Merrick Hunter glanced up from the pile of papers on his desk and smiled. His eyes crinkled a bit at the corners. At least the man knew how to laugh, and it showed. “Of course.” He stood when she entered the room. “Have a seat.” He gestured to the chair in front of his desk. “Is there something I can do for you?”
“I—uh…yes.” Gabby felt her face heat as she accepted his invitation and sat down. Knowing her complexion, she was probably as red as the exit sign. “I met a couple of men—shifters—at the diner and they claim that I’m their mate.” She fisted her hands when she noticed that she was twisting her fingers together.
“That’s wonderful!” He smiled, and then sobered when she didn’t smile back. “I take it that it’s not what you wanted.”
“That’s the thing, Sheriff. I do want it. More than anything.” How could she explain how she felt? How could she make him understand that she wanted two men in her life—that the arrangement he had with his own wife and friend was something she dreamed of nightly? “It’s just that they aren’t from Paradise. They rolled into town today and—“
Merrick held up his hand. “Say no more. You want us to check them out, don’t you?” He reached for a pen in a cup on the edge of his desk and pulled a blank sheet of paper out from beneath the scattered pile in front of him. “Did they tell you their names?”
“Of course.” What did he think she was, desperate? Well, maybe she was a little anxious to find shifter mates, but she wasn’t that reckless. She stared down at her feet, her face burning with mortification.
“They introduced themselves as Corbin Lyon and Vincent Rouchue. I have no idea how to spell their names.”
“Any idea where they’re from?”
“They said they’re form a town somewhere in Oregon.” She shrugged. Other than that, I have no idea. I did send them over to get a room at the lodge. Maybe you can get some information there. They’ll have to give their address and license number, won’t they?” He should be able to do something with that much information at his fingertips. He and his mates owned the lodge, so he shouldn’t have a difficult time getting the hotel staff to tell him what he wanted.
“I’ll check them out.” He sat back, tapping his finger to his lips. “In the mean time, stay away from them.” He reached for his phone. “I’ll call Gemma. You two can go to Mason.” He smiled. “She’s wanted to go shopping for decorations for the last few days, but Matt and I have been so busy, we couldn’t take her, and she really shouldn’t be driving in her condition.”
“I would think she couldn’t reach the steering wheel, in her condition,” Gabby said with a smile. Gemma was eight and a half months pregnant with twins and looked like a watermelon standing on two pencils, but Gabby would never say that to her or her mates.
“That has been my point exactly.” He punched a key. “Hey, there, Mel. Can you come into my office and escort Gabby over to the lodge to pick up my wife and take them into Mason to shop?” He paused as he listened. “No. I know you’re not a babysitter. You’re escorting Gabby for her safety. She needs me to check out a couple of strangers who just rolled into town. I need you to guard her, just in case. She’ll be out in a moment.”
“He didn’t sound happy.”
“Mel never sounds happy. He’s getting antsy staying here in Paradise. It will do him good to get out of town.” He glanced down at the paper in front of him. “I should have the answers you need before you get back. If it looks as though these two are up to no good, we’ll have them out of town before you get back.”
He didn’t say that they would most likely have to kill the other two men if they were up to no good, and Gabby was glad. She didn’t think she could live with knowing that much.
“Thank you, Sheriff.”
“It’s Merrick, Gabby. How many times to I have to tell you to call me Merrick? We don’t stand on ceremony here in Paradise, unless the feds are hanging around breathing down our necks.”
All hell broke loose when the feds arrived, from what Gabby could understand. They didn’t allow outside reporters into Paradise, which was understandable. It wouldn’t do to have some outside news crew film someone shifting into a big cat or wolf or something.
“Okay,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll try to remember. Thank you for all of your help, Merrick. I do appreciate it, more than you know.”
Chapter Seven
Corbin stared out through the large picture window in their room. “Do you think she’ll come to us?” He watched as a car pulled into the lot and parked near the door. He didn’t realize it was a police car until the uniformed officer got out of the driver’s side of the vehicle. The only telling mark on the vehicle was a spotlight on the door, and many people around here had them. Apparently, the town always had a rash of thefts during the cooler months. It had something to do with some old woman’s sculptures.
“Scratch that last question. I think it’s more than likely that she went to the local police. A car just pulled in and an officer got out of the car.”
Vincent joined him to look down at the vehicle and man in question.
“You’re too late. He’s already in the building.”
“Maybe he’s here for lunch. According to the brochure, they have a killer menu.” He sighed. “It even had pictures. It almost makes me wish I’d waited to eat here.”
“Stop thinking about your stomach.” Corbin scowled at him. “What if she did go to the police?”
“So what if she did? We have nothing to hide. Neither of us has a record and they won’t find out anything about you other than you’re filthy rich.” He grinned. “That should ease their minds a bit, don’t you think?”
Corbin didn’t dignify that with an answer, he just snorted.
He wasn’t surprised when someone knocked on the door. In fact, he’d expected it. He wasn’t sure if he could respect the leader of a pack or clan who didn’t investigate strangers who drove into town and accosted lone females.
