She frowned. “The only shifting you’re going to do is from that chair onto a stretcher. Now sit tight. I’ll be right back.”
Tianna rushed to her office for her cell. She couldn’t believe what was happening right now. This was the sort of stuff she read about in the romance novels that she normally edited. When he’d mentioned shifting, she’d almost laughed out loud. While she may edit books with characters who turned into beings that went bump into the night that was fiction.
Clearly, the man in her kitchen was delirious from the loss of blood. She needed to get him to the hospital before irreversible damage occurred.
As she unlocked her phone, she walked back into the kitchen and paused. The man was in the process of easing himself out of the chair.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Getting closer to the floor,” he said. “I’m not sure I have enough energy to shift. If I don’t I won’t have as far to fall.”
“Have you been drinking?”
“No,” he replied. “I usually don’t do this in front of humans that I don’t know, but I have to. If the pack that attacked me shows up, I need as much strength that I can get.”
Tianna looked down at her phone seeing that she needed to dial 9-1-1 for a different reason now. It appeared that the man in front of her was under the influence of drugs.
He groaned, drawing her attention back to him. “What did you take?” she asked, looking over at him. “It’s better if the medics know what they are going to…”
Her word trailed off as the man before her transformed into a wolf.
“Well shit.”
Chapter Two
Tianna stood there in shock, staring at the large gray wolf now occupying space in her kitchen. She’d put too much whiskey in her tea. Now she was hallucinating.
The wolf looked at her and sniffed the air, then growled. When he began to stalk toward her, she realized she wasn’t seeing things. There was a damn wolf in her kitchen and her gun was behind him.
She doubted she’d make it to the riffle by the front door or either of the guns in her bedroom before he ripped her to shreds.
Taking a step back, she held out her hand in a non-threatening manner. “Nice doggy.”
The rumbling only intensified. Tianna took another step backwards, cursing under her breath, when her back hit the wall. This is exactly what she deserved for trying to do a good deed and help a stranger. A naked and bloodied stranger that could turn into a freaking animal. She’d watched enough horror movies to know that this wasn’t going to end well.
“Look, I know I might look like a snack to you right now, but I can assure you that eating me wouldn’t be a good thing,” she said.
It didn’t stop the wolf from advancing. Instead, he continued to move closer, sniffing and snarling. Then he stopped and sat on his hunches with a whine. She didn’t know what to think. One thing she knew for certain was she wasn’t going to move.
She stared at the gray wolf before her trying to process what she’d just seen. The reason she’d chosen to edit fiction for a living was because occasionally she wanted a chance to escape the real world. Instead, she’d managed to walk right into in a very factual nightmare.
This man had just changed into a wolf. It took every ounce of her willpower not to freak out. What was she supposed to do now? She didn’t know how long it would be before he returned to his human shape. One thing was for certain, he had another thing coming if he thought she was going to stand there all night like this.
As if he’d heard her thoughts, the wolf tilted its head to the side. Then emitted a low growl as he rose to his feet. He turned his back to her and stared at the backdoor. Immediately, she knew something was out there. Instinct told her the wolves that’d probably attacked him.
She moved away from the wall and started for the shotgun on the floor, only to stop when the wolf turned his attention back to her and bared his teeth.
“Don’t be so macho that you think you can handle this situation by yourself. Judging by the shape you were in when you collapsed on my back porch, I think it’s safe to say you’re outnumbered. I’m a crack shot. Trust me, I’ll even the odds.”
After a few seconds ticked by, his stance relaxed. He turned his attention back to the back door. She scrambled for the gun. As tempted as she was, she didn’t shoot the gray wolf a few feet away from her. He might be dangerous, but she had no doubt that whoever stood outside was even worse.
She readied the gun, half expecting a pack of wolves to burst through it at any moment. Instead she jumped as a knock sounded on the front door. She met the gaze of the wolf next to her. He looked at the back door and then at the front.
“Is there someone still back there?” she asked.
She received a snarl in response. “Then the back is yours and I’ll take the front. If that backdoor flies open and you get in trouble, take on who you can. I’ll get the rest.”
As Tianna made her way to the front door, she hoped she could keep her word. Chances were she could. Between the shotgun she held and the rifle, she could get off twelves shots before she had to reload. But then, she’d only have an additional four shells for the shotgun left. She prayed that she wouldn’t need to reload.
“Who’s there?” she called out a few feet from the door.
“Sorry to bother you this late,” the stranger called out. “Just want to warn you that there’s a dangerous man in the area. Don’t know if you’ve seen him or not, but if you do, call the sheriff.”
Tianna rolled her eyes. “Considering how small Greenbush is and that I know everyone in this town, I think it’s safe to say that the only person out of place here is you.” She leveled the shotgun at the door. “I don’t know who you are, but I know what you are. You have no reason to be on my property. I have several fully loaded guns in here, one aimed at the door right now. Please don’t ruin the pleasant evening I’m having by making you shoot you.”
