Shifter Starter Set

by Candace Ayers

  “Shit, I’m sorry, Allie.” He stepped closer, his hands out in front of him like he was approaching a scared dog. “I didn’t mean for this to happen quite like that.”

  I stared up at his hat, still sitting on top of his head, like it hadn’t just been on a bear’s head. “What happened?”

  He smelled like whiskey and man, and despite the situation, my body still responded to him. He tilted his head back and breathed in before closing the gap between us. His body pressed against mine and my breath caught in my throat.

  “How can you still want me after what you just saw?”

  “What exactly did I just see?”

  The back door pushed against me as Eric’s voice reached my ears. “Allie?! I heard you scream. Are you okay?”

  Thorn swept me behind him and growled at Eric as he pushed his way blindly into the night. I could see him and his clean sweater and it was such a stark contradiction to Thorn’s naked muscular form.

  “What do you want?”

  Eric moved to step around Thorn, but Thorn wasn’t having it. Finally, Eric stopped and frowned up at him. “Why are you naked with my fiancé? Is he the reason you tried to break things off with me, Allie?”

  “You’re the fiancé?”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Of course, I’m the fiancé.” Eric looked back at me and held out his hand. “Come on, Alyson. I’m taking you back home.”

  Still in shock, I backed away from both of them. I stepped on something slippery, and lost my balance. As I tumbled backwards, I heard Thorn cry out for me. Then a sharp pain burst at the back of my head and the night grew even darker.

  23

  Hawthorne

  The little guy sitting across from me shivered in the chilly Texas night air. I couldn’t help the predatory grin that curved my mouth. “Go on back home, boy. You’d probably do better in a warmer climate, huh?”

  He scowled at me and stood up. “This is crazy. I’m going inside.”

  I unfolded my body from the lawn chair I’d been in for the past hour and stepped in front of the door. “You’re not going inside. It’s a small trailer. Doctor Mae said to wait out here.”

  “Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but Alyson is going home with me. She and I… we’ve been together for a long time and a roll in the hay with some good ol’ boy in hick-town, USA isn’t going to change that.”

  I stepped closer to him and tried to remind myself that Allie would probably be upset if I ripped his limbs from his body. “I might’ve been hearing things funny, on account of my hick-town, good ol’ boy hearing and all, but I thought you mentioned she broke things off with you. Did I hear that wrong or did she really dump your sorry ass?”

  Eric had the good sense not to push it. He stumbled back to his seat and dropped into it. He wasn’t all that small by normal standards, but next to me, he resembled a child. His pale blonde hair and pale skin didn’t help his delicate appearance. I could see where she might consider him pleasant looking, but there was no way she was hot for that twerp.

  “She’s clearly confused. I don’t know what’s been happening here, but whatever it is, it’s over now. She’s going to come home with me where she belongs and she and I are going to work things out.”

  “She told me you cheated on her. What the fuck is wrong with you? You had the perfect woman and you stepped out?”

  His cheeks turned red under the security light hooked up on the side of the trailer. “Our relationship is none of your concern. I’m done talking to you.”

  I sat back down and crossed my arms over my chest. I still hadn’t bothered with finding a shirt. I’d pulled on my jeans, but my body temperature was up from the anger of seeing Eric. The cold wasn’t touching me.

  “Who are you, anyway?”

  I glared at Eric. “Thought you were done talking to me?”

  “I have a right to know who my fiancé has been running around with.”

  I tipped my head back and let my thoughts stray. Allie saw me shift. She hadn’t said anything about it. She hadn’t run, so that was something. Of course, right after that, she knocked herself unconscious.

  I was a grade A moron for shifting so close to the bar. I’d just let the panic get to me. And the whiskey. I owed the bar for three bottles of the shit. I couldn’t help the grin on my face at the image I’d presented Allie with. A drunk as hell bear… She probably thought she was losing her mind.

  “Hello? I’m talking to you.”

  I growled, letting more than a little of my bear poke through. I didn’t give a fuck if I scared Eric all the way back to whatever rock he crawled out from under.

