Shifter Hunter

by Dante Steel

  “If you’re sure,” he said reluctantly.

  She reached toward him, hesitated, and then touched his shoulder, staring deep into his eyes. “I’m sure.”

  He nodded, stepped back so her hand would drop, and found a tree with a lot of roots he could use as a pillow. Despite not trusting her, Gary fell asleep quickly.

  His dream—surprise, surprise—featured Olivia. The vixen was never far from his thoughts, and he desperately wanted her, wanted to feel her wetness, wanted to penetrate her, wanted to make sweet, sweet love to her. He had waited long enough for that moment.

  But in the dream, she was teasing him, touching him, nearly bringing him to the point of climax and then backing away. She would suck him almost until he would come and then released him. She rubbed her boobs against his cock.

  “So much pre-cum,” she said, wiping it off with her finger and popping the finger into her mouth.

  “Fuck me,” Gary groaned.

  “You would like that, wouldn’t you?” Olivia winked and got down onto all fours. “Take me, Gary.”

  He did. He pounded into her, holding onto her hips, and she took it hard, took it rough, and he wasn’t sure who came first, or maybe they had simultaneously.

  Panting, he pulled out and collapsed next to Olivia.

  Only the woman who fell onto his chest in a fit of giggles was Yuna.

  Gary woke with a start. He glanced all around, disorientated. Normally, after a sex dream, he would wake up rock hard, but he wasn’t.

  Because he had had a wet dream. Something he hadn’t had in a decade, maybe longer.

  “I would have woken you.” Yuna’s soft voice floated to him in the still darkness.

  “You can sleep now.”

  “Are you sure? I can keep watch a little longer yet.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “All right. Be mindful of monkeys. I had to kill two of them.”

  “I slept through you fighting?”

  His eyes had adjusted enough for him to watch her nod. “You sleep soundly.” She giggled. “You also talk in your sleep.”

  “I do? What did I say?” he asked, horrified.

  “It wasn’t so much talking as…” She shook her head. “Thank you for relieving me.”

  “Of course,” he muttered.

  Had he said Olivia’s name? That would have been okay, but had he subconsciously in the dream realized he had been making love to Yuna? Had he said her name once he realized she was the woman he had sex with?

  “Goodnight, Gary,” she said as she settled at a different tree.

  Gary was on edge. How could he not be? The previous issue had featured vampires. Those demonic creatures always attacked at night. He couldn’t help jerking at every little sound. A few insects were trying to make music, and he wondered if they were just bugs or shifters, too.

  It seemed as if an entire twenty-four hours passed before the five moons set and the sun began to rise. Gary had been eyeing the jungle. He could see some animals deep within it, but none were heading their way.

  “I slept rather well,” Yuna said, coming to stand beside him.

  He glanced over at her and did a double take. Her attire had changed. Before, she had worn a simple purple robe of some kind. Now, she wore a low-cut dress in various shades of blue with cutouts under the boobs. The skirt had a high slit in the front. She had two gloves that covered her arms from the wrist to just above her elbows. Material flowed from the detached sleeves, making every gesture with her arms look almost magical.

  Yuna had also changed her hair slightly. Most of her hair still flowed down her back, but she also had two buns on the top of her head, and she had placed flowers in front of each one.

  Somehow, she had made herself even hotter.

  She wasn’t even a superhero yet. She wasn’t in skin-tight clothing yet. Gary almost didn’t want to see her in some because he wasn’t sure he could force himself not to look.

  You know Olivia would look.

  He shook his head.

  “How did you sleep?” Yuna asked.

  “All right. Let’s go.”

  “Do you want breakfast first?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “Very well. We can head around the jungle if you prefer. It seems rather active.”

  “I thought you wanted all of the experience,” he asked.

  “I am more than happy to defer this decision to you.”

  She was so agreeable all the time. It was almost unnerving.

