Mated to the Panthers: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Panther Shifters of the Amazon Book 2)

by Laura Wylde

  I nodded, feeling the urge to agree with him whole heartedly. If it wasn’t for Garret’s past, then things would be very different…but we had to take into consideration that he’d been through a lot. He’d been through more than the rest of us combined, and that did have a massive impact on the way that he saw the world.

  “Well, we can’t put him back on guard duty, because he loves that and he winds the others up, and we can’t give him extra babysitting duties either.” I couldn’t resist smiling. “The kids adore him.”

  The kids either referred to him as Uncle Garret or Tiger because of his cowboy hat. He liked to think of himself as Tiger from “An American Tale: Fievel Goes West”, the scaredy cat turned hero. He had a slight limp in his leg from one of his pranks gone wrong, and a scar running from his temple to his chin on his right cheek from the fight where the female shifters turned on the pack and fought hard. People allowed him to get away with things that others wouldn’t get away with… but his easy smile and his fun-loving nature were just so easy to forgive.

  “I suppose his pranks are a way of dealing with his injuries, aren’t they?” Javier agreed dejectedly. “Time locked away under ground only makes him worse. He spends that time concocting his next trick.”

  I shrugged and laughed, knowing that there really wasn’t anything we could do. “So, again, we’ll cut him some slack and allow him to get on with it in his own way…just hope he doesn’t hurt anyone else in the process.”

  “I will have a word with him. I’m not going to just let it slide, but what can we do?”

  There were other topics that we really needed to discuss, and we couldn’t put it off any longer. It wasn’t something easy, and there were a lot of disagreements on either side, but we needed to face it and make a choice.

  “So…” I sighed loudly. “I guess we need to get to the main topic, don’t we? Mating…”

  “Mmm, mating,” I could tell from the small smile playing on my brother’s lips that he was thinking about his own mate. It was lovely to see, but also a bit sickening since I didn’t have anyone. “Yes, we do need to discuss it.”

  “Will you stop thinking about her for just a second?” I chuckled. “Can we make a suitable plan?”

  “I can’t ever stop thinking about Kayla, you know that by now…” His eyes lifted up to meet mine. “I know you haven’t always agreed with me and Kayla because she’s a human woman, but what else can we do? The female panther shifters are all gone now, and if we don’t mate with someone then our race with die out.”

  I didn’t want that, I really didn’t. Even the idea that it might be supposed to be that way wasn’t enough. I didn’t want to accept that we were done. The world was a better place with us around.

  “Now that you’ve shown us the way by being truly in love with your woman and making it work despite all the odds being stacked against you, I suppose you have swayed me a bit,” I admitted. “Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to bring women into our pack. Of course, it would have to be the right women, like Kayla. I can’t imagine that many people would be accepting of us, our city, and what we are.”

  “Jakar, I get it.” Javier rested his hand reassuringly on my shoulder. “But trust me, this is something that we will be smart about. We aren’t going to rush out into the city and just hook up with anyone. Plus, trust me, you will just know when you see your mate. There’s just a universal pull. It’s unlike anything else.”

  I gulped back the thick ball of emotion that lodged itself in my throat at the mere idea of that. It sounded too nice for words. Sure, we all had each other, and our pack was for life, but there was a little bit of loneliness to not having a woman to share my life with. Seeing Kayla and Javier so happy made me yearn for more.

  “So, I suppose at some point we do need to take a plan to let the pack out into the city, to see if they can find a mate. A lot of the guys are getting restless anyway, needing to…unleash some energy, shall we say?” We both laughed. “I think it would probably be better to do it sooner rather than later, don’t you?”

  “We could talk to the guys and set out a plan for now, couldn’t we?” Javier cocked an eyebrow at me. “Unless there is some reason that you want to hold back? Are there any other reasons you want to protest this?”

  I smiled thinly and shook my head. As much as I wanted this, I was a little afraid of how it would change the dynamics. Even having Kayla in our city had shifted things…although not necessarily for the worse. The more women who came into our pack, the more things would change. But I suppose it can’t stay the same forever.

