by K. Panikian
“Does anyone else know about your third form?” he asked.
I quickly looked around the meadow again—we were still alone. “No,” I lied.
“August doesn’t know?” Logan pressed.
I glared at him again and he threw up his hands.
“What do you care about August?” I asked. “Have you talked to him about me?”
Logan quickly shook his head. “I met him when I first got here, but he’s letting subordinates handle my business. Something weird is going on with his pack though. You need to stay out of this area.”
My pulse started to pound. “What do you mean?”
Logan bent his head forward and said in a low voice, “He’s losing control. Something to do with a beta he kicked out in the spring. I don’t know the details. But some of his pack members are still pretty upset about it.”
I knew he was talking about Blair but kept my mouth shut.
“They’re calling for a change in leadership.”
“What does that mean?”
“Either a challenge from within the pack, or an outside alpha moving in. There’s going to be a fight, and soon, I bet.”
I ignored my dry throat. August’s pack politics had nothing to do with me. I tried to swallow and failed. “A fight to the death?”
Logan lifted his chin.
“Does August know?”
“He’d have to be a fool not to.”
August wasn’t a fool. He knew his pack was in rebellion. Was that why he wanted to be friends with me? A powerful shifter to back him?
I ignored the hot rush of blood through my ears. Did I care that he wanted me only for my power? Did I care that he might get hurt or killed?
“I have to go,” I blurted and turned to stride back to the parking lot.
“I want to see you again!” Logan called to my back. “Sienna, please!”
I tossed up a hand. “Maybe.”
I picked up my pace as I jogged back along the trail. I felt a sudden, urgent need to call August, to hear his voice, but I pushed it away. He didn’t know about my secret yet, if I could trust Logan, but seeing him again while Logan was still in town had to be a bad idea.
Jordan called me on my way back into the park and I spilled out everything I’d been feeling recently—the protective instincts, August’s assessment that I was acting like alpha, my Beast’s need to avenge Daniel’s death.
“Can you be an alpha without a pack? How do you become an alpha? Is it just a matter of fighting off the previous one in a challenge or is there some other element?”
“Sometimes I forget you’ve never been in a pack,” Jordan answered. “The alpha of the pack isn’t necessarily the strongest fighter, or the most dominant animal. Alpha animals are driven by the urge to fight for territory and to protect their packmates. The alpha has to both feel the instinct to take care of the pack and be strong enough to do it.”
Jordan cleared her throat. “An alpha animal without a pack would feel compelled to find one to take over, or to build one. To establish a territory and protect it.”
Her voice grew even quieter. “Sienna, if you’re an alpha, you can’t stay in Yellowstone.”
Blake Winslow, the West Yellowstone wolf alpha, stared at me from across the table. He was a large man, with broad shoulders and a barrel chest. His dark hair, flecked with silver at the temples, framed his square face, and the lines near his eyes were hard. He didn’t look like he smiled a lot.
We sat in a public coffee shop, but we were the only ones inside. Blake had dismissed the baristas and they’d put a closed sign on the door before slipping out. Darcy waited for me in the car.
“Thank you for meeting me,” I said.
Blake sneered. “Only as a favor to Darcy. You have two minutes and that’s it.”
I took a deep breath, ignoring the way his wolf scent triggered my puma instincts. The wolves and the big cats couldn’t stand each other and though I’d never been involved in the territory fights, I could understand the enmity. Inside, my puma lunged and snarled. I swallowed and held her back.
“Darcy is a good friend of mine,” I said, trying to decide how to ask about Daniel’s path through the alpha’s territory without raising his hackles and shutting down the conversation.
“She is a very big bear, a very powerful fighter. I would have to be a fool not to want her in my pack, and I’m not a fool.”
I nodded. “I understand that you’re recruiting other new pack members as well. A lioness, maybe?”
Blake shrugged. “That’s a rumor only. I’ve met with her, yes, and she’s a strong beta, but there’s no place for her in a wolf pack.”
