Shifter Hunter

by Dante Steel

  Nicoletta and Elena exchanged a glance.

  “Hey,” Gary complained. “I’m right here. Don’t talk about me like I’m not.”

  “Well?” Olivia asked.

  “He might be a little overwhelmed,” Nicoletta said.

  “I might be, too,” Elena admitted.

  “We can take it slow,” Olivia said, grinning. “But right now, Gary’s in my doghouse.”

  “Really? Mine too,” Nicoletta said.

  “Still?” he complained. “I thought—”

  “Wrong,” she said, but she was smiling.

  “If he’s in the doghouse,” Olivia said, “maybe the three of us…”

  Gary couldn’t help himself. Without even thinking about it, he readjusted. His cock was slick with pre-cum. He needed release, and he needed it now.

  The girls, of course, noticed and giggled.

  “I wonder if Gary’s johnson can make it through the portal,” Olivia asked.

  Nicoletta burst out laughing so hard that she had to gasp down breaths.

  “Are you all right?” Elena asked, concerned. Even Olivia looked worried.

  Gary rolled his eyes. “That’s my last name,” he said.

  “What is?” Olivia asked.

  “Johnson. Gary Johnson.”

  Nicoletta started laughing all over again, and the other two collapsed in a fit of giggles.

  When they finally finished, Gary eyed Olivia. “I don’t think I ever caught your last name.”

  “Olivia Schwartz.” She swept into a grand bow. “Nice to meet you, Gary Sausage.”

  He groaned. “Seriously?”

  “Gary Dick? Gary Slick? Gary Cocky?” Olivia’s grin had never been wider.

  “Done having fun at my expense yet?” he asked.

  “Oh, this works instead of groveling.”

  Just then, Yuna walked over. “Hmm, is it just me or is the sky darkening?”

  Gary glanced up. Shit. She was right. The lengths they had gone to reforge the sun and set this deserted, post-apocalyptic European landscape were being unraveled before their eyes.

  “Vampires will be here soon,” Olivia said. “You’re level one?”

  Yuna nodded.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll protect you,” Elena assured her.

  “I guess we should leave,” Nicoletta grumbled.

  “Remember. It’s because of Smaug,” Elena said.

  “He might be dead,” Nicoletta said.

  “But he might not be, and wouldn’t it be cool to kill a sabretooth?” Elena asked.

  “If you find killing extinct animals fun, sure.”

  "It's a shifter," Elena said, "so it's a human at times. I wonder if some are skinwalkers instead of just a traditional shifter. Wouldn't that be amazing? To put on an animal hide and be able to turn into that animal?"

  “You’re a little too eager about this,” Nicoletta complained.

  “This issue was my idea!” Elena beamed.

  “So we could’ve stayed put if not for you?” Nicoletta grumbled.

  “They would’ve picked something else instead,” Elena pointed out.

  “Like elves,” Olivia said.

  “You want to kill elves?” Gary asked.

  “Elves are handsome,” Yuna said. “Tall, thin, beautiful, long-lived.”

  Olivia gave Yuna a once-over. “Like you.”

  “Oh.” Yuna blushed prettily. “I am not long-lived.”

  “None of you will be long-lived if we don’t get moving,” Olivia said. “Onward, Captain Cock! Lead us onward to the ocean!”

  Gary glowered at her.

  She shrugged. “Don’t blame me. Blame Nicoletta!”

  “Don’t blame me,” Nicoletta protested.

  “Blame my parents?”

  Nicoletta’s shoulders slumped. “Gary, I didn’t mean—”

  “I know. Let’s go.”

  “What about his parents?” Yuna whispered to Elena.

  The metal-powered superhero shook her head, her red hair flying everywhere. “You’ll have to ask him and not now. Not when he’s happy, either.”

  Gary was already marching away. He wasn’t going to get upset about that. For now, he’d focus on getting them to Shifter War. After that, who knew? If Yuna was as smart as Haru made her out to be, then maybe it wouldn’t be much longer until they could go home. And that was what he wanted, right?

  Back to the real world.

  And responsibilities.

