Shifter Wars Complete Series

by Sarah J. Stone

  We kissed, and headed in.

  The city wasn’t going to watch itself. And just like every other day, we were anxious to get started.

  THE END

  Book 4: The Warning

  Sarah J. Stone

  CHAPTER 1

  JANE

  I, Jane Ainsworth, was officially bored. Actually, to say that I was "bored" would be the understatement of the century. Sitting in the high-backed chair at the massive dinner table with the rest of my family and their guests, it took every bit of discipline I had not to slump in the seat and cross my arms impatiently.

  Maybe this is what all those finishing school classes were really for, I thought, my eyes drifting from one ornate place-setting to the next. To be able to tolerate these horrible dinner parties without running off to the bathroom and cutting your wrists open with one of the nine knives that everyone has for some reason.

  Seated across from me was my mother, Pearl. As usual, she was dressed in elegant eveningwear, her graying hair coiffed to stone-like perfection. On her mouth was a prim little smile as she listened to my uncle Marlow, some high-up in the fox society government, go on about one boring subject or another.

  Who am I kidding? Look at Mom. She lives for this shit.

  Mom’s silver eyes snapped over to me, and her expression went from tight and polite to one of stern reproach. With a slow controlled motion, Mom motioned upwards with her palm facing the ceiling. I got the message and straightened my posture.

  This would all be bad enough for me if this was just any other boring dinner party. But this one was worse—it wasn't just about getting the family together along with some close friends; it was about getting me paired off with a suitable mate. This, of course, meaning someone who my parents had chosen for me without feeling the need to ask my opinion on the matter.

  The man in question, Leonid Dempsey, was seated just across from me, one seat to the left of Mom. It was as if he'd been placed there to keep him right in my line of sight, along with Mom to make sure I knew just what the situation was. And considering how much time I knew that her mother spent on the seating arrangements for these dinner parties, it couldn't have been an accident.

  I looked at Leonid out of the corner of my eye, realizing that her mother couldn't have picked a less appealing man if she'd wanted to. With his weak chin, terribly unstylish clothing, and overall foppish demeanor, Leonid was the worst sort of high-society stereotype that I could imagine. And for a shifter species that took pride in their refinement and class, that was saying something.

  I’d only met Leonid an hour or so ago, but he was already driving me up a wall with his little quirks. I hated the way he raised his eyebrows every time took a sip of his drink, hated the way he opened his mouth slightly as if to say "ah" to himself whenever someone said something he thought was clever, and I hated, hated, the way he—

  "Heh heh heh!"

  —laughed.

  Leonid's laughter was a bubbly little chortle that cut through the otherwise low-key ambiance of the dinner party. I wondered just what my parents were thinking, trying to set me up with a fox like him. After all, I was having a hard time getting through the dinner party with him sitting there; going on a date or, God forbid, being in a relationship with him, was something that I couldn't even begin to imagine.

  I know what they're thinking, I thought as my eyes moved from guest to guest. They're thinking that I'm an Ainsworth and that he's Dempsey, and that this makes him a "suitable" partner for me. And that's it. They don't give a damn about whether or not he'll make me happy.

  "So, Jane," spoke the low, rich voice of my dad, Alton, from the far end of the table. "You've been rather quiet all evening. Why don't you tell our guests a little about what you've been up to these last few months?"

  My stomach tightened as I realized the eyes of every guest of the dinner party were on me. I flicked my gaze down both directions of the long table, noting that everyone was watching me and waiting for me to say something, anything. I nervously cleared my throat and began speaking.

  "Um, there's really not much to say," I said. "Just finishing up my last year at the academy, and getting ready for whatever's after that."

  The Harford Academy, known among fox high society as simply "the academy," was the most prestigious school for foxes in the entire city of New York. However, for female foxes, it had something of a reputation for being nothing more than a place where girls from good families could meet an acceptable mate. The higher you went up in fox society—and us Ainsworths were quite high up—the more frowned upon it was for women to have jobs; work was for the men.

