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

Dominic bent over and jerked the leg of the table clean off, then pounded the holy hell out of the rest of the wood. Splinters flew in all directions, and we had to move away to keep from getting hit. He screamed at the table, a string of profanities that made several of the employees burst into tears. His dark hair flopped around, covering his dark, rage-filled eyes.

I slowly moved forward, inching my way toward Samantha and the humans in case they needed protection from the psychotic demon who was in desperate need of some Lithium.

But just as quickly as the fit came on, Dominic straightened, and his expression fell flat. He calmly smoothed back his hair as if he was in front of a mirror preparing for a date. After adjusting his jacket, he walked out of the restaurant, all without looking at us.

Luke didn’t miss a beat and followed after. “Pack them up, boys.”

The rest of us looked at each other as if to say, “Did that really just happen?”

Jerry looked especially upset, like someone had just broken his favorite superhero action figure. He shook his head sadly and forced the male shifter to his feet. I grabbed the girl’s arm gently and helped her up too. She didn’t protest, even as we led them outside and into our vehicles to be questioned later.

The air had cooled considerably as the moon rose into the star kissed night. Normally I drew comfort from the millions of sparkles that refused to be swallowed by the darkness, but after what I just witnessed, the void inside me would last awhile.

Silas had left with the SUV we had come in, so we all had to crowd into Dominic’s vehicle. Dominic sat behind the wheel, another uncharacteristic move. Luke slid into the passenger seat and motioned for me to sit on his lap. I hesitated, but when I saw everyone else crowd into the back of the small space, I agreed. He wrapped his warm arms around my waist and pulled me against his chest. I leaned into him, surprised by how well we fit together. I might’ve enjoyed it more, but the heat of everyone crammed into the vehicle was making my chest tighten.

As if sensing my sudden anxiety, Luke reached over and rolled down the window just as Dominic pulled the car onto the road. The cool air rushed into my lungs, and I relaxed more fully into Luke, even sweeping my hand up his arm to his chest.

Why did this feel so natural? It was as if he was an extension of me.

If it weren’t for Luke, the ride back to Fire Ridge would’ve been uncomfortably silent and stuffy. It didn’t help that we had two eerily quiet enemy shifters shoved in the back. It was difficult to look at them without shivering. They had no reaction to anything, not to what Dominic did, nor to being shoved into the back of the SUV. They were like zombies, but without the slobber and the whole brain eating thing, thank goodness.

Luke’s fingers began to stroke my side, sending shots of pleasurable electricity throughout my body, but he didn’t seem to realize he was doing it. He stared out the window, brooding.

As soon as we pulled up to the mansion, Dominic threw the SUV into park and jumped out. “Lock the shifters up.” He slammed his door behind him.

Maera climbed over Jerry and rushed to get out of the car, running after Dominic.

“Jerry and Terrence,” Luke said, “take them downstairs.” His phone buzzed from within his pocket. Keeping his arm around my waist, he yanked it out of his pocket and read the message away from where I could see.

“See you inside,” Samantha said, eyeing me curiously. She was probably wondering the same thing as me—why the hell weren’t Luke and I getting out of the car?

I shuffled in his lap, opening the door to climb out, but, without looking up from his phone, Luke placed his hand on my thigh, holding me still. I waited until everyone had gone into the house, then shut the door.

I turned to face him. “Tell me what’s going on. Everything.”

Luke slipped the phone into his pocket. When he looked up at me, his gaze seemed more relaxed somehow. The tight lines in his face were gone.

He settled his hands on my thighs and laid back, looking comfortable. “What do you want to know?”

“What happened earlier, when you stopped Maera from mind-reading Ryder? I know that wasn’t a coincidence.”

The edges of his lips tugged upwards and his thumbs edged their way under my shirt, making goosebumps break out on my arms.

“Why don’t you tell me how you blocked the witch?”

I frowned, huffing a breath through my teeth. He wasn’t going to tell me unless I told him my secret, which I obviously couldn’t do. So I changed the subject. “Does Maera often invade pack member’s brains?”

His smile disappeared. “Never on the scale that was done today. You need to be more careful. You could’ve been caught and they would’ve killed you.”

I poked at his hard pec. “Good thing a tough, sexy man was there to save me from the big, bad wolf.”

“Damn straight.” He grinned, running his thumbs higher. He stroked my sides, burning a line of fire into my skin. He leaned in to whisper. “Next time, you’ll have to beg me for help first.”

Heat rushed through my veins, but I put my hand on his chest and pushed away. “There won’t be a next time. Do I look like a helpless maiden? I can take care of myself.”

“It didn’t seem like that to me.”

“I was doing just fine.” I needed to clear my head from his scent, from the way he was making me melt into him. I scrambled to get away from him by opening the car door and climbing out. The fresh autumn air breathed across my flesh, cooling the heat plaguing my body. I slammed the door shut, trying to make some space between us, but he followed quickly behind me. He placed his hand on my arm. “And Ryder? He was involved somehow, wasn’t he? That’s why you looked so worried earlier.”

I swiveled around. “What?”

“Did Ryder help you steal that briefcase?”

“Why do you care?”

“Because, Ryder is different. You shouldn’t get him involved in your shit.”

“I’m being careful.”

He eyed me, letting his gaze slide over my face. He stepped into my space. “I’ve never seen anyone block Maera. Never. Until today. Until you.” He grabbed my arms and pushed my back against the car. “You may be able to take care of yourself, but if you’ve gotten Ryder involved, and they found out, they would’ve killed him. Probably tortured him first. Especially about this. Dominic’s never wanted something so badly in his life.”

“Don’t you