Shadowed Flame

by RJ Blain

  “Ryan’s submissive,” Dalton explained.

  I had a feeling the first thing to come to mind wasn’t what Dalton meant, although my wolf was very intrigued by the idea of making Ryan submit. “Ryan’s what?”

  Dalton laughed. “Submissive. If he isn’t suppressing his natural instincts, other Fenerec are typically driven to protect him. Ryan’s unique in that he can force certain dominant instincts, which he uses to his advantage. It’s also the reason he was willing to let us into his home. If he were dominant, he wouldn’t have even considered it without a fight. It’s what makes him a really good peace keeper, too. Packs tend to fall in line if they’re worried about hurting a submissive wolf, and Ryan’s submissive enough it lets him get away with things a dominant simply can’t.”

  My wolf was as confused as I was. “I don’t understand.”

  “You’ll get a better feel for it once you’re ready for a hunt and a dominance contest. Normally, you would have gone on a hunt when you had your first shift, but your circumstances didn’t allow it. That’s not unusual when the ritual is done on the sick or injured, and you were both. Once the weather clears, I’ll take you and Ryan on a proper hunt.”

  Ryan tensed beside me.

  “Eat,” Dalton ordered. “I won’t explain anything else until you do. And Ryan, relax. You couldn’t challenge any one of us, and you know it.”

  I obeyed, and with the first taste of the rich meat in broth partnered with token chunks of potato, my stomach demanded to be filled. Years of eating in polite company kept me from humiliating myself, but my wolf wanted more, and she wanted it now.

  Fortunately, Ryan expected my reaction, and as fast as I cleared a plate, he had a new one ready. My wolf approved of his prompt offerings of food.

  “All right. If you can listen and eat at the same time, I’ll give you both a briefing,” Dalton said, pushing his empty plate away. The other wolves scattered; two of them headed for the sitting room, although I heard one of them head in the direction of the bathroom. He discovered the jacuzzi, and it didn’t take long for the rumble of the jets to start.

  Ryan laughed. “That took longer than I expected.”

  “Your hot water heater isn’t going to survive our visit.” With an amused laugh, Dalton got up and headed to the fridge. “We’re going to eat you out of the house, too. I’ll take you shopping to replenish your supplies after the snow’s cleared.”

  “The Inquisition will comp me,” Ryan replied, shrugging.

  “Only because I’m going to tell them you were justified.”

  Ryan’s scent was tinged with his annoyance, and Dalton had a sweeter undertone to his, which distracted my wolf from our shared hunger. “Please no fighting in the kitchen. You’ll spill something.”

  “Never spill a woman’s dinner. Never, ever spill a bitch’s dinner. This is my advice to you as your friendly local Alpha, Ryan.”

  “Friendly?” Ryan countered in a mutter.

  The sweetness in Dalton’s scent strengthened. “When I want to be.”

  If Dalton was going to prod at Ryan, I’d add my jabs in, too. “What do you expect from a business shark, Ryan?”

  “Shark?” Dalton demanded.

  “Better than bottom feeder, barely.”

  Someone in the sitting room snorted. “She’s got a point, Sinclair.”

  “Watch yourself or be put in your place,” the male warned.

  My wolf’s interest piqued at the challenge in Dalton’s voice. What would Dalton Sinclair do if we challenged him? I had been facing off against men since I’d been little, and it felt no different from the verbal boardroom brawls I’d witnessed over the years.

  “Fenerec posture a lot, don’t they?” I asked Ryan.

  “Whenever possible. It’s a game to the dominants. The Alphas just expect everyone else to do what they want.”

  “That’s rather obnoxious.”

  “You’re telling me.”

  Dalton sighed. “You’re going to teach her bad habits, Ryan.”

  Considering I had a list of behaviors to embrace so I wouldn’t succumb to my desire to act on violent impulses, I already had enough troubles. If my wolf amplified those thoughts, I worried I would finally succumb to them. “What sort of bad habits?”

  “Challenging Alphas. Not wise. Females are rare enough among our kind that an Alpha won’t kill you outright, but until you’re mated, you’re a prime target.”

