ShiftinDirty-ElizaGayle (8 page)

“You think we can’t catch a human?”

“I think I can kick your ass if you try.”
 

The other man sniffed the air and growled. “What the fuck. Did you mate with my human?”

“Guess she preferred a real man?”

“Real man. She obviously doesn’t know what that means. But I’ll be more than happy to show her after we’re done kicking your ass.” Two other wolves materialized from the shadows.

“I’d be more than happy to show her how much better a real wolf fucks over your half-breed sissy wolf kind.”

Gage shot forward and launched himself at the offending wolf. When fur sprouted through his skin he fought the wolf back to maintain a partial shit. A much stronger part of him that had a chance in hell of getting out of this alive.
 

One of the other wolves stepped in his path and blocked the leader. Gage grabbed him around the neck and spun before flinging him up against the side of the shed.
 

“Go and get the girl. I’ve got this.” The second lackey ran in the direction Sienna had run and Gage saw red. He started to run after him when he was yanked from behind and thrown to the ground.
 

The fucker who started all this trouble wrapped his hands around Gage’s neck and began to crush. He couldn’t breathe when he heard an engine roar to life from nearby. His worst fear of Sienna being captured and taken away from him took root. He imagined specifically the big wolf cutting off his air supply hurting his mate.
 

“Gage!”
 

He heard her plea for help and gathered the extra strength he needed from her to punch the asshole choking him in the face. His hands released and he rolled out of his reach. Ready to bash his head in and draw as much blood as possible he barely registered when she called out to him again.

“Gage!”

This time he turned, ready to kill the man who dared touch her to find her sitting astride his bike with the motor running and a desperate look on her face. Behind her, one of the wolf’s lackey’s was headed directly for her.
 

“Gage, get on the damn bike and lets go.”

If not for her sweet voice and familiar scent he would have ignored her and gone in for the kill. The idiot tried to take his mate away from him and that was unacceptable. Now he remembered that getting her out of danger was his number one priority.

“Mate,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

He jumped on the motorcycle behind her and she put the bike in gear and tore down the driveway. He looked behind them to the wolves still moving kind of dazed and slow. He’d probably bought them a few extra minutes. More than enough time for them to get away.

It felt completely wrong to be on a bike behind his woman, but they didn’t have time to stop. They needed to gain some ground before they could make a switch. What amazed him was how well she rode. She shifted his baby almost as smooth as he did, showing she had more than a little experience with motorcycles.
 

Gage smiled. He’d found himself a biker babe.
 

***

Since she proved herself more than capable of handling his bike he let her drive them out of there for over an hour before making her to pull over. He had directed her which roads to take in an effort to lose anyone who might be following and once again felt confidence they’d escaped for now.
 

However, if they could find them once they could do it again and the only place they could truly hide would be back in his territory where they’d have back up if and when the wolves didn’t yet learn their lesson.

Together, they got off the bike and she ran to the rest room while he dug out his cell phone. In the melee of escape he’d forgotten about the incoming text message.
 

Word is the wolves you encountered in Sweetwater are Blackwood trackers and good ones. Are you certain you are secure?

Information he could have used a few minutes earlier. He tapped out a reply.

No. They found us and we barely got out. For some reason they are determined to take the human.

While he waited for a response, Gage got up and walked across the parking lot to stretch his legs. The inviting earthy smell of the woods beyond beckoned him. At another time he’d get out of sight and shift for a nighttime run. The moon was almost full and it would be the perfect time to embrace the wolf. The asshole back at the lake had been right. He wasn’t one hundred percent wolf. He had at least twenty five percent feline in him. Not that it bothered him. With the combined DNA, he got the best of both worlds. What these full blood fanatics didn’t understand is that the animal DNA fought for dominance and as Simon, their resident medical expert, had put it in the past, the cream rises to the top. i.e. when a half breed is born they are born with the best traits of both animals they possess and very little of the weaknesses.
 

Gage imagined if the council knew half of what Doc kept in his head, it wouldn’t be long before they ordered a massacre instead of always threatening a war. The ruling elders may have given them a small section of land where his kind were allowed a modicum of freedom, they still did everything they could to keep them under their thumbs.

 
He paced for another ten minutes waiting for an answer from Bhric. Sienna had returned from the bathroom, headed for the concession machines and now sat a picnic table drinking a soda. He wasn’t sure why neither of them approached the other except that something made him think they both needed a few minutes alone. And as long as he could keep her in his sight it soothed the need to protect his mate.
 

One more glance at his phone and he was officially out of time waiting. If those wolves were as good of trackers as Bhric thought they were, then he couldn’t waste anymore time sitting around in the open. He needed to get them both to safety and in his mind that meant only one place—Dark Moon.

He crossed the parking lot at the same time Sienna got up and threw her drink in the trash. He watched her walk toward him with her hands shoved into her front pockets and her eyes looking down at her feet. It killed him that he didn’t get to finish what he started with her. He tried to convince himself it was for the best. She was human, with no real understanding what mating heat felt like. Trying to think pragmatically about the situation didn’t help.
 

Even now with her approaching him, he noticed the soft bounce of her large tits that moved freely when not hidden away in a bra. At this point the red fabric of her tank top was tantamount to a red flag in front of a raging bull. His gaze narrowed at the sight of hard nipples, which he already knew were the most beautiful shade of dusky pink, straining against her top.
 

