Second Chance with the Shifter (Stonybrooke Shifters)

by Leela Ash

  Krista walked toward him slowly, the tension between them higher than it had ever been between herself and another human being. She opened her mouth to call out to him, to ask why he seemed so familiar, but suddenly, she dropped her cell phone on the sidewalk. She bent down to pick it up, and when she turned around to look for him again, he was gone. She felt a devastated sense of disappointment that he was gone, and was tugged into a faraway memory from childhood. Another dark, handsome boy who had been there one second and had vanished the next, leaving only the paper in her hand to tell her that he had really been there.

  The handsome man’s face stayed with her throughout the day, and she randomly found herself thinking about him. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she recognized him from somewhere, and the fact that she couldn’t remember where he knew her from really bothered her. Where would she have seen a man that attractive? Whose sheer presence could electrify her in such a way? But she still couldn’t, no matter how hard she tried.

  She groaned to herself, unable to focus on her work as her thoughts wandered to the gorgeous man and replayed her attack and the prominent visual of the dragon. Everybody around her seemed to be oblivious to the fact that she was still suffering psychologically from the night before. She had never been attacked, not quite so violently, and she decided to talk to her boss and ask if she could leave early to take some personal time to recover. She felt a little bit guilty about it, knowing that part of the reason she couldn’t concentrate was because she couldn’t stop fantasizing about the mysterious stranger who had saved her life, but either way, nothing was getting done and she would rather be at home.

  Her boss nodded supportively and offered the services of the counselor who could come in to visit her if she needed it. Krista was flattered and touched by the offer, but she knew that she would only feel better if she was able to spend some time by herself for a while. And so, she packed up her things and headed out of her office at the library. She decided to go home to her apartment, and was grateful, once again, for the beautiful day outside as she walked for a few blocks to where she had parked her car. She paused by the spot where she had seen the man before and peered into the foliage, her heart pounding hopefully. She felt another confusing rush of arousal as she looked for him, but there was nobody there.

  She felt nervous as she drove home, but she couldn’t understand why. She decided that it was probably just because of the men in the alleyway had attacked her the night before. The police woman who had taken her statement had nodded as if she understood exactly what Krista was talking about, but when it came time to finally thank her and talk about pressing charges, the woman had seemed distant and aloof, and told her not to get her hopes up. It sounded as if she was having a hard time mentally, and if that was the case, it was unlikely that the people that Krista described were truly what she believed they were.

  It had been very strange. She seemed to be trying to make Krista doubt herself and her experiences, even though she hadn’t even told the woman about the dragon shifter who had saved her. Krista had a feeling that if the woman had heard about that part, then she would have probably sent her off to the psych ward.

  What Krista didn’t know was that she was lucky that the woman had no idea who Krista was. If she knew that she was the carrier, she would have put her in a cell and waited for the Guardians to take her away. However, she had simply told the Guardians that somebody had spotted them, and the Guardians knew who she was and took it from there. They were very secretive about their affairs, and were happy that Josie was still in the dark about who Krista was. It was a very complicated matter as it stood, and so they wanted to leave matters in their own hands and proceed with their pursuit secretly of the carrier of the dragon-born children.

  When Jasmine had intercepted the Guardians to save Krista, she had hoped that they would take off and leave Krista alone for the rest of the day. But once they had their hands on all of her files, including her home and work address and just about everything else that they might need to know, they decided that there was no time like the present. They would go after her until she was theirs.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Krista sighed and tossed her car keys onto the small table by her door. She closed it heavily behind her and leaned against it, thinking to herself how nice it would be to have a frozen coffee. She felt completely drained, and had been uneasy about her attackers ever since she had left work. It almost felt as if they were right in the car with her, and that made her feel very nervous.

  Fortunately for Krista, everybody at the library was independent and didn’t rely on her to be there in order for things to run smoothly. She was able to leave without feeling guilty, and decided to spend the rest of her day taking a long bath and watching some of her favorite dramas on television. She knew it would be good for her to take a break, and couldn’t allow herself to feel pressured into performing when she just felt like sinking down in her couch.

  She began to pull her jacket off when a noise coming from her living room made her freeze. A cold fear gripped her heart, and she stood, paralyzed, as her worst fears became realized. The same group of men who had attacked her before crept out from the rooms in her home and began to smile at her. It had to be a nightmare. She closed her eyes and hoped that when she opened them, they would be gone. But they weren’t.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked in a shaky voice. She began to wish that she had paid more attention during the self-defense courses that she had taken a few years ago. It had been fun at the time, but she had completely forgotten most of what she had learned from her instructor.

  “We are here for you, darling,” the man who fancied himself a leader said as he glided toward her. It was eerie how he did that. It looked as if he had no feet.

  “What do you want from me?” she asked. “There’s nothing I have that you could possibly want.”

