Shifters Gone Wild: A Shifter Romance Collection

by Skye MacKinnon

  Pretending I didn't know a thing about the two mate situation, I stretched the sleep out of my limbs. I threw a quick glance inside the other tent, wondering if they were morning people or not. To my relief, they were still one big pile of sleeping bodies.

  Regan looked more like a big log than anything else, while JP was curled up in a little ball. Darren was star fishing, his feet digging into JP's back, but neither of them seemed to mind. And in the midst of the heap of men, there was a fluff of red hair. I grinned, they sure kept their woman nice and warm.

  Not a bad situation, if you ask me. I briefly wondered if I maybe could get a thing like that going with both Aspen and Ashleigh, but as they now seemed to fight over who got the last fur, one thing became very clear. The twins didn't share.

  I bent down next to the fire and blew on the coals. They were still hot. I glanced gratefully at the sleepy bunch of newcomers. At least one of them must've gotten up in the middle of the night to feed the fire.

  Maybe having them around wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

  I poked up the fire and threw on some of Regan's firewood, which was surprisingly dry.

  Not bad, at all.

  I glanced at Darren's construction. Somehow, he brought two pots, a grilling rack, and he had put up a roasting spit. Mmmm, roasted meat... I wouldn't say no to that.

  Maybe staying one day longer wouldn't be the worst thing, if the boys went on a hunt and I got a nice piece of leg, I would allow them to stay in my camp a little longer.

  I heard a low grumble and the pile of humans seemed to move. A sleepy Danny appeared from between the male bodies and to my delight, she looked like a rampaging horde of cows had just run her over.

  Her hair was a mess, there was more than one twig sticking out of her ear, and sleep lines were embedded in her cheek.

  Thank god, another messy sleeper.

  I threw an angry look at the perfect pair of siblings that were now happily chatting away, looking even better than the day before.

  Nobody should be allowed to wake up that pretty and perfect.

  "Wake up, Darren!" I suddenly heard Aspen call from behind me. Regan seemed about as awake as a mountain that had awoken from being, well a mountain. JP, on the other hand, didn't seem to be too bothered by the morning as he was already splashing water in his face.

  But Darren, well he didn't seem to be too fond of waking up. He pulled all the remaining furs over his head as he curled up into a ball. "Five more minutes."

  I smiled, now that was more my style.

  Danny touched Aspen on his shoulder. "Let me handle this."

  She skipped over to Darren, poked him against the shoulder and lifted the furs. However, instead of waking him up, she crawled next to him with a happy "Night night, guys".

  I chuckled again. What a random group of people. But I already loved them. I mean, how could I not?

  "A-A-Akira? W-Will you collect s-some snow?" JP asked me, handing me the biggest pot of the set. "I-I'll start cooking up some b-breakfast."

  I felt my stomach grumble. Yum, breakfast.

  "Hey, I want to make breakfast!" A shout came from the heap of furs as Darren jumped up, suddenly wide-awake. He threw on a shirt and whilst jumping on one leg as he put on his boots, he took over JP's place at the fire.

  JP happily handed him the spoon. "Works every time," he grinned at me, looking rather pleased with himself.

  Not bad. So there was more to JP than just the stuttering, nervous, sweet-looking guy.

  "Nice. And I will get you that snow, is that okay, Darren?"

  "Yes, that is great," he vaguely answered as he was rumbling through his pack and seemed to conjure many different kinds of edibles. I felt my mouth water as I saw him pull out of sack of potatoes, a couple of strips of dried jerky, and surprisingly, a couple of eggs. How and why he carried eggs all the way with him, I didn't understand, but I wasn't about to question him. I would kill for some eggs!

  "Akira, how do you like your eggs?" he asked me, like it was a given they were sharing their food with me. They had been with me the whole time and so far, I hadn't heard any of them discuss it, they all seemed to be in agreement that I was included in their eating arrangement now.

  Well, I wasn't going to say no to that!

  "Whichever way you’re making them," I answered, not really caring how they were made, as long as I got a portion of them. "Oh, I have a whole bag of freeze-dried vegetables with me." I added, deciding if they were going to share food with me, the least I could do, was offer my bag of cardboard veggies.

