And they had a lot.
The Scot, a redhead with a long, thick beard who was wearing a kilt, kept making suggestive comments to her. They didn’t bother Alice in the least. But they bothered her husband greatly. Brad had already punched the man twice, but the Scot kept going.
“Och, you like what you see?” he asked, his Scottish brogue strong as he caught her glancing in his direction. “I have that effect on the ladies.”
“Striker,” said the Goth, a man with long black hair with blue streaks in it. If she remembered right his name was Boomer or something close to it. “Her mate is going to beat the crap out of you if you keep pushing. You’ll end up with the Asshole of the Week award—again.”
Asshole of the Week Award?
She wanted to question what all that entailed, but she held back, enjoying the interplay too much to interrupt.
“Redheads make it all worth it,” said Striker, waggling his brows at her, making her laugh. His gaze whipped to Boomer. “Visited the zoo lately?”
“Eat me,” replied Boomer, lifting his middle finger in the air.
“Och, yer nae my type, kitty.”
The door to the room opened and Alice’s heart hammered in her ears as she spotted Mae there, being led in by a tall, toned, blond man. A man she’d seen briefly on campus the night she’d been taken. No introductions were necessary. Alice knew the man to be Corbin at once. The very man Mae had been scheduled to go on a blind date with before they’d both been captured.
She was up and out of the chair in record time, racing past Brad and at Mae. Squealing, Mae threw her arms out and the two collided, spinning in a circle, laughing and crying as they held one another. It took a bit for Alice to realize the room had fallen silent. She paused, still holding her best friend.
“Why are they all staring at us?” she asked.
Mae snorted. “Because they don’t know what to do when one woman cries, let alone two. For smart, powerful males, they’re pretty much rendered useless if a woman and tears are involved.”
Alice smiled. “They’re all adorable.”
Duke grunted and tugged at his black T-shirt that read Team Edward of all things. “I’m not fucking adorable.”
Mae laughed. “Oh, Duke, you totally are.”
He groaned and then glanced at the floor, mumbling something about women and how they shouldn’t be allowed in headquarters. No one paid him any mind.
Brad moved forward and extended his hand to Corbin. “Glad to see you made it out alive. Thank you for protecting Mae.”
“No,” said Corbin, a British accent evident. “Thank you for what you did for my mate. You were there for her until I could reach her. Has James informed you of our findings?”
Brad nodded and then smiled down at Mae. “Looks like we’re family.”
The way he said it made Alice’s heart swell even more for the man. Her best friend and her husband were related and that tickled her beyond belief.
Mae beamed and tossed her arms around Brad, hugging him tight. She cried more, patting Brad as she righted herself. She glanced between Brad and Alice, wiped her cheeks and then spoke, “The two of you are mated?”
Alice nodded and Brad took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips and kissing it gently. “Yes. I did the unthinkable. I tied myself to one man for the rest of my life.”
Brad chuckled, taking her comment in good nature. “Don’t sound too thrilled.”
She wanted to run her hands all over his sexy body and have her way with him right then and there. She held back, although her inner harlot was on board with the idea as well. “You’re just lucky that I love you.”
Bending, he kissed her lips quickly. “Nah, that was a given. I told you I’m a ladies’ man. I’d have been more shocked if you didn’t fall for me instantly.”
“Oh please.” She rolled her eyes, making Mae laugh.
Brad took a deep breath and then put his forehead against Alice’s. “I love you too, baby.”
Mae squealed again and clapped. “Wait. You do know she’s totally hyper, has a wicked temper and is stubborn, right?”
“Redheads are totally worth it,” added Striker from the sidelines, making everyone laugh.
“So I’m learning,” replied Brad.
Corbin cleared his throat and the mood in the room grew somber. “Brad, my men filled me in over the phone on what you told them about your past dealings with PSI. They tell me you were recruited by Vepkhia.”
Alice watched as Brad’s posture went rigid. “Yes,” he said, his jaw tight. “So was my best friend Vic.”
Corbin glanced around the room and then cleared his throat. “We’ve had an issue with rogues that only came to light recently. I reached out to other teams within PSI and other divisions around the world, but Vepkhia hasn’t been heard from in nearly a year. It looks as though he went missing around the same time you and your friend did.”
“Did he sell Vic and me out?” demanded Brad.
Alice rubbed his arm, hoping to keep his wolf calm. She didn’t really want to see what would happen if he lost control in a room full of shifter males. There was so much alpha energy in the room as it was that she doubted it would end well.
Corbin shook his head. “Honestly, we don’t know. There was a time I’d have said no, but I can’t say that with any certainty now. What I can tell you is that his division of PSI got back to me and informed me that they have paperwork on file for both you and your friend. It appears that Vepkhia was legitimately bringing you on as Shadow Agents. We don’t know what happened after that or where he is. If he didn’t betray PSI and you, that would mean…”
“The Corporation killed him,” said Brad evenly.
