by Kim Faulks
The Wolf wanted to bite and consume, but not more than it needed.
Bright headlights splashed the walls, flooding the room, and drowned out the phantom Wolf. No, spirit surged forward as the slam of a car door filled the night.
“Commander! Commander, we have a situation.”
“Shit,” Alpha growled. “Keep going, X. Don’t stop.”
Heavy footsteps rebounded along the wall. We were almost touching, almost…connected.
Hushed urgency drifted down the hall as the Wolf spirit brushed mine.
“He needs to come…it’s the Platoon Sergeant…”
My heart sped at the words. Pain burst, carving a path of utter devastation inside my head. We merged. Power met power with a thunderous roar. I slapped my hands to my temples and whimpered. But the beast was already gone, drowned out under the heady thud of footsteps along the hall.
“We’ve got a situation, Commander,” Alpha growled.
Agony ebbed, leaving me lightheaded and breathless.
“I’m turning the lights on.”
I blinked into the glare and lifted my hand. Darkened edges sharpened as Lance Corporal Christian Stagers gripped the doorway and stared into the room. His panicked gaze went to X and Ghost standing side by side.
“Ma’am, Ma’am,” he acknowledged, drawing my gaze.
There was no glint of fur, no silver eyes to stare back at me. They remained in human form, unshifted. I flinched as they lifted their gaze in tandem and met my gaze.
“There’s been an attack, sir,” Stagers’ panicked words cut through the room. “Terror, the Platoon Sergeant, and three other men were overpowered.”
I yanked my gaze across the room and shoved against the floor to stand. “Any casualties?”
“They were beaten pretty bad, especially Terror. But the Platoon Sergeant, he’s been taken.”
“Taken?”
I could see the fear in his eyes now. Fear and uncertainty. In the field, these men knew protocol, they knew action lines and plans. But here…here we knew nothing. We were stagnant, waiting for something to happen.
And now it had.
I gave a nod. “You know what to do, Marine. I want a full breakdown of the attack by the time I get to the sheds. Blow-by-blow, you hear me?”
Life flared in his eyes. Stagers snapped to attention. Spine straightened, heels came together. “Yes, sir.”
He made a move to leave.
“Wait,” the Doc gave Alpha a nod. “I’m coming with you. I need to have a look at those injuries.”
Because Terror wasn’t quite human anymore.
Stagers turned to me, raising one brow. We had fully trained medics, and we looked after our own. I gave a nod. “Let her go, if she wants to.”
The Lance Corporal gave a nod. “Ma’am.”
She cut across the room and followed in his steps as I voiced my thoughts. “An attack? The Wolves? Someone not happy with us being here?”
He gave a slow nod, but there was uncertainty. “Could be, but I doubt it. To sneak in and attack a small group to take one hostage? Not really their style. They’re more total fucking destruction, if you get me.”
“I’ve seen Wolves under attack. If someone had a problem with you being here, you’d be the first to know, Commander. I’m interested to talk to Terror, get his side of the story.” He shoved away from the wall. “If they’ve taken the Platoon Sergeant…”
My chest tightened. I didn’t need to hear the rest…if they took Alfie, then it was for a reason. My mind raced with all the sensitive information my Platoon Sergeant had access to. We had fail-safes, and I trusted Alfie, trusted the man with my damn life.
But they took him for a reason…
I made for my shoes as headlights lit up the night outside and the growl of the car’s engine followed. Spirit still lingered, moving under my skin and through my veins.
The phantom Wolves and I had unfinished business.
But for now, that had to wait.
11
Samson
Pain had returned to the Sergeant’s face. This time for a whole different reason. Sweat gleamed off pale skin. His eyes widened as I stepped into the room. There was a wince, and fresh blood bloomed underneath the thick wad of dressings taped to his side.
“Commander,” Terror murmured.
“Easy there,” Doc Angel murmured, placing one hand in the middle of his chest. “Back down…now.”
