Shifters in the Shadows: Seventeen Paranormal Romances of Sexy Shifters, Dangerous Vamps, & Things That Go Bump in the Night

by J. K Harper

  “No, we wouldn’t. Jordan’s one of the good guys. He doesn’t like people to know that, but he is.” Libbie took a step and groaned. “You owe me two pairs of boots, Mister!”

  Megan bit her lip to keep from laughing. “He can hear you?”

  “No, not really, but it makes me feel better to put it out there to the universe. Okay, so, let’s get down to business, shall we? I’m going to warn you now. I can’t stay. The goblins and vampires are out in full force this week with Halloween being so close, and my mate is battling them alone while I’m gone.”

  “If you would show me how to get out of this wasteland, maybe I can find Nate, and we can get out of here.” The sooner, the better. She was already way past tired of being there. Even her ratty, old house with the uncomfortable bed was better than this.

  Libbie held her hand out. “Great. Let’s do it. I can take you pretty close to him, but then you’re on your own. Remember, you can’t trust anyone in the Shadow World. Not even Nate. Being here changes a person, you know?”

  “Yeah, Jordan told me the same thing.” She hadn’t worried about it, but the way they kept warning her, maybe she should.

  “Okay, take my hand. Don’t worry. It’s not going to be that vortex like Jordan put you through,” Libbie explained.

  The moment their fingers touched, a bright flash blinded her. One second, they were in the nasty landfill site, and the next, they were standing on a dingy cobblestone street facing a pub. Hanging on one hinge, the sign above the door read Inferno. Raucous laughter erupted from the building when the door opened and then closed again as a diminutive creature with three horns entered.

  “Whatever you do, don’t mention anything about that guy’s size. In fact, don’t talk to him at all. He’s small, but he’s a very powerful demon,” Libbie said, her tone calm and sure.

  Megan only nodded. She had no intention of talking to anyone other than Nate, and then they’d be out of there. “Got it.”

  “Good luck. Nate deserves you,” Libbie said as she looked deep into her eyes. “And you deserve him, too, don’t you?”

  “Thanks?”

  “Okay, go get him. And for all that is holy, be careful.”

  Megan opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. Libbie was gone.

  Chapter 5

  Nate swallowed his whiskey in one gulp, grimacing. The bitter liquid burned all the way down, reminding him of what he had missed. He had devoted his whole life to doing good and helping others. And for what? Fuck. Not a damned thing. He had never asked for a single thing. Not once. And the one time he would have wanted something—someone—for himself, he’d been denied and cast from the Heavenly Realm. He slammed the glass on the splintered bar. “Give me another one.”

  Megan. His chest hurt with every breath he took, and that had little to do with the whiskey eating away at his esophagus. Had he known he would have ended up in Hell regardless of his restraint, he would have done more than kiss her. He would have fucked her and enjoyed every second of it. Just thinking about it had his cock hardening.

  The scrawny ghoul tending bar sneered at him as he filled the glass then turned away. Nate tossed a coin onto the counter. “Don’t go far,” he ordered as he picked it up and tossed the contents back.

  A flowery scent wafted into the bar, cutting through the smell of sweat and grime that oozed from the lost soul next to him. He didn’t bother turning around or even looking up. If he didn’t keep the drinks going down, he’d lose his buzz faster than he could jerk off to the fantasy of Megan on her knees in front of him, swallowing him down.

  He grunted as his cock thickened, making his jeans a little too tight for comfort. Nothing good came from thinking of Megan. She would never be his.

  “Stop. What are you doing?” a soft, sultry voice said, jerking Nate back to his new reality. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear it was Megan, but it couldn’t be. He should ignore her. Hell, he should run as far away from her as he could. She was the reason he was there to begin with. Had she not been so her, he would have been able to resist. Now he would rot in Hell for the rest of eternity.

  A descendant from one of the Original Seven. Fuck. He snorted. He should have known she was no mere human. The way the goblins had hunted her should have given it away, but with her pure soul and her sweet smile, he hadn’t doubted their desperation to have her. How she’d managed to hide it from him for so long, he had no idea. He gave his head a shake. Even the lowest of the darker beings had known before he had. He was such an idiot.

