ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection)

by C. J. Ayers

  "You should all be expelled for this," William growled and shifted, ripping his clothes so fast they exploded all over the room.

  Mark put his hands up in a placating gesture. "We only think Jakob should consider letting Blake lead for a while. We're happy for him that he found his mate, but it's not right to ignore his pack and break the deal we've all spent months on."

  Blake growled and stepped towards Jakob. Jakob was ready. He'd always been the fastest, the biggest, it was part of his alpha origin. He shifted in an instant and jumped behind Blake, pushing him to the ground before he could blink. Blake tried to shift, but Jakob forced his will into him and held the shift at bay, forcing him to remain human. Blake was helpless under Jakob's heavy paws and razor teeth.

  "I was only thinking of the pack," Blake said. He tried to portray himself as calm, but they all heard the speed of his heart as Jakob bared his teeth.

  ***

  Sabrina's mother called and called, but left no messages. Sabrina finally started getting worried. What if something had happened to her father? At lunch, she dialed her mom's cell and had to hold the phone away from her ear when her mom answered.

  "Oh my God Sabrina! Why didn't you tell me?" she squealed.

  Sabrina's ears rang. "Tell you what?"

  "That you're dating the richest man on Earth!"

  Sabrina's heart sank. "You didn't call about Dad?"

  "What? No, your father's fine. He's just as excited as I am."

  "I did tell you," Sabrina said. "Sort of."

  "Oh Sabrina honey," her mother went on as if she hadn't heard her. "This changes everything. Our anniversary party isn't just for us anymore. It can be a celebration. My daughter and the catch of the century."

  "It's not that serious," Sabrina tried to say.

  "That's not how it looks in the picture."

  "What picture? Wait a minute, how do you know about all this?"

  "Oh honey it's all over the papers!"

  "It is?"

  "Of course! You can't date a man like that and not have the news spread. He's the most eligible bachelor in the world. The world."

  Bile rose up Sabrina's throat, stinging it. "Mom, I've gotta go, I'll call you later." She hung up and walked to the corner newsstand. On the front page of The Daily was a picture of her and Jakob, lips locked, a baseball game going on behind them.

  ***

  Sabrina took the rest of the day off, feigning illness. When she pushed Jakob's doorbell, her heart thudded like a drum. A man with light hair and matching eyes answered. He seemed to know who she was. "Jakob's upstairs," he said. "Come on in."

  The man seemed nice enough. He gestured for Sabrina to come in, but she stayed outside. "Can you tell him I'm here please?" But the man didn't have to. The second she'd arrived Jakob had sensed her. He was already at the door.

  "Thank you William," he said, and stepped onto the porch. William closed the door, leaving them alone.

  "I can't see you anymore," she blurted before Jakob had even spoken. "I'm sorry. This just won't work."

  "Sabrina—"

  "No!" Her vision was clouded with tears that ran in raging currents over her cheeks. "I don't want to be a part of your world! Don't you understand? It doesn't matter that I'm your mate. It doesn't matter that I love you. I don't want you."

  Jakob had been trying to put his arms around her, now he stepped back. Her eyes were red, and her words burned his insides. "You don't mean that," he said, his anger was not so much at her words as at the fact she had caused him pain.

  She nodded, fresh tears winding down her cheeks.

  "I do mean it. I don't want you." She said it with more force this time and saw the hurt hit Jakob like a bullet.

  "Fine," he growled. "You're nothing but a coward anyways. You're not good enough for me." He regretted the words almost as soon as they were out of his mouth, but it was too late. They hung in the air like a fine mist.

  Sabrina turned and fled from his doorstep before either of them could plant another dagger.

  Chapter 11

  Jakob sat in his office listening to the representative from Remy Riders drone on. Outside the sky was bright. Jakob cringed at it. His heart had swollen like a bruised limb. He could not believe it had been three days now since he last saw Sabrina. Despite everything that had transpired, he still craved her like a drug.

