by Milly Taiden
Whoa, hold the phone. Was it a coincidence that she named her toy Devine and her mate was Devin? It was so meant to be. He would become her Sybian machine very, very soon.
Thinking about sex snapped her out of the semidaze she was under. She heard Charli in the hallway crying. Oh crap. She jumped up from her chair and dashed into the hall. Her best friend needed her now more than ever before.
Outside her office, she flung her arms around her best friend and held her tightly. “You know he’ll come back, Charli. He loves you.” Charli nodded against her shoulder. “He’s probably on system overload right now. His entire life came rushing at him, and apparently, it wasn’t all good.”
Her friend pulled away and wiped her eyes. “You’re right, Mari. As always, using your brain and not letting emotions sweep you away.” She wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed for a second.
“Well, I don’t know about all that,” she said. “I’m just here to look at an ugly dead wolf.”
Charli sighed. “We should examine the thing. If for no other reason than to keep my mind busy on something other than Barry. Plus, I could be called anytime for a pregnant cow.”
“Pregnant cow, huh?” Marika said. “I’m doing scientific breakthroughs that will change our future, and you’re leaving me for a preggers cow.”
Charli laughed. “You know I’d choose you over sticking my arm up a bovine’s butt and playing with her insides.”
Marika stopped at her office door. “You so do not do that, do you? Your entire arm?” Damn, she was totally squigged out, bouncing on her toes and shaking her arms as if to shake off cow-innard goo. “That’s just too gross, girl. I knew there was a reason I chose to work with dead animals.”
“Yeah, like that’s any better, rotting carcasses.”
“At least I don’t have to worry about it farting when my shoulder is tucked against its backside.” Charli laughed heartily. Marika had achieved her goal of cheering her bestie from a broken heart to laughing over cows cutting the cheese in her face. They stepped into the office where Rupen waited.
Charli gave him the evil eye. “I’m not happy with you right now.”
He looked at the floor. “I know. I’m sorry for that. I had no idea about the situation. Nor would I have ever guessed it.”
“How did you know he was here?” Charli asked.
“When Perry disappeared,” he started, “part of our process was to put an alert in several databases to let us know if that person had been entered into the system. When Perry’s fingerprints registered, I got that information. I’m assuming Ms. Paters entered the data since her name was attached to the submission. A second hit on one print came in shortly after that.”
“Yeah, that first set would be me. Well, we got an answer to who he is. Sorta.” After an awkward silence, Marika called out to Rupen, “We’re pulling a furry ice cube from the freezer. You want to tag along and see what we got?”
Rupen’s face scrunched. “A furry ice cube?”
“Come join us, Colonel,” Charli said. “I got something I bet you ain’t ever seen in that military of yours. If you can stay, that is.”
“You have my interest piqued, young lady. Lead on.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Marika laid the two-hundred-pound body bag on the lab table and unzipped it. Good thing she was a shifter, or she wouldn’t have been able to carry the animal. Even with Charli’s help. Then again, they could have asked Rupen for help too. Marika didn’t need a man to do anything for her, except love and sex her.
“Okay, Charli, let’s look at something I’ll never see again.” Marika pulled the bag from around the deformed skull and neck. “God, it’s ugly. I hope I don’t ever see it again.”
Charli laughed. “I know, right?” Marika picked up a scalpel from the tray of tools she’d prepared. “I want to look at what this growth on the face is. It’s very hard.” She sliced off thin layers of material, and with tweezers placed the pieces in a fixative solution to preserve them, then dipped them into stain, finally putting them on a glass plate to view under the microscope.
“Wow,” Marika said. “Look how dense the material is.” Charli slid over to look in the scope’s eyepieces. Then Rupen after Charli.
“I’ve not seen anything like this on an animal before,” Charli said. “Not even cancer cells bond like this.”
Marika asked, “Do you think this is natural or man-made?”
“If it was made by humans, what is the purpose of it on a wolf’s face?” Charli asked.
“Perhaps it’s some kind of protection. Like body armor.” Rupen said as he stepped back to let Marika look at the material once again.
“Body armor,” Charli said. “Never thought about that before. Then why not put it all over the body?” She glanced at the busted-out hole in the back of the head. “And obviously, there’s little protection from anything that enters the mouth. That’s how this damage had to be formed, in a straight shot through an open mouth, out the back of the head. The senator pulled off a trick shot before going down.”
“So how did the senator die if he killed the wolf who attacked him?” Marika asked.
“Because there were two animals. The second got to the senator after he shot the first wolf,” Rupen said. “Never send in one assassin, in case something happens. It worked to the killer’s advantage.”
Marika looked up from the scope. “Are you saying this creature was made to kill?”
Rupen remained quiet, lost in his own thoughts. She could only imagine what was going through his brain. Lifting papers and candy wrappers, she searched for the blood specimen she’d had before the fiasco in her office. Why was she always losing stuff? She found it next to a banana peel.
“This is Barry’s blood and a human’s.” She slid the glass plates into place. “Okay, guys. Tell me what you think.”
