Hunt (Whisper Swamp Gators Book 1)

Sometimes we find more than we’re searching for.

Zoe Miller’s brother is all she has left in this world. When he vanishes she’s determined to find him, even if it means traveling on her own to the last place Jeremy was seen—Whisper Swamp, a mysterious place whose residents have secrets.

Kai Kinsella didn’t expect to ever find his Mystic, but when he sees Zoe for the first time, his gator immediately knows who she is to him. However, Kai isn’t so sure Zoe will want him once she learns the part he played in her brother’s disappearance.

Intent on finding her brother, Zoe falls into a dangerous world she never knew existed. One where shifters are real, and not all of them are the cuddly furry kind.

My gator paced as dark clouds rolled in. I could see them in the distance. In an hour, rain would hit and the water of the swamp would expand over the banks. Dry land would be swallowed inch by inch, and my gator’s territory would grow. 

“Anything happening out there yet?” Nina asked as she stepped into the sunroom. I could see her reflection in the glass of the window in front of me. She moved around the room while watering her bajillion houseplants. 

I shook my head and adjusted the toothpick in my mouth with my tongue so I could talk. “Looks like there’s about an hour or so before the storm rolls in over us,” I said without looking away from the water. The swamp was tempting my gator today, which meant it would be tempting to the others too. It had been warm the last two days, and while it wasn’t unusual to see temperatures in the upper fifties or low sixties during the winter months in the swamps of Georgia, it was rare to see a string of days with steady temperatures so high. “There are some dark clouds in the distance, but not much else. Hasn’t even started rainin’ yet.”

“I’m hoping we get a good amount off this storm. I need more liquid gold for my houseplants,” Nina said.

“Oh, lord. I heard liquid gold,” Willow insisted as she made her way into the sunroom, holding the latest book she’d been reading and her glasses. “Must be about to rain. I don’t need to watch the weather anymore. All I need to do is pay attention to when the pots go missing from the kitchen cabinets. Then, I’ll know it’s about to rain.” She tossed a smirk Nina’s way as she settled into her chair in the corner to read. 

I let out a snort. “Yep, better watch where you step when leavin’ the house. I swear one of us is going to break our damn neck because of Nina’s obsession with her liquid gold.”

“Y’all just don’t get it. Rainwater is good for my plant babies,” Nina insisted. My gator could sense her irritation and made a noise. I knew he found her obsession with rainwater comical too.

I cast a glance at Nina from over my shoulder, arching a brow. “Plant babies?”

“Yeah.” She placed a hand on her hip and gave me a go-to-hell look, knowing I was about to tease her. “I care about them. They’re my babies.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but Willow spoke before I could.

“We all have our things,” she insisted, eyeing me. 

I knew that look. Willow was about to unleash on me if I teased Nina. I could see the glimmer in her eye that signified spiteful words building on her tongue. The woman had a way with words—she could build you up or tear you to shreds, depending on her mood.

I threw my hands up in mock surrender. “I just figured Nina would be an old cat lady, not a crazy plant woman.” A crooked grin spread across my face before I shifted my attention to Nina, waiting on her reply.

“I’m not even doing this with you,” she snapped, rolling her eyes. She walked to the next shelf of her plant babies, flat-out ignoring me, and resumed her watering ritual. 

“Hey, at least some of us have a hobby,” Willow muttered, knowing full well I could hear her. She put her glasses on, and my smirk grew. “And not a word about my old lady eyes, Kai. I swear I’ll tear you a new one—alpha or not—and you know it.”

Willow was nineteen, but her eyes were ancient. 

It had been the running joke of the house for a while. Mainly, because she’d held off on seeing an eye doctor for so long. Her glasses were new, and she was slightly self-conscious. Maybe it was a jerk move, but I’d teased her about them more than once. Willow was like a second little sister to me though, and it was all in good fun.

“I didn’t say anything,” I said, still grinning like a fool. “Wasn’t even plannin’ on it.” I shifted to look out the windows again. The dark clouds were closer than I’d expected them to be, but it was movement in the murky waters of the swamp that caught my eye. 

