by Dianna Love
Adrian was nowhere close to being ready for his meeting with the Guardian next week.
Cole asked, “What’s going on with Red?”
Adrian hung his head, staring at the hard ground. “There’s still a big disconnect between us.” Looking up, he said, “I’ve been letting him run free and have his head. I thought we were starting to find a happy medium, not fixed, but one step toward getting better. The minute my wolf scented Gray Wolf, he shut me out. I tried to stop him. That lack of control ... sucks.” Glancing over at Cole, he said, “You know what I’m talking about, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Dude, you were showing signs of the mating curse when you were here that first week with me.”
Cole nodded. “Oh, yeah, you’re right. It does suck, but I didn’t realize you knew.”
“I wasn’t sure, but you were guarded about releasing your wolf when we got here. That’s why I told all of you to leave. If you had issues with your wolf and mine was insane, we might have bled everyone dry.”
Cole rubbed his forehead. “I was jacked up back then, but Gray Wolf and I are connected now in a way we’ve never been.”
Adrian gave Cole a long look. “I’m guessing you’re mated.”
“Yes,” Cole acknowledged, sounding uncomfortable to talk about Tess.
Justin got it. Cole didn’t want to make a big deal out of it when none of them had a potential mate on the horizon.
“Don’t, Cole,” Adrian cautioned.
“What?”
“Don’t feel bad about the rest of us. I’m glad you’ve got someone. It gives everyone hope.”
Giving a nod, Cole said, “How’d you know about the curse starting for me, though?”
“I couldn’t figure out, at first, why you wouldn’t let Gray Wolf run when you were here. But then I remembered you guys kept trying to talk my ear off on the flight here and—”
“You could have talked,” Rory pointed out.
“I would have if I’d wanted to.” Adrian stared off, then came back to what he’d been saying. “Anyhow, right before you dropped me off, Cole said Sammy was suffering the mating curse and had gone dark on everyone. Considering how Cole and Sammy had unusual situations when their animals were called up and adding that to Cole not wanting to let his wolf out to run ... I made an educated guess.” Casting a sharp look in Cole’s direction, Adrian said, “Your wolf is tougher than before. What beefed up Gray Wolf? The mating?”
Cole lifted an eyebrow and smiled. “What? Worried I’m going to let Gray Wolf kick Red’s ass?”
Justin frowned at Cole’s use of the nickname for Adrian’s wolf. Adrian hadn’t called his wolf by name since being rescued overseas.
Maybe Cole was doing the right thing and it would be good to start using Red’s name.
Adrian gave a dark chuckle. “Nope. My wolf doesn’t have the sense to fear anything, because he’s in kill mode twenty-four seven. I was fighting my wolf just as hard as Gray Wolf was. If I had let go of the reins, my beast would have slaughtered everything in sight.” Adrian cut his eyes back at Justin. “He’d have a harder time with Herc, but you have no idea just what I’m holding back when he’s in the lead.”
Shit, that sounded even worse than Justin had thought.
Still, Adrian cocked a quizzical look at Cole. “But you’re packing—” He jerked and sucked in a breath. Muscles across his body bulged.
Rory murmured, “Sorry, man.”
Adrian caught his breath, then let the air out. “It’s fine.” He finished telling Cole, “You’ve got more punch than before and your wolf is ... intense. That happened with just mating?”
Justin spoke up before Cole could. “That miserable fucker got himself a mate all right. A Gallize female no less.”
If Justin hadn’t been sitting right in front of Adrian, he’d have missed the subtle shift in his friend’s face. Cole stood to the side and Rory was focused on the crushed leg, so neither of them could have seen the moment when something unexpected bloomed in Adrian’s face.
Hope.
His friend had been ready to end it all when he came home.
Did he think a mate would help him heal?
“How’d you find her?” Adrian asked, that slim shimmer of optimism brightening his eyes.
Cole sat down on the ground and crossed his legs. “I met her in college, fell in love back then, and you guys found me the night I was going to ask her to marry me. I had no idea she was a Gallize. Then I ended up captured by her SCIS team in the middle of a mission.”
“You’re not saying she works for that stupid Shifter Criminal Investigation Service, are you?”
“Yep. The very one.”
“How’d they catch you?”
“I walked in on a bomb. It blew and I woke up locked in their facility.”
Adrian muttered a vile curse.
Justin added, “We’re gonna need beer to give you all the details.”
“You’re SOL then,” Adrian said, sighing when Rory sat back from fooling with his leg.
“Guess again, sucka.” Justin laughed and pointed at his backpack. “You didn’t think I would waste space to haul something like food up here, did you?”
That brought out a smile, not the real one Adrian used to wear when they were clanging mugs in a bar and talking about women, but better than Justin had seen in a while.
Evidently, Adrian wasn’t done with Cole. “Is bonding with a Gallize everything we’ve heard about for years?”
Cole eyed Adrian with a solemn expression. “Yes. It was enough to bring me back from death.”
“No shit?”
Rory nodded. “It’s true. I saw it. She’s just a little bitty woman, but she stood up to the Guardian—got all up in his face, even—and refused to let Cole die.”
Adrian studied Cole with a bit of awe.
