Demon: Everglade Brides, #5

By Ava Benton

A wolf shifter.
Damien's always followed rules. He's nothing like his twin, Tucker, the rule-breaker. Until he breaks one rule. And damned if it isn't a big one.

A rogue hottie.
Fox shifter Sierra had this great social life—drinking, partying, shopping. Until she had a rude awakening, one that shoved her out the door and into the swamps. The Paris Hilton of shifters went from manis and pedis to scavenging and practically dumpster diving.

An explosive unearthed secret forges an unlikely union.
When Damien and Sierra learn of the secret which could bring the clans' hierarchies to their knees, they find themselves in a unique position. Not to mention, the positions they find themselves in when they yield to their mutual desires.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ABP
• Release date: May 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393617884

Book preview

1

Damien

There was nothing like a good hunt. I ran full-out, legs pumping, air searing my lungs, pushing myself hard.

There was prey ahead, and three of us were closing in on it.

I had already eaten my fill but wanted to help the others.

I knew Vincent always did that when he hunted with a pack. It was what leaders did.

The night was warm and clear, with a steady breeze that rustled the low-hanging leaves on the trees throughout the swamp. The scent of so much prey filled my senses, enough to make me giddy.

I heard the thoughts of the rest of them—the clan members who had chosen to come hunting with me.

Vincent wanted us to always go out in groups, to avoid possible enemy attacks. None of us knew what Eastwing would have his clan do now that war was the reality. They had already launched attacks on several Everglades, including my brother, though we hadn’t lost anyone.

All that was in the back of my mind as I chased down our prey, a black bear. We closed in and cornered him. He put up a good fight, but in the end, we were too much to defend against. The panther and the tiger descended on him.

I trotted off to see if there was anyone else I could help and before long was alone in the darkness.

My head snapped up. I sensed something.

Something new.

A different scent danced on the breeze and reached my nostrils, making the fur on the back of my neck stand straight up. A growl escaped my throat, low and deep. Were they friend or foe, whoever they were? I had hunted with the entire clan over the last few months in Miami. I knew all their smells. I didn’t know this one.

I froze in place.

The deep shadow would keep me hidden, and I was downwind.

Little chance of this other—whoever or whatever they were—knowing I was there if I stayed still. It felt like time was standing still with me.

Everything stopped.

An enemy? I didn’t sense hostility.

The scent grew stronger. They were closer. I could hear faint, careful footsteps. Did they know I was there, listening? Waiting?

The stronger the scent, the surer I was that it was a stranger.

And female.

Female? There weren’t any females around that I knew of. None at clan headquarters, not for miles in any direction. Didn’t they know our hunting ground was prohibited?

I fought back the growl threatening to break loose and wished I wasn’t alone.

Another footstep. Louder.

I had to do something.

She shouldn’t be there, whoever she was.

It was Everglade land. I stepped out from inside the cluster of trees and growled.

She stepped into the light.

A fox.

Sleek, burnt copper fur. Gold, glowing eyes. She lifted them to me and locked them with mine.

Go. I growled again, louder, and my thoughts were clear. You don’t belong here.

She didn’t flinch.

I’m hungry. There’s enough here for me. I’ll leave when I’ve eaten.

I took several steps in her direction, hackles raised.

How dare she? This is Everglade land and you are not one of us. Leave. Now.

She didn’t think anything in response—instead, she took off at a run.

I sensed she wasn’t running away but rather leading me in a chase. Without thinking of what she might be leading me to, I took off after her.

She was small, fast, darting in and out of the trees, the underbrush. I would lose sight of her sometimes but I would never lose her scent.

I followed it even when I couldn’t see her.

Hers was stronger than all the other scents around me.

Finally, we came to a clearing around a pool of water.

She was clearly visible in the light filtering through the trees. She looked back at me, insolent. Daring me to stop her.

I wanted to.

She had to know who controlled the land.

I threw back my head and howled.

When I looked at her again, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

I noticed then how thin she was. I could have counted her ribs. I could see the ridges of her spine.

She was starving. I stood down.

Hungry. It was the only clear thought coming from her, in waves.

