Mandy Everest spent a restless night tossing and turning beside her husband as he snored the night away. Several bottles of Pinot Noir would help anyone sleep at night. Anyone, but her, that is. She couldn't sleep because she knew Fitz refused to talk to her. Whether he was scared or in denial or simply confused, she wasn't sure, but she knew he struggled with his situation, more so than she first thought he would. She had never felt her destined mate, and her father, like Fitz's, thought the whole thing just a fairy tale among shifters. However, she heard the stories from others who knew differently, others like her maternal grandparents. Not everyone found their destined mate, their paths never crossing or life taking them before they could meet. However, according to her grandmother, once your animal felt that pull, there was no denying what it was. The mating call was almost instant, and from that moment on, the animals couldn't do anything else except crave their mate until the bo
Kinsey turned off I-4 and onto Highway 192 heading east at the urging of the GPS lady. The drive was uneventful. She was in no hurry, so she took her time, not pushing the speed limit and stopping often to take in the sights.And thinking.A lot of thinking.Was she doing the right thing by leaving Draven Falls? Would distance weaken the mating call? Could she find something else to distract her and keep her from going insane?And then there was the other issue that confused her? What exactly had she felt when Mandy appeared at her home? Why had her panther reacted the way it had? Kinsey knew who her mate was, and it wasn't Mandy. It was Fitz. Could her panther have scented Fitz on Mandy and reacted? She sighed as she drove through Harmony, deciding that was what happened. Her panther scented her true mate and felt that passion that came with the mating call. There could be no other reason.Could there?Twenty minutes later, the GPS lady told her to pull off East Irlo Bronson Memorial
Fitz sat at his desk, staring out the window at a couple of squirrels chasing each other around the trunk of a red maple. The distraction wouldn't have been so bad if he had just watched the animals scurrying about for a few moments and then settled back in on the contracts he was supposed to be perusing, but no, Fitz had been watching them for the past thirty minutes while he held his morning cup of coffee in his hand. The morning sun still hung in the east, making its slow crawl across the sky, urging Draven Falls to wakefulness. Fitz, however, had been awake for the past two hours, unable to keep lying there with the words of his inner promise twisting in his gut. Would he be able to do it? It meant staying completely away from Kinsey, he knew, but Mandy deserved his best, his full commitment. Three days had passed since he vowed to do right by his wife, but nothing seemed easier, his panther remained unsettled, almost as if the beast paced within Fitz's breast.Resting on the edge
Kinsey stared into the flames, a glass of Merlot in her hand. The Florida air felt humid, the stickiness seeming to cling to everything, even the air itself. She glanced over at Alanna, who stood there sipping a beer and teasing Josh Rayburn about his cooking skills. "Tell me again why we're having a bonfire in the middle of summer?" Kinsey asked. "Isn't it hot enough without burning a giant mountain of wood on top of it?"Josh laughed as he shrugged. "Tradition is the answer you'll get from Dimitri if you ask him. Trust me, I wondered the same thing. We could have a nice weekly gathering in the comfortable air-conditioning, but no, the man wants his outdoor forest fire.""With as dry as it's been lately, I'm surprised we haven't started a forest fire," Alanna added as she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "June is not the season for a fire.""Hey, we never do anything small," Dimitri said as he stepped around a couple of toddlers tossing more twigs into the blaze. "And I l
Fitz couldn't focus for the rest of the day. The only image that played over and over in his mind was his sweet, petite wife standing in his office telling him that his mate was also hers. How was that even possible? By the time he surrendered to his nonproductive day, he had worked himself up into a lather over Mandy's announcement. She just stood there, telling him she knew where Kinsey ran away to and why, and she needed to go after her. Her panther scented Kinsey as her mate and was not permitting her to sit idly by while Kinsey escaped to Bull Creek."But Kinsey's panther scented me as her destined mate," Fitz said as he stood by his window, just staring at his wife. "Why would your panther scent her as her mate? You never told me you were even interested in women in that way. None of this makes sense.""I know it doesn't make sense," Mandy snapped, and he saw the regret of her tone on her face immediately. She took a deep breath. "Since when does the mystical aspects of shifters
"To Kinsey!" Eve yelled as everyone lifted their shot glasses in the air and then downed the tequila. The fiery liquid burned its way down Kinsey's throat as she swallowed. Setting the glass back down on the bistro table, she felt herself shiver as the alcohol coursed through her body, warming her. She shook once, eyes closed, as the sensation washed over her. When she opened her eyes, she noticed Lainie and Eve both staring at her, grinning ear-to-ear before busting out in laughter."Not a big drinker?" Eve asked, setting her empty shot glass on the table.Kinsey shook her head. "Not since my first year of college, but then, I think everyone drinks pretty heavily that first year just to bust loose. Once I got the itch out of my system, I settled down to my studies. Outside of an occasional glass of wine at dinner or before bed, I'm not much for drinking." She then held a hand up quickly, worried she offended someone. "Not that I think there's anything wrong with drinking, mind you. I
