by Ann Gimpel
Miranda dropped back fifty more paces where the tree cover was even thicker. Head cocked to one side, she listened intently. The car’s engine was still running, but the vehicle had come to a stop. Shrugging, she kicked off her shoes. Her feet would be cold, but she could live with that. The rattle of automatic weapon fire jarred her. She flattened herself against the dank ground. Christ, did The Company simply send assassins to finish me off?
Stop! Garen wouldn’t do that to me.
Deciding this qualified as the sort of emergency she could justify to Lucifer, Miranda dropped the guard she always kept over her wolf side. Usually, she stripped her clothes off first but didn’t think she could spare the time. She felt her spine lengthen and her limbs move under it. Thick, gray fur with black markings took the place of her skin and hair. Within less than a minute, her tailored suit lay in tatters on the damp earth.
She pushed her gun out of the way with a paw. She’d forgotten to engage the safety, but there wasn’t much she could do about it now. She growled low in the back of her throat. It was the wolf equivalent of laughter. As far as the wolf was concerned, the gun was nothing but a silly prop. She had teeth and claws and speed. Who needed guns when you had all those things?
Miranda stepped away from her torn clothing. Her lips skinned back, baring her fangs. She loved her wolf form. She’d spend more time in it if she could. She scanned the woods, senses on full alert. Above the smells of metal and gasoline and cordite, she smelled a man. Ted? Whoever it was hadn’t quit discharging automatic weapon rounds. Did that mean his assignment was to kill her? What about the mysterious target Garen had mentioned? Did it even exist?
No wonder he left so fast. Fucking pussy. Anger vied with outrage. Sadness wasn’t far behind. Had she truly meant so little to him?
Another spate of machine-gun fire split the air. She clamped her jaws together. Keeping down, belly almost scraping the ground, Miranda circled round. She wanted to see if it was Ted shooting and what his position was. For all she knew, their target had beat Ted to the draw.
Miranda rethought her strategy and went for speed. It didn’t matter who was shooting. The only thing that mattered was they wanted her dead. She was certain whoever was after her wouldn’t be expecting a wolf, so she streaked across the road sixty yards ahead of a Mercedes roadster and lost herself in the forest on the other side. Because the driver was facing the other way, it was likely he never even noticed her.
Panting, she dug her claws into soft dirt and came to a stop. She’d recognized the car. It belonged to Ted. Unless someone had killed him and stolen his car, he was the one shooting at her. A sick outrage pounded her. At least this explains why Garen made up that cock-and-bull story about pairing me with Ted.
None of them ever actually worked together. Murder was always an individual assignment. She’d assumed it was to protect The Company in case something went terribly wrong. That way there were no potential witnesses.
Was this what happened to agents she never saw again? Their co-workers were sent to annihilate them? If an operative somehow managed to beat his death sentence, did he move up the corporate ladder? Or would Garen simply keep sending people after her until one of them was successful? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get her mind around Garen wanting her dead. She resurrected the desperation of his lips on hers in the car. Men on the verge of killing someone didn’t kiss like that.
Miranda tried to think. That was the only downside to her wolf form. Her ability to reason wasn’t as strong as when she was human. The Company had sent her on many missions, but never against another employee. At least not that she knew about. She supposed it was possible, especially since The Company had many branch offices, she’d been deployed to kill one of their own a time or two and just not known about it. Hell, maybe every single one I killed worked for us. Except Roulan and his thugs. That thought disturbed her, so she pushed it aside. The implication of an entire business dedicated to killing off its own workers was just so bizarre she couldn’t fathom it.
She ran deeper into the trees, unsure what to do. If Ted would just get out of that damned car, she could jump him. She’d been listening and hadn’t heard his car door either open or close. Lucifer’s voice pounded in her head. “Daughter. You are lycan, but it is not yet dark.”
“They’re trying to kill me,” she protested. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Who would try to harm one of mine?” The voice was silky and seductive, but more gunfire nearly drowned out his words.
