Shifters Eden

by Tia Didmon

  Jane glanced at Brock. “She hasn’t slept since before we got on the plane. She has to be exhausted, and she doesn’t do well with change.”

  Brock nodded, looking at Carla. “Do you like animals, honey?”

  Carla’s eyes brightened. “I love animals. I have a cat but dogs are my favorite.”

  Brock smiled. “Well, we have dogs at home. Maybe you would like to help care for them. Lucy has babies on the way and could certainly use your help.”

  Carla shuffled off the bed. “Who is Lucy?” she said with obvious interest.

  “She’s my brother Talen’s wife. My brother Devon took one of the puppies but she still has one at home. We could really use your help.”

  “I would help her,” Carla said.

  Brock took on a serious expression. “Our home is far away but we would really appreciate it.”

  Carla took Jane’s outstretched hand. “People should always help animals.”

  Brock smiled. “That’s right, honey.”

  Brock led them down the long hallway with white statues along the sides. It opened into a large entrance way. Luca was peering through a window, toward the lights and commotion.

  Jane glanced towards the lights. “What’s going on?”

  Luca didn’t turn. “Dog fighting ring.”

  Brock clicked the mic. “We have the girls.”

  There was a scream and loud shouting before two gunshots echoed in the night.

  A sea of well-dressed men and women were screaming as they ran to their vehicles.

  Cade’s voice blasted in Brock’s earpiece. “Get to the SUV now!”

  They bolted for the vehicle and were immediately surrounded by the running patrons. Car tires squealed as they got into their expensive cars and sped off. Brock opened the door to the black SUV and ushered Jane and Carla inside. She tried to calm her sister who was rocking back and forth with her hands over her ears.

  “Jane!” Victor screamed.

  Jane turned to see Victor running after the SUV as it sped away. His eyes blazed with orange fire. Hatred and betrayal mired in the flames.

  Brock helped Jane escort Carla up the metal steps to the private plane. The aircraft was fueled and ready to go and they didn’t have long before they expected company.

  Jane steadied Carla when she stumbled. “We are almost there, honey.”

  Brock helped her get Carla into a leather seat at the front of the plane as he turned to Cade. “What’s taking Liam and Luca so long?’

  Cade motioned the twins as they entered the cabin, carrying the mangled Coyote. Blood dripped from the gash in his neck down his fur to the floor of the plane.

  Brock felt sick. “What happened?”

  “Danov made us. I saw him whispering to a couple of the guards. They began to circle the ring while Ryan was ripping Buck apart. When Buck saw they were going to shoot Ryan he shifted.”

  Brock ran a hand through his hair. “In front of the entire crowd of people?”

  “Yes. They panicked of course.”

  Brock nodded. “We heard the screaming. What were the shots?”

  “They shot Buck in the head. He died instantly so whatever is in those bullets is toxic. They shot Ryan, but he was running toward the SUV so it caught him in the back leg. We need to remove the bullet as soon as we get off the ground. He isn’t healing.”

  Brock stared at Carla’s face. She looked sad, worried about the injured coyote.

  “Who hurt the puppy?” she said in her childlike voice.

  The twins lowered Ryan to the floor and started wiping the blood off his fur, cleaning the area where the bullet entered.

  Cade locked the cabin door and banged on the cockpit. “We’re secure. Let’ go.”

  The plane engines powered up as the plane began rolling toward the runway.

  They heard shot’s in the distance.

  Brock looked out the small circular window. “Incoming.”

  Cade banged on the cockpit door urgently. “Get us off the ground now!”

  The plane jumped forward, flinging Brock and Cade backward. They both got in their seats.

  Liam and Luca sat on the floor continuing to clean Ryan’s wound.

  Carla was crying.

  Jane was rubbing her sister’s back. “It’s okay, honey,” she said soothingly.

  The plane gave one last jolt as it left the tarmac but the sound of gunshots faded quickly.

  Brock knelt beside his brothers. “We need to get that bullet out now.”

