Pack Balance

by Crissy Smith

  Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:

  Shifter Chronicles: Coyote’s Kiss

  Crissy Smith

  Excerpt

  Chapter One

  Luca Perez grinned behind his mask as he heard Jamie Ward curse. A billow of smoke and ash rose from the training field, making the clear blue day seem drab and dreary.

  “Damn it, Perez!” Jamie’s growl could be heard across their headsets.

  The big tough Coalition agent probably hadn’t expected Luca to detonate the charge with Jamie’s team still so close to the site. Luca was an expert, though, and he knew when and how to make an explosion. His years with the ATF had been productive. Not only did he specialize in undercover work, but he also knew how to make and disarm all types of bomb.

  Today’s exercise was supposed to help Luca and his partner Abilene Fox, along with the Coalition teams, bond and learn to work as a team. Luca had been excited when it had finally been his turn in the four-week series of drills to show off what he could do.

  “That wasn’t nice.” Abilene bumped his shoulder as she crouched next to him.

  Luca laughed before glancing at her. She was trying, he knew, but her lips twitched as she attempted not to join him in amusement.

  “Oh come on,” he teased.

  “You’re lucky it’s not Zak on that side,” she said.

  She was correct. Zak Lewis wouldn’t hesitate to beat Luca’s ass. Of course then the strong tiger shifter would help him up. He’d become good friends with Zak when they’d both been undercover trying to take down a group of shifters that wanted to start a human and shifter war. Neither he nor Zak had known that the other was an agent but they’d formed a tight bond. Zak had saved his life so he would be forever grateful. Still, that wasn’t the only reason he kept his pranks away from Zak. He didn’t want Abilene to kill him.

  His partner was fierce when someone she loved was in danger. She’d been seeing Zak for a month and already there was no doubt that they were in love. She spent almost every night with him, although she insisted that she and Zak didn’t live together. Abilene paid her half of the rent for the apartment Luca and she had leased while on loan to the Coalition. However, he still went home to an empty place night after night.

  “You better run, little coyote,” Jamie’s voice broke through his conversation, capturing his attention.

  “You have to find me first, you big dumb bear,” Luca taunted. They had to press the button to turn on the mic to talk to each other, and by keeping Jamie busy verbally sparring with him, Luca could take advantage and really mess with the Coalition.

  Jamie growled again.

  “Stop antagonizing him,” Abilene whispered.

  He just shook his head. Jamie’s team was too far away to find where he and Abilene were holed up. He’d run these kind of training missions before with the ATF, but working with the Shifter Coalition was different. When Luca was attempting to educate humans, he could afford to be a little lax on the trail he left behind when moving during the mission. With the Coalition his job was more difficult. Since every member in the teams was some sort of shifter they could use their superior senses to discover where he and Abilene were hiding.

  “Oh, I’ll find you,” Jamie promised.

  A screech came over the mic.

  “Shit! Cody’s team is shifting,” Abilene cried, grabbing at his arm.

  Luca was prepared for that, though. Cody Johnson ran the birds of prey unit. The dark canopy over his and Abilene’s heads blended in perfectly so that even from the air they wouldn’t be seen. “Just don’t move around. We’ll be good.”

  She huffed, causing him to bite back another laugh. There were four squads searching for him and his partner but Luca was certain he’d be the victor of this round. “Where’s Zak?” he asked Abilene.

  “He’s coming up on the north side of the field,” Abilene answered quietly. “But they aren’t on our path.” She lowered her binoculars.

  Great, now he could have some fun with the felines. “Here, kitty, kitty,” Luca goaded.

  “I’m not Jamie,” Zak replied, his deep voice full of confidence. “I won’t give you a chance to run.”

  Luca was having so much fun. “Keep a watch out for the felines and wolves while I watch for the bears and birds. If we have to run, remember to keep low to the ground and under cover,” he told Abilene.

  “Maybe we should shift?” she suggested.

