“Maybe you better close your eyes, darlin’. My mate’s getting away.”
Maximus stepped on the gas, and the car bounced forwards, wheels shrieking across the pavement as the car bolted onto a street. The wheel spun wildly in his hands as the car spun in a circle.
“Damn. Where the fuck am I?”
“Would you like to initiate your GPS?”
“No, I just want my M-a-t-e.”
The steering wheel shimmied under his hands as he straightened out and accelerated. The van came into view, with a bounce and jerk, and pulled into a warehouse. It appeared the other shifter was having the same difficulty as Maximus. Maximus eased up and slowed. Steam was rising from the hood.
“That didn’t happen during the simulator,” he muttered.
The car rolled to a stop, clacking. The van was gone. A garage door settled into place. The shifter wouldn’t waste time checking Posy over. No doubt he was making arrangements to get his and her asses back to Africa. Maximus jumped from the car and ran, right into Andro. The pair toppled over, Andro landing on Maximus.
“It’s good to see you,” Maximus said as he righted the both of them.
“You too. I’m having a helluva time out here.”
They both raced to stare in a window. Posy was locked in a cage. Maximus growled.
“Merit grabbed the female. Her name is Posy,” Maximus said.
“He grabbed two, your female and another one he took inside. Yours isn’t caged. Merit didn’t need to. His shifter has her frozen in terror. The one named Posy isn’t yours.”
Maximus stared at Andro. “How do you know this female isn’t mine?”
“I was in every acceptable female mate’s apartment. The other one taken has to be yours. She had a mice haven in her room. Little compartments, tons of food. She adores them. It has to be a beacon.”
“While this female hates mice,” Maximus said pondering. “This one likes huge cats. He must have switched them in desperation.”
“He switched them because the other female is cute and sweet and tiny. She’s easy to control.”
“There’s nothing wrong with this female. At least I won’t break her, even if Posy is small. Have you seen Merit in both forms?”
“Yes. It isn’t his looks or shifter that’s changed. It’s his voice. Come to think of it, be grateful you got what you got.”
“His voice?”
“You’ll see or hear when we confront him. We need to get on a plane to Africa. We need to get your female back and hand this one over to Tac. She may or may not be yours, but she does belong to a shifter. I don’t know why all the shifters don’t get together and settle who belongs to who on our planet.”
Maximus realized Andro was right. But looking down at Posy from his position at the window he felt a moment’s hesitation. He should just keep her. She would get used to his shifting in time. He needed to get them to Africa and onto his planet where he could explain the situation better. Then he realized it wasn’t fair to her. He didn’t want to frighten his mate, or repulse her.
“What the hell am I supposed to do?” He slapped his open hands on his thighs.
“We should leave this one and go for the other female. She’s in an office.”
“I can’t leave Posy in a cage. For the simple reason she could be my mate.”
“Why does finding a mate have to be so difficult?”
“You know the window of opportunity comes only on occasion. Earth and our planet must be aligned properly for the parallel to open and give us a door. I want my mate. My shifter has been out of control. I think that’s why I shift the way I do on this planet. If I were to shift on our planet who knows what hell I’d do. Here I’m contained. I don’t like it any more than you do.”
“Well at least you retained your normal size.” Andro sounded pissed.
Maximus didn’t blame him. His buddy was about three and a half feet tall. Half his normal size. On the plus side his shifter remained the same, while Maximus changed into a mouse. When Tac told them they would need each other to survive he wasn’t kidding. Only Merit traveled alone. The other two shifters were paired as well. Maximus wondered what they shifted into on this planet.
“Come on.”
Maximus motioned for Andro to follow him. They entered a window and silently dropped to the floor.
“I better take on Merit,” Andro whispered. “If he shifts you’re in shit.”
Maximus crept to the cage where Posy lay. She was out cold, hands in her lap, her back and head resting on the bars of the walls. The only way to open the cage was if he shifted and opened it from the inside. With caution he crept closer. Inside the cage he studied Posy. She was cute when she slept. He hoped she stayed asleep. She tended to get violent when confronted.
