by Dante King
“Ape shifters,” Carli corrected with a snicker. “You should have seen these fucking things. Well, hell, you probably will sooner or later. Apes can move fast—almost like lightning bolts their damn selves. I barely made it back to my car in one piece.”
“You drove away?” It was an anticlimactic end to such a crazy story.
“Hell no! The shifters surrounded my car and ripped right through the wheels. I thought I was dead.” She glanced down into the depths of her drink, remembering. “That’s when I felt it. At first, I thought that crazy Pikachu Godzilla had come back—then I realized that what I was feeling was inside of me. That whatever I’d come into contact had put it there. And that, like it or not, it had given me the ability to fight…”
She glanced up, locking eyes with me. She didn’t need to say any more on that score. I’d felt the exact same thing, when I watched that wolf shifter nearly choke Soojin to death.
“You transformed,” I said. It wasn’t a question.
Carli nodded. “I was still outnumbered, but I gave them hell,” she said with a little laugh. “You know what it was like—you experienced the same thing. In that moment, the first time you transform, you aren’t thinking about how crazy it is or how you feel like something more than human or how you can no longer go back to your ordinary life. It’s just about survival, about killing. You know?”
I knew. The wave of red that covered my vision, the fury that filled me as I threw myself at the wolf shifters—all of it was a twin to what Carli had gone through that night. I tried to picture her tossing herself at the first ape, gouging out its eyes with brand-new claws. Moving with a power more primal than instinct.
I shuddered.
“I killed the first one before the rest even had time to notice the change,” Carli said, her voice brimming with pride. “They were fast, but I was even faster—and the stakes were different for me than it was for them. Attacking me was their mission, but mine was survival.”
Carli looked down at her hands, her face darkening as she remembered that night. “I almost died so many times. I took hit after hit, but every time I went down, I refused to stay that way. Long after the point where I thought I would’ve given up and died, I kept on fighting—kept on killing. Eventually, I made it to the point where it was just me and three of the ape shifters. If I’d been brought into the fight with fresh legs, I could have killed them—but I was bleeding from a dozen wounds at that point. Even the rage of the Raiju had begun to ebb.”
I knew that feeling, as well. The awful shifting as the power leached from between your fingers, when a new shifter finally hit the wall and reached the limits of their newfound powers.
“How’d you win?” I asked. Because Carli must have. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be here.
She smiled faintly. “They had me down on the ground,” she said, remembering it the way others might remember scoring a game-winning touchdown on the football field. “I think they were going to have a little fun with me before they finished me off, because I’d killed and hurt so many of their friends along the way. Plus, they’ve got that ape blood—which makes them vicious. To this fucking day, I can’t go to a zoo and look at one of those things from behind the glass. It’s like they’re plotting some way to get out and wrap their hands around my throat.”
Both of us got quiet for a few moments.
“So what happened next?” I asked, almost not wanting to hear it.
“One of them leaned over me,” she whispered. “Then it’s fucking head exploded.”
My eyebrows shot to my hairline.
“Believe me, I felt just as surprised,” she hastened to tell me. “I know she doesn’t really look like she can scrap, and it’s been a long time since she’s had to go beast mode, but trust me—when her back’s to the wall, there’s very few people in this world more dangerous than our friend Soojin.”
So that’s how they’d met.
“She saved you,” I realized.
“She killed two of the fuckers, then the last one ran,” Carli said. “By then, things weren’t making very much sense for me any more—I’d lost a lot of blood, as you can imagine. Soojin carried me to her car and got me somewhere safe. I woke up two days later covered in bandages, with someone spooning nasty-tasting medicine into my mouth. Remind you of anyone you know?”
“My mom,” I said with a chuckle.
“Exactly. Soojin has a thing about taking in strays. Anyway, that’s how I met her—turns out she’d been listening over the hunterwave and decided that a freshly minted legendary shifter needed a helping hand to avoid getting murdered. I’m glad she did—otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”
With that, she gestured around the expansive cave and its attendant apartment. I couldn’t disagree with her—Carli had done pretty good for herself.