  “Around,” he announced. That way, they would have a chance to talk. Not to get to know each other. Oh, no, he wanted to get as much info out of her as he could.

  "I thought so." She smiled at him and started to walk away from entering the jungle. Her boobs bounced with every step. Yuna wasn't wearing a bra, and although the day was warm already, her nipples could cut glass.

  He shook his head again and easily caught up to her. “What supplies are we going to get?” he asked.

  “Various equipment pieces.”

  “Equipment? For what? Are you going to run tests before trying to send one of us back? If you have to work your magical science mumbo jumbo to get us back, who is going to do that for you?”

  “Haru can,” she said patiently, but that was all she said.

  Gary grimaced. Although she was mostly agreeable, she wasn’t much more forthcoming than Haru had been.

  “I would like to hear more,” he said. “Your theories, your plans… all of it.”

  “Oh, no.” She giggled. “I don’t want to bore you.”

  As they rounded the edge of the jungle, Gary spied a man in the field. He shaded his eyes to try to see him better.

  “An NPC?” he asked.

  Yuna halted. “We can wait and see,” she suggested.

  “How can we tell?”

  “If he transforms into an animal, he’s a shifter.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, feeling stupid.

  Gary grew anxious as they waited, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

  “Now, who has ants in the pants?” Yuna giggled.

  He almost smiled but caught himself. With his relationship status in the air and not quite cemented yet with the others, he didn’t think it was the best time to befriend another girl.

  “Let’s go,” Gary said, not waiting for her to respond and heading straight for the guy.

  Who promptly shifts into a unicorn with a sparkly horn and pink hooves. Why pink?

  Gary was prepared this time. He had noticed a broken branch lying on the ground in the jungle they were walking around. Swiftly, he called it over to him and then telekinetically swung at the unicorn’s horn.

  The creature screamed an unearthly sound, and Gary slammed the branch as if it were a bat into the unicorn’s side and head. Eventually, the shifter lay on the ground, its white fur stained with blood.

  “Remind me not to upset you,” Yuna said.

  “You’re fine,” he muttered, moving on as the unicorn breathed his last. Gary gained most of the experience points, Yuna only acquiring a few.

  “In more ways than one,” Olivia would have said.

  Gary sighed. He really hoped he had not ruined things between them. Olivia acted happy all of the time, but he could tell when she wasn’t. He already knew her well.

  Well enough to be worried that she wouldn’t be happy with him and Nicoletta and Elena for forever.

  Olivia loved everyone, and that could be a problem.

  “Back to heavy thoughts again,” Yuna said.

  “I’m wondering how long it will take you to figure things out once we reach this place,” he asked. No way was he going to talk to her about his relationships.

  “That is hard to say.” Yuna frowned. “I will not rush because I do not want there to be a mishap.”

  “Some mishaps could be fatal, I take it.”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “But I will not allow that to happen. You can trust me.”

  "I asked Haru about this b
efore. Can you run tests to send something alive before sending one of us back? I even suggested sending animals through because I take it we can't send an NPC back, right?"

  “We could send an NPC back,” she said.

  He blinked. “Really?”

  “Well, theoretically. They wouldn’t be alive though. They have no conscious. They just do what they’re programmed to do.”

  “Like a robot.”

  “Basically, yes. But outside of the framework, they won’t have any orders to follow. They would be hollow shells.”

  “Ah. So you could send one back first as a test then. It won’t hurt any.”

  “Potentially not hurt any. I don’t want to have to worry about Skynet or anything like that in case something goes wrong. With the high voltage, who knows? Maybe it could become sentient.”

  “Great. Yeah, never mind that then. Back to animals.”

  “It is a consideration. Do not worry. I am still in touch with Haru and the others. All will work out. I promise.”

  Gary wanted to believe her. He really did, but Haru had led him on for so long that Gary wasn’t sure what to think.

