The Lost Slipper (Fairytale Shifter Book 3) (6 page)

I
drive
Winnie home that night and give her a small kiss on the cheek. I don’t push for more, but my wolf is clawing at me from the inside. This is by far the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do.

The only way thing that brought me through it is the fact that I’ve got her scent on me, and that this brings me one step closer to getting her to accept me as her mate. If I can make her happy and give her pleasure, then that’s what I want to do.

After I watch her close the door to her house, I do a perimeter sweep just to be on the safe side. Something about the other night is digging at me, and I don’t like it. I go around her house a couple of times, but I don’t smell anything strange. I let the feeling go, thinking that I’m just being paranoid about my mate. I’ll pick her up and take her to work in the morning to be safe. And possibly to steal kisses, if I’m being completely honest about it.

Tonight was so wonderful—tasting her and loving her body. I can’t wait for a lifetime together when I’ll get to enjoy her as often as I want. Lying next to her made me ache, because I remembered what it was like to sleep in the bed with her. How I wanted her sweetness even then, and it made it impossible to be near her like that.

I turn to go back towards my truck, the smile pulling at my face, but suddenly the wind changes, sending a new scent my way. I flip around and start running for the woods.

I leap into the air and shift before I land, ripping my clothes to shreds and landing on four paws. I let out a snarl loud enough for anyone to hear, wanting whoever is out there to be afraid.

I know the scents of my packmates and of the surrounding packs. Alphas meet and tour each others’ homes and keep in close contact to protect one another. If there’s an outsider here, it’s not for a good reason, or they would have made themselves known. They would know not to slip through the woods. It’s most likely a rogue shifter, and they’re the most dangerous.

Running through the woods, I try to catch the scent, but it’s fading. The shifter must have known the winds would bring his scent my way and ran. What’s he doing at my mate’s house? At the thought of Winnie, I stop tracking him and run back to the house. I can’t chase after him while trying to protect my mate. She’s the priority.

Once I get back to the house, I howl loudly, letting everyone inside know I’m out here. They’ll know the sound of the alpha.

Winnie jerks open the door almost immediately, running out to me without hesitation. She’s coming to me for protection, and it makes pride swell in my chest. When she gets to me, she wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face in my fur. I nearly purr from the feeling of having her against me, but I keep myself in check.

“What’s wrong, Stone? Your howl made me panic. I needed to get to you.” She leans back, looking into my eyes, and I start to begin to shift. “
No!
” she shouts, gripping my fur. She looks back over her shoulder at her stepmother and stepsister standing on the porch and then looks back to me. Leaning in close so only I can hear her, she whispers in my ear. “I don’t want you to shift back without clothes on.”

Shifters are used to seeing each other naked—it’s kind of an occupational hazard—but I think I would feel the same were there males around to see my mate naked.

“Do you have clothes in your truck?”

I nod, and Winnie comes up beside me, walking over to the truck and pulling out a bag. I follow her, step for step, looking around for danger, and making sure she’s completely protected. I don’t want to shift back to human form, but I need to tell Winnie and her family I’m worried about a rogue shifter, and I need to get Winnie to safety.

After a moment, she pulls out a shirt and jeans. She walks to the other side of the truck where I’m no longer visible to her family.

I shift back and stand naked before her. Winnie holds my clothes but doesn’t make a move to hand them to me. She just looks me up and down. If this wasn’t a serious situation, I’d make a joke about being a piece of meat. My hard cock juts out, pointing right at her, and when her tongue comes out to lick her lips, it bounces a little at the invitation.

Fuck, I need to get myself under control.

I take one long step and press my naked body to hers and back her up against the truck. “Now’s not the time to be looking at me like that, little cub. I need to get you to safety.” Grabbing my shirt and jeans out of her hand, I lean down to kiss her neck just a little before stepping back and getting dressed.

Winnie shakes her head a little as if she’s pushing away her own lust-filled fog. “What was that howl for? It made chills run up and down my spine, and not in a good way.”

“There’s a rogue shifter in the woods out here. I thought I caught something the last night, but I brushed it off. Tonight, I’m sure of it. I didn’t catch him, but the scent is here around your house.”

“My house? What would a rogue shifter be doing here?” She looks around as if she might spot a clue. “Maybe it’s a mistake. Just calm down, and let’s think this through.”

Grabbing her hand, I pull her around the truck and back to her house. I’m not letting her get more than an inch from me. As I walk up to the porch, I see her stepmom, Tina, and the twins.

“Trish, go pack a bag for Winnie. Now.”

She flinches, but then nods, turning quickly and doing what I say.

