A Taste of Shifter Geekdom: Shifter Romance (Vanguard Elite Book 2)

by Annie Nicholas

  Ian parked the bus in a field full of cars. Across the quiet street, sparkling golden string lights circled the festival from wooden poles.

  Music filled the air accompanied by the buzz of voices and laughter.

  The shifters gathered around the bus, watching the townspeople in silence.

  Ian and Clare strode to the front of the group, hand in hand. The alphas met everyone’s stares until they dropped their gazes. Ian spoke, “Pallas is already here. He wanted to scout things before we arrived. Keep things pleasant. Do not start altercations, but do defend yourselves gently. Don’t break any of the humans. We’ll meet back at the bus in two hours. If you’re late, you walk home.”

  Clare whistled for them to raise their heads. “Have fun.” She pulled Ian toward the fair. “I want all the popcorn.”

  “Not if I eat it all first.” And there went their alphas racing for the closest food vendor.

  Darrell shook his head, always competing those two. He glanced at Julia. “What do you want to do first?”

  “I don’t know. What about you?”

  “We could eat, check out the games, scare the livestock—”

  “Or we could eat.” Blain interrupted and shoved Darrell from behind. “Like before all the food is gone.”

  Penny pointed to the shifters ahead of them. “He’s right.” She led Blain. “I want a hot dog. No, I want fried Oreos first, then a hot dog. Maybe a candied apple.” Her voice faded as they got further away.

  “Food it is.” Julia took Darrell’s hand. They followed the shifters across the street and blended with the crowd. He scanned the townsfolk. They received a few curious glances, but no one ran screaming. Good sign. They stood in line behind Blain at the fried food stand. From the menu, the cook would fry anything in dough.

  “Beaver tail?” Julia gripped his bicep. “Is it real beaver?”

  “Sadly, no. It’s dough cooked in a beaver tail shape. Kind of like funnel cake.”

  She blinked. “I’ve never had either.”

  “Then you’ve never lived.” He held up two fingers. “Beaver tails with everything on it.” Dough, oil, and sugar—the trifecta for a late night tummy ache but so worth it.

  The vendor held out the food. “You arrive on that bus?”

  Darrell went still as he reached for the beaver tails. “Yes…”

  “What college are you traveling from?” He set the tails in Darrell’s hands. “That’ll be seven dollars.”

  Darrell handed Julia her treat and paid, guiding her away before the vendor noticed he hadn’t answered. He didn’t know why, but Darrell expected everyone to know who they were, like the townsfolk kept secret files on the pack. He bit into his food and they joined Blain by the band playing country music. Maybe the vampire was right and this would be a fun night, after all.

  “Oh my God, this is heaven.” Julia ate her beaver tail in four huge bites. She licked her lips and fingers clean.

  Darrell had trouble focusing on his food while watching her tongue. He twisted his hips for a better view of her profile. She had a delicate nose and rounded cheeks that dimpled when she smiled with her rosebud lips. Pretty…he hadn’t had any pretty things. Life was rough where he grew up. Things and people didn’t stay shiny and fresh.

  She met his gaze and there was nothing shy about Julia. What she felt, she wore on her face. The heat in her eyes set his blood on fire. Maybe it was the lighting but he swore he glimpsed her wolf peak out. “What’s next? Wait, what are those?” Her eyes went wide at Penny’s deep fried Oreos.

  “Your next treat.” Darrell savored his beaver tail. He didn’t have enough money to buy them double of everything, but this being her first time to a festival, he’d make sure she tried them all.

  Chapter Five

  A candied apple, fried Oreos, a large bag of cotton candy, kettle corn ball, and a foot long hot dog later, Julia rubbed her on-the-verge-of-rupturing stomach.

  Darrell and she had shared everything. She noticed he wasn’t buying himself anything to eat so made him take bits of hers. God, he was so thoughtful. She’d heard rumors of men like him. He sat next her on the bench, a pale shade of green as he watch her unwrap the frozen cheesecake on a stick.

  She held it under his nose. “You want some?”