  He shook his head. He’d hold off on changing forms for now. Abilene would be able to get away easily enough. Her cheetah form would make it difficult for anyone to catch her speed. As a small coyote, Luca didn’t have much chance of running away from the others. But he did have a few tricks up his sleeve. “Tell me when Zak’s group reaches section four. I have another surprise for them.”

  He raised his own pair of binoculars to watch for Jamie. He should soon be reaching the curve next to the dry creek bed where Luca had placed a few smoke containers. He wouldn’t risk actually hurting anyone, but the smoke would screw with their shifters senses. Make it harder to zero in on his location.

  Movement caught his eye. Jamie stepped out from between two large trees while tilting his head back. He was still in human form, but Luca could tell that he was sniffing the area. Almost…to the traps.

  Jamie waved at the team behind him, and Luca could hardly hold back his glee. Five steps and Jamie stepped on the release.

  Three popping sounds alerted the bears before the canisters opened, filling the area with green smoke. Luca chuckled, and Jamie darted back under cover.

  “Nice one,” Jamie muttered. Luca couldn’t have agreed more.

  “They’re almost to the fence,” Abilene whispered to him.

  Grabbing the right remote, Luca prepared for the shock and awe. He needed the felines to clear the area before all hell broke loose behind them. “Tell me when,” he ordered.

  As she waited, Abilene was chewing on her bottom lip. He knew she enjoyed this game just as much as he did, although Abilene was always more cautious than him. “Just about…” she murmured.

  He rubbed his hand over the green button.

  “Now,” Abilene said.

  He hit the charge. The bang was loud and beautiful. Most people didn’t know that the ATF was also in charge of regulating fireworks since they were considered explosives. Because of his job, he’d been able to secure some large firework displays to use. The sky filled with colorful streaks as the eruption occurred.

  “That was just cool,” Jamie praised over the headset. Of course he wasn’t the one closet to that detonation so Luca suspected that had a lot to do with his enjoyment.

  The roar that carried across the training field was long, loud and pissed off. Zak’s tiger roar echoed and Luca had to suppress his instinct to cower down to the more dominant shifter. Luca’s job was to make this exercise as difficult as possible. He needed to keep the shifters on their toes.

  “Damn it, Luca,” Abilene groused. “Now you’ve done it.”

  It wasn’t easy making the very solid and calm Zak Lewis lose control. Luca prided himself on his accomplishment.

  “We got you now,” Jamie told him.

  “I don’t think so,” Luca quipped back. But Jamie’s confidence did worry him a little. He glanced over at Abilene, and she shrugged.

  “Abilene, darling,” Jamie drawled. “Why don’t you get out of there while we teach your partner a lesson?”

  “How about you get back to your mission? I don’t have all night to wait for you. I do have other plans, you know,” she replied.

  Luca grinned—that was his girl. She always had his back.

  “Fine, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Jamie said.

  “Watch closely,” Luca murmured. “They’re up to something.”

  “Got it. I can’t see Zak or the wolves,” she told him.

  Luca had lost sight of his targets, too. He squinted, hoping to pick up some sort of movement. He couldn’t let himself forget that t
hese were trained agents he was up against.

  They had either retreated or were trying to find another path to where he and Abilene were hidden. He lifted his face as he breathed deeply. He couldn’t pick up anything other than the dirty metallic scent from his explosives. While that aided him in his mission, the downside was that he couldn’t smell if anyone was approaching.

  Ten minutes went by and Luca had to force himself not to fidget. It was taking too long. The teams hadn’t appeared back into view and there was complete radio silence.

  The window of time left in which to find him and Abilene was quickly approaching. He hadn’t actually thought that he would beat the Coalition in his first exercise. But now with—he glanced at his watch—a little over half an hour to go, he was certain of victory.

  He leaned closer to Abilene to whisper in her ear. She gasped, drawing his attention to the pack of wolves heading straight for them. Luca scrambled for his extra detonator. Several loud screeches made him look up as the birds of prey unit scooped down out of the air.