Cole said, “All true, but I don’t recommend the dying part. Hurts like a bitch. Still, I’d go through that and more just to be with her.”
There was a man who had everything he needed when he looked at his future wife. If Justin didn’t care so much for this group, he could enjoy a good bout of hate. He’d admit to a twinge of envy, but he could not be happier for Cole and Tess.
Sadly, he didn’t hold out much hope of finding that perfect mate.
Cole had never talked about Gray Wolf’s opinion when it came to mates, but his wolf clearly accepted Tess.
Herc, on the other hand, had a definite opinion on mates and narrow criteria for acceptability.
They were all quiet a moment and Adrian said, “Good for you. Maybe the rest of you will find one, too.”
Cole’s smile fell at Adrian excluding himself.
Justin said, “The rest of us, asshole. Stop counting yourself out.”
Making a snorting noise, Adrian said, “We all know I have to face the Guardian next week. He’s allowed me time to get my wolf straightened out. Believe me when I say I’ve tried, but I’m not going to sit here and lie to you three. I’m not making progress. If I can’t stop my wolf from attacking you, I have no hope to keep him from going after the Guardian’s throat. We all know that will last about a half second.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Rory interjected. “We’re going to get you in shape.”
Adrian took in each face. “You guys ... I, uh, shit. I can’t undo what was done to me in that cage. You can’t either.”
“Don’t make me wake up Herc,” Justin warned. “I’m not here to lose. We. Don’t. Lose.” That was a motto the four of them had repeated when shit got deep in war zones.
“You’re stuck with us for eight days,” Cole said, giving no room to argue.
“I have some research,” Rory added. “I’ve got a couple ideas I want you to consider.”
There was the Rory that jumped in to save everyone.
Frowning, Adrian asked, “What about the Black River Wolf Pack cases? When you left here you were headed to Spartanburg.”
“We shut down one d
ivision and the Guardian pulled in another team specifically to flush out channels the Black River pack is using to distribute Jugo Loco,” Cole explained, referencing the crazy juice the Black River pack was giving to shifters. “After we busted the group in Spartanburg, we all realized this network is even larger than we suspected.”
“So instead of being with your new mate, or these two off looking for mates, you’re here?”
Rory stared off at the horizon where low clouds floated by. “It’d be easier to find a unicorn.”
That damn Rory. Justin turned to him. “Not true, dickhead.”
“The Guardian can’t find them,” Rory argued. “The females no longer have a guardian overseeing them the way ours watches over us. There may be hundreds or there may not be ten females in the whole world. We have no way to recognize one.”
Man, talk about a downer. Lifting his hand to count, Justin said, “Sure we do. Their eyes could be two different colors. They’re always born in a true blue moon month. They’re always the second born in a family. They have ... gifts.”
“See? You don’t even know what that means. What kind of gifts?”
Justin looked to Cole, who lifted his shoulders in an I-got-nothin’ response until Justin gave him a darker glare.
Growling, Cole said, “I haven’t wanted to say much about this when all I have is speculation, but there were some noticeable signs if I had recognized them. Until I had time to think about it over the past few weeks and talk to Tess, I didn’t realize that my mate’s Gallize power was actually calling to my power back when I first met Tess. We both thought we were humans then. How would we know?”
“That is crazy,” Rory murmured.
Cole said, “Even when I was reunited with Tess, I thought it was just the mating bond trying to connect, but it was more. I think you’ll get a sense of a Gallize woman’s power when you’re around her ... if she’s to be your mate.”
Adrian rolled over on his back, still naked and not caring any more than the rest of them. He tossed an arm over his eyes. “I don’t need all three of you here. Why don’t you draw straws and see who gets stuck. The other two can go back.”
Justin, Cole and Rory said, “No.”
Cursing, Adrian said, “I can’t unleash my wolf with more than one of you shifted at a time. The other two are going to be sitting on their butts. Don’t ask me why. I’m telling you it’s worse to have more than one of you in animal form.”
The satphone holstered on Rory’s hip played an alert tone. He answered, paused and said, “Yes, sir.” Then he handed the phone to Justin.
Lifting the receiver to his ear, Justin said, “Yes, Guardian,” because that was the only person who would be calling on this phone at this moment.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your retreat with Adrian, but something has come up that I need you to do.”
“Yes, sir. Whatever you need.” Justin had no doubt it was important, because the Guardian was good for his word when he allowed them the time to work with Adrian.
“I’ve sent one of my company jets to the airport in Sheridan. You need to take it to San Francisco.”
Justin knew the airport east of here, from when they’d flown Adrian in, but what the hell was going on in California? Before Justin could ask, the Guardian said, “You’ll find a file on the jet to study before you arrive. Are you familiar with the Romanov Kamchatka Clan?”
“The one on the east coast of Russia?” Justin asked, already digging around mentally for information. All he came up with was that the Romanov alpha running the largest grizzly shifter clan in that part of Russia had descended from royalty.
“That one, yes. Their alpha, Alexandre Romanov, is someone I’ve known a long time and he’s handled difficult situations in the past for me. He’s sending his firstborn daughter here and has asked for security to escort her to Clan Boudreaux.”
