A Shifter's Heart Read online

  A Shifter’s Heart

  A Gritty Urban Fantasy Novel

  Raven Steele

  Ava Mason

  A Shifter’s Heart

  Rouen Chronicles Book 10

  * * *

  A novel by

  Raven Steele

  &

  Ava Mason

  www.RavenSteele.net

  * * *

  This is a work of fiction. Names characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  This book may not be reproduced in whole or part, by mimeograph or any other means, without the permission of the Publisher. Making or distributing electronic copies of this book constitutes copyright infringement and could subject the infringer to criminal and civil liability.

  * * *

  Cover design by Covers by Juan

  Printed in the United States of America

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  Copyright © 2019 by Raven Steele and Ava Mason

  All rights reserved

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Preface

  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

  Conclusion

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  Other books by Raven Steele:

  Other books by Ava Mason:

  I choose you. And I’ll choose you, over and over and over. Without pause, without a doubt, in a heartbeat. I’ll keep choosing you.

  * * *

  – Unknown

  Preface

  The moment Briar and Angel were introduced into the world, readers have been begging for more! The bond between the two was undeniable and unintended. But the more Ava and Raven wrote, the more they knew Angel and Briar were fated mates. Briar was the only who didn’t recognize the bond for what it was. Angel has known all along.

  * * *

  To enhance your reading experience of this novel, please download a FREE short story told in Angel’s point of view about his and Briar’s first encounters together.

  * * *

  Grab a copy of Her Angel here

  or type in

  https://BookHip.com/WDNNLW

  * * *

  And for even MORE of Angel and Briar, text 'ava briar' to 474747 to read an extra steamy scene between this power couple.

  Chapter 1

  Angel

  I felt it the moment Briar entered the room much the same way my body reacted to the sun setting: senses invigorated and hunger burning deep within my loins. But it was a different kind of hunger.

  She came in after me, walking down the long aisle toward the front where she'd be able to see Samira the best. When she passed, I lowered my hand to the side of my chair. My knuckles just barely brushed her leg, but that contact filled me with such fire, I had to grip the chair to keep from going after her.

  As if she'd sensed the contact, she glanced back at me briefly. She probably didn't realize it, but when our eyes met, our heartbeats synchronized. As long as we were in each other's presence, it would always be that way. One day she'd realize that.

  I inhaled the scent of her wake, wishing I could exist in her sweet amaretto smell forever: juicy cherries with a hint of almond. Her flesh tasted just as good. The memory of her on my tongue still made my taste buds feel like they were feasting on a five-course meal. Sure, it had only been to heal her, but that didn't mean I hadn't taken my time or had not taken great pleasure in the act.

  Briar sat down next to Luke two rows in front of me, her body tensing. I'd been there in that atrium when she'd learned the truth about him. He'd conspired with his mother to take the Abydos before anyone else could steal it. I believed him when he said his mother was supposed to meet him with the Abydos in hand. He truly believed she wouldn't betray him, her own son and Alpha.

  But she had.

  And Briar was understandably furious. Luke should've told Briar. Instead, he gave up the location of the only possession Briar had ever cared about. Luke had broken her trust, something she didn't give easily. I hadn't even earned it yet, but I planned to.

  Luke reached over and squeezed her leg. She shoved his hand away. Part of me was glad to see them fighting. It was much easier to stomach than watching him touch her, kiss her, love her. That was my job. And yet, the other half of me hated that Briar was hurting right now. She had opened herself to Luke, and he had betrayed her.

  "You're quite fond of her, aren't you?" Adelade whispered next to me.

  I glanced down at the small woman sitting next to me and smiled. "Is it that obvious?"

  "You try to hide it, but I can feel the bond between you two."

  My gaze shifted to Briar. "I only wish she felt it, too."

  Music began to play, a ceremonious song I hadn't heard since Sersi was made president a few centuries ago. Samira rose to her feet and walked toward a narrow podium. She looked different somehow, and not because she wore a dress the color of thin ice floating along the ocean. She almost seemed to radiate light.

  I tried to pay attention to the words Samira had to pledge in front of everyone, but my focus kept drifting back to Briar. The way her chest moved up and down with every breath, the way her jaw muscle ticked as if her emotions were flickering between anger and happiness. Her fingers played with stray threads at a tear in her jeans on her thigh. She'd hook her fingers around them then tug up only to repeat the process over and over. Images of her doing the same thing to a certain body part of mine plagued my thoughts.

  Grinding my teeth together, I forced my gaze away from her and instead focused on Mateo. The heat racing through my veins cooled. My best friend watched Samira's every move, his face in awe. Finally, he'd found happiness. He and Samira deserved it. They'd been through so much.

