by Sadie Savage
He rattled the gun in his hand.
“My guards weren’t smart enough to make sure they were loaded up with silver bullets, but I was. One shot from this right to your gut and I’ll take care of this shifter problem real fast.”
He pointed the gun at Atticus, whose body tensed as the weapon was trained on him. He knew that Lucas was right- a shot from that to the limbs wouldn’t necessarily be fatal, but a solid shot to the torso or head would kill him on the spot.
“Of course,” said Lucas, pressing the end of the gun to Tessa’s head. “These work just as well on non-shifters, too.”
Tessa let out a whimper as Lucas tapped on her temple with the tip of the gun.
“You wouldn’t,” said Atticus, his body ready to pounce.
“I would if it meant you left and didn’t come back,” said Lucas.
“You kill her and you’re next,” said Atticus.
“You know what?” asked Lucas. “I think it would be easier just to kill you.”
Before Atticus could react, Lucas trained the gun on him and fired a shot. Atticus moved at the last minute, jumping towards the side of the room as Tessa let out a scream. The shot slammed into the wall just behind where Atticus stood only seconds ago.
Then, Lucas aimed the gun at Atticus once more, and Atticus knew in that split-second that he wouldn’t be able to avoid this one.
But before Lucas could fire, Tessa extended her arm and drove her elbow right into Lucas’s gut, the air rushing from his lungs as the second shot went wide. His hold on Tessa broke, and she ran towards Atticus, who rose to his feet and drew Tessa close as she approached.
“You bitch!” he yelled, snatching the gun from the ground and heading out of the window.
Atticus followed him, rushing to the window just as Lucas scrambled out of it, following him up onto the roof.
Another shot rang out over the din of the crowds below as Atticus pulled himself up onto the roof.
But as Atticus finished climbing, his eyes fixed on Lucas as he stood on the roof, the farmhouse land stretching beyond, the night black above and Bear Mountain looming in the distance like a silent observer, he knew it was time to finish this.
With a mighty roar, he shifted into his bear form, his clothes ripping as he changed. He watched as Lucas trained the gun on him once more and cracked off a shot, this one connecting with Atticus in his upper left arm. But Atticus closed the distance and with a killing swipe of his paw, he slashed Lucas across the chest, the impact sending him careening off of the roof, his body slamming into the ground below.
Looking down at Lucas’s now still body, Atticus shifted back to his human form, the night wind cool on his skin. Turning, he saw that Tessa was now climbing onto the roof, and seconds later was at his side. A tear fell from her eyes as she looked down at Lucas’s body, she realized that it was finally over.
CHAPTER 24
The light streaming in through the glass wall of the bedroom, Tessa closed her eyes, a smile on her face as Atticus kissed her along her stomach, the sensation of his lips upon her bare skin a sensual pleasure that she never grew tired of. She opened her eyes slightly, watching his sandy, blonde hair dip down further and further, his kisses moving down the small bump of her stomach, over her hip bones, and then along the soft curves of her hips, before ending up on the small tuft of brown hair above her sex. He flicked his eyes up her and she sighed as she felt his hot breath on her most sensitive skin.
Still kissed her, Atticus slid a finger inside of her, the feeling of his penetration making Tessa feel as though her body were lighting up like a Christmas tree. She sighed, her gaze falling to the window as she watched the morning breeze pass through the branches beyond the compound.
Atticus slid another finger inside of her and moved them in and out of her slowly and gently. Tessa spread her legs wider to accommodate him as he worked. After a few minutes of this, Atticus moved his head down even further and Tessa felt giddy with anticipation for what was about to come.
He didn’t make her wait long. Atticus began licking her with small, quick darts of his tongue, teasing her at first. Before too long, he shifted to long, slow drags of his tongue, covering her clitoris completely with his warm, wet mouth as he continued to finger her. Tessa listened to the sound of him licking her, a soft, wet lapping that drove her wild as he stimulated her in this most intimate way.
