Mystic World First In Series Ebook Bundle

Sometimes escaping the past leads to finding the future.

On the run from her ex-boyfriend, Tris Abbott finds herself at Gem Creek Campground. A place that unexplainably feels like home, but holds secrets. It’s here Tris’s world flips upside down when she learns shifters are real and she’s chosen to save them.

Before she can come to terms with the supernatural world she’s been introduced to, her past catches up.

Face-to-face with her ex again, Tris must decide between fight and flight. Round two will be different though, because this time she knows what her ex is—a shifter.

If I could tell the me from a month ago one thing, it would be to look the other way when Corbin Davis walks into the diner. Don’t jump at the chance to wait on him. Don’t flirt with him while pouring his lemonade or sweet tea. Don’t think it’s cute when he sniffs your hair as you lean in to take his empty plate away. 

It’s not cute. It’s psychotic. Know the difference.

I would tell myself to see him for what he is—a criminal, a con artist, someone not worthy of my freaking time. I would tell myself only guys with ego complexes ride motorcycles as sexy as he does.

The problem is: I can’t go back to the me from a month ago and tell her any of these things because life doesn’t work that way. There’s no rewind button. No do-over switch. 

Things that happen just are. You can’t undo them, and you can’t ever go back.

If I could, I wouldn’t be trapped in the trunk of Corbin’s friend Ezra’s crappy Mustang with my hands tied behind my back while Corbin and his little brother, Chase, take me to who knows where to do God knows what to me. 

How the hell was I going to get out of this?

My chest tightened as another rush of adrenaline surged through me. The car continued down whatever crappy road we drove on, and all I could do was kick myself for ever thinking Corbin Davis wasn’t wicked to the core like the rest of the hooligans he hung with.

A metal bar dug into my hip as whoever drove—Chase, I think—hit another large pothole instead of avoiding it.

Where were they taking me?

Granted, most roads in Opal Pine needed repair, but this road was desolate. We seemed to hit another pothole every few seconds. I thought of all the backroads in town and where they led, but couldn’t think of a single place the Davis brothers might be headed with me in the trunk.

Too much time had passed for them to be headed to Ezra’s shitty family farmhouse. It was a few miles away from the trailer park where I lived, which was in the center of town. 

No, they were taking me somewhere else.

I struggled to move into a better position so I could resume picking at the rope that tied my wrists together. The last few potholes had jostled me into a weird position. One in which I was having to fight against gravity. 

You shouldn’t have let them take you to a second location, I scolded myself as a statistic I’d read, or heard somewhere, about survival rates dropping drastically after an abducted person was moved to a second location flashed through my mind.

 My heart hammered as my gut twisted with undiluted panic. My insides quivered, and I swore for a second my lungs forgot how to do their one and only job—breathe.

Every sign I’d turned a blind eye to involving Corbin and his friends stabbed at me. I should have been more cautious of him and the others. I shouldn’t have given into Corbin’s dangerous vibes and sexy smile. I should have been stronger. I should have listened to my gut when it told me something was off about him. About all of them. 

Who was I kidding? Bad boys were my weakness, especially ones with beautiful gray eyes, perfectly tanned skin, and muscles galore accented by black leather jackets. 

This is what you get, Tris, when you ignore your gut. You get freaking kidnapped, shoved in somebody’s trunk, and hauled off to be eaten.

My blood ran cold as an even more haunting thought surfaced: What if Corbin and the group he hung with were cannibals? There had been so many stories about them circulating through town over the years that involved weird shit like satanism and cults. The most recent accusations were that they’d been drugging girls at parties and drinking their blood. I’d written it off as crazy talk, but what if it wasn’t? What if there was truth to the rumors?

I’d recently heard a story of a college-age girl who’d suffered an allergic reaction to tenderizer while overseas. The guy she’d been dancing with the night before had sprinkled it on her during the night in preparation to eat her later. She went to the hospital instead of his house, and that had been what saved her life.

Crap. Corbin and the group he hung with could very well be cannibals. It would explain a lot of their creepy factor. My heart pumped faster and harder against my ribs. 

Chase went over another mondo pothole, jostling the car yet again. Instead of the metal piece digging deeper into my hip, this time I busted my face against the door of the trunk when I was slung forward unexpectedly. White hot pain radiated from my cheek to my forehead.

“What the hell, Chase! Take it easy. Ezra will have my ass if we screw something up on his car,” Corbin insisted. “This thing is a classic.”

“A classic turd,” Chase countered. “It’s older than dirt and barely runs. It’s like a rust bucket on wheels.”

If I hadn’t been stuffed into a trunk on my way to be eaten or chopped into tiny pieces by my boyfriend and his groupies, I would have laughed at that. Chase wasn’t wrong—Ezra’s 1986 Mustang was a giant rusty turd. It was faded blue with trim missing, bald tires, and more than a few patches of rust eating away at its body.

Still, the trunk was solid.

I’d tried kicking it when I was first tossed inside, but the entire thing was metal. The only parts that weren’t were the sticky carpet beneath me and the wooden boards secured in place behind me where the backseat met the trunk. 

Whatever they were about to do to me, it had been planned. Those boards were proof.

I wished I hadn’t called Corbin to go out tonight. I wished I’d told him I was staying in when I saw him pull up in Ezra’s beater with Chase instead of alone on his bike. If I hadn’t been so pissed at my mom I probably would have.

Hindsight was a real bitch.

“You should’ve let me drive, like I said,” Corbin insisted. Frustration rolled through his voice. His deep, sexy voice.

God, I was a lost cause. 

This guy had freaking hit me, kidnapped me, and was probably about to eat me or drink every drop of blood in my body, and yet I still had the hots for him. Something was seriously wrong with me.

