Pucking the Shifter (Shifter World - Book Seven) (Series of 13 Short Stories)

“So why are the elders collecting dark witches and wizards? That’s what I would like to know.” Shar sat in a chair in her living room, her daughter asleep in her arms.

“Good question,” Lyvia said as she stood close to Shar, one of her cubs in her arms.

Raj held two cubs in his arms, and Amirah had the fourth while she listened to the others.

Everyone looked at Pearl, and she sighed. “I have no idea. My father didn’t tell me.” She looked at her brother. “Did he say anything to you?”

Kota shook his head. “Nope.”

“Should we ask him?” Dylan asked.

Kota smirked as he looked at his sister’s mate. “You don’t know our father very well, do you?”

Dylan snorted. “I’ve only seen him a couple of times. He trusted me with your number, though.”

Kota nodded. “So, he did. And you used it wisely. Thank you,” he said with a slight bow.

Dylan nodded. “I felt her slipping.”

“That she was,” Kota said, looking at his sister. “You should have known better, Pearl.”

Pearl frowned. “If you’d seen everything….”

“I did,” he said, touching his nose. “Through you.”

She huffed, then turned to look out the living room window.

“So, do you think you’re a Fated Mate too?” Shar asked, watching the siblings.

Kota looked at her, and her heart skipped a beat.

“No, I don’t think I am. A demon cannot be a Fated Mate. I wasn’t created by the Goddesses.”

Shar nodded. “Right, of course.”

“No, you weren’t, Kota Venstone. You were created in the pits of hell, or at least, that’s where you were born.”

Everyone turned to find Tate standing in the dining room with the little girl they had saved earlier at his side.

“Tate.” Pearl jumped to her feet. “Why didn’t you take her to her family?”

“Because we can’t find her family,” Tate said as he placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder. “She doesn’t know anyone; she and her mother had been taken when she was a year old.”

“Oh, my Goddesses,” Pearl said, covering her mouth with her hands.

“Let me talk to her,” Kota said as he moved over to the little girl.

“Who are you?” the girl asked, staring at Kota.

“I’m Pearl’s big brother,” Kota said with a smile.

The girl looked over at Pearl, a smile on her sweet face, then back at Kota. “What are you going to do to me?” she asked.

Everyone in the room frowned.

“I’m just going to ask you a few questions,” Kota assured her.

The girl nodded as he squatted down to eye level with her.

“What’s your name?”

“Nataly.”

“Where’s your daddy?”

She shrugged. “I never had a daddy.”

“Are you sure you don’t remember him?”

Nataly nodded, but Kota continued concentrating on her, his eyes never leaving hers. After a few moments, he smiled and stood.

“Her father is human.”

“That would explain why they were so interested in her. She’s a half-breed,” Pearl said as she moved over to the little girl. “How would you like to meet your daddy?”

Nataly shook her head. “I want my mommy,” she cried.

Pearl sighed as she knelt in front of the girl. “Your mommy is in heaven,” she whispered.

Nataly started to cry harder, and Pearl pulled her into her arms.

“Are you sure you don’t want to meet your daddy?” Pearl asked.

Nataly shook her head. “He abandoned us.”

“This may scare her, but I can show her what happened,” Kota said as he knelt behind the girl.

Pearl looked at the girl’s tear-stained face, then at her brother, and nodded.

Kota placed his hands on Nataly’s head and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, the girl stopped crying and was whimpering. Kota opened his eyes, and Pearl looked into her brother’s green eyes.

“I gave her the memories of her father,” he whispered.

Pearl nodded, then looked down at the girl. “Would you like to see your daddy?”

Nataly nodded and threw her arms around Pearl’s neck.

“Looks like we have a little girl to return to her father,” Dylan said as he watched his mate and the little girl. She’s going to be such a wonderful mother.

~🏒~

“Are you sure this is the place?” Pearl asked her brother as she and the others stood outside a two-story house with a tricycle and other toys in the front yard.

Nataly squeezed Pearl’s hand, and she looked down at the girl.

“I don’t want to do this,” she whispered.

“It will be okay,” Pearl promised, though she wasn’t entirely sure of it herself.

“This will work,” Kota said as he headed for the front door.

