The Wilde Crew: Rhett: A paranormal shifter romance (The Shifters of Wilde Ranch Book 1)

by Kim Fox

  “Yeah,” he said and they both laughed.

  “And you’re stuck with a psycho like me?” she said, shaking her head. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s fine,” he said, locking eyes with hers. “I’m having fun.”

  She smiled back at him and Rhett could feel his heart pounding in his chest as they shared a little moment. Something passed between them, filling the car with electricity.

  Joan turned away before it burned him. “Are these the same birds from outside of the restaurant?” she asked leaning down to look up into the sky. “Man, they really like your car.”

  Rhett sighed as a big fat raven landed on the hood of the car and glared at him with accusing eyes.

  “There’s so many of them,” she said, looking out of the windshield. “Are they following us?”

  “I don’t know,” Rhett lied as he threw the car into drive. He grinned at the raven as he hit the gas and it flew into the air, cawing angrily.

  He smiled as he saw the cloud of dark birds get smaller in the rearview mirror. I love this car!

  “Can I drive you somewhere?” Rhett asked as they rolled down the road.

  Joan was looking up at the breathtaking mountains and Rhett was looking down at her breathtaking legs.

  “I have nowhere to go,” she said, folding her hands in her lap. Rhett was tempted to take her hand again but he knew that this time she would probably slap his hand away. “I just got in town and like I said, I heard this was a safe haven for shifters. I don’t know what I was expecting.”

  Rhett nodded as he rubbed his thigh. “You heard right,” he said. “Colwood is a safe haven for shifters.” He was a shifter cop now and would make sure of that. “What do you need?”

  The radio crackled on, interrupting them. “Rhett,” Loretta said through the speaker, “are you there?”

  Rhett picked up the handset and clicked the button. “Roger.”

  “Hi, Roger,” Loretta said. “Can you get Rhett, please?”

  Rhett glanced over at Joan and they both laughed. “Sure,” Rhett said, changing his voice. “Just a second.”

  He clicked off the handset and waited for a few seconds while Joan giggled beside him.

  “Hello,” he said, clicking the button again. “Rhett speaking. What can I do for you, Loretta?”

  “We have a disturbance call of a lion fighting a bear,” she explained. “It’s the new guys. The Wilde Crew.”

  Rhett groaned. He wasn’t finished helping Joan and she really needed his help.

  “Where are Nathan and Emry?” he asked, the annoyance thick in his voice. “I’m still on the last call.”

  “They went to the movies,” she said.

  Rhett almost crushed the handset in his hand. “Say again.” Maybe he had heard it wrong.

  “They went to the movie theater,” she repeated. “They told me to call back in two hours.”

  Rhett gritted his teeth and squeezed his hand into a fist so hard that it hurt.

  “Looks like I’m not the only one with control issues,” Joan whispered with a laugh.

  “I’m on a call,” he repeated, getting more and more pissed off. He was going to kill those idiot Chevy brothers.

  Joan touched his forearm, calming him at once. “I’ll go with you,” she said. “I have nowhere else to go.”

  Rhett stared into her gorgeous amber eyes until he started nodding. He raised the handset to his mouth and clicked the button on. “I’ll be right there.”

  “And Rhett,” Loretta said, her voice sounding stern. “I don’t know who that Roger guy is but keep him off the police frequency.”

  Rhett just shook his head. “You got it, Loretta. Sorry about that.”

  Joan was laughing at him as he hooked the handset back on the radio. “She’s a smart one.”

  Rhett chuckled. “I had asked her where she lived and she told me up the street from the corner of walk and don’t walk.”

  Joan burst out laughing. She covered her mouth with her hand as she looked at him with smiling eyes. Rhett couldn’t help but join in.

  She was adorable. Ferocious and out of control, but adorable nonetheless.

  He turned on the next street and flicked on the lights and siren. The Wilde Crew were the idiots who got themselves caught on the video camera that played around the world, outing shifters everywhere. They had bought some land on the outskirts of Colwood and had been causing trouble ever since.

