by Arya Karin
Jamie, my fox shifter friend, said it was hundred times worse for a pureblood to mingle with humans in any way other than platonic.
The elder glanced back at sexy sunglass guy in the corner, then back to me. “You begin to choose your court within the hour. Pick your lovers before all our single men perish from insanity and you doom our kind to extinction.”
“Why me?” I burst out. “I mean I'm only a half-breed. Surely there is someone from one of the packs or prides that is more suited than me.” Like Jamie. She’d jump at a chance to pick twelve lovers.
“Don't sell yourself short,” a male voice whispered in my ear but when I spun to find who said that, no one was close enough or looked like they’d spoken.
When I faced the elder, to my left the sunglass guy held up a beer bottle in salute. How did he speak to me from across the room like that? And did the council know he had brought alcohol into their meeting? I was told no booze allowed. Guess that was one way to lessen the craziness of this situation.
“Every generation, a female from a clan is chosen.” The elder motioned to the other elders on the panel who nodded in agreement. “All shifters have had their turn and it is the coyote cycle now.”
Still, why me? I shook my head. “But there are tons of female coyote shifters, so why request me? Any of the others can step in.”
“No, they can't.” Mr. Sexy Sunglasses stood up and sauntered over. The weres in the room stepped out of his way like he was an alpha or something, but I didn't pick up that vibe from him. In fact, if I’d bumped into him on the street, I wasn't sure I’d have any idea he was even a shifter.
“Why not?” I looked from Sunglasses approaching and back to the elder.
“As the thirteenth zodiac, you alone can mate with any shifter here and they, you.”
Fuck! So I was their magic sex toy and they wouldn’t have any problems having sex with me at all despite my half-blood status. I was in a roomful of horny shifters who had been waiting years to bone someone. The thought sent both desire and terror shooting into my gut.
“Wrestle up some other coyote gal. I'm not interested.” The hell with this. I had enough on my plate with helping out my aunt, finding my father, and earning enough with my limited witch skills to pay the bills. I spun on my heel to leave.
Abruptly, the room’s murmuring changed to howls and snarls as werewolves and panther shifters and all the young single men started throwing punches and kicks.
“Get her out of here!” the elder bellowed. He and the other elders dashed to the exit.
A lion shifter snatched my arm and yanked me forward. His eyes shone golden in the light as though he in the midst of transforming. He hauled me closer and kissed me before I could blink. His lips crushing mine and his erection jamming into my hip.
I shoved him back but another guy groped my ass. Spinning, I kicked him in the knee and he crumpled. Good to know mine and Aunt Jess’ kickboxing classes were beneficial.
Two bear shifters pressed up on either side of me, each with one hard-on digging into my front and the other into my back like they were the bread and I was the middle of a sex sandwich.
A hawk shifter circled overhead and landed on the bear shifter's shoulder in front of me and dug its claws into the guy. The shifter roared and transformed into his animal form.
Shit, shit, shit!
From behind, bear guy cupped my breasts, kneading them. A wave of desire crashed into me but I fought the tide of desire and elbowed the dude on the side of his neck but his hazy gaze told me I hadn't even phased him. Now he tweaked my nipples through my bra and a thunderbolt of desire soared through my middle.
One of the silverback ape’s from the doorway crouched before me, inhaling the scent of my sex. My legs nearly buckled as he nuzzled me through my jeans.
What the holy fuck? If I didn't do something soon, this place was going to turn into a freaking orgy with me in the middle of sixty guys and I was sure I’d die before they all finished.
I forced my hand to move to the charm bracelet and not slink out of my clothes to see how many orgasms I could have before passing out or dying.
At first, my hand slipped on the silver bangles and I gritted my teeth as any shifter not touching me tried to get closer, their hands exploring and caressing me or fighting with one another to keep others away.
