by Livell James
They drove for what seemed liked hours before turning off onto the exit. Then a few more miles turning off between the trees onto a dirt road. It looked as if no one had been there in years. A patch of grass ran down the middle of the tire tracks and the trees overgrew the sides. After about one hundred yards, the woods opened up onto clearing. A beautiful wooden cabin sat right in the middle with a small pond behind it. It was a place where any shifter would love to live in solitude, but it was a little creepy coming here with a guy she didn’t know.
Jordan pulled the truck into the space beside the cabin and put it in park. He turned in his seat and looked over at her. “I really don’t want to be in any trouble. I will let you stay here for a couple of days, but you really have to figure out where you want to go. You seem like a nice girl Raine. I just can’t have a criminal laid up in my place, you know.”
“I am no criminal; I simply made a mistake. If you will just take me back to the highway, I will be on my way today,” Alley whimpered.
He began to mumble and tried to backtrack his words.
“That didn’t come out like I planned it. I mean you can stay here. I am just a little freaked out by the whole killing someone thing. How do I know you did it by mistake, and you aren’t just telling me what I want to hear?” He rubbed his hand through his hair.
Alley shook her head and opened the door. She knew no matter what she said to him, he would still be freaked out. He seemed like a grown ass, spoiled man. Alley would crash here for a few hours’ sleep and then be on her way. Once again, she would sneak out and be gone while no one was watching. While he was sleeping.
Chapter Five
Maxwell heard his phone vibrating on the console. The caller ID said Marcel. It hadn’t been twenty-four hours since he had sent the email with Alley’s information. There was no way he could have found out anything that soon. Reaching down, Max answered the phone through the Bluetooth in the Tahoe. “Hello.”
“Max, you’re never going to believe this shit, man. Turns out my little cousin picked your girl up on his way up to his hunting cabin yesterday. What are the chances of this happening? I will send you the address in a text as soon as we’re off the phone. This is just crazy, and almost too damned easy. I would have thought a fox would be a little slyer.” Marcel laughed into the phone.
“What, that is crazy. There is no way she is going to get caught that easily. Thanks for the call man. I will be looking for the text message. You did tell him not to call the human law, right?”
“Yeah, that is why he called me first. He remembered me training with Colton. So, he called me wanting to know what he should do. He has always been a spoiled ass kid, and he freaked out when she told him she was on the run. His animal, which is also a fox, told him he could not trust her.
“He promised he wouldn’t call the police until you showed up. If I know foxes, you should probably get there as quickly as possible. He said she was one of those that would do anything to get what she wanted. I didn’t respond to that one. Either way, I will let you go so you can take care of business. The text message is on its way. Talk soon.”
“Thanks, man,” Max replied as he hung up the phone.
He wondered just what she would do to get her way. The thought sent his mind into overdrive. What had she done with Marcel’s cousin? The more it ran through his mind the more he began to be pissed off about it. He’d no idea why he was getting pissed off, she wasn’t his mate. Not even his girlfriend for that matter. Hell, she didn’t even have a clue who Maxwell Carter even was.
He pulled off the highway at the next exit turning into the first gas station on the right. He picked up his phone and copied the address into his GPS. Another crazy ass coincidence. The GPS said he was only five miles from the location. He knew this was all to good to be true. None of his cases were ever this easy. Really, what are the chances of her getting into a vehicle with a Rogue Enforcer’s cousin, and it just so happen to be the guy he called to help him with the case? Now she was only five miles away from where he was parked. Definitely too good to be true.
He placed the phone back into the console, put the SUV in drive, and turned left onto the two-lane road. It seemed as if he was only driving for a few minutes when the GPS told him to turn off on a little road that could barely be seen between the trees. He drove up, parking in front of the little cabin nestled in the trees.
His falcon pushed forward when he noticed the pond. I bet there are some nice fish in there, his animal told him.
Max ignored the words, knowing he was here for one reason and it wasn’t letting the falcon fish in the pond. Stepping out onto the ground, the leaves crinkled under his feet. He took in a deep breath and stood with his eyes closed for a moment, taking in the smells of the forest. He could see why any shifter would want to stay out here. The place was beautiful and not another soul was in sight. Before he could even open his eyes, the screen door flew open. It looked wrinkly as the spring on it slapped it back closed. The guy who stood before him was unlike anyone he had ever seen. He had seen guys with red hair before, but this guy was different. His eyes were as green as the trees with a golden rim around the edges. Then it hit him. This guy was a shifter and he had begun to shift as he ran out the door.
“Are you the Enforcer guy? Max? I think that’s what my cousin said your name was?”
Max nodded, not replying as he continued to study the other man.
“She left; I was in the shower. She must have seen you coming up the drive. I am not sure, either way she ran out the door just before you pulled up. I ran out after her, but you were obviously standing in my way.” Jordan tried to push past him.
“First of all, I am not in your fucking way, second of all if you run after her she is only going to run farther away.” Stripping off his clothes without another word, Max shifted and flew over the trees.
