Shifters in Seattle: Box Set Books 1 - 5 Read online

  Even men like Mitchell didn't love her.

  She couldn't let herself be attracted to a huge, gorgeous man like Zach! That would be such a mistake; it would be like asking for heartbreak. She felt on the verge of tears again.

  Amy was so emotional today. This wasn't like her at all.

  She pulled in a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. She just had to make it through the weekend. She focused on the people in front of her: Zach and Diana and Mitchell.

  “Are we touring? Or are we eating chocolate?” Diana asked, holding her hand out to Amy with a friendly smile. “Hello, I'm Diana Harris from Harris Enterprises. I see you've met my nephew Zach Harris.”

  “Your nephew?” There was no way. Diana looked at most five years older than Zach.

  Wait. Zach Harris?

  Amy's heart dropped as the awful news sunk in. Zach Harris from Harris Enterprises?

  And she gave him chocolate body lotion? She felt her anger rise.

  Zach turned to Amy. He looked like he wanted to explain.

  She grabbed back the bag of chocolates and pulled out the bottle of body lotion she'd given him.

  “You don't deserve this!” she said, shaking the bottle furiously. She shoved the bag back at him.

  “Amy,” he said.

  “You're the person who kicked me out of my lease!” She felt her temper flare hotter and hotter.

  They hadn't just screwed her, but also all the other merchants.

  “It was a month-to-month rental agreement. We were completely within our rights to end it,” he said, looking miserable.

  “You destroyed the business I'd spent years building! Who cares if you were within your rights?”

  Now that the responsible person was standing right in front of her she realized just how furious she actually was.

  Amy couldn't believe she'd been hot for him!

  She finally had someone to receive the rage that had been building ever since she'd received the letter announcing the sale of the mall.

  Zach Harris.

  He was the person responsible for everything that was wrong in her life.

  Diana seemed confused. “What's the problem here?” she said.

  “I've been trying to talk with you people all month! Losing my lease with no notice has destroyed my business. You are business destroyers!”

  “Just lease another store,” Diana said, shrugging. “Have a grand opening at the new space so everyone knows you moved. Easy peasy.”

  “Not for me, it's not. I don't have the cash to rent another space. It took almost my whole life to save the deposit on this store. Now I'm starting all over again.”

  “If you were that close to bankruptcy, then losing your lease was not your biggest problem.” Diana said in a calm voice.

  Maybe Amy wasn't being exactly reasonable, but she didn't care. She loved her store.

  “It's not personal,” Zach said, shaking his head. “It's just business.”

  “My mama gave me the recipes for this chocolate. There's nothing more personal. Not to me.”

  He looked genuinely sorry. And genuinely hot.

  But, so what?

  “Sell your products online, that's my advice,” Diana said as if it should be obvious.

  “I'll never sell online. I believe in looking my customers in the eye and knowing them!”

  Diana grimaced. “If you don't want to sell online in this day and age, then I'm not surprised you're going out of business. I'm sorry, but that's the reality.” She turned away and looked at her wristwatch. “Mitchell, you guaranteed we could inspect the entire property in one hour.”

  “Let's go, then,” Mitchell said. He rocked his hips at Amy and mouthed, I'll be back.

  She sneered at Mitchell and then turned to see Zach staring at her.

  “There's nothing we can do,” Zach said. “It's just business. I'm sorry.”

  It may be just business to him, but Amy’s store was her life, and her memory of her mama, and—just everything!

  Dammit! More tears.

  She stormed to the back room of the store for a fresh box of tissues. Once she was alone, she gave in and let the tears flow, hoping they would wash away all the sadness, as her mama used to tell her.

  As she was blowing her nose, Amy's phone chimed, reminding her to check her e-mail.

  She'd been sending e-mails back and forth about a rental at 152 Market in downtown Seattle.

  The exchange had started with a promising Craig's List ad for a retail space. A brand new building was under construction and would be available for viewing this coming weekend. Amy had driven by the address and it looked perfect for her: a huge brick building that was right downtown in a neighborhood bustling with potential chocolate-lovers.

  She'd been corresponding with the landlord, but the rent was twice what she could afford. It sounded perfect for her otherwise, so she'd kept writing and asking about the details. She had hoped she'd be able to write and tell him she had enough money for a deposit.

  But now she knew that wasn't realistic.

  When your business holds your connection to the past and all hope for the future, what are you supposed to do when you go out of business?

  She pulled out her phone and typed an e-mail.

  It was time to admit she wouldn’t have enough money to rent a new store. But what was Amy going to do now?

  2

  From: Cocoa Girl

  Date: Fri, Oct 16 at 12:42 PM

  Subject: New Rental Space

  To: 152 Market <[email protected]>

  Dear 152 Market,

  I need to officially decline, and let you focus on finding tenants who can pay the rent.

  The truth is that I haven't sold enough of my chocolate inventory to replenish my bank accounts. Thank you for telling me about your space, though.

  It sounds great and I wish you luck.

