Table of Contents
Dev’s Mate
Acknowledgements
Copyright
Reviews and where to find me
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Other books by the author
Connect with me
Dev’s Mate
By
Serena Simpson
Shifters on the Run (Book Two)
Acknowledgements
I want to thank my daughter. I always want to thank her even as we go through the process of growing up along with the rest of the world.
I also want to thank my fans as well as those who simply like to read my work. A special thank you to all of you who have been asking when the second book in this series was coming out.
Copyright
Dev’s Mate – Shifter’s on the run, Book Two - Copyright © March 2017, Serena Simpson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
Cover Art by Melody Simmons
Published by Serena Simpson
Reviews and where to find me
Once you’ve read Dev’s Mate, you can leave a review where you purchased the book. All reviews are appreciated.
You can find me on my website.
I’m also available on Twitter
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Join my mailing list
Look for me I’m happy to connect with all.
Chapter One
Rissa craned her neck and looked at the stone altar that was twenty feet in the air before she turned and stared into the brown eyes looking at her until Renee lowered her gaze. There were a lot of things that Rissa’s co-workers said about her. She was still looking for adventure at the grand old age of twenty-nine, they were wrong. She was a hanger-on, she had no other choice. No matter what they said she wasn’t stupid, and she didn’t care how many times the team of Paranormal Today tried to tell her shifters were real, she would call BS on them each time.
That should end it, but it didn’t. Rissa was with the team in some old castle in some backwoods state that the team refused to name because it was more mysterious that way.
“Do I look like the type to climb a stone altar and wait for some shifter to come violate me? Once again shifters don’t exist outside of television.”
This altar was supposed to be a shrine to shifters that were gods. Women were sacrificed to keep them from taking out their vengeance on the world. She wasn’t even going to give her opinion on the thought of shifter gods. No how, no way.
“Rissa, why so serious? Like you said shifters don’t exist. All we need you to do is lie on the altar and look scared. We’ll get a shot of it and then move on. You’ll be famous.” Renee gave her one of her patented smiles.
“Renee, do I look like an idiot?”
“Come on Rissa; this will be a money shot. Soon as we are on air, our paychecks will double maybe triple. You’ll be rolling in money. Pleaseee.”
Apparently, she did look like an idiot. With a big sigh, she headed towards the altar. Why was there an altar in somewhere rural America anyway?
“That’s it, Rissa, I knew I could count on you. Now to make this scene as authentic as possible, we’re going to pull the camera’s back. You won’t see us, but we’ll see you. Promise you won’t move?”
“Promise but Renee you owe me.”
“Whatever you want.”
The smile on Renee’s lips made Rissa a little nervous the last time she wore that smile something happened but whenever she tried to think of it, her mind got fuzzy, and she felt a little sick.
What was she trying to remember?
The altar was too high making her dizzy at the thought of climbing it. To reach it you had to climb the stone steps next to it which were crumbling around the edges. She watched, careful of where she placed her feet.
“I’m climbing the steps,” she called out so Renee would know where she was.
How did she forget to tell Renee and the rest of the crew she had a slight fear of heights? Her hands held onto the stones that were on the side of the stairs as best as she could while she prayed not to fall. Not that she thought HE was paying attention to her. HE let her lose her job. With a sigh, she climbed onto the altar and wondered who was going to help her down from here. Maybe it would be Mark he wasn’t bad looking. Too bad he didn’t do it for her.
“All right I’m up here, and I’m lying down. I hope you get what you need soon. I know I said shifters don’t exist but damn am I freaked lying here.”
Nothing, no one said anything. In fact, Rissa couldn’t hear any noise, but she promised to lie here and wait. Renee owed her something big. The longer she laid here, the more she wanted a big fat bonus.
It was the feel of something slithering against her leg that made her scream. She might have fallen off the alter if hands hadn’t caught her as her body rolled to the side in an unthinking mass of terror.
“Calm down; it’s only a snake.” He reached his hand out grabbed the snake and dropped it to the ground.
Her eyes watched the snake fall and then shake itself before slithering off. The snake fell. She stared at the male noting that his eyes were a dark gray, and his hair was black. She might have been enamored by his looks except that was when she realized she was around twenty feet off the ground, and the male was hovering next to her with nothing but air under his feet.
What?
“I’ll see you on the other side, Rissa.” He disappeared when gas filled the chamber, and she passed out on the altar.
