Bridge Hollow Shifters: The Complete Collection

by Samantha Leal

  She needed him.

  Her body craved him and responded to him in such an incredible way she didn’t know how she would ever be the same again.

  Their lips broke apart and she could barely breathe. Dash was panting and clearly getting hot and bothered, his eyes were shining a bright green in the darkness. He pulled his hand away and took a step back.

  “Jannie,” he panted, “I… I should go.”

  She nodded and pressed her back against the door.

  She didn’t want him to leave, but she knew she had a lot to weigh up. If she took this any further, then she was walking into a lot of danger, something she had promised herself she wouldn’t do.

  She had a lot to think about.

  Dash began to back away from the cabin, and when he was far enough away but still facing and watching her, she slipped her key into the door, opened it and stepped inside.

  She knew he was still waiting out there to make sure she was safe, and she was glad for it. To know she had a man like him watching over her was reassuring and it made her feel truly loved.

  She walked through the cabin to the back quickly and sat in the darkness. She waited and waited until she saw a little light spring on in Dash’s cabin across the lake thirty minutes later, and then she hugged her knees against her chest and imagined him stepping into his bedroom, taking off his leather jacket and t-shirt, and walking around with his incredible muscles on show.

  How she wished she could touch them.

  She bit her lip and rose slowly to her feet.

  She had gotten herself in a right mess now.

  Because she didn’t know how she was ever going to be able to walk away.

  The lake was shining crystal clear underneath the sun and there was a light breeze in the air. She was sure she could hear music drifting down from the mountain; there was something peaceful and magical all around her.

  She laid back on the grass and let the sun warm through her, her bikini the only thing she was wearing, as her back and thighs moved against the softness beneath her.

  Her heart was already beating quickly, and she could feel his eyes on her from somewhere within the woods. She laid there for him, she wanted him to come for her.

  She arched her back and moaned slightly, her whole body aching for his touch.

  She heard the growls first, but she wasn’t afraid. She knew she was being tracked by the wolf, and she wanted it to find her.

  “Dash…,” she whispered as she kept her eyes closed and pinned herself to the ground.

  She opened her legs as she felt him coming closer, and when she felt his shadow cross over her, she finally opened her eyes to see him standing there, already completely naked, with only her in his sights.

  Her breathing became more rapid and she opened her legs wider. She needed him inside of her. She couldn’t wait any longer.

  “Dash,” she said again as he got down on his knees and crawled on top of her.

  She let her hands finally touch him, at the heat emanating from his incredible body. His physique was so strong and powerful, she knew he could dominate her and take charge, and she had never wanted it to happen more. He kissed her neck, her nipples hardened even more, and she wrapped her legs around him. The sun beat down on them from overhead, and each time he kissed her, a growl escaped his lips.

  “I want you,” he snarled as he pushed himself onto her.

  She felt the heavy poke of his cock and it made her moan. She was soaking wet and so ready for him she didn’t know how she could stand not to have him any longer.

  She scraped her nails down his back, and he let out a howl of pleasure. A howl so deep and strong it sent a shiver right through her.

  He was her wolf.

  And she was his human.

  She wanted him and needed him, and she was never going to walk away from him now.

  She tipped her head up to meet his and kissed him deeply on the lips. Their passion was growing, and she was aching for him, her body wanted him so very badly that everything around her was becoming more fevered and frantic.

  As she reached down, ready to take hold of his manhood and guide it into her, she was so overcome with anticipation that she gasped, and the sensation shot her back into the waking world…

  She sat bold upright in bed, panting and gasping, her whole body turned on and aching for a man that wasn’t there.

  “No!” she cried as she slumped back down against the pillows and buried her head.

  It had all been a dream.

  An incredible dream… but a dream, nonetheless.

  She and Dash had been about to consummate their love, but it had been cruelly ripped away from her.

  She huffed and rolled over and clamped her eyes closed.

  That dream had only confirmed to her what she was already afraid of.

  Dangerous Dash and the wolf inside him had gotten into her head, and now she was hooked.

  It didn’t matter how much she tried to resist… he was right.

  She was his.

  11.

  The forest was dark on the mountain and as Dash strolled through it with the rest of his pack, he had the feeling that this meeting was going to cause so much more trouble.

  He had resisted the urge to turn since Jannie had come to town, but now that he was out in the wide open spaces and headed toward the place where the old abandoned mine lay, he had the overwhelming need to unleash the animal in him.

  Some of the pack had already changed, and the wolves were running fast and free up ahead. They sniffed the ground and howled up at the moon above, and Dash felt the call inside of him growing stronger.

  He let the heat wash over him and then he growled and howled as the energy ripped through him. The wolf began to tear through his skin, his clothes ripped clean away as the fur and ferociousness sprang free. As his arms and legs elongated, his nose lengthened and his eyes turned the brightest green, he felt a power that he had missed.

  He had missed his inner animal. It was such a strong part of him, he didn’t want to subdue it any longer.

