Red and the Tiger (BBW Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance) (Shifters Everafter Book 2) (4 page)

He was pissed, but he sank to four paws and let the tiger run.

Suzy tried to keep a stiff upper lip. So Tyler didn’t want anything to do with her. She shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up. If she’d had smaller expectations, she wouldn’t be feeling bad right now. She was here to find her grandmother, not to make new friends. At least he’d made sure she would get the help she needed. She shouldn’t have expected so much.

“Can you believe this?” Lucy asked as they sat down in the living room. “Dragons are really rare. A whole family of them managed to keep hidden. Mind-boggling, right?”

“What?”

Lucy looked at her with wide eyes. “You haven’t been watching the news? Oh, honey, you are in for a treat.”

She turned up the volume on the TV, letting her robe hang open in her hurry. Suzy couldn’t help but notice what a smoking-hot body Lucy had. No wonder Tyler couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He’d probably had a thing for her. Lucy looked young and had big blue eyes, blonde hair, and the cutest little nose.

“You’ve heard of the rich family that owns all the jewelry stores, right?” Lucy asked excitedly. “They put out a special release this morning saying that they’re dragon shifters. The whole family has been hiding for generations.”

Suzy must’ve heard her wrong. “Dragons? No, I’ve seen them around town. They seem very nice. They’re good friends with Roger Sheridan. There’s no way he would be friends with dragon shifters. They even helped him get elected!”

Lucy pointed to the TV. “Just look. This is why the town is shut down. Everybody wants to watch this. There’s not even any new news right now, just rehashing the same stuff. We’re waiting for the head of the family to speak.”

Suzy focused her attention on the TV in front of her. There was a giant headline at the bottom of the screen.
Dragon shifters
. It was true. The entire Collins clan were in fact dragon shifters. This changed everything. The only other rich shifter families were very open about the shifter status. Many of them had shifter-related businesses. This was the first time a formerly hidden family had come out this publicly.

How could they have stayed hidden for so long? Suzy knew very little about shifters, but they needed to let their animals be free. The Collinses’ animals must be crazy by this point. And dragons? She had heard of other rare and mythical shifters, but she had always assumed they were just Internet stories. There were only grainy pictures of the dragon on TV. This was like finding Bigfoot.

“See?” Lucy said triumphantly. “Dragon shifters. This is wild. We are going to do so much business at the pub today. People are gonna want to talk about this.”

Suzy nodded. “You’d better wear comfortable shoes. I bet you’re gonna make a thousand dollars in tips.”

Lucy laughed. “I hope you’re right. Now, why did you say you’re in town, again?”

“I’m looking for my grandmother. Tyler said I could get help from the Brotherhood if I spoke to Gunner.”

“Is your grandma a shifter?”

“No. She’s here gambling.”

Lucy thought for a moment. “I’ve heard of a gambling ring in Wayside. They let humans in sometimes. Is your grandma a big gambler?”

“Unfortunately, yes. She has a lot of money to blow and isn’t quiet about it. She’s gotten herself into trouble before, but she’s never been gone this long. I’m worried.”

“I’m sure she’s fine. I’m sure she’s been around the block a few times.” Lucy patted Suzy’s knee. “And with Sheridan as governor, no shifter wants to hurt a human woman.”

“I think he might change his stance on shifters. The Collinses were big campaign donors. They visit him all the time. There were even rumors that his daughter was going to marry Jasper Collins for a while.”

“Let’s hope you’re right, honey. You can use a break. I haven’t even gotten myself on that registry yet. Maybe it’ll be gone before the end of the year.”

Suzy had forgotten about the registry. That was probably why the Collinses had come out. Gov. Sheridan had set up a registry for people bitten by shifters, and he was talking about creating one for all shifters. Suzy didn’t like the sound of that, and she was aware that the shifters liked it even less. She’d never thought he would actually do it, though.

There was an announcement on the TV. No one from the Collins family would be speaking this morning.

Lucy groaned. “Well, I guess I’d better get ready for work. I’ll be pulling a double today. Sit tight.”

Suzy waited until Lucy had gone to the back of the house before looking around. Lucy’s house was more ornate than Tyler’s. It was the same ranch design, but she had more rooms. There was a living room, a dining room, and kitchen. The bathroom was down the hall, and there had to be at least two bedrooms. She wondered why Lucy had gotten so much space. It would probably be rude to ask, she decided.