Mandy's panther jumped within her, urging her to move faster when they spotted Kinsey standing around a bistro table with Dimitri and some others. If Mandy doubted what she felt before, she could no longer deny it now that Kinsey stood so close and Mandy's panther wanted to bust out and take the woman right there in the crowded bar. The sensations overwhelmed her, making her cunt throb just as much as they confused her. She had never been with a woman before, never even been attracted to one, so how her panther scented another woman as its mate befuddled her. Still, there was no denying the urges filling her right then. She needed Kinsey Pickford. Needed her right then. Right there.The sounds of a bar assaulted her ears, clinking glasses, loud music—Garth Brooks singing about his low friends—raucous laughter with ear-splitting shouts as people enjoyed their Saturday night. The air was warm from the cluster of bodies filling the place, and Mandy watched as servers in skimpy outfits mad
As much as Fitz didn't want to leave his wife with Kinsey—they had just made out in front of everyone in the bar, after all—he knew his father well enough to know he would keep calling until Fitz answered. "I'll be right back," he said to Mandy with a weak smile, and then to Kinsey, he said, "Sorry." "I'll be right here when you're done," Kinsey said back to him.Fitz nodded, and slid the green button on his phone to answer the call, hoping he had delayed long enough for his father to hang up. "Hello, Dad." He sighed as he walked toward the front doors. No such luck."Have you finished your little road trip?" Daniel snapped into the phone. "I need you back at the office."Fitz shoved his way through the wooden doors and out into the humid night. "No, Father, I haven't finished my little road trip." He shook his head. "We got in late last night and just now saw Lainie and Dimitri. I'm going to be a few days, just like I told you.""Why would you need to be there a few days?" his father
"Sure you three can't stay longer?" Dimitri asked as Fitz tossed another suitcase in the trunk of his car. "I mean, now that the excitement is over, we can spend time catching up."Fitz slammed the trunk closed and turned to lean back on it, sliding his hands into his pockets. "Trust me, I'd love doing just that, but I need to figure out what Dad was doing back at home with the Order of Wardens. Dad had to be into some shady dealings, and I need to know what the company is facing."Dimitri nodded. "I get it. Just don't try to do it all on your own.""Like he'd have a choice," Mandy said as she and Kinsey left the cabin to join them, Adira and Lainie beside them. Mandy's arm was in a sling to help protect her wound. Thanks to her shifter blood, she would heal quicker than a human, but she still had to be careful and not overdo it. Their mother stayed at Dimitri's cabin, deciding to visit her younger children since she was there and saw no need to rush home. Lainie had reached out to her
Fitz stood there, hissing at his father. Mandy had Jeremiah pinned down, and Enoch stood still with magic fire sparkling around his fingertips. Kinsey stood, legs spread, braced for a confrontation with Daniel who stood there beating his chest like a crazed lunatic, never taking his eyes off Kinsey. "Don't just stand there, you idiot!" Jeremiah screamed. "Use your damn magic and blast them.""Yes, please," Adira snarled from the open doorway. "Try it." She raised her hands, her own blue magic's fire dancing around her fingertips. Dimitri's panther padded into the warehouse, moving over to where Mandy stood over Jeremiah. I've got him, he assured his sister-in-law. He's not going anywhere.Out of the corner of his eye, Fitz watched Mandy slide off Jeremiah, nipping at his face without actually biting him. The man shrieked as he tried to shove himself into the concrete.Lainie walked in, but she wasn't alone. "Johnson and the others are rounding up the men outside. The plane took off,
Fitz stared at the shattered glass scattered on the ground, several shards covered in blood, Kinsey's blood. He never should have left his mates alone. Now, one was in the hands of his enemies, and the other on her way to join the first. How could his father always be one step ahead of him?Fitz remained there, squatting, staring at the ruins of Kinsey's window. He couldn't blame Mandy for racing off after Kinsey. His panther urged him to do the same, and it took everything he had not to give in to those urges. He couldn't respond with rash behavior, however, as much as he wanted nothing more than to race off and devour those who hurt his family. He needed to think this through, needed to figure out the best way to save his mates. He needed… Fitz sighed. He needed to get off his ass and take his father out."The magic twists Kinsey's trail," Adira said to those gathered around. "But it doesn't twist Eve or Mandy's. Follow their scents, and you'll make better time than trying to follow
