by L. E. Horn
No, only a wulf, she replied. Chris says you damn well better watch your back.
Yep. I followed the trail to the ground with a thud. I landed in front of Nate, who thundered along in my wake like a bull bison, snorting steam into the cool night air.
We dug out the third flag from the base of the rock ridge when the island dissolved into howls. The other teams had taken up my challenge. I grinned, tongue lolling from my mouth, and shoved the cloth into the pouch.
I stayed in front as we headed off along the trail, but as I passed Danny, I said, “Wutch the right and rear. Ur next trap wull huv teeth and claws.”
His eyes widened, and he nodded, exchanging a glance with Nate as the big wulfleng moved off with me.
Supple and fluid like the wulf she was, Sam’s presence joined with mine as I ran, linking her power as she had across the rooftops of Winnipeg. That bastard’s in for a surprise, she growled.
You bet.
22
We reached the fourth flag without incident and had just got going again when Reese called the alert. He dropped out of the trees into our path.
“Incuming, full team,” he growled, then turned to spring into the bush.
There was no time to avoid them. They plowed right into us—teeth bared and claws flashing in the moonlight. I caught a glimpse of Keith racing past as another wulf came at me out of the darkness. A huge red body leaped between it and me. The wulfleng collided with Nate and the air whooshed out of its lungs, before a massive russet-hued paw swept it airborne. Snarling and snapping, the forest dissolved into a dogfight.
Danny, Nate, and I formed a solid core around a frustrated Lucas, standing back to back in an impenetrable wall while Reese streaked around the perimeter, leaving carnage in his wake. Luis darted in from the edges to strike and retreat, a strategy that suited his smaller frame. The other wulfleng underestimated Nate’s tremendous reach—he’d lunge out to nail them, embedding long claws to yank them back to him, where he commenced a thorough thrashing. Occupied with my own battles, I still watched him out of the corner of my eye to see if he lost control of the wulf, but he seemed content to shred skin and break bone, without using lethal force. When he finished, the target was lucky to limp away.
One wulf lost that tenuous battle for control—Keith’s smaller brown form leaped among the other team, slashing and snarling. He descended on a Nate casualty, pinning him with snapping jaws straining to tear out the throat.
“Keith!” I yelled, before Danny lunged forward to pull him off. When Travis and Mark arrived from the rear to bulldoze through the melee, the other team decided they’d had enough, and scattered. A few took a while to leave, dragging their bleeding bodies into the bush.
Danny kept between the retreating forms and Keith until all were gone. Keith snarled as I stepped forward, bringing the full brunt of my wulf power to bear on him. The brown head lowered, and he lay on the ground, panting. When Danny poked him with his nose, Keith raised his eyes, and his human had regained control.
As I glanced around, I realized the Nightshifters had done well. We shook off the attack and reformed our team as I took up the scent once more. But something about the team collision bothered me, and Sam pinned it down.
Why was Keith there? He was supposed to be rear guard, with Travis and Mark.
She was right. The other team came at us from the front. After Reese called the alarm, Danny, Lucas, Nate, and I were on them in seconds, but Keith had been right there with us. Mark and Travis came in from the rear, well behind the rest of us.
I slowed to speak to Nate.
“Wutch Keith.” Tongue lolling as he panted, Nate nodded and dropped back. Lending his shoulder to Lucas, Danny glanced my way.
Keith might be Ace’s wulf, Sam mused.
He fought with us.
He lost control of his wulf. Different thing.
I considered. Keith’s control of his wulf was a tenuous thing at the best of times. They can use the trackers to find us whenever they want.
You’re moving too fast for Ace to relay directions. Keith led them to you.
I remembered the streak of brown fur right before the team had attacked. Did Keith hate me that much?
He’s jealous of you, or more accurately, of Danny’s respect for you. He wants more from Danny than friendship.
I’d sensed those undercurrents as well but didn’t think Danny reciprocated. Danny’s not interested in me that way. Besides, I’m a taken wulf.
Yes, you are, she growled.
I passed out of the trees and onto the beach. At only two days past the new moon, the thin sliver barely danced off the water and rocks beneath our feet.
