Running from the Shifter (Shifter World - Book Eight) (Series of 13 Short Stories)

“Do you sense her?” Daryl asked as he looked at his youngest brother.

Drezden nodded. “I can feel her.” He sniffed the air. “Stop!” he shouted, and Dustin pulled off to the side of the road. “There.” Drezden pointed to a car wrapped around a tree.

“Fuck,” Daryl said as he got out of the car.

“Is she alive?” Shar asked as she and Dustin climbed out of the car.

Drezden started to shake as he made his way to the car.

“She’s not in it,” Tate said as he appeared beside the car.

“Where the fuck could she be?” Drezden growled.

“Tire tracks,” Dustin said from the road. “Bikers.”

“Fuck,” Shar cursed. “Could it be that wolf I threw out?”

“Possibly.” Tate sniffed the air. “They have her.” He looked at the Kraftman brothers. “It’s a whole pack.”

“Fuck!” Drezden growled, kicking the door of the car.

“Let’s go,” Daryl said as he headed for Dustin’s car.

“It will be better to get there on foot,” Tate said, looking around them. “They’ll hear the car.”

“How close are they?” Daryl asked, turning to the vampire.

Tate sniffed the air again. “Not far,” he said, then disappeared.

“Fucking vampire,” Drezden growled.

“Let’s go,” Dustin said as he took hold of his mate’s hand.

They started walking and followed Drezden as he felt out his mate.

“Those fuckers better not cockblock me,” Drezden growled angrily.

“I am so tired of fucking idiots trying to mate with a Fated Mate that is not theirs,” Shar grumbled as she held onto her mate’s arm, trying not to trip over roots and rocks.

She may have her mate’s strength and senses, but she doesn’t have his shifting abilities, like balance and swiftness.

“You’ll need to shift.”

“Fuck, Tate,” Dustin grumbled as they stopped and stared at the vampire.

“They’re not far from here,” Tate informed them.

“Have they touched her?” Drezden asked.

Tate looked at him. “She’s unconscious. Probably from the crash. They have her tied to a tree and are fighting over who gets to fuck her first.”

“Mother fuckers!” Drezden thundered.

“Why didn’t you take her away from there?” Dustin asked the vampire.

Tate snorted. “Because she denied her mate. I thought maybe rescuing her would help him claim her. And I think you should deal with this clan. They’re one of the clans that have been going around cockblocking.”

Shar snarled. “Is it the fucker you kicked out of The Dive?” she asked Tate.

He looked at her and nodded.

“Mother fuckers have been in my fucking bar!” she squealed. “This is going to end, now.”

“Agreed, Sister,” Dylan said, cracking his knuckles.

“Let’s go.” Daryl bent over and started shifting.

The other four cougars did the same. Soon, five cougars were stretching before them.

Shar smiled as she patted her mate. He purred as he rubbed his head against her.

“You should ride Dustin,” Tate said, watching them.

She smiled and pulled herself onto her mate’s back.

The five cougars followed Tate through the woods.

~🐾~

Tamara slowly woke and groaned as pain shot through her head. Where was she? The memory of the crash crashed through her head, and her skull felt like it was going to explode. She opened her eyes and whimpered when she realized she was tied to a tree.

“She’s awake,” someone said.

Tamara’s eyes opened wide as seven men came into view—their silver eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

“About time,” one of the men said with a grin.

Tamara swallowed as she watched the men move closer to her. This is it. This is what she’d been escaping from—and she ran right into it. Well, she drove into it, but what the fuck…

A growl came from somewhere to the side; everyone stopped and turned toward the trees.

“Take her!” one of the men shouted.

A man moved over to Tamara and smiled at her. “Let’s see your mate survive this,” he said with an evil grin.

Tamara screamed when the shifter jumped on her. She tried to fight him off as he pulled her pants down to her ankles.

The growl in the woods became fiercer, and several other growls followed it.

Tamara continued to kick at the man who was trying to get close enough to fuck her—well, as well as she could, with her pants around her ankles. Why were they so hell-bent on fucking her? They’re not her mate!

A loud cry had Tamara looking up. Five cougars came into the small area and started attacking the other shifters. She noticed a human on the back of a cougar and recognized her from the bar.

The shifter trying to put his cock in her screamed when one of the cougars jumped on him. She watched with wide eyes as the cougar tore the man’s throat out, then turned to her.

Somehow, she knew it was the man from the bar. The one who claimed her as his.

Not like it was the first time she’d been claimed, but she’d felt something pull her to him when she’d looked into his silver eyes.

The bloody cougar moved to her, and she felt no fear. The cougar bit the rope, and it fell to the ground. She quickly pulled her pants up and looked around at the other shifters. Wolves were fighting cougars, and the woman was off her mate’s back, fighting a wolf alone.

The cougar who saved her bumped her with his head.

