“I’m Annabelle.” The woman introduced herself. “Good luck keeping the children in line,” she said as she headed for the door. “I’ll be back at noon,” she said over her shoulder.
“Don’t worry,” Katlyn said to Nate. “I promise everything will work out just fine here.”
He sighed. “I sure hope so,” he said sadly as he left.
The two other boys in the room introduced themselves as Joel and Ivan, but the girl in the room sat well away from the boys.
“And what is your name?” Katlyn asked the girl.
“I don’t even know why a girl’s here,” Robert said. “They don’t need an education.”
“And why would that be, Robert?” Katlyn demanded.
“All girls are good for is having babies.”
In the blink of an eye, the girl rose from her seat, feathers popping up along her arms and her nose extending into a sharp beak as she attacked Robert, who snarled with fangs extending over his pouty lips, brown fur covering his chin.
“Stop it right now,” Katlyn said as she picked up a yardstick and pounded it on her desk.
The children parted ways, and Robert wailed, “I’m telling my mom.”
“Tell her all you want. Perhaps in the future, you’ll hold your tongue. Girls are just as much in need of an education as boys are. Having babies, indeed,” Katlyn said with a disapproving frown.
“I’m Melody,” the girl said as she took her seat, brown feathers and all.
“Shouldn’t you children shift back into human form now?”
“I can’t,” Melody said.
“What about you, Robert?”
“Nope, I haven’t learned how to do that just yet.”
“It seems like you were able to shift at least part of the way.”
“Mama’s going to be so mad at me,” Melody mumbled.
Katlyn sighed. What on earth had she gotten herself into? “Perhaps we could get to know each other better first by telling me what you can shift into.”
“I’m a werewolf,” Maxwell said proudly.
Robert rolled his eyes. “Big deal.”
“Much bigger deal than being a lame bobcat.”
“You’re not all that tough, wolfie. You have a lame leg and everyone knows what happens to weak shifters.”
Katlyn tapped her fingernails on the desk. “Weakness isn’t always measured by physical strength. I bet Maxwell is very cunning.”
“My mother says he’ll never be an alpha with a bum leg like that.”
“What does a bobcat know?” Maxwell retorted. “I’ll get stronger, and when I do, I’ll show you.”
“How about we don’t show anyone else how strong we all think we are.”
“I’m a mountain lion,” Joel said. “My parents didn’t have to bring me to school and I can shift all the way into cat form all by myself and back again if I wanted to.”
“Duly noted,” Katlyn said. “Is Brendan or Chase your father?”
“No, they don’t have any cubs. My mama said they’re too busy running the ranch and protecting us here.”
“So you do live on the ranch, then?”
“Yes. Mama says they took us in after our father was murdered in the Black Hills during hunting season before I was born.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Joel.”
“Thanks, but I was only a baby at the time so I don’t even remember him.”
Katlyn’s heart was ready to break in two. “That moves us on to Ivan.” She massaged her chin thoughtfully. “I can’t imagine what animal you might be.”
“I’m a werebear,” Ivan said. “I can shift quite well most of the time. The trick is to concentrate. You have to put it into your head that you’re a human or animal.”
“I tried that,” Melody said. “But I always get stuck. My mama makes a potion that helps.”
“Potion?”
“Yes. It tastes just like chocolate milk, too.”
Katlyn smiled, wondering if it was a potion at all or a cleaver way to trick the child into shifting back.
“I wish I had some of that right now so you wouldn’t get into trouble,” Melody said.
“I’m sure your mother will understand when you tell her what happened.”
“Oh, I won’t get in trouble for trying to shift, just for attacking Robert. His mother is on the committee.”
“Committee, eh? What kind of bird do you shift into?”
“A disgusting chicken hawk,” Robert laughed.
Melody pounded her fists on the table. “I swear, if you say another word, Robert, I’ll peck apart your face! I can shift into a red-tailed hawk. Nobody calls me a chicken hawk and gets away with it.”
