Sean had drawn a family tree—actually two of them. Names in minuscule type covered the page, connected by thin, curlicued lines.
Above one tree was the word McNaughton. Above the other, Dimitru.
Zander picked out Mason’s name, along with Broderick’s and their two other brothers’ under the McNaughtons. In the Dimitru line, he recognized the name Kenzie, who was the mate of the leader of the North Carolina Shiftertown.
Near the bottom of each tree was a name: Lillias McNaughton under the one on the right and Andrei Dimitru on the left. A double dash connected these two and a small vertical line led down from them to the name Rae Dimitru.
Rae stared at the name, her face draining of color. Slowly she reached out and touched the ornate, old-fashioned handwriting.
“Is this me?” she asked, her voice breathy.
Zander had turned the tube upside down and shook out the second piece of paper he’d heard rattling in there. He snatched it up as it fell, unrolled it, and skimmed the words. “Looks like Sean wrote an explanation.” He held out the paper to Rae.
Rae shook her head, raising trembling hands. “Read it to me. I don’t think I remember how right now.”
Zander leaned back on the table while Rae continued to focus on the names, and began.
To Rae Dimitru:
When Broderick told me he thought you might be a relation and Zander said you’ve always been curious about your heritage, I took it upon myself to research it, a task made much easier once I knew where to start. Your Guardian had looked into your parentage long ago, when you were found, but no one could discover anything about you at all.
At last, I learned that the McNaughton clan had a scandal a hundred or so years ago, when Lillias defied her pack and ran away with one of the Dimitru pack, a Romanian wolf called Andrei. I couldn’t find the exact circumstances of their meeting, but both clans at the time lived in the old world—the Dimitrus in Romania, the McNaughtons in Scotland and France. Somewhere Andrei and Lillias crossed paths, fell in love, and took each other as mates.
From what I can understand, both Dimitrus and McNaughtons opposed the match—I have not been able to find out why—and the pair fled to America with a huge wave of other immigrants. They lived together in the wilds of Canada in bliss, until Andrei was killed by hunters, likely mistaken for a wild wolf.
Lillias was heavy with a cub at the time and she brought it into the world, but she was weak and passed soon after, leaving the cub alone. The cub wandered, looking for someone to take care of it, when it was found by Eoin Lyall and his friend, the Guardian, Daragh O’Sullivan. The little cub knew its name was Rae and nothing more.
I figured out where Rae Dimitru stands in the lines of both clans and printed this out for you so you can see for yourself.
The line of McNaughton contains Guardian blood, the clan having produced four Guardians over the centuries. I also found a curious story—almost a prophecy, if you will—that when the need was greatest, the Goddess would touch one of Guardian blood, female like herself, to help the Shifters against a coming storm.
I don’t know whether this story is true or just Shifter mystics babbling. Maybe the Goddess simply got fed up with us asshole male Guardians and decided to get one right for a change.
Whatever is the case, the cub called Rae Dimitru grew up to be a strong young woman who fell in love with a crazy bear named Zander Moncrieff. And they lived happily ever after.
The End
Rae’s eyes were wet when Zander folded up the paper. His own eyes stung, but he only said, “Sean is so full of himself.”
Rae wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “He says he printed it out? This is handwriting.”
“The Guardian Network is a weird place,” Zander said. “You’ll see that now that you can get into it.”
“Not right now,” Rae said, flustered. “Let me get used to this first.” Something on the paper caught her attention and she frowned and leaned down to peer at it. “Look at this.”
Zander followed her pointing finger. Next to Rae’s name, though it hadn’t been there a moment ago, letters appeared that spelled out: Alexander Johansson Moncrieff (Zander). Below that was another vertical line that led to the words, Fill in the blank.
“He really is a shit,” Zander said.
“Sean is wonderful.” Rae turned to Zander and rested her hands on his shoulders. “He just gave me a family. Another one, I mean.”
Zander cupped her waist and pulled her firmly against him. “I don’t know—I’ve heard those Dimitrus can be crazy. Crazier than me.”
Rae smiled suddenly, warmth bursting through gloom. “I can go meet them and see for myself.”
