Corpse Thieves (Shifter Squad Book 5)

by J. C. Diem

  I managed to slip inside his mind when he dozed and saw what was troubling him. He was thinking of his pure born family and he was longing for their company. Hunting with the rex and his felines had shown my mate what an alpha should be to his people. He should be a leader of his true kin rather than a strange group of outcasts like us. I sensed his regret that he had bonded himself to me rather than to one of pure blood.

  The snake roused from slumber when he felt my sorrow. What is wrong, sister? Why are you mourning?

  I didn’t have the words to describe my sense of loss. My mate was sleeping only yards away from me, but it felt as though he was a thousand miles away. Everything is going to change soon, I told him sadly without knowing how I knew this.

  Sometimes, change is necessary, he said wisely. We cannot grow if we always remain the same.

  He settled back into his slumber, but I remained wide awake. I didn’t want to change or to grow. I wanted things to stay as they were, but my wish was going to be denied. Tomorrow, we would revert back to being human again and our troubles would return once more.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  I woke not long after dawn with two sets of arms around me. To my mortification, neither of them belonged to Reece. Sandwiched between Kala and Flynn, I was disoriented for a moment. Then I remembered everything that had happened during the past three nights.

  Waking with a start, Kala stared at me blankly. Then her eyes cleared and she sniggered at finding us both naked and lying together. “Well, this is awkward.”

  “Tell me about it,” Flynn said from behind me. I heard the smile in his voice as he extricated his arms from my waist.

  “Where’s Garrett?” Kala asked. I couldn’t hide my flinch at her use of what we’d thought was his surname.

  “I’m here,” Reece replied and stepped into view. He was wearing jeans that were too big in the waist. He tossed us some clothes that he’d pilfered from somewhere. Judging from the smell of cows and hay, we were near a farm. Blood was also heavy in the air.

  We scrambled into the clothing and trotted through the trees until we reached a fence. Several dead cows lay in the field. There wasn’t much left of them. At a glance, I could see claw, fang and teeth marks. Our scent was all over the carcasses.

  Kala made a face. “They don’t look quite so appetizing now.” She pointed at a corpse that looked like it had been melted. “What happened to that cow? It looks like acid was spilled on it.”

  “That was me,” Flynn confessed. “I think my venom melts whatever I aim for.”

  “Eww,” she said, taking in what was left of the cow’s face. “Remind me not to get you angry when we shift.”

  “I’d never hurt you,” he said and put his arm around her shoulder. “Not even when we’re in our altered states.”

  She sent him a quick grin, but I knew better. Without Reece and me there to control them, they’d fight each other to the death if they weren’t kept apart.

  We followed the fence until we reached the edge of the property. We were several miles from town and cut across fields to make our journey shorter.

  “Let’s check the ghoul house,” Reece suggested when we neared the town. “I’d like to see what sort of damage Mark’s grenade did.”

  “He used one of the grenades?” Kala asked in alarm. Neither she nor Flynn remembered what happened to us when we shifted. I would have been just as clueless if I didn’t have my bond with Reece. The combination of our link and being alphas helped us to retain our memories.

  “He blew a third of the ghouls apart, including their leader,” I told her. “It left a pretty big crater in the yard.” Body parts had been strewn all over the place. The ensuing slaughter when we’d clashed with the remaining corpse thieves had added to the mess.

  We detoured to the ghoul’s house to see that it had been burned to the ground along with some of the woods that surrounded it. A pair of uniformed police officers was standing guard to keep anyone from approaching. Mark had been busy covering up the evidence with fire. Whatever he’d used had been flammable enough to burn flesh and bone. I couldn’t smell any trace of the ghouls at all.

  “Did Mark order an air strike?” Kala asked in disbelief at the ruins.

  “Nah,” Flynn replied. “There’d be a much bigger crater if he had.” Not to mention a far wider area of destruction.

  “Let’s get out of here before we’re spotted,” Reece said. He turned to jog towards the cemetery and we followed in his wake.

  Zeus sensed us coming when we neared the house that had temporarily been our base. He sprinted to the fence and almost knocked it down when he jumped up to greet me. He was overjoyed to see us all after our three day absence. Receiving a pat from everyone, he stayed close to me as we made our way inside.

  It was still early, but Mark was already up and he wasn’t alone. Silvia McSweeny sat at the dining table next to him when we filed inside. She took note of our ill-fitting clothes and filthy feet from our long journey on foot. I wasn’t sure what conclusions she drew from our appearance. I didn’t envy Flynn trying to explain what we’d been up to.

  “Can I speak to you alone, Agent Bailey?” she said politely. His expression was resigned as he followed her outside. “I don’t know who you really work for,” she said when they reached the front gate, “but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that your job is very far from normal.”

  “I wish I could tell you more about what we do, but I can’t.”

  “I know. It’s classified,” she said with a hint of bitterness. “Agent Steel already gave me the drill.”

  “This is who I am,” he told her. “I love my job and the work we do is important.”

  “More important than I’ll ever be,” she realized out loud then sighed. “I like you, Flynn. I could easily fall in love with you, but I get the feeling that I’ll never fit into your world.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Kala whispered too quietly for Flynn to be able to hear her.

