Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

F our Months Ago

Bayden Kirk left the company headquarters where he pretended to work and walked toward his vehicle in the car park. He’d been undercover on this fraud case for a couple of months now and the corporate gig had turned boring quickly. In his actual job as an enforcer for his pack and as an employee of Heimdall Shield security company, he moved regularly, even if there was no major action such as a fight. Sitting behind a desk, pretending to read financial data and writing analytical reports was torture. Especially since he couldn’t read worth of shit. The letters and numbers always jumped around on him. He knew there were methods that helped people with dyslexia read easier, but to use them, he’d have to disclose to the pack that he had problems. And who’d follow orders from an illiterate enforcer?

So far, he’d been able to keep his condition secret, both to his pack and while working on this case. He used text-to-speech applications for emails and texts, but nobody noticed that his headphones were permanently attached to his ears when he sat at his desk. They probably just figured he enjoyed listening to music while he worked. Right now, those headphones were around his neck and that’s why he picked up the quick footsteps approaching from behind, even without using his enhanced shifter hearing. He turned and saw Lloyd Carter jog toward him. The guy sat at a desk behind Bay’s. Lloyd was a stupid name. Why did it need two letters at the beginning when one did the job?

“Hey, I’m glad I caught you.” The guy’s smile looked fake. “You’re heading up to the city, right?” Lloyd leaned against Bay’s car. That was even more irritating than his name.

“Yes,” he said. Lloyd didn’t need to know that Bay was heading to San Francisco to meet with someone who said they had information that could blow the case open. If everything turned out alright, he wouldn’t have to be behind a desk again tomorrow.

“Well, there’s been an accident on the 101 and traffic is backed up for miles. You should take 280 instead.”

Bayden frowned. Why had the guy chased after him to tell him something his navigation system would reveal? “Okay.”

Lloyd stood and held up his arms, palms facing Bay. “Just wanted to let you know since you’re new in town.”

Bay’s undercover persona had moved to the area for the job. “Thanks,” he muttered and opened the driver’s side door, forcing Lloyd out of the way.

“Okay then, nice-guy mission accomplished,” the guy said and walked back toward the company building.

Bay shook his head and got in the car. He shut the door and waited for the navigation system to display. Sitting behind a desk in an office all day sucked, but at least the job came with a brand-new car that had all the latest gadgets. His contact wanted to meet at a coffee shop on 24th Street in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. It shouldn’t take him long to get there from San Bruno. Bay typed in the beginning of the street name and the system automatically completed the entry. And just like Lloyd had said, an accident on the 101 Freeway had caused major delays and the system suggested a route via the 280 Highway instead.

It didn’t take him long to get on the interstate and with three lanes of flowing traffic, he should get to the coffee shop in less than half an hour. The navigation system guided him northbound and after a short while, the route led him off the 280 and onto Highway 1. Bay frowned, that seemed different from what he had mapped out on the computer earlier. But that route had been via the 101, so that might be why. The navigation system map showed the highway as 19th Avenue while it cut through the city. Even with his dyslexia, he could tell that was close to twenty-four, so he must be heading in the correct direction.

Although the Pack House, where most of the wolves of his pack lived, was in Marin, just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, Bay had never learned the layout of the city. He hated the crowded narrow streets and avoided the place as much as he could.

He’d just passed a shopping mall when the car engine started sputtering. The navigation display shorted out and he lost the power steering.

Fuck . Something must be wrong with the electrical system. Just what he needed. The engine stopped completely and Bay wrenched the wheel to coast into a parking lot by a park next to the road. He knew fuck all about cars, but he got out and opened the hood. Looking inside did not reveal what might be wrong to him, so he got his phone out to call a tow truck. He’d have to get a rideshare to take him to his meeting.

“Car trouble?” A cheerful voice called out.

Bay groaned inwardly. Why did people have to ask questions that had obvious answers? No, he always parked with the hood open. Didn’t everyone? He forced the frown off his face as the owner of the voice approached. A guy in his mid-twenties sidled up to him and looked inside the engine.

“Hm,” he said, looking at the engine. The guy wore faded jeans and a clean but worn t-shirt. Something that could be oil stained his fingers, so maybe he knew about cars. “Where are you heading?”

“Twenty-fourth street,” Bay answered. There was no reason to keep the actual address from this stranger.

The guy looked up from under the hood. “Twenty-fourth street or avenue?”

“Street.” What the fuck? Why would anyone name two roads with such similar names?

“Well, you’re a little off course.” The guy laughed. “You’re in Sunset, where the numbered avenues are and they run north and south. The streets are over on the bay side of the city, where they run east and west.

