by Liz Paffel
The inner voice pounded in her head as she got back into her car and kept going. In the morning, she’d call the police station again and see if there was any news. She passed Plainville and two hours later, a sign welcoming her to Canada.
The border station was brightly lit, armed guards making their presence well known as they lined the road. Her heart pounded as she slowed to a stop. Despite the late hour, there were a handful of cars in front of her being inspected. She reached into her glove box and produced her passport. It was a permanent resident inside her car since she went shopping in Canada about once a month. She’d never been this direction from Seattle before. The border station was more remote here, the forests looking intimidatingly thick in the shadows.
After a brief inspection and some questioning, she was allowed to cross. Breathing in relief, she kept going, passing another welcome sign.
SANCTUARY
It looked so... ordinary. She’d been expecting a fence maybe, or something to indicate that she was going through miles of reservation wilderness where vampire-shifters ran free. Aside from the next sign that cautioned her to drive carefully and beware of wildlife, there was nothing to indicate this was anything other than ordinary forest.
Aila slowed her Prius and white-knuckled the wheel. She’d never experienced such complete darkness as this, where ink permeated the trees on either side of the two-lane road and the sky was deep violet punched with stars. There were no streetlights. No houses. No sign of civilization. Just lush, deep forest rising and falling as it chased the road.
Ahead, she spotted twinkling lights through the trees on her right. First a flash of red, and then white. Breathing a sigh of relief that she’d wasn’t completely alone out here, Aila strained to see what was there. A house? A gas station?
Suddenly, a shadowy mass darted out from the left. Aila screamed, her foot going for the break, but it was too late. She caught the buck’s wild eyes right before tried to jump. Momentum plowed her car into the animal’s hindquarters. The deer whipped in a half circle just as she pressed the break to the floor, the car sliding into the buck again right before the animal flopped off the side of the road and down the embankment.
Steam burst up from under the hood followed by a clunking sound that rattled even though the car wasn’t moving. Gasping and tingling with adrenaline, she put the car in park and scrambled over to the passenger side to peer out the window. What if the deer was still alive?
What if it wasn’t just a deer? No way was she going out in the dark to check.
Focusing on the lights ahead, she sat back in her seat and put the car in drive. It rattled harder as another puff of steam billowed into the night. “Oh, God, come on!” Aila gently pressed on the gas, desperate to reach the source of the lights before the car died completely. Could this night get any worse?
Her tires crunched on gravel as she limped the car off the road and into a wide driveway. The lights nearly blinded her through the windshield. Squinting, she carefully approached as a long line of motorcycles came into view, all parked in front of a long, log sided building.
Her heart sank as she glanced at the building. Beer advertisements were hung up here and there, motorcycles parked along the side.
Movement caught her attention from the passenger window. A hulking form walked out of the shadows into the dim light. It shivered violently, its body changing from a four-legged gait to a bipedal walk. With a shudder, the remnants of bear faded into a perfectly naked human form. Open-mouthed, Aila gaped in disbelief until the shifter paused beside the bar, grabbed up what looked like jeans and slipped into them. His form came into better view as he walked out front, the neon sign above the building casting a mosaic of red, blue, and yellow lights across his tall, broad form.
Okay, he’s ripped. Shirtless and ripped and why the hell am I even noticing how tight his abdomen is right now?
A little numb, Aila quickly glanced up at the flashing neon sign:
The Shock Collar.
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Books by Liz Paffel:
Mates for Axxeon 9 series, out now:
Axxeon King’s Captive
Axxeon Commander’s Pet
Axxeon Prince’s Prize
Taken by the Axxeon
Axxeon King’s Captive
Book one in the Mates for Axxeon 9 series
Alora Church, scientist extraordinaire, is used to being valued for her mind, not her womb.
She barely leaves her lab long enough to see the effects of the aliens that have invaded Earth. When her best friend is Summoned to become an Axxeon breeder, Alora is prepared to help her run. Until two huge Axxeon warriors show and take Alora captive instead. She thinks there’s nothing worse than being taken as an alien incubator... but she’s wrong. Very wrong.
Tryllin, King of the Axxeon made a pact with Earth’s leaders to save them from genocide in exchange for select females. They have a common enemy, one that has infiltrated Earth and Tryllin is prepared to destroy. But he needs the scientist’s help, willing or not.
Now it’s time for her to make a sacrifice... until he suspects she’s also his fated mate. Can he make his captive a willing bride, or will destiny leave his arms empty and his soul shattered?
Axxeon King's Captive is a standalone, first in the Mates for Axxeon 9 series. It contains dark elements, and all the sci-fi romance you crave!
Available in Kindle Unlimited and on Amazon.
