by Laura Taylor
“Stand still,” Baron snapped, and Miller did so reflexively.
Caroline reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Brace yourself,” she said, and Miller was about to ask what exactly he should be bracing himself for, when a powerful shock of electricity hit him, knocking him to the floor. He moaned in pain, feeling like he’d just been kicked by a horse… and then he realised that the moan had come out as a whine. He tried to sit up, floundered about as his limbs weren’t working the way they usually did, and then he caught sight of his own front paws… and true panic set in. He leapt up, fell over, scrambled back until his body hit the wall, tried to stand and fell over again, all the while a pained whine coming from his throat.
“Sit still,” Baron said eventually, when he didn’t stop struggling. He crouched down at the front of the bars. “Sit still!” he said again, when Miller wasn’t quite able to overcome his shock. He had paws! And black fur, and a tail! He was a wolf! The whole world seemed to have tilted sideways. “Lie still and just breathe,” Baron instructed him firmly. “It’s an odd sensation, I know. But it’s a lot better if you go with it, instead of fighting it.”
Miller finally managed to lie still, breathing quickly, eyes wide in fear. And when his body didn’t do anything else unexpected, he dared to pay more attention to his new form, his legs feeling too thin and oddly short, his ears twitching at every slight sound in the room. “Now, sit up slowly,” Baron said. “Your legs work differently this way, so it’s going to feel a little odd.” Miller sat up, fidgeting a little until he found a comfortable position for his legs, trying to breathe slowly and evenly.
“Now, if you want to turn back into a human, you need to close your eyes and imagine the change in your mind. Your legs getting longer. Your paws turning into hands. You’ll feel a crackle of static electricity down your back. Don’t try to resist it. It won’t hurt you.”
Miller closed his eyes and concentrated, and then, in a jarring shift that held none of the smooth elegance of the ones he had seen in the others, his human body was back, sprawled on the floor as he couldn’t figure out how to hold himself up.
“Keep breathing,” Baron said wryly, when Miller felt another fit of panic coming on. “The first time is always the worst.”
Miller waited a moment until he had himself under control. “I’m a shifter,” he stated, still not quite able to believe it. He peered up at Baron, fear and amazement warring in his mind. “Now what?” he asked dumbly.
“Now you take a few minutes to realise that despite your best intentions, there is no way out of the war for you,” Baron said, levelling a sharp look his way. “And then you have another think about exactly whose side you’re on.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Three days later, Dee sat in the passenger seat as Silas pulled the van into the garage, waiting until he’d come to a stop and switched off the engine before unclipping her belt and reaching for the door handle-
“Not so fast,” Silas said before she could go anywhere. “You need to go and see Baron. I know you’ve had a long trip and all, but there have been a few… developments, since you left.”
“What sort of developments?” After her bold declaration that she knew the Council had been lying to her, there had been more than a few heartfelt conversations with the group, but as far as Dee knew, they’d managed to settle their differences and make some good progress on understanding the prophecy and helping her learn to communicate with Faeydir better. She was rather dismayed with the idea that they might have phoned ahead to warn Baron of some problem she was unaware of.
“The complicated sort,” Silas said, which really explained nothing at all. Then he said, “And get that sappy look off your face. You’re not in trouble.”
Dee couldn’t help but grin at that. Some things didn’t change. “Good to see you, too,” she said, with a wry but genuine warmth, then hopped out of the van and went to collect her bag.
Inside the manor, Baron was waiting for her, and she didn’t even get the chance to put her things away before she was whisked into the library for an urgent meeting.
“Let me start by saying that Skip’s fine,” Caroline announced, the instant Dee sat down, “so please don’t panic about anything else I’m about to tell you. We’re through the worst of it, but there are a few loose ends that still need to be tied up. And I’m sorry we didn’t call to tell you any of this before. We felt it more important that you focus on your training with the Council for the time being.”
“Okay,” Dee said, feeling baffled by the odd announcement… until Caroline explained the rest – Skip’s kidnapping, her injuries and the tense exercise in getting her medical treatment, and then she was grateful that Caroline had told her that Skip was fine right up front, as she detailed the serious infection that had developed as a result of her wound, requiring high doses of antibiotics and round-the-clock care for a day or two until she was out of the woods. Now, though, Skip was doing well, eating again, after she’d stopped for a while, and able to get out of bed for the first time since she’d come home.
But that wasn’t the most startling piece of news. When they told her that they had a Noturatii operative being held captive in the basement, she was surprised… but when they told her he was a shape shifter, she found herself utterly speechless. At once, she felt sick, and then triumphant. As a former captive of a Noturatii lab, she held a very specific grudge against the group, and the chance for a little payback was appealing… but after a moment’s consideration, she realised that she liked the idea of revenge a lot better than the thought of actually carrying it out. Torturing people was abhorrent; even more so, now that she’d lived through it herself.
“What are we doing with him?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
“Interrogating him. Or attempting to, at least,” Baron replied. “He’s given us a certain amount of information about the Noturatii, named particular staff members, detailed some operations, but there’s a lot he won’t tell us. He says he’s trying to protect old friends, and I, for one, have no time for that kind of misplaced loyalty. He claims to have left the Noturatii, but he’s far from willing to cut all ties with the group. So we have a favour to ask.” The statement was said in a grim, apologetic tone, and Dee groaned.