I glanced toward the woman in charge. “Best do what she says, Marine. You don’t want your balls sewn onto your forehead.”
“I’d do it, too,” she murmured, and lifted her head. “Just try me.”
Terror’s lips flattened, there was a hint of a smile before his brow furrowed. “All my fault. Happened so fast, I didn’t have time to draw my weapon…none of us did.”
I took a step closer. “Who was it?”
He shook his head. “Couldn’t see. They came from fucking nowhere, went straight for me, took me down faster than I could blink.”
I glanced at his reddened knuckles on one hand. “Looks like you got at least one in.”
He shook his head, humiliation crowding his dark eyes. “Hit the concrete on the way down. Fucking pathetic.”
I stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s not your fault. You were blindsided, by someone who seems to know their opponents well.”
“He’s out there, Commander. Alfie. He’s out there alone.”
I swallowed hard, dropped my hand, and glanced to her open bag. There was a gleam of glass, vials of the drug that brought me back from death. “Take good care of him, Doc…anyway you need to.”
I glanced at the wound on the Marine’s side and thought of all the things that could go wrong. I had no proof that this connection to spirit lingered, and I had no proof that we wouldn’t turn into the things we despised at the end.
All I had was faith.
Faith that this Doctor knew what she was doing.
Faith this wasn’t all for nothing.
I didn’t like faith. It made me feel weak and unprepared. It made me feel like I was at the mercy of whatever plan God has in store for us.
“Rest up, Marine. We need you healed.”
Alpha stepped to the side as I made for the door. This wasn’t my domain, and not just my men. The Marine had families here, people who depended on him to keep them safe. I closed the door and hit the stairs before I matched his stride. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking whoever it is is smart and an immortal. They have to be. There’s no way they could’ve sensed the shifter energy in him if they weren’t.”
I nodded, hearing my own fears voiced. “And if they can sense that with only a damn injection, then they’d have to be strong.”
Strong indeed.
The thought stayed with me as I yanked open the rear door and climbed into the back of Alpha’s Jeep. The engine started, and the vehicle pulled away, heading for the bank of sheds that, for now, was Command.
Floodlights lit up the parking bay. Stagers stood outside with the rest of the command team. I glanced at the others, young men Alpha had among his detail. By now, the men under my command would be locked and loaded, ready for their first instructions.
The only problem was, I didn’t have a damn clue what to tell them.
Alpha braked hard, swinging the Jeep’s nose into the parking space and switched off the engine, and for a second, we just sat there in the silence. The thud of my heart reverberated through my head, like a ticking bomb.
My men were vulnerable, and I put them there.
Me. No one else.
But bombs, like my thoughts, didn’t tick forever.
They self-imploded.
“You ready?” Alpha muttered.
I lifted my head, met his gaze and gave a nod. “Let’s do this.”
Movements blurred into one as I climbed out of the SUV and made for the blinding lights.
“A perimeter’s been set up.” Corpor
al Stagers ran down the emergency procedure list. “I’ve got four men stationed with shifters at the exit. Animal and Irwin are setting up scanners and logging into satellites now. If they left by car, we’ll find them soon enough.”
I gave a nod. “Double the men, and I want men stationed around the perimeter. Within sight of each other, you understand me, Corporal, within sight.”
The nod was fast. “Yes, sir.”
I’d not lose another man. Not this night…not any goddamn night. He turned and left, jogging to the rest of the men waiting for instructions. The place was a hive of activity. Instructions were given and carried out.
Alpha moved off to repeat instructions. We had no idea who was behind this stunt. But whoever it was would feel my goddamn wrath.
The burn of rage filled my chest.
No one touched my men.
No one took my Platoon Sergeant.
The sudden draw of breath against my ear made me spin. I searched behind me.
There was no one.
The hairs on my arms stood on end. My pulse kicked into a higher gear.
