Jennifer Ashley: Bodyguard

These houses had been pretty much trashed and abandoned by the humans who'd lived there twenty years before, and the government department formed to deal with the Shifter situation had snapped up the cheap real estate and used it to house the Shifters. Shifters had moved in and repainted, reshingled, and repaired the houses themselves. Now anyone could walk fearlessly down the quiet streets of Shiftertown, doors could remain unlocked, and cubs could play safely in the front yards to all hours of the night.

Shifters, three species of them, now lived together without killing each other. Who would have thought?

Shiftertown was dark this late, though windows glowed in houses here and there. Felines and Lupines would be outside without lights, both species still nocturnal despite human effort to change that. Bears, much smarter, would be sound asleep, taking advantage of every moment of shut-eye they could get. Ursines used a lot of energy when awake, and they slept with dedication.

Elizabeth, beside him, took it all in while gripping the dashboard. "Are you going to bother to tell me why I'm in Shiftertown?"

"Sean brought your sister here, to my house."

She whipped around to stare at him. "To your house? Why?"

"Well, he couldn't take her to Liam's house because Connor lives there, and that could get messy. Mabel likes Connor, but Connor's still a cub."

Elizabeth kept staring at him, clearly having no idea what he was talking about. "If you mean Connor who comes into my shop sometimes to flirt with Mabel, he's not a cub; he's in college."

"He's only twenty-one, and in Shifter terms, that's still a cub. Won't make his Transition for another, oh, seven or eight years yet. It's best not to let him and Mabel be more than friends--too confusing and even dangerous for everyone. So, right now, my house is best. You've heard the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears?"

"Sure, but what has that got to do with--"

"That story is total bullshit." Ronan laughed, the rumble of it filling the car. "At my house, nothing's too hard or too soft. Everything is just right. "

He was rewarded with Elizabeth's smile. He liked her smile, like a sudden flash of sunshine. He hated to see her so afraid. She shouldn't be afraid, this sassy sweetheart.

Ronan slowed the truck, which he'd found fun to drive but a tight fit. He turned into the driveway, which was nothing but two strips of broken pavement that led behind the house. Ronan had turned the garage in the back into a work-and-play room he and his housemates called the Den, so he parked outside, behind the other car and a large motorcycle already there.

The motorcycle was Ronan's--Sean or a tracker must have retrieved it from the street near Elizabeth's store and driven it home for him. He hoped it hadn't been Nate who'd fetched it. Stupid Feline drove like an idiot.

Ronan got out before Elizabeth could and went around to open her door. "Here we are," he said, taking her hand to help her stand up. He liked her hand, small and warm in his. "Get ready for the horde."

"The what?"

"No worries; I won't let them hurt you."

The "horde" tumbled out of the back door and off the porch Ronan had built around two sides of the house. They were Rebecca, a full-grown she-bear from Ronan's clan; Scott, a black bear Shifter who was about twenty-seven and going through the pains of his Transition; Cherie, a grizzly, twenty in human years, who'd spent the first half of her life locked in a pen. Last came Olaf, the only polar bear in Shiftertown, nine in human years and still a true cub. Olaf had a sunny disposition, except when flashes of the past he couldn't quite remember came to him in his dreams. They called him Olaf, but no one, not even Olaf, knew his real name. All wore Collars that gleamed under the porch lights.

Behind the bears was Mabel, Elizabeth's twenty-one-year-old sister, whose hair today was pink streaked with green. She looked keyed up, frightened, and excited, all at the same time. She pushed past the bears and ran at Elizabeth, arms open.

"Lizzy, damn it, they said you almost got shot, and then you were at that police station for, like, ever. And then those guys came to our house--looking for you. They called through the front door asking where you were. And then Shifters, all over the place. Liam said it wasn't safe for me to stay home, said I would meet up with you here. Have you seen that Spike guy? He is hot . I swear he has tattoos everywhere ."

Sounded like Mabel was all right then.

Rebecca looked at Ronan in concern. "Ronan? Liam said you took a bullet. You all right?"

Ronan held up his arm to show her the gauze bandage. "I'm fine. It just grazed me." A tiny bullet cutting across Ronan's triceps was nothing. He'd been shot with a Fae arrow last year--now that had hurt . The effing Fae spelled their arrows.

"You were jumping in front of bullets again, weren't you, Ronan?" Cherie said, folding her arms. She had black-and-brown streaked hair, entirely natural, matching her grizzly's coat. "You've gotta stop that. We need you without holes."

"Leave him alone," Scott said. "He did what he had to do."

Scott was a black bear, the smallest of the horde when he shifted, but he was still tall and lanky, with black hair and a surly expression. The Transition was hard on him.

Olaf was still mastering English, having been located by Liam and brought to Shiftertown only a year ago. He had white-blond hair and black eyes, and his bear was too adorable to be real. "Mabel paints my hair too. Okay, Ronan?"

"I said he'd look cute with blue streaks in his hair," Mabel said.

Rebecca shot Ronan an evil look. "I told him it was up to you."

"Sure, thanks, Becks. Not now, Olaf. This is Elizabeth, Mabel's sister. She and Mabel are staying. So keep it down so they can sleep. I'll give them my room and sleep out in the Den."

"No, no, no, don't do that to them," Rebecca said quickly. "They're taking my room, which is habitable, and I'll sleep in the Den. Putting them in your room would be cruel and unusual punishment."

"I'm sleeping with Rebecca," Cherie said quickly. She always felt nervous when Rebecca was out of the house.

"Whatever. Female bears," Ronan said to Elizabeth. "They like to take over. Everything."

"Hey, Papa-Bear was out being arrested," Rebecca said. "For being a knight errant. I didn't realize that was a crime in the human world."

"I did smack the guy," Ronan said. "But he deserved it. His mother must be too soft on him."

"His mother is probably terrified of him," Elizabeth said. "Or maybe she's as bad as he is, or--most likely--not there at all."

Ronan realized he still had hold of Elizabeth's hand. He also realized he wasn't in that big a hurry to let it go. Rebecca noticed, but--thank the Goddess--kept her thoughts to herself.

"How do you know so much about humans like Marquez?" Ronan asked Elizabeth. "You said in the courtroom you knew exactly what he was going to do."

Mabel rolled her eyes before Elizabeth could answer. "You do not want to know. Elizabeth was a juvenile delinquent. In a big way."

"I thought they didn't want to know." Elizabeth shook off Ronan's hand. "It's nice of you, Ronan, but we can't stay here. I don't have a change of clothes, for one thing."

"I brought your stuff," Mabel said brightly. "And Sean says we have to stay. He's cute, Lizzy--you should hear his Irish accent. Too bad he's mated, but I like his mate. Andrea, you've met her before. Anyway, Sean says we're staying in Shiftertown until Liam and the trackers make sure it's safe for us to go home."

Elizabeth held up her hands. "Mabel, stop talking for just a second--"

"Shiftertown's the safest place for you," Ronan broke in. "No one will find you here. The trackers will sniff around, find out what these people wanted with your house, and deal with them."