The Purrfect Stranger by Bianca D'Arc Page A

you’re out of sight, he thought privately. He wouldn’t promise not to move. In a magic house, promises carried weight. If he had to, he’d prowl all over this gargantuan home until he sniffed out his wary mate. Then he’d spend as much time as necessary getting her used to the idea that she was marrying a shifter.
    A shifter with magic. Magic that was stronger this morning than it ever had been before. They’d have to figure out what to do about that interesting development together. In time. But first they had to be together. Keith wouldn’t allow her to run from him. Not ever again. He had to make her see that she was his as much as he was hers and they belonged together, now and forever.
    The butler finally scurried away with a confused expression on his face. Keith stayed put for a few moments before impatience got the best of him. He began to sniff the air wafting from the different corridors that led from this main vestibule. The house was so big, there was any number of directions Valerie could be hiding in.
    There. A faint hint of his mate. But it was an old scent. She had been there, but was no longer. He tried another spot and found a fresher trail through what looked like a sitting room. With a glance back to be certain nobody had come into the vestibule while he was snooping, he edged into the room.
    His nose told him exactly where Valerie had been sitting, not too long ago. He followed the trail of her delicious scent out through another corridor and deeper into the house. It was mingled with two others—another female and a male. Possibly her parents? Only time would tell. He’d remember these scents and if and when he met her folks, he’d be able to match them up. Or not. It didn’t really matter. What mattered now was finding Valerie.
    The cougar inside was going crazy without its mate. It paced in his soul, screeching to be let out, but Keith held it under tight rein. He placated the cat, sharing the knowledge that the animal would not be welcome here in this magical house and would only harm their cause more if he refused to cooperate.
    Keith knew this in his heart. Magic users seldom had a good opinion of shapeshifters and vice versa. Only rarely did the two mix and then, usually out of necessity. Well, the mating imperative had just created a necessity and Keith would have to tread lightly in order to preserve whatever family relationship his new mate had with her relatives. He didn’t want to start their life together by causing some unbridgeable rift between her and her folks. Things were going to be hard enough for them as a mixed couple without alienating her parents. He knew that from firsthand experience.
    With a little more tracking, he found the room. He heard her voice inside and knew she was in there with the other two people. He knew he should wait, but he couldn’t hold himself back anymore. His mate was on the other side of that thin wooden door and he had to be with her. Now.
    Keith knocked. The tones of conversation inside the room died.
    Valerie herself opened the door and his heart lifted to see her. The expression on her face wasn’t exactly welcoming. He’d clearly shocked her, showing up like this out of the blue.
    “How did you find me?” Her tone was curious more than accusing. Keith took that as a good sign.
    “I will always find you, Valerie.” He could no more stop the words than he could stop the sun from shining. He held her gaze, trying to communicate his love through their bond, which flared up even without touching. Magic swirled between them, gaining strength.
    A noise within the room broke the spell.
    Valerie moved back and gestured for him to enter. “Keith Redstone, these are my parents.” Now he knew how the Christian felt being pushed into the lion’s den. “Chancellor Edmund Faber and my mother, Louisa Faber.”
    Keith offered his hand and to his surprise, her father and then her mother shook his hand politely, though their curiosity was clearly