BOX SET: Shifter 4-Pack Vol 2 (Wolf Shifter, Dragon Shifter, Mafia, Billionaire, BBW, Alpha) (Werewolf Weredragon Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection)

by Candace Ayers

  He’d run then. Out into the back garden.

  But they’d caught him. He’d bitten one, one of the horrible men that Simeon liked to keep around him, who smelled like whiskey and cigarettes. He was wearing a leather coat, and when he bit it, it tasted like wax and salt water.

  The man hit him really hard across the face.

  “Thwack!”

  His ears rang like bells, and the oatmeal all came back out.

  Now he was here, and it was damp and horrible, and dark. It smelled like bad meat, like the Elk he’d found in the woods who’d been forgotten about or left by its killer, and sunk into the earth. It had looked like it was moving because of all the maggots. He remembered thinking that its eyes looked sad.

  The door opened.

  “Come on, you little shit. You’re wanted upstairs.”

  It was the leather coat man. He had an ugly, scrunched up face and beady eyes. He clipped the boy on the ear. He flinched and then ran up the stairs, out of the cellar and into a large room.

  “Look what we have here. Leslie, say hello to your son.”

  The boy lost his voice. His mom couldn’t speak either. She was tied to a chair, and had a black cloth in her mouth. All her eye makeup was running down her cheeks. She was very frightened but the sounds that came out of her mouth were all muffled. She jerked in the chair.

  “Leslie, stop moving.” Simeon commanded.

  Why wasn’t she shifting? His mom was such a nice, beautiful wolf. She had red tinges in her brown hair that only came out when she was in sunlight. She was fast as well, she liked to run.

  “I’m not doing this because I want to – I’m doing this as a lesson to all of you.”

  Simeon looked around the room. The boy noticed lots of other wolves; the whole Pack was standing around. Some were panting, like they were excited. Why weren’t they helping his mom? Two of his friends were there too. They played Xbox together. When he looked at them, they lowered their heads.

  “Leslie has betrayed the Pack. The strong bond that binds us – the bond of brotherhood and trust. She has sullied that. Dishonored you all,” Simeon continued, “and it will not go unpunished.”

  Simeon was lying! His mom would never betray anybody; she was a good Pack member – everyone thought so. Why wasn’t anybody saying anything?

  Simeon walked up to his mom. He touched her lovely hair, stoking it. The boy wanted to kick him, to tear at him. He shouldn’t be touching his mom.

  “Leslie, I’m a benevolent man – I want to know what you think would be the more fitting punishment for your crime. Should I take out your throat, or shall it be your son’s?”

  He ripped the cloth down from her mouth. Her lips were red with blood, and it tricked down at the corners.

  “Don’t you dare fucking touch him! Don’t you dare – you’re a monster! You’re a vile, inhuman monster!”

  His mother was screaming again, and Simeon hit her hard on the back of the head. She whimpered and stopped screaming.

  “Mommy?”

  “Baby, it’s going to be okay – just stay quiet darling, stay quiet for mommy.” Her voice was scaring him. She didn’t sound okay; he didn’t think anything was going to be okay. Her eyes were wild. They didn’t look like her eyes anymore.

  “Shift and I will rip him to pieces, Leslie.” Simeon’s voice was soft.

  “Let him go – please Simeon, I’m begging you – please let him go.”

  “Tell me what you told Drake, and I’ll let him go.”

  His mom was breathing heavily, looking around the room for help. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t think anyone was helping. They kept looking away. He hated them.

  “I told him…I just told him about you, being nervous about Wyatt Sterling becoming Alpha…that you would do anything in your power to stop him. I told him about the properties…the new plans for Kodiak Island…that’s all – I’m so sorry Simeon, please forgive me…please don’t kill my son.”

  “Oh, Leslie, I am so displeased,” Simeon sighed, “and what did he tell you? Can you impart any knowledge that might help you now?”

  “Drake’s coming for you, Simeon.” His mom’s voice was bitter now, bitter and twisted. “Your time is going to be over soon, that’s what he promises. He’s aligned with the Sterling Clan. They won’t rest until you’re in the ground.”