I blamed it on my mother. 

Stella Abbott was the type of woman who could be beaten to a pulp by whatever man she was currently seeing and still be hopelessly in love with him after. Sometimes I prayed that she would see the light and realize she deserved so much more than the losers she picked to date and the crappy way they treated her. My prayers were never answered, though. Mom always stayed and the guys she dated always left.

It was a vicious cycle. One I’d been hellbent on not repeating.

I’d sworn to myself that I wouldn’t stay with someone who hit me. I thought I’d learned all the signs. I thought I’d be able to spot a guy with anger issues and fists that liked to fly, but apparently, that wasn’t the kind of guy I needed to look out for.

Apparently, I needed to watch for the guys who tied my wrists behind my back and shoved me into trunks too.

“If you’d drove, we probably wouldn’t have been able to get her in the back,” Chase said.

Corbin chuckled. It was low, deep, and rich. I ignored the butterflies bursting into flight through my lower stomach and focused on Chase’s words. They made me smirk.

He’d confirmed that I’d put up one hell of a struggle against them. I knew I had—my knuckles were still tender from sucker punching them both—but it was nice to hear someone say it.

“Is she too strong for you, little brother?” Corbin teased.

“Damn right. She might be small, but that chick is feisty. Scrappy too. My eye still hurts from where she slugged me when I tried to grab her.” 

More satisfaction slivered through me. Both of the Davis brothers would have shiners come tomorrow.

Too bad I hadn’t been able to knock them out with my blows. Making contact was awesome, but being able to get away would have been even better. Corbin had come up behind me and wrapped his arms around my middle during the struggle, gripping me in a vice-like hold that had squeezed the breath out of me and made it hard to move even a tiny amount. That was when Chase tied my wrists behind my back. Before I knew what was happening, I’d been shoved into Ezra’s trunk. 

“She was a feisty one, for sure. That was what I liked about her. She had fire inside her,” Corbin said, surprising me. “I really thought we could have been something. She was different. In a good way.”

My heart skipped a beat. Corbin had thought we could be something? Then why the hell was I in a damn trunk? 

“Yeah, too bad she fit the bill,” Chase insisted. “She would have been cool to turn and initiate into the pack.”

Fit the bill? What did that mean? And, turn? Oh, crap. Were they vampires?

They couldn’t be. I’d seen each of them out during the day. Unless that was a myth.

Sweet Jesus, I needed to get out of here.

“I know,” Corbin said, his voice heavy. 

Silence built inside the car. I pulled at the rope around my wrists, trying my best to get some slack into the tight knot.

“I felt the same about Leanne,” Chase said. “After Ezra bled her, I was depressed for days. It sucked that she wasn’t the one, because it meant we could have continued dating. Maybe it would’ve gone somewhere.”

His words twisted my stomach, and I paused in what I was doing. I knew that name. Leanne. She’d gone missing a few weeks ago. I didn’t know her well, but I’d seen her around. She was a year younger than me. We went to a few of the same parties, and once she’d complimented me on my outfit. She lived on the same side of town as I did—as we all did—the side where if you went missing, it would be a good while before anyone tried to find you.

Everyone thought Leanne had ran away. Her dad was an alcoholic who barely was sober long enough each day to run his mechanic shop. I never knew what the story was with her mom and why she’d left town, but I knew she had when Leanne was around eleven. Leanne running away made sense. No one had questioned the rumor because her life wasn’t the best.

Now, I knew the truth and I couldn’t help thinking how many others had been kidnapped by these freaks before Leanne—before me—to be bled. 

Shit. What did that even mean? My mind circled back to what I knew of vampires. If that was what they were and they could go out in daylight, then maybe books and movies had it wrong.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Humans are unpredictable, especially the women,” Corbin insisted. There was humor in his tone. Typically, I would have been pissed he’d said something so sexist, but all I could focus on was the fact that he’d said the word human as though he wasn’t one. Ice chilled my blood. “If Tris is who we’re looking for, then spilling her blood will be worth it.”

My breath hitched. What. The. Hell?

I needed my hands free. Now. Picking at the rope wasn’t doing any good. I needed to figure out a way to cut it. Then, I needed to find a weapon. There was no way I’d let them spill any of my blood if I could help it.

My gaze skimmed the contents of the trunk. There wasn’t much light filtering through the cracks, but I could make out a few things. Filthy clothes that looked as though they’d been shredded by an animal piled near my feet. Food wrappers, soda cans, and various other items littered the area around me.

I wrinkled my nose. This car was disgusting.

Chase went over another bump, sending me into the air. My cheek bounced off the floorboard, causing more pain to slice through my face. Warmth trickled from the area, sliding down my chin.

Great. Just great. Oozing blood was the last thing I wanted while trapped in a car with potential vampires. They could probably smell it.

Something long and cool to the touch rolled around by my hands as we rounded a sharp corner. I grabbed hold and gripped it tight with one hand, then moved my fingers along the length of its surface, trying to figure out what it was.

A screwdriver? This I could work with. 

While it wasn’t sharp enough to cut through the rope, I could use it as a weapon. I held it tight in one hand while I resumed pulling and picking at the rope with my other. I squeezed the rope. Twisted my wrists. Worked the rope between my fingers. Wiggled.

Knots were complex, but they weren’t un-tieable. 

I continued to pull on my wrists, while fingering the rope. Time ticked away, and I was rewarded with a little give but not enough to slip my hands free and sore wrists. I wasn’t about to give up, though. Determination pulsed through me.

I would not end up like Leanne.

I continued to pick and pull at the rope until finally one of my hands was able to slip free. A squeal of triumph built inside my chest, but I refused to let it out. Instead, I pulled my arms from behind me and lay flat on my back while I pried the rope off my opposite wrist.

