Shifter's Claim (The Shadow Shifters)

by A. C. Arthur

  Seconds later, when Bas thought he could at least breathe steadily again, he pulled slightly away from her. Not enough so that their connection was broken, but just enough so he could look down at her.

  “This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he told her.

  She nodded immediately and agreed, “I know.”

  “But it did.”

  She nodded again. “So what now?”

  He thought about that question for a minute, thought about the implications it proposed and fought like hell for a reasonable answer. With any other female it would have been simple, get dressed and leave. With another shifter the arrangements would have already been stated before getting to this point. In any other business arrangement he would state his terms and advise they be accepted or declined.

  But this was totally different. He knew it as his dick pulsated inside her warmth once more, as her gaze held his intently and even more so as she rubbed her hands along his back, along the tribal tattoo and the length of his cat depicted there.

  “Now, we sleep,” he told her before slipping out of her slowly then helping her out of the pool.

  They didn’t speak again, Bas sensing that neither of them knew exactly what to say. All her questions had taken a backseat to what had transpired between them, just as had all, or rather, most of his reservations. Even though consequences and repercussions ran rampant through his mind, Bas would not speak them, not tonight. Instead he gently dried her off when they were in his bedroom, then he pulled back the duvet and sheet and guided her into the bed. Initially, she paused and stood beside his bed looking up at him as if she wanted to say something. Bas prayed that she wouldn’t. If she did it would be about her story or her brother or how he planned to help and Bas just didn’t know. He didn’t know why he’d felt compelled to help her or to protect her from Rome and anyone else out to harm her. For the very first time in his life, Bas didn’t have all the answers and for a shifter like him, that wasn’t an easy revelation to deal with.

  Finally, after about a million excruciating seconds, she silently climbed into the bed, rolling onto her back to look up at him once more. When she lifted a hand, reaching for him, Bas thanked every deity in the world and climbed in beside her without hesitation.

  He pulled her close to him, his chin resting on the top of her head, her still-damp hair tickling his skin. He held her close and tight, feeling like if he didn’t she might disappear for good. In his mind he vowed to keep her right here, safe in his arms forever.

  The impossibility of that scenario wouldn’t completely filter through his mind until hours later.

  Chapter 17

  It wasn’t a loud noise but more like a vibration that shook the table on Bas’s side of the bed. Priya had been lying over his chest, her leg entwined between his, both of them sound asleep. Or rather, he’d been sound asleep while she’d been lying there, loving the feel of the rise and fall of his chest and the intoxicating scent of masculinity. It all felt so right and yet, she knew it was terribly wrong.

  She didn’t belong with a man like Sebastian Perry in a place like Perryville. Sure, she’d been working her entire adult life to get ahead and to leave her past behind her, but never in a million years had she imagined she’d be surrounded by things like expensive watches, designer ties, or a home in a place that was like a small remote town with as much technology as a Star Wars movie. This just wasn’t where she’d imagined herself at twenty-seven years old, and it definitely wasn’t where she’d imagined herself when she’d spent the last of her life’s savings to chase this man and his secrets across the country.

  Bas stirred immediately upon hearing the muted sound. He probably would have jumped straight up if she hadn’t been sprawled so wantonly across his body. Instead, he adjusted her with gentle hands until he managed to slip from beneath her, letting her head be softly cradled by the pillow and pulling the sheet up to her neck.

  Priya remained perfectly still, lying on her stomach, keeping her eyes closed. He moved through the darkness with hardly any sound, the bathroom door sliding open with an almost imperceptible whishing noise. Moments later she heard the belt buckle clinking as he slipped on his pants and chose that moment to do a mock yawn, turn, and resettle amongst the sheets. Through barely slit lids she watched as Bas froze, standing at the foot of the bed, watching her intently. She could feel the heat of his gaze as she’d flipped over onto her back, letting the sheets slip down just far enough so that her breasts were bared.

