The Enchanted: Council of Seven Shifter Romance Collection

by Juniper Hart

  A strange throbbing began to pull at her gums, a newly-familiar sensation she didn’t understand but seemed to materialize when her stress-levels skyrocketed. Her tongue swelled against her teeth, and Audrey gasped as she saw the glow of eyes through the brush.

  “What the hell is that?” She put the car in park and slowly emerged from the vehicle, blinking in disbelief. It wasn’t an animal at all but a man with stunning green eyes and a shock of wheat-blond hair, oddly out of place and a complete stranger to Audrey.

  “W-who are you?” she choked, her voice barely audible as she stared at him. “Are you following me?”

  “Maybe,” the man said, smirking slightly and shrugging. Fear rushed through Audrey’s body, and she gaped at him in shock, stepping backward as the stranger advanced upon her.

  Oh, Carrie! Audrey cried silently, leaping back into the car and driving almost maniacally away. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you! I should have hired more security when those emails started coming, and now I’ve met my stalker, face to face.

  She steeled herself against the horror that threatened to overwhelm her.

  It’s okay, she thought, willing herself to be calm. It’s okay, because I can go to the police and tell them everything. And now I know what this guy looks like, so finding him should be much easier.

  Yet as she drove away, her foot pressed heavily on the gas, she couldn’t help but wonder how such a devastatingly attractive man could be such a psycho.

  Just goes to show that you really can’t judge a book by its cover.

  4

  Well, that didn’t go as planned, Hudson thought wryly, watching Audrey speed off down the road. He hadn’t intended to meet her under those circumstances, but as he thought about it, he realized how silly it had been to blindside her when her assistant had just been shot. Dealing with the fairer sex had never really been his forte, not even after all the years he’d spent on the planet, co-existing among them.

  Sighing, he realized he’d have to catch up with her in Berlin and properly introduce himself. As he turned to saunter back through the nature preserve, half-shifted and ambling through, he found himself slightly taken aback by how lovely Audrey was in person. Even in her frightened state, wearing a sundress ill-equipped for the chilly spring morning, he could see that she had an essence about her which couldn’t be captured in pictures.

  It was more than merely her supernatural abilities, despite her clear terror when she had seen him. Idly, Hudson asked himself why she hadn’t shifted in her worry. It made him wonder if she wasn’t in full control of her abilities yet.

  I guess that’s something else we’ll discuss when I see her. His rented vehicle came into view, but to his annoyance, he saw several uniformed police officers milling around it, taking note of the license plate.

  “May I help you?” Hudson asked, trying to keep his exasperation in check. One of the officers turned to glower at him.

  “Who are you, sir?” he asked, his heavy German accent sharpening the words he spoke.

  “Why do you ask?” Hudson replied nonchalantly, unlocking the doors as if he wasn’t being blocked from approaching the car. He’d purposely parked well away from the set, to avoid catching attention.

  So much for that idea, he groaned to himself.

  “Sir, you cannot go anywhere!” another officer cried in shock as Hudson brushed past them to enter the car. He could see them reaching for their weapons as they eyed each other in disbelief. “Sir!” He ignored them and hopped inside the vehicle, slamming the door as they began to beat on the car in shock.

  “Step out of the car at once!”

  “Show us your hands!”

  Humming to himself, Hudson started the car and inched out of his spot, where the two men hung off his car. It wasn’t his intention to harm them, of course, but he wished they would unhinge themselves from the sides before they hurt themselves. They were intelligent enough to let themselves go, and Hudson was off as if they had never been there. In the rear-view, he saw them exchange a dumbfounded look, knowing that there was nothing either could do about it.

  Silly mortals, Hudson thought, chuckling to himself. They never get any less amusing.

  He knew that Audrey was long gone, probably racing back to the city in fear, but he’d gotten full hold of her itinerary, and he knew what hotel she and the rest of her crew were checked into. Even though it had taken him some time to secure his own reservations, given the fact that the cast had taken up so much room, he was Hudson Fowler. There was always room for him.

