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Jamie
Copyright © 2014 Catherine Lievens
ISBN: 978-1-77111-980-1
Cover art by Latrisha Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Jamie
Whitedell Pride Series 1
By
Catherine Lievens
Dedication
You’ll never see this, but I know you would have been happy for me. Thank you for always supporting me even when I was the first one thinking I couldn’t make it. Je t’aime, Mami.
Chapter One
Jamie knew this wasn’t a good idea. Still, he had decided to come camping on his own. And now he was there, in his small tent, with a storm outside and barely anything to eat. It wasn’t his fault he’d forgotten to take the bag in which he had packed the food! Just like it wasn’t his fault that he hadn’t checked the weather forecast before leaving this morning. How was he supposed to know a storm was heading his way?
His brother wouldn’t come back to get him before tomorrow, and of course his cell phone had died, so Jamie was stuck in the middle of the woods, alone and hungry. Sighing, he laid his head on his sleeping bag and tried to sleep, but with the thunder rumbling above his head every time he closed his eyes, there was no way he was going to fall asleep.
He’d thought coming here would be a good idea. He needed some time alone after being with Colin for four years and being dumped when his boyfriend had found out he was going to be a father. Jamie still couldn’t believe it. He didn’t understand how you could cheat on someone after four years together—how you could cheat on someone, period. Cheating meant something wasn’t right in the relationship anymore. The best thing to do would be talk about it, not find someone else before even breaking up. He couldn’t help but wonder if Colin would have broken up with him even if that woman hadn’t found out she was pregnant. Would he have continued seeing both of them? Jamie wanted to believe Colin wouldn’t have, but he wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
Rolling on his side, Jamie was trying to sleep after the storm had passed when he heard a growl. Jerking up, he listened carefully. That growl was loud—really loud. It would be just his luck to encounter a cougar or a bear. There weren’t supposed to be any around Whitedell, but who knew? Jamie listened for a while and was nearly convinced he’d imagined everything when he heard another growl, followed by yet another, this one nearer.
Jamie wasn’t sure what to do. Should he stay in the tent and try not to move, or should he go out there and check? Going out didn’t sound like the best idea, but he didn’t want to be a sitting duck for whatever was out there, so Jamie decided to get out of the tent. Why hadn’t he gone to one of the camping areas? That would have been the smartest thing to do, but nooo, he had wanted to be alone, of course. So now he was in the middle of the woods playing hide and seek with something that growled.
Getting up, Jamie put on his shoes and slowly unzipped the tent, listening for the growling thing while cool air rolled over him. When he heard nothing, he poked his head out of the tent, looking around. There wasn’t much light, being in the woods and all, but there was no way he was using the flashlight. That would be like holding up a sign that said “come and eat me, I’m right here!” Jamie crept out and stopped. Now what? Did he have to look for the growling animal or wait to be found by it? Decisions, decisions…Well, at least it wasn’t raining anymore.
He heard soft growls and rustling coming from his right and he made his way over there, all the while thinking this was not a good idea, but he had to know. Peeking around a huge trunk, Jamie found out what had made those growling sounds, and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Gaping at the scene in front of him, he watched as two huge cats rolled in the damp dead leaves covering the earth between the trees, playfully batting at each other. He wasn’t sure what type of cats they were, but one of them was completely black and looked suspiciously like a black leopard, while the other one was a light color. And he was sure the third cat he could see on his left was a lion! Like, a real, honest to god, lion!
Mesmerized, he looked at the felines playing around, wondering how the heck those species had gotten in Wyoming of all places. Did they escape from a zoo or a circus? In that case, the news would have said something, though, and Jamie was positive he hadn’t heard anything like that. It did however bring questions to his mind. Was it normal for them to play around like that even if they were from different species? And why the heck wasn’t he running away instead of looking at them playing kitties like that? Jamie couldn’t explain it, but he couldn’t stop looking at the leopard, and he felt like it was somehow important that he stayed there for a little more time.
In front of him the leopard won the playful fight, his jaw closing on the other cat’s throat. It waited for a few seconds then backed away, letting its opponent up. The air started to shimmer around the panther, and its skin started moving around, giving Jamie the creeps. What was happening to it?
Jamie’s jaw dropped to his chest when only a few seconds later the leopard became a man, quickly followed by the lighter cat. In front of Jamie now stood two of the hottest men he had ever seen. And they were cats!
He stumbled backward, his foot catching on a twig, nearly making him fall. He managed to remain upright, but the noise alerted the men, or whatever they were, and the lion. They turned to look his way and Jamie locked eyes with the man who had been the leopard. He felt something passing between them, but he didn’t stay to examine what it was, he just turned around and started running, bypassing his tent. He headed straight for the road, slipping a few times on the wet earth, his heart trying to beat out of his chest, his only objective…to be out of the woods as soon as he could and without being eaten.
