Madhi conceded his point with a nod. “This is true, but Luca demands the respect of all supernatural beings, and there is much love for Dash. It has been a long time since a wolf commanded such affection. We are no longer great leaders.”
“You are still greatly respected,” Devan said. “It’s why Dash sent me to you. He says you know more about the northern pack as it is now than anyone, that I need your counsel before I can join them. I’m truly grateful for any guidance you can give me.”
“Sit down, young blood. We’ll tell you everything we can.”
A few hours later, Devan left the cabin armed with as much information about Alpha Varian’s pack as he could cram into his mind. On the way to the airport, he listed the names he’d learned from the elite combat squad he’d be embedded with: two betas—Gale and Zio—and eight soldiers. They were young, as Dash and Luca had said, but gifted too. Two pack members could influence the elements, another was a shield. The information went some way to explaining how such a small command unit had resisted the southern threat for so long.
But their healer is dead. Pain lanced Devan’s heart, grief for a shifter he’d never known. Madhi and Jonathon had spoken nothing but kindness for the healer Varian’s pack had lost.“She was a good woman and a fine wolf. The world will be darker without her.”
Devan would never know if that was true, but one thing was certain, he had big shoes to fill.
Nerves carried him all the way to England, and he deplaned in Manchester with an unmistakable itch under his skin. But away from the safety of his home in Slovakia, for the first time in years, the urge to shift had to be ignored. Dash had warned him that the human population in this strange country tolerated shifters only if they stuck to their own lands when they took their animal forms or stayed out of sight. For the wolves based in Cumbria’s Lake District, that meant a military compound hidden within the sprawling five-mile township under their protection, and the surrounding countryside. And even then, Devan would need Varian’s permission to shift at will—no wolf pack would want an outsider roaming their territory unchecked.
He passed through shifter security and left the terminal. Outside, he scented the air. The earthy musk of wolves hit his sensitive nose like a punch to the chest, and the beast within him bristled, but Devan battled the fight-or-flight instincts that roared to life. He’d arrived a day or so earlier than he was expected, but hewasexpected. Any wolf who caught his scent would hopefully know it.
Still, alone on potentially hostile ground, Devan didn’t fancy getting cornered. The sensible thing would be to take a cab north to the township and make his presence known.But...
In Devan’s experience, the urge to shift could only truly be dulled by something else... something he was unlikely to find once he was embedded with the wolves. Besides, in war-torn territory, he’d be a fool not to scout the area while he had the chance. Before his every movement was beholden to the will of an alpha he’d never met.
Screw it. He slung his bag onto his back and headed into the city.
* * *
Zio sucked in a breath that burnt his lungs and pressed himself against the sticky wall. The club was dark and smoky and the only establishment outside of London that served booze strong enough to keep him drunk for longer than ten minutes.
And fuck was he drunk. Had been ever since Varian had gifted him some “time to process” but in the week that had passed since he’d fled the township, nothing had changed. He missed his life in London, the friends he’d lost. And he missed Emma, forever and always.
I need another drink.
“No, you don’t,”her soft voice counselled.“All that happens when you’re drunk is bad decisions and regret. You’re not built for a reckless life.”
But she was wrong about that. War was as reckless as anything in the world, and Zio had been born in a pool of someone else’s blood.
Reborn.
Whatever.
He pushed off the wall and found the bar. The air was thick with human emotion and arousal, and much of it was directed at him. Most humans wouldn’t have known he was a shifter, but their bodies did and instinctively called to him. Men, women, and everything in between.
Zio couldn’t deny that excited him. It was why he’d come to the club in the first place, to find something—someone—to help him forget, even if it was just for one night. A single moment, even. Maybe then he could go home, make ready for war, and face the rest of his life without his best friend.
More booze passed his lips. Vodka, mainly. Ukrainian. It was sixty percent alcohol—just enough to resist his superhuman metabolism. Rough and strong, its fierce heat seared his throat and dulled his senses, all the while bringing parts of him to life that he’d long forgotten about. Parts of him he could forget about all over again if he was lucky enough for the vodka to send him to sleep.
He stumbled away from the bar and found a quiet corner. Most of the humans—though his presence made them horny—gave him a wide berth, and he dropped onto a soft armchair with the space to stretch his legs and survey his surroundings through bleary eyes. Arousal was still heavy in the air, draped over the room like a cloak, but as he sat there, head spinning enough to soften the sharp spikes of grief, something else hit his consciousness—something hotter and brighter than the roiling mess of human emotions around him.
It started in his gut and bloomed into his chest, drawing him to his feet as his veins began a slow buzz, and it reverberated in every cell of his body. Deep, primal desire pulled him forward, and he followed the trail, hands already reaching for the fly of his grubby jeans as the drive to connect with whoever was tugging the invisible cord took over.
Down some steps and through a door. Another door. A blackened corridor, so dark even Zio’s wolf eyes couldn’t see. But gods, he could smell. Andfeelthe addictive warmth heating his blood until a fire was lit within him, and an ache in his chest drove him to his knees. The scent that had drawn him to this dark place swirled around him and he drank it down, bracing himself on the cool tiled floor, gasping.I need—
Strong hands hauled him to his feet. His back hit the wall before he could blink, and his jeans dropped to his ankles.
Zio’s cock sprang free and he gasped again, fumbling for whoever had come upon him, desperate to feel flesh against flesh. His hands hit warm skin, and blood as hot as his thrummed beneath his fingertips. A rough jaw. The hard planes of a man’s torso. Slim hips and a thick, heavy cock that made Zio’s mouth water. “I want to fuck you,” he slurred, voice so distant it seemed to belong to someone else.
A man chuckled. “I don’t think we’ll make it that far.”
Zio was too blinded by booze and desire to dissect the statement. He fought the man for dominance and lost. The corridor was narrow. Zio leaned on the wall behind him and braced a hand on the one in front. His other hand found the man’s cock and another wave of beautiful scent slammed into him.
His wolf rumbled with want. His teeth tingled, but he fought the urge to let them slide free and search out the man’s neck. Biting humans without their consent was strictly forbidden, and there was no time for conversation. Zio needed the man to come so he could smear his scent into his skin and return the favour.I’ll claim him later.