by Erin R Flynn
“Yeah, well, getting shot by a shotgun with armor piercing rounds less than ten feet away will do that.” I sighed when he gave me a funny look. “We’re cool. I’m tired. There’s a lot of shit and several hits out on people. There’s a ton of shit on this and even more to do. We’re all going to be buried for months with all of it, and for once I was totally charged up and feeling good, and then I got shot, again, upsetting too many people.”
“He’s offering to let you feed,” Emilio muttered. “Take it once we get the plane loaded and the humans can’t see. We’ve got to go back to the FBI office, right? It’s just vamps and we need blood still.”
“Call Melicent and see if she can have some of the local wolves help us out since we’re doing all of this to clean up New York,” I instructed. “I didn’t realize the coven was so low and no one prepared anything.”
“We can give blood to the vamps with you that are helping,” one of Ari’s team offered. “We’re just chilling on the flight back.”
“That would be a huge help,” Emilio admitted, sounding relieved.
Always something.
We loaded up the plane with the windows all blacked out so they couldn’t ever give anything away about the location besides everyone knowing it was in the desert. It was a big desert after all.
Then came several NYPD squad cars bringing in those who didn’t go into the office on Saturday.
I handled that while each ancient matched up with a shifter and rotated taking turns ducking out of sight so they could feed. By the time we got through all of that, I was starving and ignoring my rumbling stomach and the looks it was getting me.
“They put in a huge order at Katz’s, which is a New York staple I guess,” Emilio informed me. “I just got off the phone with Sands, and it will be at the office by the time we get there. And they’re putting in a huge order for Joe’s Pizza, which is another staple.”
“Wow, they’ve figured out how to keep us happy,” I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. It sounded good to me.
What didn’t sound good was the three people that we hadn’t found from the warrants.
“Pull either team off the interrogations and have them track the people,” I instructed Emilio. “We need them all and no one to slip through, or there’s a chance the people will think the hits are still active. If they’re all caught, we have more of a chance to get the word out there’s no money.”
“Got it. You feed,” he muttered, walking off as he pulled out his phone.
Ari nodded off to the side in one of the private hangers where the others had been going. I went over there and cleared my throat when we moved into the corner.
His eyes flashed shock, and he cleared his throat too. “You’re shy.”
“I don’t know you.” I shrugged. “There was a lot of crazy when I fed from Axel and Eugene the first time, and I don’t feed from their team ever. It’s not like I just run around kissing people. Yeah, there’s a lot now, but I know them or well, it’s the situation.”
He leaned in a bit closer, moving his arm against the wall by my head. “Could I take you out sometime? My team’s been bugging me for a vacation, and I could make mine in Chicago.”
I blinked up at him. “Why? Is this like a competition thing with Axel and Eugene? I’m not sleeping with them.”
“I didn’t know that, and it’s not my business. I know you have other lovers. I think someone said you mated a fairy too.”
“Yeah, that’s not an answer. Why?”
He seemed confused and for some reason sniffed me. “Right, you’re new, young. Let your wolf smell me.”
“I did.”
“No, let her scent me. You’ll get it better or at least I hope so.”
I moved slightly so I was looking in his eyes and let my wolf do what he wanted. I leaned in and sniffed him, my wolf growling inside of me, giving me the mental image of rolling around in his scent. I’d understand the instant attraction to Axel and Eugene, their wildness and strength making my siren take notice, but this… This was animal attraction. Maybe I’d had that before, but I’d not understood it really.
Or maybe I had but I’d not put a label on it.
“Can I take you out sometime, Alpha?” he murmured quietly.
“I’ve got too much already on my plate,” I muttered, shaking my head. I went to move away from him, and my wolf growled at me. I froze, staring up at Ari. “Is it like team lead thing? I don’t get it. I’m rare and she wants rare too?”
“I would guess it’s because the team leads are some of the strongest shifters who aren’t already Alphas of an area. There would be no turf conflict, but what shocks me is you’ve shown interest in three extremely aggressive breeds.”
