Wolf Rock Shifters Books 1-5: Five BBW Paranormal Romance Standalone Novels (25 page)

“So then, are you a shifter?” she asked him, knowing the answer full well.

“That depends. Do you like shifters?”

“I have nothing against them.”

He pulled out of the parking lot and accelerated down the straight country road.

“Then yes, I’m a shifter,” he said.

“I figured. I thought I saw a couple of canines that were longer than most.”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have seen that. I was just having fun and got a little carried away. The animal in me likes to dance.”

“Even if your teeth hadn’t been on display, you have the look, you know,” she said.

“Do I? I suppose I do. I forget sometimes that there’s a look.”

“Well, some have it. Some don’t. The wolves are easy. It’s all in the eyes. If I were to guess I’d say you’re a…lion?”

“Nope.”

“A stag.”

“No, not even close,” Colson said, laughing. “You’re not good at this game, are you?”

“Maybe not. Okay then. A wolverine.”

“Try again.”

“I give up,” said Zoe, laughing. She was pleased that her driver seemed to be warming to her. It meant that he’d let her stick around until they’d reached their destination.

“Well, that didn’t last long, did it?” asked Colson. “I’m a bear. A spirit bear, if we’re going to be specific about it.”

“A spirit what now?”

“Spirit bear. We’re not the most common breed.”

“No, you’re not. I’ve never heard of one.”

“Well, then let’s just say I’m special.”

“That you are,” said Zoe, smiling. It was in her best interests, she knew, to keep Colson on her side while she was in his vehicle. She would do her best to charm him until they reached Wolf Rock and then she’d become invisible. In the meantime she wanted his trust. God, men were so easy to please, even if you weren’t tall and willowy. All you had to do was grin at them, seem to find them amusing and, when they were in need of further enticement, show them a bit of skin.

Colson didn’t seem to demand skin, though. It was almost a pity.

“To be honest with you, spirit bears are really just black bears,” the young man continued. “The difference is our colour. My bear form is blond, a little like smaller polar bears. But that doesn’t mean I’m not an exceptional badass with indomitable strength and physical prowess.”

Zoe laughed again. “Is your family light-coloured then?”

“My father’s a black bear. My name is sort of a joke. Coal’s son. Colson.”

“I see what you did there,” said Zoe. “Cheeky parents.”

“Yeah, they’re nothing if not clever.”

“So why did you fight back there?” Zoe asked, changing the subject. “Those guys were just a couple of drunks.”

“Let’s just say that I don’t like being hit. I suppose you might call me defensive.”

“Fair enough.”

“And you? What were you doing at a bar in the middle of nowhere, with no shoes and no money?”

Zoe remained silent, and looked out the window. She didn’t want to explain either why she’d left her shoes far behind or that she had far more money than he would guess.

“Not going to answer me, then?”

“I’d think you’d figure out that the fact that I was in the bar in the middle of nowhere with no shoes and no money means that I probably don’t want to talk about it.”

Colson took his foot off the gas and pulled the car to the side of the road, slowing it to a crawl before stopping entirely.

“Zoe,” he said, turning to her. “If that’s actually your name, which I sort of doubt. You’re in my vehicle. I don’t let just anyone into my truck. I don’t let just anyone talk to me, even. And if you want to stay in my truck, you’d better answer my question. Or I’ll be more than happy to let you and those bare feet of yours walk the rest of the way.”

“I was getting far away from someone,” she said quietly.

“A boyfriend? Did someone hurt you?”

“Look,” she said, her voice quivering. Colson didn’t know if she was truly upset or if this was some sort of act. “I don’t want to talk about it. Please. Can we just go?”

“Fine,” he said, starting up the engine again. “I’ll take you to Wolf Rock, but you’ll have to find your own way to wherever it is that you want to go. It’s a shifter town, and you’re not going to find it the most suitable for your needs, if you’re looking to start a new life somewhere.”

“What, are they anti-human?”

“No. I don’t think so. But I’m just saying that maybe you ought to figure out something else. Shifters can be unpredictable and dangerous. We have tempers, as you noticed at the bar.”

“I can look after myself.”

“I don’t think you can. If you could, you wouldn’t be here, with me,” he said.

“You’re right,” said Zoe, turning to him. “Thank you, Colson, for helping me.”

She laid a hand on his denim-clad thigh. Colson found his eyes veering downwards.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I just wanted to thank you,” she said, her voice softening, and her fingers tightening gently around his firm, muscled thigh. “For helping me.”

She pulled her fingers away then, knowing that he would feel the absence of her touch as acutely as he’d felt it in the first place. He would, she knew, want more contact. They always did.

