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  “You might be special, Kaitlin, but you’re not exempt. Tonight the moon will start to change Michael and change you, even if tomorrow is the full. What’s worse is that it will also affect the freaks that are hunting here, putting all of Clement at risk.”

  “Then,” Kaitlin said, stiffening her spine and glancing over her shoulder, “we need to get rid of those two beasts behind us, and narrow the field.”

  Rena shook her head. “Do you have any weapons on you? Of course you don’t. Have you been up against pure evil and lived to tell about it? Of—”

  “Yes,” Kaitlin said, cutting Rena off. “Looking into the soul of pure evil is the reason I’m here.”

  Rena went quiet for several seconds. Then she grabbed Kaitlin’s wrist and said, “Okay, Fey girl, I believe you. So, how fast can you run?”

  As they circled back toward the street, Kaitlin heard Michael shouting on that special wolf frequency. No! he exclaimed, cursing under his breath like an angry sailor. Damn it, Rena. Don’t chance it.

  But it felt good to have an objective, a focus, and Kaitlin followed Rena, hoping she had this, and that they weren’t going to end up like lambs at the slaughter.

  Chapter 27

  Waiting was tough. Waiting was hell. In Michael’s mind, he heard Kaitlin ask, Are you looking for me, werewolf? She wasn’t speaking to him. He knew who and what she had found.

  It took all of his willpower to stay where he was in front of the portal. He couldn’t blow this operation, not now that a group of wolves had been sensed nearby. Both Kaitlin and Rena knew their plan. Both females were fast on their feet. Kaitlin could shift at will if needed and Rena was incredibly bold and strong.

  Working against them was the raw power and brainwashing of the hyped-up rogue Weres. They’d be itching for a fight. With the full moon so close, the beasts’ blood would be boiling. The two Weres that were nearing him and the others now had that look—hungry, solicitous, itchy.

  “We’re almost there,” Dylan said to him. “Whatever happens after this will flush Chavez out of hiding. He will have scented us in his den. We will have tainted it for him. He can’t afford to start over, with the moon showing up tomorrow. Out of necessity, he will come out of hiding.”

  Dylan was right. All Weres had to either accept the moon when it was very near to full, or full, or go mad, even when madness didn’t sound like such a stretch for a character like Chavez. This need for the moon was also true for Lycans carrying the special gift of being able to shape-shift at will. When the moon showed up in all her silver glory, ultimately that moon was the master.

  Michael’s head ached. His body ached, not in any way that could be helped without reaching out to Kaitlin.

  Run, my lover, he sent to her. Run like the wind and pray that a Fey deal is a real one.

  Dylan stepped out from under tree cover to confront the two battle-scarred henchmen. They stopped. Forgetting they were in human form, their lips drew back to show blemished human teeth.

  Full of themselves, partially moon-whipped from the night that was still hours away, the two undercover beasts came after Dylan. Sensing Michael as well, they fixed their attention on both without realizing that two crazy fledgling werewolves against two pure-blooded Lycans was a no-win situation. Chavez had not taught these poor bastards a thing.

  As the angry Weres drew closer, some of Dylan’s group closed in from the sidelines. Matt Wilson, Cameron Mitchell, Dana Delmonico. Perfect tributes to the best of their species. Proof that good guys could remain good guys after being on the wrong side of a raw deal.

  Sensing this welcoming party and dissecting their rapidly fragmenting odds, the beasts veered left, catching sight of Tory in the distance. Michael didn’t have any idea where she’d been, but was relieved to see her now, and that she was all right.

  In daylight the beautiful flame-haired Lycan she-wolf was a delicacy these bastards could not resist. Coveting that beauty and hungry, they ran toward her. Addled by finding a type of Were they were unfamiliar with, they followed when Tory led them away with a lure they obviously were stupid enough to fall for.

  Everybody followed. Only Adam was missing in this parade, and Michael had a bad feeling about that. It seemed that members of Dylan’s pack often went off in their own direction without checking in, turning off their lines of communication. Did he blame Adam for wanting Chavez to himself, hoping to dish out some long-overdue retribution for throwing Adam in a fight ring?

