Blood Shift (The Charming Shifter Mysteries Book 3) Read online

  Blood Shift

  Book 3 in the Charming Shifter Mysteries series

  By Calinda B

  Published by Sumner McKenzie, Inc.

  Ebook Edition

  Copyright ©2017 Calinda B

  All Rights Reserved.

  License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people, but it can be lent according to the retailer’s coding. If you would like to give this book to another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to an online retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Dedication

  As always, to J.; to Rainy, my fab editor; to Charity, and, of course, to Ron.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  So, I may or may not be hooked on D’Raynged’s blood. My stupid vampire roommate. Who’s to say what’s right or wrong? Things happen. It’s not harmful. No one’s getting hurt.

  Sitting alone in her office, mumbling to herself, town manager Chia Petit obliterated the words she’d written, with angry swipes of her pen. “Honestly? That’s your best opening? That’s how you’re going to convince your boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, the guy named Hung Durand, to give you another chance?” Her hand moved as if possessed, scratching out the letters with swoops, swirls, and agitated scribbles.

  Next to the messy scrawls, she drew a cartoon figure of D’Raynged, picturing his too-handsome, too-Southern, perpetually twenty-nine-year-old, blond good looks. She added pointy fangs—and a crimson drop hanging from the end of a tooth—representing her blood, freely given, squeezed from her finger onto toast or chocolate. The arousal she experienced when she did the blood offering “exchange for enhanced abilities” shot through her in unwelcome pangs of lustful cravings. I’ll never, in a million years, let him stick his dead wanger into my hoo-hah. She drew X’s through his face, his hair, and lastly, his stick figure body. Then, she tossed the paper into the trash can next to her desk.

  Tugging a lock of her hair, streaked with colors of the rainbow, she let out a sound of exasperation. Her attention landed on a man-sized gun vault in the corner. She kept a couple of her rifles inside in case of emergency. Too bad I don’t have any vampire guns. Then again, D’Raynged pays rent on time. She drop-kicked the thought, choosing to focus on Hung’s absence.

  She thought everything was going splendidly after she and Hung had finally, blissfully hooked up a few months ago. They’d spent every day and night together for weeks.

  But then D’Raynged would sidle into the kitchen or the living room and say to her, “How’s about taking a little journey with me, hmmm? All I need is a drop, freely given.”

  A snarky, vindictive, sometimes mean vampire, he’d looked so innocent…so—dare she say it? He’d come on to her so loving…so caring…and kind.

  Her imagined caring was no doubt some sort of vampire glamor since she hadn’t been able to refuse him. But how could she resist? The high made her feel like one of the community of shifters she managed—that’s what she told herself anyway. It made her feel like she could commune with her dead grandfather—the guy who had been renowned in these parts for his magical abilities—even though she never saw him when she was juiced on vamp. It allowed her to see things she normally didn’t see—like the tiny sparkles of fairies, their larger counterpart—those freak Fae whores—and a world of energy whorls. It was like witnessing a constant Aurora Borealis.

  “The blood offering is my training wheels,” she muttered to herself. “Once I figure out if I really am magic, not just by swapping blood with a vampire, then I can let it go, ya know? I’ve got this.”

  But Hung hated her addiction to the vampire. He had taken off, saying she needed to get her shit together and make a choice. And, that, it seemed, was that. And, now she missed him—a lot. Hence, her snail mail attempts of apology. He’s been gone one whole week—long enough for my sheets to lose the rugged scent of him.

  The beige ceramic radiant heater sputtered and coughed next to her, keeping her right calf warm. The rest of her sat chilled from a recent Alaska snowstorm right outside the window a couple of yards away.

  The heater sat on dry-as-tinder oak flooring in the middle of her ancient office at the edge of the town of Charming, Alaska. She often worried the heater would burn a hole through the floor and the entire building would poof into flames. The rickety wooden building—now known as Charming Administration Offices—had been erected in the 1700s. That seemed like a long time for wood to dry out and turn into tinder, waiting for a match. And, while she might be far safer working from her home several miles away, tucked in the homestead bequeathed to her by her grandparents, in the pristine wilderness, she had to maintain a presence here in town. She took her responsibilities as elected town manager seriously.

  “Socyone!” she called.

  Her assistant sashayed into the room in her usual languid fashion.

  “Yeah, boss?” she said.

  Sitting at her desk, Chia had to practically crane her neck to converse with Socyone.

  The bespectacled woman and giraffe shifter stood at least six feet five. Dressed in bold, bright colors, Socyone’s tall, lean, elegant appearance could stop Sasquatch in his tracks and make him turn himself in. “What do you need?” she asked.

  “Can you call the central heating repair place again? I’m tired of having only one leg warm.” Wrapped in her down coat, with thick fur gloves on her hands, she found her attire made administrative work difficult.

  “Number’s busy. I’ve been trying. Besides all the power outages from this latest storm, Charming’s in a bit of an uproar lately.”

  “Over what?” Chia’s teeth began to chatter.