I was pushed through the crowd like it was a mosh pit. All the hands on me made me dizzy and horny. What the fuck is happening? Someone pushed my boobs up and they spilled from the cups into warm hands that sent a surge of pleasure through me. The buildup of my own desires tore into me. If I didn't use the right charm, I was going to let every guy here fuck me.
A shiver of pleasure rolled through me. An ache blossomed deep inside my belly and pooled between my sex. I needed them. Goddess help me, but I wanted all of them… now. It was like all the times I’d wanted to be with a guy or watched a porn and couldn't get laid all rolled into this one instance with a thousand pounds of lust and horniness added in.
Nearest to me, I ripped off sexy sunglasses guy’s shirt and kissed him hard. His mouth and tongue molded to mine for a moment before he pulled away and I pouted.
“Control yourself or you’ll have every guy in here as your mate,” Sexy sunglass guy said, then clenched his teeth so hard the muscle in his jaw ticked.
How was it he wasn’t as affected as the rest of them? Three guys behind me and they ground their pelvis against me and a haze of lust swirled in my brain. But part of me screamed inside that sunglasses was right. If I didn’t do something soon, they would pulverize my bones, then turn on each other, ripping bodies apart.
I can do this. I squeezed my eyes shut and blocked out the sensations of dozens of men touching me. My legs trembled, but I grasped the silver ice charm on my bracelet. A guy licked my lips, sucking on them. I gasped from as the ache inside me quadrupled. I could barely stand up and it was only the bodies pressing on every side of me that kept me upright. But when I opened my eyes, Mr. Sunglasses filled my vision. Like the others were part of a dream…a fantasy gone out of control. It would be so easy to give in and let the men fight for me. To choose the winners from combat and keep the ones who were making it hard for me to think or resist.
Except I wanted to know more about sexy sunglass guy. And wipe the frown off his face. Hear him laugh even. Yet, he stood there rigid, watching me and I felt the heat of his stare even though I couldn’t see his eyes.
Okay Karen, invoke the charm. Twelve guys is a whole lot more doable than sixty-ish. All I needed to do was pick a shifter from each zodiac sign and be done. The others would move on and find their mates.
I clutched the silver token of an ice cube and ripped it off the bracelet. Jerking away from the excellent kisser, I nearly went back to his mouth, but spat out the spell. “Ervia Kenteck!”
Instantly, everyone in the room froze. Except for me. And when Mr. Sexy Sunglasses stepped forward I gasped.
He grabbed my forearm and drew me toward the stairs. “Let’s get you out of here before your hormones attract every shifter in the city.”
Chapter Three
Sunglass guy dragged me out of the room with the frozen shifters and to the elevator.
“Hey, let go!” I wrestled from his grasp. “The elevator’s broken anyway, jerk.” I rubbed my wrist where he'd seized me.
“Sorry.” He held out his hand for me to give him my arm.
It wasn't bad, a slight skin burn was all. I showed him my injury and he cupped his hands around my wrists. Then he breathed underneath where his hands cradled my abrasion and a coolness seeped into my flesh. When he pulled away, I gasped. My wrist was healed.
He tapped the button to the elevator.
“Hey, I already told you its brok—”
The elevator dinged open. Of course, it did. Earlier the damn thing never made a peep or anything no matter how many times I hit the button.
I walked into the elevator and he marched in after me.
“So ar
e you a wizard or something?” I inhaled trying to distinguish his scent now that we weren't in a room full of twelve different types of shifters. But my senses only caught a mix of smoke and a sweet spiciness like cinnamon. He smelled yummy whatever he was.
“Calm your hormones, Karen,” he said.
What was wrong with me? Here this guy was virtually a stranger and I was getting turned on again. A change of topic might help. “So how come my charmed spell didn't work on you?” By all accounts, it should've made everyone in the whole room, except me as the caster, freeze.
“I'm not a typical shifter. My kind are rare.”
The elevator shimmed down, and I crossed my arms. “Oh?”
He glanced at me that even with his sunglasses, I felt the heat of his stare.
