Undercover Wolf Shifter Read online

  Undercover Wolf Shifter

  A Paranormal Night Club Series

  Brittany White

  Copyright © 2021 by Brittany White

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  1. Alix

  2. Zack

  3. Alix

  4. Zack

  5. Alix

  6. Zack

  7. Alix

  8. Zack

  9. Alix

  10. Zack

  11. Alix

  12. Zack

  13. Alix

  14. Alix

  15. Alix

  16. Zack

  Epilogue

  Rockstar Dragon’s Bride

  Chapter 1

  Also by Brittany White

  About the Author

  Exclusive Offer

  1

  Alix

  “And I assume she is still a virgin?”

  Alix hovered near the doorway, barely managing to stop herself from bursting into the room and throwing a fit. How dare her father sell her to another kingdom? And to Vardok Caligo, no less. Her father was guaranteeing her a life of misery, and for what? An “allegiance” with the Caligo region?

  “Ah… yes,” Her father, Gareth, sounded like he at least had the decency to be embarrassed by the question. “Yes, I believe so.”

  Vardok grunted. “Good. Good. I’ll not raise a bastard.”

  “Of course. That’s… er… understandable.”

  The nervousness in her father’s voice made Alix clench her fists. Why wasn’t he defending her and telling Vardok to go back to his kingdom alone? She fought the urge to shift into her dragon form and spray rivers of fire into the room.

  “She is of child-bearing age, correct?”

  “Yes. But she has often said she doesn’t want to—”

  “I don’t care what she does or doesn’t want. When she is my wife, she will only do as I want.”

  Alix’s heart sank as she leaned against the wall, suddenly unable to support herself. She had never wanted to marry. Since her brother, Braydon, had given up his inheritance of the Markonian throne, she had intended to rule as its queen when it was time for her to ascend. She’d never imagined a king by her side.

  Worst of all, she would have no say in this arrangement. She had heard rumors that her father was being forced to capitulate to the Caligo region to keep the peace, but she never thought she would end up as a pawn in their game.

  “I have watched your daughter for a long time,” Vardok said quietly. “She has grown to be quite beautiful. Are you sure she is a virgin?”

  “Yes.” Now Alix could hear a note of impatient anger in her father’s tone. Finally!

  “Bring her to me. I wish to inspect my new bride.”

  Alix ran in the opposite direction as her father called for a servant girl, Alyce. She pretended to be innocently walking down the hallway when the girl came upon her.

  “Your father wishes to see you,” Alyce said meekly.

  Alix managed a haughty nod. “Thank you, Alyce. That will be all.”

  Alyce scurried away, shifting back to her small, gray mouse form, and Alix took a moment to gather herself. She had never met Vardok Caligo before, but she had seen him from afar in his dragon form. He was a giant among dragons, a great dark beast that towered over the smaller dragons of the Markonian region. It was said that a blast of his fire could set entire forests ablaze, and that he used that fire to destroy anyone he considered an enemy. Or a nuisance.

  Alix understood her father’s nervousness, but she didn’t excuse it.

  Smoothing down the front of her tunic and taking a deep breath, Alix strode into the room with all the superiority she could muster. “Yes, father?”

  Gareth looked startled. “Alix, I need to speak with you about—”

  “Silence!” Vardok barely spared Gareth a glance as he fixed his gaze on Alix. She met his eyes insolently, somehow managing to hide the flare of fear she felt when he looked at her. In his human form, he was nearly a head taller than her father, with a wide chest and thickly muscled arms. His black hair hung past his shoulders, pulled away from his face in a loose braid. His eyes were a brillant, deep green, almost glowing in the dim light of the room. He smiled and showed his teeth; they reminded Alix of fangs, starkly white against the darkness of his beard.

  “I trust you know why I am here,” he said in a low voice.

  “Haven’t the slightest,” Alix said, folding her arms over her chest. She looked over to Gareth. “Is there something I should know, Father?”

  Gareth lowered his eyes, unable to look at her. “Alix, I…”

  “Your father has offered you to me in marriage,” Vardok said. The arrogance in his voice made Alix’s jaw clench. “To join our kingdoms. Isn’t that correct, Gareth?”

  Her father nodded, silent.

  “What if I don’t want this?” The question was out before Alix could stop herself.

  Vardok laughed and looked at Gareth. “Your daughter is amusing. She thinks she has any say in my decision.”

  Alix remained stone-faced, glaring at Vardok. His laughter quickly faded and in a heartbeat, he was standing in front of her, so close that her breasts brushed against his chest. Alix wanted to cringe away, but something within her decided that she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her disgust. She straightened her spine and lifted her chin, but it took every ounce of courage inside her to keep her eyes on his.

  “You think you’re brave, don’t you?” Vardok touched her cheek with the tip of his finger, slowly tracing a path over her jaw and down her throat. She could feel the barely restrained power in his movements. “What are you afraid of, little one?”

