BLU: Paranormal Fantasy Romance (LOST CREEK SHIFTERS NOVELLAS Book 3)

  BLU

  LOST CREEK SHIFTERS

  Novelette 3

  Samantha Leal

  Copyright © 2016 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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  Introduction

  Thank you so much for purchasing my Novellete. All of my stories also contain bonus stories, so please take a look at the other stories I offer here. We have some Billionaire, Highlander, Shifter and Biker tales. Take a look! Don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter for updates and free books!

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

  The Lost Creek Shifters are:

  ARLO (Book 1)

  SCAR (Book 2)

  BLU (Book 3)

  BODHI (Book 4)

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  Table of Contents

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  Alien Romance

  Bear Shifter Romance

  Dystopian Romance

  Dragon Shifter Romance

  MC Romance

  Love and Survival in the Time After

  Wolf Shifter Romance

  Holiday Billionaire Romance

  Highlander Time Travel Romance

  1.

  The road back to Lost Creek was much longer than he remembered. As the sun dipped down over the horizon and the world around him turned from a pinkish gold to a rich, deep black he pressed his foot down hard on the gas and wished for it all to be over. The suspense that had plagued him since he had gotten back behind the wheel was mounting, along with his anxious nature. Nothing about this journey was normal. Nothing about it would end calmly. And yet, he was still prepared to go through with it. He was still prepared to uproot his life for the second time and go back to where it all began.

  He felt his eyes sag with tiredness, but he had come too far to stop. Adrenaline was keeping him going now, and he knew that he just had to get there. Once he pulled up into that small town and saw the familiarity that he had been running from for so many years, maybe then he would let himself sleep.

  He pressed the button down on the inside of the driver’s door and the window cracked to let in a blast of cool air. It revived him momentarily as he blinked and unlocked his jaw, trying to wake himself from the pull of sleep.

  “Come on,” he whispered to himself, “not much further.”

  He had been traveling for days and even though he had stopped at a couple of points to try and regroup, he hadn’t been able to switch off. He had stayed up late watching television and drinking whiskey. He had turned off the lights and closed his eyes but it just wouldn’t come. He had listened to her sleeping quietly in the bed beside him, the light rasps of her breathing reminding him what all of this was for, and providing him with comfort in the small hours. But he hadn’t been able to fall asleep, not once. He had laid awake, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, his heart slowly hammering away in his chest, as every possible scenario played through his mind.

  The idea of returning to Lost Creek was still a frightening one, but ultimately, he knew that it had to be done. Was he putting her at risk going back to where they had both come from? Or would they finally be able to leave the past in the past? After all, so many tragedies had already happened, and it seemed so unfair for another innocent to get caught in the crossfire. But he would not let that happen. Not to her. Never.

  He hadn’t been sure at first when Scar had landed on his doorstep with a woman and all of the tales of what was happening back at home. But Scar had slowly managed to blend back in, and Blu knew that if he was ever going to return to where he belonged, the time was now.

  “Magnus is sick,” Scar had said. “Really sick.”

  His face had been grave and Blu could tell the gravity of the situation. If the pair of them didn’t return together, who knew what may eventually unfold in that town. There were fears that the wolves may be driven out entirely, and that the bears would, somehow, stake claim over all of the businesses that both packs had spent hundreds of years nurturing and bringing to fruition. Blu could never let that happen. His family was woven deep into Lost Creek’s past, and he would never let anyone take that from him. Whether he had been absent for the past six years, or not.

  He thought back to his meeting with Scar, sucked in a lungful of air and sighed. It was all so nerve-wracking, but he knew that it had to be done. He had to go home. He had been wrongly accused, and now he was going to have to make them all realize that, once and for all. He was innocent, and he had been exiled unfairly. At the time, with everything that was happening around him, he had welcomed it. The town had become too much for him to take and nowhere was safe. He had already lost Marie, he couldn’t risk losing Luna as well. He would do anything for her. She was all he had left…

  As he thought back to the day that Marie had been cruelly taken from him, he felt the familiar knot form in his stomach and he clenched his fingers tightly around the wheel to detract from the pain. It still felt like that… A physical ache. She had left such a huge hole in his life, it was, as if, a part of his own soul was permanently missing, and he couldn’t function properly without it.

