Shadowhurst Mysteries

Cavern of Lies: Book 3

One minute, I’m partying. The next, I’m chained to a cave wall, and not on purpose.

As a witch, I have skills—skills that should get me out of this fine mess. Right?

That’s under normal circumstances. There’s nothing normal about my current situation. For starters, my magic has been blocked. Secondly, and slightly more concerning, no one knows where the shifters have locked me up.

All I can do is hope River will find me before the torture is too much to bear.

Just another day in the hell that is Shadowhurst.

EXCERPT

Chapter 1

River

The beast roared and snapped its teeth at Savannah, causing her to shrink even further into the copse of trees she cowered behind. I could feel warm saliva drip down its chin. My chin. It was an impossible adjustment to get used to, but as soon as I heard her scream my name; I knew what happened. My damn shifter side triggered and whatever I was seconds ago, wasn’t who was standing before her. This new version of me scared my friend so much she was actually crying, and crying was not something Savannah did well. Her gooey mascara ran down her face, making her look like a sideshow carnival extra. It wasn’t a good look and if we would get out of this; I was pretty certain she’d rip me a new one for ruining her makeup. 

Another roar left my mouth before I could stop it and she fell back, her eyes never leaving mine. 

Panicked, I looked around and tried to force the beast to calm down, but the more I fought against it, the more adamant it became. And the more hungry—that was the part I feared the most. 

Savannah’s gaze darted to the left, and I knew she was looking to flee. That was a mistake. As soon as she showed any movement, the beast clenched its jaw shut and dug its disgusting paws into the ground, ready to attack. 

I wanted to scream for her to stop, to not make any sudden movements, but whatever I had turned into had full control now and I was just a bystander in the entire sordid affair. Leave it to me to end up in this position. Mom did always say that I had a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and this time, I sure as shit agreed with her. My heart shivered when I thought of my mom. Even after everything she’d done to hurt me and my friends, to hurt Billie, I couldn’t bring myself to hate her. Guess she was lucky I hadn’t shifted back at Savannah’s farm when she showed up to end Billie’s life because I would have ripped her jugular off, no questions asked. Anything to save Billie.

Come on, love. Where are you? I need you back. 

The air cooled around me and droplets of rain fell down the beast’s fur from the incoming storm. It shook its hide, rattling my bones, and stomped the ground again. Cocky asshole. 

By the look on Savannah’s face, it was clear she knew she was in trouble. There was no talking to me anymore and despite myself, every part of my body wanted to tear her to pieces. I could taste her fear from where I crouched, and it brought me more joy than I cared to admit. She wasn’t my best friend anymore; she was prey. 

Rain plummeted on my head and its frigid wetness sent me spiraling. The beast smacked its jaw together and trained its eyes on her thin frame, kicking back its hind legs in a show of superiority. It was a pointless move; Savannah knew she had no chance here. I knew it too. She screamed and the beast took a step forward. Its muscle-stacked, fur-covered body vibrated as I struggled to hold it back from lunging, but I was too weak. Too weak and too confused about what I could do to control it. I should have listened to the other shifters in the house and let them walk me through this shift, but you know what they say about ignorance being bliss. I thought if I ignored it, it would all go away. Like I could somehow prevent what was happening to me from becoming true. Now, crouching in the middle of the woods at night with Savannah’s paling face before me and that wretched red glow surrounding her body, I knew I was dead wrong. 

I had the chance to change how this played out and I chose wrong. If I did anything to hurt Savannah now, I would pay for it for the rest of my life. 

She let out a whimper and that was all it took.

Before I could stop myself, I lunged for her; my eyes narrowing on the red glow. Leaves and mud kicked back behind me as I ran toward her, and I could feel every taut muscle pound the ground in my wake. Savannah whirled on her heels and bolted into the forest, but there was no escaping the beast. It could see her and the heat of her body clear as daylight—a beacon in the night. A target for its hunger. 

In one swoop motion, I leaped over a fallen tree trunk and flew in the air, landing on all four of my paws with ease. 

