It combines many of the things I love. Ancient Egypt, cat shifters, sexy winged men, Colorado, and a hefty dash of Greek god jealousy. Oh yeah. The Egyptian god of war is also a main character, as he seeks vengeance on those who wronged him.
You can get it on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks, and Google Play.
Redemption has a price. Paying it could cost him everything.
David Michaels is a celibate siren, cursed to never know love and fighting his nature every minute of the day so his brother won't fear him. He knew better than to have a one-night stand with a total stranger. The last thing he expected was to see her show up claiming his little brother is the long-lost next alpha of the Boulder pride.
Megan Kincade, daughter of the Boulder pride alpha, hasn't stopped dreaming about the dark-haired man she slept with in Florida while chasing down a lead on her missing brother. The last thing she expected was to find him living as the little brother of her dream-man--a man with a voice smooth as Belgian chocolate.
Taking his brother back to his pride is the only way for him to live, yet if David reconnects with his symphony, a pantheon war will set Colorado on fire. And he really shouldn't be falling in love with the alpha's daughter.
When David's symphony comes for him, he gives himself up to save Meg and Owen. The love he thinks himself incapable of is the only thing that can save him. Provided Meg can find the courage to defy her pride and save her siren's heart.
Chapter One
It had been seven years,
eight months, and sixteen days since David Michaels wanted to seduce
someone. The woman sitting on his neighbor’s porch, with her purple
hair falling across her shoulders and neck, made every inch of his
body strain to go to her. Made his throat ache to release his siren
song and carry her off.
He slid
out of his SUV and slammed the door hard enough to make her look
toward him. She did. Then stood and poked her head through Dante’s
front door. A moment later, both of them headed across Dante’s
yard.
David
rounded his car to meet them halfway. And froze, breath stuck in his
throat. She wasn’t just any woman, but the one from the hotel bar
in Orlando seven years ago. The one he’d shared his bed with that
night in a one-night stand he hadn’t forgotten. Nights with a girl
were so rare he remembered all of them, but judging by the blank look
on her face she didn’t recognize him. Probably not a bad thing.
Dante
stopped at the edge of the driveway and shoved his hands in his
pockets. David sucked in a breath. “How was your trip?” He didn’t
want to know the answer to his question, but his little brother’s
life depended on it.
Dante
had spent the last week in Denver meeting with the Boulder Pride
leadership to see if Owen had come from there. Being a form-bound cat
shifter wasn’t in doubt. Just where he’d come from. “I have
enough information to believe I’m right. If I am, Owen may be an
alpha.”
David
turned his back on Dante and the girl he knew only as C. Anything but
an alpha. He closed his eyes, beyond certain they were turning red
and would give him away. Owen was his link to emotions, to seeing
humans as people instead of food. Without his brother, David was just
another siren doing anything to feed. Including trampling other
people’s privacy and right to self-determination.
Owen
was also the only person or thing standing between him and a
loneliness so deep it might drive him to do something stupid. On the
other hand, Owen was dying. With months to live, instead of the two
centuries plus he’d have if he were really an Egyptian cat shifter.
A
familiar hand landed on his shoulder. Squeezed. “I wanted to be
wrong, David. You’ve no idea how much. All the evidence says he’s
Owen Kincade.”
“Who’s
the girl?”
“His
sister, Megan. We decided she’d be the least threatening.”
David
opened his eyes. Found his hands choking the life out of the strap on
his messenger bag, talons slicing out between his fingers and digging
into his palms. Better that than lose another bag, especially when it
had his work laptop in it. “Did you tell them anything about me?”
“Just
that you’re very close, and if they want Owen back they have to
accept you as well.”
David
let out a soundless laugh. “Yeah, right. Once they find out what I
am, one way or another I’m dead.”
“Maybe,
maybe not.” The weight of Dante’s hand disappeared. “We should
take her inside and get this over with. Owen’s running out of
time.”
David
faced the girl again. It was her. No doubt about it A little older, a
little curvier, a little more beautiful, but standing with the same
easy grace that should have told him back then she was a cat. He
hadn’t exactly been paying attention to details, though. Kinda hard
to do when lust crowded everything else from his brain.
She met
his stare with a cool, distant one, full of an odd kind of dominance
he’d never seen before. “Megan Kincade.”
“David
Michaels.”
“What
are you?” Megan crossed her arms, cocking her head and continuing
to stare at him.
