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

by Candace Ayers

  Amber nodded. She had speculated this already. Both times she had waited for him recently he had magically appeared shortly thereafter.

  Amber whispered his name.

  Within moments he was jumping towards them. Branches brushed against one another, trees swayed and then suddenly he was there walking towards them as his human self.

  “Dunstan,” Abbie said, “you’re going to smell another shifter approaching. He means you no harm. Do not attack him. It won’t go well for either of you.” She turned away from them and said, “Spratling, we’re ready. Come on now me’ love.” Abbie then turned to them and laughed. “This might actually take a moment. It’s been awhile since he’s traveled.”

  Dunstan looked at both of them confused.

  “So you’re constantly keeping an ear out for me, are you?” Amber asked.

  “This surprises you?” Dunstan asked.

  “No,” Amber said. “Just like hearing you say it.”

  A large crashing noise occurred behind Amber and she jumped into Dunstan’s arms.

  It was Spratling, shifted into a gray wolf, holding up his left hind foot as if it were injured.

  “Hello, love,” Abbie giggled.

  Spratling shifted back into human form.

  “Sweetheart, what are you doing all the way out here?” he asked.

  “It was the best place to meet, and the walk wasn’t that bad. Won’t have to exercise for a few days now. Probably sleep in and rest tomorrow.”

  Cletus noticed Dunstan and limped over to him. He didn’t extend his hand, nor offer any greeting. He looked him up and down and said, “I knew your grandfather, boy. He was a good man. Almost as tall and strong as you, but your line has gotten even stronger.”

  “Thank you, Cle—”

  “ But not wiser. If you’re going to hunt them, you need to bury your scent more. Why are you so clean? What good is it doing ye? Ye’ve left your scent all over these woods.”

  “I know,” Dunstan said. “I want them to know I’m here. They’re coming a lot more often than they used to. They need to be afraid of me.”

  Cletus raised his eyebrows. “Oh? How’s that working out for ye?”

  “Stop you two,” Abbie said. “None of this matters. It’s time to start dealing with this threat once and for all.”

  Cletus smiled down at Abbie and said, “What’s your plan, then?”

  “Tomorrow those boys plan on trekking up into Bowland Mountains, and it needs to be stopped. I’m going to get everyone’s attention in Town Square tonight before they settle in. What I need the two of you to do is not patrol tonight. Let ‘em come. About how many do you think would broach the town line if you weren’t there, Dunstan?”

  “Three or four,” Dunstan said. “I usually fight two, and then end up chasing the others.”

  “They’re tryin’ to get you in the mountains,” Cletus said. “Hoping they can sneak by you in the process.”

  “That’s what I figured,” Dunstan said. “I never let them lure me too far. But, right off, this sounds like a horrible idea,” Dunstan said to Abbie. “People are going to get hurt.”

  “People are going to get hurt if we don’t. Four people, precisely. As long as it is equal to or less than that, I’m happy. And in the process, we’ll unveil you to them in your true form.”

  “No!” Amber yelled. “They’ll rip him apart! They’ll want to kill him!”

  “He’s not going to be right beside me, silly girl. He’s going to be watching from a distance. If ‘e gets hurt by anyone, it’s ‘is own fault.”

  Cletus grunted a laugh. “Oh, this is sounding good.”

  “With him not patrolling the town limits it won’t take long for the wolves to arrive,” Abbie said. “I’m guessing they tend to show up in higher frequency at around twilight?” she asked Dunstan.

  Dunstan reluctantly answered. “That’s right.”

  “Good, I’ll make my announcement just before then. We’re going to lure them in— both the monsters and the people of Bruton. I’m going to tell everyone what really happened to Cletus those many nights ago. Rick will have to change his story, but he’ll live. And I’m going to tell them why we really had peace so long ago, and why we’re at odds with the creatures now. I want you to let them get close. I want you to make ‘em ask for your help. If they do, the tide will have turned. Cletus, you’ll be atop the church if ye can manage it, actin’ as Dunstan’s backup. As soon as the wolves attack, though, I need you to jump in as soon as they ask for your help and are in need of et.”

