Only After Dark The Boxed Set Books 1 - 4: Shifters Forever Worlds (18 page)

R
eese stared
at Alexa’s departing back. A luscious ass attached to a lovely set of hips, on a rampage down the stairs as quickly as she could, acting as if the house were on fire.

He followed her downstairs, hoping she wasn’t going to kill the blonde he’d seen attached to Lézare’s arm, since Lézare seemed genuinely fond of the woman.

He couldn’t even say he was surprised by Alexa’s actions. This was the woman he’d always known she was, even though all he had were dreams of a tigress. She was passionate and loyal and quick to leap to the defense of those she loved.

Alexa reached the bottom of the stairs. “Maylene!”

Maylene was carrying a tray toward the kitchen. She paused and studied Alexa’s face, but didn’t say a word.

“Tell me it’s not true.”

Maylene nodded. “It is.”

“B—bu—but…” She stomped her foot, grinding her heel into the carpeting. “How dare he? How…”

“Lower your voice. The baby’s asleep. I’ve just taken his little momma some brunch.”

Alexa harrumphed. “Where’s Lézare?”

“He’s looking for Evie and Mr. Martinez. They haven’t been seen since yesterday morning.”

“What? He’s gone?”

Reese spied Rory walking in the front door and waved him over. “Where’s Mason? And Evie Arceneaux?”

Rory shrugged. “Where have you been?”

He glanced at Alexa, who stood there, a frown on her face, anger turning to concern.

Rory opened his mouth in an
O.
“Really?”

Reese nodded.

Oh, boy,
Rory mouthed then shook his head.

“Does Lézare think something’s wrong with Evie?”

“All’s I know is he and Ms. Natalya left for New Orleans. He said to go ahead with the brunch if you wanted.”

“If I wanted?” Alexa turned to Reese. “Maybe we should help him find Evie?”

Reese nodded. “Sure.” He turned to Rory. “You want to take care of things at home while I head to New Orleans?”

So much for the underground fighting ring, but right now, finding Alexa’s sister is more important.

Though he did wonder if this was some sort of sulking histrionic on Evie’s part. He’d overheard several conversations between the Tiero tigresses the night before.

A sound caught Reese’s attention.

Rory raised his head—he heard it. too.

Then Alexa.

“A car’s approaching! It’s probably Lézare with Evie.” Alexa’s voice had a hopeful note.

Let’s hope.

Reese could then grab his newly bonded mate and go to Houston for some quality, drama-free time.

Reese followed behind Alexa, his brother Rory next to him.

“Interesting weekend,” Rory said.

“I’ll say.”
You have no idea, little bro.
And with any luck, no one would ever find out all that had transpired.

A red little sports car pulled up.

“Valencia!” Alexa squealed her sister’s name.

For fuck’s sake, it’s about time,
Reese thought.

A curvy redhead stepped out of the tiny car. More like she ejected herself with the speed of a fireball.

“Alexa!” The newcomer flashed even white teeth, and jumped to the first marble step.

She froze. Looked at Reese, her mouth dropping open. Then her gaze flew to Rory. A gasp, nostrils flaring, eyes dilating—

She shut down as if someone had disconnected her from a power source.

Totally off. No emotion. Nothing.

Reese glanced at Rory. Was it him she’d reacted to?

Why?

Rory’s eyes narrowed to slits.

Reese could sense his brother’s pulse had quickened.

“Hey.” Reese nudged Rory with his elbow. “You know her?”

“Who?” Rory slipped his sunglasses on.

A
lexa contained
her fury with her sister. Valencia was here! And in one piece.

At least one thing is going right, because the shit’s hit the fan where Lézare’s concerned. And now Evie’s run off…

Valencia lifted one suede booted foot, then stopped midair. A tiny gasp escaped lips that were fuller than Alexa’s. Eyes a darker green than Evie’s widened.

Valencia swayed the tiniest bit. Alexa put a steadying hand on her sister’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

Valencia glanced away. “Nothing.”

“Something,” Alexa countered.

But Valencia wouldn’t raise her gaze from the ground. “No. But I need to go.”

“Go?” Alexa squeezed her shoulder. “You just got here.”

Alexa turned to Reese. Maybe he could provide reinforcements, help, something, somehow.

Reese was staring at his brother.

Rory had gone pale, sunglasses hiding his eyes but his stare was fixed in Valencia’s direction.

