Sealed Fate: A NYC Shifter Tale
SEALED FATE
A NYC SHIFTER TALE
C.D. GORRI
SEALED FATE
A NYC Shifter Tale
SEALED FATE © 2022 C.D. Gorri
Edited by: Book Nook Nuts
* * *
*This story is part of the Tempted & Tantalizing NYC Author Event (TNTNYC2022) Lawyered Up & Locked Up Author collaboration.
* * *
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, places, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either part of the author’s imagination and/or used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to a person, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights are reserved. No part of this book is to be reproduced, scanned, downloaded, printed, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of any materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
* * *
STOP sign up for my NEWSLETTER before you turn the page. Never miss another release or giveaway.
DEDICATION
For everyone who believes in destiny (especially all you Paranormal Romance readers out there & TNTNYC Attendees), sometimes it seems our fate is sealed, and if we are really lucky, it’s permanent!
* * *
Also, to my collaborator Elena Kincaid, and the incredible Yelena, Julia, and Galina, to whom I owe all of my Russian translations. You four made this story possible, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Xoxo,
C.D. Gorri
CONTENTS
Sealed Fate
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
P.S
Have you met my Bears?
Beware… Here Be Dragons!
Other Titles by C.D. Gorri
Excerpt from Wolf Shield: Guardians of Chaos by C.D. Gorri
Excerpt from Bound by Air by C.D. Gorri
Excerpt from Fangs For Nothin’ by C.D. Gorri
Excerpt from Code Wolf
About the Author
SEALED FATE
A NYC Shifter Tale
Can a Tiger change his stripes?
* * *
Yasmin Malek is a talented dancer who never caught a break. Working at a gentlemen’s club three nights a week was not her ideal job, but the Lioness Shifter will do anything to make sure her son has a bed to sleep in and food on the table.
* * *
Konstantin Petrov is a Siberian Tiger Shifter and owner of The Stripe Club, a members-only establishment featuring top shelf liquor and the finest dancers in NYC. He’s had his A loner, he left Russia and came to the states to avoid Russia being recruited by the Ivanovich Bratva. Now the brutal mobster has come to NYC, and he’s forcing Konstantin to launder his blood money.
* * *
For Yasmin’s sake, he is determined to tell Ivanovich no. But when the crime lord kidnaps his little sister, what else can Konstantin do?
* * *
Is this Tiger’s fate sealed, or will he change his destiny?
* * *
*Get the other side to this story in Lawful Mate by Elena Kincaid
PROLOGUE
It was snowing, but that wasn’t new. Konstantin huddled beneath the broken concrete and waited for the big men to leave. He’d heard the shouting from all the way down the street when he’d gone to pick up his little sister, Alina, from her ballet lessons.
Though his family was poor, Papa and Mama sacrificed much so she could learn to dance. Konstantin was proud of his sister’s already budding talent at just six years old. She’d been a surprise to the older couple whose son was already a teenager, but they all doted on her.
Konstantin was almost old enough to work the docks with his father, but Mama insisted he finish school. At nearly seven feet tall and still growing, it was proving difficult to remain unnoticed by the local bratva. That was something his mother feared more than anything.
“Be a good boy, Konstantin. Stay away from the gangs, and criminals,” she’d told often him.
After all, it was his dealings with the local crime bosses that had left his Papa with a permanent limp and physical disabilities from the multiple toes and fingers that were missing from his feet and hands. Shifters could recover from many wounds and injuries, but not amputations. That was something even their enhanced healing abilities could not overcome.
The screams got louder, and Konstantin picked up Alina who’d just started to cry. The sounds were coming from the building where his family rented an apartment from Ivanovich. The head of the local bratva had many slums on the city where he took advantage of the many poor Shifter families.
His inner beast scratched and roared, but he was no match for the many members of the bratva waiting for their boss outside. Instead of facing them and risking Alina’s life, he covered her mouth with his hands and hid them both in the cellar of the neighboring building.
The old man was yelling about missing rents and late payments. He was going to use Konstantin’s father as an example, or worse, take it out on his mother. That was something, he could not allow.
“Alina, will you stay here? Hidden for me, yes?” he asked his baby sister.
Blue eyes clear as the sky looked up at him, swimming with tears. She nodded her head, already older than her six years and he nodded, cursing roughly under his breath. He prayed he was not too late.
By the time he reached the apartment the men were gone, and his mother was wailing over the prone body of his father. Papa was gone. Killed by the bastards who ruled over all of them.
“Konstantin!” she cried, standing up and going to him, still covered in her mate’s blood. “You must run. Go to your Uncle. Je will put you on a ship---”
“What about you? Alina?”
