Pucking the Shifter (Shifter World - Book Seven) (Series of 13 Short Stories)
Chapter Six: Just Here to Help

Fifteen minutes later, the shifters, well enough to travel, were in the middle of the floor, sitting or standing around the two vampires.

“Pearl?” Dylan called as he went in search of his mate.

Pearl turned to Dylan with the saddest look on her face he had ever seen.

“Mafilia?” he asked softly.

She shook her head as a tear slid down her cheek. “Her mom is dead,” she whispered.

Dylan frowned. “Maybe she has another family member who can take her in.”

Pearl slowly nodded. “Maybe.”

“Let’s get out of here,” he said, pulling her to him and holding her.

She shook her head. “No. We need to destroy this coven.”

Dylan nodded. “First, you need to cast that spell so our vampires can get these shifters out of here.”

She nodded. “Right.”

They returned to the center of the room, and Pearl closed her eyes.

“Is this going to work?” Mara asked as she watched the witch.

“Pearl is a whole lot more than just a witch.” Shar smiled.

“Everyone, hold hands,” Pearl said as she opened her eyes.

The group held hands, and Pearl nodded, then said a few more incantations. She gave the vampires a nod, and the group disappeared.

“Look out!” Mara hollered when she saw a bolt fly toward Pearl.

Everyone turned to the door where ten dark witches and warlocks stood, bolts in their hands.

Pearl had already stopped the bolt headed for her and turned it to face the witch who threw it. The bolt flew through the air and hit its mark. The witch fell, and the others screamed, then attacked.

Alec made sure his mate was close to him. But it wasn’t necessary; she was a good fighter. Soon, they teamed up and were kicking some dark witch ass.

“How many are still alive?” Daryl asked as he threw a dark wizard against the wall.

“Five!” Dustin shouted… “Four!” He countered when the man in his hand fell limp, a bolt sticking through his chest. He dropped the body and smiled at his mate, who stood just before him.

“Do we leave any alive?” Dylan asked as he kicked a dark wizard away from his mate.

“No,” Pearl growled.

Dylan looked at his mate and frowned. That look in her eyes wasn’t good. He pulled out his phone and turned from his mate as he hit dial to a number he’d hoped to never need to use.

“Hello, this is Dylan Kraftman. She needs you,” he said, then hung up.

Pearl spun in a circle and held her hands above her head, then swirled them in a circle and pointed toward Dylan.

“Shit,” Dylan said as he watched the purple lightning spark from his mate’s fingers. He turned just in time to watch it electrocute a dark wizard who’d been sneaking up on him.

The man convulsed on the floor, and with a squeal, a bolt flew into the man’s chest, stopping all movement.

Dylan turned back to his mate. Her eyes were wild, and she was angry. Damn it…

“Pearl!” Lyvia hollered as she turned to her friend.

Pearl spun around, and Lyvia sucked in a breath when she saw the witch’s eyes.

“What is it?” Pearl asked, her eyes scanning the area.

“This one said their leader left the building after sending them after us,” Lyvia said, holding the man up by his throat.

Pearl nodded, snapped her fingers, and the man’s neck snapped in Lyvia’s hand. Lyvia dropped the body and backed away.

“Two,” Pearl said, then turned to the last two. Mara and Alec were fighting one, and Gerald and Rolando were fighting the other.

Pearl raised her hands to snap her fingers when two strong hands captured hers. She spun around to face whoever dared to stop her and froze as she looked into the same deep green eyes as her own. She swallowed, transfixed by those beautiful eyes.

“Kota,” she cried.

“What’s going on?” Kota asked, staring into her eyes.

“They… they….” She fumbled with her words.

Kota closed his eyes and felt the room. When his eyes opened again, he looked over at the last two dark wizards. He looked back at Pearl, nodded, then let her go and snapped his fingers on both hands. The dark wizard Mara and Alec were fighting exploded. The other wizard was yanked into the air, his head slammed into the ceiling, his arms and legs spread from his body.

“I believe you have questions for that one.” Kota’s booming voice gave the group chills.