“Back to the road,” he growled after she could hear again. Lucifer’s rapidly shifting moods were legendary. “Unless you have developed some new skills, you’ll scarcely be able to defend yourself from where you stand.”
“Where are you?”
“Never mind about that. Just get moving.”
Tail twitching, she padded through the trees. She was closing on the road when the sound she’d been waiting for finally came. The snick of a car door. Pulling darkness about her, Miranda peered through the last of the tree cover. Ted stood next to his car half facing away from her, but she saw his profile clearly. Thick, brown hair fell to his shoulders. He was dressed in his usual western shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots. “Miranda,” he called once. Then again, louder. “Miranda, come on out. We can talk about this. I think you have something I want.”
What the hell is he up to? She stared at him from her vantage point, confused. She’d never bothered to talk with any of her victims before killing them. Judging the distance, she crept silently closer until a single spring would do it. Ted shouldered his gun and sprayed the woods with bullets. She knew she’d never get a better chance. The racket from his gun covered the noise she made as she leaped and knocked him into the dirt.
“Yes,” he shouted, trying to turn to look at her. “Goddamn it, Miranda. Bite me.”
Like hell I will, she thought, understanding why he’d called to her. She barked a harsh laugh. Lucifer was most clear on the rules: no more lycans unless he approved them. Bounty hunters had all but wiped them out before Lucifer had taken over and things changed.
There was an unholy scream when her teeth sank into Ted’s jugular, followed by a few shots when his dying fingers played over the trigger of the rifle sandwiched between his body and the ground. Miranda waited, tongue lolling, as the last of Ted’s life drained away into the earth.
If Lucifer were close, and he might be, she should offer him first feeding off her kill. She’d already broken one rule by shifting before full dark. She had no intention of breaking another. She clawed through Ted’s pockets, but didn’t find anything like orders. Leaving his body, she reared onto her hind legs and stared into the car. Nothing obvious in there, either. She’d need her human form to search.
Miranda had just reached for her human form when a black and gray wolf with silver eyes strode toward her. She let the transformation magic scatter, faced Lucifer as a wolf, and inclined her head as a sign of respect. She’d seen him before at shifter gatherings, but never up close like this. He smiled, powerful jaws slightly ajar. Coming close, he rubbed noses with her. “Nicely done,” he chortled, low in the back of his throat. He licked her muzzle and sudden heat flared between her back legs.
I can’t. What about Garen? Miranda moved a few inches away and inclined her head again. Lucifer closed and licked her nose one more time, making his intentions crystal clear. Then he came round behind her and licked her vulva. Sexual tension ratcheted to a nearly unbearable level.
What am I saving myself for? Garen and I can never be together. Besides, I’m not sure I can say no to Lucifer. As far as she knew, no female lycan had ever refused the alpha.
Lucifer’s tongue worked her vulva. Her muscles contracted. She wanted his cock inside her. Now. She dropped her head and squared her body on all four legs, twisting her tail aside to open a path for him.
Miranda was surprised by the sudden blaze of lust. She’d had sex with a few lycans, and they’d never made her so hot
she thought she’d die if she didn’t get them inside her. Human sex—the little she’d had with Garen—was far more complicated.
This was easy. She felt Lucifer’s big paws on her shoulders and his weight on her. His teeth closed over the juncture of neck and shoulder. When he slid inside, she thought she’d never felt anything quite so delicious, and a low, hungry whine escaped her. His jaws tightened on her shoulder; the pain made what was happening with her nether regions all the more intense. When her climax roared through her—and she came damned fast—she howled her joy to the forest. His guttural growls joined hers as his cock juddered deep within her body. The two of them stood, flanks heaving, for long moments as she came back into herself. It took a while for the swollen bulb at the base of his penis to shrink enough for them to separate.