Something occurred to me.
“Is Soojin your benefactor?” I asked. Maybe she made more money from the Dragon’s Hoard Apothecary Shop than I figured.
That brought a long, loud laugh from Carli.
“No, not Sooj,” she said, shaking her head. “She hooked me up with them, though. Back then, the mage-shifter alliance was a much bigger deal, and Soojin was able to pull some strings to get a brand-new shifter some time and money to get her feet under her. I never forgot it, either. I don’t see Sooj very often, but when she comes calling, I run.” Carli nudged me. “Like when she tells me some guy came into her apothecary shop smelling funny and she thinks he’s going to get himself in trouble before the night’s over.”
Suddenly, a whole lot of things made sense.
“She sent you to me,” I said, glancing at the closed door leading to the hallway where Soojin was treating Mom. “That’s why you were there to save me from the sewer troll!”
“She worries about Raya’s boy,” the shifter said, rocking back on her elbows. “She’s got a good heart, that one. You should be proud to count her as a friend.”
“Yeah,” I said, suddenly feeling a little awkward. “As a friend. Is that the whole story?”
Carli spread her hands. “It is. So now, I’m going to ask my question.”
I set my fairy mead down on the coffee table and leaned in close. “Go for it,” I said, putting a hand on her knee. “I’m just dying to hear this.”
Carli didn’t disappoint. She scrunched up her face cutely, leaned in close, and put her lips against my ear.
Then she asked her question.
“Just what the hell were you and Soojin doing while I was cleaning up those bodies?”
Chapter 14
I froze. It felt like all the blood had suddenly drained out of my body. All except for my cheeks, which felt hotter than a Fourth of July barbeque.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
Carli pulled back, an impish grin on her features. “You heard me, normie boy. Soojin disappeared for like twenty minutes while I was cleaning up the mess those wolf shifters left in your Mom’s condo. So dish already!”
My fight or flight response went into overdrive. The urge to get up from the couch and bolt into another room, or take off screaming into the darkness of the cave network surrounding us, was so strong as to be nearly irresistible.
Somehow, I managed to stay seated on the couch, covering my shock with a sip of fairy mead.
“I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say,” I finally whispered.
“Come on,” Carli purred, nudging me with her elbow. “She’s in there taking care of Raya. She’s not going to hear a thing. There ain’t nobody here but us chickens. So tell me what happened.”
I stared at her blankly. “You’re serious?”
Carli put her drink down, grinning like a fox. “Did you fuck her? That’s all I want to know—I promise I won’t pry any further than that. Just satisfy my curiosity this one little bit, please?”
What. The. Fuck.
“You want to know if I had sex with your friend?” I asked, staring at Carli with incomprehension.
“Uh, yeah? She
was grinning like a fucking idiot when she came back from ‘handing you towels’ in the shower, so I’m assuming you at least made her cum…”
Laughter broke from my throat. “Okay, we’re not having this conversation,” I said, setting my drink aside. “Both of us must be way too wasted off this fairy mead. And for the record, I did not fuck Soojin.”
My response didn’t daunt Carli in the slightest. “Ah, but I couldn’t help but hear that little bit of extra emphasis you put on the F-bomb,” the Raiju shifter purred. Suddenly, Carli was on all fours again, readying herself across the cushions like she was about to pounce on me. “Which means you did something else. Maybe not a home run, but you and her definitely rounded a few bases, didn’t you?”
“Why do you want to know so bad?” I asked, backing toward the arm on my side of the couch. I couldn’t believe how forward Carli was being—even for a supernatural creature, this was nearly too much. Surely the culture was different among mages and shifters, but I had a hard time believing they’d be this excited to discuss their friend’s sexual conquests.
Carli cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips. “Because,” the shifter said teasingly, “I want to know which of us planted our flag first.”
