Shifters on Fire: A BBW Shifter Romance Boxed Set (31 page)

“Say it again.” Al leaned his forehead against hers. “Please … say it again.”

“You are
mine
, Al. All
mine
.
Mine
for today, and if you will have me,
mine
for always.” Pulling his head back, he opened his eyes. The silvery color she had come to know was his bear’s was there, only it was now glowing. His bear was in charge, and goodness help her, she loved it. “Now, can you please start moving?”

She didn’t need to ask twice. He began to move. Slowly at first, in almost jerky motions as if he was trying to control his bear and give her nice and sweet. Screw that. Mal had nice and sweet earlier. Right now she needed more.

Mal reached up and held Al’s face in her hands, forcing him to meet her eyes. “Al, I need you to let go. I need you to give me it all. I already had sunshine and flowers. Now I need a proper claiming. I need you to make me
yours
.”

As she said
yours
Al let go, and before Mal knew what she was doing, she found her teeth wrapped around his shoulder and the warm trickle of his blood on her lips. She had no idea what led her to do it, but in that moment it was a need. She had no choice. He needed to be hers. She needed to mark him, bleed him, claim him.

A roar ripped from his throat as she clamped down and he began to claim her in earnest. It was rough and raw and hard. It was perfect. Just as she felt herself fall over the edge of another orgasm, his teeth sunk into her shoulder, the pain brief and quickly turning to ecstasy. She had thought her earlier orgasm was something for the record books. It was nothing compared to the one that rolled through her just as all things went black.

Drive-By I Love You

“Love.” The distant voice pulled Mal from her cozy dreams. “Love, we need to get moving.” No not distant. It was close. Close enough to feel the warmth of his breath. Mal stretched her leg and turned to face the source of the voice, her mate.
Mine
. She wasn’t waking from a cozy dream. It was all real. Cracking her eyelids open, she saw the angry red mark on Al’s neck and quickly squeezed them closed again. All of it was real.

“Is it too bright? I can turn the lamp off.” Al’s hand sat on her cheek as his thumb caressed her cheekbone.

“No.”

“No?” His thumb stopped moving.

“No, the light is fine. I am just …”

“Freaking out over being my mate?”

“No! No! Not that.” Malory opened her eyes, hoping he would see the honesty in her words. “Never that. I just, I saw your neck and …” He eyes cast down to meet the mark. The blood still encrusted on his skin. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me, and I didn’t mean to hurt—”

“Shhh, Mal.” His finger brushed her lips, the touch both gentle and comforting. “Look at me. Does anything on my face or in my eyes tell you I am even the slightest bit upset?”

She shook her head in reply. No, he didn’t look hurt or angry. He looked like he was just given the winning lottery ticket, a unicorn, and a dream vacation.

“Do you know why?” She shook her head again. She had no clue. It had to hurt. It looked almost as if someone tore at his skin. No little blood spots like in the vampire movies. This was more like a zombie missed their brain main course and hit the shoulder instead.

“Because you biting me is tied for one of the best things that has ever happened to me.” She just stared at him, not knowing how to even begin to respond to that one. “It was more than I could have hoped for. I thought our bond would be one way.”

Mal hadn’t thought of that. He was coming to her as two, and she was only herself. Just a human. Of course what they had to offer each other was one sided. Did her biting him, maiming him, truly make up for that?

“Never in a million years did I think I was lucky enough to find you and to have you claim me too. It is not usually the way when humans and shifters mate.”

“But it is all red and angry and …” Looking at it again, it was less red than the first time she saw it. Yay for great healing, but boo for how bad it must have been originally.

“It tells all that you are mine.” Pride filled his fa

ce and smile.

She leaned over, needing to feel his lips on her. “Good. Because I’m feeling very territorial right now.” She bit his bottom lip and a nip became a suck became a breath-taking kiss. How could she want more after barely recovering from two orgasms?

“Do you know what it is tied with?”

She had stolen his breath too. She shook her head, trying to contain the feeling of pride pumping through her at the realization. All these feelings were so unlike her, yet not at all foreign. Mating was so much more than just sex.

“Meeting you at my sister’s diner.”

“My felony is one of your best moments.” Mal paired the lilt in her voice with her hand wandering idly over his chest. His chiseled chest that she wanted to lick. Down, girl.

“Oh, my little thief, it is the moment that changed my life.” Al absentmindedly played with her earlobe as he spoke. An ear that, previously unbeknownst to her, was connected to her clit. Goodness gracious, focusing was a challenge when he did that. “I went from a routine of sleeping, working, repeat, to living. All with that one little detour on my way home to grab some cobbler.”

