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  River

  LOST CREEK SHIFTERS

  Standalone Novella 7

  Samantha Leal

  Copyright © 2018 by Samantha Leal All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of 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.

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  And if you want to check out some of my other stories…

  The Lost Creek Shifters

  The Lost Creek Shifters series is a collection of novelette length standalone Bad boy romances that fit together to tell the longer story of the ancient tale of the bear and wolf shifters in a small mountain town. Enjoy!

  ARLO (Book 1)

  SCAR (Book 2)

  BLU (Book 3)

  BODHI (Book 4)

  KODHI (Book 5)

  ZEKE (Book 6)

  Standalone Contemporary Novellas

  Mountain Daddy’s Nanny

  The Baby Offer

  The Forsaken Riders

  The Forsaken Riders series is a collection of novelette and novella length standalone Bad boy romances that fit together to tell the longer tale of the Forsaken Riders – and the woman they love - as they fight to dominate the town of Slate Springs.

  Tanner (Book 0 Prequel)

  Available HERE

  free when you sign up for my newsletter)

  King (Book 1)

  Lynx (Book 2)

  Steel (Book 3)

  Gunner (Book 4)

  Hawk (Book 5)

  Bull (Book 6)

  Stag (Book 7)

  Stick (Book 8)

  Decker (Book 9)

  Ax (Book 10)

  Hunter (Book 11)

  Rocket (Book 12)

  Diesel (Book 13)

  Breaker (Book 14)

  Flash (Book 15)

  Hammer (Book 16)

  Brick (Book 17)

  Chains (Book 18)

  Ranger (Book 19)

  Snake (Book 20)

  Tank…coming soon…

  …and also from Totally Romance…

  STONYBROOKE SHIFTERS

  DADDY SHIFTER’S VIRGIN

  A SECRET BABY FOR THE SHIFTER

  THE SHIFTER’S MAIL ORDER VIRGIN

  DADDY SHIFTER’S FAKE FIANCE

  THE SEAL SHIFTER’S SECRET BABY

  CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA DADDY

  NANNY TO THE SHIFTER

  THE SHIFTER PROTECTOR’S VIRGIN

  SECOND CHANCE WITH THE SHIFTER

  OAK MOUNTAIN SHIFTERS

  HER BILLIONAIRE SHIFTER BOSS

  HER SECRET PROTECTOR BEAR

  A SECRET BABY FOR DADDY BEAR

  THE ALPHA’S MAIL ORDER BRIDE

  THE ALPHA DADDY’S NANNY

  BANISHED DRAGONS

  CAPTIVE TO THE DRAGON

  Also …

  Like Totally Romance on Facebook!

  Table of Contents

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  SHIFTER HEAVEN BOX SET PREVIEW

  1.

  The moon was full over the mountains, peeking out from behind a thick fluffy cloud and casting silver light across the snow. Elsewhere in the sky, bright stars were shining, and as she stood and looked up at them, she just knew this was going to be the night.

  She reached down and clutched her belly.

  It was big and swollen and had been growing for the past nine months, it had been changing her, in more ways than one. She wasn’t just about to become a mother, she was carrying something inside of her that was going to change everything…

  Maybe even change the world.

  She took a deep breath and cradled the bump underneath one arm. She would never tire of this view, and part of her wanted it to be the first that the baby would see… but at the same time, she didn’t know if it were possible.

  If he comes tonight… will they be able to look after me here?

  Without a doubt, there would be no hospital. She knew that much. But, otherwise, she was in the dark. She breathed in and looked back to the moon.

  Ever since she had come to this little town, the way she had looked at the heavens had taken on a new meaning. Now, whenever she saw the moon in the sky, she knew how great it was; she was acutely aware of the importance of it all and how it had the power to change so much.

  “Are you all right?” his voice came from behind her and she turned to him and smiled.

  He was standing in the doorway and looking out at her as she stood out back on the terrace, breathing in deeply and enjoying these last few hours of stillness.

  “He’s coming tonight,” she whispered. “We have to be ready.”

  Zeke walked out and wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her tightly.

  “How do you know?” he asked.

  “I just do,” she whispered.

  He nuzzled into the back of her neck and she could feel his heart beating against her shoulder blades. This man loved her more than anything and she knew he was fated to protect her for all time. If he was by her side, nothing could ever go wrong. He was always going to keep her safe.

  “I should call someone…,” he said as he kissed the back of her neck.

  She nodded and looked back up to the stars. She couldn’t be sure because it happened so fast, but she thought she saw the streak of one shooting across the inky black sky overhead.

  She made a wish, just in case.

  “Come inside,” he said to her as he moved his hand down and took hold of hers. “You can’t stay out here all night. It’s not safe.”

