Shifters, Beasts, and Monsters

by Aya Fukunishi, Linda Barlow, Elixa Everett, Virginia Wade, Savannah Reardon, Skye Eagleday, Giselle Renarde, Jessi Bond, Natalie Deschain, Audrey Grace, Francis Ashe, J. E.

  Zane laughed. “I can just see you going to work in the condition you’re in. Everyone would know exactly what you’ve been up to all weekend. Well, not everything, but enough.”

  Nikki smacked him on the arm before grabbing his head to plant to big kiss on his lips. “I’ll see you later.”

  She bounded down the pathway to her Jeep and threw her stuff in the passenger seat. “Rach, you coming soon?” she hollered as she climbed in.

  “Yep, just as soon as I grab my stuff.”

  “Okay, see you at home.”

  On the drive down the mountain, Nikki thought about the days until the next weekend at the cabin. Since Sara lived in the same apartment building, she knew she had to remain vigilant. Sara wouldn’t be stupid enough to defy pack law and challenge her while they were in a human populated area, but she would do whatever she could to make Nikki’s existence miserable until the next gathering. Zane would be the only buffer, and she couldn’t expect him to interfere too much as long as Sara remained the legal alpha female.

  Chapter Eight

  “Rach, I’m home!” Nikki bounded through the door of their shared apartment, the delicious ache of the repeated fucking of the weekend still felt between her legs. The cuts and scrapes obtained during the game she played with Zane had already healed, but the soreness in her pussy remained. “Rach?” Nikki walked through the apartment to Rachel’s room. “No…NO!” she screamed as she entered the room and saw the empty closet and the drawers hanging open, their contents gone.

  Her grief overrode her senses, so she didn’t smell or hear Zane as he came up behind her. “Shh,” he murmured as he gathered her into his arms.

  “Not Rach, please tell me it’s a mistake.” Tears rolled down Nikki’s cheeks.

  “I’m sorry, Nik. I’m so sorry.”

  “Who? Who challenged her?”

  “Sara.”

  Nikki jerked upward, pulling her head from Zane’s shoulder. Her voice shook with grief. “What? But why would…nevermind, I know why she would. She did it to get to me didn’t she? She’s trying to provoke me.”

  “I think it’s more than that, Nik. She knows she can’t beat you in a fair fight, so I think she’s trying to rattle you. If she can knock you off-balance, then she has a better chance.”

  “How did happen? Rachel was supposed to be leaving right after I did.”

  “Sara ambushed her on the way to her car. She hid behind a nearby tree and landed on Rachel as she was opening her car door. By the time she managed to change, it was too late. Too much damage had already been done. I don’t think she even got a hit in.”

  “That bitch! It wasn’t a fair fight!”

  “But well within pack rules, Nik. You know that. We must be aware of our surroundings at all times. Danger is a constant companion for people like us. Rachel should have sensed her coming, but she didn’t. By pack law, since Sara got first contact while Rachel was still in human form, she didn’t have to back off and wait for her to change.”

  “It’s a horrible rule!”

  “Maybe, but now some of the newer cubs will be more aware of what’s going on around them. They see it as a warning.”

  “You know as well as I do that Sara didn’t do it as a warning for the cubs.”

  “I know, but she broke no laws within the pack. There’s nothing I can do.”

  “But I can.” Nikki pushed away from Zane, but before she could reach the door, his hand closed over her wrist.

  “Stop.” Zane’s voice lowered in warning.

  “She was my best friend, Zane. I can’t just let it go.”

  “I don’t expect you to, but there’s a time and place for it. You can’t challenge her here. You know that. Any aggression you show towards her until you can formally challenge her will be seen as insubordination against the alpha female, and she’ll punish you for it, and she’ll be well within her rights to do so. As it is, she’s going to do everything she can to make your life miserable until the next gathering.”

  Nikki screamed in frustration and then dissolved into tears as Zane drew her into his arms once more. He held her tight and let her mourn the loss of her friend until her sobs quieted, and her body stilled.

