Shifting Magic (Shifted) (11 page)

“How
nice for you,” Faith said dropping the subject. No use pushing the girl. She might be making something out of nothing. She had however found a link between the clinic and a wolf not of the Cheveyo pack. That was information worth repeating.

As the day went by
, Faith caught the other women whispering and glancing her way. She was enjoying the attention, even if her relationship to Ranger wasn’t real.

“Hey
Faith, your man is here,” Tam said with a hint of jealousy.

“Thanks
Tam, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she smiled. The whole thing with Ranger was not as painful as she thought it would be. The thoughts of the man she had seen on Sunday seemed to have tamed the crush she had on Ranger. “Great, I just transferred my obsession to another Cheveyo male,” she muttered shaking her head. She really needed to get a real man. Maybe when this was over she would start going out with the girls on the weekends.

“Hey
,” Ranger smiled while shifting from one foot to the other. “You ready?”

“Yeah
, thanks for picking me up.”

“It
is the least I could do. Willow called and said she and Ryder are grilling tonight. You okay with just staying in?”

“Of
course, let me get my bag and I’ll be right out.”

Faith wasn’t surprised when June
, Tam, and Michelle followed her back to the lockers.

“Oooh
, dinner at his place,” Michelle cooed.

“I
hear they have that officer living with them now?” June stated.

“Who
Nina? Yeah her place got flooded. Pipe broke or something. She’s staying until the landlord can fix the damage.”

“
She’s human right,” Michelle asked. Maybe she was the leak.

“Yes
she is, but after what she did for Rory I guess they feel they owe her,” Faith feigned indifference.

“
Do you think she has figured out…you know?” June whispered.

“She
knows June. Willow thought it was best.”

“Shit
, you’re kidding!” Michelle said a little too loud. Faith had to stifle a laugh.

“
She’s great. I like her a lot.”

“
Times sure are changing,” Tam muttered and shook her head.”

“You
can say that again. I don’t want to keep Ranger waiting, girls. See you tomorrow.”

“
Hey, try and get some sleep tonight so you won’t be all moon-eyed, and useless tomorrow,” Tam joked.

“I
plan on getting to bed early,” Faith winked

“I’ll
bet,” June grinned.

“Ready,” Faith said taking Ranger
’s arm as they walked out of the clinic.

“
So?” he asked as soon as they were on their way.

“I
don’t think it’s Tam. June has some guy she’s seeing that’s not pack. His name is Will. I didn’t get a last name. She seemed surprised we were dating and you didn’t go human like your brothers.”

“Sounds
promising. Look Faith, I really appreciate this.”

“It’s
fine Ranger. Nina is your mate. I can see the way you look at her. This is hard for you.”

“
You have no idea.”

“
So, is Willow really grilling or should we stop and pick up a movie? You and your mate can be kind of loud you know,” she jabbed.

“Faith
?”

“
Relax, it’s all good.” Faith was having a hard time keeping a straight face. She liked Ranger, but then again, the way she liked him had changed.

Faith had to practically run to keep up with Ranger as soon as they entered the house. Nina opened her mouth to say hello and felt Ranger
’s mouth crush against hers before she could utter a word.

“That’s
my cue. Faith said rushing back to the kitchen to get as far away from the couple as she could before she saw something she didn’t need to.

“
They at it again?” Willow laughed as Faith skid into the room. “No getting naked in the living room,” she yelled in reminder. Ranger answered with a growl making her laugh.

“God I missed
you,” Ranger managed breathlessly.

“Oh
you did, did you? How much?” Nina’s taunt had the desired result. Ranger lifted her taking the stairs three at a time before crashing into their bedroom.

“
You are in so much trouble,” he said with a gleam in his eye as he stalked forward.

Nina made no effort to stop him.
Witches had nothing that compared to the mating fever. Too bad. She thought with a grin. This was something she wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on.

Ranger started slow
ly even though he wanted nothing more than to strip her and bury himself deep inside her body. His lips trailed across her jaw and then her collar bone.

“
Please,” Nina moaned.

“Please
what, little witch?”

“I
need,” she gasped feeling his hands brush her hip. With slow strokes his hands glided along her abdomen and up to caress her breast. The fire burned hot, wicking up from inside, pooling moisture in her belly. Ranger was slowly driving her insane with want. She wanted more, needed more. The heat threatened to overcome her and they had barely started. Then she bit him knowing if she did, there was no way he was going to be able to resist just taking her.

She was right and
, in seconds, she found herself tossed on the bed naked and wanting as her huge mate loomed above her, hesitating not at all before taking her breath away. He filled her, claiming and re-claiming, as he set a rhythm that, if she hadn’t been turned, she wasn’t sure she could take.

“I
love you,” he groaned and held her tighter as she stiffened. She felt love for the man she was now connected to for life, but it hadn’t occurred to her he would feel love as well. The mate fever was more of a claiming, a possession, an undeniable attraction that didn’t necessarily come with love. Did it? Nina realized she knew nothing about the specifics of the heat she was immersed in.

“I love you too Ranger
, so much,” she gasped, barely getting the words out before shattering into a million pieces. The words combined with the sensation of his hands roaming the most intimate parts of her anatomy had her flying as stars crossed her vision.