  “Run,” he ordered Abilene as he pushed her toward the right. If she went that way she’d be able to double back and get away. Hopefully into the middle of the training field where there was debris to hide in.

  She took off. Luca was sure that she’d quickly be able to find a place to quickly shift. Well, at least one of them would get away. That was a win in his book.

  The air around him shook as a long low growl came from behind him. Luca turned his head to see Zak stalking toward him. “Hey, buddy.” Luca raised his hands in surrender and he climbed to his knees. “You’re not really upset about the fireworks, are you?”

  Zak lunged forward. Luca had just enough space to leap back onto a large boulder. There was movement to his right, and he ducked in time to avoid Jamie’s large paw coming at his head.

  He stumbled, but was able to keep his footing. “Oh, come on, guys!” he cried. “It was just a joke.”

  Zak growled in response. Since he was truly blocked off from escape, Luca knew he was beat. He dropped down to sit where he had been standing. “Fine, you win.”

  Jamie ambled over to him in his full black bear form. Luca held himself, still trusting that Jamie wouldn’t really hurt him. Jamie’s knock to his shoulder had him tilting over a little. Then Jamie sat on the ground right next to him, giving Luca his weight.

  Thrilled to be able to bond with his brother in arms, he patted Jamie’s massive back. “You have to admit it was a little funny,” Luca teased. “You should have seen your face when the smoke bombs went off.”

  Jamie huffed, causing Luca to laugh. He glanced up at Zak who was starting to back away while shaking his head. This was only the second time Luca had seen Zak in his shifted form. He didn’t know the entire story, but Abilene had shared with Luca a little about Zak’s past. Zak had been abused by his dad and uncle who had made him fight for his life every weekend.

  It wasn’t until Zak had started to let Abilene in and trust her that he’d been able to shift around anyone else. But Zak was still wary about transforming around others so Luca understood. He admired the strong, kind man that Zak had become. Luca couldn’t have asked for a better mate for his partner.

  Running his palm over Jamie’s muzzle, Luca was proud to call these agents his friends. They were protective of one another and always supportive. As tough as Jamie appeared he was really a great guy. Big and tattooed, Jamie presented a front to the rest of the world—big bad biker, and you’d better watch out. On the inside Jamie was more of a teddy bear than a black bear. He was in love with a sweet, soft-spoken human whom Jamie worshipped. He was addicted to Coca-Cola and, given too much caffeine, bounced off the walls.

  A soft rumble of contentment started at Jamie’s chest as he relaxed against Luca.

  “Come on, big guy, let’s get you shifted and call it a night,” Luca suggested.

  Jamie struggled up before staggering off into the trees. Luca followed behind at a slower pace to give Jamie privacy to turn back into a human.

  The training had gone well, even though he’d been found. He felt as though he’d been able to show the Coalition what he could offer and how they needed to improve. As their enemies grew in numbers, both shifters and humans, the Coalition had to step up their game. That was one of the main reasons that Luca had wanted the transfer to the Coalition. Not only did he feel more comfortable around them, but Luca also really believed that he could make a difference.

  Only time would tell, though. A month into the Coalition and the ATF joint task force and they still had a lot of work to do. The unit was working on closing the last case that involved the Coalition and the ATF. The SIP—Shifters in Power—had more members out there in hiding. In the past few weeks the Coalition had managed to round up quite a group, but still the threat existed.

  Luca was ready to put that mission behind him. He was just worried that when he was pulled from it he would also have to leave the Coalition. Or join them on a permanent basis. But that was a decision for another day.

  Jumping over a boulder, he spotted the rest of the teams. His gaze automatically sought out Abilene to make sure she was safe. Zak had his arm wrapped around her shoulder while he nuzzled her neck. He’d lost count of the number of times he’d found the couple after they’d shifted back to human form in a deep embrace before they were able to make it to privacy.

