Sassy Shifter Brides: Complete Series - BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Mail-Order Romance Page 2

  “Does anyone still think that this is not someone’s malicious intent to drive us from the valley? I mean, one pole, sure. One tractor, okay, shit happens. But this is the fifth post that has come down in a week, and Trey just called me this morning from Sunlit, saying someone had poured sand into his gas tank,” said Tyler, the blonde-haired werewolf and the youngest of their little group.

  The four men were standing in a half-circle around the base of the electric pole like they were paying respect at a funeral. And as far as Warren was concerned, it may just as well have been one. Werebears weren’t in the habit of crying, but he sure as hell felt like getting a stiff drink and cursing for a few solid hours.

  “I think the question at this point is, which clan or pack is behind it, really,” Warren said, scratching the back of his neck. It was a topic they’d painstakingly avoided during the repairs of the last few incidents, but it was getting out of hand now. It was going to come up sooner or later, and Warren definitely preferred it to be sooner.

  “Could be any of them, really. Tyler’s folks weren’t glad he and Trey left,” Rake commented, looking positively nonchalant as he leant back on the hood of the beaten up Chevy pickup they’d driven there with, a Lucky sending a shallow plume of smoke up from between his fingers. Tyler was about to object, but he wisely chose to remain quiet. It could have had something to do with Warren jabbing him in the ribs the moment he opened his mouth.

  “And your clan was of course entirely thrilled that you decided to leave, right, Rake?” Deacon asked, cocking a brow at the surly man. Warren shook his head, trying to wipe the cobwebs away (and most of all, to think of anything other than the fact that he hadn’t been able to write to Kacey in a week and how that was driving him up the wall far faster than someone screwing with Shifter Grove).

  “Alright, alright, we get it. None of us came here without ruffling a few feathers or marring a few coats. We don’t have the manpower to patrol anything, so we have to put our heads together and figure out who is the most likely suspect that wants to see us fail with Shifter Grove. So I urge all of you to put your thinking hats on, and we can discuss it later. But for now, someone’s gotta go fetch the crane so we can set up this damn post or Deacon’s cows are going to have to be fed by hand. And I’m going to tell you, you don’t want to deal with 300 heads of angry unfed cattle, okay?” A rumble of mocking ‘yessirs’ and ‘right-on-its’ marked the return of peace and order in the group of shifters, and they set to the far too familiar task of patching a target of wanton destruction.

  Whoever you are, when I get my hands on you, I’m going to wring you so hard you’ll forget what your damn name is. No one messes with my town, Warren thought glumly, shrugging off his shirt and tossing it in the back of Rake’s truck. It was going to be another long, grueling day, and to top it all off, he knew damn well that when he got back to the ranch, he’d still have no reception on his phone, and it’d be another day before the hope of shooting off a message to Kacey could seem like a possibility rather than an unreachable dream.

  ***

  “You did what?!” Warren asked, barely suppressing the growl that wanted to bubble up in his throat. He couldn’t keep his green eyes from flashing dark brown, though, and his hands from balling into fists big enough to plow straight through a concrete wall. His cousin, Wade wore a shit-eating grin that screamed to be wiped off of his face.

  “I marked you. Didn’t you hear me the first time?” Wade asked, sipping beer from a plastic cup at the little diner that doubled as the only bar within a 50 mile radius. If they weren’t in public, at least what counted for public in the dirt road central that was Shifter Grove, Warren would be halfway through pummeling some sense back into the huffy werebear in front of him.

  “You marked me,” he echoed, his words flat and seething with irritation.

  “Yup,” Wade confirmed, nodding with equal measures mirth and cockiness.

  “Why would you do something so… so…” Warren struggled to find the words he needed. If anything, he wanted to drag his cocky cousin of an Alpha back to the man’s truck, shove him in there and tell him to never show his face in Shifter Grove again. But he couldn’t do that. He’d never hear the end of it from his mother if he disrespected the clan Alpha like that, even if the Alpha was a sniveling piece of backstabbing trash. An Alpha’s an Alpha, Warren’s mother’s sage words echoed in his ears. His eyes narrowed.

