Shifters of the Wellsprings: The Complete Paranormal Collection

by Leela Ash

  Those burning eyes focused upon the big man, crushing his laughter. “I remember you, Bear. I know you have looked upon the Lesser Portal. You saw the images of those who overthrew me before.”

  “I did,” Rex admitted, wary of a trap.

  “Then you saw the image of the Fifth. You know that it was no living being.”

  All of the blood drained from the Bear’s face. “That skeletal figure. Oh, hell, it’s right.”

  “Who will give his life?” Mockery and contempt dripped from the demon’s words. “Does any dare make such a sacrifice?”

  Before anyone could answer, Maddie shouted back, “I bet you’d love to watch us kill ourselves, one by one, because we believed some silly lie. Well that’s not happening. Not today. No one here trusts a word you say.”

  As a Witch though, she quailed inside. Human sacrifice was a common requirement of dark magic. They’d all assumed the Aegis was good, a cleanly crafted item.

  What if they were wrong? What if it wouldn’t fully work until they gave it blood?

  Silence fell over their little group, a quiet tinged with despair.

  Griffin finally sighed. “Looks like we’re here for the long haul, then. Hares, you keep trying to figure out… well, something. How the Aegis works. How we can move the light. Guys? I’ll take first nap. Let’s start conserving our strength.”

  He released the Aegis then and stepped away, towards the back of the circle. The shield’s warding light stayed strong and no one gave much thought to the Chimera.

  Except Maddie.

  How can he be tired? He just woke up!

  He took a seat on the ground at the very edge of the light. Their eyes met, and then he mouthed three words at her.

  I love you.

  And suddenly he was shrinking, melting, dissolving… into a black puddle of goo.

  Shock coursed through Maddie.

  A Darkborn. He’s Shifted into a Darkborn!

  No matter what he looked like, though, he was still a Chimera and the fierce light of the Aegis did him no harm. Quickly, before any of the demons could spot that ‘mistake’, he slithered outside of the protective ring and quickly began to worm his way around the rocks and boulders that littered the Cauldron.

  Heart hammering, she winced as his oily form slid past one of the possessed Wolves.

  He’s not a demon! Surely they’ll know that? One touch and he belongs to them.

  The Wolf simply raised its foot and let him slip by. Blobs and Wolves milled about – and not a one of them paid the Chimera any mind.

  Nemagorix wouldn’t be so careless, though. Of that she was sure!

  The Hare slipped to where Finn stood staring at his broken hand with grouchy disappointment. On her tiptoes, whispered in his ear. “Distraction. Left side of pool. Now.”

  That was all she needed to say. The big man didn’t ask why or what to do. Delight lit his face and he stomped over to the edge of the circle. “Screw this! I think it’s time we taught this ink stain that Dragons are the true masters of this world!”

  He leaped up, Shifting as he rose. Scarred white wings spread wide, nearly knocking the other Shifters out of the Aegis’ protection.

  “Donnelly you fool!” Casey howled. “Get back down here!”

  All of them began to shout as the Dragon sailed towards Nemagorix. Maddie added her voice. Though, unlike her, the others seemed genuinely worried.

  Finn’s got a reputation for being a ‘punch first, think second’ kind of guy.

  Which made this ruse all too believable.

  Nemagorix drifted towards the advancing Dragon, closing as far as its magical tether would allow. Wolves and Darkborn teemed around it and threw themselves into the air, vainly seeking to touch Finn.

  With a Dragon’s natural disdain, he ignored the minions and snapped at their master’s looming form. Like Casey, his fangs found no body, nothing solid to rend. Yet unlike his horned cousin, the white Dragon refused to give up. Over and over he chomped at the demon, roaring with frustration as the creature mocked him.

  With each bite, Maddie noticed, Nemagorix shrank. It grew smaller, shorter, luring the Dragon closer to its frothing minions.

  One Wolf hurled himself skyward, almost brushing the Dragon’s tail. Maddie hissed in alarm. Finn couldn’t keep this up. If he wasn’t careful, if he made a mistake…

  Then, behind the demon lord, one of the Darkborn exploded. It erupted into the air, as high as a man stood. Its surface glittered with dull lights…

  And Griffin stood there in the midst of their enemies.