  He pushed her from his mind. His pack was right—no matter how flawed some of Blake's ideas were, the pack came first. He'd forgotten that for a moment when Sabrina came into his life. Now, he would never forget again. Sabrina—his mate—had deserted him. Yet the pack remained. Yes, Blake wanted to be alpha, but Jakob had put him in his place. Thirty days without his brothers should clear his head. Power struggles were common amongst packs, and now that Mark and Tony were back on board, things would be right again.

  He turned his eyes back to the droning representative when there was a long pause. Jakob assumed it was his turn to speak and began barking orders.

  "I will not entertain another word."

  The drone's eyes flickered, uncertain. "But sir," he stammered.

  "This is my final offer. Take it or leave it."

  William handed the representative a packet. Jakob knew Remy would take it. He'd gone to great lengths to ensure they would. You didn't need spies when you had the sense abilities of a wolf.

  The representative opened his mouth as if to speak, then thought better of it. He took the packet, bid them good day, and left.

  Jakob stood from his seat. He was thirsty. Something sweet and creamy sounded delicious. He paused with his hand on his chair when he realized he was craving one of those damned lattes Sabrina was always drinking. He sighed. He would force her from his mind by whatever means necessary

  "You okay?" William asked.

  Jakob nodded. "Of course. They'll take the deal. We'll have their answer by tonight."

  William hesitated.

  "What?" Jakob wasn't done barking yet.

  "I just... It's gotta be hard losing your mate like that."

  Jakob turned away. He did not want to talk about Sabrina. Not now, not ever. The only way to cut her from his life was to pretend that she did not exist. The problem was that even from miles away, he could still smell her.

  "I just think if the guys met her, she'd be more accepted. That's all."

  "It's not their acceptance of her I'm concerned with. Sabrina no longer exists. Is that clear?"

  "Yeah, just—"

  Jakob turned and threw a look at William that almost made him bite his tongue off. "I did not make you second so that you could question everything you hear. There is nothing left to discuss."

  "Yes sir. Whatever you say,"

  ***

  Sabrina's mother wouldn't stop crying. It would've been funny if Sabrina wasn't so miserable.

  "B-b-b-but honey, he's such a c-c-c-catch." Sabrina's mother blew her nose into Sabrina's ear drum. Why, oh why had she answered her phone? Oh right, because her mom had left fifty messages, the last of which said her father was at the doctor's. A lie, as usual.

  "I told you it wasn't serious," Sabrina said.

  "What about Walter? You can go with him now." Her mother's voice brightened and Sabrina sighed.

  It was true that Sabrina had said things with Jakob were not serious. She'd said that all along, hadn't she? It's not serious. They're all wrong for each other. But she'd also said she loved him. She'd told him that to his face. Had tasted the beer on his lips and the salt on his tongue and told him she would actually consider marriage.

  It was the werewolf thing.

  Of course it was! That made perfect sense. He'd performed some sort of sick werewolf mind trick on her to make her think she was falling for him. What an asshole.

  But hadn't he saved her life too, that night in the park? "That was just his wolf instinct kicking in."

  "What?" her mother asked.

  Sabrina realized she was talking out loud. As if she didn't have enough worries, she d
idn't need to make her mom think she was psycho too.

  "Nothing. A client just walked in. Gotta go." Sabrina hung up without waiting for a reply.

  There could've been a client, Sabrina reasoned. She couldn't be on the phone talking to her mom if a client came in unexpected. Except of course Sabrina was at home. She walked to the kitchen and grabbed her half-full mug off the counter where she'd left it. There'd been no clients for the last three days. There'd been no lattes for the last three days. Sabrina had laid on the couch where she and Jakob had snuggled only days before and settled for some instant coffee given to her at Christmas by a co-worker as a joke. Her body's curves had lost some of their contour, and Sabrina thought if she didn't get out of the house soon she'd end up with the twig body of her mother.

  Yet despite her concerns, Sabrina grabbed her cup of instant coffee, warmed it in the microwave, and plopped back onto the couch for another episode of an eighties show she'd stumbled across on YouTube aptly named "Werewolf."

