Landon Rourke is a werewolf who lives on the edge, away from
his pack. But then one of his pack members comes to him
asking for help and Landon is all too ready to turn him
away. The Omega board who ruled him out because of his
extraordinary sense of smell is asking him for a favor for
the whole pack's well being. Landon is on semi-friendly
terms with the Sanguina vampire leader and who have a
tentative truce with the werewolf pack. Maybe Landon can
find out what has happen to their missing zerkers, which are
werewolves that can not longer change back into human form
and are damaged in their minds. Landon accepts, hoping if he
succeeds, he will be welcomed back into the fold with open arms.
Kaitlyn McKinney is a detective with the NYPD. Her mother is
dying of cancer and lives with the constant memory of her
father who died all too young. He too was a cop and was
killed in the line of duty. Kaitlyn is on a special case
where she is investigating the Garotters, a type of
vigilante vampire group who may have ties to the mafia.
Kaitlyn's investigation brings her in contact with one of
the zerkers, who has been murdered and which means that
Landon is on her trail. Kaitlyn knows of Landon because he
is a PI who has lent a hand to the police in the past. But
what Kaitlyn doesn't know is that Landon has been watching
Kaitlyn for a very long time because, Landon may have been
responsible for Kaitlyn's father's death.
As these two team up, Landon's attraction for the young
detective is becoming too much to bear. He wants to claim
Kaitlyn as his mate even though she is human. And as Kaitlyn
finds herself in danger, she begins to welcome Landon's
touch and longs to experience a passion she has never felt
before.
Patrice Michelle has written another excellent paranormal in
her on-going SCIONS series. This is one book that should not
be missed. Patrice has come up with an incredible world
where vampires and werewolves are all too real. Landon is
very much a hero in his own right, but filled with great
remorse and guilt that when Kaitlyn comes along you wish she
would take him in her arms and heal him with her love. And
let me tell you, she does heal him to the very depths of his
soul. The chemistry between these two is scorching and the
love scenes are beyond hotter than hot!
SCIONS: INSURRECTION has suspense, action and a wonderful
love story in these pages that should not be missed. I found
myself holding my breath as Landon and Kaitlyn come closer
to the answers they are looking for and for the moment when
Landon must tell Kaitlyn about his true identity and what
happened to her father. Don't be surprised that when you
finish reading, you will be on the edge of your seat waiting
for the next book in this not to be missed series.
Humanity had reason to fear vampires.But they didn't know about werewolves. Yet.
When Detective Kaitlyn McKinney responded to a call about a
strange, burned body, she discovers something far more
complicated - and
dangerous.
Landon Rourke is a werewolf, exiled from his pack and
dedicated to keeping a protective watch over Kaitlyn. A
prophecy has said that his
kind and vampires would one day come to a truce. But that
day has yet to come.
Landon has his own past to deal with, too, involving Kaitie
herself. A dark truth that has kept them apart for years.
When Kaitlyn gets caught up in the battle between vampires
and werewolves, their long-simmering attraction ignites.
And in that attraction, they find the secret that will
bring them together...
Excerpt
I'm being hunted.
Nearly imperceptible vibrations rumbled underneath Landon’s
bare feet as he lifted the ax.
Cool fall wind whipped through the forest, drying the sweat
that coated his naked chest and soaked the top of his jeans.
He scrunched his toes in the damp underbrush, feeling,
sensing the pulse of the predator. The tiny hairs on the
back of his neck and along his arms stood on end as his
senses went into overdrive. Without turning, he sniffed the
current in the air and waited for his sense of smell to
catch up with his supercharged hearing and heightened
tactile abilities. Filtering out the strong scent of oak,
pine, decomposing leaves and earth surrounding him, he honed
in on new scents and listened for movement.
Behind him. Six o’clock. Coming in fast. Landon pinpointed
his hunter’s stealthy approach.
His biceps flexed and he swung the sharp tool. The ax split
the wood with ease, and twin pieces fell onto the stack of
wood piled around the stump. With unhurried movements, he
replaced the splintered wood with another log and lifted the
ax once more.
The predator was closer. Seventy feet away and closing.
Fifty feet. Close enough that he caught a whiff of its sweat.
Landon’s lips curved in a predatory smile. He brought the
ax around in a sharp arc at the same time he twisted his spine.
“Holy shit!” Caine drew himself up short, less than a yard
behind Landon. Frozen in place, he stared wide-eyed at the
pointed triangular blade that now hovered a quarter inch
from his throat. “You almost took off my head!”
Landon lowered the ax to the ground. “When are you going to
learn you can’t sneak up on me?”
Caine’s white teeth flashed. “The wind was in my favor.”
