Josh

by Dana Archer

  Josh glanced between Mira’s indifferent eyes and Kade’s angry ones. “What’s going on?”

  “I have—”

  “No, Kade. I will tell him.” Mira stepped forward. She lifted her chin and captured Josh’s gaze.

  “Tell me what?”

  “Kade and I are mated.”

  Silence stretched as if the world awaited his response.

  Finally, Josh laughed. “Kitten, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you can’t mate Kade. You’re already mine.”

  She linked trembling hands behind her back and dropped her gaze to his nose. “What we feel is merely attraction, maybe love. Whatever label we use doesn’t change anything. In the Council’s eyes, what we have means nothing, and I’m tired of fighting them so I…” She took a deep breath. “So I’ve decided to accept my destiny.”

  Rage rose, turning the edges of his vision red. He blinked it away before it took hold.

  “You’re lying.” He thumped his chest. “I feel you here. Your pain, pleasure, anxiety…it all resonates through me. I felt no passion from you these past few hours, only sadness and desperation. Do not feed me any lines about leaving me.”

  Her eyes widened before she closed them. “Zoe, now that you’ve heard our news, please sign the letter to the Council informing them of my bond with Kade so they know I’ve fulfilled my obligation.”

  Zoe stood and moved to Josh’s side. She grabbed him before he could rush forward and shake some sense into his stubborn woman. “Screw that, Mira. If you want to cheat on my brother, deal with the mess you’ve caused on your own. I want no part of it.” She glared at Kade. “You’re all a bunch of pathetic liars, and I have no room in my life for any of you.”

  With that, Zoe released him and walked toward the house.

  “I know what you’re doing, but you don’t need to worry anymore. I’m not going to die so easily on you.” Josh closed the distance between them and wrapped his fingers around Mira’s upper arms. “I am your destiny, the mate the goddesses allowed you to choose.”

  “No, you’re not. I didn’t take a piece of your soul, and you can’t take a piece of mine. Love doesn’t count. Do you understand? I was never meant to have it.” Her voice broke. “Never meant to be happy. I’m supposed to breed.”

  He lifted her chin and stared into glistening eyes. “Don’t cry, kitten. Love does count. The Alexander pride’s goddess has visited me too. She said the night you declared you belonged to me in the bar sealed our fates. You chose me, then and there.” He wiped away the tears from her cheek with his thumb. “I am your mate, the only one you’ll ever have.”

  “No!” She shoved away. “No, you’re making stuff up. The goddess can’t visit you. She can only connect to Kade.”

  “Not anymore.” Josh reached for her. She scrambled backward, tripped, and nearly fell. Mira righted herself, but her gaze darted around. She appeared ready to run. “Calm down. Let’s sit and talk. You’re overreacting because of what happened today.”

  “Overreacting? You could’ve died! Micah meant to kill you. He will too. That’s what that picture meant. He’s going to slit your throat!”

  “But he didn’t hurt me.” He spread his arms wide. “Look, I’m fine.”

  “And I intend to make sure you stay that way.” She pointed to his SUV, then reached for Kade. He took her hand “Go, Josh. Once Kade’s cousin uncovers the traitors on the Council and sees them punished, you and I can resume our affair, secretly, of course. Until then, I want you to stay away from me.”

  It was too much. Josh closed the distance between them and yanked Mira out of Kade’s arms. “Never. You will never touch another man. You are mine for eternity.”

  “Please don’t be cruel, Josh. I’m doing this for your own good.”

  “I’m not. I’m trying to explain to you that—”

  A rumble of an engine starting drifted to them. Squealing tires came next.

  Kade ran past them, knocking him to the side, and screamed, “Zoe!”

  Josh glanced at the other man. Kade hopped into Josh’s SUV and peeled out after the black sports car. The ’Cuda carrying Zoe skidded sideways down the driveway. She straightened out the car and disappeared around the bend in the private road.

  A sob from Mira yanked Josh’s attention back to her. She ran toward the woods.

