Shifters Forever Worlds Mega Box: Volume 1

by Thorne, Elle

  A loud roar inside the church echoed within its walls.

  Sophie took another swipe, severing the man’s jugular. With one bound, she was inside the church.

  Niko, still in his panther, stood above the bodies of the two newly arrived, now dead men.

  Blood seeped out of his shoulder.

  He’s been shot.

  Then she saw a dart in his hindquarters.

  He collapsed.

  The two men in the cell were trying to scream behind their gags, and it made her see red. She wanted to kill them, but she had something more important to worry about.

  She took a close look at Niko’s wound. It wasn’t life threatening, if he’d rest and let it heal. His panther would heal his body better than he could as a human. But would the tranq affect his rate of recuperation? Would it stall the healing process?

  She pushed her head against his, nuzzling it, and lay her body next to his sleek, muscular one.

  She licked the wound over and over then licked his shoulder, his neck. Her tigress picked up his heartbeat, which was still strong. Maybe he could recuperate while he was under the tranquilizer. She curled close to him, guarding him until he could awaken.

  When one of the men started to yell again behind his gag, she raised her head and gave him a warning snarl.

  The man’s eyes widened, and he fell silent.

  Clearly, he understood she would have no problem killing him and his cohort if they disrupted Niko’s healing or if they gave their presence away to anyone else who came to the island.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Niko opened his eyes. He was in his panther form, and he knew immediately where he was—in the little church. Those men had attacked him. He’d taken a round in the shoulder and a dart in his thigh.

  Sophie!

  His heart leapt in his chest. Christ. Was she okay?

  He’d almost jumped up to go look for her when he realized there was a very warm, sleeping tigress next to him.

  Sophie.

  Her body was up against his, warm with soft, thick fur. Her head was tucked into the crook of his neck. He stretched a fraction, allowing himself to revel in the sensation of having her form move against his.

  He raised his head slowly, keeping his eyes on her, making sure he didn’t disturb her. He allowed himself the luxury of examining every part of her, from the large, beautiful but lethal paws to her hindquarters, her belly, slightly swollen with the cub, her shoulders. The beautiful lines she made in her tigress form were rivaled by the full curves of her human form.

  He held back a breath, refusing to sigh.

  He lowered his nose so it was against her neck and breathed her in, letting her imprint on his mind and his soul. He knew she wanted nothing to do with him. He had already figured out she would vanish from his life completely once they’d gotten away from the island.

  She adjusted her body but didn’t move away from him. Her heartbeat changed, and he realized she was awake from the rhythm. He also sensed her desire for him, but it was latent, fused with anger.

  It dawned on Niko that he was sensing and scenting both Sophie and her tigress, and the two were at odds. The tigress was on board; she wanted him as fiercely as he wanted her.

  Sophie, not so much.

  Sophie was clearly struggling. Part of her wanted him. Part of her didn’t trust him.

  He picked up the scent of her distrust as vividly as if she’d screamed it at him.

  She wouldn’t talk to him. But would she sync? Could the tigress get her to sync with him?

  He pushed for a sync and waited for her response.

  When she accepted his sync, it felt like a lid had been removed, allowing light to spill in.

  Thank you, Niko and his panther told her.

  I don’t know why you’re doing this.

  I want to talk to you.

  It’s kind of late for talk, isn’t it? You should have done that earlier. But she didn’t move away.

  Niko took heart in that. Hope, too, though it was probably foolish to do so. I know. I was hired to watch over you. Your brother didn’t want you to know, though.

  She stretched, her body moving against his, her back against his chest, but she didn’t say a word.

  He fought the desire rising inside him. No matter what, it seemed, he always had desire for her. When he was angry, when she was angry, when they were sad, when they were laughing—there wasn’t a time he didn’t want her.

  I can see what I have to say doesn’t matter.

  She didn’t argue the point.

