Their Shifter Princess 3: Coven's Revenge

  Coven’s Revenge

  May Dawson

  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

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  A Note From May

  About the Author

  Also by May Dawson

  Chapter 1

  Piper

  The coven is coming for me. No matter how much I tried to focus, that single, repetitive thought hummed through my brain.

  The man who had called himself my father was somehow still alive. He would never let me go.

  Even when my father had died—Callum had killed him once--he would always come back for me. He had taken my parents, he had torn away my pack and my childhood and innocence, and now he was the ghost who haunted me.

  "We've got a boat incoming." As Logan squinted, I followed his gaze to the white bow that had just broken the horizon.

  The two of us watched the sea from the widow's walk on the top of the rambling Victorian house that overlooked the water. From here, we guarded the far edge of the island, which was almost lost in the mists that swirled above the waves. The island looked as if it was cloaked in mystery.

  I bobbed onto my toes, as if I could see that much better with an extra inch of height. He raised binoculars to his eyes, and then he grinned as he turned to me. "Look."

  "What is it?" I demanded.

  Instead of replying, he held the binoculars against my face.

  For a second, all I saw was a blur. I shifted, bumping my nose against the hard plastic.

  A boat bounced up and down over the waves. I caught a glimpse of Arthur's face behind the steering wheel--thank God, Arthur--and then, over his shoulder, was my sister's small face. Next to her was Kai, who looked even more grim-faced than usual.

  "He got them." Logan’s voice was rich with relief.

  "I'm going to meet the boat," I said, handing him the binoculars. I was already turning to run for the stairs.

  Logan took a few steps behind me, but he was still limping from his fight with Arthur. He fell behind me as I sprinted across the rooftop. He wasn’t going to be able to keep up with me.

  There was time before the boat docked. I whirled and ran back to hug him one more time.

  As he caught me around the waist, his lips parted in a grin that brightened his rough-hewn, handsome face. No matter how wounded he might be, he still scooped me up against his chest until my toes lifted off the floor. He buried his face in my hair. "And how did I earn that hug?"

  I’d never forget that even though Logan loved Arthur like a brother, he fought Arthur over my independence. He’d fought for my right to return to my first pack, the Northern wolves who’d saved me. Logan wanted me to stay, but he’d fought for my right to leave.

  I hoped I wouldn’t leave any of them behind. The guys were skeptical, but I believed I could build a bridge between my first pack and Logan, Arthur, Sebastian, and Finn, my Atlantic pack, the ones who had won my heart so unexpectedly.

  "Thank you for being willing to fight for me," I whispered.

  "Always," he whispered back.

  When he looked at me, his fierce eyes softened. Even if he never said a word, I’d have known how much he loved me when he looked at me like that.

  He carried me toward the stairs. He was favoring one leg, and it made us sway to one side.

  “You don’t have to carry me,” I said. “You’re broken. I should probably be carrying you.”

  “Broken?” Dark eyebrows rose over vivid blue eyes. “I’ll never be too broken to carry a tiny girl like you.”

  I prefer petite to tiny, but I wasn’t going to argue with him.

  “I’m stronger than I look,” I promised.

  “I know,” he said. “I depend on you. You’re the strongest person I know, Piper Sullivan.”

  His words melted my heart. I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his. His lips curved in a smile that I felt against my own mouth.

  As he set me down on my feet by the door to the stairs, he leaned forward to keep kissing me, even though it meant bending at his waist. Wild to finish our kiss, I caught the side of his face with my palm, and his hands settled on my waist. His lips were soft and warm against mine. I never would have guessed from his cocky, dangerous personality how tender he could be.

  He pulled away from me reluctantly, straightening to his full height—and towering over me once again.

  “But strong as you are,” he teased, taking the end of my blond ponytail from where it had hung over my shoulder and tugging on it gently, “you never have to be strong on your own ever again. In fact, I’m sure Arthur won’t allow alone.”

  “I don’t particularly want to be alone anymore,” I said, and then realized it was true. A few short months before, my dream had been to escape with Maddie to a life where I never had to depend on anyone. I’d thought then that the world was a cruel, lonely place.

  Maybe the world was a cruel place, but I wasn’t alone in it, and I never would be again. I wasn’t a helpless baby like I had been when the coven first came for me. And I wouldn’t let them destroy my life a second time.

  I brushed my lips over his stubbled cheek in a quick goodbye kiss and then whirled to run down the stairs.

  "Find Seb at the boathouse!" he called. "Don't go anywhere on your own. I'm right behind you."

  I clattered down all three flights of stairs and ran across the front porch, taking a flying leap onto the grassy yard.

