Shifter Magick (20 page)

Kera was breathing heavily. Her body wanted more. He was right though. If they continued, the feeling would only progress. “Maddox.” She whispered.

He looked at her and smiled. “It’s late. Will you stay here with me?”

Kera nodded.

He rolled beside her, keeping her firmly against this body. The blanket was laid across the back of the sofa. He pulled it over them and tucked her into his side.

Kera sighed and fell asleep beside him.

The next morning Kera woke up to Maddox playing with her hair. Her cheek was pressed against his chest and her legs were entwined with his. She felt safe. She buried her nose against his shirt and took a deep breath. His natural scent was addicting.

His chest rumbled as he laughed. “I half expected you to purr.”

She smiled
and reached inside herself. Her hands shifted when her throat did and she purred deep in her chest.

Maddox groaned. “Let me see your eyes.” his voice was husky.

Kera looked at him.

“Beautiful.” He murmured. “Can I see all of you? Will you shift for me?”

Kera’s heart fluttered. “
Okay
.”
She climbed off the couch and shivered when her feet hit the cold floor. If she hesitated she would probably lose her nerve
,
so she kept her back to him and concentrated on keeping her clothes through the shift. She knelt down and began. Her body ached as it
changed. It was getting easier. She had shifted so quickly when she was in danger the first time that now that she didn’t fight it, it was fairly easy. It wasn’t as terrifying now that she accepted it.

When she was done, her instincts perked up.

Something about Maddox made her turn toward him. Like her beast wasn’t comfortable with him at her back. Maybe it was the power he eluded. She could tell the difference between Andrew’s presence and Maddox. It must be what he meant by him being Alpha.

She stretched out and rolled her shoulders.

“Come.” Maddox held his hand out to her. “You look amazing.”

She sniffed the air and licked at her lips. The beast was hungry. She wanted out of the garage and into the forest. She made a sound of frustration but went to him anyway. She kept her head down and avoided his eyes.
When
his palm brushed her nose, Kera
swatted at him.

Maddox laughed. “Touchy?” he petted her head. She leaned into his touch and stretched out on her side. “You like that?”

She purred.

“Stay right there.” Maddox went over and opened the garage door. The sound echoed around the shop, agitating her. He crossed to the bathroom and closed the door. In a few minutes he opened it and she waited for him to come out.

When he did, it was the white wolf.

She
averted her eyes, the feeling of his strength making her cautious of him.
Submissive.

He crossed the room to her, slowly. He was much larger, much more aware than she was. Where she had to fight her feline instincts, he seemed completely controlled. His eyes were shining with knowledge. They were the same in both forms. This time she didn’t look away. He nudged her with his nose playfully.

She
swatted at him again.

He made a gruff sound that could have been a laugh so she swatted at him again. Claws sheathed of course.

Maddox inclined his head to her, in a very human like manner, urging her to the wilderness outside. Excitement built up in her chest. He wanted to stay in this form? Explore with her? She never had the courage before. The most she had stayed in her feline form was when she ran the night before and that was only because it was faster. He disappeared from the shop, expecting her to follow.

She
trotted after him. Her emotions and instincts battled between each other. She found that one part of her was curious to what Maddox was doing, and the other wanted to leave him behind and go find something to eat.
Her human side cringed and the beast bristled at her sensitivity.

The earth beneath her feet was porous and wet from the rain. She sniffed the air at the edge of the forest and instinctively catalogued the different smells. The sounds were bombarding her senses. She turned to look at every rustle and every snap of a twig. Part of her was always aware of Maddox, in his wolf form, watching her. After a moment, she calmed herself and closed her eyes. Each sound was familiar. The rustling of the leaves taken from the list and pushed out of her mind, and then the buzzing of the bugs went next. Kera catalogued the sounds of the birds and cars from the highway a few miles away. Maddox’s breathing and slight movements went next.

She opened her eyes and focused on a movement a few feet from her. A small animal darted from a bush and a surge of adrenaline pumped through her veins. The chase.

The animals scent filled her senses. She narrowed her eyes and expertly traced the weaker creature as it ran. Her legs burned to run, but she couldn’t, not yet. So she crouched, low to the forest floor. The plants and roots beneath her tickled her underbelly. Her claws inched
to extend. S
he flexed her paws in anticipation. More adrenaline poured through her system. Beside her, a blur of white
darted past her.

She growled as her legs propelled her forward. Staying low, she tracked the white animal that was trying to steal her meal. With cunning, she anticipated the movements of both the smaller creature and the larger one. She saw another small animal cross her path but she ignored it. The thrill of chasing after the white animal overrode her hunger. She wanted what he chased.

Behind her a rustle startled her. She raced to a large patch of greenery and knelt before she turned to see what had followed her. With her ears down and body coiled for the attack, she widened her eyes and slowed her breath. In spite of her sudden stop, her heart continued to race. The line of trees birthed large predators. Their teeth were bared, eyes focused in her direction.

She growled low in her throat. A warning. A promise. She flexed her claws and sized up her enemy. Many of them. From all sides except from behind her. She could smell a stream below, probably where the animals had been gathered before she intruded on their land.

A larger predator lowered his head and bared his teeth. The animal’s scruff stood on end, a warning of aggression. It wasn’t going to allow her to leave. It wanted her to submit to her death. She growled wildly and feigned forward.
The animals flanking the aggressor mimicked his motion and growled in warning.

