The Lone Shifter: A Mount Edge Shifter Romance Read online

  THE LONE SHIFTER

  By Sara Summers

  Copyright © 2019 Sara Summers

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review

  Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination.

  iamsarasummers.blogspot.com

  To the people who feel alone

  And the ones who make their loneliness a little easier to bear

  KINA

  For some people, having a soulmate means unconditional love and support. For me, it meant having someone to call when I needed to get bailed out of prison. And when I say someone, I don’t mean my soulmate. As it turns out, sometimes the only good thing about having a soulmate is the in-laws.

  As I discovered on a cold October day, temporary holding cells are even less glamorous than they look on TV. The one I was locked in was pretty much just a metal box with a large, barred window on the side that looked out at a bit of the police station.

  I adjusted my legs, my butt sore after sitting on that hard metal bench overnight. Sleeping was out of the question; my fist hurt too much. The cop walked up to my cell, pulling a key from his pocket, and unlocked my door.

  “Looks like you’re finally getting bailed out.” The cop gave me a brief smile, which I didn’t return.

  The ‘finally’ he threw in? It was because I’d refused to give them the name of anyone who could come pick me up for the first 22 hours I’d been there. If the Edge Valley Police Station wasn’t a thirty minute walk from the nearest bit of civilization, I would’ve held out for the last two hours before they had to release me.

  But I was tired, my butt was sore, I didn’t have a coat, and I wasn’t about to pee in the metal toilet in the corner of the cell for my pride’s sake even if I did feel like I was about to burst. The thirty minute walk to the closest bus? That pushed me over the edge.

  “Off the record, I think you did a good thing, Miss Roran. He deserved a good punch.” The cop’s voice was low, like he was telling me a secret. I bit back a sarcastic reply and just ignored the guy. Officer… Susan? Was that seriously his last name? Geez, poor dude.

  On second thought, why was I feeling bad for him? If he would do his job and get drug dealers off the street, I wouldn’t have to punch them and get arrested for it. Honestly, Officer Susan was probably hoping Josh would press charges so I’d get a lawyer who would have to look into the dealer I punched.

  Walking through the police station, I braced myself for pain. Not the physical kind, but the emotional kind. Kennedy hadn’t sounded pissed over the phone when I’d told her what happened and why I needed a ride, but she’d had thirty minutes of driving to get there.

  I hated disappointing Kennedy. She was my soulmate’s mom, but after Rhett and I had gone our separate ways a few years earlier, Kennedy stuck around. She ignored my yelling and loved me despite the wreck of a person I was, always insisting that I was as much her daughter as Rhett was her son.

  It had taken me a long time to really trust Kennedy, but by the time I called her to bail me out, she was the only person in the world who I knew loved me unconditionally.

  Part of me still expected her to walk away from me at any minute, but most of the time I was able to tear that part of me down with logic.

  Officer Susan let go of my arm and undid the handcuffs around my wrists, releasing me to get my stuff from a lady at a desk. She handed me the light blue purse I carried everywhere, along with all of its contents in a big Ziploc bag.

  I didn’t thank her; my stuff shouldn’t have had to be looked through. The cops should’ve awarded me for harassing the drug dealer, not arrested me.

  Walking through the doorway that led to the waiting area, my eyes scanned the room for Kennedy’s familiar face. When I saw who she’d sent in her place, I took a big step backward.

  Rhett.

  Seeing him again was like stepping into a time warp.

  He had the same dark eyes, the same dark hair, and the same build, but he’d grown into all of it. The last time I’d seen him, we were both seventeen. Almost three years had passed since then, and a lot had happened.

  Rhett was stronger and less gangly, but there was something else about him that seemed different. He’d been light and happy when we were seventeen, but in the police station he had this haunted look. With dark circles under his eyes and skin that was just a shade paler than natural, he didn’t look quite right.

  “Go on.” The cop gave me a little push, and I stumbled.

  “I’m not going home with him.” I stated, pulling my purse over my shoulder and folding my arms.

  “Then you’ll have to walk.” The cop shrugged.

  He headed back into the main area of the station, and I bit back a groan. If they’d let me use the bathroom, I could handle a walk for the sake of avoiding Rhett. But one glance back at the woman who’d given me my stuff and her glare told me whose side she was on in the situation, and it was my soulmate’s.

  The lavender cotie on my collarbone was on display since I wasn’t wearing a turtleneck, and it didn’t take a rocket-scientist to know that ninety percent of the male population in Edge Valley were shifters. Most of the women were only there hoping to snag a shifter of their own, like putting themselves in the position would somehow convince God or fate or whoever matched soulmates that they should be together.

  Rhett stared at me without an ounce of shame, and I noticed how angry he looked. Dressed in a suit and tie, to anyone else he would’ve just been a well-dressed hottie with a neutral expression, but I could read the emotions that no one else could. The three years apart didn’t take that away from me.

  I had just about decided to walk when some idiot across the room lifted a water bottle to his lips. The action reminded me how badly I needed to pee, and my stomach and bladder clenched.

