Beautiful Mistake
Nancy Corrigan
Royal Pride, Book 2
Lena will do anything to protect the shifter child her family takes in, even turn herself into bait. Although she knows better than to fall for a shifter, Devin, the man who captures her, is unlike any she’s ever tangled with. Their desire is unquenchable and the draw to him is undeniable, but their relationship is challenging from the start and loving him has the potential to destroy her.
After shouldering his twin’s torture, Devin hovers on the verge of insanity. His life revolves around his family and recovering kidnapped shifter children. He never thought he’d have a mate or kids of his own until a rescue mission turns deadly. The beautiful female caught in the crosshairs stirs his mating instincts and tames his wild nature. Only her confusion over their intense attraction stops him from finishing their bond, but Devin’s persistent. He’ll convince his stubborn female that he’s the man she’s been waiting for—one passionate encounter at a time.
A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Beautiful Mistake
Nancy Corrigan
Chapter One
Devin Moore peered through the windshield at the sprawling mansion as they drove up the driveway. He took in the small pond, the English garden with its ornate fountain and the hedge maze. He frowned. “Are you sure this is the place?”
Kade, his pride leader, caught his gaze in the rearview mirror. “I put the address Shifter Affairs gave us into the GPS. I’m sure.”
Three hours ago, they’d gotten a call informing them of a shifter child being sold through a private auction. Their contact within the human government had broken protocol by calling the local pride before filing a report. Devin was damn grateful but as he studied the quiet property, his unease grew.
Trained task force members should’ve been called in to deal with any confirmed shifter trafficking case. Yet no government cars were on site. Hell, there should’ve at least been a Delaware state trooper here. Although not all humans knew of shifter existence, most law enforcement agencies had at least one individual who did and often that person was the first responder. Not today.
His gaze locked onto the flashy red sports car parked in the driveway. “It’s odd nobody from Shifter Affairs has arrived.”
Xander, the male he considered a brother despite the fact he housed wolves instead of big cats, turned in his seat and leveled hardened black eyes on him. “You know how slow the humans can be, especially when it’s not one of their own in jeopardy.” He motioned to the side of house with a jerk of his head, his black hair swinging with the move. He shoved it out of his eyes with an annoyed grunt. “But it looks like we arrived just in time. Guess the humans will have to sit this one out.”
Devin turned his attention to the group moving from the house to the five-car garage. Close to a dozen males surrounded a human woman and the white lion cub they’d come to retrieve. The rival lion shifters tightened the ring around the females, blocking them from view. No matter. He’d seen enough. “Our contact was right. That’s Molly.”
Kade chuckled. “Then pride law takes over and—”
“They die for touching her,” Devin finished.
He leapt from the moving vehicle, hitting the blacktop on a roll. Two fully shifted lions charged him. Laughing, he spread his arms wide and waited until they were close before unleashing his claws. Their heads fell with a thump. He kicked them aside and ran toward the throng of males.
While the other shifters advanced to meet him, the woman broke free with Molly in her arms and fled toward the house. He cared little, not while his enemy still lived. Kade and Xander could deal with the kidnapper and collect their preschooler. He wanted the blood of those who thought to steal a member of his pride.
Each foolish male who came at him met the same fate as the first two. He killed them with brutal efficiency and pivoted on his heel to attack the last. Too late. He got the rear view of his arms and legs pumping as the coward fled across the perfectly manicured front lawn.
He took two steps after him and stopped. The sound of squealing tires pierced the air. He swung his head in the direction of the driveway and watched taillights disappear around the bend.
Dammit, no. He swept his gaze over the scene of carnage. Not a living soul stood. No sign of his friends, the kidnapper or Molly. He glanced toward where the expensive car had been. Gone.
He snarled, fists clenching and releasing at his sides. His anger fed the predators sharing his body—a tiger, lion and jaguar—until he vibrated with the effort it took to contain them. They wanted to be released. To hunt. To kill.
