Romance: In Love With A Beast (Paranormal BBW Panther Shifter Romance) (Shapeshifter Mystery Alpha Werebear Romance Short Stories) (47 page)

“How long has Hanna been your friend?” Ben scowled.

“Since my first day of work… Oh no. I know what you’re thinking. It couldn’t be her. I know her better than anyone. She wouldn’t even hurt a fly.”

Ben turned to Markus. “Did you see the way she looked at the bite mark?”

“Yes… I thought it was odd. She seemed…” Markus paused, “Alright. Verbally she reached the right way, she sounded worried and almost sounded scared but when she looked at it straight on. She had no issue with it.”

“So she has a strong stomach, that doesn’t mean she’s a witch.” Paige scowled.

“It still wouldn’t be a bad idea for us to talk to her.”

“No,” Paige pushed herself from her chair. She dropped her slice of pizza and headed towards the door.

“Paige,” Ben stood. “Please, just listen to us.”

“No! She’s my friend. My only friend.” Paige grabbed the door handle. “You two should both leave now. Thanks you for taking care of me but I don’t want people around who try to turn me against my friends.” She pulled the door open. Her jaw dropped.

“Hello.” Hanna was standing there, smiling.

Paige’s eyes darted past Hanna. She counted nine zombies. Paige stepped back and tried to close the door. Hanna reached out and stopped her with more force than Paige ever realized she had.

“Gosh you’re such a good friend, Paige.” Hanna’s voice was girly and fake. She pushed the door wide open. Paige stumbled back with a gasp. “Now, why don’t we have some girl time” It wasn’t a question. Hanna’s face was dark.

Ben and Markus jumped to their feet. They scrambled for their weapons. Markus grabbed his gun and aimed it at her.

With the flick of a wrist Hanna sent him flying into a wall. He groaned as she turned her attention to Ben, who only held a knife. Hanna waved her hand towards the zombies. “Get him. Disposes of them both….” As the zombies walked past them, Hanna hissed at Paige, “But she’s mine.”

The zombies stumbled past them, running into walls and knocking things over as they made their way to the kitchen. Hanna rolled her eyes and let out a huff of frustration. “They really are stupid creatures.”

She grabbed Paige by the hair and pulled her to her feet. Paige could feel a small trickle of blood seeping from the wound on her neck. She struggled against Hanna’s hold on her. Despite the fact that some of her hair had been pulled out, Paige turned to face Hanna. Her forearm came down against Hanna’s face.

Hanna let go of Paige’s hair as she stumbled back with a gasp. “You bitch.” Hanna snarled lunging towards her. even thought her body was screaming in pain,she managed to dodge out of Hanna’s grasp. A scream of frustration escaped Hanna as she turned to face Paige. “Enough!” she snapped her fingers before stepping towards her again. Paige tried to dodge Hanna. She couldn’t lift a foot, some unseen force held her in place.

“Fuck, I hate witches
!”
she thought as she tried again to move. Hanna laughed as she grabbed Paige by the throat. “Just quit trying, you’re not going anywhere. Not until I bleed you.”

Paige swallowed, her eyes darting to Ben and Markus. ‘
Oh they’re busy, they can’t save you right now,
’ she thought. They each had several zombies surrounding them. Markus managed to push one away before he got bit. But she couldn’t see any sign of Ben.

Paige closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her fingers twitched. She could still move her hands.
Good.
She might be able to move the rest of her body.

Paige’s eyes snapped open. She stared at Hanna. So close, so easy. Paige didn’t know much about magic but she was almost sure that if she could break Hanna’s concentration, she was sure she could break the spell.

She lunged forward as much as she could. It was just enough to do what she needed. Her teeth sunk into Hanna’s neck, she bit down as hard as she could. As she heard Hanna scream she pushed herself forward. Yes. She had been right.

Something resembling a growl escaped Paige as she bit down harder. She let herself fall forward, bringing Hanna down to the ground as she pulled away at the first taste of blood.
How could you do this to me?
She wanted to scream it but her voice wouldn’t work. Hanna struggled under her. She threw a punch that connected and tried to scramble away. Paige grabbed her by the hair. She could feel the wolf taking over. The wolf wanted to kill her.
No.
She may be a witch but she was still human.

