by Kimber White
It took almost seven years, tens of thousands of lives, four treaties, but now the Oasis Territories were pretty much left alone. Those who tried to cross into cities like Chicago were quickly dealt with and never seen again.
Guys like Hurley and me were shit out of luck, trapped out here beyond the borders. We had no way of getting back.
In Hurley’s case, he still wanted to. I knew he longed to live among the bear clans. They’d never take him now, though. It would be too much of a risk. He’d spent far too long in the NZ. It does things to you.
“She’s ripe like a peach,” he whispered. “You’re welcome.”
I grabbed him again, letting my claws out just enough to pierce his skin.
Hurley laughed. Damn. I walked right into his little trap and he knew it.
Hurley jerked his arm away from me. He pressed his thumb into the wound I’d made just above his wrist. Nostrils flaring, he shoved past me and disappeared into the darkness.
Now, there was no one here but me and the girl.
I stood stock still in a ready stance. She pushed herself off the wall and came toward me. That made her either brave or stupid.
Her eyes held a glint of their own I couldn’t quite place. She had to be human. I sensed no animal coiled within her. She was unarmed. I could tell that without even having to pat her down, her clothes hugged her curves so tightly.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
She stopped. Frozen. I took in the tiny details of her face. High cheekbones. Full lips. Her nose turned up just at the tip. She bit her bottom lip, making her dimples show.
That hair, though. The breeze lifted it from her shoulders. Wave after wave of color flew around her face. Just the tiniest hint of crimson showed through on some strands.
A natural redhead, I wondered? The urge to taste her blasted through me once more. She would taste like fire and cinnamon. I took a step back, feeling no better than Hurley.
“My name is Cassia,” she said.
Cassia. The moment she said it, it was as if I already knew. She was familiar. I felt a magnetic pull to her that could only be dangerous.
“Cassia,” I repeated. “You’ve taken a hell of a chance coming out here. Whatever you’re looking for, it’s not worth it.”
“I can take care of myself,” she said, raising her chin just a little.
“Really?” I said, raising a brow. “Where you from, Cassia? Ann Arbor? Is it spring break?”
Her nostrils flared. “I said I can take care of myself. Anything else is none of your business.”
“Fine,” I said, turning my back on her. I adjusted the holster at my side and walked out of the alley. I only carried a knife. My best weapons were my fangs and claws. It wasn’t worth the risk of getting caught with a gun anymore.
“Wait!” she said, breathless. I watched her shadow grow on the wall as she closed the distance between us.
Her fingers curled around my bicep. Sizzle. Crack. Heat. The air in my lungs turned to fire for an instant.
I whirled around. My vision went white, and I knew she could see my golden wolf eyes flash bright.
“I’m sorry,” she said, taking a step back and letting me go.
A thin sheen of sweat formed on her upper lip. Whatever the hell that was when she touched me, I knew she felt it too.
Magic.
She had a little of that witch vibe, but not the scent. She probably dabbled in the stuff. One of those New Age types who think they can save the world and cure cancer with avocados.
Then it hit me. Magic was what she was after. Of course it was. I grabbed her arm and turned it. No track marks. No healed burns. If she was using, it wasn’t the hard stuff. Not yet, anyway.
She met my gaze. Oh, there was fire in her for sure. Magic, definitely. If she wasn’t a witch, then she was borrowing it. I’d seen girls like her burn out hard. It made her sicker than Hurley. She’d also be dead in a year if she didn’t find a way out.
“Right,” I said. “You’re doing a bang-up job taking care of yourself.”
Her skin grew hotter beneath my touch. It burned me.
I let her go and curled my fist. Tiny red welts popped up on my fingers.
“I’m looking for someone,” she said.
“A new dealer?” I asked. “Sorry. Not interested.”
“What? Wait. No. I’m not using. That isn’t…”
She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a creased photograph.
“I’m looking for them,” she said, handing me the photograph.
Handsome couple. Definitely rich. The man was tall with thick dark hair combed back. He had his arm around the woman. She was stunning with wavy red hair she wore long.
I looked back at Cassia. Those fiery red strands blending in with the other colors matched the woman’s hair in the photo.
“My parents,” she said, swallowing hard. “Xander and Shae Brandhart. They went missing from this area almost a year ago.”
I handed the picture back to her.
“Sorry for your loss,” I said.
“No,” she said. “They’re not dead. At least... I don’t think they are. I’d know. I mean, I think I would. I’m looking for information. I was told the person to talk to was Colm. Nobody would give me a last name. But... that’s you. Right?”
I ran a hand across my jaw. “How much you pay Hurley to bring you here?”
“Two hundred U.S.” she said.
“He suckered you.”
“I think you’re the one he suckered. Am I right?”
Cassia stood her ground. She crossed her arms in front of her and glared at me. My wolf rose to the surface. I couldn’t quite hold back my growl.
“Right,” she said. “That little display back there. That was Hurley’s move. You into saving damsels in distress? You are Colm. Right? Like I said, I’m Cassia. Nice to meet you.”
She stuck her hand out for mine in a formal shake. It took me by surprise. Nobody did that anymore. I couldn’t help it. She got a laugh out of me.