  Chapter 12

  Blake stood outside the apartment building where Jakob's mate lay on the couch, waiting for her to come down. He'd been waiting since Jakob revoked his status as second in command. There was no reason for the bitch to stay up there so long. He could hear her crying through her window, but whatever pity he might have had was lost against the tyranny enforced on him by Jakob.

  Blake was to have no contact with the pack for thirty days. A sort of temporary exile. When he returned, his must submit to the wanI'vammo, an ancient release of dominance. He would essentially be giving up everything about himself that could be considered alpha. It was a heavy thing to ask of a wolf. How would human men feel if they were asked to cut their balls off?

  The only other option was to remain in exile. At least, that's what Jakob thought. What he failed to realize, however, was that by exiling Blake, he had lost some control over him. Alphas could only control their pack. Blake hovered in the prism between pack and individual. As an individual, he had free will. Free will meant choices. It was not exile or nothing. It was exile or death... just not his death.

  ***

  Sabrina woke in the morning and forced herself to put on shoes and a shirt. Pants were also not optional in this case, she reminded herself, and slipped on some khakis. She looked in a mirror and decided that she really did look like she'd been sick. Her skin was colorless, her eyes lackluster. Her hair was matted to her face. She didn't want to scare off her clients, so she at least ran a comb through it.

  When she got to work, sans latte, her co-workers told her how much better she was looking, which was strange because they hadn't seen her when she was "sick."

  Someone handed her a cup of coffee and she inhaled the bitterness of it, letting it refresh her, before moving into her office. From the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a man watching her through her window, but when she went in for a closer look he was gone.

  "Paranoia's kickin' in. Good thing I got out of the house when I did."

  She sat on the plush leather sofa she offered her patients when they came in, and let her body sink back into it. It felt good, like cool hands wrapping around her. See, I can do this. She urged herself on. That's right! I don't need whatshisface. Screw him.

  It took her a second to remember why she was so mad with Jakob to begin with, but when his cruel words flashed back— You don't deserve me. Sabrina knew she'd made the right choice. There was a knock on the door and Mary and Peter Ableman came in. "Hi," she said, glad, for once, to have company. Even the Ablemans.

  She watched them a second before realizing something was different about them. They were holding hands. Not just because they were in Sabrina's office and felt like they had to put on a show, it looked like they actually wanted to clasp their fingers together and cuddle against each other.

  "Why don't you guys tell me what's been happening. You look," Sabrina paused, almost coughing on the word as it sprang unbelieving from her throat, "happy."

  Mary beamed at Peter. "We are." He kissed her gently on the lips and Sabrina's insides twinged. She turned her head quickly before they could see the nausea roll over her and saw the same man she'd seen earlier outside her window. She squinted, trying to make him out, but he was already gone.

  "We're in love again," Mary said.

  Sabrina snapped her head back around, annoyance registering in her voice. "What?"

  Mary and Peter looked at each other. "We are," Peter said, defending themselves.

  "Love? Each other?" Sabrina knew she should stop the outburst that was frothing over, steeped in the memory of her last few days without Jakob, but couldn't reign it back. "Since when? Last week you two could barely be in the same room. I'm supposed to believe all that changed overnight?"

  "Yes," Peter said, daring Sabrina to defy him. He and Mary clasped hands tighter, Mary eyeing Sabrina with a new suspicion.

  "How?" Sabrina asked.

  Mary spoke up now. Timid to start, her voice rose with each word. "I found a lump in my breast. It turned out to be nothing. But..."

  Peter finished the thought "...it made me realize what I might have lost. I just never considered it before. That she might not be here. Might not exist." When he looked back at Sabrina his eyes were moist.

  Sabrina scoffed, but to them she said, "Well, that's great. I'm happy for you two." Apparently Sabrina's outburst hadn't offended them enough to leave. Of course not, Sabrina reasoned. They were idiots. They thought they were in love? Just wait till the next time Peter cheated on her. Still, their faces glowed with the intensity of a first crush. Whatever they felt tomorrow, today they were very much in love.

