Shifters Forever Worlds Epic Collection Volume 3

by Elle Thorne

  “We can’t break through that cocoon. It will burn.” Mireille’s eyes had gone wide, clearly remembering her encounter with the enchanted cage.

  Vengeance leapt from Hawke’s chest and poised at the ready, next to the cocoon.

  “Vengeance will set her loose from the cage. She can help if Ilse gets out of hand.”

  Fiona and Jonah both said “Vengeance?” at the same time.

  Alannah took a quick second to give them a brief rundown, that the enchanted spider was Hawke’s cohort or accomplice or something.

  “Odd” was all Fiona said.

  Jonah shook his head in disbelief. “Never heard of that before.”

  Alannah shrugged. Neither had she before she stepped foot into this house, but now, it seemed natural to her.

  Fiona and Alannah stood next to each other and cast an enchantment that rendered Ilse impotent. Vengeance released her from the cocoon but kept her hands bound and her mouth gagged.

  Ilse was throwing daggers with her eyes at all of them, but nary a one gave a damn about Ilse’s opinion at this stage.

  She’s lucky she’s alive, Alannah thought. And that was gospel.

  They led Ilse upstairs and left Jonah with Hawke.

  “Hold on,” Jonah called out to them. “Alannah. What about that?” He pointed to the spider.

  Alannah resisted the shudder that rippled along her spine.

  “Vengeance. Let’s let Jonah do what he needs to do for Hawke. He’ll take care of him. Come.”

  Alannah later couldn’t even begin to explain what in the world made her talk to Ven as if she were a human. Or a child. Or even a pet. She was a spider; someone had tried to point that out to her.

  That evidently hadn’t mattered at the time.

  To Alannah’s imminent shock, Vengeance cast a line to the ceiling, pounced up high, and suspended mid-air, she alit on Alannah’s shoulder.

  Alannah could only imagine what her face must have looked like for she saw it reflected in her sister’s face.

  Mireille clamped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide. Then she slowly lowered her arm. “I wouldn’t have believed it if anyone had ever told me. Ever.”

  Frozen, Alannah responded, “I know, right?”

  Fiona raised her brow. “I really have seen it all, now.”

  Then, suddenly, an emotion flowed through Alannah. Guilt, and maybe something else. “Hey, Ven, thank you for your help earlier.” She held her breath and put out her finger toward the spider, praying the hairy-legged critter wouldn’t bite her.

  Or worse.

  Vengeance took a step forward on Alannah’s shoulder, letting her side touch Alannah’s finger.

  Alannah softly ran her fingertip along Vengeance’s side, surprised at how velvety it was. So different than it looked.

  Then with a backward glance toward the basement, she climbed the stairs, following behind Ilse, Mireille, and Fiona.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Fiona placed Ilse against a column in the middle of the kitchen and said to Alannah, “Think your furry, little eight-legged friend can strap her to this thing so she doesn’t try anything?”

  Alannah glanced at Vengeance. “Would you, please?”

  Vengeance raised her two front legs and began to spin out a line of her enchanted silk. The web wrapped itself around Ilse, binding her to the thick wood beam.

  “Maybe remove her gag?” Fiona gave Ilse a stern look. “One misstep and I’ll ask Alannah to put that gag back on you.”

  Alannah nodded in agreement.

  It was clear from Fiona’s barely contained fury that she’d not forgotten the mistreatment she’d had at Ilse’s hand. How as the coven chair, Ilse had wanted to kill Fiona’s falcon.

  Ilse’s eyes glowed red, eclipsing most of the white. “You will pay for this. My second is coming.”

  “Your second is dead,” Alannah informed her.

  “What?” If it was possible, Ilse’s eyes turned even redder, the white completely gone. “She’s not.”

  “She tried to kill me,” Alannah said.

  “You’re not strong enough to take her out.” Ilse fumed. “And you know that witches are not to kill other witches.”

  Anger raged in Alannah. She stormed toward Ilse and got in her face. “You do not have the right to tell me witches are not to kill other witches. Not when you had my sister abducted so you could—” Alannah had no clue what Ilse’s plans were for her, but she knew for damned sure it would not have boded well for her. “You sicken me.”

