ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection)

by C. J. Ayers

  It took him a minute before he realized who the voice belonged to. "Mrs. Walker?"

  "Where is she?" her voice was urgent. Derrick didn't know what to say. Finally, he settled for the truth.

  "Randy Wolfe has her."

  "I knew it."

  He heard Kristin's father in the back, cursing.

  "How could you possibly know?" Derrick asked. "Did he call you too?"

  "I keep telling Kristin—we're psychic."

  Derrick wanted to laugh, but how could he argue with them? They were calling him. They knew something was wrong. Whether psychic ability or some innate knowledge that sprung up when your child was in trouble, he had to admit there was something more than just guessing going on here.

  "We're here in Washington," Kristin's mom said. "Tell us where to go."

  ***

  Half time was ending. Wolfe took the field, his eyes searching for his enemy. He hated Wellborn. He was smug. And he wasn't nearly as good looking as the women seemed to think. The whistle blew and everyone filed into place. His eyes searched the faces, but Wellborn wasn't anywhere. He searched the sidelines. He'd played so bad the first half, their coach probably pulled him from the game.

  "Idiot," Wolfe mumbled. Then the ball was in play and the third quarter was rolling quickly along. Wolfe got the ball and ran with it, scoring another touchdown for his team. Every new yard he got was like sticking a dagger deep into Wellborn's chest. His eyes scanned the sidelines again, wanting to see Wellborn's face. Something didn't feel right.

  "Time out," Randy yelled, and ran over to his coach. "Where's Wellborn?" he asked.

  "What?"

  "Wellborn, where is he?"

  "How the hell should I know? What's the matter with you? Get back on the field!" His coach screamed but Wolfe ignored him. Their coach was always screaming. He started back onto the field, then veered to the Redskins side, surprising the hell out of their coach.

  "Where's Wellborn?" he shouted. This was getting ridiculous. He wanted an answer.

  The coach smiled. "Worried he's gonna beat your record?"

  Wolfe felt his body start to tingle and pulled it back in. Shifting in front of a million people was probably a bad idea.

  Coach tried to ignore Wolfe. He'd never liked the guy. He was happy when the Redskins had traded him last year. When he saw Randy wasn't going away, he finally decided to say something. "Don't worry about your record tonight Wolfe. You saw Wellborn the first half. Sick as a dog. Can't even stand. I had Tate take him home."

  Wolfe turned and left the field.

  Chapter 15

  Tate was a life-long Washingtonian and knew very nook and cranny of the state. He knew exactly where Wolfe's place was without even using Google Maps.

  "I keep forgetting that Wolfe used to be on the Redskins," Derrick said, grateful for Tate's help.

  "Yeah, but that was last year before I joined the team." Tate eyed him, the prankster in him wanting to surface even now. "You know there's rumors about Wolfe."

  "What kind of rumors?" Derrick asked.

  "Oh, people say he's a vampire. Likes to drink the blood of small children and animals. Nothing too unusual for football." He made the joke then instantly regretted it when Derrick didn't laugh. "Sorry man, I'm an asshole when I get nervous."

  Derrick's face was set in a hard line that looked like he'd never laughed at a joke in his life. He wasn't mad at Tate though, he was in shock. They were pulling up to Wolfe's house and Kristin's parents were there... with his. They stood glowering at each other, but at least no fists were flying.

  "What are you doing here?" he asked his parents, jumping out of Tate's car before it had even stopped moving. He felt bad dragging Tate into this. He didn't even know the whole story, and there wasn't time to explain it.

  "What are you doing here?" Derrick repeated.

  His parents looked at each other and shrugged. "We never left. It was all a bluff. We could never disown you. You're our son." His father's words swelled Derrick's heart with warmth, but there was no time for warmth right now.

  "How did you know we were here?"

  Derrick's father nodded towards Kristin's parents.

  "You called my parents?" Derrick asked, incredulous. If Kristin were here, she'd be thrilled about that. Just the thought of her sent cold shivers up his spine. The buzz that had been following them since the playground faded in and out. "We have to hurry," he said, his voice breaking.

