VEX: Valley Enforcers, #1 (4 page)

Unable to resist, I reached forward and touched the marks on her back. My heart jumped up my throat and made it impossible for me to breathe, let alone speak. Acacia sucked in a deep breath and tensed as I traced my fingers along the puckered skin. I knew touching her was a bad idea but I couldn’t resist. I wanted more. From the shift in the room, so did Acacia. I flattened my hand and took comfort in the warm heat coming off of her. Before I did something I would regret, I reached up and tugged the bottom of her shirt down and smoothed out the wrinkles.

Acacia swiftly turned and faced me. Her arms were crossed as she hugged her chest. Her brows wrinkled and she bit her bottom lip. She looked vulnerable. It wasn’t a word I ever thought I would use to describe her.

“And then what happened?” I murmured, knowing there was more to the story. I was unable to look away from her.

“And then I woke up in a hospital with my dad in the bed next to mine. They said a man dropped us off and said we were attacked by mountain lions before disappearing. My dad has a scar on his arm and some on his back like mine. He had a concussion. They said he must have hit his head when he fell down because he had a laceration on the back of his skull and on his forehead. That night after my mom left I told my dad it was a grizzly bear that saved us. He told me that grizzlies haven’t lived in the Bighorn Forest for over a hundred years. Just black bears. And when I told him the grizzly turned into a man he said I was just seeing things because I was in shock and it was probably just the hiker that saved us.”

“After all these years you still believe a bear turned into a man? What your dad said makes sense. You said yourself you were in shock.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I know what I saw. I know the difference between a black bear and a grizzly, and I know when I see a bear turn into a naked man covered in blood and dirt. That summer while I was healing I became obsessed with shapeshifters and legends surrounding humans turning into animals. Berserkers, wendigo, werewolves. I read books about legends from all over the world. I found this huge textbook at the library on skin-walkers and naguals. I checked it out so many times that the librarians kept it at the front desk for me. I saved up for months and spent all my allowance on a four volume box set about Native American and indigenous tribe legends. That was my gateway into the rest of the supernatural world. I was one hundred percent sure back then that I encountered a shifter, and sixteen years later I am still one hundred percent sure that I encountered a shifter.”

Her voice echoed in the shell of the RV. She stood with her feet apart and her hands on her hips. Gone was the vulnerable girl sharing an intimate part of her life with me and in her place was the firecracker that approached me on the street.

“And if I confirm your suspicions what are you going to do? Run to the press? Write a book? Are you going to ask me for a two page photo spread and a detailed expos
é
?”

“People have been calling me crazy and laughing in my face all my life. I just want the truth. I want to know that all of this –” She opened her arms and motioned towards the hanging photos and newspaper clippings. Her chest heaved and her voice cracked as she whispered, “– means something.”

My heart shattered. The woman in front of me was bold, strong and determined. Underneath her brightly inked skin and abrasive personality was an intricate web of pain and heartache that ebbed its way into every part of her soul. She lived in a glass fortress. Her anguish was visible to all but just out of reach. The walls weren’t impenetrable. I wanted to scale the heights and fill the cracks in her heart. The façade she wore was gilded gold, but she was a priceless gemstone hiding just under the surface.

It was a bad idea to agree to meet Acacia and tell her about shifters. It was an even worse idea to touch her knowing it would only make our bond stronger. The more she spoke the more I wanted her… the more my bear wanted her. Whatever plans I made about keeping my distance flew out the proverbial window the second I heard the hurt in her voice. I was torn between what I thought was right and what I needed to do to comfort my mate.

I wouldn’t have her the way I wanted her – the way I needed her – but I couldn’t stay away. My bear was clawing at my insides and thrashing against my ribcage. So instead of keeping a safe distance I stood and pulled her into my arms. It had been a long time since I hugged anyone that wasn’t related to me, but with Acacia it felt right. She went stiff in my grasp before melting like ice cream on a warm summer’s day. Her hands clung to the think material of my zip-up hoodie while her face pressed against my chest. Her warmth heated me straight to the core. Silently, we stood in a tight embrace. I was afraid to move, let alone breathe, and break the spell between us.

“You’re not crazy,” I finally confirmed, my voice a low rumble.