  I hoped that this would be enough of an explanation, but I knew deep down that I wasn't going to get out of this so easily.

  "You're being awfully modest," Mom said. "Your marks in the academy have been quite impressive. And you won first prize in the dressage competition last month. That's certainly something to brag about."

  Not like good grades in the academy are going to mean anything to me, I thought. You just want to marry me off to be a good little housewife.

  But the mere thought of spending my days tidying up some fancy apartment in Manhattan and having lunches with prissy, rich fox girls was enough to make me want to jump out of the nearest window.

  "Dressage?" Leonid asked, raising his eyebrows just a bit. "Now, that is certainly something to be proud of. I myself recently won the top prize for the academy debate team. It's a good thing to celebrate our successes, in my humblest of opinions."

  Approving murmurs sounded from the guests. I, on the other hand, wanted to roll my eyes at just how hard this little brat was tooting his own horn. But, to my chagrin, I saw that Mom’s eyes were locked on me; even something as slight as an eye roll would've guaranteed a talking-to after the dinner was over.

  The party went on, but by the time the food had arrived I’d all but lost my appetite. I poked listlessly at the game hen on my plate, really wanting nothing more than to down the glass of wine in front of me, followed by another, then another. Anything to take the edge off of the boredom.

  "…and that's when Mitsy and I decided that a little trip to London was in order," Leonid said, going into another one of his long-winded, self-aggrandizing stories that somehow seemed to hold the entire table in rapt attention. "Our parents thought that visiting in with some of the other fox societies across the pond would be a nice way to keep our relationships tight. However, we found out that the only family who was available to host us was the Worthingtons."

  Disapproving chatter sounded from the guests.

  "So, needless to say, that wasn't going to happen."

  "What's wrong with the Worthington's?" I asked.

  As soon as the last word of the sentence left my mouth, the eyes of every guest at the table locked onto me.

  "They're…not our caliber of people," Alton said. "A family of Leonid's station associating with a family like theirs…it's simply not done. It would look bad for everyone involved."

  "Oh," I said.

  And with that, Leonid went on with his story.

  I knew exactly why a snooty little brat would turn down an invitation from a fellow fox family; they'd been determined to be of a lower social rank than his family. I hated the stultifying nature of the fox society, how everyone seemed to spend every waking hour obsessed with status and how they appeared to others. Everyone seemed to be playing a game that I couldn't be less interested in. But, being a fox and the soon-to-be-eligible daughter of one of the most prestigious families in New York, I knew that I didn't have any other choice; that little weasel Leonid would want to be putting a ring on my finger within the year.

  I imagined what the sex would be like. The image appeared in my mind of Leonid's skinny, nude body on top of mine, pumping away with a ludicrous expression of intensity on his chinless face, bursting into a fit of his goofy laughter when he came. It was all too much for me, and I was taken by the simultaneous urge to retch and laugh.

  And it
was the latter of the two that happened. A snorting chuckle slipped past my lips. I covered my mouth as best I could, but I’d already gotten the attention of the dinner guests seated near me. This was followed, as it usually went, by a kick from Mom under the table and a stern glare. I did her best to stifle any further laughter.

  Leonid gave a slight pause, and my face turned a deep red. After a moment, he went on.

  I did my best to tune out the rest of the conversation during dinner, the crisscrossing talk over the table turning to a dull din. By the time the clafoutis arrived, I was eager to spring from my seat and get out of there. But I knew that this was only the beginning; one dinner was over, I’d be expected to go with the rest of my family and guests to the drawing room, where there'd be even more dreadful conversation. Thinking about having to feign interest in whatever Leonid had to say when he inevitably cornered me was enough to make my skin crawl. Part of me wanted to shift into my fox form and sprint under the table and out the front door.

