Shifter Night: Box Set

by Hartnady, Charlene

  * * *

  A piece of meat.

  That was how Winston felt at that moment, as well as whenever he came into town on any Saturday. On Shifter Night, as the locals had dubbed it. He felt like a piece of meat on a butcher’s block, reduced to sinew, muscle and bone. Don’t forget the bone. That was the part the human females were most interested in.

  Ash had been right on the money on that note. He yelped as a hand closed over one of his butt cheeks and squeezed. Winston turned. The woman was a little older but still in great shape. She looked him up and down like he was the last piece of candy in the jar, even giving her lips a languid lick. “Hey tiger,” she murmured, stepping in closer.

  Nope! He wasn’t feeling it. Not for her, or for the red-head earlier. He hadn’t felt it for the brunette ten minutes before that either. Females approached him left, right and center. The moment he managed to lose one, another would pop up. Some were sexy, some were more girl-next-doorsy, but none held any appeal for him. Not like they used to, at any rate.

  The female reached out. No damned way! Her hand reached further and further forward, aiming for his crotch. He sealed a hand over hers just as she was about to squeeze his dick, feeling her perfectly manicured, red nails against his palm. “I don’t think so.”

  She smiled. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Another glide of that tongue.

  “I’m here for a drink.”

  “Sure.” She narrowed her eyes. It was clear that she didn’t believe him.

  “Can I buy you a drink? We can talk.” This female must have a story; one he wouldn’t mind hearing.

  “We can talk after.” She bobbed her brows suggestively.

  Yeah right! There would be no talking after. She’d be wrung out, barely capable of walking, let alone coherent speech. It wasn’t that he was arrogant, it was just a simple fact. Winston shrugged. “I’m headed to the bar. You’re welcome to join me.”

  “One drink and then we’ll head out?” She raised her brows suggestively.

  Meat … that’s all he was to them. The shifters had somewhat of a reputation though. It was their own fault for starting Shifter Night in the first place. This was all about sex … no holds barred, all night long rutting. No emotions, no tomorrow, no future. It was about cleaning out the old pipes and giving the female as much pleasure as possible, and for years he’d been okay with that.

  Make that, he’d loved it. Looked forward to it. He counted down the weeks, days and hours until it was his turn to hit Sweetwater. As of late though, it had grown old. All of it. Females didn’t come to the ‘Dark Horse’ for the riveting conversation. They didn’t see any of the shifters as anything more than meat and bone. He may as well be a giant dildo. To think he’d believed they might see something more in him. He hated to admit it, but Ash had been right.

  “On second thought …” He smiled at her, watching as her eyes lit up. She was about to be bitterly disappointed. “I think I’ll head out,” he continued.

  The glint became a spark. Oh hell, she was reading this all wrong. “On my own.” He added. “Have a good evening.” Winston gave a nod to the pouting human and headed out.

  “Hey!” Ash yelled. “Going so soon?” The bear alpha grinned and a couple of human females swooned.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Winston said, hand on the door.

  Ash laughed, he mouthed the word ‘pussy’, putting his arm around a curvy blonde. Winston couldn’t help but chuckle. Just then, two females came through the door. He stood to the side. The one female had a head of curly hair. She eyed him like he was … a piece of meat. The other female looked shell-shocked. Like she didn’t really want to be there. Her eyes were wide and really blue. The female was so nervous, she didn’t even see him standing there.

  “Ladies.” He tipped his head, leaving the bar, the noise, all of the hustle and bustle behind him.

  5

  Big, built and really cute, he ticked all the boxes. Every last one. Why, then, was she shivering inside the bathroom? Too afraid to come out? What was wrong with her? Nothing. Everything. No, she was an idiot and a complete prude, and in that order. No she wasn’t, there were real reasons why this was so hard for her. She needed to cut herself some slack.

