Shadow Sentinels: Beginnings (A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Wolf Shifter Romance)

by Karen Tomlinson

  Rawson shook his head, his hand dropping from my shoulder. With a grim look, he turned and stalked over to the training room cupboard, stuffing the fighting pads in a canvas sack so they could be stored away.

  “Em! Hit the shower!” he yelled, his voice muffled from inside the cupboard. “I need to talk to Connor, alone.”

  I shrugged in acknowledgement. “Fine by me.” I was still unsettled by the heady scent that lingered in my nostrils. I barged past Connor, heat from his arm searing my skin. My breath caught in my throat. That spicy scent hit me again and the urge to stop and touch him, to run my fingers over those arms to see if they felt as good as they looked, was almost overwhelming. My wolf whined, sniffing the air and pushing against my skin. Hands fisted, I clenched my jaw, then deliberately turned my head away and walked past him.

  I paused on the stairs to try and regain some steadiness in my legs. “What the fuck was that?” I overheard Rawson snap just as the training room door slammed shut.

  “Argh!” I threw myself on my bed, covering my eyes with both of my forearms. Blood oozed into my mouth. Damn! I rolled my eyes. I’d bitten my bottom lip while stomping back to my room. Slapping my palms on my bed, my hand brushed a soft pink bunny that Lyss had bought me years ago. I smiled. Lyss was so sweet. When I first arrived in her home, and she said she wanted me to have some nice ‘girly’ things, I hated the thought of anyone buying me anything. It would leave me feeling indebted, and back then, I was determined I was going to run away before these people got the chance to hurt me or let me down. Secretly, I loved that someone cared enough to buy me a pink rabbit, even if it was hideous. It was now one of my favourite possessions. I picked it up and held it above me, looking into its shiny blue eyes. “He’s such a dick.”

  “He won’t answer,” said an amused voice from my doorway.

  I looked at Lyss and rolled my eyes. “I know.”

  She grinned. “But I agree with you.”

  I set Mr Bunny down onto the bed at my side. “You do?”

  Lyss walked across my carpet, pink of course, and lowered herself to sit elegantly on my bed. I hid a scowl, envying her walk. It really wasn’t fair, I decided, also noticing how tight her shirt was across her generous breasts. Some women had everything going for them. Lyss was tall and pretty, with full lips that looked like she’d been kissing Rawson for hours, which she probably had...ew! Where did that come from? She had cat-like green eyes and a figure that had curves and dips most women would sell their souls to possess.

  “Of course. The bunny’s always been a dick.” She grinned at me and winked.

  I snorted a laugh. “Mr Bunny’s not the problem.”

  “I know, sweetness.” She laid down beside me. Her blonde curly hair spilled over the bed and her delicate perfume tickled my nose. It was nice—a smell that I now equated with safety.

  I ignored the ‘sweetness’ label. We both knew I was as far from sweet as you could get.

  “Remember, Connor has been with us since he was a teenager, only a few years older than you were, and he’s always been a handful. It was clear early on that he was a powerful alpha, and that he was almost too old to learn control. I even tried to persuade Cain to send him to the bureau for assessment.”

  I swallowed hard. An assessment by the SBI meant they would decide if a shifter was too dangerous to live in society—if they failed the assessment they were terminated.

  “But my man didn’t want to give up on him.” Lyss smiled and cocked her head. “I’m glad he didn’t. With Cain’s help, Connor’s managed to beat his anger issues, and controls his demons—most of the time. I know he’s arrogant, but it’s because he can be; he’s good looking, successful, powerful, has a body to die for and can handle himself in almost any given situation. That, along with a heavy dose of self-confidence and Prime Alpha vibes is a heady combination for any girl whose hormones are awake and buzzing. But...yeah, he knows it and that makes him a bit of a dick. One day, maybe he’ll get his heart broken and realise you can’t treat people like shit—well, women anyway.” She shrugged. “Or he’ll meet someone who can see beyond that alpha male bullshit to the scared little boy, the one who fights attachments, who’s reluctant to trust; remember, he’s been abandoned in the past...”