“And then I’ll introduce you to my clan, and we can decide who has the insanest in-laws.”
Rae’s eyes sparkled like sunlight on the sea. “I can’t wait.” She threw her arms all the way around him. “Thank you, Zander.”
Zander smiled into her skin as he lifted her and held her tight. “Sean did the legwork. I hope you don’t thank him this way.”
Rae pulled back, still in Zander’s arms, and touched his face. “I know you told Sean everything and had him start looking. Don’t say you didn’t, because I know better.” She kissed Zander’s lips, her mouth warm. “Thank you,” she repeated.
Zander’s heart throbbed with the mate bond. “You’re welcome, love.” He’d do anything for this woman, including fly up and pluck down a rainbow to wrap herself in if she wanted it.
Rae kissed him again, the mist in her eyes clearing as mating heat returned. “It’s nice up on deck,” she said casually.
Zander thought about making love to her under the stars, watching the moonlight in her eyes.
If they could reach the deck. Zander turned around with Rae in his arms, his body tightening, his frenzy leaping up and blotting out all other thought.
They made it to the stairs. By that time, Rae was pulling off Zander’s clothes and her own. Zander lifted her and pressed her against the wall, thrusting into her in the narrow space. After that, they more or less fell out onto the deck, where they reached for each other again, Rae’s hands hot on Zander’s skin, her kisses firing his blood.
Zander slid himself inside her once more, under the blazing spread of stars, Rae’s smile more beautiful than the sparkling constellations. Her breath was warm, her fingers strong as she pulled Zander down into her.
My mate. My love. My life.
“I love you, Little Wolf,” Zander said, his voice hoarse.
“I love you too.” Rae’s grin blossomed, her look going sly. She curled her fingers on his backside and started to laugh. “Big-Ass Bear.”
Turn the page for a sneak peek at the next book in the Shifters Unbound series
RED WOLF
Coming soon from Berkley Sensation
“Come on,” the Lupine Shifter drawled. “Show us what you can do, C-c-c-coyote.” He exaggerated the stammer, his eyes full of meanness.
Not Coyote, asshole. Red Wolf.
Dimitri knew he’d never say that without mangling it, so he gave the Lupine a universal sign with his third finger.
The crowd around them roared with laughter. The Lupine was naked, and so was Dimitri, as they both stood in the cement-block-lined ring in the open-walled barn that was the fight club. Dimitri had never seen the Lupine before, but that wasn’t surprising. Shifters came from all over South Texas and beyond to try their luck in the ring.
The refs for this fight—a jaguar called Spike, a huge bear named Ronan, and a wolf called Corey—backed away, clearing the space around them. “Fight!” Ronan said in his giant Kodiak voice.
The Lupine struck immediately. His Collar, the chain that in theory kept Shifters subdued, sparked like crazy. The Collar that lay around Dimitri’s neck was fake and did nothing.
Dimitri opened his arms and caught the Lupine in mid spring. The Lupine changed to wolf on the way, and Dimitri went down under a writhing, snarling, biting gray wolf.
r /> Dimitri rolled with the impact, digging his fingers into the Lupine’s fur. He avoided the claws, teeth, and sparks from the wolf’s Collar as he kicked and shoved the Lupine off him.
Dimitri didn’t like to shift too early in the fight. When he did that, his wild tendencies tended to take over. He had no Collar to suppress him and fighting frenzy came easily. He wanted like anything to best this asshole, but if Dimitri let the frenzy come, he could kill the Lupine before anyone could stop him.
Dimitri rolled to his feet. The wolf rushed him, but too recklessly. Dimitri had time to sidestep, grab the wolf, and use the Lupine’s momentum to send him flying to the other side of the ring.
The Lupine skittered, face down, into the low cement wall. The crowd who’d bet on Dimitri laughed and cheered, loving it.
The Lupine’s friends booed. “Man up, fucking coyote!” someone yelled. “Fucking coy— Oof!” The Shifter’s grunt of pain was lost in the noise, but Dimitri saw him quietly fold up.
He grinned. Jaycee was here.
