Shifters, Secrets & Surprises Read online

  “Got work,” he grunted—and immediately regretted it. Resisting his pack’s matchmaking efforts was second nature to him by now. Even his father had pulled a little stunt a few years back, trying to stick him with an arranged mate. He bit back a growl just thinking about it. What little private life he had was none of their business. He’d found and lost his destined mate. There could be no other. Case closed.

  “Oh, Lana,” her grandmother chirped from the front seat. “Look at the pretty cactus.”

  Lana leaned forward to see, and her hair swayed tantalizingly close to his shoulder. He swallowed, hard.

  “And oh—what a magnificent falcon!” Ruth went on.

  Just as Lana ducked to get a view out the windshield, the truck hit a bump, and her hand gripped the seat at his shoulder, making his blood surge through his veins.

  The drive stretched on in the same way, every mile a tease and torture. Lana barely uttered a sound, and he was tempted to start up his own commentary, just to see how she reacted.

  Lana, he’d say, see those hills? Behind them is where we’re headed. She’d lean so close he might even feel her sweet breath in his ear. That’s the ranch. A little rough around the edges, but the most beautiful place on earth.

  He wanted to hear her coo in wonder and squint for a better view. Wanted her to know what the place meant to him.

  Or maybe he’d say, Lana, you should see it in spring, when the desert’s in bloom Then maybe she’d turn her head from left to right, glowing in wonder in spite of herself, just like he used to do when he was little.

  He wanted to throw an arm across the back of his seat, twist around to glance at her—right at her—and say, Lana, you remind me of someone, only I don’t know who.

  He got as far as releasing his death grip on the wheel with one hand and opening his mouth. Lana leaned forward on cue, her eyes following his lips in the rear-view mirror, her head tilting to catch his unspoken words. An instant later, she caught her blunder and threw herself back into her seat, crossing her arms over her chest in self-defense.

  He sighed. Like he’d even manage a full sentence around her. Not with his pulse spiking just watching her. Not with her studying everything in the desert but him.

  Ruth gestured out the windows at the last of Phoenix’s outlying suburbs. “I can’t believe how the city has grown,” she said. “Remember it, Lana?”

  He was all ears. What was there for her to remember?

  Lana murmured vaguely. Had she been there before? His mind went into a digging spree, throwing dirt everywhere without managing to find any trace of her. Then Ruth shifted to another topic, and his chance to ask was gone. Probably the old woman was simply mixed up. He would have remembered if Lana had been in Arizona before. He would definitely remember.

  Every animal instinct in him was stirring, wanting to touch and taste her. To pull her out of this truck and over to some private place where he could study her up close and personal. And not just her body. The rest, too. What was going on in her mind? Her heart? Her soul?

  It was a feeling he hadn’t had in…how long? Of course there were other women who’d managed to get him going, but that feeling was pretty much limited to his cock. This woman called to something much deeper. He didn’t so much want to lay her as to…what? What did he want?

  To get to know her. To figure her out. That’s what he wanted.

  Okay, okay, and to lay her, too.

  Who was she? How dare she have such an effect on him? Because no one did this to him. No one! Not since the phantom—and she didn’t exist.

  * * *

  Get your own copy of Desert Moon to read what happens next! There’s a beautiful howling-at-the-moon scene many fans rave about, along with action, drama, and red-hot passion as Ty and Lana fight for their rightful place together as destined mates. Desert Moon is also part of the Once Upon a Desert Moon collection, which includes the first three books in the Twin Moon series PLUS three exclusive bonus scenes you won’t find anywhere else. Available on Amazon/KU.

  Get your copy of Desert Moon here.

  Get your copy of Once Upon a Desert Moon here.

  Sneak Peek: Hunted by the Alphas – Part One

  by Lily Thorn

  Sneak Peek: Hunted by the Alphas – Part One

  Find out where it all began for Val and her Alphas…

  Val doesn’t have time for love. If she wants to become a monster hunter, she needs to focus. Any lapse in concentration could get her killed, so the attention of a tall, handsome man is especially inconvenient on the way to her first mission. His amber eyes are hard to get out of her mind, and they might just prove fatal.