  “Have a one-night stand,” Edith had said. “You’ll love it,” she had whispered behind her hand. “You need it.” Then she’d gone on to scrunch up her nose and look at her like she was a lost cause. No matter the prodding for Ana to do this though, Edith had still made it very clear that she was not guaranteed success. None of them were. If you managed to snag one of them, you were lucky. “If only it was guaranteed,” she’d said. Apparently, if Ana could get it right, it’d be the best night of her life. If that was so true, why were her hands shaking and her heart racing? Why did she feel ill? In the end, she knew exactly why, only she didn’t want to think about it right at that moment. She had come a long way. She could do this. Ana hadn’t puked on him and she could still breathe. It was all good. She could still do this. She had to. Sex with another human being. Good sex, if Edith was to be believed, and somehow she knew it was true. The guy in the next room was a dream come true.

  Her stomach clenched again, this time accompanied by a tightening feeling. Here she was, catch of the century waiting in the hotel bed, and she wanted to run away.

  A knock sounded on the door and she almost jumped right out of her skin.

  “You okay?” he sounded concerned. So, this guy was big, built, cute and sweet? A real catch. It didn’t matter because she still felt sick though.

  “Fine.” Her voice didn’t sound fine. “I’m coming.”

  There was a chuckle followed by. “Not yet you aren’t.” More chuckling. “But you will be soon.” Low and deep. The way he said it should have had her toes curling. Instead, her stomach gave another lurch.

  “Okay,” she said, trying a bit harder to sound normal. When she wasn’t normal. A normal woman would be loving the hell out of this. A normal woman would be in that bed having the best sex of her life by now. A normal woman would not have said an idiot thing like ‘okay’ to a statement like that.

  Hearing him say that should have had her running out with her arms outstretched. Instead, her stomach gave another lurch.

  She could totally leave and blow him off but the thing was, no matter how sick she felt, she had put a lot of work into this night. She was wearing matching underwear. Not only that, it was a new set. The one she had bought months ago but had never worn. It was sexy and red and looked so darned good on her. Also, she’d done her hair and her nails, shaved her legs and her underarms. She’d even gone so far as to wax. The pain had been excruciating but worth it. Her girl bits had never looked so good. She had never looked so good ‒ and yet here she was, hiding. Still fully clothed and shivering like a scaredy cat.

  The plan had been to brush her teeth and to take off the dress so that she could present herself in just the underwear and heels. Her breathing picked up, together with her heart rate at the thought of walking out of there half-naked. Her throat felt dry as a bone in the desert. No, drier. Going out there in her undies was not going to happen.

  No way.

  Ana swallowed hard. Even her hands felt clammy. She could do this. She just needed to go out there and look at him again. Once she got an eyeful, she’d be revving on all cylinders, she just knew it. Okay, she hoped that’s what would happen.

  Before she could give herself a chance to overthink it, Ana pushed the door open and strode out into the hotel room like she owned it. “Fake it till you make it,” her granny had always said, and it was as good advice as any.

  He was stretched out on the bed. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember his name. Ana had always had this little problem, she forgot things when she was nervous. What’s-his-name had ditched his shirt and was all long limbs and huge muscles. He grinned. With blond hair, the bluest of eyes and dimples from here until next Tuesday, he was the epitome of hot. Yet, all she felt was the slow rol
ling of her stomach, followed by a hard clench when he tapped his denim-clad lap. What’s-his-name wanted her to straddle him.

  No.

  No.

  No.

  There would be no straddling. No sex. No orgasms. What the hell had possessed her to even try this? Oh yes, the fact that she hadn’t had sex in a couple of years. Ever since … Her heart gave a clench and her stupid lip quivered.

  “Are you okay?” He frowned and sat up. “You don’t look well.” He sniffed the air. “You do not need to feel nervous. I’m going to take good care of you, I promise.”

  “I know that, it’s just …” She clasped and unclasped her hands. “I made a mistake coming here. I was so sure I could do this.” She mumbled to herself, “I’m so stup—”

  “Let’s chill for a bit … have a bite to eat, or—”

  Ana shook her head. “I guess I’m just not cut out for the whole ‘jump in bed with someone you don’t know’ thing. I’ve never done this before and …” She stopped herself from babbling any more. “I’m so sorry …” Cody! His name was Cody. “Cody, I just can’t.”

