by Jami Gray
Raine reached out and let Xander pull her upright. Then she retrieved the small phone from her pocket and handed it over. “I really don’t think you’ll be able to get past Rachel.”
Xander punched in a number. “Don’t you know if you can’t get through a wall, you might as well go around it?”
“It’s more fun to go through.”
Raine’s quip left Xander grinning. The phone rang three times before it was picked up. “Don’t tell me you have more bodies, Xander,” Ryuu said in lieu of a greeting.
“I wouldn’t want you to get bored,” Xander shot back.
A low curse then, “Seriously?”
“Actually, no.” Xander let the humor fade from her voice. “I need you to answer a question for me.”
“Okay.”
“Who was Warrick meeting with this morning?”
Ryuu picked up on the tension in her question. “A Dan Vicks. Why?”
“Is he human or Kyn?”
“Kyn.” Ryuu jumped on her quick inhale and asked sharply, “Why?”
Xander flicked a glance at Raine, knowing her next question would lead the woman in front of her to demand further explanations, but she had to make sure Warrick was safe. “Is he a witch?”
“No, wolf. A maverick actually.” There was an ominous silence and she knew Ryuu was following along. “You think he has some tie with last night?”
“I don’t know.” In front of her, Raine shifted her weight, anticipation rising and Xander knew she was picking up both sides of the conversation.
“What do you know?” he snapped. “Sebastian should be with him. I made him swear to take one of us into the meeting.”
“He did. According to Rachel, Sebastian’s with him.”
“Xander, stop screwing around and tell me what happened.”
As a Second, Ryuu’s need to protect his alpha would override everything, including his friendship with her. “Stop snarling at me,” she hissed. “I don’t know what happened. All I know is something went down with him and now I can’t get him to answer me.”
“Oh, for the love of—” She heard Ryuu blow out a breath as if reaching for his patience. “You scared the shit out of me because he decided he wanted a little privacy?”
Xander pulled her phone away from her ear and looked at it, unwilling to believe Ryuu had just blown her off. She put it back to her ear as his casual dismissal lit her temper. “Listen up, you arrogant ass,” she growled. “You ever speak to me like that again and I swear to all the gods I will turn your hide into a fur rug. This has nothing to do with my relationship with my mate. Something or someone just threw our alpha into a killing temper. After last night’s visitors, I refuse to take chances with his safety. So if you don’t want to meet me in the Challenger’s Circle, you’ll get your ass over to Taliesin and find out what the hell is going on.”
She hung up before Ryuu could answer. She clenched her phone, fighting the urge to throw it across the room. What in the hell was wrong with everyone? Warrick was trying to go all “fang and fur” in the middle of a business meeting, Ryuu was treating her as if she was some half-brained idiot, and if she had to hunt down one more deranged wolf, she was going to prove just how bitchy a female wolf could get.
“Maybe it’s a full moon,” Raine said.
Xander spun around, hearing the laughter under the words. “Maybe they need to be neutered,” she snapped.
“You could do that,” Raine offered dryly. “But then you might regret it later.”
Xander’s laugh escaped before she could stop it. “Yeah, I might.” She tucked her phone in a pocket. “We might as well check out the rest of this place.” She moved down the hall.
“Xander,” Raine called, stopping her. “You want to tell me who your visitors were last night?”
Xander hunched her shoulders and turned back to her friend. If she shared with Raine, Warrick would be furious. But instincts told her they were running out of time. Too much was happening on too many fronts. Whether Warrick wanted to admit it or not, they needed answers. Since she couldn’t get him to go to Cheveyo to find out who would have the power to interfere with a shifter’s ability to change, then she would go around him. He could get as furious with her as he wanted, but when all was said and done, protection of her pack and her alpha was primary. If he was her mate, then he would have to deal with her need to protect him as much as he needed to protect her.
Her decision didn’t stop the butterflies of worry from scraping against her heart. When Warrick found out—there was no if in this equation—the emotional fallout could really hurt. She reached out to her wolf, seeking reassurance. Determination and acceptance answered.
