Slade Read online

  “I can help,” Kate offered, wanting to be part of the hunt as much as possible.

  “You’ve done your part, Priestess. Thanks,” Slade answered, already moving off toward the edge of the property, where it backed up onto scrub land that led into the desert. Kate followed, undeterred.

  “I need to do more,” she said stubbornly, putting her hand on his arm, stopping him in his tracks. “I’ve explored a lot since I got here. I know the desert around the housing development and how to navigate it safely.” She knew she was daring greatly, but she had to be part of this. With that much magic at the killers’ disposal, even this very magical werecat probably didn’t stand a chance alone. “And I have experience with offensive magic. I’ve battled mages before.”

  One of his dark eyebrows rose in amusement at that last statement.

  “All right,” he conceded finally.

  “I’m going with you,” Griffon Redstone put in as he jogged silently across the big backyard.

  Slade’s gaze went to the big Alpha and then back to Kate. It was hard to tell his mood, but she saw definite amusement along with a hint of resignation in his glowing eyes.

  “Now see what you’ve done?” he whispered in a low voice only the two of them could hear as he turned to face the approaching cougar.

  “He would’ve followed you no matter what, and you know it,” she whispered back, pleased to see an answering sparkle of amusement in his expression.

  She would have said more but Grif stopped in front of them.

  “What did you find?” the cougar asked in an almost angry tone. It was clear the Alpha didn’t like not knowing.

  Kate knew his moods well and decided to intervene. Sometimes cats liked to be smart asses for no apparent reason and she didn’t want to chance this strange cat pushing Grif’s buttons when he’d only just calmed down.

  “Two killers,” she said softly, in as calm a voice as she could muster, despite the anger and grief burning a hole in her gut. “A man and a woman. Both magic users following the blood path. The woman took the piece of your mother’s pelt. I vow to you, Grif, I will get it back and lay your mother to rest with all the honor her bright spirit deserves.” Kate stepped forward, tears held at bay through sheer force of will. “I will not rest until her spirit can be at peace.”

  “Thank you, Priestess,” Grif said formally, though anger burned through the grief in his bloodshot eyes. “But the hunt is my right, as is the kill.”

  Slade held up his hands, palms outward, as Grif’s steely gaze moved to him.

  “You’ll get no argument from me, Alpha. Yours is the kill, but in this case—with so much magic flying about—you definitely need my help to run them to ground.”

  “Mine too,” Kate put in, not wanting to be excluded. “I can’t kill, but I can damn well find them and hold them for you. Plus, depending on how far they’ve sunk into the blood magic, you may need me to purify them before they can actually die.”

  That was her ace in the hole. Without her abilities as a priestess of the Lady, they might not be able to kill their prey, even after they found it. Enabling the Alpha to get justice for his mother wasn’t totally incompatible with her calling as a priestess, though she’d have to tread carefully. If the mages repented, the punishment for their crime would have to be less severe. But in her experience, once someone turned down the blood path, they didn’t easily turn back to the Light.

  “Which way did they go?” Grif asked Slade after a tense moment during which both men seemed to measure her words. Both wore hard expressions.

  “Through the back gate and into the scrubland. I expect to find traces of a vehicle not too far from there—probably just out of sight of the house.” Slade led the way as the two men strode for the gate that led out into the desert.

  Kate followed right behind. She had to move fast to keep up with their long legged gaits, but she was used to being around shifters and was able to do a little skip-jog that helped her remain close to them without too much strain.

  She kept her power up as she went, helping illuminate the trails that Slade followed. To her they were a confusing jumble of energy pathways that led off in all directions, but the tracker was showing his worth, leading them on a course that seemed clear in retrospect. Kate grew to respect his abilities to discern one life force from another. That was one powerful gift the strange cat had.

  Griffon must have told the others to stay behind and guard Belinda. Kate was glad he was thinking clearly enough to realize his little sister might still be in danger. The fact that a blood path mage had taken a bit of the matriarch’s fur was significant. Far more significant than the shifters might realize. Kate would make it her priority to impress upon the cougar Alpha what that meant in terms of magic for his people—and especially for his family. They were all in danger until that piece of their mother was reclaimed.

  Slade led them out the back gate and into the desert beyond. There was sparse vegetation here and there. Occasionally there were rock formations. It was behind one of these that they found the tire tracks. A four by four of some kind. The men would know better than she what kind of vehicle made those tracks, she had no doubt.

  “Long gone.” Griffon spit in anger, pacing up and down around the tire tracks. Slade seemed content to let him work off some of his anger. Kate agreed with the strategy.

  “Gone, but not forgotten,” Slade countered a moment later, after he’d made a show of examining the scene from all angles. He’d also taken a photo of the tire impressions with his cell phone and punched a few buttons. Whether he’d sent it somewhere or fed it into a database, only he knew, but a moment later, he seemed to have a lot more information. “These tires are a new tread pattern. Very high end, but they come standard on the most recent luxury SUVs from these manufacturers.” He showed what had to be a list on his phone to Griffon, who’d come to his side. “I’ve got a request out for a list of these vehicles in the area and their owners. That should help us narrow our search.”

