Chapter 1
Adam knew every jaguar in River Gap Pride, and the woman who walked through the door wasn’t one of them. She was trouble.
Pausing in the entryway to the dojo, she scanned the foyer with dark chocolate eyes. She tensed when he approached, as if poised to bolt, but squared her shoulders and faced him anyway. Her response didn’t bother him. He was used to taming wild things.
He gave her his friendliest smile. “Hi there, here for classes?”
People didn’t get wilder than shapeshifters, and he was sure she was a fellow shifter. His inner beast growled, her scent exciting things deep inside his core. And yet, there was a newness about her. She had an awkwardness he associated with teens growing into their maturing bodies, yet she still moved with more grace than any human.
“Yes.” Her answer came in a quiet, wary voice. “I was interested in beginner martial arts classes.” The melodic timbre sent shivers down his spine.
He didn’t recognize her. He’d have remembered that sweet face framed in shoulder length hair, so dark a brown it was almost black. She must be new in town, come to stay in pride territory.
She continued in that quiet voice. “I spoke to Jacob. He told me that my father and I would be expected.”
And just like that, Adam knew who she was. His beast surged inside his skin, drowning Adam in the need to protect.
And she needed protection. It was why she had come to River Gap Pride.
