Hearts Unleashed: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection

by C. D. Gorri

  His yellow eyes stayed on mine and I smiled mouthing the words, ‘you’re beautiful,’ which made him raise his head and turn his dark gaze on Scott once more.

  Shots went off, I focused my attention on Scott and Tyler on the ground. They scuffled. Tyler was huge compared to him but Scott fought dirty. When more shots rang, I freaked, twisted my hands in opposite directions until the cable ties snapped apart.

  I opened the backdoor when Tyler scrambled to the front of my car and another saber jumped onto Scott.

  My heart stopped as my world slowed. Tyler fell to the ground, bleeding. My throat closed, fearing the worst.

  Shots sounded again. I focused on the saber clawing Scott’s hand, ripped it from his arm and it went flying to the other side with the gun landing nearby. Scott swore and cried out as he clutched his bloody stump to his chest with his good hand around his neck—but the neck wound was superficial. The saber stalked Scott, readying to pounce and rip his head off. My eyes flitted to Tyler, who lay motionless. My chest squeezed as I struggled for air. Tears streamed down my face. Scott bumped into my legs as he shuffled away from the other saber. He glanced up at me.

  “What the fuck?” he mumbled, but his eyes were pleading for me to help him.

  I shook my head, stared at the saber, and nodded.

  Scott didn’t deserve my comfort. He deserved so much worse. But I was not like him and never would be.

  “If you want to live, I’d suggest you climb into your Lexus and get far away. If you don’t, my new friends will tear you a new one.”

  Scott climbed to his feet, pushed his bloody stump into my chest as he swayed. I pushed him against his car while I opened his door for him. The saber stood where he was while Scott sat and fumbled with his keys. I grabbed them out of his good hand and pressed the start button, his car roared to life.

  I leaned into his car, grabbed a shirt and ripped it up to make a tourniquet, then continued strapping his stump and his neck so he wouldn’t bleed to death.

  A saber stood and morphed into his human form; a large, well-built and very naked man with piercing blue eyes. He stared at Scott, and I was sure he could kill with that look. He picked up Scott’s severed hand, threw it at me and I handed it to Scott. The other saber pointed and shouted. “If you ever come for her again, you will die.”

  I slammed the door as Scott put his car in reverse and backed up.

  The other saber and Miles darted for Tyler who was now in his human form and struggled to breathe.

  “He took two shots to the chest. Help me carry him,” Miles said.

  “We must go to hospital.”

  “No.” The other man said. “We have a healer within our community. He will know what to do.” He glanced nervously at Miles and they picked up Tyler.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Ava

  With every agonizing step we took, Tyler winced. He was still bleeding by the time we arrived at the village. Everyone ran up to us, trying to find out what had happened.

  I received stares that left me chilled, and horribly guilty. If I could make it go away, I would.

  “Bring him here,” an old man said. He was ancient, with leathery skin, and one good eye. His silver hair tied in a low ponytail, wearing a loincloth, and used a stick to aid him as he walked. “Come,” he rambled and entered a hut on the far side of the village.

  I followed Miles into the hut when the other man, I now knew as Blaze, shoved his fingers into my chest and pushed me outside.

  “You are not part of my people. If it wasn’t for you, this wouldn’t have happened.”

  I swallowed the large lump in my throat but stood my ground. “I know, and I’m sorry. If I could take it back, I would. If there’s anything I can do to help, I want to.” My voice croaked toward the end as I swallowed my tears.

  “You’re not welcome here,” Blaze said in a bitter tone that left me shivering.

  Miles ran out to comfort me. “Ignore Blaze, he’s just upset. Allow Windtalker to assess the damage to Tyler first. Wait over there,” — he pointed at a patch of grass, — “and I’ll fetch you.”

  I nodded, sitting down and dusting tears from my face, but they didn’t stop flowing. My heart tugged and ached for Tyler, and I wished I could exchange places with him.

  *.*.*.*

  I succumbed to exhaustion, but the moment someone exited the hut I shot up as if electrocuted.

  The old man crouched near me. “My dear, the bullet stopped too close to his heart and I can’t get it. You need to brace yourself that there’s the possibility he may not make it.”

  I blinked back the tears. “Is there anything we can do?”

  “There is a way—”

  “Anything, if you need me to do something, please tell me.”

  He smiled sincerely and nodded once. “What do you know about the shifter bonding?”

  I frowned at him and shrugged. I didn’t know much. I’d learned a few things at school but they’d said it was different for each were-animal.

  He stood and proffered his hand. “Walk with me.”

  Windtalker curled his bony fingers around my elbow and we ambled around the village while he explained what he meant by shifter bonding. We received stares, well I received stares, some scowled, and one even snarled at me displaying their elongated teeth. I shuffled closer to Windtalker as he described the ceremony.

  When a shifter found his or her true mate and they bonded, it was for life. It was the equivalent of finding your true love—one you’d stay with forever. He spoke of how he had felt something the last couple of days where he suspected Tyler had laid claim to me but hadn’t closed the bonding ritual. He surmised Tyler wanted to make sure I was the right one for him. And possibly if it was something I wanted to do. Windtalker didn’t know how I felt for Tyler. But, as stubborn as Tyler was, Windtalker knew I was the right one for him.

