Gilbert

By Bailey Bradford

One sexy snow leopard shifter finds his mate and more, now Gilbert Trujillo just has to convince Jihu Warren to trust his instincts and give them a chance to be an unexpected family.

Gilbert Trujillo has watched his two older brothers, Tim and Isaiah, find their mates. He's not sure he's ready for such a commitment himself, even if he does kind of envy them at times. His life is about to get a lot more complicated, and if he can survive and protect the ones he loves, Gilbert just might have more than he ever dreamed possible.

Jihu Warren hasn't known much in life other than that he was to be used to further his species. Amur shifters were bordering on extinction, and a breeding program had been established decades ago. Jihu's desires were of no consequence. He sees no way out, no hope, until he hears rumours of Bae, a half-brother he's never met, who escapes from the demands of the lepe. Given hope, Jihu fights for his freedom and in his search for Bae, he runs into a sexy snow leopard shifter named Gilbert Trujillo instead, and Jihu finds out there are some things, and some people, worth risking everything for.

Fate throws Gilbert and Jihu together, with a twist. Jihu's senses have been altered by the injections given him while in captivity at Chung-Hee's lepe. He doesn't know who to trust, and will have to depend on himself rather than using the enhanced senses he normally has.

Together, he and Gilbert, along with a new family Jihu is quickly coming to love, will have to battle the shifters who want Jihu back at almost any cost.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pride Publishing
• Release date: Aug 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781781840788

Bailey Bradford

A native Texan, Bailey spends her days spinning stories around in her head, which has contributed to more than one incident of tripping over her own feet. Evenings are reserved for pounding away at the keyboard, as are early morning hours. Sleep? Doesn't happen much. Writing is too much fun, and there are too many characters bouncing about, tapping on Bailey's brain demanding to be let out. Caffeine and chocolate are permanent fixtures in Bailey's office and are never far from hand at any given time. Removing either of those necessities from Bailey's presence can result in what is known as A Very, Very Scary Bailey and is not advised under any circumstances.

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Gilbert

ISBN # 978-1-78184-078-8

©Copyright Bailey Bradford 2017

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright September 2017

Edited by Claire Siemaszkiewicz and Nicki Richards

Pride Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Pride Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Pride Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2017 by Pride Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, UK

Pride Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

Leopard’s Spots

GILBERT

Bailey Bradford

Book five in the Leopard’s Spots series

One sexy snow leopard shifter finds his mate and more, now Gilbert Trujillo just has to convince Jihu Warren to trust his instincts and give them a chance to be an unexpected family.

Gilbert Trujillo has watched his two older brothers, Tim and Isaiah, find their mates. He’s not sure he’s ready for such a commitment himself, even if he does kind of envy them at times. His life is about to get a lot more complicated, and if he can survive and protect the ones he loves, Gilbert just might have more than he ever dreamed possible.

Jihu Warren hasn’t known much in life other than that he was to be used to further his species. Amur shifters were bordering on extinction, and a breeding program had been established decades ago. Jihu’s desires were of no consequence. He sees no way out, no hope, until he hears rumors of Bae, a half-brother he’s never met, who escapes from the demands of the lepe. Given hope, Jihu fights for his freedom and in his search for Bae, he runs into a sexy snow leopard shifter named Gilbert Trujillo instead, and Jihu finds out there are some things, and some people, worth risking everything for.

Fate throws Gilbert and Jihu together, with a twist. Jihu’s senses have been altered by the injections given him while in captivity at Chung-Hee’s lepe. He doesn’t know who to trust, and will have to depend on himself rather than using the enhanced senses he normally has.

Together, he and Gilbert, along with a new family Jihu is quickly coming to love, will have to battle the shifters who want Jihu back at almost any cost.

Dedication

Thank you to Beany, Cherri, KeDe, Linda, Margaret, and to everyone at the blog who has commented and encouraged me, to everyone who has posted on FB and made my days, to everyone who has e-mailed and given me the virtual hug I needed. You all have been incredible, and again, I thank you.

To the amazing people at TEB—y’all are pretty incredible, too!

Chapter One

Jihu Warren’s chest warmed, his heart fluttering with something he didn’t recognize at first as he listened intently to his grandfather Chung-Hee. Jihu had only met the man recently, and wished he’d remained ignorant of his relative’s cruelty. Normally anything the older man said only served to drive another spike of hopelessness into Jihu. However, this morning, from behind the locked door where he was being held, Jihu experienced that unfamiliar feeling—hope. Every word Chung-Hee spewed out in a vitriolic rant at Chul, Chung-Hee’s son and Jihu’s father, only served to increase that feeling. Jihu leaned his head against the wall he was chained to and listened to the voices increase in volume.

He was rather impressed. This was the first time he’d ever heard the man who he had to call ‘father’ stand up to Chung-Hee. No one ever did that—or they hadn’t, before Bae, a brother he knew of only in name, stood up to Chung-Hee and Chul both.

