Shifter Reunion (Midlife Shifters Book 4) Read online

  © Copyright 2021 by J.L. Wilder- All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

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  Shifter Reunion

  Midlife Shifters

  By: J.L. Wilder

  Table of Contents

  Shifter Reunion

  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 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  EPILOGUE

  Free Preview of Feral Wolves Box Set

  About The Author

  Shifter Reunion

  CHAPTER 1

  LOU ELLEN

  “How you feeling?”

  Lou Ellen Redmoon grinned, looking out over the city from her office

  “Just letting the sight of my kingdom psych me up.”

  Grace Thorne, Lou Ellen’s best friend and fellow executive at Black Investments, laughed on the other end of the speakerphone.

  “You’d better be careful,” she said. “You say that enough and it’ll come true.”

  Lou Ellen turned away from the window, taking her coffee mug from her desk.

  “Is that supposed to scare me?” she said, striding through her corner office, the place she’d earned over a decade of hard work, busting her ass wrangling some of the biggest accounts the firm had under its belt.

  “Maybe not scare you,” said Grace. “But...I don’t know. You’re on the verge of joining the damn board. Once you’ve got the chief accounts executive position, everything is going to be different.”

  “Again, not sure if you’re trying to scare me or what. Because this is all sounding like exactly what I want.”

  Lou Ellen stepped back over to the window. But instead of looking out at the towers of the city, she gazed at her reflection. Her auburn hair was in a smart ponytail, a very subtle streak of gray was shining its way through. Her sharp features of moss-green eyes and full, red lips looked even more pronounced with her hair pulled back. She was dressed in a slate-gray pantsuit, the black points of her heels sticking out of the bottom.

  She allowed herself a half-grin. It was going to be one of the biggest days of her life, and she looked the part of a woman who was ready to take what was hers.

  “I’m not trying to scare you. We’ve been friends since we were cubs, remember? I should know by now exactly what to say to get you hyped-up. But come on—you can’t tell me you’re not a little nervous.”

  “You don’t get to where I am by being nervous when you’re about to have a day like today. You get...hungry.”

  Grace laughed. “I should’ve expected an answer like that from a she-wolf. So, when’s this life-changing interview going to happen?”

  “Any minute now,” said Lou Ellen. “Mr. Black is supposed to call me in at eleven, but you know how he is.”

  She glanced at the clock on her wall, which read fifteen after eleven.

  “The world runs on his time,” said Grace. “I might not be an exec, but I know how that goes.”

  Before Lou Ellen could say anything else, a chime sounded through the office.

  “Got another call,” said Lou Ellen. “Let me get right back to you.”

  “Sure.”

  Lou Ellen pressed the button on her intercom to switch the call over.

  “Lou Ellen Redmoon?” It was the prim voice of Amber, Mr. Black’s secretary. “How are y—”

  “He ready?” asked Lou Ellen, getting right to the heart of the matter—her usual way of doing business.

  Amber cleared her throat nervously. “He is. He told me to tell you to come up whenever you’re ready.”

  “I’ll be there in five.”

  Lou Ellen hit the end call button before Amber had a chance to say a word.

  “Oh my god,” said Grace. “Is it time?”

  “It’s time.”

  “Then go get ‘em, champ,” said Grace. “And you’d better be ready for some celebratory drinks at the Red Room tonight when you’re officially one of the most powerful shifters in Atlanta.”

  “Hell, I get this promotion and I’ll buy the damn place.”

  Grace laughed. “I just might hold you to that. Good luck, and let me know right away!”

  “Will do.”

  Lou Ellen ended the call and took a deep breath.

  This is it, she thought, taking one last glimpse at herself in the mirror. It was still hard for her to believe that so much time had passed, that she was no longer the bright-eyed twenty-something who’d started at Black from the bottom, her eyes on the top floor.

  Got a few more wrinkles, she thought. Ask me, they add character.

  And it was true—she knew she lived in a world where women, shifter or human, were supposed to feel bad about getting older. But Lou Ellen didn’t mind one bit. She loved her look and—not that it mattered to her—had the endless catcalls and bar-hit-ons to prove it.

  When she was ready, she strode out of her office and onto the executive floor. The space was huge, with an open-office floor plan that let all the employees there see that one of the most powerful women in the company had just come out.

  They all looked up at her, quickly closing their internet browser windows or games of solitaire and getting right back to work. Lou Ellen let her steely gaze drift over the staff, letting them know she was watching them, even if only for a moment. She didn’t need their attention to know she was a totally in-charge badass.

  Lou Ellen said her “hellos” to the staff as she passed them by, making her way to the elevator and stepping in. The doors closed, the mirrored walls letting her stare right into her reflection.

  “You’re going to own this,” she said to herself. “Sure, you’re meeting with the whole freaking board, but so what? You’ve worked with them before, and they know you’re a take-no-shit boss. It’s not even an interview, really—but a chance to show them again how much you’re the right woman for the job. Hell, the only woman for the job.”

