Westmore Wolves Series: Shapesifter Collection Bks 1-5 Read online

  “Large latte!” Sage called out and snapped a lid on top of the cup and a sleeve onto the base. She placed it onto the counter and readied the next beverage in the lineup.

  The steady pace kept her mind off of her impending weekend plans. The Gathering had always been an annual event the hot young single wolves went to in search of being the Alpha’s next fling or at least a hook up with someone with a decent werewolf pedigree. Many a shifter had found their mates at a Gathering. Previous attendance had always been voluntary. That worked for her. No fuss. No muss. No thank you. Not this year. It was mandatory. As if she had time to go traipsing off into the country for a weekend with her long lost furry extended pack mates.

  She’d rather drink poison.

  There was only one man she’d go there to see and she sincerely doubted he would even remember her. A girl with a whisker popping problem and a head hard enough to go against Justin’s prize wolf. And then the freak got away. It was then she made her decision to change her name and lay low. If she revealed herself, the odds of Justin’s pet franken-wolf finding her was even higher. So she changed everything she could about herself, but the nightmares remained.

  Sage remembered holding the girl Jess while they were in the cage and watching in horror as her father was torn apart. Damned if she didn’t realize what was coming for her if she came out as part of the pack. And she hadn’t. Until now. She didn’t have a choice. The only difference this time was she wasn’t a scared little kitten.

  The television mounted on one of the walls in the corner of the room flashed a scene of a news crew in front of the Alpha’s palatial residence. Billionaire bad boy werewolf seeks mate. The swarm of women pouring through the mansion’s front doors was mind boggling. It was like The Bachelor, but with fur and fangs.

  She started to laugh out loud, and then she realized she was going to have to be there. On camera. With countless gold diggers elbowing their way inside. God. And Justin’s monster—if he was still out there.

  “Shit.” She rested her hand on the counter, the espresso she’d just queued up pouring down into the grate. It was a damned circus and it was a risk she had to take. She busied herself making the small latte and placed it on the counter for pickup.

  Her server Jo hustled by with a fresh pan of Full Moon cakes, leaving a whiff of delicious pastry in her wake.

  “Regular latte!”

  Shifters hadn’t been out of hiding for long and here was another scandal in the making, nice and hot for the media to chew on like the nasty vultures they were. There were still those who likened shifters to animals, and so many hesitated in outing themselves for risk of negative publicity. At least she didn’t have that hanging over her head. She’d been exposed long ago and now with Hot Whips doing so well, she was a respected member of the community and she intended to keep it that way. Pretty kitty with a penchant for baked goods. And coffee. How people loved their coffee.

  The marked cup for the next order was placed in front of her and she got started on the drink, grateful to have something to focus on other than her crazy mixed up life. Two of her servers scrambled by in Hot Whips’ signature pink tee shirt and jeans, arms laden with baked goods and cellophane wrapped to go cookie packages for the counter.

  “We need some more chocolate chippers, Suki!”

  Her right hand and assistant manager swept out from the kitchen, the soft sounds of Helen singing at the three compartment sink in her wake. A towel was tucked into the belt of her apron. An attractive Asian girl with pink hair and a penchant for food anime pins and jewelry, she got to work prepping the oven and setting the pans. She was also a lynx shifter and she’d been an instrumental process in Sage’s healing. The girl was like a sister. She learned a long time ago that family was what you made it. The entire café was practically a live version of the Island of Misfit toys and she kind of liked it that way. Pretention out, real in.

  Hot Whips had started from nothing and over the last few years, she’d formed it into a finely run machine. Complete with a full bakery selection made in house and a unique selection of drinks not available at the national chain coffee shops popping up on every corner, the Café was her heart and soul. Her adopted mother would have been proud.

  A pang of loss hit her and she blinked away the sting of tears. God but she missed her mom. Wolves didn’t get sick. Not usually—but then again, their mates didn’t usually get killed trying to illegally murder the pack Alpha in an unsanctioned challenge. They were the same pack who later looked the other way when she’d been publicly humiliated during the resulting media circus for abuse allegations against Justin’s estate along with several other women. She may have been a lone kitty shifter in a world of wolves but her parents loved her like she was their own.