“It changed mine, too. I was off to start a new career and ended up with so much more.” Mal stopped her exploration of his chest, wanting to be able to focus on the answer to a question that had been niggling at her the most. “Can I ask you something?”

“Always.” He placed his hand on hers, which was lying flat over his heart. “Ask away.”

“Why do you think I bit you?” She had never been a biter before. She had never done anything kinky before. No scratchings, spankings, biting. Nothing. Yet with Al, all bets were off.

“Because I’m yours.” His eyes flashed bear as he smiled.

“No, I mean I
had
to bite you. It wasn’t a choice. It was impulse.”

“I don’t know, love. But whatever the reason I am grateful.”

“I know, but …” The question felt so important to her and disappointment over not understanding began to set in.

“How do you feel that I bit you?” Al sat up, pulling her with him and then scooping her onto his lap. The skin on skin calmed her inner turmoil like magic. Al’s body had a different reaction all together and she was on board with fixing his not so little problem pressed against her side.

“Like it made me more me and us more us.” The words couldn’t convey all that she felt, yet they would have to do because feeling him pressed against her went from calming her to turning her on in record time.

“So you aren’t mad that I bit you?”

“Heck to the no on that one.” What a ridiculous notion. His claiming filled the hole she had had all these years. “Not mad at all.”

“I know it looks red and probably what you would call angry, but I think it is beautiful. And I plan to buy you all new shirts so that everyone you meet will see it.”

“Angry?” Mal jumped off his lap and ran into the bathroom in record speed. She never thought about how her mark would look. He was bear, not a human. It probably looked worse than her zombie-claiming mark on his neck. Looking in the mirror told a different story. Sure it had caked on blood and was puffy. It was also more than that.

“It is angry, and yet it’s so beautiful.”

Al ran a wash cloth under the tap and began to clean away the blood. All the feels.

“Whoa, what just happened there?”

“The mark isn’t just for others.” Al winked. Smug bastard knew exactly what he was doing. She loved it.

“I see that.” Mal faux pouted. “Will that work on you too?” Oh, the ideas that were bouncing through her head. She reached up to the mark she had given him. His eyes flashed bear the moment she made contact. “I see it does. I should examine that more.”

“Vixen,” Al teased as he gently removed her hand from his mark.

“Hardly.” Although with him, she planned to embrace her inner vixen.

“While I would love to spend the rest of the day exploring all of the
benefits
of our new bond, we need to get ready to go.” That was the last thing she wanted to hear. She wanted to climb into that luxurious shower with her mate and explore all the joys of her mark and his. “It is already two and we have a two-hour drive ahead.”

“What?” That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Not at all. “How long was I asleep?”

“A while.”

A while her arse. It had to have been a couple of hours. He fucked her into a coma. Goodness she hoped he would do it again soon. But not now. Now they were late. Super late.

“Can we be late?” Late was not good. Not. At. All.

“We will be, so I say the answer is yes. Besides, I already texted them to tell them what was going on.” And that was worse.

“
Council—Going to be late. Sorry. Busy sexing up my new mate and napping.
Yeah that should go over well.”

“Something like that. Just so you know, you talk when you sleep.” His voice held a teasing tone and he was trying to distract her, but he was telling the truth. Not that she wanted it to be true.

“I do no such thing.” She put her hands on her hips for emphasis, and he just tilted his head and smiled. “Fine, but I haven’t since I was a kid. I blame you for wearing me out so completely.”

“I take full responsibility. And …” He hung a towel by the door and turned on the shower as she tried ever so patiently to wait for him to finish his thought.

“And?” Patience was not her strong suit today.

“And.” He led her to the shower. Maybe she asked him for shower sex? Yeah, that would be good. “Just so you know, I feel the same.” He gave her backside a smack. Looks like spanking was his thing and her body seemed to agree that it was now hers as well. “Now hurry and shower so we can get on our way.”

“Feel the same about what?” She called to him as he reached the door. Truth be told, him showering elsewhere gave them a much better shot of getting there close to on time.

“I love you too.” Al closed the door behind him before she could reply.

He loved her.

It might be a drive-by
I love you,
but they were still the sweetest words she had ever heard.

He. Loved. Her.

Time To Face the Ass-hat Butt-munch

“I feel a sense of dread.” Dread didn’t begin to cover it.

“Oh, love, don’t. All will be good.” The man seemed to not care at all that they were late or going to a council meeting. Oh, to have his confidence. She grabbed his hand, needing the comfort.