Chase eased over another bump in the road, jostling me. My shoulder slammed into the boards along the back wall of the trunk hard enough to make me wince.

That would leave a bruise.

The car slowed, and I worried we’d made it to wherever they were taking me. My heart galloped inside my chest. I tossed the rope aside and gripped the screwdriver tighter. In my mind, I thought through how I wanted this situation to play out. I knew I needed to bolt from the trunk the instant it opened and then run.

Easier said than done.

I licked my lips and released a shaky breath. My muscles tensed. I listened, waiting for one of them to say something about where we were or what they planned to do next. I needed to know when they were getting out so I could prepare to come out swinging. My grip on the screwdriver tightened, causing my fingernails to dig into my palm.

When the car came to a full stop, and the engine cut off, my limbs tingled with adrenaline.

“Ready?” Chase asked.

I heard a door pop open. Was that Corbin’s door or Chase’s?

“Yeah,” Corbin said a second later.

My heart thundered, becoming the only thing I could hear. This was it. This was the last chance I would have to get away from them. Once I was inside wherever we were, I doubted I’d be able to do much of anything.

The door slammed shut, shaking the entire car frame. Corbin said something to Chase, but I couldn’t hear it over the roaring sound of my blood rushing through my ears. My palms grew clammy, but I still held tight to the screwdriver.

Gravel crunched beneath Corbin’s boots as he made his way to the back of the car. Someone shouted something in the distance and my teeth sank into my bottom lip. I squeezed my eyes shut as I pulled in a slow breath and waited for the trunk to open. Keys jingled, before the sound of one being inserted into the trunk made its way to my ears. Someone shouted again. A guy. Was that Ezra? Something sounded off with his voice. It was stuffy, like he was sick.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Chase shouted back. “Can you handle Tris on your own?”

His question was directed to Corbin, I knew it was, and it was riddled with amusement. 

“Always,” Corbin said.

“Cool, let me go help him,” Chase insisted. I heard him walking away, but that was all I heard. I’d expected Corbin to turn the key and open the trunk right away, but he didn’t.

Time seemed to tick away excruciatingly slow. I wasn’t sure how much passed before Corbin turned the key fully and opened the trunk, but it was enough to leave me waiting on pins and needles. The instant the trunk opened, I launched myself out wielding the screwdriver like a knife and slashing at the air. The screwdriver hit something and stuck. Corbin stumbled back, surprised, and I released my grip on the screwdriver. It was in his palm. I took that as my chance and ran for the woods behind him. A few choice words flew from Corbin’s mouth as I took off, but all I was focused on was the woods and pushing my legs faster.

Run, run, run!

The word echoed through my skull as I pushed myself harder. Branches slashed at my arms and legs while I forced my way deeper into the woods. I had no clue where I was going. All I cared about was putting distance between Corbin and me. I could hear him behind me. He shouted at the others as he ran, telling them I was getting away. I weaved through the thick foliage, grateful it was summer instead of winter. There were more places for me to hide and more leaves to hinder his view of me through the growing distance between us.

Where the hell was I?

My heart felt as though it was about to explode as I continued forward, my Converse sneakers digging into the ground as I ran. More branches slapped at me, cutting my skin, pulling my hair, and tearing at my clothes, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

Not if I wanted to stay alive.

When I came to a set of old railroad tracks, I knew exactly where they’d taken me—to the old sawmill at the edge of town. It was the only building left near the forgotten part of the old tracks. Mr. Whitmore had owned the land the sawmill was on, but he’d passed away about a year ago. I had no clue who owned it now. I was willing to bet it was his grandson, Marshall, since he was a part of Ezra’s group of freaks too. 

I paused at the tracks for a split second, debating which way would get me to town faster. Like everyone else born and raised in Opal Pine, I knew this area like the back of my hand, but with so much adrenaline flooding my system I was drawing a blank. A loud crash coming from behind me had my feet moving again.

Left!

As soon as I made the decision, I bolted in that direction heading down an embankment beside the tracks. Corbin was gaining on me. I could hear him. His footfalls were lighter than mine, but much faster. When I reached the bottom of the embankment, I glanced over my shoulder. I couldn’t see him. I couldn’t see anyone. However, I could hear a low growl rumble through the air. It sounded animalistic and sent goose bumps prickling across my skin.

Was that Corbin? He had said he wasn’t human.

I stumbled over a downed tree, losing my footing and falling on my hands and knees. A howl ripped through the air behind me. It was followed by a yipping sound.

Great, not only did I have to deal with my monster boyfriend chasing me through the woods but also some animal. This was the night that kept on giving.

I forced myself up and launched into another sprint, continuing through the woods. My thighs burned when I came to an uphill area. I pushed myself harder, knowing town rested on the other side. The sun would set soon, and there was no way in hell I wanted to be stuck in these woods at night.

As soon as I crested the hill, another howl came from behind me. This one was high-pitched but just as scary. I leaned against a wide tree to catch my breath. My lungs were going to bust. I glanced around the tree, checking to see how close Corbin or the animals who seemed to be tracking me were.

Three gray coyotes stood at the base of the hill I’d just climbed. 

One howled the same high-pitched noise I’d heard seconds before. One hunkered down and sniffed the air. While the one in the middle stared at me intensely, its teeth showing.

I took off running again. My thighs burned and my lungs struggled for air, but I still pressed on. The lights of town were through the trees. When I forced my way through the edge of the woods, relief didn’t settle inside me like it should. Instead, another surge of adrenaline rushed through me.

I didn’t stop running. I couldn’t. The fear of what was behind me wouldn’t allow it.

