Shifter Wars Complete Series

by Sarah J. Stone

"Nice," Smith said. "That makes nine on this floor."

  "Damn," Will said to Dan. "Chick's got the high score so far."

  "Next floor," I said, not wanting to mess around.

  The team nodded and we headed up the stairs. Once there, we repeated the process of spreading out and taking out the gorillas one-by-one. This floor went just as smoothly as the first, and when we met up at the stairs for the third and final floor, the count of targets neutralized was now nearly two dozen.

  "We're wiping out this entire squad," Will said. "Not bad for the four of us."

  "Score's tied," Dan said once we counted up how many targets we'd taken out.

  "Don't get too cocky," Smith said. "Still one more floor to go. Not to mention this whole op rests on your boyfriend pulling his weight."

  My instinct was to shout out "he's not my boyfriend!" like some kind of middle-schooler. Thankfully, I held my tongue. But now that Jerrod had been brought up, my mind raced with thoughts of him. He was out of contact, and the only way I'd know if he was still alive is if he was there waiting for us at the rendezvous point on the floor of the meeting.

  Nothing to do but get there.

  "Let's clear this last floor," I said.

  The team nodded and we were up. New floor, same plan. We split up, sweeping the floor and taking out target after target. I was amazed at how quick and silent the team was; it was really something to see the wolves at work, doing what they did best. I managed to take out two more gorillas, each dropping from the same dead-on shots that I'd used on the others.

  Crossing through one of the halls, I spotted Smith moving like a ghost in his black gear. He stopped in front of me. "I think that's it for this floor," Smith said. "I think we did it."

  But over his shoulder, I saw a figure emerge from the hallway corner. Instantly I could see by his clothing that it wasn't Dan or Will—it was a merc, one we'd missed.

  "You fuckers!" he shouted, his face twisted with rage. "I'll kill every last one of you assholes!"

  The hair on the back of my neck raised as the merc stormed down the hallway. As he ran, he began the process of shifting, his scrawny form turning into that of a fearsome, stomping gorilla. He cut the distance between him and the two of us nearly instantly. Smith raised his gun, but before he could fire a shot I'd already raised mine and taken aim. I let Jerrod's advice play in my mind, then pulled the trigger. The shot cracked off and the half-shifted gorilla stumbled into a still heap. Once the beast came to a stop, Smith looked the thing over.

  "One shot, clean through the eye," Smith said.

  It was just like the other night, except this time it wasn't luck- I'd aimed for the eye and I got it. The fear that had me in its grips about leading a team was gone; I felt like a calm professional, in control.

  "Hell of a shot," Smith said.

  "Let's finish this," I said.

  He nodded and the two of us met Dan and Will at the stairs.

  "That's it," Will said. "Mercs are done, unless this lion's got any with him."

  "He just might," I said. "Aubrey's a murdering asshole, but he's not stupid. He should be occupied with the meeting, but be prepared for anything."

  And hope that Jerrod's made it up safe, I thought.

  We headed up the stairs, the door to the meeting floor in front of us. With another slow draw of air, I placed my hand on the knob and gave it a twist. The door opened, and I gasped when I saw what awaited me.

  It was Aubrey, standing in the middle of the lobby, a pair of gorilla mercs at his side.

  "There you are," he said. "I was wondering when you'd finally show up!"

  CHAPTER 12

  JERROD

  The process through maintenance was taxing. By the time I reached the service elevator and took it up to the top floor, then climbed through the access shafts to arrive at where the meeting was taking place, my body was exhausted. But I pressed on, knowing that the plan failing or succeeding was hanging on both my and Harper's efforts succeeding.

  Eventually, I reached the top floor. Crawling out of the vent and into one of the floor's stately, modern offices, the first thing I did was look out of the window. The sun was just about to disappear under the horizon, and that meant I didn't have a second to waste. I rushed down the hallway toward the rendezvous point. But the team wasn't there. In fact, I didn't detect the presence of anyone on the floor, aside from that strange scent that didn't seem to belong to any shifter.

