Chapter One

K raven kicked his feet up on a log at the water’s edge. All around him were steep cliffs and the sound of the river as it flowed downstream. For the end of October, it was unseasonably warm. He’d been there for two days already, and each time he’d fished, he caught his daily limit. With the amount of fish he’d filleted and put in the cabin’s freezer, he would be taking home a good amount of trout to share with the pride.

The pride was his home, but he’d left after everything with Cheyenne was over. He needed some time to himself, because…truth be told…he was lonely and he wanted to sulk in private. It was tiresome looking for a female to be his mate. He’d had enough of the local bars and clubs. None of those women were right for him. He had no problem touching a female, and that scared him to death. What if he’d touched one of the human females he’d bedded after only knowing her for a few hours and found out one of them was his mate?

It was in his nature to court a woman his panther agreed with, but over the years, he had no problem with the once-in-a-while hook ups. He was quickly approaching his thirty-seventh birthday, and he still hadn’t found a mate. He’d never have cubs if he didn’t find her, and with each year that passed, he worried he wouldn’t be able to watch them grow to maturity because he’d be too old to keep up with them.

Instead of watching all of the mated Guardians around him at home, Kraven had received permission from his alpha, Talon Shaw, to take a well-needed vacation. Lucky for him, the cabin had a vacancy and he’d booked it for nine of the ten days he was granted by his leader. Since arriving and checking out the area, he had already fallen in love.

He missed the mountains. Being from North Carolina, he’d always loved the scenery of a good mountain forest. His beast loved it even more. However, where he was camped out wasn’t quite as beautiful as his birth home, but it would do.

Across the river, there was a steep rock face, and he planned on climbing that before his time there came to a close. No human would even attempt a climb like that, but he wasn’t human. If he lost his grip and fell to the shallow water below, he’d shift and recover before the hour was out.

The panther inside him rumbled at the thought of shifting and running through the forest around them. It’d been a long time since he’d pushed his beast to climb and explore a mountainous area. Gods, it felt great to be back.

The morning was still upon him, and he had an hour or so before lunch. So, Kraven gave in to his animal’s request. It didn’t take him long to put away his fishing gear and head back to the river’s edge to shift. He was far enough away from humans that he didn’t have to worry about being seen.

With a quick undressing, he was ready to go. The panther that ruled him most of the time took over and the shift didn’t take more than a few seconds.

He ran through the shallow spot to his left and jumped a good ten feet to latch onto the rocky cliff. The human part of Kraven laughed at the joy he felt at letting go of his Guardian nature so he could just enjoy himself. His panther purred in agreement. If he’d lived there permanently, being alone wouldn’t be so depressing.

The animal had its own ideas as it quickly scaled the rock, huffing its joy once they reached the top. Beyond the rocky cliff was a thick forest, but they spotted a game trail not far away. Kraven pushed at his beast to follow it, hoping they’d find a nice rabbit for dinner.

The panther navigated the thick forest with ease. Most of the trees had dropped their leaves showing the end of one season so it could come back full and rich in the spring.

His panther pushed its nose to the ground, catching the scent of…something. Kraven’s human mind was trying to relax and let his beast have time to itself, but the awareness of a scent foreign to them both had him paying more attention to their surroundings.

It wasn’t an animal…nor was it a human.

It was…shifter!

Kraven pushed at his panther to track the scent. They traveled for what felt like forever, but all they were doing was running in circles. His panther bristled at the pine tree by the game trail. There was a spot of dried blood the size of a quarter about five feet up the tree, and his panther snarled when they both realized it was definitely female.

He was one of the best trackers in the Shaw pride, but whoever was out in the forest wasn’t going to be easy to find.

But what type of shifter was it?

She didn’t scent like a panther…but she did.

I’m losing my mind. Where is this female?

Kraven knew he was damn good at tracking, but he quickly realized the scent covering the injured female was more than just blood. She reeked of several different animal species. Did she get attacked by wolves? The instinct to rush to an injured female was at the forefront of his mind; his panther even more adamant than him. And that said a lot. But there was something majorly off with the scent his panther started tracking.

As he searched, the human part of his mind called out to Talon. If there was an injured shifter in the woods, Harold and Landon would need to be on standby.

Talon. I’m tracking a shifter female. She’s hurt, but there’s several scents covering her human blood.

