Snow Slash: Crimson Hunter Book 1

by Fran Tullo

  She snorted and hopped onto her bike, revving the engine. "You gonna 'escort' me, or am I gonna make you look bad by beating you there, mutt?" she teased while peeling out between them and laughing as she heard them curse to catch up with her.

  They ended up reaching the Permafrost Earth's den at about the same time, and Lexi was laughing as she parked her motorcycle next to Jace's and hopped off. They clasped forearms for a moment before he turned and offered her his arm, motioning to the largest building near the center of the enclosed town. "Our Elder awaits, as much fun as that was." The laughter was still in Jace’s voice, but there was a note of wry respect as well. Lexi snorted but took his arm.

  She startled when Braydon stepped up to her opposite side to take her other arm. Part of her balked; wanting to pull back and put some distance between herself and these two strangers with their differences that seemed to draw her in. Jace’s teasing grin and Braydon’s steady eyes and firm grip made her dizzy, turned her world on its side. Their too-familiar touches felt like fire and ice even through her clothes, making her shiver in a way the slight Alaskan chill couldn’t.

  But another part, a larger part that was winning despite her better judgment, sank into the warmth of their skin and her fingers flexed, drawing them a little closer. It was a mistake, she knew it was a mistake, but she couldn't stop the soft sigh that slipped from her lips. Both men drew closer as if she had pulled them in with the quiet sound and her eyes flicked to Braydon first to find him watching her lips. Her tongue darted out and he groaned, dropping her hand to wrap his arm around her waist instead.

  A sharp jolt went through Lexi, arousal and fear mixing as she stepped closer to the darker man, slipping away from Jace to press her hand against Braydon's chest. Jace’s easy nature was infectious, but something about Braydon’s quiet peace drew her in, settling a tight feeling she never realized rode her chest just by being close. It was almost hypnotic, and his breath feathered over her lips before she realized she had moved.

  It might have gone further, just outside the Permafrost enclosure, but a sharp cough had the three of them separating. Lexi’s face flamed and her back straightened, stepping away from the two shifters and her weird reaction to them… or maybe just to Braydon? Gods, she didn’t know. With a toss of her hair, she strode forward to the older man who’d come out to greet them, nodding her head curtly. “You said you needed my help. Let’s get on with it.”

  Chapter 3

  Braydon

  As soon as the Red stepped off the plane, Braydon felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He couldn’t quite catch his breath and even though he was just as much her escort as Jace, he stood there silently as the fox greeted her and even flirted a little.

  Normally, he’d be at least a little jealous that his little fox mate was being such a blatant flirt, but his mind was whirling a mile a minute, and the snow leopard that he shared his skin with was pacing inside him, twining around his legs and desperately trying to push him closer to the strange woman that smelled like magic and blood and danger. There was another scent underneath all that, something spicy and sweet that he just wanted to roll in. Braydon had never felt such a sudden flash of arousal outside of Jace before and he didn’t know what to do.

  But then she was laughing and speeding away from them, and Jace was looking at him with dark, half-lidded eyes as they both hopped onto their own bikes. They raced after her, catching up only because of a knowledge of the terrain. She was fast and unafraid and Braydon was worried she’d catch sight of his half-hard dick as he swept his leg over his bike. Thankfully, Jace was there to distract her until he could get himself under control again. Then he stepped up, taking her free arm like a gentleman.

  He wasn’t expecting the flare of heat that took over his body, or the way her tongue darted out to wet her lower lip. All he wanted to do was bite it, and he couldn’t quite bite back the groan of need that punched through him. Her pale skin showed in flashes under her clothes as she moved, but despite the muscular frame, her head barely came up to his shoulder. He was over six feet tall, so that wasn’t exactly unusual, but he was definitely not used to feeling so protective of a female that obviously didn’t need it. His arm slipped around her waist as Jace stepped back, shifting to wrap his arm around Braydon’s waist instead. The fox was a steady pulse at his back, and suddenly he found himself wondering what it would be like to be wrapped up between the two of them, naked and sweaty. He groaned again, almost inaudibly, leaning down slowly to capture her lips with his. When she moved up against him, pressing that perfect chest against his and letting her sweet breath ghost across his lips, he knew he was lost.

