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

by J. K Harper

  "Look into my eyes. Say it."

  She looked right into his eyes. Close up, they contained swirls of a thousand different grays, like marble.

  "Louis—"

  She felt herself explode, deep inside. It was impossible to stop herself screaming out his name, even though she knew the soldiers on duty might hear. She didn't care at all.

  It felt like every part of her contracted and undulated. She gripped onto him tightly and let the feeling overcome her.

  Almost immediately, she felt Louis thicken even more inside her. He was ready.

  He snarled French words she didn't understand, as he came inside her. Her own climax returned as his fluid shot inside her, to the very center of her.

  "Fuck yes, Isabel, ma belle déesse. Mon âme toi appartient."

  She felt her second wave overtake her and tugged at his hair.

  This is bliss. This is all I ever wanted.

  It wasn't going to last. It was a bittersweet moment. Feeling him inside her was the sweet part. What had to happen after would cut her to the bone.

  The separation would be hell. She didn't even want to think of it.

  They panted for breath. Louis leaned against the wall, his eyes closed. He kissed her softly on her hair, still catching his breath. "I never fucked someone I didn't bite before. Not since I was turned."

  "Shit. Really?"

  "Really."

  "Did your fangs even come out? I didn't feel them."

  He licked his teeth, feeling around the area with his tongue. "I don't think so."

  They kissed, slow and languid.

  "That's so weird. Maybe they popped out and back in, and we just didn't notice? I was kind of distracted."

  "Maybe they didn't even come out, because you're the one. You're mine."

  Isabel stretched out on the bed, bathed in the rosy glow of post-sex relaxation. If only they could curl up together like this every night.

  "I'm not, yours though. I can't be." A pang of sadness filled her chest. "At dawn, I'm going home. Home to America. And we know you can't come. And there's nothing we can do about it now."

  The moon was almost out of the glassless window. Before long, it would be gone altogether.

  The dark of the night would turn into the cruel sunrise of tomorrow.

  "We still have tonight. There are a few hours before dawn." He pulled her onto the cot with him, and threw the scratchy army blanket over them both. "Sleep, ma belle. You have a long journey ahead of you."

  She nestled into his arms, fighting back tears.

  There was no way she could sleep. She was too churned up. She expected to lie awake all night.

  But Louis's chest was comfortable. His hand on her back felt good.

  Safe.

  Real.

  If tonight was all they had, then she'd savor the moment. Lying with the one man she'd ever really wanted, for the very last time.

  Tucked up in Louis's arms, she drifted off into an uneasy slumber.

  * * *

  It came as a huge surprise to be woken by the corporal banging on the door, shouting the arrival of her ride to the airport.

  It was morning.

  Shit. Already?

  How long had they slept? It felt like only minutes since they'd stretched out on the cot together. But it must be way later than she thought.

  Bright sunlight was streaming through the windows.

  Louis was lying right there next to her on the cot. Right there, in a patch of sunshine.

  Wait… Sunshine?

  A vampire, lying in sunshine?

  "Holy shit. Louis!" She grabbed his arm in panic.

  He opened his eyes and smiled.

  There he lay, in direct sunlight. It danced all over his smooth skin, and glinted off his ebony hair.

  The planet's cutest undead guy was a picture of physical perfection, lit up with golden rays.

  He sat up and kissed her.

  "Oh my God, Louis. You're lying in sunlight. And you're fine!"

  Wake

  "You're … you're not burning up!" She patted him all over, hardly daring to believe it. "You're lying in the sun and you're totally fine!"

  He sat up and stretched.

  "I'm okay." He touched his face, like he could hardly believe it. Looking up at the bare window, he shaded his eyes. "Mon dieu. It's been so long since I saw the sun."

  He jumped to his feet and peered out of the little window, breathing in deeply.

  "Morning air. The smell of the day. Oh, my—it reminds me of so long ago. So long ago." He stared out, his eyes watering in the bright light. "So many buried memories of my homeland." He wiped his eyes. "I'm not crying, ma belle. My eyes are just not used to the daylight."

