By the time they were done, they’d have a nest egg and an education. Or they could stay on to work and teach new students.
Willow and Corey had figured this all out together. They’d also decided to name the foundation after them both since she’d taken his last name when they married.
They walked through the hallways of the new building. It had been designed as a cross between a traditional university and an ultramodern Silicon Valley tech company. The spaces were open and airy and the entire place felt alive with possibility.
Willow’s life had been transformed since she and Corey had mated. Getting out of her contract at her publishing company had been a snap. She’d even been paid double for her manuscript.
She now wrote under her married name, Willow Bright. The lives and loves of shifters on Fate Mountain gave her plenty of stories to write about.
The first students started walking past them, moving toward the introductory presentation for the very first group of students at the institute.
Corey walked into the airy auditorium, and she followed him to the small stage where they joined the faculty. When the students were all seated, the principal of the institute stood to give his speech.
The instructors all spoke in turn, giving the new students a good idea of what they could expect in their first year at the institute.
Most of the shifters who sat out in the audience were between twenty-five and thirty-five years old. Most were men, although there were a good number of female shifters as well.
Willow gazed over at Corey, her heart full of pride and admiration for what he’d done. He gave her tons of credit for creating the institute, but the truth was, he’d done it. She couldn’t even begin to tackle the complexities of creating this place while trying to write. But he’d done it in a little under a year.
It was amazing what he could achieve if he put his mind to something meaningful. Corey looked into her eyes and smiled, squeezing her hand. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“This never would have happened without you,” he said.
She let out a deep breath, feeling their bond radiate between them.
When all of the instructors had finished their speeches, Corey stood to give a talk of his own.
Willow watched him as Corey took the podium. He had overcome so much to get here. And he’d done it all with hard work and unparalleled genius. She gripped her hands together, feeling his love deep in her heart.
“Welcome first year students of the Bright Institute. As most of you know, I’m Corey Bright.” The audience applauded before he could continue. “This is my wife, Willow Bright. When she and I first came up with the idea for the institute, people thought we were insane to try to build a place like this. Especially in a small town like Fate Mountain.
“But the two of us believed that we could make a real difference. To help shifters of all types and all ages find their way in this challenging new world. We are building the future. Together.”
The crowd shot to their feet in a standing ovation. After the applause died down and everyone began to file out, Corey and Willow walked out among the new students. They made their way out to the reception in the sunny lobby.
Willow lifted a champagne glass off a tray passing by. They were dressed in semi-formal clothing and looked amazing. He turned to her, lifting his own glass.
“Well done, Mr. Bright,” Willow said.
“Well done, Mrs. Bright,” Corey replied. They clinked their glasses and leaned in to kiss each other on each cheek.
“I didn’t believe it when they told me. My brother…mated and married!”
“Zoe,” Corey said, looking shocked.
Willow turned to the girl. She was dressed in a form-fitting black dress that hugged her young curves.
“How have you been, brother dear?” Zoe asked, walking up to Corey.
“What do you think of the gala?” Corey asked her.
“It’s fantastic. You really went all out for us students.”
“You’re a student here?” Corey asked.
Willow could feel his emotions spiking as he stood there next to her. She stepped forward.
“I’m Willow. It’s so great to meet you. We missed you at the wedding.”
“I was in Bali at the time,” Zoe said, flipping her black hair over her shoulder.
“Why did you apply to the Bright Institute?”
“I need an education. You know. I want to learn a trade.”
“You want to learn a trade. Like carpentry?” Corey made a laughing sound that was more like a cough.
“Why not?”
“Hey, sis, if you want to learn carpentry, I think that’s great. But I don’t buy that it’s why you’re really here.”
“You got me. I’m really here because I missed you, big brother.”
“Okay. I’ll go along with it. I missed you too, kid. It’s good to see you turning a new leaf.”
“Thanks. I’ll just get going to my new accommodations in the housing wing.”
“Good luck with your studies,” he said as she walked away.
“So that was your sister?” Willow asked.
The curvy girl slinked off into a crowd of men, flicking her black hair over her shoulder.
“I love her dress,” Willow said.
“That was Zoe Bright. My kid sister. What the hell is her game?”
“Why do you think she’s playing a game?” Willow asked, sipping her campaign.
“Learning carpentry. That’s not Zoe. She has another reason to be here. It isn’t money. I send her plenty for her lifestyle or anything else she wants to do. She’s been on a dance party tour for the last five years, just following the music. I don’t believe she’s here to learn a trade.”
“Why not? Why think the worst?”
“Zoe is cagy. We’re siblings. I know her.”
“Well. It’s nice to have her back in your life. Don’t you think?”
“Sure. I love my kid sister. We used to be pretty close, despite the age difference. We always took care of each other and our mom.”
“I just want to help her with whatever she needs,” Willow said.
“I love you, Willow Bright. So wise.”
He kissed the top of her head.