The trees were denser here and shielded me from the rain, but in the distance, I could hear thunder roar and it increased the raging energy within me. I jerked my head right and left until I spotted the glow and ran in its direction. As I neared it, I noticed Sav wasn’t moving. She wasn’t breathing either, or else I’d hear it rumble through the trees. I could hear everything so clearly now it was maddening; every crunch of leaves under my paws and every owl hoot in the distance. It was like I was a part of the forest, and I reveled in its whispers as I took a few more steps to where she hid. Her body trembled with fear and she had a hand clasped over her mouth to keep from screaming. A smart move if someone was chasing you except this time, it wasn’t just anyone on her tail. It was me and my beast, and one of us was not as easy to deflect as the other. 

Savannah froze and her eyes met mine. 

Run! I wanted to yell, but instead, I let out an agonizing howl and jumped. 

My body soared toward her and as her eyes widened, I tried to shut my own to stop from seeing what was about to happen. What I was about to do. My paws dug into her shoulders, pinning her to the ground. Savannah’s body wrestled against me, but I was so much stronger than her it was almost laughable. The beast opened its jaw and shot for her neck, and my stomach turned. 

Under me, Savannah screamed and shut her eyes tight. 

Please help me. 

Something heavy knocked into my side and pushed me off her, and while the beast screamed into my head to fight back, I was relieved. I fell to the ground, paws jerking to get up as soon as my back hit the mud. My eyes snapped to the attacker—or savior in this case—and I let out a sigh. Before me, Raiden’s lion towered in the woods and his broad build hid Savannah from view. I heard other voices close to us and the beast righted itself to stand as I smiled deep inside. 

Its paws tensed and it clenched its teeth, growling at Raiden in the forest's darkness. If the beast attacked now, Raiden would put it down in an instant and at that moment, I wasn’t sure I would care much either way. 

“Fight it, River,” someone said behind the lion. 

My neck swiveled to see Mel’s purple head of hair pop up from behind Raiden’s mane, and when she took a step in, I growled louder. Her one hand pressed against Raiden’s side and she held something buzzing with electricity in her other. A freaking Taser? Are you guys kidding me right now? That shit was going to hurt. 

Mel’s head cocked to the side and she half-smiled. “Fight it. Think of what matters.”

The only thing I could think of was hunger, and I sure as hell knew that couldn’t be what mattered. Inside me, the beast screamed to be set free, but the human part of my brain fought for a solution. Think, you dumb bastard! If you attack, you’re dead. Moron. My words seemed to resonate because the beast relaxed its paws and shook its furry head. Questions lingered in my brain, but they were not my own. It was like the beast was asking me for permission to hurt them and I would not allow it. 

Oh, now you listen! But when you’re about to kill my best friend—nothing.  

I steadied myself and the beast tilted its head to the side like a dog trying to understand a command. Pay… attention… It growled again, but I stood strong, though that didn’t last long. Whatever strength and bravery I had left dissipated when the first bone cracked. My body jerked and the beast let out another howl before hitting the ground. Blazing heat tore through me, and I gritted my teeth to stay quiet. Crack by crack, each bone in my body broke and reformed until I was nothing but a mess of limbs on the ground. My skin tightened over my new form and I shuddered as raindrops fell on me. Every drop felt like someone lit a cigarette and put it out on my flesh, and I screamed over and over as the beast left me. Convulsing, I turned to my side and hugged my legs in as though it would make anything better. 

It didn’t.

“Whoa!” Peyton’s cheerful voice echoed over me, but my vision was too blurry to see her clearly. “Billie is one lucky girl!”

The sound of her name brought new pain and more torture. Billie was kidnapped, taken from right under our noses while we were busy with some damn party, and it was all my fault. I should have stayed glued to her freaking side instead of spending time talking to the shadowers in the resistance. Instead, I let myself relax and now, my girl was paying the price. My eyes wetted and tears flooded my already useless vision as I turned my head, stifling a sob. Digging my fingers into the dirt, I tried to level myself to rise, but my muscles were too weak to cooperate. There were footsteps somewhere in the distance, though I couldn’t make out anyone’s voice. Billie’s face clouded my vision and I grunted as the reality of the situation sank in. She was gone and I almost killed my best friend. This was by far the worst night of my life. 

“Get some clothes on him and let’s get him back to the house,” someone said. Raiden maybe? 

The last thing I felt was rough material covering my mid-section and firm hands wrapping around my chest to drag me away. 

I didn’t fight back and I didn’t make a sound. There was no use of it. My life was already torn to pieces.