The Shifter's Catch Read online

  At the café, Isobel parked her car and took a look at the customer that Azalea pointed out. It was a man in an expensive but low-key business suit. Dark hair flopped into his eyes and a full, kissable mouth was turned down into a frown. There was something haunted in his face that had Isobel's heart skipping a beat. He was perfect. The sort of quiet desperation that radiated off of him was just what she needed.

  "Are you going to con him or seduce him?" Azalea breathed in her ear. "Or both?"

  "I don't seduce clients. I'm not a prostitute, remember?"

  "You'd be more fun if you were one."

  Isobel ignored the annoying ghost and got out of the car. She removed the chains from one ear as she hurried over to the man and slid into the chair opposite him. When he glanced up, startled, she smiled invitingly. Cold readings like this one were always a risk. He was rich but didn't want people to think he was. He kept his hair slightly over his face – so, someone well-known, then. Pity, she stayed away from the news.

  "Hello," she said in her normal voice. He didn't want mystics. He wanted . . . answers, she thought. "My name is Isobel Yasmine. This is going to sound strange and you may not believe me, but please listen to what I have to say. I have a gift. I can see visions of the future and I've seen you. You're searching for something, aren't you?"

  His eyes widened. "Well . . . yes."

  Isobel nodded, her smile widening. "I'm the one you've been searching for. I'm the answer and I will do everything I can to help you achieve your destiny."

  "Uh . . . " The man leaned back, shaking his head. "Wow. That's not something I expected to hear today. I suppose you know you who I am?"

  Ah, such an easy mark. He already believed her. Fortunate, since she was already tired from Salish and the fact she hadn't eaten all day.

  "Well . . . not your name. The universe sounds out pulses – some call them vibrations. I received strong signals when I saw you sitting here. I thought to myself, there is a man whom many people love. So why is he so sad and lonely?" She narrowed her eyes at him, pretending like she could see into his soul. "You're looking for something, something you need. I'm the one."

  The man leaned in towards her. His eyes traced over her pointed ears and then took in her pale skin. His was the color of walnut, deep and rich and beautiful. She had never seen a man so beautiful. She almost regretted choosing the con over the seduction.

  "You're sure?" he whispered. "You're the one?"

  Isobel nodded. She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "The universe has put us together."

  A look of relief crossed the man's face. A smile came out, flashing a dimple in his left cheek. Just the one. It gave him an air of innocence and sexiness all at once. Shoot. She really shouldn't have gone the con route. This was a guy who'd take her to the ritziest hotel in the city, splurge on her for dinner, and then spend the night pleasing her. It was too late to change now, though.

  "Good. My name is Edan, by the way." He stood. "Can we go now?"

  Isobel nodded. They'd find some private booth to do a reading and then—

  The business suit shredded as his shape changed form. Isobel's jaw dropped, her eyes widening. Scales the color of the deepest sea sprouted over his skin. His eyes changed shape, the warm brown turning to slits. Wings spread out from behind him, a long tail swiping several of the other tables over, a neck of equal length ending in a triangular head. Isobel had just enough time to suck in a deep breath before a huge, clawed hand shot out and wrapped around her middle.

  He sprang into the air. The wind whipped her hair into her face and she finally found her voice. A loud scream pierced the air but was whipped away by the wind. The dragon held her close to his chest and she could feel his thunderous heartbeat pounding into her body. His wings beat the air as they climbed higher and higher. She had to concentrate on breathing, unable to do anything else.

  They passed over several mountains before coming to a stop on the top of a sheer cliff. The dragon set her down on her feet before he transformed back into a human. Isobel swayed on the spot and he caught her. Worry lined Edan's face.

  "Was that too much for you? You probably meant we should drive. Flying is the only way to get up here, though, so . . . "

  Isobel gaped at him. Her gaze raked over his face again and the faint trickling of recognition hit her full blown in the stomach. The prince. The dragons that ruled the kingdom were elusive, more myth than reality, but she had seen the odd image of them. This was one of the princes. Which one, she didn't know. Not the oldest, though. Certainly, she would have recognized the king.

