Secretly Mated (Ouachita Mountain Shifters 4) Read online

  As the onsite doctor for Lake Haven Lodge, Christina Davis is used to keeping secrets big and small. Lately, she’s taken confidentiality to a whole new level. There’s a secret she’s been keeping from her clan, and it involves the brawny, ever reserved carpenter, Owyn. The two share a pact no one knows about, and Doc’s finally ready to tear the lid off it. She only has to convince the steely panther that she’s the perfect match for him.

  Panther shifter, Owyn Wade, has seen his fair share of unfortunate feline matings, and he has no plans to allow his female to fall under the same curse. A vow to protect her and see to her needs without an official mating, is the only way to ensure she’s safe. From him. But five years later, things around the Ouachitas have changed, and now a future with his mate seems possible. Suddenly, there’s only one thing on his list of priorities: winning Doc’s heart.

  When the clan is threatened by a group of rebel shifters, Owyn and Doc’s time might be running out. They’ll have to rely on their love and family to see them through, because a shadow is looming over the Ouachitas. And things might get dark before they get brighter.

  Secretly Mated

  By P. Jameson

  Secretly Mated

  Copyright © 2016 by P. Jameson

  First electronic publication: February 2016

  United States of America

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, redistributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any database, without prior written permission from the author, with the exception of brief quotations contained in critical reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this work may be scanned, uploaded, or otherwise distributed via the internet or any other means, including electronic or print without the author’s written permission.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  P. Jameson

  www.pjamesonauthorbooks.blogspot.com

  Other books by P. Jameson

  Ouachita Mountain Shifters

  A Mate’s Wish (Holiday Prequel)

  Deliciously Mated (Book 1)

  Ouachita Mated (Book 2)

  Merrily Mated (Book 3)

  Secretly Mated (Book 4)

  Dirt Track Dogs

  Racing the Alpha (Book 1)

  Racing the Beast (Book 2)

  Racing Home (Book 3)

  Racing Hard (Book 4)

  Racing Destiny (Book 5)

  Home for the Holidays (Book 6)

  Ozark Mountain Shifters

  A Mate’s Denial (Book 1)

  A Mate’s Sacrifice (Book 2)

  A Mate’s Revenge (Book 3)

  A Mate’s Submission (Book 4)

  Sci-fi Fantasy Romance

  Starwalker (Amazon)

  Prologue

  Mason Miller stood at the top of the foot bridge looking over Lake Haven and the lodge he called home. Bad things were coming. Hard things. And he could only hope he was doing the right thing now while there was still time.

  The same Elders that guided the wolf shifters had been speaking to him. Why him, he didn’t know. Maybe because he was known for being the rational one of his clan. Maybe because no one else was listening. Whatever the reason, they’d dumped a shitload of responsibility on his head that he didn’t want.

  Danger was coming for the Ouachita clan. It was a warning repeated often, with no suggestion on ways to prevent it. Only reason for that was if it was unpreventable.

  Hands gripping the wooden rail of the bridge, he relished the way it bit into his palm.

  The holidays were over and business at the lodge would be slower until spring. This was a good time to push the rest of his plan. He needed to get his clan mated ASAP. As many of them as possible. Mating would make them each stronger. Mating could heal a multitude of wounds. Both emotional and physical. So when trouble came for them, they’d be solid in the head and resilient in body.

  He was like fucking Cupid or something, the way he’d been shooting arrows to push people together. Of course none of his tinkering behind the scenes would’ve mattered if fate wasn’t involved. He’d just helped speed the process along.

  Layna and Ryan had been the fucking worst. The two were stubborn as a shitcicle in hell.

  Ryan’s talk of leaving before Christmas had put the panic in Mason. The human was a part of them, and his absence would’ve ripped a hole through them impossible to fix. It would’ve left the clan vulnerable. Mason had done the only thing he could think of at the time.

  Marked him.

  Sort of.

  He belonged there, with the cats. He was theirs. So Mason had ripped into his flesh leaving a scar that would prove it. Temporary of course. Just until Layna could come to her senses and prove it in a more permanent way by mating him. Because that female thought she was fooling people with her tough mouth and aloof attitude, but the truth was she was soft as putty inside. And she’d come through, finally letting that sappy bastard—and Mason could say that because the guy was as close as a brother to him—into her heart.

  He’d gambled and came up a winner. Or maybe, as Renner liked to say, it was a Christmas miracle. Whatever the case, another mating to mark off his list.

  But maybe his efforts were backfiring. Already two of the clan’s mates, Bethany and Josie, were with young. Young would make the clan weaker. Young could be used as weapons by their enemies.

  He knew. From experience.

  The wooden planks under his feet vibrated, alerting him someone approached. Mason didn’t bother looking over his shoulder to see who. He already knew, and he’d been waiting.

  It was time to come clean. Time to let someone else in on what was coming.

  Footsteps stopped beside him and another set of large hands gripped the rail. Several beats of silence joined the silence of the lake below them before gruff words broke the peace of the early morning.

