Page 25

LUKAS’ PHONE ringing jerked him out of sleep sometime later.

He winced as he sat up, his neck protesting the awkward angle he’d been resting in.

He fumbled his phone from his pocket, squinting at the too bright backlight and cursing when he saw his CO’s name on the screen.

He might have gotten back from a mission less than forty-eight hours ago, but sometimes that couldn’t be helped.

He carefully extracted himself from Max and Quinn, hitting the Answer button as he headed up the stairs.

“Hunt,” he answered, grimacing at the gravelly edge to his voice.

The pause on the other end burnt away the remaining fog of sleep, and he hurried up the last few steps until he was in the kitchen. “Sir?”

“You really should have put in for another leave,” Adams replied with a sigh. “Just got a mission from the brass, and they’re requesting you specifically.”

Fuck. That couldn’t be good. Nothing good ever came of being recognized, either for failure or success. “Okay,” he replied slowly, pressing his fingers into his eyes until he saw spots dancing in his vision.

“I’ve been keeping apprised of your situation.

I don’t know why the Order is so obsessed with your mage, but this mission can’t be a coincidence.

I’d flag it and send it up the chain, but this is coming from so far over my head I’m getting chills.

But since it reeks, I’m sending you some additional support. ”

“All due respect, sir, if this is a trap, they may end up a casualty.”

“You saying you don’t want the Rabid Ghost watching your six?” Adams asked, smug amusement in his voice.

Lukas froze. Of all the mages he knew of, the Ghost was the only one who had never been bound to or trained by the Order.

They worked exclusively for the armed forces and were barely more than a myth among the lower ranks.

But he knew of their work, and they weren’t called Rabid for no reason.

Some of the stories sounded like the military barely had any control over them and used them only as a last resort.

“Corporal?” Adams prompted. “Do you want the assist or not? ”

“Yes,” he wheezed, ignoring Adams’ snicker. If nothing else, he at least wanted to meet the mage who’d destroyed the Russian government within twelve hours last decade. If he was lucky, they’d both survive this mission unscathed.

“Good. And Lukas…. Live. That’s an order.”

That was odd enough to fuel Lukas’ unease even further.

He woke Caius long enough to let him know he’d been called for a mission, changed into his fatigues, and grabbed his bag. He debated waking Quinn and Max but settled for texting Quinn instead.

This time of night, it was a quick drive to Buckley, where a ride was waiting for him.

Not a C-17 like he was used to. Instead, he was directed to an actual fucking Nighthawk.

He’d flown in jets before, but never supersonic.

This was one of the new models with two seats.

He could smell the magic wrapped around the entire jet and knew the newer planes were supposed to be warded for structural integrity, lower air resistance, and better fuel consumption.

The pilot was waiting beside the stairs and held a helmet out to Lukas as he approached. “Supposed to drop you off in Rasht,” he said by way of greeting.

“Iran?” Adams was right about the reek. If he was needed overseas, why didn’t he have a team with him?

He took the helmet and found a dossier tucked inside it. He headed up the metal stairs and tossed his bag in, pulled the papers out, and got his helmet on. He found the switch for the comms and heard the static pop as they switched on. Before he could climb into the jet, a soft voice spoke.

“ Do not get on the plane .”

Lukas tensed and turned, opening his mouth to ask who the hell was talking to him, but he didn’t get a chance.

“ Do not speak. If you get in, you will die. Make your choice. Get in or put your belongings in the seat and walk away.”

He glanced at the pilot, but the man showed no sign of hearing the same thing in his headset. Which wasn’t as surprising as the fact that it didn’t feel like the voice was coming from the headset at all, but inside his head.

“ Tick tock, wolf. I’m dying of suspense . ”

Lukas hesitated. Even if he might die, walking away would certainly end with a dishonorable discharge or court-martial. Unless Adams knew. That would explain the cryptic parting.

He tossed his phone into the seat, pulling out what cash he had on him before tossing in his wallet, then the helmet. When he went back down the steps, the pilot flicked his cigarette away.

“Good choice. Get the stairs, would ya.” The pilot climbed in and settled into his seat, the cockpit sliding closed over his head.

Lukas grabbed the stairs and wheeled them away, then stopped to watch the Nighthawk take off from a near standstill.

There was a shimmer of magic, and then it vanished from sight completely.

The only indication it had been there at all was the sonic boom a long moment later as it broke the sound barrier.