“You know I don’t depend on my nose,” Landon growled,
annoyed with the younger were. His sense of smell might not
be as acute as those in his Lupreda wolf pack, but Landon’s
other senses had adapted, taking over where his nose left
off. “Why are you here, anyway?” he asked as he lifted the ax.
“All three zerkers have disappeared.”
Landon slammed down the ax, splitting not just the single
log but the tree stump underneath it.
Leaving the ax buried in the tree stump, he curled his hands
into fists and faced Caine. “Why tell me this? I’m no longer
a member of the pack.”
Caine’s hazel gaze locked with Landon’s. “The Omega asked
me to seek your help.”
Landon’s chest constricted as fury and resentment swept
through him. Each year the Omega board ruled that his
substandard sense of smell disqualified him from the annual
Alpha challenge—which was more than a test of physical
endurance but proof of a were’s leadership ability and
combat strategy—yet they didn’t have a problem coming to him
for help. He ground his teeth and gritted out, “Nathan is
their chosen Alpha. Let him find his lost werewolf zerkers.”
“Nathan doesn’t know.”
Landon scowled at Caine. “As leader of the pack, Nathan
should’ve been informed.”
Caine crossed his arms over his chest. “You know damned
well why he wasn’t. Nathan would go to war with the
vampires. The Sanguinas are the only ones strong enough to
overcome a zerker.”
“The vampires don’t know zerkers exist!” Landon hissed.
“How do you know the three weres didn’t leave on their own?
It’s not like they were welcomed in the wolf pack.” Landon
might not be caught between shape-shifted forms like the
zerkers, but he definitely understood what it felt like to
be ostracized.
Caine’s gaze narrowed. “Something happened to them. Blood
was everywhere. Werewolf blood.”
What a helluva mess. Landon ran a hand through his hair as
his mind raced through the ramifications of the news Caine
had just dumped on him. “What does the Omega want from me?”
Caine’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “They know you have a
tenuous truce with the Sanguinas’ new leader, Jachin Black.
They want you to talk to him and find out if the vampires
had anything to do with our zerkers’ disappearance.”
And how the hell was he going to do that without revealing
the zerkers’ existence to the Sanguinas? Landon set his jaw
and gazed into the woods around him.
“The Omega are trying to avoid a war, Landon. Wouldn’t you
do this for your pack?”
He glared at Caine, giving him a low, threatening growl.
The bastard knew better. Landon would do anything for the
Lupreda. The pack’s well-being had always been his top
priority.
“They sent you on purpose.” Landon jerked the ax from the
stump. Gripping the wood handle tighter, he stalked away,
heading toward his cabin.
“Probably true.” Caine’s low laughter caught up to Landon as
the younger were fell into step beside him. “They know you
have a soft spot for me.”
Landon slanted his gaze at Caine. “I would think you’d have
a vested interest in the pack’s concern over the zerkers’
disappearance. If you don’t, you should.”
“That was way below the belt.”
Landon paused and glanced over his shoulder at the pain
underscoring Caine’s tone. The younger were had halted. His
fists were curled by his side, his eyes slitted and his lip
lifted in a snarl.
Gripping the bullet slug that hung from a silver chain
around his neck, Landon rubbed his finger across the
partially crumpled metal. “Yes, it was, but you need to be
reminded how closely you ride the line. Past mistakes linger
with you.”
Caine’s angry expression melted away as he approached him.
Clapping his hand on Landon’s bare shoulder, his lips
straightened to a firm line. “Yeah, I know.”
Their gazes locked—a lifetime of support reflected between
them.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Landon finally broke the silence.
Caine smiled and punched Landon’s arm. “I’ve already
insisted they reinstate you.”
“Nathan will love that—the Omega undermining him.” Landon
snorted.
Caine followed him up the cabin’s wooden porch. “Nathan’s
an idiot.”
“On that we definitely agree,” Landon said with a grin.
“Nathan will never forgive you for kicking his ass in front
of a captive audience of weres and vampires.”
Landon shrugged. “I did what needed to be done to protect
our pack from an all out war with the vampires. Jachin
will make a fair leader of the Sanguinas.”
“I think it’s rich Nathan can’t oust you completely since
your property butts the edge of Lupreda land.” Caine’s eyes
lit with feral intensity. “By the way, fair warning, ever
since you so thoroughly trounced him three months ago, he
openly spouts off about how much he hates your guts and if
he runs across your traitorous ass, he’ll rip your heart out.”
Landon welcomed the primal need for a rematch that rose up
inside him. He gave the younger were a calm, deadly smile.
“Tell Nathan I said, ‘Bring it on’.”