* * * *
“Fuck!”
Bryce was cussing right in Ward’s ear, and he couldn’t care less. He was still thinking about the human that had seen them shift. He knew he should be worried, but all he could think about were the huge green eyes that had locked with his during those few seconds. The man was gorgeous. Soft blond hair framed his small face, falling just above his eyes, making Ward’s hand itch with the need to play with it, to push it away right before he kissed the man. From what he had glimpsed, the guy was about five foot nine, the perfect height to go with Ward’s six foot four. His body was lean and elegant and would feel wonderful, skin to skin, while they made love. And why was Ward thinking about kissing and fucking the guy?
“What do we do now?”
Sebastian jerked Ward away from his thoughts. The lion shifter had a point. They couldn’t let the guy get away, not with him knowing about them.
“Let’s look for him. He can’t be far if he’s on foot, and I didn’t hear any
cars since he ran.”
The three of them headed the way the human had disappeared and they soon found a small camp, composed only of a tent and a small fire.
“How is it possible that we didn’t smell him?”
“I guess he was down wind, and it wasn’t like we paid attention. Who would camp in the middle of the woods like that?”
Bryce shifted to his cougar form and started sniffing the sleeping bag in the tent, then the air around them. Ward and Sebastian followed him when he headed left, following a small path until they reached the road. Ward and Sebastian remained behind the trees while Bryce sniffed again before shaking his big head. He came back to them and shifted back.
“I lost his trail. He must have climbed in a car. What do we do now?”
He looked at Ward as if he had all the answers. Boy was he wrong!
“Let’s go back to Dominic. He needs to know we might be outed soon,” Sebastian suggested.
Ward knew it was the only thing they could do, of course, but he so didn’t look forward being chewed on by their pride leader. He had no doubts the three of them would become his chew toys after what had just happened.
They shifted and started heading back to the pride, but Ward stopped by the tent and shifted back to human. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t want to leave the human’s belongings here. He started packing the few things that were thrown around the tent before dismantling it and folding it. Turning around, he saw Sebastian and Bryce still in their cat form, looking at him from a few feet away.
“What? I don’t want the guy to lose his stuff.”
They couldn’t answer him, but he could see in their eyes they thought he wasn’t thinking straight, or that he wasn’t thinking period. They were right. It was going to be a burden going back to the pride’s house with those things stuffed in their mouths, but it felt like the right thing to do. Ward handed the tent over to Sebastian, knowing Bryce would make a scene if he asked him to carry it. Luckily it was a small tent, or it would have been impossible for them to bring it back. Sebastian rolled his eyes but took it, and Ward shifted back to his cat form.
He gripped the backpack between his teeth and they headed back, making their way through the dark forest. It was their day off from guard duty, and their cats had wanted to run and fool around in the forest, so they had let them. It didn’t seem like such a good idea now, though.
Ward’s thoughts went back to the human, wondering where he was and if he was safe. The thought of him being hurt was strangely pissing him off. Not that he liked anyone being hurt, but this guy…he made all his protective instincts rear their heads up and his cat roar in displeasure.
The mansion appeared between the trees and Ward was once again in awe, even if he had been living here for a while now. He couldn’t help it. The house was huge, made of dark brown stones and black tiles. It was big enough to house the whole pride and then some. Each of them had a personal suite composed by a sitting room, a bedroom and a bathroom.
Ward climbed on the back porch and headed to the big wooden chest that sat near the French window. It contained clothes in different sizes, but luckily Ward had left his own clothes on top of it. He let the backpack fall on the floor and shifted, immediately reaching for his jeans and putting them on. While shifters didn’t have a problem with nudity, it was considered rude to be naked for longer than necessary after a shift. He heard Sebastian and Bryce dressing behind him.
“Leave the tent here. I’ll bring it up after we talk with Dominic.”
Resigned, they headed up to the Alpha’s office and Ward knocked on the door. When Dominic’s booming voice answered they entered and stopped in front of his desk.
“Yes?”
No one answered and Ward scowled at his friends, knowing he would have to be the one to tell Dominic what happened.
“We went for a run in the woods and a human saw us shift.” There, straight to the point. It wasn’t like there was any other way to say it.
Ward could see that the news didn’t please Dominic, but the Alpha didn’t scream or menace them. He massaged the bridge of his nose with his fingers before sighing loudly.
“Why doesn’t it surprise me? As if I didn’t already have enough problems with the wolf pack up north. Where is the human?”
“He ran away. We tried to track him but he got in a car. I collected his belongings though, so maybe we can find his name on them or something.”
