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Frosty
My eyes open slowly, but when they do, I see a flashing light on the bedside table. It is 8:00 in the morning. At first, absolutely nothing registers with me, and I close my eyes again. Then, in a flash, all the memories, good and bad, of last night run through my mind, and I lift my head and stare down at the gorgeous man below me. With him, I feel like I can recover from anything. Right now, though, I have to get up and get our team together for a briefing and planning. I have many ideas that we should put into action, but first, I have to put the team into action. I spring up off of Cato and stand by the bed, watching to see if he wakes up. Interestingly, he doesn't, so I make plans for a less stressful, less bloody experience in the shower as I make my way to the bathroom.
My head and face are covered in a thick lather of soap when I hear the door open. The water turns off from the wall while the door is open, and I cannot help thinking how creative and intelligent an invention that is. Then I think about Cato entering the shower, and my knees go a little weak. His hands are all over me, and there is no sense in even pretending he is trying to wash my body. His mouth is on my breast, and his hands are between my legs, and I am screaming with pleasure in seconds. The thick lather of the soap still covers my head, keeping my eyes sealed shut, and my legs nearly go out from under me. Cato's rumbling yet resonating voice growls low in his throat as he turns me around and places my hands up on the wall. His mouth and hands touch every part of me, and just as I think he is going to send me screaming over the edge one more time, his hand wraps around the back of my neck, pushing my head down, nearly folding me in half.
Cato enters me so hard and fast that I come up on my toes. I have to grab onto my ankles to keep from falling forward, even though his hands are holding me tightly to him. Cato is fierce in his mating and my body thrills from my head to my toes. As I feel my world splintering apart and my legs giving out, he picks me up and turns me, putting me against the wall with my legs around him. I cannot see anything, but I can feel every inch of him. Every touch is enhanced ten times over by my inability to see, and when he pushes back into me, bringing his mouth to my neck, the splintering breaks apart, and my mind goes blank. Cato is more verbal this morning, growling and panting as he drives himself over his peak. He thrusts hard inside me, and finally, I feel him pulsing his release.
Sliding me down off the wall, he pulls slowly out of me, making very regretful sounds. Cato helps me rinse my hair and face off, and I cannot help laughing because it makes me so happy just to be with him. I wish that we could spend days on end together, just enjoying ourselves and exploring our own needs and desires. Sadly, the world we have come together in needs us to be a lot less selfish and more centered on helping our people and getting the answers no one wants to ask. When I am all rinsed off, I look up at my mate, and he is grinning the most devilish grin.
"You thought you would get on with your day faster by leaving the bed before I had a chance to have you."
"I did," I admit sheepishly, batting my eyes at him. "I thought I could get started with breakfast and getting the team together. We need a better plan. If we can—" His lips on mine cut me off, and I fall instantly into his kiss.
"Be glad I woke up and found you in the shower and not in your team meeting. You are free to test me if you choose, but you should know that every day for the rest of our lives, you will be the first thing I do. You will eventually forget and walk away, leaving me sleeping. You will want to try to remember that wherever you are when I find you, that is where I will be taking you." He turns me out of the shower and slaps my ass hard.
I roll my eyes and walk away, grabbing a towel as he sings and whistles to himself in the shower. Note to self: That man has promised to take you wherever he finds you, so you'd better start waking him up in the morning if you want an early day. A shiver slides up and down my spine, weakening my knees, as I picture Cato having his way with me every morning for the rest of our lives. I physically give myself a shake to push those thoughts aside.
I make my way downstairs to the kitchen, where I already know the team will be waiting. You do not have to be around people for long to learn their routines and expectations. Walking into the kitchen here is much different than the one at Black River. It is ultra-modern, with steel and granite everywhere. Now, all it needs is one of those food dispensers like they have in cafeterias. There are so many things I can do to help and skills I have attained. I refuse to feel bad that cooking isn't one of them.
Sebastian stands up from a table, kisses Kassie on the head, and walks over to the fridge. Kassie waves her hand at me and points at the other seat beside her. I might as well, although the smell of coffee is enticing me, and I feel like one of those cartoons with the scent fingers gliding in the air, tempting the character to follow. I resist the urge, promising myself a cup as soon as I say good morning to Kassie and to Prayer, who is sitting across the table from her. There are a few things I wanted to address with them anyway.
"What's on your agenda for today, Frost?" Even though I know Kassie is speaking to me, it amuses me that her eyes stay on her mate. She is really adorable with him.