She held my gaze for a long time, waiting to see what I would do.

I could chase her out of the swamp or allow her to stay and have her fill. Even though every instinct told me to attack, the little bit of humanity left over after I shifted told me to let her go.

She was too small to eat very much. There was more than enough for all of us in the swamp—and no one else needed to know she was ever there.

Be fast. It was my only warning.

I then turned and loped away, back to the house. I would be missed if I stayed away much longer, and I didn’t want one of the others to come looking for me and find her.

They wouldn’t be as merciful.

I couldn’t imagine what something as small and weak as she was would be able to catch—maybe fish, or a bird, or a snake. Enough to keep her going, anyway.

I wondered if I should’ve helped her the way I’d helped the others and decided she wasn’t my problem or responsibility. My only responsibility was to my clan.

I trotted across the wide, emerald lawn leading to the back of Vincent’s mansion. It had become my home—for some reason, I felt a deeper connection to it than I ever had to the mansion my father owned.

Not my father, I reminded myself. The clan owned the house, since the clan’s money had purchased it. We lived there and could do with it what we wanted because Dad led the Midwest segment of the clan. That was all.

Once I reached the covered lanai behind the house, I allowed myself to shift. Immediately, my instincts lessened—but they never left. No shifter ever lost their animal instincts no matter which form they were in, just like I could still smell and see and hear better than any human.

I couldn’t forget the scent of the fox.

She was like nothing I had ever encountered. I wondered if she found her dinner and hoped she didn’t think all Everglades were as forgiving as me. She’d be in a lot of trouble if she overstayed her welcome. In truth, she had no welcome.

I’d left my clothes folded on a chair and went to them. It was the only set of clothes outside, which told me I was right—everybody else had finished their hunt and come back.

I hoped nobody would ask what had taken so long, as I shoved my arms through the sleeves of my shirt and pulled on a pair of khaki shorts. I loved being able to wear summer clothes in February. Just another way Chicago couldn’t touch Miami.

There were so many ways, far beyond weather. It was a different world. I felt freer here, like there were more opportunities. I would only ever be Dad’s lackey back home, doing the little jobs he thought I was capable of doing. Busy work, nothing more.

Trek—no, Tucker, I reminded myself. He’d quit calling me Demon, and I wouldn’t think of him as Trek. Though come on, Demon was worse than Trek—by a long shot.

Anyway, Tucker was right when he called our father a control freak—and that control freak wouldn’t be as glad to hand duties off to me as Vincent was to let Jace learn how to lead the clan.

It wasn’t just Jace that Vincent was intent on training, either. He saw something in me even my father didn’t. There was finally a light at the end of the tunnel.

My future was in Florida, not Illinois or anywhere else. All I had to do was keep Vincent happy and prove myself a strong leader as we went up against Bradford and the Eastwings.

It was like he heard me thinking about him. My phone rang, and I wasn’t surprised to see Dad’s number on the screen. I stayed outside to have a little privacy.

You didn’t call earlier today. I was expecting you. My father didn’t bother to say hello.

I asked myself why it even mattered. It wasn’t like we’d ever had a warm, affectionate relationship.

We had a lot of things to do this afternoon. I just went out for a hunt and was planning on calling you after.

Any updates?

Nothing since yesterday. Why he insisted on daily phone calls was beyond me. Oh, right—control freak.

I wondered why he hadn’t just come down on his own, then, if he couldn’t bear being away from the action.

I wouldn’t want to be one of Vincent’s spies right now, Dad snorted. I’m glad neither of you are doing anything so dangerous.

He always knew how to get my hackles up even when I wasn’t in my wolf form. I squeezed the phone so hard it was a surprise the thing stayed in one piece.

Dad had a way of making the most innocent comment, one which would sound caring coming from virtually anyone else, sound like an accusation. He wanted us to prove ourselves, and in his mind it meant putting our asses on the line. Seemed he easily forgot about the fact that his sons killed an Eastwing spy.

Vincent knows best about whether his spies are in too much danger or not.

The icy silence on the other end told me my comment had hit home. Dad