The Shifter Bar (Shifter World - Book Three) (Series of 13 Short Stories)

“Stop reading my thoughts, Vampire,” Shar growled.

Tate chuckled. “Stop throwing them at me.”

Shar stuck her tongue out at him, and Tate shook his head.

“Let’s move this back to the living room,” Dustin said as he moved Tate toward the door. “I don’t want Joy waking.”

“What color eyes does she have?” Tate asked as they left the room.

“Grey,” Shar said with a smile.

Tate nodded. “They’ll turn silver when she shifts for the first time.”

Shar nodded. “That’s what Amirah said.”

They made it back to the living room, where the others waited.

“So,” Tate said, joining the others on the couch. “What happened to make you all want to buy The Shifter Dive?”

Shar and Josie sat on the couch they’d been sitting on earlier and told Tate about last night.

Tate shook his head, then looked at Raj. “Did your old man take care of the body?”

Raj nodded. “Yeah. I think he even kicked the body a few times for good measure.”

The guys laughed.

“Who is Raj’s, old man?” Josie asked.

“Raj’s dad is a cop, and he helps us take care of shifter matters,” Dominic informed her.

“Oh.” Josie nodded. ’That makes sense,’ she thought.

“We want to buy the bar from Marry-Beth and turn it into a Supernatural bar,” Dustin told Tate.

Tate looked around the room. “All of you?”

“Hey,” Shar said, pointing at Raj. “You should join in. With you not playing until the cubs are old enough, you don’t really have anything else to do.”

Raj grinned. “No thanks, but thanks for the offer.”

“At least work for us,” Dylan said, giving Raj a shove.

Raj chuckled. “I’ll think about it. Lyvia will need me with our four cubs.”

“I plan to turn the upstairs apartment into a daycare,” Shar said.

Everyone looked at her.

“That’s actually brilliant,” Daryl said, looking at Shar.

“Mom already said she’d help with it,” Dustin said with a smile.

“It’ll make it so I can help out in the bar. After all, I’ll be quitting my job this week.” Shar scowled.

“You mean you haven’t yet?” Tate asked.

Shar sighed. “I was hoping if I confronted him, things would change. But he denied it, and corporate won’t listen to me.”

Tate grinned. “I can make them listen.”

Shar laughed. “I’m sure you can. But no, I’d rather leave. If he’ll do that shit, then who knows what else he’d do.”

“Lyvia already turned in her notice,” Raj said.

Shar nodded. “She told me yesterday.”

“I guess we can speak with Marry-Beth tonight about buying the bar.” Dustin looked around the room.

Josie watched them all nod. She has a feeling that the Kraftman brothers are already very well off, maybe even rich if the size of this mansion said anything. So, buying a bar shouldn’t be a problem, and it wouldn’t even have to succeed.

“What should we name it?” Dylan asked.

“Doesn’t it already have a name?” Josie asked.

Everyone looked at her, and her cheeks turned bright red.

Shar smiled. “Yes, but we don’t want it to be strictly a shifter bar, so….” She stopped talking and looked at the brothers. “That’s it.”

“What?” the men asked at the same time.

Shar grinned. “The Dive. Just take Shifter out of the name.”

“Brilliant.” Dustin pulled Sharissa against his side and kissed the top of her head.

“There should be a notice to let everyone know what kind of bar it is,” Tate said.

“The Dive - All Supernaturals Welcome,” Josie said. Everyone turned to her, and she shrugged. “It’s what I do.”

Everyone laughed.

Dominic walked to the couch, sat beside his mate, pulled her into his arms, and held her.

“Okay, it’s official.” Dylan jumped to his feet. “I’m going to every bar, club, and café until I find my mate,” he said as he stormed out of the house.

Daryl chuckled. “I’m following him to make sure he doesn’t harass anyone. I’ll see you guys tonight at The Dive.”

Shar and Josie chuckled as they waved to the others, and one by one, they left.

