Primal Possession (39 page)

Noah frowned and the tenseness in him seemed only to grow. “But December’s one of us now. Wouldn’t the humans be more willing to accept our presence?”

Liam’s heart twisted for the remembered pain he’d seen in December’s eyes a couple weeks ago. She’d come home from work and she hadn’t wanted to tell him, but he’d eventually gotten out of her that a woman she’d been friends with for almost a decade had come into her store to tell her what an abomination she was. Instead of telling them all that, he simply shook his head. “December’s lost some friends since she turned.”

There was a brief silence before Connor spoke. “Right now the APL in our region might be inactive, but they’re still here. And Adler had a boss. According to Brianna, he pulled all the strings during their operations here, but Adler kept his identity close to his chest. The boss had a son Adler killed, but she didn’t know his last name. Adler was careful about keeping that secret.” Whoever Adler’s boss was had ordered the attempted kidnappings of December and successful kidnapping of Kat.

That knowledge made Liam’s hands ball into tight fists. His skin pulled taut as his inner wolf instinctively primed for battle. The sharp scent of his own restrained rage was the only thing that allowed him to get his wolf under control. The time would come when that unknown bastard would feel his pack’s wrath.

Connor’s voice cut through his thoughts, completely silencing his beast. “For the time being we’re going to watch and listen for any threats. We’re going to keep our guard up and quietly ferret out as much information as we can. However, we won’t be blindly attacking APL members.” He glanced around the room.

Liam nodded even though his brother already knew he’d follow him into hell. If Connor didn’t want them taking any physical action against the APL, he’d abide by that. For now. Aiden and Noah also nodded.

As they did, Connor continued. “I just got off the phone with Jayce about an hour ago and he has new intel. There’s been a report of someone possibly dealing vamp blood to humans. The APL included.”

Liam straightened against the mantel. “Where?”

“Out of Winston-Salem.”

A little over two hours from where they lived. “How good is this intel?”

Connor shook his head, his expression grim and weighted down with all the responsibility of his pack. “Don’t know yet. Jayce said he wanted to follow up on a lead once he got here, but if APL members are taking the stuff, it changes the playing field.”

His brother didn’t say what they all already knew. Humans who ingested vampire blood gained superstrength. The effects didn’t last forever, but it gave them a shot of adrenaline and pleasure no manufactured drug ever could. It also dulled them to pain in a way that could become very dangerous. If APL members were taking the stuff, it put beta shifters—those weakest in the pack structure—at a much higher risk. It also put all shifters at a risk to underestimate their opponents. Liam had no doubt he could take on a handful of humans hopped up on vamp blood, but if there was a gang of them against
one shifter, even a powerful one, the odds of survival slimmed. “Shit,” he muttered.

The others in the room silently nodded in agreement. If humans were taking vamp blood, Liam was damn sure vampires weren’t selling it to them. Which likely meant someone had captured a vampire and was siphoning the blood. Holding a vamp hostage was hard to do, but vampires weren’t pack oriented like shifters. If one had gone missing, it was possible no one even noticed.

And this only created a new set of problems for shifters and all paranormal beings everywhere. As silence descended on the room, something icy settled in his chest, spreading slowly to all his nerve endings. Being newly bonded with a baby on the way ratcheted up his protective nature in a way he’d never thought possible.

That need to protect would never go away. It was so deeply ingrained in him it was part of who he was. Despite the fact that there was now one person—and soon two—in the world he couldn’t live without, it was worth being tied to December in a way he’d never have with anyone else. Bonding with her made him feel intrinsically whole. He hadn’t even known something had been missing until she’d filled that gap inside him. Whatever the future held, as long as she was by his side and he got to wake up to her face every morning, he knew there wasn’t much they couldn’t handle.

Almost as if she’d sensed his mood, December’s soft voice cut through his thoughts using their bondmate link.
I love you, Liam.

As his brother continued talking about their plans to follow and watch known APL members and keep an ear to the ground about vamp blood usage, Liam had to bite back a smile as he communicated with his mate.
Right back at you, Red.

