Katarina lifted a hand and nodded. “I agree with you. Life is strange.”
“Amen to that,” Ariel said. She tilted her head. “You look tired, Katarina—like you need a nap in the worst way.”
“I am tired. Temptation keep me up all night. I was not prepared for him to be that energetic.”
Ariel’s eyes widened. “So you and Reed are an item?”
Katarina shrugged as she rose to leave. “No idea what we are. When I find out, I let you know.”
Startled awake, Katarina sat up in the dark. Someone climbed into her bed without speaking. She swore in Russian, grabbed her attacker, and threw him onto the floor beside the bed. Though she saw fairly well in the dark, a familiar masculine grunt inspired her to turn on the lamp sitting on the table next to her to confirm her suspicions. Reed laid on the floor and stared at the ceiling with a strange look on his face.
Katarina leaned over and looked down at him. “I thought you were attacker.”
Yana threw her door open and stared at the scene. The bear healer peered over her shoulder with a grin. “Did I hear fight?” Yana asked as she fought a smile.
“Nyet,” Katarina said, smiling back at her nosy sister. “The Black Wolf alpha was sneaking into my bed. I think he was testing my reflexes.” She pointed to the floor. “I passed test.”
“Good,” Yana said, her facing clearing as she laughed. “But are you sure, Katarina? Maybe it was romantic gesture. You should apologize to Reed for over-reacting.”
Katarina’s eyes widened. “Apologize? I was sleeping in place he put me. How am I wrong?”
“I did not say you were wrong,” Yana corrected, dropping her gaze to Reed, who hadn’t moved. She finger-waved to him. He closed his eyes and rolled his head back and forth against the floor. His resignation made her giggle. “Even you must admit that you are still recovering from being captured. Maybe everyone is now attacker to you, yes?”
Rolling her eyes, Katarina sighed heavily. “You become psychiatrist while I was gone?”
Yana laughed. “No, but I think I want to work as a healer helper. Maybe skills for making werewolf vodka translate to potion maker here. What do you think, alpha sister?”
“I think you should do what you want. I have no wish to be dictator like tiny alpha brother of devil wolf.” Resigned, Katarina leaned over the bed. “I am sorry, Temptation. Next time you knock on door first, yes? It is like firing shot over head as warning.”
Reed laughed. “I didn’t think I needed to knock. I thought you’d instantly recognize me.”
“How?” Katarina asked.
“After we…” Reed stopped. He could see Katarina truly hadn’t known it was him. “Never mind. Maybe in time you’ll figure it out.”
Katarina scooted over. “Glad we settle problem. Now you come to bed. You are welcome here.” She looked at Yana. “Thank you for checking on me, Yana Volkov. Time to leave now.”
A giggling Yana and a laughing bear closed the door quietly as they left.
Reed stood and sat carefully on the bed. “Next time I’ll make more noise.”
Laughing, Katarina watched him stand and undress. “I was catching up on sleep. It is my nature to defend first and find out details later. You look tired, Temptation.”
Reed dropped his clothes in a pile on the floor before climbing in beside her. Being with her was like coming home. “I should have told someone to move you to my house. I own a bigger bed. Maybe then you’d expect me to be the one climbing into your bed.”
“We discuss tomorrow. Turn off light now,” Katarina ordered, then let him settle on his back even though he nearly filled all the space. When he sighed and closed his eyes, her heart fluttered in concern for his weariness. “Sleep now, Temptation. I let no one disturb you.”
“Brandi wants us to leave before noon. We’re heading to Canada and she wants us to be there before the sun sets. We’re going to the place where my people are being held.”
“I thought they already stopped scientists in Canada.”
Reed rolled to face her. The bed was small and their noses nearly touched. “Apparently, there were three facilities. They shut down one when Heidi was rescued. They’ve been watching a second one. Joshua called, and he said they’re at another that Brandi said was news to them.”
