Savage Awakening (Alpha Pack #2)(10)

Her spine straightened. "No damned way. I'm a cop, remember? I can't get furry and I don't have any cool supernatural talents, but it sounds to me like you guys need all the help you can get, what with losing your team members right and left."

"You may be a cop, but in my world you're a civilian. I can't be responsible for getting you killed. What am I supposed to tell your brother when I bring him back and he learns that I allowed you to get hurt, or worse?"

Made sense when he put it like that. The Pack's boss man didn't want to take the heat if something happened to her.

"All right," she said nonchalantly. "I can live with that. I wouldn't want you to feel guilty if I got my ass shredded."

Nick's piercing blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why do I get the feeling I've been played?"

For the first time since meeting the Pack's boss, she smiled. "I'd say you didn't need to be a f**kin' psychic to know that."

As the door to his office closed behind Rowan Chase, Nick sat back in his chair and plowed a hand through his short hair with a weary sigh. The arrival of Micah's sister was a complication he didn't need right now. But he couldn't deny that she was going to be very important to the team.

And to one man in particular.

A knock interrupted his thoughts and he glanced up to see the newest addition to Alpha Pack open the door and poke his head inside.

"Got a minute?"

"Sure, come on in."

Kalen Black strolled inside and stood in front of Nick's desk with his booted feet spread, arms crossed over his chest. As always, Nick fought not to stare at Goth-boy dressed in his usual black ensemble, but for better or worse, the young man commanded attention wherever he went.

Jet-black rock-star hair fell in messy layers around his face and to the shoulders of his battered leather duster. Underneath, he wore a mesh T-shirt and jeans tucked into calf-high boots adorned with silver buckles. Black-tipped nails graced the strong fingers digging into his biceps, and striking kohl-rimmed eyes the color of emeralds gazed back at Nick unflinchingly.

Their resident Sorcerer/Necromancer, who was also a panther shifter, was no attention seeker, though. A graduate of the School of Hard Knocks, Kalen simply didn't give a damn what anyone thought of him. The kid possessed the most raw power of any being Nick had ever run across. And made him feel really goddamned old, which was the sad truth.

If the team knew just how old, they'd never believe it.

"The woman, Miss Chase," Kalen prompted. "I'm assuming she's related to the Pack member with the same last name?"

"Rowan is Micah's sister," Nick confirmed. "But since neither of us knew Micah I'm guessing you're not really here to talk about the missing wolf or his sibling."

The Sorcerer's neutral expression darkened. Slowly, he lowered himself into one of the chairs opposite Nick, rested his elbows on his knees, and put his face in his hands. That was when Nick noticed that the silver pentagram pendant the younger man wore around his neck, was never without, was missing.

A shiver of dread shot through his veins, and he straightened. He'd learned to never ignore the faint beginnings of a vision. "Where's your necklace?" he asked sharply.

Kalen's head came up, his face etched with resignation. "Someone needed it more than I did."

The sense of dread grew roots and began to flourish. "You gave it to Mackenzie? Damn it, kid-"

"That's not up for discussion," Kalen said firmly, holding up a hand. "I'm just here to let you know I'm leaving."

"You're what?"

"Look, I appreciate everything you've done for me. Nobody else except my grandmother ever gave a shit about me, or even cared enough to give me a chance to do something with my life. But you were different," the Sorcerer said quietly. "That means more to me than you'll ever know, but it's time for me to hit the road."

Nick studied Kalen for several long moments. The slump of the man's shoulders, the tightening around his mouth and the weariness in his eyes told Nick that his newest recruit didn't want to go but felt he must. "No. Not acceptable."

The other man blinked. "I can't stay. You don't understand."

"So fill me in on the problem and we'll deal with it."

"I don't think it's going to be that simple." A sad laugh escaped his lips. "As if anything would be where I'm concerned."

"Tell me, son," he urged, injecting all the warmth and confidence into his voice that he could muster. After a long moment, the younger man nodded.

"My pentagram was given to me by my grandmother," he began, gazing at his boots. "She once told me it had been crafted centuries ago by a master Sorcerer, and spelled as a protection against even the most powerful evil. I was never sure about any of that until recently, but it was a gift from her and so it was special to me."

Nick frowned. "Then why did you give it to Mac?"

"Because she needs the protection and it's the strongest-the only-talisman I have to give."

"Why does she need protection? Does this have to do with the attack?" A couple of weeks ago, Kalen and Mackenzie had gone into town separately and had run into trouble in the form of one of those nasty winged creatures with the big mouth full of sharp teeth, like the one he had locked in the basement cell. The two of them had nearly been killed by the damned thing, and would've been if Kalen hadn't gained the upper hand and dispatched it to hell.