Howloween Hunt (A Holiday Shifter Romance) (Holiday Shifters Book 1)

by Evelyn Vox

  The sooner I got out of this stupid town, the better.

  5

  Vincent

  I was panting by the time I got to the perimeter of a small town called Spring Brook, if the sign outside was to be believed. Her smell was exhilarating, and I wanted nothing more than to sniff her out and claim her, but I had to find clothes first. Still in my wolf form, I loped into town, keeping to the back alleys. It was easy to avoid the throngs of trick-or-treaters that crowded the main streets.

  I stopped in the back of a general store. It was dark with the lights off—closed, and I could smell no one inside. I shifted until I stood on two feet. I staggered forward, the heavy weight of my mating cock foreign and shocking. My member was never small to begin with—I am a big male, even by wolf standards. Now, it was a massive, veined length, an iron rod between my legs that pulsed. It throbbed hot and red, leaking with desire for her.

  “Fuck,” I groaned, taking the thick flesh into my hands.

  I stroked it, knowing full well that it would do nothing to relieve my torment. I could not to spill my seed until I was buried inside my mate. Not when I was in heat. I squeezed the head of my cock, and grunted through my nose. I needed to mate her soon. Before I could do that, clothes. I grabbed the handle of the store’s back door, and ripped the wood right off its hinges with a growl.

  I threw the door to the ground and stepped inside. It was dark, but I was a creature of the night, and could see with perfect clarity. I moved through the back of the store onto the main floor. The shelves were filled with home goods, office supplies, and groceries. I snarled, impatient and hungry with need, when I couldn’t find any clothes.

  My cock was so hard it hurt, and I stroked it absentmindedly in my hand as I searched the store, desperate to relieve the growing pressure. I couldn’t stay away from her much longer. If I didn’t find clothes here, I’d walk into the streets naked. I didn’t care. She was all that mattered. I turned down the last aisle and a grin twitched my lips.

  It was full of Halloween costumes, hanging in little plastic packages from the racks. That would have to do. I grabbed the closest one, tearing into it with my bare hands. The pants were small and tight, ending at my calves, but at least they didn’t rip. I couldn’t say as much for the jacket, or the shirt. I pulled it over my head and down, but it split around the collar—my shoulders too wide for the size. The tear ripped in a V shape that exposed the majority of my wide chest.

  I didn’t care. It would have to do. I fought the urge to howl as my wolf’s excitement grew to a frenzy. My cock pulsed, a searing brand against my thigh. I sniffed the air and found her scent immediately. It was time. I was coming for you, mate.

  You were mine.

  6

  Sadie

  I was working in the lab late one night…

  I groaned when Monster Mash blared through the speakers. I dodged a splash from a witch bobbing for apples, and leaned against the bar, sipping some spiked punch. Jeff was holding down the fort so we could have some fun tonight. I wouldn’t have said no to dancing, but I’d have needed someone to ask me first. From the furtive glances all the guys were giving me, I knew that wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

  Even on Halloween, I was the biggest freak in the room.

  I watched Mandy and Blake dance with bitter eyes. He had his hands on her hips as they gyrated to the music. Only those two could dance dirty to the Monster Mash. They grinded by, and Blake made a point of locking eyes with me when he squeezed Mandy’s ass. She squealed, and he waggled his eyebrows in my direction.

  Wow. He avoided me like the plague for years then the second I put on a corset, he thinks I’m fair game? Gross. Not to mention the whole fiancé situation. Blake was turning into a real sleaze. I’d have to keep my distance from him. He could see how it felt to be the plague for once.

  They did the mash…

  I ignored him and sipped some more of my punch, thinking that I’d like to give Blake a different kind of punch. I was feeling giddy and rebellious tonight. My foot tapped the floor like I’d had a pot of coffee, even though I never touched the stuff. I blamed the moon.

  I always got a little crazy when it was full. A full moon on Halloween? That was sure to make a person like me go wild. And tonight, I felt especially wild, like something inside of me was begging to be unleashed. If only someone would ask me to dance, I could find out just how wild I was.

