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

by Karen Tomlinson

  “Ember!” My wolf’s attention snapped to the man who was our mate. She trotted up to him and rubbed against his legs. “We have to get out of here,” Connor said, keeping his gun trained on the corridor. I put my nose down to the ground and followed the scent of the guard who’d brought me in, looking behind occasionally to make sure Connor was following.

  “I got you covered, Firecracker.” Owen and Walker jogged along behind Connor, the other alphas behind them. All of them were now armed thanks to the agents.

  A locked door loomed before us. “Here!” Owen chucking an ID badge forward.

  “That’s no good.” Connor, cursing loudly. “It’s a blood lock.”

  Walker prowled up. Calmly, he held out a severed hand with part of its forearm attached.

  Connor blinked and his brows dipped. He obviously wondered the same thing as me: how did Walker sever the man’s hand? But right then it didn’t matter. We needed to get out. Connor took the hand and slammed the palm on the pad. The metal bands clicked into place followed by the snap of a needle, and the door slid open. He glared at the cameras on the roof, aimed and shot them out. I ran forward, knowing we had to get to the next hatch before security had time to take this agent's blood profile out of the system. The next door opened and a storm of bullets rained forth.

  Red hot agony slammed into my shoulder. My wolf went down. Come on. Get back up. If you stay here we’re both going to die, I told her, trying to ignore the pain.

  The sound of gunshots deafened me. Connor yelled, his scent mixed with the coppery smell of iron. Blood. He’d been hit again. My heart hammered against my ribs. I urged my wolf forward. She sprang up from the floor, and ignoring the bullets whizzing past her, and Connor’s bellow, she ran, launching herself at the first agent. These men were not dressed in armour but in street clothes. My wolf sank further into a killing rage. I had no idea why these men were here, nor did I care. They’d locked up the only two people left in this world that I loved, and they’d pay for it. My wolf snarled her agreement and we melded our thoughts.

  The first man we reached didn’t stand a chance. I lunged and ripped out his throat while my momentum drove him backwards. He was dead before he hit the ground. I bounded to the next one and jumped on his back. My teeth embedded in the back of his neck, and I ripped at flesh and bone until his agonised screams stopped. Before I could release his neck and go for the next man in line a redhot pain lanced my back leg. I glanced at where a knife protruded. Whimpering, I limped a few steps before I was too dizzy to go further. I’d lost more blood than I thought from my other wound. My fur was coated and sticky. I whined and lay down, the blood loss and exhaustion catching up with me. I sank to my belly on the tiled floor.

  “Ember!” Connor yelled. He skidded on his knees to my side, blood leaking from a wound in his arm. I whimpered and licked his wound. He stroked my fur. “Shh, I’m okay. Change back.” But I couldn’t. I was too weak. I gave him a gentle snarl. I just needed a minute.

  “Okay, but the fighting is done, and I at least need you to get up before we open that door.” Connor eased my body off the floor and helped me stand. I whined as pain flooded my lupine body. “Easy, I’ll get us out, then I’ll help you change back.”

  I peered at him. He was still kneeling, so I leaned forward and licked his cheek. His wolf might be locked behind that collar, but his power still crackled against my soul. It would be more than enough to assist my shift. His small smile warmed my heart, even though worry remained in his eyes. “You’ll be fine, Firecracker. Owen! Grab that piece of shit.” He stood tall and pointed at a dead agent, but his face remained tight as he studied my injuries and the handle of the small knife that protruded from my fur. “You sure you don’t want me to carry you?”

  I growled.

  He laughed softly. “Thought not.”

  Owen grabbed the dead agent’s arm and dragged him across the floor to the pad. Streaks of blood tracked after them, stark against the white floor.

  “We’ll find a way to stop the bleeding once we’re out, but you can’t shift with this in your flesh. Sorry, this is going to sting like a bitch.” And before I realised his intentions, Connor pulled the small knife from my flesh. I snapped at the air between us. “Easy.” Gently, he put his hand on my head. I allowed it, and even welcomed the soft pulse of power he sent into me. He smiled. “That’s it, Firecracker, let me help.”

