Shadow Sentinels: Beginnings (A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Wolf Shifter Romance)

by Karen Tomlinson

  Heat swamped my body and things got uncomfortable in my jeans. I adjusted myself as best I could, gritting my teeth against the ache in my cock. Bonding our spirits would have meant us mating, right then and there in the car. It wasn’t a choice, our wolves would have demanded it, and I couldn’t have stopped it. I shook my head. I didn’t give a shit who saw my naked arse, but Em deserved better than that. The truth was, she was better than me, and she sure as hell deserved a life before becoming anyone’s mate. I knew my Firecracker had suffered in the past, but she was a survivor. I could only imagine the horrors she had endured as a child on the streets of London, open to the predators of the supernatural world. Her nightmares, like mine, were testament to those past horrors.

  Despite that, despite her strength and the fire that lived in her soul, something told me she didn’t realise what the consequences of mating and spirit bonding to an alpha were. She would be mine to call upon and to take, whenever and wherever I wished, helpless to stop the urge to submit to my demands. My brow furrowed. Though she had resisted my compulsion so far, in fact she revelled in defying me.

  A groan bubbled up from my chest at the thought of having access to Ember’s gorgeous, lithe body whenever I desired it. “Jesus, Connor, get a grip.” I rolled my eyes, knowing I would never truly want to control Ember. Her beautiful wildness and unpredictability were what drew me to her like a moth to a flame. I grinned at the analogy. The inner spirit that gave her the ability to superheat her skin and burn the air was just an externalization of her own indomitable fire. Besides, she was far too stubborn to give me, or anyone else, total control or power over her, even if her wolf submitted to me.

  The towers and chimneys of the old house came into view. I relaxed my grip on the steering wheel before I bent it out of shape, and forced Ember from my thoughts. I needed a clear mind for the meeting ahead of me.

  The sun came out, reflecting off the glass and metal space-age training facility, which they had built beside the main house. I squinted against the brightness as I turned the car into a parking space facing the old house. The mansion itself was a sixteenth-century place of sandy stone-coloured construction with columns, windows and grand architecture that was as imposing as it was impressive. I both loved it and hated it as a symbol of the strength, wealth and power of the SBI. The bureau owned so many of these properties around the world. I had seen a few, but this one always blew me away with its history, and then made me cringe with the lack of taste shown by adding in such a modern building right next to it.

  I climbed from the air conditioned interior, and buried thoughts of Ember deep in my mind. I wasn’t Connor here; I was Agent Maxwell, and I had a job to do, one that I would not allow to hurt Ember.

  Heat from the sun warmed my face. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell of the damp ground, sun and rain. I splashed through the puddles and made my way along a gravel pathway, around to the back of the house.

  I followed the path, nodding to the gardeners and guards who watched my progress, some more openly than others. Topiary hedges and old, bent yew trees dulled the echo of my footsteps. Five minutes later, I approached the orangery.

  The glass house was as beautiful as everything else about this estate. Long oval topped windows soaked up the sun, turning the inside into a tropical paradise. The door clicked open on my arrival, the cameras and lasers I’d activated on my approach announcing my arrival. Stepping inside was always a strange pleasure for me. Damp heat stole my breath, but I loved the smell of the plants and blossoms that bloomed inside. I inhaled deeply, the sweet scent of the flowers calming me. This was one of the most important meetings of my career and I needed to be in control, not thinking of Ember or Rawson and Lyss, or how this last interview might affect them.

  Cameras tracked my every move as I prowled along the walkways. Guns loaded with silver bullets pointed right at me. They were attached to the camera casings, not to mention fixed separately to the roof, walls and even some of the plants.

  I reached the stone steps at the back of the orangery and jogged up them.

  “Place your hand on the control panel, Agent Maxwell.”

  I did. Again the titanium bands held me while a needle stabbed the tip of my fourth finger.

  “You may enter.”

  The projection of the stone wall dematerialised and I watched a thick bomb resistant door swing open. Inside, four guards in full battle gear pointed the bureau’s version of machine guns at me.