“No more growling, pecking or shifting,” Katlyn said. “It’s against school rules to shift or attack each other. You’re here to learn,” she reminded them. “How many of you can read?”
Hands shot into the air and Katlyn smiled. This was much better than she had hoped. She passed out small, photocopied books to each child. “You’ll be expected to read aloud in class tomorrow. You’ll also be working on math, history, and science.”
“History,” Robert said. “Whose? Yours or ours?”
“American history.”
“We told you what we are,” Robert said. “What kind of shifter are you?”
All eyes were on Katlyn and she said, “I’m not a shifter at all. I’m human.”
Ivan nodded. “I knew you were. Us werebears have a great sense of smell.”
* * *
Time rolled along fairly quickly and Katlyn smiled when she saw Nate come for his son, Maxwell. They lingered in the classroom after a miffed Annabelle strutted toward the door with a blabbing Robert, telling her all about how he was nearly ripped limb from limb by Melody. She didn’t respond but she certainly gave Katlyn the evil eye.
A plain woman came for Melody and Katlyn apologized for Robert’s behavior.
“Not to worry. That boy is always picking on my girl. I’m just happy that she stuck up for herself.”
“Me, too, but next time I hope she lets me handle it. We’re here to learn, not fight.”
Once everyone left, Katlyn was alone with Nate and Maxwell. “Perhaps you should go outside and wait for your father. I’d like to speak with him for a moment privately.”
Maxwell limped to the door and closed it quietly behind him.
“I’m so sorry. That Robert sure is mean to Maxwell. I wonder where on earth he learned that hostility?”
“Well, you did meet Annabelle. Ever since Maxwell’s accident, most of the children tease him, but he’ll be an alpha one day.”
“What kind of accident?”
“He was winged by one of the ranchers. I don’t allow him to accompany the pack on hunts yet, and, well, boys will be boys.”
“That’s awful,” Katlyn said. When she gazed over at the door, Brendan’s frame filled the doorway.
“I should go now,” Nate said.
Brendan brushed his shoulders against Nate’s as he passed through the doorway, both men staring the other down. Once he left, Brendan said, “What was that all about?”
“Not sure what you mean by that. He’s just one of the parents. I guess I didn’t expect to deal with so much for half a day of school.”
Brendan’s brow arched, “Oh, and what were you expecting?”
“Well, I hadn’t expected for the children to partially shift, for one, or to speak so harshly to one another.”
Brendan nodded. “It’s to be expected. It’s the first time they’ve been all together. When Chase and I decided to invite the other shifters’ children here for school, I knew it might be difficult in the beginning.”
“I sure wish you had shared that information with me. Paige never even mentioned to me that I’d be teaching shifter children.”
“She would have eventually.”
Katlyn wanted to ask a few more questions. “What about Robert’s mother, Annabelle? One of the children mentioned that she was on the committee. Is that th
e Rancher’s Committee?”
Brendan sighed, leaning back against the desk. “No. We formed a shifter committee a few years back and she’s a mediator for shifter troubles. As you can imagine, troubles between different types of shifters should be expected, but luckily most have been resolved. The biggest danger here is the death of livestock from neighboring ranches. This morning our neighbor, Jonathan O’Reilly, called, asking about a few lost sheep. He followed the blood trail onto our property.”
“Is he supposed to do that?”
“No. He’s supposed to take it up with the Rancher’s Committee. He didn’t care for my thoughts on his trespassing or me asking him if he was responsible for damaging our fences. If he was responsible for that, he caused his own problems.”
Katlyn straightened the desks and wanted to broach the subject of Tessa, but wasn’t sure how. “I really need to speak to Paige privately today. Can you make that happen?”
Brendan turned Katlyn to face him. “I don’t think that’s wise after last night.”
“You mean when she injured Tessa?”
“What did Tessa tell you exactly?”
“She doesn’t remember anything about last night.”
“Then there’s nothing to talk about.” Brendan strode away and Katlyn was left to think her dark thoughts. If he wouldn’t set up a meeting with Paige, she’d seek her out herself.