“Well?” I raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to make me guess?” Was he one of the ones I had to choose to make the circle of twelve shifters around me like the elder instructed? Would I have to sleep with all of them? The thought had wetness pooling between my legs. I gasped at the intensity that flooded me. Instinctively, I grasped the metal side rail inside the elevator to stop from launching myself onto him. My nails digging into the railing.
When the elevator finally unlocked, I stumbled out and gulped the sweet air. What the fuck was wrong with me?
Outside, he led me to a red corvette and opened the passenger door for me.
“How do I know I can trust you? That you're not some crazed serial killer?” I stood between him and the door. My aunt didn't raise a fool.
Around us, the early morning traffic buzzed. Several passersby hustled down the sidewalk with a few giving us a wide berth and a few others casting lingering glances at us. Two of the women winked at him.
“You don't know anything about me, you’re right.” He sighed. “But soon even the humans here will be drawn to you and we can't have a mixed circle with anyone other than shifters. And your spell is fixing to wear off and all the weres in that room will come swarming for you.”
I cringed. What choice did I have? I'd been swept away earlier with the heavy scent of male and lust in the room before and it was only this guy who had broken through the sexual haze and escorted me out of there and regain my senses. And how the hell did he know how long my spell would last?
“I'm not getting into this car until you tell me who the fuck you are and what is going on with me.”
He ran a hand through his brownish red hair. “I'm Caine.”
“No last name?” I was at least going to email my Aunt Jess to let her know who I was with in case I disappeared. That way the cops would know who to chase down.
“Smith.”
I paused pulling my cell from my back pocket. “You're kidding right?”
“Nope. Now, are you going to get in the car or not?”
“Fine.” I yanked my phone out and clicked his picture.
He shielded his eyes. “What the fuck was that for?”
“Sorry, but I have to let someone know who I'm with and your last name is too common.” I slid into the car then sent his photo along with a name and brief message to my aunt.
He closed the door and jogged around to the driver's seat. I clicked my seatbelt on when howls sounded in the distance. It was only my half-coyote side that allowed me to hear them at all. I searched around to find where it was coming from exactly.
Caine jumped into the car and slammed the door shut. “And now the fun begins.” His foot punched the gas and we skidded from the sidewalk.
“Whoa!” I held onto the seat as he careened through a red light and changed gears. “You're going too fast. We're in the freaking city.”
“Look behind you.” Caine didn't take his gaze off the road.
Wha—? I glanced in the side mirror. Yards behind us, shifters ran in their animal form. And they appeared...feral. Their eyes were wide and mouths snapping at each other as they came. Pedestrians who stood in their way were bowled over and trampled beneath them.
“Stop! We have to help those people.”
“No.” He changed gears again. “The only way to aid is to get out of the city and for you to select your twelve.”
But how could I? All of these men were strangers. I couldn’t pick twelve random guys to mate with. “Just tell the council to pick for me so this will end.” Wasn't like I had any choice it seemed.
“It doesn't work that way.” He jerked the wheel, and I smacked my elbow into the car door.
I bit back a curse. A thump sounded on top of the car.
“Fuck!” Caine yanked the car the other way and we skidded into donuts.
Black claws pierced through the roof, leaving a hole in the car’s roof as it aimed for me. I sunk down, scrolling through my charms for which would be the right one to use. These were blessed talismans and with my magic to trigger them, they amplified my power to actually make a dent in what I wanted rather than fizzle out after a few seconds.
A hairy hand reached deeper into the car and rummaged for me. Beady eyes stared at me. It was one of the silverback gorilla guards from the council meeting.
Snapping off a pillow icon, I screamed a spell and pressed it to the shifters arm. Instantly, he fell asleep but his body still clung to the roof of the car.
Caine slammed on the breaks and I was slung forward, my forehead grazing the dashboard before the seatbelt yanked me back. The gorilla shifter grunted, slipping partially down the front window.
Before I could shout at Caine, I turned to see what he stared at. In the middle of the road stood two grizzly bears.
