Wild Wolf Mate: League Of Gallize Shifters (The League Of Gallize Shifters Book 5)

by Dianna Love

  Justin tapped his fingers then allowed a half grin. “Good to have you back even if you are even more annoying than before?.”

  Sitting forward with his arms on the table, Adrian said, “I still don’t know what I’m supposed to do that is important to all of the Gallize.”

  Back to business, Justin explained, “When Eli gets a vision, it’s not a simple road map. She gets bits and pieces, but her visions always come true. Always. That’s why we’re taking whatever she gives us seriously.”

  Lifting his hands in surrender, Adrian said, “I’ll absolutely take what she says to heart the same I would for any mission intel. So what’s this new information?”

  “She said you were searching for a woman, who is involved in all this.”

  Adrian hoped no one picked up on his heart rate that kicked up before he could force his body to stay calm. He waited for another shoe to drop with her visions.

  Her bear mate said, “This morning when she knew nothing about what SCIS would ask us an hour later, Eli said the red wolf must be sent to find the wolf king harming women he steals.”

  “Where are these women being taken from?” Adrian asked, sensing this had to be in the southeastern area.

  The Guardian took over. “The best we can determine, she’s speaking about the locations that match what SCIS gave us. They seem to be in the general Hickory, North Carolina area. Elianna said one bad wolf was dead, but more still hunt the women for a king.”

  “A king?” Adrian sorted through what had been said. “Did Eli give you any idea who she thought this king in her vision was?”

  “She has no idea,” Justin said. “However, we believe she could be talking about the elusive Blood King, who rules a pack of wolves. He’s supposed to be a splinter group of the Black River pack.”

  “You don’t sound too sure,” Adrian pointed out.

  “We’re not sure,” the Guardian answered and walked around the far corner of the table, turning his scary eagle eyes on everyone in a sweep of the room. From what the Guardian once told Adrian and his team, a shifter who lived a long time often ended up with the animal’s eyes fixed in the human form. That man had seen three centuries, which explained the permanent eagle eyes.

  Vic had been quiet until then. “We’ve tried to find this Blood King for a long time, even before I went overseas. No one believed the rumors until SCIS caught one of his wolves, but that guy killed himself before they could interrogate him.”

  “What?” Adrian asked. “How does a shifter kill himself while incarcerated. He had to be wearing a titanium collar to keep him in human form, right?”

  “Yep. He used his claws to slash his femoral artery in his thigh. His collar had been chained to the wall and he had wrist cuffs, but he could push his claws out. He kept slashing until he’d bled out. That’s how they found him the next morning.”

  Hawk interjected, “I’m thinking that had to be better than what the Blood King would do to him if they released the wolf shifter. Rumor has it this Blood King is another level of ruthless. Plus, Tess and Scarlett suspect there may be another traitor inside SCIS.”

  Adrian had heard about Scarlett contracting for SCIS, which was how she met Tess before Cole and Tess mated.

  Holding his hands out in a what-do-you-expect motion to Hawk, Vic said, “That organization uses jackals for security. Enough said.”

  “Good point,” Adrian allowed.

  Jaz had mentioned Kaiser trying to kidnap Daisy. What had happened to that woman? He’d ask Jaz when he saw her again.

  On second thought, he’d call the bar and ask her.

  Was that just an excuse to hear her voice?

  Maybe. Probably.

  He had no guilt over admitting that to himself. He’d have a phone mounted to his head if he thought he could hear her voice at any minute of the day.

  Could those jackal shifters who were trying to kidnap her friend from the bar be involved? Or were they associated with SCIS and tracking the female for another reason?

  Shit fire, that would point a finger in Jaz’s direction.

  No one here had mentioned SCIS hunting a woman who fit her description. Had SCIS given his team all the intel?

  Adrian needed to get in touch with Scarlett, but keep her out of this mess. Jaz would kill him if he dragged Scarlett into the middle of all this. She’d have to wait behind Gan, who would find a way to do worse for putting his mate at risk.