  Best,

  Cocoa Girl

  3

  From: 152 Market <[email protected]>

  Date: Fri, Oct 16 at 12:55 PM

  Subject: New Rental Space

  To: Cocoa Girl

  Dear Cocoa Girl,

  Don't give up yet!

  Not all decisions are based solely on money. Now that I know you have cash flow problems, we can consider an alternative.

  There are some things you need to know before considering this idea. I have reasons for wanting chocolate in the building that have nothing to do with you.

  The little-known fact is that wolf shifters hate chocolate—it's poison for all canines, as you may have heard—and putting chocolate in the building would help protect all the other business owners.

  So, as you can imagine, I'm eager to find a chocolate vendor.

  Let me know,

  152 Market

  4

  From: Cocoa Girl

  Date: Fri, Oct 16 at 1:15 PM

  Subject: New Rental Space

  To: 152 Market <[email protected]>

  Dear 152 Market,

  Umm...Wolf shifters???

  Warmly,

  Cocoa Girl

  5

  Zach strolled through the mall with Diana and Mitchell, for all appearances a normal, wealthy businessman, but inside he was a hot mess.

  It's her! His bear roared. Amy is our fated mate!

  “Zach, how many YouTube studios are we planning on building?” Diana said. They passed store after store, each one shuttered and empty.

  Go back! His bear insisted.

  “There's twelve studios altogether,” Zach said, coughing a little. “The first one is nearly finished. We'll go there first.”

  The scent of Amy was still strong in his nostrils.

  Take her! His bear roared.

  Whoa, dude, calm down. I hear you. Calling his bear “dude” made Zach feel more in partnership with the intuitive beast that lived inside him and often controlled his life.

  IT'S HE
R!

  Yup. His bear was sure, no doubt about it.

  Zach felt relieved. He'd been searching for his mate for five years, and had known she was somewhere in Seattle, but until today he hadn't understood just how powerful the pull to mate could be.

  The second he saw Amy he wanted her and he needed her. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. The need to protect and take care of her overwhelmed him. He'd never been so sure of anything in his life.

  He wanted her. How long would it be before he could take her?

  NOW! His bear roared.

  “That was a little harsh,” Zach said to Diana when he finally got rid of Mitchell by sending him on an errand to find a flashlight.

  “What? The little human?” Diana said.

  “She's losing her livelihood.”

  Protect her, his bear demanded.

  “Wasn't much of a livelihood, from the sound of it. She'll be better off getting a nice job with a box store.”

  “Diana, listen to me. She's the one. My mate.” Zach grabbed Diana's arm. They stopped walking.

  Hell yes! His bear roared.

  “Her? The little human? Well, I knew it was just a matter of time.”

  “It's time to do what my family needs me to do. It's time to claim my mate.”

  “For your family? Wait a second. You don't claim a mate because it's what your family wants. It has to be what you want. And even more, what you need. And demand.”

  “It is what I want. Very much. I've found her, now I'll claim her and have cubs. It's all fated. Let's do this.” Zach nodded and grinned.

  He felt ready.

  “Nothing is guaranteed in this life, Zach. Just because she's your fated mate, that doesn't mean it's going to happen the way you want. You still have to court the little human.”

  “Quit calling her that! Her name is Amy.” His temper flared, his bear roared.

  “That's better. Listen...We have to talk.”

  They sat down in the deserted food court. Soon the janitorial service would come through and clean everything, but for now empty food wrappers and soda cups spilled out of overflowing trash bins.

  “Have you ever wondered why I don't have a mate?” Diana asked. She pulled her sweater closer and wrapped her hands around her waist. She leaned closer to Zach.

  “You just never have had one. I don't know.” Now that she brought it up, it did seem very strange that she didn't have a mate. All the other bear shifters in his family had fated mates to whom they were completely devoted. Sometimes it was another bear shifter, sometimes a human who didn't shift.

  Only Diana was alone.

  He put an arm around her shoulder, and patted. “Tell me about it.”

  “My mate and I met when I was fifteen. That was twenty years ago. A long time.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “He is still around. He just didn't want to have a life with a bear shifter.”

  “He’s human.”

  “No. He's a wolf shifter. His name is Liam.”

  “A wolf!” Zach couldn't have been more shocked.

  Wolf shifters had been their enemies for as long as Zach could remember. In the Pacific Northwest, there were two kinds of shifters.

  Bears and wolves.

  Bear shifters were loyal and open, until they needed to be deadly protectors. Wolves were private and kept to themselves. Wolf shifters lived in secret and didn't mix much with humans. They wanted to keep it that way.

  Bears would have been fine with outing themselves and letting the world know about their existence.

  Wolves would never allow that to happen.

  The two species had an uneasy coexistence.

  As the bears made moves like going online and becoming politicians, the wolves made it clear that they wouldn't tolerate any sort of shifter outing. But the bears believed that to protect themselves they needed to be out in the world, especially as their territory shrank and civilization encroached on them.