“Where is she?”
“In the basement next door. Let me get her,” he said, frantic with worry.
“Yes, get her. I will pack.”
When he once again returned to the apartment, he found the neighbors gathered. They shook their heads and turned their backs on him and his family, shunning them even as his father’s body grew cold on their kitchen floor. Anger surged, but his mother was there, stopping it before he could blow like a steam engine.
“Come. Now. There is no time,” she said, handing him a suitcase and taking the whimpering child from his arms.
They ran through the street, ducking in alleys, and moving faster then the humans around them. Tiger Shifters had night vision and traversing through the ice slicked alleys was quick work for them. They reached his Uncle’s house in no time at all.
“You’ve come,” Uncle Petyr said, grabbing his sister in a quick hug.
The man took his niece and handed her off to his wife who cuddled the child close. All the adults were trying not to cry, but Konstantin could feel their grief. Shared it with them.
“Can you get him out of here?” Mama begged.
“Only the boy. I am sorry,” Uncle Petyr said.
“It is good. he will make a good life and we will come later,” she said, nodding. “Okay Konstantin? Yes?”
“I want to stay with you,” he said, a boy’s dream.
“No, I won’t let them have you too,” Mama cred, holding him tight to her breast. “I love you son, but I need you to live. Here, there is only
death waiting for you. Now go. Be strong. Be the man I know you can be. We will be together one day.”
“We go now,” Uncle Petyr said, grabbing the suitcase and taking Konstantin’s hand.
“Mama? Mama!”
“Come now, boy. Be quiet or you will bring those monsters here.”
That fact shut him up faster than if his Uncle had slapped him. Konstantin looked one last time at his mother and sister, who’d returned to her side. He waved and nodded, biting back his own tears, then he left his Uncle’s apartment. And Russia.
And he never looked back.
CHAPTER 1
Konstantin watched her walk in, same as he had for the past three months. She wasn’t like the usual dancers he hired. Didn’t come on to him or any of the staff. Yasmin Malek worked three nights a week at The Stripe Club, that was the name of his exclusive, members-only gentlemen’s club.
Konstantin was the boss, the owner, and sole operator of the establishment, but he still made sure he was there for every single one of her shifts. He couldn’t stay away. Had tried to, but to no avail. The woman drew him like a moth to a flame. His Tiger chuffed inside of him, watching the curvy Lioness walk across the smooth, polished floors.
The animal inside of him recognized the female as his, but his human half refused to do a thing about it. Fated mates was a myth, or so he’d always thought. A Shifter fairytale told to children same as normals did with Cinderella or the one about the beast and the bibliophile.
Her long brown hair was held back in a high ponytail, and same as always, he wondered what it would look like all loose and down around those creamy pale shoulders. There was no mistaking her beauty. Or her talent, for that matter. He knew dancing when he saw it, and Yasmin had been classically trained at some point.
He was not judgmental. People had their reasons for doing what they did. Maybe she needed money. Maybe she just liked the music. Or maybe she liked the attention. Lord knew, she drew enough of it.
Konstantin practically had to chain himself to his chair whenever he watched the clientele ask her for private performances. Some places were known for looking the other way, happy to take a customer’s money while the dancers were asked to do who knew what in some sleazy back room.
That kind of thing was frowned upon at The Stripe Club. Sure, a dancer could make up his or her mind about leaving with a patron, but there was none of that inside the establishment. His employees all knew the drill, and when a client got out of hand, his or her membership was revoked.
Gentlemen’s club or not, he offered membership to any supernatural regardless of species, creed, sex, gender, or sexuality. The rules were simple. No violence. Pay your dues on time. Tip well. And hands off.
It did not stop certain customers from asking, and Konstantin was never one to stop someone from making a little extra money. But knowing Yasmin always refused requests such as those eased his animal’s temper. But it could not stem his catlike curiosity. Why did she dance on a pole instead of in a Broadway show or ballet?
The answer was simple enough. None of his fucking business. That was why. He snorted and shook his head, forcing himself to watch the other monitors. Yes, he had security all over the place, but Konstantin was a cautious man. It did not hurt to be extra attentive.
The Stripe Club prided itself on having the best and most sumptuous exotic Shifter dancers in New York City. Both male and female Shifters vied for a coveted spot in his club, and he was choosy. Hell, he could afford to be.
A favorite among the supernatural crowd, The Stripe Club boasted everyone from powerful Alphas to their newest guards, leaders of Clans, Packs, and more among its membership. It was a popular enough place to keep the local Prides off his back.
