The Panther's Rival Read online

  Table of 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 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 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 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 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

  Prologue

  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 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 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  EPILOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  EPILOGUE

  The Panther’s Rival

  Emilia Hartley

  © Copyright 2017 by 9591451 CANADA INC. - All rights reserved.

  The contents of this book may not be reproduced, duplicated or transmitted without direct written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Legal Notice:

  This book is copyright protected. This is only for personal use. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitio
usly and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

  The Panther’s Rival

  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

  Thank you!

  Mated to the Dragon

  Freed by the Dragon

  Seduced by the Dragon

  Adored by the Alpha Bear

  Saved by the Alpha Bear

  Loved by the Alpha Bear

  Protected by the Mountain Wolf

  Adored by the Mountain Wolf

  Mated to the Mountain Wolf

  Alpha Wolf Protector

  Alpha Wolf Guardian

  Alpha Wolf Champion

  The Timeless Curse of Lord Dabney

  AUTHORS NOTES

  Chapter One

  And just like that, his life had changed. He shook the man’s hand hard, firm, an agreement made between men. It meant something to Merk. Always had. A handshake. It was important. For one, it signified that they weren’t animals, that they were human beings, sentient, thinkers, creatures with a consciousness and a mind to at least try to become more than what they were the day before or the days before – weeks, months, years even. Again, that meant something to Merk, given where he had come from in his life and the things that he had seen and done. Merk needed a fresh start and he was getting it from this school and the opportunity that Principal Lightwood was giving him in making him the head coach of the football team.

  “We’re definitely looking forward to seeing what you are going to do with our team. They are a great bunch of kids – very talented!” the principal beamed with joy and hopefulness. “And you…”

  Merk never liked to hear stuff about himself, praises and adulations just weren’t his thing. Most people wanted them, maybe even needed flattery and word grifts to make them feel accomplished in the world, but he didn’t. He was a realist. Merk enjoyed the visceral nature of life, the fact that life was what it was and all a person had to do was to see it for what it was: moments in time where things happen and humans then determine, based off their feelings and wants, attachments and detachments, what those moments meant to them. It was purely humanistic. Other animals didn’t mete out their lives in that manner. Merk knew this intrinsically as a fact.

  Principal Lightwood continued: “You’re just something special. I can tell. We are lucky to get you down here in this lil’ backwater town.”

  Lucky. Yea, right. That was it.

  “Why’d you leave your other school again?” queried the principal.

  Merk hesitated. He didn’t want to answer. It was a long story and a past that he was desperately trying to leave behind him.

  “Needed a fresh start,” answered Merk.

  The answer seemed to satisfy the principal. He nodded.

  “Good – Good. Good for us. I called your former school and they were devastated that you just suddenly decided to leave. They sung your praises – all good things about you. You were a well-respected and loved coach there.”

  Merk forced a smile. It was hard to hear good things about himself. Mostly because he knew the truth, he lived with himself every day. He knew what he was inside. The animal. Literally. Merk was a shifter, specifically a Panther Shifter. The panther, the animal, lived inside of him and whether or not he shifted, the two – human and panther – were always the same, one being, no separation. Even now, talking to Principal Lightwood, he could feel it, the panther, the animal creature outside of his humanity in him, always wanting to rise up, to manifest itself. That was one of the reasons why he was here in this small Florida town, a backwater hub almost completely off the grid. All Merk wanted was normalcy, for once in his life.

  Principal Lightwood stood to his feet. They shook hands again. The meeting was ending. They exchanged last second pleasantries and then Merk made his way to the door. He left feeling accomplished and completely ready to begin his new life.

  The school wasn’t huge. Student population was maybe a little over eight hundred and the building itself was decent in size. Merk decided to take in some of the school, some of its scenery and atmosphere. He was slightly anxious. He had coached before, had been a football coach in some capacity for years, but this was different. This was him starting over. And he wasn’t ashamed to admit to himself that it was out of desperation. What had happened… It had all just been too much and he was tired of that kind of life. No. He was going to put all of that behind him once and for all and start fresh. This school was going to do that for him. Distance was good. And he now had plenty of that.

  Merk looked at his watch. Close to three. School would be letting out. He wanted to make it to the practice field before the team, just to get a look at them under the assistant coach. He had seen tapes but nothing in person. The last coach, who abruptly just quit the job and left town at the end of last year, had had some pretty good talent to work with. Merk wondered why he suddenly just quit. He had been building something for a solid two years and it seemed like this year would have been the year that some of his hard work and patience would have paid off. He couldn’t have been under the same duress as him, not as a shifter. The kids really didn’t look bad, not at all. Merk felt like he had inherited something special.