“Huh?” He lost me on that one.
He smiled. “Tigers are aggressive and very territorial. They have the territory and their females live there. Most aren’t known for sharing their females. Wolves are a matriarch society, but a dire wolf is more aggressive than most wolves and doesn’t like others near his wolf.”
“And elephants?” I asked, frowning. “The males fight after she gives out a call or something, right?”
“Yeah, when she’s ready, but once a year males go into musth. We get aggressive and like to fight to be top, but during musth we’re… We make tiger sex seem calm. When an elephant shifter finds someone they’d consider a real mating potential, they’ll go through a musth and it’s extreme and excessive. It’s why there aren’t all that many of us. That and we don’t blend well when we shift and have been hunted for centuries as the best trophy to get.”
“Man and elephant, yeah, I’ve heard that,” I admitted, shaking my head. “Both are so sick, but the fact that it’s combined that gives some the hard on just disgusts me.”
“And what else I said?”
I shrugged. “I don’t really get it all. I mean, what does that have to do with right now?”
“I’m trying not to be crude and spell it out.”
I sighed. “You’re going to have to spell it out with me. Sorry. I don’t know why it has to be crude, but I’m exhausted and got a lot going on and I have the emotional range of a bobble head, which I’ve already had to say today.”
He nodded and leaned in more, his body melding to mine as he pressed his lips against my ear.
“As a man, you are stunning, and I’m not stupid enough to pass up a chance to get to know you better. As a shifter, you’re all most can talk about and who most think might be a savior to help so many. As an elephant, I want to carry you off to whatever room you’re staying at, rip off your clothes and spend the next week fucking you with all I have and see if anything real is there to what I’m feeling.”
I shoved him away from me, shaking my head. “One, I was just shot and I know I look a hot mess. Two, I know tons of people who want me smacked down and like none who think I’m some savior besides maybe those I’ve actually saved. Three, yeah, my wolf is having a strong reaction to you too, but this is a bit over the top. I get enough of that.” I went to step around him, and my vision wavered.
I’d lost too much blood, used too much energy healing and too much fuel replacing everything without replenishing. The floor slanted on me, and I felt myself start to go down.
Strong arms caught me and soft, firm lips pressed against mine. On instinct, I fed, taking long, slow drinks of power. I moaned as the arms tightened around me, pressing me against the hard body I was against.
“Alpha, wake up,” a deep voice begged, and I realized I’d passed out for a bit.
“Give me a minute,” I mumbled.
“What happened?” Emilio demanded as he joined us.
“She was depleted, but it was like in a flash her tank went on negative or something.”
“Pressure, too much pressure, and three got away,” I explained quietly. Those lips came back, and I took more energy, gasping at how good he tasted. The energy helped my head clear a bit. Right, Ari, the elephant who wanted to pound me into a bed the n
ext week.
“Don’t tell Brian,” I ordered Emilio. “He’ll freak.”
“He’s already texting me asking if you’re okay and why you’re not at the office yet.”
“Okay, let’s go,” I groaned, trying to get up, only to realize I was sitting on Ari’s lap. He’d plopped down after catching me or something, and I was all kinds of pressed up and lying all over him. “Sorry.”
“Sorry I added to the stress,” he muttered, looking embarrassed. “I don’t have the pull Axel does since he’s tight with Haton and she’s interested in him along with a bunch of others he gets along with. Or Eugene who knows how to work the system, and I don’t mean that as a dig. Plus, now they’re using any excuse to have him around you because they like the idea of an alliance with you and the Dorcuses.”
I just blinked at him, not getting what he was trying to tell me and too tired.
Emilio took pity on me. “He’s saying he doesn’t want to risk he doesn’t get a chance to be around you again or can’t take council stuff as an excuse to see you and get to know you. That’s why he was blunt with whatever.” That helped but not really. “Can he have your number? I could give him that.”
