by J. C. Diem
Red flared in her cheeks as the SUV went into motion. “That only happened once and only because she caught me off guard.”
Reece glanced into the rearview mirror and met my eyes. His were crinkled slightly at the corners as he suppressed a laugh. Being an alpha gave us dominance over others of our kind. While we were wolves, Kala was a cougar and Flynn was a constrictor. We weren’t even the same species. Despite our differences, I’d managed to force Kala to obey me anyway.
Maybe that had been possible because we’d formed a small, if highly unusual pack. As far as I knew, Reece hadn’t tried to bend the other two agents to his will. He didn’t really need to, since they tended to follow his commands anyway. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was an alpha or because he was our team leader.
“No one is going to eat the seats,” Mark said and turned his frown on us. “We’ll be home in a couple of hours. Surely you can hold on for that long.”
He obviously had no idea just how ravenous we all were. I was still new to being a werewolf and I wasn’t used to feeling hungry all the time. It felt as if my stomach was trying to gnaw its way through my backbone.
Kala subsided into a sulk and the rest of us had little to say. Traffic was light and Reece zoomed past the other motorists. He drove with his usual disregard for the speed limit and we made it to the base in record time.
I was relieved when the thirty foot high fence that was topped with razor wire finally appeared. We drove through the electrified gate and for the first time in days, I felt safe again. I wished I could put the threat of my mother out of my mind and forget about her, but that wasn’t possible. Sooner or later, I’d have to confess to the squad that she was alive and that she had a dreadful plan for me.
We sped up the winding driveway that was flanked on both sides by fragrant pine trees. When the base came into view, Mark used a remote device to open the garage door. Kala barely waited for Reece to park the SUV before she was climbing out. We took turns grabbing our luggage from the back.
Flynn was the first to reach the door. He placed his palm on the scanner and green light flared as it read his prints. When the door clicked open, he stepped into the long corridor. It stretched out to the right with intermittent doorways on each side. There was only one door on the left. The base near New Orleans was identical to this one. I had a feeling that all of our compounds scattered throughout the country were exactly the same. The only thing that was different was the furniture.
Flynn opened the door that led to the main area. Dumping his bags on the floor in the living room, he headed past the dining room and entered the kitchen. Breakfast was long past and it was now lunch time. I didn’t care what sort of food would shortly be on offer, I just hoped there would be lots of it.
I carried my bags upstairs to my room, but I was too hungry to bother unpacking. A new addition to the room caught my eye. Someone had retrieved my gun safe from Texas and had delivered it to my room. It had been placed in the corner near my bed.
A quick check of the closet and dresser showed that the rest of my clothing had also been delivered. While it was creepy that some unknown person had been touching my underwear, at least I now had somewhere secure to keep my weapons.
₪₪₪
Chapter Three
After a quick bathroom break, I headed downstairs. The others had already started eating when I joined them at the dining table. Kala had piled several sandwiches on a plate. She hunkered over the bounty protectively, darting threatening glances at anyone who even glanced at her food. If I tried to filch anything from her plate, she’d probably stab me with a fork.
I piled my own plate high and started working my way through the feast. Mark shook his head at the sight of his four agents wolfing down our food. “Anyone would think I only fed you once a week,” he complained.
“It feels like a week since I last ate,” Kala said around a mouthful of food.
I laughed then choked on a piece of sandwich that lodged in my throat. Flynn helpfully pounded me on the back until I swallowed it down. “Thanks,” I croaked.
He tipped me a wink. “Anytime.” I hoped it wouldn’t be necessary anytime soon. I was pretty sure he’d almost broken one of my ribs while helping me. Thankfully, I healed much faster than normal now and the pain was already beginning to fade.
“I noticed my gun safe and clothes have arrived,” I said to Mark. I’d mentioned in passing that I’d like to retrieve them at some stage. I hadn’t expected it to be handled in our absence.
“I organized it with your father,” he said. “He allowed one of my contacts to pack your belongings and have them sent here.”
Pain at the mention of my dad squeezed my insides and I fought to keep my expression neutral. “Thanks,” I said lightly. “I appreciate it.”
I was still smarting from learning that he’d lied to me. It didn’t help that he and Mark were making decisions about me behind my back. It was petty and stupid to feel this way. I’d gotten what I wanted, but I wasn’t happy about not being kept in the loop. It just proved that they both still thought of me as a kid.
After the sandwiches had been demolished, the team dispersed. Reece and Flynn headed to the boxing ring at the far end of the room to spar. Kala flopped onto the couch and turned on the TV. I headed to the kitchen to make coffee.
Food had been my first priority, but coffee was a close second. Our fairy godmother, or maybe one of Mark’s contacts, had stocked the cupboards and fridge in our absence. He would have arranged for the delivery well in advance of our return. He was sometimes almost scarily efficient.
Taking three mugs down from the cupboard above the sink, he studied me. “How are you feeling?” he asked as I poured water into the coffee machine. One thing the whole squad had in common was our addiction to caffeine.
I glanced at him to see him frowning a little in concern. I had the feeling he hadn’t bought my excuse that I’d been sleepwalking. “I’m a little tired, but I’m okay.”
