ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection)

by C. J. Ayers

  She wove her way through the crowd towards her mom. "Hi," she said. Her mom grabbed her and pulled her close.

  "Oh God honey, he's gorgeous. Even better looking than his pictures. And boy is he into you."

  "Mom, you act like you're more excited about Jakob than about your anniversary."

  Her mom's brows furrowed. "Don't misunderstand. You know I love your father, but seeing you happy for a change is the best anniversary present a parent could get."

  Now it was Sabrina's turn to furrow her brow. "Do you really love Dad as much as you made it sound like?"

  Sabrina's mom cocked her head and looked at her with quizzical eyes. "Of course. How can you even ask that?" Her mom sounded offended.

  "It's just... growing up, you guys were always fighting and..." but she couldn't finish her thought. Her mom was watching her with wonder.

  "Because he doesn't take all the shit from me that other people do. He never has. That's one of the reasons I fell in love with him. But that doesn't mean it doesn't piss me off when he's doing it."

  Sabrina's knees shook. Was it possible she'd been wrong all these years? That her parents really did love each other? That she'd misunderstood?

  Sabrina looked across the yard where Jakob stood, watching her. She smiled back at him, and felt the slightest tingle shoot through her ring finger.

  ***

  Jakob walked Sabrina to her door and kissed her good night. "Thank you for going with me tonight. I know my family can be a bit much to take."

  "I want to come in," Jakob said, kissing her hand, "but if I do, I won't leave. And there's something I need to take care of." Jakob was thinking of Blake. Tonight was the full moon, and Jakob had a bad feeling. He wanted to check on his pack. He knew Blake was nowhere near Sabrina's— he would have sensed him in an instant—and the pack house was the only other point of concern for him.

  Sabrina was oblivious to Jakob's worry. If she'd tried, she could have pried it from his mind easily. They were too connected now not to know each other's feelings. His mouth tantalized her and she licked her lips before kissing him hard. Her hand swung behind his neck, and Jakob gently pulled it off and slipped something onto her finger. She looked down and saw a small square cut diamond on a tarnished silver band. It looked old.

  For once, Sabrina didn't have to fight dizziness and hyperventilation. "It's perfect," Sabrina said, her pink lips turning up to meet his. Jakob smiled back. Finally, he had gotten something right. He'd had to push aside his natural inclination to go to Tiffany's, and instead had gone to a small antique store that could never compete with the likes of The Silver Vaults in Chancery Lane, London. This was an old mom and pop shop that had been passed down from one generation to another. Nothing was specifically organized, and nothing was specifically expensive. There, in a corner, he'd found this ring. He knew she'd love it.

  "So you'll think about it?" Jakob nudged.

  Sabrina shook her head. "No. I don't need to think anymore. The answer is yes." Her heart went wild in her chest, her face flushing, her thighs burning. Jakob sensed all these things and didn't think he could leave her. It was too difficult.

  "I'll come back later," he said.

  "Good." She pressed her core against him, sliding her hand along the bulging muscles of his back. He let his hands trail up her waist and stop at the voluptuous curve of her breasts. His breath was fast and almost as hard as the bulge that rubbed against Sabrina's lower half.

  "Go," she said, pushing him away. "But hurry back."

  He shook himself, grunting, and hurried home. The faster he took care of this, the faster he could return.

  Sabrina stepped inside and closed the door. She leaned against it and let her eyes close. She didn't hear anything until it was too late. Blake's hand was already over her mouth, and his claws were already ripping her flesh.

  Chapter 17

  Jakob paused at the door to his home. His head thumped like a jackhammer and his eyes felt like they wanted to shed blood. He could hardly breathe and fell to the ground just as he crossed the threshold.

  Mark was there and called the others, who came running. "I'm fine," Jakob said, standing up and shaking them off. Sabrina was dreaming again. It must be a terrible nightmare, he thought, for him to feel the sensations he had so strongly. He walked to his study and sank into the deep plush of his favorite chair. The pack followed him in.

  "I'm fine," he said. "Christ I don't need a babysitter. Leave me."

