Shifted Perceptions (Alpha Division) (18 page)

“What?” Paul whispered, but I ignored him.

“At first I pleaded, cried, begged him not to, but when the cuffs came out, I snapped. My mind just... shattered. I saw red, nothing else and...” I swallowed the lump down and took a deep breath. “I didn’t hurt him–much. But I was able to get away. Though it was excruciatingly painful, I shifted into my fox and ran. And I never went back.”

Chapt
er 38

Paul

I held her in my arms and breathed slowly through my nose, trying to quiet my anger. She needed me to be calm and though I would have loved nothing more than to hunt down her father and rip him to shreds, that wasn’t my place. But I could be there for her, help her move forward.

Damn,
I thought my childhood was shitty. Her childhood may have been perfect compared to mine, but that one experience negated anything I could complain about.

I
buried my nose in her wet hair and breathed in the fresh scent. She was safe in my arms, I reminded myself.

“
That’s why I don’t trust easily,” she said. “I can’t handle betrayal. And for me to be the betrayer... When I killed you, or thought I killed you, the loss of you hurt like nothing I’ve ever felt, but I also felt like I betrayed you–betrayed the team. And to me, that meant I wasn’t worthy of them any longer.”

“I understand,” I whispered, kissing her cheek. “But do you
recognize now, that we aren’t your parents. We love you. Don’t leave us again.”

She stiffened in my arms, and
I loosened my grip enough to look down at her face. She turned her head to look at me, her eyes questioning.

“What?” I asked.

“When you said, we love you, did you mean the team?”

“Yes,” I replied, my brow pinched
, as I tried to read her expression. She nodded and looked away and then it dawned on me what she was asking. I smiled and turned her face, so she was looking at me again.

“Do you want to know if I love you?”

She rolled her eyes and made a cute little noise in the back of her throat that meant she was trying to blow off the question.

“You just said so. You are part of the team.”

“Yeah, but I love you as more than family. More than the team. More than a friend. Terry,” I whispered. “I love you more than
anything
.”

Her eyes turned glassy and full of tears and she blinked them away, but I knew they were there. She cleared her throat and tried to get herself under control and I did my best not to laugh.

“I love you more than anything too, Paul,” she said firmly, all softness gone from her voice and I did laugh. I had to laugh at how hard she tried not to show emotion. Had to be a bad ass. Damn, I loved her.

“What?” she snarled and I laughed again before kissing her growl away.

I pulled back with a smile, loving the way she melted as soon as my lips touched hers. “I love you,” I responded and she smiled, blushing brightly and I laughed again. She smiled with me and I kissed her once more quickly.

“I want us,” I told her. “I want to give us a try, be exclusive.”

She nodded, “I do too, but you know a jaguar and a fox aren’t that compatible.”

“I beg to differ,” I smirked
, as I rolled on top of her, placing my hips between her thighs. She opened for me and I settled myself closer, rubbing my jeans against her hot center. I knew she could feel the bulge, it was damn near bursting from my pants. Terry groaned, lifting her hips to get closer.

“But if you meant kids, then no, we can’t have any. Is that an issue? Do
you want children someday?” The thought made my chest tighten. If that was a dream of hers, I would have to step away. No matter how bad it hurt, I would put her happiness before my own.

Terry shook her head from side to side, “No, I don’t want children. I mean, I thought about it once. Most women do. We were made to give life, but... I really don’t know how to describ
e it, but I just don’t feel the need to have babies. They're great and all,” she said with a smirk, “But I’m so not mother material.”

“Oh, I think you’d be a great mother.”

“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I still don’t want any kids, though.”

The  truth in her words made
the tightness in my chest lessen. “Then no more running.”

She huffed, “Fine! But don’t
you think about controlling my life. I’m not giving up my job, and I won’t have you telling me what to do all the time.”

I
smiled and shook my head, “Never. I love my job too and I would never make you do anything you didn’t want to do.”

“Then we have a deal,” she said and held out her free hand.

I looked down at the offered hand skeptically, before placing my hand in hers and shaking. Big mistake. She used her forearms to push strongly on my chest, flipping me on my back. Straddling my hips, her cuffed arm draped diagonally across my chest, as she smirked, grinding her pelvis into mine.

