Bonded (27 page)

Read Bonded Online

Authors: Nicky Charles

Tags: #romance, #suspense, #paranormal, #supernatural, #werewolves, #series, #lycans, #law of the lycans

BOOK: Bonded
9.19Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

“Victor? Oh,
the Alpha. Damn, is he right there? And he overheard you
talking?”

“That’s right,
Reno.” She glanced at Victor and saw him holding out his hand,
obviously wanting to talk to Reno. “Oh, you have to go right now?
All right, sweetheart. Love you and hope to see you soon, bye.” She
quickly ended the conversation, and then smiled apologetically at
Victor. “Sorry, he had to go.”

Victor didn’t
smile back. “I’m not amused by your silly games.” He grabbed her
arm and started to drag her along the road. She tried to yank her
arm free but he merely tightened his grip painfully and quickened
his pace so that she had to half run to keep up with his longer
stride. “Brandi, I’m well aware of your job. When I heard you were
coming for a visit, I’d hoped we could avoid any unpleasantness but
was also prepared if you decided to stir up trouble. Apparently, I
was wise to have anticipated your actions. I think we’ll need to
discuss this situation further.”

Chapter
17

Reno stared at the
phone in his hand, a frustrated growl rising in his chest. She’d
hung up on him again! His fingers clenched around the phone and he
had to force himself to loosen his grip lest he crack the casing.
For a moment he sat there replaying the conversation in his head. A
sense of unease, fear even, niggled at the back of his brain. Damn,
something had happened to Brandi, he just knew it. While he’d deny
it to anyone who said otherwise, the strange connection he had with
the woman remained despite the distance separating them. He’d done
his best to forget about her this past week but she was always
there on the fringes of his mind. It was almost worse now than when
she’d been around him on a daily basis.

He got out of bed
and strode naked to his desk. It was a full moon and his wolf
struggled to get out, his flesh quivering in anticipation. This was
the creature’s night and normally he’d have spent the evening out
on a run but hadn’t had the heart for it this month. His world
seemed grey and uninteresting lately and it was too much of an
effort to join the others. In past months he’d always attended the
lunar events, looking forward to running as a pack and, if he were
honest, carefully shadowing Brandi to ensure that no males made a
move on her.

We should
go
, his wolf whispered.
She needs us. It’s the night of the
full moon and we need to be together...

Reno shushed the
beast and turned on his computer, tapping into Lycan Link’s data
base. The wolf might be right. Brandi might need him, but some
research was required before he could act. Accessing her file, he
skimmed over the information. Much of it he knew by heart. Her
height, date of birth, and years of employment but... There it was.
Background information. She was from the Kolding’s Pass settlement.
Typing in the name, he began to search through the data they had on
the pack.

An hour later,
Reno leaned back and rubbed his eyes. The slight chill of the night
air had cooled his skin considerably but he didn’t care. A bigger
concern occupied his mind and caused a sick feeling to churn in his
stomach.

Until two years
ago, the Kolding’s Pass Alpha had been Klaus Randers but then the
Beta, Victor Hadsund, had replaced him. Strangely enough, Randers
wasn’t listed on the pack’s Council of Elders, a position taken by
most retiring Alphas. His absence led credence to the supposition
that it hadn’t been an amicable transfer of power. If Randers had
been forcibly ousted from the pack, there might have been a severe
ideological split, which could very well point to Purist
leanings.

Reno drummed his
fingers on the arm of his chair. So where was Randers now? Getting
his perspective on what was happening in the pack would be helpful
but numerous searches of the data base had come up empty. Randers
was nowhere to be found. Had the man really left town or had he
been killed? Purists believed in following the ways of the ancient
ones and leadership battles used to be to the death. Such an
occurrence should have been reported, but apparently wasn’t. It
made the situation seem...suspicious.

The thought that
Brandi was alone and involved with such a group sent chills down
his spine. Every time she was the DC for one of his cases, he
worried until she was out of the pack’s territory, but at least on
those occasions she was working in an official capacity with her
partner Al Zimmerman and extra backup was readily available. Now,
she had no one, and as an employee of Lycan Link she could be a
target for the Purists’ revenge, especially if they knew she’d
worked closely with his unit.

