Undercover Wolf

by Paige Tyler

  That wasn’t the response Sawyer had expected. Of all his teammates, Rory was the one most likely to shag a girl he’d met whenever they had some downtime on a mission, so he expected his friend to rag on him, not come at him with something this real.

  Sawyer rested an ankle on the opposite knee, swiveling back and forth in his chair a little. “It means something to me at least. But I know how complicated the situation is, so I’m trying not to read more into it than might be possible.”

  Rory seemed to consider that for a moment, eyes appraising. “Do you want there to be more to it? If things weren’t complicated, would you want a long-term relationship with Harley?”

  Sawyer felt like he was looking at his teammate through a new lens. Had Rory always been this perceptive? If so, why hadn’t Sawyer ever noticed?

  Then again, Rory had hidden that his sister was a supernatural, so maybe his friend was even better at hiding his true self than Sawyer was.

  Back to Rory’s question. It was the same one Sawyer had asked himself that morning as he lay in bed with Harley draped across his chest, fast asleep. Sliding a finger through her hair to gently brush it away from her face, he’d daydreamed about what it would be like to wake up with her in his arms every morning. The notion made something well up in his chest in a sensation so powerful and overwhelming it scared him a little. The only thing that scared him more was the idea of such a future never coming to pass at all.

  “If Harley and I were simply two normal people in a normal world, then yes, I’d want to take things with her as far as they’d take us,” he said slowly. “But you and I both know we aren’t two normal people and that the world we live in is about as far from normal as you can get. She’s STAT and I’m MI6. There’s no way a relationship could ever work.”

  Sawyer’s inner wolf howled at the thought.

  Rory shrugged. “Coming from someone whose sister can melt a car when she gets angry, I can say without a doubt that normal is overrated. Stop worrying about the details and focus on the fact that you and Harley are perfect together. Don’t mess that up because the logistics seem too hard to deal with.”

  His friend was right, and his inner wolf knew it. His human side—while on board with the idea of seeing Harley wherever and whenever he had to—wasn’t sure how to make it happen. Damn, why couldn’t things ever be simple?

  “At the risk of sounding like a complete prat, any idea how to make it work when we won’t even be in the same part of the world most of the time?”

  Rory’s mouth twitched. “I’m no werewolf, so I don’t know exactly how a werewolf should handle it, but I’d start by telling Harley how you feel and see if she’s as open to the idea of seeing each other after this mission is over as you are.”

  That sounded incredibly reasonable—and more than a little terrifying. They’d slept together for the first time last night, and now he was supposed to ask her if she thought there might be a future for them? She’d probably think he was off his trolley. He was about to tell Rory as much when a flicker from the big computer monitor STAT’s support team had set up on a rolling cart caught his attention.

  A lead weight settled in the pit of Sawyer’s stomach as Weatherford came on-screen. The branch chief was seated at his desk in his office and Sawyer could see part of a tapestry on the wall behind the branch chief. Sawyer half expected to see Erin and Elliott standing to either side of Weatherford, but they were nowhere in sight. That didn’t mean they weren’t in the room and hadn’t already told MI6 about him.

  Sawyer glanced at Rory to see that he looked just as nervous. That was when Sawyer realized that he wasn’t the only one worrying about what secrets Erin and Elliott had spilled. When Sawyer had briefed Weatherford after they’d stopped the auction on the mountain and subsequent fight with Yegor, he hadn’t mentioned anything about Tilly or that Rory had been the one who leaked the details about the mission. But would Erin and Elliott cover for Rory, too? He’d sent texts to their phones several times asking that very question, but neither had replied. Given Tilly’s abilities and the fact that Erin and Elliott didn’t think much of supernaturals, Sawyer didn’t see them having Rory’s back.

  “Sawyer. Rory. Good to see you again,” Weatherford said, then looked around the table with a frown. “Where are Erin and Elliott? I expected everyone to sit in on this call. We have a lot to cover.”

