by Fox, Piper
Hasan.
Exactly the man she’d come to see and had hoped not to run into.
Immediately, her senses went into overdrive. A rush of desire pounded her, then was instantly wiped away by the following wave of anger.
Was it just her imagination, or did a flicker of desire flash in his eyes briefly?
If it had, it didn't matter because his next words were cold.
"Need something?" he asked brusquely.
Another member of their team, Hasan was one that she, unfortunately, had history with. A history that they both kept hidden from the rest of the team.
And from themselves.
Ignoring his harsh tone, she reminded herself that she didn't like him and stated bluntly, "Where are the others?" She tried to peer around his body into the apartment. Maybe one of their other team members could help instead….anyone but him….
Hasan didn't budge. Instead, he kept his long, lean frame blocking the doorway. "Out."
Eyes narrowed, she felt her annoyance rising. ‘Really? Is the attitude necessary?’ she thought at him sourly. Yes, they'd crossed the line, but damn. It was like as if they couldn't have a normal conversation between two members of the same team.
Nothing more.
The problem had started a while back. She’d been lurking on Tinder looking for a Halloween date, after a particularly long dry spell. That's when a guy had popped up online, 'Badwalker'. They'd started chatting, and their conversation had become completely addictive and desiring. When 'Badwalker' finally asked if they could meet, she'd been more than ready. As luck would have it, they'd decided to get together at a Halloween party.
And had hooked up fully masked, and blissfully unaware of who they were hooking up with. Until the morning after
Shaking the memory aside, she glared at him now. "There's a problem, and I need someone's help. I can't reach any of the others, so that just leaves you. Drew went to get revenge on the SX Cabal for killing our roommate Vee, but they're not finished with us. Vee was just the warning. They left a threat about more to come. Someone has to help me keep Drew from getting himself killed."
From the moment the words 'SX Cabal' had come into play, Hasan's face had changed, growing darker. Obviously, he knew of the Cabal, so no further explanation was needed. But as she lifted a hand, bringing Drew’s discarded bracelet into view, Hasan stilled.
A few tension-filled seconds passed before Hasan released a slow breath.
"Shit!" he muttered. "Why?” he asked her, eyes boring into hers.
It was only on a hunch that she’d brought the bracelet to show him, but immediately she knew she’d been correct. Whatever secret the onyx band held, Hasan knew all about it. Especially since there was a matching bracelet on his wrist.
“Where's Drew now?"
“lf I knew...," she shrugged. "I’ve been calling his phone the entire drive over here. He's gone ghost."
Absently, Hasan stepped back from the doorway and let her enter the apartment. A whiff of his aftershave clung pleasantly to her nose, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to stay focused.
"If he goes after the Cabal by himself, they’Il kill him. No ifs, ands, or buts about it."
"Well, Drew is pretty skilled in killing himself," Hasan countered, "so, I know that he can at least hold his own to take out the murderers that he's going after. But the problem is that the Cabal doesn't stop coming. They won't stop until he, and you, are six feet under."
Pacing the center of the room, she shook her head. "I'm not worried about me, and I don't think that's how it’s going to go. I can see him running up in there, hot-headed as usual, and those beasts taking him out."
"Nah, Drew's stronger than that. Remember what he did to Jakeel two nights ago?" As the words left his lips, Hasan froze and she froze along with him. "Shit! Jakeel…,” Hasan said the name like as if it had a bitter taste.
"They said that's what it’s about," she murmured.
But she still didn’t see the connection. Jakeel had gotten corrupted by too much power, too fast. He’d been recruited to go after their team and take them out. After almost killing their leader, Jakeel had attacked them head on. His growing powers had almost ripped them all to shreds, but Drew, risking his own life, had killed Jakeel.
Of course, Drew hadn't only been protecting them; it didn't hurt that he and Jakeel had a checkered history.
She frowned as she noticed Hasan studying her closely. "What?" she asked.