  I’d deal with Rhett just for the few minutes it would take to get to the nearest gas station, and then I’d walk the rest of the way home.

  It was decided.

  I crossed the room and breezed past him without a greeting. I’d never been one for forced kindness or feigned cheerfulness, and if that bothered Rhett he could add it to the list of reasons we weren’t together.

  “You got arrested?” he demanded, hot on my heels.

  “No, I spent the night in a metal box for fun.” I snarked, shoving my hair behind my ear. When we reached the parking lot, I stopped immediately and looked around. While I knew plenty about him, I had no clue what vehicle Rhett drove.

  He slammed into me and then grabbed me, steadying me before I crashed to the ground. His hands didn’t linger, and he let go of me the moment he knew I wouldn’t fall again.

  “Mom said you attacked someone.” His voice was hard as he passed by me, his body brushing against mine and sending shivers up my spine. Gosh, I hated how I responded to him. Obviously my body didn’t hate him as much as the rest of me.

  “I don’t owe you an explanation.” I snapped.

  “I just left one of my closest friends’ weddings to bail you out of jail.” He snapped back. “I deserve to know why.”

  He yanked open the door to a fancy silver car—the cursive lettering on the back said “Maserati”. I figured that was just another way to say “expensive” and slammed my own door shut as I sat down in the passenger seat.

  “Well you left me at the doctor’s office to go through a miscarriage all alone, so I’d say we’re not anywhere near e
ven.”

  Rhett glared at me and then at the road, tearing away from the police station like someone was chasing him. I ripped open the Ziploc bag with all my stuff in it and put it where it belonged in my purse, using one of many meditation techniques I’d learned over the years to level out my breathing and calm myself down.

  “If you don’t want to end up in the cell I just got out of, you should probably slow down.” I tried to be calm, really, but my voice came out sounding judgmental and I really didn’t care that it did.

  Rhett deserved to be judged.

  He deserved every ounce of hate I could possibly muster.

  The Rhett I knew in high school would’ve pressed down on the gas harder after I snapped at him. This new, dark Rhett actually let up a little, slowing to a less-criminal speed. That was a shocker, but I wasn’t about to start a conversation over it.

  Just seeing him again had sent me spinning, I didn’t need more arguing to make it worse.

  When I was done organizing, I replied to texts from a few recovering addicts I sponsored. They were all worried about me after the night before, and I mentally cursed myself for that. If worrying about my absence had knocked any of them off the wagon, I would never forgive myself.

  I could tell that Rhett wanted to ask more questions, but he resisted.

  “Turn right up there.” I instructed, planning on directing him to my place. I still had to pee insanely bad, but I wasn’t going to bring that up. My apartment was close enough that I could hold it for the sake of less conversation.

  He drove past it, and I glared at him.

  “My place is that way.” I gestured behind us.

  “I know where your place is.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel, holding it so tightly his knuckles were white. I’d forgotten about his mental GPS. Every shifter dude knew where his soulmate was at all times, so he would know where I lived based on where I spent most of my time. “We’re going to the wedding. I’m one of the bridesmaids.”

  I snorted, unable to help it.

  “You’re a bridesmaid? Wow, adorable.” My sarcasm was on thick, and it earned another glare from my soulmate. Despite the glare, he didn’t carry the argument on. That was different. “If you’re not taking me home, stop at a gas station. I haven’t peed all day.”

  He didn’t look thrilled about it, but then again he wasn’t thrilled about anything when it came to me. When he stopped at the station, I rushed into the bathroom. It was open, hallelujah.

  A few minutes later, I was walking back to his fancy car, feeling light and floaty like a completely different person.

  “I’ll walk home.”

  I didn’t thank him for the ride, not trusting him to take the “thank you” at face value.

  “It’s snowing and you don’t have a coat, you’re not walking home.”

  That was true; there was snow falling. But it was only October, and it wasn’t sticking, and even if it had been sticking it was barely snowing.

  “I’m a big girl.” I didn’t pause, walking right past him.

  He grabbed my arm to stop me, and I bit back a long string of words that wouldn’t have put me anywhere but closer to a breakdown.

  “My mom will send me right back here to get you if she doesn’t see for herself that you’re okay.”

  Dang, Rhett seemed to have gotten smarter since the last time I saw him. Using Kennedy against me was low, but also brilliant.

  “Fine.” I yanked my hand from his arm. “Don’t touch me again.”

  He muttered something under his breath that sounded like,

  “You used to love it when I touched you,”

  And I slammed the door for the second time as I sat back down in the passenger seat. My fingers found the bracelet on my wrist, and I played with the spinning parts as I reminded myself that what had happened between Rhett and I was in the past.

  My future was up to me, and Rhett wasn’t involved in it at all.

  RHETT

  Kina was even more beautiful than I remembered. She’d grown into her body since the last time I’d seen her—her slight curves giving her the perfect ratio of round and smooth.

  She looked stronger and seemed more sure of herself, though the idea that she’d attacked someone made me wonder what kind of person she’d turned into in the three years since we’d seen each other.

