by Jami Gray
“Not now, Xander,” he gritted through his teeth. The magical energy deepened, like electrical currents before a lightning strike.
Neil’s misshapen hands began to churn, his nails scraping against the rough floor. A great shudder wracked his grotesque body.
Ryuu let go and sat back on his heels, his face grim. The frantic scrapes and magical energy stopped, leaving an odd, uneasy silence in their wake. He met Xander’s gaze and shook his head.
She turned to watch Neil’s eyes dull as death crept in. His twisted body dissolved into a battered young man with longish, dishwater-blond hair and a torn throat. His chest rose once more, then stilled.
Chapter Two
Confusion and frustration created a nauseous mix in Xander’s stomach as she knelt beside Ryuu, Neil’s lifeless body sprawled in front of them. She ignored the twinges of discomfort as her wounds continued to heal. She was breathing, the boy in front of her wasn’t, so there really was no room for complaints. “What the hell is going on?”
Ryuu’s forehead furrowed as he met her gaze. “Don’t know, but we’re in deep shit.”
“You think?” She took in the carnage around them. The majority of humanity remained unaware of the Kyn’s existence. That little golden nugget of knowledge belonged to a few select humans working in the highest levels of government, military, and science. However, tonight’s lovely demonstration threatened to rip that thin veil of secrecy into wisps of wishful thinking.
Ryuu stood, dug out his cell phone and moved a few steps away.
Rising to her feet, she moved toward the now still bouncers, careful to step around the spreading blood. “Are you calling in Division?”
Division, also known as the Preternatural Crimes Division, was a deeply cloaked, specialized FBI unit created to help the Kyn handle supernatural crimes.
“No,” he answered. “Vidis.”
Xander turned around and shot him a narrow-eyed glare. “Don’t you think we might want Division here when the cops start trying to haul us away in handcuffs?”
“I’d be happy to call Division, if you’d like to call our alpha,” Ryuu offered.
There was no stopping her low growl of frustration.
“That’s what I thought.” His too-knowing gaze pinned her. “You need to get over it, Xander.”
She snarled and snapped her teeth at him, but he just curled his lip. “It’s between me and our alpha,” she gritted out before crouching down to check Buzz-cut’s pulse. There wasn’t one.
A not-too-subtle snort sounded. “Yeah, well aim for the next full moon, will you?” Male amusement was evident in Ryuu’s dry voice.
She went to the other fallen man and found the same frustrating results. “Full moon?”
Ryuu raised a finger, holding off on answering her.
She stood and moved to Sara. Even with the din of moans and cries from the injured, she heard the familiar cadence of Warrick’s voice when he answered after the first ring.
She tried not to listen to the short conversation, concentrating on checking Sara’s injuries. Patiently, she coaxed the girl into letting Xander examine her torn skin. The poor girl was nearly catatonic—not unusual or, sadly, unexpected. It wasn’t every night your ex turned into a raving monster right before your eyes.
Prowling the downtown streets of Portland wasn’t the best place for a frustrated werewolf, but Ryuu’s earlier call didn’t leave Warrick a choice. Damn Neil Eilers!
Neil had gone and lost his damn mind and now they had to track down the idiot and his ex-girlfriend before things got ugly. The smartest move the maverick could take, would be to tuck tail and run. Unfortunately, it appeared Neil was determined to court trouble and not to play it smart
Warrick should’ve seen it coming. During their last conversation, Neil told Warrick to go fuck himself. The idiot then followed that little jewel up with the asinine declaration that a true alpha wouldn’t cower from the humans in the shadows, but take his rightful place at the top of the food chain.
Top of the food chain? Warrick snorted at the immaturity. The ass had a human girlfriend. The boy was going to find it a little hard to be top dog if he was too busy trying to stick his dick in someone he considered food.
Under normal circumstances, Warrick would let Ryuu and Sebastian, his Third, bring the damn fool in to find out what a challenge really entailed. But, based on Ryuu’s last update, these were far from normal circumstances.
