Kin Selection (A Shifter’s Claim Book 1)

by L. B. Gilbert

  Denise didn’t see it that way. She was a problem solver—more concerned with getting results than soothing bruised egos. There weren’t enough hours in the day for that. Besides, Karen always had dark circles under her eyes. An all-expense paid trip to Zambia might be exactly what she needed.

  Twenty minutes later, Denise was pulling behind the abandoned gas station on the edge of a tiny no-name town. Parked in a break in the tree line was another vehicle—a truck this time. It was attached to a horse trailer.

  They transferred the still-drowsy chimps with a minimum of fuss, something none of the others thought to question.

  Even Max didn’t appear to catch on to what she’d done. “You guys are cute, but lazy little bastards, aren’t you?” he asked them before poking her in the ribs too hard. “Now we know why they lost the evolutionary arms race.”

  Intent on getting the chimps unloaded as quickly as possible, Denise simply gave him a tight smile. Her teeth were gritted to keep from correcting him on what that term actually meant.

  As the others finished up, she changed the plates on the van and added matching decals to the side panels. Once they were in place, the van looked older, like a seventies throwback. A few strategically placed dirt smears cemented the transformation.

  Denise studied her work critically and decided it would pass muster in the dark. Even a cop at a checkpoint would most likely fail to recognize the van unless they looked very closely.

  Here’s hoping no security feeds caught it in the first place.

  The chances of that were slim. Reliance Research was in an isolated corner of Wyoming, a few hours from the Colorado border. The nearest town was ten miles away, a place with a budget too tiny to have traffic cameras. The facility only had a handful that were easily avoided. As the guards had pointed out in their argument, their budget had not gone toward infrastructure or security.

  “What are we going to do with the cub?” Max asked. “You’re not planning to send it to Africa, are you?”

  “No, of course not. We’ll take it with us, at least until I figure out what to do.”

  Max shuffled his feet. “Oh yeah, about that. I was thinking I could maybe tag along with the chimps or something. The second team probably needs help.”

  He looked at Karen—or more precisely at her low-cut sweater and skinny thighs—and shrugged.

  Denise’s lips parted. “Oh.”

  Blinking hard, she fought to mask her reaction. The sudden lump in her throat made that difficult. “If you think you can help them, knock yourself out. But first, I’d appreciate some help with the pup’s cage. See if you can open it,” she said, handing over the decoder device.

  Your voice was steady enough. She hadn’t given herself away. Denise turned, needlessly adjusting the decal one more time as he went to work on the lock.

  Why am I even upset? She had just been thinking he was an ass. But he’d been her ass.

  Apparently, that was about to change.

  After a few minutes, Max called out to her. He’d managed to unlock the cage. Well, at least you’re good for something. Leaving the cage unlocked but fastened with wire, she shut the van doors and casually waved goodbye.

  Denise waited until she was a few miles away before letting a few tears slip down her cheeks.

  It doesn’t matter. I don’t care. She was used to being on her own. That was the primary reason for dating him in the first place—to stave off loneliness. But it hadn’t exactly been a match made in heaven.

  Behind her, the pup yipped, and she snorted, remembering she wasn’t as alone as she thought. “Well, I guess it’s just you and me, kid.”

  The little animal yawned as it curled up on the floor for a nap.

  2

  “Son, it’s Douglas.”

  Yogi Kane scowled at the road ahead and adjusted his Bluetooth earpiece.

  Why was the chief calling him? His mind leapt to the worst-case scenario and he yanked on the steering wheel, pulling his Jeep over to the side of the road.

  “Are Sal and Sammy all right?”

  He’d talked to his younger sister and brother just yesterday. Everything had been fine, but he knew from experience things could change in an instant.

  “Yes, they’re okay. It’s not them.”

  He exhaled a pent-up breath. “What’s going on? Is it Connell or Mara?”

