Blind Wolf Bluff: Shifter Romance (Vanguard Elite Book 3) Read online

  “I don’t agree,” Sonya said. “This tells us that Tracy might still be alive. How long does it take for the process, Blain?”

  He gave her a slow blink. “It’s different for everyone. Usually it takes a very deep bite to get infected. Present belief is that the more virus in your system, the better chance of your survival. So the deeper the bite, the better.”

  “If I had gotten a little virus in one of my cuts yesterday?”

  “You would already be sick.” If he had noticed the signs of infection—fever, lethargy, or pain—he would have turned her before letting her die. He would have attacked her and given her a fighting chance. Then he would’ve gone to jail, or been executed by Eric, for creating a shifter against her will. “But you’re good. No symptoms.” He said it to comfort himself, not her. To reassure himself that he hadn’t lost her.

  “Those deep bites could also kill a victim.” William still paced as if oblivious to everything around him.

  “That’s one of the reasons the mortality rate so high. It’s a fine balance between bite, virus, and blood loss. I think the infected person’s will to live helps as well.” Unknown to the general public, most packs had a chosen few who did the turning. It was a skill, like learning to be a doctor—too dangerous to let just anyone do it. That meant Todd would most likely keep killing his victims instead of turning them.

  “All those women had been bitten to become shifters.” Sean spoke quietly, as if to himself. “There should be a better way.”

  Blain’s heart sank. He could understand why shifters weren’t part of law enforcement. The division between loyalty to pack and state could tear a person apart, but his path was clear. “I have to call Eric. This case falls under pack law now.” He pulled out his cell phone. The Vanguards had given him everything he had. His skills, his confidence, his pack—he owed them first. The alpha should also know what he had waiting for him when he arrived.

  “How do you mean?” Sonya set her hand on his wrists, grip tight with betrayal.

  “Shifter killer, shifter victims.”

  “They were human when he abducted them,” she countered.

  “But they were shifters when they died. We have laws as well and turning humans outside our process is illegal. It’s punishable by death. This animal needs to be stopped.” They didn’t always have these laws. As a race, they’d lost their way until recently. The Vanguards were part of this change.

  “Sonya.” William removed her hand so Blain could make the call. “We won’t be able to keep Homeland from taking over this case. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of finding dead girls. Let the pack take care of this.”

  “Fine.” She moved away from Blain’s side. “Make the call, but don’t think you’re leaving me behind.”

  “Never. We’re partners.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  They drove in silence to the garage with a fast stop for a bag load of sandwiches to appease Blain’s growling stomach and snacks for later.

  Partners. Every time Blain used that word, he gave Sonya a shiver of anticipation. She couldn’t remember reacting to anyone like she did with him.

  He’d called her mate. Wanted to claim her. Forever.

  She took a shuddering deep breath and kept her eyes on the road. Forever with Blain in her bed, at her side, in her heart didn’t sound bad.

  “Is everything okay?” Blain sat in the passenger seat, deep in his own thoughts until now.

  “Just anxious to catch this bastard.” He said he could smell lies but his nose hadn’t recovered. It wasn’t really a lie, though. This wasn’t the time for her to declare her heart’s desire. She didn’t have time to pull over so she could lay claim to him. They could wait until tonight.

  “It will be hard for you to keep up with the pack during the hunt. Maybe you should stay with the car until we find his location.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, and then you’ll text me with your doggie paws.” Not to mention his inability to see the keys.

  “It’ll be dangerous.”

  “Are we doing this again?” It was like Groundhog Day. Same vehicle, same destination, same conversation.

  “And you were hurt.” A small muscle ticked on his jaw as he faced the windshield, away from her.

  “So were you.”

  He growled.

  She growled back. “Shoot to kill. Aim for the head. Don’t asked questions.”

  His growl faded. “Stay close to me.”

  She smiled. “I’ll watch your back.” He needed to trust her skill and let her do her job. She couldn’t just be his mate. She needed to be Special Agent Camp as well.

  “I know you will.”

  As they pulled into the parking lot of the garage, a minivan followed them in. The big alpha from Chicago climbed out of the driver seat. Five other shifters joined him—three males, two females.

  “Where should we shift?” asked Eric as he joined them by the garage.

  “The owner offered us the use of bay three.” She pointed to the only open door.

  Blain didn’t follow the other five inside and Eric noticed.

  “Blain, you joining us on the hunt?”

  Blain pointed to his nose. “The wolfsbane hasn’t worn off. It’ll be too difficult for me to navigate the rough terrain at a run. I’ll stay with Agent Camp and follow your lead.”

  She bit back sharp words. He was using these excuses to watch over her. Even in human form, Blain could run much faster than she, but he wouldn’t leave her behind. “Let me make one thing clear. The priority here is to find the girl first then capture Todd.”