In fact, things were heading rapidly downhill, if the dead human stashed in the Gardens was any indication. The only way they could hope to contain this whole mess was if Ryuu and Xander could get Neil under wraps and away from the humans.
A small chirp from the earpiece tucked inside his ear, pulled him up short. “Vidis,” he answered.
“It’s Ryuu. We got him.”
Warrick glided out of the current of humanity drifting along the sidewalk and stopped by the darkened windows of a closed storefront. Sebastian took up a position in front of him, blocking his view of the passing crowds. “Where?”
“88 Ivories, but we have problems.”
“Problems?” Warrick’s gut clenched at the faint moans of pain drifting through the phone. “What a surprise.”
“Neil went after the girl, like we thought,” Ryuu ignored his boss’s obvious sarcasm. “He caught her at the club.”
“How bad?”
“Two dead, maybe more. The crowd panicked and the girl is almost catatonic,” Ryuu paused. “He shifted into a warped version of the warrior form.”
Everything in Warrick stilled as a low level of dread formed. Reaching for the control necessary to every alpha, he kept his voice level even as his wolf surged against the prison of human skin, wanting to race to his mate’s side. “Xander?”
“Still standing,” Ryuu answered. “She’s with the girl now.”
Relief had him closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “We’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Cops will be here in ten,” Ryuu said. “You shouldn’t be inside when they arrive.”
Warrick ignored the warning. “I’m calling Division. Then I’m coming in.” He hung up, cutting Ryuu’s protest off mid-word. “Let’s go,” he snapped at Sebastian and started toward the club.
The thought of Xander facing down a deranged killer set his wolf, already upset about sending her out in the first place, prowling and clawing under his skin. Even the constant sidelong glances from Sebastian, pacing alongside, couldn’t quiet the sub-vocal growls rumbling in his chest.
Since returning from Arizona, Warrick’s patience was paper-thin. The smallest things tended to set his wolf off. Between the anonymous threats to his pack, this delusional pup, and Xander, he was hanging on to the perilous edge of his legendary control by his fingertips.
He needed to see Xander for himself. Images of her broken and bleeding in Arizona still haunted him. To save her, he tied her soul to his. Those ties did nothing to diminish his need to keep her safe. Neither he nor his wolf would be in any shape to deal with tonight’s challenges until he put his hands on his mate.
The claw marks on Sara’s arms would scar, but she would heal—physically. Mentally might be a different story. She shook so hard Xander was afraid the girl would shatter into hundreds of pieces. Using strips of her tattered T-shirt, Xander began binding the more severe wounds. When she was finished, she noticed the traumatized girl had slipped into unconsciousness, even as her body continued to tremble.
Xander found a relatively clean spot on the hard floor and sat, settling Sara’s head in her lap. She brushed a gentle hand through the girl’s hair. Maybe her touch would give Sara an anchor and help still the constant tremors. She felt Ryuu come to stand next her. “Maybe we can get a healer to help blur her memories?” she murmured.
“Maybe,” Ryuu answered quietly. He took a seat next to her, his back to the wall, facing the decimated club. The faint, distant whine of sirens drifted to them.
“How soon before he gets here?”
“Five minutes.”
“That’s fast.”
“He was already on his way.”
She shot him a dark look.
Ryuu didn’t look away. “I called him when you found the body in the Gardens.”
Tension sang through Xander and, in her lap, Sara whimpered. Xander forced her body to relax and made soothing noises, lulling Sara back into oblivion. In a soft voice, she asked, “Division?”
He shrugged. “Vidis is calling them en route.”
She sighed. The police, Division, and my alpha, oh my! It was going to be a long night. “So,” she kept her tone low. “What’s the deal with the next full moon?”
A small smile played on Ryuu’s lips. “I’ve got money down you two will only last until the next hunt.”
“Seriously?” The pack was betting on her and Warrick? She wasn’t sure if she should be amused or terrified.
Ryuu’s tone turned sly. “I know how stubborn you can be. If any female was going to make him work for it, it would be you.”
She choked off a bitter laugh and let her head thump against the wall behind her. “Wish he’d realize it.” She managed not to clench her hands in Sara’s hair, keeping her touch gentle.