He wanted to feel them pressing against his chest as he slid into her. Gage fought not to pull at the front of his jeans to make room for his raging hard on. It seemed to be a perpetual problem the more time he spent around her.

She stopped a few feet in front of him. “What are we going to do?”

He reached for her and pulled her up against him. He tucked a finger under her chin and lifted until their gazes met. “Taking you home, babe.”

She blinked, her eyes darkening with the beginnings of arousal. “Where’s home?”

“Teeny tiny dot on the map on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. Less than an hour from here.”

A gorgeous smile crossed her face. “Thank God. My ass is tired of sitting on that bike.”

He reached down and grabbed two handfuls of said butt and hauled her tight against him. “Aww. How about I massage it and make it better later?”

She laughed, shoving at his chest. “You’re incorrigible. Are you always this forward with women you’ve just met?”

“I’m just extra turned on because not only did I learn how sweet you taste today, but you rode my bike like a fucking pro, babe. Where the hell did that come from?”

“My father. Every summer we were at the lake he spent most of his time out in that shed tinkering with his collection of used and abused motorcycles. He had a knack for turning a hunk of junk into an amazing little machine.”

“And he taught you how to ride?”

She nodded. “After I pestered him for three summers straight he finally gave in and taught me despite my mother’s objections.”

“It was a hell of a surprise. A woman who makes homemade donuts and rides a bike like a dream. I can’t wait to see what other surprises you have.”

“Well… There is this one thing that I do with my tongue.”

Gage growled. “Don’t. You tease me now and I’ll drape you across my bike and fuck you right here.”

He watched the temptation roll through her gaze as the full force of her arousal slammed into him. For a second he half expected her to do something crazy like taunt him. His muscles were strung so tight from the need coursing through him he wasn’t kidding. He might have enough control to pull the bike around the building, but she didn’t know that.
 

Finally her mouth curved into the most downright sexy smile he’d ever seen. “Then by all means, Gage. Take me home.”

Chapter Eight

“I don’t understand. Why are we at another bar?” As promised about forty five minutes later they’d turned into a huge gravel lot and parked in front of a place called Dark Moon.
 

“This is home. Only a small part of the building is comprised by a bar. The rest is sort of like a boarding house I call home and so happens to be where I live with my family.”

“You live with your parents? Is that a shifter thing?” She certainly hoped so. Otherwise…

“No. My mother’s dead and I have no idea who my father is. This is sort of my adopted family. I think humans would call it a non-traditional family unit.”

Since it was four in the morning and the place looked closed up for the night, Gage opened the door with a key and held it open for her. As she passed, he grabbed her hand and pulled her against his body, covering her mouth with his for a quick, all consuming kiss.
 

“Welcome to Dark Moon, Sienna.”

She walked across the threshold into a bar not all that different from her new job, albeit not as run down. Everywhere she looked in the dim light she was surrounded by dark gleaming wood. From what she could see there were two large rooms. The main room they were in filled with tables and a bar at one end and the second room with pool tables.
 

“Your customers really like to play pool I guess. Lot of tables.”

“We run several tournaments every month. Brings a lot of people through here.”

“Gage, is that you?”

Sienna whirled at the feminine voice. Standing behind her was a tall, gorgeous blonde with a very pregnant belly. Dressed in a simple white tank top and white yoga pants, her hand rested on her stomach.

“Sorry, Nikki. We didn’t mean to wake you.” Gage walked over to the woman and gave her a hug. “How are you and the babe?”

Sienna’s eyes widened.
 

“You didn’t wake me. I couldn’t sleep.” She rubbed her tummy to emphasize what kept her awake. “And we’re both fine, thank you for asking. Who’s this?”

Gage grabbed Sienna’s hand and pulled her close. “This is Sienna. My mate.”

Nikki’s eyes widened. “What?”
 

“Exactly. What?” She yanked her hand from his and took a few steps back.

“Let me rephrase. This is Sienna. My future mate.”

“That’s not better,” Sienna said.

Nikki snickered, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. “So far I like her. But, honey, isn’t she a—”

“Human.” Another voice spoke from the darkness, this one male and sounding angry.

Actually two men emerged from the shadows. Tall, dark haired and hot as hell.
 

“What the hell is going on here?” The man with the question enveloped Nikki in his arms and nuzzled her neck. “If you can’t sleep I can help you with that.”

“Really?” She turned sideways in his arms. “Anymore and neither of us will be able to walk.”

Whoever this man was, Sienna would bet he was the father of her baby and they were very happily together. Nikki practically glowed when he put his arms around her.
 

“Seriously. What is going on?” The other man stepped past the couple and he did not look happy to see them at all.
 

“Gage brought home a girl.” Nikki answered before Gage got a chance to.

“Nikki, babe. I don’t think it’s funny.”
 

“C’mon, Dean.
Babe.
When was the last time Gage brought someone home?”

“Never.” The unnamed man interrupted again. “And it should have stayed that way.”

Sienna had to fight to not take several steps back as the waves of anger coming off the other man washed over her. She looked at Gage for answers.
 

“Bhric, the damned wolves tracked us to the cabin on Crescent Lake, we had to leave quickly. All things said and done this felt like the safest place for us.”

“As it should,” Nikki said.

“You should have called in.”