  Sawyer did a double take. Erin and Elliott should have been back in London by now. He exchanged glances with Rory, who looked as baffled as he was. A dozen different possibilities shuffled through his head, including the notion that Yegor and his goons had intercepted their teammates and killed them.

  Knowing he had to say something fast—before Weatherford became suspicious—he decided to play it safe with his answer. “I know you wanted to see all of us, but Erin and Elliott are out doing some other stuff. I’ll give them a full rundown after we talk.”

  Weatherford was silent as he chewed on that and Sawyer braced himself, waiting for his boss to ask for more details. But he seemed to decide he could live with Sawyer’s answer because he nodded.

  “That’s fine. Just make sure to catch them up on what we talk about.”

  Before Sawyer had a chance to comment, Weatherford began explaining what information MI6 had come up with since their call the previous day.

  “Brielle wasn’t lying,” Weatherford admitted. “I have no idea how she got him out, but Yegor and Julian have been missing from Diyarbakir for at least fourteen months. As far as we can tell, they walked right out of there without anyone trying to stop them.”

  That seemed too improbable to even consider. Then again, there was a lot about Brielle that they didn’t know, including how she could locate supernaturals anywhere in the world. Maybe she had some kind of unique skill that allowed her to break her brother and Yegor out of prison unnoticed.

  “If Yegor escaped over a year ago, why didn’t we know about it?” Rory asked. “Isn’t this something MI6 should have been keeping an eye on?”

  Weatherford bristled visibly at the question, his mouth tightening, like Rory was attacking him personally. But just as quickly, their boss’s demeanor changed and his shoulders slumped a little.

  “I’m still digging into the details, but it seems someone at the prison did report Yegor missing. The word simply hadn’t filtered down to us yet.”

  That was scary.

  “Unfortunately, the bad news doesn’t stop there,” Weatherford continued. “Based on what you said about Yegor possibly being involved in the murders of your former teammates, we did some digging and found video footage of Seamus arriving at Calgary International Airport in Alberta an hour before Sarah and Cedric were killed. We found no direct link to Silas’s death yet, but considering all three of them had their throats slit, I think Seamus killed him, too. He’s obviously getting revenge for Yegor.”

  Sawyer’s gums and fingertips ached, his fangs and claws trying to get out. He’d already hated Seamus before, but now he flat-out wanted to kill the bloody bastard—preferably by ripping his throat out with his bare hands.

  “It goes without saying that MI6 wants to get Yegor back in our custody—badly.” Weatherford scowled. “It’s an embarrassment that the man escaped without us knowing it. The fact that he’s responsible for the deaths of three of our agents only makes it more imperative we find him quickly and before he goes after anyone else on your team. Unfortunately, while we were able to collect a lot of information on Yegor’s actions prior to the auction in Greece, we have no idea where he is at the moment.”

  Sawyer couldn’t help but notice Weatherford didn’t mention the fact that he was likely on Yegor’s list, too.

  “Finding Yegor would be easier if we knew what he might be up to next,” Rory pointed out. “It’s possible he’s trying to arrange another auction, but since he doesn’t have Brielle to find more supernaturals for him, that seems unlikely.�
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  “We’ve had our analysts working on it nonstop since talking to you the other night and have even been working directly with the Americans in STAT, but we still don’t have anything concrete on what Yegor’s up to,” Weatherford said. “Our best bet is that he might be looking to pick up where he left off with his original plans.”

  Sawyer had to actually think awhile to dredge up the memories of what Yegor had been up to four years ago. Most of the details escaped him, but all he could say for sure was that Yegor and his brother had been pissed about the Russians encroaching into areas historically accepted to be Ukrainian territory. When the European members of NATO, especially France and the UK, had refused to get involved, the two brothers had lost their entire family oil business, something that made them furious.

  “Do you think Yegor might be planning a major terrorist attack against the Russians?” Rory asked, his dubious tone giving away the fact that he wasn’t buying that.

