Red Wolf by Jennifer Ashley
Dimitri drove out to the highway that followed the river into the city. The road grew busy quickly, people flowing from the outer areas to the city in the encroaching darkness, light blooming in the distance. Jaycee easily balanced behind Dimitri as they rode, her arms lightly around his waist.
The Shiftertown in southern Louisiana lay south and west of New Orleans near Thibodaux. Bree had told them, however, that the bars popular with Shifters were inside the city. New Orleans, she said, was a little more tolerant of Shifters, looking upon them as an exotic species to attract tourists and their money. There were even “vampire” bars here, Dimitri had heard, for those who wanted to believe bloodsuckers were crawling all over southern Louisiana.
Shifter bars were different from the vampire variety. For one thing, Shifters were real. Second, there was no theme in a Shifter bar—no weird drinks that looked like blood, no black walls, no videos of wolves and wildcats caught in the act of shifting. Dimitri had seen all these things at a so-called Shifter bar up north where no Shifters actually went. Groupies had loved it, though. Dimitri had looked in out of curiosity when he’d lived nearby, then left it before anyone realized he was a real Shifter.
The Shifter bar where Casey said he would meet them when Dimitri had called him was in a wilder part of New Orleans, well off the tourist paths. Plenty of people apparently came here—they were spilling out the front door into the street around it. A sign in front, painted in bright letters, stated: “Shifters Welcome.”
Dimitri left his bike in an area where he’d be reasonably certain it would still be there when they came out, steadied Jaycee as she dismounted, and walked a little ahead of her to the bar. They wore their fake Collars in order to blend in.
Shifters weren’t supposed to leave their home states without permission, but as Dimitri scanned the crowd bulging from the multistory bar in the crammed street, he decided that plenty of Shifters from outside Louisiana must be here. Louisiana had only two small Shiftertowns, and not all their residents would make the drive every night to hang out in this bar. Some Shifters had lives.
As Dimitri entered, Jaycee followed a few steps behind him, letting him lead without arguing, for once. The Shifters inside looked them over, instantly alert that new and unfamiliar Shifters had arrived. Dimitri knew without turning his head which of the Shifters were local; those Shifters considered this their territory and dominated without trying. Those from out of town, in order to keep the peace, remained neutral, not challenging the locals.
The bar was several stories high, each floor comprising a large balcony encircling an open stairwell. Shifters filled every level, the ones above drinking and talking, the ones on the ground level dancing with one another or with human groupies.
The male Shifters instantly homed in on Jaycee, though they’d know, just as the Shifters in the roadhouse outside Austin had, that she was mate-claimed. Not only by scent, but there was an indefinable something about mate-claimed Shifters that made other Shifters instinctively know a female and male belonged together. In the old days, a mate-claim had been enough, with no extra ceremonies or official matings by the clan leader. The happy mating ceremonies under sun and moon in front of the community had been imposed in later years, when Shifters had started trying to be civilized.
Jaycee eyed males and females, Shifters and humans alike without worry. No male would mess with her with Dimitri there—no male would mess with Jaycee anyway, not the sensible ones at least. She could be friendly and open, but Goddess help the Shifter who tried to corner her for a quick grope.
Dimitri moved to the bar’s counter and signaled for the bartender’s attention. He was human, as was the case in all Shifter bars, because Shifters weren’t allowed to serve drinks. The bartender jerked his chin when Dimitri ordered and turned away to fetch bottles of cold beer.
“New in town?” a half-drunk Feline Shifter next to Dimitri slurred.
Dimitri wanted to answer with something like, What gave it away? But he didn’t trust himself to speak. He’d found that when strangers first heard him talk, they took his speech impediment for weakness. Dimitri merely gave the Feline a nod, pinning him with a gaze that showed where he was in his hierarchy.
The Feline understood and flicked his gaze downward, conceding Dimitri’s dominance, but that didn’t stop him from sniffing in Dimitri’s direction.
“What are you?” he asked, wrinkling his nose.
For answer, Dimitri gave him a very Lupine growl.
“I know that,” the Feline snapped. “But you don’t look like no Lupine I’ve ever seen.”
