Only After Dark The Boxed Set Books 1 - 4: Shifters Forever Worlds by Elle Thorne

shifter fighting ring.
    “Then again, it’s one weekend,” Rory said. “And it will go a long way toward building our relationships with other shifter clans.”
    Reese narrowed his eyes. Now his brother was in favor of it? He’d take the devil’s advocate role, if only to see if he and Rory were on the same page. “We’ve done fairly well without relationships so far, little brother.”
    Little brother by five minutes.
    “Thinking that we can fare well against potential enemies without forming alliances is the old school way of thinking.” Rory preached the same thing Reese had been hearing since they’d first met Vittorio “Vax” Tiero and the rest of the Tiero shifters, including Vax’s cousin Lézare Arceneaux.
    It wasn’t that Reese had a problem forming an alliance with the Tiero clan and their extended family and friends, it was that he’d become accustomed to winging it without allies.
    He glanced at the invitation again.
    Calligraphy.
    In gold.
    The recipient was cordially invited to an Escape Weekend at Arceneaux Point, Lézare Arceneaux’s plantation home just outside New Orleans.
    Sure, Reese had heard of the old plantation home. He’d even heard the rumors about Lézare’s lineage, how his great or great-great-grandfather hadn’t been born a shifter. That he’d been born a human, into slavery, biracial, and easily passed for white. He escaped, and then things became fuzzy. The story was muddy. He vanished, and when he returned many years later, he was a white tiger shifter and he’d taken the plantation owner’s daughter as his mate.
    Reese turned the invitation over, studying the gold lettering.
    Rory cleared his throat. “He’s got some beautiful sisters, you know.” He waggled his brows.
    Reese scowled at his brother. “I’m not on the market.”
    Untrue.
    Boy, was it ever untrue. Reese and Rory were both high up on Houston’s human population’s eligible bachelor lists. Both men managed to stay out of the clutches of women seeking mates.
    Not that it stops us from having a little fun every now and then.
    Reese glanced at his cell, which hadn’t stopped buzzing with incoming texts from the current flavor of the week, a blonde he met at a club a few days ago. Cute thing, even if she was a bit clingy. She was a screamer, too. Way too much of a screamer. Reese could have done without the melodramatic theatrics during their bedroom acrobatics.
    In fact, truth be told, he was becoming bored with her already. He swiped the screen of his phone and brought up her information, put her on Do Not Disturb so his phone wouldn’t alert him every single time she texted.
    Rory indicated Reese’s phone with his finger. “Who’s blowing it up now?”
    “Heather.”
    Rory cocked his head. “Heather from…” His brow quirked. He scratched his chin, a twinkle of merriment in his eye. “From Center Stage?”
    Rory loved to give him shit about his choice of escorts, though things never evolved between Reese and those choices. They wanted expensive dinners and gifts, he wanted eye candy to keep around. Not that the ladies didn’t try to seduce Reese into their carefully crafted, silicone-enhanced, blond highlighted traps, with their incessant texting and attempts to take up more of his time.
    “Yeah, that Heather.”
    “Surprised she’s still around, actually.”
    “She’s not still around. Not really.” Reese glanced at the invitation again; flipped it over once more.
    “Meaning she doesn’t know that she’s yesterday’s news?”
    “Meaning you ask too many questions, bro.” Reese yawned.
    “Late night with Heather?” Rory smirked.
    More like late night with a dream.
    A recurring dream he’d had as long as he could remember.
    “Nah, just sleepless.”
    “I’m going to Escape Weekend.”
    “You decided? Just like that? I thought we made business decisions together.”
    They’d always been co-alphas, each bringing a different set of skills and strengths to the table.
    “I