Caught in Heat [Half-breed Shifter Series Book 1] Read online

  Half-Breed Shift Series Book 1:

  Caught in Heat

  By

  Miranda Stowe

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Caught in Heat

  Copyright© 2011 Miranda Stowe

  ISBN: 978-1-60088-663-8

  Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde

  Editor: Mindy Fausey

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  Cobblestone Press, LLC

  www.cobblestone-press.com

  Dedication

  Dedicated to L. A. Witt/Lauren Gallagher for her wonderful explanation in her website on why she writes erotica!

  Prologue

  The four creeping toward the house from the rear hadn’t come calling to sing Christmas carols. Darkness lit their path, and the forest lining the property concealed their ill intent.

  Secluded and vulnerable, the dwelling sat on the outer edges of a suburban quarter a good distance from its neighbors. The snow-thatched roof with smoke gracefully billowing from the chimney leant it a peaceful, comfortable look. With the woods surrounding it on two sides, leaving the immaculately manicured back yard tucked neatly into a thick alcove of trees, it permeated a snug, content atmosphere.

  Breeching this unknown family’s sanctuary would be easy.

  “Like stealing candy from a baby,” one of the four crooned, licking his chops.

  The woman next to him rolled her eyes. “God. You’re so clichéd it’s boring.”

  He ignored her, the hunger in his gaze targeted on the house; he probably hadn’t even realized he’d been lambasted. “Looks like the perfect little family nest. Makes me just want to mess it up.” He laughed, the sound resembling something more like a sick hyena than anything human.

  Not that the four invaders were pure-blooded human.

  “Let’s go,” the leader of the pack instructed, his voice low and authoritative.

  When he stepped forward, the three around him followed, each footfall in sync. But as they reached the edge of the yard, a car pulled into the drive. Headlights scanned across the lawn, and together, the four paused, crouching down into the underbrush just under the beam of light.

  They watched and waited as a dark sedan parked in front of the garage. The headlights died and the driver’s side door opened. The man who exited whistled softly under his breath. The scent of sex and KY wafted on the breeze away from him, making the clichéd one fidget, his eyes burning with a fevered glow.

  Unable to control the anxious hunger raging through him, he rushed forward, ready to attack, but his leader held him back with a stay of his hand. “Not yet.”

  Whining, the beta stopped even as his body twitched with an unearthly need to fillet.

  The light in a window on the first floor came on. The human male who’d just unlocked and entered the back door paused, his hand halfway to the switch on the wall. He snapped his face up and swung around to see who had lighted the kitchen.

  Slouched against an inner doorway that led to the rest of the house, a woman wearing a bathrobe, her dark hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail, glared at him. She held a glass full of amber liquid loosely in her hand, the drink sloshing toward the rim.

  “So, who were you fucking tonight?” Her shrill tone made the four outside wince and shy away from the irritating pitch.

  “Melissa.” The man’s sigh was exhausted, fed up. “Keep your voice down, will you? Do you want the kids to see you drunk? Again.”

  Melissa sauntered into the kitchen, walking a crooked line. “I don’t know, Dan. Do you want them to see you stinking from another woman’s cunt? Again.”

  Obviously not up for a confrontation, Dan made to move around her. “I’m not going to talk to you when you’re like this.”

  But she dodged into his path, blocking him. “Talk like what? The truth? Who was it this time? Sarah? Rebecca? Janet?”

  He threw his hands up. “You know what? As long as it’s not you, I don’t care who she is. My dick is satisfied.”

  “Why, you lousy son of a bitch. I shoulda never married you.”

  From that point on, the fight escalated. The four observers exchanged wry glances.

  “Looks like we found trouble in paradise.”

  “Yeah. I guess we get dinner and a movie.”

  “Score.”

  “I want the woman,” the quiet one said, speaking for the first time. “I always did like alcohol with my meal.” The woman seemed to be well pickled in her liquor.

  As the marital fight picked up volume and the woman’s glass smacked against a wall, shattering, a light upstairs flickered on. The four predators darted their gazes upward to watch a teenage boy easing into a pink bedroom and starting toward the ruffled bed, where a small girl sat upright, huddled under the covers and clutching a teddy bear to her chest. When she saw the boy, she dropped the stuffed animal and opened her arms. He crawled onto the mattress and pulled her into his lap to hug her close.

  “Did they wake you?” he asked into her hair.

  “Uh huh,” she mumbled.

  Kissing her temple, he asked, “Want me to read you a story?”

  “Yes.”

  The female outside watching them hummed deep in her throat. “Look at that tender young thing.” She vibrated with anticipation. “I want the girl. Oh, I need her.”

  The alpha’s smile was doting. “Of course you do, darling. And you’ll get her. Nothing but the finest veal for my love.”

  “I’ll take the man,” Cliché reported, eyeing the unfaithful husband just as he lifted his arm to shield himself from his wife’s swinging palm. “From the smell of him, he’s had all three of Sarah, Rebecca and Janet tonight. Gotta appreciate a human that’ll season himself with that kind of fine, delicious flavoring. And, hey, there he goes again.”

