The scent of blood stopped his wolf in its tracks. He looked around his mind finally assimilating he was near the clearing where he and Xavier had made love in what seemed like so many nights ago. Could it have really been only three?
His wolf stopped and set his nose to the ground. He walked slowly towards the scent and it became closer the more he moved toward the bubbling creek that only added to the beauty of the small opening within the forest. His wolf howled and Skylar allowed it. The body of the young female was too much of a shock for him to stop his wolf's cry. He shifted back into a human and knelt to feel for a pulse on her neck. One that he knew wouldn't be there as evidence by the bluish tinge of her lips. Claw marks marred what was once possibly a beautiful face and knife wounds too numerous to count marred her body, the water that surrounded her was stained red with her blood.
Skylar hated to leave her, but good sense overtook his need to protect that which needed protection no longer. He allowed the change to take him once more and he raced to Aspen's home. Hopefully his own home when he solved this case making it safe again for her. Because despite the killer's fondness for human females, Skylar couldn't help but remember seeing Aspen's lifeless face in his dream. His wolf growled at that image and Skylar focused his mind on the task at hand. He barely gave thought to the change when he stepped on the porch and through the front door. His fingers were dialing before he could even assimilate what he was doing.
"This is Wesley."
"Wesley, I need you at the pride immediately. I've found another body."
"I'm on my way. Just for your information, Daphne will be joining us."
He didn't even get a chance to ask who Daphne was before Wesley hung up.
His need to see his mates took him to their now shared bedroom. They'd shared the same space with less than a kiss here and there for the past few days. What little time he spent with them ensured Skylar's continued sanity.
Skylar released his breath when he found them cuddled together on the bed. Aspen's dark hair spilled lovingly over the pillow and her face nuzzled into Xavier's chest. They were safe from harm.
Aspen sighed and her body stretched. As much as he wanted to stay and see her expose every inch of her beautiful body, he couldn't risk what he'd do. The thought of losing her--losing either one of them was almost more than he could bear. He wanted them, wanted to take them both. He needed to know they still lived. But, she wasn't ready for that. He shook his head and forced himself to walk away. He had a crime scene to process.
He quickly slipped on a pair of sweats and walked to Caleb's house. This was pride lands and Caleb deserved to know that something of this nature had happened so close. Despite not belonging to a pack or a pride during his life, Skylar understood that Caleb's job was important. Caleb was responsible for all the members of his pride, and should the roles have been reversed he'd want to know had something so terrible happened.
A disheveled Miranda answered the door, her curly brown hair mussed from sleep. Her brown eyes softened and she smiled when she looked at him.
"Hi, Skylar."
Her smile died and her eyes turned worried. He hated making a pregnant female worry.
"What's wrong, Skylar? Is it Aspen?"
Skylar's wolf howled inside his mind at the thought of something happening to Aspen.
"No, she's still sleeping with Xavier. I need to speak with Caleb."
Miranda sighed and nodded. She stepped back and waved him in.
"Miranda, who's at the door?"
Caleb walked into the living room and his eyebrows rose.
"I'm sorry to disturb you two, but we have a situation."
Caleb nodded and walked to his wife. "Sweetheart, why don't you go and take a shower. I'll handle this."
Miranda's cute and innocent face turned almost feral--if a mouse could be feral--and she actually hissed.
"Caleb Anderson I may be pregnant but that doesn't mean-"
Miranda clasped her hands over her mouth, her reddened face paling. She took off at a run and Caleb shook his head.
"Never thought I'd be grateful for morning sickness. Now, what were you saying?"
Skylar looked down the hall and cringed at the sound of retching. He watched as a look of indecision crossed Caleb's face, his need to be with his mate while she suffered, yet protect her from whatever it was Skylar had to say warred within the male.
"Get on with it Skylar," Caleb snapped.
Skylar forced his wolf to not take offence. The man was obviously torn between his decisions.