“I mean, you are,” she said. “Colm. Hurley earned his paycheck today. I can’t say I much like his method, but he gets results.”
“Hurley’s a monster,” I said. “Or at least, he will be. You spend enough time here, you might learn the difference.”
“Can you help me?” she asked.
“I’ve never seen them,” I answered. “Your parents. Sorry.”
“But you know who to ask,” she said.
“If someone had information to sell about them, you’d have heard. Kidnapping is big business. You look like you could afford the ransom. What d’you say it’s been? A year? I don’t know you. If you’re looking for pretty answers, you won’t find them here.”
“They’re alive,” she said. “I’m sure of it. But if they haven’t reached out, it means they can’t. It means they’re not safe.”
“You think your parents would want you traipsing through the NZ alone stirring up trouble and the likes of Hurley on their account? Trust me, they wouldn’t.”
“My parents have long since stopped trying to control my life. Look, they’re not... I know what you think.”
I raised a brow.
“I get it,” she continued. She lifted a lock of her hair and waved it. “I know what I look like to you. Clueless rich girl. You think I’m slumming it in the Neutral Zone for adventure or rebellion? That’s not it. I haven’t... we’re not… Look, my parents are on your side.”
“My side?”
“You. Shifters,” she said. “If you’re as connected as they say, you can confirm my story. Xander Brandhart has... well... let’s just say my parents are smugglers of a kind. They’ve helped dozens, probably hundreds of shifters get over the border into the Oasis Territories.”
I put my hands up. “I’ve heard enough. I’m thinking we would have both been better off if I’d just let Hurley finish what he started.”
Cassia narrowed her eyes. “I can pay you. I know how this works.”
<
br /> “I’m pretty sure you don’t.”
She took a wad of cash out of her jacket. It was a worn, black leather bomber type with a frayed fur collar. She slapped the bundle into my hand. I didn’t stop to count, but it was easily an inch thick and all hundreds.
“You have any idea how dangerous it is for you to have this?”
“And I’ve told you twice before, I can take care of myself.”
I stuffed the cash back into her hand. “Not interested,” I said. “I don’t do missing persons.”
I walked away from her. Cassia lunged forward and blocked my path.
“I know what you are,” she said. “You’re a different kind of smuggler. I told you, I can pay.”
“What? With wads of cash? That’s not the currency I deal in, baby.”
She got close enough to me I could feel her breath on my skin. Heat skittered up my spine. There was no denying it.
I wanted her.
Badly.
Lust blasted through me along with the fire. Her lips. Her breasts. Her curves. I wanted to run my hands down her and kiss her until she saw stars. Her eyes crackled, and I swore I could feel the need pooling inside of her too. Hurley wasn’t the only one suffering from mating sickness. It would grip me soon enough too.
“I’ll give you whatever you want,” she said, her voice breathless. It was dangerous for her to be so close to me.
“You can’t afford it,” I said.
“I’m certain I can,” she answered, her voice dropping low.
She reached into her jacket again. She kept a tight fist to her chest, protecting whatever she’d pulled out. Her breasts heaved as she met my eyes.
Oh, my wolf wanted to come out and play.
A growl hummed through me, a low vibration. I bared my teeth and knew she saw fangs.
“Colm,” she said. “I’m not wrong. That’s who you are.”
“Yeah,” I said, snarling.
She took my hand and put something hard and round in it. It burned my skin just as much as her flesh had.
I opened my fist. It was a ring. A gold band and a smooth, flat stone that at first glance changed color like an opal. I held it into the light and fire danced across it.
This was no opal. My wolf roared inside of me. Power coursed through me.
This was Dragonstone. Honest to God Dragonstone. The most powerful substance on earth. Made into a bullet or a blade, it could kill any shifter in an instant.
What the hell was she doing with it?
A thing like this could net me enough to currency to set me up for life and a hundred years beyond. Holy hell. If Hurley had known she had it. If anyone…
“I can get you ten more like that,” she said. “Will you help me? Will you help me find my parents?”
My hand trembled. The Dragonstone glowed in my palm. I gave it back to her. Color rose high in Cassia’s cheeks.
I wanted the Dragonstone. With just the one stone I could make any life I wanted for myself here. I could have anything.
As I lowered my eyes to meet Cassia’s, a different, more powerful desire burned through me. I knew in my soul she was the biggest prize of all. Worth even more than the Dragonstone to the right people.
It could be mine.
“Will you help me?” she asked again.
I cocked my head to the side. My wolf strained to get out.
“My price might be higher than you can afford,” I said, licking my lips.
Cassia straightened her back. “I told you,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “I’m willing to give you anything you want.”
Oh, I wanted. I wanted it all. Starting and ending with her.
Chapter 3
Cassia
He fell for it. Oh, I could see the lust in his eyes as he raked them over both me and the Dragonstone ring. Only I knew he wouldn’t be sinking his claws into either one again anytime soon.
He looked at me. Those cold, blue eyes seared right through me, almost as if he could read my thoughts. But that wasn’t possible.
Be careful around shifters. My father had drilled those words into me since before I could walk. Especially wolves. I felt that gut-clenching pang whenever I heard his voice in my head. He worried too much. Ever since the shifter attacks a decade and a half ago.
