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

by Karen Tomlinson

  It was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, to allow my beautiful wolf to be chewed apart by another. I wanted to scream and shout, but for me to be safe, my wolf had to end.

  Something brushed against my leg. When I looked down, there was the spirit of my beautiful wolf, staring up at me. She licked my hand before she began to fade away.

  Thank you for being with me. Go to the Mother Wolf now. I’ll pray to her for your rebirth. Tears blurred my vision as she faded away.

  Soon my attacker’s gruesome task was complete. My wolf’s head fell free of her body. The white wolf receded leaving a human woman in her place. Pressing my lips into a tight line, I latched onto the spirit of the white wolf, and pulled. I’d done this once before, but unlike last time, I was not a child and I would not permit this human to live.

  I ripped her wolf away. The woman doubled over and screamed. I opened my soul and welcomed the beautiful white wolf in. Once she was mine, flames surged from my hands. Without remorse, I burned the screaming woman until there was nothing left but ash.

  Chapter 9

  Connor.

  * * *

  Pain woke me. It throbbed in my shoulder and arm, reminding me I’d been shot. I bit back a groan as I tried to control the agony and awaken my wolf enough to heal me. He didn’t respond. Underneath me, the bed shook and vibrated. Weird. I twisted my head, and my face banged into something hard and cold. I grunted, lifting my hand to my forehead. My fingers connected with a large metallic structure. “What the hell?”

  “Hey, man. Take it easy.”

  “Brady?”

  “Yeah.” He sounded weak.

  I forced my eyes to open. My head ached from the brightness of the overhead lights. I blinked away the discomfort, attuning my hearing to that incessant drone.

  “Engines. Why the fuck are there engines?” But Brady didn’t answer. My brain was foggy and my thoughts were muddled. The last thing I remembered was watching the alphas form a protective line in front of me. Hell, even Rawson had staggered over to join them. It was no use, they were taken down by a single shot each, and then pumped full of darts. Doherty himself had taken great pleasure in slugging me right in the shoulder, his face twisted into a mask of fury—one that promised retribution and pain. I had no idea what was going on, but that bastard would pay.

  I closed my eyes again. Ember. A pain stabbed through my heart. She’d gone. I could only hope she had run far and fast. The memory of her taste, of her mouth on mine as she cried her goodbye against my lips… I would carry that with me through whatever hell we were facing. I sent her a silent promise that no matter what happened, I would find her again. I emptied my mind and pushed the limited power I had into my flesh to begin its healing. I lay there, recovering, and listened to that droning. It dawned on me what it was.

  I pushed myself up. “We’re on a plane?” My throat was so dry, I only just managed to croak the words. I swallowed, trying to work some saliva into my mouth.

  Owen lifted his head and opened his eyes. He was leaning with his back against the body of the plane, his face pallid, but I could see he’d healed his leg. “Yeah.”

  “You okay?”

  “I’ve been better, but at least the fuckers used normal bullets, not silver.” Sitting forward, he rested his forearms on his thighs.

  I thought about it for a moment. “They wanted us to heal ourselves, but not until they were ready.”

  “It seems so.”

  Uncurling my bruised and stiff body, I sat up and took stock of where we were.

  Metal surrounded us. Literally. We were in a metal cage that had been built into the body of the plane. The structure gleamed brightly, just as buffed silver would. It seemed we had swapped one cell for another. But, at least we were still breathing.

  I noticed Stone watching us from the opposite side of the cage. His silver eyes were hard and glinted, his face a cold mask. I held his gaze, asserting my dominance. My wolf stirred. Stone merely nodded minutely and looked away. Next to him another male, with a broken nose, curled his lip and glared. I glared right back.

  Owen followed my gaze. “Ah, shit.” He rolled his head on his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. “And so it begins.”

  “It does.” Perhaps I said that with too much relish. But there was no way anyone in this cage was going to be an alpha over me. I snarled, cracked my neck and clenched my fingers into fists. I was ready to do battle. Stone turned his head and watched. Something told me he had my back, after all, he had fought fearlessly back at the prison. The other guy held my gaze longer than I’d normally tolerate, but I gave him another ten seconds. Three. Two. One. I stood up, never once moving my stare from his. He snarled, but dropped his challenge. A growl rumbled through my chest causing some of the prisoners around me to shuffle away, their eyes wide, the stench of fear seeping from them.

