Times of Change: Book 1

by B. L. Dawn

  When he got two feet away, Tatum stumbled backward. She couldn’t believe it. She freaking stumbled back like the ground was shaking under her feet.

  He was the same height as her, a little broader than her, and he had thick thighs wrapped in tight, faded blue jeans. She could only imagine those muscles working for her pleasure. Shit, she was getting wet.

  Tatum cleared her throat, hoping he couldn’t smell the change in her body. “Hi. I’m Tatum.”

  Luke took one slow sniff of the air, and a huge smile spread across his face as his eyes went down between their bodies. Yep, he smells me. His eyes returned to hers as heat traveled up Tatum’s neck. He held out his hand to her, and she shook it, thinking that out of all the males she had ever met, no one made her feel like a silly little girl, but he did. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she felt a slight urge to run from him. That was a new feeling as well. It was like he was too much for her. Too much of what, she wasn’t sure.

  “I’m Luke. I’ve been wanting to introduce myself properly, but I haven’t had the chance to talk to you.”

  “It’s nice seeing you.” Tatum sucked in air, her cheeks turning red. “I mean, it’s nice to meet you.” Tatum looked around, noting that the feeling to run was more prominent. She urged herself to say something more. Something that wouldn’t make her sound like a complete idiot. “So, what do you think about the farm?”

  Luke looked over the numerous trees that lined the property. “I think it’s great. It’s what this pack really needed.”

  She nodded. “I’m glad you feel that way.”

  “I do.” Luke gave her a half-smile.

  It sent her insides fluttering around and landing between her legs.

  His smile quickly turned into a half-cocked grin while his eyelids became hooded. Tatum knew that he sensed her arousal, and she wished the ground would swallow her up to hide her embarrassment.

  “Would you like to come running with me? I didn’t see you during the last run at Green Lagoon.” Luke said with his eyes looking beyond hopeful.

  Did he just imply that he looked for her?

  “Were you looking for me?” Holy shit, why did she ask him that?

  Luke smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I was looking for you.”

  Tatum gulped, feeling her skin turning clammy. She willed her mouth to stay shut, but it didn’t work. “Why?”

  Why indeed, she scolded herself. Hell, this conversation was like holding a neon sign the read, “I’m a fucking idiot, please walk the other way.”

  He leaned in, seemingly enjoying the effect he had on her. His breath brushed over her neck as his lip drew closer to her ear. “I want to get to know you.”

  “Me?” Tatum’s voice sounded small. Her eyes widened in disbelief, not only from the fact that he appeared to be interested in her but also from the fact that she hadn’t noticed him closing the distance between them until he was damn near kissing her neck. It was like he had her under a spell.

  Luke let out a deep seductive chuckle. “Yes, you. So, what do you say? Will you come with me?”

  The tingling between her legs was begging her to yell the words, “Yes, please, make me come with you, for you, in all the ways she could come.”

  To her relief, those words didn’t come out, but her body kept betraying her with rounds of moisture that even she could smell. “I…um…” Tatum found herself nodding but then shook her head, remembering that Enoch told her to talk with Eddie. “I want to. I really want to. It’s just that…um…I need to make a phone call, and Enoch will be looking for you soon to check out the perimeter.”

  Luke frowned, pulling his face away from her with his brows furrowed. “Oh. Well, maybe sometime soon, then?” He looked down between them.

  When Tatum’s eyes followed the same path, she jerked to attention. It wasn’t until that moment that she realized Luke’s thumb was rubbing her hand. Her hand, that betrayer of flesh, was delicately placed in his without her knowledge. She must have forgotten to separate her hand from his after their introduction. That was the only logical explanation. Sliding her long fingers away from his sizeable callused palm, she felt uneasy at how weak she felt around him.

  The reality that anyone could make her feel like she wasn’t too masculine or make her feel like she was attractive in any way was a shock. It was enough to make her cry. This was the feeling she had wanted to feel for the last seven years.

