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

by C. J. Ayers

  Not everyone at St. Peter’s hospital had been bad news, though. Karyn had become particularly friendly with a doctor by the name of Kevin Camaro. Kevin had often talked about wanting to change things at the establishment. Karyn also remembered that St. Peter’s had gotten into a bit of hot water for improper disposal of medical waste. Could the incidents be related somehow?

  Killian peeled to a stop in front of the hospital. He drove quickly, but mindfully and Karyn didn’t feel unsafe with him behind the wheel. Together they hopped out of the vehicle and headed into the lobby. Maybe Dr. Kevin Camaro was still working there. Maybe he could help their investigation. Karyn almost smiled at the thought of seeing Kevin again. He was such a warm and caring man.

  The lobby was a vast expanse of glass and scattered plastic seating areas. Something about the scene didn’t feel quite right to Karyn. Where were the patients and information desk clerks? Where were the doctors, the visitors, and the security guards? Where was everyone? “Stay close to me,” Killian instructed Karyn. The way he said it made her feel nervous. He seemed to sense something very dangerous too.

  Karyn followed Killian through a combination of narrow passageways and into the elevator. As they descended into the basement, Karyn’s heart jumped up into her throat. What a horrible mess this was. For some reason, when Karyn remembered Dr. Kevin Camaro, she wished that she could go back to her old life. Sure, she had experienced plenty of trauma and hardship, but there were beautiful moments of kindness too. Then, Karyn looked over at Killian. He was focused and single-minded. He moved with precision—and he was kind too now, despite whatever he had been in the past.

  Killian and Karyn approached the double metal doors of the morgue. As a nurse, Karyn had plenty of exposure to death. She had removed tubes from the bodies of the deceased, and had sometimes tried to make car accident victims’ bodies more presentable for their families. She had seen people die on the operating room table—and while those deaths stayed with her, a part of her soul had gone with them…wherever they went when they left earth. A part of Karyn had stupidly wanted to die too, a long time ago. Growing up in foster care had been rough, and she seemed to have a perpetual longing to go home, wherever home was.

  Killian’s feet made virtually no sound as they opened the door to the morgue and crept inside. Karyn wondered what the LaLevy alarm would look like. A few sheeted bodies were pushed up against the wall on gurneys at the far side of the room. The others, Karyn knew, were in the freezer. Still, where were the morgue attendants? Where was the security guard? What happened to everyone? The room was uncomfortably cold, and the slightly sweet smell of decomposing flesh emanated from the bodies closest to the wall.

  Killian walked over to a drain in the middle of the adjoining autopsy room’s floor. He looked at the drain, frowned, and then looked back down at the tiny hole in the floor. To Karyn, it just looked like a simple drain—nothing remarkable. Killian bent down on his hands and knees and began to pry off the mesh covering. When the cover came lose, he quickly tossed it up into Karyn’s hands. She caught the lid, without thinking, and then threw it back down onto the floor. Human blood, bile, urine, and all other kids of foul things had passed through that drain. The thought made Karyn feel sick.

  Killian reached his hand down into the hole and started to jam his fingers around. “I know it’s not pretty, but they knew that no one would come looking here. Ah, there it is.” Killian appeared to tug on a little device, which quickly came free. He brought a tiny metal box up through the hole and offered it to Karyn, who took an immediate step back. Killian sensed her discomfort, and he flicked back the latch and opened the box. The square container was empty.

  “We’re in big trouble,” Killian said in a whisper to Karyn. The look on Killian’s face seemed to halt the movement of space and time. Karyn had never seen him appear so serious.

  “Should we look for clues?” Karyn asked. Killian nodded. Perhaps the traitor had worked in the morgue. Karyn went to the file room and began to search through a small desk in the front room. There was nothing of significance. Then, Karyn had a thought. Perhaps they should check the freezers? Perhaps they should check the bodies?

