Chasing Cindy

(Chapter One - Logan)

Life as I knew it was over. In the last two days, I had claimed my fated mated and had almost immediately lost her. I was working as a bouncer at the bar where my mate, Cindy, was working.

But I had really been hired by her boss to look out for her, because she was a shape shifter like me. Well...not the same animal as me. I'm a tiger. And she's a panther, which is extremely rare among our kind. Hell...females in general are rare.

We had hit it off right away, and she had just asked me out on a date when all hell broke loose in our lives. A shifter pimp had made it clear that he wanted her to come work for him, and she had said no.

So, her boss gave her some money and suggested I act as a bodyguard of sorts and escort her out of the city. Cindy wasn't too keen on the idea of me going with her at first. But I changed her mind about that. We got hot and heavy that same night.

Our post fucking bliss was short lived, however...when two of the pimp's goons busted down the door in an attempt to capture my woman. She had shifted into her animal form, which is the only time a male shifter can sense if a female is his mate. In that moment, I knew she was meant to be mine forever. I didn't really have time to think about it though, since we were both fighting for our lives.

I couldn't believe it when Cindy bit one of the goon's hands off. I kicked the ever living shit out of the other guy. We were a good team. After spending the night at a shitty motel, I told her she was my mate.

She didn't handle it well at first, jumping out of the parked car we were sitting in and high tailing it into the woods along the side of the road. Female shifters were incapable of disobeying their mates once they were claimed. So, it was understandable that most of them avoided being in their animal forms around males as much as possible.

I had tackled her, convinced her to stay with me...and claimed her in the way of our people. I fucked her, bit her neck and drank her blood as we were climaxing. I couldn't call what we were doing making love yet. Nah...it was still fucking. We hadn't been together long enough to fall in love. But I cared about her. And she felt the same way about me.

I knew we were fucked when she got shot with a tranquilizer dart after I had claimed her, before we could even get our clothes back on. I had shifted into my tiger form in a protective rage, but the pimp who was chasing Cindy was using snipers to hunt us down. One of them shot me moments later, and I woke up in a cage to Cindy calling my name.

Luckily, shifters heal quickly. I was almost as good as new. Cindy was in a cage in the same room as me, and I could smell her fear and anxiety. We both knew what the pimp, Ricardo, wanted her for. And I was helpless to save her. There's nothing worse for a mated male shifter than being unable to protect their woman, especially from other men.

When Ricardo came into the room and taunted me with my inability to keep Cindy safe, I wanted to rip the man limb from limb. Two of his men came in a moment later, and one of them tossed me some clothes. The fact that these fuckers were seeing my woman naked was enough to drive me crazy with the need to kill them.

When we were yanked out of the cages, it took both of Ricardo's men to hold me when that asshole started groping my mate. I fought tooth and nail to get to her, but I was outnumbered.

When Ricardo shoved his fingers into Cindy's pussy, I almost shifted into my tiger form. Screw the fact that I wouldn't be able to win if Ricardo and his men shifted and ganged up on me. That was

my

woman he was touching!

As usual, Cindy showed me that she could hold her own. She ripped a chunk of Ricardo's ear off with her fangs. He would heal, but that little piece of his body would never grow back. I was afraid in that moment that he might kill her in his rage. But, he didn't. Not even when she told him that she'd bite the dick off of any man he tried to give her too.

Instead, he took us into another room. There was a big bed, a bunch of paddles and canes and other sex toy stuff on the walls, and a huge cross of some kind in the middle of the room. I wasn't really into the whole bdsm scene. I could take it or leave it. It just depended on what a woman wanted at any given time. But if the pimp was going to use any of that shit on Cindy, I was going to lose my fucking mind.

When Ricardo started binding her to the cross, I did everything I could to get to her. By the time his men had shackled me spread eagled to the bed, I had done some serious damage to them. They didn't leave that room unscathed. And I made sure to memorize their faces. I'd be seeing those fuckers again. When two naked women came in and started trying to arouse me, I saw the hurt look on Cindy's face.

