Los Angeles Lights: A Hollywood Billionaire Alpha Shifter Romance Read online

  “What picture?” I asked again.

  “She's agreed to contract with us through the next film we create,” he explained, twisting the edge of his cuff.

  That was his nervous habit. It seemed they had come to an accord without my knowledge or input, that Rita would be joining us for another round of shooting. My next feminist film would not cast such a filthy creature. She didn't even have the same values! All she wanted was that spotlight to accentuate her sexuality instead of using it as a means to provide opportunities for other women to succeed. She was so selfish.

  “That's preposterous!” I cried.

  The waiter skittered off, noticing our little exchange was becoming heated.

  “It's fully supported,” Rita explained. “I'd be happy to be your business partner in the next film to keep bringing in the crowd.”

  “We can bring in a crowd just fine on our own,” I said firmly. “We don't need your backwards morals and sick attention-grabbing ways!”

  Rita stood up, clearly frustrated with my words. The paparazzi was lapping up at the anger she was displaying, calling out all sorts of questions.

  “Did she just break up with you?”

  “Is this the end of the great trio?”

  “What's the fight about?”

  Green eyes turned red and narrowed in my direction, her lips parting to make way for teeth that lengthened over her bottom lip. It was the same thing I had seen at her mansion, only this time it was absolutely real. Shocked at the sight, I reached over to grab Zack's hand as Rita lunged at me from across the table. Sharp nails unfurled and dug into my skin. The cameras were flashing and illuminating her new form, lights reflecting off the luminescent eyes staring right back at my own: she is a wolf shifter!

  As I tried to comprehend this new information, her teeth sunk into my neck and tore a chunk of flesh, spewing blood across the brick floor. Bright red liquid covered my chest and arms. I was stunned. Zack was staring with horror at the scene before him and the cameras went on flashing, no one stopping to help get the ravenous starlet off my body. Her paws were enormous as they pinned my shoulders to the ground. The look in her eye was one of rage, glimmering bright with the goal of ripping me to shreds.

  But she didn't.

  Rita growled and hopped over the fence, running off down the street and into the distance. A slew of car horns blared from the other side of the street and tires screeched. Many voices came now as I tried to remain conscious, watching Zack lean over me with tears in his eyes and hands pressed at my throat.

  “Stay with me, Skye,” he said as he kept my blood from pouring out. “Don't you dare fall asleep. We're getting help.”

  As he said this, a patron near us dialed 9-1-1 and sirens came shortly after his call. The beautiful sky above was dark and ominous, pin pricks of light shining down from the furthest reaches of space. I watched as the clouds parted and revealed a luscious green scenery. It beckoned me to step into its wondrous world, streams of clear water running all throughout and inviting me to stay forever. I shook my head.

  The image faded instantly, bringing me back to the stark reality that I was lying on brick pavement, bleeding all over the place. Blood pooled beneath my head.

  “Zack,” I croaked.

  “Don't talk. Just stay with me,” he instructed. “Somebody give me a shirt!”

  The same patron who had dialed for the ambulance handed Zack his jacket and he wrapped it around my neck. There was too much blood. He wouldn't be able to keep it all in. Rita had bitten too deep, down to the jugular, where I knew the hot liquid sustaining me would quickly drain. Zack continued to apply pressure and I grabbed his hand.

  “Just let me go,” I whispered. “This pain is too much.”

  “No!” he cried. “I refuse!”

  He leaned down and kissed my lips, the warmth coming from him a comfort as my body was going cold. All the blood rushing out left me feeling numb and I watched him look me over a dozen times. My eyes fluttered briefly, fighting to remain open as the paramedics came up and started to address my wound. They taped it up and hoisted me into the stretcher, Zack remaining at my side the entire time. Before we were loaded up into the ambulance, I noticed the digital billboard on the other side of the street, a little ways down from the restaurant.

