Justified
A Leah Wolfe SINS Novel
Rhonda L. Print
Published 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59578-976-1
Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509 Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © Published 2012, Rhonda L. Print. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Liquid Silver Books
http://LSbooks.com
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
Blurb
Leah Wolfe, federal agent for the Supernatural Investigations of Non-Human Species—SINS—is determined to put the pieces of her personal life back together. Her relationship with Ian Nightwalker, her vampire lover and a Marquis in the vampire ruling council, has heated up and is going further than she’d ever thought possible.
When her ex-fiancé, Joaquin Wildhorse calls Leah in the middle of the night and asks her to come to the home of Louis Deveraux, Alpha of the largest wolf pack in the country, her first instinct is to hang up. Until he asks her to bring Ian. Louis has been gruesomely murdered, leaving behind a daughter and a decree that Joaquin is to be the new pack Alpha.
Now as the slain bodies of more shape-shifters start turning up closer to home, Leah’s personal and professional lives collide. She knows who the killer is but legally can’t touch him. She'll need the help of Ian and Joaquin to step outside of the law and stop a killer to protect the lives of those she loves the most. If she can manage that, things just might get interesting.
Dedication
For my mom and sister. I hope there are books in heaven.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my husband, Jack, who supports me in everything! Also a big thanks to my wonderful cheering section, Savannah, Megan, Kaitlin, Jack, Cheyenne, Alyssa, and Kyle.
Prologue
The human condition compels us to be in control of our own destiny. To push forward through obstacles and ignore those who would thwart us from our desired path.
Whether it is ingrained in the very seed of our conception or acquired through circumstance is unclear.
No matter. It is a lie.
Control is an illusion. A convenient deception of consciousness that we all subscribe to and few of us can afford.
Destiny is a controlling bitch, and she will have her way.
Ignorance is not always bliss. Sometimes it’s deadly.
Chapter 1
Surrounded by wild animals was not the way I would have chosen to begin this night, especially when the animals seemed hell-bent on keeping me from going to where I needed to be.
I’m Leah Wolfe, a federal agent for Supernatural Investigations of Non-Human Species, more widely known as SINS.
The supernatural world had been quiet recently and I had been enjoying a bit of a respite from the craziness of my life. I’d even managed to get a couple of days of decent sleep snuggled up next to Ian Nightwalker, my vampire lover, and had done some paperwork at the SINS office during the night while Ian worked at the casino that he owned. It had been normal, or as normal as my life was ever going to get.
The wolves snarled and growled at us, baring teeth larger than any vampire’s, and I found myself fighting the gut-wrenching desire to flee for my life.
I was not particularly fond of large dogs and because they possessed human intellect, I was seriously getting pissed off.
“We were invited.” I insisted for the umpteenth time. “If you do not let us pass, we’re leaving.” I glared at the wolf closest to me and lowered my voice. “Tell your alpha that!”
I turned to walk away and the wolves moved closer. I realized too late that they were trying to isolate me. They were wedging themselves between Ian and me.
My fingers twitched, practically aching with the need to reach for my gun. But these were Ian’s friends and he had asked me to play by their rules tonight.
Ian Nightwalker isn’t only my lover. He is a very old vampire—a Marquis—which makes him a very powerful ruler in the supernatural world, and before a particularly dangerous battle that threatened the lives of Ian’s brothers and Joaquin, I agreed to let Ian Mark me.
In old terms that would have made me his blood slave. Someone whose will was completely controlled by his or her vampire.
In old terms.
What it actually means is that Ian and I are inseparably bonded. He can read my thoughts and I can read his. It’s a sort of mind-speak; we can literally hear each other in our heads. Unless we block each other out, a skill he is much more adept at than I am.
Ian would never try to completely control me like that, though. Hell, I’m a necromancer and my inherent ability is to control the dead. Since Ian is technically dead, we don’t even know if it would possible for him to completely control me.
If he did, I’d kill him.
So no one calls me his blood slave. It’s safer for everyone that way.
I had no idea what kind of friends invited you over and then surrounded you with angry dogs and I asked Ian as much. “What the hell is going on, Ian?”
“It is unusual that Louis would employ such tactics, my love. I have known him for many decades and I am sure he must have a valid reason.”
“It wasn’t Louis who invited us.” I reminded him.
Louis Deaveraux was the alpha of the largest wolf pack in the United States. Ian had used up a few favors to get Louis to agree to take in Joaquin Wildhorse, my former fiancé, and help him transition into his new life as a wolf shape-shifter.
I still had trouble wrapping my head around the fact that Joaquin was now a Shifter. He’d intentionally gotten himself bitten by a werewolf in a misguided attempt to win back a spot in my life. At the time he’d been under the impression that Ian was using mind control to make me love him. Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure at the time that Ian wasn’t.
Of course if Joaquin hadn’t cheated on me while we’d been engaged he would have kept his place in my life.