It took a few moments for the full import of her statement to sink in. When it did, the blush rose hotter and more noticeable on my face.
“Wait a second,” I said, holding up a hand. “You…”
“Want to fuck you,” Carli finished for me. “Uh, duh. Men. I swear—a girl can put a guy’s hand right up her panties before the first date, and he’s still clueless about the fact that she’s maaaaybe DTF?”
My mind whirled as I tried to process all this. The fairy mead didn’t help; nor did the large amount of beer I’d consumed.
“But if you want to go to bed with me,” I said, trying to push my sluggish thoughts into motion, “why do you want to hear about Soojin!?”
Carli glanced to the left, then the right, as if she expected a hidden camera crew to emerge from the mouth of the cave at any moment.
“Because it’s fun?” she said with a shrug. “And like I said, I want to know if she got to you first. So dish, Derek! Did you get laid or not?”
What the hell? This whole conversation was crazy—I might as well roll with it. Carli certainly didn’t seem shy about the subject, so why was I?
“I didn’t get laid,” I admitted. “I was taking a shower, and she came in. She gave me the towels, like she told you, then we started talking about what it’s like to come down from your first time shifting into a beast form. How it keys you up, and you need to relax after…”
“So she relaxed you,” Carli said with a wolfish grin. “Is that it?”
“In a manner of speaking,” I said, glancing to the side. Even though Carli had said there was no way for Soojin to overhear us, I still wasn’t quite sure.
I figured that answer would be enough to satisfy Carli.
I was wrong.
“So what, did she—” Carli made a jerking off motion with one hand, grinning as she did it. “Or was it more like…”
Right in front of me, without a hint of shame, this legendary Raiju shifter stuck her tongue in one cheek and mimicked giving a blowjob.
“The, uh, the second one,” I said. Because what else could you say?
“Killer. It was good, right?” Carli leaned in closer, as if she could gain some sort of refracted pleasure from recounting the act. “God, I bet Soojin’s amazing in bed. She’s always so attentive and giving with her friends. Probably gives amazing head, too…”
“I cannot believe we’re having this conversation,” I said, shaking my head.
Suddenly, Carli was in my lap.
“Me either,” she purred against my ear. Suddenly, she was as warm and loving as a man could possibly want. “I’m glad we did, though. Really glad. Want to know why?”
I did.
“Because now I know she didn’t fuck you,” the shifter purred, nibbling at my bottom lip. “And I really, really wanted to be the first one of us to get to do that…”
Her hot mouth parted for me, and then the two of us were making out. My tongue slid into her mouth, making her moan as she arched her back and ground her hips against mine.
I grabbed her around the waist and shifted her, pushing her back against the couch as my tongue quested further in her mouth, kissing her harder. Deeper.
Her arms wrapped around mine, tugging at my clothes. It was like someone had tripped a secret signal—the alcohol and the lust that had been building in the room during our conversation finally boiled over, taking both of us with it.
“Fuck me,” Carli whimpered, her tongue tracing a circle around my sensitive earlobe. “Don’t worry about anyone hearing, baby. Even if Soojin figures out what we’re doing, she won’t mind. She’s not the jealous type…”
I wouldn’t have believed that ten minutes ago—but I did now. Something about these supernatural women just made them different from the girls I knew back in the ‘normie’ world. Carli hadn’t been fazed in the slightest to hear about Soojin giving me a blowjob, and something inside me knew my future relations with Soojin wouldn’t be impacted in the slightest by fucking her friend.
I’m the luckiest son of a bitch in the world, I thought, reaching for the straps of Carli’s tank top.
One spaghetti-thin strip of fabric slid down her arm, revealing even more of her perky, heaving breast. I couldn’t take it any longer—I broke the kiss, then traced my teeth down to the hem of her shirt and tugged with my mouth. One of her tits came free, perfect and curvy and topped with a diamond-hard nipple the same dark shade as her hair.