* * * * *
Landon glanced up from talking with a police officer and
nodded to Jachin with the vampire entered Jamie's pub in New
York's Lower East Side. Jachin looked healthier than Landon
had ever seen him. Apparently, mated life suited the
Sanguinas' leader well.
“Gotta meet with a friend.” Landon stood up from the table.
“Later, Rourke.” The burly officer with a red-veined nose
picked his mug up, saluted Landon then knocked back his
entire beer in one big gulp.
Clapping the man on the back, Landon smiled. “Make sure you
take the subway home, Mike.”
“Yeah, yeah, I hear ya,” Mike called after him. Smoke clung
to Landon’s skin as he wound his way around the small café
tables and headed toward the bar. The scent of peanuts and
alcohol, intertwined with the patrons’ sweat—heavily loaded
with varying emotions, from depression to euphoria—reached
out and yanked at his heightened senses while he passed
through the crowd. Out in open air, his sense of smell
wasn’t as acute as his werewolf brethren, but in close
quarters…the onslaught around him left him a little dizzy
and reeling. Landon snorted, blowing a gust of air out his
nose to clear it. He needed his senses on full alert around
Jachin.
Jachin’s deep blue gaze watched him with predatory wariness
as Landon approached the bar. He lifted his shot glass in
salute. “It’s been a while.”
“Three months.” Landon settled on a tall barstool and called
to the bartender, “I’ll have a Guinness.”
After the bartender set his draft in front of him and walked
away, Landon took a deep drink. The thick beer tasted good
going down. Eyeing Jachin, he wondered how Jachin’s human
mate was faring living among the vampires. “How’s Ariel?
She’s a resilient human, surviving that bullet wound like
she did.”
Jachin frowned. “If it hadn’t been for my sister’s medical
knowledge…” he paused then shook his head and chuckled. “My
mate’s tough. She’s finally feeling herself again. She’s
pregnant and has been throwing up like a champ for several
weeks.”
A child? While a smile tugged at his lips, a burning
sensation spread through his chest. Was that jealousy?
Probably indigestion. Damned raw steak he’d had for dinner
a few hours ago.
“How are things with your pack?” Jachin he rolled his empty
shot glass along his cupped palm and his gaze turned serious.
Tension whipped through Landon, knotting his shoulders at
the center of his spine. He gripped his mug’s handle tight
and stared at the dark liquid in the glass. “The Alpha
kicked me out for challenging him at the sacrificial circle.”
“Attacking your Alpha was ballsy.”
Landon’s gaze snapped to Jachin’s. “Nathan was too caught up
in you trespassing on Lupreda land. He would’ve called for
the entire pack to kill you, no matter the losses on either
side. I had to give you enough time to move the ascendancy
chalice and claim your leadership. With you as the new
vampire leader, peace between our races might one day be a
reality.”
“You shouldn’t be separated from your pack.”
Landon shrugged at the anger in Jachin’s tone. He knew he’d
eventually kill Nathan. Was it justifiable homicide if the
man deserved to die from sheer, arrogant stupidity? But
damnit, if he did take the bastard out, Landon didn’t know
if there was anyone with enough balls to lead the pack.
Nathan had brass ones. Unfortunately, the shithead didn’t
have the brains to go with the role.
After a few tense seconds passed, Jachin said, “There’s a
reason you called me here.”
Landon met Jachin’s steady gaze head-on. “The Omega want to
know if the Sanguinas have anything to do with the
disappearance of three of our weres.”
Jachin’s easy smile faded. “The Lupreda think the Sanguinas
are responsible? Why?”
“Because our men are missing.”
The vampire’s deep blue eyes narrowed and his angular jaw
hardened. “You’d better have more than that if you’re going
to accuse the Sanguinas, my friend.”
The tension levels between them increased considerably.
Landon heard Jachin’s heart rate lower to a deadly slow
thump and smelled the vamp’s testosterone levels increase.
The primal scent hung heavy and thick between them…as if the
man was intentionally waving a red flag in front of Landon
just to rile him.
The posturing smell made Landon’s nose hairs burn. He
snorted and pinched the bridge of his nose to keep from
reacting. A good brawl was probably exactly what “he”
needed, but it wouldn’t be conducive to his reason for being
there.
“The weres weren’t taken unharmed,” Landon said in a cold tone.
“And who could’ve done that, Landon?” While his black
eyebrows drew downward, Jachin’s expression held sincerity.
“What Sanguinas would be able to walk into the middle of a
wolfpack and take three weres without being detected and
attacked by the rest of the pack?”
The hairs on the back of Landon’s neck rose in defense. “The
weres weren’t living with the pack.”
