Free Officer Wolf (Sizzling Shifter BBW Romance) (With Bonus Book) by Sierra Burton Page A

out laughing and damn near knocked the grill off the edge of the hill and into the creek. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and shook his head.
    “Tell me about it, brother.” He said.
    Jake swam with the old man and raced him back and forth from one side of the bank to the other. They swam abnormally easily and quickly, which was unusual for any man to do, especially one of the old man’s age. However, the four men at that campsite were not “normal men” whatsoever. They were shifters; each and every one of them having the ability to shift into big cats.
    Brad was the solitary tiger – quiet, reserved, but with a commanding presence and the one everyone turned to in times of trouble. He was unquestionably the leader.
    Ryan was the Jaguar – stealthy, cunning, and full of mischief, but an all-around great guy to have around.
    Jake was the leopard – quick, nimble, and able to climb a tree faster than all of them. Boy, was he ever quick.
    Jake’s father Stu was the old man, who was also a leopard. He’d been around for many years and lived in many places, but had settled down in the snowy mountains of Big Bear California years ago. The four of them laughed and joked and after a while Ryan called after Jake and Stu to come out because the food was ready. When the gunshot rang out no one seemed to comprehend it for a full thirty seconds. They froze. Their joyful expressions quickly turned to confusion, then disbelief, then anger.
    The old man was dead .
    His lifeless body had flopped back into the water from which he’d come, falling backwards with a tumble down the grassy slope after the bullet pierced the back of his head. He rolled down with a series of soft thuds and then splashed into the creek.
    A loud but calm and collected voice rang out from the tree line, the source of which remained hidden deep within the brush, “We know who you are. There will be more deaths. Leave, now. Pack up your things and go back where you came from. Hell .” It bellowed sternly.
    Brad’s body tensed up and he felt the fur sprouting wildly from his skin. His muscles bulged and he fell onto all fours as his classically handsome square jaw morphed into the face of a tiger. His rectangular human teeth transformed into snarling fangs and his deep blue eyes shifted to a dark yellow with slits for pupils.
    He let out a thunderous roar that sent birds flapping and screeching out of trees. The voice said no more, and they never found the man. Of course, the camp site had been located very close to a road, and they discovered tire tracks from an off road vehicle that matched a popular ATV model. Whoever the perpetrator was left in a very big hurry after delivering the gunshot followed by his stern message.
    The group dispersed out of fear. Most of them left Southern California except for Brad. He stayed. It was his home, and anyone who said otherwise would have hell to pay.

Chapter 1     
     
    Brad was hiding something from the world that he’d kept secret for years. He was a shifter, but not a common shifter like the bears or wolves that so densely populated the hills of the Pacific Northwest. He was a tiger living on the outskirts of Los Angeles where the weather was warm and suited to his taste. He kept it a secret because of one thing. He would be hunted if people found out. The bears and wolves in the northwest were safe; they lived in packs and kept each other safe from harm. Brad however, was alone. He was a solitary tiger, and he knew that he had no one to protect him but himself.
    He’d let his tiger out three or four times in the past five years, and each time it happened he’d rush home, pack his bags, and move overnight. Brad had money, lots of money. His father was a shifter as well, who never shifted but maybe a few times in his entire life. He built his empire on oil and when he passed away when Brad was ten he left him a fortune. Brad stayed in posh hotels until he got himself an apartment, and then he’d move all