Paige glanced towards Ben and Markus. They needed her.

Paige looked down at Hanna, a snarl spread over her lips. She raised her fist and brought it down against Hanna’s face. She heard bone break under her.

Hanna screamed in pain as Paige pushed herself up. She ran towards the mob of zombies. The wolf took over.
Mine!
It screamed as she grabbed a zombie from behind and threw him into the wall with all her strength. Several other zombies stopped attacking Ben and Markus and turned their attention to her.
They’re mine, you can’t touch them!
The wolf growled in her head. She grabbed a zombie by its hair and pulled its head off in one motion. Then she reached for a knife that lay on the table, as her fingers curled around the blade, she thrust it lightning fast into two other zombies.

She turned to find her next target. The zombies turned on her. She watched Markus reach for the gun on the counter as the zombies advanced on her. She back away carefully. It took every bit of willpower she had not to listen to the wolf side. The wolf screamed to fight, even if she was out numbered. She gasped as she felt the cold touch of metal against her neck.

“Don’t fucking move.” Hanna slurred. Paige could smell her blood. “You!” She pointed at Markus. “Drop the gun or I’ll kill her.”

Markus raised the gun in submission.

“No!” Paige shouted.

“Shut up.” Hanna pressed the blade against her throat. Paige took a deep breath and relaxed her body. Her eyes locked on Markus. He stared at her.

“Don’t do it.” She whispered.

Markus nodded. She watched him aim the gun at one of the zombies. She could feel Hanna slide the blade against her throat.

Paige winced in pain as she pushed Hanna backwards. She heard the sound of Markus’s gun firing, and Hanna grunt as she fell to the floor behind her.
Safe
. The wolf whispered.

Paige let out a deep breath as she turned to look at Ben and Markus.

They both stared at her as they limped towards her. Ben barely held himself up and Markus was bleeding from a wound on his head.

Paige pushed herself away from the wall. “Are you two okay?”

“Better than you look.” Ben muttered.

“We need to get out of here. With all the gun shots I’m sure someone would have called the cops.”Markus said, strained.

Paige grabbed onto Ben and hooked his arm over her shoulder. Together she and Markus carried him to the doorway and out into the night. Markus had been right, she could hear the sirens coming towards them as they managed to make their way to the truck and get Ben in. She stared at the bite marks on him.

“Is… is he going to become a zombie?” She asked as she climbed into the seat beside him. How long did he have left?

“No, that’s all myth. Zombies can’t create zombies. You have to be dead first to be made a zombie.”

“Oh.” What else was a lie? Did she even know the truth from the lies about being a werewolf?

Markus climbed into the driver’s seat and gunned the engine.

“So… what now?” Paige watched as they pulled away from the driveway. She could hear the sirens getting closer and closer. They made it to the corner of her street and turned. It was another minute before they saw the police cars speed past them. Paige’s heart dropped into her stomach.

“Now, we need to get back to our hotel and get him patched up. He won’t turn into a zombie but if he loses much more blood he won’t be well.” Markus turned the vehicle onto a side street. “Then, we figure out what we’re going to do with you.”

Paige’s heart pounded. “What… what you’re going to do with me?”

Ben snorted beside her. He reached out and took her hand. “Would you quit worrying so much? We’re not going to kill you.”

Markus smirked from the front seat. “I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we actually kind of like you Paige.”

“I actually kind of like you guys too.” Paige smiled.

Epilogue

They made it to the hotel just fine. Markus packed up their stuff as Paige tended to Ben’s wounds. Once he was cleaned up they realized he wasn’t injured as much as they feared. They let him rest , while Paige helped Markus pack up.

“We’ve should probably get out of here soon. You should come with us. Chances are the cops aren’t going to be able to explain what happened at your house and they are going to talk to you about it if they have the chance.” Markus was direct with Paige.

“So… I’m on the run?”

“Kind of… you’ll be able to come back eventually, if that is what you want.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’m sure your family would be happy to see you…. Or you are always welcome to stay with Ben and I.”

“You know… maybe I’ll visit my family sometime…. But until then I think I’ll stay with you guys for a while.”

Markus grinned as he pulled Paige into her arms. “Good.” His lips touched hers gently.