  There were so many things I wanted to ask her and know about her, but I knew she didn’t want to talk to me and honestly, my head was still spinning. I hadn’t thought for one second that anyone in my family kept in contact with my soulmate after we split up.

  Finding out that my mom had taken Kina under her wing and that Kina was as much of a daughter to her as I was a son… I had no idea what I was supposed to feel about that. Frustration had become my go-to emotion since Kina and I split, so I went with it.

  I went back and forth trying to decide what I could say to my soulmate that wouldn’t piss her off further or prod her to attack me like she’d attacked the guy that got her arrested, and I settled for not saying anything. Her fist was purple and green, and I’d seen first-hand back when we were seventeen how well that girl could fight.

  When we got back to the wedding, my mom was waiting in the front yard with my brother, Stetson. Stetson was the oldest, eleven months older than me, and had always been the most outgoing of all of us. If mom had stayed close to Kina, I wouldn’t be surprised to know that he had too.

  My soulmate got out of the car without so much as a “thanks” and crossed the lawn. My mom threw her arms around Kina, hugging her more tightly than she’d hugged me in years.

  “What happened?” mom asked, while Stetson grabbed my arm and dragged me to the side. He’d been nominated to explain things, it looked like.

  “Josh was waiting outside our building, expecting to sell to us after our meeting. When he made a crude comment about addicts staying addicts, I couldn’t help it. I punched him. One of his goonies called the cops on me, which was probably his plan the whole time, and since they couldn’t find anything on him they took me in. He’s not pressing charges so it’s fine.”

  My soulmate explained quickly, her voice low. The fact that I didn’t understand everything she said told me that Kina and my mom knew each other well.

  Stetson dragged me away from them before I could see my mom’s response, but when she was throwing around words like addicts, I needed to know what was going on.

  “Mom and Kina have been close since you two split. I just found out a few weeks ago when I saw them at a yogurt place together, and she asked me not to tell you yet. I gave her a few weeks, and I guess this was her way of coming out with it.” Stetson explained quickly, dragging me toward the backyard.

  I’d left to get Kina a few minutes before the ceremony, and with the thirty minutes it took just to get to the Edge Valley police station, I knew I’d missed it.

  “Rhett!” Isla exclaimed, leaving her husband and the conversation she’d been in. She rushed across the yard, her copper hair bouncing as a smile stretched across her face. She was Zane Fulton’s soulmate, and when she’d moved into the place we all lived, which she’d lovingly titled “the homestead” with Zane before their wedding, she and I had become friends.

  Isla was a YouTube-famous singer, and she’d kick-started mine and my brothers’ channel. She was the reason we were making money doing what we loved, so between that and being her friends when she’d asked us to be bridesmaids (or bridesdudes as my brother Beck had taken to calling us), we didn’t hesitate to say yes.

  “Where is she?” Isla scanned the yard, looking for Kina.

  “Out front with my mom. I guess the two of them are close.” I shot Stetson an irritated glare.

  "Kina grew up in foster care. She doesn’t have anyone else, so stop being a douche and be glad that mom has been there for her.” Stetson was never one for beating around the bush.

  “You should’ve told me.” I ignored what he said.

  “You should’ve made things work w
ith her.”

  “Oh my gosh, is that her?” Isla pulled us out of our argument as Kina and my mom came walking into the yard. “She’s gorgeous!”

  With dark hair that fell to her stomach and big blue eyes that could catch anyone’s attention, she was more than gorgeous. She was beautiful.

  At that moment, her hair was up in a bun at the top of her head. The little bit of makeup she’d been wearing before she was arrested had smeared just under her eyes, making them stick out even more.

  Coming in at barely five feet tall, the giant white slightly-blood-stained sweater she wore threatened to swallow the rest of her whole, but the boots she had on stretched over her knees to show off a strip of skin that took my mind to places Kina and I hadn’t visited in years.

  Looking at her swollen, bruised fists brought me back to the present. The otter inside me wanted to go to her, to take her hand in mine and make sure she was okay, but the human in me was much stronger.

  “Who is Kennedy with?” I heard a whisper somewhere to my right and didn’t turn to see who it had come from.

  “Is that Kina?” Someone else whispered.

  Everyone I’d gone to high school with would know exactly who my soulmate was. They had no idea where she’d gone when we broke up though, and they hadn’t asked.

  “She and Rhett aren’t together are they?” another voice whispered.

  Isla’s wedding was small by human standards, but Zane and his family had too many friends for it to really be that small. There were probably a hundred people in the yard, and only a quarter of them were from Isla’s side.

  “Did you talk to her? What did she say?” Isla prodded me for information.

  “She hates me, that’s all she said.” I scrubbed a hand over my chin. I’d ruined things with Kina long ago, but everything in me ached to be with her. It had been three years since I slept more than a few hours at night, and even longer since I’d felt like anything more than a ghost.

  My eyes followed my soulmate as my dad walked up to her and my mom. He gave Kina a hug and kissed my mom. Kina’s eyes found mine for just a brief second as they kissed, and then she turned and walked away. My parents exchanged words quickly before my dad crossed the yard toward me, mom following Kina.