by Lynn Hagen
It was the same garbage everyone else was trying to shove down his throat. Was he the only sane one around here? It had to be in the water or something. Everyone kept spewing off things about men that could change into animals and other weird shit.
Tater was getting real tired of it.
Maybe he was still lying on the ground from when Maverick tackled him. That would explain all of this. He was lying on the ground under the large man, with a concussion. It sounded plausible and a lot saner than what D was saying.
“Okay,” Tater shouted over to the wolf. “If you’re a shifter, shift.”
“Are you fucking nuts?” D gasped as he pulled at Tater’s arm. “Why in the hell are you taunting him?”
“Because I have nothing better to do with my time.” Tater growled. It was true. Where the hell was he heading anyway?
Nowhere.
What did he have to do?
Nothing.
Tater stumbled back when a man appeared before his eyes. And he was fucking naked. Tater blinked, and then he saw a wolf again. “Oh hell,” Tater shouted as he grabbed D’s wrist and started to run. There was no way in hell he had just witnessed a wolf changing into a man right before his eyes.
No fucking way!
He was just as crazy as everyone else now.
“I told you,” D panted as he ran beside Tater.
If D was telling the truth about that, if everyone had been telling the truth, then Tater had a goddamn vampire running next to him.
He quickly let go of the guy’s wrist. That list of weird and fucked-up things that were happening to him was getting longer by the second.
Tater noticed the wolf running alongside of them in the woods, but he made no move to cross the road and come after them. Tater slowed down, trying his best to catch his breath. He wasn’t used to all this damn exercise.
“Why in the hell are you slowing down?” D asked as he backtracked, jogging in place. “Are you nuts? What part of shifter didn’t you understand?”
Tater found himself bent over once again, his hands on his knees. Only this time he was trying to slow his heart rate. “Fuck it. We can’t outrun him. So if he’s gonna eat us, I’m tossing you to him first.”
D slapped his hands on his hips, glaring at Tater. “Gee, thanks. But I think you’re the one that’s gonna be in trouble.”
“How so?” Tater asked as he finally stood, taking in a deep breath as the sweat rolled down from his scalp. What he wouldn’t give for a nice cool breeze right about now.
“Because, I don’t have to outrun the wolf. I just have to outrun you.” D chuckled as he backed away. He took a few steps backward, waving his fingers at Tater.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Tater said in a warning tone as he looked over his shoulder to see the huge wolf watching them from the woods.
“Why not? You were about to feed me to him.”
Tater winced at the hurt tone in D’s voice. He had been joking around. He hadn’t meant to hurt the poor guy’s, er, vampire’s feelings. Fuck if things weren’t strange as hell tonight. It felt like he walked into a parallel universe or something. There was no way any of this could be real.
“I wasn’t serious,” Tater confessed as he looked back over at the woods. He waved his hand at the wolf, indicating that he wanted the wolf to come to them.
“Why don’t you change back and tell us what the fuck you’re up to?” Tater shouted.
D threw his hands in the air and walked around in a circle, looking as though he was about to have a nervous breakdown. “You have lost your damn mind. Vampires and shifters are enemies!”
Tater snorted as he waved a finger between the two of them. “Then it’s two against one.”
D looked at him in shock. “You’d really help me? After I tried to feed from you?”
“Dude, you did not feed from me. Remember that.”
“You’re taking this pretty well. Do you deal with the paranormal a lot?”
“Nope, so don’t remind me before I really wig out here.”
“Duly noted.”
Tater had to think of a way out of this. He was standing next to a vampire and staring across the road at a wolf that could change into a man. He was pretty sure there wasn’t a handbook for this sort of situation.
“Why isn’t he changing?” Tater asked D.
“Yeah, because I hang with shifters all the time.” D snorted. “How in the hell am I supposed to know?”
“You don’t have to be a smart-ass about it. Think. What are we supposed to do?” Tater chewed on the side of his lip as he looked from D to the wolf. There had to be a logical explanation here. Why wouldn’t the wolf change back to a man?
