Once he became his wolf, he sat on his haunches, panting from exertion. Hannah scooted toward him, a calm expression on her face.
Thank God, she isn’t scared.
He wasn’t sure he could take his mate’s fear of him on top of everything else. Hesitantly, she brought her hand to his head, petting his fur. If he were a cat, he surely would be purring in contentment right about now. She moved her hand in gentle circles, and he leaned into her touch. She quirked up a lip in a half smile, and he licked her palm, mostly because he wanted to see her smile more, but also because now, as a wolf, that honey and crisp apple smell was damn enticing.
Hannah giggled at the feel of his tongue, and she batted him on the nose.
“Bad, Reed.”
He tilted his head in innocence.
She just laughed again and petted him some more.
Eventually, they both grew tired, and Reed lay down on his stomach. Gently, he used his teeth to pull her sleeve toward him. Thankfully, she got the hint and used his warm body as a pillow. Her delicious curves wiggled into his side while she got comfortable. Oh yes, when he became a man again, they would have to do something about their budding sexual tension. Naked.
“Goodnight, Reed.”
He shifted his head in a nod. Her breaths soon deepened and steadied in a peaceful sleep.
“
I could get used to this.”
Reed agreed with his wolf. But could this intelligent, witty, and beautiful woman really want an artist and not an Alpha?
That was something to deal with later. They just needed to get out of here. Preferably alive.
Chapter 5
Snowflakes stuck to Josh’s eyelashes, and he batted them away. A strong gust blew past him, the cold chilling his bones. He surveyed his surroundings, taking a silent step through the undergrowth. Tall trees reached to the sky, blocking whatever sunlight filtered through the dreary storm clouds. Their limbs, heavy with leaves and the extra weight of collecting snow, drooped down. Snow bundles dropped on his shoulder and, in one unfortunate incident, his face. If only he could have Found these two in the nice spring or cool fall months. No, he had to search for them at the onset of winter and the beginning of what looked to be a deadly snowstorm. Lucky guy.
When he left his bench on Main Street, he had quickly gone home to fetch some of his equipment. He dressed to stay warm, grabbed a pack with extra clothes for Reed and the witch, some food and water, and weapons. Lots of weapons. Knives and blades of various shapes and sizes adorned his body. He had his SIG strapped to his side, with extra ammo in his belt. Sadly, he didn’t have any silver, but lead would at least slow the beasts down if they came after him.
And they would. He knew it because, as he’d followed the trail in his mind to this remote bunker, his sense of unease swelled to a staggering sensation.
Shit, I might not make it this time.
He was but one man, one human at that. But looking down at the lair that held two people he
needed
to Find, he set aside those worries and the creeps it gave off. And if anyone truly knew him, they would know that it was fucking hard to give Josh the creeps.
They were more important—for some unknown reason.
Those two boys in the alley had mentioned they thought the two disappearances were connected. Well, Josh knew for sure they were. He was also damn sure it was the Centrals too. If his memory served, Josh now stood on Central Pack land. Not a good thing for a human—especially one who despised the rumored brutality of this particular Pack.
These guys were werewolves and could kill him in a blink of an eye with their bare hands. Josh might be strong, pretty damn strong for a human if he had to brag, but not strong enough for the supernaturals. Hence, the overabundance of blades attached to various places on his body. He could reach them all in a split second. That might not be quick enough, but they were a security blanket for him nonetheless.
If there was any doubt the man in his visions was Reed, he’d had an eyeful when he tried to Find them again, because he found himself watching a naked man, an injured naked man, twisting and curving into a werewolf. He’d heard them speaking in hushed tones to each other when he focused. Reed said the woman, Hannah, had healed him before he changed, so she must be the witch.
Hannah. Reed. He liked those names.
What he didn’t like was the reaction to Reed’s nude body. Josh’s cock had filled and his body had hummed. But that wasn’t something he wanted to dwell on.
Josh adjusted the erection that hadn’t subsided since seeing Hannah and Reed’s faces the first time. Damn inconvenient.
What made them so special? Why could he Find them yet had never met them? He had to know. The slow desire welling up inside of him at the thought of the two had nothing to do with his decisions. Nothing.
Right.
Sure, they were attractive. Hannah was a curvy, sexy goddess, and he was man enough to admit Reed was damn sexy. That, though, didn’t seem like a good enough reason to risk his life. But he’d do it. He couldn’t let them die.
Josh crouched down below a copse of trees, searching for movement from the enemy. He might not know the Centrals personally, but their cruel and sadist ways made them that nonetheless. He closed his eyes, opened his senses and used his Finding. In his mind’s eye, both of them sat huddled together. In human form, Reed held Hannah close to his chest, an overwhelming sign of protection. Josh didn’t know why both a surge of disappointment and hope flooded his system in a wave of emotion. It made no sense.
The stone dwelling had no discernible features but a few doors guarded by cameras and a few electronics and a couple of closed windows, high above the ground.
Ah ha.
There.
He saw small window too high from the ground for anyone to care about. But it was far enough from the cameras that Josh could use his jammer on the electronics to cut the feed and show only static, scale the wall, and squeeze through the window undetected. Hopefully.
