Stephani Hecht - Rangers Folly

Exiled from his childhood pack and hated by his family, Wolf shifter, Ranger vowed that hed always protect others from sharing his same heartbreak. He fulfilled his promise, first by taking in stray shifters and then later on becoming a soldier for a feline coalition. So when he finds a strange Eagle shifter stalking one of his friends, its only natural that Ranger becomes protective.

Especially when said Eagle is in the company of two Ravensthe most evil of all shifters.

Eagle shifter, Xavier lost everything dear to him when tragedy struck his family years ago. Taken in and raised in extreme seclusion by a family of Ravens, hes always felt as if a piece of himself was missing. When he finds that his twin is alive and living with feline shifters, Xavier cant resist his curiosity.

Fighting their mutual distrust, Xavier and Ranger also find themselves becoming drawn to each other. In a world thats not always so black and white, can they get beyond prejudices and the taboo, or will their love be lost to hate?

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Rangers Folly

Copyright 2011 Stephani Hecht ISBN: 978-1-55487-ARC

Cover art by Martine JArdin

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

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Rangers Folly

Lost Shifter Twelve

By

Stephani Hecht

Dedication

To Joie: Because youre amazing. Just the way you are.

The punk was out and in full stalker mode, yet again.

Ranger ducked behind a tree as he watched the small figure sneaking up to the farmhouse. Going by the build, the stranger was a male. It was also painfully obvious he didnt have any military training or street sense. Instead of gliding from hiding spot to hiding spot, he lumbered around like a toddler let loose in a china shop. The intruder even stumbled and tripped at one point, doing a grunt-inducing face plant.

That only further intrigued Ranger because he didnt think this was just some normal human whod turned Peeping Tom. Ranger felt pretty certain Sammy Stalker was a shifter. Ranger just couldnt figure out what breed he was, which irritated the fuck out of him and made him one cranky Wolf.

All Ranger did know for certain was the stranger had taken an unhealthy interest in Riley, who happened to frequently visit the farmhouse.

Since Riley was a good friend, Ranger decided that just wouldnt do. He wasnt going to sit idly by and let this perv ogle Riley. No, Ranger would find out who the jerk was and hed eliminate the threat before Riley could be harmed. After all Riley had been through, he deserved to have a safe and happy future.

Ranger tilted his face up slightly, hoping his heightened Wolf shifter sense would pick up the stalkers scent. When all he detected were the trees and the nearby horses, disappointment slapped him.

Damn, he was usually better than this.

Although, he may still be considered young and one of the few Wolves in the feline coalition, hed yet to have his skills let him down. How some punk who barely knew how to hide properly, managed to conceal his scent perplexed and annoyed the hell out of Ranger.

Hoping to, at the very least, get a better look at the jerk, Ranger carefully moved in closer. He held back a growl of frustration when he noted the red baseball hat the man had pulled down. Not only did it cover his hair, but most of his identifying features.

He cursed himself for not bringing along one of the older members of the coalition. While Ranger might match them in battle skills, they still were better at certain shifter knowledge. Most of them could ID breed simply by looking at a shifter.

Ranger on the other hand always had to get a good whiff.

Ranger tried to placate his curiosity by taking in other information on the guy. Small by most shifter standards, he was practically too thin.

Almost like he missed meals on a regular basis.

His clothes had seen better days, too. The tattered jeans had tears in several places and his red, button-up shirt looked faded and at least six years out of date.

That still didnt mean he couldnt be a threat.

Ranger knew plenty of bad guys who were fashion victims. Just because the man dressed like he was still in the days of the Bush Administration, didnt mean a damn thing.

Off in the distance, Riley and his mate left the farmhouse and made their way to a car. Ranger tensed, wondering if the stranger would attack.

Instead, he did something that struck Ranger as both strange andsad?

The man let out a whimper as he curled his fingers around the tree trunk hed taken refuge behind. His small body even appeared to sag a bit, taking on the posture of someone who was defeated.

The strangers gaze seemed to be devouring Riley as the Eagle kissed his mate, then climbed into the car. When the vehicle drove away, the stalker let out a sad sigh, his shoulders slumping in unmistakable disappointment.

Ranger wrapped his fingers around the butt of his holstered gun and stepped out into the open.

You could always just go up and introduce yourself instead of sneaking around.

The stalker let out a loud gasp as he spun around, his back pressing against the bark of the tree.

While Ranger could still only see the mans lower face, going by his gapped mouth, he hadnt been expecting company.

I didnt meanI just got lost and didnt realize this was private property, a soft, yet husky voice stammered.

Ranger moved forward a couple of steps. You lost your way three times?

He knew that he should have reported the incident to the head of the coalition sooner, but Ranger had wanted to make sure the threat was real. The last thing he wanted was to be labeled the Wolf who criedwell, wolf. That would be the very definition of irony.

He continued to prepare himself for an attack, but the stranger just shrank tighter against the tree. Emboldened, Ranger took the last few steps that separated them. Once he got in close enough, he reached out and flicked the bill of the hat up.

Startled green eyes blinked up at him as the kids face was finally revealed. And there was no question about itthis punk was a kid in almost every sense of the word. While he appeared to be in his early twenties, his gaze held an innocent, vulnerable quality to it.

Ranger leaned in, buried his nose in the crook of the kids neck and breathed in deep. What he found made his heart hammer in shock. He even took another sniff, just to make sure his nose hadnt been fooling him.

Well, fuck a duck. Youre an Eagle, just like Riley.

For some reason that seemed to piss the kid off.

He pulled back with a snarl. Im nothing like Riley.

The familiarity in which that name rolled off the supposed strangers lips sparked Rangers curiosity further. He reached up and tore the hat all the way off, not too surprised when he found blond hair underneath.