There aren’t many choices of nice hotels in the area, but we find a decent one several miles away from Chris and Anthony’s cabin. For the past couple of hours, I’ve read everything in Ivan’s file. There are notes from other agents, the same ones who have gone missing. Ivan was added to the list two years ago for being involved in a woman’s disappearance. Since then, he’s been connected to sixty-five others; only now he has accomplices. Three other men are on the most dangerous list, and all three of them are wolves. In their files are videos where they were last seen with some of the victims as they’re leaving a bar. The women appear intoxicated in all of them. The problem is they never stay in the same place. Judging by the victims and where they’re from, Ivan likes to hunt along the Canadian border.
I scroll down the list of missing women and write down all the dates. It turns out all of them are reported missing on days of the full moon. Those are the days when our magic is the strongest. Our needs are also heightened. Reed says that each case is a puzzle. It’s why he’s brought in to solve so many cold cases. The thing with Ivan is that he’s a shifter, not a human. His reasoning for doing things is on a different level of warped. Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer, and the Night Stalker were all fucked up individuals, but they don’t compare to the wolves I’ve seen.
When the Yukons captured me, it was close to the full moon. I experienced firsthand what Ivan desires; it’s pain and blood. I can only imagine how those needs have intensified over the years.
Colin sits beside me on the bed. “Are you sure you want to do this? You’re blocking me.”
I shut Chris’s laptop and move it to the side. “I’m sorry. My mind is all over the place right now.” Taking his face in my hands, I kiss him. “And yes, I’m ready. We need to find Chris and Anthony.”
Taking my hands, he helps me up. A knock sounds on the door, and Colin lets me go to open it. Tia walks in and nods toward the door. “Sawyer’s sleeping soundly. I put the faerie protection spell on him, but I don’t exactly know how it protects him. Until I know what it’s capable of, he’s staying out of the action. I just hope we have a good story when he wakes up.”
“We will,” I say. I holster my gun and rub a hand over my pocket to make sure I have the black carmine stone. Colin can shield his presence from other wolves, but I'm vulnerable until we complete the bond. The full moon is in two days, and I feel we won’t be bonding just yet.
“There will always be more full moons. What we’re doing is important,” Colin says in my mind. When I look up at him, he winks. “But make no mistake, I plan on making Whitecross and his men suffer for delaying us.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Tia asks.
Colin and I both say no at the same time. I place my hands on her shoulders. “Stay here with Sawyer. I have the stone, and Colin’s an all-mighty powerful royal arctic.” Colin chuckles, but Tia still looks worried. “His senses are far better than mine. If he believes there’s danger, he’ll get me out of there.”
“What if you find Chris and Anthony’s bodies? Are you going to call the FBI?”
My chest aches just thinking about it. I don’t know what other choice we have at the moment. “I will when the time’s right.”
She nods and hugs me. “Be safe. I’ll be here when you get back.”
We walk out with her, and the wind is chilly as I watch her go into hers and Sawyer’s room. Her magic will protect them. Pulling out my government cell, I have the GPS set to the location Chris’s phone was last active.
“We’re only four miles away from the spot,” I say, studying the landscape. “But it looks like we have some hiking to do.”
The town we’re in is small, and most of the business buildings are empty and rundown. Colin pulls out onto the road, a narrow two-lane street surrounded by forests on both sides. It’s the kind of place you’d see in a scary movie, only I’m not scared of Ivan or his men. However, I am terrified of what we’re going to find. With each passing second, we get closer to the blue dot.
Colin points at something on the side of the road. “Look. There are tire tracks in the mud.”
“Pull over,” I say.
He slows down and carefully parks behind the tracks. Not a single soul has passed us on the road; it’s like a ghost town. When I get out, the smells immediately hit me. There’s blood—both human and wolf—the other wolves’ scents, and Ivan; his presence is the most dominant. The footprints on the ground appear as if there was a struggle, and I can only hope Chris and Anthony put up one hell of a fight.
Colin looks off into the woods and sighs. “Their scents are here, but I don’t feel their presence anywhere close. We should be good.”
When his eyes meet mine, I nod. We start on our way, the fallen leaves crunching beneath our feet. Every so often, I can see Chris and Anthony’s footsteps in the soft mud. Soon, the forest floor will be covered in snow once winter comes, and all traces of my friends will be gone.
Colin’s arm brushes against mine. “What are you thinking about?”
My mind is blocked from him, and it’s only to spare his sanity. “Winter, actually,” I say, not entirely lying. “I’m ready for snow.” He slides his hand into mine, and I grip it tight. It feels good to have him close. I didn’t realize how much his support would help me.