“Okay, so ready to go home?” Dominic asked, looking down at Josie.

Josie looked up at him. “I don’t have any belongings. It all burned in my car.”

“We’ll go shopping then.” Shar pulled out of Dustin’s arms and got to her feet. “You don’t mind watching Joy, do you, Mafilio?” she asked, looking at Dustin.

Dustin grinned. “Not at all.”

“Come along.” Shar pulled Josie to her feet.

Dominic took hold of Josie’s arm, and she looked down at him. He placed a card in her hand and smiled.

“No limit,” he said as he kissed her hand and let her go.

Josie stared at the gold card and blinked at it. ’No limit?’

“Do you have your phone?” Dustin asked as he got to his feet.

Shar held her phone up and placed it in her purse. “Let’s go before they try to go with us,” she said with a laugh as she dragged Josie from the house.

~🍺~

Shopping with Shar was actually a lot of fun. And having no limit on a credit card? Unbelievable. At first, she started fretting about prices. Then Shar whispered into her ear what the brothers were worth individually, and Josie almost passed out.

Rich? No, far beyond rich. Billionaires would be a better description of the Kraftman brothers. Fuck, what had she ever done to deserve this? She felt like she should go hug a few trees or something.

“Get this too,” Shar said, holding up a teddy.

And not a stuffed animal. It was red, and she knew it would look good on her, and apparently, so did Shar. Because she set it with the rest of the clothes they’d picked out.

When they were done shopping, Shar took her to a café for dinner. She’d already called Dustin and told him that he and Dominic were on their own for dinner. While they were figuring out what they wanted to eat, the bell over the door dinged, and the place went completely silent.

Shar looked over at the door and smiled, then waved wildly.

Josie turned and smiled when she saw Daryl and Dylan heading for their table with huge grins.

“Hey there, little sisters,” Dylan said as he moved the bags on the bench to the floor and sat next to Shar.

Josie moved her purse to the other side of her so Daryl could sit next to her.

“So, what are you two up to?” Daryl asked with a smile.

“Shopping,” Josie and Shar said at the same time.

“Whatcha shopping for?” Dylan asked as he picked up one of the bags. “Ooo lala,” he said as he pulled the red teddy from the bag.

“Put that back!” Sharissa hissed.

Dylan chuckled as he replaced the teddy and looked across the table at Josie’s red cheeks.

“Well, I know who’s that was,” he said, winking at her.

Josie looked away, and Daryl kicked his brother under the table.

“Ouch,” Dylan said, then grinned. “Sorry, little sister. I think it’s stunning and our brother will love you in it… If he doesn’t tear it off you before you’ve had it on long enough for him to admire you in it….”

“Dylan,” Shar growled as she gave him a shove.

Dylan smiled.

They could hear the whispers around them and ignored them. They weren’t doing anything wrong.

“Uhm, excuse me,” a waitress said as she walked up to the table.

The four of them looked at her.

She swallowed and avoided eye contact with the two shifters as she addressed Shar and Josie. “My boss wanted me to tell you that their kind isn’t welcome here.”

“Their kind!?” Sharissa exploded as she jumped to her feet.

The waitress squealed and jumped back.

“Easy, Seliana,” Dylan said as he took hold of her wrist.

“You let go of her!” someone yelled.

“Keep your filthy shifter hands off our women!” another man bellowed.

Shar snorted. “Let’s get out of here.” She shoved Dylan out of the booth.

“Oh, ma’am, you don’t have to go,” the waitress said.

Shar glared at the stupid nitwit. Josie was so angry she was seeing red. She knew Shar was feeling the same. How dare these people treat her new family like this. These shifters are better men than any human man in this room would ever be.

Dylan picked up the bags from the floor, and Shar got into the waitress’s face. “I wouldn’t eat here if the food was free.”

“Same goes for me,” Josie said as Daryl helped her out of the booth.

