take.
Not where Mackenzie Grant was concerned.
Parking his butt on the bed in his assigned living quarters, Kalen pulled on his shitkickers, lacing them snugly. Straightening,
he pushed up and strode into the living room, snatching his battered leather duster off one of the recliners. Rain or shine, he
never went anywhere without it. Capping off the rest of his Goth appearance, the long coat sent just the right do not fuck with
me message that any potential enemy would be wise to heed.
Most humans simply thought he was a freak, and all but the dumbest gave him a wide berth.
Those who weren’t human didn’t need but a few minutes at most to figure out what they were dealing with—a
Sorcerer/Necromancer whose animal was a black panther, and whose power far exceeded the level most of them had seen in a
man of twenty-three.
Kalen wasn’t arrogant about his power, though, not even close. He’d been treated like a fuckin’ weirdo his entire life, even
by his own parents. He almost wished he could give it up, could be normal , but his power was all he had on this earth, and he
was forced to rely on it to survive.
Sort of a vicious cycle, when you thought about it.
Shrugging into the coat, he headed out the door and down the hallway, intent on finding his new boss, Nick Westfall. Alpha
Pack’s leader, who was a wolf shifter and PreCog, seemed like a decent enough guy—he’d given Kalen a shot at joining the
team, after all—and Kalen hoped to borrow the keys to one of the SUVs. Lost in thought, he rounded the corner and almost barreled into Jaxon Law.
“Oh, hey!” Kalen stepped back, giving the tall, goateed brute an apologetic smile. Even he’d think twice before messing with the big bastard, or any of the Pack, for that matter. Would be kinda tough to use his magic with his throat ripped out by a
bunch of badass wolf shifters. “Sorry about that, guess I was in too big a hurry.”
“No problem. Where’s the fire?” One corner of Jax’s mouth lifted as though he knew the answer. Which the shifter
shouldn’t, being a RetroCog—someone who could “see” events of the past by holding an object to get a reading.
He shrugged, faking nonchalance. “Just going out for a while. Wanna go grab a beer in town?”
The man thought about it briefly, then shook his head. “Nah, I’d better hang around. Thanks for asking, though.”
“Already got the mating blues?”
“You know it. I promised Kira we’d have dinner and a movie in our quarters tonight, just the two of us. Women, you
know?”
Kalen didn’t buy his put-upon sigh for a second. “Yeah. I’m sure it’s such a hardship, spending the evening alone with your
hot little blonde. Anytime you want a break from that, I’ll be glad to step in—”
“Dream on,” his friend growled, only half-joking. “I’d hate to disembowel the Pack’s newest member.”
He grinned. “Ah, well. You can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“Sure I can.”
Laughing, Kalen clapped a hand on Jax’s shoulder, completely surprising himself. It wasn’t often he initiated any kind of a
touch, and that said a lot about how much he was starting to trust these guys. “You’ve got it bad, big guy. Me, I’m gonna go grab
that beer.”
“Sorry,” the shifter said sincerely. “I get a little nuts over Kira.”
“Ya think?” He winked. “Forget it. If I had a woman, I’d be the same way. Say, you wouldn’t happen to have the keys to one
of the SUVs on you? It’s a long walk otherwise.” Everyone knew he didn’t own a vehicle of any kind. Hell, he’d had nothing
but his backpack the day the Pack had found him in one of the local cemeteries, raising a corpse while investigating a series of
murders.
“Oh, sure.” Digging in his front jeans pocket, he brought out a ring and tossed it to Kalen. “Where exactly are you going?”
He caught and palmed the ring, considering his answer. In the end, he settled for a half-truth. “The Grizzly.
Not where Mackenzie Grant was concerned.
Parking his butt on the bed in his assigned living quarters, Kalen pulled on his shitkickers, lacing them snugly. Straightening,
he pushed up and strode into the living room, snatching his battered leather duster off one of the recliners. Rain or shine, he
never went anywhere without it. Capping off the rest of his Goth appearance, the long coat sent just the right do not fuck with
me message that any potential enemy would be wise to heed.
Most humans simply thought he was a freak, and all but the dumbest gave him a wide berth.
Those who weren’t human didn’t need but a few minutes at most to figure out what they were dealing with—a
Sorcerer/Necromancer whose animal was a black panther, and whose power far exceeded the level most of them had seen in a
man of twenty-three.
Kalen wasn’t arrogant about his power, though, not even close. He’d been treated like a fuckin’ weirdo his entire life, even
by his own parents. He almost wished he could give it up, could be normal , but his power was all he had on this earth, and he
was forced to rely on it to survive.
Sort of a vicious cycle, when you thought about it.
Shrugging into the coat, he headed out the door and down the hallway, intent on finding his new boss, Nick Westfall. Alpha
Pack’s leader, who was a wolf shifter and PreCog, seemed like a decent enough guy—he’d given Kalen a shot at joining the
team, after all—and Kalen hoped to borrow the keys to one of the SUVs. Lost in thought, he rounded the corner and almost barreled into Jaxon Law.
“Oh, hey!” Kalen stepped back, giving the tall, goateed brute an apologetic smile. Even he’d think twice before messing with the big bastard, or any of the Pack, for that matter. Would be kinda tough to use his magic with his throat ripped out by a
bunch of badass wolf shifters. “Sorry about that, guess I was in too big a hurry.”
“No problem. Where’s the fire?” One corner of Jax’s mouth lifted as though he knew the answer. Which the shifter
shouldn’t, being a RetroCog—someone who could “see” events of the past by holding an object to get a reading.
He shrugged, faking nonchalance. “Just going out for a while. Wanna go grab a beer in town?”
The man thought about it briefly, then shook his head. “Nah, I’d better hang around. Thanks for asking, though.”
“Already got the mating blues?”
“You know it. I promised Kira we’d have dinner and a movie in our quarters tonight, just the two of us. Women, you
know?”
Kalen didn’t buy his put-upon sigh for a second. “Yeah. I’m sure it’s such a hardship, spending the evening alone with your
hot little blonde. Anytime you want a break from that, I’ll be glad to step in—”
“Dream on,” his friend growled, only half-joking. “I’d hate to disembowel the Pack’s newest member.”
He grinned. “Ah, well. You can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“Sure I can.”
Laughing, Kalen clapped a hand on Jax’s shoulder, completely surprising himself. It wasn’t often he initiated any kind of a
touch, and that said a lot about how much he was starting to trust these guys. “You’ve got it bad, big guy. Me, I’m gonna go grab
that beer.”
“Sorry,” the shifter said sincerely. “I get a little nuts over Kira.”
“Ya think?” He winked. “Forget it. If I had a woman, I’d be the same way. Say, you wouldn’t happen to have the keys to one
of the SUVs on you? It’s a long walk otherwise.” Everyone knew he didn’t own a vehicle of any kind. Hell, he’d had nothing
but his backpack the day the Pack had found him in one of the local cemeteries, raising a corpse while investigating a series of
murders.
“Oh, sure.” Digging in his front jeans pocket, he brought out a ring and tossed it to Kalen. “Where exactly are you going?”
He caught and palmed the ring, considering his answer. In the end, he settled for a half-truth. “The Grizzly.
Similar Books
