Valentines,

shmalatines…just

give

Shane

somebody to kill, or at the very least punch
around a little bit.

Shane is known for killing, maiming and causing
fear. He sure as hell isn’t known for being sappy
or sentimental. So when Valentine’s Day rolls
around, he finds himself at a loss as to what to get
Trevor. Shane knows that a simple box of
chocolates or roses could do the trick, but not with
a mate who’s as great as Trevor.

When Shane finds himself distracted from his

task when Riley is in need of help, Shane stumbles
upon the perfect solution in the last place he
thought possible. Will Trevor like his gift, or is
Shane going to blow what is supposed to be the
most romantic day of the year?

Note: A portion of the author’s proceeds from this
book will be going to the Ruth Ellis Center, a
Detroit based organization aimed at helping
homeless LGBT youth.

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright
infringement, including infringement without
monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is
punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a
fine of $250,000.

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions,
and do not participate in or encourage the electronic
piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the
author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents either are products of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.

A Very Shaney Valentine

Copyright © 2012 Stephani Hecht

ISBN: 978-1-77111-104-1

Cover art by Martine Jardin

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the
reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in
part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden
without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by eXtasy Books

Look for us online at:

www.eXtasybooks.com

A Very Shaney Valentine

Lost Shifter

By

Stephani Hecht

To all those out there who feel alone, unwanted

and scared. Know that there is nothing wrong

with you and you are perfect the way you are.

Most of all know that I love each and every one

of you.

1

Chapter One

hane faced some pretty vicious things in his
life. He’d once taken on a Tarantula shifter.

Another time he’d arm wrestled with a zombie
and won the hard way when he literally yanked
the guy’s arm off. Hell, he’d even mistakenly
watched Fox News for a few minutes until he was
able to find the remote and change the channel.

As an assassin for his feline coalition, it was his

job to face the bad and scary. He did it all without
ever once blinking or breaking out into a sweat—
until this moment.

Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and

knocked on the door to Carson’s office. While
Shane considered the Cheetah to be one of his
better friends, Carson had a smart mouth that
never quit and Shane wasn’t looking forward to
being on the receiving end of it.

The biggest fuck-it-all of it was that Shane

wasn’t even there to talk to Carson. What he really
wanted was to speak to Keegan, but since the
Jaguar was never far from his mate, Shane knew
he would have to put up with Carson’s presence

S

Stephani Hecht

2

as well.

“Don’t come in unless you have some booze.

And I don’t want any of that human crap either.
Give me some of the strong stuff,” Carson’s
muffled voice called from the other side of the
door.

Despite his nerves, Shane smiled. He knew that

Carson would never touch that shit, but as always,
he had to have some form of twisted greeting.

“How about a dead rat?” Shane replied.
There was a long pause before Carson shot

back, “Is it an actual one or a shifter?”

Shane barely refrained from rolling his eyes.

“An actual one. I told you before that Mitchell
won’t let me bring my kills home anymore. He
said it dampens the vibe of this place.”

Glancing around the interior of the coalition’s

headquarters, Shane thought that it wouldn’t be so
bad for the place to have a makeover. With
hardwood floors, neutral colored walls and large
television screens covering one side of the wall, it
looked like something out of a Jason Bourne movie.
In other words, bland and boring as hell. A little
bit of blood and guts would add a personal touch
to the place.

“Come in, but you can keep the rat,” Carson

said.

Since Shane had already fed it to one of the

stray cats that hung around HQ, that point was

A Very Shaney Valentine

3

really moot, but he left that unsaid. He’d known
all along that Carson would have refused the gift.
Ever since Shane left a Spider head on the guy’s
favorite keyboard, Carson had become almost a
prude when it came to carnage.

Shane opened the door, not surprised to see

Keegan in his usual place, stretched out on the
battered couch in the back of Carson’s office. The
floor was littered with old files that contained
information on other coalitions and packs. Since
Keegan had a photographic memory and was the
younger brother of the coalition leader, he’d been
assigned to be a liaison of sorts.

Carson let out a bored sigh as he cocked one

pierced brow. “Don’t tell me. Mitchell wants us to
go out on another mission?”

“No, actually I came here to talk to your mate,”

Shane admitted.

Keegan jerked in surprise. Short and thin with

speckled brown hair, he was normally laid back
and quiet. So it probably came as a surprise to him
that the coalition badass was coming to him for
anything.

Narrowing his amber eyes, Keegan said, “If you

want some information on one of the other
coalitions so you can go in there and kill
somebody you need to find, leave. I don’t deal in
assassination.”

Shane wanted to point out that since he’d

Stephani Hecht

4

joined the coalition, every target he’d taken out
had been on Mitchell’s orders, but he kept that
tidbit to himself. Keegan thought the world of his
older brother. Shane didn’t want to burst the little
guy’s bubble by telling him the ugly truth of what
leading a coalition sometimes entailed.

Shifting uncomfortably on his feet, Shane

admitted, “No, it’s more of a personal question.”

Setting down a file, Keegan sat up straighter.

“Sure, what is it?”

After he shot Carson a look that just dared him

to make some wiseass remark, Shane said, “I don’t
know what to get Trevor for Valentine’s Day.”

There was a snort of laughter from Carson

before he said, “How about a heart full of
chocolates. But this time make sure it’s not an
actual heart. Nobody wants to get an internal
organ as an I-love-you gift.”

Keegan glared at Carson. “Be nice. Shane is

coming for help, not for your snarky remarks.”

As always, Carson immediately backed down

under the reprimand of his mate. While Keegan
may usually be the nicest guy around, he didn’t let
Carson get away with being too much of an
asshole. On the other hand, Keegan was also
known to be fiercely protective of Carson. A trait
Shane could relate to since he’d do anything for
Trevor.

Keegan tilted his head to the side thoughtfully.

A Very Shaney Valentine

5

“I don’t think chocolates would work.”

“Of course not,” Shane agreed. Trevor really

didn’t care for that kind of candy.

“You could always take him out to the movies,”

Keegan suggested.

Shane shook his head. “The last time we went

to the theater we got thrown out when Trevor got
too frisky with me.”

That was one of the many things Shane loved

about his mate. Once the lights were dimmed,
Trevor was horny and ready for action. It didn’t
matter if they were in the privacy of their bedroom
or in a crowded theater full of humans.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal. We bailed you guys

out of jail right away,” Keegan pointed out.

“Somehow I don’t think Trevor wants to spend

Valentine’s Day in the Flint Jail.”

Shane, on the other hand, had enjoyed himself.

Especially when a couple of large guys had tried
to get frisky with him. Of course, there was also
the small bite of panic Shane always felt whenever
he was locked up because it brought back
memories of his childhood. The emotion hadn’t
been too bad at that time though, since he had
Trevor with him.

Then again, that was what Trevor always did.

He was the calm to Shane’s storm. The one who let
Shane know that not all of the world was fucked
up and that there was some good left. Most of all,

Stephani Hecht

6

Trevor was the only one who had loved him,
thorns and all. As such, Shane wanted to repay
Trevor with the best gift ever.

Keegan snapped his fingers. “I know! You can

take him up to Frankenmuth and go on one of
their horse-drawn carriage rides.”

Shane gave him a droll look. “How am I

supposed to do that when the horses always run
away the minute I get within sniffing distance?”

Plus, it didn’t settle well with Shane to make

those poor horses drag his ass. He knew all too
well how it felt to have a yoke around his neck
while somebody slapped him with a whip.

“It’s too bad you don’t have more time. You

could have planned a trip to the Poconos or
something,” Carson cut in.

“Yeah, but as usual I waited until the last

minute. Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. To make
matters worse, Mitchell wants to see me in his
office, so I’m pretty certain I have to go out on an
assignment.” He glanced over at one of the nearby
monitors, checking out the time. “In fact, I better
get my ass in gear. I’m late.”

Keegan made shooing motions with his hands.