  And trying to make sure he still had a job.

  And saving up all over again to have enough money for a security deposit for a new apartment.

  And utilities and food and everything else. All the bills.

  And two of the girls living out of state.

  At least here and now, two of the girls were never far from his side. They were in the game with him twenty-four seven. Olivia played as often as she could. It was as if the four of them were living together as much as they could in a game setting.

  Gary halted suddenly a few minutes later. “Why aren’t we flying?” he asked.

  “Good point.” Olivia linked arms with Yuna and Nicoletta.

  “That leaves me with you,” Elena said.

  “I’m glad at least you aren’t angry with me,” he murmured. “I understand why Olivia is.”

  “Why?”

  Gary didn’t think he had to touch Elena to get her to fly, but he held onto her hand just the same. He waited until they were fairly high up to start zooming toward the ocean and had to slow down so they could continue talking.

  “Because she’s not in the game,” he said.

  “Have you slept with her?” Elena asked, not looking at him.

  “Not yet. I, er, no.”

  “That’s some of it, I’m sure. She feels disconnected from us.”

  “I don’t want her to,” he protested. “But if she were to ask me if I want her to come into the game, I’m not sure I would say yes.”

  A long moment passed before Elena asked, “Why is that?”

  “Because I don’t know if I have confidence in the developers.”

  “But they sent one of them in the game!”

  “I know, but how long have they been working on this?”

  “It just takes time,” she argued.

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Me too,” she whispered so softly that he wasn’t sure if he heard her correctly.

  They flew the rest of the way in silence. The trio of girls flying together talked and laughed, and Gary wondered what they were discussing.

  Finally, the ocean came into sight. They landed just before the waters. The siren was there, and Olivia flew a rock over to slam against the side of her head with a sickening crack.

  “Wow,” Yuna said.

  “Are you okay?” Nicoletta asked. “You look a little pale.”

  “I knew there was blood in the game, but to smell it… That’s a bit of a shock.”

  “The graphics are sick,” Olivia said cheerfully. “I almost forget this is a game all the time. ‘Course, for me, it is just a game.”

  Gary cleared his throat and pointed. “There’s the portal. Anyone not a good swimmer and wants me to fly you?”

  “You can’t swim?” Nicoletta asked.

  “I was never taught how to.”

  “You really are sheltered,” Elena said.

  "Sheltered and naïve," Olivia said. "You really want us to fly instead of becoming dripping wet?"

  As if she were part-seal, Olivia flipped into the water and began to swim. Seeing the curve of her mostly visible ass cheeks among the waves was so erotic that Gary desperately needed to touch himself. He motioned for the other girls to go ahead, and once they all passed through the portal, he gripped himself, rubbing hard, imagining taking turns entering Olivia and then Nicoletta and then Elena. He pictured all of them sucking his dick, and when he came, he realized he had been thinking of Yuna’s DSL on his cock.

  No. No, no, no. None of that. Not again.

&
nbsp; Furious at himself, Gary zoomed through the portal. As before, the glow surrounded him, a yellow color this time. Thankfully, he already knew what to expect, so the strange sensation felt familiar. This time, Gary felt cold and then hot before flying through darkness. He did not scream this time.

  Suddenly, the superhero was zooming above a lush landscape. Down below were the girls. He looped a few times before landing in front of them. All of them were dripping wet, their clothes sticking to them, nipples all erect… or at least he saw that was the case for Olivia, Nicoletta, and Elena. He made a point of not checking out Yuna.

  “Stop checking out my perfect boobs and look at behind you,” Olivia suggested.

  Instantly, Gary called up his telekinetic power as he turned around. A werewolf, massively oversized, with foot-long fangs and claws, bore down on him. Gary’s power glowed in two matching circles around his wrist and above his fingers as he expanded a forcefield to protect them all.

  “Aw, you look hungry,” Nicoletta cooed. “Want a fireball?”

  A burst of heat had Gary sweating, but to his surprise, it didn't flame the werewolf his shield was holding at bay. He risked looking around and realized that five werewolves were trying to attack them, clawing and snapping their fangs at the forcefield. He could feel the power being drained from it, but he couldn't divert more energy to reinforce it. Frustrated and worried, he could only watch as, within seconds, the werewolves burst through.

