Cougar's Luck (Pacific Northwest Cougars Book 2)

“
S
ay it again
,” she whispered. Her name on his lips was like an aphrodisiac.

“What?” he asked

“My name, say it again.”

A low purring came from the middle of his chest as he leaned down, his lips hovering above hers.

“Layla, my Layla,” he said low, swiping his tongue over her lips.

A
computer genius
, a dedicated gamer, and on some nights a cougar shifter, Everett Hayes had his whole life in front of him. Where that path led he didn’t know. Computers were his refuge until he met Layla.

Layla Klein loved her pack, loved her crazy family, and totally dug her job overseeing the hottest club on the Vegas strip. A few missteps and some unwanted attention didn’t dampen her enthusiasm.

A chance meeting in the night. Two shifters from two different packs. Sometimes love happens fast and lust happens even faster. Doesn’t mean your past won’t catch up with you.

Taking a chance on love and luck. Cougars, dice, and Vegas, oh my!

“
D
ie horde scum
!”

The sound of axes swinging and agonizing screams echoed through the darkened room. The black-out curtains helped muffle some of the sound from the eight speakers strategically placed around the room. The room still shook with each crash and thump of fire imps dying.

Everett Hayes was on his seventh hour, engaged in a huge raiding party online with his guild. They’d been trying to kill the dragon boss at the end of this level for the last week. Tonight was a last hurrah. Even Everett knew they couldn’t keep trying to slay this epic beast. Mostly because he had a job, and a life, sort of. There were few things he was responsible for, although they were important to the family business.

Needing to get up early in the morning and head to the airport was not lost on him. His big brother Dax had all but commanded him to Las Vegas to help out the Klein family, a cougar shifter pack that needed some technical help with their casino. Not that he was some security guru, but he tended to see things others didn’t when it came to computers.

Dax was his Alpha, but his big brother’s command actually held a little more sway this time. Everett knew cougar shifters needed to stick together and his brother was trying to keep their family and this other pack in a close alliance.

It used to be that they didn’t connect with anyone outside of their immediate packs. It was too dangerous, there was too much in-fighting and the politics were all-consuming. Times changed, packs grew, and shifters relied on each other more than ever before.

Everett’s skills as a computer nerd/hacker, were well-known. It was the only way Everett ever got away from his loving, but completely up in your business, family. He also had the luck to be born a twin, his brother Stryker and him were a bit of a surprise for his parents. Although Stryker was easy as a brother, as kids they were together a lot which forced them to develop completely different personalities.

His mother and father had gone on a trip around Napa Valley to, as they put it, “Check out the local competition.” Which actually meant they got completely sauced drinking their way through a number of wineries.

They were making sure they had what it took to start up their own winery. Turns out they did and were very successful at it. Since his mother blames the over-imbibing on her getting pregnant, she named her boys after the last two wineries she could remember.

Everett and Stryker were born without the usual Hayes blond hair and his mother blamed that on the tannins in the wine also.

“Watch your flank, stay out of the lava you noob!” Everett called into the microphone attached to his head. God, it was hard enough finding enough people to play at the same time, but these guys were like kids. Shit, they probably were kids. It wasn’t like there was a giant think tank on these games.

Being a twin was the easy part of being Everett Hayes. His brother was his other half which was saying a lot considering he shared his body with the soul of a cougar. The fates had matched him with his cat at birth. It would be easy to say that his cat was his other half. It was another soul inside his mind, but he shared something so close to Stryker too that he often felt his soul was split more than once. Even Stryker’s cat, which was normally a very private personal connection with its shifter, connected with Everett.

Everett wasn’t like the rest of his shifter family. They all knew what they wanted. They liked working in the family business and if their mother had her way, their futures were already locked down. Continuing to grow wine and expand the pack. Stryker didn’t give a flying fig about wine, but he liked working on the machines. Everett was sure that was the only reason he stuck around as long as he did.

They were a moderate size pack; they had a number of members working for them. Most lived and worked around northern California. They ranged from ranchers to IT people. It was considered an honor to be part of the Hayes pack. They were all doing well, taking care of their families. Not like in the old days when it was such a struggle.

Everett and Stryker, they were the odd ones out. Both looking for something else, something that would set them apart from their big brother and sister’s love of wine and continuing the family line. At thirty-five he was considered still a kitten. He looked like he just celebrated his twenty-first and was carded regularly much to his chagrin.

Everyone had their own little quirks and problems to deal with sure. His sister was a tough cookie with a soft heart. His brother Dax had the entire pack on his shoulders as Alpha. He’d recently took a hiatus and moved to Washington under the guise of adding a new vineyard. Everett thought he just needed to breathe some free air.