There was a flash and breath of wind, and Jaycee was around Dimitri and in front of the Feline. “He’s a red wolf, cat breath,” she said clearly. “And can eat you for breakfast.”
Dimitri smothered a laugh. The Feline hunched a little lower into himself, snarling under his breath.
“Dimitri!”
The name sailed across the room over the thumping music. Casey walked through the crowd, his arms open, a welcoming look on his face.
The Feline ducked aside before Casey reached them and beat a hasty retreat. Casey came on as though he’d never noticed the Feline there and pulled Dimitri into a rough hug, demonstrating to the entire club that Dimitri was a friend, trusted.
The watching Shifters didn’t relax, however, until Dimitri returned the embrace. Casey tightened the hug, then let him go, turning to Jaycee in delight.
“Jaycee. So glad you came.” Casey wrapped his arms around Jaycee and tugged her close. Dimitri hovered near, but as he’d done in Austin, Casey didn’t give her anything more than a Shifter hug of greeting.
Jaycee returned the embrace with enthusiasm, pretending not to be wary. The other Shifters, seeing the two accepted by Casey, went back to drinking, talking, dancing.
“Come and meet my mate,” Casey said.
Casey had mentioned he was mated when Dimitri had met him at the roadhouse, but hadn’t said anything more about his partner. Unusual, as male Shifters liked to boast about their mates—how beautiful they were, how smart, how sexy, how many cubs they had given the males. Shifters enjoyed rubbing their success in other Shifters’ faces. Casey, on the other hand, hadn’t mentioned his mate again until now.
Dimitri didn’t glance at Jaycee for confirmation, but he saw her twitch a finger, which meant, Sure, let’s see who this woman is.
Dimitri gave Casey a nod. Casey, looking pleased, gestured for them to follow him through the bar to a door in the back wall.
Dimitri walked directly behind Casey, Jaycee following them. Dimitri and Jaycee weren’t simply using Shifter protocol of the male going first, protecting the female—Jaycee was a hell of a good rearguard. No one would sneak up on Dimitri with Jaycee behind him.
Casey opened a door marked “Private” without knocking. As they walked inside the dingy office beyond, a woman rose from a sagging sofa to face them.
She was Shifter, older than Jaycee and Dimitri, probably in her hundreds. She was older than Casey as well, though not by much. A Feline of some kind, she was tall, with ropy muscles and thick blond hair that glistened under the room’s one fluorescent light.
Most Shifters greeted those they didn’t know with wariness, but not this woman. She bathed Dimitri and Jaycee in a wide smile and started for them as Casey shut the door.
“Casey told me about you,” she said. “Welcome. I’m Maeve.”
Maeve’s eyes were green, framed by light-colored lashes. She went to Dimitri and embraced him.
Casey looked on fondly as Maeve hugged Dimitri, her arms strong and wiry. The hug wasn’t demanding—it was maternal—and she didn’t expect him to return it.
Dimitri, with a glance at Jaycee, embraced her politely. Jaycee watched, not angry, not jealous, but vigilant, in case the woman produced a knife and tried to plunge it into Dimitri’s back. Then Jaycee could step in to stop her . . . or not
Maeve released Dimitri and turned the same motherliness to Jaycee. “So happy to meet you.” She drew Jaycee into her arms, sounding genuinely pleased.
Jaycee shot a bewildered look at Dimitri as Maeve hugged Jaycee and released her, keeping hold of Jaycee’s hand. “Don’t worry,” Maeve said. “We’re not as crazy as you think we are.”
“Do we think you’re crazy?” Jaycee asked, sounding uncertain.
Maeve gave her a wise look. “I know what you’re thinking. Are they rogue Shifters? Defying Shiftertown leaders? Trying to break the system? What are they up to?”
Dimitri shrugged. “You h-hear things.”
Maeve laughed. She released Jaycee’s hand and drifted back to Casey. “It’s not what you think. Casey, you should have explained things better.”
Dimitri’s heart beat faster. Had they found the villains Dylan was looking for already? Maeve seemed to know Dimitri and Jaycee were searching for rogues. Were they rogues? Or, like Jaycee and Dimitri, trying to find and stop them?
