Chapter One
Rogue
I love my job.
I love my job.
I love my job.
Normally .
It keeps me busy and active.
I’ve always felt a strong need for justice.
My sister, Gemma, loves to tell me it’s because I’m a rigid rule follower, and that might be true. I’ll comply with a law I don’t necessarily agree with just because it seems like that’s the right thing to do.
For being half of a set of quadruplets, Gemma and I couldn’t be more unalike if we tried, but we both work for Owen as supernatural bounty hunters. Our friend Ember rounds out our group, and the three of us make up the only all-female team.
Most of our assignments come from the North American Paranormal Council, but we also get regular assignments from time to time.
Tonight’s case is something big that came down from the council regarding a suspect they want brought in.
After the weirdness I ran into at the bar this evening, I’m pretty sure my boss is keeping something big to himself. I realize I’m not entitled to know everything, but if it’s something that could put me or my team in danger, then yeah, I think it’s time he shares with the class.
I grimace, shaking my head.
That makes him sound a little like the teacher, and I’m the student. That image isn’t one I want in my head, especially considering he already treats me like a child. Okay, maybe not a fledgling, but he definitely coddles and lectures me more than anyone else on his payroll.
The uncomfortable chair I’m perched on doesn’t help my stellar disposition. At the moment, I’ve had it up to my eyeballs with everyone and everything.
All I know is, Owen put us on a dangerous case, and if he has more details, I need them.
Owen’s office door flies open, and my eyes narrow when Delta saunters out. She’s beautiful and stacked with curves. She runs one of the other teams, and she’s a witch. I have no idea what variety. She’s never felt compelled to share that information, but my magic can sense that she’s powerful.
She spots me and gives a cursory smile, but it’s not especially warm.
I nod and wait until she’s past my chair to shove myself up until I’m standing.
Owen spots me, and his forehead wrinkles as his lips turn down.
That’s rude .
I don’t hesitate to walk by him and into his office.
Although my first instinct is to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk, I’d rather have this conversation on equal footing. I would say eye to eye, but he’s a bear shifter. I’m five-eleven, and he still towers over me.
“How can I help you?” he asks, closing the door with a loud thunk. “It’s after midnight, and it’s been a long day.” As his heavy footfalls approach from behind, I spin to face him.
Owen isn’t slender.
In fact, he’s a beast.
It’s not just the half a foot in height that he has on me, but the broad shoulders and strong arms, even his muscular chest.
It all works for him.
His brown curls fall over his forehead as he brings a hand up, scratching at his furry jaw. Seriously, the man can grow a beard like nobody’s business. It’s thick and full and fits his face to perfection.
“Rogue?” he growls in his low, gravelly tone.
“I had a vision.”
“Okay.” He tilts his head as he studies my face. “And?”
I cross my arms over my chest.
Sometimes when he looks at me, it feels like he can see too much, and I don’t mean physically. He’s so freaking intense, something that never fails to throw me off-kilter.
“You’re keeping something from us.” My lips push together as I try to remember the speech I practiced while I was waiting. “What the hell is going on, Owen?”
When he takes a miniscule step back, my eyes widen.
I’ve never seen him retreat from anything, and my stomach tightens.
Body language doesn’t lie, but people do. Unluckily for me, I can always tell. It’s the part of my magic that I dislike the most. Everyone lies, even about little things, and it sucks knowing when someone isn’t being truthful.
“I gave you all the information I had,” he says, staring straight into my eyes.
That wasn’t a lie.
I still can’t help but feel like something is up, though.
His brow furrows, and he asks, “What did you see?”
“That’s the problem.” My shoulders bounce as I shrug.
“I’m not sure. Ethan Sanders was meeting with someone, but everything about the person he was with was indistinguishable.
It was a man. I’m confident enough about that, but his face, his voice, clothing, everything—it was all a blur. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Christ.” His hand runs over his face, showing off the tattoo on the top of his hand. It continues up under his shirt sleeve, weaving around the top and bottom of his forearm. “Okay, enough is enough. I’m throwing this one back to the council. The three of you are off the case.”
“What?” I hiss, taking a step forward. “No way. You can’t do that!”