Gods, he hoped his message made sense.

Find her and bring her home. I’ll have the healers ready to treat her.

There was a problem though.

Talon, my panther is going mad and screaming at me. She’s most likely my mate, and I refuse to touch her with my human hands.

He heard his alpha curse through their connection. It was like a cell phone set on speaker.

Once you find her, return to your cabin if she is stable enough to be left there. Take the sheets from the bed and wrap her up. We will be waiting on you. Be safe with her.

Kraven let his panther take over. The animal’s keen sense of smell had him darting off the game trail and into a thicker area of the forest. He stopped when he found a dried spot of blood on the trunk of a very old oak tree. The shape of the mark resembled fingers, and he realized he wasn’t far from the female.

As he continued his search, his human mind frowned at seeing a few feathers from a hawk on his journey. He immediately recalled the scent of the hawk shifters he’d visited recently to deliver news of the wolves who were in the area. The only difference was the ones he’d met didn’t quite scent the same as the female he was currently hunting.

A sound reached his ears and the panther paused to listen. A whimper…a soft cry.

Holy fuck! She was close.

The panther put his nose to the ground and started searching again. It didn’t take long before they came upon a thick patch of undergrowth around a large pine tree. The panther rumbled out his displeasure when they both saw her naked body.

Kraven let his panther approach the area, slowly walking toward the female. She might have scented of their mate, but caution was at the forefront of their minds. That female could be the enemy, or she could be something else.

“Noooooo,” she cried when she spotted the panther. The female was covered in filth and dirt, but what they saw next shocked them both.

She was partially shifted. Her arm was that of a hawk and her leg was that of a panther.

Immediately, Kraven shifted, crouching down so he was somewhat at eye level with her.

“My name is Kraven,” he began, tightening every muscle in his body to keep his panther from reappearing at the sight before them. “I am a Guardian with the Shaw pride. I can help you.”

“Please,” she mumbled. Gods, she was weak and frail. Her long, blonde hair was matted and covered with blood and mud. “Don’t kill me. I’m sorry…I’m sorry.”

“I’m not here to kill you,” he promised, dropping to his knees and placing his hand over his heart to show his words were true. “Where are you hurt?”

He could see the bruising on parts of her body, and he tried to keep his eyes from her breasts and hips, but he couldn’t help himself. She was beautiful despite the condition she was in, and he vowed to himself that he would find who did this and kill every last one of them.

“You…you’re not from the hospital?” she stuttered. Her eyes closed and he could tell she was fighting off the desire to pass out.

“I am not,” he said, frowning at her question. What hospital?

“O…Okay,” she whispered as exhaustion took over.

“I need you to stay awake,” he demanded. His eyes traced her body again, and he had to remind himself to focus. “Tell me your name.”

“Maah,” she whispered, closing her eyes from what he assumed was exhaustion.

“What?” he urged, confused as to what she was trying to say. “I need you to wake up!”

His forceful demand was not heard and she slipped into her slumber. The female had been brutally attacked, and he couldn’t make out anything other than her bruising and odd shifting abilities.

“I’m going to leave you here and run back to my cabin. I promise I won’t be gone long.” When she made a noise in her sleep, he repeated his words. “I promise, sweetheart. Rest, and when you wake, I will be here.”

The female never woke again, and after a few minutes of him listening for her breathing and heartbeat, Kraven knew he had time to head back to the rental. He shifted back into his panther form and took off through the forest, finding his way back easily.

He couldn’t think of her scent as his mate…nor should he recall her beautiful body, but the images were etched in his mind. She was strong…muscular, but she was one hundred percent weak the moment he’d found her. Wherever she came from, the female had to have been working on her physique.

Was she a Protector? What had happened to her that she was lost in the woods and half-shifted into whatever she was? And that brought up another question…

Why was she half bird and half panther?

A small part of his mind remembered the female hawks in northwest Tennessee and wondered if they knew anything about her kind. Then, he wondered why she asked about a hospital. Where was she before running from an enemy? And he knew it was an enemy. A pride or kettle wouldn’t have hurt her like that. No shifter community would harm one of their own so much that they ran away to die alone in the woods.

Or would they?

The gods knew the Shaw pride had seen enough over the last ten years to know that not all shifter groups were as loving and caring as Talon’s pride.Just look at him and his sister, Hope. They’d been through hell and survived.