She felt her skin prickle as her fur began to rise in answer to their challenge.

Behind her, another predator closed in on her.

She bolted to the closest tree and dug her nails into the bark. The sharp ends stuck into the tree as she climbed. Teeth snapped at her tail and hind legs. Snarls and growls filled the empty space below her.
She
ignored the urge to look back when a fight broke out below. The pack of predators turned against each other?

“Stop.” The voice sounded familiar to her.

Looking down, she saw a man. She blinked through a haze of instinct and found a voice in the back of her mind calling out to that man.
Help me!
The feline paced back and forth on the large branch that was her sanctuary. She eyed the situation below, carefully calculating the dangers that may arise.

Confusion broke out
below resulting in a war
in her head. Her feline instinct sensed danger. Below Maddox was calling to her. Wolves were growling at her. Some were shifting form, others pacing at the base of the tree.

“Kera don’t
do
anything.” Maddox said to her. He turned to the
four
men who now stood a few feet from him
. “This isn’t a hunt.”

They all looked to be in their early to late twenties. Each of them was muscular and attractive. Kera looked between them and wondered if any of them knew why Andrew would have attacked her. The shocked expressions they wore told her they hadn’t
believed what they had heard
about her before just now.

“
It l
ooked like one to me.”
The one in the middle said. He shifted his stance to get a better look at her and his dark brown hair fell back from his face.
“Is that really a girl in there?”

Kera rested her h
e
ad against her paws and listened.

“She’s like us.” Maddox told him as he reached out and smacked the nose of a sandy brown wolf who was still barking up the tree. “Get a grip Markus
. I
f you hurt her I’ll kick your ass.”

The wolf yelped
then shifted
.
Markus turned out to be the youngest of the five. He was also the smallest. His hair was sandy brown also. Just like Andrew’s.
Kera shuddered and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. In her mind, she replayed the day she was attacked in the forest. It was by far
the most terrified she’d been for her wellbeing in her life. Kera had always been safe. Now? Not so much. Every time she turned around, fear crept into her mind. Unless she was with Maddox.

“So where did you find her?”
Unabashed by their complete nudity,
the men conversed amongst themselves.

Kera had a hard time
keeping up
. Her feline senses were on alert. Something about the situation kept her still and silent. She tried to piece together the sentences that were spoken but mostly, she heard the inflection of voices. The deep rumbling of Maddox’s voice comforted her. Other voices made her annoyed but only one voice rubbed her the wrong way.

“Andrew is only worried about you Maddox.” The red headed man spoke. “I know you think Nick betrayed you, but really his mistake taught us all. You might have stumbled onto something here. That…” he pointed to her in the tree. “…could be the next generation. If we could all find women like that, we wouldn’t have to worry about banging humans.”

“That’s your problem.” Maddox growled. “All you think with is your mating instinct.”

“Screw that.” Another yelled. “Don’t tell me you haven’t taken pleasure in….”

“No.” Maddox roared. “I haven’t.”

Kera jumped out of the tree. Her heart was racing by now. Maddox was livid. He needed her. Her instinct was to comfort him.

She shifted in air and landed with her right knee planted firmly on the ground. Her hand braced her torso and her left foot was secured before her. Her eyes shifted up, into a mint green stare that chilled her to the bone.

“Damn.” Someone to the right of her said.

A whistle sounded.

“I want one.”

The man before her narrowed his eyes. “She’s one of them.” He growled.

A strong arm banded around her waist and Kera found herself pulled flush against Maddox’s body. He growled in her ear, still steaming mad.
“I told you not to do anything.” His voice came out dark and forlorn.

Kera wanted to turn to him just to see his expression but he kept his grip on her so tight, she remained under the watchful scrutiny of the red headed wolf that stood before her. “I don’t need you fighting your family over my virtue.” She told Maddox as she shifted her eyes between the wolves. “And I don’t have to argue my heritage to anyone. I already know what you think of me. But I’m not a sorcerer, I’m a shifter. It’s all I’ve ever been.”

Markus snorted. “Yeah right. If you’re not a Covington then I’m a werewolf.”

The all laughed.

Kera squirmed but Maddox wouldn’t release her. “Does that give you the right to attack me?”
S
he looked directly at the guy with the cold green eyes. “You defend Andrew and his intentions, so tell me why I deserved to be
mauled.”

“Kera…” Maddox interrupted.

“No.” she refused him. “I want answers. I want to know where he was taking me when he tried to drag me by my ankle through the woods. Was it to my death? Why did I deserve to die?”

“Kera stop.” Maddox tried again to shush her.

Anger coursed through her veins. The shifter with the green eyes was staring at her like he knew exactly what she was talking about. She looked right at him as she spoke the next words. “Why don’t you tell me why you want to kill me?”

“Enough!” Maddox yelled. He pushed her behind him and looked at his family. “Leave now.” He yelled at them.

The power in his voice sent chills through her body. She was shocked to find that all of the shifters left at his command. They didn’t hesitate.

She tried to go around him, calling for them to answer her. But they didn’t. At his command they all shifted and ran. In that one moment Kera lost it. She went still. “You could have made them answer.”
S
he realized out loud. “You could have asked them why and they would have told you.” Pain coursed through her body. Why didn’t he?