Dark War Chronicles Box Set One

by A. L. Kessler

  "Okay, now that's out of my system." He groaned and moved back under the spray, wishing it would be that easy to get her out of his mind as well.

  Coran pushed his way through the crowd, growling at every touch and grope he received from the people on the dance floor before reaching the bar. Kassity, the panther he worked with the night before, glared at him as he approached. "You're late."

  "Shut it, kitty, I'm not in the mood." He shoved past her. "What are you doing here anyways? It's your night off."

  "Can't a girl just come in and get a drink?" The red head asked, holding up her margarita with a grin.

  He shook his head. "You hate clubs."

  "The chick that showed up last night, do you know much about her?" She lifted her eyes to his.

  "No.” Coran shook his head. “I know she was mugged and came in here because she was scared. I bought her a drink to calm her nerves. That's it. Why?"

  She swirled her drink. "Remember when Jaxon came to town, and I was sent on a mission in order to find something?"

  "The stone." He nodded.

  Kassity took a gulp of her drink. "That's the girl it was sent to. I've been trying to keep track of her, but really all she does is go to work, school, and home."

  "That doesn't surprise me; she didn't seem like the club type." Coran rubbed his eyes. If the stone was involved then things could get complicated. "So you're here to see if she shows back up."

  "Yep, and if she doesn't then I'm going back to square one."

  "Which is what?"

  "Going back to her house and spying on her. I can't do anything since she's a normal, but Lucius is itching for me to kill her."

  Coran snarled. "Don't you dare add her to your meal plan." Kassity was known for eating people when she shifted to panther form. Lucius was constantly sending her out to use it to his advantage.

  "Oh, getting protective are we?" She laughed. "I won't eat her if I don't have to." She held her hands up.

  He grumbled under his breath and turned away from her. He hadn't planned on looking for the girl, but something told him he couldn't let Kassity near her. A pain spread in his chest as his beast paced beneath the surface, rising to the unspoken challenge.

  When Coran’s shift ended he wasted no time escaping the bar. Jumping into his truck, he leaned his head against the back of the seat and took a deep breath. He’d thought about Renee the whole evening. His wolf did nothing but pace inside him when the human came to mind and that alone was unsettling; normally the beast was the pillar of calm. Something about the human woman stood out to him and he wanted to see her again, despite everything.

  Voices made him look out his window and a group of males gathered on the sidewalk caught his attention. If Coran had been human, he wouldn’t have noticed anything different about them. Dressed in clubbing clothes, they could have just been out for a night on the town. It wasn’t unusual to see a group like them downtown, but the wind brought a scent through the cracked window. Shifters, ones he didn’t recognize. They took off running to the west and he started up the truck. Following the group, he parked to watch what their plans were when they approached a house party. Again, not something that was unusual downtown, but something ate inside Coran.

  Renee downed another drink from her housemate. Another whiskey down after an hour of drinking games made the room spin around her. Danielle laughed and grabbed Renee's wrist. "Okay birthday girl, I think you've had enough."

  Renee shook her head. "Nooo, I need more. Rum. Where is the rum?" She stood and tried to get to the kitchen, but Danielle held her back.

  "It's gone." Someone else in the house cried out.

  "Why is the rum always gone?" Renee asked, feigning a pirate voice. She giggled as she headed towards the kitchen, escaping Danielle's clutch. She searched through the bottles but froze when a person she didn't know passed on the other side of the counter. Swearing, she saw an animal waver behind him, just like she had with Coran at the bar. Then she blamed it on being stressed. Now she blamed it on being drunk. Placing her shot glass on the counter, she drew in a couple deep breaths and closed her eyes. When she opened them the room stopped spinning and the man with the shadow was no longer in the room.

  "You okay?" Danielle's voice made Renee jump.

  Nodding, she pulled away from her friend. "I just need some fresh air." She grinned.

  Danielle motioned to the door. "You know where the door is, use it."

