Shifters on Fire: A BBW Shifter Romance Boxed Set (56 page)

Chapter Five

Charlotte threw the bed covers back and got to her feet. She wore only her strappy camisole and her panties. But her sweater and jeans were laid over a radiator under the window, drying. She crossed to them and put them on, relishing their warmth against her skin in the chill air. She glanced out the window and her heart sank when she looked out over snow so heavy she couldn’t see more than a foot beyond the pane. But below the window lay possible salvation in the form of a large, off-road vehicle. If anything seemed capable of navigating the snow, it was the behemoth in the driveway.

She needed to get out of there. Something strange and sultry lay over the house. Over the gruff man who’d kissed her so headily she’d actually come. A small orgasm, and one she’d managed to hide, but an orgasm nonetheless. And from a mere kiss. It didn’t seem remotely conceivable, but there it was.

His lips on hers had been, hands down, the best sexual experience of her life. Admittedly, she didn’t have much to compare it to, but still. Wow. That kiss. She wanted more. She wanted things she’d never really thought about before. Things like big, callused hands holding her. Her own hands touching hard, solid flesh. She’d noticed the bulge in his sweat pants and wanted to see what lay behind the soft cotton. More than anything, she wanted the big, scary man to…what? Make love to her? No, something coarser, more elemental. In truth, she wanted him to fuck her. Dear God. She’d turned into some sort of sex maniac.

One kiss from a big, rough man and she’d taken off her glasses, let down her hair, and transformed from uptight secretary to shameless porn star. Speaking of glasses… She looked around the room, relaxing when she spied them by the bed, on the other side, placed carefully on the second bedside table. She’d need them to drive out of this strange place, and if it meant stealing the keys and risking it in this hellish snow, she’d do anything to get away. Something, some newly born sixth sense she’d never experienced before, told her if she didn’t leave now, she might not get away.

Odd, disturbing feelings grew all around her, sticky, emotional vines clinging to the house of her skin and trapping her within. Yeah, if she didn’t get away, she’d end up living her life in this otherworldly home.

She went to the bedside table and retrieved her glasses. Once they were on, she looked around for her boots. Spying them in the corner, she gave a prayer of thanks. Pulling them on quickly, she tied the laces with brisk, efficient movements. Standing, her leg complained and she rubbed at her thigh through the denim covering it. If the car broke down, she risked freezing in these clothes. Maybe the people here owned better coats than the frankly useless item she’d brought with her. God, she’d turned into an amoral thief as well as a wanton hussy. Stealing coats and cars. Although, she only intended to borrow both. Not such a bad crime, right?

She’d drive herself out of this place and keep going until she found a main road. This was Wales, for pity’s sake, not Australia or somewhere with vast expanses of empty space. She’d find civilization soon enough.

Heart hammering a rapid tango, she cracked open the bedroom door and glanced out.
No one around
. Tentatively, she took a step out of the room and crept along the corridor. The stairs scared her. Stairs tended to creak. Taking a deep breath, she began to descend one step at a time, pausing on any noise, not matter how tiny, breath stalled in her throat. As she neared the bottom, she heard voices coming from a room to the right of the staircase. Aiyana’s she recognized, and on reaching the bottom of the stairs and rounding the corner, she spied her in a large kitchen talking with the red-haired man whose name she forgot.

“He ought to tell her,” Aiyana said. “If she knows, then she can make an informed choice. Not telling her is cruel. Wrong.”

“Why?”

“Oh, Eric, don’t be obtuse.”

Eric,
of course
. She turned to head toward the porch leading outside, where she hoped to find some gloves, a coat, and some car keys for the big off-roader she’d seen.

“Charlotte may deserve to know, but Brenin won’t tell her. You know his deal with human females. He’s messed up.”

Oh my God
. They were talking about her. She stopped, one foot in the air, and didn’t move a muscle. Slowly, she lowered her foot to the ground and focused on listening.

“So then
we
tell her,” Aiyana said.

