Born a Changeling

By M.D. Stewart

Cam: I’m a changeling, a shapeshifter born to protect the innocent and serve my Queen, Hecate. While patrolling the Castle grounds in our supernatural world, a scent leads me through a portal to the Mortal Plane where I meet my mate and his charming daughter. An evil plot between his world and mine is trying to take them away from me, but I’ll die -- or go against my Queen -- to protect my new family.

Ben: My daughter, Seda, is my world, though I try not to give in and let her have everything she wants. But I can’t say no to her keeping the large cat she finds while we’re on vacation. It turns out this cat really is different -- he turns into a very sexy man who crashes into my life and steals my heart. When something evil tries to cross into our world, Cam vows to put his life on the line to protect my child. I may lose one to save the other, and I don’t know how I’ll ever survive the loss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Changeling Press
• Release date: Jul 12, 2019

Book preview

loss.

Prologue

Cam, Hecate’s Castle

I sat staring at Queen Hecate as she presided over the Others’ Ball. The light wooden ballroom was packed with gorgeously dressed supernatural beings of every species. The smooth stone walls had been polished to a mirror-like sheen, so the soft glow of the crystal chandeliers shone bright. Food from various districts in the Cross Roads were served on long tables that surrounded the vast room. The buzz of constant chatter and bursts of laughter sounded throughout the room as guests waited to hobnob with the Queen.

A line of beings waited to greet Hecate as she sat at her throne accepting praise from whoever was speaking with her. She looked stunning, as always. Her figure was highlighted in the dark blue dress that hugged her curvy body. Long black lace the same shade as her raven hair dipped from her high neckline, spilling to the cutout above her breasts and flowing over her bodice. Matching black lace fell from her sleeves, nearly reaching the ground. Her pale skin shone in the light of the room.

I was so bored I couldn’t help but yawn, my jaws cracking. Even my two hellhound brothers couldn’t keep me entertained. After their attempts to bat me with their huge paws or wrestle with me behind our Queen’s back, I ignored them both. When my whines didn’t garner attention from my Mistress, I gave up, flopped down on my belly and sighed.

I came alert when a green-skinned Terran Demon tried to pat me. Growling, I peeled my lips back, showing every sharp tooth in my head. I might be Hecate’s hellhound, but that did not give a demon the right to paw me like a pet. When it ignored my growl, I snapped, just missing its long, bony fingers. Asshole.

Drirgan, you know better than to touch my hounds, Hecate purred. Next time I’ll let Cambrai take a few of your fingers as a treat.

The demon gave me a look that promised retribution. I rolled my eyes and looked away. Drirgan couldn’t do a damn thing, and we both knew it.

I’d had enough, though. I stood and stretched, making sure the Terran Demon got a good look at my asshole and big balls. Then I trotted out the door and onto the grounds. The familiar soft, flower-scented breeze greeted me as I padded along. I took a deep breath and relished the freedom from the scents and stuffiness of the dance hall.

That’s when I caught a whiff of the most amazing smell, a combination of spicy cinnamon and sweet vanilla. I took off at a run, trying to track down the intriguing scent.

A bright pinpoint of light drew my attention. There! The scent was coming from that light, and I slowed to a cautious trot. The closer I got, the bigger the light grew and the stronger I was drawn to it. Voices murmured, and I thrust my head into the light. Glancing around, I saw a room with stairs to my right, a large comfy couch, and several tall, padded chairs.

This was a portal to the Earth Plane.

I shook my head, amazed it would open for me. Hearing Humans speaking, I considered retreating into my own plane, but the voices weren’t close by. Besides, the scent that drew me most definitely was here.

I stepped through the light into a warm, welcoming atmosphere. Trouble was, I knew I’d terrify any human who saw me. My first and most used form, the hellhound, was huge by normal dog standards. Humans would probably compare my features to a pit bull’s, though I was much bigger. My head was larger than an average human male’s torso, and my front legs were as thick as most men’s forearms.

Definitely best to shift forms. With a thought, I changed into a fluffy domestic house cat. My brother hellhounds would laugh their balls off at me, but it would be worth it to find the source of that delicious scent.

