Gregory's Rebellion

A Total-E-Bound Publication

www.total-e-bound.com

Gregory’s Rebellion

ISBN # 978-1-78184-005-4

©Copyright Lavinia Lewis 2012

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright May 2012

Edited by Stacey Birkel

Total-E-Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2012 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom.

Warning:

This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a
heat rating
of
Total-e-burning
and a
sexometer
of
2.

This story contains 106 pages, additionally there is also a
free excerpt
at the end of the book containing 11 pages.

Shifters’ Haven

GREGORY’S REBELLION

Lavinia Lewis

Book six in the Shifters’ Haven series

Leopard shifter Gregory is delighted to finally meet his mate, but why doesn’t the heavily scarred young jaguar shifter Hayden recognise their bond?

When supernatural council member Gregory is sent to Las Vegas to pick up a stray jaguar shifter, he thinks it will be an easy job. But upon his arrival, Gregory discovers that his quarry is his destined mate—a mate that doesn’t recognise their bond. Hayden has an angry looking scar running the length of his left cheek, but he won’t tell Gregory how he got it or why he hasn’t shifted into his cat form for the last two years. Something bad must have happened to him, but can Gregory convince his wary mate to confide in him?

To make matters worse, many council members’ mates have been murdered in recent months so Gregory is afraid to tell his employers that Hayden is his mate. Instead, he lies to the council—risking his job and his life—and takes Hayden to Texas where he’ll be able to protect him. But is Hayden as safe on the Crazy Horse ranch as he imagined?

Dedication

I’d like to say a huge thank you to all my friends and family who have supported me over the years. Your encouragement and praise have given me the strength to pursue my dreams and the belief that anything is possible if you work hard enough. You taught me to never give up, and for that I’ll be eternally grateful.

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Kindle: Amazon.com, Inc.

Coors: Molson Coors Brewing Company

Garfield: Jim Davis

Ford: Ford Motor Company

Chapter One

“Well, go on.” A brilliant smile spread across Mac’s face as he nodded to the present in Hayden’s hands. “Open it.”

Hayden held on to the box as though it were made of glass. He stared at it longingly, allowing himself to get lost in the dream for just a moment, then shook his head and handed it back. “I can’t accept this, I’m sorry.”

“Now listen here, you’ll offend an old man if you don’t keep it. And you don’t want to get on the wrong side of your boss now, do you?”

Hayden sighed. It had been a long time since anyone had given him a gift of any kind. He didn’t mean to be ungrateful, but he didn’t want Mac to think he was some sort of charity case.

“Uh, I don’t know…” Hayden chewed on his lip while he tried to decide what to do.

“Look, it’s your birthday and I’m giving you a gift. Get over it.” Mac thrust the box back into Hayden’s hands.

“Fine, I’ll open it, but if it’s expensive I swear to God—”

“Will you quit yakking and open it already? I’m growing old here.”

Hayden rolled his eyes but the corners of his mouth tugged up into a smile. He had to admit he was curious to know what was inside. He picked delicately at the tape holding the package together.

“Christ, son, you’re worse than my wife. You’re not planning on keeping the paper, are you?”

Hayden felt his cheeks flood with heat. He would never admit it to Mac but that had been exactly what he had in mind. The paper was purple and sparkly and he could use it for…well, for
something
.

Mac tapped his fingers impatiently on the kitchen worktop. Hayden finally managed to get the gift unwrapped, revealing a white cardboard box.

“What is it?”

“Jesus, kid, give it to me. I’ll open it myself.”

“No, I can do it.” Hayden lifted the lid on the box and peered inside.

He drew in a sharp breath, feeling a lump rise in the back of his throat, and tears began to form behind his eyes, threatening to shatter his resolve. It had been three years since he’d last cried and after the last time he’d sworn he never would again. But, as he stared from the gift in his hand to Mac’s speculative gaze, he felt cracks begin to form in his carefully constructed dam.

“Well?” Mac asked. “Do you like it? If it’s the wrong kind, I’m sure I can change it.”

“No,” Hayden said, “It’s perfect. It’s a, it’s a…”

“I know. It’s a Kindling.” Mac sounded triumphant.

“A Kindle,” Hayden corrected.

“Yeah, right. Well, I told my wife whenever you’re on a break you’ve always got some scratty book in your hand so she said you might like one of these. Apparently all the kids have them.”

Hayden bristled at the word kid. Today was his twenty-first birthday so he was now officially a man, but he let the comment slide. Mac was practically old enough to be his grandfather, so to him he probably did seem like a kid.