  Liam lay over Ryan’s body, holding him in place. “Sorry Ryan.”

  Liam cut into the serrated flesh of the coyote’s hind leg. His screech ended in a painful howl.

  Carla was rocking back and forth. “Don’t hurt the puppy. Don’t hurt the puppy.”

  Jane was trying to hold her sister in place. “Ryan isn’t a puppy honey. He is a full-grown coyote.”

  “Why would they hurt him?”

  “He agreed to fight another coyote so Brock and his family could save us,” She said.

  Carla stopped rocking. “He wanted to save me?”

  “Yes, honey. He wanted to save you.”

  Carla watched the team of men remove the bullet from Ryan’s leg. Then dress his wound. When the coyote curled up on the floor with his eyes closed, the men returned to their seats.

  Jane saw the blood on the floor. “Will he be okay?”

  Brock nodded. “The serum affects our body’s ability to heal, but once it’s removed, we start to rebound. He will need to heal before he can shift.”

  Carla got out of her seat and went to sit on the floor beside Ryan.

  Jane went to move but Brock shook his head. “She’s safe. The sooner she gets used to us regardless of which form we are in the better.”

  Carla looked up at Brock. “Can you turn into a coyote too?”

  Brock thought it odd that she accepted the idea of Ryan being a man so readily. “No, honey. I’m a cougar and so is your sister.”

  Carla looked confused, then she turned back to Ryan and began petting his fur. “What will I turn into, Janey?”

  Jane glanced at Brock and frowned.

  Brock cleared his throat. “We can’t know for sure that you will have an animal form.”

  Carla continued to pet Ryan. “He has such soft fur. I would like to be a coyote too. Is that okay, Janey?’

  Jane glanced at Brock. “It’s a little difficult to explain but you can’t decide what your animal form will be.”

  Carla looked up at her sister. “I want to decide for myself. I want to be a coyote like Ryan.”

  Luca leaned forward in his seat. “Carla honey, before you make that decision you should check out the advantages of being a cougar.”

  Carla seemed to think about it. “I know, Janey and I wouldn’t be twins anymore but I want to be like Ryan.”

  Liam leaned forward, matching his brother. “Luca and I are twins. We aren’t identical in our human form but we are in our cougar form.”

  Carla tilted her head to the side. “Really?”

  “Yes,” Liam said.

  Carla glanced at Jane. ‘When we were little Janey and I would switch classes to see if the teachers could tell.”

  Brock smiled and winked at Jane. “You troublemaker.”

  Jane was looking at her sister. “You haven’t remembered things like that in a very long time.”

  Carla nodded. “I think she is trying to help me.”

  Jane frowned. “She?”

  Carla tapped her chest. “My her.”

  Brock pitched his voice low. “You feel her. Your animal?”

  Carla concentrated. “Yes. She is... tired.”

  Jane looked at Brock in alarm. “How?’

  Brock shrugged and looked back at Carla. “Do you feel her trying to... heal you?”

  Carla nodded. “I think so. She sleeps a lot.”

  Brock leaned close to Jane’s ear. “If her animal is new. It will have to heal her before she could go through the transform
ation.”

  Jane swallowed loudly. “Do you think that’s what’s happening?”

  “Could be. The question is if Kevin was able to induce the transformation or if she was introduced to her mate.”

  Jane looked sick. “She doesn’t have the mental capacity for...”

  Brock touched her arm. “With the serum in her system she need only be in the same room with him. In her current state. He may not have known. A mate has to have a level of maturity before our animal acknowledges them.”

  Jane eyes darted back and forth. “Who could she have come in contact with?”

  “I have no idea but if Kevin was able to bring about transformation, then her mate is most likely dead.”

  Jane put her hands to her mouth. “How would that affect her?”

  Brock frowned. “There is no precedence for this. I honestly don’t know.”

  Carla began to hum softly. She smiled when Ryan lifted his head and looked at her. “I got hurt real bad. I forget things sometimes but you know what? I never forget the people I love and I love you.”