She stretched her limbs, feeling as though Atticus could bring her to orgasm very easily in this manner. And part of her wanted to let him right then and there. But another part of her, a more insistent part, wanted him inside of her.
Tessa slid her fingers into his hair and pulled his head up, his sensual lips glistening with her.
“Want me to keep going?” he asked, his voice a purr.
“I could have you do that all day,” she said, her breasts rising and falling with each breath.
“Then you should let me,” he said with a smile.
“No,” she said. “I want to ride you.”
“You sure?” he asked.
Tessa rolled her eyes playfully. Ever since the two of them found out she was pregnant, Atticus wasted no time in slipping into the role of overprotective father.
“I think the babies can handle it,” she said with a sly grin.
Atticus let out a quick laugh.
“That’s right, if they’re like their mother, they can handle anything.”
Not wanting to say another word, Tessa pulled Atticus up and gently pushed him onto his back. She spread her legs as she climbed up on top him, a smile on her face as she slowly descended, taking his cock into her inch by inch.
Tessa sighed as he was fully sheathed into her, and as soon as he was, she placed her hands on his rock-hard chest, supporting herself as she moved up and down on top of him.
She rode him gently at first, slowly. They’d made love dozens, if not hundreds of times over the last few months, but she still found herself needing to take him slowly at first- his cock was simply too large to just jump right on top of. But once he was inside of her, the slickness of her pussy allowing him to slide in perfectly, she began to ride him harder and harder still.
After a few minutes, Tessa was bouncing up and down on top of him with wild abandon. She listened to the soft, wet sound of his cock plunging into her over and over, taking sweet pleasure at the feeling of driving him into her time and time again. Atticus’s hands rested on her hips at first, but over time traveled up to her breasts, squeezing and kneading them as he played with her nipples, a feeling of sensual, electrical pleasure running through her body as he stimulated her. She looked down at his face, his gorgeous, masculine features twisted into an expression of erotic agony as she rode him.
Her orgasm came quickly, almost without warning. Tessa screamed and moaned as she came, her body snapping back, her breasts shaking as convulsions of pleasure rocked her. Then, with a low moan, Atticus came, his cock emptying into her, filling her pussy with his hot seed. Tessa let out several more moans, her body completely in the grip of the orgasm.
But soon, it faded, and she collapsed on top of Atticus, her face pressed against his sweaty, sculpted chest.
Minutes passed, the two of them saying nothing, only taking in slow draws of air as they lay together.
Finally, after ten minutes or so had passed, Atticus spoke.
“I think it’s time to get up,” he said, looking at the clock next to the bed.
“So soon?” asked Tessa, her voice disappointed. “I think I have another round in me.”
“I think I have another three rounds in me,” said Atticus, sliding out from under Tessa and sitting up. “But I happened to see Clyde and Sarah putting up some decorations in the living room and I don’t think we should keep them waiting.”
“Oh, a party?”
“Something like that.”
Atticus started off for the shower, but stopped mid-step, as if remembering something.
“I love you,” he said, kissing Tessa on he
r forehead.
“I love you, too,” she responded, her mouth wide with a smile.
Tessa and Atticus took a quick shower together, getting dressed after they were done. After she put on her clothes, Tessa took the beautiful ring that Atticus had proposed to her with from the nightstand and slipped it onto her finger, a warm feeling rushing through her, a reminder of the joy she felt when he proposed to her months ago.
After the night when Atticus rescued her from Lucas, she felt that everything happened so fast. Within weeks, the leaderless meth gang fragmented, their members melting away, leaving nothing but a small group of a few dozen stragglers that the local law enforcement were able to put behind bars with all due speed. The meth blight that came so close to swallowing the communities near Bear Mountain whole was now gone, and things started to return to normal. And once the rebuilding went on, it seemed that Branlen might be even stronger that it was before.
