Quinten (Fairplay Shifters Series Book 3)

by Serena Meadows

  Quinten: Fairplay Shifters

  (A Paranormal Romance Story)

  Serena Meadows

  Copyright ©2018 by Serena Meadows - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  Contents

  Authors Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Also By Serena Meadows

  About the Author

  Exclusive Offer

  AUTHORS NOTE

  FairPlay Shifter Series

  Book 1-Justin

  Book 2-Jake

  Book 3-Quinten

  Book 4-Steven

  Book 5-Dalton

  Book 6-Daniel

  You should know that Quinten is the third book in the Fairplay Shifters romance series. Although each story can be read independently and all end with a HEA with no cliffhangers, to get the full experience of the series, you should really read them in order.

  Chapter One

  ***Penny***

  Penny jumped down off her horse and looked at the explosion of color around her, the oranges, reds, and yellows of the leaves momentarily taking her breath away. She’d been sure that nothing could compare to the beauty of her home in the Colorado mountains, but fall in New England was coming close.

  No matter which direction she turned, the scene that greeted her stirred her soul and made her want to take her mountain lion form. It made her want to run with abandon through the trees and undergrowth until she was exhausted. She could feel the energy of the forest running through her, making it nearly impossible to resist.

  But she knew that now wasn’t the time; as secluded as Simon’s Cove was from the rest of the world, someone would surely spot a huge mountain lion roaming around. After three weeks in New England, she was beginning to miss the wide-open spaces of her home, to crave the freedom the vast wilderness of the rugged mountains.

  “Whatever you’re thinking about doing, don’t do it,” Suzanne said, jumping down from her horse and putting a hand on Penny’s shoulder.

  “Don’t worry, I haven’t completely lost it yet,” Penny said, smiling at her best friend. “But I’m glad that you’re here; I don’t know how I would have gotten through the last few weeks alone.”

  When her brothers had asked her to come to New England and Simon’s Cove to represent them in front of the witch’s council, she’d had no idea that it would take this long, that she’d be stuck here for weeks waiting. Now she wished that she hadn’t agreed quite so readily to let them take their new wives on extended honeymoons and leave her in charge.

  Not only did she have the witch’s council to deal with, but the ranch was suddenly her responsibility as well, and it wasn’t easy to run it from half-way across the country. But of the two it was the witch’s council that worried her the most; after all, she wasn’t a witch, she was a shifter, and everyone knew that there was still a lot of animosity between the two groups.

  When she’d helped her new sister-in-law save her twin brother’s life, she’d had no idea that the ramifications would be so extreme, that what Annabelle was doing might be considered black magic. Not that there had been any other choice but to help Annabelle save Justin; still, it would have been nice to know that what they’d done would do more than just save her brother’s life.

  Since that night, it seemed like none of them had been safe. “I’m tired of fighting, Suzanne. First, it was the wolf-shifters, then Deacon tried to destroy my brothers; I just want to go home and live my life like I used to,” Penny said, giving in to a moment of self-pity. “I didn’t ask for any of this. Justin is supposed to be in charge of the ranch, and this meeting with the witch’s council was supposed to be just a formality. Everyone knows that it was really Deacon who was using black magic, not Annabelle.”

  “I know,” Suzanne said, shaking her head. “It hasn’t been an easy summer for you, but clearly witches do things differently than shifters do. If this was a shifter problem, we’d have dealt with it long before now, but Evelyn and Walter seem to think that we’ll be hearing something any day.”

  Penny nodded her head. Annabelle’s parents had assured her that the council would contact them soon; Halloween and the Samhain celebration were only a few days away. “I hope so. I really need to get home; winter roundup is going to start in a few weeks, and I don’t know if Steven and Daniel can handle it on their own.”

  Suzanne swung back into the saddle. “Of course they can; your brothers have been raised on that ranch, so it’s in their blood, and if they get into trouble there’s plenty of people to help out. But I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, you’ll see; I bet we’re out of here in a week at the most,” Suzanne said, turning her horse around.

  Penny reluctantly got back in the saddle and turned her horse around, took a deep breath of the fall air, then decided it wasn’t doing her any good complaining. She was going to be here for as long as the council wanted her here; she might as well enjoy herself. There was a holiday coming up after all.

  “Let’s hope when we get back that there’s a summons from the council, but if not, we might as well enjoy ourselves. I’ve never been to a Samhain ceremony,” Penny said, kicking her horse into a walk.

  “It should be interesting; I’ve never seen a ghost before. Do you think we’ll see some?” Suzanne asked.