Mandy slid her phone back into her back pocket. Fitz actually thought she could sit still and just wait while the Order held Kinsey in their clutches? No way. Daniel put a hit out on Kinsey's life. Who knew how much time they had in order to save her. No. Mandy had every intention of starting the search for her mate.She quickly stripped off her clothes, piling them on the wooden porch in the front of the cabin. Fitz would see the clothes and know what she did. He'd be quick to follow her. Daniel underestimated his son; at least, this version of Fitz. He wouldn't sacrifice Kinsey for his father's goals, not with everything the three of them planned, not now that they discovered the way to be together, that they needed to be together.Mandy braced, shifting, her bones popping, body stretching as the tawny fur of her panther slid from under her flesh. She fell to all fours, her feet and hands turning to massive paws before she even touched the ground. She gave a quick shake of her head,
Her head pounded, her stomach churning with nausea. Kinsey wasn't sure what they gave her, but she knew it screwed with her senses. She remained in her panther form, huddled on the cold floor of… She panicked. Where the hell had they taken her? She tried to inhale some scent to give her an idea, but all she could smell was the sweat of humans, the fringes of Enoch's magic, and what seemed to be iron. Memories of what happened to her flooded her mind as she tried to move. Opening her gold eyes, she noticed the iron bars around her. A cage! They stuffed me into a damn cage.She forced herself up onto her paws, pain screaming from her right leg when she put her weight on it. Her body was sluggish, her mind still a little groggy. The floor of her cage was solid wood, while the walls and ceiling were inch-thick iron bars. She seemed to be in some sort of warehouse. By the scents that reached her, the place hadn't been used in a long time, dust and decay filling her nostrils. Windows set hig
"I'm surprised you actually came up for air," Dimitri said with a chuckle. "Hell, when I first marked Adira we stayed locked in the cabin for days. We didn't even realize we ran out of food until we finally wore ourselves out, and that was just the two of us. I can't imagine how much energy three of you would have."Fitz sat across from Dimitri at Gracie's Diner, sipping his third cup of coffee. "It's kind of hard to stay naked when you're afraid the Order will bust down your door and kill your mate." The smell of greasy burgers filled the air as plates and glasses clinked against each other. The diner was filled almost to capacity as nearby residents of Bull Creek and Holopaw filled their bellies with lunch. The bell dinged by the pickup window as plates of steaming food passed through the window, waiting for the servers to swoop by and deliver it to hungry customers. Another bell dinged over the glass door as people walked in and out, either starving or satisfied. "Trust me," Fitz sa
Kinsey watched as Mandy left through the front door. She didn't really blame Mandy for needing some time away. The three of them had been glued to each other since they entered the cabin on Sunday. While it would have been nice spending this hump day doing exactly that, Kinsey knew they all needed a break to sort through the sudden waterfall of emotions their animals forced upon them. Life just took a dramatic turn for them all.Kinsey poured herself a fresh cup of coffee and headed to her bedroom. They had been so busy exploring each other's bodies, they never took a moment to unpack Mandy and Fitz's clothes completely. Not that it mattered much. With as much sex as the three of them had over the past couple of days, they hadn't really needed clothes. Of course, even with as much as they may have wanted to remain that way, eventually they would need to mingle again with the rest of the world, and for the most part, that would require clothing. If only the rest of the world were as com
For the next two days, the three of them never left the cabin, even choosing to order in their food, instead of venturing out to stock the shelves. They spent their time exploring each other's bodies in the bedroom and sitting around the cabin exploring the possibilities of the future. Their panthers were calmer; at least, in the manner of the mating call, they were. In terms of the lust that filled the room, they were as insatiable as their human counterparts. The three of them had a difficult time keeping their hands and mouths off each other, and Mandy found herself buried between Kinsey's legs several more times since Sunday.They agreed there would be no sleeping in separate beds. They would live together, love together, sleep together, and every other together that existed. They weren't separate relationships trying to coexist; they were one relationship with three parts. Unorthodox, perhaps, but for them it would be how they lived. Mandy bore Fitz's mate mark, as did Kinsey, and
Fitz remained quiet after his statement about a new alpha, leaving the packing of their motel room to Mandy. Guilt filled him because he hadn't even considered how Kinsey would feel about returning to Draven Falls once he told her about his father's plans. Of course, he hadn't really thought beyond protecting her, so it wasn't like he made future plans. Hell, he wasn't even sure what the future held. He moved moment-by-moment right now, reacting more than planning his next step. That had to change.Mandy finished packing, and the three of them loaded the trunk of the car before heading back to Bull Creek. Mandy attempted to get him to talk more, but after a few short replies, gave up and talked with Kinsey, instead. By the time Fitz pulled into Kinsey's driveway, he couldn't even remember the drive there, his mind churning over how he would take over the family from his father, and whether that was even possible. Taking over the family was never something Fitz thought about, believing