Fairytale Shifters

I can see the sadness in his eyes. I see it when I look in the mirror.

“No, I won’t fight you, but I need to tell my brothers.”

“No!” he growls. “They can’t have you.” He snaps the last part, making me jump. A frown forms on his brow. It shows me he doesn’t like scaring me. I like that. It’s an oddly cute look on his hard face. Not that I would inform him of that.

I widen my eyes and pouting. “I just need to let them know I’m okay.” I do the same face that seems to work on my brothers. His eyes go wide as if in panic.

“Don’t cry,” he growls, like that will make me stop.

“They’ll worry. Then I’ll worry that they are worrying, then I’ll worry myself sick with all the worry,” I push on.

“That’s a whole lot of worry. You should only worry about your mate. Me.” He points at himself like I forgot who my mate was.

“Well, I can just worry about you if I can undo all this other worrying...” I let my words trail off.

“Fine.” He stomps past me towards the kitchen and starts digging through drawers. I grab my cape, sliding it back over my head.

He comes back and hands me a notepad and pen. I take it from him, not sure what he wants me to do with it.

“Address,” he says, nodding down at the paper. I scribble it down and hand the pad back to him.

“I can just show you the way.” I glance at the closed window. I can’t see out of it as it’s been boarded up. “Or maybe not. I don’t remember the way here.”

“Good.” He looks down at the note. “Then you can’t try to leave because you won’t know where to go.”

My mouth drops open. “What are you going to do? Blindfold me to my brothers’ and back?” I snap.

“No, that’s ridiculous.” He folds the paper and tucks it into his jeans pocket “I know where the Denali brothers live. I also know they are wolf shifters, making them not your actual brothers.” He growls the last part, and it spikes my temper.

“Maybe not by birth, but they raised me like one of their own.” I narrow my eyes on him, not liking him saying they aren’t my brothers. Maybe not by blood, but they are family.

“Write them a note. I’ll deliver it to their cabin so they’ll know you’re okay.” He takes a step towards me, crowding me.

“No, I’m going to tell them in person.” I go to move around him towards the front door. I don’t even try to open it. I heard the million locks click into place when we entered. Besides, one looks higher than I can reach. “Let's go.” I try to use the same tone I use on my brothers, but it doesn’t seem to work. He just stares at me, jaw clenched.

“No. You’re not dressed to be in the cold. No one can take you if I have you here.” He comes closer to the door, crowding me all over again. His woody smell carries a touch of cinnamon, and it fills my lungs. He smells delicious. I feel my body react to the dominance pouring off him, waking up parts of me that I didn’t even know existed. It makes me wonder if humans feel these mating feelings, too. I don’t know anything about shifters mating with humans. I’ve heard it could happen, but I’ve never seen it.

I try the pout that seemed to work before, but this time he catches me off guard when his mouth lands on mine. It’s like a light being switched on. Pure pleasure hits my body just as his lips meet mine. He pushes his tongue into my mouth, and I let him. I open for him. I wrap my hands around his neck, wanting him closer.

He deepens the kiss, a growl pouring from his mouth into mine, and I can’t help but moan back, rubbing my body against his. He lifts me, his hands going to my ass as he pins me against the door. I can’t stop myself from wriggling against him. His mouth pulls from mine, going to my neck as he trails open-mouthed kisses from my ear down to my collarbone.

Who knew something so simple could feel so wonderful? My whole body feels like it’s on fire. I dig my fingers into his hair, wanting to pull him closer, then I feel his teeth skim my neck and sink in. My body explodes, an orgasm rocking through me, making me drop my head back and ride out the pleasure.

I’ve never had one before. I’ve always been too scared to try one at my own hand. Living with shifters, they hear and smell everything, and the embarrassment would have killed me, but I can enjoy this one. Soak all the pleasure from it.

“Mine,” he growls.

“Yes,” I agree. I’d already told him I’d stay. I meant it. He needs me. Maybe with time he won’t hate being mated to me. It will be more than just the animal pull he feels towards me.

I feel his tongue lick the spot he just bit, making my body jerk. No one told me you could come from a mate bite. My brothers didn’t talk about sex with me. Not to mention shifters don’t have sex until they’re mated.

He slowly sets me on the ground.

“Write the note. It’s the only option. Take it or leave it.” I can tell by the look in his eyes it’s final. I’m more shocked he isn’t taking me to bed. I know with wolves, the mating hits hard and fast, and most of the time the mated female is flat on her back within the first thirty minutes, but he just seems calm. Completely in control, and that stings. Maybe he is just using my body against me, knowing I am feeling some mating pull. Or worse, he regrets kissing the human.

I have no clue how bear shifters even mate. I just know they’re rare. I pick up the notepad and pen.

“Just say you’re fine. You found your mate and you’ll be in contact soon,” he says in the still-cool, calm voice while my hand is still shaking a little from the orgasm I just had. I’m shocked I can stand at all.

“Do you just want to write it?” I hold the notepad out for him to take. He just shakes his head, and I do what he says, scribbling on the paper. I can tell there is no fighting this. I hand it over to him. He looks down at it, then tucks it into his pocket with the other note.

“I will drop off the note and then I must do a few things. You’ll stay in the cabin.”

“I have a feeling there isn’t a way even if I wanted to get out.”

He doesn’t answer me, but he does reach out and lift a strand of my hair. Bending down, he rubs it against his nose, breathing it in. The simple act makes my heart flutter. Then he drops it and starts popping the locks on the doors.

“Make yourself at home. I will be back to care for you soon.” He takes one more look at me like he’s debating leaving. I can see the fight in his eyes.

“Take the note please. I’ll worry,” I remind him. “I’ll stay right here.” I have the need to reassure him, to wipe that lost look off his face.

“What’s your name?”

I feel myself blush a little after having done what we did without even knowing each other’s name.

“I’m Snow. Yours?”

“Koda.”

I smile at him, and he nods. Then he steps back, leans down, and presses his lips against mine. This time he just holds them there before pulling away, then s

tomping out of the house and slamming the door. I hear all the locks click into place, leaving me all alone.

Touching my lips where he kissed me, I think about his name. Koda. I like the way that sounds.

I turn around to see the chaos that is now my home. I pull off my shoes and cape once again. I hang my cape by the front door and place my shoes in a closet next to the door. I guess I should get to work. I told him I’d be his mate.

If what he said about being caged away is true, I’m going to turn this new cage into a home like he’s never had before.

Chapter 4

Koda

Walking away from the cabin, I feel an ache in my chest. I try to control it, but I can’t, so instead I will ignore it and try to carry out what I need to as fast as possible. I don't know what came over me when I kissed her. The things I felt. The need to bite her to show she belongs to me. Then she came, shocking me. I didn't know what to do. I panicked.

The longer I’m away from her, the more uneasy I feel, and it’s only been moments. I need to get back to her as soon as possible.

Taking off through the woods, I go towards the Denali home. I remember Alpha Stone talking about them one of the last times I went to have dinner with Winnie. He mentioned there were three wolf shifters living together hoping to find their mates. He never mentioned a human, so he must not have known about Snow.

Snow. Such a beautiful, perfect name for her. She’s named after something I love. It makes me think about hibernating and having her in my bed with me. Now that she’s my mate, she’ll be the thing I love most. I'll take care of her.

The weather is taking a turn for the worst, so I speed up my running to get to the house faster. It would be easier to drive, but the roads are all unpaved out here. It’s all protected land, so it's either run or shift. And since I didn’t bring a change of clothes, I choose to run. Our shifters aren’t too worried about nudity, but going to see my sister naked isn’t something I’d like to do anytime soon.