Katarina growled. “I want to kill those who took your people. I want to end this.”
“Me too,” Reed said. “And it’s worse than we imagined.”
“How so?”
“I think they’ve been using your father for their testing. They tried to use Joshua, but his genes had no effect. They made a super wolf serum from your father’s blood. That’s what they used on my beta, Edward. Joshua told Brandi that Adam hadn’t been altered yet. They’ve been keeping him sedated because Adam injured several of his guards when he tried to kill Joshua.”
“Wow. Everything hot mess,” Katarina said as she hugged him close. “We fix tomorrow. Tonight we sleep.”
“Katarina?”
“Yes?”
“When this is all over, I’d like you to stay here. I think you’d be good for my pack. They need someone like you.”
Katarina “And what do you need, Temptation?”
His silent answer was to pull her close and fall asleep holding her in his arms.
15
Stewart stood by his siblings while his mother gave them orders to do what Ariel said while she was gone. He looked over his brother and sister’s heads at his father, who narrowed his eyes and gave him a brief nod no one noticed. Stewart subtly returned the acknowledgment. Without shifting to his freak side, he wasn’t sure how he could be of much help, but he at least had permission from one of his parents to try.
When he heard Kent gearing up to argue with his mother, Stewart clamped one hand over his brother’s mouth and another on his brother’s shoulder. He clamped down just hard enough to shut Kent up. “We’ll be good, Mom. You don’t have to worry,” Stewart told her with a smile. He definitely enjoyed being big enough to keep Kent from taking over everything.
Brandi nodded. “I need to tell you all one more thing before I go. When this shit is over, your father wants us to take a family vacation.”
Stewart froze and felt his siblings freeze too. He laughed at all of them. His father was probably the only one in their family who knew what a vacation was.
“What kind of vacation?” Kent asked.
Brandi made a face and leaned down close to Kent’s face. “He wants to rent a cabin by a lake and take us fishing,” she whispered.
“Fishing,” Kent repeated. He gave a grunt. “That’s not going to work. Stewart, Aggie, and I don’t know how to fish.”
“Neither do I,” Brandi said miserably. “I suggested going to the beach, but that got vetoed quick because your father doesn’t think it will be relaxing. Look, the bottom line is that I don’t think we have a choice for this first outing.” She looked at Kent. “Find someone around here to teach you to fish. Maybe you can teach your siblings after you learn.”
Kent worked not to show his excitement. “Sure. I could probably do that. Don’t expect me to be an expert when you get back.”
“If you find out which end of the rod and reel to put in the water, you’ll be doing us all a solid. Now give me hugs, I have to go rescue people.” Brandi bent to hug Kent and then Aggie. She stood and leaned over them to hug Stewart, who was her size. “And clothes, Stewart—don’t let me forget to get you some clothes that fit you when I get back. You smell like a bear. I don’t know how you can stand to keep borrowing their clothes.”
Stewart chuckled. He didn’t smell like a bear because of his clothes. He smelled like bear because he was constantly around them. He liked the bears, especially Terra’s parents. Jon and Susan were great. The only reason Aggie didn’t smell like bear was because she’d abandoned Waylon to go talk to the wolf healers. But he wasn’t saying anything. Though he pretended not to be, Kent was still frustrated with him. He didn’t need his siste
r upset with him too.
Katarina stepped forward to the kids. She looked down at Kent. “Any evil thoughts today?”
“Not even one,” Kent told her, glaring when she chuckled.
She looked at Aggie. “You will grow into great beauty soon. Outside will match inside then.”
“Thank you,” Aggie said shyly.
Katarina looked up at Stewart. “Watch over the bears, devil wolf, and they will watch over you. I hope Terra gets well before I return.”
“She stood up yesterday. It shouldn’t be long now,” Aggie said from below her.
“Best news ever,” Katarina said, waving at the three of them as she walked away.
The streets were full of all kinds of people. She nodded and waved as she climbed into the vehicle. Reed was already inside. He looked much better today.
