by L. P. Dover
“And what?” I ask, wondering why there’s a mischievous glint in his eyes.
His grin widens. “I’m not the only protective one in this group.” I can see Tia in his mind, and then it all makes sense. Her magic is how he was able to follow me, completely undetected both physically and mentally.
“She’s scared for Sawyer?”
Colin nods. “He talked to her last week about the agents who have been killed hunting their targets. She doesn’t want anything happening to him, so she asked me to keep him safe until she can come up with a spell to protect him.” The things we do for love. I don’t blame her. At least, Colin following us wasn’t just because of me. “You’re not mad at us, are you?” he asks.
“No,” I reply with a shake of my head. “I get it. I’d probably follow you too if the situation were reversed.”
Colin rubs his hands up and down my legs. His touch sends chill bumps over my skin, and I tremble. For the past week, I haven’t been able to get enough of him. We make love before going to bed, and then, when we go to sleep, I’m right back in his arms in our dreams. The full moon is in three days, and I’ve already made sure we have the perfect setting.
“You can’t be having those thoughts right now,” Colin warns. “Sawyer and Tia will be here any minute.”
“Okay, I’ll switch the subject.”
Sawyer was supposed to pick our destination for the next week, but I convinced him to choose a state with mountains. Luckily, he decided on Colorado. That way, Colin and I can sneak out and go for a run through the woods. I’ve never been able to do that with him yet. With being in big cities the past couple of weeks, we can’t exactly run through the streets as our wolves. I already rented us a cabin in the middle of nowhere.
“Have you talked to Zayne this week?” I ask him.
Colin’s lips pull back in a sad smile. “I have. He says he’s happy for us and welcomes you to the family.”
Zayne is a man of not so many words. The women in my pack have heard of the infamous Lyall brothers and have wanted to meet Zayne for a long time, especially if he looks like his younger siblings, Micah and Sebastian. Sebastian is mated already, but that leaves Micah and Zayne free. Besides Colin, they are the last two royal arctic males in existence that everyone knows of. Micah, however, is on the search for more of the previous Royal pack, two of them female and one male. Last I heard, he hasn’t found them yet.
“I wish I could help Zayne find his mate,” I say. “I know all about his past with the faerie.”
Colin blows out a sigh. “Yeah, that fucked him up when she was killed. The guilt still eats him up to this day. The only person who can get him to smile is Laila. But when little Sera’s born, I have a feeling she’ll have him wrapped around her finger.”
Laila is Zayne’s half shifter, half-fae daughter. Shifters can fall in love with humans, faeries, witches, and other wolves, but we can only have one true mate. How Zayne was able to get a faerie pregnant, I don’t know. Our world works in mysterious ways. Zayne didn’t realize until last year that Laila was his daughter. For thirty years, neither one of them knew. Laila belonged to the Sierra pack with a man she thought was her birth father. When she learned the truth, she figured out a way to get to Zayne. That way consisted of a pack war and lost lives, but it worked in the end. It brought Amelie to the new Royal pack.
Colin traces his finger in circles over my leg. “Tia loves to call it your wolfy matchmaking, but do you think you’ll ever do it again?”
In all honesty, I miss it. I’d love to touch another female shifter and see who her mate is. “The second we get back to our packs, yes. I want to.”
He clears his throat. “You haven’t by any chance ever touched Amelie have you?”
My curiosity peaks. “I intentionally didn’t. She was a little curious, but in the end, she said she wasn’t ready to know.” Colin tries to hide his grin and fails. “Why do you want to know about Amelie?”
He shrugs and lets his grin spread. “When you first arrived in Wyoming, you and Amelie shifted and ran to the lake.”
Mouth gaping, I stare at him in shock. “We did. Were you there?” I remember that night. Amelie and I ran through the woods, and when we got to the lake, we shifted back to our human forms to swim.
Colin nods. “I wasn’t the only one watching you.”
Gasping, I move closer to him. “Who else was there?”
His gaze turns serious. “Zayne. He watches Amelie the way I watched you. I think she’s his mate, only she doesn’t know it yet.”