All shifters knew that a mated male couldn't get it up for anyone but his woman, but that didn't mean that Cindy's feelings wouldn't be crushed by seeing other women put their hands on me. And that was exactly what that sicko wanted. He had said as much, and then he grabbed a flogger and ran it down the front of her body. I screamed and thrashed, telling him that I'd kill him.

Ricardo snapped his fingers and the women on the bed left. He wanted my undivided attention as he used the flogger on Cindy with all of his strength. She didn't scream. My mate was so brave. She did cry though, and my heart broke for her. I could have broken my wrists and ankles on that damn bed trying to get loose, and it wouldn't have done me any good.

When Ricardo was done hitting her with the heavy flogger, he asked her if she'd be his willing whore... threatening to use the whip on her next if she refused. I couldn't let that happen to her. Above all else, it was my job to keep her alive. Swallowing my mangled pride, I begged him not to hurt her anymore.

He said that I could basically avoid seeing my mate tortured if I told her to obey him. She would hate it, and she would probably hate

me

for it...but she would have no choice but to do what I told her now that we were bonded to each other. I'd be turning her into his sex slave. The compulsion to obey one's fated mate was the reason she had spent her life avoiding shifter men.

I was so desperate to save her life that I was ready to give in to his demands, even after she begged me not too. She said she'd rather be dead. But her death was something that I couldn't deal with.

Before I could open my mouth to condemn her with my words, she offered to stay with him willingly. As long as he let me go. I had never felt so weak and incompetent in my life. I was a tiger shifter. A killer. And I couldn't even save my woman.

Ricardo agreed immediately. He was practically jumping up and down with joy. I would have sold my soul at that moment to get my hands around his throat. He gave us a parting gift of sorts.

One hour together. But he left me chained to the bed, knowing that I would have tried to get her out of there if I had been freed. It was also his way of making damn sure I knew he was still in charge of things.

As soon as Ricardo left the room, Cindy rushed over to me and tried to get the shackles off. It didn't work. We were doomed. I apologized to her over and over, swearing that I would find her and get her out. I don't think she believed me.

I couldn't blame her for losing faith in me. She straddled my waist then, and my body responded to her the way it always did. I think it was the first time we actually made love. It was sweet and tender, two things that I had

never

been.

One hour felt like one minute. Ricardo and his goons came back into the room. I was given clothes and closely guarded as I was taken outside. Cindy clung to me, and we kissed with all of the unspoken love in our hearts. I tried to let her know through my eyes and my kiss that I would be back for her. I'd search the ends of the earth for her.

Ricardo told us that mated shifters could feel it if the other one died. It was his way of letting Cindy know that she could be assured he kept his word about not killing me, because she'd feel it if something happened to me. Then he insisted that she say out loud that she'd keep her word too. She did. My woman promised that as long as Ricardo didn't kill me, that she would obey him.

****

I don't know how I managed to walk away from my mate, leaving her in the hands of a pimp who was no doubt going to rape her the minute he got her behind closed doors. I was in a rage the likes of which I had never experienced before. Not when I was fighting...or even when I was killing. A street thug like me didn't stay out of jail and out of the morgue by falling apart at the seams when things got dicey.

I had always been a man who held my emotions in check, because doing anything else would have gotten me killed a hundred times over. Over time, I had noticed that I didn't have much in the way of emotions at all anymore. And that was fine by me. I didn't have any family. There hadn't been anyone in my life that potential enemies could use against me. Until now.

I needed help. I was a cocky son of a bitch when it came to my skills as a hit man, but I wasn't a one man army. And I had no idea how many men Ricardo had at his disposal in that building. Hell...I didn't even know where the fuck I was yet. I wasn't surprised to see that someone was following me as I walked down the street to a store.

It's what I would have done in Ricardo's position. I was still a threat to them. But the fucker behind me couldn't try to kill me if they wanted Cindy to cooperate. A quick glance around the neighborhood told me that we were in Bakersfield. Damn.

We had gotten so close to that trip to Disneyland that Cindy wanted. Every fiber of my being wanted to grab the guy who was following me and kill him. But I knew that Ricardo would be expecting him to check in regularly.