  It was bright as day. A picture of Rita pouncing on top of me and then a series of photos of me bleeding out, red liquid strikingly bright in the darkness of night. The pictures haunted my mind, even after the doors were closed and the vehicle sped off to the nearest hospital. She had been right. Those last words she had spoken months before when we were leaving her mansion, after that strange vision of her with elongated teeth. The very last words that impressed in my mind as the medics attended to my health were in Rita's voice. They were clear as day, clear as the men speaking around me to respond to their flash light and fingers. It was a daunting moment and I felt it deep in my core that she was actually right.

  “You guys better get used to staring, because my face isn’t going to be leaving the billboards anytime soon.”

  Darkness shrouded my vision. The only thing that clearly came through were the voices of the medics who continued to call my name, realizing that I was quickly falling into the world of oblivion. I could no longer see. A strange taste filled my mouth and I gasped. A pin prick on my arm. The dizzying sensation of the world fading away faster and faster until there was nothing around me. No people. No ambulance. No sound.

  It was the most horrible feeling of loneliness, a curtain blanketing all of my senses when my chest refused to rise again.

  Please, tell me this isn't death, I thought with desperation. There is so much left to do. I need to grow old with Zack. I need to live.

  TURNED

  1.

  The hospital lights were bright. They flew by as I was wheeled down the hall on a stretcher, Zack's voice floating in and out of my ear. Just moments ago, my neck had been ravished by the secret shifter starlet of Hollywood. Rita Royce had apparently been harboring this great secret for years only to have the beast unleashed tonight.

  And she unleashed it on me.

  I had assumed the paparazzi harassing her for information and our little spat had caused the shift. The same had happened to Zack on a few occasions where he lost control of his emotions. Still, he spent a great deal of time keeping them under control that it was difficult to ever push him over the edge. He always practiced mindfulness. It was something that interested me.

  Since my eyes refused to open again, I listened to the sounds around me. Zack had been left out in the hall, I presumed, as I was wheeled into the emergency operating room where a doctor and nurse were quickly stitching up the wound on my neck. It seemed a horribly messy job. I could still feel the blood trickling out as they worked, my eyes fluttering open briefly before they placed a plastic mask over my face.

  “Just breathe,” said the nurse. “Breathe deep, Sky….”

  My next breath sent me reeling from the world of consciousness into a strange dimension, a place where time wasn't evident and people weren't solid. It was odd walking along the curved paths. Each one wrapped around the wooded area where I was stuck and changed any time I tried to retrace my steps.

  I could feel a pricking sensation in my neck. Every time I touched the skin, my hand would recoil and burn as if chemicals were eating away at my flesh. It hurt to turn my head, so I was stuck looking forward. The people surrounding me were mere shadows, black figures passing through me as I made my way through the maze of trees and bushes. I just wanted to lie down and rest, but my body continued to move forward as if pushed by an invisible hand. What is this place?

  I came upon a clearing where Zack was sitting. His eyes were glued to the clouds above and the sun seemed to shine only on his face, illuminating the handsome structure of his cheek bones and the tan skin which was always soft to the touch. Upon seeing him, I sprinted. I landed right next to him on the grass, lying on my back to look up at the sky with him. He spo
ke softly, his voice coming in waves. It put me into a sort of trance.

  “Sky...” he spoke softly. “Oh, darling, how I miss you.”

  “I'm right here!” I claimed, sitting up to wrap my arms around him.

  He didn't touch me. The broad shoulders I had become so familiar with seemed to melt under my fingers and I cried out while watching his form dissipate. What kind of dream world was this where I couldn't even hold my own lover? When his figure was finally gone, I laid back down on the grass and looked to the heavens in order to gain some insight on my world. The clouds opened up and a brighter light shined through, splitting the sky in two as a hand reached out. I extended mine to touch it…

  A gasp escaped my lips as my eyes popped open and focused on the light above me. I couldn't turn my head and this made me panic, terror gripping my stomach as I tried to open my mouth and speak. Nothing but broken words came out.

  “Zaaa...” I whispered into the seemingly empty room.