  And out of nowhere, here was this male standing in front of her, practically promising her every girly feeling her heart desired. This tempting steaming male made her want to swoon in weakness. With every fiber of her being, she wanted to belong to him.

  The thought that he might just want to fuck her a few times, laugh it up with his brother, and make her feel stupid or the idea of her being used for sex and nothing more was the scariest of all the new feelings she had.

  Her heart pounded in her chest. It never occurred to her until this moment that something like that could ever be a possibility when it came to her. After all, she honestly thought that no one would ever be interested in her in the first place. Well, except the huge male at the bar, but that wouldn’t have meant anything. Looking at Luke and feeling this vulnerable was like daggers in her soul. She wouldn’t be able to go her merry way if she got involved with him.

  This situation was more confusing than anything she had ever dealt with before. Dammit, she couldn’t do this. Her back straightened, and she narrowed her eyes on him. “You need to leave.”

  Luke cleared his throat and took a few steps backward. “Uh…okay. I’m sorry if I offended you. I…I…just thought—”

  Tatum crossed her arms. “Don’t worry about it. I have things I need to do.”

  Luke’s shoulders slumped forward as his eyes roamed the ground. “Maybe some other time?”

  Tatum didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to be hurt or laughed at. Shit, if he did that to her, he would end up dead for sure because she would kill him. But as she looked over his worried expression and his defeated posture, she felt like a piece of shit. She was judging him before knowing him, which was the same thing people did to her.

  He turned to walk away.

  “Luke?” Tatum walked closer, not lowering her crossed arms. “If you want to get to know me, then we can do that later. If you want?”

  “I really do want to,” he said in a defeated tone.

  Tatum nodded. “That would be nice. I just need to clear my head, and I have a job to do right now. But ask again some other time.”

  Luke nodded, turned around, and left the way he came. She didn’t mean to be so aggressive, but he was scaring the hell out of her.

  The feeling of being weak in front of others was happening more and more—last night and just now.

  And she knew there was nothing wrong with it. How would a feeling, no matter what that feeling was, be wrong? If she wanted to feel weak and loved, she should be able to do that. If she wanted to feel strong and kick someone’s ass, she should be able to do that, too, without feeling like a freak.

  Shaking the emotional roller coaster out of her head, she glanced down at the yellow piece of paper with narrowed eyes. After a beat, she programmed Eddie’s number into her phone and hit send. His phone rang several times before he answered.

  “Yeah, ya got me.” Eddie’s breath came out in fast bursts like he had been running. Hearing Eddie’s voice was such a relief.

  She sighed upon hearing it. “Did you have to run to answer the phone?”

  “No. I was just, you know.”

  “Yeah, right. I believe you.” Tatum chuckled. Eddie might be the only uncomplicated male in her life. A considerable part of her loved him. Maybe it was because she wouldn’t have made it through all those lonely nights without his company on the phone, or because he never made her feel weird.

  Eddie laughed. “I’ve always liked you, Tate. What do I owe this honor of Tatum Bree Roloff calling me during the day?”<
br />
  “I have something that I need to discuss with you in private.”

  “Mmm, really?”

  Tatum chuckled. “Not that kind of private.” Her hands ran over the bark of an American elm tree, letting the hard, jagged textures run under her fingertips.

  “Aw, damn.” Eddie sighed. “Sure, okay. Want to stop by?”

  “I can be there in a couple of hours. I might have to bring someone with me to keep me awake for the drive home. Is that okay?”

  Tatum could handle the drive, but she needed some mental support. Telling Eddie about shifters was a big deal. What if something went wrong?

  But it couldn’t go wrong. Tatum needed Eddie. He was literally her life support in this messed up world. Losing him would be a kick in the gut. His wiseass remarks, his quick humor, and let’s not even think about his alluring smile, would be wasted if she lost him. Eddie was dark and handsome, and she supposed tall, but he wasn’t taller than her by a long shot. He was a great human.

  Maybe that’s why she never fully engaged in trying to mate with him. Eddie was sexy and everything, but he was her friend. And ruining their friendship wasn’t worth it to her. She had seen on TV what breaking up did to couples. Shit, it was awful.

