All's Were That Ends Were: Soulmate Shifters World (Soulmate Shifters in Mystery, Alaska Book 6) Read online

  Tor’s grip on her tightened and she could’ve sworn the man growled—straight up, rumble in the chest vibrations.

  “We’ve got her. A bit bruised, but all in one piece,” Ryder said, attempting to calm the giant bartender.

  Liam wasn’t so large up next to these two guys. They were both several inches taller and just as formidable as the cranky bartender, if not more so. They really grew them big in Alaska.

  The bartender walked straight up to Tor and reached for Dawn’s chin.

  Tor turned his shoulder to the guy, blocking him from touching her.

  “Kid, you better let me check on her right this second. She was my responsibility and now she’s hurt.”

  “She’s not your responsibility any longer, Liam.”

  The bartender crossed his arms and stared. “Oh, really.”

  “Guys, I’m right here.” She swung her legs a little. “Put me down. I can walk just fine. I’ve got air back in my lungs. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my—”

  All three of the men were silent and glared straight at her, their gazes were like lasers cutting her words to shreds.

  “Okay fine, the asshole who assaulted me was a little bigger of an asshole than I’m used to dealing with.” She put a palm on Tor’s chest and held back the urge to slide her hand across more of his body. Good grief, what was her problem? She could at least try not to drool all over her rescuer. No way this man didn’t already have a girlfriend—or three.

  “Please, let me down.”

  Tor met Ryder’s gaze for a split second and then complied, letting her body drag across his. Or maybe she was just imagining that he did that. Either way, it felt like he let her slide down every single hard muscle of his body. It reminded her of a cat. The way they arched into your hand or your body when they wanted to be stroked.

  Liam reached for her again, jolting her out of her rated R fantasy. He touched her chin with his fingertips. “Fuck,” he said, his tone an angry growl. “You’re going to have a nasty bruise there.” His fingers slid to her upper arm. “There too. Any other injuries.”

  “I think I’m—” The black spots returned with a vengeance and the ground rushed toward her face in a blur.

  2

  Tor

  Tor’s heart attempted to claw its way out of his chest when his mate collapsed through his arms. He’d missed something. An injury. He caught her just before she hit the ground and lifted her all the way back up, sliding an arm under her legs.

  “Your shirt is covered in blood,” Ryder said, his words came out like a hiss. He stalked forward, sniffing at Tor.

  Tor glanced down and bit back a curse. She was bleeding from somewhere. The bastard had done more than bruise her and he’d let him go. His tiger wanted to correct that immediately, but his mate wasn’t safe yet. They couldn’t leave her.

  “It’s her head,” Liam said, raising his fingertips up to show fresh blood.

  “We need Connie,” Ryder said, pulling a phone from his pocket.

  Liam grunted his approval. “In the meantime, let’s get her out of the parking lot shall we.”

  A growl rolled through Tor’s chest and Liam gave him a sideways glance. Tor didn’t care.

  He’d found her. His shuarra.

  This woman who now owned The Watering Hole was his Fated match. Fate had smiled on him. She was a tiny bundle of blonde hair and pale skin glowing with the magick of his world. Her blue eyes had been bright and strong, and he’d seen her attraction to him in just the few seconds she’d been conscious.

  “I called Connie. She’s on her way. Liam?”

  “Let’s get her up to her apartment.” Liam reached toward his mate’s pants pockets and he curled his lip and hissed.

  The bartender froze and turned, his dark eyes narrowing to an angry glare. “You need to get over yourself. She’s young enough to be my daughter. Do you even know her name?”

  Tor opened his mouth and then snapped it back. He didn’t. Wait. I do. “You called her Dawn.”

  “Whatever, you wouldn’t have known her name if I hadn’t been yelling for her. And how the hell are you growling like an animal?”

  “It’s a gift,” Ryder said, keeping his voice light. “His father always teased him about being more cat than man.”

  Liam rubbed his stubble and then shook his head. “Fine. Just get the apartment keys out of her pocket so we can get her upstairs.”

