Shifters in the Shadows: Seventeen Paranormal Romances of Sexy Shifters, Dangerous Vamps, & Things That Go Bump in the Night

by J. K Harper

  “She would,” I said with more confidence than I felt.

  “No, she wouldn’t.”

  “Of course she would.”

  “Listen, I’m not going to argue with you. How about this…we’ll have Plan A and Plan B. Plan A is going and asking her to come with us. Plan B is up to me, and it’s going to require supplies.”

  “Deal.”

  “Great.”

  * * *

  ONE DAY LATER

  “I still don’t think that all of this stuff is strictly necessary. Nastia is a nice girl.” He hadn’t convinced me in the last day that all the gear was worth it. We’d spent a lot of time getting ready to snatch her.

  “The last time we saw her, we were all under ten years of age. Seriously, just be ready to use what we bought.” Pyotr rolled his eyes.

  “You use it. I’m not very experienced at kidnapping.”

  “Neither am I.”

  “You certainly pulled together a list of necessary items for kidnapping quickly.”

  “I watch a lot of CSI.”

  “Fair enough,” I said.

  We were sitting in a van just outside of the mall entrance which was closest to Haute Stone. We had already hacked into the CCTV of the mall, and we were feeding a loop to one of the TVs. We’d recorded an hour of normal activity. As long as nobody looked too closely, none of the guards would notice that one of the cameras had been hijacked.

  “There she is. Let’s get into position.”

  She was walking out of Haute Stone. I walked into the mall and was careful to stay in the safe zone. There was a fake tree that would protect me from any innocent bystanders who might decide to get involved.

  Right on schedule, she came to the door.

  “Nastia, hi!”

  She stepped back.

  “Uh, do I know you?”

  “Plan B,” Viktor said. I hadn’t even noticed that he was inside of the mall.

  “Don’t jump the gun. Nastia, it’s us…your old friends. Don’t you remember?”

  She backed away, her open palms facing us as if she were telling us not to shoot. It looked like she was about to shout for help. She opened her mouth.

  Viktor sprang into action.

  Kidnapping

  Nastia

  Somebody put a black bag over my head.

  “Sorry about this, darling.”

  I started to fight with them, but my struggle didn’t last long. I smelled something sweet, then everything went black.

  * * *

  When I woke up, my hands were tied. My head was still in the bag and something big was in my mouth. It tasted like cloth…some kind of gag.

  I was grateful that whoever had kidnapped me had peeled back the bag to expose my nose so that I didn’t suffocate.

  I turned my head, trying to shake off the bag so that I could see where I was.

  That’s when I felt a hand on my leg. It went about an inch higher on my thigh, which made me freeze in place.

  “She’s awake.”

  A bunch of questions flashed through my mind: Where was I? Who were they? Where were we going?

  I could hear the roar of a motor. I could smell the scent of leather, as if the car that I was in new.

  I moved my foot, but I couldn’t move very much. I heard the clang of a chain.

  The bag was removed. I blinked in the sudden light.

  My eyes widened. If I hadn’t been gagged, I would’ve gasped. The person sitting next to me, the owner of the voice who’d spoken and the hand on my thigh, was one of the most attractive men that I’d ever seen, in person or in magazines. His eyes were ocean-blue and he smelled like pine. He smiled me at me, two dimples forming on his cheeks. I’d been really freaked out in the mall when a random stranger had approached me, but now that I got a closer look, I liked what I saw.

  “Hey there, sweetheart.”

  My heart started beating faster. I didn’t know if it was because I was terrified or turned on by his close proximity.

  Part of my head was flipping out because I was kidnapped, gagged, and chained in the back of a car.

  The other part of me, the silly part, was secretly fluttering her eyelashes at the extremely attractive guy next to me.

  “We’re almost there,” he said, his hand going just a little higher on my thigh, making my heart go into overdrive. “We’ll take out your gag soon. Hungry? Thirsty?”

  I shook my head, although my mouth felt somewhat dry. I knew better than to eat or drink something from random kidnappers, no matter how attractive they were.

  “Sorry about this,” he said casually. I could feel the heat of his large hand on my thigh. I could smell the scent of mint on his breath. I wondered whether it would taste like peppermint if I leaned forward and kissed him. It was confusing to feel the urge to run away and come closer at the same time.

  “We’ll explain when we get you somewhere safe.”

  I tilted my head to the side.

  Did he mean somewhere safe for him? Because here, chained in the back of a moving vehicle, I certainly didn’t feel particularly safe.

  Stranded

  Nastia

  Soon, the car came to a stop.

  “We’re here,” the mystery man in the back of the car with me said.

  He pulled his key ring from his belt and unchained me.

  “Don’t try to escape,” he said absentmindedly, as if it were just a random stray thought. “We’re far from anywhere you could get help anyway.”

  Not true. I had a satellite phone, which meant that as long as I could get outside, I’d be able to contact somebody.

  I looked down at my belt.

  “Looking for your phone, sweetheart?”

  The blood drained from my face as I realized that I was screwed.

