Gathering Darkness: A Paranormal Romance Collection

by Anna Zaires

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s most likely a news station looking for a quote from you. Turn it off.”

  She pressed the power button and dropped her phone into her purse. Zane said, “We’re almost there, Dad. Okay, I’ll tell them.”

  Hanging up, he said to Amadeus, “Take the back entrance. News crews are already at the front gates.”

  “Fuck me sideways,” the lion said with a snarl. “If his dad doesn’t kill him, I will.”

  “Who?” Adriana asked.

  “Jesse,” Zane said, his voice dark with anger.

  She shivered. “Why would he do that? It makes him look like a monster attacking me.”

  Mercer looked at her. “Our alpha said that the footage was edited to make it appear as if Jesse was attacked, and you were kidnapped by Zane. The footage was sent to every news station in town, and several national outlets, along with the local newspapers and a few tabloids. Your name, address, and cell phone were given.” He lifted his phone and pressed the play button on the screen. The video from the dash cam showed but now it looked like Jesse was protecting her and had been hurt in the process.

  “When did this happen?” she asked.

  “An hour ago,” Mercer replied.

  The SUV turned down a side street. They entered the zoo through a security gate and followed a curving road to a large metal building serving as a garage. Zane’s dad met them inside.

  “Downstairs, both of you. We’ve got to work on damage control.”

  “How bad is it?” Zane asked.

  “Extremely bad. An animal-rights group just contacted the main office, right after the county inspector informed us they would be here in an hour to ensure the gorilla enclosure is repaired, the tour guide and driver are well, and Adriana hasn’t been harmed.”

  “Shit.” Zane breathed the word, his hand clasping hers.

  “Can’t we just have a press conference or something, and I can tell the news I’m great?” she asked.

  Zane turned slowly and faced her. “Yes, sweetheart, but Jesse isn’t available for any press conferences.”

  “What?”

  Zane’s dad nodded. “When Joss realized what he’d done, he killed him.”

  Her mouth fell open.

  Zane pulled her into his arms and said into her ear, “We’ll talk underground.”

  A hinge creaked, and an opening appeared in the floor next to two of Zane’s bandmates. Zane led her down a flight of stairs and through a hallway to the council chambers. She was numb from the inside out. True, she’d been angry with Jesse for putting his hands on her, but she hadn’t wanted him to die. She didn’t understand why he couldn’t just have been punished further.

  Zane pulled her against him roughly and cupped her face. Brushing a tear from her cheek, he said, “Don’t cry for him. If the human authorities believed that a natural gorilla had broken through the security fence, attacked a tour guide, and kidnapped a guest, they could demand that gorilla be killed. Or removed from the zoo. We don’t have any natural gorillas here to put in my place, sweetheart. Do you understand what that dash-cam footage means for me? For us?”

  Tears surged over her cheeks. This time, they weren’t for Jesse, but for what might happen to Zane because of Jesse’s actions. “What can I do?”

  “The alphas have a plan. We’re going to trust them.”

  “I trust you,” she said.

  He smiled, his features softening. “Adriana, you’re the most wonderful mate a male could hope for. I’m the luckiest man on the planet.”

  “Declare your feelings later. We’ve got to get to the paddock,” Win said, sighing exaggeratedly.

  As they rushed into the council chambers, she prayed that she’d be able to help keep Zane and the other shifters out of trouble. The looks of concern on everyone’s faces told her just how serious things were. Zane’s life was literally on the line. She would do anything to ensure his safety, and to keep her new family – the gorilla band and the other shifters – safe.

  CHAPTER 9

  Zane followed Adriana as she walked out of the storage building inside the gorilla paddock. She stopped and tugged at her shorts, self-consciously pulling them down her petite but shapely legs. “August cut these way too short. I feel like my butt is hanging out.”