  Grimacing, he turned his head. “I’m so full I want to die.” He’d done his best to keep up but her stomach was made of steel. Something she’d inherited from her father. She’d never suffered from an upset stomach. “You have quite an appetite.”

  She stopped mid bite and set the cheesecake down. Her wolf awakened, hackles rising. “What do you mean by that?” Did he think she was fat? She sucked in her gut but it was too full to move.

  He sat up, back rigid, shaking his head. “Nothing, I appreciate a female with an appetite, but where to you put it all? I’m dying and your waist is smaller than mine.”

  Heart in throat, she tried to smile and soothed her wolf before she bit Darrell’s head off. What was he thinking? She’d been pleased when he’d offered to provide her with food. As shifters, food had more meaning than for humans. For a first date, he’d made a bold move. She patted her slightly rounded stomach. “It’s bigger on the inside.” She winked and waited for him to recognize the pun.

  He gave her a blank stare.

  “I guess you’re not a Doctor Who fan.”

  Leaning forward, he quirked an eyebrow. “Who?”

  “Never mind, I won’t hold it against you for now.” She took a bite of cheesecake. “I am full. Sure I can’t tempt you in helping me finish?” She twirled the cake in a slow circle.

  He leaned over and took a small taste.

  “Maybe we should walk off some of these calories?” Maybeshe could ditch Blain. He’d been hovering around them since arriving. At first, she thought they would be leading the blind wolf through the fair but Penny accompanied Blain. They were a few feet away playing some games. Blain had promised Penny a prize so it was a perfect moment for some alone time. Julia slid closer and traced the rough five o’clock shadow on his cheeks. Around Darrell, she didn’t have control. He brought out the wolf in her. Boy, her parents wouldn’t approve of such a match, no matter how much she liked him or how safe she felt around him. They were civilized shifters. That’s how her pack compared themselves to the less fortunate of their kind. The way Julia saw it, especially after spending time in the camp, they repressed their heritage and chained their inner wolves.

  Julia gazed over the town square where the small festival was being held. A place her parents never would have brought her. Civilized shifters were boring. In the few weeks she’d been away, she experienced more life than all her years on her family’s estate. And Darrell… She bit the inside of her cheek as he stood and offered his hand. Gentleman with a bod of a warrior. God have mercy. She wanted to sin with him. If she was going to be sent home soon, she was going to get a slice of him. Damn the vampire’s rules. She took his hand and pointed to a dark section of the park. “Looks nice and quiet there.”

  His eyes widened and he gave her a startled look. “I promised Blain, I’d stay close.”

  Maybe she was being too forward? She spotted Blain playing ring toss with the omega female. “How does he do that?”

  “Beats me.” Darrell chuckled. “When I ask, he tells me he uses the force. Whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

  “Seriously?” She eyed him. “Are you pulling my leg? You haven’t seen Star Wars?”

  “Sure I have. When I was a kid.” He shrugged. “Spaceship battles, laser sword fights—”

  “Light sabers.”

  He stopped midsentence.

  “They’re called light sabers, not laser swords.”

  “This is important?”

  “Dude, this kind of stuff is my life.” Where did Darrell grow up not knowing any pop culture? She let the Doctor Who thing slide, but this must be corrected.

  “Well, once we have electricity again, you can educate me.” He squeezed her hand and her heart
melted like a gooey marshmallow.

  “Okay.” She leaned against him, chest to chest. “Blain has Penny to guide him. I think they’ll be fine alone for a few minutes.”

  “She can’t protect him if there’s trouble.” He kissed the knuckles on her hand and led her to the ring toss table.

  Her gaze lingered on the secluded spot. He dodged her every suggestion like a pro, yet he hadn’t been shy yesterday at the firing range. Didn’t he want to kiss her again? She better plan on tripping him into her bed if she wanted to and do naughty things.

  Blain landed a ring. What the hell?

  Penny squealed and hugged him tight.

  “Pick the one you want, Penny.” He pulled her off him, his cheeks blazing.

  “Which one do you think I should get?” The omega directed the question to Julia.