  Until a cough broke them apart. The gorgeous Red jerked back like she’d been shot and for the first time since he was a rambunctious teenager, he curled his lip and snarled at his adopted father in something very close to rage. The older man, of course, only smirked at the tableau they presented, very aware of exactly what he’d interrupted. “Yes, we do need your help, Red. Please, come inside. We have much to discuss.”

  Braydon was happy with his lot in life. Yeah, his parents had died in a car crash when he was barely two, and there were no other snow leopard shifters near his small town in Japan. Snow leopard shifters, like their full-blooded counterparts, were few and far between. It had taken time to find another shifter pack that would take him in, even as a kitten. Thankfully, he didn’t remember much about that time, and had grown up among the arctic foxes shifters of the Permafrost Earth. The patriarchal pair hadn’t had to adopt him, but when they realized how close he was with their youngest son, Jace, they had taken him in, and then given them their blessings to be mated practically before they were adults.

  It’s not like the North American Red would want an orphaned feline shifter who was already mated anyway. Jace was the fifth son of the Permafrost Earth’s patriarchal pair, and they’d already tapped their first and second born kits as their heirs. Neither of them were high on anyone’s totem pole, and that was the way they liked it. Staying off of everyone’s radars, not being harangued about producing heirs, and basically being allowed to roam at will, Braydon was grateful that the Permafrost had taken him in, but also grateful that they’d mostly ignored him once he’d mated with Jace. If he or Jace showed an interested in the Red, that wouldn’t last. At the very least, the teasing would be merciless. At worst, it was entirely possible for the Permafrost elders to intervene and try to make any… interest official. It would be best for him to squash it before anyone else caught on.

  Fuck. It wasn’t exactly uncommon to take multiple mates, especially in fox shifter society where females could sometimes be scarce, but it was almost unheard of for a Red to take a mate at all. They were violent, nomadic types that rarely lived into their thirties. But how the hell was Braydon supposed to fight his own interest in this woman with his lithe lover giving him those looks? It wasn’t fair.

  Chapter 4

  Lexi

  Lexi followed the older fox into the wooden and clay building, looking around as she went. Anything to keep her mind off of the embarrassment she could still feel in her veins. The elder motioned her to a seat before retaking his own between two other shifters. Brushing white hair back from his eyes, he held out a palm to make introductions. “Red Lexi, this is Elder Vairn and Elder Lysan. I am Elder Eishan.” He smiled warmly, though there was a hint of anxiety in his icy blue eyes. “Now that the formalities are out of the way, we are in need of your assistance.”

  Lexi nodded, returning his smile with a tight-lipped one of her own. “Thank you for waiting up for me; I know the hour isn’t exactly ideal, but I was told time was of the essence.” She was there to kill the bad thing, not make nice with the inhabitants, but she could at least attempt politeness. “I wasn’t given much information other than that, though, so here I am.” Leaning back in the chair, she met the gaze of each of the Elders, noting the concern and interest in them. “Fill me in, please.”

  Eishan brushed his hair back agai
n, and Lexi noted the nervous tick. Something was very, very wrong and she wasn’t about to beat around the bush if they held information back. She focused on him when he started talking again. “Frankly, we’re not completely sure what’s going on. What we do know is that people leave the compound and they don’t come back. We lost ten before we called you, and another twelve since.”

  Lexi nodded, putting her feet flat on the floor and leaning forward. Twenty-two people was quite a few more than she’d been told about. “Now, forgive the question, but… I mean, it’s cold up here. And treacherous.” She motioned towards the dark outdoors vaguely.