  Brock saw the coyote shiver. It wasn’t pain. Every chest on the plane squeezed with her innocent declaration because every word had been true.

  Carla shifted under Ryan’s head so he could lay it on her lap. She continued to pet the coyote. “Go to sleep, Ryan. I will take good care of you.”

  Brock felt Jane’s body shudder. He watched the first tears he had ever seen from her run in rivulets down her face.

  Chapter 12

  Brock strolled into the kitchen. The smell of syrup and coffee made the house feel like a home. Carla was devouring her pancakes as if it was her last meal.

  She gulped down her juice and wiped her mouth with her hand before putting the empty glass on the table.

  Jane put her hand on her hip. “Slow down, Carla. What’s the rush?”

  “Ryan and I are going running.”

  Brock’s eyebrows went up. “Again?”

  Carla’s eyes lit up. “He’s super fast.”

  Brock kissed Jane’s cheek before grabbing a mug from the cupboard. “You know Ryan is ready to shift back to his human form, right?”

  Carla nodded. “Marie and I are making him tacos tonight. Liam said they are his favorite.”

  Brock laughed. “Are you sure those aren’t Liam’s favorite?”

  Carl stopped chewing. “Did Liam goof me?”

  Jane put her hand to her mouth but her smile lit her eyes.

  Brock cleared his throat. “Maybe, they are Ryan’s favorite too.”

  Jane touched her sister’s arm. “Remember to stay on lair property. We still have the trackers and the dampening field only goes so far.”

  Carla nodded, swallowing the last of her pancakes. She left the door open in her haste to get outside.

  Jane watched with a smile on her face as Carla hugged the patiently waiting coyote before sprinting towards the forest with Ryan running beside her.

  “She’s really fast,” Brock said.

  Jane closed the door. “She always was. She used to compete in marathons and even did one triathlon... before the accident.”

  Brock took a sip of his coffee. “Her memory has improved.”

  Jane nodded. “Racheal thinks she is in the early stages of transformation. She assumes a cat since I am and she has given Carla some of my blood but Carla was exposed to several strains of shifter DNA. After what happened with Aiden it’s hard to know how things will go.”

  Jane’s voice was even. Practiced. Brock however knew his mate. “You’re worried.”

  “What if she doesn’t fully recover? How will she deal with the transformation in her current state?”

  “We heal from physical injuries but Carla’s happened prior to her being exposed to the shifter races. Her mental recovery isn’t something any of us have dealt with before. I have to believe her animal won’t emerge until she is fully capable of handling it. They protect us both mentally and physically.”

  Jane waved her hand. “I know. My animal withdraws when I’m feeling over whelmed. Besides, Carla is happier and healthier than I’ve seen her since we were ten years old.”

  Brock frowned. “You mean since the accident don’t you.”

  Jane pursed her lips. “No, Carla started to withdraw long before that. I told you she was acting out. Partying. Swearing. My mom was at her wits end.”

  Brock put down his mug and pulled her into his arms. “She’s doing great and honestly; I think Ryan adores her.”

  “Is there any chance that Ryan is her mate?” she asked.

  Brock shook his head. “His animal’s actions toward her are maternal in nature. He views her as a sister. As we all do.”

  She kissed him. Her tongue darted into his mouth with a kind of urgency that heated his blood. She pulled back.

  “I feel very lucky to have found you,” she said.

  He smiled. “Funny, I was thinking it was the other way around.”

  Her lips brushed against his as she whispered. “I don’t think so.”

  He looked down at his smiling mate. He’d wanted to give her time to adjust to their new life, but the words tumbled from his lips. “I love you, Jane.”

  Jane felt the electricity arc between them. Her blood heated in response to the three words she believed she’d never want to hear from a man. She searched his face, knowing anything less than her full surrender would crush him, yet the words caught in her throat. She understood the fear. That she would lose the miracle her life had become. Somehow, that admitting he owned her heart would cause her to lose him. Why am I being such a coward?