  There had been no peace. That had been six years ago. And now the powers that be wanted to stir things up with a mandatory meat market for all the available singles so the new Alpha could find a mate. Was he that hard up that he needed a gala to get a girl? Jesus. She may not be wolf, but she was still bound by pack law. Raised all her life in the Westmore pack, she had little choice but to obey. Kitty or not. Even though she’d changed her name, pack ties still applied. She could just go and get it over with on her own terms or…

  Better that than them coming to find her.

  Just thinking about it made her cheeks tingle.

  Oh, God. Not now.

  Her compulsive nervous whisker popping hadn’t been a problem lately but rehashing the past was the one thing guaranteed to trigger a relapse. And the other reason…the muffin man hottie. The dude came in every morning around eleven to get a box of pastries. He was a dream. She’d caught the scent of some kind of shifter, but with her nose acting up, she couldn’t have been sure just what kind. But those eyes. God, they’d been a-freaking-mazing. And the muscles that moved underneath the sweater he wore. What she would have given for a chance to feel those pecs.

  The first time he’d come in was a few months ago. She noticed a trace of his scent first. It was so much like the mystery man who saved her, she stopped in her tracks and spun around expecting… what? A prince charming come to rescue her from coffeedom? Not a chance. He gazed at her through his sunglasses from across the pastry case, his muscular bulk filling the space and what did she do?

  She whisker popped. Right in front of him. He’d been so stunned, his mouth had fallen open. Sage had been mortified. She was supposed to be a strong, independent woman. To hell with her past. To heckle peckle with assholes who thought it was cool to kidnap girls to get back at their parents. She was over it. She had her café. She had Suki, Jo and…and… tattoos by God. She was a kitty. Hear her roar. But on that particular day, roaring was out and a muffled “Eeep” was all she uttered before retreating to the kitchen.

  He’d felt like home. The liquid voice that whispered in the space between them had been something sentient and it scared the holy living shit out of her. So whenever she saw him coming now, she hightailed it upstairs until his car was long gone. There was no way she was going to risk her new found peace for a sexy ass in a tight pair of jeans. Even if those thighs did look like they could keep up with her all night long.

  Cold water.

  Ice.

  Puppies.

  Granny panties and Margaret Thatcher.

  Okay. Better.

  She left the pack to keep safe and sane.

  So why in the hell were they bringing in all the females now? It didn’t make sense. To pick out a woman like that had to be near impossible.

  And now her dreams were twisted nightmares that ended with her in the arms of her wolf. A wolf with Mr. Muffin’s face—when she actually saw one that is. She let him soothe her and stroke the sweaty hair from her brow. He fucked her and filled her, playing her body like a steel band guitar. His face was obscured by the shadows but what she did see was his eyes. And slowly, over the last few weeks, she’d woken with an urgency to find him that was slowly driving her mad.

  That was it.
She was finally cracking up. The stress was getting to her. That and the desire to have something pulsing between her thighs that didn’t require batteries. It would be smart to finish her shift and get on the road. By the looks of it, traffic was going to be a bitch.

  Her thoughts drifted back to her mother. She died of a broken heart after her father had been shot during the foiled assignation attempt. Now more than anything, she wished she had her to turn to. The closer she headed toward twenty-five, the urge to mate was nearly impossible to resist. But she didn’t want to make the same mistake her mother did and let nature dictate the rest of her life.

  And it didn’t. Mostly. But lately, the tick tock on her biological clock was getting louder than normal. But that’s what work was for. To drown out the voices in her head and in her body. Hordes of the uncaffeinated spilled through the doors every day keeping her busy until she went home and collapsed. It worked. Mostly. Until her dream lover visited her and she woke, sweaty and calling for a man she’d likely never meet.

  Blocking out the past was a necessity.