Having a brain that never shut off was Everett’s cross to bear. It had always been like that. Stryker was the easy going, laid back guy. He took life as it came, when he didn’t like what rolled his way, he would search out something else. Wine didn’t make sense to him. Machines did, motorcycles did, but people he wasn’t great with either.

Everett’s mind always wanted to know why. His curiosity often got him in trouble as a child, taking apart the toaster, unplugging fuses to figure out how to re-route the power supply to his experiments. Things that usually got him grounded.

But where Stryker would run away, Everett would hide. He had moved out of the main house at the family vineyard and had taken up residence in the pool house in his early twenties. Stryker was never there so when he was home, he stayed in their old room.

Everett would spend his nights as a youth learning computers. He’d been around for them from the beginning of the home computer, so there was never a learning curve with him. His cat was even content to spend time inside. For a cougar this was unusual, but the fates had matched him with an animal that was just as analytical as he was. Complex computer problems were fun, gaming was even better. He also figured he was young enough to fly under his mother’s radar as far as finding a mate went.

Not that he didn’t want to find his One. Every shifter was looking for the other half of their joint soul. The match for them that would bring love and happiness for a lifetime. He’d seen it happen and could only guess what it felt like finding his mate.

For now, he was getting his sexual urges met the usual way. His group of nerd friends often would go out to the bars and see if they could hook up. Not to sound cocky, but Everett’s animal magnetism usually had him batting them off. Sex was fun and a release, never more than that for him.

Attracting women was easy, he made sure to fit in regular workout sessions. Sitting at a computer was not great for one’s abs. His cougar wouldn’t start complaining unless he skipped his days in the gym. It was a trade off, more human exercise so the cougar didn’t get grumpy.

“Damn it all to hell!” he shouted, ripping off his headset. His whole group wiped again and they were going to have to start the level over. His cat gave him a lazy growl in his head. He’d had enough of trying to get through this level. It was going to have to wait for another day.

Glancing at the clock, he sighed. There were a few hours before his flight to Las Vegas. He could almost pretend to be excited. Not by the idea of drinking and gambling, but being able to delve into a world class casino’s security system. For a hacker like him, it was unfettered access he could never get legally.

The Klein family owned one of the hottest casinos on the strip. The Platinum was top of the line all the way. Everett’s mother had been trying to get Dax to mate with one of the many female cougars in their pack.

In fact, the Hayes family just heard that Dax had found his mate in Washington. Based on the selfie that Dax sent him, she was a smoking hot human. Their mother was in an absolute fit. She’d headed up there to confront the pair and Everett wished them all the luck in the world with that.

But his Alpha and big brother commanded him to Las Vegas so he was going to go. Meeting his new sister-in-law would have to wait for a while. He also needed to get up and visit his sister Kenzi and his new nephew.

Grabbing a suitcase and his backpack, he threw in what he needed for an unknown length of stay in Vegas. His suitcase had two changes of clothes, his normal t-shirts and shorts and his dressy t-shirts and shorts. He’d tossed in some workout gear along with a pair of swim trunks. Most of his suitcase was taken up with his PS3 and various games.

Everett was getting the mental nudge from his cat that it was time for bed. Setting the alarm on his cell phone, he stretched out on the couch and tried to catch a few winks.

R
ubbing
a hand over her tense forehead, Layla Klein was not in the mood to deal with entitled trust fund kids this weekend. Sadly, it was her job and on normal days she loved it. The excitement and party atmosphere that Vegas was coated in was hard to ignore.

Seeing people have the time of their life was intoxicating in its own way. Partying all weekend was fun when you were a tourist. Partying every weekend and most weeknights was all work for her.

Layla, or Leelee to her family, had become the connection for not only the VIP that visited The Platinum, but she also had the inside track to the other hotels on the strip. Her family’s hotel was the “It” hotel right now. Vegas was a fickle town, what was trendy last year isn’t this year. It was Layla’s job to stretch that winning streak as long as she could. This was the town to take the long bets after all.

The Platinum’s club,
blend
, was the place to see and be seen right now, and it was all because of her master marketing skills. At least she liked to think so. She made sure her high rollers always had a reserved VIP table. The celebrities that would fly in and gamble for twenty-four hours and not sleep could count on the curtained elite area to keep their privacy when they took a break. Layla also made sure on the weekends to have the hottest DJ’s spinning all through the night.