“Hello,” said the uniformed man standing just outside the door. “I’m Merrick Hunter, Sheriff of Paradise. Do you two have a few minutes to talk?”
The significance of the other man standing in the hallway wasn’t lost on Corbin as he opened the door wider. “Certainly, Sheriff. Come on in. Is there something we can do for you?”
The lawman entered their room. It didn’t escape his notice that the man didn’t carry a weapon. He didn’t need to. He was a shifter. Corbin could smell it. Plus, if the stories he’d heard about the man were true, he was a retired Army Ranger. That in itself made the man a weapon in his own right. Add that the sheriff was also a shifter, and the man was a killing machine.
Our mate is one strong and smart woman, indeed, if she sent this man here to check us out, Vince said through their mind link. At least we know she takes her self preservation seriously.
It makes one proud to know their mate is no pushover. He almost smiled, but the sheriff was here on serious business and most likely wouldn’t appreciate it.
“I’m going to cut to the chase. It’s not as though we aren’t all shifters, though I’ve never scented any quite like you two before. What are you?” He paused for a moment, awaiting their answer and then shrugged when they didn’t reply. “It doesn’t really matter, if you don’t want to share. What does matter is that the female you’re sniffing after has asked for my help.”
The sheriff walked to the window and looked down into the parking lot for a moment, before he turned and pinned him with a look. “Do you have anything at all to say about that?”
“We’re glad she asked for your help. It tells us that she is strong and smart. We cherish that in a mate.” Corbin reached for his bottle of cola and took a drink. “We also assumed she would either seek help or run. In the event that she runs, we ask that you put a guard on us. If we can’t find her in time or convince her to mate with us, you must have them put us down before we go feral. If we manage to go feral before you put us down, we will b
e difficult to kill. You have not seen the likes of us in a very long time.”
“Well,” the sheriff said, lifting a brow. “What are the likes of you, so that we can be prepared?”
Corbin glanced at Vincent. Screw the council of elders. You know as well as I do that the procurement of a mate takes precedence over anything else. Taking a deep breath, Corbin made what the humans would call an executive decision. He was the prince of their people, after all. “We are Caspian tiger shifters. In this world we live in Oregon, but there are many of us who are stuck in mid-form who live permanently in the Caspian Cascade.”
He watched the other man’s eyes go wide. “The Caspian Cascade? We thought that was just a legend.”
“As you were meant to do,” Vincent said as he lowered himself onto the bed. “We have been in hiding these past fifty years. We had hoped that the furor for hunting animals to extinction would have calmed down as the world reached the time of enlightenment.”
“Well…the time of enlightenment only means something if the people you’re talking about want to be enlightened. As long as big business has control of most everything, greed will prevail.”
“Which is why we hesitated to share who and what we were with you.” Corbin sat in the chair in front of the desk and gestured to the easy chair in the corner. “Have a seat, Sheriff.”
It appeared as though the sheriff wasn’t going to sit. After a short pause, he sighed and sat down on the edge of the seat. They all knew that this was a precarious truce.
Though Corbin was certain that the other man didn’t want to die, he was equally as sure that the sheriff would die for Gabby if shoved into a corner. That was as it should be. The males had an obligation to protect those weaker than they were. It was the way of the shifter world. Those who didn’t feel the same didn’t belong in their ranks and deserved to lose their place among their ranks.
“Tell me something about your people,” Merrick said as he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Is the Cascade really an endless paradise? I’ve heard it described as a form of Shangri-La.”
“I would describe it so,” Vince said as he, too, leaned forward. “It’s not like your Paradise, where the town is set in the open wilderness. We felt your spell as we entered. Such a spell must tax your people and grow thin during this time of year.”
“It does.” Merrick nodded. “Are you saying that you don’t have issues with unwanted visitors?” He shook his head. “If so, would your people be willing to help us recast a spell that would be easier to maintain?”
“Perhaps,” Corbin said with a nod. “However, that is something that we must ask our council of elders. Like most governments, we have a ruler and a governing council. While my father and, eventually, I will rule the Cascade, we are really little more than figure heads.”
“That’s only because you don’t exert your power,” Vince interrupted. “You know as well as I do that if you or your father made a declaration, the people would fall in line.”
“Perhaps,” Corbin said with a shrug. “However, we don’t wish to take advantage of those who would follow us.”
“Will you ask your people when you return?” Merrick stood and made his way to the door. “It would be nice to spend our holidays home with our families instead of in tiny cabins in the woods, shoring up the defenses of Paradise when the veil is thin.”
“We will ask on one condition.” Corbin watched as the sheriff’s spine grew stiff. It was apparent that the man didn’t like stipulations, though he was certain the sheriff wouldn’t mind this one when he requested it.
“What condition?”
Corbin was glad that he had nothing to fear from this man’s reaction. Otherwise, the expression on the Sheriff’s face might have given him pause. One could see death in the depth of the man’s eyes.
“We only ask, Sheriff, that you guard our mate against us should the need arrive.”
