Page 2 of Wolf Duty

Lloyd dropped his phone. “Fuck.”

The ropes were easy to break, but it cost Bay precious seconds. Before he could punch Lloyd, the fucker buried a knife in his shoulder and pulled it out again. Blood poured from the wound, but Bay got two good jabs in before he started feeling light-headed. One of them broke Lloyd’s nose and blood gushed down his face. The man screamed out his pain and rage.

Lloyd had turned around so he could kick. Bay tried to grab his feet, but the wound in his shoulder made his arm weak and he still saw double from the earlier head injury. Lloyd’s foot connected with his temple and he almost passed out again.

He needed to get out of the car. His advantage was greater strength, even in human shape, but it worked better when he had room to swing.

Lloyd got two more kicks in before Bay had the door open. One of them connected with his kidney and he hissed in pain. He stumbled out of the car and couldn’t find his footing. He probably had a concussion and the wound in his shoulder wouldn’t stop gushing. As much as he wanted to knock Lloyd on his ass, the job came first. Now that he knew at least one player of the fraud perpetrators, he should cut his losses and make sure he stayed conscious long enough to report back to his alpha and boss.

Bay staggered across the abandoned parking lot away from the ocean sound. Running in the sand slowed him down on a good day. He lurched down a paved path through some greenery and trees. Lloyd’s footsteps grew louder as the other man caught up with him.Fuck.

He couldn’t run worth a shit, but maybe he could fight.

Bay cradled his injured shoulder and leaned over, trying to appear even weaker than he was. It wasn’t hard. He felt like shit.

Luckily, Lloyd hadn’t trained as a fighter. He signaled his moves and Bay easily got him in a headlock. But with one arm not working right, he couldn’t contain both of the other man’s hands and Lloyd managed another blow to Bay’s kidney.

His vision blurred, and he lost his grip on Lloyd. As the other guy pulled back for another punch, Bayden put all his remaining strength into one blow. Luckily, it landed in the spot-on Lloyd’s jaw and he went down. Unfortunately, so did Bay.

He’d have to shift if he wanted to make it out of this alive. Reaching inward, he pulled on the connection to his other half, his inner wolf. The beast growled low in his throat, unhappy with how long Bay had suppressed him. He’d wanted to enter the fight much earlier. But nobody knew that the CEO of Heimdall and his employees were shifters. Most humans didn’t know shifters existed.

This case needed to go to trial, and having the suspects blabber about wolves on the stand could jeopardize more than justice being served.

His wolf finally quit complaining and claimed control over their body. The shift took longer than usual and even in animal form, Bay felt woozy and tired. And still his shoulder bled. He ran until the park ended and a big street stretched out in front of him. It must be late at night because only a few cars rolled down the lanes.

An open-bed truck rumbled down the street. Bay waited until it had just passed him and then jumped into the back. He had no idea where the vehicle was headed, but getting away from where he’d fought Lloyd seemed a good idea. And he’d just lie down for a minute and take a brief nap.

The sun had riddenhigh in the sky when Bay woke up again. He’d stayed in wolf form and by some stroke of luck had notbeen discovered, even though the truck was now stationary. Once again, he found himself next to a park. Most people knew about the Golden Gate Park, but San Francisco had a ton of other green areas spread out all over the city.

He lumbered to his feet and shook himself. His throat felt dry. Water was an immediate need. Poking his head above the edges of the truck bed, he looked around but didn’t see anyone. Taking a deep breath, he sampled the scents surrounding him.

He smelled pack.

Some of his wolf brothers were nearby.

Bay’s wolf yipped and jumped off the truck to follow the scent trail carried to him by the wind.

CHAPTER 2

Now

Bayden took a deep breath, ran a hand down the front of his T-shirt to make sure it was neatly tucked into his jeans, and then knocked on his alpha’s office door.

After a brief pause, he heard Arek Varg’s deep voice bidding him to come inside. Bay jerked his head toward his right shoulder, and the crick in his neck loosened with a small pop. After one more deep breath, he opened the door and stepped inside.

Time to see the boss.

Arek sat behind a large chrome-and-glass desk in front of tall windows displaying a splendid view of Bonita Cove and Black Sands Beach. The Pack House stood on the edge of the Marin Headlands in the same place where the first alpha had built a home before the Spanish and, later, American settlers arrived. That wolf had negotiated with the Coast Miwok, the first human stewards of the land, to build a humble cabin. Each time the wolves had protected or helped the Miwok, they’d granted the pack leader more land that generations of wolf shifters had theninherited. As the packs grew and technology improved, alphas built more modern and larger dwellings.

The pack now had acres and acres of coastal wilderness on which members could freely run as wolves. The land grant agreement required that they respect the natural flora and fauna and not build beyond a certain boundary around the current location of the Pack House. This was not a problem. The wolves were as protective of the wilderness as the Miwok. They needed to run in their natural shape regularly, and their animal spirit thrived better in untainted nature. A wolf stuck in human shape for too long would become restless and aggressive in ways that caused problems in modern society. As a pack enforcer, one of Bay’s jobs was to deal with rogue wolves who threatened humans. Civilian casualties were never accepted and the risks to the rest of the shifter population and their secrets were too great to allow a feral wolf to run amok.

Arek looked up from his laptop screen. His solemn azure eyes studied Bayden as he approached the desk. The alpha’s short blond hair and ramrod-straight posture hinted at a military background. Bay knew Arek’s security company often ran off-the-books operations for the government, but he’d never asked if Arek had served in the armed forces. The leader of Bay’s pack wasn’t exactly the chatty type. And it wasn’t important where he’d gotten his leadership skills. As the alpha of the San Francisco Bay Area pack and the commanding alpha of the Western Packs Coalition, Arek functioned very much as a military leader. A good one. He demanded unflinching loyalty but encouraged his pack members to speak up when they disagreed with him and ask for the things they needed. His wolves were loyal because they respected him, not because Arek demanded it.

“Have a seat,” Arek said, nodding toward one of the two empty chairs opposite his desk.

Bay did as ordered. Or had Arek asked? Bay hadn’t interacted with the alpha often enough to discern nuances in his tone of voice. Justice Varg, one of Arek’s lieutenants, oversaw the enforcers. Then again, Arek’s voice might sound the same whether he was asking questions or delivering orders. Bay tried to relax in the chair, or at least appear relaxed. This was the first time Arek had called him to this office. Despite Bay’s efforts, his muscles tightened with fear over why the alpha might have summoned him. Was it to receive a reprimand? Or would he get a chance to prove that his mistake was a one-off? No way would he ever again put himself in a position where he blew someone elses undercover job to smitherins.

Arek closed his laptop and pushed it to the side. “Bayden, how are you settling in after your…adventure? Bay tried to hide his cringe at the slight pause before the last word. Calling the incident an “adventure” was a colossal understatement. As much as Bay would like to forget the whole thing, he’d fucked up majorly.

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