Nomad Read online

  

  Fate & Felines 4

  Nomad

  [Siren Publishing: The Lynn Hagen ManLove Collection: Contemporary, Alternative, Paranormal, Shape-shifters, Romantic Suspense, MM, HEA]

  Stanton grew up with cold and aloof parents. That’s why he loves hanging around his three best friends. But when they move out, leaving Stanton in the big house by himself, he’s completely miserable. Until one of the O’Brien men starts coming around. Stanton doesn’t know why Nomad is there, and the guy isn’t telling him, either. Desperate to make ends meet, Nomad offers a solution Stanton can’t resist. If only he knew what troubles the guy brought with him.

  Six years ago Nomad was kidnapped and brutalized by some covert company who had found out that panther shifters existed. He only knew them as The Company. When he flees California after teaching his brother’s stalker a lesson, Nomad knows eyes were on him. He needs a place to lie low, so he starts hanging around Stanton’s home. Little did he know that Stanton is his mate, and that trouble is right on their heels.

  Length: 32,000

  NOMAD

  Fate & Felines 4

  Lynn Hagen

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Nomad

  Copyright © 2020 by Lynn Hagen

  ISBN: 978-1-64637-135-8

  First Publication: May 2020

  Cover design by Emma Nicole

  All art and logo copyright © 2020 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.

  You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.

  For all titles by Lynn Hagen, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/lynn-hagen

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  NOMAD

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  NOMAD

  Fate & Felines 4

  LYNN HAGEN

  Copyright © 2020

  Chapter One

  Nomad walked into the kitchen to refresh his coffee and saw Stevie and Horace in there, their stomachs so round that they looked as if they’d burst at any second. The two were arguing over the last ice cream sandwich, and he hoped they didn’t start wrestling for it.

  Pregnant wrestling wasn’t high on the list of things he wanted to witness. It wasn’t on the list at all.

  “I grabbed it first,” Stevie argued. “Let it go.”

  “I mentioned it first,” Horace retorted. “You stole my idea!”

  Nomad hid his grin. He knew better than to get between two pregnant men. They would turn on him so fast that his balls would get kicked before he knew what was happening.

  “Can’t you two split it?” It was just a suggestion, but they glared at him as if he’d told them no one could have it.

  “Do you see how small this is?” Stevie asked. He pursed his lips. “Then again, if you run to the store for another box, we won’t roll around on the floor trying to wrench it from each other.”

  Nomad had observed the two over the past few months. He knew what they liked to eat, what they liked to watch on TV, and when to get out of the way when their moods shifted.

  He walked to the pantry and grabbed a large bag of cheese puffs. Stevie’s eyes widened when Nomad returned and wiggled the bag in front of him.

  “This is so not fair.” Stevie let go of the treat and snatched the bag out of Nomad’s hand. He ripped it open and dove right in, his fingers and mouth turning into a plane of cheese dust.

  Horace unwrapped the ice cream bar and took a bite, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

  Now that that was settled, Nomad poured his coffee and got the hell out of there before the two started craving something else and went to war. He stepped outside, soaking up the morning sun as he sipped his coffee and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

  Only Nomad hadn’t been able to relax since he’d gotten back from California. He’d felt as if someone had followed him to Kendall, and Nomad was on edge as he scanned the street, trying to appear casual as he looked for any threat.

  His attention was drawn to the guy walking up his driveway, a small dog on a leash next to him. Stanton. That was the male’s name. And that dog belonged to Horace. Everyone thought it was a nasty little thing, although it did like to piddle in the house and tear things up.

  Buttercup didn’t do that when Nomad was around. The dog was well behaved and listened to his commands. He wasn’t sure why everyone else was having so much trouble with the dog.

  “Hi.” Stanton’s cheeks burned bright as he looked up at Nomad. He simply stood there, strangling the leash as he bit his bottom lip.

  Nomad knew he had a hard reputation, and it was well deserved, but he had a soft spot for women, children, and men who were underdogs.

  And Stanton was clearly an underdog. He was tall, willowy, and had delicate features. His green eyes stood out against his blond hair, making him seem somewhat ethereal.

  He gave a short nod at Stanton then turned his attention back to his surroundings. Nomad couldn’t help his reserved demeanor. After five years of being tortured, held prisoner by men who wanted to run their experiments on him, Nomad had learned how to crawl inside his own skull, and crawling back out had been a challenge he hadn’t quite succeeded at. He was trying, though. Nomad didn’t like the fucked up thoughts in his head, and was fighting all the time to purge them.

  “Is Horace here?” Stanton asked. “He wanted to see Buttercup.”

  Even his voice was a bit on the delicate side.

  Nomad tilted his head to the side and studied Stanton. He’d learned about the pasts of all four men, Layne, Stevie, Horace, and Stanton. It was his job to keep his family safe, and he’d run a general background check on all of them. Nothing too deep, but he wanted to know who was around his brothers.

