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A/N- This is the second full length book I ever wrote. I started it around Christmas in 2005 and finished in June of 2006. This story has been more risque than any of my writing before, taking a girl afraid of her own shadow and turning her into a confident young woman who knows she's sexy. I won't become a romance novelist any time soon, but I think I did okay considering my lack of experience in the area. This story was never my pride and joy, not like Submerged or Die For Me Again, but it was definitely a joy to write and still fun for me to read over. I hope you enjoy it too! R&R please!
Shadows on the Wall:
The Story of A Shifter
By Shannon A Hiner
The girl stretched in the huge bed. Her yawn seemed to go on forever and her eyes opened to the moonlight pouring through the window. She rolled over to see the other side of the bed. As she expected, and was quickly getting used to, it was empty. The sheets were stretched neatly up to the pillow. She sat up and blinked a few times to clear her head. She was alone in the room, of course. What had she expected? She sighed, a little sadly and moved to get out of the bed.
Without a knock the door was opened. A man came in. He had short light brown hair and uncanny yellow eyes. He was tall, perhaps more than six and a half feet. He held a lit cigarette in one hand. He stood there with such confidence that the girl before him immediately cowered. He ignored her shrinking expression and took a long drag from his cigarette. He looked her up and down and let out the smoke in an exhale. As his eyes traveled back up her body he nodded slowly. He stubbed the cigarette out in a small ash tray.
"I think next we'll go with blonde hair and blue eyes." He glanced at the bed, "Make sure you fix the covers."
Without one more word or glance he turned and left. The door shut firmly behind him. The girl felt her bottom lip tremble with suppressed emotion. She made the bed immediately, knowing the punishment she would bare if it was not attended. Stepping into some slippers she walked to into the adjoining bathroom. In the mirror she saw her ebony hair and pure green eyes. She pursed her lips, wishing she could keep this look a little longer. Before she could blink again her eyes began to swirl. She could see perfectly as the green started to meld into black which in turn melded into a deep ocean blue. Once her eyes were clear she looked at her hair. Blonde highlights were starting to grow in. Soon the black seemed to be the highlight color and then it was completely gone. The blonde shifted shades until it came out platinum. The length shortened until it fell just around her shoulders. She sighed in relief when that was done and left the bathroom. She went to the closet and sifted through the clothes there until she found something perfect. If he wanted a blonde then he wanted something preppy. She pulled out the short denim skirt and light blue shirt with disgust. She absolutely hated this kind of stuff.
When she was dressed, she left the room behind and walked down the stairs quickly. She entered a middle room from which there were many other rooms that split off. She chose the one nearest to her and stepped through. On the other side of the door was a large room. There was a long table stretching down the middle. The floor was stone with few rugs. There was a roaring fire place on one side of the room. There were chairs on each side of the table, probably forty in all. She stepped in quietly, keeping her head down. She knew already that he would be seated at the head of the table, waiting. As she drew near she felt his gaze flicker over her.
"You're Late."
She gulped, "I was-"
He appeared next to her and slapped her, hard. The sting was terrible but she barely flinched. He waited for something. Finally she looked up into his hard yellow eyes. She tried not to look away as his glare penetrated her, "I do not accept excuses Cameo!"
She nodded solemnly, "Yes Master, I am sorry. I will try to do better."
"Do not try at all-DO."
She whispered, "Yes Master," again.
When he turned away from her relief flooded her veins...his punishment was light this time. She didn't dare move until he directed her. She stood still, her hands shaking in front of her. She heard him sit down again.
He sighed, "Cameo...why do you make me do things like that to you? I do not enjoy hurting you so!"
She still did not move, but she did look up at him, loving the color of his hair in the firelight. His expression softened a little and he motioned for her to come to him. She did so slowly until she stood at his side. He patted his knee lightly and she sat down on his lap obediently. He gathered his arms around her and held her tightly. Her head rested against his shoulder and her breath caught as he nuzzled her neck fondly. He drew all of her hair away and kissed her slender neck. He bit into that flesh. Her hands clenched. She had known what was coming, yet it always seemed to catch her off guard. As she felt the blood being drawn from her body her arms wrapped around his neck in a desperate attempt to stay awake. She failed miserably and soon passed out in his strong arms.