"There's been a murder. A female, young, possibly mid to early twenties in the clearing within the woods on pride land. I've contacted Wesley and they should be here soon. I need to go process the scene, so if you could direct Wesley when he gets here."
Caleb nodded. "I understand. Was it-"
"It was a human, but all the signs that it was a shifter killing are there."
Caleb's mouth pressed into a grim line. Skylar turned and left. He needed to get to the bottom of this.
***
Skylar didn't want to go back to the body. Instead he wanted to crawl into bed beside his mates, but the vision of Aspen lying dead, her lifeless grey eyes staring at him and accusing him of failing her forced his feet to keep moving. All too soon he stood at the edge of the clearing.
He didn't understand why this crime scene was so different. He'd processed hundreds, possibly thousands without batting an eye. Hell, he'd been trained to do so from childhood. Sure he'd always suffered ill effects from taking a life when that person was deemed guilty in the Council's eyes, but nothing a couple days off the grid couldn't handle. Other agents reported the same feelings and they were assured that this was normal and when killing no longer became an emotional ordeal then it was time to quit.
Skylar sighed and transformed back into his wolf form allowing his wolf's senses to take in the crime scene. He forced his human side to allow his wolf free reign. His wolf scented the body first, the scent of blood overwhelming. Then the scents separated and filtered his wolf whining at the scent of female and the lingering scent of fear. Her fear.
His wolf growled when the odor of arousal filtered through his nostrils. The sick fuck had enjoyed, on an entirely disgusting level, his victim's torture. Skylar faded deeper into the background of his wolf's mind, becoming nothing more than the operator of a wolf's body. He had to distance himself. He couldn't dwell on the dark hair that floated in the bubbling water of the creek, or the lifeless grey eyes that stared at nothing. Moments of a dream--no, a nightmare--best forgotten flashed through his mind. Skylar stamped them down and fought for control. He had a crime scene to process.
Time ceased to exist as he allowed his wolf to go over every inch of the scene. No blade of grass missed his nose as he spread his focus from the body to the outlying areas. He paused his wolf growling as a familiar scent caught his attention. It couldn't be.
"Well, I'll be damned. This pride just keeps getting weirder and weirder."
Skylar lifted his head and growled at the red-haired female who stood regarding him with barely concealed amusement.
"This is Daphne," Wesley said when he came behind the red-haired female.
Daphne. He sniffed her direction then went back to sorting through the crime scene. She was a wolf.
Silence reigned until he was finished and changed back into his human form. Wesley offered him the sweat pants he'd left at the edge of the clearing and he took them gratefully.
"What'd you sniff out?" Wesley asked.
Daphne turned and pointed to the body. "She looks oddly familiar."
Skylar chose to ignore Daphne and turned to Wesley.
"We are definitely dealing with a serial killer, but the biggest problem is that this serial killer is a shifter who is targeting humans."
"And quite the sick son-of-a-bitch," Daphne said when she knelt beside the body. Despite her tone of nonchalance her face told a different story. Disgust was etched on her features.
> "How are we going to do this? I mean, she's human and we'll have to report that we found the body. But how do we keep it secret?"
Wesley and Daphne both stared at him. He hated this part.
"We collect as much evidence as we can--off the human record--then alter the evidence so that it appears she was the unfortunate victim of a rabid animal or an unfortunate accident."
Daphne gasped.
"That's so not right."
Skylar growled his hard earned control slipping. Did she think this easy? Day in and day out meting justice to those who would maim, torture, and kill for no reason took its toll on a man.
"Can you think of any other way?"
Daphne took a step back and Wesley stepped forward. "Calm yourself."
Skylar shook his head. Caleb and Zackary walked into the clearing. Skylar needed to calm down before he lost control. It was what had happened last time he'd been forced to kill. He was starting to believe he liked it.
"Skylar, I believe you've met Zackary," Caleb said.
Skylar nodded.
"I need Xavier," he barked out.
Zackary regarded him with hazel eyes that seemed to search his soul.
"I'll go get him," he volunteered.