  Driving leisurely now, knowing that he’d lost the cops who had a much slower start than him, he enjoyed the brilliant sunrise over the German landscape.

  It could have been worse, he mused. At least I’m in Germany.

  There was something binding about being there, after all. He loved the feeling of completion the old world brought him, one he simply couldn’t attain in North America. Not that he was complaining. The Lycans had a much better life in the New World. There were fewer of his kind, which could not be said about all the Enchanted creatures.

  He steered the car up through the tree-lined highways and through Potsdam, tempted to stop in the town and look around. He stopped himself. He had to find Audrey before Gabriel did, assuming that the shooting had anything to do with Gabriel and his rogue pack at all. It was hard to know what the elusive Lycan was up to.

  For months, Hudson had known that Landon had been tracking the misanthrope and his pack of wayward criminals. Gabriel’s infamous turning of all things wretched was well-known among the Enchanted wolves, but it had really had nothing to do with Hudson until he’d been bestowed the instruction to keep watch over Audrey Crane.

  Really, it wasn’t Hudson’s business how Landon found Gabriel, but he had to wonder why it had been so difficult to capture the squirrely wolf. It seemed to Hudson that there were many ways Gabriel could be caught, particularly when they were on robbery sprees all over the west coast. Of course, Gabriel was only the CEO of a major telecommunications company, not the leader of all the Lycans.

  The charming city of Potsdam, located near Berlin, stood beyond, the combination of rustic ancientness and booming economy a stunning contrast.

  In minutes, Hudson was in front of the Hotel de Rome, tossing his keys to the valet and striding toward the lobby with his long legs. He paused at the concierge.

  “Has Ms. Crane returned to her room yet?” he asked casually. The thin man behind the desk seemed uncomfortable with the pointed question.

  “I am very sorry, Herr Fowler. I cannot disclose the comings and goings of guests.”

  “You don’t need to worry,” Hudson assured him charmingly. “We’re friends.”

  The receptionist was unmoved by his statement and gave him a stoic look with pale green eyes. “I am sorry, Herr. I cannot help you.”

  Hudson stifled a sigh and shrugged his shoulders.

  “I understand,” he said, turning toward the bank of elevators. To his surprise, two burly men flanked either side, their gazes cold.

  “Are you a guest here, sir?” one of the gorillas asked in an American accent. Curiously, Hudson turned his head back toward the receptionist, who nodded, his face paling.

  “He is allowed!” the concierge cried, seeming embarrassed that Hudson was being stopped. One of the guards grunted and permitted him to pass.

  “What is this all about?” Hudson wanted to know. There certainly hadn’t been any men standing over the entranceway when he had arrived during the wee hours of the morning, nor had they been there when he’d left for the set well before dawn.

  “Please go to your room, sir,” the other man intoned. Hudson considered giving them a hard time, but he knew when to pick his battles. He’d be at the hotel for at least a day or two, depending on how long it took to connect with Audrey. He couldn’t afford to make a stink. Instead, he simply boarded the elevator, casting the guards a wry grin. As he suspected, they didn’t return his expression.

  The d
ouble doors closed, and Hudson pushed the button to the penthouse floor. To his surprise, he couldn’t make it stick.

  This is also new, he mused. This security is for the cast and crew. I wonder what changed in a few hours. It would have made more sense if the enhanced security had occurred after the shooting. Unless they had a suspect in the event now.

  There was nothing Hudson could do except return to his suite and wait for word on where Audrey might be alone again. It had been a long couple of days. He could use the rest, anyway, and he made his way inside the modern Behren suite.

  The room was smaller than what he was used to, but with the actors taking everything Hudson would have used for himself, he’d been limited to one of the last suites available. And staying in a regular room simply wasn’t an option, even at four hundred dollars a night.

  He plopped onto a high back sofa and flicked on the television, curious to see if there had been an update on the shooting victim. The full morning had erupted through the wide windows, and Hudson found himself insurmountably tired as the German news station piped on gently in the background.

