“What was it you asked me?”
“Oh, we’re going out for drinks tonight,” Toby said. “You want to join us?”
Seb opened his mouth to agree to the offer when his bear pushed at him again.
Shift!
Seb rolled his eyes. “I’d better give it a miss. If I don’t shift tonight a seven-foot bear might make an appearance in the bar.”
Toby chuckled. “Well, when everyone runs out screaming, at least we’d get the place to ourselves.”
Seb threw his head back and let out a boom of laughter. “Always a bright side, eh?”
“I guess we’ll see you at the pick-up point in the morning then.”
“Yeah, see you then.”
*
The flight to Madrid with a quick stop in North Carolina had been long and boring. Seb loved his job, but the travel killed him—fifteen hours was way too long for a man of his stature to be squeezed into a tiny seat, even with the extra legroom. After they arrived, they had taken a cab to the safehouse to regroup, shower, and go over the mission parameters one last time before they had to hit the road.
Now, Seb’s bear was in his element, the forest spread out before them in hues of dark blue and black. The moon overhead peeked through occasionally to cast its cool glow over the forest floor. Logan and Toby flanked Seb, their presence reassuring. Even though Seb was used to working alone, there was something to be said for working alongside his friends and knowing that whatever happened, they had his back every bit as much as he had theirs. They’d been through a lot together during the last few months and now they were like a well-oiled machine, each knowing instinctively how the others would respond to any given situation in the way that only a close-knit team could.
They’d gone over the details of their mission several times, and they all knew what needed to be done. On this particular mission, Seb was taking the lead, but he didn’t need to tell Logan or Toby what do, they followed him wordlessly through the dense cover of trees, each using their shifter senses to ensure they were alone and could carry on undisturbed.
Seb’s bear, having recently been allowed to roam, seemed content to let Seb’s human side do all the leg work, but as they continued on their path, he felt the animal growing restless and a little agitated.
Seb couldn’t put his finger on what the issue was. He wasn’t sure that his bear knew either. Whatever it was had the animal pacing in his mind. Seb tried to relax then took a deep breathand closed his eyes for a moment, using his heightened senses to listen to the sounds of the forest.
“You smell trouble?” Toby asked.
Seb frowned. “I...I’m not sure.”
The subtle twitch of Logan’s nose and the narrowing of Toby’s eyes showed their intense focus on using their innate shifter senses to try to determine if there was any threat. Their bodies were on high alert, ready to spring into action at any moment, but Seb forced himself to assess before reacting. The air around them carried the scent of pine needles and damp earth, but underneath there was a hint of something else…but what was it? Whatever it was seemed wildly exotic—mouth-watering even.
What’s that?Seb’s bear asked, it’s attention sharpening.I like it!
Seb frowned. He liked the smell too, but what the heck was it? He breathed in again trying to determine the source, but this time, the beautiful scent was mixed in with something else. The fragrant forest air carried the distinct smell of people. How many there were or how close they were Seb couldn’t be sure.
As they moved deeper into the forest, Toby and Logan seemed to notice the scent too, their noses wrinkling as they too tried to work out the specifics. They shared uneasy looks but pressed ahead.
The once tranquil woods now felt charged with an undercurrent of unease. The usual woodland sounds seemed muted, as if the forest itself held its breath. The rustle of leaves beneath their feet and the distant hoot of an owl became amplified to Seb’s charged senses against the taut, silent backdrop of the terrain.
Seb’s bear, usually calm and content, paced restlessly within him, its primal instincts detecting a disturbance that his human mind couldn’t comprehend.
Be cautious,it told him.
Of what?Seb tried, but his bear’s response was one of wordless frustration and unease, urging him to trust the unease that prickled at his skin.
Silently communicating with each other, Seb, Logan and Toby exchanged knowing glances. There was not a shred of doubt in Seb’s mind that danger lurked just beyond the veil of trees, waiting to reveal itself. But they had been given a mission and they couldn’t deter from it, not until they knew what they faced. Caution was one thing, but running because of an uneasy feeling? Seb shook his head. He’d never live it down. They had no choice but to press on, to get to the root of it.
As they ventured deeper still into the heart of the forest, an eerie stillness descended. The moonlight filtered through the dense canopy above, casting patterns on the forest floor, making shadows dance around them like phantoms.
A gust of wind swept through the trees, causing their branches to sway and creak. The scent of freshly fallen rain mingled with the scent of danger. This time the unmistakable scent of people was more pronounced.
“We’re not alone,” Seb murmured, his voice just a shade louder than his breath, but he knew it was loud enough for his friends’ shifter senses to pick up—if they hadn’t already figured it out for themselves.
The team froze as one, their bodies tensing as they scanned their surroundings then a ripple of movement to Seb’s left caught his attention. His eyes widened as he saw the first glimpse of the danger they were about to face. A figure—one of the people Seb had scented—was barely visible standing beside one of the large oak trees, but the man wasn’t in human form. He had shifted into his wolf form, cloaked in shadows and partly hidden by the dense underbrush. The wolf’s eyes glowed with an otherworldly intensity, that and the scent the only things that alerted Seb this was no ordinary wolf.
