The Shifter's Wish: A Ghost Shifters Novel

by R. A. Boyd

  That gave Cole hope. Maybe that would be enough to keep him going.

  “If all you want is a quick fuck then you need to move on pass Cass’s sister. The woman is still healing over a divorce, and I’d hate for Cass to murder you for hurting her sister.”

  Cole blew a raspberry and walked over to sit in the common area. “I was just asking a question, Damon,” Cole said. He sounded defensive but Damon knew otherwise.

  The common area where the couches and television sat was filling with the sound of the clan’s easy banter. Jax and Cass would be over in a few minutes. Damon came over early to warm the place and get a feel from the clan members. Teague would be the only missing member. He worked at the local firehouse and didn’t get off until morning.

  The door flew open and in came the only woman in this clan of ghost shifters. Audra was like a flying squirrel hopped up on steroids. Short, mocha skin, brown hair, brown eyes, and her nails were painted brown. She had long hair that she kept braided, and it fell almost to her waist. She pursed her lips and her squinted eyes darted around the room. When they landed on Damon, she ran over to him and stood about three inches from his face. She had a problem with personal space. It didn’t bother the clan, except Simon, but most of the humans and shifters in town hated it. But they didn’t dare say anything.

  Audra may have been small and sweet, but she had a temper just as short as her stature. And she could brawl. Once she decided she had an ass to kick, she was on that bastard like a rabid koala bear.

  “Where is she?” Audra asked, still looking around. “I just got off and I want to meet her. Why does it smell like deer in here?” She cracked out a laugh and put her hand on her small waist. “I rhymed. So. Where is she?”

  Damon felt no malice or confusion coming off his sister. Only happiness and curiosity. He may have been the one in the group to help them through hard times and help them move on from the past, but Audra was the group cheerleader. You had no choice than to be happy when she was around. Or she’d move to violence to try and force you. Those two emotions were close friends when it came to his sister.

  “Calm down, Audra, and try not to freak her out. She’s nervous.”

  She quirked her lips sideways and threw her hands in the air. “Why is she nervous? She’s about to join a badass clan full of fallen angel ghost shifters. She should be fucking happy.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Why isn’t it?” Audra’s eyes went to slits and she pushed herself so close to Damon he had to back away or she’d run into him. “Did someone make her feel unwelcomed? Who?”

  And that quick, Audra’s happy demeanor switched to swift violence. Damon had to get her to calm down or by the time Cass did make it to the hall, Audra would be pummeling one of their brethren.

  “Audra. Audra.” Damon grabbed her by the arm to pull her attention back to him. “Damn-it, Audra. It’s been taken— fucking hell.”

  She shook off his grip, stomped over to the couches, and punched her hands on her small hips. “You lot, listen to me. Whoever the hell is in their feelings about J and D’s mate needs to suck that shit up. I’m finally getting another woman in this place and you better not run her off. I will gut you if you do. Are we clear?”

  Damon had to stop himself from laughing. She was the smallest thing in this place, and the four grown ass men in the sitting area looked nervous and helpless.

  “I said, are we clear?” she asked again, a low growl sounding off in her chest.

  “It ain’t that simple, Audra,” Simon said, standing and towering over her.

  From where Damon sat he could see a predatory grin slink over Audra’s face. “It’s you, Simon, isn’t it? And you need to sit the hell back down. I don’t feel like tipping my head back to look up at you.”

  At his full height Simon was almost a foot taller than Audra and weighed at least one hundred pounds more than her. But he had damned good sense. He sat his ass back down and let Audra look in his eyes. Everyone knew that the pecking order in this clan was Jax, Damon, and then Audra. She was deadly. She was a quick thinker, a strategist, and she had a mean streak that rivaled Lucifer’s. The only thing that kept her out of Hell was her soft heart. She loved all things good, love hard, and fought for those who needed it. She sat out the Great War because she didn’t want to hurt anyone, and she couldn’t see why the others went against the Creator. She’d never hurt anyone who was weaker than her. These full-grown men knew that she could hand their asses to them on a silver platter before they even knew the fight had started.