  “I don’t know. The biggest?” She’d never owned a stuff toy. Not that her parents couldn’t afford it. They thought it below her to play with mundane things. She’d grown up with porcelain dolls. The kind that broke if you played too rough and upset her mother. Her iron stomach went sour. “It’s just a toy.”

  “Hey, I know you,” said a teenage boy big enough to look like an adult but too rude not to point at Darrell. “You’re one of those shifters who lives at the abandoned manor.”

  Darrell shoved her behind him. “I remember you as well. You broke my arm.” He held up his fully healed right arm. She recalled it being bandaged during the scavenger hunt. He’d run and pulled and carried things with a broken bone? He hadn’t complained once.

  “Looks fine to me.” The idiot came nose to nose with Darrell.

  Julia moved aside for a better view of the humans who had hurt her Darrell. Her wolf clawed for her to shift. She wouldn’t hurt them, but she’d scared the shit out them.

  Penny tugged at her sleeve. “Don’t,” she whispered. “Pallas will get mad and might send you home.”

  “Why do you care?” she snapped.

  “It would make Darrell sad.” Penny stared at her feet, but huddled close to Julia as if afraid of the humans.

  She slung her arm around the omega and moved them away from the boys.

  Blain pushed the one talking back. “Lucky for you, he heals fast. I understand it takes humans a lot longer to mend bone. I’m curious. Darrell, want to test it out?”

  Darrell shook his head. “We’re not here looking for trouble. Just for some fun.” He held out his arms in a universal sign for peace but stalked forward with a predator’s grace. “But if you give us trouble, we’ll kick your asses again.”

  The biggest of the boys eyed Julia, “Hey baby, ever been with a man?” He held out his hand as if wanting her to sniff it as if she were a dog.

  She recoiled from the gesture and bared her teeth. Her blood boiled.

  Before she could bite, Darrell grabbed him by the throat. “Apologize.”

  The young man’s feet dangled off the ground.

  The surrounding area went silent with distant laughter and music floating on the wind. Time slowed and Julia could swear she could count the dust motes floating in the gold lighting. Like statues, people watched from a distance, horror etched on their faces.

  “Put him down!” An alpha female’s voice snapped, setting time back on track.

  Darrell dropped Julia’s assailant and he landed awkwardly on his feet.

  A woman in a police uniform strode between the two groups. Her hair was pulled back so tight in a bun, Julia bet it hurt. “What’s going on here?” She rested her hand on her gun as she addressed the human males.

  None of them met her glare. “Nothing, ma’am.” She had heard humans didn’t have alphas. Julia wouldn’t believe that shit anymore. She had trouble not bowing her head in this female’s presence. Not even her own present alphas caused this strong of a reaction. Maybe it was the gun?

  Julia tangled her fingers with Darrell’s and tugged him away from the humans. He’d jumped in to defend her without hesitation. No one had ever done anything like this for her. Sure, people had told her they loved her, but actions really did speak louder than words. She rested her head on his arm as her heart broke. If she was sent home, she’d lose him forever.

  “This don’t look like nothing to me, Billy. Do we need to have another talk in my office with your parents?”

  Billy scuffed the dirt with his running shoe. “No, ma’am.”

  The sheriff swung around to face Darrell. “What are you doing off pack lands?”

  Darrell opened his mouth but nothing came out. He snapped it shut again.

  Julia tossed a questioning look at Penny who seemed ready to lay stomach down at the sheriff’s feet. “Uh, we came to spend some money at the festival.” Julia offered as an answer. More for the growing crowd of humans gathering than for the sheriff. She’d seen movies where mobs of humans chased down werewolves.

  “I wasn’t made aware that the shifters were quarantined to their lands.” Pallas strolled out of the shadows. He wore a stylish set of black slacks and a silk button shirt. A diamond sparkled in his pointed ear.

  Julia refrained from rubbing her eyes in disbelief. The vampire cleaned-up well. She’d only seen him in fatigues and steel toed boots, most of the time he was covered in mud or dirt.

  The sheriff’s scowl grew deeper. “Pallas.” She said his name like a curse.

