It was a good plan, one he should have come up with and implemented himself, Hawk thought as they parked behind Gabe's Jeep a couple of blocks away from Bangers. If Roman had been home, he and Christian could have left Mystic and taken care of this.
I don't think so, Mystic said.
Hawk's lip lifted in a silent snarl. She was still flush from her victory in the bedroom. Next time he wouldn't underestimate her when the stakes were so high.
Before mating with Mystic, he hadn't considered how different the mental link would be from that of a pack bond. With her, there was a seamless merging of minds instead of a limited channel for communication. It was going to take some getting used to.
They got out of the car and immediately Mystic was engulfed in a hug from Gabby and Gabe. When they parted, Gabe said, "We swung by a store and picked up a collar and leash." He rolled his eyes and grinned. "It took forever because we couldn't agree. I thought spikes were appropriate but Gabby wouldn't have it."
"It's my neck, my choice."
Mystic laughed. Happiness uncurled in her chest like a wolf waking up. It felt so good to be with her friends and her mates, it felt better than good, stronger, different. It felt like home and that gave her pause. It made her wonder if what she was feeling was a sense of pack.
Around them the dusk faded into night. "Shift in the car," Hawk said to Gabby.
Mystic got in the car with her friend. She snickered when she saw the matching collar and leash. They were sky-blue with a herd of tiny black and white cows down the middle of them. "No rhinestones?"
"I'm waiting until after we hit the casinos. As soon as I rake in the jackpots I can buy real stones, maybe even have tiny gems glued onto my toenails. You think they'd survive the change? The beads Hawk's got in his hair have been spelled so they're a part of him."
"Worth a try, but start with something cheap." The car's dome light went off.
There was a rustle of clothing being removed. Mystic pressed against the door, giving Gabby plenty of room. The air in the car hummed with gathering magic and energy.
Mystic's chest tightened. Her heart raced. She grew short of breath and felt an instant of panic at the unfamiliar fullness, as though her skin couldn't contain her. There was sharp burst of pain through her center, then Gabby's wet wolf nose was nudging her hand.
"Remind me never to be in a small space with you again when you change," Mystic said. "You pack a punch!"
She rubbed her chest to try to rid herself of the phantom pain still lingering there. Something had changed because of the bond she had with Christian and Hawk. It probably had to do with their wolves responding to Gabby's change and wanting to emerge, too. Whatever it was, Mystic didn't want to revisit it anytime soon. For a second she'd felt as though she was going to split open and the magic was going to pour out of her-only instead of reforming into a wolf, she'd just be a mess someone would have to clean up. It wasn't a pretty picture and it definitely wasn't the way she wanted to leave this world.
A soft bark reminded Mystic she was in the car for a reason. She shook off the effects of Gabby's change and turned her attention to fastening the dog collar around her friend's neck.
Shock ripped through Christian with a one-two punch that made him think of a double-barrel shotgun. Mystic had a wolf form and Hawk already knew about it.
"Don't say anything to her," Hawk said in a low voice, his shoulder touching Christian's. "Put your thoughts behind a barrier. She's not ready to accept the possibility yet."
Christian nodded, in agreement with Hawk. "You guessed. Or you knew?" There was a sudden rawness inside him he couldn't explain and didn't want to look too closely at.
Hawk stilled. "On some level you knew it too, but you couldn't be sure. You're an alpha but you grew up without a pack." He surprised Christian by leaning more heavily into him and relaxing against him.
Only their shoulders and upper arms touched and yet there was the flowing sensation of beast against beast. It wasn't a sexual overture but Christian's cock partially filled and his chest flooded with warmth.
He tensed and would have pulled away but Hawk stopped him with a hand on his arm. "It's normal. A pack bond is forming between us. Even if a female wasn't at the center of our relationship, the closeness sometimes mimics the afterglow of sex."
And the shocks just keep coming, Christian thought as he took a deep breath and tried to deal with this newest one-because now that Hawk had pointed it out, he could feel the link between the two of them. He could feel lighter traces of it going to Gabe and Gabby. It felt good, right, like a part of him he hadn't recognized as missing was suddenly being filled in.
The car door opened. Mystic emerged holding a leash. Gabby jumped to the asphalt. "We're ready," Mystic said.
Christian stepped forward and wrapped his hand around her arm. His mind shut down to everything but getting this done and keeping her safe while they were doing it.
"Let's make this quick," he said.
Nobody argued with him.