A lethal calm settled over the vampire’s features. “Why
would these other weres be living outside of the group? Did
the Alpha kick them out, too? The Lupreda’s best defense is
their cohesiveness.”
“No humans could’ve taken these men,” Landon said, evading
Jachin’s question. “So I’ll ask you again…are the Sanguinas
responsible?”
Jachin’s fingers cinched around the shot glass, shattering
it. Shards of glass scattered across the bar top as he
growled in a low voice, “Have you considered the possibility
one of your own might’ve attacked your missing weres?”
Landon’s chest tightened at Jachin’s comment. He didn’t
want to think an insurrection was possible—that a Lupreda
could be responsible, but Nathan had been the one who’d
wanted to eliminate the weres once they went zerker. Only
the Omega’s humane ruling had saved the young weres’
lives…even if the zerkers had to live away from the pack.
Had Nathan won others to his side and taken out the zerkes,
despite the Omega?
When Jachin opened his hand and pieces of glass fell to the
bar, Landon saw the vampire’s cuts heal right before his
eyes. Obviously Jachin had fully recovered from the
sickness that had almost destroyed the vampires twenty-five
years ago when human blood mysteriously turned poisonous to
vampires, forcing the vampires to withdraw from the huma
world. When a human woman wrote a book about vampires three
months ago, Jachin knew she was the one to fulfill his
father’s dying prophesy of a better way for vampires to
live. He took over the clan and claimed the human named
Ariel Swanson as his mate. From the fast healing Landon had
just witnessed, Ariel’s blood was indeed viable.
Landon’s gaze jerked to Jachin’s furious one, his concern
growing for his pack’s safety. If the Lupreda ended up going
to war with the Sanguinas, fully recovered vampires would
have a definite advantage. “There have been reports of a
few homeless humans who’ve gone missing the past couple of
months. Have you discovered that other humans’ blood is
viable as well?”
Jachin nodded. “Apparently the sickness is being bred out of
the humans. The younger ones’ blood isn’t poisonous.”
Landon clenched his fists. “Have other vampires been
feeding then? Missing humans isn’t a very humane approach,
Jachin.”
Jachin’s gaze narrowed before he finally answered in an even
tone. “There are some vampires who deserted the clan when I
became the Sanguinas’ new leader. Our Sweeper unit hasn’t
located all of the rogue vampires yet. A few still remain
at large, evading our detection. It’s possible they’ve
discovered how to tell which humans are no longer poisonous.”
“If that’s true, your rogue vampires could’ve taken our
weres.” As Landon stared intensely at him, the vampire’s
jaw began to tic. They each were weighing the other’s
sincerity. “No matter yours and my goals for peace, hatred
still runs deep between our races,” Landon finally said once
his temper had settled to simmering tolerance.
Jachin smiled then, his white teeth flashing in the bar’s
dim light. “Then it’s up to us to set a positive example.”
He inclined his head slightly. “Though I don’t see how the
rogue vampires could’ve attacked and taken your weres
without leaving their scent behind, if they did take your
brethren, their actions wouldn’t be condoned by me or any
member of my clan.”
Landon nodded. “The Omega won’t like the answer, but they
might understand it.”
Jachin brushed the last bits of glass from his palm, then
ran his credit card through the payment machine on the bar
counter in front of him. As he slid the card into his
leather coat pocket, he said, “We’ll step up the Sweeper
unit presence in the city. I have no idea what the rogue
vampires would do with weres, other than enjoy battling with
them. Their food source is in town, not in the Shawangunk
mountain range.” Stepping down from the stool, Jachin
continued, “You never did tell me why the missing Lupreda
weren’t living with the pack.”
Landon made his payment and stood up, the wooden stool
scraping the hard floor behind him. He was slightly broader
in the chest than Jachin, while the vampire had at least an
inch on Landon’s six-foot-two height. The men faced each
other, each measuring the other with steady, assessing
stares. Landon inhaled, posturing instinctively. Decades
of distrust still smoldered between them. Like dying embers
in a fire, the slightest whiff of aggressiveness would
ignite the blaze once more.
Old habits died hard.
Trust had to be earned…over time. “They didn’t walk in line
with the Alpha,” Landon said. As he turned away, he mentally
grunted at the double meaning behind his honest response.
Chapter One
“I heard you were awesome with the kids at Handleburg Hall
tonight.”
Kaitlyn snorted into the cell phone and peered out her car
window into the dark parking lot. “For cripe’s sake, Abby
Brooks, I haven’t even left the orphanage yet. Who’s your
spy and is he old enough to work for the NYPD?”
“I have my vays,” Abby’s smug purr came across the line. “I
hear you’re coming back next week. Are we getting hooked on
these kids like I told you you would?”