  “Tell me what you know. How you know it. And why the fuck you marked a man you knew belonged to Layna.”

  Mason let out a humorless laugh as he turned to stare at this glaring leader. Magic was typically grouchy at any given time, no reason necessary. His mate, Josie, had given him the nickname Grumpy Cat. But this time, his hissing was deserved.

  Their peaceful existence by the lake had been compromised when members of a shadow clan—the most lawless of shifter clans—had set a steel claw trap on their property in an attempt to get revenge on Gash, an ex-member who’d gone clean and joined the Ouachita clan.

  But they didn’t grab Gash. They’d gotten Layna instead and damn near ripped her tail off. Layna who was like a sister to Magic. Layna who’s mate had left town to sort out his feeeeeelings and needed him to help heal. Ryan had come through though, in a big way. The guy was good as gold.

  And now the truth about Gash’s past was revealed, the threat identified. Now they could defend themselves.

  It had turned out okay.

  Mason squeezed his eyes closed.

  No. Okay wasn’t good enough. It was scary as fuck is what it was. They had to be better than this.

  Mason drew in a deep breath before letting the answers fly.

  “The clan is in trouble,” he said. “There’s a target on our heads for giving sanctuary to the shadow clan’s enemy. I know because the Elders told me. And to answer your last question, I marked Ryan so he wouldn’t leave. Didn’t work but I hoped it would serve as a warning to other clans that he was ours, or at the very least the mark would bring him back here.”

  Magic’s eyes narrowed to slits a
s he combed through the information. “The shadow clan’s coming after us, we know that now. But how long have you known?”

  “Specifically about the shadow clan? Since you announced it in the clan meeting. But I’ve known we were in trouble for a lot longer.”

  “How. Long.”

  Mason blew out a breath and let his gaze wander over to the heated pool. It stayed open year round, fed by an underground hot spring. The springs were a strange and awesome gift from nature, supplying the lake and lodge with continuous warmth that kept the animal life thriving through the winter, and gave their guests a unique vacation experience. The mineral baths behind the Spa where he worked were among the biggest draw. What would happen to this place if they couldn’t protect it?

  “October,” he murmured. “I’ve known since October, when Clara came.”

  “October,” Magic ground out between clenched teeth. “You’ve known there was danger since October?”

  “Yes. But to be fair, I thought I was going crazy. No way was I telling you about the voices. And before you say that we’re a family or some shit like that, remember what this clan was like in October. We weren’t a family. Not a close knit pack like the wolves. We were a group of werecats interacting as little as our humans would allow us.”

  It was true, their animals preferred solitude, but being part human demanded an element of society. The issues they’d faced while learning to become true mates had gone a long way toward strengthening clan bonds. Now more than ever, they felt like a family.

  But family could make you weak. Mason knew it, even if he’d always longed for one of his own.

  Magic’s brow creased, considering Mason’s defense. “What do you mean, voices?”

  “Destiny.”

  There was only one other werecat he knew of who conversed with the Elders. The great wolf leaders who guided the packs under the alpha. They were foreseers, and wise, even if they weren’t aged as their name implied.

  Destiny, mated to a wolf shifter from the Dirt Track Dogs, was a bobcat and several years younger than Mason. She’d first started speaking in his head the morning he found evidence of Clara breaking in to the spa after she’d been caught stealing supplies from the kitchen.

  Don’t do it, Destiny had said as he made his way to the security office to show Gash what he’d found. The voice in his head was like the conscience he never knew he had. But he recognized her from the brief time she’d spent at the lodge earlier in the year, and thought his mind was playing tricks with him.

  He’d gone all the way down the employee wing with her screaming at him. And she wasn’t very nice either. She was nine months pregnant with triplets and had no time for his bullshit.

  They need more time. Eagan and Clara, they need more time. Can’t you see that? If you won’t listen now, then why am I even bothering? Because what comes later is going to be hella worse.

  That stopped Mason in his tracks just outside Gash’s door. Hella worse? That meant really bad, right?

  “What comes later?” he’d asked out loud, looking as crazy as he’d felt.

  Trust me now, on this, and I’ll explain what I know.

  And that’s how he became Cupid. He was going for guardian angel, but fell short and now he was this fat little baby with wings trying to set people up. In theory it was a good idea though. He hoped reality would prove it eventually.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Magic huffed.

  “Destiny.”

  “The bobcat mate from the wolf pack?”

  Mason nodded. “She talks in my head. Tells me what’s coming, and that I need to make us stronger. She’s an Elder now, you know. She can do weird shit like this.”

  “Make us stronger how?” If Magic’s brow furrowed anymore, his head was going to cave in like a fucking sinkhole.

  Mason pushed away from the rail and turned to brace his hip against it. “There’s only one way I know of to make a shifter stronger, to make a clan stronger.”

  The creases in Magic’s forehead melted away with realization. “Mating,” he breathed. “You… you orchestrated all of this? So we’d break the no-mating pact?”

  “Not Eagan and Clara. With them, I just didn’t… ya know, interfere. But orchestrated is a strong word. I more or less just… coordinated.”