  That's why this virtual mall was so important to Zach's family: It gave them access to the world outside of the Pacific Northwest. If they ever decided to out themselves, they'd have the perfect vehicle to do it right.

  “We don't get to choose who our fated mate is, Zach. That's why they call it fate.”

  “I get that, but—a wolf!”

  “If your mate is a sweet human woman—if it's Amy—I'm happy for you. But that doesn't mean it's a slam dunk. For you, it's fated. You know what that means. Amy might not comply. Humans are as fickle as wolves are secretive.”

  No! his bear roared. Get her and get her now.

  “My bear isn't happy with this news.” That was an understatement. His bear wanted to tear back to the store and claim her then and there.

  “You need to court Amy.”

  “How do I court a woman?”

  “By your actions. Give her time. Give her attention. Give her love. Just be the real you.”

  “The only problem is she seems to hate the real me.”

  “A life without your fated mate is very sad. It will be for her too even if she doesn't know it yet. It's like someone perfect for you is out there, but he's not with you, he can't be with you. And you feel that loss, that emptiness, every single day. Even if you're a little human.”

  “Maybe you can meet someone else, Diana. Any one would be lucky to have you.”

  “A fated mate is the only option for someone like me. Someone like you too. There's no plan B, no second soul mate. Humans can go through life looking for love in all the wrong places; for us, there are no illusions. Because we understand how fate works. Our bears demand it.”

  “I'm sorry.” He put his arm around Diana. He felt so sad for her.

  Zach remembered the day he came in from the cold. He had originally belonged to a family of bear shifters living deep in the northern forest. They insisted he travel to Seattle to live with Diana and her family, because he had a talent for being in human form, and he knew that's where he would meet this mate.

  In the wild, most of the bear shifters didn't shift smoothly, or they didn't like to shift. Zach was good at it, and everyone recognized that he was an alpha. They sent him to live with city relatives so that he could find his fated mate and bring strong cubs home with him some day.

  He traveled through the forest and found Diana waiting for him in the campground parking lot. He couldn't get over her ability to be human and her almost total control over her bear.

  In the wild, the bears are dominant and they listen to their inner human when they feel like it. In civilization, the human takes over, and the inner bear is kept inside. Most of the time.

  Now his bear was insisting that Zach claim his mate. His bear was reasserting his dominance.

  Go back and get your mate!

  “Guys,” Mitchell returned. “You need to see something.”

  He pulled them into the alley behind the mall, where the trash bins had all been upended. Rubbish was strewn throughout the alley and someone had spray-painted the words “FUCK SHIFTERS” all over the walls.

  “What does that mean?” Mitchell asked.

  Zach only told very close friends about his bear. To Mitchell he just said, “Clean it up.”

  Diana was shaking. Zach brought her back inside.

  This wasn't the first time vandals had attacked their properties. In fact, just last week, they'd had an empty office building in Bellingham burned to the ground and another outside Portland had all the windows broken.

  The attacks concerned their whole family of shifters, but especially Diana. She took it personally.

  “I need some wild time,” Diana said quietly. “Will you join me?”

  Wild time was bear time. Shifting and being a bear was the best way to unwind after a stressful day.

  And it was finally October. The salmon were running.

  “Absolutely. I'll pick you up tonight at ten. For now, I need to do some courting.”

  6

  From: 152 Market <14987492@craigsl
ist.net>

  Date: Fri, Oct 16 at 2:18 PM

  Subject: New Rental Space

  To: Cocoa Girl

  Dear Cocoa Girl,

  Are you from out of town? I thought everyone knew about shifters.

  From wiki_shift:

  In the Pacific Northwest, as elsewhere around the world, certain animals have shifted into human form for centuries. Often confused for bigfoot in the case of grizzly bear shifters, and werewolves in the case of wolf shifters, sightings are rare but not unheard of. The most notable recent sighting occurred just last year in Seattle, where two men shifted into wolf form and attacked a commuter train. They were shot dead by police, who later stated that the men had been under the influence of bath salts.

  Bath salts? I don't think so.

  Best,

  152 Market

  7

  From: Cocoa Girl

  Date: Fri, Oct 16 at 2:37 PM

  Subject: New Rental Space

  To: 152 Market <[email protected]>

  Dear 152 Market,

  Sorry.

  I'm from Missouri, where wolves have been hunted out of existence and black bears are what's for dinner—on the night you announce to your mom you're a vegetarian.

  Still confused about shifters,

  Cocoa Girl

  8

  From: 152 Market <[email protected]>

  Date: Fri, Oct 16 at 4:28 PM

  Subject: New Rental Space

  To: Cocoa Girl

  Dear Cocoa Girl,

  No need to apologize.

  Here's the deal. Bear shifters are awesome and sweet but wolf shifters cause trouble.

  As a real estate developer in the Pacific Northwest, I've found that one of the best ways to deal with issues that can come up with wolves is to simply put chocolate and coffee vendors in every property. Wolf shifters avoid the coffee because of its overpowering scent. Chocolate is straight out poisonous to them.