She looked at him and realized he wanted her to get on his back. She took a deep breath and pulled herself onto his back. Somehow, she knew she was safe with this shifter.

~🐾~

“Where did Drezden go?” Dustin asked as he looked around the area of dead wolf shifters.

“I saw his mate get on his back, and he took off that way.” Tate pointed in the direction Drezden, and his mate had escaped.

“I’m calling Raj’s dad,” Daryl said as he pulled out his phone.

“I can’t believe this bullshit,” Shar said with a growl.

“At least we got to her before they compromised her.” Dustin pulled his mate into his arms.

“Thanks to Tate,” Shar said, looking at the vampire.

Tate grinned at her. “All in a day’s work, little mama.”

~🐾~

“Where are you taking me?” Tamara whispered as she held onto the cougar’s neck.

The large cat didn’t answer, which she knew he wouldn’t.

They stopped at a large creek, and she slid off the cougar. She watched him run into the water and rinse the blood from his fur. Once he was clean, he started to shift.

She watched in awe as the shifter shifted to his human form. And just as she’d figured, it was the man who’d claimed her at the bar.

She started to back away from the creek, ready to bolt.

“Don’t run again,” he said, watching her.

“Look.” She held her hands up in front of her. “I appreciate you saving me, but I’m not going to let you claim me….” she squealed when he growled and leaped at her from the creek.

“You’re mine.” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her against his wet chest.

“Look,” she said, looking into his silver eyes.

Her body started vibrating, and she sucked in a breath.

He chuckled. “You feel it too, don’t you?”

She shook her head. “Please,” she begged.

He gently touched her cheek. “Mafilia,” he whispered. “You’re mine.”

She opened her mouth to protest, and his mouth came down on hers.

“Fuck,” she whispered against his mouth.

He chuckled. “You can’t deny what’s between us.” He lifted his head and stared down into her eyes.

She blinked up at him. What was happening with her body? Why was it purring? That was the best way to describe the feelings running through her.

“What’s happening?” she whispered.

He smiled as he leaned forward and lightly kissed her lips. “Your body is attuned to mine.”

She shook her head. “I read about cockblocking.”

He chuckled. “That is what those other shifters were trying to do.”

“But not you?”

He shook his head. “No. Because you’re mine.” He kissed her again.

She moaned as she melted into him. ‘NO!’

Tamara pushed away from the shifter. She can’t let him do this; she can’t be compromised. She’s meant for someone…

“Mafilia. Why do you deny me?” he asked as he let her go.

She stared at him. He actually let her go. He didn’t force himself on her…

“I am meant for someone,” she whispered. “I was told that I was activated.”

He studied her face. “By who?”

“Some man with green eyes. He saved me, then told me that I wasn’t safe around shifters, that I’d been activated.”

Drezden studied the woman before him. His mate. Finally!

Who would have told her that she was activated? And what had he saved her from?

Green eyes? Only one person he knows of…

“What happened?” he asked as he stepped toward her.

She took a step back, and he stopped.

“This isn’t the first time someone has claimed me,” she said, watching him.

“What?!” he yowled. Someone claimed her? Why hadn’t he felt that?

She backed away from him again. “I had a blind date the other night. And after dinner, he walked me to my car, then attacked me. He claimed that I was his mate. Said that he had to claim me.”

Drezden snarled, and his mate took another step back from him. “Go on.” He took a deep breath to calm himself.

She took a deep breath as well and continued her story. “A man appeared behind my date and told him I wasn’t his. He pulled him off me, then… then….” She closed her eyes. “Then he ripped the man’s head off.”

Drezden groaned.

“He told me I shouldn’t be around shifters, that I was activated. I went home, and the next morning there was a note from the man who saved me. He told me I could trust the shifters from the site he wanted me to visit. He said they would protect me and give me a job. Then you do the same as the other shifter.” She took another step back. “And I don’t feel safe like he promised.”

Drezden grunted. “I’m sorry.” He took a step toward her. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ve been waiting for you for more than two years.”

She blinked at him. “How… how do you know that I’m yours?”

He grinned. “I felt it the moment I looked into your eyes.” He took another step toward her. “You’re my mate, and I will always protect you.”

She didn’t take another step back from him, but she did watch him as he moved toward her. Can she trust him? Is he telling her the truth?

“You should feel it too,” he said as he stopped in front of her. “The pull is strong. And the vibes….”

“Vibes?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yes. You should feel something very powerful when we touch.” He reached out and grabbed her wrist.

She sucked in a breath when he pulled her hand to him and placed it against his chest.

She groaned and closed her eyes.

“You do feel it,” he whispered.

She slowly opened her eyes. She can’t deny that she feels something pulling her to him. But is it…

“What’s your name?” he whispered.

“Tamara.”

He grinned. “Tamara, Mafilia.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.