Dreaming of the Shifter (Shifter World - Book Five) (Series of 13 Short Stories)

“Which way?” Rolando Florance asked, looking at his mate.

They’d come to a fork in the road, and none of them knew which way to go.

Maddy looked in the back seat at her guardian, Bridget Bentley. The only vampire she has ever known.

Bridget shrugged. “Don’t look at me, Little Bird. Look at your necklace.”

Maddy looked down at the star around her neck. It was glowing again and lifted the slightest off her chest.

“Is that thing pointing?” Gerald asked as he scooted forward in his seat.

“It is,” Maddy whispered as she turned toward the road. The star lifted further off her chest, and she smiled. “That way.” She pointed to the right.

Rolando smiled as he turned the wheel to the right.

“Do you think your sister is looking for you too?” Gerald asked as he sat back in his seat.

Maddy shrugged. “I hope so. Why else would she put her necklace on after over twenty years?”

“Good point.” Gerald nodded as he looked at the vampire. “Do I have a mate?”

Bridget snorted. “Do I look like a witch to you?”

Gerald shrugged. “Maybe a bitch….”

Bridget smacked him upside his head, and he chuckled.

“Do you think the witch who contacted you will be with my sister?” Maddy asked.

Bridget shrugged. “Could be. And the mate thing I know nothing about, so don’t ask. I guess if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

“So, how does it work, anyway?” Maddy asked as she turned to look at Bridget again.

The vampire shrugged. “Not sure. From what I’ve read and heard, the Goddesses split one soul into two beings, and when they find each other, they can’t keep their hands off each other. It’s instant and powerful.”

Rolando grinned at Maddy. “That part is true.”

Maddy blushed as she smiled at him.

“And only one being on this God-forsaken planet knows who each one is and when they’ll meet, or as much information as the Goddesses will release to her.”

“The witch,” the three others in the car said.

Bridget nodded. “Exactly.”

“She’s a white witch. Right?” Maddy asked.

Bridget nodded. “The Goddesses wouldn’t trust this kind of information to a dark witch. They’d kill us all….”

“Wouldn’t the Goddesses kill the dark witch for doing that?” Rolando asked.

“Yeah,” Gerald said, sitting forward again. “I read that anyone who interrupts the Goddesses’ plans will die by their hands.”

Bridget snorted. “Do you honestly think the witches who worship the Devil will care about what the Goddesses would do to them? Granted, I doubt they’d kill any of the Fated Mates. But still, they’d find a way to change everything….” She stopped talking and stared at Maddy, who was still looking at her.

“What?” Maddy asked—her eyes on the vampire.

“I think it was a dark witch who killed your parents,” Bridget whispered.

Maddy stared at her wide-eyed. “What?”

“Ah, Fuck.” Gerald groaned. “That means they’ll come after you again.”

“Wait, what?” Maddy asked with a squeal.

“Your parents died to separate you and your sister, so you couldn’t fulfill your destiny. And now, you and your sister are pregnant with twins, who will take your place….”

“Twins?!” Maddy and Rolando shouted at the same time.

“Woops.” Bridget grinned. “Did I forget to mention that?”

Rolando growled, and Maddy giggled.

“Yes, Bridget, you forgot to mention that,” Maddy said with a smile. “Twins.”

“Identical.” Bridget smiled.

Rolando reached for Maddy’s hand, and she laced her fingers with his.

“Turn around in the seat and make sure you’re buckled in good,” Bridget said, staring at the truck coming toward them.

“What is it, vampire?” Gerald asked.

“They’re not friendlies.” Bridget nodded toward the truck ahead of them, coming up on them fast.

“Bridget, can you get Maddy out of here?” Rolando asked.

Bridget nodded.

“I’m not leaving you,” Maddy said, squeezing his hand.

Rolando looked at Maddy from the corner of his eye and squeezed her hand back. “Don’t worry about us. Worry about you and the cubs.”

“No,” Maddy cried.

Rolando squeezed his mate’s hand one more time, then let go. “I love you,” he said as they watched the truck swerve into their lane. “Now, Vampire.”

“Rolando!” Maddy screamed as Bridget placed her hand on her shoulder, and they disappeared.

“Brace yourself,” Rolando said as he swerved to miss the truck.

The truck followed.

“NO!” Maddy screamed as she and Bridget watched the truck plow into the car.

The car flipped into the air, and Maddy cried as she tried to run toward the vehicle, still flipping. Bridget held onto her, keeping her out of the sight of the truck still coming their way.

The moving van behind their car swerved to miss the truck and stopped on the side of the road, and the truck continued past them.

Maddy fell to her knees, crying.

“Come,” Bridget said, helping Maddy to her feet.

“Bridget, why couldn’t you save them?” Maddy cried.

“Because you and the cubs are most important, I can only take one with me,” Bridget explained as she helped Maddy to her feet.

Maddy sniffled as they headed toward the car, which had finally stopped rolling.

“Holy fucking hell!” the moving van driver said as he jumped out of the vehicle.

Bridget walked over to him and looked into his eyes. “Get back into the van, and all of you stay there until I tell you it’s safe.”

“Of course.” The man pulled himself back into the driver’s seat.

“This is all so crazy,” Maddy cried.

“Yes, well….” Bridget stopped talking and turned around. The truck was coming back. “Fuck!”

~🧹~

“There!” Pearl shouted, pointing out the window.

“Oh my God!” Josie screeched.

“Look,” Dominic said, pointing to the two women standing on the side of the road.

