Niko whipped his head around, staring off into the distance as another knock came.

  With a scowl, Niko tore his gaze from whatever seemed to calling him and looked at her.

  She gave a cursory nod and moved closer to the bed while Niko opened the door. Alison stood there, her cheeks pink with color, a fine film of sweat along her brow. “Prime.” She bobbed her head in Zee’s direction. “There’s a problem with the skinwalker.”

  “The trespasser?” Niko pinched the bridge of his nose. “I haven’t had an update on him in hours. Who was handling his questioning?”

  “Lauren.” Alison pushed wayward strands of hair back from her face, her jaw tightening. “She’s down. Hurt. Pretty bad.”

  Niko snapped his head back in surprise. “This skinwalker got the drop on Lauren?”

  “No. It was set up to look that way, but... look, Niko, the skinwalker is dead.”

  “What?” Niko barely managed to throttle the growl.

  Zee touched his arm and he jerked himself back under control, forced himself to breathe, in, out, in, out. After a few rounds, he focused on Alison again.

  She looked as pissed as he felt. “I’m sorry, Prime. I’m part of the security team and I—”

  “Stop.” Niko held up a hand. “I don’t need blame. I need answers. Find the hole in our security later, plug it so this doesn’t happen again. But for now... continue. You’re sure he’s dead?”

  “Me?” She looked away. “Pretty sure. But Guy was on shift and Rika had me call Guy in.”

  “It was the best decision,” Niko said, nodding. “Keep going.”

  “Guy showed up. He had his new partner with him—she’s... witchy.” Alison wrinkled her nose and looked away. “I know that’s not very technical, but she’s got the scent of a witch to her. No idea what kind, but I felt it. I let her take a look at the scene and... she’s good, Nik. She went through the whole thing. It’s set up to look like the skinwalker got a jump on Lauren, then offed himself. But the set-up was too clean, too perfect. She says it was an outside job—had to be.”

  “Did anybody do a scent track?”

  “Tried.” Alison wrinkled her nose. “I tried. Liza tried. Séamus tried. Even Dorinda gave it a shot when she saw the commotion. Nobody can get anything useful. There’s something covering it.”

  “Covering it?” Zee spoke for the first time, her brows arching in surprise. She’d never heard of anything covering somebody’s scent. Rain could wash it away and snow could either wash it off or bury it, but covering it entirely? “How is that possible?”

  “We’re not sure.” Niko’s voice was grim. He looked at her over his shoulder, eyes turbulent with anger and grief. “But this isn’t the first time we’ve encountered something like that. The people who ambushed us when my father died—they were able to hide their scent trail in a similar fashion.”

  “That’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to wait,” Alison said. “I don’t have anything else useful, though, Niko. I notified Boone but he’s still off grounds right now.” She shifted her weight restlessly. “Gwen and Joe came in—Aspen called them and asked for extra gear and they were dropping it off as everything started going down. They drafted themselves since we’re stretched thin with Shale and Boone... ” Alison bit her lip. “Shale’s going to be okay, right?”

  Niko pulled her in for a hug without thinking. She was a packmate, hurting and scared. “Of course he will. He’s too fucking mean not to be okay.”

  Her arms came around him after a moment and it wasn’t until she hugged him awkwardly then nudged him back that he wondered if maybe he’d done something that would hurt Zee. Alison swallowed and darted a nervous look at him before backing away.

  “Stop it,” Zee said from behind him. “I don’t expect you to stop caring for your pack, Niko. If I see you trying to get in another woman’s bed, I’ll take issue. But that’s not what’s going on. Alison? Stop freaking out.”

  Alison’s lips twitched as she shot Niko another look. “I think that’s one of the reasons I was always so jealous of her. She’s never worried about what others thought. She just says what she’s thinking and fuck everything else.”

  Hearing the soft rustle of fabric behind him, Niko glanced back and saw Zee pulling a shirt on. He frowned when he realized it was one of his. When had she gotten a hold of it? Then he smiled, realizing that he liked the idea of her covered in his scent. She lifted a brow at him as the shirt fell down to cover her butt, the hem striking her mid-thigh.