It wasn’t long before he found the fox running through the woods. He swooped down in front of her, but she ran faster. After doing that several times, he finally dipped again, hitting her in the neck this time. He would never hit a woman, but he had to stop this one, and for now this was the only way he knew how. Being she was in her fox form it wouldn’t really hurt her, it would only knock her off her feet. He even took a tumble himself, shifting just before hitting a tree.
He turned, finding the most beautiful women he had ever seen laid naked on the ground behind him, with a backpack around her shoulders. Her red hair looked as if not a strand was out of place. She had pale, creamy, silky, and smooth white skin. Even with the dirt and leaves stuck to her, her curves still looked like that of an hourglass. This was the type of woman that men only dreamed about.
He wished he had another way of stopping her from running, but had he stood in front of her as a human, there was no way he could stop the fox, and she could have turned on a dime to run the other way.
“I am sorry, I hope I didn’t hurt you.” Max walked over holding out his hand to help her up, forgetting that he was naked, his dick just inches from her face.
A look of shock covered Alley’s face, and she pulled away to cover herself, but he wasn’t sure if it was from him knocking her over or if it was the size of his anatomy.
Either way he acted as if they were both clothed and extended his hand once more.
“The name’s Maxwell, again I’m sorry for running into you like that. It was the only way I could stop you. It may not seem like it in the moment, but I’m here to help you.” This time she took his hand, and he pulled her up from the ground. Pulling her hand from his, she wiped the leaves and dirt from her ass.
“I’m Alley. Do you always fly around attacking animals, were you fucking hunting me for prey?”
Max stood with his arms crossed, giving her the best serious face, he could without laughing. He wanted to laugh. She was a tough little fox, even in her human form she was a feisty one. Damn those green eyes were dangerous though. Circles of light dotted her pupils. He opted for a smirk, holding back his laug
hter.
“Hunting you yes, for prey no. I’m member of the Rogue Enforcers and I was sent here to protect you from the humans. You are in more danger than you will ever know, Alley.” Max backed away giving her, her space.
“I know how much danger I’m in, and I do not need protecting. You’re a fucking Enforcer, whether it be Rogue or Blood and Bone Enforcer. You are still one and right now I am not so sure I can trust any law enforcement, human or not. I have to do what is best for me and right now that’s escaping from you.”
Chapter Six
Alley shifted and took off in the other direction. Just before doing so she noticed his arm and hoped it would buy her more time, since it would take him longer to take flight. She also didn’t think about her animal not being able to control its shifting when she was nervous, once again leaving her laying naked on the ground. Curse words left her lips before she took a few deep breaths and shifted again—this time talking to the fox, letting her know that everything, no matter what, was going to be okay hoping to ease her animal’s mind, letting her stay focused. She had to learn to control the animal with her mind, making them one in the same. Their minds had to become one. She had never really practiced it much. She was new to this whole shifter thing. She unlike other shifters of her kind wasn’t born a shifter—at least not technically.
A few years before she killed the rabbit, she’d gotten sick and needed a blood transfusion. Or so that was what she was told. She didn’t remember a few days of her life, and when she woke up, she was in a different hospital than the one she had gone into days before. She was told she had been transferred there because she needed blood. Only, she later found out that wasn’t the case. She had been sent there because she wasn’t expected to live. Her family signed papers to have her sent to the Indiana School of Science—the secret name for the shifter hospital in their state.
They were all fox shifters, except her father. Alley had never shown signs of being shifter. Everyone always brushed it off as she must be as human as her father. That all changed after she was finally given the blood transfusion—blood that they had taken from her brother, her brother who had a very dominant shifter gene. She had the same gene, but it had supposedly laid dormant before they gave her the blood of a stronger shifter. Once the blood entered her veins, her animal sprung to life. And in that moment, she shifted, snatching all the lines and tubes from her body. She couldn’t leave the room, but she did run in circles tearing it apart before they came in and sedated her. Maybe she actually was born a shifter.
Whether she was or wasn’t, though, she still hadn’t grown up thinking she was one.
She stopped for a moment to gain focus again. We’ve got this girl. Taking a deep breath, she stood, she had been still too long. Letting her mind clear, she hit all fours just as the fox’s paws hit the ground. Again, she ran, and she could hear the screeches from the falcon above her, and she knew he was in flight somewhere nearby. It didn’t give her much time now.
She had to stay focused, don’t lose focus. If she did, she would lose the animal again. This time she wouldn’t have time to run before he caught up to her. Did she have time to run now? She honestly didn’t know.
Leaping from one side of the path to the other, she gained speed. Just a few feet ahead, she noticed a cave. That would be too obvious, the first place anyone would hide if they were running from something, or someone. She stopped for a brief moment to notice her surroundings.
I need you to keep calm, we must stay in animal form to hide from him, she told her animal.
Her fox pushed forth in her mind and agreed. Alley was sure she had it under control, just before jumping into a hole under a tree stump.