Her head tilted back in a flash of black, blue, and silver. When she looked at me her face was full of question. I couldn’t tell her everything. I
wouldn’t
. Not until I was sure she could keep the secrets safe. I knew the truth was important to her, but I needed to know what she planned on doing with the information I gave to her. I would sacrifice myself for Acacia, but I wouldn’t sacrifice the safety of my family and clan.

Before either of us could say anything, the enchantment that held us together was broken by an obnoxious trill from my pocket. I knew it was Deacon the second the tune started. He had a specifically assigned tone so I always knew when he was calling. I untangled myself from Acacia and pushed her away as softly as I could but she wasn’t expecting it and stumbled backwards.

“I know you pulled a double today, but we have a problem,” Deacon said without issuing a hello.

“How bad?”

“Potential to be catastrophic. We’re meeting up at the hall.”

“I’m in town. It’ll be a half hour before I can get there.”

There was a hard pause before my Alpha grunted, “Hurry.”

He hung up and I turned to Acacia, the pit in my stomach growing. Potential to be catastrophic? Did someone take a flyer before I could take them all down? Had Acacia talked to someone after I told her not to? Did Deacon know about her? Or was the emergency related to something else?

“That was my boss. I have to go,” I said tersely as I headed for the door.

“But you’re supposed to tell me about shifters! You haven’t given me any new information.” Her eyebrows shot together and she gave me an annoyed look.

I flipped my hood over my head and turned to her. “Another time. I have to go.”

I wasn’t sure if there would be another time from the look in her eyes. Acacia was my dirty little secret. Possibly for the time being. Possibly forever. As much as I wanted to tell her everything she wanted to know and give her the confirmation that she wasn’t crazy and that there was more to the world than most people knew, I wasn’t sure if I could trust her with the information.

The door slammed behind me and I heard Acacia let out a frustrated yell. I couldn’t afford to look back. I jogged through the darkness towards my car and slipped into work mode.

Acacia called out to me, but duty called louder.

Vex

All eyes turned to me when I burst through the doors and into the brightly lit meeting hall. The guilt of not being readily available had set in while I was taking the sharp curves at fifty-five. I wasn’t the senior most enforcer, but I was the head of the team. It wasn’t like I was on call at all hours of the day. Hakeem and I took day trips to Idaho a few times a year. But his absence and the added territory put a strain on the team. We all basically
were
on call without him. I felt like I had disappointed my team and my Alpha by going to town and meeting up with Acacia. On the other side of the equation, I hated that I made my mate upset by leaving her so abruptly. I was nothing more than an informant to her, and she was everything to me.

“Sorry,” I grunted my apology as I pulled the hairband from my wrist and tied my hair up. “What’s the emergency?”

It had to be bad. Everyone was sitting around the long meeting table. Tucker, Sam, and George had been on patrol and were still in their unofficial uniforms. A monster sized energy drink sat in front of Tucker, and George was nursing a steaming cup of coffee. Barrel was slumped in his chair. He and George had been taking on training sessions one at a time instead of their typical two person team so that we could pick up the extra slack on patrol. Barrel went from morning patrol straight into training the prospects and teens. Justin had an arm draped over the back of his seat and he was fiddling with the bill of his baseball cap. Xavier’s dark skin was blemished with heavy bags under his eyes. On top of our chaotic schedule, he was dealing with a teething toddler at home. As a whole, everyone looked exhausted and overworked. We barely looked fit to do night patrol at a shopping mall, let alone run a security team that overlooked dozens of people and spanned hundreds of miles.

Deacon’s expression was unreadable, but the thinness of his lips was an indication that he wasn’t in a good mood. Dean wore a similar expression. It showed just how similar the twins were. Normally the Beta had a cooler disposition, but he looked just as wound as everyone else.

Deacon cleared his throat and lifted a brown sac from the table. “Sam and Tucker found cameras on the property tonight. Tucker found one on the new land in section N, and the one Sam found was
inside
the fenced off property area around section H past multiple no trespassing signs. Miles apart, same camera brand.”

My stomach fell to the floor and a thousand questions buzzed in my head creating a roar so loud I wanted to scream. I was quick to defend Acacia to myself. She had been with me for a good part of the night, hadn’t she? But I
did
see her in the woods on clan property earlier in the day. Was she trying to get photo evidence?

“Any scents?” I asked as I slid into an empty seat.