  “Maybe it’s for the best if we say goodbye now and if we don’t see each other again,” Silvia said sorrowfully.

  “You’re probably right,” he agreed and I could tell how much it hurt him to say it. She kissed him on the cheek then climbed into her car and drove away.

  Flynn’s shoulders were tight as he let himself back in and headed upstairs to take a shower. Our bond was still strong enough for us to share his grief. He’d had a brief moment of happiness, but he’d known that it couldn’t last. Shifters could never truly be happy with a human companion. What was so heartbreaking was that Flynn was one of a kind. He’d always be alone.

  Aware of the unspoken pain that his agent was going through, Mark made coffee and breakfast while we took turns cleaning up.

  “I heard from Cole shortly after dawn,” he said when we were all sitting around the table to eat.

  “What did he have to say?” Kala asked with a hint of a sneer. He’d promised he wouldn’t try to steal her away and he’d made the attempt anyway. She remembered little of what had gone on, but that had stuck in her mind.

  “He wants to meet with us before we leave Lilydale.”

  He and Reece shared a long look. “They were effective allies,” Reece conceded. “It couldn’t hurt to see what he has to say.”

  “If he tries to snare me again, I’m going to put a bullet in him,” Kala warned us.

  “He’s at the club,” Mark said. “He told us to drop by any time after eight.”

  It was just past eight now and Kala shrugged. “We might as well get this over with. The sooner we leave this place, the better.”

  Washing our dishes, we tidied up then climbed into the SUV. Zeus didn’t want to be separated from me again so soon and insisted on coming with us. The werecat standing guard at the nightclub door didn’t want to let my guardian in after we knocked. A level stare from me had him backing away. It wasn’t Mason this time, but one of the other lions. Aware that I could compel him, he wisely decide
d it wasn’t worth being bamboozled just to try to stop Zeus from entering.

  Cole sauntered down the stairs and smiled widely when he saw us. “Thank you for coming to see me before you left.”

  Mark’s nod was pleasant, but hinted that we were short of time. “Was there something in particular you wanted to discuss?”

  “Actually, I wanted to speak to Kala in private.”

  She rolled her eyes. “That’s not going to happen. Not after you tried to lure me into joining your pride again.” He’d offered to make her one of his mates rather than just a plaything, but he’d still gone against his word.

  His expression was suitably contrite. “I apologize for that. My instincts as a Rex momentarily overrode my sense of honor. I promise it won’t happen again.”

  He seemed sincere enough, but Mark and Reece shared a doubtful glance. Flynn’s stare was bordering on hostile. “Why do you want to speak to Agent Walker privately?” Mark asked. His patience was already wearing thin. Now that our mission was over, we had other matters to attend to. We didn’t have time to waste on frivolous matters.

  Cole hesitated then motioned for his people to leave. They wandered away with curious backward glances. Felix smiled at me then winked at Reece when he glowered at him.

  “It’s embarrassing, which is why I want to speak only to you,” Cole explained, but Kala wasn’t moved. Realizing she wasn’t going to make this easy for him, he looked at each of us then his gaze settled on me. “As your alpha female, I will allow Lexi to listen to my proposal.”

  Kala looked at Mark and he frowned. “It’s up to you,” he said. One of the things that I liked about him was that he respected us enough to let us make our own decisions.

  Intrigued, her curiosity got the better of her, as Cole had probably known it would. “Fine. I’ll listen,” she conceded.

  “Excellent. Please follow me.” He turned and headed upstairs.

  “If he tries anything, I’ll put a bullet in him,” I reassured the others and we followed him up to the second floor. I didn’t particularly want to listen in to whatever Cole had to say to Kala. It was bound to be highly personal and most likely embarrassing to hear. With the very real possibility that she might fall to temptation, she needed me to be her emotional backup and to stop her from doing anything foolish.

  Cole was waiting at a heavy metal door that led to a sumptuous bedroom. The room was dominated by a king sized bed with black satin sheets and matching pillows. Thick black carpet covered the floor. A gigantic black and white photo of a very naked Cole hung on the wall opposite the bed. My cheeks went red and I averted my gaze from it after one quick look. I could see why Kala craved his touch. He was very impressively built, for a feline.

  He gestured at the bed, but we chose to stand instead. Kala crossed her arms and her stare was verging on belligerent. It was just for show. I sensed her attraction to the werelion and how hard it was for her to resist him. “Say whatever it is you have to say so we can get the hell out of here,” she said tightly.

  “I would like to have sex with you again,” he said baldly. She rolled her eyes again and turned to the door. He took her arm before she could leave. My hand went to my gun and he let her go before I could draw it. “You misunderstand. I want to experience what it’s like to mate with you without taking control of you. I’ve only ever had full consensual sex with my lionesses before. I want to know if it can still be as pleasurable with other felines.”

  She cut her eyes to me and I knew that she was tempted. “How can I be sure you won’t have a weak moment and try to bamboozle me again?” she asked.

  He drew himself up to his full height and put his hand on his heart. “I give you my word as the Rex of this pride that I won’t use my power on you.”