Most of the people hanging around Bangers were already high on something other than life. A few of them commented about Gabby, a couple even took imaginary aim and pulled the trigger. Christian ignored them though Hawk had to step in and keep Gabe from losing his cool.
Nobody had bothered to clean up the blood in the parking lot. It was dried, dead, but Christian's hackles rose as the wolf surveyed the place its mate had nearly been killed.
He glanced at Hawk. Their eyes met. Last night he'd wanted to rip into Mystic's other mate and tear him to shreds, tonight the anger was directed at the rogue Weres.
They followed as Gabby led them out of the parking lot and into an industrial section. Christian kept thinking she'd circle back, return to the place where a car had been parked. Instead she kept going, tugging at the leash and nearly dragging Mystic in her excitement to follow the Weres' human scent.
Loud rock music greeted them as they left one industrial section and skirted the fenced edge of a run-down self-storage facility. A couple of the units had their doors open to expose amplifiers and instruments. One band was already practicing, another was setting up.
"Did they know any of you were Weres?" Christian asked. So far there'd been no weaving, no detours, no splitting up.
"They were nervous. I thought they picked up on something when Gabe and I got to their table. It looked like they were going to bolt," Hawk said.
The fence surrounding the storage units ended. A seedy area of town began. A pit bull chained up in a front yard further down the street went into a frenzy.
The area was known for gang violence, low-end prostitutes and drug deals for the down-and-out. It fit, Christian thought. If someone was making Weres from scratch and the survival rate after a mauling wasn't very good, this was the perfect place. There were plenty of disposable people to choose from, junkies who'd dropped out of society and life a long time ago.
Gabby whined and slowed her pace. She lifted her face. Her footsteps slowed further. Gabe said, "The scent's stronger here. There's a lot of coming and going, old and new track."
Surprise spiked through Christian. "You can communicate with her mentally?"
Gabe nodded. "But the range is a lot shorter like this. When we're both wearing fur, the distance is longer, maybe twice what's normal for most Weres."
This time shock stopped Christian in his tracks. "Weres have a psychic connection when they're wolves?"
Both Hawk and Gabe gaped at him. Christian's spine stiffened but before his hackles rose in defensiveness, Mystic said, How could you know the ins and outs of what it means to be a wolf with a pack? The werewolf culture is self-contained and exclusive and very hierarchical. They don't readily share information.
She leaned in and nuzzled his ear. All pack members are ultimately connected by the sharing of blood, either through birth or rite. They can link mentally but only over short distances, and typically only when they're in their fur. He felt her smile. It's harder for them than it is between vampires or the Angelini and the ones they share blood with. It's especially hard between mixed forms. It comes easily and naturally for Gabe and Gabby because they're twins as well as pack mates. Hawk is a known alpha to them, he might be able to communicate with Gabby if he was in his fur. He could probably call her wolf and make her shift, or send the wolf back, but without a blood link, I doubt even he's strong enough to hear Gabby's thoughts now.
Christian turned his head. His mouth captured Mystic's for a brief, appreciative kiss. Thanks.
There were few porch lights and the majority of the street lights had been shot out. Three houses in from the industrial section Gabby stopped at the corner of a yard.
There'd been a white picket fence once. What remained of it stood or lay down in sections of chipped paint and grayed wood.
A footpath was worn around to the back of the house. Gabby put her nose on the ground. Her tail thumped against Mystic's leg.
Christian studied the run-down, single-story house. It was darkened but that didn't mean it was empty. The edgy sensation along his spine made him think something supernatural was inside. "Can you sense anything?"
"Were energy," Mystic said. "But not a lot of it."
Hawk nodded. "One in fur at least. If there are others, they're still human. But unless this is a trap, I think it's only the one, probably left to guard."
"We go in?" Christian asked, already pulling his gun from its harness.
Mystic could smell the silver. Gabby whined as the scent reached her.
"Do you have a silencer?" Hawk asked.
"Yes." Christian pulled one out of his pocket and screwed it onto the barrel of the gun.
Hawk held his hand out to Christian. "I don't have a problem with shooting whatever comes at us, human or Were. You're a cop. Give me the gun. I'll take the responsibility."
Christian's lip curled. The wolf flashed in his eyes.
Mystic could feel Hawk's wolf respond. Subvocal growls filled the link as her two alphas squared off.