  “It’s handy to have a satellite phone, but I’m afraid that we have it inside of a Faraday cage in a storage facility that’s not close to this safe house.”

  I ground my teeth together, not an easy feat with my gag in my mouth.

  “Come on, sweetheart. The reason for all of this craziness will be explained to you when we get inside. Oh, right.”

  He unlocked the chain that kept my ankles together, and then pulled the gag out of my mouth. I could taste a horrible aftertaste of cotton and the sickly sweet smell of whatever they’d used to knock me out.

  “There you go.”

  He helped me out of the car like a gentleman. The way that he looked at me when he set me on my feet somehow rang some bells…as if I’d met him before.

  But I hadn’t. First of all, I’d definitely remember a man as gorgeous as he was. Second of all, I’d been kept in all-female company besides my dad since I reached puberty. My dad meant well, but he was very overprotective, especially because of the prophecy made at my birth about which nobody would tell me.

  The last time that I’d seen eyes as blue as my captor’s was my childhood.

  I tilted my head to look into his smiling eyes.

  As blue as the ocean…

  “Viktor?”

  “Right here, sweetheart.”

  I was utterly shocked in that moment, frozen in place.

  He took my arm like a gentleman, gently tugging me into the house.

  “I promise that we’ll explain it to you. Inside.”

  Should I go inside? I looked around…was there any path out of here?

  My shoulders slumped as I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to make a run for it. For one thing, I wasn’t a very fast runner. Second, Viktor had always been able to outrun me, even when we were little kids…about 300 years ago.

  “Fine,” I huffed. “But you’re going to explain why you kidnapped me, and I’m outta here as soon as you tell me what’s going on.”

  “You might want to stay…but it’ll be your choice.”

  He opened the door easily. It wasn’t locked.

  That’s when I realized that I hadn’t paid any attention to the driver, who must’ve gone in before we did. He was was
hing his hands at the sink. After he dried his hands, he turned and looked at me. He was another blast from the past. My jaw dropped to the floor.

  “Pyotr?”

  Together

  Nastia

  “Yes.” He was never one to waste words. Of the three of us, he was the least chatty. He always had been.

  “What on earth…I thought both of you were dead.” I looked between the two of them.

  “We thought the same about you.”

  “What’s happening? Why on earth would my childhood best friends kidnap me?” Whatever was going on was totally crazy.

  “It’s a long story. Tea? Coffee? Milk?”

  I still had the taste of the chemicals on my tongue, so I said, “Milk, please.” I hoped that it wouldn’t have more drugs in it, but understanding that I knew my kidnappers helped quell my fear. I didn’t think that they were axe murderers.

  Viktor opened the refrigerator and poured me a glass of milk.

  “Viktor?”

  “Milk is fine.”

  He poured a second glass, but he didn’t pour one for himself.

  “What? Don’t you want something to drink, Pyotr?” He was going to be the only one who didn’t.

  Both of them burst out laughing.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I love to drink,” Pyotr replied, a smile still on his face. “But not milk.”

  I wondered if he had an alcohol problem, but it really wasn’t any of my concern. Besides, I’d be out of here soon.

  “So, what’s this all about?”

  “I had a talk with a seer,” Pyotr said, clearing his throat. “She, ah, she had something to say about the three of us.”

  “A seer?” I scrunched my nose. “I don’t put a lot of weight on something a seer says. One of them made a prophecy when I was born…my father locked me away as soon as I hit puberty because of it.”

  “But you don’t know what it is?”

  “I don’t.”

  “Haven’t you ever asked?”

  I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Of course I’ve asked, but they’ve never told me what it is. I think it’s bad or something.”

  “I might…have an inkling.” Pyotr ran a hand through his hair. Both of them had grown up to become really hot men. Pyotr had cheekbones to die for, although he was as pale as a drug addict…or at least the drug addicts in movies. None of my business, though.

  “What did the seer tell you, Pyotr?” I was curious now.

  “We’re…” He stopped and looked like he needed some liquid courage.

  Viktor stepped in.

  “The three of us are fated to be together.”

  “Oh…kay.” I looked between them. “We’re together…so what?”

  Pyotr stared at his feet.

  “Together together. All the way.”

  “We are together,” I said. I got the feeling that I was missing something.

  “Let me be blunt,” Viktor said. “The three of us are supposed to mate.”

  I got to my feet. “You promised to let me go as soon as you told me what was going on. I want to go home now.” My heart pounded so hard that I thought that they might be able to hear it.

  I wanted to run out that door and go straight back to my cloistered life under my dad’s lock and key.

  But I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to go home. I was shocked, but being mated to two men was…well, if I had to be mated to any two men, I’d choose Pyotr and Viktor. I hadn’t seen any males for a long time besides my dad, and I knew them and trusted them.

  Unbidden, a hint of heat crept into my stomach. In my mind’s eye, I could see the two of them naked and in bed with me. It wouldn’t be a bad thing.

  Blushing, I shook my head. I didn’t belong here. I’d basically been isolated for most of my long life, and I wasn’t going to go from zero to sixty just like that.

