Canadian Wolf (Paranormal Nocturne Romance)

by Linda O. Johnston

  “Yes, we’ve sent drones into the area, but those that haven’t disappeared have been retrieved with mechanical difficulties. We’re still not sure what caused the problems, though.” Owen moved his gaze around the table, trying to gauge the others’ reactions.

  They all appeared interested—some, like Tim, more than others.

  There was something in Selena’s look, though, that suggested she knew what he was driving at. The other Alpha Force members, too, seemed to be sitting straighter, anticipating what he would say next.

  “Anyway, here is the current situation. There has been another kidnapping—you might have anticipated that from what I said.” Nearly everyone in the group nodded.

  “Who is it?” asked Andrea Willburn, perhaps the first time she had talked since the meeting started. She might be of particular use to finding a solution, considering she shifted into a falcon and could potentially do a flyover—but Owen hadn’t gotten there yet.

  “It’s the wife of Rene Brodheureux, the founder and chief executive officer of Xanogistics. Her name is Berte, and she went missing three days ago. Mr. Brodheureux has already received a ransom note via electronics—one of the programs his company developed, by the way, and even so, they can’t trace the source. If he doesn’t come up with fifty million Canadian dollars within five more days, Berte will be executed.”

  * * *

  Xanogistics. Selena believed that everyone who had a computer, tablet or smartphone had heard of the Canadian company. It was in some ways that country’s equivalent of Microsoft, known for a variety of consumer-friendly programs.

  Xanogistics was so well-known, so successful, that Selena had no doubt its CEO had nearly unlimited resources. He could afford to pay to save his wife.

  But he shouldn’t have to do that.

  Not if there was anything she, or the rest of Alpha Force, could do about it.

  “I’m going to guess that the RCMP, or at least those in charge of the Canada Alphas, believe that wildlife can get in and surveil the area where technology can’t,” she said, looking straight at Owen.

  His eyes lit up, and the grin he aimed her way almost caressed her—not anything sexual, she told herself. Certainly not with everyone around. But his look showed a touch of admiration that she’d correctly guessed where he was heading. Or was she just projecting that?

  Still, she found herself basking in the gaze as he exclaimed, “Bingo! That’s exactly it. The area we suspect supports a lot of different kinds of wild creatures—and they just happen to include wolves and falcons.”

  “That’ll be us, then.” Selena glanced to her right as Sal Emarra, who’d spoken, stood and clapped his hands. The young man gazed at his fellow CAs and they all rose and smiled at one another.

  Selena glanced at Owen. He was scowling, and his expression wasn’t unanticipated.

  What he had described was far from a game.

  But he said nothing to challenge his CAs’ attitudes. Maybe he figured that allowing them to react this way only encouraged them to perform as he needed them to.

  Nor did Selena want to spoil their premature celebration by reminding them that their assistance wasn’t possible yet. They needed instruction by Alpha Force—and, most important, access to the very special elixir that allowed shifters to choose when they shifted and to keep their human awareness.

  Otherwise, if this group simply showed up in the remote area where the abductors were thought to be, they’d have to do so during a full moon, which wouldn’t occur for another couple of weeks—beyond the date the ransom had to be paid.

  Presumably Rene Brodheureux would have paid to rescue his wife by then, assuming she was still alive.

  Plus, the shifters would simply act like any other wolves or falcons in the area—roaming wildly without searching for a way to help any kidnap victim, with no human understanding of who they were or why they were there.

  Or, worse, they would be no better than the aircraft sent to learn what was going on and would be unsuccessful, discovered and potentially taken out. So far, the RCMP apparently had no idea how many suspects there were, how well armed they might be and whether they considered themselves hunters.

  Sure, the shifted animals sent in would be equipped with some highly special, new-generation video cameras that should not be jammable like the other equipment that had been tried, but those wearing it would need to recognize where to aim them—which meant the Alpha Force elixir and assistance.

