ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection)

by C. J. Ayers

  Again, there were no security guards at the entrance, so Killian simply ventured out into the night air. He was surprised to find a short curvy redhead standing by the curb. He sauntered up next to her and sat down.

  “Oh hey, Killian,” she said—noticing his presence for the first time. “The spirits are in rare form tonight,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” Killian asked.

  “They called me over from the Frostburg district because we’re picking up all kinds of supernatural activity around here. I don’t like it, Killian. It just doesn’t sit right with me.” Lillian was a ghost-hunter, and everyone referred to her as Lil. She had always been kind to Killian, but he hadn’t had the opportunity to interact with her very often.

  “Sorry about your friend, Jack,” Lil said. Killian swallowed hard. She seemed to stare off into the vast darkness.

  “Can you see him out there?” Killian asked. Lil crossed her arms in front her and ran her hands up and down her arms. “Naw. But I know one thing for sure—they can always see us.” With that, she strode off towards the parking lot. Then Lillian paused. “Go back in there and tell her how you feel about her,” she said. “Too many people lose their loved ones before they have the chance to say how they really feel…. take advantage of your chance while you’ve got it.” With that, she walked off into the night.

  Killian wondered what Jack would have thought about the way he’d treated Karyn only a few minutes prior. Jack had always been a lady’s man. Women loved him, and he loved them—but he’d always made it a point to treat each woman he encountered with respect. He was a lover of women—not a womanizer. He saw each woman he encountered as an individual, as a person deserving of respect and kindness.

  Killian stood up and turned back around. He wanted to go back inside and try to talk to Karyn again. He needed to tell her the depth of his feelings. He wanted her to know that he thought about her day and night—that he dreamt about the possibly of having a future with her, that he imagined touching her body when he was lonely at night in his little metallic room. He imagined her warm body curled up against him. Yet, suddenly a loud steel-ish sound seared through his head. With the sound came a terrible pain. Killian doubled over in agony. What on earth was going on?

  Suddenly, he found himself running down a side-street near Department 99’s headquarters. He didn’t know if he was chasing someone, or if he was being pursued, but he ran just the same. Killian’s legs pumped beneath him wildly. The part of him that remained sane secretly hoped that somehow he was running in Karyn’s direction. He needed her to know that he’d made a mistake and that he loved her.

  Karyn sat up in bed feeling queasy and enraged. How dare he? First, he attacks her and bites her leaving her bleeding and dying, and now she’s supposed to cuddle up with him like nothing had happened? Her boyfriend had just tried to kill her and he had the nerve to make her feel guilty for it. Karyn stood up slowly and walked to the mirror. She peeled back the bandage that was wrapped on her neck and cringed at the site. Of all the shifters and demons that she had fought over the last few days, and the one she loved was the one that had finally gotten her. Karyn shivered at the thought, and then briefly remembered the way his body had felt resting on top of hers. He was strong and muscular and he covered her like a steel blanket. Even through the pain of the encounter, she had enjoyed the feel of him against her skin.

  The bite was hideous looking and had clearly severed a vein. Killian knew how to kill, and kill fast. Karyn had knew that from the first time she had touched him, but being the victim of it was something entirely different. Whoever had stitched her up had done a pretty good job, but it was definitely going to leave a scar. Karyn stood staring at herself in the mirror and slowly her anger began to fade. Why had Killian done this? It was so unlike him to harm her. He’d risked his life for her more times than she could even count. Why would he suddenly want to kill her?

  There had been no reason for it. Things between them had been going well. Was it the loss of Jack that had pushed him over the edge and sent him back to the madness of the monster within? Had the stress of learning that there were traitors among them, made Killian question his own reality? Or was Killian himself a traitor? No, she couldn’t believe that, and wouldn’t believe it. She had seen the killer in him, but she had also seen his heart, and it was his heart that she had fallen in love with.

  Killian ran as fast as he could. The buildings and cars flew by him at an incredible speed. Inside, his mind was on fire. He was burning with love for Karyn—almost exploding with a desire to be near her. Killian remembered seeing on television that there was a myth in this world where vampires would burn alive in the sun. That was how Killian felt right now, like he was burning alive from the inside out with both desire and pain. Maybe if he could just run faster, he could outdistance this thing that was in him. Even though he knew that there was no outrunning the evil that he was. He had tried to kill the woman he loved. What kind of a monster could do such a thing? Was there no hope for his soul? Was there no hope that he could ever be close to another human? Was he always going to be a monster?

  Killian suddenly stopped in front of a convenience store. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to stop, or why he was staring in the window and then suddenly it dawned on him. He hadn’t taken his pills. He’d forgotten to take the blue pills provided to him by the department. They were supposed to keep the killer instinct in him at bay while allowing his vampire strengths to still be present. In all of the confusion during the last couple of days, he had forgotten to take them.

  Killian reached inside his jacket and pulled out his emergency kit. Inside were 2 blue pills. Every non-human had to carry them in their emergency kit in case they were not able to make it back to headquarters. There were also to white pills in there that would instantly kill whoever swallowed them, human or non-human. Killian popped the blue pills into his mouth and swallowed them dry. He thought it should make him feel better to know why he had attacked Karyn, but instead it only made him feel worse. He had always been a creature of the darkness, vile and disgusting, and he always would be. One day without synthetic treatments, and he was nothing but a killer—ready to destroy the only person he had ever loved.

