Spiked (The Sundance Series Book 1) by C.P. Rider

Author:C.P. Rider [Rider, C.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: V.C. Group, LLC
Published: 2019-08-14T05:00:00+00:00

The convocation involved more ceremony than I'd expected. It took place in Lucas's back yard on a low, stilted deck that wound around the back and south of the house. Front and center of the expansive cement patio stood a raised dais. No microphone. Even I knew no alpha leader worth his or her salt would require one.

His security team filed onto the stage—it may have had a gas barbecue and a patio table tucked to one side, but it was a stage—in hybrid form, that graceful manifestation of their ability to walk in both the animal and human worlds.

Amir was particularly beautiful, with golden eagle feathers in his hair and his arms a mesmerizing fusion of wing and arm. Dan looked as pragmatic and serious in his between form as he did when in human form. If he hadn't had a fluffy, black-tipped coyote tail protruding from a hole in his shorts, I would have thought he was there to do my taxes.

As Lucas's second, Chandra approached the stage after the other two. Her form was a fluid extension of herself—fur and teeth and claws sliding effortlessly from hyena into human. As in human form, she exuded a threatening sort of elegance, like an alligator in a ball gown. She seemed far more comfortable in this form than in human form.

Lucas arrived last, of course. In human form and looking entirely too pleased with himself.

I sat on the edge of the deck-stage, not too far out of Lucas's sight, but far enough not to be in the way. From my vantage point, I saw my uncle had shifted back to human form. He wore a pair of baggy black cotton shorts that didn't belong to him. There were several other shifters dressed similarly, which made me think the shorts were provided by the group for the more modest shifters, or perhaps in deference to the non-shifters present.

Luz Montoya and the clinic nurse—my uncle's sweetie—Yolanda Vargas, were in the front row, their eyes fixed on the alpha. Luz once told me she was a Mexican Gray wolf shifter, but I didn't know what Yolanda was. Before tonight, I'd assumed wolf, but now I realized she might not be a shifter at all.

After my earlier conversation with Lucas, I figured anything was possible.

"You have people like me in your group?"

"Yes. We have a few."

I sat up straighter on the fireplace. "Who are they? What can they do?"

He gave me a bland look. "You really think I'm going to tell you that?"

"Any telepaths?" I don't know why I asked. I was certain if he'd had any other choice, he wouldn't be working with me.

"No. You'd be the only one."

"Lucas? Are you asking me to join your group?"

He raised his hands, palms facing me. "I'm putting it out there. That's all. It's not an ultimatum or a demand, or even a request. I only wanted to put it out there as a possibility."

"If I joined your group, you'd have dominion over me. You could force me to tell you my every last secret.

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