  “I see,” Simeon whispered softly, “that’s a terrible shame. You’ve told me nothing I don’t already know. And now I think it’s time for you to step off this mortal coil. Any last words for your son?”

  His mom looked at him.

  “I love you, baby. Never forget that I love you so much.”

  Simeon became a wolf. He was big and black and his eyes glinted yellow. He looked hungry. Then he couldn’t see his mom anymore. Her chair got knocked backward onto the floor, and Simeon made crunching noises that were wet and meaty. Her legs were shaking in the air, up and down, up and down. Then they stopped moving. He thought of the Elk, and then he started screaming.

  Chapter two

  Relentless sheets of rain battered down on the pavement outside, washing away the debris of the city, making it gleam under neon lights and twinkling storefronts.

  Haley flipped the collar of her Burberry trench coat, and tipped her umbrella forward as a shield against the onslaught. The streets were mostly empty, but raucous noises spilled from bars, and the city’s homeless cowered in doorways, detected only by intermittent red tipped flares of cigarettes.

  Eight months ago this part of the city would have been nothing more than a blur from a cab window for Haley. Now it was home.

  She passed a derelict building and one of the fly posters caught her eye. It was soaked and peeling, but Haley could clearly make out the figure of a prima ballerina captured in the motion of an elegant Déboulé.

  October 16 – December 21

  La Bayader

  Choreographer Justin Peck

  Introducing Ela Rovimana as Prima Ballerina

  Hayley stared at it, ignoring the damp seeping through inappropriately chosen suede boots. The corner of the poster had started to curl up, revealing a hint of faded paper beneath. Without thinking, Haley peeled back the top poster to reveal an almost identical one. Except in this version it was her own face staring back at her, poised and serene as she presented the camera with a genteel Écarté.

  Hayley scrunched up both posters, leaving a long-ago gig advertisement from some obscure band remaining. That was better. She marched over to the nearest trashcan. Empty KFC styrofoam containers and crumpled papers spewed over the top as Haley pushed the paper down firmly into its depths.

  She glanced the length of the street, checking to see if anyone had seen her act of pointless vandalism before hurrying on home.

  Haley dug in her bag trying to locate her keys. She fumbled around, cursing under her breath and dropped the umbrella. Ignoring the sheet of rain that immediately drenched her hair and neck, she dug the key into the lock and sighed with relief as the door swung open into the warmth of her apartment building.

  “Will you shut that ‘brella? We got enough problems here without you bringing eight years of back luck on my doorstep, Haley Dubois.”

  The African American woman glared down at her from the opposite end of the hallway.

  “Hey May-May,” she called, wrestling with the umbrella, “damn thing.”

  “Child, have you no sense of self-preservation? You look like you been swimming – and in such a fancy coat, too.”

  May-May tutted at her, the flamboyant earrings she always wore jangling loudly as she did so.

  “I’m making tea. The spirits only know what you’ve got up there,” she gestured upwards to Haley’s apartment on the second floor, “you come in here and get warm.”

  Haley rolled her eyes at the woman. May-May’s assumption was incorrect; Haley kept a warm, clean and cozy apartment with what little that she had – but she took the request at what it was, an offer of company. After another fruitless an
d dispiriting day, it’s what Haley needed.

  “Thanks May-May.”

  “Humph,” the woman snorted with righteous indignation and marched back into her apartment, leaving the door open for Haley to follow.

  Haley hung her coat over the rickety stand and made her way through the waterfall of beaded drapes to May-May’s living room, sinking into a battered leather armchair.

  A black cat immediately jumped onto her lap, and obnoxiously dug its face into Haley’s stomach, flicking a tail in her face.

  “Hey there, mister Prince.”

  He purred at her, digging his claws into her thighs to get comfy.

  “He won’t find a soft spot on you – bag of bones you are.”

  May-May came through rattling a tea set on her tray. She set it down on the coffee table, and it creaked beneath the weight.

  “Your mamma was built like a coke bottle, she’d be turning in her grave at the sights of you – and with a child as well, Lord bless its soul.”