When I reached the oldest grocery store in town, I felt myself finally relax enough to slow my pace. I didn’t stop though, and I didn’t go inside. Instead, I cut across the street and made my way between two brick buildings, heading to the opposite side of town.

I knew I should probably head to the police station and report what Corbin and Chase had done—and tell them about Leanne too—but my legs didn’t take me that way. Instead, they took me home. Not because I wanted my mom or because home felt like the safest place to go, but because I wanted to get my stuff and get the hell out of town. The police wouldn’t be able to protect me. Not from Ezra or Corbin. Not from their gang of vampires or whatever the heck they were. They were too afraid to stand up to them.

Just like everyone else in this crappy town.

I cut a left at Foxfire Lane and headed straight for the trailer park. Once I passed the sign for it in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint, I headed to the corner lot in the back and to the right. Lot number twelve. The black Jeep Cherokee I’d saved nearly three years of tips for sat in our tiny gravel driveway beside my mother’s old sedan. Her boyfriend’s souped-up truck wasn’t there. Thank goodness. I didn’t want to deal with Roy too right now; I just wanted to get my crap and leave.

As I sprinted up the concrete steps that led to our front door, I wondered if I’d be able to convince Mom to come with me. There wasn’t anything in Opal Pine for either of us.

I swung the door open and bolted inside as though the hounds of hell were nipping at my ankles. Mom sat on the couch, curled up in a ball against the armrest, painting her nails. She jumped at my sudden entrance and a gasp fell from her mouth.

“Tris, you scared me half to death!” Her eyes grew wide as she took in my appearance. I knew I looked rough. I could feel it. My cheek throbbed in sync with my heartbeat, and the cuts across my legs and arms burned. Every muscle in my body ached, and the dried blood on my chin made my skin feel tight. I leaned forward, resting my palms against my knees while I struggled to catch my breath. “Oh my! What happened to you?”

“Corbin,” I breathed. He was what happened to me. He was such a freaking asshole.

Mom didn’t rush to me. She didn’t even move from where she sat. Instead, she twisted the lid back on her nail polish bottle, and then cut her eyes back to me.

“Honey, you know that boy cares for you,” she said. I rolled my eyes and straightened to stand. I should have known this was the route she’d take. After all, she always did for herself. Why had I thought she’d think any differently for me? “I’m sure whatever happened he didn’t mean it. Did you run from him? Looks like you hurt yourself. I can get you cleaned up, if you want.”

“Trust me when I say that he meant it, Mom.” The words flew from my lips, dripping with hatred aimed at her, at Corbin, and at myself. I should have known better than to get wrapped up in him. He was bad news. I’d known it even before he asked me out. “And of course I ran from him—that’s what you do when someone is trying to kill you!”

“Oh, please.” She waved my words away. “I’m sure he wasn’t trying to kill you. You’ve always been a little dramatic.” She stood and crossed the tiny trailer to me. “We should get you cleaned up for when he comes by to check on you. Running away like that probably has him worried.”

I couldn’t believe her. 

“Yeah, well, when he does come by looking for me, I won’t be here,” I insisted. 

I forced my way past her and down the hall toward my room at the far end of our trailer. When I opened the door, the heat of the day that had been trapped inside rushed to meet my clammy skin. The AC stopped working three weeks ago, and Mom had yet to fix it.

There wasn’t a single thing about this place I’d miss. I wasn’t sure why it had taken something like this to make me decide to leave. I’d graduated two months ago. There was nothing tying me here except my job at the diner and the possibility of attending the community college in the fall.

“You don’t mean that. You’re upset,” Mom insisted. She’d followed me down the hall and now stood in the doorway to my room. I could feel her eyes on me, but I refused to look at her. “Let’s clean you up and make some tea. I can show you a few makeup tricks to cover that gash on your cheek and your bruises. No one will even be the wiser once I’m through with you.”

I grabbed my backpack from the floor of my closet and dumped out its contents. “You can’t be serious right now,” I huffed at her.

“Makeup can work wonders, honey. Trust me.”

I glanced at her then. “Why? Because you’re the pro when it comes to hiding bruises left by others? That’s not something to be proud of, Mom. I don’t want to cover this up. I don’t want to give Corbin another chance. And I damn sure don’t want to stay in this trailer or this town for another second. I’m out of here. I’d ask you to come with me, but I know you wouldn’t. You’re too dimwitted to realize that you deserve more than this.” My hands flailed wildly, gesturing to my room and our trailer. To this town.

Her face fell and her eyes narrowed. “Don’t be angry with me because of something you did. This isn’t my fault. Shift your anger elsewhere. All I’m trying to do is help you.”

“You’re not trying to help me,” I scoffed. “You’re trying to teach me how to hide what happened. And I’m not angry with you, I feel sad for you.”

Anger flared through her bright eyes. “Sad for me? You act like I live a miserable existence. I don’t. I happen to love my life.”

She didn’t. I’d heard her cry herself to sleep many nights.

“You’re eighteen. If you want to leave, then leave. I’m not stopping you.” She stormed back down the hall. “Good luck, Tris.”

I exhaled a shaky breath before stepping to my dresser and pulling open the top drawer. It was time to pack my crap and go.

Sometimes we find more than we’re searching for.

Zoe Miller’s brother is all she has left in this world. When he vanishes she’s determined to find him, even if it means traveling on her own to the last place Jeremy was seen—Whisper Swamp, a mysterious place whose residents have secrets.

Kai Kinsella didn’t expect to ever find his Mystic, but when he sees Zoe for the first time, his gator immediately knows who she is to him. However, Kai isn’t so sure Zoe will want him once she learns the part he played in her brother’s disappearance.

Intent on finding her brother, Zoe falls into a dangerous world she never knew existed. One where shifters are real, and not all of them are the cuddly furry kind.