"The hell happened to you?"
Yeah, she had forgotten the beating she'd taken the night before. Sighing, she mumbled, "A mission with the team. The Council got involved, some demon Hunters jumped in, and one of the Furies got killed."
His brows couldn't have gotten any higher. For a full minute, he just watched her, perhaps to see if she was joking or not. Then he said, "Thought the team was supposed to be laying low until our powers stabilized?"
All she could do was shrug. Even she didn't have a clue how she'd gotten involved in the mess from the previous night.
“Forget it. Look, I don’t need your help,” she said stubbornly.
“Well, sweetheart, I think you’re just going to accept the fact that I’m doing this for my boy and not you. I’m not going to let Drew get hurt so that you can keep your pride or whatever you’ve got going on.”
Hating his smug tone, but knowing that he was completely right, Kimone rolled her eyes.
“Just don’t get in my way,” she spat out.
“I won’t if you don’t get in mine,” he retorted.
By this time, the tension between them hung heavy in the air. Reminding herself to breathe, and not let him get under her skin, Kimone just nodded.
“Fine,” she released her breath. “So what’s your idea?”
“We need an informant, someone who can tell us where the SX Cabal is hiding out. ‘Cause we can be sure that Drew is halfway there by now.”
She nodded. “You’re right. But the problem is, none of my contacts run in those circles.”
Hasan nodded once. Then he disappeared into a back room. Kimone waited for him to reappear, wondering if he was planning to return to the conversation.
He finally came back into the room, and now she could see that he had added some artillery that solely consisted of one knife.
“Let’s go.”
Trying hard to hide her annoyance, she followed him out of the apartment. As if feeding off her negative emotions, the dark magic fought to come to the surface. Forcing the rush back down into the dark place, she scowled.
‘This is the last thing I want….to have Mr. Cheerful baby-sitting me.’
Outside the building, a biting-cold wind whipped across their faces, forcing her to pull the coat tighter. Somehow, it seemed to have gotten even colder. “How long are they going to keep this up?” she muttered.
Heavy snowfall fell from the sky, and already the trees and buildings were covered.
Hasan had drawn to a stop and was staring at the snow-slicked street. “When did this start?”
‘No sense in trying to convince him that shit is normal,’ she thought. No longer just a hint, the presence of magic was heavy in the air. She crossed quickly to her car and slid inside, unlocking the door for him to do the same. “You can ride with me,” she said, not caring if he heard or not.
But he had, and he joined her in the front seat.
“The snow started this morning, maybe about an hour ago. It was just flurries at first, but now-,” she gestured beyond the windshield, “you can see for yourself.”
“Not good,” he murmured.
She expected him to say more, but all he did was give her the address of a downtown bar before turning to look out the window in silence.
‘Fine by me,’ she thought. She was grateful for the silence. It would give her a chance to get her emotions under control and focus on the task at hand.
Chapter 3
“I think he’s had enough.”
A fine spray of blood land
ed on her palm and she winced. Apparently, Hasan’s idea of interrogation included torture as one of the techniques.
Around them, the crowded bar was loud, packed tight with cheerful drinkers and partyers. At the counter, they had joined a lone drinker seated at the end of the bar. Which was all nice and fine, especially since Hasan had claimed to know the guy. What wasn’t so nice, she’d realized, was the fact that Hasan was literally crushing the guy’s hand until he produced information on the whereabouts of the SX members.
His other hand lazily pushing the man’s drink around the counter, Hasan drawled, “So that’s it? You don’t know anything else?” He gave the man’s hand a tiny squeeze, which given the damage already, caused the man’s face to go gray.
“N-no, I already told you that I don’t. I haven’t seen any of them in here for a couple of weeks. They’ve been lying low, maybe with Shax.”
Hasan seemed to consider that, and unwilling to sit through any more torture, she decided that she’d had enough. Time to make her escape. It had always been her intention to give Hasan the slip, before they ended up back in bed or worse, and now was a perfect time to do so.
