It seemed like an eternity until Davis returned, and Rich gave us the signal as he darted back towards us. We huddled behind a blast shield that Ragnar’s contact had gotten us and waited for things to go boom. My heart was thudding with excitement as my team pressed in around me, and a blast showered us with rubble.
I heard shouts from within and rushed toward our new door while sandwiched between Trevor and Davis. I raised my rifle and lamented the fact that I didn’t have the really cool goggle/scope setup that the other guys did. My shifter eyes were more than good enough to see in the dark, but having thermal images overlaid to enhance my vision would have been even better. I shouldered my rifle as we ran in and spread out. The sounds of gunfire peppered the air, and I managed to get one enemy with a head-shot, but the other moved just in time to be hit in the shoulder instead of the heart.
I cursed and dove behind a pile of crates that wouldn’t give me as much cover as I would have liked. I extended my magical senses to ‘see’ where the enemy combatants were without raising my head above my cover. I could feel the other guys spread out around the warehouse just as we planned, but I suddenly realized what Ingrid had been trying to tell us. There was something wrong with the wolves who had taken the pups. I could feel darkness lurking inside each one of them. It was similar to what I had sensed in Afghanistan, but much more intense.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Right now, it didn’t matter what was wrong with them. What mattered was protecting my team and saving these kids. I crouched down to run behind some crates and find cover. I then shouldered my rifle to take a couple shots at an exposed enemy. I got him in the head, but I saw Davis pinned down by another guy off to the left. The rebel was hiding behind boxes of canned vegetables, so I couldn’t get a clear shot at him, but I could lay down some suppressive fire so Davis could move positions. The bad guy kept his head down as I put my rifle on burst and showered the cans with firepower. Davis caught on to what I was doing and circled around the guy who was now hiding blind so he could get a good shot. I saw Davis take him out and looked around to evaluate the situation.
The sound of gunfire petered out, and I extended my senses again. Almost all the bad guys were dead, but I could still feel one to my right. But there was no need to worry, because Trevor had disarmed him and was holding him prisoner. I cautiously lowered my weapon and stood up from behind my temporary cover. “All clear,” I called.
I heard answering responses from around the warehouse as the other guys searched the area and then came back into the center where Trevor was holding his prisoner. “What was your plan?” Trevor growled as he shook the guy.
The prisoner’s teeth rattled as Trevor slammed him down on the ground, but he just bared his teeth in a snarl without speaking. As I got closer, I could feel the same sensation of darkness within this guy and it made me nauseous. It was like an oily sickness that had taken over his mind. “Get away from him,” I warned Trevor. “Can’t you feel that?”
Trevor looked at me in confusion, and that was the second I needed. Before anyone could stop me, I raised my rifle and put a bullet in the guy’s skull.
“What the fuck?” Trevor yelled as he was showered in blood and other gruesome bits of flesh.
“The sickness,” I hissed at him. “Ingrid warned us not to get too close. I could feel it on him.”
Trevor stopped in place, undoubtedly still considering strangling me. “We needed him to tell us if there were others,” he said with a fake semblance of calm.
“Was it worth potentially becoming infected with that dark shit?” I asked with anger shaking my voice. And it was just anger. Definitely not worry. And definitely not concern over a guy that I hardly knew. At least that’s what I tried to tell myself.
I could see that all the guys were looking at me with suspicion in their eyes, and it made my heart sink down into my stomach. “What?” I asked defensively, ready to argue with whatever accusations they threw my way.
Rich and Davis exchanged a glance while Trevor gave me a hard look. “We’ll talk later.
Let’s finish the mission.”
I strode to the back of the warehouse with the guys not far behind me. I extended all of my magical senses to be cautious, but I couldn’t be sure of what laid behind that door. It could be a group of scared kids, or there could be a bad guy hiding in the middle. I didn’t pick up on any of the darkness I had found in the others, but I couldn’t be certain. Not until I actually laid eyes on whoever was inside.
