Bridge Hollow Shifters: The Complete Collection

by Samantha Leal

  “Come on, then,” Braxton said as he opened the front door and stepped over the threshold. The cold winter air bit them immediately, and he felt his internal fire rage a little harder. It was time for him and his father to go on one last hunt.

  They would roam the mountain and the forests, looking for anything untoward. Bad things had descended on the town, and they had to make sure the land and the hidden areas around it were clear of any threat.

  In town, the bears and wolves were guarding a gateway to hell. A place that was letting in the bad, and it was turning their world into something dangerous and dark. Braxton would be walking into it tomorrow, with his shoulders held back and his heart raging away within his chest. He was going to go down there and settle this, once and for all.

  He and the shifters from the packs of the town they were going to protect, were going to work together, and they were going to overcome the threats that were trying to tear their world apart. And all while a major tourist attraction was happening in the exact same place.

  The Supernatural Fair of 2019 was going to be one hell of a wild ride. And luckily for Braxton, he had a front row ticket.

  2.

  Elizabeth sat with her back to the room and her face to the window. The scene on the street in front of her was nothing short of mania, but she was enjoying watching it, nonetheless. She sipped her hot chocolate and curled her legs under her as she tuned out all the noise from the coffee house. She had managed to bag herself one of the best chairs − a soft, plump cuddle seat − right in the biggest bay window, and now, she had a view to die for.

  The Bridge Hollow Supernatural Fair was rolling into town, and everyone seemed to be going batshit crazy. She smirked as she watched locals running from one side of Main Street to the other, furiously trying to coordinate stands and decorations, making sure parking was clear and the roads were empty for the influx of footfall.

  Elizabeth was enjoying the activity and the distraction. She recalled the way the town went wild every year with tales of the paranormal and magic, but this was the first time she had allowed herself to be properly involved.

  She shifted in her seat and cast a glance over her shoulder. Even though she had been enjoying the action, she still felt a little nervous. It wasn’t often she let her guard down like this and came out in public. She had grown used to living the simple life, and out of sight of most of the people of Bridge Hollow.

  She sipped her drink, and the warmness ran through her, calming her nerves for a moment. She was going to have to pull it together if she was going to stand any chance of seeing the stalls opening and the convention kicking off in fantastic style.

  She had watched from the window of her apartment the year before and loved seeing the different kinds of people who descended on the town when the fair arrived. It really was a mixed pot of fun and frolics, with many people dressing up like aliens and large bears and werewolves. She had always wanted to and experience it firsthand, but she had been told it was too dangerous for her.

  Too dangerous because if she slipped up, someone might see her for what she truly was…

  Elizabeth was a witch.

  A good witch, a harmless witch, a witch with only softness and kindness inside of her, but still, it was something that would scare the uneducated out of their wits. Her mother had always warned her to try to mask her power because if anyone ever saw her and what she could do, she would surely be in trouble.

  Her mother and she had lived quietly together, barely socializing with anyone, and they had managed to go unnoticed by most. When Elizabeth was growing up and in school, she had gone in, did the work and came straight home. She had never been part of an afterschool club, and she had never gone to the movies with a group of friends. She had done her best to avoid most social interaction, afraid of her guard slipping and powers being unleashed.

  She knew there was a lot of magic in Bridge Hollow and that she wasn’t the only one to possess it. But she had lived in fear of being discovered, and for that reason, she had always lived quietly and simply. Since she had moved out of her mother’s home and into her own apartment just off Main Street, she had worked from home online, doing readings and spell work for strangers living miles and miles away. This allowed her to keep her identity a secret and yet she could flourish when it came to her craft. She may not have known how far she could take it yet, but with each year that passed, she was getting more and more powerful, and as she was now approaching her mid-twenties, she felt a big shift coming. She felt a tingle in her body that was more electric than it had been a year before, and every passing day, came more and more revelations.

  Maybe she was crazy for wanting to be out of the house and down in the middle of town, walking the streets and finally immersing herself in town life as it happened, but she planned on using the guise of a curious tourist if anyone quizzed her. She had slipped under the radar for years and didn’t see why this time should be any different. She didn’t think there was much chance of her being recognized. And maybe, just maybe, her increase in power was also helping her confidence.

  She wasn’t a young witch anymore. She was a full-fledged adult, ready to take on the world. It was a fantastic feeling, even if it was a little intimidating.

  She smiled as she watched the world outside, and she felt content. She hadn’t done anything like this in as long as she could remember, and being out of her apartment and seeing the town’s décor in full flourish felt special and intimate.

  She became lost in thought and her mind wandered. She had been sitting in the coffee house for at least half an hour, sipping her drink slowly as it began to cool down, and watching the activity on the street unfold in front of her. She had felt calm and serene, even if it had been the first time she had properly let herself do something like this. She didn’t feel as if people were staring at her, and she was managing to relax and enjoy the day.

