Last Chance Mate: Tate (Paranormal Shapeshifter Mystery Romance) Read online

  Hand curling around the chain, she yanked it as hard as she could, stopping Loch mid-laugh.

  “What are you…” he snarled, but Tessa was already pulling her arm back, putting all of her strength behind tossing the amulet as far away as she could.

  Her eyes followed it as it flew through the air, landing in a ditch on the other side of the road with a small clank. Two things happened at once, too fast for her to even separate them. Firstly, Tate pushed himself into motion, claws raking across the asphalt, his massive body heading right toward her and Loch.

  And secondly, Loch whirled her around, his face contorted with anger, his skin falling away to reveal the monster underneath. His teeth snapped together as he growled at her, his lips no more, his face just muscle and sinew stretched across bone.

  All Tessa could do was close her eyes as his cold, thin fingers wrapped around her neck, and brace for the worst.

  Thirty-Nine

  Tate

  Muscles pumping, Tate charged at Loch, putting all he had behind it. He had already been sprinting through the woods at full speed trying to find Tessa, but he didn’t let that stop him. Now that she was in his sights, nothing could keep him from getting her away from the demon.

  Skidding on the pavement, Tate whirled his body around just as he reached Tessa and Loch, coming to a stop behind the demon. Jumping up, he let his claws sink into the man’s back, while his teeth snapped at his neck.

  Loch cried out, flailing his arms in an attempt to reach back and grab him, and let go of Tessa in the process. Falling to the ground on her hands and knees, he could hear her gasping for air. But in a second, she was back on her feet, and heading for the ditch she had thrown the necklace in.

  Tate let out another howl as he held on to Loch’s back, tearing through the demon’s clothes and straight to his flesh. He only let go when the demon started to fall backwards, threatening to crush Tate beneath him.

  Quickly darting to the side, tail twitching, Tate was now face to face with the demon, and what an ugly sight that was. In his human form, Loch had been unsettling. But the face he was wearing now was downright disgusting.

  The wolf and the demon stared each other down in the middle of the empty road, Tate’s eyes glued to Loch’s every movement. But he also kept his ears open, listening to any movement he could make out.

  He and the rest of the wolves he had taken with him had split up just outside of pack lands, working in a circle around Pinedale to try and catch a whiff of Tessa. Some of them would be on the other side of town by now, but others had to be closer. And if they heard his howl, they would already be heading this way…

  Loch lifted up his hands with a putrid smile, if that’s what you could call it, on his face, and that familiar black smog erupted out of his palms.

  “Come on, doggie,” he said, voice distorted, the words writhing around in the air like snakes. “Let’s play.”

  Not about to let Loch choke him with that smoke again, Tate charged at the demon instead, knocking him back under the weight of his wolf. They went sprawling on the ground as the blackness around them thickened, making it hard for Tate to see.

  Blindly, he snapped his teeth and bit down on any part of the demon he could reach. Loch cried out in pain as Tate’s fangs sank into what felt like the demon’s shoulder, tearing through muscle. Shaking his head, Tate held on despite the bitter smoke forcing its way into his nose and down his throat.

  You’re mine now, he snarled, thick blood pouring into his mouth and covering his muzzle.

  The smoke started to clear as Loch struggled beneath him, swatting at his paws and then trying to pry his jaws off his shoulder. When that didn’t work, Loch let out a primal screech, and as if by an invisible string, Tate was pulled backwards, flying through the air and landing on the pavement.

  “You mutt,” Loch shouted, blood trickling down from the gaping wound in his shoulder, his torn flesh melding together with the ragged pieces of his suit surrounding the injury.

  Tate leapt back onto his feet, ready to go at the demon again, but something was wrong. His muscles strained, his body ready to move… But nothing was happening. It was as if he was glued into place, his paws attached to the road, like he was a statue in the middle of it and nothing else.

  He could still growl and snarl, a deep roar building in his chest, but that was it.

  Loch just laughed, holding his hand up in the air, fingers spread out, as he slowly started to make a fist.

  “Not this time, wolf,” he said. “This time, I’m getting what I came for.”

  A pressure started to build inside Tate, as if his body was folding in on itself. It started in his gut, the feeling of being squeezed, and moved on to the rest of his body, until he was in pure agony, only remaining on his feet because that was the only option he had.

  All of his organs suddenly felt clenched and squished, withering away inside him, until all he could do was whimper and yelp, helpless and in more pain than he could have ever imagined.

  “Stop,” he heard Tessa shout from somewhere in the distance, her voice sounding far away and foggy.

  His vision blurry and fraying at the edges, Tate tried to fight the hold Loch had on him, but he didn’t know how. This had to be some sort of magic, and he had no protection against that.

