Chapter One

NO MATTER HOW temporary Caitlyn intended her stay to be, it was always good to be home.

It had been months since she’d seen her sister or Great Aunt Liesl.

Months since she’d been able to let her guard down and not look over her shoulder every second of every day.

Home was safe and comfortable and welcoming.

Usually.

Tonight, suspicion and wariness filled the tense, fraught air as they sat down to dinner with their two guests.

Unfortunately, her sister Aileen had gone and fallen in love with the enemy. Rory was a wolf-shifter whose pack was determined to get their hands on the long-lost Golden Shield, believing it represented a significant danger to their freedom.

A relic of the Old Ones, the Shield was the matrix from which all jaguar-shifters had been created. And it had belonged to Caitlyn’s family for centuries. Until a corrupt nobleman stole the artifact from them and taken away the promise of becoming jaguarkin that had been Caitlyn’s birthright.

She’d spent the past six months scheming, conning, and finessing her way into position to reclaim that legacy. A few more weeks, and she’d be closer to getting her hands on it than anyone in decades.

There was no way she was going to let someone else get to it first.

Of course, her sister didn’t see Rory as the opposition anymore. Aileen was convinced the only hope was compromise and cooperation.

Not that Caitlyn could blame her.

Rory was also surprisingly perfect for her sister. Considerate, supportive, and thoughtful, he looked at Aileen like she was the moon and stars.

It also didn’t hurt that Rory was gorgeous. The auburn hair and green eyes were a striking combination. The wide shoulders and honed muscles only added to the appeal.

Most importantly, he made Aileen happy. So Caitlyn resigned herself to deal with his presence.

She didn’t feel nearly as sanguine about his packmate, however.

Caitlyn raked a sharp, calculating gaze over Doane.

Doane was as handsome as Rory, with his dark hair, dark eyes, and strong, chiseled jawline. Even sitting, he loomed over the room. Tall, broad, and intimidating, Caitlyn was wary of his very presence. The fact that his expression rarely shifted, and he barely spoke more than a word or two only added to her distrust.

But she didn’t have to trust Doane to work with him. Because she did have to work with him if she wanted any hope of getting the Golden Shield away from the Earl of Keres. With the shrewd way Doane returned her assessing gaze, however, she doubted he’d be as eager to cooperate with her.

But that wasn’t her problem. It was up to Rory to convince him their plan was the best course of action.

So dinner was stilted and uncomfortable, filled with over-long silences, broken off bits of conversations, and sidelong glances passing between Rory and Aileen.

Caitlyn wondered how her sister could be so completely unsubtle when they’d both been raised by Liesl.

It wasn’t long before Doane had had enough of the furtive exchanges, as well.

His fork hit his plate with a deliberate click that drew everyone’s attention, and he settled his gaze unflinchingly on Rory.

The silent, expectant stare had an auburn eyebrow twitching and a guilty smile twisting Rory’s mouth after only a few seconds.

“I suppose it’s obvious the invitation was about more than a simple dinner,” Rory said, setting aside his own utensils with a regretful grimace.

Doane didn’t answer, just waited with an aura of infinite patience that made Caitlyn itch to fidget out of contrariness.

“We have a tentative plan to go after the Golden Shield,” Rory explained, glancing around the table. “Caitlyn has managed to secure an invitation to Lord Gifre’s estate for the week of the Winter Solstice.”

Out of habit, Caitlyn watched Doane closely, ready to catalogue his reaction and tells for future use.

But not a single bit of his expression changed. No hint of surprise or question or doubt marred his perpetually blank mask. Instead, he simply waited, attention focused and intense, for Rory to continue.

“Part of Caitlyn’s cover, however, included a fictitious husband,” Rory explained, as if the silence was the only prompt he expected. “If she shows up alone now, it will raise questions. And possibly suspicions.”

“It could also place her in danger,” Aileen added, a sharp wrinkle of worry digging into her brow. “We have no idea what to expect once she’s inside the estate walls. I’d feel better if she had someone watching her back.”

