Heart of the Wolf: A Wolfguard Protectors Novel Read online

“In Venezuela,” I said. “I heard about it. But that was what, twenty years ago? My God, Nova. You were a baby?”

  “We were two,” she said.

  “We?” I asked. Her words hung in the air as if they had weight. We. She hesitated just before she uttered it. I understood. This was another piece of her life she began to trust me with.

  “My twin sister,” she said. “Her name was Sena.”

  I swallowed hard. “You’re a twin.” It was another thing we shared. She lost her parents. I lost mine. How could I have so much in common with a...cat?

  “It was hard for my uncle to look after us, but he tried,” she said. “He wasn’t an Alpha like my father had been. He wasn’t...equipped to deal with two female jaguars under his care. There aren’t. I mean, as far as I know, we’re the last. I don’t know why that is. I know wolves and bear shifters produce a few females every generation. Jaguars...don’t.”

  “I didn’t know that,” I said.

  “My Aunt Ruby came to believe we were cursed. Her husband, my Uncle Simon, was my father’s only family. There was no one left to look after us. And if he’d shunned us...no jaguar in the world would have wanted anything to do with us. What happened later wasn’t his fault. I’ll always blame Ruby.”

  “What happened, Nova?” I asked.

  “People started believing her superstitions. Bad luck just followed us. First my father’s accident. You understand it was the worst natural tragedy to ever kill that many shifters at once. That just doesn’t happen. And then, my mother went mad. She killed herself about six months later. She wasn’t a shifter, but she couldn’t survive losing my dad. Not even for us.”

  “It’s like that sometimes with fated mates,” I said, my voice taking on a more bitter tone than it should have.

  “Then Uncle Simon couldn’t find work. He was a miner too and the rumors from my Aunt Ruby started gaining traction. She wrecked her own husband’s chances of finding decent work and managed to blame us for it.”

  “What happened to your sister?” I asked.

  “Sena was desperate to go off on her own. In his heart, I believe Uncle Simon really was trying to protect us. We ended up in Costa Rica. He tried to start over someplace where no one knew who we were. For a while, things were good again. Then, my sister started seeing this earth mage. I knew he was no good from the second I saw him. But, Sena was impetuous. Wild and angry. He was...connected to the Ring.”

  My stomach turned. “A procurer,” I said.

  She nodded. “He made her promises. Dazzled her with magic and money. Then, one night she just disappeared. She was gone for months. When she finally came back, they’d done something to her. Used her up somehow. She was battered, broken, but she still had these stars in her eyes and she wanted me to come with her. They’d sent her back to...procure me too.”

  I clenched my fists. My claws came out, drawing blood. I wanted to reach back in time and kill the men who had come for her.

  “I ran,” I said. “I knew Sena was too far gone. I made it to the Florida Keys. But, some men from the Ring found me there. They tried to kidnap me in the middle of the night. Sena was with them. She was so strung out, but finally, when they tried to hurt me, it got through to her. She screamed and tried to get in the way. They shot her right in front of me. I don’t...I think it was Dragonsteel. She couldn’t have survived that. I wanted to go to her. There was nothing I could do. They outnumbered me. And they had the means to kill me. So I did what I had to do.”

  “You outran them,” I said. Nova nodded. When she looked up, tears streamed down her face.

  I wanted to kill for her. I wanted to die for her. I wanted...her.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love like that.”

  “I should have stopped it,” she said. “Or maybe I should have just gone with them. Tried to help Sena first then get us both away from it. She wasn’t strong enough by herself. She never was. That always fell to me and I let her down.”

  A dam burst inside of Nova. I realized she’d likely never told this story to another soul. Before I knew what was happening, I had my arms around her. I pulled her to me and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” I said. “If you hadn’t fought back. If you hadn’t run, you’d be worse off than Sena right now. Because you’re right. If she was weaker, like you say, she wouldn’t have lasted much longer anyway. But you...Nova. I know what those men want. The Ring would have gifted you to some shifter looking for a mate. They would have kept you in Dragonsteel chains to subdue you. Then...God.”