  Eric nodded. “We’ll find the girl, then Todd is dead. Pack law.” He joined the other shifters inside the garage.

  She spun on Blain. “To protect me?”

  “Yes and no. I really can’t run an unknown wilderness without my nose. I’m good, but I’m not that good. My nose is getting better. I can faintly smell soap.”

  Hell, she could smell the soap this place used. It was so strong, she could almost taste it. “So how we do this?”

  “We run after the pack. You ahead of me, my hand on your shoulder, at your pace.”

  “And when we lose them?” Because they would. She couldn’t fool herself into thinking she was fast enough to keep pace.

  “That many wolves make enough noise for me to follow. Don’t worry.”

  “I’m not worried about us. I’m worried what the pack will do once they find Todd.” She set her fingers against Blain’s lips as they parted to respond. “I know. I know,” she whispered. “Pack law, but what about Tracy? There’s a chance she is still alive. How will we find her if they kill Todd before questioning him?”

  He gripped her wrist and kissed her fingertips, and drew her hand into his firm grasp. “She’s most likely already infected by now. Nothing can be done to cure her. She lives or dies.”

  Sonya clenched her jaw and pulled her hand, but he held it fast.

  “Nobody is forgetting Tracy.” He pulled her against his chest and whispered in her ear so low she barely heard him. “Eric was changed against his will. Trust me when I say, she’s foremost in his priorities.”

  The click of claws on the pavement drew their attention. The werewolves strode out on four limbs, except for one, who she guessed was Eric. He stood on his hind legs, reminding her that these weren’t animals.

  He led the pack to the field where the tracking began.

  Sonya pulled Blain after them. “What should I expect?”

  One of the wolves howled.

  “Run.” Blain gave her a gentle shove toward the pack.

  *

  Blain’s soul was filled with the song of the hunt. The urge to shift swelled in his chest. Sometimes the body just couldn’t respond to the heart’s desire.

  He stayed a man, hand on Sonya’s shoulder, as they ran after the pack. Feet pounding the dirt, he paid closer attention to the sound paws—when they left the earth to avoid obstacles and their distance from him. That way he knew whe
re to jump or turn on the path.

  Sound painted his world and it was loud—snap of branches, yips of wolves, Sonya’s uneven breathing, the wind blowing through the field. Between touch and his ears, he navigated with Sonya.

  The pack noise started to grow more distant but he didn’t push his partner to go faster. Let the pack fight this killer. Sonya’s near miss at being infected made him overprotective. If she became a shifter, it would be by her choice. He wasn’t prepared to risk her and would happily mate a human, even if she never felt the same bond as a wolf.

  The narrow field, boarded by industry, led to rougher terrain.

  “I can’t see them.” Sonya sounded out of breath. He smelled her sweat and resisted the urge to bury his nose in her scent. His gift was returning.

  “They’re to the west of here.”

  “Do I seem like a person who carries a compass?”

  “To the left. It sounds like trees.”

  The ground inclined until they were climbing a steep hill.

  “Now?”

  He tilted his head and listened. The wolves still headed west, deeper into the forest, but something else caught his attention. The pack only followed their noses. They’d missed the sound of shallow breathing in the bushes to the east.

  “Let me catch my breath.” He pulled Sonya off the trail and headed toward the heavy breather.

  “You seem fine.” She ran her hands over his face. “Are you still having ill effects of the wolfsbane?”

  Her concern touched him and he pulled her in for a quick kiss. With his fingers, he directed her gaze toward the hiding place.

  “What do you see?” He kept his voice low enough so only she could hear him.

  Her body tensed and he sensed her gaze. She took a step but he held her close. Todd’s scent didn’t reach his nose, but he couldn’t trust it. If they were attacked, he’d be there to protect her this time.

  She rested her hands on his. “Tracy?”

  It was his turn to tense. The girl? What was she doing in the woods? Why hadn’t she run for help?

  In his shock, Sonya took the opportunity to drift from him toward the dense bushes. “It’s all right. I’m with the FBI. I want to help you.” He heard her crouch low as if peering under the bushes.

  A low growl answered.

  “Shit.” In his hurry to reach Sonya, he tripped over, well, everything. He landed on his hands and knees between Sonya and Tracy.

  “Blain.” Sonya breathed out his name and gripped the edge of his shirt, giving it a feeble tug.

  “I know.”

  Tracy was a newborn shifter with no alpha to control her. She crept out of the bushes.

  “Describe what you are seeing.” Blain rose to his knees, blocking Tracy’s path. “What form is she in?” He could smell both wolf and human. A weird mix, but that could be the wolfsbane.

  “Human, but she’s naked and her eyes are wolf like yours when you are close to shifting.” Sonya spoke fast, words tumbling one on top of each other. “She’s crawling on all fours, though, like the others in the pack.”

