Shiftless: Tuatha Series Book 1

by Linton Bowers

  Jen got a confused look on her face then looked down. “Oh. Maybe if you knew the answer I wouldn’t have dumped your sorry ass.”

  That was when the reason decided to make an appearance. A tall well muscled man walked out of the bedroom just as naked. “wow, who is the babe?” He was looking at Miranda. “When I came home with you l, Karen, I didn’t realize it was that kind of party, but I’ll be glad I came.” He laughed and slapped his knee. “So glad I came. I kill me. Get it?” He looked at all of us and stopped laughing. “Tough crowd.”

  “For the umpteenth time, my name is Jennifer. Go back to the room and wait for me.” Naked dude shrugged then complied.

  “I get it, Terry,” Miranda said. “The bitch has a bod, but you can do so much better.” She took my hand and held tight then looked at Jen.

  “Nevermind, you already have.”

  Jen crossed her arms under a pair of really nice breasts. “You think your better than me, bitch. Well drink it all in. Most women would kill for abs like these.”

  “Whatever.” Miranda slid her pack off her back and let go of my hand. She held it up in one hand and dug into it with the other. Pulling a roll of cash out and held it up to Jen. “We need your apartment for the night so get your boy toy and get gone.”

  Without missing a beat Jen snatched the cash from Miranda. “Yup.” was all she said.

  “Oh wait.”

  Jen stopped and smiled at Miranda. “Yes,” she said sweetly.

  Miranda held up another roll of cash. “I’m going to need your phone too.”

  Jen look anoyed for a split second. She snagged the second roll and smiled again. “Sure thing, Sweety. I’ll be rght back with the phone.” She went into the room and closed the door. “Get dressed. Were leaving.”

  Jen handed Miranda her smartphone as she left. She sneered at and stopped. “Who the fuck is that?” Jen pointed at the unconscious girl slung over my shoulder.

  “Um…” I said.

  “I can answer that,Miranda said. “Or you can take this and forget everything you saw here.”

  Jen and I turned to look at Miranda who held out two more rolls of cash.

  “I don’t care what ki da freaky shit you are in too and I saw nothing.” Jen snatched the last two rolls of cash and left.

  “We could have had a good time,” Jen’s friend said to Miranda.

  “If you don’t hurry up I’m not taking you to the hotel with me,” Jen shouted from the hall outside the apartment. He ran out after her. I closed and locked the door.

  “What do you see in her?” Miranda asked me.

  I let out a sigh. She was really nice at first. It wasn’t until I let her move in that she started treating me like shit.”

  Miranda placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring squeeze. “Any woman that dares treat you like shit now will have to deal with me,” She said. “And I won’t hesitate to rip a bitch’s throat out.” There was no mirth what so ever in her voice.

  “I really don’t want you to hurt anyone for me,” I said.

  “I know. That is probably why pack members are not slaves and have enough freedom to do what needs to be done for our pack. Don’t look at me like that. I promise to only bare my teeth in a life and death situation. Now let's put her in the bed and see about getting her awake.”

  I nodded once. Through our bond I could feel the truth of her words, all of them.

  I looked at the bedroom door and remember the two people that were naked in their just moments ago. “I think the couch might be better.”

  Miranda raised her nose up and sniffed. “Yeah, that is a good call. Set her down and I will see about a clean blanket and pillow.”

  The girl in my arms moaned as I set her down. Her eyes fluttered but she didn’t wake up.

  “Hey there, are you okay?” I asked. I gave her shoulders a slight shake. I was careful not to shake her too hard as I was unsure of the extent of her injuries. “Hey, wake up. Can you hear me? I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do here.” I leaned back and sat on the floor next to the couch. “I have to tell you this is my first time saving the girl from a pack of werewolves. Any assistance you could give me would be great. Just waking up so we can figure out what is going on.” I looked down at my hands as I spoke.

  “Just letting me know where to drop you off so we can get you back home is all I need really. It is too late to say I don’t want to be involved with monsters, but getting away from them quickly seems doable. I just don’t want to run off with you and then have you think we kidnapped you, which could already be exactly what we did.”

