Bonded (35 page)

“I don’t know,
Reno...”

“Quit worrying
like a female with a batch of pups to protect. I’ll be fine.”

Damien was quiet
for a moment then sighed. “Okay, but check in with me when you get
back.”

“Yes, mother. I’ll
call you in the morning.” Reno hung up chuckling. Usually he was
the one doing the worrying, hoping members of his team would make
it out of each encounter unscathed, not that he ever let anyone
know, of course. It was a strange feeling to be on the receiving
end of concern for a change.

He tucked his
phone back in his pocket and eased himself off the bed. The various
bruises and abrasions didn’t hurt nearly as much as they had a
while ago. Gotta love the Lycan metabolism, he thought to
himself.

Pulling open his
duffle bag, he dug through the contents until he found the sample
of the chemical mask he’d been helping to test. It was still
considered top secret, but as one of the senior Enforcers, he’d
been brought in to assess its usefulness.

Nothing like
on-the-job testing, he thought to himself as he opened the box
containing the small vial. A last minute whim had caused him to
throw it in his bag; now he was happy that he had.

Tentatively, he
sniffed the cap and made a face. It was sort of flowery and
reminded him of women’s perfume. He eyed the container. Damn, it
even looked like perfume with some sort of squishy little ball—an
atomizer—he’d have to compress in order to apply the concoction.
Was this some sort of joke? He growled thinking he’d have a word or
two for Muriel, the lab tech, when he got back!

Grimacing, he
began to spritz the chemical all over himself, thankful none of his
men were here to see him applying ‘perfume.’ That was the sort of
the thing that took ages to either live down or beat out of the
other Enforcers’ memories.

When he was done,
he put the remaining chemical back in the box and tucked it into
his pants’ pocket just in case it wore off. The lab tests had only
been for two hours and within the confines of Lycan Link it had
worked well. As one of the best trackers on staff, he’d been called
in to find the test subjects and, much to his frustration, had been
unable to detect them anywhere. He hoped it would work in the field
as well as it did under those controlled conditions.

Shutting off all
the lights in the room, he checked his watch. A little after
midnight; the perfect time for an evening stroll. Easing the door
open he glanced around. All appeared quiet. There were no lights
from the diner or the house in back and all the other motel units
were dark.

Slipping out of
the room, he made his way to the shadows and transformed. In a town
full of Lycans, shifting in public wasn’t an issue but just in case
a human was in the area, he wasn’t taking any chances. Better to be
safe...

Pleased to be
released, his wolf stretched itself out, back first and then front.
After giving its fur a shake, it looked around with interest,
taking in the area, testing the air for scents. Once satisfied, it
amiably sunk to the back of his consciousness and Reno took
command.

The world looked
different as a wolf—not that he often thought about it—the lower
angle, the shades of grey versus full colour; it gave a new
perspective to one’s surroundings, sometimes revealing what might
have gone unnoticed otherwise. A wolf also moved with greater
stealth and was able to get into places a man might not be able
to.

With this in mind,
Reno set off to explore the town. Even though he wanted to check in
on Brandi first, he had a duty to any half-weres that might be in
the pack and needed to confirm their status. Prowling up and down
the streets, he scented the air carefully, checking the gender,
age, and rank of the various wolves in each house through their
unique odours. As an Enforcer he’d developed an especially keen
ability when it came to profiling other Lycans.

It took almost two
hours and when he was done he came to the conclusion that there
were no adult half-weres left in Kolding’s Pass though several
young halves were definitely present. They were females, mid to
late teens and lived in a few of the larger homes with several more
mature full-blooded weres. That begged the question, where was the
human parent?

Heading back to
the centre of town, his suspicions were now on high alert. Odds
were increasing that Brandi had put on a show for him; that her
first message about the Purists had been true and she was somehow
being blackmailed into staying in Kolding’s Pass.

As he neared the
town hall, he slowed down and proceeded with extra caution. Would
there be guards in place or were they arrogant enough to assume
he’d stay away? Sliding under a bush, he lay low and studied the
building. There was no light showing through the windows and no
movement anywhere outside that he could see. Just to be on the safe
side, he zigzagged his way to his destination, clinging to the
shadows as much as possible.