“I don’t know what to say.” Hayden swallowed down the lump in his throat, which had grown so big he felt as though he were choking on it.

Mac shrugged. “Just say thanks.”

“Thank you,” he whispered. He lifted his head to meet Mac’s gaze. It was something he didn’t do often, but, to his relief, Mac was looking him directly in the eye and his gaze didn’t once drift lower.

“Welcome.”

Hayden sniffed and a solitary tear escaped his eye and trickled down his cheek.

“Now, now…we’ll have none of that.” Mac cleared his throat and patted Hayden roughly on the back. “You’ll start me off. It’s nearly opening time and you don’t want my damn customers to think I’ve gone soft, do you?”

Hayden chuckled and stared down at the gift in awe. He’d wanted an e-reader since they first came out but he couldn’t afford one. Hell, he could barely afford his rent. When you added utilities and food on top, Hayden was flat broke for at least a week out of every month.

Now that he came to think about it, Hayden didn’t even think he could afford the eBooks to read on the device. The books he usually read he got from yard sales or thrift stores—the same places he got all his belongings. And when he couldn’t even afford that, he went to the library.

“Oh, I forgot to give you this.” Mac placed an envelope on top of the box. “Mary said you’d need it to go with the Kindling.”

Hayden put the box down and opened the envelope. Inside was an eBook voucher for a hundred dollars. Hayden practically choked on his surprise.

“This is too much, Mac.” He shook his head firmly.

“Nonsense. You’re worth it, kid. Best employee I got.”

“But I just wash dishes here.”

Mac raised an amused eyebrow. “Say what? You
used
to just wash dishes here. For the past ten months you’ve been helping out the cook
and
filling in when he’s not around. I’ve had you cash up, do my banking… Hell, last week I had you lock up the joint, and do you know how many other people I trust to do that? None.”

Hayden knew he worked hard but, while it was nice to be appreciated, he’d never been much good with compliments. Probably because he had no experience receiving them. He wasn’t sure how to respond or if Mac required anything other than the thank you he’d already supplied. A loud banging on the diner door pulled Hayden from his thoughts.

“Mac! You in there?”

Mac grinned. “That’s my cue, son. Enjoy your present.”

“Thank you,” Hayden said again. He didn’t think he could manage anything more profound.

Mac nodded and walked into the diner to let in Dianne, one of the waitresses on the early shift. Hayden stared down at his gift again, shaking his head. He couldn’t believe Mac had been so generous. He would have to think of some way to repay his boss for the gesture.

* * * *

Ten long hours later Hayden put away the last of the pots and took off his apron. He wasn’t sorry to be leaving—it had been a busy day, he was hot and tired and in desperate need of a shower, but he
was
sorry he had to go back to his crummy little apartment alone. Still, he was old enough to buy beer now. Maybe he’d stop off at the liquor store on the way home. He grabbed the gift on his way out the door and said goodbye to Pedro, Mac’s one and only chef. Mac was busy fixing a drink behind the counter as he left.

“See you tomorrow, Mac.”

“Yeah. Tomorrow, kid. Have a good night. Say, you meeting up with friends to celebrate your birthday?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Hayden lied.

“Well, have a good’un.”

“Thanks, Mac, and thanks again for the gift.”

The heat barrelled into him as soon as he stepped out into the balmy night, making him feel even stickier than he’d been before he left. The diner wasn’t fancy but it was doing okay by all accounts and Mac had just splashed out on an expensive new air-conditioning system for the place. It was essential for the hot, arid days and nights that were so commonplace in Las Vegas. But of course there was no cool air in the kitchens where Hayden worked—the last thing Mac needed was complaints about the temperature of the food.

Hayden had moved to ‘Sin City’ because it seemed like a place he could get lost in, a place he could hide. He’d been attracted to the bright lights and conveyor belt of new faces, but, since he’d arrived almost two years ago, he’d been on the main drag a grand total of twice. He may have been able to get lost in the sea of faces there, but he’d felt as though he were drowning in them. Every person he passed stared at him as though he were some sort of freak. Some days he really hated people.

Crossing the busy road outside the diner, Hayden kept his head to the ground, careful not to catch anyone’s eye. It wasn’t that he disliked people in general—he just couldn’t stand to see the pity in their eyes when they looked at him.

Taking the familiar route, Hayden walked the few blocks home and stopped off at the liquor store across the street from his condo. He scanned the aisles, looking at the different types of beer on offer. Coors seemed to be a popular brand. He picked up four bottles then mentally added up the change in his pocket. He frowned, replacing two and taking the remaining two to the counter. The elderly clerk eyed him suspiciously when he placed the two bottles of beer in front of him.