I hoisted my rifle up to my shoulder as the guys got into position around me. The door was chained shut with a rusty padlock, but Rich had managed to find the key somewhere. The chains fell to the floor with a loud clanking sound and we all waited a moment to see if anyone would burst out and attack us.
When there was nothing but silence for a few minutes, Trevor gave the signal to proceed. Rich flung the door open as Trevor and Davis ran through with me only a step behind. Trevor covered the left and Davis covered the right as I ran right down the center. Rich followed behind to cover our six.
There weren’t any adults in the small enclosure at all. What was there made me sick to my stomach. Metal cages were stacked up against the wall, and each one had a young pup inside. Some of the younger ones were whining and crying to be let out, but the older ones watched us with wary eyes.
I lowered my rifle and wrinkled my nose at the smell. Not only had the pups been locked into cages, but they also hadn’t been let outside to relieve themselves.
“Everyone listen up!” I shouted. “We’re here to get you guys back to your families, but we need you to cooperate.”
Instead of calming them down, my words had the opposite effect. Pups were now howling, scratching at the doors, and bouncing around their cages. It was pure pandemonium.
Trevor gave a loud whistle, and a wave of his magic crashed over the room. “Stop!” he shouted.
I think the magic worked more than his words, because most of them froze in place. “They were probably keeping them in wolf form in case they got caught,” Davis muttered.
Mike scowled. “Let’s get them out as quick as possible, I don’t want to be here any longer than we have to.”
I gave him a determined nod because I understood the feeling. There was something horrific about seeing young shifters trapped in the animal forms and forced to lay in their own filth. I doubted they had been given food or water on a regular basis, so we also had to worry about getting their health checked out.
Rich took his stolen set of keys and unlocked the first cage. A little wolf pup who was barely ten pounds leapt out of the cage, and Davis caught her before she could fall to the floor. I took her from Davis and tried not to laugh as she happily licked at my face. Using some wipes that had been left in the room, I cleaned her up as best as I could as the guys worked on getting the other pups out.
It was the last one that shocked me. When Rich opened up the final cage, it wasn’t a wolf pup that came barreling out, it was a bear. My jaw dropped. “I had no idea there were bear shifters.”
“They’re rare,” Trevor grumbled. “And their community is secretive.”
I crouched down as the little guy lumbered in my direction and scooped him up once he was close enough. He wrapped his arms around my neck and his legs around my waist before he rubbed his face affectionately against me.
“Looks like you made a friend,” Davis said with a laugh.
There were about fifteen pups milling around our feet, but Rich was carrying one of the smaller ones in his arms. “Let’s get out of here,” Rich suggested.
Trevor and Davis both picked up their weapons to lead the way, looking as if they were ready to fight their way out. I kept my weapon slung over my back as it didn’t look like my little bear was going to let go anytime soon. Rich and I herded the pups in the right direction as we cautiously made our way to the front of the warehouse. Trevor radioed for Ragnar and his crew to meet us at the rendezvous point for a pickup, just as we had planned.
&nb
sp; Herding the little pups wasn’t as problematic as I thought it would be. They had a natural instinct to follow the leader of the pack – and right now that was Trevor. I held in a chuckle when he stopped in an alley a couple rows down, and two of the pups ran into the back of his legs while the rest crowded around him. When Trevor glanced down at the pack of pups around his legs, I could see the wrinkle in between his brows that told me he was out of his element. Trevor was always so cool and had everything under control, so I found it amusing that he was unsure of how to handle a pack of little pups at his feet.
Mike didn’t hold in his laugh as he walked up to where we were crowded in the small alley. “I see you made some friends, boss.” He reached down to scratch one of the smaller pups on the head when he ran over to greet Mike with his tongue hanging out. The pup Rich was carrying was wagging her tail and trying her best to lick his face. I smiled when I saw the huge grin on Rich’s face as he teased her. It looked like the explosives expert had a soft spot for little pups. Who knew?
