Page 1 of Clawless

One – Jasper

A broken heart wasn’t meant to send you into enemy territory at one in the morning. But try telling my wolf that. He heard the name Vail, and he was ears forward and tail up. Ready to charge into the devil’s den. Didn’t care that my blood claw was still wet with my dad’s blood. That he’d called her my ruin as his life drained out of him. Or that the last time I’d seen her, she’d been full of Wolf Fire, and writhing on a bed with my lieutenants. My wolf just wanted her scent in his nose and her wrist marked up with his claim. And if he couldn’t have that, he wanted his teeth at the throat of whoever had taken her from us.

“This has to be a trap,” I muttered for the third time, casting a glance at my enforcer’s stoic profile. We were alone in one of the pack cars, even though we’d already crossed into Black Den territory. “Why else would he set the meet here?”

Liam didn’t even bother with a shrug. “I’ve got a guy watching the diner. He’s already put the tracker on his car. No evidence of an ambush.”

I grunted and stared out at the dark landscape. There was nothing to see, just the well-worn road that serviced the truckers off the interstate. A few shitty little houses and fringe stores, coated in gray dust from the heavy traffic. But it was the only road to our destination. Blackwell’s Diner. A first-grade grease trap and local haunt of our ancient enemies, the Black Den Pack.

“He has to be one of theirs.”

“Possible.” Liam touched his earpiece for a moment, then added, “His background check has turned up some new anomalies. We had to go deep, but there are definitely a few unanswered questions around this guy.”

“You think this meet’s a test?”

“I don’t think he’s lying about being Vail Marrow’s father. The lab picture for Dr. Gabriel Michaels lines up with what we got from the Horn description. We just had no reason to make the connection.” He dipped his chin. “An oversight, Pack Alpha.”

I rubbed my knuckles, distracted by the ache in my blood claw. My dad, the former alpha of the Arras pack, was gone. I made sure of it by winning the blood claw challenge last night. It had been the right thing to do, especially after he admitted to sending Vail to the pack lab, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t still feel his blood on my hands. “It doesn’t make sense. Why the secrecy? And why put her through that shit at the lab?”

“Maybe he wanted to meet with her, but had to tread carefully. The Horn locals validated the death certificate. No sighting of Gabriel Michaels for eight years. As to the lab, looks like he was alerted too late to stop the test. But he’s definitely the one who got her out. His signature is on her release papers.”

“Fuck this!” I gritted my teeth, anger and frustration tearing at my gut. To say nothing of my wolf’s claws on my balls. He still hadn’t forgiven me for letting the lab remove our claiming mark. “She never mentioned him, or said anything about finding him alive after all these years.”

“Yeah, I shared that when he called to set the meet. He just said ‘that’s my girl’, and hung up.”

“Motherfucker.”

Liam’s lips twitched. “Got us here, though.” When I flashed a dark glance his way, he lost the grin. “We’re nearly there. You ready for this?”

I just grunted and watched the diner lights grow in the darkness. It was always busy, since it was the only place to get a hot meal and a tank of gas in a twenty-mile radius. But as we pulled around a broken-down rig parked out in the weeds, I saw there were only a handful of vehicles in the lot. Liam gave a satisfied nod and pulled into an empty bay next to a dusty pickup. His intel said most of the Denners were at a biker rally in Eastcove, and the lack of crowd seemed to confirm it. We both studied the diner. Three dirty baseball caps, a pair of stringy waitresses, and a short-order cook flipping burgers. And one shady-looking doctor in a window booth by himself. I grunted again. “Asshole’s eating a steak.”

Liam just tapped his earpiece, then the door. We were a go.

Fuck. The newest Pack Alpha on the continent, and I was strolling into enemy territory like a dumb pup. On the upside, if I got gutted, someone else would have to clean up the mess I’d made by putting my dad in the ground.

My hackles rose as the doctor glanced up at our entry. Liam was in front, partially blocking my view, but I saw enough to know Dr. Michaels didn’t look much like his lab picture anymore. Faded jeans, a flannel jacket and a battered cap pulled low over a thin, scruffy face. But it was his wild, green eyes that made my wolf sit up and notice. And the fact he really was tearing into a steak dinner at one in the morning. “You’ve got some balls dragging me out here.”

He flicked me a look from under the brim of his cap. “You’ve got some balls coming. Which is just as well. I’ve heard some conflicting stories about you, Alpha.”

“Like I give a shit. And it’s not like you’re any different.” I leaned down on the table, which was greasy under my knuckles. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Michael Warren,” he said, and pointed his knife at the seat opposite. “Make a scene if you want, but that guy at the end of the counter is a Denner. He’s slow and stupid, but can probably use a cell phone. And there’s still a skeleton crew back at their compound.”

I took the seat, while Liam sat on the nearest stool and rotated so he could watch the door, our table and the Denner at the same time. When we were settled, I asked, “Why were you working at the pack lab?”

“Not important, but I’ll give you the basics. The pack lab is up to some dirty tricks. I was investigating from the inside.” He chewed hard, but didn’t look like he was enjoying it. “As Gabriel Michaels, I’m a qualified pathologist. I’m in the usual databases.” His eyes flicked to Liam, whose fingers were busy on his phone, no doubt delving deeper into his cover. “But I’m not here to give you my backstory. I’ll be a ghost again as soon as I leave here.”

Not with a tracker on his ass. “Then why are we meeting, Warren?”

“Vail.” He swallowed as if the steak was all gristle, and for a moment I caught a sharp scent. He was obviously a hard nut, used to beating the system and living on the edge. But underneath his bullshit was a deep and gut-eating fear. “She’s my daughter in everything but blood.”

I stretched back in the booth, feigning nonchalance. “That’s what Driftwood Chance said as well.”

Instead of going for me with his knife, he gave a small smile. “Good. That’s how it should be. The Chances are decent people.”

“Are the Warrens?”

“No. Not at all. We’re nasty sonsofbitches, stuck on the old ways and proud of our sins.” Truth. One of the perks of my power boost was I could scent a lie on even the most powerful shifters, and this male definitely wasn’t a fan of his birth pack. “But we’re the best at off-the-grid living, which is why you won’t find a trace of us.” He flicked his fork at Liam. “Not even your bloodhound here.”

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