  Holding an elaborate runic box.

  Too late, Nemagorix saw its error. Shrieking commands in some strange, eldritch tongue it spun towards the Chimera. From all sides the Darkborn poured in. As they closed, Griffin drew his arm back.

  And threw the box into the center of the Cauldron.

  Screaming and gibbering, Nemagorix was pulled after it. Tentacles flailed wildly, seeking anything – a person, a rock – to which they could cling. The prison box was an anchor, dragging the Dark Lord inexorably down until, with a wail of disbelief, Nemagorix slid into the pool and vanished.

  Around Maddie, the Shifters broke into cheers. She, too, shrieked with delight…

  …until she realized that the Darkborn had not shared their master’s fate. They remained, and they still fought to fulfill Nemagorix’s final command. One twined itself around Griffin’s knee. The Chimera stiffened, gasped…

  And his beautiful, golden eyes turned black as night.

  Cheers turned to gasps of horror.

  Broken by Lucas Clay’s wild laughter. “Don’t worry, guys. I’ve got this. Just don’t let anyone leave the Cauldron.”

  Chapter 20.

  One hour later, everything was perfect.

  Except Griffin’s mood. That was foul.

  “I can’t believe that bastard Clay bit me,” he grumbled.

  The Chimera glowered at his bandaged hand with such annoyance that Maddie giggled. “You ought to thank him. He drove that Darkborn out of you.”

  “By biting me.” Her Mate shook his head in disbelief.

  She still found it hard to believe, too. Turned out that Lucas Clay and his sister Lily King weren’t normal Wolves. Their mother was an Adanai, some kind of spirit from the Other Side. Her children’s bite could evict a Darkborn from its ‘clothes’ – and destroy one in its liquid form.

  So after the battle at the Cauldron, Lucas Clay had literally run around and bitten every possessed Shifter.

  A Wolf’s dream come true! Bite everything!

  Dawn stained the eastern sky with pale pink light. The moon’s ghostly outline hung in the sky, opposite the rising sun, and the last stars winked out in the west. Around them, Stillwater hummed with revelry. Wolves tossed back beers, fighting to wash away the taste of Darkborn. Hares and Bears lounged about, too exhausted to keep working. Finn and Bree Donnelly joined the Hares around the campfire. The Dragon kept glaring at his bandaged hand, as if a couple of broken fingers was a mortal insult to his dignity. Meanwhile Casey and his Mate Lily had headed back to their RV for a little private time.

  Personally, Maddie thought they’d made the best choice. “Want to go for a walk? Get away from everyone?”

  “Sure.” Griffin jumped to his feet a little too quickly. A man used to solitude, being surrounded by so many Shifters gave him heartburn.

  He’ll get used to it in time. I hope…

  Arm in arm they strolled off into the desert. With every step, the sounds of celebration grew fainter. Gradually the soft noises of the wilderness surrounded them, a balm for the Chimera’s bruised soul.

  Maddie said nothing. Just let the desert work its magic until, at last, her Mate sighed with contentment.

  “This is more like it.”

  “Not one for crowds, huh?” She took a seat on a large boulder, gazing out at the brilliant red sky that marked the sun’s arrival.

  “I half expect them to lynch me.”

  M
aybe that was a joke, but it wasn’t one she could laugh at. “Do you still want to leave…?”

  …with me?

  She left that last bit unspoken.

  A gentle breeze ruffled his hair, a rakish look that made her heart flutter. “I don’t know. I guess I’m willing to give your ‘Shifter community’ a shot.”

  “Good. Thank you for not forcing me to choose between you and my Warren.” She rested her chin on his shoulder and inhaled the scent of him. Raw and masculine. Powerful.

  Hers.

  Yet he tensed suddenly under her touch. “Does that mean you still want me?”

  “Griffin Davis, I always wanted you,” she said with a laugh. “You were the one who insisted on that silly ‘Rite of Parting’.”