  “I suppose not. But then again, there are things in this world that you know nothing about.”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked, backing away from them with her hands trembling. If she just found a way to get out the open the door and run to the elevator, maybe she would be safe. If there were people in the hallway, she wouldn’t have to worry. They would be able to help her. Maybe she could even knock on one of her neighbor’s doors and get attention that way. Nobody would be able to harm her, at least not without witnesses. If she was going to be killed, she might as well go out with a small chance of justice.

  “I know what you’re thinking, but don’t even try,” Richard said with a sneer, just as three of his men ran forward and gripped her by the arms. Richard approached, heaving a heavy mallet that he had every intention of slamming her over her head with unceremoniously.

  Suddenly, the entire apartment was shaking and full of heat. Everybody cringed and looked toward the gigantic window near the balcony, where a huge black dragon was flapping its tremendous wings and roaring. He lunged through the window, shattering the glass and tearing up part of the drywall. Krista was terrified, but if this was the same dragon that had saved her from these men before, she would just have to worry about her rent deposit later.

  “Damn you!” Richard exclaimed, turning toward the dragon and reaching into the holster at his side. Before he had a chance to aim his weapon, Clayton smacked it away from him, using one of his gigantic talons to slice through Richard’s arm. The gun and the hand fell to the floor, and Richard shrieked.

  “Kill him!” Richard said, staring at the little stub where his hand used to be. “Show no mercy. And get the girl out of here.”

  Instantly, the apartment was an inferno and men were screaming and running in all directions. Most of them had their clothes scorched and on fire, and were running toward the entrance of the apartment building in hopes of escape. Krista ducked away from them, doing her best to avoid both the men and the flames. She was terrified, but she had to keep her bearings or else she could die.

  Soon, all the men had vacated th
e apartment, and none of them dared to come back. Krista put a cloth over her face, reluctant to go out into the hallway where the evil men would surely be waiting for her. She didn’t know what to do. There seemed to be no chance for an escape. She was pretty sure she was going to die. But would she rather die in a raging fire or at the hands of the terrible men?

  Before she had a chance to decide, a dark figure approached her. It wasn’t a huge dragon. It was a man, a rippling and muscular man. Krista’s eyes widened as he approached her, pushing his long black hair out of his face. She was surprised to realize that he was completely nude, and he looked exactly like the man that she had seen earlier in the day, before she had gone to work.

  “I must be dreaming,” she laughed, shamelessly drinking him in from head to foot. He was even more beautiful naked than he had been fully clothed. He looked as if he spent all of his time doing strenuous physical activity. She couldn’t believe how well-sculpted he was. She had secretly envisioned the perfect man at times, when she was lying in bed late at night, letting her hands explore her sensitive, aroused body, but she was a virgin and had only been able to imagine someone half as handsome to steal that virginity away. Her eyes lingered on his exposed groin for a moment – he was impressively well-endowed – and she was blushing deeply before he spoke.

  “Come with me Krista,” he said, offering his broad hand to her.

  “Who are you?” she asked, but she wasn’t able to make out his reply. The smoke had become too much, and she passed out in his arms.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Clayton was able to catch Krista before she hit the ground. He lifted her up in his strong arms and knew that he had to get her out of the flames. It had been a dangerous and risky move to blow fire at the attackers, but he didn’t care how many of them he killed. He felt a little bad about destroying her home, but, he thought glumly, it would have been even better to kill all of them rather than allow Krista to become captured by such evil men. He knew that it wasn’t the greatest solution, but if he had to make the choice, killing her would be more merciful than allowing her to become one of their experiments.

  Fortunately, he had gotten there just in time. She had seen him, and now, if he didn’t get her out of there, she would die. He transformed back into his dragon form and launched himself out the window, gripping Krista tightly in his claws. He couldn’t let her escape or become more vulnerable to the attacks of the Guardians.

  As he flew through the sky and Kaldernon became visible, he let himself relax a little and allowed his mind to wander back to the way Krista had stared at his body. The unmistakable hunger in her eyes had deeply aroused him, and he clutched her warm body to himself tightly, hoping that she was going to be okay.

  Everybody was excited and confused when Clayton reappeared from the sky with Krista in his clutches. He lowered her down gently, handing her off to some of the other shifters that he trusted. She was still passed out, and they decided that it would be best to take her immediately to the medics. Clayton collapsed onto the ground, sighing as he shifted back into his human form. It had been very emotionally taxing to encounter the Guardians again. All he could think about once the panic was over were his terrible memories of that night that he lost his father.

  Eventually, he went back into the underground tunnels and crawled up on his bed. He needed to sleep, and it. It had been far too long since he had slept well. But he was still so excited and full of adrenaline from the encounter with the Guardians that all he could do was toss and turn and worry about whether or not Krista was going to be all right. She had mostly fainted out of shock, he was sure of this, but it was still dangerous for her to have any type of smoke inhalation. And being in the underground meant that the air quality might not be as good.