  Good. He stood and let his wolf rise. Tracy saw herself as less dominant or she would have walked out on her hind legs. He returned her growl. He stared in her general direction. She wouldn’t know he was blind if she kept her head low in submission.

  New shifters were the worst. Most of the time,they needed to be kept safe in a cage for a few days. Ian had told him he’d needed it for a month.

  When someone became shifter, those first few days were all instinct and emotion. Some shifted to beast form right away and stayed like that until their humanity returned. Others, like Tracy, stay human until they lost control of their wolf and shifted. Either way sucked. Especially alone in the woods.

  Todd was the worst kind of person—killer and abuser—but to leave her alone on top of everything else? No wonder he’d never found a mate. He didn’t understand how to care for one.

  Tracy crept to Blain’s feet.

  He pulled off his jacket and covered her before she got frostbite. “Stay back, Sonya. She’s not stable and can infect you, even in this form.”

  “What do we do?” Sonya smelled of fear but she kept it in check. That was his girl.

  “Excellent question.” One he had no answer for. Eric was away hunting Todd. Walking out of the woods with a naked missing girl would draw too much attention, something that could trigger Tracy into attacking. Back to basic shifter needs. Food, pack, and mate. He could do the first two. “Run back to the car and get the sandwiches.”

  Sonya hesitated. “Leave you alone.”

  His mate wanted to protect as much as he her. What a pair they’d make. Eventually, they’d have to learn to trust each other, or they’d never leave home. “I’ll be fine.”

  She backed away slowly, and once back on the trail, she ran to the car.

  Scooping Tracy into his arms, he let her bury her nose into his neck. His wolf was close to the surface and she should be able to smell not just him, but his pack of misfit wolves. Pallas would kill him if he returned with a new member, but what else could he do? He couldn’t abandon her. She needed someone to root her to her humanity. Who knew how long she’d been running wild?

  He listened for Eric and the pack, but they were out of his range now.

  Tracy made a whining noise and nipped his ear.

  “Ouch.” He tugged it loose, her flat human teeth scraping his skin. Yeah, he couldn’t chance her doing that to Sonya or any other human they might trip over.

  He carried her toward the car, taking his steps carefully. He grimaced as she licked his throat. Maybe she’d like Eric and his wolves better when she met them? The longer she was exposed to Blain, the more attached she would get.

  Who could explain pack bond? It was an intangible thing like family ties. Why had he stayed with his abusive pack so long? Why did any wolf? Because they were home. It was what they were first exposed to when they were born shifters.

  And he was Tracy’s.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sonya grabbed the sandwiches from the car and ran back into the field. Her lungs burned for air, her legs threatened to form a union and go on strike, and her heart pounded so loud she couldn’t hear her footfalls.

  In the distance, Blain carried Tracy in his arms, wrapped in his jacket. He held her close to his chest while she hugged his neck. The green flames of jealousy burned in Sonya’s gut. He belonged to her, but what came out of her mouth was, “Here are the sandwiches.”

  He knelt and offered Tracy one. If not for Blain’s heroic effort to unwrap it first, the girl would have gobbled it, paper and all. “Fuck.” He jerked his hand away and sucked a finger. “She bit me.”

  She eyed Tracy and unwrapped the next sandwich. “This is normal behavior?”

  “Yes, keep your distance. As you can see, she’s bitey.” He held his hand out for the next sandwich.

  “I have to call this in. Someone needs to know we found her.” Rising to her feet, she connected with her team and updated them. “Don’t inform the mother yet. Tracy’s infected and not acting like herself.” Sonya shuddered as she watched the young woman inhale the sandwich.

  She disconnected before William could respond. People went through this after the change. Blain had. She swallowed with a throat gone dry, wishing she’d thought to grab the sodas. The press would have a field day.

  And Tracy’s family?

  “She should get better.” Blain stroked Tracy’s hair and she leaned into his touch.

  “Maybe I should leave you two alone.” The sharp words whipped out before she could stop them. He called her his mate but she wasn’t a shifter. She couldn’t imagine herself responding to Blain like Tracy. So needy and vulnerable.

  Blain’s eyebrows shot up. “Touch helps. If you were shifter, I’d ask you to comfort her, but I won’t risk it.”

  Sonya hung her head, her cheeks aflame. “I’m being a bitch.”

  His chuckle eased the sting.

  I
n the distance, she heard sirens. “For Christ’s sake, William.” If he made this into a media circus, she go after his badge. Poor girl had been through enough.

  “Let’s go.” Blain gathered Tracy in his arms again. She seemed content and lethargic with a third sandwich in her hands. “She’ll most likely sleep after eating.”

  “You need help?” She wanted to hold his hand like she normally did when leading him, but Tracy’s teeth were too close for comfort.