Cursed Heart (After Dark Book 4)

by Sarah Bailey

  “I need to tell you something.”

  She raised her eyebrows. What now? Not sure I can take anymore revelations today.

  “You smell like a jaguar.”

  “A what?”

  “A jaguar.”

  What the fuck?

  “How do you know that?”

  “Shifters have heightened senses, but you’d think I’d recognise one of my own.”

  She stared at him. How could she be a jaguar? That made no sense. Weren’t they spotted?

  “I remember my paws being black.”

  “You could refer to yourself as a werepanther if it makes you feel any better, still amounts to the same thing. It’s common for jaguars to have black fur.”

  Werepanther? I’m a werepanther? Wait, he just said he should recognise one of his own.

  “You’re a werepanther too?”

  His lip quirked up, green, gold eyes glinting.

  “Yes. Did you think I was a wolf?”

  “No… I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it.”

  “You weren’t even a little bit curious?”

  She shook her head. She hadn’t cared much about any of it. The whole shifter business wasn’t something she ever wanted to be a part of. Now, she had no choice but to accept it.

  “Does this mean whoever did this to me is also a werepanther?”

  “Yes, which is troubling. We’re not exactly common.”

  “Doesn’t that narrow it down?”

  “Yes and no. None of our kind lives in the city and the others who live outside wouldn’t do anything like this.”

  “Oh.”

  She snagged the mug of tea and took a sip. It was still warm. She cradled it to her chest. She knew she should go home, but she couldn’t face Alan right now. She couldn’t face anyone. Not when she’d killed another human being. My life is a mess.

  “You must be tired,” he said. “You’re welcome to take the bed if you want to sleep.”

  She looked over at him again.

  “I don’t really want to be alone. Every time I close my eyes I see his face.”

  It was something she’d never be able to forget. What she’d done was horrific. He stood up, putting his hand out. Taking it, she felt the warmth of his skin seep into hers. It was comforting.

  “Do… do we run hot?”

  He smiled, tugging her up off the sofa. He dropped her hand when she looked down at their entwined fingers. She felt strangely lost without the physical contact between them.

  “Just a little. You noticed?”

  “I’ve been feeling warmer since that night. I wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with the shifter thing or not.”

  He walked with her into the bedroom, shrugging off his jacket. She slipped out of her shoes and unbuttoned her jeans. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen her legs before. They’d been on full show earlier in the hotel room when she’d opened the door. He averted his eyes as she tugged off her jumper. The only thing he’d neglected to get her was a new bra, but she wasn’t exactly huge in the chest area so it didn’t much matter.

  She crawled into his bed, burrowing into the covers. He looked her over for a moment, hesitancy in his expression.

  “Will you sit with me?” she asked.

  He sat on the bed, tugging off his boots before he shuffled back and sat up against the headboard. Despite his rough, bad boy exterior, he wasn’t so bad. He’d been weirdly nice to her despite being rather blunt in conversation.

  “Am I right in thinking that the full moon forces the shift?”

  “Yes, but you can change at other times when you have control,” he replied.

  “I have to shift once a month then.”

  “Is that going to be a problem?”

  She moved, turning on her side and looking up at him.

  “Yes.”

  She didn’t want to say anything more. Alan would never allow her to leave the flat once a month to go frolicking as a panther. She didn’t want a repeat of last night, being cooped up in a room when it happened.

  “You’ll have to work it out somehow. You know you can’t tell humans about this, right?”

  “I guessed that much. What would I even say? I got bitten and now I’m a werepanther. That’s going to go down well. People would think I’m crazy.”

  It was likely she’d get sectioned, then they’d discover she’d been telling the truth. It would be hell. The thought of being locked up made her shudder.

  “You’ll need help adjusting to this life, Izzy. I’m sure Dalia will insist on it coming from me when she finds out what you are.”

  “Because we’re the same species?”

  He nodded.

  “She’ll say it’s not pack business because you’re not a wolf.”

  “If you’re not a part of the pack, why would you have to do what she says?”

  “I don’t. Leaving you to fend for yourself would risk exposure.”

  The slight disappointment she felt at his words unnerved her. He wasn’t doing this because he liked her. He needed to keep the shifter world a secret. Why do I even want him to like me?

  “Are there a lot of shifters in London?”

  “Yes. Not just shifters, a whole community of supernaturals.”

  “What… like vampires?”

  “Vampires, witches, fae, you name it. All real. All living amongst humans.”

  Her blood cooled in her veins. There was a whole world beneath human society and she had no idea. She supposed they liked to keep it that way. She could well imagine the mass hysteria if the world knew.

  “It was a vampire who helped me fix you up.”

  “Oh… that’s… well.”

  “Don’t worry, Neave’s not so bad… for a vamp anyway.”

  They lapsed into silence. She watched the rise and fall of his chest, the movement almost mesmerising. Sleep tugged at her senses and she closed her eyes.

  The last thing she thought about before she drifted off was how much shit she was going to be in when she finally went home.

