Southern Shifters: Impawsible (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Buchanan Clan Book 1)

by Celia Kyle

  “Nope, I’m not. Doesn’t mean I won’t put your ass down for staring too long. The wolf won’t take it and the tiger wants your blood for even trying.”

  Oh, and there came the rage. Maybe sliding into her car would be a good idea. It wouldn’t stop the male, but she could pretend she’d be safe from the shifter. Bethany’s nose twitched, her rabbit vibrating as fear tried to sneak into her blood. She pushed the emotion back, unwilling to let it take hold. Predators fought to keep their aggression in check. Prey battled to keep terror from their scent. It was a delicate balance, attempting to keep her terror from filling the air when all she wanted to do was shift and dig a happy little burrow.

  Growls filled the air, the lion and the tiger rumbling, and they definitely couldn’t be classified as purrs.

  And as quickly as the sounds reached her, they were silenced by one rough shout. “Jaxson! Carter!”

  Bethany swung her attention to the speaker and noticed the lion did the same as the black-haired tiger peeked out the now broken window.

  Greer. Apparently he really was Bhric’s right hand. He strode down the sidewalk, quick stride bringing him closer, and she tried not to notice that he looked damn good when he was angry.

  It didn’t take the male long to reach them. “What the hell are you two fucking doing?”

  The tiger grunted and pulled back, sliding out of sight once more.

  But the lion wasn’t about to back down. “This asshole—”

  This new rumble came from Greer. “Jaxson.”

  So that meant the other male was Carter. And something… Okay, not something, her rabbit wanted her to get another look at the male. She’d seen the back of his head and now she wanted to see all of him. All. Of. Him.

  Jaxson grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. The lions in her old clan grunted a lot too. So maybe it was a cat thing. “He—”

  Carter stuck his head back outside. “I have the right to refuse service.”

  “Tossing him through the window is how you wanted to get your point across?” Greer drawled.

  “Yup.” With that, the tiger disappeared once more.

  “I—” Jaxson tried again.

  Greer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jaxson, he’s right. He can refuse.”

  “Because his wolf is a pussy bitch?”

  More growls from inside the shop. “Because my wolf wants to tear you into bite-sized pieces and your wolf is being an asshole.”

  Bethany glanced at their surroundings once more and realized the street was now fairly empty. Okay, the public was fine when it was the two males, but the third scared them? Hell, for her, one was good.

  “Enough,” Greer snapped and strode to Jaxson, dropping his voice low. “You need to walk away. Now.”

  “Greer…” the male rumbled.

  “Now,” the leader’s right hand ordered. “You wanna keep up this argument, we’ll finish it later when Bhric is available. Now is not the time.”

  The snarl that filled the air she recognized well. Her lions used to make that noise right before they tried to pounce on her and—

  Bethany couldn’t withhold her rabbit’s whimper, the small chitter that announced her distress. That single sound drew the attention of the two males in front of her and then the third’s when he stuck his head out of the building.

  Greer, Jaxson, and Carter focused on her, their gazes intent. Or rather, in Jaxson’s case, predatory. She swallowed hard and kicked her fear in the ass, trying to shove it away beneath this lion’s gaze. She fought harder when Jaxson breathed deeply and gave her a smile she knew too well. He wanted her. Not in his bed, but on his plate.

  Okay, she kinda expected that reaction, but Bhric assured her she’d be safe. They were animals, yes, but they were still men and he was the baddest. She’d be protected by his word and he’d knock heads around if needed. Thing was, he wasn’t in town at the moment.

  A soft chuff had her shifting attention to Carter, and what she saw there was anything but hungry. Wait, it was hungry, but a different kind of craving. Not for blood, but sex. And staring at him—meeting his amber gaze—made her want it just as much.

  Greer was pretty. Sexy, but he knew it. He knew his appeal and worked it to his advantage. But Carter…

  He was wild and hot, ferocious and dangerous, and she wanted that. Hell, her rabbit was on board as well. It needed Jaxson and Greer to go away so she could get to Carter. To listen to him talk more. To look at him some more. To maybe taste…

  She was prey. She wasn’t into tasting anything.

