by Brenda Trim
During her years of research, Millie had looked into every story out there. She’d been to the rain forest as she hunted for panthers that reportedly turned into men and women. She’d been to Ireland seeking pixies in the hills.
Bigfoot sightings? She’d spoken to everyone that had ever said they’d spotted one. The mermaid myths were her favorite to study. It most often took her to tropical locations where she could enjoy a pina colada while she looked for a specimen.
During her travels she had come across many shamans that had informed her mundane human medications would not work on a true supernatural. It was sometime after being told for the tenth time that she asked for a homeopathic remedy to calm someone and mixed it with tranquilizers, both for people and animals.
When she first met Hayden she had immediately been drawn to him. She had never really dated anyone seriously. Career and work came first. She wasn’t that old, despite what her mother told her. Thirty-six was still young enough to find a man to settle down with.
Besides, she hadn’t met anyone that made her want more than a temporary fling. For the longest time she wondered if what was special about her was the fact that she couldn’t connect with another human being. It took her a decade to come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t like the other women she worked with. There wasn’t a romantic or maternal bone in her body.
Hayden turned everything she believed about herself on its head. He was nothing she expected to encounter. He had more muscles than a wrestling team and a smile that melted her panties. Her underwear had never so much as heated a degree before she encountered him. It took more effort to get aroused than she wanted to expend most days.
Merely being around Hayden made her want to rip his clothes off and climb him like a mountain. It was his energy. It rolled off him in waves and drew her in. That phenomenon alone convinced her that he was a shifter and not just someone who had seen something they couldn’t explain.
That day at lunch she had been forced to change plans in an instant. She could have spent hours asking him about supernaturals, but she wanted more from him and didn’t want to risk him taking off.
Seduction didn’t come easy to her. Put a microscope in front of her and she could tell you everything you needed to know about any cell you wanted, but to say something that would lure a guy into a trap was beyond her abilities. Yet, that’s exactly what she’d done.
Dismissing her wayward thoughts, Millie focused on the electrodes measuring his heart rate to ensure he wasn’t completely awake. In the seconds before the darts took over Hayden had managed to destroy a van and injure five soldiers.
No way was she going to get caught with him at full strength. It might turn her on knowing he could likely tear a car apart with his bare hands, but she didn’t want to bear the brunt of it.
“This won’t hurt if you give me what I want.” Her heart skipped several beats at the idea of inserting the probes into his body and sending currents through them. She preferred it if he cooperated with her.
“Fuck you.” The cords in Hayden’s neck stood out as he cursed at her. His short brown hair was sweaty, and limp compared to when she had first met him at the restaurant. And his brown eyes now blazed black. The color change had to be tied to his emotions.
She forced a smile to cross her mouth. His stunning amber eyes lowered and stuck on her red lips. She’d worn the color in hopes he would like it. From the corner of her eye, she noted the tent forming in his sweats. Apparently, he really liked it.
A growl left his throat as he started moving and trying to pull his arms free or bust the metal holding his legs. Her heart was racing as she turned and lifted the pre-filled syringe. He’d been given more tranqs than a hospital used in a week and she had no idea if it would cause irreparable damage.
He won’t kiss you if he gets free, Millie. He’ll tear your head off. It took another reminder before she removed the cap and inserted the needle into the IV buried in his arm. Thank God it was still buried in his skin.
A second later he stopped rattling the restraints and focused on her again. His nostrils flared for the hundredth time. “How heightened is your sense of smell? Can you detect the ingredients in that injection?”
He snarled at her, revealing a larger than normal canine tooth. It sent a shiver of doubt through her. She knew she was playing with fire, but there was no going back now.
“I need you to cooperate with me Hayden. It will make this process far easier. Te lo promento.”
The fine lines around his mouth and eyes disappeared and his lids slid closed. She assumed she had given him too much medication and was about to have the guards return him to his cell when he spoke to her. “I will never cooperate with you. I’ve been warned what your kind will do to me.”
His voice was deep and rough and made her core clench in need. This was getting ridiculous. “What precisely do you think I will do to you?” Take you for the ride of your life? Ave Maria, yes please!
Hayden opened his eyes and Millie gasped when she saw his irises were glowing. She ran a finger down the side of his face before realizing how close she had gotten. Why did he distract to such a degree that she nearly forgot her own name? Electricity arched between them taking her train of thought with it.
“Nothing I want to be part of,” he informed her. “If you want to change sides we can talk. I assure you I will make it worth your while.”
Millie held her hand out to her assistant Sarah, while she battled her body’s reaction to this guy. She wouldn’t give in to him or to her unruly desire. “Electrodes.”
Sarah slapped the needles that were attached to cords into Millie’s palm a second later. Millie grabbed the alcohol and ran it over the skin above his left pectoral. Hayden ran hotter than a regular person. That was the second thing she noticed after seeing his strength in action.
After the area was cleaned of bacteria, Millie removed the plastic covering the sharp tip and shoved it into Hayden’s muscle. He jerked and pursed his mouth but otherwise didn’t move.
Once all of the needles had been inserted, she plugged the wires into the console that delivered the shocks. This guy had been abnormal from the beginning, so she selected a voltage twice the amount she would usually give.