  Justin had just finished showing a map of the southeastern United States projected on a screen, pointing out the locations where female shifters had gone missing.

  Turning to his boss, Adrian asked, “Is Gan in active duty yet?”

  Heads turned his way, but the Guardian didn’t appear to find his question odd. “Not yet. Scarlett is getting to know the other female mates. She and Gan will complete their bond soon. He’s ready to do it immediately, of course.”

  Everyone in the room chuckled. Gan had wanted to bond at the tiger shifter compound when he found out all he had to do was ask her to be his mate.

  Of course, when a Gallize did that, energy burst around them, bonding into a united force.

  The Guardian continued, “I think Scarlett is taking her time so she can work with Gan and his tiger, plus I want them to enjoy this chance to get to know each other better. She’s clearly ready to finish the bond as well.”

  That solved one problem.

  With those two out of the picture, Adrian would not worry about Scarlett getting involved and ruin this special time for Gan. That tiger shifter had been imprisoned his entire life until escaping just before the Guardian called up his Siberian tiger. Gan had to learn control and accept being a shifter when he’d hated the shifters that had guarded him his entire life.

  His opinion of shifters changed with falling for Scarlett.

  With no new weight added to his conscience, Adrian surge ahead. “What’s the plan?”

  Justin ran down a few more points then looked up from his computer. “That’s it. Call in if you need anything.”

  “Got it.” Adrian stood. “Everyone ready to get rolling?”

  Justin’s phone buzzed. He picked it up and read a text, then looked at Adrian. “Scarlett asked if you could meet her and Gan at the Twilight John’s bar. She said she and Gan had a question you would understand. I’m guessing it’s to do with Gan’s tiger. He probably trusts you more than anyone else after spending time in Wyoming with you.”

  Adrian found that humorous. His wolf and Gan’s tiger tried to kill each other the entire time, but they discovered mutual respect during the training mission with Scarlett.

  Justin asked, “Can you do that before you leave?”

  Adrian lifted his shoulders. “Sure, if I have time.”

  “You will,” the Guardian confirmed. “That will allow the three of you time to prepare before heading out.”

  “Sounds good,” Adrian replied, then told Vic and Hawk, “I’m packed. Why don’t you two meet me outside the bar in an hour?”

  “Copy that,” Hawk said and left with Vic.

  With that settled, Adrian headed for the door.

  The Guardian’s eyes swung to him. “How are things with your wolf?”

  At one time, Adrian would have said they were still a hopeless case and he had accepted that he couldn’t continue with a damaged bond, but not anymore.

  Hadn’t he decided to fight for his wolf?

  Maybe Red had heard his dark thoughts and willingness to give up so many times he’d pull away from Adrian and death.

  “My wolf is doing his best,” Adrian replied with a hint of confidence. “Red and I are working through this.”

  Adrian caught Justin’s heart rate jack up. He stared at Adrian. “Really?”

  Justin, Cole, and Rory had fought to keep Adrian alive even when he begged to be put down. He’d missed out on true blood family as a child, but he had these friends, who were closer than blood.

  “Yep.” Adrian didn’t want to say his wolf had gone completel
y dark on him since his last words in the parking lot, but neither would he show a weak front.

  Red mattered. He deserved Adrian’s loyalty.

  The smile Justin gave him flowed through the energy in the room. Even the Guardian had a thoughtful and upbeat look on his face. If Adrian didn’t repair the bond with Red, he’d let even more people down this time.

  He left the room quickly, but managed not to run all the way to his SUV?.

  Had Jaz contacted Scarlett already? She wouldn’t have had time to leave and reach a new location. Even then, she’d procrastinate for a day or two before her conscience forced her to follow through on her agreement.

  Instead of making himself nuts wondering, Adrian found the number for the bar in Clarenceville by the time he entered the parking deck.

  When a raspy female with a smoker’s voice answered, he asked if he could speak to Janet.

