Shifters Hallows Eve
Page 3
Her mouth opened and her brows furrowed.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said.
“You…just…what?” She spoke haltingly, as if her mind couldn’t quite make sense of what she’d just seen. Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she tumbled to the ground. Charisma growled at himself for not realizing she’d be frightened at seeing him shift. He’d been so consumed with getting to her that he hadn’t thought to shift in the woods before he reached her. He lifted her into his arms and carried her into his cabin.
Kicking the front door closed, he carried her to the master bedroom and drew the covers back. He laid her down and brushed a lock of golden-brown hair from her forehead. Turning on the small lamp on the nightstand, he saw a glint of gold around her throat. The medallion twinkled in the soft light, and he breathed out a sigh of relief. Just seeing it on her neck made everything inside him quiet.
Glancing at the clock, he marked the time in his mind. He had twenty-four hours to convince her that they were meant to be together. Touching her skin, he noticed she was chilled, so he tugged off her shoes and set them on the floor and then laid his softest blanket over her. She didn’t move at all aside from the rise and fall of her chest. He stepped into the closet and dressed, then headed into the kitchen to make her something to eat in case she was hungry when she awoke.
Checking the fridge, he removed items to make her a sandwich. As he set the packages of sliced ham and Colby cheese on the counter, a sharp pain lanced through him. Gritting his teeth, he pressed his palm to his stomach and waited for the pain to pass. When it eased after a long moment, he lifted his shirt to see if he’d grazed his skin during his hunt, but found no outward source for the pain.
After he made the sandwich, he cleaned up the kitchen and put a pot of water on the stove to boil for tea. Turning his attention to the family room, he walked to the fireplace to add a few logs to the low-burning flames. Then he carried the plate with the sandwich back to his bedroom to wait for his soulmate to wake up.
* * *
Valerie’s head ached. She groaned softly as she rubbed her eyes. Blinking a few times to clear the haze, she stared at the ceiling, which looked nothing like her apartment ceiling. This one was made of rough-hewn wood, not painted wallboard. The last thing she remembered was…a tiger! Sitting up with a gasp, she found herself in an unfamiliar bedroom, staring at a handsome man who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded.
He looked immediately familiar. Her mind raced, flashing through images of the tiger changing into a man. This man!
“I’m dead, right? I…this is not possible. Where the hell am I?” she asked, clutching the blanket close to her chest.
She couldn’t stop herself from noticing how gorgeous he was. Pale blond hair and piercing blue eyes, full lips and a set of broad shoulders that led to a tapered waist. He smiled, showing a dimple in one cheek, and said, “My name is Charisma Gains. You’re in my home, and you’re safe here.”
She couldn’t place it, but there was something familiar about him, and it wasn’t just that she’d seen him before she passed out. She felt like she’d known him her whole life. But that was insane, since she’d never met him before.
Swallowing hard, she ripped her gaze from his kissable mouth and said, “I’m Valerie Winters. How did I get here?”
He straightened and moved slowly to the bed, stopping when her knuckles cracked as she gripped the blanket more tightly. Keeping his distance, he said, “Where did you get the necklace?”
“I found it at a flea market. The woman I bought it from told me to put it on before the moon rose on All Hallows’ Eve. I did, and then I heard a tiger roar and I fell.” Shaking her head, she pushed the strange images out of her mind. There was no way that she’d put on a necklace and then woken up in a stranger’s bedroom.
“The medallion is mine. It belonged to my mother. I used a spell to send the necklace to my soulmate. When you put it on, it brought you here to me.”
She frowned. “Nope.”
His brows rose. “What?”
“That’s absurd. There’s no way that this necklace is magic. Magic isn’t real.”
“It’s very real. Come with me, Valerie,” he said, holding out his hand.
“No, thanks. I’d just like to go home now. I promise I won’t tell anyone that you kidnapped me.” She slipped from the bed slowly, realizing her shoes were on the floor and not on her feet. She liked those shoes, but she didn’t want to waste any time putting them on when she should be heading for freedom.
“I need you, Valerie. You’re my soulmate. The necklace was made for you and brought you to me.”
Fear spiked through her, but it didn’t linger. Her mind suggested she run for the hills, but her heart ached to take his offered hand.
Her voice was not as strong with conviction this time. “I don’t believe in magic.”
“You saw me shift.”
She shook her head. “An illusion. Or I’m dreaming, or I’m dead.” Glancing at her arm, she considered pinching herself. Before she could, Charisma growled softly. The sound shivered over her skin like a caress.
“None of those things. Let me show you where you are. Please. I promise I won’t hurt you.”
“I shouldn’t trust you.”
“But you do,” he murmured.
She rubbed the medallion absently and chewed on her bottom lip. The longer she spent in his presence, the less she wanted to get away. Part of her knew that must be a trick, but the majority of her wasn’t willing to walk away from such a sexy man without at least hearing him out. There had to be an explanation. Her mind flitted to the last paranormal romance novel she’d read, where the heroine had met a shifter and immediately fallen for him. They were called ‘truemates’ in that story. But shifters weren’t real; that’s why the stories were labeled as fiction.
