Shift mated, p.1
Shift Mated, page 1
SHIFT MATED
A CELESTIAL SOUL MATES, INC. NOVEL
SHIFTED HEARTS
BOOK SIX
GODIVA GLENN
LUNAR MISCHIEF PRESS, L.L.C.
Shift Mated
Copyright © 2024 by Godiva Glenn
Cover by Euphoric Designs
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Follow Godiva Glenn at GodivaGlenn.com
Created with Vellum
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Godiva Glenn
CHAPTER 1
CARMEN
“Your sister is a cunt-muffin and you need to stop letting her get into your head.”
Carmen choked on her latte and pinched her nose to keep any coffee from spraying out. Tears in her eyes, she put the drink down and shook her head, holding the warm liquid in her mouth until it was safe to swallow.
Sybrina reached over and patted her back before continuing, “You’re a strong, independent woman. There’s nothing wrong with being single.”
Carmen groaned and managed to swallow the now lukewarm salted caramel latte. She coughed and cleared her throat before lifting her eyes to Sybrina. “Cunt-muffin?”
“Too vulgar?”
“I don’t know. It’s just…”
“It’s a new spin off twat-waffle,” Sybrina explained proudly. Her brown gaze twinkled with mischief.
Carmen wasn’t certain of what to say to that. “In any case…” She wiped at her eyes, which had teared up during her brief choking session. “Just because she stood us up—”
“Not us. You. I didn’t want her around anyhow. You’re forced to love her, but I’m not.”
“Please, tell me how you really feel.”
Sybrina pointed a lean finger at Carmen. “She ditched you at the last minute for a guy and made a passive aggressive jab at you being single with all the free time in the world. Which, by the way, sounds like it was aimed at your job, too.”
Blood loyalty kept Carmen defending her older sister from her best-friend. Yasmine cared about Carmen in her own way, but it was a twisted, condescending, somewhat clueless sort of way. And yes, lately she had been a total cunt-muffin. The jabs at Carmen’s job as a vlogger as not being real employment, for starters, plus the constant reminder that she too could have a steady and smitten boyfriend with some soul-searching and effort.
Carmen wiped at the rim of her cup. “She wants what’s best for me. She just doesn’t see that I’m not as far from it as she thinks.”
“Because you’re not going about it exactly the way she would,” Sybrina huffed.
“I agree. And I agree with you, too. Being a strong, independent woman is perfectly fine. But the thing is, I don’t want to be single. I know it. You know it. Yasmine assumes it,” she added under her breath. “I can be independent in a relationship.”
“Well—”
“I know. It’s not like I can expect Mr. Perfect to drop out of the sky.” She grabbed her drink and took a large gulp while canvassing the coffee shop. No cute guys in sight. Probably for the best.
Sybrina slouched in her chair. “Good things come to those who wait?”
“I’ve waited. It’s been four years since the Tommy incident.” She wrinkled her nose at the mere reminder of her toxic ex. “This isn’t a dry spell. I’m practically re-virginized at this point.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I’ve got cobwebs.”
Now it was Sybrina’s turn to laugh. Her high-pitched cackle made more than a few heads turn in their direction. After she settled, she shrugged, sending her black curls bouncing around her exposed sepia shoulders. “Aren’t you on like three dating apps? Is it possible that you’re being too picky?”
“As horny as I am, picky’s not even possible. The other day, I got a dick pic, and I honestly considered it for a split-second.”
“Oh, babe, no…” Sybrina covered Carmen’s hand in hers. “Don’t go that low.”
“It was a moment of weakness, and a tiny one at that.” If only that were her only low point. She couldn’t even look at a hot guy without imagining him taking her against a wall or bending her over a chair. “I live in my own fantasy world half the time. The other day, I was totally eye-banging a guy down the cereal aisle at the grocery store. Then his wife and kids ran up to him and I wanted to wash the shame off in a cold shower.”
Sybrina bit the corner of her lip. “I may know of someone who can help.”
“A male prostitute?” Carmen asked as a joke but was somewhat serious.
“Far from it. A matchmaker. A network of matchmakers, actually. Oracles.”
Carmen arched a brow. Cynicism may have been her major, but skepticism was her minor. “Someone who’ll take my money and set me up with their ugly cousin?”
Deep brown eyes rolled at her. “No. First of all, they don’t charge. Second, they set women up with hot shifters.”
Shifters. The notion stirred Carmen’s blood. She’d grown up close to a few shifters. Men with crazy alpha tendencies that both infuriated and aroused her. She wouldn’t mind giving one a shot with a date or two. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch. The service is called Celestial Soulmates and they’ve got an ironclad guarantee. You call them, and they’ll assign you a matchmaker to hook you up with your perfect match.”
