Shift: A Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Read online

  I almost choked on my sparkling cider. Did they not have any idea what their brother had done? How far his deception ran? That I had been threatened into this sham of a ceremony? That he wanted to raise my babies as his own?

  Sylvie’s eyes sparkled. “And you’re positively glowing, Cadence. For a human that is. You just… I don’t know how to describe it.”

  Hayden slid his hand against my hip, pulling me close. “I told you she was special.”

  I pressed the point of my heel into his toe. He winced. “Now if you’ll excuse us, I need a moment with my wife.”

  Of course. They headed for the champagne bar and Hayden led me to the far corner of the parlor.

  “They don’t know?” I hissed.

  “Know what?”

  “Your entire clan knows what you’ve done and not your sisters?”

  His eyes darted to the floor.

  “They wouldn’t approve, would they?”

  “It’s not your concern.”

  There was a chink in his armor. Family. His sisters.

  Before I had a chance to press him for more details we were interrupted.

  “Congratulations, you two.”

  Hayden leaned down to peck an older woman on the cheek. She smelled like stale flowers. My nose was ultra sensitive.

  “Cadence, let me introduce you to my great aunt Charlene.”

  “Nice to meet you.” I smiled, trying to muster some manners.

  “Beautiful ceremony.” She beamed. “Truly lovely.”

  “Thank you, Aunt Charlene. Can I show you where the cocktails are?”

  She cracked a high-pitched laughed. “You do know me.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Hayden winked.

  I leaned into the wall, trying to get my bearings.

  “Champagne?”

  “No thank you,” I dismissed the server.

  “I think you would enjoy this one.”

  My spine went rigid. There was something in his voice. I looked up. Eli. He grinned widely then brought his finger to his lips to keep me from squealing.

  “Where’s Case?”

  “He’s here. But I have to get you out when no one is looking. Can you find a way to get alone?”

  I shook my head. “No. There are guards with me at all times.”

  He scowled.

  “Someone’s coming. Go.” I shooed him away.

  It was Sylvie. She slinked up to me. “My brother has already left you alone?”

  “Something about getting your Aunt Charlene to the bar.”

  She laughed. “That woman loves her bedtime toddy.”

  I had new adrenaline surging through me. I had something I hadn’t had in days. Hope. Case was here somewhere in the mansion. The Tribe was here. Rescue was around the corner. I just had to make it happen. I had to find a way to escape the attention of the guards.

  23

  Case

  I waited in the kitchen while Eli, Ronan, and Noah took turns serving plates and filling me in on what was happening during the reception. It killed me to be in the kitchen while they performed surveillance and observed Cadence, but we couldn’t take the chance that I would be spotted.

  They had a better chance of blending in as catering staff. If anyone stepped into the kitchen and recognized me, the plan would implode.

  Eli walked in with a tray of empty glasses.

  “I spoke to her.”

  I waited for some kind of sign about her condition.

  “You did?”

  He nodded. “She’s ok. She’s guarded heavily, but she’s going to find a way to steal a few minutes by herself. I told her we’ll grab her then and go.”

  “Eli, wait.” I stopped him at the door. I threw a towel over my shoulder. I couldn’t believe I was back here playing chef while Cadence was counting on me to save her.

  “What is it?”

  He refilled a round of champagne glasses and loaded the silver tray to serve to the wedding guests.

  “Be careful with her.”

  “Of course.”

  “No. I mean, be gentle.”

  “I realize she’s human, but I’ll do what I have to, to get her out of here. She’s going to survive this. Cadence is tough.”

  “You can’t handle her like that,” I growled. “She’s pregnant.”

  His mouth fell open. “Holy shit.”

  “No one knows. She doesn’t know I know. But it’s part of Litchfield’s bigger plan. Just be careful with her. I don’t want anything to happen to the baby.”

  “I swear I’ll guard them both with my life. I have sworn to protect the Maddox line.” He paused. “They will be safe with me.”

  “Thank you.”

  He ducked out of the kitchen. It wasn’t how I’d planned to make the announcement, but I couldn’t worry about that now. I had to focus on getting them out of here.

  Once Eli had her, we would have to fight our way to the canal and back to the boat. It was the best exit plan. But it wasn’t an easy one. There were at least five acres between the house and the dock.

  We hadn’t had time to complete a full recon of the land. I only knew the trail we used to find the house. It would have to work for the escape route.

  I knew how to crash a wedding. I knew how to save my mate. I also knew the odds were stacked against us with the large guest list in attendance.

  I wanted to be the one to snatch her from Litchfield’s hands. I wanted to see the fear in his eyes when I held his throat in my hands. I poked my head from the kitchen doorway. The murmurs of the guests traveled down the corridor.

  I would have to wait. Revenge would be mine, but not until Cadence was safe.

  24

  Cadence

  Eli continued to walk from guest to guest, passing out long-stemmed flutes. I smiled at the shifters who gathered to congratulate me. I spotted Noah and Ronan going from room to room. To me, they stood out, but that was because I was fearful they would be discovered. Watching them maneuver among the guests, I realized they blended in with the other shifters. Jaguars had a distinctive look—together they were harder to tell apart.

