Howling for My Baby

by Beverly Rae

  “Skeller, don’t forget. I’m faking the whole out-to-kill-a-shifter thing. Quit acting like I’m actually going to shoot something.” She scowled a warning at him.

  “You betcha we are.” He cackled. “I had silver bullets made special for this night—the night when my daughter becomes the next Skeller hunter. See? I even had them engraved with your initials.” Holding the steering wheel with one hand, he pinched a bullet out of his shirt pocket and handed it to her. She studied the initials S. K. S. in the shiny metal and her heart sank. “Fancy, huh?”

  Perfect. Frickin’ perfect. “I’m thinkin’ it’s a pitiful waste of money, Skeller, since I have no intention of using them.” She saw the hurt in his eyes. “But I appreciate the thought.” Nonetheless, he could keep on playing the game, but she wouldn’t play along with him. He wouldn’t be able to coerce her into anything this time. This time she wouldn’t be half-blitzed and in pain. She glanced at her father and wondered how clueless he actually was. With a soft groan, she returned to gazing out the window. She’d been doing a lot more groaning lately.

  Where was Jason anyway? She hadn’t seen him in nearly two days, since he’d stormed out of her apartment. When would he return? Would he return? She was his mate, right? Goodness knows he’d drilled that into her. And if she was, why didn’t he want to stay with her? When he did come back, would she have to tell him she’d gone on a hunt? Or worse, confess to shooting a shifter?

  No, she wouldn’t kill to make her father happy. So unless she accidentally pulled the trigger and got extremely lucky—or unlucky, in her opinion—she wouldn’t have anyone’s blood on her hands. Nope. She’d put in her time on the hunt, pretend to be all butch and out for blood, then be done with the whole hunter scene forever.

  They drove on, past retail sections and into a seedier side of the city. With the sun drifting lower on the horizon, they pulled up to a deserted warehouse where a group of armed people stood waiting. Syd paused, racking her brain for one last chance to escape, found none, and reluctantly followed her father out of the truck.

  “It’s about time, Skeller.” A stocky man, similar to her father in age and dress, shook his hand and scrutinized her. “This your girl?”

  “Sure is, Watts. Sydney’s ready for her first kill.”

  Syd winced at the proud note in her father’s answer. She didn’t relish the thought of disappointing him, but he knew her position. Maybe if she fainted at the first sight of a werewolf? She discarded the idea, knowing he’d never believe she was skittish.

  “She looks a little long in the tooth for her first hunt.”

  Gee thanks, Watts. She shot him a hard look, making the seasoned hunter avert his gaze.

  “Uh…but I’m glad you got here when you did. The dogs picked up the scent of a couple of shifters and I told the Callaways to keep it quiet. We even put the dogs back in the truck so we wouldn’t alert the whole group. You know what kill-hogs some of these folks can be. Come on, we gotta get a move on before the others get suspicious and your girl loses her chance.”

  Watts pivoted and jogged into a nearby alley. A woman and a man, both dressed in army camouflage outfits, split off from the group to join him. Her father motioned for her to follow and took off after his friend. Syd hesitated a moment before rushing after her father.

  She followed the small group, copying their zigzagging path through dark alleyways and streets. After she’d almost given up on catching her breath, the woman in the lead halted and ducked into the shadows of the alley. Using hand signals to relay their intentions, the others hid behind boxes and other debris. Skeller tugged Syd along with him behind a dumpster.

  She gagged at the smell coming from the garbage and opened her mouth to speak. Didn’t he smell the stench? She’d always had better hearing, smell and sight than most people but her senses had gotten sharper since mating Jason. Before she could let her thoughts wander to Jason again, her father’s hand clamped down on her. Holding a finger to his lips, he cocked his head toward the adjoining alley. With a gleeful glance at her, he nodded at the two figures walking toward them.

  Syd followed his lead and suddenly wished she was anywhere else. Oh, please tell me I don’t see who I’m seeing. She squinted at the man, trying to be certain, staring as his darkened image wavered and he started taking off his clothes. Jason’s naked body, which she would have known anywhere, began to change. Hunching over, his back curved and his spine altered, growing bigger. Dark fur sprouted over his back and along his legs and arms. His hands lengthened and fingers shortened, curving until vicious-looking claws replaced fingernails and paws replaced hands. She watched, enthralled at the sight, itching to reach out and touch the white stripe of fur along his jaw. Jaw? No longer human, his face elongated, while fangs dripped with saliva. With the change completed, he lifted his head and howled.