Dimitri longed for the good old days when all he had to do was keep Kendrick’s Shifters safe. No deciding which “side” Shifters were on. They should all be on the same side—the Shifter side.
“It’s complicated,” Casey said. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted to introduce you to someone you should meet. I didn’t mean Maeve.” He put his arm around his mate and she sank against him, the two comfortable with each other. Intimate.
“Wh-who, then?” Dimitri asked. “You c-can’t blame us for being s-s-s—” He coughed.
“Suspicious,” Jaycee said. “All this covertness is making me itch.”
“I completely understand,” Casey said. “I’ll take you to him. But . . .” His amusement died, his expression turning serious. “He won’t meet just anyone. You’ll have to do something for him in order to prove you can be trusted.”
Dimitri’s skin prickled. Jaycee edged closer to him, her warmth overlapping his, faint growls in her throat.
“W-what?” Dimitri asked.
Casey drew a breath, pressing his hands together. Maeve looked worried. “Your leader,” Casey said. “Kendrick.”
Dimitri desperately tamped down his instinctive reaction to defend, and sensed Jaycee doing the same. Some undercover operatives they made. They could barely hold themselves calm at the barest hint of threat in Casey’s voice.
“He has cubs,” Casey said, his voice going hard. “My leader wants you to bring him one of them. And to kill it.”
CHAPTER NINE
Jaycee’s ferocious snarls filled the room, the rage that tore through her hotter than she’d ever experienced. She would to rip out Casey’s and Maeve’s throats right now and drag their bodies to Kendrick and Dylan. Problem solved. No Shifter who wasn’t insane would ask them to kill a cub.
Dimitri didn’t hesitate. He went for Casey.
Maeve rushed in front of Dimitri to guard Casey, her face changing to a wildcat’s that was more mixed than most Felines.
Dimitri didn’t slow simply because a female had intercepted him. His hands changed to clawed paws, and he said viciously, “I’ll kill you before I let you hurt a cub.”
Casey yanked Maeve out of the way, then dropped to his knees in front of Dimitri, his head bending in submission. Dimitri wouldn’t stop even for that, Jaycee saw. His wolf claws swept down, on their way to Casey’s exposed neck.
Jaycee had enough presence of mind to grab Dimitri by the arms and jerk him backward. Dimitri struggled, furious, but Jaycee held him hard. If they killed Casey and Maeve in this club owned by humans, they’d bring danger to every Shifter in this part of the country. They needed to first drag Maeve and Casey off somewhere the bodies wouldn’t be found.
Maeve, interestingly, had backed away, no longer trying to defend Casey. She only watched as though curious to see what Jaycee and Dimitri would do.
“Peace,” Casey panted. “That was your test. You passed. If you’d said you’d agree to do harm to a cub, I would have had to kill you.”
Jaycee blinked. “What?” She clamped down on Dimitri, who was about to go berserk.
“We were supposed to tell you to go after one of your leader’s cubs to see how you’d react,” Casey said in a rush. “We don’t want you to—believe me! You’re supposed to be upset with us. It’s a good thing. Like I said, you passed the test.”
Dimitri’s snarls continued unabated. “Who the fuck would even think of something like that?”
“He would.”
Casey pointed to the door, which had opened soundlessly. Jaycee jerked her attention to it, unnerved she hadn’t smelled or heard anyone coming. She released Dimitri, wanting him unencumbered if they needed to fight.
A Shifter stood in the doorway, quietly watching. He was tall and bulking—a bear, Jaycee realized. He entered the room and closed the door, the overhead light shining on his deep brown hair, trimmed beard, and glittering dark eyes. The light also glistened on the tranq rifle he held at his side.
“Forgive me,” the newcomer said in the deep voice achieved only by bear Shifters. His timbre was rich and thick, his tone regretful. “I had to know whether you were true Shifters or monsters. You’d be amazed at what some Shifters are willing to do.”
“Who the hell are you?” Dimitri demanded.
“Name’s Brice.” The man halted, not offering greeting hugs or even for them to come close to him. “Dimitri Kashnikov and Jaycee Bordeaux.”
It wasn’t a question. He knew exactly who they were. Jaycee definitely didn’t like that.