  “Gentlemen. Allie is feeling better. If you could both keep it down, however, I’m sure that would help. I’ve got another call. One of you make sure she stays awake. She’s got a mild concussion.”

  I stood as Doctor Mae emerged from the trailer. “Thanks for coming so soon.”

  She patted me on the shoulder before disappearing into the woods behind the trailer. The woman was strange, but she got the job done.

  “I’ll keep her up.”

  I blocked Eric’s path and shook my head. “G’won back home. I’m going in now.”

  I didn’t wait for his response. I was desperate to see Allie and to make sure she was okay. I needed to make things right. I was still freaking out about the whole mate thing, but seeing her passed out earlier…it’d scared the hell out of me worse than anything. In the second it took for her body to hit the ground, I’d realized that I couldn’t give her up. If I lost her because she didn’t want me, and ended up like my mom, then so be it. At least I’d go crazy knowing that I’d fought for us.

  She was sitting up on the couch, holding an ice pack to her head. She looked okay, but I could sense that she felt queasy. Her coloring wasn’t what it should’ve been.

  When she looked up at me, there was a curiosity in her eyes. “I had a very… errr… interesting dream about you.”

  I knelt in front of her and smiled. “Oh, yeah? Was I clothed or unclothed?”

  Her eyes suddenly lifted and shot to the doorway. “Eric?”

  I wanted to spin around and shove the little twerp back out of the door. Fucker couldn’t take a hint.

  He moved to sit beside her but a warning growl from me had him frozen in his spot. Allie’s eyes shot open wide. I ignored her look for the moment, figuring she was piecing together what she’d seen.

  “Alyson, let me take you home. I saw your car on the way into town. We’ll hire someone to get it back to North Carolina. I’ll have all your stuff taken to my house as well. We’ll put all this behind us.”

  Allie frowned. “How did you find me?”

  Eric at least had the decency to look embarrassed. “I ran into Georgia. When she didn’t ask about you, I figured that she knew where you were. Jimmy leaked that she’d booked a flight to Texas and mentioned that she’d need a car to get down here.”

  “Jimmy is going to be so fired when Georgia finds out.” She shook her head and frowned some more. “That doesn’t matter, though. Eric, I told you we were done and I meant it. You cheated on me. So many times.”

  I watched her face for signs of sorrow, ready to rip Eric’s dick off if it looked like she was harboring any lingering pain from the asswipe. Instead, she looked up at me with more confusion and curiosity on her face.

  “You forgave me for that.”

  “No, I ignored it. There’s a difference. Just like I ignored the fact that you can be a really controlling jerk. This is over, Eric. I’m sorry I didn’t end things sooner. I’m also sorry that you had to come all this way. I’m not leaving with you, though. If I ever decide to leave, it’ll be because I’m damn good and ready.”

  My chest tightened. Did she just say what I think she said? Was my shifter hearing playing tricks on me? “You’re staying?”

  She adjusted the ice pack and sighed. “I think so. Not because of you, though. You’ve been a jackass. I’m staying because this place feels like
home for some reason. I like Abram and I like my job at the bar. I even like that crazy blonde chick who tried to claw your eyes out the first night we met.”

  It didn’t matter to me right now the reasons why, or that she thought I was a jackass. Hell, I was a jackass, she was right about that. All that mattered was that my mate was staying. I surged forward to embrace her but she put a hand on my chest and stopped me.

  “We’ve got some talking to do first, mister.”

  Eric did some heavy cursing and then swung around to the door. “Thanks a lot, Allie. Maybe, next time, you’ll communicate with someone if you have a problem with what they’re doing, instead of just holding it inside.”

  “Hey, dumbass, women don’t like it when you cheat. Duh.”

  I moved towards the door in case Eric needed help through it. Turns out he didn’t. He was out before I reached him, so I flipped the lock before returning to Allie’s side. “You okay?”

  She was staring up at me and dropped the ice pack into her lap. “It wasn’t a dream, was it?”

