Page 9 of Stranded With An Insatiable Shifter

He wants to take over.

“Fuck… off…” I grunt as my skin pulls tight.

He snarls at me and explodes forward.

This time, there’s no stopping him.

He rips out of me, sending me plunging into the darkness within his body.

All I can do is watch helplessly from inside as he abandons my truck and sprints into the mountains to find our girl.

I hope you know what you’re doing, I tell him.

I’m rooting for him.

There’s no pride when it comes to finding her. No need to be right.

I just want to be beside her.

It’s all I’ve ever wanted.

four

. . .

Jemma

Idon’t think I’ve ever been this satisfied in all my life. The fresh fish I caught is roasting over the campfire while I sit and watch the sun slowly starting to set. I have a glass of red wine in one hand and a book in the other.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I love it.

I brought a decade’s worth of books that I’ve been wanting to read, but I never had the time. Circe by Madeline Miller is up next.

“So, this is what peace feels like,” I whisper to myself as I spot a rabbit in the distance. He looks at me and then hops away.

I can’t believe I had gotten it all so wrong. I can’t believe I let everyone talk me into a life that was so clearly wrong for me.

I’ll never let anyone convince me of who I am again. I get to decide.

My fish starts crackling and I think it’s done.

I read while I eat and when the sun leaves me, I put my book away and gaze up at the stars.

This would be better with that special someone, but it’s still pretty damn good.

After two and a half weeks of living like that, I decide to pack it up and head back to civilization. I miss fruits and vegetables, I’m nearly out of fresh water, and my battery packs need to be charged. They’re all dead.

I get everything secured in my bus and go to turn the key, but nothing happens. Not even a cranking sound.

“No!” I gasp as I try again in a panic. “Don’t do this to me...”

I try again and again, but nothing is working.

My battery packs are long dead. I can’t boost it.

That peaceful zen feeling I’ve been soaking in evaporates in an instant.

I’m deep in the mountains. Like, really deep.

---