Shifting Darkness Read online

  “So are other people. Why don’t you bring it up to the office for someone else to work on? Why do I always have to do it?”

  “I can’t trust them with my porn!”

  “But you can trust me with it?” She wanted to smack the instant condescending look off his face. “What, you think I’m celibate or something?”

  He took another drink, his jerky smile still plastered to his ugly mug.

  She grumbled, “Not on purpose, jackass.”

  He quietly chuckled. “I know. Not on purpose. Just fix it, will you?”

  “Did you disinfect it?”

  “I don’t watch porn on it. I have a TV for that.”

  She cringed and covered her ears. “Right. Don’t tell me any more.”

  He pointed to the laptop and looked a question at her. “So, yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  Of course she’d fix the stupid thing because it never hurt to be friends with an alpha, let alone someone as in the know as Zach was. And she wasn’t above hunting and pecking around on his computer to see if she could find out anything exciting about this place. He either didn’t care about her nosiness or didn’t keep anything important stored on his hard drive. Probably the latter.

  She pulled the laptop closer and opened it up, not believing for one minute he didn’t watch porn on it. She knew he did because she’d seen his search history the last time he got a virus. No porn sites in his most recent history, though. Just a bazillion visits to social media sites. If people gathered anywhere online, Zach was part of the group no matter how obscure the topic.

  “Seriously. Why do you watch porn anyway? You can pick almost any woman here and get a little some-some anytime you want.” Not that she really cared. She was done with serious relationships. They didn’t suit her, or at least the guys she’d been dating didn’t. Either way, she was done.

  He didn’t look at her as he took another sip of whiskey, and she got the distinct impression he was avoiding her question.

  She curiously asked, “What’s your type anyway? Your real type? The type that gets your heart pounding?”

  He mocked surprise. “My type? I thought you knew. I love all women.” His fake smile irritated her. She’d thought they were friends, but more and more she realized how good he was at cozying up and getting people to open up to him without ever actually revealing his true self in return.

  He leaned conspiratorially closer. “What’s your true type? Those end of the world survivalists you like to hang out with? Or is it the tech nerds you secretly fantasize about? All numbers and codes and being quick typers.” He smirked as he pretended to type on the countertop, making a couple naughty gestures as he did.

  His joking was almost funny, except that her pride still hadn’t recovered after being dumped a couple months ago by a guy from her apocalypse survival group for a prettier, nicer, and much more polished woman. Her temper blossomed bright and hot inside her at the reminder, but before she could give Zach a piece of her mind, he startled and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. A small frown crinkled his brow as he looked at it, and her curiosity at finally seeing a real emotion from him overrode her irritation as she cocked her head to peer at his screen. He turned smoothly away from her at the exact same time, then turned the phone off and slid it back in his pocket.

  With movements that almost looked choreographed, he knocked back his drink, then swiveled off his stool with over exaggerated panache. The jaguars were all incredibly graceful, but Zach was the only one she knew of that actually made fun of his otherworldly sleekness. “See you later, Penny.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Pack business. If I told you I’d have to bite you.”

  “Har har.”

  “You’ll fix my computer?”

  “Yeah, sure. Might take a day or two though.”

  “Great. I’ll pick it up in the morning.”

  He was gone before she could tell him where to shove it, though it wasn’t like she had anything more exciting to do tonight. Chester was busy stocking and cleaning the bar, so she put her headphones on to drown out the boring conversations of the people around her and got lost in the thrilling wonders of malware and computer viruses.

  Chapter 3

  Oversized red and gold bows decorated lamp posts along the main street of what looked like downtown Brookhaven. Unadorned pine trees looked festive all on their own from a light coating of snow at their peaks. A few smaller ones were dotted with brightly blazing colored string lights. They silently sat outside the sidewalk shops, encouraging the already overflowing holiday spirit of gift buying.

  Vince took a right and followed the directions he’d mapped on his phone. The busy-ish town traffic died away and he was soon driving along a secluded, winding road. Tall, dense trees closed in on both sides of him until they eventually created a dark canopy with occasional streetlamps lighting his way. A foreboding feeling crept up his spine until the road and forestry finally opened up to a large, sprawling manor.

  Two fortresses stood solidly outlined by a half lit moon, one offset behind the other. Row upon row of uniform windows stared down at him. The buildings themselves were stylized versions of the old cotton mills that could still be found in many places around Atlanta. The whole estate was a mixture of neatly manicured landscaping and Mother Nature barely kept at bay. It gave everything a welcoming feel, but the unexpected enormity of the buildings made him think of a sinister institution.

  He slowed the car and crept toward the curb as he took it all in, hoping the engine didn’t die in the meantime. Adrenaline calmed his usually relentless shakes, but he’d pay for it as soon as the rush passed. His body would then betray him by making him even shakier and more uncoordinated than before.

  He scanned the street in both directions. The road continued on past the buildings, so he took the time to do a drive by. There was only open space mixed with more looming forest all around, so he circled back and found a spot to park in the street across from what looked like the main entrance.