  Olivia rushed forward and used her power of flight to pick up Gary’s werewolf. Although it fought her, trying to kick and claw and wiggle its way free, she carried it up impossibly high and then dropped it. It landed with a thud, creating a crater. Its body lay crumpled at wrong angles.

  Elena was fighting one of the werewolves, catching its swipes and uppercutting the beast before punching its chest so hard Gary heard bones snap. Fuck, that had to hurt.

  Three down, two to go.

  Whoops. No. Three to go yet. The one blazing from Nicoletta’s fire hadn’t died yet. He was savage, insanely vicious, trying to reach her through the stream of fire she rained down on him. Finally, the fire burned him enough that he stopped snapping at her and trying to claw toward her.

  Now, three down.

  Yuna watched the proceedings with wide eyes.

  Gary crossed over to her. “Don’t worry. You’re safe.”

  “I don’t want to be safe.” She knelt down and touched the ground. A tremor rumbled out, the soil splintering deep, cracking straight at one of the last werewolves. He fell into the newly formed crevice with a deep, rumbling howl.

  Gary blinked in shock, but Yuna wasn’t done. Like Olivia, she jumped and flew. Her right hand was held straight out, and a burst of fire came out to singe the last werewolf. Her fire was blue, and almost immediately, the werewolf burned to a crisp.

  He gaped at her. “What the hell was that?” he demanded.

  Yuna smiled. “You didn’t think I would come prepared with powers of my own?”

  “But fire and flying and earth? Anything else?”

  “That was insane!” Elena gushed. “Death to the werewolves!”

  Nicoletta stepped away from her. “That was insane,” she agreed. “Those werewolves were brutal. Why couldn’t there be easier shifters for us to fight right off the bat?”

  “The levels of the shifters are dependent on the levels of the gamers,” Yuna explained.

  “You’re level one,” Gary said.

  She grinned. “Not anymore.”

  “You were insane,” Olivia said. “How were you able to master your superpowers right off the bat?”

  “Practice,” Yuna said.

  Hmm. She clearly was prepared for the gaming world. That was for sure.

  “Do you have any other surprises up your sleeves?” Gary asked.

  “Not a one.” Yuna smiled. “That was exhilarating. Such a rush.”

  “Just wait until you fight a boss. The Shifter King or whatever the game boss is,” Olivia said. “Now, that gets the adrenaline flowing. Even for me back home. Well, at Nicoletta’s. It is okay for me to stay here?”

  “Sure.” Nicoletta shrugged.

  “Good because I was staying regardless.” Olivia winked.

  “You eat me out of house and home…” Nicoletta warned.

  “And? What are you going to do?” The sparkle returned to Olivia’s eyes. “Spank me?”

  “You’d like that too much.”

  “Guilty. Oh, Yuna. Do you like to be spanked?”

  Yuna looked a little uncomfortable. She rubbed her throat, and she glanced away. “I don’t see how pain can be pleasurable.”

  “Never knock something until you try it,” Olivia said. “That’s my advice. Oh, and be careful with riding crops. They’re addictive, but if the wielder doesn’t know what he’s doing, you could bleed.”

  “Oh,” Yuna said faintly. “Yes. That does sound like fun.”

  Elena laughed. “No riding crops will ever be used on me.”

  “You never thought you would say yes to a threesome,” Nicoletta pointed out.

  “Wait, so you want to be hit by a riding crop?” Elena asked her.

  “Nope. I want to hit Gary with one.”

  “Hey, now,” he said. “I never agreed to that.”

  Nicoletta waved her hand. "This place is Shifter War. There's no way there are horses, not the animal kind, so there are no riding crops here. You're safe."

  “Until we get us home,” Yuna said.

  Olivia draped an arm across Yuna’s shoulders. “I love your optimism.”

  Gary did too, but he definitely felt anything but optimistic when it came to riding crops.