A great big thank-you to Jill Marsal for being a fantastic agent and sounding board! I’m so blessed to work with you. To my amazing editor, Danielle Perez, thank you for all your help in making the Moon Shifter world shine. To the rest of the team at NAL who work so hard: Michele Alpern, Rosalind Parry, Kathleen Cook, Erin Galloway, and the very talented designer Anthony Ramondo. Everything you do is so appreciated.

Thank you to Dara Edmondson and Kari Walker a million times over. You two are amazing and I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’m lucky to call you my friends. Caridad Piñeiro, thank you so much for all your support. Laura Wright, you are the ultimate voice of reason. Our weekly phone calls keep me sane, and I treasure our friendship more than you know!

To my parents and sister, you guys are like anchors in a storm. I’m so blessed to always have your support. To my husband and son, I love you both more than anything and am so grateful for your never-ending patience when I’m on deadline.

For my readers, thank you for all your support of the Moon Shifter world! I wouldn’t be here without you. And last but definitely not least, to God for all the opportunities he’s given me.

J
ayce Kazan parked his Harley in front of December McIntyre’s house. The feisty pregnant redhead wouldn’t be there because she now lived on the Armstrong ranch with her mate and the rest of the lupine shifter pack who made their home in Fontana, North Carolina.

But Kat would be home.

Or she should be. Even after December moved, Kat had stayed there instead of moving to the ranch. She’d been brutally attacked by the radical Antiparanormal League (APL) a month ago, and then had been turned into a lupine shifter. Just like him. The only difference between them was he’d been born that way almost five hundred years ago, and she’d been bitten and turned by one of the Armstrong pack members to save her life. Well, that wasn’t the only difference. He was a crass, roughneck enforcer who’d killed more beings than he could ever hope to count and she was…fucking perfection.

At least to him.

Right now she wasn’t returning his calls. Not that he blamed her. He hadn’t been there for her when she’d needed him most and he wanted to rip his own heart out
because of it. At least then maybe he’d be able to assuage some of his guilt. She’d only had a one percent chance of surviving the change, and even though Jayce was grateful that Aiden had saved her, a dark part of him hated that bastard.

He hated the fact that he hadn’t been the one to save her. That someone else had had the honor of taking what was his. His human side knew he’d never planned to change Kat—it would have turned her into a walking target overnight if anyone discovered how deep his feelings for her ran—but his animal side didn’t give a shit. No one should have ever touched what was his.

Though she really wasn’t his, was she? Not anymore anyway. Hadn’t been for almost a year. At one time she had been. He’d kissed and teased every inch of her naked body and she’d done the same to him. Things had never been particularly
easy
between them—not with their strong personalities—but with the exception of his MIA brother, she was the only person on the planet he’d ever let his guard down around. She brought out the best in him. Hell, she also brought out his worst—his jealous, fiercely protective side. For over a month he’d exercised all his restraint, staying away from her while working for the Council.

After getting only an hour of sleep last night, he was edgy and ready to rip someone’s head off. Maybe it hadn’t been the smartest idea to roll up to see her the moment he’d gotten back into town, but he didn’t care. He needed to see her.

Craved it so bad, his canines ached at the thought. She could slam the door on him for all he cared. He just needed to
see
her face.

As he swung his leg over the bike and straightened up, he glanced over when he noticed Ryan getting out of his truck parked across the street. Though he didn’t want to be patient or polite, he waited while the other shifter strode toward him.

Ryan wore a thick down jacket and jeans and even though Jayce couldn’t see an outline, he knew the guy was packing a few weapons. The chilly January weather wouldn’t have affected Ryan like it would humans, so he knew the
main reason the shifter was wearing a jacket was to hide guns and blades. “Hey, Jayce. What are you doing here?”

Jayce raised an eyebrow at the question. Why the hell wouldn’t he be here?

Ryan’s lips pulled into a thin line. “I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t know you’d be back so early. Thought you were still on Council business or something.”

