Purr-Fect Mates: Shapeshifter Romance

by Ally Summers

  “What was that about?” I searched his eyes for answers.

  He wouldn’t look at me.

  “Donovan? Who was that shifter?”

  He sat on the couch, his hands covering his face. “Damn it,” he muttered. “I was sure. So certain.”

  “You’re scaring me. What happened? Who was that?” I was shaking with fear. The pit in my stomach was deep enough to make me want to throw up. “Why was he asking for me? How did he know my name?”

  His eyes lifted to mine. I saw the hurt. I saw the pain.

  “I don’t know how to tell you this.”

  “Just say it,” I blurted. “Say something.”

  He closed his eyes. “Caroline, you’re on his list.”

  I shook my head. “No, no, no. That’s not possible.”

  “You are the first name on his list. His name is Bennett, and he’s here to make you his wife.”

  I shook my fists. “No, I’m your mate. I’m on your list. We both know it. I have to be.”

  I sank to the floor. This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t possible. I belonged with Donovan. I had since the first moment we met in the hallway. There was no mistaking our chemistry. Our bond. I was devoted to him. Committed to him. I loved him.

  “No. No, I’m not his mate.”

  “I saw it. I saw your name on the list.” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration and stood. “Damn it. Damn the Council.” He kicked the coffee table, cracking the leg in half.

  “I belong to you. I belong with you.” I heard the words on my lips, but all I felt was the anger emanating from Donovan. The rage was building.

  “It’s not happening. It won’t happen again.” He looked down at me.

  “What won’t?”

  “I won’t let someone take what belongs to me.” He knelt next to me on the floor. I saw the flicker of rage start to fade and his eyes return to normal. He kissed me and I melted into his arms. “We’ll figure it out, but I swear, Caroline, Bennett is not going to take you from me.”

  “I’m not going to evoke the bond. It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t have a chance.”

  I wrapped my arms around him and he pulled me into his lap. “I’ll do whatever it takes. I swear to you.”

  “I know.” I pressed my palm against his chest to feel his heart beat. “I know you’ll keep me safe. But this is bigger than us. I’m betrothed to that jaguar. It’s not like I can say no thank you. I’ll pass on you. Thanks for stopping by.”

  “It’s going to be.” Donovan squeezed me.

  I felt the hardness of his chest through his shirt. “He won’t let me go that easily,” I whispered. I didn’t know the guy, but I knew how things worked.

  “I will protect you until I die.”

  “I don’t want that, though. No death, please.” The brief feeling of calm disappeared and was replaced with panic.

  “I’m not going to die. It’s only an expression.”

  “A bad expression.”

  “Well, we know now why I haven’t gotten the call to pick up my list.”

  “Because I’m not on it.” I could barely say it. “But we were so sure.”

  It was as if I was trying to justify what we had done or convince myself we were right and the Council was wrong. How did I belong with someone else? It made my skin crawl thinking about it. I hadn’t seen Bennett, but I heard his voice, and it did nothing for me. I didn’t want to run to him, or be held by him. I wanted Donovan to rip his head off. I’d gladly help.

  “I’m not going to pick it up when they call.”

  I pushed away to look at him. “What?”

  “You heard me. I don’t want the damn list. If you’re not on it, I don’t want it.”

  “But-but, you’re breaking the law.”

  He brushed the hair from my face. “Baby, we’ve already broken all the laws. I took someone else’s mate. More than once.” He winked. I didn’t know how he could be playful during a time like this.

  “And I evoked a bond with you.” It was setting in. What we had done. What we had broken.

  “And you’ll do it again.” His finger tipped my chin toward him.

  I swallowed. There was no denying him. I would evoke the bond every time he wanted. I was his. I could never belong to anyone else. I didn’t care what some ancient council said.

  “I will.”

  He kissed me roughly. I felt my need for him clawing from the inside.

  “Evoke it now,” he commanded. “Tell me.”

  “Take me, Donovan. Make me your mate.” The words had hardly left my mouth before he pushed my dress past my stomach and was unzipping his shorts. I lowered myself to the carpet, feeling the floor against my bare skin.

  I lifted my hips for him as he sank deep inside me. He rocked into me with strength and power, sealing our bond. Defying the law. Claiming me. Fucking me with beautiful abandon. I clung to him, desperate to feel his release.

  “I’m yours, only yours,” I whispered in his ear. The words had never meant so much as they did now. Our fate was sealed.

  He buried himself inside me, filling me with his fire. I clenched around him, drawing him closer. His lips hovered over me as his breath became mine.

  “I love you,” he growled.

  My eyes glimmered. “I love you too.”

  And from that moment on, I knew what he said was true. We would either be together forever, or die trying.

  13

  Donovan

  I picked up the phone. I scrolled through my contacts and tapped the screen when I saw his name. It rang a few times before he picked up.

  “Donovan, you have something for me?” Case answered.

  “I do.”

  “I’m listening.”

  Caroline was in the shower. I had to talk fast. “There’s a jag shifter who showed up yesterday.” I kept my voice low.

  “And?”