  I sat back down and deliberately didn’t look at any of the others. Challenges would come from the males in this cage, but I wanted to study our captors more before I showed my strength.

  On the other side of the silver bars, guards watched us. They carried weapons that looked even more space age than my own.

  “They’re well funded.”

  Owen took his time studying them, too. “Very. Look at their body armour. It's reinforced, and they have full face visors. Their helmets and gloves are sealed onto their uniforms, each plate overlapping the last. Even your Firecracker wouldn’t be able to get her teeth through it to rip it away.”

  I breathed out and smiled. “True.”

  “Hey!” yelled one of the males to a huge man who marched past the cage. He stood at least six inches taller than the other guards, possibly my height. He turned.

  I studied him closely. “Shit. What the fuck is he?”

  Searing red eyes fixated on the male.

  “Where’re you taking us?” the male demanded.

  Red eyes didn’t answer, he merely cocked his head and then swiveled his gaze to me, almost as if he sensed my attention. A sense of recognition hit me. Of what, I had no idea. Did I know this man? I frowned and blinked and the connection between us broke.

  “Hey! You ignorant asshole! Tell us what’s going on!” yelled the male again.

  Red eyes pulled his gaze from me and contemplated the shifter with no expression at all on his harsh features. The male reached out and grabbed the bars, and was immediately caught in a gruesome dance. His hair sizzled and caught fire, then the stench of burning flesh filled the cage. His mouth opened in a silent scream, his muscles contracting until his spine arched so far it looked like it might snap.

  Still jerking, his burning corpse fell to the ground.

  I screwed my nose up. “Jesus Christ.”

  Silence fell.

  “Put him out.” Red eyes didn’t even look at the dead man again.

  One of the guards grabbed a fire extinguisher and covered the corpse in white foam.

  “I don’t think JC is going to help us wherever they’re taking us, Captain,” Owen murmured.

  I pulled my attention from the smoldering corpse. “No, probably not. Wherever we’re going, it looks like we’re expendable.”

  “It does.” The skin between Owen’s brows creased.

  My expression mirrored his. “They shot us to stop us running, and drugged us to make us easier to transport. These damned collars will stop our shifts and dampen our abilities. And that?” I inclined my chin at the burning corpse. “Well, that was just a show of power.”

  Owen grunted in agreement, his attention on Red, his gaze predatory.

  Red glanced at me before sauntering down the plane and in through the flight deck door.

  Sitting against the rear wall of the cage, I studied my fellow prisoners. Some of the faces I recognised from our previous prison. Most of them I didn’t. They were big guys, all of them. And all wearing silver collars. With their beasts caged, tempers would become frayed. I kept my attention on two big guys who circled the dead body. They moved with predatory
gaits. Their eyes focused on each other, and challenging snarls curled their lips.

  “Where’s Rawson?” I asked Owen, unable to see him anywhere in the crowded cage. I blinked and my lips flattened into a tight line. Rawson was more than a benefactor, he was my friend and my brother, and I would always owe him. Exhaling slowly through my nose, I forced my worry away.

  Owen’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t know, man. After they shot me, he attacked them. He took down two of those fuckers before he got shot. If he’s not here, maybe they killed him.”

  My throat was so tight it was difficult to swallow. My fists curled, white hot anger simmering beneath my skin, but I managed to nod. “What about Ember? Did she get away?” All the prisoners in the cage were male. I held onto the belief she was strong enough and clever enough to escape. It would break me to know she hadn’t. My wolf growled in agreement, ready to tear the world apart if any harm had come to her.

  Owen tilted his head, his yellow eyes noting every move the big guys made. There was a gap around the circling pair now, and the atmosphere changed. Aggression poured off the two males. “I don’t know. She ran into the woods. That’s all I know.” He turned and contemplated me, his big body leaning forward a little. “What’s it like? To meet your mate?”