  "Sounds great, throw em my way," Darren nodded as he started heating up his skillets and quartered his potatoes.

  I rumbled in my backpack for the untouched bag of vegetables and threw them his way. He seemed rather happy with them and I wondered how he was planning on making them edible.

  "You want a lot of snow?"

  "Yeah, fill her up!"

  "Right," I called back, grabbing the heavy pot as I wandered around the camp, looking for a nice pile of fresh snow that didn't have a lot of twigs and dirt in them. I already slept the whole night far too close to the ground, I didn't feel like eating it for breakfast.

  It didn't take long before the air was filled with the delicious smell of food and a group of impatient people were hungrily staring at Darren. Not that I blamed them, I was one of them.

  How he did it, I wasn't sure, but he somehow had turned a handful of random ingredients into a stew that was making my mouth water.

  "Grab yourself a plate!" Darren cheerfully said as he distributed spoons. Well, he didn't need to tell me twice. He happily piled the stew onto my plate and as the smell penetrated my nose, I felt my stomach grumble.

  I couldn't wait to dig in and hungry like a wolf, ha ha, I shovelled the stew into my mouth.

  The otherwise chatty Danny and the quarrelling twins were all suspiciously silent as they too were practically inhaling their food.

  "Don't overeat. We have to do a fair bit of walking today," Regan spoke, a discord of full mouths disagreeing with him, including me. Darren was one hell of a cook. He somehow managed to turn my tasteless veggies into an utterly delicious gravy. I'd stay with this group just for him, never mind the beautiful twins, I should get myself a Darren.

  Mate. My wolf suddenly whined, like she was worried I might forget the beautiful woman sitting on the log next to me.

  As if I could forget Ashleigh. I wish. But I knew it wouldn't happen. There was no way I'd be able to resist her, or for her to resist me, for that matter. We would end up together, no question about it. The only question was when. And all this Aspen stuff, I would just pretend I didn't know any of that. Besides, if he kept his Alpha neatly locked up, I wouldn't have any trouble.

  "Yo, Darren, you rock, man." Aspen's enthusiasm pulled me out of my thoughts. He was happily waving his spoon around, as his plate seemed to be cleaner than when he got it. No surprise there, I already knew he liked to eat a lot. How could I not, I had been feeding him these past days.

  "D-D-Delicious as always," JP weighed in, even though his plate looked practically untouched. If he wasn't hungry, maybe I could get another bite?

  "Honey, are you sorting your potatoes again?" Danny chimed in, as she hugged JP from behind.

  "Y-Y-Yeah... I can't help m-myself," he answered, his face falling as he stared at the plate in his lap.

  The redhead smiled. "I'll help you out." With those words, she started pushing the food on JP's plate around until it became clear they were sorting everything by size.

  "JP's has a little trouble with eating unorganised food," she explained as she saw me watching them, shrugging as she did. It didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. On the contrary, she seemed to find it quite endearing.

  I answered with an approving smile and shrugged. Hey, everyone got his quirks. I much rather be camping with a potato pusher than a homicidal maniac.

  "Better clean your plates, weather is about to change," Regan muttered as he pe
ered up into the sky, one hand shielding his eyes.

  I looked up and to my dismay, had to agree that the incoming clouds definitely felt ominous. I would bet a full meal they weren't just going to pass us by.

  "I will collect more firewood before the rain soaks it all," he added. And with those words, Regan disappeared into the forest, the rest of the group looking plenty relieved they didn't have to get up yet.

  "Darren, you make travelling in the wild so much more pleasant," Ashleigh sighed as she pushed her clean plate to the side and patted her stomach. "Damn, am stuffed."

  "M-M-Me too. I can't eat another b-bite," JP sighed, as he pushed his plate away. There were still a couple of potatoes left over and I knew I wasn't the only one eyeing them hungrily. What can I say? Camping makes me hungry.

  "Even for a human, you eat surprisingly little," Darren remarked, as he distributed the remaining potatoes equally on our empty plates.

  "Wait, hang on, JP is human?" I asked, my cheeks stuffed with potato.

  "Y-Yes, I am," he confirmed, as he awkwardly glanced around the group. I stared at the slender guy and suddenly, it made all much more sense. Of course, he was human.

