by Tamsin Baker
EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2016 Tamsin Baker and Khloe Wren
ISBN: 978-1-77233-997-0
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Karyn White
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
To our real-life mates, Steve and David, thank you for putting up with all our craziness!
xo
Khloe & Tamsin
MIRROR IMAGE SEDUCTION
Feline Shifters of Down Under, 1
Tamsin Baker and Khloe Wren
Copyright © 2016
Chapter One
Heat flushed Dylan’s cheeks as his temper rose. No bloody way were they going to be sidelined for something this important. He cracked his knuckles, relishing the sound of the joints popping.
“Why the bloody hell can’t we go help?”
The burly man standing before him with his arms crossed, looking all smug, was seriously close to having his front teeth removed.
“So sorry, boys, only professionals on this one, and last time I checked wiping the butts of baby animals at the zoo didn’t qualify you.”
A growl left Dylan’s lips as he took a step forward, clenching his fists by his sides. He didn’t get far before his brother’s warning sounded in his head.
“He’s not worth the trouble, brother. Step back.”
With a shuddering breath Dylan forced his hands to unclench. Ryan was right, of course. Smacking Luke in the face wouldn’t help their cause, but it would have made him felt a whole lot better though. Stupid prick. Bastard thought he was so special with his Park Ranger certification. Pfft, everyone knew cheetahs were faster than lions. Always had been, always would be.
Dylan allowed Ryan to move in front of him to take over talking to Luke.
“C’mon, Luke, this isn’t the time for a pissing match. A little boy is lost, and there’s one hell of a storm front coming in.”
A loud growl rumbled from Luke. “Don’t tell me how to do my job, Ryan. I know exactly what’s at stake. That’s why it’s being left to the professionals. We don’t have time to go looking for any civilians that get themselves lost while searching for young Cameron. Now if you two would go back to where you came from, I could go do something useful.”
Red hot rage clouded Dylan’s vision. He really wanted to claw out Luke’s throat now. Pompous dickhead was so full of himself now he was a professional … only thing he was an expert at, was being a pain in the ass.
Dylan watched over Ryan’s shoulder as Luke turned his back on them and walked away like he was king of the world or some shit.
“Please let me hurt him, Ry.”
Ryan shook his head, and his shoulders shook as his brother chuckled.
“Why bother? You two have been going at each other for ten years, and all it ever does is piss off our parents and his.”
Dylan sighed and rubbed a hand over the stubble on his jaw. His twin had a good point.
“Yeah, okay. So, what are we going to do? We’re not really going to sit this out are we?”
Now Luke had disappeared from view, Ryan turned to face him with a smirk.
“Of course not. While the professionals are busy making their plans, we’ll go in and sniff out the lad. What’s the bet we’ll be back with him before they even finish their damn meeting?”
Every ounce of anger drained from Dylan’s body and was replaced with excitement as he grinned at his twin and rubbed his hands together.
“Now that’s a plan I can get behind. Let’s go.”
He turned to jog over to the nearby bush when Ryan’s groan had him pausing.
“Think, Dylan. We can’t let them see us go into the park. Come back to the car and we’ll drive around to another entrance, then head in. Let Luke assume we’ve gone home like he wants us to. Stupid lions are so caught up with their need to stick to all the rules and procedures, he won’t even consider that we’d just run off into the bush.”
Adrenaline tingled along Dylan’s nerves as he forced himself to slowly stroll back to their car. They were so going to show those stupid lions how this shit was done.
The moment the doors were shut on the car, Ryan cranked the engine and they rolled out onto the dirt track leading out of the park.
“What information do you have on Cameron?”
Fortunately, Ryan had been standing behind Luke at the petrol station when the call came through on Luke’s radio, so his twin had, Dylan hoped, heard the whole report.
“He’s a four year old city kid. He was with his family on his first camping trip. His parents had trouble getting their tent set up, and by the time they got it sorted, Cameron had disappeared. As they were doing a thorough search around the campsite they called the police. That was about half an hour ago.”
A growl escaped Dylan’s throat as his shoulders tensed. “Idiot city slickers. Didn’t they check the forecast before they headed out? That storm is a bad one, and it’s going to hit before nightfall. I can feel it.”
Ryan sighed. “Yeah, I know. Guess they were just looking for a family holiday and got more than they bargained for. I’m sure camping sounded like fun when they left home this morning. He’s so young—that half hour would be feeling like a week to both the boy and his parents.”
Dylan grimaced as he thought about the little kids he’d seen with their parents at the zoo where he worked. At that age, kids had a lack of awareness and understanding of the world and were too young to be anywhere alone.
“A four year old kid’s not going to have many survival skills either. We have to find him. Which campground did he wonder off from?”
He hoped one that didn’t have any steep cliffs or water holes close by.