“Oh fuck,” Carli whimpered, pushing my face between her breasts. “My nipples are so fucking sensitive, Derek. I don’t know if it’s a Raiju thing, but I just love having them sucked…”
I think it’s more of a woman thing, I thought, putting one of her nipples into my mouth and sucking it. Carli reacted like I’d struck her with a taser, the fire inside of her going supernova as I ran my tongue and lips over her sensitive nub.
Husky moans broke from the shifter’s throat as I tugged her to the cushions, laying her across the couch as I kept peppering her tits with kisses and consistent little licks. It couldn’t have been more clear that Carli was ready to fuck—but I wanted to take it slow.
Take my time.
Enjoy it.
Eventually, though, the iron rod in my pants grew too hard to ignore. The pure need inside of me felt overwhelming, and Carli knew it.
Her hands tugged at my belt, removing my pants and leaving me in nothing but my boxer shorts. She leaned back and took off her own top, leaving her naked above the waist, then flashed a cat-like grin as she hooked her thumbs in her short skirt.
“You want me to leave the stockings on, or take them off?” she asked, showing off her garter belt and the black silk panties she had on under the skirt. My mind instantly filled with thoughts of pulling those panties to the side, of leaving them coated and sticky with my seed.
“On,” I said, pulling her skirt down her tanned thighs. “You look fucking incredible in them.”
“I thought you’d say that,” Carli purred, flipping over.
Her pert, round ass stuck into the air like an open invitation, and without saying a word, I knew she wanted me to spank it.
Asking would have ruined the fun, so I brought my hand down on her panties with a thick slap, enough to fill the apartment with the sound of it.
“Ah!” Carli’s eyes rolled back in her head—I could feel the warmth between her legs.
Her panties began to soak as I spanked her again and again, tugging the fabric to the side so I could leave handprints on her bare ass cheek. By the time I was done, Carli was begging through tears of joy for me to fuck her.
Jesus, I needed this so badly. I needed her. I couldn’t wait to be inside of her.
Carli lifted one leg over the arm of the couch, putting the other one on the floo
r. The motion made her do the splits like a dancer, putting her round ass in the air with her swollen, dripping mound just underneath. She rubbed herself through her panties, the living room filling with the feral tang of her sex.
I mounted her from behind, my hands going everywhere. I squeezed her soft breasts, pinching the nipples as she pressed her back against my chest. A stoned, blissful grin spread across Carli’s face as she leaned back and made out with me, grinding herself against that hot point of need between my legs. Fuck, she was so good at it—if she kept up this way, she’d get me off before I even made it inside her.
I couldn’t have that, could I?
Tugging down my boxers, I rubbed my cock between her ass cheeks. Carli groaned as she felt my full girth against her, throbbing with need.
“Fuck, you’re so big,” the shifter panted, sliding a hand into her panties to get her pussy nice and wet for me. “I don’t know if you’re going to be able to fit all that inside of me, Derek…”
I cut off her words with another deep, passionate kiss. My free hand tangled in her hair, pinning her body against mine as I prepared to fill her with my cock. She tugged her panties to the side, exposing her dripping slit as she thrust herself back on me, desperate with need.
Still I teased her. The crown of my cock pushed gently against her opening, swirling around the throbbing nub of her clit until Carli whined and moaned like an animal caught in a trap. Drool trickled from the side of the shifter’s mouth as she rode the feelings, her claws digging into the leather of the couch.
“Please,” she finally begged. “Fuck, I can’t take it anymore! Fucking fuck me already, Derek! I need to feel you inside me!”
That was all the permission I needed.
Grabbing her hair with one hand and her hip with the other, I braced myself against the floor and slammed forward like a piston, filling her tight pussy to the hilt. Both of us cried out with pleasure as I sank home, bottoming out inside of her like her tight, wet opening had been custom built to fit me.
The heat and friction were incredible—she hadn’t been lying about it being a challenge to fit me. Her walls were so snug around me that it was hard to tell where Carli ended and my cock began.
