Detective Lion Shifter (A Paranormal Night Club Book 3) Read online

  Detective Lion 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. Lana

  2. Nick

  3. Lana

  4. Nick

  5. Lana

  6. Nick

  7. Lana

  8. Nick

  9. Lana

  10. Nick

  11. Lana

  12. Lana

  13. Nick

  14. Lana

  15. Nick

  16. Lana

  17. Nick

  18. Lana

  19. Nick

  20. Lana

  Epilogue

  Scientist Dragon’s Assistant

  Chapter 1

  Also by Brittany White

  About the Author

  Exclusive Offer

  1

  Lana

  Lana paced back and forth across the courtyard of her family’s palace. She hadn’t heard from her sister Lucy in more than a week. She and Lucy communicated several times a day, but Lucy had suddenly stopped responding.

  Clarence, her father, who was a lord over a large pride land, loped towards her.

  “You still haven’t heard from Lucy?” he asked.

  Lana fretted. “No, and I’m worried. We’ve always talked a couple times a day. Now nothing. Something is really, really wrong.”

  “I knew that no good could come of her marrying a human and living in the human world.” Clarence shook his large head, his heavy mane making him seem even more massive than he was.

  “Father, I have to go find her,” Lana said.

  “Absolutely not,” a female voice said behind them. “I’ve already lost one daughter. I refuse to lose another.”

  Sara, her mother, stood in her human form, her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.

  Lana knew that look. Her mother was very serious, and very frightened.

  Lana shifted from her lioness form to her human form.

  “Mother, I know you are scared. But I have to go. Lucy could be in trouble. I have to find her.”

  “I forbid it,” Sara said, her voice quivering.

  “I have to, Mother. You know that.”

  Without a word, Sara turned to go back inside.

  Her father sighed. “Come. I’ll show you the way to the safest portal. Ask for Brady. He’ll help you.”

  After saying good-bye to her father, she stepped under an arch. Suddenly, she found herself in a basement surrounded by several shifters. A huge dragon stepped forward, looking ferocious.

  “Who are you?” he demanded.

  “I’m Lana. I come from the Singh Pride. My father, Clarence, told me to ask for Brady.”

  The dragon and other shifters relaxed at her words.

  “I am Brady. Come with me.”

  Everyone shifted to their human form, so Lana did the same, and followed the men upstairs.

  There were a lot of shifters in the club, laughing, drinking, and listening to music. Some were in human form while others were in their shifted form.

  The dragon shifter introduced himself as Brady. He said that he owned the club and guarded the portal.

  Lana ordered a glass of milk and then explained about the situation. Brady nodded, not interrupting Lana’s story.

  “I can help you. The first thing we need to do is to get you dressed,” Brady smiled at her. “Things are done a little differently in the human world.”

  Brady heard the questions forming in her mind before she spoke them.

  “The great thing is that most of the clothes in this world are soft and comfortable. They aren’t quite as scratchy as the tunics that most wear in the shifter world,” Colleen said.

  Lana nodded.

  Colleen, one of Brady’s club managers, handed Lana a tunic. Then, she grabbed Lana’s hand.

  “Let me introduce you to Casey, Brady’s wife. She’ll help you get situated for the human world.”

  Lana nodded again, at a loss for words. She followed Colleen out the door and into the streets, bustling with alien activity.

  Colleen let out a shrill whistle and a yellow beast stopped in front of her. A large mouth opened, revealing a bench inside the belly of the beast.

  Lana hesitated, but when Colleen prodded her to hop in, Lana obeyed.

  After a short ride, the yellow beast stopped in front of a tall building. Colleen handed the human in the front bench some green paper, which Lana assumed was payment for the ride. Then, they went upstairs.

  Lana started to feel a little overwhelmed. She was already upset over losing communication with Lucy. Then, it seemed like so much had happened quickly. There were so many strange things in this world, and for a moment, she wanted nothing more than to go back to the simplicity of her world.

  Then, she thought of Lucy in danger and she banished all thoughts of home. She promised Lucy, in her mind, that nothing would stop her from finding her lost sister.

  Colleen and Lana walked into a small box. Colleen pressed a button and the box started moving.

  When the doors opened, a beautiful woman stood there holding an adorable human child.

  “Hi. I’m Casey. You must be Lana.”

  Lana nodded.

  “I have to get back to the club. Let me know if you need anything,” Colleen said.

  Casey nodded and beckoned Lana to follow her.

  Casey, who had helped many unfamiliar shifters through this ritual before, introduced Lana to a shower and hair brush. Then, clothes.

  Soon after Lana was dressed, there was a knock at the door.

  “Nick, please come in,” Casey said, opening the door wide.

  Nick looked at Lana curiously. “Brady sent me over here. He said that your guest needed my assistance.”

  Casey introduced Nick to Lana.