  "Yes, he is human. You have a problem with that?" I heard from behind me. I turned around and was met with an angry looking Danny. Her upper lip was curled up in a mean snarl and her eyes were blazing. Quite frankly, she was scary. Bye bye, cheery Danny.

  "No, I don't have a problem with it. I’m just surprised. In my tribe, wolf and man usually don't mix very well..." I muttered, thinking back to how even my own blood had treated me like I was dirt on the street.

  "If you don't mix with humans, you can just fuck off!" Danny yelled, surprising me with her harsh language. I had never seen her like this before.

  I put up my hands, hoping to show her it didn't matter to me but I was suddenly looking at someone's back.

  "She is not fucking off!" Ashleigh hissed back at Danny, shielding me from the furious redhead.

  "If she has a problem with JP, yeah she will!"

  "I don't care if she has a problem with the great Wolf himself, she stays," Ashleigh yelled back, baring her teeth at the girl she called "best friend".

  "Oh yeah? You want to fight me?" Danny shrieked as she channelled all her anger at my mate. I felt the wolf inside me stir as she urged me to defend Ashleigh.

  "Wow, ladies, calm down. You don't need to fight," I quickly spoke up, jumping to my feet and stepping in between the two women.

  "Oh-oh, now she has done it..." I heard a little voice from behind me, as I saw Darren, Aspen and JP sitting suspiciously far away.

  "Get out of my way!" the redhead bellowed, her face ugly with angry lines. I wondered where the bubbly girl had gone.

  "Akira, stay away from her. She is crazy!" my mate yelled back, looking equally as angered as the other girl. However, it made her look quite sexy, I must admit.

  "I don't care that JP is human," I stammered, but my words were lost in the wind as the two women suddenly charged at each other. Ashleigh pushed me out of the way as she full on tackled the redhead.

  “You’re going down!"

  "I will eat your face!"

  "You fight like your grandma's butt!"

  "Bite me, snow cone!"

  "Snarky shit snack!"

  "Poopy pitta bread flap!"

  "Stinky meat stick!"

  "Leaky barf bowl!"

  A tirade of colourful and completely absurd insults rained down on us as the two women rolled over the forest floor, kicking and screaming at each other.

  "Dreamy chicken nozzle!"

  "Sweaty pillow ass!"

  "Lousy snot tube!"

  "Dirty twat waffle!"

  I would've laughed at all the ridiculous insults if Danny and Ashleigh weren't simultaneously pulling out each other's hairs and drawing lines in each other's skin. Danny seemed to be gnawing on Ashleigh's arm, while she was being held down by her in an awkward choke hold.

  "What is going on here?" a loud voice suddenly boomed over the shrieking woman, making them stop dead in their tracks.

  From the forest, Regan appeared, carrying a stack of logs that would've probably taken me three trips.

  "She started it!" Danny hastily pointed at the dark-haired girl, who immediately jumped to her feet and shook her head.

  "No, you attacked my mate!"

  "She doesn't like JP!"

  "She never said that," Ashleigh growled, now pulling out her own hairs in frustration.

  Upon hearing that, Regan ignored the whiny girls and turned towards me. "You got a problem with JP?"

  I held up my hands. "No! JP is awesome, I couldn't care less that he is human," I defended myself, throwing a desperate look at the intimidating man. Both Regan and Danny could be quite scary if they wanted to be.

  He glared at me for another second, before his look softened and his stance relaxed. "Alright then." He turned back to Danny, scooped her up from the ground and kissed her gently on the forehead.

  "You kicking up trouble again, little lady?" he asked her, not unkindly. The moment he touched her, I could just see her anger melt away. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she let her head rest against his broad chest.

  "Sorry..."

  They wandered off into the forest and nobody seemed to feel the urge to stop them. On the contrary, the boys seemed quite relieved Regan showed up when he did. So that is what they meant with him containing the crazy. That sure was one hell of a skill he had. I was suddenly grateful that Danny had Regan in her life.

  Now that he was dealing with his side of crazy, I should probably handle mine.

  "You okay?" I asked Ashleigh, who was leaning against a tree.

  "Yeah, had worse," she grimaced as she spat out some blood.