“Let’s get out of here,” Corey said, taking her hand and leading her to the door.
They strolled along the path in the warm mountain air. She laughed when he tugged her under the fir trees. They kissed in the fragrant grove, feeling the heat of love between them as they embraced in the summer air.
“I need to get you home,” he said into her ear.
“Take me there,” she said.
They continued along the path until they came to their new private estate. The house was tucked behind a line of poplars.
The whole front face of the house was a wall of windows that took in an expansive view of the mountains and lake. The big patio wrapped around the house and was perfect for Willow to write on. She even liked to watch the rain when it poured down over the massive windows.
The house was the perfect size. Not too big, not too small. It would be great for when they decided to have cubs down the road. Everything was finished nicely, from the floors to the countertops.
When they walked inside, it just felt like home. Willow thought about the plot for her next book. She could feel Corey’s mind working too. Now that he’d successfully brought the institute to fruition, she knew that he would be itching to start something new to keep his mind occupied.
They took big glasses of ice water out onto the deck and sat together on a porch swing, watching the sunset.
“Do you think you’ll ever give up being the data analyst for the Rescue Bears?” Willow asked, snuggling into Corey’s shoulder.
“Never. I’ll go on missions with my crew until we all decide to stop. We’re a crew. Rescues are what we do.”
“You rescued all those students at the institute.”
“There’s always someone out there
who needs to be saved.”
“I admire so much about you, Corey. You’re a hero. You’re my hero.”
“You’re my hero, Willow. Without you, I never would have figured out who I am or what I’m capable of. With you, my life is complete. You saved me from solitude.”
Willow nuzzled Corey’s shoulder, threading her fingers through his. She felt the love in their hearts cycling back and forth between their bond. The intensity of it spiraled up and around them both like twirling fireworks.
Willow finally felt at peace. She was finally home now with Corey. They’d found the greater whole that came from the pairing of their individual parts, and it was glorious.
Together they could do anything.
Bear Patrol
Commander Bear
She’s on his radar ...
Jaguar shifter Zoe Bright knows trouble. Growing up, she was the “bad kid” who could never measure up to her bear-shifter brother Corey -- and now she’s in debt to the mob. So the last thing she expects is for Corey’s matchmaking program to pair her up with Fate Mountain’s handsome, hunky chief of police!
He’s on her tail ...
Grizzly shifter Rollo Morris can’t believe his fated mate is almost certainly a jewel thief. Still, he and his bear know that curvy, sassy Zoe belongs to them. Pursuing her is a must … and interrogating her is the naughtiest thing he’s ever done.
And both of them are in the bullseye
When the mafia comes after Zoe, will she trust Rollo with her secrets? And even if she does, can he and the Bear Patrol find a way to solve the case and keep her safe?
Chapter 1
The jaguar prowled on silent feet through the dense, misty forest. The moonless sky was covered in a haze of clouds, blocking out even the light from the stars. The jaguar sniffed the air as she approached the mansion grounds. She’d studied the security system and knew that there were no alarms that could detect her movements.
As she emerged from the forest and took her first delicate steps into the dew-covered lawn, her ears pricked at the sound of an owl hooting behind her from the wood. She paused, standing still as a statue in the inky darkness. Her feline eyes made out the back entrance of the mansion across the expansive lawn. Knowing she was undetected, she picked up the pace, trotting over at the damp grass until she came to the back porch of the mansion.
Examining the balcony above the back exit, the jaguar stopped again, opening her senses to any change in her environment. All was still and silent. It was safe to proceed. Her body tensed, her muscles coiling as she prepared to launch herself up the vine-covered lattice. With an explosive jump, she flew up the lattice and was soon on top of the balcony. She stopped again, her feline senses taking in every chirp of a grasshopper and vibrating leaf in the wind.
This rural mansion had very little security. Being so deep in the mountains, the owners believed they were safe from predators like her. But they couldn’t be more wrong. The jaguar tasted the air with her tongue, panting silently in the cool night air. She prowled around the balcony until she came to a side window that led into an empty room in the mansion.
Over the last six months, she had studied everything she could find about the owner, the grounds, and the security of the mansion. As much as the jaguar wanted out of her life as a thief, she knew she had to do this one last job. If she could pay back Dima for her mistake, she could finally be free of him and everything he represented.
She peered through the dark glass into the empty room, ensuring that it was safe to continue. When she was satisfied, she pressed her sharp claws against the windowpane and began to rotate her paw in a perfect circle. When she had scratched through the glass, she carefully extended her claws around the circle and pulled it silently out of the window. After setting it on the floor at her feet, she reached in through the window and flicked open the lock.
With the window unlocked and her route into the mansion clear, the jaguar sat back on her hind legs. In a silent scream of contorting muscles and ripping tendons, the jaguar shifted. Her body lost its fur. Her limbs lengthened and her skin grew smooth and tan. A mane of long black hair framed her curves. Her animal eyes and senses on high alert, she checked her surroundings. She was still alone and undetected.
