rural areas, but we need a command center with easy transportation access. I’ve got specs on some properties that meld the two needs. Money isn’t a concern.”
He shifted his stance, and his irises took on a preternatural glow. Her hackles rose. She spun around beforeshe heard the rustle behind her, kicking herself inwardly for being caught unawares, another sign that Elijah had knocked her off her game.
A slender woman stepped into the clearing. Dressed in a simple sleeveless floral dress with buttons down the front, she looked fresh and innocent except for her eyes, which were narrowed and hot with hatred.
Rachel. The mate of the lycan Vash had tortured in an effort to find Elijah, whose blood had been left at the scene of Nikki’s abduction.
“Back off, Rachel,” Elijah warned.
“She’s mine, El.”
Vash moved subtly, firming her stance and preparing to unsheathe the blades on her back. She commiserated with Rachel’s loss and she didn’t disagree with the lycan’s right to challenge her—after all, revenge for a murdered mate was a goal they shared—but damned if she’d go down for anyone without fight.
“No, Rachel,” he growled softly. “She’s
mine
.”
“You owe me this. He died protecting you.”
“He didn’t give me up. I won’t deny that.” He moved closer, stepping in front of Vash, acting as a shield. “But Micah set me up in the first place. He planted my blood, and that lured Vash to hunt me.”
Rachel’s mouth curved, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “How would he do that? Only Sentinels have access to the cryogenic storage facilities.”
“The same Sentinel or Sentinels who took Lindsay from Angels’ Point?”
If Vash hadn’t been watching so closely, she might’ve missed the shiver of fear that raised the hairs onRachel’s arms. As it was, Vash felt a grudging admiration for the Alpha, who was so swiftly piecing together a picture of double-crosses and fractured loyalties.
Rachel ripped open the front of her dress and shifted, and Vash whipped out her blades. Elijah darted forward in human form, catching the snarling she-wolf in the air and deflecting her.
If Vash had harbored any doubts that he was an Alpha, they would have been completely dispelled. She’d never heard of a lycan able to resist a shift while under attack. Never thought she’d see it.
“Stop it,” Elijah barked, his words cracking like a whip.
But Rachel was beyond caring. She hunkered low and came at Vash again. Vash leaped to the roof of the Jeep to gain the high ground and prepared to slice back, but Elijah pivoted with a roar, grabbing Rachel and crushing her spine to his chest. Standing on her hind legs in lupine form, the female was bigger than he was. She clawed at the air with her forepaws, her jaws snapping over her shoulder.
“Cut it out.” His bare feet skidded on the ground as he wrestled her writhing body. “Don’t make me hurt you, Rach. Don’t— Damn it.”
Rachel’s back paw scraped his calf, eliciting a bellow of pain and fresh gushing of blood as his injury from the day before rent anew. The potent scent of his blood filled Vash’s nostrils. Her fangs descended; her body tightened with hunger. She crouched, her gaze shooting to the mouth of the cave. A witness would be helpful, but she saw none forthcoming.
Elijah hurled the wolf aside again and tore open his button fly. In a split second, he’d shifted into a pony-sized wolf with rich chocolate fur and a lupine face as majestic as his human one was gorgeous. He howled, the sound echoing off the red rock and rolling like thunder through the canyon.
Rachel slinked across the dusty ground, her lips pulled back in a snarling display of wickedly sharp teeth. Elijah stalked her, growling low and deep with unmistakable menace. Vash’s breathing quickened. She smelled the third lycan before she saw him.
In human form, Stephan leaped onto the rooftop beside her and landed nimbly on his feet. “Jesus,” the
He shifted his stance, and his irises took on a preternatural glow. Her hackles rose. She spun around beforeshe heard the rustle behind her, kicking herself inwardly for being caught unawares, another sign that Elijah had knocked her off her game.
A slender woman stepped into the clearing. Dressed in a simple sleeveless floral dress with buttons down the front, she looked fresh and innocent except for her eyes, which were narrowed and hot with hatred.
Rachel. The mate of the lycan Vash had tortured in an effort to find Elijah, whose blood had been left at the scene of Nikki’s abduction.
“Back off, Rachel,” Elijah warned.
“She’s mine, El.”
Vash moved subtly, firming her stance and preparing to unsheathe the blades on her back. She commiserated with Rachel’s loss and she didn’t disagree with the lycan’s right to challenge her—after all, revenge for a murdered mate was a goal they shared—but damned if she’d go down for anyone without fight.
“No, Rachel,” he growled softly. “She’s
mine
.”
“You owe me this. He died protecting you.”
“He didn’t give me up. I won’t deny that.” He moved closer, stepping in front of Vash, acting as a shield. “But Micah set me up in the first place. He planted my blood, and that lured Vash to hunt me.”
Rachel’s mouth curved, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “How would he do that? Only Sentinels have access to the cryogenic storage facilities.”
“The same Sentinel or Sentinels who took Lindsay from Angels’ Point?”
If Vash hadn’t been watching so closely, she might’ve missed the shiver of fear that raised the hairs onRachel’s arms. As it was, Vash felt a grudging admiration for the Alpha, who was so swiftly piecing together a picture of double-crosses and fractured loyalties.
Rachel ripped open the front of her dress and shifted, and Vash whipped out her blades. Elijah darted forward in human form, catching the snarling she-wolf in the air and deflecting her.
If Vash had harbored any doubts that he was an Alpha, they would have been completely dispelled. She’d never heard of a lycan able to resist a shift while under attack. Never thought she’d see it.
“Stop it,” Elijah barked, his words cracking like a whip.
But Rachel was beyond caring. She hunkered low and came at Vash again. Vash leaped to the roof of the Jeep to gain the high ground and prepared to slice back, but Elijah pivoted with a roar, grabbing Rachel and crushing her spine to his chest. Standing on her hind legs in lupine form, the female was bigger than he was. She clawed at the air with her forepaws, her jaws snapping over her shoulder.
“Cut it out.” His bare feet skidded on the ground as he wrestled her writhing body. “Don’t make me hurt you, Rach. Don’t— Damn it.”
Rachel’s back paw scraped his calf, eliciting a bellow of pain and fresh gushing of blood as his injury from the day before rent anew. The potent scent of his blood filled Vash’s nostrils. Her fangs descended; her body tightened with hunger. She crouched, her gaze shooting to the mouth of the cave. A witness would be helpful, but she saw none forthcoming.
Elijah hurled the wolf aside again and tore open his button fly. In a split second, he’d shifted into a pony-sized wolf with rich chocolate fur and a lupine face as majestic as his human one was gorgeous. He howled, the sound echoing off the red rock and rolling like thunder through the canyon.
Rachel slinked across the dusty ground, her lips pulled back in a snarling display of wickedly sharp teeth. Elijah stalked her, growling low and deep with unmistakable menace. Vash’s breathing quickened. She smelled the third lycan before she saw him.
In human form, Stephan leaped onto the rooftop beside her and landed nimbly on his feet. “Jesus,” the
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