by Tl Reeve
“Witches,” Natalie whispered. “Everywhere.”
Well, they weren’t really witches. The lore of Salem was notorious. So, seeing these “witches,” made sense. Gabriel opened himself to those around him. They shimmered into being; their specter forms becoming more human by the second. There, near the shallow grave, stood Aurin and Bane.
They were bleeding from their mouths and their torsos—their skin torn, shredded by the torturous way they’d died. The intense, stabbing pains crippled Gabriel almost sending him to his knees. Wave after wave of the nauseous way they’d suffered in the last hours of their lives, washed over Gabriel. He gagged, doubling over for fear he might puke.
It changed then, going back in time to when they first arrived at some warehouse. Those around Aurin and Bane were cloaked in shadow. The only thing Aurin had seen was a needle. Gabriel felt the prick in his arm. Felt the burn of some drug speeding through his system. His heart pounded. His dick grew hard. Later, he’d give over to the embarrassment of popping wood at a crime scene. His skin was too hot and too tight. His wolf prowled just below the surface too drunk and high to care.
Gabriel shot into another vision. One where a woman and a man were tied down. He didn’t want to see this. Didn’t want to experience this. The sensations were easy to place. He’d seen it a thousand times with his father. Knew how the man suffered as the drug, over thirty years later, still coursed through his veins—a permanent side effect of the experimenting Hazel Geithner and Simon English conducted on him. Then, the two men he called friends were back to their old selves. They smiled at Gabriel as the pain dissipated and the thickness between his leg deflated.
“The children are gone,” Natalie said. “They didn’t stick around. Aurin says hey. So does Bane.”
He couldn’t speak yet. His mind had to catch up to his body.
“You must be the team from PRA.” A blond Adonis stepped forward all brawn and muscle. A faint glow surrounded him, almost as if he was tethered to the ether of the beyond. The same ether charged the area, so he could see the spirits for longer than he usually did. Gabriel’s nose twitched at the scent of frankincense and myrrh along with something a bit wilder, banished the sickening stench of death and decay. “I’m Rafe, this is my team.” He pointed to the four other men as he named them. “That’s Shax, Lix, Caim, and Raum.”
“He’s cute, big brother,” Natalie whispered.
Shit. I’m in deep trouble here. When Rafe’s blue eyes locked with Gabriel’s, the jolt of realization had him sucking in a breath. Mate.
Chapter Three
Gabriel ignored her. “Gabriel Raferty. My sister Natalie Raferty and our team members Hauser and Max.” He pointed to the men behind them.
Natalie waved as she stepped away from her brother and headed straight for the grave. Her strides were light, almost as if she glided along the charred ground.
“Nice to meet you.” Rafe motioned for them to follow. “We haven’t moved the bodies. The coroner’s been pitching a fit because we waited for you.”
“The sooner they can do the autopsy, the quicker you’ll—we’ll have answers.” Aurin and Bane stuck close to Gabriel. “When did you get the call?” For now, he couldn’t tell them about the drug, Éviel. Probably wouldn’t believe you even if you told them.
“About six this morning,” Rafe answered. “We’re thinking time of death was between eleven last night and two this morning.”
“Later,” Natalie said. “They saw the sun rise, one last time.”
“That’s not weird at all,” one of the men joining them said. “How do you know?”
“She’s a—”
“I’m clairvoyant,” she said. “I can talk to the dead, and they will tell me everything.” Natalie lifted her chin.
“I think it’s hot.” Another of the men stepped forward. “I’m Shax.”
“Brother, they’re all very handsome.” Natalie winked at Gabriel.
“Fuck handsome, princess. I’m dirty.” Shax smirked. Gabriel instantly hated the guy. He was too perceptive. He watched every movement Natalie made. His dark-brown hair brushed his forehead, hiding his hazel eyes. Of the five men, he’d been the biggest in bulk and height. His imposing stature didn’t seem to bother Natalie one bit.
“I really like him. He reminds me of Uncle Kalkin.”
“I don’t know who he is, but I can guarantee I am nothing like your uncle.” He licked his bottom lip before tucking it between his teeth.