  “I don’t know his cat line yet, but we’re going to have a problem with him. I thought I should let you know.”

  “Did he mention the territory?”

  “He showed up looking for his mate, but yes, he referred to the Maddox line. He knows something about what’s going on.”

  Case paused. “There are she-panthers in Charleston?”

  “No. Well, there’s one. She was here on vacation.”

  “Shit. I can tell I’m not going to like where this story is going.” Case’s voice was even.

  I shook my head. I could have texted this and saved myself the royal lecture I was going to get.

  “Probably not.”

  “Who is the guy? Who is the girl?” he asked.

  “His name is Bennett. Her name is Caroline Addison. And she’s on his mate list.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  I took a deep breath. “The problem is I took her as my mate before he got here.”

  “You seized another shifter’s mate?”

  “Yes, your majesty.” It didn’t hurt to suck up a little at times like this. If the Tribe was going to back me it was going to start with Case.

  He laughed. “I’ve heard of it happening, but shit, Donovan, I can’t believe you did it.”

  “I thought she might be on my list. I was positive she was on my list. Since I haven’t seen it. And she was looking for her mate. We both were a little assumptive. That’s the short version.”

  “That’s enough for me to know.”

  I waited for the lecture. I waited for the yelling. I waited for the king to exile me from the Tribe.

  “Tell me what you need,” he stated.

  “Excuse me?”

  His voice was quiet. “I sent you to Charleston because there is a shifter war. I sent you to an apartment building that was expecting a beautiful she-panther that wasn’t betrothed in our line.”

  I tried to put together what he was saying. “You planned this?”

  “I wouldn’t say plan as much as prepared for the possibility.”

  I didn’t know whether to feel manipulated
or relieved. Case had my back, but I was a pawn in a bigger war I didn’t know much about.

  “I think it’s time you tell me what’s going on.” I paused. “Your majesty.” I swallowed my pride and begged for the information. If it would save Caroline I’d do whatever it took.

  Case’s voice was so low I almost couldn’t make out the words. “It’s a war. The Council. The shifter lines. All of it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Part of me wanted to grab Caroline and drive out of town. Take her as far away from here as I could go, then hop on a plane and fly even farther. But my need to protect her was at odds with the orders given to me, and the fact that my curiosity was eating me alive. What kind of war was brewing?

  “I can’t go into this on the phone. There are too many ears. But hold your ground.”

  “You’re saying I should fight for her?”

  There was silence on the other end.

  “Case?”

  “Yes. Fight for her. Challenge him. Seize her at whatever cost.”

  “Whatever cost?” I wasn’t sure what my orders included, but the line went dead and I looked at my phone. Whatever cost?

  I couldn’t hear the shower water any longer. I walked into the bedroom to see Caroline walking out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her chest. The water glistened on her skin. I kissed her shoulder.

  “You’re so damn beautiful.”

  She smiled. “And you have news.” She eyed me.

  “How can you tell?”

  “Mates, remember?”

  I didn’t know if I believed in all of that stuff before. Mates were supposed to have an open connection to each other. They could sense things about the other that no one else could. I thought it was a bunch of shit the elders concocted to get the she-panthers to go along with their duties. Or a way parents convinced their teenage shifters that all the struggle would be worth it on the other side.

  But there were things that were undeniable between Caroline and me. I wanted to protect her and keep her safe. My instincts were running higher than they ever had when she was near. And yes, I felt her thoughts several times, but I didn’t read into it until now.

  “It’s good news, actually.” I sat on the edge of the bed to watch her get dressed.

  “Good news?”

  I nodded. My eyes drank her in as she dropped the towel.

  “I talked to the king.”

  “And he has a solution?”

  “You could call it that.” I wanted to tell her everything, but the protector in me didn’t want to scare her. She was already freaked out about Bennett. He hadn’t returned yet, but I was expecting him to show up on our doorstep again.

  She slipped a bra and panties on and turned to look at me. “Just tell me, Donovan. What’s the plan?”

  “We have his full support. And the support of the Tribe.”

  “Really?”

  “And I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you as my mate. There’s no bargaining. No deals. No wife swap. You’re mine, baby.”

  She lowered herself onto my lap, wrapping her arms around me. “He said all of that?”

  I brushed my lips over hers. “Yes.”

  I’d never get enough of her. Her lips were like honey. I kissed her, drinking in the taste of my mate.

  “Donovan?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Did the king say anything about the shifter lines or the Council?”

  I stopped my pursuit of her skin. God, her ability to read my mind and emotions was incredible.

  “Maybe.”

  “If there’s more to this, I have a right to know. There is a jaguar in this city who is here to marry me. You can’t keep secrets from me. Not now. Not ever.”

  My thumbs pressed into the small of her back. Her skin was still damp from the shower.

  “My love, I don’t know all the answers.”

  “But you do know more than what you’re telling me.” Her eyes darted back and forth.

  “Barely anything.” I sighed. “There is a shifter war. But I don’t know who or why. I know Case sent me here to hold this territory for him. And he somehow knew you were coming here. He also knew you didn’t belong to our line. You aren’t betrothed to any of the Maddox jaguars.”