He hung back about half a block, and I walked into the store and asked to use the phone. I had people in the area who could help me. But I knew it would take some time to get together a hit squad.

I wouldn't be able to save my mate from spending at least one day with Ricardo and his men. I didn't have to be a brain surgeon to figure out what he'd be doing to her. And I hated myself for failing her even more.

(Chapter Two - Cindy)

Ricardo had given me someone's dress shirt to wear when we had taken Logan outside. A naked woman would have been noticed. I was grateful that my body was no longer on full display as he took me to a large room in the warehouse where Logan and I had been taken after we'd been captured.

Until then, I had only seen two of his men. I was shaking like a leaf when I saw that there were at least six other men in the room. They were all armed, and they had been playing cards and drinking.

But they noticed me as soon as I entered the room, and they all stopped what they were doing and stood up. The look of raw lust on all of their faces made me stop walking. I was scared to death. Suddenly, I was wishing that Ricardo would just keep me to himself.

Ricardo kept a firm grip on me. He was clearly enjoying my fear. I kept my eyes on the ground. If I looked at these men, I would start crying. Or screaming. Or shifting. None of which were going to be of any help to me. I knew that what I was doing was a clear sign of submission. But I couldn't help it. I felt like a rabbit that was about to be devoured by wolves.

"This is Cindy, boys." Ricardo announced. "She's my new girl." He added proudly. "We're going to welcome her to the family before we head back to New York."

My terror increased tenfold as the men quickly crowded around me. Within seconds, the shirt I was wearing was on the floor again. I felt hands groping me from every direction, and I fought hard not to struggle against them. Even though I knew I would heal from a beating, I wasn't about to sign up for one.

But when one of the men started opening his pants, Ricardo put up his hand and told them to back off. "You know the drill, Mario." He told the man sternly. "I get her first. Then the rest of you will have your turns."

Oh, god. I wanted to die right then and there. Most of the men went back to playing cards, but one of them had something to say to his boss first. "We should really get out of here

now

, boss. That mate of hers is still around. There's no way he's just going to go away and let you have her."

Ricardo glared at the man. "Are you questioning me, Antonio?" He growled. "Would you like to be the one who skips fucking her so that we can leave a little sooner? I'm sure it'll shave at least 30 seconds off our stay here if you don't get your turn."

The other men roared with laughter at their boss's insult. The man who had wanted to leave immediately threw up his hands in defeat and backed away from us. Ricardo dragged me back to the room with the bed and threw me on it. I scrambled backward until my back hit the head board.

"Let me tell you something else about fated mates that you might not know, little girl." He said as he quickly removed his clothes. Ricardo wasn't an unattractive man. He had dark hair and tanned skin. He even had a handsome face and a chiseled, muscular body. If only he wasn't somebody I hated.

"This is going to hurt." He told me with a wide grin as he climbed onto the bed.

"I'm not exactly aroused. I know it's going to hurt." I replied sarcastically. I had promised to obey him. Which meant that I wouldn't fight his advances. But I wasn't going to fake enjoying it either. Not unless he made it a command. I was absolutely determined to lay there like a dead fish. I wasn't going to give him one ounce of genuine surrender.

"You don't understand." He added as he spread my legs and put his weight on top of me. "Now that you're mated, sex with anyone but him will be painful for you. Whether you actually want to have sex with that man or not."

My eyes grew as wide as saucers as I took in his words. I had been hoping that I'd at least be able to fantasize about being with Logan when I was being ravaged in order to get through the experience with my sanity intact.

But...no. Mother Nature was fucking with me, yet again. I'd be a hooker who was going to suffer in terrible pain every time a man put his dick in me. I didn't think things could get any worse. I was wrong.

When Ricardo suddenly thrust into me, I screamed. It felt like I was being torn in half. It made the pain of losing my virginity seem like a walk in the park in comparison. The bastard looked so pleased with himself. I knew then that he wasn't done torturing me.

"And the best part is that your mate will feel your pain. Every time someone fucks you, he'll share your agony. I'm sure he's feeling like his dick is going to fall off right about now, and he won't even know why until someone breaks the news to him." He added gleefully as he continued to slam into me repeatedly. "What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall for that conversation."

