by R. A. Boyd
Emma stepped forward and pointed over her shoulder. “There’s a stream and a concrete path over there. You can rinse off and stay out of the dirt. It’s a little cold, but—”
Nev’s stable form that once held Bastian up disappeared. She took off running in the direction of the creek, tipping as if that would minimize her contact with the ground. Getting to know Nev was going to be fun.
He went to go after her, but Jax stopped in front of him and blocked his path. Bastian fought back the growl that surged through his chest. He wanted to be close to his mate, and he didn’t give a shit what Jax had to say.
“Calm your tits,” Jax said, hooking his hand on his hips. “Was she attacked?”
Bastian nodded.
“Did you see any Rogue members when you got there?”
He shook his head.
Jax’s lips thinned. “We’ll talk later. We’re here. Anyone who gets too close fucking dies tonight. Go on.”
Bastian huffed, giving thanks to his clan for their watchful eyes. He trotted over to Nev, just in time to watch her step into the flowing creek. She looked downright relieved to be out of the dirt. She rubbed her paws on the jagged rocks near the side of the stream, checking every few rubs to make sure all the muck was rinsed from her fur.
Being the playful shit he was, he gathered a bit of mud on his paw and tossed it at Nev.
Bad fucking idea.
A snarl tore from her throat, and her eyes flashed bright as the moon above them. Nev lashed out at him. He didn’t have a chance to jump back. The thought that his mate would harm him hadn’t registered in his mind until four, long, glistening wet claws slashed across his ribs. That fucking hurt.
Instant shock widened Nev’s eyes as she made contact with his body. The slice of her nails ripped into him. He’d been injured worse than this, but she was going to have to learn to control herself. Hell, Bastian would have to learn not to fuck with a newly turned shifter. They tended to be cranky and unaware of their strength. Nev now housed one of the most dominant predators on the face of this planet inside her. Her beast had also been born in a moment of violence. He needed to get his shit together and learn how to relate to her.
The air shimmered around Nev, and her body shifted until her human form stood before him.
“Oh, my God!” she screeched. “I didn’t mean to do that. I didn’t know I could do that. Are you okay?” Nev started to walk toward him but hesitated when she looked down at the ground. It was muddy. “I— I have a thing with mud. It was God-awful traumatizing. I’ll tell you about it later. Can you come here, please?”
“He’s fine,” Jax said, walking toward them. “His dumbass was asking for it.”
What the hell? Nev just tried to cut him in half, and his brother was on her side.
Okay, yeah, he’d asked for it.
Bastian pictured his human body in his mind, and just as quickly as it had come, his saber-tooth disappeared. He could feel the beast’s anger at being put away so soon, but they both knew they needed to check on Nev. She was more important than anything.
Three long strides put him right in front of her. He lifted his arms to reach out for her but thought better of it. Nev might not be ready for his touch. Her eyes darted around nervously as she took in their surroundings. Pulling her naked body against his could set her off.
She looked up at him, beautiful brown eyes shimmering in the moonlight. “What happened?” she whispered, stumbling toward him. “Did I hit someone with my car? Sorry I scratched you.”
Bastian looked down at the four, weeping gashes. They weren’t so bad, but it would sting when he took a shower tonight. “It’ll heal, Nev. Something hit your car. We’re still trying to figure it out.”
“A bright light,” she whispered absently. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked in the direction of Main Street, and her shoulders trembled as she began to cry. She shook her head and stared off into the distance. “Did I hurt someone?”
“No,” Bastian muttered. “You didn’t hurt anyone. You got hurt, and I had to bite you. You were dying, and I’m sorry and I—”
Moving closer, she let out a shuddering breath and placed her fingertips over his lips. “But you saved me. The impact ruptured my belly. I used to own a hospice, and I’m a nurse practitioner. I know what happened to me. But you saved me, Bastian.”
She owned a hospice and was a nurse practitioner? Why the hell was she working as a waitress at Audra’s place?