She’d had a great time tonight. “Yeah, you could say that.”
Kaitlyn might’ve grown up in a loving home, but she had one
thing in common with Handleburg’s troubled teens. The
sobering realization hit her tonight when one of the kids
challenged her during her speech on working for the police.
He told her she knew nothing of what his life was like.
That was true enough. She didn’t grow up in a drug-riddled
home or had to worry about gang shootouts happening in the
middle of the night or day. But in the not to distant
future, just like these young men and women, she’d be
parentless, too. Then her police co-workers, Abby and the
‘Hall’ teens would be the only family she had. If nothing
else, she hoped she could give the teens the support they
needed to know that they didn’t have to follow the same path
their parents had.
“Thanks for hooking me up for the lecture. Oh, by the way,
they want me to help demonstrate in your Tae Kwon Do class
next Thursday,” Kaitlyn said as she turned the key and
started the car. “And drum roll…I’ve decided to commit at
least one night a week to Handleburg.”
“That’s wonderful, Kaitlyn. But what about your mom?”
Kaitlyn turned up the heat to ward off the chilly fall air.
“Mom has a lot more bad than good days now. When she’s
having bad days, she doesn’t want company. The pain
medicine makes her sleep a lot. I thought spending time
with the kids would keep my mind off her. Otherwise, I
just…” she paused. Worry for her mom clogged her throat.
“That makes sense to me, hon. Did you get the gift I sent
to your new digs?”
Kaitlyn laughed. “Yes, thank you for the congratulations
gift. I’ve already attached the small voice recorder to my
keychain.”
“I figured you could dictate during boring stakeouts, but
hey, I’m not done. Let’s go to Fuel and celebrate your
promotion to detective.”
Kaitlyn pulled out the parking lot and drove down the road.
“Not tonight, Ab—”
“You really should celebrate and cut loose. Not to mention,
it’s been a while since you’ve been out on the ‘scene’. Mr.
Right could be there at the bar, waiting to sweep you off
your bonnie Irish feet.”
More like the guy’d be ready to jump into the sack with the
first woman who said yes. She knew Abby’s suggestion that
she help out at Handleburg and now this invitation to the
bar was her best friend’s way of helping her find someone to
care for in her life, yet Abby’s casual “Mr. Right” comment
caused thoughts of her last boyfriend to flit through
Kaitlyn’s mind. She hadn’t dated anyone since she broke up
with Remy two years ago.
She’d definitely been attracted to his clean-cut charm and
understated bad-boy ege. After dating the guy for a little
over a year, they’d grown apart, seeming to have less in
common than she first thought. The man’s obsession with
being a Garrotter like his father finally became more than
she could deal with. Remy chose to live in the past. She
didn’t.
She wasn’t surprised when she heard Remy had joined up with
the old vampire hunter group. The Garotters had reinstated
themselves three months ago in response to a woman’s
kidnapping. Ariel Swanson had been abducted right after her
fictional book about vampires was released to the public.
Sheesh, it was just a book! While it was true vampires had
cut a murderous path through the human population in their
past, the monsters had been extinct for a good twenty-five
years.
“Sorry, I’ve got an early day tomorrow. Along with my new
promotion, I was assigned my first case. I have a good bit
of research ahead of me.”
“So dedicated.” Abby gave a resigned sigh. “You know your
father would be proud of you.”
Would her father be proud? Kaitlyn wondered as she rolled to
a stop at a stoplight. She hoped so. She missed his gravely
voice and lilting accent.
Blinking back the moisture in her eyes, she pushed on the
gas pedal when the light turned green. “Thanks for the
congrats and for your friendship. I don’t know what I’d
have done with out you these last few years. Call me
tomorrow and tell me how Fuel went.”
“How’d you know I was going anyway?”
Kaitlyn laughed. “This is you we’re talking about. I’ll
talk to you later. Bye.” Once she closed her cell phone, out
of habit, Kaitlyn turned on her police scanner instead of
the radio.
While listening to the calls coming in and the police
officers responding, she considered the biggest crime
situation facing the force today. Other than drugs,
gunrunning had always been an issue for the city.
A couple months ago, a Tacomi vehicle loaded with pulser
guns was hijacked on its way to a government warehouse. The
laser weapons had been created to give the police an
advantage over criminals now sporting Kevlar. Apparently,
the thugs wanted the pulser weapons the police were
carrying, but when rumors had come through that the
Garotters were active again and carrying pulser weapons,
most police officers turned a blind eye. Except for her boss.
Kaitlyn’s headlights sliced through the darkness as she took
a side road that led to the interstate.