  I couldn’t even say it. Just the thought of Nova being forced into servitude like that tore me apart.

  I would never let it happen. If I had to cut myself off from everything I knew, I would keep her safe.

  She felt so warm against me. Fire lit her eyes and desire kindled inside me. I felt her heartbeat as my own. We were both drowning at that moment.

  I don’t know who moved first. Maybe we moved together. But, the next thing I knew, my lips pressed against hers.

  The world exploded in heat and stars.

  Mine!

  It was as if my blood began to course through my veins for the very first time. My life would always be cleaved into before and after that kiss.

  Mine!

  I saw her beneath me. Naked. Wanting. Needing. I could almost taste her as I marked her and she begged for it.

  Then, another vision clouded my eyes. I saw Irina, gasping for air. Her lips reddened as she coughed up blood and clung to me for life, for hope. And I watched as both faded from her eyes and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  I pulled away, gasping. No. Not now. Not ever again. I would not let my failures put another woman at risk like that again.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have.”

  Nova’s chest heaved. She brushed the back of her hand across her swollen lips. Her tears dried. Her back stiffened.

  “No,” she said. “I’m sorry. And I’m tired now. Can I leave you to put out the fire? I want to go to bed.”

  She turned her back on me and I tried to turn my heart back to stone.

  Chapter Eight

  Nova

  For one week, Erik and I lived in a sort of bubble in the woods. I found it peaceful. Quiet. There’d been no sign of the pack or anyone at all.

  I wanted to believe the danger was over. I could convince myself that perhaps it had just been a random coincidence those wolves found me at all.

  But, I knew better. The Ring knew all about me thanks to Sena and Uncle Simon. They would never stop until they had me under their wing, or worse.

  Then, there was Erik. I couldn’t deny there was something between us. It was more than simple lust. I felt myself orienting to him in a way. When I woke, my first instinct was to find him. Most of the time, he woke before me, hunted for breakfast and brought it to me. Sometimes, when I woke early enough, I would catch him sleeping just a few feet away.

  He was beautiful. There was no denying it. We’d grown comfortable enough with each other to shift whenever the mood struck. I didn’t think I’d ever grow tired of watching that singular magic as he melted from man to wolf. And who would have ever thought I would feel so natural around a wolf at all?

  When he kissed me, it stirred a dangerous fire inside of me. I couldn’t trust it. A fire like that had taken my sister away from me. In the end, I was better off alone.

  On our ninth day, deep in the Utah wilderness, I found Erik standing at the edge of the river, his expression solemn.

  “Have you heard something?” I asked. My own voice sounded strange to my ears. The truth was, we rarely talked since that night at the campfire when I told Eric about Sena. I found we didn’t need to. Things had just gotten...easy between us.

  “No,” he said. “But I wanted to talk to you.”

  He turned to me. Over his shoulder, a pair of cranes lifted off, heading for the far shore. They generally h
unted here every morning, swooping with lethal precision as they speared their prey.

  “I need to check in with my firm,” he said.

  I bit my lip. “Where?”

  “The nearest town is Kamas. I’ll be back by dark.”

  “No way,” I said. “I’m going with you.”

  “Nova,” he started. “If someone sees you…”

  “I can take care of myself,” I said. “But I’m not sitting out here cooling my heels. Whatever your Wolfguard people tell you concerns me. Besides, it’s not for you to decide where I go.”

  He kept his mouth slightly parted, then clamped his jaw shut. He had no good argument to make. He’d been paid to protect me, not keep me prisoner.

  “Besides,” I said. “What makes you think I’d stay put?”

  It was half kidding. Erik glowered.

  “Four years,” I said. “I’ve been on my own for four years. I know what to watch out for.”

  “You didn’t know about the pack,” he said.

  “We can stand here arguing, or we can make tracks,” I said. “I can tell you’re antsy to get going. I’m ready whenever you are.”