  Griffon looked at Slade with new respect. “You have those kinds of connections to law enforcement?”

  Slade nodded once. “I’ve lived most of my life in the human world. I had—still have—a job there. It allows me access to things and information barred from most others. In recent years, I’ve learned of the threat even greater than war among countries or terrorism. I’ve learned firsthand about the returning threat the Venifucus and their followers pose to all life in this realm. Once I understood that, I became more involved with shifter society and have offered my service to the Lords and all those on the side of Light. It’s clear to me that what was done to your family is the work of evil. It’s my vocation to fight it and gain justice for those harmed.”

  It was the most she’d heard from the tight-lipped shifter since they’d met and the speech impressed her greatly. She could literally see the glow of truth around him. He felt passionately about his profession and his vow to fight evil.

  Kate could respect that. In fact, her opinion of the cat had just risen even higher than it had already been. By his words and actions—and especially his magic, which could not be faked to her senses—he’d shown himself to be one of the good guys. They were most definitely on the same side and any doubts she’d still harbored about him fled in the face of the undeniable truth in his words.

  Griffon turned to fully face Slade and held out his hand. Slade took it and they shared a moment, the handshake joining them in the task ahead of them.

  “Thank you for coming here to help us, Alpha,” Griffon said firmly.

  There it was. The acknowledgement that Slade was an Alpha—a leader in his own right. The fact that Grif openly acknowledged the other shifter’s strength was a mark of respect. It placed them on equal footing, though Griffon was still the leader of his Clan and the wider grouping of shifters of all kinds that worked for him and followed his leadership.

  “My skills are at your disposal, Alpha,” Slade replied, just as meaningfully, “until justice
has been served for your matriarch and your family, and all those who put their faith in you are safe from this threat.”

  Carefully worded, Kate noted, but such was the way with shifters. And with all magical folk, really. One had to be careful of exactly how much one promised, lest you end up beholden to another being of power for much longer than you ever intended.

  “So what next? Where do you suggest we go from here?” The cougar Alpha actually deferred to Slade, which kind of amazed Kate. But it was a solid move. Slade clearly had more experience with this kind of thing than the businessman-builder.

  “I think we should go back to the house and pick up my SUV. Then I want to come back around here by the nearest road and try to pick up the scent. By that time, the vehicle search will have spit back some possible matches. If the trail goes cold—which I expect to happen as soon as we hit a large road with lots of traffic—we can try to narrow down our list of suspect vehicles by triangulating from their last known location. Your people could help a bit with that, but I don’t want any of them approaching the owners of the vehicles, just in case one of them is our perp. The two we tracked are too dangerous to be taken on by a lone shifter without magical support. But your Clan can help with surveillance. I know cougars are good at stealth.” Slade gave Griffon the barest hint of a wry smile, which he returned, much to Kate’s surprise.

  The cougar Alpha had been alternately grim and irate since the death of his mother. It was good to see him focused and calm. Slade’s influence and abilities had gone a long way toward helping the other cat regain some equilibrium. That alone was a gift from the Goddess. With Griffon calling for blood, his entire Clan had been more than a bit out of whack since the discovery of the matriarch’s body.

  Hopefully Slade could calm down the other Redstone brothers as easily. There was more than one hothead in the family.

  When they arrived back at the family home a few minutes later on foot, having retraced their path through the backyard, Slade wasn’t too surprised to find a few more cougars waiting for them. He remembered the background research on the family he’d read on the flight in.

  The Alpha of the Clan was Griffon Redstone, the eldest of five brothers. All five were employed full-time in the family business except for the youngest, Matt. His background had piqued Slade’s interest.

  It was well known that Matt was close friends with several vampires who lived in the Napa Valley, including the Master of the region, a fellow named Marc LaTour. Slade knew Marc. They’d had some dealings a few years ago and Slade had liked the man… as much as he could like any bloodletter, at least.

  It was Matt who bounded down the steps of the back deck to meet them as they walked through the garden, if Slade didn’t miss his guess. The younger man went straight for his brother, clasping him in a hug that spoke of their shared grief and sorrow. Slade moved away, walking slowly with Kate as they both gave the brothers a moment of privacy.

  “Matt must’ve just gotten home,” Kate said softly. “He spends most of his time in California and I know the family was having a hard time getting a hold of him. Keith finally succeeded this morning, I believe.” There were tears in Kate’s pretty eyes as she spoke, but she steadfastly refused to let the tears fall. Slade admired both her strength and her compassion. It was a good combination to have in a priestess.

  He reached for her hand, wanting to comfort her. It was an instinctual move and he only realized he’d done it when her eyes widened and her gaze sought his as her little hand slipped into his grasp. He’d caught her by surprise, it seemed. Could it be the priestess wasn’t used to being touched? Curious.

  He squeezed her hand, holding her gaze, wanting her to know that he understood both her sorrow and her surprise. Sorrow for the family that had lost its mother. Surprise for his reaching out to comfort her with even so simple a physical touch.