Chapter Nine
Katlyn didn’t go to dinner that night, but instead strode to the main house after she knew Brendan and Chase were gone on horseback. Tessa had been quite ill for the entire night, and she couldn’t even keep down soup broth.
When she went around to the front door, Katlyn tried the doorknob and walked in without knocking. It was quiet except for the crackling from the fireplace. Paige wasn’t in the room, and Katlyn slowly made her way up the long hallway, passing through the dining room and entering the kitchen when she heard a strange noise.
Paige was in the kitchen, hunched over a bloody animal leg and it took no longer than a few moments to realize it was a sheep from the wooly appearance of the fur that rested at her feet. Nausea overtook Katlyn and she gasped, backing up as Paige sucked the blood from the animal’s leg.
Paige looked up and leveled her eyes at Katlyn. Her eyes moved back to the leg of the sheep, and she quietly said, “This isn’t really a good time, Katlyn.” She straightened, tossing the leg into the sink and wiping the blood from her mouth with the linen napkin in her hand.
“I-I— Wh-What are y-you?”
“I-I—” she began, approaching Katlyn who ran out the door.
Katlyn dodged through the dining room, unsettling the chairs and knocking them to the floor. Before she made it to the front door, Paige whizzed past her, barring her way.
“Please, wait. I really wanted to tell you how sorry I am about what happened with Tessa.”
“Why did you bite Tessa last night?”
“I didn’t mean to, but I guess we were both a little drunk. Usually I can resist the temptation, but you see, I was really drawn to Tessa and I couldn’t control myself.”
“Like sexually?”
“Well, yes. Why is that a surprise to you?”
“I-I don’t know, but Tessa isn’t like that,” Katlyn insisted.
“I’m sure she’s not, but we did kiss and believe me, Tessa wasn’t resisting what happened between us.”
“What are you saying? What really happened?”
Paige took a deep breath. “Just what I said. We were kissing and the next thing I knew I was biting her neck. I never meant to, but when she began bleeding, I did everything in my power to stop it, I swear.”
“What are you?” Katlyn asked, her back still firmly against the wall.
“I’m a vampire and I only feed on animals most of the time. This is not something that normally happens.” She sat down on the sofa, her head in her hands. “She’ll be okay, I swear.”
“No, she won’t, she’s very sick. Tessa can’t keep even chicken broth down.”
Paige frowned. “I’m very sorry to hear that, but I assure you that I can help her.”
Katlyn tried to absorb what she was told. “So are you interested in women?”
“Please don’t put a label on this. I’m just attracted to who I’m attracted to. This time, it just happened to be Tessa, but I like men, too. Just not at the same time, if you get my drift.” When Katlyn didn’t respond, Paige stood and moved toward her. “I promise this will all work out, but the next forty-eight hours are critical for Tessa. I need for you to allow me to help Tessa.”
Katlyn’s knees wobbled, and she thought for a moment she might sink to the floor. Gathering her courage, she looked Paige straight in the eye and asked, “So she’s no longer human?”
“I’m not sure yet, but we need to bring her here to the main house and I’ll get right to work. I have a room upstairs that has the necessary equipment.”
“You’ve done this before?” Katlyn asked, shocked. “How many people have you turned into a vampire?”
“Not many, but I’ve experimented over the years and have a better understanding about the process from human to vampire. I won’t know until I can assess Tessa here if she’s truly transitioning over to vampire or not. Tomorrow, we’ll know for sure, but her symptoms sound about right.”
Chase darted into the room. “Are you okay, Katlyn?”
Tears streamed down Katlyn’s face. “Good as I can be, I suppose, under the circumstances. Paige bit Tessa and now she’s dreadfully sick.”
“I won’t be sure until tomorrow if Tessa has turned or not,” Paige explained, sighing. “I made an error in judgment last night.” Paige’s eyes teared up now. “I’m truly sorry for what I’ve done, but I assure you, I’ll do everything in my power to make it right.”
“You’ll cure her?” Brendan asked.
