Red Wolf

by Jennifer Ashley

  “What do you mean?” Dimitri asked Ben as though the conversation hadn’t been interrupted. “A lot of points of view?”

  “Well.” Ben shot Jaycee a grin behind Dimitri’s back. “If you love the high Fae, then the dokk alfar are demons to you. The dokk alfar are old beings, older than the high Fae, though the high Fae think they’re so special. I’m not sure of the whole history, but the high Fae pushed the dokk alfar out of their traditional territories, wanting to take over, as they always do, the arrogant bastards. The dokk alfar decided they’d had enough one day, and fought back. Fought hard. They were ruthless, and taught the high Fae to be afraid of them. The two groups have been fighting ever since. Not an out-and-out war, but many struggles over the centuries. The dokk alfar got very good at hiding, very good at being stealthy. They taught me a lot.”

  Dimitri sauntered to the table with a loaded plate, low-riding jeans cradling his hips. “So you did s-side with them.”

  “Against the high Fae? You betcha. And my people—the goblins—paid the price. But I wouldn’t take it back. If we’d fought on the side of the high Fae, we’d have become their slaves, like the Shifters were. Worse. The Fae wanted us for our magic. They’d have put us in hamster wheels, making us do magic for them until we died. Throw out the spent goblin, bring the next one in.”

  Anything lighthearted in Ben had vanished. His eyes showed an old rage, a determination that could flatten a city. Jaycee had seen the same flash in his eyes last night when he’d faced down Brice.

  “What about the part about torturing Shifters?” Jaycee asked.

  Ben scowled. “Fae like to say that. Poor Shifters, captured by the dokk alfar and the goblins. Torn apart or used for target practice. It’s all bullshit. The high Fae tortured Shifters anytime they wanted—they’re projecting their own evil deeds onto others. Whenever a Shifter was captured by a goblin, the Shifter was set free. I rescued a number of Shifters in my time, before they finally got themselves completely free of the Fae.”

  “Hmm,” Dimitri said. He shoved his fork through eggs. “Then why w-would B-Brice be upset at you? He’s a Shifter. He shouldn’t believe high F-Fae c-crap.”

  “Where would he even hear high Fae crap?” Jaycee asked.

  “Ah, that is the question,” Ben said. “How did he figure out what I was? I didn’t exactly volunteer the information. I had to explain the Fae smell, but all I said was that I was an ancient creature thrown out of Faerie, which is true. Who told him I’d worked with the dokk alfar?” His dark gaze landed on Jaycee.

  “Don’t look at me,” Jaycee said. “I didn’t even know. I hope you don’t think one of our Shifters did.”

  “Not where my thoughts were going,” Ben said. He rested his elbows on the table. “Why would a Shifter be upset that I’d fought the Fae? Sure, if he believed I hurt Shifters, I could understand, but doesn’t he know about Reid? Everyone knows about Reid by now. Eric from Las Vegas and Dylan are good at sharing information with Shiftertown leaders. Shifters should know that the dokk alfar are allies with Shifters against the high Fae. So why did Brice call them evil demons?”

  “Don’t keep me in suspense,” Jaycee said, though her tone said she knew what was coming. “Why did he?”

  Dimitri answered for him, his voice subdued. “B-because Brice heard the high F-Fae’s side of the story. Right? From a high Fae.” He stabbed his eggs as though driving a knife through an enemy. “Which means D-Dylan is right about him. Brice is working with the Fae.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Understanding and then fear flooded through Jaycee, making the coffee she’d just swallowed taste like bile. “Shit,” she whispered.

  “Yep,” Ben said. “The question is—is Brice a fool who is being used by whoever his Fae contacts are, or is he selling Shifters out?”

  “Why the hell would he?” Jaycee asked, her anger rising. “The Fae enslaved Shifters for what, a thousand years? Are they telling him it was all a misunderstanding? What about the Fae who are making swords to control Shifters through the Collars? The Collars are a Fae plot, remember? Which is why I thank the Goddess every day Kendrick kept us free of them.”

  “W-we should ask him,” Dimitri said quietly. He didn’t bluster or wave his coffee until it spilled, like Jaycee, but she sensed deep fury in him.