“That I can do,” he said as he reached for the doorknob. “I’ll leave you to your preparations. If you need anything, anything at all, just call down to the front desk. However, I think you’ll find everything you need in the nightstand next to the bed or in the bathroom. And, by the way, call me Merrick. Everyone does”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Vince said just after the door closed.
“What?”
“I just checked the nightstand. I think I like this place. You should see the stuff they have stored in here.”
Chapter Eight
“I don’t know how you do it, Gemma. I’m beat, and I’m not carrying a set of twins around everywhere I go.”
After visiting five stores and filling the trunk with Halloween decorations and a few other unrelated items, Gabby was beat. She wanted nothing more than to sit down in the car and nap on her way back to Paradise. With luck, the hour ride would be enough to perk her up. She’d need the rest if she planned on facing Vincent and Corbin again.
Gemma turned her way and grinned. “As you might imagine, I don’t get out without the guys too much. I’m taking this opportunity to buy their birthday and Yule gifts.”
The other woman turned to Mel, who looked a lot like an actor with the same name. Right down to his gorgeous blue eyes. He looked so much like the actor, his friends had even taken to calling him Movie Star, though most just called him Star. “And don’t you dare tell them what they’re getting.” She waggled her finger. “If you do, you’re not eating at the lodge for at least six months.”
“My lips are sealed, ma’am. If they ask, I’ll merely tell them it’s classified.”
“Damned skippy, it’s classified,” Gemma replied. “I’m tired now.” She sighed. “Do you think we can go home?”
“Wait one,” Mel said as he held up a finger and pulled his ringing phone from his pocket with the other hand. “It’s your dime,” he barked into the phone. “Yep, uh huh, okay. Will do. Yep. Later.”
Gemma glanced at Gabby and raised her brow. “Wow. This end of that conversation was as informative as a politician on campaign.”
“Wasn’t it?” Gabby laughed.
“So what’s up?” Gemma asked as she hooked her arm through Mel’s and dragged him toward the car.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Mel pulled free. “I’m not going to have you go home with my scent all over you and have your mates threatening me again.” He backed off, holding his hands up. “I’ll tell you once we’re in the car.” Reaching out, he opened the door and waited for Gemma to get in before closing it. He closed Gabby’s door in the back, before walking around to the driver’s side and climbing in. “Everyone have their seatbelts on?”
“They’re on, already. Now, tell us what’s up.” Gemma flipped the switch and rolled down her window, and stuck her head out. “Is it hot in here? I think it’s hot in here.”
“It’s not hot in here. I think it’s your imagination.” Mel glared at Gemma as he rolled up the window. “Stop being annoying. You know I’ll tell you if you’ll just give me a minute to get on the road.”
Gabby watched the two in the front seat banter with a smile. She only hoped that she could find friends like Gemma’s one day. She wondered what it would be like to live and belong in a community where the people actually cared for one another. She hadn’t believed they existed until her plane crashed in Paradise.
“That was Merrick on the phone. He said that he spoke to Gabby’s shifters and that they seem perfectly safe. They even asked him to hunt them if they should get out of hand.” He glanced at Gabby in the mirror. “I haven’t been a part of the Paradise community as long as Gemma has, but from what I understand, that is a big deal. Men willing to ask others to protect their mate, even from them, is usually a sign that they are honorable men.”
Gabby closed her eyes and murmured a prayer of thanks. Her shoulders slumped with relief. She hadn’t realized just how tense she had been until now.
Her stomach knotted as she realized that this meant she could go back to Paradise a
nd meet her two men at the lodge. “Stop! Stop the car.” Gabby had her seatbelt off and the door opened before they even came to a complete stop. She leapt from the car and took several deep breaths.
Now that she knew there was nothing stopping her from being with the two men, she was nervous. Her stomach felt as though it was full of rocks, her heart pounded and it felt as though she couldn’t draw enough air into her lungs.
She wanted this. She knew she did, yet she feared what it meant—what it would do to her. She needed advice. Turning back to the car, she opened Gemma’s door. “Can I talk to you for a few minutes?”
“Sure.” Gemma released her seatbelt and clumsily climbed out of the car. Smiling, she rubbed her belly. “They’re moving around. I don’t think they like Mason at all. It feels as though they’re telling me to get my butt home.”
“I’m sorry.” Gabby paced away from Gemma before turning to face her. “I have to ask you something.”
“Ask away.” Gemma waved her arm as though there was nothing Gabby could ask that she wouldn’t answer.
“I heard that you used to be human.”
“You heard right. I was human until I mated Matt and Merrick.” Tilting her head, she cradled her stomach and smiled wistfully. “And I would do it again and again. Those two men are my life as much as these babies.”
“Then you have no regrets? They never gang up on you to get their way?”
“They wouldn’t dare,” Mel said from behind Gemma. “You’ve seen them with her. Gemma has those two idiots wrapped around her little finger, just as Nina has her mates wrapped around hers and every other woman in town.” He snorted. “It’s almost enough to make me gag.”
Gabby smiled at Mel. “And you can’t wait to find your mate, can you?” she asked shrewdly. “All of your bluster is because you see the men and how happy you are and wish you had a mate.”
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