Only After Dark The Boxed Set Books 1 - 4: Shifters Forever Worlds (33 page)

E
vie had to help Mason
. She started for the door.

The shifters guarding her moved into position blocking her way.

“Move. Let me go.”

“Mr. Scanlon said you stay.”

“Don’t hurt her,” the flunky in back said to the one in front. “Mr. Scanlon will be pissed.”

Right now, she was getting pissed. Her tigress was even more so. A burning in her tendons told her she was going to lose the battle and her tigress would win, shifting into her feline.

Moments later, after creaking and bones crunching, Evie shifted with more than enough discomfort, taking on her tigress’s form.

The smell of the shifters’ aggression was thick in the air. It fueled her tigress’s fury.

“We can’t attack her. We can’t hurt her.”

“I’ll be damned if I’ll let her kill me,” one said.

They shifted, almost soundlessly, signifying to Evie that they were adept with shifting and did it often.

One was a large bull with lethal horns, the other a huge bear dripping saliva from dangerous canines.

Fuck.

They stared at her. She decided to take the matter in hand, moving quickly and quietly, she charged. She leapt high and landed on the bull’s hind quarters. Gripping his hide with her claws she tried to get purchase on his neck. The best chance she had was to sever his spine.

The bull’s bray was angry and demanding. Out of the corner of her eye, Evie caught the bear’s movement. The ursine roared and raised his mighty paw.

Drool was suspended from his mouth, his lips flaccid, but his teeth deadly and long. The bear glared menacingly,

Evie’s tiger roared. The sound reverberating in her head and in the small room. Roars and growls, combined with the bull’s braying filled the area. Her attention was focused on the bear that was going to try to kill her while the bull she was on bucked. Furniture went flying. Wood cracked. Glasses and plates on tables set for an opulent meal flew in all directions. The floor was a slippery mess.

The bull lost his footing in the slickness and slipped to his front knees, bucking, and propelling Evie through the room. Her head struck the thick glass pane window and bounced off, landing on her paws, her vision blurry.

She shook her tigress head to clear it and faced her two enemies. The bear released a huff and closed in with a speed she didn’t expect. Rearing backward on hind legs, his swatting claws missed her by inches. She slammed a paw into the bear’s neck, then drew her razor sharp talons through the thick fur and skin.

The bear pulled back, blood gushing from his throat.

Frozen, Evie stared. She hadn’t expected to take him out so quickly.

A roar was ripped from the bull’s throat, sounding less like a bull and more like something far more dangerous. Adrenaline rushed through Evie’s body.

The door flew open. Ellie recognized the man, one of Todd’s, in his human form. And he was holding a pistol. She saw the Tranq.

Well, fuck.

Her tigress howled in fury and frustration at what they knew would happen next.

Goddammit, there has to be an antidote to this shit.

If she got out of this alive, she was going to talk to Lézare and the shifter clan heads. Surely there was a way to avoid the effects of the Tranq.

The dart stung the muscles in Evie’s front leg, burying deep into the muscle.

“You two are worthless,” the shooter said to the other two shifters. “She’s one little female. For fuck’s sake, this is ridiculous.”

That was the last thing Evie heard before her vision turned into a tunnel that began to close rapidly, drawing to a pinpoint of light, then fading into nothing but a soundless blackness.

M
ason studied his former roommate
. He still found it hard to believe that Todd had gotten so much bulkier than he was in college.

“Isn’t this a cozy little gathering.” A sneer planted itself on Todd’s features. He stepped into the room, reached out and flipped the lights on.

The room was bathed in the light from the naked lightbulbs that hung high above their heads in the warehouse room that wasn’t opulent or occupied like the room that would hold the shifter fight.

“Where’s Evie, you bastard.” Mason ground the words out. His lion pressed hard for a shift, ready to pounce on the bear and rip him into shreds.

A dozen shifters followed Todd into the room, standing behind him in a semi-circle.

With them, there was a groggy Evie, held up roughly by three of Todd’s henchmen. Her eyes were glazed over, her expression slack. Her vibrant attitude and expression were subdued.

“Let her go. What the fuck did you do to her?” Mason rushed toward Evie.

Todd stepped between them. Three of his shifters joined him, making a barrier. Todd’s eyes glittered with the sparkling stars Mason had seen before.

Evie shook her head, then tried to wrestle her arms from the shifters holding her.

They let go.

She started to slip to the floor, crumpling in place.

“Get her.” Mason darted around Todd and grabbed Evie just before she hit the concrete.

Motherfuckers.
Rage surged throughout Mason’s body.

He held her up while Todd and his shifters moved toward the center of the room. Twenty more shifters showed up and blocked their exit.

Mason studied the opposition.

We’re fucked.