  Chapter Five

  Rex watched the sleeping girl in his bed for a long moment. She needed it after the night she’d had. Shifting always took it out of a person the first few times it happened.

  He leant down, inhaling her scent. Why does she have to smell so good? It had been a long time since he’d been around another panther and never a female who wasn’t related to him. Even in human form, he could barely stand to be near her. Her pheromones were intoxicating. His inner animal wanted to meet hers.

  Dampening down on his instincts, he shifted off the bed to leave her to rest. He walked into his living room. Something on his coffee table was buzzing. He frowned, going over to it. He picked up Izzy’s bag and pulled out her phone. The caller ID said ‘Alan.’ He didn’t think she’d want him answering it. He waited until it stopped buzzing. There were notifications on her lock screen. 45 missed calls and 50 text messages.

  Who is this guy? Calling that many times was borderline stalker behaviour. He wondered what type of shit Izzy was involved in. He turned it off. She didn’t need disturbing right now. He put it back in her bag before pulling out her purse and going through the contents, finding a driving licence.

  Isadora Georgiana Peters.

  She was only twenty-four, five years his junior. There were a couple of bank cards and her oyster card, but not much else. He knew she wouldn’t appreciate him going through her stuff, but she didn’t volunteer much information about herself. He wanted to know why she was an escort. There was more to the story she wasn’t letting on. Was this Alan guy calling her a part of it? Why would a girl like her be doing such a thing? She was clearly intelligent. It made no sense.

  His phone rang. He stuffed Izzy’s purse back in her bag before answering it.

  “Hello, Dalia.”

  “The body has been disposed of, no thanks to you. I told you to watch out for her.”

  “Don’t put this on me. I’m not responsible for her decisions.”
<
br />   Of course, Dalia is being all high and mighty. Miss Perfect I never step out of line or put our world at risk. What Izzy had done wasn’t his fault. He’d given her the facts and she’d chosen to ignore them. At least she’d called him when she messed up rather than getting caught by the police. That would’ve been so much worse.

  “Where is she?”

  “Sleeping. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on letting her out of my sight for the moment.”

  She wasn’t in a fit state to go anywhere as it was. She was definitely traumatised by what she’d done in her panther form.

  “The boys told me they hadn’t seen a scene that gruesome in a while.”

  He looked towards the bedroom. He could just about see Izzy huddled under the covers through the open doorway.

  “She’s a panther.”

  “You’re shitting me.”

  “No. I smelt her. The marks on the guy she killed are unmistakable. It means our rogue is one too.”

  “If I didn’t know any better I’d be questioning if you were behind this.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  He rolled his eyes, slumping down on the sofa. The fact she was a panther made the entire situation a thousand times more complicated. Especially for him.

  “Do you know who it could be?”

  “No. Not anymore anyway.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means they’re dead. End of discussion.”

  He did not talk about his family. Not now. Not ever.

  “A lead is a lead. I’ll inform the pack. Just don’t let her fuck up again, Rex. From one friend to another. She’s your kin, your responsibility.”

  He almost scoffed. Friend my arse.

  “Yeah, yeah, keep me updated.”

  He hung up, tossing the phone down next to him. He could still smell her from here. He emitted a low growl in frustration. Why, of all things, does she have to be a panther? She didn’t need his animal lusting over hers.

  He looked around the room before cursing. He’d left the bottle in the bedroom. With her. He stood, shaking himself before taking slow, measured steps into the other room, towards the bed.

  He stared down at her, reaching out and brushing her blonde hair from her face. She looked peaceful. He fought against the urge to wake her. I don’t remember her being this beautiful the first time we met. Fuck. I don’t remember her being so alluring either. Fuck. It wasn’t just because she was a panther, he felt protective of her for some strange reason. He wanted to take care of her and make sure she didn’t get into any more trouble.

  It was that knowledge which made him turn away. He grabbed the bottle of whisky and stalked from the room, shutting the door behind him.

  §

  Izzy stretched like a cat when she awoke. It was dark outside. Had she slept the rest of the day away? She could smell something cooking. She got out of bed, pulling her clothes on before opening the bedroom door and shuffling out into Rex’s living room. He was standing in the kitchen frying two very large steaks. Her mouth watered. He turned at her approach.

  “Good, you’re awake.”

  “I didn’t mean to sleep so long.”

  “Sit, it’ll be just a sec.”

  She shuffled over to the sofa, sitting down, watching his back as he moved about in the small space that was his kitchen. He ran a hand through his hair before he dumped both the steaks out onto plates, shovelling veggies beside them.

  “Do you want a drink? I have beer or… water.”

  She hated beer. Far too bitter for her tastes.

  “Water is okay.”

  He brought over the plates before retrieving cutlery and a drink for them both.

  “I wasn’t sure what you’d want,” he said when he sat down.

  “It looks great.”

  She wondered why he’d gone to the trouble of making her something to eat, but she had been asleep for hours. They both tucked in, eating in silence. She normally hated rare steak, but she ate it with gusto. Must be a panther thing.