  It explained why my body reacted to Tyler in that way and how I felt at home in his embrace. I wanted to be near him. But being stubborn myself, I thought nothing of it. It felt like an intense crush, which I denied. As Windtalker spoke, I wasn’t sure being bound to someone for the rest of my life was something I wanted. We barely knew each other. I’d only just met Tyler. Was he really the one?

  Then flashes of Tyler lying unconscious as Blaze and Miles had carried him tugged at the deepest part of my heart. He didn’t think twice to help me, to save me. He had searched when Claw had taken me and had even killed Claw. He had cared for me in a way no man had ever. And as much as I tried to deny it, I was falling for him and knew it to be true. I glanced around, took in the magnificent sight before me. It was then when I knew what I wanted. I saw myself living here with him and his clan.

  And if there was a way I could help Tyler, I wanted to do it.

  I swallowed the lump and asked the question. “What do you need me to do?”

  *.*.*.*

  Windtalker had said there was a way we could speed up Tyler’s healing. He was too weak for us to bond in this world, but there was another way to bond in the spirit realm. If it worked, and we bonded, Tyler could use the power from within the clan and the earth at our feet to heal his wounds. They had managed to remove the second bullet but left the bullet near his heart for fear of further damage. He’d lost too much blood and was too weak to shift into his saber and couldn’t heal himself. His heart had failed to beat steadily, instead it slowed down, weakening him some more. They’d done what they could, now it was up to Tyler to heal himself.

  I offered to call Ruth, but Windtalker shook his head. A wildlife veterinarian wouldn’t know how to help Tyler and there wasn’t enough time to get him to a hospital. Tyler was dying.

  Windtalker offered me a vial of a liquid called Naimoi, similar to Ayahuasca. It would enlighten me and send me to a place where I could find Tyler, bond with him, and hopefully he’d use the clan’s power to heal. It was something shifters took to speak with those long gone; and never meant for humans and the threat of me staying ther
e, or dying, was real.

  If this was Tyler’s only hope, I’d do it. Now that I had the time to think about it—and what I wanted—I didn’t want to live without him. I couldn’t see myself living another day without him and would do all I could to help, even if it meant risking my life.

  Everybody had left Tyler and me alone. I carefully lay beside him, kissed his cheek and a chill went through me; he was in his human form, pale, and his lips were turning blue. His chest barely rose and fell. Blood pooled beneath him, and the wound on his chest covered with medicinal leaves.

  He was on the brink; it was my only chance to bring him back.

  I said a silent prayer for guidance and strength.

  Tears streaked my face. My heart ached seeing him so still, so hurt. It felt like I was part of a tragedy as I lifted the vial and drank it down. The bitter taste left me nauseated and my stomach ached. Fire coursed through my veins as everything burned. My vision blurred, and I nestled against Tyler’s side, holding him tightly against me. If this was my last breath, then I wanted it to be by his side and breathed him in.

  In that moment, I forgot about my pictures and portfolio. I forgot about my TV dinners for one and how my life used to be. I only thought of Tyler, how he made me feel and how I loved being around him.

  My body heated from the Naimoi, then I drifted to sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Tyler

  I ran through the woods; my saber pushing to go farther and farther. The trees blurred past me as I headed toward the water, reflecting the bright light. Others stood around, waiting for me. I glimpsed my mother in the distance and I ran toward her. I saw my ancestors, and I raced to meet them once more. I felt content. I was at home with my people, those who had passed long before me.

  But…

  This didn’t feel right. I wasn’t ready to go to them. Not yet. I stopped, shaking my head. There was something I was forgetting. There was something important I needed to do. I couldn’t remember what had brought me here. Did I fight Claw? Did I fight Ash? Why was I…

  I glanced over my shoulder at the forest behind me and my heart tugged and skipped a beat. I smelled her scent. Ava.

  No, I didn’t want to go toward the light—not yet. I needed to find Ava. I needed to see her one last time.

  I felt her presence—here—and I needed to go to her.

  With every part of me, I hoped she wasn’t dead.

  I turned around, ignoring the calls to go to my mother, to go to my ancestors. Instead, I followed her scent. I blurred past trees and bushes until I found her sitting on a fallen log. She seemed peaceful and serene. She sat with her hands between her legs, her eyes were closed and a smile tugged on her lips. The fine slope of her nose, her thin, kissable lips, and her beauty pulled me closer.

  She opened her honey-colored eyes, and smiled sweetly.

  “You came.” She stood and ran to me. She clung to my furry body and scratched my soft fur.

  I rubbed my large head against hers, careful not to cut her with my sizable canines.

  “How are you here?” I asked nervously, afraid of what the answer would be.

  She told me about the injury I’d suffered while trying to get her away from her ex, the bullet striking close to my heart and my body lying in Windtalker’s hut.

  “Windtalker gave me a vial of something gross to drink. He said it was the only way to help you. We needed to bond.”

