“With the help of my family, we managed to shatter the stone. If each of you wear a piece of jewelry, you should be able to shift whenever you want. I also have another pile of stones to share with the other packs. Hopefully, there’s enough to go around. I can’t pull the magic from the stones to use on anything else. At least we know from Victoria's example that only a tiny shard of the stone is necessary for its magic to work, because as your pack expands you'll need to divide the stones set in this jewelry for the new members. I'm sure I can devise a way to magically insert a tiny piece of stone into your bodies, so you never need to worry about someone losing the jewelry or having it taken from them. But these will do for now. And I’ll look into what we can do for future generations. Perhaps a moon blessing at birth like the royal vampires have for the sun.”

  Gratitude welled up inside of me. “Thank you for everything, Gessilyn.”

  Gessilyn nodded and held the pile toward me. “You should go first.”

  I picked up several rings and tried them on until I found one that fit my middle finger. The rest of the pack also chose jewelry.

  “Are you ready to try them?” Gessilyn’s eyes were so wide—she was as excited as the rest of us.

  “Let’s do it!” Jet admired his own ring.

  “Wait,” I said. “Aren’t we forgetting someone?”

  Everyone answered with blank stares.

  “Three someones,” I corrected myself.

  “The wolfborns.” Laura nodded.

  “Exactly.” I picked up a necklace. “I want to slide these onto their necks and let them shift along with us.”

  “Good thinking.” Ziamara picked up a necklace and studied it. “I’ll explain everything to them once you guys have turned. Then you guys can all meet them as people! They’ve only met me, Soleil, Victoria, and Carter. I’m so excited that they can spend more than just a day in human form.”

  “Then it’s settled.” I glanced around the group. “We head back to Moonhaven and give this a whirl.” I turned to Gessilyn. “You can head home. We’ve taken enough of your time.”

  “Are you kidding?” she exclaimed. “I want to see this with my own eyes.”

  With mounting nervous excitement, we hurried inside and followed Gessilyn's family to the various runes that would take us back to Moonhaven. As soon as my feet touched the wooden floor, I ran outside, found the wolfborns, and slid a necklace over each one’s head. Then I stared at the bright morning sky, eager to meet them after allowing my wolf to run free.

  Victoria came over and sat in front of the wolfborns. They stared at her with a deep intensity. She was probably telling them to try to shift.

  The rest of the pack made their way out to the yard.

  “Let’s finally do this!”

  We shared a round of high-fives and then dispersed to hide our clothes in various locations. As soon as I set my clothes in a cubby behind the mansion, several of my ribs popped.

  Excitement pulsed through me. This was really going to happen.

  More ribs popped and then my neck. Fur sliced through my skin. I cried out, but never before had the pain felt so good. Around me, bones popped as my pack prepared for an early-morning, non-full-moon shift.

  It wasn’t just going to happen. It was happening!

  I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I saw the world through wolf eyes. My wolf howled. I slinked back, allowing him to take over fully. The scenery went by in a blur as he burst into a run. I relaxed and simply enjoyed the ride.

  Chapter 172

  Toby

  “Toby…” Victoria’s voice sounded far away.

  I struggled to open my eyes.

  “Toby.”

  Moving through the fog of sleep to wake up felt like a monumental task. Finally, I managed to open my eyes. My beautiful Victoria lay next to me, smiling.

  I ran my fingertips along the side of her face and returned the smile. “Have I ever mentioned how much I love waking next to you?”

  She took my hand and laced her fingers through mine. “A time or two.”

  A small cry sounded from the other side of the room. I sat up. “I’ll get Wilder. It’s my turn.”

  Victoria squeezed my hand. “No, I’ll get him.” She gave me a quick kiss, bounded over to the bassinet, and scooped up our son. Wilder immediately stopped crying and began cooing. Victoria had the same calming effect on the son as she did on the father.

  She brought him over and handed Wilder to me. I snuggled him and he smiled.

