by RJ Blain
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
Richard gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t be. You’re going to get upset and cranky when you realize you can’t remember something you should know. Would you object to me reading through your messages with Markus?”
“I don’t care.” I shrugged, retrieved my coffee, and drank it down in a single gulp. I headed to the maker and filled my mug, fighting the urge to pace.
“All right.” Richard tapped at my phone, making thoughtful noises. “For someone who took custody of your puppies, he had an unhealthy interest in what you were doing, Vicky.”
“Necessity, Richard. He needed to know when I’d be around to watch them.”
“I know you’re not going to know this, so please forgive me for asking Elliot. Elliot, do you know the terms of the custody arrangement?”
“She’s supposed to have visitation rights one weekend at a month at minimum. He’s to be present.”
“Why the fuck is that?”
Elliot shrugged. “I don’t know, sorry.”
“Alex and Emily like him,” I mumbled, staring at my bare feet. I dug my toes into the carpeting.
“If he so much as makes a single mistake, he’s going to wish he had never gone after your puppies,” Richard snarled. “Especially Alex.”
Elliot sighed. “Richard has a weakness for people named Alex.”
“All right. Well, I can say this: Vicky, if you ever give this much information on your day-to-day life, movement, and general activities to anyone outside of our pack ever again, I’m going to mop my pool with your scrawny wolf ass. You didn’t mention where you were going, but you did say when you were leaving, when you expected to return, and everything a kidnapper would need to track you without difficulty.” Richard clacked his teeth, growled, and handed my phone to Elliot. “Markus knows all of her habits, so if he is the mole, Basin would’ve been able to follow her easily, which would’ve led them straight to Nicole and Dante, too.”
“Why would Markus work with Basin?” Elliot blurted, taking my phone with Richard. “He’s a shaman. He’s their target as much as Vicky.”
“Until recently, Vicky had bounties north of a hundred million, Elliot. If Basin found out about how badly nations wanted her for her witchcraft and heritage, she’d be one of their top priorities. She’s fucking royalty, Elliot. Whoever has her allegiance could have a great deal of sway with Great Britain and the ear of most European Fenerec packs.”
I flinched, but because it was true, I said nothing.
Elliot matched Richard’s growl with one of his own. “I’ve already had this discussion with the United Kingdom, Richard. Vicky won’t be used in a fucking political power play. She will not be revealed and touted as a lost princess, nor will she be used as a bargaining chip.”
Richard sighed. “It doesn’t change the fact there were people willing to bomb a funeral for a chance to grab her in the chaos. The only reason they didn’t was because James would’ve rather seen her dead than in enemy hands.” Richard flexed his hand, a deep growl bursting out of him. “And unless I’m mistaken, someone murdered him and Vicky’s assistant over it. Markus was neck deep in that mess, too, if the files I’ve read are to be believed. He was involved in that investigation from start to finish. There’s no evidence he wasn’t in on it all along, and there’s a hell of a lot of circumstantial evidence saying he was.”
Could Markus be the one behind so much of my misery? I didn’t want to believe it, not for a second. Shaking my head in denial, I wondered who else could have been responsible. “You’re sure it wasn’t Zachary or Brandon?”
“Positive. When you disappeared with Nicole and Dante, they were the first ones I talked to.” Richard rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I flew in, startled them both, and asked. I couldn’t smell anything but alarm and fear from them—fear that grew worse when they learned you three were taken. They weren’t lying. Neither can hide the scent of falsehood. They’re damned good liars, but not good enough to fool my nose. No, they weren’t the ones to betray you. If they were involved, it was unknowingly.”
“They’re devastated,” Elliot agreed in a whisper.
“Dante’s a brother to them both.”
I sucked in a breath. “Richard.”
“What, Vicky?”
I rose to my feet, the blood draining out of my face.
Richard gaped at me. “Vicky?”
The world froze around me and hung, and I remembered Dante’s little red-haired daughter.
Basin had gotten a hold of her, and she had died. They had tortured her, locking her soul away in a blood-red stone, siphoning away her power for their war. A whimper worked its way out of my throat.
