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  The wolves ripped the prince's body apart, snarls feral as they used teeth and claws to kill. Alanna hugged her arms to her chest, her eyes wide, as her brother slowly died. His screams turned to pleas for mercy, but the wolves did not care.

  One wolf finally wrenched out his throat. The Lupine stood back, muzzle covered with blood, triumph in his eyes. At the wolf's feet, Kieran's bloody body folded in on itself and crumpled to dust.

  The wolves padded in a circle around the prince's remains, then they lifted their heads and howled. It was a faint whisper of a howl, eerie and hollow, but it held a note of triumph.

  The wolves shifted into a dozen men with broad shoulders and flowing hair, with the light blue eyes common to Lupines. They gave Niall and Alanna a collective look of acknowledgment, shifted back into wolves, and vanished. Wisps of smoke spun high into the sky and faded away.

  Alanna ran to the fallen sword, caught it up, and rushed to Niall and his cubs. The sword sliced swiftly through the net binding Niall, and then Alanna moved to cut the ropes binding Piers and Marcus.

  Both wildcat cubs shifted into boys and ran to Niall, throwing their arms around him. Tears wet Niall's face as he knelt and gathered them in.

  He looked over their heads at Alanna, who stood behind them, sword clenched in her hand, her dark eyes wild.

  "Alanna," Niall said, trying to stop his voice from shaking. "What happened? What did you do?"

  Alanna lifted her chin. "Kieran commanded me to make a soul-stealer, but I spelled the sword to be a soul releaser. Instead of binding the souls of those Shifters, driving it through their remains set them free." She drew shuddering a breath, looking white and sick. "At least, that's all I meant to do. I did not realize the Shifters would decide to take their vengeance on Kieran like that. I did not know they could."

  But as horrifying as Kieran's death had been, Niall couldn't be unhappy that the cruel Fae who'd abducted his children and would have murdered them was gone. "If they hadn't killed him, the prince would have killed all of us."

  Alanna nodded. "Me, certainly. I'd hoped that while he attacked me, you and your cubs could get away."

  Niall shot to his feet. "That was your plan? For me to run away while you died? 'Tis not what Shifters do for mates, lass."

  "It's done, Niall. You must leave now. If they find you here, they will hold you responsible. Kieran's cousin, his heir, had no love for Kieran, but he might appease his followers by making an example of you."

  Niall hugged his boys close. They were scared, but unhurt, resilient lads. "And what is to say they won't come after me and my cubs into the human world?"

  "Because most Fae had no love for Kieran, either," Alanna said. "I doubt any of them will be willing to risk entering the human world to avenge his name."

  "But you can not stay here, either, lass. They'll blame you too."

  Alanna gave him a long look. "Perhaps, if you exchanged your steel knives for bronze ones, I could better serve you breakfast?"

  Niall's heart thumped fast and hard. He reached for her, pulled her into the circle of his family. "You saved my boys, and me. You stay with me as long as you damn well please."

  Her scent wrapped around him, fresh and graceful and beautiful. Niall wondered that he could have ever disliked it. Her scent was wrapping around his heart as well as the warmth of a new bond that had started to forge.

  Alanna held the sword up to him. "This belongs to you."

  Niall closed his hand around the hilt. The sword felt right in his palm, as though he'd made it especially for him to hold. And maybe he had. "A soul releaser?"

  "I spelled it so that when a Shifter's soul is in peril of being bound to its body or to another's will, this sword will release it in peace. The Lupine souls that had been cursed to linger at their graves have at last gone to the Summerland."

  Niall studied the lines and runes that ran and down the blade and the hilt. "Why did you do this? Why help Shifters? You're Fae."

  "Because many of the Fae are noble people. Some like Kieran, or our grandfather, or the ones who made and enslaved the Shifters in the first place, were cruel--even we consider them cruel. Fae have long lives, and we now live remote from the human world, which makes us view things differently. Kieran's vengeance was that of a child pulling wings from a fly that annoyed him. I could not let him succeed."

  The boys were looking at the sword too, with the bright gazes of lads fascinated by a pretty weapon. Niall saw long days ahead explaining to them why they couldn't touch it.