  Knowing Case was here both calmed and scared me.

  Hayden had been quite specific. He would kill Case if he caught him anywhere near me. The people closest to me parted as Hayden approached.

  “How is my bride?” He grinned.

  I fidgeted with my veil. “A little overwhelmed.”

  “To be expected. I have a large family.”

  “Yes, you do.” I hadn’t made it through half of them yet. I didn’t want to. I needed to find a way to create some space without the guards. “Your sisters are nice.”

  He chuckled. “They are powerful rulers. Don’t let them fool you.”

  “I’m wondering if one of them would help me with something.”

  His eyebrows arched. “What would that be?”

  I lowered my eyes. “It’s sort of a girl issue. It’s hard to maneuver in this dress and I don’t exactly have bridesmaids.”

  “Ahh.” He looked around the room.

  My eyes landed on Sylvie. “Oh, there’s one. Do you think I could ask her to walk with me to the ladies’ room? I’ll be right back.”

  “She would be honored.”

  I tried not to roll my eyes. I don’t know if any bridesmaid was ever honored to help a bride with her dress to pee, but the excuse was good enough for Hayden to buy the story. I took my time walking toward his sister. I had to look casual.

  “Sylvie?” I interrupted her discussion with a younger man. I could tell she was flirting hard with him.

  “Ahh, my new sister.” She beamed.

  I nodded at the jaguar she was trying to impress and whispered in her ear.

  She winked at him. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t be too long,” he replied slyly.

  “He’s cute,” I added as we walked out of the crowded reception room.

  “I know, right?” She looked a little drunk and especially giddy.


  Universal girl talk was my friend right now. “Do you think you’ll ask him out?”

  “That’s not exactly what I had planned,” she admitted.

  “Oh.”

  We turned the corner away from the guests. There was a large guestroom downstairs that had a full suite. Sylvie led me inside. I tried not to look over my shoulder, but I knew Eli was following us.

  “Why don’t you talk to him before your sister pounces?” I suggested. “I saw her eyeing him.”

  “She was?” Sylvie’s eyes flared.

  I nodded. “He’s cute. Do you two usually go for the same guy?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Harley has a habit of going after my leftovers.”

  “I never had a sister. I think that would be hard. All that jealousy.”

  She shrugged. “I usually get the guy so it doesn’t really affect me.”

  I bit my lip. “I hope tonight isn’t the first time. I think she was walking toward him when we left.”

  “What?”

  “Look, I can manage the dress. I just wanted a few minutes alone to breathe. I’ll catch my breath and head back in. I’ll lock the door. I’ll be fine if you want to go after him.”

  “Really? You’re sure?”

  “I am. I could use a minute alone. No offense.”

  She was already two steps closer to the door. I could tell she was itching to get back to the hot jag before her sister got her claws in him.

  “Take your time.” She smiled.

  “I will. Thanks, Sylvie.”

  I finally let out a pent up breath when she closed the door. That had been too easy. I waited for Eli’s signal. Something. Anything to let me know he was on his way to carry me out of this prison.

  The door cracked open and Eli ducked inside.

  “We don’t have much time.” He was out of breath. His eyes glowed with intensity.

  I looked for a way to escape, but the window was sealed and I didn’t know that jumping through glass was a good idea.

  Before I could give my two cents, Eli lifted me gently from the floor.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Case told me to take care of you. I have to run like hell out of this place and the safest place is with you right here.”

  I should have felt fear and anxiety. But instead I felt the comfort in his words. He was part of the Tribe. Eli was tall, strong, and fierce. He would keep me safe—I could count on him.

  I nodded as he stuck his head out of the door to look for Sylvie or any of the other guests.

  “Hold on tight.”

  And just like that my escape began.

  25

  Case

  It happened quickly. I knew it would.

  Eli sprinted through the kitchen with Cadence in his arms. She whirled past me in a blur of white. I couldn’t touch her. I couldn’t hold or kiss her. Her eyes held me for a brief second as Eli ran with her.

  He disappeared outside. Noah and Ronan darted into the kitchen after him, ripping off their catering jackets.

  “Let’s go. They’ll know she’s missing any minute.”

  I instructed them to flank Eli. “Go, and make sure if anyone follows that Eli makes it to that boat. She must remain safe at all costs.”

  My heir was under their protection. The continuance of the Maddox line. The reason I

  They sprinted through the door.

  I grabbed a knife from the butcher’s block and backed toward the exit. I couldn’t blindly run. The clan would be coming. The more I could finish off at the house, the better. If I could level the entire house, I would.

  I took another step back. I heard the chatter of the wedding guests and the string quartet. There were no sounds of panic.

  And then I heard it. The howl. The distress cry. Litchfield knew.

  I threw the knife, sending it soaring through the air as the first of the guards bound through the galley. It hit him in the neck and he fell to the floor.

  My jag broke free as the claws and fangs extended. My skin shifted to fur and my eyes glowered with hatred for the man who had stolen my family. He would pay for the pain he caused. For the fear he planted.