“I’m ready for it, too,” Colin replies. “When I was young, my sisters and I would ambush our parents. It didn’t matter how many snowballs we threw, they always managed to win.”
He replays a scene of one of their snowball fights in his mind, and it makes me smile. His mother was beautiful with her long, platinum-colored hair. I wish I could’ve met her.
“So do I,” Colin murmurs in my head.
In return, I think up one of my memories so he can see it. It’s of Tate and me making snow angels in our backyard while our mom was off to the side, scooping snow into a bowl for snow cream.
Colin squeezes my hand. “Snow cream, huh? We’ll have to make some when it snows. I’ve never had it before.”
“You’ve missed out,” I say, smiling up at him. Soon, my smile fades as the wind brings a familiar scent our way. Death. I knew it’d hit us eventually. I smelled it before when I found Samantha Teller’s decaying body, and I smell it now. According to my GPS, we still have a mile to go. Colin lets my hand go and walks ahead of me, squatting down when he sees something on the ground. “What is it?” I ask.
He motions me closer. “The footprints are different. Chris and Anthony started running at this point.” His eyes graze over the ground, and I look too. That’s when I see it … the other footprints disappear and are replaced with paw prints.
In my mind, I envision Ivan and his men following Chris and Anthony out into the woods. When they shift, the fear overtakes them, and they run. Ivan gets off on fear. The chase would be the ultimate game for him.
“It’s probably what he does with the missing women, too,” Colin adds. He shakes his head and snarls with disgust. “Sick bastard.”
“I’m sure he does a lot more than just chasing and mutilating those women.”
Colin’s jaw clenches, and he tightens his hands into fists. “I know.”
What I hate more than anything is that sixty-five women and possibly more have suffered in unspeakable ways at Ivan’s hands. The level of terror they must’ve felt had to be off the charts.
We continue through the forest, and my heart races the entire time. The smell of blood grows thicker as if it surrounds me. Bile rises up the back of my throat when something comes into view in the distance. I have a feeling I already know what it is.
Colin steps in front of me. “Are you sure you want to keep going? You already know what you’re going to find.” I can see the torment in his eyes. “I just want to protect you,” he says in my mind.
My eyes burn. “I know, but I have to keep going.” I need to see what Ivan did to my friends. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slow as we close the distance to the object on the ground, following the trail of blood. I already know what it is. When we reach it, I close my eyes and squeeze them shut even though the sight will be forever locked in my mind.
Colin blocks his mind from me, and a low growl escapes his lips. “This is some fucked up shit.”
I open my eyes and look around at the carnage in front of me. All I saw before closing my eyes was Anthony’s bare leg, the skin shredded, exposing the muscles beneath. There was enough skin intact for me to see part of the skeleton tattoo he had on his calf. Judging by Chris’s phone call, Anthony was killed first, which means we’ll find Chris’s body parts further in the woods.
Closing a hand over my mouth, I walk past Anthony’s leg to one of his arms and then to his other leg and another arm that’s about thirty feet away. The rest of his body is scattered all around us. Swallowing hard, I storm on past in search of Chris. Looking at the blue dot on my GPS, he made it half a mile further than Anthony. It hurts to know I’ll never hear Chris’s annoying laugh again or listen to Anthony sing like he would in the locker room. In the beginning, I didn’t like them, but they grew to be family … brothers. I never would’ve imagined they’d fall victims to my kind.
“They didn’t know what they were getting into,” Colin murmurs.
“Every time I let you in, you dive in deep, don’t you?”
A sad smile spreads across his lips when he looks at me. “I have to take advantage when I can.”
With a heavy sigh, I focus back on the forest. “It’s okay. Right now, I’m too exhausted to block you from everything.”
“I’m a big boy, Kami. I can handle your thoughts. I know you think I’m going to lose my shit and go on a rampage.” I stop mid-step, and he grabs my hands, pulling me into his body. “Trust me, I’m plenty pissed off for many reasons, but I know when to keep a level head.” He brings my hands up to his lips. “You need my support, and I’m here to give it to you. You’re not alone.”
Closing my eyes, I feel like I’m holding myself together by a thread. It’s as if everything’s going to come crashing down.
Colin squeezes my hands. “If you break, I’ll be right here to pick up the pieces.”
Tears fall down my cheeks when I open my eyes. “When this is over, you need to get back to your work. I hate I’m keeping you from it.”
Shaking his head, he swipes his thumbs under my eyes to wipe the tears away. “Don’t worry about that. I’m ahead of schedule.”