  “There’s a certain kind of freedom when you decide not to worry about what others think,” Zee said, joining him at the door.

  Niko reached out, wanting the smooth, silken warmth of her skin under his hand. He encountered worn cotton and settled for that instead. “Thanks for bringing the news, Alison. Update me when you can.”

  She nodded, then looked at Zee, giving her a respectful nod as well before turning.

  Niko shut the door and pulled Zee into his arms, turning in the same motion so he could lean against the door, her body tucked against his.

  Edgy tension pulsed between them.

  “You want to try and pick up the trail?”

  “No,” Niko murmured, eyes on the far wall.

  Somehow, that answer didn’t surprise her. She picked up on the tension that had crept into Niko over the past few minutes, felt it in that odd awareness in the back of her mind, in the same place where she'd only now started sensing Niko again.

  He slid his hands up her sides, then down. “Zee, I have to go.”

  “I'm coming with you.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Wearing his shirt over a pair of leggings, no shoes and her hair a tangle, Zee ran at Niko’s side, stride for stride. In the back of her mind, there was a vague awareness, something new, not brought on by the wolf’s keen instincts or her Fae self’s eerie otherness.

  When she focused on it, that awareness sharpened. Under it lay a visceral need to keep running—to hunt. To track. To kill.

  That latter part was the final clue, telling her just where this eerie, familiar awareness came from.

  The man with her.

  The bonds they’d once shared had been savaged by pain, grief, by the bleak understanding that her mate had rejected her. She’d thought those bonds were gone, faded and left to decay and fade into nothingness.

  But the bonds weren’t gone. They’d only gone dormant.

  Zee loved, fiercely. She rarely let anybody get close enough to breach the solid stone walls she’d built around her heart, but if it happened? Her heart had a tendency to grab on tight and never let go—even if it wouldn’t be the wiser option.

  In the few short days since he’d shoved his way back into her life, older, wiser, harder, Niko had made it clear that the space he’d claimed in her heart was still his. He wasn’t going to be careless with her heart this time, either, or her love.

  Deep inside, where she didn’t hide from secrets or herself, she’d sensed that truth. She’d felt the promise of it that night she’d huddled in on herself, still in her wolf’s form and quivering at the sound of his voice while he spoke to her on her balcony back in Provincetown.

  When she’d seen the shadows of love lingering in his bluer-than-blue eyes, her subconsciousness had already been ready to make the leap. Again. Because this time, he wouldn’t fail her.

  Her instincts, whether guided by wolf, Fae senses or just desperate yearning, had been right, too.

  That awareness at the back of her mind grew ever sharper as she acknowledged it for what it was—the echo of her bond with Niko, his instincts as Prime pulsing through him, every protective instinct shoving to the fore as the killing rage threatened to take him over yet again.

  If something pushed him too far, she’d be the only one who could pull him back.

  That was a heavy responsibility she wasn’t entirely ready for, but she’d handle it. She’d shoulder every burden necessary to be at his side.

  A new scent came to her on the wind and she slowed to take it in, teasing the threads apart in her mind.

  Niko instantly altered his speed to match, both of them moving at a slow jog now. He stayed quiet as he waited to see what had caught her attention.

  “Trespassers,” she murmured, lifting her eyes to his. “I can scent them now. Blood’s been spilled.”

  It was distant yet but the breeze picked up again, bringing her the faint traces of blood and other, darker things came to her. Her wolf stretched to its full awareness inside her, claws pricking as the animal demanded release.

  Hunt, the wolf begged. We hunt.

  Yes, Zee said. We hunt. But we need to be patient.

  “Let’s keep moving,” Niko said, not questioning her. His eyes darkened, then went wolf-gold. Although the color might resemble many other wolves in Therian packs across the world, the resemblance began and ended there. The Therian feline ancestry from his mother’s side was made apparent in his elliptical pupils, enlarged to take in all every bit of light available. “You’ve still got an excellent nose on you, Zee. Among other things.”

