Awakening The Shifter

“Exactly. It’s a big responsibility. But shifters living in the human world are peaceful. Conflict is rare. The other way a human can convert is voluntarily.”

“Really?” Sarange couldn’t imagine a situation in which that would happen. “Do you guys hold recruitment drives?”

He laughed. “No. When a human falls in love with a shifter, he, or she, might choose to take the bite of his mate.” Ah. A little bit of electricity crackled through the air briefly. “But I believe I was born a shifter.”

“You believe it? That sounds like you don’t know.”

“I don’t.” He was on his feet again. Restless, noiseless, stealthy. Opening the blinds to peer out at the darkened yard. Rearranging the utensils on the rack. Taking the knives from the block and testing their sharpness against his thumb. “I don’t know anything about my early life.”

Sarange slid from her perch on the high stool and went to him. Standing close, she reached up a hand and ran it through the thick mass of his almost-dry hair.

Khan ducked his head, pushing back against her touch, a smile curving his lips. “I know what you’re doing.”

“You do?” She hadn’t thought about what she was doing. Had just acted on impulse to try and soothe him.

“You’re stroking me.”

“So I am.” She continued the movement, pushing her fingers through his hair, watching in fascination as he visibly relaxed.

“Just so you know—” his voice was almost a purr “—catnip doesn’t work.”

She laughed. “I’m glad you told me.” She looked into those incredible eyes. “Can you talk about it?”

He hunched a shoulder in a half shrug. “There isn’t much to talk about. I was rescued from captivity by Ged about ten years ago. I can’t remember anything before that. I don’t even know exactly how I came to be captured.”

As he spoke, every part of his body tensed once more. She could hear the pain in his words, felt each one being dragged out of him. “I know Ged is you manager, but what else does he do?”

Without knowing it, she had found the right question. At the mention of his manager’s name, Khan relaxed. “Did you ever read the stories of the Scarlet Pimpernel?”

Sarange wasn’t sure where this was going, but she nodded. “He was the fictional hero who rescued French aristocrats before they could be sent to the guillotine. He pretended to be a bumbling Englishman, but in reality, he was a quick-thinking escape artist.”

“Ged is the shifter version of the Scarlet Pimpernel,” Khan said. “By day he is long-suffering rock star manager Ged Taverner. By night he is a werebear who rescues shifters from danger.”

Sarange shook her head in an attempt to clear it. “This night keeps getting stranger.” There were still so many questions that needed answers. She decided to start with the obvious. “Those men who came into the house earlier? They were also shifters. Do you know who they are?”

“No. They are werewolves, but I’ve never seen them before. I didn’t manage to catch up with them to find out why they were here, but they’ll be back. It’s the wolf way. Tenacity is in their blood. Once they have a mission, they won’t give up.” His eyes scanned her face as though seeking a response.

What do you want from me, Khan? I know nothing about werewolves, but you’re looking at me as though I have the answer. I don’t even know the question.

“And now that they know what they’re up against, they’ll reinforce the pack.”

Sarange cast a scared look over her shoulder. “What shall we do? They’ll tear my human security guards apart.”

Khan stretched his arms above his head. “Right now? We’ll get some sleep. They’ll need time to regroup. Wolves don’t do anything spontaneously.” His smile managed to reassure her and heat her blood at the same time. “Tomorrow we’ll bring in a few reinforcements of our own.”

* * *

While Sarange slept, Khan walked the house and grounds, learning the layout. Getting to know his territory. He had napped briefly, but he was conscious of danger nearby, threatening his mate.

Tigers don’t mate for life.

It was an insistent little voice in his head, warning him to keep his distance. He didn’t need any more warnings. This whole situation couldn’t get any more screwed up. He was a shifter who couldn’t remember anything prior to his rescue ten years ago. Sarange didn’t even know she was a shifter. To make things worse, they were from different species. Just about as opposite as two beings could get. Unfortunately, no one had told their raging hormones about the obstacles. The instincts drawing them together were stronger than anything driving them apart. As if we were free to mate and be together for life. The thought caught him hard in the chest, knocking the breath from the lungs. It wasn’t a good idea to indulge in if only. And at some point, he was going to have to tell Sarange that. How the hell he was going to begin that conversation, he had no idea.

Tigers don’t mate for life, but shifters do.

That was the problem. Now that they’d found each other, he had a feeling there would never be anyone else. For either of them. How do you tell a werewolf, who doesn’t know she’s a werewolf, that she can’t mate with a tiger? Those cute internet pictures of domestic cats and dogs snuggling up together? Not the same thing as lifelong mates. Lions and hyenas? Leopards and jackals? Tigers and wolves? It didn’t happen.

Oh, hell. I need Ged here. This is a halfway-down-the-second-bottle conversation.

Luckily, Ged was on his way. When it came to reinforcements, there was only one group of people Khan trusted. Beast members bickered their way around the world. Their competing egos didn’t allow for true friendship. Khan knew he was a big part of why that was true. Put a tiger at the center of any group and the grandest of the big cats was always going to stake his leadership claim. Khan shook his head. The idea that he would ever back down and let anyone else take his place was so ridiculous it wasn’t worth considering.

There were other big, alpha male personalities in the band. The next fight was always only a snarl away. The peacekeepers—Ged and Torque—had their work cut out, particularly when Khan and Diablo clashed. But when it mattered? Khan would trust his bandmates with his life.

