by Juniper Hart
Sleepers
Shifter’s Confidential Romance Collection
Juniper Hart
Sleepers: Shifter’s Confidential Romance Collection
Text Copyright © 2020 by Juniper Hart
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing, 2020
Publisher
Secret Woods Books
[email protected]
www.SecretWoodsBooks.com
Contents
Secret Woods Books
Wolf’s Howl
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Dragon’s Roar
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Bear’s Growl
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
Vampire’s Bite
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Shifters Confidential Series Epilogue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Other Books You Will Love
Secret Woods Books
Thank You
About the Author
Secret Woods Books
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Wolf’s Howl
Shifters Confidential
Wolf’s Howl: Shifter’s Confidential
Text Copyright © 2020 by Juniper Hart
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing, 2020
Publisher
Secret Woods Books
[email protected]
www.SecretWoodsBooks.com
Prologue
The party was in full swing, the music loud, chatter high, and some of the guests had already begun dancing, despite their inability to do it well. Alcohol flowed freely and it was a rare sight among them. For a long nine months, they had been forbidden from touching anything that would permit them any state of intoxication. That included liquor or magic, or any other type of drug that they had once dabbled in. Not that this group was prone to illicit behaviors. In fact, they had been selected for their discipline and determination. Each one of them had been thoroughly vetted and screened well before the grueling process had begun.
Still, the drinks were a treat and the group indulged unsparingly, busying the mostly human staff among them. It was almost impressive how such a small group could engage a staff of six so tirelessly.
Anatoli had booked the Cedar Springs Banquet Hall for the occasion, and it was the first time the group had been permitted to leave the compound since first stepping foot inside its walls all those months ago.
Despite the festive atmosphere, however, there was an uncomfortable heaviness hanging over the room. A huge pink elephant sat in the corner and no one was drunk or brazen enough to address it.
It’s only a matter of time before someone says something, Damon thought, eying the others warily. He hoped he was wrong but a part of him also wanted the words to be spoken, if only to clear the air.
Finally, blissfully, Laurel built up the nerve to start the conversation.
“It seems a little counterproductive to have a shindig like this, doesn’t it?” Laurel muttered, pressing her champagne glass to her lips as soon as the words escaped them, as if she wished she could swallow them back down. Sabine shifted her sooty eyes away, pretending she didn’t hear the fox shifter’s words but they were impossible to miss. Laurel had spoken to be heard. A half-silence fell among the four standing in earshot until Pascal snorted rudely.
“Stop being a wet blanket,” Pascal retorted, casting her a scathing look out of the corner of his eye. “Enjoy it while you can. How many more functions like this do you think you’re going to have in your future.”
The words were ominous, low-hanging, and loaded. His vampire irises seemed almost iridescent in the low light of the room but there was an unmistakable malice within them. His skepticism and suspicion of his classmates was palpable and ready to explode.
Did the training stick with him at all? Damon wondered, swallowing his nervousness. He’s like a ticking time bomb.
The only shared hope was that Pascal wouldn’t ignite until he was far away from them all. Guiltily, Damon wondered if he was being too hard on his classmate.
After all, it had been a harrowing nine months from all aspects. The group had been tried and tested in every way imaginable.
“You have to put aside your biases, your differences,” Anatoli told them. �
�Here, within these walls, forget everything you’ve ever known about the shifters among you. Over the next nine months, your minds will be rewired to see the truth.”
“What truth?” Pascal had scoffed that first day.
“Wait and see,” Anatoli replied enigmatically. “If you open your mind, you’ll be amazed with what you can learn.”
And what an experience it had been. Half the class had failed out within the first two months, a strange concept when there were no grades to speak of. Others simply disappeared without so much as a goodbye and in the end, only twelve of the original thirty candidates remained.
“I’m just saying,” Laurel insisted, drawing all the attention back to her. “We shouldn’t be out in public like this all together. It’s not smart drawing attention to ourselves.”
“The more you whine about it, the more attention you’re going to call on yourself,” Pascal interjected, also giving the fox a wary look. “Just act natural and you’ll have nothing to worry about.”
“I am acting natural,” Laurel shot back but Sabine wasn’t sure that was true. Everything about her screamed “uncomfortable” from the way she was standing to the beads of sweat forming at her brow line.
I wonder how long she’s going to last out there.
The thought was shared by three of the four, one that had popped up more than once over the course of their training. If Sabine had been one to wager, she would have put money on the fact that Laurel would have been the first to drop or fail out of the program—yet there she was.
It made Sabine wonder if maybe graduating wasn’t such an honor after all. If Laurel could get through, how hard could it have all been?
Or maybe Anatoli was just easier on her that she was the rest of us.
As if on cue, Anatoli appeared among the somewhat secluded group and smiled beguilingly at them, power radiating of the vampire/witch hybrid. Having her in such a public setting was equally unnerving as them being out, considering she was a wanted felon in more countries than she wasn’t.
Yet Anatoli was unfazed by her surroundings, relishing in the sights and sounds of the event.
“Are you having fun?” she asked, her bright green eyes glittering as she studied their faces for confirmation. Immediately, four heads nodded in unison, each one refusing to meet her eyes.
