License Notes
SHADOW CHASER (Undeadly Secrets, #3)
Copyright © Aaron L Speer 2017
Email: [email protected]
URL: http://aaronlspeer.com/
Amazon Edition
ISBN-13: 978-1544844404
ISBN-10: 1544844409
Cover Art by Deranged Doctor Design
Formatting by Deranged Doctor Design
All rights reserved
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a database and retrieval system or transmitted in any form or any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the owner of copyright and the above publishers.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Other Works By Aaron L Speer:
NIGHT WALKER (Undeadly Secrets, #1)
DAY DREAMER (Undeadly Secrets, #2)
THE INDEPENDENTS
Table of Contents
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Epilogue
About the Author
“I wanna give my life to you
I wanna feel my blood run through you
And oh I want to touch you
Over and over and over again”
Lyrics - “Two Strong Hearts” John Farnham
Dedication
This book is dedicated to two women. Firstly to Angela “Leah” Saffron. A wonderful person, reader and someone that has given me some of the best reviews I have ever received. It is with a heavy heart that I learned she passed away in the middle of 2016 after a bout with cancer. She leaves behind warm memories, many friends and I will never forget her. RIP beautiful lady.
Secondly to Josi Lawless. I don’t think I will ever know a person more passionate about me (and Dante) or my books than she is. But more importantly than that, she is a dear friend. She never lost faith in me, even in the times it wasn’t all that glamorous to be my fan. And for that, above all else, I cannot thank her enough. I will always try to be worthy of her praise, and maybe, perhaps one day I will understand how I got to be so lucky to have her in my corner.
I would love to thank my PA Lisa who tirelessly runs my author life. My amazing street team, readers and fans for their support and encouragement. Special mention to Valerie Roeseler who not only gives author advice but designs the coolest teasers on the planet. Last but not least, to my wife, for her patience and understanding.
Prologue
The Creed Estate – Britain
Talia trudged just behind Radha through the mist covering the grounds of the Slade Estate, the morning dew-covered grass squelching underfoot. Talia looked up at the structure. It was impressive, no doubt, but one glaring flaw caught her attention. No guards were patrolling. Not one.
They approached the outer entrance and Talia concentrated. She had heard fierce tones and occasional bellowing. Talia lowered her head, listening at the door to what was going on. Her mother stood by her side, waiting for her instructions. Twenty men, perhaps more, were caught up in what sounded like a huge argument.
“We must make a stand. Tynan Ross will make his move any day.”
“Let him. Who gives a fuck?”
“He has wanted control over this pack and this land for years. Wilson kept him at bay but unless we choose an Alpha, he’ll succeed.”
“Then we are truly ballsed up.”
“Coward.”
“Say that again?”
Talia opened the door for her mother. She had heard enough. They stepped into the entryway which opened into a vast greeting area. Or what she imagined was designed as such. A table had been placed only ten feet or so from the door where all their weapons had been placed, perhaps a safety assurance for all before their ‘mother’s meeting’. Splinters and chunks from the table littered the floor beneath it. The place was filthy with careless use, black tarps covered the windows, and the musk smell of unwashed wolves permeated. The mansion had been trashed. It looked like a bunker now. An ugly one.
Their entrance caused the interruption she’d expected. All faces turned to them, most astonished, some livid.
“If these are strippers for my birthday, could you have actually spent some money?”
Talia inspected the speaker, a squat man with a repellent sneer on his face. He would be the first to die. But she needed to bide her time. Her mother had waited so long for this; this was her moment.
“Gentleman, thank you for gathering here to welcome us.”
A round of hissing laughter and grunts of scepticism followed Radha’s words. “Who are you and what do you want? Is this some sort of joke?” asked a tall man near the window. He had a mane of thick hair which he clearly took pride in. Talia restrained herself from rolling her eyes.
Talia and Radha focused on him. “Let us introduce ourselves. I am Radha and this is my daughter Talia. Gentleman, meet your new Alpha.”
There were a few derisive snorts, but most of them looked shocked, caught off their guard.
The squat man spoke again, addressing Mr Hairy by the window. “Taylor, I think this ugly bitch is serious.”
Talia tensed. This was the second time that same prick had insulted them. He had moved through the crowd and stood just behind her now. Talia angled her body so he was in view, her muscles rigid, waiting.
Radha seemed as cool as a cucumber though. “The ugly bitch is very serious. None of you have the same right to this pack that my daughter has. Unless any of you know for a fact Wilson Slade had his way with your wives too and produced an heir. Because that’s what she is.”