  He turned in his seat, still half convinced his mind was playing tricks on him. The size was about right. Not that you could tell by the clothing she wore. For all he knew, she wasn’t even human. In the dim light, the shirt she wore looked a drab gray. Then again, the lighting made everything in the bar look gray. If it were Megan, she’d be wearing pink, or maybe a pale yellow. She’d once told him the colors made her feel good. The woman took a step back and squealed when one of the ghouls reached a hand toward her.

  One way or another, it didn’t matter. He had all the time in the world—eternity, in fact—but the desire to help the female… Yeah, that was gone. Besides, if the female was there, then she’d done something to deserve it. She could damn well deal with her fate.

  “Don’t touch me,” the woman screeched, making him grind his teeth.

  He ignored the tensing of his muscles, and the twitch in his hand. He wasn’t in the business of helping people anymore. He slammed the shot down and grunted at the burn.

  Cheers rose from the crowd just as the woman screamed again.

  Fuck. He had to get out of there. Nate staggered to his feet then stumbled forward, surprised at how unsteady he was. He must have been chugging those shots faster than he’d realized. Good.

  He took two steps before someone shoved him hard enough to send him barrelling into a table, spilling drinks as he landed.

  In seconds, two creatures were on their feet, their chests puffed out and their fists clenched at their sides. Nate grinned at them, cracking his knuckles. A good fight was just what he needed. The idiots in front of him had no fucking clue who they were dealing with. Yeah, he’d been an angel, but that didn’t mean his hands were clean. Protecting humans wasn’t for pussies.

  The one to his left cocked his arm back and swung. A hit like that would have sent a human flying, but he wasn’t human. The slight twinge on his jaw sobered him a bit. He sneered at the pale-skinned creature. “Is that it?”

  It opened its mouth, revealing long, pointed canines. A fucking bloodsucker. He should have known. Nate swung fast and hard, hitting the vampire straight in the mouth. It reeled back and howled. A hushed silence fell over the bar as the vampire spit blood onto the sticky floor, the light plink of a fang hitting the wooden planks at his feet echoing loudly.

  That was satisfying. Nate didn’t wait. He grabbed a hold of the second vamp and slammed his fist into its throat. It wheezed and choked out a gurgled cough as it tried to draw a breath.

  For a pair of badass vampires, they were slow to retaliate. That could only mean one of two things. Either they weren’t as badass as they seemed to think they were, or they knew what he was and were waiting for something more powerful to show up. He suspected it was the later.

  A surge of excitement, dark—wicked—rushed through him. He might win, or he might lose, but one way or the other, he was in for the fight of his life. He looked forward to it. If he was lucky, the one they awaited would be powerful enough to send him to his final death.

  A flurry of movement, followed by a high-pitched scream to his right, had him turning to see what was going on. His heart slammed against his ribs. He’d heard that same scream of terror too many times not to recognize it. Megan.

  Before he could think about it, he grabbed the little demon by one of its three horns and sent it flying across the room.

  Megan’s eyes widened. “Nate, thank God!”

  He took her in, drinking the sight of h
er in until he remembered why he was in the Shadow World. “God has nothing to do with it, sweetheart. Not anymore,” he said as he spun on his heels, ready to walk away. If his chest tightened, it had to do with the whiskey, not the woman staring a hole into the back of his head.

  A wicked growl rumbled, shaking the walls and sending the not-so-friendly bar patrons scattering.

  Nate turned and faced the little demon he had flung. Red, glowing eyes stared back at him. Already, the beast had doubled in size. “Oh, shit.” When was he going to learn to mind his own business? Had he ignored Megan and stayed on his stool, he wouldn’t have angered the beast before him.

  “Come on,” Megan said as she tugged on his arm, “we have to get out of here.”