“None
of your business right now. I’ve protected Owen from our world.
He’s not going to believe this.”
“I’m
prepared to demonstrate.”
“Good.
You’ll have to.” He put his back to her and headed for the front
door. Her dominance had nothing on his, despite the fact she never
dropped her gaze while speaking. He focused on his hands and pulled
his talons back in. The way they came out and curved would give him
away in a heartbeat. He managed to get the door open without dropping
his keys.
Silence
met him. Owen was stretched out in his recliner, both cats in his
lap, eyes closed. David took his bag off and set it on the couch,
then went to Owen and flattened his hand on Owen’s forehead. A
little feverish still.
Owen’s
eyes fluttered. It took him a moment to focus, and one side of his
mouth lifted.
“You’re late,” he whispered.
“The
design meeting got a little heated. Apparently I don’t know what
I’m talking about when it comes to pressure tolerance.”
“He’s
an idiot and you’re a genius.”
David
ruffled Owen’s hair. “Thanks, bro.” He settled on the recliner
arm, unable to hold
Owen’s gaze because of all the pain in it. The
temptation to feed on it was a daily fight, and right now he was off
enough he might give in.
“What’s
wrong?”
“You’re
too perceptive for your own good.”
Owen
swatted at his leg. A very feline move, now that David knew for
certain what he was. Sure, he’d suspected it for several years. But
without proof, he’d ignored it. “You know that trip Dante took to
Colorado?”
“Yeah.”
“He
went out there looking for your birth family.” David looked at Owen
so he wouldn’t miss his reaction. Owen’s reactions tended to
subtle, but David had over fifteen years’ experience reading them.
To him, they were as obvious as another siren’s cloaked wings.
Owen’s
forehead creased. “Why Colorado? I thought I was from here.”
“Dad
suspected how you got here was illegal. You were so scared and
traumatized they couldn’t be bothered to care about the means. You
needed a family to protect you from whatever monsters haunted your
dreams.” Dad knew those monsters were real, but he’d never
figured out what they were.
Owen
shuddered. “The dream monsters are back, David. They’re bigger
now. Scarier. With more teeth.”
“They
won’t get you, Owee, I promise.”
Owen
leaned into him, and David wrapped his arms around his brother’s
shoulders. “Dante really thinks he found my birth family?”
David
held him tighter. This family wouldn’t want him around. They’d
make him leave, tell him to never contact Owen again. By the time
Owen cemented his place in the pride hierarchy, it’d be too late
for David to hold on to the humanity he’d found. “Yes.”
“So
why are you scared? You’re my family, too.” Owen paused. Pulled
back and touched David’s face to get him to make eye contact. “And
why does Dante care about finding my birth family? You’ve never
explained that part of it.”
“I
was honoring Dad’s wishes.” But now he faced watching his brother
die if he didn’t break his promise to Dad. The way he’d watched
his father die. The way Owen had watched their mother die. “But I
don’t want you to die.”
“I’m
too young to die,” Owen whispered.
“I
agree. If Dante is right, you won’t, for a very long time. It’s a
chance I think we have to take.” Finagling it right meant he could
keep the spirit of his promise to Dad, while saving his link to real
emotion and keeping himself from becoming a monster. He shifted on
the arm to ease the metal digging into his ass. “He brought someone
back you might be related to. They’re waiting outside.”
Owen
sighed, and settled into the recliner again. His breathing shifted
into one of his pain patterns. He wore both of his wrist braces, both
ankle braces, and the way he kept his legs said his knees and hips
hurt as well. The rheumatoid arthritis was eating him alive, creating
a cascade of health problems that had required Owen to first give up
working on his accounting degree, then forced him to quit his job. “I
want my life back, David. They can come in.”
David
didn’t move. “There’s one more thing. The world you can
see…it’s not the only one.”
“I
know.”
“You
just think you do. Enjoy this moment, little brother. The world you
know is about to disappear forever.” David left the recliner and
went to the door. Motioned Dante and Megan inside. His fingers itched
to run through her hair, see if the new color changed the texture he
remembered. In Orlando, her hair had been plain old brown. But he
kept his fingers to himself. Giving himself away accomplished
nothing.
She
shook her head. “I’ll stay out here until Dante has filled him
in.”
David
closed the door most of the way and returned to his spot on the
recliner arm, but on the other side this time.