WEREWOLF HUNTERS

BOOK 2 : SUBMIT

By Passion Books

Chapter 1

Ben dropped down onto his knees. He scooped the red wolf up in his arms and stood.

“Is she alright?”

“I think so. I don’t see any signs of blood.”

The two men fell into pace together as they made their way to the truck where they had been waiting for an hour.

Markus pulled the door open and Ben laid her down on the back seat of their dirty black pickup truck. Markus closed the door after Ben slid in beside her. His fingers ran through her fur but more than anything he looked for any sign that she may have broken a bone. “She seems fine.”

“Good.” He could hear the relief in his friend’s voice as they made their way back to the hotel. “I wish we could do more than just sit in the truck and wait for her.”

“Same.” Ben scowled. Dating a werewolf had its issues but by far the hardest part was letting her out on her own each full moon. They knew that there were hunters out there, that would kill her just because of what she was. A month ago they had been those hunters.

The car ride was quiet as they made their way to the small hotel just outside of town.

When they pulled in there were only two other cars. A woman sat outside smoking. Markus glanced at Ben. “You think she’ll be an issue?”

“Pets are allowed.” Ben shrugged as he scooped the wolf into his arms and popped the door open. He was utterly aware of the woman watching him as he carried the dog to the door Markus was opening for them.

The hotel room itself was nothing more than two beds, a bathroom, a TV and something that resemble a counter and a mini fridge. Ben lay the dog down onto her own bed then turned to his friend.

They both let out a sigh at the same time. Ben reached for his friend, took his hand and pulled him close. Their lips touched gently. Markus’s fingers tangled into Ben’s hair pulling him closer. Ben’s hands cupped Markus’s butt, his nails digging in through the jeans.

“Come to bed with me.” Markus pulled Ben towards the free bed.

********

Paige let out a deep breath. She hadn’t slept that well in a month. She rolled over, stretching her sore muscles and looked at the bed beside her. Ben and Markus lay in each other’s embrace.
They look so cute together.
Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember the night before. She let the blanket fall to the ground as she looked down at her body. There were a few small bruises and some minor scratches but nothing to be worried about. Paige spent a couple seconds looking over her body. No ticks. Good.

Even though she had just woken up and wasn’t fully healed, she gently padded to the bed where Markus and Ben lay.
My boys.
She crawled into bed with them, it took a couple seconds but she managed to get between them.

Markus rolled over with a groan. “Well hello.” His lips touched Paige’s for a fraction of a second. “How are you feeling?” He pulled her into his arms.

Her head rest against his bare chest. “I’m feel… good.” It was probably an odd thing to say to most people but having changing into a wolf for a night and running until you couldn’t run anymore, you feel well rested.

“Good,” Markus rolled on top of her. His lips touched her forehead gently, trailed their way down to her jawline, touched her lips and made their way down her neck. “Cause we’ve got a case to solve still, remember?”

Paige groaned as he pushed himself off her and crawled out of bed. He shook Ben.

“Yea, yea. I heard you.” Ben groaned. He pushed the blanket away from himself and rolled out of bed. Paige stared at his muscular back as he slipped a shirt over his head and snatched up a pair of pants from the ground.

“Did you two have fun without me?” Paige asked. Ben always slept naked, but even Markus had been wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

Ben laughed. “No need to be jealous. We fell asleep minutes after getting you into the room.”

“You did?” Paige sat up looking for Markus to Ben.

“Yup.” Markus nodded seconds before he slipped into the bathroom and closed the door.

Paige forced herself out of the comfy bed, again, and padded to her duffle bag. It was something she was still getting used to, her entire life packed into this single duffle bag.

“So, you still want to go talk to that guy?” Ben had brought up knowing a friend who might know a friend yesterday. Apparently the friend did have a friend who might be helpful.

“Yea. Eric said he’s an older guy, doesn’t hunt any more but keeps tabs on what’s going. Eric also said we need to bring a bottle of bourbon with us when we meet this guy.”

Paige pulled on her favorite black tank top and a pair of well-worn skinny jeans. She tied her long red hair into a bun and pinned any trace of it out of her face. Honestly sometimes she wondered why she even bothered keeping it long in the first place. There had been several times she had contemplated just shaving it all off.