Rupen motioned for Charli to look first. “We saw this earlier. Barry’s”—she paused abruptly and turned her head ever so slightly—“I mean, Perry’s have human cells with a weird-looking cell attached.”
While Rupen had his turn at the scope, Marika picked up a blood smear from the wolf. “Now, let’s see who Mr. Wolf is.” After removing the human blood sample, she slid the plate under the magnifying lens. Staring at the strange configuration, she felt relieved. It was exactly as she expected, but with a surprising addition. Saying nothing, she stepped back for Rupen.
Rupen bent over the scope and frowned. “It looks like Perry’s. Human blood with a cell piggyback. I’m guessing the tagalong cell is the shifter part. Wait, the red liquid has little shiny things floating in it.” After a moment of study, Rupen backed away. “I see. We have a couple different things going on here. Perry and the wolf have human blood with attached cells. Are you saying a human has been turned into a shifter with these extra cells being attached?”
Marika nodded. “That’s my assumption. My cells are half and half, a born shifter naturally blended. Theirs are two independent cells linked, forced together into a man-made shifter.”
“Ah,” Charli said, “that would explain the differences between talking to Barry’s bear and your fox. The bear was barely there, and your fox about blew me away, she was so strong.”
Rupen sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “Shit. This means we have a person trying to create shifters. But what’s the shiny stuff in both the wolf’s and Perry’s blood?”
Marika quickly processed all she’d learned from the murder, Barry’s situation, and the blood results. “It might be a trait belonging to the multishifter family.” She turned to Charli. “Could Barry be a multi?”
Charli shrugged. “Could be. He didn’t even know he was a bear shifter until I told him.”
“I need a sample of a multishifter.” She stood back. “Know anybody who is?”
“Our coworker Russel so happens to be a multi,” Charli replied.
“Great. Can you or Devin get me a blood sample from him?” Marika asked.
�
��I’ll text Devin and Russel.”
Just the sound of her mate’s name threw her heart into overdrive. She had to get out of here and to her mother’s to see him. This blood stuff was exciting and all but would be here when she got back.
Charli sighed and leaned against the counter. “What does this mean? What is the purpose of this whole mess?” Mari’s heart did a one-eighty flip when she smelled the anguish and sadness from her bestie. She didn’t want to think of the fact that this was the best day of her life, finding her mate, and the worst for Charli, losing hers.
The lieutenant colonel cleared his throat again. “My guess is someone has created a weapon that blends in with nature to make it virtually undetectable to humans. An invisible killing machine.”
Oh god. Mari didn’t want to think about the implications yet. She needed to mate, then she could think again. Let’s get the show on the road, her fox advised. She pivoted on her toes and speed-walked toward the lab door. “I’m hungry. It’s time for lunch. I’ll text you later. Bye.” They knew where the door was. She didn’t have time to waste. Her mate was meeting her for sex—oops, she meant lunch.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
On her way to the car, Marika’s phone rang in her purse. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. It read Mayor’s Office of Shedford. Surely, this had to be a wrong number. “Hello.”
“Is this Marika Paters at the Fish and Wildlife Service?”
“Yes.”
“Please hold one minute for the mayor.”
Her eyes popped wide. Why was he calling her?
“Hello, Ms. Paters?”
“Yes, this is Marika Paters. Please call me Marika, Mayor.”
“Thank you. You are so kind.”
“What can I do for you, Mayor?” she asked.
“I have a favor to ask of you, young lady. I’ve heard about your outstanding work at the Fish and Wildlife Service.”
“Thank you, sir. But—”
“No need to be modest. You’re great at what you do. And I would greatly appreciate if you would share your knowledge with a new business coming into Shedford.”
“A new business? What kind?”
“It’s a lab.”
That’s interesting. “What kind of lab?” she asked.
“Um, scientific-like.”
As opposed to a nonscientific lab? Not very helpful. “What do you need me to do for them?” she asked.
“The owner would love your opinion on placement of equipment and stuff like that.”
“Okay. I’m not sure how much help I can be since I’m not an interior designer—”
“No, no, no. Nothing like that. He just—Would you please visit with him for a few minutes today?”
“Today?” Kinda last minute here.
“Yes, this afternoon. Say around five thirty. They are on the south side of town, so you could be there quickly from your job.”
She could be, if she really wanted.
“Please, Marika. He’s a good friend of mine, and I’d like to help him and bring more jobs to town. Our people need to feed their families.”
When he put it like that, how could she say no. “Sure, Mayor. I’ll go to his lab. Where is it?”
“Oh, uh, he’ll call you with directions. Is this number good to reach you?”
“Yes.”
“Great. Thank you so much, Marika. I appreciate this.” The line cut off. She looked at her screen to make sure he was gone. If that wasn’t the weirdest conversation she’d ever had. How did he even get her name? Better yet, how did he get her cell phone? He was the mayor, so he probably had contacts everywhere.
She texted Devin for directions on where to meet and hopped into her car, ready to see her sexy stud again.
