Scandalous Shifters Paranormal Box Set

by Mia Taylor

  Her body tensed despite his touch and she eyed him warily.

  “What good news? How did you know him? What was he doing here? Does he know who we are? How do you know he won’t rat us out?”

  The questions erupted from her in rapid-fire succession and Luca grimaced, falling back on his heels. For the first time, she realized he was as soaked as she had been, although why he wouldn’t be, she couldn’t say. He had been out in the gale longer than she had.

  But that was hardly the pressing issue and she waited for him to finish his thought.

  “Once a cop, always a cop, huh?” he snickered.

  “This isn’t amusing to me, Luca. Who was he?” she shot back, fear edged with ice marking her words.

  Slowly, her lover rose to his feet, his emerald eyes light with something she couldn’t easily identify.

  “Giovanni thinks we’ve been assassinated.”

  The words sent a wave of uncontrollable shivers through her body and she gaped at him in shock. It was terrifying and yet comforting simultaneously and her mind struggled to make sense of the information.

  “What? How? How do you know?”

  “That man you saw is a part of the mob resistance in Italy. I’ve been working with the group since we arrived.”

  “YOU WHAT?” Teresa screamed. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!”

  “Jesus Christ, Ter, calm down. I know what I’m doing.”

  “Do you? DO YOU?”

  It didn’t seem that way to her but when he grabbed her by the arms and shook her as if trying to knock some sense into her, she found herself staring at him with hopeful eyes.

  “Yes,” he replied quietly. “I do. I’ve been plotting our fake deaths since we arrived and it’s finally happened. They aren’t looking for us anymore.”

  Her lips parted but no sound came out although another dozen questions threatened to erupt from her.

  “Trust me, cara. It’s done.”

  “Trust you? You didn’t tell me that our cover had been blown, that—”

  “Because I knew you would react like this,” he interjected, a slight growl to his tone. “You need to pull yourself together and listen to me. You’ve already been walking on eggshells, giving yourself heart palpitations. The last thing you needed was the added stress of knowing I was working with the local resistance.”

  Teresa’s heart was doing backflips and for a moment, she thought she might be having a stroke. Outside, the thunder rumbled like foreshadowing in some bad movie but Luca reached up to clasp her face between his palms.

  “Focus on my face,” he instructed as if sensing her propensity to swoon. “I’m telling you that we’re safe now. We have nothing to worry about, nothing to stress about.”

  “How can you be sure?” she murmured, desperately wanting to believe him. He seemed so confident in what he was saying and she couldn’t image him saying such a thing unless he was certain. If he’d hidden his involvement with this underground group for so long, he definitely wouldn’t make such a bold statement unless he was sure.

  Or at least he thinks he’s sure.

  She willed herself to be rational and she nodded reluctantly.

  “How did they do that? There’s dental records and fingerprints and DNA—”

  “Not in a mob hit,” he offered quietly and she clamped her mouth shut, staring at him imploringly.

  God, how she wanted to believe what he was saying. He had kept her out of harm’s way for that long, hadn’t he? Luca certainly knew more about the ways of the mob than she did from her limited stint in Miami Beach.

  “Breathe,” he coached her. “Look at me and breathe.”

  She continued to study his face, the assuredness she saw beginning to break down her nervousness.

  “So…” she exhaled. “That’s it? There’s no one after us anymore?”

  Saying it aloud sounded strange to her ears but to her surprise, Luca shook his head.

  “It’s over. We can live our lives freely now. No one is looking for us.”

  It was difficult to accept but she could not stop herself from nodding slowly, her heart gradually returning to its normal pace as she weighed the words.

  “You look like you’re going to cry,” Luca mumbled, drawing her toward him, and as their bodies melded together in perfect conformation as they had since the beginning, she realized he was right.

  His heartbeat was just as intense as hers.

  It had never really occurred to Teresa that he was as scared as she had been since their escape. After all, he was a capo, accustomed to dealing with death and watching for trouble.

  But that’s not true. He’s not a capo anymore. He’s just Luca Bernardo, husband and peasant now. We aren’t the same people we were when we came.

  His fingers entwined in her hair and she sighed, finally permitting the last of the stress to release from her body.

  “So?” Luca breathed after a long moment of silence. “What do you think about all this?”

  She pulled back slightly and eyed him.

  “I have no idea what to think of it,” she confessed. “I feel like it’s too good to be true and that I’m going to have a hard time accepting it, but…”

  “But?”

  “But I trust you and I know you’re the reason we’ve gotten this far.”

  He chuckled dryly.

  “I think it was a team effort,” he corrected. “But I wouldn’t say anything unless I was sure about this. It took a lot of careful planning, Ter, but we finally got Giovanni off our trail.”

  She let a small smile onto her face and she nodded.

  “I believe you,” she told him and she meant it.

  “So… what do we do now?” she asked, unsure of what else to say, and he snorted.

  “That’s the point, Teresa, we can do whatever we want. If you want, we can leave here and get a house in Cagliari or Nuoro. We have enough money to do whatever we want.”