Sliding from the third bar stool, she moved closer to Hasan, ignoring the wave of attraction as she did. “Bathroom,” she murmured into his ear.
Before he could respond or try to follow, she slipped away, wending her way through the crowd. But instead of heading to the restrooms, she turned in the other direction. Earlier, she’d spied a familiar face, and now she caught sight of him again, loitering at the back of the room.
It was the shifter who’d visited her that morning, the one that had threatened her and maybe who had killed Vee. He stood out among the crowd, tall and striking with his silver-colored hair. Across the back of his leather jacket, the word ‘Wolfman’ was emblazoned.
She rolled her eyes. ‘Fitting, I guess.’ Since she still didn’t trust Hasan, she didn’t bother to tell him about Wolfman’s appearance at the club. It was something that she could handle on her own.
Wolfman and two friends laughed as they headed through a doorway at the back of the room. If she remembered the place correctly, the doorway led into a short hallway, and then into another room that was usually less crowded.
She followed. Less crowded meant that it was better for a confrontation. The dark magic simmered just under the surface, begging to be let out.
‘Soon,’ she told it.
Wolfman and his friends went all the way to the back room, laughing and talking, even as she tailed them silently.
Readying herself to strike, she slid into the room behind them.
And found the three men waiting for her, eyes gleaming.
“We meet again,” Wolfman said. Leering, his eyes slid over her body.
Cursing herself for falling into their trap, she pushed a bored expression to her face. “Looks that way. Too bad.”
The laughter from the men was too loud to be anything other than menacing. Taking two steps forward, so that he was inches away from her, Wolfman smiled, his breath falling against her skin.
"So gimme a kiss," Wolfman said mockingly. Then without waiting, he tried to kiss her. His teeth tore into her skin and she let out a shriek. Shoving him away, she was horrified to see that his teeth, previously normal human teeth, were now elongated fangs. Stained with her blood….
Even worse, his two friends had begun to transform into possessed looking wolves.
"Your friend Drew killed our friend Jakeel. We want payback. We need you, Kimone. Either deliver Drew to us dead, or else."
"Or what?" she snarled, her demon boiling just below the surface. “You know, you may want to take that back.”
“Really?” Wolfman sneered.
She was a damned good fighter, and had no qualms about dusting these guys. Easily letting a line of fire crawl up her jacket, she met the eyes of the other two. “Whether I can take on a shifter, I don’t know, but today seems like a good day to find out. Who likes fire?”
By the quick flash of uncertainty in one of the guys’ eyes, she knew that her fire could definitely hurt them.
A huge shadow fell across the doorway, and suddenly she was no longer alone. Entering the restroom right behind the last two, Hasan joined the action. “And after she burns your ass, you still have to deal with me.”
All three shifters swung around with warning growls which suddenly died in their throats as they caught sight of the man in the doorway. Wolfman’s nostrils twitched violently, scenting the air.
The four men remained as they were, bodies coiled with tension, as if ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
Wariness hung in the atmosphere, and she could sense that the attackers were having some sort of internal debate, but she didn’t care. Eyes boring into Wolfman, she asked saucily, “So, what’s it going to be, Wolf-boy? Wanna rumble? Pretty sure we’ll make it worth your while.”
A low growl emitted from Wolfman’s throat, then he shrugged. “Same offer stands. You kill Drew or we will. And trust me, we won't make it easy." He flashed a toothy leer and then transformed into another of the wolf-like beasts. One after the other, the wolves leapt out of the window.
Relief flooded her and she leaned back against the wall, avoiding Hasan’s gaze. Even with her bravado, she’d been worried about tangling with the shifters.
“Should have told me that this is what you needed. A quick hookup in the restroom with a couple of randos.”
Though she’d fought to avoid his eyes, she glanced at him in time to see a flash of jealousy pass over his face. The look in his pale eyes, however, was indecipherable.
