Stonybrooke Shifters: The Complete Collection Read online

  “Thank you,” Clark said gruffly, grabbing the plate from her and sliding it toward himself. No. He wouldn’t even allow himself to entertain the thought that Carmen might be interested in him as well. That would take his mind down dark roads that were better left untraveled.

  Carmen’s face fell, almost imperceptibly, and she returned to the kitchen. A few moments later, Carmen and Rachel were seated across from each other at the table, and all of them began to eat. Carmen stayed silent and stared down at her plate, refusing to look up even when Rachel was speaking.

  Clark sulked and poked at his food. He hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings or anything. But wasn’t it just better if they didn’t speak to each other at all? At least until he figured out how to get a handle on whatever it was that he was feeling toward her. It couldn’t be healthy.

  Clark sighed inwardly and glanced up at Rachel. He couldn’t bear the pointed silence any longer.

  “So how’s school been?” he asked. The most generic dad thing he could think to say. He knew it was bland, but he was grasping at straws here.

  “Good,” Rachel said cheerfully.

  “Good,” Clark said.

  Well that didn’t give him a whole hell of a lot to go on.

  “Has Missy been living here again?” Rachel asked suddenly. Carmen’s eyes suddenly locked on him in interest.

  Clark reddened.

  “No, honey. Why?”

  “I just thought I smelled her a little while ago. It was weird…”

  “No,” Clark said, his mind racing with possibilities. That woman had been a horribly needy little thing. She seemed to want him constantly. In fact, her scent while she was in his house was one of pure lust. He never should have brought her over. In fact, he hadn’t seen her in almost six months. Not since she got that new boyfriend. Why would Rachel think he smelled her?

  “Huh,” Rachel said, shrugging dismissively. She looked down at her plate and resumed eating. But Clark could feel Carmen’s eyes on him from across the table. He could only guess what question might be burning on her mind. Who was Missy?

  Clark groaned out loud and stood up, putting his hand on his head. Why was he letting himself see things that weren’t there? Maybe he really did need to get laid. But he couldn’t do it here, not with the girls at the house.

  “Thanks, girls,” he said, carrying his half-eaten plate to the kitchen. “It was delicious.”

  “Good!” Rachel replied.

  “Thank you,” Carmen said quietly.

  Her voice was just as hypnotic as the rest of her body. Clark had to stop himself from growling out loud as he stuck his unfinished food in the fridge. He couldn’t keep living like this. It was time to make a phone call.

  4.

  “What was that about?” Carmen asked as she and Rachel finished up the dinner dishes.

  “What was what?” Rachel replied, drying off a plate obliviously.

  “With your dad. He didn’t even finish eating.”

  “Oh, he’s like that. He rushes off to do things. He’s kind of a big deal around here. Really busy.”

  “I see,” Carmen said, thinking carefully about how to ask her next question. “Is Missy somebody he works with?”

  Rachel snorted.

  “No, she’s somebody he bones. A real pain in the ass too. She wants to be my mom so badly. But my dad would never date her, let alone marry her. I didn’t think he’s seen her in months, actually, but I thought I smelled...maybe she was over here secretly and he was too embarrassed to talk about it in front of you.”

  Rachel laughed and Carmen’s cheeks burned hot.

  “Why would he be embarrassed about me? I’m not a kid.”

  “You are to him! He’s like fifty or something!”

  Carmen pursed her lips but said nothing more about it.

  “What did you mean he’s a big deal around here?” Carmen finally asked once the silence started to feel uncomfortable.

  “I mean, all the others are always looking to him for advice. He’s not the alpha of the pack or anything, but he’s pretty damn close.”

  Carmen nodded. She had heard of shifters before, but Rachel was the first she had ever really spoken to. It was how they had gotten to know each other in their Anthropology course. Rachel had a lot of insight that many others didn’t understand about shifter culture, and she demanded respect without actually disrespecting anybody else. She was a force to be reckoned with, really, and Carmen had a feeling that her father would be incredibly proud.

