Guardian of Darkness

by Katie Reus

  An icy wind whipped over them, whistling in the quiet of outside. There was nothing where they were for miles and miles, that much she knew. The facility was on who knew how many acres and owned by the US government. “What’s up?”

  “What did you think of the file?”

  On the flight this morning she’d been given a huge file with classified information. Which meant her clearance had come through. What she knew from the file so far was that an Alpha named Judoc was harboring a traitor named Carson in his territory. Carson had once been one of August’s people. But he’d stolen a bunch of information on supernatural agents around the world—most working undercover—and planned to sell their files to the highest bidder in the very near future. They were going to stop the bastard.

  “It was thorough. Why haven’t you had me try to get into their dreams?” When she’d turned sixteen the ability to connect psychically with her mother had developed. Since then she’d only strengthened her psychic abilities—and since being recruited by August they’d been helping her to control it and actually target the dreams of other individuals she’d never met. Something her parents would definitely freak out about if they knew what she’d been doing.

  “It’s not in the information I gave you, but Carson is a powerful psychic as well. I don’t want you anywhere near his dreams.” He gave her a hard look as he said it. “And I don’t know enough about Judoc for you to target him yet. I have another way we’re going to target him. You and Eli are going to rob someone who Judoc hates.”

  She blinked once. “Rob?”

  He nodded once. “Yes. You’ll finally get to use the cover ID we’ve been building for you.”

  She knew it well, had memorized the damn thing months ago.

  “You two will pose as thieves who steal from rich assholes—drug runners and the like. People who won’t be calling the authorities when their stuff goes missing.”

  “We’re robbing humans?”

  “Yes. And it’s off the books.”

  “Off the books from whom?” She figured she knew, but wanted him to spell it out. Being over-informed was never a bad thing.

  “Our human counterparts. They know about the main operation, but not this. We’ll be keeping everything we steal this week.” He paused a long moment, giving her an unreadable look before continuing. “It goes into a fund for supernaturals, for people like you and me. Not everyone I recruit makes smart financial decisions. Most do, and I have a feeling you will. But this is our contingency fund if someone ever needs help or if shit ever goes haywire and the humans turn on us.”

  She digested her boss’s words, not exactly surprised by them. It made a hell of a lot of sense to have something like that set up. As of right now most humans except for a select few government agencies had no clue that supernatural beings were real, but the world was always changing. And she didn’t think their existence would remain a secret forever. If she was a betting female, she’d bet that they were outed in this century. Not something she was going to worry about now, however. “The man we’re hunting, Carson, he knows about this fund, correct?”

  “Yes. Which makes his betrayal even worse. If he’d needed money I would have worked something out for him. He’s just a greedy fucker.”

  “You think he’ll tell the humans about the fund?”

  “No. Only because he doesn’t have proof of it and he can’t get to it. He’d try to steal the funds before he’d turn something like that over to humans.”

  August sounded sure of that and she wouldn’t bother asking why he was so certain. “You’re taking a big risk by telling me about this before I’ve even gone on a mission.” Which surprised her. August was cagey and secretive on the best of days. And she was the newbie.

  August nodded once and turned away from her, looking out at the vast field and forest beyond them. The wind whistled loudly for a long moment until his growly voice cut through the air. “I’ve recruited enough people over the years to know who’s going to stick around long-term. I’ve only been wrong a couple times. You’re one of my few recruits who comes from a good family. It was one of your only cons. At least originally. Now I think it’s a pro. I don’t know if you’ll be a lifer, but I think you’re in this long-term. And I trust you to keep it a secret even if you decide to part ways with us. I decided to go with my gut on this. On you.”

  “How long do you normally wait to tell your recruits?”

  He glanced at her then, his lips kicking up a notch. “Usually a decade or so.”