  “Simon,” she said, pointing at him. “She’s going to be my best friend. Hurt her and I will hurt you.”

  “You haven’t even met her yet!” Simon yelled, his voice tapering off to a snarl. A blood vessel that beat with his heart had popped up on his forehead, and he was turning red. He was asking for it and Audra would be happy to deliver.

  As if she were a petulant child, Audra stomped her foot. “Well, she was chosen for our Alpha and Omega. And that makes her special. She was made for them. We’ve known it was coming. Some of us have been waiting since this curse started for it to end. She signifies that. We may not be getting back to Heaven as angels, but this means that we’ve been forgiven.” Simon went to say something and Audra snapped her fingers together in a ‘shut-up’ motion that quieted him. “It has to mean that. And it means that my mate is coming. He may not be here for a long, long fucking time. But he’s coming. Fix your shit and be nice to her.”

  From where Damon sat, he glanced out the front window and saw Cass and Jax walking up the hill. He stood up and put out his hands to calm everyone.

  “Here she comes.”

  Damon smiled as he watched her almost slip coming up the hill, but Jax grabbed her and steadied her. With one more feel of the room, Damon let his guard down to see how everyone was taking her approach. It still seemed as if someone here was still nervous and unsure. And panicked? Maybe he’d let Audra work it out the only ways she knew how.

  Damon felt the smile split his face open as Cass reached for the door and slipped again, but Jax was there behind her making sure she didn’t fall.

  “Clumsy human,” Simon said.

  A crack sounded through the room as Audra slapped him on the back of the neck. He looked up at her as if he were going to say something stupid, but the icy smile she gave him shut him up.

  “Don’t make me break into your house tonight after you fall asleep,” Audra sang quietly.

  It was nice to have someone so passionate on Cass’s side like Audra, but Damon knew her patterns. If there was anyone in their little group that could go mad and take a lot of others, human and shifter, with her on her decline it was Audra. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for that freight train.

  Jax reached around and opened the door for Cass, and when they came in with the cold air blowing behind them, the scent of burning jasmine came along with them. Cass wasn’t scared but she was nervous as shit, and the scent emanated from her like a vapor’s cloud. She’d get used to them, and hopefully one day she’d call them all family.

  Cass’s timid eyes searched the room, and when they landed on Damon she smiled and walked toward him. Her hair bounced around her like a dark halo, and those sexy as shit tight jeans looked painted on her thick hips and full, sexy ass. He thought she was going to ignore everyone in the room, but as she passed the couches she stopped for a moment and nodded her head to the group.

  “Hello,” she said, her voice quietly flittering through the room.

  When she got closer to Damon, her eyes traveled from his boot-clad feet to his eyes. The scent of her lust overtook that of her nervousness, and the wicked grin that took over her face made his dick stand up to greet her. Her little pink tongue slid across her bottom lip and when she reached him she wrapped her arms around his middle.

  If he didn’t know any better he’d say that she was in heat. The cougar and leopard shifter women had experienced it, and being next to her was lik
e being close to the shifter women in town who were on the hunt for a man. Except with Cass, her passion called to him. Was this what it was like for the other packs and clans? If that was the case, then Cass would light up his beast inside until him and Jax claimed her. Less than a day and she was taking on their shifter ways.

  “I’ve missed you,” she whispered. She reached her hands up around his neck and pulled him down to her. She kissed him and then bit his chin.

  Damon wanted to drag her to the back room and make her come. On his dick, on his hand, in his mouth. He was usually able to control his emotions. He wondered how long it would take for him to get used to this.

  Simon hissed and sucked his teeth. “For the love of all things holy, keep that shit in your own space.”

  A look of confusion and embarrassment blanketed Cass’s face. With a sharp turn, she whipped around toward Simon, rubbing her ass against Damon’s cock. He could feel the anger balloon out of her.