  Luca understood the primal reaction that occurred after shifting and he was glad that he hadn’t transformed that evening. It had been only him and his right hand for far too long. He actually hadn’t gotten laid since before he’d taken his undercover job. Wow! When he thought about it that way, the months really added up.

  “You up for a drink?” Calvin Hart called out to him as he approached the group. “These old bastards have to get home and into bed.” He waved over at Zak, Abilene, Jamie and Cody.

  “We won’t be going there alone,” Jamie replied with a huge grin. “Unlike you sad fuckers.”

  Calvin groaned good-naturedly. Luca slung his arm over his buddie’s shoulder. When Calvin had been tending the bar he and Zak had visited while undercover Luca never would have guessed that the young shifter was an agent. He just didn’t fit the typical federal agent stereotype. Calvin was more surfer dude than bad cop. Luca had liked him immediately, though. As Calvin was another of the single agents, Luca also spent a lot of time with him. “I’m in,” Luca told him. “I could use a cold one. You can tell me how Zak jumped like a little girl when the fireworks went off.”

  Zak flipped Luca his middle finger but didn’t remove his lips from Abilene’s neck.

  “Let’s get him out of here,” Jamie said to Cody while pointing at Zak.

  Cody chuckled before grabbing Zak’s shoulder. Luca turned back to Calvin. “I’ve got a change of clothes in my truck. I’ll meet you at the pub.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Looking forward to a relaxing brew, Luca took off in a jog toward his Chevy Silverado. He’d left it unlocked with the keys under the seat since he hadn’t wanted to carry any more supplies than he needed. Slinging his pack onto the back seat, he took a deep breath. The soft breeze brought forward the salt from the lake close by.

  He loved Lake Worth, Arizona. It was a large city with a small town feel. A lot of shifters had gravitated to the area after they’d become public to have the sense of safety in numbers. His own home was only an hour away but being in Lake Worth really made him feel at home.

  Like when he’d been younger.

  Luca was extremely lucky to have a wonderful large family. Both his parents were warm and loving, and his siblings, while they drove him crazy, also showed their own support. It wasn’t always easy being part of such a close band of coyotes but Luca wouldn’t trade any of them for any amount of money in the world.

  Well maybe Sal, his oldest brother. Salvatore Perez was loud, brash, and too damn arrogant. Sal had decided long ago that when their father wasn’t close by he would be in charge. Over Luca’s loud and pa
ssionate objections, their dad had agreed.

  Sal called every week to check up on him. When Luca had been shot on his last assignment, Sal had dragged his partner with him to make sure that Luca was okay. While it annoyed him the way that Sal ordered him around, he also never doubted that he was loved.

  Shaking his thoughts away, he got back to the business of changing clothes. He was dirty and sweaty. He yanked his black T-shirt over his head then exchanged it for a white one. He popped the button of his jeans before unzipping them. Quickly he replaced those with his favorite faded pair. They were loose and comfortable, the denim thin from multiple washes.

  Luckily, he had also packed wet wipes and gave himself a quick brush with them so he felt a little more refreshed. He wasn’t looking for a date tonight, but if he happened to see a woman who caught his attention, he didn’t want to stink.

  He stuffed his dirty clothing back into the duffel before slamming the door closed. Climbing into the front seat, he reached down to pull out his key ring. He was so ready for a cold one. He climbed behind the wheel and started the vehicle. The teams always went to the same bar when they went out. It welcomed both humans and shifters. The owner and bartenders were fully human but they had gotten to know the Coalition well.

  It was a short five minutes until Luca was pulling up in front of the lit-up sign. Calvin stood out front by the door smoking a cigarette. Luca shook his head. Calvin had started that habit while undercover during the last assignment they’d shared. Zak might have been the agent in danger along with Luca, but Calvin had also been involved.

  Calvin had posed as a bartender where the SIP went to do their drinking. It had been a good way for Zak and Calvin to pass information back to base. And the two of them were good. Luca had almost always been at Zak’s side and he’d never picked up on the fact that Zak and Calvin knew each other and that both worked for the Coalition.