by Kimber White
“You’re welcome,” I said. “I don’t think Rick’ll be giving you any more shit for a while.”
Her eyes flashed with fury. In the sunlight, I saw them clearly for the first time. Her left eye was the purest ice blue. Her right, shining amber. Both of them glared hard at me as she pursed her lips.
“You’re late,” she said. “And if you ever do that again, I’ll kill you.”
Chapter Four
Ash
Loch Branson stared blankly at me. At least the testosterone in the atmosphere seemed to dissipate a little. I tried to push past the thrill I felt when I touched him. Christ. Being around so many shifters was starting to get to me. I’d just about had my fill.
Rick Morgan was my best mechanic. Everything I’d just said to him was bluster. I needed him to think I was just crazy enough to follow through. I needed all of them to think that. Firing the other three went a long way, but I couldn’t let my guard down. I couldn’t show even a sliver of weakness around these men. Ever.
“Grab your gear,” I said. “I’ll show you to your trailer. You’ll need to share with Rick and Stinky. Rick you’ve met. Congratulations, I can feel the chemistry between you already.”
Loch’s eyes got even wider. In the sunlight, they were the most unusual shade of brown I’d ever seen. Almost black around the pupil, they faded to gold at the rims.
“I think I’d maybe be better off sleeping in my truck.”
I shrugged. “Suit yourself. It gets cold as hell at night. Also, don’t worry. Rick’s bark is worse than his bite. Unfortunately, that’s not true of a lot of the rest of this crew.”
“Maybe you can tell me who to steer clear of,” Loch said. He reached through the window of his truck and pulled out a worn, army-green duffle. I found myself watching the athletic grace with which he moved. He wasn’t smooth like a tiger or a panther. He didn’t have the thunderous but sometimes clunky power of a bear. He sure didn’t have that aloof, watchful air of a wolf. Plus, any wolf who tried to show up here solo was liable to get his throat ripped out by another pack.
What the hell was he?
“This way,” I said. I led Loch to the very last trailer in the row. I supposed I should have let him off the hook a little about Rick. He rarely crashed here anymore since he’d started dating Shana. She ran the hardware store in town and lived above it. Rick pretty much lived with her now unless he needed to pull a double here or we had an emergency with the wash plant. I said a quick prayer that I hadn’t just jinxed us by thinking of it.
Loch opened the trailer door and stepped inside. His nose wrinkled and he put an arm over his mouth.
“Christ,” he said. “Lemme guess. That’s Stinky’s bunk in the corner. What the hell is he? Skunk shifter?”
“Badger,” I said. Loch looked at me like I’d grown a third eye.
“There’s…”
“Badger shifters. You didn’t know?” I said.
Loch reared back. “I’ve been around a while,” he said. “I knew. I just haven’t seen one in…er...a long time.”
I cocked my head to the side, regarding him. “Where are you from?” I asked. “We really didn’t have a chance to do a proper interview.” His accent was odd. He had Illinois plates on his truck, but he didn’t sound midwestern. With as many transplants as we had through Blackfoot, I had gotten pretty good at placing people. This guy, though. He almost sounded European.
“Here and there and everywhere,” he answered, smiling.
“Ah. You’re a nomad. Look, that’s fine with me. But, if you start here, I expect you to do your job and finish out the season. If you can’t, you need to know there won’t be work for you anywhere else in the Yukon.”
“Word gets around,” he said. “I get it. You can count on me. You said you wanted me on a rock truck. Just point the way. I’m late because I spent some time at the top of the hill so I could watch your operation for a little while. I can hit the ground running.”
I leaned against the door frame. Loch Branson was a damn sight to behold. He turned his back to me and found the footlocker beneath the stripped cot I’d pointed him to. He busied himself unfolding the bedding and tucking his fitted sheet around the mattress. He made the bed with such speed and sharp efficiency. Not a movement wasted. A rush went through me as he snapped the flat sheet next and tucked it in with military precision.