My wolf’s panic burst to life and joined with mine. Pressure built in my chest and erupted out of me in a shriek. “Where are my puppies?”
Chapter Nine
When I got my hands on Markus, I’d rip him apart. I’d shred him into pieces so minuscule the cops would need tweezers and toothpicks to gather him up.
There wouldn’t be enough left of him to cremate, nor would there be any need for an urn; a jelly jar would have plenty of space for his remains when I finished with him.
I snarled with every breath, snapping my teeth in my fury at my impotency.
I couldn’t remember exactly when Richard had tackled me to the floor, but he held me down. Why did Fenerec males have to be so strong? If I could escape from Richard, I could look for my puppies. When my puppies were safe, I’d make certain Markus could never get near them ever again. I growled.
“You better find out where her puppies are, Elliot.” Richard adjusted his hold on me, driving his knee into my back. “We’re going to have a mess on our hands if the psychotic bitch with missing puppies gets away from me. I’ve said it once, I’ve said it twice: never come between a bitch and her puppies. The instant they think something’s wrong, they’re ready to start with the murdering.”
“I’ll go into the hall to make the calls.”
Markus had likely joined forces with Basin, and he’d taken my puppies. If he got a hold of Elliot, I’d lose everything. Terror welled up and drowned me, and I thrashed beneath Richard. I twisted and sank my teeth into his arm.
“You should stay in here where your bitch can see you,” Richard suggested through clenched teeth. “Vicky, that hurts like fucking hell. I’m not letting you go, so you may as well settle down. I don’t want to hurt you.”
I held firm, growling with every breath. The taste of blood stoked my wolf’s rage and need for the hunt.
Putting his phone to his ear, Elliot waited for several long moments before saying, “Flag this as critical. Put together a few operations. First, find Alex and Emily Peters and get them into protective custody. When they’re found, I want to be notified immediately. Get on the phone with our people in the FBI. Notify them it’s a probable kidnapping case, and the kids are at high risk. Check the terms of Dupree’s custody, find any violations on his part, and get custody revoked. Falsify violations if you need to, but get custody reverted back to Victoria Hanover. I’ve reason to believe Dupree is a Basin operative. He’s now the prime suspect in the murders of James Gentry and Elizabeth Springfield. I’m authorizing lethal force if Dupree resists detainment. Take no risks.”
I struggled against Richard’s hold, clawing at the carpet in my effort to pull free of him. When he didn’t budge, I tore at his arm with my teeth.
“Ask about their pack, Elliot. Markus knows their wintering lodge location. If he’s a part of Basin, he might have made them targets, too.”
“Richard wants confirmation of the North Fork pack’s whereabouts. Send a team and get a protective detail on them. Arrange for them to be relocated until Basin is dealt with. Send a second team to Hanover’s Buckhead residence and do a full sweep of the place. If Dupree left anything there, I want it confiscated and examined.”
Elliot paused and his silence drew my attention to him. I growled when he stared at me. “Do you k
now how to get blood out of carpet? Yes, send someone around to the room, just give us a chance to calm Miss Hanover first. No, panic would be an understatement. She has Richard’s arm in her teeth because he’s pinning her to the floor and won’t let her murder anyone who gets between her and her puppies.”
“You know, most men would be alarmed their woman has turned into a psychopath.” Richard tightened his grip on the back of my neck, and he jabbed me with his thumb. “Vicky, I’m going to give you one chance to let go and settle down.”
“I’m pretty sure she’s beyond coherency, Richard. Don’t bite Vicky.” Elliot sighed. “Sorry. Yes, call me with any updates. Thanks.” After hanging up, Elliot tossed his phone onto the bed. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Short of a dose of wolfsbane, no. We sit and wait for her to tire out, then we keep a close eye on her. If she’s like any other bitch with a threatened puppy, she has exactly one thought rattling around in her head right now, and that’s to find her puppies and take them to a safe location.”
“Is there any way she can track them?”
