Shifters Forever The Boxed Set Books 1 - 6 (14 page)

K
ane sighed
. He was happy that she’d initiated their lovemaking, a session more intense and amazing than he’d thought it would be. His bear grumbled deep within that he hadn’t marked her with the coupling bond. But Kane had no intention of doing that until she wanted to give herself to him fully. He knew Astra the same way he knew himself. It had to come from her, and he would wait until it did, no matter how long that took. He wouldn’t leave until she was his. Fully. Totally. Claimed. Marked.

He carried her to the bed and she nuzzled against him. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, but for now he’d rest, and he’d let her rest. If Doc and Grant came to collect her tomorrow, he’d have to figure something else out. He wasn’t ready to let her go, and he wasn’t ready to leave without her.

A
stra’s eyes
opened to a blinding light. A huge fire was roaring in the fireplace. The shutters were open, allowing all of the sun’s rays that bounced off the snow to enter the cabin—and shine right in her face.

She looked around. “Kane?”

“Here.” He poked his head around the partial wall that blocked the stove from view. “Found a few things. How do pancakes and syrup sound? No butter.” He raised his shoulders in a shrug. “Sorry.”

They smelled great, with or without butter. “I’m in.” She gave him a smile. “A man who cooks breakfast... You may be worth keeping around. What’s the weather like out there?”

“It’s not really breakfast. We slept way in. It’s after noon. Two o’clock, to be precise.”

“No way. Oh shit. I bet Doc’s worried.” She scrambled up to find her phone.

“He called. Mae called. Grant called. I’ve talked to all of them. Assured them we were fine. They said they were going to come up later this afternoon.”

A feeling of sadness rushed through her. The surreal fun she’d had playing couple with Kane was coming to an end.

She bit on her lip, chewing on it. And she hadn’t even gotten to her original agenda to get him to leave. An agenda she didn’t want to fulfill anymore.

“That’s good.”

“You don’t sound too happy.” Kane raised a brow, cocked his head. “What gives?”

She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to go into how she was starting to feel about him. She felt stupid, foolish. How could she explain starting to care for someone she had just met? How could she explain that there was something about him that just clicked in a big way? That was stupid teenage bullshit, wasn’t it?
No, it’s not.
But who would believe it anyway? She wasn’t sure she believed it herself.

“When do you want to talk about this?” he asked her.

“This? What ‘this’?”

He pointed at her, himself, and her, his hand waving back and forth. “This.”

“What about it?” She leaned against the kitchen table. The same table that he’d made her orgasm on the first time.

“You can’t deny the connection. Surely you don’t deny that.” There was a vehemence in his voice, a passion.

Astra didn’t want to get her hopes up. “There’s a connection...” she began tentatively, uncertain where to go next.

“There’s something between us that transcends time. It’s like I’ve always known you. I can’t let you leave my life. I don’t know how...” He raked his fingers through his hair, his black eyes haunted. “I can’t let this go.”

“I’m confused.”

“Is it because of the seeing thing? Being a witch or whatever?”

Her head snapped in his direction. “What?”

“You. The ability to see shifters.”

She jammed her fists onto her hips. “I’m not a damned witch. Witches do magic, and cast spells. What the hell? Just because I can see a shifter...”

“You do more than just see them. That’s a power. And it’s one you didn’t know you had. And as far as you know, no one else knows you have it.”

A crashing sound made them turn away from each other and toward the door.

“What do you think that was? It didn’t sound too close.”

Kane cocked his head, listening. He put his hands on her shoulders. “Stay here. Don’t come out for any reason. For anyone. Unless it’s—” He shook his head. “Unless it’s someone you trust. Or me.”

“But I do trust you. You are someone I trust.”

He leaned down, placing his lips on hers, feather light. “Stay here.”

“But—”

He put a finger on her lips. “Please. Stay.”

K
ane didn’t want
to tell her, but in the distance, he could hear growling. Something was up. He shifted as he loped, picking up speed, running as fast as he could. He identified several sources, at least three shifters, maybe four. And they were in the midst of a battle—he could tell from the howls of pain and the roars of anger.

There, past the driveway, down the mountainside a few dozen yards, not far from where the fallen Jeep had landed. Blood splatters marked the snow, and the tracks of bears were noticeable long before he could see who it was. Many tracks. When he reached the edge of the road, he could see that in the clearing there were three—no, four shifters in the midst of a scuffle. No, that wasn’t a scuffle. That was a battle of giants. And he was wrong. It was five shifters. He recognized Grant. And there was one fighting with Grant. That had to be Doc. The other three...

Those were the rovers!

Damn. They’d found him.

He barreled their way, heading into the midst of the roaring, open jaws, exposed canines, and rapier-sharp claws.

