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

by Karen Tomlinson

  Rawson forced himself up and charged again. His eyes were wild. His roar rocked the foundations of the house, vibrating through the floor and walls, right before he barrelled through the red eyed man, sending him flying this time. Doherty yelled, his eyes wide. He tried to spin out of the murderous bear's way but Rawson was quicker. He swiped his claws, catching Doherty’s face. Doherty fell, screaming and clutching his severed flesh.

  Red eyes flipped to his feet and pressed on the mask which covered his mouth. I swallowed hard. There must be a microphone embedded in it.

  My heart sank as he called for reinforcements. I knew I should run, but I couldn’t. Instead, I grabbed the door handle. It was suicide to go out there but I needed to help the man who had taken me in and given me everything. I swallowed the ache in my throat. He was my family.

  Rawson inhaled. He growled and glared at the cupboard. His eyes narrowed on me and he shook his big furry head. He turned towards red eyes who now had his weapon trained at Rawson.

  There was a slight pop, pop, pop.

  Rawson spun, his claws slipping on the laminate floor. He opened his massive jaw and bellowed, staggering forward, but it wasn’t to get to red eyes. No, he knew what they’d shot into him. His last conscious moments, he wanted to spend with Lyss. Her soul wasn’t there anymore, but it didn’t matter. Rawson limped towards her remains and laid down against his beloved mate, placing his huge head next to hers.

  He released the most pained, mournful sound I’d ever heard. Tears blurred my vision. He glanced at me just before his eyes dropped shut and the door burst open.

  SBI agents piled in, their weapons held steady and pointed at the bear.

  Holding in my sobs, I forced myself to crawl back into the vent and headed away from my family. Halfway to the exit, I grabbed the bag I’d stowed for emergencies. I had all the money Rawson and Lyss had given me over the years, and the cash I’d earned from Som’s jobs. I’d spent very little. I hadn’t bought clothes because Rawson and Lyss had always bought them for me. I didn’t wear makeup, and I only needed a few toiletries. I didn’t have a passport but that didn’t matter. I knew how to survive under the radar of the SBI. I grabbed the knives and sheaths I’d taken from Lyss’s stash, then the weapons Rawson pretended he didn’t know I had from where I’d stuck them to the pipes.

  Like I said—prepared.

  Voices echoed behind me.

  “I can scent someone in here!” a voice yelled.

  Shit! I stuffed everything in my bag, wriggling and crawling as quickly as I could through the duct. There was no time for being careful. I shoved the bag up through the hatch, not bothering to close it, and dove straight under the bushes. I could hear men swearing from inside the duct.

  Hope you’re stuck there forever. I could squeeze through because I was small, only five feet four inches and still skinny, but a grown-assed shifter? No way in hell were they going to fit. I scuttled along on my hands and knees right past the rats. Grimacing, I grabbed a rotting carcass and smeared it on my bag, jeans and jacket. It was better than being hunted down.

  Dragging the bag behind me with my leg through the handle, I crawled back through the bushes. I reached the lane just as the back garden was illuminated. Glancing back over my shoulder was a big mistake. I didn’t see the agents waiting in the lane. A hand reached into the bush and grabbed my hair. Pain burned across my scalp, but I had the presence of mind to kick the bag off my leg. I prayed that it would be missed in the darkness. I’d be back for it...

  The hand wrapped in my bright red hair and dragged me, screeching, from the bushes.

  “Shackle her quickly, before she shifts. Don’t want an angry she-wolf on our hands.”

  Yeah, especially this one! I wasn’t going down without a fight! My muscles tensed and I slammed my fist up into the SBI agent’s groin. He let go of my hair as I’d hoped he would. I threw my weight down. Landing on my back, I swung my leg around the back of his and took his knees out. He fell forward with a yell. Taking my opportunity, I hammered my boot heel down on his head in an axe kick. He grunted, then laid still. I flicked up onto my feet only to feel a sting in the side of my neck. Instinctively my hand slapped to the source of the pain. Damn! The dart was lodged into my skin. I tugged at it but couldn’t pull it out.

  Out of the darkness the shape of a large man approached. Red eyes glinted at me.