He only hoped this female would make it long enough to return to his pride so the healers could patch her up. Kraven, and he was sure his alpha, would want to know exactly what had happened to her.

He burst through the door of his cabin, throwing on his clothes and stuffing his bag with a mix of clean and dirty laundry. He’d sort that out later. Once he was sure the rental was empty of his personal belongings, he dug out his wallet and grabbed a check that he kept there for emergencies. He scribbled down $100 and left the line blank. They could add their names later.

He stripped the bed of its sheets and bundled them up in his hands, locking the door and heading to his truck. He couldn’t carry all of his belongings to the forest. So, he tossed them in the bed of the truck and after grabbing a pair of work gloves behind his seat, Kraven stuffed his keys in his pockets and donned a windbreaker he’d brought on the trip, zipping it up to his neck. It would keep his skin from touching hers. Once he had everything he needed to pick up the female without touching her skin-to-skin, he returned to the woods.

Seeing as he was in his human form, he had to be careful crossing the river again, using the shallow parts to cross so he could be quick if there were any humans around. Once he reached the tall rock face of the river, he called upon his panther to give him the strength to jump as far as possible, climbing the rest of the way. Once in the forest beyond the river, he used his sense of smell and tracking abilities to return to the endangered female.

When he arrived back at her hiding spot in the forest, his heart sank at the sight. He’d had enough time to calm himself, but seeing her again agitated his panther. She was still partially shifted and unconscious, but the moment he tossed the sheet over her, she came to life, barely struggling against the material.

“Shhhh, I’ve got you,” he cooed. “My name is Kraven, and I am taking you to get help.”

She didn’t respond, finally relaxing when he lifted her into his arms. She was the perfect weight, and he prayed she was going to live. Why would anyone hurt this beautiful female? She’d mentioned something about a hospital, and he wondered where her pride or kettle was…why hadn’t they come for her already?

She made a soft sound of protest, but Kraven wasn’t about to stop moving out of the woods. No one knew if the ones who had harmed her were still in the area. He’d fight for her, but he didn’t want to let her go to defend them against her enemies. Even he knew that one Guardian against several shifters wouldn’t be a fair fight, and with the female in such bad condition, he was more focused on fleeing than fighting.

The trek back to his truck took a lot longer than the trip out to find her. He was careful not to jar her, but he didn’t think it mattered. She was still unconscious, and he partially shifted so he could let Talon know he was on his way home. It was a two- and-a-half-hour drive back to the pride, and Kraven prayed the female wouldn’t die on him between the cabin and his home.

As the haze of sleep began to lift, she didn’t know where she was, but she knew she was being carried by the gentle sway of her prone body. Memories were fuzzy, and she obviously didn’t know where she was. Who was carrying her? Was it them? Did they find her?

Immediately, she knew something was wrong…wrong with her frail body. The pain was epic, and she jerked when everything rushed back into her less foggy mind. With a gasp, she tried to move, but she was wrapped up tightly in a blanket of some sort. Large, strong hands tightened on her arm and leg. Warmth from a body gave little relief from the tremors that started in her cold form.

Speaking of form…she was shifted? Partially?

One quick body check and she realized her left arm was actually a wing and her left leg was that of a panther. Blinking her eyes, she was overcome by the two different visuals; one being her normal, human vision, and the second was from one of the animals she was able to form. But how?

“I’ve got you,” a deep voice spoke as not to startle her. “Shhh. Everything is going to be okay.”

His voice and his scent. It was unlike anything she’d ever experienced in those cold, stark white hospital rooms. The staff who’d raised her and the doctors who’d created her were still fresh in her mind as she remembered the night she escaped.

They’d sent Trackers to find her. Those shifters were reared by science and military-like leaders. Flying did no good…running wasn’t enough, either. They’d found her and left her for dead.

There were times when one of the MODs would escape, and she knew they had been killed by the Trackers. Because the scientist’s goonies would rush out of the hospital to look for the escapee only to return relaxed and without their charge. No one ever spoke of her siblings again.

She must’ve fallen asleep again, because when she woke, she was in a truck like she’d seen in a movie once, and she could tell it was moving at a high rate of speed. Whoever had her scented of fear, and she knew it wasn’t the Trackers from the hospital. This male didn’t scent of them or the weird scents from her home.

