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  Blood lust took me. I gorged myself on the still warm flesh and sweet metallic taste of blood. I was ravenous, insatiable. Never before had my hunger been so great. Snarls and growls erupted behind me. One of the others tried to push me away from the kill, but I bared bloody fangs before turning back to the feast.

  I heard the soft pad of footsteps as my pack leader moved behind me.

  “No, Alena. Let him be. It is his first kill with the pack. You enjoyed the same luxury.” I felt Nikoli’s hot breath right next to my ear as I tore and swallowed as fast as I could.

  “But be very clear, young one. This will be the only time you will ever feed above your station.” He moved his face so that our eyes were almost touching. His lips pulled back in a toothy snarl. The magic he raked across my skin made me gasp with pain.

  “If you ever again attempt to feed before I have had my fill, it will be my great pleasure to sate my hunger with your flesh.”

  Chapter 2

  A SHARP PAIN in my side woke me. “Prosypát’sia, Anton. Ee-dyóht snyeg. Mwee noozh-nah rabótat! Prosypát’sia!”

  Huh? I shook my head to clear my senses and tried to make sense of the words. The smells of burned coffee, burned steel, and fur chased away contented dreams of sweat-soaked skin and the scent of meat. A rush of air warned me before a booted foot found my body for a second kick. I rolled sideways and reached out my hands in a blinding flash. I grabbed the boot, pulled and twisted hard. I was rewarded with a surprised sound and a grunt as my assailant hit the ground. I was on my feet over him before my eyes were fully open.

  It was just past dawn. The moon’s glow had faded to a near memory as the rising sun painted the clouds an angry red that looked warmer than it felt. The lightly blowing snow raised the hairs on my naked skin. Falling flakes melted as they touched me. A part of my brain knew that I should be cold, but the snow swirling around me felt incredibly good. My nostrils flared to the icy wind. I could still smell the deer; still remember the moment when it became mine. The intensity of the memory made me shiver. My assailant started to roll over and spit out snow. He smelled like pack.

  I recognized him slightly from the hunt but we hadn’t been introduced. His scent was birch bark and some sort of moss. I looked around. The bus was gone, and along with it the rest of the pack. They’d apparently left me and this other man alone in the woods, miles from home. Gee, what pals.

  As he rose to a sitting position, he growled and struck out again with a kick. A weak flow of Sazi magic pressed against me. My answering growl came without warning. It was a deep-throated, angry sound. I avoided his blow easily and landed a heel right to his bearded chin. There was a satisfying echo as the back of his head smacked against the frozen ground from the blow. Then I planted my bare foot on his throat and pressed.

  “Stohp!” he shouted as well as he was able with compressed vocal cords. That word I understood. I was fairly sure what he’d been saying before was in Russian, but couldn’t be sure.

  “Who are you?” I asked. I watched the bulk of his body carefully. If he intended to continue fighting the first clues would be visible in his body. And he might fight. Both his eyes and scent were angry. Blood trickled from his nose to disappear into the black hair on his lip.

  He tensed and began to struggle, but I was ready for him. I pressed more weight onto the neck, grabbed the fist he’d raised to hit me between the legs and twisted sharply. Bones and tendons stretched nearly to breaking. After a moment he gave up. His scent changed to a sharp hot and sour soup mingled with mildew. Afraid and amazed. I seem to have that effect on a lot of people.

  “Men-yah zah-voot Yurgi Kroutikhin,” he whispered hoarsely.

  I shook my head in annoyance. “I really hope you speak English, buddy. Otherwise, I’m going to be forced to put you out until I figure out what’s going on.” My muscles tensed. I had to struggle not to end this as my instinct was urging me to. He was pack. Intellectually I knew it would be a bad idea to hurt him. But I wanted to.

  “I am called Yurgi Kroutikhin,” came the heavily accented words in a wheeze.

  “Nice to meet you, Yurgi,” I put a little extra twist on the arm. His gasp of pain, and the resulting scent of Worcestershire sauce pleased me more than I’d like to admit. My voice was harsh as I asked, “Why the hell were you kicking me?”

  He coughed and tried to draw air so I eased up on the foot a fraction. Only a little, though. I didn’t want him to get any ideas.