“Go ahead. I’ll try and think of something. If I
come up with anything, I’ll call you.”

Shane nodded his thanks, before he walked out

of the room. As he made his way through HQ, he
noticed as lot of personnel running toward the

A Very Shaney Valentine

7

infirmary. Then all of the sudden, he heard a voice
ring through the air. Riley—one of the Eagle
shifters.

“Listen up you fuckwads, that spider is real and

he needs our help. I wasn’t trying to jump off the
roof this time, I swear.”

Shane gave an internal wince for the poor guy.

He’d recently been diagnosed as bi-polar and
since that was a rare condition for shifters, the
docs were winging it as far as medications went.
So far most of them had left Riley sicker than a
dog.

For a moment Shane almost intervened. Then

he recalled the part about Riley being on the roof
again. Since he was an Eagle shifter, that normally
wouldn’t be an issue, but Riley was afraid of
heights and unable to fly very well, so there could
only be one reason for him to be there and it
wasn’t good. Riley had been known to cut and
harm himself in different ways.

Had it just been another spider sighting, Shane

would have immediately gone over and rescued
Riley. But Shane cared about his friend too much
to let him loose just so he could do damage to
himself.

That still didn’t mean that Shane wasn’t

planning on having a talk with Riley about that
spider. That matter had gone on long enough and
gotten the kid into way too much trouble. It was

Stephani Hecht

8

time to nip it in the bud.

Riley’s mate, Colin, was sitting in one of the

chairs outside the infirmary. The Hawk’s
shoulders were slumped and Shane could see the
pain etched on the man’s face. Not that Shane
could blame him. He could only imagine how
hard it must be to have to sit by helplessly while
his mate suffered from that kind of inner demon.

After shooting Colin one more sympathetic

look, which was a rare thing for Shane, he walked
over to Mitchell’s office. Since the door was open,
Shane just waltzed in.

Before he even crossed the threshold, he

detected the scent of three Hawks. One was
familiar since it was Daniel, the leader of the
Hawks. The other two were completely new to
Shane.

Damn it, Mitchell knew he hated surprises.
Shane didn’t indicate he was annoyed. He just

threw himself into one of the chairs and pasted on
his best bored expression. All the while, he
covertly checked out the newcomers.

Great! Just what they didn’t need, another set of

Hawk twins. They already had a set within the
coalition and, after the way they treated Riley,
Shane had to fight himself every day not to gut
them. The last thing he needed was another set of
Double Mint birds to worry about.

At first glance they seemed innocent enough,

A Very Shaney Valentine

9

with their young smooth faces, wide innocent
brown eyes and slightly messy brown hair, but
Shane knew that could be deceiving. There had
been many who had taken one glance at his own
appearance of brown slightly curly hair, soft
features and doe eyes and thought he was
harmless, too. Most of those people had paid for
that mistake the hard way.

“Who are the new birds?” Shane asked, not

caring that he was being rude.

It’s not like Mitchell paid him to play nice. If he

wanted that, he would have been better off calling
in Trevor. Although something about the two
Hawks set off enough alarm bells in Shane that he
didn’t want his mate around them. At least not
until Shane got to know everything about them.

A slight tick appeared in Mitchell’s jaw, but he

didn’t call Shane out on for his attitude. “Shane,
I’d like you to meet Ackley and Tatum.”

Shane cocked a brow. “Seriously? That’s really

their names?”

When neither one of them rose to the bait, it

furthered Shane’s suspicions about the pair.

“Yes, that’s their names. I even have their birth

papers to prove it,” Daniel spoke up.

“Did those papers also say that their mom

needed to get a better what-to-name-your-baby
book?” Shane drawled.

One of the twin’s lips twitched as if he were

Stephani Hecht

10

holding back laughter. “Since our mother dropped
us off at the doorstep of some Hawk couple when
we were only one year old, we really don’t know
if she read at all.”

“I hope she at least got a good price for you,”

Shane shot back.

A startled expression passed over one twin’s

face. It was so quick that anyone else would have
missed it, but nothing got by Shane’s attention. It
made him wonder if he’d touched on a sensitive
topic. Deciding to leave that question for later,
Shane turned to Mitchell. “What did you need to
see me about?”

“We want you to take over Ackley and Tatum’s

training.”

Shane glanced over at Daniel. “Ah, shouldn’t

that be the Hawk’s job?”

Daniel narrowed his eyes at the twins. “One

would think so, but so far every Hawk that I’ve
assigned to train them has quit within the first
hour.”

Interesting. Shane so loved a puzzle and it

looked like these two were about to become his
own live versions of a Rubik’s Cube.

“Fine, but if they turn out anything like the

other sets of twins we have here, I’m shipping
these two back in a matching set of body bags,”
Shane threatened.

When neither Ackley nor Tatum reacted to the

A Very Shaney Valentine

11

threat, it made Shane more positive that under all
those layers of boy-next-door lurked something
from the dark side. Daniel, on the other hand, let
out a small snarl, “Are you disrespecting my
brother’s mate?”

“No, I like Riley a whole hell of a lot more than

I like you. That still doesn’t mean I want another
set of him or Xavier running around. They have
way too much energy.”

Actually, it was Xavier who had all the energy.

It was almost as if he felt that if he stayed happy
and carefree all the time it would stop Riley from
slipping into another one of his episodes. While
Shane realized Xavier meant well, that wasn’t the
best way to handle the situation.

“Speaking of Riley, why is he back in the

infirmary?” Shane demanded.

Daniel flicked a glance over at Ackley and

Tatum before replying, “Colin caught him talking
to himself this morning.”

“Really?”
“Yeah, Riley claimed that his spider friend told

him that somebody needed help and Riley needed
to fly to the rescue. So Riley went on the roof and
was getting ready to take off. Thank God, we
caught him in time.”

“Did it ever occur to any of you that Riley may

have been telling the truth?” Shane asked.

Daniel gave him an are-you-shitting-me glare.

Stephani Hecht

12

“Why? We all know that Riley has been
hallucinating about that spider since he first
started to show symptoms of his mental illness.”

“What if the spider isn’t related to Riley’s bi-

polar at all? It could be real.”

Daniel let out an aggravated sigh. “I know

because nobody else has ever seen the spider,
much less spoken to it.”

Standing up, Shane pinned a hard glare at the

Hawk. “Maybe that’s because nobody ever
bothered to really look.”

Tilting his head to the door, Shane addressed

the twins, “Come on Heckle and Jeckle. We have
some work to do.”

“My name is Tatum,” one of the twins bit out

angrily.

Looking closer, Shane noted that Tatum had a

small smattering of freckles across the bridge of
his nose whereas Ackley didn’t. Good, now he
would be able to tell them apart so he could yell
out the right name before he kicked their ass for
getting out of line.

“Just get moving. We have stuff to do,” Shane

growled.

The first thing being sneaking into the infirmary to

talk to Riley. Because Shane was certain of two
things…that spider was real and there was
somebody out there who needed help.

Damn it all, it looked like he’d have to put off

A Very Shaney Valentine

13

deciding what to get Trevor for Valentine’s Day.
Shane hoped this mission was a short one. He had
a feeling it was going to take him forever to pick
just the right gift. After everything Trevor had
done for Shane, the Panther deserved nothing less
than perfection.

Stephani Hecht

14

Chapter Two

s Shane barreled his way through HQ, Ackley
and Tatum flanked him on either side. Almost

as if they were a feathered version of the Secret
Service.

“Is everything they say about you true?”

Ackley asked.

Shane glared down a Cougar who had been

shooting him scathing looks. That jerk had hated
Shane ever since they’d gotten into a fight and
Shane had bitten the guy’s tail. Geez, talk about
carrying a grudge.

“I don’t know. What exactly have you heard

about me?” Shane asked, smiling to himself when
the Cougar cowered, then took a couple of steps
back.

“That you can kill quicker than Ebola and you

have no emotions,” Tatum said.

Without missing a beat, Shane replied, “Yes. Do

you have a problem with that?”

