Her Bad Cat (Marked by the Moon Book 5) - Paranormal Black Panther Shifter Romance Read online

  This was her last chance. Fishy or not, it didn’t matter. She had to see if Ethan was really in Idaho, slumming it with some wolf shifters in a little town called Moonwatch.

  However, this had to be it. This had to be the end. If Ethan wasn’t there, she’d find a way out of this vicious cycle. She’d go back to her parents, let them know she was alive. She’d finish school and get a good job. Maybe she’d settle down. It didn’t matter. But this had to be it.

  A heart could only take so much before it shattered for good, and she had already given him five years of her life.

  Chapter 3

  ROGUE STEPPED OUT OF his new house—yes, his new house—and into the snow covered little Idaho town known as Moonwatch. For whatever reason, the wolves set him up with this place for his stay. He didn’t know why they didn’t just throw him into one of the motels. It wasn’t like he was supposed to become a permanent resident or anything like that. And this house was nice. Really nice. Burgundy wood, hand-carved wolves, sturdy, pretty, expensive, the works. It was way out of Rogue’s price range and they just fucking handed it to him. “Oh, thanks for coming out to Moonwatch to teach us how to use Lunas. Have a house.” That was what had happened.

  “Well, it’s not like I fucking volunteered to come out here to teach you how to use Moon Magic,” Rogue muttered under his breath as he stepped into a snowy field.

  It was Trinity’s fault. They wanted him to teach Blue Pack how to use Lunas at will through Moon-binding contracts and not just through shifting. He had been Trinity’s good little kitty since Bruiser demanded they initiate him five years ago. The one-eyed bear shifter could be stubborn like that. For whatever reason, the Celestial Alphas liked Rogue, so they agreed. Or maybe they saw something in him. What they saw, he didn’t know. A broken black panther probably. It must have been Bruiser who saw more. Rogue vowed never to love again, but Bruiser was borderline a problem. Rogue would probably do anything the burly grizzly asked him to.

  Still, this whole “teach a wolf pack about Lunas” thing was weird. That wasn’t the kind of thing Rogue did for Trinity. He wasn’t a teacher. He was a spy, a collector of information. He had the habit of taking things that didn’t belong to him just because he could and because he knew the importance of collecting intelligence. Maybe his Five Claws days were to blame for that, or maybe he was just a kleptomaniac like Mason and even Emily always said.

  Rogue agreed to this job because, number one, he didn’t have a choice, and number two, he sort of had a thing for Cedric Snow. The guy was basically a celebrity and a once-billionaire. Okay, he could still be a billionaire. His parents hadn’t exactly cut him off officially, but they were pissed. He never took things seriously, didn’t want to take over managing the family’s millions of dollars’ worth of Crystal Caverns hotels, and then he fell in love with a wolf shifter. That was a big no-no for a Snow, but when you found the one you found the one and nothing would ever change that. Rogue knew that firsthand. Well, in his case, the ones. They could never be replaced.

  Rogue was interested to see how an owl was getting along with a pack of wolves. He made a move on Cedric when he was available, before he found his Fated Mate, because, Rogue had to face it, the guy was fucking hot and would have been fantastic for a night of distraction, but that was all water under the bridge. Cedric wasn’t at all interested in him; however, that didn’t change the fact that Rogue had dangerously warm feelings for the bird, especially after using Lunas to save him and his little wolf mama’s pup from bleeding out after a Berserker attack. He could have died doing that, but he didn’t care. It was worth it.

  Man, Cedric almost fucked them all over about a month ago, though. He shifted in front of a reporting crew! Fucking maniac. Rogue wasn’t sure how he was going to fix that at the time, especially if they had been broadcasting live. Turned out they hadn’t. They were too dumbstruck, forgot to actually turn the damn cameras on. They thought they had, but they hadn’t. There was no live broadcast, no recording. Honestly, it was the funniest thing Rogue had ever heard, but it was good for him and the rest of shifterkind. Cedric didn’t know any of that, so he probably thought Trinity pulled the footage and went around threatening thousands of people not to speak a word of what they saw on their TVs. He probably thought Trinity had the power to control the world. Rogue figured that was close enough to the truth. And it was still funny.

