Shifting the Shifter (Shifter World - Book Six) (Series of 13 Short Stories)

“Another fighting ring?” Dylan whispered into his mate’s ear as they entered the club.

“Don’t know,” Pearl said as they walked through the club.

“What the fuck?” Gerald growled when a female shifter walked up to them and pressed her body against Josiah.

“Fifty bucks, and you can have me for the night,” she said huskily.

“Hands off,” Gerald said, pushing her off his mate.

She looked up at him and licked her lips. “You can join us, big daddy. But it will cost you an extra fifty.”

“Well, we know what they do here,” Dylan grumbled.

“Sweetheart, you couldn’t handle me,” Gerald said as he watched the young woman. She couldn’t be more than nineteen—if that.

She rubbed up against him. “Oh, I think I can,” she said as she slid her hand to his crotch. His dick was soft but still impressive enough to make her lick her lips again.

“Sorry, babe, but you don’t do it for me,” Gerald said as he set her aside from him.

“Ah, come on.” She pouted.

“Sorry, Hun,” Josiah said as he moved between the girl and his mate, who looked more and more upset, the more she rubbed up against him.

Josiah wasn’t sure if Gerald was upset because the girl came onto Josiah first or because she looked like a kid. She looked like she had been doing this for a few years.

“Tate, Bridget,” Shar whispered.

“I’ve got it,” Bridget said as she pushed Tate back.

Tate grumbled but didn’t bring attention to them.

“Hey there,” Bridget said as she pulled the girl away from the newly mated couple.

The girl looked up at Bridget and smiled. “I do like me some vampire,” she said, licking her lips again. “And you’re hot.”

Bridget smiled. “Thank you, but I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Of course,” the girl said as Bridget looked into her eyes.

“That was an automatic response,” Tate said as he watched the girl.

“How old are you?” Bridget asked.

“Twenty-five,” the girl said with a smile.

“That’s bullshit. She’s lying,” Gerald snorted.

Bridget held up a hand and went back to questioning the girl. “How long have you been here?”

“Three years,” the girl said, still smiling. “Started when I was twenty. I’m a veteran, you know. Started here when they opened.”

“She’s been under a vampire or witch’s spell too long,” Pearl said as she looked into the girl’s silver eyes. “How long has it been since you shifted?”

The girl looked at Pearl, which proved Bridget had no hold on her.

“Damn it,” Bridget said as she backed away.

“Three years,” the girl said.

“Mother fucker!” Gerald exclaimed.

“Even the coven who had me in captivity knew we needed to stretch our legs, so to speak, or go insane,” Josiah said, looking up at his mate.

“Maybe that’s what they want,” Pearl said as she looked the girl up and down.

“Let me try this,” Tate said as he moved past the others to get closer to the girl.

“Think you can do better?” Bridget asked, folding her arms over her chest.

Tate snorted. “Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?”

Bridget sighed. “No, Tate, I haven’t forgotten,” she said as she moved back so she could watch him at work.

“Look at me,” Tate said to the girl. Her eyes clicked with his. “How old are you?”

“Eighteen,” she answered without blinking.

“How long have you worked here?”

“Three years.”

Everyone sucked in a shocked breath. She was fifteen when they captured her and forced her to whore for them.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Josiah growled. “What are witches doing to us?”

“Don’t put us all in that category.” Pearl looked at Josiah.

He nodded. “My apologies. I meant dark witches.”

She nodded to him and smiled.

“Who put this trance on you?” Tate asked the girl.

“A vampire comes in every morning when I wake and fucks me, then drinks my blood….”

“Fucking vampires!” Gerald bellowed.

“These dark witches and vampires are giving the rest of us a bad rep,” Bridget grumbled.

“It is his payment for what he does for the masters,” the girl said.

“Can you counteract this?” Shar asked, her voice soft and sad.

Tate nodded. “I think it’s time for you to sleep,” he said, and the girl fell straight to sleep.

“How come you couldn’t counteract Josiah’s?” Gerald asked.

Tate caught the girl before she hit the floor, then tossed her over his shoulder and turned to Gerald. “Because his was to kill someone and not stop until he did. Hers stops when she goes to sleep at night. That’s why the vampire is there every morning.”

“Gotcha.” Gerald nodded.

“So, when she wakes up, she will be out of his control?” Shar asked as she watched the girl sleep over Tate’s shoulder.

Tate nodded. “She should. But I’m not putting her to bed here. I will be back; I’m going to take her somewhere safe for the moment. We’ll find somewhere for her to go when we’re done here.”

Everyone nodded, and Tate disappeared.

“All right,” Pearl said. “We now know what they’re doing here. Let’s shut them down.”

Everyone nodded and headed toward the large office that looked over the crowd.

“You can’t be here,” a large man said as he stood up from his chair.

“Gerald.” Pearl smiled as she stepped aside so Gerald could move in front of them and hover over the large man.

The man looked up into Gerald’s silver eyes and snorted. “A wolf.”