“Xander?” Raine prompted.
“Two wolves and a wizard stopped by last night.” She leaned against the hallway wall, her arms crossed over her chest. “They were under the assumption that Warrick would be home alone.”
Raine frowned. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but if you plan to take out an alpha, don’t you just slap them with a white glove or something?”
Her question loosened the tension in Xander’s stomach. “If a wolf wants to challenge for the alpha position, he or she has to move up the ranks.”
“Which means?”
“You have to fight your way up a chain of dominance. If you can’t defeat an alpha’s Third or Second, there’s no way you’ll ever be top dog.”
“So besides the fact they brought along a wizard buddy, this wasn’t a challenge.”
Xander shook her head.
“Assassination attempt?” Raine ventured.
“Maybe,” Xander answered then she plunged in. “The body we had you look at last night—” Dear gods, had it only been last night?
“The one with the magic full of holes.”
Xander nodded. “That’s the third wolf I’ve had to hunt down in the last two weeks.”
Raine raised an eyebrow. “Is that normal?”
“Hell no,” Xander said. “If it was, there’s no way I could hold a job and be a Wraith. There just wouldn’t be time.”
“So it’s a relatively new development?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” Xander pushed off the wall and paced a few steps back and forth.
“What was the common factor?” Raine asked.
“All three were Bitten wolves.”
“Is that the only thing tying them together?”
“No,” Xander said. “The Bitten can only change during the full moon, and they can only change into full-wolf form. The ones I tracked, they were this weird mixture of human and wolf. It’s not natural.”
Raine held up a hand. “Hold on. I’ve seen some of you running around in wolf-man form.”
“Warrior form,” Xander corrected. “Half human, half wolf. Only Born can obtain that.”
“So someone’s screwing with the Lycan House?” Raine paused. “The wizard? Vidis is worried he’s one of Cheveyo’s.”
Xander winced and Raine gave a soft curse. This was why Xander wanted Warrick to share with Raine. In all the years she’d worked with Raine, she noticed her friend never failed to be able to put together a fairly solid picture of any given situation, even if there were missing pieces.
“Damn it, Xander.” Raine spun away and stalked to the living room.
Xander followed until she stood in the little entryway. “Don’t damn it me, Raine. If it had been my choice, I would’ve dragged your ass over to the house last night.”
Raine turned and glared at her. “Vidis wouldn’t let you,” she guessed shrewdly.
“You were choice number two, Cheveyo was choice number one. He outright refused both.”
“What happens when he realizes you told me?” Raine asked.
Xander shrugged, forcing her pulse to hold steady and hide her uncertainty. “He’s going to rip me a new one.”
“Is that all?”
Xander grimaced. “I think that’ll be more than enough, thanks.”
Raine stared at her, her
gaze steady and unblinking. Xander’s breath caught and held, but she refused to look away. Finally, Raine blinked and started muttering under her breath. She began pacing back and forth through the small living room. “I’ll have Gavin check into the wizard.”
“I don’t have a name,” she paused, thinking, “or a body at this point.”
“Won’t need it,” Raine said. “Gavin’s great with ferreting out secrets.”
“And Cheveyo?”
Raine stopped in front of Xander. “Maybe we can wait until we see what Gavin uncovers before we drag Cheveyo into this.” She waved her hand in the direction of the hall. “Let’s go check out the bedroom.”
Xander led the way down the hall and into the bedroom that encompassed the back end of the trailer. “Thing is, I don’t think we’re going to get a choice.”
She stepped into the room and moved to the side, letting Raine in. Together, they began to search the bedroom.
“What do you mean?” Raine rifled through the nightstand tucked on the far side of the bed.
“Unless you know enough about magic to tell me how someone can alter a wolf’s change, Cheveyo’s the only one I can think of who might have the answer,” Xander explained.