  Except Carter.

  Right. Except Carter.

  The dark-haired male eased his attention from her back to the other two men. “Get the fuck out.”

  Jaxson glared at her first and then Carter. Greer did something similar, but instead of scowling, he grinned and cackled like a friggin’ witch while holding his stomach.

  “Oh,” he wheezed. “Oh shit, really?” He laughed again. “Damn.” He shook his head. “Wow.”

  Jaxson’s glare deepened, focus now bouncing between Carter and Bethany and the lion took a single step toward her. Apparently that was one too far for Carter because then he was in the lion’s path, body blocking Jaxson’s view.

  Seriously blocking him entirely.

  While Jaxson and Greer were large, Carter was massive, his height eclipsing the lion’s. His broad shoulders, massive biceps, and thick thighs attested to his strength, and if his physical appearance wasn’t enough, there was his scent. Pure dominance, masculine musk, crisp water, growing trees, and… dandelions. Holy crap, he smelled like her most favorite thing ever. Not chocolate, but the one aroma sure to tease her rabbit out of hiding—dandelions.

  Bethany found herself taking a step forward, her bunny urging her to get closer to that delicious scent. It wanted her to rub and roll against him. Or dig through his pockets on the off chance he had one of those yummy flowers hidden away. Though, when she weighed holding a dandelion to touching Carter, she leaned more toward the touching Carter option. The rabbit snipped and scratched her with its tiny claws. It had a goal and… And a gust of wind brought her—them—more of Carter’s scent with a blaring, glaring, rejoicing message.

  Mate.

  The message also scared the ever-living hell out of her. Mate? Mate?

  But she didn’t get a mate. It was a… thing. She was a white rabbit and they were scarce and her history and, and, and…

  Apparently everyone she’d ever spoken to was wrong because in front of her, in all his rage-filled, tiger-wolfy glory, stood her mate. A mate she had never expected and didn’t know how to deal with, so she did the only thing she could. The one thing that had saved her more than once over the years.

  She ran.

  Chapter Three

  Amazingly enough, he let her escape.

  Now Bethany kept one eye looking over her shoulder while she finished her errands, constantly on the lookout for that drool-worthy tiger. She couldn’t shake the feeling she was being followed. But every time she looked around, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. There were whispers that trailed her, of course, but she was used to those. Prey couldn’t move into a town of mostly predators without being talked about. And other than the glare Jaxson shot her, she felt comfortable with each and every person she came across.

  The butcher didn’t have a problem with cutting down some of the large portions in his case.

  The produce manager promised he’d order some actual vegetables.

  The hardware store said they’d order more seed packets and fertilizer.

  They looked at her funny at first, but they smiled, nodded, and took her phone number.

  With a final wave at the store owner, she gathered her few bags and strode to the front door, intent on slumping into her car and driving to the small house on the edge of town. Surprisingly, the place belonged to the wolf clan alpha’s mate, Kitty. She’d heard rumblings about her never really staying there long and that there was this
whole big story that went along with her owning the cottage.

  Honestly, it sounded like Kitty (a werecougar) was now happily mated to the werewolf alpha (who knew how that happened), so Bethany didn’t care all that much. All that mattered was that it was cute, had a large yard she was allowed to garden, and cheap. The magical trifecta of any work-at-home bunny shifter.

  Her little car puttered up the hill. Okay, it was the side of the mountain. Deals Gap was settled in a valley, but the moment you eased past the edge, the roads grew gradually steeper. It was one of the reasons she’d stopped by the mechanic’s since she’d really pushed her vehicle getting to Deals Gap.

  And then there was the throwing and the growling and the hot tottie mating guy. She sighed and her rabbit screeched at her.

  “Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled, hands tightening around the wheel until she had a white-knuckled grip. “I get it, you’re pissed.” Her nails sharpened and pricked her palms. “Stupid pain in my ass. You’re just hurting yourself, you know.”

  The rabbit told her to suck a bunny tail.