*~*~*~*
A scream laced with pain woke her up. Her hand went quickly to her mouth to smother the next scream. Had anyone heard her? Fear sat on her shoulders. They were searching for her. If they found her, the hell she lived through would be nothing compared to the new hell they would put her through. She was hiding in a small alley in some town, but she didn’t know the name of it all she knew was she had to keep moving the minute she stopped she was dead.
Forcing herself up, she peered toward the end of the ally before she slipped out hoping to find a group of people to blend in with.
I’ll see you on the other side.
She hadn’t seen that male, not hide nor hair of him since she woke up. He was probably a mirage brought on by the gas to give her hope. Still, she held on to that hope that someone out there was keeping an eye on her. The other side. She passed out on that altar, but she woke up in a lab as they were injecting something into her arm.
>
The doctor—Dr. Baker, that’s what he said his name was—was touching her inappropriately and welcoming her to hell, where she would spend the rest of her life. Then her body was covered in fire. She screamed and tried to roll away, but chains held her firmly to the table. She convulsed because they were loose enough for that. Her body was shaking on that table until she lifted off it in her pain. Then she begged for death. No one would miss her, she pleaded, please kill me. Instead, they laughed at her. She succumbed to darkness, but she still felt the effects of what was happening in her body.
There was no telling how much time passed, a day, a month, a year? All she knew was when she woke up everything about her was different. Her girly parts looked like a jungle just like her underarm area. She looked like yeti or a least a young teen who had yet to learn that Nair could be nirvana in one’s life. That’s how she knew more time passed than a few days.
Shaking herself out of her memories, she edged up to a group of people who were laughing together. They must be friends. She got closer but stayed far enough away that anyone watching would think she was just lagging behind. They walked past a bakery, her stomach rolled, when was the last time she had eaten? Days. She wanted to go feral but managed to keep her whit’s about her. Soon she would have to commit a crime for some food, but now she needed rest more.
She’d been constantly running for days, the most sleep she managed was about an hour. Monster or not she needed sleep. The smell of something sweet tickled her nose. A mother on the other side of the street was leading her young child to school if the book bag on the boys back was anything to go on. They must be late, so her son was eating on the run. For a minute she saw herself attacking them grabbing the sandwich out of his hand flashing her fangs before she ran away.
She pulled back in fear flattening herself against the side of a building causing the early morning traffic to look at her. Quickly she hid her face; she needed to get out of here find a wooded area maybe she could kill a rabbit. Her animal went wild, but she almost got sick with the thought.
Monster. The word taunted Rissa reminding her that she was no longer human. What right did she have to share the streets with law abiding citizens? She was a killer that should be tracked down and shot just like the animal she was. Stiffening her spine, she pushed off the wall and started walking like she had no idea why they were staring at her.
Human’s knew they weren’t stupid. They knew when something dangerous was crossing their path, and she was dangerous more so because she needed sleep and then food. With a vacant smile on her face, she weaved her way through the town. Maybe she could make it to the highway or the next town. Maybe a stranger would be willing to spot her a meal or a place to sleep. Weren’t the people in small town America supposed to be nicer than city folk? Mainly because city folk had to much experience with friendly faces that hid violent agendas.
Her head was about to explode when she scented it. Call it whatever you want, but to her, it smelled like comfort. She followed her nose allowing her animal to lead her until she found a huge black SUV sitting in an empty lot. Not knowing what else to do and about to fall asleep on her feet she tried the hatch surprised when it opened. Climbing in she knew it was a mistake, but the scent was like ambrosia after so many other scents that made her either want to kill or fear that someone would kill her. Grabbing a cover, she curled up in the back and snuggled in hoping she could get a couple hours of sleep before the occupants of the SUV came back.
With a nod, she figured she could make this happen. One last yawn and she was out like a light.
Chapter Two
“Dev, what has you so riled up?” Lore took one look at him and searched their surroundings for the hundredth time.
They were sitting in a small restaurant waiting for their breakfast. It was what they liked to refer to as a hole in the wall, which is why they stopped. There were booths along one wall that had seen better days and tables with chairs along the opposite wall with several in the middle of the room. They were sitting at a table in the back corner. From there they could watch the door as well as the kitchen. If there were trouble, they would be able to leave through the kitchen. The walls were a nice blue as if someone tried to give the place a facelift several months ago.
No one here cared about your business. The customers simply wanted to eat and keep a low profile, just the way they liked it.
Dev shrugged. “I feel like I have a target in the center of my back, and I’m waiting for someone to take aim.” They had been on the run for one day, but they were all antsy after what they had recently gone through.