  “Okay, no problem.” He got up off the bed and she had to crane her head to keep eye contact.

  What the hell was wrong with her? It had been years. Years! Surely she could move on. Just thinking it though made guilt flood her.

  “You are a lovely female. I only wish it was my name on the list this time round, we may have been able to get to know one another … I’m not talking just sexually, I’m talking from a relationship point of view.” List? What list? The word relationship registered and she started to really feel panicky. It was like the walls were closing in. Her throat felt tight. It was about to happen. Oh flip!

  Out.

  Now.

  “Okay, Cody,” she blurted. “I’m going to go now.”

  He nodded. Ana turned on her heel and left. Thankfully the door wasn’t locked. Once outside the room, she put her back to the wood and pushed out a ragged breath. Normally taking a couple of deep breaths helped, but not today. Not even a little bit. She needed to get the hell out of there.

  Ana started to jog down the walkway. She would head for the parking lot and call a cab once she got there. Despite being outside, her chest still felt tight, her throat as well. Air! Need air!

  One second she was jogging and the next, she was colliding with a wall. Hard and unyielding. The little bit of air she had was pushed out of her lungs and all at once. Something gripped her arms. Come to think of it, the wall was warm.

  “Easy,” a deep, rich voice. “Are you alright?” Then he was peeling her off of his chest and looking her over, concern reflected in his eyes. They were big and brown. A light buttery brown. Very beautiful. His hair was a little overgrown and sandy blond.

  He was huge, way bigger than Cody. Broad shoulders and thick arms. One of them then.

  Her head spun a bit. Must be from all the adrenaline, she thought. That, together with the panic and lack of oxygen, even though her chest was heaving. Although he seemed sweet enough, she still felt the need to get away and to do it now. “I’m fine,” she half-yelled, trying to pull free.

  “Hey.” He frowned. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.” His voice was just as beautiful as he was.

  It helped to calm her some. This had been such a bad idea. Such a seriously dumb thing to have done. She should have known better. “I must go.” Still laced with some panic. Okay a lot of panic. She could feel that her eyes were wide. “I don’t want this … to be here. I’m not interested in any type of one-night stand and I don’t want a relationship. I just want to go home.” She said it in a rush of words that tumbled out even though he hadn’t asked for any type of explanation. Even though he hadn’t made any kind of demand.

  “I understand.” Still the same calm tone. “That’s perfectly fine. I’m not looking for a hook-up and I’m not on the list, so no relationship for me either. I was out for some air. I think,” he narrowed his eyes, seeming to look right through her, “you could use some too.”

  That’s when she realized how fast she was breathing. It was worse than before. At this rate, she was going to hyperventilate.

  6

  The human’s eyes were wide. They reminded him of the full moon at midnight. Only, not nearly as calm. Tension radiated off of her in waves. Her hair was a wild tangle. A better reflection of her mood. Her face was pale. She was like a deer that had caught scent of a predator. He recognized her from earlier at the bar. The shell-shocked one. He wasn’t surprised to see her running. Not everyone was cut out for Shifter Night. “Did something happen?” he asked, releasing his hold on her somewhat. She’d looked nervous before but not like this. Had one of the males tried something? Why was she running scared like this?

  “No!” She shook her head. “Nothing! Unless being an idiot counts.” She sighed.

  “Are you sure nothing happened? Did anyone try something? Did …”

  The skittish human pursed her lips for a moment. “No, really. Nothing happened. I overreacted. I’m … a lost cause, okay?” She was panting heavily, liked she’d just run a couple of miles.

  “I’m going to let you go now, please don’t run away.”

  She nodded.

  Winston released his hold on her completely and took a step back. She was still breathing too quickly, still far too pale but better than before. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

  She shook her head, her eyes widened back up to full moon status.

