Last Chance Mate: Tate (Paranormal Shapeshifter Mystery Romance)

by Anya Nowlan

  “Really getting in the spirit, huh,” Tate chuckled.

  “No use in fighting it,” she shrugged.

  “I’ll just get my stuff together and then we can hit the road. You ready?” he asked, loping across the room and grabbing his sleeping bag.

  Not that he’d had much use for it these past nights.

  “I am,” Tessa replied, a bit taken aback at how easy that was to say.

  Whitefish was her home, after all, wasn’t it? The years she’d spent in Chicago aside, this was where she had spent most of her life. This is where all of her memories of mom lived, where the store was… It should have been harder to just grab a bag of clothes and take off, not knowing if she would ever be able to come back.

  Then why wasn’t it?

  “What’s that frown about?” Tate asked, brushing past her to grab the bottle of whiskey and stuff it in his duffel.

  “Oh, nothing,” she shook her head. “I’m guessing you have some sort of plan for getting out of town? I sold my car when I got back to Whitefish. Didn’t really think I’d need it here.”

  “My ride’s parked out back,” he replied, zipping up his bag and starting to button his shirt. “It’s a Nissan Titan,” he added, a note of pride in his voice. “It’s covered a lot of miles with me, it’ll get us out of Whitefish, too.”

  “So you’re a car guy,” Tessa clucked her tongue.

  “I like to work on things myself, including my truck,” Tate shrugged. “I guess I have become pretty attached to it,” he admitted.

  “You’re not one of those guys who gives their vehicle a name, are you?” Tessa questioned.

  “Why, you have something against that?” he stopped in his tracks, looking at her.

  “Um…” she stuttered.

  “Relax,” Tate laughed, shaking his head at her. “I was just kidding. You should have seen your face, though,” he pointed a finger at her.

  “Ha ha,” she rolled her eyes, lips quirking. “So, you’re… a mechanic or something?” she asked.

  “Nah, I just poke around under the hood. I’m more into woodworking. Building and restoring and building furniture, that kind of thing.”

  “I knew it,” Tessa muttered under her breath, her eyes bright.

  “You did?” Tate asked, brows rising.

  Oops. I should keep my thoughts to myself.

  “Just a feeling I had,” Tessa shrugged.

  “It’s the plaid, isn’t it?” he grinned, waving a hand at his shirt.

  “Maybe,” she laughed.

  Or the big, strong arms.

  “All right,” Tate chuckled. “Let’s get going,” he added, picking up both his and her bags and slinging them over his shoulder.

  “Lead the way,” she nodded.

  They made their way downstairs, with Tate looking around as soon as they got to the street. Tessa squinted against the sun and did the same, glancing over her shoulder while following Tate behind the building.

  There, beneath a large oak tree, stood a muted gray pickup, looking shiny and new except for the worn tires. Keys jangling in his hands, Tate unlocked the truck, throwing their bags in the back.

  “Hop in,” he said, making his way to the driver’s seat.

  Tessa climbed in, buckling her seatbelt. The engine roared to life and a smile spread over Tate’s face as he pulled out from behind the house and set his sights on the road out of town.

  “So… about this furniture you build,” Tessa started, earning a curious glance from him.

  There was still so much she didn’t know about him. She had basically laid everything out there, from her mom’s death to not being that hyped about taking over the antique business. But she didn’t even know where Tate was from or why exactly he had decided to go on the road.

  Not that the whole man of mystery thing isn’t sexy, but I’d like to know more…

  The town passed them by as they headed for the highway, and Tessa silently said goodbye to all the familiar buildings, the streets she used to play in, the stores she had visited with her mom…

  “What about it?” Tate asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

  “I was just wondering… Did you have your own shop somewhere or did you work for someone…” she trailed off, unsure if he even wanted to have this discussion.

  “I don’t know if you’d call it a shop, more like a shed in my backyard,” Tate laughed, and Tessa relaxed in her seat. “But it was a small town. Everyone knew my work, so I always had customers, so to say.”

