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

by J. K Harper

  “To Vidalia?”

  “I didn’t know what to expect. The second I saw the house, I got goosebumps. I almost turned around and went back to the Boro. My wolf wouldn’t let me, though.” Leaning back against the seat, he dropped his hands to his lap. “There weren’t any scents. No one’s lived here in forever. So I went inside.”

  “And?”

  “I found a room upstairs with a crib. I swear on the moon, I had this moment. I knew I’d been here before.”

  “When?” She sounded so meek, so unlike herself, Logan put a hand over her left thigh to soothe her.

  “There was an envelope on the dining room table. Nothing else, just an envelope with my name buried under three inches of dust.”

  “What was it?”

  “A property deed. And a letter from my mother. It’s full of nonsense.”

  “What kind of nonsense?”

  “Once bitten, twice shy. For the answers you seek, look to the sky.”

  Albany scrunched her entire face. “What the hell?”

  “There’s more, but that part stuck out. I can’t get it out of my head. You can read it later if you want. Maybe you can make heads or tails of it.” He nodded to the house. “Wanna go inside?”

  “If it’s not a haunted murder house? Absolutely.”

  He met her in front of the truck and took her hand, leading her to the porch.

  “Stick to the right. The wood’s rotten.”

  She nodded, her steps light as she climbed the five steps. The wood creaked under their joined weight. The door’s hinges added a grating squeal to the silent landscape.

  “Here’s the weird part.” Logan flicked on the light switch by the door. A chandelier boasting a bevy of strange crystals illuminated the foyer.

  “Did you have the power turned on?”

  “There isn’t power. No fuse boxes. No generator. Nothing. There’s water, too. Cold and hot. But there’s no plumbing. Monroe was mystified.”

  Albany let go of his hand. “You brought my dad here?”

  “A couple of times.” As Logan had anticipated, Albany appeared hurt. And he hated it.

  In lieu of a reply, she wandered into the sitting room to her left.

  Thick layers of dust coated the white velvet sofa and rosewood coffee table. Floor-to-ceiling curtains matched the sofa. A beautifully laid stone fireplace still held the sooty remains of its last fire. Books about herbs, gardening, and a curious selection of almanacs lined the wall on the other side of the room, spilling off the overstuffed bookshelves.

  Albany remained silent, and Logan knew better than to assume she was simply taking in the sights. He trailed her into the next room—an office of sorts. More shelves housed an additional collection of books on all manner of subjects, from astrology to kayaking.

  A sturdy mahogany desk sat at the center of the room. Logan had already attempted to rifle through the contents of its drawers, but they’d been sealed shut. Years of humid Georgia summers had likely caused the wood to swell, making the drawers stick. He loathed the idea of taking a crowbar to such a well-built piece of furniture, but he’d likely need to resort to that option in the future.

  She turned out of the room, following the long corridor to a handsome kitchen. The checkerboard tile floors bore the scuffs of repetitive foot traffic, but there was something charming about these imperfections.

  Folding her arms, Albany rubbed her palms up and down her skin as if she were cold. She wasn’t, of course. Her wolf kept her warm, after all. “It’s a beautiful house.”

  “Maybe not on the outside. But we could fix it up. Replace the porch and the shutters. Sand it all down. Slap on some fresh paint—”

  “Are you leaving?” Uncertainty pinched her features.

  “We should talk.”

  Albany recoiled. “You are, aren’t you? This is it. This is why you’ve been so distant lately.”

  Frowning, Logan shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

  Wordless, Albany brushed past him, heading down the corridor that would lead her back to the front door.

  He caught up with her in the foyer. Hooking a hand under her left elbow, he pulled her toward him, his clutch tight but careful.

  “If I’m leaving, you’re coming with me. The whole pack will, ideally.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “There’s going to be a vote on Sunday. Monroe is planning a fairly hefty talk beforehand.”

  “A vote for what??”

  “Will you sit with me? Please?” He gestured to the wide staircase with the intricately carved walnut banister.

