Summer Shifter Nights

by Harmony Raines

  “She was dead anyway, Mia. She wasn’t strong enough. We knew some of you wouldn’t survive, but you have. You and Sasha were twins. Did you know that?”

  I stumbled backward. The ground spun and the trees moved in. I still felt her fingers, still smelled her blood.

  “You were implanted both together. That’s why we let you live side by side, hoping that when you changed, you’d change together.” His mouth curved into a sneer. “I’m right, aren’t I? There’s nowhere you can hide out here, Mia. You’ll be dead by morning.”

  His shape blurred under the shake of my head. I lifted my hand to ward off his words. Dead by morning. My cell waited for me. The number imprinted on the inside of my forearm was indistinct. Coded and confined. He dropped his gaze to my waist. My cold shirt was stuck to my body. Dead by morning.

  “You’re hurt and confused. You’re not a woman anymore, Mia. You’re a wolf. You’re thinking like a wolf and acting like a wolf. We can help you ride the pain.”

  He took another step and the clang of metal rang out. I jerked my gaze to the shackles in his hand. A shudder raced through my body. The wolf inside snarled.

  Guard closed the distance. The scuff of a foot behind me stole my focus. I stumbled, my knees locking, then unlocking. I moved too slow. Guard rose, lifting his arm as he reached for me.

  I shuffled from his touch and hit a wall of muscle. I tried to spin as another grabbed my waist. Pain speared me, stealing my screams. I lifted my foot and drove my heel backward, connecting with muscle and bone. The harsh grunt filled my ear. The hands around my waist weakened and I slipped. Dirt filled my mouth. Lightening tore through my side, stealing my thoughts.

  “You’re coming with us.” Guard’s grip around my ankle was like a vice, clenching tighter as I kicked.

  Dried leaves scattered around me. “Let me go. Let me go!”

  “Hold her still.”

  I twisted under his grip and shoved my hips from the ground, rolling on top of one of them. His body was hard against mine. I sensed everything, yet felt nothing. Something else rode the anger, something dangerous. I shuddered under her power. Wolf lifted her head, then lunged, driving her open mouth to the base of his neck.

  His body convulsed. The thin, cold membrane of my skin warmed under the sting of a million hot prickles as warm, thick blood coated my tongue and teeth. The chill faded as the thick coat grew longer. Fur. The musky, sharp smell of human filled my nose, along with his blood. My eyes met his and his were circled with white. I raked his thighs with my claws. The thin skin ripped and shredded. I felt every jerk, every blow. The smell of musk mingled with something warm as fluid filled my mouth. I lifted my head and howled.

  Choked cries rang out in the night stilling my sound. Trees thrashed as Guard’s cries rang out. “Get back here. Mark, where are you going? Mark? Mark!”

  I wrapped my legs around my prey, sinking my teeth in deeper. There was movement to my right, hidden in the darkness. The scent was new to me. Dangerous. Savage. Still, I couldn’t stop. My body pulsed as blood filled my mouth. Guard bucked underneath me. I clenched my legs tighter. Shh. It won’t be long now.

  Feeble blows attacked my side. One found its mark, wrenching something deep inside. The life underneath me faded. I saw the life dim as I opened my mouth and lowered my head.

  Movement beside me drew my focus. The makeshift axe rose in my attacker’s hand. The look of terror was one I’d seen before. But I was helpless to stop. I was helpless to do anything but succumb.

  The axe cleaved the air. I could hear the wind part and someone screamed. The gut-wrenching sound blew the air from my lungs, running spittle down the chest of my prey. Mine.

  Something cracked inside my head. My teeth tore the flesh under my mouth. Mine. A savage sound slipped from my lips. I glanced to my kill. The axe rose again. Warmth slipped from my head to trickle down my brow.

  “You should’ve let us help you, Mia. I’m sorry it had to come to this.”

  The words he spoke meant nothing. The softness in his eyes meant nothing. Not to the beast, and not to the woman who grew less of a woman with each strong beat of the beast’s heart. The axe glinted, hovering in the air, shimmering with my blood in the moonlight.

  A sharp sound whipped through the air. I flinched at the grunt from Guard’s and stared at the arrow protruding from his stomach. Feathers stuck from the ends, two black, one white. His eyes widened, the axe trembled, then fell to the ground in a thud at his feet.