  “Which didn’t work. So much for ‘Ancient Chimera Lore’, eh?”

  “Did you want it to work?”

  He hesitated, then stroked her cheek. “Maybe I didn’t. Maybe that’s why it failed.”

  No matter how awful things got, in the end neither of them wished to be ‘free’ from the other.

  Strangely shy, the Chimera stole a glance at her. “So we’re Mates again?”

  “We always were. No matter what you said.”

  “Sure, rub it in,” he grumbled, with a teasing smile. “So what now?”

  “Now we get to know each other.”

  Now they let their love grow. Together they would explore the bounds of passion and test how high desire could lift them. They would learn each other’s quirks and foibles, come to love each other fully, flaws and all. And, in time, the seeds love planted would bloom into something wonderful. A wedding… a home… children.

  In time. Right now, her wild Chimera was too skittish for such pleasures. Time would teach him to trust and show him the simple pleasures of friends and community.

  One step at a time.

  His arm slipped around her waist, pulling her close. Warm lips kissed hers, then traced a path down the curve of her throat. That touch lit a spark inside her, one that blazed hotter as his breath whispered across her skin. “The only thing I need to know is if you want me, right now.”

  Did she want him? Ha! What a silly question. But…

  “Yes, but not right now.”

  Puzzled, Griffin paused in his exploration of her body. “Not now? Why?”

  “Griffin!” Maddie waved at the wilderness around them. “Look at where we are!”

  “No one will see us. We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

  “Well, nowhere happens to be full of dirt and rocks.”

  He scowled down at the barren ground and its sharp stones. “I’ll lay my shirt down.”

  “On the rocks. Seriously?” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “You know scorpions come out at night, right?”

  “It’s dawn! I’m sure they’ve all gone to bed.”

  She shuddered and didn’t deign to respond.

  “Who cares about a few bugs?” he grumbled.

  “I care! I care about scorpions!”

  “Picky, picky,” he teased, unmoved by her outrage. “How about this, then?”

  He pounced on her, pinning her to the stone. The heat of his body pressed against her, a delicious prison. “How about I toss you over my shoulder and carry you, kicking and screaming, back to town? Then I throw you in the car, lock the doors… and drag you off to a resort. A really fancy one with a Jacuzzi and full bar.”

  “Now that’s the right way to kidnap a lady,” she laughed.

  “I’m getting better at it. Just need a little more practice.”

  True to his word he caught her up and slung her over his shoulder. As she shrieked with laughter and pounded his shoulder, he headed towards town… and towards their future together.

  The End

  Alpha Dragon Reborn

  Shifters of the Aegis 5

  A Wellspring Chronicles Tale

  Tabitha St. George

  Leela Ash

  Copyright ©2019 by Tabitha St. George & Leela Ash. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Chapter 1.

  Some days, Savannah Dare loved her last name. Bold and confident, it radiated competence. A spy like her couldn’t ask for a better way to introduce herself. “Dare. Savannah Dare,” sounded a helluva lot like “Bond. James Bond.”

  Today, however, sipping an espresso in The Coffee Pot, she didn’t feel anything like a movie star. Today, her stomach tied itself in knots. Every second, she fought the urge to pat the briefcase at her feet, to make sure that it – and the precious information it contained – was safe.

  Todd will be here soon. Then I’ll know for certain, whether I was followed.

  She hadn’t spotted a tail. Then again, she wasn’t a Shifter. Shape changers knew each other at once. A spirit animal followed everyone, invisible to mortal eyes – but obvious to another Shifters. Though Savannah’s parents were Bears, she hadn’t inherited their preternatural genes. Kin, like her, were as mortal as any normal human. Blind to the supernatural creatures of this world.

  In the end, she was reduced to studying the people around her, looking for any hint of a Shifter nature. That homeless man wandering past the window, was he ugly enough to be a Rat? The guy in the sweaty running pants, ordering a large non-fat latte… Bear or just an athlete?

  Then, the doorbell chimed. Another man entered – and answered her question immediately.

  Todd Manning was a tower of muscle and masculine power. Six-foot-six with arms the size of barrels, he dwarfed that latte drinker.

