Shifter Legends (14 page)

He ran his hand through his hair and looked at her, giving her the feeling that his words were going to somehow involve her. Involve her past.

“We think we found… your mom.”

Briana blanched. She was angry, irritated, and this was not the news she wanted. No way in hell did she want to meet the woman that abandoned her, that she thought was dead. She had spent enough time in foster homes, in a life that she hated, that she couldn’t forgive her.

“Is she…?”

“A shifter? Yeah, and an Old Lady to a very powerful biker boss.”

“That’s impossible. How do you know for sure she is my mom? How can you be positive?”

“We have ways of tracking down lineages. She has your eyes, Briana. Your smile. I know it is her. I knew the moment I saw her.”

“Who is she? What is her name?”

“She, she goes by Brigid, pretty well known for her powers too.” He paused. “Look, she could be of multiple uses. I need you to come with me, to appeal to her. Get her on our side. This isn’t going to be an easy fight, and it probably isn’t going to be quick, Briana. The M.C. needs your help. The Pride needs your help. What do you say?”

Briana was across the room in mere moments, her arms around his neck as she smashed her lips to his, her kiss anything but gentle. Grant tried to push against her, but Briana didn’t care. She had a message to send. She scraped her teeth against his lips, her teeth biting down on his lower one. She needed his kiss but didn’t want him to think all was forgiven.

He got the message. But it didn’t matter. She was lost to his touch, to her want. She knew that she was powerless to say no to him. So she did what she could do best. She let him know she was angry even in the middle of their throes of passion.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

“You can’t just not talk to me, Briana. A relationship doesn’t work that way.” Grant pushed his hand through his raven locks, like he always did when he was frustrated. She was good at the silent treatment. It was easier to keep her anger down that way. Although she slept with him, she refused to interact with him in any other way.

They woke up together, him trying to talk to her and her deftly avoiding any conversation.

She was having the exact effect she wanted. She was angry, but rather than getting upset and letting it blow up, she wanted to show him exactly what it felt like not to be included.

“Look, I’m sorry. I should have told you. I should have, but I didn’t. We weren’t sure, and I didn’t want to tell you until I knew for certain who she was. What she was. I’m sorry.” He looked almost miserable, and that was when she faltered in her plan.

“It seems like you keep information from me when you want to, rather than sharing with me. Why should I talk to you?” She folded her arms, aware that she had already lost the battle but refusing to give in. If there was one thing Briana cornered the market on, it was stubborn.

“I have to keep things from people, Briana. It is part of my job as an Alpha, and as the Second. But if you join the council, I wouldn’t
have
to do that. I wouldn’t have to keep my locations a secret. I wouldn’t have to leave you out of things.” He grabbed her and pulled her into him, not willing to go any longer without physical contact. She knew that need.

The release of tension at his touch was palpable as his hands splayed across her back as she leaned her body into his, nuzzling into his body. How could she ever win any argument when he was so damn attractive?

“I just, I hate this. I want to be able to think on my own. I want to be able to make my own decisions.” She pulled away from him and stood up, giving her a little bit of breathing room. Except that pull she felt for him was already getting stronger, urging her to touch him. Feel him. To be nearer to him.

 Anger filled her as she rebelled against being mated, against her cougar. It was a constant battle. One that she was losing. She would never be free. Could never be free. Briana pushed through the doors of his room and flew down the hall, away from him. She ran until she was out of the bar and shifted into her cougar, fur covering her body as she lengthened and changed. It was something she resisted on a daily basis. Something she didn’t want to give in to, even now. It was her only way of escaping. By letting the cougar take over, giving way to it, she could escape into her own mind. She might be one of the powerful, but out here she was just another wild animal.

She knew why being a Shifter was often referred to as a curse. Because it was.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

The cougar inside of her told her to wake up, so she did, her body nude on the ground of the forest floor with leaves clinging to her hair. She could hear the familiar crunch of dried foliage as she sprang to life. Someone else was in the forest with her. Someone not quite human.

She could feel it coming closer to her. Another Shifter. She turned in time to see a young man approaching her.

“I see you have finally woken up.” The caramel colored man eyed her, his dark hair windswept. Between his expression and his appearance he looked like a tornado ready to strike.

She was nude, but it didn’t matter to her then. Having grown accustomed to the ways of Shifters, her nudity was becoming more and more a fact of life. Something she didn’t hide behind. She was more concerned about the threat he posed.

“You are not a part of my Pride.”

“No, no, I am not. But I know who you are, I know what you are. I was sent by… by someone very important.” He didn’t even seem to notice her lack of clothing. Shifters didn’t really care about clothing. They wore them for the sake of convenience, and for fitting into the world around them, but being naked in public was a natural part of being a Shifter. A part that they didn’t shy away from.

Her eyes flashed involuntarily, giving him all the confirmation he needed.

“Don’t worry, I am not here to steal you away. You may be hunted, but not by me. Not yet, at least. I’m here to warn you. And to bring a message from someone you may want to hear from.”

“We know about the fight.”

