Winter Tails: A Limited Edition Winter Shifters Collection

by Fox, Piper

  “What do you want, demon?” the other stated flatly.

  Beside her, Hasan bristled. The fact that the other had addressed him as ‘demon’ and not as ‘wolf’ meant that the other had acknowledged the slight affront. Tension built in the air.

  “I need to talk to the SX. I’m looking for a meeting with the Cabal leader.”

  A short bark was the other’s harsh laughter. “Not gonna happen.”

  “What about a courtesy pass into Shax’s castle?” Hasan asked the smaller man. “All we need to do is talk to the prince, if we can’t talk to the Cabal.”

  The man frowned. “Courtesy pass? Not for you.”

  “What do you mean?” she frowned.

  “I know you. I know all of y’all. There’s a ‘No-Pass’ order out for you and your friends. Meaning that your Demon Master gave you the axe, so it’s either stay out or be shot on sight.” He narrowed his eyes. “Which ya’ gonna take?”

  “Our situation with our old master isn’t anyone’s business, though. We just need to find our partner, make some amends, and keep it moving.”

  The other man cocked his head. “Yeah. But it ain’t that simple any more. You see, your friend, the one with all the tattoos?”

  ‘Drew,’ she thought.

  “He

  already went to the Hell Realm, and went chasing down the team of the murdered demon Jakeel. Genocide is one thing, and everyone knows he killed Jakeel, but he made the mistake of doing it on Shax’s territory.”

  Her eyes widened as she listened to the implication of the informant’s words. When Drew killed Jakeel, it had been on Shax’s territory. That’s why the SX Cabal had shown up on their doorstep. They had all been there in the park the night of the killing, which would mean that they had all been in violation of Pack rules.

  The slight shift in Hasan’s eyes told her that he hadn’t known it was Shax’s territory either. But he kept his expression neutral, dipped his head once, the customary shifter ‘good-bye’. Then he touched her hand gently.

  Together they walked away without another word. Once they were out of the forest, she shook her head. “Waste of time. We already knew that Drew was in crazy trouble, now we know that it’s worse than we thought.”

  Hasan met her eyes. “No. Now we know exactly what we’re facing. A turf war over blood spilled.”

  She frowned. “And that’s different how?”

  “Means a fight to the death for someone.”

  Immediately pissed, Kimone faced him. “I am so sick of you damn shifters-,”

  Words hung in the air as she found herself yanked back into the privacy of the alley. Hasan pressed her against the cold, slick wall, his lean form pinning her in place. “And I’m so sick of you fucking making a big deal of little things.”

  It was slightly erotic, she found. In an icy world, they were burning with hidden desires and repressed actions. Licking her lips as she met his eyes, she challenged, “Yeah? Like what?”

  “Like you being Drew’s ex-girl as the reason why we can’t fucking be together.”

  “Are you kidding me? You’re the one that went ghost on me after we were together. Explain that!”

  Thumping quickly, her heart worked overtime as hints of a smile played on his lips. He tilted his head slightly and leaned in.

  “You’re so damned stubborn and sexy,” he whispered against her lips, grazing them slightly.

  “Me?” she whispered back just as softly. His fingers slowly touched her face in response, thumb lingering on her cheek.

  Lips grazing hers again, Hasan closed his eyes briefly and she just watched him, wishing for a peek behind those icy eyes.

  If only….

  A snarl from behind made them both whirl.

  “Dammit.” Hasan’s muttered curse hung in the air between them and the two wolves that had suddenly appeared in the alley opening. With glistening silver-white coats, the snarling pair were undoubtedly members of the SX.

  Without warning, the animals leapt.

  The first landed on Hasan, who hadn’t had the chance to shift forms. Instead, the winter demon took the huge wolf head-on, twisting nimbly to avoid the enormous slashing teeth. The second wolf landed just in front of Kimone. It was as if he knew that she couldn’t fight his enormous mass. Instead, he stalked her slowly.

  “Back up,” she hissed, staring him down.