Not that Tater was thrilled to see that kind of weird shit happen again. He had to admit, it was kinda cool and scary as hell at the same time. Tater wasn’t sure if he wanted to see it again or pass out from the impossibility.
“If I knew what we were supposed to do, we wouldn’t still be standing here debating the subject.”
Tater was going to have to figure out how to shake the wolf off their tail. The creature really wasn’t doing anything wrong. But it was creepy as hell to be followed.
Tater’s head whipped around when headlights showed brightly, bathing him and D in the beams as it ambled down the road and then began to slow down.
Tater groaned. If one more thing went wrong tonight, he was going to kick someone’s ass just to relieve the mounting stress.
“Uh, should we run again?” D asked.
“I’m not sure, but it seems our friend over there has just crossed the road.” Tater nodded toward the advancing wolf.
Why hadn’t he just gone to bed?
Chapter Two
Olsen Lakeland slammed on the brakes when he saw his mate standing next to a stranger and a fucking wolf advancing toward them.
What in the hell was going on here?
Nothing seemed right about this situation, and Olsen didn’t like the fact that Tater was a part of it.
Tater was supposed to be safe at home. Well, as safe as he could be at home, considering everything that had gone on tonight. But Olsen did not expect to find his mate on the side of the road with a stranger and a wolf shifter.
“What the hell is going on?” Olsen asked as he climbed out of the cab and slammed his truck door closed. His canines were already showing, and his bear claws were emerging as Olsen walked around the front of his truck.
“Just what I didn’t need. I swear that damn list is growing longer by the minute.” Tater huffed as he and the stranger backed away…together? Olsen didn’t like this, not one bit.
“What list? And who the hell is that?” Olsen pointed at the man beside his mate. He could see the shocked look on his mate’s face but was too enraged to sheath his claws and canines right now. Did Tater realize what kind of a situation he was in? Who he was keeping company with? There was no way his mate could know he was standing that close to a shifter.
“Who are you?” the stranger asked, and that was when Olsen saw the fangs.
Oh, hell no.
“Get over here, Tater.” Olsen pointed to the spot in front of him.
Tater shook his head back and forth as he took another step back. “I’d rather take my chances with the vampire. What in the hell are you, Olsen?”
So his mate did know. Somehow that knowledge made Olsen see red.
“You two know each other?” the vampire asked, snapping his head between Tater and Olsen.
It pissed Olsen off that his mate and the vampire seemed to be chummy. Did that mean Tater had allowed the vampire to drink from him? Olsen tilted his head, looking for wounds on his mate’s neck. From this distance, he saw none. But that didn’t mean there weren’t any.
Olsen kept an eye on the wolf just a few feet away from him. He wasn’t sure how the shifter played into all of this, but he wasn’t letting his guard down. If the wolf was one of Maverick’s wolves, then Olsen had nothing to worry about. But since he really didn�
�t know Maverick’s pack that well, he wasn’t taking any chances.
Olsen started forward with the intention of grabbing Tater until he heard a low, menacing growl come from the wolf. He stopped instantly. As big as he was, even he wasn’t stupid enough to take on a wolf shifter while Olsen was in his human form—especially one that seemed to be guarding his territory.
That mere thought sent Olsen’s protective instincts through the roof. He bared his teeth and growled back at the wolf as he jabbed a finger toward Tater. “Mine!”
The wolf lost its feral look and cocked his head to one side.
“Look, why don’t you shift so we can talk?”
The wolf looked at Tater, and the vampire then trotted to the other side of the truck and shifted. A moment later, a tall blond man stood there—naked. Olsen frowned, not liking the fact that there was a naked man within a mile of his mate. He hurried to the truck and grabbed a spare set of jogging pants he always kept in the cab then tossed them toward the back of the truck at the naked man.
When he turned back to Tater, his mate was standing there with his mouth hanging open. “He really can shift.”
