Shapes of Autumn (Boxed set, books 1 - 5)

by Veronica Blade

  Charles returned his attention to his recruit. “Your girlfriend just informed me that you’re ignorant of the fact that she’s a shape-shifter. And that she is the one who should be punished, not you.”

  Zack’s eyes grew wide as he stared at me. What the hell are you doing?

  I opened my mouth to keep him from spilling the truth to Charles. Either way, I was toast. At least this way, one of us might live.

  Charles shot us both a crooked smile. “It’s unfortunate both of you will need to be eliminated.”

  “Why? Zack didn’t know about me until you told him!” I hissed.

  “If he’s too weak and stupid to detect a shifter, he has no value to the king. No point in keeping him alive.”

  I didn’t think. All I knew was that Zack’s life was in danger. Adrenaline roared through my body like water through a fire hose and an instant later, I exploded into a grizzly bear. The force of my morph spiraled Charles backward and he crashed into the thick tree trunk. Before he had a chance to reorient himself, I was on top of him, my paws on his chest and my teeth at his throat.

  He morphed into a brown wolf and his ancient-strong jaws slashed my flank and side. Despite catching him by surprise, I was no match for him. Pain burned through my middle and my power waned.

  Chapter Nine

  Just as my eyes started to lose focus, Zack appeared at my side, his fangs at Charles’s throat, paws holding Charles down. I pushed my full weight into the brown wolf, mashing him into the soft topsoil as I swatted him with my massive paws until his teeth rattled.

  Zack had once said that in our animal form, some things became unimportant — like baths and blood. We wouldn’t kill an animal or hunt humans just for the hell of it, but the act of killing when it needed to be done wasn’t abhorrent to us.

  He wasn’t kidding. On instinct, I went wild — my jaws snapping and tearing at Charles’s flesh. His blood splashed into my mouth and I reveled in the kill. I opened wider and fit his skull in my mouth, then bore down, jerking my head side to side. Blood drained from Charles’s flaccid body and pooled onto the uneven ground. Hot delicious blood.

  Autumn! Enough! He’s dead, Zack shouted into my head, still in his wolf form.

  The words, human words, coursed through my mind bringing my thoughts into focus. Slowly, I released Charles’s head, a new burst of energy flowing through my veins. I glanced down at my side where his teeth had sliced into me. The bleeding had stopped and the wound was nearly closed.

  Don’t turn human yet until we clean up. Otherwise, when your clothes morph back with you, they’ll be ruined. We won’t be able to explain all the blood to the mortals.

  I shook my fur like a dog after a bath — not to remove the blood but to pull myself out of the frenzied rage I’d plunged into. I shook again and blood droplets exploded into the air. Charles’s blood.

  Rearing up on my hind legs, I extended my snout high into the air. I smell water to the left. I glanced over at the scout. Are you sure he’s dead?

  You ripped out his intestines and crushed his skull. He looks pretty dead to me.

  I glanced down at what remained of Charles. If I’d ripped out his insides, where did they go?

  Zack looked at me, his eyes cautious. So how does werewolf taste? Anything like chicken?

  Looking at the wolf’s carcass, I realized more than his guts were missing — a foot, a chunk out of his arm and shoulder. Possibly more, but he was so mangled it was difficult to tell. And those body parts were all weighing in my happy stomach. Maybe I’d feel some sort of revulsion later when I became human again, but right now, I felt well-fed and smug.

  I stretched my furry muzzle into what I hoped resembled a smile. Pretty tasty, actually.

  Zack made a strange noise, like a cross between a gag and a cough. I hoped he was amused, but the grimace said slightly horrified.

  Since he died in wolf form, he’ll stay that way. Anyone will just assume a bear killed him. Which is exactly what happened. We’ll leave everything exactly as it is. Let’s go.

  † † †

  After we’d cleaned up, Zack drove. I trembled as I snuggled against him, resting my head on his shoulder. I couldn’t think about the fact that I’d just killed a man and werewolves were bound to come looking for him. I needed to concentrate on Zack and that he was safe.

  Just as the tremors in my limbs subsided, Zack sighed heavily. Now what?

