Years ago, empath Elijah Long made a bad decision, and he is still paying for it. He’s kept hidden from his abusive werewolf ex for years, but when he wakes in a dark room, cuffed to a wall, he knows he’s out of luck. Elora, his psychic sister, will come for him, he just has to endure long enough to give her a chance to find him. Captain Kol Jaecar of Rockshade’s Paranormal Investigations Department detests slow times at work, so when Elora wants time off to search for her brother, Kol treats it as if it’s a real case and starts an investigation. What he assumed was a brother not picking up when his sister called turns out to be something else. Elijah experiences people’s emotions so strongly, it prohibits him from living a normal life. Spending time in the city is out of the question, yet it’s where Elora takes him once she finds him. Elijah does his best to keep his distance, especially from the growling man Elora brought to his rescue. Elijah will never make the mistake of getting close to a shifter again. The moment Kol smells Elijah, he knows he’s his mate, but how to get close to someone who doesn’t want to be near you? The man who abused Elijah is still on the loose, and Kol calls in the entire team to hunt him down. But how are they to keep Elijah safe when he can’t be around people? And how will Kol stay sane if he can’t touch his mate?

Mind Scrambler

“Not all shifters are bad, Elijah.”


“I know!” He flinched away, ducking as if preparing for a blow. Kol watched him without moving a muscle.


Eli glanced at him and shook his head. “No, Elora found the house after we’d run away, and I’d already lived there for about six months before I first spoke to Frank.”


“Okay. I still think I’m going to call him.”


“Why not? He lives by the beach, anyone who wants to get to you needs to cross his territory first.”


Shaking his head, Elijah spoke in a careful voice. “No, no one owns the beach, or no individual owns the beach at least.”


“It’s still his territory. Leopards are like black panthers—we’re solitary, so we have our own territories.”


“Frank’s like you?” Eli’s eyes were wide.


“But spotty. Black’s so much nicer, right?” He grinned, trying to lighten the mood.


Chapter 36