The Shifter's Gift

by Haley Weir

  Liam gave his big brother a brief hug. “Thanks for listening and encouraging me. I’ll let you know how things go,” he said. He hopped in his car and drove to Olivia’s apartment. It was in a nice complex, and he kept his eyes out for the different numbers on the buildings, trying to find the right one. But he didn’t need to see the building’s number to see Olivia standing near her car in a delicate robe and bare feet. She stood beside her car as he pulled in next to her.

  The look on her face when she saw him took his breath away. She felt the same way about him as he did her. But why did that expression twist to something darker and more negative? He heard the man standing near her door gruffly clear his throat over his radio and air conditioning. Who was that? Olivia had not mentioned any guys in her life. Whoever it was, she turned to face them. Her shoulders slumped forward a little, but she walked to the man and gingerly wrapped her arms around him.

  “I just wanted to make sure my car was locked, Jared,” she explained, her voice careful. “It is. Can I just talk with him for a moment, then I’ll be right inside?” she asked. “I’ll make you dinner, and we can continue watching TV? Or we can order a pizza or something?”

  Jared placed his hand on Olivia’s lower back. His gaze met Liam’s as he slid it down to cup her butt. It made the bear inside him want to gnash his teeth and growl. Olivia just stood there, not reacting or removing the man’s hand. She seemed to accept it. This didn’t make sense. He didn’t have to watch this. Maybe his brother was right. He needed to find out why she hadn’t gotten back to him, to see what was going on. Now he knew. Anger and hurt clenched his chest, and he shook his head. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that if he didn’t control himself, he might rip it off of the dashboard all together.

  “No, you’re coming inside with me. Remember what I said?” Jared’s voice had an edge to it, but maybe that was the kind of man she liked.

  “Yes, of course.” With one glance back at Liam, she walked inside. A mixture of emotions crossed her lovely features.

  He put the car into reverse, not able to take this. She said nothing about having another man in her life, and from the way he ran his hand over her body, he knew Jared wasn’t a brother. Things went so well, and now she was pulling this kind of thing on him? It hurt worse than what Cindy had done, because his bear acknowledged Olivia as his mate.

  His mind was racing. He took a few deep breaths, feeling his bear push closer and closer to the surface of his skin. If he were a younger bear with less self control, he might have gotten out of the car, shed his human skin, and let his bear rip Jared’s head off. He didn’t bother looking in the rear view mirror. He wanted as far away from Olivia’s place as possible.

  He remembered his brother’s words about calling him if he needed anything. He certainly needed to vent right now, but even as thoughts and words raced through his head, something didn’t feel right. The man she was with sounded controlling, like a predator who had found and captured his prey instead of a man who genuinely cared for a woman.The thought made him slow his car even as he neared home. He pulled over to the side of the road, resting his forehead on the steering wheel as he focused his thoughts.

  The whole event played over for him once more, and he realized that he was wrong to speed away in disgust. Maybe what he saw wasn’t what he thought it was. Maybe Jared wasn’t just a controlling boyfriend, but something much more sinister..

  He shook his head and sat back in the seat. He turned around, heading back toward Olivia’s apartment. He was going to find out what was going on, one way or another. He would not accept defeat that easily. Hopefully when he returned to her place, the two of them could talk alone. If the man didn’t want that to happen, he’d just have to convince him otherwise.

  * * *

  Olivia looked back at Liam, feeling so many emotions wash through her. Part of her wanted to run to him, to tell him what was going on, to let him know that they were both in danger and to get help. But she didn’t want him to get hurt because of her. Watching him speed away through the window crushed her, and tears welled in her eyes before she could hold onto her emotions.

  “Get away from the window. I’ll order us pizza for dinner. Get on the couch before I grab you by the hair and throw you on it.” Malice saturated Jared’s voice. Olivia’s fear intensified.