  My sister was safe. Kai was safe. The rest of my pack had been scattered by the coven's attack, and my mind was a constant, restless, wordless prayer for their safety to whatever gods existed. But in this moment, my heart hummed with the promise of being reunited with my sister. I couldn’t wait to hug her tight. And I couldn’t wait to see Kai and finally put our fights behind us.

  The trip down the sandy path was a blur. I reached the boat house, a long white building surrounded by damp wooden docks, with the deep blue ocean just beyond.

  Seb was helping a mother carrying an infant into a boat packed full of cubs and a scattering of parents. He heard my footsteps and turned. When he saw me, his face brightened, although he didn’t smile.

  "They're taking them around to the cove," he muttered, careful to keep his voice low, "to keep them safe."

  "Arthur's on his way back," I said. "With Maddie. And Kai."

  Seb grinned in relief. "Oh, good.”

  He didn’t know my sister or Kai, and it touched my heart that he cared so much about them for my sake.

  His hand
skimmed my back protectively as he glanced behind me. "Where's Logan?"

  Knowing that Logan would be irritated if he heard me, I said, "He's slow right now. He's on his way."

  "Sebastian." The shifter male on the other side of the dock was familiar, but I didn't remember his name; he was tall and lean, young but bearded. "Come on. Let's go."

  "I've got to stay here." Seb's hand slid across my lower back, and he looked into my face as if he was making a decision. He was still looking at me as he spoke to the other shifter. "Piper is important to the coven. She can't be alone. You go on, John."

  "We got our orders," John snapped impatiently, pacing across the wet dock in a few quick strides. "We're to stay with the cubs to protect them."

  "Orders change," Seb said, finally looking at Jon, who glowered at him. With visible effort, Seb raised his eyes to stare into the angry gaze of the higher-ranking shifter. "Arthur would order us not to leave her alone. You can go. I’ll follow later."

  John leaned in toward him, his voice a snarl. "Now! We're wasting time."

  "You're wasting time." Seb’s voice was soft but threaded with steel. He sounded more like his half-brother Arthur than I had ever heard him before.

  "Are you defying me?" John demanded.

  "It's all right." I stepped between the two of them, trying to calm the situation, and offered Seb a smile.

  Seb’s jaw was set, his eyes furious, but the tension in his frame was shaky. It was as if he was struggling to keep from bowing his shoulders and turning away. He’d been kicked around at the bottom of the pack for years. I didn’t want him to suffer for me.

  “Logan told me to find Seb and that Seb would stay with me until he got here,” I told John.

  John’s lips twisted. “You don’t belong here, Piper Sullivan. You belong to that witch, not to our pack.”

  His words were like a slap.

  “Don’t speak to her that way.” Seb’s cheeks flushed with high color. “Walk away, John. Or I’ll make you regret it.”

  “You’re threatening me now?” John grinned, a fake grin, like he couldn’t believe it.

  There was going to be bloodshed. Desperately, I tried to think of a way to calm the situation.

  I promised Seb, "I'll be fine. Go protect the cubs."

  "No, Piper," he said, looking past me at John. "My loyalty is to my pack and to you. Not to anyone's foolish pride."

  Those were fighting words.

  John snarled as he stepped forward. He grabbed my shoulder and shoved me out of his way. I caught myself, wobbling at the edge of the dock, as John headed toward Seb with fire in his eyes.

  Seb caught my arms to make sure I kept my balance. His grip was firm and warm and comforting. He gave me a nod, and a smile like he wasn’t afraid of a fight.

  When John grabbed for him, Seb turned away from me and ducked low.

  Seb drove his fist into John's side as John wrapped his arms around him. It was hard to tell which one of them threw the other, but they slammed into the ground hard. John almost pinned him, but Seb rolled away.

  In an instant, they had both bounded up to their feet.

  "The cubs, remember?" I asked John urgently. "You were getting them to safety."

  Seb put his hands up as if he were holding John off. "Yeah, that's the top priority. We can sort this out later."

  "You don't like being an omega anymore?" John taunted. "You picked a hell of a time to try to raise your status."

  "Just go," Seb said.

  "Stop telling me what to do!" John roared. He pitched himself forward, catching Seb around the waist.

  The two of them slammed into the deck. Seb’s head hit the wood hard, and I winced at the crack.

  I wished I could help him. According to the way the packs lived, he had to fight on his own for his status. If I waded in there to try to help, I’d only make things worse.

  The boatload of cubs was watching them, wide-eyed.

  As John and Seb fought, they rolled across the damp dock.

  "Look out!" I shouted, too late, right before John caught Seb across the face with a fist. Seb bucked, rolling him over.

  John rolled against the very edge of the dock. His face twisted in horror as he realized he was falling. He grabbed Seb's shoulders, dragging him along too.