She looked out the window and smiled to herself.

C
olson felt
the hand on his leg before he saw it. This woman, whoever and whatever she was, had been working some sort of magic on him. The first moment he’d seen her across the bar he’d felt a twitch inside his jeans, and her hand on him almost made him drive off the road, though he’d done his best not to kill either of them. This time his cock did more than twitch; its growing thickness pressed hard against his boxers and causing a sweet, painful agony as he tried to calm himself, to forget what he was feeling.

He wanted her. He didn’t even know her, but he wanted to be inside her, to feel himself push into her slick, tight pussy. He’d picked up her scent from across the bar and it was fucking delicious. But this contact, this insane desire was more than that of a horny bear shifter. Colson knew what had happened, and what was still happening. Somehow fate had pushed him towards this woman. She was as likely as not meant for him.

He had only to wonder if she felt it too; if that gorgeous, voluptuous body of hers told her how much she needed him. How much they had to be together. He wondered if her lips were swelling and tingling, if her clit was throbbing for his touch as his blood was flowing to the place between his legs, urging him to find his way to her.

Much as he wanted and all but needed to know what she was thinking, there was a sort of wariness and distance in her that instructed him to let her dictate what would happen next, and how. Colson was not the sort of man who forced himself on women, and this was not a woman to be pressured. She reminded him of a wild animal; terrified enough to stand back, frozen, but aggressive enough to defend herself if she needed to.

Z
oe had learned
to manipulate men at an early age, out of a sort of necessity. Her ego had been trampled by an early rejection by her parents and in order to rebuild it, she’d relied on attention from men. But she wasn’t an easy girl; in fact she never let anyone get close to her emotionally. In her desire to protect her innermost workings she had built a hard wall around her heart which meant that she saw others merely as tools to get what she wanted.

Colson was just such a tool. A man with a truck. A bear with a truck, even. The only complication was that he was a very handsome tool, and seemed like a kind one as well. It was harder to use someone mercilessly if they were attractive. Something in Zoe felt drawn to him, as though there were a thread attached to him, pulling her towards him. But she knew that she had to maintain her distance, and to say good-bye when they reached their goal. She needed to sort her life out and complications weren’t in her plan.

“Look, Zoe,” said the young man as they drove, “Wolf Rock’s about another half hour away. When we get there, let me buy you some shoes so that at least you can walk. I’ll take you for some dinner and then maybe we can find you a place to stay for the night.”

“Oh, I couldn’t accept. That’s very generous, but I can’t pay you back yet.”

“Doesn’t matter. Just…let me help you.”

“Thank you, Colson,” she said, her face turned to look outside again. “You’ve helped enough.”

“All right then,” he said, “But before we’re done the drive, maybe you can explain to me why you didn’t tell me you’re a shifter.”

“
H
ow did you know
?” Zoe asked.

She felt annoyed, as though this man had somehow deceived her, when in fact it was her own failure to deceive that caused any genuine disappointment.

“I just know. I’ve been around shifters all my life. If nothing else, you smell.”

“Gee, thanks.” She looked out the window, gritting her teeth.

Colson laughed. “I’m teasing. But you know what I mean. Humans have a distinct smell. Not nearly so interesting. But even if I hadn’t picked up on your scent, I knew when you touched me.

“How?”

“I just knew. Shifters have a different sort of energy to them. I suppose my instincts kick in when I’m around them.

“I don’t know about that. I suppose you’re right, about the energy thing.”

“You suppose? Zoe, are you telling me you haven’t spent time with shifters?”

“No, I haven’t. Not a lot of them, anyhow. I was adopted.”

“Oh.”

“It is what it is. My parents got rid of me because I was a freak and someone else took me in.”

“It happens. But I’m sure it wasn’t because you were a freak. One of your parents must have had the genes. They wouldn’t see you as something to discard.”

“I don’t know. I never got to know them.”

Colson looked over at her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Well, they missed out.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

“And your adoptive parents? Are they nice?”

Zoe went silent now, and Colson felt that he’d delved even further into unwelcome territory.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s all right. They’re nice. They’re fine. But they never understood me, and I never felt at home, not really.”

“So what are you? What’s your animal, I mean.”

“My animal? I…” Zoe considered her answer for a moment. How much should she tell him? When she’d decided that there was no harm in it, she said, “My animal is everything. All over the place. I can change into a mouse or an elephant.”

“Oh man. So you’re a shape-changer. I’ve heard of your kind but never met one.”

“Yes. Like I said, a freak.”

