Cat's Wolf (A Shifter Romance Novella) by Leanne Crabtree Read Free Book Online

doubt.
    “Silence!” Her father roared, his
gaze on Tito. The other man’s jaw tightened but he kept his mouth shut and
blanked his face of all emotion.
    “Kaitlin,” he father began and she
turned to face him, “I really think you should think about what you’re doing.
Going off with a wolf will start all-out-war between us and them ,” he
spat, his head nodding to Rhys.
    “Why?” She asked, confused. “I went
willingly yesterday and will be doing so again when I leave today.”
    “Only the five of us know that and
three of us,” he indicated himself, Tito and looked pointedly across at his
wife, “saying you didn’t go willingly with the wolf ,” he said wolf like
it left a bad taste in his mouth, “against two saying you did will fall in our
favour and start a war; a war which we will win.”
    Kaitlin stared at her father in
abject horror. Was he trying to blackmail her into staying by claiming he’d
start a war in some sort of misguided attempt to get her back? Was this just
another way of trying to control her?
    Definitely.
    She glanced at her mother to see
she looked distressed. Ruth wasn’t strong enough to stand against her husband,
as much as she might want to. Her mother looked up and Kaitlin saw the anguish
in her gaze. She mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.”
    As bad as she felt for her mother
she knew she couldn't give in to her fathers demands. “So be it. I leave with
him today.” She stood. “Right now. Start a war, it will only make me more
determined to stay with Rhys.”
    Her father’s power cloaked the room
in the next second, causing the fine hairs on her arms to stand on end. “People
you know and care about will likely die as a result of your decision, Kaitlin.”
    She turned a bewildered face to her
fathers. Rhys tightened his fingers around hers as he stood and urged her back
against his chest. The contact instantly soothed her. “We’ll be going now.”
    No-one moved to stop them but she
felt the anger and disapproval as she walked away from her family and her clan.
    “What do you think he meant about
people I know and care about getting hurt?” She asked, her voice slightly
shaky.
    Rhys watched her for a second. “It
was probably one last ditch attempt to stop you. I doubt he’d do anything to
them.”
    Kaitlin snorted. “You don’t know my
dad very well, do you?”
    “I’ve heard rumours about him. The
tortures he performs on prisoners; the bribes he takes to overlook certain
things. He’s not as clean cut as he likes to make out.” He tilted his head
slightly as he thought on something. “Do you think the rest of the council know
what he’s been up to? Or do you think they’re as corrupt as your father?”
    Kaitlin went thought the other
seven members in her mind. Her mother was nothing like her dad. She weighed
both sides of the argument before deciding on her verdict. She would never take
a bribe.
    Anastasia, a Russian swan shifter,
was regal and exceptionally beautiful. She also had the heart to match and had
a good sense of right and wrong and judged fairly.
    Nelson, an African hyena shifter,
was very big on making things fair, hearing both sides before he came to a
decision.
    Sanjit, an Indian Bengal tiger, was
very wise to the world. As the oldest and longest running member of the council
he’d seen a lot over the past forty years or so he’d been on the council.
    Li, a Chinese Asian Golden Cat
shifter, was the youngest of the council at a mere twenty-three taking over
from her father who was killed by a group of rogue shifters two years ago. It
had hardened the once care-free girl into an excellent judge of character who
told the truth about her feelings about people and situations.
    Katherine, an English red fox
shifter, was a rather stuffy aristocrat. Kaitlin couldn't see her taking a
bribe considering she had more than her fair share of money and power.
    Brandon, the eighth and final
member, was an Australian crocodile shifter with a bad