Remote in the Shadows: A Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance

by Noelle Rahn-Johnson

  Addison looks around at the clothes and chooses jeans, shorts, socks, panties, a few bra's and shirts. She grabs a new purse as well. The one at Parker's is about to have a broken strap.

  Parker pushes the cart with Addison's things and he walks them back to the baby department. Parker flips through the clothes, checking London's size tag on the inside of her tee shirt.

  Addison goes and grabs another box of diapers and a container of wipes. Parker grabs a few outfits and then they look at shoes for her. Addison notices her own shoes and decides she could use a new pair of tennis shoes.

  They find sandals and tennis shoes for London and Addison as well. When they have everything, and more, Parker pushes the cart up to the register to pay for everything.

  After Parker pays, and Addison gets London safely buckled, Parker locks up the bed of the truck, once again with their items safely inside.

  Parker drives them to the diner for lunch, and he parks the truck. Walking inside and reading the sign saying, ‘Please seat yourself,' they choose a booth and get London buckled in a high chair. Parker and Addison glance over the menus and the waitress sets down two glasses of water shortly after.

  "Hi, my name is Katie. I'll be your server today. Do you need a few minutes to decide?" Katie talks in a younger teen voice. She looks to be around sixteen.

  "If we could have a few minutes, thank you, Katie," Parker turns and tells her. Katie leaves with a quick nod and tends to another booth.

  Parker and Addison look over their menus and order their lunch, and steamed carrots and a scrambled egg for London.

  "Parker, um… I'm kind of curious…when do you think I can meet your cat?" She talks quietly and glances shyly up at Parker.

  He smiles to her, knowing she must have more questions about this new world she's been told about.

  "Soon, Addy. Soon. We can talk about this in a more private area later, okay?"

  Addison nods in agreement as the waitress comes back to give them their lunch plates. As they eat their food. Her brain is on overload with the news of shifters in the world.

  How many animals? What breeds? Are they all over the world living in secret like Parker and his friends? Do they work normal nine to five jobs, as well? Does it hurt to shift?

  Then, Parker had mentioned that he was concerned if Derek was a shifter. If he is, does that mean London is, too? What kind would she be and when would she shift? Parker mentioned at a year old. It's not that far away. The beginning of August is London's birthday and it's only about a month away.

  "Parker, when we get back home, could I use your phone and call my sister? I still haven't called her and I would like to let her know London and I are safe," she asks.

  "Sure, not a problem."

  After their meal is eaten and the bill is paid, Parker buckles a sleepy London in her car seat and helps Addison into the big truck.

  ***

  On the way home Parker's cell rings out in the cab of the truck. He pulls over and puts the truck in park. Pulling out his cell he glances at the caller and notices it's Max.

  Here we go. Parker thinks.

  I'm more than ready. The leopard answers back.

  "Hello, Max. What's up?' he casually asks. Not wanting to frighten Addison.

  "Found him. He's parked on the north side of your property and he has supplies. He's hiding out in the old run down hunting cabin about three miles from your house."

  "We're on our way back now. The truck is full of things for Addison and London. Can you call your women and have them meet us at the house? Then Addison and London won't be alone. Is Derek alone?"

  "As far as my scout can tell, yes, he's alone. But it seems like he's been here for some time. When Mike checked the cabin when Derek left, he found food and other supplies in the cabin, like he had been actually living there for a little while."

  As Parker talks to Max on the phone, Addison can feel her anxiety amp up and her nerves are getting the best of her. Her breathing increases and she's getting light headed.

  Parker must notice because he ends the call quickly. "Got to go Max, I'll see you soon." Parker sets the cell on the dash of the truck, "Addison, honey. Are you okay? Look at me, please."

  Addison turns her head and looks at Parker's concern etched in his handsome face. "I'm okay, Parker. I heard your side of the call and I know that Derek's been found. The thought that he won't ever give up scares me."