  She turned to me with a look of appeal and I knew what she wanted me to say. I blew out an inaudible sigh. “Reece and I can always bite you again and bring you back if he breaks his word.”

  “You have half an hour,” she told him briskly. “You’d better make this worth my time.”

  I left the room, closing the door behind me and headed downstairs. I was dreading breaking the news to the others that our trip would be delayed for a short while.

  Mark was pacing the floor anxiously when I descended the stairs. My expression didn’t help his worry. “Where’s Kala?” he asked me tightly.

  “She and Cole are having a…private chat.”

  Flynn shook his head in disgust. “I thought you said you were going to shoot him if he tried anything funny.”

  Conscious of the eyes and ears of the rest of the lions, I didn’t want to blurt out the truth about what was going on up there. “I’ll fill you in later. They should only be half an hour or so.”

  Thankfully, the rooms upstairs were soundproofed, so we didn’t have to hear what was going on between the pair. Unfortunately, our bond was still strong enough that I saw flashes of what they were doing. My face was brick red by the time they were done.

  Half an hour later, Kala pranced down the stairs with Cole following her like a lovesick puppy. “Are you sure I can’t entice you to stay?” he said plaintively. It was a switch to see the rex chasing after a lesser werecat.

  “Sorry,” she said with almost believable sincerity. “But we have important business to take care of and we really have to leave.”

  “It was a great pleasure to have known you,” he said and lifted her hand to his lips.

  She batted her eyelashes at him flirtatiously then herded us towards the door. Flynn waited until we were back at the house before asking the question that was on all of our minds. “How did you manage to resist him this time?”

  She paused on her way to the stairs. She reeked of Cole’s scent and I sensed her desire to take a shower. “Don’t get me wrong, he was good in bed, but being bamboozled made the sex magical. Without that, he was just one more good looking guy with a great body.”

  Mark allowed his relief to show when he heard the water running. “I was very worried that she would choose to stay with the pride,” he said as I took a seat beside him at the dining table. We were drinking a final cup of coffee before our journey.

  “It’s probably a good thing she had a final fling with him,” I shrugged. “I think the mediocre sex cured her of her craving for him.”

  Flynn and Reece looked at me strangely. “How do you know the sex was mediocre?” Flynn asked.

  My face flared red again. “I caught flashes of what she was feeling. It was apparently nothing like how she felt when she was under his control.”

  For the first time, I was glad I was an alpha. Sex with Reece was already addictive enough without falling completely beneath his spell.

  When Kala was finally ready to go, Mark directed Reece to drive to the realtor’s office so we could drop off the keys. With that task out of the way, we headed for the jet.

  “Are we going to New Orleans now?” Flynn asked.

  “Not yet,” Reece said. “We need to go to West Virginia first. I have unfinished business with my mother and her pack.”

  Mark met my eyes in the rearview mirror, but I waved his concern away. We still had plenty of time to deal with Katrina. Reece needed to confront his personal demons before we would finally be able to deal with mine.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  By midafternoon, we were back at our base in West Virginia for what I hoped would be the last time. A sense of foreboding fell over me as soon as the gate swung shut behind us. Suddenly, the compound felt more like a prison than a temporary home.

  Reece remained distant. He kept the barrier between our minds firmly in place. He stepped into his bedroom to call his mother in private and emerged several minutes later. “Nina has agreed to meet with me in the morning,” he said.

  “You won’t be going alone,” Mark said immediately. “We’ll all be going with you.”

  Reece nodded wordlessly then retreated to his room again, clearly wanting to be alone.

&nb
sp; “What is he thinking?” Mark asked me quietly. Flynn and Kala crowded in close to listen.

  “I have no idea,” I shrugged helplessly. “He won’t let me in anymore.”

  Zeus put his head on my knee and stared up at me worshipfully. His love was something I would never need to doubt. I only wished Reece felt a fraction of that sort of devotion to me.

  I had a restless night and sensed that Reece was also sleepless. Apart from our brief sexual encounter in the cemetery, he’d barely touched me for weeks. I felt as if he was slipping out of my grasp and I was desperate to hold onto him.

  We were up early and had a hasty breakfast before we headed to the abandoned farm where Reece had once lived as a child. As before, the entire pack was present. Nina’s harsh face broke into a smile when Reece stepped out of the SUV. Gareth stood in the background, glowering sullenly. He smirked when our eyes met.

  “I knew you would do the right thing and return to me,” Nina said and threw herself into Reece’s arms.

  He held her stiffly for a few seconds then pushed her away. “I think you have the wrong impression,” he said and my heart leaped. “I’ve come to tell you that I won’t be staying.”

  Incredulous, her smile faltered and I saw rage that was quickly banked. “I see.” She stepped back and her brother put a comforting arm around her shoulder. Ned stared at his nephew in disappointment that was shared by almost everyone in the pack. Gareth didn’t bother to hide his glee at hearing this news.

  “I have an obligation to Mark and to my team,” Reece explained. I noted that he didn’t mention his obligation to me as his mate. “I can’t just walk away from them after eighteen years. I don’t know why you left me when I was a toddler, but Mark has been a father to me for almost my entire life.”