  Ryan’s growl startled me into staring at him. His eyes were too bright to be natural, and I couldn’t tell if the dim emergency lights gave them the appearance of glowing, or if there was something more to the intensity of his stare.

  “An unmated bitch can even make a submissive male challenge for the right to her,” Dalton explained. “You’re safe from me and the rest of my pack, who are mated already. Ryan’s the only eligible male here—part of why we were sent. Why rock the boat?”

  I was missing something, and I had the feeling it was something important. “Please explain.”

  “Fenerec mate for life, Miss Evans. In a way, you’re fortunate. Fenerec mating season is already over for the year, so our mating instincts are fairly dormant until winter. That said, males and females hunt for their mate year round, although they’ll often wait until the winter rut to finalize a mating bond. Not always, but often. You’ll have a chance to adapt to being a Fenerec before dealing with amorous males seeking your attention.”

  Ryan growled again, and I met his glare with one of my own. “Don’t pick fights in the kitchen.”

  Cocking his head to the side, Dalton said, “Technically, I’m the one picking the fight.”

  “Maybe so, but I have a substantial amount of sway regarding your company’s business interests at the moment, and don’t think I’ve forgotten that, Mr. Sinclair. That’s still my proposal, and I have no intentions of backing off on it just because—” I blinked, and my head went blank at trying to put to words everything that had happened.

  “You became a Fenerec?” Dalton suggested.

  “I take it absolutely no one can find out I can become a wolf, correct?”

  “Correct.”

  “What about my father? Him, too?”

  “Your father’s parents happen to also be Fenerec, so he’s well aware we exist. He might not be enthused over you having undergone the ritual, but I’m sure he can cope with it.”

  I considered the man through narrowed eyes. “How do you know that?”

  “We were briefed by the Inquisition prior to coming here, that’s how. You may not be aware of this, but Pallodia does a great deal of work with Fenerec-owned businesses. Fenerec often use business as a way to indulge predatory skills in a bloodless hunt. Fenerec enjoy business negotiations, especially with one another. Money is an excellent way of keeping score.”

  The growl from Ryan annoyed me into jabbing him with my elbow. “Will you stop that?”

  “He’s being too familiar with you.”

  The silent stare that had worked so well for me in the business world also affected Fenerec, and after several minutes, Ryan shifted nervously on his stool. I kept staring until he voiced a single whine.

  “It seems becoming a Fenerec has made you quite vocal compared to your reputation, but I see you still wield silence as a sword.” At the amusement in Dalton’s voice, I leveled a glare at him, too.

  “I’ve used up my quota of words for the next decade.”

  “Or you’re catching up on them,” Dalton countered.

  “Maybe. Please stop picking a fight with Ryan.”

  “I’m an Alpha. I’m supposed to pick fights with him. I want him in my pack, and unless he challenges me, I can’t initiate anything. Don’t steal my chance to have such a nice submissive for my pack.”

  I stabbed my fork into a chunk of meat, shoved it in my mouth, and chewed on it, waiting for the Fenerec to elaborate.

  “He means because of my position in the Inquisition, I’m protected from subjugation unless I specifically initiate a do
minancy challenge, Matia,” Ryan supplied.

  “Define subjugation for me, please.”

  Ryan sighed. “It’s the process of bringing a Fenerec into a pack, and it’s typically done as a part of a dominancy challenge. Sometimes, Alphas will subjugate a Fenerec if the Fenerec’s Alpha can’t hold onto him or her. In my case, I don’t have an Alpha, so I would be dominated and subjugated at the same time. Most Fenerec prefer to stay with their origin pack.”

  “If an Alpha can’t hold onto their Fenerec, they don’t deserve to be an Alpha,” Dalton muttered.

  With his scent sour with annoyance, Ryan got up, plugged in the coffee maker, and went about brewing a new pot. “There has been a lot of competition to build stronger packs on the east coast. The west coast Fenerec are notably stronger in dominance contests than we are. It’s pack politics. Submissive Fenerec are uncommon, which makes us in high demand. Females are always in high demand. A mated female brings potential puppies to the pack, and an unmated female brings prestige and male candidates to join for a chance to court her.”

  Dalton chuckled. “To make a long story short, Ryan’s like every other male of our species. You’re an eligible female, so he wants to court you. If I take you into my pack, he’ll want to join me to get a chance to have you as his mate.”