  Whoa. That was a hell of a compliment. The truth was, she planned to do this for a long time if she was able. She had no reason to betray him or steal from him, not unless he went after her pack. And then she wouldn’t betray him, she’d just kill him. Something she’d flat-out told him when he’d recruited her. Still, it touched her that he thought so well of her.

  But she’d done enough of her own research on August to know what an honorable man he was. She knew an Alpha dragon who’d once worked for him—and that August and the Alpha’d had a very long talk about her going to work for August. It had actually been part of her vetting process. “All right, tell me about this robbery.”

  August gave her one of his rare, real smiles. “It’s going to be child’s play for you. The robbery itself is more of a smash-and-grab. It’s what comes after that will get difficult.”

  Vega couldn’t wait. Blood pumped wildly through her veins and she didn’t bother to hide her excitement. This was a huge new step in her life and she knew she could do a lot of good. Could save a hell of a lot of lives. That was why she was doing this too. To make a difference. “Lay it on me.”

  * * *

  Lyra smiled as Finn placed his hand on her stomach for the tenth time since they’d stepped into their private room. Ophelia, the pack healer, was currently with another pregnant female but would be with them soon.

  “I wonder if we’re making a mistake in not telling Vega,” Finn murmured, curling his fingers ever so slightly around her still-flat stomach.

  “Me too.” She’d had this same conversation in her head the past two days. Vega had left yesterday morning for somewhere in North Carolina. She’d promised to text them the information but she still hadn’t. It wasn’t like her to be sneaky so Lyra wondered if maybe their daughter was seeing a new male. “But I felt like if we’d told her right after she said she wasn’t coming home, she would have taken it as us guilt-tripping her. I want her to enjoy herself and it seemed as if she almost needed to get away this year.”

  “Yeah, I felt that too.” Her mate’s ice-blue eyes were filled with worry. To others he rarely showed emotion but with her, he let all those walls down.

  Lyra cupped his cheeks with her hands. “We’ll tell her soon… Do you think she’s seeing a male and just didn’t want to tell us?”

  Finn clearly wasn’t surprised by the question. “The thought occurred to me. She was way too vague about everything.” Leaning back, he scrubbed a hand over his face. “Vega with a male? I can’t even go there now.”

  Lyra snorted. “She’s an adult.” He just gave her a hard stare that made it clear he didn’t care—which made a little laugh escape. “God help you if we have another girl.”

  His expression went pure panic just as Ophelia stepped into the room. Petite with dark curly hair pulled back into a ponytail, she looked like a college-aged woman instead of the two-hundred-year-old shifter she was.

  “Hey, guys.” Ophelia paused, taking in the two of them. “Everything okay?” With a baby bump of her own, she was further along than Lyra.

  “Yes. Finn is just trying to mentally prepare for if he has another girl.”

  Ophelia snorted as the door shut fully behind her. “Gray is currently having his own version of panic attacks right now. As if female shifters can’t take care of themselves.” She gave Finn a pointed look—as healer she pretty much did what she wanted, when she wanted.

  Lyra just grinned. Ophelia was a month away from giving birth and her ow
n mate, a world-renowned sculptor, was Alpha to the bone. It was why he didn’t live with the pack. Couldn’t have two Alphas living in such close proximity for too long. “I don’t have any doubt he is. So you’re having a girl for sure?”

  Their healer/doctor nodded, a grin spreading across her face. “It’s official.”

  “Congrats,” both Lyra and Finn said at the same time, with Finn getting up to pull his packmate into a hug.

  Lyra remained where she was, letting her mate do what he did best. As Alpha it was part of his job to protect his pack and they all looked to him for support, regardless of rank. She was a vampire so it was different for her. She didn’t need a pack—not in the biological sense. But after mating Finn and being accepted by the pack, she needed all of them. They were her family.

  “All right, let’s get a look at you,” Ophelia said as she stepped back slightly. “Lean back and lift up your shirt.”