  The ceremony ended. Luke and Briar left together, much to my dismay. I turned the opposite direction, pretending my stomach wasn't clenching. I hated seeing them together. It literally caused me pain like I'd never experienced before. That's why I left weeks ago. I'd only returned when I learned Mateo had gone missing.

  After he was discovered, I almost left again, but my gift of seeing the future, the one only Mateo knew about, had urged me to stay.

  My psychic gift had been dormant for hundreds of years until I met Briar. Then it roared alive, bombarding me with images and emotions, mostly about Briar and our future together.

  And recently, it had shown me a glimpse of Briar. Broken. Hurting. Emotionally scared. I wasn't sure what had caused it, but I had a feeling that pain was coming for her soon, thanks to Luke.

  Mateo found me in the hall. He pulled me aside away from all the bodies filing past us. "When are you leaving?"

  "Soon. We need to try and catch Trick's scent."

  Mateo glanced down the hall toward the entrance. I followed his gaze to where Luke and Briar spoke heatedly in the corner. "You'll be alone with her."

  "Yes."

  He gripped my shoulder. "I want you to be as happy as I am now. You deserve it."

  "I wouldn't say that."

  Just then Briar caught my eye and motioned me forward.

  Mateo patted my back as I passed. "Stay in touch."

  I maneuvered my way through the still crowded hallway until I reached her. Luke was gone.

  "You ready to go?" Briar asked me, averting her gaze. She rarely held mine for long. I think it made her uncomfortable for me to stare at her so intensely. That's why I continued to do it.

  "Should we start at Fire Ridge?" I asked and followed alongside her to the front doors.

  "That's what I'm thinking. Trick had some belongings there she would've grabbed before splitting town."

  Feeling rage rolling off her, I glanced at her sideways. "What do you plan on doing to her when you find her?"

  "I'm going to tear her throat out."

  Luke came out of nowhere as if he had been watching us from some secret shadow and blocked our path. He glared at Briar. "Don't you dare lay a finger on her. I'm her Alpha and will deal with her accordingly."

  Briar tightened her mouth, holding back what was probably a string of curse words. When her mouth finally parted open, she said, "Get out of my way."

  "I mean it, Briar," Luke repeated. "I'll deal with my mother."

  I stepped between them and shoved Luke aside. I held open the front door just behind where Luke had been standing. "After you."

  Briar walked through it and hurried down the few steps to the long driveway. I barely managed to keep up with her.

  She whirled around, her arms wrapped tightly around her. Moonlight captured her tanned face in its grasp, illuminating her golden eyes. "Can you drive?"

  I motio
ned to my bike just behind her. She waited for me to get on first, then slid in behind me. Her arms came around my waist. Her hands were trembling, and she gripped them tightly together as if to conceal the fact from me.

  As soon as we were on the road, punching through the darkness, I let go of one of the handles and held her hands to my stomach. She sighed and relaxed into my back.

  This was just the beginning for her. The pain she would experience would be great, but I'd do my best to soften the blow.

  We arrived at Fire Ridge before most of the others. They were probably staying at Blutel Estate for the big celebration following the ceremony. Free booze. Good looking men and women, all sexually charged. Who would refuse it? I know I'd taken part in my fair share of huge supernatural parties. They didn't happen often.

  Briar unhooked her leg from the motorcycle and moved away from me. Her heart beat furiously, falling out of sync with mine. I frowned and turned around, leaving the warmth of my bike.

  "Are you okay?"

  "I'm pissed."

  Her pain bled into me. "And hurt."

  "I don't get hurt." She backed up, then tilted her face to look up at me. I could get lost in her gaze, drown in her anguish. It was so painful to see, and yet, so exquisite the way she looked at me. As if she wanted me to take her away from everything.

  "Everyone gets hurt."

  She finally tore her gaze away from me to look beyond, toward the edge of the forest. Her lips pressed together in a firm line. "I'm such an idiot. I trusted him."

  "He's the idiot."

  Her gaze shifted back to mine and her throat bobbed, her voice a breath of a prayer. "Please don't look at me like that."

  "Like what?" I raised my hand to lightly run my fingers across her cheek. She closed her eyes.

  "You know what I mean." Her voice was so soft, I could barely hear it and yet, it feathered across the palm of my hand. She cleared her throat, her eyes opening to reveal dark pupils full of desperation. Desperation for what, I didn't know. "I don't know what's going to happen between me and Luke."