  But for real. Why did Blue Pack give him a house? He wasn’t a member of the pack. He would be here a few months at most. He never stayed in one place for long. He didn’t have a home unless he counted Trinity Headquarters—which he didn’t. Damn Bruiser for recommending Rogue for this job.

  Rogue stared at his worn waterproof black boots as he trudged through more snow. He didn’t really care to make eye contact with anyone outside, and that was why he was braving the snow by cutting straight through a field. Anyone outside in this weather was crazy anyway. Okay, they were wolves. They probably liked this weather.

  He looked up to see the Alpha Den looming over everything even though it had big distances of land between it and any other buildings. The mansion was huge and imposing. It was also personalized and beautiful, not at all industrial like Trinity HQ. However, Rogue found the Alpha Den much more intimidating; the Alpha Den was a dwarf in comparison, but that didn’t matter. Anything having to do with the heart or being made from the heart got Rogue uncomfortable.

  Rogue walked up to the Alpha Den, right up to the fancy double doors, and reached out his finger to ring the doorbell. He didn’t get to. One of the doors swung open as if on cue. Gwen, the mate of the Blue Pack Alpha was on the other side, smiling at him. Someone was eager to learn about Lunas. Nick, the Alpha himself, was at her side an instant later. They were a perfect couple, handpicked by the Moon. Nick was a pretty typical alpha wolf shifter in Rogue’s opinion, big and muscular. Gwen was lean and muscular, lacking in classic feminine curves, but they fit. Very well apparently. She had a baby bump, a wolf shifter pup growing in her belly. She still had four and a half months to go or something, but it was there.

  “Hello, Rogue. Good to see you. Are we finally going to start lessons today?” Gwen asked. She was acting just like a wolf pup, eager and ready to learn. She somehow kept that alpha air about her, too. Rogue could see why these wolves liked their Alpha’s mate. She was the calm and steady type of alpha while Nick could be a little high strung.

  “We could have started sooner, but you guys insisted on giving me a house. Then you wanted to make sure I was comfortable here first,” Rogue replied with a shrug.

  “Do you feel comfortable here?”

  Rogue glanced between the two alpha wolves. Did he? And even if he didn’t, what could he say to play it off?

  “I feel one hundred percent comfortable,” he lied. “I mean, the house is bigger than anything I’m used to, and it feels empty as hell, but I’m comfortable.”

  Wow, smooth one.

  Nick raised a dark eyebrow at him.

  “I feel like a fucking king, so thanks,” Rogue said with an elaborate bow, but he knew he was just digging himself farther into a hole.

  “Come inside,” Nick offered. “It’s cold.”

  “I thought wolf shifters didn’t feel the cold.”

  Rogue stepped inside of the mansion’s grand foyer and immediately had the itch to inspect everything and take some things the wolves wouldn’t even miss. Moon above, but he somehow found the willpower to shove his wiggling fingers into a couple of the holey pockets decorating his worn gray, once black, cargo pants—for the moment.

  Most of the stuff inside was pricey shit, the kind of shit Liam would have been interested in, but Rogue was more interested in the personal items, like that cute picture of Nick and Gwen sitting on a little ornamental table. Nick had his arms around Gwen in the picture, both were smiling. That picture told a story of happiness. Then again, the pricey stuff had a place too, a story to tell. A person’s belongings told tales about that person and their life. Possessions gav
e Rogue a glimpse into someone’s core.

  Other than that picture, the items in the grand foyer were untouched. Fancy vases, paintings, and sculptures, but they were all moved to the side while the picture sat in the center as the main display. That told a story, too. Priorities. Family was of the utmost importance to these two.

  Hands off, Rogue. There is a time and a place to be respectful, like Bruiser always tells you. Damn grizzly.

  Rogue didn’t listen half the time, though.

  Nick and Gwen led the way into a sitting room with huge fluffy couches. Rogue had the urge to go run and jump on one. Like, he really had the urge. Anytime he saw something fluffy like that, anytime he saw a springy bed, he just had to go for it.

  “I’m going to apologize for this in advance,” Rogue said, making up his mind as he sprinted and jumped onto one of the couches. He bounced up once and then landed back down on the plush cushion. “Nice.”