She must’ve fallen asleep again, because the vehicle stopped and the male scooped her up again, walking quickly into a building she didn’t recognize when her eyes fluttered open. Hushed voices spoke, but she was too tired to listen.

“Ma’am, my name is Harold, and I’m the healer for the Shaw pride,” an older male spoke as he came into view. Whoever was carrying her hadn’t put her down, and to be honest, she didn’t want him to let her go.

She tried to speak but no words fell from her lips. She attempted to moisten them with her tongue but it did no good. A stinging sensation caused her to whimper, and the male’s hands on her body tightened again.

“Kraven, you can put her down now.” A female voice, soft and inviting, spoke from somewhere behind her. “It’s okay. We are going to help her.”

The male holding her didn’t budge after the request, and she felt his chest rumble ever so slightly. He was displeased with the female, and even she knew there was something important about the male who’d carried her from the woods. He’d vowed to keep her safe, and she trusted him even though she shouldn’t. She didn’t trust anyone. Her training at the hospital made her that way, but for some reason…she didn’t care anymore.

“What is your name?” the female asked.

“Mmmm…Mod…” She trailed off when her voice wouldn’t cooperate.

“Mod? Is that your name?” the male holding her asked as he carefully laid her on the familiar hard mattress of a hospital bed. She shivered in response. The female reached into a cabinet behind her, retrieving a baby blue blanket to cover her body as best as she could with her wing and panther leg still unshifted.

The doctor and another younger male worked quietly at the counter across the room setting out medical equipment. She was no stranger to medical procedures, because she’d been having them her entire life. Her eyes were finally starting to focus, but it took her a few tries to speak to them.

“MOD-122523,” she finally spoke, clearing her throat from the dryness she’d felt since running from the Trackers.

“What is that, honey?” the female asked. “My name is Luna, and the doctor is my mate. Can you tell us what your name is?”

“MOD,” she paused, looking at the faces of the ones around her. Hopefully, the male wasn’t lying when he said he was going to save her. “MOD-122523. That’s my name.”

“Son of a bitch,” the large male with dark, curly hair said as he ran his hand over his face right before starting to pace at the end of the bed. “Scientists!”

“Alright, Kraven, I need you to step outside for the next part of our exam,” the older doctor said to the male who’d found her and brought her to his home.

She liked his name. Kraven …It was as beautiful as the male. She couldn’t even tell how old he was, but she knew he was older than her. She was told her birth date, and she’d seen the implantation date on her chart. She was thirty, and he had to have been ten years older than her.

“I’ll be outside,” he grumbled and cast a glance in her direction before slipping out the door, closing it softly behind him. She immediately felt the loss.

“Again, my name is Harold, and this is my mate, Luna,” the healer began, holding his hand out to the younger male at the desk across the room. “This is Landon. He is also a healer. We need to find out exactly what is wrong with you, and I need you to tell me everything you can about where you came from.”

“I don’t know where I was, and I don’t even know where I was found,” she admitted, taking a glass of water from Luna. The water tasted amazing and she drank it all down in seconds. “I’ve never been out of the hospital until several days ago when I was able to escape. I ran for days, and they found me no matter how far I flew or ran.”

“Flew?” Luna asked. “Are you a hawk shifter?” The female looked at her wing, then frowned as her eyes trailed down to her leg.

“I’m everything.” She frowned, focusing on a vase of roses on a corner shelf. “I’m…I don’t know what I am, really. I’ve always been able to pick what I want to form as, but sometimes, I struggle.”

“What type of hospital were you in?” Luna pressed.

“It was called a ‘hospital’ by the scientists and staff that cared for and tested us MODs, but I never knew the name it was called.”

“MODs? Why did they call you that?” Harold asked, his eyes sparking amber colors. His eyes returned to their beautiful, icy blue when Luna rested her hand on his shoulder.

“Modified.” She shrugged, frowning at his question. “That’s what I heard them talking about concerning the letters in our names when I was just a young girl.” Luckily, the scientists taught her and the others how to read. They just didn’t give them names, requiring the ones made in the labs to be referred to by their chart numbers. She was able to learn about the outside world from television shows approved by the hospital and history books.

“How long did you live there?” Landon asked as he turned in his chair.

“Forever…I was born there.” She frowned, tilting her head to the side. “I was created in their labs. Where were you all created? Another hospital?”