  “Oh shit…” I uttered and tried to run but my legs wouldn’t respond. I looked down at my stupid unresponsive feet and cursed my own body. Confusion fogged my mind. I had to run. Why couldn’t I? I lashed out at another figure I sensed standing to my right, calling on my wolf to help me. I missed him, my heart squeezing and a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead when my wolf thrashed to escape and couldn’t. Fire perked to attention, sensing my plight. Too late… I told her. I blinked slowly as a blurred figure came to a halt in front of me where I swayed drunkenly.

  “Now, now, Ember. Don’t fight. I can’t let you go, not after what you witnessed.” Doherty held a cloth to his bleeding face. Inside, I smirked even though I knew the muscles of my face weren’t responding. I hoped the wounds Rawson had inflicted got infected, and the evil fucker dropped dead. “Besides, I need you for another reason.” His fingers brushed my face and he leaned in close enough his breath warmed my cheek. I flinched away, or I tried. He’d always had an unhealthy obsession with me—one I didn’t understand. “You took something from me, Ember. I want it back. And I’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”

  There was another sharp sting in my neck.

  I hissed.

  Doherty gave a truly terrifying smile. “Until I find what I need to retrieve her, I can use you for something else.”

  The world tilted as I began to fall.

  I hit the tarmac but didn’t feel a thing, not even when my head bounced on the road. My eyes closed no matter how much I tried to keep them open.

  “Bring her,” Doherty ordered, his voice muffled.

  I was lifted, far more gently than I’d expected and shuffled until I was resting against a broad shoulder. The smell of burning and something dark that reminded me of Som, filled my nose. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was overpowering, making my heart pound as if subconsciously I knew I should be scared of this person. But running wasn’t an option, and despite pushing against my body, my wolf couldn’t break through. My head lolled sideways onto hard muscle when I lost all coherent thought and fell into the darkness.

  Chapter 6

  Connor

  * * *

  Water dripped. One. Two. Three…Pause...One. Two. Three…Pause. It was the same goddamn rhythm all day, every day. I peered at my expensive watch. At least the bloody thing still worked. My phone had been taken and smashed right after my arrest for Miss X’s murder.

  I marked off another day. It was one minute past midnight. That made it ninety two days since I’d been shoved in this stinking shit hole. Owen was down here, too. We talked every day, mostly about nothing but it helped keep us both sane. I had no idea what Doherty was up to, but it was clear we weren’t getting any kind of trial, fair or otherwise.

  We’d been bundled into the cells at the SBI and kept there for less than a day. In the middle of the night we’d been darted and left to fall into unconsciousness. When I woke up, I’d been incarcerated in this underground cell. I had no idea where we were. It wasn’t somewhere I’d ever been before. The place was old, really old, almost like an old fort’s underground prison. The floors were stone blocks, as were the walls, while the front of the cells were constructed of iron bars. It was freezing and stank of old piss, shit and mold.

  My cold fingers explored the collar around my neck. The fucking thing was impregnated with silver, enough to leave superficial burns and keep my wolf from breaking free, but not enough to do any permanent damage.

  “Owen?” My dry throat made it difficult to talk. Guards came once a day to push a bucket of water in through the barred door of each cell and throw us enough food to keep us alive.
It depended on the guard as to how much water was in each bucket. Yesterday's bucket had only contained an inch of filthy water in the bottom. It wasn’t fit to drink, and I was dehydrated, so dry, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I groaned as my stomach growled, and my wolf snarled, wanting to be free to hunt for food. The weaker I got, the weaker he became, too.

  The water dripping in the background was torture to my fluid starved body.

  “Yo, Brady!” I rasped.

  Owen sighed. “What, man?”

  “That’s ninety two days we’ve been in this shit hole. Any ideas how to get out yet?”

  “Nah, man. Like I said a hundred times before, this bit of our prison is shitty, but that door at the top of those steps would need a bomb to blow it open. And then we’d need weapons to take out whoever’s up there. Why? You got some weapons shoved up that a-hole of yours that you just now decided to tell me about? In fact, how about you tell me how I ended up in this shit hole courtesy of you, you selfish shit! Seeing as you haven’t given me any explanation yet...let alone the goddamn truth!” His voice rose to a bellow.