  She put her arm around him. "Yeah yeah. Big boys do cry, buddy, let me tell you. Nothing wrong with it."

  He turned and pulled her into his arms again. "You know what this means?"

  "Yep. You're one of us."

  "Yes. The magic worked. It must have worked." He looked down at himself, smiling. Isabel couldn't see any change, but maybe he felt different inside. "The full moon magic worked. I'm a tiger now. I'm not a vampire any more."

  "That's why your fangs stayed away, even when you were inside me?"

  He explored his teeth with his tongue. "I guess so. I guess that's why. I'm not even a vampire any more." He laughed out loud. "I'm no danger to you now. Or anybody else. You're safe. We're safe together."

  "Not too safe," she grinned, nudging him in the ribs. "If you're a tiger, you ain't safe, bro. Tigers are apex predators, okay? We're not pussycats. We're badass, remember?"

  "Yeah, badass. I know. But you're not compelled to kill. Right? You just know how to defend yourselves, and the people you love." He squeezed her so close, she thought she might break a rib. "It's beyond my wildest dreams."

  "There's just one downside," she said, laughing. She wriggled his arms a little looser, so she could breathe more easily. "You're mortal now. You're not going to see another couple of centuries, that's for sure. We only last one century. Maximum."

  "That's the third best thing about all of this. I'm so tired of eternity." He kissed her deeply, searching her mouth with his tongue. "Who needs it? Not me."

  "What's the second best part?" She noticed his cock was springing to life again, pressed against her. A hot flush of desire spread over her.

  More. More Louis would be good right now.

  "The second best part is not hurting anyone ever again. Not unless they really deserve it."

  She grabbed hold of his throbbing hardness. "What's the number one best part?"

  "Having you. This. Being with you." He slid his hands between her legs and she moaned. "I want you for ever, ma belle. I need to be with you. You are the whole point of everything."

  "Mmm." There were probably words she could say back to him, but she was too lost in the feeling to find them.

  "I'm so in love with you, Isabel. You fill up every cell of my being. And now I can have you."

  "Mm, oh that's good."

  "Marry me. You're mine." His thumb circling her firm bud and she moaned louder. "Tell me, ma belle. Tell me you're mine."

  "I'm yours. I'm yours, yes. Yes. Don't stop."

  The shout of soldiers in the corridor outside brought her back to earth. "Shit, Louis. My ride is waiting. I've got to go."

  "Let them wait." He pulled her aching flesh down onto his cock, and surged inside her one last time.

  It was then that she noticed he was hot. Not just in the attractive sense. In the warm sense. His skin was hot.

  His whole body felt warm to the touch, instead of cool like glass.

  Had it been warm last night too? Maybe it had. She hadn't even noticed, until now.

  How had she not noticed?

  He pulled her down harder, ramming further into her than she would even have thought possible.

  "Tell me you're mine. Tell me again."

  She clutched on to his jaw and marveled at his warm skin, and
the slight stubble beginning to grow there. Centuries of staying the same, like a still life painting? They were over for Duke Louis de l'Anceny of Versailles. He was a living, red-blooded person again. He would have a real life. He would grow old. And he would die, just like she would.

  And he was going to live with her.

  And he was going to have to drop the Duke shit, when he got to America, that was for damn sure.

  "Oh, God. Louis. I'm yours. I always will be." Her arms circled his neck and she pulled his face to hers. "I always was."

  * * *

  The army was pretty good about letting Louis come along for the ride. They looked surprised that neither he nor Isabel had any luggage to take, but they didn't ask any awkward questions.

  As they reached the military airport, they held hands. Neither one of them could keep from smiling.

  Isabel was really enjoying the “You can do this now, you're a shifter” game.

  "You realize you'll be able to get a tan? No more emo style for you."

  "Bring it on."

  "Ha. And you'll be able to eat food."