  "Addison, this ends today. After this is over, you won't ever have to worry about him again. Do you understand me? I love you, Addison. You and London both. I want you to be my mate, and London to be my daughter. I love you with everything that I am, including my leopard. When we find our mates, it's for forever, Addison. I want you to know that."

  "I understand, Parker. Let's go home and finish this, once and for all. I don't want to be looking over my shoulder all the time, waiting for him to jump out from the bushes." She whimpers and a few tears fall from her eyes.

  Parker leans over and wipes them with his thumbs, then hugs her as close as the seatbelts will allow them.

  "Let's get home. I have some ass kicking to do," Parker announces.

  Addison smiles slightly, and then leans against her passenger door. Parker drives back onto the road, quickly pocketing his cell in his front jean pocket.

  "I told Max to gather the women to keep you company. They are around your age and will help you with London," Parker tells Addison quietly.

  She nods in agreement.

  "It sounds like he's been camped out in the old hunting cabin a few miles from the main house. We're not going to wait for him, we're bringing the fight to him."

  She nods again.

  Parker grabs her cold hand in his, and intertwines their fingers together. Her lighter skin against his tanned fingers.

  As Parker drives down the long driveway, he makes out a few bears and wolves in the woods. Only another shifter could see them with their keen eyesight. Addison just looks straight ahead.

  "Addison, my shifter friends are all here. They're in the woods in their animal forms. Don't be afraid if they come out of the woods to greet us and give us the update. I know I haven't shown you or told you everything, I wanted to ease you into my world slowly. I've run out of time. I'm sorry, I was hoping I would have more time." Parker blows out a frustrated breath.

  Parker pulls up to the house and parks the truck, seeing that Max is sitting in one of the rockers. The front door opens and a pretty, black haired, short, kind of heavy woman walks out.

  "That's Max's wife, Shannon. She's your age," Parker says.

  "Okay. Parker, I'm scared. I'm shaking and I'm not sure how I feel."

  Parker shuts off the truck and unbuckles his and Addison's seatbelt. He pulls her closer and sits her across his lap, holding her close. Both of her feet on the bench next to them.

  "Addison, there's no need to worry. We'll take care of this," he whispers in her ear, kissing her there.

  "I know." She ducks her head to hide her tears. Max and Shannon walk into the house, giving them the privacy they need.

  "Come on. Let's get London inside and all your things. You can put everything away and when you're done, I'll be back."

  Parker opens the door and slides out, setting her on her feet. He walks around and pulls London from her seat, and carefully hands her sleeping body to Addison.

  She brings her daughter in the house and Max comes out, holding the door for Addison. Shannon meets her just inside the house and hugs her. Typical Shannon, she's a hugger.

  The bears, now in human form, come out of the woods, five of them and they all approach Parker with their news. Max reaches him first and the men help in unloading the stroller and bags of items from the bed of the truck and bring it all inside the house.

  It takes one trip to get everything inside and dropped off in the main master bedroom. The stroller is pushed into the laundry room by the back door.

  ***

  Addison shuts the bedroom door after putting London i
n her crib, and she meets everyone in the kitchen. Soft spoken words lead her there, respectful of a sleeping baby.

  When Addison enters the room, Parker, Shannon, and Max turn her way. The other men have left. Parker introduces everyone and Addison acknowledges them, still dancing in a brain full of fog.

  Max leaves and Shannon puts her arm around Addy, leading her to the living room. Parker hangs his head, both hands on the back of a kitchen chair. He's being forced to take a life.

  Parker enters the living room and sees Addison sitting on the couch, Shannon next to her. Their talking in hushed voices. Parker walks over to Addy and pulls her up and into his arms, against his muscular chest.

  He smiles down to her, "Addison, I've just found you. I'm not going to lose you. I love you and we're going to be soul mates very soon. I promise you." He smiles again and kisses her lips once more. "I'll see you soon." And with that, Parker leaves the house.

  With Shannon here, the house still seems empty. London's asleep in her crib, which is still in the master bedroom. That should be moved soon to another room.

