by Kathy Lyons
“Even if we could have asked you—and you know we’re not allowed—you wouldn’t have believed a word of it.”
That was probably true, but it didn’t matter. “Do you know why I worked in Hollywood?”
She frowned. “I’ll bite. Why?”
“Because I liked pretending to be part of the action without actually being in it. I’m a couch superhero. I’ll cheer on Captain America, but I sure as hell don’t want to actually fight the Nazis. I don’t schlep through the jungle in search of Dr. Doom, and I sure as hell don’t want to go face-to-face with any demon. I’m sorry, Captain M, but you activated the wrong guy.”
She leaned forward. “This doesn’t make sense. Two weeks ago you were jonesing to go out into the field. What happened?”
He’d eaten a bunny and realized it tasted delicious. And if that hadn’t been bad enough, he’d been the one responsible for packing up the belongings of Nero’s dead teammates. That had been a major eye-opener. He’d seen their entire lives in their things. They’d been cut off from their families because they couldn’t talk about the paranormal, they lived in the daily practice of violence, and at the end of it all, so few people remembered them. Not the ones they’d saved, who didn’t know what had happened, and not their families, who hadn’t spoken to them for years. Only the organization mourned—for a few weeks—before it restructured, activated new recruits, and created new combat packs with the survivors.
“I don’t want to be a killer, even of bunnies.”
“We’re protecting the world. You don’t have to be on the front lines.”
He nodded. “I love the work you’re doing.” Wulf, Inc. took out genuine baddies, and he had no problem with that. But it was still “eviscerate this” and “disembowel that” everywhere he looked, which made his wolf side want to roll around in the blood too. But he was a man first, and he didn’t want to split open anyone’s gut. Not when he could buy plastic-wrapped chicken breasts at the grocery store. “I just don’t want to be part of it.”
Captain M stared at him, her nose twitching as she thought. “There’s something more.”
“Yes.” And now he came to the real sticking point. “I’m not going to disappear from my family’s lives. I won’t.” Because that’s what people at Wulf, Inc. had to do. The paranormal had its place, and it wasn’t with the vanilla normals.
He saw her absorb his statement, her expression going grim, but there was understanding in her eyes. Not every werewolf worked in Wulf, Inc. Many had regular lives, assuming they could keep their natures under complete control.
“So the only reason you’re still here is because you’re trying to figure out how to control the moon madness.”
It wasn’t a question, but he answered it anyway with a nod. Not every werewolf went psycho with the full moon, but he’d drawn the short straw and would have to work extra hard to control himself. Good thing he was used to overcoming obstacles.
“The next full moon isn’t for another few weeks. Do you mind helping us out until then? It won’t involve you killing anything.”
“What have you got?” he asked, investing his voice with a perkiness he didn’t feel.
“Josh’s brother ate a fairy fruit—”
“What? Why?” He’d been reading up on magic, and nothing was more unpredictable and guaranteed to bite you in the ass than fairy magic.
Captain M shrugged. “Because he’s an idiot? Because he wanted to play in the weird pool too?”
Laddin shook his head. “No. I mean, what was he promised?”
“Well, that’s what I’d like you to figure out. The rest of the team is going up to run support for the bigwigs. They’re still trying to find the demon that is poisoning the lake and Wisconsin in general. The problem—other than the obvious—is that the paranormal energy is so thick around the lake that it’s attracting every paranormal wackadoodle in the world. They can’t find the demon if they’re constantly fighting ghouls and goblins gone wild.”
“I’m to run support?” he asked.
“You can coordinate with me, but mostly I need you to handle Bruce. That’s Josh’s brother.” She held up her hand before he could object. “I know you’re a puppy yourself, but there isn’t anyone else. The others will be around to help if needed, but they can’t take out a nest of angry pixies if they’re babysitting a fairy werewolf.”
He nodded, though the idea of taking out a fairy nest made him sad. He knew that the little fae were usually a menace, but they were also just having fun. There had to be a way to work with the tiny fluffs of magic without killing them. But it was a losing battle. After all, cockroaches weren’t evil either, but that didn’t stop anyone from fumigating their house.
