Shifters storm, p.1
Shifters Storm, page 1
SHIFTERS STORM
A CASCADE COUGARS NOVEL
TIA DIDMON
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Epilogue
Also by Tia Didmon
About the Author
Shifters Storm
* * *
Copyright © 2021 Tia Didmon
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner
whatsoever without the express written consent of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations
in a book review.
* * *
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either products
of the authors imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living
or deceased, or actual events is purely coincidental.
* * *
I love hearing from my readers so please contact me at:
https://tiadidmon.com
* * *
Other books in this Series
Virgin Mate
Enter The Lair
Hunter’s Passion
Shifter’s Eden
Cougars Christmas
Wild Seduction
Feral Attraction
Shifters Storm
Cascade Cougars Box Set
* * *
Sign up for my Newsletter and get your FREE
copy of Dragon Rules!
CHAPTER 1
Nicholas Cascade stared at the dancing raindrops. The tinted windows of his SUV added to the darkness, but his somber mood prevented him from admiring the beauty of the night. His mother was declining rapidly and if they didn’t find a solution soon, he would lose both his parents.
The drive to Florence had only been a few hours, yet he hit Hunter’s contact on his phone.
Racheal picked up on the first ring. “Hey Nick.”
While she attempted to sound upbeat, her voice wavered. His brother’s mate was every bit as worried as he was. “Hey, sweetheart. How are things going?”
Static crackled on the line before she spoke. “Not good. Marie had a dizzy spell after you left. She was unconscious for twenty minutes. It’s getting worse.”
Nick closed his eyes. Thunder and lightning shattered the night sky, mimicking Nick’s mood. “I just arrived at the Kallan’s Florence facility. I’ll check it out, but there hasn’t been any activity in months. As soon as I’ve confirmed that hasn’t changed, I’ll head home.”
Rachael’s voice dropped an octave. “Garrett, hacked into Cortez labs, to see if Camilla has an antidote that will help Marie.”
His eyes snapped open. “Garrett can break Jordan’s encryption?”
“Not exactly. Ari gave Garrett an opening. Before you ask, we don’t know why he is helping us. Cortez will kill him if she finds out.”
Nick blew out a breath. “Never thought we’d have a Kallan assassin on our side.”
“Me either,” she sighed. “At this point, we’ll take what we can get.”
“Okay, I’m going to check out the facility now. I will text Talen when I’m done.” He ended the call, putting the phone in his glove compartment. He’d been careful to park a few blocks away from the building.
Sparse shrubs grew along the fence of the facility. While late, he walked like a man out for an evening stroll. He hummed an upbeat tune as his cat’s senses flared, mapping the night air around him. The sound of a diesel engine starting had him pausing at the facility’s entrance. He stepped behind a tree when a security guard rounded the building.
Only a shifter with cat eyesight could see the flak jacket beneath the uniform and the strap hidden beneath the guard’s jacket. While he couldn’t see the weapon, knowing Kevin Kallan, those bullets would disable a shifter.
Nick removed his clothes, folding them behind a tree by the fence. He tucked them under a large root at the base of the trunk. His cat was on alert as his claws sprang from his fingers and fur slid over his body. His bones cracked and reformed in seconds. The pain, a welcome retreat from the fear and uncertainty surrounding his mother’s fate.
His claws ripped into the bark as he scaled the tree. Roped muscles flexed under the tawny fur of his coat. Powerful hind legs propelled him to the top limb before using it as a springboard, leaping over the electrified fence. He landed on all fours, sprinting toward a large truck, ducking underneath for cover.
The facility had been empty three days ago. Now, it appeared as if Kevin never left. The loading bay was teeming with activity. They backed two trucks into the cargo bay with several employees wheeling wrapped cartons into the facility. Their nemesis was moving back in.
With the flurry of activity at the rear loading dock, Nick made his way to the front entrance. He was about to shift to his human form when a guard exited the door. As the man walked down the steps, Nick darted inside.
He had memorized the layout from his brother’s previous incursion. He used his superior eyesight to inspect the video cameras, but none of them were active. It was only a matter of time before Kallan got the building security running, so he planned to take advantage while he could. The sound of Kevin’s voice had him moving down the hallway.
He paused at the door with a glass window.
“I have run out of time. If this continues, I will be forced to confront Jordan,” Kevin snapped. The roll of a chair on cement echoed in the hallway.
Why would Kevin confront Jordan and not Camilla Cortez? Nick wished he could bust into the office and demand the answers he needed but killing Kevin before he identified the serum given to his mother would cause her death and that of her unborn child.
His ears perked as Kevin approached the door. “Start the testing now. I’ll inform her when the time is right.” He punched the button to end his phone call.
