CRACKED: An Anthology of Eggsellent Chicken Stories

by J. F. Posthumus

  She opened the door with a smile. Somehow, she was even more beautiful now than she had been the night before. I think I like her even better in jeans than in a dress.

  “Oh, Niall, those are lovely.” Tori took the roses from his hand. “Come on in while I find a vase for these.”

  She moved into the kitchen, and Niall watched her stand on her tiptoes to try to reach a vase on the top shelf of a cabinet. His hands itched to slide over her hips, to pull her close to him.

  Wooing, he reminded himself. I’m here to woo her, not ravish her.

  “Can you reach that?” she asked. “I’m too short.”

  “No, you’re perfect.” He joined her in the kitchen, reaching one hand up to bring down the vase.

  When he turned around, she was leaning back against the counter, absently plucking a rose petal off a flower and putting it in her mouth. From the looks of the flower, she’d eaten several of the petals.

  “Does that actually taste good?” he asked.

  Tori blinked, then glanced down at the rose she’d been devouring. A bright red flush stained her cheeks. She swallowed before she spoke. “I don’t know why I did that.”

  Niall laughed. “Well, let’s get you to that restaurant before you finish off the rest of the roses.”

  He handed her the vase, and she filled it with water, dropping the flowers into it as if they’d burned her hand. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”

  They headed out the door, but she glanced back at the roses one last time, a worried expression in her eyes.

  Chapter 5

  Tori

  Why did I eat a rose, of all things? What is wrong with me?

  Pablo’s Tex-Mex restaurant was packed, even for a Saturday night, but for some reason, Tori wasn’t enjoying the slightly shabby atmosphere as much as she usually did. In fact, as she and Niall walked in, Tori was acutely aware of several pairs of feminine eyes on her date.

  Worse, she knew most of the women now ogling Niall.

  What on earth made me think bringing him to my favorite restaurant in town was a good idea?

  At the very least, it would mean questions the next time she came in alone. She never brought a date here.

  Well. Okay. She almost never took a date anywhere.

  “Hey, Tori. Want your usual?” Maria, a waitress at the restaurant and Tori’s best friend, did an actual double-take when she realized the gorgeous guy standing behind Tori was actually with Tori.

  “Table for two tonight, please,” Niall cut in, a smile underscoring his deep rumbling voice.

  “Right this way.” Maria led them to a booth in the far back corner of the restaurant, the closest thing to private available at a place like Pablo’s. After she placed their plastic-coated menus in front of them, Maria headed back toward the kitchen. But as soon as she moved out of Niall’s line of sight, the waitress turned around, pointed at Niall, raised her eyebrows, and mouthed, “Oh, my God!” at Tori, who had to hold her breath for a moment to keep from snickering.

  Niall glanced down at the menu for a second, then closed it and set it on the table. With his hands clasped before him, he leaned forward, his ice-blue gaze pinning Tori to her seat.

  Her heartbeat sped up so much she was surprised he couldn’t hear it.

  “So tell me about your clan,” he said.

  “My… clan?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. Pack, clan, herd. Whatever.” With a glance around as if to make sure no one was listening, he continued. “What kind of shifter are you, anyway?”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what you’re trying to ask me.”

  A frown creased that beautiful forehead of his, and Tori’s hand twitched up as if determined to smooth it away, no matter what her brain said about not touching the beautiful man sitting across from her.

  Even if I want to touch him more than I’ve ever wanted to touch anyone before.

  Once again, he glanced around furtively, leaning in even closer and lowering his voice more than before. “I’m a wolf shifter from the Dallas pack.”

  What did that mean? Was that some sort of gang or something? “Okay…”

  “Before I left Dallas, my alpha told me there weren’t many shifters here at all.”

  “Your… what?”

  “My alpha. He said I might not run into any other shifters here at all. So I was pretty surprised to meet my fated mate living next door.” His smile lit up those gorgeous eyes of his as he reached out to place one of his hands over hers, and his touch sent tingles of electricity chasing each other all through her body.

  Still…

  “Your alpha? Is that some kind of sexual thing?”

  He blinked. “No. My pack alpha.”

  Slowly, Tori pulled her hand out from under his and dropped it into her lap. “What is a pack alpha?”

  All the air whooshed out of Niall as he thumped back against the burgundy vinyl of the booth. “You don’t have an alpha?”

  “I don’t even know what an alpha is.”

  Niall leaned forward again, but this time his hands stayed off the table. Instead, he sniffed the air between them. “You smell like… maybe a bird?”

  “A bird? I smell like a bird? I don’t think that’s a compliment.”

  Niall stared at her with such intensity that it made her nervous.

  Suddenly, his expression cleared. “Oh, my God. You’re new, aren’t you?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “You were limping and bleeding last night when you got home. Let me guess. Some kind of animal attack?”

  “Yes.” She drew the word out, uncertain where he was going with this.

