by Kim Fox
Stetson sighed and dropped the ax, turning to face her. Her smooth lips were pinched closed as she stared at him. She was so close. He could reach out and touch her. He was close enough to tuck her silky amber hair that was spilling over the sides of her cute cheeks behind her ear.
“I’m sorry if I’m disturbing you,” she said, dropping her eyes to the tall grass by their feet. “I just wanted to thank you for the other night.”
“It was nothing,” Stetson grunted.
“Well, it was to me,” she said, meeting his eyes again. “You saved my life. That’s not nothing to me.” Her lips curled up in a faint smile and his heart panged as he noticed a little chip on one of her teeth. It was a tooth on the upper right side of her mouth and the bottom was broken with a chip that he hadn’t noticed before. In that moment he wanted to find out what else he didn’t know. Stetson wanted to know every inch of her body intimately.
This is going too far. Don’t let her get close.
“I would have saved anyone,” he said, trying to look disinterested.
“And my car?” she asked, looking at him sideways. “I guess you would just drive into town to buy wax, find out where a stranger lived, wait until they weren’t home, and then anonymously clean the graffiti off of their car? I guess you would just do that to anyone as well?”
Stetson had nothing to say to that. He had just felt compelled to help her out. The thought of her being embarrassed as she drove around her car with that word on it was too much for him to bear. It kept him up at night.
“I would like to get you something as a thank you,” she said, “but I don’t know anything about you. I don’t know what to get.” She motioned to the split chopping block with her eyes and smiled. “A new chopping block maybe?”
Stetson shook his massive head as he looked away. “I don’t need anything.”
“Okay,” she said, sighing disappointedly and dropping her hands to her sides. “I tried. It was nice to meet you, Stetson.”
He nodded without looking up at her. Just let her go. It’s better this way. For her and for you.
But his inner polar bear wasn’t having any of it. He began snarling and growling, pacing and grumbling like a rabid bear as she walked back to her car. Shit. He’s going to be like this all day. And night.
Kylee had unknowingly calmed his inner animal. She had some sort of effect on him that Stetson didn’t quite understand. Was it worth exploring? Maybe just a dinner…
How could that be so bad?
“Kylee,” he called out and she stopped and turned. Her thick amber hair was swept over her shoulder showing the feminine curve of her neck. “How about you buy me dinner? As a thank you.”
Her sweet luscious lips curled up into a smile. “I can do that,” she said with a nod. “How about tonight? I’ll pick you up at seven.”
Stetson swallowed hard as he nodded. “Seven is good.”
The police siren blared through the forest, making them both jump up in shock. The red and blue lights on top of Kylee’s police cruiser were spinning around as the siren ripped through the forest burning Stetson’s ears. It finally stopped when Kylee turned to her car with a fierce glare. Slate was looking at her through the windshield with a guilty grin on his face.
“Sorry,” he said with his hands up as he stepped out of the car. “I just always wanted to try that.”
“That is a federal crime,” Kylee said, marching over. “Would you also like to try spending the day in jail? Because I can arrange that too.”
Slate dropped his eyes to the ground like a guilty kid at the principal’s office. “No ma’am.”
Kylee chuckled as she walked past him to the driver’s side door. “You’re lucky that I don’t want to spend my day off filling out paperwork.”
She flashed Stetson a smile as she got into her car and his heart skipped a beat. What have I done?
Stetson wasn’t meant to have a mate. He had been through too much. He was too broken. He didn’t know how to act around women, especially such a fragile human. She could get hurt. It was all so wrong.
But goddamn it felt right.
Kylee was flying high as she drove down the windy Montana road. She stuck her hand out the window, letting the wind slap against her open palm. Mother Nature’s high five.
She had a date with the sexy and mysterious stranger who had saved her life. Not a date. Just a thank you.
But it sure felt like a date. She was definitely going to get dressed up like it was a date.
There was something about him. He looked dangerous and normally she hated shifters, her father had made sure of that, but there was something about Stetson that made her want to get to know him better. He had rescued and protected her during her greatest time of need and then he had gone through the trouble of cleaning her car afterward. It had been a long time since someone had done something so nice for her.
And he was so hot. She parted her legs, feeling heat swirling inside of her and settling between her thighs as she pictured how big and muscular he was as he chopped the wood shirtless, his eyes glowing a brilliant green. His abs flexed with every swing of the ax and she was stunned by how powerful he looked.
Kylee’s breath began to get ragged as she pictured the carved lines of his triceps with the sexy tattoos inked over it. He seemed to radiate a primal power and savage dominance. She’d be lying if she said that she didn’t find it intensely attractive.
Her cell vibrated on the empty seat next to her. Ugh. On my day off.
Kylee answered it with a roll of her eyes. “Hi, Andrew. What’s up?”
“Sheriff,” the voice on the other line said. It was Andrew Carter, the mayor of Colwood. “I’m calling for an update on the…situation.”
Kylee squeezed the steering wheel tight. “I can give you an update tomorrow when I’m at the office,” she said. “I’m not there because it’s my day off.”
“Now would be just fine,” he said curtly.