  I sighed. “I’m not sure how much you want to know right now. Maybe we should wait until your brain feels a little better?”

  “I’m not sure my brain is ever going to feel okay again.”

  “Well… here goes, then.”

  24

  Allie

  “How did… How did you turn into a bear, Thorn?” I half expected him to laugh at me. It was ridiculous, wasn’t it? He hadn’t actually turned into a bear.

  Thorn knelt on an old carpet square in front of me. “That’s something I left out of the story about mates.”

  He leaned back on his heels and looked around. He seemed worried and uncomfortable. He opened his mouth several times, and then closed it again before he’d uttered a single sound as though he wasn’t sure where to start.

  “Just spill, Thorn.”

  “I’m a bear shifter. I mean… I can shapeshift into a bear. Bear. Bear shifter.” He looked up at the ceiling and groaned. “I turn into a bear. I’m still me, but a bear. A shifter bear.”

  I didn’t know if it was the blow I’d taken to the head or how flustered the big man before me was, but I couldn’t help the single laugh that burst from my lips.

  His cheeks turned red. “I’ve never had to explain it before. I don’t know how to say it. Jesus, woman. Don’t laugh. You’re killing me here.”

  That just turned my single laugh into a fit of giggles. I’d officially lost my mind. The bump must’ve jumbled things more than the doctor thought.

  “Alright,” Thorn sighed, “You made me do this.”

  Before my eyes, fur started sprouting from his body and he opened his mouth to show me his jaw growing and his teeth sharpening. I stopped laughing and slunk farther into my seat.

  Then, Thorn shook himself and he was back to normal. “Bear shifter.”

  “But… that’s… just in the movies.”

  It was his turn to laugh. “It’s not. There are all sorts of shifters out there. We just happen to be bears ‘round here.”

  “We?”

  “Yeah. A lot of people in this town are shifters. There aren’t a lot of other differences between normal humans and us, so it’s hard to tell who’s who.”

  I swallowed. “What are the differences?”

  “You mean besides the shifting into an animal thing? Shifters run hotter. We’re always warm to the touch, no matter what. We’re usually just a little bigger, too. And…we have mates.”

  I sat up. “Mates? As in soulmates?”

  He nodded. “You’re mine.”

  My chest fluttered. “You think I’m your mate?”

  Another nod. “I do.”

  We were both surprised when my hand shot out and punched him square in the face. He didn’t so much as flinch, but I immediately gasped from the pain of my fist contacting his rock-solid jaw. He captured my hand in his and rubbed my knuckles. Crap. That was meant to hurt him more than it did me.

  “Have you known since day one?”

  “I knew it. I just… I didn’t have a normal upbringing. My mom and stepdad… they weren’t exactly the picture of the perfect mating, but that’s all I had to go by. Their complete disaster. It scared the hell out of me. It still does. I don’t know how to do this. Mating is serious. I don’t know how to be what you deserve, Allie. What if I can’t make you happy? If we mate and you decide this isn’t for you, it could kill me.”

  I pulled my hand from his and edged away. My head throbbed but I needed some space. I moved to the other side of the couch and pulled my feet under me. “Literally kill you?”

  “It’s what happened to my Mom. I told you she went crazy, but it wasn’t much longer after her breakdown that she died. Doctor Mae tried to save her, but Mom lost the will to live. Without that, a doctor isn’t much good.”

  “I’m sorry, Thorn. That’s horrible.” I paused. “Wait… we haven’t…mated, right?”

  He laughed suddenly and the surprising sound filled the trailer. If he noticed the goosebumps it left on my arms and legs, he didn’t comment. “No, we definitely haven’t mated.”

  I scooted closer, unable to stop myself. “How do we mate?”

  He growled and reached out like he was going to grab me but stopped himself. “Jesus. I’m holding on by a thread here, Allie. I want you. I want this. I’ve been hiding from you, but that’s not working. We’re meant to be side by side.”

  He paused and looked down at his hands, where they rested inches from my legs. “Do you like being called Alyson?”

