by Sierra Brave
Saving Suki
Copyright © March 2020 by Sierra Brave
All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book ONLY.
No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the author, Sierra Brave. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Image/art disclaimer: Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.
Editor: Shay Style
Cover: copyright 2019, Talina Perkins.
Published in the United States of America
Passion’s Paramour Press
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Warning
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Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue
Chapter One
Suki’s Tenth Birthday – Eighteen years ago
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Youthful excitement stirred in Suki’s belly, providing boundless energy as she headed straight for the bus area right after the last bell. Her grandmother was making a cake for her birthday celebration. All of her cousins had been invited, and she always had a good time when her family gathered. The urge to run in the hallways was palpable, but a scolding from a teacher would only delay her. She walked with a spring in her step, grinning as the halls filled with students. She recognized most of the kids pouring out of the nearby classrooms. More than half of them refused to play with her, and some wouldn’t even talk to her, but today she didn’t care. The joy inside kept her so light she imagined having swallowed a helium-filled balloon. She giggled as she pictured herself floating into the clouds while she closed the distance between her and the door.
“What’s she smirking about?” Suki heard the gruff voice but wasn’t bothered until two older boys stepped in front of her, blocking her path. Her happiness fled and scattered like a flock of startled birds as they corralled her toward a side exit. She studied their faces but didn’t recognize either of them. Both boys were considerably bigger than her and looked older. They couldn’t have been in her grade.
“Excuse me.” Her voice squeaked.
Deflating her high spirits must not have satisfied them because neither moved. Their eyes glowered with chilling menace. She shivered in reaction to their disdain as if the energy coming from the two was an ice cube sliding down her spine. The taller of the two, a blond with freckles, towered over her as he stooped forward. He backed her against the glass door and placed a hand on each side of her. Fear swirled through her like a whirlwind as he hovered, his proximity forcing her to confront the difference in their sizes.
His stale breath lingering directly in her face as he opened his mouth. “Where you goin’ all dressed up, lil’ abomination?”
She trembled, too scared to answer, even as tears welled up in her eyes. Looking for a rescuer, she tilted her head to the side to peek around him, but the only teacher she saw was surrounded by a group of girls who had her attention. Suki’s heart sunk as anger and fear battled for dominance within her. She gritted her teeth. Neither of these punks would have the guts to do this to me if Collin was here. Unfortunately, her older cousin who usually came from the eighth-grade hallway to walk her to the bus had been picked up early for a dentist appointment.
“Did all your sick, freakish mutations make you deaf too?” The door’s lever clicked as he pushed down against the mechanism, forcing her outside. His auburn-haired friend followed, leering while egging the blond on with his laughter.
“Ask her what’s up with her eyes, Tony.” The round-raced boy pointed at her face and sounded as if he spoke through his nose.
Tony glanced over his shoulder at his pale, stocky friend even as he moved closer toward Suki and scoffed. “She’s right here.” He grabbed her arm, and she gasped as he squeezed while slinging her around toward the other boy. “You can ask her yourself, Ollie.”
Ollie scrunched up his nose, his bottom lip turning over in disgust. “Ew, you touched it.”
The warm outdoor air surrounded her, and grass flattened under her feet as Tony continued to guide her toward the area past the school’s awning where the shade gave way to bright sunlight. She tried to wrench her arm free, but the way the corners of Tony’s mouth turned upward as she struggled took the fight out of her. Realizing they’d steered her into the blind spot between the short, outdoor corridor separating the newer high school building from the longer-standing structure where the elementary and middle-grade classroom were housed sent her into a panic.
Suki’s stomach churned and her heart raced. No longer able to hold back her tears, she sobbed. “I need to get to my bus.” Her tone was low and shaky, barely audible even to herself.
“Shut up and tell him why your eyes are shaped funny.” Tony’s grip tightened.
She clenched her fist by her side, staring at him in disbelief. Idiot…How can I shut up and tell you anything? “My grandma’s from Vietnam, and they aren’t funny…” She paused, sucking air through her mouth between sniffles. “Just different.”
“What?” Ollie raised his voice and stomped his foot, sounding more like he had discovered some dark secret than asking a question. “Didn’t we fight against them or something?” He growled as he stood on the sidelines, not laying a finger on her, but somehow scaring her more than Tony who seemed like a run-of-the-mill bully. Ollie’s entire being seemed off from his frantic movements to his loud voice. He pushed a hand through his auburn hair and scrunched up his nose. “There is so damn much wrong with you! You don’t even deserve to go to school with…” He paused his hateful tirade to step closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Purebloods like us.” He motioned to Tony and himself, holding his head high and looking down his nose at her. “I bet ya’ll still do it. Shift and go at it like animals. That’s why you’re deformed.”
