by Kim Fox
And then Ashton came to her rescue. Her knight in shifter armor. He came out of nowhere and easily pulled her to the shore, gliding sideways with his strong arms and powerful legs.
She had thought about faking unconsciousness to get some mouth to mouth from her sexy savior but the ground under her feet felt too good and she felt compelled to lie on the grass to fully enjoy the fact that she was on dry land with as much oxygen as she could ever want.
Ashton kissed her anyways, caressing her tongue with his and making her feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
The rest of the afternoon had been just as nice. They talked as they hiked back to the rafting place, enjoying the nice weather, scenery, and each other’s company.
The group still wasn’t back when they had arrived, so they spent the two hours waiting for them by making out and swimming in the calm parts of the river.
“I’m quite confident that we’ll be the number one show in the country,” Paul said, still going on about their awesomeness. “We’re going to catch a lot of shifters.”
Lauren squinted as she stared at him as he rambled on. She couldn’t see any awesomeness in any of them.
“Who’s hungry?” the waiter Cole asked as he walked over with plates balancing all over his muscular arms.
He lowered plates in front of each of them and leaned in close when it was Lauren’s turn. “Any friend of Ashton gets extra French fries,” he whispered in her ear.
She laughed when she looked down at the heaping pile of fries on her plate. “Thanks, Cole,” she said, wondering if he was a shifter too. He had to be by the size of him.
“So, how exactly are you going to catch a shifter?” Lauren asked the guys after Cole had left. She had seen how powerful Ashton and the other shifters on the Clawed Ranch had been and these guys wouldn’t stand a chance against one of them.
“With guns,” James said, tugging on the collar of his poorly buttoned shirt.
“James!” Paul snapped, shooting him a dirty look. He turned back to the girls and smiled. “You’ll have to wait and see when our show airs. We have a few tricks up our sleeves.”
“All legal tricks of course,” Matt said with a nervous smile.
Lauren’s stomach quivered as she looked down at the huge mountain of food on her plate. She didn’t like these guys and had a bad feeling about them.
She didn’t want them anywhere near Ashton. Or her friends.
They talked as they ate, but Lauren was quieter than usual. She picked at her food, wishing that she was eating with Ashton instead of these guys who were making the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight.
The late dinner was finally over. They had all paid and were walking outside to get a breath of air to help them digest.
“What are you guys doing now?” Brenna asked, looking hopeful that they would invite them along.
“We’re going shifter hunting!” James said with a crazed grin on his face.
Paul smacked the back of his head and frowned at him. “He means shifter spotting. Don’t you, James?”
“That’s right,” James said, rubbing the back of his head.
Lauren had one eye on the group and one eye on the second to last trailer in the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ashton. She sighed when she came up empty.
“We should go,” Paul said, motioning to their dark green Jeep with his eyes. “This TV show is not going to film itself.”
Lauren hung back as the girls said goodbye. She just crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, shaking her head as her friends hugged the guys.
Seriously? These guys?
Lauren loved her friends but they had some seriously bad taste in men. Or maybe you’re just too picky. You’re the one who hasn’t been laid since the last Olympics.
But then she saw something that made her drop that idea from her mind. Ashton was walking towards them, looking hotter than ever. His faded jeans were hugging his muscular thighs like they were perfectly tailored for his powerful legs. He was wearing a white hoodie that still showed off the muscles of his massive chest and hulking arms despite the bagginess of it.
But the sexiest thing about him was the intense way that he was watching her as he approached. Pam, Brenna, and especially Summer were all beautiful girls but Ashton didn’t even give them one look. He only has eyes for me.
Lauren left the group to meet him. She wanted to run forward, jump into his arms, and give him a long sensual kiss but she settled for an awkward ‘hi’ instead.
“I missed you,” he said with his stunning brown eyes shining down on her.
Lauren smiled as her cheeks heated up. “I missed you too.”
He finally looked away from Lauren to glance over at the three guys who were thankfully leaving. Paul had a gun-shaped bump in the waistband of the back of his pants.
“Who are those guys?” he asked, stepping closer to her in a protective manner. He stuck his chest out as he watched them with hard eyes.
“Just some guys that my friends met today. I’m not a fan.”
“Me neither,” he said, glaring at them as they got into the Jeep and pulled away. “There’s something off about those guys. Please stay away from them.”
“I would,” she said, smiling as she stepped a little closer to his hard body. “If I have someone else to hang out with.”
He was about to respond when his eyes caught something, making him step back.
Lauren turned to where he was looking and groaned when she saw her three friends staring at them with wide eyes and open mouths.
“I’ll just be one minute,” she said to them. None of them responded. They just continued staring at them in shock.
Lauren laughed as she turned back to Ashton, giving her friends the back of her head. “Can I see you tomorrow?” she asked, trying not to show how nervous she was to hear the answer.
“Of course,” he said, smiling softly at her. “You can see me whenever you want.”
“Okay,” she said, feeling her friends’ eyes on her. “Have a good night.”
She really wanted to get a kiss goodnight but they had an unwelcome audience who were making things awkward.
“You too,” he said, stepping away. “Sweet dreams.”
