Page 19 of Shifter Mates for the Single Mom

"I understand." It made me sick. "What about folks in town?"

"Depends. If the cops had actually tried to confront him, he'd target them. If he gets blood-hungry, he could grab someone off the street. I don't know how far this bastard will go, but I know we'll have to be ready to come running if he fucks around in town."

It pissed me off. I knew the reason for the Sheriff's Department handing over everything to do with Matthias to Nathan and his pack, but they were supposed to be protecting my home, my son, and me. If they ended up having to divide their time looking after everyone, I was worried they would be gone when we needed them most.

No, I told myself. Nathan won't allow that. We'll find a way to make this work.

I led them to the main building, the only two-story in the place, all of its windows currently heavily shaded. The music coming from inside sounded like part of the Kill Bill soundtrack, one of Nellie’s favorites. I went up to the door and knocked, and heard the music turn down. A second later, brisk footsteps clicked up to the door.

I was startled when she simply opened it and smiled out at me. Nellie was a foot shorter than me, a redhead with more freckles than I’d ever seen on anyone else, big gray eyes, and an easy, friendly smile. “Hey, cutie!” She stepped forward to give me a hug.

“Hi, Nellie.” I gestured around. “This is Nathan, and that’s Bela. We have to tell you some stuff. And ask you some stuff. You’re the local information broker, so we’re hoping you can help us.”

“Sure, no problem. Now, get in here. It feels like the inside of a kiln out there.” She stepped back to let us in, and I all but ran into the air-conditioned hall.

They had remodeled the inside of the building in the last few months. The floor was tiled, replacing the scratched and paint-spattered wood from before, and the insulated Roman blinds let light in without letting too much heat in. We went over to the square of couches that dominated one corner, near an old piano set against the wall and a sprawling padded rug for doing yoga. A few of the inhabitants were doing stretches on the rug. Nathan glanced at a particularly limber young woman for a moment, and I squashed a sudden and unexpected surge of jealousy.

Stop that, I told myself. This is not the time for that kind of drama.

Nellie sat us down and toddled off into the nearby kitchen to get us some cold bottled water. After passing them out, she plopped down across from me. "So, spill it. How can I help?"

I didn't know how to tell her the whole story without scaring every human in the room, so I said simply, "Matthias. He's stalking us, he's dangerous, and he's very likely to try and get in here and cause problems for you and the others."

Nellie's smile faded. I hated to see it, but she had to know. "Okay. I can pass the warning around. How dangerous is this guy?"

"Deadly. Nellie, he killed my security team."

She almost dropped her water bottle. "How?"

"He's a shifter," Nathan said flatly. "A Tiger shifter. And he has help."

Nellie swallowed. She looked down at her bottle like she wished it was full of vodka, and then took a gulp of it. I watched her face, feeling a mix of guilt and anger. Guilt to be the bearer of bad news and for Matthias being its cause.

"I didn't even know Tiger shifters existed. How are you planning on stopping this guy?"

Bela grinned wolfishly. "Well, cutie, that's the thing. Only way to fight shifters is with shifters."

She blinked at him, and then it slowly dawned on her what he was talking about. She looked between him and Nathan, and then at me. "No shit?" She suddenly looked a lot more optimistic–even a bit excited.

That made me smile again. "No shit, hon. Four of them."

Nathan spoke up. "We have taken over security for not only Madelyne's place but the town. If he's sighted here, if anyone associated with him is seen nearby, you need to call us immediately and we'll come down. But in the meantime, don't let him in, don't approach him, and don't listen to anything he says."

"What about his shapeshifting trick?" I reminded him.

Nellie's eyes widened. "Shapeshifting trick?"

"Yes." Nathan looked at her for a moment, and then nodded and said simply, "They can make themselves resemble anyone they've met, including voices. In order to prevent them from infiltrating by pretending to be one of you, you'll need to come up with a regularly changing code word that you can ask for to double-check. If someone doesn't pass that test, it's time to call us."

"So, Matthias... He's not just a con artist and a horrible boyfriend, the guy's a… I mean…"

I knew right away what she wanted to say: monster. Supernatural monster, to be specific. But there was no way she could say that without unintentionally insulting the men with us. "Yeah, he's a Shapeshifter and a psychopath. That's why it was so important that I get to see you today and warn you."

She was pale now, making her freckles stand out even more. "I get it. That's just… yikes. I'll talk to the other administrators and get the word out."

"I almost wish we could sniff test everyone here looking for the bastard first. We can always tell a shifter by scent." Bela gulped down half his water in a few long swallows, then wiped his mouth. "I don't smell any around here, but we're going to walk the grounds before we leave, just in case."

"Okay. Yeah. I'll get the warning out and talk with the rest of the admins to beef up security. Is there anything else you needed to tell me?"

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