by Robbie Cox
The sheriff nodded. “Agreed, but how? So far, they haven’t done anything to break the law, so I can’t force them out of town, or even stuff them into a jail cell.”
“I’m afraid this isn’t a problem you can handle,” Dimitri said. “This is a shifter issue.” He turned to the sheriff, as Josh stepped up with a soda in one hand and a hot dog in the other, handing them both to Chet. “Shifters believe strongly in family, and will do anything to protect that family. It’s a bond that surpasses any other.” He gestured to the people gathered around the bonfire. “These people are my family. I’ll do whatever I must in order to protect them.”
Josh nodded. “As will I.”
The sheriff stared at each man in front of him, gauging them and the seriousness of their statements. “I’ll help all I can, even if it’s cleaning up the mess left behind.”
Dimitri said he appreciated it, and would call when he needed the sheriff’s services. Then the men ended the conversation and moved to the fire to join the others. The party continued for three more hours, the residents of Bull Creek laughing, roasting marshmallows, and enjoying the calmness of the night. Alanna never returned, and Dimitri didn’t know what to make of that. Was Adira really that mad at him for wanting to protect her? It didn’t really matter, though. With what the sheriff said still echoing in his mind, Dimitri already decided he would stand watch over her cabin tonight. He left Josh and Ezra to supervise the clean up of the clearing, as he made his way to Adira’s new home. Before crossing her wards, he stripped, stuffing his clothes in a bag he brought from the party, and then shifted. He hoped her wards were set for humans and not animals. Otherwise, his secret guard duty wouldn’t be secret for long. He clamped the bag in his teeth and then padded up her drive to the porch. Once there, he dropped the bag against the exterior of the cabin. He also believed he would be more comfortable sleeping like his animal than as a man stretched out on her porch. It also might not appear as odd to passersby.
The interior of her place was quiet, so he assumed Alanna left, and Adira was now in bed. He knew she had wards to warn her of danger approaching, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Tonight, he would sleep as close to his mate as he could without pissing her off any more. He turned a few times, getting himself settled, before laying down, his massive head propped on his crossed paws. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes, his ears perked for any unusual nose, and waited until sleep took him. It was a long time before slumber claimed him.
Six
She fumed all the way back to her cabin, the dust from the road kicking up with her passage. How dare he? I am not some weakling, some poor female needing a man to protect me. I’m a witch damn it! The words continued stewing a morass of anger in her mind until she reached her cabin. With a flick of her wrist, the door burst open, slamming back against the wall. She continued her rampaging pace into her home, using her hand, as well as her anger, to slam the door shut behind her, sealing out her frustration with Dimitri.
Entering the small kitchen area of the cabin, she pulled out a wine glass from the cabinet and then reached for the wine on the counter to pour herself a full glass. She downed half of it with one swallow, and then refilled the goblet, as she took a deep breath. She couldn’t believe how fast Dimitri went from sweet and understanding to an overprotective moron. It must be a record or something. She already proved to him that she could take care of herself. Hell, she stood beside him and faced that behemoth of a man, Bane, ready to unleash her power in order to defend a land she just entered. What did Dimitri think? She was bluffing? She can handle her own, damn it.
She couldn’t deny how her sex stirred at the thought of being alone with him at his home, however, both of them snuggled tight together, his arms wrapped around her. There was definitely something about Dimitri that pulled at her, even though she arrived determined not to get involved with anyone again. Then the sexual heat, which flared up between her legs, was doused when his words struck a different chord within her. The embers of passion burst into flames of anger, as she realized that he saw her as some weak female who needed to be protected. She couldn’t stomach the notion. She didn’t need a babysitter, and, in no uncertain terms, told him just that.
She saw the confusion on his face, the disbelief that she didn’t pounce at his words, his masculine superiority and strength. He was probably used to women falling for his macho bullshit. Oh, but Dimitri was a stubborn, stubborn man, refusing to give up. His persistence might even have won her over if he hadn’t called her pigheaded. Even his friend, Josh, knew that was a mistake, as she saw his eyes widen as he turned away from his friend, distancing himself from Dimitri’s stupidity. Now that was a smart man.
