Fifth (A Cinco Series Book 1)

by Kit Lane

  “I should—”

  “No! If you contact her, you’ll be putting her and us in danger.”

  “She’s gonna be pissed off with me.”

  “Better that than dead,” Kyle said.

  It was a shock to hear Kyle’s voice. He rarely joined in our telepathic conversations.

  “You and Ronin talk enough for all of us,” Matt said.

  I snorted, but it was true. Ronin and I always talked telepathically. It had been to stretch our abilities, then it was just because we never picked up the phone. Why bother when we could direct dial each other?

  “Who’s Freya?” Alex asked.

  She sat in the back seat, dressed now, despite Kyle’s assurance she didn’t need to dress for us. Alex was going to have to get over her modesty if she was going to live with four male shifters.

  “Freya is my kind-of-girlfriend,” I told her.

  She frowned as if she didn’t like that idea. “‘Kind of’?”

  “Friends with benefits,” Matt said laconically. “He gets a fuck buddy and she doesn’t have to be part of a Cinco.”

  “You need to explain what a Cinco is,” Alex murmured, “and what’s a Quinto?”

  After a tussle with my seatbelt, I shifted in my seat to glance at her. “Think of it as being a small pack, a family, each with defined roles.”

  Her frown deepened. “What kind of roles?”

  “An alpha, a beta, a shaman, a communicator and a hunter.”

  “Always five members?”

  “Has been so far,” I said.

  “The leader, his assistant, the doctor, the IT guy, and the food provider?” she hazarded.

  “Kind of,” I agreed. I noticed my Cinco-mates weren’t bothering to help me explain. Matt had a deep scowl that I didn’t understand. I sent out a probe but all his shields were up and he wasn’t letting me in. That wasn’t good. Matt rarely shielded from us. “The alpha and the beta are responsible for the well-being and security of the pack. The hunter makes sure we are fed and clothed. The communicator is more like the system itself than the user, and the shaman takes care of us, physically and mentally.”

  “You’re obviously the communicator,” Alex said. “Matt is too bossy to be anything else except the alpha.”

  I snorted because she had that one right. Matt’s brows were almost knitted across his forehead.

  “Ronin is the hunter and Ky the shaman?”

  “Kyle,” Kyle said. “My name is Kyle, and I’m the hunter.” There was an edge to his voice, and from the expression on Alex’s face she knew she was deep in quicksand.

  “Ky is the best hunter in the eastern packs,” I assured her, and grinned at Kyle. His tight expression eased somewhat. “And Ro is—”

  “Med student,” Ro said.

  Alex took a moment to process everything we’d just told her. “And what do you study, Lee?”

  “I’m an art history major.”

  She blinked. “Art history?”

  I gave a wry smile. “I’m a sculptor.”

  “Lee’s work is amazing,” Kyle said. “He’s already had an exhibition.”

  I blushed but nodded. I had no false modesty about my work.

  “So if I’m your Quinto, that makes me the beta?” Alex asked hesitantly.

  Before I could answer, Matt gave a flat “No.”

  Alex turned in puzzlement. “But you said—”

  “It’s the only role left,” I pointed out.

  “Alex isn’t the beta. I am. She’s the alpha.”

  You could have heard a pin drop inside the SUV.

  Hoo boy, no wonder our glorious leader was a seething ball of fur.

  Chapter 7 – Alex

  I laughed.

  From the scowls of all four men in the vehicle, that wasn’t the best response.

  I chewed on my bottom lip. “You’re joking, right?”

  “No,” Matt said, his tone flat.

  “I’m a human. I can’t be an alpha.”

  “Yet you are.”

  “You don’t know that,” Kyle burst out.

  It was touching how he defended his friend.

  Matt folded his arms. “Listen to your wolves.”

  I watched each man’s eyes become unfocused. At the same time I heard a buzzing in my ears. I tried to concentrate on it, but the harder I focused, the more it was just out of my reach. The buzzing grew stronger, but no more coherent. Then suddenly, I understood.

  “Hey!” I snapped my fingers, and all eyes blinked and focused on me. “Are you talking about me?”