  His wolf stood tall and proud, and when he sniffed the air, he could sense the danger all around the forest. The mountain and the town of Bridge Hollow was no longer safe, and that meant that Jannie wasn’t safe either.

  He had to do this, he had to go to this meeting with the elder dragon and let his pack know what was truly coming their way.

  They all ran on up the mountain, deeper into the forest and past the place of the abandoned mine that was now proving to be so much more of an issue than they had originally thought.

  When they reached a clearing in the forest and the mountain evened out, they were aware that they were in a place that had long been forgotten. The elder dragon had hidden high above Bridge Hollow to save himself and his small clan. He didn’t want the legends reaching them there and for people to come asking questions. A wolf out in the woods was one thing… but a dragon? He was never going to be safe amongst people. He was in danger and he knew it.

  Dash stopped, and he and his pack stood in a line. The wolves were all together and ready to delve further. He had warned them what they were heading to, and he had also assured them that the elder dragon was on their side. He wanted to put an end to all the madness in Bridge Hollow as much as they did. He just needed them to hear him out.

  The clearing was large and in the middle were two cabins nestled within the trees. Dash waited for the elder to come out; he knew they were there, he could sense their eyes on him and his pack.

  Dash shifted back to his human form and urged the others to do the same. They stood there and waited until the door of the cabin creaked open and the old man emerged.

  He looked broken and crooked, but Dash had seen this man around town many years before he had come up here and hidden away. And from his own family, he knew the legends about the dragon clan. They were hundreds of years old and full of magic. Now they were all joining together to defeat a powerful evil.

  “Bishop…,” Da
sh said as the old man made his way forward.

  His own pack was clearly on edge, although the wolves knew deep down that they had to stay calm.

  “Hello, Dash,” the old man said.

  Dash smiled and then he turned to look at his pack.

  “I need you to tell them what you told me,” he said sternly. “Before we can move forward and understand what we are dealing with.”

  Bishop sighed and stepped closer. Behind him, in the houses, Dash was sure he could see the eyes of other dragons, other men with magic in their veins, and ones who had been told to stay away and not get involved.

  Dash understood their hesitation but also, it made him angry with them. They got to hide up there on the mountain with all their wisdom while the other packs down in town had to suffer and handle all the trouble themselves.

  “You said a man was killed,” Bishop said with a shaking voice. “Well, I think I know what did it… from the information you gave to me.”

  Dash looked at the other members of his pack and saw the way their eyes all seemed to light up.

  “You know who killed the guy in Shifter’s Bliss?” Maddox, Dash’s second-in-command, asked.

  Bishop nodded his head slowly and then cleared his throat.

  “We have lived up here for decades now, in fear of being discovered,” he began. “It would be easy to explain a wolf or bear being seen in the woods, but for a dragon to be seen by human eyes, it would cause us no end of trouble.”

  The shifters all nodded in agreement.

  “There are other things that have found their way onto this mountain… things that arrived with the collapse of the mine and things that have long stayed buried…”

  Dash felt his nerves rising.

  “When the mind collapsed all those years ago, way back before any of you were born… it brought with it immense danger.”

  The wolves began to whisper amongst themselves, and Dash hushed them.

  “As dragons are the oldest living shifters here in Bridge Hollow, we know what happened.”

  Dash stared at him, willing for him to continue.

  “When the mine collapsed, it opened something… something bad… it let in our world, the shifter world, but it also let in something else.”

  “What do you mean?” Maddox asked.

  “It pierced a veil between two worlds,” Bishop continued. “Us dragons and the beginnings of your packs arrived here in Bridge Hollow, we came to this dimension… but other things, bad things, managed to escape with us.”

  “What kind of things?” one of the other wolves asked.

  “Dangerous things…,” he whispered.

  “The thing that killed the guy in the bar?” Maddox asked.

  Bishop nodded.

  “Probably,” he said. “For years, we have protected the mine, it’s one of the reasons we are up here, and for so long, nothing terrible managed to work its way through. Bridge Hollow has always had its legends, and people who believe had long been drawn here… but we managed to ensure that nothing dark escaped… until now…”

  Dash felt his blood run cold. He knew the severity of the situation now and he was truly afraid for his family, both his shifter brothers and the other people he loved.

  “We think a vampire managed to get through,” Bishop said sternly. “We have been keeping them at bay since the mine collapsed… them and other things… but somehow, since the beginning of the year, they seem to have found a way in.”

  “Jesus,” Maddox gasped.

  They had all known there was more to Bridge Hollow than had met the eye, and with them all being shifter packs, they had known they were part of the magic. But never in their wildest dreams could they have ever thought there was more waiting in the wings… A terrible danger ready to invade their world and take away everything they held dear.

  “And where is this vampire now?” Dash asked. It was one of the only answers he hadn’t managed to get from Bishop when he and Ryder had initially come to the mountain several days ago.

