Authors: Madelyn Porter
“Agreed,” William said.
“All right.” Rachel was more hesitant. “I don’t know who’d
be asking.”
He shared a look with William. Almost any shifter in their
kingdoms would like to hear the gossip Rachel could tell.
“Oh, you mean when you marry.” She turned her attention to
the window, looking a little too hard at the distance. Her expression was stiff
and her tone dropped. “I won’t say anything about our time together.”
“We live our lives under a lot of scrutiny,” Douglas said.
“It’s not like when we were in America. Here, people watch us more closely.
They might try to get information out of you if they find you’ve been in our
company.”
“I understand,” she said.
“We can never give the others reason to doubt us,” William added.
“If they think we are weak, that we can’t uphold our customs, they will demand
not only our throne, but our blood. It is not an easy life.”
“I said I under—” Her words were cut off by the sound of
squealing tires. The car skidded, throwing them to the side. Douglas slammed
into the window. Rachel fell into his ribs, accidently bruising them with the
driving force of her elbow. He automatically wrapped his arms around her,
trying to hold her tight. The driver jerked the wheel and they flew into the
other direction. The sound of breaking glass and bending metal clashed with the
roar of an engine. Bodies were thrown around the inside of the car. Douglas
didn’t let go.
Rachel groaned, opening her eyes. The car had stopped
scraping over the pavement. She pushed against the door, hearing the crunch of
glass beneath her stinging palms. The hard road was beneath her, pressed tight
to the overturned limo. Shattered crystal glasses and bottles were strewn
around her, wetting her bloody hands with the painfully stinging throb of
liquor. Douglas lay unconscious in a crumpled heap of limbs. William was gone.
“Help!” Rachel croaked, reaching to untangle herself so she
could check on Douglas. A drop of blood fell across his pale cheek and she
looked up. William leaned over, reaching down his hand. Crimson trails ran over
the side of his face, dripping from the deep gash in his head.
“Rachel? Are you—?”
“William, he’s not moving. Help me. I smell gasoline.” She
hoisted Douglas’s body up the best she could. William grabbed Douglas beneath
his arms and pulled him out of the vehicle. When William again appeared to help
her out, she said, “He was trying to protect me.”
“Of course he was,” William answered, as if such a thing would
be common knowledge.
She grabbed his hand, jumping up as he pulled. She leapt out
of the window to land on the car door. Pain racked her and she cradled her
ribs. Standing, she looked around the forest. Douglas lay on the ground,
unmoving but breathing. She focused on his neck, seeing the gentle beat of his
pulse. Smoke trailed from the dented hood of a green pickup several yards
behind them. The instincts of the wolf surged within her. She crouched down,
turning her attention to the trees.
“Running,” she said, pointing into the woods. “There. Two on
four legs.”
“I hear them,” William answered, breathing hard. She heard
the shift in his voice.
“Driver?”
“He’s dead,” William said. “Shot.”
“You?”
“I was thrown from the car. I’ll live.”
“Douglas?”
“Will live.”
Rachel felt her body start to shift. She let the anger
consume her. “Chase.”
“No. Not now. We must get Douglas to safety.”
She growled, but resisted the urge to track their attackers.
When she looked at William, his silver-filled eyes were just as hungry as hers.
They were both breathing hard, as they fought their primal urges. Concern for
Douglas finally broke through the animal and drew her attention back to the
moment. As if a cloud lifted from her mind, she began to tremble. She leapt
from the car, landing next to Douglas. She touched his head.
“They shot our engine,” William said. Rachel didn’t remember
hearing gunfire during the crash. “I’ll check the truck. See if you can wake
him.”
“Douglas?” she asked, stroking his face. He lay on the side
of the dirt road. It couldn’t have been comfortable, but she wasn’t sure if she
should move him. “Can you hear me? Open your eyes and look at me.”
The truck engine tried to turn over, struggling and
sputtering each time William turned the key.
“Dougl—” Rachel tilted her head, listening to the distance. The
feet had turned. The attackers were circling back. “William!”
“I hear them. Stay with him. I’ll go. We don’t know who
we’re up against.”
“No. You stay.” Rachel shot to her feet and took off
running. She ignored the pain, knowing it would be temporary. “I’m faster.”
“Rachel, stop!”
She didn’t stop. Spreading her arms, she leapt into the air.
Her clothes fell away and feathers sprouted all over her body. She flapped her
wings, soaring into the sky. The soreness from the crash melted away with the
shift. Trees blurred beneath her as she followed the sound of running feet. A
flash of fur revealed the mountain lion, St. Joan. Douglas had called her an
“American claw for hire”. What was the mercenary doing in the UK? And why was she
trying so hard to kill them? Was it as Douglas had implied? Was it because they
were two chiefs and some wanted them dead for political reasons? Then why the
great lengths to keep her with them? If they were the ones in danger, and both
chiefs wished to see her safe as they claimed, then why did they keep her in
harm’s way? She wasn’t stupid. For whatever reason, whether it was association
or simple bad luck, she had become a target too. Their three fates were
intertwined.
Another blur caught her attention. William had shifted and
ran towards danger, undoubtedly wanting to rescue her before she did anything
stupid. She hesitated and lost a little bit of her control. Should she go back
to Douglas or help William? Rachel began to descend. She was losing energy and
wouldn’t be able to maintain the falcon form for long.
Deciding to go where she saw the immediate danger, she
circled down. She landed hard, tumbling over herself. Feathers flew around her
like lost hairs as she transformed to human. Then, not bothering to lift off
the ground, she rolled the other direction, coming to her hands and feet as she
shifted into a wolf. With a growl, she burst forward, running through the
forest. She heard a wolf’s growl and ran faster to heed William’s call. The
mountain lion answered with a strange, screechy cry, like a demon child calling
out for its mother. It sent chills over Rachel’s flesh.