  Because they hadn’t had pants in her size, August had cut a pair into shorts. He’d clearly taken some liberties with the length, but Zane wasn’t complaining. He leaned back and looked at her butt, hooting softly and wiggling his fingers between her thighs. She yelped and stumbled away from him with a laugh. “Don’t grope me! You’re supposed to be a real gorilla.”

  Zane chuckled and flashed his teeth at her. She rolled her eyes hard enough that he was surprised she didn’t burst a blood vessel. Then she smiled, and all thoughts fled. She had the best smile.

  The other bandmates moved from the building and roamed the yard. As part of their damage control, the news media had been told that Adriana wasn’t harmed, and neither were the guide and driver. The cover story was that Adriana had been working closely with the gorillas for months, and the footage had been altered by the guide in retaliation for not getting a salary increase. Zane wasn’t sure that the human media would believe the ruse, but the alphas were hopeful. Seeing Adriana with the gorillas inside the repaired fence would go a long way.

  Alfie and another wolf stepped from the building, along with Atticus and Joss. Zane recognized the other wolf as Jasper. Jasper had the same build and hair color as Jesse, and was wearing his uniform.

  Atticus cleared his throat. “You look nice, Adriana.”

  “Thanks, Atticus. When will the news get here?”

  “In about ten minutes. There are three news stations and one major newspaper, along with the animal-rights group and the government inspection team. They’re touring the entire facility,” he said. Thankfully, the entrances to their private spaces were well-hidden inside the maintenance buildings in each paddock.

  Joss said, “As far as the humans are concerned, Jasper is Jesse. Jasper will explain that he faked the dash-cam footage and apologize. You’ll leave the paddock and meet with reporters. Atticus and I will be with you. Keep your answers short, and don’t volunteer anything that they don’t ask.”

  “Don’t be nervous,” Atticus said.

  She rested her hand on Zane’s shoulder, her hand tightening into a fist in his fur. “I don’t want to make things worse.”

  “You’ll be fine. Think before you answer, and if you don’t want to answer a question or don’t know what to say, look to Atticus or me, and we’ll help you out,” Joss said.

  “Will all the negative publicity harm the zoo?” she asked.

  Atticus shook his head. “We don’t foresee it being an issue. Jesse did cause harm with the video’s release, but this press conference will explain the situation, and there shouldn’t be any drop in visitors.”

  He handed her a bunch of bananas. She quirked a brow at him. “You’re not serious.”

  “What? You think it’s a myth that gorillas like bananas? I happen to know a certain young male who is hoping you’ll switch to banana-scented conditioner.”

  Zane growled and swung out to clip his dad in the knee. Adriana giggled and leaned down, resting her head on his shoulder. “Sounds like something we need to order topside.”

  Zane pulled her into his lap and sat on the ground. He touched her chin with his finger and tilted her face. He wanted to tell her that he was head over heels for her. If only he could talk in his shifted form.

  “Loverboy, put her on her feet. It’s bad enough we have to do this for the humans, we don’t need anyone worrying about you two getting freaky,” Joss said.

  Adriana grinned. He helped her stand and handed her the bananas. The engines of the Jeeps carrying the humans grew louder. The two of them were left alone as Atticus and Joss headed for the gate within the fence.

  She tugged a banana from the bunch and said, “This is weird. When I feed you,
I’d rather be naked in bed, not trying to play-act at being your handler.”

  He took the banana from her and sat. He pulled the peel aside, digging out the flesh. It was true, he did love bananas. And he’d rather be anywhere than out in the paddock exposing her to the humans. Her idea for naked feeding in bed was making it hard for him to think about anything else. Turning his hand up, he offered her the first bite.

  “You’re so sweet,” she said, taking a piece and popping it into her mouth. “I think that’s significant, huh? Do gorillas give their girls first dibs on bananas?”

  He took her hand and kissed the top. It was significant. He’d never cared so much about one person before. He loved his dad and his bandmates, but his feelings for Adriana were deeper on an epic scale. In two days, she’d become the most important person in the world to him. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to keep her safe and happy.