  “I was trying to wake you, Anton. It began to snow. We must finish work and return before midday.”

  I gritted my teeth. “First, I’m Tony, not Anton. I tolerate Nikoli calling me that because he’s the boss. You don’t get to. Next, the only thing I intend to do before midday is get dressed and get the hell back to town so I can have mind-bending sex with my wife.”

  His eyes grew wide and the ammonia scent of his panic struck me like a blow. “No, no! We must khoronit the deer. It is our duty.”

  “Do what to the deer?”

  His free hand twirled as he tried to find the English word. He snapped his fingers in frustration. “Khoronit. Uh…dig into the earth and…” he moved his hand in an imitation of pushing and patting.

  “Bury?” I asked.

  Relief flooded his face. “Yes! Bury. We two must bury the deer bones and skin. It is the Omega’s duty. I am fortunate that you are also now, Tooney. We will be quick, like rabbits, yes?”

  “Where are my clothes?”

  He pointed with his free hand to a small bundle lying on the pine needles under a tree. “Yurgi, I’m going to let you loose now so I can get dressed. If you make one move toward me I’ll kill you. You understand ‘kill’, right?”

  A clove-pride scent dusted my nose, mingled with the soured milk of disbelief. “I am Sazi. I will heal.”

  I shook my head with a slight smile and cold eyes. “Heart and then head, Yurgi. Kill. I’ve done it before so no tricks.” It had taken me a long time to understand that death comes hard to the Sazi. I hit one in the chest with two barrels of a shotgun, only to have her get up and be waiting at my car. But a bullet or a sharp branch through the heart and another through the head before the first one can heal will put a Sazi down permanently. Permanent is my business, after all. Or was. “No.” I corrected myself silently. My identity may have changed, but I was still the same man: deer or humans; for money or hunger. I am an assassin.

  A flood of memory found Sue at the back of my mind. Shit, that’s right! I had to get back home ASAP. Bobby was waiting for me. I tried to reach my mate in my head, but I had to struggle to get through to her. It was incredibly frustrating. I’ll be home soon, Sue. I knew she heard, but didn’t respond. I was annoyed—mostly with myself, but also with Nikoli. I hadn’t planned on being out all night.

  Yurgi’s breathing had increased as I was lost in thought. His nostrils flared briefly as he scented the air. He gasped with what little oxygen I allowed him. “You do not lie! But no, you would not do this!” he exclaimed. The sour milk scent mingled with ammonia and vinegary disapproval. Nasty combination. “We are pack. Nikoli would never allow you to kill me, even with my lowly station.”

  “We’re all alone out here, Yurgi. Nikoli would never find out. I’m really good at keeping secrets. Now, I’m going to let go. Just stay there until I reach my clothes. Capisce?”

  I released Yurgi and he remained where he was. When I reached my clothes he raised to sit and laughed bitterly. “You are a very foolish shchenók, Tooney.”

  I hurriedly put on my thick black turtleneck and socks. “It’s T-o-ny. And what’s a shchenók?”

  A small smile stretched his beard. “A puppy. A cub. One who is naive. You have much to learn of our pack leader…T-o-ny.”

  “Yeah?” I finished zipping my jeans and slid my feet into sturdy black boots. “Well, maybe I’ll ask him when I see him.” I turned, found my bearings and started walking through the trees toward the road. I turned my head slightly to see Yurgi’s startled face. “
Good luck khoronit-ing the deer.”

  When I reached the road, I listened carefully for any human movement. Fortunately, it was a Sunday morning in miserable weather. The hush was broken only by small animals scurrying under the snow. But I’d fed well last night and wasn’t hungry enough to chase them down.

  I started off at a fast jog. When I was confident there was no one around to see, I increased the speed to Sazi level. I’ve been told that some Sazi can use their magic to create illusions and make the humans see whatever they want them to. Since I have neither the skill or knowledge I’m stuck avoiding people or pretending to be a normal human.

  Normal. It had been a while, but I still remembered being human. So far the only good thing I’d found about being Sazi was my mating to Sue. So, while a part of me knew that I should have stayed to help Yurgi, I chose to go home. Whatever crisis Bobby was dealing with had to be more important than burying deer bones. And the thought of seeing Sue again beat them both.