  “Brice can’t actually believe the Fae are going to save the Shifters, can he?” Jaycee demanded. She went to the table, plunked her cup to it and her butt to a chair. She refused to let Dimitri’s bare arm, hard with muscle and brushed with red gold hair, distract her. “Every encounter we’ve had with the Fae has only proved they want us under their power again.”

  “Not all Fae do,” Ben said. “There’s one who visits the Morrisseys in Austin who’s not evil. But that’s one Fae out of, what, millions?”

  “What about what happened up in Washington state? On the Olympic Peninsula?” Jaycee asked. “I heard all about that. Feral Shifters enslaved by Fae—Shifters captured and made to go feral. Does Brice have anything to do with that?”

  “Which is why w-we’re going to ask him,” Dimitri said grimly. “Brice isn’t f-feral. Neither are his followers.”

  “Fae don’t all work together,” Ben said. “There are many of the shitheads, in different territories, and most hate each other’s guts. So the Fae with the swords that control Collars, the ones with the feral Shifters, and Brice’s Fae might all be different.”

  “Or not,” Jaycee said. “We need to find out.” She gave Dimitri a look, her heart constricting. “Do we keep pretending? Do I tell Brice I’ll refuse your mate-claim like an obedient little Shifter for the good of the group? Or do we grab him and interrogate him?” She hoped Dimitri would go for the latter. A little interrogation would be so very satisfying.

  Dimitri resumed eating, a thoughtful look on his face. After he cleaned off his plate, he said, “I k-keep thinking I know B-Brice from somewhere. Can’t think where.” His red brows drew together, his face as handsome when he was pondering as when smiling, or over her in the dark making hard and fast love to her.

  Jaycee lifted her cooled coffee. “I’ve known you since I joined Kendrick’s Shifters twenty years ago. I’ve been beside you practically every moment since then, and I’ve never met Brice—I’m sure of it. So if you encountered him in the past, it must have been before that. We haven’t been much out of each other’s sights since.”

  Dimitri shook his head. “I didn’t meet him when I was with K-Kendrick. Never saw m-many Shifters outside our group until this past year. Before that, I was with Anna and D-David, and I d-didn’t know other Shifters then. Just me.”

  “Before that, then,” Ben suggested.

  Dimitri shook his head. “I don’t remember m-much. You mean I m-might have met him when I was a cub, but it’s b-blocked out like everything else.”

  “Could be,” Jaycee said cautiously. Dimitri never liked to talk about when he was a cub, and not only because he couldn’t remember. It distressed him that his memories were gone, especially the ones of his parents. He remembered them vaguely, but not in much detail.

  Dimitri sent Jaycee a sharp look. “Are you thinking Brice had something to do with my parents’ death? That’s why I don’t remember him?”

  Jaycee didn’t answer. It was a possibility, one to be carefully considered.

  “That’s a big conclusion to jump to,” Ben said, lacing his fingers. “Could be you met him once long ago, that’s all. Shifters have good memories. It might have stuck in your head even if you can’t recall the actual encounter.”

  “I don’t scent any guilt in him when he looks at you,” Jaycee said. “No sign that he did anything to your parents. Even if he was remorseless about that, he’d be afraid you’d find out. I don’t get that from him either.”

  “Neither do I,” Dimitri agreed. “But it’s b-bugging the hell out of me.”

  “I could hypnotiz
e you,” Ben said, then his face fell. “No, wait, maybe not. I’ve never done it to a Shifter. I might put you in a trance for a century.”

  “No hypnotizing,” Jaycee said impatiently. “It’s another thing we’ll grill Brice about. If he’s never seen you before, then we’ll know you’re remembering someone else.”

  Dimitri sipped coffee, still troubled. “Okay, whatever.”

  “What about Angus?” Jaycee asked. “The bouncer. He’s less than thrilled with Brice. We could get some dirt on Brice from him, I’ll bet.”

  “Unless he’s a p-plant,” Dimitri said. “You know—he b-bad-mouths Brice and gets us to trust him. Then he t-tells Brice everything we say. Then Brice throws me off the balcony. Or w-worse—he throws you.” He gave Jaycee a hard look. “Then I kill him.” The stammer vanished on the last words.

  “Angus seems like a decent guy,” Ben said. “For a growly, constantly pissed off Lupine, that is. But then, most Lupines are like that.”

