ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection) (87 page)

In the middle of the room, the man who had been responsible for running the machine now lay in a bloody gory mess, the floor around him slick with blood and viscera. The corpse’s face had been ripped off it its entirety.

As Killian scanned the body on the floor, his stomach turned over. A woman in a nurse’s outfit stood against the far wall, sheltering a boy of around four years of age. In front of them, the massive hairy beast - the werewolf, stood. Killian knew the meaning of its posture well. The beast’s claws were extended, and its sharp teeth were fully bared and ready to kill.

Killian's predator eyes made everything stand out in stark detail. He took the room in quickly. Killian was grateful that Jack was his partner. The beast was incredibly large. He knew he had just seconds before the werewolf destroyed both the woman and child. Still, in that split second Killian took in everything about her. He noticed her beautiful blond hair, the perfectly curved shape of her body, and her small hands. The smell of her was very much like the smell of a perfect summer rain coupled with the crispness of winter air. Her heartbeat was steady and strong. Even with the danger she was in, she stood in a way that was surprisingly steady. She had courage in her and a fierceness that Killian found quite unusual, but the most intriguing thing about her was her piercing crystal blue eyes. Those eyes were like the purest vein of sapphire.

Killian knew instinctively that if she were to look at him with those eyes, she would be able to see everything inside of him. He would not lose this special woman, not to this werewolf scum. Killian could hear Jack's breath as he raised and aimed his own weapon.

“Hey, you big hairy brute! Yeah, I’m talking to you. Why don’t you pick on somebody your own size?” Killian called to the monster.

Jack sighed knowingly. Killian's words had an immediate effect on the creature. The brute turned and lunged in one giant leap. Jack dodged across the room, but not fast enough. He felt the burn of claws ripping through him.

“Alright, now you’ve gone and made me mad!” Jack moved in closer as the werewolf went for the kill, and in one steady motion pulled his knife from his belt. Jack slashed the beast across the abdomen cutting deep.

The wolf howled in pain and took a step backwards. “Yeah, how do you like it?” Jack asked. During the exchange, Killian had been placing himself in a defensive position, and he now saw his opportunity. Killian leapt at the creature’s back instantly wrapping his muscular arms around the wolf’s throat. The wolf went crazy with rage, thrashing wildly and slamming his body at the walls in a vain effort to dislodge his unwanted attacker. Yet, Killian was a creature of the night and he held fast.

“Anytime now, Jack. I can’t hold this mutt for long.” Killian grunted.

“Oh hold on a sec, I’m coming.” Jack pulled his weapon from what was left of his Jacket, checking to make sure that the serum bullet was loaded.

“How am I supposed to get this in him with you two thrashing around like that?" Jack yelled, “I don’t want to hit you by mistake.”

“Shoot him!” Killian screamed. Jack pulled the trigger and Killian could feel the monster begin to drop. In just a few short seconds, the wolf was gone and Killian found his arms wrapped around a human throat. He took the opportunity to quickly put the injured man in silver cuffs.

While Killian held fast to the man, Jack pulled out a walkie-talkie of sorts.

“Please be advised that the shifter has been controlled and the area is now secure. Over.” Jack dropped the walkie into his pocket and examined the gashes on his own body. He placed his hand over the gaping bleeding wounds, and they quickly began to heal. In just a few seconds, there was no sign that he had ever been hurt.

Jack glanced at Killian and smiled, “Well that was fun.” Killian grunted and handed the small boy over to Jack, who turned his face upwards at the foul smell of the child’s urine-soaked pants.

Killian looked down at the werewolf. “Well, this isn’t going to end well for you, but at least you don’t have to die today.”