  She scrunched her nose slightly, studying his face. It was true; Luca had squirreled away quite a nest egg to keep them sustained for a while, but even without it, if they were free, truly free, they could acquire jobs under their fake identities.

  We could live like normal people. Imagine that!

  “You want to move into a city?” she asked skeptically and Luca shrugged.

  “I don’t care where we go from here. There’s no need to hide out in the middle of nowhere anymore,” he explained. “I only ever wanted to come to Sardinia and live by the sea with you. Little did I know that my geography was off, but I am living with you and we are by the sea if not in Sardinia.”

  “We can still go north if you want,” she replied, a spark of excitement filling her as she said it. It was the first time they had ever considered moving into the public eye.

  I believe him! This is really happening.

  A beam curled on her lips and she nodded.

  “All right,” she said softly. “I have an idea.”

  He stared at her expectantly and she was abruptly flooded with a relief so great, she was almost brought to her knees.

  “Let’s stay right here in Villaggio Colostrai in our tiny little villa, doing laundry against the rocks while you mock me.”

  Lightning lit the interior of their bungalow home, illuminating the sweet artifacts that had made it theirs and a home after all this time.

  “Really?” he laughed. “The way you were talking earlier, I thought you were going to go full Italian mama on me outside.”

  Her smile widened and she stared at him, wondering if he didn’t, in fact, know how to read her mind.

  “What?”

  “I’ll do the laundry at the pond for as long as I’m able,” she replied slowly.

  His brow furrowed, a look of concern covering his face.

  “Why wouldn’t you be able?”

  “Because at some point, I might have a hard time bending over,” she offered lightly, her pulse racing as she gauged his reaction.

  He didn’t immediately understan
d.

  “Why? What’s wrong? Are you sick?” he demanded and she giggled.

  “Not yet,” she sighed, putting her own hands over his face. “I want to have a baby, caro.”

  He gaped at her, his green eyes widening with shock.

  “A baby?” he gasped. “What?”

  They were not the words of endorsement she had been hoping for, but before she could recant her statement, his face split into a wide grin of excitement.

  “Of course!” he chortled. “It’s high time we started a family! How long have we been married now?”

  Relief flooded her bones and she laughed. Maybe one day they would find a way to make their marriage real too, but a baby was doable without arousing the attention of Interpol.

  “Yeah?” she asked but she could see he was just as excited for the prospect as she was. It had been weighing on her mind for a while, but of course the idea of having a child while they were on the run was ridiculous, wasn’t it?

  But if the danger had passed…

  “Hell, yes!” Luca laughed, yanking her into a hug. “Of course! I can’t think of anything I want more than to have a baby with you, Teresa.”

  They separated long enough to share a lingering, sweet kiss. When they parted, she looked up at him with twinkling eyes.

  “Maybe we should get you out of these wet clothes,” she murmured and he nodded eagerly.

  “Yes,” he agreed. “We have work to do.”

  The Vampire Prince Imposter

  Scandalous Shifters

  Book 3

  Prologue

  The reach of evil is not limited to what the public knows. Mankind had been sheltered, protected from the darkest side of what lies beyond their simple comprehension.

  What would humankind do to know that their elected officials and criminals alike were not of the world they knew but of something else entirely? Would there be havoc and mayhem? Or would mankind accept the status quo and succumb to their weaker selves and permit the creatures to roam free?

  Is this what you’re thinking about saying at the ball?

  Vivier eyed himself with a smirk in the glass but he didn’t look away from his reflection.

  They were valid questions, after all, ones that he had asked himself a million or more times over the years.

  And how many years has it been?

  He sighed and rolled his broad shoulders back, feeling the tug of his jacket against his skin.

  We’ve come a long way, though, haven’t we?

  To think that he could almost fully see himself in the mirror was something that his ancestors would never have imagined a thousand years ago.

  He narrowed his eyes to squint slightly, cocking his head to the side, his jaw firming as a less amusing thought popped into his head.

  There’s a reason that we’re able to do things that we couldn’t do before, he reminded himself grimly, turning away from the glass and brushing off his sleeves.

  For a second, he stood in the dressing room, entertaining the unbidden idea that had popped into his head.

  And what if I do expose us all? Tell the world that we exist among them and sit back to watch the havoc it causes. Then what?

  The notion was too delicious to ignore, even though Vivier knew he was being foolish. It wasn’t just him who would suffer the consequences of unleashing such information to the world; in fact, he would be relatively protected from his place securely within the palace.

  At least for a while.

  No, it would be the world out there that would be endangered.

  He wondered why he should care.

  You’re bored, Vivier told himself and the realization angered him. The feeling was happening more and more lately and he feared what he might do.

  He ran his tongue over the jutting probe of his fangs and inhaled deeply.

  There was little he could do now but control his overwhelming desire to wreak chaos over the earth.

  It hadn’t fared well for him the last time he’d gone off script and Vivier had no doubt that matters had not improved with time.

  Just be a good boy, put the crown on your head, and continue to live your life as if everything is normal, Vivier told himself. This feeling of destruction will pass just like it always does.