Oh, hell no. “Back off,” Gabriel growled.
Rafe stepped in front of Gabriel. “Hey, he doesn’t mean any disrespect.”
“Speak for yourself,” Shax said. “I meant every word.”
Natalie giggled then got a faraway look in her eyes. Gabriel stepped around Rafe and went straight to her. The image of Aurin returned as did the pain. He grunted and fell to his knees.
Rafe was by Gabriel’s side, grabbing his arm, while Shax went to his sister. He could hear them barking orders in between calling their names. Gabriel couldn’t look away. Couldn’t stop watching the scenes unfold moments before the children were killed. The sick depraved things they—the people cloaked in shadow—did to each teen. Gabriel didn’t know who fared worse. Aurin and Bane because they were forced to witness it, or the children who had to endure.
Natalie screamed, popping Gabriel back into reality. Shax gathered her into his arms and picked her up. Gabriel didn’t hesitate. His clothes were rendered useless as the wolf took over. His body contorted. His vision darkened to a crimson red. No one touched his Natalie.
He launched himself at the big man, only to be stopped and mounted by a bigger wolf with copper colorings and a golden halo surrounding him. The wolf bit down on his scruff demanding submission, while Shax gently placed Natalie beside Gabriel. She’d passed out. He scented no harm done to her. Yet, her normally pale flesh was grey, and green crept along her jaw. He acquiesced to the bigger wolf holding him down, ashamed of the scene he caused.
The cocking of a gun drew Gabriel’s attention. Hauser stood over the wolf pinning Gabriel down. The muzzle of the firearm was pressed to the back of the copper wolf’s head. “I think now would be a good time to get off of the boy, don’t you?” Hauser exuded a smooth confidence.
The wolf let him go, and Gabriel crawled along on his belly, covering his sister with his body. No one would understand them. No one would ever know the depths and lengths he’d go to protect his twin.
“Easy,” Rafe said, laying his hand against Gabriel’s flank.
He growled, exposing his teeth to all of them. Natalie was a piece of him as he was a piece of her.
“Fuck me,” Shax grunted. “He’s a protective bastard.”
“You would be, too, if you were intuitive twins,” Hauser said. “Bad move touching her.”
“Hey.” Rafe drew Gabriel’s attention. “She’s fine. I think she passed out. Is that normal?”
Yeah, Natalie had a bad habit of doing it. When anything overwhelmed her, whether for a job or someone coming to her for help, she’d drain herself until she found the answers she sought. It was why Gabriel wouldn’t let her go out on her own and why their parents had reservations about this kind of work. Natalie went full on and never once thought about herself.
“Big brother?”
Gabriel glanced up and licked her cheek.
“Oh ew.” She gave a weak laugh. “Stop that.” She gave him a feeble shove. “And, get off of me. I think I know what happened.”
Yeah, him, too.
****
Well, that was fucking interesting.
Rafe gathered with his team while Max tended to Natalie, and Gabriel grabbed another set of clothes. Whatever the two of them experienced or saw caused the girl to fall unconscious. It also caused Gabriel to become a ravenous wolf. He’d never seen a shift come over someone as it had the guy. Had Rafe not shifted himself and grabbed Gabriel mid-jump, Shax would have been torn apart, there was no doubt about it.
When the
girl finally got to her feet and cleaned away the dirt and leaves from her back and hair, the twins along with their team members approached. Gabriel stood a good half a foot taller than his sister. Where she was willowy and impish, he had the streamlined body of a wolf in his prime. They were also complete opposites. Natalie wore billowy clothes and necklaces, she was, in Rafe’s estimations, a younger, small version of Stevie Nicks. Only difference—Natalie’s white-blonde hair was streaked with green and purple. Gabriel had the curliest, black hair and the bluest of eyes that turned yellow as a wolf. His wolf was shades of timber with desert undertones. In a word, he was gorgeous.
