Shifter Wars Complete Series

by Sarah J. Stone

  And sitting here and there in various states of undress, were three other girls. Their eyes latched onto me and Claude as we entered. With a final shove, Claude pushed me into the room and shut the door behind me, a heavy locking sound making it clear that I was stuck.

  As soon as Claude was gone, the girls rushed up to me, looking me over as though I weren't real. "A new girl," said one of them, a buxom redhead in nothing but her bra and panties.

  "She's beautiful," said another, a doe-eyed blonde in a black nightie.

  "I can't wait to meet her," said the final girl, a green-eyed brunette in a skimpy dark blue dress.

  It was strange the way the girls approached me, like I was the first new person they'd seen in years.

  "What's your name?" the redhead asked. "I'm Jennifer, that's Mary, and that's Carly."

  The blonde, Mary, and the brunette, Carly, nodded brightly as their names were spoken.

  "I'm Alice," I said, the girls giving me a very strange vibe.

  "I love your hair," Carly said, reaching toward me and taking a handful of my curls into her hand. "Is it naturally like this?"

  "Um, yeah," I said. "Listen, we have to find some way to get out of here."

  The three pairs of eyes in front of me all widened in surprise at my words.

  "No, we can't leave," Carly said.

  "Can't ever leave," Jennifer said.

  "Bad things happen when girls try to leave," Mary said.

  "Like what?" I asked.

  The girls went silent.

  "Mr. Castile makes sure that any girl who tries to escape is punished," Mary said, shuddering as she shook her head. "He makes us his…property until we learn our lesson."

  "And there's no way out," Carly said. "It's like a fortress here."

  "Like a fortress," Jennifer echoed her words.

  "That doesn't mean that we can't try," I said.

  "No," Jennifer said, shaking her head and wrapping her arms around herself. "Not going to try again. Learned my lesson the first time."

  The other girls shook their heads and made their way back to the couches.

  "Come here," Carly said. "There's lots of food here, and we can do whatever we want all day."

  "Just as long as we don't try to leave," Jennifer said.

  "We can never leave," Carly said.

  "Mr. Castile loves his human girls too much to ever let us leave," Mary said.

  The girls made my skin crawl. It was clear that they'd all been traumatized by whatever Mr. Castile had put them through over the last however long it had been since he'd brought them here. I shuddered at the idea of ending up like them, a scared girl resigned to my life trapped in some beautiful prison.

  "Your room is the second on the left," Jennifer said. "Make sure that you look beautiful all the time. You never know when Mr. Castile will want you."

  I nodded and hurried out of the room, finding the room that Jennifer pointed out. Entering it, I saw that it was a luxurious bedroom centered around a soft-looking bed covered in blood-red sheets. Antique furniture appointed the space, and a small, shoebox-sized window covered in iron bars was the only view of the outside world.

  Finally alone, I let myself fall onto the bed, the events of the evening settling on me like a blanket of solid iron. Hopelessness and terror gripped me, and tears formed in my eyes. I looked around the place as I sobbed. Was this really going to be my new prison? Was this all real?

  The image of Claude shifting into a horrible gorilla form was fresh in my mind. I couldn't believe what I'd seen. It was like a living nightmare.

  But before I could mull my fate over for too long, a soft chime sounded in my room. I looked around quizzically, trying to find the source of the sound.

  "I hope you're making yourself comfortable, my dear Alice," came the familiar voice of Anton from somewhere in the room. "I've changed my mind—I've decided that I will require your…services this evening. So, please make yourself presentable, and be ready to come to my chambers in a half-hour. Until then."

  My heart tightened in my chest as I shot up off of the bed and to my feet. Oh, fuck, oh, fuck!

  At that moment, it dawned on me just how hopeless my situation was. Over the course of an evening, I'd gone from a girl getting dragged to a party by my friend, to a sex slave trapped in some basement in the Upper West Side. And now I was going to have to do God-knows-what with a disgusting sleaze like Mr. Castile.