Pearl stayed with the girl and her friends as her brother knocked on the door.

“Can I help you?” a woman asked as she opened the door.

“I’m looking for a Mr. Seamore,” Kota said with a slight bow.

“Oh.” The woman looked out at the others behind him. “I’m Mrs. Seamore. How may I help you?”

“No, you’re not!” Nataly cried.

The woman looked at Nataly, then back at Kota.

“May I speak with Mr. Seamore, please?” Kota asked.

The woman blinked, then nodded. “Of course, let me get him,” she said as she closed the door.

“He’s as bad as a vampire,” Shar whispered.

“Hey, don’t lump us up with Demons,” Bridget hissed.

Tate chuckled. “You’re closer to the demons than I am, Bridge.”

Bridget punched Tate in the arm, making him laugh even harder.

The door opened again, and a man stepped out.

Nataly squeezed Pearl’s hand as she whimpered. “Daddy.”

“Can I help you?” Mr. Seamore asked, looking from Kota to the others in his yard. His eyes stopped on Nataly, and he squinted at her as he tried to figure out why she looked familiar.

“We found your daughter, Mr. Seamore,” Kota said, pointing to Nataly.

“My daughter is inside in her play pin,” Mr. Seamore said as he looked back at Kota.

“Your eldest daughter, Mr. Seamore,” Pearl said as she held her hand up, which Nataly had a death grip on.

Mr. Seamore shook his head. “I only have one daughter. And a son who’s five.”

Nataly whimpered as she moved to hide behind Pearl.

“They placed a forgetful spell on him,” Kota said, looking into Mr. Seamore’s eyes.

Mr. Seamore stared into Kota’s eyes, and his eyes clouded.

“What is your brother doing?” Mara whispered to Pearl.

“Replacing his memories,” Pearl said as she watched her brother and Nataly’s father.

Mr. Seamore blinked a few times once Kota let him go, then looked over at his daughter again.

“Nataly?”

“Daddy!” Nataly cried out as she let go of Pearl’s hand and ran to her father.

“Oh, Nataly!” Mr. Seamore cried as he ran to his daughter and caught her in his arms. “How could I have forgotten about you?” he asked as he kissed his daughter all over her face.

Nataly giggled as she kissed her daddy on the cheek.

“We have a lot to tell you, Mr. Seamore.” Kota motioned for the man to go inside. “Let’s talk.”

~🏒~

“I am so glad we reunited Nataly with her father,” Mara said as she and Alec walked into his house later that evening.

Alec nodded. “Yeah. It was touch and go there for a moment.”

“Thank the Goddesses for Pearl’s brother.” She chuckled.

“Or… thank the Devil for creating Kota’s mom,” he said with a shake of his head.

“I’m glad his new family accepted Nataly so readily. Did you see the look on his new wife’s face when she discovered that her husband isn’t really her husband, and they’ll have to renew their vows to make it legal?” Mara asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I saw. She’s very accepting of our world. She’s going to be an exception when we build the new world. Her and their children. Nataly is one of us.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Pearl could have claimed her for herself instead of finding the girl’s human father.”

“Yeah. I can see why her father wanted her away from her brother.”

Mara nodded. “Yeah. So, what’s next?”

“Other than mating with my mate?” he asked with a grin.

She snorted. “Other than that.”

“Well, I talked to Pearl about moving this house, and she said it can be done, but we’ll have to pack up the house or tie down anything breakable because the last house she moved, it slammed down so hard on landing that a lot of breakables shattered.”

She laughed. “We can tie things down, I guess,” she said, looking around the room.

He moved over to her and wrapped his arms around her. “We’ll pack the house up and furnish it together.”

She blinked. “Together?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. It’s our place now. I’d like to make it look like we both live here rather than like you’re just staying for the weekend.”

She smiled. “Really?”

He nodded. “Really.”

“You’re so wonderful,” she said as she leaned up and kissed him.

He lifted her off her feet, and she wrapped her legs around his hips. He turned and walked them to the bedroom.

~🏒~

It took them two weeks to pack up the house and get it ready to move. The first week, Alec worked on finding the perfect lot for the house. When he’d found it, the Kraftman brothers helped him prepare the ground for the house.