Military. Maybe that was it. It would make a certain amount of sense. Had he just gotten out? I’d worked with types like that before plenty. Lots of nomads in that bunch too, looking to find themselves and stay away from their real worlds for just a little longer.
When Loch turned and stood, I saw a new sadness in his eyes, as if something tortured him. Maybe I was right. My eyes went to his neckline, looking for the telltale dog tags he’d feel it was too soon to remove.
“Well,” I said. “If you can work the equipment with as much skill as you can make a bed, I think you’ll work out just fine. You should know though, the men in my crew are set in their ways.”
Loch took a step toward me. His eyes were kind, but a current ran through him. He was so damn hot. If I touched him, I knew his skin would burn. So maybe he was a wolf. Only, I’d never seen one with eyes like that. Plus, there was just no way he could have waltzed into Blackfoot without my mother’s ears perking up. Not a damn thing got by Lucia Yeager.
“I can handle shifters,” he said. There was just a slight drop to his tone when he said the word “shifters.” As if he set himself apart from them. It wasn’t so much bigotry, I sensed. There was respect in the way he said the word but...there was an otherness. Or maybe I was just losing my damn mind.
“Good,” I said. “Because you’ll need to.”
“Your father,” Loch said. “He’s somewhat of a legend in the Yukon.”
“Ah. So you came here looking for him?”
Loch’s eyes flickered as if he hadn’t expected the question. What the hell was I even still doing standing here? I should be out on the site. The fire with Rick was out for now, but the more time I gave him to talk behind my back, the more a new ember might flare.
“Sort of,” Lock answered. “I came here looking for work and word was, he’d be the one hiring.”
“Word from whom?” I felt instantly protective of my father. He pretty much built Blackfoot from nothing. He and my mother came here thirty years ago. Their mating and marriage had nearly ripped her pack in Michigan apart. The story had taken on a fairytale status with each retelling. As the only female wolf shifter of her generation, she was supposed to marry another Alpha wolf to cement her twin brother’s position as leader of his own pack. My mother was never really one to do what she was told though. But, falling for a tiger shifter in the middle of all that was taking rebellion to the extreme.
“Just around,” Loch said. “It’s kind of incredible what he’s built here. I didn’t know shifters could live like this without…”
“Without ripping each other’s throats out?” I said. “Well, there’s been plenty of that. But, my dad...well...let’s just say he’s very convincing. A natural born leader. Mom says if he weren’t a shifter he probably could have been president.”
“Still,” Loch said. He got a wistful look in his eyes. “I mean...is there more than one wolf pack out there? I’ve heard of a place in Michigan where…”
“Wild Lake,” I answered. “My mother’s pack is from there. And yes. We have three active packs up here in the Yukon. Just one in Blackfoot. I mean, my dad is good, but he’s not a miracle worker. There have been skirmishes between the packs here and there. But, as far as I know, no full-blown wars.”
“Truly incredible,” Loch said, uttering a phrase I’d never heard a miner use before. “Your mother. She’s a wolf shifter?”
Loch got even closer. I felt equal parts uncomfortable and drawn to him. It got a little hard to breathe. He was close enough to touch me. Loch’s hand hovered near my face. Finally, he gently pulled a lock of hair between his fingers, studying
it. The color was weird, I knew. A couple of years ago I went through a blonde phase. It was almost grown out now, but the ends were still a platinum contrast to my much darker roots.
“Yeah,” I answered. “For as much as you know about my dad, I’m surprised you didn’t know that. She’s from the McGraw pack. Like I said, Wild Lake. Her nephew...my cousin...he’s a pretty well-known Alpha.”
“Hmm…”
The heat from Loch’s breath seared me. Good God. My mouth actually watered. I felt a slow ache build from somewhere deep inside. I pulled back against the urge to slide my hands up his rock-solid chest. He would be so warm. So strong. So good.
Shit.
I took a clumsy step back. “Anyway. Like you said. You’ll need to hit the ground running. There’s no...uh...training program here at Little Sister. It’s trial by fire in Blackfoot.”