Caitlyn snorted in disgust. She was more than capable of taking care of herself.

“I don’t need a bodyguard or a babysitter,” she sneered with irritation and insult. Shifting her gaze, Caitlyn let it drag impudently over Doane.

If she was going to work with him, she needed to know what made him tick. And the best way to figure him out was to start poking for soft spots.

“However, I have implied my husband is more ornament and muscle.” She let her eyes linger with dark consideration on Doane. “A foil to my brains and strategy. That he allows me to do the thinking while he does the heavy lifting. And, of course, your menacing size will come in handy if we need to intimidate someone.”

For the first time, Doane’s expression changed slightly, eyebrows drawing down and lips pulling into a tight line.

But that fierce focus was also now fully centered on her, giving her the uneasy feeling that she may have poked too hard.

“Why did Gifre invite you to Sun’s Crest?”

Doane’s soft flat tone held more than a hint of suspicion, and it plunged the room into a sudden, deafening silence.

Caitlyn glared with sharp and scathing irritation, hating the abrupt way he managed to shift the conversation back on her. Doane just held her gaze with unflinching expectation.

Everyone else stilled, frozen in the rising tension.

Eventually, Caitlyn gave way beneath the weight of quiet apprehension in the room and leaned forward to settle her elbows on the table.

“I facilitated a sale of a particular oddity with… uncertain… provenance.” Caitlyn gave each word a precise emphasis, hoping to hide the extent of her transgression behind the vague explanation.

The flare of guilt that welled up irritated her, and she covered it up with a smirk. Propping her chin in her hand, Caitlyn tried to twist the conversation back on Doane.

“Probably not all that different than what you and your friends did, back when you were digging up unclaimed treasure for a living.”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t easily sidetracked by her attempts to get a rise from him.

“What oddity?”

She wanted to snarl at the quiet, even tone. Instead, she kept her reaction to herself and answered with the truth.

Not the whole truth, obviously. But enough to satisfy.

“He was particularly enamored with drake relics. I couldn’t acquire the Dragon Pearl he was looking for, but I found a seller who had a Dragon Drum. Gifre was excited to get his hands on even that minor bit of dragon magic. Apparently, my skill at finding the rare and unexpected was enough to elicit an invitation.”

Doane’s attention remained riveted on her, and she had no doubt he was assessing her with all his wolfy senses.

“I’ll go.”

His abrupt declaration was stark and certain. On its heels, Aileen’s sigh of relief, loud and heartfelt, broke the tension like a sudden spring shower.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes in exasperation, not wanting her own relief to show. Or her curiosity. What had gone on behind that impassive, unreadable expression that made him acquiesce so suddenly?

Rory covered Aileen’s hand and nodded at Doane, flashing a teasing smile. “Now we have to find you some nicer clothes so you don’t embarrass your temporary wife too much in front of the gentry.”

Wife.

Caitlyn dipped her head, surprised at her own reaction to the simple word.

The idea of pretending to be married to Doane had been part of the plan from the beginning. It had seemed innocent enough. Caitlyn lied about much more important things on a regular basis.

But, suddenly, the reality of even a fake relationship seemed much more disconcerting.

***

“Caitlyn, are you sure this is a good idea?”

Caitlyn looked up from packing to grimace at her great aunt.

“Of course it’s not a good idea, Aunt Liesl. Aileen’s new love seems nice enough, but I don’t trust his friend.” Caitlyn shrugged, trying not to show any of her own concern. “I’ve worked with plenty of people I don’t trust, though. I can handle him.”

Liesl sighed and settled on the bed next to all the finery Caitlyn had laid out while she decided what to take with her.

“That’s not what I meant. I’m worried about you crossing paths with the Keres. They are a dangerous and ruthless family.”

There was no denying how much damage the Keres had done over the years.