Nick darted down the hallway and out the door. He reached the bottom step when a man rounded the building. He smiled as a aimed his weapon. “Here, kitty kitty.”
Nick hissed and swiped the ground aggressively.
The man laughed. “We both know you’re not a real cougar. Cut the act. I will have you in a holding cell hooked on shifter meth in less than an hour. Say goodbye to your freedom.”
Nick ran towards the tree, sprinting as fast as he could, but he smelled the differences in the soldier’s scent. The soldier possessed enhanced reflexes and agility, but decay and death were inevitable. As fast as Nick was, he couldn’t outrun a bullet.
The pain radiated through his hind leg, making him stumble and roll before he made it to the low tree limb that grew over the fence. He sprang onto the branch, gripping with his front claws as his rear legs struggled for traction. Shouts echoed in the night before the thud of boots stomped the pavement, signaling he’d run out of time.
White floodlights pierced the night as the facility gate slid open. The truck emerging from the driveway blocked his route to his SUV. He darted down an alley, scenting lions, tigers, and cougars. It wasn’t until he caught the scent of hay and elephants, he realized the zoo had reopened.
Shifters hated cages, and he had agreed with the animal-rights activists who had forced the zoo to close. They must have lost the lawsuit. Allegations of animal cruelty needed proof. With enhanced soldiers on his trail, the array of various animals was the perfect place to hide. His scent would go unnoticed amongst other animals.
The empty walkways lined with steel cages and animal enclosures were the last place he expected to find safe haven, but as he stumbled, a second dart pierced his stomach. He went down hard, sprawling on the cement as the man approached.
He wore a brown uniform with the zoo logo on his shoulder. His tranquilizer gun was standard issue and normally his shifter metabolism would have expunged the sedative, but his bloodstream couldn’t rebound from Kallan’s poison. His tongue lolled out as his cat gasped for air.
The man clicked the mic attached to his shoulder. “One of the cats escaped its enclosure. I tranqued it, but it appears to be having an allergic reaction. Get Evie down here, now.”
Ice cut through his veins like glass. When the guard turned to speak into the mic and survey the surrounding enclosures, Nick reached for his human form. While he could picture his human form, his body refused to obey. The opportunity to escape passed as the young woman with long blond hair and iridescent blue eyes approached. If she wasn’t a veterinarian, he would’ve assumed her much younger with the freckles that dusted her cheeks, but as she smoothed his fur and checked his breathing, he could tell she was accomplished at her craft.
Evie turned to the guard. “This cougar isn’t one of ours. There’s no tag on him.”
The guard held his hands up. “Don’t pin this on me. I saw a cou
Evie huffed. “Their animals, not specimens.” Her voice dropped an octave, forcing Nick to focus on her every word. “Hey baby, you’re beautiful. You look healthy. Where did you come from?” Her hands continued to move over as fur. Her scent infused his soul, taking away the pain. His cat growled in his ear as he slipped into the darkness. Mate.
CHAPTER 2
Evie’s legs almost buckled under the cougar’s dense weight. Mark, the security guard, had offered to help her get the cat to one of the examination rooms. They both struggled to maneuver the large feline down the private hallway.
The animal’s fur was soft and warm, and his talons had retracted when she picked him up. It was like the big cat was concerned about scratching her. While she had an affinity with animals, she was conscious that they remained wild.
They grunted as they pushed through the door to the examination room. Then put the cat on the steel table beside the sink. It scattered a clipboard and several files on the counter. Remnants of the project Evie was working on prior to Mark’s call. Evie’s x-ray screen lit with an outline of a back bear’s broken femur.
After they positioned the sleeping cougar on the table, she turned to Mark. “Why did you shoot him twice?”
Mark shook his head. “I only shot him once. I didn’t realize he had been tranqued by someone else until after he went down.”
Evie put her hands on her hips. “I don’t know how he made it this far, but I’m assuming that tranquilizer disorientated him. Is there any chance he escaped a transport truck en route to us?”
Mark went to the wall and pulled down the clipboard. “There’s no intake record for a cougar.”
She shook her head. “Then someone is poaching. You can go. I’ve got this.”
Mark raised an eyebrow. “You want me to leave you alone with a rebel cat. We don’t know where it originated from.”
She huffed. “I have enough anesthesia to knock out an elephant, let alone a cougar. I will be fine.”
Mark’s eyes hardened. “Fine, but I’m notifying Ulrich you’ve taken in another stray.”
Evie returned her attention to the cat. “You do that.”
