Judge: Mating Fever: Shifters Forever Worlds (Barely After Dark Book 3) (5 page)

J
udge inhaled
.

Then it hit him.

Holy hell.

He was in his bear. He didn’t remember shifting. He didn’t remember anything.

A low grumbling growl rumbled in his chest. He shook his bear head.

He inhaled again. Hay? Why did he smell hay? He pushed his bear back, trying to take over his body.

His bear protested.

I’m pretty sure I’ve healed enough.

Judge shoved harder, wrestled control from his bear and pushed his body back toward his human form. A few short seconds later, after grueling discomfort, bones compacting, sinew morphing, he was in his human form.

“Ouch.” Fucking straw poked at his body.

Where’s my shirt?

Shifters didn’t lose their clothing when they shifted. They just got rumpled, looking like the shifter had been in a wrestling match. So where the hell was his shirt?

“’Bout time, Rumpelstiltskin.”

Judge studied his surroundings. He’d been in the back of Mac’s vet clinic before. He knew about the large animal bays. He turned toward his brother. “What the hell, Cross.”

“You passed out, bro. Internal bleeding. We all brought you back here, had you hibernate to heal. You don’t remember any of it?”

He sure as hell didn’t. Judge shook his head. “Not a bit.”

Lance was next to Cross. “Hey, Mac. He’s up,” he called out.

Judge forked his fingers through his hair. “How long was I out?”

Cross glanced at his watch. “About half a day.”

Then it hit him. “Where’s Lani?”

Cross frowned. “Stole my new truck.”

Shit. How the hell will I find her now?

Then the place turned into Grand Central Station, it seemed. Mac came in, and right behind her Ariadne.

Judge rose to his feet, scanned the room for his shirt. No luck. After that, surprise… Griz walked in.

“You really do know when to show up, don’t you?” Judge muttered, half under his breath.

A woman followed Griz into the room.

One he didn’t recognize.

Judge studied the newcomer. Okay, truth be told, he stared.

Long white-blond hair. Light blue eyes, almost indistinguishable from her whites, they were so light. Her skin was a dusky color, offsetting the eeriness of her eyes. She wore a long white gown that flowed to her ankles.

She stared back at Judge, her gaze not wavering, she didn’t say a word, had no expression on her face.

Judge finally turned to Griz, a questioning expression on his face.

Griz glanced at the woman, then back at Judge. “You need an Intuitive for your Intuitive. Meet Ciara.”

My Intuitive? Hardly.

But he couldn’t say that.

“Jesus. Do you know everything that goes on around here?” H
ow the hell does he know about Lani?
He looked at Ciara the Intuitive. Lani was the only Intuitive he’d ever seen. The Intuitives were a private, closed-off society. “Anyway, she’s gone.” He kept his eyes on Ciara. “Unless you can find her.”

Those eyes never left his face. Finally, she spoke. “Why do you shifters always assume this?”

That reminded him of something Lani had said once, long ago. Sadness pierced through him.

“So basically, I’m screwed? I won’t be able to find her.”

“You underestimate me, little bro.” Cross took his phone out, pressed on the screen.

“I’ve got tracking on it.” He put his arm around Ariadne. “I can’t afford to take any chances, not with…” He locked eyes with his attractive, curvy mate. “Can I share?”

Ariadne nodded.

“There’s a baby on the way.”

“More than one,” Mac added.

“No,” Cross countered. “We’ve already seen Doc. He confirmed Ariadne is only carrying one.”

“I’m not talking about Ariadne,” Mac corrected.

“You?” Cross asked.

Ariadne squealed in delight.

Lance frowned. “This is the first I’m hearing of this.”

“No, no. Hold on.” Mac laughed. “Not me.”

Lance did a doubletake. “Wh—”

“Lani’s pregnant. That’s why she wouldn’t let me do any X rays. I drew blood. Tested it. I figured out after she’d gone that she was pregnant.”

Judge leaned against the wall. Could it be? It had to—

—didn’t it?

“I need to find her. Now.”

“Is the baby yours?” Cross asked.

Of course, it was his.

Isn’t it?

Unless she found someone else—a part of his stomach shriveled up at the idea of that. He couldn’t tell Cross anyway. Admitting that would be admitting to doing something against regulations. “Don’t ask, bro.”

Lance and Cross both frowned at him. “Well, she’s AWOL. Let me take care of that part, else she’ll have hell to pay when the Shifter Council catches up to her.”

Relief flooded through Judge, then doubt set in. “Can you?”

Lance laughed. “Can he? Seriously?” Then he turned to Cross. “Have you not told him?”

“Not yet.”

“Told me what?”