I feel Winnie tug on my arm. “Stone, I’m not going anywhere. This could all be some mix up. Just calm down.”

Ignoring her, I look to Tina. “Do you have a safe place you and the girls can stay for a few days? I’m going to have some of the guys start patrols, and I want to make sure you three are secure until we find out what’s going on.”

“We can go to my sister’s house,” Tina says, looking over at Winnie and giving her a look. I can’t tell if it’s jealousy or anger, but I don’t have time to ask on it before Trish comes out with Winnie’s bag.

“Good. Go ahead and go there now, and I’ll be in touch tomorrow to let you know what I find out. Winnie is obviously coming with me.” Turning, I feel Winnie tug harder against my grip this time.

“Obviously? Stone, let me go.” She tries to jerk a little harder on my hold, but it does nothing. I’m not releasing her.

Not wanting to cause a scene in front of her family, I reach over and pick Winnie up, throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her to my truck. I must have shocked her because she doesn’t fight me. I put her in the passenger seat and lock the door as I walk around and get behind the wheel.

Putting the truck in drive, I hit the gas and head back to our home. I see Winnie out of the corner of my eye as she crosses her arms and lets out a huff of frustration.

It’s a quick drive back to our home, and when we get there, Winnie makes no move to get out. Turning towards her in the cab of the truck, I see she won’t even look at me.

“Winnie. Look at me.” I use my alpha voice, and after a second of hesitation, her eyes snap to mine. “We did this your way, but that’s over now. There was a stranger outside your house tonight, and I didn’t recognize the scent. I’ve scented thousands of shifters and didn’t know this one. Do you have any idea what kind of danger that puts you in? You’re my mate whether you accept that or not, and I will die to protect you.” She flinches at my words, but I’m finished letting her make the calls between us. I want her to choose me, but there is no other choice but me, so it’s time she realized what I am to her.

I reach out and grip her chin, firmly holding her so that she can’t look away. “Don’t put your life as well as mine in danger by not listening to me and doing what you think is best. You will stay here in our home now. This indecision is done. You are
mine.
”

“
S
crew you
.” I jerk my head away from him before opening the passenger side door, grabbing my bag and heading for the front door of his house. I glance over my shoulder to see him staring after me, not having gotten out of the truck yet himself.

Like always, the front door is unlocked, and I walk through. The alpha’s house is always open, and it’s not like Stone needs security. He
is
the security.

I go straight for the upstairs bathroom with one goal in mind. A very hot shower. Hopefully, the sound of the shower will muffle the tears that are going to break free.
Just a moment longer
, I plead with myself.

Once I’m safely inside, I lock the bathroom door and turn the shower knobs, quickly ridding myself of my clothes. Once that’s done, I get in and let the water wash over me. The warm water makes my muscles relax, and the tears flow down my cheeks, mixing with the water. I’m not even sure why I’m crying.

Maybe it was the hurtful words my stepsisters threw at me when I first walked in the door.

It is strange for a shifter not to be with their mate when they find one another. It gave them lots of ammo, and they threw things like, “even your mate doesn’t want you,” and, “you’ll never be what the alpha needs,” at me.

Those words, combined with Stone having let me leave so easily this evening and his agreeing that he hated when I used to crawl into bed with him, cause all my repressed emotions to break free. I stand under the spray until the water runs cold. When I can’t stand the chill anymore, I finally wash my body before making myself get out.

I take my time, even going as far as to blow dry my hair. After there is absolutely nothing else I can possibly do in the bathroom, I open the door and poke my head out. When I see the coast is clear, I tiptoe to the guest room, locking the door before slipping under the covers. I’m not sure why I bother being quiet. I have no doubt he’s heard every move I’ve made.

After thirty minutes of silence, I roll to my side. Maybe he’s going to let me be alone tonight.

No sooner have I started to doze off than I feel a warm body against me. Stone wraps his arms around me, pulling me close. Once again, my body melts into him. I move a little, and I can feel his legs are bare as they tangle with mine.

“I thought you’d sneak into my room. It would be so different this time, and I could finally know.” His deep voice is quiet in the dark, but his breath is hot against my neck.

It’s almost laughable how the tables have turned. Him slipping into my bed, pulling me from the very home he once left me at. I’d begged him in that same driveway not to leave me.

“You told me not hours ago you hated it when I did that,” I bite out. “And what could you
finally
know
?” Half of what he’s saying doesn’t even make sense to me. What could he finally know?