  “Nick is a lion shifter and a detective for the police department. Tell Nick your story,” Casy said, and then excused herself when the baby started crying.

  Nick and Lana sat as far apart on the couch as they could. Lana looked at him nervously. He was the sexiest lion shifter she had ever seen. His tawny hair was pulled back in a ponytail. His body looked as though it had been sculpted by Michelangelo. Butterflies were wreaking havoc in her stomach. She had an almost irresistible urge to reach out and stroke the large muscles that showed through his tight t-shirt.

  Nick smiled at her, and Lana blushed. He was probably reading her thoughts.

  She shook her head to banish the thoughts and feelings. She was here to find her sister, not a mate.

  Lana explained that she and her sister were very close. “Even after Lucy moved to the human world permanently, to marry a human, we kept in contact several times a day. Then, about six days ago, she stopped communicating. I can’t feel her presence, and I know that she is in trouble. I have to find my sister.”

  Nick chewed his bottom lip pensively.

  “There have been several cases of female shifters disappearing…or even being murdered recently. There is something sinister going on, but I’m not sure what. Lucy’s disappearance might have something to do with this case.”

  Lana’s heart jumped out of her chest. It was beating a million miles an hour and felt as though a jack hammer was pounding on it.

  Nick correctly predicted her thoughts. “Sh
e hasn’t been found among the dead, and there are several female shifters who are simply missing. We may have a collector on our hands. If so, then Lucy will be alive. We’ll find her,” Nick promised.

  After they had talked for a couple of hours, Nick bought her some food and took her to a nice hotel room. He paid for a couple of nights for her.

  He showed her how to use the key card. Then, he handed her a cellphone and showed her how to contact him.

  “If you need anything, call me. I’ll be here within fifteen minutes. I only live a couple of blocks away.”

  He looked deep into her eyes. “We’ll find Lucy. I promise.” Then, he left.

  Lana looked around the room, feeling antsy.

  I need to be out there looking for Lucy. However, she didn’t know where to start. Nick promised to help her and something in her soul told her that she could trust Nick.

  Not sure what else to do, Lana decided to take another shower. She really liked how the warm water felt as it cascaded over her body.

  Images of Nick’s face arose unbidden while she was standing under the hot water. His chiseled features were arresting. His entire body commanded attention. Her fingers itched to spread across his powerful chest. She licked her lips, wondering what it would be like to kiss him.

  Then, Lana stopped her thoughts.

  Where had they come from? Lana had never so much as looked at a male in that way. Now, all of the sudden, she was acting like a lovelorn teenager.

  The cold air hit her as she stepped out of the shower. She remembered to dry off instead of shaking the now-cool water droplets from her body.

  Wrapping herself up, she made her way to the soft bed and plopped onto it.

  The bed was so soft and seemed to envelop her. Soon, her eyelids were so heavy, she couldn’t hold them open. She was just about to sleep when a strange noise woke her.

  She looked around the room and saw a light coming from the phone that Nick had given her. She pushed the green button and his voice came through.

  “Can you meet me out front of the hotel? Another shifter has been found,” he said.

  Lana nodded, and then realized he couldn’t see her.

  “I’ll be there.”

  She hurriedly dressed and, remembering to slip the room key and the phone into her pocket, she hurried downstairs.

  Nick was waiting in one of the roaring beasts with wheels.

  He opened the door for her, and she slid in beside him.

  “I shouldn’t be taking you to a crime scene,” he said. “But something tells me that this has something to do with your sister.”

  They sped through the streets, arriving faster than Lana could believe. Nick told the officers on the scene that Lana was with him.

  “Her name was Carrie,” one of the officers told him. The officer was a shifter and had recognized her type. “She was a spotted deer shifter.”

  As Lana stared at what was left of the young woman, her heart broke. She hastily wiped away the couple of tears that trekked down her cheek.

  The once-beautiful deer had been ripped to shreds, her body burned.

  “This looks like the work of a dragon shifter,” the same officer said softly.

  Lana agreed.

  Nick said, “This is the third one in less than three months that we’ve found like this.”

  “Whoever is doing this has to be stopped,” the officer said.

  Lana reached out to hold the hand of the girl, wanting to comfort her in the afterlife. Nick gently grabbed her hand.

  “Don’t touch anything. There might be some evidence left that we could use to find out who the monster is that would do such a thing.”

  Lana bit back her protest, but understood. She didn’t want to do anything that would keep them from stopping the dragon shifter who murdered this beautiful creature.

  Nick spoke with the officers for a while and organized a search for evidence. However, he, like everyone else, knew that they wouldn’t find anything. The dragon shifter was clearly smart.

  “Everyone makes mistakes, though. I will catch you when you do,” Nick said to himself.