  Fuck, he was about ready to give up. Or was he? He couldn’t imagine a day of not seeing her, even if it meant seeing her when she was angry and hated him.

  I know I get into trouble on occasion, but it’s not serious. Why the hell would my brother want someone to keep an eye on me?

  At least she was talking. Niko leaned closer, breathing her in again. He didn’t tell me.

  You shouldn’t have led me on. You were there on a job. A job that had a fixed ending date, I’m sure. Then you’d go on your way and I’d be left with all these emotions.

  Did she really think he could leave her, the way he felt about her? No, Sophie. I shouldn’t have done what I did, but I didn’t plan to go anywhere. I just hadn’t thought it out. I was going with my emotions.

  Christ, that sounded lame. How could he get her to understand what had driven him to her? He wasn’t sure himself. The only thing he was sure about was he couldn’t let it go. He couldn’t let her go.

  I want to leave this island. I want to leave the cruise. I don’t want to go back to the Bella. I want to go home. Her voice was forlorn; she sounded so alone. What else could he do but grant her wish?

  He stood and stretched his long, muscular panther body. He pushed at her with his forehead. Let’s go. We’ll take their boat. We’ll find a way to get you back to your family.

  As soon as they’d exited the little church and left behind the bound and gagged kidnappers, they shifted to their human forms.

  “Thank you for your help. Killing that guy.”

  She nodded. “How’s your shoulder?”

  “It healed while I was unconscious.” He’d scented her saliva on his now-healed wound. He didn’t tell her he knew she’d licked at it when she was in her tigress form. She probably didn’t want him to know she’d done that.

  “Let’s get on the boat. Get our bearings. Find an island.”

  “Do you know where we are?”

  He laughed. “The Aegean. That’s all I know. I was a kid when I left here, but I’m pretty sure we’re somewhere in the Dodecanese Island area. I’ll just have to find an island that’s inhabited.”

  Before any other kidnappers show up.

  He didn’t say that part out loud. Why worry her unnecessarily?

  * * *

  An hour later, Niko was pulling up to one of the many islands in the area. They’d gotten lucky—a map on board had helped him navigate.

  He secured the boat to the dock with a length of rope.

  “I’d kill for a shower and a fresh set of clothes,” Sophie said. “And a meal.”

  “I need to call Rafe,” Niko said.

  That reminded her why she was so angry. “Does that have to be the first thing you do?”

  “I’d like your family to know you’re okay. Not to mention that the things you want take cash or credit cards.” He patted his pockets. “I’ve got neither. Remember? Thieves? Kidnappers? My wallet’s gone.”

  She huffed. “I remember.”

  Friendly townsfolk pointed them to the nearest hotel, a rustic, two-story building that was definitely not part of a chain. The island was too small for a chain hotel, too small for a chain anything.

  She sat in the lobby while Niko used the phone. She’d never felt so powerless before. No ID, no money, no nothing. In her entire life, she’d never been in this position.

  Except once. That night.

  Niko stepped away from the front desk. “It won’t
be long. Rafe isn’t in Rome. The authorities notified your father about the Bella, but Rafe said he didn’t tell anyone else you were there. The moment he found out, he and Jax came to Greece. They’re one island over.” He leaned closer and whispered, “A bigger island. With an American hotel, if you’re picky.”

  “I’m not like that. This place is fine. Can I get a shower? And some food? And who the hell is Jax? You mean Vax? My brother’s name is Vax.”

  He smiled. “I got us—you—a room, just in case. And lunch is being prepared. And no, he said Jax. I’m not hard of hearing.”

  He must be mistaken.

  There was no Jax.

  It should bug her he knew her so well, that he’d gotten her a room and had ordered her something to eat. But it didn’t bug her—she was grateful.

  She gave him a puzzled look. “You ordered food?”

  “Don’t get pissed. I did it for the baby. She needs her sustenance.”

  The woman from the front desk escorted them to a room, where she handed Sophie extra towels and a white, luxurious bathrobe. Then she tried to usher both of them into the room.