“Are you crazy? Bren’s our leader and our family. Our loyalty lies with him.”

“Of course it does, which is why we should tell her. He won’t make a move. But he ought to. She’s perfect for him. Even beyond the mating thing. They are meant for one another.”

Her and Bren? Meant for one another? And what did they mean by the “mating thing”?

“She’s a good person. I deciphered as much when I held her hand. She’s grounded and sincere, and stupid and cruel boys have messed with her. Bren and her…they’d work.”

Charlotte’s mouth hung open as her brain scrambled to catch up with some pretty out-there intel. Firstly, it seemed Aiyana was psychic or some shit. Secondly, she and Brenin were meant to be together. Thirdly, and the thing she kept coming back to, why call her human? As opposed to what?

“Shapeshifters, dear. As opposed to shapeshifters.” Aiyana appeared in the doorway right next to her.

Charlotte screamed and leaped about a foot away.

“Hey. It’s okay. I didn’t mean to scare you. So…you heard.”

“S…s…s…shape s…shifffterssss?” Her teeth clacked, and her mouth shook so badly her words came out all stuttered and mangled.

“Yes. Shapeshifters. Bear shifters, to be exact.”

Fear ran around her body on an endless loop, but at Aiyana’s last words, anger decided to join the adrenaline race, too. “I knew I’d seen a blasted bear. You all lied to me.”

“Brenin has good reason to.” Aiyana tried to put a hand on her arm, but Charlotte moved back.

“Don’t touch me. What are you? A witch? Do you change shape, too?”

“Yes. But only because I mated with Eric and allowed him to turn me. Before, I was the same as you. A human woman, except I possess the sight, so I’m kind of different.”

“Yeah, right.” The bitter, corrosive acid of fear, anger, and hurt all mixed together to come pouring out in harsh, hurtful words. “Like my great-aunt Geraldine? She had the sight too. Of course, all her predictions were utter bullshit. She told me I’d be married at twenty-two to a dark-haired man called Gregg. She also said my mum would win the lottery. Neither happened. The batty old thing made a fool of herself, and we all indulged her because none of us wanted to hurt her feelings. But we all knew she was nothing but a dreadful fraud.”

Aiyana snaked out her hand and grabbed Charlotte’s wrist, quick as a flash. Charlotte gave a small, choked sob as tight fingers closed around her skin. Oh, God. Why did she say those things? Now, they’d probably want to punish her.

“It must have hurt.” Aiyana’s low voice carried with alarming resonance. “When he did that to you. Secretly filming you dancing. And you so happy, so carefree, doing something you loved. Out on a date with a boy you liked, who you thought liked you back. You haven’t dated since, but more tragically, you haven’t danced either. You need to dance again, Charlie.”

“What the fuck?” She yanked her arm free and took four faltering steps back. Utter horror swamped her. Horror at the scary facts making themselves known. How did Aiyana know the reason behind her not dancing or dating anymore? It wasn’t possible.

Aiyana watched her closely. “There’s no need to be scared. Honestly, Charlie. Calm down. If you knew about us, you wouldn’t be scared. We can shift into bear form, but we also retain our human mind when we do. We live in most ways the same as you. Except we change form every now and again, and unlike humans, when we take a life partner, it really is for life. We call them our mate and the bond is strong. Other than that, we’re very ordinary. So don’t panic.”

Don’t panic? As if. This world wasn’t ordered, boring, and humdrum. Scary women with the power to read your past walked this earth. So it seemed, did men who could change from human to bear. To top it all off, the strange voices returned, mocking her, taunting her.

Get away. Get away. Get away. They will hurt you. Come to us. Be with us. We want you here.
The chant became deafening. It drowned out her reason, her very sanity. She took off down the hall toward the porch at a hundred miles an hour. She pulled the glass door open and stepped onto the flagstone floor. She grabbed the first thing remotely usable as a weapon and pointed the sharp-tipped umbrella in front of her, waving it around. She searched frantically for car keys. She spied four sets hung on a hook and with shaking fingers desperately rifled through them, trying to figure out which ones would fit an off-roader.