  Doing as she said, Lyra stretched out on the recliner-bed. Finn stood on the other side of her as Ophelia placed her hands on Lyra’s stomach. As a vampire Lyra had a different biological makeup so she was already further along than a human would be at six weeks. Her first pregnancy was longer than shifter pregnancies, which were seven months, but still shorter than a human’s. She’d already had the vaginal sonogram a couple weeks ago, and now Ophelia was going to do a check using her healing magic.

  Ophelia did her healer thing and all Lyra felt was a radiating warmth spreading throughout her middle. Ophelia was silent as she did whatever it was she did. Lyra hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until the doctor smiled and pulled her hands back.

  “Everything feels normal. I don’t have any experience in vampire births, as you know, but from my research with other vampire doctors and simply what I’m sensing, you’re right on track. I’m getting a strong heartbeat and very strong life force.”

  Oh, thank God. Lyra let out a long sigh. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. You’re doing everything right. As long as you’re not out on patrols and putting yourself in unnecessary danger, you’re on the right path to having a healthy baby.”

  “We haven’t told Vega,” Lyra blurted as she pulled her shirt back down.

  “I heard she isn’t coming home for Christmas.”

  “She’s not,” Finn murmured, the octave of his voice lower than normal. She knew it bothered him deeply that his daughter wasn’t home right now. “We didn’t want her to feel like we were trying to give her a guilt trip.”

  Ophelia’s expression softened. “That’s understandable… I’d tell her now though. Word is starting to spread and everyone is so happy for you guys. I heard that Taylor is already planning your baby shower. Someone will mention it to Vega without knowing it’s a secret. You know how wolves are.”

  “Yeah I know.” Lyra just worried about how it would change things between them. As a vampire with a long life she knew nothing ever stayed the same. But she’d never thought she’d get pregnant once, let alone twice. Bloodborn births were rare as it was, and for her to have a baby with a shifter? Twice? She was already starting to worry about a hundred different things that could go wrong. Which she knew was stupid. Worry wouldn’t change anything. But she couldn’t shut her thoughts off.

  “We’ll call her tonight.” Finn kissed her forehead, the worry in his own gaze a mirror to hers.

  She slid her fingers through his and squeezed tight. Things would be okay. With her mate by her side things always seemed to work out.

  Now she just needed to tell Vega the truth. And to figure out what her daughter was hiding from her. Because Lyra had no doubt that Vega was hiding something.

  Chapter 4

  Vega stretched out her legs in the faux surveillance van. “I know you guys are the pros, but this van is so obvious.”

  “That’s the point,” Eli said, his gaze on the panel of video feeds.

  They were sitting outside the walled-in compound of a drug kingpin’s vacation home at two in the morning. The male was human and had no idea he was right on the cusp of Alpha Judoc McGrath’s territory. Or that said Alpha shifter wanted this guy gone—and he probably didn’t even know shifters existed, for that matter.

  As part of their cover, she and Eli were a team and had allegedly been working all over the East Coast and Southern states, ripping off human assholes and giving back to shifter packs that needed help. Like modern-day Robin Hoods or something. Any minute now they’d eliminate the problem that had been bothering the Alpha. Mario Hernandez.

  Once they laid enough groundwork so it was clear they were behind the attack, the hope was that Judoc, the Alpha, would come to them. They needed to be in his good graces and potentially gain an invite to his property—where they planned to take down Carson. Which was the real mission.

  So here they were. The video security was the only thing real in the van. All the other computers had been downloaded with bullshit information.

  “I know. It just seems so obvious. Like so obvious they’ll know this is a setup.” Because she and Eli wanted to get caught.

  He snorted. “Trust me. Human government agencies use vans like this for surveillance. It won’t be obvious to these dumbasses. Look at them,” he muttered in disgust, his gaze on one of the screens. “They have the skills of toddlers. Pups are more stealthy than them.”