  “I hate her, Zane. She will pay for this.”

  “I know she will. In the meantime, you must hold onto your temper. She’s going to do anything she can to goad you into exploding, so she can do more than just have fun with your body. Don’t let her do that.”

  “I’ll try, but it’s not going to be easy.”

  Chapter Nine

  Nikki knelt and placed flowers on her friend’s grave. Since Rachel had no family, and no other friends outside the pack to question her disappearance, she had been buried on pack land near the cabin. Nikki hated the fact no service had been held and no stone marked the grave, but it was the pack way. Only members with family or friends outside the pack received a traditional burial. Those deaths were usually explained away as a wild animal attack. Luckily for the pack, very few of them had family, so the official burials were few and far between and had not attracted the attention of the authorities.

  “I’m going to make her pay for this, Rach. She’s going to die a slow and painful death. She doesn’t deserve mercy.” Tear drops slid down her skin and dripped onto the fresh turned earth that marked the grave. “I know she’s going to make my life hell until then, but she’s already done her worst. Nothing she can do now would ever be worse than taking you away. She screwed up and used her trump card first. You were right when you said she doesn’t fight smart. She doesn’t deserve to be alpha. She’s too damned stupid.”

  The wind brushed against Nikki’s face and brought with it an unfamiliar scent. A concentrated sniff brought the scent back and identified it. Blood. Human blood. “What the hell?” Nikki jumped to her feet and ran in the direction of the scent, sniffing as she went to remain on the right track. When she reached the source of the scent, anger boiled inside her. Lying unconscious on a bed of leaves was a naked young woman. Scratches filled with blood and dirt marred her alabaster skin. Several ragged holes oozed blood on her shoulder. Nikki knew she’d find matching holes on the woman’s back. “Shit.”

  ***

  “We’ve got a rogue wolf.” Zane paced back and forth across Nikki’s living room.

  “You think?”

  “You forget your place,” growled Sara. “You will be punished for your insolence.”

  Zane whirled to face Sara. “It will be my decision to punish Nikki if I see fit. Her insolence was directed at me, not you. It seems she isn’t the only one who forgets her place.” Sara rocked back in her seat as if the words were an actual blow. “Besides, we have more important things to worry about.”

  Adam burst through the door. “What’s this about an attack? It seems like the entire building is congregated in the lobby, and they are all talking about it.”

  “Nikki found her up by the cabin. The girl can’t be more than 21.” Zane leaned against the door frame the separated the living room from the kitchen.

  “Bit?”

  “Oh yeah. Huge one on her shoulder.”

  “Any ideas?”

  “Either it’s a wolf from another pack or a lone one poaching on our territory, which I doubt, or it’s one of our own gone rogue. I hate to say it, but my guess is it’s one of us. The closest pack is over a hundred miles away, and there haven’t been any reports of any lone wolves around. It’s too big a coincidence for the attack to have happened on our land. It’s got to be someone from the pack.”

  “But no one is missing.” Nikki volunteered from her spot on the couch. “Aren’t rogues usually easy to identify?”

  “When they follow the usual pattern, yes,” answered Zane. “Rogue wolves are usually the result of blood lust or a mental break down. We don’t have anyone in the group who fits that pattern. The symptoms from both always show up long enough before a melt down for us to intervene.”

  Adam perched on the arm of the couch. “So we have
a killer in our midst?”

  Chills raced down Nikki’s spine. Rachel’s words from the weekend came back to her. For her, it’s all about the kills.

  “Did you think of something, Nikki?”

  Nikki glanced over at Sara, her eyes glittering as she waited for an answer.

  “No. I don’t have any idea who could have done it.” Nikki thought she saw a flicker of something in Sara’s eyes but it was gone before she could figure out what it was. Had Sara lost control and attacked that girl? Or had she done it simply for the fun of it? Nikki didn’t know the answer, but she felt it in her bones that Sara was the one responsible. “I’m going to go check on her. She’s got to come around soon, and she’s going to be scared when she does.”

