Now I knew fated mates were real. It made me wonder how different my life would have been if I’d been raised by fated mates, if I’d grown up in a household filled with love instead of strife. Normally I wasn’t one to dwell on the future, but listening to Ruby talk about her family really drove home for me how dysfunctional my own upbringing was.
We’d spent the last three nights exploring each other’s bodies and having long conversations about our lives while snuggled together in bed at the hotel. Even though my vampire side had claimed her at first sight, my human side was fully caught up now. I was hopelessly in love with Ruby and while I sensed that she felt the same way, she never mentioned the future. Even when we talked about Alexei and Eleanor mating, there was no conversation about what that meant for us. I wasn’t going to push her though. Ruby would get there eventually. Hopefully.
“All right team… and guests, let’s head out.”
The coach clapped her hands as she tried to herd us all out of the hotel and onto the bus for the trip back up north. Cora Del Real was a no-nonsense tiger shifter who’d played women’s soccer in Europe before transitioning into being a coach.
I was pretty sure she knew who my father was but couldn’t quite place me. I’d caught her staring at me several times. Or maybe it wasn’t about my father at all. She might have just been suspicious about my cover story and my sudden relationship with her star player.
We drove for about ninety minutes before making a rest stop in Centralia, a small town along the I-5 freeway. The bus pulled into the parking lot of a coffee shop, and we all filed out to get some coffee and use the restroom.
Half the team was already back on the bus when the first shots rang out.
My training kicked in instantly. Tossing my coffee out of the way, I pushed Ruby to the ground, shoving her underneath the bus. Next to me, Alexei did the same thing with Eleanor, who growled in protest. The bus driver slammed the door closed, and everyone took cover.
“Where are they?” I asked Alexei, crouching next to the bus with my gun in my hand.
The bear shifter squat walked to the front of the bus while I watched his flank.
“Behind trees,” he said, pointing at a clump of trees at the far end of the parking lot.
My mind raced with the possibilities as shots continued to ring out, riddling the side of the bus and nearby cars with bullets. From the sounds of it, there was one shooter. If they knew that Alexei and I were bodyguards they might be trying to draw us away from the bus to get to the players.
“How many are there?”
I looked around to see Cora squatting behind me, her claws and fangs out as she held a half shift. That was a difficult thing for most shifters to do, so I was impressed with her control.
“One, as far as I can tell.”
“Cassie, you cover me. I will shift and investigate.”
“No Alexei, you’ll be shot!” Eleanor’s panicked voice sounded from underneath the bus. “Let’s call the cops.”
“The cops can’t help with a rogue shifter,” I reminded her.
“I’ll shift too and we’ll zigzag,” Cora told Alexei. “They can’t shoot us both.”
“Yes, but follow my lead,” Alexei ordered. “Cassie will guard the bus.”
The sound of popping filled the air as both Cora and Alexei shifted. Bones broke, lengthened, and reformed as their skin was replaced with fur, fangs and claws appearing as their bodies grew. They both dropped to all fours and took off towards the trees, Alexei in the lead while Cora moved behind him.
The gunman got off a few shots, and I saw Alexei jerk as a bullet grazed his shoulder. Not that it slowed him down. It would take a lot more than a bullet to stop the giant bear shifter. Based on the cry of fear coming from Eleanor, she’d felt his pain through their mate bond.
There was a roar as Alexei hit the trees, then we heard a sharp growl from Cora’s tiger, closely followed by a yelp that sounded like it came from a dog or a wolf.
“Cassie, what’s happening?” Ruby called.
“Shhh.”
My mate fell silent as we all waited for an update from the shifters. I moved around the bus, making sure that no one was sneaking up on us from the other side while we were all distracted by the shooter.
After what felt like forever I saw Alexei come out of the wooded area. He was back in his human form, holding a scrawny looking wolf by the scruff. Cora, still in tiger form, prowled behind them. When they reached the bus, Alexei dropped the wolf onto the ground, where it lay still.
Cora shifted back to her human form, giving the unconscious wolf a little kick that made him twitch.
Eleanor slid out from underneath the bus, racing over to Alexei, not at all worried about her own safety.
“Alexei, you’re hurt.”
