by Hazel Gower
Escaping from Fate
By Hazel Gower
Copyright © 2019 Hazel Gower
Escaping from Fate, by Hazel Gower
Escape – 2
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the author or publisher constitutes unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use the material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained from the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, are coincidental.
Edited by Susan Child
Cover by Jess Buffett Graphic Designs
MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR
THIS BOOK IS set in Australia. In Australia the legal age to drink, vote, get married and so on is eighteen. The characters speak Australian English, so if you see the word ‘arse’ instead of ‘ass’ it is because that’s how we say it in Australia where the book is set. If you find a word you haven’t heard before, look it up or message me I’d be happy to talk to you.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy my book.
Hazel Gower
Dedication
To my fans, thank you so much for all your support.
Escaping from Fate
Chapter one
Lisa
Tugging the dress down, Lisa pulled it enough so it covered her arse better. She shot a glare at her friends for talking her into wearing the outfit. Lisa would never usually wear this tiny cloth. The dress, or what she’d first thought was a top, wasn’t even hers, it was Alexis’. She’d brought it around for Lisa to wear for her birthday. Lisa turned twenty-one and her three closest friends, Alexis, Racheal, and Becky, were taking her out to celebrate.
Lisa had spent her day with her foster family. They’d raised her from the age of ten and were extremely religious. Lisa had gone to an all-girls Catholic school. She’d gone to church every Sunday and followed the rules of the foster house. They were very strict. No boys as friends. All friends must be approved by her foster parents Helen and Bruce. No dating unless he was approved by Bruce. Clothing must be appropriate. No skirts above the knees. No tops showing cleavage. Her foster parents would hate what she was wearing now. If they saw her, they would make sure she had a meeting with Father Tomas. It surprised Lisa that they let her be friends with Alexis and Becky though, but they had gone to the same school and the parents were all friends. If they knew what Alexis and Becky were really like, Lisa knew she would have never been able to stay friends with them. Her foster parents didn’t know about Racheal, she was a friend Lisa had met at university.
“Stop yanking on the dress, Lis.” Alexis grabbed her hand to stop her from holding it down. “You look amazing.”
“It’s too short and I look like a slut. I’m going to get raped tonight if I look like this. I won’t have anyone to blame but myself thanks to giving into your peer pressure.” Lisa knew what she said wasn’t right. It was Bruce and Helen and all their teaching. Lisa wanted to go out. She wanted to be young and have a relationship.
Becky groaned. “Bruce and Helen have a lot to answer for.” Becky came and stood before Lisa and held the hand Alexis wasn’t.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” She hated the way Bruce and Helen had raised her, but they hadn’t beaten her or psychologically abused her. She’d been loved and cared for, she just had to follow their rules. If Lisa wasn’t so afraid of being alone, she would have stopped seeing them. She hated how pathetic she was.
Beck shook her head. “No. No you shouldn’t have. You’re twenty-one today. You don’t live with them anymore. You haven’t for over a year. You’re a grown arse woman. You can dress however you want. You can date whoever you choose.”
“But—” Lisa should stay quiet. She agreed with her friends, but years of Helen and Bruce’s influence was hard to deprogram.
“No buts.” Racheal came over and squeezed herself between Becky and Alexis. “For crying out loud, Lisa, you’re a twenty-one-year-old virgin, and not just a virgin, but a twenty-one-year-old who’s never had a boyfriend or even a male friend. I bet if it wasn’t for the internet, you’d have never seen a naked man.” Racheal smirked. “Unless some of the old guys at the nursing home you work at let you see their junk.”
“Argh, gross, Racheal. That’s just wrong.” Lisa groaned and felt her cheeks heat at Racheal’s comment about naked men. She’d been in university when she’d seen an image of a naked man and only by accident. Her foster parents had parental locks on all internet devises she had access too. Her old mobile she’d had when she was still living with her foster parents didn’t have Internet. It was a good thing she upgraded.
Her three friends laughed. “Look at that blush,” Alexis said between giggles. “Tonight is going to be so much fun.” She winked at Racheal and Becky. “She’s going to be as red as a tomato when we leave for her surprise.”
“Yep. I can’t wait. Get the blindfold Becky,” Racheal said as she bounced up and down with excitement.
Lisa didn’t think she needed to be blindfolded, but they’d had this discussion, heck, argument for days now, where they were taking her was a surprise and she couldn’t see. Lisa was scared to think of where they could take her that they had to blindfold her and drive.
Becky came back with a bright pink scarf, and with a sigh, Lisa closed her eyes and let them blindfold her.
****
Dax
Dax hated being late. He knew Lex would be pissed with him as tonight was booked out. It couldn’t be helped though, his sisters were roaming and needed protection while in the forest. His parents owned a farm that backed onto a shifter reserve. Humans may know about shifters, but not all of them are happy about shifters coming out. There are groups that hunt shifters in their animal form, and some even in their human form. Shifters watched out for each other, they protected all children and women with priority.
Parking his SUV at the back of Hot Stuff club, he got out of the car and entered it through the back entrance, barely pausing to quickly type in the security code.