  Fiona leaned against the far wall, studying Ilse. Alannah watched her cousin. Admiration swelled within her for her falcon/witch hybrid cousin. Fiona Forester was a part of InterForce Unit 13. She headed the latest paranormal squad. She’d been through so much in her life. And Alannah hadn’t been around for most of that.

  Fiona’s relationship with Jonah had been rocky, mostly because of the issue of shifters and witches having children. Witches weren’t supposed to be able to carry a shifter’s baby, not without magic.

  Fiona’s mother had been a witch and had to get help from more powerful witches not to lose Fiona while she was in her womb. Of course, when she’d lost her parents as a young one, Fiona had never been told she was born of a witch until she was older. Mae Forester, who adopted her and gave Fiona her own last name, had tried to tell Fiona that she was born of witches, but Fiona had rejected the idea until she’d lost Jonah’s baby.

  Hard lesson to learn, Alannah mused.

  And so why was she falling for Hawke?

  I’m not falling for him. It’s just a… an…

  Infatuation, her inner voice asked.

  No.

  Alannah wasn’t the infatuation type. Never had been. She was the serious, do the right thing, get the job done, type. She’d never had flighty emotions for a man.

  Especially not a shifter.

  “Alannah?”

  She looked up from the intricate carvings on the trim work above the sink next to Fiona. “Yes?”

  “You weren’t with us for a while, just checking.”

  I was down in that basement, hoping Hawke would be okay.

  She couldn’t be infatuated with him. And she couldn’t fall for him. That just wouldn’t do, now would it?

  Alannah gave Fiona a smile of reassurance. “I’m fine. It’s been a busy couple of days.”

  Mireille gave her a hug. “She’s been busy trying to save me.” She gave Ilse a dirty look. “No thanks to you.”

  “Zip it,” Ilse sneered. “Quit your mewling.”

  Mewling. That brought to mind something Ilse had said earlier.

  Prompted, Alannah just had to ask. “What did you mean, about Hawke’s sister earlier, what you said. What was that about? What about his sister?”

  “You don’t know the witch hunter’s secret?”

  “Look, bitch.” Alannah had her fill of Ilse’s bullshit. “Until a short while ago, I had no idea he even existed, so no, I don’t know about his secret, and I don’t know anything about this witch hunter business.”

  “Oh, and here I thought he was someone special to you, from the way you two looked at each other,” Ilse snapped.

  Alannah couldn’t help but wonder, did he really look at her differently? Or was this witch full of it. “Get on with it. What about his secret, and why’s he called the witch hunter?”

  “He hunts witches.”

  Mireille’s eyes widened. “Why?”

  “Witches killed his sister.”

  In the background, Vengeance hissed dangerously next to Alannah’s ear. Alannah put a finger up to comfort her, though still a bit hesitant about trusting the arachnid.

  “And you know this how?” Fiona’s face was an unreadable mask.

  “I was there. At the witch raid.”

  “You probably led it.” Alannah spat the words before she could curb her tongue. Then again, she wasn’t sure she wanted to guard her words. Not with this miserable excuse for a witch.

  “Witch raid? What wit
ch raid?” Mireille’s tone was so innocent.

  Alannah put her arm around her sister. “A practice that some of our kind—the less scrupulous ones--partake in. Raiding the settlements, towns, villages of other supernatural beings. Killing them all.”

  “Hey.” Ilse glared at Alannah. “At least I wasn’t part of the scavenger group.”

  Now this was a new one for Alannah. “What do you mean?”

  “The group of witches that follow raiding parties, taking the ones that aren’t quite dead for captives.”

  “Captives? What for?” Mireille probed.

  “To turn them.” Fiona’s lips were set in a grim line. “To turn them into familiars, pets, whatever. And then to sell them to wealthier witches.”

  Only a transforming witch could do that.

  “Scavengers have a transforming witch?” This surprised Alannah. Transforming witches were extremely powerful, and rare. She wouldn’t have thought they’d have hung about with the scavengers, the scourge of witches.