Her boss had set his sights for a bigger role and he wanted
a juicy “win” to bring to the table when promotion time came
around. His informants had told him this new self-funded
Garotter regime had ties to the Mafia, which fell in line
with the greater number of pulser weapons being carried by
well-known Mafia men, too. Kaitlyn’s first assignment was to
ferret out the Mafia connection, if there truly was one.
Hence the major research she needed to do tomorrow.
A crackling call came across the scanner, capturing her
attention. “Lady reports yelling and a flash of bright
lights in Morningside Park.”
Without hesitation, more out of habit than anything else,
Kaitlyn punched in her badge number and hit the call button,
“This is Detective McKinney. I’m in the vicinity. I’ll check
it out.”
“Copy, McKinney. Back up is on their way. ETA seven minutes.”
“Copy, dispatch.”
Heart thumping a little harder, Kaitlyn reached into her
glove compartment. Once she’d pulled out her gun in its
leather holster, she clipped the holster to her belt.
Securing a palm-sized comm unit beside her gun, she then
turned her vehicle down another road and headed toward
Morningside.
Just like her father…there was no such thing as “off-duty”
in her mind.
Kaitlyn pulled into the darkened, pothole riddled parking
lot. She scanned the abandoned park’s broken picnic shelter
roof and the graffiti on the restroom building next to it.
A lone streetlight provided little illumination for the park
area that backed up to the woods. Under her coat, the tiny
hairs on her arms began to stand up, warning her.
Turning off her headlights, Kaitlyn reached beneath her seat
and withdrew the NYPD issue flashlight. She wrapped her
fingers around the cool heavy-duty metal and got out of the
car.
Kaitlyn closed the door with a quiet click and took slow,
even breaths. Pulling her coat out of the way, she rested
her hand over her gun, tucked in its holster, as she scanned
the shadowed playground.
Adrenaline pumped through her veins and she turned her
flashlight toward the merry-go-round slowing to its final
spin at the same time she unsnapped the holster, removing
her weapon. Backup would be here soon, she told herself as
an invisible force seemed to pull her toward the play
equipment.
An owl hooted; its deep night call sliding icy fingers down
her spine. She gripped the gun’s handle, while cool air,
laced with the faint scents of home fires and pine, kissed
her cheeks.
“Police officer. Come out now!” She moved across the parking
lot, and puffs of frosted air plumed in front of her with
each breath she took.
As soon as she stepped out of the streetlight’s glowing
circle into the darkened playground, a grating,
nails-on-a-chalkboard sound echoed in the darkness, skidding
all the way to her bones.
She froze in place. Her breath caught while she listened
for the source of the sound. Another piercing squeak echoed
before the equipment came to a complete halt.
The merry-go-round.
Her flashlight swept the monkey bars, the play hut and
slide. Whoever it was must be gone now. The tension in
Kaitlyn’s stomach eased and she began to breathe again.
Confidence restored, she started toward the shadowed
equipment with assured strides.
A gust of wind rushed past her, so strong, so specifically
directed—as if someone or something had dashed right past
her at a rapid pace—it flapped open her coat, sending frigid
air straight through her cotton button-down shirt underneath.
Her skin prickled and Kaitlyn halted. Cinching her grip
around the gun, she quickly traced the wind’s path with the
light.
Not a soul. Only leaves floating in the air and her car
sitting in the dimly lit parking lot behind her. I’m losing
it.
Shrugging, she faced forward once more. This time she tuned
into every little sound. Broken glass and leaves crunched
underneath her shoe’s hard soles, and tiny pebbles scattered
out of her way as she approached the merry-go-round.
She could go back to her car and wait, but an underlying
“need to know” drove her forward.
Once she reached the merry-go-round, she shone the beam of
light on the base. Faded, chipped blue and red paint created
pie pieces on the round wooden floor. An empty beer bottle
sat in the middle.
Kaitlyn sighed and gripped the merry-go-round’s cool metal
handrail with her gun hand, while she scanned her flashlight
across the open field behind the playground and then into
the dark forest beyond.
Other than a blanket of low fog hanging a few inches above
the cool grass, nothing was there.
Shaking her head at the boondoggle call someone had made to
the police, she turned to leave, but something caught her
eye in the open field behind the playground. The wind
must’ve blown the fog away, exposing what had been hidden
underneath.
Glowing embers. Fiery orange.
Beckoned by an unseen force, she ran toward the bits of
burning ash.
As she moved closer, the smell of burnt hair and flesh
permeated the air, making her stomach roil.
When she reached the area and the full ashy sight came into
focus, the need to retch grew so strong, she gagged.
Surrounding the ashes left behind, a glowing, aura-like
outline remained where a body had once lain. The aura
revealed arms and legs in a straight out position as if the
victim had been staked to the ground.