“Bullshit!” Taylor swept his mane of hair back and faced them fully for the first time. “Wilson only had one child. We don’t have time for this shit. Leave or we will take turns fucking you.”
Radha raised an eyebrow.
“To hell with that. I’ll give my pit bull a go instead.” The squat man laughed.
&
nbsp; Third strike. Talia whipped around, swiped across his stomach, so quick it took several seconds for him to realise what had happened. Blood seeped, poured, then gushed from the deep laceration. The prick fell to his knees, trying to gather his spilling intestines, keening and gargling on his own bile before slumping to the floor. The room, first silent, erupted in shouts and curses. The wolves surrounding them made to charge.
Talia slammed her foot down with enough force that cracks appeared around it, crushing and splintering the tile floor, and let loose a roar that shook the walls, and caused everyone to stop and back away from her.
“If any of you think you can take me, I beg you to step forward. You want proof? I’m not just Slade’s daughter, I’m a tenth generation Alpha. Want to see what a woman who has been held down her entire life can do? Bring it on. But unless you get some cement in those balls, you will be brought to heel!”
Taylor let out an uneasy chuckle. “You think this is a game? Even if you manage to take us over, you think you can defeat Tynan Ross, who—”
“Let this Tynan Ross come,” Radha interrupted. “Nothing can defeat my daughter. She is the rightful Alpha of this pack. And unlike Wilson’s son, she is ready and willing to take the role. She’s alive for starters. Is this all of you?”
Taylor looked from left to right. “There were more. Those loyal to Slade. Creed sent them away or had them executed. We are all that’s left.”
Radha scoffed. “Fight amongst yourselves and die, or submit to the true leader and you can finally bring this pack back to power.”
Talia looked from left to right, silently daring them, any of them, to make a move. But none did. They looked to each other, and one by one relaxed their stances. Despite her pulsing rage at the ease of their surrender and desire to fight, Talia smiled. It was small, but right now it didn’t matter. She had her pack.
“Now…let’s talk about this fucking décor.”
*
Somewhere in Sydney – That Same Night
Koha held the bones in his hand, holding his breath to not disturb their delicate position as he walked them slowly over to his aunt. She knelt in the corner, facing a wall, illuminated by only a small camp fire. Finger paintings covered the wall. Usually such paintings depicted tales of the Dreaming, but not these.
These were questions, for the spirits. The sky had grown dark, the land restless. Ever since the explosion several days ago, life had not been the same. Most felt it, even the whites. But the more sensitive, the ones in tune with the land, knew something wasn’t right.
It had taken this long to convince his aunt to try. She had refused until the second body had turned up. But he knew it was because the same request had come from the Night Mother. She had warned them of a werewolf invasion, and they had prepared. But then, they got word that the vampires had prevailed, though they had lost their mansion and many lives besides.
Koha had initially been sure it was the vampires behind these murders. Their king had died, so it wasn’t a great leap to imagine the inmates were loose and wreaking havoc. But even he was forced to search through his hatred of them for the truth. The bodies of those two women were not treated the way vampires usually killed. Yet there was something otherworldly about their condition that could not be ignored. Their bone-white skin, looks of sheer terror frozen on their faces, no evidence traces of any kind, and signs they were molested in some way showed these weren’t just any killings.
Koha had seen many vampire victims, and none had ever looked like that.
“Don’t put them in yet. I have to see them.” His aunt still had her back to him, readying the last dry ingredients for her fire.
“I was careful,” Koha grumbled. “Carrying bones isn’t hard.”
“You have the hands of a hunter, boy. Built for death, not as a delivery driver. I will make sure.”
“If you view me as a hunter, why do I babysit the red-head white fulla?”
“He could be dangerous. Has he woken yet?”
“No. He farts in his sleep. That’s the only danger he poses. Stinking me to my grave.”
“She requested us to take him, and it is not up to you or I to question it.”
She turned and ran her eyes over his palms, studying whether the kangaroo and emu bones had shifted. “Good.”
She tossed a bunch of red dirt over his hands and let out a quick sharp breath over them, puffing remnants in the air that gave off tiny shimmers in the firelight as they dispersed. She gave a small, proud smile. “They’re ready. Put them in and step back.”
Koha did as requested before moving several feet back as smoke swelled and billowed out of the flames. His aunt knelt and took a deep breath. Moving like a snake, side to side, she mumbled an Aboriginal song. Koha wasn’t very fluent in the language, but picked up a few things, like calling on the spirits for answers. She called to them to show them the path, what was their message, something like that.
