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

by C. J. Ayers

  Caleb had left Tam sitting in the running black vehicle, and Caleb quickly reached for the car’s door. When he opened it, he almost dropped to his knees. Tam was sitting there, but virtually his entire body was being eaten alive by the snake. Tam’s feet kicked and flailed about as the snake slowly expanded itself to keep swallowing him whole. Caleb was in shock, but Lillian jumped into action. Without even hesitating, she drew her piece of tile up into the air and brought it down on the huge snake that had coiled itself, disgustingly inside the car. Lillian hacked with the piece of tile again; screaming as she brought it down. The snake reared backwards from the pain, and started to regurgitate Tam, who was still alive. The snake quickly slithered out of the car, and Caleb and Lillian stood back-to-back, ready for anything. Caleb drew his gun, and also handed Lillian his long military knife.

  The snake first lunged at Lillian, and when it did so, she slashed its face. The monstrous body fell back and then started to retreat. Then Caleb chased it, emptying round after round into the giant body, until it stopped moving and eventually morphed into the body of a little boy. It was the child Caleb had thrown into the trunk. Apparently, he was a possessed snake-shifter.

  Both Caleb and Lillian jumped into the car, pushing Tam’s body into the back seat. He was lying back there gasping for air—probably in a state of shock. Right when Caleb was about to press the accelerator, he noticed that there was someone in front of them. It was the man in the wheelchair. He was right in front of their car. The man raised the shot gun and started to fire as Caleb pressed the accelerator and rammed the car into him, while Lillian screamed at the top of her lungs. The blast rang out as the car lunged forward and pieces of glass sprayed all over Lillian’s lap. Then they noticed that man with the shotgun was dead on the side of the road—there was a large piece of tile sticking out of the side of his head and Armond was standing there, holding his guts in, weakly stumbling towards the car. He was alive!

  Lillian rushed forward and helped Armond into the vehicle. She noticed that Caleb looked a little bit jealous, which made her smile inwardly.

  About an hour later, they found themselves sitting in Caleb’s housing unit. While Tam was badly injured, he was going to live. Armond was in the critical care unit, but seemed to be slowly stabilizing.

  The department supervisors had a lot of questions, but most of the answers were simple—the crazy cat cult had presumably been behind most of what had happened. Immediately, Caleb’s boss deployed a few cleanup teams. The civilian population of Kansas City would never even have a clue.

  As Lillian sat on Caleb’s bed, she felt vulnerable and unbelievably tired. Yet, there was something about being so close to him that was virtually unbearable. Caleb turned to her. His eyes were intense and angry. “You could have gotten yourself killed, you know,” he spat. “Thank you for always stating the obvious,” Lillian said back. She even surprised herself with the comment—the way it just slid out of her mouth. Caleb rushed over as if he might strike her, but then he lowered his face to hers and pressed his lips against her own. His mouth was warm and his tongue was muscular. He flicked his tongue in and out of her mouth, and Lillian felt her pulse quicken. Then, inwardly her resistance melted away.

  Now, Caleb was holding her down. He was on top of her kissing her neck, pulling her shirt away. Lillian moaned, enjoying the rough feel of his skin. The cold air in his room made her nipples stand up erect and Caleb was flicking at them with his tongue. Lillian reached up and lightly bit his lower lip. Caleb responded by biting her back. Then, their bodies locked together—both making out and wrestling one another in some strange fit of passion. “You think you’re tough.” Caleb asked her. His comment hit a nerve. “I am tough,” Lillian responded, a bit wounded. She slapped him playfully across the face and Caleb responded by grabbing her ass. “What you did today was just plain stupid,” Caleb said. His insult was too much. Lillian pushed him away and started to walk out of the room.

  Then, a terrible metallic sound rang out and everything went dark.

  part 4

  LOVE AT LAST

  Department 99 headquarters had gone dark before. Power outages were somewhat common, but the generator usually kicked on in less than a minute. Something about this was different. Lillian stood with her hand on the doorknob, eager to leave Caleb’s room, but first she needed to know that it was safe. They waited silently in the darkness. It sounded to Lillian as if Caleb was fishing around for some of his clothes that had come off during their passionate make-out session. The thought made her smile.