“Shit, Zoe, I keep saying the wrong thing. No, not a freak. I’m in awe, to tell you the truth. I envy you.”

“Do you? Well, you shouldn’t. It’s like I don’t know who I am, what I am. I can’t settle. The first time it ever happened I was terrified. And what I said about never feeling at home? Well, that goes for my entire body. It’s my worst enemy.”

“Don’t you feel like you can use this power? Think of all the possibilities. You can do anything. You must even be able to fly.”

Colson’s voice was filled with admiration and the envy he’d mentioned.

“Yes, I can. But it’s not as great as it all seems. I feel like I can’t relax in my own skin. I never have. And sometimes it’s hard to control. When I get really upset I sort of lose myself sometimes…it’s hard to explain.”

“Well, you can try,” said Colson, looking at her profile.

“I sometimes change without being in charge of it. I’ve hurt people at times. Physically injured, I mean. And sometimes when I really need to shift, my body betrays me. I don’t have all the control that I need or want. I’m working on it though.”

“I’ve heard that shape-changers like you have a hard time of it. There’s a lot more focus needed to do what you do.”

“Well, colour me unfocused then, because it’s one thing in my life that makes me feel like a failure.”

“Come on now. You just need practice. Wolf Rock, where we’re going, will have more like you. Maybe there’s someone you can talk to, who can help.”

“I doubt it,” growled Zoe. The last thing she wanted was more “help.” The man she was escaping from had once offered to look after her and she couldn’t get far enough from him now. Once she was out of this truck and had thanked Colson, she would be truly on her own, and that was all she wanted. To be left alone.

The terrain outside was changing. What had been rolling, pine covered hills was now evolving into rocky peaks. As the road stretched before them, Zoe felt as though a gateway of mountains was welcoming them into its clutches, meaning both concealment and the inability to escape. She found herself fearful and excited about what lay ahead.

“I’ll check out the town,” she offered in a gentler tone, knowing that Colson probably didn’t mean any harm. He was the first man she could think of who’d aided her without asking anything in return, even rejecting her advances. She didn’t know how to speak to such a person.

“You should. And really, Zoe, if you need anything I’ll be there.”

“What are you going to do there? Do you have a job or relatives or something?”

“I have a cousin, and I’m planning to work as a mechanic for him. He runs the only auto shop in town.”

“Ah.”

“So you’ll always know where to find me.” Colson turned and smiled at her.

Zoe allowed herself an awkward smile. She knew full well that looking for Colson was unlikely at best. She’d be doing all she could simply to survive and to remain hidden.

Buildings began to appear before them; at first, the sort of chalet-style townhouses that always seem to be erected on the outskirts of mountain towns, and then the main strip of welcoming shops and overpriced restaurants.

But what caught Zoe’s eye were the creatures roaming the streets.

A large, dark wolf padded along the sidewalk, advancing past a coffee shop. On the other side of the street, a sleek cheetah, walking next to a bobcat. Even an emu paraded around a corner.

Among them were people, of course; many dressed in the sort of loose-fitting clothing that Zoe herself wore, ready to shift at a moment’s notice.

“Do people here hang out in animal form, then?” she asked.

“I think sometimes, yeah, like you see. But I don’t think it’s for any reason other than preference. This place hasn’t been under threat in a while. People on the outside seem to be getting used to the idea of shifters, finally.”

As they made their way down the main street, a banner overhead signalled an ongoing event:

“
W
hat’s that all about
?” asked Zoe.

“My cousin said it’s a new thing, now that the town’s mostly occupied by shifters. They’ve been building in the woods, you see; dens and houses for the various packs. And to get everyone familiar with the lay of the land they’re having a sort of circus at night to welcome people. He said it’s quite a spectacle. We should go check it out.”

“Maybe,” said Zoe, hesitant to commit to any social outings.

“Or you can go on your own tonight,” said Colson, sensing her reluctance to have an escort. “I’m sure you can find your way around. Listen, where do you want me to drop you?”

“Anywhere is fine,” she said, smiling again.

She opened her satchel, hoping to extract a twenty-dollar bill without drawing his attention to the stack of cash between her fingers.

“Don’t worry about it,” Colson said as she rifled through the cash. “It’s on me.”

“Thanks. I owe you one.”

Colson pulled up in front of a restaurant. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’m always okay,” she said, opening the door and climbing out. “I always survive.”

“You should do more than survive, Zoe. You should live,” he said, leaning over and looking up into her eyes.

“I don’t know how,” she said, and then she closed the door.

As Colson drove off, Zoe wondered if she’d ever see him again. In spite of herself, she hoped that she would.