Shifter Love [Werewolves of Forever, Texas 13] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 3

  After finally finding a rental home—coincidentally, one of Jackson Carr’s—she’d moved to Forever, intent on uncovering the truth. She’d spent the first month getting settled and trying to earn the townspeople’s trust. Although friendly, they kept her at arm’s length.

  All she could think about was the man. It hadn’t taken long to figure out that the man and the wolf were one and the same. She’d seen enough movies to eventually make the connection. Finally, after spending a week doing research, she’d come to the inevitable yet too-close-to-flat-out-crazy explanation that he had been a werewolf.

  In the end, she really hadn’t had any other choice except to put her business on hold and hope her clients would use her once she returned. She’d have to use her savings to cover her expenses, but finding out that what she’d seen was real was more important. Her sanity was at stake.

  She’d met Harper Winslow, the man she was tailing, a few times. Had even shared a beer with him at the Moonstone Bar. She’d coaxed him, waiting until he was good and drunk, easing him into slipping up and telling her the truth as he studied her breasts spilling over the top of her tight T-shirt. Her effort had paid off. He’d talked about shifters and how Forever was full of them, confirming what she’d already concluded.

  Werewolves were real, and Forever, Texas was filled with them.

  Harper darted to the left. She crouched, hiding behind a bush when he turned toward her. Just as he was about to take a step toward her, a woman broke through the tree line. The two embraced then began stripping off each other’s clothes.

  Damn it. Had she wasted her time only to witness a lovers’ tryst? Was good old boy Harper cheating on his wife? After the way he’d practically drooled over her at the bar, she wouldn’t have doubted his infidelity one bit.

  She glanced away. The last thing she wanted to see was a couple of horny cheaters getting it on. Nonetheless, she brought her gaze back to the couple. Instead of seeing them entangled in fevered sex, they stood apart.

  Shenna smiled as the fur began spreading over their bodies.

  Bingo.

  Getting a run in before having sex?

  She sure hoped so.

  Taking care to be quiet, she slipped the backpack off and searched for her camera, her attention never leaving the couple. She’d take a few quick photos and then switch to video.

  Her pulse quickened. Would anyone believe her even after they saw photographic evidence? Too many videos and photos were faked nowadays, making everyone a skeptic. But there were ways to authenticate her evidence, and she’d do exactly that. Once she had at least four or five different people transforming into wolves caught in photos and in videos, she’d leave Forever and head back to Dallas. Ron Giles, a good friend of hers from their college days, worked at one of the major television stations. She was certain he’d believe her enough to get the photos and videos checked out. Then, with his support and publishing connections, she’d let him break the news that shifters existed, giving her the credit, of course. Following national and international coverage, a book deal was a given.

  Not that fame and fortune were what she was seeking. Sure, those things would be nice, but her main goal was to prove she was right. To prove to herself and others—including folks like Jackson Carr—that she’d really seen a werewolf.

  Although she was expecting it, seeing the couple change still caught her by surprise, exhilarating her and alarming her all at the same time. Fur streamed along their skin. Limbs changed, cracking and reforming. Did shifting hurt? Obviously they could control when they changed. The old myth about the moon was only a myth. She longed to stand up, to call out to them, and to ask them to talk to her.

  Instead, she mentally shook herself, reminding herself that she couldn’t simply watch. She had work to do.

  This is amazing.

  Even if no one believed her, she’d know the truth. Yes, she would know.

  But they’d believe. They had to believe.

  She lifted the camera and began snapping away.

  By the time they’d changed and dropped to all fours, she was left breathless. They bounded away, leaving her alone. Slowly, she put the camera back into the pack. Chasing after them was impossible. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder what she’d see if she could.

  What would it be like to run, free and wild? Would they make love as animals? Or change back to their human forms for sex? Would they hunt for food? Or were the essentials of life taken care of as humans?

  She ached to find out. And, if she were honest with herself, she longed to be one of them.

  * * * *

  “We got lucky, boys.” Doug Beckett shifted in the saddle as he looked over the land of their new ranch.

  His cousin, Marty Beckett, sat on one of the other horses that had been included with the purchase. “We sure did. If the Groats hadn’t all of a sudden decided to sell, we probably wouldn’t have found the perfect place to set down roots.”

  Jordan Beckett, Doug’s other cousin, nodded and, true to his nature, kept silent. It was either his quiet personality or he was as spellbound as Doug was.

  “I can’t believe it took us four years to finally find the right ranch.” But weren’t the best things worth waiting for?

  “Four long years,” added Marty. “Still, it was worth it.”

  “Damn straight.” They’d seen well over a dozen ranches but had never felt at home until they’d come to Forever. As werewolves, they’d known that Forever was a shifter town, but they’d visited other shifter towns and hadn’t stayed because they hadn’t felt like home. As soon as they’d gotten out of their one and only shared pickup and their booted feet had touched the red Texas dirt, they’d known the ranch and the town were perfect for them. Even if the Groats hadn’t wanted to sell their home, the men would’ve found some other place to stay until the right ranch came along. No matter how long it might have taken, they would’ve waited for a home in Forever.