14

“Faith, bring out the salad. We will eat on the back deck,” Willow called.

Faith followed
Willow out feeling more and more like a part of the family. She had to keep reminding herself this wasn’t real. The sounds of love making still echoing through the house would have normally clued her in. It seemed natural to her to have Ranger and Nina entwined in the same seat at dinner. She found she liked the woman and felt no residual jealousy from her years of crushing on Nina’s mate. Maybe that was a perk of the fever that others became less interested in you as well.

Faith was day dreaming
and wondering what it would feel like to be so connected to another person. It was hard not to think of that while sitting at a table for the last few nights with a pair of mated shifters. Willow and Ryder may have been mated longer, but that didn’t dim the fire in their eyes when they looked at each other.

“Faith,
Faith, is that okay?”

“
Is what okay?” She shook herself from the daydream that always seemed to include a man she didn’t even know the name of. She really had to see someone about this Alpha fixation. Maybe she could find a nice accountant to date.

“I
asked if Sunday dinner was okay. If we were really a couple and it was serious, you would be included.”

“
Yeah, sure. Whatever you think is best.”

“You
didn’t have plans, did you?” Nina asked with concern.

“
No, it’s fine.” I was fine except for the possibility of making a fool of herself with his uncle. Drooling at the Alpha’s table is probably not a good thing.

“
You know, I noticed no one ever even asked you if you were seeing someone before roping you into this. You don’t have some guy you had to dump to help us, do you?” Nina was genuinely concerned.

“No,” Faith laughed.
“No guy. It really is no problem. Actually, your mate has been the best boyfriend I’ve ever had. That’s sad, isn’t it?”

“He
is pretty great,” Nina laughed.

“So
boyfriend, the answer to Sunday is yes. It will be nice to see Rory and the baby.” ‘Not to mention your uncles might be there,’ she said to herself silently.

“
That’s settled then. Ryder and I will bring Nina. That should stir up whoever is tailing us.”

“
Are you still being followed?” Faith asked with concern.

“Only
when Nina is in the car. It’s like they are watching the house.”

“So
why not confront whoever this is,” Faith asked the men. It wasn’t like an Alpha to tolerate being followed.

Ryder growled in agreement.
“My wife insists we have bigger fish to fry. Whoever sent this guy is the one we want. If we take him down, we can’t trace it back to Howland.”

“
And you think it’s Howland?” Faith was curious. That was after all why she was pretending to ‘date’ the Alpha.

“Nina has been watching. It’s always the same car.
The man in the driver’s seat isn’t Howland and he never makes a move,” Ranger told the group.

“
He isn’t too bright if you ask me,” Nina smiled. “He’s way too easy to spot.”

“You’re
a trained officer. I don’t know that I’d notice if someone was following me.” Faith shuttered at the thought of being stalked. Nina was putting herself at great risk.

“Oh
, you’d notice this asshole,” Nina smiled.

Faith enjoyed dinner with the two couples. She didn’t feel so much like a fifth wheel. The whole family was so welcoming.

On Sunday
, when she and Ranger arrived at the Alpha compound it was almost as if she was family. She was greeted by the Alpha himself and his lovely mate. She pushed back thoughts of what life would be like when they caught this guy. She would go back to being just plain old Faith instead of Ranger’s girl. She would miss the family gatherings, even if she was only there to catch a killer.

Ranger rushed into the house
and grabbed Nina as the two wolves wrapped themselves together in a searing kiss.

“
Come on Faith. Us unmated wolves have to stick together,” Xavier said steering her out of the room. “It has to be hard to watch that all the time.”

“I
don’t mind. It’s not like they can help it. The mate fever is kind of all consuming. It’s hard on them having me tag along all the time. I’m sure they would rather be alone.”

“
Better them than me,” Xavier grumbled.

“You
don’t want a mate?”

“Sure
, someday, but I’m in no hurry.”

“
Not every wolf gets what they have. I think they are lucky to have found each other. It’s kind of romantic,” Faith smiled

"So what about you? You
want a mate?”

“Sure
, if it’s meant to be. I would like kids, a home, you know.” Faith noticed the others had stopped to stare at Xavier, whose arm was tossed across her shoulders in a friendly gesture.  Xavier laughed at the questioning faces.

“
No, she’s not my mate. So you can all go back to whatever you were doing,” he smiled knowing that’s what they were looking for. Faith was beautiful and smart, and her agreeing to be involved in this made her courageous, but touching her didn’t send a fire running through his veins. No, Faith was definitely not his.

Faith and Xavier were on the couch when Knight and Gage arrived for the gathering. The energy emitted by the two Alpha males was evident even before they entered the room. Faith’s breath caught in her throat as she tried to calm her racing heart. One male in particular stood out as they entered the great room. The two males were similar. Both were dark with the signature blue eyes of the Cheveyo clan. They might have been mistaken for twins by anyone just meeting them, but Faith knew which one had her heart pumping.

“Finally
, we are all here. Let’s eat,” Royal commanded. “What took you two so long?” he said glancing at his brothers as they followed the group to the dining room.