  After a few seconds of staring and most likely contemplating, he turned away and Priya opened her eyes completely. She watched him move to the door and tap the spot about level with his right shoulder. Lights from the tiny control pad were revealed, a red one, green one, and yellow one. She couldn’t see which one he pushed but the green light began blinking about two seconds before the door opened. He walked through and didn’t close the door behind him. But he didn’t need to, she’d seen all she needed to see. Her heart pounding with that knowledge, she waited, estimating in her mind how long it should take him to get to the front door and exit the room.

  Sixty seconds later Priya was kicking the sheets off the bed. She moved as fast as her still-languid limbs would take her to her bag where she pulled on underwear, shorts, and a tank top. Her tennis shoes were near the wall where she’d seen Bas obtain his underwear just yesterday. Stuffing her feet into them she hurried through the bedroom door and didn’t stop until she was in front of the wall where she knew the front door was located. Taking a deep breath she wiped her now-damp palms down her thighs.

  “Do or die, Drake,” she told herself, then reached up to a spot that aligned with her eyes.

  When she stood in front of Bas and didn’t look up, the top of her head came to his shoulders. Subtracting for the height she gained when wearing the small-heeled sandals she’d had on last night, she guessed somewhere near her eyes was more accurate. After taking a deep breath, she pressed there on the wall and waited.

  Nothing.

  “Dammit,” she hissed.

  Then slowly she traced a finger along the same area, not yet willing to give up. The smooth, almost feltlike material that covered the walls didn’t give any indication that she was either hot or cold in her search. And just when she was about to give up and curse Sebastian Perry to hell and back, a piece of the wall shifted. She hurriedly pulled her hand back for fear it would get swallowed up and she’d be held prisoner by the cyber guard until Bas came back. The wall peeled back and a control panel was revealed.

  “Bingo!” she said excitedly as she pushed the green button.

  The front door opened and she faced the cool hallway with a pride she could barely contain. Now all she had to do was find her way to the floor he’d walked her through two days ago. Whatever type of alarm it was that had awakened him was meant to be covert.

  For that reason she had to figure it wasn’t a resort problem, and since earlier today when they were in the spa, Bas had apparently been talking to someone other than her, Priya was almost certain he wouldn’t be heading to the front desk. Boarding the elevator she pushed the button marked B, she presumed for basement, and waited.

  But the minute the elevator doors opened and she was about to step out Priya received a surprise she wasn’t counting on.

  * * *

  “They’re on the grounds,” Jacques said, checking the firearm he held then slipping it into the holster at his knee. When he stood up straight he pulled the one from the back band of his pants and checked it.

  “Not for long, they’re not,” Bas added from across the control room. He’d already gone to the weapons vault on the far side of the room to retrieve his M-40A3, the newest sniper rifle used by the corps. He’d secured his weapons through his former captain who had now moved up in the ranks to hold the position of commandant, and who was also a shadow.

  “I’m going out with Syfon and his five,” Jacques told him.

  Bas nodded as they both moved for the door. “I’ll go up with
Paolo and Kaz. I want those two close just in case they get the dumbassed idea to shift.”

  Jacques nodded and the two separated. Bas didn’t look back, just headed for the side stairway and ran like he was back on the combat field. Thoughts of what they might find tonight filtered through his mind as adrenaline pumped through his veins like gas into a fuel tank. He took the steps three at a time, his muscles bunching with the effort. Along his spine the stretch of his cat joined him, elongated muscles making the run seem more like a glide upward and around, twining about the dwelling until he burst through the rooftop door.

  Paolo and Kaz were both at either side, having been dispatched to this location already. About twenty feet forward were two other shifters, their sniper rifles trained toward the trees that lined the west side of the resort.

  “One down below, fast approaching,” Kaz informed Bas.

  “There’s another one closer near the parking garage,” Paolo added. “One’s a cat.”