  His beautiful face came into view and tears filled my eyes as I studied every inch of it. The lines in the corners of his eyes that crinkled up when he smiled looked deeper, worn by the worry of squinting. How long had I been out?

  “Darling, don't speak,” he whispered to me. “You're doing just fine. The doctors have you stable.”

  I wanted to ask what happened to Rita, but that didn't matter right now. All I could think about was how much I wanted my darling to hold me. It was comforting having him next to my side, holding my hand and rubbing the fragile skin. The warm hands felt amazing. I didn't realize I was still so cold from the surgery.

  “Cold...” I whimpered while shivering.

  Zack rose and left the room which sent me spiraling into another panic. Watching him dissipate in that strange dream world was enough to make me paranoid that it would perpetually happen. A few minutes passed before he returned, wrapping a warm blanket around my body that instantly soothed me. He rubbed my arms for a bit and then sat back down, updating me on my condition.

  “You're mostly stable, but the doctors aren't sure how you might react to the medicine,” he whispered, tears streaming down his cheeks. “They're not sure if you'll recover fully.”

  It broke my heart to hear him say this. I knew he loved me deeply and to see me in this state was enough to send him into a crying fit. How in the world was I going to get out of this situation? I felt like Maya when she had been attacked. I'm sure she was thinking the same thing at the time. The only thing I wanted to do right now was get revenge on Rita for what she had done.

  I knew it wouldn't help soothe me. It would only be a black mark on my soul for years to come, the riotous rage I felt barreling down on her thin frame in the form of punches or a knife. No, that wasn't the way to go. As Zack continued to speak, his voice became warped and I found myself falling back into that black pit from whence I came, diving down beneath the surface of the water and desperately thrashing to get back to the surface where the air was plentiful.

  As I sunk further, I watched the light dissolve. My body floated down to the bottom of the pit and gently rested upon the sand. Nothing stirred around me. The water was frozen still and my lungs didn't expand to take it in. I merely sat in cold indifference, my thoughts circling around and around until I could get a hold of myself. I accepted my fate. If this was how I ended, then I went out with a bang, my movie having already reached the top charts on opening weekend.

  I didn't want to accept it, but I had to, even if it meant leaving the love of my life behind. The fight was too difficult to face. It didn't feel like my body was receptive to anything and I might just lose this one. As I faded even further, swallowed by the sand below, I closed my eyes and resolved myself to the pitch black water.

  2.

  Another light. This time, it was much brighter than before. The sand released me and allowed my body to float back up towards the surface above where my mouth opened wide to breathe. As I tried to sit up from the bed, a hand pressed to my chest and forced me back down. I nearly fought it until I realized it was Zack. My eyes were wide, focused only on him.

  “Don't move,” he warned me. “You're going to hurt yourself.”

  My mouth was so dry that when I opened it, I swear a cobweb kept me from speaking. Zack grabbed the Styrofoam cup from the counter and brought the straw to my lips. I sipped carefully, savoring the delicious taste of water. How soothing it was sliding down my throat where it rested in my stomach. In an instant, I was cold again. The water had been refreshing, but it also chilled me to the core. I shivered and Zack tucked the blanket around me tighter.

  “You're too cold to stay here,” he said. “I'm going to have to take you home.”

  “But Zack,” I croaked, my voice finally coming back to me. “Is that really...a good idea…?”

  “The doctors can't do anything else for you. They already admitted that,” he explained. “I'm taking you home where I can turn you.”

  “Turn me?” I gasped.

  “Yes, dear. I'm going to turn you into a shifter,” he informed me.

  I couldn't believe what he was saying. This might be worse than him suggesting that dinner with Rita. (And look how that had turned out.) How was he even going to change me? I thought shifters were born into their skin, not turned later on during their human lives. Imagining the process was difficult as I had no knowledge of these things. I wondered if it was like vampirism where I would have to drink his blood or whether he might be harboring a spell somewhere with herbs and a cauldron. I knew he was no witch. I would have noticed such a thing at this point.