Ryuu’s amusement disappeared and the lethal intelligence that made him the pack’s Second shone bright. “Whatever happened in Arizona changed both of you. Now it’s impacting the pack. It needs to be fixed.”
Resentment flared but she beat it down. She knew damn good and well what affected their alpha also affected the pack. Until recently, her position as Tracker not only kept her out of their pack’s power structure, but allowed any member, high or low, to approach her about anything, without the press of hierarchy. It was like being the pack’s advisor. The solitary role fit Xander like a glove.
Of course, being a Tracker also led her into interesting situations, such as waking up after fighting off a soul-sucking demon only to discover she was now the alpha’s bonded mate. Something most women would be thrilled about. However, sitting in a blood-soaked club in downtown Portland wasn’t exactly the best place to delve into her personal relationship, even if Ryuu was a friend.
Time to change the subject. “You said he was Bitten.”
She caught Ryuu’s flash of frustration. “Fine. Yes, that’s what I was told,” he answered. “Neil Eilers, twenty-three, college drop-out, bitten two years ago while traveling with friends in Europe. Was staying in some run-down apartment out in Holbrook.” He recited the information, his arms resting against up-raised knees.
“Two years with no previous outbursts?” She was mindful to keep her touch light as she stroked the hair of the girl in her lap.
Ryuu nodded.
The more information she uncovered, the less sense it made. “So explain to me how a Bitten had a half-form, screwed up though it was.”
Shifters constituted one fourth of the Kyn population in the Northwest and fell into two groups—Bitten and Born. The Bitten were human victims of vicious attacks by deranged shifters and the basis for the humans’ werewolf stories.
“I can’t,” Ryuu’s frustration came through loud and clear. “He shouldn’t have been able to come even close to that. Only the Born can achieve half-forms.”
Born shifters weren’t tied to the moon’s call and could take any of their three forms—wolf; human; and warrior form, a combination of the two—at any time, depending on the strength of their bloodlines. Most Born, like Xander, had a few drops of other Kyn blood, such as Fey or Magi. Yet, there were a rare few, like their alpha, who could claim pure Lycan bloodlines for generations.
“This is getting old.” She sighed and studied Neil. Gods, it was such a waste. To survive a werewolf attack and make some sort of life for two years, only to end up here. She forced out the next question. “Does he have any family?”
“No.” Resignation echoed in Ryuu’s answer. “From what I could dig up, he’s been roaming up and down the west coast since his change. Never stayed in any one place for long. He managed to stick it out here for the last seven months.”
“Long enough to hook up with Sara,” Xander murmured.
Even unconscious, Sara jerked at the sound of her name. Xander made shushing noises, never ceasing her gentle petting.
Pity moved over Ryuu’s face. “At least she’s alive.”
“Yeah…”
At the edge of the decimated floor, the second year med student was still working on one of the would-be heroes, occasionally flicking a wary glance in their direction. Probably worried they’d sprout fur and claws any second.
The sirens drew closer. They only had a handful of minutes before the police made it through the maze of downtown streets. Less than that before Warrick showed. “Do you have someone picking up the body from the Gardens?”
Ryuu gave a short nod.
“He’s the third wolf I’ve had to put down in two weeks,” she said.
Ryuu blinked but said nothing.
She chewed on her lower lip. Three wolves in two weeks meant something else was happening, something threatening Warrick. Generally, as Tracker, she only had to worry about the occasional Feral wolf, but this—no, this was something very different. Different was dangerous. “Before Warrick gets here, you have to tell me who’s been looking to challenge him.”
“You can’t play assassin,” Ryuu admonished gently.
She let her wolf rise, adding a bite to her voice. “I have no problems with taking out those who threaten my alpha or my pack.”
When Sara trembled violently under her hand, she forced her wolf back down.
He shook his head. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. Whether you accept his mate claim or not, you can’t fight his battles for him.” His attention sharpened. “He’d never forgive you.”
