Halloween Werewolf (The Holiday Shifter Mates Book 1) Read online

  “What the hell?” Katey said.

  “I want you all in the gym. Now,” Austin said. “I’m going to lock the other doors. Timothy, I still need—”

  Timothy had his phone out and was talking calmly, explaining the situation. “Someone got shot, and they chased us inside the school. We’re with our teacher Mr. Cheshire.”

  Austin held out his hand for the phone and finished for his student, making it abundantly clear that this was no Halloween prank.

  “Thank you, Timothy,” Austin said as he handed the phone back. “Take the others to the gym quickly.”

  “We’re not leaving you Mr. Cheshire. You told me not to leave my friends.”

  “That’s right. That’s why you’re going to take them to the gym.”

  “What about you?”

  “There’s no time. I have keys to the school, and I need you to tell the other teachers what’s going on.” He hoped Timothy would understand. He couldn’t say any more or how he didn’t feel it was safe for the students to be around him when he was the one the hunters intended to hit with that shot. He was sure of it. He touched the bite on his neck, trying to still his trembling hands. He needed to work fast.

  Timothy bit his lip but nodded his head as he valiantly took control, soothing the fears of his fellow classmates while taking them to safety. Austin made sure they were well on their way, and then he ran. He prayed he’d get to the back door before the hunter did. His lungs burned by the time he got to the door. He didn’t see any signs of the hunter. It was quiet. He went to lock it, but it burst open, smashing into him. He landed hard on his butt. Then he was looking up the barrel of a gun aiming in between his eyes. The hunter stepped closer, pressing the nozzle snuggly against Austin’s skin and simultaneously pushing his glasses down the bridge of his nose.

  “Can’t have you infecting anyone else,” the masked woman said.

  “I-I’m not infected,” Austin said. He slowly raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture.

  “That’s what they all say.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  MATEO COULD HAVE OUTRUN the hunter easily if he hadn’t been shot. The bullet had to be lodged somewhere bad because there was blood in his mouth, and his side hurt like a motherfucker. He pressed his hand to the wound, attempting to stanch the bleeding and heightening the pain to keep himself awake as he ran. Even in this state, he could have outrun the hunter, but he wanted to keep the bastard on his tail. He led him well past the school’s blacktop, down the trees lining the path to the hiking trail, and into a yellow grass field where there weren’t any people and little chance of attracting any. Everyone was in the residential areas trick-or-treating or partying, and the high school was already affected.

  He stopped and dropped down into tall grass, clutching his side. He monitored the hunter’s movements. The man had shed his ridiculous mask and cloak in exchange for optimal mobility. Mateo growled. He remembered that face well. There could be no doubt about it now. This was one of the hunters who killed his parents. The ugly scar across his cheek, left by a clawed creature of some sort, made him very distinguishable.

  Move. Fast, fast, fast. Mateo had only succeeded in getting one hunter away from Austin and his students. The other went after them. He had to make this quick and get back to his mate as soon as possible.

  “Where’d you go, fucker?” the hunter goaded, cocking his pistol. “Too big of a pussy to face me?” He walked forward, cautious, scanning the grass, making a bunch of noise with every step he took. “You can’t run forever. And what about your little fuckboy back there? You abandoned him after infecting him with your disease. Monster. Nothing more than monsters.”

  Mateo was sick of hearing this guy’s shit. He waited until the hunter was just a little closer, and he acted. The hunter’s head snapped to Mateo’s direction thanks to the rustling dry grass. The hunter had his gun ready faster than anticipated. He fired. Mateo was sluggish, but he bounced on his feet, dodging to the right. The bullet ricocheted off the dirt, sending up a small spray of dust. Mateo righted his course, but the hunter had another round ready. He was calm and steady, practiced. Deadly. Mateo couldn’t dodge this one.

  The pistol popped off another shot. It hit Mateo’s right thigh and dug in deep. Mateo hadn’t been shot before, and he didn’t do much with guns, but he wondered if these bullets were laced with something. He was immediately woozy like he had just been tranqed. He stumbled.