My gator paced as dark clouds rolled in. I could see them in the distance. In an hour, rain would hit and the water of the swamp would expand over the banks. Dry land would be swallowed inch by inch, and my gator’s territory would grow. 

“Anything happening out there yet?” Nina asked as she stepped into the sunroom. I could see her reflection in the glass of the window in front of me. She moved around the room while watering her bajillion houseplants. 

I shook my head and adjusted the toothpick in my mouth with my tongue so I could talk. “Looks like there’s about an hour or so before the storm rolls in over us,” I said without looking away from the water. The swamp was tempting my gator today, which meant it would be tempting to the others too. It had been warm the last two days, and while it wasn’t unusual to see temperatures in the upper fifties or low sixties during the winter months in the swamps of Georgia, it was rare to see a string of days with steady temperatures so high. “There are some dark clouds in the distance, but not much else. Hasn’t even started rainin’ yet.”

“I’m hoping we get a good amount off this storm. I need more liquid gold for my houseplants,” Nina said.

“Oh, lord. I heard liquid gold,” Willow insisted as she made her way into the sunroom, holding the latest book she’d been reading and her glasses. “Must be about to rain. I don’t need to watch the weather anymore. All I need to do is pay attention to when the pots go missing from the kitchen cabinets. Then, I’ll know it’s about to rain.” She tossed a smirk Nina’s way as she settled into her chair in the corner to read. 

I let out a snort. “Yep, better watch where you step when leavin’ the house. I swear one of us is going to break our damn neck because of Nina’s obsession with her liquid gold.”

“Y’all just don’t get it. Rainwater is good for my plant babies,” Nina insisted. My gator could sense her irritation and made a noise. I knew he found her obsession with rainwater comical too.

I cast a glance at Nina from over my shoulder, arching a brow. “Plant babies?”

“Yeah.” She placed a hand on her hip and gave me a go-to-hell look, knowing I was about to tease her. “I care about them. They’re my babies.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but Willow spoke before I could.

“We all have our things,” she insisted, eyeing me. 

I knew that look. Willow was about to unleash on me if I teased Nina. I could see the glimmer in her eye that signified spiteful words building on her tongue. The woman had a way with words—she could build you up or tear you to shreds, depending on her mood.

I threw my hands up in mock surrender. “I just figured Nina would be an old cat lady, not a crazy plant woman.” A crooked grin spread across my face before I shifted my attention to Nina, waiting on her reply.

“I’m not even doing this with you,” she snapped, rolling her eyes. She walked to the next shelf of her plant babies, flat-out ignoring me, and resumed her watering ritual. 

“Hey, at least some of us have a hobby,” Willow muttered, knowing full well I could hear her. She put her glasses on, and my smirk grew. “And not a word about my old lady eyes, Kai. I swear I’ll tear you a new one—alpha or not—and you know it.”

Willow was nineteen, but her eyes were ancient. 

It had been the running joke of the house for a while. Mainly, because she’d held off on seeing an eye doctor for so long. Her glasses were new, and she was slightly self-conscious. Maybe it was a jerk move, but I’d teased her about them more than once. Willow was like a second little sister to me though, and it was all in good fun.

“I didn’t say anything,” I said, still grinning like a fool. “Wasn’t even plannin’ on it.” I shifted to look out the windows again. The dark clouds were closer than I’d expected them to be, but it was movement in the murky waters of the swamp that caught my eye. 

My eyes narrowed as I zeroed in on the ripples sliding through the water.

“Shit,” I breathed, knowing what I’d spotted in an instant. Someone had gone into the water for a swim—someone from my crew.

“What?” Nina asked.

I stormed away from the window, my boots thundering against the worn floorboards as my gator rushed to the surface. He was as pissed as I was that someone hadn’t listened to our warning about going into the water today. I plucked my toothpick from my mouth and ground my teeth together as I made my way to the backdoor of the house just off the kitchen, fuming. I’d known this would happen. It was why I’d been watching the swamp like a damn hawk all day. The temperature had been too warm the last few days, and someone’s gator had pestered them until they’d given in. I tried to think of who it could be as I pulled my long-sleeved shirt off and tossed it on the floor near the door.

“Kai, what is it?” Nina demanded from behind me. The same irritation I’d sensed earlier was sparking through her tone again, this time for a different reason.

It hit me then who it was in the water—Bray. 

“Hello? She’s asking you a question,” Willow insisted. She’d left her comfy chair to follow me through the house as well. 

“Bray. He’s in the water,” I ground out, still pissed about the situation. 

It was common knowledge that the Gillroys would be trolling these waters in search of gators today. They were one of the oldest gator hunting families on Magnolia Island. They knew the waters of Whisper Swamp as good as my crew, which meant they were dangerous.

“What?” Nina raced back to the sunroom. I knew it was so she could look out the windows, searching for him. “I don’t see him.” 

“Why didn’t he listen about steering clear of the water? We all know the Gillroys are out on the water today. It’s the worst possible time to go for a swim,” Willow insisted. 

“He’s young and dumb,” I said, unbuttoning my jeans and sliding out of them.

Bray was just a kid. He’d turned sixteen a few months back, which meant I couldn’t fault him too much for being so damn impulsive. At sixteen, you thought you were untouchable and so did your gator. I remembered what it was like because it had only been four years ago for me.

“Kai, the Gillroys are coming!” Nina shouted. “I can see their boats in the distance. You better get Bray out of there. Fast!”

“Damn it. I knew they’d come through here at some point today,” I said, slinging the backdoor open and stepping outside. “Bray’s probably been watchin’ the water all day and thought they weren’t going to come through because of the storm rolling in.”