On silent paws he shimmied up the metal walls. The lock was easy to slip with a tiny flick. As the cage door slid open the screaming started. Posy kicked the door violently sending the metal smashing open. Maximus was airborne. He did some screaming of his own as he flew through the air. He shifted as he hit the floor landing hard on his ass. He was afraid the fall from this height might break a small leg.
“Son of a bitch,” he said snarling and rose carefully to his feet, a hand rubbing his butt.
Maximus came face to face with Posy. She sent a fist in his direction. He caught her hand and swiftly turned her into his chest, keeping her secure.
“You.” She was growling as she spoke. “You kidnapped me.”
“I did no such thing. I’m trying to save you.”
She stomped on his foot. Maximus released her to dance across the floor swearing. A massive roar and a scream turned their attention to the second level balcony. A woman was racing towards the edge. Posy screamed, and Maximus raced forward as the woman fell over the balcony.
Arms open, Maximus caught the petite woman to his chest and fell to the ground. A huge cave lion jumped to stand next to Maximus followed by a giant Jurassic sloth.
“That’s my female,” the sloth said.
Maximus’s mouth hung open. The words were said chipmunk-style. The female in his arms was unconscious and unharmed. Maximus set her beside him and rose to his feet. He heard a giggle to his left. Posy stood there with a hand over her mouth.
“I get it,” she said, nodding. “I’m dreaming. A giant sloth sounds like Alvin from The Chipmunks. There’s a cave lion and a man who turns into a mouse. I bet the clams at the wedding were bad. Hell, everything about that wedding was bad.”
Letting Posy think she was dreaming was a good idea for now. She sat down on her ass still giggling. Maximus couldn’t blame her. When Merit spoke again he was tempted to laugh. Posy made no attempt to control her wild burst of laughter.
“Stop laughing at me,” Merit chippered. “Stop.” He stomped a foot.
“How can you be certain this female is yours?” Maximus pointed at the unconscious woman. “And if you are certain why steal Posy?”
“They both have the same scent.”
“For the love of anything, Merit, change back, you sound ridiculous,” Andro said. He shifted.
Merit shifted to his human form. “It doesn’t help.”
Maximus and Andro howled with laughter, joined again by Posy who was now on her side in hysterics. Tears streamed down her face. Her open palm slapped the floor surface. Maximus couldn’t blame her. Merit was six foot five, with short blond hair, deep blue eyes and sounded as ridiculous in his human form.
“Well at least I look like me,” Merit griped.
His scathing glance wasn’t lost on Andro. “All five females have the same scent, you dumbass.”
“No, they don’t,” Merit insisted.
“I was at the same complex of condos,” Maximus said. “They do all have the same scent.”
“Then why did Pax and Danner take the other females and want this one?”
Merit was pointing at Posy.
“Maybe they have the same idea we do,” Andro said. “We should get them all
to Africa and then our planet and sort them out.”
“It would be easier to travel with one female at a time.” Merit gazed at Posy, who was gasping for air. “You take that one. She might be mine, but right now I’ll belt her if she keeps laughing at me.”
“She’s laughing with you,” Andro said with his hands splayed.
“Nope, not with him,” Posy piped up. “Definitely at him. Best dream ever.”
Merit scowled and went to retrieve the female on the ground. “Africa.”
Posy was in hysterics again, so much so Maximus practically peeled her off the ground and slung her over a shoulder.
“Don’t change back, mouse boy, or you’ll be sorry,” she said.
Maximus rolled his eyes at Andro.
Chapter Four
Posy woke as the plane hit turbulence then settled. She blinked her eyes rapidly to focus and found herself staring into two beady eyes. She screeched and backhanded the mouse on her chest. Maximus was airborne, sailing over other screaming woman to land spread-eagle on the lunch cart in the aisle. The stewardess shrieked, and the passengers yelled. Realizing what she had done, Posy yelled again. The mouse had to be the man Maximus. Everyone was trying to kill him.