My little bear dug his claws in the back of my neck, and I tried not to wince at the pain and instead rubbed his back reassuringly. “We’re gonna get you home, little guy,” I cooed to him. “Just give us a little bit longer.”
“And Sam,” Mike said with a huge grin as he walked up to me. “I never thought I’d see your maternal instincts come to the surface.”
“You’re lucky I have this little guy in my arms,” I said sweetly. “Otherwise, I’d show you some of my instincts.”
Our laughter was interrupted as the van which we were waiting for pulled up in front of us. Ingrid stepped out and the pups excitedly ran to surround her. “Thank you,” she told us with tears in her eyes. “If we had gone in there to fight with tooth and claw as our tradition says we should, so a large number of us would have been gunned down. You saved a lot of lives tonight.”
“Some traditions need to change,” Trevor grumbled. “We won’t always be here.”
Ingrid nodded. “I’ll speak to my mate.” She leaned down and picked up one of the fluffier pups with a grey and white coat. “But for now, we’ll get our young ones back home.”
“And this guy?” I asked softly. The little bear’s breathing had evened out, and his claws were now resting limply against my neck. The poor guy had fallen asleep on me.
Ingrid looked at me sadly. “The bear community within our territory was wiped out by the rebels. I’m afraid Logan’s parents were killed trying to defend them, but we’ve been treating him as one of our own.”
I stroked the coarse fur of my new buddy with sadness weighing down my heart. I knew how painful it was to lose your parents, but this bear cub was too young to go through something like that. Ingrid and Rich loaded up the little pups in the van as one of Ingrid’s pack mates helped secure them in the back. Finally, everyone was loaded up except Logan. Ingrid held out her arms expectantly, but I hesitated to hand him over.
“Logan is close with a number of the other pups,” Ingrid said softly. “We may not be his own kind, but we do love him as if he were.”
I nodded and handed the cub over to Ingrid. Luckily, he stayed asleep for the transfer, because I’m not sure how I would have reacted if he had begged to stay with me. I watched the van as the red taillights disappeared around the corner with a heavy feeling in my heart. Taking out bad guys was one thing. But orphans with sad stories? That was more than I’d signed up for on this mission. I cursed my stupid heart for having feelings as our team spread out into the darkness. I needed to keep my head in the game, there was no room for emotions in there.
Chapter 16
“Come to me, my nebbi abaxse,” a voice murmured to me in the darkness. “Evil is coming…”
I jolted up out of my bed as I came far enough out of my dream to recognize the voice. It looked like my dear grandmother wasn’t merely content to contact me through Matias, she was also using her magic to weasel her way into my dreams.
I pushed away my blanket and sat up on the couch where I had been staying for the last few weeks. I had been living with and going on missions with the other guys for a while now. Austin was trying to pull some strings with the marines to get me reassigned to Camp Allen, which was nearby, but it was a long shot. I’d had the tough talk with him about the possibility that I may not be able to go back to being an active-duty marine.
While that had seemed like a terrible fate before, I was gradually softening to the idea of leaving the marines. The missions I had gone on with the Seaside Wolves were all about saving good people and taking out the bad ones. I was always unsure if my battles in the marines meant anything to the larger cause, but here there was no question. We were doing good. The guys had integrated me into their team, and I felt like an honorary member of the pack. As much as it was a good thing, it was also a dangerous thing.
The darker part of my heart was screaming at me to get out now, before I was too attached to these guys, but the logical part of my brain told me it was a good idea to stay with the Seaside Wolf Pack. I could have a job I loved, a team I could rely on, and the guarantee of a warm bed to come back to after each mission. But these wolves were also a threat in the form of heartbreak waiting to happen.
I pressed a hand to the cool glass of the sliding glass door as I gazed out into the night. I would have loved to shift into my panther form and prowl through the darkness while I worked out my inner turmoil, but the suburban neighborhood where the team’s house was located was not exactly panther-friendly.