Kylee sighed. “I’m working on it. I was just at their camp, speaking with them and I have to say, they seem like perfectly nice guys.”
“They’re shifters,” he said, sounding disgusted. “And I want them out of my town. And when I’m Governor I’ll kick them out of my state.”
Kylee took a deep breath as she watched the towering Redwoods fly by the side of the road. Andrew hated shifters and would have rounded them all up into concentration camps if he had his way. It took a ton of convincing on Kylee’s part to let him leave the Vega brothers alone. This Clawed Squad, as they were called, didn’t have a hope in hell. Andrew could let a few brothers who grew up here in Colwood, Montana stay but he would never let a bunch of ex-con shifters come waltzing into his town and make a life for themselves. It wasn’t going to happen.
“I got you the job for a reason,” he said, his voice tight. “Remember our little talk?”
Kylee gripped the steering wheel and dropped her head back onto the headrest. How could she forget? They had struck a little deal when she was looking to get promoted. She would help Andrew keep Colwood clear of shifters and he would recommend her for the job.
“Dig up some dirt on them,” Andrew snapped. “And then get them the fuck out of my town. Or you can find yourself a new job.”
The line clicked dead. She tossed the phone back onto the seat with a groan and shook her head. Her father had hated shifters. He talked bad about them throughout her whole childhood. His hateful words seeped into her consciousness and she adopted his words as truth. She never really questioned them until now.
Stetson had saved her. He had treated her well.
And the rest of the Clawed Squad seemed nice and fun. Could Dad have been wrong?
No. The horrible vision came roaring back to her memory. The fear. The betrayal. The vicious teeth sinking into her shoulder. The pain. The darkness.
She had seen her own death and it came at the hands of a shifter. They were bad. They had to be stopped.
Kylee narrowed her eyes on the
road with a fierce new resolve. Tonight wouldn’t be a date. It would be an interrogation.
She would get all of the information that she could get on this Clawed Squad. And then she would get them out of her town.
For good.
five
Stetson stepped into Kylee’s car and the sweet smell of her peach perfume had his head swimming before he even closed the door. He was in trouble.
“You look pretty,” he said, swallowing hard. His alpha, Thorn, had ordered him to say that but it was definitely true. It was the only thing on his mind. She was wearing faded blue jeans that were nice and tight on her round thighs and a yellow top that contrasted her tanned skin and made her honey colored eyes pop.
“Thank you,” she said, turning as her cute cheeks blossomed into a light shade of pink.
“We can take my Jeep,” Stetson offered. The boys had made fun of him all afternoon that he wasn’t picking her up. Apparently, it was the male’s job to drive. He had a lot to learn about women and dating. If this was, in fact, a date.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said with a grin as she pulled the police cruiser into reverse. “We can run through red lights with this one.”
Stetson groaned as he looked back at the camp. All five of his squad were standing there waving. He felt like a high school kid who was a bit too old for his parents to being waving at him from the front lawn as he got on the school bus.
“Your friends seem nice,” she said as she drove down the gravel road to the main road. “What’s it like living with a bunch of bear shifters?”
Stetson jerked his head towards her and narrowed his eyes as he studied her. “We’re not shifters.”
“Please,” she said with a laugh. “Detective work is part of my job. Plus, Karl already told me.”
“He did?!?” Stetson asked in surprise. It wasn’t something they normally shared with strangers. Or anyone for that matter.
Kylee turned to him with a mischievous grin on her soft lips. “Tricking people into telling me information is also part of my job.”
Stetson shook his head but couldn’t help but smile. She was a smart cookie.
“I thought you guys were crazy healers,” she said.
“We are.”
“Then what about Tyler?” she asked, looking at him curiously. “How could he lose a leg? Is he just a weak shifter or something?”
Stetson chuckled. Tyler weak? He was the most powerful one of the bunch. Scarier than him and even more deadly than Thorn.
“Tyler isn’t like us,” Stetson said, wondering how much he should share. “He’s something else entirely.” He had probably already said too much but the words were just coming out of him. It just felt so easy and natural talking to her. “He doesn’t have an animal inside of him.”
She tilted her head. “Then what is he?”
Stetson took in a deep breath. He shouldn’t be talking about this but one look in her gorgeous eyes and all of his apprehensions went flying out the window. “He’s a skin shifter.”
“A what?”
“A skin shifter,” Stetson repeated. “Very rare. Very powerful.”
He watched her face as she turned the car onto the main road. She bit her bottom lip and Stetson’s bear groaned at the sight of her chipped tooth. Her flaws made her that much more perfect.
“What does a skin shifter do?” she asked, glancing at him.
Stetson knew that he should drop it. If Thorn found out that he was discussing this with someone who he had just met he’d rip him to pieces. And that would be nothing compared to what Tyler would do to his bear. But he didn’t care about all of that. The beauty next to him had asked and he was going to answer.
“Skin shifters can heal faster than humans but not as fast as shifters,” he explained as she sped up on the main road that led to the town. “But their real talent is that they can slide into the skin of any animal and control them with their mind.” It was a terrifying skill for a bear shifter like Stetson. A skin shifter could literally take over his bear and get him to do whatever he wanted. He shuddered just thinking about it.