  "I'll have the servants make up a room for you at once," Edan said, then frowned. "On second thought, I'll have them change my office into your room. At least for now. Given the situation, we'll need to marry tomorrow, though."

  "Marry?" Isobel managed to gasp out. "You want . . . "

  Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed into his arms.

  Chapter Three – Edan

  Maybe she wasn't as prepared for this as she claimed. Edan pulled the unconscious human into his arm, admiring the curve of her jaw and the beaded chain that dangled from one of her ears. She had matched a pair of jeans with a red silk top which clung to her thin frame. Too thin, he thought. She had a round-faced appearance but he couldn't help but think that she hadn't eaten a proper meal in a long time.

  He headed for the stairs, intent on taking his bride to his room. He'd have the spare made up at once, but for now, she needed rest, obviously. Or should he take her to the hospital, in case there was something aside from being overwhelmed that had caused her to faint?

  "Edan! What do you think you are doing?"

  Turning, he saw Zoelle storming at him. Her eyes were narrowed, pale cheeks flushed and he set his mouth in a thin line.

  "I found my bride."

  "Kidnapped her, from what I've heard."

  "I did not." Edan adjusted Isobel so that her head was resting comfortably on his shoulder. "She came to me and told me that she was a psychic and that she was the one I was looking for. She said she was ready to go and—"

  Zoelle burst out into laughter. Edan rolled his eyes and started walking again, his sister-in-law trailing behind him. He hadn't really expected that anybody else would believe what she had said. But there was just something very . . . true about the way she looked at him. The tone of her voice. He could hear it in her words that she was the one for him. The vibrations of the universe had spoken to him, as corny as it sounded. She was the one he was looking for.

  "Oh, Edan. When I said you needed to find a mate, I didn't think you'd be so easily taken in by a scam."

  "It's not a scam."

  "What are you going to do now?" Zoelle asked, sobering.

  "Take her to a bed so she can be comfortable." Edan hesitated as he glanced down at his bride. "It was probably too much to tell her we were going to marry tomorrow."

  Zoelle snorted. "Tomorrow? Yes, that is certainly too fast. You shouldn't marry her until you've known her for at least a week."

  Edan turned to angrily retort, but at that moment, Isobel stirred. She moaned, her eyes fluttering. When they opened, they latched on his face. He smiled reassuringly. Her jaw dropped and a keening, high-pitched scream echoed from her throat and she flailed both arms. One fist hit him in the jaw and, startled, he dropped her. She sprang to her feet and bolted for the cliff wall at once. Edan dove after her.

  "That's a thousand foot drop," he warned. "You'll never survive."

  Isobel gasped. Her already pale skin turned a shade of white he'd never seen before and her hands clutched at his arm.

  "Too high!" she squeaked. "Too high! Put me down. I want the ground."

  Edan put an arm around her and led her back towards the palace. Zoelle stood on the steps, hands on her hips, looking less than impressed. She looked Isobel up and down. As they drew closer, the human shrank against him, then looked around with eyes as big as dinner plates. She swayed, and for a moment, he
thought she was going to faint again. Then, she pulled away and stood straighter, though her legs trembled.

  "You're the prince," she mumbled. "The actual . . . Wait. Are you the prince? Or are you the one that's the king?"

  "I'm a prince," he assured her. "My eldest brother, Clint, is the king."

  Isobel sucked in a deep breath and shook her head. "Okay, then. Right. Why am I here?"

  They hadn't shared the news of what had happened with the press, so it was unsurprising that she didn't know. Edan decided to put it as simply as he could. "Clint was badly injured recently and my other brother, Brant . . . Well, I need to be married right away. I know it's not much of a courtship, but—"

  Zoelle folded her arms. "You're not going to marry a con artist."

  Edan whirled on his sister-in-law. "She is not a con artist."

  Isobel tapped his shoulder. "Actually, I am."

  "What?"