  After a beat of hesitation that lasted entirely too long for Logan’s liking, she trudged to the stairs. He sat beside her, butting his shoulder to hers. She didn’t return the gesture.

  “What is this hefty talk going to be about?”

  “Savannah,” he replied. “Antebellum. The vampires.”

  “What does that have to do with us?”

  “Those two tonight? They weren’t the first.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It started about six months ago. I found the first one on the main road before our turnoff. He was thin. So thin. I guess that was why he didn’t care if he was out in the open. I killed him. Got rid of the body. Told Monroe. It was so random, we were sure it was a one-off. It wasn’t worth raising the alarm.”

  “How many have there been?”

  “Almost thirty, counting the two tonight.”

  “Almost thirty? Logan!”

  “The gaps were long before. There wasn’t another one for three months, but then Sam downed two. And then the month after that, Sawyer and I spotted four. Then six. Over the last three weeks, there’s been ten. And they’re all wandering toward us. They’ve got all of Statesboro to choose from, but they’re drawn to us. And that ain’t right. That ain’t how it’s supposed to be. They’re supposed to turn tail when they scent us. And they are hunting in packs now.”

  “Why haven’t you told me any of this?”

  “Monroe asked me to keep it quiet. I know about it. Sam and Sawyer, too. But that’s it. Monroe didn’t want anyone to feel unsafe. We’ve been trading turns scouting the perimeter every night. That’s where Sawyer was earlier. He was bummed to miss the run.”

  Unsettled, Albany adjusted her position and pulled her knees to her chest.

  “Either something’s pushing them out of Savannah or someone’s sending them our way. But the groups keep getting bigger. We’re in their flight path. And we all know the Boro’s getting smaller. It was a good spot to set up home thirty years ago. But thirty years ago, it wasn’t the college town it is now.”

  Her entire demeanor tightened.

  “Me and Sawyer were having a beer down at the Boll Weevil the other week,” he continued. “Ted Marks was there. Out of uniform, of course. He got real chatty with that new barkeep after a few fingers of Jack. He was laughing his ass off about how the Sheriff’s Department has had a record number of complaints about howling wolves. It’s only a matter of time before they start taking those complaints seriously. We’ll have to restrict our runs. We do enough of that as it is.”

  “And then you found this place.” Her delivery was so even, so free of emotion, Logan’s wolf snarled for him to do something.

  “Your dad’s been talking about relocating for a while. When I found this place, I had to tell him. There’s over a hundred acres. The forests are dense. The fields are wide. There’s plenty of room for new builds. We could knock out new houses in no time if we all put our backs into it.” He gestured around the foyer. “This could be ours, though. You and me. We could fix it up however you like. It’s old-fashioned now, but we—”

  “What about Statesboro?”

  “Statesboro isn’t gonna be safe for us soon.”

  “What about everyone else who lives there? At least we know about vampires. What about all the humans?”

  Logan licked his bottom lip, choosing his words with care. “My r
esponsibilities are to you and to our pack. But I’ve voiced the same concerns. And your father shares them. Our first priority has to be Cumberland’s safety. We can figure out Statesboro after.”

  “So that’s it? That’s all there is to it? Dad’s ready to just pick up sticks and move our lives?”

  “Vidalia’s not that far. It’s not like we’d lose work. We’d still have Cumberland Contractors, we’d just be based here.”

  “But here’s not home, Logan. It’s not my home. I was born in the Alpha House!”

  “A decision hasn’t been made. This isn’t official.”

  She deflated. “Am I the last to find out?”

  “No. Your mama knows. Sam and Sawyer, too. But that’s it. Monroe’s going to lay out everything on Sunday. He wants it to be democratic. Everyone votes. Everyone gets a say. I wanted you to know now. I wanted to show you the house and the land. I wanted you to see what I see.”

  “And what do you see?”

  “I know it looks derelict on the outside. And I know it’s a dusty mess on the inside. But I see that it could be ours.”

  Her weak smile quirked only the left side of her lips.