  “Mira, wait!”

  She shook her head, shifted into her tigress form, and disappeared into the woods.

  A shot rang out. Chunks of grass pummeled his legs. Another blast hit the section of the ground where Mira had just been.

  Josh swung his head in the direction of the sounds. A few hundred feet down the tree line from where Mira had disappeared, he caught a glimpse of a red beard and a plaid shirt. Another gunshot pierced the night, quieter than the last.

  It came from deeper in the woods.

  Josh cursed and chased after Mira before he lost her for good.

  The sound of a gunshot echoed in Mira’s ears. She skidded to a stop.

  Josh.

  She scrambled for footing and turned around. Micah stood a few feet away with the redhead who’d claimed to be Josh’s lover. He held her in his arms with a talon-tipped hand wrapped around the female’s throat. She was naked, bruised, and bloody. Tears ran in twin lines down her freckled face.

  Mira shifted into her human form. There was no use hiding what she was, not when the human’s life was at risk. Mira might not like the female, but her protective instincts rose. Mira knew the pain and shame of being raped. She couldn’t abandon the girl, no matter what the human had done.

  The female’s eyes widened, but a plea for help shimmered in them, not disgust or fear. Mira’s heart cracked.

  Josh skidded to a stop on the opposite side of them, but Micah didn’t face him. Or appear concerned that he was surrounded.

  “Good of you to finally respond the way I intended, sweet Mira.” Micah scraped the sharpened nails of his free hand over the girl’s cheek. Blood ran in thin rivulets off her jaw. “Now do what I say or the female dies.”

  Josh advanced slowly, but Micah laughed without taking his gaze off Mira. “Now, Zeb.”

  Josh stopped and turned a moment before another shot rang out. He stumbled backward. Two more quick blasts and he fell, blood oozing from his chest, stomach, and over his heart.

  Mira screamed and leapt the distance between her and Micah. She swiped at his head with her clawed hand and ripped his throat out. Another pass and his spine shone through the blood and gore. His limp body toppled. She followed him down and ripped his head from his body.

  She pushed away from the dead shifter and ran to Josh. His unmoving body told her the truth. She pressed her fingers to his neck anyway. No pulse. Panic rushed up, stopping her heart.

  “No, oh gods, no.” Tears blurred her vision. She dropped her head to his bloody chest and wrapped her arms around him. “No. You can’t die. You can’t.” She gave him a little shake. “Wake up!”

  No answer, no movement. Nothing.

  He was gone. Dead. She’d lost her true mate.

  Tears rolled down her face. How could he be gone? She didn’t even get the chance to save him. The goddesses took him. In the blink of an eye. They’d dangled heaven in front of her, then yanked him away.

  “Why do they hate me so?”

  And why did she bother asking? She’d known the truth for centuries. The goddesses didn’t care about her happiness. They only wanted her kids.

  No. They weren’t getting them. She’d kill herself first.

  There was a shifter out in Colorado who’d take her head for the right amount of money. Devin had kept his name and number on his cell, just in case the pain of living grew too much. Mira had hated that her twin had sought out the male as a last resort, but at the moment, she was glad. It saved her the effort. One call and she could be put out of her misery.

  Her resolve stronger, she blinked the tears away and pressed a kiss to Josh’s closed mouth. “Love you.” She nuzzled
his cheek. “Always and forever, my mate.”

  The human female shrieked. Mira glanced over her shoulder. Two jaguar shifters were dragging the girl across the ground. She fought them, kicking and squirming. The bigger of the two punched her. She cried out.

  Mira jumped away from the lifeless body of the male she loved and attacked the ones who thought to hurt a mortal. She wrapped her arms around the one who’d hit the female and rolled with him across the ground. He snapped at her. Claws raked her sides. She let the fury, the sorrow, and the injustice consume her. She grabbed his head and twisted. The crack of his neck sounded. His body went limp. Not good enough. She let her talons slip from her fingertips and gutted him.

