by Dianna Love
“Powerful and unmatched eyes?” the Guardian asked with sudden interest. “Why didn’t you mention that before now?”
“To be honest, I didn’t know about her eyes until Scarlett told us. The woman kept her eyes averted and I was focused on calming her down to convince her to hide while I cleared the bodies before the runner showed up. As for her power, it strikes me as off-the-charts.” Rory asked his boss, “Do you think she might be a Gallize female?”
“Possibly, but mismatched eyes are just one marker and not an absolute indication, even when matched with power.”
Cole joined in, asking, “If she’s so dangerous and you’re still healing, why would you want to go with us? You would never take a teammate who couldn’t stand up or fight at a hundred percent.”
The Guardian’s intense gaze locked on Rory as he also waited for the answer.
“The jackals I pulled off of her were trying to get her to shift, because she’d been caught with the other shifters. She was hurt at first, but during a skirmish when she stepped close to one that wasn’t dead, I pulled her back. I think she was still in shock, but she allowed me to hold her to calm her down.” He’d never forget the feeling of that no matter how long he lived.
“Oh?” That’s all Justin said and Rory heard ten questions right behind it. Damn bear.
Rory hurried to push past Justin’s curious tone and explained, “That’s why I don’t think she’ll allow anyone else close to her, especially a shifter. When she got her wits about her, she backed off fast. I told her we would help her and she said we couldn’t help her, that shifters are all dangerous. She seemed sincerely confused about her power. I think she could be a risk if someone else approached her until we know what we’re dealing with, but she’ll talk to me. I believe that.”
After his appeal and pointing out that the woman could harm someone even accidentally, the Guardian agreed to allow Rory to go with the team under one condition. If he had not healed by the time he returned, the Guardian would expect him to accept being put into stasis for a week or two.
Nope, nope, nope. That was not on Rory’s wish list.
He understood the Guardian was worried about him and had only Rory’s best interest at heart, but his jaguar would snap.
Ferrell sent him an image of fetching a dead eagle and returning it to Rory like a Labrador would on a pheasant hunt.
If the Guardian ever picked up one of those images, he might deal with Ferrell himself. The Guardian could speak to them mind to mind, but Rory had never known his boss to just enter a mind unexpectedly.
“How you doin’?” Justin asked without turning his head from where he studied the house through binoculars. The place was lit up like they were having a party.
Rory pulled his hand from where he’d been massaging his calf and said, “I’m fine.”
Cole snorted. “I smelled that lie from over here.” He spoke softly because of his comm unit, which all five of them wore tonight. But since Rory waited with Justin and Cole, he had removed his ear bud for the moment.
Until they confirmed this was indeed a Black River pack location and the pack had the white-haired woman, they could only sit and wait. A second team had been put on ready in case new reports came in about someone else who might have her.
Scarlett stood by her intel and claimed they’d find the woman here. To her credit, she’d been sending information nonstop once she discovered his nymph had been captured.
He did a mental headshake. He had to stop even thinking that moniker for their target package. She was not his in any way, shape or form.
Leaning back against the base of a tree, Justin asked, “What do you think, Rory? Could she be a Gallize?”
“I have no idea, but Cole didn’t know Tess was a Gallize until we all watched her bring him back to life.”
“She’s fucking amazing,” Cole said in a voice loaded with admiration.
Rory asked, “How’d you know when you met Eli that she was your mate, Justin?”
The bear shifter scoffed. “Shit, I was clueless about Eli at first, but my bear knew she was our mate, which opened my eyes to the possibility. I did realize she was an alpha bear capable of handling the power in our bond. She’s got plenty of her own. Once I realized that and my bear wanted her as much as I did, it didn’t really matter if she was a Gallize.”
Considering his two mated friends, Rory asked, “What about now?”
“Huh?” They both turned to him.
“Can you tell other Gallize shifters how they might recognize a mate?”
Justin continued his surveillance while he answered. “That’s a good question. We should be analyzing this for the others, especially if the woman we’re hunting is a Gallize.”
Cole said, “Tess hid her power for years because she feared it would make her an outcast, but once I felt her energy it ... shit, this will sound stupid, but—”
“But what?” Rory pushed.
“I think my mate’s power called to mine ... or my animal and my power recognized hers.”
Justin lowered the glasses a fraction. “Not stupid. I think you’re onto it. I feel the same thing with Eli. It’s as if our energy is in sync when we’re together and misses each other’s power when we’re apart.” He chuckled. “Now I sound loony.”
Rory didn’t comment when he’d normally agree about Justin being loony just to poke at his friend. He was too busy recalling how the nymph’s energy had buzzed up to where they touched and ... she’d healed him. Or maybe her power had performed the actual healing.
Had his power recognized hers and that’s why he healed?
No way.
She might be a Gallize female, but she was not his mate, just a healer. His healer. He had no business feeling proprietary about her, but bottom line? He didn’t like the idea of her power calling to another Gallize shifter.