A faint breeze
ruffled his fur and his memory and he suddenly came up short. Damn,
he’d forgotten about the chemical mask. Was it still working? He
sniffed himself and still detected a faint flowery scent but was it
enough? He debated about changing forms to apply more—there were
probably two or three applications left—or should he save it in
case it was needed later, perhaps to smuggle Brandi and the
half-weres out of town?

With no one about,
he decided to take a chance and covered the final distance to the
town hall as quickly as possible. Even in wolf form, he could tell
the building was securely locked, however... He headed for the
cellar hatch he’d noticed earlier in the day. Hidden by overgrown
bushes, the paint was flaking from its surface and bits of moss
were growing around the edges confirming his hopes that it hadn’t
been used in some time.

Shifting forms, he
studied the latch. It was new, but whoever had put it on had
neglected to check the surface it was being attached to. With a
little snort at the idiocy of some people, Reno managed to pull the
lock, screws and all, from the rotting wood and eased the door
open.

Surprisingly, it
made relatively little noise. Still, he glanced about carefully.
The town remained quiet so he peered into the darkness below.
Unable to see the bottom, he hesitated to drop down, the young
girl’s warnings about abandoned mine shafts playing through his
head. The chances of there being one under the town hall were nil
but just in case... Reno snatched up a pebble and then dropped it
inside. With relief, he immediately heard the light clattering
sound of it striking the ground. Okay, it wasn’t a bottomless pit
after all.

Chuckling at his
flight of fancy, he eased himself down, wrinkling his nose at the
scent that reached him. The air was heavy; earth, mustiness and
coal almost overpowering any other scents that might be present.
Closing his eyes he concentrated even harder and finally discerned
the faintest trace of Brandi and several humans.

While he hated to
do it, he reached up and closed the hatch, since it wouldn’t do for
someone to wander by and see it open. Unfortunately, the move
blocked out the meagre light provided by the moon and the few
visible stars. He found himself plunged into darkness.

Even with his
Lycan vision it was almost impossible to see and he moved ahead
slowly, peering through the blackness, cautious lest he bump into
something and make a noise. Mindful of his own inches and unsure of
the height of the ceiling, he walked at a bit of a stoop. Knocking
himself out on an unseen low beam wouldn’t help anyone!

It was unnerving
being surrounded by so much black. He could hear his heartbeat
pounding in his ears and the darkness pressed against his eyeballs.
Inexplicably, the air seemed to thicken and he inhaled heavily,
trying to draw oxygen into his lungs. In fact, the cellar was
becoming increasingly oppressive.

Reno froze in
place, his breathing fast and shallow, his legs unwilling to obey
his command to move. Damn, he never would’ve thought he was
bothered by dark, enclosed spaces. Of course, come to think of it,
he’d never been in one before. He took a deep breath and swallowed
hard. Enforcers had no fear and he was
not
afraid of being
in a dark hole in the ground. It was just a...a blip; not really a
panic attack at all. Fisting his hands, he stood straight, lifting
his chin to boldly face down the dark...and promptly bashed his
head into a beam.

“Shit!” The hissed
explitive escaped his lips and he clutched his aching skull, the
pain effectively replacing his fear. Thankfully, the stickiness of
blood was absent as he probed the throbbing area.

Okay, now he was
just friggin’ mad! Gritting his jaw, he glared into the dark and
forged ahead. Damned if he’d let it get the best of him! He
grumbled under his breath that the cellar had better have some form
of access to the building above. If he was down there for
nothing...

Ah-ha! The
faintest hint of illumination broke the darkness, really no more
than a patch of grey in the blackness but at that moment it was as
good as a frosty beer at the end of a long day in the saddle. He
inched his way forward and soon found himself standing under an old
fashioned metal grate.