  Karyn slowly approached Killian. He seemed wild and unlike himself. “Should we check the bodies?” She asked. The question seemed to almost bring Killian to tears. He placed his hand over his mouth and squinted hard. Then, his expression of grief was replaced by a look of sheer determination. Killian walked over to the freezing unit and pulled open the first locker door. There was a body inside, laying on a gurney. Killian pulled the body out, and looked down at the person’s face. Killian fell backwards. It was the boy--the boy from his recurring nightmare—the boy that he had repeatedly dreamt of hunting, stalking, and killing. Killian fell to the floor, shaking. Karyn immediately rushed to his side.

  Instinctively, Karyn gently pushed the gurney and body back into the freezing unit, and shut the small door. She stooped down on the floor next to Killian. His eyes seemed to glare right past her.

  “Killian...” Karyn spoke his name in a whisper. He did not react. This time Karyn reached up and began to gently stroke his beautiful hair. Something flashed in his eyes and Killian’s hand shot up and grabbed her firmly around the wrist. He pressed down as if he wanted to crush her bones. Karyn gasped as she was suddenly seeing and feeling everything that Killian was experiencing within his head. There was nothing human in his mind; in that moment, he was pure vampire. The Killian she knew had vanished, and he was nothing but primal instinct and violence.

  For a second, Karyn panicked. It was as if someone or something had temporarily pulled everything good out of Killian, and he was nothing but a killer.

  “Killian, stop!” Karyn screamed, her own mind beginning to drown in dread. Killian continued to press down hard, his deep grey eyes boring into her. Karyn watched as Killian’s fangs slowly emerged, and his mouth began to descend to where her wrist was being held, locked in his deathly vice grip.

  Karyn took one desperate stab in the dark and sent out every warm thought she had of both she and Killian together. Finally, she saw the light shift in his eyes again. He seemed to become immediately aware of what he had done. He was frightened of himself.

  Killian released Karyn’s wrist and rapidly moved into the corner away from her. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…oh my God…what have I done?” Karyn cradled her wrist protectively to her chest, and Killian stood up, reaching out for her. Karyn instinctively stepped back. “I don’t know what happened to me,” Killian pleaded. “I…I couldn’t control it.”

  Something new now flashed in Karyn’s blue eyes. Killian had never seen her look like that before—even when she had faced the werewolf. Karyn looked murderous. She spoke in a low tone, “If you ever lay a hand on me again I’ll kill you. Let’s find whatever we need to find and get back to the department.”

  Killian felt a terrible wave of shame engulf both his mind and body. He had thought that Karyn understood him. Why didn’t she know that he hadn’t meant to hurt her? Why did he always seem to hurt the people he cared about the most? Killian thought of the dead boy in the freezer again and shuddered. His eyes looked desperate and almost child-like. For a moment, Killian considered trying to explain the situation, but what would he say? He didn’t even know what had happened. No. To try and to explain away what he had just done, would be a trick—it would simply be his old primal self trying to manipulate someone for his own gain, and Killian didn’t want to be that soulless person again.

  After searching the other bodies in the morgue, they came up empty. Karyn seemed to feel like the next thing they needed to do was to search the sewers. After all, Department 99 was built down into the ground. Maybe there was something of significance under the hospital.

  Together, they wandered the lower level of the hospital looking for an opening, which might reasonably lead them into the sewer system. As they searched, Killian couldn’t help but admire how strong Karyn was. Her wrist was injured, but Kar
yn didn’t waver, and still didn’t seem particularly threatened by being alone with him. Instead, she wanted to find out what was causing the shifters to lose control. Helping others was the only thing she cared about.

  Eventually they came to an opening near something that looked like a prison shower room. Karyn didn’t know why the hospital would need a communal shower room like that, but she didn’t allow her mind to ask too many questions about the scene. The LaLevy alarm had been activated and there was no time to make mistakes, or to waste time thinking about inconsequential nuances.

  As they stood at the mouth of the sewer, Killian turned his lip upwards, as if in disgust. “Human waste is almost as foul as vampire waste,” he said—trying to lighten the mood.

  “Well, if you think about it we’re both carnivores,” Karyn spat back. Soon after, she disappeared into the darkness of the sewer tunnel.

