Embracing Fate: A hot paranormal shifter book (Hidden Hills Shifters 4) (2 page)

“Stay in touch,” he told Brody.

Before either said anything, he rushed out, not wanting to address what had happened. If he believed what his panther Clan claimed, Cord had just found his mate, and he couldn’t be more displeased.

*     *     *

Piper was both
upset with the cop and intrigued by him at the same time. She’d never seen a more arresting man in her life. Not only was he tall, if the way he filled out his uniform was any indication, he was packed with muscles. Those dark hooded eyes and close-cropped black hair did something to her soul. Someone that large had to be a bear shifter, but surely her friend Tasha would have told her about
him—
assuming he wasn’t married. Her three best friends were all shifters and were constantly trying to fix her up. If she had
any
say in who she wanted, she’d pick this man.

Right now, though, Piper needed to focus on Brody. “Let’s X-ray your ribs first.” She positioned him on the platform that she then tilted into a horizontal position. Once satisfied, Piper stepped into the small windowed room and pressed the button. After taking a few more images, she studied the results. While she couldn’t see any obvious break, she’d leave it up to the doctor to decide.

“Now for your cheek.”

After repeating the process, and finding nothing obviously wrong, she was satisfied her brother would be okay.

“Want to tell me what happened?” she asked Brody. He’d stumbled into trouble his whole life and she’d always claimed it was because their parents divorced when he was fourteen. She kept waiting for him to grow up, but so far, he was avoiding it.

“I was jumped by three men who stole my wallet and beat me up. I did nothing wrong.”

She’d heard this claim many times before. “Did you mouth off to them?” Brody might be twenty-three, but he often acted like a teenager.

“No. Ow.” He placed a hand on his cheek. “You’re no better than that cop, who by the way is a total freak.”

Her pulse jumped. “What are you talking about?”

“One minute he was a panther and the next he was a bear.”

She shook her head. “Hidden Hills doesn’t have panthers, and secondly, shifters only shift into one animal.” Or so her friends had said.

“I tell you this guy is different.”

Piper refrained from rolling her eyes. “You noticed him doing this while three men were mugging you?”

He shrugged then winced.

“Slide back onto the gurney.”

“I can walk back.”

With that kind of attitude, Brody might head straight home and drink himself into a stupor instead of letting the doctor fix him up. Given how messed up his face was, all those blows to the head must have rattled something inside.

“Fine. Since my shift is over, I’ll walk you back to the room.” She didn’t trust him not to leave. She picked up the X-rays to deliver to the doctor and studied her brother’s poor posture. Someone sure had done a number on him. “They’ll probably want to do something about the cut on your chin.”

“I’m good.”

Poor Brody. “If you don’t let them stitch you up, the wound could get infected. Do you want the women to look the other way when you walk into a bar?” She knew what would get to him.

“No.”

As soon as Piper led her brother down the hallway toward his exam room, she spotted the officer who’d saved him, and wondered if he planned to stay there until Brody was discharged.

Uh-oh. She hoped he wasn’t waiting around to arrest Brody. He’d been the victim, not the attacker, or so her brother had claimed.

The man caught sight of her and her pulse soared sending flutters beating against her belly. She’d never seen a more handsome man. The fact he was a powerful shifter and an officer of the law appealed to her. Sure, she’d always told her friends she wanted a rich man, but what she’d meant was that she wanted someone who could support himself.

No way was he single, though. She couldn’t be that lucky.

Not wanting to act all fan-girl on him, she escorted Brody to the exam room. “Will you need a ride back to town for your car?”

“Yeah.”

Piper wished there was something else she could do for her younger brother. He always seemed so troubled. “I’ll wait for you then.”

Brody smiled then winced. As she stepped from the room in search of his doctor, she glanced back at the nurses’ station where the hunky savior had been standing, but he was gone. Disappointment swept through her, but she was glad he’d left Brody alone.

Piper felt bad. She’d been rude to him when all he’d wanted was to ask Brody a few questions. If she ever saw the officer again, she’d apologize. Surely, he’d understand that she was upset over her brother’s injuries.

Brody said the man had shifted into a bear. Not only was one of her friends, Tasha, a bear shifter, Emmaline had recently married one. Between them, they would surely know this man’s name—and Piper had every intention of finding it out and speaking with him.

Chapter Two

C
ord hadn’t done
much socializing since moving to town, but he’d made friends with Dr. Storm Durant when he’d had the department’s physical. A few of the men where Cord worked were aware of his unique double-shifting talent, but it wasn’t something he went around telling people. Because Storm was his physician, Cord had mentioned his ability to shift into either form, hoping Storm knew of other cases—but he hadn’t. Thankfully, his new friend didn’t treat him any differently because of it.

“Glad you wanted to go out,” Storm said as they entered the Cove Bar. “I think I mentioned it a while ago, but Cheyenne is with her dad. Today is the anniversary of her mom’s death. They always spend it together, and I didn’t feel like sitting home alone.”

“I hear ya. I was glad you called. I had a long day and could use a drink to unwind.”

It was not quite seven, yet the music was already rather loud. Cord was glad there were a few empty tables. In the mood to watch rather than interact, he suggested they sit against the wall.