  Her feelings for Caleb were strong, which is why his insult had so much sting to it. Perhaps she was being overly emotional, but Lillian really wanted to feel as though Caleb respected her. If he thought her deliberate actions were stupid, he couldn’t possibly think much of her as a human being. Lillian felt foolish and vulnerable, breathing in the darkness. She desperately wanted the lights to come back on so that she could make a dramatic exit in order to put him in his place. How else could she keep her pride intact while expressing her hurt? Sometimes, Caleb simply went too far. He needed to know that his words had an effect on her. Yet, Caleb was arrogant and just as headstrong as she was. Even worse, he had probably been right. She shouldn’t have gone to investigate all by herself—not in the middle of an actively violent case.

  Caleb flicked a lighter on in the dark room, which he then slowly used to light a small candle. The candle flickered creating a warm orange glow in the little metallic room. If Lillian hadn’t been so wounded, she might have thought it romantic. Regardless, the candle brought a sense of intimacy to the room that seemed to warm her heart a bit. Maybe Caleb didn’t know how to be gentle. Perhaps his years with the department and the bear shifter within him, made him a bit of a brute. Yet, he was a good person. He had done everything within his power to come to her rescue. Perhaps he was upset because he had come very close to losing her. Maybe Caleb’s feelings for her were just as deep as her own. Lillian sighed. If their positions had been reversed, she would have been furious at him for going off hunting for clues without her.

  Then, Lillian thought she heard something coming from the other side of the door. There was a distinct scratching sound, and then something else that almost sounded like a low growl. Caleb’s eyes shot up. The bear-shifter in him knew that something was seriously amiss. Danger was nearby. Before Lillian knew what was happening, Caleb was standing in front of the door wearing a menacing grimace. His huge biceps bulged and rippled as he moved from side to side, like a boxer preparing for a fight. The intensity in his eyes was frightening. Then, something else flickered in his eyes and he changed instantaneously. Tiny sprouts of hair started to spawn all over his chest and arms, while his muscles seemed to enlarge. He was shifting. In a matter of seconds, his human form was swallowed up into that of a giant grizzly.

  Lillian covered her eyes as Caleb disappeared and the mighty bear appeared before her. He seemed focused on whatever was on the other side of the door and roared fiercely. The sound shook Lillian to her core. Saliva dripped from the corners of Caleb’s bear mouth and he sniffed, grunted, and then roared again. The roar echoed off of the walls and moved through Lillian’s entire body, causing her to shudder. The bear readied itself for battle. Caleb was bloodthirsty.

  Lillian wasn’t sure what she should do. Was the greater danger inside with him or outside with whatever was making the strange noise? Lillian slunk back behind Caleb’s bed cowering in the corner. Right after she’d moved out of the way, a terrible blast knocked the door off its hinges and Caleb was slammed up against the wall by an invisible force. The air seemed to cackle and laugh as the invisible force growled and struck him again spitefully. This time, Caleb attacked. He lunged upwards in the air, and actually struck something. Then, with his bear teeth and long claws, he ripped into something invisible. Whatever it was, screamed. It was shrieking like a dying animal- making a shrill, high-pitched sound as Caleb’s teeth gripped the specter and chomped down over and over again.
He was ripping at the invisible force with his teeth—and the ghost was obviously wounded because it howled loudly and screamed.

  In fact, it looked to Lillian as if the force wanted to retreat—yet Caleb held it tightly between his sharp teeth, slamming it up and down against the floor while locked in his vise grip. Caleb’s bear teeth went in deep.

  Lillian wasn’t sure if she should try to make a run for it, or not. Her body felt almost as if it was frozen in place. Then, Caleb’s heavy metal bed flew up to the ceiling and stuck there—held up by another kind of invisible force. The bed slowly inched over until it was directly over Lillian’s head, where it dropped full-force. Lillian reached up and screamed as she covered her head with her arms. The weight of the bed knocked her onto the ground and completely took all of the air out of her lungs. Again, the bed rose up into the air above her.