He compressed his
lips thinking of the threatening letters they’d been receiving
lately. The Purists were hinting at revenge, of making an example
of someone. A sick feeling grew in his stomach and he made his
decision. Grabbing his phone, he dialled a familiar number while
pulling his duffle bag from the closet.

“Masterson here.
What do you want?” Damien sounded less than pleased to be disturbed
in the middle of the night. In fact, Reno was surprised the kid was
home so early from the run; he’d expected to just leave a
message.

“Damien, it’s
Reno. I wanted to tell you I’m heading out of town for a few
days.”

“You’re what? Just
a sec...”

Reno pulled open
drawers and found some underwear and t-shirts, idly listening to
the sounds coming from his partner’s apartment. There was female
giggling and the rustling of sheets. Little wonder Damien was home
early and had sounded grumpy. Was he with the girl he’d been
mooning over the past few days or had a new female grabbed his
attention?

“Okay, I’m back.
Is this about the letter we got today?”

They’d spent the
day at work going over yet another threatening letter, so it was
natural that Damien assumed he was still thinking about the
anonymous missives. The captain had called them in but of course
there were no clues to be found and, equally frustrating, the
captain was still being tight lipped about the leak, merely hinting
that they were narrowing down the suspects. He and Damien had left
the impromptu meeting disgusted with the lack of action. They both
hated sitting around twiddling their thumbs.

“No, it’s
something new.”

“So, what’s
up?”

“You alone?”

“Yeah, I’m in the
kitchen and the bedroom door is closed.”

“Good. I got a
call from Brandi and—”

“Brandi? As in
Johansson?” The mocking glee in Damien’s voice came through loud
and clear. “The woman you pretend to hate, but really—”

“Can it, Damien.
And yeah, I mean that Brandi. She’s in trouble. Her home pack has
gone Purist.”

“Whoa.” Damien’s
voice immediately sobered. “That’s bad news.”

Reno grunted his
agreement. “She called me about an hour ago, but just as she was
starting to give me the information, the phone went dead.”

“Did you try to
get hold of her again?”

“Yeah but the
conversation made no sense. I’m sure the Alpha was there listening
in and probably pissed off.”

“Uh...Reno. A
weird conversation in the middle of the night...that’s not much to
go on.”

“I know, but I did
some quick research. Her old Alpha’s missing and she said the
halves were in trouble.”

“I don’t know if
the captain will consider that enough information to allow us to
take the team in.”

“I know. That’s
why I’m going in alone.”

“Alone? Reno,
that’s a dumb-ass move
and
against all regulations.”

“So? Regulations
and I aren’t close friends. Besides, I’m just taking a holiday. The
captain said we’re on stand-by. Maybe I suddenly wanted to visit
the mountains. Kolding’s Pass is probably a great place for a
vacation.”

Damien sighed
heavily. “All right. Give me an hour and I’ll go with you.”

“No. You have to
stay back and run interference with the captain.”

“Me? How am I
supposed to do that?”

“I don’t know.
Make something up. Tell him I met a woman or I won the
lottery.”

“Like he’d believe
that.”

Reno finished
shoving the last item in his bag and propped the phone to his ear
with his shoulder while he tugged on a pair of pants. “Whatever.
You’re also my backup. I’ll call you tomorrow night. If you don’t
hear from me, tell the captain and get your butt to Kolding’s
Pass.”

Damien growled
down the phone line. “I don’t like this, Reno.”

“Neither do I, but
I have to go.” He paused and then spoke hesitantly. “There’s
something between Brandi and me, Damien. I don’t know what it is,
but my gut is telling me she’s in trouble.”

For a moment,
Damien was silent. “That doesn’t surprise me. There’s always been
something about the two of you when you’re together.” He exhaled
noisily. “Okay, go, but be careful. I don’t want to have to break
in a new partner.”

Reno smiled to
himself at his friend’s concern. “I will. Go back to your
girlfriend.”

“Beth?” Damien
gave a throaty chuckle. “She’s more than a girlfriend now. She’s my
mate.”

“Your what?” Reno
almost dropped the phone. Hadn’t Damien just met the girl last
week?

“I’ll tell you
about it when you get back.” Damien laughed again, sounding
inordinately pleased with himself, before disconnecting.

