I woke with a start, knowing instinctively something was wrong. I looked around the dark room for Rowan. The silence that greeted me had unease skating down my spine. I didn’t call out for him like a damsel in distress, knowing he was not in the suite. Opening my senses, I half shifted to allow my wolf out in order to sort through the layers of smells and noises. The older couple was sleeping soundly, if the noises coming from the large apartment were any indication.
I dressed in my discarded clothes from the night before, when there was no sign of my mate. He’d fucked me into the wee hours of the morning. Yet he had the audacity to leave without a word? My wolf wanted to rip his nuts off, but my human heart felt like it had been ripped out.
The door he’d wedged a barstool under and locked the night before now was only locked, but he hadn’t secured it with such precision as if it mattered. Another pang hit my heart that he didn’t take measures to secure me as a mate would. I tried to tell myself he didn’t know all the rules of shifters, but the excuse was lame even to my own mind.
Rowan’s faint scent didn’t head back the way we’d come. His trail led toward the outer doors, which were so heavily coded that I was sure he’d be there, since he didn’t have the access to get out. The lights flickered in the dimly lit hallway. An eerie sense that something wasn’t right warned me to sound the alarm, and then the smell of Rowan’s blood hit me. My mate was in trouble.
I tried to reach him through our bond, coming up blank like I’d hit a wall. The thought that he was too injured to answer hadme stumbling against the wall, then common sense made me reassess the situation. Rowan was still newly made and hadn’t fully bonded with his wolf.
Taking a deep breath, I centered myself. Kellen had strict rules when it came to pack. My mate, new or not, was one of ours. I took a moment to call out to Kellen, our link, as strong as if he were right in front of me. After ensuring the pack was made aware there was trouble at the MC, I looked out through the camera screen mounted on the wall, searching the empty parking lot for any sign of a disturbance.
Seeing nothing, nor any indication of where Rowan had gone, I threw the door open, coming to a stop at the small drops of blood. My mate had been injured outside the sanctuary. I kept my back to the door and squatted, seeing the clear imprints of several boot prints. The fact that they were boots, and not paws, led me to believe they were men, not wolves.
My alpha’s presence floated over me long before he actually stepped out the door. “What the hell is going on, Lyric? Where’s your mate?” Kellen’s blue eyes flashed as he scanned the darkness.
I’d never truly been scared of my brother’s best friend and the alpha of the Iron Wolves. Although he was thirty-five, making him eleven years older than me, he was like another big brother. But Kellen was the alpha everyone feared. His six-foot-two frame had already begun a partial shift, making him even larger. Black claws that could rip a person’s head from their body extended from the tips of his long fingers. His deep voice sent a chill that had nothing to do with the night air down to my toes.
Voice quavering, I answered. “I woke to find Rowan gone. When I followed his scent, it led me here.” I pointed to the blood and scuff marks.
“It doesn’t look like he shifted, but I can smell wolf other than your mate. I want you to go back inside and set thealarms. Do you understand me? That means everyone inside is to go on lockdown.” He touched my arm, the contact gentle, yet commanding.
I wanted to protest that it was my duty to follow Rowan, that I’d brought him into the pack and mess, but Kellen’s grip tightened slightly as if anticipating my refusal. I nodded slightly, praying Rowan was safe. If anything happened to him, I would never forgive myself.
Chapter Ten
My wolf was restless. Lying next to the woman I already knew owned me. Body and soul, I decided to stretch my legs and maybe let my wolf out. Knowing I could become a furry beast and accepting it was becoming easier with each passing second. I slid out of bed, admiring Lyric’s naked form. My body responded to the sight of her luscious curves. The thought of sliding between her thighs and waking my mate back up almost had me doing just that. A feeling that something wasn’t right made me turn away and dress in record time.
Easing out into the hallway, I turned back toward the door, wishing there was a way to bar it, other than breaking the lock. I dismissed the option because I didn’t want to prevent Lyric from getting out in an emergency. My wolf scratched at my mind, wanting to be let out. I allowed the beast to surface, just enough to help me navigate the halls I’d never been in. The dimly lit walkways inclined as if they were leading back toward the surface a bit.
I came to a halt outside a huge steel door where another state-of-the-art keypad was located. The camera showed me several men in camo searching around the surface near the entrance. Rage threatened to consume me at the thought of them breaking into the safe house where my mate and I were sleeping. I punched in the code Lyric had used to access the other door, unimpressed when the thick door’s bolts could be heard unlocking. My wolf’s hearing picked up the men above moving down the hidden entrance toward me. Making sure Ilocked the door behind me, I let more of my beast out, preparing to meet them. I’d protect what was mine, and the people behind me were mine, especially Lyric, my mate.
“Hello, boys. Can I help you?” I asked, my voice more gravelly with the wolf half of me taking up residence.
Four men skidded to a halt on the wet leaves, their camo proving they’d planned to blend into the foliage.
“We only want to talk to the leader.” One of the men held a black nightstick, tapping it against his thigh.
I grunted. “And you thought sneaking around in the dark would get you an audience with the alpha, much less would get you a sit-down that didn’t include him beating your ass?” I kept to the shadows, knowing they couldn’t see my face or the fact that I’d partially shifted.
“We were told if we proved ourselves, they’d allow us to become one of them.” A younger man said hesitantly.
The man with the long rod knocked it against his thigh, and a crackling sound reached my ears. With speed, I struck the man closest to me in the throat, lifting him into my arms and launching him at the man with the nightstick. The youngest of the group must have seen their leaders go down and reached for his own Taser. Hating to hurt the young man, I backhanded him. I felt a shock hit me in the back and twisted to see the last man standing. A look of triumph split the assholes face.
I ripped the prongs out of my back, pulling the attacker to me. The man began to struggle, jerking a knife from his belt faster than I expected.
“I thought this was supposed to be a…gathering intel mission,” he spat. “But it’s you or me, asshole.” The knife swung in a wide arc, slicing into my chest. The burn left in its wake was minimal, only enraged me more than anything.
“Ah, little man, they should’ve sent more than pups in after the big boys,” I taunted, letting the man see my contorted facefor the first time. “Now, you will take me to the men who sent you.”
The faint scent of urine hit my nostrils. “What are you?”
I grabbed the zip ties from the man’s belt, shaking my head at the absurdity, and tied him up. I then checked for a pulse on the two unconscious men, and the youngest one, who couldn’t be more than a teen. “How did you get recruited?” I asked.
When the only conscious one didn’t answer, I squatted down and looked him in the eyes, pulling my wolf back so I faced him as a man. “Listen, I didn’t know anything about shifters until I was attacked outside a bar a couple of nights ago. I think the men who sent you after me are the ones who did it. If we work together, maybe we can stop another from being hurt, or worse, killed.”
His voice shook. “You aren’t going to kill me?”
I took a deep breath, wishing I didn’t have to smell the man’s piss, but no scent of lies permeated the air. I’d been good at telling if someone was lying before I’d been changed. Now I had an added helper. “As long as you tell me the truth and don’t try to hurt those I care for? No.”