  “True.” Jaycee rolled her eyes and drained her coffee.

  “You t-two are h-hil, hil-lari . . . very funny,” Dimitri said.

  “We go back to the club, then?” Jaycee asked, rising to pour herself more coffee. “Corner Brice and find out exactly what he’s up to? Or call Kendrick and have him send Dylan out here to scoop him up? Dylan’s good at interrogation.” Not as satisfying as doing it herself, but Jaycee had to admit Dylan was effective. The man only had to stare at his prisoner in silence, and that prisoner opened up and told him all he wanted to know.

  “I’ll c-call Kendrick,” Dimitri said. “This is still his m-mission, his orders.”

  Jaycee agreed, though she could argue that trackers were supposed to take initiative when they thought it necessary. On the other hand, Jaycee had run into problems when she’d taken too much initiative and had been forced to endure Kendrick’s wrath. But hadn’t she caught humans planning to capture Shifters for bounty that time when she’d fallen through the broken skylights of the abandoned cabin the bounty hunters had taken over? She’d had them terrified and running by the time Dimitri, Kendrick, and Seamus had shown up. Kendrick had yelled at her anyway for making the big, bad male Shifters worry about her.

  Dimitri gave Jaycee a stern look, as though remembering the incident, and pushed from the table. He didn’t rise, only tilted his chair back, bare feet wrapping around its front legs.

  “Club doesn’t open until d-dark,” he reminded her. “What did you want to do today?”

  Jaycee knew exactly what she wanted to do. Hunger that hadn’t abated surged through her blood.

  “If you spend it in mate frenzy, will you keep it down?” Ben asked as he stacked dishes in the sink. “I can only stay so long in the pool.”

  “S-still a lot of the house to clean up,” Dimitri said, lacing his hands behind his head. “We should m-make a start.”

  He felt as much yearning as she did, Jaycee could tell. She’d long been able to read Dimitri’s moods, and this one was the lazy Lupine who wanted to make love and sleep in the sun all day, wake up and make love again.

  “Third wheel, that’s me,” Ben said cheerfully. “You two do what you want. I’ll clean up. No, I won’t take the hint and vacate the premises. It’s safer for me to stay here, and you kids need looking after. There’s still something strange going on in this house, and you’re distracted.” He returned to the table and started picking up their used plates. “Take my advice, have the sun and moon ceremonies as soon as you can. Then maybe the rest of us can relax.”

  * * *

  Jaycee in the sunshine was a beautiful sight. Dimitri lounged in a wicker chair on the veranda in nothing but a pair of shorts, while Jaycee romped as a leopard around the grounds. He’d decided to give Ben a break and not chase her down and take her whenever he could, but it wasn’t easy.

  Dimitri had already broken the silent promise once. When Jaycee had gone to shower, Dimitri hadn’t been able to walk past the bathroom, knowing she was there, naked under the water, gleaming with soap.

  He’d have had to be dead to ignore that. He’d walked inside to see Jaycee peering out from around the shower curtain, soapy hand dripping suds on the floor. She hadn’t said a word, only opened the curtain a little wider.

  Dimitri had stripped in silence, then joined her in the small shower, the two of them sliding and laughing as he lifted her against the wall and desperately entered her.

  It had been slippery, hot, fast, and crazy. Jaycee had stifled her cries by kissing him, Dimitri had growled and said not a word.

  Afterward, he’d leisurely washed her body, then stood still while she washed him. Slick hands moving on his skin led to another wild round of lovemaking, this time the two of them falling out of the tub onto the floor.

  Dimitri had driven inside her, bracing himself on the tile, while Jaycee laughed and groaned.

  He’d been sore and exhausted by the time he’d climbed from her, helped her to her feet, and dried her off. After that, he thought it best he go find Ben and continue cleaning up the storm damage. Maybe he’d be so tired from that he’d be able to not stop and make love to Jaycee every time he touched her. Maybe.

  By midafternoon, it was too hot to do much work, even for Shifters. Dimitri retired to the porch, Ben took a nap, but Jaycee, restless and impatient with the lazy males she’d been stuck with, changed to leopard and prowled the property.