  He wanted to have Kaitlin beside him. When Weres loved, they loved with their heart and soul. Bonding was immediate. Love was furious. No dating, sharing chitchat and getting-to-know-you stuff was necessary. Humans had nothing like this. Hell, meeting his mate was like being hit over the head with a rock. His entire way of thinking had been rearranged.

  And if Kaitlin was harmed in any way…any way at all… Michael hoped that Adam would step aside and allow Michael Hunter the opportunity to throttle Chavez with his bare hands.

  *

  Kaitlin easily kept pace with Rena as they raced through the park. Students scattered out of their way, unconcerned about a couple of runners out for some exercise. No one paid much attention to the runner who was only half-dressed. None of the few students in the distance gave a second look to the beasts giving chase, because those beasts were in man shape.

  The portal wasn’t far from where they had started. Kaitlin could have found it with her eyes closed. The closer she got, the stronger it tugged on her mind. The thing was like a vacuum, sucking her closer, and from afar, it glittered in the sunlight like one of the stars it hid.

  What do we do when we get there? Rena messaged to her, Rena’s legs moving effortlessly as they covered ground.

  Not sure.

  They ran as though their lives depended on speed…which was true. She could probably go through that doorway, Kaitlin reasoned, and let the beasts follow her. Rena likely wouldn’t be welcome in any circumstance. They’d have to separate at the last minute and hope both of Chavez’s Weres would follow her through the portal.

  She perceived sounds on the periphery. Rena heard them, too, and tossed her a glance. More than sounds. She felt Michael getting closer. Michael had others with him.

  She ran the last bit of distance with her heart bursting in her chest. This portal was the answer to their prayers, in part, if the Fey honored their word. What the fate would be for Chavez’s beasts wasn’t in the realm of her imagination. Had she made a deal with the devil in order to save this pack from harm?

  The portal wavered, then cleared in her vision. Behind her, the two beasts growled with human throats. They were heading into the unknown. If this worked, it would be a miracle.

  “Now!” she shouted to Rena. “Turn now!”

  Rena obeyed, throwing herself to the right three steps from the curtain. Kaitlin bounded through the opening with her eyes wide-open, hearing Michael’s voice echo inside her head.

  Come back to me, Kate.

  *

  Michael ran as fast as his legs would allow, and still couldn’t reach Tory. Dylan and his mate ran beside him, sober-faced and determined to get the job done.

  He began to sense the portal because Kaitlin had reached it. There wasn’t far for him to go. He knew this area of the park like he knew the back of his hand. He knew Kaitlin enough to realize she would forfeit her life if helping him demanded it.

  Michael’s message to her was heartfelt. Once you’re through that portal, circle back. Do not hesitate.

  He didn’t realize he hadn’t blocked that message until Dylan’s mate, Dana, glanced his way. Of all the Weres here, he figured that Dana would understand. She had mated with a Lycan and had the bonding drill down.

  The portal was just ahead. Michael saw Kaitlin go through. He saw Rena duck aside. As soon as they disappeared from sight, Tory reached the curtain. But at the last second, merely a breath away from possible death, Tory was yanked back from the wavering Fey doorway by a strong female hand. Rena’s.

 
Tory stumbled to the side as the rogue Weres tried to slow. They weren’t as agile as they should have been, and weren’t able to stop in time. Both of the rogues skidded into the veil and disappeared.

  Michael and the rest of the wolves pulled up, staring at the curtain. He saw nothing beyond the almost invisible glimmer between the trees. There was no sign of Chavez’s beasts.

  And there was no sign of Kaitlin.

  The curtain’s motion stilled. No one on this side of it moved. Michael couldn’t draw in a decent breath. His heart was pounding hard.

  He waited for what seemed like a century. The others waited with him, without speaking. But Kaitlin didn’t return.

  “I’m going in there,” he announced.