"A few things. First, I want to set up the teams. I am hoping to talk you and Sebastian into joining the team permanently. We need to get everyone some training on how to work as a team. We need to see everyone's fighting skills. I do not know about all of the shifters, but a lot of them haven't seen any actual fighting or battles since they used bayonets." It sounds funny, but it is actually true.
"It sounds like you have been working on that plan. Is there anything we can do to help you?" Prayer has been stirring what smells like an herbal tea—peppermint maybe—and making distasteful faces at it.
"Well, I am hoping Avalon will agree to be a target dummy—so to speak. He is lightning-fast and quite powerful. If that is the case, he would be perfect to help us get the team ready to fight together, fight like a team. Prayer, if you hate the tea, why do you have it?" I could not help but ask as her nose curled up again.
"Because I do not want it, but baby Avalon wants it. I feel like if I do not drink it, I might die, but my mind tells me if I do drink it, I might gag." She pats her belly affectionately even as she curls her nose up again and takes a sip.
"Is it better or worse?" Kassie points to the cup, asking.
"It is so much better than it has any right to be." Prayer says with a sigh, taking several larger gulps.
"If I start drinking out of the toilet, I am neutering him." Kassie throws a thumb over her shoulder at Sebastian, and Prayer spits a mouthful of tea out, covering the table.
"Nutsy, what have I told you about the dog jokes?" Sebastian says as he drops a bowl of fresh-cut fruit in front of me, as well as a bowl of yogurt, vanilla from the smell, and another of granola.
"Something about showing me what doggy means, I think." Kassie propped her chin in her palm and looked at me, grinning. "Do you think he really believes that is a threat?"
I laugh as Sebastian pulls her up out of her chair, takes the seat, and places her in his lap. Besides the bowls he arranges in front of me, there are also empty bowls with spoons. The man thought of everything, and I am very grateful. After scooping a lot of the yogurt into the bowl and filling it the rest of the way with fruit, I took the spoon and sprinkled some granola over the top. I hear several people saying things like "Good morning, boss" or "Happy to have you home," and I know Cato has entered the kitchen. I grin to myself as memories of what made him late this morning flood my mind.
"If you think you can take your eyes off your mate's ass, we can talk about that list you want to handle today. I am sure Avalon would love to come stretch a muscle or two." Prayer was laughing even after I picked up a blueberry and threw it at her.
A hand comes around from behind me and picks up one of my strawberries. Just as I turn to tell him my food is where I draw the line, he places a cup of coffee in front of me.
"Oh, yes, that is just what I needed." I breathe in the scent of the coffee and the white chocolate raspberry creamer mixed in it. "You remembered!"
I set the cup down because I know how these alphas think, and I wait until I feel his hands go around my waist. I wink at Prayer and Kassie, and they both laugh as he settles me back into his lap. I sip on my coffee and watch as he devours my parfait. Setting my cup down, I pick up the ingredients and create another masterpiece, and then I push the fresh fruit toward Prayer because I swear she is drooling. Kassie's fingers sneak out to grab a pinch of granola, and still laughing, I push that bowl her way. She doesn't even bother with the spoon as she picks up the bowl and tilts her head back, filling her mouth with the crunchy cereal. I scan the room, looking for a particular face, and when I find him, I wave him down.
"Eshaq, please, just a moment."
"What can I do for you today, Frosty?" His face is always full of smiles when he talks to me.
"Would you please get the team together and find a nice open space for us to get some training in? We do not have a whole lot of time to figure out what is going on, so we need to get this practice session out of the way."
"Sure, I know just the place. You want me with you?" His eyes are already looking around to see who is in the room and who he'll have to locate.
"No, Shaq, I need you to keep control of the territory the way you have been. At least until Marcus gets back, or we get this team regulated and on a schedule of sorts." Cato speaks up.
"You are putting the teams together today?" Sebastian asks, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Yes, My Delight, and you are a part of it. I am sorry I forgot to mention that to you." As though that would be sufficient to overlook the fact that she had already consented to join, Kassie gives him a cheek kiss. It was enough because he just nods and pulls her closer.
"Shaq, make sure they know this is it. We need to head out as soon as possible to find out what happened to Benard and Philip. You can give them a heads up that Avalon will be there as well." I grabbed Eshaq's attention with that as he was walking away from the table. Though he arched an eyebrow, he continued to the table where Camillo and Julie Wyatt sat.