  Syd gasped. Holy smokes. He’s gorgeous in either body.

  “I know, Sydney. Seeing one for the first time is a shock. They’re disgusting, abominable creatures. But you’re lucky. Looks like you’re getting a shot at nabbing a pair. They’re probably mates.”

  Mates? She gawked at Jason, cold hard jealousy ramming into her chest. Watching him playfully bump into the transformed female didn’t help the anguish tearing her heart apart. Why, that dirty, no-good hound. While I’ve spent the past two days worrying, he’s spent them hot-dogging it with some skanky bitch in heat!

  Her father’s harsh voice lowered another notch right before she sensed him raising his rifle to his shoulder. “Let’s take ’em down.”

  Alarm grabbed her stomach and twisted, making her plea louder than she’d anticipated. “No. Please!” She had to keep Jason safe. She bit her lip, locking onto her idea and solidifying her rash scheme.

  Skeller and his friends shushed her. They glared at her, silently asking if she’d gone insane. She swallowed to dislodge the lump sitting at the bottom of her throat and whispered, “I mean, this is my kill, right? You promised. Right, uh, Dad?” Ready or not, she was committed now.

  A wide grin leapt across Skeller’s face. With pride, he raised his hand, palm down, and moved it down to signal the Callaways and Watts to lower their rifles. “Everyone, firearms down. My Sydney’s about to get her first wolf hide.” He arched his eyebrows, excitement sparkling in his eyes, and silently urged her to shoot.

  Omigod. What the hell do I do now? Syd slowly lifted her gun to her shoulder and glanced around for anything to distract them. What am I worried about? I probably couldn’t hit him if I tried. Her mind blanked, useless to help her. Jason and the woman—skanky bitch—drew closer.

  “Come on, girl. What’re you waiting for?” The frustration in Skeller’s voice made her own turmoil greater.

  “Shush.” What else could she say? Gee, Skeller, I can’t kill this werewolf. I slept with him and now I’m his mate. Don’t ya want to hear little paws running around the house during the holidays?

  “She doesn’t have the balls, man,” Watts hissed and lifted his rifle to his arm. “I’m not waiting any longer.” Without warning, he aimed and fired.

  “No! Don’t shoot him. He’s my─” Syd clamped her mouth closed, trapping the word mate before it could escape.

  The bullet hit the female in the rear flank, sending her crashing to the ground. Jason wheeled toward the alley and snarled in Watts’ direction. Growling, he nudged the female with his nose, imploring her to stand and run. She took off in the opposite direction, blood running down her left leg.

  Still holding her gun at her side, Syd let out a breath of air, relieved that the bullet had missed Jason.

  “Hurry, girl, you’re losing your chance!” Her father ran over to the couple and knocked down the barrels of their guns. “No. I promised her she’d have the kill.” Turning back to Syd, he yelled, “Now, Sydney! Shoot!”

  At the mention of her name, Jason spun to face her. His amber eyes locked onto hers and Syd swore she could see the pain and betrayal in them. The same pain and betrayal she’d expe
rienced when she’d seen him playing with the female. Without thinking, she positioned her rifle on her shoulder and aimed.

  The shot rang out, echoing in the alley. He roared, a furious sound, and lunged behind the nearest dumpster. Syd’s pulse pounded in her ears and she tried to steady her breathing.

  “Go. Get after him. You’ve got him cornered.”

  Her father’s excited voice spurred her into action. However, it was his words that gave her the kernel of a plan. “Watts! Callaways! Go after the female!”

  She glared in the direction the female had taken. “Get the lowdown slutty bitch.” Bad girl, Syd, bad. That shifter is a woman just like you. Or rather, I’m a shifter just like her. But she couldn’t take back her words now.

  The three hesitated, confused by her description of the she-wolf. With a quick nod to each other, they ran down the alley and across the parking lot to follow in the direction the she-wolf had taken. Her father, however, started toward the dumpster.