“Correct.”
“I’m worried they killed Vic too.”
Corbin nodded. “As are we. We’re also concerned for two of our agents who were undercover at the facility.”
Alice gasped. “Ezra?”
“Yes, as well as Caesar. Both are good men and great agents. We haven’t been able to establish contact with either.”
A tall man with black, shoulder-length hair entered. He grinned and held out papers to Corbin. “Captain, General Newman sent these over.”
“Thank you, Malik.” Corbin took the papers and grinned before handing them to Brad. “It would appear that you were not only approved nearly a year ago to be a Shadow Agent, but you’ve been on the payroll all this time as well. Here is a list of the funds to date. There are details here on temporary housing offered to all operatives and everything else you need to know.”
Alice stiffened. “Wait. What does this all mean?”
Mae took her hand. “Alice, it means your husband and my husband work together. It also means you and Brad are starting a new life together.”
Alice smiled and then looked to her husband. “I’m finishing my schooling and getting my degree. I already know you’re going to worry about me. But James checked me and I don’t have bad guy lowjacking on me. And yours has been removed. I’m going back to classes.”
Corbin grunted.
Mae flashed a wide smile. “I’m having the same argument with mine too. Our men are very headstrong and protective.”
“They can suck it,” said Alice, crossing her arms under her breasts. “I worked really hard for that degree and I’m close to getting it. No bad guys are stopping me from my education.”
Striker lifted his hand. “I’d be happy to babysit them on campus.”
Duke stood. “You just want to go back to the campus because you got all those numbers from the hot little co-eds. You’re not fooling anyone, Striker.”
“Hey, two birds…” offered Striker. “Or one cock, lots of co-eds.”
Brad glanced over the paperwork before him and then faced Alice. “I promise you that we’ll make sure both of you can finish your schooling, but you need to let us all make sure you’re each safe first.”
Alice winked. “Of course, stud muffin.”
He groaned.
Mae laughed.
THE END
Dear Reader
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Mandy has included a FREE excerpt from her book Gabe’s Fortune (Prospect Springs Shifters for your enjoyment.
Copyright © 2016
New Frontier Territory, Prospect Springs, just outside the town of Cutter Grove
Gabriel MacSweeny surveyed his newest acquisition to the best of his ability considering it spanned a large area. It was cathartic to look out and over it all, even though dust was kicking up and threatening to burn his eyes. He’d been in worse weather. Hell, back in his days in the World Guard, he’d once had to hunker down for six days to ride out a dust storm that had claimed The Plains for nearly a week—paralyzing everything in its path. The state of things today was more a nuisance than anything. Though, he’d seen a few people walking around with bandanas over their mouths and noses.
Lightweights.
The dust made it slightly harder to appreciate his purchase. The sheer size of the purchase was more of an issue. Unless he found higher ground, he’d never see all of it at once. That pleased him greatly. Where there had been nothing more than hard, cracked earth and no vegetation as far as the eye was able to see, now rested train cars, wagons, horses and steel steeds. A band of misfits pulled together by circumstance.
His kind of people.
He wasn’t exactly normal, and while most of the people in his hometown knew as much, he didn’t advertise the news in his extensive travels. It wasn’t easy to predict what type of reception a supernatural would get within different boundaries of the New Frontier Territories. Some were welcoming of supernaturals. Others would just as soon see him dragged behind a horse than have him there among their women and children.
As if Gabriel would ever harm a woman or a child. He wasn’t that type of man. None of his family was, yet they all still hid in plain sight. They all tried their best to minimize the number of people who knew without a shadow of a doubt what they were.
Shapeshifters.
Men who had the ability to turn into animals. In the case of the MacSweenys, their family animal was a wolf—at least for the most part. Some were different animals, but most were wolves. And there was the addition of magik in some of the MacSweenys, such as Gabriel and his brothers.
From all Gabriel had been told of the world before the Great Sickness, supernaturals had never been welcome anywhere. Most people hadn’t even believed they were real back then.
Fools.
The old books, now locked away for preservation, spoke of a period before the Great Sickness, a time when the world was overpopulated. A time when mankind spent more time at war with each other than worrying about the planet and the damage they were doing to it. The result of their carelessness had been the Great Sickness—a product of pollution, technology and germ warfare—that had happened nearly seven hundred years ago.
Though no one was certain that was what had caused it all. Fear of a repeat of the mass deaths had some territories banning technologies. The penalties in those territories or areas were swift and severe. Often even death. Other areas openly welcomed technology and advancements. Gabriel felt a balance between the two was the best course of action, as his home boundary and town of Prospect Springs believed as well.