  The chief’s children were his closest friends. They had stuck with him through his family’s recent troubles, making a show of their friendship and giving him and his siblings their unconditional support. Not everyone in the pack had been so generous.

  Douglas paused. “Actually, this is about one of the Averys.”

  The Averys. If there was a werewolf equivalent to the Hatfield and McCoy feud, it was the conflict between his family and the Averys. His father had railed and ranted about them for years…

  “Yogi, you still there?”

  “Uh, yeah. I’m sorry. What’s going on?”

  “Do you remember the girl Santiago married? The human named Sheri? She’s missing, presumed dead.”

  “That’s fucked up,” Yogi said, wondering where Douglas was going with this.

  He only met Sheri once. She was a quiet and timid woman, small in stature. Jessup Avery’s son, Santiago, had taken her as a mate a few years ago. Santiago had died unexpectedly last year while doing another tour as a ranger, but Yogi didn’t know anything about him or his family beyond that.

  “They have a baby boy,” Douglas continued.

  “They do?”

  “We need you to look for them.”

  “Me?”

  “Logan thinks they’re near you.”

  Logan, the Air Elemental and Connell’s mate, had a freaky way of finding things out. Part witch and part force of nature, she could do impossible things—crazy shit Yogi had only seen in superhero movies. And that’s coming from a werewolf.

  Yogi had seen proof of Logan’s skill and magic firsthand. If she said he was near Sheri and her kid, then he probably was. Of course, with her powers, she could literally fly anywhere, so why did they need him?

  “Is Logan on her way to swoop in to save the day?” Did she need backup? Was Connell unable to help her for some reason?

  “She and Connell are somewhere in Eritrea. They can’t drop what they’re doing to come. I’m afraid this is on you.”

  Yogi swore under his breath. As comforting as it was that his alpha still had some faith in him after what had happened, he’d literally just left home. If he found Sheri and her kid, he’d end up having to take them to their pack.

  So much for escaping…

  “Yogi.”

  “Where do I go?’

  “Logan gave me two places to check. The first should be just a few miles from where you are now.”

  Sheri had been dead at least a day by the look of it. Yogi found her small compact off the highway and down a steep embankment. The vehicle had slammed into a tree amid some dense shrubbery, hiding it from the sight of the vehicles passing on the road above.

  There was no sign of Oliver, Sheri’s eighteen-month-old son.

  The baby had survived the crash. His scent was strong in the trees around the car, but it died abruptly a half mile from it. The trail ended just a few dozen feet from a smaller access road that branched off the highway.

  Someone had found Oliver. Whether that person had anything to do with the accident had yet to be determined.

  While any road was potentially dangerous, the one Sheri had driven off was well lit with a decent railing along the edge. The lack of skid marks suggested she might have fallen asleep at the wheel—or she’d had no time to react and brake when another car forced her off the road.

  Sheri’s car was too much of a mess to know if it had been struck by another vehicle, but there were a few bits of orange plastic on the asphalt. It was the kind that came from a headlight. Two cars had collided on this road, but he couldn’t say when it had happened.

  Somehow, Logan had known the
baby wouldn’t be here. It was why she’d given him two vague locations, not one. He’d assumed she simply hadn’t been sure of her information, which sometimes happened. But at least he had a second chance to find the kid.

  3

  Denise left the wolf cub in the garage of her rented cabin while she ran out to get supplies. The cabin was on an isolated stretch of Alsop Lake, but it was close enough to town to get most of the food and gear she needed on short notice without having to resort to ordering anything online.

  Would a wolf eat dog food? Denise stared at the selection, which was a large one considering the size of the store.

  People must love dogs around here. She grabbed a can of each different brand. To be safe, she thought she should probably get some meat too.

  Denise shuddered. Though a strict vegetarian when it came to her own meals, she had studied enough biology to know better than to try to impose that kind of diet on an animal. However, just because she was willing to serve meat didn’t mean she had to like it, she acknowledged as she unenthusiastically ordered ground chuck from the butcher.

