Shifted Perceptions (Alpha Division) (15 page)

Chapter 28

Later that night,
Stone disappeared into the bedroom and came back with an armful of clothes. The T-shirt he gave me fell to my knees, but I didn’t care. It was just nice to be covered up. Paul’s sweat pants fit almost perfectly, but mine kept falling off, so he found a pair of basketball shorts that had a drawstring.

Once dressed
, Paul let Stone know that we were being picked up by morning and he should probably leave before they showed, or it could get ugly.

Stone’s brows lowered, “How did you contact them? There’s no phone service out here.”

“I’ll keep my secrets for now, as I’m sure you’d like to do the same,” Paul voice was stern and held a note of warning I didn’t understand.

Both men stared each other down
, as I looked back and forth between them. Their differences were so that I was surprised to be attracted to both of them. Stone wasn’t much taller than Paul, his tanned skin not quite as dark, his muscles a bit leaner, not to mention his facial hair that I still wanted to rub my palm over.

Paul was darker in many aspects, including his personality, but in appearance, his short hair was dark brown, almost black, and though he didn’t usually have facial hair, I could see the shadow forming around his jaw
, making him look sexy as hell.

Shaking my head, trying to bring my mind back to what was happening instead of admiring th
e way they postured like two cocks in a ring, ready to fight, I held up a hand, trying to gain their attention.

“What’
s going on?” I asked.

Paul stayed perfectly still, never breaking
eye contact, though Stone sighed and took a step back. “Nothing,” he shook his head.

“Right,” I stated sarcastically. “Well,
David is right, Stone. It’s best if you’re not here when our... friends arrive,” I said, not sure how to put it without giving anything away.

Surprisingly,
Stone nodded without protest. “I think so too. In fact,” he glanced at the clock on the wall. “I should be leaving now. The sun will be up soon.”

Suddenly
, I wasn’t sure what to say. See you soon? That was a lie, unless we came back to kill him, which I hoped I wasn’t a part of. I had fun? That just felt sad... and hurtful to him. Unless it was just fun for him.
Of course it was, Foxy
, I told myself with a sigh, feeling awkward and confused as hell.

Stone made
the decision for me, though, and stepped up, cupping my face before kissing me softly. I reached up and caressed his face with my palm, feeling the rough hairs scrape against my skin.

Pulling away, he looked down at me before kissing me again
, quickly and stepping back. “I’ll see you,” he said.

I nodded and watched as he pulled on his shoes and grabbed his keys off the table. He gave Paul a sharp nod and walked out the door.

I stood staring at the closed door for several minutes, before I felt Paul place a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Want to talk about it?” he asked softly.

“No,” I replied and stepped away from him. His hand fell away and I went to the kitchen, hoping to find something to eat
, as well as keep myself busy.

Truth was, I liked Stone. I liked him a lot and the sex was amazing, but part of me was glad he was gone. Was
I just running again? I seemed to do that when things got too close. I wasn’t a dummy, I knew it, but I didn’t know how to stop it. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to either. Something told me that Stone wasn’t the one I was running from.

Slamming cabinets in my wake
, as I looked for food, I wasn’t sure what I was so upset about. But I was restless and I hated that feeling of discontent. It made my stomach turn to knots and a small headache began to form behind my eyes.

I stopped and leaned against the counter, closing my eyes while I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself.

A hand on my shoulder had me stiffening, but he didn’t move. In fact, he turned me to face him and pulled me into his arms. They wrapped tightly around me and I relaxed, burying my nose into his chest, breathing in Paul’s scent. He smelled of earth, wind, water, and sun. A heady mixture that teased my senses. Woodsy with hints of herbs and sweet like the perfect fruit. The addicting aroma mixed with Stone’s own unique scent drifting off of Paul’s clothes, reminding me too much of the night before and I took a sudden step back.

Paul grasped my arms, his expression full of worry. “What’s wrong? Is it what happened last night? I..
. I hope I didn’t force you into anything.” His brows were lowered with concern and it was obvious that he was sincerely upset that he might have done something to hurt me.

“No,” I told him. “You know me, Paul. If I’d had an issue, I would have said something.”

“You’re right,” he nodded. “I should remember that you wouldn’t put up with anything you truly didn’t want.”

“You should remember that,” I t
eased, feeling a little lighter. Not because of what we were discussing, but just talking with Paul had me feeling much calmer.

“Come sit with me?” he asked, leading me to one of the kitchen chairs. He sat, pulling me down to straddle his lap and I laughed, “I’m not sitting with you, I’m sitting on you.”

I loved the way his grin could turn so wicked and the way his eyes darkened with lust and yet sparkled with humor as well.

“I just want some a
lone time, that’s all,” he said. “Thank you, by the way. For helping me. I’d probably be dead by now, if it wasn’t for you.”

“I doubt that,” I replied, smiling at him. “But, you’re welcome.”

Leaning forward, my lips moved over his, teasing him with only small pecks and short licks. He groaned, grabbed my hips, and pulled me closer. My hair fell over our faces, sheltering the moment into something more intimate, as our hearts began to pound.

This. This is what I want more than anything else in the world
. And what my fear had me running from, I thought, as Paul’s hand slipped under my shirt to caress my bare skin. My hands gripped his short locks as tightly as possible, as we deepened the kiss and our bodies began to move against one another.

Both of us stilled as one and broke the kiss. We stared at each
other a moment, breathing deeply, before I jumped off of him. He stood swiftly as well and we both listened to what was coming.

“We have company,” Paul growled.

“Yep, and it is not our boys,” I replied.

Paul ran to the sink and knelt down to rummage through the cabinet
. “Look under the table,” he told me, as he pulled out a gun.