  “You want to bring someone? Okay, but you’re the one who wanted it private,” Eddie said.

  “Yeah. Well, it kind of involves who I’m bringing.”

  “Sure thing, buttercup.”

  “You’re a nut. I’ll talk to ya later.” Tatum let out a sigh and chuckled. Eddie always knew how to make her smile.

  After hanging up, Tatum went into the house and went through her usual hygiene routine. She went looking for James, who was milking a cow with Natalie’s help. They both had dirty smudges on their faces, but the only thing really visible were the smiles. Natalie was laughing about James’s technique and repositioning his hands on the cow’s udder.

  “James, you want to go on a little trip with me?” Tatum asked.

  James continued to milk the cow. “Where are you going?”

  “I need to talk to Eddie. It’s a long drive, and someone might need to keep me awake on the way back.”

  “Can you ask Eli?”

  “Sure.” Tatum shook her head, really wanting James to help her, but she decided to walk around and look for Eli. Dean and Sam, two blonde knockouts, were helping Jenny and Enoch clean out horse stalls. After saying hi, Tatum moved on to the garden, where Rose, a dark-skinned beauty with long black curly hair, and her mate, Owen, a brown-haired hunk, pulled up weeds from the garden. She talked with them about the plants for a spell, then moved on. Shifter after shifter, she couldn’t find her brother.

  Heading back across the yard, Tatum wondered if Eli was in the kitchen. Oliver stepped out from the chicken coop in front of her holding a basket of eggs. “Hey, Oliver. Do you know where Eli is?”

  Oliver chuckled. “Yep, he walked into the barn over there with Cora, doing who knows what. Did you need something? I’m just finishing up here.”

  “Well, I wanted him to go on a road trip with me.”

  Oliver’s mouth turned into an “O,” and his eyes lit up. “Can I go?”

  Tatum laughed at his expression. “Sure, that would be great.”

  Oliver high-stepped it over to the porch. It was odd to witness because he was such a good-looking, huge, muscular guy, but he showed his emotions with no restraint. His medium-length brown hair was always hanging down around his shoulders, and he had beautiful, full, plum-pink lips, brown eyes surrounded by long lashes, and a thick dark-brown beard angled around his sharp jawline, cleanly edged away from his thick throat. He was a hottie, but he didn’t know it.

  Most humans who looked as good as Oliver would be playing it cool. They wouldn’t show their emotions. They would stand around brooding, but not him.

  Oliver walked over to Jim, who was sitting on the front porch. With a huge smile, he handed Jim the egg basket. “We’re going on a road trip.”

  Jim took the basket, setting it on his lap. “You guys have fun.”

  While driving down the road, Oliver talked about all the different animals on the farm and how to care for them. It was useful because Tatum had missed the animal session with Natalie.

  “When we were at the chicken coop, there was this rooster that got loose. It chased Birdie all around until she shifted and chased the rooster around. It took four males to grab the rooster and toss him back in the cage. The poor rooster was acting more like a hen after that, if you know what I mean.”

  Tatum laughed. “I wish I could have seen that.”

  Oliver laughed along with her. After the laughter died down, it grew silent. Tatum looked over at Oliver as he watched the trees pass them by. “Do you like music?”

  “Mason used to play the guitar, but his strings broke. It’s been a while.”

  “Music it is.” Tatum pushed the nob on the radio. Screaming burst through the speakers. Oliver tried to jump out of the SUV door as they raced down the interstate. Tatum grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back into the car as the door slammed shut behind him. Tatum hit the automatic lock buttons, not that they did any good when the passenger was in the front seat. “For Destiny’s sake, Oliver. You can’t jump out of a moving vehicle.”

  “That was music? Maybe this is a bad idea.”

  “No, just a bad station. Okay, let’s try this again.” Tatum turned the left and right nobs. Salsa music came on.

  Oliver listened for a minute. “This has a nice sound to it.”

  Tatum changed the nob again. “Okay, how about this one?” Gospel music came on.