He saw the one fighting alongside Grant falter, then fall. Doc had fallen. The three rovers pounced on Grant, pounding at him, piercing his flesh with their sharp teeth and razor-sharp claws.

With a mighty roar, Kane flew their way as fast as his body would allow, pushing his lungs to new limits, feeling a burn deep in his chest from the exertion. He reached the first shifter just as the rover turned to greet him with outstretched claws. Kane reared his head back and aimed his paw for the rover’s throat, aiming to slice his jugular.

The rover backed up, ducked, and then cut under Kane, piercing his hide, slicing into his thigh muscle. The other two shifters were on Grant, pummeling him with their claws, shredding his flesh. Kane misstepped, his sliced muscle betraying him. He flexed the muscle and shot his paw out, his claws unsheathed, and caught the rover in the arm, almost severing his limb. The rover roared. One of the other rovers then noticed it was Kane who was attacking them. A snarl and a leap later, he had pounced on Kane, shredding Kane’s back with his claws.

A woman’s scream penetrated through the growls and snarls.

Astra.

Damnation.

He couldn’t yell at her to get to safety. She’d disobeyed him. She wouldn’t stand a chance with the rovers.

One of the rovers glanced at her as if he was assessing who she was.

Kane roared for the rover’s attention.

The rover had a wicked glint in his ursine eyes.

Kane shifted. “Get in the car!” he yelled at Astra, knowing full well that the Jeep wouldn’t be bear-proof, but at least it would buy her some time. The rover next to him slashed at Kane’s already wounded leg. Kane shifted, becoming a bear once more. He roared as he took the rover on with renewed fervor, glancing at Astra to be sure she’d gotten to safety.

She hadn’t. She was paralyzed, her gaze locked on the fallen Doc. Kane growled in frustration.

As if she realized that, Astra finally moved. As though she was moving through quicksand, she took off for the Jeep. One of the two rovers attacking Grant turned his head, once more interested in Astra. He moved in her direction at a dead run.

Kane had to intercept him. Escaping the clutches of the first rover, Kane took off after the second. He was on him before the shifter could reach Astra. She managed to open the door on the upside-down Jeep and climb inside.

The other shifter reached Kane, sliding into him, knocking him under the first one.

From the vehicle he heard Astra’s scream, piercing the day’s cold, making him wonder if that was the last time he’d ever hear her voice.

A
stra couldn’t breathe
. Panic and exertion had robbed her of her air supply. Her lungs wouldn’t work. She scrambled in the upside-down vehicle. Her pistol was somewhere in the back. Only the back was... Everything was weird when it was upside down.

There it was! The bag with the pistol. She scrambled toward it, turning her head often to look at the fight.

Kane was down. She had to help him. In the back of her mind she knew her pistol wouldn’t affect the bears much more than a bee sting would affect a man, but still, she could hope it would cause enough of a diversion to give the men a chance.

Doc had fallen. She bit back a sob, praying that he was alive. He had to be. What had Grant said about it? They had to be separated from their bear. Decapitation or... Dammit, why couldn’t she remember shit?

Pistol in hand, she opened the door of the Jeep and got out, trying to fight the dizziness that had set in from evading a rover and bouncing around in the Jeep while she looked for the pistol.

She aimed the pistol. Which one was Kane? There he was. She could shoot the rover... Then she saw another rover in a struggle with Grant.

But Kane was fighting two. She should help him. Grant was almost down, though. She needed to act. NOW! She aimed for the one that was fighting Grant and took a shot.

The bear yelped and released a snarl.

She turned the pistol toward one of the two who were attacking Kane. It was headed her way.

Jesus
. She took aim, shot. The bear shrugged as if the round hadn't affected him, then resumed its course in her direction.

She shot again.

Another shrug, dismissing the pistol’s rounds as if they weren’t much more than a mosquito bite. Kane saw the shifter coming toward her and roared, then scrambled to catch up.

Astra backed up, as if that would do any good.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a shadow emerge from the forest, a shadow that was camouflaged well in the forest’s white and black colors. The shadow flew toward them in a mighty leap, landing on the rover closest to her.

It raised enormous paws, slashing at the rover.

A white tiger! A massive white tiger was attacking the rover.

Blood spurted from the impact of the large feline’s claws, striking Astra in the torso, heading for her face. She turned her head just before the crimson spray could reach her eyes.

The cat surged toward the bear and leapt onto its back, its massive jaws holding the bear captive. The white tiger shook its head and the bear squealed in pain, roaring in agony while the cat slowly sliced through tendons, muscle, and bone, shaking its mighty head in a motion that made the bear’s head separate from its body, only held in place by a thin tendon.

The tiger leapt off the effectively dead rover and pounced for the one that Kane was engaged in battle with.