  The hunter said, “Lively one.” He raised his gun again.

  Mateo shook his head. He used every last bit of his strength to kick off the ground. He charged the hunter head-on. The hunter fired, but the gun jammed. The bullet never came, and Mateo knocked the bastard to the ground. He knocked the gun out of the guy’s hand and saw the whites of his eyes. Fear. This was the first time the hunter had shown fear, and now he trembled. Because he knew what this meant.

  “You were lucky,” he wheezed as Mateo wrapped his hand around the murderer’s neck and squeezed. His grip was bad because of the pain, but it was enough. His wolf claws popped out to finish the job. Red oozed from the murderer’s neck, and his eyes rolled back into his head. He let out one last gurgle before his heart stopped beating.

  The world spun when Mateo tried to stand. He landed on his knees, and then he was rolled over on his back, iron in his mouth. He coughed. It was wet and sick.

  “M-move,” he coughed. “Move. Austin needs you.” Maybe the students at the school needed him too, the teachers. He didn’t know how far the other hunter would go.

  He rolled onto his stomach and nearly doubled over in pain. He growled, pressed into the ground with his hands, and slowly got to his feet. He was too slow. Much too slow. Then he remembered the phone in his pocket. Gale was here. He could call Gale.

  Damn, he was dizzy.

  Mateo stumbled forward, making his way back to the school as he called Gale’s number. He picked up the pace, limping, ignoring the bullet somewhere in his stomach or lungs, ignoring the bullet lodged in his thigh.

  “Mateo? Done with you—”

  “Gale,” Mateo wheezed, “need you at the school. Hunters came early. After Austin.” He coughed.

  “I’m coming.”

  Mateo hung up and ran. The school was right there, close enough, but it seemed so far away. And empty. At first, he didn’t see anyone at the back of the school facing him. Then he saw a familiar cloaked figure streak across the blacktop. Her gun was in hand. She had ditched her mask. She settled at the back door, gun ready, but she didn’t move. Mateo pumped his legs harder. He was too far away to do anything from here. At least she hadn’t noticed him. He quieted his steps and approached from her blind spot. He was almost there.

  Suddenly, the woman slammed into the door. She disappeared inside of the school, but Mateo was on her tail. He wasted no time being cautious because he could smell him: Austin.

  It took two seconds. Austin was on the ground, the nose of the hunter’s pistol pressed against his forehead, her finger, pulling back the trigger. Mateo grabbed her forearm from behind and yanked. The gun flew from her grip as he ripped her shoulder out of its socket. She screeched. The gun landed with a thud on the linoleum floor. Her arm hung uselessly at her side, and Mateo grabbed the gun. He fired. A hole appeared in her forehead. Her eyes rolled back as red bloomed from the orifice, and she crumpled to the ground. Mateo dropped the gun and crumpled too.

  “Mateo!” Austin’s voice sounded so far away. “Eyes open, Mateo. Keep your eyes open.” Mateo’s vision wasn’t working right. Everything bled together, but he could make out the tears streaming down his mate’s cheeks. He wanted to wipe them away, but he couldn’t move anymore. His limbs were lead. So were his eyelids.

  “Mateo,” Austin pleaded, “eyes open. I need you to keep your eyes open.” There was a hiccup in his words, a tremble. He carefully took Mateo’s head and held him in his lap. He pressed his forehead to Mateo’s and rocked. Mateo tried to do what his mate asked. He really did, but his eyes wouldn
’t listen. They closed.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “IS HE GOING TO be okay?”

  “I took the bullets out. He’s healing, so yes. He’s going to be okay.”

  “I thought… I thought he was going to die.” A sniffle. “I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

  “You would have taken him to the hospital once the police arrived.”

  “But you came first.”

  “It’s better this way. Nothing good has ever happened to a shifter who went to the hospital.”

  “It’s happened before?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why doesn’t anyone know about shifters, then?”