  I ducked down the hallways, looking for Harper and the rest of the team. Something about all this seemed off; I was expecting to have to avoid the mercs who I'd assumed Aubrey would have posted everywhere. After a little more searching around, I realized that there was nothing left to do but to go into the meeting area; if I waited too long, I'd miss my window of opportunity.

  But I couldn't shake the sick feeling that grew in my stomach by the moment.

  Approaching the large double doors that led to the meeting room, I braced myself and threw them open.

  I couldn't believe what I saw next.

  The meeting room was a large, circular space with windows that looked out onto the city. In the center of the room was a massive, round table surrounded by black chairs. And behind the table, near the windows, was Aubrey. On their knees in front of him were Harper and the three members of the team. A handful of mercs were in the room, along with two other men in sleek suits who appeared to be lions.

  "Finally!" Aubrey said. "It took these clowns long enough to get here. I was worried that you'd be stuck in those vents all night!"

  "What are you doing, Carver?" I demanded.

  Harper looked at me with worried eyes, and my heart felt like it was being squeezed by an ice-cold fist.

  "You know," he said, "I was a little worried that this war that I'm about to start might've been viewed by some as…unwarranted, as if we were just picking a fight. But when I saw that a team of wolves was in the building and preparing to stop this whole process, I was overjoyed—it was the perfect pretense."

  "You let them go right now," I boomed.

  "Now, why would I do that?" Aubrey said. "I have to admire the fact that you all manage to get the drop on me like this, but thankfully I was able to spot through the security feeds just why my mercs weren't checking in. Oh well- a little more money added to the bottom line, I suppose."

  I stepped toward Aubrey and he raised his gun as soon as he saw me move.

  "Ah, ah-ah," he said, pointing his gun at me. "Don't get any stupid ideas, Jerrod. It was a valiant effort getting here, but unfortunately, it was a failure. All I have to do is sign this little document here, and the war I've been wanting will start tonight. And if that wasn't enough, I'll have the pleasure of killing yet another of your little lady partners right in front of you! But this time, however, I'll make sure the job with you isn't left undone."

  Aubrey tried to seem calm, but I could sense a desperate tone to his voice. We'd come close to stopping him, and he knew it. But right now it looked like he had the upper hand. The fact of the matter, however, was that he had Harper in the same position, literally, that he'd had Sophia in a year ago. Once again, he had the woman that I cared for kneeled in front of him, a gun to her head.

  "Now," he said. "I just need these two loyal lion diplomats to sign the declaration."

  He turned his attention to the suited lions who scampered over to the document and scrawled their signatures on it.

  "Carver," one of them said, setting the pen down. "You have the authority to start this war, but it's not too late to stop it! We can avoid this pointless bloodshed before it starts."

  A moment of silence passed. Then Aubrey sighed, raised his gun, and fired a round at the lion. The lion's hands shot to his stomach, and he collapsed into a heap.

  "If there's one thing I can't stand," he said. "It's nay-sayers. Once I'm in charge, I'll make sure no one gives me their damned opinion unless I ask for it."

  The other lion fell into line, his mouth now in a tight line as his eyes fixed o
nto the body of his companion.

  "Now, where was I?" Aubrey asked. "Ah, yes. Killing your little team before putting another bullet in your brain."

  I scanned the room, hoping I could spot something that could turn the situation in my favor. Finally, my eyes settled on Harper. If she and I were going to put a stop to all of this, we had to work together. And just as the thought occurred to me, I noticed her eyes flick down to the floor. Looking down, I saw that her hand was opened up, the five fingers extended. Then she pressed her thumb against the palm.

  It was a countdown.

  "A shame that things had to turn out this way," Aubrey said. "If only you'd learned your lesson when you had the chance."

  Now, three fingers.

  "But I suppose you're too stubborn for your own good."

  Two fingers. My hand burned with anticipation of taking the shot.

  "Funnily enough, my only regret is that you won't be around to see the wonderful fruits of my reign once I'm running this city. Oh well."