  ***

  Blake was tired of watching Sabrina. She was boring. He didn't understand Jakob's attraction. She was too plump, and her hair was too short. She was everything Blake despised in a woman.

  He hummed to himself while he watched her. He didn't have anything better to do. But the more he watched Sabrina, the less he wanted to. When that loveless couple walked into her office, doting on each other as if their affection were real and not just the probable onset of a drug induced euphoria or too much alcohol, or whatever it was people like them took to make them high on love, Blake thought he might actually die from boredom.

  He removed himself from Sabrina's window and the spot he'd nestled into beside a shrub. It didn't matter what he did right now, he'd realized. He was still a part of the pack, and although Jakob's powers over him were limited now that he was in exile, it was enough to stop him before he could finish what he wanted to start. He'd have to fix that before his plan could work.

  Chapter 13

  Sabrina arrived home from work more tired than she'd ever felt in her life. Her body ached. Her head hurt. She had a small handful of sleeping pills her mother had given her months ago when Sabrina had a tooth pulled out. The pain had caused her to have a number of sleepless nights until her mother had slipped the little blue gem inside her palm and told her to take two and call her in the morning.

  Sabrina flipped her head back and swallowed the pill with a bit of water. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

  The first dream she had was only slightly scary. A small man in a large room was watching her. As he watched, he smiled. Only his teeth were too long and too gnarled to be human. The man followed Sabrina into her next dream. She stood in her kitchen, cooking eggs. They smelled delicious, and Sabrina wondered if she had any hash browns to go with them. She needed her latte. She turned around to grab it off the table and the man with the teeth was there. His teeth grew longer and longer until they reached across the room and slashed Sabrina's wrists. Blood poured from her in a steady stream, forming rivulets of red around her feet. She began to run.

  ***

  Jakob dropped his scotch and doubled over. Sabrina! She was in trouble. The hairs on his neck stood up and grew into a thick dark fur. Jakob shifted without a thought to the separation between them of late. None of that mattered. His mate was in trouble. She was hurt. She was bleed
ing.

  Please God don't let me be too late.

  Jakob ran through his house and out the door, a fire under his tail. William watched him run by and didn't ask questions. He'd seen that look on a wolf before. Trouble.

  Jakob ran down the street, taking the fastest route allowed him. He didn't care if he was seen by motorists. Pedestrians were irrelevant. Besides, it was late. Darkness lingered over the city and the drunks coming out of the bars on a Tuesday night wouldn't think twice at a wolf running down the street.

  He followed Sabrina's scent, relying on its strength to lead him through shortcuts. He ran down an alley and cut his paws on something sharp. He didn't stop until he reached Sabrina's building. The door to the building wasn't shut properly. A crack revealed light from inside and it only took a nudge from his nose to push it open all the way. Jakob slipped inside and barreled up the stairs.

  Sabrina's door was locked. Jakob heard her scream from inside. "No! No please! It hurts!" He didn't waste a second. Sabrina's door stood at the end of a long hallway. Jakob backed down it and ran full speed. The size of his wolf body was nearly as big as his human form. His muscles were stronger as a wolf though, and when he slammed against Sabrina's door it opened without protest. He ran into her room and saw her writhing under the covers. He jumped on the bed, ready to rip apart whoever was hurting her, but there was no one.

  He sat back on his haunches, watching her. A nightmare. She was having a nightmare. She was safe. Jakob was so relieved a tear slipped down his muzzle. He licked Sabrina's face and she woke up crying. When her lids fluttered open, she saw a giant wolf standing over her. She thought she was still dreaming at first, but then she smelled him. Scotch and sweat mingled in the air, acting like an aphrodisiac on her. "Jakob?"

  He transformed in front of her. One second he was a wolf, impossibly huge, fangs exposed. The next, he was her Jakob.

  "What are you doing here?" she asked. It was too dark to see all of him, but she knew he was naked. Her heart pounded in her chest.