  "How do we get in?" Kristin's father demanded.

  "I thought stakes were only for vampires," Tate said, joking, running a hand over a wooden stake poking out of a bag slung over the back of Kristin's father.

  Kristin's father rolled his eyes. "If you stab something through the heart with a stake, it will die. Doesn't matter what it is. Doesn't hurt to use wood, just in case."

  The response caught Tate so off guard he stopped walking around and really took in the situation. Kristin's parents... Derrick's parents... kidnapping and wooden stakes. "What's really going on here?" he asked, suddenly sensing that there were important details he was missing.

  Derrick turned to him, "Randy's a werewolf. I'm a werepanther. Vampires are real. Though there aren't any here. I don't think." He looked at Kristin's parents. They shook their heads. "No, none here."

  Tate laughed. "Uh huh."

  "We're wasting time standing here," Kristin's mother yelled. She was right.

  Derrick's parents went behind some bushes, and when they came back out they were walking on all fours. His father jumped over the fence easily. His mother followed. Kristin's parents stood there glowering.

  "We're not leaving you here alone with her," her father shouted. Derrick's father jumped up on his hind legs and knocked something off the side of the gate wall. The gate fell open and Kristin's parents stepped through it.

  "Of course we're not going to leave you behind," Derrick said, turning to Kristin's parents. "You need to trust us. Just a little. Not all shifters are evil." Then he willed his muscles and bones to form the familiar shape that he'd come to love. The itch to run made its way to his brain, and he didn't fight it. Running was good. Especially since they had to hurry.

  Tate stood beside Kristin's mother with his mouth on the ground. "Awesome!" he finally shouted before slipping through the gate after the others.

  ***

  Kristin heard noises below her. She opened one eye. Her face felt like a tenderized beef patty. She tried to scream, but it came out in a whisper. "Hello?"

  Derrick's ears perked up. He could already smell her, but there were a lot of smells in this house. Wolf scent was barely palatable to panthers, and he'd been having a hard time finding Kristin because of it. Now, with her whisper, he had a guide. He ran towards her.

  Derrick was at the top of the stairs, his path clear, when Tom leaped from out of nowhere, blocking his way. Derrick roared. Tom rushed at him. They rolled around on the ground for a while, teeth grinding against each other's skin, before Derrick finally slashed Tom's cheek open and he ran off whimpering.

  "Wait!" Tate bounded up the stairs. "Wait for me!" Derrick wasn't waiting for anyone though. Kristin was close. Her scent was stronger now that he was upstairs. He followed it into the bedroom and pushed the closet door open. His wife was lying on the ground, unconscious.

  Derrick felt his relief at finding her crushed as he took in her body. Her lips were blue. Her dress was stained. Her whole face looked like a giant bruise. Her eyes, half opened, thought she was hallucinating. He licked her face and her vision cleared. She smiled and Derrick's heart leapt.

  "Derrick?"

  He was encouraged that her voice was stronger than it had been a minute ago. She looked bad, but he could hear the strength in her. "Derrick, look out!"

  He felt something dig into his back. It happened so fast, he wasn't sure what was attacking him. For half a second, he thought Kristin's parents had driven one of their stakes into him. He tried to spin and see what was hurting him, but whatever it was dug into
his body too tight.

  Randy Wolfe hung onto Derrick, refusing to let go. The anger in him boiled over and he pushed his claws deeper inside him, hoping to hit some vital organ. Suddenly, Wolfe felt a slug to his head. He fell off Derrick's back and hit the ground, looking up just in time to see Tate bringing a baseball bat down on him. He jumped at Tate, slashing his chest open with a satisfying rip that left his heart beating out of his chest. Tate fell to the ground, dead or unconscious. Wolfe grinned. It was almost too easy taking down jocks like Tate.

  Derrick felt the growl rise in his throat, and when he tore through the air, lunging at Randy's throat, it was with the intention of drawing blood. Randy turned, leaping at Derrick. They met in mid-air and clambered to the ground together.