A slow, sultry smile spread across Loch’s face. Damn. He was fine to look at. “Trial by fire,” he said. “That’s my favorite kind.”
“Right. Head down to the cut. Stinky’s already down there. He’ll set you up. Do you think you can find your way?”
Still smiling, Loch let my hair fall against my shoulder. “I think I can track a badger well enough.”
“Right,” I repeated the word. This was pretty much the longest I’d ever spent alone in a room with one of my crew. I didn’t want to leave. It was magic. It was something. It was time for me to get the hell out of there.
I turned to go, but found I couldn’t. Not without asking. I looked over my shoulder at Loch. “You just asked a lot of questions about my family,” I said. Loch’s eyes widened. “And you managed to say nothing about yourself.”
“There’s nothing to tell,” he said.
“I’m trusting you,” I said. “Sticking my neck out, actually. Don’t make me regret it. I’m not a shifter, but that doesn’t mean I have no power.”
Loch’s face went still. A tiny vein jumped in his jaw. “What if I told you I think you might have more power than them all?”
It was almost a whisper. For a second, I wasn’t sure if he’d actually said it or if I just imagined it in my head. He had though. His words skittered along my spine, then drove that irresistible heat right through me.
“What are you?” I asked. “Tell me the truth. I need to know.”
“I’m just Loch,” he said.
“Give me a break. It’s just...you said yourself you’ve never been in a place like Blackfoot before. The shifters here...they get along, but it can be a fragile ecosystem. Best practice for you would be not to rock any boats. You know? Keep your head down. Your mouth shut.”
“I can do that.”
“Not so far,” I said. “That little pissing contest with Rick won’t earn you any brownie points with the crew. He’s a good man. He’s just...well...he’s just Rick. He also knows I can’t afford to lose him. That is...unless you’re some genius mechanic and you’re holding out on me.”
“I get by,” Loch said. He was infuriating and intoxicating all at once. I let out a breath. The only thing that mattered was whether he could drive a damn truck. I needed to let him get to it.
“See you around, Loch,” I said. “And watch yourself.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He was dangerous. I knew it with every cell in my body. I should tell him to just pack his shit and head on out. Bringing him on went against every better instinct I had. It was just, the darker ones felt sooo good when he was near.
I made a decision at that moment I wasn’t proud of. The minute I had a chance, I planned to look a lot harder at Loch Branson. I meant to find out exactly who he was and how he got here. It felt shady, but I told myself it was for the good of my crew. And for me.
I turned my back to him, still feeling the heat of his presence shooting up my back. Then, I forced myself to step out into the cold.
Chapter Five
Loch
It was good work at the Little Sister mine. Strong work. There was a rhythm to it I hadn’t realized I needed, and for the first time in months, years maybe, I felt some balance. I was up before dawn and behind the wheel of the powerful rock loader. Load after load I carried over the makeshift roads to the wash plant.
Stinky ended up being a pleasant enough guy to work with. He was respectful to the crew, and more importantly, to Ash. The younger guys she had out here seemed to know their place as well. It was the older ones who got my back up. After a few days, I learned a core half dozen of them had either come over from one of her father’s crews or her brother’s.
So there was a brother. This would be news to Avelina. She’d told me Clint Yeager was the last of his line. But, he had a son. It complicated things considerably.
“What’s he like?” I asked Stinky one afternoon as we broke for lunch. I ate a turkey sandwich, leaning against the front tire of my truck.
“Will?” Stinky ate like the damn badger he was, tearing into a chicken leg. I was fairly certain he ate half the bones.
“Yeah.”
Stinky shrugged. “Good dude. For a tiger.”
“Is he mated?” I asked.
Stinky raised a brow. He was a short, stocky fellow with shiny black hair. “Why, you looking?”
This got a round of chuckles from some of the rest of the guys. I kept my cool. “Just getting the lay of the land is all,” I said. “I know what it’s like around unmated Alphas.”