  They began walking away when something occurred to him. "Has Blake been here?" He'd specifically told them to keep an eye out for him. They looked around and shrugged.

  "He hasn't been here," William said.

  Jakob's heart began a marathon in his chest. He closed his eyes and tried to listen for Sabrina. He picked her out immediately. Her scent was easy to find, her thoughts nearly so. But what he felt couldn't be real. She was definitely dreaming. She had to be. In his mind he saw her hurt and bleeding, felt her life draining away. He'd only left her a half hour ago. This wasn't possible.

  Unless Blake... he reached out his mind to find Blake, and was horrified at the silence. His eyes snapped open, wide and frightened with sudden understanding.

  "Oh God," Jakob said, "what have I done?" Jakob had banished Blake. For good. That meant he was no longer Blake's alpha. He had no control over him, and no ability to sense him.

  The pack stared at him, uncertain whether they should try to help as Jakob jumped off the chair and ran for the door. He shifted so fast his pack almost missed it. His clothes ripped and scattered through the air. Sabrina was in trouble. It was no dream this time.

  ***

  Sabrina was tied to the bed. Her shirt was split open and blood oozed over her breasts, pooling between them as she whimpered. She called out to Jakob but wasn't sure he heard her. She thought so, but her mind was too rattled with pain. She couldn't concentrate on anything other than the razor claws Blake insisted on cutting her with. She wished for neighbors who could hear her, but the walls in this building were thick and Sabrina had a corner unit. One set of neighbors only, an old couple who both used hearing aids.

  Black hovered in the background, watching her squirm. This was what he wanted. With Sabrina gone, Jakob would crumble. No one else in the pack could lead. He would simply step in.

  "Why are you doing this?" Sabrina sobbed. Her right arm was broken. It stretched over her head, tied to a post in her headboard. It shouldn't be able to straighten out enough to reach, given the angle the bone protruded out at, but Blake had forced it. It seemed hours or even days had passed since her parents' party. The ring Jakob had given her less than an hour ago glistened in the light of her room. Blake followed her gaze and smiled at the ring.

  "No," she begged as he approached her. His hand snatched the ring off her finger too quick. She felt her finger crackle and a small splinter of bone poke out of her like a needle.

  "Pretty," Blake said, then tossed it into the trash.

  He had transformed himself into a half-wolf for Sabrina's benefit. It was easy with the moon so full. He'd shut off all the lights in her room, wanting to see the glory of the moonlight. He paced around the room and stopped at the window, looking out. His body stood erect, hair sprouted from him in all directions. Sabrina didn't think of him as a wolf. Werewolves were not evil, Jakob had explained, they were simply humans with the ability to shift at will. They lived, they died, they loved, just like anyone. Blake was nothing but a monster.

  His fingers had grown, dangling at his sides like carrots, and with them the nails that he traced over Sabrina's skin, threatening to cut her open once again. She already felt dizzy and wondered how much blood loss the wound to her chest had caused. Guess it's a good thing they're not vampires, she thought, and giggled in her slight delerium.

  Blake thought she was laughing at him. He dug one claw deep into her belly and the giggle ran away from her, replaced with wide eyes and a piercing scream. He smiled, satisfied.

  Chapter 18


  Jakob moved so fast anyone who saw him would have had no choice but to believe he was something otherworldly. He moved through the night, letting the force of the full moon rush through him, filling him with strength and speed. The flesh of his paws pounded the pavement, creating a thud deeper than thunder. It shook the ground as he ran and anyone he passed thought there'd just been an earthquake.

  Outside Sabrina's building Jakob jumped through an open window in the basement and made his way up four flights of stairs to Sabrina's apartment. The door was open. Jakob entered, cautious. He didn't care if he was injured, but he did not want any more harm to come to Sabrina. He smelled her from the other room.

  "Come in Jakob," Blake's voice rang out.

  In the bedroom, on the bed where they'd made love for the first time, lay Sabrina. She was covered with so much blood Jakob barely recognized her. Her breaths were short and shallow. Her eyes opened and she looked at him. "Jakob," she whispered, before talking became too much.