Rafe’s wolf puffed out his chest. Mine. Since he’d fallen, he’d had to adjust to his dual nature. The wolf could run hot and cold most days. Worse through the full moon, but Rafe never told anyone about it. If Raum experienced the same thing, he, too, didn’t say shit. Who wanted to deal with two aggressive men during a three-day period a month?
He pushed down the lingering questions, though, and met the twins halfway. If they were going to catch the people responsible, they’d have to work together. He grinned at Natalie and gave Gabriel a once over. Why his wolf chose to claim this rangy guy, Rafe didn’t understand. Right about now, it didn’t matter. Two children were dead along with four adults. They were the priority. Not Rafe’s libido, which should have gone dormant after the bender he’d been on.
“Are you better now?” he asked.
“Much,” Natalie said with a smile. “Thank you.”
“She has a bad habit of pushing herself,” Gabriel said, a hint of reluctance and regret in his tone.
“You go where the spirits take you,” she replied. “It’s impolite to pull away from them while they’re telling their story.”
Rafe cocked a brow. “What did these spirits tell you?”
“A story,” she said strolling deeper into the clearing near the bodies. “You really should have the coroner take the bodies now.”
“This isn’t the site of their death, either,” Gabriel said. “They were left here. We’re looking for an abandoned warehouse not far from here.”
The guy got this far away look in his eyes, the one they’d all seen with Natalie before she screamed and fainted. When Gabriel came to, he stared at Rafe. His eyes had gone from a deep, midnight-blue to almost a white-blue, reminding him of icebergs at the North Pole.
“Through the clearing there” Gabriel said, pointing northwest. “They were chased through this area, though. If I had to guess, Aurin and Bain thought they could make a stand here. Little did either of them know; whoever murdered them, laid in wait.
“How?” Rafe asked dumbfounded.
“I only see the most important parts.” He shrugged. “We should get the bodies taken to...”
“Coroner will be taking them to the morgue,” Lix said. “Since forensics is my department, I’ll be assisting.”
Gabriel nodded. “Good. The quicker we can get this going the better off all of us are going to be.” He glanced back at the shallow grave and gave a visible shudder.
“So, they’re yours then?” Rafe asked.
“Yeah, they’re ours. The adults are Aurin and Bain and Blake and Felicia. The children are, Marco, Christian and Daniel.”
Rafe grunted. He glanced in the pit and shook his head. The kids weren’t a day over fifteen or sixteen. They’d had their whole lives in front of them. “What can you tell us about this PBH organization and how they got mixed into this mess?”
A shrill cry cut through the wooded area. Gabriel went still. His finger came to his lips, quieting them, as he took his sister’s hand and started running in the direction they’d heard the cry come from. The cry came again a little louder than the last one.
“Shit,” Gabriel grumbled, taking off at a dead run, forcing Rafe to give chase. He wove his way through the small thicket before coming to stop.
Rafe glanced down as he came up beside the guy. There, on the ground, was a large, wiggling duffle bag. The cries coming from it grew more alarming by the second. Gabriel crouched down and pulled on the zipper, revealing a small, almost naked baby. Under the left arm were papers. Rafe scrunched up his face. Nephilim. For the first time since he’d fallen, he saw the faint glow of angel powers. There was the weak smell of something else, though. The wolf pushed forward and inhaled.
“Wolf and something different,” Gabriel said in wonderment.
“Are you going to keep the baby in the bag all day?” Natalie shoved between them and lifted the small bundle from its hiding spot. “Interesting.” She ran her finger along the slit on the Nephilim’s shoulder blade.
“You don’t think they experimented on the baby, do you?” Gabriel retrieved the paperwork and frowned. “Damn it, Aurin.” His friend’s signature named Aurin the father of the little girl.
“So, you adopt the kids?” Rafe hedged.
“Sometimes,” Natalie answered, allowing the baby to suckle her knuckle. “Sometimes it’s done as a cover to hide the most vulnerable. She must be important for Aurin to have hidden her like this.
“He also must have believed you’d find her,” Shax stated.
“Of course,” Natalie said. “It’s how we stay protected from PBH.
“Speaking of which...” Rafe started, “I think you were going to tell me about these assholes.”