“It is not the fight I am concerned about. You will find that they are no match for you. It is your Pride I want to warn you about. Not all are looking after you for altruistic reasons. They want you for your status. They want you for what you represent. Prides are never all good, and it seems you have landed into one of the more… unsavory biker gangs. You have family that are looking for you. They want to make sure that you are being taken care of.”

“Then where the hell were they when I needed them? When I was in foster care?”

“It wasn’t that easy to find you before you turned. Not to mention, it was the best way to hide you.”

“Hide me? From what?” She tried not to be intrigued. She knew she couldn’t believe everything that he said, but he had to have some insights. He had to know something. Maybe he was trying to get it out for his own reasons, but she had to know.

“From danger. Like the type you face, now that you are in league with Hyde’s Demon Hunters.”

“You are here to warn me about my Pride?”

“Do not trust your Alphas or their mates. They don’t just want you for your beauty, or your kind heart. Especially know that they know who your mother is. What she represents.”

“What is that?”                      

“You will find out. In time.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Why else? Because the person who sent me has motives. She wants you to eventually add to her strength, to join her Pride. They don’t need to deal with small time biker gangs, little Alpha. The one she is a part of has some pretty big holdings.” He smiled, looking her up and down for the first time. “Every Alpha has ulterior motives, Hunted. Remember that.”

The man shifted into a spectacularly large russet colored cougar, caramel tones threading through his shiny fur as he watched her for a moment, emerald eyes gleaming before he turned and bounded off into the darkness.

She exhaled as she watched him go, until she turned to see Grant standing there completely clothed. Staring over her naked body, the fire in his eyes made her feel anything but safe.

***

“What the hell do you think you are doing? Are you meeting strange Shifters out in the woods just to make me paranoid, or are you actually up to something?” Grant eyed her suspiciously as he walked towards her.

“What? No. I was just out here, and he… appeared.” Briana gestured to the tree area that he walked out of.

“Matthias Miller does not just appear. He is… a well-placed messenger. He seeks out what he wants.” Grant couldn’t hide the jealous look in his eyes as he looked her nude body up and down. It made her cheeks flush scarlet.

“You keep naming all of these people, like I should know them.” She was starting to get annoyed with him. She knew if her cougar could say anything, she would be making snide comments. Briana almost missed her.

“He is one of the best known members of the Shifting Marauders Motorcycle Club, and the Alpha of a very powerful Pride on the outskirts of D.C. What did he want with you?” Grant shucked off his jacket, placing the long olive colored army inspired piece over her shoulders. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was shivering in the cold, or if he was worried Matthias could still see her.

“What everyone wants with me, apparently? To recruit me to their Pride. Said he was bringing a message from someone important. Someone related?” She was fishing because she could tell that her mate knew something. Something he wasn’t telling her.

“Did you tell him you were mated?” His eyes narrowed.

“I didn’t have enough time. Hell, you probably heard the entire conversation. Besides, I don’t think he would have cared. He didn’t seem to care about anything.” He certainly didn’t care if he made waves by appealing to her, even though he “knew” who she was. It made her nervous. Someone that cavalier, to cross into territory without permission, trying to poach her in broad daylight. What would he be like given a more desperate situation? She didn’t want to think about it.

“No, he probably wouldn’t think anything of it. If he comes to you again, just tell him no.” Grant sniffed, his masculine jaw hard as he looked at her. Even then, all she could see was the cougar in him, trying to claim his territory.

“Just tell him no? A great Alpha? I don’t think that happens. I may be new, but I’m not dumb,” She sneered, her growing irritation evident. “Besides, I don’t think it will come to that anytime soon. We have greater things to worry about. Like my trial. Like the battle.”

“We have some things to take care of, in town. Been moved up to tonight. That was why I came searching for you. To get you to come back home.”

“That overgrown biker bar is not my home, Grant. Not yet.”

He sighed and looked down, his hand in his hair before he looked up at her, his glare completely gone, replaced with compassion. “Look, I know this isn’t the life you wanted. In a way, this is not the life any of us want. I know you are struggling with yourself, struggling against me. I get it. I understand that, Briana.” He visibly swallowed, raising his hand to deftly catch a lock of her hair and twist it in his fingers. “But you can’t just run from it. From me. We don’t have that choice. If we don’t stick together, we end up becoming nothing eventually. No defense from other predators, against other creatures of our world. Of the human world. The best I can do for you is just…care for you, and give you this protection.”

Any tension in his face melted away as he said those words. He was clearly baring his soul to her, and she couldn’t help but feel drawn to it. For the first time, she could tell that it wasn’t the stupid mating bond pulling her to him, but her own feelings for him. He wanted to make this town a better place. To use his M.C. to create something good.

She couldn’t deny the sway that he had.  He was genuine, no matter what Matthais said about the motives of the Pride. She knew she could trust him.

She nodded, “I just… I want to be my own person, Grant. I want to know that the feelings that I have, that they are real.”

“Do you want out of the mating bond?” Worry filled his eyes. “I would do that for you. I would do anything you asked.”

She considered his offer for a moment. It would give her the ability to figure out what she really wanted, but it would also leave her very vulnerable. If she was honest with herself, the offer scared her too. She liked being linked to him, even if it left her feeling dependent.