Marked by the Panther: Black Ops Bodyguard Shifters, #1

By Zoey Indiana

Jaden was dead... Until Piper strode into his life.

 

Disgraced from shifter black ops, Jaden struggles to find purpose. Especially after his battle buddy drops the perfect business endeavor he never wanted in his lap, and the first job goes awry. At the worst possible moment, his mate enters his life like a wrecking ball.

 

Despite founding Mateless Mates for human females, Piper feels like she'll never find her fated mate. Almost at her wit's end, she can't commit to either world. When she stumbles into a speed dating event, she throws caution to the wind and claims her mate. But did she make an awful mistake?

 

As a secret organization threatens to rip the shifter world apart, they join their friends in a struggle to survive.

 

Marked by the Panther is the first in a series of steamy, black ops bodyguard shifter romances. If you love daring adventures, bearded heroes, and fated mates, then you won't want to miss out on this… Read Marked by the Panther and claim your mate today!

 

***Marked by the Panther was previously released in the Sultry Shifter Nights Anthology***

 

Content Warning: 18+

This romance contains steamy consensual adult situations, fated mates, adult language, violence, flashbacks with off page references to child neglect, PTSD, a couple too stubborn to just accept each other without a little conflict, awakening emotions, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

The Series:
1. Marked by the Panther
2. Marked by the Lion
3. Marked by the Cougar
4. Marked by the Jaguar
5. Marked by the Tiger
6. Marked by the Bobcat

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zoey Indiana
• Release date: Dec 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201813727

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

YOU'LL NEVER FIND YOUR FATED MATE. EVEN THE GODS KNOW HOW WORTHLESS YOU ARE.

JADEN

Pain exploded in my nose as an elbow bounced off my face. I growled deep in my chest as I grabbed the man's arms and pinned them behind his back. Silently cursing, I smashed the possum shifter against the wall. After grabbing a set of zip tie restraints from my back pocket, I wrapped the first one around the struggling beast's wrist.

The high-pitched noise jingled behind me as my phone in my pocket vibrated. I tapped the Bluetooth in my ear. It's Jaden.

 Before I could react, the possum wiggled a hand loose. He pushed off the wall and spun around to face me. Then his fist crashed into my nose.

Motherfucker! Instead of grabbing my nose, I released my natural restraint to not punch stupid people. This asshole didn't deserve nice Jaden. First, I landed a blow on his solar plexus. Second, I grabbed the back of his head as he bent over to gasp for air and smashed my knee into his face. That's for my nose. Now when you feel the splitting headache, I want you to remember I gave you the option to do this the easy way. The next time you wake up and choose to be a dumbass, don't do it here.

He mumbled something, but I didn't bother to listen. I formed a fist, my middle knuckle protruding past my others, then hit his vagus nerve hard enough to reset his nervous system without killing him. His body went limp as he dropped to the ground, unconscious.

I take it this isn't the best time to talk? Felix's voice spoke into my ear from the bluetooth earpiece I'd forgotten about.

Yeah, apparently not. I'd been dodging him for a few weeks now. Should have ignored the call. I'm in the middle- well, hell. I cut off my sentence as I watched the head bouncer stomp across the bar toward me. Call you back later.

Before Felix could protest, I tapped my earpiece and rose to my full height. This bear annoyed the hell out of me. Anything I did was wrong in his eyes.

What the fuck is your problem? You can't go around killing patrons just because they rough you up a bit.

First of all, the male is a first class asshole who got handsy with your bartender. Second, he's just taking a little nap. Besides a headache, he'll be fine in the morning. I left out how bad that headache would be, though.

The bear glared. I knew he wanted to have words with me, but I wasn't in the mood for it. He gestured at the office, but I shook my head. Glenn could say what he wanted right here, or keep his mouth shut. If you can't follow simple directions, then you need to see yourself out. When he laid his grubby paw on my arm, the temptation to break it rolled through me. But that wouldn't help right now. I told the bear at Wolfsbane hiring you wasn't a good idea. Everyone here knows why your parents abandoned you. Seems you made it through years of military service just to be an even bigger fuck up.

My hands curled into fists, but I held them at my sides. As much as I wanted to knock out this beehive licker, the last thing I needed right now was an assault charge. Doing as I had my entire life, I balled the pain up and crammed it as deep as possible until I could ignore the words. A familiar numbness settled over me as I focused my gaze on the bear.

First, I'd politely quit, then leave before my mouth got me into trouble. Leaning in close, I dropped my voice. Next time you lay your honey grubbing paws on me will be your last. I might be as much of a fuck up as you think, but just remember, I could kill you and dispose of your body without a trace.

Good job, dumbass. I silently cursed myself for making a scene as I slammed the door open. It bounced off the brick wall, then banged back into place. I threw my leg over my sleek black motorcycle and shot out of the alleyway. Maybe the gods would finally take pity on me and let me die quickly in a high-speed accident.

Weight settled in my gut as I reduced my speed. The last thing I should do was risk some innocent human's life just because my parents were too dense to wear a fucking condom. Instead of parking my bike in the garage, I parked it in the driveway and walked to the end of the compacted gravel.

The wall of trees and uncleared land called to me, begging me to shift into my cat form and run wild. Everything seemed simpler as a panther; eat, run, sleep, and mate.

Mate.

The word burned through me as I stared down at my open hands.