  Just thinking about seeing Sue again made me willing to risk another burst of speed. She’s been in Boulder for almost two months now attending classes with Dr. Perdue—Betty—the Sazi psychiatrist. It takes a little work to help someone adapt reality to include the fantastic. Let’s face it, werewolves aren’t supposed to exist. I haven’t seen or touched Sue for seven weeks. The thought of her summer forest scent mingled with sweat and desire raced through me. My body tightened with a hunger that had nothing to do with food.

  I caught the pungent fishy scent of Lake Michigan. I made up my mind to avoid the major interstates. There’d be too much traffic and I couldn’t move as fast. I hit 55th Street and headed west toward Canaryville. It’s a great, albeit humorous, name for the area near wolf pack headquarters. Our apartment is in an exclusively Sazi neighborhood right near the old stockyards. The pervasive smell of old death keeps out the average tourists. For those remaining humans who venture too close, a general pallor of unease awaits. Something way down deep in the DNA makes humans recognize predators and stay away from them. It makes it easy for the Sazi to live and work right out in the open.

  Eyes followed my movements as I neared the neighborhood. Residents are openly hostile to visitors. I wasn’t known by sight yet so people stood silently until my scent reached them. Once they knew I was pack they continued with shoveling, jogging, and other morning chores.

  I was nearly home when I was stopped cold in my tracks. An invisible hand had closed around me until I couldn’t move.

  Come home, Anton. The deep voice resonated in my head while pinpricks of power danced over my skin. It tugged at me, trying to pull me toward the honey-sweet sound. I wanted to feel more of the fire, the magic, that coursed through me. But it seemed wrong. I shook my head as I tried to think clearly. I looked up at the decaying brick building and tried to get a fix on what the hell was happening. I scanned the windows looking for…something.

  Outwardly the place looked to be a wreck: heavily barred windows, layers of graffiti that had been carefully commissioned and painted by local gangs. But the gangs don’t come here uninvited. This territory is Nikoli’s. The gang members know they wouldn’t survive a turf war. But again, the visuals keep out the curious. No one outside of the pack will ever see the beautiful, comfortable apartments housed inside.

  My hand trembled as I struggled to force it forward to touch the doorknob.

  Now, Anton!

  Sweat painted my brow. Why couldn’t I reach the latch? My muscles ached with the attempt.

  Tony? Sue’s voice was a small, tentative sound in the back of my mind. Tony, who is tha—OW! A sharp pain that wasn’t mine coursed through my left calf and flooded my body with adrenaline. It sliced through the mental fist holding me. I bolted upstairs.

  “Sue?” I called as I kicked in the front door of the apartment. Bobby Mbutu was kneeling next to Sue. His dark fingers were prying the mouth of a child about six from Sue’s leg as she stood stock-still with gritted teeth. Sue smelled as tired and frustrated as I had ever known. Why hadn’t I noticed it in my head? I should have known!

  Bobby looked up calmly as the door exploded inward.

  “Forget your key, Giambrocco?”

  I didn’t answer right away. I was taking in the scene in front of me. A young girl was playing with Sue’s most treasured possession—a battered plastic doll with red nylon hair and a green dress. A second older girl watched a blaring television. Bobby was using his other hand to hold a dark-haired boy of about eleven by the collar.

  “What in the hell is going on?” I called over the din.

  Sue shrugged her shoulders and then gave a sigh of relief as Bobby finally used his magic to lift her assailant into the air and open his mouth. She reached down to rub her calf. Her hand came away with spittle covering it.

  “Babysitting,” she yelled over the commercial as she limped toward the kitchen to clean her hand and leg.

  Bobby continued to hold the child frozen in the air. He shook his head with annoyance as he watched Sue hobble from the room.

  “Enough!”

  With a tiny motion of his hand, all of the blinds in the living room snapped shut simultaneously. The television turned off and the other three children became living statues in the sudden silence. They slowly turned toward my dark-skinned South African friend with wide eyes. His energy wasn’t the encompassing wave that Nikoli’s had been. This was pinpoint precision.