  I sighed and sat up. Rubbing my face, I wondered if Lyss knew that, with those last words, she was describing me. “I don’t care.” Connor wouldn’t ever let anyone that close—certainly not me.

  “Sure you don’t.” Lyss cocked a brow. “But you are already beautiful, far more than you realise. And dicks like him will be chasing you wherever you go. You’ll be able to have your pick of dicks.”

  “Oh good gods!” I exclaimed, shaking my head. “I can’t believe you just said that…dicks will be chasing me? That’s just so wrong! I really don’t want to be chased by dicks...like ever…” I pretended to shudder. “Great. Now I have an image of big phallus thingies chasing me up the street! Ah! It’s going to give me nightmares, and it’s your fault!” I laughed and shuddered while pushing away the sudden image of Connor’s gaze running over my body.

  Lyss fell into a fit of giggles. “Oh, your face! I knew that would cheer you up.”

  I held my palms up in surrender. “Yeah, well it worked. Consider me cheered up. You can go now. I’m going to hit the shower and try not to have nightmares about dicks chasing me.” And, although I was trying for disgust, I giggled, again. It was true, Lyss always did manage to cheer me up, no matter what happened in my day.

  Chapter 2

  Ember

  * * *

  “Hey!” I yelled.

  My books and pencil case hit the floor, their contents spilling everywhere. Feet kicked my stuff down the corridor, their owners completely oblivious. I didn’t normally carry such things around with me, now that I’d finished my exams. But today was when I cleaned out my locker and left this school to start the bureau’s agent training programme full time. It was a five year intense programme of physical pain, advanced weapons training, placements, and fieldwork. I really wasn’t looking forward to it. Working in a team, relying on others and having them rely on me was not my idea of fun, but there was another reason for going through with it...even if that other reason was a dick undercover SBI agent. Except people like these assholes who just sent my stuff flying onto the floor were also going in the training programme.

  “What d’you do that for?” I was not in the mood for queen bitch today.

  Shannon was one of those privileged, plastic, pretty girls with gorgeous hair and perfect teeth, who used too much makeup; but it wasn’t her looks that made me want to smash my fist in her face; it was just...her. My fingers curled, and my teeth actually creaked, my jaw was clenched so tightly. I wanted to do it, I truly did. Only respect for Rawson and Lyss stopped me.

  The breath I inhaled and then exhaled slowly calmed the storm in my belly. I would not embarrass them by getting kicked out of the agency training programme before it had even started. And that’s what would happen if I attacked another student. I’d worked damn hard to hit top marks at this academy, and I wouldn’t waste all that hard work on the likes of her.

  Shannon’s big brown eyes narrowed, and her head tilted. She was studying me. Her eyes glinted amber for a split second, her wolf shining through, right before she kicked one of my books into my face. A shifter’s kick is far more powerful than any human’s, and does far more damage.

  A sharp pain stung beneath my right eye. I grunted. Don’t do it. Don’t do it, I repeated to myself, closing my eyes as I struggled to temper my anger while centering the heat that surged through me. Claws itched to burst from under my fingernails. Yeah, I was a shifter, but no one, and I mean no one, knew what the other spirit in my soul was—not even me. I forced her behind a wall in my soul, my own fear caging her. I might not know what she was, but I knew she was destructive, and dangerous, and I couldn’t control her if she soared free. Right now, the lupine side of me strained to get to Shannon and rip her throat out
. Squeezing my eyes shut, all I could think about was that I couldn’t release my wolf. I’d planned on going through my fake Primis change alone. Mainly because it would be my second change, still painful, but not as slow or agonising as the first, and if anyone recognised it wasn’t a true Primis, it would raise too many questions about why I’d changed into a wolf at such a young age.

  “Aw, look, the runt is trying not to cry,” Shannon taunted.

  My eyes flew open. Runt? Cry? I don’t cry. It was true though, even at eighteen I was still skinny, with no tits or arse. I grinned inside. But what I did have in spades was anger and a viciousness that I’d kept hidden all these years from everyone here.

  The stupid girls that shadowed Shannon giggled at her words.

  Maybe I’d punch their lights out, too...