Grabbing my chest, I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Excitement vibrates all through my body. “Seriously? This is amazing.”
Colin squeezes my hands. “We don’t need to get in the middle, Kami. But …” His voice trails off, and I can hear the scheming in his voice. “But if you happen to touch her by accident and dream about her mate, you can let me know.”
A knock sounds on the door, and I slide my legs off of him. “I think we got ourselves a plan.” I don’t want to be sneaky with Amelie, but if Zayne is her true mate, their bond could ultimately heal them both. They’ve had tragic pasts that I know left deep scars.
Colin stands and walks over to the door to open it for Sawyer and Tia. They stroll in, and Tia comes to the couch to sit next to me while Sawyer sets his laptop and government cell on the coffee table.
“Hey guys,” I say. “Did you have a good day?”
Sawyer winks over at Tia. “You could say that.”
Colin slaps a hand on Sawyer’s shoulder. “Come on. You need a beer.”
They move into the kitchen, and Tia watches them go. “I know Colin’s been watching Sawyer and me,” I whisper.
Her body tenses when she looks at me. “I’m sorry, Kami. I worry about Sawyer. He’s just a human. I don’t want to lose him.”
I grab her hand. “You don’t have to explain.”
She squeezes it back and moves closer. “I called Laila last night. There’s a protection spell in her mother’s journal. She texted it to me. Since you two don’t have a target tonight, I’m going to put him to sleep and do it.”
“Just be careful,” I warn her. “If something crazy happens, you have to be prepared to explain. Do you know what the protection spell entails?”
Her gaze wanders over to Sawyer and Colin. Over the past couple of weeks, they’ve become good friends. Colin might not want to admit it, but I think he wants to keep Sawyer safe as well.
Tia lowers her voice. “We’ll be fine.” There’s a bit of uncertainty in her voice, and I wouldn’t say I like it. I hope she knows what she’s doing. “In three days, you’ll practically be a married woman. Are you excited?”
Shifters don’t get married, but some have ceremonies for the fun of it, especially if they have a lot of human friends. Completing the bond on the full moon is much deeper than any wedding ceremony.
“I’m very excited,” I reply, grinning over at Colin. “I never thought my mate would be someone I hated.”
Tia snorts. “Used to hate.” We both laugh, and she sighs. “I keep thinking about the vision you had. What are you going to do about work when you have kids? You can’t go after bad guys being big and pregnant.”
It’s something I’ve thought about, but Colin and I haven’t spoken about it. Working for the FBI is what I want to do; nothing will change that. I may have to take a break when Colin and I have kids but keeping innocents safe is my passion. I’ll never give that up.
“I will never ask you to give it up,” Colin says in my mind. “We’ll figure it out.”
I look over at Colin, and he winks at me. Tia snickers, and she smiles when I look over at her. “I think it’s neat you guys can do that. I’m sure he heard what I asked you.”
I nod. “He did,” I say, keeping my voice low so Sawyer can’t hear. “Colin said he’ll never ask me to give up my job. It’s a good thing too because I’d kick his ass if he ever tried.”
“I’m stronger than you, Kamille.”
>
I glare at him, and Sawyer just keeps talking as if Colin isn’t having a silent conversation with me. “One day, we’re going to fight,” I tell him. “No more watching from the shadows. You will be my target.”
He keeps his eyes on Sawyer and nods at whatever it is he’s saying. “I’m ready.”
Sawyer’s FBI cellphone rings, and that’s never happened. Heart racing, I pick it up off the table and toss it to Sawyer when he gets closer. “It’s Chris,” I say quickly.
Our FBI phones are only used on missions and if someone’s in trouble. I don’t like the feeling in my gut. By the look on Sawyer’s face, he has a bad feeling as well. He presses the speaker button and holds out the phone between us. The first thing we hear is Chris’s frantic, sporadic breathing.
“Chris, what’s wrong?” Sawyer demands.
“He’s dead!” he shouts, his voice desperate and out of control. Through the phone, it sounds as if he’s running for his life. “Anthony’s dead. Oh my God, they ripped him apart.”
