Nocturne 040 – Scions 02 - Patrice Michelle - Insurrection

Scions 02

Insurrection

by

Patrice Michelle

Nocturne 040 – Patrice Michelle - Scions 02 - Insurrection When Detective Kaitlyn McKinney responds to a call about a strange, burned body, she discovers something far more complicated—and dangerous.

Landon Rourke is a werewolf, exiled from his pack and dedicated to keeping a protective watch over Kaitlyn.

A prophecy has said that his kind and vampires would one day come to a truce. But that day has yet to come.

Landon has his own past to deal with, too, involving Kaitie herself. A dark truth that has kept them apart for years. When Kaitlyn gets caught up in the battle between vampires and werewolves, the longsimmering attraction she shares with Landon ignites. And in that attraction they find the secret that will bring them together.…

Landon had never felt so out of control, so fiercely protective for another in his life

He scooped Kaitlyn into his arms. Somewhere along the way, he’d connected with her, not just from a protector’s viewpoint, but from a pack-member’s perspective. He thought of her as one of his own…one he also wanted with a deep, abiding desire that knocked him in the gut. But he didn’t trust himself not to hurt her if things between them heated up. His inner beast was always there, just under his skin, growling for him to take action. Adding sex to the mixture would only heighten his primal senses, making it very easy to forget just how breakable she was.

But she would have his loyalty. There was nothing quite like a wolf’s dedication to his packmates.

And Landon knew he’d defend her with every last breath in his body. Books by Patrice Michelle

Silhouette Nocturne

* Scions: Resurrection #31

* Scions: Insurrection #40

Born and raised in the Southeast, Patrice Michelle gave up her financial calculator for a keyboard and never looked back. Thanks to an openminded family who taught her that life isn’t as black and white as we’re conditioned to believe, she pens her novels with the belief that various shades of gray are a lot more interesting. She’s a natural with a pointand-shoot camera, likes to fiddle with graphic design and, to the relief of her family, strums her guitar to an audience of one.

Visit Patrice’s Web site at www.patricemichelle.net to learn about her upcoming books, read excerpts and sign up for her newsletter. SCIONS: INSURRECTION

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Dear Reader,

Welcome back to the intriguing, dark and sensuous SCIONS world! This second book in the trilogy, Scions: Insurrection, continues with Landon Rourke and Kaitlyn McKinney’s story.

Landon is one of my favorite heroes because he’s not perfect. He’s tortured and flawed, but possesses a strength of will and a sense of duty and honor that I hope will make you cheer for him as he searches for his place within his pack and wins the heroine’s heart. Strong-minded and courageous, Kaitlyn McKinney has many obstacles to overcome in order to find her way to happiness. Loyal to the core, Kaitlyn’s capacity for love, along with her compassion, are the qualities that will make her path to falling for Landon both heart-wrenching and heartwarming at the same time. She truly is Landon’s perfect match. Open your heart and fall headlong into Landon’s and Kaitlyn’s lives as they embark on an emotional adventure about past mistakes, ingrained loyalty, intense passion, forgiveness and, ultimately, deep, abiding love. All the best,

Patrice Michelle

www.patricemichelle.net

To my family, thank you for always believing in me!

Acknowledgments

To my amazing agent Deidre Knight for believing in my writing and finding a home for my books, to my editor Ann Leslie Tuttle for her astute editorial input and endless enthusiasm, and to Charles Griemsman

—a wonderful point person all the way around. Thanks also for answering my obscure questions about New York with infinite patience. And to fabulous author Linnea Sinclair for her willingness to share procedural information with fellow authors.

Nearly imperceptible vibrations rumbled underneath Landon’s bare feet as he lifted the ax.

Cool fall wind whipped through the forest, drying the sweat that coated his naked chest and soaked the top of his jeans.

He scrunched his toes in the damp underbrush, feeling, sensing the pulse of the predator. The tiny hairs on the back of his neck and along his arms stood on end as his senses went into overdrive. Without turning, he sniffed the current in the air and waited for his sense of smell to catch up with his supercharged hearing and heightened tactile abilities. Filtering out the strong scent of oak, pine, decomposing leaves and earth surrounding him, he homed in on new scents and listened for movement.

Behind him. Six o’clock. Coming in fast. Landon pinpointed his hunter’s stealthy approach.

His biceps flexed and he swung the sharp tool. The ax split the wood with ease, and twin pieces fell onto the stack of wood piled around the stump. With unhurried movements, he replaced the splintered wood with another log and lifted the ax once more.

The predator was closer. Seventy feet away and closing. Fifty feet. Close enough that he caught a whiff of its sweat.

Landon’s lips curved in a predatory smile. He brought the ax around in a sharp arc at the same time he twisted his spine.

“Holy shit!” Caine drew himself up short, less than a yard behind Landon. Frozen in place, he stared wide-eyed at the pointed triangular blade that now hovered a quarter inch from his throat. “You almost took off my head!”

Landon lowered the ax to the ground. “When are you going to learn you can’t sneak up on me?”

Caine’s white teeth flashed. “The wind was in my favor.”

“You know I don’t depend on my nose,” Landon growled, annoyed with the younger were. His sense of smell might not be as acute as those in his Lupreda wolf pack, but Landon’s other senses had adapted, taking over where his nose left off. “Why are you here, anyway?” he asked as he lifted the ax.

“All three zerkers have disappeared.”

