A Shifter's Curse, Raven Steele [the top 100 crime novels of all time .TXT] 📗

thoughts, all movement, was focused on the man in my sights.

If Silas was in Rouen, then his Alpha Dominic couldn't be far away.

I shoved my way through the hordes of people, my hands practically shaking in anticipation. I'd dreamed of killing these two for so long that my hatred had become a natural part of me. Almost like breathing or screwing.

But I had to be careful. If any of them discovered I was still alive, they'd break my neck for the chance to get their hands on the Abydos blood. Keeping that safe was the only thing in this world I'd give my life for. It must be protected at all costs.

Pushing aside another customer, my hopes of reaching Silas waned when I crashed into a man’s chiseled chest. I growled and moved to get past him, but he stepped in front of me again. Was this jerkoff deliberately blocking me?

I looked up a good six inches, meeting the intense, blue eyes of a man who looked like he’d just stepped off a Viking ship, minus all the animal skins. With dark rumpled hair and a taut muscle-lined body, he looked every inch the man I would love to have wrapped around me for at least a week. He was about my age too. Almost perfect, except he was staring at me with cold, hard eyes and a look of contempt, which doused my hormones, akin to waking up to a cold shower and a hangover.

"Get out of my way." I glanced over his massive frame; I couldn't see Silas’ head anymore.

"You need to turn around and return to the bar." His voice was deep yet smooth, like a hundred-year-old bourbon being poured over rocks. The sound of it surrounded my senses, caressing my skin softly. I cursed.

"What's your deal? It's a damn club. I can go wherever I want."

"I don't like the way you were eyeing my boss, Pup." He folded his massive arms to his chest and stared down at me. So he recognized I was a wolf. Not all shifters could detect other shifters. I wondered if he was able to spot the vampires, too. I couldn't imagine him being too pleased about them.

"Don't call me that. Move." I tried to shove him away, but he knocked my hands to the side before I made impact.

His voice lowered even deeper, and his eyes flashed a warning. "Leave."

"Now you're just pissing me off." Curling my fingers into my palm, I punched him. It wasn't at full strength, but it was effective. He stumbled back, his expression darkening.

He growled, the sound vibrating low in his throat. "I wish you wouldn't have done that."

He lunged for me, but I maneuvered to the side and grabbed an empty chair at a nearby table. I swung it around, hoping to catch him in the back. He anticipated the move and ducked. The chair crashed into a club bouncer instead. Even though the massive dude was a regular human, he looked like he ate coal for breakfast and crapped diamonds at lunch.

The bouncer's expression twisted into a snarl, and he swung two meaty fists at the shifter blocking my path to Silas. Snickering, I got out of the way just in time as the fists connected with the shifter's jaw, one after the other. The shifter fell backwards into a shorter man, spilling his beer all over his shirt.

The shorter man turned around, along with three of his friends. I expected them to exchange words, you know, trash talk each other, but apparently, I was surrounded by men of action. Before I could take my next breath, the scene in front of me turned into a full-on brawl. It only took a second for more people to jump into the fray.

I shook my head, smiling. Drunk people were stupid. And fun as hell.

The air filled with the smells of sweat and blood, tempting me to jump in on the action, but I was a wolf on a mission and nothing would deter me.

I shoved my way past the fight to pick up Silas’ scent, but someone jerked on my shirt. Oh, hell no. I spun around; there were so many fighting that I couldn't tell who had done it.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted Samira. She'd set her glasses on the bar and had joined the fight, throwing around graceful punches and kicks. She had some massive ninja skills. Guessing she was a lot older than I could ever imagine, this fight was probably a walk in the park for her. Lynx however, had shrunk away, her back pressed against the bar, and her eyes wide.

I turned back, looking for Silas, but he was gone. Angry I'd missed my chance, I pushed back through the swarms of people to get to the shifter who'd made me lose sight of my prize, determined to get some information out of him.