“Yes, he’s a wolf shifter,” Olsen said as he glanced over his shoulder at the stranger. Thank goodness he was dressed. Olsen would have hated to kill the fucker just for being naked in front of his mate.
Tater’s eyes snapped to him. “What are you?”
“I already to you that I was a bear.”
Tater looked like he was mulling the information over in his head. Olsen could see the wheels turning slowly. “The bear I saw in the woods when we were looking for Alex, who was it?”
“Riley.”
“Your brother?”
“Yep.”
“Look,” Tater said as he pointed a finger at Olsen. “Stop with the monosyllable answers. I’m trying my best not to freak out, so help me along here. You guys trying to convince me of people who can change into animals is one thing. Me actually seeing it happen sheds a whole new light on the subject.”
Olsen exhaled loudly as he rubbed the back of his neck. This was a conversation he had planned on having with his mate, but not this soon and definitely not in front of witnesses, strangers no less.
He had thought Tater had believed his family and Maverick when they told him about the paranormal world. Apparently his mate had changed his mind. This only complicated matters.
“Come over here so we can talk privately.” Olsen jerked his head to the side as he walked over by the woods. He could see the vampire eyeing them curiously, but Olsen ignored him. The vampire was the wolf’s problem, if he was reading the blond man correctly. He waited patiently as Tater took his sweet old time crossing the road.
“I’m listening,” Tater said as he kept a few feet away.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me. I won’t shift and maul you.” Olsen was irritated at the frightened way Tater was reacting to this. His mate looked ready to bolt, which made Olsen ready to chase. He was getting geared up for the chase, ready to run Tater into the ground and show him who the alpha was between them. “Don’t run,” he warned in a low voice.
“Why? You gonna hurt me?” Tater took a step back, his body coiling.
“Don’t run.” Olsen shook his head as he warned his mate once more.
Fuck!
Tater ran.
Olsen shifted and gave chase. It was instinctual. Something he couldn’t have prevented even if he had tried. Tater glanced over his shoulder, giving a shout as he picked up the pace. Olsen put on a burst of speed, gaining momentum and overtaking Tater.
“Don’t eat me!” Tater shouted as he hit the ground. Olsen mentally rolled his eyes as he circled around his mate. He had warned him.
Twice.
“What the hell are you doing?” the vampire shouted as he ran after them. Olsen roared as he stepped over his mate and got up on his hind legs. Anyone in close proximity was a threat. He landed back on his front paws, scratching at the ground as he warned the vampire away.
“Get over here,” the wolf shouted at the vampire.
Olsen gave a quick-burst charge and then backed up, defending what was his. Tater crab-crawled backward, which made Olsen’s job of protecting his mate a lot harder. Now there was too much ground to cover, and Olsen was getting irritated. There were too many people around his mate.
Olsen jerked around when his brother, Bryce, pulled up in his truck. He gave a loud, warning roar toward his brother.
“What in the hell is going on here?” Bryce asked as he climbed out of his truck and walked slowly over to Olsen.
“The bear is trying to eat the human.” The vampire pointed at Olsen. “Tater is my friend. I don’t want him eaten.”
Bryce looked from the vampire to the wolf, and then over to Olsen, a wide smile spanning across his face. “You sure know how to get yourself in a fix, don’t you?”
Olsen roared again, but Bryce ignored him. “Yeah, I already know Tater is your mate. I’m not going to go near him.”
“I’m his what?” Tater stared at Olsen as if he had two heads. Olsen was getting even more pissed by the moment. He had wanted to explain all of this to Tater, but it seemed everyone else was doing his job.
“Uh, I take it you weren’t aware of this fact?” Bryce asked as he started walking backward, holding his hands up in front of him. “Forget I said anything.”
“His mate?” The vampire’s head snapped around to look at Tater. “How cool is that?”
Olsen tried once more to roar, hoping everyone shut the hell up. It was useless as the vampire kept right on talking, only this time he was talking to Tater. “He’s your mate. That means fate has brought you two together. Paired you for life.”