  She shot a glance toward her fellow Alpha Force members. Judging by the way they sat unmoving, except for trading glances at one another, their minds were on a similar wavelength.

  Owen finally replied to Sal, but it wasn’t the criticism she figured he felt. “Yes, we hope it will be you—all four of you. But in some ways a very different kind of you. What we need is not simply for wild wolves and a falcon to converge on the place sometime. We need shifters who know what they are and what they need to accomplish there.”

  “Like you guys?” This time it was Craig talking. He looked at Selena first, then the other Alpha Force members. “You can do that, can’t you? That’s what we were told.”

  Selena smiled, but she let Patrick reply. “Yes, we can do that, thanks to our amazing elixir. And it’ll let you do it, too.”

  “That’s fantastic!” Sal exclaimed.

  “Yes, it is,” Rainey said. “Even just to watch.”

  Selena was aware that Rainey loved Alpha Force. She even admitted to Selena that she’d once hoped the elixir would help regular humans shift, but she was happy enough, since it didn’t, just to work with shapeshifters. And Selena was happy to have her.

  “Since we now know that acting fast is crucial—” she looked at Owen, who gave a slight nod of his head, as if he knew just what she was going to say “—I think it’s time for us to give our new protégés a demonstration of what Alpha Force is all about.”

  “You’re reading my mind,” Owen said. Selena couldn’t help thinking about the last time she shifted to prove to Owen and his superior officer that she was, indeed, a shapeshifter.

  This time, there were men around who could give an even better demo to Owen and his fellow male CAs, while Selena could show Andrea how it was done.

  No need for any sexual implications or awareness that way.

  But as Selena continued to observe Owen, his small, cocky grin, which disappeared nearly immediately, told her that he, too, must be thinking about humans going nude before a shift.

  In a way, Selena regretted that this time, now that she knew Owen better, she was unlikely to have an opportunity to tease him about what he wasn’t about to see.

  * * *

  A short while later, Selena watched as Owen strode out of the dining room behind Marshall and Jonas. She wondered what he was thinking. He was about to actually see a shift, but not hers.

  A pang of slight regret pulsed through her, and she ignored it.

  She turned back to regard the others remaining in the dining room with her. Patrick was still there, along with Rainey and the CAs plus Lupe, who woke at the sound of slight activity.

  Before the three men had left, Selena had stepped to a corner of the room with Patrick for a few minutes.

  Selena had first asked Patrick why the other Alpha Force shifters hadn’t brought their cover dogs, and he’d responded that they’d chosen not to in the interest of a speedy arrival, notwithstanding the delays they’d encountered thanks to some inclement weather. And there were logistical reasons, too—they didn’t have to prepare the dogs or select planes for transport that would be safe for them. Besides, the Alpha Force team here wouldn’t be around civilians much, especially not while shifted, so they wouldn’t need the cover provided by their look-alike canines in the event they were seen.

  Patrick had then given Selena instructions on what she was to do while Owen watched Marshall shift.

  “You’re our teacher,” he’d said. “Time to give this group a lesson on what to expect, especially when Marshall
returns to this room.”

  She had smiled, glad to know her special career skills were about to be put into use here. And now it was time.

  She glanced at Patrick, who nodded. His light brown eyes shone a bit and his mouth curved in a small, encouraging grin. If Selena read the expression correctly, he believed in her.

  She wouldn’t let him, or Alpha Force, down. Not now and not ever.

  “Hey, everyone,” she said, standing to get their attention. “I’m going to tell those of you who don’t know exactly what’s about to happen in the other room.”

  “You mean Marshall’s shapeshifting without a full moon and still knowing he’s also human?” asked Craig, who regarded her with his dark brows lowered quizzically. “Isn’t that what’s going on?”

  “That’s the summary,” Selena agreed. “And you’ll all experience it eventually, but it’s better if you have some detailed sense of the procedure.”

  “Then tell us,” Andrea said enthusiastically, a huge smile radiating beneath her prominent nose. “I can kind of imagine it, but you can tell us with the voice of experience.”