  “Um, thanks,” she said when she’d finished.

  “No problem.”

  He sat back with his beer, watching her carefully.

  “So, some guy was ringing your phone nonstop. I turned it off.”

  She looked down at her bag. Shit. Alan.

  “Oh.”

  “Who’s Alan?”

  “The… guy I live with.”

  She couldn’t bring herself to call him her boyfriend. She hadn’t felt that way about him in a long time. He was her captor. Her tormentor. Her pimp.

  “Is he your boyfriend?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  He narrowed his eyes. She didn’t want to be having this conversation. Explaining Alan to Rex felt so wrong. It didn’t help that she felt so ashamed about everything Alan made her do.

  “If you say so.”

  She looked away from him, her face growing hot.

  “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  She twisted her hands in her jumper.

  “It’s…”

  “Complicated. You said.”

  “None of your business.”

  There was silence for a long moment. She dared cast a glance his way. His expression was neutral.

  “You’re right. It isn’t.”

  “I don’t want to make things worse than they already are.”

  “If you’re in trouble… I can help you.”

  “You don’t owe me anything. I should be getting home.”

  He sighed, watching her with those green and gold eyes of his. They turned feline for a moment. She got up, picking up her bag. He stood with her.

  “Izzy, you’re not going to disappear off the face of the planet again, right?”

  “I… No. I’m not stupid. After what I did, I know I can’t just refuse your help.”

  “It can’t wait until the next full moon. The sooner you learn to control the shift, the better.”

  She didn’t want to learn any of this, but it was necessary. He didn’t need to keep ramming the point home.

  “Okay. I get it. Text me when and I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Fine.”

  They stared at each other for a long moment. She took a deep breath, catching a whiff of something new. His scent. It was different. It made the animal resting inside her start awake. She could feel it, brushing against her mind.

  It wanted out.

  It wanted him.

  Her nipples hardened. A tingling sensation started in her stomach, winding its way down until she felt it in all the wrong places.

  “Izzy…”

  She blinked, forcing the urge to close the distance between them away. Down kitty! What was wrong with her? She backed away. This was too much. The panther in her was pacing, growing agitated. Why, why do I feel aroused? I mean he is attractive and all, but we’re not even touching each other. How is this even possible?

  “What’s happening?” she whispered.

  “Your panther smelt mine,” he replied, his voice a little hoarse.

  Her beast mewed in response.

  “I should go.”

  “You should.”

  She turned, wrenching open the front door and hurrying out, not bothering to say goodbye. When she was out on the street, the cold air hit her, dampening her ardour. She took several unsteady steps in the direction of the train station, barely able to think straight.

  Why did I have such a strange reaction to his sent? Is this normal? I don’t understand.

  This shifter business made her head pound. Was it because he was a male panther? Is mine in heat? She felt her face growing hot, realising she hadn’t the slightest idea about jaguars and their natural behaviour.

  Pushing the thoughts away, she made her way home. When she opened the door to the flat, it was dark and silent. She’d checked her phone on the way home, deleting most of Alan’s texts. They were all threatening and abusive. She didn’t need to read them to know he was furi
ous with her.

  She went through the flat, but he wasn’t home. She took out the envelope of money Bart had given her minus the large tip and left it on the desk in his room. Going into her own bedroom, she pulled up the loose floorboard and stuffed the extra money into her stash.

  She slumped down on her bed. She was wide awake, having slept the day away. Her phone vibrated. She checked it. It wasn’t Alan. It was Rex.

  ‘Did you get home safe?’

  She frowned. Why was he asking that?

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I’ll call tomorrow.’

  She plugged her phone in to charge and curled up under the covers. Images of Bart played across her mind again. Her stomach roiled in response. She put a hand to her mouth, but the urge to be sick passed just as soon as it had come on.

  How was she going to explain her absence to Alan? Would he find out Bart was dead? She’d have to concoct some sort of believable story.

  She dug the heels of her hands into her eyes.

  This was a nightmare.

  One she didn’t see a way out of.

  §

  She woke with a start, the sunlight streaming in through the curtains and her phone going off. She fumbled, pulling it off her bedside table.

  “Hello?”

  “Izz, where have you been? I haven’t heard from you in weeks. I was worried.”

  It was only Hannah. She should’ve checked the ID before answering.

  “Oh, hi, babe. I’m sorry, things have been a bit crazy.”

  “Has he been hurting you again?”

  “What? No.”

  That was a huge lie. Why did she have to bring up Alan? I’ve only just woken up.

  “Babe, I know you told me to drop it, but I really think you need to leave him.”

  Just what she needed. Another lecture from her best friend.

  “Hannah, please don’t start again.”

  “I’m serious. It’s not right. I know you’ve not told me everything.”

  “You don’t understand. He’ll find me and he’ll…”

  What could she say? The truth stuck in her throat.

  “He’ll what, Izz? Kill you? That’s fucked up. You need to get away from Alan. He’s no good.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?”

  “Then why are you still there?”