Raine stopped and faced Xander across the bed. “Do you think Cheveyo’s behind this?” Her question was quiet, dangerous.
“Honestly? No.” Xander knelt on the floor, running her hands under the mattress. Nothing.
“But Vidis does,” Raine said.
Xander shook her head. “Not really.” She got back to her feet and put her hands on her hips, looking around the room. “Warrick has to put the pack’s safety before everything else, so it means he’s naturally paranoid.”
She dragged in a deep breath, sorting scents. Again, she found the same thing in the bedroom as she had in the rest of the trailer.
“Anything?” Raine asked when Xander opened her eyes.
“Yeah, there are blank spots in here, too.”
“Maybe a concealing spell, which means someone’s already been through here.” Raine sighed. “They’re good. There’s nothing here that shouldn’t be.”
“Except for that nonexistent scent,” Xander muttered.
“Guess we’re done then,” Raine said. They headed out of the trailer, Raine locking the door behind them.
Xander gave a little wave at the flutter of curtains from Mrs. Peterson’s trailer.
“You heading back to Taliesin?” Raine stood next to her as she swung her leg over her bike.
“Yep,” Xander answered. “Besides making sure Warrick hasn’t eaten someone for a mid-morning snack, I need to find out if he knows anything about removing scents.”
Raine nodded. “Gavin and I will do what we can, but I’m going to have to go to Cheveyo,” she warned. “Probably sooner rather than later.”
Xander settled the helmet on her head. “I know.”
Raine met her eyes. “I’ll give you as much of a head’s up as I can before Cheveyo faces him down.”
“Appreciate it,” Xander said.
Raine shook her head. “I hate politics.”
Xander laughed as Raine headed toward her SUV. Before Xander could start her Ducati, her phone rang. Using the Bluetooth in her helmet, she answered.
Raine stopped and turned.
“Xander?” came Zeke’s voice through the helmet’s speakers.
“Hey, Zeke. What’s up?”
“Are you coming into the office any time soon?”
“Yeah, I’m on my way over now.” Tension crawled up her spine. Zeke’s voice sounded strained. “What’s wrong?”
“I think I found a connection between the three Bitten,” he answered.
“What is it?”
“The thing is, I’m not sure it’s real.”
“Why?”
“It doesn’t make sense.” She could hear the worry in Zeke’s voice. “I’m going to check something out, but it shouldn’t take me too long.”
Apprehension curled in her stomach. “Zeke, don’t go poking into something without back up.”
He huffed out a laugh. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I shouldn’t have to leave the offices. Do you have time to meet later this afternoon?”
“Sure, just let Rachel know when you need me. I’m heading to Warrick’s office now. Ryuu should be there soon as well if you need him.”
“Gee thanks, mom,” Zeke drawled. “I’ll be fine. See you later.”
“Later.”
Raine walked over. “Everything okay?”
“We may have a break.” She studied Raine. “Before we headed out to Arizona, Taliesin’s IT Investigations department was looking into a couple of online chat rooms. A month ago, they found a conversation thread centered around a possible cure to a werewolf’s bite.”
Raine’s eyes narrowed and her face went carefully blank. “Who was in the chat room?”
“Bitten wolves and possibly some humans.”
Raine’s hands curled into fists. “Kyn experiments.” Her jaw tightened. “Is Talbot involved?”
“I don’t know,” Xander answered. “The conversation was purely hypothetical. Then the members began dropping offline.”
Raine turned away, her back rigid. “If humans are running the experiment, chances are Jonah Talbot is involved somewhere.”
Xander understood Raine’s anger. Jonah’s father had used Raine as his own personal guinea pig, and when a top scientist in Jonah’s company had injected her lover, Gavin, with some strange drug, Raine had taken violent offense. Unfortunately, those experiences tended to color Raine’s perceptions.
“Raine.” Xander waited until Raine turned back to face her. “The problem is we don’t know if the one behind this is human or Kyn.”