  Images of Ember tumbled around my head. I swallowed, my body heating. I rubbed my face then dropped my hand to my chest, rubbing at the ache in my heart. “Absolutely terrifying,” I admitted quietly.

  Owen snorted and shook his head. “Bullshit. Nothing terrifies you.”

  “She does.”

  “Why? She’s just a woman. A damn hot one, but still, just a woman.”

  “Nah, man, she’s the woman. I’ve known her for so long she’s a part of me. I tried to stay away from her...you know? While she was younger, but now…” I swallowed, thinking about the taste and softness of her lips against mine, her silky skin beneath my fingers. “Shit, she owns a part of my soul, she always has, and that makes me weak, because if it came to a choice between her life or anyone else's, even mine, she would always come first.”

  Owen shook his head a little. Hearing me admit the depth of my feelings for Ember had to be a shock to him. After all, I’d been totally dedicated to my role as an agent. An acrid taste coated my mouth as I thought of Ava and Lance. Maybe I’d once believed in the principles and integrity of the SBI, but no longer. Doherty had destroyed my loyalty the moment he went after the people I loved.

  Before I could say anything else, my wolf pricked up his ears and snarled viciously. Waves of aggression and dominance hit me from every direction. I rolled my head and loosened my shoulders. “Here we go.” A growl built, as I revelled in the change in atmosphere. I was spoiling for a fight. I’d lost my mate and ended up a prisoner, again. My fingers burned as I touched the collar around my neck. It might have taken my wolf’s freedom but I was still a Prime, one of the most powerful alphas in existence. A snarl curled my top lip. And these weaker alphas were about to find out just what that meant. My wolf surfaced, pushing against the confines of the silver. We growled together as my vision changed.

  “You ready to fight with me, Beta?” I stood, pulling on my wolf’s power.

  Owen’s throat bobbed. The position I’d just bestowed on him spoke of total trust. He’d have to fight to keep it, just as I would have to fight to gain and defend my position as Prime. Dominance and violence crackled in the waves of my Prime power. His eyes hardened then he gave me a vicious grin. His gaze moved, fixing on the two males, who roared and barrelled into each other, colliding in a torrent of fists, teeth and blood. The air vibrated, aggression rolling through the cage. It fed the other males who watched, their bodies coiled and ready to strike. None of us could shift but this would still be a fight to the death.

  “Always, alpha.” Owen pushed himself up and stood by my side.

  I forced all thoughts of soft skin and warm lips from my mind. If I wanted to get out of this mess and find Ember, I needed to survive. Inside my soul, my wolf bayed for blood. Every single, powerful male in this cage knew this fight had to happen. There could be only one alpha, one that all others feared, one who would rule them—or anarchy would reign, and we would kill each other off.

  The guards observed us like they had seen this hundreds of times before. Warning bells went off in my mind and ice wound its way through my veins. They already knew we would fight each other to establish a pack hierarchy. I thrust that knowledge aside. I’d think about it later. Instead, I cracked my knuckles.

  I snarled. “Good. Show no mercy, until they submit to me.”

  Owen grunted his agreement. We’d been here before; fighting side by side. The trust I’d gifted him was not unfounded. I knew with certainty he’d have my back. Together we bellowed a war cry at the top of our lungs. I released the power that simmered in my blood and bones; the force that merged my wolf and me together as one.

  The fighting males separated, their bodies thrust apart by the force of my will.

  Bloodied and sweaty, they turned to us, compelled to challenge the mightiest force in the cage.

  Me.

  Growls and roars rattled my ears. That sound of challenge and war, compounded with the coppery stink of blood, only fuelled my inner beast. I roared back, my wolf flooding my body with his power. As an agent, I had always subdued my wolf, having to dampen the predator in my soul. But here, it was kill or be killed.

  I grinned viciously at the biggest male.

  My wolf and I were utterly single minded in our purpose: kill all those who thought themselves our equal, and dominate the rest.

