Dark Desires: Bound to the Shadows, #3

By E.L. Jones

They've come for us.

It was the element of surprise.

Before we knew it, jaguars were dying left, right and centre.

Junior and his goons have killed Vincent, our Alpha.

I wake up with a start. Something's amiss.

Greg tells me he knows where Blue is.

Nothing could've prepared me for what will come next.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: E.L. Jones
• Release date: Sep 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215415337

E.L. Jones

Elizabeth Lauren (E.L.) Jones is a mother to one little terror who keeps her on her toes. She's always loved books and have a soft spot for paranormal romance and fantasy genre. She is an introverted soul and on her spare time, loves to read various books, go on adventures with her little terror and her much taller husband, such as horse riding, snorkelling, kayaking and rock climbing, as well as watching different genre movies. She loves her coffee with no sugar and sitting by her deck taking in the soft breeze and fresh air.

Book preview

Chapter One

Stefan

Andy presses his ear against the door and listens. His eyes get lost in the empty space above my head. I can tell he’s stretching his hearing, trying to go as far as he can. I sit up, groaning through my teeth as my ribs smart. Andy stares at me.

Anything, I ask.

He shakes his head. But he remains by the door for a while longer. I can understand his hesitation. One can’t be too careful these days. Suddenly, he brings his eyes back to me, as though he’d just stumbled on a piece of revelation.

What the hell are you doing, he asks, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

Nothing. I grit my teeth.

Suddenly, breathing becomes an effort. Beads of sweat crawl profusely down the sides of my face, leaving a sweet ticklish sensation behind. However, that’s not enough placation for the spell of dizziness that follows. I squeeze my eyes tight, trying to get a hold of myself. Who knew lifting myself off the ground could be so much hard work?

You know you aren’t in any position to be making any movements, Andy warns.

Chill, man. I just wanted to be ready for any eventualities.

Have you taken a look at the mirror lately?

I look around the scanty, untidy room we’re holed up in. Whoever owns this place hasn’t been here for a long time. If the scanty, torn furniture didn’t announce that enough, the thick webs along the walls and across the ceilings did.

I don’t see a mirror around here, I say.

Andy shakes his head. All I’m trying to say, Stefan, is that you’re in pretty bad shape to be preparing for eventualities. Relax, I’ll do the heavy lifting for both of us.

Funny.

What?

I should be the one telling you this. Not the other way around.

Well. Life happens. Get used to it. You can lay down now. There’s no one out there.

"Are you sure?’

I’m positive. Of course, there’s a limit to how far our hearing can go, but so far, it’s just been a few forest animals running around. We’re safe.

For now, I add.

Yeah. Andy shakes his head. You know, you don’t have to be pessimistic all the time. I swear, if there was an award for the most pessimistic son of a bitch on the planet, you’ll be getting it.

I chuckle to hide the frustration coursing through my arteries. But Andy sees through it.

Don’t worry. If someone’s going to come through these doors, it’s going to be Vincent and the rest. They’d have given those filthy wolves the ass-whooping they deserve.

Andy’s eyes and mine connect. An unspoken understanding passes between us; not born of our own volition, but a somber acceptance of the signs hovering in the air. He’d accused me of being a pessimistic son of a bitch. But the truth is Andy is no more optimistic than I am. We’ve gone through hell the last couple of days. And that’s just an understatement.

I bite my lower lips as my ribs smart. If my wounds are getting any better, they sure do have a funny way of showing it. It’s been two days since I sustained them – these wounds; two days since we were driven out of our home like headless sheep.

I can see it all – every single thing that transpired – like I was living it all over again. Vincent, Andy, and I had just returned from the massacre at Denis’s. My hopes of keeping this prolonged tussle from breaking out into a bitter war had just been snuffed out, clean like a candle flame under a gust of wind. My entire plan had hinged on Denis being able to root out the erring parties from within his pack.

He was the fucking Alpha, for God’s sake, I told Andy as we walked into the manor. How could he have let things get out from under his control, huh? Right under his fucking nose.

His son was in the mix, Andy replied. Emotions tend to mess with even the greatest of us. There’s simply no escape.

I don’t know why, but I got the feeling that Andy’s message had a fork. Like one part was meant for Denis, and the other for me. Perhaps, it was the way his eyes lingered on me for a second too long. Or it was just my own mind guilt-tripping me for falling too hard for Blue. What turned out as a relationship built on hot smoking sex had turned into something else. I wish I could turn back