  She scurried back to the couch, refusing to look over at him. If he saw her teary eyes, she had no idea how he would react. When she got to the couch, she wrapped herself in the blanket again, feeling a little safer with it around her. Her heart ached. Liam was such a nice guy; smart, funny, and great looking. Most importantly, he actually seemed to care about her. Now he probably wouldn’t want anything to do with her. The one thing keeping her going is that at least he would be alive. His family, too. She would even be alive. Physically, at least. Emotionally and mentally? That was another story. She tried to school her face and be strong, but she couldn’t stop the fear from taking hold of her. Jared was unhinged mentally. What would he do to her once he got bored of this?

  Jared placed an order for the pizza without asking her what she might want. When he was done with that, he sat back on the couch beside her. Instead of giving her space like he did before, he sat closer to make sure she wouldn’t run away from him again.

  Olivia kept her knees against her chest, and the blanket surrounding her, giving her its warmth and imaginary protection. She kept her gaze fixed on the television screen, but her attention went back to thinking of ways to escape from Jared or call the police. Her cell phone was still in his pocket. She chewed on her lower lip, deep enough in thought that she almost didn’t notice the knock on the front door. When Jared stirred from beside her, mumbling about how the pizza was early, she felt fear course through her again. Her gaze lifted to the clock. In all her life, she never had a pizza arrive so fast. She doubted it was the food. It could only be Liam.

  That realization thrilled her because he cared enough to figure out what was going on, but it also filled her with dread. Jared wouldn’t want him here, and he might very well decide to kill him. She could not allow that to happen. She stood, keeping the blanket around her as Jared opened the front door.

  “The fuck?” Jared exclaimed. “Go away. You’re not welcome here.”

  “I need to speak with Olivia. Move out of my way.” Liam sounded deadly serious.

  Olivia was panicking. If he didn’t leave, she wouldn’t be able to protect him. “Olivia doesn’t want to talk with you. You’re wasting your time here.” Jared remained rooted in the doorway, not giving in to the taller man.

  Chapter Twelve

  “To me, it sounded like she wanted to earlier, but you ordered her to come inside with you,” Liam asserted. “Get out of my way. I want to see her.”

  Jared crossed his arms over his chest, trying to intimidate Liam. “Maybe I did keep her in line, or maybe you’re imagining things. Either way, you’re going to leave right now if you know what’s good for you.”

  Liam clenched his teeth. “Don’t threaten me.” His bear didn’t respond well to threats. He wasn’t about to stand around and let himself be talked to like this, especially when he needed to talk to Olivia and get to the bottom of this. He wanted to make sure she was safe.

  “You’re messing with the wrong guy,” Jared puffed out his chest.

  If Liam was another bear shifter who had not been taught lessons of respect and decency, he would be tempted to give in to his emotions and show this man who he was messing with.

  “The same could be said for you,” Liam said, not feeling the slightest bit intimidated. “You have no idea who you’re messing with.”

  “I think I do. You’re the man who my Olivia decided to date. I’m not going to give her up that easily, especially to someone like you. You think your fancy car and yacht are enough to win her heart? I don’t think so. She doesn’t care about you.”

  He took a deep breath. The words didn’t ring true. Liam tried to capture Olivia’s scen
t in the air. His anger clouded his rational mind, but when he smelled the gun oil, everything changed. Nothing was as it seemed. This had to be why Olivia had been acting so distant and playing along with this crazy man. She was scared for her life. He couldn’t sit back and let her go through this danger. He refused to. His beast coiled within him. This time, it didn’t force its way to the surface. It knew that they needed to handle the situation with precision if they wanted Liam’s mate to make it out of this alive.

  “Listen,” Liam began, changing his tone to one more resigned. “Just let me talk with her real quick. I need the closure, then if she wants to be with you, that’s fine.” He needed the man to feel like he’d won. He needed to see Olivia and make sure she wasn’t hurt. He smelled the faint coppery scent of blood, and it made his blood boil.

