Tane's Mate: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Shifter's on the Run Book 1) by Serena Simpson Page A

three of them choked on what they were eating.
    “No one said anything about children,” Dai said.
    Jay laughed hard. “You should see the looks on your faces.”
    Leza stood up. “I think we should clean up before there’s a brawl.”
    “Two against one,” Tane said. “That’s not a brawl that’s a simple beat down.”
    “Why are these two always threatening me?” Jay said with a smile.
    “Hey, that wasn’t me who threatened, but I will definitely help.”
    “Don’t make me have to help, Jay.” Leza said reaching for dishes to take back to the camper.
    They all groaned and cleaned up.
    “Are we taking shifts tonight?” Leza asked as they finished cleaning up.
    “We’ve already set up surveillance. No one will get close without us knowing.” Tane answered her question.
    She nodded letting her shoulders relax a little. Of course they had already taken care of it. They probably set it up when they scouted out the area. This was her new life. Having to think about things like scouting and surveillance. Being on the run.
    Holding Tane’s hand and feeling his lips on her. It wasn’t all bad. Laughing with Dai and Jay. They treated her like she was a sister. Since she didn’t have any family, it was like a balm to her weary soul. Sure staying at home and reading her e-books was safe, but it wasn’t this.
    “Are you ready?” Tane held out a hand to her.
    She looked and didn’t see a sleeping bag or covers for camping outside.
    Shrugging because she trusted him, her hand slid into his. “I’m ready.”
    “See you tomorrow,” Dai and Jay called out.
    “Later,” she said feeling her cheeks heat.
    “Are you all right?”
    “Yeah, that was kind of weird, having everyone know what you’re going to do.”
    “One day, if we play our cards right, they’ll get to walk away from us knowing what they’re going to do.”
    “Why would they change us like this? Make us so different than what we were meant to be.”
    “Because they can. When man has achieved everything, what else is there for him to do?”
    “Play god.”
    They walked until she couldn’t hear any noise from the campsite.
    “What if something happens and they need us?”
    “Then they’ll make enough noise to wake the dead. Don’t worry, if Dai and Jay couldn’t handle themselves I wouldn’t leave them alone.”
    “That’s why you’re in charge.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    She dragged her feet slowing down deliberately wondering why he couldn’t admit to being the leader.
    “Is there a reason you can’t admit to being in charge?”
    His head swung to look at her before he placed his hand in the small of her back to get her moving again.
    “There’s always a chance that one day the government will recapture me. I don’t want them to feel like they can’t go on without me. But your right, I am the official leader.”
    She nodded her head. It didn’t matter because she knew what he was denying. His people, his brothers would never stop until they got him back.
    They came to a cleared out area where a tent had already been set up.
    “When did you do this?”
    “I slipped out while you were in the camper cooking.”
    Tane opened the tent and turned on a battery operated light. “This will give us enough light to see but the drain on the battery is limited so it will last several days.”
    He stood back waiting for Leza to go in. The tent was large enough that she could stand if she wanted to but it was too small for Tane to stand fully. She went in lowering herself until she sat on the sleeping bag that was lying on an inflatable camping mattress to make it soft.”
    Tane closed the tent and lay down beside her. Her body was stiff as she waited for him to touch her.
    “Go to sleep, Leza.”
    “Wait, what?”
    “Hun, I won’t touch you.”
    “Why?”
    “You’re stiff as a board. I want you but not like that. You need to be part of the process. You have to want me back.”
    “I do.”
    “That’s not what