  “Did you see that?” I asked. “I know they say he’s too young to smile, but that was definitely a smile.”

  “Of course it was. He loves his daddy.”

  I leaned over and kissed her sweet lips. She returned the kiss. The three of us snuggled for a while before heading downstairs. As usual, delicious aromas greeted us and my mouth watered.

  Sebastian ran down the hallway, squealing with delight. “Uncle Toby! Aunt Victoria!”

  I gave the preschooler a high-five, then he raced down the hall.

  A moment later, Jet appeared. “Where’d he go?”

  I gestured where he’d gone.

  Jet scurried off.

  Victoria laughed. “That’ll be us soon enough. Wilder will keep us on our toes as much as Sebastian does them.”

  “I’m sure he will. Alphas’ kids are a breed of their own.”

  A cry sounded from a nearby room. Wilder squirmed in Victoria’s arms. She rocked him. “Let’s go over and see who’s fussing.”

  In the living room, both Ziamara and Elsie sat with their babies.

  Bobby walked in behind us. “It’s a regular daycare around here.”

  “We’re raising up a new generation of werewolves,” I said.

  Victoria leaned against me. “One that won't have to experience the curse of the moon. Once they're old enough to shift, we can have Gessilyn work her magic and place a tiny chip from our family stone in their bodies, so they'll never have to worry about losing it or having it stolen. The perfect solution.” She handed me Wilder and sat between Ziamara and Elsie. “Have either of you had a chance to eat breakfast?”

  “I haven’t.” Zia yawned. “Sebastian has been keeping Jet busy and this one has been fussy all morning.”

  Victoria took the little bundle from Ziamara. “Go eat. I’ll hold Aria for you.”

  “Thank you.” She rose, turned to me, and winked. "You should hang on to that wife of yours, she's a keeper."

  "Oh, I plan to." I turned to Elsie. “Hungry?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Where’s Alex?”

  “Out finding a wolfborn. He picked up the scent this morning when we woke. You know him—he can’t sit still if there’s an abandoned wolfborn in the area.”

  Victoria nudged her. “And that’s why you love him.”

  Elsie beamed. “One of the many reasons.”

  My phone rang in my pocket. I balanced Wilder in one arm while I dug my phone out with the other.

  “Who is it?” Victoria asked. “Not another pack with a problem for you to solve, I hope!”

  I shook my head and accepted the call. “Gessilyn! Long time no hear. How’s our favorite coven?”

  She laughed. “Wonderful. I thought we’d take you up on the offer for a barbecue. How does Tuesday sound?”

  “Perfect. It’ll be great to see you guys again. Are you close to completing your training?”

  “I’m done. I’ve made my way through all of the ancient spell books and done each one successfully.”

  “So this will be a celebration! Forget a barbecue, we’re throwing you a party.”

  “You don’t have to—”

  “We most certainly do!”

  “What?” Victoria asked.

  “Gessilyn finished her training.”

  “Congratulations!” Victoria jumped up and took the phone from me, speaking excitedly with Gessilyn.

  Carter came in the front door, his eyes a little wild.

  “Everything okay?” I asked.

  “I think I’ve found the jaguar.”

  “You did? I thought you stopped looking a while back?”

  “No, she left the area.”

  “Oh, that’s right.”

  “But she’s back, and she’s not cloaked like she was last time! I’m actually going to find her.”

  “I’m really happy for you. Feel free to bring her here if she needs a pack.”

  “Thanks. I have to figure out how to approach her without freaking her out. She’s definitely alone—at least as far as shifters go—which means she doesn’t trust jaguar shifters.” He wandered out of the room, looking deep in thought.

  Victoria handed me my phone. “Isn’t this great? Gess is done with her training, Carter finally found that female jaguar, and our pack is doing amazing.”

  I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her deeply. “I’m the happiest werewolf alive.”