  He looked at her—really looked at her—for the first time since she’d come into the bar. Dark, purple bruises circled her delicate neck like a wicked collar. Crescent moons hung below her eyes, which shone with unshed tears. He reached for her, needing to comfort her, but stopped short. He wouldn’t fall for that again. He took one more look at the demon, who threw his head back and roared. Its sharp, blade-like teeth protruded from between its black lips.

  “Unless you want to be that guy’s lunch, you’d better run home, sweetheart,” he said with a sneer.

  Megan gasped and dropped her hand. Hurt flashed in her eyes. “I need you to come with me.”

  “Not happening. Go. Now,” Nate ordered, his voice cold and hard.

  Her bottom lip wobbled, but she tilted her chin up and glared right back at him. “I’m not leaving without you.”

  “Then you’ll die.”

  “Then I’ll die,” she agreed.

  The demon took a step closer, the glasses on the tables rattling under the weight of its heavy step. Fear flashed in her ice blue eyes.

  That’s right. He’s a big, bad monster. Now run along.

  Megan glanced at the beast. “Please, Nate.”

  “Go,” he barked, but she stubbornly shook her head. What the hell had happened to the frightened woman who hid from the goblins? He needed that woman to show up before Megan got herself killed.

  The beast roared again, spit flying from its mouth. With the swipe of one huge paw, it sent a table flying across the room. Wood debris exploded in the air like tiny missiles heading in all directions.

  “Fuck.” He grabbed her hand and ran. He’d get her out of the immediate danger, and then he’d disappear. There were plenty of places where one could be invisible in the Shadow Worlds. The last thing he needed was to have her—or anyone else—clinging to him. She’d have to find her own way. He wasn’t her goddamned babysitter anymore.

  Tremors shook the building, making the walls groan and shattering the windows. They had to get out.

  Chapter 6

  Nate pulled her outside to the deserted street. The shadows grew, making the place look more sinister than it had just a few minutes before, and that had been bad enough.

  “Move,” he yelled at her.

  She was running as fast as she could, but he was still dragging her along. When her legs couldn’t quite keep up, and she stumbled, he cursed.

  “You’re going to get us both killed.”

  “Don’t be a jerk,” she snapped back. “I’m going as fast as I can.”

  Nate made a growling sound that should have intimidated the crap out of her, but all it did was make her want to giggle. She didn’t. There was a scary-as-hell monster chasing them. But the urge to snicker was still there—kind of. He was acting like an ass, but deep down, he was a good guy—no matter how much he grumbled.

  He slowed his pace to match hers, then twisted and hoisted her into his arms. He didn’t miss a single step and didn’t slow down.

  The second her feet were off the ground, he bolted ahead.

  A whining sound unlike anything she’d ever heard grew louder. Nate grunted as he pushed his body faster—harder. A building loomed just ahead to their right. As soon as he’d ran past it, he lunged around the corner, sending them sprawling onto the hard stone-covered ground. The air exploded from her lungs, and she couldn’t catch a breath.

  Seconds later, a bright orange fireball slammed into the exact spot they had been only moments before.

  “Breathe,” he ordered as he stood and hauled her up with him. He didn’t wait for her to comply. “Keep running that way. Twenty feet, then hide. Don’t come out. Not for anything.”

  “I’m not leaving without you.” If she was separated from him now, something told her she wouldn’t see him again—and that, she would not accept.

  Nate opened his mouth to speak, but an angry roar made him curse, and once again, he grabbed her hand and bolted deeper into the dark alley.

  “Here, get behind there,” he ordered as he shoved her to the back of a big, metal rubbish bin.

  She looked at the tiny space. Yeah, right. “I can’t fit one leg in there,” she protested. The opening was six inches wide. Maybe.

  Nate glanced over his shoulder and grumbled something under his breath. “Don’t make a sound,” he whispered as he crowded closer, backing Megan into the wall. The way the garbage bins lined along the building, the demon would have to come into the space to see them. And the last she’d seen it, it had grown too large to do so.

  Megan stood on her tiptoes, bringing her mouth to Nate’s ear. Her breath hitched in her throat as her breasts rubbed up against his chest with her slight movement.