  Tor glanced down at his mate and then back to Liam. He didn’t have a way of retrieving the keys from her pockets. Not the way he was holding her, but the idea of letting Liam put his hand so close to her…to let him reach inside her clothes. His cat was going to have a fit. He was going to have a fit.

  This was ridiculous. He was being ridiculous.

  “I’m sorry, Liam. I’m not sure what’s come over me.”

  Liam snorted. “My granddaughter would call you twitter-pated.”

  Tor met Ryder’s gaze and they both shrugged.

  “I don’t know what that means, but please get her keys. And can you tell me my ma—the woman’s full name?” Tor corrected quickly, but not before earning another suspicious stare from Liam.

  “Her name is Dawn Mikkelson.” Liam tugged the key ring from Dawn’s pocket and pointed to the outside staircase on the side of the building. “She just arrived in Mystery today. Lars was her grandfather and left the place to her.”

  Tor wasn’t really listening to Liam. He couldn’t stop staring at the gentle glow of magick illuminating her skin. It was more beautiful than anything the others had described.

  Dawn.

  It suited her.

  Tor followed Liam and Ryder up the stairs and toward the apartment door above the bar. Connie’s truck pulled up just before they got the door open. She grabbed her bag and hurried up the stairs after them, shoving the men out of her way like they were seventy-pound middle-school girls.

  “What happened? Put her on the counter. Ryder, find me some towels.”

  “Hollister King’s been trying to buy real estate in Mystery for years. He’s got his goons here gunning for The Watering Hole. They’re pissed it didn’t go to auction and now even more pissed that it’s got a new owner,” Liam said, his tone dark and angry.

  Tor could appreciate the protectiveness in the bartender’s voice. He felt the same way times ten.

  “They attacked a woman in a parking lot?” Connie asked, directing her gaze to Tor and Ryder. Then mouthed the word humans?

  Ryder nodded while Tor gently laid Dawn out on the bare kitchen countertop.

  “Shouldn’t we put her somewhere more comfortable?” Ryder asked, giving Tor a questioning glance.

  Connie shook her head. “Not until I get that bleeding to stop.” She yanked open her bag and went to work, hands flying. There were sutures and bandages and ointments and some stuff he didn’t recognize.

  “Who saw the men? Can we report them to the sheriff? Give a description?”

  “We…” Tor started. “We saw her after they’d left. Then Liam came out. Dawn is probably the only one who can identify them.”

  “I would recognize the ones who came into the bar earlier that afternoon, but I didn’t see them outside. Just Tor and Ryder picking her up from out beside the dumpster.”

  “That would likely be the blunt object that her head came in contact with. Pressure seems to have stopped it, but she’s going to be woozy for a while and probably have a nasty concussion. She won’t be able to be alone for a few days.”

  “She’s new to town. Lars was her grandfather. I doubt she knows anyone else,” Liam said, “But I could stay with her if she’ll—”

  “I’ll stay with her,” Tor said, his tone stating it as a fact that would not be questioned. It didn’t stop the bartender.

  “You don’t even know her. She doesn’t know you. Why would you offer to stay with her? You’re a complete stranger.”

  “I…She…It’s the right thing to do. I have flexible hours with my jobs currently. I can d
o it. You have to open the bar tomorrow. How are you going to stay with her?” Tor didn’t want to stay.

  “I could not open the bar.”

  “I don’t work at the Community Center tomorrow until the evening. I can help too.”

  Liam threw up his hands. “You think this poor girl who just moved to town, who just got assaulted by goons, wants to wake up in an unfamiliar apartment with more unfamiliar men crowding her space.”

  “Liam’s got a point. Maybe you guys can rotate?” Connie said, packing up her supplies and stuffing the trash into a bin under the sink. “If she starts to wake up, you go get Liam from downstairs and watch the bar for him. That way she wakes up to a familiar face.”

  Tor’s stomach twisted in his gut like a wrung-out dishrag. He didn’t want to agree. But they were both right. Dawn didn’t know him. Not really.

  “I’m not leaving her.”

  “And I’m not leaving you alone with her,” Liam said, his voice rivaling a Reylean’s growl.