  The ghouls all came from their humble abodes…

  Movement by the front door caught my eye. A stranger, tall and feral looking, walked in. When he locked his eyes on me, all the air rushed out of the room. My heart skipped a beat, and I stood transfixed, my lips frozen around the rim of my glass, as he cut through the throngs of people and headed right for me. He rudely pushed couples out of the way, not even looking at the people he was shoving, like the only thing that mattered to him was making his way to me.

  The guests included Wolfman, Dracula, and his son…

  When he finally reached me, I gasped at just how huge he was. I didn’t know they made them this big. He was six-five, at least, and had the frame to match it. He was so big his costume could hardly contain him. It looked like it might have once been the Prince Charming costume that Blake wore, but without the jacket. He was wearing only the white shirt and blue pants. The shirt was ripped at the collar to reveal a broad swath of burly chest hair.

  Crystal blue eyes bored into mine, and something lurched in my chest as I stared back. He was incredibly sexy and his intensity was insane. He looked like he wanted to eat me alive, and I liked it. I liked it a lot more than a normal girl would have.

  But then again, I wasn’t a normal girl. We’d been staring openly at each other like two hungry animals for so long other people were gaping at us. I didn’t care. I didn’t think I’d ever get enough of looking at this man. The air between us sizzled and he broke the silence at last.

  “Will you dance?” His voice was deep.

  “Yes.”

  Before I had a chance to question my sanity, I’d put my cup down and big hands wrapped around my shoulders. He thudded me against his wide, hard torso and walked us into the throng of dancers. My nose was right at the exposed hair on his chest where his musky, masculine scent was strong. He smelled of the forest, the sky, and….fuck.

  Wet heat flared between my legs. His smell was intoxicating, setting my body on fire with desire for him. I didn’t know what was happening to me, but I nosed around in his chest hair like an animal, rubbing my face against him like a cat brushing against someone’s legs.

  I couldn’t explain it, but I wanted to be drenched in his scent. I wanted everyone to smell him on me, and me on him. I heard a rumble of approval coming from this stranger, and his hold on me tightened. I looked up to meet his piercing blue eyes. I gasped, my heart thudding to a single beat as something primal and true roared to life inside of me.

  Mate.

  The word echoed in my head, and a deep, content growl came out of my chest this time. The man looked at me in surprise, his eyes like sapphires growing wide. Suddenly, I could see his face much more clearly in the dim light of the bar, and I wondered if someone had turned up the lights. He was ruggedly handsome, his features rough hewn and windswept. He had shaggy black hair with black scruff to match.

  “My name is Vincent,” he said, his voice gravelly. “You are the most exquisite thing I have ever seen.”

  “I’m Sadie,” I breathed, feeling no fear and not caring that everyone in the bar was listening. “And you’re not so bad yourself.”

  Vincent grinned down at me, a wild, savage grin that set my blood to boil. A dull, persistent throbbing rocked my clit, and my breasts felt overly sensitive. I could have swore they were swelling, straining at the stays of my bodice. What was happening to me? Vincent started to sway me along to the beat of the music—Thriller now—and I ached to feel his hands all over me. As if he could sense this, he pulled me closer, and I pressed myself against his body.

&nbs
p; I gasped when I felt the tree branch between his legs. Vincent whined as his huge length met my torso, and I felt it throb through the fabric of my bodice. Uncontrollable arousal gripped me until my panties were drenched. His nostrils flared and his body went rigid, like he could smell my essence on the air. He stared down at me with animalistic need, and I could have sworn his eyes glowed as silver as the moon for a moment.

  Vincent cupped my chin and pulled my mouth towards his. His soft lips brushed against mine, and unadulterated lust coursed through my body. Need unlike any I’d ever felt, exploded inside of me, and I whimpered into his mouth. Our tongues entwined and my whole body trembled at the contact. I didn’t know how long we had been kissing, but I felt dizzy with desire when he withdrew his mouth.

