Wicked After Dark: 20 Steamy Paranormal Tales of Dragons, Vampires, Werewolves, Shifters, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More

by Mina Carter

  “Then answer it, I’ll keep my mouth shut so he can’t hear me,” he offered. Nodding I pressed the button to answer the small device.

  “Hello?” I asked, putting the device near my ear.

  “What did you say to the Anikitos?” Brandon demanded from the other end of the line.

  “The truth,” I replied simply.

  “Did you tell him I attacked you?”

  “No. I didn’t tell him you attacked me. I simply relayed to him exactly what happened, no more, no less. I even told him that I broke your nose,” I said calmly, trying to keep him calm.

  “And are you in trouble for that?” Brandon wanted to know. I sighed, seeing where this seemed to be headed.

  “No, I’m not, at least not that I’m aware of.”

  “You’d know it if you were,” Brandon snarled. “But somehow, you get off scot-free, and I’m to be punished.”

  “I don’t know what you want me to say Brandon,” I said patiently, I looked at Devon across the table to see if he was hearing this. He was watching me, but gave no indication whether he was hearing what Brandon was saying.

  “I want you to be sorry you got me in trouble and to say that you’ll go to the Anikitos and tell him you lied so I won’t be punished,” Brandon all but snarled.

  “That’s not going to happen, Brandon. I didn’t lie, and I’m not going to say I did,” My voice was starting to lose the soft tone I had been trying to keep.

  “So because of you, I’m to be punished tomorrow.” He sounded more than just angry, but I didn’t know what else to call it.

  “No, not because of me, because of you, Brandon. I didn’t make you do anything that would get you in trouble. I just felt the Anikitos needed to know about it.”

  “Why would you go to him, if not to get me in trouble?”

  “I had to. Getting you in trouble wasn’t a consideration, keeping me out of it was. What if we were seen? If I didn’t go to him with the truth, then all he had to go by was whatever rumor he heard, and I couldn’t do that.”

  “So because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut, I’m gonna be punished. After all I’ve done for you, you can’t get me out of this?”

  “Brandon, I’m not going to go over this again,” I was losing my patience. “Any punishment you receive is due to your actions, no one else’s. You know how I feel about this, I’ve said for years that if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. And you know how I feel about not taking responsibility for your actions. We been friends for years, and I know you’ve heard me talk about this before.”

  “So it’s going to be that way,” he said flatly, disdain clear in his voice as he continued, “Just remember, it’s only going to cost you in the end. If you would choose my side, then I would see that things go much easier for you.” That sounded suspiciously like a threat.

  “I’ll keep that in mind. But it’s not about taking sides; it’s about right and wrong,” I said decisively. “I’m going to hang up now. I’ve nothing more to say to you. Don’t call me again for a while. I have no desire to speak to you as long as you’re going to be like this.”

  “You’ll regret this! Mark my words!” I heard him ranting on the other end of the line before I could press the end button and disconnect the call.

  I closed my eyes for a minute, and took a deep breath before speaking again.

  “Did you catch all of that?” I asked Devon.

  “Enough to know he wasn’t calling to tell you ‘Have a nice day,’” he continued to watch me.

  “Not hardly. Now the question is what now?” I picked up my fork and began to eat again.

  “Seems obvious to me,” he resumed eating as well.

  “You don’t have to say it. I know I’ve got to call Bill and let him know about this. I meant otherwise.”

  “Otherwise how?”

  “I’m obviously not going to let him intimidate me. But at the same time I’m thinking it wasn’t an empty threat. How careful am I going to have to be?”

  “That’s going to be up to you, but I’d rather you avoid seeing him at all for a while. I’m afraid the group he’s mixed up with will soon turn violent.”

  “I have no intention of seeing him anytime soon, but I won’t hide either. I’d prefer not to deal with whatever it is that he’s involved in. I hope it doesn’t devolve into violence but I’m not afraid of it.”

  Devon raised one eyebrow in question.