Once inside, Dax went straight to Lex’s office. Lex’s door was open. He sat behind a massive mahogany desk typing on a computer. “You’re late,” he snapped.
“Sisters went for a roam.”
A smirk spread over Lex’s face; his bright blue eyes sparkled. “How are Rochelle and Sasha?”
Narrowing his gaze, Dax growled, “None of your damn business.” Dax knew both of his sisters had been Lex’s fuck buddies. He didn’t care who his sisters fucked, they were old enough at thirty-five and twenty-eight to make their own decisions. Dax just didn’t want to hear about who they were with or any details. “I’m already late. I just came to tell you I arrived and will close up to make up for being late.”
“Fine, make sure Ranger knows.”
Giving a nod to Lex, Dax turned and paused, his tiger was restless tonight and that made Dax uneasy. The last time his tiger was like this he made the mistake of re-signing up for the air force. That was a twenty-year mistake that still haunted him.
Taking a deep calming breath in, he slowly let it out and hoped with it being busy his tiger would stay down. He straightened to his six-foot-one frame, rolled his shoulders back, and strode into the club.
****
Lisa
Lisa eyed the building before her and dug her heels into the ground refusing to move. It was a huge
building by the water with a park and forest trail behind it. The neon sign flashed Hot Stuff. Lisa may have moved to this town for university and still followed the strict rules of her foster parents, even though she didn’t live with them, but she knew what Hot Stuff was. It was a male strip club. The club was operated by mostly shifters. Women came from towns hours away just to see the strippers.
The stupid heels didn’t give any grip as she resisted going any closer to the place. Her friends picked her up and carried her to the door where two beefy bouncers smirked at her treatment.
“Have fun,” the one on the left said as the other chuckled.
“Please. Becky. Alexis. Racheal. I can’t go in here. Please. I need to leave.”
They stopped and moved to the side, but didn’t let her go. Alexis stepped in front of her. “Lisa. Come on. Have some fun. Let go for a night. Act your age for once.”
Alexis moved and Racheal stepped before her. “It’s not natural in this day — and especially at your age — to still hold onto your V card. Have some fun. Lose the V card and lose it in style with a horny shifter. I hear they fuck anything.”
Lisa groaned at Racheal’s pep talk. She sucked at attempting to cheer Lisa up. Sure, Lisa wanted to let go and have fun, she was eager to see what all the hype was about, but she was still guarded. “Thanks,” she muttered. “It’s nice to know you think I’ll fall under anything.”
Racheal’s eyes grew big and she shook her head. “No. Crap. I didn’t mean it like that. I just…I just…” She didn’t say anything more, but Lisa understood she didn’t mean it in a nasty way.
“I’d quit while you can.” Becky huffed and eased her grip on Lisa. “I promise, if you stop worrying and let yourself have fun, you’ll have a ball. Enjoy your birthday.”
“Argh, fine,” Lisa grumbled. She straightened to her five-two thanks to the heels adding one and half to her height, and stopped resisting and followed her friends. She was going to let go and have fun. She was going to find a shifter and lose the V card.
The red and black hall wasn’t long, but it led into the huge theatre. Women of all sizes, varying ages, and race filled the place. Scattered adios men stood behind the bar and waiters served women, bouncers stood at the side watching and searching for trouble.
Lisa let her friends drag her to the only four spare seats down the front with reserved on the table and Alexis’ last name sprawled under it. Lisa sat the furthest from the stage. Sure, she’d agreed to let go, but she needed to ease herself into it first. Lisa wanted to be a normal twenty-one-year-old, but years of her foster parents telling her what she needed to do, to be a good Christen woman—and earn the love of a respectable man—made her cautious. Lisa still went to church every Sunday and followed her foster parents’ rules. Lisa had had enough of being the good girl, the girl who never had any fun and always followed the rules. She was ready to let go and tonight would be the night.
The atmosphere was filled with excitement and anticipation. The women around buzzed with energy and Lisa felt it spreading over and through her. Everywhere she looked, women smiled brightly, happy, and excited to be there, and Lisa started to copy their look. When in Rome, Lisa thought.
Smiling at the waiter that came over, she ordered what Becky always got, fruit tingle.
Three… oh okay, maybe it was four fruit tingles later, Lisa was really relaxed. The drinks went down very easily. Lisa thought alcohol was supposed to be sour and hard to drink, not sweet and easy to go down. She ordered another fruit tingle.
“Lisa, maybe you might want to slow down. The show hasn’t even started yet and you’ve had quite a bit to drink.”
Lisa glared at Racheal. “Weren’t you telling me to have fun and relax, and let a shifter have my V card?”
“Lis, I…well,” Racheal stuttered.
“Lisa, Racheal is just looking out for you.” Becky patted her arm.
“Oh, stop it you guys, leave her alone. The show’s about to start.” Alexis jumped up and down on her seat with excitement.
Lisa noticed that the room quietened and the women around literally sat on the edge of their seats. A guy in suit pants and a vest came out on stage with a microphone and revved up the crowd before announcing the first act. Lisa gulped down another drink and ordered more, anticipation rising.