Since Chung-Hee was not only Jihu and Bae’s grandfather, but the leader of Bae’s lepe—his clan of Amur leopard shifters—everyone tended to cower and kowtow to Chung-Hee, and Chul as well, seeing as how Chul was supposed to take over the lepe when Chun-Hee died. Jihu hadn’t grown up in this lepe—he’d been a part of one under the command of Shin-Il in another state, but there had been gossip, and even without that, he’d known how his own lepe had worked. This one was no different. It, too, was led by a tyrant who cared nothing for his lepe members. Chung-Hee might even be worse than Shin-Il. No, he definitely was. After all, he had ordered the chains binding Jihu.

Personally, Jihu didn’t think the old bastard would ever die. But if he did, Jihu wouldn’t mourn. No, he’d rejoice, and he’d do the same when Chul kicked the bucket, too.

Or so he’d always thought, but now… Now, hearing Chul stand up to Chung-Hee, hearing him demand the cruel old bastard stop forcing the younger members—or prisoners, as was Jihu’s case—to breed, well, Jihu almost felt fond of his father.

Almost. Pain slapped at Jihu, physical, mental and emotional—he had all the bases covered. He’d been chained to the wall for weeks now, and while he could get up, had some leeway with the length of the chains, he had no freedom. He’d long since tossed aside any pride or shame, having to use what he was given to take care of his body’s needs. The room was large, but bare. Jihu had been given nothing for comfort, no pillows or blankets, no clothes.

His ability to shift had been taken from him as well. Chung-Hee had seen to it, of course. Jihu received a shot daily, the contents of which were unknown to Jihu, but the results were obvious.

As Jihu listened to Chul try to reason with Chung-Hee, he wondered if Chul knew he was chained up in here. What does it matter? He’s never been anything more than the man ordered to breed, and I am simply one of undoubtedly many results.

Jihu never thought of himself as Chul’s child, his son, any more than he thought of himself as Shon-Ho’s son. She had given birth to him, but in his lepe in Wyoming where Jihu was born and had lived up until being recently shipped—unwillingly—to Colorado, the women who were in the breeding program never raised their babies. He supposed they felt they’d done their part if they managed to get pregnant and carry the baby to term. A successful birth was a rare enough occurrence that fertile women were given whatever they wanted, except a choice in whether or not to breed.

Jihu understood, he supposed, why the females didn’t care to keep their babies. They likely were viewed as nothing more than the outcome of rape. All he had to do was think about his own current state, chained and imprisoned so he could be forced to impregnate whichever female Chung-Hee deemed appropriate. He felt violated and angry and full of hate.

Jihu couldn’t imagine how the women felt, but in some cases it wouldn’t surprise him if removing the newborn babies from their mothers might be the only way to ensure the infants’ survival. Jihu dreaded the time that was sure to come when he would be forced to choose between spilling his seed inside an unwilling female or refusing.

What would he do then? So far he’d been—well, lucky was the wrong word for it, but in the one coupling forced on him, the woman had been not only willing, but skilled enough to make sure he released inside her. Since she’d taken and carried to full term, his spunk was apparently sought after. Jihu didn’t want to think that this might be all his life was, an endless time as a prisoner forced to procreate. It might be some twisted idiot’s idea of a fantasy come to life, but all it did for Jihu was make him want to die if he couldn’t find a way to escape.

He didn’t think he could even maintain an erection if he had to…do that again, and if he failed, Jihu didn’t doubt Chung-Hee would follow through on his threats. That couldn’t happen.

The argument outside the room he was kept in increased in volume. Jihu’s heartbeat accelerated as Chul vehemently refused to allow Chung-Lee to go after Bae. Bae, the half-brother Jihu didn’t know. He’d only heard rumors, and those rumors had apparently been true. Bae had left the lepe, had escaped the controlling Chung-Hee, and somehow, had made his and Jihu’s father come to see the wrongfulness of forced breedings. Of rape.

Jihu couldn’t quite apply that word to himself. After all, he was a man now and he’d got an erection—although more through sheer determination and fear of what would happen should he fail. But he’d gone along with it, hadn’t fought. He hadn’t thought he could fight, that time.

Then he’d been ordered to do it again, and he’d protested, and now here he was, unable to fight anymore because of what Chung-Hee had threatened to do. The chains and anti-shifting drug ensured Jihu couldn’t escape and neutralize the threat made against him. Jihu knew he was trapped. Whether or not that meant he would surrender remained to be seen.

Chung-Hee’s voice rose, the old man bellowing loudly for his guards. When Chul retaliated with a shout for his as well—Jihu hadn’t even known Chul had guards. But then again, he didn’t know the man at all, had never been raised by him or around him, although he’d been told Chul was his father and made to refer to him as such when necessary. Keeping track of his lineage had been mandatory, as was the case with all members of the lepe.

In short order the sounds of violence rang in the air.

