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

  “I’m fine. My sense of smell is returning. I’ll follow your scent.” He looked worried.

  She tossed in a look over her shoulder. “What is it?”

  “There’ll be fallback for Todd’s action and innocent shifters will suffer for it. He killed and then turned young women against their will.”

  She frowned, wishing she could change the last week’s events. “Don’t forget that it was shifters who came forward to stop him. I won’t let the media forget.” She marched toward the sirens.

  At the car detailing garage, an ambulance pulled up for the second time that day and parked, followed by two cop cars. William and Sean were among the officers. Sonya guessed it could have been worse. She didn’t see a SWAT team or Homeland.

  Yet.

  “Did the shifters get him?” Sean peered at the field. “Is that Blain? Where are the others?” He left to meet her partner before she could answer.

  William remained by his car, arms crossed. “So?”

  “We were separated from the pack when we found Tracy.” She shook her head. “She’s alive but has been turned.”

  “She survived the process?”

  “She’s a tough girl. She must have escaped wherever Todd had held her captive.”

  “Did she tell you where?” William’s gaze traveled over her shoulder.

  She twisted.

  Blain stepped out of the field with Tracy in his arms, followed by a grim looking Sean.

  “I don’t think she can talk.” Her chest felt hollow as she watched Blain wrap Tracy in a blanket and keep the paramedics at a distance. “Stay back,” she shouted. “She bites.” She glanced at William and shrugged. “Blain says that’s normal at this stage.”

  William ran his fingers through his tangled hair. “What a clusterfuck.” He stormed toward the paramedics and cops surrounding the two shifters. “Keep back unless you want to be howling at the moon.”

  Blain’s eyes rolled slightly at the comment. He guided Tracy to sit on a stretcher as she ate the last of her sandwich. “It’s not safe to send her to a hospital. She needs to remain with the pack.”

  William loomed over the two shifters. “She needs to be returned to her family.”

  “The pack is her family now.” Eric strode onto the parking lot in human form, followed by his shifters still in their beast shape. His nudity didn’t seem to bother him and Sonya didn’t know where to stare. Thankfully a paramedic offered him a blanket, which he wrapped around his hips. “Once she’s in control, we’ll allow visiting.”

  Williams face turned red. He opened his mouth.

  Eric raised a hand. “Public safety first. Like it or not, she’s a shifter now.”

  Tracy finally seemed to notice Eric. She left the stretcher and hurried to sit at his feet with the other wolves. Sonya couldn’t help the relief she felt at the sight. She wasn’t pack and she wouldn’t share Blain.

  William visibly deflated.

  The wolves entered the garage to shift in private and Tracy followed. Eric remained at the door like a guard.

  Blain gestured for Sonya as he approached the alpha. Both males were the same size, yet Eric seemed to take more space and more air. Fear crept into her gut as she made her way over. She slipped the next to Blain, who made her feel safe and never afraid.

  “We tracked Todd to an abandoned cabin deep in the woods.” Eric grimaced. “Tracy’s scent was inside, but the area is overgrown in wolfsbane. It made tracking his escape too difficult.”

  “We lost him.” William stood behind Sonya, listening to Eric’s report. He returned to the police cars, shouting orders about roadblocks and searching the surrounding areas. Everything a good agent would do, but not a smart one.

  She watched as Tracy followed the shifters into their minivan. The young girl waved to them and held up her empty sandwich wrapper as if in thanks.

  “Todd won’t run. He’ll stay in the area.” She smiled at Tracy. “We have what he wants.”

  Blain rested his arm over her shoulders. “You’re beginning to think like a shifter.”

  *

  The urge to pull Sonya into his arms, claim her as his in front of the other males, almost overwhelmed Blain’s human logic. He compromised by resting his arm on her shoulders. “He won’t leave the area. He’ll come after her.”

  Eric stared at the minivan. “Let him try.”

  “What’s going to happen to her now?” Sonya sounded worried.

  “Take her to Chicago under pack protection. I’ll contact her mother and set up a meeting so we can explain the situation. Sugar is good at dealing with people.” Eric grabbed his clothes and left with the pack. Blain didn’t envy his job.

  He and Sonya sat on the hood of their rental car, staring at the field, until everyone left and they were alone.

  “Her name is Sugar, seriously?” Sonya smelled amused. “A werewolf named Sugar.”

  “Actually, she’s a vampire.”

  Sonya jerked. “For real?”

  “Her twin sister is a werewolf. Eric’s mate.” He grinned. “Her name is Spice.”

  Sonya’s laughter rang out over the empty lot and field.

  “She’s scarier than Eric too.” He loved the sound of Sonya’s laughter. She’d been so guarded when they first met. She never would have laughed like this and it just proved how close they’d grown in such a short time.

  He couldn’t imagine his life without her, but he couldn’t imagine his life without those at the bootcamp either.