  A nap is in order, he decided and allowed his lids to close, leaving one ear on the television. Dangling between that space of wakefulness and sleep, another image of Audrey popped into his head, and he found himself studying her features as if she was standing exactly before him. She is lovely, but will she be a pain? The beautiful ones always are.

  Slowly, he drifted off into the much-needed slumber and directly into a dream which made little sense. He was running after Audrey in a field filled with poppies.

  “Run!” he screamed. “Audrey, run!”

  Audrey paused and turned to stare at him, her mouth opening, and while her lips formed words, no sound came out. Hudson hurried after her, but even though she stood still, he got no closer to her. Her blue eyes reflected fear as she gazed at his face, and suddenly, she began to flee again. In an instant, Hudson realized she was running away from him.

  “Audrey!” he yelled. “Audrey, wait!”

  But she didn’t see the shadow beyond, her eyes fixed on him as she tried to escape. She was running directly into the path of danger.

  “No!” Hudson choked, an unreasonable fear overwhelming him. There was nothing he could do now. Gabriel manifested from the shadow, a leer forming on his face.

  “It’s too late!” he called to Hudson. “She’s coming home to me. She belongs with me.”

  “She’s my charge!” Hudson growled back, but Audrey continued her path toward the sinister alpha, who embraced her with open arms.

  “No. She’s coming home with me, and there’s nothing any of you can do to stop me.” Gabriel spun to envelop Audrey in a cloak of darkness, and before Hudson could react, they were both gone.

  And Hudson was awake, not by the odd stress of the dream but by the insistent rapping on the door of his suite. He barely had time to understand where he was when a voice called out to him.

  “Herr Fowler! Will you please come to the door?”

  Blinking, Hudson sat up and looked about. He had been asleep for a while. The sun was high in the sky now, indicating that it was very close to noon, if not past it already.

  “Herr Fowler!”

  What the hell is going on? Hudson jumped to his feet, his sixth sense warning him to proceed with caution. His curiosity, however, was overriding his common sense.

  “What is it?” he demanded when he neared the door.

  “Will you kindly open the door, Herr? We need to speak with you.”

  “Who is ‘we’?”

  “Please, Herr Fowler.” It was a different voice now, and Hudson recognized it: it belonged to one of the officers he had left at the set. How had they tracked him down so quickly? The car was rented under an alias.

  “I just need to get dressed,” Hudson lied, alarms going off in his head. He couldn’t afford to get arrested, not when he was on a mission.

  “Please hurry up, Herr. We would not like to enter.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Hudson replied, stalking toward the wide living room windows which overlooked the interior courtyard. There was no one below, and he knew that if he shifted, he would land safely below, but he only had a few minutes before they burst in or before someone saw him.

  It’s now or never, he decided grimly, grabbing for his wallet and bounding fully onto the terrace before transforming into his Lycan form, heading to the interior garden below. He landed on his feet and immediately shifted back, pulling his cell phone from his pocket to dial out as he made his way out of the hotel and onto the street.

  McAvoy answered on the first ring. “Yes, Boss?”

  “I need you to hack into the Hotel de Rome’s security footage in Berlin and delete any trace of me since my arrival, starting now and going backward. Do it fast. There’s not much time.”

  “Yes, Boss.” That was all that needed to be said, and McAvoy disconnected the call, leaving Hudson to wander around Berlin and ponder his next move.

  I guess I can’t go back to the hotel, he reasoned. I’ll have to get someone else to trail her for a bit. This quest was becoming a bigger pain than he had expected, but it still needed to be done.

  I’ll enlist someone to follow Audrey, and I’ll go to the hospital and hope she shows up there, he decided, rolling his eyes at the blue skies above. Secretly, though, he was looking forward to seeing Audrey again. He wanted to see if there really were tiny freckles on her nose or if he had just imagined them in his dreams.