“You want me to separate him from his wolf?”
“I’m sorry. I know you don’t like doing it. But given his background, we were always expecting him to go rogue, and in the last twenty-four hours, he’s become more aggressive, and the wolf is getting antsy. I think it’s the best solution for everyone. And if the Council are setting up a wolf sanctuary in Romania, there’s no reason to kill the wolf as well.”
Dee sent a quick query to Faeydir, who replied with an easy yes, along with a wave of fury directed at Miller and the Noturatii. They had plenty to answer for, as far as Faeydir was concerned, not just Dee’s capture and torture, but also Tank, and Gabrielle, and the death of Eric and Nate, who had been killed in the raid in Scotland just a few weeks ago. “Faeydir’s fine with it,” Dee told Baron. “When do you want to do this?”
“Now, if that’s okay? We’ve got as much information out of him as I’m expecting to, and I’m getting sick of having to have two of my wolves guarding him twenty-four seven.”
Down in the basement, Dee braced herself before stepping into the cage room. Facing up to her enemy was nerve wracking, but more than that, she was trying to fight back the odd sense of satisfaction at the idea that she was finally getting the chance for a little revenge. She shouldn’t take pleasure in killing people, she reminded herself sharply, no matter how much harm they had caused her.
She stepped around the corner, seeing Tank and Andre guarding the man. She’d been told about Tank’s brief stint in the cage, and apparently he’d calmed down and apologised, promising Baron there would be no repeat of his earlier mistakes, and so he’d been allowed to re-join the rotating shifts of people performing guard duty.
“Hey, good to have you ba
ck,” Tank said, and he gave Dee a brief hug.
“Dee?” Miller said in surprise, when he saw her. “Good God, you’re still alive.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Dee said drily, but Miller shook his head.
“I’m glad you are.”
“Yeah, I’d heard you’d had a change of heart,” Dee said, just as sardonically as she’d said her first comment. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t start celebrating right away.” Miller didn’t look surprised by her scepticism.
Dee took a deep breath, and looked to Caroline for her next move. As she’d explained upstairs, Miller had to be in wolf form for her to remove his human side. She wasn’t sure how Caroline was going to arrange that, given that Dee had been told that they hadn’t told Miller what she was going to do. First of all, it would likely make him refuse to shift, but secondly, it would create unnecessary stress for him. Il Trosa was nothing if not compassionate, and while these sorts of events were sometimes necessary, they went to great lengths to minimise the anxiety they caused to those involved.
“Dee has a few unique abilities, and we’ve asked her to come down and assess your wolf,” Caroline explained to Miller. “There can be a few unusual side effects to the shifter magic, and it’s worth checking out exactly how they’re manifesting in you.”
Miller shrugged. “Sure. What do you need me to do?”
“She’ll need you to be in wolf form. Aside from that, you just need to stand there.”
Miller cooperatively stood up and shifted, his wolf large and black, standing in the centre of the cage. Without being told, everyone else in the room backed away, more than aware of the dangers of Dee’s potent magic.
Quickly, without giving herself time to think about it, Dee tuned in to Faeydir. The wolf reached out with her unique energy and felt for the two halves of Miller… and then sharply withdrew. Reached out again, in a different way, and then showed Dee an image in her mind – a pack of wolves running through a snow-covered forest… and then she added the black wolf into the pack.
No, Dee replied mentally. He’s Noturatii. He can’t join us.
Another set of images, ones that Dee had to work harder to interpret. A slobbering, rabid wolf, that faded out and disappeared. A human and a wolf superimposed on each other. A sense of grave solemnity and a firm refusal.
“Uh… could I see you outside?” Dee asked Caroline and Baron, feeling off-balance and uneasy.
“Is there a problem?” Caroline asked, and Dee nodded, and headed for the door. This was likely to be an odd conversation, and there was no way she wanted to have it in front of Miller.
The two alphas followed her out into the hall, Andre ducking out with them, and Caroline closed the door behind her so that Miller couldn’t overhear. “What’s going on?”
Dee floundered for an explanation for a moment. She checked in with Faeydir again, and received the same firm answer. “Faeydir is refusing to separate him,” she said finally. “In the past when we’ve done this, it was because the wolf was going rogue, or with the one from the Grey Watch, because she was trying to kill us. But Faeydir says Miller isn’t rogue. He’s merged with his wolf.” Dee herself currently wasn’t sure of the significance of the discovery, but after her time in Italy, she was more aware than ever of the importance of listening to Faeydir’s opinions, and knew that she no doubt had good reasons for her refusal now.
“I find that unlikely,” Baron said. “His wolf is becoming more aggressive. He’s restless, not able to control his shifts well. Those are the early signs of a wolf going rogue.”
“Or the signs of a shifter frustrated with extended captivity,” Dee pointed out, after receiving the same comment from Faeydir.