  “I’m with Dunstan,” Amber chimed. “This sounds like a bad idea. We’re setting people up for slaughter. Even if they don’t know Dunstan’s been saving them and have it in for him, that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable for them to die.”

  “The people are scared,” Abbie said. “And when people are scared they’re dangerous. They need to be reminded who the real enemy is. Their little brains have changed the big bad into something they know. It’s terrifying to them to consider something else out there wants to hurt them. If they keep this misconception up, more will die.”

  Both Amber and Dunstan fumed, but they knew Abbie was right. But surely there was another way?

  “Do you think if we do this the peace mission will be canceled?” Amber asked.

  “That’s the idea, lass,” Abbie said. “Two birds with one stone, as they say. Direct their fear and anger at the right target, and help them realize Dunstan is one of the good guys.”

  “It’s risky,” Cletus said. “It may not work.”

  “Riskier to not do it,” Abbie said. “We can’t lose William. The other three I’d be OK with, but not William. And the longer this town lives in denial the more dangerous the situation is going to become.”

  Everyone was silent.

  Amber spoke up. “She’s right about one thing. The people of Bruton need to start pointing their weapons at the wolves and not Dunstan. They’re fighting the wrong enemy.”

  “OK,” Dunstan said. “But I don’t like the idea of anyone getting hurt. Not even one person.”

  “If we’re letting four of ‘em in there, it’s unavoidable, lad,” Cletus said. “I don’t see this going down without consequences.”

  Dunstan growled deeply, and his eyes flashed an intense anger before calming down.

  He’s not turned, Amber thought. But was that his demon?

  Cletus’s eyebrows raised and he crossed his arms.

  For a moment there was an air of tension between them before Dunstan smiled. “Well,” he said, “the two of us are equal to at least eight of them. Maybe it will work. I pray to the gods it does.”

  CHAPTER 16

  The first thing Amber did was go straight to Jessica’s house, but she wasn’t in.

  “She’s with him,” Martin said. “Spending every last second she can with him. I’ve never seen her so emotional before. Is there anything we can do? We fight and bicker a lot, but I hate seeing her this way.”

  “Something’s in motion,” Amber said. “William will definitely not be going into Bowland Mountains tonight, this I can promise you. But we’re not out of the woods yet.”

  “Why?” Martin asked. “What’s going to happen?”

  A thought occurred to Amber. “Aren’t you kind of chummy with one of the arms guards?” she asked.

  “Paul? Yeah, we’ve been friends since before school. Why?”

  “I need you to get your father’s wagon and take it to town. And here’s what I need you to do...”

  If Abbie was going to have the people fight for themselves, then they would at least be armed while doing so.

  *

  “Ring the bell, Amber. Call them ‘ere,” Abbie said, and went and stood on the platform the mayor used to address everyone.

  Abbie gripped the thick, coarse rope that tied to the frame of the bell as high as she could and pulled. The frame rattled against the clapper and sent out a loud bong— bong— bong throughout the town. It was impossible not to
hear, even for Bruton’s older residents.

  As if by magic, everyone’s doors opened and people began to peter out, dropping their evening rituals to honor the sanctimonious relationship they held with the bell.

  It was a town rule that everyone came to Town Square whenever it was rung. It was unspoken, but obediently adhered to by all of Bruton’s citizens.

  “Keep it up, Amber,” Abbie said. “They need to know this is important. Keep ringing it.”

  Amber did. Grasping high, and pulling in rhythmic motions. Bong— bong— bong.

  Slowly, most of the town meandered in and Amber stopped and stood amongst them. She looked to the top of the church and saw that Cletus was already there, crouched low and ready. He had a humongous broadsword strapped to his back, and Amber wondered how he was even on his feet with it on his back. Could he wield it as a wolf? There was no way he could as a man. Even the giants of old would have trouble lifting it.

  People packed in and stood shoulder to shoulder, waiting for Abbie to address them and reveal why she had rung the bell.