Land Rover. They made big utility vehicles, right? She chanced it. Grabbed the keys and jabbed forward with the umbrella as Aiyana edged nearer. “Don’t. I mean it. Fucking don’t. I’ll run you through.”

Run you through
? Since when had she started talking like the villain in some swashbuckling movie?

Eyes on Aiyana, she opened the door and edged outside. Then she slammed it shut behind her and ran to the car, wildly pressing the key ring as she went. To her relief, the familiar beep-beep-blurp of a car unlocking rang out. She almost sobbed.

Once at the door, she opened it, clambered in, and slammed it shut. She pressed the central lock immediately. Shouted voices tore through the closed door, but she ignored them.

It took three attempts to get the key in the ignition, her hand shook so badly. Finally, she did it. The door handle rattled and she ignored it, putting her foot to the pedal and gunning the engine. She’d only driven her ten-year-old Ford Ka before and this was one big machine, but it presented her only chance of escape.

She looked up and swore. Brenin stood bang in front of the Land Rover. Feet set wide apart, hands on the front of his hips, and his face set in a thunderous expression. His normally warm eyes looked as cold as the snow falling around him. She doubted if she went at him full force with the car, he’d move. In fact, she wondered if the car would come off the worst in a confrontation with Brenin. He seemed as solid as the land he stood on. A big brute of a man, hewn from the rock around him.

“Get out of the car, Charlie,” he demanded.

She shook her head. “Let me go,” she shouted back.

“Not like this. Get out of the car. We’ll talk, and then, I swear, I’ll take you back.”

Don’t trust him. He’s a liar and he shifts his form
, a nasty little voice whispered to her.
What could be more dishonest than a creature that sheds its skin and takes on a different one? They’re all evil
.
The shapeshifters are demons sent to try your mind.

What was happening to her? The voices crowded her mind, some telling her to go, others asking her to stay. The ones suggesting she stay were sweet…musical. Mozart had nothing on those voices. But the ones telling her to go were spiteful and mean. She should listen to the sweet voices, but then again, they may be a trick. Better to pick the bitter, nasty voices and go with what they told her. It’s what all fairy tales taught children, right? Not to be fooled by sugar, spice, and all things nice?

Go.

No, stay.

Evil, evil, evil.

Your mate, your lover, your match. No one will treat you as good as Brenin. He needs you and you need him.

He’ll swallow you whole, consume you until nothing of yourself remains.

“Oh, God. Shut up. Shut up!”

The car door cracked wide open, ripped clean off its hinges, and cold air from outside rushed in, chasing the voices away. She slumped forward onto the steering wheel, crying. Real, ugly crying, with snot and everything. She hiccupped and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her top, beyond caring now.

“Hush, baby. Don’t cry.” Bren reached for her and unclicked the seatbelt. He gathered her in his arms and carried her into the house.

“I’ve gone mad. I’ve always dreaded this. There’s a lot of it on my dad’s side.”

She shook from having her biggest fear come true.
Madness.
What could be worse than losing your mind?

“You haven’t gone mad.” Aiyana followed them, stuck right by Brenin’s side. “It’s the fairy folk. They’re making mischief.”

“Fairies?” She laughed. The tears still flowed but this time accompanied by hysterical laughter.

“Fuck me,” Bren swore under his breath. “Kyle, pour a big fucking shot of brandy, will ya?”

He took her into a room she hadn’t seen before and placed her on a couch with a view out over a snow-filled garden.

“I can make it stop. We need a ward. Something to keep the fae away.” Aiyana paced the room. “Something made from iron.”

“I can make something from iron,” Justin said. He hadn’t spoken much in Charlotte’s time at the house, but his calm demeanor now gave some comfort. “What, though?”

“Needs to be something she can wear all the time. A bracelet. Or a ring.”

“A wedding ring,” Eric put in helpfully, and Brenin huffed out an annoyed breath.