  “Hey, why the sad face?” Sonya’s hand rested on his knee.

  He shrugged. “Just thinking. My nose seems back to normal. Maybe we should go check out the cabin.”

  “But the wolfsbane.”

  “I promise not to snort it. In plant form, it affects our sense of smell. Only when dried and turned to powder, like what Todd had done, can it really be dangerous. Well, eating it can be a disaster, but I’m not much of a salad guy.”

  She slid off the hood. “Sounds like a plan. Someone from the team should check it out, after all.”

  The wind had a bite and he was left with no jacket. Tracy had still been wearing his when she had left with Eric. His lunch was also gone. Cold and hungry and the bad guy had gotten away.

  He walked to the edge of the field, taking in all the blessed scents. Cool air made everything crisper. He’d never seen colors but from the way people described them, he’d say smells came in different shades that painted his world and gave it depth.

  The fall-dried leaves blanketed the area but animals that lived here left their mark, giving him paths to follow. The clearest one being the Vanguards’ wolves. Their scent trail gave him a clear road. What a difference from earlier. Now he truly knew what being blind felt like.

  Sonya’s shoes crunched on the loose asphalt behind him. She moved with a slight limp that favored her hurt left leg from yesterday’s altercation.

  “Ready?”

  She pulled out her gun and clicked the safety off. “Yes.”

  “I don’t think you’ll need that.” He took her hand and led her for once. His instincts to run ahead on the hunt eased with her touch. He could stroll instead. Like lovers on a nature walk.

  With a killer on the loose.

  “I’ll feel better.” She pulled her hand free and snaked it around his waist so they walked arm in arm.

  Much better than hunting.

  “Do you think he’ll follow Tracy to Chicago?”

  “If it were me and some strange male whisked you away, I’d follow. Nothing would keep me from taking you back.”

  “So your answer is yes.” She gave him a squeeze.

  “Yes.”

  “Think she’ll be safe from him?”

  “Safer than with the FBI or her family. The pack will guard her from Todd and the public. She needs time to adjust before setting her free.”

  “How long did it take you?” Sonya rested her head against his shoulder. She was soft and warm. Instead of treading through the cold, they coul
d return to their hotel room, where he could pin her to the bed, re-exploring every inch of her skin with his mouth. “Blain?”

  “Huh? Oh, eight days, except I shifted right away and remained in my beast form.”

  She stayed quiet as they crested the hill, following the trail past the point where they’d been separated from the pack. “I heard rumors.”

  “Mmm?” The scent of pine added to his view of the world. They grew thicker here.

  “About cages.”

  “What about them?” Every pack house had them but it wasn’t public knowledge. They had enough PR problems without adding out-of-control shifters.

  “Will they put Tracy in a cage?” Sonya gasped. “We’re here,” she whispered.

  A shiver ran down his spine as his painted world faded and all he could smell was wolfsbane. “What do you see?”

  “It’s the cabin. Must be old because the trees are growing right against the walls.”

  Blain heard the log walls creak with the wind. Wolfsbane filled his nose. He tried to process the scent from his senses and pick other smells out. Not easy. The stuff was like tar to his sense of smell. “Let’s go in.” He stepped in front of her and led the way.

  Sonya made a frustrated noise at his move and pulled out her gun.

  Inside, he picked up a faint scent of Todd and Tracy mingling with mold and decay.

  Sonya explored to the right down a hall, leaving him inside the main room. He let her go. The scents were old. Neither Todd nor Tracy had been here in the last day, like Eric had reported.

  He hung his head. What was he doing here? Why had he dragged Sonya out in the middle of the woods? For a chance to redeem what was left of his pride after losing to Todd so quickly?

  The heavy clank of metal hitting the wood floor had him jerking to attention. “Sonya?” He strode in her direction.

  Things had grown too quiet. He came to a halt, tilting his head and focusing on sound. Heartbeats. Two aside from his own. “Who’s there?”

  Sonya made a high-pitched squeak and he heard her struggle.

  Blain’s chest tightened. “Don’t hurt her.” It had to be Todd. He could smell Sonya. She was close.

  The sound of heavy footsteps treaded just ahead of him in the doorway to the bedroom. “Where’s Tracy?” Todd spoke, his voice rough and hoarse. He sounded as if he were struggling not to shift.

  “She’s safe.” Blain spoke softly. Even though wolfsbane dominated the air, Blain could smell Todd’s wolf rising. He was close to losing control and he had a hold on Blain’s delicate human mate. “Let me take you to her.” Blain gestured to the exit.

  “How stupid do you think I am?”

  Blain pressed his lips together. Apparently, not as stupid as he had hoped. It would be easier to attack Todd outside. Away from Sonya.

  “Bring Tracy here. Alone. Then I’ll trade you.”

  Never. “What assurance do I have that you won’t hurt Sonya? You don’t have the best track record for keeping females safe.” There would be no negotiations. He wouldn’t leave her in the hands of a rabid shifter.

