Filed To Story: Secret Shifters Next Door Series PDF Free
Tate stepped in front of all three of us and called out, “Do you have a death wish? Is that why you’re here? Because if so, by God, I’ll grant it.”
The man rocked back on his heels and laughed. “Looks like you’re the one with the death wish. But no, we didn’t come here to fight you. We all know the kind of magic you dragon shifters possess. Shit, you by yourself could roast all of us in a second.”
I noticed rustling branches and limbs, then another six hunters appeared near the leader. Fear spiked deeper into my chest. So many? They all had guns. Could the guys take this many? I had to keep reminding myself of the mansion. There had been twice this many men there. Of course, those men had thought they were going to fight humans. These hunters knew
exactly what they were up against. That had to make them more dangerous.
“You need to know there’s a war coming. We plan on ridding the world of every one of you abominations. That’s what we came to let you know. Say your goodbyes. Get your houses in order, because we’re coming. You’ll die…” he jerked a chin toward my stomach, “…and your filthy fucking devil spawn will die, too. I’ll happily grind a baby shifter into the dirt with my own?—“
So fast. My God! I never knew anything on earth could be so fast. One moment Tate was standing in front of me, the next, he was roaring in rage, and was twenty yards away, holding the man in the air by his throat. It had caught the hunters off guard. They all took a half second to realize what had happened before they raised their rifles and pistols at Tate.
The leader waved them off and croaked out, “Weapons down. The boss wants the dragon for himself.”
Tate started to squeeze the man’s throat. “I should fucking end you right here. Right now. Pop your goddamned head off. You threaten my unborn child? Maybe I should go ahead and shift, then fucking devour you alive.”
Hearing something like that would have made me piss my pants. But this man must have had balls of steel, or maybe he was totally off his rocker. Instead of begging for his life, he started laughing. His face grew redder by the second as Tate squeezed. The guy seemed to have no fear.
“If you kill me, shifter, you won’t know the flaw in Emily’s curse.”
Tate threw the man to the ground. The guy rolled on the ground there for a few seconds, retching and coughing, rubbing at his throat.
“You are a scary son of a bitch,” he said, after getting his breath back.
“What damned flaw?” Tate asked.
The man stood and took a few steps away from Tate. He pointed at me. “The flaw is her. Emily got sloppy and was going native. That’s why we had to put that magical bitch down. She got close to Harley. She tried to reverse the spell but couldn’t. Instead she cast a new spell of protection. Each one of you nasty motherfuckers is going to be fated to mate to a human. None of you get to be with other shifters. But her new spell will protect those women. At least as long as they accept you
things for what you are.”
He looked like he wanted to be sick, as if the very idea of a human wanting to be with a shifter was too much to stand. He was a bigot of the highest caliber. He made
me want to be sick.
He then held up a finger and smiled a dark, mischievous smile. It made my skin crawl seeing it. “Just ’cause we can’t hurt you ladies, doesn’t mean we can’t make your lives miserable. And we very much plan on making your existence a living hell. At least until the boss decides it’s time to end your unnatural lives. You see, this is your warning. To get all the humans in your life out of here before it gets really bad. I’ve seen the young girls who live here. They haven’t been sullied yet. They deserve to go on and live good human lives. This is your one chance to get them out of here. Do what you need to before we come back.”
He took a step closer to his team, and they all began to try and fade back into the woods. He pushed his rifle back behind him and rested his hand on the pistol at his hip. He and Tate stared at each other, each radiating hatred back at the other.
The man flashed a feral smile at me. “One thing Miss Shifter-fucker. That protection for mates only covers humans. Once you let one of these filthy beasts change you? Protection is gone.”
Without hesitation, he swiftly pulled the pistol from his holster. Time seemed to slow as he raised the barrel toward me. Tate roared out in rage and shock. The pistol bucked in the
man’s hand. There was time for me to think of all the things I’d done, all the people I’d loved. My girls’ faces, their first cries when they were born, the first time my son kicked in my womb, the moment Tate said he loved me.
In less than a half second, the bullet slammed into my chest. There was a massive flash of light and a pop like an electrical conduit blowing. I was thrown back, stumbling, but I remained on my feet. The bullet, smashed and warped, fell to the stone patio. The slight
plink sound was the only thing I could hear. I looked at my chest, looking for a bullet hole. Instead, I saw the opal necklace Emily had given me.
“Fucking damned witches,” the man screamed and turned to run, his team following.
Steff and Blayne leaped into action, sprinting into the woods after the hunters. I eased myself down to the ground. My hands and body shook. I should have been dead. A bullet should have ripped through my chest, bursting my heart and blowing a hole out my back. I
would
be dead. If not for Emily.
Tate knelt next to me, his eyes as bright as flashlights. I’d never seen them like that. His face was a mask of rage and worry.
“Are you okay?” His voice shook as he spoke.
Gunshots echoed from the forest. I tried to ignore them. I looked up at Tate and touched the necklace. “I am. I’m fine.”
There was a deep bass growl from behind Tate. We both turned to look, and the biggest grizzly bear I’d ever seen erupted from the trees. It had to be a thousand pounds, if not more. Behind it came a thickly muscled panther. The creatures skidded to a stop. The bear turned into Steff, and the panther morphed into Blayne.
Even after watching Tate become a dragon, after seeing what they’d done to Luis’s men, hearing the stories, and knowing it was all true, my jaw still dropped. I was still shocked that all this
was real. Magic was
real, but so was the danger that came with it.