She wanted to interfere, to smooth things over, to mediate. She bit her lip to keep from doing it. This was something they had to work out for themselves. Christian had to decide whether or not he was going to be part of a pack and if so, whether or not he was going to share responsibility or let Hawk run things.
"This isn't police business," Christian finally said. "This is our business."
Hawk's hand dropped away. "Gabe and I can take the sides and go around to the back. I'm guessing there's a door. If there's a safe place to do it, I'll shift. On a signal you go in through the front. Gabe and I'll go in through the back. We won't be able to stop a wolf going out through the window, but at least we'll have time to search the place, maybe find out who we're dealing with. If we can take the wolf down without killing him, all the better, but I'm not counting on it."
"What's the signal?" Christian asked.
"I'll have Gabe tell Gabby to paw at the door."
"Sounds good." Christian glanced at Mystic. "She goes in behind me. Turn the lights on when we're in?"
"Yeah, safer for all of us that way. Okay, let's do this."
They split up. Despite nearly being killed by her last encounter with the rogue Weres, Mystic felt more excited than scared this time as she trailed Christian and Gabby to the front door.
It probably had something to do with the odds being in their favor this time-or it could be the gun. Silver bullets were a great equalizer when it came to Weres. Maybe in addition to some hand-to-hand combat training, she should also go out to the firing range.
Once again Christian pulled out his lock pick set. She wasn't sure whether or not anyone would report a breaking-and-entering in this neighborhood, or whether they'd even notice the sound of a door being kicked open, but it was smarter not to advertise what they were doing.
Mystic leaned down and unhooked the leash from Gabby's collar. Adrenaline surged through her system a few minutes later when Gabby scratched at the front door.
"Stand back and to the side," Christian said, checking to make sure she was in position before he opened the door and went in.
A wolf darted out into the narrow hallway as soon as the back door crashed open. He was big, gray, moth-eaten against the black shine of Hawk's fur.
Hawk snarled a command and the wolf went to its side, pee erupting in a show of terrified submission. Mystic breathed a small sigh of relief. She hadn't expected it to go so well.
Slowly Hawk approached. The other male whimpered, he scooted and crawled, retreating from the black wolf and trailing more pee as he did it.
Gabby edged forward as the wolf neared where they were blocking the front door. She showed her teeth and growled in a warning not to come any closer. The wolf responded by rolling to his feet and lunging, all pretense of submitting gone in an instant.
Christian reacted immediately, instinctively. A single shot to the head dropped the wolf just is it was leaping for his gun hand.
In a shimmer of magic Hawk was human again. "Gabe, go get your rental car. You and Gabby are going to take the body out into the desert. Burn it, then bury it."
Gabe left. Hawk disappeared long enough to get dressed. Christian said, "Let's search the place."
They started with the wolf's carcass. There was no brand, though no one had expected to find one.
The kitchen was a pigsty of take-out containers, cheap dog food, and beer. The bedrooms weren't much better. Sex-stained sheets were covered in grime and dog hair. A collar attached to a leash tied to the headboard hinted at games Mystic wasn't interested in learning more about.
"Matchbook from Wolfsbane," Christian said, kneeling among the squalor of dirty, perspiration-soaked clothing.
Gabby was digging through a pile of dark pants and shirts. When she gave a soft yip, Mystic left her study of the socks and dust under the bed and went over to investigate Gabby's find.
By the smell and size of the jeans Gabby was pawing at, Mystic thought they belonged to the Were being prostituted. She wrinkled her nose and picked them up. There was a photograph in the pocket. "Not that we needed confirmation these are the Weres who killed the fledgling, but here's a picture of Todd Moore."
Hawk looked up from where he was rummaging through a mostly empty dresser. "Anything in the background?"
Mystic studied the image. "Nothing, just a wall. If there were numbers at the bottom I'd say it could be a mug shot."
"So maybe finding the vampires isn't personal for them," Christian said, "and hunting them is their reward."
"Did Brann and Roman learn anything from Juric?" Hawk asked.
Mystic sought Roman with her mind. He was at Brann's estate. As soon as she opened the link desire and a need to feed rushed down the path to swamp her in heat.
She was instantly aroused, her panties wet in a heartbeat, and Roman made no attempt to hide his satisfaction at what he was doing to her. The wolves have had you to themselves long enough, Roman purred. And from your memories I can see you've been quite busy. I am anxious for my turn to play a bedroom game with you. Be warned, you won't defeat me as you did your other two mates. His laugh was a silky threat that made her nipples tighten. He was so old, so powerful his thoughts were like a physical caress stroking over her, through her.