Willow and Nina followed me out the backdoor and down the three wooden steps that led into the yard.

“You better be careful. Get in and get out!” Nina shouted, concern hanging heavily in her tone. 

I cast a quick glance over my shoulder at her. “Don’t worry. I will.” I flashed her a smirk, amusement for her concern spiraling through me. “You two stay right there,” I said in a patronizing tone, knowing how much it would heat Nina’s blood.

Screwing with her had been my life’s mission since she was born. It was my right as her older sibling.

Nina cocked her hip to the side, her concern for me melting fast. “Why? Because this is a man’s job?”

My smirk grew. Nina was strong and feisty. She hated it when I told her what to do—as her older brother and as her alpha.

No one liked for a sibling to tell them what to do, and yet she had orders coming from me two ways. It was rare I tapped into my alpha authority with her—with anyone from the crew, honestly. There wasn’t a need for it. At least there hadn’t been.

Until now.

I kicked myself for not having tapped into my alpha authority with Bray. I should have known his young gator wouldn’t have been able to avoid the temptation of the warm water. 

“Nah. I just don’t want you encroaching on my fun,” I shouted back, flashing them both a wink, before jerking my boxers down and tossing them onto the bank.

While it was still in the mid-fifties, the air was cooler than I’d thought it would be against my bare skin. This meant the water would be too. My gator didn’t seem to share the same worry, though. All he cared about was going for a swim. I’d forced him to be away from the water for days now, and he was ticked at me for it. I’d had my reasons, though. 

I’d known something like this would happen.

The Gillroys weren’t just hunters who ran a gator hunting business in Whisper Swamp, they were also poachers who poached out of season year-round. It was something they’d done for years. However, with their connections on the island—and within the tiny department of police we had here—they’d never been held accountable for their actions. 

Not even once.

My gator urged me to climb into the water as I stepped closer to it. He wanted me to move faster, even though this time of year was when he was typically slower than molasses. Cold weather slowed gators down. We didn’t hibernate; we just got stuck at a snail’s pace for most everything.

The muddy ground of the bank was cool against my bare feet as I made my way closer to the water’s edge, walking along the path that had been created over the years by myself, those currently living in my crew, and those who’d come before us. 

A gust of wind blew, sending with it the heavy scent of rain. I glanced up. The edges of dark clouds lingered ahead. The storm was closer, and the Gillroys were too.

Chaos was about to explode in the swamp—the air was charged with it. 

“Damn it, Bray,” I muttered as I scanned the briny waters of the swamp, searching for him. Movement to my left caught my eye. He was a few feet away, swimming close to the surface where anyone could see him, not even attempting to hide. The water would be warmer closer to the surface, but damn, he shouldn’t be out here to begin with. 

I frowned and then inhaled a deep breath while closing my eyes. Holding my hands at my sides, I let my gator take center stage. Shifter magic crackled through the air, feeling even more charged thanks to the electricity of the coming storm hanging heavy in the air. 

My gator rolled free in an instant. 

He knew why we were going into the water—that we needed to send out an alpha order to Bray. He also knew we wouldn’t be floating around in the water for long ourselves, that we too needed to get out of the water as fast as possible. 

A gust of chilly wind pushed against us, and I felt my gator recoil. I chuckled, finding his reluctance to climb into the water comical after how he’d pined for it for days, and he snapped at me. The water wasn’t going to be as warm as he liked. We both knew this. We also knew the approaching rain would cool it quickly.

There was nothing worse than swimming in cold ass water.

Scales worked their way from beneath my skin, feeling like a release. My mind dipped back to the first time I’d shifted and how worried I’d been that it would hurt. 

It hadn’t. Instead, it had felt as natural as breathing.

My body morphed into my gigantic gator, and satisfaction worked its way through me. I’d needed the release that came with shifting more than I’d thought. 

My gator inched into the brackish water, relishing in the muted sense of warmth lingering there from the earlier sunshine. As he sank deeper, it wasn’t as warm as either of us preferred, but it was better than we’d thought it would be. My gator sighed as he slithered farther out into the murky waters of the swamp. The briny aroma met our nose and contentment swept over us both. 

This swamp was our home. 

Thunder rolled in the distance, and my mind rushed back to the present situation. More dark clouds had rolled in overhead, and fat raindrops now fell from the sky. The storm was almost above us.

This was both good and bad. 

It meant the Gillroys wouldn’t be on the water for long, not in a rainstorm. Everyone knew the storms that came through the area weren’t forgiving. However, this also meant that we shouldn’t be out in the water either. It was too easy to swim too far right or too far left and become tangled in a snare set by the Gillroys, or any of the other poachers who’d come through the area.

Being out here was too risky.

My gator swayed his tail, all muscle and power, pushing himself through the water of the swamp at record speed. I zeroed in on the area where I’d last seen Bray. All it would take was one look at me and he’d feel my alpha authority rippling through the water. He’d know it was time for his fun to end, that it was time for him to get his ass out of the water and shift back to hide. 

It didn’t take me long to reach him. 

The second I did, he spotted me. Bray’s gator huffed like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar before dinner as we locked eyes. I moved closer to him, and shoved him toward the bank with my nose, charging the water with my alpha authority. Bray knew he had an ass chewing coming from me, but he also knew we weren’t alone in the water anymore. 

The sound of propellers heading our way echoed around us, vibrating the water. 

I nudged him again, this time telling him to swim deeper. It was the only way to steer clear of the boats and the poachers’ eyes. Fear radiated from Bray’s gator, tugging on my heartstrings. All he’d wanted was a quick swim before the rainstorm rolled in while the water was still warm. 

No harm, no foul. 

As the Gillroys’ boats grew closer though, both of us knew that might not be how things ended today.