It didn’t matter. Nev was here with him, and she was alive. Unable to help himself, Bastian reached forward and pulled Nev to him, clutching her to his bare chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tight enough to make the bones of his neck and shoulders cry out in protest. It still didn’t matter. Nev was alive, and she was going to be okay. And she was strong as a beast.
“Um, we have clothes for you. Hi, I’m Paige. This is my mate Aiden.”
Nev’s eyes widened as she pressed her body closer to Bastian. His dick was already hard enough to knock over the contents of a buffet table, but her soft, feminine body against his filled his cock with more blood and made his balls ache. She gasped and looked down.
“You have a stiffy in front of your family?” she said quietly from the side of her mouth, her full lips curling up into a grin.
Bastian puffed a raspberry and nodded. “Hell yes. You’re here, and you’re naked. You have no idea how many times I’ve imagined this while you walked your sexy ass around Melinda’s pub. I have no shame.” He winked and rubbed his cock against her stomach.
He could see the internal talk she was having with herself: pull away from Bastian and his rock hard cock, or stay close so the others couldn’t see her naked body. It was a fun idea to toy with, but his mate didn’t need the added embarrassment.
“Paige,” Bastian muttered, looking down at Nev. “Can you pass me the clothes, please?”
Jax cleared his throat. “Nice to meet you, Nev. We’ll give you two a bit of privacy. We won’t be far.”
Paige draped the clothes over Bastian’s head and walked away. There were so many other ways she could have done that. He had to release Nev so he could reach up and stop the clothes from falling into the water. Nev relaxed against him and gave a shy smile.
There were two of his tee-shirts and one pair of jogging pants. In an awkward way he didn’t think was possible, Bastian rested one shirt and the pants on his shoulder and carefully helped Nev put on the other shirt. It was big on her, falling down just enough where her ass cheeks played peek-a-boo as she shifted from side to side. He could imagine her thick thighs hugging his head as he tasted her. Okay. That didn’t help the painful state of his dick.
His beast rattled off a growl of approval.
Nev took notice, smirked, and pulled the shirt down farther. Now, it covered her ass and most of her thighs.
“Do you hate me?” he asked.
“Never.” Nev grabbed and held his shirt as he put on his pants.
When he pulled the shirt over his head, he winced from the fresh claw marks on his chest. They were already healing, but they sure hurt like a bastard. Nev helped him pull the shirt down his torso. He may have overreacted when he lifted his arms, making her think he was in more pain than he really was. He craved her attention.
Nev helped straighten his clothes and then hugged him again. She felt so good in his arms. He rested his chin on top of her head, breathing in her natural scent.
“Why does it feel so good to touch you like this?” she asked, her face resting against his chest over his heart. “I’m not usually a touchy person, but this is really nice. Calming.” A low purr vibrated in her throat, and she lifted her hand and felt her chest. “What the entire heck is that?”
Bastian chuckled and leaned down. He picked her up, one arm hooked under her knees and the other around her shoulders, and carried her toward where the others were.
“Well,” he said, walking through the dirt and utterly unaffected by it. “You’re a sab
er-tooth cat shifter now. Your animal will do better with a clan. Physical contact from clan mates comforts us. That’s why you are purring. I think it’s sexy as shit. My dick was going down, kind of, but that sound lets me know you like me. You want me.” At the mention of her wanting him, the sweet scent of her desire engulfed his senses. “And, Nevada, I’m your mate. Do you know how important that is?”
She chewed her top lip, and her eyes darted to the left. They needed to talk about her gift of being able to see the dead. Bastian just needed to figure out whether he should bring it up or wait for her to say something. They’d known each other for a few months, but their conversations never passed the ‘What can I get for you today?’ phase. But even before he knew they were mates, he’d wanted her.
Watching her sensual, full hips sway around the pub made his cock hard every time he went there. She was the reason he ate at Melinda Bale’s Bar and Pub so often, and why he sat at that specific booth. He had a complete view of the pub. He loved watching her interact with people, and his goofy ass had been too afraid to say anything.
