Shifter Wars Complete Series

by Sarah J. Stone

  Jerrod straightened out his arms and looked down at me with an expression of playful sensuality on his gorgeous face. I couldn't manage such an expression, however; the feeling of his cock in me was so intense that the only look I could express was something like wide-eyed shock, my mouth opened like I'd just seen something that shocked me. Well, in a way, I had.

  "You good?" he asked, that killer smile still on his lips.

  "Um, uh, yeah," I said, hardly able to form the words.

  But as I spoke, my body seemed to be moving on its own. My hands slid down his back, coming to a rest on the hard curve of his amazing, toned ass. I pressed down, as though I could drive him even deeper into me. Jerrod knew that this was his cue to start the show, and didn't waste another second. He withdrew from me, the feeling of each inch sliding out just as incredible as coming in. Then he plunged again, and soon he was fucking me at the steady, deep pace that took me into depths of ecstasy that I didn't know existed. My gaze, when I could even manage to open my eyes, flicked back and forth between the sight of his taut muscles, the expression of focused pleasure on his face, and the sight of his thick rod pounding me over and over again.

  He kept at this, penetrating me over and over again, the sound of my moans mixing with that of our flesh colliding. My legs were wrapped tight around his waist, and my nails dug so hard into his back that I realized that I needed to cool it unless I wanted to draw blood. Jerrod was fucking me with the power and ferocity that only a bear like him could manage, and as he pounded me, I could already sense an orgasm brewing inside of me like a reaction that I wouldn't be able to contain.

  "Goddamnit," I said, "you feel so fucking good."

  Jerrod said nothing in response, his attention totally focused on taking me to new heights of passion and pleasure.

  Then, after several minutes at him fucking me at a deep, jackhammer pace, his cock burying in me over and over again, the orgasm that had been building finally broke loose. An absolute bomb of pleasure went off in my body, and the waves of ecstasy flooded through every inch of me. I screamed and moaned, holding onto Jerrod for dear life. And as I came, his orgasm arrived. With a grunt, Jerrod unloaded himself into me, the feeling of his cock exploding inside of me the perfect complement to the pleasure that had taken hold of me. We rode through the orgasms, staring deep into one another's eyes as the feelings rushed through us.

  Finally, the orgasms subsided, and Jerrod's pace slowed until he stopped. Still buried within me, we both took in long, deep breaths as we recovered from the exertion. Jerrod and I continued to look into one another's eyes; no words would do after this. Reaching up, he tucked my hair behind my right ear and lowered down for a deep kiss that I was happy to reciprocate. Then, he withdrew from me and rolled over to my side, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close and tight.

  We lay like this for a time, my head resting on his chest, the steady thumping of his heart lulling me to sleep. Before I drifted off, I thought about how, despite all that loomed on the horizon, this moment, right now, was as perfect as I could imagine.

  CHAPTER 9

  HARPER

  I awoke the next morning to bright light streaming in through the bedroom windows. My arm moved along the other side of the bed, feeling nothing but cool sheets. Through bleary eyes, I saw that Jerrod wasn't there. Turning to the alarm clock on the nightstand, I looked at the time; it was a little after eight. I'd only been asleep for about six hours, but recovering from the events of last night made me feel as though I'd awoken from a coma. Heaving myself out of bed, I looked around for any sign of Jerrod. And as I did, I heard the low murmur of conversation through the bedroom door.

  Throwing on a fluffy blue robe that hung in Jerrod's closet, I left the bedroom and found Jerrod sitting at the two-seat table in the kitchen, his phone pressed to his ear. His eyes flicked to me as I entered and he raised a finger. With a tilt of his head, he gestured to the coffee pot on the counter; it was like he was reading my mind.

  "U- huh…" he said to the person on the other end. "She actually just walked in….I'll tell her about everything…right…we're gonna need to meet soon…yeah, noon's good…Aubrey's not gonna waste time with any of this, so we can't, either…good…talk to you then."

  He hung up just as I finished pouring myself my cup of coffee.

  "What's going on?" I asked.

