Shifters Forever Worlds Mega Box: Volume 1

by Thorne, Elle

  “Hungry?” Rafe asked.

  “I think so, but I’m not sure. Everything is still spinning. I’ve never—” Her stomach heaved. She paused and swallowed hard to keep whatever was trying to rise from coming up. “I’ve never been this sick.” Or this heartbroken.

  Rafe pulled up in front of her apartment. “After I get you situated, I’m making a food run.”

  “You’re way too nice.” Was he feeling guilty about Vax and Natalya? Was he trying to make it up to her? She’d never even heard of him before this.

  Oh, God, had Rafe been brought in to make her feel better? Oh shit, now she sounded like a damned conspiracy theorist. Her stomach flipped again, but she wasn’t sure if it was hunger or the hangover or her freaking ideas. Damn.

  He helped her upstairs, and she grabbed her spot on the couch. She’d become way too familiar with this couch, of late.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Callie had no idea how long Rafe was gone because she fell asleep. She didn’t even know how he got back in. She should have been worried, and if it weren’t for the fact she trusted the Tiero family and the deep blue sincerity in Rafe’s eyes, she would have been.

  He returned, arms laden with oversized bags from the nearest deli.

  “Soups, salads, and sandwiches.” He closed the front door behind him.

  “Who are you feeding?” There seemed to be enough food for an army.

  He reached into the bag and pulled out a bouquet of roses—large, beautiful, deep-red blooms with vivid green leaves. Callie gasped. Those weren’t available at the local deli, that much she knew. “I think I’ve misled you.”

  His jaw clenched, and Callie saw a sign of the man she’d first run into at After Dark, not the brother of Lila and Sophie, but the sexy stranger she’d encountered who was capable of seducing a woman with his eyes. “No, but I want to get to know you better.”

  What the hell was she supposed to say? I’m still in love with your brother? “The most you can expect from me is friendship.” She hoped that would cover it.

  “I’ll take that for now.” He took out the Styrofoam containers. “Creamy tomato basil.” He removed the lid from the soup then stopped and locked eyes with her. “Do you not feel any chemistry? At all?”

  Callie couldn’t look away. She found him beautiful, but he wasn’t Vax. Then she reminded herself Vax was out of town with Natalya. It occurred to her she wouldn’t be able to work at the club after Vax came back, not with him and Natalya there together. It would be too painful. She’d figure the situation out later because, again, her head was beginning to throb.

  “I need to lie down,” she said. “I’ll eat something in a bit.”

  Thinking of Vax reminded her she was going to get fired soon, anyway. She wouldn’t have to see him and Natalya together because Vax would be so disappointed in her for breaking the rules he’d fire her immediately.

  As she pulled the light blanket over her legs, she realized she’d never answered Rafe’s question about whether or not she felt any chemistry between them. She closed her eyes. She didn’t need to deal with emotions right now. They would have to wait.

  * * *

  A sound caught her attention, bringing her out of sleep. Movement. Rafe was the only one in the apartment, wasn’t he? She opened one eye to a slit. Rafe stood at the entrance to the living room, watching her. He approached and sat on the nearby recliner, still studying her.

  This was a good time to ask him about last night. “Last night… What exactly happened?”

  “You don’t remember?” He put his hand over his heart. “I’m crushed. Devastated.”

  She was mortified all over again. She chewed on her lip, worked the blanket between her fingers. She still couldn’t believe she’d been naked. Did that mean they’d done anything? She barely knew him. Not that she’d never had a wild night, she had, but that had been when she was younger. And it sure as hell hadn’t been with the brother of the man she was in love with.

  A smile teased at his lips, threatening to emerge.

  She cocked her head at his odd reaction.

  Rafe laughed at the expression on her face. “I’m just kidding. Nothing happened. Why?”

  She captured the sigh of relief threatening to come out.

  Chapter Seventeen

  For twenty-four hours, Vax scoured the city on the down-low, not drawing attention to himself or the missing Natalya. At night, he allowed his tiger to take over, jumping across alleys, rooftops to rooftops, trying to find Natalya’s scent.

