Resisting the Cougar (Cascade Shifters #2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

you two anyway and you can come up with an excuse, such as having the flu, for why you have to hand off the meetings to him.”
    She scrutinized Kian’s face for a second. “How do you know so much about me?”
    Kaya jumped in. “Let’s just say we have our contacts.”
    Claire looked between the clan leaders. “I still don’t understand why you picked me for this. There are probably other savvy organizers fighting for shifter equality with much more free time on their hands than me.”
    One corner of Kian’s mouth ticked up. “Because, Claire, you’re hardworking and have dedicated a good portion of your life toward shifter equality to help your family and family means everything to a shifter. Don’t you think your aunt deserves to come home?”
    Claire blinked. “What did you say?”
    Kian waved a hand in dismissal. “Don’t waste time denying it. I know your aunt eloped with a shifter eleven years ago and is in hiding. That’s right around the time when you changed your focus and energy from human rights to shifter rights.”
    Stomach churning, Claire struggled to keep her wits. If Kian knew about her Aunt Gwen and her shifter partner, then who else knew? Had Gwen’s disappearance been more permanent than Claire had realized? Had she been caught?
    No. She’d heard from her aunt six months ago. They exchanged anonymous letters once a year, whenever her aunt had found a new place to hide. If something had happened to her, Gwen’s man or his family would’ve let Claire know somehow since they all moved around together as a pack.
    She looked at Kian in a new light. He could probably outdo the FBI when it came to intelligence gathering, if he put his mind to it. “Of course I want her to come home, but if you’re going to use my aunt’s relationship to force my hand, then you aren’t the leader I thought you were.”
    The female shifter sitting next to Kian gave him a shove. “Stop being so obtuse and threatening; you’re pissing off the poor human.” The woman looked to her. “I’m Trinity, Kian’s mate. Since my mate is botching this up, let me try. We’re not trying to force your hand in any way, my dear. We would never endanger your aunt’s safety. However, I think we could both benefit from your staying here. If we can get the ShadowClaw bears to join in on this, then you could make a huge difference; not just in shifter-human marriages, but for all of the Cascade shifter clans. Won’t you help us? It’s only for a month and I will personally make sure you’re treated like a queen.” Trinity waved a hand toward Aidan. “Aidan will help with that.”
    The shifter at Claire’s side had been silent, but his deep voice filled the small room. “And what, exactly, are you going to make me do?”
    Trinity looked back to Claire. “I need Claire’s answer first.” The shifter female smiled. “Will you help us, dear? What you do with the Cascade shifter clans could set a trend for the whole country.”
    She looked at Kian, Trinity, Kaya, and finally, Aidan. Given what they already knew about her, protesting about a boyfriend or family missing her would be pointless. Her social life was non-existent outside of work, and her only family was her exiled aunt. Most of her friends were part of the Shifter Equality Alliance, which meant she could keep in touch via video conferences.
    Not to mention she liked the idea of helping to set a trend for shifter rights. She’d only spent the last decade trying to figure out how to make that happen.
    There were only two things holding her back. “If I said yes, I couldn’t tell anyone, could I? Not even my second-in-command?”
    Kaya shook her head. “No. Even those with good intentions can screw things up with a slip of the tongue. Your time here would be against the law. We can protect you while you’re on our land since the authorities are afraid to come here after the near-epidemic last year, but our reach only goes so far. We can’t risk critical