  Their alpha was gone and they were constantly fighting with the lack of leadership in their crew. Rhett’s cousin Tyler had told him all about it.

  His pulse started kicking into gear. This was a real call with several deadly animals. He was about to see what he was capable of, but that’s not what was making him nervous. Joan would be watching. And he really didn’t want to fuck things up in front of her.

  “It’s here,” he said, pulling off of the main road. The ranch was beautiful, but they all were in this area of Montana. The beauty stopped there. Four rundown mobile home trailers were scattered across the field in various states of disrepair. One was resting on a pile of phone books.

  “Wow, this is nice,” Rhett said as he parked on the grass. “I wonder if they-are you okay?” he asked suddenly, turning to Joan. She was sitting as stiff as a corpse but her whole body was trembling. Her eyes were locked ahead as her breathing came out in ragged gasps.

  Rhett’s pulse sped up when he turned to where she was looking. It was an all out brawl. Two grizzly bears, a wolf, and a lion all going at it in a vicious fight. He cringed as the powerful lion swatted the ass of the wolf, sending him yelping away.

  “Breathe,” Rhett said, turning back to Joan. “Slowly. In and out.”

  “I wasn’t expecting this,” she said, gripping onto the handle of the door as her fingernails began extending into long sharp claws. “They’re so dysfunctional. My bear is screaming to come out and dominate them.”

  Rhett had to act fast before she turned his new car inside out. He jumped out of the car and took one last glance at her through the window and saw a flash of brown fur.

  Oh shit.

  “Hey!” he shouted at the snarling animals. “Colwood police department!”

  Rhett reached in his pocket for his badge but came up empty. Damn, in the car. Well, it was his first day after all. He was bound to make some mistakes.

  But his biggest mistake was about to take place. The four wild animals stopped their fighting and turned to him with vicious growls and snarled teeth.

  They dropped their fights with each other at once and turned together, walking in a straight line to face the outsider as a team.

  Rhett was outnumbered four to one while his so-called backup were elbow deep in bowls of buttery popcorn, probably watching Jim Carey selling out for a big paycheck.

  He took a step back as they stalked forward with their heads hung low and the fur on their backs standing straight up.

  “Phase back, please,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. He had never fought four shifters at the same time before.

  And Joan was watching. He really didn’t want her to have to come out and save his ass.

  “Alright,” he whispered to himself, flexing his muscular arms. “Let’s do this.”

  four

  “Focus. Breathe. Come on Joanie,” Joan said, staring at the smudge on the dashboard. Her bear was really testing her limits now.

  She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. In. One, two, three. Out. One, two, three.

  Rhett had been so nice to her. She didn’t want to repay him by gutting the inside of his new car on his first day on the job. But it wasn’t looking too good.

  Her grizzly was losing it with all of these unchecked animals running wild. She could feel her bear surging forward, trying to rip out of her skin to get to them.

  “Don’t phase, don’t phase,” Joan repeated to herself under her breath. It was her new mantra. She said it all of the time but her dominant bear wasn’t big on taking orders. />
  “Oh no,” she gasped as her bear charged to the surface, nearly breaking through. Joan clenched every muscle in her body as tight as she could, fighting and pushing her furious bear back down.

  A low grumble erupted from deep inside her as her bear sunk back inward, completely pissed off. Joan gasped a breath of air as she grabbed the handle of the door with shaking hands.

  That was a close one. She had sprouted some fur.

  She swallowed hard as she focused on her breathing once again, trying to calm the raging beast inside her.

  Joan knew her bear and she would try to lunge out again any second now, and this time, she wouldn’t be able to hold her back.

  “Phase back, please,” the sexy shifter cop shouted at the fighting animals.

  It caught Joan’s attention. Everything about Rhett had caught her attention.

  He had a dark, dangerous look to him with his jet black hair and matching goatee. His eyes were deep and haunting, but Joan could tell that this mysterious skin shifter had a good heart. He seemed kind and sweet and that made him that much sexier.