  The Elders nodded in agreement, and Eishan shook his head. “While you’re not wrong, these are all shifters. While it isn’t as civilized as some of the rest of the world, the people who’ve disappeared are all more than capable of handling themselves up here, even for several days away from us.” He sighed softly, resting his elbows on the table. “The other thing is that there is no trace of them. At all. No scent, no footprints, nothing once they pass a certain mark.”

  “That does sound suspicious. There are ways to mask scent, of course, but it definitely sounds like someone’s trying to hide tracks. Have there been any fights or problems in the community? Someone looking for some form of revenge?”

  The Elders looked at each other, then shook their heads. Lysan spoke up, his voice a deep timbre compared to Eishan’s smooth tone. “While we are not perfect and there are disagreements, they are not severe enough to warrant ‘revenge’. This community survives by working together. We all know that. If someone could not, they would be asked to leave. However, that has not happened in many years. We do not believe it’s someone from inside the community.”

  Lexi nodded again, keeping a mental note to ask later about the ones who were asked to leave. “For the moment, I’ll go with the assumption that it’s an outside force. One that seems to be picking your community off one by one.”

  Eishan spoke up again with a little head shake. “It’s more than that. There have been small groups… no more than three or four at a time… they’ve all disappeared. It’s getting… well, worrisome doesn’t quite seem strong enough, does it?” He offered an ironic little smile and Lexi snorted softly and Lexi was reminded of Jace’s impish grin.

  “Worrisome… yeah, I’d say almost two dozen people vanishing into the ether is definitely a little more than worrisome.” She stood up, nodding to the elders. “You mind if I take Frick and Frack with me? I’m assuming they know the area.”

  Eishan chuckled softly and nodded. “They do. And they also know the last known locations of the people who are missing.”

  Braydon and Jace pushed off the wall where they were leaning, stepping forward a little. “We can take the bikes.” Jace sounded serious, but there was still an impish twinkle in his eyes. Lexi was pretty sure it was a permanent fixture. “At least to the first couple of spots. We’ll have to take snowmobiles to the ones farther out, but they were some of the first taken, so the evidence or whatever will probably be slim.”

  Lexi turned back to the Elders, head tilted. “So the abductions have been happening closer to the compound?” When Eishan nodded, she frowned. “That’s not good… means whoever is doing it is getting ballsy.” She glanced out the window, noticing the sun just starting to peek over the horizon. “We should go now. The sooner I figure out what you’re dealing with, the sooner I can deal with it.” She wasn’t looking forward to the sleepless night, but she’d gotten some rest on the plane, and she was used to investigations cutting into her sleep schedule. She hoped there would be somewhere to rest after her initial search. Or at least some coffee.

  When Eishan nodded, Lexi turned on her heel and headed outside. Jace and Braydon followed on her heels to where they’d parked the bikes. “Give us a few minutes and we’ll grab some supplies. Wait here for us.”

  Over an hour later, the three of them were racing through the thin snow that powdered the highway. Lexi grinned wildly as they created a dangerous dance of metal and fumes, overtaking each other and flying on the practically abandoned asphalt. It was hard to remember she was there for a job… hanging out with these shifters was actually pretty fun. It reminded her of Abram’s pack… the good memories of playing with his siblings and cousins. She wondered if they’d be up for more fun later, but before she could consider that too far, one of the boys overtook her and motioned to pull off the exit.

  They slowed and pulled into a tiny, abandoned village twenty minutes from the highway. Lexi pulled in behind them at a house on the far end of the village, curiosity evident in her eyes before she ever opened her mouth. Jace grinned rakishly and winked before wheeling his bike behind the house into a large garage. Lexi followed suit, but she couldn’t keep quiet. “What the hell are we doing here? Does anyone even live here?”

  Braydon shook his head as he wheeled his back in after them. “Nah, it’s been abandoned since the compound went up. It’s mostly used as an outpost now, for people from there who need to travel for shifting or whatever. There’s fresh clothes in a couple of the houses and food.”