Pulse racing, my gut clenches with despair. “Chris, where are you?”
He gasps for air. “Canadian border. Minnesota. Fuck! I don’t think I’m going to make it.” Colin rushes over and listens in. Chris’s terrified screams and thunderous footsteps make my heart ache. I hear the crunching of leaves and something else in the background, but then he cries out again, blocking me from hearing it. “They’re going to fucking kill me! I can’t outrun them.”
“Who?” Sawyer shouts.
“They’re not human!”
Sawyer shakes his head in confusion. “Not human? What the hell do you mean?”
Colin tenses beside me, and I look up at him, then over to Tia, and back to him. “You don’t think …”
The look in his eyes is answer enough. “I can hear their growls through the phone.”
That’s what I thought I heard as well.
Chris screams in pain, and that’s when I hear the wolves. Running over to Sawyer’s laptop, I open it, and luckily, it’s already booted up. Reed wanted all four of us to stay connected, so he ensured we had easy access to our locations. I click on Chris’s profile and scan the FBI’s secret satellite for his phone and laptop. It pings almost instantly and zeroes in on two locations in Minnesota, one right in the middle of Voyageurs National Park by the Canadian border and the other several miles away. What the hell is Chris doing up there?
Chris yells again, and his cries are more desperate. I search Anthony’s profile and save both his and Chris’s locations to Sawyer’s laptop. I feel so helpless being so far away from them. The sound of ripping flesh and Chris’s blood-gurgling screams slowly ends. Tia slaps a hand over her mouth, and Sawyer looks as white as a ghost.
“Chris!” Sawyer shouts. “Goddammit, answer me! Chris!”
The sound of breathing echoes from the phone, but it’s so faint I don’t think Sawyer can hear. There’s a rustling of leaves and then a loud crack before the line disconnects.
Mouth gaping, Sawyer’s hands shake as he holds the phone. “What the hell just happened?”
Tears build in my eyes, and I hurry back over to his laptop. I search for Chris’s phone coordinates again, and nothing shows up. The only thing I see is a blinking blue dot for his computer; the same goes for Anthony. Their phones are gone as if they don’t exist.
The despair I feel hangs heavy on my chest. “I saved their locations,” I say, finding it hard to say the words.
“We need to know if we’re dealing with a pack or rogues?” Colin says in my mind.
I keep my focus on the computer screen, my anger making my hands shake as I type. “I know.”
Sawyer paces the room. “We have to call Reed.”
“No,” I snap, my voice almost a growl. Sawyer jerks his attention to me and stares as if he’s never seen me before. “We have to get there first.” I search through Chris’s credit card records to get the name of the place he and Anthony were staying at.
Sawyer throws his arms up in the air. “What the hell do you think we can do, Kami? If Chris and Anthony can’t kill the fuckers, how can we?”
It would be so much easier if I could tell him the truth. I trust him, but I think it’s safer to keep him oblivious. If he ever were to find out what we are, he wouldn’t sit back during the fights. He would never stand a chance against a shifter.
I look right into Sawyer’s tormented green gaze. “You have to trust me right now. Whatever you do, don’t call Reed. I have a plan, but first, we need to get to Minnesota.”
Sawyer huffs and hangs his head. “Fine. You haven’t steered me wrong yet.” He turns his focus to Tia. “We need to pack.”
Tia nods. “Go. I’ll be right there.”
She kisses his cheek and watches him go to the door. I can sense his anger, but there’s also fear; he’s ashamed by it. I wish I could tell him it’s normal to feel it, especially after what we just heard on the phone. Chris and Anthony are gone, and my heart hurts with their loss. Am I scared? Not in the least. I know what to expect with rogues, and I’m ready. The only thing I’m afraid of is putting Sawyer in the middle of a fight he won’t survive.
Once the door closes behind Sawyer, Tia turns to us. “Chris said they weren’t human. You don’t think it’s wolves, do you?”
I nod. “It’s exactly what I think. I heard them in the background.”