  “I like the first one better.”

  Tatum turned the station again. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” by Israel IZ, came on.

  “It’s a guitar, right? I like this.”

  “It’s an instrument like a guitar. It’s called a ukulele.” Tatum grinned at Oliver, who had his eyes closed as he swayed back and forth. This guy was starting to grow on her. “You can learn to play the guitar.”

  Oliver’s eyes got huge. “Me? I don’t own a guitar. How would I learn? Just imagine me playing a song like this.” Oliver laughed halfheartedly.

  The trip went on as they listened to different songs and stations. As they entered a small city, Oliver stared out the window with his mouth agape. If he were this awestruck over a little city in West Virginia, he would die if she ever drove him through a city like Chicago or New York. Tatum pulled down a side road and headed to Eddie’s house.

  Standing outside and waiting on them, Eddie held up his hand in greeting. “I put a tracker on your phone, so I knew where you were.”

  “Of course you did.” Tatum smirked. “This is Oliver. He’s my friend.”

  Oliver’s eyes widened. “I’m your friend?”

  “Um…yeah.”

  Eddie peered from Oliver to Tatum. “Elvis has left the building, folks.”

  Tatum shot Eddie a ‘“don’t you dare” look.

  “What?” Eddie looked innocent with his hands in the air.

  Oliver cocked an eyebrow. “Who’s Elvis?”

  Tatum rolled her eyes and pushed the males through the door.

  Eddie sat down on the arm of the couch. “So what can I do you for?”

  Oliver leaned into Tatum’s ear, whispering, “I think he said that wrong.”

  Tatum chuckled. “Well, I need to discuss something a little weird with you. It may be shocking, but it all boils down to a favor I need from you.”

  Eddie sighed. “Are you starting to speak in riddles?”

  “Umm…no…I need ID cards for twenty-two people.”

  “First of all, that’s a lot of ID cards. Second, where did you find that many people who need IDs?”

  “If I tell you, it has to stay private. You can’t tell anyone.”

  “If I decided to do this, who would I tell? I’m breaking the law by making IDs.” Eddie chuckled.

  “I just
need to make sure it’s safe.”

  Eddie stood up. “How do you know you can trust these people? They could be playing you.” Eddie paced the floor. “For Mary and Joseph’s sake!”

  “Who’s Mary and Joseph?” Oliver asked.

  Tatum patted Oliver’s muscular shoulder. Was there a good way to tell Eddie about shifters? She didn’t want to freak him out completely. Shifters would be considered paranormal. Maybe she could use sci-fi to break him in slowly. Start a conversation, ease her way into shifters. Most humans believed in aliens, after all. “Do you believe in aliens?”

  “Like foreign people?”

  “No, like spaceship people.”

  “What! Whoa! I hope you’re going somewhere with this. You can’t just jump from IDs to secrets to aliens.” Eddie pushed his fingers over his trimmed hair. “Hold on! Are you about to peel off your skin or something?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Not exactly! Holy shit!” Eddie rubbed his hands on his pants, frantically pacing around in circles. He stopped and pointed at her. “Are you a freaking alien? And I’m not talking about an alien from another country.” Eddie’s eyes went wide, waiting for a response.

  Tatum backed away. “You’re kind of scaring me.”

  “I’m scaring you! I’m scaring you! Tatum, you have me not knowing if I should call the asylum, get a gun, or do the sign of the cross.” Eddie pulled his fingers across his chest and down the middle as he paced around the living room.

  Tatum glanced back at the front door, just past Oliver. “This isn’t going the way I planned.”

  “Tatum, did you come from outer space…in a spaceship? Are you trying to bring more of your kind to Earth?”

  Tatum shook her head, keeping her eyes on the ground.

  Eddie groaned. “That’s not convincing. You can try harder than that.”

  “This was a bad idea. I’m sorry. Act like this didn’t happen.” Tatum’s eyebrows pulled together in concern.

  Eddie’s forehead was starting to sweat, and his eye was twitching.