Skylar nodded. Memories and the nightmare he'd had swirled in his mind. How was it possible that this man was alive? He'd killed him. Ripped out his throat. He'd tracked him for months and when he arrived too late, the female already dead he'd done his job. He’d killed the one who'd cruelly ended another life. But who was he to judge? What gave him that right?
His vision blurred and he turned to keep any present from knowing he had a weakness. The past swirled in his mind, his guardian teaching him ways to hunt, ways to kill, and ways to protect the mate he'd eventually have.
"Get up."
His whole body hurt from the punishing exercises. Skylar lay prone on the ground his breath stirring the blades of grass beside his face. Didn't his father realize that he couldn't get up?
"Get up."
Skylar groaned and moved slowly to his feet, but he never got there. Boots kicked him ruthlessly in the side and he fell over panting.
"Your enemy won't give you a second chance. You'll be dead."
Not for the first time Skylar wished his father would just do normal things with him, like running in the woods or throwing a ball. It was normal for an eight year old to want those things, right?
"Get up, Skylar. That's enough for today. Go wash and come to supper."
Skylar nodded unsure if he could keep the tears streaming down his face from his father. He didn't like the training sessions, because his father always had an intensity that often scared him. Skylar waited for his father's footsteps to fade before struggling to his feet. He ran and showered every muscle protesting any movement.
He sat at the table, the smell of whiskey already starting to saturate his father. It was like clockwork at his house. Training, supper and then his father got drunk and passed out.
"Eat up Skylar."
Skylar shoveled the food into his mouth his little belly so empty after the hour of training. But what was he training for?
"Dad, what is all the training for?"
His father took a swig of the coffee laced with whiskey and regarded him with wolf's eyes.
"You're going to be an agent one day, son."
Skylar nodded. It wasn't exactly what he dreamed to be when he grew up. He still wanted to be a racecar driver, but he didn't argue. He ate with his dad in silence and waited. He'd wondered for years about his mother. Wanted to know something about her, but there wasn't even and picture of her hanging in the house. His father's eyes glassed over and his posture relaxed. It was time. His father was drunk enough to answer questions but not drunk enough to pass out mid sentence.
"Dad, can you tell me about my mother?"
His father's eyes closed and for a moment Skylar thought he'd been wrong and he was drunker than he first appeared. But he answered his voice almost like gravel.
"I've been meaning to tell you, son, but I was hoping you were a little older. You were left on the council's doorsteps and I took you in. We don't know who your parents are."
Skylar sat in shock as his whole world crumbled. All that he'd known was a lie.
Chapter 12
Aspen woke stretching her body aching, wanting and needing. Three whole days since she'd told her mates that she needed, yet here she lay, unmolested and horny as hell. She shivered at the cool breeze to her back and frowned when she turned to find that Skylar wasn't there.
He'd been distant lately; the case he was working on was getting to him. She could tell it in the way that he disappeared throughout the night. Xavier had assured her that this was how Skylar's brain worked while he was on a case, but she wanted her Skylar back. The one she'd fallen in love with almost instantly.
Well, maybe not instantly. Months of watching him before she'd had the courage to approach him had endeared him to her. Then she'd spent an incredible night with him. She wouldn't dwell on the three months she'd spent lonely and confused. They each had a part of the blame to shoulder for that one.
Hands tightened their hold on her when she tried to scoot away and Aspen smiled. She still had Xavier. He'd rarely left her side since Skylar’d taken over the case. She settled into his side, the easy rise and fall of his chest told her he still slept. She ran her hands over his chest, the feel of his musculature only making her hotter.
She'd come to know Xavier in the three days they'd spent hoping for their mate to come back to them. And, though it was hard to believe loving two men at once, there was no denying that she loved Xavier as much as she loved Skylar. Her anger at Skylar had faded quickly and now the awkwardness of having two mates seemed almost laughable. She had two mates and her cougar purred at the thought of claiming them both. Hell, she allowed the purr to break forth because she couldn't wait to claim them for herself.