  Renee stumbled outside and took a deep breath, closing her eyes again. The heat from the day still clung to the air and thoughts from the chase the night before returned to her. Footsteps still echoed in her head, reminding her of the men who chased her. Her eyes flew open when someone grabbed her wrist. Stumbling, her heart pounded as she shoved at the stranger, frantically slapping him with her other free hand, trying to get them to let go. Drinking made her more clumsy than normal, but she tried to pry the man’s hand off her. The world spun around her as she struggled with the stranger. The man's grip bruised her arm as he pulled her off her stumbling feet. Renee crashed to the ground, taking her attacker with her. He landed next to her with a yell and two other men came running. Her eyes widened when she could see the other forms — a wolf, a big cat of some sort, and a bear. A scream bubbled up in her throat, but one of the other men clapped a hand over her mouth. She tried to kick, but her alcohol-laden system moved too slowly to surprise him.

  "Shut it, you little bitch."

  An accent she couldn’t place tinged his voice. She thrashed against the man, her mind racing through the worse possible scenarios.

  Within a moment the man disappeared, yanked away from her. Renee glanced up, surprised filling her hazy brain when she recognized the hunky bartender. Coran held an attacker in the air by the shirt collar, a foot off the ground. She couldn't believe it; exactly what kind of bartender was this guy? Coran smirked at her and in that moment the image of the wolf flickered behind him, snarling. She swallowed and gave him a shy wave.

  He set the man down. "I suggest you run before I rip your head off."

  The man quickly nodded in agreement and he and his comrades took off. Coran turned back to Renee and held a hand out to her. "What was that all about?" he asked as he pulled her up. She stumbled into him. "Are you drunk?"

  "Beats hot milk and butter." She grinned before turning in the direction the attackers ran off in. "Those butt-faced miscreants."

  Coran laughed and put an arm around her trying to lead her back to the house. "That's a new one."

  Renee leaned into him, using him for balance. Here she was drunk and about to screw up a chance with the hot bartender...again. "I don't want to go back in there." Her mind flashed to all the images flickering behind people and tears formed in her eyes. She was tired of these forms reappearing. She swore that time of her life was over.

  "What? Why? It looks like a fun party." He turned to her and tilted her chin up to meet her eyes. "Are you crying?"

  She sniffled, trying to keep the little drops from falling. "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...gosh darn it! I'll leave if I want to."

  "I'm so going to be dead for this." He grumbled and picked her up, cradling her against his chest. "How drunk are you?"

  "You're only going to be mostly dead." She laid her head against his chest. "And I'm not as think as you drunk I am." She could feel his chest rumble with laughter as he started to walk away from the house. He tucked her into the passenger side of his truck, buckled her in and kissed her forehead.

  "To the bat cave," she muttered and pointed out the windshield.

  He got in on the other side, chuckling as he started the truck. "Something like that, sweetheart."

  "You're going to let that shifter walk off with your charge?" A male voice made Danielle turn around.

  She shrugged. "I know she's safe with him. It bothers me, but obviously we have other problems on our hands."

  "Like the fact that she was just attacked? You think you should report this?"

 
Protocol required a Hunter to report if anything changed in their assignment, but Danielle wasn't ready to report that the human she was assigned to had suddenly attracted a shifter and a pack of rogues. "Not yet. I don't want to get them worked up over nothing. It could just be a coincidence. "

  "You don't sound so sure of that." Her partner leaned against the door jam. "After a couple years finally something happens with this girl and you want to ignore it?"

  Dani glared back at him. "Look, I'm the Elite here, you follow my orders. We don't report this yet and we don't pursue it. There is something else going on here. I'll talk to her about her choice in men when she comes back tomorrow."

  "You think she'll come back?" He laughed. "Most women can't resist shifters."

  She snorted. "This is Renee, she’d rather have Mr. Darcy than a shifter who happens to be there when she's drunk. Besides, tomorrow she'll wake up embarrassed and come home."

  "You’re awefully confident about that." Her partner's voice made her doubt everything. She hated when the younger Hunter did that.