Now Carmen’s bullshit meter was truly hitting the fan. “Then why haven’t you talked to them and found your special someone? Don’t tell me you’re just sitting on the number for a rainy day. And furthermore, why is this the first time you’re bringing it up to me?”
Sybrina straightened in her chair and toyed with the long straw of her fruity iced tea. “Honestly? I don’t want a match. Not right now. But as for why I haven’t told you? Promise not to be mad?”
“Suddenly so serious? I promise not to be mad. I’m not even sure I buy this whole matchmaker thing, anyhow.”
“Okay. Remember how I told you one of my co-workers vanished into thin air? Brooke?”
“Yeah.”
“Apparently, she had actually met with a matchmaker and been introduced to her soulmate. Who turned out to be a freaking prince.”
Carmen felt the disbelief creasing her brow. “Right.”
“I’m serious. And then, you remember my neighbor Kara? She started working a matchmaker. Poof. Gone. Heard from her a year later that she was married with a new family started. Then her cousin went missing too.”
“This doesn’t sound like a matchmaker. This sounds like… kidnapping? Bride slaves?” Carmen shook her head. “Bree…”
“No. I—Forget how I worded that. It’s not a crazy conspiracy.” Sybrina leaned across the table. Her voice became a bare whisper, completely at odds with her insistence there was no conspiracy afoot. “They moved to other planets.”
Carmen sighed. “I can’t believe I got my hopes up and then it turns out you’re yanking my chain. No fair picking on the desperate chick.”
“I’m serious. And that’s why I didn’t want to share her info. Because I didn’t want you to find your perfect guy and end up on the other side of the galaxy.” Sybrina’s expression grew sullen.
Carmen and Sybrina had been best friends since fifth grade. They’d been through it all together. And one thing Carmen knew for certain was that Sybrina couldn’t act if her life depended on it. Which could only mean she was telling the truth. Well, fuck.
“Other planets? Like Mars?”
“No. Other planets where shifters run the show. Or in Brooke’s case, well, it sounds insane, but it’s like fairies and unicorns and the like.”
“I see.”
“Promise you aren’t mad?”
They stared at each other for a long moment. Carmen could barely sort her thoughts, but she at least remembered the promise. “I’m not mad. I don’t know why you’d think I’d be.”
“Good, cuz I’m not lying about this. I want you to be happy. I just wish there was a guarantee you’d be happy here.” Sybrina pouted. “That’s the rub. What if you find Mr. Perfect and have to move to some shifter-central planet in the gamma quadrant?”
Carmen grinned at the inaccurate but attempted Star Trek reference. “There are hundreds of shifters in this city, alone. I doubt I’d end up anywhere so far, far away.”
“Maybe.”
“Any other surprises?”
Sybrina bit her lip. “You already know a Celestial Soulmates matchmaker.”
“It’s Ms. Hudson.”
Carmen’s mouth fell open and a tiny dribble of latte escaped from the corner of her gaped lips. “You’re kidding me.”
Ms. Hudson. Also known as Euphrasie. Primarily known, to Carmen, as the eccentric aunt of Graham, one of those hot shifters that Carmen had been reminiscing about earlier. They were friends in high school but had drifted apart after that. He was now happily paired off, of course.
“So, I’ve gone four years without a man, and the best matchmaker in the world is a woman I’ve known practically since I hit puberty?”
Sybrina shrugged. “Obviously you didn’t know her as well as you assumed.”
CHAPTER 2
PIERCE
“I can’t get butts in the seats if you don’t offer the audience more of yourself.”
Pierce didn’t reply to his trainer-slash-manager’s statement. It wasn’t anything new. The overbearing wolf shifter had been riding Pierce’s ass about his social skills for over a year now.
Vagaro whipped a towel in Pierce’s direction. “You’ve got the heart and talent, but you need to—”
“Schmooze,” Pierce finished. He was well aware. Slinging his black gym bag across his shoulder, he gave his trainer a look. “You’re stuck on repeat.” He made his way out of the locker room. Workouts always left him on edge. He needed a long walk and a decent meal before evaluating his future and career.
Vagaro cut him off before he left the gym, barring the doorway with an outstretched arm. “Listen, kid. How many seasons do you want to be the invisible fighter? You need a hook. It’s more than winning fights. You need fans.”
“I have fans.”
“You have groupies, and there’s a difference. You need people chanting your name in the arena, not in bed.” Vagaro let his arm drop.
Pierce brushed past and sucked in a lungful of clean air. The sun was setting. He didn’t want to argue any more than he wanted to contemplate his future. He’d entered the arena for the first time about three years prior, and ever since, he’d known it was his destiny.
But destiny had a funny way of working out. Or in his case, a fucked-up way of offering a platter of dreams before swiping it away and leaving him screwed over. He should have been on top by now.