****
Dax
Something was off; Dax’s tiger wouldn’t calm. He was on edge and at first, he thought it was because he’d been late—and he hated being late for anything. The uneasy feeling brought his tiger to the surface. Dax hadn’t had his tiger this close without fully taking over since his time in the Air Force.
The perfumes of hundreds of women packed into the club was extra strong. His tiger rubbed its nose irritated and then sniffed, searching. Dax wasn’t sure what, or who, his tiger was looking for, but it was close to taking over to find whatever it wanted. Siphoning through the smells, he wandered the floor, moving down every couple of rows taking everything in.
Erick danced and stopped in front of a group of women in the front row. Three of the four cheered and Erick pulled one short, shapely woman up. Dax wanted, no, needed to get closer to the stage. His tiger battered at him to get closer and see the woman being pushed up by Erick. The closer he got to the stage, the more his tiger fought to be set free. Peppermint started to fill his senses, and as Erick sat the woman on a chair, his tiger went crazy. He was ready to rip Erick’s throat out for touching his mate.
Hissing as soon as he realized he’d said mate; Dax kicked his shoes off and ripped his clothes to shreds to let his tiger take over. Erick was a panther shifter and Dax knew he’d figure out the woman meant something to him, from his shift with so many people watching and his behavior. Dax leap up on the stage growling his warning and Erick raised his hands and backed away from the woman.
The crowd cheered like this was all part of the show. The woman on the seat stared at him terrified, her big brown eyes were wide, her light olive skin had an off white to it. Not wanting to scare his mate, he changed back to human form. Naked before her, she squeaked and covered her face. What the hell? She was at a strip club. Why on earth was she blushing and covering her face like a shy virgin?
Reaching down he scooped his mate up, cradling her in his arms and walked backstage. His mate didn’t say a word. She stared up at him with her mouth agape and her eyes unblinking.
“I’m Dax. Name,” his voice was rough and he could barely speak without fighting to tell her she was his mate and to say the mate ritual. Backstage was quieter and he didn’t need to yell to be heard. He needed her name though, more than his next breath. He already craved to know everything about his mate.
“L…L…Lis…Lisa,” she stuttered.
Lisa. Mmm, his mate’s name sounded good. The further backstage and away from the screaming women they got, the more her peppermint scent became intoxicating.
“You’re big. So big,” she mumbled drawing out the so. Her hands rubbed over his chest and up over his shoulders and down to squeeze. She leaned in and sniffed. “You smell good too. Mmm,” she moaned and rubbed herself against his chest, like a kitten.
He breathed her in again and this time he didn’t get just peppermint, but scented the alcohol. His mate was drunk. Crap. There went claiming her tonight. She ran her hands up and down his chest, and made a groaning noise that sounded more like a mewling cat.
“Kitten, I’m going to take you home. Our home.”
“Home? Oh, I can’t go home. I haves to find someone to take my V card.” Her words slurred and she drew out her words and added s’.
“Grrr, no one will take any part of you but me. You’re mine,” Dax growled. His tiger was ready to rip anyone apart that wanted anything more than friendship for his woman and God forbid if they tried any sexual advances on her, they’d wouldn’t live to see another day. Lisa was his and his alone. No one would ever take any of her firsts now but him.
“Aha-huh, all yours,” she moaned and rested her head again
st his chest. “I’m a just gunna close my eyes for a moment.”
Dax chuckled; his mate was really drunk. He needed to get her home, make sure she was safe and comfortable. His tiger passed back and forth in his head unhappy he couldn’t claim her tonight. His tiger wanted to do it now, but he knew it needed to be done in a nicer place than backstage at his work.
Still, uncaring of his nudity, he cradled his mate in his embrace and walked to the exit and his car. Ranger stood at the back exit, gave Dax a once over, then raised his brow. “Mate?”
“Yep. You’ll have to close and tell Lex I won’t be in for a week or so.”
Ranger nodded. “He’ll be pissed to be without you for a while. But we’re all happy for you. Enjoy your mate.” He held the door open and Dax walked to his car, balancing Lisa against his chest as he opened the door, and gently placed his mate in the passage seat. She groaned and wiggled in the seat as he leaned down and put her seatbelt on then shut the door. He went around to the driver’s side, got in, put his own seatbelt on, started the car, and drove home.
Dax had a cottage on his parent’s land. It wasn’t much, he hadn’t needed more than the basics, but now he had a mate, he would need to build a bigger house; something for a family. He hoped his mate wanted children. He wanted a whole bunch of them. He never thought he would be one of the lucky ones that found his mate. He even thought for a while, after leaving the Air Force, that he didn’t want a mate. He was too fucked up and had way too many nightmares of things he’d done while serving his country. When he’d gotten out, he wanted a job that he didn’t have to do any thinking, an easy one that had him with his friends. That was why Hot Stuff had been perfect for him over the last eight years. He didn’t have to do much and coasted along. Not that the first couple of years after leaving the Air Force he could handle anything. He was angry at the world. He was angry at humans. Dax hated how humans treated shifters like second rate citizens and made it mandatory to do five years of service to the country they’d been dumped in. Australia hadn’t been where his family had lived before shifters came out, and they’d been relocated. His parents missed Vladivostok, Russia, their motherland.