She appeared just outside the wall in sweatpants and a tank top that hugged her curves. “Kick his ass, Dimitri!” she yelled. “Or I’ll come in there and do it myself.”
The crowd’s boos turned to her. “Keep your woman under control, coyote,” someone shouted.
Dimitri didn’t respond, waiting until the refs made sure the wolf was still in good shape to fight. If the jeering Shifters wanted to take on Jaycee, good luck to them. Their funeral.
Dimitri waited in the middle of the ring, lacing his fingers and stretching them, brushing dirt aside with his bare feet. The wolf’s claws had raked his side, but not deeply, the cuts barely stinging.
Ronan said something to the wolf, then he nodded and backed off. “Fight!” Ronan called.
The wolf sprang instantly. Dimitri knew he wouldn’t fall for the sidestepping trick again, so he reached out, grabbed the wolf around the neck as he leapt onto Dimitri, and started squeezing.
Claws scrabbled on Dimitri’s bare flesh. Dimitri felt his shift come, his beast instinctively protecting itself. The wolf’s claws met fur, though Dimitri’s hands remained hands as he became his between-beast.
The two went down in a tangle of dust, claws, and teeth. The Lupine’s Collar sparked hard, the electric arcs singeing Dimitri’s furred flesh.
The Lupine’s gaze went to Dimitri’s Collar, which lay dormant. Dimitri slammed the wolf to the ground with his between-beast strength, then became fully wolf.
Let the jackass call him coyote now. Dimitri savagely bit and clawed, and the wolf bit and clawed in return. They rolled in a ball of fur and teeth, hitting the wall and then rolling away. Dimly Dimitri heard the crowd roaring, and his mate’s shout.
“Dimitri, get him!”
Dimitri rolled the wolf over, pinning him with his large red wolf paws. His wild state was taking over—it told him to kill the threat and walk away. Only a lifetime of discipline allowed Dimitri to tamp down his instincts and remember this was a fight for enjoyment. Not real.
The wolf snarled his rage. He knew he was losing, knew he’d underestimated the odd-looking red-furred wolf with the stammer.
Dimitri opened his jaw to go for the Lupine’s throat. He was aware of the refs’ feet—two pairs of motorcycle boots and one pair of running shoes—surrounding them. The refs would call the fight and pull Dimitri off before he could kill the Lupine. Maybe.
Dimitri struck. At the same time, he felt a prick in his belly, like a claw had scratched him, then a strange lassitude filled his brain.
It wasn’t quite like a tranq, which could knock out a Shifter in a few seconds. Something like a calm peacefulness stole over him, one that made Dimitri want to back off the wolf, let him go, maybe embrace him when they regained their feet.
He looked down at the wolf, who had half shifted back to human. The man-beast wore a self-satisfied look.
Drugging an opponent was against the rules. Hell, it wasn’t even done when fighting in the wild.
“You t-t-total b-b-b-b . . .” Dimitri couldn’t get the word out.
The refs hadn’t yet caught on that there was something wrong. Only a second had gone by, though it was stretching for Dimitri. The refs were giving Dimitri a chance to finish the fight, or for the Lupine to throw him off and continue.
He heard an uproar at the side of the ring, but he couldn’t make out what anyone was shouting. Words slurred into one another, and Dimitri’s grasp of English deserted him. Russian started going as well. Pretty soon, he’d be only able to growl in wolf.
A streak of fur zoomed into the ring. The refs reached for the leopard who’d sprung in, trying to stop her, but she writhed and twisted away before they could grab her.
She pushed between Dimitri and the Lupine, slamming her strong paw to the Lupine’s half-beast face. The Lupine must have had only one dose of the drug, because he shifted back to full wolf and started frantically fighting the leopard.
The leopard sprang straight into the air, as only cats can, and the wolf’s teeth snapped on nothing. The leopard landed behind the wolf, grabbed him by the scruff, and shook him. She growled as the sparks from his Collar went into her mouth, but she didn’t let go.
The ref, Spike, with jaguar speed, went for her. Before he reached her, the leopard shook the wolf one more time, dropped him to the ground, and smacked him with her paw. The wolf went limp.
