Chapter Two
The scent of moldering fabric and a too-floral fragrance that belonged in a nursing home greeted Navi upon entering the Dusty Pines Hotel. The Tribe’s current base of operations looked like an eighty-year-old spinster had taken to decorating, which did little to add to any menacing vibe. However, the bitch about being impartial amongst packs meant they lived a life of constant hotel-hops, since staying in a pack residence might be construed as favoritism. Between the faded rose curtains and the cross-stitch of cats displayed on the wall of this place, Navi was pretty certain she’d stepped into a side dimension of hell.
Sweat had dried on her skin from getting physical with Finn Kelly, something she never should’ve done the first night. Those umber eyes had spelled trouble the moment she’d first locked gazes with him and ever since then she hadn’t be able to get the cocky bastard off her mind. Navi brushed a few sticky strands of hair from her forehead as she sauntered across the rumpled carpeting to the room she and Jess shared. With her crew taking a couple of rooms in this joint for an indefinite time, she could guarantee they were making the Dusty Pines’ sales for a year.
Navi Tremere had one rule. No attachments.
Not because she was some freak incapable of emotions, or a commitment-phobe—hell, she would give anything to settle down with the right guy—but that sort of future was never in her cards. Navi had been born as one of the Tribe, and she would carry that life sentence for the rest of her days. Out of her circle, only Akio had managed to nab a wife, and Navi witnessed firsthand the strain he went through when they got assigned to quell a pack war and she ended up in a hot zone. When that many shifters fought, even the Tribe struggled to handle them and they were equipped with supercharged abilities.
On one hand, the powers the shamans had imbued into her through the tattoos along her arms to her legs gave her abilities most shifters dreamed of. Navi could summon water at will to unleash it in a blast and she could compel shifters to follow orders, an ability she didn’t take lightly. On the other hand, her life belonged to the Tribe. To traveling the East Coast as the ruling force amongst the shifters.
She didn’t bother knocking—she and Jess had long thrown away the concept of privacy—and strolled into the room. Without a word of greeting, Navi flopped onto the bed and buried her face in the musty blankets. Now she’d be working in close proximity for who knew how long with Finn and those muscles she wanted to bite. With the golden undertones in his skin, the boy had a good amount of color on him for a white guy. Her panther purred every time she walked into his vicinity, a literal cat call roaring inside.
“You reek,” Jess called from where she’d set up on the other bed, her laptop illuminating her skin and the tousled strands of hair that slipped from her braid. “Like a cloud of BO and sweat, babe. Why don’t you hit the shower?”
“Because I enjoy annoying you,” Navi shot back, sliding up on the bed to clutch the pillow tight. “What’s the update on the Landslider activity?”
“You recruit some help?” Jess asked, glancing her way from the computer’s embrace. “I’ve got a town a few miles up that needs some investigating. Word on the country backroad is they’ve been trafficking their wares via Ye Olde General Store.”
“What sort of hillbilly hell have we descended into?” Navi groaned into her pillow. “We spent longer than necessary playing referee for the Silver Springs pack debacle, which interfered with making headway on our number one priority—the Landsliders.” As much as she complained, her time here hadn’t all been bad. The night after Dax’s victory when Finn had had the balls to flirt with her while the rest of the pack guys veered away in fear—well, she’d be remembering the mind-blowing sex for a long time to come.
“I’m sure in a couple of weeks we’ll be on to the next spot,” Jess murmured, not looking up from her computer while she clicked away at the keyboard. “Enjoy the thick forests around here while you can. I’d take these one-shop towns over our stint in New York City any day. So much metal and chrome there that my tiger got cagey within minutes. At least out here I can feel the earth beneath my feet.” She glanced over. “We’ve got a mating ceremony to officiate too, so it’s not all death and doldrums.”
Upon meeting Sierra and Dax, no one would assume they were mates—Sierra was a determined, serious woman while Dax had an obnoxious sense of humor that made most people want to strangle him. However, they’d somehow collided together and formed a formidable team.
“A mating ceremony? That’s the worst of all,” Navi grumbled.
Jess rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, we know. You hate love. Anger, anger, roar.”
Navi snorted into her pillow. Not like she could hide anything from Jess—with the amount of rooms they’d shared over the years, the woman had essentially become her sister. Every time they officiated a mating ceremony, the nausea rolled through. Not because she hated love, but because she knew the couple had stumbled onto something she would never get.
Jess put on a laid-back front, but over the years Navi watched her try and fail to keep several long-distance relationships. The phone calls slowed, texting stopped and communication faded until Navi would pull out Jess’ old copy of The NeverEnding Story and the two of them watched the movie on repeat until her friend pretended to feel better. Navi knew better than anyone that the loneliness always remained. When she jumped from city to city, she had the clothes on her back and her Tribe—nothing else.