  Just as planned, Martin rode in on his wagon and brought it to a stop. He came from Hythe Street which meant he had been to the arms building as she had asked. He locked eyes with Amber and gave her a short nod to tell her he was successful, then climbed out and pulled a spear from the back before joining the crowd. Unlike everyone else who was simply curious, he was visibly nervous, and was already sweating from his brow. He scanned the roofs and saw Cletus, and Amber could tell he was registering who he was. With the sight of his boyhood hero, he relaxed and straightened.

  “What is this, Abbie? Why have you called us here?” Keith Park asked. “This is late for a lot of us.”

  Numerous people nodded and agreed.

  Abbie smiled at them all and said, “To tell you a story.” she said, “before it is too late. It’s a story you need to hear.”

  “Ah, gods! Couldn’t this have waited until morning?” Devin Spitzer asked.

  “No, I’m afraid not. You must hear it now— You’re all too willing to send four young boys to their deaths tomorrow. It must be told now, as my story has to deal with why we had so long of a peace in Bruton until recently— for the answer is not as simple as what ye believe.”

  “Spratling taught ‘em to fear us!” someone shouted. “We know! He sacrificed himself for us!”

  “Aye, ‘e did,” Abbie said. “Or ‘e intended to. But what ye don’t realize is that despite ‘is best efforts, Spratling did not die that night.”

  “The ‘ole town heard him dying,” Kevin Connery said. “My dad heard ‘im, said ‘e was so loud he heard ‘im inside ‘is house.”

  “No, what your father heard, and what everyone heard was something else,” Abbie said. “Both tragic and great. You’ve seen the wolves now. You know ‘em to be monsters. Monsters that are also men. They’re not born that way. They become ‘et. And so what your father heard, what many of your fathers heard, was Cletus Spratling mergin’ with the demon that would have ‘im be a monster, becomin’ one ‘em himself. For there is a wolf demon in those mountains, an’ it likes to infect whoever walks in.” Abbie pointed behind her to the mountains looming above Bruton. “The wolf demon needs people like ye to manifest in this world. Spratling merged with that demon that night. An’ so what you heard was ‘im takin’ the demon within himself.”

  “If they’re people, why’re they attackin’ us?”

  “Most who’re bit by the wolves don’t remember who they are afterwards. They become animals with no identity other than what they desire. Slaves to their own impulses. But like animals, they obey an alpha.”

  The crowd stirred. Torn between their lifelong respect for Old Abbie, and the ‘nonsense’ that was spewing from her mouth. Mutters became chatter, and the chatter became hollers.

  She smiled as men and women cried “Hogwash!” and “Malarkey!”

  Abbie didn’t speak up, but she didn’t have to. When she began speaking again the crowd hushed.

  “I know ye ‘ave no reason to believe me. Why should ye, but I speak the truth, an’ it’s a truth you need to hear an’ know. The peace this town ‘as witnessed happened because of ‘im. Because of Cletus Spratling. Not because he sent a message, but because ‘e was there to control ‘em. ‘E could’ve killed ‘em, but ‘e didn’t. They were people ‘e grew up with. People ‘e seen all ‘is life. But a new alpha came into town an’ damn near killed my Cletus, and so the wolves ‘ave been runnin’ free.”

  “If ‘e was alive, why’d he never come back! ‘E would’ve come back to his ma!” Patricia Hope hollered.

  “He became one of ‘em, but then continued ‘is hunt, only this time with the demon by ‘is side and within ‘im. ‘E wasn’t the alpha right then and there, nor did he care to be. ‘E only wanted more blood. He found the alpha, survived, and realized he had a ‘ole pack of wolves waitin’ for ‘is direction afterwards. When all was said and done, ‘e knew the town believed ‘im dead, an’ ‘e knew he needed to stay in Bowlands if the people of Bruton were ever goin’ to know peace. He visited frequently, as ‘e still does to see one person, his childhood sweetheart… me.”

  Keith Park called out Rick Backus who was sitting on a bench near the back.

  “Say somethin’ Rick! She’s lost et, asn’t she?”

  Rick swallowed and said, “Don’ know ‘bout the other parts, but she was Cletus’s love interest, now that I remember. That part is at least true.”

  They turned their attention back to her, and she resumed.