  His hand slipped around her throat, his thumb resting just at the top of her collarbone. He could snap her neck like a dried twig, and he wanted her to know just how easy it would be. Alix saw her father moving towards them and she held up a hand to stop him. Vardok was looking for an excuse to cause pain. She wouldn’t let him use her own father as a plaything.

  This was a test. He wanted to see just how brave she was. How far he could push her.

  “I’m not afraid of anything,” Alix said coldly, even as she felt the subtle squeeze of his hand around her throat. Let him strangle her. At least she would never have to marry him. “Least of all you.”

  Vardok slowly smiled, lowering his face closer to hers. His grip around her neck tightened and he watched her eyes closely, looking for a sudden flare of fear. Alix refused to oblige him. She kept her expression unreadable and blank, even though inside she wanted to scream.

  “You will not be so silent when I take you into my bed,” he said quietly, his eyes and smile growing hungry. “If you live through our wedding night, you will make a fine mother to my sons.”

  “No,” Alix muttered.

  “Oh, yes.” Vardok slowly released her neck and took a half-step away from her. He looked to Gareth. “We will leave for my home at first light. Say your goodbyes and have her ready by dawn.”

  With that, he left the room. To Alix, it felt as if she were finally able to take a breath after suffocating. In the silence that followed, she looked at her father, unable to hide her disappointment.

  “What does Mother think about this?” Alix asked quietly.

  “She has no say in the matter.” Gareth tried to sound self-important but failed miserably. “I take full responsibility.”

  “I am not something to be sold, Father.” Alix took a deep breath and
tried to calm herself, but the look of guilt in his eyes infuriated her. He knew he was wrong. “Especially to someone like him.”

  “Alix, you don’t—”

  “Please don’t tell me that I don’t understand. You are selling me to a monster… and for what? More land? How much is he paying you for me?”

  “It’s not like that.” Gareth suddenly looked like a tired old man. “I wish I could explain everything to you, but…”

  “But?” Alix’s eyes blazed. “But I’m just a stupid female? I wouldn’t understand it? Of course, not. All I’m good for is to have children and serve my husband, right?”

  “Alix—”

  “Enough,” Alix said, holding up her hand to silence him. “I have done everything in my power to be a good daughter to you. I have studied everything I could find in order to be a good queen to this region. I do not deserve this… and you know it.”

  Gareth opened his mouth to speak, but Alix simply shook her head and stalked past him into the hallway. Her mind felt as if it were vibrating with thousands of screaming thoughts. She couldn’t allow this to happen to herself. She would not be an incubator for Vardok’s bastards. All her life it had felt as if other people were deciding how she would live it. She had tried to obey and follow their rules, but in the end, she still ended up losing.

  No more.

  She knew what she needed to do. What she wanted to do.

  She headed out of the castle. To the Arch.

  2

  Zack

  Zack leaned against the brick wall of the alley, wiping blood off his face with the back of his hand. It wasn’t his blood—for once—but the stench of it turned his stomach. He saw the flashing lights of an ambulance and felt a little bit of his anxiety unclench. He hadn’t wanted to hurt the guy, but he’d recognized Zack as a narc. One word from him to the other dealers, and the cover that Zack had worked so hard to build over the last few years would be gone.

  Although now he was wondering if that would be such a bad thing.

  He was tired. Tired of dealing with scumbags like the guy bleeding on the ground, who had tried to stab Zack in the back after selling him a baggie of crack. He was tired of living like a junkie when he was undercover, squatting in abandoned buildings and never knowing if he would be able to eat at night. Once, he had loved being a cop. He liked feeling like he was useful, like he could use his shifting ability to help others stay safe. He liked the rush of adrenaline whenever a long undercover operation ended with the destruction of a cartel. He was a good cop, and he knew it.

  Nowadays, though… the thrill was gone. After a bust, all he could think about was a hot shower and a soft bed. When he was younger, he’d celebrate with a drink or five at Paradigm with Brady Markonian and all the other shifters he knew and usually end up taking one (or two) of the prettier ladies home with him. The party never ended.

  But now that was over. He had no interest in drinking until he puked. He had no desire to wake up in the morning with a beautiful stranger. He wanted something more. He wanted a life more like Brady’s, with a wife and maybe a kid and no drama. He was too old for the long-haired junkie look, anyway. Once he had been believable; now he felt like an old man trying too hard to be cool.

  He didn’t like to think about how much he envied his friend, Brady. Now that guy had it all; he’d really hit the jackpot when Casey came into his life. He would have never thought his friend to be the type to settle down. And all it took was a psychopathic bear stalker to bring the woman of his dreams into his life. Lucky fucker.

  The guy on the ground groaned and reached out to Zack, who ignored him as he watched the ambulance pull up. A couple of patrol cars were right behind him. Zack sighed deeply at the thought of yet another fake arrest. He had to look like he was being busted too, just to keep anybody’s suspicions at bay, and it was a pain in the ass. The handcuffs chafed, the back of the police car usually smelled like a gas station toilet, and it took forever to go through the whole ‘booking’ procedure. He didn’t know how career criminals did it.

