Deadly Call

by Martha Bourke

  They all bowed their heads and then the business of dinner began.

  Helen surveyed the amount of food on her mate’s plate. “Hungry, my male?”

  He took a bite of roast beef. “Oh, my God.”

  Pax laughed. “Mouthgasm, Dies?”

  Richard took baby Maya from her mother. “So, when do you get the new leg, my brother?”

  Diesel took a roll from the basket. “Actually, I’m not sure. X is in charge of procuring body parts.”

  “Maybe you can get him a gun for a leg, X,” Pax said.

  Dimitri laughed. “Now you’re talking.”

  Diesel shook his head. “Only if it comes with Rose McGowan.”

  Helen elbowed him and he gave her his most innocent face, packed with loads of dimple. “What?”

  “Hey, Dies, are you going to play for us tonight?” SE asked.

  Ana refilled her water glass. “I second the hell out of that.”

  “What d’ya think, Doc?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Go with how you feel. If you’re not tired then I don’t see why not.”

  “You talked me into it, sis.”

  Ana grinned. “I’ll get your guitar.”

  After dessert, they all gathered around the drawing room’s large floor to ceiling fireplace. Diesel played everything from the Beatles to Zepplin to Dylan to the Stones. As his lovely tone echoed through the huge room, Helen’s spirit soared. She had never seen him play for anyone else before and it was exhilarating to see how he captivated everyone in the room.

  “I’m kinda beat, so I’ll make this the last one for tonight. Some of you need to head out for duty anyway.” He reached next to him and put his hand on her knee. “This one’s for you, Doc.”

  He finished with ‘Stand By Me,’ and as everyone in the room sang along to the familiar refrain, the thought came to her that she and Diesel could get through anything as long as they were honest with each other. Her mate looked down at her with those beautiful, pale green eyes of his and she threw her voice back into the song, singing every word as though it were a promise.

  When they arrived back at their room, she unlocked the door and held it open for him. “Are you sure you’re okay about sleeping in here with me?”

  He turned around on his crutches and sat down on the bed. “Actually, yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but somehow I just know it’s gonna be okay.”

  She walked into the closet, got undressed, and put on one of his huge t-shirts. Tonight it was a black Harley Davidson, which was fine with her, but it was as close to a motorcycle as she was going to get. She smelled the freshly washed cotton and her shifter senses picked up on her male’s scent. She pulled the fabric to her nose and breathed it in.

  When she came out, Diesel was sitting against the pillows, his brilliant yellow eyes trained on her as she walked to her side of the bed. “Man, have I missed you in my T-shirts.”

  She stretched out beside him. “I’ve missed you, period.”

  He leaned down and kissed her. As she opened her mouth to him, he moaned softly.

  She pulled back gently. “Easy, tiger.”

  “Cute.” He ran his hand through the side of her hair.

  “How do you feel, my male?”

  “Not too bad. Okay, maybe a little tired.”

  “I don’t doubt it. Oh, I almost forgot.” She opened the drawer to her nightstand, took out his dog tags, and handed them to him. “I’m sorry. I meant to give them to you after your surgery.”

  He turned them over in his hand for a moment. “You know what? I don’t need them anymore.”

  He slipped the chain over her head. “I want you to have them.”

  “Oh, Dies, are you sure?”

  He nodded and kissed her softly.

  “Everything I am is yours,” he whispered into her hair.

  Her eyes clouded over and he drew her tightly to his chest.

  An hour later she woke to find they had fallen asleep that way. Diesel twitched and talked in his sleep, his features pulled together in a worried frown. She placed her hand gently on the side of his face and he calmed instantly, as though he knew she was there, even in his sleep.

  She reached over and turned out the light.

  Evy sat alone in the cold, little apartment. She was still chained to the old sofa that smelled like cat piss. She was exhausted, but she wouldn’t allow herself to fall asleep unless Seth was there. Not after what happened with Nick earlier. Every time she thought about it her stomached threatened to heave. Seth was no boy scout, but he was somehow in charge and he’d made it clear she wasn’t to be touched. Not exactly a bodyguard, but it could be worse.

  She moved so that she was sitting on the opposite end of the couch. That’s about all the chain around her leg would afford her. It was wound around the metal bed underneath the cushions and wrapped so tightly that her ankle throbbed from the constant friction when she moved. Maybe if she asked nicely Seth would switch it to her other foot. Seth, do you think you could chain my other leg to the couch instead? WTF? She shook her head. What did it matter anyway? What were her chances of getting out of there alive? No. She would not let herself give up hope. It was all she had left. If she gave in to despair, she was done for.