  Something hit her. She pressed a hand to her belly. Blood met her touch. A dozen more pops sounded, shaking her body. She dropped to her knees. The world swayed. Three more thumps to her torso and she collapsed. Her head cracked against the ground.

  Amber eyes filled her vision. A wolf shifter, one she’d never seen before, pressed his booted foot to her chest.

  “Bind her. Rosco wants the Royal immobile so she can’t kill him when he mates her.”

  “What should we do with the humans?” Another wolf shifter asked.

  “Make sure the male is dead and bring the female.”

  The wolf shifter raised his fist and pummeled Mira’s face. By the seventh hit, the world went black and she knew no more.

  Chapter 34

  Josh opened his eyes and glanced around. The inky mist of the Golden goddess’ realm surrounded him. He pushed up and stood on…four legs. A quick peek confirmed his suspicion. He was in his lion’s form.

  He shifted to his human body with only a thought necessary to bring about the change. No wounds showed on his skin, but the memories of what had happened returned in a rush.

  “Mira.” He had to get back to her. She was in danger. He closed his eyes and opened himself to her, seeking the colorful tether extending from his soul that joined him to her. It was gone, along with the shadow of her emotions that had clued him in to her state of mind. He’d lost her.

  “Look at me, child.”

  He knew that voice. The Golden goddess. He pivoted. She stood before him, exactly as she had in his dream, golden from head to toe.

  “Yes, your dream. It is the only way I can connect to the human world now, and you have denied me more often than not.” The growled words reverberated in his head as if she’d snarled them next to his ear.

  He ignored her irritation and asked, “Mira? What happened? Why can’t I feel her?”

  “I do not know what happened to her. You died and broke the bond you had formed with her.”

  “I’m not dead. What are you talking about?”

  “Not anymore.” She turned her back on him and glided away. “Walk with me, Josh Conway. Your physical body has not yet healed enough to support our soul.”

  “Our soul?”

  She stopped and whipped her head around to glare at him. “Do you think what I accomplished was easy?”

  He didn’t know how to answer since he didn’t exactly understand what she’d done.

  “For over a millennium, we have planned this. My sisters and I have influenced pairings among our children to produce the strongest offspring. Mira’s birth was the culmination of our work. She is our beloved daughter, one of the three children chosen to fix my mistake.”

  “Your mistake?” The distinction wasn’t lost on him.

  The goddess started walking. After a moment, she quickened her pace. Josh hurried after her. He stepped into her path. “What mistake?”

  “Love is a powerful emotion, but so is jealousy. I fell victim to both and damned all the goddesses’ children. I regret my actions, but I cannot change them. It is why I have sacrificed myself.”

  Anger tightened his chest. She still avoided his question. “What mistake did you make?”

  She snarled. “Do not think to question me. You do not need to know.”

  “Don’t I?” He raised a brow. “After that little comment about our soul, I think I have every right.”

  She raised her chin. “Do you know what I am?”

  “Sure I do. You’re—”

  “I am a goddess. More powerful than you can ever imagine. I deserve your respect.”

  “You’re a hitchhiker on my soul. I don’t remember accepting you before you poured that sludge down my throat.” He stepped closer. Maybe he should be intimidated by her, but something told him he needed to establish himself in her eyes. “Now show your host a little respect. That’s what I am, right?”

  The goddess glared at him, lip raised in a silent snarl and anger tightening her features. Several moments passed while they stared each other down before she exhaled slowly, easing the tension between them.

  “Yes. You are my host. That is only one of my sacrifices.”

  Yeah, and that truth freaked him out, just the tiniest bit. He was possessed by a deity.

  “Not possessed.” She wrinkled her nose. “We share a symbiotic relationship, exactly as all alphas do with their family’s spirit, but ultimately you are in charge of your body.”

  He bit the inside of his cheek instead of continuing to argue. It was a losing battle when she could obviously read his mind. Besides, she was right. He’d fought her influence for days without knowing what he was doing. If he didn’t want to talk to her, he could simply ignore her.

