20 Shades of Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Collection

by Demelza Carlton

  Irritating diplomats! His people’s only means of survival was at risk. Could he convince the stubborn Confederation that Zalarians would die if he didn’t break through the cell? Highly doubtful.

  The Confederation would have insisted he try a more peaceful approach.

  He sighed heavily. All he could do was wait.

  Minutes turned into hours.

  His roommates dozed or paced back and forth in the cell except for the tough guy, who held his wrist to his chest. Anonghos didn’t feel sorry for him. He was a jerk-off and, from the shiny bruise on one of the red blurry-eyed men, Anonghos assumed he’d been one of his victims.

  He remained seated, trying to be patient, but failed miserably. He bounced his leg incessantly, drawing the scowl of the wounded man, who was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

  Anonghos couldn’t stop worrying about Agnes and Daidhl. If someone didn’t let him out of here soon, he’d be doing a lot of explaining to the Confederation.

  Footsteps echoed across the tile floor. He held his breath as he moved his leg a mile-a-minute. A guard unlocked the door. “Anonghos?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Come with me.”

  He exhaled slowly. The others looked up and murmured. He thought he heard the word interrogation.

  Hope soared inside him that Agnes would be waiting for him. He hurried over to the guard.

  “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

  Anonghos obeyed, letting the puny handcuffs be clamped onto his wrists. The guard led him away from the depressing cell and his derelict roommates.

  He was escorted to a small room with a table and a few chairs.

  He unlocked Anonghos’s handcuffs.

  “Sit in the chair.”

  Anonghos complied dutifully. The guard re-chained one of his wrists to a large metal hoop drilled into the table that he could easily break and blow his cover, but he played the good prisoner.

  “Detective Malloy will be with you shortly.” He quietly exited, leaving Anonghos alone.

  She was coming. His knee jumped up and down repeatedly, smacking the table. He wished he had a free hand to put on his knee to steady it, because his knee had a mind of its own.

  Stay calm. Stay calm.

  He gazed at a gigantic, dark window that covered one wall. With his dragon eyes, he could see that it wasn’t a window, but a one-way mirror. Men were behind the mirror, but unfortunately, his curvy mate wasn’t with them.

  The door opened. Any hope that she would listen to him vanished. Her angry face would have frozen Zalara.

  She shut the door and slid in the chair across from him. She had dark circles underneath her angry eyes, as if like him, she’d hadn’t slept.

  “There’s been another murder.”

  “When? Where?”

  “Downtown. Outside the movie theater. She was on her way home after watching a movie with her friends. Throat slit, nearly decapitating her just like the last one. Her tongue was cut out of her mouth, and she’s missing her liver. Care to speculate?”

  He grimaced. “Bastard.”

  “I want you to listen to me very carefully. I’m the lead investigator on this case, and I want answers.” She stood and leaned across the table. “Tell me about your partner.”

  He needed her to trust him. “I don’t have a partner,” he said softly. “I’m not a murderer.”

  He caught a whiff of her feminine scent that inflamed his need to mate with her. He struggled to concentrate on what she was saying and fought against the ancient urges to take a mate. Her finger brushed against his, and another shock zapped through his blood stream, teasing his dragon. An image formed in his mind of her running her smooth hand over his tense muscles.

  She snatched back her hand and rubbed it as if it hurt, but luckily there wasn’t a blemish on it.

  “I want answers.”

  Her serious tone immediately reminded of him as Taog, who was fiercely protective of his crew and ship. Anyone stalking his crew would have find themselves facing a fierce enemy.

  Agnes was no different. She wanted to save those women.

  The door opened. A tall woman with curly brown hair wearing a blue suit and holding a briefcase entered. Her heels clicked across the floor.

  Agnes groaned, as if her worst enemy had entered the room.

  “Interrogation’s over, Agnes. I want to have time alone with my client.”

  “Hi, Kathy. How’s it going?”

  “Same as always, but enough with the pleasantries. If you’ll excuse us…Unless, of course, you plan on charging him.”