It would have killed anyone else, but Hayden only grunted in response. She turned it up and earned another growl. The next increase got her a snarl and spit flying from his mouth. The fourth increase made his skin ripple.
“Did you see that?” Sarah blurted with excitement, lacing her tone.
Millie turned to her and tried hard not to snarl like Hayden had done. “I did.” Shifting back to the console, she delivered a dozen more shocks to his system, but he never once shifted forms.
His skin rippled and he grunted and groaned and nothing more happened. Yanking the devices from his body, she swiped alcohol over the wounds and bandaged them. “Prep for an MRI. I want to see what’s going on inside his brain and body.”
He seemed subdued after that torture and Millie doubted that he had the energy to fight his way free, but she wasn’t taking any chances and gave him another dose of the sedative.
She and Sarah wheeled him into the machine. When she was leaving Hayden brushed a finger along the back of her hand when she got too close. She yelped as if he’d struck her and jumped out of range.
His chuckle followed her into the booth where she started the scans. The screen flickered several times, making her wonder where the interference was coming from. It blurred all the images and frustrated her.
By the time she pulled him from the machine she was ready to hit something. It was as if he was ensuring she wasn’t able to get information from him. We’ll see about that. She never backed down from a challenge.
Millie smiled down at Hayden. “Prep for a sternotomy. I want a sample before he’s taken back to his cell.”
Hayden’s eyes widened in what was undoubtedly shock. “You’re going to cut into my chest?”
Millie hated the twin
ge his question invoked. It was wrong to cut into him and retrieve a sample of his heart. Her boss had already sent over a list of his demands and she wasn’t going to be able to deliver any of them. There was no way she would return to him empty handed. He’s an animal, Millie. A creature to study.
She couldn’t look into his eyes any more. His gaze reached into her soul and examined it like she was under the microscope. Turning to prepare another sedative, Millie clamped down on the bile surging up her throat. There was no reason to be sick to her stomach.
“I am taking what we need to protect our country. Times have gotten dangerous or do you not watch the news?”
“You don’t know the meaning of danger, Millie. I could show you something that will make you cringe and run away screaming. And guess what? You’ve taken one of the main beings protecting ignorant humans from certain death.” Hayden’s words were like gunshots fired into her chest. She jerked with each one.
Millie lifted the end of the IV tubing and injected another dose of the cocktail. Hayden kept his gaze on her which only made her feel worse. He was the ticket to her greatness. Millie knew it with every cell in her body. It was the only thing she didn’t doubt.
She was meant to meet him. He was the way she was finally going to earn her mother’s praise and approval. Amidst all the nausea threatening to make her lose her lunch, that certainty kept her moving forward.
Hayden’s eyes closed and his breathing slowed. She needed a dose of that at the moment. Her heart was beating so hard it was bruised from hitting her ribcage. And she was sweating from head to toe.
Millie removed the sponge from the container and cleaned his skin before she made a small incision. Sarah approached from the other side and moved the ultrasound wand over the area. For several seconds Millie was lost in watching Hayden’s heart beat steadily. The muscle was strong and healthy. And it looked like any other organ she’d viewed.
Selecting the eighteen gauge from the tray, she inserted it between his fourth and fifth rib then through the pericardial sac to collect her sample. She wasn’t sure how much more this was going to tell them. They already had his blood.
Millie’s phone beeped right as she was releasing the biopsy into the jar. Removing her gloves, she tapped the screen to see a message from one of her contacts.
“Your friends are looking for you, Hayden. Perhaps one of them will cooperate.”
Hayden grunted as the guards pushed his gurney away. “Not likely.”
Millie followed them with skin glue and a large bandage. She hadn’t treated her incision yet and almost tore them a new one. After what he’d done a couple hours ago, she didn’t blame them for wanting him dealt with while he was heavily drugged.
They paused outside his cell and Millie sealed the wound then covered it. She watched as Hayden was picked up by his shoulders then dumped on the floor next to his bed.
Millie was in motion before she knew it. The only reason she wasn’t kneeling next to Hayden and picking him up was because her right shoulder slammed into the bars and sent her stumbling backwards.
“You alright, Doc?” Stan asked as they closed the door behind them.
She waved them away. “I’m fine.”
“You’re right, she is an Ice Queen,” Darrel told Stan when they turned the corner. They weren’t the brightest in her unit.
Shaking her head, she closed the distance to the bars and wrapped her hands around them. “If you come closer, I can reapply the bandage. They busted your incision open.”
It took two tries for Hayden to climb to his feet. Millie could see how much that irritated the guy. His eyes heated as they scanned her from head to toe. Stopping so close, Millie had to remind herself there were bars between them, Hayden closed his hands over hers.
Electricity zapped her when they touched. To her surprise, he didn’t squeeze her like she would have if their roles had been reversed. She lowered her gaze and noticed the wound was open again. She’d dropped the glue and when she stepped back to grab it, he surprised her by cupping her cheek.