  “W-what?” I stuttered. As always, when my anger reared its ugly head, my blood heated to the point I could barely speak, my throat burning as if I might spew fire.

  “You. You’re an ugly, skinny reject that nobody wants.” She leaned in closer, her eyes narrowing. “Even your foster parents didn’t want you. I heard my dad say Rawson only hunted you down because he’d been ordered to bring you in. My dad wants you where the SBI can watch you. And he’s Rawson’s boss, so…” She shrugged her shoulders, but her eyes glinted looking me up and down and her top lip curled. “Why does my dad want you so badly? What makes you so special…? Oh yeah, and when Connor came round last night to fuck me…Oops...” She giggled and put her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and innocent. The stupid girls behind her tittered again. “Oh well, the cat’s out of the bag now, though I don’t think even my father knows about our relationship. I guess he thought Connor fucking his eldest daughter, and then killing her, would be enough.” A smirk curled her painted mouth. “Connor laughed at how pathetic you are with your crush on him, and how he likes to wind you up by flirting with you.”

  My face flamed. “I don’t have a crush on that imbecile!” I swiped at the blood beneath my eye.

  She leaned back, folding her arms under her ample chest.

  “Oh, no? I’ve seen the way you look at him when he’s in the training rooms with us; like you want to rip his clothes off and ride him like Ava always used to.”

  “Gods, you’re disgusting. And how do you know what your sister and Connor did, anyway? Did you spy on them or something?”

  Rather than be embarrassed, queen bitch just smirked and shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe he showed me.”

  Pain lanced my heart. He wouldn’t stoop so low, not when he could have any woman he wanted. Besides, I had no reason, or right, to be jealous over who Connor slept with or spent his time with. Except, I’d always thought of him as mine, especially when he could soothe my anxiety with a mere touch. He always convinced me everything was okay; that I’d be okay. And I always allowed myself to believe him, trusting him almost as much as I trusted Rawson and Lyss, which admittedly wasn’t completely, but it was still trust. Except, I hardly saw him now, unless he was in the huge training halls at the academy. Or like last month, when he dropped in at home to see Rawson. He gave up on me a long time ago, and left me to fight through my demons alone. He left me.

  I bent down to retrieve my stuff, totally over this conversation. My fingers curled around a pen and plucked it from the ground.

  Shannon squatted down in front of me. Her little black miniskirt moved up her legs revealing her legs right up to her pink panties. I turned my head and glared at the floor. She really had no shame.

  “Bet I can get him to fuck me tonight, too…”

  I froze, but my blood didn’t, it boiled. Fury slammed through me. Connor was better than her! Or was he? I broke out into a cold sweat at the thought that he might want Shannon.

  “Mmm, all those hard, big muscles covering my body.” She licked her lips and groaned, her eyes fluttering shut. “All those alpha vibes he has going on.” She touched her panties between her legs. “The way his dick...”

  “Enough!” Fire surged forth from her cage, heating my skin as my fist connected with Shannon’s chin. Her teeth snapped together with a loud crack, and she was airborne. Blood spurted from between those pouty lips. Her stupid friends screamed, but none of them ran to help her. They just stood there—gaping.

  I froze too, hoping I hadn’t killed her. I knew my strength when my wolf was riled, even if no one else did. Crap! Now I was going to end up in one holy heap of trouble. It was my last bloody day, and she’d wrecked my chances at the bureau! Bitch!

  Everyone around us stopped and stared. I could feel the weight of their attention. I forced Fire, as I called that inner raging spirit, away, and snarled at them all. It was always the way; when you were being picked on no one gave a shit, but if you fought back you were suddenly under a spotlight.

  “Fight!” Someone shouted. A stampede of feet and shouts came our way.

  I cocked my head and straightened, staring at my prey. The animal in me stirred at the smell of her blood. Fire watched from her cage, ready to jump to my aid, even as I did my best to keep her confined.

  “What the hell is going on here!?” yelled one of the teachers. “Everyone stay exactly where you are!” A geeky looking man in his mid-twenties pushed through the crowd of teenagers. He lowered himself with surprising grace and ease, his knees bumping against the tiles. His eyes narrowed, and his lips pressed tightly together as he shook Shannon’s shoulders. Queen bitch moaned, spitting blood when he shook her harder.