I take a deep breath and let Colin’s hands go to continue our trek through the forest. “Crying makes me feel weak.”
“We all cry, Kami.”
“Even you,” I say, glancing over at him. “The big bad wolf?”
He stares at me with utter seriousness. “Even me. Although, I will say it’s been a long time.” A memory pops up in his mind of him and Zayne running through the woods in the cloak of darkness the night the Royal pack was attacked. I can feel his sadness when he realizes his family is gone and that he might never see them again.
We walk in silence, and my throat grows thick with each passing second. The location of Chris’s phone before it disconnected is coming up close, along with the ever-growing stench of blood and decay.
“Here we go,” I say, clenching my teeth.
Keeping my head down, I scan the ground for Chris’s phone and find it obliterated in hundreds of tiny pieces as if it were crushed. A shifter could do that easily with the squeeze of a hand. Colin walks off from me, but I keep my eyes on the ground. I already know what he’s going to find.
“You don’t have to look,” Colin says in my mind.
My hands shake as I focus on him, standing by the edge of a drop-off. I can hear the rushing water of a creek just below. There are trails of blood leading the way, along with scraps of torn clothing. Colin glances back at me as I approach him. He holds a hand out, and I take it before looking down the hill to the creek. I’ve killed enemies before and ripped them apart, but nothing can prepare you for seeing it done to a friend. Down by the creek’s edge is Chris’s obliterated body. When I lock eyes on his severed head, that’s when I break down.
More tears fall down my cheeks, the rage so raw and intense inside of me I don’t know if I can control it. I want to scream. I want to shift into my wolf and run until I find Ivan and his men so I can tear them open like they did my friends. They deserve all the pain and torment we can give them.
Colin pulls me into his arms. “We’re going to find them, Kami. I can promise you that.”
I bury my head into his chest. “You’re damn right we are. They’re not expecting someone like us to come after them.”
Colin gently grasps my shoulders, pushing me back so he can look at my face, his blue eyes glowing as they peer into mine. “Exactly. It’s time we end them.”
I nod. “And I know just how to find them.”
Searching for Ivan and his men will take time. It killed me to leave Chris and Anthony’s bodies where they were, but it’s only temporary until we get rid of Ivan and his men. If I call in the FBI now, they’ll screw everything up. Yes, they could quickly come in with an arsenal and blow Ivan and his men up, but they won’t know to do that. It’s the only way to defeat four vicious wolves who have no remorse for taking human lives. The last thing I want is the FBI knowing there are shifters in the world. They might already know, but if they did, they wouldn’t have put Ivan on the list for mere humans to deal with.
Right now, Sawyer is still under his sleeping spell, and I told Tia about everything Colin and I found. Ivan and the other wolves’ scents didn’t go any further than the creek. I assume they doubled back to their car and left from there. That’s where I’ll begin my search. My laptop is booted up, and so is Sawyer’s. I gave Colin a quick course on how to use the satellite system to search for people. If the FBI knew, I’d be in some serious trouble.
As I look down at my clothes, there’s dirt all over my jeans, and it’s getting late. When I breathe in, I can still smell Chris and Anthony’s decaying bodies all around me. I’ll never be able to forget what I saw today.
Colin is across from me at the small table in our hotel room, his eyes focused on Sawyer’s computer. I don’t know what I’d do without him. “I think I need to take a shower,” I say, sliding my laptop to the side.
His need rises, and I can hear the sharp intake of his breath, but he keeps his attention on the screen, trying his best not to envision me naked and failing miserably. Memories of the last time we made love flash through his mind, but I can feel he doesn’t want to come off as insensitive to everything that happened today. What he doesn’t realize is that I need him more now than ever before.
“You’re killing me,” he groans, hanging his head. “I’m trying to give you space to deal with everything.”
“I know, but space isn’t what I need at this moment. I need you,” I murmur. I stand and take off my shirt and bra, followed by my jeans and underwear. His heated gaze rakes down my body, and his need crashes into me so hard it makes me sway on my feet. “You’ve been holding back on me.”
Getting to his feet, he rips off his shirt and tosses it across the room. “We’re so close to the full moon. It’s taken every ounce of strength I have to keep my hands off of you.”
I walk up to him and slide my hands up his bare chest. “That’s the last thing I want right now.”
He brushes a thumb over my lips. “What do you want?”
Lifting on my toes, I nip his bottom lip gently. “I’ll leave that up to you.”
A low growl rumbles in his chest as he unbuttons his jeans, letting them fall to the floor. “You might regret that.”