She stopped dead. The fire dimmed and Koha’s breath flumed like a cloud in front of him instantly. His limbs grew taut as the sudden brisk temperature snapped into his bones. Yet Koha stood fast. A cold chill did not frighten him.
“This is their answer?”
His aunt did not respond. Instead, she gave a dull whimper. In the darkness, even Koha could see her shaking. Fear did prick at his mind now, and he was unsure of what to do. Did he dare move? What had happened? Was his aunt in contact with the spirits right now?
Her breath caught, and she seemed to be struggling to exhale. Finally, Koha thought he heard her trying to speak his name. He rushed to her, kneeling down and grasping her shoulders.
“What? What is it? What’s wrong?”
But she might as well not have heard him. She frantically tried to crawl back from the wall, bumping into Koha. She thrashed her arms, trying to shift him yet keeping her focus on the wall. Her breath grew even more rapid. Koha could see she was petrified.
A small groan escaped her lips, and then it got louder. The arms she flailed around gripped him tight, but she was still unable to turn away from the wall. Whatever she saw there, Koha did not know.
He flicked his eyes to the campfire that had just reignited. His aunt screeched. This time though, Koha knew why. It wasn’t the sudden flames from nowhere, it was the image they projected onto the wall. Koha stood and took a step forward.
The shadow on the wall looked like that of a man, yet it definitely wasn’t his own. It was at least a foot taller than him, the flickers of the flames giving it a menacing look. This was what his aunt could see earlier. It was here, in the room with them. Facing him.
Koha clenched his fists. “What the hell are you?”
The shadow shifted. A flash of flame illuminated the area of its face for no more than a second, yet Koha could swear he saw a malevolent smile in that second.
Koha turned as his aunt’s sobs reached him. His breath caught in his throat. His aunt showed him her fingers, dripping with blood. Her own. She had clawed her own face.
Koha snatched her hands away by the wrists. “What are you doing?”
His aunt wailed in pain and terror. “This is what it wants.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It wants pain!”
“What is it? How can we make it stop?”
She shook her head and gave out an eerie cry.
Koha shook her. “Help me, Auntie. How can I make it go away?”
“We can never stop it. It can’t be killed.”
Koha hugged her tight to his chest, still keeping her arms at bay. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the…thing had grown in those few seconds he had spoken to his aunt. Taller, broader.
Koha gave a short boastful snort from his nose in what he hoped was a convincing manner. “Everything in this world can be killed, Auntie.”
Lightning and thunder split the sky with enough force that the very walls surrounding them shook. Koha looked towards the harbour, towards the bridge. Roaring into view, in the midst of
the clear, dark night, was what looked like a dust cloud, rolling over the bridge and obscuring it from sight. And it did not stop. In fact, it gathered momentum, racing forward at a frenetic pace until it was upon them.
His aunt dug her fingers into the muscles of his arms as the window Koha looked through burst into a thousand shards, and the fire extinguished, plunging them into darkness once more. Whatever the figure was, it was gone now.
His aunt’s fingers released and she went limp. “Koha… It’s not of this world.”
“And to breaking news now out of Sydney. The bodies of two separate women have been found in the late hours of Thursday evening. There was no sign of forced entry, yet both victims were surrounded by evidence that suggested a violent struggle. The deaths are being treated as suspicious…” – 6pm evening news bulletin
Chapter 1
Welcome to Your New Reality
Dante clicked the end call button, pressing the handset to his lips. He then let it fall back onto the receiver on his study’s desk. He glanced up at one of the wide bookcases at where he’d left off. He’d come most of the way through all the manuals, tomes and texts he had on vampire history. But so far there was nothing in there that could help him.
He could hear the hitch in Alexandra’s voice and then her tears. He closed his eyes, letting himself feel his own tears for a moment too. All his strength, all his knowledge, all he had ever done and all his long years on this earth and he felt completely useless. Nathaniel had lost his mother, and while that was hard to take for all, at least Dante could take the young vampire in. He and Melina were now his surrogate parents. They could never replace Cassandra, but they could help him recover. Alex was another matter. There was nothing he felt he could do.
Dante was not all powerful and would never presume to be, but he had spent over twenty years protecting her from a direct threat, and she had just survived the werewolf invasion, yet he was not responsible for saving her. It was not ego that burdened him with that fact, only that Alexandra had again suffered a loss through his failure.
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