  “Cletus kept this town safe for generations, but all that stopped when ‘e fell to the new alpha. Took ‘im a long time to recover but he’s up an’ walking again. But though demons run amok in our lands once again, we are still at the mercy of loving gods. This town received a new warrior when ‘e fell, a person you all know very well.”

  “Who?” Bob Little hollered.

  “Dunstan Conner,” Abbie said

  Everyone gasped.

  “Both Cletus and Dunstan are in town right now. They’re very close. But don’t get too excited. Before you go in the hopes of rounding Dunstan up, ye need to know that if Dunstan is here that means he’s not protectin’ ye.”

  “We ‘ave protection!” Benjamin Parker protested. “There’s at least fifteen people walkin’ ‘round the town right now!”

  Abbie chuckled, and despite Benjamin Parker’s reminder, everyone started looking left and right, fearful of another Spring Festival.

  “Twilight’s when they come out,” Abbie said. “Which is right now in case ye haven’t noticed. In any moment they will be leaping out of Bowland Mountains and heading here. That’s how they travel. You’ve all been looking directly ahead, but you should have been looking up. See, it’s been Dunstan an’ Cletus that’ve been keepin’ ‘em out, and, like I said, are here now amongst ye. But I’ve told ‘em not to protect you tonight, and they’ve given me their word they won’t. Not until you’ve asked for their help. That’s what tonight is all about. Ye acceptin’ an’ learnin’ who your true heroes are.”

  With the threat of wolves, Abbie ceased being a crazy old woman to the townsfolk, as they suddenly feared she might be telling the truth.

  As if on cue, four black shapes howled from the rooftop of the courthouse and the townspeople scattered. George Bancroft spotted where they were and shouted, “The roof! They’re on the roofs!” Amber found Cletus and saw him shifting into his wolf form. As expected he grasped the broadsword at his back and wielded it with little effort. If he had half a mind, he looked like he could slice a building in half with it.

  Everyone dispersed in random directions hoping to find a safe route to cover. Each one of them mentally calculating how to get back home without being seen by the wolves.

  John Prichtett was the first to be cornered by one of the beasts. Old and arthritic, he screamed and swung his cane at the wolf’s head but was quickly dismissed by the monster and shoved twenty feet away. Amber made to run to him, but was
blocked by people hurrying past.

  Thomas Walker, an aspiring lawyer, was the next victim. He was pounced upon and quickly relieved of a pulsing jugular in his neck. Amber saw him futilely attempting to stop his own bleeding before dying.

  One of the volunteers for the peace mission, Colin Dennel, fell next. As one would expect of a boy who had to be pulled out of a thawing pond, Colin actually put his fists up as if he were going to box the wolf. The wolf stood up and walked like a human to him and backhanded him so hard Amber heard his neck snap fifty feet away.

  Dylan Hobbs, stronger and braver than most men, was the first to break. “Enough!” he yelled. “I speak for everyone. Dunstan! Cletus! We need your help!”

  Amber heard him before she saw him, as she always did, falling through the air with tremendous speed. He landed amidst everyone and immediately pounced the wolf who had just killed Colin Dennel— sinking his white jaws into the monster’s neck and then jumping away with it into the evening sky.

  Cletus, in wolf form, jumped in with his broadsword and promptly ended a wolf about to attack Shey Smith and her two daughters. He promptly jumped away from the them, but barely made it back to the top of the church. His strategy seemed to be to deliver a fast kill and then disappear, for if he got into a skirmish, even with a lesser wolf, he was likely not to go well.

  “Weapons!” Martin screamed. “In the wagon! Arm yourselves!” William was beside him, already armed with a two handed axe. Dylan Hobbs and Clarence Goodland, Amber’s father, were the only other two who went and armed themselves.

  The four men put their backs together and scanned the roofs for another wolf, knowing there were at least two left.

  Dunstan jumped back into Town Square and looked with them— his muzzle stained red. His ears perked up and he suddenly jumped up to the church to where Cletus was. A wolf had surprised Cletus and had him pinned on his back trying to sink its jaws into Cletus’s neck. Dunstan landed and pulled Cletus’s attacker off of him. Cletus quickly jumped to his feet and swung his sword at the disoriented wolf.