“Valencia. I want you to meet Reese. He’s…”

God, am I really going to break the news like this?

Then again, isn’t that more or less what Lézare did? Nothing formal, he simply did what made him happy, and she had to hear it from others.

Maybe we’re more alike than I thought.

She smiled at her mate. “Reese.”

He turned his attention away from Rory and took a step in her direction.

“I want you to meet my sister.” Alexa turned toward Valencia.

Except Valencia wasn’t there anymore. She was in her car and the engine had roared to life.

What the hell?

She peeled out.

“What was that all about?” Reese asked.

“I don’t have the foggiest.”

Rory stepped forward. “She’s your sister?”

Alexa nodded, ripping her cell from her pocket, she pressed Valencia’s picture.

Straight to voicemail.

She’d never have pull that shit if Lézare were here.

The front door opened, Maylene stepped out, pausing at the top of the stairs.

“I thought Valencia was here.”

“She was.”

Reese put his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

“My family’s a hot mess.”

He placed his lips on her temple, his breath teasing the tiny wisps on her hairline. “We should go to New Orleans. Help Lézare look for Evie.”

Valencia could wait.

Though Alexa was beginning to wonder which of her sisters was more dramatic.

A
lexa nuzzled closer
to Reese while he drove. They were headed to the city to look for Evie.

New Orleans.

She wondered if there was any need. What if Evie and Mason had made up. Okay that didn’t seem likely, not with the sparks that flew between them, though their attraction was undeniable.

She tried for the fourth time to get in touch with Valencia.

One ring.

Two rings.

“Hello.”

Oh my God.

Valencia picked up.

“Hey.” Alexa tried to keep her tone casual. “What happened?”

“I had to go. I remembered something.”

“Are you sure?” She didn’t want to flat out call her sister a liar, but she’d known her all her life. She could tell when Valencia was lying.

Valencia was silent on the other side of the line.

Alexa wasn’t sure if the road noise she heard was from Valencia’s end or the fact she and Reese were in a moving car.

“Are you coming back to Arceneaux Point? We’re heading to New Orleans.”

She wasn’t sure if she should tell Valencia that Evie was missing, since it could be that there was no cause for concern anyway.

“Probably. Later.” Then, “Maybe.”

That’s no answer.

Alexa bit her tongue. It would be pointless to rant at this stage. She could tell from Valencia’s tone that she wasn’t interested in discussing the matter anymore at the moment.

“I need to go, sis.”

“Okay. Call me later?” She waited for Valencia to answer, but the phone indicated the call had ended.

Tearing his eyes from the road, Reese gave her a sideways glance. “All okay with your sister?”

Alexa shrugged. “I haven’t seen as much of her in a while. Maybe it’s been a couple of years. It’s like she’s deliberately pulling away. She didn’t stay long at Escape Weekend last year. Only came in for the ball. Actually, I didn’t see her at all during the entire ball.”

“What do you think is going on with her?”

“I don’t know, but if I can get her back to Arceneaux Point, I’m going to corner her and grill the answer out of her.”

“Do you think Lézare will be okay with you moving to Houston?”

“Are you asking me to?”

He squeezed her hand. “I’m asking you to never be away from me. Ever.”

That was one request she would honor.

S
ome histories should stay buried
. Some are too combustible!

One glance. That’s all it took. Wolf shifter Rory Nielsen, Reese’s twin brother doesn’t get involved in affairs of the heart. He has an enterprise to grow and a territory to protect. He’s all business.

So why is he at the Arceneaux home? He’s attending the Masquerade Ball at the request of his brother, but reluctantly so because no one’s at home to manage the stronghold. He’s itching to get home. The only thing on his mind is getting back.

—Until a car pulls up and curvy redhead Valencia steps out.

The attraction is—

Combustible.

Valencia Arceneaux is Lézare’s free-spirited sister. She’s a white tigress shifter with a mind of her own, the one who always marches to a beat of her own creation, the hell with shifter society’s expectations, the hell with her brother Lézare’s.

She attracts men like sugar attracts ants. She doesn’t fall in love.

Except…

She’s late to the ball. She’s ready to face her brother’s wrath because attendance is expected.

Ha. As if expectations ever mattered to Valencia.

She gets out of her car, ready to face Lézare and instead sees this wolf shifter.