  “If he’s not the alpha, then who is he?” Carmen asked.

  “You sure ask a lot of questions about my dad,” Rachel exclaimed. “You have a crush on him or something?”

  Rachel laughed, but Carmen felt like she had been punched in the gut by the accusation. Still, she grinned and laughed along.

  “No, I’ve just never been in a shifter’s house before. It’s all very interesting and exciting.”

  “I understand,” Rachel said. “But we’re not all that different. There are some ancient laws that kind of govern our species, and there’s this conspiracy that we’re actually in charge of the government, but honestly, being a shifter is super boring. Nothing exciting ever happens here.”

  Carmen nodded. Nothing exciting ever seemed to happen anywhere. And maybe, she thought, as Rachel’s father’s face invaded her thoughts for the millionth time that evening, that was a good thing.

  5.

  “How was it?”

  Clark winced and stood from Missy’s bed. She had tasted like booze and cigarettes, and he probably wouldn’t be able to shake her off for another few months. It had been a bad idea to call her. But it was worse to think that his inappropriate feelings for his daughter’s friend would persist if he didn’t take care of his needs. Maybe now he would be able to find some peace of mind.

  “Fine,” Clark said distractedly. “Listen, I can’t stay. My daughter’s in town. I just wanted…”

  “You don’t have to explain,” Missy said. She sat up and took a swig from a bottle of whiskey that was sitting on her end table. Clark hadn’t even noticed it when they’d gone in. “Here.”

  Clark hesitated a moment before taking a swig of the whiskey.

  “Thanks,” he said, pulling his clothes on. “I needed that.”

  He left in a hurry, before the conversation could turn more awkward. Missy was a hell of a looker, and had been since high school. But she had always been such a flake. She could never hold a man and keep him, because she was always too obsessed with what she couldn’t have. But every once in a while, she would come back to Clark.

  It was hard to resist her at times, because they had been high school sweethearts. But she wasn’t aging very gracefully, and she seemed to need every man she wanted and suck him dry. She didn’t mean for it to happen that way, but that was just the kind of woman she was. She used them ‘til she couldn’t get any more out of them and moved on to the next.

  That was probably why she was so adamant about coming after Clark. He never needed her back, and never seemed to have anything that she could take away from him. It was an alpha-omega behavior at heart, really, but they managed their relationship just fine. Neither of them actually needed each other. It was just a fun ride when they were bored with everybody else.

  “Clark!”

  Rage bubbled in Clark’s chest at the sound of Alexander’s voice.

  “What do you want, Alex?”

  “Alexander,” he corrected. “I thought you should know that Leon’s got some serious shit happening right now, and if you don’t sign the deed over, you’re really going to feel it.”

  “Like hell I’m signing my deed over!” Clark growled. He was ready to pounce this gaunt little shit, but he had to remind himself that he wasn’t the only one to blame. Alexander was more or less just the messenger. It wasn’t his fault he was intimidated by people who were more powerful than he was. Which pretty much meant he was intimidated by everybody, even the two-year-old girl down the block wi
th whooping cough.

  “That’s going to be hard on you, Clark,” Alexander warned, his tone condescending. “Don’t you have a daughter to put through school?”

  “You leave my daughter out of this, you vile piece of - ”

  “Clark!” a deep, pleasant voice said from across the street.

  “Oh…hi David,” Clark grumbled, keeping his eye fixed firmly on Alexander. Alex quickly looked down at the ground. He knew he was no match for someone like Clark. That’s why he spent all of his time thinking of ways to destroy people’s lives using paper and technicalities. He was really quite devious, and always had been. It was honestly no surprise that he had taken to the newcomers like they were the second coming.

  “Pleasant day, isn’t it?” David called, walking slowly across the street to join Clark and Alexander.

  David was a jovial man, with a little paunch in his belly and a bushy black beard. His hair was short but wild with curls, and he looked more like a bear shifter than a wolf shifter. Still, there was no denying that he was one of theirs, and Alexander was beginning to feel outnumbered.