Silence greeted her threat and she took a steadying breath. What had she done to have this turn into such an eventful night?
“We don’t want to hurt you. We just want the wolf.”
Amazing how menacing a voice could become when a person didn’t get what they wanted. “Why?”
“Pack business,” he said.
“I don’t believe you,” Tianna countered. “Now, you need to leave before this gets nasty.”
She jumped when she heard what sounded like a boot connecting with her door. Then she heard a growl from the kitchen. That was all the warning she needed. Her finger was on the trigger before the next kick connected with the door. The door gave in on the fourth kick. She fired the first shot, ignoring the howl of pain as the figure standing there dropped to the ground and grabbed his thigh, then pulled the pump to eject the shell.
She pulled the trigger again when another figure appeared on her porch. Another scream of pain reached her ears. Another pump and the empty shell fell out of the chamber. When a wolf appeared, she squeezed the trigger again. The wolf yowled.
The sound of the back door being kicked in reached her ears. She didn’t turn. Instead, she trusted the large gray wolf to hold up his end of the bargain. A second later she heard multiple growls and yips. Another figure came into view and she fired another shot. Once nothing else appeared, she eased toward the kitchen, keeping alert for any sudden attacks.
When she reached the kitchen, anger filled her. Three wolves surrounded her gray wolf.
She paused.
When had he become hers?
She could figure that out after all of the chaos was over.
She let out a shrill whistle causing all of the wolves to look at her as aimed the shotgun. “The three of you have two choices. One, I’ll shoot each of you where you stand. Or two, you can take your friends in the other room, leave, and we’ll pretend like this never happened.”
She only had two shots left in the shotgun and the riffle was too far away. The threat she’d just issued would require for he
r to reload. However, she was willing to do it. When none of the wolves responded fast enough, she shot the one furthest away from her in the hind leg. Then pumped the gun to eject the shell.
That was enough motivation to send one run running out the door. The injured wolf managed to get back onto his feet and limp toward the door. But the last wolf stared intently at the gray wolf she’d rescued. Then he slowly backed out the door.
Tianna waited until it was off the porch before closing the door. She was going to have to figure out how to secure it for the night. Then she turned and headed back into the other room. Fortunately, it was empty.
She shoved the front door closed, then leaned against it. Carefully, she sat the shotgun down. Now that the adrenaline had worn off she couldn’t stop herself from shaking.
“Are you okay?”
She stiffened at the sound of the strangers’ voice. He’d shifted back into his human form. As many questions as she had for him, she didn’t have the strength to ask them all. She was exhausted and ready for bed.
“I’m fine,” she said as she turned around.
Thankfully he’d taken the liberty to wrap the sheet around his waist. Although it didn’t hide much. Gone were the blood and scrapes from earlier. In their place was muscle on top of muscle. Sexy didn’t began to describe him.
He was tall and ruggedly built with thick light brown hair. His massive chest tapered to an abdomen with more muscles than she could count. She’d thought men with his physical only existed on the covers of books and magazines. Even his hands were nice-looking.
Refusing to allow her gaze to drop any lower, she raised her gaze to his. He had an angular face with stormy dark green eyes. No way was he single. She needed to stop drooling over something she couldn’t have. He could turn into a wolf for goodness sake. The best thing for her to do was to get him out of her home as quickly as possible.
“Just tired. Do you think they’ll wait out there to attack you again? If so I can call for the sheriff. I don’t know how to explain what happened, but I can figure out something.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re my mate. I won’t leave you unprotected.”
Chapter Three
Brayden watched as several expressions flicker over the beautiful woman standing before him. He’d lucked out. When he’d been running through the wooded area looking for a safe haven, the last thing he expected was to end up on the porch of the one woman in the world only meant for him.
It didn’t hurt that she was drop dead gorgeous. While she was clearly dressed for comfort judging by her T-shirt and yoga pants, the outfit didn’t take away from her natural beauty or gorgeous curves. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. A few tendrils had escaped, telling him that whatever she’d been doing required for it to be out of her way. Her oval shaped face was the perfect background to her full lips, wide amber colored eyes and high cheekbones.
She was beautiful, and she was his.
Even if she didn’t know what that meant yet.
“I’m your mate,” she finally repeated.
He nodded, wondering how what he was going to say was going to go over. Judging by her scent, she was human. Even though he’d given her a crash course into the shifter world, it didn’t mean that she was going to be receptive
“Yes,” he said.
She exhaled slowly, shaking her head. “I’m too tired to argue with you about this. It’s been an eventful night. You’re welcome to stay the night, but I expect you to be gone in the morning. While you may not be dangerous, you’re definitely trouble.” She took a step toward her bedroom, then stopped. “And don’t even think about trying anything funny. I have a handgun and another shotgun in my room. I won’t hesitate to use it.”