  Tessa…

  The word echoed through his mind, even as the pain took away his ability to think. He had come here to save her, and now… He had failed.

  Yet just as he was about to pass out, something very familiar reached his senses. First, there was a smell… Like pines, and dirt, and wild things, reminding him of late-night runs in the moonlight. Then came the sound of paws padding along pavement, and growls filling the air.

  Suddenly, the pain subsided, letting go of his body and sending him reeling. Blinking, he slowly regained his bearings, finding himself laying on his side, wheezing. Looking up, he saw five wolves circling Loch, snapping at the demon with sharp teeth. Loch snarled back, trying to keep an eye on all of them at once, but clearly failing.

  Slowly getting back on his feet, he looked over at Tessa, running toward him with the amulet in her hand, caked in mud. He shook his head at her, and she stopped mid-stride, looking at him with concern in her eyes.

  There would be time for them to talk later. Right now, Tate needed to join his brothers, and end this, once and for all.

  Loch was attempting his smoke trick again, but the wolves weren’t having it. Tate easily recognized them all, with Caleb’s brown beast leading the charge. Pushing himself into motion, Tate ran to join the circle, taking great pleasure at baring his teeth at the demon.

  One of the younger wolves, Wes, leapt at Loch first, attaching himself to the demon’s legs. Everyone else followed, the first tendrils of black smoke dissipating in the air as the man went down under a pile of snapping teeth and razor-sharp claws.

  Tate tore into the demon’s neck, yanking and shredding, bloodlust taking over his senses. Loch couldn’t get away, not this time. None of them would ever be safe again if he did, and Tessa had already been tormented enough by this vile creature.

  The sound of flesh tearing and clothes ripping filled the air, drowning out even the thunder still rumbling in the distance, and the rain pouring down all around them. Loch tried to fight them off, tried to use his powers, but it was of no use.

  There were just too many of them.

  Only when the demon had stopped moving altogether did the wolves step back, streaks of blood fading down their mouths and paws as the rain washed it away. Loch’s mangled body lay there, in the middle of them, all but torn apart.

  Tate watched as his flesh started to rot away before his very eyes, until there was nothing but a pile of sludge in front of them, sticky and black, the smell of it making a couple of the wolves whine and cough.

  Then, even that dissipated, and the clouds began to clear. The switch was disorienting, as the thunder stopped mid-rumble and the rain just dried up like someone had turned off the
faucet. A silence fell over the road as the wolves looked at each other with glowing, yellow eyes.

  Footsteps thudded across the road, and the next thing Tate knew, Tessa was kneeling beside him, her arms wrapped around his neck. Caleb let out something akin to a cough, and the wolves respectfully backed away, shaking themselves dry as they disappeared back into the woods.

  “Oh, thank god you’re okay,” Tessa muttered against his fur. “You’re okay, right?” she asked, pulling away to study him.

  Poking her arm with his wet nose, Tate licked her fingers, making her pull away and giggle.

  “That’s kind of gross,” she laughed, wiping her hand on her jeans. “I take it that means you’re fine.”

  Bobbing his head up and down, Tate backed away from her, grabbing hold of his animal side and pulling it back. His body morphed and realigned, bones cracking and muscles tensing. Skin stretching around him as his body shifted between wolf and man, his lungs still felt a little raw, and his insides tight.

  But seeing Tessa unharmed made him forget all about that.

  Muzzle pulling back into a mouth and spine curving upwards, he stood on two legs again, reaching down to pull Tessa up to his side. There were tears in her eyes as she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her cheek against his.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “We were supposed to be a team, and I went behind your back. I just didn’t want you or anyone else to get hurt because of me.”

  Hugging her back, Tate inhaled her sweet scent, sighing to himself. It hadn’t really set in yet, but they were free. No more Loch, no more running, no more nightmares for Tessa and no more fearing for her life for him.

  “I know, I know,” he murmured against her hair, holding her tight. “It doesn’t matter now. He’s dead.”

  “I was so stupid,” Tessa muttered to herself, squeezing him tightly against her.

  “It was a stupid thing you did,” Tate admitted. “But love makes us do dumb things, doesn’t it?”

  Tessa pulled back, blinking at him. A slow smile spread over her face a moment later, eyes still glimmering with unshed tears. Running a hand down the side of his face, she bent forward, crushing her lips to his.

  “I love you, too,” she said against his lips, as his hands trailed down to wrap around her waist.

  It was just the reply he had wanted to hear.

  Epilogue

  Tessa

  “Come on, you’ve kept me in suspense long enough,” Tessa whined, basically jumping from foot to foot as Tate stood before her, blocking the doorway.