Actually he did have deep emotions as far as

A

A Very Shaney Valentine

15

Trevor went and also for their former ward,
Dalton. Plus, Shane had grown fond of a small
handful of others, but he didn’t feel the need to
share that info with a pair of virtual strangers.

Usually when Shane said something like that,

others had the same reaction that the Cougar just
did. Instead, the twins flashed him identical
wicked grins.

“I think that we’re going to work well

together,” Tatum said.

“You can’t be any worse than the last jerk they

tried to assign us with,” Ackley added.

“Why didn’t you guys get along?” Shane

paused, eyeing up the front of the infirmary and
deciding how best to sneak in. Colin was still
stationed outside and since he watched over his
mate like a—snicker—Hawk, it was going to be
tough to get by him.

“No, our last trainer pissed himself the first

time we went on a mission with him,” Tatum
informed Shane.

Ackley began to study the doorway to the

infirmary, too. “Let me guess. We need to get
inside.”

It pleased Shane that his two new charges

appeared to have some brains between them.
“Yeah.”

Without missing a beat, Tatum turned on

Ackley and punched his twin in the face. Blood

Stephani Hecht

16

gushed from Ackley’s mouth, some of it
splattering on the ground and a nearby IT tech.

Grinning, Tatum declared, “I don’t know about

you, but I think my brother needs to be checked
out by a doctor.”

Ackley could easily heal himself by shifting, but

then again the twins looked so young that they
may not be at the age where they had the ability to
shift. Shane nodded his approval before leading
them into the infirmary.

Shane’s gut clenched in anger when he saw

they had Riley strapped down to a bed. The guy
was already small enough as it was, but dressed in
all black sweats, his blond hair disarrayed and the
look of sheer panic in his eyes made him look
more helpless than ever.

Ignoring everybody else, Shane went over to

Riley and gave him his best attempt at a smile.
“What happened?”

“The spider told me that there was an attack at

a training facility like you, Owen and Andrew
grew up in. He said one kid survived, but she
won’t last much longer unless she gets help soon.
You know it will only be a little while before
scavengers show up and if they find that kid,
they’ll rip her to shreds.”

“Where is the spider now?”
Riley blinked in surprised. No doubt because

nobody had seriously asked him that question

A Very Shaney Valentine

17

before. “He likes to hide out in the storage closet
by the mess hall. That way he can sneak out and
get food.”

“What’s his name?” Shane pressed.
“Baxley. But I’m going to warn you, he’s going

to be afraid of you.”

“That’s nothing new. Everybody fears me.”
“This is different. Baxley was kicked out by his

family because he’s different and before that, they
abused him really bad,” Riley stressed.

“Why haven’t you told anybody this before?”

Tatum asked.

Riley rolled his eyes. “Who’s going to believe a

crazy, slutty Eagle?”

“That’s enough of that,” Shane barked. “You

made one mistake a while ago and you need to
stop beating yourself up over it. Plus, Colin loves
you more than anything.”

A single tear slid down Riley’s cheek. “Not

enough to believe me when I tried to tell him
about Baxley. Instead, Colin dragged me here and
had me doped up. Even Doctor North doesn’t
believe me and he’s supposed to be my therapist.”

Shane reached down and ruffled Riley’s hair. “I

know how it feels to be treated like a freak, trust
me. As for Colin, I think he’s just worried and
overly protective of you. I saw how broken up he
is over this so I wouldn’t be too hard on him. Just
give him a really good ass chewing and then let

Stephani Hecht

18

him grovel for a few months until you decide to
forgive him.”

“How are we going to even prove to him that

Baxley is real? I’m tied up here and there is no
way he’s going to show himself to you guys,”
Riley argued.

Ackley said something, but it was muffled

because he’d put a cloth up to his mouth to stop
the bleeding. Tatum still understood though
because he smiled, then nodded, “That’s a great
idea.”

“Care to share with the rest of the class?” Shane

asked.

“You get Blondie unstrapped and let us take

care of the rest,” Tatum said.

The infirmary was unusually crowded and

Tatum went up to a Hawk shifter who was sitting
on the edge of a cot. The Hawk was sporting what
appeared to be a gunshot wound to his right
shoulder and he didn’t look like he was in a good
mood.

“Hey, you’re never going to believe what that

cat-piss smelling Lion said about you,” Tatum
said, pointing over at a feline shifter who also had
a gunshot wound.

The injured Hawk narrowed his eyes. “What?”
“He said the only reason why you got injured

was because you were too busy sexting Bruno.”

Shane let out a low whistle. Bruno was the only

A Very Shaney Valentine

19

known Hippo shifter in the area and the guy
looked much better in his animal shape than his
human one. He also spent most nights passed out
in some random alley since he was the biggest
drunk around.

The Hawk let out a snarl. “He really said that?”
Tatum cocked a brow. “I swear on my mother’s

life. If I were you, I wouldn’t let the flea-bag get
away with saying that about you.”

The Hawk jumped up and began to angrily

confront the Lion. Within moments, they were
exchanging punches. It was as if somebody set a
bomb off in the infirmary. Soon, all the patients
who could get mobile were up and joining in the
fight.

“Hmmm…it kind of reminds me of those bar

fight scenes from the old Westerns,” Riley mused
as Shane loosened his restraints.

Helping Riley up, Shane tossed the Eagle’s

shoes at him, then scanned the room, looking for a
way to escape. The front door was out since Colin
was there, fighting to get to Riley. The windows
were a no go, too, since they were tiny and too
high up.

“There’s a back door, but it’s always locked,”

Riley offered as he finished putting his shoes on.

“How do you know?” Tatum asked.
Riley shot off one of his patented duh

expressions. “When you spend as much time here

Stephani Hecht

20

as I do, you kind of learn the layout of the place.”

Riley led them to the back, all of them having to

dodge flying bodies and clusters of combatants.
Once they got to the door, Shane let out a curse
when he saw that it had a computerized lock on it.
He would be able to crack it, but it would take
some time and they didn’t have that at the
moment.

Ackley shoved his way forward. “Here, let me.”
After a matter of seconds, he had the door

opened. Tossing the cloth to the side, he gingerly
touched his lip, which had stopped bleeding, and
then gestured to the back hallway. “After you.”

Out of habit, Shane went first, dragging Riley

protectively behind him. While he knew the guy
could take care of himself in a fight, since Shane
had personally seen to Riley’s hand-to-hand
fighting training, the Eagle was still a little weak
from whatever meds they’d pumped into him.

While Shane knew they’d only done it out of

Riley’s best interests, it still pissed him off. Sure,
Riley may have a disorder, but that didn’t mean
that everything he said was crazy. Shane didn’t
know whether to punch Colin or try to shake
some sense into the Hawk.

Then he recalled the way Colin had been

sitting, all hunched over as if his whole world was
caving in on him and Shane found himself
sympathizing with the jerk. It was obvious he was

A Very Shaney Valentine

21

head over heels for Riley and it probably tore
Colin apart every time he had to drag his mate to
the infirmary.

“Here, this door will take us to the mess hall,”

Riley said.

Tatum easily broke the lock on that door, too,

and they opened the door to see that the fight had
carried over to the cafeteria as well. The place was
trashed, trays of food, tables and broken chairs
covering the ground. There was also a fair amount
of blood, too, but no dead bodies as far as Shane
could see.

Riley’s eyes grew huge. “Daniel and Mitchell

are going to be so pissed at us for starting this.”

Shane gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“Actually, this is kind of a good problem. Things
have been tense between the felines and Hawks
for a while now. Maybe this will work out some of
that aggression.”

Tatum snickered as a feline went flying through

the air and crashed into the salad bar, knocking it
over. “Let’s get the hell out of here before they
make us part of the cleanup crew.”

Riley led them to one of the smaller supply

closets. It was a tight squeeze, but they all
managed to fit in. Once Shane flicked on the light,
he shut the door behind them.