  He had no luck. None. Zero. It was as if she’d vanished completely, without a sign. How the hell could that be? He called Veila, updated her.

  After she’d listened to him, she fell silent.

  Something was going on with her. There was a weird vibe, even through the cell phone. “What’s up, Veila?”

  “Rafe. He’s still here. I’m being hospitable.”

  He could still feel her trepidation, and it made his sensors go off. What the hell was going on? “But?”

  She let out a breath in a loud whoosh. “He seems to have developed a crush on Callie.”

  He gritted his teeth. That sour thing in his stomach was becoming too frequent. “What’s new? That’s Rafe.” He used the same words she had. How ironic, how applicable, how frustrating, because, right now, the only thing Vax’s tiger wanted to do was go back and rip through Rafe’s vital organs.

  “I don’t know, Vax. I think it’s different this time, like he’s falling for her.”

  “Bullshit. He barely knows her. What else is going on?” He faked blowing it off, knowing she wasn’t fooled, knowing Veila knew this was bothering him.

  “Nothing.” Rat-a-tat. Her nails tapped on whatever surface was nearby. “Oh, Martin wants to talk to you.”

  Odd. The trusted head of his cleaning crew had always been under the radar. “What about?”

  “Won’t say.” Vax could imagine Veila’s shrug.

  “Then it’ll keep. I’m almost ready to quit. Damned kidnapper hasn’t called me. Has he called there? Do you have the cash raised?”

  “Got it. And while I was doing that, I got a few looks from one of the bankers, some raised brows from another, and a couple of questions from some of our associates. Luckily, no questions came from the feds. And no, the kidnapper hasn’t called.”

  “Thanks, sis. I’ll be in touch.”

  There was one more guy he could talk to. He hadn’t wanted to. Looked like it was time for a road trip to New Orleans.

  New Orleans, home of the Arceneaux tribe. His alliance with the New Orleans Arceneaux was nonexistent. Neither side had made any effort to join forces or become associates. Vax had a passing awareness they existed, nothing more. He’d never heard of them while he was living in Europe, and when he came to Dallas, he’d heard they were to be avoided.

  His father had said, “Avoid and do not trust the Arceneaux.”

  So Vax did, and though he’d once made inquiries about them because he was curious, he’d never met any of them.

  Talk about stepping into the lion’s den. The Arceneaux weren’t only tiger shifters. Their tribe was the most multi-specied on the continent. Lion shifters, wolf shifters, panther shifters, leopard shifters, you name it. And the Arceneaux were the most fun, rumor had it. Maybe it was time to create an alliance. Or, at the very least, an association.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Callie spent close to the next twenty-four hours drifting between the bed and the couch, hovering in a state of depression. She wasn’t scheduled to work the next three days, so she didn’t worry about showering or dressing or anything. She couldn’t get Vax out of her mind. Every time she thought of him, a vision of Natalya joined in, bringing tension and an overwhelming need to cry. Vax was pretty much soon to be out of her life. And now, she realized her tiger would be, too, of course. She wouldn’t be able to visit him like she had.

  When Callie wasn’t moping, she watched old romance movies on TV and cringed at every ha
ppy ending.

  The next night, she woke up to the smell of something delicious. Her stomach rumbled in agreement. She sat up, looked around, rubbing her eyes.

  Noise in the kitchen alerted her she wasn’t alone, though the aroma of the food had already made that pretty clear. She figured Anna had prepared an awesome meal and had left it cooking.

  “Anna?” She called for her roommate.

  A head peeked around the corner.

  Rafe.

  “Hey, sleepyhead.”

  She stared at him. “What time is it?”

  “Midnight.”

  Why was he here, how had he gotten in? “What… um, how…?”

  “Anna gave me your keys when I told her I wanted to bring you some food.” Was the man psychic? How had he known what she was going to ask?

  He continued, “It’s not exactly good for you to lie in bed, watching movies and doing nothing else.”

