ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection) (95 page)

Karyn swallowed, a lump in her throat growing dry. “He’s going to be alright, Killian,” Karyn soothed.

“You have a lot to learn,” Killian spoke in a tone scarcely above a whisper. Karyn attempted to redirect the conversation.

“Jack isn’t your only friend, Killian. You have me too.” Killian ignored her comment. Outwardly, he did not react to what Karyn had just said—but inwardly, her comment had moved him to his core. He wondered about what it would mean to truly
have her,
as she put it. For a moment, he imagined her sitting atop his little metal bed back at Department 99, focusing her intense glaze only on him. He imagined unbuttoning her shirt and feeling the smooth warmth of her flesh for the first time. Then, he pushed those thoughts away.

Love was dangerous.

Just then, a man who appeared to be a doctor shot through the pair of double doors in front of them and walked slowly towards Karyn and Killian. The double doors flapped back and made a loud smacking sound as they simultaneously struck the walls. Killian jumped to his feet and looked longingly at the man. The doctor broke his glance, and looked down at the floor. Just from his face, Karyn could tell that Jack was gone.

“Killian, I’m sorry, “the doctor said sincerely. “Jack was a good man. He was one of our brightest and best.”

Killian grabbed the doctor by the shirt. For a moment, Karyn feared that he might smash his face in—but then, Killian quickly let go, turned to the wall, and began to punch large holes in it.

The doctor took a few steps back, and retreated silently back towards the double doors. Karyn ran after him.

“Wait! What about Samantha?” she called.

The doctor stopped in his tracks. “We’re all hoping for a positive outcome, but the damage is severe. We’re all rooting for her; we’re doing everything we can.”

Karyn turned back to Killian. He was now kicking the wall, and it there were giant craters all over its surface. What should she say? What could she possibly do to help? Karyn thought back to a loss she had once sustained in a foster-home, as a child. Her dog Chip had been run over by a neighbor’s car. Karyn had carried Chip’s limp body all the way home and buried him in the back yard.
Sometimes, it’s appropriate to grieve, she thought. Sometimes it’s best to say nothing at all.

Karyn sat down on the sofa nearest Killian and waited for him to exhaust himself. She wanted him to feel her presence, but she didn’t want to interfere.

Killian then came over to her and slumped down on the sofa, defeated.

The feel of her body was so comforting, it was almost like being lost in one long warm embrace—and yet Killian wanted more of her, he needed to feel more of her.

Karyn finally turned to him and whispered, “It’s going to be okay, Killian. We’ll get through this together. It’s going to be alright.” She had never seen him so emotional and was struck by the amount of feeling within him. She wanted to lean down and kiss his lips. No, she wanted to soothe his pain and give him every bit of love that her heart possessed. She smoothed his hair back tenderly, her heart pounding in her chest in a way that it had never done before. A hidden away piece of her heart seemed to open at this sight of him, and she wanted to take all of him in. She wished she could absorb every bit of sorrow he was feeling and take it all away from him.

Karyn was unsure of how much time passed, but it must have been a long while. Killian had exhausted himself, and now seemed to be asleep, his head resting on the back of the sofa. Karyn’s mind wandered back to Samantha. She’d sensed that the occult could be dangerous, but she had never before considered that it might cause Jack to lose his life. Sure, she’d often worried for Killian—but somehow she had convinced herself that Killian and Jack were invincible, on some level. A strange thought occurred to Karyn. She was the one that had called Jack to the scene. In a way, she was responsible for his death. She had set the chain of events in motion, which had killed Killian’s best friend.

Karyn didn’t know if vampires slept, but Killian’s breathing slowed and grew even. It was clear that no one really used the hallway they were camped out in, and she considered going to check on Samantha who was probably on the other side of the double doors. Karyn needed to know if Samantha was going to be alright.

She slid out from beneath Killian’s still body and crept back through the double doors. Unlike in civilian hospitals, there was no security station. She walked back past a few empty rooms, glancing inside, hoping to find Samantha. Finally, as she continued towards the back rooms—she found her.