  Penny laughed and said, “Suzanne, that’s not what the celebration is about.” Then when she saw the disappointed look on her friend’s face, she added, “But I’ve heard that they appear every year, mostly at the Feast of the Dead, so make sure you sit next to an empty place.”

  Suzanne shivered. “Doesn’t it scare you just a little?”

  “Not really,” Penny said, remembering the wolf-shifter pack they’d faced earlier that summer, their glowing eyes, the evil radiating from them. “I’ve seen much scarier things.”

  Suzanne was silent for a few minutes, then she said, “I guess you have, but I’m still a little scared.”

  Penny smiled at her friend, “Don’t worry; they won’t be scary, they’ll just look like regular people, only not quite so substantial. They won’t want to hurt you; they just want to see their families.”

  Suzanne nodded, then got a silly grin on her face. “Do you think we’ll get kissed at the bonfire?”

  Penny shook her head at Suzanne, a smile on her face. “Do you really want to be kissed by a witch?” she asked, still not sure how she felt about the prospect of being kissed by a stranger.

  Suzanne shrugged her shoulders. “It’s just so romantic: stolen kisses at a bonfire, kisses that are supposed to bring you good luck. What girl wouldn’t want to be part of that?”

  Penny smiled at her friend. “I could use a little good luck.”

  ***Quinten***

  The sun was just going down when he drove up to the Simons compound, which was exactly the way he’d planned it. He’d told
no one that he was coming, wanted the chance to mix with the people at the bonfire that night before announcing his arrival. When he’d been given this investigation, he’d known that it would be the one to make his career: the one that would finally result in his promotion to high inquisitor.

  For as long as he could remember, all he’d wanted to be was a high inquisitor of the witch’s council, and this case might just be the one to get him there. He’d worked hard to get where he was, taking on cases no one else wanted and solving them when they seemed unsolvable.

  When he’d gotten the request from the council, he knew that his time had come, but that this case was more complicated than just the question of whether black magic had been used. Just the fact that shifters were involved sent up a red flag for him; after all, shifters and witches didn’t mix, it just wasn’t done, not after years of animosity between the two groups.

  Animosity that had been alive and brewing for hundreds of years, and in his opinion for good reason. It was a well-known fact that shifters couldn’t be trusted, that they were lone creatures who only cared about their own well-being; he’d seen it often enough in his travels. The only thing worse than a lone shifter was when a group of them banded together in a pack and roamed the countryside.

  He’d seen the testimony in this case and knew that he was dealing with one of those packs, that a war over territory had been the reason Annabelle Simons had used black magic. It shocked and sickened him that a witch would be willing to put her life on the line for a shifter; even worse was that she claimed to be in love with the man.

  Even more distressing was the fact that the woman was to inherit her coven someday: she would become the high priestess with a shifter at her side, a thought that made him shudder with apprehension. When he’d brought his concerns to the council, they’d been far less concerned with the marriage than he had been, had, in fact, dismissed his worries outright.

  But they hadn’t seen the things he had, didn’t really understand the danger having a shifter in their midst posed for everyone in Simon’s Cove. One way or the other, he was determined to see that Annabelle never took over the coven with a shifter at her side, that she either left with the shifter and never returned or sent him away forever.

  He knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but he had a plan, and his plans always worked out. The first step was to attend the Samhain bonfire, do a little investigating before anyone knew that he was here. He took the first side road he found and parked his car behind a stand of trees, then got out of the car and went around to the trunk.

  When he popped it open, he grabbed his robe and slid it over his head, slid on a mask, then pulled up the hood of his robe. Satisfied that no one could possibly recognize him, he started for the bonfire, which could now be clearly seen in the dark of the night. He was sure that by the end of the night he’d have a better idea of how to deal with the investigation and the shifter who had invaded their world.

  He wound his way through the trees, finally emerging into the huge clearing where they had the bonfire. It wasn’t hard to slip into the crowd; everyone was dressed exactly like he was, long black cloaks and masks, although most people didn’t have their hoods up as he did. The fire in the center of the clearing must have been fifteen feet tall, an expertly laid pile of wood that would burn for hours while the coven celebrated.

  Watching the fire, he remembered the first time he’d come to Simon’s Cove; he’d just turned thirteen, and his parents had insisted on making the trip across the country. He’d been against the idea, had wanted to stay home and celebrate Halloween with his friends like he usually did, had, in fact, threatened to disappear if they made him.

  But that first night, when he’d seen the bonfire and all the people dressed in their robes and masks, something had happened to him. He’d suddenly felt what it meant to not only be a witch but to be part of something so much bigger than himself. All thoughts of home had vanished, and before the night was over, he’d discovered a part of himself he’d never know before.