  Anna had been telling on her.

  “What else has my roommate shared with you?” I’m gonna kill her. She got up, eager to follow the wonderful aroma. Her stomach was finally settling back to normal again. Too bad she couldn’t say the same about her heart. “God, my body’s all screwed up, waking up at midnight.”

  He put an arm across the doorway, holding the jamb, blocking her entrance.

  “Not really. You’re only a couple hours off. You’d be at work right now if you were working tonight.”

  “Where is the traitor? I mean Anna? And what gives? Why can’t I go into the kitchen?”

  “It’s a surprise. So stay out.” He softened the remark with a smile. “She’s at After Dark, working. She came in while you were crashed out. I guess you slept through it. How about a shower? You’ll feel better.”

  Probably smell better, too. “I can take a hint.” She laughed.

  “You know I didn’t mean it that way.” The look he gave her let her know he still had feelings.

  She forced the sigh away, turning to go. She could see his eyes following her in the reflection in the hallway mirror.

  Callie took a shower, letting the hot water soothe her. She was messed up mentally. Completely screwed up over Vax. How had she let him get to her this way? She scrubbed her scalp with an intensity driven toward hurting her and reminding her she was alive.

  Flushed, her skin pink from the vigorous towel-dry, she dressed in a tank and yoga pants. She was proud of her curves and saw no reason to hide them with baggy clothes. She looked in the mirror. Every now and then, she wondered if she should go on a diet. Aw, hell no. She loved chocolate too much.

  When Callie opened her bedroom door, the first thing she noticed was the lights were off in the living room. The second thing she saw was the flickering. Candles. The living room was lit with candles. She knew the power hadn’t gone out, since she had the light on in her room. Making her way to the living area with trepidation, she noted the table was set. There were candles in the center.

  Wayyy too romantic for a man she wasn’t having a romance with. She braced herself. She needed to have the talk with Rafe. There was no option but to friend-zone him in a firm way.

  And what did that remind her of? It only served to remind her of what she wished for with Vax.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Vax drove straight through to New Orleans. He knew where to go. An alpha shifter’s home wasn’t an easy secret to keep in the shifter world. A hideaway, sure, that could be kept secret, but not his main home; that was where he conducted some of his business.

  The same way everyone knew they’d find Vax at After Dark, all shifters knew they’d find the Arceneaux alpha at Arceneaux Point, the plantation they lived in on the outskirts of New Orleans.

  Vax arrived at Arceneaux Point shortly after lunchtime.

  Trees laden with Spanish moss lined up like sentinels on each side of the driveway Vax pulled into. He shut the car door behind him and studied the large plantation home. He wasn’t one who knew much about New Orleans or Louisiana history, but he’d be willing to bet this was one of the oldest homes in the state.

  Here goes nothing, the cynic in him said, though he hoped the visit would prove fruitful. Word had it the Arceneaux were procurers of information. He’d also heard some of Arceneaux early money had come from extortion.

  He looked at the large staircase leading to a sturdy set of doors made of thick wood and wondered if they weren’t encased in metal. Shifters were big on security, though they didn’t fear much from humans one on one.

  The door swung open, inward. Half a dozen men stepped out. Large men. He counted two lion shifters, a panther shifter, an orange tiger shifter, and two mountain lion shifters. It seemed the rumors about the Arceneaux tribe were accurate—they did have multiple species of shifters. Just when he thought they’d brought out all they were going to, three bear shifters joined the large feline shifters.

  None of them smiled. They didn’t threaten him, but he could feel their senses working overtime to determine his purpose. He kept his pulse even, didn’t indicate fear or any other emotion. Keep it neutral.

  He was in a shitload of trouble, though, judging from their numbers.

  A seventh shifter walked out the door. A white tiger. Large, male.

  Vax studied them, no expression on his face. “I’m looking for Lézare Arceneaux.”

  “You found him,” the tall white tiger shifter said. “Hello, cousin.”

  “Cousin?” What did he mean by that?

  “Your mother and my father were second cousins. Second or third. I’d have to check.”