  “Sheriff Lee, you look…commanding this evening.” He flashed fang as he grinned wide.

  Hushed talk rose from the people gathering. Their whispers held an edge of panic. Words like vampire, murder, and blood escaped the hum.

  “Are you trying to cause a riot?” She stood her ground. The scent of fear thickened the air, but not around the sheriff. She smelled of pure fury—hot, liquid fury, all aimed at their task master. “For someone who’s supposed to be so old, you’re not very smart.”

  Pallas’ eyes narrowed. “I’ve never been accused of being wise, nor have I tried to give you the impression. Why would you expect this of me?”

  “That explains a lot.” Sheriff Lee finally noticed the crowd. “Show is over folks.” She pointed to the boys. “Go home before I call your folks.” Then she glared at them. “Same goes for you. I doubt your alphas would be happy if I called them either.”

  Pallas nodded. “Wait at the bus.”

  Darrell slipped his arm around Julia’s waist.

  The vampire noticed. “You both know the rules.”

  They separated as if magnetically repulsed. “Yes, sir.” They shouted together as if on the drilling grounds before hurrying to the bus.

  Blain and Penny marched ahead of them. Determination in their every step.

  Julia slowed, letting the space between couples grow. She hadn’t had a single moment alone with Darrell and she definitely wouldn’t get one now that they were on Pallas’ radar. Darrell was such a protective shifter. A trait she really found unusual. Most shifters who acted protective were actually territorial. They defended what they considered theirs. Like how her father would have defended her as long as she belonged to him. Not because he loved her or that she was his daughter. Just a thing. A gilded cage was still a cage. Many females accepted their fates as second class citizens, but no amount of money was worth her freedom to choose her own fate and she was pretty sure Darrell would be part of that future.

  As they crossed the outside circle of the festival, she grabbed his hand and pulled him behind a tent before he could utter a protest. She spun around and pressed him against a tree, pulling his face toward hers. Their lips clashed.

  He tangled his fingers in her hair, yanking her closer until she molded over his hard body. His arms felt like steel as he consumed her mouth.

  She grazed her teeth over his bottom lip. She wanted to taste all of him, run her teeth over the fine lines of his body he hid under baggy clothes, and bite him in all the right spots.

  Oh no…those biting thoughts. She pushed from his arms, struggling to kiss him at the same time. Those were wolf thoughts. Those were mating
thoughts. She never expected to experience this. She’d heard stories, but true matings were rare where she came from. Her parents had handpicked her mate years ago.

  Darrell let her go physically, but the emotional hold still had her trapped. “What’s wrong? You smell like fear.” He cupped her face. “Don’t be afraid of those assholes. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

  A rush of pleasure flooded her body. Truth rang in his words. How could she not believe him? He already defended her once. Would her arranged fiancé do the same? No, he was a selfish jerk and the reason she fled her pack. They didn’t believe in fate. They believed in money.

  Maybe her pack was right to ignore fate. Now that she found hers, she was on the brink of losing him. How could she leave the boot camp without him? When had this fun flirtation turned serious? Being together would only make her being kicked out worse. When she was forced to go home in a week’s time, it would kill her. “This can’t happen,” she forced the raw words out.

  “Tonight?” He sounded so confused.

  She didn’t blame him. Had she known what she’d been feeling for him was more than just lust, she wouldn’t have pursued him. “Not ever.” She pressed her hand over his racing heart. “I’m so sorry. I really, really like you, Darrell, but some things are out of my control.” It was better to stop things before their bond grew permanent.

  His hands slid over her upper arms, gripping her hard. “What are you talking about?”

  “Things seem to be getting serious between us fast. Don’t tell me it’s one-sided.” She paused, holding her breath. Oh God, how embarrassing if it was.

  “There’s nothing wrong with how we feel. Don’t let Pallas scare you.”

  “Pallas has nothing to do with this. The way things are going with my shooting, Pallas will be kicking me out of boot camp soon.” Then she’d have nowhere to go but home and the arranged mating she had been trying to avoid. “What will we do then?”