  “Ah, so you’re a small-town kid, like me,” Tessa remarked. “What made you leave?”

  “I guess I wanted to make my own decisions,” he replied.

  “And you couldn’t there?” she asked.

  “Not really, no,” he said, pursing his lips.

  The houses thinned out as they left Whitefish behind. Tessa noted the way Tate’s features tightened as their conversation went on. Should she push further? Her curiosity was piqued, but she didn’t want to cross any lines and make him uncomfortable.

  After all, she knew everything about him that was really important – that he was kind, brave, and her port in the storm. Did she really need his whole life history?

  The sign reading You are now leaving Whitefish. Come back soon! came and went, the road running smooth beneath them. Tessa had yet to come to a decision on whether she should ask any more questions, when something on the horizon grabbed her attention.

  “Is that… someone standing on the road?” she asked, leaning forward in her seat and squinting.

  Tate’s knuckles turned white on the steering wheel, a low growl emanating from his chest.

  “It’s Loch,” he said, and Tessa could feel her veins icing over.

  I should have known leaving Whitefish wasn’t going to be this easy.

  Twenty

  Tate

  “What do we do?” Tessa asked, looking between him and the road, her heart beating fast.

  “We keep going,” he replied, gritting his teeth.

  However Loch had caught on to their plan, it didn’t matter. Whatever the demon had planned, it wasn’t going to be good for them. While Tate would have loved to pull the truck over and sink his teeth into Loch, he had to consider the possibility it would be a fight he’d lose.

  And then what would happen to Tessa?

  No, there was a time for fighting, and there was a time for running. As much as he hated it, this was the latter.

  “You think that’ll work? We just run him over?” Tessa asked, running her fingers over her seatbelt buckle.

  “I don’t know,” Tate replied, watching Loch’s outline grow clearer and closer. “But we can’t stop.”

  “No, you’re right,” Tessa nodded, clutching on to the edge of her seat.

  The road stretched on in front of them, empty except for the man in a black suit standing right on the median strip with his hands in his pockets. He was now close enough for Tate to see his face, and make out the grin spreading over the demon’s features.

  If anything, at least Loch would know that they were heading out of town, sparing Whitefish any undue terror.

  Tate’s wolf thrashed against the shield he had put up to keep the animal at bay, snarling and growling. Foot pressing down on the accelerator, Tate stared at Loch while he headed right at him with grim determination.

  “Hold on,” he said to Tessa, pale and wide-eyed in the passenger seat.

  But just seconds before impact, a black, swirling smoke erupted out of the ground, swallowing up everything before them. Thick as ink, it enveloped the road and then the pickup, until Tate couldn’t even tell which way was up and which way down.

  What the…

  Braking, he struggled to gain control, not knowing if they were even on the road anymore. The smog clung to the windows of the truck, twisting around as if it were alive. A hollow laugh echoed out around them, and Tate couldn’t help the snarl that peeled his lips back and made his nose crinkle.

  “Holy shit,” Tes
sa muttered beside him.

  The cab of the truck was getting darker and darker as the smoke thickened around them, and soon enough, it was pitch black in there altogether.

  “I have to pull over,” Tate said, blinking to get used to the dark.

  There had been a curve in the road up ahead, and if he kept going, he could not only run off the road, he could run into another car or even worse, someone walking on the side of the highway.

  “I know,” she whispered in the darkness, a moment before his hand found her shoulder.

  Brakes squealing, the pickup came to a stop. Tate quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, his hand flying to the door handle. Slowly, the smoke began to clear, slithering away like hundreds of snakes.

  Tessa’s breath was uneven as she turned to look at him. He wanted to reassure her, but at that point, what could he say? Sure, he could turn into a wolf, but he couldn’t command magical smoke or teleport or do any of the hundred things Loch was probably capable of.