“Don’t gloat,” I snarled playfully.

“Why? That was awesome!” She laughed, until I flipped her back.

I didn’t give her time to complain. My lips sealed
with hers and as we melded into the kiss, I lifted her leg over my waist, sliding my hand up the back of her thigh. Then I slapped her ass as hard as I could at that angle. She yelped, then moaned into my mouth.

I couldn’t handle it anymore. My dick was so
hard, pressing against the rough seam of my jeans. She always did this to me. In her presence, I was in a constant state of arousal. It was damn embarrassing in the past, but now, she was mine.

My clothes came off quickly, while she whimpered her need, only making mine that much more
, and then I was back where I belonged.

I asked her if she wanted the cuff off, but she shook her head no and I grinned. The little vixen liked to kink it up, and any other time, I might have played more. Now wasn’t the time. We both wanted, needed each other more than we wanted to play.

She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever laid eyes on, made flawlessly for me. I showered her face with kisses, as my hands trailed over her curves. Her breast fit so perfectly in my palms and the rosy tips tasted like strawberries.

When my
fingers found her slick folds, wet and ready for me, I shifted between her thighs, lining the head of my eager cock to her welcoming heat. And in one deep, slow thrust, I was home.

Chapter 39

Terry

“Almost there,” Paul
announced and I looked around in confusion.

“Where are we?” I thought we were going to headquarters, but we were in the middle of a busy intersection in a populated city, not on the outskirts of nowhere, where I knew we should have been.

“Headquarters,” he replied, as he pulled up to a gate. Rolling down the window, he punched a code into a little metal box. The gate slowly opened, as I caught sight of the cameras lining the tall brick walls on either side.

“This...” I began and shook my head.

“Is the new place,” Paul confirmed.

“I
thought finding a new place was all talk. Why didn’t Teij say anything?”

“It was a surprise. For
all of us.”

“Hmm,” I huffed
. Then my jaw slackened and I gaped at the huge building. “What the hell is this, the Bat Cave?” I asked, astonished at the architecture.

Paul chuckled, but I was serious. The building was modern, made of steel, concrete, and tinted glass. A tall dome stood
predominantly in the front and on each side was more of the building, only less prevalent, looking plain and rectangle with windows dotted evenly down the sides.

“The glass is bullet proof,” Paul said, noticing the way I looked at all the windows
skeptically, especially the top of the dome.

We parked  and I slowly stepped out
of the car. “It’s completely state of the art,” he continued, as we began walking toward the entrance. “There’s everything we need –meeting room, offices, weight room, training room, an indoor gun range...”

I looked at him in awe, “Really?”

“Yep, and there’s what we’re calling the war room. It’s amazing.” He sounded so close to giddy, I smiled. “I’m not all into computer shit, like Hawk, but damn that place can find us anything, using satellites and maps, it’s crazy. Oh, and a weapons room. And bedrooms just in case we want to stay over.”

Damn!
“Is that all?” I asked, deadpan and he turned to me, eyes wide like I’d grown another head. I laughed and he relaxed. “Just kidding. This is fucking brilliant,” I said in awe as we went inside. And it was brilliant, all shiny and new, I thought, as I looked up at the high ceiling made of glass. But it felt like just another thing I wasn’t privy to. What else were they hiding?

We stopped in front
of a pair of double doors. “Teij is waiting in the meeting room,” Paul pointed to the doors. “But I need to tell you something...”

Suddenly
, a voice filled the marbled floor hallway from an intercom above us. “Get your asses in here,”  Teij demanded. I raised an eyebrow, impressed, as Paul sighed and opened the doors.

The room looked fairly similar to our old meeting area. The same long metal table sat in the center of the room, but I didn’t get to take in anything else. Because Teij stood next to the table, looking
fierce and commanding, as usual. I began to step forward to greet him, when I noticed who was standing next to him. My eyes narrowed and I froze in my spot, wishing I’d carried my gun with me.

“What the hell are you doing here, Stone?”
He wore a dark suit, looking as handsome as ever, as he gave me a nod.