  “Yeah, I got three machine guns shoved up my arse, you dick! And I just thought it’d be nice to chill down here for a while, you know, spend some quality time with you. I already told you, I have no fucking idea what happened! And I don’t know why Doherty dragged you down here with me, either. So when are you going to stop being pissed at me about it?”

  “Never, you fucker! Now shut up and let me get some sleep.”

  I didn’t answer. Instead I went back to counting water drops while trying to ignore the moans from the poor fuckers who’d been brought down here last night. I’d counted the cells when the guards flicked the lights on, which was, usually, only when they brought another prisoner down. Otherwise, the only sliver of light in the place was from a small barred window near the top of the stone stairs which didn’t illuminate much at all.

  There were eight cells down here. Only the one directly opposite mine was empty. Once that was filled, I suspected we’d be moved elsewhere. My gut tightened. I was a trained agent, but I was utterly out of control here, and the alpha in me hated it.

  My eyes had long since adjusted to the dark and I didn’t falter as I stepped up to the cell bars and peered through. In the cell next to the empty one, a pair of luminous ice blue eyes regarded me. At first I’d been unnerved by the fae. The fae weren’t supposed to be able to get into this world, not without the say so of their royal family—it seemed this one had broken the laws of both worlds and was paying for it. His unwavering attention had such a level of coldbloodedness and detachment that it scared even me. I knew a little about the fae, but the thing that stuck in my mind was that they were vicious and uncompromising warriors. They showed no mercy to their enemies. I wondered how this one got caught. It was hard to see his build clearly in the darkness, though he moved fluidly through the shadows of his cell.

  “Evening, Walker.” I grinned. He just stared at me, unblinking and ghostly. “Yeah, fuck you too, you creepy son of a bitch,” I muttered, still grinning. Well, he’d been less than forthcoming about his name, and I needed to call him something. Besides, he looked so much like a white walker from Game of Thrones that it was a perfect name for him.

  “Got any faerie magic you can use to get us out?” I knew he would remain silent. Maybe he didn’t understand me, though I had to wonder if he could even speak.

  “Hey, keep it down would ya? I’m trying to get my beauty sleep,” Owen complained.

  I snorted and grinned. “Jesus, you’re going to have to sleep a lot then, Brady! You’re one ugly assed mother fucker and sleep hasn’t helped you so far!”

  “With all due respect, sir...fuck off!” he growled back.

  There were some answering yells to the same effect of shut up and let us sleep.

  I swallowed against my dry throat and grinned at Walker, who blinked. “Ha!” I banged the bars. “That was a laugh, wasn’t it? Or your version of one! I knew it! You’re not totally dead, Walker, just a bit zombie-like.”

  He tilted his head and his ridiculously pretty, white hair fell to one side and over his shoulder, almost reaching down to his waist. His gaze slowly shifted from me to the steps that led up to the blast door. My whole body stiffened. Another prisoner; that was the only reason the guards came at night.

  The locks on the door clattered and light flooded the stairwell. I winced, quickly looking away. Walker hissed and lifted his hand to shield his eyes, catching his fingers on the cell bars. His skin sizzled. He spat words I didn’t understand and snatched his hand back. The scent of sweet, burned flesh permeated the air. Yeah, the bars were iron, a fae’s worst nightmare.

  “Watch yourself there, Walker. You might need to fight should I ever figure out how to get us out of here.”

  He blinked, and I was sure he nodded slightly before he stepped back from the bars.

  Black booted feet jogged down the steps until I could see standard issue SBI cargo trousers. The guard flicked on the lights and there were shouts of discomfort from my fellow inmates. Walker hissed and stepped back into the shadows. None of us had seen sunlight since we’d been down here, and Walker had already been staring at me when I woke up in my cell. He’d been here alone before any of us arrived.

  “Settle down!” yelled a voice.

  It was one I recognised. I called him Misery. That word epitomised everything about him. All the guards that brought new prisoners down here were careful not to use names, so, much as I had for Walker, I made up my own for them. Apparently, names had special power over a fae, and likewise they could control those who were stupid enough to offer their own name. I guess names were a bit of a gift and a lot of a curse to the fae.