A heaviness draped the room like a thick fog, and she tensed as all of the shifters in the room snarled low under their breath. She didn’t quite understand what was going on, but she was going to trust them. It was no secret she needed help, and they were acting concerned. That was a good thing, right?

“What?”

“We were not made,” Luna sighed, taking the glass from her hand. “We were born from long bloodlines dating back to our ancestors thousands of years ago.”

“I... I’ve never heard of that. I don’t understand.” She thought they were all created. Could it be possible others were out there who hadn’t lived the life she’d known since her first memories?

“We don’t understand any of this, either, but I do have an idea of what is going on,” Harold admitted, casting a glance at his mate.

“What’s going on?”

“First of all, I’d like to examine you,” Harold hedged. “After we make sure you don’t have any injuries or broken bones, we can talk more. Our alpha will be by shortly to speak to you, too.”

“Alpha?”

“Our leader,” he answered.

She started to shake, thinking of the “leaders” at the hospital. She didn’t like them, because they always wanted to test the MODs to the extent it hurt or exhausted them so much they couldn’t shift back to any form.

“Is…is your leader kind…like you?” she asked, silently hoping this alpha was as kind as everyone she’d encountered so far.

“He is the male who cares for us and keeps us safe, providing food and homes for all of us. His name is Talon Shaw, and I promise he will be happy to meet you.” Luna was so kind, and she reminded her of a cleaning lady at the hospital. Both of them spoke with soft voices and kind smiles.

“Okay,” she said with a nod.

“Let’s see if you can shift back to your human form,” Landon suggested, pushing a pair of glasses further up his nose. “Do you think you can do that for us?”

She closed her eyes and groaned when her wing shimmered, rearranging and forming her human arm. Her leg was a little trickier, and she wondered if an old break was causing the stiffness as her body morphed into the requested version of herself.

“You have some scars,” Luna noted, writing something in a chart.

“Just from testing,” she replied as she shrugged, focusing on the roses again. She could scent them as if they were right next to her. It was pleasant.

“Okay,” Landon nodded. “Do you want to pick a name? A human name like we have? It would be easier to address you that way. We don’t care for the human scientists who have spent years trying to study us. It’s horrid and unkind.”

“I like the roses,” she mentioned, pointing toward the corner of the room.

“Rose?” Luna smiled. “Would you like for us to call you Rose?”

“I’d like that,” she agreed, but stopped and frowned. “Wait? You said something about human scientists.”

“Yes, we’ve been fighting human scientists in the past who’ve taken shifters to study them. Why do you ask?” Luna frowned but also calmed. One scent of the air and she felt the woman’s empathy toward her. It was refreshing.

“Oh, these scientists aren’t human,” she admitted.

“What are they?” Landon asked, gritting his teeth.

“They’re like me…like us. They’re shifters. Most of them can shift into anything they want just like us MODs.”

“Fuck,” Harold grunted as he stood from his seat. “Luna. Could you take x-rays of Rose for me? I need to speak to the alpha.”

“We will take care of everything until you get back, and if the scans are clear, maybe we can get Rose some food.” The female, Luna, was so caring.

The mention of food had Rose’s stomach tightening. She hadn’t eaten in days, and that probably explained her weakness. It wasn’t hard to tell she’d lost a lot of weight since she fled the hospital, and her muscles weren’t as strong as they were before. When she’d fought the males who’d found her, she was too weak to win. And she hated that.

They’d conditioned all of the MODs for strength and knowledge, but that knowledge was only for the things they wanted them to know. With the books available to them, she read mostly non-fiction, but there were a few fiction novels that were offered. All of them were about wars and special ops. She’d heard whispers of training the MODs for something that was coming, but none of them knew exactly what that meant. The new group of shifters might know, but she was hesitant to ask.

“I’m going to move this panel over your body in sections. It won’t hurt you, but I will need you to move positions as I take the images. I know you’re hurting, and I can give you something to help if you’d like.” Luna’s voice was soothing. She was used to being told what to do, and if she didn’t comply, they’d punish her.

“I’m sure you’ll see evidence of my past injuries,” she offered.

“It’s okay, Rose,” Luna promised, placing a gentle hand on her forearm. The connection was foreign, but she liked hearing the name she’d picked. She finally had something that belonged to her…a name.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’m ready.”