  "I'm a con," she said, twisting her hands now. "I didn't know you were a prince or I'd never have tried it out on you. But I'm good at reading people. Not actually a psychic. Just good at looking at someone and seeing things. I could tell you were desperate, rich, and looking for something. I wanted your money. There were no pulses from the universe."

  Edan stared at her for a long moment. He waited for the shame, for the feeling of being sucker punched. It didn't come. So maybe she had been lying and he had been desperate enough to believe her. That really didn't matter. The fact that she was a woman and he needed a wife still remained. He had been out among the people for two days and found no other option as promising as she was.

  Besides, he hadn't felt drawn this way to another woman. When his eyes had landed on her, his fires leaped. They burned hot and his arms tingled with the desire to hold her. He had chosen her and that was all there was to it.

  "So, maybe you can take me home now . . . Please?" Isobel stared at him.

  "No, I don't think so."

  Both women looked shocked. Zoelle snarled under her breath. "If you think you're going to force her to marry you—"

  "So, you switch from being concerned for me to thinking I'm a monster in the space of a few minutes?" Edan snapped, then winced. "Sorry. I know this is hard for you, too. But, Isobel, if you were after my money, you can have it. Once we marry, I'll give you total control over my personal accounts."

  Isobel's jaw dropped. "Why?"

  "Because one of my brothers tried to kill the other, leaving me as the only one capable of producing an heir to take over the kingdom," he said, looking her in the eye. "But the heir has to be legitimate, so marry me, have a child, and you will have everything you want in life. You will never want for anything."

  Isobel laughed, then sagged against him as though her legs lost their strength. "Are you for real? I just admitted to scamming you and you . . . want to marry me still? And how do you know I'll make a good mother? For all you know, I'm a firm believer of beating children to make them obey unquestioningly!"

  "Are you?"

  Isobel twitched. " . . . No. But that doesn't mean that there aren't other things about me you might find equally horrible. What if I'm terrible in bed?"

  Edan felt his cheeks heating at that. The thought of having her in bed did things to him that he didn't want to think about right now. "It doesn't matter. I need a wife and you're here."

  The woman threw her hands into the air. "Right. You want me just because I happen to be here? There are other options. Loads of them."

  He didn't want any other options. It didn't matter if she lied to him – or thought she lied – he wanted her. He resisted the urge to pin her to the wall and show her exactly what he had to offer her, but acting like a caveman wasn't going to change her mind. But he wanted her as his bride. He just needed to convince her that they were meant to be together.

  "You can take me home now," she said.

  "Not yet. Give it some time. Just consider everything that I can give you."

  His bride put her hands on her hips and stared challengingly at him. "And what would that be?"

  ***

  He fastened the large diamond around her neck, adjusting the white-gold chain so that the jewel sat on her breastbone. It was cut in a teardrop shape with flower-shaped rubies and emeralds clustered at the top. Isobel gaped at the expensive necklace. She turned this way and that, eyes on the rainbow sparkles. Edan smirked. He liked the way it looked on her.

  "I can get you the sapphire and ammonite ones too," he said, his hands on her hips. "And that ring you were looking at before."

  "I don't believe it," Isobel shrieked. "This hunk of rock costs more than my entire apartment complex and you're saying you can get me more?"

  Edan's smirk increased. He nodded. "You know that old cliché about dragons and hoarding? It's true. We have huge caverns full of gold, not to mention large tracks of land and other income sources. Our oil rigs alone pull in nearly a billion per month."

  "A . . . " She swayed on the spot. "In that case, just give me the cash that these things cost."

  "Consider it—"

  "No, don't." Isobel unfastened the necklace and put it back on its stand. Her hands trembled. "I'm such a gold digger."

  Edan snorted. While she did accept gifts and a certain amount of money from him, the more expensive things were like pulling teeth. He was certain she didn't even realize what she was doing when she refused to drive the Lamborghini in their garage below the pinnacle the palace was built into, or wear the diamond bracelet when they went to a movie. She was a bit of a contradiction, and Edan liked that.

  "A gold digger, huh? You're doing a pretty poor job at it, in that case. A proper gold digger wouldn't feel guilty at taking everything her sugar daddy gives her."