  Stanton came from a wealthy family, but his parents traveled a lot, leaving Stanton behind most of the time. Nomad hadn’t learned that from his search, but from the mates who loved to talk, even when they didn’t know Nomad was close by.

  He also knew Stanton would be twenty-five in a few days. Right around the time Stevie was due to give birth.

  “He’s inside.” Nomad walked into the house, leaving the door open for Stanton to enter. It wasn’t as if the guy needed an invitation. Stanton visited a lot, and Horace had even given him a key.

  “Buttercup!” Horace wobbled from the kitchen and smiled at Stanton. “Thanks for bringing him by.”


  Per his norm, Nomad faded into the background, watching the guys interact. He couldn’t stop looking at Stanton. The human had the panthera mark. Had admitted to it at Horace’s birthday party. In a few days he would start emitting pheromones, luring panthers to him.

  Nomad planned on being ghost by then. It had taken great effort not to attack when Layne had emitted them, and when Stevie did, as well.

  Nomad hadn’t been immune to the scent. He just had better control than his brothers. That was what being held prisoner had taught him. Silence. Patience. Self-control. To hide how he truly felt.

  To keep everyone at a distance and let no one into his mind or heart. Show no vulnerabilities, ever.

  “Buttercup, no!” Horace tried to bend over to retrieve the tiny terror when the dog cocked his leg by the couch, but his swollen belly got in the way, and all Horace managed to do was swipe his hand at thin air because he couldn’t reach the dog.

  Horace grunted and cursed as he straightened, then he sighed as if resigning himself to letting the dog piddle in the house.

  Nomad moved swiftly, seizing the dog and rushing him outside. The dog snarled at him, and Nomad gave a low yowl. Buttercup trembled in his hands as Nomad set him down. “Go do your business by a tree.”

  He was glad when Buttercup obeyed. The dog never listened to anyone. Yet he trotted to the nearest tree and piddled on it. He scraped the ground with his back paws and then ran back to Nomad, wagging his tail.

  “How did you do that?”

  Nomad didn’t bother turning around at the sound of Horace’s voice. He and Buttercup stared at one another, as if coming to an understanding.

  Nomad shrugged. “He just needs a firm hand.”

  Buttercup started yapping. A very annoying sound. Nomad gave a small yowl. “Enough.”

  The dog quieted and sat on his haunches, his small tail still wagging.

  “That was amazing.” Stanton came outside and scooped Buttercup from the ground. The dog started barking, as if he wanted to be put down.

  One stroke to the dog’s fur settled him.

  “You have the golden touch,” Stanton said.

  Goddamn it. If Nomad kept listening to the guy’s voice, he would be ensnared. He gave a short shrug and walked back inside, leaving Stanton and the dog behind him. As soon as everyone was out of sight, Nomad planned on shifting and taking to the trees where he could get a better sight of his surroundings.

  He wasn’t sure if someone had actually followed him back from California, but if they had, Nomad was determined to get the upper hand this time.

  * * * *

  “Come on, Buttercup.” Stanton stood in the backyard and waited for the dog to do his business. He wished he had the magic touch like Nomad had. He’d be inside already.

  He didn’t like living alone. That was one reason he’d started hanging out with his friends. His parents’ house had felt cold and lonely whenever they went on one of their many trips. And Stanton was back to living by himself because his friends now lived with their mates.

  “Life truly sucks,” Stanton said to Buttercup, who kept walking around the backyard to sniff out a place to piddle. “If I wanted to live by myself, I would’ve never moved out of my mom and dad’s house.”

  That was another reason why he’d agreed to keep Buttercup. The dog was a total terror, but at least he was company.

  Stanton took a seat on one of the plastic lawn chairs with a slight crack in one leg and pulled out his phone. He texted Stevie to see what his friend was doing. When Stevie didn’t text him back, he tried Horace and then Layne.

  Not a single reply.

  Stanton considered calling his mom. He couldn’t afford the two-thousand-square-foot house by himself. The rent and utilities were killing him.

  He’d told his parents that he hadn’t wanted their handouts, that he could stand on his own two feet. But that was before his roommates had ditched him.

  His electric bill was overdue, and the water company was threatening to cut off his service. Stanton could’ve asked his friends for some bill money, but his pride wouldn’t let him. Besides, they didn’t owe him a thing. He hadn’t thrown a fit when they’d moved out one by one, hadn’t protested that living here on his own was too much of a burden.

  He’d just wished them luck and kept his worries to himself. Stanton needed to learn how to speak up for himself more often. The one and only time he’d done it was when he’d told his parents that he didn’t need their handouts anymore. And now he was regretting it since he was so far behind with his bills.