Her voice dropped to the soothing low tones used with her patients. “You are in exceptional shape. I don’t think you’ve been caged before.” She pulled up his lip to examine his teeth. No stains or debris marred its perfect incisors. There wasn’t a mark or scratch anywhere on his fur. Cougars were territorial. They fought often. This was a cougar in his prime, but every inch of him was perfect.
Her cougar was a mystery, and one she planned to solve. While she always had a unique connection with animals, this one was different. The urge to protect the sleeping cat was almost primal. “Let’s take a blood sample and see what those jerks injected you with.”
She put on her gloves, unwrapping a sterilized needle, when Ulrich burst into the room.
“Evie, what the hell are you doing?” he demanded.
“Good evening to you, too. What does it look like I’m doing? I’m about to take a blood sample.”
Ulrich stepped up to the table. He ran a hand through black hair speckled with grey. While older, Ulrich was in phenomenal shape and looked much younger than his fifty-plus years. “You need to relinquish care of this animal. I will have a team here in twenty minutes.”
Evie put a blue gloved hand on the cougar’s chest. “You’re not taking this cat anywhere until I assess it. It’s unconscious and has been dosed with multiple tranquilizers. It could be in respiratory shock. I don’t care who was trying to acquire it before, it’s mine now.”
Ulrich rubbed his mouth. “Evie, you don’t know who you’re messing with right now.”
Evie stepped back. “Are you threatening me?” Her disbelief and disappointment in her mentor was like a vice on her chest.
Ulrich held up his hands. “No, I would never do that. Kevin is very particular about the animals he allows on the premises. We just reversed the court injunctions against the zoo. I don’t want any more issues with the city.”
She let out a long breath. “If it gets out that someone was hunting a cougar on zoo property, we’ll have more than a court injunction. We will have lawsuits up the wazoo.”
A bead of sweat trickled down Ulrich’s temple. “I think it best if we get the cougar off zoo property as quickly and quietly as possible.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I realize that I’ve only been fully licensed for three months. If you don’t trust me, then I’m not the right fit here. Please tell me if this is the case.”
Ulrich shook his head. His skin had taken on a pale look as if he were nauseous. “You’re exactly where you need to be. I will run interference with Kevin until you confirm the cougar is safe to transport.”
Evie had always wondered how she had ended up on Kevin Kallan’s radar. She had assumed that Ulrich had brought her to Kevin’s attention, but now she wasn’t so sure. “What’s the deal, Ulrich? Kevin offered me this position a year before I graduated. There had to be applicants with more experience.”
Ulrich wiped the sweat from his brow. “Kevin chose you personally. You have a way with animals. It will distress him that you’re putting yourself in danger with... this.”
Evie huffed. “We deal with large cats every day. Why would this one be any different?”
Ulrich stared at the cat. “I am concerned about its origins.” He motioned the needle. “Take a sample and give it to me. I will expedite the results so we can counteract the tranquilizer in his blood.”
She wanted those lab results, but Ulrich’s nervousness concerned her. Still, she had no idea what was in the cat’s bloodstream, so she inserted the needle under the fur and withdrew one vial of blood, before handing it to Ulrich.
He took the sample and left.
She leaned down to her patient. “Well, that was weird. You’re getting me in trouble, aren’t you?”
The cat opened his deep blue eyes. Pain. Forgiveness. Commitment. His eyes conveyed a world of wonder, sucking her into a vortex of emotion before it blinked and closed its eyes.
She took a long breath. “I can’t believe you can open your eyes. You shouldn’t be able to move at all.” She removed her gloves to run her hand over his fur. “You are gorgeous. I don’t care what Ulrich or Kevin says. I have a nice little female named Lotte I’m going to set you up with. Someone is hunting you. I think you will be safer here. I have a nice pen all ready for you. And we have a great medical and dental package.” She chuckled at her own joke, but the cougar huffed as if insulted.
She glanced at the x-ray machine. “Hold on, cute stuff. I’m going to take some x-rays to ensure there’s no internal damage.” She went to the screen and pulled off the old x-rays, before grabbing the blanket to cover the parts of the body she wasn’t x-raying. She sterilized the blanket from the last patient, then positioned it on the cat before exiting the room to activate the x-ray machine.
Her heart stopped when she re-entered the exam room to find the cougar gone.
She should have called Ulrich, but part of her was happy the cat escaped. Still, she needed to make sure Ulrich hadn’t interfered. She dashed down the hall, checking all the rooms before exiting the building.
Evie strolled down the walkway that would team with children during park hours. Lamp posts illuminated the cement pathways with steel railings that herded the crowds toward the main attraction.
She was thankful her cougar would not be part of it. Her perfect specimen had disappeared as mysteriously as he had arrived. “Goodbye, sweetheart.”