  After she finished her little impromptu pep-talk, Lou Ellen realized she hadn’t pressed the button to take her up. She cleared her throat, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and hit the button.

  The doors opened seconds later, the floor only one above hers. However fancy and modern and impressive her floor was, the top floor of Black, the one where the real bosses did their thing, was even more so. It was like a temple to power—tall windows and sleek offices and a strange silence that was almost like a church or museum.

  Serious shit went down on this floor, and Lou Ellen couldn’t wait to be a part of it. She’d put in her time, paid her dues, and now she was ready to be on top of it all.

  She strode toward the conference room, the place where the interview was set to go down. Once there, she cleared her throat, stood up straight, and knocked.

  No response.
r />   Lou Ellen was confused. She raised her fist and knocked again.

  No response.

  She stepped back from the door as if there might’ve been a note on it that she’d missed. But there was nothing.

  Wait, she thought. Did I come at the wrong time or something? That...can’t be right. Or maybe this is some kind of prank. I swear, if that douchecanoe Simms is pulling some more stupid bullshit, I’ll—

  Lou Ellen didn’t get a chance to finish that thought.

  “Uhm, Lou Ellen! Come in!”

  The voice on the other side sounded surprised, startled even.

  Lou Ellen stepped up to the door and opened it.

  On the other side was the man himself. Seth Black, the founder of Black Investments. He was seated at the far end of the massive conference table, the windows behind him looking out onto the city.

  And he was alone.

  Well, alone aside from the gigantic meatball sub he was eating.

  Seth Black was equal parts “imposing as hell” and “sloppy as shit.” He was a little over five-and-a-half feet, always wearing immaculately tailored suits that contrasted with his messy hair and rotund body. His eyes were beady, his nose a point, and his mouth small, all his features set among a fleshy face and a head of thinning hair.

  He always reminded Lou Ellen of a fox shifter, but his scent was all human. Well, human and whatever junk food he’d had for lunch that day.

  Lou Ellen had always gotten along with him, though he wasn’t the one who’d hired her. Not to mention that every now and then, he’d take issue with her assertiveness as if he didn’t know what to make of a woman who was as outspoken as she was.

  It was always just a feeling she’d had. But it didn’t hurt that every single member of the board was as middle-aged and lily-white as he was. Not to mention, entirely human.

  “I don’t understand,” Lou Ellen said, looking around at the otherwise empty conference room. “Where is everyone?”

  “There is no ‘everyone,’” he said, pushing himself out of his wheeled chair and onto his feet. “This is a meeting that’s, ah, just between you and me.”

  He came over to Lou Ellen and, smiling, grabbed her hand, and shook it. The smell of marinara and parmesan cheese wafted off him, the scent almost as overpowering as his human smell.

  “Now,” he said. “Sit, sit—we have so much to talk about.”

  “Like, my potential promotion, right?” asked Lou Ellen.

  He plopped back into his chair, the metal frame groaning under his weight. “That’s right,” he said with a curious look, as if unsure why she was asking. “Like your potential promotion. Which could be more than potential if you play your cards right.”

  Lou Ellen, hesitantly, sat down in one of the chairs near Seth. Her eyes flicked over the empty seats where the board should’ve been.

  “Then why isn’t the rest of the board here? Isn’t who becomes the new chief accounts executive a decision they might want to be a part of? Hell, I know I’d be if I were on the board.”

  He waved his hand through the air as if it weren’t worth thinking about.

  “You know the name on the building?”

  “You mean yours?”

  He grinned and smiled, nodding so much that it made his flabby chin spread out.

  “That’s right. And when your name’s on the building, you make the calls. Whatever the rest of the board says, I take it under advisement.” He raised a thick, stubby finger into the air. “Now, when it came down to whether or not you get to sit at the big table...” Seth patted the surface of the table as he said the words. “...I did some serious thinking about whether or not you were the right girl for the job.”

  “Woman,” said Lou Ellen.

  Seth seemed confused. “Huh?”

  “I’m forty years old, Seth,” she said, the slightest hint of a smile on her full lips. “When you get to my age, you prefer to be called a ‘woman’—not a ‘girl.’”

  A flash of shock appeared on his face, followed by something like...pleasure.

  He stood up again, this time going over to the windows and looking out onto the city, clasping his hands behind his big rear.

  “That’s...part of why I wanted to speak to you alone, Lou Ellen.”

  Lou Ellen cocked her head to the side, confused. “Seth, I’m not in the mood for cryptic shit—let’s get to the point.”

  He turned, his eyes flashing again. “That’s just what I mean, right there! Lou Ellen, you’re...you’re perfect!”

  Lou Ellen couldn’t help but laugh. “No one’s perfect, Seth.”

