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

by Karen Tomlinson

  “I am not high fae, and like any other fae, the iron stops my magic from working. I need to be further away from it for longer before my magic will be strong enough to cause damage.”

  His heartrate didn’t increase, neither did his breathing. He wasn’t lying, but it didn’t escape me his answers were deliberately vague.

  “He’s right.” Rawson shuffled out of the shadows of his cell and spat a mouthful of blood on the ground.

  I bit back my retort to Walker, watching Ember as she registered Rawson was awake.

  She blinked and with a little cry, ran to him and flung her arms around him. “I’m so sorry about Lyss,” she whispered brokenly into his chest.

  I swallowed a growl at seeing her hold another man, even if it was Rawson. It was damn hard. All my wolf wanted was to claim her; the need to do so burning deep in my gut. I wanted nothing more than to drag her into the nearest cell and do just that. But I shook off my selfish desires. She was right, she wasn’t mine, and I was an insensitive bastard for even thinking of claiming her right now. And commanding her not to touch another person, especially one she loved, would only earn me a fist in my face or a boot in my nuts.

  “What happened to Lyss?” I asked Rawson.

  His throat bobbed. “I—can’t…” He screwed his eyes up as if in pain.

  “Then don’t.” I growled, my own throat aching at the thought of Lyss being gone. It was a fucking miracle Rawson was even functioning if Lyss was dead. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to breathe if Ember died, let alone function. It was becoming impossible not to grab her and keep her close. I glanced at Vice’s smoldering body. I wished I could bring him back, just so that I could kill the bastard again.

  “No, don’t,” Ember whispered up at Rawson, agreeing with me. She kissed his cheek, tears trickling from her eyes. My stomach flipped at that sign of distress, when I knew she would rather bite her own finger off than cry. Lyss had been kind to me when no other person on this planet seemed to have a heart. Even Rawson had kicked my arse when I’d first come to live with him. I knew the pain Ember suffered, even if I couldn’t express it the same way. Whoever had killed a kind-hearted soul like Lyss deserved to suffer an eternity in hell.

  Ember spun away from Rawson. A look of determination crossed her face. I cocked my head, watching her through narrowed eyes. My Firecracker had a plan. Her boots clicked on the concrete as she strode to the stairwell, sidestepping the smoking embers of Vice’s body. The whole place stunk of burning flesh.

  She peered up at the three alphas at the top of the stairs. “Come out of the way, guys.”

  They hesitated, one eyed me warily, the other two gave her heated looks. I narrowed my eyes and rolled my shoulders, my fists curling so tightly, my fingernails scored my palms. Jealousy was not an emotion I was familiar with. I went after whatever woman I wanted with a single-minded purpose, and they never refused. But Ember was different. She was mine. My mate. Not theirs. And I hated that they even looked at her with interest, never mind the lust that burned in their eyes. Bloody alphas! “Now!” I curled my top lip back in a snarl. My wolf might be caged, but so were theirs. The difference between us? I was still capable of ripping them to shreds. The biggest of them eyed Perversion’s corpse. His silver grey hair and eyes shone eerily when he looked back at me. “That’s right.” I grinned viciously. “Get away from her. Now.”

  The alpha narrowed his eyes, nodded and urged the others down the steps, past Ember. They stopped near me, and again I positioned myself between them and her. I inhaled and caught a scent vaguely like Walker’s from the silver haired man.

  Ember eyed me, then them. No question she was pissed that they had listened to me and not her. I shrugged. “Alpha,” I reminded her, but it wasn’t just that. It hadn’t escaped my notice that all these other men were shifters, but not just any old shifters; they were all potential alphas, too.

  Without another word, Ember ran up the steps.

  I had an idea what she was doing. The only trouble was, if it worked, there was no knowing what was outside that door. “What’s your name?” I asked the grey haired man.

  “Stone,” he answered coldly.

  “Don’t go near her, Stone. And make sure the others stay away from her.”

  His face remained blank and cold. “Why? Frightened she’d prefer them over you, alpha?”