Damn, will this dream never end?
Maximus had acquired shoes for her, she had no clue how, and they were tight as hell. They had driven to the airport in a crazy ride. She slipped in and out of dreams. Maximus had encouraged her to board the plane, but then he was gone. Now it appeared he was back. A male steward tried smashing Maximus with a closed fist. When his fist slammed on the table food went flying. He grabbed what he obviously thought was Maximus and squished an eggroll. Two women vomited, clearly thinking the mouse’s insides were now outside.
Maximus ducked, ran right, then left, slipped from the cart and raced under the legs of passengers seats creating chaos in his wake. Every head in front of her dipped to watch under their seat. Maximus was bailing for the bathroom. Posy watched him slip under the door. She hoped he was alone.
The confusion intensified when the mouse disappeared. Now everyone was standing up. When Maximus returned, in human form, to his seat amidst jumbled dancing passengers, his face was red. He glared at Posy, who tried to look as apologetic as possible. His clothes were in disarray, and she wondered how he got them. He growled at her.
“Every time you do that it feels like I’ve been shot out of a fucking cannon,” he said, snarling.
“Why do you have to shift like that?”
“I told you, it just happens. Why do you have to be so scared of mice?”
“When am I going to wake up?”
“You are awake.”
“But you said I was dreaming.”
“No, you said you were dreaming. I just went with it.”
Her heart began to pound, and for the first time she began to take in her surroundings. She gaped out the window.
“Where are we going?”
“Africa. Thankfully we’ll be there soon. We’ve been traveling a while now.”
“I don’t want to go to Africa.” Her safari fantasy flickered for a moment. “Well, I mean I do, but not with a stranger. And trust me there’s no one stranger than you.”
“I’ll explain everything when we get there. Right now there are too many people within earshot.”
“Too many within mouse shot.” She snorted. “If we’re almost there how long have I been asleep?”
“Not long enough,” he grumbled under his breath.
“Did you drug me?”
“Uh, no.”
Posy growled at him and got ready to belt him. People were finally settling back into their seats grumbling at the inconvenience. No one wanted lunch. An annoyed woman was marching toward them. Maximus had scooted low and was peering through the seat crack.
“Damn, here comes the flight attendant. I can’t be seen. I don’t have a passport or any identification.”
“Oh no you don’t.”
Too late. Maximus shifted and scooted into a low hand pocket on her shirt. Posy squirmed. Her hands were in the air, waving like a mad woman, and the flight attendant was staring at her. Posy tried a grin.
“Whoo hoo, goin’ to Africa, all right.”
“Ma’am, are you all right?”
“No, not really,” she whispered down at her pocket and placed a hand to her forehead.
Her toes were tapping the floor. It was a good thing she was at the very back of the plane and there was no one in the seats beside her.
“I thought I saw a man back here with you,” the flight attendant said.
“Nope, just me,” Posy said.
She wriggled around in her seat, her teeth grit and lips pressed together to keep from screaming. The attendant gave her an odd look and turned. She was muttering as she walked away. Posy slapped at her pocket with open hands. Maximus appeared, shifted and held a hand to his head.
“For fuck’s sake,” he hissed. “Are you trying to beat me senseless?”
“Yes. Wasn’t it obvious?”
“You could have broken bones.”
“Why can no one see you? Are you supposed to be invisible? Are you a convict?”
“I don’t have a passport. I’m a shifter. How am I supposed to explain that to the authorities? ‘Oh it’s okay, officer. I’m a man but not all the time.’ That would go over well. Andro is caged on the plane in shifter form. When we land I need to help him escape.”
“You want to help a big ass lion loose?”
“He’s a shifter. Andro can shift in the cage, and we can pretend it was a gag gone wrong. Or something else.”
“You are a sneaky man. No wonder you’re a mouse.”
“I’m not a mouse.”