  The wolf’s eyes seemed to glint with menace. Of course, she’d forgotten to ask Hasan if the creatures could understand words when shifted, but in this case, it didn’t matter. Whether he’d gotten what she’d said or not, she was still in danger.

  But then, so was the shifter in front of her.

  ‘Cold or no cold,’ she thought menacingly, ‘you’ve pissed off the wrong fire demon, pup.’

  Letting out a stream of fire right into the shifter’s face, she felt a wave of satisfaction as he fell backward, whining pitifully. Then, he turned and raced away out of the alley.

  Immediately, her eyes flicked to Hasan, who stood over the still body of the second beast. The shifter wasn’t moving and with the amount of blood staining the snowy ground, she was certain that he wouldn’t be moving again.

  And then a massive weight barreled into her from behind, pitching her to the ground. A piercing pain ripped into her back as she could feel claws tearing at her skin. Snaps and snarls were at her ears, ringing loudly, as a vicious, attacking beast pinned her down. Around her, she could hear the sounds of another loud, frenzied fight happening a short distance away.

  The creature was mauling her, and it was all she could do to force her magic forward. A burst of flames erupted along her back, burning the creature. She heard the pained shriek, but it didn’t stop attacking.

  Calling the fire had taken most of her energy and the flames snuffed out almost as quickly as they had come forth.

  Darkness swam before her gaze and through the slits of her eyes, she could see Hasan’s wolf form fighting another beast.

  ‘Ambushed,’ she thought before passing out.

  Chapter 5

  Her eyes opened, instantly alert.

  Her mind was clear and she remembered everything about the shifter ambush on them. What she didn’t know was how she’d survived. Finally, her eyes fell on who she wanted to see.

  He leaned against his bedroom wall, and at that moment, she realized that they were back in his apartment. Obviously, he’d saved her life; she just didn’t know how or why.

  “How long was I out?” she asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

  “A few hours.” He tilted his head to the window, and she looked to see tiny slivers of moonlight peeking through the curtain. It was nighttime already.

  “How’d we get out of there?”

  His tone was gentle. “There was a second set of them waiting for us. I was able to down the one that came after me. The shifter on you ripped you up really bad before I could put him down.”

  She’d figured as much. “But I lived?” It was more of a question of how, but she knew he would get her meaning.

  For the first time since they’d reunited, Hasan looked nervous. His pale eyes shifted behind the glasses. “Yeah. It was a pretty bad attack. I…ah… had to mark you.”

  Brows drawing down, she asked, “Had to what?” By the way her stomach had clenched at the words, she knew she didn’t like the sound of it.

  “Mark. It was the only way that I could heal you, by tying your life force to mine. That way I could call you back from the death coma that you were slipping into. So,” his eyes shifted again, “we’re linked. Bonded.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “It sounds a lot like you are trying to avoid saying ‘mated’. Is that what you really mean?”

  A slow sigh slid from his lips. “You might call it that.”

  “Well, shit.” This day had not turned out anything like she’d expected. But as dismayed as she was to hear the news, the attraction that she had felt before for him had increased. A lot. Now, she could barely look at him without w
anting to drag him into the bed with her.

  A wave of lust rolled over her.

  Covers pulled back up, she burrowed down into the bed. Though thin, the sheets felt like heaven at the moment. Besides, the only place where she didn’t hurt was the side pressed into the sheets. Shifters, as far as she knew, didn’t usually leave victims alive, so that was something.

  She was alive, now with a mate.

  Her senses began to alert even before she felt the bed dip under the extra weight. Heat drove through her and her breath caught, a moment before Hasan joined her under the covers.

  “Okay?” he asked, his voice still the gentle one that he used earlier.

  She gave a bare nod. Letting her eyes flutter closed, she felt her heart try to thump its way out of her chest. Then without opening her eyes, she murmured, “How many people have you marked?”

  “Just one,” came his quiet answer.

  ‘Me. Ok.’