He dug through his bag and retrieved the small bean-shaped pod that held his earbuds. Jamming them in, he tried to think of anything else. Vagaro’s words kept refreshing themselves over the loud music, however.
Most fighters walked away from victory with roaring crowds. Pierce had always walked away with modest cheer. He wasn’t the guy people went crazy over. He lacked that certain something, that star quality. He wasn’t a fan favorite by any stretch. He wasn’t freaking Midnight Star, a champion who made the audience nearly wet themselves with excitement. It helped to be gorgeous and charismatic.
He turned the music up until he couldn’t hear his doubts and questioning. He drowned out everything except the thumping beat of bass-heavy electronica that synced with his brisk footsteps.
An hour later, he was back at his place and coated in a fine sheen of sweat. He had another two months before the pre-season matches started.
Vagaro wanted him to have a hook. He wanted Pierce to develop an engaging personality for the press and sponsors, but realistically, Pierce had a better chance of growing another head.
He didn’t like to chat with fans. Not because he didn’t appreciate them, but because he was horrible with small talk and always felt like he made every conversation awkward. He made people cringe. He could fuck and fight like a champion, but winning over strangers?
One possible hook gave him hope.
Lately, the superstition that mating threw off a fighter’s edge was being retired. He could use that to his advantage. With a mate by his side—especially one round with child—he’d be relatable, at the very least. He’d no longer be the bachelor in a sport of bachelors. He’d be a family guy. Fans would cheer the family guy, right?
And if that didn’t work, well fuck. He’d still have a gorgeous mate. It was a win-win. Either it was time for him to skyrocket to champion, or time for him to settle down. Fighting wasn’t about the fame for him, in the long run. He did it because he was good at it and because he enjoyed it. He didn’t want to stop, but it was time to take a chance and let the cards fall as they did.
Pierce scraped the edge of a worn business card across his chin hairs and squinted at the rising sun. The rays brightened the room he stood in, casting a glow across the soft red of his hardwood floors. He’d waited all night and then some but wasn’t sure the time was right.
It wasn’t easy making calls across the galaxy. He tried to recall the rules and time difference calculations between Astreia and Earth, but math wasn’t his strong suit, and that was without things like daylight savings.
He wanted to make the call before any more time was wasted. He needed his match yesterday, and this Euphrasie Hudson was just the miracle worker he needed. She was an oracle with the Celestial Soulmates service that had already found matches for more than a few champions already. He’d hoped for the same Oracle that had found a match for one of his favorite league fighters—Midnight Star—but they weren’t available and had passed along the information for Euphrasie.
He clamped the card between his teeth and powered on his monitor before angling it away from the window to avoid too much glare. His communicator would sync automatically once the number was dialed.
The moment of truth. Hopefully he’d be catching the matchmaker around lunch time. Or he’d miscalculated and would be waking her in the middle of the night. He retrieved the card from his mouth and punched the numbers out. While the device rang, he squared his shoulders and stood front and center facing the camera. His best chance at a first impression would be his impressive build.
The monitor lit up with a soft blue glow as the call connected, and the close-up face of an elderly woman appeared within seconds. Her lips parted for a moment then grew into a wicked grin.
“Is it my birthday?” she asked.
He cleared his throat. “I don’t know. Is it?”
She tilted her head. Her piercing blue gaze swept him over. “No. But a girl can wish.” She sighed dramatically. “Do I need to guess the nature of this call?”
“You are Euphrasie Hudson, aren’t you?”
“That I am.”
“I seek your services in finding a suitable mate.”
“Of course, you do.” Her image flickered, no longer zoomed in as if she held him directly in her hand. She’d set her device down in front of her and now appeared to be seated on a couch. She crossed her legs and gestured to him. “My dear, I’m not complaining but it’s not required for you to be naked to apply for my services.”
He took a step back from the monitor and plucked at his light gray jogging pants. “Not naked, ma’am.”
Her eyes dipped. “No. I suppose not. Though those pants…” She blinked then shook her head a bit. “Wait, you look familiar.”
“I sent you a message last night to preface this call.”
“That’s not it.” She rustled off camera and leaned back into focus with a notepad and a cell phone. She glanced up at him for a moment as if double-checking something. “Here we go. You’re in the Arcturus Arena League.”
“Yes. I mentioned that in my message.”
“You did.” She gave him a look intense enough to move through him. “I’ve seen you fight, Onyx Paw. You first caught my eye when you were a part of the Shadow Snarls.”
He clenched his teeth. If she’d watched them fight, then she had to know his history.
“You were the best of them. I was quite optimistic when you decided to go solo,” she continued. A beat passed. “Why do you look like I just insulted you?”