Ten minutes later, Karyn was seated back the break room, wrapped in a thin blanket. Across the room, the boy she rescued was curled up in his mother’s lap, sucking his thumb and whimpering. Karyn’s eyes latched onto the woman, and she saw her mouth the words, “thank you”. All of her life, Karyn had dreamed of becoming a doctor and saving lives. Today a monster had taken more lives than she could count. Nevertheless, this one small child was alive, and it was at least in part because of her. She wanted to feel happy about that, but the sadness and confusion of everything else she had seen was overwhelming.

There were so many questions running through Karyn’s head.
What was that thing? How had it changed shape? What had made it kill its own mother? Who were these men that looked like humans, but quite obviously were not?
The man who had been raked by the monster’s claws seemed to have healed himself fully in a matter of seconds.

Karyn found herself staring at the other man, the one who had locked eyes on her when he entered the room. She had never seen eyes like his before. His grey eyes seemed to go on forever, and seemed to take in everything all at once. He wasn’t human. She had sensed that almost immediately.

Karyn suddenly felt the need to walk. She couldn’t just keep sitting there. She was a nurse, and people outside were hurt. She stood up and walked quickly towards the door, leaving the woolen blanket behind. Killian stood against the far wall examining himself. He pressed a cloth to the wound on the back of his head where the werewolf had smashed him against the wall. The cloth came away black as night.

“When are you going to learn to get out of the way?” Jack snorted to Killian.

“When you learn to aim. So, probably never.” Killian fired back. “Are the cleanup crews in place yet?” Killian asked.

“Yeah, they’re setting up the perimeter now.” Jack’s face turned sour as a hand came down hard on his shoulder. He turned away and groaned inwardly.

“Hello, Caleb,” Jack spat. A blonde haired man, wearing a suit now stood beside him. Caleb was a bear shifter from the demonic response team, and had botched a crucial mission a few years ago. He and Jack had become fast enemies.

“Tell me, how do a vampire and a healer both manage to get knocked around by one young puppy? You must be getting old, Killian. And all this time I’d thought vampires didn’t age.” Caleb winked.

“What are you doing here?” Killian asked curtly.

“Oh, don’t go getting your panties in a bunch, vampire. I’m just lending a hand for the day. Nothing was going on down at the station so they assigned me to this little group for the day. Tell me, did you manage to get anyone killed today? You do that so well.” Caleb smiled.

Jack suddenly reached out and pushed Caleb hard. “Go find something else to do shape-shifter. Your kind has done enough damage for one day,” Jack barked. Caleb was about to respond when he noticed the blanket draped over the empty chair.

“Hey, did you boys lose something?” He asked, motioning toward the empty chair with a nod of his head.

“Shit!” Jack said.

Jack began to swear as Caleb left the room, smirking. “When is that jerk-off going to stop being such a prick?” Killian sighed.

Jack’s face appeared to be in a rage. Killian patted Jack softly on the shoulder as he jogged out of the room to go and find the missing woman.

Killian didn’t have to go far to find the missing nurse. She was down the hall from the break room, bent over an elderly woman with a gash on her leg. Karyn had somehow gotten her hands on a medical kit, and was working quickly to stitch up the wound. Killian stood above her and watched for a few moments, intrigued by the level of grit in the young nurse.

“Excuse me, miss. I really need you to come back with me. We have medics who can take care of this. I need to get you briefed.”

Karyn did not even look up from what she was doing. “Not a chance,” she said between gritted teeth. “I am not leaving these injured people to go and sit in a room somewhere.” She continued to work on the woman’s gash, ignoring him totally.

Killian decided to change tactics. “We’ll make the interview quick. Follow me.” Killian turned and started to walk back to the room. Karyn hadn’t budged.

“If you want me to go with you, you’re going to have to drag me...and I promise you, I will put up a bigger fight than that werewolf did.”

Killian paused for a second, caught off-guard. “You know what that thing was?” Killian asked, shocked.

Karyn sighed as she continued to work on the old lady’s leg. “Yes, and something very strange… it was as if I could see into him or something.” Karyn paused, not knowing how to put her experience into words.