His gaze locked onto mine. I cracked my neck to the side, ready to punch his lights out. By his expression, he seemed to be thinking the same about me. He delved into the crowd, aimed in my direction.

As soon as I reached him, I swung at his face. "You screwed me over."

My fist missed its mark. He ducked and grinned. I pivoted and dropped, swinging my leg wide. I swiped his legs out from under him, smiling as his cocky grin disappeared.

He rolled between two tables. I jumped on top of him, straddling my legs on each side of his massive chest. Random legs bumped into me, but I shoved them away.

The shifter's smile was slow and deliberate, and his stare burned into me. He had the musky scent of the deep forest and gasoline. "You've been wanting to hump me the second you saw me."

I punched him in the jaw. "If I'd wanted to hump you, you'd be in the handicap stall of the lady’s restroom right now, hanging on for dear life."

"Ooo, sweet talker. I like it."

I punched him on the chest. "Where does your boss work?"

Faster than I could respond, he jerked me to the ground and rolled on top of me. It was his turn to straddle me. He leaned forward, pressing his forearm just below my throat to keep me from bucking him off. "Why do you want to know?"

I sucked in a quick breath, panic surging within me. I couldn’t move. My chest began to tighten and sweat broke on my brow.

Tight spaces and being confined was something I avoided at all costs. This one had taken me by surprise. He leaned toward my face, further restricting my movements.

I struggled beneath him, my heartbeat thundering. "Get off me!"

My frantic words barely escaped my constricted lungs. The present faded, and all I could see was the hazy outline of old stone and moss. I flung my fists in every direction, swinging for anything I could hit. I didn’t want to relive that memory. "Get off! Get off me!"

My wolf surged to the front of my consciousness, and she prepared to shift. She would protect me and didn't care where we were. I tried to take in a deep breath to calm her. Shifting in front of all these humans could get me killed the second I walked out the door. Besides, I had too much shit to do to get killed now.

The shifter's thick brows drew together in concern. "You okay?"

I couldn't answer, only suck in tiny sips of air. My lips tingled. Sensing my trouble, he slid off me. The hard look in his eyes was replaced with softness, which only pissed me off more. I didn't need his pity.

I reached for the top of a table and pulled myself up, feeling light heated. I gulped in fresh air, expanding my tight lungs. Finally, I could breathe again.

He said something else, but I was already shoving my way back to the bar. Well, that was embarrassing. I'd never had one of my claustrophobic episodes like that in front of anyone before. Just my luck that it would happen in front of the second biggest asshole in the bar.

I passed Samira just as she kicked at the chest of a female shifter, a coyote, I believe. The coyote flew across the room, crashing into a table. Another female came up behind her, a chair raised high. Without even looking, Samira spun and grabbed her by the neck. I finished off the female with a single punch to the face. Samira nodded once at me and returned to the fight.

I leaned against the bar next to Lynx and tried to pretend that I hadn't gone all psycho just a second earlier. My lungs still burned. "This place is pretty crazy. Yet, fun, right?"

"I wouldn't say that. Does this usually happen here?"

"Probably only on good nights. So can I have the room or did goth chick beat me to it?"

I flashed my eyes to Samira. She met my gaze knowingly. Damn vampires and their good hearing.

"Actually, I think I might rent out two rooms. I could use the money."

Just then a large table, probably thrown by a shifter, came flying our way. It was spinning too fast. I stretched out my arms to block it, but it was so large, it would probably break my arms.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the burst of pain, but it never came. I opened my eyes. The table was on the ground in front of us. I had only shut them for maybe two seconds. How had that happened?

An electric charge filled the room, bringing with it the faint smell of copper. I could barely detect it, but it was there. I looked at Lynx to see if she was sensing anything strange, but she was staring down at the table, beads of sweat on her forehead. That's when I knew.

"You're a..." I swallowed, not finishing the sentence. Goth girl, among others, might be listening. I didn't care that