Rachel dug her paws into the earth, pushing harder, running
faster. As she came upon the brawl, William faced St. Joan and the male leopard
beside her. She breathed hard, but the sound of it only excited her already
frayed nerves. She wanted to fight, protect, scar. The mountain lion had
destroyed her childhood home, the only place she’d felt truly loved and
protected. Now the she-bitch was coming after Douglas and William, the two men
she…
Well, she couldn’t say she loved them, but they did make her
feel protected. And she felt a connection to them, a deep, strong, almost
feverish connection. Perhaps it was because they were going through something
traumatic together. Maybe it was because they were the first shifter boyfriends
she’d ever had, the first multiple boyfriends she’d ever had. Or maybe she
would feel connected to them no matter the circumstances.
Now was not the time for such contemplation.
The leopard tried to turn as William got in his way.
Growling, Rachel lunged, her teeth bared. She landed close to him, forcing him
to turn back. St. Joan screeched, slashing her claws defensively seconds before
the true brawl began.
Rachel didn’t think, didn’t hesitate, not like last time
when she faced St. Joan and got a claw to the face. Everything she needed to
know about fighting was in her blood. She merely reacted. A claw slashed, she
ducked. Teeth snarled, she lunged for the soft tissue of a neck. Bite. Growl.
Hiss. Claw. There was no order to the chaos. Rachel snapped at the mountain
lion before turning her attentions to the leopard. Her teeth hit flesh. Blood
filled her mouth, dripping over her chin and neck. The cat yelped and wriggled
free, but the gesture only tore the flesh at his own throat. At the sound, William
turned his attention to help Rachel. The cat made a gurgling noise as William
bit the leopard’s back leg and dragged him away from Rachel. St. Joan darted
off into the forest.
As if perceiving William as a bigger threat, or perhaps simply
a bigger target, the leopard turned his attention around to the man. William
held back, giving the man time to run. Rachel was impressed by his restraint,
even as she wondered at it. The leopard charged. Rachel leapt, intent on
stopping the leopard’s attack. William growled defensively, going for the cat’s
throat. His action blocked Rachel and she fell hard against him. It was over in
seconds.
When he pulled away, blood trailed down William’s chin. The
cat looked stunned before limping off in the direction St. Joan had disappeared.
Rachel tensed, tempted to go after him. The smell of blood filled her head,
calling to the predator inside her. However, there was no need to give chase.
The leopard didn’t make it far before dropping to the ground. She stood, tense
and ready, but within seconds, the shifter was dead.
Hearing a rustling next to her, she looked at the other wolf.
William pawed the ground, lifting his head. He wanted her to follow him. She
nodded. They ran back towards the wreckage. As she thought of Douglas, she grew
worried. They’d left him alone. The forest passed in a blur, resounding with
the beat of their paws. It didn’t take too long before they were by the wrecked
vehicles.
William began to shift mid stride, standing on two feet by
the time he reached the spot Douglas has been. Muscles rippled over his tight,
naked flesh. The red blood from the cat shifter marred his chest and neck. The
long line of his spine indented his back, forming a trail down to his firm ass.
Rachel glanced over the area, sensing her surroundings
before shifting to human form. She shivered, aware that she stood in the forest
naked.
“You’re an omni-shifter. Why didn’t you say?” William asked,
as if the question had been burning inside him.
“Where is he?” Rachel demanded, looking around the area. Her
heart pounded in worry as she found her clothing on the ground. She held it
against her naked body. “Where is Douglas? You should not have left him alone.”
“I didn’t have a choice. You flew off.” William walked towards
the old truck. “He’s in the back. He’ll be fine. I kept an ear on him as we
fought.” Looking in the back, he gestured to where Douglas slept. “See. Already
the wounds heal.”
The clothes slipped from her fingers, falling to the ground.
It might have been the adrenaline of the fight, or the wreck, or even the run
through the forest, but she felt her blood hammering in her veins. She touched William’s
hip. He was so warm. At her caress, he turned narrowed eyes at her.
Before she realized it, she was leaning into him, brushing
her lips against his shoulder. He tensed seconds before she felt him give in to
her. William made a small sound of pleasure, instantly turning her to press her
back into the side of the truck. His cock was in her hand, hard and ready.
Moisture flooded her sex, her body just as eager. She stroked him, and he made
a small noise of approval.
The urgency of the situation built between them, as if they
both knew this was the last thing they should be doing at the moment, and yet
they were unable to stop themselves. Rachel told herself they would just find a
fast release before moving on.
The mindless euphoria as they touched filled her. Her hands
answered the silent call of his body, running over flexing muscles. He dipped
his hand between her thighs, parting her sex. She groaned, rocking into him,
desperate for the release he could give.
Rachel nipped at his chest and shoulder, tasting the salt of
his flesh and the blood of battle against her tongue. He groaned as she bit
him, his muscles tensing beneath her lips. William reached for her ass and
lifted her up off the ground as he pressed her tight to the truck for support.
She knew his movements would be raw and primitive, as wild
as the wolf inside of him. Rachel craved the hard, primal, pounding lovemaking.
His large cock brushed her slit and she cried out. William thrust, taking her
with wild abandon. Her naked breast bobbed, and he seemed to get much pleasure
from watching them.
Clawing his shoulders, she held on. The pleasure built. William
breathed hard. His features were pulled tight, as if he fought the beast inside
him for control. He slid in and out and in, repeating the violent rhythm until
she couldn’t keep her eyes open.
She came, her body quivering, her heart thumping, her thighs
and stomach burning. The climax rippled through her, causing her to cry out. William
thrust deep, jerking his release.
“We should go,” William said, his breath catching, even
before the tremors subsided fully.