  “You’re hurt."

  She conjured a strained smile on her face. "Nothing to worry about," she muttered.

  "Let me see your arm." I brought her hand up to my face so I could inspect the bite mark I knew Danny left. I turned both her arms around, wondering where the bruise was.

  "Not to worry, I’m a fast healer," my raven-haired beauty spoke as her slender fingers found my face. She brushed a stray lock of hair away. "Besides, it was worth it."

  I caught her hand and rested my cheek against her palm. “You’re absolutely crazy," I whispered, but I couldn't help but answer her smile with one of my own.

  "Crazy about you," she flirted, making my cheeks heat up. So Aspen wasn't the only charmer in the family.

  "Next time, please don't dive head first into a fight?" I asked, giving her my best puppy eyes, hoping it would persuade her.

  She flicked my nose. "When it comes to you, can't make any promises," she cheekily grinned.

  "Well... It was kind of sexy..." I admitted, noticing how close she was standing to me. I could see the specks of gold floating in her icy blue eyes. It was stunning. She was stunning.

  "Oh yeah, you liked watching me?" she grinned, her forehead now touching mine as she leant in closer.

  "I always like watching you," I flirted back, her face so close I could feel her eyelashes flutter over my skin as the softest butterflies. Just a little bit more...

  Just a little bit...

  "Ash! Akira!" a high-pitched voice suddenly trumpeted from across the clearing and like two busted kids, we jumped apart. Danny came running out of the dark treeline and ran towards Ashleigh again. This time, for a hug.

  "I’m so sorry, I didn't want to hurt you. Did I hurt you? I didn't mean to hurt you," she cried as Ashleigh wrapped her arms around the redhead.

  "I know, I know. You didn't hurt me. I’m sorry too."

  The two women embraced each other tightly, all traces of their fighting gone with the wind. It was odd, to say the least. I awkwardly stepped away from the two girls making up and decided to join the guys in breaking up camp. If we didn't move soon, the outburst between the two girls wasn't the only we wouldn't witness today. The sky looked like it was ready to release a lot of anger
onto us.

  "Ladies, let's wrap it up. Storm isn't far away," Regan interrupted the reunion, making the two women part.

  "I-I-I believe he is right," JP agreed as he scratched the moss off from a fallen tree behind him. "W-W-We should find shelter,"

  "Yes, I saw a cave about a mile back!" Darren chimed in as he enthusiastically waved in the direction of nowhere.

  “You’re telling me you saw a cave and you had me sleep in the open air?" Danny inquired, shooting daggers with her eyes at the oblivious boy.

  "We like the open air!" Darren countered, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

  "No, you like the open air," the redhead corrected him, but seeing how happy Darren looked, she shook her head in defeat. "Whatever... We need to find that cave before the clouds release their anger onto us."

  The group jumped into action as empty plates disappeared back into packs, furs got rolled up and tents came crashing down.

  "Maybe we will have some fresh snow?" Darren dreamily sighed, making Danny scoff loudly behind him.

  "I hope not. Freaking snow everywhere. I hate it," she grumbled as she threw her long, red hairs over her shoulder.

  "M-M-Maybe it is just rain," JP diplomatically said as heaved a backpack that looked far too heavy for his calibre effortlessly on his slender shoulders. Unbelievable. That guy just kept on surprising me.

  "Guys, can you shut up about the weather?" Ashleigh sighed as she let herself fall down on her backpack. "How is it that my pack keeps getting bigger and bigger?" she growled as she fought a losing battle against one of her furs. Furiously, she tore open the pack and pulled out a vest.

  "Aspen? Is this yours?!" she scowled as she threw a dark jacket at her brother. He let his shoulders hang, obviously disappointed he got busted.

  "A guy can try..." he mumbled under his breath, looking distastefully at the vest like it had murdered his puppies. "I don't want clothes," he whined, holding up the jacket by its sleeve like it was something dirty.

  A loud snort escaped from somewhere. Oops, it was me. "Yeah, I noticed,"

  "Guys, the weather really is changing." Regan's voice boomed over us as he pointed up towards the sky. During the constant bickering this group tended to do, the clouds had rapidly closed in on us.