  It was interesting that he didn’t include himself in that comment. “No. Sure, I’ll still kill them if they look at her the wrong way.” Yeah, I was not a nice guy around my mate and other alphas. “But see this guy here that she burned to a crisp?” He nodded. “It has more to do with the fact you’ll end up like that if you upset her.” I shrugged and stepped over to Perversion’s body. Squatting, I pulled two guns from the holsters on his smoldering legs. One looked like some kind of tranq’ gun. It was loaded with tiny darts that held a small phial of green liquid. My nostrils flared in recognition. Careful to avoid his scorched flesh, I searched his body and discovered one large knife and two smaller ones.

  I peered up at Owen. “Here you take the gun. Check it still works. I’ll take the knife. I’m better at close combat than you. Hey, Walker?”

  Icy eyes looked at me. “You want this?” I waved the dart gun in the air.

  He nodded once, walked over and took it.

  “Still a man of few words, hmm?”

  He just looked at me.

  I grinned. The two smaller blades I handed to Stone. “We stay together up there,” I said. No one argued. A pack stood a better chance of survival than a lone wolf. “You need help there, old man?” I asked Rawson, hiding my worry for him. Rawson shook his head and gestured for me to go ahead. I didn’t like leaving him to stagger along behind, but neither could I stay and help him, not that he would accept it. Forcing my worry aside, I jogged up the steps. Getting Ember out was my priority right now.

  Ember had her hands flat on the metal door, right over the locking mechanism. “Don’t you come near me.”

  “You can’t burn me, remember?” But my attention was on her hands, fascinated with the way heat pulsed from her skin.

  “I know, but it doesn’t mean I won’t try, you bastard.” Her eyes opened, and she turned her head to glare at me. They shone wetly, and my gut tightened. I hated to see those tears and know I was the cause. I’d fucked up when I’d left her after our kiss.

  “You left me. Without so much as a word, you dumped me on the driveway, and then you just disappeared.” She turned her face towards the door again, closing her eyes.

  I swallowed, my heart squeezing, even my wolf hung his head. “I’m sorry, Firecracker, but it wasn’t my fault...”

  “I know. Not this time.” Her voice was tight, and I didn’t know if it was with the effort of summoning enough heat to melt the lock or if it was a far darker emotion. “It’s just the way things are. People leave…My parents left me. And you? You left me years ago, well before you disappeared this time.” She sighed, and removed her hands from the door, shaking them out. “It was Doherty who told us you were dead.” Her statement was flat and unemotional.

  Anger surged in my veins at the depth of the director’s deceit.

  “Rawson left me and Lyss after you disappeared. He spent hours, days and then weeks away from us trying to find the truth about what really happened.”

  My attention flicked down to Rawson. He leaned against the wall and stared at the floor. That man had given me a shot at a decent life, and it seemed he had lost his own trying to save me—again. Oh, I knew he wasn’t dead, but he may as well be. He’d lost Lyss, and she was his whole life. Nausea rolled in my gut. Looking for me had cost him dearly. I owed him—big time. I also needed to know what devils he’d unearthed to make Doherty come down on him so hard. But right now it was Ember who needed me most. We had to get away from here, and she needed to know I wouldn’t leave her again, that she could trust me.

  Her gaze followed mine to rest on Rawson’s damaged face. “And now he will leave again, especially w
ith Lyss being gone. He will tear down the world to find those responsible for killing her. None of us can go home.”

  “He’s not going to leave you, Ember, neither am I.”

  “You will,” she said, her voice still flat, her eyes so distant I shuddered. “You’ll help him bring Doherty down, and to do that you’ll both have to leave. I have no idea why he was keeping you all here, but he can’t be allowed to get away with it.”

  The other alphas watched us, their faces dark, their fists clenched, but I ignored them. Walker prowled to the bottom of the stairs.

  I brushed her cheek with the back of my fingers. “Even if we have to leave, we’ll always come back.”

  She sighed, and blinked slowly. “No, Connor, there are no guarantees you will, and even if you do, it doesn’t mean you’ll stay.”

  I had no idea what was going on in her head, or her heart, but it was clear she didn’t trust me, and now wasn’t the time for a deep conversation like this. I needed to get her and the others out of here.

  She swallowed hard and looked away from me. “I can’t do this,” she whispered, studying her hands. She held them up, desperation in her voice.

  My heart lurched, until I realised she was talking about her gift, not our possible relationship. “I can’t make my fire work. It won’t work. Why won’t it work when I need it to?” she asked, her words were fast, her eyes wide.