  Ilse shrugged.

  Vengeance hissed at her.

  “So what does this have to do with Hawke’s sister?” Alannah was relentless. She had to know.

  “Maybe she didn’t die.” Another shrug from Ilse.

  Fiona paced the kitchen. “We should get details from Hawke. Where they were living and when, then we can round up the scavenger parties that may have taken her.” She shook her head. “That’s a slim, very slim possibility, you know.”

  “I have to tell him.” Would she be able to tell him? Would he come out of this unharmed? Of course, right? She wrung her fingers, twining them. He’d live. If there were cause for concern, Jonah and Fiona wouldn’t have been so calm. She whirled around, causing Fiona to startle, and asked, “You think he’ll be okay?”

  Fiona nodded. “I’m sure. He’s a shifter. We heal faster.”

  “Looks like maybe you do have a crush on him,” Ilse’s tone was bitter.

  Alannah glanced at her shoulder, ready to tell Ven to shut the stinking witch’s mouth, but it was too late. Ven had already released a stream of web and it was wrapping itself around Ilse’s head.

  Ilse was moaning and groaning beneath the web, and Ven kept spinning, covering her entire face.

  “Jesus,” Mireille said. “She’s going to smother her.”

  Alannah didn’t give a shit, but as an officer of the law, she wanted Fiona to have full deniability and not ever be accused of breaking the law. “No, Ven. As much as I don’t want her around either, it’s not the right time for that. Plus, the Witch Court will take care of her.”

  Ven stopped, releasing the silky deathtrap.

  Alannah turned to Fiona. “Do you think Vengeance might be one of those who was turned? She’s pretty big, and seems to understand.”

  “Could be.” Fiona shrugged. “Only a transforming witch could tell for sure. And she’s the only kind of witch that could render a reversal spell.”

  “Great. And they’re hard to find. I’ve never met one.”

  “I’ve never even heard of them,” Mireille added.

  “I know one,” Fiona added. “I mean, I’ve met her once. For dinner at Mikhail’s.”

  Alannah snapped her head in Fiona’s direction. “You mean back when you and Jonah were together, years and years ago?” She couldn’t mean recently could she? Alannah had been staying with the Romanoffs since Fiona and Jonah got together again, she’d know if there’d been another witch around.

  “Nope. I mean as in last Sunday at dinner.”

  “Who? There’s no—”

  “The interim chair at Northfork came to the Romanoffs’ for dinner. Her name is Desideria. Desi, they call her. She was Isabel Tiero’s teacher back when she was younger, I guess, at boarding school or something. The High Court sent her to Northfork to manage matters while they appointed a new chair, what with Ilse’s recent antics.”

  They glanced at the squirming Ilse, who no doubt was fuming at the mention of her lost power.

  “Too bad Desideria isn’t around. It’d be interesting to see if Vengeance was something else, before.” Alannah voiced her thought out loud.

  Mireille giggled. “My money says she was a vampire.” She shuddered. “I’d rather not see that spell reversed.”

  Vengeance’s eyes were going from one to another, as if she understood what they were saying. Alannah wondered if she did. Then she decided she’d rather not risk it. She didn’t want to hurt Ven’s feelings.

  Wow. Did I just think that I don’t want to hurt a spider’s feelings?

  Chapter Sixteen

  A few hours later, after scrounging food from Hawke’s pantry for a paltry meal, Alannah washed and handed the last dish to Fiona to dry.

  Alannah’s mind had been on Hawke the whole time, but they’d respected boundaries and left Jonah to care for him without their interference.

  “Do you think he’s healed enough to hibernate? Do you know how long it will take for him to heal? He will heal, right? He’s not…”

  Fiona let out a soft laugh. “Slow down.”

  “Sorry. I guess I don’t know much about this hibernating healing thing. I didn’t pay close enough attention when you and Jonah… well, when all that stuff happened.”

  Fiona nodded. “Glad that’s all in the past.”

  “Me, too.” Alannah dried her hands on the towel then splayed it over the back of a chair to dry. “So, what do you think? You’re a shifter. What can we expect?” Another thought occurred to her. “Should we take them some food?”