  Gwen covered her mouth and a smile. Rogue could see her eyes gleaming though, so that gave her away. Nick was straight-faced, but he didn’t seem annoyed or anything.

  As the alpha couple sat down on the couch opposite of Rogue, Rogue spotted another picture sitting on top of some drawers made of the same burgundy wood that was used prominently in every building constructed in Moonwatch. That one had Nick and Willow, Nick’s little sister, in it, along with two more wolves Rogue didn’t recognize. He put two and two together real fast, though. Nick and Willow were a bit younger here. The wolves with them, based on body language and the age difference, could have only been their deceased parents. They all had a certain family resemblance, too. It was in the shape of their faces and even their bodies. It was a clear giveaway despite differences in light blond and brown hair; however, they all had natural curls.

  Rogue knew Nick and Willow’s history. It was part of the job. Their parents were killed in a car accident. The sudden and unexpected death thrust Nick into the Alpha position. He literally had to take control of Blue Pack overnight. It was a rough start, but life rarely made things easy or pretty. Usually, things were pretty ugly. But somehow people held on. Even Rogue held on. He somehow survived without the closeness and love he craved. He didn’t have anyone close to him anymore—unless Bruiser counted. Rogue called many people a “friend” in play. He laughed and joked, but he was often insincere. He did what Trinity told him to do for atonement and nothing more.

  At least, that was what he told himself. But good old Bruiser pointed out more than once that Rogue’s heart was way too big for his own good. Rogue had to agree with that when he thought about what he sacrificed, or could have sacrificed, for Cedric Snow and his Fated Mate’s kid. He didn’t regret it. If he had died saving them, he wouldn’t have regretted it still. His life wasn’t worth much, and he wished them all the happiness in the world.

  This fucked up world.

  “Why do you go by Rogue?” Gwen asked. “It’s not your real name.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  Gwen shrugged. “I don’t, but I have a hunch.”

  “It’s a separation from the past me to the present me.”

  “Why would you want to do that?” Nick commented.

  Rogue smirked. “Enough about me. You’ve both made contracts using Lunas twice already, so it shouldn’t take long for the two of you to master this Moon Magic junk. It’s really not that different from shifting anyway. It all comes from the same power source. The Moon blessed you with the ability to shift. It gave you your animal, made you who you are. It’s also given every Moon Shifter the ability to use Lunas for contracts, promises, to bind intentions and words into something unbreakable, though it’s much less intuitive than shifting.”

  Rogue leaned forward and rested his hands on the coffee table sitting between him and the alpha wolves. He held his left hand open to them. “For example, if you both agree, we can form a contract right now.” He grinned. “The Moon is all about being consensual. At least, I’ve never been able to use Lunas any other way. So here’s the deal. I promise to teach the two of you how to use Lunas. Do you accept?”

  “It can be that simple?” Gwen asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Gwen shifted forward and placed her right hand on top of his left. Then she looked at her mate pointedly. Nick placed his right hand on top of hers.

  “We accept,” they said in perfect unison.

  Soft blue light began to glow from in between all three of their hands. Lunas sent a tingling sensation to Rogue’s palm. Nick and Gwen took their hands back and inspected their palms. Rogue only glanced at his because he knew what he’d see there, a Lunas Sigil, a Moon Mark. It was a perfect little copy of the Moon in the sky, the seal the Moon placed on anyone using its power in a contract. It was a subtle mark that followed the Moon’s cycle. It looked like normal skin that had taken on a pearl-like sheen. Or maybe it was more comparable to light scar tissue.

  Nick and Gwen now had two Lunas Sigils on their skin. The one on both of their right palms was because of the contract they just made with Rogue. The Lunas Sigil on the back of Nick’s left hand and on the back of Gwen’s right hand was because of a promise they made to love each other always, and so the Moon marked them as Fated Mates. It was still a contract, still a promise, still in keeping with everything Rogue understood about the Moon. However, Fated Mates were preordained. They were Soulmates. When Moon Shifters were involved, it was never easy to predict when the Moon would mark them. He had heard of Lunas Sigils appearing on couples before they agreed to anything of the sort, such as the case with Willow and her mate Derek or Ava and Max.

  “Once I keep my promise and teach you how to use Lunas, the new marks will go away,” Rogue informed.