Caroline glanced at Baron uncertainly. “Okay, for argument’s sake, let’s assume you’re right, and he’s not going rogue. That doesn’t mean he’s not going to betray us to the Noturatii. If we keep him on the estate and train him as a shifter, we’re just giving him the chance to gather all our carefully guarded secrets and hand them straight over to our enemies. We can’t let him go and we can’t trust him, so putting him down is really the only option.”
Faeydir was listening carefully, and offered another wave of images and emotions to Dee at Caroline’s cold, but pragmatic assessment. “I’m not entirely sure why,” Dee said hesitantly, “but Faeydir’s fairly convinced he’s not a threat. I can’t quite understand everything she’s saying, but it seems to focus on the idea that if he’s merged with his wolf, then he’s not going to betray us.” Dee gave Caroline an awkward, apologetic look. “But either way, she’s refusing to separate him. You can still put him down, but it’s going to have to be the old fashioned way.”
“On what basis does she think he’s trustworthy?” Baron asked, but before Dee could answer, Andre interrupted.
“If I could offer a suggestion,” he said, “consider this. A Noturatii man wants to infiltrate Il Trosa and steal our secrets. So he comes to the Den, gets converted – accidentally or deliberately makes no difference, just for argument’s sake – and he goes about charming his way into our lives, knowing all the while that he’s going to go back one day and betray us all. From a human’s perspective, there’s nothing terribly complicated about the plan.
“But consider it from the wolf’s perspective. The newly born wolf has immediate and constant access to the human’s mind, is able to read his intentions, his desires, his hatred for the wolf. Now, I can well believe that a human would put up with becoming a shifter – for all that the Noturatii hate us, the human mind is nothing if not cunning, and they could well see it as a price worth paying for that kind of information. But I have a hard time believing any wolf would ever put up with that kind of deceit, and accept the human side of themselves under those circumstances.” Caroline and Baron were both listening closely, perplexed looks on their faces. “If that’s the case,” Andre went on, “then it’s an almost foolproof defence for us, because it means no Noturatii could ever successfully merge with a wolf. They’d all end up going rogue, no matter how many times they tried it.
“If what Dee says is true, and Miller can truly accept the wolf, and the wolf can accept him, then I would propose the idea that that in itself is concrete proof of his intention to leave the Noturatii.”
Baron looked rather surprised at Andre’s neat summary of the situation, a deep frown furrowing his forehead. “Are you seriously suggesting we keep him?”
Andre shook his head. “If I’m suggesting anything in particular, it’s only that we take some time to examine the situation a little more closely. To my knowledge, we’ve never had a Noturatii agent successfully infiltrate a Den before to the point of being converted. We’re in uncharted territory here. But you’d have to admit that Faeydir’s in a unique position to understand the merging better than anyone else, so I think her opinion should carry some weight.”
“Another question that’s worth asking,” Caroline said next, looking uneasy about the whole situation, “is even if Miller is serious about leaving the Noturatii, how did he manage to merge with the wolf? He’s had no training, he knows nothing about what to expect from suddenly becoming half canine. Most normal humans couldn’t manage that, never mind a man who’s spent years trying to kill us.”
Baron let out a heavy sigh. “Fuck. So all we really know is that we’ve got a shit load of questions, and probably shouldn’t do anything hasty.” He glanced around at each of them, looking unhappy. “Okay. Let’s give it a couple more days. If nothing else, we at least need to make sure he really has merged with the wolf. And in the meantime, we can speak to the Council. See if they can offer any insights into how all this might work.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
It was late afternoon, and Miller was feeling increasingly restless. At present, he was in wolf form, pacing back and forth in front of the cage bars, unable to work off the persistent agitation he’d been feeling all day.
Since the staggering realisation that he’d been converted into a sh
ape shifter, his mind had been working overtime. First of all he’d gone over the events that had caused his conversion; the storm, his insistence that he accompany Skip, that chance lightning strike that had altered his life so dramatically.
And then he’d contemplated the implications for his future. Even if the shifters decided not to kill him, he knew they would never let him go. His vague plans to leave the country were now impossible, as the wolves were no doubt even more strict about deserters than the Noturatii were.
But for all that he couldn’t imagine ever having chosen this path for himself, he found that he wasn’t too upset about it either. He’d already known his life would never be the same, once he’d decided to leave the Noturatii. Wherever he ended up, he would have spent the rest of his years looking over his shoulder, always wondering if today was the day when one of the Noturatii’s assassins would finally catch up with him. At least this way he knew the score right up front, and if the shifters eventually accepted him, he’d have a reliable team of warriors behind him to help him fight for his own survival. All things considered, it could have ended up a lot worse.
Once he’d got over the shock of it all, he’d started to try to figure out his wolf side. Fitting himself into his new body was a strange experience. He hadn’t been able to look at himself in a mirror, but by his own estimation, his wolf seemed fairly large. He’d spent a good half an hour just examining his own body, his thick, black fur, his legs, his tail, the odd sensation of walking on four legs, instead of two. Physically, he felt stronger than ever, the raw power of his canine body coming as a welcome surprise. Now that he knew the cause of that vague discomfort, the odd feeling that parts of his body didn’t work the way they should, he’d become a lot more relaxed about it. He wasn’t ill. His mind wasn’t playing tricks on him.