Paige swiped at her tears and made an attempt at a smile. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m not sure yet if she’s transiting over just yet, but if she has, you should know there’s no cure. If there was a cure, don’t you think I’d have tried it on myself?”
“Most of the blood was on the sofa. You couldn’t possibly have drunk enough of Tessa’s blood to turn her so quickly,” Chase said, shaking his head.
“Sometimes it’s like that. She must be more sensitive than most humans.”
“Then Tessa’s your responsibility now, Paige, and it’s your job to help her transition over to the other side,” Brendan said.
Paige sighed. “I plan to if she’s headed that way, but only if Katlyn stays away. She won’t want to see her friend like that.”
“You can stay with us tonight,” Brendan suggested. “If Tessa’s already that sick, Paige needs to act fast.”
“And you shouldn’t be alone tonight, Katlyn. I know this is a lot to absorb,” Chase added with a sad look.
* * *
It was hard for Katlyn to watch Paige enter the cabin with Angus. When he then carried Tessa to the main house, Katlyn’s heart fell. “This is all my fault,” Katlyn said when she was in the cabin where she had enjoyed drinks with the shifters just the night before.
Brendan gave her a hug. “Don’t blame yourself. I’m so sorry this happened. I was very angry when I found out what she’d done to Tessa, but I had hoped she wasn’t overly harmed when she was bitten. It’s very possible to recover from one bite without any real problems, but if she had bitten you, Katlyn, I don’t know what I would have done," he said with emotion.
Katlyn was taken aback at how sincere Brendan sounded, like he really felt something for her. Chase gazed at her, equally concerned. Was there hope that they actually felt something for her, that she had found what she’d always longed for here in Wyoming? There was something building between the three of them that she needed to explore what it was to sort it all out.
Katlyn pulled away from Brendan. “Is this how Paige normally acts? She was feeding on a sheep.”
“That’s unfortunate that you had
to witness that, but it can’t be helped now.”
“What will happen to Tessa now?”
“Only time will tell. It seems like Paige isn’t certain yet what Tessa’s condition is. We need to hope for the best until we have a reason to think otherwise.”
Katlyn nodded. “You’re right. In the movies, it always takes like three bites before you’re turned. Hopefully that’s how it is and Tessa will recover fully.”
“I don’t think this is like a movie, but I have high hopes. I trust in Paige’s abilities to handle whatever happens.”
“I wish Paige hadn’t bitten Tessa, but I do believe she didn’t mean to harm her, really. It was more in the heat of the moment. Sort of like how you both nicked me with your fangs that night at the club.” When Brendan raised a brow, Katlyn added, “Paige admitted that she kissed Tessa.”
Brendan looked surprised, then continued. “That explains it, then. But I’ve never known Paige to bite anyone, that I’m aware of, or that she was drawn to females.”
“I guess it took them both by surprise, just like you I can understand how it feels to be drawn to someone.” Katlyn smiled.
“You mean both of us, right?” Chase added.
Before Katlyn could respond, Brendan slipped his hand around her waist and brought her closer as Chase closed in the short distance to her, kissing her shoulder gently. She gazed at them, feeling more wanton than ever. It couldn’t be normal to feel this way about two men, wanting them to take her over and over again until they all were exhausted. But she didn’t have the energy to fight it … and wasn’t sure she wanted to.
Brendan lifted her chin and took her lips with his in a searing kiss that left her breathless.
Her head swam and everything was wrong with this, including the timing, but dammit, her body was responding and she was unable to stop herself from giving in. She had waited so long for this.
Chase nudged her thighs apart, squeezing one between his muscled legs and sending jolts of need up her spine, settling between the juncture of her legs. Katlyn broke the kiss with Brendan to hungrily taste Chase’s kiss that was much more bruising with need. Her pussy reminded her just how much something as little as a kiss could affect her as she felt herself become wet, blood rushing to her core.
Katlyn (M/F/M red-hot menage shifter romance) Standalone (Shadow Creek Shifters Book 1) Page 7