  Lana looked at him, hearing his words. She could feel his pain and anger over what happened to Carrie. That made him even more attractive than he had been before.

  After an hour, Nick took Lana back to the hotel.

  “Lock your door and don’t let anyone, except for me, in here. By now, whoever has your sister likely knows you are here,” Nick said.

  He hesitated, as though he were going to say something else. Then, he kissed her on the cheek and left.

  Lana locked the doors behind him.

  She was now more frightened than ever. Did the monster who hurt Carrie have her sister? If so, how long would Lucy be kept alive? Why would the monster kill some of the shifters and not others, if they were still alive?

  A million thoughts ran through Lana’s head, until exhausted, she fell asleep, her head on the feathery pillows.

  She was dreaming about dragons, deer, Lucy and Nick, when the phone went off again. It was Nick again.

  Drowsy, she answered the phone. “Hello. Nick? Please tell me there hasn’t been another one.”

  “I’m sorry to wake you. There hasn’t been another death, but I found out some information you need to know. I’m outside of your room. Please let me in.”

  Suddenly wide awake, Lana opened her hotel room door to see Nick, hair tousled and looking exhausted.

  Fear gripped her heart as he stepped into the room and collapsed into the chair next to her bed.

  2

  Nick

  As Nick sank into the soft chair next to Lana’s bed, pure exhaustion overwhelmed him. He had been going for almost forty-eight hours straight, trying to find the murderer. He was taught at the police academy that they couldn’t let their emotions become involved in the cases, or the job would eat them alive and they wouldn’t be able to see the case objectively. Yet, this one was personal and he was emotionally involved.

  It was his job to speak for those who couldn’t speak for themselves, and he felt as though he were failing them.

  He smiled at Lana wearily as she handed him a bottle of water. He could see the fear in her eyes and the worry on her face.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “I’m good. I’m just tired,” Nick answered.

  “What is going on?” Lana asked. “What did you need to say so urgently?”

  He took a deep breath, took a long swig of water, and swallowed hard.

  “I found out some important information about Lucy. Lucy isn’t married to a human. She is married to a dragon shifter. Did you hear about what happened in Vardok’s kingdom a couple of years ago?”

  “Briefly,” Lana said. “My father keeps track of the politics and such. I’m more on the practical side, watching out for the people’s well-being, making sure that everyone has food, medicine, and other things.”

  “Brady’s sister, Alix, was forced to marry Vardok. Vardok was a monster. He held women captive to use them and torture them. He enslaved everyone in his kingdom, forcing them to wear magical bracelets that prevented them from shifting. He abused everyone and ruled through terror,” Nick explained.

  “I do remember hearing about it. Wasn’t she already mated to someone else?” Lana asked.

  Nick nodded. “She was. They managed to defeat Vardok, and as his queen, she took over as ruler of his kingdom. She released the enslaved and imprisoned Vardok’s dragon warriors. However, several of them escaped.”

  Nick could see by the look on Lana’s face that she understood where he was going with his story.

  “Are you saying…?” Lana asked, her voice breaking.

  Nick nodded. “Lucy married the leader of Vardok’s soldiers—a mean, vicious dragon shifter named Dizag. Lana, this means that not only is Lucy in danger, you are in danger. I’m also afraid that there is a war coming. I can’t emphasize how evil they are.”

  Nick sighed h
eavily.

  They sat there in silence for a few minutes.

  Curious about her companion and desperate to change the subject, Lana asked, “How did you end up being a detective on the police force in the human world?”

  He smiled. “I was born in the human world. My mother is a human who fell in love with a lion shifter. Although offspring from humans and shifters are usually human, I was lucky enough to be born a shifter.”

  “So, why do you live in the human world?” Lana asked.

  “It’s all I’ve really known,” Nick answered. “I’ve been to the shifter world several times and it is beautiful. However, there is nothing in the world like watching basketball on television.”

  Lana looked at him and raised her eyebrows.

  “I’ll introduce you to television and basketball,” he said, laughing.

  Nick appraised Lana. She was very beautiful. She wasn’t the “homecoming queen” type of beautiful, which had never attracted him. She was “girl next door” beautiful. She looked at him with intense green eyes, the color of pure emeralds. She had deep red hair. Her face was clear and he was glad she didn’t wear any makeup. It would only ruin her looks, rather than enhance them.

  Lana excused herself to use the restroom. Then, she laid down on the bed, falling almost instantly asleep. Nick covered her up with the sheet and blanket.

  He was too tired to drive home. Besides, he wanted to make sure that Lana was safe. He doubted if Dizag would attack her here and now, but one could never be too safe.

  Nick rummaged through the closet for an extra blanket and tried to make himself comfortable in the recliner. He was so tired that it was almost impossible to sleep. However, he watched Lana’s chest rise and fall and listened to the soft sound of her breathing. Her hair formed a halo around her head.