"Before we head out there ourselves and lay this out for them, I thought we could discuss a few things. Starting with Kassie and Sebastian, who are basically the communications team. Wherever we go or whatever we are doing, you, Kassie, will be in the center of it. The team is going to need to learn to communicate with you in turns or when you ask them something. They cannot flood you with thoughts and images. I will have to try to keep mine in check as well so that you can give us the messages that we need. They will also need to learn to stay within the boundaries I give them, and that means counting on you to tell me where they are going. I do not have it all worked out in my head yet, but that is what today is for." I look up from my parfait, and four sets of eyes are staring at me. "What?"
"How long have you been thinking about this? Planning this?" Cato shifts in his seat so he can lean around and look at me.
"Umm, since I found out who was on the team and that Kassie can talk to the animal form of a shifter. It made sense that she would be able to communicate with them mentally because that is the way they talk to her."
"What is the next step you have planned?" Sebastian's smile is genuine, so I do not hesitate.
"We must deal with this as any military or law enforcement team would. We cannot all storm into a scene and take out the bad guys at once. To many other supernaturals, the bad guys in this scenario were once and still are friends and family. Splitting up the team into smaller groups is necessary. Sebastian and Kassie make the most sense for communication. Cato's ability to fly makes him ideal for swift area reconnaissance. I will provide as much coverage as possible. Though they are smaller than the rest of you, Julie and Camillo are quicker and can move through spaces freely in order to obtain information that they can then relay to Kassie. Donny Thompson can accompany them as a lookout and protector. We'd probably call that intel.
David and Emily can gain ingress from almost anywhere, and Avery would be with them in the same capacity of protection and lookout. That would make them the infiltration team and grant access to Alan, Stacey, and Reggie. Who should be able to get to the target to hold them until everyone else converges on them? Arresting team, I suppose." I have a tendency to focus internally when I am thinking, and when I feel like I have given an outline of my plan for the teams, I look back up at the four faces staring back at me.
"Oh my cheese! Let's do this. I am going to get Avalon right now. This is going to be entertaining if nothing else." Prayer vanishes from where she is sitting, and Sebastian and Cato shove their chairs back, taking me and Kassie with them.
I guess we are starting now.
Cato
My mate must have been a general in another life. She assesses the advantages and disadvantages of both the animal and the person and uses them strategically. She never ceases to amaze me and everyone else she comes into contact with. We venture out to the clearing, and Eshaq and the others are waiting there with no idea what is about to go down. Seeing them all in a line in an almost military stance, I have to laugh to myself. They look nowhere near ready for a military drill.
Frosty steps out of the group of us and addresses the team standing and waiting. She doesn't need to be a drill sergeant, but I do need her to establish some structure and order.
"Together, we are going to build a team unlike anything anyone has ever seen. To my understanding, this will be the only supernatural tactical team meant to track down and arrest or capture other supernaturals that are otherwise unable to be located. We need to count on each other to get the job done, as well as keep us alive when we are out there. Today, we are going to demonstrate the need for this.
I do not think any of you require my kind of training. My goal is for you to figure out how to relay information to Kassie so that she can communicate with the rest of the group while you are plotting your next move or in the middle of a battle. You also need to learn how to stay within my cover and hunt, as well as fight inside the area. As a result, Prince Avalon is your target for today. However, you will encounter other obstructions like Cato, Sebastian, and Eshaq. The guys will not hold back in making things difficult for you, so I would appreciate you all putting your best effort into this. Your objective here is to keep yourself, your team, and your team leaders aware. Any questions for me?"
I can think of a dozen questions they should have asked her, but they all stay silent. Perhaps they assumed that, as a training exercise, it would not be as bad as she was trying to make them think it was. She was right, though. Except for the fact that he would not kill them, Avalon would not show any mercy. They might take the rest of the day to heal, though. Looking at Sebastian, I laugh out loud. The man is bouncing from foot to foot, eagerly awaiting the challenge. After a moment of nothing from the team, Frosty shrugs and points at me before thumbing behind her at them. I am up.
"There are a few dos and do nots I want you all to understand. Most importantly, and I understand you would not try with Avalon, there is no killing of prisoners. You can shift in and out of your animal as long as you understand and are comfortable with seeing your mission through naked since you will not have a way to travel with clothes. I leave that up to you. Kassie, Prayer, and Frosty will be staying back here. The area of coverage from Frosty is still being studied, but you also do not know what kind of coverage may be needed. It might not always be fog. Prepare for any weather conditions.
Kassie also doesn't know how far her range is, so if you hear her say something to you, you need to respond. Keep yourself alert. Sebastian, Eshaq, and I will be out there, and kudos to you if you see us coming and avoid it. You will not be grouped into teams just yet. This is your first active exercise, and your goal is to detain Avalon—without a killing move—by staying inside the coverage area and communicating with Kassie, especially when you have cornered and captured Avalon. Are there any questions now?"