  His whole life, Blaze dreamed of the day he’d become Alpha of his pack. But the title went to his brother Ash, so Blaze left, vowing to never return. The woman with stunning curves and an arsenal of concealed weapons is a welcome distraction. One look is all it takes to know that she’s his fated mate.

  Too bad she thinks shifters are monsters. And Blaze is about to find himself at the wrong end of her blade…

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  Val crouched behind a pillar, trying to hold still. It was dark, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t see her. Slowly, silently, she drew her silver dagger. Her pulse pounded in her ears. She had never killed one of them before, but she would if she had to. They were monsters.

  Something crashed. The sound echoed in the gloom. Val gasped, peeking around the pillar. She couldn’t see him, but she knew he was there.

  And getting closer.

  She clutched her dagger, knuckles white. The song they’d all learned as children wove through her mind. Sunlight burns them, but it’s only a start. Finish them with a blade of silver through the heart. Her palm was sweaty. The task had sounded easy as a child, but it was hard to stab something three times faster and stronger than you at all, let alone through the heart.

  A footstep fell on the flagstone. It was almost silent, but Val had been straining to hear any hint of sound. Cautiously, she crouched, easing her way around the pillar. Her heart thudded against her ribs. Surely he could hear it.

  There was the metallic sound of a drawn sword, the scuff of soft shoes planting. It came from behind her, where she had just been. He had tried to ambush her.

  Val held her breath. She heard a soft curse, the muffled noise of a weapon sliding reluctantly into its sheath. Footsteps retreated. Her heartbeat slowed.

  She couldn’t stay here. That had been too close a call. She peered over the walkway’s railing, looking toward the double doors below. They glowed with afternoon light that filtered in from outside. If she made it out, he wouldn’t be able to follow. She’d be safe.

  All she had to do was get to the doors.

  Carefully, Val stood. She held her dagger ready for a long moment, in case he was waiting to attack. Nothing. Val looked over the railing, swallowing hard. She’d landed higher jumps, but never outside the training room.

  The light outside the doors beckoned. She had thrown him off for now, but that wouldn’t last. The longer she lingered, the more time she’d have to make a mistake. It was now or never.

  She sheathed her dagger, took a breath, and vaulted off the walkway. The ground came up very fast. She bent her knees, landing on the balls of her feet like she’d done thousands of times in the training room. But this was no padded floor. Her feet throbbed as she stumbled toward the exit.

  A snarl echoed off the walls. Val turned. He was right there, at the bottom of the stairs. Turning toward the exit, she ran, fumbling for her dagger.

  She was too slow. He rammed into her, knocking her off her feet. She sprawled across the floor, winded.

  He pawed at her belt as she tried to suck in air. Val automatically covered her neck with her hands, though the motion made her ribs ache. Roll away, she commanded her body. Get to your feet, and sprint for the doors. You’ve felt worse. And unless you want to know what a vampire bite feels like, you’ll get your ass out of here.

  She rolled to her fee
t, ignoring her screaming ribs. It was too late. The hooded figure had already found the grimy book she’d come to fetch. He’d slipped it from her belt. His hood couldn’t hide his triumphant smile.

  Val felt her face heat. This was her first time, and she wasn’t going to fail. “That’s mine!” she shouted. “Give that back!”

  With a swish of his cloak, he turned and ran.

  Val pounded after him, ignoring the fire in her lungs. That book was everything. She couldn’t let him take it. Why did he have to be so infernally fast?

  His robe whipped around a corner, his footsteps loud as he ran up the stairs. Val charged after him, drawing her dagger.

  “Drop it!” she roared. “Drop it or I’ll slice you apart!”

  She ran back onto the walkway, then stopped. Where had he gone? Val gritted her teeth. She couldn’t let him escape.

  His boot struck her ear as he dropped from the ceiling. Val jumped back, swinging her dagger. Her panicked swipes missed every time. He advanced on her, mouth grim.