With one last survey of the grounds, he made it to the building, jammed the signal, scaled up the wall, and crawled through the window in under thirty seconds. Nice display of talent, if he didn’t say so himself. Of course, he didn’t say so, as that would be bragging. And SEALs, even ex-SEALs, never did that. Much.
Thankfully, or perhaps stupidly on the Central’s part, no guards stood in the hall where Josh dropped to his feet. Still, he hid in the shadows, taking in his location. A long hallway stretched to the end of the building, doors branching off the corridor in a nonsymmetrical pattern. Dim lights hung overhead, illuminating the hall in an eerie glow.
Again, Josh used his Finding to follow the path to the two people crowding his mind in an unrelenting fashion. As he walked quietly towards the pair, no guards stood by or stopped him. That creepy feeling came back, making the hairs on the back of his neck bristle, but he shook it off. He couldn’t think about what wasn’t there, only what he needed to do to get out of there.
Just as he thought that, footsteps echoed.
Fuck
. Josh slid into a corner, fading beneath the shadows—something he was quite good at. He could hide from anything if he felt the desire. No one expected him to be there so who could possibly find him?
The guard in a black uniform and combat boots walked past Josh’s corner and had no idea it would be his last patrol. Too bad for him. With a swift flick of his wrists around the guard’s neck, the guard fell, and Josh pulled him into the shadows. Josh didn’t want to leave the evidence, but he needed the key haphazardly dangling on a chain around the dead man’s neck. It was a risk, but by the time someone found him there, Reed, Hannah, and he would be long gone. Safe from the oily clutches of the Centrals. At least he hoped so.
He slipped the key off the guard’s neck, and walked towards the metal door from his vision. With a look over both shoulders to make sure he was still alone, he slipped the key into the lock. It clicked open as he turned the key, mercifully quiet and Josh let out a breath of relief.
When he opened the door, it made a loud screech, forcing a curse under his breath. So much for being quiet and stealthy. Fucking door hinges. How much did it cost for fucking oil? Then again, this wasn’t the
Wizard of Oz
, and the door wasn’t the Tin Man. They probably loved making that creepy sound every time they opened the door. Added to the spine-chilling torture feel of the room.
At the sound of the door, both heads turned toward him. Hannah, with her luscious brown curls and dove gray eyes. Reed, with his sandy blond hair and jade green eyes. Even bruised and bloody, they made quite a pair.
Reed let out a gasp when he looked Josh in the eyes.
But not a surprised one. No. This one held hope and awe. What the fuck?
Josh put a finger to his lips, urging them to be quiet. The jammer might block the camera signal for a bit, putting it on an automatic loop, but Josh couldn’t be too sure with magic and werewolves in the mix. They both gave him a nod, Hannah wide-eyed but silent, Reed more curious than anything. Could the wolf smell Josh was different? Shit. Not something he should be thinking about. He needed to get them out of here.
Josh hurried over to them and checked for serious injuries. Reed seemed to be mostly healed, if not just a bit scraped up. Hannah had numerous lacerations and bruises, more than Reed, but looked okay. She was only a witch, not a wolf, so it made sense she would heal slower. How quickly a day could change things. He was human for fuck’s sake, and now he was thinking about the healing times for different species. Talk about a game changer.
The locks on their chains and collars, luckily enough looked like the one on the metal door. How cocky were these bastards? He slid the key in, and with a snap, the locks opened, and the chains fell to the floor. Both rubbed their wrists as Josh moved quickly and efficiently to the collars at their neck. Fucking animals. Who the hell
collared
people?
Hannah put her hand on his arm, a jolt of electricity flashing between the two. She gasped, and he held back the urge to do so. She gave him a smile, and he desperately wanted to brush the curls from her face, soothing the bruises that couldn’t hide her radiant beauty. Reed crouched behind her, still protective. He too was beautiful; with his chiseled cheekbones pronounced against the shadowed, healing bruises.
Dear God. He could understand thinking sexy thoughts about Hannah, but since when did he think males were attractive in any way? Either that weird connection confused him, or he really was falling for Reed. He didn’t know which one, if either, he wanted to be true.
Reed bent over Hannah to whisper to them both. “Camera.”
“Don’t worry about them now. We have about ten more minutes and then we’d have to worry.”
They both looked curious with a similar tilt of their heads but didn’t say anything, merely nodding.
“Who are you?” Reed whispered, leaning closer.
“Josh.” Why the hell had he said his name? He was never a name, just a presence, on any other mission. Why did he want them to know his name? Know him? “I’m no one. Just a friend.”
“You’re human.” Hannah’s surprised gasp was still whispered.
Exhaustion overwhelmed her features, and Josh couldn’t take it anymore. He picked her up and cradled her to his chest when he stood. She felt warm in his hold. Right. An instant heat flooded his system as desire rocked him. That annoying connection flared, but he tamped it down. So not the time.
Reed let out a soft growl, pulling Josh to a stop.
Shit, she’s his mate. And here he was holding her to his chest and liking it.
Josh cleared his throat. “Sorry, man, I’ll let go of her soon. But we need to leave, and since you’re stronger than me, I thought you’d be better at the front, protecting her.” And he really liked the feel of her curves, even if this was the first and last time.