  “What’s wrong with your eyes?” Todd stepped closer as if trying to peer at his face.

  “I’m blind. I can’t go out in the woods by myself. I need her as my guide.” A muscle ticked along Blain’s jaw as he gritted his teeth. He had neither time nor energy to shift to beast form to fight.

  “How are you—” Todd grunted. The sound of feet shuffled, followed by an elbow landing against hard flesh.

  Blain leaped forward, placing himself between Todd and Sonya. He shoved her behind him into the hallway as he fell to the bedroom floor with Todd. His jaw impacted the other shifter’s shoulder, bear trapping his tongue with his teeth. The copper taste of blood flooded Blain’s mouth, triggering his predator nature.

  An inhuman snarl ripped from his throat. Todd had threatened his mate and she was still in the cabin. “Run!” He shouted at her.

  She gasped. His teeth felt sharp and his claws pierced his fingertips, but he didn’t have the time to wait for the shift to finish.

  Pain stabbed through his joints as he gripped Todd by the throat with both hands.

  Todd began to shift as well.

  Ten thousand needles pierced Blain’s skin as fur sprouted from his skin. He panted, unable to sweat, and struggled to keep Todd under him. He’d won all the hand-to-hand combat challenges in bootcamp, but he never fought one mid-change.

  Todd punched him repeatedly in the face, trying to get free. The pain just mingled with everything else. Blain’s face absorbed the damage with the slow shift.

  Sonya’s scent still lingered. Stubborn, stubborn woman.

  “Move.” She sounded as desperate as he felt.

  The trigger of her gun depressed with an audible click.

  Blain dove to the side and allowed Todd to spring up.

  The shot rang out in the small room, deafening him. The floor shuddered under Blain’s feet when Todd fell back. Blood and skull fragments and other unmentionables splattered across his feet as Blain pressed against the wall.

  “Is he dead?” She was out of breath.

  Blain cocked his head, listening past the ringing in his ears. He heard only his and Sonya’s heartbeats. “He’s dead.” He still hadn’t completed the change to full beast form and could manage those simple words.

  Her feet shuffled toward him until she ran her hands over his face. “Are you hurt?”

  He ran possessive hands over her ass. His. She was all his and she was unharmed.

  She made soothing noises and stroked his fur.

  His teeth, claws and fur receded, leaving him human once more. He released his tight hold. “Nice shooting.”

  She leaned her head against his. “It’s over. Finally.”

  His heart sank. Yeah, it was over. That meant his return to bootcamp and her return to Washington DC.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Blain sat outside the cabin, away from the wolfsbane, the weak fall sunlight barely warming his back. Sonya had reported what happened to her team. Law enforcement officers from local, federal, and Homeland crossed paths as evidence and body were collected. He’d been questioned so much his answers sounded rote. Someone had given him a blanket since Tracy had his jacket and the day was getting colder.

  Leaning on his hands, he inhaled the evergreen and forest smells. For once, he was pleased for the presence of wolfsbane. It helped lessen the scent of fresh blood.

  Sonya approached from downwind. She’d been questioned more than he since she’d actually killed Todd in self-defense. She squatted next to him.

  “Everything all right?” He ran the back of his hand over her cheek, unable to resist touching her.

  “Yes, but I might be drowning in paperwork for a few days.” She leaned into his touch. “We can go now.”

  He rose to his feet and drew her along, pulling her under his arm. “Let’s go back the way we came.” They had discovered a trail closer to the roads, giving the officers easier access to the cabin. Unfortunately, their vehicle was parked at Todd’s place of employment—the car detailing garage.

  “We could get a lift.”

  He lifted her hand to his lips and he kissed it, gunpowder still clung to her skin. He felt her intense gaze. “I prefer to walk.”

  Was it a terrible thing that he wanted her to himself for the little time they had together?

  They strolled in companionable silence. The distant sound of Canadian geese flying south for the winter drifted from the sky. While Blain had waited to be dismissed from the crime scene, Pallas had called him with his flight arrangements. God only knew how the vampire had heard of Todd’s death before it hit the news. “I’ll be returning to my pack tomorrow morning.”

  “So soon?” Her disappointment mirrored his.

  “I’ve been away long enough. I don’t want to fall behind and get kicked out.” Packless. Once he was trained, he’d be more marketable. Maybe even the Vanguards might take him in after this.
/>   “I don’t understand your training. You’re fantastic already.” She cupped his face and he basked in her affection for a moment in silence.

  “Not in the eyes of my people. To them, I’m weak. This camp trains us to be better wolves.” On so many levels. He’d never realized until he was away that Pallas really brought out his strengths by taking away all the frivolous things. Didn’t mean he was anxious to return to cold showers. Especially with winter around the corner. “I have a better chance to find a pack if I finish the bootcamp.”