  “I haven’t even been kissed, and you’re asking me to mate two men?”

  “It’s the prophecy,” Pyotr said.

  I looked at Viktor. “And you’re just going to take him at his word?”

  “No,” Viktor told me, shaking his head. “I was on my way to find you, too.” He looked me right in my eyes. “I needed you.”

  “Find you…as in just me or plural.” I didn’t even know if I was making sense.

  “Both of you. It’s a long story.”

  I pulled out a chair and sat on it.

  “I want to hear the whole thing.”

  Viktor’s Prophecy

  Nastia

  “So, obviously, Pyotr was bitten when he was a young man.” He cleared his throat. “So was I.”

  “What happened?”

  “I was out after dark…I got too close to a hunting party of wolves who were intent on eating me.”

  “Were they the werewolves?”

  He shook his head.

  “No, they were normal wolves. Anyways, the werewolves were attracted by the noise. They drove off the first set of wolves.”

  He looked out the window, as if the next part was hard to talk about.

  “I was mostly dead at that point. I didn’t have much longer to live. And I was terrified that the second set of wolves wanted to finish the job. In some ways, it would be a mercy killing.”

  His voice was quieter when he said, “And then the biggest wolf I’d seen in my life came over to me and bit my throat. I thought that the wolf was going to tear it out. I thought that he was going to kill me quickly versus letting me die slowly before they ate me. I understood later that he was trying to put his werewolf saliva into my bloodstream before I died completely.”

  “And it was successful, obviously.” I looked at him.

  “I’m stronger, faster, better in every way.”

  Viktor gave me a half grin that I couldn’t stop myself from returning.

  “And the prophecy?”

  “Soon after I was turned, I was taken to the local seer to be given my spirit name, the name of the wolf inside of me.”

  He ran a hand through his thick, wild hair.

  “She gave me my name, just like everyone else, but she foretold that there would be a day when I would leave the pack to fulfill my destiny. I was supposed to be part of a power trio.”

  “Is that how you ended up here?”

  “Yeah. I was the Beta of the pack for almost 300 years, but my feet got so itchy that I had to hit the road. I asked my Alpha to release me. He let me go and told me that there would always be a place for me in his pack.”

  “What did you after you left the pack?”

  “Wandered around a lot. I was on my way to go back to the seer and ask for more details about what I was supposed to do when I saw Pyotr in his car.”

  “And that’s when I picked him up on my way to the hotel from the seer’s house. I thought she was totally crazy, but it seems that she knew what she was talking about.” Viktor ran his hand through his long, dark hair.

  “What did she say?”

  “She said that I was going to mate two people. She looked back at our First Communion.”

  Viktor whistled softly. “It sounds like she’s the real deal if she can look that far back.”

  Pyotr shrugged. “It was pretty creepy, to tell you the truth. She’s part fairy, part witch. I’m grateful for her sending me in your direction, though. I never looked for my mates…I thought that I’d just die on my three hundredth death day.”

  “I’m glad that you found both of us,” I interrupted, “but I want to go home now.”

  Viktor and Pyotr exchanged a glance.

  “Okay,” Pyotr said finally. “Let’s get into the car and take you home.”

  Guns

  Nastia

  I left the house and went straight to the car.

  I cringed when I thought about how I’d explain the whole situation to my dad. He’d go ballistic that I, untouched for more than 300 years, had been chosen to mate with two men. He would seriously never let me out of the house again.

  I bi
t my lip. Was I doing the right thing? I walked all the way to the car, but I stood there and stared at the door handle. Was I going to turn my back on them?

  Then I heard a gunshot.

  I turned to look at the car. Not even an inch away from my head, there was a bullet hole.

  “Get down!” Pyotr shouted.

  I couldn’t think fast enough to put up a protective shield. I knew basic defensive magic, but my dad had made it clear that it was a waste of time for me to learn more, since I’d always be guarded.

  Cursing my lack of training, I hit the ground and went under the car for whatever cover it could give me.

  I watched as Pyotr’s eyes blazed with red fire. He began to levitate. A fireball formed in his hand.

  I didn’t know that he could throw fire, but his ability to make fireballs was going to save my life.

  I heard a snarl from somewhere else and I looked around for the source.

  Viktor had changed into wolf form and was running towards the trees.

  I could hear more shots going off. I almost screamed when I saw that they were hitting Viktor, but he didn’t slow at all.

  Now I could see a few gunmen wearing camouflage distributed in small clumps around the house.

  I also saw the moment when they decided that we weren’t worth it.

  “Fall back,” one of them said. All of them ran back into the woods.

  “Be right back,” Pyotr said casually as he flew behind the fleeing soldiers.

  Viktor ran behind him.

  I wanted to stay beneath the car, but I forced myself to slowly crawl out. I felt like a turtle coming out of its protective shell.

  When I got my feet, I was ready to duck right back under, but after nobody shot at me, I relaxed.

  I walked quickly into the house. I began to search for weapons, but I couldn’t find any better than a kitchen knife. I guessed that when you could throw fire or grow fangs and claws, you didn’t need to carry conventional weapons.