“You’d tell me if there was something wrong?” he probed.
I’d only known him for a couple of months, but I trusted him almost as much as I trusted my father. Now that I was aware of the fabrications that I’d been told, I might even trust Mark more than my dad now. “Of course,” I said with as much conviction as I could muster.
My problems were too personal to divulge to anyone. How could I possibly admit to the team what had really happened to me in New Orleans? It was my dirty little secret. Well, mine and my father’s. He obviously already knew exactly what had happened to his late wife.
Kala angled her head to listen in on our conversation. She was a firm believer that there shouldn’t be any secrets in the Shifter Squad. I didn’t bother to ask her if she wanted coffee, her answer was always yes.
Mark spooned one sugar into each mug then poured cream in next. He was fastidious about his coffee and believed it tasted better if he added the cream first. It didn’t taste any different to me, but I wasn’t going to argue about something so trivial.
I waited for the machine to finish brewing then poured in the coffee and stirred the mixture so rapidly that the spoon was a blur of motion. Taking one of the mugs, Mark nodded his thanks then headed upstairs to the communications room. He spent most of his time up there, reading, researching our missions and keeping in touch with his colleagues.
Still feeling weary, I took a seat on the couch near Kala. She waited for me to place her mug on the coffee table in front of her before she leaned in close to speak to me. “I don’t know what’s really going on with you, but I highly doubt you were sleepwalking.”
Caught out, I didn’t want to compound my fib, so I shrugged. “I’m not in danger now that we’re no longer in New Orleans.”
“What was the danger?” she persisted. “I promise I won’t tell the others.” It went against her code, but she was concerned enough about my welfare to make the offer to keep a secret for me.
On the brink of spilling my guts, I hesitated
then chickened out. She was the first friend I’d had in years and I didn’t want her to look at me like I was a freak. “I really don’t want to talk about it,” I said plaintively.
“Okay,” she said immediately, startling me with her quick capitulation. “Just remember that you can talk to me anytime about anything.”
Her glance slid towards the gym where the two men were sparring. “Anything except how to get into Reece’s pants,” I said before she could.
“You already figured that one out for yourself,” she smirked. She schooled her face into a serious expression and lowered her voice. “So, is he good in bed?” My face instantly flamed red and she snorted out a laugh. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Normally, I’d have retreated to my room before she could embarrass me further. This time, I raised my eyebrow and waited for her mirth to fade. “If you must know, he’s absolutely fantastic in bed. Not that I have anything to compare the experience with,” I added.
Kala’s grin was slightly wistful. “I’ve heard that sex with an alpha is mind blowing.” Thankfully, we were talking too quietly for the guys to be able to overhear us. This conversation was already embarrassing enough without them knowing what we were discussing. “I can only imagine how good it would be between two alphas.”
“It’s awesome,” I confirmed. “I only wish…” I trailed off, uncomfortable with sharing my innermost feelings.
Kala’s expression turned almost pitying. “You wish the bond hadn’t been forced on you both.” It was a statement rather than a question.
“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. If he’d been given the choice, Reece would never have chosen me to be his mate. It was only the intervention of a psychic known as Lust that had ended up with us sleeping together in the first place. She didn’t know that he was a shifter and she didn’t force him to bite me. That had just been an unhappy byproduct of our first sexual encounter.
The same telepath had gotten her mental claws into me. She’d forced me to seek out the man who desired me the least and I thought Reece was at the top of that list. That was the night of the first full moon after he’d bitten me and my wolfish instincts had taken over. I’d bitten him during our second bout of sex. That had cemented the bond between us, forcing us into permanent mental bondage.
“Fate is a funny thing,” Kala said. “There’s no telling where it’ll take us and who it will bring into our lives.”
I nodded in agreement then let the conversation die. There was nothing I could do about it now. We were stuck together, for better or worse, just like a human marriage. I almost smiled at that. Reece had proposed to me when he’d realized that we were bonded. It was hard to say if he or I had been more horrified when he’d made the offer.
My father had stepped in to quell that idea, thankfully. He’d only been able to spend a few days with me before he’d returned to his overseas assignment. I had no idea where he was or what he was doing now. We usually spoke once a week, if he could find the time.
Now that I knew just how much he’d kept from me, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to talk to him until I could process his lies. What could I possibly say to him? I know you’ve been lying to me for my entire life and that my mom is a creature of the night?
It hurt that he’d kept this a secret when I was a kid, but I was an adult now. He should have trusted me with the truth.
At least I had a new family now, of a sort. Being shifters, we four were drawn together even though we were very different. I was frankly amazed that Kala and I got along so well. She and Reece tended to bicker at times. Flynn had once told me that they fought like cats and dogs. I could appreciate the humor of his statement now.
₪₪₪
Chapter Four
Being a member of the Shifter Squad wasn’t all hunting monsters and trying not to die. We had some downtime, too. Between jobs, we had the chance to relax a bit more. When I wasn’t training with the others, I spent my time lounging around watching TV or reading through my collection of ebooks.
