Dark War Chronicles Box Set One (21 page)

Renee snorted and flipped her book shut. "No, are you kidding me? I don't have the guts to do that."

"Such a shame." Danielle laughed, humor returning to her voice. "You could use a good date."

"Like you're one to talk. When’s the last time you went on a date?"

Danielle shrugged. "I've got other things to worry about. I'll leave you to your studying. Glad you're okay." She turned to leave the room.

"You didn't have to come home to check on me."

"Sure I did, what kind of roommate would I be if I didn't?" She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. "I'll talk to you later. Sorry your birthday celebration didn’t go as planned."

Renee snorted. “It’s okay, clubs really aren’t my thing.”

“How about we have a small get-together tomorrow night?”

Giving her a droll look, Renee laughed. “Yes, I remember what happened at your last little get-together. Everyone ended up completely drunk.”

Dani shrugged. “I’m normally sober, but hey, it’s always a lot of fun. I’ll talk to you later.” She climbed back up the stairs.

Renee lay back on the bed and sighed. Maybe she should go and get the bartender's phone number. Her room seemed smaller and smaller each day, as if beckoning her to get out more.

Chapter Two

Her hands traced over his naked chest, her warm lips brushed over his skin. He threaded his fingers through her bobbed hair, pulling enough to cause a moan to fall from Renee's lips. Pulling his fingers free from her hair Coran let his fingers skim down her soft skin, his hand moving between their bodies, dipping lower—

Coran shot up in bed and rubbed his eyes, cursing his dreams. He glanced down at the tent his boxers made. Groaning, he put his arm over his eyes when his cock twitched. "You've got to be kidding me." He snarled when his wolf and his human side both wanted a release.

"No, no, no. I don't even know the human, it's not happening." His phone buzzed. Swiping it up he unlocked it to see the screen. The words "YOU'RE LATE" popped up on the screen and he cursed, throwing the phone down and rushing to the shower.

Water poured over his head as he leaned against the shower wall. His eyes closed, he could see her hazel eyes behind those glasses perched on her perfect little nose and hear the small laugh she’d granted him. A bubbly giggle and he loved it. His hand closed over his hard cock, stroking while he imagined her body stretched out underneath him. He could see the firelight dance over her pale skin in his dream; a moan escaped his lips and his hand started pumping faster. Her chocolate colored hair fell forward and tickled him as she ran her mouth over his chest in scorching kisses. His balls tightened in anticipation of his release.

His hands remembered how caressing her curvaceous body felt in the dream. How soft and plump her breasts were and the way her nipples puckered at the slightest touch. His subconscious spared no senses in how it imagined the human would feel. Coran swore he could feel her fingers trace his tattoo and her gentle lips follow. He hadn't let anyone touch the mark in years and he couldn't think of why he would let her. Then it came to him.

Those eyes, full of life and knowledge. It stirred something in him, something dormant and buried. In the dream her touch had been gentle, caring, almost loving. He cried out when his seed shot out into the spray of water, disappearing down the drain. Laying his head against the hard tile he tried to catch his breath. His beast moved beneath him with enough contentment to rival his human self.

"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.