Fuck! “Why’d you stop?”
“Hang on.” He pushed the gear into reverse and sped backward. As soon as we cleared to a side road, he shoved the car into drive. Passed out gorilla guy tumbled off the roof and rolled down onto the concrete. Goddess, I hope he didn't get run over by another car.
“Shit, how do we shake them?”
Caine upped the car into third gear as we raced down a side street towards the freeway.
I rubbed my forehead from where I'd struck it, my headache blooming behind my eyes. Even if the shifters couldn't bone anyone until I picked one from each zodiac but that didn't explain why they were all acting crazed. Well, except Caine.
“No, it's rational given the fact that the council took too long to find you.” He spun out onto a dirt path. The lights of the freeway twinkled in the distance. “Two full moons ago, you should've chosen your twelve. If the council had contacted me earlier, none of this would be happening. It took me three days to locate you and confirm you were the Ophiuchus.”
“Wait.” I sat up straighter in my seat and adjusted the strap digging into my shoulder. “Like the newest astrology sign?” I raked my memory on what the constellation even looked like. I'd always thought of myself as Sagittarius being born November 30th and following the witch and human zodiac birth signs. And my shifter affiliation was Scorpio though as were all coyote’s.
We merged onto the freeway, and I kept checking the side mirror for any shifters following us.
When a van rattled up next to us, I tensed.
Caine chuckled. “Don't worry, those aren't our kind, they’re just human.”
“How do you know?” I asked as the driver leered at me.
“’Cause right now, all the shifters are super horny and can only think with their dicks or in their animal form. They won't be able to operate a vehicle.”
I pointed my chin. “What about you? You seem fine enough to drive. Which kind are you?”
His knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, turning white. “Can you roll down your window a bit? Your scent is starting to get to me too and I'd rather not transform in my car.”
“Sure.” I hurriedly let in a breeze and his shoulders relaxed some. “Now will you tell me what you are exactly?”
With a nod, Caine removed his sunglasses. Glowing amethyst eyes stared back at me. Shit! Realization crash into me to what he might be, and I scrambled to open the door despite that we were going eighty d
own the freeway.
He chuckled. “Yup. I can always bet on that reaction so I have childproof locks on that door.”
My heart hammered in my chest. His kind ate shifters...and humans. No, this had to be a mistake. My breaths came out in pants and I couldn't get enough air. I jammed the button to lower the window more. It would be tight, but I’d climb through. When the glass didn't go down farther than halfway, icy daggers stabbed my lungs, and I couldn't breathe. He'd rigged this car as a death trap and I was trapped inside with a monster.
Chapter Four
None of my charms would work against Caine. Shit, I could throw them all at him at once and say my strongest spell and maybe make him sneeze. Here I was trapped with a freaking dragon.
Yup, they existed and were extremely rare. As one of the zodiac signs, they were at the top of the list and the food chain. And in the past, they had no qualms about eating anyone else: human or fellow shifter.
I had to figure a way out while he insisted I join him, and now we were speeding down the highway to god knows where.
“Where are you taking me?” If I could get prepared, know what he had planned I’d figure out a way to escape.
He glanced at me with a mix of hunger and lust in his expression, and I shivered, then licked my lips and tried to sound casual.
“Are there any bathroom breaks on this trip? And I could sure use a soda.”
A motorcycle zoomed past us. Who was I fooling? Caine could smell my fear from miles away. But he changed lanes and exited the freeway anyway. He pulled up next to a gas pump and flipped off the engine.
“Don't try anything silly. I'll be able to track you no matter where you go or how fast.”
“Right.” I forced a smile. Think calm, happy thoughts and not about him charcoaling me or chomping on my bones. I scrambled out of the car. My legs wanting to run but I forced each slow step and opened the door to the women's restroom. Thankfully, it was empty. I glanced around for an escape route. And of course, no windows in the place. Why did people build public bathrooms with no way to escape crazies like a fire-breathing dragon?