  “Rude,” she said, her voice full of venom. “I’ll make sure when you find your mate that I’ll broadcast that stuff to everyone in hearing distance.” She gasped and paused, uncertainty filling her posture as her shoulders shrugged up. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually rude like that.”

  Pride swelled inside of Damon as she stood up for herself without a second thought to it. The clan would probably go back and forth until she was used to it. He laughed and massaged her shoulders. “Don’t be sorry. He’s being an asshole. Come on,” he said, gripping her hand and walking them toward an empty chaise. “Let’s sit— Audra!”

  With a shove to Simon’s shoulder that almost knocked him off the couch, Audra jumped up and launched herself at Cass. Cass didn’t even have time to flinch or panic before his sister had her arms wrapped around his mate. A soft oomph sounded from Cass as Audra made contact.

  “I’ve always wanted a sister,” Audra whispered in Cass’s ear.

  Cass gave a full-bodied laugh and hugged Audra back. “Well, I already have one. You can have her if you’d like. I’ll take you, too.”

  Audra leaned back and rubbed her hand up and down Cass’s arm as if warming her. “We’re going to be best friends, Cass. Me and you, and your sister can come too if she’d like. Can we take a girls trip? Like to New Orleans? I’ve been there tons of times over the centuries but never with a sister.”

  “You love New Orleans, too?” Cass asked, pulling Audra back in for another hug. “I love it there.”

  They hugged for a little while longer and when Jax came to stand next to Damon, Audra looked at them and said, “I love her. You finally gave me a sister to love. And protect. And one day my mate is going to come.”

  Audra sniffed and then took Cass’s hand. She led her to the sofa where Simon was, and sat down. Audra looked over to Simon and gave him a warning glance.

  Damon watched them for a moment and then clapped his hands together. “Well. Jax looks to almost be finished connecting with Teague, and yup. There he goes. Teague,” he said, nodding toward a computer screen.

  Teague turned his New Rose Fire Department hat backward and nodded back. His rounded nose and green eyes almost filled the screen as he moved in closer to his camera. “Yep. I can hear and see everyone.”

  “So,” Damon continued. “We were going to wait until Teague got off in the morning, but he’s going to be filling in for someone else tomorrow. He may not get home for another day or so. We wanted to officially introduce you to Cass and hopefully help ease whatever doubts you have. You’ve met Audra, Cole, and kind of met Simon,” he said, pointing at them.

  He went down the line and introduced them to Cass. “That’s Jace.” He pointed to a man with chin-length blond hair and crystal blue eyes. His swimmer’s shoulders relaxed as he sat back in his recliner. “That’s Aiden.” A stocky man with dark hair, smiling dark eyes, and a chest as wide as the door they’d walk through. Aiden gave Cass a two-fingered wave. “And that one right there who doesn’t know how to sit in front of a computer camera is Teague.”

  Teague took his hat off and revealed short, sandy brown hair that was longer on the top. His round nose was drawn up as he smiled at Cass. “Good to meet you.”

  Cass nodded and waved. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

  Jax went and stood behind Cass, resting his hands on her shoulders. Damon could see her entire body relax. She was nervous but seemed to gain strength and peace through their touch.

  Jax cleared his throat and then locked gazes with Damon. “So. We don’t know how you all will be affected when we claim Cass, but what we do know is that us finding and claiming her will bring you your own mates, too. We’ll be able to shift, but we don’t know if you’ll be able to. She’ll be part of the clan, but we don’t know if she’ll be able to shift like us.”

  “We do know,” Damon said, drawing everyone’s attention to him, “is that she’s already picking up some of our traits. Small things. But we need to know that you’ll stand with us. It’s always been us. The others went out on their own and vowed never to find mates, even if we did.” Cass made a small oh sound he looked at her and chewed the inside of his lip. “There is another group of ghost shifters that decided they didn’t want to be part of us. They didn’t want their mates even if we found ours. They stay away from everyone. Keep to themselves.”

  Simon extended his foot and then draped it across his knee. “They’re delusional. They’re like some weird cult who’ve decided to pay penance for sitting out the war by being held up in the mountains somewhere. We don’t hear from them that often.”