Tessa and Atticus were married in a wonderful ceremony attended by nearly all of the town of Branlen (though the bear secret of the pack was kept under wraps.) The event was a joyful one, not only because of the joining of Tessa and Atticus but because the marrying of the elder brother meant that the rest of the pack could now choose mates. Indeed, within weeks, nearly every man in the pack had found a mate.
That and the new women of the pack took residence with their men in the ever-growing Swift Compound, which was now resembling a small village. Soon after the flurry of marriages, the new women began to show signs of carrying the next generation of bear shifters, their bellies round and full with the promise of new life for the pack.
Tessa was the first among them, of course. Soon after she and Atticus were married, Tessa began to sense that there was something different about her. One doctor’s appointment later they learned, to their joy, that not only was Tessa pregnant, but she was pregnant with twins- a boy and a girl. Atticus explained to her that this was the greatest omen that they could hope for: the boy would grow to be the next Alpha after Atticus, and the girl would lead the women of the tribe. He told it was a sign that the pack would grow even stronger than ever before. Tessa took the news in stunned silence, a happiness that she’d never thought possible filling her, tears welling in her eyes.
Dressed and ready, Atticus and Tessa headed down to the living room, which was covered with all manner of baby-related decorations. Every member of the pack was there, the men and the woman.
“Surprise!” the pack shouted out as Tessa and Atticus descended the stairs.
Warmth filled Tessa as she looked over the pack, all of their faces lit with happiness and joy.
“We never got a chance to congratulate you officially on the baby, so we figured that now was as good a time as any,” said Clyde, his pretty, stout wife at his side, her blonde hair parted in the middle, her eyes twinkling with the sort of glimmer that a mother-to-be had.
“Though, perhaps this would be a good time to celebrate all of the babies of the new tribe,” said Ian, his slim, ethereally beautiful wife seated next to him, her hand on her burgeoning baby bump.
“Why not a celebration for everyone?” asked Roland, his own pregnant wife at his side, a handsome-faced, sharply dressed beauty.
Atticus looked over at Tessa and saw that her eyes were welling with tears. With a smile, he realized she wouldn’t be speaking anytime soon for fear of bursting into joyful sobs.
“That sounds wonderful to me,” said Atticus, slipping an arm around Tessa as he raised a glass of sparkling wine taken from a nearby tray.
“To the pack!” he said, raising his glass.
“To the pack!” the rest of the pack responded in unison.
Tessa smiled as the party commenced, her head on Atticus’s shoulder, her hand on her belly. She didn’t know what the future would bring. Atticus assured her there would be challenges to come, that the life of a shifter pack was anything but boring. But she knew with this man, her love, at her side, they’d be able to take on anything, together.
THE END
LA Shifters
PROLOGUE:
“Ready for this?”
Antonio, the large wolf with black fur and green eyes, turned at the words.
Magda, shifted from her bear form to human, stood close by the edge of the pen where she was kept. “I guess it’s a moot question, really, but I thought I’d ask.”
Antonio shifted quickly, skin and bone forming and growing then transforming until he stood on two legs, his skin bare of the fur. The wind blew across his skin and goose pimples rose. “I’d say yes, but that would be a lie.”
Magda grinned. The dim light flashed off her large white teeth. “Are you ready enough?”
Antonio moved closer, but still stayed below the shelter, out of sight of the zookeepers, if any should happen along. “As ready as we can be.”
Magda nodded. Her long brown hair waved around her cunning face. “It won’t be easy.”
Antonio said, “Never expected it to be. How we’ve stood it this long is anyone’s guess.”
It was anyone’s guess. The zoo had captured them all at some point, bringing them into the zoo under the assumption that they were the animals whose forms they could shift into. High doses of tranquilizers kept them complacent, and the food they ate was always laced with those drugs.
Shifting was dangerous—for a lot of reasons. For one, all of them were in cages with actual non-shifting animals. Those animals harried them daily and forced the shifters to the edges of the pens. The keepers assumed that they were just not assimilating, and they weren’t, because they couldn’t.