Her pulse raced out of control and she began to shake all
over. She knew most people didn’t see auras, especially of
dead people, like she did. A detailed outline always
surrounded the bodies. It was as if, at the moment of their
death, each victim left a strong energy signature behind—a
signature to give her clues. And this time it was a neon
purple color. Purple meant the death had been brutal.
Death always upset her, especially violent murders, but what
frightened her most was the shape of this outline
surrounding the ashes.
While she scanned the forest with her flashlight to make
sure no one was lurking in the woods, she contemplated what
she’d tell her fellow officers once they showed up. The
aura wasn’t like any human she’d ever seen. The other
police officers might not be able to see the energy
signature she did, but she hoped the lab might be able to
lift the DNA of the victim from the ashes.
Lights flashed behind her and her insides jerked to
attention. Kaitlyn turned to see a vehicle pulling into the
parking lot. It wasn’t a squad car.
“Damn,” she whispered and crouched to quickly turn off the
light. This wasn’t the best area of town and she was alone.
Even though Abby had trained her to red belt level in Tae
Kwon Do and she had a gun, she wasn’t taking any chances.
She had no idea who was in that black truck, yet the
distinctive grill across the front looked familiar. As she
racked her brain, trying to remember where she’d seen the
vehicle, a tall man stepped out.
Landon Rourke.
His wide shoulders looked even broader covered by a leather
jacket that stopped at his thighs. The streetlight shone on
his light brown hair and highlighted his strong jaw as he
started across the lot toward the playground.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Kaitlyn stood up slowly. She
tucked her gun away and stared at the man approaching.
Landon had offered his PI expertise to the police from time
to time in the past, most often in the field. Hence the
reason she’d only seen him a couple of times at the station.
His dominant presence wasn’t easy to forget. From his
confident bearing to his aggressive stride, the man was
definitely an impression maker.
She’d heard that he’d stopped working with the police a few
years ago. Rumors abounded; the most popular was that he’d
had a falling out with the now retired chief.
What was he doing here?
Landon made his way across the playground toward Kaitlyn
McKinney. His teeth were clamped so tight, he thought his
jaw might shatter. He couldn’t believe it when he pulled
into the parking lot and her car was there.
It was bad enough the bastard who’d called him on his cell
phone twenty minutes ago had told Landon to come to this
particular park. The fact that Kaitlyn was also here sent a
warning through his body, while guilt slithered a slimy,
winding path through his conscience.
“If you want your missing pack members, go to Morningside
Park. They might be a bit steamed when you get there.”
The line had gone dead. All Landon knew, until he could
have the phone number traced, was that the caller was a man.
It wasn’t a voice he’d ever heard before.
When he was within thirty feet of Kaitlyn, Landon bit back a
howl of fury. His chest tightened with the need to roar. He
scented burnt flesh—Lupreda flesh—floating through the air
toward him. The need for revenge rippled through him,
contracting every muscle in his body. Sick Bastards.
Fisting his hands, he mentally vowed to rip apart whoever
was responsible for murdering his pack mates…zerkers or not.
He approached Kaitlyn as the last ember on the ground
changed from orange to black.
“It’s Landon Rourke, right?” Kaitlyn held out her fine-boned
hand out to him. “Detective Kaitlyn McKinney.”
Detective? When did she get promoted? Landon glanced at her
outstretched hand. Shoving his hands in his jeans’ front
pockets, he gave a curt nod. The last thing he needed was
to touch her. “Nice to meet you, Detective.”
“Call me Kaitlyn. What are you doing here?” She lowered her
hand and her eyebrow rose, lips quirking slightly. “Don’t
tell me you were just out for a stroll.”
He didn’t miss her sarcasm, even as he wondered, Why the
hell had the killers done it here of all places? He swept
his gaze across the burned remains of his brethren. The
wind began to pick up, stirring the ashes. Rain’s thick
moisture carried heavily in the air. A downpour was imminent.
Who would be so twisted as to bring both Kaitlyn and him to
this very park? His heavy conscience beat a staccato thrum
against his skull. The bullet on the chain around his neck
seemed to burn, branding his skin.
“Did you hear the call over the comm?” she prompted, drawing
his attention.
“Yeah, I was near the area.” Lucky break on my excuse for
being here. He stared at the ashes. “What do you think? Kids
burned some animals or something?”
Kaitlyn’s auburn eyebrows rose. “Um, more like one something.”
Landon’s heart jerked. There was no damned way she could
tell what had been burned from looking the ashes. Could she?