  “Everything will go back to the way it was,” Yuna continued. “We will help you get your apartment back or another one if a new tenant has been found. If you or any of the girls would like a position with us, we will gladly have you on board. Otherwise, we will help with finding you all jobs elsewhere. Your friends in school, we will cover their tuition.”

  “Let me guess. All of this for the low, low price of our silence.”

  Yuna nodded. “I am afraid that is going to have to be required. You will have to sign NDAs.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Non-disclosure agreements.”

  “I’m not saying I would, but if I were to break the NDA…”

  “I have not seen the drafts, so I do not know what the consequences may entail. Rest assured that we do have your best interests at heart.”

  “Because you don’t want us to sue.” He grimaced. “The NDA would ensure we wouldn’t sue your company.”

  “We do have to protect ourselves.”

  “What about us?” he demanded.

  “That is why I am here. To protect you.”

  “I don’t need protection.”

  She paused mid-stride and did not face him. “You have gone up against Samuel August many times and have lived to tell the tale, yes, but you have not killed him. Might not have killed him.” Yuna sighed. “He’s the genius, not me. I don’t understand how he is doing what he is doing.”

  “Did you check the stuff we found of his?”

  “Yes, thank you for recovering that, but unfortunately, none of that helped us. We have inspected the entirety of Vampire War. He must have destroyed his equipment.”

  “Or he hacked the framework and hid it out of sight from everyone.”

  Yuna blinked a few times. “Can you repeat that?”

  “He might’ve hacked the framework.”

  "Yes, despite our best efforts and firewalls and precautions. Hiding within the game behind a veil that we cannot see… I must speak to Haru about this," she murmured. "It is a possibility I had not considered, and I wonder if Haru has."

  “Happy to help.” Gary shrugged. “It just makes sense. You guys haven’t been able to track him. Maybe he made himself untrackable—”

  “Or maybe he is only partially in the game.”

  His heart skipped a beat. “Do you think he’s able to go back to the real world?”

  “Or else he is trying to feed off our framework in order to create his own world where he could live forever.”

  "Like a god." Gary could hardly believe it. This asshole had run away to the game to avoid being put on trial for killing his mother. Now, he might be trying to create an entire world for himself?

  That would be lonely without people. You can’t be a god above no one. Maybe Smaug hadn’t killed them because he didn’t want them dead. Maybe he wanted them to be in his world with him.

  Well, not Gary. Smaug had most definitely tried his damnedest to kill Gary. But the girls… sure, he had detached Elena's arm, but even that hadn't killed her. If he knew they were human, too, he might want them alive or at least the girls.

  Hell, it was possible Smaug wanted the girls for his own harem.

  Chapter Nine

  Gary's mood could not be fouler. When a python slithered toward him, Gary yanked out a dagger and stabbed the snake fifty times before killing it. Excessive? Maybe, but Gary was beyond furious. The thought of his girls being with anyone else left him feeling hurt and upset.

  And also a little scared.

  What if Yuna was right and everything did go back to normal? He lived in Philly, and so did Nicoletta, but the others lived in North Carolina and New York. Not super far and yet way too far at the same time.

  Normal for Gary meant his apartment, yes, and getting it back would be great. Although he didn’t want his trashman job back. Maybe he could go to school instead. He honestly wasn’t tempted by the idea of working for a gaming company. No, thank you.

  But normal also meant a non-existent love life. That was the normal he did not want. His chest grew tight, and rubbing it didn’t take away the pain.

  Gradually, they walked around the jungle and left it behind. Around noon, Gary spotted a faint outline of structures along the horizon.

  “Do you want to head to the town?” he asked.

  “Why not? I’m hungry. Aren’t you?”

  “Yes.” He was sick of eating berries. Considering this was a world full of shifters, Gary didn’t want to risk eating one of them. Then again, it would be another way to kill them… Ugh. Disgusting. Suddenly, Gary wasn’t so hungry anymore.

