Rise to Seduction [Rise of the Changelings Book 5] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance ManLove) Read online

  Rick’s mind clung to the idea that it was a familiar species. He did not want to battle with something he had never knew existed. It was bad enough their enemies outweighed their allies. Rick didn’t want to add the Shadow to that list.

  He wasn’t sure if the thing was friend or foe, but again, he hoped he never ran into it again.

  Dorian grabbed his shoulders, pulling Rick closer. His mate gave him a reassuring, deep kiss before pulling back. “We’ll figure this out. Right now we have to get back to the house.”

  Rick scanned his eyes over the deserted parking lot that probably used to be filled to the brim with workers. Now it sat there as an empty reminder of the toll this war had taken on everyone. He began to move again when the snow started falling in light flakes. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, Rick could feel the cold start to settle in.

  Their search had been in vain. There was no one here needing rescuing. But the million dollar question was, who had made that phone call?

  Chapter Two

  “What do you think that Shadow was?” Benito asked as he dangled his arm over the backseat, his expression thoughtful.

  Selene shrugged. Her mind wasn’t on the Shadow right now. “I’m not sure, Benito. But I don’t think it was there to harm us.”

  Benito slightly turned, giving her his full attention. “Why not?”

  “It took off as soon as we spotted him. The thing also didn’t fight back when we were unloading our guns into him.”

  “Him?” Benito asked. “How do you know it was a male?”

  “I don’t, but calling it a him is better than calling it an it.”

  Benito laughed, running his hand over Selene’s shoulder. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

  Selene patted Benito’s hand, going back to her thoughts.

  She wasn’t one to give in to timidity, but the thought of going back to the safe house—where Sasha Monroe was residing at the moment—made her want to get out of the Suburban and take off.

  Not that she truly feared him, although she was smart enough to know he was extremely lethal. No, it was the playful flirt in him that aggravated her. Sasha was not the type of man who interested her. He used his stunning looks to his advantage when it came to Nate, and that pissed Selene off.

  She wasn’t foolish enough to deny that Nate was bisexual. He had so much as admitted it to her. Selene wasn’t sure how she felt about that revelation. She had nothing against alternative lifestyles. Her alpha was bisexual, his mate male. Even some of the members of the Rebellion group were openly gay.

  What confused her was how she fell for Nate, knowing he lusted after Sasha.

  God, even thinking the leopard’s name spiked her temper!

  And Nate…

  Selene slid her eyes covertly toward the large man who had been at her side constantly for six months now. His enormous frame took up most of the backseat. Miguel and Benito had to sit all the way in the back of the truck because there was only enough room for her next to Nate.

  She was trying to imagine what it would be like to kiss him, but all she could see was Nate kissing…Sasha.

  Selene gritted her teeth as Rick turned the corner and began to drive toward the house. If that irritating feline said one wrong word to her, Selene was going to succeed in shooting his ass. One quick pull of the trigger and one problem of hers would be solved.

  Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure how Nate would react to her killing his point of fascination.

  She just didn’t get the enforcer. What was so special about the blond flirt that enthralled Nate? Sure, Selene wasn’t blind. She knew Sasha was gorgeous. But in her opinion, the personality did not match the package. The alpha was arrogant beyond reasoning and had an ego that was so large it was surprising anyone could fit in the house with the damn thing.

  Selene purposefully leaned forward to talk to Rick who was driving, her hip brushing the side of Nate’s trunk-like thigh. The contact made things low in her body tighten. “What do you think that Shadow was?” She knew the alpha had no idea, but Selene had been dying to touch Nate.

  Having the man next to her was making her insides knot and her pussy clench in need. It had been like that since she became attracted to him. Not being able to touch him was close to maddening. She was using what she could to entice him, to remind the man she was still there, next to him, wanting him.

  As it had been over the past six months, Selene’s body was drawn to the muscled man. She wanted to reach out and run the tips of her fingers down the swell of his bicep, to crawl into his lap and rub her body all over him, leaving her scent behind to let everyone know he was hers.

  But Nate wasn’t hers.

  She wished he was, but ever since Rick had blasted Nate’s business, telling Selene and Sasha that Nate had the hots for them both, Nate had kept her at arm’s length. They still worked side by side with effortless ease, but the conversation about what Rick had revealed never came up.

  Selene had been stunned to learn Nate was attracted to her. She knew he liked her as a person, but she hadn’t known he was attracted to her. The man had helped her as she fought her way to the top. He had guided her, fought right beside her, and was a pain in the ass when it came to her safety.

  He was everything a friend should be.

  She constantly argued with him that she could hold her own. And she could. Being a dominant female wasn’t a bad thing, especially in time of war. But knowing he cared whether she lived or died had touched a part of her and had made her start looking at him in a whole new light. She hadn’t thought the feelings were mutual.

  But now that she knew, it seemed to be impossible to get the man to open up to her and confess from his own lips how he felt about her. Selene knew men didn’t open up and talk about their feelings like women did. But damn, one little hint, an acknowledgement that he was indeed interested in her wouldn’t hurt the big lughead.