Layla’s ability to change into a cougar was not something that she actually thought about that much. It was so much a part of her that she couldn’t imagine having to worry if anyone ever found out what she was. Her cat was often content to go a month or more without a long run in the desert. Patient was barely a descriptive enough word for her animal. Her cat was always happy to take the time to plan out a course of attack. Whether it be hunting in the wild or planning an exclusive soiree. Analytical and precise was Layla’s animal and she was grateful to have such a calm soul sharing her body.

The Klein family was old, powerful, and not to be taken lightly. Humans and shifters alike knew that they were more than just a family that owned a hotel and casino. They were a legacy. They had connections, money, and manpower that would rival any organized crime family in the world. Not that they ever did anything illegal. All of their business ventures were completely legit. But when a family and a pack their size were as wealthy and powerful as they were, people would talk.

Layla was thirty-eight, the youngest of four girls and two brothers. Her oldest brother Micah was mated to another member of their pack. They’d
found
each other when they both hit puberty and had been together ever since. Her oldest sister Claire was also mated and to her parent’s dismay, to a human. Then there was her next oldest brother William who was busy with the management of the hotel. Her two older sisters between her and Will were Emily and Margo. Both un-mated, less than a year apart in age, and were constantly trying to avoid their parent’s attempts to find them mates.

Her brother William although the oldest of the unmated, was getting some kind of free pass in the matchmaking department because her parents knew how hard he worked and honestly didn’t want him distracted. Her and her sisters, on the other hand, her parents wanted mated twenty years ago. They already had four grandchildren but were on the hunt for more. Or maybe they just wanted enough Kleins to ensure the family businesses were fully staffed.

Either way, being the youngest didn’t get her any special consideration. Layla had convinced her parents that she needed to be single to be able to flirt and schmooze her way through the club night after night. She knew they were hoping that Dax Hayes would have worked for one of the family. No matter how many times Dax’s mother sent him on errands to Vegas, there was no mating to happen. The fates chose each shifter’s mate and no amount of motherly conniving was going to change that.

“Boss lady, the booze shipment is late again.”

Layla looked up from the table in the closed club to see her head bartender behind the long glass bar looking at her.

“Fuck me,” she mumbled. Picking up her phone she hit the speed dial for her liquor distributor and looked around the room. Layla’s parents had wanted to hire the most popular designer in Las Vegas to create their club. But Layla didn’t want the club to look like every other casino’s lounge. She wanted it to be lush, sexy, elite. She got what she wanted. The walls were black velveteen fabric covering from floor to ceiling, giving the room a soft feeling even if you couldn’t see the texture.

She’d had recessed lighting put through the floors that would shine up and change color as the night went on. Not only did this provide an ever-changing ambiance, most regulars had realized that in a short skirt, there was no better place to stand to get attention, than over one of those lights.

The fabrics and drapings over the black walls were all white or cream with hints of silver thrown in. The glass bar was also lit to change colors. With a flick of a switch, Layla could take
blend
from a romantic pink hued pleasure den to a flaming red hot decadence pit. It was an effective trick to manage the mood of the club. If the party slowed, they upped the yellows and greens to give people energy. As the night wore on, they changed to purples and blues, settling everyone for closing.

“Carl, you know I don’t like having to call you about this shit,” she snapped into the phone when it rang through.

“It’s my driver, he’s new,” Carl explained.

“This is not my problem. That is your problem and that’s why the good lord invented GPS. It’s not like The Platinum is hard to find. We are the tallest building on the strip. Tell the moron to look up,” she said sarcastically.

“You know you sound sexy when you’re pissed,” Carl tried to tease.

“And you know I don’t like using this voice, it gives me wrinkles.”

“I’ll call him and tell him to hustle,” Carl said with a laugh.

“Do that, I’m not serving two buck chuck tonight and calling it Dom.” She snapped the phone closed. She knew Carl wasn’t taking her surly attitude to heart. Building a reputation in this town was not easy and if anyone thought they could walk over you, they would. Carl. she’d known for years, but he also knew she wasn’t joking. Clubs like hers could not run out of anything. Not when snot-nosed punks were willing to plunk down daddy’s black Amex on twenty thousand dollar magnums of champagne.

“Booze is on its way,” she called out to the bartender.

She watched the bartender give her a chin lift. Her phone rang again and she flipped it open. “Layla Hayes.”

She listened as the concierge gave her the heads up that a repeat high-roller was coming through tonight. He was switching from another hotel, apparently it wasn’t up to his standards.

“He should have started here then he wouldn’t have had to move,” she informed the concierge.

“Sure, I’ll have his section ready and waiting. He drinks Hennessy Paradis if I remember correctly?” she asked the man on the phone. Hearing him look up the man’s dossier, he confirmed.

“Got it, thanks for the heads up,” she returned hanging up.