“If shifters are real, why doesn’t anyone know about them?”
“What do you think would happen to a shifter if the human government got hold of them? It would be devastating, not only to that shifter, but to others. Our kind keeps our natures secret; otherwise, we would be hunted to extinction.”
She didn’t have to be a genius to know what he said was true. If shifters were known to humans, they’d be studied or killed or possibly both. Although she didn’t know Charisma, she felt a strong desire to keep his secret and ensure his safety.
Sliding her hand into his, she felt something like electricity arc between them. Her skin goosebumped, and her breath caught in her lungs for a brief moment. She heard purring. When she lifted her gaze to his, she saw that his eyes were molten gold and mesmerizing.
“Your eyes,” she whispered.
“Because you’re mine. My cat recognizes who you are to us. He wants to be close to you.”
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she didn’t respond, letting him lead her from the bedroom down a hallway. At the end of the hallway, they entered a large family room, with high ceilings and a beautiful stone fireplace that took up half of one wall. “This is my home. It’s yours now, too. All that I have is yours.”
“I have a home,” she pointed out. “And family and friends who’ll be worried about me. I’d like to leave now.”
He shook his head. “I can’t let you go. I need you.”
Extracting her fingers from his grasp, she took a step away from him, her gaze darting to the front door.
“Don’t run,” he cautioned, his voice tipping low and a soft growl bubbling up in his chest.
She hesitated for only a moment then raced for the door. She turned the handle and tugged, but the door wouldn’t open. Banging on it, she yelled, “Let me out of here!”
A roar shook the room, and she spun to face Charisma with a gasp. There were fangs in his mouth and a golden hue to his skin. Claws curved from his fingertips, and his lip curled in a snarl. “If you run, I’ll chase you. I won’t be able to help myself.”
Panic welled inside her so quickly she could have ch
oked on it. Reaching her trembling hands for the necklace clasp, she tried to undo it, but it wouldn’t release. “I’ll give the necklace back to you. It was clearly a mistake, and I’m sorry.”
“You can’t take it off. It will only come off after you agree to be mine and we consummate our mating.”
Her spine stiffened. “Seriously? What kind of girl do you think I am?”
“It’s magic, Valerie. I’m not going to hurt you. I need you.” His voice changed, from a growling tone to one of pleading. She felt like he was reaching inside her and squeezing her heart.
“What are you doing to me?” she whispered, pressing her palm to her chest.
He opened his mouth, but only an anguished groan came from his throat. He clutched his stomach and fell to the floor. She wanted nothing more than to go to him, but she ignored the impulse and turned to the door, rattling the knob several times. Moving to the window, she shoved the curtains back and gasped at the scene outside.
A small yard was bordered by woods. Through the thick trees, she could see the amber glow of dawn as the sun rose. The dark sky above the tall trees was slowly being taken over by the morning light. She pressed her fingertips to the glass, the cool surface making her shiver. She knew as she watched the sun rise that she was no longer in her own home. She wasn’t sleeping, or dreaming, or dead. She had, through some strange twist of fate or magic, put on a necklace and been transported into the home of a tiger shifter.
Her vision swam and darkness edged in on her, but she fought it away. She was not going to pass out again. She always hated reading about heroines who were such wusses that they fainted at anything even mildly frightening.
Charisma groaned again, and her heart panged. Turning to face him, she saw he was curled into a ball, with his arms around his middle. His handsome features were tightened in pain, and the fangs that had terrified her initially suddenly didn’t seem so bad. Moving to him, she went to her knees and brushed her fingers through his hair. The white-blond color had darkened to a tawny shade.
“What’s happening?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
He groaned, gritting his teeth as if a wave of pain had washed over him. “It’s part of the spell. The longer we’re physically apart, the more pain it causes me.”
She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. “You’re burning up.”
She moved to stand up and get him a cool, damp cloth, but he grasped her wrist. “Don’t go.”
“I’m not. I was going to get you some water and a cloth.”
“If you leave me I’ll go feral.” He blinked golden eyes at her, beseeching.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re my soulmate, the only one for me and my cat.” His voice rasped as he gritted his teeth in pain. “If you leave me before the moon rises tonight, your memory of me will disappear and my cat will take over. I’ll never be able to shift back into my human form again. The heartbreak will be too much for me to bear.”
“I’ll forget you?”
“Yes,” he hissed, the claws of his free hand digging into the hardwood floor.
She twisted her wrist until he released her, and then lifted his hand to her cheek. His palm was scorching hot, but she didn’t move it away. In all the romance novels she’d read over the years, she’d always wondered why the heroines didn’t immediately accept their sexy mates. She’d told Bethany that if she ever had a sexy guy who could shift into an animal tell her that they were destined to be together, she would happily follow along.
Charisma groaned again, his mouth parting and revealing his fangs. She could feel how much he was aching. Overcome with the desire to help him, she leaned over, keeping his palm against her cheek and bracing herself on the floor. “What do you need?”
“You,” he said, his voice a deep snarl that shivered down her spine.
“I know that,” she said, rolling her eyes. “How am I supposed to help you?”
“Mate with me. Stay with me.”