  “That’s not wise,” Dylan said. “They might mistake you for one of those rogues. You’re needed here.”

  Tory, staring at the onyx curtain, spoke softly to him. “She will return, Michael. Let her do so in her own time. Allow her access to what she is.”

  “We have to go now,” Dylan said. “We have to find Adam. We have to find Chavez and could use your help, Michael. I know you’ll want to stay here, and I can’t ask you to accompany us, but this is your area. Knowledge of it could mean the difference between life and death for more innocent people.”

  “Kaitlin will return,” Rena seconded, adamant about that statement.

  He had to go, had to leave the last place he’d seen his lover, his soul mate, his very special little wolf. He had to help save more innocent people from the clutches of a madman whose gang had taken a hit. There was a possibility that Chavez had no henchmen left…until tonight, when foaming at the mouth for revenge, Chavez might start all over again in claiming his next victims.

  Michael actually felt his heart break. His soul was being torn from him piece by piece and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

  I owe them this, Kate. I’m obligated to help. Don’t you see how much I hate having to leave you here? Find me. I will leave a trail of messages until you do. Find me, Kaitlin, as soon as you can. Don’t prove that I’m as weak as I feel.

  Turning from the portal that might have become as treacherous a threat to his future, Michael resigned himself to fulfilling his part of the deal he’d made with Dylan.

  Find me, he repeated, sending that message to Kaitlin over and over as he hustled back toward the college with the rest of the Weres, who also had a quest to fulfill.

  Find me.

  Chapter 28

  The wolf packs backtracked to the basement where Chavez had created his new domain. As before, the place was empty. The hope Michael and the other Weres held was that they had taken care of the small gang, and Chavez was on his own.

  Adam was waiting on the steps when they came up for air. He got to his feet. “No use waiting this out until dark. No other Weres have returned here, so you must have done a good job in putting a kink in this party.”

  Adam knew what had taken place in the park. He looked past them for Tory. Muttering “Damn it,” he kicked at a concrete step with his boot. “Lycans,” he added as if he’d uttered a curse, but he kept the reason for that to himself, and Michael understood why. Tory again wasn’t with them. The red-haired wolf was a wild card in the Were cop’s love life.

  “We’ll scour the campus and set watch until dark,” Michael said, glad for the chance to get back to the portal, and relieved to hear about the current lack of beasts.

  “There are nine of us,” he added. “Pretty good odds for hooking up with one monster and a few more rogues, don’t you think?”

  “With luck on our side,” Adam said seriously. “Other rogues might have scattered for the time being.”

  “I’ll take the area on the west side.” Michael’s comment garnered empathetic looks from more than one of the Weres in attendance. They all knew what he was waiting for, and what Kaitlin had done to help the cause.

  “We’ll remain here,” Cade said, gesturing toward the building as he breezed in with Devlin in tow. “No sign of more monsters anywhere we checked. I’m positive they can’t be experts in camouflage.”

  Michael nodded. “Cade, go with Dylan and whoever he wants with him. Rena, go with the rest. Dev, I’m taking you with me.”

  “I figured as much,” Dev said affably. “I can feel the heat of that hot seat from here.”

  They split up. After one more sweep of the campus and grounds, they’d have a few hours to wait out until darkness fell and the moon Michael already sensed hovering behind early-afternoon sunlight would render camouflage useless. Chavez would have to come out to play, and his foes would be waiting with new strengths of their own.

  This sounded to him like a decent type of showdown. Wolf to wolves. Although a clawed hand wouldn’t be able to pull a trigger, and a spray of silver bullets had darkened every nightmare he’d had since he was a kid, silver in the hands of the good guys, used to take down a criminal like Chavez, would seem appropriate, and not quite so bad anymore.

  He wasn’t certain Adam would feel the same way about a quick disposal, after what Chavez had put Adam through in the past.

  In the meantime…

  I’ll be waiting for you, Kate. Right on your blasted doorstep.

  He was, in fact, already on his way.

