The Paranormal Council: Complete Series

Chapter 1

ARI

Ari watched her twin sister’s litter play in the garden of their suburban home. They weren’t able to shift yet, but in another couple of years they would, and she definitely didn’t envy Christine that. Fox shifters were mischievous by nature, and having four little ones about was sure to be hard work. Their Mum had always told them that the two of them had been a handful, even before their younger brothers had come along, ten years after them.

“You could always retire from the council and have some of your own.” Chris handed her a glass of cold water, which she took gratefully. It was hot, and being in the city only seemed to make it worse.

“You sound like Mum.” Ari sighed. Their Mum was desperate for her to settle down with ‘a nice fox shifter’ and have a litter. Something she’d been even keener on since discovering that, if she mated, Ari would lose her position on the Shifter Council. Ari had never been sure exactly why her Mum was so against her being a Council member. Even if most shifters weren’t aware of who she was, it still gave her the power to change things. “It’s not for me,” she muttered, receiving a disbelieving look from Chris.

“One day, you’ll meet the right fox and you’ll change your mind,” she said with certainty as she watched her litter with an adoring face. But all Ari could focus on was the other issue she faced when it came to her family’s plan for her; they expected her to mate with another fox. Without meaning to, her mind wandered to one of her fellow Council members, but she refused to dwell on that. At least she refused to until later. The two of them had been foolish to think that they could have an affair, and now, like the fool she was, she was beginning to realise that it meant something more than just s*x. Perhaps it always had. Which brought her back to the issue of her family wanting her to mate, or at least marry, another fox.

“I’m not ready for children,” she said, but if she was honest with herself, that wasn’t entirely true. While it wasn’t something she wanted to rush into, she’d thought about it more and more recently, and in a worrying amount of detail. Chris laughed, proving that even after the two of them had gone their separate directions in life, her twin knew her better than anyone.

“I don’t believe you. More than that, I think you’ve met someone,” her sister teased and all the blood drained from Ari’s face.

“Chris! I could lose my seat if a rumour like that gets out!” She glanced around reflexively, even if she knew that the two of them were alone, she couldn’t help but be a little paranoid.

“That’s not a no.” Chris smirked at her.

“I haven’t met anyone,” Ari lied, forcing her thoughts away from Bjorn’s kisses lest her sister work out the direction her mind was taking her. She technically wasn’t lying either; it’d taken Bjorn, and the tension thrumming between them, months to wear her down and kick start their affair. An affair that she wasn’t convinced she’d be able to stop even if she wanted to. He was like an addiction to her; a tall, dark and handsome addiction that did amazing things to her body.

“Mmm.” Ari knew that Chris didn’t believe her, but she wasn’t ready to admit anything yet. Chris had inherited their Mum’s sense of tradition, and that didn’t pair well with Ari’s bear shifter lover. “How’s work?” Ari was grateful for Chris’ change of subject.

“It’s good, I won my case last week.” She followed her sister’s gaze to where the litter was playing a game of hide and seek, one that seemed to involve a lot of pouncing.

“The murder?”

“Yes, it was easy to prove the woman was innocent.” Particularly because one look at the case notes had told Ari that a necromancer was the true culprit. She’d alerted the Councils, and Bjorn was looking into it using his PI connections, but the real culprit had yet to be caught. “Are you coming back to work?” Chris had gone on maternity leave when she’d had the litter, and had then added on a sabbatical, but their boss was becoming more and more demanding about her coming back.

“I don’t think I will. How could I leave them?” While she wasn’t sure she felt the same way as her sister, she could understand. Growing up, family life had been important, and their parents had instilled the same values in their children. Some of that lived on in Ari too, but she liked to think that she’d added some more modern values somewhere along the way. That was partly why it was so important for her to be on the Shifter Council, and why she’d become a lawyer; it made her feel as if she could make a difference.