Once the house was down, which Pearl hadn’t been exaggerating, the noise of the house landing was loud enough to hear a mile away. They started unpacking the items they liked and put the other stuff into a storage unit close by—in case someone else would like to use them.

They shopped at furniture stores until they found the perfect couches, love seats, and chairs. The dining room set was a bit harder to decide on, as well as their bed.

A week later, the women—including Josiah—went shopping for their nurseries.

By the time the twins were due, everyone had found a new house or brought their house into the community. Which is already turning into a Shifter World. Even Mr. Seamore and his family found a house with Pearl’s help and moved into the Shifter Community.

~🏒~

“Oh my God!” Josie screamed, dropping her plate of food to the ground.

The group had gotten together for a cookout to celebrate taking over the whole community. Just that day, Pearl and Dylan bought the last house on the block.

“Josie?” Dominic asked as he walked up to her.

Maddy screamed as she dropped her plate and looked down at the ground. Josie looked down at the ground as well, and both women moaned.

“Their waters broke,” Shar said, staring at the twin’s feet.

“Fuck!” Dominic shouted.

“Stay calm,” Pearl said as she watched them, her hand on her huge stomach.

Josie and Maddy screamed at the same time, and everyone flipped as they rushed to get the twins to the hospital to give birth to the two sets of identical cubs.

~🏒~

Mara sat next to Alec in the waiting room as they waited for someone to come tell them about the new cubs. She placed her hand over her own stomach and smiled. Not much longer, and she and Alec will have their own cub.

She has been wondering what it would be. Not the sex that she already knew, a little girl. But is it going to be a tiger like her or a cheetah like her daddy? The cheetahs were so rare that she hoped she would take after her father.

“Girls! We have girls!” Rolando exclaimed as he ran into the room.

Their friends jumped to their feet and congratulated him.

“Where’s Dominic?” Dustin asked as he looked at the door, waiting for his brother to bring his own announcement.

“I saw him in the hall staring at the cubs.” Rolando laughed. “I couldn’t wait to tell you guys. I’m going back in there to look at my daughters.” He ran out of the room, making everyone chuckle.

“I knew he’d beat me here,” Dominic said as he walked into the waiting room.

“Dom, what are they?” Shar asked, watching her brother.

“Boys!” Dominic hollered. “Twin boys!” He looked up at the ceiling with the silliest grin they’d ever seen. “Sons.” He shook his head and looked at his family. “I love you guys, but I’ve gotta get back to my mate.” He turned and ran out of the room.

The room erupted with cheers and laughter.

~🏒~

“I can’t believe it’s already been three days since the two sets of twins were born,” Mara said as she wobbled down the hall toward the bathroom.

“Soon, it will be our turn,” Alec said with a grin as he came out of the bedroom.

Mara finished in the bathroom, and as she headed out the door, Alec tried coming in. They laughed when they got stuck in the doorway.

“I’m too fat,” she complained.

He grinned as he placed his hand on her stomach. “You’re not fat. You’re carrying my daughter.”

She sighed. “Yes, but do you know how much weight I’ve gained that’s not from the baby?”

He shrugged. “Will just give me more to hold onto at night and when I’m fucking you.” He winked at her.

She snorted. “Sure….” She stopped talking when he claimed her lips.

“Stop,” he said against her mouth. “Just stop.”

She sighed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “As long as you can handle it.”

He grunted. “I can handle anything that comes our way. I love everything about you….” He stopped and lifted his head.

She stared up at him. “You love everything about me, huh?”

“No….”

She squinted her eyes up at him, and he shook his head.

“I mean, no, that’s not all… I mean… damn it!”

She giggled, and he nipped at her bottom lip.

“I love you, Mara.”

Mara’s heart skipped a beat. “Do you mean it?” she whispered.

He closed his eyes. “I have been wanting to say it for weeks now. But I was afraid of how you’d react.”

She sighed heavily. “Well, I wish you’d have told me this a few weeks ago.”

Alec felt his heart plummet to his feet. God, she’s going to shut him down…

“Because then I could have told you that I love you too,” she said with a wide grin, knowing what her words did to him.

“Damn red-heads,” he said with a growl as he claimed her lips.

She giggled. “You wouldn’t have me any other way.”

He smirked. “You’re right. I wouldn’t.”