  With that thought, he forced himself to stand up and head out to where the medics had taken Krista. He expected to find her still asleep, and was surprised when he realized that she was wide awake and very alert. All of the shifters around her were smiling patiently and nodding as she asked impossible questions to them. One of the medics grinned and pushed Clayton toward her.

  “She has been asking for you,” he said, seeming grateful for a chance to escape from Krista’s intense questioning.

  Clayton suddenly felt nervous. He had never expected to be alone in a room with Krista before. But soon, everybody was backing away and leaving them alone together. Krista was staring at him, her eyes an intense shade of blue. True to Loni fashion, her eyes seemed to change with her mood. Her expression was serious, if not brazen, and she let her eyes roam him once again, taking him in with his cloak on and obviously deciding that she liked him the other way better. He had to grin; she was exactly how he had pictured she would be.

  “So what in the hell is going on exactly?” she asked him, wasting no time. She excited herself and began to cough, and Clayton frowned. He poured a glass of water for her and brought it to her bedside, sitting down heavily on a stool beside her bed.

  “I don’t know how much of this you would believe, or even how much of it you would like to hear.”

  “Oh trust me,” Krista said with a gleam in her eye, “I want to hear everything.”

  Clayton squirmed for a moment as he tried to figure out where to begin. He always thought that it would be easy to explain to her what had happened and how important she was to their clan, but now that he was being put to the test, the words seemed to fail him.

  “Okay, then why don’t you let me start,” Krista said, fingering her chin. “Why is it that I recognize you? Why have you been following me? And why are those guys trying to kill me?”

  “I don’t think they’re trying to kill you,” Clayton said. “But if they did catch you, I think that you would quickly be wishing for death. What they would do to you is far worse than killing you.”

  “What do you mean? And who are you, anyway?”

  “My name is Clayton, and I know that your name is Krista. Now, those people know your name, too. And I don’t think that is a good thing.”

  “Well, obviously not, if that means that they can find me wherever I go,” Krista said with a frown.

  “Yes, they probably could now. But you’re a lot safer here with us than you are in your own apartment.”

  “Oh my gosh, my apartment…All of my things. They’re probably all burnt to a crisp by now,” Krista said, laying her head back into her pillow heavily. “Do you know how hard it is to find the perfect wardrobe? You guys really owe me for that.”

  “I’m sorry,” Clayton said, trying to hide his smile. “I may have acted a little rashly, but I wasn’t sure how else to protect you.”

  “Well, I guess it’s better than being stuck with those guys. They are pretty cruel,” Krista said.

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Clayton said, his face growing hard. The change in his mood was obvious, and Krista looked up, her face bright with intrigue.

  “I take it you don’t like them very much either,” Krista said with a tight smile.

  “They killed my father,” Clayton said, brooding toward the doorway.

  “Then what makes you think they don’t want to kill me?” Krista said, her face suddenly worried again.

  “Because you are useful to them,” Clayton told her. “And actually, you are useful to us as well. But this is going to be very difficult for you to understand and for me to explain.”

  “Whenever something is hard for me, I’ll just start at the beginning,” Krista said, “and plow my way through.”

  “Well, in the beginning of my tale, there was Kaldernon,” Clayton said thoughtfully. “That’s where we came from. Everybody in my clan. And your ancestors as well.”

  “My ancestors? All of my ancestors died on a boat, everything else from then on has been just sheer luck that my bloodline was able to last this long.”

  “Well, I know something about your bloodline that you don’t, and that is, where the source of this anguish originated. I can show it to you if you’d like. But i
t’s a very special place that most people can’t see. However, I know that you have probably realized that you have greater senses than most other people by now. And your gift for song.”

  Krista looked up at him sharply. She didn’t think she liked the fact that he knew about her singing.

  “I’m nothing special,” she said edgily.

  “I beg to differ,” Clayton said. Krista raised her eyebrow at him but said nothing. He was a very attractive man, and it felt nice to be complimented. But it could also just be crazy talk and flattery to keep her from guessing what was really going on. Which was what exactly? She still had no clue.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “Actually, you are very special. You come from the same land that that my clan is from. We have been stuck on this planet for many generations. It was a mistake that we ever came to Earth. Only the people who are from our world can see Kaldernon. Many people can’t even see us, just because they are so convinced that nothing of the sort could exist.”

  “So who are you, anyway?” Krista asked, desperate for answers.

  “We are dragon shifters,” Clayton said. “I think that you saw me turn into a dragon more than once by now. So this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.”

  “I saw a little more than that,” Krista said, raising her eyebrows comically at the memory of his perfect, naked body approaching her in all its glory at her apartment. He was ridiculously handsome, and the memory was one she had a feeling she would treasure.

  “I’m sorry about that,” he said, pursing his lips with an amused smile.

  “I’m not,” Krista said with a grin. Clayton’s face reddened and he looked down at the floor. She laughed, finding it funny and adorable that she could make this fierce and handsome man blush.