  Just as Melissa tried to slap Dan a second time, he caught her wrist and shoved her against the wall, pinning her in place. They spent a second glaring at each other until they merged into one, kissing violently and tearing at each other’s clothes. Within moments, he had her naked and spread out on the table with his feet braced against the floor and his pants around his knees. He shoved his cock into her and she arched her back off the tablecloth, crudely demanding more. He gave it, pounding into her with a fury. They grunted in unison with each slap of his body into hers, her breasts bouncing to the rhythm and his stomach muscles bunching tight as he rammed his hips back and forth.

  Upstairs, their children read on, blissfully unaware.

  Outside, Cliché began to jack-off, drool dribbling down his chin as he watched the adults fuck. “Oh, yeah. That bastard is dirtier than I am in the sack. He’s all mine.”

  Sighing, the leader glanced up through the second-floor window at the young, gangly teenager who was pointing out a picture in the book as he read aloud. The alpha didn’t want the half-grown child. Too tough to chew, no challenge to kill. But the needs of his subordinates came first, so he’d settle for the one no one wanted. “Fine,” he muttered. “Let’s go.”

  Appetites flaring, they rushed into the clearing, shifting forms as they ran. Once they were four-legged and furry, they split into two pairs, the leader and his mate leaping onto the roof of the screened back porch and the two beta males heading toward the rear door.

  Following his mate
to a window that led into the second floor hallway, the alpha hung back and covered her flank as she lifted a paw to the glass and cut through it with her claws. A human might’ve heard the barest of screeches, but to the alpha, it was an unbearable agony. His ears twitched and he growled low in his throat.

  But his female was a fast worker. She cut through the windowpane and punched out a hole for them in seconds. Once she disappeared into the dark hallway, he followed. The pads of his paws landed lightly on the carpeted floor. He shifted back into human form. Since the boy would be an easy slay, he decided to play with his supper a little before dining.

  He took the lead, strolling down the hall, his mate panting along beside him, still on all fours.

  “…and the little pig said, ‘not by the hairs of my chinny-chin-chin’.” The boy’s clear voice grew louder as the alpha and his mate neared the doorway.

  Pausing in the hall, the interlopers listened to the story. “The big bad wolf came to the house of sticks and pounded on the door. ‘Let me in,’ he growled. ‘Or I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down’.”

  The alpha’s husky laugh caused both children to lift their faces as he toed open the door. “Know what I never understood about that story?” he said, swaggering into the room. “Why didn’t the goddamn wolf just kick down the fucking door and walk right on in?”

  Panic radiated off the boy; the smell of his fear perfumed the air. He clutched the girl tight and covered her eyes with his hand so she couldn’t see any more of the naked man in her room. “Who’re you?” he demanded.

  The alpha grinned. “Why, I’m the big bad wolf. Who d’you think?”

  Taking this as her cue, his mate leapt through the doorway, hurdled his shoulder, and landed easily on the floor between him and the children. At the female’s snarl, the little girl screamed and clamped her arms and legs around the boy.

  Eyes wide, the teen fumbled to scramble off the bed, taking the girl with him. Backing them into a corner, he pushed her behind him and protected her with his body.

  The female wolf advanced.

  “I suggest you get out of my lady’s way, boy,” the alpha drawled with a slow, lazy smile. “She has a hunger for little girl tonight and you’re not going to stop her.”

  Darting his gaze from the wolf in front of him to the alpha still in human form standing in the middle of the floor, the boy flashed his own pathetic human teeth in a snarl. “Touch my sister and die.”

  The passion in him almost impressed the alpha. But the kid didn’t stand a chance. So, he merely yawned and answered, “She accepts your terms. Except you die, not us.”

  With that, the female leapt. The little girl screamed again as the teen lifted his arms to shield them. The alpha stood back and grinned. He loved to watch his mate in action. She was beautiful during a feeding.

  Savage and untamed, and all his.

  His body grew hard, and his cock lengthened as she took the boy’s arm in her teeth and flung the kid to the side as if he was a mere chew toy. Nothing turned him on like the sight of his mate in the middle of a bloodbath. Reaching down, he stroked himself, growing more excited as he watched.

  His mate swished the base of her tail to the side, revealing the swollen, glistening lips of her vulva. She loved to be fucked during her feast; it made her more ravenous. And he loved to fuck her.

  Screams and breaking furniture from the first floor rose to serenade them, arousing him to the point of action. He started forward to mount her as she gorged, beginning to shift forms, when the human boy flew forward and jumped onto the female wolf’s back. His cry of outrage stunned the alpha into a halt, his eyebrows lifting. Well, shit. The kid had some spunk in him after all. The boy wrapped his thin arms around the female’s neck and yanked her head back.

  She came off the human girl with a roar, bucking and spinning in a circle to throw him. But the boy dug his knees into her fur and hung on.

  Staying in human form a bit longer since it was easier to masturbate that way, the alpha jerked his hips into his fist. His mate fought harder, her frantic movements making his dick pulse with pleasure. God damn. The boy was actually giving her a challenge. Maybe he’d have more fun killing the kid than he’d first thought.