  "Why didn't you tell me, lass?" he asked. "When we made the sword together, why didn't you tell me what you were doing?"

  "Because when I walked into your forge, you made no secret that you hated Fae. Why should you help me? You are Shifter. And to be honest, I simply didn't think you'd believe me."

  "And you'd have been right, love. I wouldn't have." Niall's heart squeezed as he thought of the danger she'd walked into, taking the sword to the Fae realm and knowing her brother would discover what she'd done. "But you should have told me this morning what you intended."

  "I intended to have your children back to you before you woke. I never thought you'd be daft enough to follow me to Faerie."

  "Daft, am I?" Niall tilted her face to his and pressed a brief kiss to her lips. "Who was the one who came here alone, intending to sacrifice herself? But we can argue about who's most foolish later. Let's be going, before your brother's keepers return for us."

  They went, through the mists and the standing stones, back to the freezing wind from the wild sea, the light dancing on the waves and the green of the Great Island across the strait. The wind tossed Alanna's hair, which streamed like gold.

  They returned to the cottage, where Piers and Marcus ate ravenously and regaled them with their adventures with the enthusiasm of boys no longer afraid. Niall hung the sword point downward on the wall, the blade gleaming softly.

  "Keep it well," Alanna said from his kitchen table. "And wield it well."

  "There are so many Shifters," Niall said. "I can't be everywhere in the world waiting to see if a Shifter is in danger of losing his soul."

  "Then we will make more. We will forge enough swords so that every Shifter clan will have one, and then your work will be done. You aren't the best sword maker alive for nothing."

  "I'm so glad you believe in me, love."

  Alanna rose from the table, stepped into his arms, and kissed his lips. Piers and Marcus snickered, children laughing at their elders.

  "Of course I believe in you," she said. "But do you believe in me?" Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Have you found the answer to the question you asked last night? Can a Shifter love a Fae?"

  Niall cupped her face and looked into her beautiful dark eyes. "If that Fae was you, I think I could. Can you love a Shifter who's covered with soot and smells of iron?"

  "I can love you, Niall O'Connell."

  "Of course I won't be home much, lass, if you expect me to forge a sword for every Shifter clan in existence."

  Alanna gave him a smile that showed him her strength as well as her compassion. "We'll do it together. Every piece, every hammer stroke, we'll forge them together."

  "Sounds like bliss, that does. Or a lot of bloody work."

  "But worth it?"

  "Aye, love." Niall sank into her warmth, took her mouth in a long kiss, ignoring his sons' gleeful laughter. Laughter meant love, and he'd take it. "'Twill be well worth it."

  END

  Turn the page for a preview

  of the first book of the Shifters Unbound series

  Pride Mates

  Pride Mates

  By Jennifer Ashley

  Book One of Shifters Unbound

  Chapter One

  A girl walks into a bar . . .

  No. A human girl walks into a Shifter bar . . .

  The bar was empty, not yet open to customers. It looked normal--windowless walls painted black, rows of glass bottles, the smell of beer and stale air. But it wasn't norm
al, standing on the edge of Shiftertown as it did.

  "You the lawyer?" a man washing glasses asked. He was human, not Shifter. No strange, slitted pupils, no Collar to control his aggression, no air of menace. Well, relatively no air of menace. This was a crappy part of town, and menace was its stock-in-trade.

  Kim told herself she had nothing to be afraid of. They're tamed. Collared. They can't hurt you.

  When she nodded, the man gestured with his cloth to a door at the end of the bar. "Knock him dead, sweetheart."

  "I'll try to keep him alive." Kim pivoted and stalked away on her four-inch heels, feeling his gaze on her back all the way.

  She knocked on the door marked "Private," and a man on the other side growled, "Come."

  I just need to talk to him. Then I'm done, on my way home. A trickle of moisture rolled between Kim's shoulder blades as she made herself open the door and walk inside.

  A man leaned back in a chair behind a messy desk, a sheaf of papers in his hands. His booted feet were propped on the desk, his long legs a feast of blue jeans over muscle. He was a Shifter all right--thin black and silver Collar against his throat; hard, honed body; midnight black hair; definite air of menace. When Kim entered, he stood, setting the papers aside.