Colors faded from the world around him. Vertigo took hold, making the ground tilt under his feet. He stumbled and nearly fell in the blood-soaked grass.
A door slammed behind him, saving him from slipping into one of the mental episodes that had plagued him since his youth. For years, he’d hidden the blackouts, a result of shouldering his twin, Mira’s, punishment. Lately, he’d had trouble keeping them in check, not surprising really. Stress and rage triggered them. He’d lived with both these past few months. Anything that reminded him of Mira’s rape and her forced mating set him off.
This situation with Molly? Yeah, it drove him to the brink of insanity. No way would he walk away, though. He hadn’t saved Mira, but he would save Molly.
Relaxing his fisted hands, he blew out a rough breath and turned to watch Kade and Xander run toward him.
“She tricked us. There are freakin’ hidden corridors in that house. We lost them,” Kade called out.
Devin pointed in the direction the car had gone with a thankfully steady hand. No need to let his pride leader know how close he’d come to losing it. “She took off.”
A feral grin spread over Kade’s face that didn’t match the blond-beach-bum look he wore like a second skin. “Then let’s go round us up some prey.”
“Guess that means I’m left with cleanup duty,” Xander grumbled.
Kade chuckled and ran toward their car. Devin bumped his friend’s shoulder. “Hey, dogs like to bury stuff. It’s a perfect job for you.”
Xander bared his fangs but waved him away. “Go. Get the kid.”
Devin nodded and leapt into the idling Barracuda, a classic from the era of gas-guzzling muscle cars. Kade stomped on the accelerator before Devin’s ass hit the seat. The wheels spewed chunks of grass and dirt behind them as they cut across the yard.
At the end of the drive, the car bottomed out. Kade didn’t ease up on the gas. Their prey was in sight. He spun the wheel and skidded onto the main road, working through the gears until he barreled down on the woman’s car.
Devin leaned forward and stared at the little convertible, unable to believe what he was seeing. No denying it, though. With the top down, he had a perfect view into the car. “Unless she’s stashed Molly in the trunk, our cub’s not in that car.”
“Too late to turn back.” Curses fell from Kade’s mouth. He leveled his golden feline eyes on him. “This female’s our only lead.”
Devin watched helplessly as the human’s vehicle raced toward a railroad crossing. Red lights flashed. The safety arms lowered. Honks blared, quick short bursts. He flicked his gaze between the approaching engine and the woman. She wasn’t stopping. He held his breath, the wreck already playing out in his head.
All three predators slammed into his chest and tore at his stomach. A different emotion spurred them into trying to break free. Not rage…fear.
The female gunned it, the vehicle jerking with the increased speed. The horn blast turned into one continuous screech. His inner animals roared.
The woman’s car slid under the
thin crossbars, breaking off one in its wake. He let his breath escape through clenched teeth, relief and anger warring within him.
Kade slammed on the brakes, narrowly avoiding the train that thundered past.
Claws burst from Devin’s fingers. Colors faded from the world around him and blackness hovered at the edges of his vision. Groaning, he pressed the heels of his palms to his temples.
Kade shook his shoulder. “Keep it together. We’ll get the human and she’ll tell us where to find Molly.”
Devin nodded, unable to speak while he fought his unstable cats for control. The sound of his pants filled his ears along with the clickety-clack of the train. The noise faded. The car moved. He unclenched his jaw and focused on the road ahead of them. No sign of the red sports car, but the woman’s fresh scent lingered in the air, guiding them like a tether to their prize. Kade was right. They’d capture her and retrieve their lost cub. He refused to accept anything less.
The ’Cuda picked up speed and Kade swerved around a slow-moving pickup. Devin braced himself against the jerky movement. His hand left a wet handprint on the dashboard. The sight of it made his failure real. He’d fought, defeated a dozen rival shifters, yet still lost the child he’d promised to save.
The animal spirits that shared his soul picked up on his agitation. They paced, their distress growing with each successive lap they made around the metaphysical enclosure he kept them in.
