Page 40

LENNOX

I kneel, reading the message. SHIFTERS WILL KILL US ALL.

Rage threatens to boil up, my wolf howling in disbelief, but I shove it down. I’ve lived and worked among the humans long enough to know how to control my instincts.

Still, if anything’s going to push me into going feral, it’s ASHRA and their anti-shifter agenda. They’re escalating. They’ve gone from online hate speech to arson to possibly murder.

I stand, turning on the spot, recording similar messages sprayed across the walls of the warehouse with my body camera. My breathing is loud inside the mask covering my face, but it’s protecting me from the smoke and dust in the air.

I continue moving through the warehouse, stepping cautiously. I shouldn’t be in here, but a contact in the fire department tipped me off and I slipped in as soon as the fire was out.

I see what I’m looking for and head toward it, speaking for the benefit of the camera, “We have a body.” This is why my firefighter contact reached out.

It’s a male wolf shifter who died in his wolf form. Died violently if the empty chest cavity with the missing heart is any indication. I move around him, recording from every angle. My brain automatically snapping into analytical mode as I clock the details of the scene.

“The heart was removed after death,” I comment. “The chest cavity is clear of blood.”

“Hey you!” A feminine voice cuts through the silence and I look up, trying to locate the person it belongs to. Smoke winds around her body as she steps through the haze, like an ethereal goddess in full firefighting uniform, a helmet on her head and a mask covering her face. She’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever encountered. “What are you doing contaminating my crime scene? Who let you in here?”

I stare, stunned, my mouth hanging open as she hurries toward me, her brows pulled down into a frown beneath the cover of her visor. She’s small, but carries her gear like a professional.

She’s young, but not too young for a human. Maybe early thirties.

It takes me a moment to find my voice, and when I do, I stumble over my words. “You’re the fire…investigator?”

It feels like my chest is being squeezed by an invisible fist and I can’t get enough air in my body to get my brain to function.

“I want to see some credentials,” she demands.

A handful of seconds pass before I realize she spoke and another few before I can register the words. Finally, I dig my badge out and show it to her. “Detective Lennox Wolven-North. Precinct 9, Shifter Division.”

She raises a brow, studying the plastic ID card. “Must be pretty quiet in your division. We don’t get a lot of shifter-related crimes around here.”

“You’d be surprised,” I say, proud that I’m bringing my voice back under control. “And you are?”

“Inspector Charlie Lopez. Fire enforcement.” She holds her gloved hand out and I take it, enveloping it in mine. Despite the thick cloth between us, I feel her warmth, the beat of her heart through her wrist. I can smell her sweet earthy scent even through the smoke still thick in the air.

My mouth waters and my wolf leaps within the cage of my humanity, beyond excited. He doesn’t know any better. My heart sinks even as my soul shifts.

Charlie Lopez is my fated mate, and I’m cursed to live without a mate, which means this woman’s life is now in danger and it’s my job to protect her.

* * *

COMING SOON!