  Agnes didn’t look at her, but flashed him a scowl that burned up his soul. “No. We don’t have enough evidence…yet.” She folded her arms and smiled at Kathy. “But you already knew this, didn’t you?”

  Kathy winked. “Of course.”

  Anonghos stiffened. “I’m telling you I didn’t do it.”

  “Not another word.” Kathy put her brief case on the table, then opened it. “Do you mind, Agnes?”

  She motioned with her hand. “He’s all yours.”

  Once again, her spicy feminine scent teased his dragon. He wanted to grab her delicate hand and suck every slender finger until she was panting for more. He drew on his self-control, shoving his passion back. His whole body shook. Damn it. His mating instincts were growing stronger every time he was near Agnes.

  Remember the mission.

  She quietly opened the door and left.

  “Kathy Strong.” The dark-haired woman handed him a small card. “You didn’t admit to anything, did you?”

  Anonghos shook his head. “No. I didn’t do anything.”

  “Good, then based on their flimsy case, I should be able to get you out in less than two hours.” Concern filled her eyes. “Are you all right? Your face is ashen, and you’re sweating.”

  “I’m fine,” he lied.

  “Don’t worry,” she said, obviously not believing him. “Everything will be fine.”

  Kathy Strong had no idea how wrong she was, but she was damn good. She actually got him released in an hour and a half. He walked out of the police station a free man with the stipulation he stay away from Detective Malloy. A stipulation he definitely planned to break.

  Chapter 4

  Kill. Kill. Kill.

  The woman, Laura Nybo, came out of the yoga studio––her face glistened with a shine, her top hung loosely over shoulders, and her pants hugged defined legs. Her red hair was clipped into a neat bun, and she had a yellow scarf around her neck. She slipped into her car. Attractive, but she was a human, and a designated mate for one of those Zalarians.

  Today she would die.

  The Kamtrinians wanted all of the designated mates wiped out, so the Zalarians would die. But they weren’t the only ones who wanted the humans dead. One of his own kind had been murdered by mere humans. Revenge would be his––sweet and savage.

  He started the motorcycle and grinned at the sound–a dragon’s growl. The name of every mate, their address, and how they would perish were engraved on his black heart. He licked his lips, and shuddered with anticipation of listening to their screams. But tonight would be Laura. Would she gasp, scream, shriek, or freeze? The guesses nearly drove him to attack now.

  But he was patient. He could wait.

  Laura parked her car in front of her building, then headed to her apartment, which was on the fourth floor. A security guard was in the front of lobby, and the door was locked. She probably felt safe, but he’d no intention of going through the front door.

  No, he’d be waiting for her.

  He carefully parked his precious blue motorcycle away from other cars. If anyone nicked it, they’d wished they’d never been born. He walked over to a nearby tree, spread his arms wide, then closed his eyes, drawing on his power. His body tingled. He dropped his arms and changed into a dragon, his bones crunching, and his muscles stretching and constricting. Wings flared out, and smoke puffed out of his nostrils.

 
; He easily flew up to the balcony and waited for his prey.

  From the balcony he could see through the living room to the bedroom. Keys jingled, and he smiled. Laura quickly shut the door, then locked it. She tossed her keys onto a dusty coffee table. She entered the bedroom where clothes, books, and magazines were scattered across the floor. Blankets sat crumpled on the bed. She shut another a door that he suspected led to a bathroom.

  He grabbed the handle and pulled. The glass door was locked, but that wasn’t a problem. He drew on his dragon strength, then yanked. A crack ran up and down the lock, then the glass shattered into the shape of a sparkling star. He easily walked through it, and shards flew across the carpet.

  “Oh, shit!” Laura raced out of the room, only wearing a bath robe. She wrinkled her nose. “What’s that smell?”

  “You’ll pay for that remark.”

  She stopped and took a couple steps back. The terror in her eyes made him moan in greedy expectation. He inhaled. Her fear smelled like dead crumpled leaves.

  Her eyes widened. “Who are you? How did you get in here?”