She woke up back in her bed. She was in the same clothes, she had just been laid down and covered with a blanket. She rubbed her eyes groggily. Someone cleared their throat and she looked to the armchair. He sat their staring thoughtfully at her. Once again he had a cigarette in one hand. The other hand rested on the armrest with ease. Self consciously she touched her hair...His stare could make anyone uncomfortable. She didn't dare meet his eyes, so she kept them trained on her hands. She could feel his smirk and wished she could see the way that his eyes glittered with happiness.
When he finally spoke she nearly flinched, "I have your next assignment Cameo."
She didn't know what to say. Having assignments were normal, she could take care of them easily but she hated how they brought her away from him for so long. She folded the blanket that had been spread over her and waited for him to say more.
"It's near the Gulf."
Strange emotions flickered over her face, her first home was on that coast line in Florida. She swallowed her discomfort, "Who is the job Master?"
He grinned, showing his canines, "Eager are we? He's a sailor this one, Vincent Dubawnt. Twenty years of age" He smiled again, "Well aged."
She nodded, "When do you want him by?"
"Three days. No more, no less."
She nodded again and moved towards the closet. In a minute he was at her side and had grabbed her arm. He pulled her around to him, so close she nearly closed her eyes in pleasure. He brought her head up to meet her eyes.
"You can do it?"
She stared into his yellow eyes feeling helpless in the face of that light which filled them. If she had wanted to lie it would have been impossible, "Yes Master, I can do it."
He looked pleased and brought her closer, "Good Cameo."
Naples, she thought, Why did it have to be Naples?
As she paced, lost in her own thoughts, people gathered around the docks. Some pointed out towards the ocean, many were waving. Most were bundled up for the uncommonly cold winter. She must have seemed out of place in her black jeans and dark green T-shirt. Slowly, she turned towards the ocean to see the small ship coming into the docks. On the side in flowery letters was Quick Redemption. She gave a superior smirk and shook her head. If only these silly humans knew the truth. If only she could reveal to them how hopeless it all truly was.
Finally the ship had settled in the water and the crew was starting disembark. She kept her eye out for the job, wanting every extra moment to examine him that was possible. She liked to know their weaknesses as soon as possible. Once her eye caught him her eyebrow raised a little bit. Generally her master didn't like the tall ones. Usually he wouldn't make a job anyone over five foot-eight inches. This job had to be at least six foot-two inches. He had sandy blonde hair and from the looks of it, light brown eyes. He definitely had the build of an experienced sailor. Muscular, but not very big. She smiled, he looked like he would be fun to toy with a little.
She didn't have as much time as usual-already one day was lost. His ship was supposed to come in the night before. A storm had delayed it. She cursed that storm, now she would have to make her first move tonight. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad though. Most of the sailors would be looking for a bar to spend their money and a girl to keep them company. He walked down the gangway casually. He didn't seem to have anyone in the port he was looking for and he just walked off down the street. Keeping to the shadows she followed him. He had not brought anything off of the ship with him, and he seemed to know exactly where he was going.
Jogging through some of the streets she knew best she managed to get in front of him. She walked toward him casually, not drawing attention. When she was only about ten feet away from him she tripped, cried out, and landed hard on the sidewalk. She knew how real it looked, she had even let the ground scratch her up a bit. The job raced forward and knelt beside her.
"Are you all right?" His concern was evident.
She gave a faltering smile, "That'll teach me to wear high heeled boots in the city."
He smiled a little too, "Girls have to put up with the most terrible things don't they?"
She nodded and moaned a little, "Oh, my ankle feels terrible!"
He gently reached to touch it and she winced right on cue. His hand gentled more as he examined it, "Well, it's not broken...Though I dare say you twisted it quite well. How's the rest of you?"
