by Eva Gordon
Fur, Cloak and Dagger
Team Greywolf Series, Book 4
Eva Gordon
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
About the Author
Fur, Cloak and Dagger, Team Greywolf, Book 4
Copyright © 2019 by Eva Gordon.
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from author.
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Author Note
This book is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, places, and locations portrayed in the story either are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.
Cover Design for Fur, Cloak and Dagger by Ammonia Nikolova
Editing by Lara Parker
Discover other titles and series by Eva Gordon at www.ravenauthor.com
Prologue
The crisp winter air smelled and tasted like death. Nik and the other unchanged wolves gathered around his older brother, Pavel. His brother, in human form, arrived in the Siberian forest a week earlier than intended to initiate the change. He gave them the sad news of their pack’s massacre, the day after Glasnost. It hadn’t mattered some were in wolf form and others in human form. Pavel explained the directive called for the murder of all werewolves, regardless of form.
The pack snarled and demanded revenge followed by mournful howls. Nik, the alpha, growled. “Why kill us?”
“There’s no time to mourn. Follow me.” Pavel shifted to wolf form and led the pack deeper into the forest.
Nik cocked his head. Soldiers and tracking dogs hunted them. He ran through the snow with the rest of the young wolves.
A helicopter rose from the edge of the forest and flew above them, lethal wolfsbane-laced silver bullets rained down on the pack. The yelps of his brethren as they died tormented Nik as he hid behind a fallen tree. He trembled with fury and released a guttural growl. Kill them all.
Pavel snarled. “This way!”
He followed Pavel up a steep mountain. He shoved Nik into a den and then shifted to human form. “Hide. I’ll lead them away.”
Nik yowled, “No. You will be shot.”
“Forgive me, brother.” Pavel bore his fangs and bit Nik’s shoulder.
Nik yelped. “Too soon.” Pavel’s bite would initiate the change. Rebirth into a human with the ability to shift into a werewolf. Yet, the bite should have taken place in five days. Not now.
“Wait for me. I’ll return before the change.”
“And if you don’t?”
“There is a cabin three miles from here. You might find clothes there.”
The soldiers drew closer and his brother shifted to wolf form. Nik shook his head. “I can help you kill them!”
Pavel snapped, “Survive or I will come back from the grave and rip off your ear.” He leapt out of the den and drew them away.
Nik huddled in silence. Even if he disobeyed his brother, the change would happen and leave him incapacitated.
Once the transformation from wolf to human overtook him, the change would be so painful Nik might die, alone. No pack to nurse him back to health and help him transition into his new human form.
The distant yelps of the hunting dogs meant his brother had killed them. Had Pavel gotten away? His ears pricked up at a barrage of rifle fire. Then silence. The men had left. He remained hidden. The only sound came from the cold howl of the winter Siberian winds.
The next morning, Nik crawled out of the den. Thankfully, he hadn’t started to change. Perhaps, it was too early or his brother had not bit him hard enough. Yet his wound continued to bleed. He followed his brother’s scent. Blood with the tinge of silver’s lethal scent stained the snow. The men had killed and taken Pavel. Nik ran down to where the rest of the pack had been murdered. Their bodies were gone as well. Falling snow had covered their tracks and blood.
Nik mourned their deaths with a lonely howl.
Hungry but with no desire to hunt, Nik plodded through the heavy snow toward the cabin his brother had mentioned. If a human occupied it, he’d take his revenge. Not that blaming an innocent human for his pack’s death would bring them back, but it would satisfy his lust to kill. He stopped in his tracks. Huh?
Nik scanned the area and flared his nostrils. Debris from the helicopter littered the forest as if it had rained scrap metal. The burned-to-ashes remains of men and the bodies of his pack added to the gruesome scene. He smelled the rubble. Odd. A powerful weapon had brought down the helicopter. Who would have such weaponry? Did their kind have allies? He stared at the cabin.
The burning fireplace meant someone was there. As he drew closer, a wave of pain overtook him. The beginning of the change. He must kill the human fast before he got weaker.
The door opened and a man covered in fur stood at the entrance, rifle in hand.
A fur trapper. Unless, the man had a werewolf rifle, Nik would not die. Despite his pain, Nik charged. The snap of a bear trap on his left leg stopped him and before he could gnaw off his paw, the pain of the change overwhelmed him into dark unconsciousness.
I’m alive. Nik threw off the blankets and looked at his wounded leg. Thanks to his alpha blood it had completely healed. He stared at the man, who looked like a hermit from the old Russian fairy tales; his face bore a long, thick gray beard matching his long graying hair. Vague memories of the man helping him during the painful change suppressed his instinct to lash out.