Desperate to distract himself and ease his cats’ angst, he said, “Jasmine is going to have a coronary when she sees all this blood in the vehicle she spent weeks restoring.”
A splash of color darkened Kade’s cheeks. He ran a hand over his blond mane. “My twin’s mate is a vicious little human. She’ll understand as long as we bring our cub home.”
Devin scrubbed at the palm print on the vinyl with the edge of his shirt and cringed. He only succeeded in rubbing the blood into the tiny grooves. “Yeah, but I don’t want to be around when she sees the state of…what did she call this hunk of metal? A sweet, rare example of what a car should be? I think she might’ve used words like beautiful and irreplaceable too.”
“You’ve got a point.” Kade glanced at the seats. He shrugged. “Leather wipes clean. It’ll be fine.”
Devin decided not to comment on how the nice white stitching was blotched pink in several spots. Instead, he pointed to the split in the highway up ahead. “Decision time. Which way?”
Kade smacked the steering wheel, the turnoff closing in on them. He inhaled, mouth parted to take in more sensory information. Devin did the same. A hint of coconut and female drifted on the breeze. The little brown-haired human was close. He just couldn’t tell which direction her scent came from. They were moving too fast.
They drove past the side road. Her fragrance faded. His heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t lose her. “Turn around. She went the other way.”
Kade flicked his gaze to him. “You sure?”
He nodded, unable to speak as his cats roared their displeasure. Every minute Molly spent with her kidnapper was one too many. She was an innocent child who didn’t deserve what had befallen her. He closed his eyes and sent his agitated felines calming thoughts. It didn’t help. They still prowled restlessly. Nothing he said would ease their worry until Molly was safe.
Kade did a one-eighty, backtracking to the turnoff. The smell of burning rubber overpowered the human’s lingering signature. They took the turn so fast the tires on his side of the vehicle lifted. Devin grabbed the ‘oh Jesus’ bar as the car bounced. He bit his tongue, the taste of blood not helping him keep his wild inner cats contained.
He glared at Kade. “You’re going to get us killed.”
“Nah.” Kade flashed a crooked smile that showed off one glinting white fang. “This is nothing. Just a little off-road fun.”
Devin narrowed his eyes but held back his smartass retort. Up ahead, the human’s flashy red sports car dipped hood first in a ditch. A dust cloud hazed the air around it. The tiny motes caught the rays of the setting sun, making the whole thing sparkle like some sort of gift from the gods. If he gave two shits about cars, he’d drool over the expensive two-seater. Yeah, he didn’t. It was the woman driving it he wanted.
His muscles tensed, the anticipation of her capture ending the tingle spreading over his skin. He leapt from the ’Cuda before it came to a complete stop and ran the few feet to where the open door revealed nothing but a discarded shirt. No female and no little platinum-haired girl.
He snatched the human’s hot-pink tee and brought it to his nose. The rich scent of woman invaded his lungs and spiked his primal drives. He groaned. It was a completely inappropriate response. Damn if he could stop the reaction. As a multi-feline shifter, he lived with the wants and demands of the animal spirits existing within him. At the moment, his cats found something they liked. A lot.
He rubbed his face into the damp shirt. Although annoyed with his visceral response, he parted his lips and drew her signature into his mouth. The lush scent coated his tongue as if it were a rich sauce he could savor. His mouth watered. He dragged in another deep breath to assuage the sudden craving for more.
With an embarrassing moan, he closed his eyes. The throbbing in his shaft required a relief he couldn’t give. Not now. Any other time, he’d welcome such an intense reaction to a female. Today he hated his sexual appetite and the woman who smelled like sin.
Kade cursed, drawing him back to the problem at hand. “We’ve been followed.”
Devin peered over his shoulder at the approaching sedan. With each foot the vehicle crawled closer, his rage grew, killing the arousal the human’s fragrance caused. Glad to be free of the unwanted feeling, he sneered, “They’re foolish for coming out here alone. There’s nobody around to see them die.”