Landon slammed down the ax, splitting not just the single log but the tree stump underneath it.

Leaving the ax buried in the split stump, he curled his hands into fists and faced Caine. “Why tell me this? I’m no longer a member of the pack.”

Caine’s hazel gaze locked with Landon’s. “The Omega asked me to seek your help.”

Landon’s chest constricted as fury and resentment swept through him. Each year the Omega board ruled that his substandard sense of smell disqualified him from the annual Alpha challenge—which was more than a test of physical endurance, it was proof of a were’s leadership ability and combat strategy—yet they didn’t have a problem coming to him for help. He ground his teeth and gritted out, “Nathan is their chosen Alpha. Let him find his lost werewolf zerkers.”

“Nathan doesn’t know.”

Landon scowled at Caine. “As leader of the pack, Nathan should’ve been informed.”

Caine crossed his arms over his chest. “You know damned well why he wasn’t. Nathan would go to war with the vampires. The Sanguinas are the only ones strong enough to overcome a zerker.”

“The vampires don’t know zerkers exist!” Landon hissed.

“How do you know the three weres didn’t leave on their own? It’s not like they were welcomed in the wolf pack.” Landon might not be caught between shape-shifted forms like the zerkers, but he definitely understood what it felt like to be ostracized.

Caine’s gaze narrowed. “Something happened to them. Blood was everywhere. Werewolf blood.”

What a helluva mess. Landon ran a hand through his hair as his mind raced through the ramifications of the news Caine had just dumped on him. “What does the Omega want from me?”

Caine’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “They know you have a tenuous truce with the Sanguinas’ new leader, Jachin Black. They want you to talk to him and find out if the vampires had anything to do with our zerkers’

disappearance.”

And how the hell was he going to do that without revealing the zerkers’

existence to the Sanguinas? Landon set his jaw and gazed into the woods around him.

“The Omega are trying to avoid a war, Landon. Wouldn’t you do this for your pack?”

He glared at Caine, giving him a low, threatening growl. The bastard knew better. Landon would do anything for the Lupreda. The pack’s wellbeing had always been his top priority.

“They sent you on purpose.” Landon jerked the ax from the stump. Gripping the wood handle tighter, he stalked away, heading toward his cabin.

“Probably true.” Caine’s low laughter caught up to Landon as the younger were fell into step beside him. “They know you have a soft spot for me.”

Landon slanted his gaze at Caine. “I would think you’d have a vested interest in the pack’s concern over the zerkers’ disappearance. If you don’t, you should.”

“That was way below the belt.”

Landon paused and glanced over his shoulder at the pain underscoring Caine’s tone. The younger were had halted. His fists were curled by his side, his eyes slitted and his lip lifted in a snarl.

Gripping the bullet slug that hung from a silver chain around his neck, Landon rubbed his finger across the partially crumpled metal. “Yes, it was, but you need to be reminded how closely you ride the line. Past mistakes linger with you.”

Caine’s angry expression melted away as he approached him. Clapping his hand on Landon’s bare shoulder, his lips straightened to a firm line.

“Yeah, I know.”

Their gazes locked—a lifetime of support reflected between them.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Landon finally broke the silence. Caine smiled and punched Landon’s arm. “I’ve already insisted they reinstate you.”

“Nathan will love that—the Omega undermining him.” Landon snorted. Caine followed him up to the cabin’s wooden porch. “Nathan’s an idiot.”

“On that we definitely agree,” Landon said with a grin.

“Nathan will never forgive you for kicking his ass in front of a captive audience of weres and vampires.”

Landon shrugged. “I did what needed to be done to protect our pack from an all-out war with the vampires. Jachin will make a fair leader for the Sanguinas.”

“I think it’s rich Nathan can’t oust you completely since your property butts the edge of Lupreda land.” Caine’s eyes lit with feral intensity. “By the way, fair warning, ever since you so thoroughly trounced him three months ago, he openly spouts-off about how much he hates your guts and if he runs across your traitorous ass, he’ll rip your heart out.”

Landon welcomed the primal need for a rematch that rose up inside him. He gave the younger were a calm, deadly smile. “Tell Nathan I said,

‘Bring it on.’”

Landon glanced up from talking with a police officer and nodded to Jachin when the vampire entered Jamie’s Pub in New York’s Lower East Side. Jachin looked healthier than Landon had ever seen him. Apparently, mated life suited the Sanguinas’ leader well.

“Gotta meet with a friend.” Landon stood up from the table.

“Later, Rourke.” The burly officer with a red-veined nose picked up his mug, saluted Landon and then knocked back his entire beer in one big gulp.

Clapping the man on the back, Landon smiled. “Make sure you take the subway home, Mike.”

“Yeah, yeah, I hear ya,” Mike called after him. Smoke clung to Landon’s skin as he wound his way around small café tables and headed toward the bar. The scent of peanuts and alcohol, intertwined with the patrons’

sweat—heavily loaded with varying emotions, from depression to euphoria—reached out and yanked at his heightened senses while he passed through the crowd. Out in open air, his sense of smell wasn’t as acute as his werewolf brethren, but in close quarters…the onslaught left him a little dizzy and reeling. Landon snorted, blowing a gust of air out his nose to clear it. He needed his senses on full alert around Jachin. Jachin’s deep blue gaze watched him with predatory wariness as Landon approached the bar. He lifted his shot glass in salute. “It’s been a while.”