Tane's Mate: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Shifter's on the Run Book 1)

by Serena Simpson

She woke up in the same room which meant her escape attempt failed. Well, wasn’t she a regular villain, stealing guns, sneaking out of windows, ready to shoot people. No! And that was the problem. This wasn’t her life. She shouldn’t be on the run from people in black suits who wanted to hook her up to machines and see what she could do. There shouldn’t be real honest to God voices in her head. Leza was normal! Maybe if she screamed it to the mountain tops someone would hear her. More likely they would find her and drop her back into that dark hole. A shudder of fear went through her as she thought of that hole deep in the ground that had been used to punish her. She had to escape.

  Turning her head, she saw him—Tane—he was lying beside her in the bed looking much too comfortable. There was no doubt in her mind who he was. The good looking twin. A hysterical laugh tried to leave her mouth. The twins looked the same, just one turned her body on and the other didn’t. Tane turned her on.

  “I’m still alive?”

  “Seems so. I’m still debating.”

  “You must be in charge here.”

  “Fishing for information?” He sat up in bed and then leveraged himself against the headboard.

  “Not really, anyone with eyes can see you’re in charge. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, but it seems my life is in your hands.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Please don’t overwhelm me with all of your words.” She placed her hands over her head as she shook it.

  His lips quirked in a smile. “You always been this funny?”

  “Nah, not really. I tend to do it when I’m nervous.”

  “Maybe you should tell me what you’re running from and why you picked our property to cross.”

  What was she running from? Really, it had been a simple surgery, or so they told her. She’d been born with a slight bend in her spine, nothing major but it bothered her every day of her life. A minor ache that could at times take her down faster than a pile drive from a wrestler.

  Her new doctor told her of this amazing new surgery that could help her. She could walk without pain. Without pain. It seemed like the future was now the present and she almost couldn’t imagine such a thing. She debated, not knowing what to do and not having any family to ask, but her doctor—such a kindly old man—had convinced her. It was the beginning of the end.

  “I went in to have a simple back surgery. They assured me it was simple, that nothing could go wrong. When I woke up my whole life had changed.”

  She glanced at him under her eye lids. There was so much more to that statement but how could she tell him? Everything was different now. Her hand twitched wanting to beat the side of her head to make the voice stop or was it voices. Sometimes she wasn’t sure. How could she tell him she used to be a simple office worker? She got out of bed every morning, took a shower, and dragged herself off to her nine to five. There was no hero in her, just a woman who got lost in a book or a good movie and wished she could be the next super woman agent.

  “I guess this is the part where you leave me to my own imagination and I have to guess in order to figure out what was done to you.”

  Opening her mouth he placed a finger on her lips. His finger burned and she wanted him to touch her again preferably with his lips.

  “Shh, let me take a stab at it. You tell me where I go wrong.”

  “You woke up tied to a bed. Your insides felt like they were moving, changing, and all you wanted was the blood of those who dared tie you down. How am I doing so far?”

  Her eyes were wide, but she nodded her head before lowering her eyes, refusing to meet his as thoughts of the blood lust she felt went through her.

  She would have torn them apart with her hands and her teeth. There was a violent storm raging deep inside of her. Her body was different. Her mind was as well and the voice in her head growled and raged at being different.

  “Can you change?”

  Shocked eyes rose to meet his. What did he mean change? Change into what? Wasn’t the fact that she was slowly going crazy enough change for him?

  Her head swung to the left when a softly uttered cuss word came through the door.

  “It’s breakfast time. I guess you get to prove you can cook, but first I need to change your dressing.”

  He brought a large first aid kit over to the bed before going into the bathroom and washing his hands. He opened the kit and put on a pair of surgical gloves before removing her bandages.

  She looked down expecting a large hole only to find that it had been stitched up. Not only had he stitched it but it was healing, fast.

  “I expected this to heal a little faster, but you’re not too bad off here. It healed much faster than it would have when you were human.”

  “What? I am human.”

  “Nope. Not anymore. Now you’re a monster, a hybrid, something without a name, but you are definitely not human. Human’s don’t desire to use their teeth to rip into other humans and want to tear them apart. At least I have it on a rather reliable source that sane humans don’t desire to do that. And you, Leza, don’t seem insane to me at all.”

  He made fast work of changing her bandages.

  She wasn’t human. Her face tried for a look of surprise but she wasn’t fooling herself. The day she woke tied to that bed she knew she was different. No there was no way she understood what was done but whatever it was it hadn’t been back surgery. The up side was that her back didn’t hurt anymore. It was a plus, or so she told herself.

  Of course with every plus in her life there must be a minus and the fact that her nails turned into claws was definitely a minus. Oh and there was the little fact that her teeth became sharp fangs. So yeah, she was more than capable of tearing a man apart and maybe she already had. Her mind went hazy every time she thought about it. The only way it could preserve her sanity.

  He put away the first aid kit and went to a drawer pulling out a blue button down shirt. Turning to her, he tossed it. She raised a hand and caught it without thinking. Yeah, she had pretty good reflexes too.