  Why, then, was he having such a hard time shaking the tension building in his bones, the one that screamed at him to do something, anything to make the world wake up?

  “Your Highness?”

  Vivier ambled toward the suite, pausing at the threshold to stare at the house secretary.

  “What is it, Jacques?”

  “Your family awaits you.”

  “Of course they do.”

  Vivier remained in place as Jacques continued to stare at him.

  “They are in the dining room.”

  “Dare I ask what this is about?” Vivier demanded dryly. Jacques' already pale face waned more.

  “I—they did not say, Your Highness.”

  “And I wouldn’t want you to guess,” Vivier grumbled. “Come on, then. There’s no point in prolonging the inevitable, is there?”

  Jacques’ mouth parted as if he wanted to speak, but seemed to change his mind.

  “My prince, perhaps you shouldn’t fight the will of tradition quite so much,” Jacques finally blurted out as Vivier started out of the closet toward the front room of the suite.

  The words made Vivier’s blood run colder than usual. Slowly, he turned and stared at the vampire secretary with his eyes in slits.

  “What do you mean?” he growled. “What is this about now?”

  Jacques shook his head as if he realized he had said too much and Vivier glowered.

  “What traditions, Jac?” he insisted. “Tell me what they’re planning!”

  “Forgive me, Your Highness, but I should be on my—”

  Vivier bared his teeth, advancing on the unsuspecting secretary, who cowered.

  “If I’m walking into what I think I am…” he hissed and Jacques whimpered slightly. It was only then that Vivier realized he was holding the being clearly off the floor.

  Vivier dropped him unceremoniously and turned away with a grunt of frustration.

  “Never mind,” he grumbled. It wasn’t Jacques’ fault things were unraveling the way they were. He was only the pitiful messenger.

  “Go,” Vivier sighed. “Tell them I’ll be along when I get there.”

  “Very well.”

  Jacques was clearly relieved and hurried to leave the suite. Vivier gritted his teeth together and exhaled in a rush of breath.

  Maybe I shouldn’t keep my innermost desires suppressed, he thought grimly. Maybe now is precisely the time to unleash all the havoc I’ve been dying to unleash for centuries.

  A slow smile formed on his full, red mouth and his eyes glittered brilliantly.

  Maybe someone had to reopen Pandora’s box. Why not him?

  Chapter One

  No Escaping Mother

  “Your Highness, they are waiting,” Jacques told him uneasily, shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other in the doorway. It was the second time he’d made such a statement but Vivier did not raise his eyes to acknowledge his advisor even though he’d heard the words quite clearly. He had much more important matters with which to concern himself at the moment.

  Come on, Vivier thought grimly, his eyes glued intently on what was happening before him. Come on…

  “Please, Prince Vivier…” Reluctantly, Jacques stepped in front of Vivier, breaking his concentration. Instantly the sound of crashing and screams filled the air, leaving Vivier to scowl furiously at the too frail man with malice. He watched as Jacques seemed to wither before his eyes, his already waxen complexion almost transparent now.

  “Do you know what you just did?” he snarled, leaping to his feet with anger. “I was higher than I’ve ever been and you made me die!”

  Jacques managed to force a look of faux contrition upon his face but Vivier knew he didn’t care.

&nbs
p; “Your Highness, I am certain that you will recoup your losses in Grand Theft Auto.”

  Vivier’s face contorted in fury, his scowl deepening.

  “You don’t know that, Jacques! It has taken me months to get this far!” he snapped, flopping back down onto the suede sofa and shaking his head in disbelief. The amount of disregard for his pain was astounding.

  “Prince Vivier, please listen to me. Your parents are waiting for you and they are running very low on patience.”

  The younger man cocked his head to the side and eyed Jacques with a certain disdain.

  I wonder what it’s like to be him, Vivier thought, his brow arching to stare at the house secretary. To be in a perpetual state of fear, not knowing how your superiors are going to react. Is this any way to live?

  Idly, he thought about Jacques’ family and what had become of them.

  It made Vivier long for a better time, one that he could barely remember now, a time when tribes were families, not the dictatorship they’d become.

  Not that you’re really one to talk about this. You’re just as much of a pawn as Jacques in your own way.

  “How long have you been with us, Jacques?” he asked as if he had not heard Jacques’ almost desperate plea to move. “Three centuries? Four?”

  “I have been with the family since you were two years old, Your Highness.” The man looked pained to admit it. “In fact, I was brought here in celebration of your very unexpected birth.”

  Vivier smirked.

  “And you still are not tired of it all?” he wondered mockingly. “Being a gopher, an errand boy? I would have thought that by now you would have learned to think for yourself. Or has my family simply beaten all the will to think out of you now?”

  Vivier relished the flash of annoyance in Jacques’ face but he knew from experience that he would never get a proper rise out of the ancient vampire.

  “No, Prince Vivier. I have grown to love the Diederichs as if they are my own family.”

  “Oh? Does your family have you running about at their beck and call over the most tedious and ridiculous matters at all hours of the day and night?”