Suki’s eyes widened as indignation brewed
in her belly. She knew some of the horse shifters from other clans held themselves above the Marks Clan, but she didn’t know why. What’s he going on about? Shift and…I don’t understand. Everyone shifts and goes running. Isn’t it normal? Remembering her father told her to never let anyone make her believe she wasn’t good enough, she lifted her chin, meeting his gaze. “I’m not deformed.”
Seemingly thrown by having been stood up to by someone half his size, Ollie’s puffed-up attitude appeared to deflate. She stared at him, memorizing his face for when she told Collin. He was pale and had even more freckles than his friend. “Well, maybe it skips a generation. If you ain’t, I bet your dad is.” He stomped past her, and she hoped he was leaving.
Tony’s thumb pushed painfully deeper into her skin, eliciting a squeal, as his hot breath covered her face. “Don’t get mouthy.”
“Aghh!” Suki’s calves pushed against something just before Tony let go of her arm and pushed her by the shoulders. Already top-heavy with her book bag, her bottom smacked against what she soon realized was Ollie kneeling on his hands and knees behind her, and her feet came off the ground. The dainty, subtle pink, princess slippers her mom had bought for her birthday party flew off into the air as she tumbled backward. She hit the ground with a thump, and the books in her knapsack jarred against her back as the air fled out of her lungs. The momentum flung her backward until her head banged against a clump of dirt and grass. “Ugh.” Pain laced through the contact area, and Tony and Ollie’s laughter rang in her ears. She grimaced as she rolled over onto her side, gasping for air.
Ollie hopped off the ground from where he’d been stationed to trip her. He and Tony jubilantly jumped into the air, exchanging a high-five before turning to point at her crumpled form as they mocked her. As their vile faces, now animated with joy, stared down at her, she groaned and shut her eyes. She couldn’t bear watching them delight in her misery. Sounds of athletes just around the other side of the building were overlapped by her attackers’ glee. As she curled up into a ball, her palm beneath her hair as she rubbed her throbbing head, she heard a third boy speak, “Damn it, Dash, you are always running late. Stop eating so much and you won’t have to go to the bathroom before practice every day.”
She blinked as two larger boys appeared behind her tormentors. One was dressed to play football and the other one wore jeans and a tee-shirt. The high schooler in the uniform answered the other, “Big dog, big appetite…” As his gaze fell on Suki, his eyebrows knitted and he stopped in his tracks. “Whoa, whoa, whoa…what these two asses up to?”
Tony’s smile disappeared and his eyes widened as the boy behind him grabbed him by the collar and snatched him about a foot backward. He came off his feet and landed on his butt and before Ollie could make a move the larger boy had managed to knock his legs right out from under him as well.
“What the fuck did you think you two were doing to a little girl?” Anger dripped from the casually dressed young man’s words, every syllable a threat as he held both bullies by the front collars of their shirts.
Suki sat upright as the boy in jeans covered her attackers like a dark shadow. The football player stared at her through charcoal-colored eyes. “Hey, are you okay?”
“I…they…they were mean.” She choked on her words and sniffled, more tears, sliding down her cheeks.
“Yeah…hold up.” He turned toward his friend who now had Tony screaming in pain from his arm twisted behind his back while Ollie appeared too frightened to move.
“Mal, you got any tissue or anything?”
The fighter threw a look over his shoulder that could cut glass. “Sure, I thought I’d wipe my ass out on the field.” He shook his head. “Fuck no.”
“The girl needs…um.”
Mal…so this one must be Dash. “I’m okay.” Suki wiped her tears with the back of her hands.
“Bring her here.” Mal’s loud, fuming voice made her tremble.
“It’s okay. Come on.” Dash offered his hand to help her up off the ground. Still frightened, she looked him over. The color of his straight, dark hair was similar to hers as were his thick eyebrows, but the tint of his skin was ruddy and stood in contrast to her golden undertones. His size was scary, and the football gear only made him look bigger, but his smile put her at ease enough for her to accept his help. Once she was on her feet again, she reluctantly took a couple of steps forward.
By the time Suki made her way to Mal’s side, both Ollie and Tony had dirt all over their faces, in their nostrils and their mouths. Her rescuer grabbed a handful of Tony’s hair and pulled him to his feet before directing a question to her, “What’s your name?”
“Suuu…” She couldn’t form the word with such a large lump in her throat and her hands shaking so badly.