“Even if she brought with her information you could use?” I pressed.
Blake laughed. “She sure has a lot to say about you, Ranger Barbie.”
Grimacing, I said, “Please call me by my name.”
Blake yawned and I blinked. “This is a boring conversation,” he groused. “Just ask your questions. You’re down to one minute.”
“The elk shifter that passed through your land—did he leave any other scents along his trail? Did anyone from outside of your pack follow him through your territory?”
Blake shook his head.
“Did you send Soren specifically to follow him to the park or did Soren volunteer for the job?” I asked.
“I’m not discussing my pack members with you.”
I read his contempt for me in his bored eyes and his crossed arms. Heat flushed my body as I tried to ignore my seething Beast.
“Do you know why he was shot?”
“No. I said this before. He was already shot when he crossed my lands. My pack followed him only to make sure he didn’t die and rot in my territory, causing me a headache. I should have just let him be because now I’m still getting that headache.” He pointed his finger at me and sneered. “You have no place in this world. Drop it and go home to your park, Ranger Barbie, for as long as you can hold onto it.”
Incandescent rage blasted through me. I grabbed a hold of it, channeled it, and focused it. It took every ounce of my control as I shaped the tendons and muscles of my hand into a deadly weapon. Within a breath of his insult, I reached for the alpha wolf with a giant, monstrous hand.
Grasping him around the throat as his eyes bugged at the sight of my hybrid claw, I pulled him across the table and hissed into his face. “Do not call me that again. My name is Sienna. Learn it.”
I lifted and shook him—his body flopped loosely as his toes left the ground. The table fell to the side and I marched him to the wall, out of sight of the large window.
“What about the elk poaching? The fires?” I shook him again. “Know anything about those?”
Blake moaned and tried to swallow. His body shivered as I gazed deeply into his eyes. I saw the wolf look back at me and I saw him drop his gaze. Blake jerked his head quickly and whispered, “No.”
I inhaled the smells pouring from his body—terror-sweat and a little bit of urine. I didn’t smell any deceit.
Satisfied, I growled, “I believe that you’re innocent of Daniel’s death. I don’t know about your pack members. Do some house cleaning. Don’t trust Blair. Or I’ll be back.”
I squeezed a little as my pulse pounded and my Beast slavered. She wanted to crush his throat but I resisted.
I dropped him, reshaped my hand with an agonizing crunch, and stalked away. Internally, despite my boiling blood, I despaired. I’d just outed myself to an alpha. For what? For name calling? God, I was an idiot.
Should I go back and kill him? I wondered. I stopped walking and heard Blake gasp in a coughing breath behind me. I couldn’t leave it like that. I turned.
From across the room I met Blake’s wide, bulging eyes. He was still frozen where I’d dropped him, leaning against the wall. Under my glowing stare, he cringed back.
I strode forward and promised quietly, “Tell no one. If you do, I’ll kill you. You know I will.”
Blake nodded furiously, hi
s eyes shuttering rapidly in relief. “I won’t tell,” he murmured back.
I left, my emotions still storming. Outside the shop, Soren leaned against Darcy’s car, watching me with crossed arms. I met Darcy’s eyes where she sat behind the wheel and she rolled her eyes, grimacing at me and shrugging.
I focused on Soren and willed my body to calm down. I was on fire with exhilaration over my partial shift and fear over what I’d revealed to the wolf alpha. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with Soren’s posturing.
“Soren,” I said shortly.
“Si-e-nn-a,” Soren enunciated slowly, wiggling his eyebrows at me. “What brings you to my town?”
“Your town?”
Soren grinned wolfishly.
“I’m investigating the death that you dumped on my lap. Have I thanked you for bringing Daniel to the trail that I just happened to be hiking that day? Who knows, if I hadn’t smelled that he was a shifter, I probably wouldn’t be investigating this at all. Who told you that was my backcountry trail, by the way?”
Soren’s gaze shuttered.
“I imagine it wasn’t hard. Maybe a phone call to the ranger station?”
