Christmas After Dark: A Holiday Paranormal Romance Anthology

by Abigail Owen

  So, we moved. A lot.

  Right now, I was the only person who knew where to find my father. I expected the Nero flunkies to darken my doorstep eventually.

  But I didn’t expect them to shoot. When my dad and I planned out my future, we thought I’d be safe because he was the one they wanted, and they couldn’t hurt me as long as I had the key to finding him.

  Now I wasn’t so sure.

  I pulled on my black jeans and black turtleneck, then added my black shoulder holster. After checking to be sure my clip was full, I slid the Glock into the holster and grabbed my jacket.

  During our ten years of moving around the country, my dad and I trained for the day Nero might find us. I was a damned good shot, and I could flip a man twice my size.

  My pulse raced as I reached for the door. Ready or not, here I come.

  5

  Shane

  I snagged a pair of rubber boots and a raincoat out of the back of a pickup truck on my way back to my clothes. The honest guy that my mom raised felt like shit for stealing them, but the lone wolf I’d become recognized it was too damned cold to be out here naked. I’d never make it if I didn’t get some protection from the icy wind.

  By the time I jumped into the ravine, I couldn’t stop the tremors in my hands. Snow covered my clothes. I shook them out, relieved that I’d stuffed my cell phone into the pocket of my ski jacket. After I got dressed, I walked further down the ravine until I found a gentle incline. My leg hurt like a son of a bitch. There was no way I could jump out. Not today.

  With my hands jammed in my pockets, I headed for the community center as fast as my leg would allow, praying my SUV wasn’t towed overnight. I breathed a sigh of relief when the white Explorer waited right where I left it.

  Once I made it inside with the engine running and the heater on full blast, I rested my forehead on the steering wheel watching my red, raw hands tremble. Still alive. I’d gotten out of the vet hospital without revealing shifters existed.

  Now, I had a date with revenge, and Vance Park would never threaten another Pack again.

  But all I could think about was Piper.

  I lifted my head, staring at the quiet street. I’d found my mate. I’d loved her before as a teen, but I hadn’t shifted yet. Last night, the wolf confirmed she was the other half of our soul.

  And she could still short circuit my brain with a single kiss.

  Fuck. I needed to get my head on straight. Going after Vance and the jaguar shifter who shot at Piper would require all my attention. If I went into this distracted, I could wind up dead.

  And two days ago, I would’ve been fine with that.

  Now…I wasn’t so sure.

  Hearing her voice again, feeling her skin, damn it, she reminded me of emotions other than pain and regret. Seeing she made her dreams of being able to help animals come true, filled my heart with warmth instead of the cold numbness I’d grown accustomed to. Being near her sucked the bitterness and rage out of my heart, threatening to replace it with hope.

  I hit the steering wheel, enjoying the sharp pain in my frostbitten hand. It distracted me from the emotions I had no right to feel. For a brief moment, Piper had been back in my arms…and I lied my ass off. I’d done everything I could think of to fool her into believing I was nothing more than a dream.

  My one true mate in this world, the other half of my soul, and I walked away. Not like I had any other choice.

  Regret wasn’t going to change what I needed to do. I’d have to take solace in knowing I protected my mate, even if she never knew I was the wolf she saved. I reached under the seat and grabbed my holster. My target was in town. I’d seen him last night. This would all be over soon. I pulled the gun free and checked the clip, I slammed it back inside and buckled the holster around my waist.

  There were two targets now. Vance for my Pack, and the jaguar shooter who fired at Piper. If I could catch the shooter’s scent, maybe I could track him down.

  A dark thought whispered through my head. My wolf bit the jaguar shifter. He’d be infected. Fuck. We’d spotted Vance and bolted before finishing off the other assassin.

  If I didn’t find the bastard before the next full moon, there would be some kind of wolf-jaguar hybrid shifter out there.

  The shifter gene was passed through the Y chromosome from fathers to sons, so only males were born shifters. Humans could be converted if a shifter was in their animal form. A bite could mutate a human’s DNA, making them a shifter too.