  “Sounds like the rest of the family has gathered,” Slade said, still holding her hand. He wanted her to become accustomed to his touch. He didn’t ask why it suddenly seemed so important that she let him touch her. It just was.

  He’d think about the implications later.

  “You can hear inside the house?”

  He grinned, not answering in words as he led her toward the back door.

  “I’m going to have to remember not to talk to myself if I’m going to live among you guys.” She shook her head and smiled as she preceded him into the house.

  “You haven’t lived around shifters before?” Slade’s tone was conversational, but he had precious little information on the priestess.

  Her file hadn’t been among those given to him by the Lords and he was intrigued by the omission. He was also intrigued by the woman.

  “Never. I was only just invited to move into this community recently. The new paint is barely dry on my living room walls yet,” she joked. “And I still have a lot of painting and furniture moving to do. Not now, of course.” She immediately sobered as they walked down the hall toward the living room. “This takes precedence over everything.”

  Slade was prevented from answering as they entered the living room. The large room was crowded now, big males—most with Alpha tendencies—filling the space with their presence. They all quieted as they saw Slade. His hackles went up, but he schooled himself to calmness. He had to show these other cats that he was in control.

  Someone needed to be. It was clear these guys were in an uproar. There was a lot of angry energy in the room and one of the big men was pacing, stalking back and forth silently, menace and frustration clear in his every step.

  Kate’s steps hesitated only briefly before she strode into the center of the room. She was brave for a human, even if she was a priestess with strong mage powers. To face down a herd of angry cats in their very den took courage.

  “Who’s he?” One of the cougars sneered disrespectfully.

  Keith was there and he stood, his hands out as he tried to calm the others.

  “He was sent by the Lords,” Keith explained. “He’s got skills we don’t. Be nice.” Keith then turned to Slade and made the introductions. “Slade, these are my cousins, Steve, Mag and Robert.” He pointed to each of the new cougars in turn.

  One of the younger men reached out to shake Slade’s hand. “Keith refuses to call me Bobcat. It started as a joke, but I like it. Thanks for coming out to help.” He seemed to be the calmest of the Redstones.

  Slade shook his hand and realized the man’s outward calm was only an illusion. The tension in his grip indicated he was every bit as on edge as his brothers, but he was making an effort to hide it.

  “I get it.” Slade responded to the illusion of normalcy the cougar was trying to cultivate. “I have a werewolf friend whose human girlfriend nicknamed him Dawg, like that bounty hunter guy. The girl is long gone, but the nickname remains.”

  Robert chuckled and his brothers appeared to scoff, but the tension had eased in the room. It was slight, but it was an improvement.

  “Gentlemen,” Slade nodded to the other two, who still paced, though more slowly. “We found a trail that led out into the desert. It ended at vehicle tracks.” Slade lifted his smartphone and hit a few buttons. “Based on the tread…” He read quickly through the report that had come in via his phone. “Well we got a bit of a break. The tire most likely belongs to a luxury import. Even though this town is known for high rollers, there aren’t as many of these vehicles in the area as there could have been.”

  “How many?” Griffon asked from the entry to the living room. Slade had been peripherally aware of the Alpha and the youngest Redstone brother entering while he’d scanned the report.

  “Less than a hundred,” Slade replied, turning toward Grif. “Shouldn’t be too hard to sniff them all out. I have a list of addresses, organized by area. If your men split up, they can each cover a sector.”

  “That’ll be us,” Grif said, eyeing each of his brothers as he spoke. “I assume you’ll still be working on picking up the trail?” The look on Grif’s
face said Slade damn well better still be working on that trail. Slade wasn’t about to argue, since that had been his plan all along.

  “Yes, Alpha. There are a few things still to do. I might be able to pick up the scent of their magic along the road and if that doesn’t work, I have a few other tricks I can try to flush out their trail, while you and your brothers hunt the vehicle itself.”

  “One out of a hundred,” Grif mused. “With five of us, that’s about twenty addresses each. We all know the scents we’re looking for and I don’t trust anyone else to be as motivated as we are, right boys?”

  The affirmations of assent were loud and quick. The brothers were definitely motivated to find their mother’s killer.

  “Keith,” Griffon moved to stand in front of his cousin. “Your mission hasn’t changed. There’s nobody I trust more to watch over Belinda than you and your mate. I want you here, even though I know you’d probably rather be out there with us.” Grif placed one hand on his cousin’s shoulder and they shared a moment of silent communication.

  “My priority is Belinda and my mate, Grif. Neither of them will come to harm on my watch.”

  “Good man,” Grif clapped his cousin’s shoulder and let go. “While you guard, the rest of us will go on the hunt.” He turned to Slade expectantly.

  They spent a few moments beaming the list to each other’s smartphones and deciding who would take which sector. Slade admired the way they worked together. Like a well-oiled machine. Each brother seemed to have his own place within their family hierarchy and each had the respect of the others. It was nice to observe such a strong, well balanced group of men.

  They were all Alpha in their own way, but they all deferred to Grif as their leader. In another family, such strong personalities might’ve led to argument and bloodshed, but this group had learned how to work together smoothly, respecting each other and helping each other rather than fighting amongst themselves.