  “The woman bussing tables? Hell, she didn’t even last two days. Never showed up today.”

  Jaz might have a reason to come in late, Adrian reminded himself. She had no phone to make a call. Plus, he realized Jaz wouldn’t leave without making sure Thea was safe.

  He asked, “What about Thea? Is she available?”

  “Nope. They both took off and left me shorthanded. Come in tonight. We got half-priced beers and a good bartender. Better worker than those two.”

  Ending the call, Adrian stood next to his truck and pushed down the first wave of panic.

  Thea had also disappeared.

  Chapter 18

  Jaz fought to open her eyes, battling the drugs in her system. Her mind wandered around, searching for a timeline and how she got here, wherever here was. Her face hurt. Her body hurt. All that kept her from falling asleep again.

  Sleep or unconscious? Pay attention!

  Why had she been drugged?

  She started to drift off

  She worked at a bar.

  Someone there must have hit her with a needle.

  No. That didn’t sound right. Little by little, the pieces of her current life dropped into place. Dangerous jackals had drugged Thea, not her.

  Jaz still had no idea how she’d ended up in pain on a cold hard surface.

  She reached out telepathically to her wolf. Tarski, need energy.

  The words she’d sent sounded slurred in her mind.

  Her wolf didn’t answer.

  Not good. She dragged herself a little closer to consciousness and called to her wolf again. By the third time, she struggled to not panic. She’d have plenty of time for that later if she ran out of options.

  Finally, a half moan, half growl replied in her mind. Her wolf couldn’t send energy if she fought the drugs, too. Jaz curled her fingers slowly into a fist and clenched her teeth, determined to push free of this semi-comatose state.

  Not working.

  Frustration built until she screamed in her mind, threatening to kill everyone who had done this to her and Tarski.

  One eyelid quivered open.

  Ha. Not defeated yet. She laughed, even if it had only been in her head.

  That eyelid dropped shut. Dammit.

  Jaz opened her fist and felt the surface under her face. Rough like plywood. She sniffed. Human and shifter smells. Stuffy, closed up smell, too. Definitely inside some strange place.

  She needed her wolf’s energy to break through this mental wall and figure out what was going on.

  She silently asked, Do you have any power, Tarski?

  Her wolf’s reply barely reached her. A little. You take all. I sleep.

  Then her wolf’s presence dropped away so quickly Jaz sucked in a breath. She couldn’t remember being without Tarski after all these years. Her core felt empty.

  Had the drugs damaged her wolf permanently?

  She refused to even consider the possibility.

  Jaz would not waste what her wolf had gifted her. Once she found a way to break free of whatever imprisonment they were in, she’d find a way to save her and Tarski both.

  Slowly, a fresh stream of energy trickled into her lethargic arms and mind. She opened both eyes this time and stared at the dark floor.

  Please don’t let us be trapped in an underground prison, she silently begged. SCIS used those for the worst shifter criminals. Killing Kaiser would place her high on that list.

  She breathed in and out slowly to calm her racing heart as her memory began filling in holes. She’d been in her apartment above the old building with Adrian.

  He’d left quickly in his SUV and promised to come back.

  Her heart paused there. Where was he? Had the same people captured him?

  He wouldn’t find her.

  Would he think she took off and never called? He’d be hurt. She had no doubt that something strong had happened between them. He’d felt it too. She didn’t want him to think she’d turned her back on him.

  Her eyelids drifted shut again.

  But her mind refused to sleep. She recalled stepping outside and getting hit with four powerful tranq darts

  That could have been SCIS.

  Fear and anger fueled her muscles. She would not allow Tarski to be driven mad like Red had been. Not if she had a breath in her body.

  Jaz opened her eyes again.

  Her greatest fear had jumpstarted the adrenaline in her body. She could feel that fight or flight adrenal secretion burning off some of the drugs.

  That made her nauseous, but it also helped to clear her head.

  No time to waste.