Killian called for Jack over the radio and then knelt beside the nurse. He was almost blown away by the intensity he sensed in her. The sight of the old woman’s blood was making him salivate, so he instead focused on the nurse.

Killian waited patiently for Jack to arrive, all while watching the young woman’s competence as she completed her work on the old woman. Killian smelled Jack’s approach and turned.

“What’s up?” Jack asked, as he stopped in front of the two women.

“I was going to ask you to heal the old one, but I guess you were beat to the punch.”

Jack knelt and examined the now closed wound. “She did good work.”

The nurse was looking in between the two men with obvious questions running through her mind. The officer that had saved her life offered her a hand. She finally accepted and was surprised at how cold his skin was.

“Officer Killian Marshall,” he said without any emotion.

“I’m Karyn Rourke - registered nurse.” The two stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, each of them trying to measure up the other.

Jack finally broke the awkward silence. "Uh, why am I here exactly, Killian?” Jack asked. “You called for me, remember?” Killian released Karyn's hand regretfully.

Killian looked over to Jack mischievously. “Our little do-gooder here is a shadow walker. I thought maybe that might interest you.”

Jack whistled through his teeth as he turned and looked at Karyn. “Well, I guess I should say welcome to the fold and congratulations. Although, I’m not sure you’re going to feel the same way.” Jack extended his hand. Karyn just stared at him blankly.

Killian shared a look with Jack. It was never easy when they knew. This meant she would have to go back to Department 99 to face both testing, and realignment. Many people didn’t make it. Killian had a strong feeling that this one would, though.

              “Jack, she’s been through a lot. See what you can do.” Jack walked towards Karyn who immediately took a step back.

Jack held up his hands defensively. “I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. I’m a healer. I can use the energies in the universe to heal, energize, and even rejuvenate. I just want to help.” Karyn looked at Killian. Everything was happening so fast.

“And you? What are you?” she asked Killian. He stared back at her. "You tell me. What do you see when you look at me?"

Karyn found herself being drawn into those endless grey eyes again, and was speaking before she could consciously find the words. “Blood. I see lots of blood. But not yours. You’ve killed a lot, but not for a long time it seems. You're very old, and yet something in you is new as well. Moreover, you hurt. You hurt on the inside so much, the only thing you're afraid of is yourself, that you’ll never be good, and that one day you’ll kill again. But what scares you the most," she said, as she looked deeply into his eyes, "…is that you like it.”

Killian pulled his eyes away from Karyn’s, breaking the moment. "I’m a vampire," he said quickly. It was as though he had ripped off a Band-Aid. Suddenly everything went black and Karyn passed out, sliding to the ground. Killian rushed in and caught her just before she hit the ground.

Slowly Karyn began to wake up. There was a strange sensation around her head. She began to feel lighter, like all the burdens of the day were being stripped away. She no longer felt tired and her muscles seemed to be relaxing for the first time in ages. She didn’t know how it was possible, but she suddenly felt healthier and more alive than ever before. Jack pulled his hands away. He had healed her.

For the next hour, Karyn stayed by Killian and Jack’s side. Together, they went from person to person, healing the injured. It was obvious to Karyn that Jack and Killian had worked together a long time. She still couldn’t get over the fact that Killian was a vampire. He went against the grain of everything she had ever heard from folklore. Killian seemed to have a genuine desire to help humans.

As they neared the front of the building, Karyn noticed barricades had been erected outside. Men in uniform were herding all the people from the hospital into small groups in the lobby.

“What’s happening?" Karyn asked Killian.

“They’re being told what happened here, at least a version of what happened that everyone will believe. Soon, the news reporters will be here and we need all of the stories to be consistent. A tornado did all of this.”

Karyn was lost. “What do you mean…a tornado? This hospital was attacked by a werewolf." Killian was already shaking his head.

“Karyn, that’s your truth, but it isn’t everyone else’s.” Killian spoke cautiously.