  “You promised you wouldn’t do that.”

  I lifted my head off his shoulder to look at him. “Do what?”

  He glanced down at me, frowning, then returned his eyes to the road. “Make deals with a werewolf to save my life.”

  Crap. I’d forgotten what a fit Zack had thrown the last time I’d tried to save him by negotiating with my psycho ex-boyfriend Daniel.

  “Your life was at stake, Zack. I had to do something.”

  “But your life in exchange for mine isn’t something you can decide for me.” He reached for my hand and laced his fingers through mine.

  “I wasn’t exchanging my life for yours. He was going to kill me either way. But I hoped that maybe I could save you.” I absentmindedly skimmed my fingernails down his arm and smiled when he shivered.

  The image of Charles dead body assaulted me again and I wished I could morph and stay that way, so the act of murder wouldn’t bother me.

  “Hey. We’re safe now.” Zack’s thumb brushed my finger.

  “I know he’ll stay a wolf now that he’s dead, but what if another werewolf recognizes him and they do DNA testing and figure out it was me? I could get arrested.”

  He slowed for a red light. “You’re overreacting. Even if—”

  “I ended someone’s life, Zack. He’s dead. It’s impossible to overreact to something like that.”

  “I was there, too. I helped you kill him and I’m freaked out too.” He growled, casting a quick glance my way before making a turn. “I’m really trying not to think about it. And we’re not going to get caught. Even if someone realizes he’s a werewolf, they’d never match grizzly DNA to you.”

  But I’d still know I did it. Charles was never coming back and that was because of me.

  I shuddered.

  “Autumn, he was going to kill us both. You did what you had to do.”

  Yeah, I did. And I’d do it again. Most likely, it would come to that sooner or later. God, I really needed to think about something else. “Your family is pretty tolerant about me sleeping in your room, considering what they think we’re doing.”

  He laughed softly. “We’re both over eighteen and they know they can’t stop us. And they still remember what it was like to be our age. My mom and Aunt Cara can try to sway me in my choices, but in the end, that’s all they can do — try. I guess they figure so long as we make our mistakes under their roof, they’ll be there to help us fix it.”

  “So you could have a beer or do some shots of—”

  Zack scoffed. “Nothing illegal. That’s where I’m sure they’d draw the line.”

  He pulled the car against the curb in front of his house and, suddenly, my limbs were too drained to move another inch.

  “Let’s get you into a bath and to bed. You’ve had a big night.” He brushed his lips against my temple. “You were magnificent.”

  Yes, I was. And now, Charles would never bother us again. The part about me partially consuming him still hadn’t sunk in. Maybe it never would.

  † † †

  Following the smell of coffee, I crept out of Zack’s room, still a bit loopy from lack of sleep. Momentarily blinded by the bright light in the hallway, I jolted as Trevor’s youngest brother slammed into me. He must have been moving at warp speed because his head felt like a bowling ball crashing into my ribs. My hands shot out to his shoulders to steady him and I quickly scanned him for injuries. He looked totally fine.

  “Oh. Hi Autumn,” he said, as if it were any other day.

  “Good morning, Patrick.” I glanced away, hoping he wouldn’t wonder
why I was at their house so early — in my pajamas.

  “You slept in Zack’s room?” he asked, startling me out of what remained of my daze. His light brown hair stuck out in every direction.

  “Hey.” Zack snaked around me and ruffled the boy’s hair. It looked exactly the same afterward. “We were out late last night so instead of driving home when she was tired, we had a sleepover.”

  Zack could’ve explained that Cara had invited me to stay in the small room, but he’d obviously forgotten about that. Watching him dance around it was more entertaining anyway. I held back a nervous giggle.

  “Like a slumber party? Is Maya here too?”

  “No. It was just the two of us,” Zack said with a straight face.

  “After we visit Auntie, we’re going to Legoland,” Patrick said and I breathed a sigh of relief for children’s short attention span. “Are you coming too?”

  “Nah.” Zack mussed Patrick’s hair again. “We have things to do, hopefully bringing your Auntie home.”

  “Okay.” Patrick disappeared around the corner.