  He looked down at the mound beside him, cuddled up underneath a red woolen coat and snoring lightly. The moonlight was catching on the silver whiteness of her hair and made her look even more otherworldly. There was no doubt about it that she was his. Both their eyes and their hair told a deep history, and Blu had never seen any other person to ever display those traits. No one outside the Tarrenwolf family. She had slept since dusk and he knew that he wouldn’t need to wake her until they arrived back in town. She had been everything to him in the past six years, and he had learned what it really meant to be a man, to step up to the plate and be a father. He rested his hand down on the small of her back and beneath it, the shallow, softness of her breathing reminded him all he needed to know. She was alive and well, and his responsibility. He would never let anyone hurt her. And he would never let anyone take her away from him. She was a resident of Lost Creek just as much as he was, and the rest of the Lost Alphas. And Blu was determined that Luna, his precious daughter, would be able to live her life back in the hometown that she deserved. She needed to know where she had come from, and she needed to be around her own kind. He wouldn’t and couldn’t keep secrets from her forever.

  Luna stirred underneath the weight of his hand and Blu pulled it away and smiled. It had been just the two of them for such a long time, with the exception of Scar, that he almost couldn’t believe that they were about to return home and see all of the long forgotten faces. Faces that had drifted away into the past, ones that had changed, most likely, into something else entirely, maybe even beyond recognition. His heart saddened at the thought of Magnus and what he was going through. He had been such a strong leader, an Alpha to rival any other, bu
t now he was old and illness had come for him. It seemed so unfair that such a fearless warrior could ever be taken.

  Blu curled his lip as he remembered the last day that he had spent in Lost Creek. He remembered the fighting, the shouting, and the violence. It had plagued him from the moment he and Scar had skipped out on work that fateful morning… And it had chased him through the streets ever since. But when Marie had been killed, he knew that he had nothing more to lose. He and Luna had to get out of there and so it was a welcomed suggestion when Magnus and the other elders told him to flee. He wouldn’t put his daughter in any more danger.

  And he knew what those goddamn bears were like…

  An eye for an eye.

  Sometimes, he wondered if they had been coming after Luna all along and that Marie had gotten in the way, or whether they just saw her first. Ultimately, the outcome had still been the same. He had lost a woman he had loved more than life itself. And he and their daughter were in the world alone. Banished from their hometown and on the run to keep themselves safe. And now he was about to go back there. Was he crazy? He rolled the window down more as if trying to blow away the memories of Marie that still lingered, but as they approached Lost Creek, they seemed to be getting stronger than ever.

  He shuddered and bit back the tears.

  No more crying. Not today.

  He looked back down to the little girl sleeping beside him. He wouldn’t put her in unnecessary danger, but she had to know where she came from. And after all of the years that had passed, he knew that if he didn’t go now, they would never be able to return.

  The road curved and began to ascend high into the mountains. It was a road he knew well and remembered exactly, even after all of those years, and it was as if he were stepping back in time. He couldn’t help but let a small smile drift over his lips as he remembered back to his childhood. The rush of memory was so hot and powerful, it was almost as if he was living it all over again. It had been a happy place once. And that’s what he wanted for Luna. He wanted her to grow up in the Lost Creek he had once known and loved. Not the one it turned into before they had to run.

  As the road wound around higher into the mountains, the smell in the air merged into the scent that only Lost Creek could have. It was full of emotion and loyalty, and also history and debt. He had never known a place like this town, and he was determined he would not let it claim him the way it had done once. Now he was much older, a hell of lot more wise, and he was going to be absolved of any sin that had been attached to him in the past. He was returning to clear his name and to give his daughter the life she deserved, one with the Lost Alphas and around her family.

  He rested his hand on her back again and smiled. The road curved around in another bend and then there, just ahead, he saw the sign that he had never been able to forget.

  Welcome To Lost Creek…

  He was finally home.

  2.

  Erin looked from one end of Main Street to the other. It was one of the prettiest towns she had seen in a long time, and she had no idea how she had been lucky enough to find it. She reached down to her wrist and gave it a little squeeze just to be sure that she wasn’t dreaming. But when she looked back up, she was still in exactly the same place, and it looked like her luck had finally come in.

  The bus let out a sigh of air as it revved its engine and pulled back out onto the road. As it disappeared in front of her, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She had finally found somewhere she could potentially call home. And it was invigorating.

  She looked at the mountains as they wound their way up into the sky, at the smattering of snow working its way down, and at the luscious, deep green pines that made up the majority of the landscape. The town was beautiful; it was almost cookie cutter perfect. All of the buildings on Main Street were made out of timber and looked like fairy tale log cabins, the colors and lights that sprang from each of their windows were warm and inviting, and she was sure that she could hear music drifting through the streets as if someone was playing a saxophone.

  “Okay, Erin,” she smiled to herself, “I doubt it’s going to get any better than this.”