While she was looking at the kitchen, she became aware of scratching noises. She looked around the kitchen, but there was nothing moving. She waited for the sound to happen again and then followed the noise. It was coming from the front door.

Suzy looked out the peephole. There was a giant tiger on the doorstep. She hesitated a moment before opening the door. The animal didn’t move as she looked at the door in shock. Lucy was going to be very mad. Her front door was covered with giant scratch marks that cut deep into the wood. She would probably need a whole new door.

“You’re going to be in trouble,” Suzy said to the tiger. “Can I help you?”

The animal started walking away and then looked back at her. Suzy understood it wanted her to follow it, but she wasn’t about to follow some random tiger.

She shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m fine right here.”

The tiger growled and she took a step back, closing the door quickly. She looked out the peephole and found the tiger lounging on the step. It pawed at the door halfheartedly.

“What’s that noise?”

Suzy jumped at the unexpected question. “There’s a tiger outside.”

“He’s back already? What did he want?”

“You think that’s Tyler?” Suzy looked out the peephole at the tiger again. It was hard to imagine that that handsome man she’d met last night was indeed the tiger sitting on the doorstep. Why would he come back as an animal? That didn’t seem like something a shifter would normally do.

“Who else would it be? Ask him what he wants. I’m almost done here. Tyler said he gave you breakfast, right?”

“Yes, he did.”

“I’m glad he fed you, at least. I’m going to be eating a bowl of cereal at the bar. I forgot to eat while I was looking at the dang news.” Lucy sighed. “Oh, well. I’ll be out in a flash.”

Suzy nodded and took a deep breath. If that wasn’t Tyler out there, she didn’t know what she was going to do. She knew it wasn’t a real tiger, but she didn’t want to follow the animal. If she declined again, what would it do?

She opened the door a crack. “What do you want?”

The tiger looked at her, clearly bored, and walked away again.

“I’m not going with you! Just tell me what you want.”

The animal started walking back to the door, then stopped mid-step. One of its paws was off the ground, hanging in the air like someone had pushed its “pause” button. Suzy watched, fascinated, as the animal growled and then started to change. The fur slid away and Tyler was crouched in the street. She tried not to stare, but he was naked and shaking. His veins formed hard lines all down his body.

“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.

“I think so.” Tyler flexed and stretched.

“What do you want?” Suzy asked again.

Tyler took two steps up to the door and leaned forward. He grabbed Suzy by the arms and pulled her toward him. She gasped as he pressed his lips against hers in a bruising kiss. He growled and pulled her even closer as her lips parted.

Suzy could feel something hard pressing against her leg. She shifted her weight and Tyler growled again. She had never kissed a naked man before—actually, she had never kissed a man at all. The last person she had kissed had been a teenage boy, and he wasn’t anywhere near as skilled as Tyler. His kiss made her tingle all over and sent shivers down her spine.

“Just found her wandering around, huh?” There was a snort behind them.

Suzy pulled back and spun around. Lucy was standing at the end of the hallway with her hands on her hips.

“I’ll take her to the bar,” Tyler said gruffly. “Thanks for watching her for me.”

Lucy looked at Suzy. “You want to go with him, honey?”

She could feel Tyler’s hardness pressing into her backside. Was he going to take her to the bar? She had no idea what was going on, but she wanted to find out.

“Yes,” she said.

Lucy shrugged. “I’ll see you two there. I’ll tell Gunner to expect you.”

Tyler nodded and grabbed Suzy by the hand. “We’ll be there in an hour. Could you tell him to get Abe to come down? We’re going to need his help.”

Lucy nodded. “Sure thing.”

Tyler pulled her out of the house after him.

“Thanks for letting me stay here,” Suzy called over her shoulder.

He walked quickly back to his home. Suzy had to jog to keep up. Tyler didn’t look back once, and his shoulders were drawn up to his neck. Something was wrong.

When they got back inside his place, he slammed the door behind them and pushed Suzy against the door. He kissed her again, this time with his hands on either side of her face.

Suzy pushed him away, breathless. “What’s going on?”

Tyler rubbed himself against her. “We’ve got a problem.”