Devin texted info back to his mate. He was glad they were going together. Doing lunch was so new for Devin. He hadn’t done extracurricular activities often in LA. Maybe got a beer occasionally after work, but that was it. He hadn’t wanted to see those people any more than he had to.
At first he was into socializing and hoping to find his mate. Coming out of college, he was still in his partying years. Hooking up with non-serious women sometimes, but when his stepsister and her son needed a place to stay, that mostly ended. Which was fine with his panther, who didn’t like the other women, but understood his human’s physical needs.
Come to think about it, he hadn’t had sex in quite a while. He had no interest in women, it seemed. Not one female had turned his head since he moved here. How could that be? He was as horny as the next guy. Wasn’t he? Well, not as bad as Russel.
That man was a nut case when it came to females. Detective Gibbons had a challenge on her hands if she mated. But he wasn’t too sure she would mate with Russel. She came across rather tough on his coworker, not even giving him the time of day.
There was something about the woman that saddened him. He didn’t know if he picked it up from her smell, the look in her eyes, or what. Or maybe loneliness recognized itself in others. He shook his head to clear it. He didn’t want to go down that road again. It almost killed him last time.
Devin left the car and glanced at the cute cottage in the woods. It reminded him very much of the Red Riding Hood story. He glanced at Mari, and joy bubbled in his chest. Fuck, he felt like a wuss, but he was so damn happy to have finally found her.
Mari jumped out of the car without waiting and rushed to him. She smiled brightly and took his hand. “Come on, my mom’s going to love meeting you.”
He cleared his throat. “Does she know I’m coming?”
Mari shrugged. “She won’t mind. She’s used to me forgetting to tell her things. Besides”—she leaned into him and pressed her warm lips on his cheek—“she’ll love knowing you’re mine.”
The way she said the words made his panther stretch and push to get closer to their mate. He was most definitely hers, but she was his. Nothing and nobody could stop that.
“There’s just one thing,” she mumbled as they got closer to the entrance. “She’s a bit odd with stuff, so don’t feel weird with her way of doing things, okay?”
He wondered what the hell that meant. This was his first time meeting any woman’s parents, and the fact this was his mate made the upcoming moment more important.
Once they reached the front door, Mari huddled closer to him and knocked. There was a silence before the door opened and a woman who looked identical to Mari, only an older version with her hair pulled back into a bun, smiled and held the door wide open for them. “You made it, darling! Come on in.”
Mari tugged him inside the house and turned to face her mother. “Mom, this is Devin. He’s my mate!”
The woman smiled even wider and pulled Devin in for a hug. “I’m so happy to meet you, Devin. My name is Ava. Please, make yourself at home.”
Devin immediately felt welcomed into the woman’s home. “Thank you, Mrs. Paters.”
“Oh, honey, no. Please, call me Ava. Everyone does,” she said, and led them into the cleanest-looking living room he’d seen since his own.
“Thanks for having us over, Ava.”
Ava turned to face them in her pristine sky-blue-and-white-decorated living room. He loved the colors, the accents, and more importantly, how very organized everything was. “You have a lovely home.”
She preened and sighed. “Thank you so much. I try my best to keep things in their places. It’s kind of hard when Mari’s dad is all over the house.” She glanced at her watch and met Mari’s gaze. “I’m about to put our food on the table on the back porch if you’d like to bring Devin that way. I’ll get everything else out there in a sec.”
“Sure thing, Mom. Do you need help?”
“No!” Ava cleared her throat. “That’s not necessary, love. Show him the rest of the house.”
He was alone with Mari again, a moment later. “I told you she was a bit strange.”
He frowned. What did she consider strange? “What do you mean?”
She snorted and pulled
him down a hallway lined with photos in matching frames and spaced exactly the same throughout. Devin was impressed with how perfectly put together everything was.
“She is super OCD about organization.” They finally went through a set of French doors that led to a massive backyard, and Devin wanted to make an offer on the cottage right then and there. That backyard was a thing of beauty.
“Wow,” he mumbled, taking in the sight. There was an iron pergola with a curved top covered in wisteria vines. It was massive, at least fifteen feet long, and there were so many vines and so much color on it, Devin could see his panther spending the entire day under it.
On the ground at the center of the structure sat a gorgeous wooden table that could easily seat twelve. Benches lined both sides with seat cushions in shades of purple to match the vines draping from the pergola. A simple white tablecloth covered the table that was set with pale lilac and violet dishes. Three antique outdoor lanterns were used as centerpieces, and more hung from the pergola above. It was the backyard of people’s dreams.
“Mom loves coming out here, so she keeps this place super nice,” Mari said. “My favorite is that chair over there.” She pointed at a massive tree not far from them. From it hung a hammock chair made of what looked like thin bamboo limbs that allowed airflow through the chair. It was in the shape of an egg with a giant cushion inside and could easily fit two people.
“That’s a great little spot she has there.”
“Yeah. I used to love to study there when I was in school.”
“All right, children,” Ava said from behind them, “I’ll be just a second and we can eat.”