“Baxley. It’s okay, you can come out now,”

Riley cooed in a small voice.

Stephani Hecht

22

Almost immediately a small spider that was

around the size of a quarter came out from behind
a can of soup. Riley smiled down at it. “There you
are. I brought help, just like I promised.”

Shane was done playing. He knew that they

were working on a tight timeline and they didn’t
have time for the touchy-feely approach. Stepping
closer, he glared down at the spider, “Enough of
this shit. Shift already.”

For a second he thought Baxley would refuse.

Then the spider jumped down to the ground. A
shimmer of light covered its body before a small
man took the spider’s place.

Shit, kid would be a better word since Baxley

didn’t look a day over eighteen. He was small, too,
so much so that even Riley had a few inches on
him. Dressed in oversized, ratty black clothes with
shaggy dark hair, Baxley looked almost as pale as
a Raven.

The main difference was Baxley didn’t look

ugly like a Raven. Instead, the pale coloring suited
him, especially when he looked up from under his
fringe of dark hair and showed that he had the
most beautiful pair of eyes Shane had ever seen.
Not quite purple, they weren’t blue either. They
were a strange mix that Shane had never
encountered before.

Baxley began to nervously twist his fingers

together as he looked over at Riley for some

A Very Shaney Valentine

23

reassurance. Even though the spider had done
nothing but get Riley in trouble, he didn’t seem to
harbor Baxley any ill will. He even reached out
and gave the spider a hug.

“Why are you hiding out here?” Shane asked,

getting right to the point.

“My family threw me out right after I’d had my

first shift,” Baxley whispered, his voice trembling.

“I thought spiders had their first transformation

at fourteen,” Shane said.

It was common knowledge that the spider

breeds developed at the youngest age of all
shifters.

“Yeah, that was how old I was. Once they

realized that I was small like our true animal
counterparts instead of big like most spider
shifters, they disowned me.”

“So how have you been surviving?” Tatum

asked.

Baxley shrugged. “For a while I just hung out in

dumpsters, but the Ravens found out about me
and began to harass me.”

A surge of anger went through Shane. He could

only imagine what that so-called harassment
consisted of. “How did you end up here?”

“I figured that this would be the safest place

since the Ravens are terrified of you guys.”

Shane let out a snort of sarcastic laughter. “Hey,

dipwad. You do realize that most of us wear

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24

combat boots? I would think that’s the last kind of
environment a spider would want. I almost
stomped on you a couple times myself, but I held
back once I realized how much Riley liked you.”

Riley let out a gasp. “So you knew I was telling

the truth all along? Why didn’t you say something
sooner? Maybe then Colin would have believed
me.”

“Do you honestly think they’d believe the

opinion of another one of the coalition’s mental
cases?” Shane drawled.

“I guess you have a point there,” Riley

conceded.

“So what is it that you need help with?” Shane

asked Baxley.

Baxley began to twist his fingers together again.

“I went out last night, to check up on one of my
sisters. She had been sold to some guy who was
training her to be an assassin.”

Those words felt like a punch to the gut and

Shane wasn’t overly surprised. While he’d hoped
that his childhood training center had been a
rarity, he was quickly finding out that wasn’t the
case.

“What did you find when you got there?”

Tatum asked, a surprising bite of anger in his
voice.

“Humans had come in and destroyed the place.

While they killed most of the shifters, there were

A Very Shaney Valentine

25

some left alive. They’re wounded though and if
scavengers come in, they aren’t going to stand a
chance. Plus, there’s a little girl who hasn’t been
harmed at all, but there is no way she’ll be able to
defend herself, let alone herself. You guys have to
go rescue them,” Baxley pleaded.

“How about your sister? Did she survive?”

Riley asked.

Tears built up in Baxley’s eyes. “No, they cut

her to pieces.”

While Shane’s heart went out to the guy, they

now had a mission and that came first. Giving
Baxley a firm shake, Shane ordered, “Take us to
this training facility.”

“I’m coming, too,” Riley spoke up.
Most of the time, Riley was basically under

house arrest. Eagle shifters were rare so there was
a high bounty on Riley’s head with the slavers.
Then Shane saw the shine of anger in Riley’s eyes
and realized that the Eagle had some of his own
aggression to work out. Besides, Shane had no
doubt that between him and the Hawk twins that
they would be able to protect Riley.

“Okay, load up on some weapons and let’s go

before Colin figures out you gave him the slip,”
Shane said.

Riley’s grin of pure happiness let Shane know

he had made the right decision. Or at least he
hoped so.

Stephani Hecht

26

Chapter Three

iven that HQ had basically become a shifter
version of the OK Corral, it was relatively easy

for them to sneak outside. Once they were in the
large parking lot, Shane turned to the twins. “You
sure you guys want to come along with us?
Daniel, Colin and Mitchell are going to be pissed
as hell once they find out that I took Riley out on
an unauthorized mission.”

Personally, Shane didn’t give two fucks who he

pissed off. After growing up under the cruel hand
of his former master, any punishment that
Mitchell doled out paled in comparison.

Ackley gave a wicked grin, something that

Shane noted both twins did at an alarming
frequency. “Are you kidding? This is the kind of
thing we live for.”

Shane went over to his car, pressing his lips

together in a tight line when the Hawks began to
laugh.

“You drive a Prius?” Tatum asked, his voice

G

A Very Shaney Valentine

27

coming out in gasps.

“It was Trevor’s idea,” Shane defended.
The only reason Shane didn’t punch the punks

out is because he knew he would need them later
on if things got hairy. He did make a mental note
to bash their heads together once they got back to
HQ.

They all managed to get inside, Baxley

squeezing in the back in between the Hawks. All
the while the spider kept shooting Riley distressed
glances. Riley turned around and patted Baxley’s
knee. “Don’t worry. These are the good guys.”

“If that’s the case, then I’d hate to be the evil

guys. There is no way I would want to get on your
friends’ bad side.”

Riley laughed. “I don’t know about Ackley or

Tatum, but I can vouch for Shane. He only kills
bad guys…and those who piss him off.”

Against all odds, Baxley managed to grow paler

as he scrunched back in the seat. “I’ll try to stay on
their good side then.”

Ackley gave what had to be his first genuine

grin. “Don’t worry, shorty. We won’t let anybody
mess with you.”

Shane exchanged looks with Riley. Although

they’d only known Ackley under an hour,
somehow that didn’t seem to be something the
Hawk normally said.

“So where are we going?” Shane asked.

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28

“It’s a really nice house a few miles from here.”
Baxley gave them directions to one of the richer

areas of Flint. Shane knew he shouldn’t be
shocked. If they were going to a place that was
like where he grew up, then the owner of the
house probably had made a lot of money off his
charges. Shane’s former master sure had. He hired
Shane out to assassinate. Andrew’s duties fell into
the high-end theft department. Owen stayed in
more, but his work was just as profitable since he
was an amazing hacker and could make weapons
that would make Q drool in envy.

Even before they pulled into the driveway of

the three-story home, Shane could smell the rancid
scent of decay. He also noted that despite it being
night, the house was not just dark, but eerily dark.

Pulling out his Glock, Shane made his own

preparations before ordering, “I want everybody
ready. Just because it looks empty, doesn’t mean
that there aren’t scavengers around. Those freaks
can see in the dark better than any of us.”

Then he noticed something that set off all his

alarm bells and sent a warm rush of adrenaline
through his body. The front door was smashed in
and there were several deep scratch marks in the
red wood.

Getting out of the car, Shane lifted his nose up

in the air. Bingo! Even over the rank of death, he
could detect the telltale scent of Jackals.

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29

Fuck it all. Why couldn’t it have been some

other breed? Not only did they fight dirty, but
they smelled like wet dog mixed with jockstrap.
The first fault Shane could forgive, but the second
was just uncalled for. It wasn’t that hard to take a
shower, then lather, rinse and repeat.