“Oh, don’t underestimate my friend here,” Rolando said, slapping Gerald on the shoulder as he moved to stand next to him. “You see, I’m a bear.” Rolando grinned. “And he can out bench-press me.”

“Let’s go,” Pearl said, nodding to the others.

“White witch!” the man yelled as he pointed at Pearl.

She grinned at him. “Dark wizard.”

The wizard lifted his hand to do a spell, and Gerald took hold of his throat, then slammed his head against the wall, making him choke.

“Bridget?” Rolando asked, looking at the vampire.

Bridget moved in closer to the dark wizard and snorted. “He likes taking their virginity, so they’re more experienced when they start selling their bodies. They’d tried selling virginities and almost got shut down. Now he fucks them….”

She didn’t get to finish before a loud crack vibrated through the hall. Gerald let go of the man, and the man fell to the floor, his neck broken.

“Well, there’s one down,” Dylan said as he watched the large man who was seething.

“Come on, baby,” Josiah whispered as he took hold of Gerald’s arm.

Gerald turned to his mate and felt an instant calm. He smiled at him, then gently kissed him.

“Next one’s going to be a bit more difficult,” Pearl said as they started moving again.

They entered the large office and stopped.

“Told you,” Pearl said as she looked around the room at the ten dark witches and wizards.

“So, you’re the ones who shut down the other coven,” the man behind the desk said as he leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers across his chest.

“If you’re looking for your guard, he’s dead,” Gerald blurted.

Hissing and growling came from the dark witches.

“You disrespect me in my place of business?” the one in the chair asked, eyeing them.

“Not for long,” Pearl said as she moved to stand in front of the others. “We’re shutting you down.”

The dark witches and wizards laughed.

“People had tried before you and failed,” one of the dark witches said.

Pearl laughed. Not her usual laugh, but a bewitching laugh that had her group staring at her.

“Did you not get the memo?” she asked with a grin. “We are protected by the Goddesses, so I think we have you outgunned.”

They snorted.

“Only the Fated Mates are guarded,” one of them said.

“Meet, The Fated Mates.” Sharissa moved to stand next to Pearl.

“And their Alpha Mates,” Dustin said as he stood next to Sharissa.

“Fuuuuck,” one of the wizards said.

“Get them,” the wizard in the chair said.

Fireballs flew toward them; Pearl swirled her arms to deflect them.

“This is going to be fun,” Dylan sneered.

“Save the one in the chair for me,” Daryl requested.

Gerald went after a witch, about to throw a fireball at his mate.

Josiah flipped over a fireball, then went after the wizard who’d fired it at him.

“Watch out for the bolts!” Pearl called out.

Dylan dodged a bolt and shook his head at the wizard who threw it. “Already died from one of those. Not going to happen again.”

Pearl handed Dylan something, and he grinned when he felt the weight of a bolt of her own making, then charged toward the wizard who’d almost skewed him.

Gerald watched his mate fight the dark wizard and grinned. He was faster and stronger since they’d bonded.

“You’re a Fated Mate?” the dark witch he was fighting asked.

“Yeah, I am.” Gerald grinned.

She looked over at Josiah and laughed. “There’s no way you are if that’s your mate.”

Gerald grabbed her by the throat, and she squealed. “Feel that? That is the strength I have doubled since I found my mate. See these?” he showed her his markings. “These are the markings that prove I am a Fated Mate.”

She snorted. “You’re Goddesses have a sick sense of humor.” She pulled something from her side and stabbed it into his arm.

Gerald bellowed as he let her go. The bolt had gone through his arm.

“Gerald!” Josiah shouted as he slammed his fist into the wizard he was fighting, knocking him out. He turned and ran to his mate.

“Don’t pull it out!” Pearl shouted at Josiah.

Josiah didn’t touch the bolt. He glared at the witch, who had planted it into his mate’s arm.

“He should be dead in about….” she looked at her watch. “Five minutes.”

“Kill the bitch!” Pearl shouted.

The dark witch looked over at the white witch. ’How did she know…?’ The dark witch got no other thoughts as her head was ripped from her body.

Josiah tossed the bitch’s head across the room, then turned to his mate.

“Doesn’t hurt as much,” Gerald said with a nod as he tried to breathe.

“Now pull it out from the bottom!” Pearl told Josiah.

Josiah looked at her. She was fighting her own dark witch and helping him and his mate. He really loves that white witch. They were lucky to have her.

“Trust me!” she exclaimed.

Josiah nodded and turned to his mate. “Ready?”

Gerald nodded.

A dark wizard jumped on Josiah and knocked him to the floor.

“Damn asshole,” Rolando growled as he lifted the dark wizard off his best friend’s mate and tossed him out the window.

The crash of the window made everyone below scream. The screams got louder when a man fell to the floor, and another landed on top of him.

“Unless you work here, get out!” Rolando hollered, and everyone ran from the club screaming.

“Now the cops are going to show up,” Maddy called from above.

Rolando looked up and blew his mate a kiss.

The dark wizard below him groaned, and he looked down.

“No, not supposed to be alive.” He leaned down and ripped the man’s head off.