“Alright, Sue. My name is Malcolm Patterson. If anyone, not just these two jackasses, but anyone picks on you again, let me know and I will rip Tony’s dick off and shove it so far up his ass his shit will start pouring out his mouth.”
“What the hell?” Tony started to mouth off until Mal tightened the grip on his hair. “I’m not even in her grade. I’m a middle schooler.”
“And you’re picking on a baby? You’re pathetic.” Dash snarled before tilting his head to look at Mal. “And dang, brother—language. She’s just a kid.”
“Naw, it’s just ‘cause she’s a weirdo is all,” Ollie spoke up, a filthy snot bubble hanging from his nose.
Mal lifted an eyebrow and scoffed. “Oh, wow, the kid who shat his pants during day camp three summers ago is going to call someone else out. That’s hilarious. You remember that, Dash?”
Dash balled up his fist and brought it to his mouth as he howled with laughter. “I sho’ do! Ha, Ha! That was some seriously nasty business and my last year as a junior counselor because I don’t play that.”
Ollie’s jaw dropped before his bottom lip began to tremble, his expression quickly switching from horror to a mask meant to hide emotion before he muttered, “I had the stomach flu.”
Dash looked up at the sky, still snickering. “Then you should have stayed home—your nasty self—spreadin’ germs.”
Mal worked to stifle his laughter, clearing his throat a couple of times. “Back to what I was saying, Tony—it’s pretty clear you’re the ringleader of a circus or morons. Since they’ll listen to you, I’m making you this little girl’s bodyguard. You better make sure no one is messing with her. If someone so much as gives her the side-eye, and I find out about it from anyone, not just from her, I will fuck you up. Got it?” He released Tony with a shove so hard the middle schooler had to take several steps back to keep from hitting the ground again. “I asked if you’ve got it?”
“Yeah.” Tony huffed, his nostrils flaring.
Suki’s heart pounded as she watched the teen stand up for her. Most days, she already had a bodyguard, but she was grateful all the same.
Dash, who had found Suki’s shoes, handed them to her. “Same goes for me. Don’t let me hear about you picking on little girls again, but for now, I’ve gotta get to practice or coach will have my butt.”
“Go, brotha, I’ll get her home and pick you up after.” He returned his attention to Tony and Ollie. “Alright, Antonio Prickface Rankins, take your little bitch and go home crying to your daddy. If my dad gets a call from him, I’ll bust your ass tomorrow.”
Tony offered his hand to help Ollie up, but he slapped it away. “Always getting me into some shit.” His voice made it obvious he was holding back tears.
As the two walked away, Mal chuckled. “Sorry about all the cursing—gets the point through to those types. Well, I reckon we better be getting you home.”
Suki nodded, looking up at him, her heart thumping in the oddest manner. Malcolm Patterson had to be the most handsome boy in the world. His face was perfect—right off of a teen idol magazine, especially his smooth, kissable lips. His light brown hair barely brushed the collar of his shirt while sweeping over his forehead enough to partially cover one of h
is eyebrows. His dreamy hazelnut eyes with their dark chocolate center seemed to hold a world of secrets she was dying to learn. Her chest felt funny and her heartbeat wouldn’t return to normal. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble for you.”
He laughed. “You didn’t. I’ve got anger to spare, and helping you seemed like the right thing to do.”
As they began to walk away, she asked, “But won’t your coach be upset with you for missing practice?” He wasn’t dressed out but she assumed he’d forgotten his uniform.
“I was just going to watch Dash. My dad refused to sign the permission slip for me to play this year.”
“Why?”
“He said it was because I was coasting by with a low A in a few of my classes instead of studying for the highest scores.”
“But you weren’t?” She walked fast in an attempt to keep up with his longer strides.
He looked over his shoulder and lifted an eyebrow, a half-smile curving one side of his mouth upward. “Pfft, yeah, I was, but I don’t know anyone else with parents who aren’t happy with straight As. None of the other guys have their dads demanding they outscore everyone in their grade.” He stopped short without turning around, and she nearly knocked into him before diverting her path to stand beside him. “The man barely says anything to me at all except to go off on me about what I’m not doing right. Every time he walks in the room, I hold my breath, hoping he’ll move on without bothering with me.”
“I’m sorry.” She didn’t know what else to say. Spending time with her daddy was always fun. They played cards together or board games. He was teaching her how to play chess too.
The conversation between them stalled, but she continued to follow behind the teenager as if in a daze, breathing in his mouthwatering scent. Shifter pheromones were a fact of life. She smelled them all the time, but Mal’s were different—like all her favorite foods, coming at her one after the other. She’d never experienced anything like it before, but she liked it a lot!