  “There are six bedrooms upstairs,” he continued, confident in their future. “Imagine them all occupied someday. With a litter of redheaded wolf pups who’ll drive us up the wall in the best way possible.”

  Albany peeked up through her lashes, her smile now curving both ends of her lips. “Oh, don’t use my Kryptonite against me. You know we need a litter of little yous, too.”

  “God help us all.”

  She laughed, though it still lacked her usual mirth.

  “It’s not the end of Cumberland,” he said, firm. “It could be a new start. A chance to grow in ways we just can’t in the Boro.”

  “Maybe.”

  “It comes down to the vote,” he said, rubbing his palms on the knees of his jeans. “The others might feel the same as you.”

  “Logan, it’s not that I wouldn’t want to live here with you. I just never imagined living anywhere else. I never had to. Statesboro is ours. We shouldn’t have to leave. Antebellum already has Savannah. Isn’t that enough??”

  “Maybe they don’t,” he said, offering one of the theories Sam had been kicking around. “Maybe that’s why more and more vamps are filtering out. Maybe they’ve overthrown the witches.”

  Silence crept between them. Albany turned her eyes to the chandelier, seemingly fascinated by the shimmering crystals. Logan kept quiet, leaving her to her thoughts.

  “It’s a gorgeous house,” she said finally. “Really does need a coat of paint, though. Maybe you could open every window and hope the dust bunnies hop out on their own.”

  “I cleaned one of the rooms upstairs. I was hoping you’d agree to stay the night.”

  She made a face. “I thought we were only going to the diner! I didn’t even leave a note. I’m supposed to help Mama with pruning back the rose bushes in the morning.”

  “Monroe knows I brought you here.”

  Albany’s irises flashed with the bright blue of her wolf. “How nice to be alpha. How nice to know everything about your daughter’s mate before she does.”

  “You’re mad.”

  “Again, I tell you everything. I always have. You don’t have to return that in total. But I Suwannee, it’d be easier to pry a buck from your wolf than it is to pry serious life stuff from you.”

  He furrowed his brow. “I’ve been getting all my ducks in a row.”

  “Why?”

  “Will you stay? If you wake up in the morning hating everything about it, we never have to come back.”

  When she finally spoke, she sounded weary. “I’ll stay if there is a working shower. We stink like vampire.”

  “There is. Decent water pressure, too.”

  Stretching out her legs, Albany sighed. Once more, she glanced to the chandelier. “Guess we know what your mom was now.”

  “Sure as hell seems like she was a witch,” he agreed. “I looked up the house. The history of the land. You’d find more than me, but I know they used to grow onions here. Hell, with your green thumbs, we could grow onions.”

  “Our very own fields of sweet Vidalias?”

  “It’s not a bad thought.”

  “No,” she agreed, appearing thoughtful. “I guess it isn’t.”

  “We could build something here. Something that could last for generations of Cumberland wolves.”

  She stood, stretching her back. “You said there’s a shower?”

  “I’ll show you.”

  “You’ll join me.”

  “Thought you were mad?”

  “I didn’t say you get to touch. But you’re rank, and someone has to make sure you wash behind your ears.”

  Chapter 4

  Logan’s spare t-shirt hung from her shoulders, looking more like an ill-fitting dress than a shirt on her smaller frame. Albany didn’t mind, and she was glad he’d crammed extra clothes into his emergency duffel. She was normally a big fan of showing skin, but shameless nudity seemed out of place in this house.

  It really was beautiful, but the atmosphere weighed on her shoulders. The prickly sensation on the back of her neck reminded her of being watched.

  Her nose and ears told her there was no one else in the house or within a one-mile radius of the property. And Logan seemed wholly at ease.

  Why wouldn’t he? He’d already come to terms with the idea of giving up their current home. He’d had plenty of time to mull over the pending danger presented by Savannah’s roaming vampires.

  He’d had plenty of time in the confidence of their alpha, too.

  Maybe it was just petulance on her part, but Albany hated feeling so left out. She wasn’t the enforcer, like Logan had been. She certainly wasn’t the beta, either. But they all deserved to know that vampires had been skulking around Statesboro.