  In the end, Erik didn’t put up much of a fight. After a quick breakfast of roasted rabbit, we headed east. Even without a map, I knew the next town was just a few miles away. We’d hit the national park boundary. From there, Erik went to the DWR center and made a call.

  He spoke in gruff monosyllabic tones, turning his back to me. After about a minute, he finished the call.

  “They’re sending a car for us,” I said. “We have a satellite office in Salt Lake City. They’ll be here in an hour.”

  “Any news?” I asked.

  Erik shrugged. “Nothing anyone was willing to share over the phone. But, I got a bad vibe.”

  “Hmm,” I said. “Why do I think I’m better off on my own?”

  Erik’s agitation started to rub off on me as we waited in the visitor’s center. We drew some odd stares. Erik was keyed up and pacing. After nine days in the woods, he was damn near feral. We were both disheveled and wild from spending so much time in our animals.

  I had a keen sense this was dangerous. The more people noticed us, the more likely the wrong person would catch wind of it.

  Almost exactly an hour later, a black SUV pulled into a spot at the front of the complex.

  Squaring his shoulders, Erik led me outside. “Let me do the talking,” he said.

  I raised a brow. “This is your show,” I said. “By all means.”

  Erik went into full-on protective mode as we made our way to the vehicle. He walked two steps ahead of me, scanning the parking lot. I hoped nobody made the mistake of getting in his way. I could feel his wolf simmering just below the surface.

  He opened the back door of the car and ushered me inside. It had a custom interior, two bench seats facing each other like a limousine.

  I slid to one end and Erik took the space beside me. The driver wasted no time and put the car in reverse as soon as Erik shut the door. As I looked up to say hello to the man sitting on the opposite seat, my jaw fell to the floor.

  I looked at Erik. I looked back at the other man. They were one and the same. I was staring into the eyes of Erik Kalenkov’s identical twin.

  “Edward,” he said, extending a hand to me. His grip was firm and full of purpose. But, I didn’t get the same spark of electricity when we touched. He looked like Erik, but they weren’t the same at all.

  Edward and Erik passed a look that made my heart lurch. I knew it. I knew how it was to have another person share your face. To communicate without words.

  “Your brother,” I said. “You...you didn’t mention you were twins.”

  The driver hit the highway at top speed. It jolted me as I’d grown so used to living off the grid. Other than Erik’s a few days ago, I hadn’t been in a car much at all over the last four years.

  Erik caught his brother up with our activities. There wasn’t much to tell.

  “And you’ve had no sign of that pack,” Edward asked. Oddly his accent was far less noticeable than Erik’s. They were so alike I imagined most would be hard-pressed to tell them apart. Edward wore his hair just a bit shorter than Erik’s and styled more carefully. Erik’s was longer, wilder. His skin tanner than his brother’s. I liked him that way. It was almost if Edward Kalenkov was more domesticated in a way. He was still sexy as hell but had a cooler air about him than Erik.

  “Not since we left Nova’s cabin,” he said. “There was something familiar about that Alpha. I told Payne. Have you had any word from Thomas Tate?”

  Edward seemed uncomfortable talking in front of me. A quick nod from Erik and he raised a brow.

  “He’s clean,” Edward said. “Thomas stood up to Payne’s interrogation. He passed a traditional lie detector test as well. At this point, we suspect one of Jeremiah’s ranchers may have sold information about the safehouse there.”

  “Are you ever going to tell me who hired you to find me?” I said, I grew impatient with both Kalenkov brothers.

  “I just know it was someone from your family,” Edward said. His words tumbled out so quickly, I had an argument formed in my head I had to swallow.

  “My family? I have none left.”

  “Well, you have someone,” Edward said.

  I shook my head. “That’s impossible. They’re dead. Even if they weren’t, my last remaining uncle and aunt washed their hands of me years ago. My uncle did it to keep the peace. He chose my aunt over my sister and me.”

  “I don’t know,” Edward said. “I only someone from the Grey family contacted Payne Fallon. There’s no mistake.”