  Jakob shifted out of his wolf form and ran to her. He pressed one hand to her head and felt her pulse under his hand. It wasn't as bad as it looked. Her heart beat was still strong. She'd lost a lot of blood, but they could fix that at a hospital. He kissed her tenderly on the lips and she responded with a murmur. The ties around her wrists left deep purple bruises. Her arm was broken and Jakob quickly undid the ties that bound her to the bed. Her arms lay limp at her sides. At least Blake hadn't tried to mate with her. There was no scent of anything to indicate a sexual act had taken place.

  If Blake had been able to read Jakob's thoughts, he would have laughed. The idea of touching Sabrina disgusted him. Unless he was ripping part of her open with his nails, that is. He wanted her dead.

  Jakob turned to Blake, pure hatred in his heart. "Why?"

  Blake laughed. Jakob saw red as his anger burned, a raging fire deep in his gut.

  "I should be alpha," Blake said. "Look what I've done." He gestured to Sabrina and disgust rolled through Jakob's stomach, making him sick. Why hadn't he seen this coming? He'd let his pack down, but worse, he'd let his mate down.

  The blood boiled in Jakob's feet, burning him as it rose up his legs and hit his stomach. When the blood his chest it was like hell burning inside him. Jakob shifted back to a wolf and charged Blake. Blake wasn't ready. He had wanted to tease Jakob some more, make him feel the daggers as he scraped Sabrina's once smooth and creamy skin. She'd be plagued with scars forever now.

  Jakob's teeth sank into Blake's ankle. He snapped out of his reverie and shifted. The bedroom was small but roomy enough. Jakob and Blake circled each other. The fur that matted itself to Blake's back suddenly rose into a Mohawk as Blake crouched down and cocked his tail, baring fangs to shame a vampire. His ears moved forward, and his eyes were savage. He leapt at Jakob and missed.

  This wasn't just about death. It was about taking ownership. A new alpha to replace the old. Jakob attacked with the strength of an alpha, aided by the full moon which made his muscles thicker and the alpha in him stronger. Jakob's rage was primitive and ferocious, and Blake had no idea how to win against it. They danced around each other, snapping and baiting each other to attack.

  Blake was impatient. He tried again and again to get to Jakob's throat, only to be pushed aside like nothing more than a marshmallow. When he crouched again and tried for a snap attack to try to rip Jakob's head off, Jakob sliced Blake's front leg with his claws. Blake stepped back, hurt, but not so much that he couldn't still win this.

  Jakob watched Blake try his stupid snap attacks again and again and fail miserably. It was like playing with a pup. Any concern Jakob had was washed away. He could have gone to use the bathroom and returned to find Blake still sitting with his tail between his legs, looking confused.

  Sabrina coughed from the bed and tried to suck in an impossible amount of air, wheezing like an asthma patient. Jakob turned his head to her, alarmed, and Blake pounced. This time his crouch and snap landed right on Jakob's hind leg. Only Blake did not let go. He pulled on Jakob's leg until the skin began to shred and Jakob felt a 'pop.' He let out a howl and Sabrina stirred slightly from the bed.

  "Jakob?" she muttered. "I don't feel so good." She fell back onto the bed and before Jakob could react Blake was on top of her. He ripped Sabrina's throat open and the last of her blood gushed forward.

  Jakob got up too late. He ran at Blake, his hind leg hanging on by a strand, and knocked Blake off her chest. Blake fell to the ground, shocked at the sudden outburst of energy from Jakob. He'd thought Jakob was hurt too much to do anything more than hobble. Jakob still had three working legs though, and he used them to pin Blake to the ground. Blake struggled under him, but he was weaker than Jakob, he always had been.

  Jakob bared his fangs and lunged at Blake's neck. Blake felt Jakob's teeth sink into him and tried to push him away, but it was no use. The pain wasn't bad, it was the failure that was the worst. He'd lost. Jakob was right, Blake was no alpha. The puncture wounds were deep and pierced an artery; for that Blake was grateful. Death came faster than he deserved, leaving him little time to feel the anguish that came with knowing he would always be second best.

  Chapter 19

  Jakob shook Sabrina like a scared little boy. She didn't respond. Her heart still beat, but her eyes wouldn't open.