“Do you, Nev?” he asked again.
She looked at him and nodded. “I think so. But you need to fill me in. With everything. So, we were fated to be together?” There was humor in her voice.
“We are.”
“Does that mean we have to get married? Do I have a choice in how I feel about you? It would be unfair if that was out of my hands.”
“Do you feel differently about me now?”
She quirked her lips to the side, seeming to think it over. “No. I mean, I feel grateful for what you did. I’ve always been attracted to you. But I’m not head over heels in love with you.” Nev shrugged and looked up at the sky. Gasping, she said, “So, I guess that means I do have a choice. And holy bananas, the stars have never shined so brightly. And I can see the leaves at the top of this tree. And that one, too. It’s beautiful.”
The fact that she’d found him attractive before this eased something in his mind. He wanted her to like him, and one day hoped they would fall in love.
Bastian leaned in closer to her face and rubbed his nose along the curve of her cheek. She laughed and toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck. Nev may not love him, and that was just fine by him, but even now, he could see the spark between them. He would do everything in his power to turn that spark into something that burned just as bright as the stars in the sky.
“Nev. Your first reaction might be to say no, but I need you to think about something.”
Her gaze met his, and she nodded. “Okay.”
They were just a few yards from his family. He stopped to give her a bit of space to answer the question. “I think you should come live with me. Your emotions can control your shifts. Just like you got pissed at me for throwing the mud at you—”
“You deserved it,” Emma sang.
Bastian smiled widely at Emma and let his voice go up a few octaves as he mimicked her. “Thanks, Emma. Your input is super awesome.” He rolled his eyes and brought his focus back to Nev. “You got angry. Your first reaction was to hurt me. You don’t want to do that to a human, and believe me when I say this. The smallest thing can set you off, and you’ll be ready to tear someone’s head off. That would be really bad, but we can teach you. We can help you. And I just want to be near you. I like you, Nevada Pierson.”
Nev inhaled sharply as her eyes grew to slits. “How do you know my last name?”
“I stalk like that. It’s one of my finer qualities. There’s lots of stuff I know about you, Margaret, but not nearly enough.” He laughed when her eyes flashed brightly.
Nev snarled, and then closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths to calm down. “Call me by that name again…” She trailed off as she realized the venom in her tone. “And, wow. That was me going crazy for something so silly, so very quickly.” Nev’s shoulders drooped as she studied him. “Okay. I’ll move in with you. Do I need to take off work?”
“That would probably be best,” Jax said, coming closer. “I’m Jax. I’m the alpha of this clan. How about we go back to the Ghost shifter community and have you meet everyone. Audra already called and said she was excited to have you in the family.”
Bastian felt Nev relax in his arms. He would give anything to make her feel comforted. He wanted her to feel like she fit in so she wouldn’t want to leave. Ever.
“Thanks, Jax,” Nev said, looking out at the others. Her lips thinned as her stomach growled loud enough for everyone to hear. “Um, can we stop off at my job and get something to eat? I’m starving, and my dinner was in my car. Which I’m pretty sure is totaled. Dang-it. I just finished paying for that car four months ago.” She sucked her teeth and shrugged. “Well, I did want a Beetle. They are so cute.”
Bastian nodded to Jax and the others, letting them know it was time to go home. His mate was in his arms, and despite how she’d come to be there, he was grateful for her presence. Nev was warm against his body, her head cradled in the bend of his neck, her hand still playing with the hair at his nape. She fit him perfectly.
He would love to think that this was the beginning of their happy ending, but he would be lying to himself. Someone intentionally caused that accident. He could have missed her car driving by the front of the pub window if he’d still been in the bathroom, or if he had stopped just a little longer when he said hello to one of the gorilla shifters he knew. So many possibilities that ended with Nev being dead right now.