Dimitri’s expression shifted to one of panic, knowing he screwed up. Good. He needed to panic. He was lucky she only pinned the beer bottle to his chest, instead of shoving it through him. She knew when she turned and stormed off that her anger caused shards of bright light to burst from her fingertips. She didn’t care. She allowed them to spark, a warning to the shifter she left behind not to follow.
A knock came at the door, soft and feminine. Adira closed her eyes and checked her wards. Alanna. Adira blew out the breath she held, relieved it wasn’t Mr. Macho come to berate her for her feminine hysterics.
Walking over to the door, she opened it, and stared at the robust redhead on her doorstep. “If he sent you to try and calm the overreacting witch down, please, just go tell him to mount himself.”
Alanna giggled at Adira’s choice of words. “He didn’t send me,” she said. Then she pointed to the glass. “Got any more of that?”
Stop being rude and agitating your neighbors, Adira scolded herself. She nodded, and then moved out of the way, so Alanna could enter. “Sorry. Come in. I just don’t like the whole she’s a woman and weak schtick.”
“I don’t blame you. It’s how shifters get with someone they see as their mate, though. My guess is, Dimitri sees that in you.”
Adira moved back into the kitchen and pulled out another wine glass, before filling it to a normal level for the other woman. “Mate? I just got here. He does know that’s a little fast, right?” She handed the wine to Alanna.
The redhead cocked her head to the side. “Aren’t you from Blue Creek? You have to be familiar with shifters.”
Adira took a sip of her wine, her free arm wrapped around her waist, as she leaned back on the counter, visions of Jensen popping unwillingly into her mind. The truth was she was all too familiar with shifters. More than she wanted to be, if she was honest. She knew about their mating rituals, the mark they leave on their mates, and even how fast the animals are attracted to their mate. It was what should have warned her that Jensen was just a passing fling and never intended to be in a long term relationship with her. He never even thought of marking her. Not even a little nibble. While the sex was great, it was never she’s-my-mate great. Otherwise, she’d have his bite mark in her upper shoulder and be with him now, him being the one acting like Dimitri, all macho and overprotective. She hated macho and overprotective. “Yeah, I know all about shifters. Too much at times.”
“Then you know that as soon as the animal scents the one they plan to be with forever, the human has little control over it. Dimitri is driven by his animal instincts to protect his mate, to protect you.”
“I’m not his mate. I’m not marked. Hell, we’ve only had a beer and a hot dog together. That’s it.”
Alanna shrugged. “The mark will come in time. It doesn’t always happen in order. His animal has already scented that you’re his mate. It’ll drive Dimitri crazy until the two of you are together. In the mind of his panther, you already are. You’re his, and he’s going to make sure everyone knows it.”
If only it was that simple, Adira thought. She couldn’t shake her argument with Jensen before making her decision to accept Barbara Wolfe’s offer and move to Bull Creek to help Dimitri. It was the moment her power shattered.
“You knew all this time you were dest
ined to mate another and you still played hide the sausage with me?” Adira stood, arms crossed over her chest, not because she was scared or nervous, but to keep her from reaching out with her power and turning Jensen and his wolf into something hideous. “How the hell could you do that? How could you allow me to believe we had a future?”
Jensen paced back and forth in her living room, although she wasn’t sure if it was him or his wolf that sensed the danger they were both in right then, making him act erratically. Jensen ran a hand though his dark chocolate hair, his gold eyes looking everywhere except at her. “I know, Adira, I know. It was stupid to allow you to think this could be anything other than a little fun. I’m sorry.”