  He followed the line of fire, staring into the forest. “You.”

  I shifted my gaze to follow his. The movement sent the world spinning. Grey seeped into my sight. The feathers on the end of the arrow pierced Harley’s shoulder. Arrow struck bone. The human thought filled me with satisfaction. Warmth seeped into my eye. I crumbled, as the darkness moved in. Trees rustled just out of reach and that pungent scent of alpha grew stronger. Footsteps sounded closer. I closed my eyes, waiting for the end to come as something slid under my thighs, then gripped my back.

  I opened my mouth to speak, and heard nothing.

  3

  “You’re lucky to be alive, you know?”

  Fire licked the insides of my belly, dragging the hunger and the pain into my chest. The wolf tightened her grip. She tore my mind with teeth and claws. She wanted in. She wanted me.

  Warm fingers touched my arm. His scent was all around me, suffocating, controlling, familiar.

  The scent of a man.

  No. The scent of a wolf.

  I dug my heels against the bedding. My muscles burned. The ache made me slow, wrenching my knees toward my chest I clawed the air blindly, slashing toward the sound of his voice as I bared my teeth. “Get away from me. Get away.”

  The sun was too bright. I blinked. Outside. The trees crowded the cabin. Where were the bars to my cell? A whimper slipped from my lips. A hot needle. A deep needle tore into my side. I grabbed my waist. I scanned the room. I needed darkness. I needed safe. Shadows clung to the corner of the room, crowded with chairs and cupboards. My hand trembled as I reached for the frame, keeping my back to the wall.

  “It’s okay, it’s only me. I saved you last night, remember? You shouldn’t move.”

  My lips lifted. A growl slipped free. I sought the dark corner and climbed over the metal frame. Needles pierced my middle and the scent of blood filled the room. My blood.

  I stumbled. The room swayed. But the shadows were all I saw. My fingers slid along something soft. I gripped hard, riding the fall as my knees crumbled.

  The sunlight softened. Towering cupboards crowded around as I crawled into the space. The wall was hard at my back. I was crammed on one side by boxes piled high. The musty smell was sharp to my nose. I stared at the opening at the sound of his steps.

  “Easy now. You know what I am?”

  I closed my eyes and swung at the blurred shapes a steady stream of familiar words slipped from my lips. “Your name is Guard. Your name is Guard.”

  “What? No, my name’s Coen. I’m a shifter, like you.”

  I shook my head and slapped my hands over my ears. His name is Guard… his name is Guard. I was lost in the memory. I wrenched my hands from my ears, staring at the blood. The crimson stain coated my hands, lying black in the lines and the whorls of my palm, thick and sticky between my fingers. “I hit him. I killed him.”

  “Mia, that’s your name, right?”

  I wrenched my head up. The beast snarled. Shadows crept in to steal my vision. Her panting filled my ears, wearing away my ability to hold her at bay. Shapes moved close, then further away. My fingers skirted soft bedding underneath. My grip on this world was all I had. I fought her fury. I fought the change.

  “How did you know?” I clapped my hands over my ears. “Your name is Guard.”

  He gripped my hands. He was too strong, wrenching them to my lap. “That’s what they called you, right? In the forest? That’s what they called you. Mia. Those numbers on your arm, that means you’re from that place w
ith the fences and the hounds, right?”

  I rocked, trying to make the pieces fit while he kept talking. “You escaped from the lab, right. You’re one of them?”

  I wiped my hands on the sheets.

  “Sometimes you gotta fight to survive. If blood is spilled, then that’s what happens. Are you listening to me, Mia? Survival doesn’t come down to being smart or pretty. It comes down to those who’ll do what they have to do. It’s about being savage, and that’s what we are, Mia—savage. I’m Coen. The other wolf who lives here is Drake. You’re lucky we stayed a little longer. One more day and we would’ve been gone. Two wolves isn’t as strong as a pack, that’s why we’re heading to the city.” Something tugged my shirt. I clawed his hand at my side. “I’m just checking your wound. You’re the first female to escape from there. You took me by surprise. Came out of nowhere.”

  The touch was careful. Heated breath tickled my chest as he leaned close. “God, you’re so thin. Did they not feed you in there?”