“Dad, they’re not after us. This is between the shifters and the humans,” I told him. What did I know? I’d been twelve years old during the worst of it. And I’d come enough into my power that I knew no shifter would ever be fast enough to catch me.
God, I’d been so wrong back then. Those rogue shifter attacks had brought the end of the world to anyone with even a hint of magic inside them. Fear. Prejudice. Mistrust. I’d been young and stupid enough to think things would change for the better. At least shifters wouldn’t have to hide their powers anymore. I thought, in time, the rest of the world would see it had only been a few evil men and women behind those attacks.
I was so wrong. But, like I said, back then I was only twelve years old.
Now, fifteen years later, Colm had turned his back on me and started walking away.
“Wait!” I shouted. My hair flew around me as I ran after him.
I tucked the Dragonstone ring back in my pocket. Colm didn’t even so much as give me a glance over his shoulder. He walked out of the alley and into the main thoroughfare. Here, you could buy ration cards, power strips, even fresh fruits and vegetables. More valuable than all of that, you could sometimes buy information. That’s what led me to Colm in the first place.
“Wait!” I yelled, running to keep up with him. “Mr…”
I realized the information I’d bought about him hadn’t included his last name.
“We aren’t finished,” I said. “Now you know what I can pay.”
Colm turned. His dark brow went up. He did a quick scan of the street. It was loud out here. Busy. In the shadowy corner near the next alley, I saw a woman go down to her knees, sobbing. A man stood over her wearing the white and orange uniform of a shuttle driver. Further down the street, his twenty-seat van waited. Even from here I could see it was already full.
“I’m not your guy,” Colm said, but he had his hand on my arm. He led me away from the commotion surrounding the driver and the poor woman begging for passage. She had no money. No papers. I looked away. There was no telling what she’d already lost. Her mate? Her children? Something awful had left her stranded in the limbo of the Neutral Zone.
“You’re either lucky or dumb as hell,” Colm said. “Can’t tell which yet.”
I jerked my arm away. “Yet?”
I reached into a different pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. I walked away from Colm and approached the shuttle driver.
“How much for a one-way ticket to wherever she’s asking to go?” I asked.
The woman was still on her knees. I reached for her, hauling her up to her feet. Tears and snot ran down her grimy face. By the looks of her, she’d been out here on the streets for weeks. Her hair was short and stringy. As she cast a quick glance behind her, I saw the Alpha’s mark I knew would be there. So, she was a shifter’s mate. It meant her desperation stemmed from the need to get back to the Alpha she’d mated with or escape from one who might have forced his mark on her against her will. Either way, I wanted her on that shuttle.
The shuttle driver was stunned into silence, staring at my twenty.
“I’m full up,” he said. “And the fare’s three times that.”
“Bullshit,” I said. “I can see the rate sign on your van from here. That’s a Ring I.D. you’re wearing, isn’t it?” I asked. I flipped the plastic name badge clipped to his collar. “Think your union condones price gouging?”
He snarled, but the color drained from his face. I might not have looked like I was from around here, but I knew the rules probably better than he did.
He snatched the twenty out of my hand. The woman shrieked, thanking me. The driver grabbed her arm and warned her not to make a scene as he le
d her toward the van.
As I turned away from them, I came face to chest with Colm. He was fuming. His wolf eyes blazed boldly. His claws were out.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he said in a stern whisper. “You might as well carry a big neon sign over your head that says ‘rob me’!”
“I’m not going to stand by when I see someone who needs my help. Help that I can easily pay for. I know what I’m doing. Trust me. So, now I’m asking you. Are you going to help me, or are you going to just stand there looking pissed? I was told you’re the best at what you do. Haven’t figured out quite what that is. If you’re not, I’m pretty sure that shuttle driver will have the word out about me by the end of the night. I’ll find someone else willing to take what I’m offering.”
Colm hissed through his teeth. I could sense his wolf just beneath his skin. Feral. Primal. Powerful. The urge to touch him, rake my nails across his back burned through me. It would be so easy to draw out his wolf. My breath left me in a whoosh as I craved his power.
I took a step back. Colm was emitting a low growl. He probably didn’t even realize he was doing it.
“You’re nuts, lady. Certifiable,” he said.
“So, what if I am?” I said. “This is business. You help me find some intel on what happened to my parents. I give you something valuable enough to write your own ticket out of here.”
“I like it here,” he said. “This is where I belong.”
We were walking again. “Nobody belongs here,” I said. “We’re in Purgatory.”
He didn’t answer; he just hastened his step. I had to run to keep up with him. Even that felt like a test. Just how much was I willing to put up with?
We went like that for close to six blocks. The crowd grew thinner until we turned down one last street. My breath caught. This part of the city had been left untouched after the first attacks. There was nothing left of the buildings that had once stood here. Now, they were just bombed-out shells. Any remaining walls were covered with layers of graffiti.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
Colm didn’t answer at first. He kept on walking, his hands stuffed in his pocket. Nothing lighted our way now except the moon and stars. We’d passed the last working streetlamp about two blocks ago.