  “I know,” she said. “But I can’t stop looking up there… it’s as if it’s calming me, preparing me… it’s as if the moon knows…”

  He turned her around and cupped her face in his hands and stared deeply into her eyes. There was so much love there, it had lasted decades and had conquered distance and time, and now they were there together, and everything was about to come to fruition. They were about to fulfill their destiny.

  “I’ve never seen you look more beautiful than you have tonight,” he said. “You have no idea how much this all means to me.”

  She smiled and stared into his eyes. They were warm, and they pierced the dark with their ferociousness. Every time she looked at him, her heart still began to race, and she felt weak at the knees.

  “Come on then,” she whispered as she let him take her hand in his and lead her back toward the doors of the house.

  He closed and locked them behind her and stared out toward the forest. He was going to be alert now, she could tell. He wasn’t going to sleep or settle. Zeke would be pacing their home until it began, and then, if he even managed to last that long, would be calling people to come and help them.

  “I’ll take the cushions and blankets into the den,” he said as he turned to her and smiled.

  She nodded nervously and tried to remain calm, but at the same time, the crashing realization was hitting her.

  She was going to have to do this, and she was going to have to do it without medical help.

  She swallowed and steadied herself against the sideboard.

  “Come on,” she coached herself. “You can do this.”

  She waddled across the room and flopped down slowly onto the couch and curled uncomfortably onto her side. Her heart rate was rising, and her palms were begi
nning to sweat in anticipation. She was waiting for the first one to hit, and when it did, she knew she would crumble just that little bit more because there truly would be no turning back.

  When the feeling did arrive, she was still on the couch with her eyes closed, and it came to her like a dull aching wave.

  She pushed herself up against the backrest and looked around the room. She cradled her stomach and bit her lip and wondered if she had imagined it… but then it came again.

  This time, it was fast and sharp… and nothing like what she had imagined.

  She cried out for him, rolling slowly onto the ground and down onto her knees. She breathed fast and moaned, her whole body was aching, and the shooting pains in her groin and stomach were coming and going in thick and fast bursts.

  “Zeke!” she cried. “Come quick!”

  She heard his footsteps thunder through the house, and when he burst into the living room, the door nearly flew off its hinges as it bounced off the wall behind it.

  “Holy fuck,” he panted.

  “It’s too fast,” she cried as she tried to crawl along the ground. “Help, Zeke, we need someone!”

  His eyes were wide, and he froze for a moment before the next contraction pulled him back into the here and now.

  “Don’t panic,” he told her as he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. He steadied her toward the wall and sat her against it, opening her legs wide and placing a towel he had been holding down on the floor in front of her.

  “Zeke…,” she sobbed.

  The pain was too overbearing, her vision was blurred, everything was happening so quickly she barely had time to register what was going on. All she knew was that she had never felt pain like it. Her whole body felt as if it were about to break in two, and the intense pressure was far too much to bear.

  “Come on, baby,” he told her. “You can do this, you know you can…”

  He looked into her eyes and held her hands as the rest of the world began to go dark and blurred.

  “There’s no time to call anyone…,” he said.

  And she knew it too. They were truly on their own there and they were going to have to do this. They were going to have to bring this baby into the world alone.

  The agony hit her again and she wailed as she clutched his hands and screamed up to the ceiling. The moon was above her and she knew it was doing its best to help her, but at the same time, she was truly afraid. Could she do this? Was she strong enough?

  She had to keep believing she was…

  She had been chosen.

  She collapsed back against the wall and, deep inside of her, she could feel the change. She was a woman carrying a child that was meant for great things. She was a woman who was about to bring into the world something not entirely human.

  “Come on,” Zeke said through gritted teeth as she clutched his hands so tightly she could have drawn blood.

  The rest of the world fell away, and she felt every last part of the head crowning, of the rest of the body being pushed free by the last contraction, of herself crying and sobbing and sinking into the floor once she had done the most important thing she could ever do.

  Zeke’s eyes were wide, and his breathing was sharp.

  He worked away in front of her with tears and sweat dripping down his face.

  “Is he all right?” she asked him, barely able to get the words to form in her throat. “Bring him to me…”

  Zeke smiled up at her with adoration and he lifted the bundle into her line of sight. The towel was bloodied, but it didn’t matter, wrapped inside of it was the most precious gift of all.

  When he came and sat next to her and passed her the baby, her heart swelled so much she knew she was never going to feel anything quite like this again. Their whole worlds had changed, and possibly the whole world for everyone else too.

  “Here he is,” Zeke whispered as he passed the baby into her arms.

  She held him tightly and looked down on his face. It was round and new, his little nose squashed, his skin turning pink as he breathed in more air, and his jet black hair covered in goo. She cried and laughed together, her body still too weary to do anything else.

  She kissed him on the top of his head and when she looked at him properly, he began to open his eyes.

  She gasped when she saw them.

  Emerald green.