  More Curses…

  The wolves have finally have closure, but what about Carter? Will he be able to move on with his life now that Victoria is married, or will he find true love? Could the lone female jaguar he senses be the answer he desperately desires? Or will she bring more pain and heartache than he ever imagined?

  Find out in Secret Jaguar, the sixth and final Curse of the Moon book. (Read an excerpt below.)

  But first, what about Soleil? She’s getting her own series! Will she find love again? Or might she be able to find Brick and bring him back from the impenetrable other side? Or will love be the last thing on her mind now that she’s used her valkyrie sword and drawn the attention of the powerful Valhalla leaders?

  Find out in Renegade Valkyrie, the first book the Valhalla’s Curse series! Hint: You’ll probably find some kind of sneak peek at the end of Carter’s book.

  In the meantime, join my newsletter, reader group, or street team to be the first to get cover reveals and be alerted about new releases!

  Excerpt of Secret Jaguar

  I slid on my dark glasses and tapped the steering wheel. Should’ve brought a less conspicuous car. My cherry-red Ferrari did little to help me blend in, and I didn’t want anyone to notice me waiting for her across the street from the old hotel.

  Too late. I was already there. Just a matter of time before she showed.

  Who was she? Finally, I would find out. I had been searching for her for years, but she was well-hidden and alone. And she needed protection. I didn’t know anything else about her.

  Okay, that wasn’t all I knew. Not after sensing her presence years earlier and spending so much time trying, unsuccessfully, to find her.

  The most important thing to note was that she was a solitary jaguar shifter, and females never traveled alone. Seriously, never. Our reality is one of old-world rules, strict consequences, and a hierarchy not all that different from the royalty of the Middle Ages. As such, my father was the king of our family. And he ruled as an aristocrat on steroids.

  That was why I had broken away. We didn’t see eye-to-eye on anything. He was cruel and heartless, and because I refused to be a dictator, he saw me as weak. Leaving was messy, and we did not part amicably.

  If my father discovered a lone jaguar female, he would bring her into the family by any means necessary.

  Back to my far-from-inconspicuous Ferrari across the street from the old hotel. And by old hotel, I didn’t mean run-down and seedy. I meant it had stood the test of time. It was made of brick and appeared to have once been an impressive mansion.

  I studied the front, which had clearly been remodeled to look more modern, but evidence of another era remained.

  The front door opened. I sat up straight and readjusted my sunglasses. Was it her or just a regular guest?

  I leaned forward and waited, holding my breath. If it was her, I didn’t know what I would do. Follow her? Introduce myself? Really, I should’ve thought this through more. But once I figured out her location—finally—I just jumped into my car and headed over.

  Out stepped a tall, slender teenager in a flowered knee-length sundress. Long, wavy light-brown hair cascaded almost to her waist.

  The distance between us made it impossible for me to sense if she was the jaguar shifter.

  She turned and spoke to someone inside, adjusted a tote bag over her shoulder, then went down the steps.

  I scrambled out of my car, closed the door as quietly as I could, and set the alarm. Sure, the small college town was safe but I never took any chances with my Ferrari.

  She headed toward the campus. If she was a student, I couldn’t figure out why she would be staying in the hotel.

  Nothing about this girl made any sense. No wonder it had taken me so long to track her down.

  If this was even her. I’d have to get closer to determine if she was actually a jaguar shifter. Then if she was, I’d have to figure out what to do. Chances were, she’d fled her birth family. And since she had no other jaguars with her, she probably didn’t want anything to do with our kind. Best-case scenario, she’d want nothing to do with me. Worst case, she’d freak out and cause a scene. Maybe even shift right there in the middle of town.

  Not that I could blame her either way. Jaguar shifters as a whole were horrible jerks at best. Tyrannical, abusive dictators at worst. And by birth, I was the equivalent of a prince. She’d hate and fear me on principle.

  She would be able to sniff out my lineage in half a millisecond. My heart raced as I crossed the street to catch up with her.