Mistaken for something I never knew existed and abducted, I’m tossed into the shifter world where I’m forced to trust strangers to survive.

I’ve had to work hard for everything I have. I wasn’t given a silver spoon, and I don’t have a picture-perfect family. Heck, it’s been years since I last spoke to anyone in my family. Which is why when a late night delivery order takes a turn for the worst, I know it will be forever before anyone notices I’m missing. I know I’ll have to save myself. There’s only one thing tripping me up. My captors aren’t entirely human—but as it turns out, neither am I.

Soon I learn I’m a Mystic and the people who captured me are vampire bats. Their leader plans to force me to heal sick and wounded shifters while lining his pockets with the money. Just when all feels lost, an opportunity for escape presents itself. Now I’m on the run, but my horrible luck continues. I find myself stranded in an unfamiliar town, accepting help from unfamiliar faces—one of whom I feel a certain chemistry toward. For the first time in days, I feel safe, but as night falls, that sense of safety becomes fleeting because I know the bats will come for me.

This place was creepy as shit. A shiver slid through me as I stared at the old plantation house becoming reclaimed by nature. 

Did I have the address right?

I grabbed my cell from the cup holder and opened my delivery app. The numbers matched. This was the right place unfortunately. The fine hairs along the back of my neck stood on end as the sensation of someone watching me slid across my skin. My gaze skimmed the creepy house. No lights were on, but I knew that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone watching me from one of the darkened windows. 

“Whelp, one thing is for certain,” I said, my gaze drifting from one dark window of the house to the next. “I won’t be agreeing to take any more orders to people once it gets dark ever again.”

Honestly, I should have stopped when the guy with the chipped front tooth gave me a fifty-cent tip. That should have been my clue that the night would continue to go downhill from there.

Intuition was everything. Clearly, I needed to listen to mine more often.

My car sputtered, and I released the brake, giving her some gas before she died. I continued down the gravel driveway, growing closer to the house that would most likely haunt my nightmares for the coming weeks. 

What was it about this place that had my heart pounding so hard and fast?

While it looked like something from a scary movie, something else bothered me about it, too. I couldn’t put my finger on what, though. 

The weak headlights of my car bounced over the porch and a light came on inside the house near the front door.

“So, the place does have electricity,” I muttered. “Okay, that makes it slightly less creepy.”

Not really.

The place gave me the heebie-jeebies. 

My gut screamed at me to get the heck out of here, but my mind reminded me how low my bank account was. Besides, I was already here with their food. I might as well head to the door and complete the job.

I shifted into park and grabbed the burger and fries from in the passenger seat. Leaving my car running, I popped open the driver’s door and slid from behind the wheel. Gravel crunched beneath my sneakers as I walked toward the porch steps. A slight chill in the air caused another set of goose bumps to prickle across my skin. I could almost see my breath. 

Had the temperature dropped during the drive here? Or was it something to do with this house?

My feet faltered as I stared at the place. I was letting my imagination get the best of me. This was just a house. The chill was the early spring air; that’s all it was. There was nothing strange or ominous about this place. At least that was what I tried telling myself. It didn’t lessen the unease twisting through me. 

My sneakers barely graced the first step of the porch when a light flipped on above the door. The porch became illuminated by a dull glow that allowed me to see vines and brambles running along the chipped white exterior more closely. Bugs ran away from the light, opting to hide beneath the vines and leaves. 

Gross.

The front door swung open, and my breath caught. A guy close to my age with pale skin and blond spiky hair stood in the doorway. As his eyes locked on me, a thought occurred to me that sent chills down my spine—this guy had the eyes of a predator. They were so light blue, they almost looked silver.

“Hey, there,” I said, lifting the white paper bag with his burger and fries higher into the air. “Did you order dinner?” I flashed him a nervous smile.

A slow, crooked grin spread across his face. “Someone did.” Something shifted through his eyes. While I couldn’t be sure, it seemed as though he was amused by something. When he continued to stare at me for a long, drawn out moment, the unease I’d been feeling intensified. “Let me get Pike. He’s the one who placed the order.”

“Oh, okay,” I said with a slight nod. 

What the heck kind of name was Pike?

It couldn’t be his real name. It had to be a nickname. No one named their kid Pike.

The guy who’d answered the door took a step back, his eyes still glued to me, and gave his head a slight shake while his grin grew. When he turned, leaving the door open, and walked through the dimly lit entrance to somewhere else inside the house, I released the breath I hadn’t been aware I was holding. 

Shit, this whole situation was creepy.

I stared through the front door, waiting for Pike to appear. The light inside the house was as dim as the one on the porch. Either the bulbs they used were old as dirt, or they were supposed to be dim. Sounds from inside made their way to my ears. I shifted on my feet, wishing this guy would hurry. My nails dug into the palm of my free hand. I wanted to get the hell out of here. Something didn’t feel right about this place, about these guys. 

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was off in a big way.

While I’d somehow learned to pick up on certain people’s strange vibes over the past year, I’d never picked up on anything quite like this before. 

These guys were dark.

I couldn’t explain how I knew this, or what being dark even meant. All I knew was that there was a dark vibe attached to them that twisted my gut. It had me wanting to run for the hills.

I exhaled a slow breath, forcing away my crazed thoughts. There was no way I would let my mind screw me out of completing this order and getting whatever tip Pike gave me. This place was in the middle of nowhere and gas wasn’t cheap. 

Something inside me screamed I should leave the food on the porch and hightail it back to my car, though. My gaze dipped to my sneakers while I debated how much longer I should wait out here.

Footsteps captured my attention. I glanced up, looking in that direction. At first I didn’t see anyone, but then a tall, muscular guy with hair shaved so close to his scalp I couldn’t tell the color came into view.