“And what’s that?”

“You’re my mate. I’m not sure what to do about that besides mate with you. Right now. My tiger won’t let me think straight anymore. I tried to leave you, but the damn animal wouldn’t let me.”

“Why do you think I’m your mate?”

“I don’t think,” Tyler growled. He nipped at her bottom lip. “I know. I should have known the moment I saw you. My animal knew right away, but I wasn’t listening. I was too caught up in making money.”

“You don’t even know my name,” Suzy squeaked.

“What is it, then?” Tyler demanded as his hands roamed down from her face to her hips.

“Susan,” she moaned as he pulled her hips forward and pressed his hard cock against her. “But everyone calls me Suzy.”

“Nice to meet you, Suzy,” Tyler said. “So, can we mate now?”

Suzy nodded. Tyler pulled her cape off and pulled down her pants quickly. She was already wet and ready for him.

Mate. It sounded right. That was why she trusted him. They belonged together. Just like when Jessica Sheridan had come to Rose Valley, Suzy had also come away with a mate. That was why Jessica’s story had appealed to her so much. She had to find her own mate.

Tyler growled in her ear. “Can I mark you?”

“Yes.” Suzy pushed her now-bare ass against Tyler’s hard cock, still encased in his jeans. “Please.”

She braced her hands on the door as he unzipped his pants behind her. Suzy watched over her shoulder as Tyler pushed his jeans to his ankles and stepped up behind her, then she turned back to face the door, shaking, as he lined up behind her. It had been a very long time since she had done this. It had only been one time and it had hurt terribly.

“Wait.”

“What’s wrong?” Tyler asked, putting a hand around her waist.

“I’ve only done this one time,” Suzy said.

Tyler groaned. “I’ll go real slowly. If it hurts, just say and I’ll stop. Okay?”

Suzy nodded. Tyler kept his hand on her waist as he guided himself to her entrance. He rubbed his cock around her entrance and slowly slid the tip into her. Suzy moved forward, anticipating the pain.

“Relax,” Tyler commanded.

He slid his cock into her slowly, inch by inch. It didn’t hurt at all as he stretched her slowly.

“Doing okay?” he asked when he was nestled deep within her.

“Great,” Suzy moaned.

She couldn’t believe how incredible it felt. She rocked back against Tyler experimentally. He let go of her hips and reached up to squeeze her breast under her cloak. Tyler lowered his head to her shoulder as he started to move faster inside of her. His teeth scraped against her skin as she moaned again.

The quick movement caused pleasure to build between Suzy’s legs. She pushed back against as Tyler with each move he made. As her pleasure grew, Tyler sank his teeth into her shoulder. Suzy screamed and a dam broke inside of her. Her body convulsed as Tyler marked her as his own.

He roared as he came inside of her. As he softened, he licked at her wound.

Suzy laid her head against the door to catch her breath. Her legs felt like jelly. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She hadn’t meant to even talk with a shifter when she set out. The whole point of this trip was to find her grandmother. Now she was going to be in a bit of trouble. How was she supposed to explain to Cindy that she was mated to a shifter? And what did it even mean? Was she going to have to move to Rose Valley now?  Tyler certainly couldn’t come back to Penicalla with her. Shifters weren’t welcome in the city. But she didn’t know if humans were welcome in the valley.

Lucy had seemed nice, but the town was supposed to be riddled with crime. It didn’t seem like a great place for raising a family or starting a life.

“I’m sorry that I told you this, now,” Tyler apologized, pulling up his pants. “The Brotherhood doesn’t care for me much, and they aren’t going to be as happy to help you. I would have waited if I could. My stupid tiger wouldn’t let it go.”

“It’s okay,” Suzy said. She pulled her cloak down. “We should get to the bar.”

Tyler nodded. He took her hand and squeezed it as they walked together. “It’s going to be fine. Even if they won’t help you, we’ll figure it out.”

Suzy nodded and smiled weakly.

The bar was packed when they went inside. Most of the people had cups of coffee or bottles of alcohol. Tyler spotted a man at the middle of the room and went to stand near his table.

“Tyler.” The man shook his hand and smiled at Suzy. “This must be the human girl Lucy told me about.”

Suzy nodded and stuck out her hand. “Suzy Redding. Nice to meet you.”