  Zack nodded in greeting to the EMTs. It was Lenny Arpaggio and Nick Edgars, guys he had known for years. Lenny was decent enough for a regular human, but he had an attitude about shifters that put Zack’s teeth on edge. He had no clue that his partner was a lion shifter, and Zack knew that Nick wanted to keep it that way.

  “Hey, Zack.” Nick grimaced as he looked over the squirming junkie. “Man… what’d you do? Beat him with a two by four?”

  “He pulled a knife on me. Got me in the shoulder. So I gave him a slap.” Zack shifted his right hand into a wolf’s paw for a moment and then glanced behind Nick to Lenny, who was pulling a stretcher from the back of the bus. “You talk to Lenny yet?”

  Nick knelt down beside the junkie, shaking his head. “Nah. Don’t want the drama.”

  “He’s gonna find out eventually.” Zack half-smiled. “You’re gonna go Cowardly Lion on him sooner or later.”

  “Then I choose later.” Nick took the guy’s pulse and gave him a once-over. “Remind me never to piss you off, Arno.”

  Lenny joined them with the stretcher, pointedly ignoring Zack as he and Nick carefully lifted the junkie onto it. He knew Zack was a shifter, but was too much of a coward to be obvious about his bigotry. Zack flashed Nick a roll of his eyes and Nick smirked.

  “Something funny?” Lenny’s accent sounded like he’d fought his way out of the Bronx. No one would have guessed he’d had a rich kid’s life in Brooklyn. He tended towards being obnoxious at the best of times, and a bully at the worst. Zack never understood how Nick had managed to partner with him for five years.

  “Nope.” Nick adjusted the straps on the stretcher and looked up to Zack again. “You need to get your shoulder checked out.”

  “I’m fine.” Zack rolled his injured shoulder, trying not to wince. “Trust me, I’ve had worse.”

  “I’m off shift in an hour.” Nick pushed the stretcher as Lenny steered. “Want to get a drink?”

  “You buying?”

  Nick laughed. “You wish, fur face.”

  “Whatever.” Zack waved him off. “I gotta go get arrested. I’ll meet you at Paradigm later.”

  The club was the exact wrong place for Zack to be. The flashing lights and ear-splitting music made his head throb. And it was too crowded. The dance floor was shoulder-to-shoulder shifters, most in their human forms. Zack stayed on his bar stool and discreetly covered his ears with his hands. When did he get too old for the club? And since when was thirty-two considered too old?

  “You look like you’ve had a fun night.” Brady Markonian set a bottle of Guinness in front of Zack. “You okay?”

  “Should’ve seen me before the shower.” Zack grinned and took a deep swig of beer. “Some jackass tried to jump me earlier.”

  “And he lived to tell the tale?” Brady laughed. “You’re getting soft in your old age, man.”

  “Bite me, dragon-boy.” Zack set the bottle back on the bar. “How’s Casey and the baby?”

  “They’re good. We’re all good.” Brady’s smile was so authentically happy that Zack had to fight down a quick jab of jealousy.

  “Talk to Alix lately?”

  “Very subtle, Zack.”

  “What? You have a sister. I asked about her. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Other than the fact that your pupils turn into cartoon hearts when you talk about her, nothing at all.”

  Before Zack could respond to that, Nick arrived and pulled up a stool next to him. Zack couldn’t help but notice the stir he had caused among the females (and a few males) on the dance floor. The kid was young, maybe 25 or so, and good-looking. He could have his pick of anybody in the club, but Zack had never seen the kid take home a one-night stand.

  It’s a miracle I don’t hate his guts, Zack thought. He’s me, ten years ago.

  “Hey Nicky boy.” Brady instantly had another bottle of beer in hand, passing it to Nick. “You got a look on your face. What’s going on with you?”


  Nick shook his head. “Nothing much. Just tired.”

  “You guys are just a party waiting to happen,” Brady said with a roll of his eyes. “I don’t—”

  A red light below the bar began flashing.

  “Shit…” Brady hissed. “Somebody’s in the cellar.”

  Brady headed toward the back of the club, Zack and Nick on his heels. The silent alarm was to warn Brady about any intruders down at the Arch. The doors were locked, but Zack knew that Brady was paranoid about anyone accessing the shifter world without his knowledge.

  “Nobody’s scheduled to cross over today,” Brady said as he unlocked the half-dozen locks on the cellar door.

  “Maybe it was a roach or something that set off the motion detector,” Zack said.

  “It’d have to be an awfully big roach.”

  They descended the stairs to the sub-cellar, unlocking more doors along the way. Brady definitely wasn’t playing when it came to keeping the Arch secure.

  “Think we should shift?” Nick asked. His hands were already curling into lion’s paws tipped with razor-sharp claws.

  “I don’t know,” Zack said quietly. “Stay at the top of the steps in case anybody tries to come in. Be ready just in case.”

  Brady unlocked the last door and threw it open.

  Alix whirled around to face him, hands on hips, a pout of frustrated anger on her face. “Braydon! Finally! What took you so long?”

  Brady glanced over to Zack, who was just hoping that the cartoon hearts in his eyes weren’t too obvious.

  3