Jihu pushed himself up until he was leaning on the wall. He could only walk a few feet, but he was pulled toward the door as if by an invisible wire. The chains stopped him, tugging at his ankles and wrists. Jihu leaned against them, sending pain throughout his limbs. He cocked his head to the side and tried to discern who was winning. If he knew all the men out there fighting, or at least knew their voices, that would help.

But he didn’t. This wasn’t his lepe, really. His was just as bad and twisted, though.

A crash of a body hitting the door almost rattled the thing off its hinges. Jihu’s breath hitched when it happened again, then again. Was someone trying to get in? He sniffed but his senses were all kinds of a mess, whether from the drugs given him or from the stench of the room he was in. With the limited movement he had, there was only so much Jihu could do to relieve his bodily functions. He’d been provided with buckets, emptied daily if he was lucky.

Another hard thud to the door and Jihu began to believe that someone was trying to get in. It obviously wasn’t Chung-Hee or his guards, they had keys, or at least a set of keys amongst them. Which meant… Chul? Does he even know I exist? I mean, me, Jihu, son of his breeding to Shon-Ho?

Jihu snorted at the ridiculousness of his thought. He shouldn’t have such an ego? It was known throughout many lepes that Chul was a fertile breeder. Many, many offspring had been born from his seed finding a female’s egg and bringing it to life. Chul would have no idea who Jihu was, like he almost certainly couldn’t know all his other offspring. Yes, Jihu had an ego that was certainly unjustified.

Are you in there, Jihu?

The shouted question took him aback, because it came from Chul.

He…he knows my name?

Jihu actually stumbled back and fell before he could find his balance. The wooden floor was a jarring surface to his backside, and he bit his tongue on impact, blood finding his taste buds and making him gag.

Jihu! Are you— Ah! Chul’s shout broke off in a cry, and Jihu suddenly wanted his father to acknowledge him, to know that yes, his son, one of his many, many sons, was being held captive like the animal he could be. If he could ever shift again.

But to yell out, to answer, could mean death for them both. Jihu felt it in his bones. If Chul were trying to rescue him, was arguing and fighting against Chung-Hee, and Jihu answered, would that drive Chul to a frenzy? Would he kill Chung-Hee, or, more likely, would Chul die instead? Jihu knew he would then pay the price for having answered, and so he didn’t. It wasn’t just his life on the line now.

Jihu! Chul shouted again, but something about his voice sounded…off. Jihu wondered if he was wrong, and it wasn’t Chul hollering, perhaps someone who sounded similar. After all, Jihu had never actually spoken directly to Chul, but he’d heard Chung-Hee address Chul, heard Chul speak, and had been listening for a while, so he was relatively certain it truly was Chul beating the door down. But why?

The ‘why’ didn’t matter an instant later when the door gave, wood splintering as a big man came through it. Whether he’d done so of his own accord or been put through the door, Jihu didn’t know. Didn’t particularly care, because the guy was coming at him and he was scrabbling backward trying to avoid getting squashed.

Jihu just managed to roll, his chains pulling him up short and jarring him as the intruder hit the floor. Jihu felt the impact as well as heard it, and he strained against his chains, trying to turn to see who was beside him.

He didn’t recognize the man, who was unconscious and bleeding profusely from his head. Jihu quickly jerked his gaze down the man’s body and frowned. He just couldn’t tell if the big man belonged to Chul or Chung-Hee. If he is Chung-Hee’s…

Jihu’s head throbbed as adrenalin surged alongside hope, ramping up his pulse. He could hear the sounds of fighting but couldn’t pay them much attention. Not when he saw the slim rounded edge of a key ring glinting above the opening of the unconscious guard’s pocket. Chung-Hee and his guards had always carried the keys to the room, and his shackles, on a plain silver key ring.

His pulse raced. That ember of hope he’d been startled by earlier was determined to grow into a steady flame.

Jihu quickly realized he wasn’t going to be able to reach the key ring without moving the guard closer. Despite feeling as weak, Jihu would do it. A shout startled him, but it was only more fighting outside the room. Jihu needed to get his shit together and hurry up before his opportunity was gone.

Bae was free and Jihu wanted to be, too. From what he’d heard, Chul had argued for his son’s freedom, and did indeed think of Bae as a son, unlike Jihu, who was only the result of forced copulation. Whether Chul and Shon-Ho had both agreed hardly mattered in regards to Jihu’s parentage. Neither had been in his life, and neither of them could have refused to follow Chung-Hee’s orders. Just like Jihu couldn’t, unless he proved himself smarter than he thought.

He couldn’t pull the guard. Besides Jihu being in a weakened state, the felled man was too large. Jihu’s brain was still in working order, still strong. He raised his arm and took a length of the chain in hand, determined to get the keys. Jihu wound the chain under the guard’s armpit. It wasn’t perfect, but it was going to work. He stood and leaned back, using his weight to pull, his gaze flitting from that hint of key ring to