Shift After Dark by Liz Paffel

Author:Liz Paffel [Paffel, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Liz Paffel
Published: 2020-06-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

The moon cast brilliant silver light off the snow. While Gavin didn’t need the light to stalk through the night, he welcomed the potent energy it offered. Isla’s confession nailed him. She wanted him to give her euphoric death by pumping her full of the narcotic serum in his bite, yet the very thought of it created a sadness in him so confounding; he had no idea how to harness it.

His past included a string of others suffering at his hands. Luca, for all his young Ahpret innocence had determined to follow Gavin into war, despite his family’s fervent protest. Instead of pushing him away, Gavin had taken the young warrior under his wing and thrust him into chaos. Luca would likely die because of him; because the trauma Gavin exposed him to had sealed him into a fatal shift.

Fuck, he wasn’t going to run down the long, long list of wrongs he’d done.

Blood would make it better.

He wanted to watch over Isla, make sure she was all right, and comfort her when she needed it. The simple act of wiping blood from her face gave him a calm satisfaction he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Killing her wasn’t something he was going to add to his list.

His senses were on high alert. Torn between returning to Isla and quenching the ever-growing need for human blood, Gavin gave in to the urge to hunt. He had to; the thirst was leaving him no choice. He’d canvas the woods in search of the hunter.

More, he needed to find the source of the unfamiliar male telekinetic voice. He’d threatened Isla. Gavin needed to find the bastard, and soon.

Silently, with a long-born skill, Gavin navigated through the forest and underbrush. A small cabin came into view. He’d been here before, many times in this cat-and-mouse game. It was a hunting cabin used by the Ahpret and taken over by ballsy humans. Most didn’t survive the night, or quickly fled when they realized how the Ahpret felt about trespassers.

Two deer carcasses hung from low branches at the edge of the woods. Gavin sensed the bear traps beneath the frozen corpses; made sure to pick his way carefully to the run-down hunting shack.

The smells of wood smoke, roasted meat and bear’s blood made his pulse quicken; they marked this poacher as the same that shot him. A deep ache began in Gavin’s shoulders and worked its way down his spine. The grizzly within struggled to be let out. He held back. His hunger needed to be slacked before he could attempt another shift, especially after the energy he used in mid-shift once today. Isla had presented the perfect opportunity for feeding.

Gavin pushed away the faint kiss of her blood on his tongue. So sweet. Too sweet. Her taste made him think things he never allowed himself to dwell on—leaving for Canada, starting a new life. Taking a mate. A tight breath hissed between his lips as he carved out that thought and threw it away.

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