  Light hit her shoulder, startling her in the near total darkness. She turned to face the window. It was the moon. It shined so brightly it was almost like daylight. Suddenly, she felt a call from inside of her to be near it. She slid off the couch and began to pull on the arm. She couldn’t get a grip on it. She reached down and pulled at her chain, hands burning, arms and shoulders straining against the weight of the couch. Evy put all of her weight into it and the old piece of shit moved slightly from the force until the gathering momentum finally caused it to slide little by little along the tattered carpet. Evy whirled around and slammed her burning hands against the cold, winter glass. Out of nowhere, she felt the urge to pray, her forehead pressed into the invisible wall of her prison. Please keep me safe, she thought, tears falling down her cheeks. Keep me safe for him. She had no idea who she was appealing to or why she had chosen those exact words, but somehow it just felt…right.

  Trackin’ Evy’s trail was harder than Troy had bargained for. He knew her scent as well as his own, but even his New Breed senses wouldn’t be enough to pick it up in a city like Boston. His senses were far keener in Wolf form, so much so that the Order often used him on scouting missions. It was gonna take work, but he would find her. He had to. What happened was totally his fault. He should’ve hauled ass the second he realized she was at that club. He’d been reckless before, but this was unforgivable. If anything happened to her…

  He pushed the thought aside. He couldn’t let himself think like that. He had found what he believed were the scent and markings from the tires on the old Chevy. That was a major gift. His biggest issue was that he could only use his Wolf form under the cover of night. That cut his trackin’ time way back. At least it was winter and it got dark earlier. He’d spent most of the evening along Commonwealth Ave, makin’ sure to stay in the shadows. If he was spotted for only a split second, he could be mistaken very easily for any homeless mutt wandering the streets. But a wolf in Allston? Allston. Talk about a fuckin’ hole. It was like half student ghetto and half just plain ghetto. He was so not feeling the frat boy vibe. And from there it just got worse. Dealers and thugs that only came out when the sun went down. They were everywhere and it made holdin’ onto Evy’s sent even more difficult. Before he knew it, he’d lost her trail again.

  Goddammit. It was the third time that night and he was frustrated beyond belief. He turned up Summit Ave and loped by the first set of apartment buildings. Nothin’. She wasn’t here. He bounded up the steep incline and pushed himself to top speed, working off his irritation with a punishing run to Corey Hill Park. He panted as he trotted across the snow to the lookout over the city. As his Wolf sight took in the lights of downtown, the enormity of his task suddenly hit him. She was out there somewhere. He had to fi
nd her. Failure wasn’t an option.

  He looked up at the moon as it shown down on the frozen hilltop and he somehow knew Evy was looking at the moon at that very same moment. She was still alive and she was close by. It was like he could almost feel her inside himself. But how could he…the mating call.

  But Evy was human.

  His second soul cried out in pain within him, the crushing weight of despair in his chest becoming unbearable. He took the searing, winter air deep into his lungs and bayed in long, sorrowful, desperate howls. Then with a savage growl he ran down the snow covered earth and disappeared into the night.

  Author Biography

  Martha Bourke grew up in Burlington, Vermont, a magical place where street art meets cosmopolitan sensibilities meets nature. She is an accomplished teacher who has spent the last fifteen years creating Spanish language programs for elementary schools and traveling extensively. For most of her life, she has had a fascination with foreign languages, culture, and mythology – a passion that colors and enriches the world of Jaguar Sun, which now encompasses two series.

  Martha and her husband of fifteen years have carved out their own little piece of Vermont in the Massachusetts countryside. When not writing, she loves spending time with her animals, listening to good music, thrifting, and adding to her Converse collection.

  For more information about the author, please visit www.marthabourke.com.

  Also By Martha Bourke

  Young Adult

  Jaguar Sun (Book 1 in the Jaguar Sun Series)

  Jaguar Moon (Book 2 in the Jaguar Sun Series)

  Revelations (A Prequel Novella to the Jaguar Sun Series & New Breed Novels)

  Adult

  Forbidden Call (The New Breed Novels, Book 1)

  Don’t Miss

  Mating Call (Book 3 in The New Breed Novels December 2013)

  Jaguar Hunter (Book 3 in the Jaguar Sun Series) in 2014