  “I don’t know.” I took hold of her hands, hoping to calm her. My lips pressed together. We needed her fire to get out of this door. If we waited for the guards to enter we would be at a massive disadvantage but… “Ember, it’s okay, you’ve only ever been able to summon it when you’re in an extreme state of emotion or are in mortal danger.”

  Wide eyed she stared up at me. “No.” She shook her head. “It has to work. We have to get out!”

  “Allow me.” Walker didn’t wait for my answer, he strode up the remaining stairs, stepped around Ember and me and up to the door. With a glowing finger, he traced runes over the lock. The words he whispered were soft and musical, drifting into my ears and echoing before drifting away. Each rune he drew burned with light then sank into the metal. And just like that, the door unlocked. Walker’s white brows dipped. It was the first emotion I’d ever seen on his face.

  “Didn’t you do that?”

  “I’m afraid not,” he said and twisted away from the door just as it swung open.

  I lunged for Ember's arm and pushed us sideways. We slammed into the wall just before bullets pinged against the door and the walls, sending bits of concrete into my back and shoulders. I nudged Ember further out of harm’s way, keeping my body wrapped around her like a shield. Unless we could somehow get their weapons from them, we were fucked. I spun around, making sure my bulk still protected Ember. She touched my back as if she needed to reassure herself that I was there. I looked back at her. “Okay?” My gut squeezed at her ashen face.

  She nodded, blinking rapidly.

  Owen jogged up the steps, stopping with his back to the wall, gun at the ready. “Now what?”

  Walker met my gaze. Pure predator stared out of his icy eyes. That predatory need to kill lurked in me, too; clamouring to escape, just like my wolf. The fae studied the gun in his hand then shoved it into his waistband. “Now, we wait for them to come closer,” he answered before I could speak. “Then, we kill them.” And he stretched his glowing fingers and cracked his neck.

  Chapter 7

  Ember

  * * *

  My throat burned. I craved water or a drink of any kind. Calling on Fire like that depleted me of moisture, leaving me shaky. It had been the first time I'd ever used her gift deliberately. The only times it had appeared in the past was when I was dying, or I was out of emotional control. I took a deep breath, trying to process what I’d done. I’d killed a man. Shouldn’t I feel guilt, or remorse or something? Leaning on the wall, I searched inside myself. Connor’s scent filled my senses, his broad back blocking my view of the others and protecting me from flying bits of stone. Nope, there was nothing but relief at getting away from that evil man. And finding Connor? Jesus, I’d thought I was hallucinating when I’d heard his voice. I reached out, needing to make sure he was real. I rested my palm on the middle of his back. Hard muscle shifted beneath my touch.

  He turned his head and peered down at me. “Okay?”

  I nodded, though I was far from okay. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around him and make sure he didn’t disappear again. The silver collar around his neck glinted, stoking my fury. I blinked rapidly. Such a beautiful and powerful alpha should never be collared like a pet. A piece of stone hit the wall above my shoulder, the shard bouncing off and hitting me. I winced and my wolf snarled. Unlike all the alphas waiting to fight for their freedom, my wolf was free. They might want to rip their captors apart, but so did I; the difference was, I could. Connor’s muscles shifted under my hand. My body heated at that contact, and something clicked into place inside me. I needed to know he was safe. And I’d break that bloody collar from his neck with my bare hands if I had to. I couldn’t melt his collar right now. I’d shoved Fire back into her cage and even if she hadn’t gone willingly, I couldn’t risk burning his skin with molten metal.

  While Walker, Connor and Owen decided what our next move was, I decided on mine. Behind the protection of Connor’s broad back, I shed my clothes.

  Walker was the first to notice me. His face didn’t change but he cocked his head then looked back at Connor.

  “Holy shit.” Owen’s mouth dropped open, before his gaze travelled over my nakedness.

  I flushed but refused to cover myself. These other men were all shifters and should be used to getting naked. With a huff, I smirked. Just not in the middle of a prison break. Connor swiveled to face me, ducking a little when another barrage of bullets hit the wall and door. Owen stuck his gun out of the door and pulled the trigger blindly.

  Connor’s eyes met mine. He growled and stood in front of me. A snarl curled his lip, but he couldn’t stop his gaze dropping to my toes and slowly rising. Heat banked in his gaze when his perusal paused on the juncture between my thighs before rising over my flat stomach to my breasts. He inhaled deeply, and I knew he was scenting me; my fear and the lust that shivered through me at the desire in his gaze.