I stepped closer and inhaled his wolf scent, letting my puma fill my eyes. Soren’s wolf started to growl as we locked gazes for a long instant. Claws pricked at my fingertips again.
“Sienna,” Darcy called from her open window. “Time to go.”
I held Soren’s eyes for one more moment before climbing into the car. He hadn’t backed down from me, which meant his wolf was more dominant than Blake’s. I wondered if he was satisfied with his beta position, and if that was the hook that Blair had used to catch him.
I watched his tense form in the side view mirror as Darcy pulled into the street. His shoulders stiff, Soren pulled out his cell and typed something before walking into the cafe.
THAT night I ran through my woods battling fear and elation both. I’d outed myself to an alpha, but I’d also terrified him. I didn’t think he’d share my secret. And he’d only seen my hand. Maybe he wouldn’t realize I could do it with the rest of my body too.
That was a slim hope. I’d have to keep an eye on West Yellowstone. Add that to my list of ongoing worries.
But what I did with my hand—that had been incredible. I’d never done that before in my life. My body effortlessly bent to my will and shaped a weapon of enormous strength.
When I reached my secret cave, I slinked into the moonlit alcove and shifted back to my human form. Staring down at my hands, I willed them to change again. I imagined the sharp claws erupting from my giant, muscled hybrid arm. I focused hard, and nothing happened.
I practiced for hours, concentrating on my hands, my teeth, and my legs, trying to will even one body part to shift, but I couldn’t do it.
I exhausted myself and finally sank back on my haunches in my Beast form. My breath coming in pants from my toothy snout, I tried to remember what happened in the cafe. What key was I missing? I’d been enraged, I knew. Was that the key?
There had to be a way to do it without the emotional component. I would have to practice more, I decided.
Chapter 8
“What did you do to Blake?” Darcy asked, brows raised, as we lounged at the bar at the Yellowstone Lake Hotel.
I stretched the sore muscles in my back before I answered. I’d been lugging shovels and pickaxes around all day and I felt it. I picked at a splinter on my palm before waving at Piper, bartending with her stomach extending out in front of her like she swallowed a basketball. “I can’t believe she’s still on her feet like that,” I murmured.
Darcy looked, too, and whistled softly. “She must be due soon, right?”
Piper turned to us and grinned, calling from across the bar. “I can hear you! And I’m only halfway along.”
I gaped. “Are you sure it’s not twins?” I called back. Piper waved me off and I shook my head, taking a long sip of my wine.
“Do you want kids?” Darcy asked me quietly.
Bending my head, I studied my wine and traced the rim of my glass. “No,” I finally answered. “I don’t want to pass along what I am. Sometimes,” I exhaled, “it’s almost unbearable.”
Darcy nodded, slowly peeling the paper label from her beer, and whispered, “Me too.”
We both watched Piper quietly for a long moment. Her face glowed with happiness. I ignored the sharp pang in my heart.
“So—” Darcy poked me. “Blake?”
Shrugging, I said, “I asked him about the elk shifter. I threatened him to stay out of whatever’s going on with the poaching and the fires.”
Darcy’s brows rose. “You threatened him? An alpha wolf?”
“Yes, sort of, I guess.”
“Well, it worked. He called a pack meeting, kicked Blair out of his territory, and told everyone to stay away from you.”
I cocked my head, blinking.
“Soren’s pretty pissed off. I’d steer clear of him, if I were you.”
“No problem. I have no plans to go back there.”
Darcy eyed me before looking up as Jordan dropped beside her.
“What’d I miss?” she asked.
“I’ll let Darcy fill you in.” I checked the time on my phone. “Nick’s coming over with new information on the arson.”
Jordan nodded. “I’m heading to Jackson tomorrow to have lunch with Everett. I’ll ask about the ranchers.”
“Thanks, perfect, let me know what he says as soon as you can.” I waved goodbye to Piper and walked home, breathing in the crisp evening air.
The lake stretched navy-blue and way to the east, I saw white caps on the mountains.