“Sorry,” Daryl said with a half-smile, looking at Shar and Josie.

Shar shook her head. “Don’t be. I would rather find out what kind of people run this place before I ate here.”

They headed for the door, and a man grabbed Shar’s wrist.

“You don’t have to go with those filthy animals, honey. They don’t own you.”

Shar glared at the man. “You know nothing about shifters,” she said with a growl as she yanked her arm away from the guy.

“And you do?” the man asked, his eyebrows raised.

Shar got into his face and growled. The growl wasn’t a sound a regular human could make, and the man’s face paled.

“I know more about their world than you would ever know. If you touch me again, I will break your wrist,” she said, then stood and followed her brothers out the door.

“That was so cool.” Josie spun around and grinned at Shar.

Shar smiled back. “You’ll learn to do stuff like that too.”

“Really?” Josie asked excitedly.

Shar nodded. “It’s part of what you get from bonding with your mate.”

“Oh,” Josie said with wide eyes. She hadn’t totally understood what they meant by her not being human anymore. “Is that why Dominic said that I’m not human anymore?”

Shar shrugged. “We’re an advanced human, so we’re part of the Supernatural world now. Just wait. When you’ve bonded enough times with your mate, you’ll find that you can do things you never could before.”

“So, lots of sex?” Josie asked as they walked toward the parking lot.

Daryl and Dylan chuckled.

“Sex is one way, yes.” Shar smiled. “Also, getting to know each other, falling in love, it’s all connected to the markings.”

Josie looked at her markings and remembered the feeling she’d gotten after the searing pain had subsided.

“Where are you parked, Seliana?” Dylan asked, looking around the parking lot.

“Over there,” Shar said, pointing toward her car. “We’ll need to find somewhere else to eat now.”

“I think we should say something online about that café,” Josie said as they headed for Shar’s car.

Shar nodded. “Agreed.”

“Don’t sweat it.” Dylan smiled.

“Hey, you’re not part of The Fated Mates Club,” Shar said as she turned to Dylan. “So, butt out.”

Dylan chuckled.

“I can’t believe they acted like that.” Josie scowled.

“Believe it,” Daryl said as they stopped at Shar’s car.

“Will you two be okay on your hunt?” Shar asked with a chuckle.

“I think I’m going to find me some dinner, then head to The Dive and wait for everyone else,” Dylan said as he helped Shar pack the bags into the car.

Shar nodded. “Good idea. Oh, that gives me a great idea,” she said, her eyes open wide.

“What?” the three others asked at the same time.

Shar smiled. “I’ll tell you all tonight,” she said as she pulled herself into the driver’s seat.

“Now I’m going to be wondering for hours,” Dylan grunted.

Shar smiled. “Yep. See you guys tonight.”

Josie laughed at the looks on the guy’s faces as they drove away. “You enjoy teasing them, don’t you?”

Shar chuckled. “Is it that obvious?”

Josie nodded. “Yeah, but you love them.”

Shar grinned. “That I do.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” Shar said as she drove down the road, looking for another café or diner.

“What do Mafilia and Seliana mean?”

Shar chuckled. “No one thought to tell you. I asked the guys the same questions,” she glanced quickly at Josie. “Seliana means sister.”

“Oh,” Josie said with a smile. “That’s why they call you that a lot.”

Shar nodded. “I’ve heard them call you it a couple of times. If you want to get their attention, call them Beliono.”

“What’s that?” she asked as she turned in her seat to see Shar better.

Shar smiled. “It means, brother.”

“Oh! This is so exciting! So, what does Mafilia mean? Dominic calls me it all the time.”

Shar nodded. “Dustin calls me that all the time, too. It means My Mate. Or another translation, My Love.”

“Oh,” Josie said, a sparkle in her eyes.

Shar smiled. “The male version is Mafilio, just in case you were wondering.”

Josie smiled. She had wondered, and now she knows what she can call her mate in his own language.

That should make him happy.