  Mesmerized by the implication of his words, she slowly opened her eyes and met his. She just gazed at him, taking in the deep way he was looking at her. Then, almost too slowly, Hasan closed the two inches between them and pressed his lips to hers. Or maybe it was her that leaned in those last two inches, but they were kissing. She and Hasan.

  Kissing like as if they were in the last hour on Earth and it was the last kiss they would ever have.

  Gentle at first, his lips grew more insistent. Time seemed to stop as her eyes slipped closed again, and as his breathing sped up to match hers.

  “Don’t fight it,” he whispered.

  Her breath hitched in her chest because she wanted to fight it…wanted to push him away….wanted to go back to her lonely, miserable life of hooking up with dead-end losers that didn’t make her love the way he did.

  “Why?” she whispered back.

  “Because you were worth saving. Because I needed to. Because.” His lips closed over hers again, swallowing any other protests she might have had.

  When they finally parted, their eyes met and held for several moments. Her stomach tightened to see a myriad of emotions flickering in his gaze, and they matched the emotions that she was feeling as well.

  “Get some rest,” he told her. “Later we’re going to visit Shax.”

  * * *

  “Dress warm.”

  She flicked her eyes to Hasan’s retreating form as he bent over his phone. “Why?” she asked, eyes on him.

  “Winter wolves bring the cold,” he said simply.

  A quick glance over his lean form made her raise one brow. Last night, she’d gotten a very close-up look at that body, and as enjoyable as it had been, she knew that he wasn’t packing any extra fat.

  “And you?” she asked, pointedly staring at the thin T-shirt and jeans he wore. “You’re not going to dress warmly?”

  “Don’t need to. The lopu inside keeps me warm.”

  “Oh.” Shrugging, she turned back to strapping several knives to her belt.

  Hasan crossed the room in two steps, and swept her into an embrace. “I want you,” he muttered before dragging his lips along her neck in a passionate nuzzle. Their lips met fervently, and she felt the warmth of his lopu warming her front as they were pressed together.

  “Later,” she whispered reluctantly, though ‘later’ was the last thing she wanted. If she could have him now, and to hell with shifter politics, she would.

  ‘Drew,’ she thought, and so she pushed Hasan away. “We have to hurry, right?”

  The expression that crossed his face was one of resigned frustration, before he slid the calm mask back into place. “Right. Let’s move. The sooner we get there, the better chance of getting the upper hand we’ll have.”

  Chapter 6

  “Tell me again why we’re in the territory of a competing demon?”

  Hasan’s eyes narrowed behind the dark frame of his glasses. It made him look sly, but Kimone wasn’t in the mood to gawk. In a few seconds, Shax’s foot soldiers would be all over them and before that, they needed to get a few things straight.

  “First of all, we don’t belong to Tevit anymore, so Shax isn’t technically our enemy. Second, Drew went to confront the SX Cabal….those are Shax’s folks. There’s no way we can waltz in there without Shax’s permission.”

  They were currently crouched at the edges of the forest. Even a non-shifter like herself could feel the ring of pulsating power separating the shifter territory from the rest of the world.

  A sigh slipped her lips. “Yeah, yeah. Got it. I don’t need another lecture on the Pack politics.”

  As one, they stepped forward into Pack territory. Dread twisted through her gut at the sight of the frozen interior. The air was bitter-cold. Icicles hung from every surface, and layers of frost covered everything.

  Her hands absently ran up and down her arms, as if trying to warm herself. “They really take winter to a new extreme.”

  A hard shiver ripped through her body, but she forced herself to ignore it. Hasan’s hand grazed the small of her back just so gently, a whisper of a touch. “Let’s keep moving. Drew will be here somewhere.”

  Suddenly struck by the very intimate moment, Kimone threw caution to the wind and leaned into Hasan. Their lips met in a desperate kiss.

  It was exhilarating, their making out in the midst of enemy territory.

  “Let’s go,” she murmured as they broke apart.