Pride welled as he looked over his purchase. This would be a way to hide in plain sight while still traveling—something he loved to do. Growing up in Prospect Springs, part of the New Frontier Territory, had been good. He couldn’t complain, but it had done little to satisfy the explorer in him. The young boy who had wanted to travel the world, meet others and experience everything he could.
He spun his cane around, still in a jovial mood. The silver from the wolf’s head on the top of his cane burned his skin, but he didn’t mind. He liked the bite of pain. It was a constant reminder of what he was. The cane wasn’t required for any purpose, other than in it was a sword he liked to keep on hand. One never knew what one would run into while traveling, and turning into a wolf wasn’t always the best option in a fight.
Sometimes, you had to distinguish when to fight like a man or a beast.
Gabriel ran his hand over his upper lip, considering re-growing the rather obnoxious mustache and goatee he’d only recently shaved. His brothers had ribbed him endlessly about his facial hair. They weren’t exactly clean-shaven, but they’d never had a goatee the length he’d allowed his to be.
Homesickness swept over him. Perched on the edge of Cutter’s Grove—a few day’s ride to Prospect Springs—Gabriel smiled, knowing he’d see his family soon enough. It had been far too long between visits home. He hadn’t told any of them about his new acquisition. They’d be shocked when they saw what he bought.
Gabriel soaked in the sights of his carnival. It amused him greatly. It was something more along the lines of a traveling circus. He could still remember attending carnivals when he was a young boy. His aunts and his mother would take all the boys to the edges of town, and for one magical night, their lives had been transformed. The MacSweenys had no longer been the oddities in the town. Freaks had poured in and relished the attention, drawing the focus to the carnival and from the MacSweeny boys.
Giving them all some welcome relief.
Not to mention the carnival’s arrival had meant Gabriel would be whisked away into a different type of world—one that felt like a living storybook, an adventure under canvas tents. It still held the same wonder for him now as it had when he was but a child. Though now he chose to be part of it.
To belong to something offbeat.
He wasn’t friendly with any of the carny folk yet. He’d only been introduced to a select few by the previous owner. The man who had sold him the entire carnival, including all the existing contracts with the workers and their pay notes, had been well beyond the point of retirement age. He, unlike Gabriel, was not immortal. Life had been hard and taken its toll upon the man. He’d smelled heavily of sickness, and Gabriel knew without being told why the man had been desperate to find his carnival a good owner.
Death was upon the man’s doorstep, and Gabriel knew the Reaper would arrive before the month’s end and claim its due. From what the man had confessed, the carnival had run into issues a few territories back, leaving three of their own dead at the hands of humanists—those who didn’t tolerate anything beyond pure humans and didn’t take kindly to supernaturals near them and theirs. The previous owner had tried hard to protect those who worked for him—his family, he’d called them—but his efforts had fallen short. When he’d learned Gabriel’s secret, he’d looked so relieved, offering him the carnival then and there, at a rate any smart man would have been stupid to refuse.
And Gabriel, while many things, was not a stupid man.
>
Gabriel had a stand-up reputation as a businessman, and while he’d never ventured into the business of carnivals or circuses before, he knew how to turn a profit in his endeavors. The old man had parted with the carnival for less than he should have. It wasn’t for lack of Gabriel trying to pay him a fair price. He’d simply refused to take all of what was offered to him. He’d gone on and on about how Gabriel would do right by his family, his people, and that he could die in peace knowing so.
As Gabriel looked around, he questioned if they’d be open and receptive to him—someone they believed to be human. For now, he’d let them think as much. It was easier that way. They’d be less on guard with him that way, even with the ugly events in their recent past. He, like the previous owner, had a strong sense that someone within the carnival had been part of the trouble—part of the reason three had died and nearly ten more had been hurt. Gabriel would ferret out the culprit, or culprits if that was the case, out and see to it they answered for their crimes.
He only hoped his suspicions were wrong. It was hard to believe any here would turn on the other, but the smell of humans among the carny folk rode the air. He didn’t automatically distrust humans, but he’d learned long ago they were as deadly, if not more so, than others like him. Plus, he knew some of the element that was attracted to the traveling lifestyle had sordid pasts—some were even criminals or con-artists.
He’d weed those out and judge them for himself. He’d honor the owner’s last wishes of keeping the carny family safe even if it was from themselves. He was a man of his word after all. Often, a man only had his word to hang his hat on.
Already, tents were popping up everywhere, dotting the horizon as the sights and sounds of people buzzed through the air. Pride continued to swell in him. He’d acted rashly, buying the carnival without putting too much thought behind it. But it had felt right.
Wolf's Surrender: Part of the Immortal Ops World (Shadow Agents / PSI-Ops Book 1) Page 11