  “You can put that on; it will be long enough to cover you.”

  She peeked under the cover and realized her pants were history. She glanced at the chair to find scraps of them there. He obviously tore them when he took them off of her.

  “My animals seem to like you.” His voice came off as non-chalant as he told her. Like a cruise director pointing out an interesting fact that had been said so many times it was now boring.

  She gripped the shirt getting up so the t-shirt she had on came down to cover her. With a quick movement, she skated past him and wound up in the bathroom to change.

  “There’s an extra tooth brush on the counter and a comb for you to use.”

  The toothbrush and the comb were new. Did he send someone into town last night to get them for her? With a shake of her head she abandoned that line of thinking; it would mean he was planning to let her stay. It smacked more of he decided to keep her and that was the last thing she wanted. She was running from men who decided to keep her. That huge hole in the ground loomed in front of her. She squeezed the side of the sink until she was firmly back in the bathroom. There was no chance she would escape.

  With a semisweet smile she walked out into the bedroom. The shirt she was wearing hit her knees just like the t-shirt. It was soft and made her want to cuddle into it. Tane was a big male. If she were free she’d be all over him. Rubbing her body against his asking, maybe even pleading, for him to pound into her, to make her sex throb from his thick cock going inside of her. She wanted him to ride her so hard she’d feel him next week, but she wasn’t free.

  “Where’s the kitchen?”

  “I’ll show you, but first…”

  He grabbed her so fast her head spun. He trapped her between his hard chest and the wall. Leaning over, he licked her lips. Please help. Her mind spun out of control with one small taste of him.

  She opened her mouth inviting him in. He lowered his head and devoured her lips. His tongue went into her mouth lik
e a ruthless dictator taking over, making her hum in pleasure. The feel of his tongue on her made her weak. It was just a kiss but her body wasn’t buying it. He dominated her and she begged for more.

  He inched her legs apart bringing his thick bulge to the apex of her thighs. Help her. She would give this man anything he wanted for a small taste of what he had to offer. She tilted her hips and rode him wanting the release that was close.

  He pulled back. Her hands clutched his shirt.

  “Shh, I got you but not yet.” His voice was thick like a dying man pulling away from the last glass of water on earth in order to savor it. “Don’t want to hurt you.”

  He hid his face in her neck for a minute before pulling back and gaining his control.

  “There. Now you can go cook.”

  “Why?”

  “Because now you look like you’re mine.”

  Her swollen lips paired with her eyes wide with need and her soft lashes slowly blinking agreed with him.

  Chapter Three

  He led her into the kitchen where five men were sitting at a table that looked like it could seat twice as many. Unless she missed her guess, everyone wasn’t here. The only man she recognized was Dai and being twins with Tane made that easy.

  “She’s a plant.” A deep voice threw out as he checked out her legs.

  “You’re probably right. Stop checking out her legs or you won’t live long enough to find out one way or the other.”

  The man grunted but lifted his eyes to her face.

  “Last chance. Anyone who wants to leave is free to go. I’ve taken care of the others already.” He gave a subtle nod to the empty chairs. Their group was twice as big but he contacted the others and told them to go to the new location he established.

  The men sitting at the table looked at each other before giving small grunts but sitting still.

  “She going to cook for us or what?” Dai asked.

  “Yeah, I’m going to cook.” How else could she earn her keep? Pictures of her on her back with Tane on top of her slipped through her mind. No, sex was for pleasure not payment.

  Opening the huge fridge, she saw that it was full. She pulled out some quick rise biscuits along with eggs, bacon and home fries. The men looked like they could eat a lot. Once she had everything on the counter, she turned back to face them.

  “Jayden is the one who was checking out your legs.” Tane introduced him.

  He was tall with a slim body and black hair in a military cut with beautiful brown eyes.

  “You know who Dai is. The male sitting next to him is Benet.”

  He raised his hand, “You can call me Ben for short.”

  She smiled and waved back. Ben was a blonde with blue eyes and a nice smile. His body was thick like a body builder yet he gave the impression that he could move fast.

  “The male next to him is Lorenzo and we call him Lore for short.”

  “That’s a nice nickname.” She gave him a warm smile. His brown hair touched his collar and his green eyes were lit with merriment.

  “The last one is Dev.” Tane finished making his introductions.

  “You can just call me Dev.” His mouth quirked up in a smile lighting his brown eyes. His hair was auburn and he gave off a feeling of peace, something the others didn’t do.

  She stood there staring at them fascinated to see so many alpha males in one room and no one killing the other.

  “Food,” Tane gently reminded her.

  Gently. She had to hide a snort at that thought. There was nothing gentle about the man. Quickly she had the oven pre-heating while she placed the rolls on the baking dish. She looked at the men and then at the rolls and grabbed another package out of the fridge.

  Dev gave her a friendly nod like she had made the right call. She was sure they could be friends if she stayed long enough. Her smile disappeared; she wasn’t staying long enough. The men chasing her would love to get their hands on the six of them. The thought of Tane being treated like a lab animal stabbed her in her chest. That’s what they would do to him. Treat him like they treated her and there would be no one to protest or look for him.