“Male.” Sam said, squashing my concerns about Acacia. “Tuck and I sniffed out both locations and it’s the same scent. George and Deacon can also confirm it’s the same perp.”

Deacon pulled out the crumpled remains of a hunting camera. “They’re trail cams. We could be dealing with a hunter who doesn’t respect boundary issues, but we are going to treat this like a breach. I am not taking any chances with this.”

“There are a few pictures on both cameras,” Dean said, as if he could read my mind. “The one within our property line captured one of our own, but not a transition.”

“There’s a video,” Deacon interrupted with a steely tone. “It’s a few seconds long. Jana, who was photographed in bear form, phased out of the camera’s view – thankfully. But the camera captured a ten second long video of her walking naked through the forest. It was taken three hours ago. Jana said she didn’t notice anyone there or a camera.”

“So we destroy the evidence and patrol the lines heavier,” I suggested.

Justin cut in, “The cameras are high-tech, Vex. The content is accessible through a wireless connection if the user is within a fifty mile radius of the cameras. We got rid of the cameras but we have no idea if the content was downloaded. I was lookin’ up the brand of the camera and they run five hundred a piece. Whoever planted them either really wants a buck or they know what we’re hiding up here.”

“Our resources are thin as is. You guys are dead on your feet.” Deacon pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Dean and I will be joining patrol and we’re bringing in a few of the prospects and volunteers to do daily searches of the property. I’m going to restrict shifts to the clearing or directly outside your home, if you live farther away from the heart of the reserve. Shift as little as possible and use discretion. It’ll be a lot harder for the younger ones. I’m also going to dip into clan funds and buy a few cameras of our own to set up as added security.”

“We are taking care of this in house,” I stated, needing the confirmation.

Deacon nodded. “Elizabeth wants to tell Moxie, but we can’t involve her without alerting the council. The last thing I need the council threatening to dis-ban the clan or take away my status and put us under their rule. We have had a lot of problematic encounters over the last few years with humans and shifters alike, and I already have the council breathing down my neck. I know there are a few clan members who like to run to my parents when we have an issue, but I’m not going to put up with a mole. We’ll keep an eye on everyone. Need to know basic on all the details. I’m calling a meeting in the morning and telling everyone there was a breech with some hunters and I’m placing temporary restrictions.”

“And if word gets to your parents or the council?” Sam questioned.

“Public bleedings,” Deacon answered solemnly. “As long as Dean and I have control over the clan we will do whatever necessary to keep everyone safe. This could be a simple trespassing issue, but my gut tells me we stumbled onto something serious.”

“Your word is law, Alpha.”

              Deacon nodded, looking somewhat satisfied with my answer. “Barrel and Xavier, go home and try to get some rest. Sam, Tucker, and George; you’ll be finishing your shifts. Justin, I’m pulling you in early. Vex, man, I know you just pulled a double –”

“I have a case of Red Bull at my place. I’m in,” I interjected, not even letting him finish his thought. I had been awake for almost twenty-four hours, and from the way it sounded, I had a long time to go before I could retreat to my bed.

“Nate and Parker know the whole story and are joining us. Keith and Mei are the oldest prospects. Keith isn’t as promising, but I’d rather take him than someone younger. Mei’s parents will also be joining us. They only agreed to let her on patrol if they could go as well. Ozzie and Jana are also on for the night.”

“So nobody but Nate and Parker know what really is happening?”

“They know about the cameras. I’m sure there will be talks about it being more than a hunter, but for the time being we’re keeping everything else under wraps.”

“After the meeting tomorrow Lexi will be taking names of volunteers for patrol and organizing a schedule. Obviously you guys will be in charge, but our goal is to make sure you sleep more than five hours a week. There is no point in running everyone into the ground,” Dean added. “Depending on how many sign ups we get, we might do a set of four teams with two of you guys leading each one.”

“We have a lot of ground to cover between then and now,” Deacon announced as he stood. He looked at the clock above the door. “Dean and I will round up the troops for the night and we’ll meet behind my lodge in five minutes.”

As everyone stood and started shuffling around I realized just how tired I was. My emotions from the evening piled on top of my lack of sleep. I rested my arms on the table and dropped my head onto my makeshift pillow for a few seconds. I could smell Acacia on hoodie. My eyes fluttered shut, despite my efforts to keep them open.