“Who aren’t they?” Gabriel snorted, glancing at the baby his sister held. “Look, this isn’t something you’ll want to discuss over the grave of my friends and our kids. I would prefer to do this somewhere private. Plus, we have a child I need to report back to my uncle about and figure out what to do next with her.”
Rafe gave him a once over. Again, the wolf pushed forward, not caring if Gabriel liked him or not—which seemed to be a reoccurring theme between Rafe and his wolf—and announced the man who stood in front of him, was his. “Sure. We’re at the Salem Inn. If you want to follow us back over.”
Gabriel inclined his chin. “Hauser and Max will assist with the bodies.”
“Lix, you and Raum prep the bodies for transport with Hauser and Max. We’ll meet you back at the hotel. Shax, you and Caim are with us.” Rafe followed Gabriel and Natalie out of the clearing back to the vehicles waiting along the side of the road. “I’ll take the lead, show you where we’re staying.”
They broke apart, heading for their respective vehicles. Shax kept close to Natalie as she held the small Nephilim in her arms like she was precious cargo. Well...technically, she was. Rafe threw his bag in to the vehicle before sliding in behind the wheel.
“What is going on here?” Shax slipped in beside Rafe, while Caim took the backseat.
“I have no clue.”
“Angels are prohibited to stay on the Earthly plain. A Nephilim...none should be born on the mortal plane,” Caim stated.
“I know.” Rafe dropped the SUV into drive before turning around. “I don’t understand it. Gabriel smelled wolf, so did I.”
“Do you think?”
“They knew?” Rafe shook his head as they passed Gabriel’s vehicle. “No. To have an angel and wolf means they were created, not birthed from procreation. This was deliberate. I can feel it.”
“PBH?” Shax hedged.
“If you believe what Natalie and Gabriel saw in that field, then yes,” Rafe said.
“Shit.” Caim whistled. “This isn’t good.”
No, it wasn’t.
Being in a vehicle gave Rafe time to breathe. It wouldn’t take him long to get back to the hotel; however, it did give him time to clear the scent of dead flesh from his senses. He hadn’t expected what they saw when they arrived on scene. The grave had been fresh. Not more than a few feet deep. The bodies had been positioned face down and stacked so dirt and ground foliage would cover them. Had the state not been conducting training in the area, the bodies might not have been found at all. Add in the baby, and it threw a wrench into their mission.
When he arrived at the hotel, he parked then waited for Gabriel and Natal
ie to join him. Again, he took a moment to figure out what made the man in front of him special—unique enough for his wolf to claim him. Gabriel seemed ordinary on the outside, but seeing him and his sister work, Gabriel was anything but normal. Rafe held the door for Natalie who gave him a small smile as she rubbed the baby’s back. He inhaled as Gabriel passed. Clean, like a desert oasis with a thread of his wolf.
Rafe liked it. Reminded him of wet sage and being free. He wanted to rub all over him, even if it did sound weird. Rafe led them from the lobby to the bank of elevators against the back wall. Once they were inside, he had to say something, because the silence made him uneasy. “So, how long have you been agents?”
“Three years,” Natalie said. “Gabe was a deputy before we started working together.”
Gabriel grunted. “Wasn’t like I could let you do this on your own.”
“Always the protector.” Natalie sighed. “All Raferty men are. Siblings are worse. They see us as being dainty things to be kept in crystal boxes and on high shelves.” She glanced up at Gabriel. “One day, big brother, I am going to push my box from the shelf.”
“So, he’s older, then?” Rafe asked since Caim and Shax were suspiciously quiet.
Gabriel laughed. “No. She is. She’s always called me big brother.”
“I’m sorry, I have to ask. How are you twins? I know there are identical and fraternal twins, but you don’t look anything alike.” He’d been trying to figure it out. Face shape. Body types. Something to show they were what they said they were.
“I look like my father,” Gabriel said.
“And, I look like my father,” Natalie added. “We’re fraternal, and we have two dads.”
“Wait...” The realization of what they told Rafe, dawned on him. Their mother had two mates. “Oh.”