  Then there was Emily. She was somewhere in the city, subject to the same fate that I was. I realized that I might never see her again, never see my family again. I couldn't believe that I was looking back on my life as a broke barely-adult in the city with fondness, but anything was preferable to this.

  Before I could stew for too long in my fear, however, a sharp rapping sounded from the small window in my room. I glanced around for a moment, surprised at what I'd heard.

  I'd almost dismissed it as a figment of my imagination before it sounded out again. This time, more urgent and insistent. Hesitantly, I made my way over to the window and stood on my tip-toes to see what the source of the noise might've been.

  When I laid my eyes on what, or who, was there, I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was the man from before, Carter Black. His handsome face was on the other side of the glass, and in his hand was a small piece of paper with four words written on it.

  "Five minutes. Be Ready!"

  CHAPTER 4

  ALICE

  He vanished as soon as he was certain that I'd seen him and the note that he'd written.

  Five minutes? Is he going to—?

  I realized that I didn't have time to wonder about how serious he might've been. With a quick glance in the mirror, I wiped away my tears, took a deep breath, and did my best to ready myself for whatever Carter had in mind.

  And I'd be lying if I said that a thrill didn't run up my spine as I laid eyes on his gorgeous face. I couldn't believe that I was thinking about just how handsome Carter as I was in the middle of a situation like this, but I couldn't help it—he was stunning.

  Wait a minute. Does that mean he's one of these…things, too? That badge he showed me—"Sapiens." I just assumed it was a prank or something, but what if it's actually something real?

  I checked the clock in the room, seeing that it had been four minutes since Carter arrived. My stomach tightened in anticipation. Then, right as the fifth minute arrived, the door to my room opened. Standing in the always were Carly, Jennifer, and Mary, all with beaming smiles on their faces.

  "We've been told to help you get ready for Mr. Castile," Mary said. "We're going to have so much fun."

  Before any of them could say or do anything else, however, a booming sounded through the basement, the décor rattling on the walls and shelves. The girls all looked at each other with terrified expressions on their faces.

  "What was that?" Mary asked.

  "I'm scared," Jennifer said.

  "That's Carter," I said.

  "Is that one of Mr. Castile's friends?" Mary asked.

  "I hate his friends," Carly said. "They're always so…rough."

  Then another bang sounded, this one less an explosion and more a thud against a door. It had to be coming from the basement entrance. Rushing through the living room, the girls following close behind, I waited for whatever was next.

  Sure enough, the door to the basement unlocked with a heavy, metallic thunk and the door slid slowly open. Standing on the other side, sure enough, was Carter, his eyes narrowed.

  "We have to go, right fucking now," he said, his voice low.

  "What was that noise?" I asked.

  "A little something I left in the garage," he said. "But Castile and his goons are gonna find out real quick that it's just a distraction."

  His eyes flicked to the rest of the girls, who were watching the conversation with wide, fearful eyes.

  "Girls, you want to get out of here, now's the time," he said.

  The girls looked at each other, all unsure of themselves and wh
at to do. I could tell right away that they hadn't considered in a long time that they'd be able to leave this place, and were a little overwhelmed by the possibility.

  "Come on!" I said, my voice stern.

  The girls seemed to snap back into reality, all of them taking one last look at the room before hurrying to the door.

  Carter took the lead, holding a palm toward us as we followed close behind. We arrived on the first floor, and the house was eerily calm. The guards were likely all attending to the explosion in the garage, but it was surely only a matter of time before they returned.

  We stepped slowly down the hallway and toward the entrance.

  Then, a voice called out from behind us, "Hey! What the hell are you doing?"

  All of us turned. It was Claude, his hulking form already geared up and ready for a fight.

  "Shit!" Carter said, turning his gun toward Claude and taking aim.