Why would the gods grant me the honor of a Tsigo? My own parents didn't want me. That's why my father left me out by the creek as an infant. Nothing changed growing up, even after my mother had found me. She'd spent days nursing me back to health after my sperm donor took off for a few weeks in a rage. Years of painful memories weighed on me, reminding me of all the reasons a mate would never choose me. Even if I didn't wait for my Tsigo, and chose a woman, that was good enough. I didn't want to turn into my father. My parents' curse was the reason I needed to throw my secret dream away.

And yet, the thread remained. What if I did find my Tsigo? If we were fated to be mated by the gods, how could we turn into something toxic like my parents?

Jaden!

His voice smacked into me, bringing back a mix of emotions. I turned and looked over at the male, remembering the first time I'd met him. We'd both parachuted onto Survival Island with five other Agenwi. Aside from Felix's brother Arric, all of us shifters were strangers, dropped onto an island and given a month to pass the test mission. The Agenati Division in the Department of Defense didn't mess around with training their soldiers.

Felix. My voice couldn't disguise my reaction at seeing him. I crossed my arms and widened my stance.

Felix rolled his eyes. You know you can only ignore me for so long. He walked over to me.

That's because you don't know how to take a hint, or fifty. How many times do I have to ignore your calls before you realize I don't want to talk?

He shook his head. I'm not some woman you can brush off when you're worried you'll catch feelings.

I narrowed my eyes at him. You're more like a bat… I can't bring myself to cut you off, and you fly blind, crashing into me at the worst times.

You always did have the worst sense of humor out of the six of us.

Felix held his hand out. I glared at it for a full minute before I relented. Reaching out, I grasped his hand in a series of handshakes and fist bumps. It's amazing how you can learn everything about a male, be his battle brother, and yet still can't teach him humor. Just a walking reminder of my biggest failure. I fell into the jovial, light-hearted humor I'd used to cope with our daily life or death experiences. It was the side of me my found family expected to see.

All jokes aside, we need to talk. His smile disappeared as his eyebrows narrowed at me. I'm concerned about you. Farmer's worried about you, all of us are.

My jaw sealed shut, refusing to make another mistake today. I wanted to tell him off, insult him until he left so I could be alone to wallow in my self-hatred. They always accepted me even though I never felt like I belonged.

Stop being a fucking dick, Warden. All of us are pissed about what happened in the prisoner camp, but we can't do shit about it. Farmer, Casper, Grimm, Nile… we've all moved on. You're the only one who can't seem to pull himself together long enough to function.

Hearing the team's nicknames took me back in time. Felix was my friend, my brother from during the war. He didn't deserve my wrath, but he was pushing my limits.

I've already talked to them, and they already support this idea. All you have to do is stop acting like a kitten.

A deep growl rumbled in my chest. Why can't you all just fuck off and leave me alone? Maybe I don't want to work security for your little dating events or The Bar. Have you ever thought about that?

Felix narrowed his eyes as he leaned in, shoving a finger into my chest. Or you're still upset that I found my Tsigo while you walked away with nothing. Instead of being happy for us and having patience, you're acting like a lion with a thorn in its paw.

I'd known the speed dating event I'd seen in the ad was a dumb idea. Even as I sat up late filling out applications for both Felix and me, I thought deep down it wouldn't work. I'd already accepted that we wouldn't find the other half of our souls. Besides, who didn't laugh at the idea of getting a flying fox to attend a dating event on Halloween. Yeah, he didn't look like a typical bat, but he still was.

When I saw him walk out of that room with Luna, a wave of hope had flooded through me. A few months dragged by, and that hope festered into jealousy. Until I heard my father's words replaying in my brain one long, lonely night. You'll never find your Tsigo. Even the gods know how worthless you are. They'd never relegate an innocent female to live in shame with you. It was the only thing I could think about when I saw Felix now.

His finger dug deeper into my chest, dragging me from my thoughts. I've already contacted the rest of the team, so all you have to do is show up at The Bar this Friday night at nineteen hundred hours.

Felix didn't wait for a response before he turned his back to me. I gave him one anyway. Don't hold your breath.

That's a shame, since I know your Tsigo will be there. He jumped, his body shrinking into a brown ball of fur and black wings. His wings flapped as he launched himself into the sunset.

I cursed as I turned back to the trees. Rolling my shoulders, I let my beast rise and take over. I dropped onto all four paws and bolted into the vast expanse of trees. Because of my parents' mistaken mating, I had been born cursed to live alone. My Tsigo didn't exist. The gods wouldn't allow it. Felix was wrong.

CHAPTER 2

WHY CAN'T I JUST CRASH INTO HIM AND HAVE HIM SWEEP ME OFF MY FEET?

PIPER

Lilith set another cup on the table as she breezed by, checking on the other patrons. I picked it up and took a quick sip to gauge the temp. Yup, just right. Lilith knew exactly what I liked. Bold flavors and caffeine ran through me, giving me the strength I needed to listen to Yani. I loved the woman to death, but even I couldn't handle her incessant talking sometimes.

I know he's out there, I can feel it, but I don't know if I'll ever find him. Yani tapped her fingernails on the table as tears welled up in her eyes. What happens if we don't find them? I don't want to go through my entire life looking for him in all the wrong places. Why is this so hard?

Sweetie, you have to be patient. We've just started looking. You can't expect all of us to find our fated males right away. When did the talk of Tsigos, shifters, and this new way of life become normal? I'd been born into