  “No, there aren’t any more reasons why this shouldn’t happen. The sooner the better, I suppose.”

  As I called my pack - Trevor, Dean, and Garret - over to join us, to share the good news with them, I tried to push any self-doubt aside. Yes, it still made me nervous, but it would probably be fine. Especially, if what Javier said about just knowing was true. If the woman was the right one, then we didn’t have any worries.

  Plus, if we did this now, it wouldn’t just be Kayla’s sprog running around the city. We’d have a whole bunch of other kids racing and tearing about. It’d fill up with the next generation which would be fun. The noise, the games, the fun, the play fighting, in human form and in panther form…yes, we did need a lot more of that.

  “Right, guys,” I said with a serious edge to my tone. “Me and Javier have been talking and we think that it might be time to head out into the city, to find human women to mate with…” Garret cheered with excitement, but the other two guys looked at one another with caution dancing behind their eyes. “I have come to see that it’s the best way for our pack to progress and grow. I know it’s going to be scary and it will bring in a new dynamic, but we’re all strong enough to survive anything. You guys know that as much as I do, don’t you?”

  They nodded silently, no one saying a word. If it wasn’t for Garret’s giant smile, then I might have changed my mind. I knew he was the most anxious as well. He might not have said it to the others, but I was acutely aware of his fear that he’d be pushed to the side because no woman would accept his looks. He thought his scar would push them away… to be honest, it’d probably have the opposite effect. He had the ‘bad boy’ appearance many women loved.

  “So, we’re going to journey out of the jungle now to see who we can find in the city. Do any of you have any questions?” I glanced at them all in turn. “If you’re concerned, then now is the time to speak out.”

  Trevor parted his lips but paused for a second before he spoke. “I am the one who’s probably had the most concerns about bringing human women into our city, even after seeing Kayla with Javier, but I do think that we need to find some way to continue on with the next generation. It’ll be terrible for the panther shifters to die out. Plus, I think we need some young ones around here. It’ll make it an even better place to live.”

  The other guys nodded, agreeing with this sentiment, which meant it was time to go. Me and Javier shared one last look, knowing this was going to be the last time that things were like this… but it would be good. It had to be.

  “Okay, guys, go and get packed up. Then it will be time for us to go, okay?”

  Javier patted me reassuringly on the arm as the others raced off and as I smiled at him, as I could see how pleased he was for me. He could only see this change as a positive one, which I hoped was right.

  “This will be good for all of you, it will. The guys will see it themselves once they’ve found their one.”

  “Urgh, then we’re going to have a bunch of sickening soppy guys in love, wandering about the place, not just you. It’ll be hell.” I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “You just make sure that you look after your woman while we’re gone.”

  “Oh, I will. And you never know, there might even be a panther cub when you return.”

  I liked that idea, far too much. “I hope so, brother. That would be amazing.”

  It was time for me to pack up as well, s
o I stepped away from my brother and tried to make strides in the right direction. I glanced around the city of Panthera, the place that had been my home for my whole life. I hadn’t ever had any reason to leave it until now. It was going to be strange to see the rest of the world outside this place.

  Thoughts of what we would find darted in and out of my brain, fears and worries became happiness and wonder. Perhaps this would be the best thing that ever happened to all of us, in a strange way.

  “Jakar!” The terror in my brother’s voice made me drop everything. All the thoughts that had been racing through my brain dissolved into nothingness. “Jakar, you need to get over here already.”

  I braced myself as I ran, preparing to shift into panther mode as I went, just in case things took a bad turn, but as I arrived back by my brother’s side, I quickly realized that I didn’t need to. Javier wasn’t in the same place, he stepped outside to the ancient ruins in the middle of the jungle which was our cover up… and my brother wasn’t alone.

  “Antonio?” I said to the elderly looking gentleman as his lips twisted up into a smile. “What are you doing here? It’s been a long time since we have seen you. Has something happened?”