Isadora and her husband had financially destroyed Liesl’s father in an attempt to get the Shield. And when that hadn’t worked, they’d kidnapped Liesl and her sister.

More recently, Isadora and her henchmen had stolen the oracle ball from Liesl’s shop. Rory and Aileen had been forced to face dangerous odds to reclaim the last of Caitlyn’s family’s heirlooms.

Putting all of them in the crosshairs of the powerful Keres family once again.

If Isadora’s paranoid grandson recognized Caitlyn, he would have no mercy for her.

“I’ll be fine. I promise. You trained me well. No one recognizes me when I’m playing a part.”

Liesl was a professional spiritualist. Her ability to read people was second to none and she’d passed that skill on to Caitlyn. Along with a gift for sleight-of-hand and a knack for showing people only what they expected to see.

Unconvinced, but knowing her ward too well, Liesl gave Caitlyn a tightlipped smile and patted her knee.

The worry, however, remained dark and determined in her aunt’s eyes. She wasn’t even bothering to hide it.

“What else is it, Aunt Liesl? What are you afraid of?”

For a moment, she hesitated, looking torn before finally answering.

“If you do find the Shield, you need to be careful,” Liesl warned. “Not everyone survives the magic. It… the stories… what befell a few of those who did not become jaguarkin was horrifying.”

Caitlyn froze, reading between the lines of what Liesl was saying. If the magic didn’t work, she might die.

“Why haven’t you ever mentioned that danger before?”

“It’s rare, but it has happened,” Liesl admitted, a hint of guilty blush reddening her cheekbones. “It didn’t seem necessary to bring it up when the chance of getting back the Shield seemed so slight. It was easier to dwell on the joy and the legends of becoming jaguarkin.”

Caitlyn considered the dangers, but the legacy of the jaguarkin was too important. The need to reclaim the lost traditions of her birthright drove her. She’d already risked death more than once to get this close to Gifre.

It was a chance she was more than willing to take.

But Liesl’s concern was palpable in the room, so Caitlyn flashed her best reassuring smile.

“I’m not planning to do anything with the Shield until I bring it home for all of us. I wouldn’t even know how to use the magic. From what Aileen gathered, the Keres haven’t been able to figure it out in the decades they’ve had it in their possession.”

Then an alarming thought made her frown.

“You do know how to make the Shield work, don’t you?”

It would be awful to go to all the trouble to get it back, only for it to be nothing more than an ancient wall decoration.

Liesl bit her and nodded uncertainly. “Our family built up a tradition around the gift of becoming jaguarkin that was passed on to each generation. I’m not sure which parts are necessary and which parts are ritual. But I am sure that I can make it work.”

Caitlyn let out the breath she’d been holding with a sigh of relief.

However, her aunt still looked stern and unhappy.

“According to Rory, he and his pack became wolfkin by accident. They’re not sure what triggered the magic. You and your sister are all I have left, so you must be careful if you find it.”

Heart softening at the quiet pleading, Caitlyn patted her aunt’s hand and promised, “I will, Aunt Liesl. I promise”

Because Liesl and Aileen were all she had left, as well. First, her mother had abandoned Caitlyn and her siblings on Liesl’s doorstep. Then her brother Faer had taken off on his own in search of adventure.

Which was why she fully intended to bring the Shield back to them. It was their legacy. It belonged in their home. It belonged within the heart of the tiny little family that had clung together over the years, despite everything.

Humor lighting her eyes, Liesl’s smile lost some of its uneasiness, though a sliver of worry remained.

“I shouldn’t be quite so reassured by your promise. Your version of careful has always involved a lot more risk-taking than I’m comfortable with.”

“Well, then, you’ll have to make sure I’m well stocked. Let’s go raid your stash of relics,” Caitlyn teased. “Do you have anything to annoy or distract a wolf-shifter?”

Tugging at her aunt’s hand until Liesl gave in with a huffed laugh, Caitlyn continued to joke as the two of them headed down to the shop together.