Add him to the loony list.
Rory’s jaguar sent him a new image of the nymph walking with her hand on Ferrell’s back. He silently warned, Don’t even start that shit, Ferrell.
He got a snort in return. How much trouble would it be to just say one word?
Ferrell growled, Mate.
No. Pick another word, Rory countered.
He received nothing but silence this time.
Rory told his beast, You could be working on fixing my leg.
He got a picture of a jaguar limping along on three legs. Damn drama queen.
“Shit, something’s going down,” Justin murmured.
Twisting around, Rory shoved the comm unit back into place and snapped into mission mode. “Got the audio, Cole?”
“Yep.” The wolf shifter held a small electronic listening device that resembled a miniature bullhorn, which would pick up audio from three hundred feet away.
In this case, they were half that distance. Even with shifter hearing, they could miss something significant without the electronics.
Cole informed the team he was linking all the comm units into the feed so everyone would know what was being said.
When the audio picked up, one of the wolves was telling two others, “Everybody is looking for that bitch. She’s gotta go as soon as the boss finishes with her.”
A second wolf snickered. “He should turn her over to us. We haven’t had a group plaything in two weeks. ’Bout time for a new one.”
Rory’s body vibrated. They could be talking about any female, but his gut said they were discussing his nymph. His jaguar raged to get out and go after those wolves. Rory locked his control down to maintain his position until Justin signaled any action.
Kill wolves.
Shit, his jaguar said two words. When had that ever happened? Never.
Another wolf shifter walked out of the building and kept his voice down as he said, “Boss is almost through with her.”
The one who wanted a gangbang said, “He giving her to us?”
“As soon as he gets all he needs first.”
Rory cut his comm mic and told Justin, “T
ime to go get her.”
Cole said, “We don’t have confirmed identi—”
“It’s her, dammit. I know it.”
Cole and Justin swung their heads at Rory with matching frowns. Justin said, “What the fuck? We just forget the plan and dive into this shit?”
This was going to get him busted big time with the Guardian, but his body was about to explode into a maniac jaguar determined to protect the nymph.
Fighting the panic to go after her, Rory said, “If one of you told me you knew in a way you couldn’t explain that you were right about something, I’d believe you. I’m telling you right now, they have our target. If you aren’t willing to go in, then at least agree to let me insert.”
Justin cursed silently but in a vicious tone. When he looked back at Rory, he said, “Stop putting me in the position of trying to be fair when it comes to you.”
“I understand and that’s why if you’ll let me go now, I’ll be the one to tell the Guardian what I did. Not you. That isn’t fair. I’m responsible for what I do. I don’t want to screw this mission, but I have to get in there. If we wait, they may take her out another door, then we’ll be too late to stop the group rape.”
Cole and Justin cringed at that statement. Gallize shifters were the most honorable men Rory had ever known and they’d do anything to protect a woman, human or shifter, but they were hesitating.
Rory’s claws shot out, drawing Justin’s worried look to his hands.
Shit, his jaguar was raging to get free.
Shifting without a valid reason on this mission would be the one thing the Guardian would not let pass.
Chapter 12
From where she knelt on the hard floor, Siofra held her breath as Hector walked around his desk and put a hip on the front of it. She peeked up to find him staring hard at her. Lowering her gaze again, she considered what to say next.
She couldn’t outright lie, not with all these Black River pack shifters standing close, but she’d learned by age ten how to do a damn good two-step around the truth just to survive.
She did not have shifter-level heightened senses, but the smell of fur overwhelmed her even with them all in human form.
Hector asked, “You would help us hunt down this man the Cadells tell me you were friends with?”
“Yes. I don’t see him as a friend.” That was true only because she considered Baatar a brother, so much more than a friend. But she’d had to sound confident even if her heart hurt just saying those words.
She was in a compound deep in the woods in the middle of nowhere. Convincing Hector she told the truth was her only way out of here and she had slim hope of that.
“That is not what I hear, chica. They tell me you two were close. That Baatar sometimes protected you.”
She huffed a dry laugh. “Of course he did. First of all, he liked me. I’m very likable,” she quipped.
Hector said nothing, so she added, “Baatar is a wise planner. He said he’d help me escape. He needed me to help him understand things that confused him here.”
“What things?” Hector demanded.
“He wasn’t born here and hasn’t had a lot of time to acclimate to this country. He needed a guide.” Also the truth. While Baatar was very intelligent and resourceful, everyday things and slang terminology sometimes tripped him up. She added, “I knew all the guards and their schedules where he’d only arrived in the camp six months ago.”
Not slowing down, she shrugged. “He made it clear he would help me escape and I took him up on his offer. Why wouldn’t I? The Cadells were probably planning to sell me to your pack to be used like a guinea pig. Baatar orchestrated my escape. He told me exactly how to get out of the camp and find a highway. I didn’t even know there was a highway. That was key in making it out of their territory.”