Mara and Alec stared at the blood and goo around them from the exploded warlock.

“Here,” Shar whispered as she handed Mara a clean towel she’d found on a table.

“Who the hell is he?” Alec growled as he helped his mate clean the mess from her arms.

“No idea,” Dustin whispered.

Pearl blinked up into Kota’s green eyes. “Why are you here?”

He chuckled. “No, hello, nice to see you? Or thank you….”

“I could have taken care of them….”

He leaned forward and pressed his nose against hers. “No, you couldn’t have. You and I both know what that would have done to you….”

“Since when did you give a shit about me?!” she demanded as she backed away from him.

“Pearl, I’ve always loved you,” he said, watching her.

Pearl sniffled. “Is that why it’s been three hundred years since I last saw you?”

He shrugged. “I have my reasons….”

“Daddy said you abandoned me because you didn’t want to be a bad influence.”

Kota sighed heavily. “Pearl….”

“How did you replace me?”

Kota looked over at Dylan. “You must be Dylan.”

Dylan nodded as he looked between the two, a chill rolling down his spine. Had it been a bad idea to call this man in?

“Dylan?” Pearl asked as she looked at her mate.

Dylan looked at Pearl. “Your father gave me the number and told me if you ever went too far to call his number, he’d reel you back in.”

Pearl closed her eyes.

A scream overhead had them looking up at the dark wizard.

“Yeah, you may want to question him before the spell tears him in half,” Kota smirked.

Pearl huffed and moved to stand under the screaming warlock.

“Where would your leader have gone to?” she asked.

“Fuck you,” the wizard said, then screamed.

“She asked you a question.” Kota moved to stand next to Pearl. “Answer her question, or I will be forced to come up there and make you answer,” he said, folding his arms over his chest. “Where’s your leader?”

The wizard spit at Pearl. Kota pulled her back from the acid spit and growled as he watched it melt the floor in front of them.

“Wrong answer,” Kota growled as his body floated into the air. He grabbed the man by the throat and looked into his eyes. The man screamed, and Kota grinned.

“Kota!” Pearl screamed as she watched him torture the man.

“That’s what I thought,” Kota said, then lowered himself to the floor and turned to her. “Their leader should be at their safe house.”

“Did you get the directions for the safe house?” Pearl asked as she watched the man squirm and scream with glazed-over eyes.

Kota nodded. “I got the information we need. Let’s go.”

“Who says you’re coming with?!” Pearl demanded.

“Why, I did, little sister,” he said with a smile as he headed for the door.

“Little sister?” the others whispered as they stared at Pearl.

Pearl growled. “Great, another secret revealed.”

“Why didn’t you tell us you have a brother?” Shar asked as they headed for the door. “I thought you were an only child.”

Pearl sighed. “Like with my father, I wasn’t allowed to talk about him,” she turned to Dylan. “My father really gave you his number?”

“How else do you think I got it?” Dylan asked as they walked out the door and into the hall.

“Father and the other elders must be desperate.” Pearl watched Kota walk to the door and open it.

Kota opened the door and looked up at the man who’d dared to spit acid at his sister. He may have been forbidden to see his sister, but that didn’t mean he stopped loving her. She’s his baby sister, and she always will be.

He snapped his fingers, and the man screamed as he split in half. The two halves fell to the floor, and he moved back into the hall and looked at his sister and her friends. A Fated Mate. Go figure.

“Well, let’s get going,” Kota said with a wicked smile as he moved past them and headed for the elevator.

“Pearl,” Shar whispered. “What exactly is your brother, and why were you forbidden to talk about him?”

Pearl watched her brother walk away and sucked in a deep breath. “He’s my older half-brother. My father got with a….”

“A what?” Dylan asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist for support.

She took a deep breath. “A Demon. He’d knocked her up, and she abandoned him with my father. They never saw her again. My father thinks she was called back to hell….”

“What the fuck!?” Daryl hollered.

“Are you people coming or what?” Kota asked as he turned to them, his arms over his chest again.

“So, he’s not human at all, is he?” Dylan asked as he watched his mate’s brother.