  “I’m sure you remember, I was more than a bit of a tomboy,” I said, waiting for the nod that indicated he remembered. “I’m sure you were gone by then, but I got into more than a few fights in high school. Mostly because I wouldn’t let others tell me what to do, now that I think about it… Anyway, I’m not afraid of a fight, especially after I broke his nose yesterday.”

  “But you had the element of surprise on your side when you did that,” he cautioned.

  “I know, but I think I may have another element on my side. I don’t think he’ll really hurt me, at least not as long as he still believes that he can convince me to be his, like he said. He could have done a lot of damage with that slap yesterday, but he didn’t, he tempered it. I won’t have that limitation. If he starts a fight I won’t hesitate to give it everything I’ve got to end it.”

  “Good. I’d hate to see you to get hurt because you didn’t want to hurt him.”

  “Not a worry,” I replied. We finished eating in silence.

  As soon as we were though eating I called Bill and relayed to him that Brandon had called, and what had been said.

  “I want you to stay away from him, Nickie,” Bill said again.

  “I don’t plan on going anywhere near him, Bill, but I won’t run if he shows up again.”

  “I wouldn’t expect you to. I do want to remind you to try to avoid witnesses to a confrontation.”

  “I’ll try, but I can’t make promises.”

  “I understand.”

  “I should probably tell you though, Devon was here when he called, and heard most of it.”

  “All right.”

  “But I doubt he’ll be calling you this time,” I let him know I knew Devon had called him earlier in the day, “As he knows I’m calling you now.”

  “Is he there now?” Bill asked.

  “Yes,”

  “Let me talk to him then,” he requested. I went into the living room where Devon was going through the list of movies on my screen, trying to decide what to watch and extended the PCD toward him.

  “Bill wants to speak with you,” I handed him the device.

  “Hello?” Devon said as I went back into the kitchen to clean up after dinner.

  Chapter 24

  BY SATURDAY I hadn’t heard from Brandon since that last call on Tuesday. Part of me was relieved, but another part was worried. Brandon had been my friend for too long for me not to be worried about him, no matter how mad I was.

  While I’d been at the clinic on Friday Alexis had told me I needed more practice calling animal forms, that the one time I’d done it in the clinic wasn’t enough for her to be sure I had it down. Honestly, I agreed with her. It wasn’t something I would be comfortable attempting without her there to oversee me, at least not yet. So, with my agreement, she’d arranged our outing today. I had no idea how she’d done it on such short notice but it meant that early this morning, Alexis had picked me up at my apartment. With Caden already seated in the back of her SUV, and we headed for a ranch on the west side of Mt Graham. The ranch was owned by a pack member and we were supposed be able to shift and run there without worrying about being seen.

  Apparently, Alexis had asked several members of the pack to volunteer to let me call their animal forms as practice. She arranged for those who were willing to be my guinea pigs to go for a run there on the ranch. The idea was that they would be shifting anyway, so why not let me try to call their wolves? She had enough volunteers that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to shift them all.

  The trip took well over an hour, mostly
over rough dirt roads, and when we arrived at the ranch house I was glad to be able to get out of the car and stretch my legs some. I felt like I’d rattled half way across the country since I climbed into the seat. The dust was still settling on the road behind us as I opened the door and slid out of the seat, I bent my legs repeatedly before walking in small circles beside the vehicle. I moved with exaggerated motions, bending this way and that as I stretched in different muscle groups trying to work out some of the kinks. I heard Alexis and Caden get out of the car behind me, and looked over to see Alexis doing the same on her side of the car, her footsteps making a light crunching sound in the gravel. Caden’s much heavier step was still, either he wasn’t suffering the same problem or he wasn’t willing to show it, and he stood silently next to his closed door, watching the two of us.