  “Finally, someone who sees it as innocent as it really is.” I beamed at Zack, thankful Patrick didn’t know I only lived a block away or he might have seen through Zack’s thin excuse. Apparently, I’d worried for nothing about being a bad influence on the boy.

  “That’s because he’s only six. But Brian might be a different story. He’s ten.”

  “Oh.” A little more time to bask in my triumph would’ve been nice.

  “I want to get to the hospital early.” Zack jerked his head toward his bedroom door and I followed him in. “I’ll be ready in just a minute.”

  Sitting at the foot of his bed as he stripped off his sweats, I pretended I wasn’t staring. Boxers weren’t all that different than shorts though. I sagged in disappointment. At least I got to gawk at his washboard abs once he’d peeled off his T-shirt.

  Zack stepped into a pair of jeans, then shuffled to the closet where he chose a white button-down shirt. I sighed as he covered up that beautiful, flat, firm stomach. Such a shame. Grabbing a pair of socks and his sneakers, he sat on the bed next to me and put them on.

  I scanned his face, noting a trace of stubble around his chin and over his lip. My stomach dipped. He looked sexy as hell. I hoped he didn’t plan on shaving.

  “You ready to go?” he asked, running his fingers through his hair.

  Go. Right. I reined in the lust. “Yeah.” I followed him to my car, Zack fully dressed and me in my PJs. A minute later we arrived at my house.

  “We should arm wrestle again,” Zack said once we went inside. “While we’re here.”

  I paused halfway up the stairs. “We just did that yesterday. You think I’d change in twenty-four hours? Or do you just enjoy whipping me?”

  He shrugged. “Humor me.”

  I tromped down the few steps, flopped into a kitchen chair and slapped my elbow on the table. His hands wrapped around mine and our gazes locked.

  “One…,” he said, “Two… three.”

  As our forces clashed, our hands trembled and our elbows pressed into the hard surface of the table. Heat flooded my body and I struggled against Zack. As the moments stretched on, our arms frozen, he growled. “I don’t know if I can take you.”

  We may have been equally strong, but I didn’t have his werewolf stamina. My muscles slowly turned to jelly and my knuckles gently hit the table. “You won again.”

  “Barely. Impressive strength increase for just one day.” Zack’s eyes thinned to slits. “I wonder why.”

  “No idea.” I lifted a shoulder, then let it fall. Zack couldn’t be right about shifters being weaker or when I’d plateau. Since I was already this strong, I must have already peaked. “I’d better get dressed.”

  I didn’t bother closing the door to my bedroom since Zack was still downstairs. I stripped off my pajama bottoms and walked to my closet, wearing only my panties and pajama top.

  Hospitals were cold, so even though it was supposed to reach nearly ninety degrees today, I chose a faded black T-shirt instead of a tank top. Still in only my panties, I draped the T-shirt over my arm and shifted to face the pile of folded pants on the shelf.

  A tingle danced up my spine and I spun to find Zack sitting at the foot of my bed, watching me. Just like I’d watched him when he’d dressed in his room earlier. “I thought you were downstairs.”

  “I’m glad I’m not.” He grinned.

  “Um…” Grabbing a pair of jeans, I pulled them on as quickly as I could manage, nearly tripping myself in the process. “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in the living room?”

  “Nope.”

  “Are you sure?” I bit my lip.

  “Positive. You watched me dress. Now it’s my turn. And don’t be sneaking into the bathroom to finish.”

  “Fine.” In my rush, I stumbled to the top drawer of my dresser. Selecting a lacy pink bra that matched my underwear, I snatched it and held it to my stomach, hoping he wouldn’t see.

  “Nice choice.”

  Damn.

  Ignoring him, I darted back into the closet and angled my body so he could only see my back. Shrugging off my pajama top, I put my hands through the arm holes of my bra and reached behind to hook it.

  “I’ll get that for you.”

  Zack’s warm breath on my bare shoulders had my every nerve at attention. I held absolutely still as he found both ends of the strap. The back of his hand was warm against my skin, but I couldn’t see what he was doing. Or not doing. It became harder to breathe as I waited for him to either finish or…

  “Are you going to hook me up?” I asked, my voice unsteady.