  Dimitri watched her from the veranda, sipping iced tea she’d made, while the wind chimes moved slowly above him, their music a muted whisper. Only scattered puffy white clouds today, no thunderheads. And sunshine, powerful and hot, rendering a strong and energetic Lupine a lazy man in a chair.

  He propped his feet on the railing and answered his phone, which had begun to ring insistently.

  “This is Dimitri. Smile if you’re s-sexy.”

  “Glad you’re in a good mood,” Kendrick’s deep tones came to him. “I’ve been talking to Dylan about what you told me this morning.” Dimitri had called him after breakfast, before his shower with Jaycee. “For the record, Dylan doesn’t think I’m sexy.”

  “But Addie does.” Dimitri let out a laugh. “I s-see the way she looks at you, lucky t-tiger. Anyway, what did Dylan s-say?”

  Kendrick’s voice held a note of resignation. “He wants to pull you. Says it’s getting too dangerous. He wants to talk to Brice himself.”

  Dimitri sat up, his feet coming to the floor. “P-pull us out? Why? We’re g-getting close. Brice t-trusts us.”

  “Brice figured out that Ben was one of our agents. See what he did to him? Can you and Jaycee survive if Brice and his entire band turn on you?”

  “N-no, h-he didn’t f-f-figure . . .” Dimitri stopped in frustration. Usually his stutter went away when he was angry, but sometimes it came on full force. He held the phone away from his ear. “Jase!” he called. “C-come and t-t-t . . . Fuck it.”

  He rolled to his feet and moved down the veranda steps, barefoot, into the cool mud and grass of the yard.

  Jaycee came loping to him, her hindquarters moving right and left as though to keep her back legs from overtaking her front. She halted in front of Dimitri, her tawny leopard head covered with curved rows of black spots, her golden eyes pinning him without fear.

  Dimitri held out the phone. Jaycee growled, her breath rattling as it went in and out. She plucked the cell phone out of his hand with her teeth, dropped the phone on the ground, and put one large paw on it. She didn’t crush it; she simply pressed it into the mud.

  Dimitri laughed, which calmed his voice. “You know that’s K-Kendrick, right?”

  Jaycee reared up and put her muddy paws on Dimitri’s shoulders. She whuffed leopard breath in his face, then licked his cheek.

  “Yeah, nothing says love like cat spit.” Dimitri kept grinning, and Jaycee began to shift.

  She hung her paws on his shoulders and morphed fr
om gorgeous leopard to beautiful woman in about thirty seconds. Her paws were the last to change, becoming hands that held Dimitri and pulled him close.

  Beautiful, naked woman. Her bare foot now shoved the phone aside, and then Jaycee rose on tiptoes and kissed Dimitri on the mouth.

  Her breasts were cushioned against his chest, her tongue sweeping fire past his lips. His shorts were the only things between him and another satisfying round of mating frenzy.

  “Jaycee.” Kendrick’s voice came through the phone, full of impatience but also amusement. “Talk to me.”

  Jaycee’s tongue was busy in Dimitri’s mouth, and Dimitri was in no hurry to shove her away.

  Any other Shifter would have hung up and called them back when he calculated they’d calmed down. Kendrick held on, which meant that what he needed to say was important.

  Dimitri heaved a sigh and eased Jaycee from the kiss. “He wants us to pull out and go home.”

  Jaycee gave Dimitri an incredulous look, then let go of him and dove for the phone. She had to scrape the mud from it. “Seriously?” She yelled at Kendrick. “You send us away on a crazy mission and now you won’t even let us finish it?”

  “I didn’t say that.” Kendrick’s voice came clearly to Dimitri. “Dylan’s putting together a team to head out there. Keep an eye on Brice but back off. Dylan will find out what he’s up to. If Brice figured out Ben, he’ll figure out you.”

  “It’s more complicated than that,” Jaycee said. Sunshine touched her honey-colored hair and her lovely body, shadows from the leaves above her dappling her skin like her leopard’s spots. “Brice knows we’re working for Dylan. He thinks he’s turning us. And he didn’t rumble Ben as a spy. Brice accused him of working with the dark Fae, hurting Shifters as part of their wars with the high Fae. He’s more worried about Ben’s past in Faerie than what he’s doing hanging out with Shifters now.”