Dimitri, on the other hand, was staring at him almost in recognition, as though things were clicking together in his brain.
Brice gave Jaycee a nod as he felt her scrutiny. “You can run back to Kendrick and ask him all about me if you want. He won’t know. Neither will Dylan. That’s fine. Dylan’s a good man, in his way. He takes care of his people. But he doesn’t really understand what we’re trying to do. He will. In time.”
“Why the hell did you ask us to go after his cubs?” Jaycee could barely get the words out. She thought about Zane, Brett, and Robbie, and felt sick. She sent a hasty prayer to the Goddess to keep them safe.
“Experience,” Brice said. “I’m so sorry, Jaycee. I didn’t mean to upset you. I assure you, I’d never have let you carry out such a thing. I’d have stopped you.” He lifted the tranq gun. “I’d have made sure Kendrick dealt with you for even considering it.”
Jaycee took deep, gulping breaths. “Well, I’m going to be unhappy for a while. That was a horrible thing to do.”
Brice gave her a tight smile. He walked to the middle of the room and deliberately laid the tranq gun on a table. The rifle was now within reach of Dimitri and also Jaycee if she lunged quickly enough.
“My apologies,” Brice said. “But I had to know what kind of Shifters I was dealing with. What I really want is to talk to you, get to know you. Have you get to know me.”
Dimitri was rigid. Jaycee knew they needed to focus on the mission, to smoke out this guy and his followers. It was tough though. Dimitri looked like he wanted to snatch up the tranq rifle and bash Brice over the head with it.
But Dimitri relaxed suddenly, his infectious grin blossoming, though Jaycee sensed his tension, knew he was faking it. “S-sure. As long as we can s-sling back some b-brews while we do. C-Casey, I think you can g-get up now.”
Casey looked to Brice for confirmation. He didn’t raise his gaze to Brice but eyeballed him somewhere in the gut.
Brice walked to Casey, stopping a foot from Dimitri, raised Casey to his feet, and enfolded the smaller man in a hug. Brice was big—bears were. Casey was lost in the man’s embrace, but his body sagged in relief.
When Brice let him go, Casey straightened up, stand
“You did good, Casey.” Brice pivoted to face Dimitri, moving into Dimitri’s personal space. “Brews? Sure. But not here. Are you willing to follow us out?” Brice looked Dimitri in the eye, then pinned Jaycee with an equally intense gaze. “We’ll go someplace we can let our hair down, so to speak.”
Jaycee folded her arms. “You’re trusting us a lot.”
“Not really.” Brice’s voice was deep and filled the room. “I don’t yet know whether I can trust you. But I want to find out.” He rested a hand on Dimitri’s shoulder and then Jaycee’s. “I learned long ago, my friends, that if you live in fear, they’ve already won.”
Jaycee wasn’t sure who they were, but Brice was turning away, finished with the conversation. He picked up the tranq gun and tossed it to Maeve. “Lock that up for me, love. Shall we go?”
* * *
Dimitri’s uneasiness grew as he rode his motorcycle through the streets of New Orleans, following Brice, along with Casey and Maeve. Jaycee leaned into Dimitri’s back, her arms around him, comfort in the darkness, though he felt her uneasiness as well.
Brice was trusting that Dimitri would follow them and not disappear into the night, bringing Dylan and crew back with him. But Brice hadn’t actually done anything terrible yet. Just because his presence stirred something troubling in Dimitri’s brain didn’t mean the man was the embodiment of evil. Brice had come up with the scheme of asking Dimitri and Jaycee to kill cubs in order to discover whether they were the embodiments of evil.
Dimitri didn’t like people who played games. He’d almost killed Casey, which had seemed to please Brice and even Casey’s mate. Something was going on here, and it made Dimitri’s fur itch.
Dimitri didn’t know this city well enough to figure out where they were going. Brice, on a gleaming black Harley, led them south and west into streets of large old houses, well preserved on quiet streets. This area was too genteel for Shifters, Dimitri knew, but Brice slowed in front of a tall mansion and rode up the driveway and around the back. He’d already dismounted his bike, as had Casey and Maeve, by the time Dimitri and Jaycee reached him.