  “So this”—he motioned to the inky clouds surrounding them—“is the same as when a shifter talks about their animals’ mystical field?”

  “Yes. I created this realm when Mira was born in preparation for the day the male she chose as her mate could claim it. Now it belongs to both of you and soon it will act as your children’s sanctuary.”

  Protective instincts flared. A sanctuary implied his kids would be in danger. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Your offspring will be hybrids, and this realm will be their second home, a place to shift and take refuge if their bodies are damaged. They will be the link between humans and the shamans I have wronged.”

  He frowned. “Shamans? What shamans? Weren’t they some ancient religious group?”

  She sighed, exasperation laced into the sound. “They were the first shifters and became the fathers of the Royals. Did you not listen to your shifter neighbors as they talked about their origins?”

  They never had, not completely. He wasn’t even sure if they knew more than the basics. “Explain it to me.”

  “The humans called the shamans, berserkers or úlfheðnar. In truth, they were powerful warriors favored by the gods. They fought our battles and settled our disagreements. After a time, the clashing between the shamans became sport. The gods brought them to the heavens for special battles where the gods bet on them, pitting their favored warriors against each other.”

  The goddess gazed off into the distance. “They were strong, primal, and alluring. It was easy to fall for their charms.”

  “You’re talking about sexually, right?” That was one thing he’d learned from the other shifters—Royals were the children of the goddesses and their favored warriors.

  The goddess dipped her head and her golden hair slipped over her shoulder. “And emotionally. Many of the goddesses fell in love with the warriors who found their way into our beds, myself included.”

  “That was your mistake?”

  “My mistake was in denouncing my godly mate in favor of my lover, then tying his soul to mine in the way of a mate.” She sighed. “It worked. Alexander impregnated me the next time we made love. Unfortunately, every goddess who took a warrior to her bed that night conceived a child.”

  “And your mates were angry with you?”

  Her shoulders slumped. “Not with us. I confessed my sin, but the god I denounced refused to believe what I did was out of love. He was convinced that my lover tricked me, so, in an effort to keep us apart, he banned the warriors from the heavens and ordered them to choose a human female to breed with. His ord
er became a heavenly dictate they couldn’t refuse.”

  “And they became the first alphas.”

  “Yes, of their packs, prides, or clans. After my child and all the other goddesses’ children were born, a battle waged between the alpha shifters and the heavens. The mate I had denounced then realized his mistake. Once he cast out the warriors, the gods lost control over them and the race he had ordered them to create.”

  She turned imploring eyes on him. “Our warriors’ offspring and our children suffered at the hands of humans and each other, and there was little we could do about it. The only tie we had to them was through their dreams. Anything beyond that altered the fabric of the world.”

  “Because your words became law, right? Like the command that banned Royal females from taking a non-Royal mate.”

  “Yes. Powerful we might be, but even we make mistakes.”

  “So you limited your visits to only what was necessary to manipulate your offspring.”

  “And you should be thankful we did. Had we not, you would’ve lost Mira permanently, not just for the time it takes for your body to heal its death wound.”

  As much as he hated to admit it, the goddess was right. “I’ll reconnect with her, then?”

  “You are hers. She is yours.”

  He waited for more of an explanation. Didn’t get one. He blew out a rough breath and focused on getting the answers he needed for when he did return to Mira. “And how exactly will our kids fix your mistake?”

  “They will bridge the gap created by my godly mate’s jealous actions, allowing us to connect with the human world the way our shaman warriors once did. Hate has festered. If left unchecked, it will destroy everyone.”

  “So, what? You’ll visit their dreams and tell them what you want them to do?” That would turn his kids into puppets. No way would he stand for that.

  “No, they will not be puppets. They will be peacemakers, and you”—she motioned to him—“will be their alpha, their leader. It will be your word that directs them, no one else’s, not even mine. I won’t even be able to talk to them. Remember, I am joined to you, and as you already pointed out, you can ignore me if you so choose.”