“Big brother Cross has been offered a new position with the Shifter Council. He’ll be the department head of all the Shifter Council Compliance Units.”

Judge did a double take, then settled his glance on Cross. “No shit?”

“Yeah. And you’d have to move to New York?”

“They’ll let me remote some of it from Bear Canyon.”

“Wow. They must want you pretty badly to let you remote it.”

Cross shrugged.

“Congrats, bro.” Judge gave him a quick shoulder hug. “Now, about Lani…”

“Yeah, I’ll take care of it. But there’ll have to be some settling later.”

“I’m sure.”

Judge hoped that whatever penalties Lani would have to pay wouldn’t be too steep, but right now, her wellbeing was way more important. “So… about finding her…”

“Right.” Cross nodded. “My truck’s in Denver. It’s been parked in the industrial area since this morning. Not moved. Not been started. I had it disabled. I’ve got a team in the area—a couple of freelancers that do occasional work for the Unit—and for me. They’re on alert, monitoring the truck, but not doing anything otherwise.”

Judge didn’t give a shit about the damned truck.

“And Lani?”

“See the thing is she got there before the team was in place. They’re talking to the businesses and warehouses in the area to see if they can find anything out from any private surveillance cameras.”

“I need to get to my truck. Can I hitch a ride?” Judge pushed off the wall and headed for the door that led to the front of the clinic.

“Why don’t you let all of us go with you?” Griz asked. “Ciara may be able to help with Lani and her friend too. Cross’s contacts will stay in touch with him. And you never know when you’ll need a little extra manpower.” Griz smiled, a growl coming from deep within his chest.

Judge knew that was Griz’s bear. He studied his uncle. He’d always thought Griz was older, but now he didn’t look as old as he had when Judge was a teen. Sure, shifters aged very slowly but why did it look like Griz was closer in age to Judge than ever? Maybe his uncle had some special mojo since he had friends who were other types of supernatural beings.

“Yeah,” Lance agreed. “We’re not letting you go alone. Anyway, Lani’s one of ours. She’s with the Compliance Unit.”

“Plus, she’s pregnant,” Mac added. “You never know when she might need medical help.”

Judge raised his hands in defeat. “All right, all right. Can we get going, already?”

Mac stepped forward. “You might want this. I had to take your shirt off you to check your wounds.” She handed him one of Lance’s shirts.

Judge nodded his appreciation and slipped his arms into the sleeves.

“I’ll drive,” Lance said. “We’ll take Mac’s truck. It’ll hold all of us. Should be there in five hours—max.”

Mac grabbed her doctor kit.

Judge gave her a look.

“You never know,” she said. “I’d rather be prepared.”

He nodded, hoping she didn’t mean that to include Lani.

They piled into the Suburban.

“Let’s take the back,” Mac said to Ariadne. “I have some catching up to do with Ciara.”

Lance drove, Judge sat shotgun. Cross and Griz piled in behind them. The three women situated themselves in the very back.

“Don’t drive slow,” Judge cautioned. “Or I’ll have to take over.”

“When have I ever driven slow?” Lance laughed. “Let’s find your girl.”

“Who said she’s my girl?”

Who am I kidding?

But Judge wasn’t ready to admit his feelings—not out loud. Not to his Enforcer brothers.

Lance looked him up and down.

Cross chuckled. “You saying she’s not? That it’s not your baby?”

Judge knew as surely as his bear knew that the baby could be no one else’s. And even if it weren’t his, Lani was still his. And her child would be his.

As soon as I can find her.

“Yeah, and from what she told Mac, it seems her friend could be in trouble.”

Which means Lani could be in trouble, too.

Lance briefed him on a talk that Lani had with Mac before he’d passed out.

That Lani’s friend Pepper was mixed up with unsavory characters. That she was in trouble. That Lani had gone AWOL to find and help her.

Judge was furious with her for so many reasons, but a part of him beamed with admiration for Lani.

I need to find my mate.

He’d never met anyone so mysterious and deep, so hard to understand. And at the same time so exciting.

Subconsciously his shifter hearing picked up a conversation in the back of the vehicle.

Curiosity piqued, Judge paid attention, tuning in, and tuning everything else out.

“I thought Intuitives didn’t interact with shifters,” Mac was saying in almost a whisper in the farthest seat in the back.

“Not usually.” Judge recognized Ciara’s voice. “But…”

“Ciara’s my cousin,” Griz said.

Judge turned toward the back, pretense at eavesdropping over. He was curious now.

How is Griz related to an Intuitive?

Griz continued, “She told me to check on you guys. If it weren’t for her Intuitive senses, I’d have never known every time there was a ripple in your lives.”

Judge looked at Lance. Lance was looking at Cross in the rearview mirror. Judge glanced at Cross. Cross shrugged.