  “No! Please stop!” Lillian shrieked. A demonic voice howled with laughter, savoring every moment of her pain.

  Caleb’s eyes met hers for a moment. Even in his bear form, she could see that he was in complete control. He relinquished whatever invisible force he was holding down in order to come to her aid. Caleb swiped at the air and missed. Something knocked him over and dragged him back towards the opposite wall by his neck, as he yelped in pain and flailed about helplessly. It seemed as though the force was strangling him.

  Next, a can of gasoline floated into the room. The invisible force started to splash gasoline all over the room. Once again, the metal bed crashed down on Lillian’s body. This time the force was greater and she felt as though she was being crushed alive. She felt something in her right shoulder pop, and her ribs crunched together. The invisible voice was roaring with laughter now, and the candle that Caleb had lit raised itself up into the middle of the room and then dropped onto a puddle of gasoline, which created a loud whooshing sound. Lillian covered her eyes as flames leapt to life all around her.

  Caleb was still engaged in his battle when the room started to go up in flames, but suddenly—the force he was fighting retreated as it slammed and re-attached the door. Even though the door had been knocked off the hinges earlier, it’s pieces flew back together and the metal entrance melted together until it formed an impassable wall of steel.

  Caleb slowly shifted back to his human form. He was naked now, and looked a bit battered. There was a smattering of blood above his right eye, and his lip was split. Caleb smoothed his hair back from his face and clenched his stomach, feeling both enraged and trapped.

  Immediately he took inventory of the situation. They were confined in a room that was on fire. The flames were quickly spreading all over the chamber, and Lillian lay crumpled on the floor. If they were going to survive, he would have to think and act quickly.

  Caleb looked over to Lillian and was almost overcome with emotion. There were so many things he’d wanted to say to her, but he’d never been able to find the courage. The feel of her body pressed against his had been the fulfillment of his ultimate fantasy, yet a few of his badly placed words had ruined everything. Caleb felt ashamed, and yet he also felt as though he had been justified in telling her that the choice to go off ghost hunting alone had been foolish. In many ways, Lillian was less experienced than he was, but she was stubborn and headstrong. Caleb understood and respected her strength, but even he wouldn’t have gone to investigate the demon alone. It was just common sense. He could have lost her. Didn’t she know what that would have done to him?

  The flames climbed high up into the air, filing the room with thick black smoke. Even though Lillian lay on the floor, it was painful for her to breathe. The smoke choked her as she breathed in, and burned her eyes and nostrils. She thought back to one of her first cases—an unsolved mystery, in which an entire family had been burned alive, allegedly by a ghost. Lillian couldn’t help but remember their twisted charred bodies. She wondered if she would leave behind a similar corpse, and then remembered that she’d never had the courage to tell Caleb the depth of her feelings for him. There were so many things she’d wanted to accomplish in life. It was too bad that everything was going to end like this—with her on the floor, dying of smoke inhalation.

  Caleb rushed over and scooped her up into his muscular arms. He snatched the blanket from his bed and covered her head with it, as he charged towards the metal door, holding her body close to his own. Lillian could feel the hard bulge of his muscles as he carried her with ease and slammed into the door. It didn’t budge.

  Lillian felt a bit ridiculous, swaddled like a helpless child—but she was in no shape to protest. The bed had done quite a bit of harm when it had slammed down onto her body, and virtually every part of her body ached. Each time she breathed in and out, her ribs sent a sharp pain coursing through her entire torso.

  Caleb’s body slammed into the door again and it did not move. He gently laid Lillian on the floor as he started to repeatedly charge into the door with his shoulder. Over and over, Caleb rammed his muscled body into the door. Each time the door refused to move he grunted, and readied himself for yet another attack. It was clear to her that Caleb wasn’t going to give up, yet a part of her just wished he would lay down next to her and hold her hand. If they had to die this way though, at least they would be together.

  Caleb coughed from across the room. The smoke was getting to him. He knew that the smart thing to do would be to get down low, and crawl—but he needed the power of his legs if he was going to successful punch his way through.