“Finished saying goodbye to your fan club?”
Katarina snorted. “What is fan club? They are friends. They are your pack.”
“They didn’t come out to see me off. They came out when you arrived.”
“I am charming. Everyone feel safe when I am near,” Katarina said with a grin.
“Except for me. I don’t feel safe. You threw me out of bed last night.”
“If you were less silent, this would not be problem for you. You make no sound when you walk. I can’t hear you breathe. You do not huff and puff…”
“No, I only do that when I’m trying to blow Little Red Riding Hood’s house down. Ahhh… ooo,” Reed said, mock howling for her.
Katarina leaned back in her seat and stared at him in shock. “That was joke, Temptation. You even told it well.”
Reed grinned. “Thanks. I’m feeling pretty good today. I slept better last night than I’ve slept in years.”
“You’re welcome,” Katarina said, matching his grin.
She refused to be embarrassed when Gareth and Brandi both looked out the front window to keep from laughing at her and Reed. She also refused to be sorry when Reed’s hand found hers and gripped it tightly.
This new life she’d found with Reed and his pack might not be as simple or easy as the life Nicolai had found with them years ago. Ariel was right. Change was coming, and it was critical for their survival.
She was beginning to believe that she belonged there—that she could help them. Maybe that was why destiny had dropped her into the nano wolves’ laps. She liked finally having a pack and a home. Making a safe, happy life with Reed and his pack was worth fighting for.
16
Katarina frowned as she buckled herself into the plane. “I am tired of same seat for every adventure, but it feels best to me to sit here. Sometimes my wolf logic makes no sense.”
Reed buckled himself into the seat beside her before turning his head to grin. “That comment is far too easy for me to use it against you. I’m a better wolf than that.”
Snorting, Katarina mock-glared at the male next to her. “Sounds like someone wishes to be tossed onto bedroom floor again.”
Reed laughed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this happy in the company of a female. Maybe he never had. “I like you, Katarina Volkov. You’re the most interesting female I ever met.”
“I find you interesting as well, Temptation. If we do not die a glorious death freeing your people, maybe we explore your feelings for me again.”
Katarina smiled when Reed reached over and took her hand. They spent the flight to Canada being silent. With Reed holding her hand, the silence didn’t bother her at all.
When they landed, Brandi left them immediately to seek out the agents already there who were doing surveillance.
“She has so much energy,” Katarina said, watching Brandi’s human legs eating up the ground. “How fast is she in wolf form?”
“Extremely fast and very deadly,” Gareth said, his eyes never leaving his mate until she disappeared into the trees.
“What do you want Katarina and I to do?” Reed asked.
Gareth pointed to a couple tall trees. “Do you climb?”
Katarina grunted in refusal. “My wolf climbs when necessary, but my human side is too short.”
“I never climb unless I have no other choice,” Reed answered.
Gareth laughed at their answers. He pulled out badges and handed them both to Reed who passed one to Katarina. “Put these on so none of our people shoot you. I want you to take a quiet walk around the parameter of the building and keep an eye out for Joshua or Katarina’s father. Intel says they’re both still here and everyone comes outside eventually when they’re getting by on artificial light. This place has only a few transom windows on the far side.”
“No windows mean no one see inside.”
“Right. And no captive sees out,” Gareth said. He pointed at the building in the distance. “Keep in mind that the guards posted by each entrance and the ones patrolling also have weapons. Some of them are shifters, so they might sneak up on you. They will definitely shoot you if you give them the opportunity. Don’t do that.”
“It is like we are in spy movie,” Katarina said as she fastened a government badge to her shirt. “Maybe Agent Nano Wolf will give us code names.”
Reed chuckled. “How about Boris and Natasha?”
“I said movie, Temptation, not cartoon with moose and squirrel. Russia is progressive. We have TV there.”
Reed turned and grinned at Gareth. “She always makes me laugh.”