  "Sabrina! Oh God no!" Something inside him slipped away. It was their connection. He clutched her to him, refusing to let her go. Jakob was not a crying man, but the tears he shed now were enough to fill an ocean. His heart felt like needles were poking at him a hundred times over. Salt ran into his mouth and mixed with Sabrina's blood.

  There wasn't time for a doctor. Even if he'd gotten her to one, her throat was ripped apart, she'd be on machines for the rest of her life. The pain was too much, if he lost Sabrina now he might as well have let Blake kill him.

  The moon was still out. Still full. It was the best time for induction. It was the only way to save her. He had no time to ask her, even if she'd been conscious. Another few seconds and she'd be gone. His own blood ran from the wound Blake had inflicted upon his leg, which was already beginning to heal. Jakob took one large finger and ran it over his flowing blood, and brought it to Sabrina's lips. She did not suckle it, but she did not have to. He put his finger inside her mouth, it was still warm in there. When his blood was on her tongue he pulled it out. Jakob transformed back into a wolf and nuzzled her wrist before biting it as gently as he could with his fangs. Then he began to lap her wounds with his tongue.

  Her blood stained the pink of his tongue a dark berry as he worked first at her neck, where the largest wound was. She tasted sweet and he was cognizant of the fact he was basically drinking her blood, but in a strange way he felt closer to her because of it. Blood was something pure. It could never be tainted by insecurities or the silly façades people placed on themselves in their daily lives. Rich men and poor men alike all bled red. Tasting of the blood was the surest way to know someone.

  Sabrina stirred under him as he lapped at her chest. Her nipples, once a rosy pink, were now a darkened cherry. She was breathing normally again. He had stopped the majority of her blood loss. Now he watched as her body shook. Her limbs convulsed and she looked like she was in pain, then her eyes opened wide and she let out a howl.

  Skin grew over the cuts and scratches where Blake had penetrated her. The broken limbs righted themselves. The whole process would take the night to complete. Jakob sat by the window and waited.

  ***

  Sabrina felt great, which was strange. She'd pretty much died last night. Jakob watched her, afraid she'd be angry, but she was excited.

  "So I'm a werewolf now?" she sniffed the air and was surprised to find her sense of smell increased three times over.

  "Yes."

  "But I look the same."

  "You're a slightly different version," Jakob said and relaxed.

  "Like an upgrade?" she teased.

  Jakob smiled. "I'd say so." She was alive. She was happy. Her sc
ent had increased in his nostrils since her change, sending charges of electricity through his nerves. He wanted her more now than he'd ever thought possible.

  She moved through her apartment, testing out her new shifter abilities. Jakob talked her through most of it. She was surprised to find how naturally it came to her. Jakob's mind was linked to hers so that they didn't even need to speak, unless they wanted to. They could literally read each other's thoughts. But if she'd never again heard the deep resonance of Jakob's voice as he crooned her name, she'd have been one sad puppy.

  "Let's go running," she said.

  Chapter 20

  The stadium cheered as Jakob made his way across the baseball diamond. He stood at home plate, William beside him. Special bleachers had been brought out for their guests, and Sabrina's mom sat in the closest one, bawling. Jacob's hands sweated. I'm not nervous. How can I be nervous? This was my idea. That just made his hands sweat even more. Sabrina had insisted they have no contact the week before their wedding. She had to do "girl things." He had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but it was important to her, so he'd relented.

  The last week had been excruciating. He hadn't slept without her since the night Blake had attacked her and left her for dead. Heat stirred in him, deep and primal. There was something else they'd done every night since Blake's attack. Going without Sabrina's touch left him feeling empty. It he'd had to endure it past today, he didn't think he would have survived.

  His eyes strayed again and again to the clubhouse opening where Sabrina was supposed to make her entrance. When she still wasn't there after five minutes, he began to get scared something was wrong. She can take care of herself. He knew that was true, all shifters could handle their own, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

  When "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" finally started, the crowd stood and Jakob expelled a giant sigh of relief. Sabrina entered the field. Jakob's jaw dropped. His breath hammered out of his chest, and it was like the first time they'd met all over again.