  Nate groaned and placed his hands on her hips, stopping further friction.

  “Won’t it smell us?” she asked. That was how it was on TV, anyway.

  “Just stay still and don’t speak,” he whispered back.

  Nate’s hot breath on her neck and his body pressed against her sent a delicious shiver through her, making Megan’s nipples tighten. Okay, maybe she needed to do as he said. She shouldn’t be getting turned on when a big, nasty demon was chasing them.

  Another fireball careened through the air, crashing into the building across the lane. Plaster crumbled off the wall in a cloud of dust. Megan buried her face in Nate’s neck. If she was going to die, call her a coward, but she didn’t want to see death coming. She breathed in his scent and almost moaned. Even in that nasty place, he still smelled wonderful.

  Heavy footsteps pounded closer. Crying out wasn’t an option, since it would ensure both of their deaths, so Megan did what she used to do as a child—she imagined herself somewhere else. This time, she took Nate with her in her fantasy world. She could almost feel the warm sand between her toes and the cool breeze fanning her skin. The sun shone, and…

  She stiffened at the sound of bending metal and the stench of burning trash, but she forced herself to loosen her muscles again. Waves crashed against the shore, and seagulls soared high in the sky.

  Her eyes popped open at the deafening noise of metal scraping against concrete, shattering her fantasy. She peeked over Nate’s shoulder, expecting the beast to uncover their hiding spot, but found instead one of the other bins rushing closer. It didn’t stop moving until it became wedged against the building less than an inch from their shoulders, leaving only enough space to keep from crushing them.

  She held her breath, certain the demon had found them, but the pounding footsteps moved away toward the mouth of the alley.

  Nate turned his head, looking over the trash bins. His body relaxed against her. “How the hell it missed seeing us is beyond me,” he finally said as he wiggled his body and hoisted himself up to the top of the bin.

  For a second, when he looked down at her, his eyes held all the warmth and tenderness he’d shown her before. But then he blinked, and the cold, hard stare was back in place. “Come on.”

  She took his outstretched hands, then squealed when he pulled her up with no help from her. He whipped his head around, looking at the spot where the demon had disappeared. “Time for you to go. This is no place for you.”

  “Still not leaving without you,” she replied as she peered around him.

  Nate
snarled at her. “I’ve wasted enough time babysitting you already,” he spat as he spun on his heels and walked away.

  The bitterness in his voice stunned her, and for a moment, she watched him go. Pain, sharp and ugly, sliced through her. The vehemence of his words stabbed straight into her heart. She almost turned around when she remembered Libbie and Jordan’s warnings. That wasn’t him talking. Not the real him, anyway. She had to find a way to get through to him, to figure out what he wanted. What he needed.

  Megan caught up with him halfway down the block. “Being an asshole isn’t going to work. I’m not going anywhere,” she told him when he sneered at her.

  “What will it take for me to get rid of you, Megan? Haven’t you done enough damage? I’m already spending eternity in Hell because of you.”

  She gasped and stopped walking. Amazingly, so did Nate. He could say what he wanted, but he could not blame her for his being there. “I tried to save your sorry ass. Maybe I should have let that goblin finish you off.” The second the words came out of her mouth, she regretted them. If she had to do it again, she would. No doubt about it.

  Not because she felt she owed him, which she did, but because she loved him, and she would do anything to protect him.

  Nate spun to face her. “What are you talking about?”

  “The fight. With the goblin in my backyard?” She pointed to her neck, showing him her bruises.

  His brows furrowed. Confusion flashed in his eyes, and then it was gone. “I don’t believe you. I’d remember fighting a goblin. The fact remains, I’m still in Hell, and so are you, for that matter. I guess kissing the daughter of one of the Seven had worse consequences than even I imagined.”

  She blinked a couple of times, waiting for him to say he was joking, but he didn’t. Megan’s giggle started out small but snowballed into a full-out laugh that she had no hope of containing. “You think you’re in Hell because of the kiss we shared?”