Samantha was asleep. Various tubes extended out of her body, and a machine, which looked almost like a dialysis machine seemed to be filtering her blood. Spinning it up into a machine, and dumping her blood back into an opposite vein.

Karyn approached the bed, nervously. She wanted to reach out and touch Samantha, but she remembered what had happened to Jack, and she was afraid. Samantha was a beautiful woman and she looked peaceful. At least she wasn’t suffering, Karyn thought. Then, she wondered if Jack had been in a lot of pain when he died. Karyn winced visibly. It had been a horrible sight—to watch Jack’s healing light turn black—it was as though all that was good in him, momentarily turned evil…and then he was gone. Karyn had seen his life force, as it was snuffed out. Whatever terrible demonic force was behind the attack, must have truly been the epitome of evil.

As if sensing Karyn’s presence, Samantha opened her eyes slowly and smiled. “Hey,” Karyn spoke gently.

Samantha’s smile quickly faded and her jaw dropped open. Samantha started to breath heavily, and her eyes rolled back in her head. A low growl started to come from her mouth. “You will die tonight, shadow-walker,” a demonic voice growled. Karyn jumped back and ran from the room.

“Help!” Karyn called into the hall. A few nurses rushed over and Karyn pointed them toward Samantha’s room. Once again, she lay convulsing on the hospital bed. The doctors and nurses of Department 99 rushed in, and began working to stabilize poor Samantha. The unfortunate girl looked as if her death were imminent this time.

In the hallway, Karyn drew both of her arms up to her chest and clutched herself tightly. The voice had said she was going to die that night. Karyn looked around, terror mounting within her body. Her heart started to race, and her palms grew sweaty. For a moment, she felt as though she was losing control.

Suddenly, Karyn remembered that Killian was alone in the hallway—she rushed down the corridor, back towards where she had left him on the sofa, only a few minutes before. Killian was still there. He looked pitiful. Karyn took him by the hand.

“We need to get someplace safe,” she stated quietly, as she led him over to the elevator doors. After the elevator doors had closed behind them, Karyn leaned down to Killian— “Samantha woke up for a brief moment and then went back under demonic control. She said I’m going to die today, Killian.”

Killian’s eyes shot open, almost as if someone had electrocuted him. His eyes darted around wildly and his face wore an animalistic expression that said he was poised to fight.

When the elevator opened up at the exit of Department 99, a strange new guard was standing in their way. “Sorry boss, I was told that no one gets in or out today,” the man stated. The security guard reminded Karyn of a snake. He had a crooked golden tooth, which was so long it made him almost seem like a rabbit that had been punched in the face.

“We have special clearance,” Killian lied. He pretended to start digging around in his pants pockets. “Can you hold this for me for a moment? I think it’s in my back pocket.” Killian stated. When the guard leaned forward, Killian punched him square in the face. The man flew backwards and was out cold. The golden tooth clattered across the floor.

“Wow,” Karyn stated flatly, “I guess that’s one way to get stuff done.”

“Hurry up, let’s get out of here and get to the bottom of this before they lock us up.” Killian spoke quickly. He placed his hand firmly around her waist in order to guide her out into the parking lot. Karyn noticed how his hands were cold, but also firm and decisive. In that moment, she wanted him to touch more of her—perhaps even all of her.

They hurried off to the sedan in the parking lot and quickly sped off, hoping to find more clues.

Karyn wasn’t really sure of what Killian had in mind. Nevertheless, she was amazed at the amount of control he seemed to have in the midst of the loss of his closest friend. She thought back to the moment during which she’d read his mind and had seen him hunting and stalking human beings within his own dimension, where he had regularly killed for sport. Now, he was working to prevent a greater tragedy—working to preserve lives. Karyn felt her heart swell with pride and admiration for this man. He was truly incredible. She reached out and touched Killian’s hand gently.

He gave her a quick glance and then returned his focus to the road.