  “Okay, sir, you know the drill.”

  My grin was predatory and challenging. I released a little power against these men. All wolf shifters and all below me.

  “Easy…” one of them advised the others as a finger or two tightened around a trigger.

  I smirked at the guard, holding his eyes as I stripped naked. To his credit he didn’t bow under my stare. I would have kicked his arse if he did, and he knew it. These were my men—and they needed to do what they were trained to do, no matter the amount of power I wielded.

  With my arms out at shoulder height I twisted giving them all a good look of my naked muscular body. Thank god my cock wasn’t standing to attention anymore. Could have been awkward, I quietly chuckled. I hoped Ember never made it into the undercover programme and came down here. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle the guards ordering her to strip and giving her the once over. My wolf growled showing me exactly what he would do.

  “Captain,” greeted Owen Brady, my second in command.

  “Brady.” I nodded and walked naked through the inner blast doors with my men at my back. Nakedness was something a shifter had to get used to. Nevertheless, I snarled as someone blocked my way into the changing room.

  The blond haired female crossed her arms over her ample chest and looked at me over the top of her glasses.

  I stopped short and glared down at her. We’d met before. The first set of interviews for the top-secret job I’d been asked to apply for were conducted through her. Even I hadn’t been given any details, only that it was undercover, working alone and that it had no definite end date.

  “You’re late.” Her bright red lips were stark against her pale skin, which was made more translucent by the deep blue pinstripe power suit she wore. “You should have been here over five minutes ago. The Overseer doesn’t tolerate tardiness.”

  “You know, if you kept your mouth shut, you’d almost be able to give the illusion of being sexy.” I plastered an arrogant smirk on my lips, deliberately stepping closer and observing her reaction.

  She looked me up and down. Her attention lingered deliberately on what was between my legs, but her grey eyes remained like chips of ice despite the answering smirk on her lips. She gave a delicate cough and stepped back. She was a good actress, I'd give her that, but even taking a step back from my bulk didn’t convince me that she was intimidated by me. No, this was a top caliber agent posing as a personal assistant to the European bureau’s leader.

  “Get dressed. I need to conclude this process. The Overseer wants to make a decision in the next hour, so you have very little time left to …” Her eyes drifted down again. “...impress them.” Her gaze returned slowly to my face.

  My brows twitched upward in response. It was tempting to ignore her, but this assignment would help get me away from Ember. And, as much as I hated to admit it, my Firecracker needed time to explore her adulthood without me getting all possessive over her. The only way I could manage that was to be far away when she took a lover. That hellacious thought had a cold sweat breaking out down my spine.

  I grabbed the standard black t-shirt, boxers, socks and cargo trousers from the shelves, and dressed. Once I’d tied my black boots, I grabbed my weapon from my lockbox, stepped out of the changing room and followed the woman I knew only as Miss X down the corridor to the interview room. Owen shadowed me while the others went back to their posts at the orangery entrance.

  Owen waited outside of the door, more to get his orders once I was done than to protect either Miss X or me. I nodded
my thanks at my friend and closed the door.

  An empty chair sat opposite Miss X. I folded my big body down into it and rested my hands on the large table that separated us. A tight smile stretched those ruby lips as she tapped on her earpiece.

  All the way through this process, communication with her boss wasn’t something I was party to. Even with my acute hearing the frequency was too low. Irritation simmered in my chest, but I kept my face utterly blank.

  “Yes, sir, I understand,” she said a moment later.

  The hair on the back of my neck tickled. Her words were flat. Something was off. She’d always sounded crisp and coldly professional, but never so...unemotional.

  “The Overseer would like to offer you the job.”

  I nodded, throwing out my wolf senses to listen for anything unusual. Nothing grabbed my attention. Except she gulped, and there was a slight sheen of sweat on her upper lip. My eyes narrowed on her throat. My wolf growled and intensified my senses. “So what happens now?” I asked in a measured voice, watching her and the door closely. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t pinpoint what.