This time, they actually shake their heads, and I acknowledge that Frosty was correct. They are nowhere near ready. They are shifters, though, and the learning curve is intense for the whole species, regardless of breed. Prayer disappears for only a moment, and when she pops back in, she announces that Avalon is ready and waiting. Everyone shifts at these words, with the exception of Eshaq and me. We have a few tricks up our sleeve as men that will work to our advantage, and the dragon's size would only be a nuisance anyway.
Frosty juts her chin in the direction of the woods, and they all take off. With their noses pressed to the ground, Julie and Camillo Wyatt sniff a few times before bolting off. They were the only ones that did. Everyone else just runs off. I bend down and kiss Frosty firmly on the mouth, then run off in the direction where I know Avalon will be, followed by Eshaq.
"You shit-eating butt-sniffer! Stop fucking licking me!" I hear Kassie scream as I am running and could not stop the laughter.
Holy shit, he loves to annoy his mate. A few paces later, I pushed the thoughts of everything but the hunt to the side. This practice is not a demonstration of what they can do but rather a demonstration of what they still need to learn. It is clear, however, that they think capturing Avalon will be like capturing the flag. I cannot help but wonder if anyone has reported anything to Kassie yet. It is not likely, though. They didn't seem to think of this exercise as much of a challenge. My ears prickle as I hear movement in the heavier bush not far from me, to my right.
The first question they should have asked was whether they would be up against other shifters in their shifted forms or not. Taking a deep breath, I quickly detect the entire Thompson family. By nature, wolves are pack animals, and shifters have tight family dynamics. Their inclination to stick together is natural in their style of hunting. This is another issue to be dealt with in Frosty's plan to subvert the pack mentality during the hunt. I track them several more yards, not making a sound, watching as they keep their noses to the ground and never once lift their heads to look around. They walk in a single-line formation, and Donny is in the rear, with Avery in the middle and Reggie in the lead. Traveling over long distances in a blizzard is about the only time this would be effective. They have no one protecting their flanks and are set up perfectly to pick them off. Ah, well, lessons to learn.
Frosty, as of yet, has done nothing noticeable to the weather, which could be causing some confusion. Taking down an average wild wolf would be a dangerous and tricky mission for any human. Fully grown shifter wolves are roughly four times the size of a wild wolf. Alphas are even twice that size. I am not human, however, and I wait for the moment that the gap between Avery and Donny increases just enough that even reflexively, she cannot react fast enough to prevent me from taking out Donny. It is not a life-or-death situation. If it were, I would be in dragon form, and they'd be lost for real.
In one leap, I jump out of the brush and land directly on his back, wrapping one arm around his muzzle and the other around his neck. Donny bucks and tries to roll to his back, but I use my legs and apply pressure to his front shoulder, nearly cracking it. He goes down quickly, and I hold him down while waiting to see how long it actually takes Avery or Reggie to notice their brother is down.
Suddenly, there is a flash of lightning through the skies above the canopy, and I watch as it turns darker and feel the ground shake from the thunder. Putting myself in the place of the enemy, I am reasonably certain that this would throw them off guard. When you rely on senses like sound and scent, a thunderstorm can be severely distracting. Seeing that they are so intent on their mission, I hop up off of Donny, point back in the direction of the clutch, and slap his flank.
He hangs his head but walks off with a slight limp that will be gone before he even makes it back. Having taken out Donny, that means Reggie and Avery's mission is already a failure, so I leave them to Avalon should they find him. The storm is starting to move in faster now, so I do another session of deep breathing through my nose to figure out what scent I want to fixate on while tuning my ears in to irregular sounds. I hear the sound of something that resembles a whimpering animal, but I cannot catch a scent through the now pouring rain. Is it a trap for Avalon, Sebastian, Eshaq, and myself from one of the teams being clever? Is it truly a wounded animal? Either way, I decide to check it out, and when I get within scent range, I smell otter—the Ross family. Still unsure of what I am heading into, I follow the sounds through to a small clearing in the trees. Eshaq is standing there with the otter couple hanging upside down from each hand. They are squirming and making a lot of noise until they see me.
