Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

Kael

I found a secluded spot deep in the woods to pull off the main road, far from the main camping area. The last thing I wanted was to be disturbed, plus I preferred the quiet of the wilderness anyway. I'd been living among humans long enough to know the difference between those who were dangerous and those who were not. The people who frequented this place were the type found near the lake, dipping their toes in the water or telling stories around a campfire.

Still. It made me nervous to be surrounded. People always had questions when they saw me, especially kids. They got one look at my rolled up left sleeve and couldn't help but point. Ask if I got in an accident or something and then give me a pitying look.

The truth was, I'd never known life with two fully functioning arms. I was perfectly capable with one and a half. I was always tempted to show them, but I doubted that dropping their dad to the ground in a headlock would make the right first impression.

I made them just as nervous as they made me. I'd learned young that it was better to keep to myself.

This section of the forest was lush and green, the opposite of where I'd been over the last year. The air was fresh, and I took a deep breath as my hiking boots crunched against the forest floor. This was a place I could almost feel at peace.

When I reached a break in the trees, I stopped and sighed, rolling my shoulders to relieve the tension of carrying my pack. I needed to stay sharp, but I had to rest. I could go for several days before my body started to break down, but that was if I was only traveling. As Nathan Black had already proved with this assignment, I needed to be ready for anything.

I dropped my pack from my shoulders and laid it out on the ground, then popped up my backpacking tent and unfurled my sleeping mat. Once everything was in place, I sat on the soft earth and leaned back against a tree trunk, closing my eyes for a moment. The coolness of the bark seeped through my shirt, grounding me.

It was strange being in pack territory again. I'd spent so long avoiding it, the scents put me off balance. I gave my wolf plenty of time to run free, but he was used to being alone. Flying solo. It was understandable that he was conflicted about this change in setting.

Flashes of anger, grief, and confusion had been hitting me all week. Ever since the Alliance had sent me into Black Lake. I was young enough that I didn't remember the details of what had happened the night my mother left me in the woods, but my wolf did. He remembered everything.

I, on the other hand, considered it a favor. I learned how to survive a hell of a lot faster than I would've had I been coddled in a pack. I had always been able to mask my scent, but it was a skill I had honed out of necessity. When I was young, I learned to hide in the undergrowth. I learned to move silently, to blend into the shadows. I convinced myself it was only a game I was playing, not life and death.

I let out a long breath. Ironic that now I dealt in life and death for living.

I was perfect for it. I had no ties, no lingering attachments to my past. I'd lost track of my mother years prior, and I had no siblings I knew about. No mate. Wolves like Nathan Black proved that it took a special kind of bastard to handle the dagger. He cared too much. About himself, about power, and apparently about a she-wolf that must have given damn good tail to inspire that kind of vengeance.

The Alliance needed someone with a cold, dead heart, and they'd found it in me. Not as cold as I would've liked since I was only doing this for Destin. There were very few wolves I'd be willing to kill for, but he was one of them.

I pushed up from the ground and pulled two sticks of beef jerky, an apple, and three pieces of bread from my pack. Dinner of champions.

It wouldn't be long before I was back on a plane to Europe or Africa, or wherever the next contract took me. There was a neverending wait list, and I'd lived on every continent, learning the languages and cultures.

All I needed to do was complete the task Nathan had been given. I'd been hired the second that asshole started to go rogue, and if the Black Lake alpha wouldn't have ripped out his throat, I sure as hell would've.

I'd been given the instructions as Nathan had. Five shifters, one from every pack in the province. The blood had to be spilled on the dagger, and then the Alliance could take the next step. I didn't know what that was specifically, but I knew what they were after. Control. Power. The dagger would consolidate their control in British Columbia. The packs would be forced under their rule.

It would've been a simple task had the asshat Nathan Black not used the dagger to get his jollies. None of the alphas fully understood the magic held in the relic, but they knew that once it tasted blood, it needed all of it. Needed to take the life of the owner. I didn't want to know how they figured that out.

But the second I'd tried to drive east, the dagger had flared to life, hitting me with a pull so strong I nearly swerved off the road.

Now my task wasn't so cut and dry. I was taking orders from a damn piece of metal.

I finished my meal and shoved my trash into the plastic bag in my pack, then pulled out my sidearm, checking the chamber and magazine. I loaded an extra mag into my belt pouch and threw my bag onto the back seat of my truck.

One more leg tomorrow, one more night in the woods, and then I'd be back to where I started three weeks ago. It wasn't a surprise that the dagger was leading me straight back to Kitimat and Black Lake territory. The only piece left to put in place was where the dagger would lead me once I got there.