  More growls and roars sailed up from downstairs, and Kristin heard her parents scream. Her eyes flew open. She was wide awake now. Her head pounded and she felt like she'd gone through the windshield of a car, but she was alive. "Mom!" she screamed. "Dad! Up here! Help!"

  Derrick and Randy rolled around the room together. Suddenly there were three more wolves in the room with them. The all pounced on Derrick. She could hear his flesh ripping open.

  "They're killing him!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to get out of her ropes so she could help. She rolled across the room and got close enough to kick one, but it had no impact.

  Two panthers appeared in the door then, followed by her parents, each holding a sword. She barely had time to wonder where they had gotten swords before they all ran into the room together, each tackling a wolf. She watched, amazed, as her parents cut through the air with skill and efficiency, knocking the wolves down one by one. Derrick's parents moved so fast they were nothing but black streaks with razor teeth. As soon as her parents knocked a wolf to the ground, his were on top of it ripping it apart.

  When the roars had stopped and the air was clear of wolves, Derrick shifted back to his human form. He was hurt but not dead. His parents, still panthers, huddled around Tate, who's chest was moving in shallow breaths. They took turns licking his wounds, which began to heal over, but not fast enough.

  Derrick cradled her in his arms. Her hands, finally free, wrapped around his neck, pulling him close. There was a soft whimper from the corner and Kristin opened her eyes to see Randy pulling himself along the floor, his leg dangling off him in an unnatural way. She wanted to feel bad for him, but then remembered the way he'd tied her wrists together and shoved her into a closet. She hoped his leg fell off.

  Derrick rubbed his head against hers, relishing in the soft buzz of electricity that had returned. Kristin's face was bruised, but she'd never looked more beautiful. His lips found hers as warm and wanting as ever, and they breathed each other in again, feeling their destiny in each other's arms.

  Chapter 16

  "Ssh!" Tate whispered.

  "What? She's not here yet," a woman's voice rang across the room.

  "Ssh!" he said again, with more vehemence. The guest, a tall blonde woman, was about to bicker with him when his eyes glowed a golden hue and she shut her mouth, more intrigued than scared. Tate's ears perked up. He'd heard Derrick and Kristin approaching before they'd even gotten to their driveway. This panther stuff was awesome.

  Kristin and Derrick walked into the room.

  "Surprise!" Everyone yelled.

  They looked around, stunned. Pink baby decorations lined the walls. Kristin's parents stood next to Derrick's, beaming at them. "It was all their idea," her parents said, pointing at Derrick's.

  "No, no, it was definitely their idea," Derrick's parents said.

  A giant cake, shaped like a pink panther, sat on a table top surrounded by white and pink balloons.

  "How did you guys know?" Kristin asked, glaring at Derrick. "I told you not to tell them!"

  "He didn't say anything," her mother said. "I promise. I keep telling you—we're psychic. When are you gonna start believing us?"

  Kristin and Derek laughed. Kristin raised an eyebrow. Maybe there was something to all those psychic seminars her parents had gone to after all. If her parents and Derrick's could be friends again, maybe anything was possible.

  Coach walked up just then and shoved a box at Derrick. "I had it framed, in case it turned out to be a boy."

  Kristin cleared her throat and glared at him. "Or a girl. Girls can like sports too I guess," Coach said, his cheeks going red.

  Derrick opened the box and found the front headline from the sports section: DERRICK WELLBORN SETS NEW RECORD FOR RUSHING YARDS IN SUPERBOWL VICTORY. In smaller letters, just under it: With Assist from Tate Edwards.

  He beamed. "Thanks Coach."

  "Hey Derrick," Tate said, running up to him. He was running so much faster these days. This whole shifter thing was crazy. Not that he would have changed a thing, especially since Derrick's parents had saved his life by turning him into one.

  "So like, I can still have sex right?" he whispered. "I mean, nothing weird's gonna, you know, happen?"

  Derrick laughed. "Go for it."

  Tate smiled and ran to find the blonde with the intriguing smile.

  "So I guess we need to pick a name now, huh?" Kristin asked, patting her stomach. Derrick watched her hand roll over the soft flesh jutting from her belly, and wondered if anyone would notice if they disappeared for 20 minutes or so.