  "And?" I lowered my hand to grip the side of her hip. Wanting, needing, to be closer. I inched in, lured in by her pain and vulnerability. I ran my thumb in gentle circles across her flesh, trying to comfort her. She subconsciously leaned towards me, only a breath away.

  "I need you to respect boundaries."

  "And how do I do that?" Everything in me was drawn to her; I couldn't stay away. Not when she was in so much pain. Not when she needed help getting the Abydos back. Not when she needed me most.

  "You can start by not touching me."

  Still keeping distance between us, I leaned forward until my mouth was less than an inch from her ear. "Like this?"

  I inhaled deeply. God, she smelled so good, so tempting. I snaked my tongue out and drew her earlobe into my mouth.

  "That's touching," she moaned, pressing her palm to my chest, her hand clasping my shirt.

  "It's not. It's sucking, and I'm very good at it."

  The sound of a motorcycle backfiring shot across the landscape. She sucked in a breath, suddenly stilling, then she gently but firmly pushed me away. She gave me a pleading look. "Don't do this, Angel. I need you as a friend right now and nothing more. If you can't be that, then I need to ask someone else to go with me."

  I growled low in my throat at the thought of someone else going with Briar. I allowed myself a beat, a slow breath, then I opened my eyes. "I will do whatever you wish." She looked away and I took her hand, pulling her towards the mansion. "Come. We need to find the Abydos."

  When she turned back to me, her eyes were full of fire. "Then let's go get it."

  She brushed past me and headed toward the front doors of the mansion. I stayed back a distance, giving her what she wanted while also coming up with my own plan.

  Soon, she wouldn't want me to stay away. She would want me very close. And when that time came, when she wanted it bad enough, I wouldn't give it to her. She would know how I've felt every moment I was near her but couldn't touch her. The hunger that could never be satisfied. The want. The need.

  It might seem cruel, but she had to know exactly what she wanted. No doubts. No wavering. With Briar, that would take emotions, something she hid behind layers of sarcasm. Peeling back those layers would take time. All I could do was be patient.”

  Inside the mansion, Briar moved to go upstairs, probably to search the room where Trick had been sleeping, but a voice stopped her.

  "She only left one thing behind." Marge walked out from the kitchen holding a big turkey drumstick in her hand. Other than her, the place appeared empty.

  "What are you doing home?" Briar asked her.

  "A few minutes in to the ceremony I got hungry, and not for those funny little sandwiches they were serving. I needed real food." She tore into the meat and chewed loudly.

  "Was Trick here when you got home?"

  Marge swallowed. "Nope. Her room's cleaned out, but she left something for Luke by the door."

  Briar marched over to an end table and picked up an envelope with his name on it. Despite it being sealed, she ripped it open and removed a single sheet of paper. She read its contents out loud:

  "Luke, one day you will understand why I did what I did. And when that day comes, you and the Wild Dogs will be the most powerful shifter pack in all the world. The Abydos wasn't meant for just one person. It was meant for many. I'm doing this for you." Briar groaned and dropped the note. "Bitch means to give the blood to everyone in their pack."

  "We'll stop her," I said, anger flooding my system. That many powerful shifters in the world would tip the scales dramatically. After something like that, supernaturals would never be able to hide their identity from humans.

  Briar slapped the letter against the table. "How the hell do we find her? She could be miles away."

  Marge tore off another chunk of meat, making me grimace. Through a mouthful, she said, "If I had something valuable I was trying to keep hidden, it would for sure find its way up my ass where no one but the very courageous dare venture. I'd then shift and travel as a wolf. People wouldn't expect it."

  My stomach knotted at the image, but Briar's mouth fell open. "Half of what you just said, Marge, is very helpful."

  Marge shrugged. "I know. Most people don't even consider putting things there, but I've found it to be quite effective, plus enjoyable, depending upon what's gone inside."

  Briar flinched. "That wasn't the useful part I was talking about." She turned to me, fire in her eyes, and said, "Ready to go hunting?"

  The corners of my mouth turned up. I couldn't wait. Trick wasn't the only person I'd be pursuing. I lived for the thrill of the hunt, and Briar was number one in my line of sight.

  I winked at her. "This bitch is ours."

  Chapter 2

  Briar

  "I'm going to shift now," I said, teetering my weight back and forth, more like squirming under his weighted stare. We were standing at the edge of the forest about to chase after Trick. The silver moon made Angel's eyes glow in the darkness.

  He lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not stopping you."

  "You're watching."

  "Don't your kind always shift in front of each other?"

  I growled in frustration. "I'm about to get naked."

  "I know." His heated gaze burned right through me, and I shivered.