She checked herself over, making sure she didn't let her scrapes heal, "I think I'm okay..." She gave a winning smile, "I'm Emma Carter."
He took her outstretched hand, "Vincent Dubawnt, but call me Vince. Can I help you get home?"
"That would be wonderful Vince...Thank you so much."
Vincent helped her up slowly and held her steady, "It's no problem Emma, I'm glad I was here to help."
She just kept smiling innocently, So gullible...
She sighed and stretched out in her hotel room bed. She hadn't made up her mind to actually get under the covers and sleep yet. She hated being on a job and away from master. A couple hours ago the job had taken her back here, set her up on the bed, wrapped a blanket around her...He had even fetched ice! All this would be sweet if he wasn't so stupid. When he had finally left he was already halfway to kissing her. Now, she had healed most of those silly scrapes...her ankle had never felt better. Tomorrow she would wait for him to come check up on her, he had promised to so many times she had wanted to shake him. He would come in, he would fall under that subconscious spell...he would almost kiss her...and then master would show up. She had been doing this for so long that it was all second nature. The human would then be taken care of and she would go home to another peaceful two or three days until master had a new job for her.
Life would go on like this forever. Find, befriend, seduce, turn over to be killed, repeat. None of them would ever be allowed to touch her. None of them would be allowed to feel anything towards her but lust. If love somehow came up their punishment would be severe-and hers would be far worse. If they fell in love she would have failed in her mission. Master would not tolerate any failure, or any sign of disloyalty. He was insanely jealous. Not that she minded, she didn't want a human...they were useless to her. Who knew where any of her own kind existed, if they even did. No, as far as she was concerned she belonged fully to her master. There was no where else to go and no reason to go.
The next day she was sitting in her hotel room reading a magazine when there was a knock on the door. She sensed human, a male one. Sighing a little bit she smoothed her hair and checked her reflection. She was wearing a strapless blue top that her eyes matched. She had on a long, tight, white skirt and her hair cascaded around her shoulders lightly. She roughed up the sheets on her bed and moved the pillow a little bit. The knock came again and she limped towards the door.
Finally she reached the door and opened it. She blinked at the sunlight outside, but saw the job standing there nervously with flowers. He smiled anxiously and handed her the purple tulips. He had on a Hawaiian shirt and some khaki cargo pants. She smiled and smelled the tulips obligingly.
"Thank you Vince! I love tulips!"
He beamed and shrugged, "I saw them on the way here and thought maybe you would like something to brighten up this room."
So you brought me dark purple tulips? She smiled more at her thoughts than at him, but it worked, "They're beautiful. Would you like to come in?"
He nodded and she shut the door behind him. She hadn't opened the curtains and she knew his human eyes could barely see. He turned to her but she had turned to put the flowers down. She barely remembered to limp a little. He just stared as she 'nervously' straightened everything. She knew that he watched how her blonde hair flowed perfectly. His eyes would key on the sway of her hips and how tight her clothes were. She moved innocently, but in these clothes not much was left up to the imagination.
He moved to open the curtains but she was next to him in a moment. Her hand touched his arm, "Please don't...I like everything so much better this way." She smiled almost shyly and her hand lingered on his arm. She felt no want whatsoever for this human-she was not allowed to-but she could feel how much he was drawn to her. She nearly felt sorry for him. His weak mind wouldn't allow him to think things through. A slight hiss of pain came from her and she nearly fell. He caught her as she clutched at her ankle.
"You shouldn't be walking so much on it." He brought her back to the bed and sat beside her, "You need rest Emma."
She put her head on his shoulder and sighed, "Why are you so nice Vince?" Her eyes looked up into his eyes dreamily, her mouth hung slightly open. He touched her cheek and leaned in. She wondered something then, something she had never thought before in all the life she could remember. What would it be like, if just this once, master would let her have that kiss.
Abruptly Vincent was hauled off of her and into the air. Master stood there eyeing the job with satisfaction. He turned cold eyes on her, "Curious are we Cameo? I'll have to remedy that."
Before she could apologize she felt master grab her hair and then everything turned black.
