Free York by Susan A. Bliler

speared down, and she spun on him with vehemence.
    “Are you fucking kidding?”  Her hands dropped to her sides to ball into tiny fists.  “You’re a nut job ?”  She eyed the room frantically and rushed to one of the small coffee tables to jerk a lamp free, holding it up like a baseball bat.  “I’ve been holed up here with you, and you’re some fucking crazy lunatic?  Get away from the door.”
    “Sky, I’m not…”
    “GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!”
    Okay, she was screaming now.  “ Shhhh,” he soothed, holding out his hands.  “It’s okay, my heart. It’s alright.  You’re safe.  I’m not crazy.”
    She eyed the door and then him.  “I-I wanna leave.  Please move.”
    He scented her fear.  She actually thought he was a lunatic.   Dropping his hands he looked at her softly.  “Don’t scream.”  Then, he shifted.  He tried to think of a form that wouldn’t be too intimidating.  He morphed down to a sleek red wolf and watched as the lamp slipped from her fingers and crashed to the floor as she fainted. 
    Racing forward, he was able to take the brunt of her weight on his wolf’s back before he shifted back to his true form , lifting her into his arms as he did so.  He placed her gently on the bed and then hurried to the bathroom to wet a cloth for her head.

Chapter 13
    Sky came to with York leaning over her, concern reflecting in the green pools of his eyes.  “My heart,” he whispered. 
    She swallowed hard.  Had she really seen…  She pushed his hand away and sat up to stare at her knees as she processed what she’d just learned about him.
    Drawing in a shaky breath, she looked at him.  “Is Shy okay?”
    Typical.  Her first concern wasn’t for herself but for her twin. “Yes.”  
    One hand spread over her thigh, and her eyes rounded in fear.  She stammered, “Is-is anything going to happen to me?”
    He knew what she was asking.  She wanted to know if she’d be changed because they’d made love.  Baby steps, he cautioned himself and lied. “No.”  She visibly relaxed, and he was glad for it. 
    “ W-what else do I need to know?”
    Good girl.   She was taking it much better than he’d expected.  Now, he just had to convince her that she needed to stay with him.  “That man from the bar wasn’t alone, Sky.  When I retrieved you from your motel, he had someone with him.  Some thing! ”
    Her expression grew wary.  “What do you mean some ‘thing’?”
    “I know this is a lot to take in right now, but I don’t have the time I’d like to ease you into this.  The creature with the man is called a Megalya.  They are an enemy to my kind, Skin Walkers.”
    “Are the y shifters?”
    “No, but they want to be.  They hunt us in hopes of taking our abilities.”
    “Take your abilities?”  She ran her eyes over his body.  “How?  Can you give them away?”  She inched a little further from him.
    “No.”  He didn’t want to have to tell her, but knew it’d incite the respect she needed to survive the situation they were in.  “They drink our blood.”
    “Vampires?” she gasped.
    “No.  Worse.”  He grabbed her hand.  “They kill us and drain our bodies.”  He lifted a hand to the band around his throat. “They take our halos as trophies.  They are pure evil, Sky, and they’re after you.” 
    “Me!”  A slender hand collared her throat.  “ Why would they want…” her eyes darted back and forth, and then she blinked and looked up at him.  “Skin Walker procreation.”  She jumped up from the bed to pace furiously, sorting out loud.  “They think I’m the key to Skin Walker procreation.  You’re a Skin Walker and we…”  She stopped pacing.  “Shy’s had a child from your brother.  A Skin Walker.”  She felt all the blood drain from her face.  “They want me because I can get pregnant by one of you and give them a…”  She didn’t finish.  She couldn’t.  The thought of a beast taking a baby, her