Several hours
later, after flying halfway across the country, Reno was travelling
up the twisting mountain road that led to Brandi’s hometown. The
afternoon sun was glaring in his eyes, casting shadows across the
poorly maintained road. All too aware of the steep drop to the
side, he forced himself to drive cautiously despite the urgency
that ate at his gut. A close encounter with the deep gorges that
flanked the roadway wasn’t something he relished.

A clear blue sky,
puffy white clouds, and the distant purplish-grey peaks of the next
set of mountains made for a breathtaking view. If he hadn’t been so
concerned with what he’d find in Kolding’s Pass, he might have
appreciated the spectacular scenery he drove past. As it was, the
tall dark pines, sharp outcroppings of rock and colourful wild
flowers barely made an impression.

He’d collected a
rental car at the airport, refuelled at a small town called Renwick
located near the base of the mountain and then started what seemed
an interminable drive. Steadily climbing upward, it had been ages
since he’d passed by any sign of civilization, though that didn’t
surprise him. The terrain wasn’t one that invited heavy settlement.
The steep mountain sides and rocky ground would make establishing a
community difficult. And while there were certainly enough trees
around for lumber, flat ground seemed to be scarce. He imagined
heavy spring rains would make landslides a yearly hazard as well.
In fact, he’d already passed by several spots where it was obvious
that part of the roadway had been washed out and haphazardly
repaired.

Exactly what he’d
do once he got to Kolding’s Pass, he wasn’t sure. When he went into
a community as an Enforcer he had the authority to do some
snooping, to ask questions and expect answers. But this time, he
was entering another Alpha’s territory without the protection of
Lycan Link’s stamp of approval.

He had a vague
plan. Get in. Claim Brandi. Get out. Simple but stupid and it would
never work. If the Alpha had indeed cut off her first communication
to him, what were the chances the man would simply let her go? What
if she was hidden away somewhere? His hands tightened on the
steering wheel as he played various scenarios over in his head,
each one less pleasant than the last.

By the time a
roadside sign indicated he was entering Kolding’s Pass, he was
prepared for the worst and drove towards the town with caution.
Slowing the vehicle to a sedate speed he scanned ahead. Outwardly
there seemed to be nothing remarkable about the place. It was a
typical small old-time mining town. Nestled in the mountains, it
had seen better days. Several clusters of houses were located near
the edge of town, some in disrepair and needing paint while others
had small flower gardens and showed signs that the owners were at
least making an effort to keep up appearances. A few stores could
be seen further down the street, though how many were still open,
he couldn’t tell at this distance. Yep, nothing extraordinary,
unless you counted the road block at the entrance of the town.

Reno stopped his
vehicle and someone dressed in a sheriff’s uniform approached the
car. Rolling down his window, he casually placed his elbow out the
opening and pasted a vaguely inquiring expression on his face.

The sheriff tipped
his hat. “Afternoon, sir. Are you lost?

“Nope. Kolding’s
Pass is where I want to be.” Reno gave the man a friendly
smile.

“Huh. Now that’s
mighty peculiar. We don’t get too many visitors up here.” While the
sheriff still had an amiable expression on his face, Reno noted how
the man’s nostrils flared, picking up his scent and registering
that he was another Lycan. The man assumed a more defensive stance,
the friendliness of his smile fading. “Care to state your business
in our territory?”

“My fiancée grew
up here and she’s home for a visit. I thought I’d surprise her.” At
first Reno hadn’t been sure how he’d present himself. A co-worker
on vacation? A close friend? But recalling how Brandi had addressed
him during their last brief phone call—darling, sweetheart—he
decided to use fiancée as a cover. It also gave him a greater claim
to her should the Alpha prove to be difficult.

“Fiancée, you
say?” The man took his hat off and scratched his head. “I ain’t
heard nothing about anyone planning on mating an outsider.”

“Well, we’ve been
keeping it quiet.”

The man frowned.
“What’s this supposed fiancée’s name?”

Reno answered
slowly, carefully watching the man for any reaction. “Brandi.
Brandi Johansson.”

Other books

Dead Air by Ash, C.B.
Titanic by Deborah Hopkinson
The Voice on the Radio by Caroline B. Cooney
The Other Side of Midnight by Mike Heffernan
The Mercenary by Cherry Adair