  Finishing off the rest of my coffee, I shot up from my seat and positioned my body toward the door leading upstairs.

  "Going somewhere?" Mom asked, one slim, gray eyebrow raised skeptically.

  "Just to the little girl's room," I said, already halfway out of the room.

  I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I was alone. After hurrying up the stairs, I rushed to her bedroom and shut the door behind me, knowing that I, at most, had a few minutes to get away from everything downstairs before I would be expected to be back.

  I walked up to the window of my bedroom and looked out onto the grand sweep of the glittering city at night. I wanted nothing more than to be out there, to be walking the city streets free from the watchful eyes of my parents, to be around the millions of people in this city who didn't live luxury condos.

  And as if right on cue, my phone buzzed on my nightstand. I dashed over and checked it, hoping it would be some sort of break from the torture of the evening. Looking over the face of the phone, I saw that it was a message from my friend Eleanor Adkins, another fox shifter from a wealthy family.

  - What's up, girl?

  I typed up a quick response, my eyes on the time.

  - At the worst dinner party of all time. And Leonid's here.

  - You mean your future husband ;)

  - Oh, my God, don't even joke about that.

  I heard footsteps in the hallway outside of her bedroom. They were light and quick, and I recognized them right away as Mom’s.

  "Jane?" Mom asked in a tone that was both interrogative and accusing. "This sure doesn't look like you're in the little girl's room to me."

  "Just a minute," I said, my mind scrambling for an excuse, but coming up with nothing.

  "Hurry up and come back downstairs; don't be rude."

  "I will," I replied.

  I turned my attention back to my phone at just the right moment to see an incoming text.

  - Well, if you can somehow manage to get out of the house, then I've got a line on a party you're definitely gonna want to check out.

  I looked around as though someone might've been spying on me.

  I mean, in a house like this, it was hardly the most bizarre thing to imagine. My parents had always kept such a tight leash on me that sometimes I was amazed that they even let me have my own phone.

  - Don't tease me like that. You know there's no way to get out of these things.

  The phone buzzed in my hand almost instantly after I sent my text.

  - Just go down for the post-dinner chat and make up something. Tell them we're gonna study for a test. You have to come!

  I typed up a quick response, feeling like my mother was likely just outside my door.

  - Well, give me some details at least.

  Then the response.

  - Two words: biker bears.

  I shook my head, a little smile on my face. Ever since Eleanor was the slightest bit interested in boys, she'd been obsessed with the exact sort of guys that girl from a family like hers should be interested in. And she was always trying to get me to come along for her man-hunting missions. Normally, I wouldn't have been all that interested in that kind of scene—too sketchy—but after being stuck in yet another one of these overly mannered dinner parties, a little change of pace did sound nice.

  - okay, fine. I'll figure something out.

  - That's my girl ;)

  And then the address followed. Sure enough, it was a dive bar in Hell's Kitchen. Most of that neighborhood had been taking over by yuppies in the last decade or so, and very little remained of what'd given it the reputation of a dangerous, wild part of the city. But I recognized the block as one of the few places in the neighborhood where things weren't quite so neat and clean. And at a bear biker bar, all bets were off.

  "Jane!" my mother called once again from the hallway.

  "Coming!" I said, tossing my phone onto my bed and rushing to the door.

  I opened it to reveal my mother standing still and composed as a statue, her hands clasped together as she looked at me with narrowed eyes.

  "Hurry up and get back downstairs," she said, leading me down the hall. "I want you to speak with Leonid a little more."

  "Why?" I asked. "He's like, the most boring fox in New York."

  My eyes widened as soon as the words left my mouth; it must've been the sparkling wine talking.

  "He's a perfectly charming young man and exactly the sort of boy a young woman like you ought to be dating. And that's to say nothing of the prestige at stake by marrying into his family."

  Not a word about what might make me happy. But I was used to it by now.

  "Eleanor messaged me and wants me to come over for a study date," I said. "Do I have to spend all night down here?"