  Her animal had other ideas. It didn’t need words. It wanted action. Her hands slipped up behind his head to pull his lips down to hers. She surrendered herself in the sensation of his mouth on hers. His arms slid down her spine to cup her ass.

  She wanted to be gentle. To show him without words what he meant to her but her cats needs were riding her. Images flashed like beacons in her brain. Nothing in them was gentle. It was raw hard need. An age-old instinct to mate. She asked her cat for a few moments. To wait. To give her time appreciate the perfect specimen of masculinity she held in her hands.

  Her cat backed off, but she knew it wasn’t for long. Her hand slipped down under the drawstring of his sweatpants. She slid over the hard length of his shaft. Stoking lightly before gripping him in a tight fist.

  He groaned into her mouth and she loved it. “I want you in my mouth. I love how hard you get when I suck on you. I like the way you taste.”

  He gripped the door beam at the entrance to the kitchen, stretching his body up, as she slipped his pants from his hips.

  Every muscle in his abdomen seemed to twitch under his skin, pulled taut with anticipation. Her fingers moved up to trace the groves, fascinated by the definition.

  Brock growled. “Stop teasing, Jane. I’m at the end of my patience. Suck it or I’m going to flip you over and bury my cock so deep inside your pussy, you won’t walk straight for a week.”

  Jane’s body reacted to his words with a rush of warm liquid between her legs. She smiled as she moved down his body, looking up at him as his erect cock rested on her lips. “That would be more of a threat if we didn’t heal so fast,” she said taking a tentative lick at the pre cum on his engorged head.

  “Woman, suck it now.”

  She laughed, enjoying her power over him as she took him deep into her throat. Her tongue flicked and sucked, memorizing every definition, every vein of the erect velvet shaft she held in her mouth.

  She set a steady rhythm, using her hand to help intensify the action before backing off to a feathery foray against the steel shaft. She felt the moment she had pushed him too far.

  He gripped her head, holding it in place, he was slow at first, letting her adjust to his thick invasion, before going deeper. Faster.

  “Relax your throat. Take me deeper,” he said through clenched teeth.

  She tilted back her head, doing as he asked. She liked
him on the edge of control.

  His pace quickened as his fingers bunched in her fiery locks, angling her back so he could plunge deeper into her throat.

  She hovered on the brink of scared and exhilarated. Unsure if he had lost control or if she had. He shouted as he came. Long hard spurts warmed her throat as she swallowed his spicy essence.

  She was still licking him when he drew her to her feet. She shouted in alarm when he scooped her into his arms and sprinted up the steps to their bedroom.

  He put her on the bed, pulling her sundress from her body in one motion. “On your knees, now.”

  She rolled over to her knees, arching back so he could see her glistening pussy. She looked back at him, watching him fist his cock as he knelt on the mattress.

  He let his hard cock slip through her lips, coating his shaft, teasing her every bit as effectively as she had done to him.

  His other hand flicked her clit, ascending the torment.

  She was mewing and panting. “Fuck me!”

  Brock inched into her. Holding himself at her entrance.

  She tried to impale herself but he grabbed her hips, holding her in place.

  He leaned over her. “Did you think you could tease me and avoid the repercussions?”

  “You loved it,” she hissed.

  He laughed. “I did and so will you.” He slammed into her, taking her breath away.

  She hovered on the verge of a scream and an orgasm as he pumped into her relentlessly. She could feel her cat rising. The veracity was what her cat craved. She wanted rough and her mate was giving it to her.

  He continued until she felt her strength would fail her. He sensed that too and held her hips up as he continued to pump into her, increasing his ferocity.

  She came hard. Unable to take a breath, clamping down on him like a vise, forcing him to come with her.

  He lay her down on the bed, she didn’t have the energy to move.

  She closed her eyes when he got a warm cloth and began to clean her.

  When he was done, he lay beside her with his arm wrapped around her waist. “I think we should have that kind of breakfast every morning.”

  She laughed. “You didn’t have breakfast.”