  “Me and Josie?” Magic sputtered.

  Mason shrugged. “More or less.”

  “Which is it? More or less?”

  Mason quirked his lips. Magic and Josie… now that was some of his finest work.

  “Josie ended up staying in the room next to yours. The adjoining one. Remember that?”

  “Damn right, I do.”

  It was the inciting factor that sparked her change, and forced Magic’s panther to feel something other than bitterness. And it was alllll Cupid.

  “I did that,” Mason said, with satisfaction. “Layna wasn’t at the front desk when she arrived to check in, and I’d seen you look at her like a man who was hungry. I gave her the keys to the adjoining room. Easy shit, right there. Snapped into place like fucking Legos.”

  Magic stared, blinking over and over. The bun on the top of his head didn’t even flop, he was so still.

  “I should be furious with you. I know I should, but instead I want to give you a goddamn hug or something.”

  Uh, nope.

  “Settle down, Magic.” Mason held his hands up in case his leader was serious about the hugging thing.

  “If it weren’t for you and that bobcat, we might still be living under the old ways, miserable and needing something we could never have without compromising our values.” Magic shook his head, still looking awestruck. “Without you, I wouldn’t have Josie.”

  “Don’t be getting all crazy now.” Mason glanced around to see if anyone was nearby. “I have a reputation to uphold, ya know.”

  “Yeah. About that…”

  Mason knew he was the man-slut of the bunch. Calm and patient masseuse by day, raging fuck machine by night. And he liked it that way.

  “If your goal is to get everyone mated, when will it be your turn?”

  Mason stiffened before letting his hands fall back to his sides. “Never.”

  “Never? You’re kidding right?”

  Slowly, he shook his head. Mating wasn’t for him. It wouldn’t make him stronger. Only weaker, and he couldn’t afford to be weak now. None of them could.

  “Who’s next then?” Magic mused, squinting at the sky and rubbing a rough hand over his stubbly jaw. “Which of my cats gets to be happy next?”

  Mason turned to see the parking lights of a pickup truck bouncing across the lot and coming to a stop in front of the lodge. Owyn stepped out, slamming the door so hard it bounced back, missing the latch. He glared at it before shutting it again, a little easier.

  Mason had noticed a few things about the panther shifter. Most notably, the way he looked at their fine, fine Doctor Christina Davis.

  Yes, Destiny chirped in his head, and he resisted the urge to tell her to scram. She was usually pretty good about only invading his thoughts when she needed to. He got the feeling she didn’t want to be there anymore than he did. Oh fine. I’ll go. I just wanted you to know, Owyn’s ready. Go get ‘em Cupid.

  Chapter One

  Now…

  Doc Davis stared at the nervous tiger shifter on the exam table as she put her stethoscope back around her neck. Part of her job at the lodge involved relaying bad news, but most of the time is was bandaging cuts, doling out aspirin, and taking care of the members of her clan. The problem was she never knew when the bad parts of her job would rear their ugly heads and demand a kiss on the lips.

  Luckily today was not that day.

  “Is there anything we can do?” Bailey asked, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.

  “There’s nothing wrong with you, Bai.”

  The clan’s assistant chef’s wide-eyed look implied Doc was missing something huge.

  “But… there is. Can’t you see that?” She held
her arms wide to give Doc the best look at her body. As if that would clear up the confusion.

  “Your blood pressure is perfect. Your cholesterol levels are normal. Your heart rate is great and you have no trouble breathing. Your blood work shows nothing out of the ordinary. Hormone levels are fine…” Doc trailed off as Bailey’s shoulders sank with each sentence. She should be happy with this news. Not the other way around.

  “But… the weight. My body. It’s… it’s…” Bailey shook her head.

  It was true, by human standards, Bailey was overweight. Her body bulged a little extra in places that made some people uncomfortable.

  And there was a remedy for those awkward stares and whispers. It was called Middle Finger. Lift daily, as needed.

  But Bailey wasn’t a human. She was a werecat and her body was exactly what it needed to be in order to function optimally with her animal.

  Besides, some males would worship a figure like Bailey’s. Doc would gladly take some of her curves if they could be bartered and traded like tangible goods. Lush thighs instead of pencil legs? Hell yeah, she’d take ‘em.

  But wasn’t it always this way with people? The-grass-is-always-greener syndrome. It was the great sickness of their time. The Black Plague of the twenty-first century.

  Doc crossed her arms, resting her hip against the counter. “Medically, there is nothing wrong with you. Your body functions perfectly. Your cat is healthy. What more could you want? Why this sudden urge to change who you are?”

  Bailey stared at her hands where they twisted in her lap. “Lots of things have changed around here,” she said with a small laugh. “What’s it matter if I want to a little.”

  Doc frowned. Things had changed. A lot, and quickly. But intuition told her Bailey’s issue was something specific. The female was submissive, moreso than the others of their clan, but she was in no way lacking pride. If what Doc suspected was true… this had to be hard to talk about.