  I tasted plastic. I felt thick tubes spear my open mouth, forcing their way into my throat. Blood, all I tasted was blood. My hands tightened, clenching the bed in my grip, the memory of my kill so strong it snatched me from this room and from his hands. No air…. The burn reached from my chest. I slapped my throat. I probed my fingers into my mouth, searching my teeth. No air… no air.

  The grip on my arm tightened, wrenching me forward. “Hey, are you okay? Hey… hey!”

  My head snapped back. Air rushed in, filling my lungs. I coughed, spluttered. I gulped air and felt it fill my lungs.

  Coen’s face filled my vision, scruffy brown hair, dark, bottomless eyes. I teetered on the edge of that chasm as he stared into my eyes, then slowly, he dropped the hand clenched around my throat.

  “Jesus, you scared the hell out of me. What was that?”

  I sucked in the dust filled air while the fire in my chest died away.

  “What did they do to you?” Just a whisper, yet his question was coated with sorrow.

  I shook my head. There were no words.

  “Jesus… Jesus.” Coen raked his hand through his hair. His solemn eyes were now filled with fear. “You’re safe here. No one will find you. Not unless we want them to.”

  My stomach howled. I drew my knees to my chest. “Where are we?”

  “Southeast of Seattle.”

  I stared at him. “Seattle.”

  “Yeah, it’s a city, not far from here. Drake and I are planning to move there. We heard there’s other shifters there. We miss being in a pack.”

  A shudder raced through me. Pack. I whispered. “Guard.”

  “No. Not Guard. They’re like us—like you. Real wolves, men and women. They say there’s more female shifters there than any other city, in the big ol’ U.S. of A. One for every man. I’ve only been with another of our kind once before. Humans just aren’t the same, you know?”

  His eyes sparkled with hunger, one my wolf felt to her core. “No, I guess you don’t.” Coen turned his head to the side, searching with more than his eyes. His energy probed, touching me without moving a finger. “You’re close to the change aren’t you? No wonder you ran… no fucking wonder.”

  My body ached with a hunger of its own, one that burned through my veins and settled in my soul.

  “I’ll get you that food now,” He whispered never once taking his eyes off me.

  I glanced toward the door. Would I make it before he caught me? My heart thundered with the thought. “Are you going to let me leave?”

  “Do you want to?” Coen’s growl took me by surprise. “The door isn’t locked. You can leave anytime you want. No one’s stopping you. But you’re vulnerable, especially out there on your own. I can smell the change. It’s like lightning through my fucking veins. If I can smell it, you can bet another shifter can, too.”

  The beast inside snarled with his words. My hold on this body was slipping, minute by minute, while her power surged. How did I think I could run from my wolf?

  “Did you have a normal life in there? Have you been around others of your kind… men, like us?” Coen’s voice was husky, edged with an urgency which caught fire inside my own veins.

  “Only Guard.”

  He leaned in close, pressing my spine against the wall. “Do you not feel the need to mate?”

  Coen’s eyes dropped from mine as the fire settled deep. My heart thrashed, desperately needing to get free. The corners of his mouth curved. The smile terrified me. “I guess you do. You need somewhere safe to hide and you need food. We can take care of that.”

  His midnight eyes glinted. Granite couldn’t shine. It swallowed the light, especially that of a wolf. The Granite Mountain was the one thing I’d been taught to fear, and yet here it was, under the guise of a man.

  I stared into the eyes of the mountain and the mountain stared back.

  “Suit yourself,” Coen said, as the crease above his brow deepened. “Like I said, the door’s not locked. You can leave anytime.”

  He left the room and closed the door behind him.

  Do not trust them. The wolf inside me urged. I stared at the doorway, listening to the voices outside the room. Guard is out there. They’ve come to take you back.

  A pathetic sound slipped from my lips. I hung on every movement. Every creak. I shifted inside the crevice of boxes and chairs. Find them. Kill them. Then run. The wolf whispered. I settled back and watched the door.

  Sasha. My lip trembled at the memory. Blood, claws. Her misshapen head tormented me. Not woman, yet not wolf. The memory of her silver eyes held me. She still saw me as kin. She still tried to save me. I closed my eyes and gripped my knees, the pain in my belly my anchor to this moment.