  “I would never hurt her,” Tor said, offended by the insult. She was his mate. His shuarra. He would die for her. Liam wouldn’t understand that.

  Connie did. Connie was watching him carefully. She knew about them. About how some of Mystery’s inhabitants were more than what they seemed.

  She’d found out by accident and had taken the news well for a human finding out there were aliens on her planet that could turn into large predatory animals.

  “I’m not saying you would hurt her. I know you’re not that kind of man, Tor. I just don’t want—”

  “Me to be interested in her?”

  “You don’t know her.”

  “It doesn’t matter. She’s it.”

  “What if she can’t stand you?”

  “She likes me.”

  “She’s never spoken to you.” Liam’s face was getting red.

  “Have I ever given you the impression that I’m less than honorable? Have any of my friends?” Tor said, stroking a knuckle down Dawn’s arm.

  Liam sighed.

  Tor knew the reputation the Tribe had with the town. It was a good one. Col, their chief, made sure of it and had from the very first day they’d decided to stay here.

  “Tara would vouch for me. And Katherine.” They were townspeople who’d grown up in Mystery. Liam knew them. Everyone in town knew them.

  “Yes. Yes. Fine.” We’ll all stay the night with her and then take turns tomorrow.

  “How did I get lumped into all this?” Ryder asked.

  Tor turned to the Reylean wolf, surprised that he didn’t want to help. Ryder was always the first volunteer. He and Ava were working hard to earn the trust of the Tribe.

  Ryder winked at him. “Just kidding. Let me call Ava and let her know. She’ll want to come over and help too.”

  “Okay, if you boys have your peckers in order now, I’d like to get the patient moved to her bed.” Connie had her bag by the front door and was waiting in the doorway to the bedroom of the apartment with her hands on her hips. “Let’s go, Romeo.”

  Tor stuck his tongue out at her and then gently scooped Dawn up from the counter.

  “Real adult, Tor. I’m so proud.”

  He carried his precious cargo to the bare bedroom and laid her in the bed Connie had turned down. He gently removed her boots and pulled the covers up to her shoulders.

  “The second she wakes up, I need to see her again,” Connie stated in that matter-of-fact-you-have-no-choice-but-to-obey-me-voice of hers. “Call me.”

  Tor nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

  She smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and whispered in his ear. “Good luck, kitty cat.”

  He snorted through a soft laugh and play-shoved her toward the door. Connie was great—hard-working, strong, beautiful, team-player. He was surprised that she hadn’t been a Fate match to one of the Tribe, or married already to a human, but no one had stepped forward. She was a good friend and loyal to the Tribe. She deserved a mate who would treasure her above all else.

  Liam was leaning against the wall when he turned back to the bed, watching him, staring at him like he would be able to see the tiger inside if he looked hard enough. Thank goodness that wasn’t possible…unless Liam was a magick-bender. And so far none of those from Reylea had shown up alive. He knew the N’ra Valley’s magick-bender had died keeping the portal open long enough for just the few of them who’d gotten out safely. Perhaps they had all sacrificed themselves for the Reyleans to survive. He just wished he’d gotten to tell her thank you.

  “Connie knows you better.”

  Tor held back a grin and kept his lips in a tight line. Liam’s question was fishing. Better than what? Liam? Of course she did. Liam didn’t know him at all.

  “We’ve chatted, yes.”

  “Dated?”

  Tor’s mouth fell open just a little. He shook his head slowly. “No.”

  “She called you kitty cat. Sounds like an intimate pet name to me.”

  “It’s an inside joke,” Tor said, hoping Liam would leave it at that.

  “You have a cat? She doesn’t have a cat,” Liam said, folding his arms across his chest. “Why do you want to work at the bar as a cook?”

  Tor rolled his neck and stood to his full height. “I’m a good cook. I could help the bar become more. Become better,” he answered, throwing Liam’s word back at him.

  “I’ll have to ask her,” Liam said, his eyes darting to the sleeping Dawn.

  “I would appreciate the chance.”

