Complication: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Shifters Forever After Book 1) by Elle Thorne Page A

brothers had to parents since they’d lost their own.
    “Come in, Malachi. It’s unlocked.” Mikhail’s baritone came through the wood.
    Ky turned the handle and cracked the door a few inches.
    “Welcome, nephew.” Aunt Miriam, a voluptuous woman with red hair and a sweet temperament—except when she was irked—adored Ky, and it showed in her smile. She wrapped her arms around him. “I have your favorite,” she whispered.
    Ky almost laughed out loud. Shifters could hear far better than humans. She wasn’t hiding her statement from anyone. Anyway, he’d already smelled the blueberry muffins. Ky leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
    She giggled and pushed him away. “You should come around more often,” she chastised him. “I thought I’d see you more after you came back from the Middle East.” She pouted. “Your brother beat you here.”
    I know, I scented him.
    “When are you going to bring a young lady home for us to meet? Isn’t it time you had happiness of your own?” She rubbed his arm as if she was consoling herself.
    Ky motioned for her to precede him, resisting the urge to shake his head at her matchmaking wishes. His uncle and brother Isaac were waiting in the middle of the study, drinks in hand. Courvoisier, Mikhail’s favorite. Though alcohol didn’t affect shifters, he liked the flavor.
    Give me a cold ale anytime. Ky humored his uncle and took a snifter.
    After exchanging pleasantries, Ky turned to his brother Isaac. “Where’s Jonah?” Their other brother. “How’d you beat me here?”
    “He couldn’t make it. Check your phone. He left a text.” Isaac rubbed his eyes, the dark circles prevalent. “I haven’t been to bed yet.”
    As an NYPD detective he often wore a haggard look to their Sunday dinners, but today he looked particularly bad.
    “The cat burglar.” A scowl formed and planted itself on Isaac’s face.
    “I saw that on the news.” Aunt Miriam passed a tray of finger food appetizers around. “They said that they were calling in reinforcements.”
    “I’m the reinforcements,” Isaac said. “I’m officially on the case now. What about you?” He turned to Ky. “Anything going on with the SSC?”
    “Nah. I’m between cases.”
    Ky served as one of the representatives for the Shifter Supreme Court, which was very different from the human judicial system. Representatives in the SSC were there to facilitate mediation hearings and clarify questions the judges might have. There were no opening or closing arguments, no objections—just a hearing, where facts were determined as best as they could be.
    “Guess who’s coming to town? Gavin and Layla.” Aunt Miriam glowed with joy.
    An arctic fox like her mother, Layla was his aunt and uncle’s only daughter, and as close to Ky as if she were his own sister.
    “And Layla’s expecting!” Mikhail boomed.
    Aunt Miriam slapped him on the arm. “They wanted to share the news themselves.”
    “I can’t help myself.” Mikhail didn’t look like he regretted it one bit.
    Ky turned to Isaac. “So what’s the deal with the cat burglar? Why’s this case so hard to crack?”
    “Well…” Isaac hesitated.
    Ky shook his head at his idealistic brother. “Why do you do that? Why do you live and work in the non-shifter world?”
    “Because I can make a difference.”
    “A shifter assigned to a cat burglar case.” Ky laughed at the irony of that one.
    Isaac shot him a dirty look.
    Ky froze mid-laugh. “A polar bear is working on a cat burglary case. You don’t find that funny?”
    “No. And I don’t think it’s an average cat burglar.”
    “No shit?”
    Aunt Miriam gasped at his language. Contrite, Ky shot her a look of apology.
    “No sh—” Isaac clamped his lips shut just as Aunt Miriam opened her mouth. “Sorry.” He turned back to Ky. “How else do you think the burglar has been avoiding capture for almost two years? I was just given the case. It was Dan Roberts’. Told him I’d work on it