Todd nodded toward one of his men. “Give her the antidote.”

Yeah, as if I trust them.
“Get the fuck away from her.” Mason’s growl came from deep within his chest—part of it his lion, the other part his own.

A
stabbing sensation
in her thigh pierced the cloud that Evie was encompassed in. Evie glanced down. A syringe was buried in her flesh, the shifter holding it was pushing the plunger down.

“She’ll be back to normal in seconds.”

I need a stash of that stuff.

She tried to form words. “Wh—where—what—I nnnneeddd—” Her own words sounded like mumblings of a drunk person. “Nd thut ssshhtuff.”

The spot where he’d injected her felt like it was on fire and the fire traveled throughout her like lava in her veins.

“Goddammit. Motherfucker. Son of a bitch,” Evie yelled.

She startled herself because her words were clear—and very loud—and her head wasn’t in the fog anymore.

She was leaning against Mason, and for a brief second, everything they’d been through, all the pain, all the betrayal, it wasn’t there. It had slipped from her. All she could process was that Mason was here.

To save me.

Across from her were an assortment of her family and friends. All her siblings—their mates, perhaps? When did that happen?

Confusion and relief course through her.

“You had me worried,” Lézare’s eyes were dark with amber flares, showcasing his concern.

“This isn’t a family reunion,” Todd snapped, his voice petty.

Evie whirled in his direction, wrenching herself free of Mason’s hold.

She slapped Todd across the face, her tigress’s claws extended, slashing him once more.

“You’ll pay after your mine,” he grunted, his hand rising to the flesh wound.

“I think not.” Mason stepped between them, then was joined by Lézare.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Todd offered. “The two of us in a cage. Winner gets Evie.”

“Agreed.” Mason’s fury glowed gold in the background of his eyes.

“I’m not a prize to be fought over then doled out.”

“You can’t.” Leandra’s eyes glowed as she addressed. “He’s affected. He’ll kill you.”

“Are you sure, witch?” Lézare’s jaw muscles worked.

Theo growled at Lézare’s tone.

“We’ll discuss this, later,” Lézare told his head of security.

Theo nodded, not giving an inch.

“I’m very sure.” Leandra pointed to Todd’s face. “Look at his eyes. He’s affected. No shifter can kill him.”

“One on one,” Todd said again. “Will no one face me?”

Evie stared at the starburst pattern in Todd’s eyes.

“He’ll kill you,” Leandra told Mason.

Valencia stepped forward. “Put him in a cage with me. I’ll handle it.” Her eyes had a dark wash to them, crimson turning to black.

Evie couldn’t take her gaze off her sister.

What the hell is up with Valencia’s eyes?

“You can’t.” Evie grabbed Valencia’s arm.

Todd laughed, the sound more like shards of glass cracking. “Look at the Martinez and the Arceneaux, willing to let a woman fight their battles. I have an event to host.” He turned to Mason. “You weren’t the only attraction.” Todd looked at Lézare. “I’ll let you make a decision. My help will know where to find me.” He closed the door behind him as he exited. His small army of shifters stayed behind, against the door, blocking the exit.

Valencia planted her hands on her hips. “Trust me.”

Leandra stepped forward, her fingertips cool on Evie’s forearm. “Your sister knows what she’s doing. She
can
handle him.”

“Come this way. Away from their ears.” Alexa indicated Todd Scanlon’s shifters who were studying them with interested gazes.

Alexa pulled all of them away from the door, toward a far corner of the large room, behind a curtain.

Once they were in place, Evie had questions. “But you said no shifter could defeat Todd. So how can you consider my sister as an option for this?” Evie began. She felt Mason’s gaze on her.

“No.” Rory put his arm around Valencia. “I can’t allow this.”

Valencia turned to face him. Their mating bond was obvious.

It made Evie wonder.
What the hell have I missed while I was in my self-imposed isolation?

“Let me put an end to this cretin’s miserable existence,” Valencia said to her mate. “You know what I can do.”

Rory shook his head slowly. “I know, but…”

Valencia’s eyes turned darker, pure black, irises and pupils merging into a solid color. “I need to.”

Leandra stepped closer to Rory, put her hand on his arm. “Her bloodlust hasn’t been easy to control, even with my help. She has needs that you and I don’t understand. She’s not the first shifter with those. I’ve read the records.”

“Records?” Evie was puzzled.

What records? What is this bloodlust thing? What the hell is going on?

Rory frowned, remaining silent. His gaze on Leandra was fierce and full of anger. Then he turned that same heated stare toward Lézare. “You’re endorsing this? You’re willing to put her life on the line?”

“No fucking way.” A growl escaped with Lézare’s words. His tiger’s fury flashed amber in his eyes.