Two had tried courting him for membership, but Konstantin would never bow to an Alpha, or as the Bengal Tiger’s called their leader, a Neta, again. It made things a little rough for him since no one liked a lone Shifter living among their own. The chance of going rogue was far too dangerous. But Konstantin had his reasons. Two of them, and they were good ones.
Leaving his mother and sister behind in Russia had been traumatic for the then sixteen year old Tiger, but he’d adapted. Thank fuck he already spoke English or that would have really sucked when he’d arrived in New York City. The boarding room his Uncle Petyr had secured him in a Shifter run establishment was small, but clean. The old woman who ran it, tough but kind.
Yes, he’d gotten his ass kicked a few times, more than he cared to admit, but Konstantin did alright. He avoided the Prides, kept his head down, and hustled like crazy to make something of himself. Thirteen years later, he owned his own club and had enough money to bring his sister to New York, but Alina was just starting with a prestigious ballet company and had no desire to leave. His mother had opted to stay with her daughter.
Still, he sent money, and would have gone to visit, but the old Bratva pakhan, or boss, still had Konstantin’s name on his list of men to kill on sight. His mother begged him to stay away, and so he did. It was the least he could do for her.
“Boss? We’ve got trouble on the floor by stage six,” Eduardo, one of his most trusted employees knocked on his door.
Sure, Konstantin could let him and some of the bouncers handle it. That option flew out the window when he switched monitors to stage 6 and saw Yasmin involved. Then he had no choice but to see to it himself. His Tiger would accept nothing less.
“Who is that man?” he asked, his Russian accent coming back fool force as his ire rose.
Konstantin had a tablet in his hand as they hurried down the steps from his private office, not wanting to miss a moment of what was unfolding before him. Yasmin was a Lioness, a fierce predator in her own right but the male who was cornering her was twice her size and doing his best to intimidate the female.
Hell no. That was completely unacceptable, and not just because his beast wanted the woman. No one was permitted to hassle his dancers. The rule was one of three The Stripe Club insisted on when accepting membership. All prospective members agreed to these rules without fail, and they were as follows.
No Shifting or shedding blood on the premises.
No IOUs. All tabs must be paid in full upon receipt.
No hassling the dancers or stuff, otherwise your membership will be irrevocably cancelled.
That was it. Other than that, all supernaturals were welcome to partake in any alcohol, food, and performances they had to offer. He did not deal in drugs, but he did not check as vigorously as human clubs since the usual narcotics hardly affected their kind. Not without magical help. And if magic was involved, there was typically no way to search for it, so it was up to his security teams to keep patrons friendly and jovial.
When someone got rowdy, his staff knew to offer the customer two choices leave or retreat to a Shifter secure room to wait for whatever they were on to leave his or her system. The Stripe Club offered a certain exclusive experience that was appealing it its upscale clients. Konstantin had spent years, and a lot of blood, sweat, and money on building that rep. he would not allow anyone to undo what he’d worked so hard to create.
That was usually enough for him to get involved. But this was about Yasmin, and the fucker who was now gripping her wrist in what had to be a painful hold was about to find out why people did not fuck with Konstantin Petrov.
He walked into the room where stage 6 was located, his eyes zeroing in on his target. Eight hundred pounds of Siberian Tiger scratched at his skin, the animal urging him to unleash his claws on the man who dared touch what he considered his.
Mine.
He could hear the man’s growled commands, and Yasmin’s defiant response. While he was filled admiration for the sweet lyiveetsa’s sass, Konstantin did not care for the stranger’s reply.
An angry growl resounded in the small area where stage 6 was located, right on the heels of a very loud and powerful slap. The whole club went still, and Konstantin realized he was the one growling. Yasmin’s eyes went wide even as sh
e held her hand to her abused face.
Motherfucker.
Konstantin was going to kill the piece of shit.
CHAPTER 2
Yasmin kissed her son on the forehead before leaving her tiny, but tidy apartment on the Lower East Side. Thank the gods for rent control. It was like a blessing sent directly from the heavens when her elderly aunt had asked her to move in when her relationship ended.
“Be good for Auntie Lisa,” she told Mikey, and the four-year old nodded sagely.
“Yes, Mommy.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too.”
He was so quiet and reserved. Not at all like other cubs she’d known. Yasmin couldn’t help feeling as if she’d made a terrible mistake taking him away. But how could she remain in a Pride where he was a prominent member? There was only one answer. She couldn’t.
“You leaving, Yas?” Aunt Lisa asked.
“Yeah. I’ll be back after three.”
“Okay, and I noticed your heat pills running low. Don’t forget to call the alchemist for a refill.”
“Shit. Yes, I’ll do that,” she replied kissing her aunt’s cheek.