Savage Awakening

The man relaxed some, and nodded. “Not at all.”

She hesitated. “Assuming I can ever, in a zillion years, swallow that you guys battle mythical creatures, why enlighten me? Why not just tell me Micah is dead and send me on my way?”

“I could have,” he acknowledged. “But you’d already learned of our compound and I saw right away you’re not the type of person to be put off once you’re on the hunt. We’re similar that way, you and I.”

“True enough.”

“Besides, your journey led you here for another reason besides finding your brother. One every bit as important.”

“What— Oh. More psychic stuff, huh?”

“PreCog, and yes.”

“Whatever.” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Barely. But she couldn’t help but be curious about his mysterious claim. “What other reason would there be?”

He looked uncomfortable for a second, then shook his head. “Can’t tell you that. As a rule, I try not to influence others’ life decisions, which means I don’t interfere with free will.”

“Well, thanks, Great and Powerful Oz,” she deadpanned. “That’s real helpful. Now what?”

“We have a new lead,” he revealed, studying her intently. “One that might take us to Micah and another of our teammates, Aric Savage, who was captured by this same group a few weeks ago during an op gone bad.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all year—the part about the lead, not the screwup.” A thrill of excitement fired her cop’s blood. “So, what’s the plan? When do we leave?”

“The plan is, Alpha Pack is going in to hopefully capture as many of the organization as possible, and rescue our men along with anyone else being held. You are staying here.”

Her spine straightened. “No damned way. I’m a cop, remember? I can’t get furry and I don’t have any cool supernatural talents, but it sounds to me like you guys need all the help you can get, what with losing your team members right and left.”

“You may be a cop, but in my world you’re a civilian. I can’t be responsible for getting you killed. What am I supposed to tell your brother when I bring him back and he learns that I allowed you to get hurt, or worse?”

Made sense when he put it like that. The Pack’s boss man didn’t want to take the heat if something happened to her.

“All right,” she said nonchalantly. “I can live with that. I wouldn’t want you to feel guilty if I got my ass shredded.”

Nick’s piercing blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why do I get the feeling I’ve been played?”

For the first time since meeting the Pack’s boss, she smiled. “I’d say you didn’t need to be a fuckin’ psychic to know that.”

As the door to his office closed behind Rowan Chase, Nick sat back in his chair and plowed a hand through his short hair with a weary sigh. The arrival of Micah’s sister was a complication he didn’t need right now. But he couldn’t deny that she was going to be very important to the team.

And to one man in particular.

A knock interrupted his thoughts and he glanced up to see the newest addition to Alpha Pack open the door and poke his head inside.

“Got a minute?”

“Sure, come on in.”

Kalen Black strolled inside and stood in front of Nick’s desk with his booted feet spread, arms crossed over his chest. As always, Nick fought not to stare at Goth-boy dressed in his usual black ensemble, but for better or worse, the young man commanded attention wherever he went.

Jet-black rock-star hair fell in messy layers around his face and to the shoulders of his battered leather duster. Underneath, he wore a mesh T-shirt and jeans tucked into calf-high boots adorned with silver buckles. Black-tipped nails graced the strong fingers digging into his biceps, and striking kohl-rimmed eyes the color of emeralds gazed back at Nick unflinchingly.

Their resident Sorcerer/Necromancer, who was also a panther shifter, was no attention seeker, though. A graduate of the School of Hard Knocks, Kalen simply didn’t give a damn what anyone thought of him. The kid possessed the most raw power of any being Nick had ever run across. And made him feel really goddamned old, which was the sad truth.

If the team knew just how old, they’d never believe it.

“The woman, Miss Chase,” Kalen prompted. “I’m assuming she’s related to the Pack member with the same last name?”

“Rowan is Micah’s sister,” Nick confirmed. “But since neither of us knew Micah I’m guessing you’re not really here to talk about the missing wolf or his sibling.”

The Sorcerer’s neutral expression darkened. Slowly, he lowered himself into one of the chairs opposite Nick, rested his elbows on his knees, and put his face in his hands. That was when Nick noticed that the silver pentagram pendant the younger man wore around his neck, was never without, was missing.

A shiver of dread shot through his veins, and he straightened. He’d learned to never ignore the faint beginnings of a vision. “Where’s your necklace?” he asked sharply.

Kalen’s head came up, his face etched with resignation. “Someone needed it more than I did.”

The sense of dread grew roots and began to flourish. “You gave it to Mackenzie? Damn it, kid—”

“That’s not up for discussion,” Kalen said firmly, holding up a hand. “I’m just here to let you know I’m leaving.”

“You’re what?”

“Look, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Nobody else except my grandmother ever gave a shit about me, or even cared enough to give me a chance to do something with my life. But you were different,” the Sorcerer said quietly. “That means more to me than you’ll ever know, but it’s time for me to hit the road.”

Nick studied Kalen for several long moments. The slump of the man’s shoulders, the tightening around his mouth and the weariness in his eyes told Nick that his newest recruit didn’t want to go but felt he must. “No. Not acceptable.”

The other man blinked. “I can’t stay. You don’t understand.”

“So fill me in on the problem and we’ll deal with it.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be that simple.” A sad laugh escaped his lips. “As if anything would be where I’m concerned.”

“Tell me, son,” he urged, injecting all the warmth and confidence into his voice that he could muster. After a long moment, the younger man nodded.

“My pentagram was given to me by my grandmother,” he began, gazing at his boots. “She once told me it had been crafted centuries ago by a master Sorcerer, and spelled as a protection against even the most powerful evil. I was never sure about any of that until recently, but it was a gift from her and so it was special to me.”

Nick frowned. “Then why did you give it to Mac?”

“Because she needs the protection and it’s the strongest—the only—talisman I have to give.”

“Why does she need protection? Does this have to do with the attack?” A couple of weeks ago, Kalen and Mackenzie had gone into town separately and had run into trouble in the form of one of those nasty winged creatures with the big mouth full of sharp teeth, like the one he had locked in the basement cell. The two of them had nearly been killed by the damned thing, and would’ve been if Kalen hadn’t gained the upper hand and dispatched it to hell.

“Yeah. Remember, it scratched her and bit me. What I didn’t tell you is Mackenzie started hearing a voice. A sinister one telling her to do all sorts of bad shit.” His expression was bleak. “I tried everything, every spell I knew, but I couldn’t get rid of it. The bastard, whoever he is, was driving her crazy. Literally.”

Nick stood and made his way around the desk, parking his butt on the edge and telling himself not to lambast the younger man for keeping this from him for so long. What mattered now was getting answers. He waited.

“So I put the pentagram around Mackenzie’s neck and told her never to take it off. Seems to be working.”

“Okay, so if she’s fine, why do you feel the need to leave?”