Chapter One

“Well, aren’t you going to congratulate your brother?” Fitzgerald Everest asked as he poured himself a hefty glass of whiskey. Dimitri watched as his older brother downed half of it, refilling the glass again before turning back to face his siblings, one hand stuffed in his pocket. “The first of the three Everest children to be married off demands some congratulations, don’t you think?” Fitz and his new bride were set to leave on their honeymoon in the morning, which gave Dimitri’s older brother time to drink more of their father’s whiskey as his payment for marrying Mandy Taylor.

Dimitri ran a hand through his light brown hair as he stared down into his own whiskey glass. “You don’t sound like a man who wants to be congratulated as much as mourned,” he said, before taking a small sip, the whiskey warming his belly, but doing nothing to warm his mood.

“I’m still not sure why you went through with it,” Lainie said from the sofa, a glass of wine in her hand. “Do you even love Mandy? I mean, you two barely know each other. Hell, you’ve only been on, what, six dates? How could you possibly be ready to settle down with her for the rest of your life? I realize you wanted to please our father, but Fitz, this is your life we’re talking about, your future. What happens if your panther scents his destined mate? You’re already married. How would that even work?”

Dimitri watched as his brother struggled to answer, his jaw twitching, and saw the bitterness on Fitz’s face as he stared down into his glass. Dimitri knew Mandy wasn’t his brother’s destined mate because Fitz had already told him about Kinsey, the one his panther had scented as his mate years ago. From everything Dimitri had heard about destined mates, Fitzgerald walked a dangerous path by ignoring that calling.

Although the notion sounded weird, the calling of the destined mate was part of the curse put on all shifters by the witches who cast the spell over three centuries ago. Salem was not the only town that had hunted witches and then hung them. Or burned them. In the township of Brighton Cove, terrified citizens persecuted witches, the trials unfair, the results unproven, and the death toll high. However, toward the end of the witch hunt, just before the last five witches were hung, they pronounced a curse on the citizens of Brighton Cove that would see the next generation and every generation after born with two sides—a human side and, within that, an animal side. The animal would always struggle for domination and, only by sheer will and practice, would the human be able to remain in control. However, as part of that curse, the witches added a small caveat—that each animal would be destined for one true love, one soul mate, who would then, and only then, complete them. The two would, somehow, be as one. Once they detected that bond, the two must mate or the pull of the calling would drive them insane. Their father had always claimed the mating call was rubbish and held to old school traditions centered on arranged marriages and family mergers, but Dimitri didn’t believe that one part of the curse could be true while the other part remained a myth. He worried his brother had made a fatal error in judgment when he obeyed their father and ignored his panther’s pull toward Kinsey Pickford.

“What makes you think Mandy isn’t my mate?” Fitz asked before taking another long swallow of his drink. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand when he finished, almost bringing the glass to his lips again as soon as he was done. “Perhaps the calling just hasn’t been triggered, yet.”

Dimitri grabbed Fitz’s arm and stopped him from taking another drink. “Perhaps because of the way you’re drinking right now.” He didn’t out his brother in front of Lainie, but he hoped his look reminded Fitz he knew better.

Fitzgerald looked at his brother, resignation and determination masking his features as he pulled his arm from his brother’s grasp. “We do what we have to do for the family. Father needed this for our business. Marrying Mandy strengthens our family by aligning it with hers. Besides, it’s the way it’s always been done.”

“That’s not a reason to get married, and you know it,” Dimitri said. “Those days are long gone.” However, he knew the argument fell on deaf ears. Even before his brother proposed to Mandy Taylor, Dimitri had tried talking Fitz out of abiding by their father’s designs, reminding him of what could happen if he ignored his animal’s mating call. Dimitri knew what his father hoped, that by combining their paper mill with Josiah Taylor’s lumber factory, they would enlarge their businesses and improve profit margins. How their father intended to get out of his contract with Sutherlin Lumber, Dimitri had no clue. However, marriage should never be a business proposal, but rather, a proposal of the heart.