  “Okay, okay.” He put up his hands, tempted to back up even more. Even more tempted to look at the ground, anything to keep from spooking her. “Do you see that bench over there?” He pointed to a wooden seat between rooms eighteen and nineteen. It overlooked the garden.

  She gave a tentative nod. Winston noticed how her legs were bent at the knee, how her leading leg was just that inch or two more forward than the other. She was getting ready to run for it.

  “How’s about we sit there for a few minutes, seeing as we both need some air? I’m a shifter.”

  “I know. I mean, I realized,” she spoke quickly.

  “Well, that means you’re safe with me. Firstly, because I would never hurt you ‒ shifters are creatures of great honor ‒ and secondly, because I wouldn’t allow harm to befall you.”

  She pushed out a big lungful of air and gave a nod. He noticed how she looked down at her feet, how her shoulders sagged.

  Winston took the first step towards the bench and the little female followed. She sat as far on the other side as she could get. He did the same, still careful not to spook her.

  They sat in silence for a time. It was a peaceful time of the day. The odd car could be heard in the distance, or the barking of a dog. Winston preferred very early morning though. That time just before the sun rose. It was normally crisp and extremely quiet. The time just before the rest of the world awoke. Or, at least, that’s what it felt like to him. Especially back home. Deep in the mountains, surrounded by miles and miles of trees.

  “I’m sorry!” she whispered.

  “No need.”

  “It’s just that I … made a mistake … I made a really stupid mistake. I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry to have interrupted your night.” She sucked in a quick breath. “Oh flip! I’m sure you have somewhere to be … someone waiting for you or,” she groaned, “you came out here in the hopes of having a quiet cigarette after … after … you know.” She looked horrified for a few seconds. “I’m sorry … I’ll just …” She stood up.

  “Sit.” He chuckled. Couldn’t help himself. “Please. You’re wrong on all of those counts.”

  “Oh! Okay, so whoever you were with left already. Okay then.” She breathed out, touching a hand to her chest. “Makes me feel marginally better.” Thankfully, she sat back down.

  “Nah!” He shook his head. “No worries. You have that wrong too.”

  The female frowned. “Aren’t you a shifter?” Her frown deepened. “Of course you are, you just said so. It’s Shifter
Night.”

  Winston smiled. “Yeah, I know. I’m not looking to hook up though.”

  “Said no shifter male ever, or so I have been told …” He could see her thinking it over. “Did I misunderstand what Shifter Night is all about? I was just at the Dark Horse and I’m sure I didn’t misunderstand. Maybe Shifter Night isn’t Shifter Night for all shifters then?”

  “You didn’t misunderstand. The guys all come through to unwind. I just decided I didn’t feel like it this time.”

  “I don’t have much experience with shifters. It’s just that I heard they all wanted to hook up. I’m—”

  He laughed. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Sorry, I’m nervous, I babble when I’m nervous. Ignore me.” Her breathing had normalized. Her eyes had lost that frightened look.

  “I’m Winston.” He held out his hand.

  Her heart rate picked up a tad and she looked down at his hand like it was scaly or bleeding or something.

  “I won’t bite you.” Maybe not the best thing to say to such a timid female but he said it anyway.

  The female giggled. “Right, well, um …” She took his hand in a surprising grip and shook once before letting go. Then she stared off into the night sky. She was a pretty, little thing. Sandy brown hair with blonde streaks and blue eyes. Her hair smelled funny, like she’d put too many products in it. Why did human females do such things? It was beyond him. They were perfectly beautiful without all the bleaching, varnishing, and primping.

  Take this female for example. Her lips were full. She didn’t need the lipstick or gloss. She wasn’t quite as curvy as human females often were but she was gorgeous nonetheless. Plump little breasts and a tight little ass. He immediately felt guilty for checking her out. It had become normal to size up the opposite sex. To pick and choose who he wanted to spend Shifter Night with. It was wrong when he thought about it. They were just as much meat to the shifters as the shifters were to them. Plain wrong and it wasn’t going to happen again.