  She tutted again, and began pouring the tea. It smelled bitter and potent; May-May concocted her own herbal infusions, swearing that her teas, with the aid of her own home remedies, meant that she’d never had to visit a doctor in her life. Haley believed her, but suspected it was more that May-May had the constitution of an Ox and would be so insulted by any kind of illness or frailty, that she’s probably managed to terrify any kind of malady into submission.

  “So, what they say at the job center?”

  Haley sighed, “nothing available at the moment, they’ll keep in touch, etc. etc.”

  May-May nodded sagely.

  “Tyler saying’ the same thing. He got laid off from that construction delivery company, been two weeks and nothing.”

  Haley’s face fell and May-May hurried to bolster her spirits.

  “Mind – that boy’s a few tools short of a toolbox, and you’re a bright young thing. Be different for you; you’ll be sittin’ at a fancy reception desk somewhere, mark my words.”

  “Thanks May-May, I’m sure I will.”

  Haley took a sip of her tea. It warmed her straight through to the bone and Haley smiled softly in gratitude.

  “Maybe time we did a reading.” May-May mused.

  She studied Haley intently. Reaching some unknown conclusion, she pursed her lips and nodded.

  “Yep, I’ll say it’s time. Somethin’ changing, somethin’ coming – I can feel it.”

  “May-May, I’m too tired – it’s been a long day.”

  Haley tried to protest, her eyes pleading with the old woman. May-May made a good living off Tarot card and palm readings; she got folks from all over North America visiting, eager to gain insight into the illicit of all promises – what the future held.

  Haley never said it outright, but she didn’t believe a word of the mystical hokum that May-May delivered. She had a suspicion that the old woman knew exactly how she felt, but as was May-May’s way, she didn’t give a damn about what others thought.

  “My, My! A little bit of gratitude from you Dubois – I charge folks one-hundred dollars a pop for what I freely give to you,” she clasped her hands together as if praying to the spirits for Haley’s ungrateful soul.

  “I’m sorry May-May” Haley tried to look abashed – but it was pretty much the same sequence they always performed, before May-May got her way.

  “Always sorry, always sorry,” she muttered, “now – get me my cards. Go on, top shelf.” She waved her hands at the ornament-crowded dresser in the corner of the room.

  Haley retrieved the deck, sticky with age and use, and placed them down in front of May-May.

  She waved her hands over them, as if she were warming herself against an open fire.

  “Oh, they powerful tonight – I can feel it.”

  The old woman’s face lit up, and she gave Haley a big, toothy smile. It was infectious, and Haley grinned back at her despite her reticence – she loved making May-May happy.

  She shuffled the cards slowly. Haley caught glimpses of the intricate hand-painted designs; elaborate gold leaf adorning depictions of mythical beasts, tall towers and handsome-looking Knights and steely Queens.

  “We’ll just do the major today – no need to look at the minors unless we have a specific question. Which,” she eyed Haley beadily, “is rare in the disbelievers.

  Hold the deck, Haley.”

  Haley did as she was told, clasping them to her chest as she’d been instructed countless times. The woman nodded, and held out her hand to take them back. She then placed five cards out on the table between them.

  “Well, would you look at that – I was right.”

  Haley waited patiently for the woman to continue. She glanced at the ‘death’ card, the last card dealt, and felt decidedly uneasy.

  May-May tapped her coral-pink manicured finger on the first card.

  “Wheel of fortune – changing fate, what did I say? Your destiny’s coming to pay you a visit, Haley Dubois, and not a moment too soon in my opinion.”

  She smacked her lips in satisfaction, “and right next to the star too – a bit of healin’ and renewed hope, and a bit of travel too I’d say…Yep, look like you’ll be getting out of here in no time.”

  May-May clapped her hands in glee, bangles jangling.

  “Can’t argue with the spirits, can’t argue with the spirits!” She chucked. Haley was glad the cards were looking good, when May-May didn’t get the answers she was hoping for she tended to slump into a rotten mood that could last for weeks.

