by Jami Gray
There was only one chance to pull Warrick up short.
As she raced across the club’s floor toward the furious man bearing down on Ryuu, she grabbed their psychic connection. After spending the last three weeks keeping it locked down, she now ripped it wide open. “Warrick!”
The shock of her unexpected psychic call pulled him up just long enough for her to reach him. She stepped between the two men, keeping her back to Ryuu. Placing her hands on Warrick’s chest, she leaned in, letting him feel the heat and weight of her body, giving him and his wolf something else to concentrate on.
His hands automatically wrapped around her hips, pulling her closer.
She lost her breath as he tugged her tight against him. Heated skin and steely strength wrapped around her. Struggling past the overwhelming desire to burrow closer to his familiar cinnamon and clove scent, she stretched her five-foot-three-inch frame and nipped his chin.
Under her hands, Warrick’s chest vibrated with another low growl.
She let her claws slip out enough to prick through his T-shirt and leave a lasting impression on his skin.
He lowered his head and she refused to flinch under his amber gaze. Warrick’s wolf had swallowed the man.
She raised one hand to cup his jaw, feeling the tension under her palm. “Warrick, stop.”
He could be so ordinary with his sun-streaked brown hair, brown eyes, and average build. Nothing that stood out, until his mask slipped. Then the predator wrapped in human skin could make you crawl.
Heeding her instincts, she kept her end of their connection wide open, sharing her chaotic emotions regarding their relationship, the bond, and her shame at the sting of truth in Ryuu’s accusation. “He didn’t harm me.”
She ignored the tension emanating from Ryuu, standing so still behind her, more worried about the wolf in front of her. “I’m okay,” she whispered, not flinching from the wild fury flickering in Warrick’s eyes.
A flare of lethal protectiveness touched her, leaving a lump in her throat. His lips peeled back from his teeth in a purely canine expression and another growl vibrated through him.
She dropped her head against his chest and curled her fingers into his shoulders, knowing he needed the anchor of her touch to sooth the wildness inside. A warm hand wrapped around the base of her neck, holding her close.
She could feel his wolf’s driving need to protect and under it, his human intellect battling to regain control. In that moment, the truth of Ryuu’s words became shatteringly real. Her indecision was driving the normally disciplined Warrick to the edge. She needed to make a decision on their bonding, before what was between them destroyed everything and everyone in its path. Little by little, he gently closed down his end of their connection, pushing her away.
His quiet rejection hurt.
Warrick buried his nose in her neck, his warm breath sending a cascade of chills down her spine. She closed her eyes and arched her neck, giving him access, letting him drag her scent into his lungs. If she hadn’t been touching him, she would have missed the slight shudder as his wolf slowly retreated and let the man ascend.
A few tense moments passed before he straightened and began to pull back.
She reluctantly stepped away, catching sight of Sebastian standing off to Ryuu’s side. Where Ryuu was the embodiment of a deadly Katana sword—slender and lethally edged. Sebastian was the opposite. Broad shoulder, thick chested, he was more of a two-handed broadsword—brutal and efficient.
Right now, he was glaring at her. She met his gaze, holding it until he finally turned away. Obviously, Ryuu wasn’t the only one upset with her. She sighed and slowly followed in Warrick’s wake as he made his way over to Neil.
He crouched down to study the bloodied body. “Any ideas on what we’re dealing with?” His voice was rough, the wolf still hovering close.
“No,” Ryuu answered.
Xander made her way over to Sara. Even though her eyes were still closed, small keening noises came from the girl. Xander reached for a semblance of calm and kept her movements slow and gentle, all the while angling her body between the traumatized girl and the wolves.
Warrick tracked her movements as he continued to crouch over Neil’s body.
“The ex-girlfriend,” Xander said, catching his questioning look. She sat on the floor and pulled Sara’s head into her lap.
“How bad is she?”
“In shock and needing stitches.”
His intense perusal drifted over her, leaving her more exposed than her shredded jacket and T-shirt warranted. She didn’t bother to fight the bloom of heat along her skin. When those brown eyes finally met hers, they were smoldering. “Those are claw marks.”
“Yep.” Her flippant answer had Warrick’s nostrils flaring. He turned his glare on Ryuu.
Undaunted, Ryuu shrugged. “She doesn’t wait around for help, Vidis.”
Her friend’s answer sparked her temper. Even knowing how protective male wolves were, she did not intend to let them get away with trying to wrap her in bubble wrap.
She was about to blast them both, but from the other side of Neil, the sound of Sebastian’s disbelieving snort cut in. “The Bitten don’t change unless it’s a full moon.”
Gritting her teeth at his condescending tone, she gave him a poisonous smile. “Well, this one did.” She didn’t bother to mask her disdain. Sebastian’s outdated attitudes always managed to push her buttons.
Offended male fury flashed in Sebastian’s eyes, but Warrick’s voice cut off his response. “We’re dealing with something more complex than a rash of Feral shifters.”
“What did Division say?” Maybe in reaching out, they could glean some information on what the hell was going on. Find out if this was part of a larger pattern.
“Until tonight, this was pack business,” Warrick stated, his attention on the body in front of him. “As far as Division is concerned, this is simply a rogue wolf attack gone wrong.”