Okay then, looks like we’re all surprised by this.

“So how are you related, exactly? And what is she doing here, among shifters?”

Griz glanced at the back seat. “You mind?”

Judge caught a glimpse of Ciara nodding.

Griz turned forward, facing Judge. “She’s my cousin, a few times removed. An outcast Intuitive, one-quarter shifter. Her grandmother was a grizzly shifter. Though he was half-shifter, her father had no shifting animal.

“He met Ciara’s mother, an Intuitive… well, that’s another story. Anyway, Ciara’s mother saved his life. The Intuitive community has never been accepting of outsiders, so when Ciara’s mother was pregnant, the two had to make a decision.

“They eloped and left the Intuitive community behind. Ciara is not accepted by the Intuitive community and she isn’t a shifter, though descended from one.” Griz glanced back. “So far so good?”

Ciara’s head appeared next to the headrest. “You covered the stuff that matters.”

Judge imagined there was much more to that story. He hoped one day he’d get to hear it.

“So, you help Griz?” Judge asked her.

Her light eye looked eerie, almost completely white. “When I can. He helped me, after all. I owe him.”

Griz reached back, put his large hand over her smaller one. “You keeping tabs, girl? You don’t owe me. And if you ever did, don’t you think all you’ve done for my nephews more than made up for it?”

“Who is keeping tabs now?” Ciara smiled, her expression changing, becoming less ethereal, more human.

“And you were helping him when you pulled your little magical tattoo trick on me?” Mac’s tone was playful and her smile wide as she teased Ciara.

“I was. I’d like to think I was helping you, as well.”

“You were!” Mac wrapped her arms around Ciara. “You were.”

“Agreed,” Lance glanced in the rearview mirror, a smile on his lips.

“How do you think you can help with Lani?” Judge asked, eager to get back to the woman he couldn’t stop thinking of, same as his bear. “Do you think being an Intuitive will give you an edge?”

“There’s no way to know. Not yet, is there?” Her response was mysterious.

D
enver
.

Just after dawn. The sun was shining a brilliant spring promise, but for Judge, there was uncertainty.

He had to find Lani.

He’d asked Ciara repeatedly during the drive if she’d sensed the proximity of another Intuitive and she told him, over and over again, that there was no way to know if she felt one because until they were closer, any Intuitive’s signal would interfere.

Frustrated, Judge had growled, but not realized he’d done it aloud until she went on to explain.

“It’s not like we all have a specific wave length.”

“Turn left here.” Cross was holding his phone and giving Lance directions toward his vehicle.

“Still hasn’t moved?” Judge gritted his teeth.

“Nope.” Cross reached up, put his hand on Judge’s shoulder.

Judge tried to relax his muscles. He knew he was one tense knot of anger and frustration.

“Less than a block away,” Cross told Lance.

Judge studied the area. Full of warehouses, they all looked the same, one after another, lined up like barracks or prisoners. Dingy gray, lacking paint, with empty pallets that had begun to fall apart in front of otherwise empty truck bays. The warehouse alleys were all deserted.

Probably because it’s Saturday.

Lance pulled the Suburban next to a new white SUV.

Judge turned to Cross. “Yours?”

“Yup.”

Judge scanned the area. Where the hell could she be?

He looked toward the back. Ciara’s eyes were closed, a frown of concentration brought her brows down, leaving the skin between her eyes with vertical lines. She titled her head to the left, as if listening.

Finally, Judge couldn’t wait anymore. “Well?”

Her eyes flew open. “Please give me a moment. I can’t concentrate on finding her when your emotions are sending tidal waves that are taking precedence over my senses.”

Lance gave him a look. “Chill, bro.”

Judge gritted his teeth. Would he say chill if it was Mac? “I’m chill.”

He glanced at Cross who was pressing numbers on the phone screen. Cross put the phone to his head. “We’re here.” He paused. “Okay, I wondered if you had eyes on us. Sure. See you in a moment.”

“They’re coming.”

“Who is they, exactly?”

“Four brothers. Wolf shifters. They hire out freelance.”

“Qualifications?” Judge wasn’t about to put Lani’s fate in the hands of amateurs.

“The best. I’m leaving it at that. Their resumes are need to know.”

“I’m thinking I need to know.”

“Trust me.” Cross’s dark eyes had a steely glint, his bear flashed amber in the depths.

Judge let out a ragged deep breath. He nodded. Cross had never let him down.

Four men approached, stocky but not bulked up. They had the eyes of predators, the stealth of a large feline, their gaits had the confident swagger of one at the top of the food chain.

Judge assessed the men, noting the weapons clearly attached to their bodies beneath their khaki pants and canvas shirts. All four wore sunglasses, all four had military haircuts.

