Prologue
My happiest place was in my room, with the door locked, and a pile of fresh comics sitting next to me on the bed. My second happiest place was bear-piling with my brothers anywhere, anytime. Until one of the assholes elbowed me in the kidney.
"Fuck you," I shouted.
"Language," Vasily responded from underneath me. "Remember the children.”
I rolled out from the pile and nursed my injury. "As if you're one to talk. If your child's first word isn't either fuck or cocksucker thanks to your mate's mouth, I will be extremely surprised."
Vasily shoved Misha off him and stood. "River isn't that bad around the kids. He knows how to be appropriate."
"Appropriate is not the first word that comes to mind when I think about River," I said.
"Okay, let's settle this like we normally do. We'll bet on it."
"I'm not a sucker," I replied. "I know you and River will do anything to win a bet. The stakes will be rigged."
"I'll take that bet." Joey stepped back from the pile. "I don't think either of you can stop swearing even if you try. How about a grand?"
"You better not be talking about a 100 Grand chocolate bar," Vasily said. "That worked the first time."
Joey shook his head. "Nope. I'm talking cold hard cash, baby."
"Who are you calling baby?" River yelled from where he was watching the kids. Damn shifter ears.
Joey gave him a look. "Dude. He's my brother."
"You're on," Vasily said. He spit on his hand and stuck it out for Joey to shake. Joey returned both gestures, just as if we were back in middle school. Eh, whoever said that getting older meant you had to grow up?
The hair on the back of my neck rose suddenly, and I perked up, looking around for whatever unconscious alert had set off my Spidey senses. I quickly counted the kids. They were all there. Pavlo was chasing a frisbee, playing with a young woman at the far side of the park.
Vasily noticed the change immediately. "What's up, Ivan?"
"Something's not right..." Just then, three black SUVs slowed to a stop in the middle of the street, ignoring the parallel parking spaces beside them. The rear window in the first SUV rolled down in what seemed to be slow motion, and then just the barrel of a gun poked out of its shadows.
The barrel flashed and then the sound of the shot hit my ears.
"Nooo!" Joey screamed, taking off running.
I turned just in time to see Tony and Dad crash to the ground, but Dad was already struggling to stand up, yelling about Pavlo.
I spun back to the vehicles. Vasily and River were already halfway to the road, while Misha and Boris had gone after the kids. And Pavlo... he and the girl he'd been talking to were being shoved into the back of an SUV by a fucking hipster lumberjack, complete with beard and flannel shirt.
Finally, my legs pushed me into action, following Vasily. I ended up running side-by-side with Dad, who I hadn't seen run in years. I was a little ashamed I couldn't easily outpace him.
The SUVs squealed as they peeled out and down the street. Vasily chased them for a block, but it was pointless. Dad and I stopped in the middle of the street, panting. Fuck. I really needed to work out more. I wasn't exactly the most athletic of my brothers. I was still stronger and faster than the average bear. But that meant nothing when compared to my brothers.
The fuckers took Pavlo. Why had they taken Pavlo? The kid was like a little brother to me. To all of us. My mind immediately went to his biological family, the Stanislavs. But why would they kidnap their own blood? It wasn't like we kept him prisoner. He could go home anytime he wanted, but he wasn't an idiot. His home sucked, and ours didn't. End of story.
But who else would have taken him?
"Fuck," Dad said. "Tony took a bullet for me. I gotta make sure he's okay."
Dammit. This was supposed to be a fun family day. I started to follow Dad, but a sweet scent hit my nose and I stopped for a moment before my mind redirected to the situation at hand. Tony had enough help. The best thing I could do right now was gather information on our new enemy.
My nose twitched. The sweetness was familiar... but I couldn't place it. I knew I'd smelled it a thousand times, but how and where? Don't get distracted, Ivan. What other scents were there?
Definitely shifters, but not an animal I recognized. Maybe several animal types. But faint. That made sense. They hadn't been there long enough to leave a strong trace.
"Come on, Ivan." Vasily gestured for me to follow. "We gotta get the kids and Dad somewhere safe."
"But Pavlo..." I hadn't felt this powerless since I was a kid.
"We'll get him back," Vasily said grimly. "Motherfuckers can't take family and get away with it."
He was right. Blood or not, Pavlo was family, and we protected our own.
1
Tanner
The bar was crowded, giving the big alpha a reason to press closer to me. I scooted to the edge of my seat, trying to evade the overwhelming cloud of cheap cologne that clung to the air around him like fog on an autumn morning in Toronto. The fog was pretty, the scent was not.
“I’m Louis,” he said, pronouncing it loo-ey. “I couldn’t help but notice you. You stand out in a crowd like this.”
I fiddled with my napkin. Play it cool, Tanner. Flirt back. How do you respond to that kind of comment? Be gracious and say thanks? Tease a little? Something like, “I hope it’s not because I’ve got toilet paper stuck to my butt.”
Oh, god, no. That is so awkward.
Hurry, hurry! He’s waiting for a response.
“Did you know that wombats poop squares?”
The alpha’s eyes squinted in confusion as I wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole. But then he smiled and laughed. “I did not know that. So that’s what you are? A wombat shifter? I knew I didn’t recognize that scent.”
Oh. So that was what he meant by saying I stood out in the crowd.
“I’m actually a flying squirrel,” I said.
“Ooh, sexy.” Louis wiggled his eyebrows a little.
I’d actually never gotten that response before. Normally, the response was either a squeal of delight or a softening of the eyes and a “How adorable!” I didn’t often get “sexy.”
Okay, so maybe I hadn’t screwed this up as badly as I thought. “And you’re a… let me guess… a ferret?”
His smile widened. “Amazing. Most people don’t guess that right away. How’d you know?”
I shrugged, for once keeping my real thoughts to myself. “I’ve got a talent.” If anyone bothered to sniff past that cologne, they’d be able to tell right off. “Oh, I’m Tanner, by the way.”
“Well, Tanner, nice to meet you. Mind if I buy you a drink?”
I looked down, surprised to see my glass was empty. “Oh, that’s okay. I can cover my own—”
“I insist. You taught me something interesting already. Wombat poop.” He winked. “It’s the least I can do.” He flagged down the bartender and ordered a beer, and another of whatever I’d been drinking.