“Fine. But if I find one little piece of poop in my shirt there will be hell to pay.”
His guilty as hell look wasn’t comforting.
“This is the captain speaking. We will be landing shortly. It’s a balmy eighty-seven degrees Fahrenheit with clear skies. Thank you for choosing to fly with our airline and have a pleasant stay.”
Posy glared at Maximus. “You’re going to change again aren’t you?”
“Get your purse. It’s by your feet. I brought it.”
“How did you get me to board?”
“An old trick. Now pick up your purse. Don’t say a word and I swear once we get out of the airport I’ll fill you in.”
“Fine. Do not poop in my purse.”
Maximus hopped into her purse. Posy stashed it away, and she watched out her window as the plane landed. Posy held her head in her hands for a moment.
“That damned wedding is looking better and better by the second as being the second worst day of my life.”
“Everything will be fine.”
Her hair stood on end when the deep voice came from inside her purse.
Oh my fucking God.
****
The small hut Maximus drove to was abandoned. Andro and he had been greeted by their contact and Andro was freed. He wanted to make certain none of the females captured were his, though Andro was certain they weren’t. Needless to say he was pissed. Posy was asleep beside him. She had refused to get into the jeep with him. On Maximus’s fingernail was an extended nail, not noticeable to the eye unless you were looking for it. Within the nail was a sleeping agent he could prick a victim with to knock them out. There was no way in hell he was going to explain to a group of onlookers he was an alien shifter.
Unfortunately he had to explain it to Posy. She began to rouse as he carried her inside and placed her on a small bed of grass stuffed pillows. She rolled to a sitting position and gazed at him with sleepy eyes.
“Oh God, not you again.”
She looked less happy as she took in her surroundings. Before Maximus could explain anything another shifter barged through the spindly hut door.
“Pax.” Maximus was startled.
Pax stood six foot three, well muscled and tanned. His dark hair was askew. His blue eyes settled
on Posy, and he pointed.
“You have my mate.”
“For heaven’s sake, why does everyone think Posy belongs to them?”
Pax strode forward and made to grab her. Posy whacked him over the head with her purse. Maximus sent a hard fist into his face.
“You want to take this outside?” Pax said snarling, and stumbled to his feet.
No, Maximus didn’t. He had no idea what Pax would shift into, and he didn’t have Andro’s protection. On Maximus’s planet both he and Pax were well matched, and in human form he knew he could kick his ass. They stood studying each other. The sleeping agent didn’t work on shifters. Maximus would be in trouble if he shifted into a mouse.
“Yes, boys,” Posy drawled. “Take it outside.”
“Posy, you wouldn’t make it five seconds out there without me,” Maximus warned. He glared at Pax. “Why do you think this is your mate?”
“Her scent. This is confusing as hell.” He ran a hand through his hair. “There’s another who might be mine, but this one’s scent is as strong. Everything here is nuts.”
When Pax shifted out of frustration Posy giggled. “Oh my God you’re adorable.”
“A wombat?” Maximus raised a single eyebrow.
“You’re so fuzzy. I need to squeeze you.”
Posy went to pick him up, and Pax changed back. He grabbed her around the waist. Posy sent an uppercut to his jaw that knocked him back. Pax swore and rubbed his face.
“What the hell is going on?” Posy demanded.
“Pax and I are shifters from the planet Ricafa. We were sent here because it’s our turn to find our mates, but for some reason you seem to belong to everyone, or well at least three of us. I’m guessing the odds will get worse when we come across the others.”
“You expect me to mate a mouse?”
“Ha. A mouse.” Pax snorted. “Her mighty shifter.”
“Mighty Mouse,” Posy said and did some snorting of her own. “I’m not mating anyone.”
“This isn’t up for debate,” Maximus said. “You are my mate, maybe—hell, either way you belong to someone. We only have a short window of opportunity here on Earth, and only every few months and sometimes not even then if the moonbeams can’t shine. I’m not waiting to have my mate.”
Her Mighty Shifter Page 3