Eshaq puts them back on the ground, and I point toward the clutch, shaking my head. With a final squeal, they scamper off back in that direction. Eshaq laughs silently when I mimic hanging them upside down, then shrugs. He joins me as we continue the trek, looking for the Wyatts and the Davises. I have hunted with Eshaq and Marcus for several thousand years, and we do not need to speak to communicate things like direction, when to stop and listen, or whether to move faster or slower. There is a large grouping of boulders not far from us, and even through the rain, I can see Sebastian's huge, black, fur-covered body. There are two foxes nipping at his hocks and tail, taking turns, but it doesn't take but a moment to see Sebastian is playing with them. He tosses his head in my direction, and we move off in the direction of the caves that Avalon is waiting in.
As we enter the cave, I admit to some surprise at seeing Stacey and Alan Martin. One wolf is in front of him, and one is behind him. Every time he would move, one of them would snap their jaws at him and circle around to the other side of him. The effect is menacing, but they are not attempting to actually attack him. They are also not deferring to him as Avalon, the Vampire Prince. The glimmer in his eyes says he is both amused and impressed, but they pay no mind to that either. He moves quickly, but not in the manner of a vampire, and certainly not in the manner of Avalon since Prayer. There is no way, under the best of circumstances, that they would ever be able to take him, and they are aware of this, too. This display actually gives me hope until Avalon moves forward aggressively, circling Stacey and Alan. Whether startled by the move or instinctually acting in violence to protect his mate, Alan launches directly at Avalon's neck. Avalon spins quickly with Stacey in his hands, and Alan snaps his jaws shut, slamming his closed muzzle into Avalon's forearm as he protects Stacey from her mate's attack.
Well, as exercises go, this one has definitely provided training material. I am inclined to believe they have made enough fundamental mistakes to understand the necessity for practice. This was not going to be a one-time thing. We still need to get back with the girls and see if the team bothered to communicate with Kassie and how well they did. I grab hold of the scruff of Alan's fur as Avalon places Stacey back on the ground. At least the most devastating injury was to their pride and nothing more. Alan and Stacey back up and face me, Avalon, and Eshaq. The ability to communicate would be advantageous right now, but instead, I look at them and point out of the cave. The body language is simple enough for them to understand, but they both shake their heads and paw the ground.
"What the hell do I do now, Av?"
"Pardon me, but I was told to stand here and be a chew toy. I wanted to see what kind of team you were starting with, so I agreed. They are quite hasty. Unless you hypnotized them or something like that, I have no idea what made him think he could spring at me."
"You weren't supposed to be a chew toy, although the imagery will make me chuckle for days. I need to get them back to the clutch so I can find out what type of communication they used with Kassie. The others all returned when I told them, what's up with these two?"
I glare at Alan and Stacey, who, although lowering themselves to an almost cowering position, still refuse to move when I direct them to leave.
"You better be glad I do not have any of my mate's abilities, or I would shift you myself just to force you to answer me."
"That would be a waste of time, I think," Sebastian says as he enters the cave, pulling on a shirt.
When I turn to face him, I see Prayer, Kassie, Frosty, and all the others with them. I narrow my eyes first at Sebastian and then at Alan and Stacey, who have to have been in on the fact that they were on their way here. Frosty steps forward pats the two wolves on the head, and drops two bundles of clothes in front of them.
"You guys need to be better prepared for shifting back and forth. Finding ways to carry your clothes and possibly weapons will be on our to-do list." She spoke to the room in general, but all I could remember was handing her my shifting bag the first time I took her on a flight.
In a flash, she is in my arms, her head back as she stares happily up at me.
"Why are you all smiles? This was a terrible practice. Do you even know how terrible?"
"I do! It was awful when you caught Donny. It was kind of funny the way Eshaq caught the otters, and Kassie could not stop laughing about Sebastian being tormented by the foxes. But it was a wonderful success as well because even when Alan flipped out at his perceived attack on his mate and attacked Avalon, Stacey had communicated it to Kassie. As soon as he had his senses together, Alan admitted he had screwed up. It was a huge win for the communications department. We have somewhere to start!"
Her excitement carries me away for a moment until everything she says registers. They had reported back even their failures. The first step was successful. They were all looking expectant but unsure. Frosty clears her throat, getting my attention, and raises an eyebrow at me before nodding in the direction of the team. Oh. My team, our team. She is waiting for me to say something. This has always been Eshaq's job, and I look over at him standing there, staring right back at me. I find this part particularly difficult for me, and I have no idea what to say until I feel Frosty slip her hand into mine.
"You have all done well, keeping your cool and performing your primary objective. You are learning how to communicate with Kassie. From this one step, we will be able to build up a successful and proficient tactical team that brings the bastards behind all the need for this to justice. With that in mind, who is ready to run again?"