  From an early age, we were taught about the danger of a bite. If we had to defend ourselves during a full moon, it had to be to the death.

  Unless the conversion was planned.

  Before a woman could carry a werewolf’s child, she needed to be a shifter too. If a couple made that decision, it was usually an intimate moment, a promise made under a full moon.

  My bite last night was as far from that as you could get.

  I needed to find that guy and finish the job before the next full moon.

  This was as warm as I was going to get for now. I turned off the engine and went back out in the cold, careful of my leg. After checking for traffic, I crossed the street, grinding my teeth to keep from limping. If I found the shooter, I didn’t want him to know I wasn’t at full strength. I rounded the community center as the throbbing in my leg intensified.

  A gust of wind brought me a familiar scent. Vance Park. But that wasn’t all. A faint, almost sweet smell of death almost overpowered everything else. I drew my gun and I forced my pace, ignoring the sharp pain in my thigh. Careful to stay downwind, I kept my weapon raised and ready. Finding cover was challenging in this terrain. Back home, the forest was thick with large trees for cover. Here in the high desert, I had to duck and run between the large outcroppings of chaparral and rocks. Broad daylight didn’t help. I hadn’t been so exposed at night.

  Peering around the brush, I finally found Vance. He crouched behind the boulder where my wolf had discovered the shooter last night, and he wasn’t alone. The shooter’s body lay motionless, frozen in the snow. I scanned the body and found the bite on his wrist.

  There wasn’t a pool of blood. I frowned. He hadn’t bled out. So, who killed him? Vance kneeled beside the body, fishing for identification. Suddenly another scent had my head snapping up.

  Piper.

  She was approaching from upwind. Fuck. Vance stood up, no doubt smelling her approach. Even as men, shifters had heightened animal senses. My sense of smell was stronger than his, but at night, his increased sight would leave me at a disadvantage.

  I stepped out of the brush, gun raised. I had to protect her. “Don’t move,” I growled.

  Vance glanced my way and cocked his brow. “She must’ve patched you up pretty well, mate.”

  “I’m not your fucking mate. Where’s your gun?”

  As a werewolf, I’d learned that emotions had scents, a pungent tang, but I didn’t smell a trace of fear on him. And the heartless bastard didn’t even give off a hint of remorse.

  “I got no fight with you.” He glanced at the body. “This guy didn’t either.” His gaze met mine. “His target was Dr. Holland.”

  Before I could process the idea that a Nero assassin shot at Piper, she stepped into the open with her gun raised. “Freeze.”

  “You gotta be fucking kidding me.” Vance twisted around to look at her, his hands up half-heartedly. “Dr. Holland, pleasure seeing you again.”

  I glanced her way, lowering my weapon. She was dressed in black head to toe, her red hair slicked back into a braid, and this was obviously not the first time she’d aimed a gun at someone.

  This wasn’t the studious girl I’d known. This was a badass version of her, I’d never imagined might exist.

  And damn, I liked it.

  “Vance?” She kept her gun pointed at his chest, but her gaze flicked to the body. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to clean up a mess.” He crossed his arms, and again I wondered where he had his gun hidden
. No way he came here unarmed. “What brings you here?”

  “Is that the shooter?” She shook her head. “Wait. You killed him. Last night. That’s what you meant when you said you took care of it.”

  I frowned. Vance killed one of his own? It didn’t make any sense, but he didn’t look like he was lying, and he wasn’t offering first aid, he’d been patting him down for identification. Cleaning the scene.

  What the hell was going on here?

  Vance turned all the way around to face her, lowering his hands. “The less you know the better. Any idea why he might be shooting at you?”

  “Maybe you should show me your wrists first.”

  My heart stuttered. Piper knew about Nero. There was no other reason for her make such an odd request. Vance must’ve figured it out too. His mask of Australian friendliness faded, and I finally recognized the man many had labeled as one of Nero’s deadliest assassins.

  He stared at Piper as he removed the leather glove from his right hand. I lifted my gun again, covering her whether she needed it or not.

  “Wait for me in the parking lot, Shane,” she said without looking my way. “We need to talk.”