  “Where shall I start?” Leaning against the doorway frame, Socyone pulled her electronic tablet from her pocket and began reading. “Coyote shifter deal secured. Check. Coyote shifters will stop stealing chickens if they are given the old, less productive hens for food.”

  Chia grinned and puffed up with pride. “That one took some real wheeling and dealing.”

  “Let’s see…” Socyone tapped her finger on the screen. “Shifters said, ‘with seasoning and pounding with a mallet, old chickens can be tasty and tender.’”

  Chia shivered. “Gah! Do they do that while the chickens are dead or alive?”

  “I don’t know.” Socyone’s long, leafy green-painted fingernail tapped the screen.

  “They usually prefer their meat fresh.” Chia pictured mallet-wielding shifters chasing old hens and almost smiled…until she thought of the hens being bludgeoned to death.

  “Uh huh.” Socyone didn’t look up. “Here’s where the
uproar starts. Outrage over chicken theft and demanding recompense. No check mark there. That one is currently trending. Townsfolk want justice. And money…” Her finger slid across the screen.

  “What? Let me see that.” Chia leaped from her chair, raced across the wooden floor, and grabbed for the device.

  Socyone yanked it out of the way, which wasn’t hard considering her height in comparison to Chia’s barely five-foot stature.

  “Nope. Not done yet. Go sit down.” She pointed to Chia’s chair.

  Chia slunk toward her seat and sat down with an inelegant plop. “Go ahead.”

  “No luck catching the eagle shifter who’s been caught preying on nearby shifter orphanages.” Socyone shook her head. Her huge gold hooped earrings jangled and swayed. “Stealing shifter cubs and kittens is such a horrible crime.”

  “I’ll say. That’s awful! Do we have any idea who the eagle shifter is? Is he from the town of Charming or elsewhere?” She twisted back and forth in her squeaky desk chair.

  “No word yet. There’s a group of people trying to capture the bird but so far, no luck.”

  “Who’s in charge of that operation?” Chia drummed her fingers on the ancient desk. “Maybe I can redirect some funds for reinforcements.”

  Socyone looked over the top of her tablet. “Girl, please.”

  “What?” Chia’s eyebrows stitched together.

  “Honey, Hung Durand’s heading up the hunt. I thought you knew.” Socyone tsked. “Aren’t you and that gorgeous man doing the ‘uh huh’ and the ‘come on baby girl ride me harder?’”

  Chia’s heart clenched in stabbing pain as heat crawled up her neck. “We’re, uh…taking a break while he catches criminals.”

  “Pity.” Socyone shook her head. “That man’s a serious piece of eye candy. I wondered why we haven’t seen him around.”

  “Yep, he’s a busy guy,” Chia said, wishing her heart—and other parts—didn’t feel like they would burst into flame at the thought of him. “Same as me. Busy, busy, busy.” She picked up a stack of blank paper and tapped it against the desk. “So much to do. What else?” she said, eager to move the conversation along.

  Socyone scanned her screen, frowning. “This one is troublesome, boss. Seems some guy is buying up huge plots of land bordering Charming.”

  “What?” A sense of dread rippled down Chia’s backbone. She gripped the edge of the desk.

  Socyone looked up from her electronic device. “What I said.”

  “That is troublesome. I’ve secured hundreds of acres of land for shifter sanctuary. You know this whole town, and surrounding land is protected. That was my finest piece of legislation. Tourist traffic has increased ten-fold. Businesses are booming. Shifters are safe. Everyone’s happy. Or so I thought.”

  A big blowfly buzzed in the room, landing on Socyone’s cheek. She swiped the creature away.

  It flew to Chia’s desk and landed.

  Chia frowned. “Don’t these things die off in the winter? It’s what…minus ten outside?”

  “I don’t know, maybe.” Socyone kept her honey-colored eyes on her screen, reading. “Yeah, big problem. People are talking. Saying you’re losing control of the town again.”

  “I never lost…!” Chia began. Her nostrils flared as the faintest of scents tickled her nose…A familiar scent that reminded her of…

  Socyone held up her hand. “Some are saying you never had it to begin with.”

  Chia knew what Socyone was talking about. A lot of the male townsfolk trivialized or sexualized her saying she was “too damn cute.” Clearly, their puny male egos could not conceive of her awesome abilities as the town manager and a wicked sharpshooter to boot.

  The women of the town weren’t much better. They stood between Chia and their husbands like she would snatch away every fool who cast his gaze at her.

  The only guy who had her attention was Hung Durand.

  The fly landed on Socyone’s cheek again. She swatted at it, sending it spinning. “Damn it. I’m going to go get a flyswatter and put it out of its misery. Anyway, you’d best get ready for another fight.”

  Chia let out a long, slow breath, staring at the tiny winged creature as it crawled across her paperwork. “Fudgesicles. I get things calmed down and then—boom!”

  “That’s what it’s like in a town of shifters and humans.” Socyone shrugged. “Be right back.”

  “Sure.” Chia leaned back in her chair, discouragement dripping from her shoulders like mud.