  I let out a long sigh. “This is crazy.”

  “I would suggest you stay busy so as not to think about it too much,”Miranda said. I looked up to see her leaning against the door frame of the bedroom holding my favorite blue blanket and a pillow with a matching case, and looking at me. “I know this is a lot to take, Terry, but we’ll get through it. I have faith in you and I hope you can have some faith in me and yourself.” She crossed the room, set her bundle on the woman’s legs then crouched down behind me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “It will get better soon,” She whispered into my ear.

  “Who are you?” The woman on the couch asked.

  Chapter 6

  “It’s alive!” Miranda stood raising both arms into the air.

  “Ha.” I couldn’t help myself. I’d been too focused on my inner self doubting and the joke, weak as it was, gave me a break from me.

  “If you think my jokes are weak, maybe you grab the mic and step onto the stage, yeah?” Miranda said.

  “Is no one going to answer me?” The woman on the couch asked.

  “Sorry, it’s been a long day,” I said.

  “Understate much?” Miranda asked.

  I threw her a sideways glance which coupled with my feeling of annoyance got her to throw up her hands in surrender.

  “You want to take this?” I asked.

  Miranda Pointed at me. “Alpha,” she pointed at herself,” beta.”

  “Right,” I said.

  I looked down at the woman and looked at her really good for the first time. She was slender with an angular face and high cheekbones. She was just as attractive as Miranda, but in a less classical sense. Her hair was a dark brown and her eyes…

  Her eyes having been closed kept me from seeing the heart pounding sight. Her eyes were an emerald green, but instead of the round black iris I expected she had a black slit bisecting her eye from top to bottom. It was like a cats but slightly different. I couldn’t figure out how though.

  “My name is Terrance Cole, but you can call me Terry.”

  “All of your friends call you Terry?” She asked. Her voice was soft and had a raspy undertone.

  “No, pretty much everyone calls me Terry. What do I call you?”

  “Call me Tabitha,” she said. “Where am I? And are you going to hurt me? I swear I don’t know where it is.” Her eyes welled up with unshed tears and she shook slightly.

  “Were not going to hurt you, Tabitha. I don’t know what this thing you think I want is, but I don't want anything from you.”

  “Maybe you should tell her how she came to be here,” Miranda said.

  “That’s a good idea,” I nodded at her.

  “Well, Tabitha it’s like this…” She listened as I told her about running from Arnold’s mansion with Miranda and having to flee her safe house. Then about finding Tabitha in Arnold’s safe house and taking some of his stuff. Tabitha smiled at that. I ended with getting to my apartment.

  “Don’t leave out the best part,” Miranda said. I thought she was going to talk about me being a Tuatha, which I purposefully left out. Instead she told Tabitha about the fun times with my ex girlfriend, her words not mine.

  “Why would you be with someone like that?” Tabitha asked.

  “That’s not important right now.” I shot Miranda a dirty look to which she responded with an innocent expression. “Anyway, why were they hold
ing you and torturing you? Is that what they did?” I asked.

  “Yes. She turned her gaze to the ceiling and her eyes unfocused. “I’m Slee Scale clan, and… and…” her emotional damn burst and tears ran down her face.

  Miranda sent me a mental message as worry crossed her features. “This is bad. Arnold wiped out her clan because they had something he wanted desperately. No one was supposed to have survived.”

  “That’s fucked up. How could you follow a guy like that?” I thought back.

  “Found a way out, remember.”

  “Yeah, my bad.”

  “That makes her a wereserpent. Packs and clans don’t have a good history. She might not be happy when she figures out what I am.”

  “Lets not tell her just yet.”

  “My thoughts exactly. Now comfort her already you big, lug. Can’t you see she’s hurting?”

  “I’m sorry, Tabitha.” I placed my hand on her shoulder.

  “I said comfort her, not offer to be her BFF. Get in there.” Miranda pushed against my back.