  Matt pressed his lips together in a thin line. “We were discussing the situation.”

  “Without me.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  It was my turn to fold my arms and stare at each one of them. No one broke my gaze. Okay, whatever this was, it was serious. I got that now. “Try me.”

  “There’s a lot you don’t know.”

  I refrained from rolling my eyes because that was a ridiculous statement. “Then start talking.”

  Lee turned to me. “This has never happened before.”

  “What hasn’t?”

  “You. A human. Becoming part of a Cinco. Usurping the alpha.”

  “I haven’t usurped anyone,” I protested.

  “The role of each member of the Cinco is clearly defined from birth. From the moment they come into their powers, each wolf knows what they are destined to be. Not all wolves become part of a Cinco, not all wolves want to be. But all Cincos are five, and all Cincos are pre-determined.”

  Lee’s pompous tone made me want to laugh, but the serious expressions on their faces told me that would be a bad idea. What else had he said?

  “So no human has been part of a Cinco before?”

  “That’s just it. I don’t think you are human.”

  Then I did laugh. “Dude, I think I’d know if I was a furball.”

  Lee turned to Matt with a helpless shrug. “You try.”

  Matt’s jaw was clenched so tight I could see it twitch. He huffed and ran his hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up every which way.

  “Your name,” he said.

  “Alex?”

  “Rieke.”

  “What about it?”

  “We know the name.”

  “Well, it’s not common, but I’m not the only Rieke in the world.”

  “Where are your parents?” Lee asked cautiously.

  My throat tightened, and it was hard to breathe. I blinked, determined not to cry in front of these guys. “They’re both dead.”

  Matt glanced at the others. I was getting damn sick of the Secret Squirrel looks. “I’m sorry. When did that happen?”

  “Two years ago. They went on vacation to Hawaii. It was a boating accident. They never came back.”

  “Do you know what happened?” Matt asked.

  I took my time to reply, unable to speak for a moment, the pain still hurting me as much as the day the cops had arrived on my doorstep to give me the news. “It was a freak storm. They weren’t experienced sailors and their boat overturned. Their bodies were never recovered.”

  “So you don’t know if they are dead,” Ronin said.

  “What the hell do you mean by that? My parents died. End of story.” More eyeballing between the furballs, and this time I snapped. “Okay, stop the car.” I had no idea where we were, but I’d find my way home.

  “We can’t stop,” Lee said. “The Elder has reached the house. They know we’ve bolted.”

  “I’ll take my chances,” I said grimly.

  To my surprise, Matt grabbed my forearm. “Alex, you need to listen to us, to me. Your name, Rieke, we know that name.”

  “So you said before.”

  “What was your father’s first name?”

  “Wilfred. Wilf.”

  “We knew him as Wulf Rieke. He was a traitor to our kind.”

  “What?” My wonderful father? A traitor? “How was he a traitor?” I asked, my voice harsh and raw w
ith emotion. My tears threatened to spill over, but I would not let these strangers see me cry. I refused to show them any vulnerability.

  “Fifteen years ago, he conspired with our enemies to kill his pack and their Elders.”

  “You’re wrong. My father would never do that.”

  Matt had a pitying expression, but he carried on. “It’s true. He escaped before he could be tried and brought to justice. This is the first time we’ve heard his name since then.”

  “My father was a grade school teacher. We lived in Seattle, then moved to California. My mom was also a teacher. Not wolves. Not traitors.”

  “There’s more,” Matt said.

  I didn’t want to know. I wanted to stick my hands over my ears.

  “In his absence, Rieke was sentenced to death.”

  I took a deep breath. “He’s already dead, so what’s the problem?”

  “The sentence also applies to all his family and descendants,” Matt said.

  I was going to be sick. “You’re telling me—”

  “Your life is forfeit. Yes.” His voice was grim, and there wasn’t a shred of pity in his expression.

  “So why aren’t you taking me to your elders?” I demanded.

  “Because you’re our Quinto and we’ve waited a long time for you.”

  I shook my head. “Not good enough. You don’t know me.”