  Fuck! His mind roared, the curse never falling from his lips, his finger twitching on the trigger. “Let’s stop that bastard first!” he instructed, then yelled to the others up ahead, “Get a bead on him and shoot.”

  This one they would most likely have to kill, the threat to his guests wasn’t worth the risk. Through his com link he could hear Jacques directing his crew around the back end of the building to where the rogue had been sighted.

  Going to the edge of the roof Bas crouched low, lifted his rifle to rest on his shoulder, and stared through the scope. That was all for the human side; to hunt this cat he needed more. His eyes adjusted to the night, filtering through the trees like a laser. Inhaling deeply he picked up the scent, felt the rush of the animal on the move, and followed his gut. He moved slightly to the right, about two inches at first, then another five. In seconds the cat burst through the opening of trees just beyond the tennis courts. A low growl escaped, Bas’s sharp teeth elongated to prick his lower lip. His finger squeezed the trigger only slightly.

  “Got ’em!” he heard someone mumble.

  “I got that sonofabitch too! Let’s light him up!” Paolo added in a louder voice.

  “Hold tight,” Bas whispered. “Don’t rush the shot.”

  As if his words had never been spoken, the first bullets exploded with the muted sound of their silenced weapons. From above, spewing dirt from the ground where they’d hit speared upward. The cat roared as it was hit in its hindquarters, then it ran faster, like a blur of black fur streaking forward, heading directly for the resort.

  Bas was up in seconds, moving like lightning to kick the gun out of Paolo’s clutches. “I said hold tight!”

  “I had the shot,” Paolo argued.

  “You had nothing, you idiot!” He wanted to say more, wanted actually to punch the cocky bastard in his jaw for missing the shot completely, but had other matters to deal with. “Fall in and don’t shoot until I tell you to or the next bullet flying’s gonna tag your dumb ass!”

  Paolo’s facial expression said he wasn’t happy with that order; the clench of his teeth and squaring of his shoulders said he recognized he didn’t have a choice. Bas led the way down from the roof, shouting orders through the com link that a cat was on the loose.

  * * *

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Jewel whispered, grabbing Priya by the arm and pulling her off the elevator.

  “Well, hello to you too,” Priya said, trying to keep from falling on her face while the woman moved quickly in front of her.

  “This space is off-limits to guests. It’s off-limits to everyone,” Jewel continued.

  They were heading down the hallway that Priya recognized from when she’d been dragged upstairs. It seemed everyone thought that was her preferred mode of travel. Not! She pulled roughly out of Jewel’s grasp. The other woman stopped, turning to face Priya with a worried frown.

  “We need to get back upstairs. They won’t like it if they find us down here,” she told Priya.

  “Who won’t like it and why not? It’s just a basement. What do they have down here besides probably old furniture and supplies?” Priya quipped, looking around the space.

  It felt like a maze. A cement maze that twisted and turned in all directions with no discerning features to give even a hint of guidance. Yet, Jewel seemed to know exactly where she was going.

  “Why are you down here if it’s not allowed?” Priya asked.

  The other woman folded her arms over her chest, a deep frown marring her otherwise pretty face. Her riotous curls had been pulled back on top into a ponytail that gave her a childlike quality, her eyes blinking furiously as they glared at Priya.

  “That’s none of your business,” was her sharp retort.

  Priya nodded. “Okay, I could give you that except you just grabbed me from the elevator, running me down this hallway like you knew where you were taking me. As for me, I’ll gladly admit I have no idea what’s down here, but I’m awfully curious now that I’m not alone in my quest.”

  Jewel sighed. “You’re not going to go back upstairs, are you?”

  “Are you?”

  The woman made a frustrated sound. “You’re going to mess up everything for me.”

  Priya was not deterred by the anxiety in Jewel’s voice, but rather more intrigued. “And everything would be what, exactly?”

  Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps, running footsteps that were coming closer in their direction.

  “Quick, down here!” Jewel yelled, reaching for Priya’s arm and pulling her along once more.