Valencia turned on Lézare, quicker than he could respond her claws were on his throat. “Brother.” Her voice had an otherworldly tinge to it. “There are things I need to tell you. Things I haven’t. That I should have.”

Next to her Rory nodded.

Valencia swiveled to face Rory. “And things I should tell you.”

Nearby, Leandra nodded sagely, as if none of this was a surprise to her. “It is what must be done. Rory will do this, as your mate.”

“Of course, I’ll do anything for her.” Rory’s tone was baffled. “You know that, don’t you?” He drew Valencia close.

Evie watched them. Their couplebond was obvious. But there was something more, something deeper between her sister and this wolf shifter.

“What happened to you?” Evie whispered, not realizing that she’d spoken out loud until Valencia turned toward her.

Funny, her younger sister, who’d always been her peer, always been like two peas in a pod in so many ways, was different now. Valencia had a poise to her, a self-assuredness that she’d never exhibited before.

She’s like a huntress
, was the thought that came to Evie’s mind.
But a huntress of what?

Valencia cocked her head, studying Evie, as if measuring.

Measuring what? What she can share with me?

“Valencia, what is it?” Alexa glanced at her sister then surveyed the rest of their group. Was she the only one who didn’t know what the hell was going on here? She looked at Mason. He seemed as confused as she was.

At least I’m not alone in this.

“Vampire,” Valencia started. “I was…” She paused, cleared her throat. Tears filled Valencia’s eyes, making the crimson to black color change look even more odd. Valencia bit her lip, then opened her mouth, revealing fangs.

Not shifter fangs.

Vampire-like fangs!

What the fuck?

“You’re a vampire?”

“A hybrid,” Leandra said. “And she needs to hunt.”

“Scanlon will do for now. But I have to feed this—” A shudder made her body ripple. “—this thing within me.” She turned Evie. “A vampire attacked me. He bloodshared with me. I have bloodlust. I will have to hunt.”

“And you will be with her, always.” Leandra told Rory. It wasn’t a request. “And…” Deep breath, Leandra’s body heaved with the effort to take air in.

Theo put his hand on her back, as though supporting her.

Leandra continued, “The vampire that did this to her is bound to her now. If he dies, Valencia dies. If Valencia dies, he dies.” Her voice was low.

“Shit.” Reese exhaled.

“Exactly.” Rory nodded. “I’ll never leave her side. I can’t agree to this battle with Scanlon. It goes against everything I believe in, everything I hold sacred. There’s no way in hell I’m letting my mate, a woman, get into a cage with the crazed beast that this disorder will turn him into.”

“Rory.” Theo’s tone was patient. “Must I remind you of her fight with the vampires? She did that on her own. She handled that herself.”

Rory shook his head, driving his fist into his palm. “I can’t. No.”

A tight circle formed. Theo, Leandra, Rory, and Lézare—all discussing Valencia’s proposal.

Evie felt the brush of air whooshing past her, but it took her a few seconds to process what had happened.

She looked around. “Where’s Valencia?”

All of their group began to look around. Valencia had vanished. Faster than the blink of an eye, she was gone.

“What the hell!” Rory stormed toward the door blocked by Todd’s shifter henchmen.

Alexa and Reese grabbed him, brought him back.

“Let me go.” Rory’s voice was a low snarl.

“Simmer down for a moment.” Lézare’s voice was low.

Rory settled into a spot between Lézare and Alexa.

Lézare began, “It’s not going to serve us to try to storm these guys. There are more on the other side. We could be easily caught up in a battle while Valencia is out there—doing God knows what.”

Evie had a feeling she knew what—Valencia was going to fight Todd Scanlon.

“This is all your fault,” she hissed at Mason.

His head snapped in her direction. “Mine? You’re the one that…” He shook his head, as if in disbelief. “Never mind.”

“At least I didn’t take pride in a picture of me with a girl sucking my—”

Lézare raised his hand. “Not the time.”

“Sorry,” Evie mumbled. He was right. And she was a sorry bitch for switching the subject. Just because Valencia thought she could handle the situation didn’t mean she could.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Mason said. “But we’ll finish this later.”

Evie shook her head.

Denial from him. Such bullshit.

What did she expect?

“Let me talk to them,” Alexa indicated the shifters guarding the door. “We have to appear to be willing to go through with this, then when we get there, we’ll figure it out.” Alexa took off for the shifters with a confident stride.

Evie kept her eyes glued on her sister. She’d leap to her defense in a heartbeat, if needed.

Lézare glanced at Theo. “You have men outside?”

“More than enough. But this room’s is blocking my cell phone signal.”

Lézare glanced around. “I’m sure that’s not an accident. As soon as we get out of here, you get your men ready, have them come in. It could get ugly.”

Alexa waved for them to approach.

Evie tapped Lézare and Rory on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”