A silence dropped among them. I’d stepped in something. It wasn’t hard to guess. Blackfoot was unique, but there had to be fierce competition among them for mates in this close of quarters. The instant I thought it, I felt my dragon stir. Ash. She was the only daughter of likely the most powerful Alpha here excluding myself. Perhaps there were expectations.
“No,” Rick said. He and I had reached a bit of a truce. We steered clear of each other as much as possible.
“If you came here looking for a mate,” Stinky said, “You might as well move on and save yourself the trouble. Blackfoot’s a desert as far as that goes. Look around.”
As soon as he said it, Ash came out of her trailer. A mining inspector had ridden in about an hour ago. It was just a formality, but the crew was on heightened alert. One careless action, and Ash could face a hefty fine or worse.
I felt that familiar tightening in my jeans as I watched her. She had on her trademark flannel and a tank top. Her hair flew up in the breeze. Her posture was casual, her tone easy as she talked to the inspector and pointed in the distance.
“What the fuck are you, anyway?” Rick asked.
I took my last bite of lunch and cast my eyes downward. I had to be careful. If anyone here had a mind to watch me for too long, they’d see my Dragonfire flash.
“Midwestern,” I said. “Chicago.”
So much for our temporary truce. He flipped on a dime, and his bear bristled below the surface. He saw me watching Ash. I wondered why it mattered to him. Ash had said he’d been seeing a girl in town.
“I asked you a question,” Rick said, puffing his chest out.
“You trying to win a bet?” I asked.
It was the wrong thing to say. One moment, it had been a benign conversation among us. Now, damn near every member of the crew turned their attention to Rick and me. A murmur went through them all like a wave.
“Maybe,” Rick said. “You’re not a bear.”
“He’s no badger,” Stinky said.
I smiled. “You can tell by the lack of a stench, huh?”
I got the reaction I wanted from a few of the men. They laughed. But, Rick kept right on advancing.
“Back off, man,” I said.
“We need to know.” This came from Kincaid. Another truck driver in the crew.
“You need to know what?”
“You’re off,” Rick said. “Not wolf. Not bear. You ain’t no tiger. But, you’re something. Stinky thinks you’re a mage. Is that true?”
Fuck. I hated to admit when my mother was right, but she was. She’d pegged the danger in
my staying too long among this many shifters.
“I’m just Loch Branson,” I said. “It’s your shit that’s off. I’m not like any of you, so you can relax. I’m not here to get in your way. I’m here to work. If you don’t mind, I think it’s time we all get back to it.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ash turn toward us. She was still talking to the inspector, but she seemed to clearly know trouble was brewing. It didn’t surprise me. If she’d been around shifters her whole life, she knew how territorial they were.
“And I say,” Kincaid said, shoving past Rick, “it’s time you told us who the hell you are.”
Maybe a decade ago, this would have been fine. Kincaid was a wolf. Not even an Alpha. Even when he tried to shove me, it wasn’t much of a threat. But this wasn’t a decade ago. This was now. Just like that, the balance I’d managed to find tilted.
I shoved him back. I didn’t think it was hard, but Kincaid flew back about ten feet and landed on his ass. It was enough to stir Rick and two of the other drivers to a rage. Growling, they tore through the crowd and squared off with me.
Shit.
It came out of nowhere. It happened so fast.
My dragon rumbled. I kept my eyes focused on the ground. I couldn’t let them see.
“Fire,” Rick said. “I definitely smell fucking fire. You a witch? That your goddamn game? You think you’re gonna come in here and mess with shit?”
“I’m not a mage,” I said through clenched teeth. “And I’m warning you to back the fuck off.”
I could feel each vertebra in my back. One by one, they expanded. Flesh turned to scales. The ridges hardened where cartilage once was. My wings could rip through my shirt at any moment.
Kincaid and Stinky stood on either side of me. If I shifted here, my wings might punch right through them. I could cloak myself. I’d have to. But, that wouldn’t stop these few men from getting hurt. It would just keep them from knowing for sure what I was. And it would turn my mission here into a complete disaster.