There was no way to know who had betrayed them within Department 99. It terrified Karyn to think that someone within the powerful agency was working in league with dangerous occult forces to harm the human population. She and Killian needed to get to the bottom of the problem as soon as possible. Too many lives had already been lost.

Karyn felt guilty for falling asleep but it had been an exhausting couple of days both mentally and physically. When her eyes popped opened, Killian was pulling the car to a slow stop on a residential side street. Together they jumped out of the car and approached a boarded-up house. The house looked strangely familiar to Karyn, although she couldn’t quite understand why. Planks covered every window and entrance, and Killian immediately got to work prying the wood off, so that they could step inside.

After the front door was unbarred, Killian pulled out a flashlight and instructed Karyn to get behind him. “Where are we?” Karyn asked. “This is the house you were born in.” Killian responded, with very little emotion.

Karyn was stunned. How did Killian know where she had been born? She instantly felt betrayed and enraged all at once, odd feelings when combined with the strong sense of safety that she felt, and always felt, in his presence. Obviously, he knew more than she did about the situation and he was working to protect her. Killian always seemed to want to protect her from whatever dangers were ahead.

The flashlight was more for Karyn’s benefit as Killian’s vampire eyes allowed him to see effortless in the dark. Karyn didn’t expect the level of emotion which now flooded her senses. The flashlight cast off one singular beam of yellow light, which shined on a picture of Karyn’s parents. They held up a small toddler between the two of them, smiling proudly. It was the first baby-picture Karyn had ever seen of herself.

They heard a rustling sound coming from one of the rooms around the corner. Karyn’s face quickly turned from grief to terror, as a massive shape bounded around the corner and tackled Killian in one swift motion. Killian grunted as he punched at the figure, which seemed to punch back without any reservations. It was hard for Karyn to make out what was happening in the dark. She stumbled backwards and snatched a vase off of a nearby table. Karyn raised the vase in the air, ready to bring it down over the creature’s head.

When the flashlight rolled to a stop, Karyn was able to see clearly that the man wrestling Killian on the floor was Caleb.

Karyn had met Caleb only one time prior, but learned later that his role in the department was dealing in cases involving demonic possessions. She remembered that Caleb and Jack had some kind of grudge against one another, and they had almost gotten into a fight on the day that the werewolf had torn apart the hospital in which Karyn worked. It was the same day that she’d been introduced to Department 99, and the day she’d found out that she was a shadow-walker.

Killian and Caleb seemed to recognize each other in that moment as well. They stopped fighting, brushed themselves off, and stood up—eyeing one another suspiciously.

“What are you doing here, vampire?” Caleb asked.

“Stay away from him, Karyn,” Killian demanded. “Caleb is a bear shifter—if he loses control, I might not be able to protect you.” Karyn’s stomach jumped up into her throat.

“Why would I do anything to hurt her? What are you guys up to?” Caleb asked suspiciously.

Killian ignored his bait. “Shifters are losing control all over the city, Caleb…I want to know why you aren’t one of them.” Killian’s voice had an eerily calm quality to it.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about, vamp.” Caleb responded. “They sent me out here because of an urgent call that came in a few minutes ago about this house being under some kind of demonic control. Caleb’s hand radio crackled, and a familiar voice came over the line.

“Did you get that demon wrangled yet, Caleb? The situation out here is getting pretty dire. Check in with base after you get an idea of what’s going on. Over.” The voice said.

Killian almost dropped to the floor. Karyn felt as though she was going to pass out. She recognized the voice too—it was Jack.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” Caleb offered in response. He could tell that Killian and Karyn recognized Jack’s voice, as it flowed over the hand-held radio. Tears welled up in Killian’s eyes. The thought that Jack was a traitor, was too much to bear.

Sensing Killian’s upset, Caleb started explaining. “It’s not what you think,” Caleb stated flatly. “This transmitter is picking up signals from the beyond. Jack keeps sending out messages…he doesn’t realize that he’s dead.”