The people still in the club screamed.

Rolando dropped the head and looked back up at his mate. He saw her roll her eyes at him, but she was also grinning.

“Stay inside this club,” Rolando said, looking at the men and women around him.

“Get your ass back up here!” Maddy hollered down at him.

“Yes, Mafilia,” Rolando grumbled with a wide grin.

He knew she could hear him, and he chuckled when she snorted.

Josiah pulled the bolt from under his mate’s arm. Gerald gritted his teeth against the pain, and once it was out, Josiah stared at it.

“Let me have that!” Pearl shouted.

Josiah tossed her the bolt. She caught it, then spun and slammed it into the chest of the dark wizard attacking her mate.

“How many of these assholes are left?” Rolando asked as he barged into the room.

“Three, and the one in the chair,” Pearl said as she tossed the bolt to Shar, who slammed it into the chest of the dark witch, trying to claw her eyes out.

“This comes in handy,” Shar said with a smile as she tossed it back to Pearl.

“Two,” Pearl said as she caught the bolt.

“Enough!” the man in the chair said as he jumped to his feet. “I will take care of them myself.”

The dark witch and wizard, still alive, backed away with wide grins.

“He’s the leader,” Pearl said, flipping the bolt in her hand.

“Let me take him,” Daryl said, placing his hand on Pearl’s shoulder.

Pearl looked up at her brother and smiled. A Clan Alpha against a coven leader. Not the first time Daryl will have taken one out.

“You’re not even a Fated Mate.” The leader moved around his desk and looked at the other Fated Mates. “Unless she’s your mate, but I doubt it,” he said, pointing at Mara.

Daryl smirked. “I may not be a Fated Mate, but I’m going to kick your ass,” he said, his fingers curling into fists at his sides, his eyes turning a golden color.

“Alpha.” The leader watched Daryl.

“Yeah,” Daryl snarled. “Whoever killed my father didn’t count on me.”

The leader laughed. “Your father’s death may have triggered the Alpha in you, but it also pulled you apart from the inside.”

“Actually.” Daryl laughed. “It made me stronger.” He growled as he leaped into the air and landed behind the leader.

The other two moved to help their leader, but Pearl blocked them with one of her shields.

“Do we let them live?” Shar asked, pointing to the two still alive.

Pearl shook her head. “I don’t know. Let’s see what happens.” She turned back to watch their Alpha and the leader of the coven.

Daryl ducked under the leader’s arm and shoved his shoulder into the man’s stomach, taking his breath from his lungs. He could shift and make this quick, but it’s less messy this way.

The leader started to create a fireball, and Daryl slammed his head into the man’s chest, then stood up and connected his head with the man’s chin. When the man was off balance, he took hold of his throat and lifted him off his feet. The man tried to create another fireball, but Daryl shook his head.

“No more magic for you,” he said as he snapped the man’s neck.

The two left of the coven screamed and tried to get past the shield.

“You think there’s more than those two?” Shar asked, looking at Pearl.

Pearl looked at Tate and Bridget. “Can you guys find out?”

They nodded and moved over to the dark witch and wizard.

“Daryl?” Dustin moved over to his brother, who was still holding the dead dark wizard in his hand.

“What he did to those children,” Daryl said, looking at his brother.

Dustin placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “He’s dead now. He can’t hurt anyone again.”

“Do you think it’s humans as well as shifters?” Shar asked as she walked up to them.

“We’ll find out soon.” Rolando looked down at the employees, still standing below, staring up at the office.

“Call your dad,” Tate said, turning to Pearl. “He and the other elders should be able to take care of this.”

Pearl nodded and pulled out her phone.

“What did they say?” Shar asked Tate as he and Bridget moved away from the still trapped dark witch and wizard.

“There’s two more to their coven who guard the girls while they sleep. We’ll find them in the west hall,” Tate said, looking at Shar.

Shar nodded. “Let’s go rescue the girls and kill those assholes.”

Tate laughed. “The brothers are rubbing off on you, Sharissa Kraftman.”

Shar smiled. “And you’re not?”

Tate kissed her forehead. “Of course I am. What kind of vampire would I be if I wasn’t a bad influence?”

While waiting for the elders, Pearl, Dylan, and Bridget stayed with the trapped dark witch and wizard.

The others made their way to the girls, who had been used as sex slaves.

They easily took the two guards out, and Tate put each girl to sleep. There were eight, counting the girl Tate had already taken care of. Three humans and five shifters. All of them were captured when they were but a child. One of them was still a child.

“Sixteen,” Shar cried. “Sixteen!”

“And they’d captured her two years ago,” Lyvia whispered.

Shar stormed out of the hall and ran back to the office.

“Sharissa!” Dustin hollered as he chased after her.

Shar stopped in front of the shield. “Babies! You stole babies and used them for sex toys!”

The woman shrugged. “They brought in good money. What do I care about their age?”

Shar attacked the shield and almost broke through it in her rage. “They were babies!” she screamed.

Thoughts of her own daughter filled her mind.