  Visibility within the sewer was terrible. Karyn stumbled about and almost hit her head on a low-lying pipe. “Let me go first,” Killian offered, trying to push past Karyn. His vampire eyes allowed him to see better in the darkness, but she was so angry that she wouldn’t allow him to step in front of her. Instead, Karyn sped up. Even for Killian, Karyn was moving too quickly. He was trying to scan the area for both danger and clues, but as she moved ahead he found that he was distracted—struggling to match her pace, and not lose her as they twisted and turned in the damp sewer tunnels.

  Finally, after walking for a while, Karyn slowed down. “Why did you do it?” Karyn asked blankly.

  Killian turned towards her. He was closer to her face than she realized—she couldn’t tell, because she couldn’t see him in the darkness. “Why did you hunt that little boy? I saw it when I read your mind by accident on the day we first met.” Killian was taken aback. Again, he felt ashamed.

  “I don’t know why I did it because something happened to my memory when I got sucked through the vortex… but I imagine that I probably did it because that’s what vampires do. We hunt—same as humans.” Karyn felt angry again, and then her rage slowly began to subside. Who was she to judge? He was right. Some humans did hunt other animals for sport, and for food. Was it really that different?

  “You see me as the bad guy, because you’re my food source. A chicken or a cow sees you as the bad guy, Karyn, and they see me as their protector…from you.”

  Karyn sighed, “Chickens and cows don’t think, Killian.”

  Killian shook his head. “Vampires used to say the same thing about humans. I think that everything that’s alive wants to preserve its own life, and in that instinct there is a certain kind of consciousness.” Karyn felt suddenly ashamed. In judging Killian, she had never considered that she, too, was a predator. Karyn had always thought of herself as a healer.

  Karyn suddenly heard a far-off scuttling sound. Both she and Killian froze in their tracks. Karyn’s heart raced. If a shifter was coming towards her, she would be helpless because she couldn’t see. For a quick moment, she regretted having been so harsh on Killian because she needed him now.

  Killian tiptoed up closer to Karyn and took the lead, positioning his body between Karyn and whatever had made the noise. A rat quickly scampered by. Karyn relaxed, but Killian wasn’t fooled. Whatever had made that sound had been bigger than a rat. Something was down here.

  Suddenly, a tiny ball rolled itself down the tunnel towards Karyn. “Don’t move,” Killian whispered. The ball continued its slow roll towards them until it reached a dead stop right in front of Killian’s shoe. “Get ready to run,” he said to Karyn. It was too much. Karyn wanted to cry and scream. She had been in more danger over the course of the last few days than she had in the entirety of her life before Department 99. Why had this happened to her? Of all the people on the planet, why did she have to be a shadow-walker? Karyn blinked. All of a sudden, she could see. For some reason, even though it was dark—she could see clearly.

  “Come out here, ghost!” Killian called. No answer. Something scampered around again in the distance. The form of a very short woman appeared in the middle of the tunnel. “I guess I was wrong. It’s nothing.” Killian stated.

  “Don’t move,” Karyn spoke in a low hush. The translucent form of the woman glided up to she and Killian. The woman seemed to look Karyn up and down. She then turned her attention to Killian. It was as if the ghost had never seen a vampire before. She examined Killian’s face closely, with a strange sense of longing in her face. Perhaps she wished she were alive again? Then, the ghost abruptly vanished.

  “I saw something,” Karyn confessed.

  “There was a rat,” Killian responded.

  “No. It was a woman with short hair. She was some kind of ghost. She floated over to you and then she disappeared.” Killian looked perplexed. That was something new. He’d had plenty of encounters with the supernatural, but none like this. Something about the situation rubbed him the wrong way. Why had Karyn been the only one who had been able to see the woman?

  They continued forward and the tunnel opened up into a small chamber. There was a strange kind of graffiti covering the walls, and the chamber was lit by a few candles. Someone had been in there recently.

  “Homeless people maybe?” Killian suggested, trying to find an explanation for the candles. Karyn looked down. There was a small puddle of blood gathering by her left shoe. The blood seemed to be dripping down on the floor from somewhere above her.