  Chapter Six

  Gary glanced around. “Looks like we’re at the edge of a jungle.”

  Olivia pointed behind them. “There’s a town that way.”

  “Maybe we should head there,” Nicoletta suggested.

  “You just want to drink,” Elena accused.

  “I just want to see if there’s equipment or a weapon for Yuna,” Nicoletta said, but Gary was sure she was just trying to come up with another reason for heading to the town.

  “Actually,” Yuna said, “I think it might be best if we split up. You all can go to the town, to the tavern or wherever.”

  “And what will you do?” Gary asked, trying not to sound suspicious.

  “My work,” she said matter-of-factly. “I need to do my research on this side of the gaming world.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Nicoletta said.

  “Be careful, Yuna,” Elena said.

  Gary glowered at them. “I don’t think splitting up is a good idea at all.”

  “Why not?” Olivia asked. “Yuna can clearly take care of herself.”

  “I didn’t say she couldn’t, but still, I mean, she’s such a low level and—”

  “And the enemies I will face will be on par with my level,” Yuna pointed out. “I will be fine.”

  “You’re a mage, aren’t you?” he demanded. “A wizard. Can you fly, or is that just air? Air, earth, and fire?”

  “Can you blame me for ensuring I could survive this task?” Yuna asked. “I volunteered for this.”

  “That’s so brave of you,” Olivia gushed.

  Gary closed his eyes so he wouldn’t roll them. He couldn’t help himself. He didn’t trust the developers, which meant he didn’t trust Yuna. Super hotness aside, he could not allow himself to be blinded.

  “I would not call myself brave.” Yuna blushed. “I feel so confused about how this could have happened, how people could be sucked into the game. It’s intriguing. Like a puzzle. I have to get to the bottom of this. It will nag at me forever if I don’t. Besides, I want you all to be able to return home. You deserve to be able to.”

  “And then never play another video game ever again,” Gary declared.

  “Not any?” Olivia sounded horrified.

  “There are so many great games you’ve probably never heard of before,” Nicoletta protested.r />
  “So? Knowing my luck, I’ll get sucked into one of them.” Gary shook his head. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

  “There’s no way you would get sucked into FF7, not unless you count being sucked in and playing twenty hours a day.”

  “FF?”

  “Final Fantasy,” Elena and Olivia said at the same time.

  “I preferred FF9,” Yuna said timidly.

  “That one was good,” Nicoletta admitted.

  “What was up with his tail though?” Olivia asked.

  “FF8 gets overlooked too much,” Elena commented.

  “You’re all talking Greek to me,” Gary complained.

  “Which is why you need to continue to game once we get back home,” Nicoletta said. She patted his arm, and he quickly clasped her hand before she could back away.

  He gazed into her eyes, and she slowly nodded. A wave of relief washed over him. She forgave him. Good. Now, he just needed Olivia to be okay with him, and all would be right in his world.

  Well, as right as he could be with him being here.

  “Yes, yes, fine. I’ll maybe try a few games once we get back, but in order to get back, Yuna needs to do her research. What do you say we help her and—”

  “I’m tired of fighting,” Nicoletta said quietly.

  He opened his mouth and then shut it. That had been her first battle actually in the game. It was quite an adjustment, knowing that you could die while fighting in the game.

  Gary turned to Olivia. “Come on. Help your new friend.”

  Olivia shrugged. “Our new friend is more than capable of taking care of herself. She said we can go to the tavern. Do you honestly think I’m gonna turn that down?”

  Desperate now, Gary faced Elena. “Let’s go fight more shifters,” he said. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”

  Elena started to nod but then yawned, covering her mouth. “Oh, man,” she groaned. “I’m beat.”

  Olivia grinned and parted her lips.

  “Not because Gary actually beat my ass last night,” Elena said dryly.

  “Nicoletta didn’t either?” Olivia asked.

  “Do you only like your sex to be spicy?” Nicoletta asked. “Or would ‘vanilla’ be okay once in a while?” She made air quotes when she said “vanilla.”

  Olivia’s smile broadened. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Don’t worry. You’ll find out one day. Hopefully soon.”