  It sounds like when Parker says the mating thing, that's a forever promise. Like a marriage. Addison hopes so. She would love to be married to Parker. She truly loves him with all her heart. He proclaimed the same just minutes ago, in the truck.

  Addison and Shannon talk a bit, but mostly she stays quiet. Shannon looks to the window, then to the back room occasionally. Guessing she can hear things Addison can't.

  "Can you hear what's going on?" Addison finally asks Shannon, nervously.

  "Yeah, sorry." She sheepishly says. "They're on their way back. They have Derek with them, alive and kicking." She gasps, "That man has a filthy mouth!" Shannon exclaims.

  "You have no idea. He basically kept me as his personal punching bag and whore for the past year and a half or so."

  "Oh, Addison, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Max just said you were with a demon monster that was cruel to you. I didn't hear anything else. I didn't know it was really like that." Shannon hugs Addison close. "I hope we can become good friends. Your London is the same age as our little Benny. He's already one, as of July fourth, just last week."

  "How sweet. You didn't bring him?" Addison asks.

  "I actually did. He's in Parker's upstairs bedroom sleeping. He'll sleep for another hour or two. My younger sister, Bethany, is up there with him. She'll watch over the kids if we need to go outside for any reason." The way Shannon says that it makes her think that she should be going outside. "I left the twins at home with friends. They're four, Gracie and Tanner."

  "You have twins, too?"

  Addison looks out the front window, nothing yet.

  "Yup. Oh, no. the men will be coming from the back. Let's go meet them there, they're almost here now."

  Addison and Shannon walk to the back door, glancing outside. With Addison's human sight, she can't see anything, even though it's mid-afternoon.

  "Oh, they've roughed him up a little bit, I see," Shannon quietly says.

  Addison keeps looking where Shannon has her eyes trained and she still can't see anything. The tree line is around thirty feet from the house and she can't see anything but leaves and trees.

  Shannon opens the screen door and walks outside, Addison following, cautiously.

  Shannon bounces down the few steps it takes her to hit the ground and Addison clutches the railing in her fingers. She can hear them coming. Derek shouting and swearing about 'wanting to kill them' and them 'keeping his whore.'

  Parker breaks through the tree line, finally, dragging Derek by the upper arm. He's walking but stumbling, because every step Parker takes, it's two for Derek. Seeing the two of them side by side, takes her breath away.

  There's no comparison. Parker shines and is all male, raw power, muscle and sharp lines. Derek, has rumpled clothing, unkempt hair, and an unshaven face.

  These two men in her life are so very different. One is an ugly demon who tormented her every day of her life. The other one her protector. An angel sent to heal her from the inside out. The one she'll be with for the rest of her life.

  Chapter Thirteen

  "Addison, you whore! Get down here so I can take you home. How dare you come here and sleep with another man! You're mine, you bitch!" Derek screeches at her.

  Derek breaks into her moment of gazing at Parker.

  "Fuck you, Derek. I was never yours to begin with." Addison finds herself face to face with the demon himself before she even realizes she's moved. "Fuck you!" She pokes him in the chest.

  Derek raises his right hand as if to strike Addison across the face. Addison's vision goes from bright colors to blazing red. She never feels the slap to her face from him. She screams, growls and hisses at Derek, "No! You're never going to hurt me again! You're never going to touch me again! You're never going to rape me again! You're never going to lay a fucking finger to touch me again! You're a piece of shit and don't deserve to live on this earth or hurt another person again."

  She can feel her fingers claw across Derek's face and body, scratching, punching, and kicking him. Screaming and venting all her past hurt, anger, fear and anxiety onto this pitiful, sorry excuse of a man. All she sees is red behind her eyes.

  When Addison finally opens her eyes, not realizing she's closed them, she's lying on the ground. Her face is down, looking at the dirt in front of her. She looks up to the people around her and Parker is crouched down in front of her, brushing her hair back from her tear-streaked face.