Damn stubborn male! She wanted to hit him, but instead she continued her gentle strokes through Sara’s hair. The tremors wracking the girl had slowed. Calling on years of patience cultivated from dealing with arrogant, smug, male wolves, she kept her tone level. “And is it?”
Instead of answering her, he said, “I got an interesting phone call earlier tonight.”
She stared at him. “Interesting how?”
His gaze flicked to the girl in her lap before going back to the torn body in front of him. “My loyalties were questioned.” All emotion leeched from his voice, leaving it flat. He raised his head and met her gaze.
A faint echo of the taunting words drifted through their bond, then Warrick’s resulting protective rage snuffed them out. Before she could respond, he tightened his end of their connection further, shutting her out completely.
Her jaw tightened. “That’s not nice.”
He said nothing.
She fought the urge to slam her end of the bond closed out of spite. The only thing holding her back was a niggling worry that it would trigger his wolf to rise again. Ryuu’s earlier accusation still resounded in her heart. No matter how upset she was with him, he was still her alpha and she should try not to snap his control in front of others.
“Why sacrifice Neil?” Ryuu’s question broke their staring contest. She and Warrick turned to him. He simply watched them. “What does taking out a Bitten who lives outside of the pack accomplish?”
She shrugged. “Since he’s not pack, perhaps they thought he’d be harder to track?”
“He’s easier prey,” Sebastian added. “Yet, it still gets your attention.”
“Not just ours.” She nodded to the milling humans stumbling around near the club’s entrance.
Warrick ran a hand through his hair as he studied the remains. “If you’re both right, it shows knowledge of how our pack works.”
Dread settled like a stone in her stomach. Someone had an ax to grind with Warrick. The psychic peek of those venomous taunts directed at him was very p
ersonal. Normally, it wouldn’t give her pause. Her alpha was more than able to take care of himself, but something about this made her and her wolf uneasy. The urge to protect this stubborn male dug in with vicious claws. “Do you think it’s Tomás Chavez?”
He rose to his feet and shook his head. “No, Chavez hasn’t had enough time to set something like this in motion.”
Three weeks ago, Warrick stood aside while another killed the Southwest alpha’s psychopathic mate. Not only had she tried to kill Xander, but she had trapped her dead son’s soul into a horrific bondage. Three weeks. Not nearly enough time for Chavez to forget Warrick’s involvement.
“He’ll come hunting us.” Her voice was soft, but her certainty rock solid. No wolf, no alpha, would forgive the death of a mate. Even if their mate deserved it.
“I know.” Warrick moved to stand beside her. “But this isn’t his doing.” He turned back to Ryuu and Sebastian. His leg brushed her shoulder, sending a streak of heat through her that chased away the icy trepidation.
“Then which enemy are we facing?” Ryuu’s question was drowned out by the shrill song of sirens. Tires screeched outside the club.
Xander set Sara aside once again and rose to her feet.
The thump of car doors slamming sounded, soon followed by raised voices, trying to corral the agitated crowd outside.
Warrick’s lips thinned and his frustration seeped through their connection. The loss of this lone wolf had hurt him, just as it was supposed to.
An echo of the hateful taunt whispered across her mind. ‘How many deaths will it take?’
“The phone call says it’s personal.” She kept her voice low and even as she moved closer. No need for his wolf to think she was challenging him.
Those who knew Warrick understood the line between his human mind and his wolf was thinner than most. Which meant you had to deal with the animal as much as the man. She could challenge the wolf in private, and had done so numerous times, but in front of the pack he was first and foremost her alpha.
Standing next to him, she couldn’t miss his low growl or the way tension left him stiff. She fought her wolf and kept her hackles down. Sebastian and Ryuu kept their gazes lowered. No one moved, holding still and giving Warrick’s wolf a few precious moments.
Slanting a look at him from under her lashes to judge his control, she continued. “Someone wants your job. Who’ve you pissed off lately?”
Suddenly, he crowded her. The weight of the power that made him alpha pressed against her, demanding submission. “Just you.”
She let her wolf out just enough to stand against him. It was dangerous, so dangerous to do this dance with him publicly, but it was necessary. The main reason she was fighting their bond so hard was because Warrick was the most dominant male in the Northwest. And she had no intention of turning into his submissive bitch.
She wanted to be a partner, not a doormat. She fought tooth and nail for her independence. There was no way she would toss it all away because he decided she was his. Even if Warrick was a wickedly intelligent hunter who knew all about patience and prey.
“Besides me?” she hissed.
Even as she stood her ground, a tiny part of her wanted to tuck tail and bare her throat in the face of his fury. But the woman knew if she gave in, whatever slim chance they had of this relationship working would be snuffed out. So, she locked her knees, clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and met that burning stare without blinking.
Grim amusement lit his dark eyes. “No one else important.”
“Vidis.” Ryuu’s voice snapped the tension. “Incoming.”
Warrick shifted his attention from her to the club’s entrance, and inserted his body between her and the approaching humans.