He kept his expression carefully neutral and gestured to
the pile of remains dissipating with each windy gust. “What
else could it be? You don’t think this was a person, do you?”
She shook her head and tucked a thick auburn strand of hair
that had fallen from her clip back behind her ear. “No, I—”
she paused and glanced down at the remnants, looking
perplexed. “I think this was something humanlike but not
quite human.”
He froze. “Humanlike? What are you talking about?”
She gave him an uncomfortable look. Her teeth snagged her
bottom lip and she scouted the edge of the ashes, pointing
with her flashlight. “The victim was lined up with his…its
head facing north. It was at least seven feet tall with
elongated jaws, more like a muzzle.” Moving to the opposite
side, she pointed to another area. “And its legs and feet
were bent at an odd angle, as if…well, as if it walked on
the balls of its feet.”
Every word that came out of her mouth cinched Landon’s chest
tighter and tighter. Her accurate description was like a
vise screwing closed around his lungs.
Damn. She’d just accurately described a Lupreda zerker.
But he couldn’t tell Kaitlyn how right she was. He gave her
a hard look and spoke in an even tone. “Halloween’s not for
another two weeks, Kaitlyn. I smell burned fur.” He kicked
at the ashes, hoping to disturb the image she was seeing.
“We’d better make sure this fire is completely out. Whatever
the accelerant was, it took care of any bones, but its
presence might leave these ashes more likely to flare up
again. That concerns me, being so close to these woods.”
“Wait! Did you just feel a rain drop? There won’t be any
evidence left if it rains.” She handed him the flashlight.
“Hold this for me.”
She quickly pulled the claw-like clip out of her hair, then
bent to scoop up some of the ash with her hairclip. “I saw
some bits of silvery stuff along the edges of the ash where
the hands and feet were. I want to have a sample analyzed.”
“That clip’s like a tainted evidence envelope with holes.”
He squatted down to give her the light she requested.
“Yeah, but it’s the best I’ve got under the circumstances,”
she said as he bent close.
Her gorgeous blue eyes, flecked with swirls of golden brown,
peered at him through her auburn hair. The silky smooth
curtain had fallen out of its twist to lie over her right
shoulder. When she tucked her hair behind her ear, her
action let loose the most appealing smell…woman’s musk and
violets.
Their gazes locked and in that instant he knew. He saw the
slight tremble in her hand movements, heard her heart rate
kick up, and felt her heat level rise as the scent of her
arousal flooded her body.
She was attracted to him.
Something about her alluring smell leapt at him, grabbing
him by the throat in a tight fist. When the beam of light
bounced off her hair, revealing several shades of red from
deep auburn to burnt amber, Landon gripped the flashlight
tight to keep from reaching over and running his fingers
across the colorful strands. The urge to experience the
fiery silk sliding along his skin grew stronger. Even as his
chest constricted with his internal battle, her aroused
scent imprinted itself on his hunter’s memory. His blood
thickened and his groin hardened instantly.
Landon gritted his teeth to suppress the overwhelming desire
to grasp the back of her head and crush his lips to hers.
He’d never wanted a woman with this much ferocity, this much
savage intensity.
He wasn’t built for this kind of denial. Lupreda followed
their primordial instincts without reservation when it came
to coupling.
But she wasn’t Lupreda.
For fifteen years, he’d watched over her, protected her
since she was six years old, since she’d lost her father.
Yet over the past few years, she’d moved into adulthood, and
his protective feelings for her had changed, felt
more…personal. Landon distanced himself from her, giving up
his connection to her through the police. He hadn’t worked
a case for the NYPD in three years.
Tonight he saw just how much she’d grown up. Now
twenty-four, she’d matured into a desirable woman, complete
with curves and a sexy, kissable mouth. Her fine-boned
stature should’ve dissuaded him, but instead her human
fragility only attracted him more, despite his fear he could
crush every bone in her body with the slightest touch.
All it would take was one moment of primal lust, one slip of
unconditioned control and he could kill her.
He’d always kept his distance from Kaitlyn, but now…his
closeness to her began to unravel the rigid lock he’d held
over his senses whenever he was around her—the attraction
that he’d refused to acknowledge in the past, exploded
within him in primal certainty, demanding he claim her, mark
her…as his.
Clenching his hands into tight fists, he quickly stood to
put some distance between them.
She gave him a triumphant smile and held up the claw clip.
“I’m using the hinge to hold a chunk of the ashes.”
Landon swallowed the lump in his throat. The woman had no
idea she was staring raging need directly in the face. He
should never have gotten so damned close to her.
Unedited excerpt from SCIONS:INSURRECTION by
Patrice
Michelle
Copyright (c) 2008 by Patrice Michelle. All Rights
Reserved.
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