  So I went for it even though it felt all kinds of awkward. I wrapped my arms around Tabitha and pulled her into a hug. I thought she would push me away but she wrapped her arms around my left bicep and buried her face in my chest. We stayed that way for a while. Miranda went to the kitchen and grabbed some food and drinks.

  When Tabitha stopped crying Miranda brought the food, which was a leftover ham with plenty of sides and set them on the table. She went back for a six pack of soda. Miranda set them down and pulled one free. She changed her index finger into a claw. It was the first time I had seen anything other than a full body change. She used her claw to tear open the soda and winked at me.

  “WOLF! YOU’RE A DAMN WOLF!” Tabitha shrieked.

  “Oh shit,” Miranda said.

  Tabitha sprung up from the couch. Her clothes burst off of her as she changed. It was so fast I couldn’t see it happen. One moment there was a frail looking woman the next she was a much taller and slightly wider gorgon. At least that is what she looked like to me, but unlike Medusa her head was smooth and lacked the writhing snakes.

  “No wai…” Tabitha knocked me off my feet with a swipe of her arm. Her tail, which had replaced her legs, lashed out and hit Miranda. The wolf, my wolf, was not prepared for the blow. She fell back but didn’t go far. Tabitha wrapped her tail around Miranda.

  I heard Miranda gasp then wheeze as she struggled for air. Tabitha’s tail was wrapped around Miranda’s chest. I grabbed the tail trying to pry it away. It was like trying to pull apart the braids of a steel cable under the stress of a multi ton load. It didn’t work and if I didn’t do something that would work Miranda was dead.

  Rage filled me. I wanted to tear Tabitha apart. I turned to her with murder in my heart. I took a step then stopped. The Wereserpent was crying. Her torso shook from the force of her sobbing.

  “Tabitha,” I said as I raised my hands to show I was unarmed and meant no harm. “Please stop this, we won’t hurt you.”

  “She. Is. A. Wolf.”

  “Yes, she is a wolf, but she’s not one of those that hurt you. Her name is Miranda, and she helped save you from Arnold. Do you know who that is?”

  “WOLF!” she hissed.

  “Yes he is and he’s the bad one that hurt you. He is not here, Arnold and his pack are not here. Please put my friend down? Please?”

  “Why should I?” Her tongue flicked out of her mouth.

  “Because she is my friend and she helped you. If not for her you would still be tied to that bed. Tabitha, Miranda saved you from the wolves. Please don’t hurt my friend.”

  Her tail loosened and Miranda slipped through the coils to land on her knees. She coughed and gasped. I dropped down next to her.

  “I’m… okay. Help her.” Miranda pointed at Tabitha.

  The were serpent swayed back and forth. Her eyes fluttered like she was trying to fight off sleep. Her skin shifted from scaley green to her soft pail color. Her tail whooshed by hitting my shoulder and knocking me down. I got right back up in time to see a thin naked Tabatha sway on her feet before falling forward. I caught her and set her back down on the couch, then grabbed the blanket and covered her.

  “She needs food. The change uses calories and she was already half starved,” Miranda said. I looked down at the woman surprised by how well she sounded. “Lycan healing, remember?”

  “Right.”

  “Which is why I need food too. Feed her that, I’ll be in the kitchen. Let me know when she wakes up.” Miranda stood and left the room. I watched her go because I was concerned about what I felt from her. Miranda was afraid.

  “Hey, Tabitha,” I said as I bent over the girl.

  “Hm?” Her eyes fluttered open. “Help me?”

  “Yes I will. Let’s get some food in you. Do you think you can eat?”

  She nodded and her eyes blink so slow I thought she might have passed out. Tabatha sat up and the blanket fell to her waist. I turned so as not to look at her.

  “Food please?” She said.

  I turned back but she was still exposed so I looked away. My face grew warm and I was sure that I was blushing. “Maybe you should cover up,”I said. I felt some of Miranda’s fear abate and some amusement creep in.

  “It’s okay,” Tabitha said.

  I turned back and found her still sitting there topless. She shrugged and pointed to the ham. I picked up the fork and knife sitting on the plate and started to cut.

  “No, just give please,” Tabitha said.