  “I’m thinking about it.”

  What did that mean? He couldn’t be considering discarding the bra altogether. Though I secretly hoped he would.

  As he and I had gotten to know each other over the past weeks, he’d held back every step of the way, afraid that the legend of mixing species was true. Even if it was, that wouldn’t stop me from being with Zack. We just had to be careful. But with Charles dead now, I only had Renzo to worry about. For all I knew, he’d only been passing through and was long gone now. If we did get weaker, maybe no one would be around to know and we’d have time to recover. If werewolves and shifters recovered from that kind of thing…

  Whatever. I couldn’t think about any of that. Didn’t want to. All I wanted was for us to be together, however we could manage it, and damn the consequences.

  A second later, I felt a slight tug on one side of my bra strap, then the other, as Zack connected the ends. Disappointment mingled with relief and I told myself it was for the best.

  With him fully clothed and me in only a bra and jeans, I felt underdressed. I’d never been without a top in front of him — or any guy, for that matter. Except in a swimsuit, but this felt totally different. A wave of shyness washed over me.

  His hands slid around my waist to my stomach and he pulled me against him. I leaned back and let my head loll to the side. He kissed my shoulder, then my neck as his hands traveled back to my hips and up my sides. A delicious shiver coursed through me. Then he gently turned me around to face him.

  “God, you’re amazing,” he whispered into my ear.

  Hope renewed, my heart pounded in anticipation as I unbuttoned his shirt and slid it past his shoulders, then tossed it across the room. He growled, scooped me up and laid me on the bed. The mattress dipped as Zack moved over me, his gaze wandering to the swells above the lace of my bra. When his warm, soft lips covered mine and our tongues tangled, electric fingers of pleasure spread from my stomach and out to my toes.

  I arched toward him, my body straining to get closer as my fingers dipped past his waistband, my thumb brushing his zipper.

  Zack sucked in a breath.

  I bolted upright, planted my hands on his hips and gently pushed him back against the mattress. When I straddled him, his face was unreadable, eyes dark. Had I gone too far?

  And then I was flat on
my back again and he was on top of me, his mouth devouring me. Just when I didn’t think I could hold back another second, he blazed a trail of kisses down my neck then settled on the exposed flesh around my bra, the stubble on his chin sending little goose bumps over my skin. Sliding a thumb underneath the bra strap, he dragged it over my shoulder.

  I wanted Zack and had no doubts about my feelings for him. We’d never said those three words before, but they were hovering on the tip of my tongue now, begging to be set free. But did he love me back or was that just wishful thinking on my part? Did I really want to find out too late that he didn’t feel the same way about me?

  Zack whispered another kiss at the hollow of my throat. But now that my brain was working again — for the moment — I couldn’t push those questions out of my head.

  He didn’t seem inclined to put on the brakes. In fact, he’d gone further than ever before. If neither of us stopped, how much further would we go and how weak would we become? How long before we regained our strength? Just a moment ago, I’d been willing to risk it all, but would a morning of bliss with Zack be worth risking our lives?

  I wouldn’t have him at all if we were both dead. But even if we lived, I couldn’t predict the future and had no idea how long Zack was going to stick around. Not only that, he’d never even admitted he liked me. It was obvious he lusted me, but one L word was not exchangeable for the other. I knew he cared, but if he couldn’t say it out loud, he wasn’t ready to take the next step.

  The room spun and I desperately wanted to stay on the ride. But we couldn’t. I knew we shouldn’t. “Zack…”

  “What?” His eyes had a faraway look. “Did I do something wrong? Tell me what you like.”

  I laughed nervously as I extricated myself from him. “Oh, I like all of it,” I said in a trembling voice. “A lot.”

  He blinked. “Then what’s wrong?”

  I couldn’t believe he had to ask. Why wasn’t he being the sensible one like usual? I pointedly put my palms on his face, lifting his chin and bringing his gaze above my neck. “Zack. We can’t do this, right?”

  “What?”

  “We’ll get weaker, remember? What if that guy at the coffee shop comes after us? Or werewolves come looking for Charles? We have to be able to protect ourselves.”