“Come on, Laddin. Don’t bail on me yet. Give me a chance to prove that there’s a place here for you.”
He nodded, because he’d been trained since birth to respect a powerful woman’s wishes, but she also had to respect his choice. “I’ll help out now, but after this, I need to go back to my family.”
“We’re family too, if you want us.”
He knew it was true, but he didn’t want to give up one family for another. He wasn’t built that way.
It didn’t take long for him to pack up. After all, he’d come here with nothing, not even his clothes. Before long he was on a short eight-hour drive to a pizza farm in a tiny town in Wisconsin. How did they farm pizza, anyway?
The signs along the road explained it—the place used its own locally sourced ingredients for its five-star pizza. Great. Except business must be crap since the owner, Mary, had rented out her entire home to the Wulf, Inc. crew.
There wasn’t time to ponder pizza farm economics as he pulled into a big barn designed for farm equipment but being used as a garage. He saw Nero’s car next to a Wulf, Inc. van that had seen better days. And it obviously hadn’t been washed since its time in the swamp, because boy, did that thing stink!
He got out as Wiz and Stratos, another member of the team, arrived. Like him, they turned up their noses at the stench from the van.
“What the hell is that?” Stratos demanded as she covered her nose with her tee.
Yordan—a big guy with a loud mouth and a fondness for putting them through calisthenics—pointed at Laddin. “That’s his problem. The new wolf is asleep in the back. He’s probably hungry and has to go potty, but don’t let him do that as a wolf. The first task is to get him to switch back to a human.”
Laddin nodded. He’d been briefed.
Bing hopped out of the other side of the van, his expression set in that same bland mask he’d had on the set. Laddin had been surprised to find out that his boss had also turned werewolf, but in the end they’d settled into the same trainee level. They’d both been yanked from their lives, had to learn how to live as a werewolf, and eventually they’d both have to decide what to do about it. “Listen up,” Nero boomed using his alpha voice. “We’ve found a way to kill the demon that’s poisoning Wisconsin. It’s a complicated maneuver, and there’s no room for new recruits. You all are here to help keep the nasties away while Josh and I do what needs to be done.”
Wiz folded his arms. “Have we found the demon that’s killing Wisconsin?”
Nero winced. “Not yet. We’ll report to Wulfric, tell him what we know, and he’ll decide how and where to use us.”
Josh’s head snapped up. “Wulfric as in the immortal founder of Wulf, Inc.? That—”
“Yes! That Wulfric. The one who only comes out when the world is about to end. So get your gear. Yordan and Bing are with me and Josh.” He gestured to his car. “Stratos and Wiz, follow behind. Let’s do what we’re here to do.”
The others did as they were told—all except Laddin, who stood there feeling very left out. Then Yordan, Bing’s trainer, slapped the keys to the van into his hand and gave him a hard look. “For the record, I’m against this. You don’t know shit about training a new recruit.”
It was 100 percent true, but Laddin had seen the Wulf, Inc. assignment roster. Thanks to the demon, they were severely short on staff. “I’m the only option there is,” he said.
“Don’t baby him,” Yordan continued. “He may or may not know who he is and what has happened. Keep him in the cage unless he’s human.”
Laddin shook his head. “I’m not keeping him caged! Do you know how traumatizing that is?”
“Less traumatizing than getting your own throat ripped out. Believe me, I know.” And he did—just a few weeks ago, he’d lost control of Bing and nearly died in that exact way.
Which meant that Laddin had no room to argue. Instead, he ducked around Yordan to talk to Josh, who was already inside the car and buckling his seat belt. The guy looked both harassed and happy, which was a strange combination. His blond hair was mussed, his customary who-cares attitude seemed frayed, but whenever he looked at Nero, there was this intense burst of something from him. Lust? Love? It was hard to tell, but Laddin knew it was rooted in happiness. Because right then, the guy wore a sloppy smile on his face as he watched Nero climb into the driver’s seat.
Sadly, that smile faded the second Laddin knocked on the car window.
Josh was quick to lower the window, his expression neutral. “Don’t trust him, Laddin. He’s got a cruel edge.”
“Your brother?” Weren’t brothers supposed to be one for all and all for one? Or at least, not hate each other?
“Yes, my brother!”
Obviously it was different for these two. “Do you have any idea why he did it? What exactly—?”
“He did it because he has to ruin everything I have. That’s what he does. He sticks his nose into my life and destroys it.”
Laddin took a slight step back. “How does him becoming a werewolf destroy your life?”
Josh blew out an angry breath. “He’ll find a way. He always does.”
By that point Nero had settled into the driver’s seat. He reached out to squeeze Josh’s thigh. “He can’t ruin this. It’s not possible.”
Laddin watched as Josh’s expression softened. Then he covered Nero’s hand with his own. “He’ll try, though. I don’t know if it’s jealousy or just a neurotic need to be the best at everything. He had everything when we