  “I haven’t a clue, Selene,” Rick answered her, but Selene only heard half of what he was saying. She was too busy inhaling the strong musky scent that began to fill the interior of the truck. She almost smiled when she scented Nate’s arousal. “But you can sit back and stop torturing Nate.”

  Selene glowered at Rick as she sat back, tucking her arms under her small breasts. How had he known what she was doing? Glancing sideways, Selene’s frown deepened when she saw Nate staring out of the window, purposefully avoiding her.

  She couldn’t understand how he was attracted to her, yet avoided any kind of intimate contact. It wasn’t like she was trying to jump his bones. She was merely trying to catch his eye, to let him know she was more than open to the idea of him simply kissing her.

  When Rick pulled into the driveway, Nate was the first out of the truck, heading into the side door of the house.

  Well, his running form was very bruising to her ego.

  Selene sat there for a long moment, watching the door Nate had escaped into. A sigh blew past her lips. If she didn’t know any better, she would think Nate only wanted to be friends and brethren enforcers.

  Maybe that’s all he wants. Maybe you are wishing for something that isn’t there.

  But Rick had said that Nate wanted her. Had he been lying? He had been angry at the time and had said a lot of things in his mini meltdown. Maybe he had things mixed up and included her on Nate’s most lusted after list by accident. Maybe it was only Sasha Nate pined for.

  Feeling utterly rejected, Selene slid from the backseat of the truck and headed inside. She bristled when she spotted the blond pain in the ass in the kitchen, leaning one hip casually against the counter, talking with Rick quietly.

  As the alpha filled Sasha in on what happened at the warehouse, the feline’s eyes slid to her and the side of his lip curved up into a teasing smile. Selene glared at him and continued up to the room she had taken. She used to think Sasha was flirting with her. Now Selene knew those playful tactics for what they truly were. The leopard was mocking her, letting her know that the man she wanted m
ost—which would be Nate—was not interested in her, but Sasha.

  Gah, that leopard was an arrogant son of a bitch!

  Selene stopped herself from slamming the door shut behind her by a thread. It was a childish move. She was not going to allow Sasha Monroe to know he was getting to her, not on such an immature level at least. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction.

  Selene dropped down on the bed, lying flat on her back and staring up at the stained ceiling. What she wouldn’t give for Rick to send her on another mission with Nate. It would put them back together, alone with each other, and there would be no Sasha.

  Her head turned toward the door when a knock sounded. “Come in.”

  The breath in her lungs caught when Nate walked in. He was the last person she expected to see so shortly after his hasty departure. She stared into the most handsome jade-green eyes she had ever seen. Nate truly was gorgeous. His sandy-blond hair just reached his neck in a short cut. It looked so silky that Selene would give anything to run her hands through it.

  “Rick wants us downstairs.” The man was gone before she could ask why.

  Growling in frustration, Selene pushed from the bed and met the alpha and the rest of the Rebellion group in the small living room. She would always be grateful to the people who lent their homes to the group. It was more than any of them could ask for. She was sick of motels and loved to indulge in a good night’s sleep in a comfortable room.

  But this house seemed too small for all of them. A few had to share rooms. It was surprising Nate hadn’t volunteered to share a room with Sasha. She pushed the thought from her head as she leaned into the wall, tucking her hands behind her back. Her spine stiffened when Sasha came to stand next to her, but Selene kept her mouth shut, trying her best to ignore his presence.

  “Okay, since the warehouse was…” Rick shook his head and then continued. “We need to get working on our rescue. There’s been a distress call coming in from the werehyenas in—”

  “Werehyenas,” Selene growled as she cut Rick off. “Haven’t we learned already that they can’t be trusted?”

  Rick sat forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, giving her a disapproving scowl that made Selene bow her head in shame for snapping at him. Rick was known to be fair, but he didn’t take anyone’s bullshit, especially from his enforcers. Lately he had become even more lethal, and she couldn’t blame him. Too many were dying, and it didn’t look like they were going to win this war. “Don’t let Tyson put a bad taste in your mouth.”

  Selene heard a soft purr coming from Sasha. The man was a damn pig.

  “Just because he was treacherous doesn’t mean all werehyenas are deceitful. They happen to be very intelligent hunters. But from the report we received, they are being forced into the mountains. If they become trapped there, they will be separated and picked off one by one.”

  “Did they say who was after them?” Nate asked in concern.

  God, Selene loved hearing Nate’s voice. She could listen to the husky baritone for the rest of her life and never tire of it. She especially loved when he spoke in a low tone. It sounded richer, more resonant, and deeper.

  “Breed Hunters,” Rick answered with a slight snarl. “It seems they are growing in number while the changelings are dwindling.”

  Selene leaned deeper into the wall, listening, wondering if there was an end in sight. Things were starting to look grim. They needed a way to gain the upper hand. It seemed all they did was run from one place to the next, helping those who needed it. There was nothing wrong with helping the ones who couldn’t get out of the situation they found themselves in, but it wasn’t going to win a war. Something had to give. Something had to change, or Selene was going to continue to watch her beloved species die out.