This was no time to be the man, they needed the Commander. They needed strength. “Stay away,” I growled into nothing.
That sharp draw of a breath filled my head. I spun, and stared at the edges of darkness where the floodlights didn’t reach.
Footsteps filled the air behind me. “You okay, Commander?” Alpha growled.
But I couldn’t leave the darkness, not yet. Not with spirit breathing down my neck.
Not with the thrum of the call in my veins. Shadows moved at the edge of the light. The dark shape hunkered low and stalked forward. Turning his head to me and then away again.
Almost as though he were calling me, urging me to follow.
I took a step and that flood of other surged in my veins.
“Commander?”
I didn’t turn, didn’t even slow. “I’m fine,” I called and stepped off the edge of the light and into the darkness.
The phantom Wolf was waiting, and watching. Silver shone in his eyes, and then he was gone as the beast turned his back to me and trotted away.
My heart kicked. The urgency burst inside me. I took a step, and then another, pushing off into a jog.
Where he led, I followed, around the edge of the half-built houses.
“Commander!” Alpha called far behind me.
But there was no time to stop now, even if I wanted to. Purpose burned in my veins as the Wolf picked up the pace.
Heavy muscles burned with the effort. I forced my breaths to slow. In through the nose and out the mouth and waited for the second wind, for my strides to lengthen, and that burn to fade.
Faster now, moving toward the edge of the forest. Faint howls filled my head, memories of the hunt. I could still feel the urgency…the call. My stride lengthened. I ran with faith, not caring about uneven ground, not caring about a thing…
But the hunt.
And I was hunting. For what I wasn’t sure. The phantom Wolf leapt over exposed roots from a fir, and I followed, pushing off with one foot, and landing hard on the other.
He was only just in front now. The pounding of his paws matched the beat of my strides. I could almost feel the air in his lungs, almost feel the sense of the Wolf.
He lifted his head, and sniffed the air. Bitter cold rushed in, quenching the inferno in my lungs for a second. There was something on the wind, some faint trace I could almost find.
It was that scent I hungered for. That scent that drew me deeper into spirit.
Faster, I urged and the beast picked up the pace even more.
Paws pounded soft dirt as we raced along the tree line. The steel girders shone in the distance. I sucked in a hard breath and stared at the hulking mansion behind the barrier.
The Senator’s place?
Darkness surrounded the barrier. For the last few weeks I’d seen the floodlights at night, and heard the faint howl of saws, hammers, and drills.
But not tonight.
The phantom Wolf turned his head. The silver gleam found me as he gave a huff.
He knew.
I dragged in the bitter scent floating on the air—it was stronger—fresher. Tasting of old pennies on the tip of my tongue.
He knew, and now so did I.
The scent was blood. Bitter, sweet blood.
I swallowed hard and surged forward. Panic rode every breath. Behind me, far off in the distance, the roar of a four-wheel drive cut through the air. I didn’t have to turn my head to know who it was.
Alpha was hunting, just as we were.
Danger and death filled the night. I felt the hunger, felt the need. Felt everything as the phantom Wolf disappeared through the towering fence. I slowed my pace, sucking in hard breaths, and searched for a way inside. There was a gap where the fence meshed in to the branches of the towering pine.
I ducked my head, lifted my hand to protect my face, and speared through the branches. Pine needles poked my cheek, my mouth. I dropped to my knees, crawled to the edge of the barrier, and heaved myself through.
Chain links rattled, the steel frame shook. I sucked in my gut and yanked, dragging my feet through before I crawled out the other side.
The faint ruff from the phantom Wolf urged me to hurry. I scurried, pushing against the ground and climbed to my feet as I stepped free of the pine. The glass sparkled like obsidian. The front door was wide open. Darkened footprints marred the entrance.
Fresh footprints.
A low growl echoed, rumbling from the back of my throat. Ivory fangs shone against the night as the phantom Wolf took a step closer.