Lore looked around going over every patron in the restaurant again. He wasn’t picking up anything from them, but that didn’t mean one of them wasn’t a sleeper for the government.
“Maybe we should get breakfast somewhere else.” Ben chimed in not liking how tense Dev was.
“I don’t think it will matter where we eat. This feeling isn’t coming from here. I can’t explain it, I just know I need to be on the lookout. It’s that feeling you get in your solar plexus before you go on a mission because you know it’s going to blow up in your face.”
Lore and Ben nodded and grew even more cautious. They both knew that feeling first hand. They experienced it right before the military ended their lives forever.
The waitress came loaded down with plates of food.
“You boys sure are hungry. Hope this is enough for growing boys like yourselves.”
She had to be mid-twenties and was a natural flirt. Even so, she seemed to restrain herself when she came to their table, probably because she could feel the dominance in the air from all the animals residing inside of them.
Dev gave her a friendly smile. “Yeah, we are starving. Thanks for bringing the food so quickly.”
With another smile, she distributed the plates and took off. They heard her small sigh of relief as she walked away from them.
“I want to eat and go,” Lore said, he had taken charge of the group.
Any of them could have acted as the leader but why do that when Lore was willing to bear the burden.
Silence descended upon them. One of their unspoken rules was to eat when they had a chance because they never knew when their next meal might come. They each took a bite looking around before they took the next bite.
Lore peeled off several bills to pay for the meal. They each had a secret stash of money they acquired from the jobs they did which they laughingly called righting the wrongs in the world; others might call them mercenaries, but they just shrugged a shoulder and did what was necessary to take care of themselves.
They made their way out of the restaurant before Lore asked what was on everybody’s mind.
“Do you think the government found us?”
They were on the run. A small segment of the government combined with the military to conduct tests to turn men into shifters, and after many years they succeeded. Unfortunately, they never took into account that those same males might not be happy about their new status as monsters for the government, which would lead to them escaping. The government refusing to be stopped started experimenting on females, possible mates and aimed one at their leader which caused them to break into two groups. Both groups were trying to make it to their secure land where they hoped to be able to defend themselves and live peaceably or as peaceably as the government would allow them.
Dev shrugged as he thought about the question. “I don’t know if they found us but you know they’re hunting us. We barely made it out of the last town.”
They nodded it was the truth. They needed to ditch their ride as soon as possible if they were going to stay under the radar. That would be their next step to pick up a new set of wheels. Their current one was parked about a fifteen-minute’ walk away in an open parking lot. They didn’t want to park too close to where they were eating just in case and this way they could see anyone checking out their ride before they approached.
Dev stopped throwing his hand out
to catch Lore on the shoulder while he sniffed the air.
“Do you smell that?” His voice was low a feral growl hovering on his lips.
“Smell what?” Ben’s blue eyes and blonde brows hiked up as he worked on separating the different scents on the wind.
“Honey,” that was a definite growl that escaped Dev.
“Nope, don’t smell any honey.”
“Dev you sure you’re not part bear?” Ben teased him trying to make the situation light even as all of their shoulders tensed.
Like he knew. The government and the military shot them up with animal DNA not knowing what would take. All he knew for sure was that he never changed into a bear. A. Bear. Was he one? Who cared at this point all he wanted to do was find that enticing scent that was driving him crazy.
Without thought, he started walking again.
“Well at least you’re going in the right direction,” Lore murmured keeping watch around them.
Was he going in the right direction? All he knew was the scent was getting stronger, and his need to lick it up was swiftly taking him over.
“Dev,” Lore reached out to grab his arm.
He turned on him growling fiercely causing Lore to jump back. They knew from experience never to touch each other when their animals were in control. He reached out with clawed hands just missing tearing Lore a new hole in his midsection. The fact that he missed meant he still had a little control. The fact that Lore jumped so far back meant that he was an intelligent male.
“What?” It was hard to talk around the fangs that were descending in his mouth.
“You just brought us to the SUV; there’s no honey in there.”
Dev knew he was right, but he couldn’t shake the feeling. He held his finger up and motioned for them to stay still while he approached the SVU. If this was where the sweet smell was emanating, he didn’t want to have to go through his brothers to get to it. Carefully he opened each door as one of them hit the lock on the key fob. The vehicle smelled of the scent but where was it coming from? He opened the hatch still not seeing anything. Taking his time, he crawled into the back seat and began to lift the covers in the hatch.
Dev's Mate (Shifters on the run Book 2) Page 1