Antonio had thought he was the only shifter caught in that hell until he had seen Magda one night. She had been enraged enough, and awake enough, to shift right there in her pen. She’d almost been killed because the bears had gone on the attack. She’d had to shift back and fight to stay alive. The keepers had come in with their sedation tools and their sprays, and Magda had ended up in a pen just for herself because she was deemed untrustworthy.
She was also marked as a zoo failure, and while the zoo, on the surface of things, did not kill its animals unless it was necessary, she had pretty well punched her own ticket that night.
It was just a matter of time before they took her down. That went for both the keepers and the actual bears pacing in their pens, which were connected to hers even if they were separated by a slim band of trees and glass.
Antonio said, “You shouldn’t be shifting yet. What if you are spotted? The whole thing could go up in flames. The cameras might spot you and then what? There’s no way to explain a naked woman in a pen where a bear was a moment before. You’re being foolish.”
Magda snorted. “I have to. I can’t stand not to.”
“I know.” He put his weight on the other foot, his eyes searching the pens.
“The keepers should stay where they are for a few more minutes,” Magda replied. “Now’s our best chance.”
“Yeah.” Antonio lifted a hand, raking his fingers through his thick hair as his nostrils spread and his head lifted. He sniffed the air, but the scent of humans lay too thick everywhere to know if any were nearby. “Just keep one eye out for anyone, will you?”
“I will.”
“Get going then.”
“I didn’t need your permission.”
The words made Antonio grit his teeth. “No, you don’t.”
Magda paused. “I’m not staying here anymore. If I have to die here tonight, I will. I would rather be dead than be here and alive.”
Antonio’s heart sped up. He scanned the surroundings again, seeing nothing but shadows sifting and crawling out there along the concrete pathways. “I’m with you, no matter how this pans out.”
Am I willing to die here tonight? Yes, he was. He understood that even as his mind scrawled past all the risks she was taking and resentment at her willingness to take those risks simmered up in his being.
Because Magda was in a position to pass things on, she had told him about
the others. At night, when they were herded from their outside enclosures and into their pens, he had spotted a few other shifters, or thought he had. Magda had confirmed that there were others here, just as eager to escape as she and Antonio were.
Revealing themselves as shifters would be disastrous. They all knew that from experience. No way did any of them want to become the pet project at some lab, stuck full of needles and having their brains scanned while being forced to shift constantly for ‘research.’
By the law of nature, they were all enemies. Wolves, bears, and tigers were not meant to be friends. In the wild, they would have fought and killed each other. Here, they had to work together or die.
This was their only shot, and they all knew it.
The zoo had to cut power in the cages and pens tonight, and keepers would be standing guard to make damn sure no animal escaped while they did the routine maintenance that he, Magda, and Patel had all been waiting on for an entire year.
This was their chance, and they would have to take it.
They had a plan.
As soon as the power went out, Magda, who was alone in her pen and stood the best chance of being able to get out without being eaten by non-shifting bears for her troubles, was going to climb her enclosure in bear form, because she was more capable of scaling the great height of the tree in that form.
But the branch that stuck out from the enclosure would never hold her in bear form, so she would have to reach it and shift then drop onto the paved and concrete walkway.
It was going to hurt. Even with her mutated healing abilities, she was going to be wounded, and naked.
A naked woman toppling onto the path would be noticed, but since the power was going to be out, the cameras would be out, too, which would give her the perfect chance to get into the keepers’ lockers and grab clothing for them.
Antonio knew Magda was not all that keen on helping the other shifters escape. The only reason she was doing so was because if she did not, they had all threatened to not only shift and reveal their secret, but to tell hers as well.
No way would anyone let a shifter escape. The government really would track her down to the end of her days and that chip they all had implanted under their skin would certainly aid in her capture.