Page 17 of Shifter Mate Magic
The wyvern raised its long, sinuous neck and extended its wings. “I am a wyvern, you cretin.” Its refined, upper-crust British accent held deep outrage. “I am no one’s pet.”
Jackie rubbed her arms where the sibilant hiss under the words raised atavistic goosebumps across her skin.
Zarabitta turned and bowed toward the wyvern. “My apologies, Scholar of the Skies. Wiley has shit for brains, but he meant no offense.”
The wyvern’s wings folded, and then it relaxed with a disgruntled “harrumph.” Jackie bit her lip to keep from laughing.
Zarabitta crossed to the center of the tarp and nodded to Jackie and Trevor, then turned and bowed to the council. “I withdraw my request for custody of the bear shifter named Trevor Hammond. We further acknowledge a debt of succor and defense to both him and his future mate, that they may pass on to their immediate offspring.”
A murmur arose from the crowd, and all eyes turned toward her and Trevor. She didn’t have a clue what to say, but thankfully, Trevor did. “No harm done. The debt is acknowledged, and the proposed recompense is accepted.” He tightened his arms around her and whispered in her ear. “I’ll explain later.”
Zarabitta nodded, then turned again to the council. “With your permission, we’d like to ride out.” From near the motorcycles, Cody’s howl changed from human to pure coyote. Zarabitta’s eyes rolled. “Seems I have den cleaning to do.”
The beautiful golden elf nodded. “Farewell, Alpha Leader. Follow the right will-o-the-wisp, and your road will be straight and true.”
Zarabitta bowed again, then strode purposefully toward Wiley and the other coyote, who fell in behind her as she passed. They were swallowed by the crowd as Zarabitta shouted, “Someone tie that moron’s muzzle shut!”
From the far side of the tarp, Roehm and five of his pride watched the action. They looked like extras in a low-budget post-apocalyptic movie. Roehm fixed Jackie with a confident, malevolent stare that promised a slow and painful death. Her first instinct was to hunch into a submissive posture and look away, but Trevor’s strong arms and his deep, throaty rumbling behind her gave her the courage to stand up straight and look Roehm right in the eye. A frown crossed his face, before he smoothed his expression. He put one toe on the tarp and looked at the golden elf female. “Is it my turn?” His tone bordered on insolent.
At Guivre’s nod, the ghostly guard’s scimitar in front of Roehm rose. He headed straight for the middle of the tarp, as if taking center stage. His metal-studded leather jacket tightened as his arms and chest bulged. At well over six feet and heavily muscled, he radiated prime alpha dominance and barely contained berserker rage. The power beat against her temple, like it wanted into her brain. She put her hands protectively over her belly.
Guivre yawned.
The council members tittered and covered their mouths to hide their smiles. The lavender fairy smirked. The centaur outright laughed. Jackie only just stopped her jaw from dropping.
Roehm’s veneer of civility cracked. He pointed an accusing finger at Jackie. “That human skank stole stuff from me and my pride. She slit the throat of her owner… uh, landlord and stole his motorcycle. She has to pay. Hand her over, and no one gets hurt.”
Guivre tilted her head, almost bird-like. “Have you an invitation?”
Roehm sneered. “I don’t need an invitation. I have a crew.” He pointed a thumb toward his pride members, all enforcers, but kept his eyes trained on the golden elf. “Give ’em a taste, boys. Shift!”
Jackie felt Roehm’s shifter magic command and instinctively covered her stomach with her arms. In the past, the command to shift had given her a powerful cramp, as if her baby was trying to obey, but this time, the magic slid on by her like an errant breeze. Behind her, the deep growl vibrating Trevor’s chest soothed her.
The enforcers stayed human. They looked at one another, surprised, as if the command had slid by them, too. Roehm spared them a fast glance, then did a double take. “Shift!” he ordered and punched out even harder with his alpha power. Nothing happened.
“I’m sorry,” said Guivre coolly, “but we don’t allow uninvited gatecrashers to operate significant magic in our town.” She didn’t sound the least bit apologetic.
Before anyone could react, Roehm pulled out a huge handgun and aimed it straight at Jackie’s chest. “Then I’ll just kill her now and take back what she stole.”
Trevor shoved her behind him and let out an inhumanly loud growl. She wrapped her arms around his waist, willing him to listen. “Stay human. He wants you outside our circle. The bullets are animal poison.”
“Pendragor, if you would be so kind?” Guivre sounded like she was asking someone to pour tea.
Jackie felt rather than saw the power of the wand that the amethyst-eyed fairy had wielded earlier. Roehm yowled in pain. She peeked around Trevor in time to see a puddle of molten metal burning a hole in the tarp. Roehm stumbled away toward the far edge, holding his charred hand to his chest, yowling. He fumbled at his neckline.
Jackie slid herself around Trevor to stand in front of him and sent her magical senses out to see what Roehm was reaching for. “Roehm’s got a lightning charm,” she shouted.
Pendragor’s eyes narrowed as he wielded his slender wand like he was conducting an orchestra. Power surged. Roehm’s screaming turned to screeches of agony as five places on his clothes burst into unnatural green flame, then exploded with fireworks. He twirled in a mad dance, trying to get away from the sparks.
“Oh, do cease the melodrama, Alpha Roehm.” Guivre’s expression was neutral, but her tone was peevish. “We all know your burns will heal in minutes.”
Instead of answering, Roehm launched himself toward Jackie, tearing out of his clothes in a half-shift to give himself muscles, claws, and teeth. Even as she dropped to the ground in a ball to protect herself and her child, Trevor full-shifted in a heartbeat and launched out of the chalk circle to meet Roehm head-on.
Roehm’s body bounced off Trevor’s huge bear as if he’d hit a wall. He rolled away and finished shifting, but the enraged bear was right there with twenty-inch claws that ripped into the lion’s soft underbelly.
The lion scrambled up and leapt onto the much larger bear’s back, biting down and sinking claws into the bear’s heavily shaggy fur. The bear stood upright and shook, throwing the lion off. In a blur of motion, the bear spun and dropped his front body weight, landing heavy paws on the lion’s back. Everyone heard the sickening crack as the lion’s spine snapped.
Incredibly, the lion pulled itself around using its front paws and sank sharp teeth into the meaty part of the bear’s back leg. The bear turned and bit the lion’s flattened ear, but the lion clamped its jaws tighter. The bear tried again, but only succeeded in dragging the lion’s weight around in a circle.