  The two of them rolled into the water with a splash.

  "Oh, good grief," one of the mothers in the boat muttered. "Send over whichever one of them can still walk later." She cast off the line and pushed away from the dock with her foot.

  She steered the boat out of the slip and into the sunshine outside the boathouse, where the sun glittered on the water.

  Seb and John surfaced, gasping in quick breaths as they glowered at each other. Then John threw himself at Seb again, and the two of them sunk back under the water. I chewed my thumbnail as I waited.

  I breathed in Logan’s familiar, clean scent of him a second before I felt his warm presence. He stopped at my side, and when he looked after the boat sailing away, his jaw set.

  His voice was heated when he asked, "Did Seb leave you behind?"

  "No," I started.

  Seb and John heaved out of the water, still struggling with their arms locked around each other.

  Seb got an arm loose and punched John across the face. John's head jerked back, and Seb responded with two more quick, powerful punches.

  "Knock it off," Logan shouted. He bounded across the dock to kneel at the edge, gesturing them in. "Get in here."

  John started to sink under the waves, and Seb hurried to grab him under the arms. "I think he's knocked out."

  "Holy shit, Seb," Logan said. "You pick today to start something?"

  "Sorry," Seb muttered.

  "You two couldn't have worse timing," Logan continued to lecture him, but he held his hand out, bending low on the dock so that Seb could swim John over. "This is no time for the two of you to fight. We all need to be focused."

  "It wasn't his fault," I defended Seb. "John told him to follow their original orders and go with them. Seb knew you'd want him to wait."

  Logan strained to heave John out of the water. John's clothes streamed water as Logan finally managed to wrestle him onto the dock.

  John came alive with a gasp, sitting up and trying to push Logan out of his way before he realized who it was. Then his eyes met Logan's and widened with understanding.

  "Yeah," Logan said, giving his cheek a sharp pat that bordered on a slap. "That's right. You two knuckleheads can let this go now, you hear me?"

  Instead of answering, John choked, leaning forward to cough, and Logan thumped his back as he glanced into the water.

  "Well?" Logan demanded of Seb. "Are you enjoying your swim? Want to join the rest of us? We might be at war here."

  Seb had to jump to catch the edge of the dock, his biceps straining as he heaved himself up. His wet t-shirt clung to his shoulders and his narrow waist.

  "For the record," Logan said to John, "Sebastian wasn't wrong."

  "He defied my orders,” John said, his voice still raspy. "He challenged me."

  "Well, you defied common sense. Let's all survive today, and then the two of you can fight it out." Logan clapped John's shoulder and stood. "You, get Maddock and go after the cubs. I need Seb with me.”

  "Got it." John pressed the back of his hand to a bleeding cut in his lip as he headed up the trail.

  Once John had gone, Logan let himself smile. He smacked Seb's shoulders with one big hand.

  "You're not..." Seb trailed off.

  "Your timing sucks," Logan said. "But I'm glad you're finally stepping up."

  "It was never my idea to be an omega," Seb protested.

  "You never fought it either," Logan said. "Arthur and I have been waiting. But we can't do it for you."

  I'd wondered why, even though Arthur and Logan led the pack, their twin half-brothers were at the bottom. Given how Logan and Arthur had acted when I first came here, I’d thought they just didn’t give a damn. Now I felt ch
agrined. I’d misread them. Any attempt to help their little brothers rise would have been perceived as favoritism by the pack. Seb and Finn would never be taken seriously unless they fought for their own place.

  Now that Seb had begun, Logan’s delight in his brother was written across his face.

  Logan smacked Seb's back again. "Surprised the hell out of him, didn't you?

  "Apparently," Seb said. He ducked his head, hiding the faintest grin himself. He was so cute, it made me want to kiss him.

  "Hopefully, we're going to have to chase those witches down, not have them come to us." Logan glanced across the waves at Arthur's boat and then at the horizon beyond. The wind rustled his hair above his handsome face. "But if there is a fight coming our way, I'm sure you'll prove yourself, Seb."

  The thought was instantly sobering.

  If trouble was coming our way, it was because of me. I chewed my lower lip, looking out at the bright blue waves. It was a cold day, but the sun was shining, almost blindly bright as it reflected from the waves.

  "Do you wish I'd never come here?" I asked.

  "Hell no, Piper." Logan's hands spanned my hips, spinning me toward him, and I stared up into his face in surprise. I could tell he meant it when he told me, "You're what we all needed. What I need. I don't mind doing some killing to keep you safe with me."

  I had to smile at that. "Spoken like a true werewolf with a bit of bloodlust..."

  "Oh, it's not just blood lust," he told me. He slid one finger under my chin to tilt my mouth up to his.