After a time, he bent his muzzle and began to feed. She tried to join in, but he growled and snapped, so she knew this kill was not for her. The human part of her batted back irritation, but the wolf part understood. Lucifer was the pack leader, the alpha. He got whatever he wanted. No questions asked. Fading into the night shadows, she hunted. Each time she killed a small animal, the feel of living flesh and bone between her jaws excited her all over again, and she longed for Lucifer. Then she chided herself for foolishness. Chances of her ever even seeing him again outside of a gathering were unlikely.
Isn’t that just great? I found a man I love. I can’t have him. Now I found a wolf I’d like to get to know better, and I can’t have him, either. Goddammit!
The journey back to town required planning. Lucifer was long gone when she returned to the scraps of her clothing and determined they were beyond salvage. That meant she’d be naked when she regained her human form. Not good. She ran through the last hours of the night, a dark streak in the gloom. Like all lycans, she had the ability to cloak her presence so long as it remained dark. Moonlight would have thrown a monkey wrench into things, but the night remained blessedly overcast and lessened her risk of discovery. Approaching her building through a deserted alleyway, she probably gave a couple of drunks heart attacks. She heard them chittering to one another about the wolf as they raced to get away from her. After they sobered up—if they ever did—they’d likely chalk her up to a particularly bad case of d.t.’s.
Dawn caught her creeping into her apartment. Past the alleyway, she vaulted over the fence that surrounded her small patio, shifted, and dragged her tired human body inside and into a hot shower. Nursing a cup of instant coffee, Miranda tried to decide if she should simply show up at her desk at nine like she always did—unless she was off on assignment. She was feeling a touch remorseful about Ted and wondered what Garen’s reaction would be to her report. She rolled her eyes. She could just envision the conversation. Yeah, boss. You see, he was shooting at me, and I, uh, killed him. Never did get to the target you didn’t tell me about…
Laughing wryly, she reminded herself there really were no friends in her particular line of work. Or anywhere else. She couldn’t have human friends because of what she was. Lycan friends seemed out of the question, mostly since she only saw others like herself at the annual gathering and had no idea what any of them looked like in their human form. Besides, they had to hide their shifted sides. To be open about them meant death. Miranda smiled sadly to herself. Not really human. Not really a wolf. No place to call my own.
That decided it. Before she could sink into a morass of self-pity, she dried her hair, pulled on a long, wool dress, and caught a cab to work. When she got to her desk, there was a note from Garen telling her to come to his office immediately. Miranda blanched. Shit. Was the whole charade just going to start all over again? This was nothing like she expected. If she’d passed The Company’s final test, wouldn’t Garen have contacted her at home or by cell phone or something?
Yeah, right. Or had champagne delivered. Rein it in, sweetie.
Maybe coming in had been a mistake after all. She stared at Garen’s note, handwritten on vellum in his strong hand. Maybe that’s all just company myth about them calling you on your cell. After all, I’ve never actually known when anyone else was slated for their final test.
Suddenly wary, she considered simply walking out of the building and taking her chances. Calling on her wolf senses, she tried to puzzle out what to do. It was early yet. Even Garen wouldn’t be expecting her for another half hour or so.
“You should go meet him, Daughter.” The voice in her head was faint but clear.
“Lucifer?” She glanced around, but her office was empty. Miranda felt foolish. Did I just hallucinate Lucifer’s voice?
“Whether I did or not, Garen’s still my boss, and I need to do what he says,” she muttered. Shoving her heavy hair out of her face, she stood and marched to her office door. Once through it, she headed for the private elevator toward the rear of the building, detouring back because she’d forgotten her key.
The elevator door opened smoothly, depositing her into the anteroom of Garen’s lush office. She looked about, curious. She’d never been invited to the inner sanctum before. It was paneled from floor to ceiling in carved walnut. Carpet so thick she sank into it cushioned her shoes. Ornate crystal candelabra shed a muted light. Because she was alone, she took the time to look closely at the wood carvings and smiled when she noticed their bacchanalian themes. Everyone was either fucking someone else or was the recipient of carnal pleasure.