  I looked at her questioningly while staying careful to not look below her eyes. She didn’t seem to care, but I felt like I would be taking advantage of her while she was weak. She point to the ham and then to her mouth. It was my turn to shrug. I handed the four pounds of meat to her.

  Tabitha took the hunk of pork in her hands. Her mouth opened impossibly wide and she bit into it. She pulled back with a large chunk in her mouth and swallowed without chewing. Three bites later and the meat was gone. She laid back down rubbing her tummy.

  “Thank you,” Tabitha said as she fell asleep. I pulled the blanket up to her chin.

  “It’s amazing how much of the animal is present on some Lycan species,“ Miranda said. She looked a lot better now that she had eaten. She carried a plate which she set on the coffee table.

  “I made you a sandwich. I have a feeling your metabolism is changing now that you are with pack.”

  Before I could protest my stomach rumbled. “Maybe,” I said “Okay, maybe is a bit of an understatement. Thanks, Miranda.”

  “Your welcome. I’m glad I could be of service.” I thought she was kidding but her smile and feelings of pleasure told me otherwise. It made me feel a little uncomfortable.

  “So what do you think we should do with Tabatha,” I asked changing the subject.

  “I think that should be obvious, boss. You offer to become her new alpha.” Once again I wanted her to be joking but she wasn’t. “Right now to call us a pack would be incorrect. As we stand you are just the alpha of me, that’s not a pack. You need more Lycans to submit to you in order to grow stronger.”

  “So I don’t just need a bunch of werewolves, they can be any Lycan species?” I asked.

  “I think that’s correct. If I‘m right, getting other species will not only add to the pack and your overall strength but will grant other abilities.” She held up her hand to stop my question leaving me sitting there with my mouth open. “I don’t know what abilities so no point in asking. I’m not even sure I’m correct.” Her eyes shifted to Tabatha. “Now if you make her a part of our pack, then we might find out.”

  “You really think I should? I kinda thought you might be upset about sharing me.” It was a dumb question because I knew how she felt, I felt what she felt. I just had to make this fit into my world view if that were possible. To her credit, Miranda humored me by answering.

  “I am wolf. I thrive in a pack. I bow to the wishes of the strongest wolf weather that be
to have just me or have many women. As long as you do right by me and the pack I’ll be happy. She sidled up next to me. And if you let me do things I know will make you happy,” She moved her head so her mouth was right next to my ear. I will be very happy.”

  Her words and warm breath sent shivers down my spine.

  “I want to make sure Tabatha is okay and I think we should stay by her side until she wakes up.” It pained me to say it, but it was the right thing to do.

  “Oh? I didn’t realize you were into putting on a show,” Miranda said. She started laughing. “Sorry, I couldn’t keep that up. Ok, Terry, we will wait for a better time.”

  Miranda moved to sit on the love seat. I stayed on the floor to make sure I was between Miranda and Tabatha. I wanted her to see me when she woke instead of Miranda the wolf.

  Chapter 7

  Tabatha woke up three hours later without all the fanfare. At some point I dozed off but her moving woke me. I raised my head from the couch as I was still seated next to her on the floor.

  She looked at me with her head cocked to the side.

  “You’re the guy from before with the wolf?” She asked.

  “Yeah, I’m Terry. Do you remember me from earlier?”

  “Yesss, it’ss coming back. Isss the wolf still here?”

  “You know I am, Terry. Never far from you.”

  “Yes she is. Her name is…”

  “Miranda,” Tabitha said.

  “Yes, Tabitha, that’s correct. If she comes back out here will…”

  “I will not attack. I was a bit out of my mind from fear and hunger. Im feeling a bit hungry now, but not like before,” She said.

  “Are you still afraid?” I asked. The question stirred up a weird feeling in me. I wanted her to be afraid, to run off and try to get away from me so that I could chase her down and tear her apart like she were prey. She didn’t answer but just started at me. Seems she had a better understanding of other Lycanthropes than I did. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. Tabitha, I have no plans on hurting you. If you like we can get you somewhere safe and we can part ways.”