“Let me get this straight.” Ged was used to getting “bail me out” calls from Khan at any hour of the day or night. Even so, his voice had been a sleepy rumble. “We were due to fly back to New York at noon. Now you want us to change our plans. Instead of working on the new album, we’re going to move into Sarange’s house and take an extended vacation while we do bodyguard duty.”

“There are plenty of recording studios in Los Angeles,” Khan had said. “We don’t have to stop working.”

Just as Khan had known he would, Ged had agreed. Because that was how it worked. No questions, no explanations, no protests. His friends—because that was the closest word he could find to describe what they were—would have his back. And when the time came, Khan would do the same for them. When Ged brought Beast together, they had been a collection of lost and damaged souls. Each of them had a horrific story to tell. Joining the band had been their rehabilitation. Maybe it was their redemption.

As Khan walked through the grounds in the early morning light, the foul werewolf stench of the intruders lingered. It was strange how that worked. Khan hated the smell of werewolves. Even in their human form, he could barely stand to be in the same room with them. He had built up a sort of immunity to the scent of his bandmate Finglas. He could tolerate his aroma, without liking it. Almost as if the guy wore an obnoxious cologne. So why was it that Sarange smelled like the sweetest thing in the world? She was a werewolf. Khan should detest her scent. Instead, he couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted to nuzzle her, sniff her skin, lick her all over...

He looked up at the balcony that led to her room, picturing her asleep in that big, ridiculously opulent bed. He couldn’t help the leap of joy his heart gave every time he thought of her. Dogs and cats. Had there ever been a time in the past? Could the first time be now?

Those werewolves had come after Sarange for a reason. Why now? What was going on in her life right now that meant four werewolves wanted to abduct her? Diablo would sneer at Khan’s first thought.

“The world does not revolve around you, Tiger Boy.” It was Diablo’s favorite phrase.

Diablo was wrong, of course. And Khan delighted in telling him so. “Try telling the world that.”

Right now, when he was examining what was happening to Sarange, Khan’s entry into her life was one thing that could have triggered the werewolf attack. Why? He had no idea. He was simply considering the possibilities.

The only other things he could think of were the Animals Alive campaign and Sarange’s determination to save the blue wolves. Again, when it came to trying to establish a link between either of those things and the intruders, Khan came up with a big, fat nothing.

He was tired of thinking. It was still early. The world wasn’t fully awake. There was only one place he wanted to be. Up close to Sarange. Pressed so tight against her even a sliver of light couldn’t get between them. That sounded like a plan. Breaking into a loping run, he retraced his steps back to the house.

Chapter 6

Sarange had given orders to her housekeeper, Henry, about rooms and food, and requested that Marco liaise with the manager of the gated community about the tour bus. People always assumed that she was a loner, but that wasn’t her choice. Sarange liked having others around her. Being alone was just the way her life had worked out.

Having Beast around? That was going to take some getting used to. It was like her cool, luxurious home had been turned into a snow globe. Shaken up, it was now a blur of noise and color. In addition to Khan, there were now five other big, muscular men taking up every corner of her space. They had been there half a day and she was already tripping over guitars, boots, jackets, empty take-out boxes and beer bottles. They didn’t seek each other out to have a conversation. They yelled from one end of the house to the other. And they spoke in a strange shorthand only they understood. One minute they were snickering at jokes no one else was part of. The next, they were exploding with rage over an imagined slight.

“We are an acquired taste.” Torque, the lead guitarist, smiled at her with sympathy in his unusual eyes. Just when she thought they were dull and gray, they appeared to change color, reminding her of opals as they shimmered with iridescent light.

“After what’s happened over the last few days, I’m happy to acquire it.”

It was true. She’d take noise and mess if they brought her safety...and Khan. Although she still wasn’t sure what benefits Beast brought over a team of security guards. Khan had admitted that Ged was a shifter. Did that mean...? She cast a sidelong glance in Torque’s direction. If he was a shifter, she couldn’t figure him out. What was his alter ego? Something with quicksilver movements and lightning reflexes.

“Dragon.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s what you were wondering, isn’t it? I’m a weredragon.” Torque grinned at her dumbfounded expression. “But don’t worry, I promise not to burn your house down.”

She was still wondering if he was joking when Khan called the band together in the sitting room, outlining why they were there. He turned to Finglas. “Have you heard anything about these guys?”

Finglas gave a long-suffering sigh. “You say that as though I hang out in werewolf bars, or I have wolf informants.” Khan frowned and Finglas held up a hand in a gesture of peace. “No, I don’t know anything about these guys. But werewolves who are prepared to draw attention to themselves by going on the attack? That’s not normal.” He turned to Sarange. “And they all looked alike?”

“Identical. Their hair was a medium brown color, their eyes were light—sort of a golden brown—and they all had the same features. I got a good look at them. Both times.”

“And they’re not a pack you know?”

Sarange frowned at the strangeness of the question. A pack she knew? Just how many werewolves did he think she was familiar with? Being a lycanthrope himself, Finglas possibly thought everyone had shape-shifter acquaintances. Before she could answer, Khan took the conversation in a different direction.

“These guys didn’t come here to rob or kill Sarange. They were trying to abduct her. Someone wants her. I brought you here to protect her, but I need to find out who that someone is.”

“That’s a dangerous move.” Ged’s deep, calm voice held a warning note. “If you want information, it means when they come back we have to keep at least one of them alive. Even then, getting a werewolf to betray his leader won’t be easy. A wolf’s loyalty is second only to its stubbornness.”

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