He glanced over at Ackley and Tatum and they

nodded, showing they’d picked up the scent as
well. Shane blinked a few times in amusement
when he noted they were both armed with short-
swords. It would appear that they liked to get up
close and personal with their kills.

As they cautiously entered the front door,

Shane’s stomach did a slow 180 from all the hard
memories of his past that came crashing down on
him. Like his former home, the entire house had
been converted into a training center. Weapons,
sparring equipment, cages and whips lay all
around. Mixed amongst them were numerous
bodies, most of which appeared to be feline
shifters. There didn’t appear to be any survivors
like Baxley reported. No doubt due to the Jackals.

Shane felt bad for the poor saps. They probably

had it as bad as he had, but unlike him, they had
never been able to get away. The only thing that
gave him a sense of grim satisfaction was that
their master lay amongst them, his throat slit.

The reason why Shane knew the asshole was

the master was because he was plump and well-

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30

dressed. All the others, on the other hand, looked
too thin and wore rags. Shit, at least Shane’s
master had the good sense to keep his slaves well
fed. Even if it was only so they would be at their
best when working for him.

He heard a sharp intake of breath from Riley.

The Eagle’s eyes were wide and he was breathing
heavily as he stared at one of the cages. Shane
knew Riley was reliving the year he’d spent in
captivity. While Shane hadn’t been part of the
coalition yet, he’d heard they’d kept Riley in a
golden cage, showing him off like some kind of
trophy.

Yet everybody thought Shane was the sick

bastard. From what he’d seen, he was just the tip
of the evil iceberg.

A slight whisper of movement was Shane’s

only warning before the air began to literally rain
with Jackals in human form. Ducking, Shane
glanced up and saw that they were jumping down
from the second floor landing.

What. The. Fuck? Did they think that they were

in some cheesy action flick or something? That’s
what Shane hated about amateurs, they never
realized that the best move was to go in, get a nice,
quick, easy kill and leave. There was no need for
drama or acrobatics.

The twins proved how stupid the Jackals were

right away. Lifting their swords, they skewered

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31

two of the Jackals before the scavengers had a
chance to even hit the ground. Using his foot,
Ackley pushed the carcass off his blade, leaving
behind a thick trail of blood. “Damn, I could never
stand these dicks. They don’t even have the guts
to kill their food. They just wait and pick apart
already dead bodies.”

A gunshot rang through the air and Shane

turned to see that Riley had taken another one out
with a shot to the head. Not hesitating a beat,
Riley spun and took out another one. The Eagle’s
normally soft features were hard and almost feral.
Shane couldn’t have been prouder. It would seem
that all those hours of training they’d put in had
paid off after all.

The twins on the other hand had become a two

part killing machine. Laughing like loons, they
sliced and diced their way through the Jackals like
they were nothing more than a swarm of pesky
flies. Both the Hawks were covered in blood and
gore, but neither seemed to care. In fact, Ackley
even darted his tongue out and licked some of it
off his lips.

Yuck! Not even Shane would do that and he

knew he was a bit on the psycho side. Shit, no
wonder nobody else wanted to train them. They
were feathered versions of Shawcross and Bundy.

Most of the still living Jackals made a beeline

for the door, but one remained. He glared at

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32

Baxley and snarled, “This is all your fault.”

The Jackal raised a gun, the barrel pointed

directly at Baxley. Tatum let out a scream of denial
as he ran toward the Jackal, but Shane could
already tell that the Hawk wouldn’t make it there
in time.

Just as Shane expected the sound of gunfire, the

Jackal’s eyes grew wide and his body jerked. He
froze, blood bubbling from his mouth before he
fell forward to the ground and let out one last
rasping breath, a knife protruding from his back.

Shocked, Shane looked around to see who had

thrown the dagger. His heart thudded when he
spotted a little girl standing behind the Jackal’s
body. No more than six years old, she had brown
hair that was long and tangled. Like the other
slaves, she was dressed in rags, hers being a long,
nightgown style dress that may have been white at
one point. She had large brown eyes and pretty
pink cheeks. One would think she was on her way
to bed instead of having just killed another shifter.

“You came, just like you promised,” she said to

Baxley, her voice raspy and a bit shaky.

“Of course I did,” Baxley assured her.
Ackley took a step in her direction, but the girl

turned to him and hissed before letting out a low
growl of warning. Shane bit back his laughter as
he realized what the problem was.

“Let me take care of things,” he said.

A Very Shaney Valentine

33

Moving forward, he wasn’t surprised when she

bared her teeth at him and let out another growl.
But then again, that was a given, considering what
breed she was. Shane let out a growl of his own as
he locked gazes with her.

For a moment, he thought she would attack.

Instead, she did the opposite. Letting out a small
sob, she ran forward and threw herself into
Shane’s arms.

“What in the hell is going on?” Tatum asked.
“She’s a Leopard like Shane,” Riley said, his

voice filled with awe.

Shane wrapped his arms around the little girl’s

thin body and all the air left his lungs. Even
though he’d just met the child, she had already
managed to break through his barriers. Nobody
other than Trevor had been able to do that. This
time it was different. Though he had yet to find
out the girl’s name, Shane felt a fierce wave of
protectiveness hit him and he knew that he would
die to protect her.

“What’s your name?” he asked, surprised to

find that his own voice was shaking.

“Ava,” she replied, still keeping a tight hold on

him. “Am I in trouble for killing the Jackal?”

“No, not at all, sweetie.” Sweetie? Since when

had Shane used words like that?

“I just didn’t want him to hurt Baxley. He’s my

only friend.”

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34

“Not anymore. I’m going to take you home and

you’ll be taken care of.”

She let out a shuddering breath. “I don’t have a

home anymore. My master killed my parents.”

“Then you can come home with me. My mate,

Trevor, and I will take care of you from now on.”

“Are you going to keep training me?” she asked

in a tiny voice.

“No, from now on you’re going to be a normal

little girl and learn how to have fun. Most of all,
you won’t have to worry about anybody ever
hurting you again.”

She pulled back and stared at Shane. “How can

you promise that?”

“Because if anybody so much as breathes on

you, Trevor and I will eat them.” Shane made
teasing chomping noises with his teeth.

Ava let out a small giggle. “Will Baxley be

there, too?”

“Baxley will be living with me, but you can see

him anytime you want,” Riley spoke up.

When Shane cocked a brow at that declaration,

Riley tilted his chin up defiantly. “Believe me, by
the time I’m done with Colin, he’ll do anything I
tell him to. I’m going to kick his ass first. Maybe
then he’ll stop making me stay cooped up in HQ
all the time.”

Shane had to admit Riley had a valid point. The

Eagle had handled himself in the battle better than

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35

most of the coalition soldiers.

Ackley walked over to the corpse of the master

and cut off the man’s head. A satisfied smirk
crossed the Hawk’s face.

“Was he your former owner?” Shane asked.
Shane had already figured out that the twins

had grown up in the same type of environment he
had. It made Shane wonder how many of these so-
called training facilities existed and how many
shifters were being tortured even as they spoke.
Normally it took a lot to bother Shane, but that
thought sent a shiver of dread down his spine.

“No, he wasn’t our master. Ackley is just

working out some of his demons,” Tatum said, a
haunted look shading his eyes.

“How was it that you got away from your

master?” Shane asked.

Tatum fixed him with a cold, dead stare that

Shane was familiar with because he’d seen it so
many times when he’d looked at his own
reflection in the mirror.

“You know how it goes, sometimes dogs turn

on their masters. It isn’t pretty when it happens
either.”

Without saying another word, he took off his

heavy leather jacket and draped it over Baxley.
The thing was so big it almost looked like a cape
on the small shifter.

Baxley blinked in confusion, but curled his

Stephani Hecht

36

fingers around the collar, pulling it closer to his
thin body. “Thank you,” Baxley whispered, his
eyes brimming with tears.

Tatum let out a grunt. “It’s just a coat, it’s no

big deal.”