  “Since I have one and I’m not that flexible, you’ll have to try again. Talking about sucking, why don’t you go find a dust bunny to bang. Mate with that.” It grumbled and hopped to the back of her mind, doubly annoyed because they didn’t have their mate and Bethany still resisted the need to hunt him down like a dog. Er, tiger-wolf hybrid.

  The rabbit stayed quiet as she navigated the narrow winding road. She turned off at her driveway, the gravel crunching beneath her tires while she rolled along. High pines bracketed her, casting her car into the shadows as she crept toward her home. The farther she drove, the darker it got, aged vegetation encroaching on the pathway, and she wondered if she’d need to hunt up a landscaping company to cut it back. She was all about preserving nature. She was also all about getting to her house.

  The trees parted, growth dropping away to reveal her new home in all its charming, quaint glory.

  It was fucking adorable with the window plant boxes and wrap around porch and a swing! She couldn’t wait to relax there, listen to the sounds in the night, and drink a nice cool glass of sweet tea. That’s what southerners did, right?

  Bethany slowed her car to a stop and threw it into park, setting the brake before shoving open the door and climbing out. The fresh clean air enveloped her, each inhale giving her more of the crisp oxygen. No matter her family’s complaints or issues raised, this had been the right choice. She was on her own now, with a group of shifters—and others—who wouldn’t look down on her for being who she was.

  This was home. And she liked it.

  “Perfection.”

  At least it was until a slightly familiar, deep, tremble-inducing voice cut through the silence. “Yes.”

  With a squeak, she spun to face the male who’d occupied her thoughts since she first caught his scent and met his gaze. “You!”

  He smirked, but instead of looking all practiced and smarmy, it was filled with masculine need and outright hunger. And not the dinnertime hunger, either. This was all kinds of “let me lay you down and eat your pussy for hours” hunger.

  Or… she was projecting what she wanted onto him and he really did want to make her a rare afternoon snack.

  “Yes, me.” He strolled forward, hips rolling in a loose-limbed walk that big cats seemed to have. It was lazy, but she had no doubt he was more than aware of his surroundings. He looked relaxed, but he was on edge, gaze missing nothing. “And then there’s you. You ran.” He came even closer, a predator hunting prey, but she wasn’t scared of him. Not in the least. “You ran from me.”

  “Uh…” She was so smart. Way to sound intelligent. “I…” More intelligence, but she was at least sensible enough to match his steps, easing away as he moved closer. One forward, then back, keeping their ten-foot distance as she tried to make it to the front door.

  Even if Carter was her mate and she was destined to spend the rest of her life with him, she still didn’t know him from Adam, which meant getting into small, enclosed spaces with a tiger was a bad idea.

  The bunny told her being locked up with Carter could be magical.

  The bunny had a death wish. It was official.

  “You should…” Bethany took another step back, wondering when the hell she’d reach the porch and the door already. It seemed like she’d been shuffling for miles and—

  She stumbled with a low grunt, ankles hitting the bottom porch step, forcing her to drop her purse. She fell backward, ass hitting a plank of wood, driving the air from her lungs. At the same time, Carter’s eyes flared gold, his tiger bounding forward as he took two rushing steps nearer. She immediately threw her hand out, palm facing him as she tried to keep him from approaching.

  “Wait! I’m fine! Stay there!” Way over there because she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep her sex-crazed rabbit at bay.

  Carter pulled up short, a frown on his face as he stared at her. It wasn’t a frown. It was confusion. Did no one tell him to hold his horses? Er, paws? It didn’t matter. She took that split second of hesitation and bolted to her feet. She spun and ran to the front door, unlocking it, and sliding in before he could say a word. One slam and one flick had her safely inside and him out.

  Now she could breathe. At least for a minute or until he got tired of waiting for her to get over her panic and let him in. She was feeling pretty damned panicky so he might be waiting a while. She peeked out the window beside the door, right into his eyes. Another squeak and jump had her scampering away from the portal until her back was flat to the wall.

  And he chuckled, that low down, deep, and throaty chuckle that had her hair—and fur—standing on end. Because, of course, her fur was out. The downy white covered her forearms, sliding over her skin and down her fingers. Those were tipped with small, black nails, and she just sighed.