  A pulse of energy, followed by a shockwave of air hit me from behind. To stop myself pitching forward onto my chest, I grabbed the table top. My chair was pushed right up against the table which was slowly being driven across the floor. Slamming my weight backwards against the force of the pulsation, I forced my body to straighten and tried to turn my head to see what the fuck was behind me. I felt a sudden sting in the side of my neck. As an alpha wolf shifter, and potential Prime, my reactions and strength were beyond most shifters, let alone any human, but it didn’t matter. Whatever I’d been hit with rendered me instantly immobile. I could move my eyes, but not my body. Hell, I couldn’t even blink.

  Hard, powerful fingers grabbed my head and turned me back to face Miss X. I watched her stand and walk around the table, her heels clicking on the tiled floor. I sat, helpless inside the frozen biomechanical suit of my human body with my wolf thrashing to get out. She reached down and pulled my weapon from the holster on my hip.

  “What happens now, Mr Maxwell is this…” she murmured in my ear, her lips brushing my skin.

  My heart thrashed against my ribs while I watched her pluck my grip from the table, lift my arm, curl my hand around the weapon and place my finger on the trigger.

  The cameras! Surely someone would see what was happening in here. Then I remembered and my stomach dropped. The lights were red. On the request of Miss X and her boss, the cameras had been switched off all week during these interviews. Whoever this Overseer was, they had a shit load of power.

  I growled and yanked on my wolf. He snarled and fought to break free, tearing at me from the inside. It was impossible for him to pull free with my body poisoned and totally out of my control.

  Miss X strode back to her original position and stared at me before she looked at whoever was behind me. I had no idea how they had got in this room, but this entire situation was beyond comprehension. My palms were slick with sweat, my heart pounding. I hated being out of control like this! Just like my flashback earlier came on its own, the dark, early memories of my childhood were coming through, where I’d been out of control, until I’d run. That’s right, son. Take the pain. It will make you into a real man; a leader… like me…. I shoved that dreaded voice back behind the wall in the deepest, darkest part of my mind, and fought the drug in my system.

  A black gloved hand reached forward and curled around mine. It aimed the weapon. I bellowed and thrashed in the prison of my body. Breath rapidly hissed in and out of my nostrils.

  Miss X stared at me with cold eyes. Her whole body went lax and her shoulders curled inwards. She lifted her chin and nodded at the person behind me.

  And the person holding my hand pulled the trigger.

  Miss X’s head shot back, a hole appearing in her forehead, the back of her skull exploding out across the wall behind her.

  “You’ll get your orders soon,” whispered a voice in my ear.

  Another needle stung my neck and a moment later my limbs released. “No!” I bellowed. Her body hit the ground, but I was already moving, spinning and training that weapon on whoever was behind me. Nothing! There was no one there.

  The door burst open and Owen lunged through, his weapon trained on my chest.

  His gaze flicked to the remains of Miss X. “What the fuck, Captain!?”

  Jesus. It was a mess. Bone and brain matter painted the wall. I had no idea what had just happened. She’d just offered me a fucking job for chistsakes! Now she was dead and I had killed her?!

  “Captain, drop your weapon! Down on your knees. Right now.” Owen’s order was calm, but firm. I did what he said and dropped to my knees. His eyes narrowed on me. I locked my hands behind my head. Owen was my friend, but first and foremost, he was an agent. He was a trained killer, and he would pull the trigger without a moment’s hesitation.

  Keeping his weapon trained on me, he circled behind, clicked a handcuff around one wrist and yanked my hand down behind my back.

  I hissed at the burn from the silver.

  “Both hands. You know the procedure.”

  I complied and brought my other hand down. There was no point fighting. Even if I overpowered Owen, the building would be on lock down. If I ran, I’d be shot on sight or ripped to pieces by an army of shifters.

  “What the hell happened in here, Connor? Jesus, man, I hope it was fucking worth it.” He cuffed both of my hands behind my back.

