Weaker Than Instinct

PRAISE FOR BECCA SEYMOUR Becca Seymour is now on my list of writers to keep an eye on. MYTHICAL BOOKS Becca Seymour has put a unique spin on how shifters are turned that I haven't read before and I was 100% here for it. LORE & LULLABIES Emotional depth, fast-paced…a rollicking roller coaster of a read! IND’TALE MAGAZINE For Lana & Cat WEAKER THAN INSTINCT FANGS & FELONS BOOK 2 BECCA SEYMOUR RAINBOW TREE PUBLISHING ALSO BY BECCA SEYMOUR Zone Defense No Take Backs | No More Secrets | No Wrong Moves Fast Break Rules, Schmules! | Facts, Smacts! | Regular Smegular True-Blue Let Me Show You | I’ve Got You | Becoming Us | Thinking It Over | Always For You | It’s Not You | Our First & Last | Next For Us Outback Boys Stumble | Bounce | Wobble Fangs & Felons Thicker Than Water | Weaker Than Instinct Stand-Alone Contemporary Not Used To Cute | High Alert | Realigned | Amalgamated | Under the Blazing Stars Weaker Than Instinct © 2023 by Becca Seymour All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any written, electronic, recorded, or photocopied format without the express permission from the author or publisher as allowed under the terms and conditions with which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author. NO AI/NO BOT. Becca Seymour does not consent to any Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarize, or otherwise replicate any part of this creative work, via any means: print, graphic, sculpture, multimedia, audio, or other medium. Becca Seymour supports the right of humans to control their artistic works. Weaker Than Instinct is a work of fiction. All names, characters, events and places found therein are either from the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to persons alive or dead, actual events, locations, or organizations is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author. For information, contact the author: [email protected] Editing: Hot Tree Editing Cover Designer: BookSmith Design Publisher: Rainbow Tree Publishing E-book ISBN: 978-1-922679-61-1 Paperback ISBN: 978-1-922679-62-8 CONTENTS Blurb Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Also by Becca Seymour Acknowledgments About the Author BLURB Having a partner is bad news. I’ve been doing everything I can to go it alone. But this time I’ve pushed my unit too far. I’m being punished. Not quite a fate worse than death, but almost as bad. I’ve been tasked with a mission at the SICB Academy to help train wannabe agents while working undercover to figure out why recruits have been going missing. I’m not looking to inspire. How can I when I’ve become a lone wolf? But that doesn’t stop the Powers that Be from demanding I work with a rookie. Just two months out from graduating, and my new partner is apparently a hotshot agent in training. Amber-eyed, bold, and with a scent that calls to me, Jett Shaw is a panther who is close to getting under my skin. We’ve no choice but to work together and have each other’s six, but how can I trust anyone when I can’t trust myself? With a new threat appearing and Shaw being in the line of fire, I have to change tack. If not, taking down the shadow agency that refuses to stay buried may become my last mission for the SICB. And not just mine; the whole unit could go down with me. Weaker Than Instinct is the second book in a gay urban fantasy romance series. Between the pages you’ll find high-octane action, snarky vampires and shifters, and scorching-hot scenes to make you swoon. CHAPTER 1 MICHAELS Wedged to the ground, I took stock of my limbs. Wriggling toes. Flexing fingers. Cracking neck as I turned it left, then right. Three good things going for me. Shoulders— there was no holding back the grunt of pain tearing out of me. Red hot and intense, agony sliced through my stomach, my side. I screwed up my eyes, willing my breaths to even. One breath. Two. All the way up to five before it was time to assess the situation. I pried my eyes open and squinted through the smoke-filled air. Debris surrounded me, disorientating and chaotic. Lucas was going to kick my arse. There were no ifs, buts, or maybes. Obviously I’d heal. My shifter abilities came in super handy, but the blazing ache on my right-hand side couldn’t be magicked or wished away. Focussed on slow and steady exhales, I guided my hand to the area, already guessing what I’d find. A heavy sigh, followed by another throb of pain, trickled free when my palm connected with wet metal. Blood. The sticky liquid coated the steel, the metallic scent thick and cloying. Impaled was never a good look, let alone an ideal situation. But I wasn’t dead, so there was that. My comms sparked to life. “Michaels, this is Kent. Check in. Over.” Biting back my urge to grunt as I moved to touch the small device in my ear, I held my breath and finally pressed the button. “Michaels checking in. Over.” With no quiver, no shake, my tone remained neutral, controlled. The two-second beat before Kent’s voice sounded in my ear was enough to warn me that she knew that shit had hit the fan. Her instincts were spookily accurate, even when a hundred kilometres away. “Status report. Over.” There it was—her tight voice, her tone making it clear I should be more concerned about her kicking my arse rather than Mathew Lucas, the head of