Page 30 of Shifter Mates for the Single Mom

His growl became a shriek of pain and surprise. I stabbed again, and this time, I hit him in the chest, burning flesh as I sank the blade into muscle. “I do not belong to you!” I yelled as he staggered back.

His eyes went even wilder, blank now save for the killing urge I could see at their backs. He tried to lunge for me again a second before Nathan leaped through the window as well.

He landed in a practiced roll and came up shooting. The stink of cordite and blood choked me as he fired more silver shots into Matthias before he could reach me. He racked another round, fired again, and this time, struck Matthias in the head.

The tiger staggered, blood drooling from between his jaws, and one eye gone dark. He dragged himself forward, claws out, still trying to reach me, bent on my destruction. But before he could, a final shot went off, and he collapsed at my feet.

My ears rang in the sudden quiet. Outside I could hear running paws, and then the sound of more gunshots. Then, that went quiet as well.

Seconds later, three naked men pushed open the door to my home and walked in, looking between me, Nathan, and the dead tiger on the floor. I was trembling, hugging myself. The bloody knife slipped from my fingers and landed blade-first on the carpet in front of Matthias’ ruined muzzle.

“Are you okay?” Nathan took me into his arms before pulling back and looking me over.

“I’m okay,” I reassured, but I felt sick. It was mostly the smell. The relief hadn’t quite broken over me yet, but I knew it would.

It was over. We had won.

* * *

Nathan had a cleanup team on speed dial. As soon as the coroners were gone, they came in, cleaning up the window glass and boarding it over, cutting away the blood-soaked carpet and washing the spatter off the walls. A second team was working outside.

Ulf and the others, shirtless and in jeans, had washed up already. Bela was grumbling about Matthias’ mother managing to run away after she had been wounded. The bodyguard was dead, his corpse wheeled into the back of the coroner’s van along with that of my ex.

Interpol would be looking for Matthias’ mother, and we would be on guard until she was caught. I needed a new window and new carpeting, and even with an industrial air purifier going, I could still faintly smell blood and cordite. But we had won. We had won.

I brought Aidan out, let him check me with the silver blade, and then told him we were out of danger. He beamed at me, still proud of himself for overcoming his fear and fighting. “You did well,” Nathan reinforced. “You’re brave, just like your dad… and your mom.”

We had a lot to talk about, but that could only be done once Aidan was asleep. So instead, we went out for an early supper at a cafe in town for burgers, beers, and a big sundae for my son.

“So, are you guys gonna go back to Sedona?” Aidan said worriedly. “I like having you here.”

Nathan spoke up. “Well, that’s up to your mom.” Five sets of eyes turned to me, and I smiled a little awkwardly. “If she wants us to stay––”

“I do,” I said simply, taking a page from Ulf’s book. “We have room, and we’re a close enough drive to Sedona to make it worth it if you don’t mind the commute.”

“Not me,” Jamie said. “I’d love to stick around.” The others nodded.

“Yay!” Aidan crowed, making people at some of the other tables look over. I shushed him gently, but that didn’t dampen his spirits. He just kept smiling as he demolished his sundae.

We made the rounds, telling the Sheriff, Colony security, and Nellie what was up. Nellie looked relieved. “Do you think his crazy mom’s going to come back around looking for revenge?”

“Not for a while,” Bela said confidently. “If at all. We hurt her pretty bad, and she’s got a pattern of running whenever there’s real trouble. Losing her accomplices and family members is as real as it gets.”

“Whew. I’m glad. This whole thing has been crazy!” Nellie gave me a one-armed hug. “Was it an epic fight?”

“Kinda. But fast. I wasn’t expecting it to be over so fast. But I guess most fights are like that.”

“They are,” Ulf rumbled. “Even long sieges have you mostly waiting for the next clash, and they are often just as fast.”

“It’s messy and stinky, too,” I said, booping Aidan on the head as his nose wrinkled. He giggled. “We spent like ten times as much time cleaning up afterward.”

“Yeah,” Nellie admitted, “I don’t think that’s my cup of tea. I think I’ll watch an eighties action movie if I want a dose of over-the-top badass.”

I had to laugh at that. “Good plan. Less risk, less property damage.”

* * *

Aidan was already sleepy from the warm day, his big meal, and exhaustion from all the excitement. He dozed off in the SUV, leaning against me. I kept an arm around him, my need to feel him close to me the only leftover from our insane afternoon.

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