“Wallaby Ridge. I’ll park just up here a bit, and we’ll take the fire trail that runs around behind it. We should be able to pick up his scent easily enough.”
Yeah, true that.
Silence filled the car for the rest of the short trip, and Dylan’s heart thumped steadily in his chest as he readied himself for their search and rescue mission. Once the vehicle stopped, Dylan wasted no time in using his magic to flash to his cheetah form. He arched his back before stretching out, relishing the feel of his body transforming into something so much faster and more agile. Damn, it felt good to be in his feline form. He glanced over at his brother.
“Let’s do this.”
****
Ryan pushed himself hard to sprint at his top speed, his leg muscles burning as he legs pumped them hard. They needed to find Cameron, and quickly. The young boy would be terrified, and if he was crying, he could easily misstep and go over a cliff. Ryan could sense his brother to his right, going as fast as he was. The wind pushed his whiskers back, and the bush rushed by in a blur of green and brown. Ryan loved running flat out like this, and despite the dire circumstances, joy filled him as they crossed great distances at high speed. They rarely risked entering the park in their animal form. It was much safer to go spend time in the open plain zoo with the other non-shifter cheetahs when they felt feline urges. Which was great, he loved being able to be true to his nature w
ithout concern of being caught. But it wasn’t the same as the unlimited space here in the park.
When he neared the campground he slowed to a stop and took a few deep breaths to calm his wildly beating heart.
“Start sniffing, brother.”
“Yes, sir!”
Ryan shook his head. Dylan was always such a smartass, and a total hothead. He and Dylan were mirror image twins, opposite in everything. Ryan was right handed, while Dylan was a lefty. As cheetah, they had the same markings, just in reverse. And when it came to their personalities, their mother had always said that Ryan was the ice to Dylan’s fire. She was right. Not that Ryan minded. What they had worked. They were never meant to be individuals, but a team, two halves of a whole.
“You going to quit standing around, wasting time like a lion and help me find this kid?”
“Shut up. I’m sniffing.”
Dammit, what a time to get caught up in his head. He put his snout to the ground and began searching for the boy’s distinct scent. While they didn’t know the boy, they would be able to identify the smell of a young male human when they found it. He hoped there hadn’t been too many kids around this campground lately. Fortunately, they’d had a series of storms in the past fortnight, so most campers had gone elsewhere in the state for their adventure.
The sweet smell of human teased his nose, and he took a deeper breath. Yep, young male human.
“Hey, Dylan. I’ve got a trail here.”
A moment later his twin was with him, and they sniffed around the area.
“It’s slighter stronger to the west. C’mon.”
Without a word, they both continued following the scent. Ryan’s tail twitched in the breeze as they continued weaving through the bush. It felt so good to be doing something useful with their skills, and getting one up on the lions while they were at it was an added bonus. For a good ten minutes they wove around the trees and scrubs following the boy’s trail. Ryan guessed, from the path he’d taken, that Cameron had followed an animal before realizing he was lost and panicked. A lump rose in his throat the further west they went. He knew a steep cliff was up ahead, and he prayed the child hadn’t fallen down it.
Dylan had moved in front of Ryan by several feet so when Ryan heard him whine a tortured sound, he sprinted to find his brother across the cleared area atop the cliff.
“What happened?”
“I’ve found him.”
Ryan grimaced at his brother’s tone as he came to stop beside him at the top of the cliff. He stretched to see over the edge and stiffened when he saw Cameron, his chest tightening with fear. He could hear the boy’s sniffles as he cried, and they tore at his heart. At least he’s alive. He was clinging to one of the few trees that had grown on the steep incline.
“Guess he slipped and fell down the slope.”
“Easy to do if he was crying and not watching where he was walking.”
“The rocks look loose in places, but if we follow this solid rock edge down we’ll come up just beneath him… We’ll need to be quick. You got any ideas?”
“You’re right, we have to do this thing fast. Cameron is already scared. I vote we just snatch him on our way past.”
“Think, Dylan. He’s gripping that tree. You could tear the kid’s arm off, or snap his neck if you try to wrench him from the tree. No child is going to trust a wild animal! And it’s too dangerous to even attempt it as a human. Do you think he would be able to hear us from here?”
“I don’t know, probably not. He’s a fair way down, and the wind is starting to pick up. I can smell that storm coming. We need to do something now.”
He knew Dylan was right, but he was struggling to formulate a plan. Where was a damn lion when you needed one? They were so organized and had some great rescue skills. Mind you, they’d probably still be planning when the rain started coming down.
“Only thing I can think of is if we push a thought into his mind. Tell him we’re here to help and to trust us. He’s gotta be so damn scared by this point, he’ll think he’s dreaming or something. Then we run down there and grab him.”
Ryan nodded. Dylan’s idea was the best option they had. Here goes nothing...