  “But you weren’t always a Maddox jaguar,” she reminded me.

  “No, I wasn’t. But that was a long time ago. I’m sure the Council has made sure to update my list.”

  I sat forward, almost knocking Caroline to the floor.

  “What is it?”

  “My list.” I don’t know why I hadn’t put it together until now. “Case has it.”

  “What?”

  I deposited her next to me and began to make a circle around the room. “He’s had it this whole time. I’m not the only member of the Tribe not to get a list. I’m the only one he hasn’t given it to.” My eyes hardened.

  “And you’re mad about this?” She stood next to me.

  That was the question. Was I mad? Had Case stolen something from me or given me the best gift I could have hoped for? I loved Caroline. I loved her with every part of my soul. I didn’t want another panther. I didn’t want anyone on that list. But I still felt the betrayal. The con that Case used to get me down here. He was an evil genius, and my feelings for Caroline had played perfectly into his plan.

  “No. No, I’m not mad I don’t have the list. I’m mad he lied to me.” I planted a kiss on her forehead.

  She didn’t look completely convinced.

  “What if you had it?” she asked.

  “I wouldn’t do anything with it. I’ve already said that.”

  She pulled a sundress on over her nearly naked body. My intuition wasn’t as sharp as hers, but I could feel her pulling away. I could feel her slipping from me.

  “Caroline, look at me.” I stopped her from rushing to the bathroom to do her hair and makeup.

  Her green eyes were on fire.

  “I can’t get enough of you. I’m so in love with you I was willing to leave the Tribe. I’m willing to die to seize you from this other shifter line. I don’t know what else I can say to prove that you’re it for me. The only mate. I don’t want the list. I’m glad I never got the list.”

  I saw her eyes glisten with tears. They welled at the corners until her lashes were wet.

  “I’m so in love with you too.” She reached up to kiss me.

  “I love that you’re jealous though,” I teased.

  “Jealous? I don’t see any panthers lined up outside the door.”

  “Oh, that’s how you want to play it?”

  I scooped her in my arms and she screamed. “Put me down.” She kicked her legs.

  “Not happening.”

  I laid her in the center of the bed. I tickled her sides and slid her dress up over the curves of her hips. The fire in my chest had been lit. I wasn’t letting her out of my arms.

  She purred, locking her arms around my neck. “I love it when you take me,” she whispered.

  “Then you’re going to love this.”

  14

  Caroline

  I should have been scared out of my mind. My true fated mate. The one betrothed to me at birth. The one I had spent years waiting for was here to marry me. And he had challenged Donovan. But I wasn’t scared. I was calm. I felt Donovan’s protection encase me. He was strong and powerful. Brave. And I knew a lot of his strength came from being royalty. It didn’t matter that his title had been stripped. It was in his blood. He was a leader. A ruler. He would protect me. Keep me safe from Bennett.

  We were in the car driving on the outskirts of Charleston.

  “There has to be somewhere we can meet,” Donovan mumbled.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this.” We had been driving for over an hour looking for a place he could challenge Bennett.

  We knew it wasn’t safe in the city.

  “The sooner we can find a secluded location, the sooner I can lure him there and enact the Seize Or
der.”

  “So I know that’s supposed to sound great, but it makes me feel like a piece of evidence in a court case.”

  He gripped my knee. “Sorry, baby. It’s the old term. We can call it something else.”

  I smiled at him. “No, seize away. I want to be yours without anyone in the shadows. I don’t want to spend our lives looking over our shoulders for Bennett or someone in his family coming after us.”

  “And we won’t.” I could hear the confidence in his voice. “I’ll end this.”

  I pointed to a warehouse near the bridge. “What about over there?”

  “Let’s check it out.”

  Donovan steered us into the parking lot. It looked like an abandoned refinery. The doors were rusted and there weren’t any cars.

  “Should we go inside?” I asked.

  He nodded. “I want to make sure we can settle this. We can’t do it if we can be caught. We need total seclusion.”

  I agreed. Secrecy was as important as the meeting itself. We couldn’t chance word getting out that there were giant cats in town.

  Donovan shoved the door open. It creaked as we stepped inside.

  We looked around. There were large metal chains hanging from the ceiling and equipment that looked as if it hadn’t been touched in years.

  “I think this is the place.” He looked at the ceiling.

  I felt a shiver course through me. “I don’t know whether to be relieved or terrified.”

  His eyes glowered. “It ends here.”

  I rubbed the contour of his bicep. His entire body was rigid. “Hey, have I lost you?” I almost didn’t recognize him.

  His eyes drifted toward me. “Never. But right now I need to be a warrior. You have to understand that, Caroline. All of this is for you.”

  I nodded. “You know you aren’t alone. You have a pretty powerful sidekick.” I grinned.

  “Who, you?” He looked startled.

  “I’m a panther. I’ve protected my own territory. I’ve guarded my town for years. I’m trained. I can help you. It’s two against one this way.”

  His chest puffed forward. “This is a jaguar fight.”

  “Please don’t tell me this is some kind of testosterone pissing contest. Let me help you. I’m just as lethal as you are.” I glared at him.