  She hadn’t been back to the main pack grounds in years. Not since the new Alpha had taken over. To be forced to do it now gave her nerves a twinge. But she wasn’t the same shy girl she’d been then. She glanced down at the wolf winding its way down her arm surrounded by bright colored flowers and smiled. She’d embraced the Rockabilly style of her new home and went with it. And it reminded her of her mysterious wolfy savior because as much as she wanted to remember his face, she couldn’t. All she could see was his fathomless gray eyes.

  She wiggled her nose again as the threat of kitty whiskers tickled under her skin.

  “Hey, Sage. Did you bake blueberry muffins?”

  She glanced at Suki, her assistant manager and grinned. “Not yet. Do we need some more already?”

  “Yeah. The firemen were just in and cleaned us out.”

  “Again? Wow.” Sage chuckled. “I think one of them wants to ask you on a date.”

  Suki wrinkled her nose. “No way. I have a girlfriend. So…you going to the party?”

  “Ugh.” She rolled her eyes and pulled out a tub of disposable plastic ware to fill it for the next onslaught. “It’s not like I have any choice.”

  A sly look came over Suki’s face. “You know...kitty shifter at a wolf party. They won’t be expecting you to come.”

  “Of course they will. My family was pack and that includes me, adopted or not.”

  “They’re anticipating a demure piece of stick insect arm candy looking to suck up to the Alpha for a chance to be the next head bitch in charge.”

  “Ha. Right again.”

  Suki fingered one of her smiling egg pins and nibbled on her lip thoughtfully. “You could just go, make an appearance and perhaps even find some sexy shifter to hook up with for the night.”

  “Most men don’t want to bother once they see the tats and the curves.” Her Rockabilly style remained her armor and she was sticking to it. Alone was good. It was better than being a victim. The bite marks from the wolf freak’s attempt to force her to be his mate were covered. Every damned inch. Each piece of ink she got reminded her that pain meant she was alive.

  “You could go find that hottie that comes in here every Tuesday. I swear that man is after more than your muffins.”

  Sage laughed. “I like the way you think. Never trust a skinny baker or an Asian girl with pink hair. But don’t get any ideas. I’m too busy for a man in my life.” She wouldn’t admit that muffin guy was hot. Cause he was. And he made her think of the only other person she’d ever connected with like that, but it was during one of the darkest moments of her life, and she couldn’t remember much about it. More like impressions but that was fine with her.

  Strange though that she’d been thinking of those eyes more and more lately. And his scent…that woodsy earthy smell that surrounded him when he’d held her. It was clean. Fresh. Whole. Like she was outdoors running, in full shift.

  Home. Before Justin had torn their family apart. When she still remembered what it felt like to be free. But smelling his scent, she remembered. It was just a shame he always wore sunglasses. It would have been nice to see his eyes.

  Her cat perked up at the thought of him, rubbing up against her in excitement.

  Stop it, you insane feline. It’s been six years. No way he even knows you exist.

  The cat growled and retreated to a far corner of her mind, glowering at her with bright green eyes.

  “Too busy? You never go anywhere.”

  Her mind slammed back into the present, and she wiggled her nose to shake the whisker itch that had just erupted with that impromptu trip down memory lane.

  Suki was right. As usual. But that didn’t help right now when she had to go play kitty Cinderella at a wolf man ball.

  Sage waved at the girls and headed upstairs, Suki in tow. She whipped off her old jeans and Hot Whips shirt and tugged on some skinny jeans with sparkles on the ass and a new vintage design tee she’d picked up at the local outlet store. The mottled grey color and the rhinestone studded skull made her smile.

  She yanked her overnight bag on wheels out of the closet and whomped it onto the bed.

  “You really think I should hook up with someone?” Sage tugged two dresses out of the closet and traipsed back toward the bed. “Black or red?”

  “Both.” Suki’s nose wiggled and she took her lip between her teeth. “And yes. I do.”

  “I don’t see the point. I’m happy with my life.” Sage’s lips slid into a frown. “I have you and the girls downstairs. That’s enough to keep me busy.”