I sensed Mike’s unique magical signature coming in my direction before I heard his footsteps approach where I was standing in the kitchen. “Can’t sleep?” he murmured as he headed for the fridge.
“I’m still hyped up after the last mission,” I lied. We had gone down to the Florida Keys to act as backup while Austin and Anna had a secret meeting with one of the lamia. It had been mostly reconnaissance with no actual action, but the stakes had been high. The lamia might claim to be our allies now, but they were unpredictable and arrogant. Anna had walked away with more questions than answers, but she had given me a lot to think about in terms of facing my own past.
Mike gave me a look to show he didn’t believe a word I said as he tossed a water bottle in my direction. “Might as well hydrate since we’re up,” he announced before opening his own bottle. “We have some particularly painful training on the board for tomorrow.”
I glanced over at the clock on the microwave. “You mean in two hours?”
Mike shrugged. “Come sit outside with me,” he suggested. “Listening to the night calms me.”
I nodded and followed him out to the concrete slab that functioned as a patio. Our house was nowhere near as fancy as the main pack house, but it was still more comfortable than anywhere else I’d ever lived. Mike and I settled in the wooden patio furniture the guys had built and I closed my eyes to breath in the cool night air. Mike was right, this was relaxing.
We sat in silence for a few minutes and I pushed back in my chair so I could look up at the stars. The marines had tried to teach us enough to be able to identify general directions by looking up at the sky, but I was far from an astronomer.
“See that one over there?” Mike asked as his voice broke the silence. “That’s not a star, it’s actually Venus.”
“Cool,” I said as I looked where he was pointing.
“It’s going to fade away right before dawn,” Mike said quietly. “But it’s up to you what it takes with it.”
I looked at him in surprise, and he gave me a sheepish shrug. “It’s a strategy to sleep better. Pin all of your doubt and fear on a star and as it disappears into the new day, it takes your nightmares with it.”
“I like it,” I admitted.
Mike shot me a sly look. “It works better if you confess your worries to someone else.”
I laughed but thought about his words as I looked up at the sky. “I had a talk with Anna on our way back to Seaside.”
Mike make a noise to show he was li
stening, but I avoided looking in his direction. Staring up at the stars gave me time to organize my thoughts and made me less self-conscious about sharing them.
“I like the direction that Anna and Austin are taking the pack,” I said quietly. “She’s determined to make the world a better place.”
Mike chuckled. “Things have definitely been more interesting since Anna joined the pack. But I agree with you, I wouldn’t fight for Austin if I didn’t believe in his cause.”
“The marines would never accept me if they knew what I really was,” I said out loud, more to myself than to him. “But here…. it’s different.”
Mike reached out to grab my hand. “With us, you don’t have to hide any part of yourself. Your panther side isn’t a guilty secret; it’s an asset. We need your skills to make our team stronger.”
Mike’s hand was warm in mine, and I could feel the callouses that showed he was a hard-worker. “I think you just put into words something that I’ve been struggling with,” I told him. “I’m hesitant to dive in here and just leave everything else behind.”
Mike rubbed his thumb against my skin. “You don’t trust us completely - you’re worried we’ll let you drown in the deep end.”
“I’m proud of you for not smirking at all,” I said with a grin. “You weren’t even thinking about a ‘cat in water’ joke.”
“Nah,” Mike drawled. “My panther research told me that jaguars are powerful swimmers. They’re deadly predators in water; I watched a crazy video of a jaguar crushing an alligator’s skull and eating it for lunch.”
“I never told you I was a jaguar,” I pointed out. “And it was probably a caiman, not an alligator.”
Mike shrugged. “You’re from South America, so I assumed. The other possibility would be a leopard, correct?”
“Yeah,” I said with a light laugh. “You really did your homework.”
I shivered as a sharp gust of wind went right through the sleep shirt I was wearing. “C’mere,” Mike murmured as he tugged on my hand.
Finding Buried Secrets: A Seaside Wolf Pack Novel Page 13