  The door popped open, air hissing from the seals.

  Walker prowled up, taking in my injuries and blood loss. In my wolf form I could smell his unique scent. Like the freshest of winter mornings and the pureness of a glacial spring. “Let me try.”

  Connor narrowed his eyes, his jaw tightening. After a moment of hesitation, he nodded and removed his hand from my bleeding wound. Walker placed his own hand over my lacerated flesh. That same sense of cold and soothing swamped me though I jumped when his other hand rested over the bullet wound.

  I whined, my body shaking.

  “Steady, brave one, I will not harm you further.”

  There was a sharp pain when the bullet was forced out by my healing flesh. It bounced on the floor. My flesh blazed with pain that ebbed as it healed. Within moments the cold sensation of his magic receded. Walker removed his hands, stood up in one fluid motion, his muscles rippling, and wiped my blood on his trousers.

  “Thank you,” Connor said tightly, also uncoiling his powerful body.

  I nudged my head against his legs, needing to touch him, and to reassure him I was stronger. He gently placed his palm on the top of my head. It was hard not to succumb to the comfort of that touch, but I was not given to letting my mate protect me. I could protect myself, so I nudged him away from me and yipped.

  “Okay, Firecracker, I get it; you can look after yourself.”

  Tentatively I took a step, testing out my stride. There was very little pain. I peered up at Walker, noticing his strange blue eyes were ringed with green as he looked down at me, his face implacable. I bowed my head. He nodded back and walked out of the door behind the other alphas.

  Connor growled. “Idiots. There could be all sorts of weapons out there.”

  I could hear the worry in his voice. He had taken on the role of their leader, and along with it, responsibility for their safety.

  But nothing happened.

  He slowly approached the exit and we both peered out. There were no gunshots, no shouts. I trotted through, Connor following close behind. Late evening sun hit my face, and the smell of damp undergrowth and pine needles surrounded us. There was a distant rush of traffic but it was clear we were in the countryside, definitely not at the SBI headquarters despite the agents and technology that was used in this place.

  “Where the hell are we?” Connor asked.

  Owen turned on the spot, his brows dipped. “Damned if I know. I don’t recognise this place at all.”

  I limped to the edge of the clearing. The alphas had all stopped, some contemplated the forest, others the small dirt track that led across the fields. In the distance a dust cloud rose. The vehicles that approached from a gateway about a mile down the track dipped behind a gentle hill and disappeared before they reappeared.

  As a unit the alphas looked back at Connor. Stone jogged back through the door and came back a moment later with more weapons. Tucking a spare in his belt, he held one out to one of the others. Connor checked his weapon. “We need to run, but it can’t be this easy to walk out of here and into that forest. Check your weapons. There will be wolves waiting. We stay together as a pack until we’re out of this, until we know who locked us up and why; and we know how Doherty is involved. I suggest you stay away from your homes and families. I have somewhere we can all go.” He turned to Walker, who had moved to one side and seemed to be chanting.

  Walker swirled his hand in a huge circle and the air shifted. The blue stoned ring he wore on his right hand glowed.

  I snarled. I knew what he was doing even if the others didn’t. I'd seen Som work his magic on
a portal before.

  Connor shielded his eyes from the brightness. “What the hell is that?”

  Walker turned to us a grim look on his stunning face. In the daylight, his skin took on an otherworldly, almost frosted, glow. “I have my own way home,” he said and barked a sharp word.

  A wave of energy hit us and a portal materialised. We all staggered back. Walker stepped into the swirling air. “Unfortunately, Connor, you cannot leave here. You have a job to do. But you and I will meet again.” He looked at me. “As will we.”

  It was then I noticed the tranquilliser gun held loosely in his left hand. He raised it and shot Connor, then Owen and Stone before they had time to realise what was happening.

  I howled and bounded forward, but he just stared at me. I will kill him! His throat bobbed before he disappeared into the portal and it collapsed.