  Chapter 10

  Ember

  * * *

  The pads of my paws were sore, but still I ran. Breath rasped in my throat and escaped in clouds of mist into the icy air. I refused to think about everything that had happened until I reached my destination. It was enough just to stay alive.

  I urged my wolf onward, stopping only to lap water from the first stream we came across. My new wolf spirit was unsure of me. She held her memories and emotions close and did not allow me access. As soon as her spirit had entered me I had sensed her relief at losing her last host. I wouldn’t push her to tell me what had happened, but it wasn’t hard to guess. The loss of my first wolf lay heavy inside me, but I didn’t blame this beautiful white female. No, I blamed the human who had controlled her.

  She sensed my urgency and didn’t resist; instead she forged ahead through her exhaustion and went where I directed. I thanked her, knowing I would lose a battle of wills right now.

  My thoughts went to Walker. That faerie bastard had deserted us. Not only that, I didn’t understand why he’d darted Connor. I mean, he’d literally thrown him to the wolves. A snarl curled my mouth. I would find Walker, eventually—and rip him to shreds. Where I was going, there would be an opportunity to hunt in Faerie. It might take some time to get Som to trust me, but I would do it. If I couldn’t get to the SBI or Doherty, I’d track Walker. Even if it took years, I’d find him and make him pay for what he’d done.

  I leaped over ditches and crossed fields, but exhaustion was setting in, allowing the ache of losing my family to consume me. When night fell, I allowed myself to stop at a stream. My wolf’s chest heaved and she drank deeply. I let her rest, but once she’d regained her breath, I urged her onwards, avoiding any signs of human life. My despair would just have to wait.

  With single minded purpose, I held to my direction and headed for Rawson’s house. There would be agents observing the front and the lane, but I doubted they would be in the fields at the back. Still, I took my time approaching. The stunning white wolf that was now mine whined. Her anxiety filtered into me, so I sent a lick of reassurance down our bond. She shuddered, but kept going.

  The smell of society; of cars and rubbish, cooking and sewage, assaulted my senses, but there was no sign or scent of other wolves.

  My wolf inched forward on her belly, keeping low to the ground. Her bright white fur was thankfully covered in
mud and, from the smell of it, cow shit. I grimaced. It had been my idea to roll in the mud before we reached the outskirts of the town. We reeked to high heaven, but it was far safer than standing out in the darkness.

  A grey car was parked at the entrance of the lane, moonlight glinting off the paint. A shadow moved inside. I growled, sniffing the air. I knew all the cars that used these roads, and that car had never belonged to any of the agency families who lived here.

  Once the clouds obscured the moon, I encouraged my wolf to dart forward. We dove beneath the bushes at the back of Rawson’s home, my home. It was hard to ignore the pain at that thought. It was no longer my home. I would not return here again. My wolf clamped her teeth around the handle of the bag I’d left behind. The clouds moved away, leaving the lane bathed in soft silvery light. Ice sparkled on the ground and it was bright enough to cast shadows, so we waited beneath the bushes. Moments later the moon was gone again. She darted back across the road and into the fields. There were no shouts, no gunshots or growls.

  Breathing heavily she ran along the familiar route I used to get to Som’s, enduring her sore paws and fatigue while carrying the bag between her jaws.

  Once the outskirts of the city came into view, I urged her to slow. The shadows were enough to hide us as we made our way through the emerging human world. Cars rushed along nearby roads, the noise scaring my new shifter spirit. This was a bad idea as even the suburbs of London didn’t sleep, and I had to negotiate my way through the concrete jungle to my destination on the banks of the Thames. But this was the only place I could go.

  I’d have to work for my keep at Som’s, and I’d need to negotiate the terms of my employment, but if anyone could live under the SBI’s radar it was Somnelaire. As a bogwart, Som was a lower caste fae. I frowned, Walker was definitely different from any of the fae I’d ever seen. Could he have been high fae, like Connor had suspected, even though he had said he wasn’t? The location to the gates of Faerie was a closely guarded secret in the SBI. Other than Som’s workers and the psychos that hunted prey in the shadows, Walker was the only fae I’d seen, and even I knew that trick he’d pulled with the portal was something special.