“Cameron, can you hear me?”
“Daddy?”
Even with the wind, Ryan’s sensitive ears picked up the boy.
“No, buddy. I’m not your Daddy. My name is Ryan, and along with my brother, Dylan we’re going to come get you and take you to your parents. Okay?”
He saw the lad’s head nod.
“My brother and I are special, Cameron. We have some magic that allows us to turn into big cats. Can you look up to the top of the hill for me? See us? The two big spotty cats?”
Ryan waited until the boy looked up at them, then down again quickly.
“We’re going to run past you in a minute and I need you to let go of the tree when I tell you to, okay? When you let go, you’ll land on my back. I need you to hang onto my fur. Don’t worry about hurting me, you won’t. I need you to take a good grip as we need to run the rest of the way down. Can you do that for me, buddy?”
“I want my Mummy!”
“I know you do, Cameron. But we can’t take you to her until we get you down off this cliff. Can you do what I asked?”
“O-okay.”
Ryan took a deep breath then burst down the cliff face toward the boy, following the solid fissure of rock over to the tree.
“Now, Cameron! Drop onto my back.”
His every muscle was tense as he waited for the light weight of the boy to land on him. When he finally felt two small fists pull tight on his fur around his neck. He sighed in relief and continued down the slope, listening to the loose rocks and debris tumble down behind him. Now, they just needed to get back to the campground and return Cameron to his parents, or the official rescue party, without being seen. Regardless of what happened, Ryan knew the lions would know who’d helped the boy, and there would be hell to pay when they next saw each other.
Ryan also knew Dylan was going to have the time of his life when that happened and he got to have a shot at Luke.
Chapter Two
“Are you ready, Cameron? You’re such a brave boy for helping me like this.” Lacey smiled at the gorgeous little boy before her, his recently brushed blond hair and shining blue eyes a testament to how resilient kids really were.
“Yep.”
Lacey took out her voice recorder and placed it on the low coffee table between Cameron, his mother and herself. She pressed record before she sat down in a comfy leather chair.
“So Cameron, tell me what happened last week when you went camping.”
The boy crossed his arms with a humph. “I didn’t get to go camping. After I fell down that hill, Mummy and Daddy made me come home.”
A giggle rose in her belly, but Lacey held it in, and grinned instead, trying her best to be as professional as possible. This was one of her first real stories at the Melbourne Herald, and she wanted to make a good impression on her superiors.
“You got to do a little camping before you fell, didn’t you? Can you tell me about what you did before you fell? Were you having a good day?”
The little cherub looked up at his mother with a pleading look. The woman nodded to her son as she ran her hands through his hair. “Go on, sweetie. You can tell Lacey about the whole day if you like.”
“But I’ve already told this story. Over and over! And no one ever believes me.”
Lacey bit her lip and hoped her begging look would be deciphered correctly by his mother.
“I know, sweetie. But Lacey’s from a newspaper in town, and she really wants to write about what happened to you, and you’ll have your picture in the paper and everything. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
He heaved a sigh like a man would. It was probably the exact sigh his father made, and this time Lacey did giggle, glancing at his mother to share a smile. He was adorable.
“Well, Mummy and Daddy took me to the gramins.”
&
nbsp; “The Grampians,” his mother corrected, and her son shot her a disgruntled look.
“The Grampins. And I saw a bird that was real pretty so I followed it.”
Lacey sat forward on her chair and nodded. “What color was it?”
“Oh, it was blue and red. Then its friend came, and they flew away.”
Oh dear. That was when he must have gotten distracted.
“So you followed the birds, and what happened next, Cameron?”
He began to fiddle with his hands and looked down into his lap. Poor little thing probably had nightmares about getting lost.
“I went through some trees and found some cool rocks. Then, I didn’t know which way to go, and I got scared.”
His bottom lip quivered, and Lacey rushed to get to the important part of the interview.
“You must have been so frightened, Cameron, and so brave. When you slipped over the cliff, what happened then? We’re all so interested to know how you got down all by yourself.”
“Oh, I didn’t get down by myself.”
Lacey looked at his mother, and she gave a roll of her eyes.
“Cameron has a wild imagination.”
“No, Mummy, it’s true. Why won’t you believe me? No one believes me.”
Cameron huffed a little as he crossed his arms again. Lacey bounced on her chair a little, then stopped, heat rising in her cheeks when she realized how foolish she must look. She was twenty-four, but felt like a child herself sometimes.
“Tell me, Cameron. Doesn’t matter how wild and crazy. I want to know what happened.”
Cameron looked between his mother and her, and finally his mum gave a nod and a sigh for him to continue.
Cameron slid off the couch and held out his arms.
“I rode a spotty cat who was this big.” He stretched his arms out even further, and Lacey laughed.
“A cat? What sort of cat?”