  “No. Wait.”

  He turned and gestured to her. “Don’t worry. He’s all yours. I’ll just stick by and make sure nothing goes wrong.”

  She strode over to him and grabbed his arm. “Please. I want to do this on my own. I’m pretty sure I wounded him.”

  He searched her face, wanting a clearer explanation and, in the end, gave her the excuse she needed. “Oh, I get it. The first kill is special and you want to do it all on your own. Sure. No problem. I’ll run check on the others and get right back to you.” With a quick salute, he started after his friends.

  Syd let out a small sigh of relief and relaxed—until he whirled toward her again. “Yes?”

  “You’re positive you can handle this on your own?”

  She smiled and sent him the best assurance she could. “I’m a Skeller, aren’t I?”

  “You bet you are.” He shot her a proud grin, saluted again, and jogged away.

  Syd waited until she couldn’t make out her father’s form any longer before calling to Jason. “Hey, it’s okay. They’re gone.”

  For a second, she thought she’d actually wounded him and he couldn’t move. Relief came when she heard the unmistakable noise of someone moving through discarded cans and broken bottles. He rounded the dumpster, changing from wolf to man.

  A knot of desire hit her full throttle in the stomach. “That is one helluva trick.”

  “Yeah, it comes in handy.” He stood, hands on his hips, puzzlement fighting with anger on his features. “I think you need to explain. Why the hell did you shoot at me? And what the fuck are you doing with hunters?”

  She shifted the heavy rifle into the crook of her elbow and scowled back at him. “Excuse me? You think I owe you an explanation? What about you? Here I’m wondering where the hell you’ve been and I find you out sniffing around some other female? Whose mate are you, anyway?”

  His arrogant laugh tightened her spine. “You’re accusing me of cheating on you? After throwing a fit about my marking you? Then I find you roaming the streets with hunters? Are you fucking serious?”

  “I know what I saw. You and Miss Canine America were quite chummy. Who knows what would’ve happened if I hadn’t come along. Hell, you’d probably have gotten her on all fours and doggied it with her big time, right?” Why wasn’t he acting guilty? Damn it, she had a right to be pissed. Didn’t she?

  “If I had wanted her, I would’ve had her.” He pointed his chin at her defiantly and swiveled, placing his back to her. “Now, if you’re through huffing and puffing like some jealous pup guarding a bone, I’d like to get dressed.”

  “Stop right there.” Taking a deep breath, she placed the gun to her shoulder and aimed it straight at his head.

  He turned around with a snarl on his face. The snarl, however, disappeared when his jaw slacked open. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  She couldn’t stop the mischievous grin lifting the tips of her mouth. Mimicking her father’s gruff voice, she quipped, “I’m shooting me a shifter.”

  Chapter Four

  “You’re kidding, right?” Jason fisted his hands on his hips and punched his words between gritted teeth. “Put the gun down, Syd, before you accidentally hurt someone. Someone like me.”

  She snickered, the corner of her lips twitching upward. Did she get amusement from the idea of shooting him? She surely wasn’t serious, but still… A quiver of fear zipped through him and he struggled to stare down the business end of the rifle.

  “Like I said, ‘I’m shooting me a shifter.’” Her evil smirk dipped into a frown. “And a low-life, scum-sucking cheater at the same time. I’ll use one bullet to rid the world of two dirty dogs.”

  Now he knew she had to be kidding. Or at least, he was fairly confident she was. He decided to test the waters and took a step forward. Both the loud retort of a gunshot and the gravel flying up at his feet sent him dancing.

  “Are you crazy, woman?” Okay, it was one thing to want a little revenge for a perceived wrong, but it was altogether something different to take it to these lengths. “Shit, Syd, I appreciate you aiming in front of my feet instead of the head, but don’t ya think it’s time to stop playing around?”

  She arched one eyebrow. “The head on your neck is not the head I’d like to blow off. Thank your lucky stars I’m a lousy shot.”

  Jason swallowed and tried to read her unfathomable expression. Maybe he needed to take a different approach. “Syd, baby, you’ve got this all wrong.” Crap, could he sound any lamer? He sounded like one of those cheating husbands on television.

  She coughed a short bark of a laugh. “Do I? Really?”

