A Secret Baby for the Shifter (Stonybrooke Shifters)

by Leela Ash

  A sad look darkened Zaden’s face, and he looked down at the ground. The Guardians had been after the dragon shifters for centuries, and their only refuge had become the underground settlement led by the Kersh clan.

  “No, nobody they tortured has ever done anything wrong. They’re just terrible people. They don’t always treat people who are different with a lot of respect. In fact, they usually try to kill us or dissect us like science experiments to see what they can learn.”

  “That sounds awful, why would they do that?”

  But here, Zaden stopped talking. She couldn’t remember anything, and he didn’t see any point in putting false memories into her head. What if she wasn’t a dragon shifter? It would be the biggest breach of trust that he could think of to the clan to unveil their secrets about shapeshifting to somebody who wouldn’t know or understand what he was talking about. Clayton would see him as a traitor, and that was something that he could not tolerate. The man had practically raised him and allowed him special treatment after the death of his parents. He would not betray their secrets, even to this beautiful woman.

  “We traveled far last night, and I’m not exactly sure where we are,” Zaden admitted, avoiding the topic. “I have never been here before. And we are going to have to get back to my clan before the Guardians find you. I don’t know what they want with you or why they have chosen you. Their reasons are theirs alone. All that you need to know is that they are evil and they will hurt you if they find you unprotected. So we’re going to have to find our way back as soon as we can.”

  She nodded, and he served breakfast. They ate in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts and worries about the future.

  Chapter Six

  “What do you mean you let her get away?” Richard exclaimed.

  Peter looked down at the ground wincing. Richard was always so miserable when he was angry. Sometimes, he even turned on his own group. Several of them had not survived the man’s temper.

  “I’m telling you, it wasn’t my fault. There was a shifter there. I don’t know who he was, but I think it was that little urchin that Clayton has been taking care of.”

  Richard began to pace around the dingy, dungeon-like room where he had made the headquarters for the Guardians. It looked like a medieval torture chamber, and opened up into the deeper labyrinths of the laboratory where they had several specimens collected of both Dragon and Loni descent.

  The people of Kaldernon were desperate to get back to their home world, but before they did so, they were making great use of the limited resources on Earth and tainting the genetic population of the humans. Whenever the Guardians found somebody even vaguely of Dragon or Loni descent, they would use all of their resources and power to collect them and maintain their care to keep them fit for experimentation. It was through these prisoners that the Guardians learned the genetic and mystical secrets of Kaldernon that threatened to disrupt the balance of wholesome life on Earth.

  “If it was Zaden, as you suspect, it shouldn’t be too difficult to corrupt him. That little asshole has always been anxious to rebel. Maybe we could get him to betray the girl and give her to us,” Richard said thoughtfully.

  “That is unlikely,” Peter said. “You know that he has an intense hatred of us. Maybe that would work if we hadn’t killed his parents, but because we did, I doubt there will be any chance for us to sway him one way or the other.”

  “Well lucky for us, we uncovered the secrets to masking our scent from Dragon shifters. We can sneak up on their camp without him being any the wiser and take her away.”

  “You know the formula is only temporary, and there is a very limited amount of it. We would have to make a new batch. We already used that trying to get to the girl.”

  “Well we don’t know if she is shifter or Loni, so that was a necessary precaution. I’m actually angrier that you wasted this chance to get her even though you could have snuck up on them and made this a seamless kidnapping.”

  Peter paled as Richard’s face began to turn a dark magenta. The man’s beady eyes fixed on him mercilessly and he had a feeling that he knew what was going to happen. Before Richard spoke his curse upon Peter however, another man burst into the room.

  “My lord, there has been some activity reported in the city. People are beginning to claim that they have seen strange colors in the sky. I’m afraid that they are beginning to awaken to the presence of Kaldernon.”

  “That’s impossible!” Richard sputtered, turning away from Peter and facing Duke, who had delivered the message.

  “I’m afraid not, my lord,” Duke said with a little bow. “Apparently, anyone who has ancestors of Dragon or Loni descent are able to see the world above through the rip in the space-time continuum. They don’t understand what it is or why it’s there. They think they’re purely human and would never believe the truth. The bloodlines have become so diluted in these cases that they don’t have any access to their shifter or creative Loni powers. At least not much. That’s the only consolation in this case.”

  “Were you able to get reports of the people who have claimed such a sighting?” Richard said now with an eerie calm. Peter and Duke exchanged a quick, nervous glance.

  “Not yet,” Duke said. “But we can have the police officers detained them on suspicion of the consumption of hallucinogenic drugs. That will give us the time that we need to bring them here before anything strange happens.”

  “All right,” Richard said. He began to pace around the floor of the room, running his hand over the bald spot on the top of his head. Peter began to back away as subtly as he could.

  “Get the girl,” Richard said distractedly, lost in thought.

  “Yes, my lord,” Peter said. “Right away.”