“A little fun!” Shards of power burst from her fingertips, as she uncrossed her arms and took a step toward him. “A little fun is playing pool down at the Wolfe’s Den. A little fun is a family picnic. A little fun is at least knowing you’re only a stand-in for the real, true mate and not allowing your heart to get involved. Hell, Jensen, I would have had fun in the sack with you until you decided who your real mate was. I just would have preferred knowing ahead of time this wasn’t going to be anything long-term, you know. A little head’s up. Then I could have looked for what I assumed I found in you.”
He sighed, his shoulders rising and falling with the action. “I’ve always known who my mate was,” he said, his voice tired, scared. “I’ve known since before she went away to college. My wolf scented her the first time he saw her in high school, but she left before I could mark her.”
She just stared at him. Adira was around the Wolfe pack and other shifters long enough to know how most of their rituals and habits worked. That didn’t mean she comprehended any of it, or even had a clue as to what it all really meant. She only knew the basics. “You knew who she was? You have a name? A person to attach to this whole mating thing? And yet you still…you still let me believe I could…that we could…?” Her heart felt as if it shattered, splintering into a million shards, just like the shards of blue light that sparked at her fingertips. “Get out.”
He took a step toward her, instead. Not a smart man. “Adira, look, Cynthia will be here tomorrow. She graduated and is moving back home. I just…”
“You just want to make sure I stay out of your way. That I don’t make trouble.” She felt every muscle in her body constrict, ready to explode with magic. “Get out, Jensen.”
“Adira, I just…”
“Get out!” She lifted her right arm, her hand palm out, as a ball of blue power shot from her hand and into his chest, picking him up, and knocking him back into the wall behind him. She heard the crack of a bone as he hit, heard his head smash against the wall, but she didn’t care. Tears rained down her cheeks, her vision blurry, as she readied to strike him again if he stepped toward her instead of leaving.
Jensen held a shaking hand up, holding her off. He pushed back against the wall, sliding himself into a standing position, as he wrapped his good arm around his broken one. He nodded, his lips curled down in a frown “I’m sorry,” he whispered, as he moved to her front door and out of her life.
As soon as the door shut, and not a second before, she collapsed onto the floor, sobs ripping from her chest, as she huddled into herself. How could he do that to her? Shards of power sparked at her fingertips, sputtering in her misery, wanting to lash out and strike something, anything. She needed to get out of there, out of Blue Creek.
“And that’s when Barbara offered me her cabin here in the guise of Dimitri needing help protecting the human populace from a rogue coyote pack that was trying to drive them from their land.” She turned to Alanna, a weak smile on her face. “I’m going to be honest, Alanna, Jensen hurt me bad. Even my magic was affected by his betrayal. Instead of streams of magic now, my power comes out in shards. I really don’t think Dimitri deserves a broken witch.”
“Broken witch? Sweetie, you faced off against Bane, and he’s a total bastard. You stood beside Dimitri, even when he tried to block you. Broken witch?” She laughed, shaking her head. “Sweetie, in my eyes, you’re anything but a broken witch. You’re a sassy woman, and deep down, I think you’ve already felt what Dimitri’s felt.”
“I was only doing what Barbara asked me to come here and do; I was protecting this community.”
Alanna lifted her wine to her lips, but before she sipped, she said, “Sweetie, you keep telling yourself that. If you were a shifter, you’re animal would already be telling you how wrong you are.” She took a sip of her wine, as Adira thought on the woman’s words, wondering if there was even a chance that Alanna was right.
They stayed up for three more hours, the conversation shifting to their hometowns, family, friends new and old. When Alanna finally left, the moon was high in the sky, and Adira was more than ready for bed. She washed the dishes, stripped down to her bare skin, and crawled between the cool sheets. Her sleep was restless, tossing and turning, as thoughts of the night replayed in her head. Her power came out in short blasts, mixed with visions of Jensen being thrown across her living room back in Blue Creek. She tried to shove the images out of her head, but nothing worked. Finally, she surrendered, jerking the covers from her body, and deciding to sit outside and let the cool night bathe her mind with fresh images.