  Be cautious, she reminded herself. She couldn’t afford to care about people she didn’t know. Heck, the truth was she couldn’t even afford to care about animals. Her kindly old doctor turned out not to be so kindly after all. He told her how he had informed the people at her job that she died on the table. No, there would not be a funeral; her Will stated she wanted to be cremated and thrown to the four winds. Then he told her he had her pets—a cat and a dog—euthanized. Caring was out. All that mattered now was getting out alive.

  The males at the table were strangely quiet as they watched her work. Maybe looking to make sure she didn’t poison or drug their food. She pulled the biscuits out taking the bacon and hash browns off as she poured the eggs into a large pan. Breakfast was almost done.

  In a matter of minutes she finished, placing the food on large platters Tane set out for her. He grabbed them and placed them on the table encouraging her to sit next to him before they all broke out in chatter as they reached for the food.

  Breakfast was an interesting affair. They all talked over each other accompanied by lots of laughter but what they didn’t do was let anything personal spill. By the time she was done eating, she knew all about the town that was far enough away to leave them alone but close enough to visit. They told her highlights of the things that went on in it, but the men were as much of a mystery as when breakfast started.

  Once all the food was gone, Leza stood with a smile on her face and started collecting dishes. This was nice. She was used to solitary meals and the meals she had with others at work, not that she really made any close friends there. It felt like she had been alone forever.

  Don’t get used to it, she cautioned herself. She was leaving the first chance she got. It was the right thing to do. To leave and let these men get back to their lives while she ran in order to keep hers.

  Cleaning the kitchen wasn’t that hard. The others got up and each did a chore, Dai even swept the floor. Her eyes had to be big as saucers as she watched him. He threw her a little smile as he finished but they left the dishes for her.

  “Who do you think kept this place clean before you came to fix us a fancy breakfast?” Dai asked.

  She had to giggle at the word fancy. “That was just breakfast. Imagine how you would feel if I made French toast or something.”

  Jay made happy noises and rubbed his tummy. “I think I would marry you.”

  She laughed out right as Tane threw him a look and a deep growl came from his mouth making her jump.

  “Stop that,” Dai hissed at him. “You’re scaring her.”

  “Nah, I’m all right, it was just unexpected.”

  The animal in her sat up and looked at Tane, her interest going through the roof. Leza felt wetness trickling down her legs. She needed some clothes as she tried to press her thighs together without anyone noticing.

  Drying the last pot, she looked down trying to figure out how she could escape in a long blue shirt because that’s all she had and no way could she fit any of their pants.

  “I’m going into town,” Tane announced as he stood up.

  “Oh good I’ll go with you,” Leza said with a too bright smile.

  He turned and looked at her, his eyes slowly caressing her body from the top of her head down to her toes that still had a little of the purple polish hanging on. She tried to curl them up so he wouldn’t see them.

  There was no way she was mourning for stupid things like her toenails that she always kept polished because the little pop of color made her feel feminine. There was no more feeling pretty, she was a monster. Maybe she could pop her claws and her fangs and fight her way out of here. Six against one her mind mocked her. How will you handle them all?

  If they were normal men. Normal? Let’s assume their not all filled with animals even though you can smell a zoo in here. They are all tall and extra wide with ropes
of muscle, they don’t need an animal, to them we are a snack. Yeah, her animal knew what it was talking about even when it coiled to fight its way out at her word. Her animal was strong and so was she, but neither of them was stupid.

  “You can’t just keep me here.”

  “Watch me.” Then he walked out the room, threw a glance at the men over his shoulder and disappeared outside.

  “Looks like you’ll be keeping me company,” Dai said, taking her hand and leading her to another room.

  “The least you could do is tell me about your house.”

  He shook his head no and turned on a television and a light that didn’t seem to add to the brightness of the room.

  *~*~*~*

  Tane stood in the doorway and didn’t know whether to laugh or shake his head at the tension. All of his men—brothers now, sat there with taut shoulders as they took peeks at Leza. Her eyes were glued to the television as if it was a life line.

  Leza was the first female like themselves they ever saw. Tane could sense she only had one animal in her but she at least had an animal. His brothers were fascinated because if there was one female like them then there could be others. They would want to go looking, he knew they would. It was something they would have to discuss but not until they knew what was happening with Leza.

  His eyes took her in, she was so soft looking. His shirt was on her mixing with her smell calling to his animals, all of whom were screaming mine.

  Leza wasn’t leaving; she just didn’t know it yet. He’d always been attracted to women like her, soft with brown or bronze skin. But Leza was so much more than just his type. She called to him on some fundamental level like she was designed for him. There was no way he was letting her go; he just had to figure a way out of the cluster fuck they were currently in. He took in the lamp that Dai had turned on. Yeah, his twin was taking precautions; she wasn’t going to be happy when she found out what came next.

  “Everybody having fun?” Tane walked into the room with a scowl on his face and bags dangling from his fingers.

  She jumped up with a guilty look on her face.