Kade’s swirling, golden eyes focused on the shirt Devin fisted. “Not so fast. You have the female’s scent. She’s your problem. I’ll handle the lions.”
The order grated on his nerves. He was strong enough to head a pride. The shitty circumstances surrounding his youth ensured he never would. He’d forever be an alpha forced to submit to his pride’s top cat. At least he liked Kade.
Devin nodded once then stripped and wrapped the female’s shirt with his so as not to lose it. He tossed the rolled pile into the ’Cuda and embraced his tiger. The change flowed over him like an exhaled sigh, a release of tension. No pain, no contortions. Simply the flickering of one image for another, a flip of a coin that displayed one of the other spirits who shared his body and soul.
Bonded with his cat, they were one and the same. The strength of a predator. The reasoning of a man. Together, the ultimate fighting machine. The world around him took on new depths. The vibrant hues, now shades of gray. The dim woods, bright as high-noon. Sounds reached him he hadn’t heard in his human form—the scuttling of mice in the underbrush, the individual pinging of rocks hitting metal as the other vehicle skidded to stop. But it was the increased sense of smell he valued most. It would help him capture his prey.
He dragged in a lungful of air. Information seeped into his brain—the stench of manure from a nearby field and the decaying flesh of an animal. Both pungent smells filled his nostrils. He shook his head to clear it. Another breath brought her fragrance. It pushed everything else back, clearing the horrid odors from his lungs. He focused on its richness and let it become a part of him so he’d know it anywhere. A shudder ran through his body. He ignored the response and leapt into the pond.
The water masked the female’s scent. An odd sense of pride rose that she knew enough to camouflage the direction of her escape route, not that it delayed him. The wet tracks on the other side of the pond showed her direction. Still, her actions suggested intelligence and smart women were incredibly sexy. On the other hand, those who messed with his family had to have a few screws loose.
The sudden curiosity to discover which description—smart or crazy—applied to her didn’t make sense. He shrugged it off. The extended chase app
ealed to his animal instincts. That was all. The longer this female evaded him, the more intriguing she became. Her capture would be that much sweeter.
He climbed out and pressed his nose to the bushes along the bank. She’d rubbed against the leaves, left her unique essence all over them. He inhaled. A chuffing grunt crawled up his throat as her personal fragrance overloaded his senses.
He’d never encountered a woman whose scent was so sweet yet heady. It left him lightheaded and unsteady on his paws. He dragged in more, just to feel the tingle run through his skin. A purr rumbled his chest. The response shocked him, yanking him out of his contemplative state. A low growl replaced the contented sound. While he stood here pondering the richness of her signature, the female was getting away.
He shook the water from his fur and followed her trail. Within minutes, he caught sight of her. She fled across the woods, looking as attuned to the natural landscape as any shifter. Selecting the path with the least undergrowth, she leapt over a fallen tree, arms out to the side to keep her balance. He heard her grunt as she landed, but she fell back into the rhythm of her run without missing a beat.
Mesmerized by the sight she made, he stumbled. His paws slid in a pile of wet leaves. Without a good grip, he skidded down a small embankment. At the bottom, he sat on his hind legs. He couldn’t move.
He swept his gaze over the female, searing her image into his mind. She was tiny, yet used every inch of her petite frame to her advantage. Sleek muscles flexed and bunched as her ground-eating pace propelled her forward. Her physical prowess impressed him. Sure, he could easily outpace her in his tiger form but he didn’t close the distance. She wouldn’t escape him now that she was within sight. He let her run. The sight of her tight ass molded in the shorts she wore excited him while the hunt appealed to his primal side—left him in fucking heaven.
A few twigs and dried leaves stuck in her long brown hair. His ears perked up. The female must’ve fallen. He drew her lingering scent into his lungs. A growl returned, rumbling his chest. He smelled blood. She’d hurt herself escaping him. Kidnapper or not, that was unacceptable. Snarling at her foolishness, he pushed off with the strength in his hind legs and chased after her.
Beautiful Mistake: 2 (Royal Pride) Page 1