  “I have no fucking idea what just happened, man.” And that was the truth. There was no explanation. In a state of shock, I waited for the inevitable rush of agents as Owen stood at my back, his weapon trained at my head. Miss X’s glassy dead eyes stared at me. I swallowed. Blood and gore was nothing new, but that bullet hole in her forehead appeared obscene on her otherwise flawless face with its perfectly painted ruby red lips. I didn’t want to look at her brain matter splattered over the wall, so I closed my eyes, centering on my wolf. My mind delved into his spirit and took solace in his strength. He couldn’t rise to the fore, the silver stopped him, instead he centered his anger and memorised everything that had just happened. So much for being prepared for this final interview. Not in a million life times could I have anticipated what had just occurred.

  The sound of booted feet charged down the corridor and soon guards surrounded us, all bearing arms and all pointed at Owen and me. Swallowing my pride, I dropped my gaze and kept it down on the tiled floor. Antagonising anyone right now was not a good idea.

  The click of shoes, not boots, came from my right. Soon I was staring at a shiny pair of Salvator Ferrangamos. I hid my snarl. There was only one person in this building who wore such expensive attire—and I detested him, I always had, mainly because of his perverse interest in Ember. My wolf snarled in agreement.

  “Well, well, Agent Maxwell. What an unfortunate position you find yourself in.” Doherty, the director of the British SBI branch, had a slight Irish lilt to his voice, which instantly grated on my nerves. The man had always gunned for Rawson and me, especially after Em had come into our lives. He was always stopping me to ask about her, and he did it in such a fashion he always had my hackles up. It seemed the director had a hard on for her, the sick fuck. I’d always wanted to slam my fist in his superior face, but never so much as right now. On my knees in front of this prick was not where I ever wanted to be.

  His soles slipped easily as he pivoted. “Agent Brady, put your weapon down and raise your hands.”

  That got my attention. I raised my head and twisted toward Owen.

  “Sir?” Owen’s heavy brow furrowed, almost as deeply as mine.

  Doherty gave a snake’s smile, his eyes cold and predatory. “Put. Your. Weapon. Down.” He enunciated each word as if Owen were stupid.

  Owen looked at me. I nodded. I had no idea what was going on here, but something told me Doherty had an agenda, and Owen and I were a large part of it. Slowly, Owen complied, placing his weapon
on the ground. At a nod from Doherty, one of the other guards disarmed him completely.

  “Down.” Doherty inclined his head at the ground next to me. Devoid of all weapons, Owen dropped to his knees, his jaw tight. He met my eyes with fury and accusation.

  I didn’t blame him. It looked like I’d killed her. I wanted to tell him what had happened to Miss X, to explain that this truly hadn’t been my doing, but right now I couldn’t. Not that he would listen. He looked majorly pissed off as his wolf shone through his eyes.

  Doherty stared down at us. The silence stretched, but both of us knew it was useless to plead our case or ask what the hell was going on. Doherty wouldn’t tell us anything. It was in his eyes which gleamed with a twisted kind of triumph. He lifted his perfectly manicured hand and touched his ear.

  “Did you get it?” Silence as someone obviously answered him. “That doesn’t matter. Was any of it on camera? Good. No one else but Maxwell and the woman?” Silence. Doherty’s eyes flicked to Owen. “Interesting,” he murmured.

  Owen’s eyes narrowed when Doherty’s attention settled on him.

  A quick glance at the cameras told me they’d been switched back on. When had that happened?

  “A black gloved hand? Standard issue?” Doherty’s gaze dropped to Owen’s hands. “No one in or out of this room other than them?” He tapped the ear piece and looked at the man who had disarmed Owen. “Agents Maxwell and Brady are under arrest for murder. You will take them to the holding cells. They are to be incarcerated until such time as a trial can be arranged.”

  “Sir!” One of the agents pointed at the body of Miss X.

  Owen’s wolf disappeared from his eyes and his gaze fixed on Miss X. “Holy shit! What the fuck is happening to her?”

  In front of us, Miss X disintegrated into fine ash. The ash rose into the air and floated upward, disappearing into the ventilation duct as if it knew where it was going.