  She grinned as he flexed his arms, the hot tattoos on his thick forearms looking better than ever. He had a beautiful body, big and muscular, and there was an attraction between them. She could tell that he felt the same way by the heated look in his eye when he was watching her on the roof. She liked having his stunning eyes on her naked body. It didn’t bother her in the least.

  When someone shifted as often as Joan did, they got pretty comfortable with being naked.

  The wolf, two grizzlies, and the lion all turned to Rhett with a snarl.

  Joan forgot all about her bear who seemed just as preoccupied with the scene in front of them as she was. The animals who were all fighting each other turned to the skin shifter, all forgetting their quarrels to fight as one.

  Four wild animals against one? He didn’t stand a chance.

  Joan tried to open the door but it was locked from the outside. “Come on,” she said, holding the handle and banging the door with her tiny shoulder but it wouldn’t budge.

  Cop cars usually locked from the outside and Joan had been so shaken up when she got in that she must not have noticed Rhett locking the door behind her. Well, he was the one about to pay for that little breach of trust, not her.

  The huge lion shook his beautiful golden mane and snarled as he stepped forward on massive paws. The grizzly bears were big as well, but not nearly as big as Joan’s. Her bear could submit both of them while riding a tricycle.

  The wolf was the smallest and least threatening of the four but even he was no joke. He bounced around between the animals, wagging his tail like a happy dog who was just asked if he wanted a cookie.

  Joan was expecting Rhett to run back into the car and peel out of here but to his credit, he held his ground. His dark eyes narrowed on the animals as they rushed forward.

  “Let’s see what you got, sexy,” Joan whispered.

  Rhett’s body stiffened and froze, unmoving as the animals charged.

  “Why are you not-oh,” Joan said, her lips parting as she watched. His dark eyes turned a creepy white, glowing from within.

  She jerked her head to the side and watched the four animals as they approached. The lion turned and out of nowhere smacked the larger grizzly with a heavy paw.

  The grizzly roared in outrage and then sunk his deadly jaws into the lion’s hind leg. The lion yelped and turned, sinking his sharp teeth into the attacking bear’s shoulder.

  Joan smiled. Clever cop. He had slid into the skin of the lion and controlled him for the second it took to start the fight.

  Rhett seemed to slide into the wolf’s skin next because the wolf lunged on the second, smaller grizzly, and bit down on the soft skin under the bear’s front leg. The bear opened his mouth and hollered, turning towards the wolf with murder in his eyes. He lunged on the dog and the two of them rolled to the side in a blur of brown and gray.

  Joan smiled as she turned back to Rhett. He was talented. But then, anyone who could shut down her dominant bear had to be.

  The glowing white in his eyes vanished and returned to normal. He turned to her with a smirk and Joan gave him a little clap. He was good.

  Impressive even.

  The four animals were all fighting each other again, snapping, swatting, biting, and attacking every limb, body or head they could reach.

  Joan clenched her body again as her bear reacted. The lack of command among them was infuriating her bear, making her crazy.

  She always had to extend her dominance over the other animals in her environment. She was a real bitch. A crazy cunt of a bear.

  The lion broke away from the brawl and began shaking until he phased into his human form. The man was gorgeous. Long blonde hair falling over his round shoulders, a massive rock hard chest with the beautiful muscular body to match. His smooth skin was a golden color that matched his lion perfectly. His eyes the color of honey.

  Joan’s eyes dropped down his abs and she took a quick glance at his long cock hanging between his muscular legs as he turned and looked at the long gash in the back of his calf that was bleeding down his leg. His face twisted in anger as he inspected the wound that was already healing.

  He had a strong jaw, wide smooth lips and a face that would be perfect to gaze at while sitting by a fire in a cozy cottage while it snowed outside.

  She finally turned away from the naked lion shifter when the other guys started phasing into their human forms as well.

  The smaller bear phased into a slim man with a tough face and hard, slender muscles. He was covered in cheap tattoos that suited him perfectly.