  Nikki felt a pang of sadness as she entered the room that used to belong to her best friend. The injured young woman lay upon Rachel’s old bed. They had called in a doctor who knew preternatural creatures existed and could be depended upon to keep their affairs confidential. He examined the victim and declared she would be fine once she regained consciousness. Of course, she’d become one of them because of the bite, but there was nothing to be done about that now.

  She sat on the bed beside the girl and brushed tawny hair away from her forehead. If the young woman was twenty-one, she wasn’t much younger than Nikki. At twenty-five, Nikki would be considered by most people to still be too young to know much about the world. Unfortunately, Nikki knew more than she wished she did. Had her sire been a member of most existing packs, he would have been put to death immediately for biting Nikki. Instead, he was the alpha of his own pack, and therefore, set his own rules. Most packs prohibited turning a minor, and a small number were beginning to prohibit turning anyone who didn’t consent. Her sire’s pack followed none such rules. She had been bitten at the tender age of thirteen.

  Her sire had been a horrible alpha, and the pack suffered because of it. The numbers dwindled quicker than they could be replenished, and eventually only she and he remained. They moved from their home in search of another pack he could dominate, which lead to him challenging Zane. Her sire made the mistake of thinking he could defeat Zane because he was younger than most alphas. Zane killed him in the fight, which automatically meant any of his pack now belonged to Zane. In the space of two years, Nikki had risen through the ranks without having to kill anyone. She had also learned how a true alpha ran his pack. Zane was tough, but he was also honorable.

  The girl stirring brought Nikki out of her reverie. Her eyes fluttered open, and she shrank away from Nikki. When the girl opened her mouth, Nikki knew by the wild look in her eyes a scream was seconds away.

  “Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe.” Nikki gently stroked the young woman’s arm, and instead of screaming, she simply whimpered. “My name is Nikki.”

  “Where am I?”

  “You’re at my apartment. I found you out by the cabin and brought you here.”

  “Why here? Why didn’t you take me to the hospital?” The woman’s voice rose an octave as fear gripped her. “I was attacked by an animal. Couldn’t you see I needed help?”

  “It’s okay.” Nikki continued to stroke her arm in an effort to calm her. “I’ll explain everything to you, soon. I promise. What’s your name?”

  “Misha.”

  “Okay Misha, I know you’re scared, but I need you to try and remain calm. Look at your arms. What do you see?”

  “I…there’s just dirt. How can that be? There were long, deep gashes! I saw them!”

  “I know. But you heal faster now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Nikki sighed. This part was always tricky. Very few cubs actually believed it when they were first told. Most had to be held against their will until the first change, when they had no choice but to believe. It made things difficult to say the least.

  “I know you aren’t going to believe me, but you need to keep an open mind. The animal that attacked you wasn’t an ordinary animal.”

  “It was a wolf. I saw it. What’s not ordinary about a wolf?”

  “Was it the same size as a normal wolf?”

  “Well, I don’t remember, but I’m sure it was.”

  Nikki shook her head. The rationalizing had already begun. No matter what the girl had actually seen, her brain was going to tell her it couldn’t be true, and it was going to fill in the blanks with something more rational.

  “I don’t think so, Misha. If you think real hard, you’ll remember this one was larger than normal. Wasn’t it?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. But so what?”

  “It wasn’t a normal wolf, Misha. It was a werewolf.”

  Misha sat up suddenly. “A werewolf?” She laughed derisively. “You’re crazy, lady. There’s no such thing as werewolves.”

  Nikki’s hand tightened on Misha’s arm to keep the young woman from springing out of the bed. “I’m not crazy, Misha. Werewolves are real. I should know. I am one…and so are all of the people who live in this building.”

  Misha attempted to pull her arm free from Nikki’s grasp, but the young cub’s strength was no match. “Let me go.”

  “I’m sorry, Misha, but I can’t do that. Until you go through the change once, you won’t be able to control yourself. It’s too dangerous to allow you to be among regular people right now. You have to learn how to reign in the beast within you.”