  “Stupid rabbit,” she grumbled. It couldn’t wait its turn. Noooo… it wanted out now. “If you weren’t part of me I’d have you for dinner.”

  The porch creaked, wood groaning as Carter’s shadow moved along the house, giving her a clue to his path. He clomped away from the front door, moving until he paused and more wood protested followed by the high-pitched whine of metal on metal. A rhythmic squeak, the slow and gentle sound telling her without words exactly what the massive tiger-wolf was doing.

  He was swinging on her swing. Him. Swing. Hers…

  If she wasn’t so afraid, she’d yell at him. But she was. So she didn’t.

  “You gonna hide the rest of the day?” His low timbre easily slid past the walls and seemed to reach out for her.

  She kept her mouth shut, unsure how to proceed. Did she open the door? Did she invite him in? Did she level a happy little shotgun at him?

  No, she didn’t think option three was really an option.

  Instead of answering him, she worked toward the other end of the house, inching forward and heading to the far corner. The swing was to the left of the large bay window and if she stood just right… She placed her back against the wall and eased the curtains aside. The new position gave her a clear line of sight for Mr. Tall, Dark, and Deliciously Deadly. Carter had a strong profile with his chiseled jaw and straight nose, but it wasn’t his appearance so much as his bearing that drew her. Dominance lived inside him, pure power and strength that lured her rabbit and lulled it into compliance.

  Dandelions. It was all about the dandelions.

  Whore-ish furball.

  It agreed.

  The corner of his mouth tipped up, his attention focused on his lap. His lap that held her purse.

  “Hey!” She tapped on the glass. “Stay out of there!”

  A woman’s purse was sacred territory. Men had their man caves. Women had purses. It was no-man’s land and he was invading her space.

  He flashed her a smile and gave her a wink.

  “That’s not an agreement,” she shouted through the glass. “Quit it. Bad kitty!”

  He was especially bad when her p
hone rang—her sister Hannah again with her Wild Thing ring tone. She really needed to pick something else. She’d hop onto the app store and—

  “Hello?” His deep timbre washed over her.

  Wait, what?

  “Bethany?” Carter turned his body, changing position until they faced one another—her against the wall and him with his back leaning on the arm of the swing.

  Oh, and look at those muscles again. His shirt stretched taut across his chest, showing off his pecs and clinging to his abdomen. It’s like the god of t-shirts sculpted the clothing just for him in a way that would let her see each and every lickable rise and fall. And she wanted to lick.

  “I’m thinking she’s a little busy right now,” he murmured, those eyes on her. “Can I take a message?” Another pause and his orbs seemed to sparkle. “Her sister? Really? Huh. Me?”

  Dammit. Hannah would start digging, and like a cat, wouldn’t give up until she had everything.

  “I’m Bethie’s mate, Carter Evans.”

  Bethany—not Bethie—heard her sister’s screech from inside the house. Ugh.

  Then the two of them started talking. Like, actual conversation because rather than end her conversation with Carter and call Bethany’s house phone, Hannah took the time to speak—and flirt—with her mate.

  She was angry and/or bitter about her bubblier, fearless sister hitting on her mate. Much.

  Pro: She got to learn a lot about her mate in a very short period of time.

  Con: It included adorable, outgoing Hannah’s involvement.

  Bethany loved her sister. Really. She’d love her more if she wasn’t on the phone with Carter.

  So grow some brass ovaries and take the phone away from him.

  Heh. So not happening. Her ovaries were currently being scared. Just like the rest of her.

  “Tiger-wolf hybrid. Uh-huh. I’m thirty-two. I’ve been living in Deals Gap a little over three years. I run the mechanic shop here in town.” He chuckled and she hated Hannah for making him laugh. “Yes, that is where we met and she did kinda scamper.” Carter’s eyes filled with a heat that went straight to her pink bits. “I thought it was sexy as hell.” Another laugh. “I can see how that grosses you out, but I gotta tell ya, your sister calls to both my beasts like you wouldn’t believe.”