  Caden’s reaction was my first clue that the three of us weren’t alone any longer. He lost his relaxed pose and he stood upright, away from the car, suddenly alert, ready to move quickly should he need to protect one of us. I turned, looking toward the building we’d pulled up in front of, but saw nothing. I turned a slow circle, trying to spot what had alerted Caden. I’d turned about a hundred and eighty degrees when I spotted him. He was an older man, probably in his 60’s, maybe a very weathered 50’s. Alexis smiled and stepped forward.

  “Joe! Thanks again for letting us do this out here, it’s a big help.” She turned to me, “This is Nickie Daniels; she’s the one who’ll be calling your wolf today. Nickie, this is Joe Adams. He’s our host this morning.”

  I smiled as I shook his hand, he was several inches taller than me, probably just shy of six feet, and I looked up to meet his gold eyes. When I touched his skin I got a low level buzz across my senses that told me he was powerful. I struggled not to react because I didn’t want the ability to sense strength to be general knowledge, at least until I had a better idea of how to use it.

  “You’re pretty old to be just discovering talents,” Joe said.

  “I am,” I conceded. “But I’ve only recently discovered that I’m Kindred. I was adopted as a baby and never knew about the Kindred until I shifted.”

  “Wow, I bet that was a bit of a surprise,” he said, I nodded in reply. “Wait a minute. You said Daniels right?” he asked, turning back to Alexis.

  “Sure did,” she replied.

  “You from around here?” Joe asked me.

  “Grew up in the valley,” I replied happily.

  “Adopted, Daniels, and from the valley,” He ticked off the details on one hand. “You’re one of James and Brenda’s tribe aren’t you?” He sounded pleased that he’d put it all together.

  “Yep, and proud of it.”

  “You should be, they’re good people. From what I’ve seen, they’ve done a good job raising you kids.”

  “I think so,” I said, not sure what else to say.

  We stood and visited for a little bit while we waited for everyone to arrive. Thirty minutes later several trucks and a few cars had pulled into the large driveway and we had what seemed to me to be a small crowd forming. Alexis easily took charge of the situation.

  “Attention please!” she yelled over everyone, the noise of many conversations quickly quieted so that they could hear her. I wasn’t sure if it was her position in the pack that demanded obedience, or Caden’s large form standing behind her, a menacing look on his face. “I want to thank all of you who agreed to let Nickie call your wolf today. She’s only recently discovered the talent and needs the practice. She’d like to be able to use her abilities to be an asset to the pack. By agreeing today, you’re not only doing a favor for me, but you’re helping out us all.

  “Here’s how things are going to go. Nickie hasn’t been among us for very long and she isn’t comfortable with casual nudity yet. She can handle one or two at a time, but I think all of us would overwhelm her, and that won’t serve our purpose today. So Nickie will stand on one side of the parking area and we’ll take turns. You can approach her one at a time and let her shift you.

  “Please keep in mind she is still very new, not only at calling animal forms, but at being Kitsune, and she is still learning our ways. A soft murmur spread through the crowd but it soon quieted.

  “Now, who wants to go first?” she asked. Several hands shot into the air.

  Joe stepped forward, and spoke quietly, “It’s my place, I’ll go last, and be a hospitable host.”

  “Thanks, Joe,” Alexis replied, before turning back to the group in front of her. “All right, let’s do this, how many of us are there?” After a quick head count it was determined that there were an even dozen for me to shift, that should be plenty of practice, if I could manage to shift them all. Alexis had told me that calling animal forms could be draining. I had some shakes handy just in case I got hungry, but we’d see how things went.

  To avoid dominance problems, Alexis decided that everyone would draw numbers. After numbers were drawn and details worked out she pulled me around the far side of the parked vehicles while the first couple of people I was to shift undressed and dealt with their clothes.

  “I want you to take this one at a time,” she instructed. “After each shift we’ll pause a moment and see how you feel, shifting others can be as draining as shifting yourself, at least until you get used to it.”

  “All right, you’re the teacher here. As long as you don’t decide to have me do something I find objectionable, you won’t have any argument from me. Being smart rarely gets an objection from me.”