  "Shit's about to hit the fan," he said. "I thought that what went down last night might've given Aubrey pause about the war declaration, but he's still going through with it."

  "Shit," I said, realizing how bad this was.

  "And he's doing it on the down-low," Jerrod said. "Lions usually like to make a spectacle and ceremony out of war declarations or any other kind of grand diplomatic gesture, but not Aubrey."

  "Probably because the war is bullshit."

  "Exactly," Jerrod said. "A bullshit war that he doesn't want anyone looking too closely at before it gets underway. If he made a big production out of it the dragons might take a look and put the kibosh on it before it even started."

  "Not like the dragons to give a damn about war like that," I said.

  "They don't care about loss of life or anything. They just don't like wars happening right under their noses without their approval. But if things got underway, they're likely be inclined to let a fight just play out."

  "So Aubrey's got a blitzkrieg-type plan on his mind."

  "Exactly," Jerrod said. "Do the official business, oversee a few quick strikes on wolf territory, sue for peace, and have things wrapped up before the week's out. If he managed to pull off a lightning victory like that, take out a hundred or so wolves, add a little territory to lion holdings, he'd be a shoo-in for a position on the lion three."

  "So, we have to stop him," I said. "Once he's in power it'd be ten times as hard to unseat him."

  "And that's what the conversation I was just having was about," Jerrod said with a smirk. "That was your boss, Armitage."

  "Really?" I asked. "And what did he have to say?"

  "Well, he was my boss, too, way back when—hence why he was so keen on bringing me back on board. I let him know of everything going down and he's just as eager as we are to get Aubrey behind bars. Especially with him being a wolf and all."

  "Yeah," I said, "he's extra invested, I'm sure. The wolves haven't exactly had the best reputation with wars these last few years."

  "He was coy about everything," Jerrod said, "but he seemed to think that he might have an idea of what to do."

  "Oh?" I asked. "And what's that?"

  "He didn't go into details, but he said something about you leading another team."

  My heart went cold. "What?" I shook my head. "No way, no how."

  "Are you serious?"

  "Serious as it gets." I set down my coffee. "I'm a few days out from leading a team to their deaths; the last thing I feel up for is going through all that again."

  I looked up at Jerrod, pleading in my eyes.

  "Can't you do it?"

  He shook his head.

  "Armitage seems to have something else in mind for me, something that'll get me one-on-one with Aubrey."

  My mind was still reeling from the idea of leading a team again. I just didn't think I had it in me; everything from the last incident was just still too fresh. Jerrod must've sensed just how much I was freaking out, since he got out of his seat, came over to me, and put his hands on my shoulders.

  "Just take a deep breath," he said. "I know this is a lot to take in, but if we're going to get through this thing and out onto the other side, we're both going to have to be strong."

  I nodded; he was right, after all—there was a job to be done and no room for me to let the past affect what was in front of me.

  "What if I'm just not meant to be a leader?" I mused. "What if what happened was a sign that I'm meant to be behind a desk or something?"

  "That's bullshit, and you know it," Jerrod said. "What I've seen you do makes me do without a doubt that you're a natural f
ield agent. And I know Armitage- he wouldn't be putting you in charge of another team just to be nice; he's doing it because he knows you're capable of it."

  His words calmed me a little, but I knew that I still had a lot to process.

  "So, get dressed," Jerrod said. "We've got to get back into the city without Aubrey finding us. And he's likely got people posted all over the city looking to bring us in."

  "Then what's the plan?" I asked.

  "I've got a way to get into the city. Might not be the most non-descript way of heading in there, but it'll be nice and fast."

  "Then let's not waste any more time," I said.

  Jerrod nodded.

  As we dressed, part of me wanted to talk about last night, to discuss the strange spell of passion that had come over us both. I was wracked with the usual questions that flood into a girl's mind when sex comes out of nowhere with someone like that; I couldn't help but wonder just what it had meant. Did this mean that we were something more than partners now? Hell, we weren't even official partners to begin with. As far as the Sapiens were concerned, Jerrod was an ex-agent who was interfering with a case that he had no legal right to be a part of. My mind raced as I tried to sort out the events of last night. Who knows—maybe the adrenaline had just gotten the better of us and made us do things that we wouldn't have otherwise done.