She let out a shaky breath and prayed Warrick wouldn’t lose it. “Non-threatening,” she muttered the reminder and stepped around him. Too many witnesses meant they had to stick around and help. At least until Division joined the party.
His eyes narrowed as she stood at his left. She raised her hands above her head and arched an eyebrow at him. His lips quirked as he copied her movements. Sebastian and Ryuu followed suit. She sighed and watched the cops pour into the club.
Chapter Four
Outside 88 Ivories an hour and a half later, Xander sat on the brick edge of a planter, wearing a scratchy blanket like a kid’s superhero cape. The ambulance carrying Sara to the nearest hospital was long gone. A plethora of emergency response vehicles were clustered on the street and visible through the wrought iron fence. Circling around the edges like vultures were various local news agencies.
The rattle of metal wheels on concrete heralded the arrival of the last body bag. It was the third such delivery to the coroner’s van. Probably Neil. She watched the grim procession and sighed. “Wonder how they’re going to explain this one.”
The man standing silently beside her answered, “You’d be amazed at how much the witnesses’ stories will vary. It won’t be as hard as you think to spin it.”
Xander pulled her legs up to the ledge and readjusted the blanket until she could rest her chin on her upraised knees. “Sounds like you’ve done this before.”
His teeth flashed white in his mahogany skin as he leaned against the brick wall. “A few times. You’d be surprised at how easily the human mind tries to find the simplest explanation for the unexplainable.” At her bland look, he chuckled. “Okay, maybe you wouldn’t.”
“So what do you think the story will be this time?” She rubbed her chin across her knees.
Her wolf was pacing under her skin, making it hard to sit still. She may be outside but she was still trapped, unable to leave until Warrick made it back outside or Division’s sector chief let her go.
Her babysitter, Special Agent in Charge Reynolds, turned his attention to the few determined reporters still trying to breach the scene. “Enraged boyfriend confronts ex-girlfriend in local club with deadly results.” He pushed away from the side of the building to take a seat on the low brick planter next to her. “The reporters will relegate the various stories to alcohol consumption, some will even imply heavy drug use, and Joe Q. Public will swallow every word.”
“And the videos that are going to pop up all over social media? Is Division going to prove all those conspiracy theorists true by impeding the American public’s right to the truth?”
Reynolds pushed his hands into the pockets of his dark slacks, his shoulders shrugging under his matching suit jacket. “Videos can be doctored, and the best way to dampen public curiosity is to ignore it. Eventually someone will step up and claim it was all a hoax, people will debate the truth, then when the next inebriated reality TV star decides to see if their convertible Porsche can double as a yacht, this will all be forgotten.”
“Maybe,” Xander said. “But if I were you, I’d make sure your waders are ready.”
“Waders?”
“To slog through all the bullshit Division is going to have to start shoveling when the public catches a clue.”
“Trust me, Ms. Cade,” Reynolds drawled, utterly unoffended. “The Kyn have a few more years before they have to face the music. Humans don’t want to believe they’re living next door to werewolves, demons, witches, wizards, or faeries.”
His dismissive tone raised her hackles. With animalistic grace, she rolled to her feet and crowded him, her wolf rising to the forefront. His burnished skin noticeably paled as he jerked back, but stuck between the planter and her, he had no where to go.
“I’ve watched as humans have been forced to face unpleasant truths that mar their perceived reality. It isn’t pretty. So excuse me if I’m a little worried about whether ‘me and mine’ are going to be hunted down and mounted on some wall as a hunter’s latest trophy, while your government scrambles to cover its ass.” The spark of fear skittering across his face pleased her wolf but drew her up short.
She took a quick step back, shaking her head. Scaring humans wasn’t something she did. That was more Warrick’s s
tyle. Which meant that this flash of rage wasn’t hers, but his. Stupid psychic bond.
“Damn it,” she muttered. She pushed her wolf back and reined in the need to stalk closer until Reynolds broke and ran. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”
The SAC studied her carefully. “It’s been a long night.”
She gave a graceless snort. “You have no idea.”
The sound of her name had her spinning around to find Warrick walking toward her, while a tall, lean man in a suit kept stride next to him. Behind them, Sebastian and Ryuu emerged from the club, stopping near the door. Ryuu gave Sebastian a short nod then Sebastian disappeared into the night. Probably off to ensure the situation in the Gardens was being dealt with. Ryuu leaned against the doorjamb of the club’s entrance, watching his alpha’s back.
Warrick and the suit stopped in front of her and Reynolds.
The suit held out his hand. “Victor Osborn, Sector Chief.”
She gave it a brief shake. “Xander Cade, Taliesin Security.” She took in Osborn’s white-streaked brown hair and razor-sharp gaze. “Did Williams finally retire?”
A brief smile cracked the serious lines of Osborn’s face. “Yep, a couple months back. He finally sold his place and headed down south for sunnier weather. Said he wanted an actual chance to enjoy his retirement before the Grim Reaper came to collect his due.”
“Good for him.” Xander genuinely liked Robert Williams, the previous sector chief. For a human, he had been uniquely adept at traversing the relationship maze between Kyn and humans.
“Chief Osborn has a couple of questions for you,” Warrick said, the underlying tension in his voice drawing Xander’s attention.