  Now one.

  "But enough talk," he said, pointing the gun at Harper. "Let's end this."

  Then Harper's fist closed.

  Pulling her arm back, she drove her elbow into Aubrey's crotch. As soon as the blow connected, his eyes went wide in shock and pain. The gun dropped to the ground with a clatter, and Harper made a mad dash toward me.

  The Canids didn't need to wait for instructions. Smith dove and grabbed Aubrey's gun from the ground, turning as soon as he landed and putting two rounds in the nearest gorilla. The other Canids made similar moves, grabbing their guns off the table and taking out the remaining gorillas before they had time to react. Within less than half of a minute, Aubrey was subdued, and his mercs were completely wiped out.

  Gun in hand, I strode over to Aubrey, who was now on his knees and gasping for air.

  "What-what the hell are you doing?" he asked, his voice frantic and his eyes fixed on the gun in my hand.

  "I've been waiting for this for a long time, Carver," I said, training the gun on his forehead.

  "You can't do this!" he shouted. "You can't kill a man like me in cold blood!"

  "I don't think anyone here's going to tattle," I said.

  A quick sweep of the room from Harper to the Canids to the remaining lion confirmed what I'd just said.

  "You miserable bear fuck!" Aubrey shouted.

  With a quick move, he jammed his fist into my stomach and shifted at an incredible speed. Now in full lion form, he rose back on his hind legs and prepared to strike, his paws tipped with razor-sharp claws, a booming roar sounding from him. But before he could land, I fired, then Harper fired, then the Canids fired. Bullet after bullet hit Aubrey, his body shaking with each impact. His roar was cut short, and he soon collapsed in a bloody heap.

  It was over. Aubrey was dead, and Sophia was avenged. And the war was stopped before it had even begun.

  Harper ran to my side and I wrapped my arms around her. The city spread out before us, at that moment there was no one else in the world but us.

  CHAPTER

  HARPER

  Six months later…

  “Okay, easy now.”

  Jerrod looked up at me from where he lay underneath me with a small smirk on his face.

  “What?” I asked, matching his smirk with one of my own. “Too early in the morning for you?”

  “Morning’s no problem,” he said. “Problem is the bruised rib from breaking up that fox gang last night.”

  I tsk-tsked him, shaking my head.

  “Well, you’re the one who decided to charge in without waiting for backup.”

  “Hey, you see a chance, you take it.”

  “Big man’s always gotta be the showoff,” I said, my hands on his bare chest.

  “Old habits die hard, I suppose.”

  “Well, let’s just see how much of a big man you are when it counts.”

  Jerrod smirked again, knowing exactly what I meant. “Can’t think of a better way to spend a morning off.”

  “The feeling is more than mutual.”

  I leaned down, kissing his bare chest, a moving around the purple bruise on his right pec. Straddling him, I could feel his manhood harden by the second until it was pressed up against my bare rear end. The feeling was quite something, and made me want to move things right along. I continued to kiss him, little moans escaping from his mouth as my lips moved up and down his neck, finally finding his lips. We kissed hard and deep for a time, letting the tension build between the two of us before the main event.

  Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer.

  I lifted my hips while reaching back and grabbing onto his now stone-hard cock. Jerrod closed his eyes and smiled, and I knew that this is just what he wanted. Positioning him right below me, I lowered myself down until the head of his cock entered me. We’d made love hundreds of times since we made the decision to be an official couple, but I still had to keep in mind that his prick wasn’t the easiest thing to just shove right in.

  But once it was fully sheathed into me, the feeling of fullness sublime, I couldn’t help but want more.

  I rode him, slowly at first, my hands moving up and all over his hard body. I watched the expression on his face shift from contentment to something more raw and sexual as I moved him inside of me, and I loved it; he just had the best sex faces.

  I kept at it, slowly increasing the pace of my thrusting. Jerrod’s hands moved along the bare skin of my legs, coming to rest on my waist and squeezing the flesh hard. Already, so soon into our little session, I knew that an orgasm wasn’t far off.