I feel his teeth graze my neck and latch on to where he bit me before. I have to fight not to moan and beg him to do it again. I want to plead with him to sink so deeply, I’ll never be free of him

“Don’t.” I try to growl the word, but the bear that seems to be making herself known a little more lately is not helping. Before I can finish the word, we’ve flipped, and I find myself straddling Stone’s hips as he lies beneath me. My hands fall to his chest to support myself, and my nails dig into the solid muscle there. His hands slide up my bare hips, his fingers digging in. It’s a hold I know I couldn’t break, but it isn’t so hard that it hurts me. It’s dark, but with our shifter eyes, we can see just fine, and I know he sees me naked on top of him.

“I’m an alpha, Winnie.” His eyes lock with mine, the blue seeming even darker with only the moonlight flooding in through the window to illuminate them. “I’ll give you all the control I can. In time, I think I’ll make you happy because I have the need to do that. I want to make you happy and give you everything you could ever want. But not when it comes to your safety. Nor will I allow you to pull away from me.”

It’s then I understand why he put us in this position. He’s showing me I can do with him what I want, but he won’t be letting me go.

“You don’t really want me. You’ve always pushed me away. Even…”

He sits up, his naked chest pressing against my bare breasts. My legs extend, wrapping around his waist, and I feel him, skin to skin.

We’re just a breath from each other, and then he closes the distance. His mouth covers mine, devouring my lips, and he kisses me like he’s been starved for my mouth. He dominates me, taking and demanding. His hard cock moves and rubs against my wet folds.

“Does that feel like I don’t want you? That I want to push you away?”

I feel his cock jerk against my pussy. Pushing against me and seeking entry.

“That’s just it. Now that you don’t have a choice…” I close my eyes because I can’t even finish the sentence. This is it, truth time.

I feel his big hands cup my face, making me open my eyes.

“I hated when you crawled into my bed because it made me want something I thought I couldn’t have.”

His thumb rubs along my jaw, but I just stare at him in confusion.

“I’ve meet a lot of alphas and their mates.” He pauses, leaning forward, his nose brushing mine, before pulling back. A soft smile pulls at his lips. “All the alphas I’ve met were mated to alpha females. Nothing like you.”

I can’t stop myself from flinching. The words cause me pain, and they cut me. Stone must feel it because a growl leaves his chest.

“I didn’t want that,” he says, his voice deep and strong.

“A mate who matched you?” Every alpha male I’ve met has been paired with an alpha female. That’s why I didn’t understand our mating and how it could happen.

“That doesn’t sound like me. Not much of a match.” He leans forward, doing the nose rub again. This time it tickles a little, and a small giggle spills from my lips.

“See? That’s what I want. I want you, and every time you got close to me, it was like a bitter reminder of what I’d never have. I wanted it. Wanted
you
from the very beginning. I also knew it was wrong to long for one who wasn’t my mate. Here I was, spending my nights dreaming about you. Falling asleep with you. Checking in on you.” He leans in, his lips a breath from mine “Doing fake house checks when you were at school just so I could sit in your room and smell you while you were gone.”

“You went into my room?” I don’t know why out of all the stuff he said that was the question that popped up first.

“Mainly when I got to the edge. Pack shit got to be too hard, and I needed to be calmed. Yeah.” He shrugs his big shoulders like it’s no big deal. “I’d tell your stepmom it was normal. I was just checking in on you, but I’d just sit. And try to calm down.”

“Did it work?” My words come out as a whisper.

“Every time.”

“Then why were you such a jerk to me all the time?” I pull back, smacking his arm.

“I was never mean to you,” he growls, like I offended him.

“Never mean to me? Really? You randomly text me, bossing me around, all the time. Last month at the fair you said I wasn’t like everyone and embarrassed me in front of the pack.”

“You aren’t like everyone else.” His brows draw together like this is something I should know. “I knew that from the moment I laid eyes on you, and not because you were a bear shifter, Winnie. I don’t know why I knew you were different, I just felt it. Everything about you is soft and sweet and I want it. My wolf wants to just curl around you and soak it in. Relish the comfort. I feel starved of it.”

His hands start to roam my body, sliding down my sides and over my hips.

“Everything I do is for this pack and what I think is best for it. Even when I was pushing you away, I thought it was best for you. I’m starting to think I can’t do anything right. I fucked up with Gwen and now you. I seem to be doing more damage than good.”

My heart breaks for him at the confession because what he’s saying is true. Everything he does is for the pack. Gwen even said today that she’d never seen Stone do anything for himself. I can’t imagine working so hard for something and thinking you’re still not doing it right.

All this time he’s wanted me. Maybe I can be the one to finally give the alpha something of his own.