A gasp drew my attention just as an angelic blonde girl-child raced into the room. Not being familiar with human young, I thought she looked older than a toddler. Her curly blonde hair surrounded chubby cheeks and a pink bow mouth. Her bright blue eyes charmed me -- until she grabbed me around the chest and scooped me up, my back legs dangling. I inwardly sighed, knowing I’d officially lost the last of my dignity. I should’ve stayed in hellhound form so this young female couldn’t pick me up.

But no matter how humiliated I found being toted like a stuffed animal, I’d never hurt her. As a hellhound I was born to protect others.

The child screamed into my ear and ran on her short legs, my feet nearly dragging the ground. I closed my eyes, hoping the urchin wouldn’t trip over my long tail. Daddy! Wook, wook! Kitty! Her voice rose to a screech in her excitement.

At least one of us was happy.

I opened my eyes to see three very startled human men, two of them holding hands. The other male stared down at us, a smile spreading over his gorgeous face. He looked like a blond god -- tanned skin, blue eyes and straight, white teeth. In human form, I’d have sighed as I stared at him. Seda, be careful with the kitty.

The angelic-demon-child’s father turned to face the other men in the room. I’m sorry if my daughter is too rough with your cat. Seda loves animals, but she’s too young to understand being gentle.

They shared a look before turning their attention back to the blond god-man. Um, that’s fine, Mr. Travers. Josiah and I, we don’t have a cat.

Mr. Travers took me from the child and pulled me against his chest. I was inundated with that amazing spicy/sweet scent and knew. This human man was my mate.

And to my utter mortification, I began to purr. Well, shit.

* * *

Ben

Cross Roads B&B

I can’t say I was happy when Seda ran up to me holding that overlarge house cat. Its tri-colored fur was pretty, but I’d never considered the idea of having house pets. I hadn’t owned so much as a goldfish growing up, and now I was hardly home enough to care for them.

But as pets go, cats were generally easier to leave for a few days, and I figured my parents could swing by the house and check on her. Him? I wasn’t sure. I’d never had a pet before, so how did I know what sex it was? Sue me.

Or not. I am a lawyer. But, I digress, back to the, uh, animal.

Half of the cat’s face was black, the other orange-red. The rest of the beast was swirled stripes of those colors, with white splotches thrown in for good measure. I wasn’t sure, but I’d read somewhere that tri-colored cats -- such as calicos, tortoiseshells and the like -- were almost exclusively female.

Since the owners of the bed and breakfast said they didn’t have a cat, I wondered how it even got into the house. If they had a hole in their building big enough for a large cat to stroll on in, it wasn’t my problem. I just hoped raccoons, possums and skunks stayed the hell outside.

Chapter One

Ben, Charlotte, NC

After spending two weeks in Prenter’s Bottom, Seda and I finally returned home, cat in tow. I’d considered leaving the animal behind, but my daughter had her heart set on taking it home.

When she dubbed the cat Princess, I could have sworn I’d seen the beast wince. Well, Princess, you should’ve avoided the spoiled five-year-old.

The cat had been sleeping with Seda since she’d found her, him or it. For the first time since her other dad died, my daughter was sleeping peacefully through the night. Either the change of location or having a pet to comfort her staved off her nightmares. Even now, she was curled up in bed with Princess snuggled against her.

Either way, I was grateful. I’d taken Seda to doctor after doctor trying to determine why she so often woke screaming. Psychologists, psychiatrists, world-renowned pediatricians -- every one of them said she was too young to remember Marcus or the way he died. The consensus was that she’d grow out of her night terrors. The doctors all assured me that the name made her dreams sound worse than they were.

I disagreed. Several times in the last month, Seda had bolted out of bed, crying, her little body shaking and covered in sweat. It drove me insane to know I couldn’t help her.

She’d only been a toddler when Marcus took his life, and I’d made sure she never saw his body. I wish I could’ve done the same for myself. I’d gone to lots of therapy to try to repair the damage his