Rachel Vincent - Shift (The Shifters, Book 5)

Praise for the novels of New York Times bestselling author

RACHEL VINCENT

I liked the character and loved the action. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Charlaine Harris, New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, on Stray

Compelling and edgy, dark and evocative, Stray is a must read! I loved it from beginning to end.

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter

The second installment of Vincents urban fantasy series (after Stray ) features a well-thought-out vision of werecat social structure as well as a heroine who insists on carving her own path, even if it means breaking some of her societys most sacred taboos.

Library Journal on Rogue

I had trouble putting this book down. Every time I said I was going to read just one more chapter, Id find myself three chapters later. I loved Pride right up until the very end.

Bitten by Books

Vincent continues to impress with the freshness of her approach and voice. Action and intrigue abound, and Faythe is still a delight.

RT Book Reviews on Prey

Also from MIRA Books and Rachel Vincent

Shifters

STRAY

ROGUE

PRIDE

PREY

Look for Rachel Vincents next Shifters novel

ALPHA

Available

OCTOBER 2010

And dont miss her Soul Screamers titles from Harlequin Teen

Soul Screamers

MY SOUL TO TAKE

MY SOUL TO SAVE

And her latest Soul Screamers novel

MY SOUL TO KEEP

Available

JUNE 2010

RACHEL VINCENT

SHIFT

To #1,

who takes care of everything I forget and

makes it possible for me to do what I love. Thank you.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Acknowledgements

One

Y ou should leave. Now. My fathers growl of warning resonated in some dark, primal part of me, and suddenly I craved torn flesh and fresh blood glistening in moonlight. Wave after wave of bloodlust crashed over me and I swayed beneath the onslaught, struggling to control it. We would have justice for Ethan. But this was not the time. Not the place.

Though my fathers office practically sizzled with the rage that flowed through me and my fellow enforcers, Paul Blackwell, acting head of the Territorial Council, seemed completely unaffected. I watched him from my place near the closed office door, both armsmy right still in a castcrossed over my chest.

Blackwell planted his old-fashioned wooden cane firmly on the Oriental rug and leaned on it with both hands. Now, Greg, calm downIm only asking you to consider the greater good, which is exactly what you claim youll honor, if youre reinstated as council chairman.

Unfortunately, that seemed less likely with each passing day. In the week since wed buried my brother, Nick Davidson had announced his support of Calvin Malone as council chair, which meant that my father now needed the last remaining votefrom Jerold Pierce, my fellow enforcer Parkers dadjust to tie everything up.

And a tie wasnt good enough. We needed a clear victory.

My father sat in his wing chair at the end of the rug, and his refusal to rise wason the surfacean uncharacteristic show of disrespect toward a fellow Alpha. But I knew him well enough to understand the truth: if he stood, he might lose his temper. Youre asking me to let my sons murder go unavenged. His voice was as low and dangerous as Id ever heard it, and I swear I felt the rumble deep in my bones. It echoed the ache in my heart.

Im asking you not to start a war. Blackwell stood calm and steady, which must have taken substantial self-control, considering my fathers comparative youth and bulk. And his obvious rage. Even in his late fifties, Greg Sanders, Alpha of the south-central Pride and my father, was a formidable force.

My dad growled again. Calvin Malone started this, and you damn well know it.

Blackwell sighed and glanced around the room, and as his tired gaze skirted the three other Alphas grouped near the bar and the scattering of enforcers along the walls, I got the distinct impression that he would much rather have been alone with my father.

The other Alphas and two enforcers apiece had arrived early that morning for one last strategy meeting before the south-central Pride and our allies launched the first full-scale werecat offensive the U.S. had seen in more than six decades. It was Saturday. We planned to attack in three daysjust after sundown on Tuesday night. Anticipation hummed in the air around us, buzzing like electricity in my ears, pulsing like passion in my veins.

We could already feel the blows, every last one of us. We could taste the blood, and hear the screams that would soon pierce the still, cold February night. We were living on the promise of violence in answer to violence, and several of the toms around me teetered on the thin edge of bloodlust, riding adrenaline like the crest of a lethal wave.

Surely Blackwell had known his mission was a failure the moment he walked into the house.

Our allies were expected, but Paul Blackwells arrival had been a total surprise. Just after lunch, hed pulled into the driveway in a rental car driven by his grandson, a cane in the old mans hand, determination in his step. But that wouldnt be enough, and neither would the authority of the Territorial Council, which he wore like a badge of honor. Or more like a badge of shame, considering that nearly half of the councils members were present, and not one looked happy to see him.

Blackwell shuffled one foot on the carpet and closed his eyes, as if gathering his thoughts, then his heavy gaze landed on my father again. Greg, no one is happy about what happened to Ethan, least of all me. Calvin has been formally reprimanded, and the enforcers involved the surviving ones, presumably have been suspended from duty indefinitely, pending an investigation.

Whos leading this investigation? My uncle Rick asked from across the room, a half-full glass of brandy held near his chest. And who will be allowed as witnesses? Do you honestly think the council is capable of justice, or even impartiality, in its current state?

Blackwell twisted awkwardly toward my unclemy mothers older brother. Frankly, I think the current state of the council is nothing short of a disaster. But abandoning the very order that defines us is no way to repair the cracks that have developed in our foundation. Then he turned to face my dad again. Fortunately, I believe you dealt with the actual guilty party yourself.

In fact, my father had torn out Ethans murderers throat before my brother had even breathed his last. The offending tom was disposed of in the industrial incinerator behind our barn, his ashes dumped unceremoniously on the ground several feet from the furnace, then stomped into the dirt by everyone who tread over them.

But that small act of revenge did little to ease the blazing wrath consuming all of us.

Calvin Malone is ultimately responsible for Ethans death, and he will pay that price. My fathers words came out cold, as if he didnt feel a word hed said. But on my right, Marcs hands clenched into fists at his sides, and Jace went stiff on my left. From the couch, Michael was nodding grimly. We were ready. Vengeance was overdue.