  The man who burst out of the larger bear was hot with large, round muscles and a gentle face. The wolf shifter was the last to phase. The smallest of the four and the most energetic from the look of it. He slapped the arm of the smaller bear shifter as his mouth raced. “Why did you bite me, Ashton?” he asked, bouncing from foot to foot.

  “Because you bit me first, you moron,” Ashton snapped, turning to him with a growl. “What did you expect, Rory?”

  “It wasn’t his fault,” the lion shifter said in a deep purring voice. He pointed at Rhett with a fierce look. “He did it.”

  Rhett took a step back and raised his chin as the four guys glared at him. “I’m with the police,” Rhett said. “I need you all to relax.”

  “How did you do that?” the wolf shifter Rory asked. “That was awesome!”

  “Rory,” Ashton said, rolling his eyes. “Will you shut up?”

  “Yeah,” the lion shifter said, narrowing his eyes on Rhett. “How did you do that?”

  Rhett ignored the question. “We had a disturbance call,” he said, his voice sounding very stern and official. “Consider this your first warning. Shifters are welcome in the town of Colwood but keep your animals in check and no more fighting.”

  The tatted up bear shifter Ashton rolled his head to the side as he cracked his knuckles. “You may be able to control our animals but you can’t control us,” he said, glaring at Rhett.

  Joan could see Rhett swallow hard as the man moved forward in a threatening manner.

  “Let’s see how well you can fight all four of us in our pink skins.”

  The four of them turned to Rhett and began closing in on him. The shifter cop might have had a few tricks up his tight sleeves when the guys were in their animal forms but this was different. Joan didn’t think that he could control humans and by the panicked look on his face, she was probably right.

  He was going to get his ass kicked.

  Her furious grizzly bear rushed forward and this time, Joan let her come. Sorry about the car, dude. But you’re the one who locked me in.

  Nobody caged Joan’s bear. She was too wild for that.

  The boys reached Rhett as her fingertips seared and her bones started to snap.

  “My turn,” she whispered as her enraged grizzly bear ripped out of her.

  ***

  There were fou
r deadly shifters approaching Rhett but he still took his eyes off of them to look at his car. It was shaking like Kim Fox at a Justin Beiber concert.

  “Oh shit,” he whispered as her tiny arms swelled and turned a vicious brown.

  He quickly glanced at the four guys but they were also staring in the car with wide eyes and open mouths. They all jumped back as the windshield shattered and a furious grizzly bear burst out of the police cruiser, ripping the roof of the car up like a cheap can of tuna.

  Every hair on Rhett’s body stood up as the bear clawed out of his destroyed car, glaring at the four men with the most intense eyes that he had ever seen.

  There was a collective gasp among them as they began to recoil in fear, staring at the dominant grizzly with terrified eyes.

  “Hey, cop,” the big bear shifter said nervously. “You can control animals. Calm her down.”

  Rhett just smirked, crossing his arms over his muscular chest as the bear climbed down the car, denting the hood under her massive paws.

  Pure alpha energy radiated off of her like nothing Rhett had ever seen before. She was magnificent. Wild and out of control, but utterly magnificent.

  Rhett watched with his pulse racing as Joan’s bear walked towards them on strong, confident paws. Her head was lowered, her intense challenging eyes ripping into the boys, taking away all of their bravado and courage.

  They didn’t stand a chance against her but they were even stupider than Rhett had given them credit for.

  “Come on guys,” the lion shifter said, planting his feet and flexing his muscular arms. “We can’t let an outsider female push her dominance on us.”

  “Why not?” the wolf shifter asked, watching the bear in wonder.

  Ashton slapped the back of his head. “I better see a wolf in three seconds,” he said before letting his bear rip free.

  The four of them phased back into their animals and circled Joan’s much larger grizzly bear. Rhett was so focused on the scene that he didn’t notice the three then four ravens landing on the roof of his smashed car. His birds had found him. They always found him eventually.