A moment later, Nate roared. Toe pads slipping in the rocky sand, we turned, as a seething, snarling mass of teeth and claws rolled out of the bush. Nate, battling a Keith gone haywire. Right behind them ran more wulfleng, and by their lack of armbands, these weren’t on any team.
Ace’s goons. Sam’s warning screamed in my brain.
This was what I’d been waiting for. “Get buk!” I yelled to my guys, moving between them and the oncoming wulfleng. I leaped into the mess that was Nate grappling with Keith, and with a lightning fast move grabbed the smaller wulfleng by the back of his neck, snapping my arm up and around to fling the traitor into Ace’s guys. Snarling, half wild, Nate picked himself up off the ground, and I froze him to the spot with a look before facing the oncoming wulves. I stood up straight and tall on my wulf legs.
The wulfleng leaped and snapped at the air as they spread out to trap us against the waves. I called on my own power and Sam’s, and my muscles popped and shifted as I flashmorphed from wulf rather than human. I embraced the rage, and with it came the guilt, surging so much power through me I struggled to channel it. The fact I was wulf meant he made a determined grab for control over the changes. Sam helped me fight him as I enhanced the muscles in my shoulders, arms, and legs, while keeping my body upright like a man’s. I allowed the wulf his visage, and grew ten-inch, razor-sharp talons from my fingertips.
“Stop!” I roared, the sound coming from deep within. The authority in my voice caught the attention of every wulf surrounding me, and Ace’s wulfleng froze and crouched, confusion evident in their faces. I held my arms out to my sides, spreading my fingers so the claws reflected in the pale moonlight.
Nate moved to flank me, but I held up a razor-tipped finger. I sensed rather than saw Danny take a step.
“Stand duwn,” I told them. “This is my fught.” I faced Ace’s wulfleng.
“Bring me Ace,” I thundered.
Danny exhaled with a hiss, and a ripple ran through not just my guys but all the wulves. Fur bristled and lips pulled back in snarls, but the wulfleng guards facing us stepped back, leaving one large wulf exposed. A big wulf—a wulfan. Through the fur, I recognized Ace, his expression shocked.
The jaws opened. “Whut ure yu?” he asked, his eyes roaming my body.
“Sumthing nu,” I growled, rubbing the long claws together with a harsh, rasping noise. “Tired of playing games wuth me? Only a cowurd hides behind stakes and steel.”
He snarled, but before he could come at me, a smaller brown wulf lunged from the shadows. Shrieking, Keith launched himself at me, and as his body impacted mine, I smelled the rankness coming off him in waves.
It happened too fast for me to pull back my claws, and they sliced deep into his abdomen. In desperation I twisted to push him off me. Danny appeared, grabbing his friend as the form crumpled.
Liam! I don’t know if she’d seen movement out of the corner of my eye or if it was instinct, but Sam’s screamed warning made me duck and saved my throat as Ace took advantage of my distraction. His teeth missed their target and sank deep into my shoulder instead. As his claws reached around me from behind, I grabbed his arm, bent over and put every bit of muscle into yanking him over the top of me.
My effort sent him flying across the sand. An accomplished fighter, the wulfan twisted in midair and landed with
his feet beneath him. He launched himself first sideways, then forward from an impossible position, hitting me hard enough to knock me off my feet. We rolled, snarling and snapping, him wrapping his wulf fingers around my half-human arms, sinking his claws into flesh to keep my daggers at bay. Accustomed to fighting either as a wulf or a human, the length of my torso threw him off balance, and he’d forgotten about my legs. As we rolled, he locked his against my torso to keep me pinned. I pulled my long, humanoid limbs up and around his body, placing one foot against his throat and the other behind his head. Then, calling on a surge of rage, I rearticulated the big toe so it could wrap around his throat like an opposable thumb, and squeezed.
Ace’s eyes bulged out and he choked. Desperate to contain my lethal knives, he struggled to keep his claws sunk into my arms. He tried to twist his jaws close enough to my foot to bite, but the opposable toe, and the wicked, hooked blade at its tip, held him firm.
“Yield,” I growled at him.
“Incoming. . .” A warning, from Reese.