“You too. I’m Abe. I’ve already heard a little about you.” Abe nodded toward the table next to theirs.

Suzy let go of Tyler’s hand and clasped both of her hands in front of her mouth. She recognized a small woman with close-cropped grey hair at the table. “Gran?”

Gran turned around and shot up out of her chair. “Susan?”

Suzy threw her arms around her grandmother’s neck as tears swam in her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re here. Why haven’t you called? We were worried sick.”

“I got hold of your mom just a short while ago. She told me you were in Rose Valley. I can’t believe you came all the way out here to get me. You are one brave girl.”

“Have my seat.” Abe pushed his chair toward Gran. “Tyler and I need to speak outside.”

Tyler kissed Suzy on the cheek, then went outside with Abe.

Gran looked at Suzy with wide eyes. “Did that young man just kiss your cheek?”

Suzy nodded. “He sure did. That’s… well, he’s my mate. It’s a bit of a story. Before I tell it, you have to tell me where the heck you’ve been.”

Gran told Suzy how she’d been at a gambling tournament in a town close by. She had come in second place, but a man from the Brotherhood had won the tournament, and the people in charge weren’t happy. They had tried to cheat but had failed to win. They were especially mad that a human woman and a Rose Valley resident had won. Afraid of trying to get back home with the gang after her, Gran had laid low with the Brotherhood in Rose Valley.

“It looks like everything has blown over,” Gran told a worried Suzy. “I got a pretty nice payday, but I’m sorry to have worried you and your mom.”

“It’s okay,” Suzy said. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Good. Now tell me about this shifter.”

Suzy relayed the story of how she and Tyler had met. She was in the middle of the story when Tyler and Abe came back inside. Tyler stood behind her as she finished the story.

“I’m Tyler Wolf.” He put his hand out toward Gran as Suzy finished speaking.

“Nice to meet you, Tyler.” Gran shook his hand. “What exactly are your intentions toward my granddaughter?”

“I would like to marry her. If she’d like to marry me, of course.” Tyler smiled at Suzy.

“And where do you plan to live?” Gran crossed her arms.

Suzy kissed Tyler. “We can figure it out. As long as we’re together, it’ll be the best place ever.”

“That sounds wonderful and all, but I don’t think Rose Valley is any place for a girl like you,” Gran said.

“And Penicalla is no place for a young man like Tyler,” Abe said. He rubbed his chin. “You know, Baghera is a very beautiful city on a lovely island. I know a nice mixed couple who moved there earlier this year.”

“We’ll look into it for sure when we can afford it,” Tyler said. “I think we’ll stay in the valley a little longer, until I can save up enough money to move us.”

Gran reached inside her shirt and pulled a wad of bills out of her bra. “Take this. It should be enough to get you both a ticket.”

“We can’t take your money.” Suzy pushed her grandmother’s hand away. “You won that.”

“And I can decide what to do with it,” Gran insisted. “This is fate. I was supposed to win this money so you would have to come here. And I’m supposed to give it to you so you and Tyler can start your life together right.”

Suzy looked at Tyler. “Would you like to go to Baghera?”

“Only if you do,” he said.

Abe laughed. “You’ll have a very long and happy marriage. I can tell.”

Gran held the money out to them again. “I’ll talk to your mother. If you go home and try to explain this to her, she’ll never let you leave. Go now. I bet you can find a flight you today if you hurry.”

“I can get someone to drive you to the airport,” Abe offered.

Suzy hugged her grandma tight. “Okay! We’ll do it.”

“Thank you,” Tyler said, and shook her hand.

Gran grabbed him for a hug. “Be sure to send me lots of pictures.”

“We will,” Suzy promised.

She and Tyler went outside to wait.

“I love you,” Tyler said, putting his head next to hers.

“I love you too,” Suzy said.

They had nothing but their ID cards and a small amount of money. They were going to have to start from scratch in Baghera, but Suzy was confident they could do it. Her grandma was right. This was fate. They were meant to be together, and nothing was going to tear them apart now.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Thank you for reading Red and the Tiger! If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review. Thank you so much for your help :)

Up Next:

The Tiger’s Tail

A modern day shifter tale inspired by the fairy tale
The Little Mermaid
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