The need to hunt boiled my blood, and I tightened my grip on Richard until my jaws and teeth ached from the effort.
“Unlikely. It’s possible, but I’d have to force her to shift, get her out of the city, and set her loose. Considering the circumstances, she’ll probably maul anyone in her way. I’m not sure it’s a risk we should take.”
“If you’re a wolf, too, you can keep up with her. There’s enough snow on the ground for snowmobiles; we have some in storage. My truck can haul a snowmobile easily, so I can follow if the trail takes us away from the main roads. If you’re both wearing tracking collars, I won’t lose you.”
“Fuck me with a rose bush,” Richard muttered. “Me and my stupid mouth. I don’t know if it’ll work, Elliot. She’s not your average bitch. She’s already surprised me with the strength of her reaction; it’s closer to a bitch with a newborn puppy than a fostering mother. We’re getting ahead of ourselves here. The puppies might be fine. Dupree may not even be involved. Let your people see if they can find them first. We could be panicking for no reason whatsoever.”
“Richard, you’ve known me since before I became the Shadow Pope. I’ve seen operatives go rogue, enticed by bounties worth far less than Vicky’s. Maybe governments aren’t openly listing bounties on her anymore, but they’d kill for the chance to have her. They’d kill for a chance to have my brother and Nicole, too. Between the three of them, Dupree has motive. She’s a Fenerec. It’s winter. If someone takes her puppies and makes demands of her, she’s going to do whatever it takes to protect them. There’s a reason I don’t allow Fenerec pairs with young puppies to work high-level operations. It’s a recipe for disaster.”
“There could’ve been someone else responsible.” Richard shifted his grip on my neck, digging his thumb into the side of my throat hard enough a tingling spread down my spine. “But, the information Vicky gave him would’ve let him pull off an operation. Nicole’s strong, but all it takes to disable her is wolfsbane and the right order. Dante’s witchcraft is so unreliable he might not have been able to do anything at all.”
“He was close enough for me to be influencing him.” The misery in Elliot’s tone smothered my fury, and a whine worked its way out of my throat.
“Elliot, how many times do I have to go over this with you? You influencing him is a good thing. With you around, he’s a damned strong sensor, but he isn’t triggering earthquakes and volcanoes. Until he starts doing something a little less destructive when he gets pissed off, we need you to be influencing him.”
“It’s not like I know what I’m doing.”
“If we fully understood how it worked, it wouldn’t be magic.”
Elliot’s phone rang, and he dived for the bed to grab the device. “Anderson.”
After several long minutes, Elliot sighed. “Get my truck ready, load a pair of our snowmobiles in the back, and bring it to the hotel. I want a full set of gear for myself, and I want a set of tracking collars. Dig out Richard’s plus another one for Vicky. No muzzles, and no silver. When the truck gets here, bring the collars and leashes up to the room. Have the op team lead text me with the info. I want to be on the road within twenty minutes.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“No one from North Fork’s pack is answering their phone. Dupree isn’t answering his, either. While he’s an operative, he wasn’t ranked high enough to have a tracked line. Our people are trying to get pings from the Feds, but it might be a bit—if he hasn’t burned the phone.”
“Where are we headed?”
“North Fork. They suggested we set Vicky loose and see if she can pick up a trail. We’ll have a detail with us, so if Basin comes calling, we’ll be ready.”
“I hope you realize this is as reckless as it gets. We’re going in blind.”
“I’d rather go in blind than give Basin enough time to act if we’re infiltrated. Help Vicky, then put on your fur coat, Murphy. We’re going.”
My wolf understood if she—if we—cooperated with Richard and Elliot, we could hunt. We could search for our puppies, and then we could track down the one who had taken them from us and destroy him.
I released Richard’s arm, spit out his blood, and groped for my wolf. To hunt, I needed her as much as she needed me. Together, we would do what I couldn’t do alone.
All it took was the slightest nudge from Richard to transform. Shifting hurt as always, but I embraced the pain. If I hadn’t trusted Markus to do right by my puppies, they wouldn’t have been taken from me.