  “There’s also these.” With a flourish, Jace ripped a huge tarp off a group of snowmobiles in the back of the garage. “Gassed up and ready to go whenever we might need them. Since someone doesn’t come with fur, these are the easiest ways to get around once you get out of the little bubbles of civilization up here.” He looked over Lexi, head tilted. “Ever ride before?”

  She nodded. “A few times, mostly for fun. And not in snow this deep. I don’t like them as much as my bike, but I can hold my own.”

  The two shifters laughed and started pushing the snowmobiles out. Lexi attempted to follow suit, but the weight of the machine caught her off guard. There was a small, smooth path that made moving it a little easier, but she definitely struggled to slide it out after the boys. It didn’t help that they laughed at her struggles instead of helping her, and she rewarded them properly when she finally got it out onto the snow by flipping them both off. They both snickered before throwing the legs over the snowmobiles. She huffed and followed suit, following them out into the Alaskan wilderness.

  Once they were out on the snow, Jace took the lead, whooping as the machine hopped over hills and sprayed snow back at Lexi and Braydon. They weren’t racing this time, and Lexi wasn’t used to the huge machine, but that didn’t stop her from overtaking him a couple times, just to prove she could. She flipped him the bird as she passed him a third time, then cursed as she narrowly missed plowing into a tree. With Braydon’s laughter ringing in her ears, she fell back again, choosing to exercise caution in a rare moment of maturity.

  It was another hour or so before they crested a hill and came upon a small encampment. The remnants of a fire and a few packs were still on the ground, like the owners would simply walk out of the woods around them at any minute. An eerie sort of quiet encompassed the area; the snow muted even the sounds of them climbing off the snowmobiles, and not a single animal call broke the silence. Even the crunching of their boots through snow was oddly muffled, as if heard from a long distance instead of directly underneath them.

  Lexi frowned deeply, ignoring the camp for the moment as her eyes swept the area. There was a haze that surrounded everything, a miasma that made her wrinkle her nose as she moved closer. She had to resist the urge to brush it away, even though neither Jace nor Braydon seemed affected. She knew a few things that felt like that, and none of them were good.

  Finally making her way to the camp itself, she crouched by the fire pit, looking it over before dismissing it and grabbing one of the packs. “Why haven’t these been returned to the compound yet?”

  Braydon sighed a little, eyeing the area around them as he answered. “This group… Aimee, Rev and Charlotte… they disappeared after the Elders called you. It was decided to leave everything in place for you to check out when you got here.”

  Lexi nodded and started going through the pack in her hand, pulling things out carefully
to look at before setting them aside. Jace crouched down to watch her, a puzzled frown on his face. “What are you looking for? And… well, we’ve heard about Reds before… we kinda figured you’d just toss stuff and move on.”

  Lexi chuckled dryly and shook her head. “One, if you rip things out, you might miss something. And two, these belonged to someone. Someone innocent. I don’t honestly have much hope of finding them alive, but that doesn’t mean their possession deserve to be treated with disrespect.”

  “You think they’re dead, don’t you? All of them?”

  “More than likely. I’m sorry, Jace. These are people you live with, and you were probably friends with some of the missing. But… well, I’m not one to lie, or bullshit you. This many disappearances? Unless you’re being attacked by some really wily rock trolls in need of slaves, they’re probably already gone.”

  Braydon took a sharp breath and looked away as Jace huffed and sat back on his butt like his legs wouldn’t hold him up anymore. “Dammit… I mean, we all kinda figured but… you gotta have hope, ya know?” He looked down at his hands, muttering, “Dammit,” under his breath again as Lexi returned to her task.

  Once she made her way through all the packs, she held up a bit of wood tied with twine, chewing on her lip. “I’m assuming that Aimee, Rev, and Charlotte came out here for a run?”