Pressing her hands to the glass, making sure that the pads of her fingers were shifted so as not to leave any detectable fingerprints, she pushed the window open. The naked woman slipped into the dark room and took several long breaths to calm herself. She was so tired of doing this. Becoming a jewel thief had never been part of the plan. She had just wanted to feel the excitement of being with a man like him.
She knew he wasn’t her fated mate, but that didn’t mean anything to her young woman’s heart. All she had known was that Dima was the most powerful, sexy man she’d ever met. When he had asked her to join his entourage, she had gladly agreed. It hadn’t taken long for them to end up in bed together. But soon after that, he had started asking her to do things for him she never should have agreed to.
It wasn’t that she didn’t know he was a criminal. But she had been naïve enough to believe that his criminal activity wouldn’t affect her. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
And now, here she was, breaking into this house in the middle of the night like a dyed-in-the-wool criminal herself. She couldn’t allow her shame to get in the way of the job she had to do. It was the only way she could buy her freedom and move on with her life.
Once inside the empty room, she padded across the antique Oriental rug and came to the chest of drawers that was her target. She’d been studying this chest since she’d arrived on Fate Mountain. This chest was the entire reason she had come here in the first place. Or rather, its contents were.
Seven months ago, the owner of the mansion had bought this antique Louis the Fifteenth chest at a Sotheby’s auction in San Francisco. At that very same auction, Dima had overheard the mansion owner saying she would use the chest for her jewelry collection when she arrived in Oregon this month. That’s when he had sent her to Fate Mountain to study how to get into the secret compartment and steal the woman’s jewels.
Most people in this day and age put their valuables in safes. But Caitlin Somerset was not an ordinary billionaire heiress. She lived in a world of fantasy where it was still the 18th-century and she was some kind of European aristocrat.
However, Caitlin Somerset was actually a retired swimsuit model. She had inherited her money from her elderly oil tycoon husband who had passed away only three years ago. The mansion in the Oregon mountains was a vacation home for Caitlin, but it was also the place where the heiress stored most of her antiques. Namely the secret compartment Louis the Fifteenth chest of drawers.
The woman pulled the bottom drawer out of the chest and silently set it on the floor. It was pitch black inside the room so she had to shift her eyes into their feline form to allow her to see. Under the drawer was the metal-plated compartment. It looked like an ordinary shelf to an untrained eye, but the woman knew it was much more than that.
She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. This was what she had been studying and training to do for the last six months. The chest was the eighteenth century equivalent of a secured safe. The compartment had a keyhole that took an old fashioned key. Caitlin obviously had it hidden somewhere within the mansion. But the woman didn’t need the key, not with the knowledge she had acquired during her time on Fate Mountain. If she used her claw to bust the lock, it would just trigger a mechanism that made it impossible to get inside the chest.
She studied the angles and joints of the wood, looking for the exact groove she needed to begin opening the compartment. Once she had located the correct spot, she extended one claw and pressed it to the groove. Nothing happened. She cursed internally and pressed harder. Finally, she heard a faint pop and let out the breath she was holding. Once she had one side loosened, she was able to do the same thing on the three other corners.
Getting into the safe wasn’t that easy. Even with
a jaguar’s sharp claws and superhuman strength, she still had more work to do. Extending her claws from both hands, she pressed them into the seam between the wood and the metal, slowly removing it from the chest. With the metal piece free, she pulled it out and set it on the floor beside her. Now all that was left was wood that her claws could easily scratch.
The woman pulled her hands out of the chest of drawers and slid one under the bottom, pressing up against the secret compartment from below. She heard another faint pop and the entire compartment was freed from the chest. She slowly pulled it out and tapped at the side that had once been against the back of the chest. It fell open and she was able to get inside. She reached in, not feeling anything. She cursed silently.
Dima had been so sure that Caitlin Somerset was storing jewels in this chest. She could not fail this mission. If she did, the consequences would be dire. She knew what Dima did to people who failed him, and he had already given her a second chance. She doubted he would give her a third.
Just when she was about to go into panic mode, she felt a soft velvety bag in the corner of the box. She pulled it out, not stopping to check the contents. Once she had what she’d come for, she hurried out the window, clutched the bag in her teeth, and silently shifted into her animal form.
Within seconds she was down to the ground level, trotting off through the misty, damp lawn and into the forest. The owl hooted again as she passed, the yellow light of dawn slowly turning the inky blackness into a hazy gray.
With her trophy in her mouth, the jaguar galloped through the brightening forest, praying that this one last job would be enough to buy her freedom.
Chapter 2
Police Commander Rollo Morris stood over remains of the Louis the Fifteenth chest and cupped his clean shaven chin in his hand. His forensics specialist, Damien Fellows, otherwise known as Tech Bear to his crew, snapped photographs of the crime scene.
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