Page 6 of Corbin (Wild Wolf Pack from the world of Gallize Shifters #2)

Eirene stepped carefully over used syringes and a mix of nasty trash on the second floor, holding her breath against a stench that would send a human running out to barf. Being a wolf shifter meant having a sense of smell fifty times stronger than a human.

She pinched her nose and breathed through her mouth to avoid gagging. Fortunately, she couldn’t get sick from the disgusting air permeating her lungs.

She loved living in Spartanburg, a wonderful city in South Carolina.

For all the problems she faced daily, she at least had a decent apartment in the downtown warehouse district—the opposite of this seedy area where abandoned buildings had turned into crack houses.

Human law enforcement did what they could to keep this sort of place under control, but they couldn’t be everywhere all the time.

A crash sounded from down the hallway.

She paused, torn between being careful and rushing forward in case the woman she hunted had made that noise. Erring on the side of caution should be considered prudent, right? Hell, she had no idea. Untrained for this situation, she guessed as often as she had a real plan.

The trustee who sat in judgment of every move and decision in her life criticized any decision she made without his input. Screw him.

Additionally, the thieving human weasel, Jason, who she dated for a short time, would be mocking her right now. Best decision she ever made had been to boot him from her life. She’d be the first to admit she was in over her head doing this, but she was not turning back. She would find this woman.

Taking another tentative step forward, she wished for the magic ninja fairy to show up and wave a wand to turn her into a badass operative.

Someone with more background for this type of work who would have come dressed in cargo pants, boots, a jacket, and maybe even a Kevlar vest. She had to look like an idiot in navy capri slacks, a gray long-sleeved nylon top, and white running shoes.

Not so white anymore. Eww. She sidestepped as much refuse as possible and kept moving quietly.

Hard to be dressed properly when she’d only received the tip a half hour ago with the warning not to be late. With no time to change, she’d pulled a black knit cap over her signature strawberry-blond hair that often gave her presence away in public if her strange blue eyes didn’t first.

She stifled a snort. Who in this place would recognize her? No dark glasses or wide-brimmed hat needed to avoid paparazzi here. As she reached a corner, shouting erupted ahead from behind a warped door on her left.

Standing still, she listened closely to the voices. Two men.

When the door began to open, she moved to hide behind the last corner she’d passed.

Not out of fear, but to avoid hurting anyone unnecessarily.

A deep inhale confirmed human scents. A guy in his twenties with thick brown hair and a lanky frame staggered out and stared at the ceiling.

His hair stirred the memory of a teenage heartbreaker from many years ago.

That one had been a wolf shifter with soulful brown eyes that still haunted her dreams.

Her silly heart claimed him before they ever kissed—silly teenage fantasy. The human blocking her way through the hall turned back to the room he’d exited and paused with his hand on the door.

She let out a soft breath of relief at not having to figure out how to get around him.

Then he swung his eyes to the left, staring in her direction.

Human eyes wouldn’t see her in this dark corner.

Even a human’s natural instincts would sometimes warn them that a predator was nearby.

She could now see that his brown eyes were too ordinary to be compared to Corbin’s.

She swallowed hard and pushed down the pain every memory of him brought on. Why did her mind constantly remind her of the boy who had watched her with longing, then disappeared without a word?

He’d been hiding in a human high school, like her. A kindred soul who knew her secret and didn’t think she was a monster during a time when shifters were first coming out to the public.

What had happened to that boy? If he lived, he’d become a man, for one thing.

Why did she care? He’d made her heart race from the minute she’d sensed his presence. More than race, her heart had wanted to be with him.

Why sugarcoat the past? Corbin had been just one more male among others in her life who had let her down.

His wolf was not safe. Her wolf, Pixie, had warned her back then.

But Pixie had been around no other shifters. Any alpha wolf would rattle her.

The human guy down the hall shouted through the door opening, “I’m coming in. Don’t start your shit again.”

Once the door slapped shut, she shoved stupid memories away and turned the corner, ready to get past the humans fast. Getting caught here would be a disaster. If she didn’t want that to happen, she had to focus on the task at hand.