  She giggled as she watched the armed men on the screen move at the van they were in from the outside. They didn’t bother using cover or anything, just ran at the van without checking to see if the thing was rigged or anything. And the way they held their weapons up, it was clear they didn’t have military training. Not that she did either, but she’d been trained by Neema and Eli, who did.

  Straightening, she reached for a weapon, pulling the pistol out of her thigh holster and preparing to put on a good show. They’d decided to let these thugs take them in to see their boss, letting them think they’d overpowered them. Once inside, however, things were going to change. Since August knew how these men operated, he was going to let Vega and Eli get captured. It was the cleanest and most efficient way to infiltrate, and August had wanted to go with the simplest plan. That was something she’d learned in training: sometimes the most obvious answer or plan was the best.

  The back doors of the utility van flew open. She drew her weapon—and had five drawn on her.

  “Drop your guns!” the dark-haired man closest to her and Eli shouted. “Do it now!” He had on a long-sleeved sweater, cargo pants, and as far as she could tell, no tactical vest. Which seemed stupid.

  Vega and Eli both paused until Eli said to her, “Drop your gun,” his voice trembling ever so slightly. Damn, he was a good actor. Their weapons clattered to the metal floor of the hollowed-out van.

  “Get out now!” the same man, clearly the leader of this little team, shouted. She recognized his face from one of the many files she’d read. Terry Harris. High-level thug in Mario Hernandez’s organization.

  As she reached the back of the van he grabbed her roughly by the arm and yanked her all the way out. Thanks to her hybrid genes, she landed evenly on her boots. After the thugs patted down both her and Eli for weapons—during which Harris lingered far too long on her breasts—she and Eli were marched toward the gate of the walled-in compound.

  “Make sure you bring them in alive,” a faint male voice said from somewhere—the earpiece in Harris’s ear. “I want to interrogate them before I kill them.”

  Yes! She did a mental fist pump even as Harris wrenched her wrists behind her back and snapped handcuffs on them. That voice was Mario Hernandez. Poor guy had no idea what he was in for.

  There was a half-moon in the sky, blocked out by the giant oak trees surrounding the quiet, exclusive neighborhood in the small North Carolina town. There wasn’t another neighbor for at least two miles in each direction. All the security lights had been turned off, however, probably as a precaution in case anyone else was around. These guys didn’t want anyone to see them kidnapping who th
ey assumed were federal agents. Hernandez was suspected of many crimes, including killing DEA agents who’d been keeping him under surveillance.

  But he’d never tangled with shifters before. He was about to get schooled.

  “Take care of the van. Disable the GPS if there is one, then destroy it,” Harris ordered one of his men as they rushed Vega and Eli past the arching gates.

  She heard the gates rolling shut behind them, the mechanical whir likely silent to human ears. Everyone was quiet, the boots and sneakers pounding the pavement as they strode up the long, winding driveway the only sounds filling the icy night air. There was no snow, but a frigid wind cut over them. Not that it affected her.

  She’d never felt so amped up on adrenaline in her life. She’d been drugged, kidnapped and shot when she was younger, and yeah, she’d been scared then, but this was different. She wasn’t a kid anymore. She was a trained operative and she didn’t want to fuck up her first op.

  Hyperaware of her surroundings, she dismissed the non-important things like the scents of the humans on the property. Instead she focused on the locations of the video cameras on the house and in the trees—and one sniper on the roof of the palatial Mediterranean-style villa.

  The men were still silent as they marched Vega and Eli up the stone walkway to the already open front doors.

  “I’m going to enjoy you later,” Harris murmured low enough for her ears only as they crossed the threshold.

  She resisted snorting and instead drank in everything. Expensive art in the foyer, lots of dark, polished wood, and the scent of a jasmine and honey cleaner. There was also an underlying scent of gun residue lingering in the air as if shots had been fired recently. Marijuana also tinged the air, but it was faint. Not exactly surprising, though Hernandez was linked up with a cartel that ran cocaine and human cargo.