“Go through the human’s things and see what you can find. If by some miracle you find his name or address go there and bring him back here. I’ll have a talk with him.”
Ward nodded and they walked out the door. Grabbing the backpack, he opened it and started shifting through it, finding a wallet in one of the pockets.
“Dude, I can’t believe you’re lucky enough to find his wallet!” Bryce exclaimed.
Ward opened it and read the name on the driver’s license. Jamie Ellis.
* * * *
Okay, so maybe hitch-hiking hadn’t been a good idea. For all Jamie knew, the man driving next to him could be a serial killer, but what alternative did he have? It wasn’t like he could have gone up to the…whatever they were and introduce himself. He didn’t think they would have eaten him, but you never knew.
Sinking a bit farther in the leather seat of the truck, Jamie listened to the old man talking about his cows. Yeah, he was pretty sure that guy wasn’t a serial killer after all. He was kind of sweet, actually, talking about his wife and his animals. Jamie could tell he loved them by the tone of his voice and the light in the guy’s eyes when he talked about the woman.
“Mind telling me what you were doing out there alone in the middle of the night, son?”
“Emm…I went for a hike and I got lost?”
Jamie knew it sounded like a question, but right now it was the only excuse he could think of. The older man’s gaze took Jamie in before he asked,
“You went for a hike without a backpack?”
“I lost it.”
Shit, Jamie had left everything at the tent, and his wallet was in the bag. He was going to have to block his credit card and get a new driver’s license. His keys were in there, too. Groaning, he prayed his brother was home tonight. Keenan loved to party and stay out until dawn, if he came home at all. Jamie really needed a hot shower and a few hours of sleep, not to wait in front of their door for his brother to come home.
The car turned left and stopped in front of Jamie’s apartment building.
“Thank you so much for the ride. I don’t think I would’ve been able to walk all the way,” Jamie told his savior, a smile on his lips.
The man grumbled and held out his hand. “Don’t worry about it. Just don’t go hiking on your own anymore. By the way, name’s Hank.”
Jamie shook Hank’s hand. “Jamie. Thank you again.”
He climbed out of the truck and gave a little wave while Hank started to drive away. Thank god he was home. Now he only had to pray Keenan would be there.
Climbing the stairs up to the third floor, Jamie felt the tension finally leave his body. He was safe. Knocking on the door, he waited impatiently and let out a little relieved sigh when he heard noises on the other side of the door. The lock turned and Keenan opened the door, his mouth opened on a huge yawn.
“What? Do you know what time it is?” Keenan finally took in Jamie. “What are you doing here? I thought I had to come and get you in the morning.”
“Yeah, I had a little accident and I had to get back home.”
Keenan’s eyes lowered to Jamie’s crotch as he chuckled.
“Not that kind of accident, you moron! I’m not five!”
Jamie pushed past Keenan, groaning when he saw the clothes thrown around the living room.
“You have company?”
“Yeah, since you weren’t home and I was feeling lonely…”
“Poor baby,” Jamie answered, wondering how his brother could stand this type of life. He brought a different person home nearly every night
and refused to see the same person twice. How could he not want someone permanent, who would be there for him if he needed it, who would love him no matter what? But then again, it wasn’t as if it had worked with Jamie, so who was he to judge?
“I’ll let her know she has to go, then you’ll tell me what happened.”
Keenan picked some of the clothes from the floor and headed to his room, where Jamie could hear him talking with someone. Sitting on the couch, he covered his face with his hands and thought about what he had seen tonight. He still couldn’t wrap his head around it. How was it possible for someone to change into a big cat? Sure, Jamie had read novels in which it happened, but those were, well, novels. It wasn’t possible in real life, right?
Jamie looked up when he heard someone passing in front of him and saw a girl hurrying to the door, Keenan’s hand on her back. He gently pushed her outside the door, giving her a last kiss as he closed it before sinking on the couch next to him.
“Come on, spill it. What happened?”
“You’re going to think I’m crazy.”
“News flash, I already know you’re crazy. Come on, tell me. Have a little faith in me”
“Well…I was in the tent and I heard those weird noises, so I went out to see what it was.”
“You do know that’s how people usually die in horror movies, right? If you hear weird noises, you have to run the other way, not go and investigate.”
“You want to hear what happened or not?”
Keenan moved his hands in a go on motion.
“So, I went to see what it was. I found a lion, a black leopard and another big cat playing around in the mud.”
“Is this a joke? Like a Priest, a Rabbi and a Minister walk into a bar…”
“Will you shut up? It’s not a joke, I swear those three cats were there!” God, Jamie loved his brother, but Keenan didn’t have one single serious bone in his body.
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