  Antonio was a friend to the panther shifters. He’d known about us and the ancient lore for a very long time, but since he’d aged, he didn’t make the treacherous journey out into the jungle very much, so his appearance troubled me. Everything had been calm for a while, I wasn’t sure how ready we were for more trouble.

  “You have Dr. Trucane here?” he asked quietly, almost as if he was shielding his voice from someone. “Because there is someone who wants to see her, who believes that she might be in danger.”

  “Dr. Trucane? Kayla? She isn’t in trouble. She’s happy here. She wants to be here, she…”

  All of a sudden, the words flew out of my mouth. I was completely silenced by the strange looking woman who burst past Antonio with a fire blazing behind her pale gray eyes. She had a tight business suit on which clung perfectly to her curves, and her jet back hair was pinned back in a very complicated, but smart looking style. She was such a juxtaposition to the greenness of the nature, and the calm of the jungle, that I instantly became entranced by her.

  She was a potential danger, humans knowing of our existence was one of my main worries when it came to bringing new people into our society…but as this stranger glared at me, I didn’t think about any of that. It was as of the strings connecting me to the earth had been snipped and I was floating higher than air.

  My heart beat differently, the hot blood pumping around my body in a new way. It was as if something had fundamentally changed inside my body and it wouldn’t - couldn’t - go back to how it was. Just a moment ago, I feared any change, I was scared for it to be bad for the pack, but now… now I didn’t feel so terrible. Change wasn’t such a bad thing. If it involved introducing a new exciting character like this into my life, then perhaps I could survive it.

  “Where is Kayla?” she demanded while flinging her hands on to her hips, drawing my eyes to that area of my body. It was hard to think about anything else other than the color of her skin underneath that suit. I wasn’t sure why that fascinated me so much, but I couldn’t stop. “Where is Dr. Trucane? What have you guys done with her?”

  She peered over my shoulders, looking at the ruins, trying to work out what was going on.

  “I already know you guys have kidnapped her. Why else would she be here still?” the woman demanded. “Why wouldn’t she have kept up communication with me like she was supposed to? Hmm? I’m her investor. I funded this expedition and I haven’t ever had a member of a team going missing before. Not like this.” She darted her eyes between me and Javier. I couldn’t help but notice the amusement on Antonio’s face. I guess he hadn’t explained much, because the panther shifter community wasn’t something that humans couldn’t believe without seeing, so he’d heard all the ranting all the way here. “Kayla might have been afraid of you, but I’m not.”

  I wanted to laugh out loud. I didn’t know this woman at all, but I could sense the fire in the pit of her belly, and I knew she wouldn’t be afraid of anything. I bet she hadn’t ever been scared of anything in her life.

  Humans were so often fearful of everything they didn’t understand. It was wonderful to see one who wasn’t.

  “Let us talk,” Javier tried. “This is something we can discuss in a calm way….”

  “Calm?” she half screamed. “Calm? Now you’re going to extort money from me? No way!”

  “Ma’am, this isn’t that,” I tried, hoping I could soften the blow a bit. “Just let us explain.”

  She ran her fingers over the top of her head and shook it in frustration. “I want to know where she is.”

  “She’s inside.” I pointed behind me to the ruins. “Once we’ve explained, we can go and see her.”

  “Inside what? There? Isn’t that just a bunch of bricks from an ancient civilization? Where are you really keeping her?” The glare she shot me was bone chilling. Were all human women like this? If so, that might not be the worst thing in the world…I liked the spunk. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll make real trouble for you.”

  “I don’t doubt it, Ma’am. But this is something we need to discuss before you can see it.”

  Antonio chuckled out loud and we all snapped around to stare at him, causing him to hold up his hands in an apologetic gesture. “Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, I just know what’s coming is all…”

  Before I could ask him what that meant, the woman took off at a speed I didn’t know human women could run at. She pushed passed Javier, shocking him so much she nearly managed to knock him to his feet, and she headed towards the ruins to see what was inside. I stared back at Antonio to see him shrugging.