  Sometimes being a grownup and having responsibility truly sucked.

  Buttercup started barking at a tree. He did that from time to time when he spotted a squirrel. But it was late at night, and it could’ve been a raccoon, too. Those were nasty little buggers that Stanton was afraid of.

  “Leave the critters alone,” he hollered. “Are you done taking care of your business yet?”

  He got up and crossed the lawn, looking up at the tree branches to see what the dog was going crazy over. Stanton’s heart stuttered when he spotted two glowing eyes, like when a cat looked your way in the dark.

  But those eyes didn’t belong to a raccoon. They were too bright, too yellow, and Stanton saw an outline of something big perched on the branch. He reached down to grab Buttercup so he could run into the house, but the dog dodged him and raced around the tree, still barking his idiot head off.

  “Buttercup, if you don’t come here, I’m leaving you to whatever that is.” He wanted to run, wanted to race away, but he couldn’t leave a defenseless dog to be eaten.

  Stanton backed away when he heard a rumbling purr. The backyard was bathed in darkness, and the only thing helping him see was the glow of the moonlight.

  “Buttercup!” He stomped his foot. “Come here, now!”

  Stanton slid his hands up and down his arms. It was early November, and the nights were chilly. He should’ve worn a sweater, but his chills weren’t just from the nip in the air. He was terrified those eyes belonged to something dangerous.

  The branch tilted downward with the weight of the animal. Stanton gasped when a black panther landed a few feet from him, sitting on its haunches. Buttercup ran over and yapped, circling the cat. There was only one person who made the dog this excited.

  “What’re you doing here?”

  Nomad intimidated Stanton, just like he intimidated everyone else. The guy was reserved, always watching intently, never saying too much. He looked like he breathed pain, and Stanton didn’t want to find out if that was true.

  The panther gave a low yowl, and Buttercup quieted, taking a seat right next to the deadly feline like they were best buddies. That was something Stanton didn’t understand. The dog growled at Nomad’s brothers, and they were panthers, too.

  But with Nomad, it was as if Buttercup wanted to be his best friend.

  “Is there a reason you’re here?” Stanton eyed the back door, ready to haul ass if he had to. “Is something wrong with one of my friends?”

  Horace and Stevie were close to their delivery dates. Stanton worried for them. He had no clue how a guy delivered a baby, and honestly, he didn’t want to know. But what if something had gone wrong? Was that why no one had texted him back? Had one of the O’Brien men sent Nomad to fetch him?

  “Let me grab my keys and we can go.” Stanton turned and started toward the house but stopped when a deep, sultry voice spoke from behind him.

  “Everyone is fine.”

  Stanton spun back around and nearly fell on his ass. Lord have mercy! Nomad was completely naked, and so damn gorgeous that Stanton drank in every last inch of him, unashamed that he was outright gawking.

  “Then why are you here?” Stanton would be able to focus better if he could stop staring at Nomad’s junk for five seconds. All he could imagine was walking over, dropping to his knees, and wrapping his lips around that fat cock. The thought made him shiver and suck in a short, shallow breath.

  He j
ust bet that Nomad’s cock tasted like heaven, and Stanton was dying to find out.

  Nomad jerked his head to the left, narrowed his eyes, and shifted back into his cat before taking off.

  “Wait!” Stanton took a step forward, but the guy was already gone. He had no idea why Nomad had been there in the first place, but now he wouldn’t get any answers.

  Like you would’ve gotten one anyway. The man is a mute.

  With a sigh, Stanton headed back toward his house. He wasn’t even impressed when Buttercup piddled and then joined him without him having to beg the dog to listen to him.

  Now all Stanton could think about was Nomad’s naked body. The image was etched into his memory, and he couldn’t stop imagining what it would’ve been like to have the guy grab him, kiss him like crazy, and ask if they could have sex.

  Stanton would’ve been all over that if Nomad had given him any inclination that he was interested. The guy might be a shifter, and that fucked with Stanton’s head, but no way would Stanton have passed up on an opportunity like that.

  Great. Now he was tired and horny.

  With a growl of frustration, Stanton stripped to his boxers and climbed into bed, but he had a fitful night of sleep. Dreams of Nomad taking him on every flat surface of the house kept him tossing and turning all night.

  In the wee hours of the morning, Stanton finally gave in and slid his hand down his chest, sucking in a breath as he touched his hard, throbbing cock. He imagined it was Nomad’s hand, his warm breath on Stanton’s neck, telling Stanton how much he wanted him. Nomad’s chest to Stanton’s back, both naked, Nomad’s arm curled around him, his fist so tight that Stanton whimpered and begged the guy to stroke him faster.

  Imaginary Nomad refused. He gave a small, sexy growl as he nibbled along Stanton’s sensitive skin, creating goose bumps all over Stanton’s body.