  He’d been back here several times since then for Samhain, but that first time would always be emblazoned in his memory as the night he truly became a witch. The temptation to forget his mission here tonight and just enjoy the fun was strong, but then he remembered the shifter and his sense of duty took over. Tonight, he was going to watch Annabelle and the shifter, try to determine what the shifter was after: then he’d know how to defeat him.

  He was making his way through the crowd, keeping his head down on the hunt for Annabelle when a woman bumped into him, nearly knocking them both to the ground. When he reached out and grabbed her, both to steady himself and to keep her from falling, a shock of electricity made him gasp.

  He quickly righted them both then let go of her, his fingers tingling, his breath caught in his throat. “I’m sorry,” she said, in a husky voice that made his heart beat faster.

  When he looked down into her eyes, they were a startling green and almost seemed to glow in the firelight. He opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out, and before he knew it, she’d disappeared back into the crowd. The temptation to follow her was so strong that he took a step forward, but then stopped himself and stared for a moment at the spot where she’d disappeared, too shocked by his response to the woman to move.

  Chapter Two

  ***Penny***

  As Penny pushed her way through the crowd, she couldn’t help but wonder where all the people had come from. When they’d left the compound earlier that day, it had been crowded, but now there was barely room to move through the throng of people gathered around the bonfire.

  She’d long ago lost track of Suzanne when the crowd swallowed her up, but Penny didn’t mind; in fact, it was easier to navigate the crowd on her own. She was trying to make her way up to the bonfire to throw in the piece of paper where she’d written the bad habit she wanted to change. It had seemed like a silly ritual when she’d heard about it, but now with the fire burning in the middle of the little compound, and the people all gathered, it didn’t seem so silly.

  Seeing an opening in the crowd, she pushed forward, but a man stepped into her path, and she crashed into him. For a moment she was sure that they were both going to end up on the ground, but at the last moment, he grabbed her and managed to keep them both on their feet. Almost instantly her head was filled with a buzzing sound, her body began to tingle, and the most amazing smell washed over her.

  Feeling overwhelmed by what was happening to her, she did the only thing she could and quickly apologized, then ducked back into the crowd. Her heart hammering in her chest, she took several deep breaths, relieved when the feeling began to fade. Unable to help herself, she stopped and turned back to where the spot where she and the man had collided, but there was no sign of him in the crowd.

  She was just about to turn away when the crowd parted, and she saw him. He was dressed much like everyone else there, but he had his hood pulled up over his head, and all she could see was his chocolate brown eyes staring at her. She held his gaze, her heart pounding in her chest, a burst of desire and something she couldn’t name rushing through her.

  But the moment was over all too soon; the crowd surged again, this time taking her with it. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the bonfire, the people around her chanting the ritual spell as they flung their scraps of paper into the blaze. Barely conscious of what she was doing, she threw her paper into the fire, mumbled the words she’d memorized, then let the crowd propel her away from the fire.

  When she was finally free of the crowd, she headed for the edge of the clearing and a few minutes of time to herself. She was still reeling from her brief meeting with the man in the hood and needed some time to collect herself. It took a few minutes for her heartbeat to return to normal and for the tightening in her middle to relax, but her mind was still spinning, searching for some explanation for how she’d reacted.

  Her reaction to the stranger had been strong and swift, had taken her by surprise
with its intensity, and she wasn’t sure where it had come from. If she’d been able to see more of the man than just his eyes, it might have made more sense; after all, she’d been single for more than a year now. Then she realized that her reaction to him had started long before she’d looked into his eyes; it had started when he’d wrapped his arms around her.

  Instead of helping, that thought startled her so much that she stumbled back a few steps. Feeling the solid trunk of one of the trees that ringed the clearing, she leaned back and willed her heart to stop pounding in her chest. Then she forced herself to stop and think logically about what had just happened.

  After a few minutes, she was able to convince herself that what had happened between them hadn’t really been that big of a deal. It had merely been a look and nothing more. Sure, her body had behaved strangely, but then look at where she was. Suzanne had been right; it was a night ripe with romance. The bonfire, the big moon high in the sky, and the mystery of the ceremony all added up to the perfect place for romance to blossom.

  Pushing herself away from the tree, she squared her shoulders; she wasn’t here for romance; she had a job to do and then she was going home. If it was time for a little romance in her life, that was fine, but she wasn’t going to have that romance here, and certainly not with a witch. As much as she loved her new sisters-in-law, there were already enough witches in their family.