  "Addison. Holy shit, sweetheart. Are you okay?" Parker's expression is in awe. He's scared for her. What did she do?

  Addison goes to stand up from the dirty ground and she knows she's standing, but is only waist high to Parker. What the hell?

  She looks down to her feet, and sees large paws. Very large, tiger-like paws. She takes a step forward, yup, they move when she wills them to move.

  Holy Shit! Addison's a tiger shifter!

  When Parker noticed Addison stepping from the back porch steps, she was shaking. Not in fear. Not in anger. But in shifting.

  Addison was shifting!

  She shifted and her clothes shredded right from her body. One moment, she was a human woman in a rage, the next moment she was a big tiger, pouncing on her prey, growling and snapping at his face.

  All Parker, Max and Shannon could hear is Addison growling and yelling at Derek. And Derek's high pitched, shrill screaming. A man about to lose his life to a very pissed off lady tiger shifter.

  Addison sits on her back haunches, her body trembling over knowing the news that's she's a shifter. Her fear of being a shifter outweighing the fear of being around Derek right now.

  Addison turns back and sees Derek, a bloody mess of flesh, and torn clothing. Gore to another human being caused by her own hands, or rather, claws.

  He's still alive and breathing. She can see his chest moving. She walks over to him and lies down next to him. She whispers in his ear when he turns to face her.

  "I win, you motherfucker. I fucking win," is all Addison says to him as he lays there, bleeding out on the ground.

  Parker watches Addison sit up, then stand on trembling legs. She's in shock. Her body isn't used to this change and this fast.

  Suddenly, Parker watches Derek, he moves to sit up and his right hand reaches out for Addison, still in her tiger form.

  She must hear him gurgle from his mouth and throat because she whips around so fast, she's a blur and the next thing, she has Derek's neck in her mouth.

  With a quick shake of her head, she bites down…

  Snap!

  Parker sees the life drain from the man's eyes, and Derek's arm falls from her shoulder, hitting the ground. She drops him like a bad habit from her mouth and takes a few steps from his dead body, then collapses herself.

  She's unconscious.

  Parker rushes to her side and tries to lift Addison. She's much heavier in her tiger form and Max hurries over to help Parker bring her into the house.

  S
hannon reaches the door first and opens it for the two men, lugging in this huge tiger. Parker thinks she might even be bigger than him in his leopard form. They quietly bring her into the master bedroom. Knowing London is sleeping there but wanting Addison to be comfortable.

  Parker, not seeing London in her crib, looks to Bethany, who has come from upstairs.

  Bethany says to him, "I moved her upstairs earlier."

  Parker nods his thanks, and Max and Parker lay Addy on the big bed.

  Her small human frame, holding back this huge tiger from the world. She didn't even know shifters existed, and here, she is one! Her large tiger taking up most of the king size bed now.

  Parker doesn't know of her family background except that she has a sister. But why wouldn't her sister tell her about it, and why would Addison shift now, and not when she was younger?

  So many questions, and no complete answers. And they still have no idea if Derek was a shifter either, dammit! Parker was in shock himself as he watched the woman he loves shift into a massive tiger. But then also to watch her attack Derek and shred him apart, that was totally a different reaction.

  Derek was left outside bleeding on the dirt. The whole front of his body is unrecognizable. Addison ripped him apart. She had totally let the tiger take over her human emotions and he's afraid that when she wakes up, she will be still be in the tiger form, and Addison left in the background, afraid and unsure of how to return.

  He's trying to remember back when she started yelling at him, she was talking while in the tiger form, so maybe…maybe he'll be able to talk to her and get her to calm the tiger so Addison can shift back to human. Her clothes ripped and shredded from her when she shifted, so those are gone. He knows she'll be naked when she shifts back to human.

  "Parker, what do you want us to do with Derek?" Max asks quietly.

  "Just get rid of him somewhere. He doesn't deserve to rot in peace six feet under. Let the animals feast on his sorry ass. At least he can benefit something good and they can fill their bellies," Parker replies, just as quietly.