  That didn’t mean he was going to give up, though. Not only was the amulet Loch was looking for in the backseat, Tessa’s life was on the line. Loch would have another thing coming if he thought he was going to get what he wanted without having to fight like hell for it.

  “We can’t let him have it,” Tessa shook her head, her voice shaky. “No matter what, he can’t have it.”

  As soon as she said that, Loch materialized in front of the truck, mere inches from the bumper. Jaw clenched, he looked from Tate to Tessa, slowly shaking his head.

  “And where do you think you’re going?” he asked. “Not leaving the party early, are you?”

  Tate’s hand was still on the door handle, slowly pressing down. Tessa’s gaze darted his way.

  “Don’t,” she whispered, not taking her eyes off Loch.

  “I can hold him off. You have to get the amulet away from here,” he replied through gritted teeth.

  “No, I can’t leave you,” she argued, but he was already pushing the door open, his feet landing on the pavement with a thud.

  Loch arched a brow at him, lips quirking up.

  “And what’s this? Time for me to play with the puppy?” he sneered.

  “Back off, asshole,” Tate shot back.

  Behind him he could hear Tessa moving around in the truck, probably climbing into the driver’s seat. By the way Loch’s eyes moved over his shoulder, Tate was pretty sure that was what was going on.

  “You’re not going anywhere with my property,” Loch warned.

  “It’s not yours and it never will be,” Tate replied, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

  Loch didn’t bother answering that, just let out a dramatic sigh as he started marching toward the truck. But Tate stepped in his way, the two men practically chest to chest now, staring at each other on the empty highway.

  “Are you reckless or just stupid?” Loch asked, as the truck’s engine turned back on behind them. “This isn’t your fight. You don’t even know this girl,” Loch tilted his chin toward the pickup at his back. “Step aside and I won’t rip you in half.”

  “Empty threats, like always,” Tate growled back at him.

  This was his fight. As long as he was still breathing, no one would lay a hand on Tessa. His wolf rumbled beneath his skin, in complete agreement. Loch would just have to be proven wrong the hard way.

  Seeing that Tate wasn’t about to budge, Loch narrowed his eyes at him, a dissatisfied sound reverberating in the back of his throat. It sounded more like a hiss than anything, only putting Tate’s wolf more on edge.

  Before Tate could even react, Loch’s hand shot out, his palm slamming against Tate’s chest and sending him stumbling backwards, until he landed on his ass next to his truck. The wind was knocked out of him for a moment, his chest aching as he tried to catch his breath.

  “Tate,” Tessa called out, moving to open the truck door, a panicked look in her eyes.

  “Get out of here,” Tate yelled back, jumping up onto his feet.

  With a growl, he pushed himself forward and barreled into Loch, wrapping his arms around the demon’s waist and knocking him back onto the asphalt. Loose pebbles went flying as Loch’s back scraped across the pavement, along with Tate’s hands.

  The two men struggled on the ground, Tate fighting to keep Loch pinned down. Behind them, the truck was starting to move, the engine roaring as the vehicle picked up speed.

  Good girl. Keep driving and don’t look back.

  Loch’s knee shot out and slammed into his gut a second later, sending him rolling onto his side and clutching his ribs. Struggling to get on his hands and knees, a heavy boot came crashing down on his face, sending him back onto the ground.

  “Mutt,” Loch spat out above him.

  Leaning on his wolf and pulling on its survival instincts, Tate managed to leap back onto his feet, ignoring the pain shooting up his stomach and chest. Tessa was already passing them by in the truck, and Tate threw everything he had left at Loch, so the demon couldn’t follow.

  Swinging his arm back, he brought his elbow crashing into Loch’s face, making the man’s head snap back. But Loch just laughed as he turned back to face him, the same thick smoke from before starting to pour out of his hands.

  Fuck, Tate cursed to himself as the fog rushed toward his face, blinding him and forcing its acrid gas down his throat.

  He might die on this road, he knew that. But it would be worth it if Tessa got away.