  “Brilliant? Hell, Warren, you’re 32 and you need a mate. Obviously you weren’t working very hard on it yourself, so I figured you needed a friendly push in the right direction.”

  Warren gritted his teeth, trying hard to keep his composure. Kacey’s gorgeous face popped up in his thoughts, and his stomach twisted at the implications of what his cousin had done. He was on a tight schedule now. And all he could think about was what in the hell he could do to not lose Kacey before they’d even had their chance.

  “And the best way to do that was to mark me, effectively telling me to find a mate before the equinox or you’ll chose one for me? I don’t know what to say, Wade.”

  “You don’t need to say anything, Warren. Or, well, a thank you would be nice, I guess, but I won’t hold you to it.” The big, slightly chubby shifter gave him a grin and finished his beer with one swift swig. “So I guess I’ll see you in what, two months? It’ll be good to have you back with the clan. I’ll tell your mother you said hello,” Wade said, a clear tint of mockery in his tone. He patted Warren heavily on the shoulder as he got up and strode out of the diner with far too much swagger in his step. Warren followed his departure with a grim look on his face, his own drink completely untouched on the counter.

  “That son of a bitch,” Warren murmured under his breath.

  “What’s that, Warren?” asked Cerise, the owner and only waitress of Sunrise Diner, cocking a brow at him from behind the counter.

  “Sorry, just clan stuff. You know how it is.” Warren smiled mirthlessly, wrestling some cash out of his back pocket and setting it on the counter. He shared a look with Cerise, and he was sure that she knew exactly how it was. That was why all of them were here in Shifter Grove – to get away from all the madness and the old rules and constraints of their clans and packs. It had been Rake’s idea originally, but Warren, Deacon and Tyler had signed on immediately. None of them were from the same communities – Rake being a werelion, Warren and Deacon werebears and Tyler and his brother werewolves – but the dream resonated in all of them. They wanted, no, needed a community where all shifters and humans would be equally welcome without fear of being persecuted or harassed because of their backgrounds. Shifter Grove was their pipe dream, but there were plenty of shifters more than glad to subscribe to their vision, and they’d kept coming and coming. All of them were running from something, and Warren hoped that Shifter Grove could make them run towards something instead. There wasn’t a single finished building in town, and the farms and businesses were in a similar state of disarray, but even now Warren knew they had something special on their hands.

  If only their histories wouldn’t catch up with them and tear them away from their new lives before they could stand up on their own two feet. But that was exactly what Wade was trying to do to Warren now.

  Warren felt a flood of warmth spread through him at the thought of Kacey, only to be followed by the mental equivalent of a cold shower when the realization hit him that he might well lose her before they even got a chance to meet. Wade was the Alpha of his old clan, the Sawtooth clan. There weren’t many of them left, but since Wade had taken over after the death of his father, everything had gone straight to hell. Warren was one of the few grown, adult male werebears left of the Sawtooths, but Wade’s backwards leadership and poor management of what little wealth his clan had, had driven him out of the range and off to find a better future for himself. His parents and brother were happy to live in Sawtooth, but it had never been the future for Warren. Apparently Wade didn’t quite agree.

  The only sure-fire way to
force Warren back to Sawtooth was to marry him off to a Sawtooth bear, and that was exactly what Wade was trying to do. The Alpha had a right to mark a bear, telling him or her to find a mate in a set amount of time before choosing one for the bear himself. Warren bristled with rage at the thought that Wade would go through with a plan like that. As much as Warren wanted to rebel, he’d never go so far as to disgrace his bloodline by stepping against an Alpha. The only options left for him was to find a mate on his own, and fast, or pack up his things and head back to Sawtooth.

  Cerise snatched up only half of the money, pushing back the rest of the bills. Before Warren could object, the raven-haired beauty shook her head, her golden eyes shining at him.