  But she was stumped. She had no idea what to do to turn the tables on the humans. The harder they fought, the more Breed Hunters and soldiers showed up. Their numbers were multiplying in this fight. The changelings were not.

  As Rick pointed to a map on the coffee table, Selene wondered what it would be like a year from now, hell, ten years from now. The cities were already looking like decimated war zones. Everyone who wasn’t fighting was hiding—human and changeling alike. It was hard to find a business open. The only continuing normality was the news stations. They were constantly on air, constantly reporting what was going on all around the nation.

  The reports were getting bleaker. The cameramen were taking larger risks, going into hot spots to get everything on film. Selene began to wonder if there was any humanity left in the world. If it wasn’t for the Rebellion group she was with, she would start to believe love had vanished as well as hope.

  But seeing Rick with Dorian, or Mason with Ian, Selene knew that there was a thread of the emotion left somewhere in the world.

  If only she could steal some for herself. She glanced over at Nate, who was sitting next to Rick, helping the alpha strategize the best route to take. She felt the longing deep inside of her to be held in his strong arms, to be loved by him, caressed, cherished as the other mated couples in her group were.

  She inwardly scowled and knew she didn’t deserve a chance at happiness. Not after the deaths she had caused, the lives she had taken. She slammed the lid on those thoughts. When she glanced to her left, she noticed how Sasha was watching her closely, his kelly-green eyes indecipherable.

  She glanced away, feeling as if the man could read her thoughts and know what she was thinking. Sasha wasn’t the one Selene dreamed of being with. He wasn’t the one that played in every fantasy she had when she closed her eyes.

  It was Nate.

  She watched as his head dipped, scrutinizing something on the map. His thick, sandy-blond hair was once again making her fingers itch to touch the soft-looking strands.

  “If you don’t stop pining for him, you are going to choke me to death with your scent,” Sasha said so low Selene almost didn’t catch what he had whispered, but she caught the smug smile.

  “Please, by all means, choke to death.” She glared daggers at him before looking away.

  Her back teeth ground together when Sasha moved closer, the heat from his body scorching her skin. “I love it when you talk dirty to me,” he teased in a light, provocative tone that sounded all feline.

  “Trust me, there is nothing sensual I want to do with you. If thoughts of me watching you die a slow and painful death turn you on, by all means, sport a boner.”

  Selene stayed in her relaxed pose, but it took every ounce of her control. She was not going to let the cat know he was ruffling her. It would only please the man, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

  “Trust me, my little vixen.” Sasha purred the words close to her ear—so close that she felt the tuft of warm air blow over her neck. “I always sport a boner when you are around.”

  “Will you stop fucking with me,” she hissed irritably.

  “Oh, I haven’t fucked with you yet.” He drew the sexual word out, the implication apparent, but not welcomed. He seemed hell bent on mocking her and rubbing it in that he had Nate’s interest, not her.

  She turned, standing tall—which didn’t have the effect she had hoped for considering Sasha was well over six foot three and Selene was an average five nine. She had to look up at him, which stole some of the badass she was trying to pull off. “I. Don’t. Like. You.”

  “I’m sorry, but is our plotting and planning interrupting your conversation?”

  Selene turned to see not only the entire room staring at her, but Nate’s expression was heated, and it was aimed toward Sasha. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t stand here and watch the man she wanted openly lusting after the man she wanted to maim.

  Walking from the room, Selene headed out the side door and paced manically back and forth in the driveway. Maybe it was time she joined another Rebellion group. Her personal interests were getting in the way of her job. She wasn’t staying fully focused anymore. Not when she was working close with Nate.


  And when the leopard was around, Selene’s mind wasn’t on her job, but on thoughts of strangling him to death. She heard the side door open, and then Rick was standing in her path, stopping her from her agitated strides.

  “Want to talk about it?” he asked as he leaned against the Suburban, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “I think I need to be reassigned.” Although the last thing she wanted to do was leave the people who meant the most to her, Selene knew she wasn’t on her game and that would eventually lead to one of them getting killed.

  Rick looked a bit stunned. “Is that what you want?”

  No, but she couldn’t continue to torture herself with what she couldn’t have. Nate was aroused around her, his scent a thick musky aroma that made her womb clench anytime she smelled it. But the man didn’t gaze at her with hunger, not like he did when Sasha was around.

  She knew the only reason she hated the wereleopard alpha was because of Nate. Personally, he hadn’t done anything wrong to her, except irritate the hell out of her. Sasha was the only male she knew who could make her angry faster than any other.

  Maybe it was time she stepped aside and allowed things to progress between the two men. Maybe with her gone, Nate would finally let Sasha know how he truly felt and they could become a happily mated pair.

  The thought tore at her, but Selene wasn’t going to keep chasing a man who obviously held no interest in her. She wasn’t going to keep aching for someone who seemed to want another.

  Steeling her nerves, Selene gazed up at her alpha. “Yes. Please arrange it…now.”

  Chapter Three

  Nate stared at the empty doorway Selene had just angrily exited through.

  I should tell her. He needed to tell her that he wanted her, but every time he opened his mouth to say how he felt, his brain did this amazing thing were it completely shut down and made him look like a total idiot.