  Suddenly, the door to the coffee house opened, and a bell tinged with it. Elizabeth looked over her shoulder to see a man walking in, and it made her stop still. He was tall and broad, with dark eyes and dark hair. He was muscular and well dressed… And like no one she had seen around Bridge Hollow before when she had watched from her windows or snuck down to collect groceries. He moved into the room and approached the counter, a delicious scent coming with him that she couldn’t place. Her heart pounded in her chest and her palms began to sweat. And she was sure, somewhere around her, she could suddenly feel the ferociousness of fire.

  The small hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away. They remained locked on him, on his incredible physique and the way he moved around the place as if he owned it.

  The crowds seemed to part for him, and she was completely entranced. She had never seen a man like him before, except for on television. Someone so self-assured and confident. He had a presence about him that was so mighty, it made her unable to look away. She cocked her head to the side and gripped her mug a little tighter.

  Who the hell is he…? she found herself thinking as she went into a daze. The witch inside of her was jumping up and down. Her intuition was screaming at her that this man was someone of importance, someone who knew the things she did and who would be part of her life in a big way, but she was so nervous that she found her hands had started to tremble. She shakily rose to her feet.

  In a split second, two things happened: The first was that the man stopped and began to slowly turn in Elizabeth’s direction. And the second was that their eyes met for the first time.

  The moment they locked in on each other, Elizabeth perceived a powerful force. One that was so strong and overwhelming, she felt as though she had been knocked off her feet by a huge, roaring wave. Her hands still trembled, but deep inside, there was an abrupt stillness, and a sense of clarity washed over her.

  His eyes were so dark, so menacing, and yet so enchanting, and she knew, as she looked back at him, that her green eyes would be wide and engulfed by desire. Her nipples hardened a
nd her pussy throbbed, and she saw the way his clenched, squared-off jaw sagged a little and the breath caught in his throat.

  They stood there, at least ten feet apart, staring at each other, and every other sound seemed to disappear. The mania of the coffee house and the fair outside on the street blurred into nothing, and it was like they were the only two in existence.

  Elizabeth opened her mouth and sucked in a sharp breath. Their eyes still completely locked on each other’s and her heart raging away. The man’s eyebrows raised slightly, and a little smile flickered across his lips, but at the same time, she could see the apprehension within him. He was just as afraid as she was. Something big was happening, right there in the middle of the café, and it felt awe-inspiring and as if it were shaking the earth.

  Suddenly, a surge of customers seemed to bustle into the coffee house and they broke the moment between them. Elizabeth had no clue how long they had been staring at each other, how long this invisible force was pulling them into each other’s vision and keeping them there trapped like insects in a spider’s web, but once their gaze had been broken, the sound and chaos around them returned.

  Elizabeth gasped and dropped her mug, the hot cocoa spilling on the wooden floor as the porcelain smashed around her feet. A few people gasped, and an old lady said, “Oh dear”, as Elizabeth was moved slightly by a barrister and others rushed over to help.

  When she finally managed to get out of the throng, and she looked back to the counter where the man had been standing, her heart sagged as she realized he had gone.

  There was something in the air where he had been standing though. As if he had left a mark there. His energy burned and infused into the ground. She reached up and put her hand over her heart and felt the throb of her pulse beneath her skin. Next to her ear, she could feel a heat, like someone was whispering into her neck, and she felt a shiver roll up her spine.

  What had just happened to her?

  Who was he?

  She had come to see the Supernatural Fair, and something strange had happened right there in the coffee house.

  That man… He was going to be someone to her.

  She could feel it.

  3.

  Braxton stormed down Main Street, casting a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure that he wasn’t being followed.

  He had spent much of his life hidden away, and now, as he had come to the center of town to help protect it during the Supernatural Fair, something strange had happened to him the moment he had arrived.

  He moved out of the main part of town and darted down an alley where he leaned against the bricks of a building and closed his eyes. He lifted his head to the sky and let out a sharp breath, hoping the fire burning away inside of him wouldn’t demand to be set free.

  That girl!

  He had been shocked and completely taken off guard by her. He didn’t know who she was, or what she was… But he could feel her magic.

  He reached up and undid the top button of his polo shirt and ran a hand through his hair.

  He’d been told of things like this. He had been in love before, many years ago, but since his ex had broken his heart, he had sworn off relationships and kept himself away from the possibility. But he had still heard his family talk about the power of attraction and what could happen when one of their kind was finally in the presence of someone worthy. He hadn’t been expecting this, though… And today, of all days!

  He regained his composure and looked at his hands. They were no longer trembling like they had in the coffee house, but he still felt unnerved, like he could lose control at any minute.

  “Pull it together, man…,” he coached himself as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.

  Behind him, toward the center of town, he heard the noise becoming fuller and more prominent, and the music from a band started to play. There were trombones and trumpets, like a parade was drawing near, and he knew he couldn’t hide there forever. He had a job to do. He hadn’t come all the way there from the mountain just to hide away in an alley and hope his heart was taken.