No one could question that. Every bit of it came from reality. Some wolves she could peek at studied her with confusion, but no one appeared ready to condemn her words if their alpha did not.
Hector said nothing for a while. She could feel him staring at her, probably in a dilemma.
He asked, “You would deceive him after he helped you escape?”
She had never thought of herself as a siren, but she tried for a sly smile. Giving another lift to her shoulder as if to dismiss the importance of her giving up Baatar, she said, “I’m a woman. We don’t see things like that as deceit so much as ... creative thinking.” She bluffed, hoping she sounded like a cold bitch willing to use a man to get whatever she wanted.
Baatar would roll his eyes at her if he stood here.
Low growling started and someone muttered, “Puta.”
Mission accomplished.
Hector lifted a hand and the room quieted at once. Stepping around to the front of his desk, he paced back and forth, muttering to himself until he paused. “Do you know the price of lying to me?”
“No, but I can probably figure it out,” she muttered, sure her imagination was up to par after having lived around jackals.
Hector’s sick smile came through in his words. “I promise you that you have no idea. If you lie to me and even if you escaped—which is impossible while surrounded by shifters—I would send teams everywhere to find you, even if it took years. They would bring you back to face the consequences.”
Okay, so she had no imagination equal to that of a monster who probably tortured kittens to relax.
“Why would I lie to you?” she asked, trying to lock down a deal. “I met Baatar six months ago. Why would I put my life on the line for someone I’ve known almost no time when I’ve known others in the Cadell camps for years? I’ll be very clear. Baatar said he was the greater prize than I am, which is true. He was treated better than even the shifters who guarded us. He will do whatever it takes to remain free. It seems only fair that I do whatever I must for my freedom.”
“How will you do this?”
Her heart flipped with hope. “Give me two of your shifters and I will lead them to Baatar. Once we find him, you let me go. No tricks or double cross. You give me a day head start before you tell anyone, like the Cadells, and no one will ever hear from me again.”
“You would accept my word for this?” he asked, amused again.
It took so little to entertain a lunatic.
Still talking to the floor, which actually made this easier, she said, “Of course not. I would require you to announce the terms of our agreement to your men with me standing next to you and to give me a blood oath. Your men won’t follow someone whose word counts for nothing.” She could sense the smiles in the room. Those guys would only be disappointed in Hector if he did keep his word to a captive female.
But it was the best bargaining chip she could come up with when her pockets were empty.
Baatar would be proud of her if she pulled this off. He’d laugh about all the things she’d done to get this pack to lead her to him. He’d said if they were ever free, there was only one thing she should never mention around strangers.
All she needed was a chance to get close to Baatar. He always told her not to worry about anything except staying alive and sticking to the plan.
Hector acted as if he considered her proposition. “I believe we can do this, but I need to make some arrangements first. My men will show you to a private room where you will be given food and time to rest.”
Not the answer she’d been hoping to get immediately, but he sounded as if he just might give her a chance to find Baatar. She’d also avoided being sent to one of their labs, at least for now.
Nodding at the shifter next to her, Hector said, “Take her ... what is your name?”
“Siofra.” She could have lied, but he had to know her name and wanted to test her.
“Take Siofra to her room.”
The guard hooked a hand under her arm and lifted her like a twig. When she pulled away, he released her, allowing her to turn and walk at his side.
She took being treated better than when she’d arrived as a positive sign, too
. This might just work.
She enjoyed only a brief moment of relief, because now they headed for the exit into the scary darkness, and she trusted none of these guards.
Three steps outside the front door, chaos erupted on the side of the building with men shouting and wolves howling.
Someone ran by her guard and spewed orders at him in Spanish.
They must have decided she was not a threat, because both of them tore off in that direction. She could hear Hector bellowing orders in Spanish inside the building.
Moving cautiously, she sidestepped until she reached the edge of the building and stepped into a black void. No windows on this side where light could spill out to illuminate her way along this narrow strip of ground that had been cleared.
She kept her hand on the wall of the building and continued moving, not at all sure where she was going since she’d been brought here hidden inside a van.
But the road they’d traveled on had been smooth until the last half mile. She could run that far without too much trouble.
She’d escaped once by finding a highway. She could do it again.
What crappy timing for some rival group to attack this place when she had Hector convinced to let her take a pair of shifters to track down Baatar. She knew her brother well. He’d outwit the two wolf shifters, take them down and free her.
Now, she was back to starting over again.
She just hoped Baatar would wait for her before he gave up hope of her finding him and disappeared permanently. She also hoped he was not suffering bad physical and emotional problems without her around to watch his back.
Another possibility dawned on her.
Could the attackers be a faction of the Cadells coming to take her back so they could sell her after all?
That would be her freaking luck.
Whoever it was, she needed them to keep the wolves busy until she reached the road. If she couldn’t flag down a car fast enough, a shifter from one of the groups would catch up to her quickly.
She hesitated.
If she ran, she couldn’t return to face Hector.