  This didn’t look like a place that would hold a club for supernaturals, so he checked the address again. Bright white numbers stood out on a dark glass door, and they were definitely a match to what was on Anthony’s business card. Even so, he watched for a time, and though it was dark out, it wasn’t too dark for him to pick out the people coming and going.

  A couple average looking guys having an animated conversation with each other walked out the front door and disappeared around the far corner of the building. As he sat wondering if he should really be here, car lights flashed in his rearview mirror and he froze. An SUV drove past him and into the driveway, a man and a woman in the front seats. Vince waited for a time with his hand on the ignition, just in case, then relaxed when the couple finally emerged from the parking garage with a couple of kids.

  He was transfixed by them. The boy and girl were maybe five and seven, the parents looking distracted as they called out to the kids to watch for cars. The dad pulled up the rear, his hands full of bags, jackets, and a child’s sized backpack, the mom’s hands full of grocery bags. The little girl was talking to herself, or maybe singing something, while the boy was focused on a toy in his hands. Vince couldn’t make out what it was from here. A robot or something.

  They eventually disappeared into the same building the other dudes had come out of, and he found himself disappointed to see them go. He hadn’t imagined he’d find families here, and his mind briefly wandered. What would it have been like to grow up in the midst of a whole community of people like himself?

  Almost like him, anyway.

  He glanced at the time and decided it was now or never. Either they’d accept him as one of their own… or they wouldn’t and he’d be in the same situation he was in now.

  Alone.

  He kept his eyes and ears open as he approached the front door. Crickets chirping in the background and the creeping ivy that was fanned out on the building helped to keep him calm. If nature didn’
t run away and hide from what went on here, then maybe things were ok.

  Even so, he could just as easily get his ass kicked as he’d find anyone even remotely like him inside. Not having to pretend he was one hundred percent human around other people was too tempting, though. And his shifter senses might not be very strong, but he still recognized a whole heap of power when he felt it. The buildings literally pulsed with invisible energy… and it teased the supernatural part of him in a way he’d never felt before. He couldn’t help but be excited by it.

  The pristine dark glass door opened from the inside, looking at odds with what Vince could now see was really old brick siding the building. A muscular guy with an overly thick neck stood in the entryway looking totally bored. Shifter. Had to be. His earthy scent rushed out ahead of him as the cool night breeze mingled with the warm air of the foyer.

  “You new here? Looking for the club?”

  This was it. Stay or go. Was he going to be a coward and walk away, or forge ahead into the unknown and possibly get some answers to questions he’d had his whole life?

  “Yeah man. Thanks.” He hopped up the two front steps and opened his senses wide. It was a rush to suddenly be hyper alert, able to feel even the tiniest ripples of energy up to about twenty five feet away. He’d pay for it tomorrow when he’d barely be able to pull himself out of bed, but tonight he’d use every advantage he could to fit in.

  He stepped inside and past the door guard. The man’s energy vibration was definitely too fast and heavy to be human, but was he jaguar? Vince wished he knew how to tell. Another man sat on a stool, further back, reading a magazine. Before Vince had a chance to get a sense of what he was, sounds of someone talking and a child crying caught his attention.

  An old woman hobbled down a hallway towards them with an upset toddler in her arms. She didn’t seem at all worried about Vince or the guards being here as she sweetly consoled the little girl, then rounded the corner and hefted herself and the squirming child up a flight of stairs.

  The door closed behind him with an audible latching sound, and his attention snapped back to the bored guard with the thick neck. He scoffed at Vince, then stepped back from him, looking like he’d tasted something rotten.

  “Hmpf. Cat.”

  He curled his lip and Vince finally understood why a lot of shifters he’d run into over the years looked down their noses at him. Jaguars must not be thought very highly of in the supernatural community. Great. Just great.

  He ignored the guy, his attention now on the other doorman, or guard, or whatever he was. His energy felt cold and hard, just like a vampire, and his scent was like a breath of crisp night air. There was no thump of a heartbeat in him, either.

  The shifter guard said in growing irritation, “You know the rules?”

  “Rules?” He wracked his brain to remember what Anthony told him. “He said no violence allowed. Got it, man.”

  The man sneered, “You got invited? By who?”

  He mentally groaned. It was too soon for this dominance crap. He wasn’t even inside the club yet. He flicked a look at the vampire guard to see if he was just as big of an asshole, but he couldn’t tell. The man just sat there watching them and not saying anything. “A vampire. Anthony… Foster. Yeah, Foster. Long dark hair, big scar on his face.”

  A visible jolt when through both guards, and they suddenly looked alive.

  The vampire hopped off his stool and briskly opened a door to Vince’s right. “The club is this way, sir. Would you like an escort? I’m afraid Master Anthony isn’t here right now, but if you’re a friend, I can certainly get ahold of him for you.”

  The vampire stared him down, not unkindly, but the insinuation was clear. If he was lying about knowing Anthony, things could go bad, and quick.

  “That’s all right. I talked to him and his fiancé, Kaia, already tonight. He gave me his card and said I should come by sometime.” He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and handed it to the man.

  He fixated on it for a moment, and Vince swore he felt a spark of something in the air, but it was quickly gone and the vampire’s energy was calm again. It was the opposite of the shifter guard, who still had an irritated anxiousness to him.