  Weatherford made a face. “I agree it seems like a stretch, but right now, it’s all we have. We’re working on this around the clock. Once we find something, I’ll pass it on to you and the STAT team.”

  “The easiest way to figure out what Yegor is up to is to talk to Brielle,” Sawyer pointed out. “She was part of his inner circle from the very beginning and implied she knows what he’s up to. She’s willing to tell us if we let her and her brother go, but STAT is more interested in getting their hands on her for her ability to detect supernaturals than in stopping Yegor. Any chance MI6 can put some pressure on them to let her walk in return for information?”

  Weatherford thought about that a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. “We’re well aware of her abilities and the Americans’ interest in her. I’ll talk to McKay, but honestly, I’m not holding out a lot of hope.”

  The virtual meeting broke up shortly after that, with Sawyer’s team stuck in a holding pattern until they knew more.

  “Erin and Elliott never made it back to headquarters,” Rory said the moment the teleconference connection was off. “Do you think Yegor got to them?”

  Sawyer frowned. “I don’t think so. If Yegor killed them, he’d want us to know they were dead. There’s no payoff for him otherwise. I’m hoping they’re just having second thoughts about walking on us and are at some hotel figuring things out.”

  “Considering you’re a werewolf and probably have better instincts than I do, I’m willing to go along with that,” Rory said. “So what’s the plan?”

  “I’ll keep trying to contact Erin and Elliott, but since they haven’t answered my calls or replied to my texts yet, I doubt they’re going to.” And Sawyer would be lying if he said that still didn’t sting. “In the meantime, we keep working with STAT to figure out what Yegor is up to.”

  Rory nodded. “Okay. What about Harley? Are you going to talk to her?”

  Sawyer didn’t have to think about it. “Yeah. I just have to find the right time.”

  “Bollocks,” Rory said. “Something I learned from experience is that if you wait for the right time, you’ll be waiting a long time. Take my advice and talk to her. Or you’re going to end up regretting it.”

  * * *

  Harley heard her teammates talking softly in the kitchen at the same time she picked up the delicious aroma coming from that direction. She smiled as she hurried down the last few steps, touched her new family was keeping the noise down so they wouldn’t wake her up. She hadn’t meant to sleep in, but after Sawyer left this morning, she couldn’t help snuggling his pillow and breathing in his scent. When she opened her eyes again and looked at the clock on the night table, it was well past noon.

  She’d hoped Sawyer was back from his teleconference with MI6, but he was nowhere to be found. She supposed the reality of both their jobs had to intrude on the fairy tale that had been last night at some point…no matter how perfect that fairy tale might be. Her teammates, on the other hand, were all gathered around the big table having lunch.

  “Hey,” she said, giving them a smile as she walked over to the counter where everything was set up buffet style. She was half afraid there wouldn’t be much food left, considering Caleb ate more than the rest of the team combined, so she was pleasantly surprised to find a nice selection of pita sandwiches, kabobs, salad, and baklava.

  “Late night, huh?” Caleb asked.

  She shrugged as she took two pita sandwiches from the tray and put them on a plate, then filled a bowl with salad, adding as many tomatoes and cucumbers as she could find, burying the whole thing under a mountain of feta cheese and dressing.

  “A little bit,” she admitted.

  Setting the plate and bowl on the table, she went back for iced tea and a slice of baklava, then sat down beside Misty.

  Harley was just biting into the pita sandwich, savoring the combination of grilled chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese when she realized everyone was staring at her. Had she dribbled sauce on her chin?

  “What?” she asked.

  Instead of answering, her teammates only grinned, each of them looking like that proverbial cat who ate the canary.

  That’s when it hit her. Well…crap.

  “You know about Sawyer and me, don’t you?” she asked softly.

  On the other side of the table, Jake tapped his nose. “I knew the moment we walked in the house last night. Obviously, I had to tell Jes.”

  “Obviously,” Harley muttered, then glanced at Misty. “Let me guess. You saw my note and couldn’t resist the urge to share, right?”