Confused, I kneeled and looked as he told me and sure enough, there was a gun taped to the underside of the table. Ripping it off, I held
the Colt Mustang in my hand, testing its weight and grip. It was a bit big for my hand, but when I checked the chamber, it was loaded. Good enough for me.

“Here, “ Paul called. “Switch with me. This one’s a little smaller.” I nodded and tossed my gun to him
, as he did the same. He was right, the SIG was much more comfortable.

“How did you know these were here?”
I asked.

“
When I scented the cabin yesterday. He has them stashed around.”

“Shit. Do you think he sent them?” I asked, referring to the group standing outside the cabin about to attack.

“Actually,” he shook his head. “No, I don’t think he would do that.”

I raised an
eyebrow at how sure he sounded. “Maybe,” I responded and turned to aim my gun at the door. There was only one entrance, so unless they came in through a window, there wouldn’t be much of a surprise.

“How many do you hear?” he asked.

“Too many,” I responded and took a deep breath. “Maybe ten... twelve. Some have already shifted too.”

“Get ready, they’re coming in,” he announced and I si
ghted the door just as it burst open.

Chapter 29

We were the first to shoot, but they had a plan. When no one came through the door, Paul and I ceased fire and waited. I could hear them move just before a smoke bomb was thrown into the cabin.

“Shit!” I called out and move
d to take cover. The smoke wouldn’t hurt us, but it meant we wouldn’t be able to see a damn thing.

Suddenly, a black wolf leapt
through the thick, white haze, his red eyes glowing and his teeth dripping red saliva, as he charged right at me. He was on that damn drug, which meant he was manic, strong, and fucking hard to kill. I had to be quick, or run.

With
only seconds to respond, I shot him in his chest, dead center. He fell to the floor only inches from my feet, but didn’t stay down long. Before he could leap to his feet, I shot him twice more. This time, he was down for good.
Not as hard to kill as I thought.

Movement to my left had me spinning, but before I could even aim, a huge grizzly bear took
the man down. “Bear,” I sighed in relief.

Dropping to the floor
, I crawled towards the door, seeking fresh air. Shots being fired along with the muffled grunts of hand to hand combat meant we had more help. And sure enough, when I finally made it outside, I saw that our boys had arrived.

The rounds of gunfire echoed through the trees
, as I looked for Paul. Sōm, Leo and Hawk fought the men and shifters, two at a time. Sōm shifted quickly into his leopard form, his clothes shredding to the ground, as he lunged at one of the gunman’s throats. It was a quick kill.

I had no time to check out the others or continue
my search for Paul, as I was attacked myself. A bullet hit the side of the cabin and I ducked. Lifting the gun, I recognized Smiley as the one who fired. I pulled the trigger, my lips pulling up into a wide grin.

Then time stopped.

Smoke billowed slowly, engulfing me, as it floated from the cabin. The breeze blew across my heated skin and all movement around me became blurred, ceasing to exist as my breath held. I watched the bullet as it left the barrel, twisting in slow motion towards its target.

I blinked, l
ifting my lids to watch the bullet’s progress. Then my eyes widened in horror as the man I was aiming for rolled out of the way.

My
arm fell to my sides, as the shelling continued its path, striking the man behind him.

“NO!” I screamed, though the sound was muted, muffled
, as white noise replaced the rage of battle surrounding me.

Paul stared at me with dark, lifeless eyes, as blood oozed down his forehead, before slumping to the ground and out of my line of sight.

“No
!” I screamed again, hot, smoky air searing my lungs, as the movement and sound came rushing back intensely.

Forcing my legs to move, I
hurried forward, my gaze searching out my team. What I saw had a sob catching in my throat. They hadn’t stopped fighting, but the glances they sent my way, so full of heartbreak and accusations... I turned away and continue to run for the man I’d just killed.

This isn’t happening!
This isn’t supposed to be happening!! Not Paul!

I couldn’t see Paul
, as more smoke surrounded me, thicker and darker, causing me to cough. Taking a glance over my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of flames flickering from the roof. They must have set it on fire, I thought numbly, just before a body slammed into mine.

With a grunt, w
e went rolling down a steep embankment. Roots and rocks battered my body, causing pain to shoot through my ribs, but there was no stopping the fall’s momentum.

We finally did roll to a stop and within seconds a
punch to the face had my head jerking painfully to the side. I spat out some blood and turned to look at my attacker, as my hands searched the ground for the gun. I’d lost it in the tumble.

Smiley grinned down at me just
as another punch had my vision swimming. “No smart ass remarks?” he asked, wrapping his hands around my throat and squeezing the life out of me. I scratched and clawed at his hands, bucking my body and doing my best to push him off of me, but I was just too weak.

Just as black spots danced on the outside of my vision, I gave one last ditched effort and reached up, digging my thumbs into his eye sockets. With a scream
, he let me go and I rolled to my feet, coughing and sputtering, as the air suddenly rushed into my lungs.

Out of breath and with blurred vision,
I swayed where I stood, but I refused to go down without a fight and swung out, kicking him in the side. It wasn’t a strong enough kick, though, and he dodged it easily.

Sudden p
ain flared across my skull and I fell to the ground. Puckered lips stood over me, a large, solid tree branch in his hand. I tried to fight, as Smiley landed on top of me, but my movements were too slow. I couldn’t concentrate and abruptly became overwhelmingly sleepy.

My eyes focused on Smiley straddling my hips, grinning down at me victoriously while holding up an empty syringe. “Not so tough now,” he mocked
, as my eyes closed, my mind giving in to the darkness awaiting me.

My last thoughts were
not filled with fear of my imminent death. No, my last plea was for Paul. Wherever he was now, I begged for his forgiveness.