He shrugged. As the enforcer for the North American Council of lupine shifters, Jayce didn’t answer to anyone. Not Ryan. Not even Connor Armstrong, leader of the Armstrong pack and also Ryan’s Alpha.
No one.
While he might work for the Council, he sure as hell didn’t answer to them either. They needed him and he made damn sure they never forgot it. So even if he didn’t have to answer the wolf in front of him, or that wolf’s boss, he knew projecting his own bad mood wouldn’t win him any friends, and right now he needed all the fucking friends he could get. “Caught an early flight and headed over here. Haven’t called Connor to let him know I’m in town though, so…”

Ryan nodded. “I’ll let you call him.”

He cleared his throat. “Thanks.” The word felt foreign on his lips. He should have called Connor the moment he arrived in town out of respect, but he had a lot to discuss with him and some of it needed to be done in person. He’d received information that someone was trafficking vampire blood in the next county. After settling in, he intended to search out some former contacts. Not to mention, he still planned to ferret out any possible dangerous APL members still in the area. But mainly, he just wanted to see Kat, and everything else had taken a backseat. “When did she get home?” Jayce didn’t need to specify whom he was referring to.

Ryan shrugged. “Few hours ago. She was at the ranch with, uh…Aiden,
training
, but she still won’t move there to live with the pack. Which is why we’re still watching her in shifts.”

Jayce already knew that. After her attack by those APL fuckers nearly killed her, she’d been fairly defiant in her demand that she live away from what was now her pack. Connor had jurisdiction over her since she technically lived in his
territory, but considering she’d been turned into a shifter without the proper introduction to pack life and rules, Connor was giving her some leeway. But he was a fair Alpha, so Jayce wasn’t exactly surprised. Even if he did hate the fact that Connor wouldn’t force her to live on the ranch where she’d be protected at all times.

“You have a key to the house?” Jayce asked, though he was already fairly certain of the answer. Connor wouldn’t have left anyone to watch the house without a way to get inside if necessary. Of course, they could break in, but cleaning up a mess was a hassle Jayce knew the Alpha wouldn’t want to deal with.

Ryan paused but nodded. “Yeah. She’s gonna be pissed if you just walk in there.”

“I know.” He held out his hand, not asking but silently demanding it.

Sighing, the other wolf dug a single key out of his pocket and handed it over. As he headed back to his vehicle, Ryan muttered something under his breath about Jayce taking his life into his own hands.

If he’d had more sleep or was in a better mood, he might have smiled at the statement. A pissed-off Kat was a sight to see. And he’d only seen her truly angry when she’d been human. He could only imagine her attitude as a shifter.

One of the last times he’d seen her as a lupine shifter had been directly after her transformation. She’d been healed after the change but covered in her own blood. And another wolf had been holding her.

Protecting her.

Comforting her.

Jayce still didn’t know the details of what had happened to her during her hours of torture—she refused to tell anyone about it—but according to December she still had nightmares.

And no one was there to ease her pain. Jayce’s hands balled into fists as he turned and headed up the stone walkway. Ever since they’d found Kat in that run-down barn, he’d been living in a state of hell. It was the feeling of helplessness that nearly undid him every time he thought of Kat. Which was practically every second of every day. The tall, gorgeous
woman invaded his dreams when he was sleeping. He should have been there to save her. If he had, he’d have been the one to change her into a shifter.

The second he stepped into the house, he knew Kat wasn’t there. Her scent was there, but he couldn’t hear a heartbeat. She’d been gone maybe twenty minutes if he had to guess from her fading scent. Had ducked her guard just like he feared she’d do since Connor had let her live apart from the pack.

Jayce knew it wasn’t the first time she’d done this either. December had become an unlikely source of information as she was worried about her friend and often called him with updates on Kat.

This kind of shit was going to stop. If she didn’t care about her own safety, she needed to at least be concerned about the rest of the pack. And according to December, over the past week Kat had been disappearing for hours at a time. She wouldn’t tell anyone what she was doing either. Jayce had heard she’d been having difficulty controlling her change from human to wolf, and that could be a very dangerous thing for all the local shifters.