Despite brushing off the words of gratitude,

Tatum put an arm around Baxley’s shoulders and
led him out.

“Let’s get you away from here and find you

something good to eat,” Shane said to Ava.

Still holding the little girl tightly, Shane left the

house. He only prayed that unlike him, Ava
would one day be able to forget all the bad
memories.

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37

Chapter Four

ince Ava refused to let go of Shane, Riley had
to drive home. Because there was an extra

body in the car and it made for an even tighter fit,
Baxley practically ended up sitting on Tatum’s
lap, but neither one of them seemed to mind.

Shane’s phone continued to vibrate, but he

ignored it since he knew it was Mitchell and Colin.
If they wanted to chew him out, they could just do
it in person. Right then, Shane didn’t want to spoil
this happy feeling.

If somebody had told him even a couple of

hours ago that he would want to be a father, he
would have punched the person in the face.
However, as he held his precious bundle, he knew
without a doubt that Ava belonged with him and
Trevor. He only hoped that Ava wouldn’t try to
attack Trevor. Regardless of their age, Leopards
weren’t exactly social creatures, which is why they
often lived in solitude.

They arrived at HQ and went inside to see that

S

Stephani Hecht

38

all the fighting had stopped, but the place was
trashed. All the monitors had been shattered, the
wood floors were full of gouges and stained with
blood, plus the walls were covered in all kinds of
interesting colors.

They all froze in shock. Talk about the shit

hitting the fan. Not even Shane had expected
things to get this out of hand. Daniel, Colin and
Mitchell came charging over to them and they
didn’t look happy at all.

“Did anybody die?” Shane asked, as always

wanting to get straight to the point.

“No, but the infirmary is overflowing now,

thanks to the stunt you guys pulled,” Mitchell
snapped.

Riley pointed a finger to his chest. “Us? What

did we do?”

Daniel glared at him. “We looked at the video

feed and saw that you guys started the fight to
sneak out. Did any of you even consider that you
were setting off a major cluster fuck?”

“I did,” Tatum admitted.
“Why in the hell would you want to do that?”

Colin snarled.

“Because the Hawks here all have a major stick

up their ass and I thought it was time for the
felines to knock them loose.”

“So you thought that causing a massive brawl

would fix the rift between the felines and

A Very Shaney Valentine

39

Hawks?” Daniel asked incredulously.

“Yeah, let me guess how it concluded. The

felines ended up coming out on top and now
maybe the Hawks won’t walk around here like a
bunch of superior dicks anymore,” Tatum replied
without an ounce of remorse.

It all made sense to Shane. The Hawks had been

asking for it for a long time now and the felines
had all been holding back out of respect for
Mitchell. The events tonight had been the result of
one spark hitting a shitload of pent-up dynamite.

“When I need help with leading the Hawks, I’ll

come and ask you. Until then you better not set a
foot out of line,” Daniel growled.

“We’ll be perfect angels,” Acker said.
“Somehow I doubt that,” Daniel shot back.
Colin turned on Riley. “And what in the hell

were you thinking, pulling a disappearing act like
that? I know you are in the middle of a manic
episode, but that doesn’t excuse you putting
yourself in danger.”

Riley’s nostrils flared as his eyes glinted in

anger. “I wasn’t having a manic episode, you
jackass. I was trying to help somebody in trouble.”

“Who? Your imaginary spider?”
There were a couple of gasps of shock at the

way Colin was acting. While Shane wanted to be
mad, too, he kept going back to how utterly
destroyed Colin had looked earlier. It must be so

Stephani Hecht

40

hard on him to watch Riley go through all his
troubles. It was only natural that Colin would
mess up and snap from time-to-time.

Baxley stepped forward, gripping Tatum’s coat

tighter around him, almost as if it were a shield.
“That’s my fault.”

Colin narrowed his eyes at the newcomer.

“What in the hell are you talking about?”

Instead of answering him, Baxley shifted to his

spider form. Several bystanders let out cries of
surprise while Colin looked as if he’d been
punched in the gut. Baxley only held his form a
few moments before he transformed back into
human.

“See? I told you he was real,” Riley snapped.
“I’m so sorry I ever doubted you,” Colin said, a

look of utter devastation and guilt covering his
face.

But Riley was far from done. “That’s just it, you

always doubt me. I can’t even take a piss without
you hovering over me. I’m not allowed around
sharp objects because I may cut myself. I can’t go
out because the slavers may capture me. I can’t
cook because I may start a fire. Shit, I can’t even go
on the roof without it becoming a high-level alert.
Sure, I might have tried to do something stupid,
but that was one time and Doctor North says I’m
doing much better. Yet, you still continue to
coddle me. You may as well throw me back in that

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41

fucking golden cage and be done with it. That way
you can show me off like some pretty little trophy.
I’m useless to you otherwise.”

Colin reached out for Riley. “Babe, you don’t

honestly think that, do you?”

Riley shrugged off his hold. “I don’t think it. I

know it.”

“Maybe he’s just upset because Xavier is gone,”

a nearby Hawk suggested.

Riley spun around. “And that’s another thing.

Me and my twin are two different people so I
want you guys to start treating us that way. I am
not Xavier and Xavier is not me. Sure, we spend a
lot of time together, but it’s because we have a ton
to catch up on. I survived most of my life without
him so I’m not going to flip out just because he’s
gone for a couple of days.”

Colin reached out and pulled Riley in a tight

hug. “You’re right. I have been way too
overprotective. I’m just so damned scared of
losing you. Some nights I can’t even sleep because
of it.”

“Maybe you should set up some sessions with

Doctor North, too,” Riley suggested, his arms
wrapping around Colin’s waist.

“I think that would be a good idea.”
“For what it’s worth, I handled myself just fine

out there tonight,” Riley said, snuggling his cheek
into Colin’s chest.

Stephani Hecht

42

“It’s true, not only did he take two Jackals out

by himself, but it’s thanks to Riley we were able to
save Ava,” Shane cut in.

For the first time everybody noticed the little

girl in Shane’s arms. Brent, Mitchell’s brother and
second-in-command, walked forward. “She is so
cute.”

He reached out for Ava, but she turned and

snarled at Brent. Not one to be insulted easily,
Brent snarled back, then made a goofy face at her.
Ava let out a small giggle as she snuggled deeper
into Shane’s arms.

“Is anybody going to tell us what happened?”

Mitchell asked.

It was Riley who told the story, really

highlighting Baxley’s role in the rescue. By the
time he was finished, the group around them had
grown as more shifters came to listen.

Mitchell let out a small curse. “So how many of

these so-called training facilities do you think
there are?”

“Let’s not sugarcoat it. They’re prison camps

and nothing more,” Shane bit out. “And I think
there are a lot of them. This one reeked of human
so I think that they are starting to get into the
game now that they know we exist. Just think of
how many human criminals would love to be able
to use our enhanced skills to their advantage.”

Mitchell pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just

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43

what we need. First, the Ravens are causing all
kinds of trouble, then we have human hunters
who are killing innocent civilian shifter families
and now they are trying to capture us and make
us their fucking pets.”

“Shane, who is that?” Trevor asked as he

approached the group.

As always, whenever Shane looked at his mate,

his chest swelled with pride. Tall, thin with floppy
hair and the sexiest eyes in creation. Trevor had a
skater-boy-meets-military-man look about him
that turned Shane on like nothing else.

Shifting Ava slightly in his arms so Trevor

could see her face, Shane said, “Happy Valentine’s
Day?”

Trevor gasped. “You got me a child as a gift?”
“Yeah, she needs somebody to love her and I

thought that maybe you and I…” Shane trailed off,
not knowing how to word the rest of his wishes.

As always though, Trevor knew exactly what

Shane was getting at. “She needs us.”

Trevor moved closer and held out his arms.

Shane tensed, hoping that Ava wouldn’t attack.
Instead, she leaned forward, sniffed a few times
before she let out a happy sigh and wrapped her
arms around Trevor’s neck.