“Hey,
kiddo.” Dante ruffled Owen’s hair.
“I
stopped being a kid a long time ago.” Owen stuck his tongue out at
Dante. “David told me what you think you found.”
Dante
dropped onto the couch, closest to Owen. “I’m as positive as I
can be without a DNA test. There’s a catch, though.”
“There
usually is.”
Dante
bent forward, rested his forearms on his knees, and looked at Owen.
“We have to go out there to prove it.”
Owen’s
hand found David’s. Squeezed so hard David heard his talons
crunching against bone. “Why?”
“Did
David mention to you this world you see isn’t the only one?”
Owen
nodded. David didn’t free his hand. Owen needed it to keep him
grounded. Having one’s world turn inside out wasn’t easy.
“David
and I are part of this other world. So are you. The problem is,
you’ve been locked out of it. To get you back in, we have to go out
there. I need their help to get you back in.” Dante’s gaze
flicked to David for a moment.
“We
can’t do it with them coming here?”
“No.”
Owen
tilted his head to the left. “I’m not sure I believe you.”
Dante
sighed. “I don’t expect you to. That’s why I brought your
sister back with me. You probably won’t recognize her, but she’ll
recognize you.”
“I
was a little kid the last time she saw me, if she’s my sister.”
Dante
stood. “She’ll know. Trust me, Owen. Please.”
Owen
looked to David. He wanted to tell him no, he didn’t have to trust
Dante. Didn’t have to let this woman in. Didn’t have to accept
his birth family might want him back. But the price of that answer
was Owen’s life. David squeezed Owen’s hand again. “He’s
right.”
“Fine.”
Dante
went to the door and opened it. Megan Kincade sauntered in like she
owned the place, her gaze fixed on Owen. David had to remind himself
to keep breathing. Nothing good could come of his being attracted to
the daughter of one of the most powerful shifter alphas in the world.
He’d
sworn to Dad he’d protect Owen no matter what. Twice already he’d
failed. A third time was not going to happen. No matter what it cost
him along the way.
Owen
stared at her. Leaned forward a bit in his chair, but didn’t
release David’s hand. And David didn’t pull away. They faced
things together or not at all. “Why do I feel like I know you?”
“Because
you do.” Megan perched on the edge of the couch, in the space
closest to Owen. “Your cat recognizes me.”
Owen
shook his head. “I don’t have a cat.”
“Yes,
you do. It’s locked inside you and can’t get out.” She held her
hand out, palm up, claws extending from her fingertips. “I have one
too.”
Those
hands knew his body. Had done magical things to it and left him
bordering on incoherent.
Owen
ran his index finger across her palm, and up each finger to touch all
five claws. Claws coming from her fingers marked her as Egyptian,
whereas David’s talons between his fingers marked him as Greek.
Owen
pulled his hand back. “Prove it.”
Megan
stood, went to the hearth, closed her eyes, and the shift happened in
an instant. One millisecond she was a human woman with purple hair,
wearing jeans and a Disney t-shirt. The next she was a sleek, tawny
cougar with amber eyes and brown-tipped ears. Owen gasped. David
didn’t move a single muscle. She was magnificent. And just as
beautiful in cat form as she’d been in human form. Every part of
his body went up in flames with the need to feel her fur.
Super
bad idea.
“This
can’t be real,” Owen whispered.
Megan
took a step toward Owen. David leaned forward, eyes narrowed, vision
tinted red. Shit. His eyes were turning again and giving him away.
The list of creatures whose eyes went red was very short, and none
were welcome in Egyptian shifter lands. Megan stared at him and her
own eyes narrowed, in response to his going red, no doubt.
No one
was hurting Owen, least of all a member of the family who hadn’t
spent the last twenty-two years searching for him.
“Easy,
David. She means no harm.”
David
transferred his glare to Dante. The fact they could communicate
telepathically meant Dante had god blood in him. But he guarded his
true identity with the same zeal as David did his. “You’re not
the one with a sworn oath hanging over you. I wouldn’t change it
for anything, but you know what’ll happen to me if Owen gets hurt.”
“If
she makes a move on him, I’ll flash her out before she can make
contact. Happy?”
“Yes.”
David returned his attention to Megan and Owen. She now sat at his
feet as he scratched her head. When he stopped to rest his hand, she
rubbed her cheek on his pants. Her purr filled the room.