  Please don’t shift out in the open.

  Our little town on the Olympic Peninsula was home to more supernatural creatures than I’d ever seen in one place. We’d all managed to keep our true identities hidden, but it would only take one person shifting at the wrong time to drive us all from our homes.

  I picked up my pace to a solid jog in order to shorten the distance between us. Her aroma drifted to me on the breeze. Confirmation at last. I inhaled deeply. The sweet perfume of a female jaguar shifter. It reminded me of so many loved ones.

  My stomach twisted. I’d had to walk away from them all because of my father and his refusal to let go of the old ways.

  No time to dwell on that. The girl in front of me didn’t slow or stop or even seem to notice me. How could she miss the scent of a jaguar shifter so close?

  Had she so immersed herself into the human life that her animal senses had dulled? I’d been away from jaguars for a long time, but I was still deep in the supernatural world. I lived with a pack of werewolves—well, mostly werewolves. We also had some other misfits like myself. In a way, we were all outcasts, some by choice and others not so much.

  The female jaguar stopped at a crosswalk. I caught up with her and stood next to her. Her scent enveloped me. She acted like she didn’t even notice me.

  I turned to her and finally caught her attention. She was breathtaking up close, with deep brown eyes and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. Being so close to another jaguar, especially one so beautiful, overwhelmed me. It took me a moment to regain my bearings.

  I gave a slight noncommittal nod and glanced across the street at the crosswalk signal. Her presence surrounded me, pressing in, threatening to crush me. I hadn’t expected this.

  The signal finally changed. Her presence didn’t.

  We walked side-by-side. I struggled to breathe. My bones and muscles ached as my body tried to start a shift. I never shifted against my will.

  What was she doing to me?

  We reached the campus, and she headed for the courtyard. Beyond that stood more buildings that contained classrooms and labs.

  Without notice, she stopped walking. I nearly crashed into her.

  She turned to me, wrinkling her nose. Even annoyed, she was gorgeous. “Are you following me?”

  “What? No.”

  Her eyes narrowed and she gave me a once-over. “What are you doing, then? You have no bag, no books. You haven’t left my side since the crosswalk.”

  My usually sharp mind failed me. I couldn’t think with this beauty so close to me. Was it because she was the only jaguar shifter I’d seen in years, or because of her personally?

  “Well?”

  I stood taller. “I’m here to see Professor Foley. I think his office is this way.”

  Her perfectly manicured brows came together. She didn’t believe me. “Professor Foley, huh?”

  “Yeah. He’s a good friend of mine.”

  She flipped her hair back and gave me a disapproving look. “Good friend? You’re what? A junior or senior? And you’re good friends with a math professor?”

  “It’s a little more complicated than that,” I admitted. Actually, it was a lot more complicated than that. Tobias Foley was married to the only woman I’d ever loved—loved, as in past tense. And he was also the alpha of my misfit pack of werewolves, vampires, a jaguar shifter, and a missing valkyrie. Complicated didn’t begin to explain it.

  The jaguar shifter in front of me stepped back. “Are you following me?”

  How could I answer without lying? “Do you know where Toby’s office is?”

  Her expression softened. “Toby, huh? Maybe you do know him, but if you’re so close, why don’t you know where his office is?”

  “Do you know where the office of everyone you know is?”

  She shrugged and bore her gaze into my eyes. “If I’m as close to them as you claim you are with Mr. Foley, then yes, I would know where their offices are.”

  “Well, I’ve never been to his office, but I know where he lives.” More than that. I’d kissed his wife. But not when she was his wife—I’m not that kind of guy. She didn’t know him at the time. Well, she did, but she didn’t. Like I said, complicated. I wouldn’t kiss her now.

  “Oh, yeah? Where?”

  “In a mansion. You know where it is?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve only heard the rumors going around.”

  Oh, yes. The rumors.

  “Are you one of his foster kids?”

  I slid my sunglasses to the top of my head. “No.”