  “Okay.” He rubbed his hands together, then repeated himself. “Okay. Here’s the deal.” Pointing both forefingers at her, he said, “You were attacked by a were-animal. A shapeshifter.” Niall flipped his hands around so his thumbs pointed back at himself. “And I am a werewolf. And you are my fated mate.”

  Chapter 6

  Niall

  I think maybe I flubbed that one.

  Niall waited for a response. Tori stared at him blankly for several seconds. Then she laughed. The sound seemed to startle even her—she clapped her hand over her mouth. When she took it away, she was already shaking her head. “I always get the crazy ones,” she muttered.

  “It’s true,” he insisted. “I can prove it.”

  Her eyes widened. “You can prove that we’re supposed to be… what did you call it? Fated mates?”

  He lowered his voice. “That I’m a werewolf.”

  She stared into his eyes, her bright green eyes starting to glow in a way that Niall recognized.

  “Oh, hell,” he whispered.

  She opened her mouth as if to speak. “Squawk!”

  This time, she clamped both hands over her mouth, her eyes wide and shocked.

  “We need to get you out of here.” If he hurried, he’d be able to hustle her out to the car before she started actually shifting. “Try to keep breathing slowly and steadily. You can hold off the change for a while that way.”

  Seasoned shifters could hold off a shift for a long time that way. Born shifters, like Niall, could keep from shifting anytime other than during a full moon. But Tori was so brand new that she didn’t even realize what she was.

  It’ll be a real problem if she can’t keep it together until we get to the car.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  In unison, they slid out of the booth and stood. Tori kept her hands over her mouth, though. That could prove useful.

  Niall took her by the elbow and guided her through the restaurant, weaving between tables. As they passed the woman who’d seated them, he waved at her. “Tori’s not feeling well. I’m going to take her home. Sorry.”

  The other woman started to move toward them, but Tori waved her off, taking her hands away long enough to say in a strangled tone, “I’ll call later.”

  “Are you sure?”

  It took every ounce of self-control Niall could muster to stop himself from growling at th
e woman.

  She simply wants to protect her friend, he told himself. His inner wolf subsided, but only reluctantly.

  Halfway across the parking lot, Tori stumbled.

  She’s going to shift.

  He had to act, and quickly. Without even thinking about it, he scooped her into his arms, carrying her the rest of the way to his car so he could get her back to the safety of his apartment.

  Chapter 7

  Tori

  He had picked her up and carried her.

  The last time a man had been able to carry her anywhere had been… longer ago than Tori cared to think about.

  Like a bride over the threshold.

  She pushed the thought down.

  Not important.

  No. What was important was that being swept off her feet—literally—had stopped whatever was going on inside her.

  And now she was riding in the passenger seat of his bright red sports car, wrapped in the warmth of the interior, headed back to their apartment building.

  Neither of them had said anything since he’d deposited her gently in the passenger seat and gotten in on the driver’s side. Outside the window, fields flashed by. They drove in silence until they came to a stoplight.

  “What kind of animal attacked you yesterday?” Niall finally asked.

  “A chicken,” she said.

  He glanced at her with a surprised expression but quickly schooled his face into something more neutral. “A chicken. Okay.” He paused. “Any other recent animal attacks?”

  “No.” Her voice came out as a bare whisper. In the back of her mind beat the tattoo sound of denial. Don’t tell me. Don’t tell me. Don’t tell me.

  “If that’s the only kind of animal you’ve had contact with, then that’s probably the kind of shifter you are.”

  Her heart froze in her throat. She had to force the words out. “You can’t know that.”

  “No, I can’t. Not yet.”

  “Would that mean the chicken that attacked me was a shifter, too?”

  “Yeah.” The light turned green and Niall continued toward the apartment. “It makes sense if you think about it. If this place doesn’t have any other shifters around, it would be the perfect place for a flock of chicken shifters to hide from predators.”

  “I guess.” This conversation is insane.

  He pulled into the parking lot and stopped his car next to hers but didn’t turn off the engine. Instead, he set the parking brake and turned to her. “I think you should try to shift.”

  “This is crazy.” Tori couldn’t look away from him, though. And deep in her heart, she knew it was true. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “But okay.”

  “Try closing your eyes.” Niall’s deep, rumbling voice made her want to lean against him forever. But that wouldn’t help her change.

  “This isn’t working.” She sat up on the sofa and scooted away from him. “Whatever happened in the restaurant was because I was upset, not because I was calm.”

  “Hm.” He nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right. Let’s try that, then.”

  “I don’t know how to get upset on command.”

  “Then let’s talk about us.”

  “Us?” She gave him a sidelong glance. “You mean that fated mates thing?”

  “Yeah. You’re new to all this. So what do you want to know?”

  “Fated. What does that mean?”

  He turned to face her, leaning against the arm of the couch. “It’s a kind of shorthand. It means we’re meant to be together.”

  “Like, forever?”

  His smile all but blinded her, setting her heart beating a little faster. “Forever and a day.”

  She swallowed. “No more dating?”

  “Only each other.”