Was his boss kidding? Justin managed to keep his voice calm when he asked, “Are you sure I’m the best one to do this?”
“Is there a problem, Justin?”
Answering that the wrong way would not go well.
The Guardian added, “I know you have issues with your clan.”
“Former clan. Sir.”
“Fine, but this woman will be in a strange country and will need someone familiar with shifters and particularly bear shifters. In addition to that, I considered all three of you and thought you would want Cole and Rory to remain. If I’ve missed something, please explain.”
Justin took in his friends. Cole would be more help than anyone due to being a wolf shifter and having gone through a lack of control. Rory had more medical skills than all of them put together.
Justin’s only reason for staying was because he needed to see Adrian succeed.
But he had to trust his team. Clearing his throat, Justin said, “Sorry, sir. I failed to take everything into consideration. I have no problem with delivering her.”
“Excellent. I have given my personal guarantee that no harm will come to Romanov’s daughter. I believe you’re the best suited to handle this task.”
“Yes, sir. One more thing. Will she have documents?”
“Absolutely. I have arranged for her entry on this end. You will have her shifter paperwork, plus additional papers such as a shifter ID that identifies Clan Boudreaux as being responsible for her while she is in the US. She’s being sent from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky by ship, which will hand her off to a fishing vessel in international waters. Then she’ll be ferried to a personal craft, which will deliver her to docks on the San Francisco Bay.”
No one checked a privately owned boat that came and went from the US coast on a regular basis to fish or pleasure ride, unless the owner had raised suspicion at some point.
“What about entering San Francisco territory? Doesn’t a wolf alpha run that entire area?” Justin had heard of a wolf pack which had been established in San Francisco long before humans learned that shifters existed. Supposedly, that alpha maintained the city as wolf shifter territory for his pack only, and allowed no other shifters to enter without his permission.
“Yes. I’ve also made arrangements for you to have twenty-four-hour access without interference from the local shifter group. Contact information is in the file for when you arrive.”
Justin knew of other, similar, ways for shifters to enter a new country. He’d used a few of those insertion methods when undercover.
The Guardian would utilize a network of people above reproach and very likely to be human. The documents Justin referenced were for shifters only, as they had their own set of rules.
With the Guardian making arrangements on this end, she should arrive with no problem.
Great. The sooner she got here, the sooner Justin could dump her at Clan Boudreaux.
“I’ll leave right away,” Justin said, finishing the call. He handed the phone back to Rory, then stood up. “More beer for all of you, but I’ll reload on my way back. You got rid of one of us for a couple days, Adrian, but that’s all.”
The wolf shifter rolled over on his side again, propping his head on his hand. “You don’t sound excited. The Guardian sending you back overseas?”
“No, it’s worse. I’m escorting a freaking bear clan princess coming for a visit.” Justin would rather face a band of armed terrorists than be stuck with a woman who would look down on him the same way his own family had for eighteen years.
Rory grinned. “You’re complaining about getting stuck with some hot bear shifter? What if she’s the one?”
“Trust me. She’s not.”
“How do you know?”
“She’s a Romanov princess and I’m security. Her daddy would lose his mind if she ate a meal with me. Besides, I don’t deal with high maintenance women,” Justin joked, but that wasn’t the real reason he would never end up with a grizzly shifter.
Herc had made it clear long ago that he detested female grizzly shifters. Justin would never take a mate his bear didn’t like, so he had little hope of
ending up with a mate who could accept the power she’d receive with his bond.
CHAPTER 6
Land. Solid and unmoving land.
The shore was in sight.
Elianna couldn’t wait to stand on firm ground. Her head still swam from being on a ship for six days, then handed off to a fishing trawler, then to a private boat. She’d always loved the water and had never expected to be seasick, but two days out to sea the weather had turned vicious.
She’d thrown up so much that her bear had just hunkered down and gone to sleep. She couldn’t have shifted into her animal if the world was coming to an end and that had been the only hope for survival.
At least she’d crossed the ocean with her friend, Captain Lubov, who had explained how she’d be transferred from his ship to two more vessels so that she could arrive in a private craft.
She’d tried to listen to what he said, truly. But they’d been in rough waters already when he started talking, and all she recalled of that conversation was that she’d arrive in the US on Friday.
The water had smoothed out now, but her head still twirled around, unhappy with her.
Now this nice man named Arthur, who said he grew up as a mountain lion but preferred the water to mountains, had spent the day fishing. His deep tan supported his claim to be out on the water every chance he got. He’d chatted all day, explaining how he had to keep up appearances even during times he wasn’t out strictly for fishing. Once he caught what he considered to be enough fish, he headed for shore.
His thirty-five-foot boat was nicer than any house Elianna had lived in and he’d told her to make herself comfortable.
She’d curled up on the padded bench seat out in the open and kept quiet as he fished.
Her bear didn’t even stir when the man pulled in a nice, fat salmon.
Elianna had eaten crackers earlier. Those came back up.
Late in the afternoon, Arthur said, “I believe we’re safe to go in now. Before we reach the docks, I’ll slow down so you can change to clothes delivered to me. I was told you would want to blend in.”