  “Our lives are forfeit by association.”

  I stared at Matt as the words percolated through my tired brain. “That’s monstrous.”

  “So was what he did to our kin,” Matt said grimly.

  “That was fifteen years ago.”

  “Wolves have very long memories.”

  He was serious. I had a death warrant on my head and these guys did because of my father. Six hours ago we didn’t know of each other’s existence and now we were on the run?

  “So what do we do?” I asked.

  To my surprise, Ronin answered. “The first thing we do is find somewhere safe to hide. Then I speak to your parents.”

  “Unless you’ve got a Ouija board that’s going to be a little difficult.” Lee snorted, and Kyle chuffed in my ear. “What did I say this time?”

  “Remember I’m the network?” Lee said. “Well he’s the Ouija board. He’s a shaman.”

  Ronin could talk to my mom and dad? A tear spilled onto my cheek and I moved to dash it away impatiently, but Matt got there first. He wiped the tear with the pad of his thumb. The skin was rough, as if he spent a lot of time working with his hands.

  “We’ll take care of you,” he promised.

  It was an unexpected kindness from a man who had just torn my world apart.

  Chapter 8 - Ronin

  The miles flew by under Lee’s terse direction. He knew where we were going but refused to tell us. I drove through the velvety dark of the night, half my attention was on our Quinto who sat behind me.

  The others thought Alex was handling the news that she was the daughter of a wolf and a traitor better than expected. They couldn’t feel her the way I did. I could sense the way she’d retreated into herself, the shock forming an outer shield that needed to be penetrated or she would stay behind it forever.

  We were all different, the parts of the Cinco. As shaman, I could sense feelings and emotions stronger than the other wolves. The hunter took care of the body, I took care of the soul, and I was glad I was a strong wolf, because it was hard to breathe under the waves of pain and hurt that emanated from Alex’s soul. It was okay, she could lay all that on me. I could handle it.

  I contemplated asking Matt to drive so that I could sit next to her and start the healing process, but Matt drove like my granny. The big, bad wolf was scared of driving. No one else in the Cinco knew the real reason. He hadn’t told me, but his soul shrieked it every time we got in a vehicle. I kept his secret. I kept a lot of secrets.

  Lee needed to focus on who was hunting us, and Kyle didn’t drive. The only wolf who’d never learned to drive in the pack. Unlike Matt, he wasn’t scared, he just didn’t see the point. Kyle spent most of his time in his wolf form. He’d always been more wolf than human. Even at the student house, he shifted as soon as he walked through the front door.

  “The turn’s a mile ahead on the left,” Lee said, nudging me from my thoughts.

  I slowed down, because finding it in the pitch black wasn’t going to be easy. As we got closer, Lee pointed it out. ‘Road’ was a grandiose term for what was little more than a dirt track.

  “Christ, Ro, do you have to hit every hole in the road?” Matt complained.

  I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Wanna drive?”

  Matt glowered at me. “No. Keep your eyes on the road before we end up in a ditch.”

  I smirked and turned back. “Where are we going, Lee? We’re going to run out of road soon.”

  “That’s exactly what we’re gonna do,” he agreed. “There’s a cabin at the end. Few people know about it and no one in the pack does.”

  “Who owns the cabin?” Matt asked.

  “My human relatives. Only one person really uses it. My uncle who loves hunting. The rest of the year it’s empty. Don’t expect much. It’s a place to hide, not a five-star hotel.”

  “We’re wolves. We can cope.”

  “I’m a human,” Alex pointed out. “I need some basics.”

  “I can hunt for us,” Kyle said. “You won’t go hungry.”

  I hummed, not wanting to challenge that just yet. Sure, she was half-human, but her soul? That was one frustrated wolf itching to get out.

  The end of the road arrived quicker than I expected, and I had to slam on the brakes to avoid driving into a tree. I ignored the grumbling from Matt and got out to stretch my legs. My wolf begged me for a run, but I soothed him, telling him to be patient. He grumbled, as a dark streak ran into the night. Trust Kyle to go wolf almost he’d exited the car.