  5

  “Fräulein Crane? May I have a word?” Detektiv Schultz murmured from the doorway. Audrey looked up, her face gaunt with worry. She nodded curtly and released Carrie’s hand from her own before hurrying toward the detective in the hallway outside the ICU.

  “Any word?” she asked hopefully. “Did you catch him?”

  Schultz hung his head, and embarrassment tinged his cheeks. “I am afraid he evaded capture. He was in the room, and somehow, he managed to jump six floors and escape.”

  Audrey gaped at him in disbelief. “Through a fire escape, you mean?” she cried, but Schultz shook his head.

  “No, Fräulein. He seems to have… jumped.”

  “Then he must be injured, bleeding somewhere!” Audrey choked. “What hotel was he at? You should check the security footage and see where he went!”

  More embarrassment flushed through the detective’s face, and he shook his head again. “I am afraid it is not such a simple matter for many reasons.”

  “Who is this guy?” Audrey demanded. “You need a team on him. He’s dangerous!”

  “We can see that,” Schultz sighed. “But he is seemingly unflappable. He very nearly ran over two officers at the scene of your movie, and now this…” He trailed off, and Audrey stared at him quizzically, sensing that there was something else he was holding back.

  “What?” she demanded. “What aren’t you saying?”

  “His name is Hudson Fowler. Do you know this man?”

  Audrey shrugged. “No. I already told you I didn’t recognize him when he approached me in the woods.”

  “If this truly is the same Hudson Fowler, this only brings forth more questions than answers,” the man explained.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Firstly, he has only come to Germany in the past twenty-four hours. There is no record of him being here before.”

  “Well, he also has an untraceable email address!” Audrey protested. “He could be capable of hiding, couldn’t he?”

  Detektiv Schultz smiled condescendingly. “It is not as easy as they make it appear in the movies, Fräulein. No one can simply enter the country without a trace, particularly a man with his profile.”

  Audrey eyed him speculatively. “You know this Hudson Fowler?”

  “He is one of the Fortune 500.” The information filled Audrey with denial and confusion.

  “My stalker is a billionaire?”

  “It is not impossible,” Schultz told her. “But I would vent
ure it is unlikely.”

  “I need to see a picture of this guy!” Audrey gasped, reaching for her phone to pull up a Google search.

  “I was about to suggest the same.” But she wasn’t paying attention, and she peered at the images associated with her stalker. As Schultz had said, Hudson Fowler was the CEO of Fowler Telecommunications, based out of Los Angeles, and he was undoubtedly the same man she’d encountered in the woods.

  It makes sense that he would have an untraceable email server, she thought. But a man like that… He doesn’t get his own hands dirty, does he? It was all too overwhelming, and Audrey sank back against the wall. Could she have been wrong about Hudson’s intentions? She certainly hoped so, but nothing was adding up. No, he was looking for me. I know he was. And why would he run if he had nothing to hide?

  “Fräulein?”

  “Just give me a second to think,” Audrey snapped, turning her head to look at Carrie, who had shown no signs of improvement.

  “Clearly, Herr Fowler has something to hide,” Schultz offered, echoing Audrey’s own thoughts. “An innocent man does not run.”

  “But what is he running from?” Audrey demanded, more for herself than the detective.

  “That is the question.”

  “You never answered me,” Audrey realized. “Where did you say he was staying? Was it close to my hotel?” In a now-familiar look of shame, the cop lowered his eyes and cleared his throat.

  “He was staying at your hotel, Fräulein.” Audrey paled in disbelief.

  “At the Hotel de Rome?” she demanded. Her cell rang at the moment, causing her to jump almost to the ceiling, and it took her a moment to gather her bearings before looking at the screen. It was Alex. She silenced it and turned her attention back to the cop. “You need to check the security tapes. Has he been lurking on my floor? What has he been doing?”

  “Well, that is another matter, Fräulein.”

  “What? What is another matter?” Audrey squealed. “Has he?”

  “We don’t know. Somehow, all the footage of his presence in the hotel has been erased.”