“I went from not knowing about this world to being part of a council meeting determining the fate of the ass-hat who it appears did more than just steal all my effing money. Oh yeah, and we are two hours late.” Sarcasm didn’t look good on her, but it was her first line of defense when things got this tense. That and tapping her foot, which now was vibrating the floorboard nicely.

“Love, it will all work out.” He squeezed her hand and brought it to his mouth for a kiss. “You are mine. I protect what is mine and no one and nothing is going to go wrong today.” He gave it one last kiss before replacing it on her lap and turning on his turn signal. “We are going to go inside, answer any questions they have, and then go hibernate in the hotel until we have to head back tomorrow.”

“Crap on a cracker. I forgot about work. You sure Luke will be all right with all of this?” In all of the mess with Josh and then all of the mating hormone fest, she had completely forgotten the catalyst for this entire change in her life: her job.

“He’s alpha, and you are now his to take care of.” They were now on a private little windy road. It almost looked like a picture in a fairytale book. “He’s fine with it.” The road widened into a clearing, and in the center of the clearing sat an estate like one you would expect to see in the English countryside in a romance novel. Well, an estate on steroids, anyway. It was stunning. “Here we are.”

“Holy mansion.” As they pulled up, the minute details of the architecture became more evident. She could spend hours looking at the roofing design alone.

“Yeah. Tell me about it,” Al mumbled as he exited the truck and walked to open her door. She spent the entire time looking at the slate roofing tiles and the arrangement of the natural coloring in them. Walking to the door, architectural element after element caught her eye.

“Welcome, Master Humphrey,” an elderly woman in a maid’s uniform greeted them before they made it entirely up the stairs to the front entrance way. Her slight English accent fit the place to a T. “It is nice to see you again. Your mate?”

The woman was looking at the crux of Mal’s shoulder. Al had insisted on buying her a new shirt with a boat neck collar from the boutique in the hotel before they left. He really did want everyone to see that she was his.

“Yes, Mildred, this is my mate, Malory.” The happiness in his voice couldn’t be mistaken. She was his and he wanted the world to know.

“Your grandmother will be so pleased. This way.” She led them inside, stopping outside a closed door. “They are all waiting.” Mildred put her hand on Malory’s arm just below her shoulder. “No wonder she seemed not at all concerned that you were late. Congratulations.”

Mal looked up to Al for answers as the woman turned to the door and gave the knob a turn. “Later, love.”

Mal wanted to know all things now, but it was not the time, because the second the door was open, the woman announced them in a fashion much too formal for Mal’s liking. “Master Humphrey and his mate, Ms. Malory.”

Taking her hand, Al led them into what turned out to be a ginormous conference room. Seated around the table were men and women, most of whom were old enough to be Mal’s parents or even grandparents. At the one end of the table, she saw the two empty seats left vacant for them. It was then she met with familiar eyes. Luke was there with a very pregnant woman. She would bet her last dollar that this woman was Christina. She gave them both a smile.

“Bitch.”

Mal turned to the far too familiar voice, only to be blocked by a very growly Al.

“Enough.” An elderly, yet obviously very powerful woman stood. “You will be silent. You are not a guest here. You are a prisoner.” The power in her voice was unlike anything Mal had heard before. It was a thousand times stronger than the
mommy
voice Ms. Maybell had. “Grandson, please stand down and take a seat with your mate and your alpha so we can make a start.”

Grandson. The woman with all of the power was her grandmother-in-law, or whatever the shifter world equivalent was. Fabulous.

“Yes, Grammy.” Al took Mal by the hand, stopping on the way to the seat to give his grandmother a quick peck on the cheek. Any other time it would have been endearing. Right now, all she could think about was the ass-hat butt-munch sharing the same air as her.

“Eugene, please formally read the charges.”

“Madame Alpha, of course.” A tiny old man stood with what appeared to be a blank scroll in his hands. Mal would have thought she was on a hidden camera show if it weren’t for her ability to feel the truth.

“Joshua Barrett, you are charged with using dark magic for personal gain and endangering the secrecy of the paranormal world. How do you plead?”

“Fuck you.” Joshua was sitting in a chair away from the table, and by all appearances he was not bound, yet struggle as he did, he seemed unable to move.

“Eugene, please record that the defendant pleads guilty.”

Joshua looked like he was trying to argue, but was unable. Mal felt a bit guilty that she enjoyed watching him squirm this much, but she so very much did.

“The record shows the defendant pleads guilty. Shall I read the punishment, Madame Alpha?”