  Just as he was ready for a shot, however, Claude shifted into his gorilla form and began rushing toward us, his hands and feet thudding on the marble floors as he closed the distance.

  Carter fired off a couple of rounds, but it was clear that his gun wasn't going to do any good. He tossed it onto the ground and closed his eyes in concentration.

  Then, just like Claude had done, he began to shift. Fur sprouted from his skin, and his body grew and changed. Moments later, he was no longer human, but instead in the shape of a massive, hulking black bear.

  The girls screamed and I did my best to silence them. It was clear that the element of surprise was waning by the second.

  Claude slammed into Carter, a thud sounding out as the two beasts locked into a pitched fight. Carter had been on his hind legs as Claude rushed into him, and the two grappled for a moment before Claude slammed his fist into Carter's back and sent him staggering.

  The girls continued to scream as the beasts fought, and I knew that I had to do something. Spotting Carter's gun on the ground, I snatched it up and hurried to the other side of the hallway. Standing near the door, I raised the pistol and took aim, my hands shaking. I'd never held a gun before, and I worried that I'd be just as likely to hurt Carter as I was to do any good. And to make matters worse, on the other side of the door, I could hear the clamoring of other guards, barking orders to one another as they drew closer.

  Crack!

  I fired the gun, the sound more like a loud cap gun than the booming explosion that I'd been led to believe it would be from the TV shows I'd watched.

  I shot again and again, aiming at Claude. The first two shots went wide, one hitting the wall and the other shattering a vase on a nearby side table. But the last one hit him square in the middle of the back, causing him to stop in place and turn his attention toward me.

  That was all Carter needed.

  He took advantage of the distraction, sinking his teeth into Claude's neck and the gorilla let out a roar of pain. Claude struggled, vainly swinging his arms in the air, trying to make contact with Carter. But Carter sank down his teeth deeper, ruby-red blood seeping from the wound and matting the gorilla's fur. Seconds later, Claude dropped to a heap, and Carter shifted back.

  "Nice shot," he said, running to me and taking the gun.

  "They're on the other side of the door!" a guard shouted.

  "Then what are you waiting for!" Anton shouted. "Get in there and do your goddamn jobs!"

  "That means, it's time to get the hell out of here," Carter said.

  He didn't need to tell me twice. We hurried down the hallway and I shouted to the girls to hurry up and follow. They were clearly shocked by what they'd seen, but didn't need much convincing either. Just as we made it to the other side of the hallway, the door burst open and a handful of guards ran through, Anton standing among them, a murderous glare on his face.

  "Carter Black!" he shouted out. "What a pleasure to see you in my home!"

  "Pleasure's all yours," Carter shouted as he pulled open the door that led to the main entry hall.

  We hurried through the door as the guards shifted into their gorilla forms and cut the distance between us. Over my shoulder, I could see that Anton's eyes were on me, narrowed and calm.

  "I'll see you all very soon," he said, "my lovely pets."

  I didn't stick around to see if he had anything else to say. Carter slammed the door shut behind us, bolting it locked. By this point, the girls were gripped with fear, sobbing and shaking in place.

  "Come on," Carter said, affecting a gentler tone to his voice. "Almost there."

  Soon, the front door was open and the five of us were hurrying across the long, green lawn. In front of us, a tall, towering steel fence blocked our path.

  "I hope you have an escape plan," I said, watching as the gorillas rushed into the room we were just in.

  "Always." Carter raised his wrist to his mouth and shouted into it. "Now!"

  With that, a black van parked on the other side of the road roared to life and took off down the street. As it drove, a steel cable attached to the back bumper went taut, and I saw that it was attached to the front gate. After a moment of grinding in place, the van managed to yank the gate open, pulling off one of the front pieces and dragging it down the street, an orange shower of sparks spraying from it.

  Over my shoulder, I could see that Anton and the guards had reached the front door, still in hot pursuit. The group and I hurried toward the now-open entrance, running as fast as we could.