He glanced at Cross, wanting to gauge his brother’s expression.

Cross nodded. “They’re the best. Lucky they were in the area.”

Cross, Lance, Griz, and Judge stepped out of the vehicle.

The wolf shifters joined them.

“Griz.” The head of the wolves nodded at his uncle.

Judge looked from his uncle to the head wolf. Was there anyone Griz didn’t know?

“Range. Long time.” Griz nodded a greeting.

“Cross,” the wolf called Range held his hand out to Cross. “I heard there’s talk you’re moving up.”

Cross shook his head, disbelief plastered on his face. “I don’t know how the hell you know the stuff you do.”

The wolf shifter’s smile was cryptic. “Lance, Judge.” He looked at each respectively, clearly aware who was who.

Judge realized the shifter had a database, complete with photos, if he recognized him and Lance so easily.

“I’m Range. That’s Asa, Jason, Davin.” He pointed to the three shifters behind him.

“Anything?” Cross asked? “Sign of our Intuitive?”

“No. Several male humans. An elemental. One leopard shifter. Not sure what type the elemental is.”

“They’re not onto you, right?” Lance asked.

A small derisive laugh slipped from Range, his granite-cast face not showing any emotions.

“You fellas have Tranqs?” Griz inquired.

“Don’t leave home without ‘em.” Range’s grin was wolfish. “Got our hands on some high-priced anti-Tranqs, too.”

The truck door opened. Ciara stepped out and walked up. Mac and Ariadne behind her.

Ciara put one hand to her temple, rubbed gently. “She’s in there. I can feel an Intuitive. Maybe two.” She paused, cocked her head. “Could be three? Is that a third? It’s so faint.”

Mac leaned in. “The baby,” she whispered.

“It could be,” Ciara agreed.

“We don’t want to advertise our presence early. No one seems to come this way, but you never know.” Range glanced around.

“What’s the plan?” Judge was ready to get going. “Does anyone have one?” He looked from Cross to Range.

“Wait.” Ciara held her hand up. “Wait.” Panic laced her voice. “There’s distress. Pain. I sense distress and pain.

“Like what?” The cold fingers of fear gripped Judge’s heart in a vise.

“I can’t tell.” Her eyes, such a light and transparent blue, now flashed a metallic silver. “We have to help them—her.”

“I’m going now.” Judge stepped forward.

“We’re with you,” Range said.

“Lance, Cross, stay. Don’t jeopardize your positions with the Compliance Unit,” Griz said. “I’ll go with Judge. You stay and take care of Ariadne, Ciara, and Mac.”

“No.” Mac shook her head. “Lani might need me. The baby—I’m coming.”

“I’m going, too,” Ciara announced. “You may need me.”

Griz shook his head. “Hardheaded,” he said, but gave the women a look of admiration.

Lance shook his head. “Mac’s not going without me. And I’m not worried about the Compliance Unit. Unlike Cross, I don’t see a future there for me.”

“Which building?” Griz asked.

Range pointed to the second one on the right.

“Last time you saw activity?”

“Last night when they sent one guy out for dinner.”

“Any idea how many men?” Griz pressed on.

“Not for sure, but we’ve been listening to heart rates. I’d say about a dozen.”

Judge looked at their guys. With the four wolves, Lance, and Griz, there were seven of them.

Cross must have been thinking the same thing, he opened his mouth.

Griz shook his head. “You need to stay here with Ariadne and the baby. “Hell, I’d rather you two drove away, but I know you won’t.”

“I can’t leave you guys to take care of this alone.”

“You need to take care of your mate and the young ‘un she’s carrying.” Griz smirked. “Anyway, in your new position, you won’t be out in the field. Get used to it.”

“You’re right, I know.” A small snarl slipped out of Cross. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Sure doesn’t,” Griz agreed. “But still…”

“Yeah, I get it. We’ll wait in the vehicle. Keep an eye on Judge, he’s tied into this one emotionally.”

Judge gave his brother a dirty look. “Hey, I’m right here. Quit talking like I’m not.”

Range indicated a side door on the warehouse. “That’s the best point of entry.”

Judge glanced at Griz, hoping that his endorsement of the wolf shifters was merited.

Griz caught the look, gave him a nod of understanding, then leaned in. “They’re the very best. You got to trust me, son.” He patted Judge on the back, his hand lingering.

Judge wanted to lean against the man who was the closest thing to a father he’d ever had.

“Trust me.” Another pat. Then Griz turned to Range. “Let’s roll.”

One day, he’d have to ask Griz how he managed to stay so well connected. And where the hell on the mountain range he lived, because he came to the rescue mighty quick. Every damned time.