  *

  Kaitlin opened her eyes without remembering why she had shut them. All was quiet. The bad wolves had not caught her, and she saw no hint of them in the circle of beings that were looking at her.

  She was surrounded by Fey, and they weren’t speaking. The voice in her head that repeated a message on continual loop wasn’t theirs. That voice said, Find me.

  She would have given anything to have complied with that request.

  “Thank you for your help,” she said to the gathering crowd. Without changing her mind about finding the Fey beautiful, a darker undertow passed through her that brought her to her feet.

  “I’ll be going back now,” she said.

  Her declaration was received in silence.

  “I belong with my kind.” Hearing that always surprised her. She added a statement similar to what she had told them before. “I don’t know about you, or what I would have been if this was my world. I was never offered that choice.”

  More silence. They seemed to be waiting.

  “I would have liked to be like you.” She glanced down at a body that was very different from theirs. “Who could have predicted what this body hid?”

  One of the circle of Fey finally spoke. Kaitlin recognized the voice.

  “Payment is due, Kaitlin Davies, for services rendered to you this day.”

  Chills shimmied up Kaitlin’s spine. “Was that in the fine print?”

  “Because you’re of our line, our demands are simple.”

  “And those demands are?”

  “You stay.”

  Kaitlin’s chills intensified. Michael’s voice resonated in every cell in her body. Come back to me, Kate. Don’t hesitate.

  “Out of the question,” she said, facing them all and refusing to back down.

  “Payment is due,” the tall Fey repeated.

  “Then choose another one. You get that I’m no longer like you. You can see that. One of the Weres said that you shun halflings, and that mating with another species is not allowed. My body has merged with a Lycan’s. Do you sense the blood in my veins?”

  “Your family is powerful,” was the response. “And of our own kind. Kaitlin Davies began as Fey, not human. One of us did not mate with an outsider to produce you. We can overrule the wolf blood coursing through you. Your future can be altered.”

  “What?” This news enhanced the chills, and sent them in all directions. “Are you saying that I don’t have to be a wolf, and that you can change that?”

  The Fey all nodded in agreement. The tall spokeswoman said, “We can, and will.”

  This was her choice. She was being given the opportunity to reverse the actions that had changed the direction of her life. But how was that payme
nt for helping the Weres?

  She asked that question.

  “We take from those who ask for our help the thing they want most,” the tall Fey said.

  “In Michael’s world, that’s me?”

  Michael’s voice was more insistent. Do not hesitate, my lover, my little wolf. My love.

  She was what Michael wanted most. He had rescued her. He loved her. The Fey had come to help, and had arrived too late. Without Michael’s timely interference in a vampire attack on a person who looked human, but wasn’t, she wouldn’t have been standing here now, faced with such a choice.

  Over her head, the stars twinkled, beaming another kind of message to whatever was embedded inside the part of her DNA that Michael’s nearness did not affect. However, that part had grown noticeably weaker. Whereas she might have, in the past, wanted to stay here and learn about her family’s heritage, she couldn’t recall a time when her family didn’t stress about being normal and never standing out from the crowd.

  Were her body, her face and its features, controlled by a glamour such as the kind these Fey used to cloak themselves? Had her family purposefully chosen to live among humans, instead of with the rest of the Fey in a wonderland-like alternate realm? They had to have made that choice for a reason.

  Maybe they assumed she’d never find out about the tweak in her genetics and live out her life among humans, ignorant and happy with the simplicity of human life. What about when she married, though? What would her children be like with diluted Fey blood that would no longer gain them access to what she was seeing right that minute?

  Come back to me, Kate. Choose me, my love. Choose this world over any other.

  Kaitlin’s spine snapped straight. There had to be reasons for all of this.

  “I’m going back,” she said clearly, backing up as she spoke. “You’ll have to take a rain check on that payment, because I refuse to give it to you now.”

  All they had to do was stop her. Surely if they could redirect her fate and remove the wolf from the veins, they could simply block her from using the door.

  They didn’t try to do so.