  Val chanced a quick look at the doors, her heart sinking. She should have run for them when she had the chance.

  He took the opening, gripping her by the dagger hand. She yelled, struggling for control. But he was strong, and relentless. Why had she been so stupid? She was going to die here. Or worse.

  Val tried not to let terror overtake her as they grappled. She wouldn’t drop her weapon. That had been drilled into her too many times to count. As long as she held on to her dagger, she still had a chance.

  Stepping on the hem of his robe, she pushed him with all her strength. He grunted with surprise, and was thrown off balance. His hood came off as he stumbled, and even in the darkness Val could see his face.

  He recovered, springing at her. But those eyes… Val hesitated. It was all the opening he needed. He knocked her dagger away. Val fell to her knees, twisting to reach for it, but his teeth were already at her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut. It was over.

  The lights came on. Val opened her eyes, only to squint. They were too bright after the darkness. The hooded figure offered her his hand.

  “Better luck next time, Val,” he said.

  “Thanks, Silas.” She blushed. She may have failed, but it was almost worth it to have him help her up.

  People had gathered down below. “What happened, Val?” her mother called. “Was it your heart?”

  Val sighed, recovering her dagger and sheathing it. “My heart is fine.”

  “Did you take your medicine this morning?”

  “I’m fine, Mom!” Val grimaced. She hated how much she had just sounded like a petulant teenager. Her mother only wanted to make sure she was safe.

  “What happened, Val?” her father asked softly.

  As she descended the stairs, her sister Hannah snickered. Val resisted the urge to flick her dagger past Hannah’s ear. Hannah wouldn’t be laughing then.

  Her father was still waiting for an answer. Peter Hunter might be a quiet man, but he was not someone who should be kept waiting.

  Val sighed. “Silas’s hood came off. I couldn’t kill Silas.”

  Was there a trace of a smile on her father’s face?

  “It’s just a simulation, Val.”

  “I know. I still couldn’t.”

  Silas walked up beside her, grinning. “Luckily, you won’t have that problem with real vampires.” He brushed some chalky dust off her jacket. “Sorry for nearly falling on you, by the way. Are you hurt?”

  “I’m fine.” Val avoided his eyes. Sometimes, when she looked into them, she forgot how words worked. His briefest touch made her heart race, even if there was only a brotherly concern in his actions. If her mother was so fixated on Val’s heart overexerting itself, she should be concerned about Silas, not the simulation.

  Hannah put a hand on Silas’s arm. “I wouldn’t want to be a vampire in this city, not with Silas around,” she purred.

  Val bit her lip. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, being a vampire. Silas would definitely pay attention to her then. Lethal attention, but still.

  She scuffed her shoe over the stone, waiting for her parents’ verdict. They exchanged a look, one that wasn’t promising. She had just done miserably in the simulation. Would they prevent her from going into the field?

  “Val,” her father began, “what was your primary objective?”

  The question startled her. Wasn’t it obvious? “To get the book.”

  “No, your primary objective is the same every time: to get out alive. Remember, if there’s ever a choice between the mission and your life, forget the mission.”

  She slumped into one of the pews. She should have known it was a trick question.

  “So what’s the real mission?” Hannah asked, eyes eager. “It’s obvious this was more than a normal test.” She swept a hand over the room. “This is what it looks like inside that crumbling cathedral. I remember from when you took us on a field trip there. At noon, I might add.” Her nose wrinkled in distaste.

  “Oh?” their father asked, amused. “Would you have preferred to go at midnight?”

  Hannah let out a huff of air. “Of course. Maybe a daywalker could be out at noon, but nothing challenging.”

  “Hannah Hunter.” Their mother’s eyes flashed, and Hannah cringed. “Don’t think for even one second that a daywalker couldn’t kill you if it got the chance. You’re not experienced enough to be so cocky. You’re a hunter. You can never lower your guard in this city. There are creatures here who would kill you for your name alone.”