Doc stumbled to his feet. Tears formed in Astra’s eyes, preventing her from seeing anything clearly. Doc was alive! She hadn’t lost him.
Oh, thank god
, she thought, barely able to breathe.

Doc joined Grant in the battle with the rover while Kane and the white tiger made short work of the other rover, rendering it headless in just a few moments.

When the only living rover saw that it was alone and greatly outnumbered, it bounded off into the forest.

The white tiger took off after it, and moments later terrible howls tore through the woods.

Kane, Doc, and Grant shifted into human form, covered in wounds and blood, skin shredded.

Astra ran to Doc and flung her arms around him, her head on his chest. “I thought I’d lost you. You’re the only father I have. Don’t you dare leave me.”

Doc patted her shoulder while she inhaled his scent, thrilled and relieved that he was alive. His shifter energy vibrated in her, a rumble that she wasn’t going to ignore or hide anymore.

She looked at Kane. Relief flooded in his eyes.

“You worried me,” Kane said softly.

Doc held out a hand. “You must be Kane. I’ve heard about you.”

Kane shook it. “I hope it wasn’t all bad.”

“Not all of it.” Doc smiled.

The white tiger bounded out of the forest, coming to a stop in front of them, and snow flew upward as his paws hit the ground. He shifted to a dark-haired, dark-eyed man.

“Vax,” Kane said.

A dangerous smile appeared on the tiger shifter’s handsome face. “Kane,” he said, stepping into Kane’s personal space.

Kane put an arm out, and they exchanged a solid shoulder hug.

“Good to see you alive,” Vax said. He turned his intense gaze on Astra, Grant, and Doc. “I’m Vax.”

Astra didn’t say a word. She’d gone from knowing two shifters to a shifter battle and now she’d met another shifter. At least this one seemed to be on their side.

Doc squeezed her harder, as though to comfort her in this time of sensory overload, then looked down at her, smiling.

Grant studied the two of them for a moment, then turned toward Kane and Vax. “Welcome.” He extended a hand to the tiger shifter. “And thanks.”

Vax nodded. “It was the least I could do, considering this one”—he pointed to Kane—“saved my sister’s life. Of course, that put a hell of a bull’s eye on him. They followed him across several states to kill him. There’s probably a nice bounty on your head.”

Kane nodded. “I’d say we’re pretty even now. No, I’d say now I owe you.”

“You’ll tell Mae I said hi, okay?” Vax took a step back.

“Wait.” Astra couldn’t believe it. This shifter had come out of nowhere, had saved lives, helped them win the scuffle, and now he was just going to leave? She wanted answers.

“Where—” She stopped mid-sentence. What he did was really none of her business. But she was curious. And he was a tiger shifter. Did tiger shifters know other tiger shifters? How did Vax know Mae? She was confused. There seemed to be a network that she knew nothing about, even though her father was a shifter. “What—”

Vax paused and turned back their way. “I run a place in Texas. I’ve been gone for a few days following him.” He nodded toward Kane. “I wanted to make sure he came out of this unscathed. I called Mae to tell her to look out for him.”

Kane laughed. “Is that why you recommended I come through here?”

Vax smiled. “At least I knew there were friendlies here. But mostly it was Mae’s idea.”

“What kind of place?” Astra couldn’t contain her curiosity. “What kind of place do you run?”

“It’s called After Dark
.
” Vax’s tone was indulgent. “If you’re in Texas sometime, have Kane bring you by.”

He said that as if they were a couple. Her head snapped toward Kane. He had a glint in his eye that reminded her of what they’d done earlier. She felt warm, even though she was standing in snow and freezing temperatures. She turned toward Doc and Grant, but she couldn’t read their expressions. Was what she and Kane had between them that obvious? She looked down, embarrassed.

Kane cleared his throat. “Sure. I’d love to visit sometime. It’d be good to see that troublemaking sister of yours.”

Astra chewed on her lip. She wondered if that visit included her, then at the same time wondered why the hell she had wondered that. One day she’d wanted him to get out of town, and now she didn’t want him to get out of her life.

I’m a mess.

“We should get Astra home. She’d probably love a little less action and some electricity.” Doc glanced down at his hand. His scratches and wounds had mostly closed. It never ceased to amaze Astra how little wounds affected them.

She glanced at the two dead shifters, their decapitated heads and gory bodies marring the once peaceful whiteness of the valley.

“What about those?” She indicated the dead rovers.

“I’ll take care of that,” Grant said. “I’ll call Mae. She’s got a few options.”

Astra looked at Kane, who was studying her silently, his expression unreadable. Was he leaving now? Was this it? It couldn’t be. She didn’t want it to be. She felt in her core that what they had was unfinished.