  Selena laughed. “You could say that.” She then looked at Tim, who regarded her with his small eyes wide, apparently also interested and not, fortunately, flirtatious this time.

  And then she looked at Sal. The kid had the biggest, most interested smile of all of them.

  “Okay,” she said. “Here it is. You probably know, or can guess a lot of it, but I’m going to describe what’ll happen moment by moment. That way, you’ll all know exactly what to expect when your time comes.”

  Too bad she didn’t have photos or even a chalkboard where she could draw illustrations, the way she had when actually teaching classes. But Alpha Force was such a covert military unit that any physical evidence of what it did, even temporary, was frowned on.

  It didn’t really matter. She just needed to describe it. They’d all see—and experience—what she explained to them soon.

  She started out by pointing to Lupe, who had lain back down on the floor. “You all may know that Lupe is my cover dog.” At her name, the dog rose and came over to Selena, who petted her. “Marshall’s cover dog is Zarlon. They didn’t bring him, but if they had you’d see right now what Marshall will look like when he returns to this room. And here’s how he’ll get that way now, during the day and with no full moon for another couple of weeks.”

  She described the steps of shapeshifting the Alpha Force way. The shifter’s aide, in charge of carrying the very special shifting elixir, would uncap the small bottle and hand it to the person they assisted. That person would drink it. Then the aide would grab the special, battery-operated light that resembled the illumination of a full moon when turned on and aim it toward the shifter.

  Then the shift would begin.

  “Do I have to describe a shift to any of you?” Selena asked as she looked from one CA to the next. Since they were all shifters, the answer had to be no.

  Instead, Sal asked, “What does the elixir taste like?” He looked concerned.

  “It can vary since it is always being researched and changed and improved,” Selena said. “Mostly, it’s mildly citrusy in flavor. Not bad, in any of the formulations I’ve ever tasted. How about you, Patrick?”

  He had been a member of Alpha Force longer than nearly anyone else. “I wouldn’t say I’d ever choose to drink the stuff just because it tastes good,” he said, “but I’ve always gotten it down just fine. Now how about telling them—”

  “About what happens once the shift is over? I was just getting there.” Selena smiled broadly. “This is one of the reasons I just love Alpha Force. And you’ll surely love your CA group even more once you’ve had access to the elixir.”

  Selena began talking briefly about how shifting had felt to her when she’d been younger and before she had even heard of the elixir and the discomfort while the shift had occurred. And how she’d transformed into full wolf form when it was over.

  “And now—now I’m fully aware of all that’s happened, all that’s around me, as if my mind is still human. But I’m completely in wolf form then. Plus, I have some control over how long I stay shifted. I can choose to shift back at any time, but otherwise the elixir will wear off, depending on the amount I drank, and I’ll shift back automatically. Either way, it’s wonderful.”

  “That sounds so amazing,” said Andrea, still grinning. “I can’t wait.”

  The door had just opened. Owen walked in first. “Amazing? Oh, yeah,” he said. Selena hesitated to meet his gaze. He had now seen not only the result of a shift, but also the shift itself. Was he disgusted?

  Would he despise her for what she was and how she got there?

  Instead, his expression seemed full of awe. But she couldn’t ask him any more now about what he thought, what he felt. And not just because of all the people around.

  As he strode through the door, he was swept aside by the large, shepherd-wolf form.

  “This,” Owen told the CAs, “is Marshall now. And how he got like this? Wow.”

  Chapter 8

  Wow wasn’t really a strong enough word for what he’d seen, Owen thought as he watched the CAs look over the canine who’d just entered the dining room with him. Jonas Truro edged up to Owen’s side. Owen was glad that Alpha Force had sent two doctors—shifter Patrick and nonshifter Jonas—just in case the shifting of his CAs led to some kind of medical issue.

  “You okay with all that?” Jonas asked him softly.