  She forced herself to nod. "I am, I've known her for years. She's not the type to fall head over heels with a man." Even she could hear the hesitation in her voice.

  "Weren't you given orders to follow her every move?" He chuckled. "Do you need me to help track her? She has no idea what I am so it would be easy."

  Dani shook her head and bit her fingernail. "That man is a shifter, an immortal one nonetheless. I've heard the local wolf pack talk about him. He'd know you were there in a heartbeat."

  "I wasn't aware there was an immortal in town."

  "And that's why you're a Skilled and I’m an Elite. Give her until tomorrow before you start following her around."

  He snorted. "I'm only six months away from graduating you know."

  "Then you should have realized that he was an immortal and that there is at least one in town." She shrugged and walked back into the house, determined to enjoy the rest of the party.

  Coran glanced at Renee's sleeping form as he pulled up to his townhome. Her hair stuck up in all sorts of places, pushed up by the glasses she’d placed on top of her head. Her loose-fitting shirt and ass hugging jeans were dirty and torn from the fall. He grumbled when he realized the loose shirt hid her wonderful curves. He couldn't believe he’d brought her here, but the circumstances of the night left him no choice. Two attacks within days of each other by supernatural creatures and she needed to remain innocent-despite the ongoing battle in his head about his attraction to her.

  He pulled her out of the truck cab and into his arms with ease and walked up the porch. Shouldering the door open he paused at the sight of his roommate, Orion, and a female playing chess at the kitchen table. Both of them froze and stared at Coran. Orion’s eyebrows jumped up in question, his gaze going from the woman in Coran's arms back to Coran's face. The woman started giggling.

  "Both of you, shut up." He snapped, moving further in and heading towards the stairs.

  Renee stirred in his arms and her eyes fluttered open. Coran gazed into her still-glazed eyes before she turned them to Orion and Tegan. Renee gave the two a little wave and a sleepy grin. “Hi, I’m Renee and I’m a little drunk right now.”

  “Okay, now is not the time for—”

  Renee cut Coran off. “And who are you? You’re quite a handsome man.” She reached a hand out for Orion. “Very handsome, and...” She titled her head to the side and then started giggling before laying her head against Coran’s chest again and falling asleep.

  Orion shook his head and turned back to Tegan. "Drink up, Princess, you're getting your ass kicked."

  Coran rolled his eyes and carried the sleeping Renee up the stairs and to his room on the left. Kicking the dirty laundry out of the way, he made his way to the bed. After laying her down he took a step back to study her. His wolf howled in his mind, wanting to comfort and protect the weak human on the bed. He fought to think of her just as a human and not be attracted to her. He couldn’t think straight with her so close and knew it was a stupid and rash decision to bring her here and put her in his bed. He reached out to stroke her cheek, but stopped himself. She turned to her side and snuggled into his bed, pulling the blankets around her as if to protect herself. Coran bit his lip as he wondered what this human would have to worry about that scared her enough to seek protection in blankets even in her dreams. He shook his head.

  "It doesn't matter, you’re not mine to worry about, nor mine to keep." He left, leaving the door cracked behind him to allow a thin stream of the hall light into the room.

  He clattered down the stairs and back into the dining room. "Tegan, what are you even doing here?"

  She didn't glance away from the chessboard. Her sunglasses covered her eyes, shading them from anyone who looked at her. "I got bored at Lucius' place and I was off tonight. Orion wanted a rematch."

  "No, Orion wanted to get you drunk and see if he could get you into bed." Coran glared at the Fae, who returned the look with a wolfish grin.

  Tegan shrugged and made her move. "He knows the consequences if it happens."

  "Glad you care so much for my testicles, Princess." As Orion glanced back to the board, his black hair seemed to shift to green and even now a faint shadow of wings moved behind him. The Fae Prince had been banished by the Queen of Blood and Darkness and now he worked for Lucius. The hint of wings was like looking between two worlds, real but not tangible.

  Tegan, on the other hand, was owned by the vampire and considered untouchable. Lucius ran the territory with a tight fist and controlled everyone within it. "Sorry Prince, you're the determined one."