Trevor held her, his expression a mixture of

awe and pure happiness. “This is the best gift
ever. Can we really keep her?”

Stephani Hecht

44

They both glanced over at Mitchell who

nodded. “I couldn’t think of better fathers for
her.”

“Baxley gets to stay, too,” Riley added.
One of the Hawks let out a huff of disgust. “Are

you serious? Just what we need, some reject spider
and a mini-psycho.”

Another Hawk laughed. “Pretty soon we are

going to have the makings of a Stephen King
novel.”

Riley shot them a murderous glare. “Shut the

fuck up. I want you two to go outside, shift and fly
around the compound.”

One of the Hawks looked like he was going to

argue, but a growl from Colin stopped that.
Swallowing loudly, he said, “How many times do
you want us to fly around it?”

“Until you’re so tired that you puke. Then after

you’re done heaving, I want you to fly around
another fifty times.”

The Hawks gaped, but they nodded and rushed

off to do as ordered. Riley went over to a nearby
shelf, grabbed two practice revolvers and handed
them to Ackley and Tatum. “If you see either of
them slacking off, you have my permission to
shoot them.”

Tatum gave Riley a smile. “As you wish, sir.”
“Ah, are you sure you want to do that?”

Mitchell asked.

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45

Riley made a shooing motion with his hand.

“Those are Keegan’s practice guns, they only have
blanks in them.”

Brent let out a laugh. “Keegan stopped using

blanks about a week ago. Those were live rounds
in the guns.”

Riley gave a small shrug before he yelled over

his shoulder. “Just make sure you wing them.
Nothing fatal.”

The twins had reached the doors by then, but

they both nodded.

“Does that mean I can’t shoot their nuts off?”

Ackley asked.

“Can you hit that small of a target?” Riley

asked with false innocence.

“Of course I can.”
“Then by all means you have my permission.

Those two jerks are the last ones who should be
breeding.”

Tatum paused. “Hey, Baxley, you want to come

with us? It’s going to be fun.”

Baxley glanced over at Riley who nodded his

permission. Still holding onto the coat, he ran to
catch up with Tatum.

“Let’s take Ava to the infirmary to get her

checked up,” Shane suggested.

Trevor nodded, keeping a firm hold on Ava.

Even when they reached the trashed, overflowing
infirmary, Trevor still refused to give her up,

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46

sitting on the cot with her.

Doc Featherstone came over and gave Shane an

angry glare until he saw Ava. Then the doctor’s
expression immediately softened. “Who is this?”

“It’s Ava, our new daughter,” Trevor said.
Shane gave the doctor a brief description of

how and where they’d found her. If the situation
shocked Doc, he was good at hiding it. He just
ordered a battery of tests. While they waited,
Trevor managed to get a comb and he began to
carefully work the tangles out of Ava’s hair.

Soon Hawks and felines alike were stopping by

to drop off clothing that their children had
outgrown. Others brought toys and sweets for
Ava. Trevor let her have the toys, but made her
wait to eat any candy until she had eaten her tray
of dinner. By the time Doc was finished with her,
Ava was wearing a pink Hello Kitty pajama set
and sucking a large lollypop.

Shane and Trevor loaded her up in the car and

made the short drive to their farmhouse. Shane
had to carry her to the spare bedroom because
she’d fallen asleep on the way home. Making sure
to leave a nightlight on, they tucked her into bed
and then went to their own room.

“As soon as she gets up in the morning, I’ll take

her to the mall so she can decorate the room the
way she wants,” Trevor said as he began to pull
off his clothes.

A Very Shaney Valentine

47

Shane let out a loud yawn as he took off his

own clothes. “I think it would be a good idea if
she saw Doctor North, too. In fact I think I should
also see him.”

Trevor froze, a look of shock on his utterly

adorable face. “Are you serious?”

“Why? Do you think there is something wrong

with me seeing a shrink?”

Trevor smiled as he ran his hand down Shane’s

bare chest. “No, not at all. I’m just surprised.
Every time somebody brought it up in the past,
you always told them to go fuck themselves.”

Shane took a deep breath, one thing that he

loved about their relationship was how he could
reveal anything to Trevor and his mate wouldn’t
think any less of him for it. “When I was watching
Ackley and Tatum laugh and get off on the killing
today, it made me disgusted when I realized
something. That’s exactly how I am.”

As always, Trevor rushed to his defense. “No,

you’re nothing like them.”

Shane put a finger over Trevor’s lips. “Yeah, I

am. You’re just the only one who’s blind to it. But
now that I’ve seen how twisted those two look, I
realize that maybe I’m not over everything that
happened to me in the past and maybe it wouldn’t
hurt to talk it out.”

Trevor placed a small kiss on the pad of Shane’s

finger before pulling it away. “Doctor North has

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48

been dying to get you on his shrink couch from
the day he came to the coalition. He’s going to flip
with happiness when you actually set up an
appointment with him.”

“I’m also going to suggest that Tatum and

Ackley see him. They have some major anger
issues and coming from me that means a lot.”

Trevor leaned in and gave Shane a kiss that was

so tender and sweet, it drove away the last of the
lingering darkness from the mission. Pulling just
far enough apart to talk, Trevor whispered, “Now
it’s time for me to give you your gift.”

Body humming with arousal, Shane asked,

“Really, and just what is that?”

Holding up a pair of red, silk scarves, Trevor

smiled. “Lie down and I’ll show you.”

A Very Shaney Valentine

49

Chapter Five

hane’s heart skipped a beat as he stared at the
scarves. Since he’d been freed of the iron

control of his now dead master, Shane had never
allowed himself to be tied down in any fashion.
Just the thought of being immobile and helpless to
the whims of somebody else scared him more than
almost anything else.

Then he gazed into Trevor’s eyes, seeing the

love and devotion in them, and Shane knew that
there was no way his mate would ever hurt him.
Swallowing hard, Shane gave a curt nod and laid
back.

When he made contact with the sheets, he

realized that Trevor has changed them and,
instead of the usual cotton, silk met Shane’s back.
He tensed, waiting for Trevor’s next move. Instead
of going to Shane, Trevor moved around the room
and lit several candles, the soft glow of the flame
playing perfectly on Trevor’s soft features.

Only then did Trevor turn to get on the bed.

S

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50

Straddling Shane’s hips, Trevor ordered, “Lift
your arms and grab onto the headboard.”

Shane only hesitated a moment before he did as

asked, the wood slates digging into his fingers.
Trevor stretched over Shane and tied first one
wrist and then the other.

For a moment, Shane felt a rush of panic as the

soft fabric wrapped tightened around his skin.
Then Trevor let out a cooing sound, “Don’t worry.
I only used slipknots. You can get out any time
you want.”

All the tension ebbed from Shane’s body at

those words. He should have known that Trevor
would know about his fears and not force more on
Shane than he could take.

Trevor gave him a soft kiss before saying, “I’m

not going to blindfold you, but I want you to try to
keep your eyes closed until I tell you that you can
open them again.”

“You’re being a bit bossy today,” Shane teased.
Trevor shot him an impish grin. “I think I

should be allowed to take charge every once in a
while.”

Truthfully, Trevor was always the one who ran

the show. He had Shane so wrapped up that there
wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his Panther
and Trevor damn well knew it.

Closing his eyes, Shane let out a sigh. “Okay,

I’m all yours.”

A Very Shaney Valentine

51

Running a finger down Shane’s sternum,

Trevor replied, “Surprise. I was always yours,
from that first moment we were together in that
pantry.”

Shane smiled at the memory. That was when

his life had finally taken a turn for the good. He
still didn’t understand how somebody as amazing
as Trevor would want a fucked-up basketcase like
him, but Shane had given up trying to figure it out
a long time ago. Now he just allowed himself to
relish his good fortune.

Trevor peppered Shane’s chest with soft

butterfly kisses, stopping long enough to swirl his
tongue around Shane’s nipples. Shivers of
pleasures danced up Shane’s body and he arched
into the touch, but made sure to keep his eyes
closed. That earned him a low hum of approval.