  Chapter Seven

  Night fell and Kala found herself tossing and turning. For some reason, she couldn’t get to sleep even though it had been very easy for her the night before. They had been walking all day long, which made her think that she would probably be too exhausted for insomnia. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. She had followed Zaden over hills and through the strange trees that she was still suspicious of. Why did they look so different than what she thought they should look like? In fact, what did she expect them to be like? She had no idea. Maybe she was just confused because of her memory loss.

  In a way, she felt worse being with somebody than being alone. Everything was a lot more confusing. Not only that, but she was starting to feel as if she might become a burden on the impatient and surly man who had saved her life. Although he was rugged and handsome, he was also irritable and full of himself. He had mentioned how he was one of the most capable fighters in the clan where he was from, and that she was safe with him. But it was the impression that she had of him as a braggart they gave her a bad feeling. Who knew who she could trust here in this strange world?

  The strange sounds of the forest were keeping her awake. There were animals of all varieties. Zaden had pointed a few of them out to her, but none of them summoned any kind of familiarity or memory in her mind. It was disappointing, although she did enjoy seeing the cute way the animals moved and made sound.

  She fingered the white gossamer lace of her beautiful gown, her eyes resting on the way that it bounced the moonlight back at her. Wherever she was from, it was a place that was capable of creating cloth as beautiful as this. It was nothing like the weird brown fabric that the bad smelling Guardian man was wearing, or the binding leather of Zaden’s tight slacks. She knew that she didn’t belong there, but she couldn’t figure out where it was that she had come from.

  As she gazed at the sky above, her lavender eyes widened when she saw a shooting star. It seemed to trail behind it colors that were familiar. Colors that seemed to be missing from the world that she was in, from the trees, the sky, and everywhere else. Why did those colors make her feel so homesick?

  She hadn’t realized she was crying until she felt Zaden’s strong arms around her. She allowed him to hold her close in a t
ight hug, and she buried her head in his shoulders, ashamed of the emotions that were pouring out, and confused by what had caused them.

  “It’s all right,” he said soothingly into her ear. She felt strange tendrils of pleasure from the vibration of his voice and stopped crying, confused by the sensation. “I’ll do my best to help you figure out where you belong. My clan is good at that kind of thing, don’t worry.”

  She pulled away, breaking from his arms and looking out into the ominous darkness of the forest around them. She could sense him standing up behind her, his masculine body close to hers. She couldn’t get over how good he smelled. But she was embarrassed to admit how comforted she felt by this strange man. He put his hand on her shoulder and then let it fall, his fingertips lightly touching her long, white-blonde hair. She expected him to say something, but instead, he turned away from her and went back to his side of the fire.

  “Everything will look better when the sun rises,” he said. Then he curled up on the ground and went back to sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  Morning came quicker than either of them expected it to. Zaden rose first, and stood looking down at Kala. Every time he saw her, he was startled by her beauty, and he found his eyes lingering on her longer than he meant to. The women in his clan all seemed to look plain to him. Something about Kala looked different. He wished that he could put his finger on it, but just as he was trying to, she stirred and met his eyes.

  She jumped back, startled, and he looked away embarrassed.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, sitting up and sliding away from him.

  “There’s something strange about you,” he said decidedly. “The Guardians probably did something weird.”

  It was easier to simplify his feelings this way. It made him feel more in control of himself.

  “Weird? What do you mean?” she asked, peering angrily at him. “I’m not weird.”

  “I don’t know. With your eyes or something? You just look different.”

  She glared at him and he shifted uncomfortably.

  “I mean, it’s not bad or anything.” His green eyes darkened and he turned away from her. He had insulted her when he had really been thinking about how beautiful she was. What kind of jerk did that?

  “Has anybody ever told you before that you are very rude?” she asked, standing up huffily.

  “Yes,” he said, grinning at her from over his shoulder. “Now come on. We have to get out of here before the Guardians find out where we are. They want you for some reason, and they won’t stop until they get you. You’ll be safer with my clan.”

  She growled quietly to herself and followed him away from their campsite. What if she didn’t want to be with his clan? Although, she had to admit, he seemed to be the only thing about the entire situation that gave her any sense of normalcy. And he wasn’t too bad to look at either. In fact, she caught herself staring at the contours of his muscular back right that moment. The raw power of his body made her heart skip a beat.

  She looked down at the ground, frustrated with herself. Why was he so handsome? She couldn’t stand the way he kept trying to take charge. But what was she going to do about it? It wasn’t like she knew anything about the place. She had no choice but to follow him. At least until she was able to remember something. Hopefully he was telling the truth and the people in his clan could help her.

  Otherwise, she didn’t know what she was going to do.

  Chapter Nine

  Zaden sighed, glancing behind himself as Kala struggled to keep up. “You’re slow!” he exclaimed. There he went, insulting her again when he had really been thinking of ways he could help her keep up.

  Her purple eyes glared darkly at him and he laughed despite his irritation. “You know the sooner we get home the sooner you can get some help right?”

  “Home?” she said, raising her eyebrow at him. She was panting as Zaden’s capable, muscular body climbed quickly and impatiently over huge rock formations. He was clearly more agile than she was, and seemed to enjoy flaunting it. “Wherever you’re from, that’s not my home.”