  They were pure magic.

  He was magic.

  “Zeke,” she said breathlessly. “Oh my god…”

  “I know,” he said as he kissed her forehead and held them both tight. “I know, babe.”

  They lay there together on the floor in their living room. A new family, one forged from destiny and created by pure love and magic.

  Zeke and Esme had made something unique, and something that was brought to save their kind from almost certain extinction.

  “We did it,” he whispered. “And he’s perfect.”

  Esme looked down into her newborn son’s eyes.

  She may just have been a woman, but she knew what she was looking at. She wasn’t just looking at her baby boy… she was looking at a wolf.

  “He really is,” she said. “Just perfect…”

  2.

  Stacey stood in the center of the bar and huffed as she saw the door burst open and a trail of drunken tourists coming her way.

  “Oh, great,” she whispered to herself as she braced herself for the onslaught.

  She took a deep breath, counted to five, and then turned back to face them with a wide and cheerful grin.

  “Good evening, guys!” she smiled. “Welcome to The Nowhere Bar, what can I get for you?”

  They all began to slur and shout orders in her direction, and she had to forcibly try to not roll her eyes in their direction. She was tired and overworked, and it had been a long night. She had been hoping she was on the wind down and that Blu, her boss, may let her make her way home. But now that this group had wandered in, she was doubtful she would be so lucky.

  She worked away and poured all their drinks, stacking them onto a round tray and offering to bring them over to the table for them. The music was loud around her, and she could already feel her eyelids beginning to drop, but she had to keep focused and awake. She had to pull herself together.

  She placed the drinks down in front of them and they all cheered her and started to give her tips. She instantly felt guilty. It wasn’t their fault that she was on her own on one of the busiest nights. It was unavoidable and couldn’t be helped. She smiled and thanked them all and then she trundled back to her own side of the bar where she started to make herself a strong coffee.

  “Caffeine,” she said. “That’s all you need.”

  Stacey had worked at the bar for several years and it had become part of her identity. She loved being a bar girl in one of the most happening places in town. Lost Creek was a haven for skiers and walkers; tucked up in the snowcapped mountains, small, quiet and quaint, it had been her home since she was a little girl.

  As far as she knew, she had never lived anywhere else, and she had always been proud of her hometown. Lost Creek was the kind of place that appealed to people’s souls and if they were lucky enough to live there, they would never leave. It was a dreamy place, idyllic and safe, and she loved her life there.

  When she had started working at The Nowhere Bar, she hadn’t known what to expect. It was run by a group of local men who were all a bit wild and naughty, but they were cool, and the more she got to know them, the more she realized they all had good hearts. She loved being around them and she loved going into work each day. But the past few months had been tiring on her, her usual work buddy had had to take some time off, and the girls they had hired since had all been flakey and left her in the lurch.

  “You okay, Stacey?” Blu called to her.

  She looked up to one of the balconies above and she smiled and waved. Blu was one of her bosses, and he was the only other person connected to the bar that was in there that night. She didn’t know why,
but it was hellishly quiet on that front. Normally, she had rows upon rows of Blu, the other bosses, and their friends all sitting up front at the bar with her and helping her pass the time quickly by chatting to her and keeping her on her toes.

  This night, however, had been different…

  Busy groups of out of towners, and not a familiar face in sight. She truly had been dashing around and trying to keep the drink orders at bay, but to no avail.

  “I’m fine,” she called back to him.

  He nodded his head and then he looked down to the group of men all sitting in one of the booths, knocking back whiskeys and sinking beers. He shrugged and started to make his way around toward the staircase.

  “Okay,” he said as he reached the bottom step and started to approach her. “You can go home, I can see it in your eyes, you’re exhausted.”

  “Honestly,” she said as she tried to stifle a yawn. “I’m fine. No need to worry.”

  “You’ve been in every night this week,” Blu said with a scowl. “I know you like to do your best, and you have. Go on, get yourself home and have tomorrow night off.”

  “But there’s no one to cover,” she said.

  “We’ll find someone.” Blu stared at her with wide eyes to let her know he wasn’t going to be taking no for an answer.

  “Okay, okay,” she said as she held her hands up in defeat. “I’ll get my coat and I’m out of here.”

  “Good,” he said with a smirk. “Because I’m tired too and I want to get home to my woman. These guys are getting kicked out the second they’ve finished.”

  He winked at her and Stacey laughed. Blu was the boss, and there was no way she was going to argue with that logic.

  She grabbed her padded jacket and pulled it on over her t-shirt and buttoned it up to keep out the winter chill.

  “See you in a couple of days, then,” she said as she saluted him and walked toward the front door.

  When she turned back to catch his wave, she could see that he was already turning off the back lights and closing down the register. Blu had clearly decided that these men had to go, and he wasn’t going to entertain them for a moment more.