“That’s too bad, old man,” Gareth said with an equally enormous grin. He held out a cell phone. “Use this to contact us. Just hit 1. That gets both me and Brandi. Keep in mind we’re using open channels so nothing you say will be private to our team. When we get ready to go in, you’ll hear it being broadcast.”
Reed took the phone, looked at it, and then held it out to Katarina. “Do you know how to use one of these? I’ve never owned one.”
Katarina felt her jaw drop. Was he kidding? She forced her mouth to close before she started sputtering. Cursing in Russian instead, she snatched the phone from his palm. “This is what I mean. You need keeper.”
“Are you planning to apply for the position?” Reed asked.
“Nyet,” Katarina said. “Too much work for too little reward.”
“Next time we sleep together, I’ll be sure and count to ten for you since you seem mathematically challenged.”
Snickering over the argument, Gareth walked away shaking his head.
“Gareth will ignore us now. You make us look like poor spies, Temptation,” Katarina said to his back.
“Let’s patrol then,” Reed said, heading off and letting her follow.
They stayed in the forest under the cover of the trees. Only a fraction of the building was visible, but now and again they had an unobstructed view of the exits.
“Tell me secret. How do you walk without noise?” Katarina demanded.
Reed grinned at the question. “Many years of practice.”
“That is not real answer.”
“It’s better than admitting that I don’t know—because I truly don’t know.”
Katarina laughed. She could hear his sincerity. “How can you not know how quiet you are?”
“It’s a family trait. When I was born—and keep in mind this was six centuries ago—werewolves didn’t live as humans nearly as much as they do now. Winters in Alaska were longer and colder. Food was often scarce. You had to be a silent wolf to catch your dinner. If you weren’t, you went to bed hungry.”
“Is it strange to have lived so long?”
Reed nodded. “Stranger than I could ever explain to you. I’ve lived through wars, famines, bad alphas, wonderful mates, and brought lots of children into this world. All that time, though, something felt like it was missing from my life, but I could never discover what it was. Just when I thought I was done searching for that missing part of me, Randall Crane changed my life. I won’t say for the better, but I like the created children that change brought me, even if I didn’t create them the regular way.”
“That sentiment reflects open mind about life. Your words give me hope, Temptation.”
“I’m glad,” Reed admitted because he wanted Katarina to respect him. “I may not say it aloud much, but I understand that we’re all fighting for far more than my pack. All of our kind are being threatened by these rogue scientists, but I don’t understand the betrayer wolves at all.”
Katarina nodded. She heard something and froze. Looking up, she saw a plane passing overhead. It trailed heavy white smoke behind it.
“What is that pilot doing?”
“Crop dusting. They sometimes drop fertilizer and insecticide onto the fields before plowing them. It’s kind of early in the season for that sort of thing, even in Canada. Looks like he’s practicing on the forest we’re in.”
Katarina stared as a fine white powder floated down through the trees and clung to her shirt. “I am covered with powder. Do you think it’s safe?”
She raised her head and watched Reed waver and then tip over like a giant tree that had been cut. She ran to him to check his pulse. He was covered in powder too, but the effect of it seemed stronger on him. His heart beat too fast, yet he still appeared to be alive.
She pulled the cell phone from her pocket and dialed 1 to let Brandi and Gareth know what was happening. No one answered. Katarina stood up and looked around her. Her vision wavered as she redialed the phone. She blinked hard. Still no one answered her call.
Had the powder affected everyone? It acted like a tranquilizer. Her heartbeat sped up in alarm. And why wasn’t she being affected? Looking down at Reed, she could only think one thing—that she needed to hide him.
“One of us must not be found. Wake up quickly, Temptation,” Katarina whispered.
She rolled Reed up into a seated position, grabbed the back of his shirt, and started dragging. She had to hide him before she succumbed to the powder as well.
Reed: Nano Wolves 4 Page 13