  The lynx shifter smiled. “Sometimes you need a little more than just enough. Go find yourself a man and get your freak on, girlie. Me…I have some muffins to bake and a hot girl waiting for me at home.”

  “I love you, you know that?” Sage wrapped her arms around Suki in a hug.

  “I know. Now get out of here and have some fun. Remember, the baddies are gone. Maybe you’ll even see twinkle eyes there.” Suki gave her a quick squeeze and pushed her toward the door.

  Sage snorted. “It’s safe. At least I think so. But finding him? I doubt it. It’s been six years. The guy has probably moved on and had a litter of pups by now.”

  “You’ll only find out if you go, chica bean.”

  “Wish me luck.” Sage snapped up her suitcase and purse and made her way toward the door.

  “Are you kidding me? I feel sorry for the other women. They don’t stand a chance.”

  Chapter Two

  The Hot Whips Café was Carrick’s haven away from the insanity of his life. He’d been not much more than thirty when he stepped up to aid his father in ending the tyranny that had enveloped his pack. Young for a wolf. As his second in the Challenge, he had the right to take the place if his father fell during the battle. And he had. Despite the anguish of losing his sire, Carrick pressed on. Justin’s second had fled, never to be seen again.

  Just as well. He would have had even more of a mess to clean up. His thoughts were drawn back to what he found when he stalked the halls of the Westmore pack headquarters. He recognized things weren’t right with the Alpha but never had he imagined the horrors he found when he entered the basement holding cells of the big house. Women chained to the floor in rags stared at him with fear in their eyes. Men shackled to walls, some in wolf form and others trapped mid shift. It made him want to vomit.

  He had his second free them and begin the process of healing their battered bodies and minds. It would take many of them years. But the one image that haunted his mind was the young woman secreted in the cage with his sister. A cat shifter hidden among the wolves. He scented her before he saw her, unprepared for the hunger that ensnared him as he took in the too thin waif with the cascading mop of black hair and rose petal lips. Even dirty as she was, the scent of baked things clung to her. No. Not just baked things…cinnamon scones.

  His mate.

  His wolf discerned it for the truth it was. He reco
gnized her. But the human in him rebelled. No. He couldn’t have found a mate in that place. But he had. And he didn’t even know her name.

  Fury rippled through him at the thought of this beautiful creature and the abuse she must have suffered at the hands of the monster that lay dead in a pool of his own blood alongside his father.

  The fucker deserved it. And then some. So did Michael, but where that asshole had escaped to was something he’d spent a lot of time trying to find out.

  Their eyes met and the need burning inside of him hardened his cock and softened his heart. She was his and one day soon, he would come for her and make things right. But first she had to heal.

  Even then, the wolf recognized his mate. He should have insisted on going with her but he’d given in and let the women take her. He’d been searching for his mystery woman ever since. He learned her name and that of her father, shamed and vilified for trying to take matters into his own hands when his daughter was attacked the first time, leaving her alone to face the onslaught that would come of both media and Justin. He’d also learned about the land the council had wanted to take from him and his wife, putting the family in the direct path of the council’s vengeance and Justin’s rage.

  Her mother had died soon after and she had vanished. So here he stood, drawn to this coffee shop in an effort to forget things that might have been. Picking a mate out of the sea of women didn’t even appeal. None of them had the violet eyes and sweet scent of the woman who wandered his dreams at night.

  The event was little more than a dog and pony show designed to topple him from his position as Alpha. Trouble was brewing. He’d lost his most trusted staff over the course of the last four weeks. And there had been a break in on the south side of the property last night. Foolish, whoever it was. Reid had let him know but their attention was quickly diverted to the upcoming Gathering. Had the two instances been related?

  It wasn’t like his senior staff to not communicate with him, but one after the other, they just stopped coming in. Now the estate was in chaos, in full view on the human media and whatever hidden enemy was currently stalking him. It couldn’t be happening at a worse time and he had a strong suspicion it was no accident. Whoever was behind the disappearances had much to gain from making him look like a fool.