  He tossed the peel aside and finished the banana. He heard the Jeeps brake to a stop and then the clamor of the humans as they moved to the fence, but he didn’t care. His mate was giving him bananas and smiling at him.

  Neo and Patton moved toward them and Adriana snapped into gear with what she’d been taught her behavior as a handler should be. She tossed bananas to them and petted them, but she didn’t move far from Zane. With his sensitive hearing, he could make out what Atticus and Joss said to the humans. When her name was mentioned, he touched the back of her leg, and she looked down at him.

  “When this is over, it’s you, me, a pie from Mario’s, and banana conditioner,” she whispered.

  He growled softly and thumped his chest. Leaving the bananas behind, she strode to the gate, playing the part of handler like a pro. He mentally sighed as Neo and Patton both dove for the remaining bananas. He wanted to be by Adriana’s side, especially when she moved through the gate to stand with the humans. Trying to appear disinterested, he loped over to a tree and leaned against it, but he was focused on the situation just outside the paddock.

  ***

  As Adriana walked through the gate, she forced herself not to look back at Zane. She was feeling antsy and tense, and she didn’t want to risk running back to him for comfort. She knew he’d give it to her. He’d take her right down to their home and shift into his sexy human form, and they’d make love. Of course, then they’d have to explain why a woman let a gorilla carry her off. Again.

  Atticus gently nudged her and tilted his head toward the reporters, who were listening to Jasper apologize for the prank. He played the part of Jesse well, and after he apologized to Adriana, she stepped forward and shook his hand.

  “My name is Adriana Stephens, and I’m the woman on the video. I’m a new handler here, specializing in the gorillas. As you can see, I’m perfectly safe and healthy. My life was never in danger.”

  Reporters began shouting questions to her. She frowned, unsure what to do.

  Joss raised his hand for quiet, and to Adriana’s surprise everyone went silent. “Miss Stephens needs to return to her duties, so we’ll be keeping this short. One at a time, please.”

  A reporter raised her hand and asked, “How long have you worked for the safari?”

  “I’ve been volunteering for several months.”

  Another reporter said, “If you were never in danger, why does it appear that you passed out from fear in the dash-cam footage?”

  Relying on what she’d been coached to say, she said, “I didn’t pass out, I went limp. When a gorilla picks you up, the last thing you do is struggle. Because of how the footage was altered, you can’t see the gorilla release me inside the paddock.”

  The newspaper columnist said, “It appears that the fence was torn by the gorilla and the tour guide was attacked. How can you stand there and tell us that the gorilla isn’t dangerous and in need of being placed in a better facility or put down?”

  Atticus stiffened beside her but remained silent. As she’d been instructed, she wove a tale of a weak area in the fence that had been missed by the maintenance crews, which allowed the gorilla to break through. “I’ll point out,” she said, “that you were already told that the footage was pasted together through an editing program. Although it appears that the gorilla threw the tour guide into a tree, the gorilla simply pushed Jesse away from me because he thought I was being assaulted. The guide and driver staged the remainder of the footage, including his being thrown against a tree.”

  It was farfetched in her mind that anyone could think the footage was staged, but the reporters were taking it as truth, and that’s what she wanted. After the reporters were taken by the lions and given an ‘exclusive’ look at a new attraction on the tour involving the elephants, she met with the government inspectors and the small group from the animal-rights agency.

  She stood next to Atticus and Joss and watched as the inspectors checked the fence over thoroughly.

  The inspector handed Joss a sheet of paper. “The safari is being fined two thousand dollars for improper fence maintenance. We’ll finish our inspection now, but everything else looks in order.”

  Joss went with the humans to the Jeeps and stayed with them as they continued the inspection. When they were out of view, Atticus smiled at her. “I think your mate is ready to see you now,” he said, gesturing to the fence.