  “You’ll leave once you talk with her. If you don’t, then I’m not going to be pleased.” Jared stepped aside, letting him in. He closed the door behind the two of them.

  Hearing the click of the lock made the hair stand up on the back of his neck, but Liam knew that he could defend himself no matter what Jared tried to pull. Olivia stood beside the couch, frozen in place as if she’d become a statue carved in ivory. He crossed the distance between them in a handful of long strides, needing to see her. A bruise and a cut tainted her cheek. It wasn’t there before, and it pissed him off seeing it now.

  He clenched his teeth until his jaw hurt. If he did not control himself, he wouldn’t be able to help her. “You okay?” he asked softly. It took everything in him not to reach out and caress her cheek. He kept his fists at his sides.

  “I’m... I’m fine. You shouldn’t be here. What are you doing here?” she whispered back to him, then she spoke in a normal tone. “Thank you for coming, we can finally end this. Jared coming back to me made me realize that we’re not meant to be.” Pain filled her words. He could smell the lie. She didn’t mean what she was saying.

  “I knew something wasn’t right. I’m here because I care about you. You don’t need to go through this. You’re safe now,” he whispered. “Not meant to be? You seemed content with me last night.” The latter words were louder, more for Jared than her. If they were going to have a double conversation, he needed to do his part.

  “It’s not safe here. He has a... a gun,” she said, her voice low, then she raised her voice again. “I changed my mind today. Jared helped me see what I was missing.”

  “I know he has a gun. I’m not going to run away and leave you alone, not when I know you’re in danger. I care about you. I’m going to protect you.” He stood up straighter and glanced over his shoulder at Jared, who was watching them. “And what exactly were you missing?” He turned his gaze back to Olivia.

  “You could be killed. You have to leave. I don’t want anything to happen to you. He knows where you live...he threatened your family, too. He had a private investigator following me last night. He had pictures of us from your yacht,” she whispered. She started to tremble, and he saw just how frightened she was.

  It made him want to snap and shift right then and there, damn the consequences. But he wouldn’t do it. He was better than that. Threatening him? That was one thing, but threatening his family and the woman who he wanted as his mate? He wouldn’t stand by and let that happen. Jared dug his own grave.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m stronger than I look,” he whispered back to her. He turned on his heel to look at Jared. “You know, I think she didn’t have that bruise when I left. If you know what’s good for you, you’re going to leave.” Provoking a man with a gun might not be the smartest idea, but he was not about to leave Olivia open for more abuse.

  * * *

  Liam knew Jared had a gun, what was he doing? Olivia could not stand back and just watch him do this. He was going to get himself shot—or worse! She moved to sandwich herself between the two of them, but Liam held her back.

  “Maybe you should go change clothes, Olivia,” Liam said, his voice cooler than it had been moments before. “We had a date, and I’m not going to be denied.”

  Her mouth dropped open at his intimidating tone. For a split second, she couldn’t believe her ears. But then it all made sense. He was trying to get her out of the way and to safety. She glanced between the two of them, but it would make her feel better to get into something other than her robe. With a few tentative steps back, she waited for some kind of reaction from either man. They kept their eyes on one another as if her presence wasn’t significant.

  Jared finally waved his hand in dismissal, and she hurried up the stairs. “She’s not going anywhere with you. I’m not going anywhere either. I’ve given you plenty of warnings. You’re obviously not a smart man,” he snapped.

  Olivia peeked over the railing to see Jared pull the gun from his waistband. He aimed it at Liam and fired. His body jerked, but that was the only sign that he’d been shot. It didn’t slow Liam down. She slapped her hand over her mouth to muffle her scream. Her heart pounded in her chest with fear. Her worst fears were coming true.

  As she watched, Liam slammed his fist into the side of Jared’s head with the skill of a martial artist. His body staggered back before crumpling to the floor with a thud. Her heart continued to beat wildly as she watched Liam, expecting him to collapse at any moment, but to her surprise, he turned around and stared up at her immediately.