‘No. He is off-limits, with a crap attitude,’ she reminded herself.
“Ugh. Can you just….keep your snide comments to yourself?” Of course, he couldn’t have been trusted not to point out her obviously stupid mistake.
Silently, he held the door open for her and she pushed past him to leave.
Chapter 4
“I’m still not sure why you think that I still need your help,” Kimone snapped. Her current mood wasn’t helped by the several feet of snow all around them. Since the information from the victim at the bar hadn’t helped, Hasan had dragged them out to a desolate forest in hopes of talking to another informant.
Those pale eyes studied her, but he said nothing. Then slowly, eyes still on hers, he slid his own bracelet from his wrist.
At first nothing happened. Then, his body shimmered once. His skin seemed to ripple and stretch, and she watched in astonishment as his body began to shift into something else entirely.
Until a massive white wolf stood before her in Hasan’s place. His eyes, now animal, were no longer pale and colorless; instead, they gleamed with an iridescent sheen.
The sheer size of him astounded her. Taller than a gray wolf, wolf-Hasan was almost four feet at the shoulder.
“But-,”
Hasan’s shift into a wolf challenged everything she knew about the shifter-world. As far as she knew, shifters were rogues who didn’t work with others. They tended to stay isolated and alone. Yet, Hasan had been a member of their team for as long as she knew.
‘And Drew too-,’ Astonished, she fingered the second onyx bracelet in her pocket. If Hasan’s bracelet kept him from transforming to a wolf, then Drew’s did the same.
Two people close to her were members of a minority supernatural Pack. Winter demons. Winter wolves. The SX Cabal.
A low rumbling growl sounded. She just stared at him, her heart pounding at the massive creature standing before her in the snow.
Then she realized that his growl wasn’t one of attack; it was a knowing commentary.
Realization of his meaning hit her and she swallowed lightly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. You are the best person to accompany me.”
No way she could argue; entering shifter territory to save her friend was a straight death sentence. With another shape-shifting winter demon at her side, she possibly stood a chance.
“All right, I’m
sorry. Let’s go.” Intending to lead the way into the icy brush, she stiffened as wolf-Hasan brushed past her, his fur grazing her hand brazenly.
Massive head in the air, he headed into the trees, nose twitching slightly. He was scenting the air, she could tell.
All above and around them, heavy snow sat, covering the former greenery of the forest. Apparently, since the winter storm had descended so quickly, the trees and bushes hadn’t had the chance to shed their leaves. Instead, the foliage was just weighted down by the fresh snow. Though she couldn’t see any movement, her demon senses told her that dozens of eyes were watching them, the forest creatures in hiding.
Anger surged in her. ‘And that’s the next thing wrong with these damned winter demons. Some of these little animals can’t survive a lengthy storm.’ If they didn’t get the SX to call off the winter soon, a lot of innocent creatures would die.
A small grunt from Hasan was the only indicator that the situation had changed. Wolf-Hasan drew to a stop immediately, and next to him, she did too.
From the dense brush off to their left, a low keening howl began and stopped. They waited, and within two seconds, a second wolf made its way out of the brush.
The two creatures stared at each other for seconds, and then Hasan’s form began to shimmer. In less time than he’d taken to shift to the wolf, Hasan was back in human form, fully dressed.
“Your clothes?” she murmured, puzzled.
He didn’t take his eyes off of the other wolf as he stepped close and said quietly into her ear, “The magic of the lopu takes care of the clothes when I shift.”
The other wolf huffed loudly and shook, tiny drops of snow filling the air around him. Then his form began to shimmer and ripple as well. Soon a short man stood before them, a scowl on his face.
With the annoyance wafting off of the other guy, Kimone remembered one of the few things she did know about shifters: they preferred to communicate one-on-one in their animal forms before they spoke in front of people. Anything else was considered an insult.
What Hasan had just done, shifting back to a human form before explaining what they needed was a direct insult to the other shifter.