  I had half convinced myself she didn’t realize I was standing there. “This guy is dangerous. I’ll stay.”

  Her green eyes finally flicked my way. “I’m dangerous. And I’m pissed at you already. Don’t make it worse.”

  “Sorry.” I shook my head. “I’m not leaving you alone with him.”

  She rolled her eyes, all her attention back on Vance. He held out his hand, exposing a black lion head with a capital letter L in the center of its forehead on the inside of his wrist. Our Pack had killed a few of the jaguar shifters and quickly learned all of Nero’s assets bore the tattoo.

  She nodded slowly. “The shooter has one too. Why’d you kill him?”

  Vance glanced my way, his eyes questioning. Every shifter lived in fear of the day humans might discover our existence. It’s part of our culture. We’re raised with the knowledge that while we have enhanced senses and strength, humans still outnumber us many times over. We would be hunted and exterminated no matter how well-armed and supernaturally strong we were.

  I gave an almost imperceptible shake of my head. Somehow Piper knew about Nero, but I’d seen the confusion on her face last night, the eagerness to convince herself it was all a dream.

  She didn’t know shifters existed.

  But she was damned close to finding out.

  Vance looked at her again. “Nero died the day Antonio Severino did. I’m a free man now, a private citizen and business owner. The last thing I want is one of these bastards making headlines and putting my new lifestyle at risk. Any idea who would put a hit out on you?”

  Damned fine question. Whoever it was, I’d add him to my kill list, right after Vance Park. Like hell he was a private citizen. My Pack was dead. Vance could take his new life and shove it.

  Piper finally lowered her weapon. I kept mine ready.

  She ignored his questions completely. “Thanks for stopping him last night.”

  Vance turned my way. “What about you, mate? I understand the Sheila pulling a gun on me, but what have I done to you?”

  I frowned. “Who is Sheila?”

  Vance rolled his eyes, his accent even thicker as he slowed his speech like I was a clueless little kid. “The wo-man. A Sheila.” He shook his head. “Now mind explaining why you’ve got a gun in my face?”

  “Lexington, Kentucky. Ring a bell, asshole?”

  “Sorry, mate.” He shrugged. “Means nothing to me.”

  My entire Pack, my family, everyone I loved was gone, and this fucking killer didn’t even remember. Rage blotted out everything else. I strode forward, lining the sights on my gun with the center of his forehead. My index finger caressed the trigger, when a hand gripped my shoulder.

  “Shane. Wait.”

  Piper’s voice pierced through the haze of aggression, knocking me off-balance. I glanced her way, my gun still poised to end Vance Park.

  “He saved my life.” Her brow knitted with concern. “Don’t do this.”

  “You don’t know what he’s done.” I faced Vance again, wishing I caught the scent of fear or regret. Instead a cold gun barrel jabbed into my gut.

  Vance’s eyes narrowed, his voice low and all business. “Sorry for whatever Nero may have done in Lexington, but it wasn’t me. I don’t want to hurt you, but I also don’t want to die. How about we both walk away?”

  This was my chance. I could finish this. I’d probably die too, but my Pack would be avenged, my final promise to my Alpha, fulfilled.

  “Shane. This is murder.” Piper squeezed my shoulder harder. “Please don’t do this.”

  My mate. The wolf clawed to the surface, the animal every bit as conflicted as the man. “You were ready to shoot him a second ago,” I replied without taking my eyes off Vance.

  “But I didn’t. I just needed to know if he was still loyal to Nero.”

  “And you believe him? They’re killers, Piper.” I ground my teeth, aching to pull the trigger and at the same time yearning to walk away…with my mate. “He took everything from me.”

  Suddenly the barrel left my abdomen. Vance shook his head. “Wasn’t me, mate.” His eyes stayed on mine. “There’s plenty of blood on my hands. But the day Nero blew up, I headed west, and I’ve never looked back.” His eye twitched, the only sign he might be concerned. His voice dropped, a raw whisper. “So, either pull that damn trigger, or put the gun down. We can help each other.”