Not all of my reading was purely for pleasure. I also dedicated part of each day to researching the PIA archives. A wealth of information was stored on the database. Cases had been documented dating back to four hundred years ago, well before the agency had been officially formed.
The archives could be sorted chronologically or by topic, which made it easier to search through them. Mark had provided me with my own laptop, which meant I didn’t have to use the main computer. It gave me privacy to dig up the information I needed. It was a relief to be able to read through the files without someone looking over my shoulder.
I didn’t have access to all of the files. Mark had informed me that there were ten levels of security. He was level eight and the rest of the team was at level five. Being new, I was a lowly level one. Some of the files were marked as being restricted and I didn’t try to pry into them. My computer skills were rudimentary at best. I’d never be a master hacker.
Trying not to raise any red flags that might bring my research to Mark’s notice, I’d downloaded a bunch of files on a wide range of topics to my laptop. I didn’t want the boss to know that I was specifically researching vampires. If he knew what I was searching for, he might ask me what my interest was. That was a conversation I hoped to avoid for now.
Over the next two weeks, I learned as much as I could about the type of creature that my mother had become. No one truly knew where supernatural creatures had originated from. It seemed that we’d always been around and there was always someone trying to kill us.
I didn’t blame the humans for hunting us down. If I wasn’t penned up each time I shifted, I’d snack on them just as readily as I would any other animal. Unless I was with Reece when I transformed, of course. Then I had a better chance of remembering that people were taboo.
Most of my research was performed late at night when I was supposed to be sleeping. I learned that vampires could be killed by sunlight, holy objects, holy water and any kind of weapon through the heart. Beheading them also killed them, but getting close enough to chop a vamp’s head off was risky. They were fast, vicious and cunning.
To encounter a vampire and live to tell about it was rare. I felt a chill when I realized just how easily my mother could have killed me. In a way, I was lucky that she’d wanted to turn me. If she succeeded, she’d become my master and she’d have absolute power over me. Given a choice, I’d rather die than become her slave. I’d already had a taste of being beneath her control and I’d hated every second of it.
My sleep had been restless ever since we’d left New Orleans. I was cranky and out of sorts. It didn’t help that I had to spend eight hours each day being pummeled by my fellow agents.
Speaking of which, I was currently getting my butt kicked once again. Flynn circled me, looking for an opening. He was trained in several different martial arts styles and had the annoying habit of changing his tactics each time we sparred. I’d only had a few weeks of training in hand to hand combat and I still wasn’t very good. Some people had a natural aptitude for this kind of thing. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of them.
“Keep your guard up,” Kala warned me. Instead of helping, it was a distraction and I made the mistake of glancing at her. Reece was on the far side of the room, lifting a ridiculous amount of weights. He was watching our match with interest.
Seeing that my focus had shifted away from him, Flynn seized the opportunity and sent a sidekick at my stomach. Catching his movement just in time, I managed to deflect the blow. The moment his foot touched the ground, he immediately performed a spinning roundhouse kick.
I was unprepared for the move and his heel caught me on the chin. I went down with my ears ringing. While I didn’t pass out completely, I did lose a couple of seconds. When my head cleared, Reece was standing over me protectively. A low, threatening snarl was coming from him. Flynn was wary, but not quite alarmed.
Kala was standing between the two men. “Calm down, Garrett,” she said. “Lexi is fine. See?” She
pointed at me and all three of them turned to watch me struggle into an upright position.
With a sidelong look at Reece, Flynn stepped around him and knelt beside me. “Are you okay?”
“Sure,” I replied brightly. “I love getting kicked in the face. I wish I could do this every day.”
“You do,” Kala pointed out with a snigger.
Flynn helped me to my feet and moved aside to let Reece examine me. Avoiding his eyes, I busied myself brushing imaginary dirt off my clothes. He took my chin in his hand and lifted my gaze to his. Our eyes met and I was instantly lost.
This was exactly what I’d been trying to avoid. Being close to Reece always affected me and this time was no different. It was bad enough that he knew what his touch did to me. The others didn’t need to witness how pathetic I was. A wave of heat swept through me when his glance shifted to my mouth. A memory of us kissing floated to the surface of his mind and I swayed towards him in invitation.
“Earth to Reece and Alexis.” Kala’s amused voice broke into the fog that had momentarily clouded my mind.
“What?” Reece asked and took a step back, wisely distancing himself from me. We’d been dangerously close to dropping the shields that we’d erected to keep our thoughts private.
After two weeks of very little contact, I was craving his touch, even if it was just a brush of his hand on mine. I thought it was just me, but I had a sense that he felt the same need. We knew so little about the bond that we didn’t really know what to expect from it.
“Mark’s phone just rang,” Kala said. “It sounds like we have a new mission.”
“Thank God,” I muttered. Our lives would undoubtedly be in danger again, but at least I’d have a break from being humiliated in the boxing ring for a while.
Upstairs in the coms room, Mark’s chair rolled back from the computer table. We couldn’t hear the person on the other end of the line, but his response had us all moving. “We’ll be there as soon as we can,” he said and hung up. “Pack a bag,” he called down to us, not realizing that we were already on our way up to him. “We’re heading for West Virginia.”