  Another hour passed before they reached the edge of the town. Before they crossed through, Gary hesitated.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “The NPCs won’t be shifters, will they?”

  “It’s possible some are. We engineered this game specifically for Elena. She was the one who asked for the woolly mammoths, yes?”

  Gary nodded. He did not appreciate that. A woolly mammoth would not be easy to take down, not even with fire and their combined might.

  "We designed the game so that just about everyone should be shifters. The NPCs, of course, are good shifters. If we were to try to do the quests for the game, we would eventually have to help lead the good shifters against the evil ones. Some entirely human settlements will later come under attack from the evil ones if we are not quick enough to stop them." She blushed. "I'm sorry for rambling, and I don't want to spoil everything and take away your enjoyment of the game. Half of the fun is determining what your next quest or goal should be, your next objective."

  “It’s all right. Any chance if you know if this town is human or shifter?”

  “Shifter,” she said without hesitating.

  “How do you know?”

  She pointed through the open gate. A town square lay just beyond with a fountain of a massive wolf on its hind legs.

  “Werewolves,” Gary muttered.

  “Yes. If I recall correctly, we made werewolves the strongest of the shifters.”

  “Because that’s gonna be fun. I take it werewolves fight in packs just like real wolves.”

  “Oh, yes.”

  With that wonderful bit of news, Gary strolled through the open gate. Almost immediately, a man with a crescent-shaped tattoo over his eyes glowered at them. He broke off from the cluster of men and women he was speaking to and approached them.

  Interesting. Most NPCs waited around to have the players come up to them.

  Gary glanced at Yuna. She seemed as surprised as he was.

  “You are not welcome here,” the man said.

  “Why not?” Gary asked, shocked by his anger. Most NPCs so far hadn’t shown a lot of emotion. This one was almost bitter in his fury.

  “We are not allowing strangers within our town,” he said.

  “Yeah?” Gary cros
sed his arms. “Who died and made you king?”

  The man swelled his chest. “I am not a king, but I am the leader here at Night Falls. You will do as I say and leave now.”

  “Why do you want us to leave?” Yuna asked.

  “We are not allowing strangers within our town,” he repeated.

  Yuna sighed. “Yes, yes. Why are you not allowing strangers?”

  “Strangers are bad,” a young boy of maybe four said, running over and grabbing the leader’s leg.

  “Exactly so, son.” The man stiffly patted his back. “You are not welcome here.”

  Gary glanced around. Several people had left various buildings and were eyeing them suspiciously. The crowd the leader had been speaking to seemed furious.

  Yuna knelt down. “Are you a werewolf like your father?” she asked.

  The boy’s lower lip quivered. A tear ran down his cheek. It amazed Gary how lifelike everything seemed. At times, he almost forgot he was in a game. The people, the scenery, the sights and smells of it all, it was incredibly genuine.

  “Not yet?” Gary asked.

  “Werewolves can shift when they turn five,” the boy said. “I’m four. I can’t shift yet.”

  “You won’t have much longer,” Yuna said.

  The boy just shook his head. His sadness was so palpable Gary shared it.

  “You are not welcome here,” the boy’s father said.

  “Why is your son so sad?” Gary demanded.

  “You are not—”

  “Why are you so against strangers? What’s with the anger?”

  Maybe he was supposed to try to earn their trust. Maybe this was a quest for heroes or megaheroes, maybe even superheroes. Gary wasn't about to fool around in the game and worry about all of that unless he had to. If that were the case, maybe they would come back.

  “You are not—”

  “Can we just get a bite to eat? Then we will go,” Yuna said.

  The leader hesitated. He glanced behind him, and a woman wearing a dark blue dress stepped forward and nodded.

  “You can eat. Then you must go.”

  Gary grinned at Yuna. He normally wasn’t so brash and curt with people. In the real world, he hardly ever interrupted someone. In some ways, the game was changing him and not always for the better. He needed to be more patient.