  Out of nowhere, there was a loud screeching sound as a bat flew down past Karyn’s face. Karyn looked up to where the bat had come from and pulled in a sharp breath. Above her, three vampires were hanging upside-down. One seemed to have fed recently, as blood was dripping out of his mouth and onto the floor. Wordlessly, Killian placed his index finger up to his lips to signal Karyn to be silent. The vampires seemed to be locked in some kind of slumber. Their eyes were closed, and they seemed totally unaware of Killian and Karyn’s presence. The blonde-haired vampire in the front reminded Karyn of a frozen corpse.

  “Time to go,” Killian whispered. They silently retreated out into the complete darkness of the tunnel. Karyn felt her way along the sewer wall as they walked in complete silence, back towards St. Peter’s hospital. Karyn’s thoughts raced through her mind. For a second, she felt as though she was going completely mad. Something about the total darkness of the tunnel, combined with the horrors she had witnessed only days before seemed to bring Karyn to the brink of her emotional limitations.

  As she ran her hand along the wall for guidance, she felt a sharp pain as something tore into the palm of her hand. Great, she thought to herself, a rusty nail was all she needed. Sensing that something might be wrong, Killian reached out and placed his heavy hand onto her shoulder. Immediately the smell of Karyn’s blood drifted up to him and he observed the small deep cut on her hand with his impeccable night-vision. A sound rang out behind them. The vampires had caught the scent. They were awake and they were coming.

  Karyn could hear the heavy patter of the vampires’ feet as they rushed forward, screeching through the tunnels. There was no longer time for her to feel her way along the walls, so Killian simply grabbed her hand and pulled her along. His palm was unbelievably cold, but strong and muscular. Karyn knew he hadn’t meant to hurt her arm before, but she didn’t know if she could overcome the fact that he had caused her pain. She had felt enough of that in her lifetime.

  The vampires were gaining on them. Suddenly a terrifying thought occurred to Karyn—she was the only human in the tunnel. Killian was a vampire too, albeit a good and reformed creature of the night, but a blood-drinker nonetheless. What if something triggered him like before? What if he lost control for more than just a split second this time? Suddenly she felt as if her ally had become her greatest enemy. For some reason she had the sudden fear that Killian might throw her to the vampires out of spite. Even in their panicked flight, Killian could sense a kind of hesitation in Karyn.

  “I won’t let anything hurt you,” he said, “not even me.” Karyn tightened h
er grip on his hand, feeling reassured that she could trust him.

  They were running at a break-neck pace now and Karyn’s heart was pounding in her chest. She almost screamed in relief when the crushing darkness of the tunnel opened up into the basement of the hospital. Nevertheless, Killian did not seem relieved. Killian knew what Karyn did not-- the vampires would stop at nothing now that they had the scent of her fresh blood. They were closer than she realized. Killian quickly picked Karyn up as if she weighed nothing and ran as fast as he could. When he reached the shower room and he set her down on the other side of the room’s divide, and pushed her inside, slamming the heavy door behind her. From his side, he locked the door.

  Killian knew vampires like no one else could. He knew that the only way they would stop hunting Karyn now was if they were killed. If Killian was going to keep Karyn alive, he was going to have to face them and destroy them. Something in the back of his mind questioned why he was doing this. Now he was killing his own kind for the humans?

  As the three vampires entered the room, they slowed, eyeing Killian up and down. The one with bleach blond hair took a step closer. “You must be the vamp we’ve been hearing so much about,” he cackled.

  “You look like you ate a bad rat for dinner,” Killian shot back. The vampire hissed and the two others began to circle around him. Killian knew there was no way out this time. Jack had been right; Karyn was going to cause him trouble. Maybe he could give her enough time to get away and back to the safety of Department 99 though. That was the least he could do after completely ruining her life.

  On the other side of the metal door, Karyn was screaming. She hadn’t realized what Killian was doing until it was too late. She tried with all her might to open the door, but it wouldn’t even budge. Killian was going to get killed trying to save her, and there was no way for her to help. Karyn screamed and pounded on the door until her hands were bruised and her voice was gone. In the midst of her fervor, something began to seep into her consciousness. It sounded like a whispered howl. Karyn turned, and there in front of her was the ghost she had seen before. Karyn was so weak and so frightened for Killian that it never even dawned on her to be afraid. The ghost floated around Karyn’s head and then slowly began to move off down the hall.