  Killian slowly began to make his way back to the department wondering what in the world he was going to say to Karyn; maybe it would be better if he just dropped out of her life and never saw her again. Maybe that would be better for her. Killian had a millisecond of warning that his vampire senses were able to make good use of.

  He ducked just as a spray of hyper needles flew through the air right where his head had just been. Only the department used hyper-needles. Killian’s mind was enraged. He jumped up quickly to face his opponent and was grabbed from behind by something very large and very muscular. In less than a second he was completely surrounded. Twenty shape shifters of various kinds stood around him. Killian could feel the rage building in him. Out of the crowd came a shape he recognized. Someone who took his breath away.

  Jack.

  Karyn beginning to feel weak again from the blood loss, rewrapped the bandage and lay back down on the bed. It was just too much to think about right now and she closed her eyes letting darkness take her to a place where life wasn’t so complicated. It was the feel of a tiny hand in hers that awoke her for a second time. Karyn opened her eyes to see Samantha’s sweet face. Karyn sighed with contentment. All her life the only thing she had ever wanted was family. When department 99 had told Karyn about her parents murder she had felt abandoned all over again. Now she had a sister, a real blood relative sister. But, she realized, she didn’t know anything about Samantha.

  “Thank you for coming to sit with me Samantha.” Karyn sat up a little so she could see easier. Samantha’s hand was still in Karyn’s.

  “It was the least I could do after all your help,” Samantha answered in a tiny voice. Karyn had so many questions it was difficult to even know where to start.

  “So tell me a little
bit about yourself. I feel like we’ve been through so much these last few days and I don’t know anything about you.” Karyn glanced at Samantha sitting in the chair next to her bed and saw a tear fall down her cheek. Suddenly Karyn felt like something big was about to happen and it terrified her and for some strange reason excited her at the same time.

  “I remember you,” Samantha said softly. Karyn drew in a sharp breath.

  “What do you mean you remember me?” Samantha continued as if Karyn had not even spoken. It was if Samantha was lost in her own memories and Karyn was nothing more than an observer. Karyn watched Samantha and decided to just let her speak. She was afraid that if she interrupted to ask questions something might be lost. Karyn waited patiently for Samantha to continue.

  Samantha took a deep breath and then started talking again. “We had been in hiding for as long as I had been alive, probably even before that. Mom and dad would move all the time, but always they would stay in contact with people from the inside, from the department. I was still young but I have some memories. Others I have been able to fill in over the years with other people’s accounts and pieces I’ve picked up on my own as well.

  I think by the time that you were born; mom and dad knew that there was a traitor inside department 99. Every time we would start to feel safe, like a real family, someone would come after us. We spent a lot of time running. I remember when I was about three some men came to the house and grabbed me. I think they were going to try to use me as leverage against our parents, but somehow mom was able to get inside their heads and kill them.”

  “I remember being so scared as those men held onto me so tight. I was so little, but I knew they were bad men. One second I was whimpering and crying and the next they were just dead at my feet. I didn’t know that mom had powers. I found that out years later. Anyway, right after that we moved again. We went to a nice place out in the middle of nowhere. There was so much land, and we had a dog. Mom let me name him. His name was Chester. He was a great dog.” Samantha paused for a second and wiped at the tears running down her face and then paused to regain her composure.

  Jack strode forward among the shape shifters. “Hey buddy. Glad to see you.” Killian shook his head as if trying to shake the cobwebs out of his brain. Something here was totally wrong and Killian didn’t know if the world had gone suddenly mad, or if he had. The giant behind him suddenly let go enough for Killian to stand up.

  “Jack, what the Hell is going on here. You died. Why are you with this group of hooligans, and why are you all attacking me.”

  Jack laughed and the sound was hideous. “Well my friend. Information about my demise was strongly exaggerated. I was even given a pill to make my heart stop in case you decided to check for yourself. After you left the building I was brought back. You see we think, that you are the traitor. After all you were there the night that Karyn’s parents were found. In fact, it was you who released her and put her into foster care. The department has had their eyes on you for a long time. We’ve been hoping that we could wheedle the answers we needed out of you, but that hasn’t really worked. Now Karyn is here, and somehow her long lost sister as well.”

  Killian couldn’t believe this, any of it. He didn’t remember any of this. It all sounded so crazy. Then the last thing Jack said sunk in. “Wait, Karyn has a sister?”

  Jack laughed again. “Oh don’t tell me you didn’t know. Samantha is Karyn’s big sister. Even a fool such as yourself should have seen that.”

  Killian blinked his eyes several times wondering if this was some kind of horrible nightmare. Something in his memory seemed to know that it was true; he even seemed to remember telling Karyn that it was true. Why were his memories so foggy? What was wrong with him?”

  Jack came and stood directly in front of Killian. “Are you starting to feel like a monster again? Because that’s what you are you know. You will never be anything but a monster. If you would just accept that then you could join us. We could use a fighter like you on our side.”