  “I’ll be in the lobby,” Niko told Sophie.

  She felt bad. He probably wanted a shower, too.

  “You don’t have to.” She beckoned for him to join her inside. “I trust you. I mean…”

  “I know what you meant. That you trust me not to seduce you.”

  She nodded, but a blush kissed her cheeks with heat as she thought of their session on the island.

  The room was whitewashed rustic, like someone’s well-loved home. She liked its intimate feel, its homelike atmosphere. The painted cement floor. The furniture that was probably over a century old.

  “This place is beautiful,” she whispered.

  She went into the bathroom, closed the door behind her, turned on the water in the tub, and stepped out of her ripped, stinky, stained, bloody dress.

  Minutes later, she slipped into the water and gave in to the sigh that escaped her, luxuriating in the warmth surrounding her as she immersed herself all the way up to her neck.

  * * *

  Sophie startled awake with a jerk and a giant splash. She took a second to get her bearings. She hadn’t planned on falling asleep in the tub, but the warm water had relaxed her right to sleep.

  She splashed water on her face to wake up. The water had cooled. How long had she been out? What happened to Niko? was her first thought. She’d have thought he would have awakened her.

  She jumped out of the tub, wrapped the towel around her hair, and slipped into the thick terry bathrobe. Then she jerked the door open.

  He was asleep on the bed.

  In repose, his face was rested and innocent, not that of the hard man she’d seen fighting. Not the man she’d seen at the bar. He almost looked harmless and guiltless.

  Stop that, she told herself.

  She’d find it way too easy to forgive and forget and jump into his arms. And it wasn’t that easy, anyway. In a few short months, she’d have a baby. Some other man’s baby. What man would want that?

  She added fuel to her anger, keeping it at bonfire level. There was food on the table, untouched. He hadn’t even eaten without her. Her expression softened.

  She approached him and reached her hand out to awaken him. She’d almost touched him when his eyes flew open.

  Sophie jumped back with a gasp. “Sorry. I was going to wake you, in case you wanted to take a shower.”

  “Thanks.” He pointed to the table. “Lunch. Though it seems it may be closer to dinner.”

  She sat down in her bathrobe, towel still around her head.

  The hell with it, I’m eating.

  She tore a chunk of Greek bread off the loaf and dipped it in the olive oil at the bottom of the salad.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do about clothes.”

  “Rafe said he’s bringing our luggage from the Bella.”

  Niko closed the bathroom door behind him. She heard the water running as she tore through some lamb, the Greek salad, and half the baklava. She was licking her fingers clean of the honey from the baklava when he stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist.

  Sophie looked away, though that was the last thing she wanted to do. It didn’t matter; as brief as the glimpse had been, what she’d seen was imprinted on her memory.

  Wide shoulders, a chest that was perfect for scoring with her nails in the heat of passion, a set of abs that could double as a washboard. Heaven help her. She felt heat rise to her face at the same time that it flowed throughout her body and culminated in the one spot she need it to stay away from.

  She let a pent-up breath out.

  A knock on the door made her jump.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Niko?” It was Rafe’s voice.

  The first emotion that soared through Sophie was joy. Joy that her brother had found her and she could go home, away from the madness of the last few days.

  She opened the door.

  Rafe stared at her. Then he glanced behind her.

  At that point she realized how it appeared. Her in a bathrobe, Niko in a towel. Both in the same room. And the bed looked like someone had been in it.

  Rafe’s eyes traveled between her and Niko.

  Suddenly, a flare of anger pierced through her embarrassment. She was an adult. She didn’t owe anyone an explanation for her behavior.

  “Something you want to tell me?” Rafe’s voice was calm.

  “Like what?” Hers sounded high-pitched even to her own ears.

  Why do I sound like that?

  And yet she couldn’t control it. “This?” She waved her arms toward Niko, toward the room, the bed, her robe. “This is nothing. It’s not what it looks like.”