  It seemed that Department 99 was coming alive on the other side of the wall. Someone was barking orders outside while heavy footsteps shuffled about. They were probably rushing off to get equipment, yet Lillian knew that would take too long. They didn’t have much time left.

  Lillian pushed the blanket off. The room was filled with thick black smoke now, and she felt that death must be certain. Yet, Caleb was unwilling to give up. He charged into the door repeatedly, until something cracked. Then, the door gave way gradually, and collapsed to the floor with a great thud.

  Caleb scooped Lillian up into his arms and carried her across the threshold. Even in her altered state, she could feel the soot and sweat covering his body. It was nice to be close to him. Caleb pressed a kiss long and hard against her lips as she was laid onto a gurney and rushed off to Department 99’s medical unit. As she was rolled away, she could hear the sound of fire extinguishers as they smothered the fire.

  The next few hours were a blur. Doctors and nurses appeared over her and busied themselves doing countless things to her body. The greatest relief came when an oxygen mask was lowered onto her face. Then, something sharp pricked her right arm and everything went black.

  When Lillian awoke, she found that she was sitting alone in her office in the dark. She leaned back in the chair and squinted at the photo of a small boy, Finn—the possessed child. The boy who had started all of this. It was a sad case. She felt a deep sense of despair as she reclined in the chair feeling helpless. Finn was probably going to die.

  Then, Lillian heard footsteps behind her. When she turned around, she came face to face with an older gentleman dressed entirely in white. For a moment, neither of them spoke. They just stood there staring intently at one another. Then, the old man sighed deeply and then gave her a slight smile. “I was never involved in the occult,” the old man said. “I was more of your average Joe. I liked football.” The ghost said. Lillian chuckled. “Even brutes like Cerebus have hearts though,” the man in white said. His face turned serious. “Do you understand what I’m telling you, Lillian?” he asked. “Destroy the heart.”

  Lillian woke up to find that she was still on the gurney. It had been some kind of vision or dream, but it had been enough. The ghost had given her valuable information. In order to destroy the demon, she had to destroy its heart. Of course, that was more easily said than done, but it was at least a good starting place. It was a valuable hint.

  A nurse started a saline IV drip in her arm, and Lillian looked over at her own heart monitor. I
t was beeping steadily. She was going to live.

  “You’ve got a good strong rhythm,” the nurse said in response to Lillian’s stern facial expression. “Caleb certainly saved your life,” the nurse added.

  Lillian’s face reddened. She’d been so caught up in trying to understand the meaning behind her vision that she’d forgotten about Caleb. “Where is he?” Lillian asked the nurse. The woman smiled gently. “He’s sitting right out there in the hallway sweetie. You’ve been here over a day and a half and he’s been sitting right outside your door in the same chair the entire time.”

  Lillian felt a wave of guilt. Caleb had saved her life and was obviously very concerned about her. Perhaps his admonishment earlier hadn’t been the nasty sexist remark she’d taken it for. Maybe he was just really worried about her. Lillian started going over things in her head. She thought about what she should say to Caleb. He was right—she’d almost gotten herself killed.

  The door inched itself open slowly. Lillian had expected to see a doctor or a second nurse standing in front of her, but it was Caleb. He stood in front of her wearing a blank expression, as the nurse quickly disappeared from the room.

  He was still covered in soot. It looked as though someone had tended to the cut on his face, and secretly she hoped it hadn’t been a young pretty female. Caleb licked his lips as he looked down at her. His eyes seemed ice cold, and yet somehow smoldering hot at the same time. Someone had given him a plain white t-shirt, it was stretched taught, barely containing his muscular frame. Lillian could clearly see the cut of his shoulders and chest through the soft material. Before Lillian could decide on how to best break the silence, Caleb spoke.

  “You were right in what you said to me. I should have talked to you with more respect. I’m sorry about that…I was just…really affected by what happened to you.” Caleb looked down and started to stammer. Lillian wasn’t prepared for this. She had expected him to stand his ground—but now he was showing her a sensitive side, and she felt as though she were melting into the bed.