  “You mean the...shift? Yeah, I’m fine with it, though it’s like watching a sci-fi movie with special effects.” Really special effects. Owen didn’t look at Jonas as he talked. Instead, he watched Selena, who was speaking with his CAs.

  From what he had understood those years ago, the shifter who had married into his family had changed like this, yes, but under a full moon. And had turned wild—all wolf with no human characteristics.

  If his shift had been like this, into a calm canine, there would surely have been a different result—and his blood family member would undoubtedly have survived.

  Fortunately, the shifter and his wife had had no kids.

  And Owen hadn’t seen any shifting back then at all.

  “Now since you all are shifters,” Selena was saying, “I’m sure you’re not at all surprised that this is Marshall. But what you may be unfamiliar with is what I told you about before. I’m going to give him some instructions that a true canine wouldn’t understand—and neither would you while shifted.”

  Owen grasped what she was saying. But the vision of Marshall’s change from a naked man who grew fur while his body morphed into this form... Wow, he thought again.

  “Yeah, I remember the first time I saw a shift happen,” Jonas said to him.

  “Me, too,” said Rainey, who’d joined them. They were all standing at one end of the dining room by then, away from the table.

  “Sci-fi, weird, unbelievable,” Jonas continued. “All those thoughts went through my mind. I assume they’re going through yours, too.”

  “You could say that,” Owen agreed. And they weren’t the only things.

  His mind, as well as his gaze, was on Selena.

  He had no trouble visualizing her nude. In fact, he’d much too often ached to see her that way. And touch her. And...well, more.

  But she was a shifter. She periodically went through the change he had just seen. In fact, she’d done it in that closed-off room before they’d left Vancouver—unseen by him, but imagined just the same.

  And despite being amazed by what he had just seen, oddly enough he now hoped to watch Selena do the same thing.

  To see her without clothes—oh, yeah. But also to see her go through that incredible process that should be a complete turnoff, yet was somehow stimulating his curiosity. And more.

  “Lupe, you come here and lie down,” she told the dog she’d traveled with, and Lupe obeyed. Then she turned to the dog-man who’d just shifted and come into the room. “Okay, Marshal
l, let’s first do what regular dogs do. Sit.”

  Her voice intruding into his thoughts brought him back to reality. Odd reality, to be sure, but he focused on this room. On her.

  The canine before her sat. That didn’t surprise Owen, nor, apparently, any of the others who circled around him.

  “Now get up and slap Craig on his hip with your left front paw,” Selena directed.

  No regular dog would understand all that, although presumably one could have been trained to make that move on a specific command. Once again, Owen wasn’t surprised to see the dog obey.

  He again considered how different things might have been in his family if the Alpha Force elixir had been involved.

  “Next, I want you, Andrea, to tell Marshall to do something that ordinary dogs aren’t likely to understand.”

  “Great!” The only woman CA was smiling once more. “Let’s see.” She moved her slender body, clad in sweatshirt and jeans, near him. “Marshall, my phone is in my pocket. Can you sniff out which one?”

  The dog nodded, then raised his nose in the air. In moments, he approached Andrea’s right side and nuzzled her hip gently. She reached into the pocket on that side and drew out her phone.

  “Good job,” she said. “Now, I’m originally from Quebec and my area code is four-one-eight. Can you bark that out? I mean, first bark four times, then once, and then eight times.”

  Marshall obeyed and the CAs applauded.

  “This is so cool,” Sal exclaimed. “I can’t wait for us to try it.” He’d knelt on the floor near Marshall and then rose. “Can we do it today?” he asked Owen.

  “Tomorrow,” he responded. “Right?” He looked at Patrick.

  “That’ll work,” the captain agreed. “And once all you CAs have your first planned shift, we’ll really need to get down to work training you for your mission. This’ll probably be your last free evening for a while, so you might as well enjoy it.”

  “Can we party first, tonight?” Sal asked, looking hopefully toward Owen.

  “I thought you partied last night,” he responded.