  Killian leapt forward growling, only to be yanked back by the huge giant behind him.

  “Oh well,” Jack shrugged. “If you won’t join us, then we’ll have to do it the other way.” Killian froze. “What other way?” Jack face was only inches from Killian’s. “Torture.”

  Karyn waited patiently, too absorbed in the story to even think about interrupting. This was her family Samantha was talking about. Karyn had been searching and wondering her whole life and now everything seemed to be coming at her so fast. Question after question kept running through her head and yet she remained silent. All Karyn wanted to do was to absorb everything about these people that she had wondered about for as long as she could remember. Karyn leaned over and wiped a tear from Samantha’s cheek, and took her sister’s hand in her own.

  Samantha nodded her head and continued. “We were safe there for a long time, almost two years. Looking back on it, I think they knew where we were all along but they were just waiting for something. I think they were waiting for you. When you were born everything changed. For a very brief time the four of us were very happy. I remember that you used to giggle whenever Chester licked you. Everyone loved you. Especially me.”

  “I couldn’t believe that I had a little sister. Up until then I wasn’t allowed to have friends or even talk to people really. It was always too dangerous. Then all of a sudden I was someone’s big sister and I knew that I would never be alone again. And then they came. I remember a few showing up here and there, but this time was different. This time they were coming to kill us all.”

  “They came with every type of demon and shifter you could imagine. So many that even mom and dad knew that there was no way out. Mom and dad grabbed us and took us upstairs. I remember mom kissed me on the forehead with tears in her eyes and told me she loved me. Then dad told me to be strong and never forget, then he told me to hide. I remember that you had your eyes open and you look so peaceful. Like you had no fear of what was about to happen. Maybe it was because you were still a baby, but I think it was more than that, I think you were born with something inside of you that made you different.

  I could hear the department coming in through the downstairs, I took one look at you and then I ran. I hid in a small compartment I had used for hide and seek. Every night since, I have gone to sleep with the memory of your eyes staring back at me as they did that night.”

  Killian felt his hatred and anger rise to the surface. He had no idea what was happening, but he knew he was never going to die without a fight. If it were a monster they wanted, then a monster he would be. Killian’s muscles had been preparing themselves and he released them like a coil. He fell to the ground and then sprung straight into the air so fast that the giant could not hold his grip. When Killian's feet hit the pavement, he was already in motion. He swung wide with his right arm and smashed it into the face of a giant ape. The shifter flew backwards against the concrete but Killian did not pause. His body was in constant movement. His foot flung out to kick a large spider out of his way and at the same time caught a panther by the throat pulling out his trachea. Killian knew there were too many. He had known from the beginning. But if he had to die today, then it would be on his own terms. He would not go gently.

  Karyn stood up and walked around to the bedside table pouring Samantha a glass of water. She should be crying, or feeling anger, or feeling something, but all she felt was that she needed to know the ending to their sad tale. She walked over and silently handed the water to her sister.

  Samantha nodded her appreciation and then continued. “I could see through the little holes and I watched mom and dad lean over you. Something started to glow. At first it was really tiny and then it was all around you. Then you reached out your tiny hand and it was if all the light began to flow into you. Like you had somehow known what it was that you were supposed to do. When all the light was gone, you closed your hand and then you moved your hand as if you were saying bye-bye.”

  After that, there
wasn’t much to tell. Mom and dad put you in a closet and closed the door and then went downstairs. I know they fought because I could hear it, but I was never able to see what really happened to them. I just know that they died trying to protect us and that department 99 is responsible for their deaths. A man in a suit came and took you and then they left. I wanted to try to stop them but I was too scared. I watched them take you away and I didn’t do anything.”

  Karyn reached over and pulled Samantha into a tight hug. “It wasn’t your fault. You were just a little kid. If you had tried, they would probably have killed you too. I’m so sorry that my life brought you so much pain. No one should have to see the things that you have seen.”

  Samantha let out a deep breath. “You were never scared. Not once, not even with all the loud noises, not when the strange men came to take you, not when they walked you passed all the blood and what was left of our parents bodies. You never even cried. I think I hated you for that for a while, even though I know it wasn’t your fault. The men in suites didn’t even look for me. They just took you and left.”

  “I never knew what happened to you after that. I thought they had killed you. And then years later you show up out of nowhere, when I was lost, and you save my life. I knew it was you, the moment I saw your eyes. Somehow, I knew that everything was going to be ok.”

  Karyn smiled and then closed her eyes. She reached out in her mind and it was like seeing something from behind a veil. “Samantha I need to ask you to do something.” Samantha smiled back. “Anything.”

  Killian had fought as much as he could but he knew he was reaching his limit. Four shifters lay dead at his feet but Killian did not have much left and there were still at least fifteen more shifters out there, not to mention Jack. Killian crouched low to evade a flame from a dragon sprout and then found himself flat on the ground with a 200-pound tiger on top of him. He could feel the claws raking into his chest and with the last bit of effort he had left; Killian snapped the tiger’s neck. He had to get back to Karyn. He had to have just one last opportunity to tell her that he loved her.