  It was a scene right out of a B-grade horror movie. The limp forms of children slowly skimmed the carpet in whatever pose they were when the magic hit. Their eyes began to move frantically in fear when they realized that it wasn’t a game. Bobby’s eyes were cold. He stopped the children right in front of him and removed his contact lenses. His pupils became reptilian slits in a red iris. The longer he stared at them, the more anxious they became. It calmed me down a bit. I guess the kid had done something more stupid than I thought. I would have just spanked him. I couldn’t imagine what Bobby might do.

  Sue came out of the kitchen, still favoring that leg. I wanted to reach for her and bury my face in her shoulder-length auburn hair. She used to have honey-blonde curls, but we’d both made a change to match our new identities. It’s odd. I can’t seem to remember my life before I met her, but we’ve only known each other four months.

  I stared at her as though seeing her for the first time. Sue isn’t gorgeous, but she’s pretty. Her heart-shaped face compliments a well-curved body. She’d dropped some weight after a recent coma, when we could only feed her through tubes. I was guessing she was a size twelve now, but I’d thought that when I’d first met her, so I could be wrong. Still, she was looking damn good and I let my eyes reflect the thought. She caught me watching and blushed. I still think it’s cute when she does that.

  I breathed in her scent as she walked toward me. Rain-kissed plants and warm rich earth from a forest in summer mingled with the baked cinnamon smell of love. I would never get enough of her scent. It coursed through me like a drug, nearly shutting out coherent thought.

  “Sue, let me see your leg.” The words cut through the cloud of scent like a knife. Bobby’s voice was the sharp command of a cop. Of course, Bobby is a cop. He’s part of Wolven, the law enforcement branch of the Sazi. Call him double-o python. All agents of the organization have a license to kill. They’re the nastiest of the nasty of each of the Sazi species. It’s their duty to permanently remove from the gene pool any were-animals who break felony human laws or any of the big Sazi laws. Can’t have a shape-shifter locked up in jail during a full moon. The humans would find out we exist. That is the ultimate rule of the Sazi. Keep our existence secret from the humans.

  Sue hesitated for just a second, while we stared at each other lustfully. But at the sound of Bobby’s impatient hiss, she limped over and raised her leg to rest on the cushion next to him.

  “Relax.” He moved his face closer to her leg. “This won’t hurt.”

  “Hey!” I exclaimed as he suddenly licked the wound. He held up a hand i
n a sharp motion to stop me moving forward. I trusted Bobby but it was unnerving to see his tongue darting out and touching each indentation. When he reached the last tiny tooth print, he stuck out his tongue and waved it in the air over the wound. His whole upper body began moving fluidly from side to side like he was in a trance. After a few tense seconds he stopped, opened his eyes and glanced up. He spotted the charm bracelet that Sue always wears and touched it lightly with his fingers. I saw a small wisp of smoke as the silver scorched his skin.

  He gave a satisfied nod. I could’ve sworn I saw a flicker of relief, but it was gone in a fraction of a second. “Sue, Tony, you should both hear this, too.” He gestured in the general direction of a puffy brown leather recliner. I took the seat and Sue perched on the arm beside me. I reached up and slid a gentle finger along her arm. It made her shudder and close her eyes. Her hands balled tightly into fists to fight the need. When the scent of her desire reached my nose, it was all I could do to pull back my hand and return my attention to Bobby.

  Bobby did a fine job of ignoring our little struggle. He kept his gaze locked on the blond biter. “Denis, we need to have a serious talk.” He released the child from the magic and the boy dropped an inch or so to the carpeted floor. Tears were rolling down his terrified face. The air in the apartment was filled with the stench of ammonia eminating from the children. I could feel Sue’s discomfort for the boy. I couldn’t share her sympathy for him. I’d have gotten my teeth knocked out if I bit a stranger when I was that age.

  The longer Bobby made him wait, the more terrified Denis became. He was like a cornered rabbit. His eyes moved rapidly from side to side and his body actually twitched from the tension. Bobby watched the boy with those strange red eyes, his expression utterly neutral. Even his natural scent of sweet musty jungle vines showed no sign of discomfort or anger.