She watched his ass, which looked spectacular in his jeans as he walked away. I’ll have sweet dreams. You can count on that!
“Who was that guy?” Pam asked, hurrying over when Ashton was gone. Brenna and Summer were quick to follow.
“That guy?” Lauren asked, trying to sound casual.
“No, the guy in the restaurant,” Pam said, rolling her eyes. “Yes, that guy!”
“Is there something going on between you two?” Summer asked, leaning in.
Lauren backed away, feeling like there was a spotlight on her. It felt like an interrogation.
“He’s just a nice guy who works here,” Lauren said with a shrug.
Pam rolled her eyes. “He’s just a nice guy who works here,” she said, imitating Lauren in a mocking way. “Oh, please. You two are totally into each other! I could tell by the way you guys were both drooling.”
“No,” Lauren said, waving a dismissive hand at her. “You think?”
“Yes!” Summer and Brenna both said at the same time.
Summer grinned. “He was giving you fuck me eyes the entire time.”
“He was?” Lauren asked, rubbing her lips with her finger. Maybe this trip would get much more interesting.
“Look at her,” Pam said, pointing at Lauren. “She’s rubbing her lips. Did you guys kiss?”
Lauren looked away with heated cheeks.
“You did!” Pam said, her grin getting wider. She clutched her stomach and made a sour face. “I’m so sick. My stomach hurts,” she said, imitating Lauren. “Meanwhile you’re locking lips with some sexy mountain man. What the hell?”
“Yeah,” Summer said, staring at her with admiration. “Does he have any friends?”
“I’m just mad that you did
n’t tell us,” Pam said, crossing her arms. “Spill it!”
“Yeah,” Brenna said. “Dish it. Everything.”
Lauren was about to deny it all but she couldn’t let her girls down. They all looked so excited as they watched her, waiting for the story.
“Fine,” Lauren said, finally letting her smile shine through. “It’s true. We kissed! A lot.”
Brenna looked around in the direction that Ashton had gone but it was too dark to see anything. “I want to get another look at this guy,” she said, moving her head back and forth. “Tell me you have a picture of him.”
Lauren did. They had taken a selfie together on her phone after the white water rafting.
“I have one,” she said, pulling out her iPhone. She bit her lip as she remembered how good of a picture it was. “We took it by the river this afternoon. Together.”
“I have to see this,” Brenna said, ripping the phone out of her hand. She stopped, looking like she realized that it wasn’t her phone and it was rude to go through it without permission.
“Can I check the pictures?” Brenna asked.
“Sure,” Lauren said with a shrug. It wasn’t like she had any nudes in there. That hadn’t happened since her last phone. Or, maybe it was the phone before that.
“Aww,” Brenna moaned tilting her head to the side as she looked at the picture. She held it up and showed the other girls and they both made the same noise. The noise that people make when they see a cute puppy.
Lauren smiled, giggling like she was back in high school. This was exactly what she needed on this trip. A little four-day fling with a sexy mountain man.
“Any more pics in here?” Brenna asked, cycling through Lauren’s photos.
“Not unless you like cat videos,” Lauren said as Brenna stared at the screen. “I have the cutest video of Pedals fighting the ironing boa-”
Brenna’s gasp ripped the words out of Lauren’s throat. Oh no. Not the-
“What the fuck is this?” Brenna asked, throwing the phone on the ground like it was a hot potato.
“What?” Pam asked, grabbing it off of the grass.
“Give me that,” Lauren said, trying to reach for it. Pam was stronger than she looked and managed to hold her back while she replayed the video.
“Holy shit!” she shouted. “You saw a grizzly bear on the ranch yesterday? Why didn’t you tell u-Holy fuck!”
Pam stared at Lauren with bulging eyes as she held her back, stammering as she replayed the video again. There it was. A full grizzly bear phasing into a naked man. A really hot, really fucking sexy, naked man.
“That’s Ashton!” Pam shouted still staring at the screen.
“Shhh,” Lauren said, looking around in a panic. They were in a public place and Ashton would never speak to her again if she let his secret get out. “Stop talking so loud!”
“I want to see,” Summer said, grabbing the phone next.
Lauren just huffed out a frustrated breath, letting Summer watch. She was going to find out in a few seconds anyway.
The lights were still on in the inn and there could be someone around to overhear them. Lauren wanted to go inside where no one could hear so she jogged back to the room. The three girls followed on her heels as expected.
“Stop running,” Pam said, closing the door when all four of them were back in the room. “We have questions and you’re going to give us answers.”
“Ashton is a shifter,” Brenna said, staring at Lauren in disbelief. “You found a shifter.”
“She kissed a shifter,” Pam corrected.
Lauren sighed as she sat down on one of the double beds that they were sharing. This was exactly why she didn’t want to tell them in the first place. She knew they would freak out.
How could you forget the video?
She had screwed up big time.
Ashton had trusted her with a secret and her little mess up had three crazy Shifter Chasers finding out.
Even if they managed to keep the secret to themselves, for the rest of the weekend they would still be staring, giggling, whispering, and just plain embarrassing Lauren whenever Ashton was around.