  They wrapped two plates and covered them with foil for when the guys did come up or call out for something to eat.

  Fiona put her hand on Alannah’s arm. “It’s not easy to kill a shifter. Magic is one way. But from what I could see, there’s no danger of that. Unless there was some sort of different enchantment in the bolt she shot him with, but I doubt that. We’d know by now if she had.”

  Behind them, the still trussed up, blindfolded, gagged witch moved, coughing.

  “Should we feed her?” Mireille asked.

  “Hell no,” Alannah fumed. “She’s not getting food until Hawke and Jonah eat.”

  “So are we going to keep her like that? And what about when Hawke’s better? Then what?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Hawke was ravenous. Felt like he hadn’t eaten in days. His stomach rumbled and he was sure he’d been out for at least a week. His body ached, and this bed was hard as hell.

  He opened his eyes.

  What the hell?

  He knew that face. Jonah Romanoff. Ky’s brother. What—

  Hawke wanted to shake his head, to clear it. He wanted to pinch himself. I’m not dreaming, am I?

  “Jonah?” Was that his own voice? It sounded like that of a parched man.

  Jonah looked up from his phone, where he’d either been engaged in a hell of a game, or texting furiously.

  “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. ‘Bout time you woke up. I was getting hungry, but didn’t want to leave you.” As if to punctuate his statement, Jonah’s stomach rumbled with hunger. Jonah laughed. “See?”

  “What are you doing here?” And where’s Alannah? He hesitated to ask, didn’t want to tip his hand too much.

  Would he ever stop playing things so close to the vest? Would he ever trust someone?

  His bear roared an answer.

  Jonah studied him. It was remarkable how much he resembled his brother Malachi.

  “Mikhail sent me. I’m following up on Alannah’s wild-haired idea that something was wrong with her sister. Guess it wasn’t as half-baked as we thought. What are you doing?”

  “Long story.” Hawke pushed himself to a sitting position and leaned against the wall. He gave Jonah the briefest explanation, because frankly, he didn’t want to talk.

  “Ilse has been a thorn in the Romanoff family’s side for a while now.”

  “Is she contained?” Hawke glanced about.

  “The girls have her upstairs.”

  Hawke f
ound his open. “Girls?”

  “Alannah, Mireille, Fiona—my woman. Alannah and Fiona are cousins. Did you know?”

  Hawke didn’t know shit. Until recently, he hadn’t even known Alannah existed. Now he couldn’t imagine a day without seeing her. Even if she was a feisty redhead. Especially because she was a feisty redhead.

  With an ass that doesn’t quit.

  All right, he pushed his bear and his hormones back.

  “I didn’t know they were related. Seems I don’t know much about anything.”

  “Ky mentioned after you left the service you pretty much went off the grid.”

  “That sums it up.” Hunting witches and housing birds of prey. That was what his life had become.

  Birds of prey! Damn, how long had he been out? How were his birds? He needed to get out there and check on them. Sure, the help took care of them just fine, but Hawke didn’t like not getting out there personally to see to their wellbeing.

  “How long have I been out?”

  “A few hours. I got you to shift so you could heal. Then you shifted back not too long ago. I figured you’d wake up shortly after that. And here you are. Hungry? It smells like someone’s been cooking up there. I’ll give them a shout to hook us up.”

  Hawke smiled. “I’m not an invalid. And it’s not the first time I’ve tangled with a witch.” He stood. Though he didn’t say it out loud, this was the worst he’d ever been hurt. How the hell did that happen? It wasn’t like him to let his guard down.

  He replayed the events in his head. He’d intervened to save Vengeance. “Where’s Vengeance?”

  “Your spider? She’s with Alannah. On her shoulder, the last time I saw her, when they went upstairs.”

  Hawke frowned. Since when did Ven have anything to do with a witch? She hated witches just as much as he did.

  Only he now found himself not hating all witches. At least, not Alannah or Mireille. And with his friend’s brother Jonah being mated to a witch, maybe there was a third he didn’t mind.

  Chapter Eighteen