“Come on, Laddin. Don’t bail on me yet. Give me a chance to prove that there’s a place here for you.”
He nodded, because he’d been trained since birth to respect a powerful woman’s wishes, but she also had to respect his choice. “I’ll help out now, but after this, I need to go back to my family.”
“We’re family too, if you want us.”
He knew it was true, but he didn’t want to give up one family for another. He wasn’t built that way.
It didn’t take long for him to pack up. After all, he’d come here with nothing, not even his clothes. Before long he was on a short eight-hour drive to a pizza farm in a tiny town in Wisconsin. How did they farm pizza, anyway?
The signs along the road explained it—the place used its own locally sourced ingredients for its five-star pizza. Great. Except business must be crap since the owner, Mary, had rented out her entire home to the Wulf, Inc. crew.
There wasn’t time to ponder pizza farm economics as he pulled into a big barn designed for farm equipment but being used as a garage. He saw Nero’s car next to a Wulf, Inc. van that had seen better days. And it obviously hadn’t been washed since its time in the swamp, because boy, did that thing stink!
He got out as Wiz and Stratos, another member of the team, arrived. Like him, they turned up their noses at the stench from the van.
“What the hell is that?” Stratos demanded as she covered her nose with her tee.
Yordan—a big guy with a loud mouth and a fondness for putting them through calisthenics—pointed at Laddin. “That’s his problem. The new wolf is asleep in the back. He’s probably hungry and has to go potty, but don’t let him do that as a wolf. The first task is to get him to switch back to a human.”
Laddin nodded. He’d been briefed.
Bing hopped out of the other side of the van, his expression set in that same bland mask he’d had on the set. Laddin had been surprised to find out that his boss had also turned werewolf, but in the end they’d settled into the same trainee level. They’d both been yanked from their lives, had to learn how to live as a werewolf, and eventually they’d both have to decide what to do about it. “Listen up,” Nero boomed using his alpha voice. “We’ve found a way to kill the demon that’s poisoning Wisconsin. It’s a complicated maneuver, and there’s no room for new recruits. You all are here to help keep the nasties away while Josh and I do what needs to be done.”
Wiz folded his arms. “Have we found the demon that’s killing Wisconsin?”
Nero winced. “Not yet. We’ll report to Wulfric, tell him what we know, and he’ll decide how and where to use us.”
Josh’s head snapped up. “Wulfric as in the immortal founder of Wulf, Inc.? That—”
“Yes! That Wulfric. The one who only comes out when the world is about to end. So get your gear. Yordan and Bing are with me and Josh.” He gestured to his car. “Stratos and Wiz, follow behind. Let’s do what we’re here to do.”
The others did as they were told—all except Laddin, who stood there feeling very left out. Then Yordan, Bing’s trainer, slapped the keys to the van into his hand and gave him a hard look. “For the record, I’m against this. You don’t know shit about training a new recruit.”
It was 100 percent true, but Laddin had seen the Wulf, I
nc. assignment roster. Thanks to the demon, they were severely short on staff. “I’m the only option there is,” he said.
“Don’t baby him,” Yordan continued. “He may or may not know who he is and what has happened. Keep him in the cage unless he’s human.”
Laddin shook his head. “I’m not keeping him caged! Do you know how traumatizing that is?”
“Less traumatizing than getting your own throat ripped out. Believe me, I know.” And he did—just a few weeks ago, he’d lost control of Bing and nearly died in that exact way.
Which meant that Laddin had no room to argue. Instead, he ducked around Yordan to talk to Josh, who was already inside the car and buckling his seat belt. The guy looked both harassed and happy, which was a strange combination. His blond hair was mussed, his customary who-cares attitude seemed frayed, but whenever he looked at Nero, there was this intense burst of something from him. Lust? Love? It was hard to tell, but Laddin knew it was rooted in happiness. Because right then, the guy wore a sloppy smile on his face as he watched Nero climb into the driver’s seat.