  “If we don’t get out of here soon,” he rasped, through labored breath. “I’m going to breed you right here on this dance floor.”

  I shuddered, my attraction to him overwhelming me. He ground his hard length between us for emphasis and I gasped, feeling my clit thud in response.

  “Let me grab my bag from the back,” I breathed, even as every cell in my body screamed to be parted from him.

  “Hurry.”

  I spun out of his arms and ran into the back room. My heart raced. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and gasped. My breasts were straining at the stays of my bodice, my face was flushed, and my eyes were darker than ever. What was happening to me? Who was this guy and why did he have this effect on me? I had so many questions, but they came with zero reservations. Whatever happened, I knew in my heart of hearts that I wanted to leave with Vincent. I felt a little thrill of excitement as I wondered if I’d finally lose my virginity tonight.

  I reached to grab the strap of my black backpack when hands encircled by hips and pulled me back against a body that I instinctively knew wasn’t his. Revulsion filled me to the core and I fought the urge to gag. I saw the cheap blue and gold fabric of the Prince Charming costume and turned to see Blake.

  “What the hell?” I struggled to get out of his arms, but his grip on my shoulders tightened.

  “I knew you were a freak, Sadie,” he pushed me against the old bakery counter. “But I didn’t know you were a slut too.”

  The metal counter shook as I thrashed against him, making bottles rattle. I brought my hands up to push him away, but he caught my wrists and held them tight. Fear spiked in my chest as I struggled to no avail. He moved into try to kiss me and I turned my head with a sneer of disgust. His hands on me were all wrong. It felt like spiders were crawling up my skin to be touched by anyone other than Vincent.

  “What, you only put out for drifters? Am I not creepy enough for the town psycho?”

  His face was mean, his tone scary, and I screamed when he tried to lift my skirt. I prayed someone would hear me over the din of the music.

  “Get off me!” I yelled, trying to close my legs, but he was too strong.

  Blake laughed, a sinister sound, when something in me snapped. I felt that wild, untamed piece of me rake its claws against my skin. My eyes shuttered, and when I looked back at Blake his face blanched.

  “What the fuck?” he gasped.

  I didn’t have time to figure out what had set him off, because a blood-curdling snarl wrenched through the air. Vincent stood by the swinging door, his expression lethal. In the blink of an eye, he was on Blake, his hands ripping the smaller man away from me. Vincent loomed over Blake who cowered on the floor.

  Blake opened his mouth to say something, putting his hands defensively in front of his chest. Still, Vincent’s massive form advanced until his hand was at Blake’s neck. He lifted Blake’s entire body until his feet dangled off the floor. He brought Blake’s face an inch from his and snarled again.

  “She is claimed. You dare touch a woman who doesn’t want you?”

  Blake sputtered, unable to answer around Vincent’s crushing grip. A dark stain welled between Blake’s thighs and the smell of urine hit my nostrils.

  “Vincent,” I said, hopping off the counter, “let’s get out of here.”

  He looked at me for a moment, considering.

  “Is that your desire? That I leave this sniveling coward alive?”

  “He’s not worth it. I want you to take me away from this place.”

  Vincent’s eyes raked over me, filling my body with fresh arousal, scouring any trace of Blake from my system.

  “As you wish.”

  He brought Blake’s face close to his and bared his teeth—surprisingly sharp teeth— at Blake.

  “If you touch her again, I will kill you, no matter what she says.”

  Vincent threw him onto the ground with a look of disgust. Blake gasped, clutching his throat, but I didn’t have time to pay attention to him. Vincent closed the gap between us and lifted me like I weighed nothing more than a twig. I put my arms around his neck and he held me close to his chest. I’d never felt more safe or more content in my life, like this was the one place in this messed up world where I was meant to be.

