Dawn (The Dire Wolves Chronicles Book 3) Read online

  The streetcar was nearly empty, and after showing my pass I slipped into a vacant seat, careful to sit on the end. I didn’t need one of the kids sitting down next to me.

  The car lurched to a start, and I stared out the window at the southern homes and live oaks. The city was beautiful when you took out all the politics and stress that came from living in the royal seat of the paranormal world.

  My phone vibrated with a text. I reluctantly tore my eyes from the window and checked for the message. Get in now. I was about to reply to my boss with something nasty when I realized it was a group text to several guards. Something had to have been going down for him to be calling everyone in on a random weekday.

  I pulled the string to request a stop and walked to the front of the car to wait. Daylight or not, I had to get downtown faster than the streetcar was going to take me.

  I nodded at the driver, disembarked, and walked a few blocks from St. Charles Ave before transforming. I felt the usual rush of power surge through my body as my long black wings spanned out behind me. I felt invincible when I was in my Pteron form, and nothing else mattered. If only I could feel that way all the time.

  Someone was going to see me. There was no question about that, but hopefully they’d chalk it up to an angel or alien sighting or something like that. People were more willing to accept those explanations rather than bird shifters. It made my life easier so I didn’t care.

  I flew as high as I could, before descending right before I reached the Crescent City Hotel. I landed in the shadows and retracted my wings before walking through the front door of the upscale French Quarter hotel.

  No one said anything to me as I headed straight for the elevators. After a few moments an elevator arrived, and I walked into the empty car. I inserted my card and moved down toward the basement that wasn’t supposed to exist.

  Once downstairs my night vision kicked in as I wound my way deep into the basement. The general chambers and offices of The Society were top secret, but none were more closely guarded than the prison. Most in the paranormal community didn’t believe it truly existed because no one saw people enter or exit.

  I walked through two retina scanners before turning even deeper into the basement. I pushed open a door and walked down another flight of stairs. It should have been impossible. Building underground in New Orleans was unheard of, but not when you had enchantments.

  I walked through another set of scanners and turned toward the prison entrance.

  “Michelle, where the hell have you been?” Malcom, my boss, stood with his arms crossed over his chest. He blocked the only entrance.

  “I’m on time. I wasn’t supposed to be in until 6:00 tonight.”

  “I texted you.”

  “And I got off the streetcar and flew down as soon as I could.”

  “Not fast enough.” Joseph, my nemesis, smirked from his spot just within the room.

  I clenched my fists at my sides. I couldn’t let him get to me even if I wanted to rip the smirk off his face. He reminded me of the one guy I’d ever loved. I say loved in the past tense. The very past tense. “I’m here now. What can I do?” I looked directly at Malcom.

  He straightened his shoulders, emphasizing his 6’5 height. His frame was one of the reasons he ran the prison. “We’re expecting several high profile prisoners.”

  “High profile?” My heart sped up. Was it Bryant? Had they found him? Even thinking of my ex flooded my body with mixed emotions.

  “Very.” Malcom stepped to the side. “They hit the jack pot today at court. Found a pack of Dires.”

  “Dire Wolves?” My eyes widened. I didn’t waste the opportunity Malcom gave me to enter the prison.

  “Yes. Walked right into the courthouse today.” He crossed his burly arms. “And they’re on their way here right now.

  “Who’s transferring them?” I didn’t know much about Dire Wolves except that they were incredibly strong. They’d only trust the best with such dangerous cargo.

  “Levi is overseeing it himself.”

  “The king?” I coughed. “He’s doing it himself?” Levi was a great king, but he didn’t get his hands dirty anymore unless he had to. I blamed it on his wife. She worried about him too much.

  “Yes. We need to be prepared. There are four coming in, including the Alpha.”

  “Let me get this straight.” I put a hand on my hip. “The Alpha of a pack of Dire Wolves willingly walked into The Society courthouse?”

  “Yes. Turns out one of his boys was picked up. We thought he was a regular Were. He got pissed off and all hell broke loose.”

  “I always miss the fun.”

  “Fun?” He raised an eyebrow. “You’ll have plenty of time to have that here if that’s what gets you off. You’re working overtime.”

  “Overtime?” Great. The evening was getting better and better.

  “What, can’t miss your nail appointment?” Joseph taunted.

  Malcom laughed.

  “Ok. Where do you want me?”

  Malcom smirked. “Don’t you know better than to say that to a man?”

  I worked with a bunch of sexist pricks. “I don’t see any men, so we’re all good.” When you grow up surrounded by cocky guys, you learn how to keep them in their place. I’d slipped up once, with Bryant, but I’d never let that happen again.

  “Shut up, and get ready. There’s a reason these Dires have stayed under the radar for so long. They’re tricky.”

  “Gotcha.” I rolled my eyes.

  “There’s a female. You’re in charge of her.”

  “I can handle the males.” I was tired of always being treated as inferior. I was as strong as the guys were.

  “I don’t care what you think you can handle. You’re on the female.”