  “Move.” My voice was more of a squeak than a demand.

  “No fucking way.” His eyes flashed, his fists clenched. “Put your clothes back on.” The possessive growl in his voice had goosebumps exploding over my skin.

  As much as I wanted to argue with the challenge in his tone, and wrap myself around that honed and magnificent body, now was not the time. I narrowed my eyes and bent down to pick up my bundled clothes. Instead of answering, I closed my eyes and called my fire to heat my hands, praying hard for her to answer. I needed to get Connor out of this place. My wolf heeded my desperation and faded into the recesses of my mind, giving Fire access. If I couldn’t do this we were all going to die. A burst of heat rushed down my arms, and into my hands. The bundle of clothes burst into flame. I staggered back as Fire immediately receded into the depths of my soul. Pushing off the wall, I darted around Connor before I threw them through the doorway. Smoke rose, creating a screen.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Connor yelled before his eyes widened and he shook his head at me. “Damn stubborn, clever woman.” He glared at me, yanking his shirt off those impressive shoulders. I swallowed against my dry throat. His body was a work of art, all sculpted lines and hard muscle. I tried not to stare, more aware of my nakedness than ever. “Quick! Feed it!”

  Walker yanked his silk shirt off and threw it on the pile. “Damn!” Owen hissed and threw his into the mix, before looking down at the others. “Shirts off, boys, now!”

  They obliged and smoke soon filled the corridor.

  Connor turned to peer out of the door. I didn’t wait to see his face when he spun back and reached for me. If I looked in those beautiful sky blue eyes, I wouldn’t want to
leave his side. Instead, I let my wolf burst free. Mid change, I leaped from the doorway. Like me, she wanted to stay with her mate, but the urge to protect him was stronger. We needed to rip apart the people who had imprisoned him.

  I darted through the smoke.

  “Ember!” Connor’s urgent shout was lost in the gun fire. Bullets hit the wall above my head. I lowered my body down and headed to the edge of the corridor, away from the line of sight to the door, then dipped down to my haunches trying to make myself an even smaller target. Low to the ground I slunk along. The stench of fear and sweat hit my nostrils. I lowered down more, almost on my belly, and watched shadowy figures inch forward, firing round after round of silver bullets through the smoke, at the doorway. Connor and the others wouldn’t stand a chance of getting out. Once Owen’s gun ran out of ammo that would be it.

  I crept closer. Hatred hit me like a freight train. These men were dressed in SBI uniforms. I couldn’t fathom why the SBI were locking up alphas and fae in underground cells, and taking away their ability to shift.

  I snarled. Two agents came into view. Their attention remained on the door. They had no idea of the danger inching ever closer.

  “Keep pushing, they can’t have that much ammo left,” one said.

  My wolf was hungry for blood, so I released her. Within seconds she had latched onto the man’s forearm, tearing at the joints of his armour until it came away. She sunk her teeth into his flesh and severed it away. He screamed, his fingers loosening on his weapon. Clamping her great jaws around the gun, she yanked it from his grasp. I took control and shifted back to human. The man’s eyes widened at my naked form. Grinning evilly, I flipped the gun around, and shot him in his visor.

  Shifting back to my wolf, I darted away from the next nearest agent. This time my wolf skidded to a halt near the wall and spun around. Without hesitation, she bent to her haunches, gathered her strength and leaped. Her front paws pushed his weapon down at the same time as she ripped at the armour around his neck. But this armour was meant to protect against wolves bigger than me, and though I knew where the vulnerabilities lay, I couldn’t get through. A sharp pain stung my side. Instinctively, I jumped away. Snapping, I didn’t give him a chance to raise his gun or throw the knife that he’d stabbed me with. I let my wolf’s viciousness take over. She launched at the only other vulnerable area. His face. I detached myself as she ripped at his flesh, the metallic taste of hot blood hitting her throat. She revelled in it, the scent of her prey only making her more wild. The other alphas rushed forward. One went down, shot in the chest, but the others barrelled into the armed men with no fear. Not even the bullet wounds they sustained in their arms and legs stopped them. The alphas ripped the guns away from the agents, and killed them.