The
next sound made him snarl inside. Owen’s purr, for the first time,
was audible. Owen put his hand to his chest. Looked at David, his
eyes wide and the rings of brown and blue in them being swallowed by
the green. Also a first. Meg was reaching his cat. “Why am I
purring?”
David
sucked in a deep breath and held it a moment. His inner siren—the
one no one alive had ever seen or ever would see—screamed for
blood. Owen’s purr belonged to him, not Megan Kincade or Dante.
Owen’s sub-vocal purr soothed his siren madness and provided the
harmonic resonance his bones needed. It wasn’t to be shared with
anyone.
But
Owen’s cat seemed to think otherwise, and it was a good sign of his
cat still being alive and able to get out. “You’re purring
because you’re a cat.” He leaned in. Whispered.
“You always
purr when I hold you. You’ve just never heard it before.”
Owen’s
hand cupped his neck and held him in place. “I can feel something
scratching at my mind, like it’s trying to pull a wall down.”
“That’s
exactly what’s happening, Owen.” Dante knelt in front of him and
put his hands on Owen’s knees. “Your cat knows Megan, knows she
can help free him from his prison.”
“How
can this be real?”
David
kept his attention totally on Owen. He had to ignore Megan’s
presence or he’d end up going for her throat. “Cats have always
followed you. Remember? They do whatever you ask. They protect you.
Strays were always following you home. You remember the zoo field
trip when you were twelve?”
Owen
nodded. “The lions laid down when I looked at them. And the
leopards, the jaguar, the cougar, and the tigers. But why?”
Dante
let out a low whistle. He’d never heard the story before. “You’re
not just a cat, Owen.” He paused a moment. “The evidence says
you’re an alpha. Every animal you encounter knows it. Whatever was
used to bind you into human form is so well done, I had no idea you
were alpha until your father told me you were showing the signs.
There are no alphas your father trusts to take his place. If we don’t
get you home and freed, your pride will be torn apart by internal and
external war.”
Owen
leaned into David. “I don’t want that much responsibility.”
“You’ll
grow into it.”
Owen
shook his head, then collapsed against the back of the recliner, eyes
closed. David pressed his palm to Owen’s forehead and grimaced.
Spiking fever. “You need to go. He’s exhausted.”
Dante
stood. Megan’s cat disappeared and she once again became the woman
who heated David’s blood past boiling. Really, he had no business
being so attracted to someone from another pantheon. Besides, a happy
ending was impossible for him, even without that little wrinkle.
He
watched them leave. Megan threw one last glare at him over her
shoulder before Dante hauled her outside.
“Are
they gone?” Owen whispered.
“For
now.”
Owen’s
eyes fluttered open, and he stopped trying to hide the wheezing
taking over his lungs. “Why have you never mentioned any of this?”
“Dad
made me promise not to. He thought it’d be safer for you.”
“Why?”
David
shrugged.
“Are
you a cat too?”
“No.”
He stood. Sitting on the recliner arm for one more second might split
his tailbone.
“It’s safer right now if you don’t know what I
am. Dante does, and he won’t let anything happen to me.”
Owen
narrowed his eyes and frowned. “You told him, but you won’t tell
your own brother?”
“He
guessed. I’ve never willingly told anyone what I am. It’s too
dangerous.”
Owen’s
frown relaxed, but didn’t go away. “For you, or the person who
knows?”
“Both.
Once you’re capable of protecting yourself, I’ll show you what I
am and what I can do.”
Owen
lifted his left hand, pinky extended and his other fingers folded
against his palm. David swallowed a sigh and hooked his left pinky
around Owen’s. “Promise. But when you’re alpha of one of the
biggest prides in the world, you don’t need to go around making
people pinky swear with you.”
The
last vestige of the frown disappeared in the light of Owen’s smile.
Which David met with his own. These were the moments he lived for,
when Owen’s illness disappeared and he was once more the
happy-go-lucky little brother who’d died the day he found their
mother dead in her bed.
“I’m
hungry. Then I need to get in the hot tub for a while.”
David
nodded and left Owen in the recliner while he put supper together
from the week’s leftovers. If they were heading for Colorado, he
needed to get the fridge cleaned out.
He
sagged against the stove. Colorado. Shit. The one place Dad had made
him swear to never go back to. And the one place he had to go to if
he wanted his brother to live.