  Seth swept his hand toward the conference table. “You know what all of these people on the board are? They’re lackies, bootlickers, yes-men—and women. All of them are too damn scared of me to tell me what they really think.”

  Lou Ellen smirked, seeing an opening. “Then it sounds like you’re in desperate need of someone to kick this place in the ass.”

  “That’s right,” he said. “And you’re just the gi—woman, to do it.”

  “Then put me on the board,” she said. “I know the finances of this place up and down, left to right. Really, you’d be stupid not to promote me.”

  Now he was getting really excited. But Lou Ellen began to worry it wasn’t the kind of excited she wanted.

  He plopped into the chair next to her, turning in her direction and leaning in close.

  “You’re brilliant, you don’t take any shit, and what’s more...you’re hot.”

  It was Lou Ellen’s turn to be surprised.

  “Wait, what?”

  Seth’s grin deepened as if he’d finally gotten to the heart of the matter and couldn’t wait to explain more.

  “You’re hot!” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I mean just what I said!”

  Lou Ellen scrunched her face, raising her hands up in front of her as she tried to figure out what the hell was happening.

  “What...what the shit does that have to do with anything?”

  The look on Seth’s face changed, almost a childlike eagerness painting his features.

  “It means I have a much different role in mind for you around here. Lou, are you familiar with the expression ‘power couple?’”

  “Seth,” said Lou Ellen. “Please don’t tell me you—”

  “It’s perfect!” he said, slowly stepping toward her, his hands moving as if he were about to paint a beautiful picture of what he had in mind. “You and me, together. We become more than just a boss and employee; we become lovers.”

  Lou Ellen shook her head, still trying to get a grip on what was going on.

  “Seth, is this some kind of joke? Because I ain’t laughin’.” She caught herself right away slipping into the Southern accent she’d had as a kid. Lou Ellen cleared her throat and went on. “Now, can we—”

  “No,” he said. “This isn’t a joke. I’m being serious as a damn heart attack here. Consider this me offering my terms. That is, if you’re still interested in the chief accounts executive position.”

  “What kinds of terms are you talking about?”

  “Here’s my offer. You want the job, then I’m going to want, ah, a little more. Specifically, I want a date. Or two.”

  She was too stunned to say anything. And Lou Ellen wasn’t a woman to stun easily.

  “You and me, we’re the best minds at this company. And we’d be way, way more powerful together.”

  “Seth, I’m still stuck at date.”

  “It’s simple! We go out a few times, I take you to some of the finest restaurants the city has to offer, and we, well, see what happens.”

  “Wait, am I getting the promotion or not?”

  “That...depends. If you and I spent some time together and we, erm, hit it off as well as I think we will, then you’ve got it. But if we end up not being as...compatible, then maybe it’s not for the best.”

  Lou Ellen stepped back, closing her eyes for a long moment.

  “Let me ge
t this straight—if I want to be the new chief accounts executive, then I need to sleep with you?”

  “No-no-no,” he said, waving his hands in front of his face as if dismissing the idea. “It’s not like that at all. I want us to go out and...see what happens.”

  Lou Ellen couldn’t help but snort.

  “Seth, you remember the Albright Tech account last year?”

  “Um, sure—the one you landed?”

  “Glad to hear you remember. Now, do you remember what that prick CEO I was working with tried to pull the night we were out discussing the account over drinks?”

  Seth’s eyes flashed, and it was clear he remembered.

  “Right during the middle of drinks, he reached under the table and put his hand on my leg. Told me that if I really was interested in getting the account, I’d do something to ‘sweeten the deal.’ And do you know what happened to him after that?”

  “Is that...is that why he showed up to the client meeting the next day with a black eye?”

  “I see why you’re the man on top,” she said with a hard tone to her voice. “I didn’t mean to punch him in the face, but when a guy gets grabby with me, oversteps his bounds, things just kind of...happen.”

  Even as Lou Ellen spoke to Seth, she could feel the animal stir inside. But a shifter her age knew how to keep it in check, even if her wolf wanted to bite his head off.

  And there’d been nothing “accidental” about the slug to the face she’d given the CEO.

  She stepped up to Seth, and before he could react, she was right in front of him, his Hermes tie wrapped around her wrist.

  “I’ve been working here for years, bud. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you pull some quid-pro-quo bullshit with me on something like this.” His eyes were wide—he clearly hadn’t been expecting this particular sequence of events. And Lou Ellen wondered if he’d noticed the incredible, inhuman speed at which she’d moved.

  “It’s not...” he stammered out, struggling to speak.

  “Don’t tell me what it’s not.” Lou Ellen felt her animal rise more and more inside of her. She knew she had to do something before it came out. “Now, I’m going to take the rest of the day off. And I want you to really think about whether or not it’s a smart idea to tell the best damn employee you’ve got she needs to sleep with you to get a promotion. Got it?”