  “Don’t be silly. I’m not gonna let you pay for some asshat Alpha. I heard what he said. So what are you going to do?”

  “I’m honestly not sure,” Warren said, frustration wafting over him.

  “What about that girl you’ve been talking to… Kacey?”

  “I can’t exactly call her up and tell her to come to Idaho and be my bride, can I?” Warren snorted. Though, the thought did seem more appealing than he would have anticipated.

  “Other than the phone lines being down, I can’t see why not. What have you got to lose? If you feel so strongly about her – and by the way you’ve been talking everyone’s ear off I’m gonna say you do – then I would at least give it a try. Worst thing that could happen is that she’d say no, and you’d just be back where you started.

  Warren paused, standing up from his stool. His skin still crawled from the conversation with his cousin, but Cerise had a point. What did he have to lose, other than a chance at happiness? A small smile spread across his lips, and he bolted for the door, leaving the rest of the cash on the counter.

  “Hey, where the hell do you think you’re going?!” Cerise hollered after him.

  “I’m going to get my girl!” Warren yelled over his shoulder, already halfway to his big blue Dodge truck.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Liza asked, a worried look on her face. She was holding two cups of airport coffee while Kacey fussed with her carry-on. Kacey knew she was just trying to distract herself, but the butterflies in her stomach wouldn’t stop fluttering. She looked up at her friend and nodded, surprised at her own determination.

  “Yes. I do. I know it sounds silly, but I’ve never felt this strongly about something or someone,” she said, snatching one cup from Liza’s hands and sitting down with a sigh. Her tight skirt hugged her lush curves, and her feet ached in the high pumps she was wearing, but she knew Warren was going to meet her at the airport, and a girl’s only given one chance to make a first impression. Looking delicious was worth a bit of discomfort, right?

  Liza nodded hesitantly, the frown still perched on her brows.

  “Well, who am I to stand in the way of true love, right? Just remember us little people. Maybe you can hook me up with one of his hot cowboy friends. I wouldn’t mind one that looks just like him, but maybe blonde,” Liza said, grinning. Kacey sighed, smiling slightly as well.

  “I’m not going to be away forever, silly! It’s just two weeks. You can make do without me for that long. And sure, if my prince on rugged plaid turns out to be everything I think he is, I’ll be sure to grab you a number or two.”

  “I’ll hold you to it,” Liza said, giving Kacey a nudge and a wink.

  It was almost time to board the plane to Idaho, and everything seemed more and more surreal to Kacey. She hadn’t heard anything from Warren in more than a week, and suddenly, he’d sent her a message late in the day, saying that he needed to meet her and that there was no time like now. He’d offered flying her out to meet him, but she’d insisted on paying for her own ticket. Before she’d taken a second to think about it, she’d asked for time off from work (using up some of those vacation days she’d been saving since forever!) and she was to fly out in a few days. It had all happened so fast that she was still reeling. Warren had explained that, among other things, his little hometown had lately been having serious issues with electricity and cell reception, and he had driven all the way to another town so he could finally send her a message. Kacey’s heart had leaped when she saw the little blue box turn into a green one that night. She hadn’t realized how much she’d enjoyed talking to him before he’d disappeared.

  God, I hope I’m doing the right thing.

  ***

  The small plane she stumbled out of was little more than a puddle jumper. She’d been crammed in there with just one other passenger, and her suitcase had sat on her lap the entire trip. Kacey’s chestnut hair, formerly set in sexy curls, now stuck to her skin from the day of travelling. Her forest green blouse was wrinkled and kept pooching up under her breasts, and she felt like a sausage stuffed into a dress. All in all, she wasn’t exactly getting that sizzling sex kitten vibe she’d hoped to convey when meeting the man who had captured her attention (and very likely her heart) for the first time.

  Kacey chewed nervously on her lower lip while teetering precariously on her high heels as she was helped out of the winged matchbox. The breeze was nice and cooling against her skin, the air fresh and clear. The airport was just a strip of paved runway with a small building to the side that seemed to double as a burger joint when there weren’t any planes flying in. She could see countless mountains on the horizon, high and majestic – nothing like the oppressing flatness of Texas. A wide smile spread on her red lips as she pulled out the retractable handle of her suitcase and started walking towards the building that her fellow passenger was already rushing for.