  Vax took a second to size up the white tiger. “I haven’t heard that.” I wonder why. Then he thought of his father’s warning to stay away from the Arceneaux.

  “Maybe the Arceneaux are too controversial? Too black sheep for the Tiero? Your mother was the only connection to our family, really. The only one who kept contact, such as it was. But it couldn’t have been easy for her. She’d have been shunned. Some of our practices are looked down upon by other shifters.” Lézare gave a continental, Old World shrug. “After your mother passed—my condolences, incidentally.”

  Vax nodded acceptance of Lézare’s condolences. “And your father was from where?”

  “Here. His great-grandfather brought his family here, and some of them not by choice.” He waved the other shifters back, and they departed through the open doors, leaving Vax and Lézare alone.

  That was something else Vax had never heard about. “Slavery?”

  “Of course.” Lézare smiled, a self-deprecating expression on the man’s face. “Can’t tell by looking at me, though, can you?”

  Dark hair, check—short and straight.

  Darkish eyes, check.

  Fair skin…

  “No. it isn’t immediately apparent you have ancestors who were slaves brought in from Africa.” Vax looked at his own skin. He was darker than Lézare.

  “It was many generations ago.” Lézare gave a sideways nod, very European, as if that was past history and not worth the time or effort to worry about now. “What brings you here, Vittorio Allesandro Tiero? Surely not a lesson in family history. You didn’t even know I existed. Surely not an alliance because you’d have sought it sooner. Do tell, mon ami.”

  So Lézare, the Arceneaux white tiger, knew Vax’s middle name. He wondered if that was merely a ploy Lézare used to show he had information or if it was something else.

  A woman came out of the house. Strikingly beautiful, curvy, auburn-haired. Vax spared her a glance, then another, taking stock, trying to determine if she were friend or foe.

  “My sister.” Lézare waved the woman forward. “Meet our cousin, Vittorio.”

  “Vax.” Vax nodded to the woman, a smile coming to his lips.

  “Alexandrine,” Lézare said.

  “Alexa,” his sister corrected Lézare.

  Lézare looked from one to the other. “No coincidence, considering our ancestry.”

  What the hell is he talking about? Lézare seemed to speak
in half-sentences.

  “There he goes again,” Alexa said. “The history buff. Don’t get him started.”

  Started on what? Vax wouldn’t mind Lézare starting, just so long as he’d finish.

  “You doubt me? Or is it that history bores you?” Lézare quirked a brow at his sister.

  She nodded, her dark red hair glinting in the light. “Maybe I’m not bored. Maybe you amuse me.”

  Oh, hell. Vax had come here for assistance and now he found himself hoping he would not have to end a squabble between sibling shifters.

  Curiosity won. Vax asked, “Want to clue me in?”

  “Your names. Allesandro and Alexandrine. Both of you have Alexander as the base of your name.” Lézare smiled, as though he was enjoying this, then continued speaking. “Our roots are in Macedonia. Our family name is based on Alexander.”

  Still confused, Vax glanced at Alexa, hoping for an answer.

  She was rolling her eyes. “Lézare, enough.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  Lézare nodded. “Enough, it is.” He smiled an indulgent smile at his sister. “Back to the present. You are here because…?” He waved his hand with the flourish of a magician, prompting Vax to respond.

  Vax found himself liking this character. He would enjoy his company if he weren’t here under such dire circumstances. Now the circumstances were even direr, knowing Rafe had designs on Callie. “Help.”

  “What kind of help can the Arceneaux offer the Tiero?”

  “A kidnapped girl.” Vax gave them the short version—shortish, only leaving out he wasn’t interested in her.

  “Maybe I can help.” Lézare dug a cell phone out of his pocket, studied the screen, and tapped on it with his fingertip. “Alexa, would you please make our cousin welcome while I make some inquiries?”

  “Anything to get out of the history lesson.” Alexa laughed. “Come with me,” she said to Vax. “If anyone can help, my big brother can.”

  Chapter Twenty