“Sure,” I sighed as I pushed to stand, a bit wobbly. “I really don’t get it, and I think you’re all nuts, but okay, sure. Add one to the list and apparently an aggressive one that will want to be top dog.”
“Then say no, Sera,” Emilio said gently.
I opened my mouth to, but my wolf growled at me again. It threw me. She was so rare to act like that, and I sort of felt bad denying her because of that. “No, a number is okay.” I shrugged. “I mean, I can’t—we gotta go.”
“You are so innocent sometimes,” Emilio chuckled softly. “I can so imagine a younger Sera getting nervous when boys asked her out.”
I gave him a look like he was nuts. “None ever did. I was with three guys before I was a wolf. Two didn’t stick around after we had sex—Jason being the first even if I had sex with him again years later—and Brian was like a boss with benefits I guess. He thought it was more, but he didn’t tell me, and I didn’t get that so, yeah, that’s it. That was my whole dating history before becoming a wolf and sirening Tristan and Riley.
“And that worked out well. So yeah, I never get it. I mean, my eyes are nicer and my hair is shinier. I’m a bit leaner, but I was always athletic. I’m not as closed off, I hear, and I have like friends, but I so never get this whole line of men wanting me or willing to put up with my shit. I never planned on a future or like a life beyond undercover work I figured would get me killed one day, so all of this is just crazy to me.”
I walked away shaking my head. I really didn’t see what they did. Even if I was the hottest woman in the world, there were limits. It always brought me back to power. The paranormals liked my power and what I could do and my bloodline or whatever.
It never seemed about me. Well, with Brian I knew it was, which was why he was easiest to let back in or focus on. The twins had had me for months, and it had gone so badly that even if I was letting them back in a tiny bit at a time, I was terrified to go back there with them.
And Dain was just a whole barrel of issues.
Thinking about the twins, I decided to text them as I got into the last squad car that was going to take us to the office, waiting on Emilio to finish up. The bus had left once empty, and my people had taken other rides, but now it was on Ari and his team.
I miss you guys. I knew this whole trip would be fucked, but it’s just so many levels. I think I’m going to talk to Monroe once I get back and maybe we can have a bit of a stay-cation thing? I think it would be good for the boys and us. I want to work on us.
Reagan almost immediately responded.
That sounds amazing. We want that too. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m glad you texted, and I love you.
Seconds later Hagan sent something similar and just as sweet. I didn’t know how to answer their gentle probing to try and figure out what was on my mind. I caught a glance of Ari when Emilio got in, and I internally sighed. I didn’t want a line. I didn’t want to feel like I flitted around or… I wanted to go home. The trip had been too long and too much.
I just wanted to go home and continue working on my foundation and figuring out who would be a part of that, not add more confusion.
Now if I could get my wolf to agree with that.
Fuck a duck.
20
My phone rang with a New York number as I stepped off the elevator, so I answered it when normally I only answered numbers I knew.
“Thomas.”
“This is an urgent and emergency message from the IRS that your outstanding tax issues must be handled and immediately or you will be arrested tomorrow. If you have any questions, call the following number and an IRS agent can assist you in handling your delinquent accounts.”
I blinked at the phone when the call ended. I waved off a few people who came over to speak with me and ducked into one of the offices we were using. I immediately called Dain, my heart racing.
“Sera, what’s wrong?”
“I just got a recorded message from the IRS saying they’re going to arrest me? That has to be a scam, right? Did I get some sort of notice? They have to mail you a notice first?”
“Yes, my love,” he chuckled deeply. “I’m very sure that’s a scam. They don’t just jump to prerecorded messages threatening to arrest you. I’ve never heard you so freaked out.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure everyone’s afraid of the IRS, even us with the FBI. And hi, if I commit a crime, even tax ones, they sort of don’t let you work for the FBI.” I rubbed my chest. “You’re sure? Should I call the number? How do we check?”