I shake my head and move over to the bed to lie down. “Doubt it. I’m ready for anything.” My body trembles just looking at him, all hard and ready. I ache to feel him inside of me.
Pushing my legs apart with his knee, I hold my breath, waiting for him to plunge in deep. Instead, he wraps his arms around my waist, lifting me off the bed, so I have to straddle his waist to hold on.
Gasping, I can feel the tip of him at my opening. I try to lower my body onto him, but he grabs my ass and lifts it so I can’t go any lower. “Not yet, Kamille. You left tonight up to me.”
“So I did,” I reply, already regretting my decision. “What are you going to do with me?” He carries me into the bathroom and reaches into the shower to turn on the water. A smile spreads across my lips. “A shower, huh? This will be interesting.”
Colin sets me on the bathroom counter and smirks. “That’s not all, baby.”
He trails a long, lithe finger over my collarbone and down to my breast, where he circles my nipple and finally to my aching clit. Moaning, I arch my back and squeeze my legs tighter around him.
“I love it when you touch me,” I moan.
Nipping my ear, he groans and lightly pushes me back, the counter cold against my skin, but Colin’s warm breath between my legs heat me right up.
I moan again, and he chuckles. “That’s what I like to hear.”
On his knees, he pulls me down to his mouth, nuzzling me with his nose before trailing his tongue from my opening to my clit. My body jerks from the contact, and it doesn’t take long for the delicious ache of orgasm to draw near. He licks me again, and I tremble when he slides a finger inside of me, then another.
“Fuck, I could taste you all day,” he murmurs huskily.
Thrusting his fingers inside of me, he closes his lips over my clit and sucks while pushing demandingly hard and fast. It’s my undoing, and I explode all around him, contracting around his fingers as my orgasm spreads throughout my body. He slows his pace and licks me gently, groaning while getting a taste of what he does to me.
“We’re not done yet,” he growls. “I need you to hold on tight.”
Lifting me into his arms, he carries me into the shower and puts me right in the path of the showerhead. The water drips down his whitish-blond hair and over his face and body in tantalizing lines; I want to suck him dry, to taste every inch of him. Pushing me against the shower wall, he presses his lips to mine and thrusts his tongue inside at the exact moment he lowers me down hard on his cock.
“Colin,” I scream out, digging my nails in his back. Being pushed down so hard sends a jolt of ecstasy through my body, and I love it. Another orgasm comes swift, but I hold off, loving the way it feels when it builds up.
Gripping my waist with his hands, Colin rocks his hips a few more times before lifting me and setting me down on my feet. “Turn around and lean your hands against the wall,” he commands, helping me along by pivoting my hips.
I do as he says and lean against the wall, spreading my legs wide as he lifts my hips. The tip of his cock grazes my opening for only a second before he plunges in deep and reaches around to grab my breast with one hand and massage my clit with the other. In and out, he pushes, the friction making my body slide against the slick wall of the shower.
“I want to feel you come again,” he orders. Groaning, he lowers his fingers to where he can feel his cock gliding in, and when I moan, he grips my waist harder. “You’re so damn tight. I could enjoy this all day long.” Holy hell, he’s going to kill me. There are so many sensations running through my body I can barely think. I can feel him getting harder the tighter I clench my muscles around his cock. “Fuck,” he growls, picking up his pace. “I’m going to come, baby.”
The deeper he pushes inside, the faster I succumb to my release and scream out as the pleasure explodes from within me. Breathing hard, I lean against the wall, trying to catch my breath. Still hard inside of me, Colin gently pulls out and turns me around to face him.
“How was that? No regrets?” he asks, running his hands soothingly up and down my back.
“No regrets,” I reply. “I needed it.”
As he lifts my chin, his gaze turns raw with need. “We need a lot more than that.” Pushing his hard cock against my stomach, he looks down at it and then back up to me. “I’m not done with you, Kami. You have no idea how much I crave your touch.” He cups my breast before sliding a hand down to my center. My clit is swollen, but I’m ready for so much more. A chuckle escapes his lips. “Oh, I’ll be happy to give you more.”
Shutting off the shower water, Colin opens the door and guides me back into the hotel room, dripping wet from the shower and from in between my legs. Before we even make it to the bed, he grabs me by the waist and pushes me down on the mattress, spreading my legs wide. This is precisely what I needed.
Colin kisses me and brings a hand up to cup my cheek. “I needed it too.”
I lean into his touch. “I love you,” I whisper.
His smile warms my heart. “And I love you.”
Thrusting inside of me, he begins another round of lovemaking, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it. Because once we’re done, we have nothing but danger and uncertainty waiting for us.