  As Merk walked down the hall, life seemed right. Perfect for once. He felt like he was going towards something good – and then she stepped out in front of him. Sleek. Attractive. Even from that distance he could see her beauty. Dark hair that held a hint of brown, mixed with bounciness and subtle bangs. Her appearance in the hallway, a good distance away from him, was very noticeable. Especially her figure which was outlined from the side in a silhouette-like frame; she was very, very curvy. Was she a teacher? No way. But she had to be. She had just stepped out of a classroom and she seemed familiar with the place, comfortable. She stood back from her door and tilted her head back to look up at the wall. Merk followed her line of sight. Hmph. A clock. He continued in her direction.

  The woman made a kind of whine and then started back in the classroom. He didn’t want her to leave his sight. Unexplainably, Merk felt drawn to her, like some kind of otherworldly energy was pulling him towards her. He didn’t want to lose her; if she left his sight, he felt that she would be gone for good. Forever. Suddenly, his thoughts felt cloudy and jumbled. He didn’t know what it was – something, a feeling – that compelled him to approach her. Merk hurried down the hall to catch up with her before she went into her classroom.

  “Hey…” he heard himself say, it was like he had stepped outside of himself for a second. Weird.

  The woman turned to look at him. He could only image how awkward it must have been for her to see a total stranger running down the hallway, waving her down, gesturing for her to hold on and calling for her to do the same. Merk stopped in front of her, his breathing a light pant. She was even more attractive than he thought: she had an almost round face, there was something about the shape that seemed more elongated than round, more oval that spherical; the woman’s eyes were sparkly specs of light. That light flickered from her big brown eyes. Such a pretty face. Full sensuous lips. And then she smiled.

  “May I help you?”

  Merk stood next to her. She smelled as good as she looked. He chuckled to himself. Panther’s didn’t have the best sense of smell, nothing extraordinary, but it was still greater than that of a human being. So his panther nose gave him an extra-ability to smell slightly over a regular human, to pick up scents; as her scent filled his nostrils, the vanilla-lavender redolence, the trace of its deliciousness pe
rvaded his mouth and nose; it was like he could taste her, but not just her scent but her aura and identity, the essence that made her who she was. Pleasant. Calming. Soothing. Parasympathetic to the mind, body, and soul; Merk was mystified by the woman in front of him and he didn’t know the reason.

  “No – Yeah – No… I uh…” the words were caught in his mouth somewhere. “The clock in your room isn’t working?”

  He had stuttered and fumbled until he found the right words. Never had he been so absent-minded or dumbstruck when it came to speech. On the contrary, he had been told the exact opposite. But the garbled mess that he just spoke only added to the how strangely lured he felt towards her.

  “Uh. I know… And I’ve been emailing about it the entire work week,” she answered.

  Their eyes caught. He could easily have left it alone right there. But Merk couldn’t. He didn’t want to. There was something about her… He felt compelled to say more, to offer more.

  “Let me take a look,” he said.

  The woman smiled. Without actually answering, she walked into her classroom. Did she just expect him to follow? Pretty presumptuous. Maybe not. He had offered. But there was something in her gait that told him otherwise, like it was something that she felt he was supposed to do. He followed her in, his eyes dropping to her wide hips then scaling down to her butt. Merk grinned slightly. She had a nice ass. She turned, pointed to the clock on the wall, and glanced over her shoulder at him. Damn. She had caught him looking at her ass. Merk tried to look away, a natural instinct of retreat, but it was already too late. However, she had the decency not to mention it, very kind of her. But he got the sense that she hadn’t minded him looking – ogling really – that was a part of the allure, that she was very much aware of what was happening.

  “Right,” Merk said as he found the closest chair to him and scooted it against the wall.

  Merk was tall. Well over six foot. And he was of a lengthy, stocky build. All his life he had been burly, a real man, and he was into building and fixing things, all of it came easy to him because of his physique and just the way his mind seemed to be geared. He grabbed the clock from off the wall and brought it down to look at. He stepped off the chair. The woman was close. Very close. Directly on him as he had stepped off the chair. They stood almost pressed to each other, face to face, unplanned, just the way he stepped down seemed to have put them together. Their eyes met. Locked. Her vanilla-lavender scent was obvious and robust, dancing around his nose seductively. Merk didn’t want to fight what he was feeling – it was as if kismet was in the making. He dared to think of venturing into it some more, but the feeling and connection with her was crowding him, filling him.

  “I – I didn’t get your name…” he said, his voice distant even to himself.