She locked gazes with Ryuu, tension stringing tight between them. “I’m not going out and killing every person who’s threatened him, but I need a place to start.”
“Then you better start by looking in a mirror.” Ryuu’s words cut deep. “For the last few weeks, the only person who’s dared to challenge Vidis’s decisions is you.”
She flinched at the underlying anger vibrating in Ryuu’s voice, then sucked in a short breath as her jerky movement pulled her still-healing skin.
Moving with the inhuman speed inherent to all shifters, Ryuu spun to crouch over her, careful not to touch her or the girl in her lap, but invading her personal space. “What is so wrong with him that you refuse to accept his claim?”
His question was a punch to her gut, because denying Warrick was the last thing she wanted to do. And that was the problem.
Ryuu didn’t back off. “The fact you won’t fully accept the bonding is setting the entire pack on edge. No one would dare step up to challenge him. Do you know why, Xander?”
She held still, letting her friend rip her apart, one word at a time.
His eyes glittered with a wild edge as his voice lowered. “Because he’d kill them without breaking a sweat. You have him so wound up that his control is paper thin.” He lowered his head until mere inches separated them and hissed, “You and I both know what that means. You may be angry with him, but you have no right to fracture our pack. So figure it the fuck out and fix it.”
Chapter Three
Warrick, with Sebastian on his heels, pushed his way through the clusters of people huddled together in front of the club, 88 Ivories. He knew it would be smarter to wait until the authorities arrived, but the urgent need to see Xander pushed all rational thought aside. He stepped inside the bar. Strobe lights painted the walls and floor, the sporadic illumination revealing scattered humans trying to help those on the ground, and shock on the faces of the few club-goers who were trying to figure out what the hell had happened. Sobs and moans echoed eerily in the large interior.
Sebastian grabbed his shoulder and pointed to the back of the club. “Over there.”
Bodies, some moving, some not, sprawled across the floor where Ryuu cro
uched over something or someone. Warrick’s pulse began to pound and he searched the surrounding devastation for the familiar purple-tipped blonde hair. Not finding it, he focused on his Second. Something in Ryuu’s posture made Warrick rapidly cut the distance between them as his keen hearing finally processed Ryuu’s words.
“You may be angry with him, but you have no right to fracture our pack. So figure it the fuck out and fix it.” The harsh recrimination in Ryuu’s voice had Warrick’s lips lifting in an instinctive snarl. There was only one person he could be talking to, and if his Second knew what was good for him, he’d better change his tone.
When Ryuu abruptly rose to his feet with fluid grace and stepped back, Warrick caught a glimpse of a pale-faced Xander sitting on the floor. Anger and fear churned as he caught sight of her shredded T-shirt and beloved leather jacket. Deep scratches marred her body, some still seeping blood, as she cradled a girl in her lap. The mutinous line of her lips was highlighted by two red flags of temper dusting her sharp cheekbones.
This close to her, the bond they reluctantly shared flared into brilliant life. His wolf lunged, needing to go to his mate’s side. Warrick barely managed to hold him back as Xander set the girl aside started to get to her feet. The whip of Ryuu’s accusation had laid its mark across her heart. Unprepared for the raw wave of her turbulent emotions sweeping down the bond, his fragile control snapped. His wolf shoved him aside and raced to face the threat to his mate.
Xander curled her trembling hand into a fist and fought back her wolf’s need to release the cauldron of frustration and confusion caused by her friend. Ryuu’s accusation was like a stinging slap. Instead of striking out with her teeth and claws, she focused on calming her wolf as she gently lifted Sara off her lap and repositioned her on the floor. She barely got the wildness inside her to settle, when a low challenging growl raised the hair on the back of her neck.
Xander was on her feet before it ended, her pulse speeding. She recognized that sound. It was an enraged wolf, defending his mate against a perceived threat. She and Ryuu had been so caught up they somehow missed Warrick’s arrival. Obviously, he caught some of their conversation. To say he wasn’t happy was a massive understatement. She wasn’t going to be physically fast enough to stop the impending bloodshed. Ryuu’s words may have hurt, but there was some truth behind them.