Aspen kissed Xavier's chest, then licked a line between his pectorals. Her purr deepened and she fought back a moan at the taste of her mate. And he was hers, hers and Skylar's. Eager for another taste, she slowly wiggled out of his arms and kissed each nipple before snaking her tongue out to taste each one.
He shifted in his sleep, but still didn't waken. Aspen smiled, her exploration becoming bolder when she kissed a trail down his abdomen to an impressive erection that tented the sheet. Aspen bit her lip and pulled the sheet down exposing his long, hard cock. Where Skylar's dick was thicker, with little to no curve, Xavier's was longer, a little less thick and had a curve that Aspen could only imagine would smooth over all the right places deep inside her. She looked up and wanted to cry when he stared down at her.
This was when he would stop her; tell her again that they needed time. She was sick of time. Aspen wanted him and she wanted him now.
"Aspen?"
His voice sounded strangled and Aspen decided not to give him a choice in the matter. He was her mate. She could taste all she wanted. She grasped his cock in her hand and wasted no time licking at the mushroom shaped head. She began to purr again as his flavor burst on her tongue. He tasted so good. So right. Aspen took him into her mouth, gliding her tongue over the bottom of his cock. She nearly protested when his hands tangled in her hair, thinking he'd pull her away. Make her stop. She smiled around his dick when he tugged her hair, his hips rising to feed more of him into her mouth.
"So, good baby."
Aspen continued to purr and using her free hand she cupped his balls rolling them gently between her hands. He plunged in and out of her mouth and she wanted to taste him spill in her mouth. She needed to see him lose control as he had with Skylar. But, he tugged pulling her off him and she cried out in frustration. She was pulled to lay on her back his face hovering inches from hers.
"Shh, baby, we aren't through yet."
Aspen smiled and opened her mouth instantly when he kissed her, his tongue snaking in to duel with hers. He broke the kiss too soon, but Aspen didn't c
omplain when he sucked at the flesh at the base of her throat. Her thighs fell open and he crawled between them, his cock settling at the seam of her pussy. Her hips jerked and she cried out when his cock bumped against her clit.
Unhurried he left her throat and sucked in the flesh at the top of her breast. It was torture. Pure and simple.
"Xavier, please I-"
The scraping of his canines against the swell of her breast halted her words. She wanted to beg him to take her but she couldn't find the willpower to say it when his teeth only needed to clamp on her flesh to claim her. Bite me became a mantra that resounded in her head, but no bite came.
Aspen whined when he moved, but she yelped and arched her back when he sucked a nipple into his mouth. She hissed at the pressure, her breasts more sensitive. He lightened his suction, reducing the pain and increasing her pleasure. Her hips moved restlessly against his cock, hoping, wanting and needing it to be inside of her. But she couldn't speak, not with the moans that she couldn't control. He took his time at each nipple, his tongue bathing each gently. Her breath came in pants and she could feel the wetness growing between her thighs.
Xavier stopped his ministrations and his face hovered over hers, his brown eyes holding her captive. He bent to her ear and sucked the ear lobe lightly nipping with his teeth.
"Aspen, are you sure?"
His whispered words were laced with need and she smiled. It was like Xavier to be concerned. He'd always been the most attentive. She loved him, so why wouldn't she be sure.
"I need, Xavier."
A hand cupped her cheek, his brown eyes now glowed his restraint obvious.
"I know, sweetheart, but you've got to be sure. I can't lose you."
Aspen nodded. "You never will."
He bent and nipped at her shoulder and she was disappointed when he didn't break the skin. But her disappointment turned to anticipation when his cock head lodged into the entrance of her sheath. Her whole body stilled waiting for him to join them. She waited for him to take her like she'd needed since they'd met. Had it only been a mere five days ago that he'd held her in his lap when she went to the emergency room? It seemed as though she'd waited a lifetime for this moment, and in a way she had. She'd been waiting for her mate--no mates.
Astrid Cielo Page 9