  I wasn’t scared when he ran out of the back door and we tore into the night. We ran until we’d cleared the town. Vincent was heading for the forest and I smiled in approval. That was good. It’d be harder for him to catch me there. I couldn’t explain it, but some primitive instinct told me he needed to capture me. If he wanted to mate me, he had to hunt me down. Of that, I was certain.

  I had no idea why this wasn’t freaking me out or why I was having thoughts of mating and being hunted. And my mind wasn’t the only thing acting differently. My body felt hot, feverish, and I began to sweat despite the cool October air. Something was happening to me. Something more than the undeniable need to be with this man. Those claws inside got sharper, and I felt something tear free deep within my soul.

  The more the feeling swept over me, the more this thing took control, and the more I liked it.

  No, I didn’t like it.

  I fucking loved it.

  7

  Vincent

  We got to the edge of the forest, and I didn’t want to put her down. I was still enraged from the sight of that pathetic human male with his hands all over her. I saw him follow her into that room, and I felt her fear spike through the the bond that had already begun to form. If it hadn’t been for the crowd of people, I’d have ripped through that door sooner. I’d literally thrown bodies out of my way to get to my panicked mate.

  I’d never felt fear like that before. I’d never wanted to kill another person so badly, not even Dean. That he dared to touch my mate, that he tried to force her. I felt the growl rumbling in my chest and squeezed her closer. Sadie was the most perfect, beautiful creature, and to set her loose in the woods—my wolf snarled to think of what could be lurking out there, just waiting to harm her. I would protect her in there, just like I already had in the bar.

  That was what the hunt was about, after all. By catching her, I would prove that I was stronger and more capable, that I was the one and only male who could protect her and her pups. It was an ancient rule, a call to our most basic instincts, from a time when we were truly wild animals. I would show her I was a worthy mate.

  My stunning little female looked up at me with her big, dark eyes. Her hair was as beautiful as the midnight sky, and her lips were plump rosebuds, waiting for me to claim them. I pulled her towards me as I devoured her mouth with my own. My scent, my touch, my kiss—they all worked to awaken the bond in her. She’d be feeling primitive, animalistic urges that she wasn’t used to feeling as a human.

  Heat flared through my body, and Sadie’s. I could smell her desire on the air, and it made my cock throb so hard I heard the fabric of my pants groan around it. I didn’t want the kiss to end, but the Moon was high and it called to us. I knew without needing to be told that she understood. I could tell through the bond. After we mated, when the bond was fully formed, we’d be able to sense one another’s emotions completely. We’d be two hearts beating as one.

  Sadie knew what she had to do. We br
oke the kiss, both panting and savage with lust. I looked into her stunning dark eyes and gasped at what I saw. They glowed silver. I felt claws prick the skin of my neck where she clung to me, and I saw her canines elongate, pushing off the fake fangs she wore. I set Sadie down on the ground. She crouched low, breathing heavily as her body shook with changes.

  Her limbs lengthened, her muscles grew, ripping through the sleeves of her dress, and then she went still. Her face was hidden by the dark curtain of her hair. Then, she moved, and her eyes locked onto mine, burning brighter than a star. Her face was still hers, but different—her features were sharper, fiercer. She bared her long fangs at me in a carnal grin that made my cock lurch.

  She released a shuddering breath of ecstasy before she raised her head and howled at the moon. Sadie was up and running with preternatural speed into the forest. My wolf growled and thrummed with satisfaction as I chased after her. Even her scent had changed into something more wolfish and free.

  I wondered if Sadie knew she was a half-shifter.

  I grinned. Hunting her wasn’t going to be so easy after all.

  8

  Sadie

  All I wanted to do was run underneath the glorious, magical light of the full Moon. I’d never felt more alive, more free, or more me. It was like that wildness inside of me, the darkness of my soul, had finally broken through. Vincent had unleashed the monster in me, and I loved him for it.

  Trees whipped past me as I ran. I marveled at the claws that had sprouted from my elongated fingers. They were black and looked strong. I tore at a tree trunk as I sped by. It splintered beneath my claws, breaking with the power of my blow.