Embracing Fate: A hot paranormal shifter book (Hidden Hills Shifters 4)
Read Embracing Fate: A hot paranormal shifter book (Hidden Hills Shifters 4) Online
Authors: Vella Day
Tags: #romance, #Erotica
Hidden Hills Shifters
Book 4
Vella Day
Copyright © 2015 Vella Day
EMBRACING FATE
Copyright © 2015 by Vella Day
Kindle Edition
Cover Art by Scott Carpenter/Sahara Kelly
Edited by Rebecca Cartee and Carol Adcock-Bezzo
Published in the United States of America
E-book ISBN: 978-1-941835-13-5
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief questions embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Chapter One
O
fficer Cord Triggert
stalked down the alley behind the Cove Bar in his panther form, patrolling the area for potential crimes. The slightly warm breeze on the moonless evening invigorated him just like being alone in his life did. While he didn’t anticipate much action on a Thursday night, he remained vigilant.
When he reached the main drag of the small town, he stopped and sniffed, trying to detect any humans nearby. Shifters didn’t flaunt their presence by strutting down the street in animal form, so before he shifted back to a human, he wanted to make sure no one was watching. He’d already shocked one elderly lady to death in Virginia when he changed right in front of her, turning from his panther form to that of a bear. Cord had cursed each and every day since then for his unique talent.
Once human, he proceeded down the street, keeping an eye out for any strange behavior. Other than the noise coming from the Cove Bar, Hidden Hills, North Carolina appeared to have settled in for the night.
He still couldn’t believe he’d only arrived six months ago and that the small town had grown on him so fast. No one bothered him much, and that suited him just fine.
Just when he thought he could head home, the faint scuffling of feet, followed by grunts sent his adrenaline soaring. Something was going down a few blocks away—and it didn’t sound good.
He sprinted to the next crossroad and ducked down the darkened alley, feeling like goddamn Superman, needing to change in private. Wanting to reach the possible altercation as quickly as possible, he chose to shift into his panther form instead of becoming a lumbering bear.
As he raced toward the fight, his senses caught the whiff of blood. Muscles burning, he stretched and pumped, his feet gaining purchase on the alley’s hard packed gravel. Fists striking bone jacked up his urgency. When he reached Harper and Fur Street, he halted then crouched down, wanting to assess the situation before he charged in. It was a dark night, and the lamp dangling from one of the walls probably wasn’t enough to expose his position, but he stayed out of sight just in case. The precaution wasn’t strictly necessary because the attackers seemed too busy beating the living crap out of someone to notice him.
“Pay what you owe, you little fucker, or the next time we’ll kill you,” the man in the flannel shirt shouted as he punched the man in the gut again.
Oh, shit. This was more than a random mugging. Cord had three choices at this point. One, change into a human and fire a few warning shots to make them stop. Two, stay in panther form and charge, teeth bared, hoping they’d hightail it out of there, or three, shift into his bear form. The latter seemed the safest bet in case they were armed.
Right now, Cord was glad he could make the transformation without emitting the signature blinding blue flashing light, like every other shifter in the world. The muscle stretching and bone cracking hurt like a mother whenever he went from panther to bear, but he had little choice.
Once shifted, Cord stood tall and pawed his furry arms in the air. He roared then inhaled to memorize their stench.
The attackers released the man, and he fell into a heap at their feet. The one in the flannel shirt shouted a few obscenities, the second one—wearing a backward baseball cap—looked like he was ready to piss in his pants, and the third man froze. As much as Cord wanted to arrest all of their sorry asses, he needed to help the injured man first. He’d track down the assailants later. If the beaten man owed them money, he probably knew these goons, so finding them shouldn’t be difficult.
“Run,” Mr. Flannel Shirt shouted as he took off down the alley. His two other partners in crime quickly followed. Thankfully, no shots were exchanged.
Cowards
.
As soon as the attackers disappeared from view, Cord returned to his human form and rushed over to the man, who didn’t look much more than a kid. After a few moans and a litany of swearing, the man rolled onto his side then tried to stand. Most likely, he had a cracked rib or two from all those blows and needed to stay still.
“Take it easy,” Cord said, guiding him back to the ground.
The man spit out a mouthful of blood and pressed a palm to his ribs. “Mother fuckers robbed me.”
For good reason. If what they had said was true, more than likely the men were trying to get their due. Cord tapped the mic on his shoulder to contact dispatch, gave them his location, and requested an ambulance. While the young man might object to a trip to the hospital, the cut chin would surely require stitches.