“Does he have any shifter friends for us?” Summer asked, leaning in.
“Like the waiter, Cole,” Pam added.
“Or the blonde naked guy with the big cock,” Brenna said.
Lauren laughed, realizing how fast it took them to forget about the three stooges from the restaurant. “What about Matt, Paul, and James?”
Brenna scrunched her nose up. “We’re talking shifters here. A shifter has nothing on those guys.”
Lauren completely agreed.
“I love bear shifters the best,” Pam said, clasping her hands together.
“Me too,” Brenna said, nodding like a woodpecker.
“So do I,” Summer said, butting in. “I always said that bears were my favorite.”
“So?” Pam asked, raising her eyebrows at Lauren.
“What?” Lauren answered looking at all of the staring faces in confusion.
“Will you go ask?” Pam said.
“Ask what?”
“If he has any shifter friends for us,” Pam said, grabbing her arm and squeezing it.
“Please!” Brenna said, looking like the times when she had to beg her father to borrow his car.
“Fine,” Lauren said, throwing her hand in the air. “I’ll ask.”
What harm could it do? And it will get me out of here.
“Now,” Brenna said, pushing Lauren off the bed.
She laughed as she got thrown to her feet. “We just got back to the room.”
“We don’t care,” Summer said, pointing at the door. “We’ve already wasted a full day and a half here. We only have one full day left to get our freaks on with a shifter. Go. Now!”
“Alright,” Lauren said, smiling as she went to the door. She’d rather hang out with Ashton anyway than be interrogated by these three all night.
She fixed her makeup and hair in the mirror and then said bye to her hopeful friends.
“We won’t wait up,” Brenna said with a playful grin.
“Yes, we will!” Pam quickly answered.
Lauren grinned as she walked out the door. Hopefully, they would be waiting for a long time.
eight
“What do you mean, he’s gone?” Ashton asked, staring at Joan in shock.
He was sitting around the campfire with Rory, Rhett, and Joan. It had been the best day of his life and he sat down with a beer to finish the day off with his friends when they had dropped a bombshell on him.
Gunner was out of the crew.
“He had to go,” Rhett said, gazing into the crackling fire.
Ashton knew why but he asked anyway. “Why?”
Joan raised her legs onto her chair, pulling her knees into her chest like she was trying to be as small as possible. Ashton’s heart went out to her.
She hadn’t asked for any of this. Neither did Gunner or Rhett for that matter.
It was just a shitty situation and it was resolved in the only way that it could. Gunner had to go.
For his own sake as well as the crew’s.
Gunner’s love for Joan had been tearing him apart and as much as Ashton would miss him, he was happy that the lion shifter could finally move on with his life instead of wasting away on the Wilde Ranch, drowning in the horrible feeling of unrequited love.
“It’s better this way,” Rory said, sighing as he took a sip of his beer. “The poor guy was miserable.”
“He was making everybody miserable,” Rhett muttered.
“Rhett!” Joan said, shooting him a heated glare. “Can you not?”
Rhett shook his head as he stood up. “I have to go water the trees.”
Ashton noticed that the skin shifter had an extra little bounce in his step. Rhett had every reason to be happy that Gunner was gone. Those two never liked each other from day one and Gunner was in love with Rhett’s mate. Ashton was just relieved that this whole thing
hadn’t ended in violence.
“I’m sorry, guys,” Joan whispered when Rhett had disappeared into the forest. She was still staring at the campfire with shell-shocked eyes. “All I wanted was to bring the crew together and I ended up ripping us apart. I’ve never been good at the whole family thing,” she said, her eyes starting to water. “I should have known I’d be just as bad with a crew.”
“Stop,” Rory said, resting a hand on her tiny knee. “You’re the best alpha I’ve ever had.”
“That’s not saying much,” Ashton said with a hollow laugh. “Your first alpha betrayed you when he let the military take you and your second alpha, Logan, was a psychopath.”
“Exactly,” Rory said, nodding with his cowboy hat on his head. “She’s the best.”
“You can do better,” Joan said with a sniff. “Alphas are supposed to keep crews together.”
“We’re the Wilde Crew,” Ashton said with a sad smile. “Fucking things up is our thing. We warned you about that before you came on board.”
Joan laughed. “You did. But I thought you were joking.”
“Not joking,” Rory said with a smile. “We’re the worst.”
Joan smiled but she still looked like she was hurting. Ashton took a sip of his beer and sat in Rhett’s empty seat beside her.
“You’re doing a great job,” he said, placing his hand on her other knee. “We were constantly fighting when you arrived, remember?”
Those days without an alpha had been bad. Their wild animals had been bouncing off each other, constantly challenging, constantly fighting for dominance. Joan’s crazy grizzly bear had put all of that to an end the second she claimed the title of alpha.
“Look at what we’ve built,” Ashton said, pointing to the beautiful inn that was lit up in the distance. “It’s all because of you.”
She shook her head, not hearing any of it. “But Gunner…”
“Gunner had to leave,” Ashton said. “That wasn’t your fault. Maybe he’ll settle his issues and come back one day.” Ashton didn’t think that would ever happen but he was trying to make Joan feel better.