  He shook his head and took a deep breath before heading back out onto Main Street and into the crowd. The music was getting louder by the second, and even though he wasn’t used to being around as many people as this, he knew he had the advantage and didn’t feel the need to shy away. He kept moving forward, knowing exactly where he was going and hoping the group of shifters he was looking for would still be there and he hadn’t missed the chance to meet with them on this first and very important day of the festival.

  The town was crawling with people dressed in bizarre costumes, and booths were lining either side of Main Street, selling peculiar items, books and DVD’s on the legends surrounding Bridge Hollow. The locals had gathered to sell their homemade wears. The atmosphere was festive and fun, but Braxton could also feel the dreaded undertone in knowing that, lurking somewhere beneath them, evil was prevalent and waiting.

  He pushed the thought out of his mind and turned away from the crowd. There were so many happy families, and so many children among them, there was no way he was going to let his home town succumb to something terrible. He was a protector with purpose, and he was thriving in the role.

  The familiar sign to Shifter’s Bliss came into view, and he smiled. He had memories of this place; however, they were from a long, long time ago. He and his dragon clan, once they had properly confined themselves to the mountain, had given up luxuries such as drinking in the local bars, but that wasn’t to say they didn’t have plenty of entertainment of their own.

  In a hurry, Brax moved to the door and threw it open wide. As he stepped inside and saw the familiar sight of all the old wood and smelled the liquor and smoke, he couldn’t help feeling as if he was, in a way, coming home.

  A man behind the bar caught his eye and nodded at him with a knowing smile. As he turned and looked to the booths dotted around the edge of the room, Brax saw other recognizable faces, and he knew then that he wasn’t too late.

  The bear and wolf packs of Bridge Hollow were still there waiting in Shifter’s Bliss, and he had arrived just in time to debrief and discuss the importance of what was about to happen.

  Behind him, he heard the door closing, and when he turned back to face the bar, Ryder, one of the main bears, smiled as he moved toward him with his hand outstretched in welcome.

  “Braxton,” Ryder said as their hands slipped into each other’s and they gripped in a firm shake. “It’s an honor to have you here.”

  Braxton smiled and nodded humbly, and then turned around to see the rest of the men all watching him intently and waiting for a greeting of their own.

  “Welcome back to town,” Anson said as he held out his hand.

  “It’s good to have a member of the dragons here to fight with us,” one of the wolves spoke up.

  Braxton looked from one to the next, taking it all in, and being genuinely thankful that he had friends and allies here, with all this animal energy and magic.

  They may have all been from different clans, but their ancient rivalries were long dead, and now, they had united to defeat the ultimate threat and keep their home safe.

  Bridge Hollow was their land. It was where they had all made their home, and where all their families lived and breathed. Now, they were going to have to make sure they pushed their differences aside so they could protect the place and everyone in it… Because they all knew what was at stake.

  “The gateway,” Braxton asked sternly as he looked back to Anson, “I heard it was you who secured it?”

  Anson had met a human girl and she had led him to his fate. Together, they had found some ancient scriptures and the secrets of the town, showing them where the veil between two worlds was weak and pierced. Where the supernatural could break through, and find them, and where the horror and danger had a bridge leading into their world.

  “Initially, yes,” Anson agreed. “But we all went back and made sure.”

  The other bears and wolves no
dded.

  Braxton had heard the tale already. Anson owned a building that housed a shop on Main Street. It had been in his family for generations, and when he had been there helping a new tenant get settled with her business, something strange had happened and he had discovered the truth. An old mine that had collapsed hundreds of years ago wasn’t hidden up on the mountain as they had all thought… It was right there in the center of Bridge Hollow… And it was a gateway between two dimensions, letting in evil and danger that could threaten them all.

  “We have it sealed,” Anson continued, “but with the arrival of the festival, I think we can all agree, something strange is happening. We can feel the energy in the air…. Evil is not contained.”

  Braxton nodded. He felt it deep in his bones and all around him.

  And now, for some reason, his mind kept wandering back to the girl in the coffee house. The one he had just seen and shared a strange experience with… And he wondered if his instincts, which had never failed him before, could be right yet again…

  She was important. She was magic.

  He licked his lips and crossed his arms over his chest.

  It was going to be a long night for all the shifters, and the week was only just beginning. Who knew what was going to happen by the time the fair had packed up and left town?

  4.

  When Elizabeth pushed the door to her mother’s cabin open, she instantly felt a rush of relaxation. She had grown up there, out in the woods and away from prying eyes. And since she had left a couple of years before, to start a home of her own, she had regularly made the trip across the hidden pathways of Bridge Hollow, through the evergreen trees and back to her mother’s magical cottage.

  She loved it there. It was a place like no other, and it wasn’t just because she had spent the majority of her life there; it was because there was something in the air around it. The two witches enhanced an enchanted magic, one that was growing with each day.