  “Olivia, he won’t hurt you anymore. I won’t let him. Do you understand?” His voice was deadly serious, but it possessed a sincere warmth that made her chest tighten with emotion.

  “I do. Is he… Is Jared dead?” She glanced back at him. She wasn’t sure which answer she wanted to hear.

  Liam glanced back at Jared for a moment as if double checking for himself. “No, he’s alive. He’s just unconscious right now. Get changed and call the police. They can sort him out.”

  Olivia’s gaze slid back over to where Liam was shot. “You need an ambulance too! You’ve been shot.” She couldn’t believe he was so calm. “How are you still standing?” She quickly put on some clothes before heading back down the steps.

  “I don’t need an ambulance. In fact, I’d prefer if the police didn’t know I was injured. The bullet didn’t hit anything critical, and I’m... different.” His gaze followed her, but something about his expression shifted as if he needed to tell her something, but he wasn’t sure how.

  “Different? What do you mean?”

  * * *

  Liam wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. He was told never to let anyone in on the secret that werebears and the supernatural in general existed. Now he was on the verge of telling Olivia. He hadn’t planned on revealing his secret so soon in their relationship, but now he didn’t have much choice.

  She needed to know why he didn’t want an ambulance to come. If they treated him, they would want to take him to a hospital. Any doctor would realize something was different about him, and then would run tests. He would become a lab experiment, and the centuries of secrecy of their kind would be destroyed.

  Instead of going through all of that, he needed to shift forms. It might be painful, but his body was resilient. The bullet struck him near the shoulder. While it stung, he wasn’t afraid of it doing lasting damage. Even a head shot wouldn’t have killed him. His gaze lifted to Olivia’s again as he sighed when she asked the inevitable question. He took one more deep breath before letting it out slowly.

  “I’m a werebear. A shapeshifter.” Olivia came up short. Her mouth dropped open before she closed it and tried again, but no words came from her. Her eyebrows bunched together. “I know it’s a lot to take in.” Right about now he could use that phone call to his brother. How had he told his mate about what he was? This felt so strange.

  She shook her head and cleared her throat after a few moments. “A werebear? Really? That’s...” He waited for her to finish the sentence, wondering what she could possibly be thinking. Would she no longer want anything to do with him? His bear roared internally at the possibility. Th
ey wanted Olivia too much for that to happen. “That’s incredible...and kind of intimidating.”

  It was his turn to be surprised. He could understanding the intimidating aspect, but she thought him being a werebear was incredible? He wanted to pull her into his arms and hug her tightly, but he needed to focus. The longer he waited, the better the chances of the police arriving and finding him injured.

  “I want to see you later. Let me know when and where, no matter what time it is.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “We’ll talk more then. I promise.”

  Olivia leaned up into the kiss, and nodded. “I’ll call you. Thank you for coming back, even if it was dangerous. I was so scared that I’d ruined my chances with you because of him. Take care of yourself. Please.”

  Liam flashed a grin at her. “You’re welcome. I have to admit, I was angry at first, but something didn’t feel right. You didn’t seem to be acting like yourself. It set off silent alarms. See you later.”

  He grabbed the blanket from the couch and wrapped it around his shoulders to hide the fact he was bleeding in case any of the neighbors saw him. As he was pulling out of the apartment complex, two cop cars with their lights on zipped by in the direction of Olivia’s.

  Good. The sooner they were able to get Jared into custody, the better. He hated leaving her to deal with all of that on her own, but he didn’t have any other choice. He needed to protect his kind. When they were together again, he’d do whatever he could to make his absence up to her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Hours passed as the police learned about what happened to Olivia, or at least the majority of the story. She left out parts in order to keep Liam safe. Jared came to his senses as the officers locked him in the back of a patrol car. He was coldly silent, and kept glaring at her. The whole process unnerved her. When everything was over, she slumped onto her couch. She reached for the blanket but remembered that Liam took it.