My eyes narrowed as I zeroed in on the ripples sliding through the water.

“Shit,” I breathed, knowing what I’d spotted in an instant. Someone had gone into the water for a swim—someone from my crew.

“What?” Nina asked.

I stormed away from the window, my boots thundering against the worn floorboards as my gator rushed to the surface. He was as pissed as I was that someone hadn’t listened to our warning about going into the water today. I plucked my toothpick from my mouth and ground my teeth together as I made my way to the backdoor of the house just off the kitchen, fuming. I’d known this would happen. It was why I’d been watching the swamp like a damn hawk all day. The temperature had been too warm the last few days, and someone’s gator had pestered them until they’d given in. I tried to think of who it could be as I pulled my long-sleeved shirt off and tossed it on the floor near the door.

“Kai, what is it?” Nina demanded from behind me. The same irritation I’d sensed earlier was sparking through her tone again, this time for a different reason.

It hit me then who it was in the water—Bray. 

“Hello? She’s asking you a question,” Willow insisted. She’d left her comfy chair to follow me through the house as well. 

“Bray. He’s in the water,” I ground out, still pissed about the situation. 

It was common knowledge that the Gillroys would be trolling these waters in search of gators today. They were one of the oldest gator hunting families on Magnolia Island. They knew the waters of Whisper Swamp as good as my crew, which meant they were dangerous.

“What?” Nina raced back to the sunroom. I knew it was so she could look out the windows, searching for him. “I don’t see him.” 

“Why didn’t he listen about steering clear of the water? We all know the Gillroys are out on the water today. It’s the worst possible time to go for a swim,” Willow insisted. 

“He’s young and dumb,” I said, unbuttoning my jeans and sliding out of them.

Bray was just a kid. He’d turned sixteen a few months back, which meant I couldn’t fault him too much for being so damn impulsive. At sixteen, you thought you were untouchable and so did your gator. I remembered what it was like because it had only been four years ago for me.

“Kai, the Gillroys are coming!” Nina shouted. “I can see their boats in the distance. You better get Bray out of there. Fast!”

“Damn it. I knew they’d come through here at some point today,” I said, slinging the backdoor open and stepping outside. “Bray’s probably been watchin’ the water all day and thought they weren’t going to come through because of the storm rolling in.”

Willow and Nina followed me out the backdoor and down the three wooden steps that led into the yard.

“You better be careful. Get in and get out!” Nina shouted, concern hanging heavily in her tone. 

I cast a quick glance over my shoulder at her. “Don’t worry. I will.” I flashed her a smirk, amusement for her concern spiraling through me. “You two stay right there,” I said in a patronizing tone, knowing how much it would heat Nina’s blood.

Screwing with her had been my life’s mission since she was born. It was my right as her older sibling.

Nina cocked her hip to the side, her concern for me melting fast. “Why? Because this is a man’s job?”

My smirk grew. Nina was strong and feisty. She hated it when I told her what to do—as her older brother and as her alpha.

No one liked for a sibling to tell them what to do, and yet she had orders coming from me two ways. It was rare I tapped into my alpha authority with her—with anyone from the crew, honestly. There wasn’t a need for it. At least there hadn’t been.

Until now.

I kicked myself for not having tapped into my alpha authority with Bray. I should have known his young gator wouldn’t have been able to avoid the temptation of the warm water. 

“Nah. I just don’t want you encroaching on my fun,” I shouted back, flashing them both a wink, before jerking my boxers down and tossing them onto the bank.

While it was still in the mid-fifties, the air was cooler than I’d thought it would be against my bare skin. This meant the water would be too. My gator didn’t seem to share the same worry, though. All he cared about was going for a swim. I’d forced him to be away from the water for days now, and he was ticked at me for it. I’d had my reasons, though. 

I’d known something like this would happen.

The Gillroys weren’t just hunters who ran a gator hunting business in Whisper Swamp, they were also poachers who poached out of season year-round. It was something they’d done for years. However, with their connections on the island—and within the tiny department of police we had here—they’d never been held accountable for their actions. 