  By the time she returned to her rental, the little wolf had shredded the blankets she’d piled together as a makeshift dog bed.

  “Jesus, kiddo, what are you going to do tonight? It’s supposed to get below freezing.”

  The cub cocked its head at her and proceeded to stroll to the door leading to the kitchen. It paused as if waiting for her to open it.

  “Sorry, little buddy, you have to stay in here.” The cub yipped and whined, scratching at the door. Feeling guilty, Denise took the ground chuck out of her grocery bag and put it in a bowl on the floor next to a plastic basin she’d filled with water. She rearranged the shredded blankets into a nest by the water heater and ducked into the kitchen before the little cub finished eating.

  Wolves have thick fur. No matter how cold it got in the garage, the cub would be fine. Denise went to the kitchen, but she couldn’t summon the enthusiasm to prepare dinner for one. Finally settling on a yogurt and a granola bar, she headed for the tiny bedroom to eat in bed.

  “What the hell? How did you get in here?’

  The wolf cub snorted and wiggled on the burgundy sleeping bag she’d thrown over the bed.

  “Shoo! Get off there,” she said, waving at it. The cub shook itself and curled up, its head resting on her pillow.

  Donna grabbed the little animal, cradling it. Realizing it was a boy, she snorted. It was just like a male to cause trouble. She carried him to the garage, fishing out a few of the larger blanket pieces that were still intact. Setting him next to the heater, she wrapped him up.

  “Now, stay,” she ordered.

  The second her back was turned, the cub shot past her through the crack in the door.

  Damn. He moved fast. When she caught up with him, the cub was back on her bed.

  “All right, kiddo, you win. I’m too tired to fight you on this. You can stay here with me tonight, but if you eat my face while I sleep, I’m going to be pissed.”

  Maybe feeding it meat earlier had been a mistake. What if it now had the taste for raw flesh? Or had it been the right move? If she made sure he was full all the time, maybe he wouldn’t decide she looked like dinner.

  “You sleep at the foot of the bed,” she ordered, pointing.

  Naturally, the cub ignored her, rolling over on his back and lifting his paws in the air. With a sigh, she picked him up and moved him.

  The cub waited until she climbed into bed before pattering over and curling up against her head. “I’m serious. If you eat my face, I will neuter you.”

  The cub yipped again, hopefully in agreement. Drained, she passed out with his furry little body warming her cheek.

  Mama.

  Denise’s eyes flew open. She rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand and sat up.

  “Mama.”

  What in the world? Was that a baby? How could that be? She was the only one here.

  Another wail. Yes. Somewhere in the night, a baby was crying.

  Was she hallucinating? That didn’t make sense. It was too early for her biological clock to explode. There was no reason for her to be dreaming about babies. She had at least another ten years before the decision to procreate became an issue.

  “Mama.”

  Why was the crying louder now? Was this one of those freaky dream-within-a-dream things? Denise didn’t think those happened in real life.

  The sleeping bag was an unbroken expanse of pearlescent cloth. No fur pile. The cub wasn’t on the bed. Had he rolled off in his sleep?

  The crying was the cub. Wow. It sounded almost human.

  “It’s all right, kiddo,” she mumbled, pulling back the blanket. “I’m coming.”

  She scooted across the mattress and blinked rapidly at the sight that met her eyes.

  “You’re not really there. I’m still asleep.”

  The naked baby boy crying on the floor didn’t care what she believed. He just cared that she was awake. He held up his chubby little hands in an impossible to misinterpret pick-me-up gesture.

  Denise coughed to clear her raspy throat. “How did you get in here? Where is your mommy?”

  At the word mommy, the toddler’s volume climbed to ear-splitting levels. Wincing, Denise hurried to pick him up. Unused to small children, she imitated what she’d seen women doing on television—holding him close and patting him on the back. The baby’s sobs turned to hiccups as Denise slowly made her way around the cabin, looking for additional intruders.