  I tried to let this explanation settle in my mind, but as much as I attempted to believe it, I knew it wasn't true. There was something there between Jerrod and me, but with a possible war looming that only he and I could stop, this wasn't the time to discuss matters like that.

  Once we were both ready to go, we headed down to the lobby of the apartment. But instead of leaving through the front doors, Jerrod led me to a basement entrance. Once down there, I saw that it was a parking garage. We moved past the lines of cars, coming to a stop at a sleek, silver motorcycle.

  "This what you had in mind?" I asked, incredulous.

  "What, you got a problem with bikes?"

  "No, but an engine roaring down Fifth Avenue isn't exactly going to be the most subtle way to travel."

  "Well, it's either this or we take our chances on the subways. And there are only so many stations—not hard for Aubrey to post people at each one and be on the lookout for us."

  I didn't like the idea of potentially drawing this much attention to ourselves, but he was right—it'd be much easier for Aubrey to find us riding a train.

  "Hop on, cowboy," he said, already straddling the bike and strapping on his helmet.

  I stood in front of the thing as though I were about to mount an unruly horse. With a clumsy movement, I climbed on it, Jerrod handing me a black helmet as I took my seat. Before I could say a word, Jerrod gunned the engine, the growl of the bike echoing through the parking garage, and tore off.

  Seconds later, we were whipping through traffic, weaving around cars as we made our way through suburban Queens. As I held on tight, I had nightmare visions of Aubrey's gang pulling up to us at a stoplight, the last thing Jerrod and I seeing being a pair of mean-looking gorilla thugs pulling guns on us before everything went black.

  But the ride was as smooth as I could've hoped. Soon, we were driving through Brooklyn and into the city. By the time we arrived in front of Sapien HQ and came to a stop, part of me was sad that the ride was already over. Minutes later, we were walking through the grand lobby of the headquarters, the place even more of a bustling hive than it usually was.

  "Never thought I'd step foot in this place again," Jerrod said, craning his neck to look up at the tall ceiling. "In fact, I'd sworn to myself that I was done with it forever."

  "And how does it feel to be back?" I asked.

  "Not sure yet," he said. "But I'm happy to be here on a consulting basis. Don't know how I'd feel about wearing a badge again."

  We walked through the halls at a brisk pace, eventually arriving at Armitage's office. I gave the door a rap, and Armitage called out for us to come in. As soon as we opened the door, Armitage rose and greeted us.

  "Jerrod Carter," he said, looking Jerrod up and down, as though he were a figment of his imagination. "Never thought I'd see you in this office again."

  "Neither did I," Jerrod said. "I see you've still got the same shitty taste in décor."

  Armitage smirked and gave Jerrod a hard clap to the upper arm. "Take a seat, both of you. We've got a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time to do it."

  Jerrod and I took our seats in the high-backed chairs across from Armitage.

  "This is a real shitshow," Armitage said. "This Aubrey Carver fuck has outmaneuvered us at every turn; we should've seen that he'd been planning a power play like this, but he's a crafty little asshole. And now we're on the brink of a war happening between two species who aren't exactly balanced with one another."

  "The wolves are pretty weak these days," Jerrod said. "No offense."

  Armitage gave him a nod. "You're right about that. We wolves aren't the ‘settle things on the battlefield' type. We get shit done from the shadows, which is why an organization like the Sapiens is a natural fit for us. And that stupid little scrap we got into with those gorillas last year—a war that we barely won, mind you—really yanked the guts out of what little standing army we had."

  "That explains why the gorillas are so keen on helping Aubrey," I said in realization.

  "Right," Jerrod said. "They're mercs, but they seem to be really into this particular fight."

  "Not to mention they let Aubrey keep his hands nice and clean," Armitage said. "If any one of these gorilla crews got busted while his plans were underway, he wouldn't be holding the bag; it'd just look like a few apes were out for revenge."