  “Don’t you dare,” Ryan snarled.

  “You going to challenge me for her?” Dalton snarled back.

  Dalton’s pack in the sitting room made a point of avoiding looking in the direction of the kitchen. “They’re not going to stop, are they?”

  “Not until you’re mated,” Gavin replied, his voice light with laughter, although he refused to make eye contact with me, Dalton, or Ryan. “Dalton has been after Ryan ever since he came to the New York area several years ago. Ryan’s the Inquisition’s first contact for problems in the city. If Dalton can bring Ryan into our pack, it’ll up our standing substantially. In turn, the Inquisition’s agent will have more support, which would make them happy, we get a submissive, and that’ll make our pack stronger. We’re not like regular wolves. In a lot of ways, our pack’s strength is defined by our weakest member, but because Alphas and dominants exist to protect submissive pack members, we’re made stronger because of it.”

  “I don’t see what that has to do with me.”

  “If Dalton subjugates you, Ryan’ll follow. He wants to court you—hell, he wants to court you bad enough he risked his life to save yours by performing the ritual in a very public place, if my understanding of the situation is correct. You’ve been coming between Dalton and Ryan all night, and we’re taught to listen to those cues. Ryan’s probably more submissive than you are, so you and your wolf are defending him.”

  “You’re talking too much, Gavin,” Dalton complained.

  “I’m just trying to stop the fights before they start. We’re all tired, and we have a job to do. If you want them, try honey first. Better yet, just tell the bitch to drag her male to the bedroom and see if the mating bond sticks. We can go play in the snow for a few hours while they get it out of their system. They’re going to drive us insane if we have to put up with the posturing, and you’ll antagonize Ryan. If you antagonize him enough, he might even try to suppress his submissive tendencies. You don’t really want a fight to the death over a female, do you?”

  My wolf and I both fixated on Gavin’s comment about the bedroom. “Fenerec really decide who they stay with for life in the bedroom?”

  Dalton sighed. “Sometimes a mating bond takes hold without sex, but it’s pretty uncommon.”

  “Well, that explains my grandmother,” I muttered.

  “Pardon?”

  “She’s always sticking condoms in my purse.”

  Dalton choked, Ryan laughed, and the other Fenerec shook their heads.

  “What? If you think that’s bad, the first time I saw Ryan, I objectified him and managed to only get a picture of his stomach and bare chest.” I shrugged and lifted my hands in helpless surrender. “Do you know how difficult it is to get someone to sleep with you when you don’t like talking? I like listening. If I have something to say, I’ll say it. Otherwise, I won’t. Is that difficult to understand or something?”

  Ryan chuckled, and there was a heat in his scent my wolf found very interesting. “It’s true. In the airport, she seemed quite content to listen to me talk. Honestly, I thought you were just trying not to cough.”

  “I’d still like to see your mountain,” I reminded him.

  “So you said.”

  “So, if I were to say I wanted to sleep with him, that doesn’t make me a slut by Fenerec standards?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t make you a slut at all. Males are expected to do the same. It’s normal behavior for us,” Dalton confirmed. “Whether the mother is Fenerec, Fenerec-born, or human, our puppies are usually human and become Fenerec later in life. Fenerec-born puppies have some of their Fenerec heritage, including a heightened interest in sex, especially during the winter.”

  “Expected? I’m expected to sleep with anyone I want? How are you not overrun with babies?”

  The Fenerec fell quiet, and even Ryan stared at Dalton.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  Dalton sighed and shook his head. “No, you didn’t. Unless you purposefully try to have puppies, you won’t. First, Fenerec females aren’t usually fertile until winter, neither are males. Females, Fenerec or otherwise, have to induce male fertility, so there’s no such thing as accidental puppies. Should a bitch become pregnant, she has to avoid transforming to her wolf for the entire pregnancy. After the first month or two, should the female transform, she’ll miscarry. It’s difficult for us to have puppies. Not impossible, but difficult. Fortunately, the Inquisition has taken steps to prevent miscarriages lately. Yellowknife and Seattle have very strong Alphas capable of preventing bitches from transforming. Unfortunately, there’s a very long waiting list to be transferred to one of those packs. Human mothers don’t have nearly as many problems, but there is a higher percentage of miscarriages when the father is a Fenerec. Most women choose to have children while human and become Fenerec after they’ve had children.”