Despite a futile attempt at self-control, the heat from last night in the forest licked at her, and moisture slicked her thighs. She was actually reaching for herself when she realized what she was doing and made herself sit in a nearby chair. Her thighs pressed tightly together didn’t help matters. She was just about to catch the elevator back down so she could duck into a restroom to take care of her little problem, when the door to the inner office opened, and Garen strode purposefully toward her. She got to her feet.
His brows were drawn together, and he looked serious. “I see you got my note.”
“Yes, sir.” Her arousal faded as she wondered what was going on. Did he still want her dead? Would she have to fight him? Maybe she was supposed to die last night, and he was simply going to finish her off. The wolf part of her liked the prospect of a brawl, and she had to force down a growl so he wouldn’t hear it. Another part of her, the part that wanted nothing more than to dive into the comfort of his arms, was devastated by the prospect of having to fight him.
She remembered a point one of her first Army drill sergeants had hammered home. There are no friends in espionage work. Trust no one. Miranda tugged the tattered remnants of her heart together and met Garen’s gaze.
“Report.”
She straightened her shoulders. “Ted tried to kill me. Um, actually he may have just been trying to lure me out of my hiding place with automatic weapon fire. When I outmaneuvered him and established the upper hand, he begged me to bite him.”
“And?” Garen raised an arched brow, creating a question mark.
“It’s against the rules. No more lycans without Lucifer’s permission.”
“Who’s Lucifer?”
Aha, so he’s just a wolf shifter and not a lycan…“The lycans’ alpha.”
She pushed straggling strands of hair out of her face and sucked in a deep breath. “You probably already know, but I killed Ted.”
“It’s exactly what you were supposed to do. He wasn’t one of us.” Garen’s expression hardened. “He told us he was, but he wasn’t, so he had to go.”
“He was my assignment yesterday?”
Garen nodded and grinned at her, but his eyes were cold. “Smart cookie. It’s one of the things I’ve always liked about you, Miss Miller.”
Something he said sank in. Understanding flickered. “The Company is all…those like us?”
He nodded, a damped-down smirk on his face. “Uh-huh. It’s not like we can advertise for shifters and werewolves, but there is, shall we say, a natural sorting process. I wasn’t even quite certain about you—until the night at the Index
cabin.”
Miranda eyed him speculatively. “What happens next?”
“You become a part of the inner circle, and whole new worlds will open. We hold incredible power. You have only begun to scratch the surface of what you can do.”
She was intrigued but wasn’t certain what to ask, so she remained silent.
He extracted a knife from one of his pockets. “Come closer.”
Miranda eyed the knife, unsure about Garen’s motives again. She shook her head, realizing how tired she was. “Why?”
“It’s necessary to create a blood bond. All fully vetted agents are bound to me—and to The Company—by blood.” His brows drew together. “When did you stop trusting me?”
“When you sent me out by myself yesterday without instructions.” Awk. I sound like a whiny ten-year-old.
“You’re not thinking. I couldn’t tell you I didn’t trust Ted. You needed to assess the situation on your own and make your own decisions. What if I’d been wrong about him? I’d have smeared an agent’s reputation for nothing and made it impossible for any of the rest of you to work with him.” Garen hesitated. “It’s sort of like going from enlisted man to officer in the service. The main difference is you need to think for yourself and bear the consequences for your decisions.”
“I understand. At least I think I do.”
He cocked his head to one side. “You’re still here, Miranda, so it appears I judged your capabilities well. Hold out your hand.” His voice was stern; he brandished the small blade and made a shallow cut in the meaty part of her thumb, then did the same thing to his own hand.
Once their blood mingled, he handed her a gauze square and some tape. “Go home and get some sleep,” he growled.
“What about San Ysidro?”
“Be back here at seventeen hundred. We’ll complete the final assignments then. The team pulls out tomorrow, and you’ll need to be sharper than you are at the moment.”