  “We don’t know,” said Bishop. “He may have gone back through the veil, or he may still be here. All we know is we can’t let anyone from town go anywhere near that mine.”

  All the wolves looked at each other and nodded. At last, something they were all in agreement on.

  “Some of us love the people down there as if they were our own,” Bishop said. “We need to make sure they are safe and kept out of harm’s way… Meanwhile, we need hunting parties to look for this thing… and the place he may have managed to get through to our world.”

  “Do you think they’ve found another portal to here, away from the mine?” Maddox asked.

  “We just don’t know,” said Bishop. “All we know is that whatever is coming into our world from that veil is killing our land and our animals… It made two hunters disappear and now, one of their creatures has broken through and killed a man in plain sight in the middle of town.”

  They could all sense the panic in his voice. This elder dragon and his clan had been protecting Bridge Hollow from afar for a hundred years, and now their good work had been compromised. Somehow, the other side had found a way to get through.

  “Okay,” Maddox said sternly as he looked at Dash. “Well, we know what we need to do.”

  Bishop nodded.

  “We need to arrange hunting parties to go out and find this thing,” Dash said. “And we need the bears to help us too.”

  Bishop smiled and nodded.

  “We are the good magic here,” he said warmly. “It is time we all unite to defeat the bad.”

  He held out his hand, and all the wolves stood forward and did the same. They placed their hands together in the center of the circle and bumped their fists up against each other’s.

  When the meeting was over and Bishop had gone back to his cabin, Dash led his pack back down the mountain.

  “We really are fucked, aren’t we?” Maddox asked him as he ran a hand through his hair.

  “We just need to come together and be strong,” said Dash. “We don’t truly know what we are up against, but we know it started at the mine, so I would like to think that will be the way to end it.”

  He strolled forward, and he didn’t want to look back. He was glad he had taken advice from the elder dragon and was annoyed with himself for not asking sooner, as the answers had been there all along.

  The magic of Bridge Hollow, the woods and the mountains around it, was about to explode with who knew what. If it had been a vampire that had managed to get through, then that meant more could follow… and with them, they could well bring about the end of humanity.

  It was a terrifying thought… and now Dash also had Jannie to think about. The human girl he was falling in love with and didn’t want to be away from for one second more.

  As he left the woods and slinked back to his cabin under the cloak of darkness, he knew he couldn’t keep himself away from her any longer. So much was coming, and he had a long road ahead, but for now, he was determined to try to spend a few normal days with her. He was going to ask her out properly, take her the desk, and act as natural as possible so as not to worry her.

  She was going to be worth the fear, he knew it.

  She was something he never wanted, but something that had found him anyway. And he wasn’t about to turn away from fate… that was something only a fool could do.

  12.

  Jannie bounced around the kitchen in her cabin singing along to the music blaring out from the TV. She had an incredible night’s sleep, and the dream had only added to her good mood. The kiss still lingered on her lips from when Dash had left her at her doorway, and since she had dreamed of him naked and about to make love to her, she had been turned on and bouncing ever since.

  She supped hot coffee while flipping pancakes and nodded her head to the beat. She was still in her nightdress and robe, bare footed and bleary eyed, but she was having the time of her life. If every morning in Bridge Hollow could be like this, then she would be a very h
appy girl indeed.

  She sat at the kitchen island and poked at the fresh pancakes with her fork. It really had been an incredible start to her stay in town, but she was starting to feel guilty at the lack of work she had done. Sure, she still didn’t have her workstation properly set up and she was still waiting on a desk, but she at least could have turned on her laptop and tried to make sense of some of her ideas. It’s not like she couldn’t sit on the couch and bash away at the keys for a few hours.

  When she finished breakfast, she went back to her bedroom and picked out an outfit for the day. She settled on a long sleeved, black maxi dress and a pair of ankle boots. She showered and did her hair, spritzed on some perfume and dabbed on a little tinted moisturizer and lip stain, before she quickly made her bed, threw open the window and let the fresh mountain air come seeping in to blow away the cobwebs.

  She breathed in deep.

  It really was so clean and healthy out there. It was nothing like her own town back on the West Coast. She may have had a beach not far away, but she still had endless amounts of traffic and industry to contend with, and there really was nothing like the freshness of the mountains.

  When she was back in the living area, she climbed up the ladder to the mezzanine level and looked across to the space where the desk would be. She got down on her hands and knees and cleared stuff away on part of the floor, ensuring everything was where it should be so that, if Dash showed up, she could get the desk in there without a problem.

  When she had finished sorting and tidying, she carried up the rest of her work and research and laid it on the floor next to the empty space. Then she looked around and sighed.

  She wanted to get going… and she also wanted to see Dash again.

  She bit her bottom lip and grinned, before she carefully climbed down the ladder, taking her time so she didn’t trip on her own boots. When she reached the kitchen island, she grabbed the piece of paper that had been sitting there since her first night in town, and she tapped it into her cellphone and saved it.