  "Of course they would," Kristin said.

  "Would what?"

  "Notice if we disappeared."

  "How did..." Derrick stared at her.

  "What?" she asked.

  "How did you know what I was thinking? By the way, it's not my fault you're so sexy."

  Kristin frowned. "You whispered it to me. Didn't you?" Derrick shook his head. "Quick," she told him. "Think something else."

  He looked at Kristin's breasts, even more pronounced now than they normally were, and this was just her first month. He wondered how big they might be by the ninth month.

  "Oh! You better not just want me for my body," she squealed. He stared at her, wide eyed.

  "Don't tell me you're psychic now," he said.

  She grinned. "Maybe it's just a pregnancy thing."

  Maybe I'd like to take you in the back right now and...

  Kristin blushed as Derrick finished his thought. Wrapping his hand in hers, they snuck away from their party. Kristin decided he was right, no one would miss them if they were only gone 20 minutes.

  THE END

  SHADOW SPECTER

  DEPARTMENT99

  BOOK 2

  Caleb and Lillian’s Story

  By C.J. Ayers

  STORY DESCRIPTION

  Agent Lillian Smithson works in the ghost hunting sector of Department 99. Her specialty is dealing with spirits and ghosts.

  Agent Caleb Winters is a bold and brash bear shifter. He has an imposing physical presence and is a member of the Department’s Demonic Response team which sometimes works closely with the ghost hunting sector of the organization.

  Caleb has always carried a torch for the petite, fiery red-headed agent Lillian Smithson. This latest case has them working side by side fighting a demon the likes of which the Department has never seen before. Caleb is doing his best to keep his head and hands on the case where they belong, but damned if his every thought doesn’t stray back to Lillian.

  When Lillian’s fierce independence gets her into life-threatening trouble, can Caleb get to her before it’s too late?

  DEPARTMENT 99

  It’s difficult to get a grasp of exactly what has been happening in the world today, and there are as of yet many unknowns. Regardless, with all of the “new versions” of beings appearing, it has become increasingly important to deal with certain issues. This is where the Department comes in. Part of a covert organization existing throughout the world with branches in different countries and under different names, the Department works with its subsidiaries under the common goal of policing, monitoring, and keeping the world safe for and from the supernatural.

  I
n the U.S.A., the organization is labeled Department 99.

  It is relatively easy to convince just about anyone that a supernatural occurrence is something commonplace (a task of Department 99.) Most people will return to their daily lives accepting the Department’s cover story. Humans, it turns out, are very good at deceiving themselves.

  There are those, however who remain unconvinced - those who can see through the natural haze that surrounds humans when they are confronted by the supernatural. These people are referred to as Shadow Walkers.

  In such cases, it is the Department’s responsibility to have the Shadow Walker brought into the fold for mental strength testing through a process called re-alignment. It is essential to conduct such testing before revealing the world’s truth in its entirety.

  Unfortunately, realignment doesn’t often lead to a positive outcome and asylums are becoming overcrowded with those who are unable to cope with the complete truth as it is laid before them.

  part 1

  NOWHERE TO HIDE

  Caleb Winters sat watching the small boy as he played in the yard. There was nothing openly unusual about the boy. His name was Finn, and he had just turned five. All in all, the child seemed to be a sturdy lad. In fact, all of the information Caleb had on this family had previously indicated a happy, loving home. The father, Jim, was a well-paid and respected landscaper and the mother, Kelly, ran a small beauty product business out of her home. The two twin girls, Jen and Jess, were ten years old and both doing extremely well in school…. but then there was the boy.

  Up until a few weeks ago, the boy had been just a typical young boy. He rolled around in the dirt, rode his tricycle, and played with the family dog. Then, quite suddenly, something had changed.

  It was around two weeks ago that Finn had started behaving very strangely. He began staring off into the distance completely ignoring his family when they spoke to him. Shortly after that, he began to speak to no one in particular—having entire conversations with the air. At first, Finn’s mother had chalked all of this up to an imaginary friend, but then things started happening that couldn’t be explained.