  “We will discuss this further if you want to keep what little assets you have,” Alexander said, his eyes narrowing on Clark. “Good day, David.”

  “Good day to you too, little man,” David said.

  David was the only man alive that could say something like that without sounding like a prick. They watched Alexander scramble into his bright red convertible and speed away back toward City Hall. He had always been too intimidated by motorcycles to ride one. He was kind of a wimp.

  “What’s going on, Clark?” David asked, his friendly brown eyes growing serious. “They giving you trouble again?”

  “When have they stopped trying to give me trouble?” Clark growled, kicking at one of Missy’s flowers. It was already lopsided anyway, what harm could he do to it?

  “Easy man,” David said. “Let’s walk. I’ve heard something you need to know.”

  Clark’s stomach dropped. That didn’t sound like a good thing.

  “What is it?” he asked, falling into step with David.

  “There’s talk in the counsel of more changes to come,” David said, glancing around as if to make sure nobody else was listening.

  “The last fucking thing we need is more changes!” Clark exclaimed. His blood was still boiling from his encounter with Alexander. If he heard one more horrible thing about the outsiders, he might go up there and give them a piece of his mind.

  “The thing is, they have a lot of support,” David said. “On paper, it all sounds great. They want to go back to some of the old ways. They think tradition is the best way to keep technology from corrupting Shifter culture. And it’s all stuff we old folks have been saying for years.”

  “So what’s the problem with it?” Clark asked, a feeling of foreboding rising in his chest.

  “The problem is, these shifters from the outside have their own idea of how things should be done. Not every code is right for every pack, you know? I have a feeling that we’re dealing with a pack of manipulative rogues, right? Ostracized from their packs for trying too hard to put their hands in places they didn’t belong.”

  “So how is it that they’ve gained so much power here?”

  David nodded in the direction that Alexander’s car had headed.

  “Alex?”

  David pursed his lips but said nothing.

  “You didn’t hear it from me, but Alex and his whole family have always been die-hard traditionalists. The creepy kind too. They’re into some things that are outdated for a reason. Don’t you remember the rumors from when we were kids?”

  “What? That Alexander and his family were part of a cult?” Clark asked with a laugh. “That’s just because he was weird. I could have started that rumor.”

  “Yeah,” David said. “Except you didn’t. There’s something freaky going on around here and I don’t like it.”

  Clark was quiet for a few moments. He looked up sharply when he felt the heavy weight of Dave’s hand on his shoulder.

  “Please, promise me that if things get too fucked up, you’ll step in.”

  “David, you know I can’t do that,” Clark said. “I made a promise to the king of our clan to know my place. The others look to me to keep the order. And if I go out of turn, the fear they feel will be enough to drive this town apart once and for all. Then we would really be vulnerable to the outsiders. You understand?”

  David gritted his teeth, but he nodded.

  “I understand your sense of duty on this, but there’s a point where what’s wrong is wrong. And we have to stand up for what we believe.”

  “I know, David. But everything will be okay.”

  David nodded, but his gentle brown eyes were dubious.

  “See you around, Clark.”

  “Yeah, see you.”

  Clark sighed as he watched David go. If only David knew just how close Clark was to throttling the life out of those in power once and for all. But what he said was true. He couldn’t disrupt the harmony of the pack. That would be more destructive than letting the outsiders gain power.

  Who knew what would happen if the pack found itself suddenly without leadership? It could drive a wolf to madness trying to take charge if he didn’t know how. The only thing there was to do was to hope that it wouldn’t come to that.

  6.

  “So!” Rachel exclaimed, plopping onto her bed with a bowl of ice cream. She patted it and Carmen lounged beside her with her own bowl. She could tell that it was time for some serious girl talk. “I guess Bobby saw I was back in town and he wants to meet up tomorrow. I don’t know what I should do.”