“He’s in there, isn’t he?” I whispered.
Silver eyes shone, blinked, and then turned to the open door. He was slow, moving carefully toward the wet tread of boots at the doorway.
Headlights spilled, cutting through the gaps in the fence, and for a second the phantom beast was gone, stolen by the glare. The lights dimmed, and then ended as the engine died.
Power raced, riding a razor’s edge of fear. A low moan came from inside and was followed by a whimper. I tensed my hand, and then squeezed, curling fingers into a fist. “Let’s do this.”
The phantom Wolf gathered substance and then stepped over the footprints and through the open door. My damn body trembled. I could fight, but so could Terror. If he hadn’t had a chance…
I swallowed hard as the low moan came once more and then followed the Wolf.
The snap of a lock echoed, but there was no time to wait, no time to do anything but step inside the gutted house.
I could see him, shadows blurred into nothing. There was no shift of movement, no scratch of paws. There was nothing but that connection thrumming through my veins.
We moved like one, scented like one.
Became one.
A harsh wheeze came from the edge of the room. I took a step, scanning the murky gloom and kicked something hard and heavy.
A whimper took flight, and then a harsh wheeze. “No more.”
“Alfie?” I surged forward, stepping, stumbling, finding the darkened blur in the faint rays of the moon.
A light clicked on behind me. The glare carved through the belly of the house and bounced off the steel equipment. I winced, looked to the floor, and kept moving. “Alfie, it’s me, Samson.”
He whimpered, shifted, almost as though he was trying to get away.
His face. Jesus, his face. He’d been beaten in the most brutal fucking way. One eye was swollen and closed, blood wept, bright and shining. His lip was split, the edges already swelling. But it was the gash across his cheek that made my gut tighten. Skin gaped, pulling away on either side. “What the fuck did they do to you?,”
“My fault,” he whimpered and shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Samson. I never told them…never told them a damn thing.”
I stilled. Straightened. “Never told them what, Alfie?”
He tried to move, but his hands were tied behind his back. A guttural groa
n filled the air as the torchlight scanned his body.
“Jesus Christ, Sarge. Hang on, I got ya,” Alpha growled.
The bright beam cut through the room as Alfie spoke. “I tried to stop them. But they already knew…they knew everything.”
A little brown bear sat across from him on a stool. It was a child’s toy, old, frayed, one eye skewed and a patch on the middle of his belly.
“Knew where they lived. Even where Neve whent to school.”
The floor seemed to fall out from under me.
The torchlight stilled, not even a tremble.
“He said if you didn’t do exactly what he said, that they’d disappear. I’m so sorry, Samson. I gave them nothing. You have to believe me.”
I took a step, drawn by the awkward gaze on this goddamn bear. It wasn’t real, wasn’t here. It was hundreds of miles away in the bedroom of a beautiful young woman.
My daughter.
“I failed you again,” Alfie murmured.
I could hear the pain in his words, smell the torture in the air. But I couldn’t do a damn thing to help him—not now…I reached out, brushing the soft brown fur.
It wasn’t hers, just a fake. One bought in any store. The eye didn’t matter, the patch just a replica. I gripped the soft arms and drew the thing close. Not real. Not hers.
I turned the bear over to the white tag on the bottom, and for a second I couldn’t see, couldn’t focus. Fear was a fist around my throat. “The light, give me the damn light.”
The words were a harsh hiss, but the glare followed, bouncing, and then steadied on the tag at its ass.
Neve’s Bear fixed by Daddy…
The scrawl was the same…dear God, the scrawl was the same.
The fur slipped, the damn thing tumbled, falling, stuffed arms over its head, and hit the filthy floor. “Who are they?” I wrenched my head toward Alfie as he rubbed his wrists and stared at me. “Who the fuck are they?”
My roar rebounded, slamming into me.
“The Shadow Government,” the words a hiss. “That’s who they said they were.”