Something clicked inside her. A deep, feral part of her that she hadn’t even realized was there recognized the tiger inside Charisma. It seemed impossible – hell, it was impossible – but it was happening at that moment. A magical necklace had brought her to the home of a tiger shifter, and he needed her.
She wasn’t really an impulsive person; buying the necklace had been the most spontaneous thing she’d done in ages. Tears stung her eyes as she thought about returning to her home without him, about not remembering him.
“Promise me that I can still see my family and friends,” she said, gripping his wrist tightly.
“I swear.”
“What will our life be like?”
His gaze focused on her as he pulled his wrist down to his mouth and bit. Dark red blood welled in the puncture wounds. “Drink and see my truth.”
Her nose wrinkled at the thought of tasting his blood, but her stomach flipped and something deep inside her encouraged her to do as he said. Lifting his wrist to her mouth, she sealed her lips over the wound and sucked lightly. The metallic tang of his blood washed over her tongue and changed to a sweet nectar unlike anything she’d ever tasted before. Her vision dimmed and then a scene flashed before her eyes; her and Charisma in bed together, his fangs sinking into her neck as her body bowed back in pleasure. The scene changed and was replaced with two beautiful golden tigers roaming the woods, small cubs rolling and playing around them.
As the scene faded, she released her hold on his flesh and looked down at him. “Our kids? I’m not a tiger.”
“Eventually you’ll change, and I promise I’ll take you to your family to visit, but our secret will have to be kept.”
The desire to keep those little cubs safe at all cost filled her. Protectiveness for children she didn’t have yet rose so hot and fast inside her that she would have roared if she’d had the ability. Charisma growled, and his fangs cut his lips, his gaze intense and focused on her. She could have tried to leave now that he was incapacitated, fought against the growing attraction, but the desire to leave him had disappeared.
“I’m yours, Charisma,” she said. “I’m yours.”
5
Charisma saw the moment that Valerie realized he was telling the truth and accepted their life together. A tear slipped down her cheek.
“Would…someone hurt our babies?”
He rose onto one elbow, ignoring the ache that still gripped him. “I would never allow our children – or you – to be harmed, my sweet soulmate.”
She swallowed hard as he brushed the tear from her cheek. “What happens now?”
“Let me love you. Be mine, and I’ll be yours.”
“Will I change right away?” The subtle scent of fear, a tangy unpleasant scent to his cat’s senses, punctuated the air.
“No, love.” He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, slipping his hand from her cheek to her neck and massaging it lightly. “I’ll mark you while we make love. Each time we make love, I’ll share some of my blood with you. It will slowly alter your DNA until you’re able to shift. It will take weeks. Once you’re able to shift, you’ll be able to bear my children.”
“Tigers can shift when they’re little?”
The scent of her fear was gone, and he kissed her gently, nipping at her bottom lip. “When they’re toddlers. Sometime in their second or third year.”
“Did you see what I saw?”
He nodded. “The scenes flashed through my mind too. You can think of it as a gift from the spell, to share with us what we can be together.”
“I don’t really understand how a necklace could bring me here, but I do feel like we’re meant to be together. I can’t explain it, but maybe I don’t need to.” She smiled at him, her jade-green eyes glittering.
The pain that had ebbed came back suddenly. It felt like hands were twisting him apart from the inside. He snarled, his fangs throbbing in his mouth, gouging his gums as he clenched his teeth together to keep from grabbing her and marking her.
Rolling to his knees, he cupped her face and gazed into her luminous eyes. “Never.” He pressed his lips to hers, pushing back the cat so he could take their precious first time together to show her that he would always put her first.
He ran his fingertips down her throat as he teased her lips apart with his tongue. She opened her mouth with a sigh, touching her tongue to his and giving him his first exquisite taste. She tasted like sunshine; like heat and woman rolled together. Sliding his tongue against hers, he deepened the kiss, drawing her close as he fed at her mouth.
The soft material of her bra rubbed against his chest. He slid his fingers across her shoulders, pushing the straps off before sliding his hands around to the clasp in the back. His hands were trembling, but he willed himself to be calm, focusing on her sweet lips and the way her tongue eagerly chased his. Undoing the clasp, he tugged the bra forward, and she broke the kiss to help pull it off. Her breasts filled his hands as he cupped them, rubbing his thumbs over her nipples as they hardened under his touch. Lifting them up, he bent and kissed each hard tip. He dragged his tongue around one, loving the way she shivered as he drew it into his mouth and sucked. Her hands speared into his hair and she drew closer to him, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Her arousal deepened, the sweet aroma rising to saturate his senses and drive his cat wild. He licked her other nipple, plumping the lush mound and sucking the tip lightly.
Lifting from her breasts, he gazed down at her, aware they were on the hard floor and not in the bed. Pulling her close, he kissed her before he lifted her into his arms and stood. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled his throat. He walked swiftly to the bedroom, his body tight with need and desire riding him hard, then shoved back the covers and laid her down. She undid her jeans and pushed them down her hips. He tugged them off and tossed them aside. She stretched out on the mattress, her arms over her head as she spread her thighs and bit her bottom lip.