“What’s the number?” He waited until I gave it to him and then added the call, someone answering right away. He asked them a few questions, and they hung up on us. “It’s a scam, Sera. The IRS doesn’t hang up because you ask to speak to a supervisor, and I’ve never heard of the IRS answering on the first ring. You get transferred all over the place, and there’s extensions to speak with anyone. I will make very sure you’re not in trouble, okay?”
“Okay, yeah, thanks.” I blew out a harsh breath. “It’s just—why today? I mean, enough is going on today. And I thought it was okay to answer because it was a New York number, and that’s extreme for a scam, right? I mean, though, yeah, they’re trying to steal from you, so they don’t care about giving mini heart attacks, but wow, that’s just too much and I really want to beat them because that was scary.
“I totally pay my taxes, and we haven’t even paid from all of the last year crazy, right? No, that’s April. But I did last year right. I mean, I left some stuff off I think I could deduct because I was hurrying to get on my next assignment, which was the Dorcus one, so yeah, that was a while ago, but I got a refund still since I always overpay. You can’t be involved in tax fraud if you get a refund. What else do they arrest you for?”
“Sera, it’s fine,” Dain cut in. “Why are you so upset?”
“Why? You’re kidding, right? Even if you ignore the IRS arrest threat, there’s just so much going on. I can’t keep up with it all. And people want more of this and more of that, and now I’m meeting more and more people who confuse me, and I don’t get it. I really don’t get it. I give people ‘fuck off’ vibes all the time, and it worked when I was human, but now that I’m a shifter? I just want to come home.”
I continued to ramble and blurt out everything I was feeling. About the twins. About Tristan. About Brian. About my siren and letting her out and how good it felt. About Dain even, which was nice to do to him. About the level of corruption and horrible things in New York. I just kept going and going and telling him everything as if the flood gates had opened.
I even told him about the nightmares of seeing Thomas Spelling, my old foster father, and remembering more about the abuse instead of it being locked away somewhere deep inside of me. Galvin’s wife hating me was in there
. Worry I was leaving such a monumental mess for Melicent to clean up and terrified expanding was a bad idea. I let it all out for some insane reason, and then I felt myself sliding along the wall.
I didn’t even realize I was having the panic attack until darkness swallowed me.
“Sera, come on, Sera, wake up,” someone muttered.
“Migraine,” I argued, my head and eyelids feeling like they weighed a million pounds at the moment.
“We’ll get you something for that, but you need fuel. You’re completely on empty, Sera.”
“I got her,” someone else said, and lips brushed mine. “Come on, Chief, take power. Your vampires can’t give you anymore for a bit until they fuel up too.”
I took the power, smelling someone familiar. I opened my eyes and winced in pain but at least recognized one of the shifters from the DC office. “Thanks.”
“No problem. We’ve got a ton of food, and we can turn off some lights,” he said softly. “Chief Havers is freaking, and you got a gash on your head from falling.”
“Dain?” I muttered, glancing at my hand where my phone had been.
“He called me when he realized something was wrong besides hitting your stress limit,” Emilio informed me, making me realize he was the first voice. “Eat first and then we’ll handle the blood in your hair.”
“Great,” I drawled, groaning as I grabbed my head, knowing not to touch the spot but it still hurting. “I spun out.”
“It happens to the best of us and especially when we’re on our last leg,” he assured me as he carefully lifted me up. “Get rid of that blood and make sure no one gets it.”
“I’ve got it. You take care of her,” the shifter agreed. I couldn’t remember his name for the life of me, but honestly, my head hurt so bad I wasn’t sure I could remember much of anything at the moment.
Emilio brought me over to another office that had the lights off, and seconds later Brian came in with a bunch of food. I could feel the worry coming off of both of them as I inhaled a pastrami sandwich and fries. I was so, so hungry. I felt like I hadn’t eaten in weeks, and I knew part of that was the lunar cycle had just ended, but the rest was stress.