Shane tensed, waiting to see what was going to

happen next. Then Shane felt the velvet glide of
Trevor’s tongue running up his leg. Trevor even
took the time out to nibble on the back of Shane’s
knees, which had always been a particularly
erogenous zone for Shane.

Letting out a muffled cry, he strained against

the scarves, but made sure it wasn’t hard enough
to loosen the knots. Now that the game had
started, Shane found himself enjoying it more than
he ever imagined.

“You look so fucking gorgeous right now,”

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52

Trevor cooed.

Love swelled in Shane’s chest. Before Trevor,

nobody had ever praised him for anything other
than being able to kill and that he could take a
beating without breaking.

“Not half as beautiful as you are,” Shane

returned.

Trevor ran his tongue up the inside of Shane’s

thigh, stopping just short of his aching cock. “I’m
only beautiful because of you. Before we met, I
was just a shell of a man. You were the one who
finally made me whole.”

“When you say stuff like that, you almost make

me feel like I’m not a monster.”

“You’re not a monster. You never have been.”
Whatever argument Shane may have had was

cut short when a moist heat encased his cock.
Even though his eyes were still shut, Shane knew
that Trevor’s perfect lips were wrapped around
him.

In the midst of his lust-filled daze, Shane could

hear the cap of the lube being snapped open and
wondered what Trevor was up to. Then Trevor
began to suck him in earnest and Shane forgot
about the matter altogether. All he could think
about was what Trevor was doing to him and how
damn good it felt.

Trevor had always been great at sucking cock,

but this time he was especially attentive. Swirling

A Very Shaney Valentine

53

his tongue around Shane’s shaft in just the right
way, while sucking so hard, Shane was certain
that he’d never be able to think coherently again.

Shane yearned to reach down and run his

hands through Trevor’s silky hair. Just as he
wanted to glance down and watch his mate work.
There was nothing sexier than the site of Trevor,
lips stretched around Shane’s dick, the Panther
gazing up with adoration in his eyes.

But for once Shane was good and played by the

rules. So when Trevor abruptly left Shane’s cock,
Shane couldn’t hold back his growl of protest.

Trevor let out a husky laugh. “Patience.”
There was a rustle of movement, then Shane felt

the tip of his cock pressing against the well lubed
opening of Trevor’s hole. So that’s what his
Panther had been up to when he opened the lube.
Shane smiled, wondering what kind of mess he
was going to find once he opened his eyes. Trevor
had never been able to master the art of not
getting the gel all over the place.

“We can change the sheets when we’re done,”

Trevor whispered, as always knowing what Shane
was thinking.

Then all conversation stopped as Trevor slowly

impaled himself on Shane’s cock. Bliss shot
through Shane. Even after all this time, he never
failed to marvel at how tight and perfect his mate
felt when wrapped around his cock.

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54

Trevor only paused a moment before he began

to ride Shane. At first, Trevor moved slow but he
soon began to speed up, his fingers digging into
Shane’s pecs. Shane started thrusting up, wanting
to get as deeply inside his mate as possible.

Pleasure built up in Shane and soon he lost

control, his Leopard instincts taking over. Letting
out a growl, he pulled free from his restraints.
Grabbing Trevor, he flipped them over so he was
now on top. The entire time, his cock never left
Trevor’s ass.

Gazing down at the man who had come to

mean the world to him, Shane began to pound
into Trevor in earnest. Trevor’s cheeks were
flushed with passion, his lips swollen from the
blow job. Shane didn’t think he could have looked
better, but Trevor proved him wrong by tilting his
head back and displaying his creamy throat in the
act of total submission.

That was enough to send Shane over the edge.

Whispering Trevor’s name, Shane came, his cum
splashing the inside of Trevor’s hole. At the same
time, Shane reached down and began to stroke
Trevor’s cock. It only took a few passes before
Trevor came, too, his cock painting both their
stomachs.

Shane lowered his head onto Trevor’s shoulder

as they both gasped for breath.

“That is never going to get old,” Shane panted.

A Very Shaney Valentine

55

Trevor let out a purr of pleasure as he ran his

palm over Shane’s back. “I agree. Every time we
do this it just gets more amazing.”

“I guess we better get up.” Shane glanced down

at the sheets that were now stained with lube.
“And we need to change the sheets.”

Trevor wrinkled his nose. “Sorry, I can never

figure out how much of that stuff to use.”

“Next time I would recommend maybe only

half the bottle,” Shane teased.

They both laughed, then got up, showered and

changed the sheets. They often slept in the nude,
but decided that from now on they better wear
sweats and t-shirts since Ava could come in at any
time.

They were just settling back into bed when the

sound of screams rang through the air. They were
filled with such despair and fear that Shane felt his
gut clench. Trevor jumped out of bed.

“You stay there. I’ll go check up on her.”
Trevor was only gone a few minutes before he

came back, Ava in his arms. The little girl’s eyes
were puffy with tears and her bottom lip was raw
from her biting down on it.

Shane thought back to when he’d been that age

and nightmares had plagued him. At the time, all
he’d had were Andrew and Owen and since they
were just children themselves, they hadn’t been
able to comfort Shane.

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56

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Shane asked, his

voice cracking a bit.

She just shook her head before burying her face

in Trevor’s shoulder.

“I think it would be okay if she slept with us

tonight,” Trevor said in a gentle tone.

Shane pulled back the covers and they climbed

in, Ava ending up in the middle. She instantly
turned to Shane, her tiny body clinging to him like
he was her anchor. Shane placed a soft kiss on the
top of her head.

“Nobody is ever going to hurt you again,” he

promised once more.

He had a sneaking suspicion that, at least for a

little while, he and Trevor would have to repeat
that several times a day. Trevor grabbed the
remote and found a cartoon that was on the DVR.

As soon as the animated characters began to

play on the screen, Ava’s head turned and she
stared at the screen with a tiny smile playing on
her lips. “What’s this?”

“My Little Pony,” Trevor answered without

pausing.

Shane cocked a teasing brow at his mate, who

just shrugged in return. “What can I say? It’s a
cute show and I like it.”

Ava giggled. “I like it, too.”
Trevor smiled. “Good, then when we go to the

mall tomorrow, we can get you all the DVDs and

A Very Shaney Valentine

57

we can even decorate your room in a pony theme
if you want.”

A small frown went over the girl’s face. “You

mean I really don’t have to go to training
tomorrow?”

Shane’s heart broke at those words. Giving Ava

a gentle squeeze, he said, “You don’t have to go to
training ever again.”

That seemed to confuse Ava a bit, but she soon

became lost in the cartoon, a look of pure rapture
on her face as she stared at the screen.

Running his fingers through Ava’s now silky

hair, Trevor murmured, “This is the best gift you
could have given me. What can I possibly give
you in return that can even begin to compare?”

Swallowing against the lump in his throat,

Shane said, “You can make sure that she doesn’t
become like me.”

Trevor glanced up, tears in his eyes. “Shane,

just by you saying that shows that you’re perfect
the way you are. I wouldn’t change a thing about
you. I love all of you, even the Leopard part.”

Shane had never been one for tears, but he

almost felt himself give in at that moment. “I love
you so much.”

Trevor shot off that impish smile of his. “I love

you, too. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Glancing over at his now complete family,

Shane felt his heart overflowing with happiness.

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58

“Yeah, you’re right. It really is a happy Valentine’s
Day.”

Author

’s Note

Make sure to check out Shane’s new Facebook
Page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1000
03129071732

About the Author

Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of
two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all
things about the state, from the frigid winters to
the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. You can
usually find her snuggled up to her laptop,
creating her next book.

Contact her at:
Email Address:[e-mail]

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/StephaniHecht

FaceBook:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=pr

ofil&id=1109353859

MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/stephanihecht

Blog:
http://stephanihechtauthor.blogspot.com