Hunky, handsome, and fierce. But they have history. A history that’s best left buried.

Her interest flares. Her tigress roars a message that resonates.

This is combustible.

L
ézare’s going
to kick my ass.

Valencia pushed the gas pedal hard with her suede boot.

It wasn’t like Valencia Arceneaux could have called her family and told them what the holdup was. A white tigress shifter of the Arceneaux Clan of New Orleans, Louisiana. One of four white tiger shifter siblings who controlled the territory east of Houston and west of Florida.

Except that Valencia lived in Georgia, and she didn’t go home much anymore. Hadn’t in the last few… she didn’t want to think about how long it had been since the incident.

Knowing her siblings, they thought she was gallivanting around, playing carefree and wild while they performed the Arceneaux family duties and hosted Escape Weekend.

Escape. Yeah, right.

That’s what she really needed: to get away.

She turned into the Arceneaux Point driveway and punched it, screeching to an abrupt stop as soon as she’d pulled up to the main house. There were a few people milling around, less than half a dozen, but she didn’t see her big brother, who’d appointed himself her guardian, father, keeper, and God knew what else he thought he was in charge of.

And we don’t even live in the same state. It’s not like he can fulfill any of those positions when it comes to me.

Alexa and Evie were home far more than she was—with good cause—so he’d be better off trying to boss them around.

She slipped the car into park, yanked the door open, and catapulted herself from the tan leather seat with preternatural speed.

Her older sister Alexa stepped into view, screeching Valencia’s name, irritation and concern evident.

Valencia heaved a deep breath. She didn’t want to explain to her big sister where she’d been—what she’d been up to.

How do you even begin to tell someone about that?

She glanced at the man near Alexa. Her stomach heaved.

Then it unheaved.

He was—

—No, he wasn’t.

But he looked—

No…

That wasn’t him.

He looked a lot like him. God, yes he did.

How would I know? What if my memory’s failing me? True. It had been a while since she’d seen the man’s face. And never in the flesh.

Ever. Not once.

Not that I wouldn’t have liked to.

She shoved that thought away.

Alexa was saying something. Or was she?

Then the man who looked like “that someone else,” turned to talk to a man next to him.

Valencia glanced at the man.

The one he was talking to—

Was. That. Someone. Else.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Twins. Almost identical. Maybe they were identical. But not to her. Not a chance.

Her stomach, which first heaved, then unheaved, now took a flip, a fucking flip into an ice-cold ocean, then plummeted into a gravity-less freefall.

She felt her eyes widen. Even felt her chin begin to drop. She clenched her jaw muscles, securing her mouth shut.

That man turned from his twin and faced her. Tall, chiseled and formidably rugged faced until a smile appeared, then handsome.

Mercy, he’s still devilishly handsome.

Her next thought—he was larger in person.

Chest—wide. Check.

Shoulders—broad. Check.

Neck—no pencil neck on this man.

And then, to her surprise: she noticed he had muscular legs, she’d often wondered, back then, but… hard to tell from—

She shoved the thought aside as if allowing it to exist burned her mind.

His eyes dilated. Only a shifter would have picked up the dilation from this distance. Then again, that’s exactly what Valencia Arceneaux was.

That man’s nostrils flared.

Recognition flashed in the depths of dark eyes, like a golden glow in an espresso pool.

She caught her pulse going out of control. Tried to rein it in.

Failed. Epically.

She looked down, hoping that would do the trick.

Nope. Nothing.

Seeing him in person was so… so very…
real
.

T
hat’s
all Valencia could remember of her short time at Arceneaux Point today.

That man.

Then she left.

She was back in her car, heading home to Georgia. She couldn’t remember what she said to Alexa or what Alexa said in return.

She remembered her few moments at Arceneaux Point as though she were watching a silent movie, not actually there.

V
alencia was now hours away
. Her pulse had settled, finally—more or less. Sure it was still elevated, but not to the point where she thought her heart would give.

How could this have happened? What was he doing in her life? What was he doing at Arceneaux Point?

What was he telling them right now? How they met? Would he admit he knew her?

A searing sensation in her veins warned her of upcoming doom.

She looked at the time on the dashboard. She needed to hustle if she was going to make it home before dark. The scorching in her veins intensified.

Yep, no choice, she had to get to safety. Not only for her sake, but of anyone who intercepted her.