Chapter One
Nathan Romero walked through the forest ignoring everything around him. The singing birds and beautiful green Douglas furs did nothing to ease his anger. He looked around with only one purpose. Nathan searched for humans with the help of his shifter pack. The incident of one of their own being hunted was still fresh in his mind. Even though the trail of blood was gone, the images were forever imbedded in Nathan’s memories. His pack had heard the screams of pain before seeing their fellow pack member struggling to make it back to safety. Her pup, fear in its eyes, dangled in her mouth. That image alone was a constant reminder to everyone when it came to keeping their guard up. Someone might get killed next time.
He moved along allowing his senses to pick up anything out of the ordinary. The smell of fresh air and fallen tree branches filled his nose. Something in Nathan’s peripheral vision caught his attention. The sun made the object glimmer brightly. Shifting back into human form, he walked to it. Nathan picked up the empty shotgun shell and crushed it in his hands.
A group of humans thought they were above the law and had decided to go hunting for mountain lions during the off-season. Nathan had gone through proper channels to restrict as much of his land to hunters during hunting season. This time they overstepped their bounds. Miraculously, she and her cub survived but that was a wake-up call for him. One of their own had been attacked on his watch and their child witnessed it. It wasn’t Nathan’s pup, but he felt like every child in this pack was his. Blood or not they were all a family, and no one fucked with his family.
Nathan had everyone overseeing the area. There would be no repeat attempts like this on any pack member. The humans had been found but weren’t killed. Instead he made an example of them by removing one of their limbs. Hunters no longer came close to the area, but Nathan continued to enforce twenty-four-hour patrols on his home.
“Fucking humans and their guns,” Nathan growled. His ears perked at the sound of footsteps coming closer. The rustling in the bushes made him turn. Dagger, Nathan’s baby brother, walked toward the front and shifted into human form. The others quickly followed.
“Nothing. We can’t find a trace of any humans in the area or any lurking around the forest. I guess they got the message,” Dagger said, a little too cocky for Nathan’s comfort. For the sake of his pack, Nathan truly hoped that Dagger was right.
“I wouldn’t say that just yet,” Anik, the only lion shifter in the pack, said as he stepped out of the bushes. “There’s something you need to see by the creek.”
Nathan gave orders for all but four of the pack to follow. Anik lead them to where a beautiful clouded leopard lay sleeping by the creek. There were only two problems: One, clouded leopards are historically known to be found in East Asia. Two, there were no leopard shifters in the pack.
They had a trespasser on their hands, but this one was a shifter. And female. Nathan took in her feline form. She lay next to the edge of the creek. The yellowish coat of her fur had dark spots with black outlines around them. Her front paws were folded under her chin while her stout legs and long tail lay straight on the fallen leaves.
If this shifter wasn’t trespassing, he might’ve thought that the soft purr she emitted in her sleep was almost cute. Almost cute didn’t cut it. She was trespassing and needed to be dealt with. What amazed him was she allowed herself to lower her guard. A creature like her must have acute senses similar to himself. Nathan went to approach but ended up stepping on a tree branch, breaking it. The leopard stirred and rose slowly.
Regine Hamilton stretched out her paws, trying to wipe away the fatigue. Great run and great nap, she thought before shifting into her human form. Between the humming insects, chirping birds, and flowing water, she’d finally
Nathan Romero walked through the forest ignoring everything around him. The singing birds and beautiful green Douglas furs did nothing to ease his anger. He looked around with only one purpose. Nathan searched for humans with the help of his shifter pack. The incident of one of their own being hunted was still fresh in his mind. Even though the trail of blood was gone, the images were forever imbedded in Nathan’s memories. His pack had heard the screams of pain before seeing their fellow pack member struggling to make it back to safety. Her pup, fear in its eyes, dangled in her mouth. That image alone was a constant reminder to everyone when it came to keeping their guard up. Someone might get killed next time.
He moved along allowing his senses to pick up anything out of the ordinary. The smell of fresh air and fallen tree branches filled his nose. Something in Nathan’s peripheral vision caught his attention. The sun made the object glimmer brightly. Shifting back into human form, he walked to it. Nathan picked up the empty shotgun shell and crushed it in his hands.
A group of humans thought they were above the law and had decided to go hunting for mountain lions during the off-season. Nathan had gone through proper channels to restrict as much of his land to hunters during hunting season. This time they overstepped their bounds. Miraculously, she and her cub survived but that was a wake-up call for him. One of their own had been attacked on his watch and their child witnessed it. It wasn’t Nathan’s pup, but he felt like every child in this pack was his. Blood or not they were all a family, and no one fucked with his family.
Nathan had everyone overseeing the area. There would be no repeat attempts like this on any pack member. The humans had been found but weren’t killed. Instead he made an example of them by removing one of their limbs. Hunters no longer came close to the area, but Nathan continued to enforce twenty-four-hour patrols on his home.
“Fucking humans and their guns,” Nathan growled. His ears perked at the sound of footsteps coming closer. The rustling in the bushes made him turn. Dagger, Nathan’s baby brother, walked toward the front and shifted into human form. The others quickly followed.
“Nothing. We can’t find a trace of any humans in the area or any lurking around the forest. I guess they got the message,” Dagger said, a little too cocky for Nathan’s comfort. For the sake of his pack, Nathan truly hoped that Dagger was right.
“I wouldn’t say that just yet,” Anik, the only lion shifter in the pack, said as he stepped out of the bushes. “There’s something you need to see by the creek.”
Nathan gave orders for all but four of the pack to follow. Anik lead them to where a beautiful clouded leopard lay sleeping by the creek. There were only two problems: One, clouded leopards are historically known to be found in East Asia. Two, there were no leopard shifters in the pack.
They had a trespasser on their hands, but this one was a shifter. And female. Nathan took in her feline form. She lay next to the edge of the creek. The yellowish coat of her fur had dark spots with black outlines around them. Her front paws were folded under her chin while her stout legs and long tail lay straight on the fallen leaves.
If this shifter wasn’t trespassing, he might’ve thought that the soft purr she emitted in her sleep was almost cute. Almost cute didn’t cut it. She was trespassing and needed to be dealt with. What amazed him was she allowed herself to lower her guard. A creature like her must have acute senses similar to himself. Nathan went to approach but ended up stepping on a tree branch, breaking it. The leopard stirred and rose slowly.
Regine Hamilton stretched out her paws, trying to wipe away the fatigue. Great run and great nap, she thought before shifting into her human form. Between the humming insects, chirping birds, and flowing water, she’d finally
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