“THE elk were poached,” Nick said as he leaned his head back on my couch. “The arson investigator noticed that the elk bodies really split apart in the heat, and he realized that they had no fat or meat or burned hair or anything on top of the burned bones.” He grimaced. “They’ve ruled the fire an arson now—the bones were soaked with accelerant—they’re assuming the fire was started to hide the poaching.”
“It seems excessive,” I said, looking at his tired face. I restrained the desire to stroke his shoulder. “To set the forest on fire to burn some animal bones. Seems like they could have dropped them into a river, or buried them or something, in order to hide the poaching.”
Nick frowned at me consideringly.
“Unless there are a lot of bodies,” I added. “They’re burning some, maybe, and doing other stuff with the rest.”
“That’s assuming a large operation and not just hunters breaking the rules,” Nick pointed out.
I nodded. I was assuming that. I had a feeling the operation involved elk poached in the park and the refuge, plus elk rustled from nearby ranches. But Nick didn’t have the information I did.
“Have you talked to Chief Palmer?” I asked. “I’ve heard that some of the elk ranchers near Jackson are losing stock to rustlers.”
Nick stared at me. “No, I hadn’t heard that. Have you talked to Everett about it?”
I shook my head quickly. “No. I heard about it when I visited the Elk Refuge a few days ago.”
Doubt and concern swirled in Nick’s eyes and I squirmed.
“If it’s a large operation, and they’re murdering people and starting forest fires to cover it up, Sienna, please, I need you to stay out of this.”
Swallowing, I looked down at the hands clenched in my lap. “I can’t,” I muttered.
“You have to. This isn’t your job. You’re not an investigator. What happened this spring was pure luck—luck that you found the bad guy and luck that you weren’t killed. You can’t do it again. Luck only goes so far.”
My chest felt heavy. I knew what was coming and I felt both pain and relief. It had to end sometime.
“Nick, I have to do this. I can’t explain why. But it’s important to me and I know I can help.”
I wished I could tell him. I didn’t want to lose him as a friend or as an information source. I liked Nick. But it w
as impossible.
Leaning his head back again and pinching his nose, Nick muttered, “This is my fault. I knew I shouldn’t have been sharing my cases with you over the past few months.” He focused his serious hazel eyes on me. “I need you to forget about this stuff, Sienna. You're a backcountry ranger, not a police officer. Your job is important and you need to focus on it, not mine.”
I flinched, hurt that he’d dismissed my insights and help over the past few months so easily.
Nick looked like he wanted to say more and then rose to his feet, gathering his reports. “I think we should take a break from each other for a while.” He stared at his feet.
My throat burned and I blinked away tears, looking out the window instead. It hurt more than I thought it would to let him say goodbye.
“I don’t think I’m good for you,” he finished.
I kept my mouth shut and my gaze averted. Nick let himself out of my apartment quietly and I let my tears fall—tears for the impossible, for the what-could-have-been, if I weren’t a monster.
MY phone rang and I woke up with a start. Peering around my dark bedroom, I searched for where I’d dropped it. After Nick left, I’d opened a bottle of wine, or was it two? And my mind felt fuzzy as I tried to recall how I eventually got to bed.
Reaching over, I fumbled for the light switch and winced in the bright glow. I found my phone eventually in my jeans pocket and saw a missed call from Logan.
I stared at it for a long beat. It was only eleven at night. Wine wasn’t going to give me a hangover with my shifter metabolism, but I definitely didn’t feel sharp enough for a conversation with Logan.
Still, if he had information for me, I needed to know it.
I propped myself up against my pillows, frowning at my mismatched pjs, and called him back.
“Don’t leave the park, Sienna,” he said as soon as he picked up. “I heard about what happened in the spring with August’s betas. The one he kicked out, Blair, is gunning for you. She’s spreading around to every shifter she can find to call her the instant they see you.”
I inhaled slowly and felt a deep calmness permeate my soul. That was fine. I’d known the confrontation was coming. I was ready.