  Not far down the road, they found a river embankment off to one side. At least, there used to be a river, but now the water was frozen solid. What remained was the icy expanse of the river. Hasan noticed the trench first.

  “Hey,” he nudged her, “wait.” Moving stealthily over to the trench, he peered over the edge. Noticing a scar cut in the side of the embankment just below where he stood, he jumped down into the frozen soil of the riverbed and whistled.

  “Look at this. We could hide here for a while,” he murmured, more to himself than to her. In the side of the embankment, the scar was deep and tall, running about ten feet horizontally. It was floored with the same frozen soil as the riverbed, and what stood in front of Hasan, was a comfortable hiding spot for two fugitives on the run.

  Then as she watched, his nostrils twitched and his head snapped up sharply, scenting the air.

  “Kimone, come down and look.”

  At the urgency in his tone, she jumped into the frozen riverbed to join him. There, below the white forest was a large mansion. By the bad energy surrounding the home, she immediately knew that the mansion belonged to Shax.

  But it wasn’t just the mansion that had caught Hasan’s attention; it was the fallen bodies of several wolves scattered about the field. Even worse, was the appearance of a sleek figure slinking along the patio of the home.

  A lone wolf stalked the deck, blood staining his coat. Not as big as Hasan’s wolf form, the wolf was a silvery-gray with black-tipped paws. As the big head lifted in her direction, Kimone recognized the dark eyes immediately.

  It was Drew.

  But though she recognized her friend, there was something else about him that felt off: an air of madness. He wasn’t exactly the Drew that she knew.

  As if picking up a scent, Drew lifted his head and loped inside the mansion. From her vantage point, she saw several pale forms rise from where they’d been hidden in the field and race after Drew.

  More wolves.

  Warm breath at her ear told her that Hasan had moved closer. “He’s shifted into the lopu under a blood debt. It’s not good, means he’s out of control. I’ll have to take him down, or he could turn on us. Once I get Drew down, I’ll deal with the others. You get him out of here.”

  Both leaping from the riverbed to the long drop below, they landed in several feet of snow, but kept moving. Time was of the essence for their friend’s survival.

  ‘No time for weakness,’ she reminded herself as she raced across the field towards the large mansion.

  One after the other, they raced onto the patio and entered through the open door.

/>   “If luck is on our side, we’ll find him, grab him, and get the hell out of here without any trouble.” She could only hope.

  But that wasn’t in their cards, because as they rounded a corner into yet another hallway, a pair of the wolves appeared at the opposite end of the hall. One of the creatures threw back its head and bayed loudly, the sound bouncing off of the stone wall.

  Hasan swore, yanking her off her feet with one sudden move as yet another wolf hurtled through the air, as if leaping from the thin air, and landed just where she had been standing. Adrenaline slammed into her veins. She hit the ground with a thud, but instantly shot a blast of fire from her fingertips at the snarling creature. Next to her, Hasan was actually fighting with the second wolf, one on one. Apparently, it had charged him as he’d pushed her aside, and now the beast was on him, both of them engaged in a deadly dance of ferocious teeth and demon wiles.

  She whipped her head around to the last creature. Here was another one, one more problem. The last wolf, the one who had been advancing silently. Their eyes locked and in the creature’s feral eyes, she saw something that scared her: there was intelligence in its gaze.

  It was time to move.

  Painfully pushing herself up, she used her demon strength to rip the wolf pinning Hasan down, off of him and into the third beast. Both wolves collided and slid at least twenty feet back down the hall.

  “Hasan! We need to find Drew and get the hell out of here,” she said urgently. Already getting to his feet, Hasan nodded quickly.

  “I know,” he said, just a mere second before the loud baying of at least ten more beasts filled the corridor. It sounded as if they were right on the other side of that corridor, and she felt sick to her stomach.

  Just then, the silvery-gray wolf entered the lobby, nose to the floor sniffing. Head snapping up, he gazed at them and let out a long howl. Jagged flesh and torn sinew at his side showed that he was badly injured.