  The streets of Pinedale were empty, the sun just starting to rise, with Tessa hopping up and down to peek over Tate’s broad shoulders. He just grinned at her attempts, eyes crinkling against the dawn.

  “I like seeing you this excited, that’s all,” he replied, thick arms crossed in front of him.

  Was it possible for a man to get more handsome by the day? Or was it just being head over heels in love that made her feel like that? Either way, Tessa couldn’t help but smile back at Tate, giddy enough to try and wrestle him to the ground to get inside that building.

  “No, you just like to tease me,” she complained, rolling her eyes. “You know I’ve been dying to see what you’ve done with the place, and now you’re just watching me squirm.”

  Tate’s eyes lit up at that, his gaze sweeping across her body in a way that told her exactly what he was thinking.

  And it’s not interior design in his mind, let me tell you that.

  “I do like to tease,” he admitted lightly. “But I didn’t bring you here just to leave you unsatisfied,” he added, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a set of keys.

  Tessa could barely restrain herself from clapping her hands together. Happiness really did make a person act silly.

  It wasn’t even that she hadn’t seen the place before – she had helped Tate pick it out, after all. But back then, it had been bare bones, just empty space and worn-out floors. Now that Tate had been busy working on it these last couple of months, she had a feeling it would be completely transformed.

  The door clicked open and Tate grabbed her hand, leading the way, flicking on lights as they went. The smell of wood hit Tessa’s nose, familiar to her now. Following Tate down a hallway, she breathed in, almost not believing what her life had turned into.

  When the spacious workroom came into view, she knew her eyes had to be as big as saucers. Workbenches lined the walls, now immaculately finished and polished. Tools hung everywhere, along with materials stacked in corners.

  There were already a couple of showpieces on display in the middle of the room – a beautifully carved rocking chair, a bedside cabinet, and a dining room table. Tessa walked over, her steps echoing in the large space, and ran her hand over the smooth wood.

  “They’re beautiful,” she said softly, glancing back at Tate, watching her at a distance.

  “Is this where I say not as beautiful as you?” he smiled.

  Tessa only laughed at that, letting her eyes wander over everything. She had already helped Tate set up an online store, and he was not lacking for orders. But that shed behind his house definitely didn’t fit the needs of a budding entrepreneur.

  Now that he had his own space to create the best work he could, Tessa was sure the business could only go up from there.

  “There’s something else,” Tate said, strolling over. “Over there,” he pointed his chin at a door off to the left.

  “Is that the office?” she asked, as he threw an arm over her shoulders and led her forward.

  “Not the office,” he replied, pushing the door open. “Your office.”

  “What?” Tessa asked, looking first at him and then peeking into the room.

  “You’re the one that made all of this happen. I would never have even thought to turn my hobby into a business, and I’m useless when it comes to the day-to-day of running it,” he shrugged.

  “I do have some experience in that field,” Tessa grinned, walking inside.

  The furniture inside was handmade, of course. A desk, filing cabinets, a fluffy rug on the floor… And then there were the shelves, lined with some very familiar pieces. An old candlestick, some decorative plates and the main attraction – a tiny little poodle figurine, its tongue hanging out, a lacy collar around its neck.

  “But I sold everything,” she muttered, eyes glued to the row of items she immediately recognized from her old store back in Whitefish.

  “I contacted the buyer,” Tate admitted. “I know you wanted to start fresh, but I thought you might regret not keeping anything,” he said, watching her carefully.

  It was true – Tessa had left Mayberry Antiques in the past, where it belonged. There was no need to keep it going when her heart wasn’t in it. That was what made the store so great when her mom ran it after all – her love for it.

  But Tessa’s heart now belonged in Pinedale, with Tate, and the Silver pack. Here is where she had found a new family, and a new purpose. The circumstances that led her here still weighed on her sometimes. It was hard to sleep at first, after Loch was defeated. She had half-expected for the demon to still pop up in her dreams, terrorize her with gruesome images…

  But when that didn’t happen, life started moving on faster than ever. Everything just fell into place. And the love she had for Tate only strengthened, binding them together. He was her peace of mind.

  Knowing that that damn amulet was now resting at the bottom of a lake, along with Thompson’s spell book, helped her breathe a little easier, too. Only she and Tate knew of their location, and they would keep it that way. No one would ever get their hands on them again. They would make sure of that.

  Turning around, Tessa threw her arms around Tate, watching him smile as he rested his hands on the small of her back.

  “I love it. And I love you,” she said.

  “I never get tired of hearing that,” he grinned, softly pressing his lips to hers.

  Neither do I.

 
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