Kylee looked over with a furrowed brow. “I’ve never heard of that before.”
Stetson didn’t doubt it. Skin shifters were rare and they were much better than regular shifters at keeping their presence hidden from the public. But then again, they didn’t have angry bears or wolves growling at the most inappropriate times, or worse, bursting out of their skin in public.
“I shouldn’t be telling you all of this,” he said, wiping his sweaty palms on his good jeans.
Kylee ran her pinched finger and thumb across her lips like she was closing a zipper. She flicked it out of the open window and smiled. “Your secrets are safe with me.”
“I know,” Stetson said with a nod. He didn’t know why but he knew that they were.
She seemed completely trustworthy.
Kylee smiled as Stetson opened the door of the steak restaurant in town. He towered over her, which she loved. She was a big girl and had never felt petite in her life. The sexy werebear beside her made her feel like a little porcelain doll.
All heads in the restaurant turned when they walked in. She nodded at a few people that she knew from town. She was the Sheriff and knew almost everybody, which could be annoying on her days off like when Mr. Miller would come up to her complaining about his messy neighbor, or when Mrs. Baker would ask her to arrest her own husband for parking on her lawn. She was the highest profile law enforcement agent in the town and surrounding areas but sometimes she felt like a clerk at a complaint desk.
“Hi, Sheriff,” the pretty hostess said, grabbing two menus. She looked up at Stetson with wide eyes and Kylee couldn’t help but chuckle. He was definitely eye catching. A sexy block of pure muscle.
They settled in at a quiet table in the corner and Stetson read the menu while she studied him. He was the strong silent type, which she was always attracted to. It was too bad that he was a shifter, but she also kind of liked that about him. She loved the intense power that he was capable of. She got all warm inside every time that she remembered him tossing around that punk Todd who had attacked her. He was sexy as hell and she was definitely attracted to him.
He’s a shifter. He’s the enemy.
But was he? Maybe her father had been wrong. Maybe Andrew was wrong. Stetson didn’t seem to be dangerous at all.
“So did you grow up in this town?” he asked, folding his menu on the side of the table.
“I did,” she answered. She told him about how she was raised on a farm five minutes away from town. She had a nice childhood with warm memories. Colwood, Montana was a wonderful family town and she wanted to keep it that way. That’s why she worked so hard as the Sheriff.
The waitress took their orders and brought their drinks as they chatted about the town and some of the residents.
“What were you doing before you came here?” she asked.
His eyes darted to the side wall and he leaned back in his chair. Kylee leaned forward, waiting for his answer.
“I was in the US military,” he said, rubbing his strong jaw. “We all were.”
“Oh,” she said, jerking her head back in surprise. She hadn’t come across any of that in her research of them. “In the army? Navy?”
“No,” he laughed. “Shifters have their own place in the army. A place with no medals or TV cameras.”
“Where did you fight?”
“You name it,” he said, running his hand through his messy brown hair, “and we were there.”
The waitress dropped off the two beers that they ordered. Her eyes lingered on his muscular tattooed arms as she walked away and a flash of jealousy surged through Kylee.
“What made you want to join the military?” she asked after taking a sip of her cold beer.
He took a deep breath, filling his massive lungs and making his broad chest swell out even more. “I didn’t,” he said his green eyes flashing brighter. “Enlistment is not exactly volunta
ry with shifters.”
“They forced you?” she asked, leaning forward in shock. That wasn’t right. She squeezed her hand around the cold mug in anger at the cruel men who forced him to fight.
Stetson leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his beer, emptying half of it down his throat. “Those days are over now. It’s time for a new beginning.”
Kylee raised her beer mug and he clinked it with his. “To new beginnings,” she repeated.
They chatted throughout dinner and he kept her entranced with stories of the war and of his youth. She asked him tons of questions about being a shifter and he answered every one of them honestly.
“What’s it like when the bear takes over?” she asked.
“Cloudy,” he said, thinking about it. “I can see the world through his eyes but he’s in control. Just like he’s watching you now through my eyes, but I’m in control.”
“He can see me?” she asked, waving slowly as she stared into his fierce green eyes.
“He thinks you’re beautiful,” he said, making her flush red. “He’s normally always agitated and easily upset but whenever I’m with you, he’s as calm as a drugged Hindu cow. I think he likes you.”
“Are we all finished?” the waitress asked, interrupting their moment. They nodded and she cleared their plates.
“Dessert?” she asked.
Kylee was tempted but she hadn’t gone jogging that morning for nothing.
“One of each,” Stetson said with a grin. He turned to her when the waitress left. “I’m paying for dessert.”
Kylee laughed. “It’s going to cost more than the dinner.”
She was having a good time. He was funny and sweet with just a hint of danger to him. She had forgotten all about her constant worries: Andrew and her visions. She just relaxed and enjoyed his company.
The desserts came and they laughed as two other servers had to come help their waitress. Every inch of the table was filled with hot brownie sundae, moist carrot cake, strawberry cheesecake, freshly baked apple pie, and the delicious list went on.