  He gestured with his arm. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  Rather than cowering with terror, she glared. “Get out, or I’ll scream.”

  “No, you won’t.” He pulled out his machete, then rushed her, ready to slice her throat.

  He expected her to run, but she swung. His blade sliced through her arm, blood squirting into the room. She screamed. He punched her in the throat, immediately silencing her annoying shriek. Tears welled in her terrified eyes, but she didn’t turn tail and run. She kneed him in the groin.

  He snarled, then raised the blade. He swung.

  She held up her palms. The blade easily cut through her flesh. Blood gushed from the wounds onto her fluffy white bathrobe, then onto the floor. She staggered, lowering her hands for a fraction of second before the blade slashed across her throat.

  He slashed again, cutting her throat. She collapsed onto the floor, dead.

  Killing her wasn’t enough. He wanted terror.

  He wiped the drenched blade onto her robe, then lay it across her gut. He lifted her left arm and placed it across her left breast. He spread her legs wide and bent her knees so her bare feet were resting on the ground.

  A message needed to be sent to the Zalarians that mating with these women would not ensure their survival. He’d murder their mates one-by-one.

  He picked up the blade, and in a few quick cuts, removed her womb. He turned her head so she could watch him leave. He wrapped her womb up in a towel from her kitchen.

  Drawing on his power, he turned invisible to wait for the person who would find Laura so he could feed on their horror.

  Chapter 5

  In the last few days, Agnes Malloy had only slept for five hours. Weariness spilled into every muscle, turning her legs and arms into led. Her gut twisted into a half a dozen knots. She rubbed the bridge between her tired eyes, trying to stay focused. Her body needed sleep, but she didn’t have that luxury––not with a blood-thirsty killer on the loose. How could she grab a couple of z’s with two grisly murders?

  Not only did she have a murderer to catch, but she had a stalker. Or at least she thought she did. Anonghos had been released a couple of days ago, and she’d swore she saw him in the police parking lot lurking in the shadows and at a fast food diner that her and Tom had wolfed down greasy hamburgers and fries.

  But when she approached him, he’d vanished. She couldn’t vouch it was him. Without definite proof, she was dead in the water.

  She sat in the conference room with Tom and Captain Morgan, going over the autopsy and witness reports. The glaring and buzzing overhead light hurt her eyes, the constant noise driving her nuts.

  She examined her hand again for the thirteenth time. When she brushed up against Anonghos, a shock had zapped her. The shock had actually burned, but there wasn’t the slightest mark. He must have felt the same sensation too, because he’d jolted back.

  But it was the images of dragons, spaceships, stars, and a dark gaseous cloud flashing in her mind that bothered her, making her think she was losing her mind. Sometimes when she touched people she’d get a glimpse of their life, which always gave her a clue about them–especially suspects. The visions of their childhood or friends gave her a place to start building a case and finding evidence.

  But those peeks had always been real.

  With Anonghos, she saw a flock of dragons flying past two suns. No way was that real. Her lack of sleep was playing tricks on her, or maybe she’d seen one too many Lord of the Ring movies.

  She tossed a paper down on the table. “These add up to zip.”

  Tom put down a report and sneered. “Your instincts not working?”

  Agnes gritted her teeth. She was too tired to battle with him. Thanks to Frank, she was constantly having to prove that she was a good, investigative cop and not relaying on unworldly abilities to solve cases.

  “No.” She leaned her head back on the chair and stared up at the ceiling, trying to block the strange images from racing through her mind. This was ridiculous. What was it about Anonghos?

  Detective Matt Hill entered the conference room, holding a report in his hand. “Like you requested, Captain, I ran a super fast DNA test on Anonghos’s fingerprints.” He had a puzzled look on his face. “I have had suspects’ fingerprints not be recognizable due to severe burns or injury or old age or manual labor or even taking certain medications, but I’ve never seen anything like this. He must have had worn some kind of invisible barrier on his fingertips that fooled the computers.”

  “Why?” Tom demanded. He ripped the paper out of Matt’s hand and scanned the report. “I’ll be damned.”