  “Why? What’s wrong with Bobby?” Carmen asked, taking a bite of her ice cream. It was unbelievably good. If there was one thing Carmen was quickly learning, it was that shifters had a command in the kitchen that most people would envy. They truly knew how to appreciate food. She chalked it up to their heightened senses.

  Rachel’s father suddenly flashed in Carmen’s head, and she flushed. She couldn’t help but wonder what else they were better at. Why was her mind suddenly so inappropriate? She was a virgin! It wasn’t like she would know the difference either way.

  “Oh, there’s nothing wrong with Bobby at all, if you know what I mean, but I was getting kind of serious with Roger; you know, the guy who started tutoring me?”

  How could Carmen forget? Rachel talked little of anything else. Apparently, he was a god among men, with an angelic face and golden hair.

  “Right,” Carmen said. “But wasn’t he dating someone?”

  “Well, yeah, but I really feel like we were making progress before I left. He was talking to me about their problems and I felt a spark, you know?”

  “I don’t, really…” Carmen said, another invasive thought of Mr. Thomas charging through her mind.

  “Oh, right, sorry,” Rachel said. “Anyway, she’s a total bitch and he knows he deserves better. But if I hook up with Bobby, it will be like I’m cheating on him, don’t you think?”

  “Um, but you’re not dating either one of them right now so what would it matter?” Carmen asked.

  “Well, the thing is, Bobby and I have dated before, and whenever I’m home he gets my hopes up, saying that someday things are going to work out and we’re going to get married and have our own pups, but I just don’t think that’s the way it’s going to be. But I fall for it every time. And I don’t want to do it anymore. I want to focus on someone who has his shit together.”

  “Even if he already has a girlfriend…” Carmen said, regretting it as soon as she said it out loud. She was just trying to keep up with Rachel’s rapid thought process, but when Rachel heard her say it, her brown eyes lit up.

  “Exactly! He already has a girlfriend. What am I waiting around for? Who knows what the two of them have planned together this summer? It doesn’t seem fair that they should get to spend the summer with each other while I just sit here and pine…maybe I should call Bobby.�
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  “But what if Roger does break up with his girlfriend for you?” Carmen said, trying to tread carefully. Her friend was very impulsive, especially when it came to men. It was like she didn’t truly want to settle down with anyone. It was kind of the same impression that Carmen had gotten from Rachel’s father.

  “Then he will let me know during the summer. Bobby knows that when I’m in school I’m going to do what I want. He never follows through.”

  A sincere note of pain leaked into Rachel’s voice and Carmen frowned. It sounded like she really did care about this Bobby guy, even though he was clearly no good for her. There was a small possibility that Bobby was sincere and simply trying to get his life on track, but that wasn’t the kind of judgment she could make from second-hand accounts. They would have to meet and talk before she could determine what sort of man he was, and even then, it was possible that there were things about him she would never know or understand. Rachel’s boy troubles were kind of exhausting. Sometimes, it felt better to stay out of it.

  “Sorry to kind of hog the conversation,” Rachel said, sipping a melted spoonful of ice cream and fixing her eyes on Carmen. “You’re a virgin, right? So what about you? Is there any guy you’re actually interested in, or do you think that Mr. Right hasn’t come along yet and probably never will? Or what’s the deal with that? I mean, I know we’re young and all, but don’t you get lonely?”

  “Which question do you want me to answer first?” Carmen said with a shy laugh. She had never been comfortable talking about the opposite sex. In fact, it felt like a taboo, especially in her family. She didn’t want to make the mistake of giving her virginity to a man who didn’t deserve it. That was what her mother had done, and she had seen how destructive that could be first-hand.

  “Any of them! All of them!” Rachel laughed.

  Carmen shook her head.

  “I don’t know,” she sighed. “It sometimes feels like everybody I meet is just too immature.”

  “Well, you’re surrounded by twenty-year-old guys,” Rachel said. “They basically haven’t even finished going through puberty yet. Give it some time, though. Once you get past the goofiness and the horniness, a lot of them really aren’t that bad.”