“Hello,” he said, his voice smooth like velvet as he gave me a once-over. “Thank you for driving all the way out here. I wasn’t sure the app delivered this far.”

I licked my lips. Pike was insanely good looking. Not only did he have the type of body that would make any woman drool and a velvety voice, he also had the same color eyes as the guy who had answered the door. While they made him look sexy and mysterious like the other guy, they also sent ice shooting through my veins because of their predator quality.

“You were right on the cusp,” I said, trying to rein myself in. “Well, here you go. Dinner is served.” I held the white paper bag out to him.

“So, it is,” he insisted as his eyes darkened, nearly turning solid black. A jolt of alarm shot through my core at the sight. “How much do I owe you?”

My fingers trembled as I reached for the ticket stapled to the front of the bag. There was no way his eyes had changed like that. 

It wasn’t possible. 

Clearly, the dim lighting on the porch was causing shadows to form on his face. Either that or my imagination was running wild again, because what I’d thought I saw couldn’t be possible. People’s eyes didn’t go from being so light blue they almost looked silver to being almost black.

I locked eyes with him again and noticed they were the same sliver blue as before. It had to have been a trick of my mind or the light. Relief should flow through me, but it didn’t. This guy was looking at me like I was the winning lottery ticket he’d been waiting for his whole life.

“Looks like it’s going to be ten ninety-one.” I flashed him a nervous grin.

He didn’t reach for his wallet. Instead, he continued to stare. When I cleared my throat, readying myself to repeat how much he owed, he finally spoke up.

“Let me get some money. Do you want to step inside out of the cold?” he asked. 

Why hadn’t he grabbed his wallet when the other guy went to get him? Was he trying to pull a stunt? Were both of them?

The sensation of needing to get out of here intensified.

I shook my head. “I’m good out here, thanks.”

“I insist. Come inside.” A coy smirk spread across his face as though there was a joke only he was privy to dancing through his head. 

My stomach somersaulted. What was with this guy? There was no way in hell I would be stepping into his creepy ass house. 

“And I said I’m fine right here. Can you get your money, please?” My tone was snippy, but I was proud. This guy creeped me out and yet, my voice didn’t waiver.

Kudos to me.

Something shifted through Pike’s eyes. His upper lip curled, and another jolt of alarm shot through my core.

Something was off about him. It only took me a second longer to figure out what it was—he was dangerous. That was what the darkness I had felt was, a warning that these guys were dangerous. 

Pike took a step toward me, and every cell in my body told me to run. 

Was ten dollars and ninety-one cents really worth whatever was going on here?

“Come inside,” Pike insisted. There was a hypnotic tone to his voice and the color of his eyes darkened, returning to the solid black I thought I’d seen earlier. “Now.”

Nope, totally not worth it, was what I had been thinking when my legs started propelling me forward against my will.

My breath caught in my throat. What was going on? This wasn’t right. I should be walking away from him and this house, not inside it.

“This isn’t… I can’t… What the hell did you do to me?” The words rushed from my mouth in rapid succession as a cloud of confusion settled over me. The entryway of the house shifted slightly as a twinge of dizziness floated through my head. “Why am I inside? How?”

“I asked you to come inside,” Pike said, his lips brushing against my ear as he stepped around me to close the door. My stomach flip-flopped and not in a good way.

 He kicked the door shut, and I flinched at the sound of it slamming. I dropped the bag of food and spun to reach for the old metal knob of the door. Pike’s hand locked around the knob before I could touch it, which couldn’t be right. There was no way he could move that fast. It wasn’t possible. 

“You’re not going anywhere.” He flashed me a crooked grin. “Not unless I say so.”

“Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but this—” I pointed to him and then circled my finger around, motioning to the house and then back to myself. “—isn’t happening.”

“Oh, you have no clue what’s happening. I picked up on that right away.”

I arched a brow. Had he just called me dumb?

“Follow me,” he ordered, locking his eyes on me again. Once more I swore they darkened before returning to their original color and the heady sensation that swept through me seconds before rippled through me again. 

The next thing I knew, I was trailing behind Creeper like a freaking puppy as he made his way through the gigantic old house. When we came to the living room, I spotted the guy who had come to the door first and four others—a girl and three guys 

The five of them stared at me, sending goose bumps prickling across my skin and my heart pounding.

“Easton was right. A Mystic showed up at our door,” Pike said, his grin growing.

A what?

“Must be our lucky day,” one guy insisted. He had gelled hair spiked in the front and a lip piercing.

“I don’t know what that is,” I said, my words wavering as I spoke. I blamed it on my thundering heart. “A Mystic? I’m not one, whatever it is. I’m a delivery driver for the app you ordered from.”

Pike made himself comfortable on the couch next to the guy with the lip piercing. He propped his feet up on the coffee table, his eyes never wavering from me.

“And that’s where you’re wrong. You’re much more than a delivery driver,” he contradicted. “You’re a Mystic, and you’re going to make me a shit ton of money.”

My heart kick-started inside my chest and the edges of my vision darkened. 

What the hell had I walked into? What was wrong with these people? Was this some kind of freaky cult?

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I should’ve gone home to soak in my tub and sip on a mini bottle of my favorite cheap wine that tasted more like sugar than wine. There was a four pack in my fridge. I shouldn’t be here with these weirdoes who clearly were abducting me because they thought I was something I wasn’t—a Mystic.

This was a mistake. They had to have me confused with someone else. I wasn’t a Mystic. Heck, I didn’t even know what a Mystic was. From the way Pike stared at me, I knew I was about to find out, though. Dollar signs danced in his eyes and so did an inhuman hunger

All sales are final.

There are no refunds given on digital products.