  Had she left the door open? Was that how he had gotten in here? Denise knew she hadn’t done anything so stupid, but checked anyway. Both the front and back door were closed, as were the windows. She was alone.

  She looked down at the still-sniffling toddler. “Hell, kid, did you get here through a wormhole? Is there a tear in the universe in the closet?”

  The baby didn’t answer. Quiet now, he snuggled in her arms and drowsily blinked up at her.

  Was she looking at a kidnapping victim? Or maybe he’d been lost in the woods? On this part of the lake, her rental was the only cabin for miles. Maybe the baby had stumbled to the only recognizable structure in the dark. Could he have crawled inside here on his own?

  What if there was someone camping nearby and their baby had wandered away? The parents were probably frantic. What was she supposed to do? Go around the lake with a naked baby until she found the right tent? To her untrained eye, the lake was big—far too large for an aimless search of the shore.

  Anger roused her to full consciousness. The lost-child scenario was all wrong. A baby couldn’t have physically entered her cabin. She had locked up tight for the night.

  Someone had broken into her cabin and abandoned a toddler. A naked toddler. What the hell kind of person did that?

  I’m screwed. Denise couldn’t call the police. She was in possession of a stolen research animal. Wolves weren’t typical pets. Unless the police officer was especially dense, she couldn’t pass the cub off as a dog. Not even a husky.

  Wait. Where was the cub?

  Still holding the drowsy baby, she crouched to look under the bed. Nothing. A quick scan of the cabin revealed a startling lack of wolf cub.

  Shit. Denise swore under her breath, looking around for something to swaddle the little one with. Grabbing her phone to check the outside temperature, she frowned. It was too cold to take the baby out unless he was properly clothed. Even with a blanket, the frigid air would make its way through the cracks unless she could learn to swaddle in the next five minutes.

  Denise had two options. She could leave the baby asleep on her bed and take a quick look around in the dark with a flashlight…or she could wait for morning.

  If she went out now, she might run into the parents or a search party looking for the little tyke. Of course, if she left and they came here to check, she might miss them.

  I’m better off waiting until morning. Despite living in the cabin for over a month, she simply didn’t know the area well
enough to conduct a nighttime search. She’d just take a quick peek around the place itself in case help was nearby.

  Decision made, Denise turned her attention to the problem at hand. She put the baby down on the bed and covered him with the blanket. Using her pillows, she built a makeshift fort around him.

  The flashlight was under the sink. After checking the batteries, she crept out the front door before turning to go back inside.

  The couch cushions. She could put them on the floor in case the baby rolled off the bed. After pulling the tan squares off the couch, she tiptoed to the bedroom. She nearly tripped over her own feet when she saw the cub was back…and it was covered by the blanket she’d used on the baby.

  Her breath stuttered as she shakily inhaled.

  The cub ate the baby. Yes, that was the explanation. The wolf was hungry and had eaten the baby. Because the alternative was too crazy to believe.

  I have to find the boy. Despite a stern mental order to get her butt moving, she just stood there like an idiot, staring at the wolf cub. Bending over, she knelt on the ground, her eyes level with the sleeping animal.

  The cub sensed her watching and opened his eyes. Then he sneezed. She blinked as a ripple of…something…passed over the wolf. Then the baby was in the cub’s place, holding out his arms.

  Denise backed away so fast she fell on her ass, hitting the wood floor with an oomph. The momentum rocked her into the bureau, sending a vase rolling off. The heavy ceramic piece glanced off the side of her head, striking with enough force to make her ears ring.

  On the bed, the baby fussed and waved his arms. When she stayed on the floor, rubbing her head, he started wailing.

  “No!” Denise scrambled to her feet. She held out her hands in a classic panic move, trying to ward off any tears. But that just made it worse. The volume of his cries climbed several decibels as the toddler screamed furiously.

  Wincing, she lifted him up, holding him a little away from her body. The shrieking continued unabated. Denise squeezed one eye shut and kept the other fixed on the baby.