  The bonding ritual—of course. We hardly used this method amongst our kind, but it had worked before. But she was only human and had risked her life to be here; coming to my aid. My heart swelled with love for this woman and all I wanted to do was embrace her. To pull her into my arms and never let go. To kiss all over her body and make her mine.

  I glanced down at my saber form and knew I needed to change. It felt strange needing to be human in our spirit world, but I had to do it for her. The bonding couldn’t work otherwise.

  Slowly I stood tall, my transition back into my human form felt odd; tendons pulled, bones snapped and reformed. In moments I’m beside her, my arms around her naked body. She clung to me, her legs over mine, her arms around my neck, afraid to let me go. I pulled her closer and kissed her with my heart and my soul. My life bound to hers, forever.

  A thought gnawed on me then, I’d never spoken to her about the bonding ceremony and didn’t know if it was something she even wanted. She had shown she wanted to spend time with me, but mentioned nothing about a lifelong bonding.

  “Now that you know what it means, is this what you really want?”

  She lifted her head away from my shoulder, her honey-colored eyes searching. She smiled. “I’ve wanted nothing more in my life. I’ve barely known you a week, but it feels as though my soul has known you a lifetime. I don’t know how, or why, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it’s true. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” She pressed her soft lips against mine and I crushed her against me.

  She was so soft in my arms, leaving me hard against her delicate flesh.

  “So is that a yes?” I asked in between kisses.

  She playfully smacked my shoulder and broke the kiss. Her eyes twinkled with humor. “Of course. I do.”

  I gently crushed her to the soft grass and positioned myself between her legs. Warmth spread through me and into her as I nudged the tip of my cock against her slick opening. She spread her legs wider for me and her warm hands reached for my ass, pulling me toward her. I slipped inside her, so soft, so warm, so mine. The scent of her arousal filled my nostrils, going straight to my heart.

  I felt how she wanted me as much as I wanted her. We may have only known each other for a short time, but our connection was strong. We had that spark I needed.

  I feathered kisses along her neck and opened myself to her. It wasn’t just desire, it was more than love. It was the need to offer myself to her, allowing her into my soul and offering her everything I had.

  She met each long stroke with her own as she too offered herself to me; her warmth traveled through my body and struck my heart—melding us together.

  Ava had given so much of herself and risking her life by being here only made me love her more.

  Our bodies became one; our hearts joined, and our souls entwined.

  How a chance encounter had brought us together, with near death sealing our fate.

  A forbidden love with a human, yet it was a human who saved me. I would spend my days making her happy, and I’d do it gladly.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Ava

  I felt every delicious inch of him slide into me, filling me, making me his. I felt his desire swirl around me, his pleasure delighting me, but it was the warmth of his love that bound me to him.

  Tyler offered me his soul, and his heart; the least I could do was give him the same.

  I met each of his thrusts time and time again, clenching my body around his hard shaft. With each stroke, I felt a part of my soul shatter, coming together and made whole with his. I loved the man above me with every inch of my being, and I kissed his soft lips. He bruised my lips with his love and I whimpered in pleasure.

  It was in that moment our bodies joined and we became one; carnal creatures in heat, tangling and writhing in a brutal mating dance.

  He took us over the edge as skin slapped skin and we came together; I revelled in the sensation as his passionate waves knocked me over and he grunted as he poured his heat inside me.

  My hands greedily roamed over his hot, sweaty skin for a last embrace before he left me, collapsing beside me.

  Chapter Thirty

  Tyler

  The surrounding air shimmered with the powerful bond, strengthening us. I felt the power swirl around me and coursed through me, giving me strength and vitality.

  I felt stronger, rejuvenated, whole.

  I pulled more of the power within me, the bullet exited, and my wounds healed. I felt my heart grow stronger, and our clan’s power strengthening.

 
I reached for Ava, pulling her closer, and we floated away.

  We woke in each other’s arms, in Windtalker’s hut.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Tyler

  I pulled Ava toward me, her naked body soft against my touch, the calluses on my fingers hard against the heat of her skin.

  “Wow, I didn’t think… but… just wow,” she rambled, licking dry lips and reached for my face.

  I leaned down and crushed myself against her. “Thank you,” I said in our kiss. When I pulled away her eyes sparkled with unshed tears.

  “I’m sorry for everything. I thought—“

  “Shh,” — I placed my index finger over her lips,— “It wasn’t your fault, and I know. I’m sorry I scared you. I’ll try not to let it happen again,” I whispered. She smiled sadly. There was a question burning on my lips, and I had to know. “Do you regret it?”

  “Oh never,” she said and pulled me toward her again. “Never in a million years. I’m happy to be yours.”

  *.*.*.*

  The clan were grateful to Ava for saving my life, although one or two didn’t appreciate her bringing the trouble to our clan. But, none of it would’ve happened if I hadn’t brought her to our village in the first place. And then again I’m glad I did, otherwise I wouldn’t have had her by my side, and she would most likely have ended up dead when her ex showed. I thought it worked out perfectly.

  After greeting and introducing her to everyone, we met with Ash. He sat outside his hut with Darla sitting near the body of her son. They had to postpone Claw’s burial till today because they waited for me—for us—to recover.