“Oh lord, no, it can’t be,” Tate grumbled.

“You know the vampire?” Pearl asked with a chuckle.

“Look, that truck is coming this way a bit fast,” Dylan said, pointing to the truck barreling toward Maddy and her companion.

“That’s another vampire?” Josie asked.

“Yes,” Tate growled. “Looks like she saved your sister.”

“But her mate and their other friend are still in the car,” Pearl said.

“Who are the people in that truck?” Daryl asked, pointing to the truck headed their way.

“Fuck!” Tate growled.

“Dark wizards,” Pearl whispered. “They’re here to kill….” She looked at Josie. “You and your sister.”

“But why?” Josie squealed.

“Because the dark witches are the ones who killed your parents to separate you two,” Pearl said, her eyes glossing over. “They couldn’t kill you because you’re Fated Mates, but they could kill your parents. Separating you two kept you from growing close and fulfilling your destiny.”

“If they can’t kill them because they’re Fated Mates, why are they trying….” Dominic stopped talking as his head swiveled to stare at his mate’s stomach. “They’re here to kill the cubs!”

Pearl shook her head as Daryl pulled over to the side of the road, close to where the car lay on its side.

“Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen,” Daryl said with a growl as he got out of the car.

“Stay with Josie,” Dominic said, looking at Pearl.

Pearl shook her head. “You need me. They’re powerful and don’t care about killing the mates to the Fated Mates.”

“I’ll stay with her,” Tate said.

Dominic nodded, then kissed his mate and jumped out of the car.

“Be careful,” Josie said as her mate left the car.

Pearl stepped out and joined the brothers, then Tate helped Josie from the car. “Let’s get you to your sister,” he said, touching her shoulder.

Pearl watched Tate disappear with Josie and reappear by her twin and the other vampire. The twins looked at each other for a split second, then were in each other’s arms with cries of joy.

The truck stopped in the middle of the road, and the motor roared. Pearl moved to stand in front of the brothers.

“Pearl,” Dylan hissed as he reached for her hand.

She turned to him with a smile. “I’ve got this, love; you guys stay back.”

He reluctantly let her go and nodded.

Four men stepped out of the truck, which was still revving its engine.

“Witch!” one of the men shouted.

“Evil creatures.” Pearl refused to call them wizards or warlocks. They lost that right the moment they dipped into the dark side.

“You know what we want,” one of the men said.

“And you know I cannot let you have them.”

The men laughed. “There is one of you and four of us.”

“There’s five of us,” Dylan said as he and his brothers moved to stand two to either side of her.

The wizards snorted. “Shifters? You have nothing that can beat us. We can take all of you on with just one of us.”

“Make that six,” a voice said from the side of the road.

Pearl and the brothers turned to the voice. Two darkly handsome men stood at the side of the road, bloody from the accident.

Pearl smiled as she looked at Dylan and his brothers.

“Looks like you’ve got a bear on your team,” Pearl said.

All four brothers smiled at the two men.

“And a wolf,” the larger of the two men said.

“We’re the Kraftman brothers,” Dylan said with a nod.

“We’ll introduce ourselves properly after we dispel these fuckers.” Daryl grinned.

The bear nodded.

“Rolando!” Maddy screamed as she tried to run to him.

The female vampire held her back.

“Stay with Bridget, Mafilia!” Rolando hollered back to his mate.

He and the wolf moved closer to their rank and glared at the four dark wizards.

The wizards laughed. “You still don’t have the power to take us out,” one of them said.

“I know this is very personal.” Pearl grinned. “But when was the last time you all had sex?”

The three mated shifters grinned. “This morning,” they said at the same time.

Pearl grinned. “Then I say we have the upper hand, don’t you?”

The men laughed.

“Looks like we have three bonded mates, two strong shifters, and a white witch against four dark wizards,” Daryl said with a gruff laugh.

“And two vampires,” Tate said from behind them.

“And two very pissed-off Fated Mates,” Maddy growled.

Dominic and Rolando looked at their mates.

“You two shouldn’t be here,” Dominic said.

Josie scoffed. “They want me and my sister’s cubs dead. You think we’re going to stand on the sidelines and watch?”

“Don’t think so,” Maddy smirked.

“Maddy,” Rolando said, moving toward his mate.

Maddy moved into his arms, and they held each other.

“I thought you were dead,” Maddy whispered.

“Shh,” he said as he held her.

“I think the wizards are getting impatient,” Pearl mumbled.

“We can protect them,” Tate said, looking from Josie to Maddy and back again.

“Yeah.” Bridget nodded.

“You know they wouldn’t have stayed out of this,” Tate smirked. “Better they help with us backing them up, then them running into the fight and getting themselves killed.”

Rolando snorted and looked down at his mate. “You sure about this, Mafilia?”

Maddy nodded.

“Then I say, let’s kick some dark wizard ass,” Gerald said with a wicked grin.

“We’re getting impatient!” one of the wizards hollered.

Pearl raised her hands, and a shield fell over them. The wizards had attacked with magic, and she’d blocked it so fast that no one had even known the fight had started.

“Do we really have to fight these fuckers?” Daryl asked with a growl. “Can’t you just put a spell on them?”

Pearl snorted. “Yeah, sure, but then they’ll just come at us again. If we kill them now, it will take a while to regroup. At least now, we know the dark witches and wizards are plotting against us.”

“But that makes no sense. Why would they do that?” Maddy asked.

“Yeah,” Josie agreed with her sister. “I mean, if the humans win the upcoming wars, they’ll be destroyed, too.”