His hand engulfed her face and her eyes fluttered closed. Millie instantly regretted caving into the warmth he showed her. Taking a step back, she lifted her chin in the air. “Trying to seduce me won’t work. I have no doubt you heard I’m an Ice Queen. You will give us what we want whether you want to or not.” With that she turned and walked away.
Hayden’s voice made her miss a step. “And I will have you beneath me before the next moon.”
Izzy placed a hand on her dad’s arm. “Let me ask the questions. No one will tell you four anything. Your expressions scream ‘I eat children for breakfast.’”
Her dad laughed and shook his head at her but stopped pushing people out of the way so he could reach the bar. “I can always make him tell me the truth.”
Izzy smacked his shoulder. “Mom would kick your butt if she heard you. There is no reason to mess with his mind when he can just tell me what we want to know.”
Her Uncle Bhric stepped up and put a hand on her dad’s shoulder. “Give her a chance. There is no danger to her here. We will no’ be far from her.”
Her dad sighed and nodded. “Shite. Alright. You can ask him if he was here last night.”
Izzy stopped his diatribe as she squeezed his arm then let it go. “I got it, dad. I’ll be right back. Why don’t you four stop scaring everyone and go order a beer.” She was walking away before her dad responded.
Her mom was right. She was a lot like her dad. That was perfect with her. He was the best male she knew. He was the example against which she would always judge anyone interested in her. And, he was the reason she hadn’t given up and eschewed males entirely.
She slipped between the people standing around talking and skirted the pool tables. The place was far more crowded than she expected based on the number of cars in the parking lot. She hoped that meant they’d taken a car there to avoid drinking and driving. Her Uncle Orlando told her plenty of stories about humans killing others because they’d driven intoxicated.
The bartender smiled at her as he wiped the counter in front of her. “You’re a little young to be in here, aren’t you?”
She tilted her head and allowed one corner of her mouth to lift like Aunt Suvi and Aunt Breslin taught her. “I’m old enough.”
“I’m going to need to see some ID before I serve you.”
Izzy resisted the urge to push him with her ability to manipulate human minds. Several of her aunts were born human. She would never disrespect them to that degree. Pulling her wallet out, she showed him the ID. It said she turned twenty-one last week, so she was good.
He scanned it then nodded. “What would you like?”
“I’ll take your best scotch. Neat, please. Can you tell me if you saw a tall guy with brown hair and amber eyes here last night?”
He chuckled as he grabbed the McCallan. “That doesn’t narrow it down. He have a name?”
Izzy forced a giggle, and it came out strangled. “Yeah, he does. His sleeve of animal tattoos might have stood out. And then there is the fact that he was with a Hispanic woman. She’s beautiful with long black hair.”
The bartender’s head snapped up and he poured some Scotch on the counter before he caught himself. “Uh. I’m not certain.” He cleared his throat and set the drink down in front of her. “It’s on the house. I’ll be back to check on you in a few.”
Izzy watched him walk away and picked up her drink then took it to her dad. “Thought you could use this,” she said as she gave him the glass. “That was a bust, but the bartender seemed suspicious.”
Her dad bobbed his head and sipped the alcohol as he kept his gaze on the bartender. “His thoughts are all over the place. He definitely saw Hayden in here, but there’s nothing about when he left or the woman.”
“I’d say he definitely met foul play,” Evzen interjected. “And I suspect the archdemons might have discovered how to cover their scent.”
Bhric shook his head. “There’s no
way to mask their power. It leaves a residue that taints the surroundings. That’s how we have these hot spots for human crime that eventually become doors from the Underworld.”
“Och, I agree,” her dad said as he finished his drink. “Looks like we need to retrace his movements and see if it gives us any clues. We can have the alpha run patrols looking for demonic activity.”
“And I’ll post on TRex asking for reports on Sterling’s last whereabouts,” Killian added.
Hayden’s disappearance was far bigger than any of them realized. Izzy would let them know, but she hadn’t trusted her gut since her encounter with Troy, so she kept her mouth shut and tried to connect with the Goddess.
Usually when she tried this she was engulfed with warmth and reassurance. Now there was nothing inside. That’s all she ever felt any more. Empty and vacant.
Chapter 4
“What can I do for you, Blaine?” King Angus’s voice echoed throughout the two-story throne room and quieted all the chatter. The King and Queen were on the dais where the throne sat. They rarely used the formal furniture except when they held court once a week.
Blaine swallowed and fought against pulling on his collar. He had never taken an investigation upon himself, but he couldn’t see Isis crying one more day. The witch and her sister had remained in the castle after her son was arrested for killing a dragon in his training class.
Isis and Braeden, her mate, had insisted for almost two years that he was innocent and would shout it to the heavens every chance they got. Maahes had taken to switching guard duty when they were on the West parapet. The sisters spent most of their time allowing their kids to play in the gardens closest to the blacksmith’s shop and when you were on rounds there, they were outside bitching about how Angus had let them down and was tormenting Donovan unnecessarily.
“I, uh, would like to investigate Troy’s death, Sire.” Blaine was certain he needed to follow this path. He’d been thinking it over for weeks now and was tired of being a coward. No one wanted to question the King or make it seem like he hadn’t done everything he could in any given situation, but he couldn’t remain quiet any more.