  Rafe cocked his head. “So the baby…? That’s not what it looks like, either?”

  She turned and stared at Niko in disbelief.

  Did he have to say that? Did he have to say anything at all?

  Before she could register what reflex made her do, she’d lunged at Niko with both fists pumping. Sophie pummeled his chest, her rhythm relentless.

  * * *

  Niko’s instinctive action would have been to block her with deadly force. He turned off his instincts and let her blows rain on his chest.

  “You told him. How dare you tell him?” Her blue eyes flashed with an angry fire.

  “I didn’t.” He kept his voice low and caught her fists.

  “You had no right!” She continued yelling, struggling to get loose.

  “I didn’t tell him anything.” He still didn’t raise his voice.

  Rafe grabbed her from behind and pulled her off while Niko held her hands.

  “Sophie,” Rafe said in her ear. “Niko didn’t tell me anything.”

  She whirled around and faced him. “Then how did you know?”

  “Lézare. Alexa told him. He told me. I asked Niko to keep an eye on you.”

  “You should have told me.” Her tone was accusatory.

  “Maybe you should have told me.”

  “No, Rafe. It’s my business. You having someone trail me, that’s not your business. You don’t see the difference?”

  Niko saw the difference. He saw it clearly. He hoped Rafe did, too.

  “I do.” Rafe nodded. “So this baby…” He looked at Sophie for an explanation.

  Sophie lowered her gaze.

  Niko’s heart broke for her. He knew she didn’t want to revisit the matter.

  “It’s mine,” he told Rafe.

  Rafe raised a brow. “But…” Then he paused, glanced at Sophie, then back at Niko.

  “It’s mine,” Niko repeated. That was all there was to say about it. “She’s a beautiful little girl. A tigress, orange and flashy, gorgeous like her mother. And she’s mine. If anyone wants to discuss it in further detail, I’m available.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Understood,” Rafe said.

  Sophie was speechless. There was no hin
t of insecurity in Niko’s statement, no doubt, no question. His tone made it clear he’d brook no argument. He was claiming her baby as his so she wouldn’t have any problems with any of the shifter communities.

  Not that having a baby without a mate was the end of the world. It was that communities were known to rally to claim a child that might belong to one of theirs.

  Niko’s actions would also quell any questions and any disgrace or disrespect that might have been directed at her.

  She turned away from Niko and her brother, pretending to adjust the curtains, so they wouldn’t see her tears.

  When she’d gotten control of her emotions, she faced them. “Where’s Vax?”

  “Rome.” Rafe handed her suitcase to Niko, who put it on the bed.

  “Thank you,” she murmured. “I thought you told Niko he was coming.”

  Niko reaffirmed what he’d said earlier. “No, I said Jax.”

  “He’s right,” Rafe said. “It’s Jax. Short for Jaclyn. Jaclyn Vasquez.”

  Sophie studied her brother. “Did I miss something while I was gone?”

  “Seems we both missed things while we were gone.” Rafe looked at her stomach, still concealed under the bathrobe.

  “Point taken.”

  “She’s waiting downstairs,” Rafe explained. “I didn’t want this to be the way she met you for the first time. In retrospect, I don’t regret my decision.”

  Sophie thought of the way she’d attacked Niko. She was relieved Rafe’s mate hadn’t been here to witness that. “I’m glad. I don’t want to scare her off so early.”

  “She doesn’t scare easily,” Rafe said with a secret smile.

  “Shifter?” Sophie asked.

  Rafe shook his head. “Not a shifter. Human.”

  “Oh. Just great.” Their father must be livid. “And our father?”

  “Gio is Gio,” Rafe said.

  Sophie nodded. That summed it up.

  Rafe grabbed the door handle. “The boat’s being fueled up so we can go home. After you get dressed, come downstairs and meet Jax. We’ll get on the road. The Bella isn’t finishing the cruise, of course. Do you want to get on another?”