Were they afraid of her still or simply worried that she might be able to read into the depth of their minds with an easy glance? Whatever the reason, they knew better than to make direct eye contact. They had all learned that the hard way at some point during their training. Anatoli knew more than she let on and guessing what she had figured out was a nauseating game.
“Most of us are having fun,” Pascal piped up, giving Laurel a meaningful look.
“We’re all having fun,” Damon interjected smoothly. Ever the peacekeeper Damon was, even if he loathed to be.
He’s too nice for this line of work, Sabine found herself thinking as she eyed the handsome bear. A little voice chuckled inside her head. And you’re not?
She pondered the question for a moment. Maybe once, she might have thought so, but Anatoli had taught her that Sabine had something deeper inside her, something just waiting to be unleashed and released into the wild and Sabine had the utmost faith in their mentor.
“I know this must seem strange after so much seclusion,” Anatoli offered, nodding understandingly at Laurel. Again, the fox darted her emerald gaze away, flustered that she had been caught with her second thoughts. “But before you get out there, you need to be reintroduced into the world.”
“We lived in the world before,” Damon commented dryly. “How much of a stretch can it be?”
The dark-haired instructor glanced behind her shoulder before speaking, as if she was worried that the liveried waitstaff might overhear.
“No,” she said quietly. “You did not live in the world before. Before, a different version of you lived in a world you didn’t understand. The beings who lived in that world were misguided by divisiveness and bad politics.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Sabine saw Pascal’s shoulders stiffen.
He does not like being told everything he knows is wrong, Sabine mused. Pascal did not handle direction well.
“Now you are different beings,” Anatoli continued, a warm smile touching her face as she took in their expressions. “Now you know the truth and you’re going to spread it. I’m very proud of all of you.”
“We might spread it,” Laurel muttered with a slight grumble. “If we’re ever called upon.”
Anatoli’s eyes narrowed slightly, her lips turning downward at Laurel’s correction.
“If you’re not called upon, it means that we’re doing everything right,” Anatoli reminded her, trying to keep the slight exasperation from her words but everyone heard it.
“I hope I’m called on,” Damon offered, sensing the tension growing over the group. “I can’t imagine being a farmer in France for all of eternity.”
The group chuckled at his imaginary scenario. It wasn’t one they hadn’t considered for themselves after all.
“Your lives will be tailored to your personalities,” Anatoli assured the bear shifter. “Your new positions have been carefully crafted to ensure that you aren’t required to act out of character too much.”
“In different countries,” Pascal sighed.
“Possibly,” Anatoli agreed mysteriously. “I won’t know until you’re placed.”
Pascal eyed her in surprise.
“You mean we might stay in the States?”
Anatoli paused and met Pascal’s eyes evenly.
“We’ve been over all this already,” she said curtly. The males had the decency to look abashed and the females looked away, again sipping from their goblets as if to silence any other misgivings that might threaten to flow forth from their mouths. Suddenly, they wished they had continued to ignore the elephant in the room.
Anatoli sighed heavily.
“I understand that you all have questions still, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer them all. These are things you’re going to have to learn for yourselves, things I can’t possibly prepare you for.”
Sabine and Laurel exchanged a quick look, their sentiment the same.
If you can’t prepare us, will we ever really be prepared?
“This is supposed to be a party,” Anatoli growled, shaking her head. Gone was the glint from her surreal green eyes. Her good humor had evaporated. “We shouldn’t be talking shop here.”
“Then let’s propose a toast,” Damon suggested, raising his glass bottle quickly. Anatoli seemed appeased by the idea and she nodded shortly.
“To…” Damon looked about blankly but Pascal was the one who finished the cheer.
“To never having to lay eyes on any of you again,” he declared, snorting slightly. Sabine bit on her lower lip, her eyes darting over the group again, trailing out to take in everyone who remained among them.
They’ve been our companions for almost a year. We’ve eaten together, slept together, and fought together. Will I miss them?
Laurel’s thoughts were slightly different as she followed Sabine’s eyes.
Nine months ago, I couldn’t wait to get away from them but now…now I find a comfort in them. How am I ever going to make it out there without them?
Damon clinked his beer bottle to Anatoli’s wine glass with a smile, but his own mind was racing also.
We’ve learned so much. Anatoli is right; when we came here, we were different beings.
The question was, were they better for what they’d learned or worse?
It was only Pascal who didn’t have a doubt inside him as he smirked at the unit.
No matter how they try to brainwash us, I know the truth. All shifters are evil and need to be stopped. Vampires will rule again.
But there was no reason for Anatoli to know what he was really thinking. To her mind, she had successfully manipulated a dozen unsuspecting shifters into believing in world har
mony, a place where all the magical beings co-existed without friction.
The special ops group was simply called Sleepers, but Pascal knew he wouldn’t sleep.
He was going into this mission with his eyes wide open.
“Cheers!” everyone called in unison.
Tomorrow, they would each receive their placements in various parts of the world and as Pascal said, they would likely never see one another or their families again. It was the deal they had signed on for when they were too naïve to know any better. It was too late for regrets or to escape now. The following day, twelve sleepers would be sent out into parts unknown for undisclosed amount of time. Some might never see a mission while others might be pulled out immediately. All of them would learn how to live alone without a friend in the world and others might not ever make it home. This was what they had been trained for, delving into the unknown.