  Her lips twitched at the light compliment, but she made no other response. There wasn’t time for it as they settled back in the earlier rhythm. Zee breathed in deeply as she ran, following traces of blood she picked up in the air.

  Her wolf rose to the surface, sharpening her senses and increasing her speed until she ran at a pace no human could ever hope to meet. She swayed and ducked to avoid branches, leaped fluidly over objects blocking her path or simply flowed around them.

  When the path became too narrow for the two of them, she pushed to the front.

  Niko, in turn, surrendered the lead at those times, both the man and his complex dual-natured beast aware her sense of smell was more attuned and better suited for this part of the hunt.

  A faint change in the scent markers around her told her others had joined their hunt. Her wolf wanted to snap her teeth at the interference. Zee, and her wolf, knew the others were pack—they were Niko’s—or he would have already taken action.

  Logic said they were his scouts, too. Scouts were useful.

  “Prime!”

  Nico abruptly veered toward the right and she flowed easily as she changed direction, staying in pace with him.

  They didn’t speak as they broke into a clearing. Zee saw the man step out from behind the protective coverage of trees. The Therian was familiar, but she couldn’t put a name to him. Judging by the way his eyes dipped only briefly before reconnecting with Niko’s, he was one of the higher-ranking soldiers.

  He spoke in a clipped voice without once looking at Zee.

  “Scent line from here to the secure house where we stashed Grady,” he said, breathing easily despite the light sheen of sweat on his bare chest and arms that indicated he’d been running at a good, hard pace.

  She could feel his power level. He was strong, easily strong enough to have his own subpack in the broader Appalachia territory.

  “Any more news?” Niko jerked his head, indicating for the scout to join them as they fell into a quick jog. “I’m getting... eight distinct human scents here.”

  “Nine,” the scout replied. “Two have to be siblings; their scents are similar. All human. Over the next mile, they break off into groups of three to patrol. I’ve already located and disabled the humans in my sector—tied-up and gagged, half-mile east of here. I notified Boone of their exact location so he can send a retrieval team.”

  “Good work, Johnny.”

  Without acknowledging the compliment, Johnny continued. “Soldiers at each point. We’ve been radio silent, but you know us. You’ll find them or they’ll find you.” The scout hesitated a moment. “Should I return to my post or stay with you?”

  “Return to your post for now, John. Wait for updates from Boone.”

  The process was repeated again a couple of miles later, this time from a scout named Analise. She was petite and blonde and looked more like a schoolteacher than the strong soldier she’d have to be in order for her to be one of Niko’s scouts.

  Her hair was in a tight braid, a few loose, short tendrils hinting at a tendency to curl, while her vivid blue eyes held the bright light of a keen intellect.

  The splash of blood on her cheek was a sharp incongruity to her bright, vivid beauty, but in line with the stark report she gave. “One’s dead. Sorry, Prime. He either sensed me coming or had dumb luck on his side, because he turned right when I came up behind him. He drew on me.”

  Her gaze darted to Zee, lips twitching. “I don’t like being shot at.”

  “Valid.” Analise’s words seemed to be offered as a friendly explanation and Zee took it as such. “I doubt I’d care for it much myself.”

  Analise’s smile widened and she winked before turning her attention back to Niko. The quicksilver humor was gone in a flash as she continued.

  “The other two intruders in this sector are secured. You’ll want back-up moving in from here.” She paused, lifted her face to scent the air. “The wind keeps changing but I’m scenting something familiar, Prime. It’s layered and they tried to cover it up with a chemical application to confuse our senses—it does a good job, but I’m still picking up on something. And I’ve scented before, Niko, but I’m not sure where or when. That’s not all, though. I think there are more of them out there and that chemical shit is keeping me from picking up on it.”

  Niko glanced at Zee, a deep furrow between his brows and his pupils spiked, enlarging until just a thin ring of gold remained. Vision heightened, he looked around, taking in more than either Analise or Zee would see even if they shifted.