  They’d also waited to find their mate. Doug was beginning to doubt they’d ever find her. Even if they were lucky enough to finally meet her, who knew if she’d have the connection—the invisible bond that linked mates together—with all three of them? If his mate came along and didn’t want Marty or Jordan, what would he do? Take the woman and forget his cousins? His stomach churned thinking about the possibility.

  Don’t think about it. It won’t happen.

  How many times had he told himself the very same thing? How many more times would he think it? But to give more thought, more energy to the other possibility was too difficult to consider.

  “We’ll wait however long we have to wait.”

  Doug met Jordan’s gaze. His cousin wasn’t much on talking, but whenever he did, he usually said something worth listening to. “Yeah. You’re right. We will. I just wish we’d find her sooner rather than later.”

  “We will,” added Marty.

  “Marty Beckett, the eternal optimist.” But Marty’s optimism was one of the things he loved about his cousin. Not that he’d ever admit it. A cowboy could love his ranch, his horse, and his woman, but getting mushy about his cousin? Damn, he’d rather eat a pile of horseshit.

  “I’m an optimist, yeah, but this time it’s because I’m right.”

  “Yeah,” admitted Doug. “You are.”

  “No matter how long,” repeated Marty.

  “No matter how long,” confirmed Doug. “But you know we’re limiting our chances by settling here.” They’d been traveling, following the rodeo circuit, and living a simple life for the last few years. They’d never stayed in one place too long, always needing to move on, always searching for their mate.

  “You don’t know that. Maybe, by running all over the country, we’ve made it harder to find her. Or for her to find us. Maybe sticking to one place will be the answer.”

  “I sure hope so.” He didn’t voice his worries. What if they never found her? Would they finally give up and mate another woman? They wanted families, kids. As they got older, they
could still have children, but finding a young woman willing to have those kids with older men might be difficult. Hell, finding a woman to mate with three men, men who were shifters, was even harder.

  “We will. Now let’s get moving. Daylight’s a-burnin’,” said Jordan.

  Jordan pulled the reins back, turning his horse back toward the house. The house was an old ranch-style place that had seen better days. Although comfortable, it wasn’t pretty by any means. And the plumbing was old and, in some places, leaking. The rest of the ranch was the same way. Fences needed repairing. Grass was overgrown in areas. But the barn, the place where the horses were kept, had been in great shape, and that was more important than their living quarters.

  Once they found their mate, they’d update the house. As far as Doug was concerned, she could pick out all the furnishings and make it girly as she wanted. He’d even live with the color pink if that’s what she really wanted. All that would matter would be having her in their bed.

  * * * *

  Shenna glanced down the sidewalk, searching for a familiar face. She’d met quite a few people, but she was always trying to meet more. The more people she knew, the better chances she had of someone admitting the existence of werewolves. Or better yet, admitting that they were werewolves.

  She never would’ve believed she could love living in a small town, but she did. Small stores, owned by locals and not big corporations, lined Main Street. Being in Forever was like being transported back in time to a more peaceful era, yet she knew the businesses as well as the citizens were up to date on technology and modern conveniences. Even so, they still managed to maintain a charming ambience to the small town. A dentist’s office, complete with a sign with a tooth drawn on it, was across the street. The barbershop still sported the old-fashioned red-and-white poles. Milly’s Coffee Spot was the gathering place for most of the locals. Later, she’d stop by the grocery store, and if she was lucky, she’d run into the town matriarch, Miss Clara.

  Pickups were parked along the street. Red, blue, or white, they all boasted the obligatory trailer hitch for hauling horse trailers. She scanned the opposite sidewalk and finally found a person she knew.

  “Hi, Emma.” Shenna hurried to the pretty woman’s side. Emma Carr was one of the first people she’d met when she’d come to Forever. The bubbly brunette who lived with the Carr brothers had shown up at the rental home with a grocery sack full of food as well as a homemade pie.

  “Hey, girl, how are you doing?” Emma slipped her arm around Shenna and kept walking. “Are you still enjoying the house?”

  “I sure am.” Shenna wouldn’t mention it to anyone, but she could see herself living in the house for years to come. Not that she could stay. Once she had the necessary photos and videos, she’d have to leave town. Exposing the shifters who lived in Forever would have ramifications.

  Can I expose these people I’ve come to care for? Can I stand the thought of them hating me?

  Yet what choice did she have? She’d risked her business and her life’s savings to do so.

  “And how’s the book coming along?”

  “Okay, I guess. I’m still doing some digging.”

  Guilt tightened Shenna’s stomach. She’d had to have a cover story when she’d arrived in Forever. Saying she was an author working on her latest novel fit the bill nicely. Pretending to be an author meant she could work out of the home. It also gave her an excuse for showing up at different places and asking probing questions, supposedly in the name of research. Like most small towns, Forever’s citizens wanted to know all about her. The lie gave her the answers they needed. Yet hiding the truth was more difficult than she’d thought it would be. Lying to strangers was hard, but it was a lot easier than lying to people she liked. Emma was one of those people.

  “What did you say the book is about?” asked Emma.