  He took a small step forward and stopped when she raised the rifle again. “Yeah, you do. Rachel, the female you saw with me, is an old friend of mine.”

  “Oh, I see. An old friend, is she? Are you sure she’s not your niece? Or maybe your long-lost sister?”

  He knew she wouldn’t convince easily, but he had to keep trying. After all, his father always said the only thing worse than a hunter packing iron was an angry female with a finger on the trigger. “You think maybe we could discuss this somewhere else? Somewhere where your hunter friends won’t come along and put a few holes in my body? You know, the handsome, talented-in-bed body you enjoyed a few nights ago?” He looked in the direction the hunters had gone and prayed he’d hear or smell them coming before they saw him. Fortunately, he sensed nothing except darkness.

  “Nope. I think this place is as good as any. What I’m wondering is how many others have enjoyed your wonderful body since I did.”

  At least she’d lowered the gun to hold it in the crook of her elbow. “I swear she’s a friend and nothing more. Besides, what about you, huh?” He let the anger he’d held in check leak into his tone. “What the hell are you doing running around with hunters?”

  Ah, her little wince told him he’d made a crack in her armor. Now if he had a crowbar he’d crank the opening wider than the Grand Canyon. But the crack crashed tightly closed when she straightened up and planted her feet wide apart. Hell’s fire!

  “None of your damn business, Mr. Cannon. Who I pal around with while you’re off panting after other women isn’t any of your beeswax.”

  Beeswax? “Pal around? You call shifter hunting palling around?” He was good and pissed and ready to end this insane conversation. “Fine. If you don’t want to believe me about Rachel, then don’t. For once in my life, I’m telling the absolute truth about not fooling around. Once I found you, mated you”—he jabbed his index finger at her—“and we are mated, damn it—I stopped messing with other females. Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you my being faithful is nothing less than a frickin’ miracle.”

  She bit her lower lip in thought and paused long enough to let his words sink in. She started to speak, but he forged ahead with his offensive. “I haven’t contacted you in a couple of days because I wanted you to cool down and think about what’s happened between us. But trust me, I’ve found you and I’m not ever leavi
ng you. At least, not for good.”

  He moved to reach her before she could react. Placing his hand on top of the rifle, he pushed the weapon down to her side and removed his hand to bring it to her cheek. Staring into the glittering blue eyes, he said, “Make your decision. Do you believe me or not? ’Cause we don’t have any more time to fart around like this.”

  She searched him, spiraling into his eyes and down into his soul, but he wasn’t afraid of what she’d find. Who knew telling the truth could feel this good? He smiled at her and waited.

  At last, the mean expression she wore softened and she released a pent-up sigh. “I must be nuts, but I believe you.”

  “Good.” Taking the gun from her, he laid it on the ground next to him, straightened up to scrutinize her, and adopted a Chicago-style gangster accent. “Now, shweetheart, it’s your turn to explain. Why is my mate running with hunters? Say it ain’t true, doll face.”

  She lowered her eyes from his and his stomach clinched. Any time someone couldn’t look him in the face was a bad omen. Worse, she kept averting her gaze no matter how he twisted around to look her in the eyes. Crap, this is gonna be bad. Real bad.

  “Syd, spill it. Trust me. The truth, blunt and cold, is the best way.”

  She made an odd sound in her throat and met his stare. “You’re not going to like it.”

  “I already don’t like it.” Yet she smiled such a sweet tentative smile he had to resist pulling her to him and telling her everything would be all right.

  “I made a commitment to one of them to go along on a hunt.”

  He waited for her to expand on her incredulous statement, but she didn’t. “You’re hunting shifters because you made a promise to someone?” When she nodded, he continued, “I’m assuming—no, hoping—you made this promise before we met, right?”

  Again, she nodded. Good. At least she hadn’t turned into a hunter after they’d met. “Here’s a thought. Why didn’t you break your promise and say you couldn’t go? You know, because the new man in your life wouldn’t like having his kind hunted down and killed?” He grinned and hoped for the best. “That kind of insensitivity could kill a relationship. Good thing I’m not very sensitive.” Yet when she again didn’t answer, he took her arms and gave her a little shake. “Or is this because of some guy?” Please, don’t let this have anything to do with another man.