  “Then, we got the Magician – he’s a tricky one, it’s tellin’ you to watch that you ain’t fooled. Take risks, but mind them. Tread carefully when all this change comes knocking at your door.”

  May-May wagged her finger at Haley, making sure the girl took heed of the card’s warning.

  “Yes, May-May – I’ll watch out.”

  The old woman gave a grunt of disapproval, doubting the sincerity of Haley’s words. Then her face brightened as she looked at the last two cards.

  “The Lovers and Death – that’s a winning combo if I ever saw one; you going to be lucky in love Haley Dubois!”

  “Hell no,” Haley shot back, “May-May, I’m avoiding men like the plague – do not tell me that I’m going to meet a handsome stranger, because I promise you, I’ll run in the opposite direction. We do not need a man.”

  Haley gently rubbed her stomach, then patted her small, barely perceptible bump in reassurance.

  “That baby need a daddy, Dubois. You don’t let one bad apple ruin the whole bunch.”

  “May-May, I’ve had more bad apples than I can count. We’re going to be fine on our own, aren’t we blob?”

  Haley peered down and smiled gently at the child growing inside her.

  “This one’s gonna be different, I can promise you that. You stick with him, and that baby of yours is goin’ to grow up somewhere tropical, I can feel it in my bones.”

  “Tropical, really?” Haley couldn’t hide her look of skepticism.

  May-May pursed her lips in response, Haley thought she was going to get an earful, but the old woman took another card from the deck and placed it over the Lovers.

  “Yep, different alright – this one gonna be the picture of temperance, moderation and self-control – you know anyone like that, miss high and mighty?”

  Haley rolled her eyes.

  “I didn’t think so,” May-May gave her a smug smile.

  “Well, I’ll call you from the Amazon the day I marry my monk,” quipped Haley.

  “Child – you not cheekin’ me, you cheekin’ the spirits. And they don’t like that one bit.”

  Haley sighed, “sorry May-May, I’m just tired.”

  “I know you are baby girl. Alight,” she shuffled the deck up, “that’s enough for tonight. I’ll let you get some rest.”

  “Thanks May-May.”

  The old woman walked with her to the door. Hayley had just stepped out into the corridor when May-May yelled at her to stop.

/>   “Take this,” she proffered today’s paper in Haley’s direction, “I got a good feelin’ about the job page.”

  Haley smiled at the woman and took the paper. May-May might be a bit crazy sometimes, but there was no one on earth that watched Haley’s back the way she did.

  “Alight – night, May-May.”

  “Night child. Sleep well – it’ll all be different soon. I promise you that.”

  She winked at Haley and then closed the front door.

  Haley might not believe a word of the predictions that May-May made, but as she made her way up the stairs to her own apartment, was realized she was in a far better mood than she had been for weeks. Positive thinking, she reminded herself, that was the way forward.

  Chapter three

  “And so I said, Janet – that is a fake. Janet starts shaking her head, and all these people are looking round – because it’s a classy joint, right? I said, show me the label. She starts pulling the bag away from me – she knows, but I grab it. It’s a fake. The label’s all wrong. Fake Balenciaga, at CORE? I mean – honestly. Some people, am I right?”

  The woman drank noisily from her glass of red wine, tapping her bejeweled fingers against the glass as she did so.

  “Some people have no class.”

  Wyatt nodded in agreement. Some people certainly didn’t.

  She pushed her scallops round on the plate, then dropped the fork down with a clatter. It resounded loudly around the half-empty restaurant.

  “So, Wyatt – you the strong and silent type or what?”

  She wiggled her eyebrows in what might have been construed as a suggestive manner.

  “I can tell that you are - and just so you know,” she took another gulp of wine, “that is exactly what I like - totally what I’m into. I dig it, right, who wants someone talking their ear off?”

  “Mm Hmm.” Wyatt nodded in agreement and tried to surreptitiously look at his wristwatch. He was being rude, he knew, but this was the tenth date this month that he’d been subjected to and it was, quite frankly, turning out to be the cherry on the top of a series of progressively more bizarre and unpleasant evenings.