  Emma’s voice was light, carefree, yet Shenna got the impression that the woman was doing some digging of her own. She couldn’t blame her new friend, but it meant she needed to keep her guard up. “I thought I told you.”

  Emma blinked, but her smile never wavered. “You did?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Oh. Well, then, you probably did. My memory is already starting to go.”

  “At your age?” countered Shenna. “I doubt it.”

  “You never know.” Emma was relentless. “So refresh my memory. What’s the book about?”

  Shenna gave her usual pitch. She’d practiced it often enough, making sure she kept the details straight. “It’s a romance novel. A western romance novel with a handsome hero and a woman in trouble.”

  “That sounds interesting. So are some of the folks around here in it?”

  Shenna averted her gaze. Lying was easier if she didn’t look into someone’s eyes. “Why would you ask? Do you want me to base a character on you?”

  “Good grief, no. But don’t all authors draw on real life? Even those writing fiction?”

  “We do. Sometimes. But you know what they say, don’t you?”

  “I’m not sure.” Emma gave her a squeeze, getting Shenna to look her way again. “Tell me.”

  Again, she gave a rehearsed speech. “All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is strictly coincidental.”

  Emma’s laugh was infectious. “Oh, sure. I’ve heard that before.”

  She dared to take the conversation into dangerous territory. “You don’t happen to know anything about werewolves, do you?”

  Emma brought them both to a stop. “Werewolves? Where did that come from?”

  Shenna shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. “I was thinking of making the book a paranormal romance. I hear paranormal romances are selling better than regular western romance books.”

  “So it’ll be a western paranormal romance?”

  “Maybe. What do you think? Would you read that kind of book?”

  Emma started them walking again, taking Shenna on a jaywalking excursion across the street to head for Milly’s Coffee Spot. “Sure. But then again, I read almost everything I can get my hands on. Especially if there’s a handsome hero in it.”

  “Who doesn’t like a handsome hero?” How could she get back on the subject of werewolves? “Especially the dark and brooding type like a sexy guy who changes into a werewolf during the full moon.”

  “You know the full moon thing is only a myth, don’t you?”

  Shenna tried not to get excited. Was Emma taking the bait? “Isn’t everything about werewolves a myth? I mean, after all, they don’t actually exist.”

  Emma opened the door to the café and let Shenna go inside first. “Of course they don’t.”

  The place was filled with the aroma of sizzling hamburgers and fries. Shenna lifted her nose a little and sniffed. “It always smells so good in here.”

  “Milly and her crew know how to make a woman gain ten pounds just by walking through the door.” Emma tugged her over to the counter. “You know what, though? You should definitely change the book to a western paranormal. I like the idea of men being beasts as long as they’re still men at heart. Primal. It’s sexy, you know.”

  Shenna lifted her eyebrows. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. But you should also think about making it a ménage, too.”

  Thrown, Shenna shot Emma a questioning look. “A ménage? As in more than one woman with one man?”

  “Exactly.” Emma leaned away from her then skimmed her gaze over her as though regarding Shenna for the first time. “So you haven’t noticed?” She lifted a hand to wave at Milly, who was busy scurrying around the diner to refill customers’ coffee cups. Milly’s blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that bounced with every step she took.

  “Noticed what?” She suddenly felt foolish, but she wasn’t sure for what reason.

  “I would’ve thought that as an author you would’ve noticed as soon as you came here.” Emma bit her bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound rude.”


  “You didn’t. But whatever you’re talking about is going right over my head.”

  Emma tipped her head toward the other patrons scattered around the small café. Some were seated at tables while others enjoyed their meal in booths. “Tell me what you see.”

  Shenna took another, longer look around her. “I see men and women eating a meal or drinking coffee.”

  “Look harder and tell me what you see.”

  Shenna tried again. This time, she understood what Emma was getting at. “Why didn’t I notice this before? There are more men than women. In fact, for the most part, there’s only one woman with every two or three men.”

  “So what does that tell you?”

  Realization dawned. “Before now, nothing. Until you mentioned it, I mean. Wow. I really was blind not to see this before. If these people are engaged in ménage relationships, then it’s not a man with more than one woman. It’s the other way round. One woman with more than one man. Can that be real?”

  “Oh, it’s real all right. Haven’t you ever wondered why I live with not only Jackson but Jayden and Jacob, too?”

  “I did, but I kind of figured it was a personal thing. Like one big family staying together to work on the ranch.”

  Emma’s eyes danced. “Honey, I’m with all three of them. As in with all three of them.”

  “All three of them?” It took a moment before the truth hit her. “Oh. So the four of you are…” Are what? In a marriage? But that couldn’t be right. Emma wasn’t a polygamist. Was she?

  “Together. Like four people who are married except that I’m not legally married to three men. Still, a real marriage is in the sharing of their hearts and not on a piece of paper.” She leaned closer. “Shenna, we’re in a ménage relationship. A lot of people in Forever are. And I’m talking about a lot of people.”

  Shenna looked around again, this time with more curiosity. “I can’t believe I didn’t see this earlier.” But then she’d been focused on searching for other things. Like how some people had teeth that were more pointed than others. And amber highlights in their eyes. Just like the amber eyes of the wolf had that had chased her into her car.