“This is A
gent Nolan Yates, CIA. Looks like they’ve been on the same case as us for some time. They just forgot to mention it.” Teij’s tone hardened, but other than that slight giveaway, his face was unreadable.

I looked at Stone, or Agent Nolan Yates
, my breath frozen in my lungs. He didn’t say a word and I just didn’t know what to say.

Then I turned to Paul. “You knew about this?”

“Yes.”

I looked back at Teij, “And you knew?”

“Not until Paul told us.”

I nodded, and sucked my bottom lips in my mouth, trying to keep from lashing out. It felt like everyone in the room was holding their breath.

“Okay,” I finally said and I almost smiled at the sound of their exhales. “Can I talk to you and Paul alone?” I asked Teij.

He nodded and led us into another
room, the desk telling me it was probably his office. As soon as the door shut, I turned, ready to give both of them a piece of my mind, but before I could, I was suddenly being smashed against a very large chest.

“Thank fuck!” Teij growled, his massive arms squeezing me tightly. “We were
so damn worried.” I began to relax when he pushed me away, holding me at arm's length as he glared down at me. “Don’t fucking do that to us again, you hear me, girl!”

“Yes, sir,” I said, my eyes blinking
furiously, trying to keep back the tears.

“Now,”
he said with a sigh and letting me go. “Let’s get this shit over with. I know you feel like we’ve kept you in the dark about a lot of things lately and I’m sorry for that. Paul showing up was a last minute decision. I thought it best if someone could keep an eye on you. And as far as Bear,” his eyes narrowed and I had to force myself not to step back. “He told me you accused him of being a traitor. You should know better, Foxy,” he chastised and I nodded quickly.

“I didn’t want you to know
Bear was there and go searching for him,” he continued. “Although, now thinking back, that was unfair of me. I was worried I’d sent you into something you couldn’t handle. You’re good at your job, but at first I thought maybe I’d been hasty sending you in. I was too angry and you hadn't done much undercover work. I was wrong, though. You did good, Foxy. I’m very proud of you.”

“Th-thank you, sir,” I mumbled, but he barely acknowledged my thanks
, as he continued. I’d never heard him talk so much and I had to admit, it was... weird.

“
That was the extent of my sins, Foxy. The situation with Agent Yates is recent.” His eyes glanced behind me to Paul and I was very glad to not be on the receiving end of that look.

“Terry,” Paul began and I turned to
look at him. “I’m sorry to you and Teij. There is no excuse. I just kept letting other shit get in the way.

“I found out about Stone’s real identity when I searched his place. His dog tags were hidden in his bedroom. At first, I just thought we had a bad ass soldier turned dark to deal with, but I also knew there was a possibility that it could mean something more. I copied the information and later, gave it to Hawk, who did his thing and found out who Stone really was.

“I found the tags the day you came back to the hotel late and off balance. My worry and anger got the best of me and then you’d found Red and...” He trailed off. “I’m sorry.” His eyes pleaded for me to understand. In fact, I’d never seen him so apologetic or talkative. His voice and expression held real regret that I couldn’t ignore.

“It’s okay,” I said and his shoulders relaxed. “Just don’t let it happen again. Either of you,” I demanded, adding Teij to my glare.

“Understood,” they both said in unison and I smiled.

“Now
, let’s get this shit over with. The team is a mess to see you, especially Red. He knows you saved him.”

I opened my mouth
to deny Teij’s words, but he cut me off. “Yes, you did save him. He was right under Bear’s nose, but you were the one with the balls to get in there. Red told us what happened. You tried to take them all out and probably would have if you hadn’t been drugged.”

Teij winked at me when Paul growled and I
couldn’t hold back my snicker.

“
Oh, before we go,” Teij said. “I’m pissed as hell at the US government. We have to keep them updated, so they knew what was happening, but didn’t have the decency to let us know about the CIA’s involvement.” He shook his head, his lip curling into a snarl. “Would have made things a whole fucking lot easier.”

Opening the door, he said, “We’ll talk about this more later with the team.
”

Stone stood in the same place we left him and as we walked in, he turned to look at us. He smiled, but I gave him nothing in return.