“Sure.”

Cord hadn’t been kidding about having a long day. After he’d filled out his incident report on the Brody Capshaw beating, he’d gone in search of the man’s missing wallet. Having been near Brody for close to an hour yesterday, the man’s scent was fixed in Cord’s brain. Once he shifted and used his keen sense of smell, he found the wallet rather quickly. The attackers had tossed it behind the dumpster, but when he picked it up, it had been streaked with a rancid goo.

No surprise, the wallet was empty, confirming that Brody had been robbed. Not only had they taken his money, they’d also snatched any credit cards he might have had, his driver’s license, and everything else. That meant Cord didn’t know where Brody lived, and he wasn’t hopeful the kid would stop by the station on his own. However, a DEA agent for many years, Cord was good at tracking people and would find him eventually. He could always waltz into the hospital and ask Piper for her brother’s information, but he wasn’t sure he could handle being around her without doing something inappropriate.

Before they snagged one of the empty tables, they ordered a couple of beers at the bar. While they waited, Cord wanted to find out if Storm had any info on the sexy nurse lady. He normally wouldn’t have asked, but Piper had been on his mind all day.

“By any chance, do you know Piper Capshaw?” She and Storm were both in the medical field, so it was possible they’d interacted.

“Sure do. She’s friends with Cheyenne in fact, but I met her before my wife did.”

“And?”

Storm seemed to be suppressing a smile. “The first time was when I had to take in a young boy who’d broken his leg, and I was impressed with her caring nature. She works in the Diagnostic Imaging Department at the hospital.”

Cord nodded. “I met her there last night when I had to speak with a mugging victim who was in there for X-rays. As soon as I stepped into her area to find out some info from this guy—who turned out to be her brother—she asked me to leave—and she wasn’t all that pleasant about it.”

“Wouldn’t you be upset if one of your siblings have been injured? I know Brody means the world to her.”

“I thought that might be the case.” Actually, he’d sensed how much her brother meant to her, which made it more difficult to push her image aside.

Storm cocked a brow. “You interested? She’s single by the way.”

He refused to address the quick change in his pulse. “Nope, just curious that’s all.” Cord grabbed his beer and headed to one of the empty tables along the wall.

“Uh, huh, sure.” Storm smirked and followed him.

Christ. He never should have brought it up. He’d only asked on the off chance that Storm would say she was some kind of witch or something.

For most of the day, he’d studied his reaction to her and didn’t like his conclusion.

To confirm his suspicion, he’d called his dad and asked what kind of reactions one would have when finding one’s mate. What his dad described pretty much matched how he’d felt the moment he was near her. Cord thought that given his oddities, he’d only be able to mate with another panther or bear, but his father said it was not uncommon for their kind to be attracted to other species—like humans.

When he was younger, he’d asked his dad what would happen if he bit a human. His father said that for a
normal
panther, if a human woman were his true mate, she’d become a panther. Since Cord was part bear and part panther, his father said he had no idea what a bite would do to her. Dad had always said it would be best if his true mate were another animal beside human—as if he had a choice.

The whole discussion with his dad had left him depressed. Cord needed a mate like he needed to be able to shift into a chipmunk or a snake—though the latter might prove useful at some point. If Piper learned that Fate had paired them, and then found out about his flaws, she wouldn’t want him, and the rejection would hurt even worse.

*     *     *

Piper hadn’t slept
well last night, not only because she kept thinking about that hunky man and all the things she’d like to do with him, but because she was worried about Brody—not just the beating, but why he was always in trouble. She wondered what else she could do to make things better without enabling him. He always seemed strapped for cash, but giving him what little she earned wouldn’t help him become more personally responsible.

She’d called Brody earlier today, and when he didn’t answer his cell, she thought something else had happened. She then called the garage where he worked, and he was there. Apparently, he’d
forgotten
to pay his cell phone bill, and they’d cut off his service. When she asked about his injuries, he claimed he was fine, though a few times during the conversation, he’d sucked in a big breath, as if he were in pain. She tried to convince him to fill the prescription the doctor had given him, but he said pain meds were for wusses.

At least she’d tried.

It was Friday night, and she often went out with her girlfriends and their spouses, but tonight she wasn’t in a festive mood. On the other hand, she did want to find out about that hot cop and learn his story.

Before Piper could come up with a plan, her cell rang. Immediately, she thought of Brody and that something else had happened. When she located her cell, she sighed in relief.

“Hey, Tasha.”

“Hey, I called to see how Brody was doing.”

Piper had been so upset this morning that she’d called her friend during her lunch hour. “He says he’s fine, but I haven’t seen him to judge for myself.”

“I’m sorry. I have something that might cheer you up. Guess who just came into town?”

“Don’t tell me Em is here.”

“Yup.”

“Fantastic.” Excitement jetted through her.

For the last two months, their friend Emmaline had been living in Pittsburgh with her husband, Wade Black. Because he had financial customers in Hidden Hills, they periodically returned, but when they’d last spoken, Em didn’t think she and Wade would make it down for another few weeks.

“She just called and said she and hubby would be at the Cove Bar tonight.”

Now Piper definitely had to go. “I can’t wait to see what she looks like.” Em should be about six months pregnant by now.