Lion's Court

Lion’s Court FATED IMMORTALS: BOOK FIVE VERA RIVERS Lion’s Court: Fated Immortals Book Five Text Copyright © 2023 by Vera Rivers All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental. First printing, 2023 Publisher Vera Rivers [email protected] VeraRiversAuthor.com Cover art by: miblart Contents Vera Rivers Books 1. Maisie 2. Maisie 3. Wesley 4. Maisie 5. Wesley 6. Maisie 7. Wesley 8. Maisie 9. Wesley 10. Maisie 11. Maisie 12. Wesley 13. Maisie 14. Maisie 15. Wesley 16. Maisie 17. Wesley 18. Maisie 19. Wesley 20. Maisie 21. Wesley 22. Maisie 23. Wesley 24. Wesley 25. Maisie 26. Wesley 27. Maisie 28. Wesley 29. Maisie 30. Wesley 31. Maisie 32. Wesley 33. Maisie Epilogue Vera Rivers Books & Moon Meditations Other Books You’ll Love Vera Rivers Books Receive a FREE romance ebook by visiting my website and signing up for my mailing list: VeraRiversAuthor.com By signing up for our mailing list, you’ll receive a FREE ebook. The newsletter will also provide information on upcoming books and special offers. Chapter 1 Maisie A spurred heel touched the freshly paved ground, my jeaned leg appearing along the side of the taxicab as my eyes took in the mishmash of my new surroundings. “Hey,” the driver barked. “You gonna pay?” My head whipped back, the tone of his voice irking me. I’d almost forgotten he was there, honestly, my thoughts consuming me all the way from Serafina. Closing my left hand around the strap of my purse, I pulled it open with my right and pulled out my wallet, throwing a fifty at him wordlessly before slamming the door shut to stand at the curb as the cabbie zoomed away, muttering about my crappy tip. He didn’t deserve it. He’d driven like an idiot the whole way and eyed me like a holiday feast in the rear-view mirror the entire trip. He was lucky I hadn’t put a spell on him. But the driver was literally the last thing on my mind. I couldn’t have cared less what became of that guy after he drove away from the weird downtown core of LaCana. Could this really be the right place? Maybe I’d been spoiled living in Pario City my whole life, where things had been so much simpler, but the industry of LaCana was daunting, especially after the stint I’d spent in Serafina. Going from the dusty desert of Pario City to the backwoods of Serafina to this was… well, daunting. A car horn startled me as a vehicle whipped past on the road at my back. It was nowhere near me, and I scowled viciously, but the crimson sedan was long gone as I stepped my cowboy boot onto the curb and righted my shoulders, holding my head back to look at the array of busy shops in front of me. I barely knew where to start. How had my aunt found herself here, of all places? Was my intel wrong? Had Elijah’s investigations been misdirected? It was difficult to imagine that, considering how much intel and care the Original wolf shifter had done since returning to reign over Pario City with Abby at his side. I had the utmost faith in his sources and information. So many of the females trafficked by the Verity Gang had been recovered based on Elijah and Abby’s search alone, but I couldn’t help but be skeptical when it came to my own family. All of these years, all of this anger, this drive to end the reign of depravity that had taken hold on me, motivating me to bring me to this very place suddenly had me at a loss. I was abruptly overwhelmed, conflicted by the bustle of the busyness of the city around me. I reminded myself that my aunt didn’t bring herself here, assuming Anamarie was there at all. If she was in LaCana, as I’d been instructed, she had been brought there by force, a victim of human trafficking. “Lady, are you lost?” The sneering voice immediately put me on guard, and I turned to meet a pair of stone-cold azure eyes, a towering beast of a male hovering over me, two lackeys hanging nearby. He was a pimp. I could smell his vocation all over him, even without asking. I’d been around them my whole life, and I knew their swagger and stench. “Nope,” I reassured him, spinning around to march in the opposite direction. To my dismay, he followed, and I inhaled sharply, determined to keep my cool. I was already attracting attention I didn’t need. I didn’t answer, my step quickening as my eyes scanned the street for a place of sanctuary. “A pretty girl like you could use some friends if you’re new in town,” he added, gaining his steps on me. Screw off! I would have yelled those words at him if I’d been in Pario City or even running my small outfit in Serafina, where Elijah had sent me to oversee operations for a few months. But that wasn’t those places. This was somewhere I was meant to keep a low-key existence and garner intel until I could locate my lost aunt. I couldn’t afford to make waves until I found Anamarie. “Hey! You deaf or something?” His hand closed around my arm, and my temper got the best of me. Without thinking, I conjured the first spell on my mind and hissed it out through clenched teeth, paralyzing the bastard on the spot. He froze before his minions understood what I’d done, and I ducked down the nearest alleyway, not giving anyone a chance to