  “Well, no, but –“

  “And why don’t you just slow down? Neither of us knows what kind of beating my body has taken in the past few days! Just take it easy would you?”

  Zaden pursed his lips, hiding his face from her. He felt guilty for pushing her so hard, but he was afraid of what might happen to her if the Guardians caught up. Somehow they had been able to sneak up on them and it had left him shaken up. They were capable of great evil, but he didn’t want her to know that. The amount of danger she was in wasn’t something she needed to worry about. Worrying would do nothing and he wanted to protect her from the gruesome truths.

  It had been his hope to get her back as quickly as possible for her own good. Working up a sweat would be nothing compared to what might happen to her if she were captured. He hadn’t been thinking about how his pace had been affecting her. He was used to trying to show off to all the other rookie cadets in Clayton’s army, proving that he was only there because he wanted to be, not because it was necessary.

  “That’s better,” she grumbled, now able to keep up stride with him. Her voice so near to his back startled him, and he realized that a part of the reason he was moving so quickly and keeping such a huge distance between them was because he felt uncomfortable near her. It wasn’t that she was weird, but she stirred something within him that he had never experienced before. She was intoxicating, and it made it hard for him to trust himself with her.

  “So,” he said, trying to distract himself from the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them and the forbidden things it seemed to suggest to his mind. “Have you been able to remember anything yet?”

  “No,” she said miserably. She was in a bad mood, and he wasn’t sure if it had everything to do with him or if she was just upset about her situation. Either way, she had been making for lousy company and both of them were on edge. He was eager to smooth things over.

  “Has anything seemed familiar?”

  Kala was quiet, and a fire crept across her cheeks as she thought about how the only familiar thing she had seen had been the shooting star. And the way that Zaden smelled and moved. She couldn’t help but watch him as they traveled, his body lithe and agile as they wandered briskly across the wooded landscape.

  “No,” she lied. “But there are things that are unfamiliar.”

  This seemed to capture his interest.

  “Like what?” he asked, pausing briefly.

  “The trees, for example. They strike me as strange. Sickly. Are you sure it’s safe to be near them?”

  “Of course it is,” he said pompously, raising his chin knowingly into the air as if she were stupid. “They’re just trees! What could possibly be wrong with trees? We have one of the lushest forested areas for miles!”

  “I see,” she said, pursing her lips in an effort not to laugh at him. She tried to hide it, but she was too late, and he scowled at her.

  “What?” he asked, jutting his chin out. Handsome even when he pouted, Kala noted. This man was exhausting.

  “You’re just so proud,” she said with a small smile.

  “Haven’t you ever had anything to be proud of?” he demanded.

  “I don’t know,” she said.

  The answer seemed to sober him and he was quiet for a moment before turning away. “I’m sure you have,” he said. “You seem like a really capable person. There are probably a lot of great things about you.”

  He continued on without waiting to see whether or not she would follow. She sighed deeply to herself and followed, trying not to let his compliment go to her head.

  Chapter Ten

  That night, they were too tired to go on so they made camp.

  “I must have gotten us lost,” Zaden admitted as he built the fire. “I don’t have any rations left. We’re going to have to hunt.”

  “I’m not sure I’d be any good at that,” Kala said. In truth, the idea of har
ming any of the delightful forest creatures they had met nauseated her.

  “Well, I’d keep feeding you the good stuff if we had any,” Zaden said, glowering down at the ground. Maybe Clayton and Janes were right. He should have paid more attention to training.

  He had always thought he would be able to smell his way back home and had completely disregarded the classes in navigation. He hadn’t realized how quickly he could lose the scent. The elements must have been working against him. Strong winds and light sprinkles of rain that hadn’t turned into anything substantial had been enough that he lost the trail. Still, he had forged on ahead, assuming that he would catch the scent sooner or later. He had only served to get them more lost.

  “I know,” she said, her voice low. She had been quiet most of their time together, but the more she spoke, the more he noticed that she spoke with a musical quality in her voice. It somehow made him feel instantly at ease. Happy, even. Or as happy as he could be anyway.

  “Okay. I’ll do the hunting then, your highness,” he said with a low, sarcastic bow. He wasn’t angry at all, but he did feel exasperated. He had no idea what to do with the likes of her, and it was clear that she had a hard time simply tolerating him. Her attitude made him feel resentful, particularly because for some reason, he seemed to want her to like him. She scoffed as he took off into the dark woods, leaving her alone by the campfire.

  She watched him go, her face wrought with emotion. Why was it so impossible to spend time with this man? Was it his arrogance or was there something more to it than that? And why had the only people she had seen so far been a vile man who wanted to capture her for some reason and Zaden, who, for some reason, never seemed far from her thoughts. He got under her skin, but part of that was because her attraction to him made her edgy. She couldn’t let herself become vulnerable to anybody. Especially not when she couldn’t even remember who she was or where she came from. She would stick around until she had a better option, but until then she would just have to play it smart.