  “You’re lying. I tracked you to Sedona. You were in Lexington.” I caressed the trigger.

  Piper moved in front of me so fast, I nearly fired. Adrenaline shot through me as Vance stumbled backward. I stared into her green eyes as I jerked the gun down, pointing it at the ground.

  She holstered her weapon, never taking her eyes off mine. “Whatever you think Vance has done, he killed this Nero operative last night and probably saved both our lives. That’s enough proof for me that he’s a free man now.”

  I let out a slow breath and jammed my handgun into the holster at my waist. Vance was up, his gun hidden from view again, but he wasn’t running away. I ran a shaky hand down my face. What if she was right? What if I had the wrong guy?

  Vance interrupted my thoughts. “Mind if we talk later? We need to clean this up before the medical examiner is taking swabs of this bite to run DNA.”

  Oh fuck. Another wave of adrenaline crashed through my bloodstream. I could’ve exposed our entire race. My questions and doubts would have to wait.

  I helped Vance carry the body farther out into the valley, away from the city limits. The irony of me working side by side with a jaguar assassin wasn’t lost on me. It was like the world had flipped on its axis and I couldn’t tell which way was up anymore.

  When we were out of earshot, Vance whispered, “I helped the Sheila load your lupine ass into her veterinary truck last night. She fixed your leg?”

  Shit. With all the adrenaline, I’d forgotten all about the hole in my damn thigh. “Are you nuts?” I glanced back over my shoulder to be sure Piper was still up on the bluff clearing the murder scene before focusing on Vance again. “There’s no way you couldn’t tell I was a werewolf by my scent.”

  “Course I could, but she already tranq’ed you, mate. She wasn’t leaving you behind after you took a bullet for her.” He finally stopped and lowered the guy’s shoulders to the frozen ground. “How’d you get away?”

  “Lying.” I didn’t want to think about it. “Lots of lying. It didn’t hurt that she convinced herself she must be dreaming.” I stared at the body. “Did you know this guy?”

  Vance gave a half-hearted nod. “We were trained to work alone, so…I knew of him.” He looked up the incline. “What I don’t know is why he was shooting at Dr. Holland.”

  “Because killing is what you’re trained to do. All you’re trained to do.”

  Vance cursed under his breath as he let out a
humorless chuckle. “What the fuck is your problem?”

  “After Nero exploded, your displaced jaguars started stalking our town. They killed humans during the new moon nights. Lexington isn’t like DC. When bodies start turning up, people notice. The news crews were looking for serial killers and wild animals.” I shook my head. “We finally fought back, protecting our secret in our territory, and they came in armed with military grade fire power and slaughtered my Pack.” Bile burned the back of my throat. “Even the children.” I stared out at the red rocks. “I’m the last one left.”

  Vance reached into his jacket and withdrew a small canister of oil and another unmarked container, probably gasoline. He knelt beside the body, covering it in oil. “Sorry about your Pack. Severino had over a hundred of us tagged and trained. We depended on him for shelter, employment, and protection during new moon nights. Most of my jaguar brethren didn’t see Severino’s death as freedom from slavery like I did.”

  “And killing children is their answer?”

  He opened the second container and looked up at me. “If I had to guess, they were looking for a safe haven to replace the Nero grounds. Your Pack’s territory must’ve been the choice.”

  I crossed my arms. “And why were you in Lexington?”

  He doused the body in gasoline and dropped a match. The fire roared to life, the wave of heat battling back the biting cold. “I can’t tell you that, mate, but I know damned well you can sniff out a lie. You know I didn’t kill your Pack.”

  6

  Piper

  The shell casing from the shooter’s bullet was the last remaining proof a crime had happened here. The bloody snow was dispersed, and the sniper’s Glock and silencer were separated and hidden inside my jacket.

  Flames erupted out in the valley. Hopefully Shane and Vance would be back soon. It wouldn’t be long until someone noticed the fire and called the authorities. It was a stupid plan, really. Burying the body would’ve been safer, but for some reason both guys insisted on burning it. In fact, that was all they could agree on.