“Agent Yates,” Teij began. “Why don’t you start with what you were saying before Foxy and Paul came in.

He looked between the three of us and shrugged. “As I was saying, the CIA has been following this organization for almost a year and we’re coming up empty. Whoever this guy is, he’s too good at cleaning up his tracks. Even when he was in contact with me, phone calls couldn’t be traced and neither could any letters. No fingerprints, DNA, nothing.”

“So you knew who I was the whole time, didn’t you?” I asked. All three men looked at me, shocked at the change of subject, but I couldn’t get it out of my head.

“Yes. I’m sorry, if that makes any difference.”

“It doesn’t, but then again, I’m starting to realize it really doesn’t matter.” And as I said it, I began to grasp how true that statement was.

As his brows lowered, I could see that what I’d said hurt him a little, but not enough to protest. He knew I was right.

He nodded once before sighing. “We want to work with you,” he said, meaning the Alpha Division. “We think it might be best in this situation, with the mixture of humans and shifters. The drug is affecting both.”

“
The drug is affecting humans?” Paul asked.

“It's causing extreme shifts in personality, especially aggression. We witnessed a woman literally take a bite out of another at a shopping mall last week.”

“Shit,” I whispered.

“I think you’re right, Agent Yates,” Teij said. “Working together would be best. IF you
can keep us informed,” he stated harshly.

“Of course, I’ll let my superiors know.”

“Good.”

“I want to know what
happened with Red,” I demanded. “If you knew who I was, then how could you allow that to happen to him, or even participate.”

“Truthfully, I had no clue he was undercover. I knew you had a guy in there, but he was good. I never suspected him. Then Emma went missing and the two of them were getting so close, I really thought he’d hurt her.”

“Who is this Emma? Red was talking about her before he went into surgery and he won’t talk about it now,” Paul asked.

“She was a wolf shifter, really sweet girl,” Stone shook his head. “Don’t know what happened, but we’re going to have to question him soon if we’re going to find her.”

“We have to search for a lot of people,” I stated, and Stone nodded his agreement.

“Whoever this guy is, he’s kidnapped a
nd killed a lot of humans and shifters. Some for blackmail purposes to garner numbers in his organization, the others are dying because of the drugs. I think a lot of those are from experimentation.”

“Any idea why this guy is getting humans involved?” Teij asked.

“I wish I’d had more time to question the residents of Cedar Hill,” I added. “But Cassandra’s little stunt blew the whole mission to hell.”

Teij shook his head, his face registering confusion. “My head is still reeling from that image. A human shifter. Who would have known?”

We all felt the same and I was sure a similar thought was running through our minds. If there was one, there were probably more. And we had no clue how to sniff them out.

“For all we know, this guy could be human,” Stone said, referring to Teij’s earlier question. “He could have found out about the shifter race and decided to use them for his own nefarious purposes. But so far,” he sighed, “we’ve got nothing to tell us either way.”

There was a lot of shit that we were going to have to get to the bottom of, but Teij called the meeting short. “We’ll set up a meeting with the team when we get more information.”

Before Stone was escorted out, he stopped in front of me
. “I’m sorry we’re parting like this, Foxy.”

“We already said our goodbyes, Agent Yates.”

“Call me Stone, please. I feel like shit when you address me as Agent.” His gray eyes were sad enough to give me pause.

I nodded, “You’re right, Stone.
It suits you, remember?”

The corners of his eyes crinkled a little
, as he chuckled. I never noticed them before, but that suited him too. “I do remember,” he smiled.

“See ya,” I smiled back
, as he nodded and left.

An a
rm wrapped around me, as I sighed in relief. “You okay?” Paul asked.

“Yeah, absolutely okay,”
I responded, looking up into his dark gaze.

He kissed me softly before pulling away. I tried chasing him for more
, but he shook his head and grinned.

“Come on,” he said, pulling m
e with him, as he headed for the door. “The team is freaking out. We better go assure them that you’re in one piece.”

“What, did they think you’d rip me a new one?” I teased.

His grin turned wicked, “Something like that.”