  She heaved her bag up onto her shoulder and looked from left to right. From where she was standing at the cross roads in the middle of town, she could have turned in either direction. But something was pulling her left and further up into the mountains. She could see the lines of tourists and skiers making their way up toward the lifts that would take them high into the sky, and there appeared to be some warm and welcoming taverns open all along the main stretch.

  Hot chocolate, she thought with a grin. That would make this entire moment completely perfect.

  She began her walk up to find somewhere to relax for a while so she could get her bearings. As she wandered up the incline and along Main Street, she found herself looking in the quaint shop windows and smiling to herself as she checked out all of the knickknacks on sale for the tourists. She was almost sad that she not had found Lost Creek while on vacation, as it would be a lovely place to come and spend long summers and winter breaks. Maybe she would get the best of everything by making this town her home, and hopefully, she would come to love the hustle and bustle of a tourist town, rather than resenting it.

  She stopped and looked up at one of the taverns in front of her. It was buzzing inside and the warm vibe filtered out onto the street. Her body was tired but her mind was on high alert, and all she wanted to do was sit somewhere, quietly. She didn’t get the impression that this was going to be the place. She turned around with a slight feeling of disappointment and continued her search. It was the middle of the day, and therefore, the town was alive and full of people looking for somewhere to grab their lunch. Erin bit her bottom lip and rubbed her eyes. Maybe she would have to admit defeat and slink into one of the taverns. It was either that or traipse around town looking for the perfect place that may not even exist… Or worse, end up in a dive bar, drinking, which although kind of appealing, considering the past couple of weeks she had endured, she wasn’t in the mood for setting herself back anymore.

  “You need to keep a clear head,” she whispered to herself. “You don’t even have a place to stay yet.”

  She laughed and shook her head. She had plenty of time to worry about the rest of her problems once she had found somewhere to lay her head for the night. But for now, she needed a hot chocolate and somewhere to relax while she gathered her thoughts.

  The place in front of her was as busy as everywhere else. It was full of people laughing and joking, some of them eating warm plates of food at tables on the sidewalk, and some of them drinking beer or cocoa inside. She shrugged her shoulders and made her way toward the door.

  Inside, the temperature was high and the floor was crowded. She weaved in and out of people, looking for a place to sit, but it was clear that she had walked in at their busiest time. Men and women clutching skis and goggles were trying to make their way through the crowds. Erin breathed in and out slowly, trying to keep herself calm.

  Don’t start feeling anxious, she told herself, just order a drink to take outside if you need to.

  It had been a long time since she had been out in the world alone, in a place she didn’t know, and she suddenly found herself feeling a little overwhelmed. She closed her eyes and tried to ground herself, and when she reopened them, she realized there was a gap in the crowd that she could slip through and get up to the front of the counter.

  They were clearly understaffed in there, and the man working behind the register looked flustered and hot. Erin watched him for a moment and didn’t dare call to him to place her order for fear of working him up even more, but she knew that she couldn’t hover unnoticed forever.

  “Hi,” she smiled.

  He looked up at her and caught her eye, nodding in acknowledgement.

  “Just give me a minute,” he smiled and Erin nodded back.

  He passed a steaming cup of soup over the top of the counter to one of the s
kiers and Erin watched as they walked away. The smell was like something she had only ever imagined existing before but had never actually come into contact with. It was like a winter day with family on a Sunday or Christmas, all at once. She wrapped her arms around herself subtly and tried not to think about the past.

  “Okay,” the man said as he approached her at the counter. “What can I get you?”

  Erin looked up at the blackboard behind him even though she knew what she wanted.

  “Can I get the biggest hot chocolate you’ve got? To go, please?” she grinned.

  The man laughed and nodded.

  “It’s crazy in here at this time,” he said as he reached down and pulled out a Styrofoam cup. “Sorry about that.”

  “No, it’s okay,” she smiled. “I mean, great for you… It’s all good business, right?”

  “Yes,” he laughed. “But I could do with an extra set of hands.”

  Behind her, the crowds were pushing forward and Erin was being shoved even closer to the counter.

  “The last girl I had working here quit on me out of the blue last week,” he said almost with disbelief. “Talk about leaving me in the lurch in the middle of peak season.” He shook his head as he moved over to the coffee machine and started to load it with cocoa.

  “I’m new in town,” Erin said. “So I don’t know much about the place, but I’m likely to be looking for a job soon enough,” she shrugged. “I mean no pressure, but if you need some help…” she trailed off and the man looked up at her and nodded.

  “Sure,” he said almost like it was a question. “I mean, do you have any experience?”

  Erin shrugged and smiled.

  She had worked pretty much her whole life as a waitress, but she had always promised herself that she would never find herself doing it again… And now, here she was, her first hour in a new town, offering her services up at the first place she’d walked into.