  “Those in power like to keep things under their control. If humans ever come close to figuring shifters out, if they find out there’s something abnormal with a patient, other shifters act. Trinity in particular has been working in the shadows to keep all shifterkind safe for who knows how long. They’re pretty secretive, or they have been. For all the power they hold, there are many shifters who don’t know about them. For a long time, I didn’t know about them either.”

  “Trinity?”

  Mateo groaned. The voices were too loud, and he couldn’t sleep. He ached. He tried to open his eyes, but it was harder than expected.

  “Mateo!”

  “Austin?” Mateo’s voice came out as a croak. When he managed to open his eyes, his mate was right there, tears in his green eyes. Austin wiped the tears away, disheveling his glasses. He tried righting them again, but he was a mess, shaking all over. He touched Mateo’s face, but it wasn’t enough. Mateo grabbed him, smashing him against his chest and hugging him fiercely. It hurt his side, his thigh, but he didn’t give a damn. Austin was alive. He didn’t even look hurt.

  “All right, Mateo, take it easy for a few weeks,” Gale said. “You aren’t just healing from bullet wounds. There was poison encased in the things too. Your body should be able to push the stuff out, but you’ll need to take it easy. And I’d prefer to take you to a healer to make sure.”

  “Is that why I’m so stiff?” Mateo asked. He loosened his grip on his mate, but Austin sat on the edge of the bed and continued to hug him gently, resting his head on Mateo’s shoulder like he knew Mateo needed his touch right now.

  “I want to take you to a hospital,” Austin murmured. “But Gale said it’s a bad idea. Does it hurt?”

  “Gale’s right, and a little, but it’s fine.”

  “You said something about a healer, Gale. You mean a shifter healer?” Austin asked.

  “Yes. Back in Alaska.”

  “I’m fine,” Mateo insisted. He squeezed Austin’s arm. “I’m not leaving.”

  “What if I came with you instead?” Austin asked.

  “I don’t think your students would like that very much.”

  Austin frowned. “I guess… there wouldn’t be much for me to do in a shifter community, huh?”

  “Not true,” Gale said. “You could teach there like you do here. We don’t have as many kids, so you wouldn’t have a specific grade to teach, but there’s definitely a need for it. Our focus is mostly teaching shifters to live off the land, but that kind of traditional living disappears more and more every day. Academics, interacting with a world beyond shifters, we need that. Eurio is only meant to be a temporary stop on the way to more. Most of the shifters there come and go. I think you’d be a big help, Austin.”

  “Suck up,” Mateo said.

  “I’m being honest,” Gale replied easily.

  “What do you want, Mateo?” Austin asked.

  “To be with you.” Mateo rested his hand on Austin’s thigh and squeezed.

  “But you don’t really like it here in Glasglow, do you? Gale says Eurio is a stopgap, but what if it’s the place you belong? There’s a lot of land there, right? You can run and run, and you can fight when you need to.”

  “Yep,” Gale said, folding his arms. “We can handle him.”

  “I won’t be trouble,” Mateo said earnestly. “I’ll go wherever you want, Austin. I won’t be trouble.”

  “Silly wolf, you’re not trouble. Even if you were, you’re my trouble. I love you the way you are.” Austin leaned over and rubbed the tip of his nose against Mateo’s. Mateo liked how that felt and did it back, cupping the back of Austin’s neck at the same time to keep him close. Then he angled his face to avoid bumping Austin’s glasses and kissed him long and deep.

  Gale cleared his throat. “Should I leave? Or are we still talking?”

  “Leave,” Mateo growled.

  “No, we’re still talking,” Austin said. He kissed Mateo one more time, releasing his lips with a soft smack. Mateo wanted to kiss more, but he let Austin move back and sit in his own space on the edge of the bed. He didn’t completely retreat, though. Austin still held Mateo’s hand.

  “Time to be honest, Mateo,” Austin said. “You don’t like it here, do you?”

  Mateo tilted his head, looking out the window. He was in Austin’s bed. He hadn’t realized until now. He hadn’t cared. Austin was here. Gale was here. They were safe. But… “What happened with the police? Why did they let you leave with me?” Mateo asked.

  “We didn’t ask permission,” Gale said. “Austin gave me the keys to his house so I could take care of you before the cops came.”