  I expected more of the guards to rush me, but Litchfield strolled into the kitchen alone. For a shifter who had just lost his mate, he looked calm. Almost bored with the entire charade. He pulled at the fabric of his tie and brushed his lapels. I noticed the white rose pinned to his jacket. He looked like the damn groom I was supposed to be. The groom I should have been to Cadence months ago.

  My whiskers twitched as a low growl erupted from my chest. I didn’t want there to be any doubt—I was going to kill him tonight.

  He locked eyes on me and leapt forward, shifting at an incredible rate while his body hurled through the air.

  He landed on four feet, baring his teeth, scratching at the floor.

  “Where is my wife?” he snarled. Maybe he was more upset than he let on.

  “My mate and child are safe,” I retorted.

  The longer I kept him inside, the more time Eli had to get Cadence back to the city and to the compound. We could protect her there.

  Litchfield snorted as we circled each other. The fur on our backs rose, straightening in attack stance. “She’s mine. We performed the ceremony. You can’t undo our vows.”

  I shook my head. “Never. She never was and never will be. There is nothing about that ceremony that stands anymore. The old magic is gone. I should know.”

  “Your defiance disgusts me.”

  I hissed. “Sorry to hear that.”

  “Your cavalier attitude about our laws and magic is revolting. It’s your own doing. You brought this on yourself. If you honored the vows you took with the Nox queen and followed the will of the Council, you wouldn’t be about to lose everything you care about.”

  The hatred pooled in my heart. “I freed shifters who were prisoners to ancient laws. That’s what I did. They deserved to have their own free will. Their own choices. I want a wife who wants to be my wife. Not someone I have to threaten into a ceremony.” I snarled, showing the sharpest points of my fangs.

  His whiskers twitched as we made another circle, each time inching closer to the door. I had to stop him from running.

  “You created chaos. You created dissent. You created she-panthers who think they have some say in this world.”

  I laughed. “I think they do.”

  “Your father would be ashamed.”

  I growled. “You don’t know shit about my father, Litchfield.”

  He hunkered lower to the ground. “I know that I am going to raise his grandchildren.” He smiled wickedly. There was something more sinister and evil than I could register.

  “Cadence and the baby are gone. You’ll never get your hands on her again.”

  “Baby?” His eyes flickered. “Then you haven’t heard the news? We’re having twins.”

  My heart stopped in my chest. What? Twins? There were two of them? Cadence was actually having two cubs? I didn’t know how to think or feel. I growled. I had to put an end to this right now. I had to end him. No more threats. No more twisted jokes. He was talking about my family. I’d die to protect them. I’d sacrifice all the power in my possession to keep them safe.

  I lunged, my claws sinking into his back while I wrestled him to the ground. Hayden wrapped his talons around me, trying to break free as he thrashed on his back.

  I lost my footing on the slick hardwoods and he was back upright on all fours.

  He glared. “She’s mine. They’re mine. I will have all of the Maddox territories and the only heirs you’ll ever create. Don’t you see? You lost, Maddox. You’re no longer a king. You’re a shifter without family. Without a purpose.”

  “That’s your end game? To take everything I’ve ever had? To steal another man’s fortune? To take what’s dearest to his soul?”

  “Someone has to stop you. You’ve destroyed everything sacred to shifters. I will bring your wives into my line. Your children. And your
brother’s family is next.” He was proud of himself. Proud of what he had tried to accomplish.

  But it wasn’t going to happen. I hadn’t destroyed the Council just to let someone else try to restore that type of control. This fight was for Cadence and our children, but it was also for Dare and the Nox. For all the shifters who gave their lives to end the old ways.

  This ended now.

  In one solid leap, I shoved Hayden through the door and onto the ground behind the kitchen. The windows of the house glowed with the celebration party. No one bothered to look outside for the bride or the groom.

  He choked, struggling to break free. “You will not have her,” he gasped.

  My claws struck at him, swiping across his face. “That’s what you don’t get. She was already mine. But not because I forced her, but because she chose me. She chose me.”

  One of his paw’s broke free and I howled when I felt the searing pain of his claws extend deep between my ribs. He twisted it in defiance, widening the gashes his talons created. The blood trickled over my fur and on to his stomach.

  We clashed again, each trying to pin the other to the ground, but Hayden was nowhere near being able to overcome my strength. He could strike. He could bite. He could howl. But I realized he didn’t have what I had—a reason for victory. Defeat was never an option.

  Leaving Cadence and the cubs to this man wasn’t going to happen. Turning the Tribe over to a ruler who stole lands and wives was never going to happen. I had motivation Hayden never had. Loyalty. Love. Family.

  My fangs extended as I clamped around his throat. He kicked and swatted, battling backward like a turtle who couldn’t right his shell. But the more he struggled, the harder I dug in. I kept him pinned to the sidewalk. I felt the satisfaction of squeezing the life from his body. He wheezed and struggled, but he was no match for my strength or power, and I slowly drained the life from him. I held him with force and power as he stopped fighting one breath at a time.

  I stepped back, watching his lifeless body as it shifted back to human form. He looked peaceful. He didn’t look like a man who had tried to take down my royal lineage.