  Alexis nodded as she called the first person to come around to where we were standing. I carefully kept my eyes on the man’s face. He was about my age, and only a few inches taller than I was, and his long dark hair was pulled back into a short ponytail on the back of his head. He wore small gold hoops in both ears, and I could see the edges of a tattoo reaching up his neck but I refused to lower my eyes to see what the rest of it was. His name was Rick, I had been introduced to him earlier, and I shook his hand again as Alexis spoke to him.

  “Are you ready for this?” I asked him.

  “Sure, no reason to wait,” he said with a smile.

  “Why don’t you go ahead and get in whatever position you prefer to shift in?” I suggested, thinking it would be easier for us both that way. Rick bent down in front of me, until he was down on one knee with his back curled over so that his hands could rest on the ground in front of him. I reached one hand out toward him. I didn’t touch him, instead I my hand barely over his skin so that I could feel the energy that flowed through is skin. I closed my eyes and sent my senses out; I pushed it deep into him. I used that part of me that senses power to look for his wolf. I felt him in that small space where they seem to live. I sent that undefinable part of me to sooth him for a moment before I tried to coax it out, to encourage the wolf to the surface. I felt the wolf moving to the surface, and opened my eyes.

  I was looking sightlessly in front of me, not focusing on my hand or at Rick beyond it when his body started to change. I tried to look more closely but his entire body seemed to blur before my eyes and in the next moment the blur cleared and there was a large black wolf standing on the ground in front of me he looked up with clear amber eyes.

  I sent a thought to him, *Are you okay?* He looked up at me, intelligence shining in his eyes as he nodded once before turning around and walking around the side of the vehicles where he’d come from.

  “How are you feeling?” Alexis asked me.

  “Good, I was nervous before, but now that I’ve done one I’m feeling more confident.”

  “Not tired at all? You feel like you can do another one?”

  “Nope, not tired, at least not yet. I’m ready for the next one.”

  “All right then,” she turned around and motioned for the next person.

  This time the person who rounded the corner toward me was a young blond girl. She couldn’t have been more than nineteen or twenty, but she seemed very sure of herself.

  “Hello,” I extended my
hand to her. “Can I ask your name?”

  “Becky,” she took my hand and shook it firmly.

  “You know what’s gonna happen right?”

  “Yep, I’ve had it done before.”

  “Okay then, what position do you prefer?”

  She bent down in front of me in what I soon realized was a common position to take before shifting. I had to admit it was pretty much the position I used too, as it had seemed natural when I tried to shift on my own. Once she was down on one knee, with back bowed and her hands on the ground beside her I again reached out with my hand and sent my power into her. I could feel her wolf sitting inside, it seemed to be anxious about something and when I beckoned to it, it refused to answer my call. I sent that part of me that could sense the wolf further into her, trying to be gentle first. Her wolf still balked, and I had to grab it with my power and pull it forward. It resisted more, not seeming to want to surface but suddenly Becky’s form blurred before my eyes for just seconds before the sight of her slender gray wolf form became clear.

  *You feeling all right?* I asked her telepathically.

  *Great, thanks,* she replied easily. I motioned for her to go and she trotted off in the direction she had come from.

  “How are you feeling now?” Alexis asked me.

  “Tired. Her wolf fought me, she didn’t want to surface. Forcing it to the surface took a lot more out of me than calling one that wanted to come.”

  “I find it that way too,” Alexis replied, going to the rear of her SUV. She lifted the hatch, “Come over here a minute.” She handed me a can of meal replacement shake she’d pulled out of an ice chest sitting in the cargo area. “Drink that and see how you feel.” I shook the small can briskly before popping the top open and draining the can in one long drink. “Do you want another?” she asked.

  “Probably should, just to be safe.” She handed me a can and I drank this one more slowly, not feeling the aching hunger eating its way through me any longer.

  “You ready to start again?”

  “Yeah, we might as well.” I dropped the empty cans in the trash bag she had sitting nearby for that purpose.