  Damn. He rose to a height of well over six feet and gazed at Kim with eyes blue like the morning sky. His body wasn't only honed; it was hot--big chest, wide shoulders, tight abs, firm biceps against a form-fitting black T-shirt.

  "Kim Fraser?"

  "That's me."

  With old-fashioned courtesy, he placed a chair in front of the desk and motioned her to it. Kim felt the heat of his hand near the small of her back as she seated herself, smelled the scent of soap and male musk.

  "You're Mr. Morrissey?"

  The Shifter sat back down, returned his motorcycle boots to the top of the desk, and laced his hands behind his head. "Call me Liam."

  The lilt in his voice was unmistakable. Kim put that with his black hair, impossibly blue eyes, and exotic name. "You're Irish."

  He smiled a smile that could melt a woman at ten paces. "And who else would be running a pub?"

  "But you don't own it."

  Kim could have bitten out her tongue as soon as she said it. Of course he didn't own it. He was a Shifter.

  His voice went frosty, the crinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out. "I'm afraid I can't help you much on the Brian Smith case. I don't know Brian well, and I don't know anything about what happened the night his girlfriend was murdered. It's a long time ago, now."

  Disappointment bit her, but Kim had learned not to let discouragement stop her when she needed to get a job done. "Brian called you the 'go-to' guy. As in, when Shifters are in trouble, Liam Morrissey helps them out."

  Liam shrugged, muscles moving the bar's logo on his T-shirt. "True. But Brian never came to me. He got into his troubles all by himself."

  "I know that. I'm trying to get him out of trouble."

  Liam's eyes narrowed, pupils flicking to slits as he retreated to the predator within him. Shifters liked to do that when assessing a situation, Brian had told her. Guess who was the prey?

  Brian had done the predator-prey thing with Kim at first. He'd stopped when he began to trust her, but Kim didn't think she'd ever get used to it. Brian was her first Shifter client, the first Shifter, in fact, she'd ever seen outside a television news story. Twenty years Shifters had been acknowledged to exist, but Kim had never met one.

  It was well known that they lived in their enclave on the east side of Austin, near the old airport, but she'd never gone over to check them out. Some human women did, strolling the streets just outside Shiftertown, hoping for glimpses--and more--of the Shifter men who were reputed to be strong, gorgeous, and well endowed. Kim had once heard two women in a restaurant murmuring about their encounter with a Shifter male the night before. The phrase "Oh, my God," had been used repeatedly. Kim was as curious about them as anyone else, but she'd never summoned the courage to go near Shiftertown herself.

  Then suddenly she had been assigned the case of the Shifter accused of murdering his human girlfriend ten months ago. This was the first time in twenty years Shifters had caused trouble, the first time one had been put on trial. The public, outraged by the killing, wanted Shifters punished, pointed fingers at those who'd claimed that Shifters were tamed.

  However, after Kim had met Brian, she'd determined that she wouldn't do a token defense. She believed in his innocence, and she wanted to win. There wasn't much case law on Shifters because there'd never been any trials, at least none on record. This was to be a well-publicized trial, Kim's opportunity to make a mark, to set precedent.

  Liam's eyes stayed on her, pupils still slitted. "You're a brave one, aren't you? To defend a Shifter?"

  "Brave, that's me." Kim crossed her legs, pretending to relax. They picked up on your nervousness, people said. They know when you're scared, and they use your fear. "I don't mind telling you, this case has been a pain in the ass from the get-go."

  "Humans think anything involving Shifters is a pain in the ass."

  Kim shook her head. "I mean, it's been a pain in the ass because of the way it's been handled. The cops nearly had Brian signing a confession before I could get to the interrogation. At least I put a stop to that, but I couldn't get bail for him, and I've been blocked by the prosecutors right and left every time I want to review the evidence. Talking to you is a long shot, but I'm getting desperate. So if you don't want to see a Shifter go down for this crime, Mr. Morrissey, a little cooperation would be appreciated."