Pearl shook her head. “Nope.” She said, then smiled. “Our father said he decided to stay away from me when he started to lean more toward his demon side. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not evil. But he and my father don’t want me like them….”

“Okay, we can talk more about this later,” Dylan said as he pulled her down the hall. “For now, we have a coven leader to kill.”

~🏒~

They found the coven leader in the safe house, just as the dark wizard had said he would be.

“Let me take care of this one,” Kota said as he stepped in front of the others.

“Why you?” Pearl asked, watching her brother.

Kota smiled at her. “Because, sweet sister. This one has all of you riled up. And I understand why. I can tap into my demon feelings—and well—have no feelings one way or the other. So, to keep you all from corruption, I’ll destroy this man for you, and we can go on to the next one.”

“We?” Pearl squealed.

Kota moved over to his sister and placed his finger under her chin to make her look up at him.

“Father apparently gave your mate my number, so I could help. He knows what this can do to you, and your….” He looked up at the others and smiled. “Friends,” he said, looking back down at her. “And I don’t want the Fated Mates to be tainted.”

“I-I can’t use you as Father does.” A tear slid down her cheek.

Kota smiled as he wiped the tear away with the pads of his thumbs. “I like that you still cry for me.”

She chuckled. “I never stopped. It just didn’t do any good.”

Kota nodded. “I don’t know how long father will allow me to be near you, and I don’t want to waste a minute of it.” He kissed her cheek, then turned back to the safe house. “Ready or not, here I come,” he grumbled as he disappeared into the house.

“Do we just stand out here and wait?” Daryl asked as he watched the house.

A bright light flashed through the window, and a loud scream shook the ground.

“What the fuck?” Dylan said, his eyes open wide. “Remind me to never piss off your brother.”

Pearl giggled. “He won’t hurt you. Well, nothing permanent.”

“Right, because I’m a Fated Mate,” Dylan grumbled.

Pearl shook her head. “No. Because you’re my Fated Mate.”

“Well, that was a pain,” Kota said as he walked out of the house.

“What happened?” Pearl asked as she and the others watched him.

Kota looked up at them and shook his head. “He wouldn’t talk at first. But I convinced him. Then dad showed up and took him.”

“D-dad showed up?” Pearl asked, her eyes open wide.

“Yeah. Said to keep up the good work, then disappeared with my prey.”

Pearl laughed. “He told you to keep up the good work?”

Kota nodded as he grinned at her.

“I don’t get it. Why would Kristoph take the leader if you got the information you wanted from him?” Daryl asked, ultimately and totally confused.

Kota shrugged. “But you know what this means, don’t you?” he asked, grinning at Pearl.

Pearl nodded excitedly. “Dad just gave you permission to help me.”

“Exactly,” Kota said as he held his arms open.

Pearl ran into her brother’s. “I’ve missed you so much,” she cried against his chest.

“I’ve missed you too, baby sister,” Kota said, holding her close.

“Welcome to the party,” Dylan said with a smile as he walked up to his mate and her brother.

Kota smiled at him, then looked at the others. “Don’t worry about me,” he told them. “I won’t hurt any of you. Even if my demon side is showing,” he said with a wink.

The others laughed, and everyone introduced themselves to their white witch’s demon brother.

~🏒~

“Wow, I can’t believe we have a half-demon on our team now,” Mara said with a laugh as she and Alec entered his house.

“Yeah, that’s going to help a lot. Especially if he turns out to be a Fated Mate,” Alec said as he closed and locked the door.

“Are we going to meet up with the others later?” she asked as she turned to her mate.

Alec nodded. “Yeah, but it’s been a long day, and I want to fuck my mate.”

Mara chuckled. “You sure know how to woo your woman.”

He chuckled as he pulled her into his arm. His lips claimed hers, and she was lost in his kiss. He pinned her to the hall wall and quickly did away with their clothes before his body claimed hers. They felt their bond strengthen as they fucked against the wall, and she knew, beyond a doubt, that this was where she belonged.

In Alec’s arms, for all eternity.