“I’m Oleg Sokolov.” He offered him water in a mug that had a residual vodka smell.
“Nicolay.” Nik took the water and drank every drop. “How long did it take me to…shift?” The man had witnessed something no human should ever see. Nik could use his mind control to erase the kind man’s memory of meeting him. An alpha werewolf had the uncanny ability to mind control just about any human and compel them to follow their commands. Better than killing him.
“You became human four hours after I brought you in, but then you were feverish and delirious for two days.”
“Thank you for saving my life.”
“I’m sorry I was too late to help your pack, but it’s good I found you, alpha son of Dima.”
“You knew my father?” Is that why he protected him? That must have been the reason Pavel directed him to the cabin.
“Yes, like me, your father, Dima was a former KGB agent. My comrade.”
Nik knew his father worked with humans, but exactly how or what had remained a mystery. “Who killed my pack?”
“A directi
ve from a rogue government official. At first, they wanted to capture all werewolves and experiment on them. Instead, and for reasons I don’t know, your deaths were ordered.” He poured some vodka and drained it, then wiped his mouth. “I probably would have been killed next for working with your father.” He smiled. “A werewolf.”
“I will find and kill that official.”
“He is dead.”
“How do you know?”
“I shot a grenade at the helicopter as it landed on my land.”
“And he was on it?”
“Yes, I greeted him as he stepped out. Actually, I said dasvidanya before I launched the missile.”
“I’m a lone wolf.”
“I owe Dima my life. You will be my son.”
Chapter One
Emma York, code name Cloak, took Rylee’s warning about an assassination attempt seriously enough to scratch from the dressage competition. Capriccio, her big bay Dutch Warmblood, was too valuable to risk. She wanted to ride, but not if it meant hurting or possibly killing Capriccio. Project Sabertooth murdered her father and they must have found out she was his daughter. Besides family ties, the reason her father, and now she, had been targeted was they were both CIA agents and human agents for the Lycan Intelligence Agency. Rylee, the head of the LIA, got word from Tomlin, the new director of Project Sabertooth, that Emma had been targeted for assassination. He didn’t know who put out the hit.
Her trainer and part owner of her horse, Holden Porter, a semi-retired CIA agent, stopped her as she led Capriccio out for exercise. “Are you sure about not competing?”
“Trust me.” She winked and whispered, “I’m off.”
Holden narrowed his eyes. “Problem back home?”
“It’s raining real hard.” Code for she was in danger. Rylee had warned her someone might try to play mind tricks with her horse, enough to cause him to throw and trample her to death. Project Sabertooth hired a woman named Gaby, who could command animals, to cause Emma’s horse to crush her. Fortunately, the woman known as a wolf charmer, now worked for the LIA. The danger had to have passed. No point in bringing her in, but no one questioned Rylee’s orders.
Holden nodded. “I’ll keep Capriccio safe from the storm.”
“Thanks.”
“There will be other competitions when the weather gets better.”
“I’ll go through the test one more time.” She smiled. Almost lunchtime, she had the ring to herself. “Start the music.”
Emma mounted Capriccio and entered the arena as the music played. She started him with stretching and warm up before working on his freestyle combinations. Just to be on the safe side, she double-checked the area as she rode.
She saw no one but trainers and a few riders by the stables. Wait. There. A tall man wearing a cap stood next to an empty paddock. She’d never seen him before and her guard shot up. He was out of place. Black leather coat, wool cap, and dark glasses. You have to be kidding me. He could play the role of some Cold War Russian spy. Too obvious to be an assassin. Although by the look of his large frame, he could strangle someone without much of a fight. Rylee said she’d send an agent, but didn’t specify whether male or female. Could Boris be lycan? All she knew was her lycan contact’s code name, Dagger. They were supposed to meet at a café in Woodside at three p.m. Not here. Rylee had a sense of humor to send someone named Dagger to bring back Cloak. She stared at the mysterious man. Who was he?
A Jack Russell terrier ran to the mystery man and greeted him like an old friend. The dog’s owner, a rider she knew from England, chatted with him. Okay, the man must be her friend, actually with his good looks, a lover. Casanova rather than Boris.
She ignored the man and asked Capriccio to trot before transitioning him to piaffe and pirouette. No longer feeling threatened, she went through the dressage test. Once she finished, she’d give Rylee a quick call. This business of taking over her father’s job as Mr. H., the designated human inside the CIA for the lycans, may be more than she bargained for. Was there a way out? She actually enjoyed being a field agent for the CIA. Then again, she looked forward to finally working with the lycans.