  Moving her hands to each side of her chest, she forced herself up on trembling arms and stopped at the distinctive clanging of chain. She wore a titanium collar. Cold links of the same metal chained her to somewhere behind her back.

  Moving as quietly as she could, she got to her knees, then eased around and sat back on her butt. She leaned against the chilly metal surface at her back, jangling the chain as she did.

  She gritted her teeth. How could she move without making a sound?

  Listening, she let out a breath when no guard came running.

  Her eyes adjusted as she swept a look around her.

  Three other women, each an unconscious female shifter. In the dark, they appeared as boneless blobs like she’d been.

  Most normal shifters had no unusual energy like hers, which explained why they were still out cold.

  Crap. That would be no help.

  A wall of titanium bars ran down the center with doors to access the two women across from her.

  Glancing up, Jaz estimated the top of the room at nine feet. A pair of doors closed off the right end of this rectangular box room from where she sat.

  How long had the four of them been here?

  How long would it be until someone showed up?

  She got busy searching for any information that could answer her question of who had kidnapped her. If it had been the Blood King, she would probably know by now. That meant she had a chance to escape profiteers grabbing female shifters.

  This didn’t remind her of SCIS. They would have put her in a locked area and started interrogating her by now.

  What did she have in common with the other women?

  The woman on her left had a stocky build, short purple hair, tatted sleeves, pale skin, and she smelled of wolf. Probably two in here, since Jaz had only scented one different type of shifter. Some sort of big cat.

  The wolf shifter’s shorts and cotton top had been ripped. Deep claw marks flawed her pale skin. The titanium glittering from one wound prevented her from healing. That would scar. She must have hurt her captor. Her chest lifted and dropped in the quiet rhythm of someone unconscious. She slept curled up on her side with the chain connected to her collar running between her and the vertical wall behind them.

  Where did the chain go?

  Leaning over, Jaz followed the silvery links to where they dropped down a narrow hole behind the woman.

  She reached around to the end of her chain also snaking into a hole and pulled.

  Did
n’t move. Anchored tight to something beneath them.

  Returning to her roommates, she glanced across from her cage where a small woman in a long dark skirt and white long-sleeved top, also ripped up, had sprawled out at the left end. She could be a child playing dress up, who fell asleep, but on Jaz’s next inhale she decided that one was the cat shifter. She wore a cap of curls that might be brown.

  Jaz sensed a pull on her attention across from her.

  She turned to face the third woman who was very much awake. When had that happened?

  No scent.

  What the hell?

  Even humans had a scent.

  Seconds ago, this female had been lying down, appearing unconscious like the other two. Since then, she’d sat up and pulled her knees to her chest without making a sound.

  Not possible with Jaz’s shifter hearing.

  The woman gave her a sly smile as if replying to her thoughts. Drugs were making Jaz a nutcase.

  That woman’s smile widened.

  Okay, that was just ... not right.

  Smart ass, no-scent female’s hands were hooked over her knees. Her wrists had titanium cuffs. In fact, the cuffs were chained to her collar. Any move should have made noise.

  Her tattered pants could be due to rough kidnap handling, but something told Jaz that was the normal state of the woman’s jeans. Black hair fell to her chest like an obsidian river flowing across her shoulders. Her skin might be white or a golden tan color. Hard to tell in this darkness.

  Jaz’s wolf had excellent vision at night, but her ability to see so clearly in human form with zero available light surprised even her.

  The woman across from her sat calmly observing.

  Jaz kept her heartbeat steady when it wanted to take off like a horse running for the barn at dinner. She tried to pull her gaze away, but something forced her vision to remain locked on that woman. In the next moment, the woman’s eyes became a bright silver color.

  Oh, hell. Her eyes glowed and she had no identifiable scent.

  Was she a Power Baron?

  The woman snorted. “Hardly.”

  Had Jaz said those words out loud? No, she hadn’t. Not wanting to alert the guards, she licked her dried lips and quietly asked, “Who are you?”