  All my anger and worry was suddenly forgotten. It wasn’t gone for good, but in that moment, I wanted just to comfort him. I slid over until I was in front of him and cupped his face. “I prefer Allie. I broke things off with him the night we talked outside, Hawthorne. I realized that I wanted that soulmate thing that you talked about. I don’t know why he showed up, but it wasn’t because I wanted him here.”

  “Why aren’t you freaking out? Or pissed at me? This doesn’t seem normal.”

  I laughed and then winced from head pain. “To be honest with you, I’m still trying to digest the whole bear thing right now. And I am pissed, because you treated me like crap and I deserve better. Especially if I’m your mate.”

  He growled. “You are my mate. No if. Are.”

  Despite the pain in my head, fireworks were going off in my lower regions. “Can I see it? Can I see your bear again?”

  He looked wary. “I don’t know, Allie.”

  I stroked his cheek. “I need to make it real for myself. It still seems too crazy to be real.”

  “Okay.” He stood up and moved away from me. His hands went to his pants and he grinned. “If I don’t take them off, they’ll end up shredded.”

  I turned my head and tried to act normally. I heard his pants hit the floor and then the trailer dipped dangerously to one side. I squeaked and then grabbed my head when my own high-pitched sound hurt it.

  A loud huffing and a warm gust of air hit me on the back of my neck as the trailer settled again. I looked back, knowing I would see a bear, but still surprised as hell.

  He was huge. I’d never seen a bear that close up before. I couldn’t help standing up to get a better look. Amazingly, I felt no fear as I reached out and touched his soft fur.

  “Do you condition? This feels so good.”

  Another huff and then the trailer rocked again as he went down on all fours. Even then, he was practically eye level with me. His wet nose nudged me and I laughed.

  “Abram didn’t give me any rules about animals, but I think he assumed I wouldn’t bring a bear into his trailer. You’re denting the floor.”

  He tossed his head back and made a snorting sound that soothed me to my very core. Something about the bear in front of me was as familiar and relaxing as curling up with a warm blanket in front of a cozy fireplace on a cold night. I felt like I’d known the bear forever and that I could trust it with my life. Which, I guess I was doing. Knowing that this was Thorn just
added to my warm feelings. He’d felt familiar since the very beginning, too.

  I ran my hands over its head and then scratched behind its ears. In a heartbeat, the bear was Thorn kneeling in front of me, naked as a jaybird, with his head in my hands. I stroked my hand over his hair once more and then moved away.

  “You’re not freaking out.”

  I sat on the couch and picked up my ice pack again. “No. Maybe I’ll save the freak-out for later. Maybe I won’t. I don’t know.”

  His naked ass sat next to me, and damned if he wasn’t completely at ease with it. “Does that mean we can be together?”

  I turned my head away from him, unwilling to be distracted by all that he had on display. “It means that I’m going to make a serious attempt at processing all of this. You can’t expect me to answer tonight, Thorn. You’ve been hiding from me for days. I don’t know if I trust that you won’t do it again. You’re a bear. The whole town is full of bears. I’m trying to fit into my new ‘Allie who won’t be walked on by men’ persona. My head is being attacked by a sledge hammer. I need time, at least until the headache is gone.”

  “Okay. I get it. I’m staying here to watch over you, though.”

  I turned my face to glare at him and I held up my hand to shield his man parts from my view. “No, you can’t stay here. I can’t think if you’re going to be hanging around. I need time to myself.”

  The pout my words drew from his lips was almost comical. He nodded and stood up, dangling his junk directly in my line of vision. When I slammed my eyes shut, he chuckled. “Sorry. I’ll be outside tonight, making sure you don’t fall asleep. I’ll leave in the morning.”

  “Just go home, Thorn. I’m really okay. Plus, how do you plan on knowing if I’m asleep from out there?”

  He pulled his pants on and smirked. “I can hear your heart beating. Right now, it’s racing. If it slows down too much, I’ll know that you’re falling asleep.”