Well, maybe not. I love Ian more than I’d ever thought I could love anyone. Ian loves me more than I deserve.
Joaquin also believed that a witch, Amanda, would be able to “cleanse” me of the vampire influence and return Joaquin to human status. He was wrong on all counts.
And while Amanda liked to experiment on Supernaturals, a practice her vampire husband condoned, she would never have been able to remove the werewolf from Joaquin. The transformation changes your very DNA; there is no going back.
Amanda wasn’t just Henry’s wife, she was his blood slave and for nearly a century they had also been blood dealers, similar to drug dealers with the exception of product line. They would kill humans who were not likely to be missed. Homeless people, drug addicts and runaways were their humans of choice to kill and drain. They then sold the blood to vampires who preferred not to get it the old fashioned way.
Once the Vampire Rights Amendment, or VRA, passed into law they would have been out of a job. There are now many humans more than willing to donate blood to vampires in exchange for carnal pleasures or monetary gain.
I killed Amanda and then raised her corpse to kill Henry. I wish I could say I felt remorse.
I can’t.
They had not only murdered countless innocent people, they had threatened the lives of pe
ople I love and that made it personal. I don’t regret their deaths and am learning to make peace with that side of myself, the darkness within my soul and the part of me that kills.
Joaquin just had the misfortune of taking advice from the wrong people for the wrong reasons. As a result, the life he had as Chief Detective for the Native American Reservation Police Department was on hold. He needed to learn to control the beast that now shares his body before he can return to any semblance of normalcy. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, he might just be able to return from his leave of absence and resume police work.
If not, I’m sure there will be a place for him at SINS.
A phone call from Joaquin in the middle of the night—or day if you live on my schedule—began this little adventure.
“Leah,” Joaquin spoke softly as if he were afraid he’d woken me up, “I need you to come to Oak Creek.”
Normally, I would have simply hung up. Shortly after Joaquin was bitten, he’d kidnapped me and taken me to be “cleansed” by Amanda. While I now know he was crazy and his wolf personality considered me his mate, I was still pissed off about the whole incident. Then he added, “Bring Ian.” And he had my full attention. Joaquin would never ask for Ian unless it was extremely necessary.
So here we stood on the outside edge of the reservation, territory of the largest wolf pack in America.
I caught a movement in the woods to my left. If the wolves or Ian saw it they gave no indication, which could only mean one thing.
I took a deep breath, kicked the wolf blocking my path into a tree and ran toward the movement. Another wolf snagged the cuff of my jeans but I kicked him off without as much as breaking stride. I gave myself a self-satisfactory smile and kicked up the speed a couple of notches.
I wasn’t yet accustomed to my added speed yet, a fact punctuated when I stumbled. Managing to regain my balance, I slowed my pace a bit but kept a few steps ahead of the wolves as I chased a shadow deep into the woods. A shadow shaped like a man.
I heard Ian, and knew he was still fighting with the wolves.
“Keep them off my back.” I said through our mental link.
“I do not like this situation, my love. It would be safer if you returned to me.”
“Please, Ian. Trust me.”
“Very well, my love, but do not stray too far away.” Both his anxiety and resignation brushed against my mind.
I dodged through trees while the sounds of fighting trailed further behind me. He suddenly stopped and I nearly barreled right into the shadow I’d been chasing. I pulled up short and took a few steps backward to put a reasonably safe distance between us.
“So you are Leah Wolfe?” The man said thoughtfully.
“The question is,” I countered, “who are you?”
He stepped out of the shadows and I knew from Ian’s description exactly who stood in front of me. “Louis.”
He was of average height for a man yet was wider than the tree trunk that he stood in front of. His hair was dark and a little long, like he’d put off getting a haircut. He was bare from the waist up and I could see a few gray hairs adorning his torso, revealing his age. He wore light colored jeans and well-worn work boots, and he stood a few feet away from me with his arms crossed over his chest.
His eyes were what really gave away his identity. Ian was right. Louis had the greenest eyes I had ever seen.
“I’d appreciate it if you’d call off the hounds, Louis. We were invited here.”
He nodded and eased his stance a little. “I know, but they are no longer mine to command.”
I blinked at him. “What?”
He merely looked at me, patiently waiting for me to understand.
Shit.
The only way that was possible was for Louis to lose his alpha status to another wolf, or if he was … I took a few steps closer to confirm what I already knew.
I reached my hand out to Louis and pushed it right through his body.
Double shit!
“You’re dead? How?”
“I do not know.”
Noise from behind startled me and I turned to see Joaquin swagger out of the woods. His gait was confident and relaxed as he emerged from the forest. His black hair was longer now and tied beginning at the nape of his neck by multiple bands as it extended down the length of his back. He still wore the jeans and cowboy boots that he’d always favored and his camouflage T-shirt blended into the environment.