Standing she walked over to the bar and doubled checked the Hennessy. They had enough, hopefully.

The phone rang again and she grabbed it. “Layla Hayes.”

“Layla, is there a reason both of your sisters are mysteriously out of town this weekend?”

This was her father calling, wanting to know why her sisters managed to hightail it out of town for an unplanned weekend to Los Angeles just when one of the Hayes boys was due in.

“I’m guessing they were trying to avoid another matchmaking session, daddy,” she retorted.

“It’s not matchmaking, it’s encouraging the fates,” he chortled.

“No, it’s forcing your children to try and create a dynasty with another shifter family.”

“Well, would it be the worst thing? You know your mother and I would love for you girls to find your mates. No matter where they came from. The only Hayes daughter is apparently mated to a bear now. Can you imagine?”

“So I heard, sounds like they are happy though. Bear or not,” she laughed.

“Baby girl, you know I just want you happy and mated. Is that too much to ask?”

Sighing she knew her parents were actually trying to make all their children happy. But love them or not, the constant push to procreate was old, especially after two decades of it. Her siblings had been dealing with it longer.

“Daddy, was there a reason you were calling?” She gave her forehead another rub. At this rate she was going to need Botox before forty.

“Yes, Dax Hayes called and said he arranged for his younger brother Everett to come out and help us make sure we aren’t missing anything with our new security system.”

Nodding, even though he couldn’t see her. “Yes, this I knew and so did my evil missing sisters,” she snorted.

“Well, I want you to make him feel welcome. William will meet with him, but he needs someone more accessible if he needs anything. He will be busy with the security firm for most of his visit. If he needs something other than technical assistance, he needs a shifter contact. That would be you.”

“Argh, seriously, I’ve got Paolo coming in tonight. He’s probably bringing his giant freaking entourage and they are going to drink me out of all my good stock and probably puke and or OD on something tonight. I don’t know if I’ll have time,” she said, looking over her schedule on her tablet. She had nail and hair appointments tomorrow, a girl had priorities. Babysitting Dax Hayes’ baby brother was not something she wanted to pencil in.

“I’ll owe you one. I’ll keep your mom off your back for a whole month any time you ask. Even if I have to fly her to Fiji to do it,” he promised.

Layla’s mother was great. Pushy and overbearing, but great. Her mother was all about family, pack, and ensuring the shifter lines. She was still a mom though. That loving ability to compliment yet criticize at the same time was her specialty. And she always thought that Layla cared more about clothes and social worries than creating more cubs for her to spoil.

Growing up wealthy was hard to explain to someone that hadn’t experienced it. Luckily, and Layla thought mostly because they were shifters, they never were spoiled by things. The pack always came first. Money and living a wealthy lifestyle was actually pretty far down the scale of priorities. Still she never wanted for anything. She always had the best of everything. Toys, ponies, schools, and at a young age, designer apparel. Now she considered her wardrobe her uniform even her armor.

People expected her to look a certain way. Present a specific image. And she couldn’t lie, she loved clothes and shoes. Las Vegas was an easy place to shop. Every designer had one or more stores on the strip. Knowing all the sales people also helped.

“Fine, tell William he can give him my number if he needs anything,” she sighed.

“That’s my girl, always helping her old man out. You coming to the house this weekend? You know your brothers can’t resist a noisy run on a full moon.”

Layla usually spent the majority of her days in her room at the hotel sleeping. She kept a tiny out of the way room that was too small to book and had zero views. But it was a quiet and cool oasis when she didn’t feel like making the trip back to the family’s compound. There was no reason to move out, the house was big enough that they could go days without seeing each other. Their parents had built each of them a suite with bedroom, sitting room and generous bathroom and closet.

Being part of a pack was more than just running around shifted as big cats. It was family, blood or otherwise. The community is what kept them strong and safe.

“Sure dad, I’ll try to cut out early on Saturday as long as things run smoothly,” she said, still looking through her planner. Weekends were not a good time for her to leave any time before four in the morning. She had a club manager and usually only gave up responsibility to him during the week when she really needed a break to recover from a weekend bender.

“I’ll tell your mother you’ll be there,” he said like it was a for sure deal.

“Bye dad,” she finished and heard her dad say goodbye.

Great, a big fish coming in that liked to use her club like his own private playground and another shifter that might need hand holding.

“I love my job, I love my job,” she chanted to herself.

Turning to her bartender she told him, “Make sure to text me the minute that order shows up.”

Picking up her tablet and phone she strode out to follow up with the check-in desk and concierge to make sure they had Paolo’s suite ready to go. It wasn’t her job, but keeping all the cogs in the casino working together was what made the job a little bit easier for everyone.