  “Sorry,” Hannah mumbled. She stared at the floor.

  Val smirked. Not so high and mighty now, was she?

  “And you, Valerie.”

  Her smile dropped as their mother rounded on her.

  “I could give you the same lecture about being too reckless, so you’re right to wipe that look off your face. You have a long way to go, so don’t feel so smug. In case you forgot, you just failed your simulation. If you—”

  She was saved from the full force of her mother’s wrath when her father bowed his head and whispered in her ear. He was the only living being who could stop Ellen Hunter mid-sentence and not worry about having his nose sliced off.

  Val turned her head, dying to know what they were saying. As usual, it was far too quiet for her to hear. They had mastered that talent. To be fair, without it they wouldn’t have survived over two decades of hunting.

  Hannah was right—this had been more than an ordinary test. There was obviously a new mission, one at the abandoned cathedral, one easy enough to be a new hunter’s first mission. And their parents wanted to know which one of them should have it.

  She wanted to groan aloud. Why couldn’t she have just run for the doors? Her parents had watched her train enough to know she wasn’t hopeless. Why did she have to screw up so badly the one time it mattered most?

  Hair prickled on the back of her neck. Someone was watching her. She turned. It was Hannah, of course. Her sister leaned against a pew, barely concealing her glee. Val looked away, focusing instead on the crooked crucifix on the wall.

  Hannah probably would get the mission. She had retrieved the book on her first try, and without Cole catching her. Val thought the test had been slightly unfair—Silas was a far better hunter than Cole. Let Hannah try to get past Silas.

  Her sister sat in the pew across from Val. “I’m going to get it,” she whispered. “It’s mine.”

  “We’ll see,” Val whispered back. She wished, just once, that she wouldn’t let Hannah needle her, but it didn’t seem like today would be the day she succeeded.

  “You really think you could go up against a vampire?” Hannah scoffed. “You’re good enough in the training room, but you’ll never be as good as me in the field.”

  Val rolled her eyes. “How could you possibly know that? In case you’ve forgotten, neither of us has been on a mission yet.”

  “Yeah,” Hannah said, her eyes glittering like she held a trump card, “but you’re not a tru
e Hunter.”

  “Girls?” their father asked. “Is this a bad time?”

  Val stared straight ahead. She wanted to shoot Hannah a glare to let her know she wasn’t stung, but that wouldn’t work if her eyes were watering. Peter and Ellen never gave any indication that they cared or even remembered that Val was not their biological daughter. It was just Hannah who wouldn’t let her forget.

  “Now’s fine,” Hannah said sweetly.

  “Val? Are you okay?”

  She took a breath. “Of course,” she said, maybe too cheerily. “Is it about a mission?”

  “Yes.” He looked at both of them solemnly. “And I hope you two can stop bickering, because you’re going to have to work together.”

  “What?” Hannah sputtered. “With her? Why?”

  Val sat back, crossing her arms. She’d rather wait longer for a first mission than go on one with Hannah.

  “Because two pairs of eyes are safer than one,” their mother said. “And this way, you can have each other’s backs.” She looked over them, her eyes shrewd. “Unless you think it would be safer to send Silas along with you.”

  “We don’t need a babysitter,” Hannah said indignantly. “Do we, Val?”

  Val shook her head, trying to hide a smile. So now it was “we?”

  “What’s the mission?” she asked.

  Their father drew a gleaming gun from its holster. “Tracking. There’s been a strange drop in activity lately, fewer sightings of vampires in their usual haunts. We want to know where they are, and what they’re doing.”

  Ellen handed him three darts, and he loaded two into the gun. It was transparent, the darts visible within. Idly, she wondered whether her father had really created a glass gun. It seemed like something he would do.

  “This is a silver dart, with a tracking chip attached.” He held it up. “The silver will penetrate their skin, and when they pull the dart out, the chip will detach.” He loaded the last dart into the gun. “You get three shots. If it takes more than three, you’re obviously not ready and Silas will complete the mission for you.”