  I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t possible. My uncle didn’t have the means to hire Wolfguard even if he’d wanted to. All of the family money had been locked into a trust when my father died. I was the only one with access to it, and my father had set it up so it couldn’t be traced.

  “I wish I could tell you more,” Edward said. “Our client wanted to remain confidential. I’m breaching that by even telling you this much.”

  Erik’s hand slid across my thigh. He squeezed my knee.

  “I have a right to know,” I said. I turned to Erik. “Did you know all of this? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “No,” he said. “I didn’t. That part wasn’t necessary for me to know how to do my job. Until now.”

  “I don’t accept this,” I said. “I want a meeting with Payne Fallon.”

  I didn’t know Edward Kalenkov as I was coming to know his brother. But, they were alike enough that I could read the expression on his face. There was more he wasn’t telling me.

  “Mr. Fallon wants that too,” Edward said. “But we have a more immediate problem. The pack sent after you are still out there. We’re flying blind. Protecting you trumps everything else right now. We need intel on that pack.”

  Erik growled. “We’re nowhere. The Ring knows about her. They’ve taken her sister. They’re going to keep coming. This is bullshit, Edward. Payne has to know that. We have to go on the offensive. We have to root these assholes out and make them wish they’d never been born. There are shifters among them. Traitors to their kind. There’s no punishment bad enough for them. And I won’t let them touch Nova. Do you hear me? I want to go after them. No more hiding. We need to find this pack. Now.”

  Edward’s eyes flashed. I was numb. But, Erik’s words sparked a new fire inside of me.

  “I was hoping you’d say that,” Edward said. “Payne has the makings of a plan.”

  “Good,” I said. I lifted my eyes. “And I want in.”

  Chapter Nine

  Erik

  Three days later and we were back in Montana about to embark on the craziest scheme of all time.

  It took all my strength to tame my wolf. I paced outside of the car in a dark alley in the heart of downtown Billings. Edward leaned against the car watching me. I wanted to wipe the smirk off his face.

  Beside him, Roy Lassiter, o
ne of our operatives from Utah, texted back and forth with the home office.

  “You need to settle your shit,” Edward said. “You walk in there like that and it’ll be like putting a spotlight on her.”

  A fierce growl ripped from my throat. “This whole thing is putting a spotlight on her.”

  “It’ll be okay,” Roy said, putting his phone back in his pocket. Roy was a lion shifter who joined Wolfuard a few months after I did. A good man. Stoic. Solid. I trusted him with my life. Tonight, they were asking me to trust him with Nova’s.

  “She wants this,” Edward said. “And from what I’ve seen, Nova would be pretty good at watching her own back even if we weren't here.”

  “She’s doing that by staying hidden,” I said. “Not...this…”

  This was a local hotspot of a shifter club. Pretty much every shifter making his way through Montana came her at one point or another. Payne had intel that some dark types hung out here. An informant had told him men connected to the Ring routinely came here to pay for information. Even if there were no actual members of the Ring in residence tonight, their eyes would be.

  And their damned eyes would be all over Nova.

  “She’s not going to get hurt,” Roy said. “And she won’t be in there for very long. If she were human, even I wouldn’t be down for this. But, she’s not, Erik. She can handle herself.”

  It didn’t matter. Not one bit. All I wanted was to throw her over my shoulder and drag her back to some deep part of the woods where no one could look at her.

  If I could find a way to step outside myself, I knew the logic of Payne and Edward’s plan. Let Nova be seen by the right eyes. Flush out the enemy. Hell, I’d been the one to open my big mouth and say I wanted to go on the offensive.

  “It’s a solid plan,” Edward said, practically reading my thoughts. “And we’re not going to let her stay in there for very long. One drink at the bar. Let her talk to a few people. Thirty minutes. Tops. Then we’re out.”

  I snarled and snapped my jaw.

  “You should have sat this one out,” Roy said. “You’re losing your objectivity.”