  “Whatever.” I was fed up with working for Malcom, but picking a fight wasn’t going to help. He may have liked to pretend he’d be working overtime too, but there wasn’t a chance. He’d be out of there at five o’clock. Levi really needed to put someone new in charge.

  3

  Hunter

  I’d messed up everything. Three members of my pack were in harm’s way because I’d let Mary Anne make me soft. I should have let the kid die. Changing him had been an act of idiocy. Within a few days he’d destroyed everything, and because it seemed to be just my luck, I was sure she was with him. Despite my annoyance and anger at Gage I believed he’d protect her. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, they had a connection, and all I could do was hope that connection meant she’d be safe until I could take care of her myself again.

  We walked through a dark tunnel. I’d heard about the underground tunnels The Society used. They wouldn’t have been possible without magic, but that was the point and the reason my ancestors made them. If something isn’t supposed to exist, no one goes looking for it.

  “Move.” Someone pushed into my back.

  I said nothing. I refused to even give these Society shmucks the time of day.

  “I said to move.”

  I refused to budge, and the guard pushed into my back again. The shove didn’t move me at all.

  “Easy there. No need to treat him that way.” The Pteron king appeared next to me. Aside from the same formal gray suit he’d been wearing in the courtroom, he didn’t look like a king. He appeared young and inexperienced.

  “He’s not moving,” the guard whined.

  “Of course he’s not. He’s got chains around him.”

  “If we take off the chains he’s going to run.”

  “He’s the Alpha. You think he’s going to leave his men and woman behind?”

  I didn’t like the reminder that Marni was with us. I knew she was tough, but she was still female in a paranormal world with many more men. “I’m not moving until you tell me where the others are.”

  The king stepped toward me. “I can assure you they have been transported.”

  “Transported where?”

  “The prison.”

  “On what crime d
o you hold us?” I knew the king didn’t need a reason to hold us, but I wondered what his paltry excuse would be.

  “Crimes against The Society and humans.”

  “On what proof?”

  “We will share that information at a later time.”

  “Why not now?” I gritted my teeth.

  “Because we need to ask you a few questions first.”

  His faked politeness was pissing me off. A few questions? As though that was the type of interrogation I was about to experience. No matter what, it would be worth suffering through if I could protect my pack. “Let the others go.”

  “I assure you, your friends are safe.”

  No they weren’t. Not the ones in his control or the ones out of it. None of us were safe. “Why should I trust you?”

  “What other choice do you have?”

  I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second. I needed to stay in control. “I’ll say it again. Let the others go. You only need me.”

  “Now we both know that’s not true.” His eyes set on mine.

  “Let Marni go.”

  “Marni? That’s the girl?”

  “Yes.” I gritted my teeth. “Let her go.”

  “Sexist leader?”

  “My request has nothing to do with sexism.” I felt the shift coming. I needed to calm down.

  “Then what does it have to do with?” He stood watching me.

  “She’s a woman walking into a male dominated prison. I’d prefer if she wasn’t.”

  “Is she your mate?” He looked at something over his shoulder. I turned, but saw nothing.

  “Why would that matter?”

  “Because I’d understand it. I would never want my mate in that sort of position. She’s been in some bad ones, mostly because of my stupidity.”

  “You’re admitting to getting your mate in trouble?” That came as a surprise. There had to be a reason for his sudden honesty. It was a strategy. Everything with this suit wearing bird shifter had to be about strategy.

  “I’m explaining that we’re not all that different from one another.”

  “Except we are. You are holding innocent men and women prisoner. I would never.” Mary Anne would probably disagree, but she wasn’t there to argue. As much as I wanted her with me, I was glad she wasn’t in The Society’s control. They always pretended to protect humans, but they viewed them as disposable.

  “You cooperate, and you won’t be a prisoner for long.”

  “What does cooperation involve?” Not that I believed he was going to willingly release us.

  “We’ll talk once we get to the prison.”

  “Fine.” I started to walk. The chains around my ankles weren’t a problem. I’d been trying to stall. I needed to know about the rest of the pack.

  “Let’s get back to my earlier question. Is she your mate?” He matched my slow and deliberate pace.

  “No.” The only girl I wanted as my mate was out there somewhere.

  “She’ll be safe.”

  “You can guarantee that?”

  “Yes. I’ve requested that she be watched by our top female guard.”

  “You have female guards?” That came as a surprise. There weren’t many female Pterons, let alone any that would be working at a prison.

  “Again with the male chauvinism.”

  “The Society has always been the sexist organization.”

  “Not true.”

  “Has a female ever ruled?” My question was rhetorical. I knew about every Pteron ruler there had ever been. As a descendent of the last Dire king it was my job to know.

  “There’s never been a girl born the eldest in the royal family.”

  “And if there was?” I didn’t care about his answer, but I wanted to unsettle him. He might have been trying to sound better than me, but he wasn’t. He was only in charge because of a mistake my people made centuries before.

  “She’d be the ruler.”

  “If you had a daughter you’d allow her to take the throne?” Asking personal questions might get me in trouble, but it seemed worth the risk.