  Twenty-One

  Tessa

  “Shit, shit, shit,” Tessa chanted under her breath, yanking the wheel to turn the truck around.

  Tate was on his knees on the road, a cloud of smoke around his head, his hands reaching up toward his throat. She knew he had told her to get out, to at least keep the amulet away from Loch… But after all he had done for her, she couldn’t just run off and leave him there.

  Her heart constricted just at the sight of him at Loch’s mercy. Tate had put up a good fight, but a magical, suffocating cloud of smoke? Yeah, that was a hard thing to beat.

  With one last deep breath, Tessa gunned it, heading straight for Loch.

  The demon looked up at the sound of the engine, frowning at first, then smiling. Turning to face her, he spread out his arms, the cloud of smoke now wafting away from Tate and starting to creep in on her.

  Still, Tessa kept going.

  Tate was on all fours now, coughing by the looks of it, with blood dripping down one side of his face. An anger she had never felt before took over Tessa. How dare that filthy fucking demon hurt Tate? Hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, she vowed to make Loch pay for that.

  The black fog was creeping closer to her windshield, and her heartbeat was thunderous in her ears. If her vision was clouded before she could reach Loch, she could end up hitting Tate instead, by mistake.

  But what options did she have?

  The truck sped onward, her foot firmly on the gas pedal, despite now barely being able to make out the two men on the road in front of her. But, just as everything before her went completely dark, she spotted Tate heaving himself upward, and punching Loch in the knee.

  The demon looked surprised as his right leg crumpled beneath him, unable to support his weigh. The smoke cleared just in time for Tessa to swerve to the left, away from Tate, and crash into Loch.

  The man went flying over the windshield, thudding against the roof of the truck and landing somewhere on the road behind her. Slamming on the brakes, Tessa brought the truck to a stop and jumped out, running to Tate.

  He was already getting to his feet, cradling his right side. She rushed over, pulling his arm over her shoulders and leading him toward the truck. Not even sparing a glance back at Loch, she managed to get him into the passenger seat before climbing in herself.

  “Tessa…” Tate said, his head falling back against the seat.

  “It’s okay, I’m getting us out of here,” she replied, grinding her teeth together.

  Hands shaking, she started the pickup, turnin
g it around clumsily and hitting the shoulder of the road. Sweat ran down the small of her back as she managed to get herself angled back the right way, leading out of Whitefish.

  Loch was crumpled on the road, but still moving, struggling to push himself up.

  Tessa wasn’t about to give him the chance to try and stop them again, so she hit the gas and sped past him, eyes glued to the rearview mirror as soon as she did. Loch was still trying to get on his feet, his suit dirty and ripped, and a deep gash leaking red near his forehead.

  But as he attempted to pull out his knees from under him, a strange thing began to happen. The edges of his frame began to ripple, then wisp away entirely, until he looked like a campfire flickering in the wind.

  The next moment, he was gone altogether, leaving behind nothing but a splatter of blood on the ground.

  “He’s gone,” she said, glancing over at Tate, who was wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “You shouldn’t have come back,” he replied, shaking his head and looking like it hurt him to do it.

  “Hey, you’re welcome,” she countered, fixing her eyes on the road.

  The adrenaline rushing through her was starting to fade, leaving a hollowness in her gut and a dull ache in her head. She kept glancing at the rearview mirror, half-expecting for Loch to just pop up in the backseat.

  But it seemed his time in their realm had run out, fortunately for them.

  “The amulet is more important than me,” Tate said, looking over at her.

  “Not to me,” she blurted out, avoiding his gaze in a flood of embarrassment.

  She meant it, though.

  A silence fell over the cab of the truck, leaving Tessa to wonder if she should have just kept her mouth shut. Then again, how else was Tate supposed to know how important he had become to her if she didn’t tell him?

  “That’s foolish,” he finally said, making her heart sink. “But that’s how I feel, too,” he admitted, and suddenly, Tessa had a very hard time keeping her eyes on the road.