  Todd was a Bear. Savannah’s handler, her liaison with the Shifter community.

  And her lover.

  Some day, that would come back and bite her on the ass. She knew it. No sane agent slept with their contact. But when those intense brown eyes swept over her body, when he praised her beauty in his rich, bass voice, she lost her heart. A Bear – a full Shifter – like her. Her, a mere Kin! Even if he hadn’t been hot as hell, the honor alone would have won her over.

  Which is completely messed up. You know that, right?

  She did. Technically, Kin weren’t inferior to Shifters. People said the ‘right’ things, the ‘nice’ things about how everyone was equal. Lies, all of it. The truth was much uglier. It lurked in the shadows, revealing itself in little slips. The disappointment in her parents’ eyes when they introduced her as Kin. The speed with which Shifters lost interest in someone when they couldn’t see a spirit animal. Kin were second-rate citizens in the Shifter world. Loved… but not respected.

  Unless they worked hard to prove their worth, as she had.

  Over the last three years, she’d infiltrated the Fangs of Apophis, a monstrous gang of Shifters who sought to dominate the world, both mortal and supernatural. Through kidnapping, extortion, murder, and bribery, they destroyed anyone who opposed them. Starting as a secretary to some lesser minion, Savannah had risen slowly through the deadly labyrinth of their ranks. Two years ago, she earned a place at Ormaz Corporation, their Los Angeles headquarters. Secretary, then assistant. Rising, her false ‘loyalty’ unquestioned, to serve greater masters.

  Since her arrival at Ormaz, Todd had been at her side. Well, in her shadow. Collecting information from her. Passing on requests from the Shifters who opposed the Fangs. Important people, like Brandon Lorde, the Alpha of the First Flight of Dragons.

  And on the nights when she could slip away, Todd joined her. Making her feel important, feminine, in a way her work could never do.

  Today’s meeting brought no such pleasure. No surprise. She was way off script – and Todd didn’t like it when things didn’t go according to plan. Nervous and angry, her handler sipped his coffee for five minutes before he joined her. He scanned the street and coffee bar, judging each stranger, weighing them. Savannah tensed. If he
turned around and left without speaking to her, it meant the game was up. The Fangs had followed her. Her cover was blown.

  To her relief, Todd finally brought his coffee over to her corner table. “Why are you here?” he hissed.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Once more, his eyes flickered around the room, wary and hostile. “If the Fangs see you with me, a Shifter, you’re dead.”

  As if she didn’t know that! Still, he was her lover. He had a right to worry. Plus, Bears, more than any other Kind, fixated on their loved ones and family. Dragons valued honor too, Rats… survival, Wolves… freedom. For Bears, family was their whole existence.

  “I’ll be quick.” She placed the slender briefcase on the table and pushed it toward him. “I found out what happened to Aaron Cole.”

  That caught his attention. Todd pulled the case close, one huge mitt of a hand lain possessively across it. “The Dragon from the First Flight who went missing?”

  “Yes. He’s dead.”

  The Bear took the news in with a surprising lack of shock. “How?”

  “The Fangs have figured out a way to enchant Dragons. To lull them into, well, a waking sleep. They just stand there and don’t defend themselves.”

  Todd shrugged. A casual dismissal that stung like a slap. “We already know that. They’ve used it against the First Flight.”

  Somehow, he always made her feel stupid, like an over-eager schoolgirl who didn’t know half as much as she thought she did. Ignoring the heat that flooded her cheeks, Savannah pressed on. “This is different. They used a spirit trap against the First Flight. A magical artifact they found in Greece. The Fangs only have one – and it can only snare one Dragon. This is much worse. It’s a song. Any Dragon who hears it is mesmerized.”

  Now, his lips pinched. Now, he understood why she had to break protocol and talk to him. “That could take out an entire Flight in one go.”

  The idea was horrifying. Shifters’ most powerful defenders… destroyed by one song. Eyes burning with conviction, she leaned across the table. “I think I have a lead on this. The notes I found suggested that a Witch Hare called Mariset oversees this research. If I can find out more about her, I can−”