A black SUV careened around one of the hangars and headed for him before screeching to a stop a few feet away. The back door popped open, and Lukas took a breath before climbing inside. They were moving again before he even got the door closed.

A man sat in the back beside him, wearing sunglasses despite it being the middle of the night. He didn’t say anything, but Lukas could feel the man’s eyes on him.

Surely this wasn’t the Ghost? Except he couldn’t fathom they would have let him fly halfway around the world only to bring him back. Nothing suspicious about this at all. If the Order was behind any of this, this would be the perfect time for them to make their move.

He cleared his throat. “Thanks?”

When the man didn’t respond, he glanced at the driver. A woman with long dark hair, also wearing sunglasses. They were both wearing leather, which was giving him strong Matrix vibes. He couldn’t see much of the person in the passenger seat, aside from bright, spiky blue hair.

“Care to explain what’s going on?”

“What’s going on, wolf,” the blue-haired passenger drawled, “is your pack has pissed off the Order and the underworld of this city. Quite a feat. You’ve only been here a few months.” She sounded impressed.

Lukas was shocked to hear a young feminine voice that matched what he’d heard in his head. “You said I’d die if I got on that plane.”

“Yes, it’s rigged to explode in a few hours when it’s over the Pacific.

“And how do you know that? What about the pilot? ”

She flicked her hand, a lollipop held between her fingers. “The pilot will be fine. And I know because I’m the one who was hired to sabotage it.”

Lukas instinctively reached for a gun that was currently several thousand feet in the air, silently cursing himself for being so careless.

He had a small combat knife tucked into a boot sheath, but doubted he would get far with it.

Tight, cramped spaces against three opponents in a moving vehicle when he smelled guns on at least two of them would be a challenge, but if this was really Ghost’s team, they were here to help him.

Unless they were playing both sides. This was why there weren’t many mages he trusted; the Order always got to them eventually.

The SUV reached the highway and picked up enough speed that even he was leery of jumping. Shifter healing would keep him alive, but he risked being incapacitated long enough they could grab him again. And road rash was a bitch.

The woman shifted in her seat, turning and leaning over the center console to face him, lollipop back in her mouth as she propped her chin on her fist. She tucked her sucker into her cheek. “Relax. If I wanted you dead, why would I have gotten you off the plane?”

“Why don’t you want me dead?”

“Honestly, whether you live or die is irrelevant to me. But Adams called in a favor and made a few promises.” She studied him as she shifted her hand to twirl the stick of her lollipop a few times before pulling it free, pointing it at Lukas. “Ghost, at your service.”

He couldn’t help his snort of disbelief. She couldn’t have been much older than seventeen, and the Ghost had been around for decades.

She narrowed her eyes at him, lifting her chin. “I could always toss you in the ditch. Leave your pack to be annihilated.”

Lukas opened his mouth to ask how old she was before his sense of self-preservation kicked in. “You’re not old enough.”

She smirked at him as if knowing exactly what he’d meant to say. “I’m older than I look.”

“There’s no way you took down the Russian government when you were seven or eight years old.”

“True. I looked the same then as I do now. Except for the hair.”

“How?” There was no way. Mage lifespans might be longer than normal humans, but they still aged noticeably in ten years .

With a thick Russian accent, she replied. “Even most strong defense crumble before beautiful woman.” Then she batted her lashes and curled her tongue around her sucker in a way that made him feel skeevy.

“Please stop,” he said with a grimace.

She turned back around with a cackle, muttering something in Russian he was sure was derogatory.

Lukas reached for his phone before tipping his head back with a groan when he remembered that was gone too. “I need to call my alpha.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

Ghost let out an exaggerated sigh. “The Order is calling in favors to ensure you’re dead.

What do you think they’re going to do when your alpha doesn’t react to the news and they realize you’re still alive?

The only reason they haven’t abducted all of you is your military connections.

And the fact Max is legally outside of their grasp. ”

Lukas flexed his fingers when his claws dug into his flesh and drew blood.

He took several deep breaths before he could retract his fangs and claws.

He suspected Rían’s wards and protections also had something to do with the Order not trying to take Max directly.

He could only hope the Order couldn’t trace the wards back to the mage.

“I’m not going to sit with my thumbs up my ass while the Order comes after my pack.”

“Of course not,” she scoffed. “You’re going to help me finally get my revenge. Starting with Helga Fuchs.”

“And who the hell is that?”

“The bitch who made me,” Ghost replied brightly.