  Misty laughed. “Actually, Forrest saw the note but had no idea what you were referring to, so I had to translate.”

  Across from Harley, Caleb let out a snort. “Damn. For a bunch of secret agents, you guys aren’t very observant.” He looked at her. “I figured out you and Sawyer were a thing since that night Erin, Forrest, and I relieved you guys at the villa when I saw the bite marks on your neck. Never knew you were into the kinky stuff. It’s always the quiet ones.”

  Caleb waggled his brows at her, making Harley roll her eyes.

  She vaguely remembered Sawyer nibbling on her neck that night they’d been pulling surveillance duty at the house in Kalambaka. She hadn’t considered Sawyer might have broken the skin. There certainly hadn’t been any marks on her by the time she’d gotten back to her hotel room that night. Then again, she was a werewolf. A little nip like that would have healed up in minutes.

  She speared a juicy tomato and popped it into her mouth. No doubt, her teammates had spent the entire morning talking about her and Sawyer. She definitely wasn’t embarrassed they were sleeping together, but having everyone know about it made her feel a little off-balance. She guessed she’d been on her own for so long, she’d forgotten what it meant to be part of a family where everyone knew everything about each other.

  “So,” Jes said, leaning forward with an eager smile. “Is it serious? Are you guys going to keep seeing each other after this mission?”

  Harley didn’t even have to think about the answer to that question because she’d already thought about it while she’d laid in bed after Sawyer left, blissed out beyond belief.

  “It’s serious for me,” she admitted, sipping her iced tea. “I wouldn’t have slept with him if it wasn’t. And while I’d love to keep seeing him, I’m not dumb enough to think it’ll be easy to do that. I’m STAT and Sawyer is MI6—at least for the moment—so seeing each other is going to be difficult.”

  “Forget about that stuff for now,” Jake said before she could continue with the whole list of obstacles—the list she’d compiled while showering this morning and having a minor panic attack over the depth of her feelings for a man she’d slept with once. “Would you want to make a relationship work with Sawyer if you had the chance?”

  Harley looked at Jake to see him studying her with an earnest expression. “Sawyer and I haven’t talked
about anything like that yet.”

  “Too busy doing other things with your mouth, huh?” Caleb teased with a chuckle that earned him a smack on the shoulder from Jes, a glare from Harley, and a laugh from everyone else.

  “Never change, Caleb. Never change.” Shaking his head, Jake turned back to Harley, dark eyes intent. “You didn’t answer the question. I asked you what you wanted, not if you and Sawyer have talked about your future yet—although you should. So what do you want out of this relationship?”

  She took another bite of the chicken pita and chewed thoughtfully, aware of her teammates looking at her. How had she gotten so lucky to have friends like them?

  “I want to find a way for us to stay together,” she admitted quietly. “I know this is going to sound insane since I’ve barely known Sawyer for a week and we’ve only slept together one time, but I’m already falling for him. He’s the most amazing, sweetest, most perfect man I’ve ever met.”

  Harley held her breath, waiting for them to tell her she was losing her mind. That no one could possibly fall for a guy this fast. But instead, her teammates all looked thoughtful, as if her bizarre proclamation was the most normal thing in the world.

  “I get it,” Caleb said, sliding the chicken and vegetables off a skewer with his fingers and onto his plate. “I mean, I don’t necessarily see the attraction to Sawyer. He doesn’t do a damn thing for me at all. But I can see why you might like him.”

  Harley laughed along with everyone else this time, relaxing in her chair as she realized her friends were okay with her and Sawyer. “So you guys don’t think it’s kind of crazy for me to feel like this about a guy I just met?”

  “Werewolves fall fast when they meet The One,” Caleb said. “It only took Jake and Jes a few days to crash and burn. They could fight it all they wanted, but in the end, it was going to happen. I saw the same thing go down with these two werewolves I knew when I was back in Dallas—and they were on opposite sides of the law at the time. But when a werewolf meets their soul mate, it’s kind of a done deal.”