  But if Rita could hide her true form, who says he wouldn't do the same?

  As these thoughts rattled around in my brain, Zack wrapped an extra blanket around me and started taking the IV from my arm. It hurt when he peeled the tape and I hissed, the miniature tube stinging my vein as it exited my skin. He set the plastic wire over the table and then lifted me from the bed, the pain in my neck doubling. Couldn't he at least grab some morphine on the way out?

  I wasn't sure how he was going to sneak me past the nurses, but I blacked out as soon as we were in the hall. The pain was too much. When I came to, we were in his Porsche riding on the highway back to the mansion. He pulled up to the stairs and then carried me all the way inside, never once stumbling. I nearly forgot how strong he is. He laid me out on our bed and I couldn't have been happier to feel the silk sheets beneath me. A warm liquid trickled down my neck. I was bleeding again.

  Within moments, he had a maid from the household in the room to tend to my wound and started setting up for my transformation. I listened as they shuffled about the bed, the expensive silk sheets I loved likely getting ruined from the amount of blood leaving my body. As darkness clouded my vision, I heard the strangest sounds. Liquid touched my lips. It tasted like hot diesel and I coughed when it ran down my throat.

  “You must drink this,” Zack instructed as he held my mouth gently. “I'm sorry, love.”

  I sputtered when the liquid entered my mouth, trying hard to relax my throat to allow it entry. It was disgusting. I wasn't even sure what it was he was pouring into my mouth. It could have been an elixir, a potion, or even his blood. There was no telling. All I knew was my vision refused to identify my surroundings, no matter how wide I opened my eyes. A hand rested upon my forehead. I knew it was Zack. His large fingers helped close my eyelids so I wasn't straining to see.

  “Rest, dear. You'll need your strength,” he said. “At first, you might feel pain, but it will pass as your body accepts what I've given to you.”

  “What was that?” I whispered, my voice hoarse as if I had been screaming all evening. Had I been screaming?

  “Don't worry about it, darling. Just rest. All will come in time,” he explained.

  I relaxed into the pillows, hoping what he had done would work quickly because the pain in my neck was now escalating. As the liquid settled in my gut, every part of my body tingled in response and began to go numb. I whimpered. Zack kept his ha
nd on my forehead to soothe me, reminding me that he was right by my side. Shivering took my body once more and I focused on my breathing to keep myself in a peaceful state. Despite my great efforts to remain calm, an alarm rang in my brain that my body was not accepting the fluid and that I was going to vomit it all back up.

  I gagged. I forced my stomach to retain its contents, but it refused to respond to my mental commands. Internal chatter took over that spoke of my worries and fears, another voice ringing in that sounded just like Rita. I shoved it all down into the darkness of the world I had previously occupied while unconscious. It wasn't necessary right now. As my breathing leveled out, a new sensation took hold. Pin pricks covered the surface of my skin, each one causing me to gasp and shudder. Again, Zack assured me it was all part of the process.

  How was I going to accept all of these strange feelings when they were painful, borderline maddening? The pin pricks dissolved into shuddering and my body began to convulse on the bed. I heard Zack yell for the maid to hold my legs as he held my shoulders in place. The convulsions must have lasted only a few minutes, but for me it felt like hours. I bit my tongue by accident. My eyelids fluttered. Every part of my body had been catapulted into an uncontrollable reaction.

  When it was over, I opened my eyes slowly and was able to focus on Zack. He leaned over the bed with a small flashlight, checking my eyes and then my mouth. It felt like something was poking my bottom lip. I raised a hand and found elongated teeth, shivering as soon as I felt the porcelain-like texture.

  “Wha…?”

  Zack smiled.

  “It's working,” he announced. “Lena, you're relieved of your duties. Leave us for the evening and come back in the morning with an ounce of raw meat.”

  “Yes, master,” replied the maid.

  After she left, Zack redirected his attention back to me. He stroked my cheek.