  A tingle went up her spine. “What if you’re wrong about it?”

  “I’m not. I know it all the way down to my bones. We’re meant to be together.”

  “I don’t think I can do this. I’m too afraid.”

  He reached out one hand to brush her hair back behind one ear. “There’s nothing to fear. I promise.”

  “Squawk!” She clapped her hands over her mouth.

  “Don’t try to stop it.” He leaned closer, his mouth brushing against her ear. “Let it happen.”

  The tingle up her spine intensified, moving out along her arms and down her legs. She shivered at the intensity of it.

  With a single fingertip, Niall traced a light line along the back of her hand and up toward her shoulder. The gentle touch left chills behind. He skipped to the spot where the skin of her neck met her shoulder. “You’re perfect,” he whispered as he moved back down the other arm. When he reached her wrist, she finally inhaled a shaky breath.

  And when she exhaled, she shifted.

  All the bones in her body crackled, popping as they grew smaller, lighter. Everything in the room swam in her vision and then popped back into focus. The world glowed in colors she’d never seen before.

  She shook her entire body and the clothes she’d been wearing pooled around her feet. She stepped out of them, marveling at how huge they seemed.

  And high above her, appearing huge to her new vision, loomed Niall.

  “Oh, you’re pretty,” he said, awe in his tone. “Okay. Now it’s my turn.” He stood up and began stripping off his clothes.

  Even in her animal form, Tori marveled at how beautiful he was.

  Until he changed.

  As a human, Niall was gorgeous.

  As a wolf, he was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

  Chapter 8

  Niall

  She’s so tiny.

  Niall never would have said so aloud, but he’d been worried that his wolf might have wanted… well, to be honest, he’d been terrified that his wolf might have wanted to devour her whole.

  And he did—but not like a wolf gulps down a chicken.

  I want to consume her, take her, make her a part of me like a man does a woman.

  Every part of him screamed to protect her, to keep her fragile shifter form safe from every other predator in the world. He would shield her from anything—or anyone—who meant her harm.

  He stalked over to her and gently rubbed his nose against the multicolored feathers—black and white and a deep red that matched the color of her hair.

  She still smelled like Tori, only somehow more so. She smelled like his mate.

  Mine. Forever.

  Soon, he would have to let his wolf out for a good long run. Soon, he promised. But right now, there were things he needed to say aloud to her. He could only do that in his human shape.

  So he closed his eyes and sank into that place deep inside that held his shifter magic. In seconds, he felt its power swirl up through him, changing him all the way down to his DNA.

  Then he turned to Tori. “Come back to me, my amazing mate.”

  Chapter 9

  Tori

  I can’t believe I’m not afraid of him.

  Part of Tori knew she ought to be terrified of the giant wolf when he stalked toward her. But when he rubbed his nose against her, all she felt was safe. Protected.

  Loved.

  I can’t possibly love him. I’ve known him for less than two days.

  But she was absolutely certain.

  This is the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life learning about. The wolf I’ll spend forever loving.

  As he coaxed her through the shift back to her human form, though, she couldn’t help but feel some trepidation. What if seeing her in her animal shape had caused Niall to change his mind? What if her fowl form was… well, foul to him?

  So the first thing she said as she took her human shape was, “I can’t believe I’m a werechicken. This is awful.”

  He blinked and took a step toward her. “Sweetheart, it’s not awful. You’re every bit as beautiful in your bird shape as you are right now, standing in front of me.”

  In that moment, Tori realized the two of them were standing inches apart, co
mpletely naked. A heated blush crawled up her neck to stain her cheeks. She carefully kept her gaze focused on his eyes.

  Niall took another step toward her and cupped her face in his hands. He leaned his forehead against hers, and when he spoke, his breath fanned her face. “I promise, I don’t care what kind of shifter you are.”

  His lips brushed gently against hers once, then again, soft as butterfly wings, until she responded by pressing closer to him. “Yes,” she whispered.

  With that one word of consent, he claimed her mouth with his own, pulling her in close to him. His tongue swept against hers, the heat of him surrounding her. Chills swept up and down her body, and for a moment, she worried that she would shift again. But the connection between them steadied her, and she wound her arms around his neck, pressing against him, returning his kiss with a passion like nothing she had ever felt before.

  When he finally pulled back just enough to speak again, they were both breathing hard. “Tori,” he said, “you’re my perfect mate. We are destined to be together, and I promise I will do everything in my power to make you the happiest woman in the world.”

  She was still smiling when she stood on her tiptoes to meet his lips for another kiss—and just before she closed her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a single feather floating down beside them.

  Best. Weekend. Ever.

  The End

  About the Author

  Love super-steamy shifter romances? Preorder Big Cat Heat and Dragon’s Flame, the first two full-length novels in the Shifters United series of standalone paranormal romances.

  For more unusual shifter couples, check out the Shifter Shield series, starting with Under Her Skin.

  And if you like shifter aliens, you’ll love Star Mate Matched, the first book in the Interstellar Shifters series!