  Isobel's brow furrowed. "I don't get it. I keep telling you I'm not the girl to have your babies. Why are you insisting on keeping me around? Half the women in the kingdom would throw themselves at you for the chance to be your bride."

  Edan shrugged. "I don't want them. I want you. The moment you sat across from me, my fires burned blue and I knew that you were meant to be my bride."

  "Sure. Whatever you say."

  He slid his hands to her hips and she shivered. "I also like the way your cheeks flush and her breathing hitches whenever I'm near. You're aroused by my mere presence and that's something that can't be faked."

  "I'm not aroused," she blurted, pulling away. She narrowed her eyes at him, though her face was rapidly turning red. "So you want me because I'm an easy sell, is that it? Am I your official escort? A prostitute by marriage?"

  "I'd prefer not to think of it like that."

  A look of shock crossed her face. "But you do. Otherwise, you'd have said that I'm not a prostitute. That was one thing I never had to do. Even when I was living on the streets. Now . . . "

  "You'd be my wife, not a prostitute."

  Isobel shrugged. "Same thing if I'm marrying you for money. And what happens when you find out I'm crazy? When I ramble to thin air like I'm talking with someone else? Do you lock away your embarrassing wife so nobody has to know that you married a loon?"

  "No." Edan stepped closer. "I'd buy you a new car."

  "You already did that. I don't want a car. Do you know how much pressure there is looking at a shiny Jaguar and worrying about scratching it if I touch it?"

  With a sigh, he stepped back. "I don't get you. You claim you want money, but you don't know what to do with it once you have it. If you are really the kind of person you're claiming to be, then you'd be taking everything I offer. So what is it? Gold digger or not? What do you want?"

  Isobel sucked her lower lip between her teeth. She considered him for a moment before she nodded as though she had decided something. "The Phantom's Cave."

  Edan's eyes widened. "What? Why would you want to go there? More people who enter die than return."

  "My reasons are my own."

  "But—"

  "Forget it." She turned her back on him. "Buy the whole store. I don't care. I
've got a headache. I'm going to wait in the car."

  Chapter Four – Isobel

  There were certainly perks to being pursued by a dragon prince richer than God. Isobel hadn't expected him to find her weakness, but when he had presented her with a nightgown made from pink silk with a high emperor waist and a sheer overskirt split at the front with puffed sleeves, she hadn't been able to contain herself. She wore silk slippers and a tiara, draped in pearls and jewels as she waltzed around her bedroom.

  "Aren't you a little old to be playing princess?" Azalea yawned, sitting cross-legged on a chair.

  Isobel turned her nose up at the ghost. "I'm not really playing at it. Besides, what do you care? I never got any of these pretty, fancy dresses growing up. Why is it inexcusable for adults to dress up like this?"

  "But pink?"

  "I like pink."

  Azalea rolled her eyes. "Right. Of course. Because playing princess and dancing around in fancy nightgowns is what's important right now. If you really wanted to go to the Phantom's Cave, then you'd just go. You wouldn't wait for Edan's permission like a good little obedient girl, you'd take what you want and just go."

  "Shut up." She scowled at the ghost, her mood ruined. Stomping to the vanity, she peeled off the layers of jewelry she wore. Her ears had already started to fatten up with all the good food that Edan had been feeding her. At first, he only fed her rabbit food until she asked if he was a vegetarian. Turned out that he thought she was so skinny because she was vegan without even asking her. The first hamburger she had made by the professional cooks nearly killed her. It was so delicious that it was like she had died and gone to heaven.

  But what was she doing? It wasn't like she could really marry Edan and have his babies. She had a mission, one that she'd pushed aside in the sparkle of diamonds.

  It was time to reclaim it.

  "You're wasting time in this gilded cage." Azalea stood at her shoulder, peering at her in the mirror. "You have more potential than you're allowing yourself to think. Telling Edan you're not a psychic? I notice you didn't say that you have a ghost hanging around. Maybe you're a witch and I'm your familiar. You ever consider that?"