Inevitable: Shifters Forever Worlds (Only After Dark Book 5) Read Online Free Page B

right reasons. He was in public for fuck’s sake, even though Quake was dimly lit.
    He’d seen her, then couldn’t go back into the room he was in with Lézare and some of Lézare’s business associates. Lézare—his boss.
    And best friend.
    When Theo first arrived in America, not long ago, he’d been in New York, roaming the streets, looking for his bearings. He’d chanced an excursion into a territory controlled by the Romanoff polar bear shifters.
    One of the Romanoffs, a hotheaded shifter called John, had decided to teach the roaming lion shifter a lesson. He and his group of shifters had chased Theo through the dark alleys.
    Yeah, Theo was no fool. There was no way he could take half a dozen polar bear shifters.
    He fought them. Bravely. Bloody and aching, he could see the writing on the wall. He couldn’t win this battle.
    Of course he got the hell out of there as quick as he could.
    Not quick enough.
    Or maybe if he’d only known the terrain of the concrete jungle better, he wouldn’t have found himself cornered.
    But he was cornered.
    And so very fucked.
    Those polar bear shifters were going to kick his ass. Leave him dead.
    But Theo knew he’d take at least one of them with him.
    He’d just begun to let his lion take over and shift into his feline when he heard a throat clearing behind him.
    He’d whirled around, ready to face more polar bears and wondering how the hell they’d managed to flank him.
    Except it wasn’t a polar bear. It was a white tiger shifter, dark haired, dark eyed, a mischievous smile on his face.
    Theo took an instinctive and instant liking to the man. Something about his tiger connected with Theo’s lion.
    “John Romanoff. Still the bully, aren’ you.” The white tiger shifter addressed the polar bear with a drawl that seemed to have a French accent laced throughout, dropping the last consonant, as Theo learned was Lézare’s way.
    The drawl was lazy, but the man’s eyes were predatory.
    This white tiger was no one to fuck with.
    It didn’t hurt that more than a handful of the largest shifters Theo had ever seen stepped forward, out of the darkness, some leaping from fire escapes, landing with feline precision.
    The white tiger shifter was accompanied by a variety of animal shifters. Bear. Panther. Wolf. Each of the newly arrived shifters stood behind the white tiger, ready to do battle.
    “Lézare Arceneaux,” the polar bear shifter called John Romanoff said with a frown. “You’re trespassing.”
    Theo glanced between the two shifters.
    The one he’d called Lézare, with the French-tipped southern drawl released a laugh, dug a phone out of his pocket and pressed on the screen. He paused, then said, “Mikhail. John’s up to his pranks again.” He gave the polar bear shifter a glance as if he were talking about a petulant toddler. “I’d hate to have to kick his ass and send him home with his polar bear tail tucked between his legs. Want to talk to your son or…” Lézare arched a brow at John Romanoff. He held his phone up. “Want to talk to your father?”
    John Romanoff grunted, then released a low growl from deep within his gut. Without a word, he turned around, a full one-eighty, then sauntered away nonchalantly.
    Except the straightness to his spine displayed his agitation.
    The white tiger shifter put his phone away and held his hand out to Theo. “Lézare Arceneaux. Though I guess you figured that out.”
    “Theo Ricoletti.” Theo shook Lézare’s hand. “Thank you. They had me.”
    “Maybe. But you’d have taken a few of them down with you. We couldn’t let you be taken out though. We watched you handle yourself. Impressive. Where’s that accent from?”
    Theo released a sigh. He figured the day would come when someone would ask him about his past. Shifters stayed in packs, or found new packs. Being solo like this would raise questions. “Greece. Then Italy.”
    Lézare nodded. “Interested in a job?”
    Theo fought to keep his composure.