Sadly, that smile faded the second Laddin knocked on the car window.
Josh was quick to lower the window, his expression neutral. “Don’t trust him, Laddin. He’s got a cruel edge.”
“Your brother?” Weren’t brothers supposed to be one for all and all for one? Or at least, not hate each other?
“Yes, my brother!”
Obviously it was different for these two. “Do you have any idea why he did it? What exactly—?”
“He did it because he has to ruin everything I have. That’s what he does. He sticks his nose into my life and destroys it.”
Laddin took a slight step back. “How does him becoming a werewolf destroy your life?”
Josh blew out an angry breath. “He’ll find a way. He always does.”
By that point Nero had settled into the driver’s seat. He reached out to squeeze Josh’s thigh. “He can’t ruin this. It’s not possible.”
Laddin watched as Josh’s expression softened. Then he covered Nero’s hand with his own. “He’ll try, though. I don’t know if it’s jealousy or just a neurotic need to be the best at everything. He had everything when we were kids. He was the big man in high school, my dad adored him, and even my sister looked up to him. But he still had to make sure I was shit.”
Nero shook his head. “He can’t make you anything—we already know who you are.”
Josh nodded as he looked to Laddin. “I sound crazy, but I’m not wrong. And we can’t afford to have him meddle in what we’re doing. That demon will destroy the planet if we don’t get this right.”
“He won’t interfere,” Laddin promised.
“Exactly,” Nero said in a distracted kind of way. “Laddin’s got this, right?”
“Of course I do,” he lied. “I’ve handled lots of brothers who eat fairy fruit and turn hairy.”
Nero turned his attention to Laddin and grinned. And wasn’t that a sight to see? Laddin didn’t think he’d ever seen the guy so happy before. “That’s what I thought,” Nero said. Then he shifted the car into Reverse and hit the gas. Laddin had no choice but to hop out of the way.
Seconds later the others followed Nero, leaving Laddin alone with the big van and the mysterious brother inside.
No time like the present.
He unlocked the van door and hauled it open. Sunlight streamed in from the barn opening and illuminated the mess inside. Trash and supplies littered the floor in a haphazard fashion that irritated his sense of order. But all that faded into nothing as he got a look at the wolf in the cage.
OMG, he was beautiful. At first all Laddin saw was the fur, a rich dark brown with a cherry-red undertone that seemed to glow in the sunshine. He wanted to sink his hands into it. But as he maneuvered around, he saw an animal resting on his side, his breath steady and even. But there was power in his form—thick muscles beneath the fur and sharp claws. And though the mouth was closed, Laddin had no trouble imagining the teeth inside the long, sweet muzzle.
“Hey, Bruce,” he said, his voice soft with awe. “Time to wake up, buddy.”
Unable to resist touching the creature, Laddin unlocked the cage and swung the door wide. Then he sat on the van floor and reached inside to stroke the wolf’s fur. It was as soft as it was magnificent. Laddin’s skin tingled where his fingers were buried in the ruff, and even though his arm was perilously close to the animal’s mouth, Laddin slipped his fingers beneath the shock collar someone had put around the thick neck.
“Come on, Bruce. Wake up.”
He shook Bruce’s ruff hard.
“I’m sure you need to talk about something. Like why you felt the need to eat fruit given to you by a dangerous fairy?”
A single eye slitted open. It was yellow with burned edges, like crème brûlée, which was Laddin’s favorite dessert. And it focused unerringly on him.
“We don’t have to talk about that right now,” Laddin said, pitching his voice to make it as soothing as possible. “Tell me about yourself. What do you do for a living? Josh ran out of here so fast, I didn’t get a chance to ask.”
There was a flicker of movement at Josh’s name, but Laddin had no idea if that was good or bad. Then the wolf bared his teeth while a low, rumbling growl shook his body.
“Don’t be like that. He’s your brother, you’re supposed to love each other. But tell you what. How about you switch back to being a human and I’ll listen to how he did you wrong, okay?”