  “What we really need is a bit more muscle in the front. The guys know we don’t have anyone and they’re starting to test my patience.” Liam sighed, releasing the tension in his frame. At least for now he appeared to believe that Tor wouldn’t hurt Dawn. Or the bar.

  A knock at the door sounded and the hair on the back of Tor’s neck stood on end. He sniffed. Bear. Wolf. Ryder and Ava.

  “Who is that?” Liam said, his voice gruff and annoyed. He pushed off the wall and headed for the apartment door.

  “Ryder is back with Ava.”

  “How the hell do you know? That’s a solid door.” Liam waved his hand like he was brushing Tor’s words away.

  Tor moved to the doorway and watched as Liam checked the peephole. He heard the under-the-breath curse and smiled.

  “How the damn hell did you know it was them?” Liam turned around and glared before he opened the apartment door.

  “Magick,” Tor said, keeping his voice light.

  “They texted you, didn’t they?”

  Tor held up his hands in mock surrender. “Nope. No texts.”

  “Hey, everything okay, Tor?” Ava shoved into the room knocking Liam back a couple of steps like he was no more of a barrier than a fourteen-year-old teenage boy. She was tall and deceptively strong. Liam’s gaze followed her with wide-eyed disbelief as she sauntered across the room. “Who’s this guy?”

  “This guy is Liam. He runs the bar currently and is considering giving me a job as the cook. I would appreciate if you didn’t knock him around like a balloon.”

  “She caught me off guard. I’m fine,” Liam said, his voice grinding like a garbage disposal.

  “Sorry, I just saw Tor’s hands up and got a little concerned.” Ava marched up to Liam and held out her hand. “Ava Di’Balek.”

  Ryder stepped inside the door in silence. He met Tor’s gaze and nodded but waited for his mate to patch things up with the bar manager.

  “Liam. Nice to meet you ma’am. You’re with the other man who helped Dawn in the parking lot?”

  “Yes, he’s my ma-husband,” she said, self-correcting her almost-slip.

  Tor tipped his head, curious. He hadn’t been aware that Ava and Ryder had gotten married. But she had claimed Ryder’s family name, which was the human custom on this world. Her family name was Di’Brahth like her brother Owen.

  Relations between the tribe and the two wolf-human-pairings that lived in town was strained. He saw them on a regular basis, but Col had banned them from
the cabins and the land the Tribe was settling into.

  Ryder stepped forward, extending his hand. “Ryder.”

  “I don’t suppose you’re looking for a job too?” Liam said, shaking the wolf shifter’s hand. “Most people in town have had a job for years or work the family business.”

  “What job are you offering?”

  “The bar needs guards,” Tor said, jumping into the conversation.

  “Security,” Liam corrected. “We don’t call it guards, but yes. That’s somewhat correct.” Liam closed the door and stepped back from Ava and Ryder. “With those guys gunning for the bar, and now coming after Dawn once. They’ll try again.”

  A growl rumbled from deep inside Tor’s chest. An answering rattle sounded in Ryder’s and the two of them met gazes for a split second before they quieted their beasts.

  “What?” Liam looked back and forth at them for a second. “What the hell was that?”

  “They are notorious for forgetting to eat all day,” Ava said, adding a bit of laughter to her voice. She was trying to cover but Liam’s face said he didn’t buy her story.

  “Mmmhmmm.”

  Tor turned and walked back across the apartment and into Dawn’s bedroom. She hadn’t stirred even a little. He sat on the side of the bed and moved a bit of hair from her cheek. Tucked it behind her ear and breathed in her scent deeply. The touch and smell calmed his beast. His shuarra was safe.

  He would make sure whoever dared to hurt her, would never hurt her again.

  Even if his cat had to go hunting.

  He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently hoping for a response. She didn’t stir, but his fingers crimped on something metal. Tor opened his palm and looked down at her petite hand. Her pale skin glowed around a golden strip of metal with a diamond on it.

  A wedding ring.

  She was married.

  It was like being trampled by a moose, or at least what he imagined it would feel like to be trampled by a moose. The pain just kept punching him like sharp hooves to his chest.

  She was supposed to be his mate—his shuarra. She glowed with the soul call.