“I’d prefer it if you’d finish him.” A new voice rang over the slap of the waves. “Since he’s disobeyed a very clear directive.”
Bradford. Fully dressed and in human form, he stood at the edge of the fray. Ace’s wulfleng minions sank to the ground as Bradford’s surrounded them. Those closest to the head overseer remained in human form and held cocked guns. I became aware of my team moving closer from behind.
“Stand duwn,” I said, and they stopped. I felt Ace’s grip weaken, and in a fluid move, I kicked free from him and rolled to my feet, leaving the wulfan gasping in the sand.
Danny bent over a brown form lying in a heap nearby. As I glanced at him, he rose to stand on two legs and shook his head.
“I’m surry,” I said, and I meant it.
Danny’s wulf eyes were shadowed. “Hus choice.”
“Touching.” Bradford commented, before pulling his gun from his belt and shooting Ace straight through the head. He holstered the weapon just as quickly and stepped aside as the armed wulfleng moved toward us.
“I don’t understand how you’ve done what you’re doing,” he said, his gaze sharp as he stared at me, “but I know people who will dig for those answers.” His eyes drifted behind me, to where the Nightshifters stood. “Control your boys or I will. And I would hate to lose the investment.”
This guy was smarter than Ace. He knew if he moved to take me down, my crew would fight for me. As long as I could convince them to let me go, they would be safe.
Unfortunately, I had work to do in that regard.
“Yu can’t take him,” snarled Nate, and I could see by the look in his eyes he was hanging onto his human self by a thread. He wasn’t alone. I could feel the tension coming from the rest of the Nightshifters. They inched forward until Danny gestured to stop them. Bradford watched the exchange, but put a hand out when one of his wulfleng raised his dart gun. The wulfleng paused.
My heart pounded. I sensed Reese, standing rigid off to one side, hyperaware of everything around him. One twitch on my part, and he’d explode into action. I knew if they darted Nate, he’d lose it, with Danny and everyone else following his lead. It would be a bloodbath.
I took a deep breath and held a finger up to Reese. Hold. I focused on the red wulf. “Nate, ut’s okay. Yu huv tu let me go.”
Nate flinched as Danny reached out a clawed hand to his shoulder. I took myself back to human, and at my nod, Danny did the same.
“Nate, I need you to shift,” I said.
“Thuy can’t have yu,” he repeated, his eyes chaotic.
I drew myself up and pulled on the power within me, feeling Sam lend her strength. I let the force of the alpha pour from my eyes into Nate’s.
“Shift. Now,” I ordered.
A shudder traveled through Nate’s big frame, but he lowered his head a fraction, and then the hair dropped from him as his body shifted. In moments, a huge naked human stared morosely at me. Danny kept his hand on Nate’s shoulder as he too shifted to human, but his green eyes were full of frustration. I let my gaze travel over Reese, who smoothly transitioned to a tall young man, no longer so thin. Travis was slower, and once done, he moved to stand with Lucas, who cradled his injured arm against his torso. Their eyes blazed anger.
“It’s okay,” I said as Bradford’s wulfleng moved to me. As he stepped close, I caught a whiff of something in his scent—fear.
As I contemplated being the object of terror, the Nightshifters’ eyes moved from me to Danny, seeking guidance. All except Reese, whose gaze never left mine. His tall frame stood at ease, but I sensed he was still poised, ready for the slightest suggestion from me to attack.
“It’s okay, Reese.”
Conflict shifted in his bicolored eyes. He wasn’t in on my plan, but he respected me enough to listen. He nodded, just a fraction. Bradford’s minion snapped thick manacles around my wrists, and a tremor passed through Nate as they clicked shut.
Before they turned me away, I said to Danny, “You’re in charge now. Look after them.”
His eyes widened, and Nate took a step forward but stopped when Danny held up a hand.
The wulfleng spun me. We marched past Ace’s crumpled form and up to Bradford.
The broad wulfan stared at me with interest, his eyes glowing bronze. “They’re gonna love you.”
I know I do, came Sam’s soft reply as Bradford gestured for me to precede him.
Hey, remember we did this on purpose. This is the plan going well.
Right. Which explains why Garrett just put his fist through the table.