“Madame Alpha?” Malory spoke before she thought it through. Now all eyes were on her and they were not warm, welcoming eyes. These people wanted to get this over with, but she needed to understand what was happening and right now not much made sense. She felt Al’s hand on her knee, not to stop her, but in solidarity with her. And as his grandmother nodded, she felt the strength to continue her question.

“If it would be okay, I would really like to know what the charges mean. All I know is that he stole from me and somehow limited my ability to feel truth.” The last part caused a collective gasp from the eldest in the group. Maybe she should have kept her mouth shut and waited until later.

“Fair enough. Since you are mate of the heir apparent and new to this world, the council will excuse you lack of protocol.” The last part seemed to be for the council, and they responded by sitting back in their seats and schooling their faces. Mal had a lot to learn.

“Joshua is a druid. A very naughty druid who used powers of the dark without protection with the hopes of gaining more power. Among other things, he tried to hide you from the paranormal world by binding your abilities before they completely took hold on your majority.” So far Mal understood dark magic and binding her ability to see truth. The rest was a jumbly mess. “Then, as if that wasn’t enough law breaking, when it became obvious to him that his powers were not close to strong enough to keep you contained, he used his skills as a druid to steal from you, thus threatening to expose out kind. If it wasn’t for Ms. Maybell, he may have very well put too many paranormals in the spotlight and under investigation.”

It was still barely made sense, but she had enough to go by. Joshua stole, cheated, lied, and used dark magic on her. She was ready for the guilty verdict.

“Thank you, Madame Alpha.”

“Anytime, dear.” The woman’s voice softened momentarily, and for a split second, Mal was sure she felt a hug. “Now, Eugene, please read the verdict and sentence.” Her official voice was back. Mal already loved this woman.

“The council finds the defendant guilty on all charges. As per regulations, in the case of a guilty plea, the defendant may choose his consequences.”

What the fuck
.

“Malory, control your growling please.” Mal hadn’t noticed she was growling, but the woman’s voice stopped her. Not even by choice—although she would have—but by force. Gentle force, but force.

“Now, Joshua Barrett, please rise and give your consequence. Death or stripping of power and memory.” Joshua now stood, his hands plastered to his sides, face bright red.

Mal hadn’t originally loved the idea of him choosing his consequence, but given the two on the table, she decided he was actually being punished twice. Once by choosing and once by the consequence itself. Shifter justice was stern, to be sure.

“Fuck you. You have me choosing death or death. I know the rules.” He looked Mal in the eye as he spit out, “I call challenge.”

The collective gasp in the room told Mal loud and clear that this was not good. Not at all. Al pushed her, chair, and all behind him as he crouched in an attack position and growled, only strengthening her assessment.

“Your challenge is denied under the grounds that challenges cannot be made to the victim.” The power exuding from Al’s grandmother almost had Mal cowering, and it wasn’t even directed at her, only at Joshua.

“I don’t challenge the bitch. I challenge her new mate.”

“Accepted.”

Before Mal or anyone else could respond, her mate’s clothes were ripping and a brown bear was in front of her, ready to pounce.

Joshua should have been cowering on the floor. There was no way he was a match for her mate’s fierce bear. But Joshua was nonchalant about the whole thing, and that terrified Mal more than the challenge. Joshua didn’t go in half-cocked. He was methodical. He had to be, or she would have caught onto his deception years before she had, even with the magic in play. No, Joshua had a plan and that was not good.

The council members stood around the edge of the room as if this was an everyday occurrence. The only one no longer there was Christina, and Mal had a feeling if that woman wasn’t about ready to give birth, she would have been front and center for this. She had yet to meet her, but from the little Mal heard, Christina was not one to mess with.

Eugene nodded in the direction of the back wall, and against all of her urges, Mal kept stepping back until her back met said wall. Joshua began mumbling under his breath. It was a habit she had always detested before, and now she saw it in a whole new context. He was casting a spell. The little fucker. There was no way he was getting her mate. None.

As Joshua’s words grew louder, Al charged. Her mate wasn’t messing around. He went straight for Joshua’s throat, but just as he got within striking distance, he fell to the floor, writhing in pain. Pain from what, she couldn’t tell, but it didn’t matter. She was done.

Mal ran to her mate, tears of anger and fear streaming down her eyes. When she met his eyes they were more human than bear and they seemed to be fading. Her mate was dying.

A growl like she had never heard before escaped her. It was a battle cry and to battle she was going. She head-butted Joshua in the belly, knocking him to the ground and that was when things became fuzzy. Clothes, growls, fur, screams, blood. It all rolled into one big ball of confusion before she heard her mate, “It’s over, love. Turn back. Please. I need you.”

Mate fine. Mate fine. Mate fine.