  “Goddamn,” he said. “Keep going; just like that.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. I thrust my hips faster now, my movements changing from a grinding to a raising and lowering of my body. Eventually, I began bouncing up and down on his cock, impaling myself over and over again on his thick manhood. Jerrod moved his hands from my hips to my breasts, kneading them and rubbing my nipples with his thumbs as they bounced with the intensity of my riding. My hands moved up along my stomach, coming to a rest on Jerrod’s hands. His skin was rough and manly, and the sensation of his skin against mine was just beyond compare.

  The tension in Jerrod’s face grew, and I could sense that he was ready to blow. And I was right there with him. I closed my eyes, focusing on the feeling of his cock in me, his hands on my breasts.

  It didn’t take much more for the orgasm to explode inside of me. I moaned and screamed as the pleasure rushed through me, and soon after, Jerrod let out a deep grunt as he erupted within, filling me with his seed.

  I rode through the orgasm until it faded. I collapsed onto Jerrod’s now-sweaty chest, and the two of us lay there for a time, savoring one another’s company, letting our heaving breaths return to normal.

  Then the phone rang, snapping us out of our easy bliss.

  Jerrod groaned and reached over for the thing, answering it and bringing it to his ear.

  “What’s going on, Armitage? Better be good; we’re about to get brunch,” he said through a smile.

  I sighed; something told me that brunch wasn’t going to be in the cards.

  Heaving myself out of bed while Jerrod spoke, I made my way to the shower and stepped in once the water was warm enough. Once I was out of my clothes, my eyes drifted down to the small bump forming on my belly, and the events of the last few months came rushing into my mind.

  After the Aubrey case was taken care of, things among the lions and the wolves calmed down. Without Aubrey pushing for war, the tensions eased until peace became a certainty. Jerrod and I were both commended by the lions and wolves, a small award being given to us both. Mine was for excellent performance in the line of duty, and Jerrod’s…was a civilian distinction.

  We began to date after the case, our relationship becoming very serious, very quickly. But whenever I stopped by Jerrod’s, I’d catch him looking at that civilian medal, and I knew just what was going through his head.

  “It’s not
too late,” I said one day. “One little call to Armitage…”

  “Maybe,” he said. “I’m still enjoying the unemployed life.”

  But it didn’t take much time. Seeing me come home after shifts full of stories about making a difference in the city night after night convinced him without too much hassle. About a month after the Aubrey case, he applied to be brought back onto the force, a request that was quickly accepted. Jerrod and I became partners—one of the most effective duos in the Sapiens, I might add—but it wasn’t long before a new complication arose: a few months into our partnership, I learned that I was pregnant.

  “Look at you,” Jerrod said, his eyes on my belly as I stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around my waist.

  “I feel like a fatass,” I said, placing my hands on the bump.

  “It’s only gonna get bigger,” he said with a smile. Then, he came over to me and gave my belly a kiss.“In case you didn’t guess, that was Armitage asking us to come in today.”

  “That’s what I figured.” Looking down at my belly, I sighed. “Not looking forward to being a desk jockey in a couple of months.”

  “Come on,” Jerrod said. “It’ll be fun. Not to mention that I don’t think they’re going to let you go on ops wearing a Baby Bjorn.”

  I couldn’t help but smirk. Truthfully, however, I was looking forward to this baby more than I’d ever looked forward to anything in my life. Jerrod had cleaned up his act and was back on the job; I knew he’d be an excellent father.

  Soon, we were suited up and ready to head to Sapien HQ. We stepped out onto the city streets, the sky blue and the weather perfect. We’d talked about what to do once the baby was born, maybe move out to the burbs and try a normal family thing- well, as normal as things can get with a pair of cops parents and a half-wolf half-panther kid. For now, however, we were happy to work as a team, doing what good we could in the time we had.

  And as we arrived to Sapien HQ and looked up at the towering building, we knew that as strange as things were right now, neither of us would have it any other way.

  “Love you, baby,” Jerrod said.

  “Love you, too,” I said.