Bruce lifted his head and shook it. Not in a denial, but in the way of a creature just waking up. Then he pushed up on his paws and tried to stand. Except the cage wasn’t quite big enough for him to rise to his full height, so he nosed forward, trying to get out.
“No-go, Bruce,” Laddin said. “You’ve got to change back to a human first.” Then he grabbed the wolf’s head and turned it so they were looking eye-to-eye. “Shift back to being human. Then you can do whatever you want.”
In response, the wolf raised his back leg and pissed all over the van. Some of it got Laddin, but he was quick on his feet as he jumped back.
“Ew! That was so not cool,” he said as he swiped at the splash on his jeans. But then he realized his mistake. While he was jumping backward, the wolf had leaped forward, out of his cage, to stand in the middle of the barn.
Damn, Bruce looked stunning in an intimidating way. He was a big wolf, larger even than Nero, and he stood there poised, his eyes taking in the entire place. Then he started leaning left and right on his paws as if testing out his weight and balance. He was figuring out how to manage a wolf body. Laddin smiled in recognition. After all, he’d done the same thing not so long ago.
“Fun, huh? It’s like you get to learn everything all over again, but you’re faster and stronger than ever before. Like toddler Thor or something.”
The wolf eyed him and bared his teeth.
“Bullshit,” he answered, though he didn’t know what he was responding to. “I’m your trainer, and you’re going to listen to me. Those are the rules, and frankly, this is not a safe place for you. You’ve been a wolf for long enough, Bruce. It’s time to change back to a human.”
The wolf turned his head away, and Laddin eyed the open barn door. Why hadn’t he thought to close the thing first?
“You need to stay inside, Bruce.”
Laddin knew he was in deep shit. If Bruce took off here, Laddin would have no way to control him. And without a human talking to him and reminding him who he was, Bruce was likely to remain a wolf forever. That wasn’t so bad a fate, except the human mind didn’t go quietly into oblivion. It asserted itself, it got angry, and that overwhelmed the wolf until the creature went crazy and killed everything in sight.
“Change back to who you are, Bruce. You’re a human man first, wolf second.” That wasn’t exactly the way Captain M had described it, but she wasn’t here.
Bruce ignored him. He started moving around, slowly at first, but quickly learning how to walk.
The guy was coordinated, that was for sure. It had taken Laddin hours to figure out the basics of walking without his back legs tripping him up.
“Come on, Bruce,” Laddin said. “Shift back.” Even he could hear the edge of panic creeping into his voice. “You’re my responsibility, and I really don’t want to screw up on my first mission.” Against his better judgment, he reached back into the van and picked up the remote for the shock collar. He didn’t want to use it. Hell, he didn’t want to touch it, but if he didn’t get the barn door closed, that was going to be the only way to keep Bruce in sight.
Meanwhile, the wolf began to trot. Not walking forward and back like he had been doing, but a trot that headed toward the back of the barn. Great. While Bruce went to the back, Laddin headed for the door. He could shut it while—
Shit! Some instincts were normal to all lupines, and Laddin knew how much fun it was to chase things—like him as he ran for the barn door.
Bruce pivoted and leaped forward. He moved with grace—at first—but then his front legs couldn’t keep up the pace. It was that whole arm/leg thing. The human mind forgot to use the arms while the back legs were still working, and that usually led to a nose in the dirt.
Yup. Nose plow. Laddin was ready. He jumped forward and grabbed the shock collar. Then he held Bruce’s head down in the dirt like Yordan had done to him not so long ago. It was a dominance move. Then again, even as a human, Yordan had had the muscles to take Laddin down.
Laddin, not so much.
It was like holding on to a bucking bronco, and a life in LA had no way prepared him for the spinning, twisting, biting nightmare that was wolf Bruce. Laddin’s arms were jerked nearly out of their sockets, and his wrist wasn’t going to be able to take the strain much longer. He’d grabbed on with one hand, but he managed to haul his arms together enough to latch on with his second. He kept waiting for Bruce’s body to betray him. The guy hadn’t learned how to move fully as a wolf yet. Shouldn’t he be face-planting about now?