  Closer now, the engines of the Range Rovers roared, and tires skidded in the dirt.

  I pushed my wolf aside and changed back to my human form, not caring one bit about my naked state or the alphas surrounding me. “Run!” I yelled at them. “Now!”

  None of them did.

  One of them turned to me, a tall man with dark brown hair and eyes. “No, we stay with our alpha.” He glanced down at Connor. “He fought for us, just as you did. You should shift and run. He will suffer if he knows they caught you, too. They will use you against him.”

  “He’s right,” rasped Rawson who had caught up with us. He limped to my side. “You should go. Stay well away from Doherty, and don’t try to find us. Next time, you’ll stand no chance of escape.”

  I shook my head. “No, I can’t leave you—or him…”

  “Ember, you have to. Please. They took Lyss from me. I can’t stand the thought of losing you, too. Please get out of here. Hide from the SBI, and don’t ever come back.”

  I hugged Rawson, uncaring I was naked, before I dropped to my knees beside Connor. His eyes were furious, sweat beading on his forehead as he fought—and lost against the incapacitating serum. I wiped the beads of sweat away. He couldn't move but his eyes darted to the forest and then to the cars. “Run,” he whispered.

  Footsteps cracked through the forest to our right. Car doors slammed to our left. Right now, it seemed behind the entrance to the underground facility was the only way out.

  I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his lips hard. My wolf howled.

  Connor blinked furiously, a trapped frustrated rumble resounding in his chest.

  “Ember! Get the fuck out of here. Now!” yelled Rawson, resting his big hands on his muscular thighs and panting hard.

  Sobbing, I shifted. Without looking back, I ran into the dark shadows of the forest. Gun fire echoed through the trees. I forced my wolf not to howl, and even though my heart was breaking, I ran.

  Chapter 8

  Ember

  * * *

  My heart hammered against my ribs, and breath exploded from my lungs. No matter how much I wanted to go back; I couldn’t. There was no way I could win against the shit storm of armed men that had descended on Connor, and that knowledge was killing me. I wanted to be stronger, to be enough to save him and Rawson, but I wasn’t. I was leaving my mate to die. Doherty wouldn’t keep them alive, not now. They’d seen too much—and he would hunt me down. I had to disappear from this life, and there was only one place I could go.

  Dusk fell and the forest became wreathed in shadows. I skidded to a halt, listening hard over my panting breaths. A stick cracked, the sound like a gunshot in the still forest. Carefully, I slunk along, low to the ground, my wolf’s steps light enough she didn’t make a sound. Shadows swathed me, so, just as I did when I was younger, I made myself smaller and faded into them. Another faint crack of undergrowth. They were approaching slowly. Perhaps they were waiting for me to run right into their trap.

  A fallen tree lay nearby. It’s rough and rotting bark was covered in moss and surrounded by a messy carpet of pine needles. Several large phallus shaped fungi grew near it. I could have cried. Its pungent stink would hide my own scent from the shifters. I darted into the dip beneath the rotten tree trunk, and, carefully missing the fungi, I hunkered down and waited.

  My thirst raged, cobwebs tickled my nose, and little creatures crawled through my fur. Still, I didn’t move. I inhaled deeply. Under the foul fungi stink, the scents of aftershave, sweat and shifter were unmistakable. The agents were moving, but going slowly, warily.

  I cowered lower, willing them to pass me by. My muscles cramped and shook, and it took every bit of my self-control to regulate my breathing when all I wanted to do was leap out and rip apart the men who killed my family. Because of them, I had no one.

  After the death of my parents, I had promised myself I would never love or rely on anyone again. Well, that promise was shot to shit. Now there was a new hole in my chest, and no matter how much I wanted to believe Connor was alive, those gunshots had told me all I needed to know. I swallowed the ache in my throat and pushed down my fear. I would survive, if only so I could hunt down Doherty and destroy him.