Fitz shook his head, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “We need this to save the family business, and you know it. We’re struggling, and the Taylors’ connections will put us back in the black.” He turned a pained expression to his siblings. “What choice did I have?”

“None at all,” Daniel Everest said as he entered the study of the Everest home. “And I would appreciate you two not making your brother miserable on his wedding day or causing him to second guess his family obligations.”

Dimitri watched as their father walked across the floor to the wet bar and fixed himself a drink. “Family obligation does not include marriage,” Dimitri said. “This isn’t the day and age where arranged marriages are the norm. People have the right to choose their own spouses.”

“Or in our case, their animals choose them,” Lainie added, tucking her dark hair behind her ear.

Their father waved off her words. “Not everyone has a destined mate. Stop believing fairy tales.” He then turned to Dimitri, pointing at the middle child with the hand that held his whiskey. “And family obligations run strong in this family no matter what century it is. We need this union to stay afloat, and besides, Mandy is a fine woman. Fitz here is doing well for himself.” He smiled at his eldest and then took a swig of his drink.

“I like Mandy,” Lainie said as she faced Fitz. “Don’t get me wrong. I just couldn’t do it, that’s all. The whole thing seems so cold, so impersonal. You two barely know anything about each other.”

“Ah, but you will,” their father said with a short nod. “You both will when it’s your time.” He gestured to Dimitri as well as Lainie. “Combining families keeps us stronger than others. A merging of resources and power is what these type of unions are all about.” He smiled over at his daughter, and Dimitri felt a twisting in his gut at the smug look on his father’s face. “As a matter of fact, I’ve already been talking to Lars Hemingway about introducing you to his son, Miles.”

“What?” Lainie asked as she shot up from the sofa, her arms straight at her sides, hands clenched into tight fists. “No.” She waved her hands in front of her as if wiping the suggestion out of existence. “Nada. Not going to happen. I knew Miles in school. He was a weaselly boy then, and he’s not much better now. I’m not interested. I won’t.”

Daniel Everest narrowed his eyes at his daughter. “You will do what you’re told,” he said with a snarl. “I’ve taken care of you your entire life, and this is what you’ll do to help your family. As long as you are living under my roof and a part of this family you will abide by my decisions. We need his trucking business.”

“And so you’d whore out your daughter to get it?” Dimitri asked, stunned that their father could be so callus.

“I am not whoring out my daughter,” their father snapped, turning and pouring more whiskey into his glass. “I’m looking out for her future, just like I did for Fitz and like I’ll do for you.”

“No, you won’t,” Dimitri said with a shake of his head. “I can look out for my own future. I’ll pick my own bride, thank you.” He should have suspected their father wouldn’t be satisfied controlling just one of his children’s lives. The man would insinuate himself into all of their lives for his own good.

“As will I,” Lainie said, anger lacing her words. Dimitri cocked an eyebrow at her, and Lainie rolled her eyes as she blew out an exasperated breath. “You know what I mean. Don’t be stupid.”

“You’ll both do what you’re told, and that’s the end of it,” their father warned. He then straightened and forced a plastic smile on his face. “Now, enough of this rebellious chatter. Let’s celebrate your brother’s union.” He raised his glass in a toast. “To Fitz.”

Dimitri watched as his father took a swig of his whiskey, but couldn’t bring himself to join. None of it felt right.

Fitz lifted his glass and took a small sip, his lips twisted in a grimace as he pulled the glass away from his mouth, his expression lost. Lainie just stood there, anger twisting her features.

Dimitri set his glass on a table and walked out of the study, his stomach a knot of anger ready to snap. It wasn’t bad enough that their father ruined Fitz’s life; now, he expected to ruin the rest of his children's futures, as well. The man was insensitive and selfish. There was no way Dimitri would tolerate their father’s intrusion into his life. He would choose his own course, his own mate. Fitz may have felt he was stuck. Dimitri felt no such obligation. The time had come for him to leave the Everest homestead and strike out on his own.