  Misery looked up the steps. “Bring them down.”

  I snarled as Perversion and Vice, two more of our regular guards, dragged a heavy looking male down the steps. His head lolled forward and he stank of blood and death. It clung to his skin and filled the air as they dragged him to the cell opposite mine. My blood froze. Under that blood and stink I knew that male’s smell almost as well as I knew my own.

  They threw Rawson’s body onto the ground. A grunt escaped him but he didn’t move.

  “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” My fists curled and uncurled.

  “Hmmm? What was that?” Vice narrowed his attention on me. I stared out through the bars, a snarl on my lips. I didn’t need my wolf to challenge this piece of shit.

  He sneered. “Oh, don’t worry, wanker, we’ve got a surprise especially for you.”

  I held my breath. The mix of alcohol, cannabis, and his rotten teeth made it too vile to breathe in. Yeah, this one liked his booze and drugs. “Hey! Let’s go get the girl!” He slapped Perversion on his back.

  The other man swung his head my way, his slimy gaze running over me. Lust oozed from him, just like it did when he looked at any of the other alphas incarcerated down here. Yeah, this disgusting piece of shit liked being in a position of power over those who didn’t like to submit. He got his rocks off tormenting and abusing the inmates. He hadn’t quite got to me or Owen yet, other than a few strokes of my dick when he’d locked us up. I guessed my time might be up soon. I held his eyes and he smiled, licking his lips.

  I’d bite the fucker’s dick off or rip his throat out with my teeth if he came anywhere near me…

  “Hey!” Vice smacked Perversion’s bicep. “The girl?”

  Rawson uttered a word, and I turned my attention to him, but he just lay on his side, blood running from his smashed face. He dragged his knees up into a foetal position as if he were in too much pain to do anything else.

  I strained my ears.

  “Lyss, Lyss, Lyss…”

  My heart froze. Seeing him like this, beaten and broken, I knew what had to have happened.

  There was a scuffle at the top of the stairs, and grunts filled the air.

  “Hey!” There was the sound of slap. “Behave, or I’ll ignore the boss’s warning and punish you
myself.”

  My fingers curled around the bars. Vice was a bastard and my stomach sank at the thought of him and his buddies dragging a woman down here. It couldn’t be Lyss, could it? I prayed to the Mother Wolf that Perversion wasn’t going to carry out his usual abuse. It would drive all the alphas in here mad, to hear another rape and not be able to stop it—me included. Maybe that was the point—more torture. Hearing Perversion’s grunts as he forced himself on the drugged newbies made me sick to my soul.

  I placed my cheek against the bars and peered up at the three sets of legs at the top. The woman was fighting hard, kicking out at her captors’ knees. She managed to hook her foot behind Perversion’s knee and must have slammed her head back. There was a resounding crack and grunt followed by a vicious curse.

  “Bitch!” he roared and yanked the woman out of Vice’s grasp. He shoved her, and she fell down the steps, bouncing off the walls. Red hair tumbled in a veil of fiery colour. There was the pop of bone followed by a high pitched scream.

  My heart stuttered, and time stopped. That voice. That hair.

  I gripped the iron bars, my muscles tensing as I tried to rip the iron apart to get to her. A vice gripped my chest. I couldn’t breathe! “Ember!”

  Walker stepped up to the bars, his ice blue gaze fixed on me, but I didn’t care what he thought. I’d bare my soul for Ember. She shouldn’t be here!

  “Connor? What’s wrong!” yelled Owen.

  The cells were in an uproar, my pained roar awakening every alpha.

  Perversion ran down the steps, followed closely by Vice. Blood ran from his broken nose and split lip.

  “Don’t you touch her!” I thumped the bars with my clenched fist, hard enough they bent.

  Perversion grabbed Ember’s stunning fiery hair and yanked her head back. He grinned at me, blood covering his teeth. “Hey, sweetheart, looks like the director was right. You’re gonna be a hot bargaining chip with these dogs.” He lifted her to her feet by her hair.