  He groaned happily. "Oh, yes. Food. Real food. It's been too long." He suddenly looked serious. "And we could have a family."

  She stared at him. "Really? You want diapers and puke, after all these years of adulting?"

  "Well, if you want kids, that is. I don't know. Maybe you want your career."

  "Maybe I want both? It is the twenty-first century, dude."

  He laughed again, pure happiness flooding out of him from every pore. "Yeah. I have some catching up to do. You can help me with that."

  "Sure can."

  She squeezed his hand, thinking of the previous night. And that morning.

  He'd come inside her twice.

  Two chances. Two possibilities that she was already knocked up with their tiger cub.

  It was a ridiculously long shot, because he'd only just been turned. And hello, was she even ovulating?

  But she grabbed the thought and hugged it to herself with glee.

  "So when do I get to try out my new animal form? I can't wait, frankly. You look incredible as a tiger."

  She looked around. "Depends if we have any privacy on the army airplane. If we do, we could try it there. If there are no other passengers, that is. The pilot will be in the cockpit, and there are no flight attendants, so nobody will notice."

  When they arrived at the tiny airstrip, Isabel was glad to see they were indeed the only passengers.

  "Hell, yes. We have two hours until we land in Abseyah for our international flight, and that's all the time we need. I'm going to teach you how to shift. Welcome to the mile-high shifter club, Duke."

  He high-fived her, looking like a man who just won the lottery.

  * * *

  After take-off, she unbuckled her seatbelt and gestured to him to do the same.

  "Okay. Here's what you do. Take off all your clothes."

  He stripped, raising one eyebrow. "I think you just wanted to get me naked again."

  "Always. And also, it's good not to rip up your clothes when you'll need to put them on again afterwards."

  "Understood. Now what do I do?"

  "You have to harness an emotion."

  "Harness it?" He looked doubtful. "What kind of emotion?"

  "A strong emotion. Pick any one you like. Anger. Rage. Fear. Sorrow. Lust. Triumph. Pain."

  "Jealousy?"

  "If that's how you roll." She grinned. "It takes a little practice, but you'll get there. We all went through it, you know. We just did it all when we were too young to notice ourselves learning."

  He shut his eyes and looked deep in concentration.

  Nothing. He opened one eye.

  "Am I doing it right?"

  "Just feel all the feels and stay with them. Grab on to those suckers, and ride them all the way into your animal form."

  "Got it." He stood perfectly still and frowned again.

  She watched her handsome French fiancé trying his best to turn into a tiger.

  Daww. Check out the newbie.

  She wondered if he'd like being a white tiger. Would her family accept him?

  Big cats were notoriously snobbish. They placed way too much value on bloodlines and breeding. If they tried to make him feel bad, she'd fight his corner.

  He could probably fight his own corner just fine, though. She smiled at the idea of him going head to head with one of her brothers. He'd do great, she just knew it.

  "Oh. Something nearly just happened, right?" He patted his face. "Did I get stripes?"

  "I didn't see anything. Sorry."

  He held up one finger. "This time, I'm going to do it. Stand back."

  She folded her arms and watched him with a smile.

  He frowned again.

  She felt a change in the atmosphere. Within seconds, there was the familiar flash of a shift.

  Louis, the tall dark and handsome man, was gone. In his place was an animal.

  Isabel's mouth fell open.

  "Oh. My. God."

  There in front of her stood Louis in his shifted form. And he wasn't a tiger.

  She stared, dumbstruck, as the animal threw its head back and howled.

  "Louis?" Her knees gave way and she sank back into her seat. Then she began to laugh. "You aren't a tiger, man. You're a frickin' wolf."

  New

  Sebastian's brother Dominic had pulled strings so Louis could fly back to the States.

  "It's lucky you know all the right people." He steered her through the door with a hand on the small of her back.

  A warm hand. His touch felt even better now he was mortal.

  She pulled his hand and took him left into first class. "I can't believe you were a wolf this whole time. So Milo turned you when you had that fight. He bit you deep enough to activate the wolf turning process."