His black almond shaped eyes searched mine, as if looking for the answer to an unspoken question.
I turned back toward Louis but the space he had occupied was now empty.
Ian walked silently out of the woods, blocking Joaquin’s path, and I flitted my eyes to him then back to Joaquin. He unlocked his gaze from mine to look at Ian. “I’m glad you both came.” Joaquin said with a sincerity that startled me. He turned and extended his hand to Ian.
“We could have done without the welcoming committee. I shall have a few questions for Louis.” Ian responded, shaking his hand.
A dark look flashed over Joaquin’s face. “That is the reason I’ve asked you here.”
I opened my mouth to speak but Joaquin stopped me with a wave of his hand. I looked behind Ian to see the wolves peeking out from various spots in the thick underbrush. “We should take this inside.” Joaquin suggested.
I nodded and walked past him to take Ian’s arm. He shifted, making sure to leave my right hand, my gun hand, free. That gesture alone let me know that Ian was no longer comfortable with the situation.
We followed Joaquin.
He led us onto a narrow trail; the earth was trodden down and cut a path through the bushes and weeds. It seemed Joaquin was leading us deeper into the forest but if Ian was uncomfortable with the idea, he didn’t show it.
The wolves followed behind us, only the occasional snapping of a twig announcing their presence, and I was sure that without my enhanced hearing, I would not have heard them at all.
The scent of damp permeated the air and I couldn’t resist the urge to close my eyes and breathe deeply. I loved living in the desert and a recent rain shower brought the scents of the surrounding trees and bushes alive. The night was cool and a slight breeze chilled me, making me glad that I’d grabbed a jacket on the way to the car.
The trail opened up to a small clearing with a house made of glass and wood, like a modern log cabin. The house blended into the surroundings beautifully with a second story balcony that I suspected wrapped around the entire structure.
I paused on the front porch to look around, noticing that the wolves stayed hidden within the trees.
Once the door was safely shut behind us I turned to Ian and brushed my hand along his cheek in an effort to soften the words I was about to say.
“What is it, my love?” Ian’s eyes showed concern. It was rare that his expression showed emotion to anyone except me.
“Louis is dead.”
Joaquin sucked in a breath. “How did you…”
“I talked to him.” I didn’t take my eyes off Ian and the grief that flickered in his eyes.
Finally, Ian nodded once, acknowledging the information I’d given him, and then looked at Joaquin. “Who is the new Alpha?” His grief was no longer evident as he assumed the emotionless face of the centuries old vampire that he was.
Joaquin straightened, his face morphing into extreme arrogance. “Me.”
Ian’s eyes narrowed as I stood there with my mouth open. There are only two ways to become Alpha of a pack. Either the past Alpha steps down because of age or health, or…
“I didn’t kill him.” Joaquin lifted his chin, answering my unspoken question. “And I don’t know who did, but Louis assigned me as his successor.”
“Have you proven yourself to the pack?” Ian asked. Pack life wasn’t like human life. You didn’t just get promoted or voted in. The pack had to trust you implicitly. They relied on their Alpha for everything and die to protect him. You didn’t get that type of allegian
ce unless you’d earned it.
“The pack doesn’t know Louis is dead.” Joaquin ran a hand down his hair. “If word got out, every Mongrel in the country would be trying to pick a fight. I need to earn the support of my pack first.”
“Avenging Louis’ death would help.” Ian said.
“It would.”
“Then we must find who killed him.” Ian clasped my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. I leaned a little more into him, offering all the comfort that I could right now.
“It is why I’ve asked you here.” Joaquin lowered himself into an overstuffed chair. Ian and I followed, taking a seat together on the matching sofa.
“I’ve barely been a werewolf for six months and now I find myself in a position to either lead the pack myself or choose someone else worthy of the position.”
“Do you want to remain Alpha?” I leaned forward in my seat, resting my elbows on my knees. I didn’t doubt that Louis assigned him as successor but Joaquin wasn’t very accepting of the supernatural world last I spoke to him.
Joaquin shrugged. “I’ve given this a lot of thought.” He stretched his legs out and crossed them casually at the ankles. “Louis trained me himself. He had planned on stepping down and wanted me to be his successor.” He paused to clear the emotion from his throat. “I am not completely certain of my abilities but I have not found another pack wolf worthy either.”
Joaquin had fought against my abilities and me for years and now he was considering the role of Alpha.
“Why the sudden change of heart, Joaquin?” I didn’t even try to keep the sarcasm from my voice. “You give me shit about my own abilities and now you’re considering walking into one of the biggest roles in the supernatural community without a backward glance? Excuse me for thinking you have different motives.”
He sat a little straighter and I saw anger flash within his eyes. He raked his hand over his hair and down its long length, this time loosening the ties holding it in place. “This decision has been the only thing on my mind. Believe me, I didn’t ask for this!”
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