  "Thousands of years without sex, and you don't complain?" Orion laughed and shook his head. "I don't believe it. I've seen how sex starved girls act in the strip club—" He paused to make his move on the board.

  Tegan blushed. "I've had sex within the last hundred years."

  "I don't want to hear this." Coran went to the fridge to get a beer. "In fact, why are we even talking about this?"

  "You gonna get laid tonight, bro?" Orion turned to Coran.

  Coran choked on his beer. "Are you kidding me, she's in a drunken sleep and she’s human."

  "Shame, at least one of us should get some tonight." Orion grumbled and turned back to study the game.

  A grin spread over Tegan's face as she moved her piece into place. "Checkmate."

  "Fuck." Orion downed his drink. "So what happens with her tomorrow?"

  Coran shrugged. "She's a normal, so act normal, don't mention anything supernatural. I'll make sure she's okay and then send her on her way." For the sake of his sanity he hoped it would be that easy, but with two attacks he doubted it.

  "Normal? It's not like you to bring a normal home. Or really anyone for that matter." Orion lifted his empty glass, his eyes moving back to Tegan. "I demand a rematch."

  Tegan rolled her eyes and began resetting her pieces. Coran pulled up a chair. "She was being attacked, some of them were shifters. I saw them making their way towards the party, so I followed them and they led me to Renee. I caught their scent on her when I picked her up. They aren’t any of our shifters."

  Both Tegan and Orion stared at him.

  "Yeah, that's my thought. I was too busy making sure she was okay so I couldn't catch one and interrogate." He glanced at Tegan. "Have there been problems with rouge shifters in the territory?"

  She took a moment to think then shook her head. "The newest shifter in our territory is Jaxon, Kassity’s mate."

  Coran knew that but was hoping for a different answer. "Interesting, shifters attacking a normal. I'll talk to her in the morning, discreetly, to see if she knows why she was attacked."

  "I'm betting she has no idea, and she's oblivious to anything supernatural." Orion said, moving a pawn forward.

  Tegan snorted. Her hand poised over her pieces, she contemplated a move. "I'm betting she knows something, but isn't willing to admit to it."

  "I'm betting you both are crazy and sh
e has nothing to do with whatever the shifters want." Coran grinned. "A night worth of tips? Tegan I assume you're ungrounded, which means you're back at work."

  She growled at him. "I don't get grounded, but yes, I'm free to come and go as I like from the property now. Deal, jackass."

  "I'm in." Orion stood and went to pour some another drink.

  Coran stood and stretched. "Then we'll find out who the winner is in the morning. I'm gonna crash, I have a feeling this human is a daytime creature."

  Tegan waved. "Night night pup."

  Coran gave a bark of laughter and went back up the stairs. When he entered the room, he watched the steady rise and fall of Renee's chest as she slept. He took a deep breath and smelled the sweet scent unique to her, not an artificial perfume. His cock strained against his jeans; sleeping in the bed with her was not an option. “Fuck, the floor it is then.”

  Chapter Three

  Renee rolled over and snuggled into a pillow, letting out a sigh of contentment. Thanks to the amount she drank, she’d slept like a rock. When her eyes landed on the dark forest green walls she knew something was wrong. She shot up in bed and blinked a few times. Oh no, oh no, oh no, where the hell am I? A noise drew her attention to a man sleeping on the floor. Her eyes swept over his form. Curled on his side, his rhythmic breathing told her he was sleeping. He faced the bed still dressed in wrinkled clothes. Panic rose in her as she studied him.

  She frowned when she recognized the messy reddish brown hair and muscular body. Coran...memories from the night flooded her mind and she blushed when she remembered quoting movie lines to him. Embarrassment swiftly took the place of panic. Rubbing her eyes, she got off the bed and tiptoed around the sleeping man, pausing only to see if she could still see a shadow of a wolf behind him. Lying at his back, also curled up sleeping was the shadow, its breathing in rhythm with Coran’s. She shook her head and continued out the door, then down the stairs.