  “Yes.” He didn’t hesitate. “But that shouldn’t matter to you. Your female will be safe, as will your men.”

  “What if they don’t give you the answers you want?”

  “I suggest you advise them to cooperate with us.”

  “Cooperate? I think you lost that opportunity when you took us by force.”

  “You willingly walked into our courthouse.”

  “Because one of my pack was on trial.”

  “And he lost control. That was a crime worthy enough on its own to give me grounds to hold you prisoner.”

  “I know you hate my kind, but we don’t want any trouble.”

  “Then why are you in New Orleans?” He stopped and looked me in the eye. All semblance of friendliness disappeared from his voice. I liked it better that way. I already knew the friendly act was fake.

  “I thought you weren’t asking questions yet.”

  “I will if you’re giving answers.”

  “I won’t answer that.” How could I answer? How could I explain we were running from witches Gage had attacked? Witches I’d allowed to hurt the human population. That crime in itself would put my whole pack in worse trouble than they were already in.

  “Why the change of heart? Did I strike a chord? Stir a reminder of how right I am about you?”

  “No, but if you’re withholding what you know, so am I.”

  The king stopped again. “What you’re forgetting is that I’m the one in charge here. The same rules don’t apply to me as apply to you.” He nodded at the guard. “Take him in now.” He disappeared back the way we came.

  “You heard the king, let’s go.” The guard glowered.

  “I also heard the king put you in your place.” I couldn’t resist the small rib.

  “Shut up.” The guard pushed me roughly.

  That was it. That was all I could take. I felt my body starting to change, my wolf form taking over, but I pushed it back, only relaxing my mind when I felt my human side fully take over again.

  “Weres can’t do that.” The guard stared at me with his mouth hanging open. “They can’t stop mid-shift.”

  “I’m not a Were.” I started walking again. The sooner we reached the prison, the sooner I could find the others and plan our escape. I refused to stay a captive a second longer than necessary. If I wasn’t determined before, I was completely determined now. The hunt had to end. The Pterons had kept us in hiding for long enough. Our day had come.

  4

  Gage

  We’d been driving all day, but I didn’t mind. I’d never take anything for granted again, including time spent with Mary Anne. I tried to stay positive for her sake, but I had no idea what was going to happen to me. I had to keep her safe. I didn’t believe Hunter would leave her alone until the hunt was over, and he realized he didn’t need her. Preferably I would get to live as a result, but if I didn’t? I couldn’t go there.

  I ate my burgers and felt better. I needed to keep meat in my system. Mary Anne had been right about that. I was starting to feel more animal than man, and that terrified me, but it also gave me confidence. Being a Dire came with strength. I could use that strength to protect Mary Anne.

  It was already well after nine when we found a campsite to stop for the night somewhere in Alabama. We decided to heed Denny’s warning and stay away from hotels.

  We set up the tent Denny had packed for us, and Mary Anne surprised me by knowing what to do. I’d never taken her as a girl who went camping, but there was a lot I didn’t know about her. I planned to make up for that lack of knowledge as soon as possible. First I had to get us through this mess alive.

  A few drops of rain fell as I unzipped the tent. Luckily we had a rain fly.

  “First snow and now rain, can we catch a break?” Mary Anne stepped inside the tent.

  “It’s not cold enough to use the body heat excuse, is it?” I teased. The thought of her nak
ed body in my arms set off all too many reactions. I was teasing myself as much as I was teasing her.

  “Not quite.” She laid out our sleeping bags. “But we could zip them together, you know to save space.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Save space? That excuse doesn’t really work.”

  “Does that matter?” She kneeled down on the floor and started to unroll the sleeping bags.

  “Not at all.”

  “I didn’t think so.” She unzipped her bag and zipped it together with mine. “I’m wearing clothes tonight.”

  “I know.” It’s not that I wanted her dressed. I wanted the opposite, but I understood that she didn’t need sex, she needed me. Right now we were focused on ending the hunt, but afterward we would focus on us. That would be a whole lot easier if she believed I wanted her for more than her body.

  To make sure she believed me I slipped into the sleeping bag completely clothed, and she did the same. I turned off our lantern, sending us into darkness. I had an unfair advantage because I could see in the dark. She snuggled up closer to me as I ran my hands down her back trying to reassure her.

  “Think we’re safe here?” She rested her head on my chest.

  “Safer than anywhere else.”

  “Which doesn’t say much.”

  “You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” I pulled her tighter against me.

  “I’m worried about you too.”

  “Then plan on protecting me.” I smiled, trying to lighten the conversation.

  “You think I can protect you?” Her eyes widened in surprise.

  “Yes.” I rubbed her back. “I know you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.” Considering all we’d been through, she had held it together remarkably well.

  “Thanks.” She smiled.

  “I’m only speaking the truth.”

  “It’s the good kind of truth.”

  “I’d have thought you were the kind of person who thought all truth was good.” I played with a strand of her hair. I was finally used to her with black hair. She looked gorgeous no matter what color it was.