  So far so good, Kacey told herself.

  She only got about two steps further before she froze in place. A tall drink of water of a man was standing by the runway, a blue Dodge Ram as his backdrop. He wore a white V-neck tee that showed off his broad chest, the barest hint of a dark curl of hair visible at the collar. His worn blue jeans clung to him just right, and his strong, muscled arms were like logs. Kacey’s core twisted and pulsed with sudden excitement, her nervousness completely forgotten for a moment. Warren smiled at her, the slightly crooked, warm grin familiar to her from the few pictures he’d shared. Her heart melted.

  “Hey there, stranger,” he said, his voice a deep baritone that rumbled through her and made her toes curl in her pumps.

  “Hey,” she managed weakly.

  He strode up to her, his long steps full of certainty. While Kacey was paralyzed by the moment, Warren seemed to be perfectly in control. He stopped in front of her, so close that every breath she took filled her lungs with his musky, delicious scent. Warren towered over her, and for the first time in a very long time, Kacey felt positively tiny next to a man. He was more than a head taller than her, even though she stood at a good 5’10’’, and while she was a small girl by no means, he made her look petite. Kacey’s sex slicked with need – an immediate physical reaction to a man just so damn sexy that there was no way in hell that she wouldn’t feel a tinge of desire for him.

  He seemed to take her in with his eyes, and Kacey forgot to breathe for a second.

  It’s him! It really is! He wasn’t some wild dream or an elaborate prank… And oh my god, he looks so good. I wonder if he’s disappointed by me? What if he doesn’t like me? A wave of uncertainty hit her like a punch in the gut. Fortunately, Warren wasn’t about to let her stew in her fears for a second too long.

  “I’m going to kiss you now,” he said, his words smooth like honey. His strong arms snaked around her waist, pulling her tightly against him. She tipped her head back, lifting her chin up. Even if her thoughts weren’t catching up with her yet, her body knew exactly what she wanted. His lips covered hers, and she moaned as he kissed her like she was the only woman he’d ever wanted. Her hands grasped at his rock-hard biceps, and it felt breathtaking being so close to the man who had been invading her dreams for months now.

  The kiss seemed to linger for an eternity, and still it didn’t feel long enough. His
tongue dipped into her mouth, and she accepted it gleefully, drinking in his taste and the sensation of his chiseled body pressed against her soft curves. When he finally pulled his mouth from hers, she almost wanted to object. Her cheeks were lit up by a gentle blush, and he kept her close to him, not letting her go.

  “I hope I wasn’t being too forward,” he murmured gruffly, his voice sending a shiver traipsing down her spine. Kacey shook her head quickly, the fog lifting from her vision and some semblance of thought returning to her. It was damn hard keeping her mind sharp in the presence of a man who was so completely raw and in control.

  “No. I… I like your forwardness,” she said with a coy smile, a scream of joy welling in her throat but being pressed down by her modesty.

  “Good,” he said finally. She stared into his green eyes and they shimmered with the kind of grounded, self-assured energy she’d always thought a man should have but had yet to see in a man. Almost reluctantly he let go of her, taking a step back. The space between them seemed immensely too large, and Kacey was immediately made aware of the effect the kiss had had on her. She felt a little light-headed, even!

  Get a grip, girl! she chided herself, but all of that fell away again in a pile of giddy excitement as Warren picked up her suitcase and offered her his arm for the short walk to the car. And a gentleman, too! I have to remember to write SassyDate about how much I love their app… and Liza’s going to die when she hears about what just happened!

  Warren opened the door for her and helped her get in, her tight pencil skirt and high heels making getting into the car not the most elegant of affairs. He set the suitcase in the bed of the truck and rounded the car, jumping into the driver’s seat with an ease that was surprising for a man his size.