Nik fixed his gaze on the beautiful equestrian with the sexiest ass he’d ever seen. Each movement, hypnotic. Like Russian ballet. Being yanked out of Prague to bring back the new Ms. H. had ruined his plan to follow a lead to an escaped criminal she-wolf, but to see this woman was worth the frustrating loss. Rylee didn’t describe Emma York, only that she would meet him at the café and wear a red sweater and cap. Cricket’s idea. Not surprised. The runt had a quirky sense of humor.
The British woman, Sarah, held her terrier and smiled toward the woman riding the horse. “Good form.”
“Very good form.” He grinned. “Never have I wanted to be horse until now,” he muttered in his heavy Russian accent. She could ride him all day. He hoped he wasn’t salivating like his wolf was.
“I meant Capriccio, the horse, but yes her, too.”
“Who is she?”
“That’s Andrea Fulton.”
His enthusiasm plunged. Not Emma York. He wouldn’t be so lucky. But why not learn more about Andrea? “She looks like she was born in the saddle.” He shook his head and returned his attention to Andrea. “Ride them cowboy.”
Sarah frowned. “You haven’t been around horses, have you?”
“Mostly Russian circus, but it’s been a while.”
“So what brings you to the farm?”
“I’m looking for a woman competing in the upcoming horse show.”
“I know just about everyone in the competition. Who is the lucky woman?”
“Emma York.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know anyone by that name. Then again, she could be new.”
“Yes, perhaps.” Of course, she wouldn’t use her real name. Rylee had not bothered giving him her fake name or even something with her scent. She must think he was a genius. Then again, he was.
The woman put down her dog. “Maybe Andrea will know.”
“Good advice, I’ll ask her.”
Alone at last, Nik returned to staring. His wolf wanted to pounce on the beautiful woman as soon as she dismounted, but he’d play it cool. He would simply ask her if she knew Emma York and then never see her again. Lycans did not really approve of human-werewolf relationships. Some alphas like him had dalliances with humans, but his life was too dangerous, too complicated to risk dating a fragile human. Still. He smiled. It wouldn’t hurt to get her number for later. What harm would come from one dinner date? Better yet, a riding lesson. Her on top.
As she rode by, his heart thumped. His wolf sensed danger. On the hill above the ring beneath an oak tree, the muzzle and scope of a rifle aimed straight at the woman.
Unfortunately, the assassin had a clean shot. Even in wolf form, he’d never reach the assassin in time. Better to startle the horse.
He growled as the horse neared. The steed panicked and bolted.
The assassin’s bullet missed, but the woman fell off.
“Shit!” She rolled away as a bullet kicked up a dust cloud.
A woman dashed to her side, while a distinguished looking older man wearing riding breeches calmed her horse.
Nik narrowed his eyes at the assassin on the hill. Gone. Go after him or protect the woman? He turned to join her. She sat. Her helmet off, she flipped her brown braid over her shoulder. She had been the assassin’s target, Emma York, Ms. H. Code name Cloak, because of her brilliance in disguise.
The woman helped her up. “Are you hurt?”
Emma wiped off the dust from her pants and glared at Nik. “I’m okay. He just spooked.”
The British woman shook her head. “I’ve never seen him spook, ever.”
“He rarely spooks, but when he does it’s major,” explained Emma.
The older man brought the horse to Emma. “Thank you, she needs to get back on.”
The British woman nodded and left.
Nik frowned. “It’s not safe to ride
.”
Emma sighed as if he had done something completely wrong. “Keep an eye out, I won’t be more than fifteen minutes.”
Before he could protest about the possibility of her suffering from some injury or the fact the assassin might return to finish the job, she mounted the nervous horse and galloped around the arena. Once calm, she repeated the earlier routine.
“And who are you?” asked the man.
“A friend.”
“Bullshit. You were here to stop the shooter. You must be her new asset.”
How much did this man know of his mission? “Yes. I’ll be right back.”
Nik headed up to the knoll where the sniper had been. If he hadn’t been so infatuated with her, he might have noticed the man earlier. He sniffed the area. A human male. He followed the man’s scent down the hill toward the freeway. A black car sped away. Damn.
He returned just as Emma said goodbye to the older man.
“Boris is driving me to the airport after I get cleaned up.”
“My name is Nikolay.”
“Have a safe trip, Andrea.”
“Thanks. Take care of Capriccio.”
“I will.”
“Come on, Boris.”
He rolled his eyes. “Nik.”
Emma stopped and glowered at him. “Code name Dagger, right?”
“Da.”
“You spooked my horse and almost killed me, Wolf.”
“I had no choice. The assassin had you in his sights.”
She threw her hands up in the air. “Next time, just shout ‘look out,’ that way it’s not as frightening to the horse as a wolf growl.”
