If stealing Treasure back would cause enough unrest where Nayati declares another war, Takoda would fight him. He wouldn’t like fighting his brother, but he would for Treasure and for his people.

  The closer they came to Nayati’s compound, the more determined Takoda became. He wouldn’t fail his Treasure this time around by being complaisant. He’d fight for her and her rights as a shifter—even if it meant that the pride must leave Wyoming. But he wouldn’t leave until she was where she belonged, with him.

&nbs
p; Chapter Five

  Nayati raised his hand to Treasure and slapped her cheek. The sound clapped through the main area of the community house of the compound and echoed into the depths of every corner of the tiny room he had her in.

  “You will obey me, Omega! I am your Alpha!”

  Treasure was shackled in a cubical of a room that she had come to know as a dungeon where they housed many of the pride that first came into their powers. It was utilized only once when a young shifter was unable to control his animal half when she was a young kitten herself. But within the past six months, Nayati had been using it more and more to gain control over the members of his pride that were doubting his orders.

  She was in fear of this room because she was witness to Nayati breaking many a shifter’s will into submission. The pride members who were unlucky to come into this room eventually learned to seek permission for everything, including the ability to shift.

  The act seemed like something barbaric to her. Her former alpha, and father, would have never done such a thing. But then again, everyone in their pride was born a shifter, and they were fully aware of their animal side. One of the first things that drew her to Takoda at a young age was him not having holding cells on his compound as Nayati did.

  Takoda’s pride was like her old pride—they respected one another, and they taught each shifter how to come into their own well before that first shift came over them. Nayati used to be the same. But now that Lenox was basically running Nayati’s pride, everything changed.

  Another sting came upon her cheek.

  “You will also look at me when I am talking to you, Omega! I expect to be treated with the respect I deserve as your Alpha.”

  His tone disgusted her, so did his breath, which made her even more complacent about his demands. Her body began to vibrate, starting within her gut and pulsated out through to her extremities. She had felt this sensation once before. It was the day her father the alpha of her pride died in battle. She remembered her father explaining the sensation when she was the tiniest of kittens and the war wasn’t even a thought.