  The way he pinned her with his eyes, never blinking, made her want to fold in on herself. Or run. That was what prey did--ran. And then predators chased them, cornered them.

  What did this man do when he cornered his prey? He wore the Collar; he could do nothing. Right?

  Kim imagined herself against a wall, his hands on either side of her, his hard body hemming her in . . . Heat curled down her spine.

  Liam took his feet down and leaned forward, arms on the desk. "I haven't said I won't help you, lass." His gaze flicked to her blouse, whose buttons had slipped out of their top holes during her journey through Austin traffic and July heat. "Is Brian happy with you defending him? You like Shifters that much?"

  Kim resisted reaching for the buttons. She could almost feel his fingers on them, undoing each one, and her heart beat faster.

  "It's nothing to do with who I like. I was assigned to him, but I happen to think Brian's innocent. He shouldn't go down for something he didn't do." Kim liked her anger, because it covered up how edgy this man made her. "Besides, Brian's the only Shifter I've ever met, so I don't know whether I like them, do I?"

  Liam smiled again. His eyes returned to normal, and now he looked like any other gorgeous, hard-bodied, blue-eyed Irishman. "You, love, are--"

  "Feisty. Yeah, I've heard that one. Also spitfire, little go-getter, and a host of other condescending terms. But let me tell you, Mr. Morrissey, I'm a damn good lawyer. Brian's not guilty, and I'm going to save his ass."

  "I was going to say unusual. For a human."

  "Because I'm willing to believe he's innocent?"

  "Because you came here, to the outskirts of Shiftertown, to see me. Alone."

  The predator was back.

  Why was it that when Brian looked at her like this, it didn't worry her? Brian was in jail, angry, accused of heinous crimes. A killer, according to the police. But Brian's stare didn't send shivers down her spine like Liam Morrissey's did.

  "Any reason I shouldn't have come alone?" she asked, keeping her voice light. "I'm trying to prove that Shifters in general, and my client in particular, can't harm humans. I'd do a poor job of it if I was afraid to come and talk to his friends."

  Liam wanted to laugh at the little--spitfire--but he kept his stare cool. She had no idea what she was walking into; Fergus, the clan leader, expected Liam to make sure it stayed that way.

  Damn it all, Liam wasn't supposed
to like her. He'd expected the usual human woman, sticks-up-their-asses, all of them, but there was something different about Kim Fraser. It wasn't just that she was small and compact, while Shifter women were tall and willowy. He liked the way her dark blue eyes regarded him without fear, liked the riot of black curls that beckoned his fingers. She'd had the sense to leave her hair alone, not force it into some unnatural shape.

  On the other hand, she tried to hide her sweetly curvaceous body under a stiff gray business suit, although her body had other ideas. Her breasts wanted to burst out of the button-up blouse, and the stiletto heels only enhanced wickedly sexy legs.

  No Shifter woman would dress as she did. Shifter women wore loose clothes they could quickly shed if they needed to change forms. Shorts and T-shirts were popular. So were gypsy skirts and sarongs in the summer.

  Liam imagined this lady in a sarong. Her melon-firm breasts would fill out the top, and the skirt would bare her smooth thighs.

  She'd be even prettier in a bikini, lolling around some rich man's pool, sipping a complicated drink. There was probably a boss in her firm who had already made her his. Or perhaps she was using said boss to climb the success ladder. Humans did that all the time. Either the bastard would break her heart, or she'd walk away happy with what she'd got out of it.

  That's why we stay the hell away from humans. Brian Smith had taken up with a human woman, and look where he was now.

  So why did this female raise Liam's protective instincts? Why did she make him want to move closer, inside the radius of her body heat? She wouldn't like that; humans tried to stay a few feet apart from each other unless they couldn't help it. Even lovers might do nothing more than hold hands in public.

  Liam had no business thinking about passion and this woman in the same heartbeat. Fergus's instructions had been to listen to Kim, sway her, then send her home. Not that Liam was in the habit of blindly obeying Fergus.

  "So why do you want to help him, love?" he asked.

  "You're only defending him because you drew the short straw, am I right?"