  “I’m sorry I brought her here,” he said sounding far less sorry than his words suggested. “But you’ve seen what she’s like already. She’s feisty and she wouldn’t have stopped searching if I hadn’t brought her. I just happened to over hear her on the phone, calling every available travel guide in the city. I needed to intervene.”

  “Well, she’s in Panthera now,” Javier chuckled. “I guess the secret is out whether we want it or not.”

  We needed to get to her before the others did. There was no telling what’d happen if one of the guys found a strange human woman in their city. I probably should’ve been on their side, wanting to protect our city, but there was a strange protective sensation in the pit of my stomach for her. I wanted to make sure nothing happened to the woman who had the intriguing, fiery beauty to her. I wanted to stand in front of her and tell the other panthers to leave her alone…almost as if she belonged to me.

  Reese

  My heart pounded as I raced passed those men, so big they could almost be considered giants. They didn’t look like any men that I had ever seen before, all sculpted like they spent half their lives in the gym…not that there was any fitness equipment out here. I might have taken a moment to admire them had they not posed a risk to not only my life but Kayla’s as well. They had her, they practically admitted as much, and now I needed to find her.

  “What the fuck?” As I tore past the ruins and I spotted an ancient city behind it, I couldn’t understand what those guys were talking about. There wasn’t anywhere they could hide her here. “Where is Kayla?”

  I darted my eyes from side to side, irrational thoughts bouncing through my brain. I wasn’t leaving here after that long ass walk in the jungle, trudging through vegetation, and passing wildlife that I had no idea even existed before. Never mind if they were life-threatening or not, but there was no chance of me going out into the hot sweltering sun,.

  “Kayla?” I cried out, my voice echoing off into the distance. “Kayla, I’m here to save you!”

  I heard footsteps bounding behind me, which meant those guys were coming. To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what they’d done to Antonio, I didn’t think about him at all as I ran off, but now they were coming fo
r me. To ‘explain what was going on’ which I didn’t doubt was a way to kidnap me too. Well, they hadn’t faced Reese Keene yet…they were going to get a surprise when they tried to fight me. I mean, I used to do karate once upon a time… about fifteen years ago. I gave it up after I hit fifteen, but I could probably remember a few moves. Maybe.

  A tunnel. All of a sudden, it caught my eyes. I had no idea where it led, but it was better than standing still and allowing those guys to get to me. Even if I’d hit a black belt in karate, I wouldn’t be able to take on two guys as large as them. So, with my pulse still pounding vigorously against my rib cage, I ran again. My weary body protested like crazy, it had been through enough, it sure as hell didn’t need to go through more. Thankfully, my survival instinct was stronger. I didn’t want to end up dead here in the middle of nowhere where I would never be found.

  Not that there would be anyone back home looking for me. No one that I could think of, anyway.

  Words burst out from behind me, the men were yelling. I definitely heard the words ‘irrational’ and ‘crazy’, but I chose to ignore them. They might have even been accurate, but I wasn’t in the mood to hear it.

  “Kayla!” I continued to scream. “Kayla, I’m coming for you. I’m coming, I’m here, Kayla!”

  The darkness shrouded me the moment I stepped into the tunnel, which caused me to blink like crazy. My eyes had grown so adjusted to the bright lights outside that it was a shock. I could hardly see, but I continued to stagger forwards, reaching out to try and grab on to something. I couldn’t fall, that was the one thing I was certain of. Falling meant death. My ragged breaths made such a racket, as did the whimpers which burst past my lips occasionally, but I didn’t stop moving. I forced each aching foot in front of the other, fighting off any resistance.

  “Fuck.” I darted my eyes behind me as a pounding against the ground exploded. It was too late, they were here. I angrily brushed away a tear that wetted my cheek. Not a chance in hell I was going to let these assholes see me cry.