  Fight the change and run.

  I stared at the door as slick tears slid down my cheeks. I wouldn’t go back there. I wouldn’t let them take me back.

  Search the house. Do not trust them. I shook my head. Here was safe. Here was a cage. I’d wait. Wait until they forgot about me. Wait until I’d rested.

  They’ll never forget. Search the house. Search the house….

  I glanced down to my bloodstained clothes and my hands. The metallic scent overwhelmed me. I needed clothes. I needed to wash. A small rope dangled from the door as a makeshift handle. I gripped the braid, still expecting the door to hold tight as I pulled. The hinge groaned, the sound tore through the cabin. I stilled and listened, staring at the rustic kitchen. Long benches were propped up with sawn off branches, worn down to a smooth finish. Tin plates and blue mugs lined the counter, leading to a deep stainless sink.

  The door outside stood ajar. Wooded shadows waited for me. I closed my eyes and swallowed the need to run back to my hole. No bars. No bars. Search the house. Watch for Guard.

  Coen’s scent lingered in the kitchen and in the hall. I scanned the doors, probing for any sound and edged closer. The scent of man and wolf was pungent. The deep musk sent shivers down my spine. I moved toward the room and touched the gnarled door. One small push and the door opened.

  A creak, low, quiet wrenched my head to the left. The growl vibrated in my chest. Guard. Guard waited for me in that room. I left the open door. I kept my steps light, my senses on fire as I grabbed the rope and shoved the door. “Guard. You in here?”

  My whisper barely reached my own ears. One shuffled step and I was inside. Sunlight fell across half the taut cover on the wooden bed, plunging the other half into shadows. I inhaled and swallowed a shudder. The beast flattened her ears, our pulse sped as one. Any icy touch raced across my arm, puckering my skin in its wake. There was something dangerous here. Something I shouldn’t see.

  I stepped further into the room. Drake. I wanted to whisper his name. If I did, would it summon the man or the wolf? The shadow behind me seemed to shift. I caught the change as something came through the front door of the cabin, part wolf, part man, but every bit a hunter.

  Blood, dirt and male hit me like a blow. I stumbled into the room, scanning the corners and caug
ht a shadow shift against the wall. Guard. The deep rumble wrenched from my chest and echoed into my lungs. I lifted my hands, my nails pierced the flesh of my palm. I wasn’t going back. I wasn’t going back there.

  The wolf inside me sensed something else. Something unfamiliar to me. Heat coursed through my body. But not the heat of anger—of something else.

  Footsteps sounded down the hall behind me as a mountain sauntered from the shadows. Head lowered, palms out. His bare chest rippled as he moved drawing my gaze and the smoldering inside me erupted into flames.

  Where Coen was dark, this man, Drake was light. His shaved, dirty blonde hair was slicked back. The strands glistened as he stepped into the sunlight. My gaze jerked to the open door, then back to him, finding his parted lips through his thick beard. His stricken eyes pierced me. The blue was so clear I wanted to touch them. But there was a vulnerability, one so deep that I felt the sorrow as a blow inside my chest. He took a step closer and the scent of him was like a hammer to the fragile wall between woman and wolf. She circled me, wanting to fight, but not to kill. She wanted something else. I inhaled hard.

  “You shouldn’t be in here. This is my room.”

  I opened my mouth. Only air escaped.

  He took a step forward and I was trapped by those eyes. “Coen’s supposed to be taking care of you. Are you hurt? Do you need something?”

  I shook my head and held up my hand. “Stay back.”

  His gaze drifted to my forearm and the sequence of numbers marring my skin. “What are those?”

  “Nothing.” I slammed my arm against my side, my face burning.

  He stared for a long time. There was no comfort in that hard gaze, no trying to soothe my fragile nerves. “If it was me, I’d want to die free as well, rather than caged like a damn animal.”

  The sound of my breath filled the room. His lips moved, as though there was more he wanted to say.

  “Everything okay in here?”

  I spun at the voice. Coen stood in the doorway. Blood covered his chest, and the side of his neck, ending with a few drops on his cheek. I clenched my fists as the scent rocked me. The kill was so fresh I could taste the life on the tip of my tongue.