I closed my eyes and bit my lip to keep from crying out anymore. But I couldn't keep the tears from flowing. I sobbed openly as he continued, and my suffering seemed to get him off more than the act of fucking me. Sicko. When he was finally done, he rolled off of me. I curled up into a ball with my back to him as he stood up and put his clothes back on.

I didn't acknowledge his presence. Didn't move when he walked out of the room and locked the door. He would be the first of many. I knew that. And the thought of killing myself crossed my mind.

But some miniscule part of my mind told me that I needed to give Logan a chance to rescue me. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he hadn't just walked away from me. He'd be back. We'd get our revenge.

And Ricardo would get what was coming to him. But my hopes were put on the back burner of my mind when the door opened and another man came into the room. My ordeal was only beginning, no matter how fast my mate got to me.

(Chapter Three – Logan)

I didn't need to walk for more than six blocks before I found the corner where a local gang hung out. I was betting that Ricardo and his men weren't on their own turf. He had probably just rented the building where I had been held. And I knew he'd be in a hurry to get the hell out of dodge.

My back up wouldn't arrive until night fall, and I needed eyes on the warehouse to make sure Ricardo didn't make a run for it with my girl before I could get the reinforcements I needed to save her.

One of the perks of being a low life like me was having shady contacts in just about every city in the state. I had travelled a lot over the years, and I was relieved when I saw a man I was reasonably friendly with in the crowd of gang bangers.

"Logan!" The man yelled, reaching out to shake my hand. Miguel was the second in command of the gang he was in, and he was also a bear shifter. The guy was huge, towering over just about every man in the group. I immediately sensed that a few of the other men were shifters too, but most of them were human.

Miguel pulled me in for a man hug after we shook hands. But before I could get one word out of mouth, I dropped to my knees. I clutched my dick and howled in pain. What the fuck?! It felt like somebody was putting my balls through a grinder, and I didn't have a clue why.

The humans in the gang looked at me like I was nuts. Nobody had touched me, and yet I was acting like I'd been castrated. I was also an outsider to everybody but Miguel. And that alone probably set their teeth on edge as I struggled to compose myself. It was impossible. There was no recovering from the pain until it mysteriously just stopped several agonizing minutes later.

Miguel had put his arm around me in a gesture of support that I would have appreciated if I hadn't felt like I was dying. The angry look on his face told me that he understood what was happening, and I made a mental note to ask him about it just as soon as I could breathe again.

I was embarrassed when I was finally able to stand up again with a little help from Miguel. The humans were keeping their distance from me. They probably thought I was about to go postal on them or something.

"Sorry, man." I said. "I don't know what just happened."

Miguel patted me on the back and shook his head in anger and frustration. "There's only one reason that could have happened to you, bro." He said.

I wanted to hear his explanation, but I needed his help more. "Tell me in a minute." I said. "First, I need to ask a favor."

I didn't know Miguel very well. I had dealt with him enough times to think that he was a decent enough guy in a world of cut throat killers. At least, I figured I could trust him and his guys enough to do the job of watching the warehouse for me until I was ready to storm the place.

"There's a warehouse about six blocks away from here. It's red. You can't miss it. I need some of your guys to watch it and make sure that no one leaves. My men will be here by tonight, so I'm hoping to get the drop on them." I told him. "I want your men to stay hidden unless anybody tries to leave with a woman. If that happens, I want them to make themselves known."

"How many men are in the warehouse?" Miguel asked.

"I don't know." I admitted.

"The woman. Is she yours?" He asked.

I nodded my head. Miguel's men had been listening to our conversation. I was asking them to do surveillance on a building that had an unknown number of assailants in it. And they all knew I wouldn't be coming to them for help if we weren't dealing with armed men who were at least as dangerous as the gang members were.

A pregnant woman came out of the little house that we were all standing in front of. She smiled at me and Miguel put a protective arm around her waist. The woman was holding a tray of beers, and she offered one to me. I took it and thanked her. Some of the other men took the remaining drinks. Miguel kissed the woman on the cheek and she went back inside the house.