Chapter 1

Chapter

One

C olt’s back was rigid and not from the crisp December Minnesota air. It had more to do with the jittery wolf next to him, who kept shuffling from one booted foot to the other.

“Can you stand still?” he growled.

“Sorry, but you know full well we need a healer,” Dylan stated, as if Colt was clueless to what his pack required. The doctor gave Colt a quick glance, then dropped his gaze to the ground.

The doc was right—they needed a healer because all of Dylan’s efforts to heal Vilkas had failed, and the shifter was lying in their clinic, edging closer to death every day. It made the fur on Colt’s wolf bristle. They both sensed an unsettling presence. Something dark looming over the pack’s head.

“I have no issues with a healer. I take exception that they are sending me a child.”

“Ariana is not a child; she is a grown guardian.”

“True, but we are her first assignment. I’d rather have her father Marcus or even her mother Cassie. Instead, I get the kid. What kind of message is the king trying to send me? Is my pack not worthy of the best?”

Dylan snorted. “You read too much into this.”

“I still don’t like it. Something ominous is in the air, and I don’t need a baby in the middle of it I have to watch over.”

He had tried to keep this close to his chest, but Vilkas was now the second pack member to encounter a mystifying knife wound, except Mikel had not survived. He’d succumbed to his injuries almost immediately. When Vilkas had been dragged home, Colt had approached the vampire king to request a healer. Until he understood what he was dealing with, he was confining everyone to the compound. He was pack leader, and his people were his responsibility. He’d be damned if he lost someone else.

The tingle started at his wrists, then moved up his arms, causing the hair to stand. That was how he knew she was on her way. The burst of power and magic arrived right before she stepped into the clearing several feet in front of them. That was one thing he envied about the guardians—they could flash to any spot they desired. He had to take normal modes of transport unless he shifted to his wolf; then he could run pretty damn fast.

“She’s here,” Dylan stated.

“I have eyes.” And they were currently glued to the tall female making her way toward them. The sway of her hips in those dark jeans made his wolf rub against his skin. When she reached them, her smile revealed perfect white teeth, and her eyes were the most unique he had ever seen. Green with swirls of silver. Ariana was most definitely the daughter of Marcus and Cassie, as she bore traits from both her parents.

“Hello, I am Ariana.” She faced him. “And you must be Colt, the alpha here.” She stuck out her hand, and his wolf leapt at the chance to touch her.

Down, boy. Jesus! “Yeah, I’m Colt.” He took her hand and found her skin soft and warm. His nostrils flared, inhaling her scent, and his wolf licked his lips. She smelled like warm brown sugar with a hint of orange zest. His wolf whined.

Settle your ass down. What the fuck? he scolded, and his wolf responded by growling at him. Testy prick. He needed to shift and take a midnight run. Soon, boy. Soon.

“Hi, I’m Dylan, the pack’s doctor.” Dylan had shoved out his hand and forced Ariana’s smile at himself.

“Nice to meet you. Will you be showing me to the patient? I’d like to get started right away.”

“Yes, of course. We have a truck.” Dylan started in the direction they had parked, and Colt took up the space to her right as they walked. She was tall, but he would still have to lean down to kiss her.

What the fuck? He needed to get her gone before the next full moon when the pack would all shift together and run these woods like nature intended. Things heated up during the run, and sex was always on the table. Last thing he wanted was a run-in with this guardian’s father because Colt took advantage of Ariana.

“I understand your pack mate was stabbed and is not healing?” She pulled him from his thoughts of running wild.

“Correct.” They reached the truck where Dylan had already opened the passenger door for her and waited for her to climb in.

“I’ll take the back seat,” Dylan offered.

“Thank you.”

There was no way Colt could miss her denim-encased ass as she stepped onto the running board and climbed into the seat. He scrubbed his face. It had been a while since he’d gotten laid. Perhaps he needed to take a break and find himself a willing female. There was no lack of women—shifter or not—that wanted to warm his bed. Clearing his mind once again, he walked to the driver’s side and climbed in.

“The clinic is about ten miles from here.” He started the truck and drove down the snow-covered dirt road.

“Did anyone recover the knife that was used to stab him?”

“No. The guy picked a fight with Vilkas, then stabbed him. Doc here has tried everything he knows, and he’s simply not healing. In fact, his condition is deteriorating,” Colt added. “The only thing I can think of is that the blade was coated with something that’s preventing him from healing.”

“That would seem like the obvious answer, but I wouldn’t rule out magic either. Hopefully, once I connect with him, I will get a better idea of what’s going on.”

“I hope so too,” Dylan said from the backseat. “In all my years of caring for the pack, I’ve never come across anything like this.”