Well, Garrett is prone to fits of stupidity.
I’ll tell him you said that.
I’m too far away for him to do anything.
Not too far, she said in a mental whisper. Never too far. We’re here. And we’ll come for you.
With a thundering pulse of rotor blades, the Black Hawk passed overhead, heading for the clearing. My heart rose and matched the beat.
I’m counting on it.
* * *
We hadn’t expected them to drug me. Although considering what they’d seen me do, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised.
If they’d known what the flashmorphs would do to me, they needn’t have bothered. Bradford waited until I approached the helicopter before jabbing me in the shoulder with a needle.
Sam pounced the second it went in. Dammit! Liam, you have to fight it. I need whatever impressions you can gather, or we might not find you. As my knees weakened, she sent me a pulse of pure energy. The fog hovered at the edges of my consciousness as hands grabbed and shoved me into the helicopter.
The dimly lit, windowless interior invited sleep, but the metal bench was icy cold against my bare butt, helping me maintain awareness as I felt the aircraft lift off. Sam hammered at me, yelling in my head, not letting me slip into the tempting blackness.
What direction was the chopper facing?
Hmm. I concentrated. North.
Did it turn around once in the air?
It was still turning, banking on muffled rotors. For a moment the entire world spun, and I closed my eyes.
Liam!
It’s okay, I’m here. Sort of. It’s turned. Heading south, southeast.
Relief. If that’s true, you’re coming straight for us.
Noticed any strange wulfleng running around?
Funny man. Hey, stay with me.
It would be so nice to let go. I was so tired.
Liam! For God’s sake. Something grabbed me in a rude spot, which was odd as I was sure she wasn’t physically present. My entire body flinched and my eyes snapped open. Sitting across from me, Bradford reached for his gun, then relaxed as I slumped back. The wulfleng on either side of him watched me with curious expressions.
You almost got me shot, I complained.
Then dammit, stay awake. We’re timing the flight, and I need your observations once you land.
Okay, okay. Don’t you have any better ways to kee
p me awake?
Are you nude and sitting across from men with guns?
Um. Yes.
Then no.
But when the drug reached for me, threatening to take me under, she responded with everything she had to keep it at bay. I groaned when stroked by her electric touch, and through half-opened eyes, saw Bradford frowning. I’d slumped across three seats, now I curled my body up into a fetal position, providing a modicum of privacy. My burly guard watched the movement with his hand on his gun, but obviously assumed I was far enough under.
Sam kept it coming, flooding me with sensation that pushed back the blackness but led to reactions unfit for public viewing. Even if it was just Bradford and two of his goons, one of whom sniggered and commented about the drug causing interesting hallucinations.
I sensed the helicopter roll again, and the rotors changed tone.
How long have we been in the air?
Almost thirty minutes. Sam sounded tired, and the moment she let up on the flow of sensation, the fog advanced on me. But her voice had strengthened. We were moving closer to her.
Yes. You are closer. I sensed hope. Finding me would still be a tall order, especially if I couldn’t provide more visual clues. I fought back the overwhelming urge to sleep. My wulf, sated by days of running free and tired from the flashmorphs I’d asked for, was as eager for rest as I was.
Liam . . .
Yep. Here. The helicopter banked and descended. We were definitely coming in to land. I braced myself to hold on for a little while longer. My senses needed to be alert. It would be the middle of the night, and I’d rely as much on scent as sight to give Sam every possible clue.
A soft bump and we were down. The wulfleng hauled me to my feet and out the door. I focused on keeping my body limp.
Good luck with that, with me around.
Just what I need, a damned comedian.
Tell me what you see.
With my head dropped forward, I glanced sideways through narrowed eyes. I smelled water and pines. The lake, to my right. Lots of grass, and another helicopter, rotors still spinning. My feet bumped along the ground, and one of the wulfleng complained about my weight. Four men coming to meet us. Behind them, a building, like a lodge. Floodlights reflected off golden logs. Big place. Two stories, lots of windows. Trees behind. The large cleared area reminded me of something—the first facility. A lot of it is underground, the clearing in front is way bigger than it needs to be for a landing pad or lawn.