  "Yep. I had no idea. I didn't feel any different at all."

  "Probably because you were already a supernatural guy. It's a bigger jump from human to shifter."

  "Yeah, maybe."

  So you must have already been a wolf when you tried to turn that dying woman into a vampire?"

  "I guess so. My fangs wouldn't have worked even if you hadn't appeared when you did."

  "I felt pretty guilty about stopping you, once I realized what you were trying to do."

  He shook his head. "No, no. It's okay. That American soldier promised he'd find her grandkids and make sure they were reunited with her daughter. I trust the military with this one hundred per cent. Don't you?"

  "Absolutely." She threaded her fingers through his. "You know, being a wolf probably isn't that different to being a tiger. You're still a shifter. Same difference, right?"

  He raised one eyebrow. "I bet your ex-mom-in-law wouldn't like to hear that."

  "No, seriously. I mean, there are some practical differences. You're a pack animal, so you'll need to find a pack to run with at full moon."

  "Aw, hell. I don't have to join one with Milo, do I? Do I have any obligations to him?"

  "Nope. He has no pack, so you can't be expected to join his. Besides, there are a bunch of packs in Colorado. We can find you one full of decent wolves. You can go do your—" She waved her hand at him. "You know. Your wolfy full moon thing. Whatever that is."

  "I don't have a clue, and I guess I'm going to have to find out." He took a couple of glasses of champagne from the flight attendant and handed one to her. "There's a lot you're going to have to teach me, and a lot I'm going to need to work out for myself."

  "We'll be finding our way together. This is all kind of new for both of us."

  "True." He leaned over and kissed her, with their seat belts still fastened. "And what about us, as a couple of shifters? Can we—".

  "Can we what?"

  "Can we still have kids? Even though we're different kinds of shifter?"

  "Oh yeah. Well, if we want to." She felt herself blushing. Louis grinned so wide, it made her smile too. "And cross-species kids
are either one or the other. So our kids would turn out to be either a wolf or a tiger. You don't get a blend when it's a different animal altogether."

  Her hands flew to her belly. She'd had the strangest feeling ever since they got on the first airplane.

  But it was way too soon to think like that, so she put it out of her mind again.

  "You know what? I can't wait to have little wolf cubs with you."

  "Or tiger cubs."

  "Both. Wolves and tigers. Three of each. We'll make a beautiful family."

  He kissed her again, cupping her cheek in his hand. He was so warm.

  "Six cubs? Wow. We sure will be busy." She stroked the side of his face with the back of her fingers. "Can I ask you a question, Louis? Can you promise to tell me the truth, no matter what?"

  "I always have, ma belle. Everything I've ever told you has been true."

  "Okay. So this hypnosis thing. Seriously. Do vampires hypnotize people into being attracted to them, or not? For real. Tell me if you did hypnotize me. I won't be mad."

  He guffawed so loud, the middle-aged woman turned to smile at them both. "For the last time, no. Vampires don't have any magic of that sort. I swear. Your feelings for me were real. And my feelings for you were real too. They still are."

  "Wow. Then you really must be one sexy guy."

  He winked at her. "Your words, ma belle. Not mine."

  They snuggled together as the airplane soared above the clouds, on its way to New York.

  Isabel watched the window darken gradually as the hours passed.

  The next time they saw the sunrise, they'd be home.

  Epilogue

  "Honey, can you tell the doctor I'm just visiting the bathroom again?"

  Isabel hurried into the stall before her little cub kicked her bladder one more time. It was getting to be every ten minutes now. Still, she didn't mind too much. It felt like a miracle to have a tiny life inside her.

  When she got back into the room, the doctor and nurse were both there. Louis beamed at them all. He hadn't stopped smiling since the day that pink line had appeared on the test strip.

  "Lie down here, Dr. Prowse," the doctor smiled. She squirted some gel onto Isabel's swollen belly.