Mystic closed her eyes and fought to steady her breathing. It took all her willpower to keep from cupping her breasts, from sliding her fingers into her slit in order to gain some relief. He was feeding her hunger, sharing his own with her, using the intensity of their blood connection to make her burn and need the same way he did. He was punishing her for taking so long to reach for him, ensuring she desired him as much as she did her Were mates.
She moaned when Hawk's hot, masculine body pressed against her back and his arm draped over her hip so his hand could cup her mound through the jeans she was wearing. His low growl was audible, his words were a snarl along their bond. In a minute Christian and I are going to start fucking you. Your scent is driving us crazy. Your heat makes it nearly impossible to think about anything else except getting our cocks inside you. We'll take you with Gabby here. We'll take you with a dead Were in the hallway and not even care that the others might show up. I'd suggest if Roman is anxious to be with you he should let us finish here and leave.
Roman pulled back though Mystic's body still shivered with the need to come. All it would take was for Hawk or Christian to put their mouths on her, to lick or suck her clit, to penetrate her with their tongues or even their fingers and she'd come.
Wolves weren't shy about taking their mates with others around. She and Gabby had witnessed it plenty of times, but she couldn't bring herself to ask for release in front of her friend-at least not until Gabby had a mate to attend to her needs.
Mystic clenched her fists. She thought about the hunt they were on-the photograph she'd taken from Hugh's apartment, the picture here, the cocktail napkin from Wolfsbane they'd found there, the matchbook Christian found here. Slowly the desperate need faded into a hum of awareness, a barely tolerable containment.
Did you and Brann learn anything from Dusan Juric?
Juric banished a son barely weaned from his vein to California and lost him almost immediately. He hasn't been able to find out what happened to him. Given the taint of a dark sorcerer's magic on Todd Moore's blood, it's possible Juric's son was captured or he allowed himself to be used voluntarily in order to create additional vampires. He wasn't strong enough to do it on his own. I find it interesting we've got Weres who were created-not born-hunting vampires who also appear to have come into existence unnaturally. Maybe they were both experiments-one successful, one not.
There was a thoughtful pause from Roman. We need to capture someone alive, either a Were or a vampire. I'll speak to Brann. There are others here who are part of his line through Gian. He can assign some of them to the task of watching the house you've found. I'll use your memories to give them directions. Hurry up and finish searching, then get out of there.
Gabe returned with the Jeep. Hawk helped him get the dead wolf wrapped in blankets and out to the car while Christian and Mystic quickly finished going through the house. There was nothing to identify any of the people living there though Mystic found a picture of Hugh in the pocket of another pair of pants and Christian found one of the same woman who appeared in the photograph with Todd and Hugh that Mystic had taken from Hugh's apartment.
"I think it's safe to assume this is Marta and she's a vampire, too," Christian said, slipping the photograph into his pocket as Hawk came back into the room.
"Gabby and Gabe are on their way," Hawk said. "Are we finished in here?"
"Yeah," Christian said, but hesitated when he got to the spot where the dead wolf had fallen. There was no blood, Hawk and Gabe had cleaned it up, but the Weres would know what happened if they shifted into their wolf form.
Mystic felt the weight of the death settle on Christian. She put her arm around his waist. "You didn't have a choice."
Hawk stepped forward. He gripped Christian's forearm. He locked his eyes to Christian's. "He could have yielded and had a chance at survival. The wolf knew. The man rejected. This death was clean and quick. If his actions required us to turn him over to the vampires, they might have made him wish he were dead long before they finished with him."
Christian gave a terse nod. Mystic rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and let him feel how much he'd already come to mean to her. He turned into her and captured her mouth. He took his comfort from her lips and tongue, from the press of her body against his and the warm presence of Hawk at his back.
"Wolfsbane next?" she asked when the kiss ended.
Christian's phone rang before either of her mates got more than a growl out. As he took the call, Roman's thoughts found her. The number found at Hugh's apartment belongs to a cell phone. It's just been turned on. Rafe is giving Christian the location. You'll insist on going and your wolves can't deny you. Do not enter the house without me. I'll meet you there. When we're finished with our business, you'll be done hunting for the night.
Mystic's spine stiffened at his autocratic pronouncement. There was steel in his voice but she wasn't afraid of him. We'll see.
Yes, we'll see.