Brayden grinned. His mate was feisty. He liked that. “You’re my mate. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”
“You don’t even know my name. I doubt that I can be anything of importance to you,” she paused and sized him up and down. “Give me a moment. I may have some old clothing from my grandfather that may fit you.”
He remained silent, watching the natural sway of her hips as she walked away. When his erection began to stir, he looked away. The sheet he held securely around his waist wasn’t going to keep him modest if he let his erotic thoughts ramp up. There would be time for that later. When the danger had passed.
As few minutes later, she returned with a small stack of clothes. She handed them over to him.
“I’m not sure what will fit, so I brought you a few things,” she said.
“Thank you. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?” he asked.
“Tianna,” she replied after hesitating for a few minutes.
“Nice to meet you, Tianna. I’m Brayden.”
One corner of her mouth curved upward. “The jury is still out on my end. We’ve barely known each other an hour and I’ve already had to shoot several people on your behalf.”
“I’m sorry about that,” he said. “Hopefully you’ll allow me to make that up to you.”
“Unless you plan to clean up the mess that you and your friends made in my house, don’t put yourself out. Good night, Brayden.”
This time when she walked away, he allowed himself to look his fill. He didn’t know how he’d gotten so lucky, but he planned to take advantage of it.
Tianna slowly came awake as the sunlight began peek in through the blinds on her window. She stretched then rolled onto her back. The dream she’d had last night might be a warning sign that she was becoming a little too involved with her work. A sexy naked man who could shift into a wolf showing up on up on her porch. A rouge pack of wolves chasing him.
Yeah. She needed to take a break. After she edited the next book she was scheduled for, she was going to take a little getaway. Perhaps go and visit her parents in Duluth.
After crawling out of bed, she took a quick shower and freshened up for the day. While she didn’t have anything planned, she liked being prepared in case something came up. Plus, there was a slight chill in the house and the last thing she needed was for her shoulder to give her problems today.
She frowned as she made her way to the kitchen. In her haste to get to bed, she hadn’t set her coffeemaker. She prepared the coffee to brew before walking to the refrigerator to pull out the eggs.
She chuckled as she moved about the kitchen preparing her breakfast. Everything in her kitchen was in its rightful place. There wasn’t any blood on the floor. Her shotgun was where it belonged. It was now clear that she’d put too much whiskey into her tea.
“Good morning.”
Tianna screamed as she jumped several feet in the air. Instinctively she was moving toward her shotgun before she could draw a good breath. She had it in her hands and aimed before she saw who’d greeted her.
Her gorgeous stranger from her dream.
He was real.
Immediately, she looked behind her at the door. Upon closer inspection, she realized the door didn’t show any damage, but she knew it’d been kicked in last night.
She focused her gaze back on the man before her.
“Brayden?” she whispered as she recalled his name.
He grinned. “Yes, mate.”
She shook her head, ignoring the word she was certain he probably thought to be an endearment. “You’re real? It wasn’t a dream?”
“Are you that much of a vivid dreamer?”
Realizing that she still had the gun aimed at him, she lowered it, but didn’t put it down. She still had one bullet in the gun if she needed it. Something in her gut told her that she wouldn’t, but she wasn’t quite ready to give up her last line of defense.
“You’re kidding, right? You really think a person is supposed to believe that their home was overrun by people who can shift into wolves and not question their sanity? Trust me, it’s easier to believe that it was just a dream.”
He
tilted his head to the side. “Yes, but for some reason, you appear to be handling this better than most.”
Shaking her head, she put the gun back in its rightful spot, mentally making a note to herself to reload the gun after she ate breakfast.
“You can blame that on my job,” she said as she walked back over to the counter where the food she’d been about to prepare sat.
She washed her hands as she tried to process everything that’d happened in the past several hours. Things like this didn’t happen in real life.
“What type of work do you do?”
“I’m an editor,” she said.
He frowned. “And that makes you believe in shifters?”
She glanced over at him. “Yes. I edit romance novels. One of the most popular genres I focus on is paranormal romance.”
He chuckled. “Really?”
Tianna placed a hand on her hip and glared. “Why is that so funny?”
He held his hands up. “I’m not making fun. I promise. It was just the last thing I expected you to say.”
She decided to change the subject. “Why are you still here?”
“First, because I held up my end of the bargain. Second, I want to get you know you better. Third, I can still scent the wolves that attacked me in the area and it’s my job to protect my mate.”
Chapter Four
Brayden worried a little when Tianna remained silent. Then she began cracking eggs into a bowl. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he made himself useful by throwing away everything she appeared to be finished with. Before long, she had a hearty breakfast of toast, bacon and eggs ready and stacked on platters.
“Can you place those on the table for me?” she asked.
He did as she asked, then took the plates that she offered and put the put them on the table as well.
“What would you like to drink?” she asked.
“Juice is fine,” he said. “I’m too wired for coffee.”
Moonlight Mist: A Limited Edition Collection of Fantasy & Paranormal) Page 19