  I turned to find Alex leaning against the SUV, her eyes closed and face drawn. Matt and Lee had vanished into the cabin, leaving her alone. I was going to have firm words with the wolves later on. That was not how we took care of the newest member of our Cinco.

  “How are you?” I asked.

  She gave a shaky laugh. “Do you want me to answer that?”

  I held out my arms. She hesitated, but then she stepped into them and I held her close. She was tiny in my embrace, barely reaching the top of my chest, and her heart beat so fast, it felt like it was threatening to burst out of her. I stroked her soft hair and closed my eyes, sending calming waves via our link. It took time, but her heart slowed to a more normal rate, and she stopped shaking.

  I’d always loved the ability to soothe people. I could kill them that way too, but only my alpha—former alpha?—knew that. It was a secret most shamans took to their grave.

  “Let’s get you inside,” I murmured, running a hand over her head. Her hair was silky under my touch.

  Alex winced as she took a step. “Dammit, I forgot to put my shoes on.”

  I laughed as I swept her into my arms. “Let me carry you over the threshold.”

  “You guys have a hero complex, or something?” She gave me a wicked grin

  “Huh?”

  “So far you, Matt, and Kyle have carried me.”

  “We’re all superheroes.” I puffed out my chest and nearly dropped Alex.

  She laughed and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Easy, tiger. You’ll have to give back your hero card if you drop the lady.”

  “Wolf, not tiger,” I muttered. Did she think I was a feline?

  “Dear God, what’s that smell?” She shuddered as we reached the door of the cabin.

  I dropped her down just inside and went to investigate. The rancid odor was enough to make me gag. Had an animal died in there?

  I pushed out my senses but I couldn’t detect anything recently deceased. “What the hell is that stench?”

  Chapter 9 – Alex

  I struggled not to retch. The stench clung to the back of my throat.
Ronin didn’t seem much better, and I swear I heard him gag.

  Matt came into view, a large shadow in the darkness. “Nothing dead, thank goodness. Lee’s uncle doesn’t believe in cleaning. We’re going to need to scrub the place down if we want to hide out here.”

  Great!

  I glanced around the room. There was an area for the kitchen. From this distance it appeared to be as filthy as everywhere else. “Does Uncle have any cleaning products?”

  “I’ve no idea,” Matt said.

  “Ronin and I can search for bleach.”

  “We’d do better to burn the cabin to the ground,” Ronin muttered.

  Matt grunted as if he agreed. “We’re not gonna be here long. Let’s clean the main room and we’ll throw all the uncle’s gear in the bedroom. You really don’t wanna go in there.”

  “Where’s Kyle and Lee?” I asked.

  “Ky’s hunting for us and Lee is listening to the chatter on the system. So far we’re safe.”

  “Won’t they know he will be listening?” I thought about it a bit more. “I don’t know how this works but won’t Lee give away our position?”

  At that point, Lee walked into the room, but he didn’t seem offended by my comment.

  “Good. You’re thinking like a communicator. I can shield my position better than most. I’m just listening to top level chatter, like being in a public place or scrolling through social media. Anything deeper and I’d have to make my position known.”

  “What about the rest of you. Can they find you?”

  Matt shook his head. “Our powers don’t stretch that far. Outside of the communicators, only the Cinco members can communicate with each other. You can hear us, yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you can’t hear us if we don’t choose to share with you. You can talk to anyone in the group and keep it private if you know how to shield.”

  “You need to teach me that,” I said firmly.

  “Later,” Ronin said. “First, cleaning, or I’m going to vomit.”

  “First the generator, then the cleaning,” Lee said. He vanished outside, and to my relief, it didn’t take long for the generator to kick in and the place to be flooded with light.

  To the surprise of all of us, Uncle did keep cleaning products under the sink. Matt and Lee dumped all of Uncle’s filthy possessions in his bedroom and closed the door with a sigh of relief. Ronin and I cleaned and scrubbed the surfaces until I pronounced myself satisfied. I wasn’t a neat-freak, but I was in catering, and I had to keep the place clean.