  A flash of light exploded in front of her eyes. The tiny fly shifted into its man-sized naked human form, sitting cross-legged on her desk.

  Chia jerked and nearly toppled over backward, her pulse jackhammering. The rest of her body began to burn slow and hot, like a campfire at 2 a.m., its embers glowing red.

  “Hung? A fly? Really? I thought you were the winged shifter extraordinaire.”

  “Well,” he said, unfolding his legs. Like an animal, at ease in his own naked glory, he positioned himself, so his long muscular legs dangled off the edge of her desk, trapping hers. His hands landed on the edge, between his thighs, and he leaned forward. He trained his penetrating blue and gold gaze on hers, blazing a trail to her insides. “I tried being an eagle screeching like the dickens. You paid me no mind. I’ve been pecking at your window in raven form off and on for the last hour.”

  “You have?” Her heart beat wildly at his presence. She’d plotted and schemed meeting him for days, but not like this.

  She blinked and looked toward the frosty window overlooking the snow-covered trees and distant shore, noting the tiny dots from a bird’s beak. Wistfully, she glanced at the small couch shoved against the wall. A yellow and turquoise woolen blanket made by the Tlingit tribe sat neatly folded along the top. She used it when she had to work late and crash here. She and Hung had also made good use of it on more than one occasion, only not for sleeping.

  “No luck with that. Hence, a fly.”

  Her head jerked to meet his gaze like she was tethered to him.

  He shrugged. “I crawled through that little crack in the corner. You might replace the windows with some double paned glass. It would stay warmer in here.”

  “No funds for upgrades.” She stared at his face. The second she’d laid eyes on him, right about the time she’d been elected town manager a few years back, she knew he was her one and only. She’d resisted mightily, but no other man held a candle to him. Chiseled jaw, cheeks lined with deep dimples, blond hair, bright blue eyes and muscles where there should be none—he ticked all her boxes.

  Her gaze rolled along his neck and shoulders and then swept down his chest and abdomen. She licked her lips as her attention drifted lower. “You’re naked, you know.”

  “I know.”

  “Are you cold?”

  “Not a bit. And we’re not going there until you’re clean and sober, free of your addiction to your blood and vampire game.”

  She stiffened, her gaze snapping toward his face. “So why are you here then?”

  “We need to talk. You’ve got a big problem.”

  “Bigger than what’s not happening between you and me?”

  “You’ll have to be the one to fix that. Because, this…” He took her chin in his fingers and tipped it toward his face, lowering his lips to within a millimeter of hers.

  She began to melt, awaiting his kiss. “Yes?”

  “Is definitely…” He nuzzled her nose with the tip of his.

  “Yes?” she said, her eyes closing, her body juicing with readiness.

  “Not happening,” he snapped. “Meet me outside in ten.”

  In a blazing flash of light, he flared back to a fly. He buzzed toward the door, leaving her with frostbite forming in her heart and mind.

  Chapter 2

  As if she headed toward her own execution, Chia marched, resolutely, toward the exit. Nervous tension spiked in her shoulders, making them bunch around her ears like jagged hills. Her footfalls, echoing against the wooden floors an
d walls, sounded like those of a squadron instead of one tiny woman.

  Her constant companion personal ghosts—the ones who seemed to represent unprocessed feelings—streamed overhead like colorful see-through flags. They’d started haunting her—more like annoying her—in high school, when the guy she dated—Brant—had sex with some chick named Misty. Chia may or may not have done a few things to get back at him and at Misty. She didn’t kill them—Misty and Brant were very much alive. But, she also didn’t ever deal with her emotions. So, two energy blips of unresolved heartache and jealousy had appeared—one looking like a green, see-through version of Misty, and the other, a translucent red Brant. Not exactly ghosts—not the way most people think of ghosts, as spirits of the departed—as time went on, more of them appeared when she did something she felt guilty about, shouldn’t have done, went against her morals or ethics, or was just plain wrong. Now, she had at least seven energy blips to call her own. One of these days she’d get rid of them.

  “Hey, boss, you auditioning for a Hunchback of Notre Dame play or something?” Socyone called from the hallway.

  “What?” Chia whirled about.

  The ghosts bunched around her cheeks, making it difficult to see. She waved her hand in front of her eyes to clear the damn energy blips away.

  Socyone lifted her shoulders, lowered her head, and growled. “That’s what you look like.”

  Chia let her shoulders fall. “I’m tense about the property purchase thing you mentioned—the someone buying property all around Charming.”

  “I see.” Socyone waved a fly swatter in the air. “Meanwhile we have flys. I’ll get that little pest. He’ll be dead before you know it.”

  I wish. “Don’t bother. I took care of it.”

  “Uh huh.” Socyone’s eyebrow arched on her fine-boned face. “Where you headed, anyway?”

  Chia swirled her hand in a circle. “Out. For some fresh air. I need to clear my head.”

  “Suit yourself. It’s no warmer out there, I assure you.” Socyone shrugged, pivoted, and sauntered away.