  Logan was fond of calling her princess. It had never bothered her before. As the alpha’s daughter, she might have appeared as the pack princess, but she never acted like one. And she certainly didn’t need anyone going out of their way to protect her. Her mother and father had raised her to ensure she could protect herself and the pack.

  At least Logan’s distance made sense. But sense mattered little when a heart ached.

  She understood he’d wanted to shield her from a situation that would have caused her grief, she just wished he’d confide in her sometime.

  It was important for a wolf to cultivate and develop rich bonds with its alpha, but true mates shared a bond of their own. And it was painfully clear that Logan still wasn’t ready to complete their bond. After over twenty years of friendship and a decade of puppy love, he still felt more inclined to shield her than to stand by her side.

  And that hurt.

  Leaving Logan in the bedroom he’d fixed up just for them—just for tonight—Albany padded down the wide staircase, trailing her hand along the beautifully carved banister. Her fingertips left a trail in the dust.

  Outside, she meandered to the other end of the porch, mindful of her steps as the wood creaked and groaned beneath her feet.

  Logan and Sawyer could probably replace the entire porch in a weekend. The Cumberland Contractors’ youngest carpenters were hard, fast workers with keen eyes for detail, after all.

  Shifting her gaze to the sky, Albany watched as starlight twinkled, winking at the moon. With less light pollution, the pale orb seemed brighter in Vidalia. Sweeter, too.

  Maybe everything was sweeter in Vidalia.

  Logan’s footfall heralded his approach. Behind her, the porch creaked again, and then his hand was on her waist.

  “If we move here, can we transplant Granny Jane’s Bradford pear tree?”

  “That smelly old thing?”

  “It’s only smelly in the spring.”

  “Yeah, but you can’t deny that’s a doozy of a smell.”

  “My granddaddy gave it to her before they started courting.”

  “Oh?”
>
  “She said it was almost enough to make her ignore him entirely, fated mate or not. It was just a sapling. He didn’t know a thing about Bradford pears at the time.”

  “What made her change her mind?”

  “He said she deserved the most beautiful flowers.” Exhaling deeply, Albany considered the sprawling, overgrown yard. Tall, crisp grass swayed under the autumn breeze. In the distance, the skeletal branches of the oaks in the woodland rustled. “She always liked the symbolism.”

  “How’s that?” He moved his hand up and down her side, tracing patterns over the cotton t-shirt.

  “Beautiful things aren’t always easy to maintain, but they’re worth it when you do.”

  “After he died, she’d sit by that tree and talk to him like he was still there.”

  “Maybe he was. I know I’d haunt the hell outta you.”

  She jerked around, facing him. “Don’t even joke about that. You know how he died. As if tonight hasn’t already been dominated by the subject of vampires.”

  Logan’s expression darkened. “I’m sorry.”

  “Just don’t joke. It’s not funny. I’d cry forever if I lost you.”

  “You won’t.” He took her face between his palms. “Baby, you won’t.”

  Bending, he pressed a kiss between her eyebrows, then another to the tip of her nose. He didn’t stop until he reached her lips. Despite her tumultuous feelings over the night’s revelations, Albany didn’t hesitate. She parted her lips in invitation, and he accepted by deepening the kiss.

  Her heart skipped and her wolf crooned.

  “I love you, Albany Jane,” he whispered, his mouth still mostly pressed to hers. “With my whole heart. My whole wolf.”

  “I love you, too, dickhead.”

  Logan leaned his forehead against hers. After a moment, he withdrew and slung a leg over the porch railing. “Let’s find a spot for that tree.”

  Once he’d leapt into the grass, he turned and tapped his left shoulder. He’d given her his last clean shirt, so he wore only his jeans. Under the moon’s cool glow, Albany admired the play of the light over his muscular torso.

  Easing herself over the railing, she jumped onto his offered back. He didn’t even flinch. She looped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist. He gripped the backs of her thighs and headed across the yard.