  Hours passed, and I continued to remain quiet and still. The agents had inched forward and I tracked the shadows of wolves that stalked between them. I could hear their breathing and prayed the fungus and the smell of other animals in the forest would cover my own scent. Patiently they waited for any movement in the shadows, but I was good at this game; I’d played it a lot when I was a young girl. I’d survived by becoming invisible. So, I kept utterly still, ignoring the numbness in all four of my limbs. I knew if I moved, the pain from a surge of circulation would cripple me.

  A sniff came from nearby, followed by a low throaty growl.

  Damn it! Go away, go away. There was no way I could run, not now, my legs were useless.

  The faint crackle of a radio reached my ears. Holding my breath, I watched the silhouette of a large wolf move past about ten feet away. He loped up to the shadow of a man who squatted beneath a pine tree.

  “Yes, sir. Director says move out!” The shadow yelled into the darkness.

  I released a slow breath, my head spinning. They started to walk away, making far more noise than necessary, so I used the commotion as cover and shook out my limbs. I gritted my teeth against the onslaught of pins and needles, then got back to making myself invisible.

  I’d also played this game before. Evil liked to try and lure its victims in. If I stayed low and melted into the shadows, evil wouldn’t even notice me.

  The hollowness in my soul became a chasm. I lay there, empty and just waiting for daybreak. Finally the sun rose, warming the damp forest floor. My stomach growled, and my throat was so raw I could barely swallow. The sun scorched me. Panting away the heat from my body, I prayed for the patience of my enemies to run out before my body gave out from dehydration.

  Sometime in the afternoon I heard distant voices. Shouts and yells. My eyes burned, and my body shook. There was another round of twigs cracking and the snap of bones; wolves shifting back into men. “Do one more quick sweep!” ordered a voice. But it was clear their enthusiasm had waned.

  There were many fallen trees near mine. This was just another unremarkable one. I sent a silent prayer of thanks to anyone listening. Not only did this fungi leave a horrid stench, the wolves and men had left their scents all over the forest, hiding mine. No shifter would know my scent among these, especially if these agents weren’t a pack and had no loyalty to or knowledge of each other.

  The noise of the search eventually faded. Engines roared to life and then disappeared into the distance. I crawled out. Too weak to shift, and with no clothes to wear, I stayed in my wolf form. My internal fire flared, sensing the danger my body was in. Warmth eased along my bones, just enough to give me the strength to run. My gait was faltering and clumsy at first, but sticking to the shadows I was soon running with desperation and a heaviness in my soul that I knew would never leave me.

  Rawson had been right. I could do nothing against Doherty and the agency. I was too
weak and too alone. I had to let them go. My stomach churned and my chest ached, but I wouldn’t allow such crippling guilt to paralyse me—not yet.

  A low menacing growl was the only warning before a dark shadow leapt at me. I couldn’t tell what it was, but its solid bulk hit me from the side and sent me sprawling. A female wolf, with ice white fur and deep amber eyes circled me. Even in this dire situation I gasped at how beautiful she was; a dangerous and stunning creature. Those eyes settled on me and gleamed with predatory intent. She snarled—a challenge. My answering snarl wasn’t as intimidating. My body was depleted of fluid and nutrients, and my limbs shook, but there was no way I was going down without a fight. Without hesitation, I attacked. In a nimble move she jumped sideways and her jaws clamped around my neck.

  Her teeth cut into my flesh, pain lancing my throat. I thrashed and snapped my jaws, but the other wolf’s teeth clamped down harder. Warmth saturated my fur. An artery. No matter how much I wanted to fight, my limbs became heavy. Blood poured from me. I was dying. The wolf shook me, deepening my wounds. My vision blurred until all I could see was the redness of my blood staining her white fur. Fire stirred, sensing my end was too near to stop it. She soothed me and held me in her fiery embrace as my wolf’s heart ceased to beat. Within moments I was nothing but an ethereal form, standing and looking down at the body of my beautiful wolf. She was limp, lying flat on the ground, her fur stained bright red and her body in a pool of congealing dark blood.