  “That’s why we have those empty houses,” Aiden said, his voice deep and rich. “When we came here we made a place for them to stay if they chose to come back to us.” He shook his head and the distaste he felt for what they did was palpable. “They ran. We always promised we’d stay together.”

  Sadness swept through the room and for the first time in fucking ever, Damon didn’t feel like he was carrying it on his own. He looked at Cass and she was staring at him, and God help him, she could feel it too. She was carrying this with him.

  Slowly, he blinked and felt connected to her. If he focused hard enough he was sure he would be able to see their connected auras or whatever other force held her to him and Jax. He was amazed and in awe.

  A somber feel echoed through the room, and Cass could feel it settle into her skin like a heavy lotion. “You made a place for them,” she said, voice trying to be hopeful. “They may come back. But even if they don’t, that’s a choice they’ve made on their own.”

  She looked over at Damon and could feel how heavy their abandonment sat on his shoulders. Poor man. He’d carried all the emotions of this clan and the other all by himself. No more.

  He had mentioned another pack of ghost shifters before, but Cass thought they just didn’t want to live in New Rose or Maryland for that fact. They just didn’t want to be part of any society or group other than themselves. That had to suck. Being around the same group of people for centuries had to be a pain in the butt. When she and her sister were together too long Cass wanted to wrap her fingers around Andi’s neck and squeeze until she fell asleep. For a few days.

  “What about the threat from the local shifters?” Teague asked. “Did you figure what to do if they bring a war to us because you’ve found her?”

  “Fuck,” Damon drawled out, lowering his eyes from Cass’s gaze. He put one hand on the bride of his nose and the other on the back of his neck as if trying to massage away the tongue lashing he was going to get from Cass.

  “Don’t worry,” Audra said, draping her arm around Cass’s shoulders. “I’d severely damage, and/or, kill loads of them before I let them touch my sister.” Her voice tinkled like wind chimes. She turned to Cass and preened as if she hadn’t just threated murder and dismemberment.

  War? What war? “I’m sorry,” Cass said, sliding forward from Jax’s hands. “What war?”

  She looked at the computer screen and saw regret in Teague’s eyes. The look of ‘oh shit
’ covered his features and he wouldn’t meet her gaze. He knew something, and by the look on everyone’s faces and the discomfort they all felt, they all knew too.

  “Are you keeping something from me?” Cass asked, standing up and looking to Jax. Her angry glare darted back and forth between Damon and Jax. “What happened to full discloser? No secrets?” Her voice hitched up, and she was mad at herself for letting her emotions be so evident in front of everyone.

  Jax, as huge and muscled and dominant as he was, looked downright afraid to meet her eyes. “We just— we didn’t know how to…”

  “What?” Cass’s voice cracked through the room, and everyone seemed to flinch. “Tell me now.”

  Lava boiled in Cass’s blood. The urge to flip over every table and chair in the room seized her, but the best she could do was squeeze her hands into fists. She heard her knuckles crack. The sound surprised her. She never got this angry over anything. Flexing her hand to release the pressure, she looked down at her palm and saw four, red, crescent moon shapes looking back at her. How the heck did she do that?

  “Tone it down, Cass.” Damon’s voice roused her from her thoughts.

  Cass’s eyes flicked to Damon’s. The bright, eerie, yellow glow that stared back at her made her realize everyone in the room, except the Damon and Jax, had their necks bared to her. And she could smell something. Heavy and woodsy. She grabbed her shirt collar, pulled it out, and sniffed herself. The smell was coming from her and it affected everyone in the room.

  “What’s happening?” she whispered, and she could hear the fear clogging her voice.

  Simon slowly stood up, neck still bared to her, and tried to pull the collar of her shirt to look inside. Cass started slapping at his hands to get him away from her, but Jax reached over the chair and grabbed him by his ear.

  “Remember how I threatened to rip your eyes out?” Jax said, twisting and pulling Simon’s ear so hard that he had no choice but to sit down on the chair.