Looking up, he
smiled triumphantly, the anxiety created by the total darkness
easing. The opening was about 2 feet square and seemed to be
located under a piece of furniture. It would be a tight fit but he
might be able to squeeze through. Congratulating himself on his
find, he was just about to reach up and try to loosen it when he
heard voices from above.

Swearing under his
breath, he let his hands drop to his side and cocked his head
listening intently.

A male voice, low
and calm, was talking. Reno sniffed the air and through the myriad
of other scents detected that it was a human, middle-aged and
logically the missing parent of at least some of the half-weres
he’d found earlier. The poor bugger was probably being held
prisoner along with Brandi.

“Klaus will be
here tonight. I’ll tell him what’s happening and he’ll find a way
to get you out of this.”

Klaus? Reno
frowned. That was the name of the former Alpha wasn’t it? He
strained to hear more.

Someone else was
speaking now. The voice was female and though it came from farther
away, he knew it was Brandi. His wolf rumbled its approval at her
proximity.

If the human male
and Brandi were talking freely, the coast must be clear, Reno
reasoned. He opened his mouth to call out when a scraping sound to
his left had him changing his mind yet again. Someone was entering
the cellar, but from where? The noise wasn’t originating from the
direction he’d come from. Silently, he stepped back, melting into
the darkness and crouched down close to the ground.

Something heavy
was being pushed aside, and then a waft of cool moist air swept
into the space. Reno frowned. An underground tunnel, perhaps?

The sound of
footsteps came closer. Reno inhaled slowly and deeply, trying to
analyze who was approaching. It was a male, older, but still
dominant.

Sure footed, the
newcomer traversed the dark space with no hesitancy. Each step
matched the other in rhythm and stride until—

“Who’s there?” The
newcomer called out, his voice echoing through the cellar, low and
laced with suspicion.

Damn! Reno
compressed his lips. Obviously he’d pressed his luck too far and
the chemical mask had worn off. There was no other way he could
have been detected in this stygian darkness.

Knowing there was
no point in hiding now, he stood as straight as he dared, mindful
of the low ceiling, and decided to brazen it out with a laid back
drawl. “I reckon I was here first so why don’t you tell me who you
are?” The bluff was bold but worth a try, he reasoned.

There was a pause
followed by a huff of laughter. “You’ve got guts, I’ll say that for
you. But I know this space like the back of my hand. In a fight,
the advantage would be mine.”

“True.” Reno
conceded. “Or we could side step all that with a hospitable
exchange of names.”

The man grunted.
“Well, you’re not from the pack. And you’re not one of Victor’s
cronies or you wouldn’t be skulking around down here, so I suppose
there’s no harm. I’m Klaus.”

“Reno.”

Both men stepped
forward slightly and the dim light from the vent allowed a shadowy
glimpse of each other. Reno noted the man stood tall and confident,
an air of command still cloaking him despite his greying hair and
less than pristine appearance. There was no doubt that this was the
missing former Alpha.

“So, Reno, why are
you lurking in my cellar?”

“Your cellar?”
Reno quirked an eyebrow, not ready to give away too much
information. “Not Victor’s?”

“Mine. That
bastard might have infiltrated my pack and twisted their thinking
until they don’t know up from down or right from wrong, but he
hasn’t ferreted out every secret of Kolding’s Pass. This cellar and
the tunnels beyond are mine. Now, I’ve answered your question, you
answer mine. Why are you here?”

“I’m looking for a
friend.”

“Ah! And that
would be the lovely lady upstairs, Brandi, correct?”

Reno nodded
slowly. If the man thought Victor was a bastard, he couldn’t be all
bad!

“Good. If you’re a
friend of hers, then you’ll be on our side.”

“
Our
side?”

“Yep. Victor
thought he’d disposed of me but I’m tougher than he thinks. He
caught me off guard, knocked me down a mining shaft, and sealed the
entrance. Then he came back into town claiming he’d issued a
challenge, won and I’d run off. When no one could find me, most
assumed he’d told the truth. But I got out, stayed hidden until I
recovered, and for the past few months I’ve been slowly rallying
the members that are still loyal to me.”