Bastian had no doubt that the Rogue clan was the reason for Nev’s accident. He’d ignored Remus’s texts and calls for over a week now. There was nothing they needed to talk about.
That was until he decided to go after Nev.
No place would be safe for Remus to hide if he gave the okay at someone doing her harm. He may hold Bastian’s most damning secrets, but Nev was off limits. And if this was his doing, Remus had a world of pain heading his way.
“What’s wrong?” Nev asked, frowning as their eyes met. She stopped playing with his hair. “You feel different. What happened? Am I too heavy?”
His left eyebrow lifted as he tried to figure out whether she was serious or not. “Darling, you have no idea how strong I am. And you’re tiny.”
She snorted and rested her head back on to his shoulder. “First off, I am far from tiny. Secondly, I was going to tell you to suck it up if you thought I was too heavy. I’m not the one who asked to be taken into the middle of the muddy woods with no shoes. I know you’re a shifter, and I’ve been checking out your muscles for weeks now. I was trying to be courteous.” She took a deep breath and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Hmm. You feel better now.”
“I’m fine,” he answered. “There’s a lot of stuff I need to tell you. Not just about my origins, but about the things that are going on right now. It’s been difficult for my family over the past year, but I promise, being a part of this clan is worth it.”
That was the truth. He would never have made it this long if it weren’t for his brethren. He and the others may have moved away to avoid finding a mate, but the Ghost shifter clan was golden. They loved hard, fought hard, and protected their own.
“Okay. That sounds good. My mom wants that for me.” Nev cleared her throat and chuckled. “She wanted that for me. She always wanted that for me. To be part of something big. I think it would make her happy. If she were still alive.” She chuckled nervously and shrugged, pulling away from him as they neared the two SUV’s waiting by the parking lot at the end of the trail.
With Nev in his lap, Bastian slid into the back seat and buckled them both in. He rubbed her calves as the engine started, and settled in his seat so she could get comfortable as possible.
“This is weird.” Nev gave a genuine smile and shrugged. “It all just changed in less than an hour. This doesn’t seem real. It just changed.” She swallowed thickly and chewed her bottom lip. “I don’t know whether I should be angry or scared or happy.”
“Choose to be happy,” Ja
x said from the driver’s seat. “There is a lot of shit to be upset about in this world, but trust me when I say that this isn’t one of those things. Your mate may have been an asshole for the last three or four hundred years, but I’ve seen him change in that little bit of time you are talking about. Change can be good.”
She sat forward and said, “Change can be great. I know. It’s just… crazy. But I like it.” She whispered that last part and looked right at Bastian. “You feel significant. You may have been checking me out at the pub, but I’ve been looking at you too, Bastian L. Booth of Salvatore, Maryland. I thought you were a playboy who slept with any woman he could get his hands on.”
“I haven’t been that person for a few decades, thank you very much.” Bastian’s voice was prim as he pretended to straighten a nonexistent tie. “It turns me all the way on that you took the time to find out about me. I think you like me a little more then you let on.”
His cock swelled in his pants, and Nev looked down, shaking her head as she pointed a thumb to Jax.
He couldn’t help it. Nev’s ass rubbed against his dick with every turn or bump of the vehicle. And she wasn’t wearing pants or panties. There was no way in hell he could prevent a hard-on.
“Please, stop. I might have to punch myself in the face if Bastian gets any more excited.” Jax reached over to the passenger seat and then handed Bastian his phone. “I forgot to give this to you. We picked up your torn clothes and belongings. Nev, Simon and Charlie cleared your stuff out of your car. They’re taking it to Bastian's house.”
She grinned and nodded. “Thanks. Can we stop at my house? I need to pack a bag. I can’t wear your shirts all day.” She poked Bastian on his forehead after she caught him staring at her legs.
He waggled his eyebrows at her and nodded. She sure as shit could walk around his house with just his shirts on. Or nothing at all. Either one was fine with him.
After giving Jax her address, which Bastian already knew, Nev yawned and closed her eyes.