This is your idea of hiding? The animal stayed calm, but didn’t agree with her choice of places to hide from Max. You know he can fit in here as well as you can.
He will have to find us—
She hadn’t even finished her sentence before a bird popped its head into the hole in which she was hiding. It was him. There were no birds like that anywhere in the United States. She began to dig, hoping she could burrow herself out—only to hit roots from the tree, no matter which way she tried to dig.
Having nowhere to go, she could only sit there hoping he would leave her; she knew the bird wasn’t strong enough to pull her out once she dug her claws into a root. If he was brave enough to stick his hand in there, she would just bite his ass. What the fuck was she to do now, how long would he sit out there and wait for her to come out? She got the answer to that question as quickly as he shifted. He sat just outside her hiding place.
“I really do not want to pull you out, and I am not afraid of you biting me. I would rather you come out on your own because I am not leaving these woods without you.” Max looked into the tiny hole only to get a claw covered paw swiped at him, and he drew his arm back quickly.
“I am here to help you, I’m not sure what part of that you aren’t understanding, and I would really rather not sit out here with my naked ass on the ground. My balls are like fresh meat to all the critters. Now just come out and let’s get out of the woods together. I promise to take you to a safe place and no one will harm you. You also can’t stay in your animal form much longer before you will have to shift. So, what do you say? Come out and let’s at least talk about it.”
Alley peeped her head out for a brief moment to take in her surroundings, then decided it would most likely be best if she gave in. He was right, she couldn’t stay in animal form much longer. Shifting would be painful otherwise. Her heart began to race as she exited the hole. She thought about running for a split second, but she was already tired of running.
If he was right and would keep her safe with no more running, then maybe she should give him the benefit of the doubt. Running around to the other side of the tree from where Max was standing, her human took shape, and she grabbed the backpack to throw on whatever clothes she reached for first. Not that he hadn’t already seen her naked—it just wasn’t by her choice. Shifters may be comfortable with nudity, but she didn’t want to just stand there, bare ass naked while having a conversation with this man. She wiped as much dirt away as possible before sliding into a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt that was about two sizes too big.
Peeping around the tree she asked him, “How do I know I can trust you?”
Max moved around the tree so he could see her, looking like he was trying his best to keep himself covered. She was tempted to peek, see if maybe he wasn’t quite able to cover himself up, but she resisted the urge—barely.
Alley had seen muscle, but the muscles on this man, like a those of a Greek God. Chiseled, not just a six pack of abs, but eight and possibly two more peeking just under his peck. Whew, those pecks with that falcon tattoo on one side and the cross on the other. The caramel colored skin, fuck he really was a Greek God. A jawline that would make anyone stop to take notice, and those damn lips. Men should not have lips like that. She tried to avoid looking down, but the V—Apollo’s belt—that framed his abs led her right down to the largest dick she had ever laid her eyes upon. A grin came across her face. Then she remembered this asshole had just knocked her off of her feet.
“You can trust me because I am on your side. While I’m an Enforcer, Rogue or not, I’m here to protect shifters just as much as I am here to bring the bad ones to justice. You may have broken a human law, and yes in their world it is a bad one. But in ours, not so much. You made a mistake, Alley. Is it a bad mistake, yeah it is, you will still have to pay for it at some point, somehow, someway, but for now I’m here to keep the humans from finding you and getting you to a safe place. You’re lucky they have no idea you’re a shifter and the cameras didn’t catch you. I’m sure they’re still trying to figure out how a human dug her way under a fence.” He spoke softly as he moved closer to her.
Alley stood with a blank stare before she replied.
“I don’t trust you; I am not sure I will ever trust you. I do know I am already tired of figuring ou
t ways to stay hidden, tired of running, even though it’s only been a couple of days. If you can help me find a safe place where I don’t have to keep this up, then by all means show me the way.”
His eyes widened at her words before they narrowed, his expression telling her he was wondering if he heard her surrender so quickly.
“Are you sure? While you may not trust me, you will have to in order for me to keep you safe and protected. I’m not here to be your friend; however, I’m not necessarily against being your friend, either. All I’m saying is you have to trust my instincts as a trained Enforcer. I was trained by one of the best—while he is also a Rogue, he trained with the top Enforcers at the academy. In my eyes, he is top notch and we don’t take kindly to those who don’t put their trust in us to keep them safe. I also understand that I have to earn yours, but you have to give me an actual chance to. What do you say? Let’s get out of these woods before we’re both covered in chiggers and ticks. Shit I sound like a city boy, guess I’ve been out of the woods longer than I thought.” He smirked.
She nodded and a slight smile came across her face. She walked around the tree to stand next to Max leaning over to whisper in his ear.
“Okay we earn each other’s trust, but can you please put some damn clothes on?”
She was sure he was blushing, even hidden under his amazing dark skin. Hell, she was blushing too as heat formed on her body in places other than her face as she rubbed her hand across his pecs before she turned to walk away, swaying her hips. Pausing, she remembered she had no idea where they were or which way they ran. She turned to look over her shoulders to ask.