  We made our way to the grand spiral stairs of the apartment that led down to the main floor. My mother let out a quick sigh as she shook her head.

  "If you can deign to speak with Leonid for a little while longer, then you can go study. But only because I know finals are coming up."

  "Thank you!" I said, the words shooting out of my mouth. "I mean, um, of course."

  I corrected my tone, not wanting my mother to note my strange enthusiasm for studying and become too suspicious. She flashed me another one of her trademark narrow-eyed glares as we made the rest of the way down the stairs.

  Soon, we were in the drawing room with the rest of the guests, and I was immediately locked into a conversation with Leonid. I took a deep breath and prepared for the torture ahead. Over the next twenty minutes or so, he went through his usual routine of humble brags and not-so-subtle reminders of just how wealthy and respected his family was.

  "…and that's when I told my father that I would be the natural fit to work as his personal assistant. After all, I'd received about the best education money could buy!"

  A pleased little smile formed on his narrow, homely face. Then, out came another one of his awful little laughs. I shot a quick look to my mother, and she returned the glance with an expression that seemed to say "fine, fine."

  "Um, Leonid—"

  "You may call me ‘Leo,' my dear."

  "Uh, Leo," I said, "it's been lovely talking to you, but I must be getting going. My friend Eleanor and I have a study date, and I simply can't be late."

  "Oh," Leonid said, a mildly shocked look crossing his face, as though he couldn't quite believe that someone might not want to spend the entire evening talking with him.

  Or, to be more accurate, being talked at by him.

  "Well, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again very soon," he said, his tone suggesting he knew something that I didn't.

  Great. Our parents must already have another get-together in mind.

  "I bet we will!" I said, already half-turned to leave.

  I hurried through my goodbyes and rushed back up to my room. Within seconds, I pulled off my dress and tossed it onto the bed. Standing in front of my open closet in my underwear, I began deciding on something to wear.


  Biker bear bar, I thought. Um, I really don't want to send the wrong message here. Dress too slutty and I might get attention I don't want. But dress too prudish and I'll stick out like a sore thumb.

  Finally deciding on a pair of slim, dark jeans, some black boots, and a tight white T-shirt, I dressed, fired off a text to Eleanor, then rushed out the back door as fast as I could.

  Stepping out onto the city streets felt like breaking out of prison. I stood still for a moment, taking in the sounds of the city around me and feeling the cool air on my skin. Once I'd adjusted to my new freedom, I called a cab and rode over to Hell's Kitchen.

  Eleanor was already waiting for me on the block catty-corner from the bar. My eyes went wide as I looked over her outfit of extremely short-shorts and a barely-there top that showed off both her flat, toned belly and her ample cleavage. With her model-good looks, killer body and gorgeous blonde hair that I couldn't help but be envious of, Eleanor was never hard up for attention from guys. Seeing her dressed like this, however, made me hope that she was at least packing some mace.

  "Damn, lady," I said as I approached her. "You're not exactly sending the most subtle message here, are you?"

  Eleanor only beamed at me.

  "Who cares about being subtle?" she said. "I'm here to have fun."

  "You know this is a bear biker bar, right?" I said. "Bears aren't foxes. They're not going to ask your mom if they can take you out for a chaperoned milkshake or something."

  "That's what I'm hoping for," she said with a devilish smile.

  I was torn between admiring Eleanor's boldness and wondering if I'd made a huge mistake. Taking a glance over at the bar, which was some sketchy-looking place covered in garish blue and red neon signs, a group of rough-looking, mostly bearded men loitering in front smoking cigarettes and carrying on, I felt a little nervous.

  "Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked. "I mean, fun's fun, but bears don't fuck around. And foxes make some of them, you know, a little crazy."

  "Please," Eleanor said. "Don't be such a baby. And you can't tell me that the idea of some bear losing his mind over you isn't at least a little...enticing."