  “I stayed behind, made sure everyone was okay, answered questions less than truthfully, and then I came home,” Austin finished. “I said I didn’t know where you were.”

  Mateo frowned. “Does that mean I already ruined your life here?”

  “It means we’ll have to come up with a story for you to tell the police, and it’d probably be best to pretend you didn’t get shot like Timothy thought.”

  Mateo cocked his head.

  “I told you this was messy.” Austin sighed and looked at Gale. “Mateo heals a lot faster than a human, I get that, but isn’t it going to be hard for him to walk without a limp for a while? And the longer it takes for him to come to the police, the messier it’ll get.”

  “I can do it,” Mateo said quickly.

  “Besides, Trinity will help smooth things over if they think this’ll turn out bad,” Gale said nonchalantly. “They want to out shifters eventually, but they want to do it their way. ‘When the time is right.’”

  Austin rubbed his temples. “What a mess.”

  “I don’t hate it here,” Mateo said. “I don’t like it either, though. It’s too crowded. If I’m being honest, Austin, Eurio suits me better, but I’ll go wherever you go. Okay? I’ll handle it. I won’t leave you again.”

  Austin smiled and shook his head. He took Mateo’s hand and held it against the left side of his chest, right over his heart. “You never did.”

  “That was my fault anyway,” Gale said. “I’m sorry.”

  “You really think I’ll be welcome in Eurio, Gale?” Austin asked. “I’ll still be able to teach? My degree is in English, but I was always good at, well… all things academic. I could, I don’t know, be more versatile? I feel like teaching is what I’m supposed to do. But then there’s money and—”

  “I’d make sure of it. And money isn’t an issue. You’ll get paid at least what you get paid now. Do you have any family here?”

  “No family but Mateo. I don’t have much holding me here. If money isn’t an issue, if you don’t mind me coming, I’ll just need a few weeks to get everything in order.”

  “Great. Glad to have you.” Gale held out his hand and took Austin’s in a firm handshake.

  “You sure, Austin?” Mateo asked.

  “I’m sure.”

  “I need to call Weston,” Gale said, and he stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

  Mateo gripped Austin’s waist. He wanted more. He wanted to feel him more. And he didn’t have to say a word. Austin straddled him, though he held himself up on his knees so he wasn’t putting any pressure on Mateo’s wounds. He placed his hands on either side of Mateo’s shoulders. He didn’t have to lean down f
ar to kiss him since Mateo’s head and upper body were propped up by a bunch of pillows.

  “Lower,” Mateo murmured against his lips.

  Austin brought his hips down and rolled them against Mateo’s. There was a little twinge of pain, but Mateo wasn’t about to pay any attention to that. His mate felt too good. And he was still being gentle, so the pain wasn’t anything unbearable. Mateo gripped Austin’s waist and rolled his hips in return. They were separated by a thin blanket, a pair of sweats Mateo was wearing, and the same shirt and pants Austin had worn to the Fall Formal. Mateo wanted everything off. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, but he wasn’t touching nearly enough of his mate’s skin. There was something about touching his skin that was settling and cooling, but it was also electric and hot like fire.

  Austin kissed him sweetly on the lips, again and again, releasing each kiss with soft touches and wet smacking noises. Austin put more of his weight down on Mateo. Mateo’s dick said yes, but his shot-up thigh and stomach said no. He winced.

  “Ah, sorry,” Austin said. He got off Mateo before Mateo could protest, once again seating himself on the edge of the bed

  “Lie down with me?” Mateo asked since anything else was apparently out of the question.

  Austin smiled, the first bright smile Mateo had seen on his face since all of this junk happened. It was a relief. Austin put his glasses on the nightstand and lay down next to Mateo. He curled up into his uninjured side, and they shared the pillows so their heads were level. Austin closed his eyes, and Mateo did the same. He listened to the steady sound of Austin breathing.

  “I’ve got a lot of shifters to introduce you to,” Mateo said. “You’ll like them.”

  Austin said, “I can’t wait.”