She rushed down the corridor on soft steps and caught sight of the last door on the right. If her information proved correct, she’d find the woman she hunted in there. Pausing outside the door, she had to pull her fingers from clamping her nose to check for scents.

An overwhelming flood of disgusting smells assaulted her. She covered her mouth and kept sniffing, sorting through the odor of human waste, rotted food, and pure desperation.

Wait. She sniffed slowly and caught a whiff. A nonhuman scent she hoped confirmed she was at the right place and the correct shifter waited on the other side of this door. Lifting her hand, she tapped then wiped the back of her knuckles on her pants.

No sound followed.

Eirene whispered, “Lauren. Your friend Nova asked me to come help you.” Of course, Eirene had never met Nova and had no idea if that was even the woman’s real name.

What if she were here risking her life for a shifter who didn’t want her interfering?

It wasn’t as if she had a network of people helping her flesh out these issues.

She’d been doing this on the fly for the last six months since starting her quest to save vulnerable female shifters.

The human men arguing fell quiet.

Had they heard her? Doubtful.

Staying out here would draw unwanted attention. She whispered, “I’m coming in. I’m a ... friend . Okay?”

Silence. What if she had arrived too late?

Using her shirt, she turned the handle on the door and pushed it slowly open. A heavier dose of foul smells bloomed inside. At this point, she had to deal with it. She didn’t want her fingers around her face again until she could scald the grime off them.

Stepping inside, she glanced around the half-dark room piled with rusted cans, a gross mattress, a rusty five-gallon metal bucket, one broken chair lying on its side, and eight banged-up boxes of clothes that would be better off burned than washed.

Across the room, a door hung half open on what could be a bathroom.

It was black as night in there and silent.

The shifter scent had grown stronger in this room and was still fresh, but the owner of that smell might have recently left.

She closed the hallway door behind her. Had Lauren struck out on her own?

That would be dangerous for her and others.

A dirty window with broken panes allowed twilight to cast gray shadows across the room. Walls had been ripped away from the upright supports exposing electrical and plumbing.

On closer inspection, the drywall destruction appeared to have happened recently. Every piece she took in had a white chalky edge with no dust or dirt accumulation. Deep claw marks raked three feet down one still-standing section.

Had Lauren ...

A movement drew her around to face a crazed woman emerging from the dark room. Taller than Eirene and cadaver-thin, she walked like a zombie with dead eyes, coming at her with a broken chair leg she wielded like a stake.

Eirene held up her hands and whisper-shouted, “ Stop! I’m here to help.”

If that was Lauren, her jaw moved with tight muscles. Her words came out raspy. “No more drugs! No more, you devil!” She swung to hit Eirene with the thick stick.

Drugs? Why hadn’t she been told about drugs?

Eirene dodged the strike and kept her hands up, hoping not to harm this woman. Lauren possessed shifter strength, and drugs could amplify that even for someone skinny and sick. Backing around the room and trying to stay out of striking range, Eirene stumbled over garbage.

The bony shifter snarled and jumped up on the five-gallon can as if to get a higher advantage, but the can wobbled, throwing her off-balance.

“Please stop, Lauren. Let’s talk. I’m here to help you.”

Lauren waved her arms in a frantic attempt to not fall. Her eyes were two tiny black dots. She was out of her mind. Catching her balance, she pulled the broken chair leg above her head in a motion to drive the sharp end forward as she lunged.

Thanks to years of dance lessons and her shifter speed, Eirene sidestepped smoothly.

Lauren landed on the floor, hit her knee, stumbled forward to half stand, then listed sideways. She grabbed at air to stop her fall.

Eirene waited to see if that was it or if she’d gain a second wind to attack again.

Lauren stumbled around, holding the stick in a clenched fist and howling like an animal in pain until she finally fell against the damaged wall.

“ Shhhh! ” Eirene caught her as she slid to the floor. She yanked the wood out of Lauren’s now loose grip and tossed it aside. “Listen to me. Please, Lauren. I’m a good person. I won’t harm you.”

Poor Lauren was too far gone to hear her. She grabbed her head. “Stop it. Stop. Stop. Stop killing me.” Her raw voice turned into a pleading squeak.