“Come on, man. Let’s get some coffee in you before you drop.”

I felt a heavy hand clap on my shoulder and I shot up. I was alert enough to know I wasn’t in a dangerous situation, which was the only reason Sam didn’t get a fist to the face. He raised both of his hands in a defensive motion.

“Sorry,” I mumbled as I rubbed my eyes and forced them to stay open. “You say somethin’ about coffee?”

The corner of his mouth curved slightly. “I have a feeling you need a lot more than a cup of coffee right now.”

Hell yeah I did. I wasn’t sure an espresso IV would help me muster up enough energy. The lone wisp of optimism in my brain tried to reassure me that everything would be okay, especially since Acacia wasn’t involved. There was an angel on my shoulder but a devil resided on the other. Not picking up a female scent at the scene didn’t mean Acacia wasn’t involved. She could have a partner. It could be a whole scam to expose shifters. Was she playing me?

The hours passed and the sunlight peeked through the treetops as we continued to comb through the thousands of acres of our property. It would take more than a ragtag group of tired enforcers and volunteered hands to get through the land on foot, but that didn’t stop us from walking until our feet were bleeding in our shoes.

My lack of sleep made me paranoid and delusional. I trusted my gut instincts when it came to most things and when it came to Acacia; my first thought was that her presence had no correlation to the presence of cameras on clan property. But the seed of doubt was already planted. I wanted to talk to Hakeem about the situation but I had no way of contacting him. I didn’t even know if he was alive. His absence was heavy on my heart.

I hated that I was questioning Acacia. I hated the situation forcing me to question her even more.

“I can’t believe you’re going to play me like this, man,” Justin whined from the passenger seat. “I’m starving. Just swing into town. We don’t have to go to Jim’s. Take me to the market and I’ll pick up some of the prepackaged shit they try to pass off as food in the deli.”

“We ate not even a half hour ago. I went through
three
different places to get you everything you wanted. There is no fucking way you’re hungry again.”

“My body is making up for lost time. I’ve been doing nothing but sleeping and working for the past two weeks. My fridge is completely empty. There’s a tomato and some spoiled milk in there. I have survived on granola bars like a gerbil or something.”

“Bullshit. I know for a fact you were at Smokey’s last weekend. Couldn’t spare a few minutes for some nachos between throwing back some whiskey and nuzzling a big breasted bimbo?”

He snorted, “Like I’d risk eating food at Smokey’s. Also, Bethany… Brittany… whatever her name was… had a solid A cup. Hardly big breasted. We fucked like rabbits, so at least the granola diet has given me some form of joy in my life.”

“Filthy fucking animal,” I huffed, my eyes glossed with amusement. I didn’t suppress my laugh. It felt good to let off a little steam.

“That’s what the ladies tell me.”

I flew past the sign for Brown Bear Valley and Justin started protesting. I lifted a hand and shushed him.

“Parker’s mate Callie and a few other women are bringing food to the meeting hall. Eva Adams was talking about making her clan famous chili. There will be a ton of food back at the reserve. We really need to get back, anyway.”

The morning after the discovery of the cameras was chaotic. The clan meeting was discord, despite best efforts to keep everything orderly. After listening to a laundry list of questions and complaints from the clan and herding volunteers towards Alexis I finally was able to switch shifts and head home. For the first time in weeks – even before Hakeem left – I didn’t have to report back to work hours after leaving. Deacon told me to report in at eleven the next morning. I told myself I was just going to nap and then go to Acacia, but when I woke up it was the next morning and I had slept for nineteen hours straight.

Instead of shifting and running the twenty five miles from my cabin on the outskirts of the property to the center of the reserve I had to drive, adding nearly a half hour to my commute. Nearly every able bodied and capable clans-member signed up for patrol shifts. It added less than two dozen people to our roster, but it lessened the burden on everyone involved. I would still be pulling long days, but the schedule seemed much more manageable. Alexis took her mate’s advice and did four teams headed by two enforcers.

Justin was my partner for the time being. Our first task was to go to the huge hunting outlet in Center Village and buy trail cameras. Navigating the store was a pain in itself but having to confirm multiple times that yes we did need seventeen cameras and no we didn’t not want the warranty was even more exhausting.