  She turned and laughed. Zane was sitting behind the fence, his fingers wrapped around the links. Even in his shifted form she could tell that he was anxious to be with her.

  “I’m ready to see him, too.”

  “Keep up appearances until the humans are out of the park.”

  “Thanks, Atticus.”

  “You can thank me by naming my first grandchild after me.”

  Her stomach flipped at the idea of having a child with Zane.

  “You got it.”

  Atticus unlocked the gate for her to walk through. “I guess I need to clean up around here, huh? Keep me company?”

  Zane snorted, and she chuckled. After gathering tools from the maintenance building, she spent the next two hours cleaning up debris around the paddock. Visitors, it appeared, liked to throw trash into the paddock. Zane stayed by her side the entire time, picking up trash and tossing it into the receptacle she carried. While they worked together, she found herself telling him everything she could think of about her past, about her parents, growing up as an only child, and becoming best friends with Celeste.

  “I hope I get to see her soon. I miss her.”

  Zane hooted softly in understanding.

  Atticus came back into the paddock to say the humans were gone and the park would be closed for the remainder of the day for maintenance. “Next weekend we’ll be starting up the tours again. Since they were so successful, we’ll keep doing them until every single male is mated.”

  “How many have found mates?” she asked.

  “Just two, but since our people have been unmated for so long, it’s a relief to know that we still can find mates.”

  “You wondered if you could?” They walked along with the band members into the maintenance building and closed the door.

  “There haven’t been mates for any of the shifters in years. There haven’t been any matings – human or shifter – since Zane was little. Some of the shifters mated simply to further their species and not for a true mating like you and Zane.”

  “Will our kids be able to shift?”

  He nodded. “It’s why mating with humans isn’t encouraged without protection unless they’re mates. Can you imagine a human woman having a child after a one-night stand with a gorilla and discovering her baby can shift? It would mean chaos.”

  “Definitely.”

  They walked down the stairs to the secured area. Atticus showed her the code. “It’s important that you never share the code with anyone, even your friend. Only gorillas know the code, and we want to keep it that way.”

  “I promise.”

  Zane tossed her over his shoulder as the door swung open and loped inside. She laughed and held on tight as he leap
t for their home, swinging them up inside the canopy.

  “I just realized,” she said as he set her on her feet inside the living room, “that I think of this place as home.”

  He shifted smoothly from a huge gorilla to a sexy man and caught her around the waist, drawing her close. “It is your home now, Adriana. Everything I have is yours.”

  “How about that pizza?” she asked.

  “When I mentioned liking Mario’s Pizza originally, when we first met, you had a weird look on your face. Do you remember what you were thinking? I meant to ask, but we got distracted.”

  Thinking back to that time she said, “I’ve eaten at Mario’s. I was just thinking about what would’ve happened if we’d met in the restaurant instead of in the park.”

  He grinned. “I would have offered to buy you a slice and turned on the charm.”

  She laughed. “You’re very charming. Did you ever date anyone?” Jealousy flared through her suddenly. She tried to tamp it down, but Atticus saying that their people always used protection with humans made her wonder how many women Zane had been with.

  He stared at her for a long moment, then understanding lit his features. “I never had sex with any humans, sweetheart. It was too risky to have sex with a human that I didn’t love. Some of the others have done it, but it wasn’t for me.”

  “I love you, Zane.”

  He smiled broadly. “I love you, too.”

  He nuzzled her throat, and she became aware that he was very naked and aroused. He lifted her into his arms. “What about pizza?”

  “Later. Did you think that after we shared what we just did about our feelings, I’d want to sit around and wait for pizza? We need to celebrate.”

  Curling her fingers into his thick hair, she smiled against his lips. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Orgasms, and plenty of them.”

  “I like the way you celebrate.”

  CHAPTER 10

  The next morning, Zane took Adriana topside to the security office of the safari. Arrangements had been made for Jupiter and Celeste to meet them and go out of the park for lunch.