If I’d made more time for them, if I hadn’t been so focused on unimportant things, things other than them, they would be safe. A snarl burst out of me, although I swallowed back the urge to howl. Then I fell silent, and resolved to stay that way.
Hunting wolves made no noise.
The torn ruins of my clothes fell to the carpet around me, and I shook out my fur, baring my fangs in warning to anyone who might dare to get in my way. Breathing in deep, I considered the scents in the room. Richard’s blood added a sharp, metallic tang to the air. Before, Elliot’s scent had been sweet with a hint of a damp forest, the mild signature of Dante’s witchcraft.
The crisp scent of spring rain clung to him, and my wolf delighted in the change, making it easier for us to distinguish him from Dante, his brother and part of our pack.
After we found our puppies and made them safe, we’d hunt for our missing pack, too. I shivered in anticipation, struggling to keep still and quiet.
Richard huffed, bumping me with his shoulder before licking my muzzle. Unlike me, who always remained red with black paws and other markings, including a white strip across my nose, Richard’s coat changed.
In winter, no wolf could hope to match his beauty. His fur gleamed as though he were made of living, molten silver.
I flattened my ears, my impatience to hunt growing with every passing moment.
Elliot stepped out of the bathroom, straightening his tie as he crossed to the nightstand. After checking over each phone in turn, he stowed them in his pockets. “That didn’t take either one of you very long. Good. I’ll grab your wallet and a change of clothes for you both, then I’m ready to go.”
I waited until Elliot came around the bed to pounce. Wrapping my paws around his legs, I rubbed my head against him, savoring his scent. While I wanted to nip him and further establish my claim over him, my wolf restrained me.
There’d be time enough after we found our puppies, so I settled with enough of a demonstration to satisfy myself Richard understood Elliot belonged to me. I emphasized my point by sitting on Elliot’s feet and growling at my Alpha.
Richard flicked an ear back, sighed, and lifted his head so he could stare at me down the length of his shining nose.
“You might not look all that big, Vicky, but you weigh a ton. My toes are going numb. You need to move if you want me to get your clothes. While I don’t care if Richard has to run arou
nd West Virginia in the nude, I’d rather not have deal with any competition from other Inquisitors. I’d hate to have to waste my time killing the wrong people.”
Richard’s tongue lolled out of his mouth, and he warbled, pawing the air.
I refused to move, leaning against Elliot’s legs.
Elliot sighed, crouched, and buried his fingers in my fur. “We’ll find the puppies. I’ll make sure of it.”
Elliot didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. One way or another, he’d find our puppies, but my wolf and I feared they would be far beyond our reach when we did, lost to us like so many others in our long life.
While the collar wasn’t made of silver, I couldn’t remove it, no matter how many times I hooked my claws into the leather and struggled to pull the cursed thing over my head. When tugging didn’t work, I tried to manipulate the buckle. It resisted my efforts, secured with magic too strong for me to break. I could smell it, sharp in my nose, and it infuriated a howl out of me.
Elliot sighed. “You need to wear the collar, Vicky. No, I won’t take it off. I can’t track you without it, and if something happens, I need to be able to find you. Richard’s wearing his, and he’s not complaining about it.”
The warbled howl from the back seat of the truck annoyed me into growling.
“Much. Shut up, Richard. Don’t you make me stop this truck and shove you in the back with the silver. My truck, my rules. My rules clearly state only Vicky can make a fuss. She’s also the only wolf who gets to ride in the front with me. You’re a second-class Fenerec today.”
Richard growled.
“Don’t you give me any lip. I already got yelled at because your fat Fenerec ass weighs my beautiful, dainty truck down too much. When they find out I’m speeding, they’re going to skin me, and unlike you two, I don’t have a pretty pelt to hang on the wall. Maybe I should have listened to the Archeons and petitioned. North Fork’s getting hammered with the same blizzard we are. By the time we get there, I’ll have the only vehicle capable of plowing through the snow. Some asshole is probably going to take my snowmobiles and make me wait in the damned truck, too.”