Spike as jaguar planted himself in front of the leopard, his ears flat, his fangs bared in a snarl. The leopard regarded him in disdain, sat down on her haunches, and delicately licked one paw.
Dimitri rolled over onto his back, trying to laugh his ass off. It came out a wavering wolf howl.
Some in the crowd laughed, loving it. The rest of them were roaring in fury, even the humans who’d come out to watch Shifters fighting each other.
“The match is a draw,” Ronan said in his big voice. He sounded regretful.
“Stupid bitch ruined the fight!” a Shifter yelled.
“’S why women aren’t allowed in the ring,” another chimed in. He was bolstered by many voices shouting agreement.
“Get her out of there!” another suggested.
The crowd surged forward. Two Lupines hauled themselves over the cement blocks and went for the leopard. Spike was right there, planting himself in front of one, but the second made it through, the other refs too far away to stop him.
Whatever drug had laid Dimitri out faded and died as he saw the threat to his mate. He surged up, heat burning away the last of the sedative, and he rushed in a low wolf run to the Lupine heading for the leopard.
Jaycee had turned around, facing the second Lupine with a leopard snarl. Dimitri bowled her over, sending her, surprised, to the dust, and then launched himself at the Lupine.
The Lupine, still in human form, went down. The crowd cheered or booed, and then they streamed forward to join in the fight.
Dimitri’s instincts changed from protective rage to alarm. The Shifters were blowing off the rules and storming the ring, becoming a mob. Humans gleefully joined in.
When Shifters didn’t stop themselves, they became destructive killing machines, uncaring who they took down with them. That was what they’d been bred for centuries ago, why the Fae had won so many battles with Shifters in the forefront.
Dimitri whirled for Jaycee, driving her back from the crowd, herding her with snarls and snaps of teeth out of the ring on the other side.
Jaycee had a hot temper and could be reckless, but she was no fool. She ran out ahead of Dimitri then shifted back to human form, rising into a beautiful naked woman.
Dimitri tamped down on his need to admire her full breasts and the curve of her hips, her wheat-colored hair that was always messy, and her tawny leopard eyes. She rubbed Dimitri’s fur in a quick stroke, then moved off to make sure the more vulnerable humans and young Shifters got out of the way of the now-crazed crowd.
The Shifters didn’t care that their original target had just walked away from them
. They started fighting the refs, Dimitri, each other.
Ronan had gone Kodiak bear, the huge creature bellowing as he shoved wolves and wildcats out of his way. Spike was fighting with the honed swiftness of a Feline, taking down Shifters with one strike each. Spike was the number-one fighter of this fight club for good reason.
The third ref, a wolf called Corey McNaughton, was younger than the others, less experienced. Dimitri put himself with Corey, snarling and fighting, protecting as he battled.
The place became chaos. Dimitri fought in silence, anger making him fierce. If the police came, they’d all be screwed—tranqued, rounded up, possibly killed. Dimitri’s Collar was fake, as was Jaycee’s. Other Shifters from Dimitri’s enclave also had false Collars, which they put on when they had to interact with humans. If the humans in authority found out about the fakes, they’d all be up shit creek. This riot had to cease.
Shifters in fighting frenzy, though, were all but impossible to stop. This was what the humans feared—Shifters out of control, going on killing rampages, slaughtering humans and taking over. Stupid, because there were far many more humans in the world than Shifters, and Shifters rarely worked themselves up into this kind of collective frenzy. But right now, he could understand their worry.
Dimitri tripped over the Lupine who’d been his original opponent, the one Jaycee had knocked out. The Lupine was coming around, human now, and Dimitri shifted back to human and hauled him to his feet.
Dimitri shoved the Lupine toward a relatively calm part of the ring. “Get out of here,” he snarled at him, speaking with the clarity he achieved when his emotions were at their most intense. “Asshole.”
The Lupine gave him a look of sly amusement. What the hell was so funny, Dimitri didn’t know. He pushed the man to the side of the ring and over the blocks.
The Lupine turned to study Dimitri from the other side of the low wall. “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “You’ll be perfect.”