“So did I,” Colin says.
Tia sits down on the edge of the couch. “What are we going to do? Sawyer can’t get in the middle of this.”
“No, he can’t. Do your protection spell as planned, but when Colin and I go searching, you have to put Sawyer under,” I explain.
She sighs. “How are we going to explain things when I wake him up?”
“We’ll figure out something. Right now, it’s the only thing we can do.”
Tia nods and glances back and forth from me to Colin. “Whatever happens, you can count on me. We’ll be ready to go when you are.” She leaves our room, and I walk over to the kitchen counter to grab my personal cell.
“Who are you calling?” Colin asks.
I scroll through my phone until I find Chase’s number. “The only person I know who has a personal jet. I swear he’s going to start charging me with all the favors I ask of him.”
Colin comes up behind me, his warmth giving me comfort. “He’s a good friend.”
The line rings a few times, but then he picks up. “It’s about time you call me. I had to hear the good news from your brother.”
So much has been going on, I didn’t think to call him. Hell, I had Faith tell my brother. “I’m so sorry. Life is a little complicated right now.”
“Uh-oh, something’s wrong. I can hear it in your voice.”
My throat feels thick. “I just heard one of my partners in the FBI academy on the phone getting chased down and murdered by our kind.” I can still hear his screams.
Chase growls. “Are you fucking serious?”
I swallow hard. “That’s why I need your jet. We need to get out of Phoenix fast.”
“All right. I’ll call James and have him there in a couple of hours. Where are you going from there?”
“Northern Minnesota by Voyageurs National Park. You don’t happen to know of any packs up that way, do you?”
“No. Do you need me to come up there?”
As much as I’d love to have him by our side, I can’t get him involved. “Not yet. I’m hoping we can handle this on our own.”
“If you change your mind, let me know. Tell your mate to keep you safe, or else he’ll have to deal with me.”
Colin heard him and smiles, but we both know Chase is serious. I have no doubt Colin will always keep me safe, even though he knows I can protect myself.
“Thanks, Chase. I’ll talk to you soon.”
We hang up, and I turn to Colin, who pulls me into his arms. “I’m sorry, Kami.” Clutching him tightly, I finally give in to the tears. I never thought the FBI would have shifters on their target list
. What’s crazy is that I haven’t seen any when I’ve done my searches. It makes no sense. The only thing I can come up with is that Chris and Anthony were searching for a target and pissed off some wolves in the process. There are many of my kind who won’t think twice about killing a human for fun. “Do you think they were in the wrong place at the right time?” Colin asks, obviously having listened to what I said in my mind.
It’s a good question and one I’m desperate to find out. “I don’t know,” I whisper. “Chris and Anthony know how to piss people off. If they picked a fight with our kind….”
“They wouldn’t live through it,” Colin finishes.
Then, there’s the other scenario. “But if a shifter is on our target list, then this is something different altogether.” We’re about to find out soon.
20
Kami
Once all packed, we checked out of our Phoenix hotel and drove to a small, private airfield about thirty minutes away to wait for the jet. Sawyer has heard of me talk about Chase and how he has his own plane. I told him we needed to get to Minnesota fast, and that’s how we could do it. I hope that Reed doesn’t try to check up on us. For all I know, the FBI might get notifications if our signals go blank. If so, we’re screwed. The last thing we need is more agents searching for my kind. They’ll get killed, or the wolves will go on the run like they probably are now. I hate not knowing what I’m going to find when we get there.
We didn’t get off the ground until two in the morning, and it took three hours to arrive in Minnesota. As soon as we landed at the airport, we had a two-and-a-half-hour drive ahead of us, so we rented two vehicles. Colin and I are in the lead, with Sawyer and Tia behind us. I have my laptop open and my GPS programmed to lead us straight to the lodge Chris and Anthony were staying at. Looking at the satellite footage, they have their own little cabin on the grounds. When we pull up, we bypass the main lodge and drive the winding, narrow road until we get to the right place. Parked out in front is a dark blue Chevy Tahoe.