Bay cursed silently. Fucking dyslexia. “With the car not running, I’m kind of screwed whether or not I’m on course.”

“I could probably help you with that.” The guy leaned in over the engine and said something. Bay couldn’t hear him, so he stuck his head under the hood, as well.

Bam.

The hood slammed down on his head, and everything faded to black.

He woke up with a splitting headache and weird voices inside his mind. No, the voice belonged to someone beside him. His hands were bound, but he didn’t want to move to test how strong the ropes were. Instead, Bay opened his eyes just as smidge but remained relaxed, as if still passed out. He sat in the passenger seat of a parked car and darkness surrounded the vehicle. Ocean waves crashed against the shore close by.

“No, the fucker is still passed out.” Bay recognized that voice. What was he doing in Lloyd’s car? “I told you not to slam the hood so hard. If he doesn’t wake up, we’ll never find out who snitched on us.”

Bay’s eyes flew open, and he jerked in the seat.

Lloyd dropped his phone. “Fuck.”

The ropes were easy to break, but it cost Bay precious seconds. Before he could punch Lloyd, the fucker buried a knife in his shoulder and pulled it out again. Blood poured from the wound, but Bay got two good jabs in before he started feeling light-headed. One of them broke Lloyd’s nose and blood gushed down his face. The man screamed out his pain and rage.

Lloyd had turned around so he could kick. Bay tried to grab his feet, but the wound in his shoulder made his arm weak and he still saw double from the earlier head injury. Lloyd’s foot connected with his temple and he almost passed out again.

He needed to get out of the car. His advantage was greater strength, even in human shape, but it worked better when he had room to swing.

Lloyd got two more kicks in before Bay had the door open. One of them connected with his kidney and he hissed in pain. He stumbled out of the car and couldn’t find his footing. He probably had a concussion and the wound in his shoulder wouldn’t stop gushing. As much as he wanted to knock Lloyd on his ass, the job came first. Now that he knew at least one player of the fraud perpetrators, he should cut his losses and make sure he stayed conscious long enough to report back to his alpha and boss.

Bay staggered across the abandoned parking lot away from the ocean sound. Running in the sand slowed him down on a good day. He lurched down a paved path through some greenery and trees. Lloyd’s footsteps grew louder as the other man caught up with him. Fuck .

He couldn’t run worth a shit, but maybe he could fight.

Bay cradled his injured shoulder and leaned over, trying to appear even weaker than he was. It wasn’t hard. He felt like shit.

Luckily, Lloyd hadn’t trained as a fighter. He signaled his moves and Bay easily got him in a headlock. But with one arm not working right, he couldn’t contain both of the other man’s hands and Lloyd managed another blow to Bay’s kidney.

His vision blurred, and he lost his grip on Lloyd. As the other guy pulled back for another punch, Bayden put all his remaining strength into one blow. Luckily, it landed in the spot-on Lloyd’s jaw and he went down. Unfortunately, so did Bay.

He’d have to shift if he wanted to make it out of this alive. Reaching inward, he pulled on the connection to his other half, his inner wolf. The beast growled low in his throat, unhappy with how long Bay had suppressed him. He’d wanted to enter the fight much earlier. But nobody knew that the CEO of Heimdall and his employees were shifters. Most humans didn’t know shifters existed.

This case needed to go to trial, and having the suspects blabber about wolves on the stand could jeopardize more than justice being served.

His wolf finally quit complaining and claimed control over their body. The shift took longer than usual and even in animal form, Bay felt woozy and tired. And still his shoulder bled. He ran until the park ended and a big street stretched out in front of him. It must be late at night because only a few cars rolled down the lanes.

An open-bed truck rumbled down the street. Bay waited until it had just passed him and then jumped into the back. He had no idea where the vehicle was headed, but getting away from where he’d fought Lloyd seemed a good idea. And he’d just lie down for a minute and take a brief nap.

The sun had ridden high in the sky when Bay woke up again. He’d stayed in wolf form and by some stroke of luck had not been discovered, even though the truck was now stationary. Once again, he found himself next to a park. Most people knew about the Golden Gate Park, but San Francisco had a ton of other green areas spread out all over the city.

He lumbered to his feet and shook himself. His throat felt dry. Water was an immediate need. Poking his head above the edges of the truck bed, he looked around but didn’t see anyone. Taking a deep breath, he sampled the scents surrounding him.

He smelled pack.

Some of his wolf brothers were nearby.

Bay’s wolf yipped and jumped off the truck to follow the scent trail carried to him by the wind.