  “And that’s it?” Nick asked incredulously. “No time constraints. It’s just you’ll eventually teach us how to use Lunas?”

  “Pretty much.” Rogue laughed. “I didn’t want to tie myself down more than that because who knows how long it could take? I don’t want to spend every waking moment with you two, and I’m sure you don’t want the same from me. Don’t worry about it, though. Like I said, you’ll learn fast enough.”

  Nick huffed. “Seems like a cheat or like it’s not as significant as I thought.” He glanced at the mark on the back of his left hand.

  “That one is different,” Rogue informed. “You and Gwen made a much more powerful and binding contract when you got that mark.”

  Gwen grabbed Nick’s hand and gave him a little nudge with her shoulder. God, they were a cute couple. Rogue hated cute couples. Okay, he didn’t, but they did make him… uncomfortable.

  “Contracts can be as broad or specific as you can imagine them,” Rogue said. “Once you have it down, you’re only limited by your own creativity and the willingness of the individual you’re trying to make a contract with. As far as I know, there’s no limit on the amounts of contracts you can have, but they could kill you if you aren’t careful. The Moon only seals the contract, making it unbreakable, the rest is by your own power. Word your promises carefully because they help guide intent.”

  Nick turned to his mate with a serious look on his face. “I promise to make you that very specific ice cream sundae you keep telling me we don’t have the stuff for. I’ll go out and buy every damn thing you want on it.”

  Gwen tried to hold a straight face in return, but she burst out in laughter instead. “Deal,” she replied, and her mate took her hand.

  Nothing happened.

  Now it was Rogue’s turn to laugh. “Nice try, but keep practicing. Just remember not to overdo it. Think about the contract we just made between us, think about the one you have with your mate.” He quieted his next thought. The promise that binds you forever. Until one of you dies.

  “I still want that sundae,” Gwen teased as she bit at Nick’s neck. “Keep your word, Alpha daddy.”

  “Not a daddy yet,” Nick insisted. “Not until that baby comes out.” His hazel eyes softened as he looked at Gwen’s belly.

&
nbsp; “We still need to think of names,” Gwen said.

  “I’ll leave you both to it,” Rogue interrupted.

  He was out of the sitting room, rushing through the grand foyer, and outside in the snow again before the alpha wolves could acknowledge him. He could barely breathe, and it wasn’t because of the cold air clawing at his lungs with each gasping breath he took. Seeing Nick and Gwen like that, so together, so perfect for each other, so in love, made him ache terribly. It was a deep pain in his chest, a burning on his cheek where Mason last touched him and marked him with his blood, the one last promise between them before Mason died. A promise to never see Emily again.

  Rogue no longer had the Lunas Sigil he shared with Mason as Fated Mates, and the new contract they made was never manifested visually, but it was felt. Rogue could feel both of them to this day, but they weren’t the warm tingling comfort of Lunas. They were black holes.

  Trinity hadn’t forced him to stay when Bruiser took him to the Celestial Alphas. He chose to stay. It gave him some kind of purpose in a world that felt so meaningless.

  Rogue glanced at some other shifters shuffling around in the snow and quickly cast his gaze to his buried boots and trudged on. He thought about going back to that house they gave him, but he decided against it. The place was too damn empty, too damn big. He turned to Blue Forest and kept walking.

  Once more, he cursed Bruiser for the brilliant idea of sending him here. He wasn’t suited for this. He wasn’t suited for closeness, for love, even though those were the things he craved more than anything.

  Sometimes, love meant suffering through pain. That was what he did for Emily every day of his miserable existence since Mason died and he made a promise he didn’t want to keep but knew he had to.

  All he could do was hope. He hoped Emily was happy. He hoped she was living her dreams.

  Chapter 4

  SHE COULDN’T WAIT. EMILY started driving for Idaho and looked up a map for Moonwatch almost immediately after Own Barr gave her Ethan’s location. She had to learn if it was true, and she couldn’t waste any more time. She drove in an awful storm, but she got through. She had to get some sleep on her journey, even though she didn’t want to stop, because the drive from Texas to Idaho was a long one, and she wanted to be ready for anything to come, for the possibility of actually seeing Ethan again.