“The ambulance will be here soon. What’s your name, son?”
“Brody Capshaw and I’m not your son. I’m not a freak.” That came out with a lot of contempt, but underneath, Cord could sense the boy was scared. He didn’t need to be an empath to figure out that much. To be honest, this was the first time anyone in this accepting town had shown him animosity.
“You’re lucky I was the one to rescue you. Most
humans
wouldn’t have gone against three men.” His attitude hardly came out professional, but he wasn’t in a generous mood tonight.
Brody turned away, swiped at his lip, and then touched his eye that was now swollen shut. Cord bet Brody had no idea how close he’d come to dying, and as much as Cord wanted to lecture him about the perils of taking on more debt than he could afford, he figured right now, that little talk would land on deaf ears.
The ambulance arrived less than five minutes later, and after a bit of persuading on Cord’s part, Brody let the paramedics place him on the gurney.
“I’ll follow behind,” Cord told the driver.
Not only did he need Brody’s statement, he was worried about the kid. Cord had exhibited a lot of the same anti-social behavior growing up, but his stint with the DEA had helped give him a better perspective on life.
Once the ambulance took off, Cord jogged back to his unmarked SUV. He didn’t hurry though, since he probably couldn’t get in to see the kid until after the doctors checked him out.
By the time he parked and entered the emergency room area, his own anger had surfaced. He’d seen too many kids throw their life away, all under the name of trying to be a man.
Cord strode up to the nurses’ station and flashed his badge. “I need to take Brody Capshaw’s statement. Can you let me know when I will be able to speak with him?”
To ensure entrance, Cord could have mentioned Brody was a possible suspect in a crime, but he had no proof the kid had done anything illegal, other than get in over his head.
The woman tapped her computer. “They just took him into X-ray. If you won’t be long, you can speak with him while they’re readying the machine.” She directed Cord toward the proper hallway.
“Thanks.”
He planned to ask for the attacker’s names, jot down the boy’s address, and head back to his apartment. He’d fill out his report tomorrow.
As he neared the X-ray department, his head started to throb, and strange sensations of despair and anger filtered toward him. Panthers in general could tell when a person was lying or if they were distressed, but this was different. Too often, his bear side interfered with his abilities, reminding him once more how different he really was.
When he reached the Diagnostic Imaging Department, the admissions nurse stopped him. He told her he needed to speak with Brody for a moment.
“I don’t think you should go in there.”
She was probably worried the X-rays would harm him. They wouldn’t. “I won’t be long.”
He flashed her his badge, and that seemed to do the trick. She told him Brody was in room number three. As Cord neared, more unnamed feelings coursed through him, but he chalked it up to not having eaten in while. Whenever he changed into his bear form, he used a lot of energy.
Cord lightly tapped the door, and the second he stepped inside, an unexpected wave of sexual energy assaulted him. The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen stood over Brody. She was tall, with long auburn waves tied loosely behind her neck. She had a delicate face and the most exquisite moss green eyes he’d ever seen. A combination of anguish and frustration rolled off her in waves. He’d never received this kind of reading from anyone before, but he didn’t have time to wonder why.
Her nametag read
Piper
. “Piper, I need to ask this young man some questions about his attack.”
She stood back and a look of indignation crossed her features. “Officer, you’ll have to come back another time. He’s injured, and I need to X-ray his ribs and face.”
Surely, Piper had many patients in need of medical care, but this one seemed particularly important to her.
“It will only take a moment.” Cord never pleaded. He often threw some archaic rule at the person, and they obeyed. This time, however, he didn’t.
Piper stood up straighter and glared at him. “Please leave.”
Her posturing triggered a deep-seated need in him, but he refused to do anything about it—yet. “This man was robbed tonight. If I locate his wallet, I want to be able to return it to him.” That was lame, but he wanted to appeal to her caring nature.
“If you find my brother’s wallet, his address will be inside.”
Brother?
That explained her unusual reaction. He turned to Brody. “When you’re feeling up to it, please come down to the station and file a complaint against the men.”
Brody nodded then glanced away. If the man didn’t show, Cord knew where to find his sister.
The thought of the woman made his teeth lengthen and the fur poke his skin. Christ, he was ready to shift. Perhaps the X-ray machine was giving off radiation waves that were affecting him. If he didn’t leave now, there was no telling what might happen.