  His voice turned low, and the blood drained from his face.

  The Captain looked between Matt and Tom. “One of you better tell me what the report says.”

  Tingles slid up Agnes’s spine, and she shivered. She knew what they were going to say. She didn’t want to hear it, didn’t want to see it, didn’t want to believe it.

  Tom and Matt glanced warily at each other, but then Matt blurted, “It wasn’t human.”

  Crap! Agnes broke out in a sleek sweat. For once, her ability had to be wrong. It had to be.

  The Captain raised his eyebrow. “Excuse me? What do you mean the print aren’t human?”

  Matt shrugged. “I’m not sure exactly, Captain. All I can say is that the criminal database must be on the fritz.”

  “What the devil did it say?” The captain’s voice rose two octaves, which was never good. “The mayor’s furious and the press is breathing down my neck, saying we’ve got a serial killer.”

  Tom slowly handed the report to the captain. “The report says reptilian.”

  Agnes shuddered. All she could think about was the dragon image that kept rolling over her mind––a black dragon with a green stripe that ran from the tip of its nose down to its tail, to be exact.

  “This is ridiculous.” Tom ran his hand through his hair, making strands stand straight up.

  “What does it mean,” the captain snapped.

  Matt shrugged. “It means the computer could only recognize reptilian as not human, but the database couldn’t recognize the specific species.”

  Tom scowled. “You’re making it sound like his prints are from outer space. That’s ridiculous.”

  “Run it again,” the captain growled. “I want to know who the hell this guy is before another a woman is murdered.”

  Based on her ability, Agnes couldn’t believe Anonghos was a murderer. He definitely wasn’t innocent, but he such as hell wasn’t a killer. However, the captain wanted facts. Facts she didn’t have.

  Tom sighed and put the paper on the table. “We should have put a tail on Anonghos. He might lead us to the unsub.” He gave Agnes a cool look. “Or at least we’d catch him trying to slice his next victim’s throat.”

  Agnes rolled her eyes, but kept her mouth zipped. Ever since Frank went to Quantico,
Tom insisted that they use the term unsub for unknown subject.

  The captain shook his head. “Kathy would have my balls for breakfast. She’ll accuse us of harassment and violating her client’s rights. We need more to go on.” Both he and Tom had been friends until they both took the police captain exam. Tom had failed the orals, while the captain had passed with flying colors.

  Agnes was too tired to play peacemaker between the two. “As long as we’re doing things by the book, Kathy won’t come down on us.”

  “I know she’s your friend,” the captain said, “but she can be a real pain-in-the-ass.”

  As long as Agnes had known her, Kathy was always the champion for the underdog, and she was a pit bull if she thought there was an injustice. In kindergarten, Agnes had been her first client. Not wanting to argue with her scowling captain, she asked, “Is it true the mayor is wanting a task force?”

  “Women are calling him terrified, and the damn press is saying Arvada has a serial killer.”

  “Maybe we do.” Agnes’s stomach flipped over as she glanced at the bloody crime photos. No one should have to die such a violent death.

  The captain glared. “It’s imperative you don’t rattle that off to the press.”

  “I’m not a rookie, Captain. I know the proper protocol. It’s just so damn frustrating, because we don’t have any leads. No fingerprints. No fibers. No hairs. Nothing that will lead us to the unsub.”

  “We do know something,” Tom said gravely. “He’s not going to stop. We can warn women to lock their doors, to be aware of their surroundings, and not go anywhere by themselves at night, especially walk to their cars alone.”

  “We don’t know for sure,” the captain said, “but I’m afraid you’re right.”

  Agnes’s heart hurt. She knew without a doubt there would be another murder. Maybe tonight.

  Anonghos was the key to the mystery. She had to find him. There was something different about him. He might not be the killer, but he knew something. He was holding crucial details back. “I’d like to ask Anonghos a few more questions.”

  “How?” Tom raised his hands. “We don’t even know where he lives. The address he gave us was a phony one.”