  When Dalton fell silent, I wondered what the man wasn’t telling me.

  Gavin cleared his throat, catching my attention. “Dalton wants to build that sort of pack here on the east coast. Washington’s Alpha pair is capable of helping one female through a pregnancy at a time, and that’s the best we’ve got. They’re good, but some pairs have been waiting decades for a puppy. That’s why he’s been so determined to get Ryan into his pack. A submissive wolf brings out an Alpha’s protective instincts, and our pack doesn’t have a submissive. Our pack doesn’t have any Fenerec females, either—our mates are all human.”

  Ryan groaned and slumped over the kitchen counter, covering his head with his arms. “That’s a dirty tactic, Gavin.”

  With a shrug, Gavin replied, “It’s the truth, though. The east coast Fenerec need a strong pack. One Fenerec bitch here had a puppy last year, Ryan. One, and it was Washington’s pack who pulled it off. That’s it. One. Every other mating failed because we just don’t have strong enough Alphas. Yellowknife and Seattle can’t handle the full burden of our race’s survival. The European packs are no better off. Seattle’s hosting six European bitches, Yellowstone has seven more, and everyone on the other side of the pond is holding their breath, because that’s the entirety of their mated female population.”

  “The entirety of Europe only has thirteen Fenerec women?” I whispered.

  The Fenerec refused to meet my gaze, and Dalton sighed. “The plague hit Europe really hard a while ago. The Inquisition brought a lot of the survivors to the United States. Canada has guardianship of the wizard who figured out a cure to the plague, and we have the witches capable of making it dormant. You’ll probably get it and require immunization, but we’re used to that now.”

  “Plague? What plague?”

  Dalton smiled, and I could tell it was forced by the w
ay his cheek twitched. “One that almost wiped out the entirety of the Fenerec species. We survived, and we’re recovering, and we have the Inquisition to thank for that. Europe was hit the hardest. The woman who came up with the cure lives in Canada, and it took her time to figure out how to teach the witches to cure it. It probably would’ve been easier on the Inquisition if they had let our kind die out. They wouldn’t have to deal with so many problems that way.”

  My wolf growled in my head, and I voiced her discontent. Dalton held his hands up in surrender. “I’m just telling it how it is. We Fenerec aren’t exactly a peaceful species. You’ve seen it first hand. Rogue Fenerec were the ones behind the bombing at La Guardia. Ryan’s been assigned to bring them to justice. It’s your job to help him and prove you’re not a risk to the Inquisition at the same time.”

  My wolf quieted, and in her silence, I heard the promise of death and violence against those who had forced Ryan to turn me into a werewolf.

  Chapter Sixteen

  My wolf thirsted for the hunt, and I should have been bothered our prey was a pack of Fenerec. All she cared about were my memories of the explosion at La Guardia and how close to death I had come.

  While I had no memory of Ryan binding me and my wolf together, she did, and her fury at those who had hurt and killed so many burned bright.

  “When you say we’re to hunt them, does that mean we get to deal with them?” I wanted to growl my eagerness, but to control the urge, I turned my attention to the beef and potatoes in front of me.

  My hunger no longer gnawed at me, although I continued to eat until I couldn’t handle the thought of another bite. Eating gave me a chance to control my wolf’s impulses, including her desire to head for the door and go kill those responsible for the airport’s destruction.

  Dalton drummed his fingers on the counter. “There are two ways the Inquisition deals with rogue Fenerec. They use them or they kill them. While technically Ryan’s a rogue, he’s more of a sanctioned operative. He lives outside of an Inquisition-controlled pack, but he works directly for the Inquisition. While most Fenerec call him a rogue, he’s not one, not really. While you’re a rogue, because you’re Ryan’s rogue, they’ll look the other way. Ryan’s too valuable as an operative to waste, and the Inquisition wouldn’t want to antagonize him. That’s why they want you to partner with him to deal with the rogues. It satisfies the Inquisition’s need to confirm if you’re worth sanctioning.”