  My attention zoned in on the burn on her jaw. Damn! How was I going to explain that one? The strength I could pass off as my wolf, but the burn? That was another thing entirely.

  The geeky teacher took his glasses off and looked at me with wide brown eyes. “You!” He pointed at me.

  I jumped.

  “Get yourself to the head’s office.”

  I didn’t move. I couldn’t.

  “Right now!” he yelled.

  It wasn’t that I was being deliberately rude, I was just frozen, freaking out about how I was going to explain causing a burn. No shifters had that kind of supernatural power.

  There was an odd pulse of energy. That’s weird. I looked around, but no one else seemed to notice it.

  “Everyone else, clear out! Get to class!” the teacher bellowed in a voice that didn’t suit his geekiness at all.

  A sigh exploded from me. I knew I’d just fucked myself out of going into the Bureau training programme. I grabbed my stuff from the floor, quickly picking up the stray pieces from my pencil case. Starting my walk of shame to the head’s office, I pushed through the crowd of chattering teenagers and got the hell out of there.

  Shannon wasn’t lying when she said Rawson worked for her dad. Shannon’s father was the head of the British branch of the SBI. I licked my dry lips. And I had just knocked her on her arse, probably ruining all her wonderful dental work.

  My stomach turned, the lunch I’d just eaten like a brick in my belly. I tried to control my pounding heart and took some deep breaths. I’d not been in trouble for fighting in years...maybe that would go in my favour…

  I hoped Rawson wouldn’t be blamed for my behaviour. Doherty seemed to enjoy finding any reason to punish Rawson or Connor, especially if I was somehow involved. Oh gods, they might redeploy Rawson somewhere else, or sack him, or….

  I was close to hyperventilating. Making myself breathe deeply was the only way to calm myself and to think sensibly. It was true the SBI was a large, powerful and world wide beast, but the British headquarters was in Kent, on the outskirts of London, and I reasoned it would be ridiculous to move an experienced agent because of an altercation at the academy.

  The kids in the academy were children of bureau employees, and most were shifters, or they had some kind of supernatural heritage. We were all watched closely by the staff. When we reached our final year, as I have, they gave us a choice: go into a civilian training programme, where they ensured shifters were safe to live among human society, or try out for the age
ncy training programme at the SBI.

  It was hard to swallow my angry tears as I marched into the head’s office. I really didn’t want to get Rawson in trouble, but I’d allowed Shannon to goad me, and Doherty might take it out on Rawson. With a bored expression, the head’s secretary pointed to an old, worn out chair. I sat and folded my arms over my books in my lap, stewing over what might happen next. It was at least ten minutes until the head mistress called me in.

  I followed her rigid form through the half glass door and stopped in front of her desk.

  Dressed in a mid-calf straight skirt and a tweed jacket, with her hair in a tight bun, the headmistress looked severe and proper. I itched to turn around and walk back out; after all, I didn’t owe this school a thing, and this was my last day. Only the thought of Rawson’s disappointment kept me from walking.

  She looked at me coldly. “Sit.”

  I did. I sat quietly, not saying a word while the woman ranted at me. To be honest, it was almost too easy to switch off. She wasn’t scary, no matter how she dressed. Seeing homeless tramps pulled apart by red eyed, shadowy figures; women hypnotised by glamoured fae and coerced into performing sexual acts; having to eat the remains of rotting animals to survive as a six-year-old, now those were scary. I shuddered. I’d seen death and killing and much, much, more in the years before Rawson had found me, but I’d also learned how to hide, how to make myself small and use the shadows to become invisible. I’d learned how to fight and even how to kill, all before my seventh birthday. Just like many kids who lived below the surface veneer of tall buildings, flashy cars, glamorous stores and chain coffee shops, I learned how to survive; not live, just stay alive. Most of the time I could hide that feral part of me away—but sometimes it reared its ugly head, and Shannon had really pushed my buttons. Her and Connor together? No way... I snarled, my skin prickling.