She wrapped her robe around her and padded across the wood floor in her bare feet. As she opened the door and stepped out onto her front porch, a movement off to her right snapped her attention. Sleeping, snuggled against the front of her cabin, nestled up close to her front door, was the tawny panther she knew she almost hit with her car when she first arrived in Bull Creek.
Seven
“Why the hell are you sleeping on my porch?” Adira stood there, her hands planted on her hips, legs slightly apart, which allowed her robe to fall open slightly, exposing her creamy thighs. “I told you I did NOT need protecting, damn it.”
The panther jerked awake at her words, or rather at the seething tone in her voice. He jumped to all fours, his ears perked back as he stood, braced for whatever was wrong. He jerked his gaze to the left and the right, searching for the attack, until he realized that it came from right in front of him. His dark eyes told her he knew just how pissed she was. Then he shifted, his fur slipping back into his skin, his bones popping as his four legs turned to two legs and a pair of arms, his paws shifting to feet and hands, and his body completely naked. As soon as the shift was over, he stood, his thick muscles stretching back into shape from being cramped in his animal form for so long and asleep.
Adira couldn’t take her eyes off his body, his powerful legs, strong arms, broad shoulders, and… And his cock, which was already twitching to life, as he stood in front of her. There was no way he could hide it this time. She felt her pussy stir, as she wondered what it would feel like to have him pounding into her from behind, his hands on her hips, as he thrust deep inside…
She gave herself a mental shake, reminding herself she was pissed at him. Now is not the time to fantasize about his cock, But wow, what a cock. No! Stay pissed or he won’t learn I’m not some weakling. “Not like the Incredible Hulk, huh? You don’t shift with pants that seem to stretch with the transformation?” She had been around shifters enough, especially Jensen, to know they were nude when they shifted back, but she attempted to irritate the man in front of her. Nudity was never an issue in Blue Creek, and Adira assumed it wasn’t here, either, with shifters transforming from human to animal all the time.
He didn’t say anything, just stood there, his hands on his hips, not caring that he was naked, as he stared at her in her robe. His expression revealed his wariness at her mood, which she thought was a good thing. Obviously, her tantrum last night hadn’t taught him anything. “Why are you here?” she repeated.
He took a deep breath, then moved to where he dumped his bag, probably holding his clothes, on her porch. No, don’t get dressed just yet. She was having too much fun watching his nude form move. He stopped at the bag against the wall, and then turned to h
er, choosing to remain naked for now. “The sheriff came by last night after you left and made some valid points,” he said. “Points I tried to make to you. Bane seemed to take special notice of how you stood up to him. He won’t like that for long and will probably try something. I wanted to make sure you were where I could protect you, so I chose to come here and sleep, keeping an eye on you.”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “And yet, I caught you sleeping and scared the hell out of you,” she pointed out.
He shrugged. “What can I say? I didn’t expect the attack to come from inside the house.”
“The attack wouldn’t have come from outside, either, you dolt. Before I turned in, I set the wards to warn of coyotes. I told you; I know how to protect myself.”
“Well, how was I supposed to know that?” He stepped toward her, his hands going to her arms. The suddenness of the move caught her off-guard, and her robe fell open a little more, exposing her soft belly. “Adira, I won’t risk anything hurting you. Bane is a dangerous man. He’s also smart. Who’s to say he’ll even use coyotes to attack you? There are plenty of other rogue shifters eager to do his dirty work.”
She felt the heat between her legs fan to a roaring fire at his touch. God, it was hard to stay pissed at him when he was naked and concerned, his cock a growing rod between them. It took all her resolve not to pin him to the wall and take him right there on her porch. Her eyes widened, as she glanced around the area. Had anyone seen him shift on her porch, privy to his nakedness? “Perhaps you should get some clothes on,” she said, words she really didn’t want to hear, not to mention even say. She wanted him to stay naked, wanted to feel his body against hers.