Despite her efforts, Ariana couldn’t ignore the larger-than-life wolf beside her. While she was no stranger to shifters, this man was all alpha. Pure male sex walking, and his gaze took in everything. It wasn’t hard to miss the predator that lived inside him because that blue gaze was the most intense she had ever seen. Her mother had warned her that Colt Tyler was a man who would cause even a mated female to swoon. While she didn’t know about the mated females, she could, in fact, agree with the swooning part and understood why he had women lined up waiting for a chance to lie in his bed. Her lady parts might tingle at the moment, but she would not be standing in any lines. Ariana was very much aware of the reality that he didn’t want her here. Not because she was a female, but he felt she was too young for the job.

She hated she had to prove herself time after time to the other supernaturals. For so many years, everyone had grown used to dealing with her father and the other guardians. There had been no children for centuries, and she had been the first. Many of the elders had watched her grow up, and she was certain that the man sitting next to her, his jaw working overtime, had been one of them.

“Do you know of anyone who might want to target one of your people?”

He gave her a quick glance before returning that intense gaze back to the road and the snow that had started to fall. “No. Why do you ask?”

“Well, it’s highly unlikely that some stranger is going to be carrying a blade that is intended to keep a wolf from healing unless they mean to use it. I just wondered if your pack was a target or if the wolf himself was.”

“You better tell her, Colt, or I will. She needs to know,” Dylan replied from the back seat.

Colt growled, and Ariana hid her grin by looking out the window next to her. This wolf was going to be pissed as hell when he found out that not only had the king instructed her to heal his pack member, but she was also here to investigate who was targeting his wolves.

“I don’t see the need, but about six months back, we had a similar incident.”

She turned to stare at him, waiting for him to finish.

“Didn’t turn out too well. He died instantly, and the pack went into a fit. That’s why I’m trying to keep this low-key. I don’t need a bunch of panicked wolves on my hands.”

“I see. So you intend to continue to allow them into potential danger without so much as a warning?”

He swung his gaze back at her. “My pack is my concern. You’re here to see if you can heal my man and maybe glean any extra information for me to use. That’s it.”

This time, she didn’t bother to hide her grin and said, “Well, I have news for you. I’m staying until this is solved.”

His face contorted into one pissed-off wolf. “Excuse me?”

“I thought my words were quite clear, but I’ll say them again. I am staying until I find who is targeting your pack.”

“Like hell,” he growled.

She jacked up a brow. “Care to take it up with the king?” She licked her lips. “Who I might remind you is also the phoenix god. I have my orders, and I intend to obey them.” There was a snicker from the backseat, letting her know the doctor found all of this humorous. She was pretty sure she had a friend in him, if no one else. Meantime, Colt moved his gaze back to the road, his lip curling into a snarl. This was her first real mission, and what a joy it was going to be spending it with a cranky wolf.

“I will have a guest room made up for you.” If his jaw got any tighter, it might actually snap.

“You mean you never considered I might have to stay more than a day?”

He shot a glance back at her. “If you were as good as your parents? No.”

This time she had to force her temper back into check, or her fangs would descend, and that would just be an embarrassment. It would also prove to him she was too young and had no control. Instead, she ignored him and went back to staring out the window. A few minutes later, they pulled up to a brown wooden building. Its simplicity didn’t scream medical clinic, but she realized as a wolf pack, their buildings would blend in with nature for both security reasons and the fact they tended to be one with their surroundings.

Before she could open the door, Dylan was there with the door open and offering his hand. Once again, she offered him a smile. Ariana liked this wolf, unlike the shifter’s pack leader, who appeared to have an immense boulder on his shoulder.

“Thanks.” She stepped out and was immediately hit by magic. “You have this warded?”

Colt stared at her as if she were an idiot. “Of course. We have measures in place to protect our entire property and prevent people from just walking in here. You’ve never been in wolf territory before?”

“I have, but their magic didn’t slam into me so hard.”

“We added extra protections on the clinic,” Dylan piped up as he led her inside.

“That makes sense.” She followed him through the front and into a small waiting area. Its sage walls and forest green rug over the wooden floor planks created a comfortable atmosphere. There was a sense of calm here, as there should be, to help those waiting for medical attention feel at ease.

From there, they led her down a hallway and finally into a sterile room where she saw a man who appeared to be on death’s door lying with a distraught female by his bedside. There was a shift in the atmosphere. Something dark and ancient clung to the air.

“Millie, this is the healer, Ariana.” It was Dylan who made the introductions.

The female looked up, her brown eyes tired and full of worry. “Can you help him?”

“I will do my best.”