  “You can’t keep me here against my will!”

  “I’m afraid we have no choice. The pack is responsible for you now. I found you on our land, so it had to be one of us who bit you. I promise we will find out who did it and when we do, that person will be held accountable. It’s against pack law to turn anyone against their wishes.”

  Misha tugged against Nikki’s grip once again. “Please let me go. I just want to go home.”

  Nikki felt a tug at her heart. She hated the lost look new cubs had. “I’m so sorry, Misha, but this is how it has to be.”

  The bedroom door opened and Zane strode through.

  Misha looked toward him, her eyes pleading. “This crazy lady won’t let me go. She’s talking about werewolves and crap. She wants to keep me hostage!”

  Zane smiled and gently caressed Misha’s check. “Sorry little cub, but Nikki’s telling you the truth.” Before Misha could make another sound, Zane pulled the hypodermic needle from behind his back and stabbed it into Misha’s arm. The young woman’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she fell back onto the bed. “Adam!”

  Adam strolled into the room and nodded at his alpha. He knew the drill. He loped over to the bed and scooped up the young woman and carried her from the bedroom. He would make sure she was comfortable in the holding room before he left her.

  Nikki slumped back against the headboard. “Oh, Zane, this is awful!”

  “I know, but we’re doing what we have to do. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a non-consensual bite, but at least those were from wolves not in our pack.”

  Nikki ran her fingers through her hair. “You’re not going to like this, but I have a gut feeling I know who did this.”

  Zane grimaced. “Yeah. I bet I know who you think it is because I’ve got that same funny feeling. She can’t be doing it herself though. I didn’t smell her on the girl.”

  “Why, Zane? Why would she do this? Why now? And how is she doing it?”

  “Honestly, I think it’s been coming for awhile. With every challenge and every kill she’s gotten hungrier for blood and power. I think killing Rachel was enough to throw her over the edge. If you hadn’t shown up to Rachel’s grave, I’m afraid Misha wouldn’t be alive right now. She’s come across a rogue wolf somehow. I don’t know how she’s managed to entice him or her into attacking people for her, but I still have a gut feeling she’s behind it.”

  “Damn her! The attack on Rachel was bad enough, but this just takes the cake. I hate this! We can’t prove she is the one behind who attacked Misha, so nothing to can be done right now to stop her.”

  “Sara might be unba
lanced, but she’s not stupid. I don’t think she’s going to orchestrate an attack on anyone else right now. She knows we’ll be on the lookout for the rogue. We always send out regular patrols after something like this happens. She’ll sit back and wait until things calm down.”

  “It will be time for the next gathering by then.”

  “Probably.”

  “Then I need to get busy. I have no choice now but to challenge her at the next gathering. I can’t wait anymore for her to come after me. I can’t take the chance of another innocent either losing the life they are used to or losing it permanently because I was too chicken to stand up and fight.”

  Zane nodded. “You know I can’t officially take sides against the alpha-female, but I will do what I can. I’ll let Adam know you want some extra training since you were the one who found Misha, in case you happen to run into any trouble. He can help you fine tune your attack and defense skills. I know you can beat her, but Adam is good at helping you expect the unexpected, and that can be a plus with someone like Sara.”

  He reached out and grabbed Nikki’s hand and pulled her off the bed and into his arms. “Just remember what I told you after Rachel’s death. She’s going to be looking for any excuse to punish you. Please try to watch your mouth around her and avoid her as much as possible.”

  “Don’t worry, I will.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Focus!”

  Nikki spun and blocked the blow before it landed across the side of her head. Pain flared through her arm. Sweat ran in rivulets down her skin as Adam continued to come at her.

  “An enemy won’t stop. She won’t hesitate. She’ll just keep coming.”

  Nikki wondered if Adam used the word “she” knowing that a confrontation between her and Sara was inevitable or if his subconscious did it for him. She cleared her mind of all conscious thought and let instinct take over. As she let her wolf climb closer to the surface, her movements became more fluid, and she blocked the blows before they even came near landing.