  The tall dude handed the card back and held the door open as he gestured to the stairs. With a curious smirk he said, “Welcome to the club.”

  **

  Vince descended the softly lit stairwell and opened the door at the bottom to a room that looked like a big hangout. There were exposed rafters overhead, a dyed and polished concrete floor, and dim lighting to his left, brighter above a couple pool tables, one of them currently in use. Straight ahead and taking up the back right quarter of the room was a restaurant that looked more practical than fancy with smallish tables and worn, dark wooden chairs to match. A well cared for bar nestled in on the left edge of the space, bordering a hall that went further back into darkness.

  Mismatched and various sized paintings lined the wall to his right, looking like it was a rotation for different artists to hang their creations. It was the usual mix of some mostly good pieces and some that shouldn’t be allowed to see the light of day. The remainder of the club had scattered overstuffed couches and TV’s mixed with bar tables and stools closer to a small stage area. It was a little of everything, with some offices or rooms of some kind along the left of the back wall. Most were darkened rooms with wide open doors waiting for who knew what to happen inside.

  Everyone here seemed uneventfully normal, which was oddly exciting. Still, he was cautious as he stepped away from the staircase and let the door close behind him. He knew he was no one special in the supernatural world, and especially not since, like it or not, he wasn’t even fully one of them, but he wasn’t totally human, either. Of either side, the supers should be the ones to accept him as one of their own.

  He slowly wandered around while he got a feel for people with his senses open as wide as he could get them. It was exhausting to push his piteous excuse for powers like this, but he had to know for sure because he didn’t want to expose himself in front of any humans.

  Just supers. All he felt were supers. It was both scary and invigorating. He wouldn’t seem so strange to these people if he let go of the human act. His quick movements and abnormal strength would be normal here. This still might be some kind of hangout for the wrong type of people, but that wasn’t the feeling he got by looking around. This crowd could be in any bar or restaurant anywhere in town.

  His eye caught on an old bartender waving someone over. Vince turned to see who he was gesturing to, then realized it was him. The old dude looked harmless enough, and the bar was as good a place as any to hang out and get his bearings while he soaked in the atmosphere.

  He stepped cautiously closer, perking up when he noticed a seriously sexy woman camped on a stool at the end of the bar, closest to the dark hall. She had a drink by her side as she worked on a laptop, and from what he could see in the bar mirror, she was gorgeous. She had funky, spiked black and red wine streaked hair, a snug, dark t-shirt that wasn’t quite long enough and left her lower back exposed, not that he minded, and hip hugging cargo pants that did their best to keep her sexy ass contained. His eyes wandered over her, and he fought a deep down urge to slink up and wrap himself around her curvy body while he nuzzled and licked a long, hot line up her neck.

  He smiled at his thoughts as he approached, then reluctantly forced himself to think of something else before his eyes started glowing. Wait. There were only shifters here. He shouldn’t have to hide anything about himself in this place.

  **

  Penny lazily turned her head when she noticed Chester reaching over the bar with his hand extended. Whoa. Good looking guy alert. She pulled out her earbuds as casually as she could.

  “You’re new here. I’m Chester.”

  New guy had a smile that could melt the sun as he shook the old wolf’s hand. “Vince. It’s that obvious?” Penny fumbled with turning her music off, finally getting the stupid a
pp on her phone to close.

  Chester cautiously said, “Huh. Jaguar. I suppose you’re here to see Zach, then.”

  “Who’s Zach?”

  Ah crap. There went her hot fantasies. She dejectedly chimed in, “He’s the Alpha Jaguar here in Atlanta. You’re not one of his pack, so where are you from? Are you one of those Savannah jackasses?” Not fair. He was the hottest guy she’d ever been in the nearish vicinity of. He was a tall Asian guy with broad shoulders, a square jaw, wide, flat cheekbones, and seriously intense eyes. He looked a little tired though.

  Chester said in his old man’s warning voice, “Penny…”

  She snapped back, “What?”

  “Jaguar business is Zach’s business. Don’t be nosy.”

  Whatever. She scoffed at Chester as she toyed with her drink and Vince smiled at her. It was a wasted effort on his part since there was no way she was getting friendly with one of Zach’s enemies, no matter how yummy he was.

  He edged just a little closer as he said, “It’s ok man. I’m an Atlantan through and through. Never even been to Savannah.”

  Oh. Well all right then. She quit scowling and sat up straighter.

  Chester gave him a curiously suspicious look. “Is that right?”

  “Yep. Born and raised here.”

  Hallelujah. She’d sworn off relationships after what’s his name a couple months ago, but it might be fun to hang out with this one until the ride ended. She’d just protect her heart better this time.

  Chester kept studying him, but said in his usual neighborly tone, “Get you a drink? First one’s free for a newbie.”

  Vince sank onto the stool right next to her as her hormones raged. “Sure man. Thanks. How about a beer?”

  “I’ve got a pilsner and a pale ale on tap.”

  “Pilsner.”

  Hot stuff turned to her as Chester took his time with the tap. She was going to be dreaming about those eyes tonight. And that body hovering over her…