  Then, before Anton and his guards went another inch, Anton raised his palm, signaling to his staff to stop in their tracks. They did, and Anton watched us carefully as we hurried across the lawn and toward the van. He glared at us, a small smile on his lips. I didn't know why he stopped, or what he had in mind, and I didn't care. All that I was concerned with was getting to that van and getting the hell out of there.

  Once we reached the van, the back doors flew open, revealing a squad of three men, all of them gesturing for us to get in. They first helped the three girls inside, followed by me, with Carter climbing in last. Once inside, Carter slammed the door shut.

  "Go, go, go!"

  The van peeled off, the tires squealing against the pavement. Through the back window, I saw that Anton was still watching us as he stood in place, his guards assembled at his flank. I could tell by his sinister expression what he was thinking, that this had only begun, and that he wasn't prepared to let me go that easily.

  But as we drove away from the mansion, all I cared about was that I was free.

  "You all okay?" Carter asked, looking us over one by one. "Any injuries?"

  The girls simply shook their heads, all of them staring down at the floor.

  "They've been in there for years," I said. "Probably more than a little frazzled."

  Carter shook his head in disbelief. "Fucking monsters," he said. "Hundreds of girls all over the city kept up in places like that. And you four are the only ones I've been able to rescue."

  The van lumbered on, the girls sobbing softly as the team members in the van tried to console them.

  "Now what?" I asked. "Are you just going to just drop us off at Penn Station and hope for the best?"

  "Not a chance," Carter said. "This has only just begun."

  I nodded.

  "You mean that you're going to take down this thing?"

  "That's the plan."

  I took a deep breath. "Then I want to help you."

  "What?" he asked.

  "My best friend was at that auction, and she's still in trouble. If you're going to be bringing this thing down, then I want to be there to help."

  "We'll see," he said. "Right now, we're going to Sapien HQ in Midtown."

  I nodded and sat back in my seat, the events of the evening washing over me.

  CHAPTER 5

  CARTER

  By the time we arrived at Sapien HQ, I realized that more than anything I needed a drink. That, however, would have to wait. For now, I had to get to Taggart's office and debrief him on ust what had happened at Anton Castil
e's place.

  We passed through the silver hallways of the security passages leading to the enormous, multi-storied entrance hallway, the rotunda high above looming over us like a great eye. The rest of the team took the three girls who'd been with Alice off down a nearby hallway.

  "What's going to happen to them?" Alice asked, her finger raised toward the departing girls.

  "We're going to give them some psych evaluations and keep them in observation for a while. If they've been held for years, then it's going to take some time before they're anything like back to normal."

  Anger tightened in me. It'd taken years for the Sapiens to get to the point where we could start doing some actual good with getting this case opened up, but in the meantime, countless girls like those had been subject to God-knows-what.

  I continued forward, but noticed after a minute that Alice was no longer at my side. Turning, I saw her standing in the middle of the main hall, directly under the rotunda as the dozens of other agents making their way through the place walked around her. Alice's mouth was slacked open, and it was clear that she was more than a little overwhelmed.

  "What…what is all of this?" she asked.

  "Walk and talk," I said. "Try not to get in the way."

  She hurried to my side and we continued on.

  "Welcome to Sapien HQ," I said, launching into my introduction.

  "You mean…that badge you showed me is real?"

  "Real as it gets," I said. "And it'll open up lots more doors for you than an NYPD one will."

  "So…this is like the FBI or something?"

  "Or something," I said. "As you learned so abruptly tonight, there aren't just humans living in New York; thousands of shifters—beings that can change into an animal form at will—live among you."

  "So, bears, gorillas, and tigers?"

  "And foxes, and wolves. And dragons."

  "D…dragons?"

  "You got it. But don't worry about seeing them. Humans are about as likely to see a dragon as they are to walk through a wall. And if they do, it's usually the last thing they see before…"