Not even once.

My gator urged me to climb into the water as I stepped closer to it. He wanted me to move faster, even though this time of year was when he was typically slower than molasses. Cold weather slowed gators down. We didn’t hibernate; we just got stuck at a snail’s pace for most everything.

The muddy ground of the bank was cool against my bare feet as I made my way closer to the water’s edge, walking along the path that had been created over the years by myself, those currently living in my crew, and those who’d come before us. 

A gust of wind blew, sending with it the heavy scent of rain. I glanced up. The edges of dark clouds lingered ahead. The storm was closer, and the Gillroys were too.

Chaos was about to explode in the swamp—the air was charged with it. 

“Damn it, Bray,” I muttered as I scanned the briny waters of the swamp, searching for him. Movement to my left caught my eye. He was a few feet away, swimming close to the surface where anyone could see him, not even attempting to hide. The water would be warmer closer to the surface, but damn, he shouldn’t be out here to begin with. 

I frowned and then inhaled a deep breath while closing my eyes. Holding my hands at my sides, I let my gator take center stage. Shifter magic crackled through the air, feeling even more charged thanks to the electricity of the coming storm hanging heavy in the air. 

My gator rolled free in an instant. 

He knew why we were going into the water—that we needed to send out an alpha order to Bray. He also knew we wouldn’t be floating around in the water for long ourselves, that we too needed to get out of the water as fast as possible. 

A gust of chilly wind pushed against us, and I felt my gator recoil. I chuckled, finding his reluctance to climb into the water comical after how he’d pined for it for days, and he snapped at me. The water wasn’t going to be as warm as he liked. We both knew this. We also knew the approaching rain would cool it quickly.

There was nothing worse than swimming in cold ass water.

Scales worked their way from beneath my skin, feeling like a release. My mind dipped back to the first time I’d shifted and how worried I’d been that it would hurt. 

It hadn’t. Instead, it had felt as natural as breathing.

My body morphed into my gigantic gator, and satisfaction worked its way through me. I’d needed the release that came with shifting more than I’d thought. 

My gator inched into the brackish water, relishing in the muted sense of warmth lingering there from the earlier sunshine. As he sank deeper, it wasn’t as warm as either of us preferred, but it was better than we’d thought it would be. My gator sighed as he slithered farther out into the murky waters of the swamp. The briny aroma met our nose and contentment swept over us both. 

This swamp was our home. 

Thunder rolled in the distance, and my mind rushed back to the present situation. More dark clouds had rolled in overhead, and fat raindrops now fell from the sky. The storm was almost above us.

This was both good and bad. 

It meant the Gillroys wouldn’t be on the water for long, not in a rainstorm. Everyone knew the storms that came through the area weren’t forgiving. However, this also meant that we shouldn’t be out in the water either. It was too easy to swim too far right or too far left and become tangled in a snare set by the Gillroys, or any of the other poachers who’d come through the area.

Being out here was too risky.

My gator swayed his tail, all muscle and power, pushing himself through the water of the swamp at record speed. I zeroed in on the area where I’d last seen Bray. All it would take was one look at me and he’d feel my alpha authority rippling through the water. He’d know it was time for his fun to end, that it was time for him to get his ass out of the water and shift back to hide. 

It didn’t take me long to reach him. 

The second I did, he spotted me. Bray’s gator huffed like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar before dinner as we locked eyes. I moved closer to him, and shoved him toward the bank with my nose, charging the water with my alpha authority. Bray knew he had an ass chewing coming from me, but he also knew we weren’t alone in the water anymore. 

The sound of propellers heading our way echoed around us, vibrating the water. 

I nudged him again, this time telling him to swim deeper. It was the only way to steer clear of the boats and the poachers’ eyes. Fear radiated from Bray’s gator, tugging on my heartstrings. All he’d wanted was a quick swim before the rainstorm rolled in while the water was still warm. 

No harm, no foul. 

As the Gillroys’ boats grew closer though, both of us knew that might not be how things ended today.

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