“Oh, hell no,” Tater squeaked as he got to his feet. “He’s a damn bear, if no one here has noticed. I don’t do animals.” Tater spun on his heel, walking away from everyone.
Olsen shifted, uncaring that he was naked. Obviously the wolf did when he growled and spun the vampire around. Olsen ignored all of them as he chased after Tater.
“Tater, wait.”
“Fuck off, Olsen. I’ve had enough surprises for one night.” Tater sped up as he tried to get further away from him. Olsen had had enough. He grabbed Tater’s arm, spinning his mate around to face him.
“Look, I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough night, and I’m sorry I only added to it. That wasn’t my intention.” Olsen reached out and cupped Tater’s face, feeling rejected when Tater pulled away. He saw the fear in his mate’s eyes right before Tater looked away. That look told Olsen that he had a fighting chance. If his mate had looked indifferent, then Olsen would have known that trying to mate Tater would have been a lost cause.
“Look,” Tater sighed. “I know you mean well. I just don’t do commitments.”
Olsen’s heart sank at Tater’s words. How was he going to claim the gorgeous human and take him home if his mate didn’t do commitments?
This was getting more complicated by the moment. Olsen knew fate had chosen Tater for him, but he wasn’t sure he was up for the struggle it would take to win Tater over. The man obviously didn’t want to be bothered and was pretty much spelling it out for him.
Normally Olsen wouldn’t give up, but his mate’s happiness was the only thing Olsen was concerned about. It tore his heart in two to think of it, but if Tater really didn’t want anything to do with him, then Olsen wouldn’t bother him anymore.
Olsen felt like he was leaving a large part of himself behind when he backed away. “Don’t worry, I won’t bother you again.” He spun around and headed back toward his truck, forcing himself not to look back. He was kicking his own ass as he grabbed the truck door for giving up so easily, but he wasn’t going to force himself on anyone, least of all his mate.
Tater knew where he lived if he wanted Olsen.
“Hey,” the vampire shouted as he ran after Tater. Olsen stalled getting into his truck to see what the wolf would do. The blond man looked at the vampire’s
retreating back and then over at Olsen.
“Looks like neither of our mates wants us.”
Olsen could hear the touch of sadness in the man’s voice. He knew how the shifter felt. It was a fucked-up situation when a mate rejected his other half. “My name’s Olsen. Can I give you a ride somewhere?”
“I’m Sloane.” The wolf nodded toward the pair walking away as he headed toward Olsen’s truck. “Will they be safe together?”
“They seem to need each other right now. My mate wouldn’t go with anyone who he felt was a threat to him.” Olsen had learned that much already.
Tater was a big man, not as big as Olsen was, but big enough. And Olsen had a feeling that his interference, no matter how justified, wouldn’t be welcomed.
He watched Bryce shake his head and get into his truck, driving away. He knew his brother wouldn’t understand why Olsen wasn’t chasing Tater down, but in a way, neither did Olsen. His feelings were a mess right now, all over the place and making Olsen’s brain scattered.
“I was headed to Maverick Brac’s home to ask if I can join his pack. Do you know where he lives?” Sloane asked as he climbed into the passenger seat.
Olsen nodded. “Everyone knows Maverick.”
He glanced in the direction his mate was walking and had an urge to chase him down again and make Tater submit. Olsen sighed and grabbed a pair of jeans from behind his seat, sliding them on.
A shifter always kept spare clothing in his vehicle. One never knew when he would need them, and it seemed Olsen needed more than usual tonight.
He pulled a T-shirt over his head and grabbed an extra pair of shoes from the box bolted on the back of his truck. He looked across the field at his mate and the vampire as they slowly disappeared, sadness engulfing him.
“Give him time,” Sloane said as he shut the truck door.
Time.
That was something he had been giving Tater, and it didn’t seem to be working. Olsen needed to talk to his pa about all of this. He was confused as hell and he wasn’t sure what he should do. It seemed the more time he gave Tater, the harder the man pushed him away.