Raine’s snarl was impressive, but Xander ran with a much more intimidating crowd. “No sane Kyn would sell out another to the humans.”
“Don’t be too sure,” Xander said.
“For gods’ sake, Xander—”
“Once I would have agreed,” Xander cut in. “But as someone recently pointed out to me, the Bitten aren’t really Kyn. They’re humans who’ve been torn out of their lives and forced to live in a world that they always thought was some fairy tale. They’ve been turned into monsters. What do you think they would give to get their humanity back?”
Raine didn’t answer but stalked back to her car.
Xander sat there, watching her friend tear out of the driveway. Sighing, she went to turn on the engine when she felt a give in the bond. Her hand stilled and she held her breath. Inside, she followed her wolf down the bond. Before they could hit the wall Warrick had erected, they were met with his wolf. He stood before them, head and tail down.
Xander could feel Warrick’s emotions. The chaotic blend of confusion, anger, hurt and, over it all, worry. The tentative brush of his wolf under hand seared through her, the silent apology her alpha was sending her unmistakable.
Relief left her smiling. Emotionally, she dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her wolf crowded close, brushing along her mate while Xander buried her face in his ruff, letting him feel her acceptance of his apology.
His reaction to whatever had happened in his office hadn’t been a rejection, but a misguided attempt to protect her. Changing his instinctual reactions wouldn’t happen over night.
She tightened her arms briefly before letting him go. She left the two wolves curled up together as she came back to the real world. Finally starting her bike, she tried not to dwell on what his reaction would be when he realized what she had done to protect him.
Chapter Sixteen
Xander was grateful to make it to her office without running into anyone. Zeke left a message he would be available to meet after three. In the middle of listening to Rachel’s voice inform her that her presence was required in the large conference room at one, a sharp knock sounded on her door.
“Come in,” she called, cutting off the recorded voicemail.
The door
swung open and Ryuu’s wave of suppressed aggression sent Xander’s wolf rushing to the surface. She forced herself not to jump to her feet. Instead, she took her time standing up, never taking her gaze off the very real threat hovering in front of her desk.
Without dropping his gaze, he swung the door shut. He stood behind one of the padded chairs facing her desk and gripped the back, the padding denting under his nails. There was no missing the amber tint to Ryuu’s normally dark eyes, or the wolf in his voice. “You hung up on me.”
“You were being an asshole,” she gritted out.
With an almost casual movement, Ryuu threw the chair into the wall. Xander didn’t even flinch as wood cracked against drywall. Instead, she rocked forward on her feet, the muscles in her thighs curling in preparation of a leap. She couldn’t let her human skin slip or the lethal nails of her wolf slide out. This wasn’t a fight to the death. Her earlier action caused Ryuu to question who was more dominant—his alpha’s mate or him.
When Ryuu took a step forward, it looked like they were going to figure out the answer. She rolled to the balls of her feet, shifting her balance forward in anticipation. The office was small, but she was strong enough to send him back through the door and to the floor of the hall, if need be.
His muscles curled and bunched under his T-shirt.
Her focus narrowed as she waited.
“Give it your best shot,” he snarled.
She was airborne before his last word hit the quivering air between them. She cleared the desk and slammed solidly into his chest, sending them both crashing through the door into the hallway.
Ryuu wasn’t Second for nothing. He got his feet into her stomach and his hands wrapped in her shirt, sending her over his head. As he released his grip, she continued the roll until she got her feet under her, her hands pressed against the floor. Keeping the momentum, she spun out with her leg, getting a solid hit to Ryuu’s shoulder as he pushed himself up.
In the narrow confines of the hallway, her kick knocked him back into the wall. He stumbled, but didn’t go down. So she continued her spin, arm set for a sharp left hook. Before she could connect, Ryuu’s hands came up. The sharp slap of flesh resounded through the hall as he blocked her punch and sent her face first into the wall. Even with her arm numb from his hit, she got both hands between her chest and the drywall as he came in tight behind her, wrapping his arms around her.