  "Hence the scent-masking he'd been doing," I said.

  "Right on the money," Armitage said. "But now he's ready to bring the lions themselves into this. Once that declaration of war is signed, he won't have to fuck around in the shadows anymore; he'll use his position in the society to trounce all over the fucking wolves and march right back into the Upper East Side like a goddamn conquering hero."

  "Then we have to stop him tonight," I said. "Before he can make this official."

  "Bingo," Armitage said.

  He turned to his computer and typed in a flurry of finger movement. The ink-black TV screen then filled with the image of a gleaming tower in Midtown, one of those high-rises made of glass that seemed to stretch up forever.

  "That's the place where this is all going to go down," Armitage said. "In typical lion theatrical style, this is gonna happen on the top floor with the signing happening at sunset. You two are going to infiltrate this tower, get to the top, and put a stop to this shit- by any means necessary."

  "Assassination?" Jerrod asked. "That's a little on-the-nose for Sapiens."

  "Normally, you'd be right. But our contacts in the lions have been onto Aubrey for a while; they can't make a move since interspecies…activities like those aren't exactly looked upon fondly. Especially with lions. So, they're going to turn a blind eye and let Aubrey suffer the fate that upstarts like him tend to be subject to in the lion's world."

  "But he's still got his gorilla mercs," I said.

  Armitage nodded and typed again. The picture of the tower disappeared and was replaced with that of a group of five mean looking men, all dressed in black and with the lean, angular faces that wolves tended to have.

  "These are the Canids," Armitage said. "You might've heard of them."

  "Sure have," Jerrod said. "Wolf black-ops. Highly-trained."

  "That's right," Armitage said. "Wolves aren't so hot on the battlefield, but we can really fuck things up from the shadows."

  Armitage turned away from his computer and leaned back in his seat, folding his hands in his lap. "So, here's the plan: Harper—you're going to be leading this scrappy little squad of men into the field. You're going to infiltrate the building on the fiftieth floor through a window-washing scaffold. That'll get you up into the building far enough that you can take the st
airs the rest of the way. Your task will be to neutralize the gorillas that Aubrey's going to have posted."

  "You…" I said, my voice timid. "…think I can…"

  Armitage raised a hand. "You're leading them, and that's final."

  Jerrod flashed me a side-eye as if to say "told you so."

  He was right; Armitage didn't need to say that he was putting me in charge because he felt like I could handle it. But that didn't stop my stomach from tying itself into knots.

  "While you're taking out the gorillas, Jerrod is going to be heading through the maintenance access to the floor where Aubrey's going to be signing the declaration. If we can get him without his muscle, we're thinking that a confrontation will be enough to get him to surrender."

  "And if not?" Jerrod asked.

  "Then you know what to do."

  A sly smile formed on Jerrod's face. I got the sense that he was hoping that Aubrey wouldn't quietly give himself up. And after what that lion asshole had put him through, I couldn't blame him in the least.

  Armitage checked his watch, his expression severe. "Looks like you guys have got about three hours before you're set to meet up with the Canids and get this show on the road. I suggest you get your gear ready and your minds right." He nodded, making it clear that the briefing was over.

  Jerrod and I took our leave, heading down the hallway to the quartermasters. On the way there, Jerrod was stopped by more than a few agents who all did double-takes as they passed him in the hallways; none of them could believe that he was back.

  "They seem to think you're with us for good again," I said, a small smile on my lips. "And they all seem pretty happy about it."

  "Then they'd better not get their hopes up too high," Jerrod said, his tone brusque. "Once this asshole's taken care of, I'm going right back to the way things used to be.”

  At the quartermaster's, we loaded up on guns and ammo, though part of me hoped that this could all still be resolved diplomatically in some way, as naïve as that sounds. After we got our gear, we decided to head down to the shooting range to squeeze off a few rounds in an effort to calm our nerves, though I think this was more for my benefit than for Jerrod's, since he seemed just as cool and calm as ever—maybe even more so.