  Priya was getting damned tired of people pulling her around like she was nothing more than a rag doll. Still, she ran with the woman because she had no clue who was running up behind them. About six feet ahead was a set of double doors. Jewel hesitated momentarily as they came to a four-way section and she tried to figure out which way to go. Priya, who again had no clue where she was going, took the lead. This time she dragged Jewel behind her and felt a spurt of enjoyment at having done so. Until she pushed against those double doors and they both tumbled out into the night.

  Falling face-first onto the ground, they both grunted. Priya scrambled to get up even though her chest was throbbing with the breast-to-dirt-ground contact. She was on her hands and knees when she heard a sound that shook the world around her. Everything in her stilled, everything besides her heart which beat a rhythm that echoed almost as loudly as the horrific roar she knew she’d just heard.

  In the next second she was grabbed around the waist and yanked from the spot where she’d been rooted. Her back hit the wall this time with a sickening thump as she was tossed behind whoever had come up from behind and grabbed her. When she thought her lungs were ready to cooperate—screw her legs because they just weren’t in the mood to move at the moment—she opened her mouth, prepared to scream a few choice expletives at someone. Then there were gunshots and more growling. Male voices yelled as a flurry of action seemed to break out around her. Looking to the side she tried to find Jewel, but didn’t see her. Figuring this couldn’t get any worse, she took a step and was prepared to run back inside the building when a body blocked that move.

  She didn’t have to look up because she knew who that someone was, knew instinctively as the molten heat began to flood her body. But Priya did look up, there didn’t seem to be any other option. Bas was seething mad. No, that probably didn’t even begin to describe the look on his face, the glint in his crystalline-looking eyes or the snarl that marred the bottom half of his face. She opened her mouth to speak, not knowing for sure what was going to come out—an apology, a curse, a hi, how you doing?

  It didn’t matter because he grabbed her by the front of her T-shirt, pulling her so close she came up on her tiptoes. “You stay behind me, do you hear? Don’t try anything stupid, just stay the fuck behind me!”

  Priya nodded like one of those dingy cartoon females that had damsel-in-distress written all over them. Her head bobbed up and down like she was a mute and when he rele
ased her, she did exactly as she’d been told. Because while Priya had always been independent, stubborn, and just a little bit on the hyperactive side, she’d never considered herself to be stupid by any stretch of the word.

  Bas moved back inside the building, mumbling something into his shoulder as he did. She couldn’t hear his words because her ears were still echoing from the roaring and being in close range of the gunshots. She hadn’t seen who’d been shot. Hell, she hadn’t even seen Jewel who just minutes ago had been within arm’s reach of her. Now they were moving through those damned light-gray-painted hallways that made her feel like now she might be in some kind of prison. Or at least, a warped-ass nightmare, the kind you had after staying up half the night eating Crunch ’n Munch, drinking chocolate milk, and watching a Walking Dead marathon.

  They’d just rounded another corner when they came face-to-face with another man. Or at least Priya thought he was a man, even though right about now he looked like some sort of big-assed machine—“big” being the operative word.

  “Well, if it ain’t the fuckin’ FL,” the man snarled at Bas. “And what do we have here?” he continued.

  Bas’s left arm came backward, cupping Priya and tucking her even closer behind him. In his right hand, she’d just noticed, had to be the biggest, blackest gun she’d ever had the pleasure of seeing close-up.

  “You don’t belong here,” Bas said in a steely tone Priya had never heard him use before. “I’m going to give you five seconds to walk the fuck away.”

  Priya leaned around Bas’s muscled body to get another look at the guy/machine and cringed when she did. He’d thrown his head back and laughed in response to Bas’s directive. His teeth almost seemed as black as the sweaty skin on his face and he was built like a freakin’ boulder. When one of his creepy-ass eyes locked on hers she moved quickly, slipping behind Bas’s cover once more.