“Last I checked, I’m your boss.” His jaw tenses, and his eyebrows rise. “I can pull you off any case, at any time, especially if I believe your safety could be in jeopardy.”
“There’s something bigger at play here. Something you’re not sharing.” My head shakes as my anger rises. “Why even bother putting us on this assignment if you weren’t going to level with us?”
The veins on his forehead pulse, and I take a step back. That doesn’t seem to help, because his normally chocolate brown eyes begin to glow a brilliant yellowy-orange color that indicates his bear is close to the surface.
“The paranormal council sent down both jobs in one day. The Market Heist Crew, which I put everyone else on, and The Plague Doctor.” Owen’s jaw clenches. “I assigned that one to you, Gemma, and Ember because of the Ethan Sanders connection.”
I already know all of this, unless he thought it was some big secret that he specifically gave us Ethan Sanders because he’s a suspected wolf shifter.
Female wolves are rare, meaning he might come to us if he scents Ember. She’s a female alpha wolf and gorgeous . She has lured in more than a few perps for us just because they wanted to try their luck with the pretty she-wolf.
“We’re making progress,” I say, staring directly into Owen’s eyes. They’re brown again, meaning he must be calming down. “Sanders mentioned The North American Pack. He said he needed to speak to the alpha or an alpha on pack lands. Some of it was distorted because of the other person speaking.”
“Perfect,” Owen says, nodding. “I’ll have another team do reconnaissance. You’ve done your job. I’ll still pay you for this case.”
“What?” I scoff. “You said being paid was contingent on bringing in information about The Doctor. At the very least, you wanted Sanders brought in for questioning.”
Owen’s eyes narrow. “I said I would pay you. What more do you want from me?”
My heart races.
I would love for him to treat me like an adult for a change.
Owen is friends with one of my fathers.
My mom has four mates.
My biological dad is Silence, but Atlas is just as much a father to me.
Atlas and Owen go way back—it’s how Gemma and I ended up being hired.
The problem is that he treats me more like an annoying little sister than a trusted employee, which kills me. Especially because he’s ridiculously attractive, and my magic is fascinated by him.
There’s no reason I should be so drawn to him, but I am, and it makes everything worse. After a year and a half of working together, it still feels like he doesn’t trust me, and it hurts my feelings.
I’m not a defenseless child.
I inherited my father’s soothsayer magic and mind control gifts, and I got bits and pieces of my mother’s magic, which terrifies literally everyone but her and my dads.
I don’t make it known because of that, but I do have access to it if I need it.
And that’s not even taking into account the years of self-defense training that my fathers made my sister and me complete.
The thing about Owen is, my magic is convinced there’s more to him than meets the eye.
He’s definitely a bear shifter.
I’ve seen his eyes and hands transform, but something deep inside me says there’s some unknown part to his recipe.
Not that it matters. He would never confide his secrets to me. He views me as a responsibility.
He gave me a job, because of his connection to my father, but he views me as little more than a nuisance.
“I asked you a question,” he growls, taking a step forward. “What more do you want from me, Rogue? I’ll find you another assignment as soon as I can. It’s not like you’re hard up for money…”
Anger vibrates through my body, and my hands start to glow a light teal from my magic.
It betrays my emotions, and I hate it. There’s no way to pretend like he doesn’t affect me when my magic tips my hand at every turn.
“I’d like it if you treated me like any other capable employee on your payroll,” I snap, spinning around and stomping toward the door.
At moments like these, I’d give anything to be able to siphon like my sister. Part of Gemma’s powers as a nightmare demon allow her to think of a location in our realm and land there at will.
It’s a much more effective way of informing someone that the conversation is over.
Snatching the door handle, I pull it open.
“I’m not dropping the case.” My head shakes, and I glance over my shoulder. “I found the information on Sanders, and I damn well intend to follow up on it.”
Exhaling heavily, I take measured steps and tug the door closed behind me as quietly as possible.
Owen’s muffled cursing fills the air, and for whatever reason, it feels like a victory. He may be able to get under my skin, but I’m able to return the favor.
A slow smile crosses my face as I stride off to find my sister.
She’s around here somewhere.