  They had the stronger sense of smell, but no Therian wolf could hope to see things in the dark as clearly as a Therian cat.

  They were quiet as he scanned the forest in the fading light, the sun lost to the heavy cloud cover that had moved in since they’d begun their hunt. The forest around them was already thick with shadows. His altered vision came back to theirs and he cocked his head at Analise, the wolf and cat in him lurking just under his skin now.

  “Alright, noted. You run with us. Have you alerted Boone?”

  “Negative.” Lips flattening into a tight line, she shook her head. “Opted for radio silence. I heard about... Grady. Never liked that little shit, but he has mad skills when it comes to tech. Wasn’t sure if any of our comm devices might be compromised—decided not to risk it.”

  Both Niko and Zee must have looked confused because Analise gave them a pained look. “Gut instinct, and I’m not sure if it’s anything but paranoia. It’s just that scent I picked up on. My wolf is telling me to be careful.”

  “We’ll figure that out later. Let’s get moving.” His eyes flashed gold as he angled his head toward Zee, voice deep, rougher with the presence of his beasts so close. “Your nose is better than mine. Watch Zee’s back.”

  Zee narrowed her eyes at him, but stayed quiet. He’d worry less if he knew he had somebody watching her, so she’d deal with it—only because a worried Niko could be a distracted Niko and a distracted Niko could easily become a dead Niko.

  Eyes still resembling a cat’s, he brushed his knuckles down her cheek.

  Then they were running again.

  The coppery scent of blood stained the air not long after. It had been a whisper when Zee first picked it up. Now it was screaming, growing stronger with every foot of ground they covered.

  The dead body they passed—mine, Analise acknowledged with a nod, wasn’t the source of the blood either, which only made the pulse of anger throbbing in Niko’s mind swell.

  Zee felt the surge of that anger, was acutely aware of it, but it felt... set apart. These weren’t her people... yet. They would be, eventually—whether they liked it or not—because Niko would need that, a mate who was his equal in strength as he led the pack.

  But for now, the slight distance let her think, her mind taking in minute details she likely wouldn’t have noticed if she’d been emotionally invested.

  This place was isolated, situated in the heavily forested mountains beyond Durham-Starfell. Some of the pack lived on the edges of the city while others made their homes in the mountains themselves.

  She could scent the packmates, along with the humans who were part of the pack, through marriage or other bonds. But their scents were layered with that of pack members.

  It allowed her the scents of other humans, those distinctly human.

  Intruders. And they were both afraid and determined. The ripe sweet-sour layer caused by adrenaline, with a spike of fear, bitter with the ugly rawness of hate, made them stand out to her heightened senses like a neon trail in the darkness.

  “There are more ahead,” she murmured.

  From her left and slightly behind her, she heard Analise’s sharp intake of air before the woman murmured, “Yeah, I thought I caught something.” She paused, then added, “You’ve got keen senses.”

  Zee didn’t respond, too busy trying to untangle the convoluted knot of scent layers the breeze brought their way, and this time, it carried something new.

  Blood.

  Sweat.

  The cloying miasma of organs exposed to the air.

  Somebody else was dead, or close to it.

  Her wolf howled in her head, outraged.

  Because they knew.

  All parts of her knew.

  But she stayed silent and ran.

  This was about more than just her.

  NIKO KNEW THE WOMEN had picked up on something that still eluded him.

  He’d become acclimated to not have a sense of smell as strong as many of his wolves, even those who were weaker than him.

  He made up for it with a cat’s slyness, something most wolves didn’t have. Cats were simply more cunning than wolves and their Therian counterparts.

  A wolf might be stealthy and deadly, but a cat would crouch in the dark and hold position for hours, watching its prey, bypassing several ways to attack—successfully—all because the feline enjoyed stalking its prey.

  Niko knew—not just because he’d seen it played out among his own pack and wondered about some of the small differences. He’d felt the differences between the cat and wolf who lived inside him, under his skin.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33