  He opened his mouth to call out a warning to his mate, telling her not to slaughter the boy—he wanted that privilege for himself—when a loud pop filled the air. His female yelped, then staggered. The kid twisted her neck again. Another pop of snapping cartilage followed. This time, his mate slumped and fell to the floor with a thud. She didn’t move.

  The alpha blinked. What the fuck?

  His cock going limp, he rushed forward, landing on his knees by his female. Still, she didn’t stir. He shook her, but her life-force drained from her.

  He lifted his head and narrowed his gaze on the teen who’d hobbled to the girl and was gathering up her blood-drenched body into his arms, her tender skin ripped open from throat to groin.

  The little shit had just killed his woman.

  “Hailey,” the boy sobbed, rocking his dead sister back and forth. “Hailey, wake up.” One of his arms bled profusely and hung limply at his side, but he clutched the little girl anyway and wept.

  “You killed my mate,” the alpha roared.

  White hot anger poured through his veins.

  The boy lifted his head just in time to see the alpha flash from human into beast. Eyes flaring as he continued to clutch the girl, the kid jerked to his feet and stumbled in an effort to keep hold of his sister and escape at the same time.

  In a mindless fury, the alpha leapt. He expected to kill the punk with one slice of his claw, but deceptively quick, the boy dropped the corpse and dodged out of his way at the last moment. The wolf grazed his cheek. It was enough to make the kid cry out and clutch his face, blood splattering the walls. But it wasn’t enough to kill or even permanently disable him. He skittered away, clambering with both arms and legs toward the door.

  Snarling, the wolf dodged after him. Assuming the kid would keep fleeing, he pounded forward with full force. But the boy was full of surprises. Just as the wolf leapt, the kid spun around, a toy baton in his grasp. Unable to stop, the wolf’s momentum carried him forward until he impaled himself on the toy. Sharp pain sliced through his shoulder and took him down.

  He landed on the boy. Too dazed to move, he blinked back the black spots dancing in his vision. The teen struggled under him. This was his chance to kill, but the kid grabbed the baton and cranked on it. His roar was a mixture of agony and fury, growing weaker until blackness consumed him.

  He came to, alone in the room with the corpse of his mate and the little girl littered across the blood-stained pink carpet. The teen was nowhere in sight.

  Godammit. Now he’d to have to find the boy.

  Footsteps thundered up the stairs.

  “We gotta go,” Cliché panted, his eyes wide and anxious as he skidded into the room. “The bitch called 911 before we could take her down.” His still stiff penis was lathered with blood, like maybe he’d been sticking it into a corpse, which, knowing him, he probably had.

  “So?” the alpha said, easing to his feet. A couple stupid humans with badges didn’t intimidate him.

  “What the hell?” The beta gaped at the fallen female. “What happened to her?” He spun around and caught sight of the alpha’s wound just as the alpha yanked the baton from his shoulder with a pained snarl. “What the fuck happened to you?”

  “We have to find that boy,” he said, a growl rumbling in his throat.

  “Can’t,” the quiet one said as he rushed through the doorway. Always a messy eater, he wiped at blood and chunks of skin smeared across his mouth, face, and the top portion of his chest. “A dozen cop cars just pulled into the drive. We have to go. Now.”

  “I can handle a couple cops. That little shit killed my mate.”

  “You might be able to stop a few humans, but you can’t stop their bullets. We’ll get the kid later.”

&nb
sp; The alpha wanted to argue, but the front door crashed open and the sound of yelling and footsteps erupted on the first floor.

  “We’ll get the kid later,” Cliché repeated, taking the alpha’s arm as if to help him walk.

  He jerked away. “Come on,” the alpha snarled with a reluctant glance over his shoulder. “There’s an opening in the window in the hall. We can escape there.”

  It went against his nature to run, to leave his mate behind. But his betas were right. He couldn’t take down a dozen men with loaded weapons. So, he tucked his tail between his legs and fled with the other two.

  As soon as he reached the woods, however, he paused and glanced back, the lights from the emergency vehicles reflecting in his eyes. They’d probably throw his mate’s carcass out with the trash as if she was some kind of diseased wild animal. It was all that fucking kid’s fault.

  If it was the last thing he did, he’d find that boy. He’d find that boy and kill him.

  Chapter One

  Fifteen Years Later

  Branches slapped at Riley Bane as she darted between trees and vines. The forest floor, littered with all variety of foliage, ripe and flourishing from the summer heat, provided even more obstacles to dodge. Yet that did not slow her. Panic propelled her forward; her paws whispered on the ground as they raced over nature’s debris.

  Twigs tangled in her fur. She’d have a hell of time combing them out once she stopped.

  That didn’t slow her, either.

  Her time ran short. The fever had come upon her quickly. She hadn’t realized it would happen this fast. But her body’s response to the change was prompt and potent. It urged her to turn around, return to her jamboree, and ease the boiling needs already sweltering inside her.

  Her head, however, still contained a rational, functioning brain that refused to obey the laws of her kind. She would not give in to her body’s desires simply because her hormones demanded it was time.