Even though Finn Kelly might rev her motor for now, once they hopped to the next town, he’d fade out of mind, like so many others.
* * * *
Navi stood outside the hotel, peering at the sun already sizzling the asphalt. She adjusted her pack on her shoulder before checking her phone. Asshole was five minutes late. If he planned on working with her, that bullshit wouldn’t be tolerated.
A familiar Dodge Challenger veered into the lot, spraying gravel when he screeched to a halt. The Red Rocks drove like maniacs. Navi lifted her chin, full intimidation mode flipped on and fueled by irritation. He emerged from his car, the grin on his face making his umber eyes gleam and her heart stutter despite her present state of annoyance.
“I’m sorry I got held up,” he said, lifting his hands. “It won’t happen again.” Navi’s brows furrowed. She’d expected excuses, which would’ve sparked her temper—but, truth be told, Finn must be used to dealing with strong-willed women with Sierra as an alpha. Her annoyance fizzled out as quick as it had begun and she loped toward his car.
“Let’s take your girl,” she said, running her hand along the sleek frame of the Challenger. She’d give her right tit to own a beauty like that, but with the mileage they put on vehicles and the fact that her last three had been set on fire or bombed, she wasn’t wasting her money. “I’m assuming she handles these country roads better than most.”
His gaze heated when he focused in on her. She licked her lips before swinging over to the passenger side and tapping at the window.
“Come on,” she commanded. “We’ve wasted enough time.” Besides, if the wolfish look on his face was any indication, given much longer and they’d be liable to head straight to the bedroom, or better yet, the backseat. He’d unlocked his car, so she slipped inside, breathing in the leather scent of the interior that lingered around him. He smelled like fresh-cut grass, sweat and leather, a combination that woke her body up every time he entered a room.
Finn settled into his seat, the movement shifting the wifebeater glued to his defined abs as he started the ignition. Once the air kicked on, the sound system did too, pumping some club beats she would’ve never expected from him. Navi blinked a few times as he surged the Challenger forward, wheeling back onto the road.
“So, you going to fill me in on what the hell these Landsliders are and why I’m supposed to be trembling in my boots?” he asked, his gaze not veering from the winding roads he soared down.
Navi sucked in a deep breath. She hated admitting this to anyone, the shame her Tribe had kept secret for so long. Betrayal drove a deep dagger, one that made her panther snap every time she thought of it.
“Mackey was one of us—part of the East Coast Tribe. We came to blows plenty of times when we disagreed over rulings, over behavior and over the way we carry ourselves. This isn’t the sort of responsibility you can shirk, and this power isn’t one to be abused. He disagreed and a couple years back defected.” Navi’s chest squeezed tight at the loss, at the memory of the morning he’d vanished with a note left behind. For all his flaws and all the times their fights grew physical, he’d also been part of her makeshift family, one of her few constants.
“So, you’re telling me one of you scary motherfuckers turned Dark Side?” Finn said, tapping his fingers against his steering wheel to the beat of the music.
Navi rolled down her window to let the breeze kiss her face and the sun soak into her skin. Gorgeous day like this, she could almost forget for a second the devastation Mackey had already caused and all that would come.
“No need to rile everyone into a panic, so the information doesn’t leave us. His Landsliders get most of their money through smuggling operations and drug running. I assume you’re familiar with the locals, so you’ll be the one doing most of the talking at this general store. Humans might not always realize who we are, but any shifters zip up tight the second we walk into a room.” Navi tugged at the front of her shirt, trying to air out the sweat pooling between her breasts. Finn looked her way for a half-second, enough to make the air blooming between them even hotter.
“Have you never seen a woman before, Kelly?” she asked, unable to help herself.
“Not one as gorgeous as you.” The velvet of his voice as he fired that bit of smoothness traveled straight to her core. Most guys didn’t have the balls to tango with her, because the Tribe reputation preceded her in every town they visited. Not like the reputation was any bit false—she could stop most shifters in their tracks with a single command and could manipulate water with the snap of her fingers. However, despite the Tribe she rolled with, the loneliness ate her alive some days. Just once, she wanted to meet someone bold enough to brave the flames.
She picked her nails, not looking at him. “Do those lines work on the wolves back home?”
Finn snorted. “If I was trying to charm you, you’d know. I’m as subtle as a battering ram. Honest truth is I’ve never met anyone like you.”
“That’s what happens when you live in backwater towns in central PA,” Navi said, refusing to look at him with the way her cheeks heated. “I’ve met a dozen cocky dominants who’ve tried to play ball and failed.”
“Any you’ve trusted enough to work with in the field?” he asked. Even though the question seemed innocent, she’d have to be blind to not hear the heat in his voice. The man was relentless.
“Opportunity never came up,” she shot back, trying to ignore his smirk. “Think you can throw some of your persistence toward finding the Landsliders?”
“If you ask nicely,” he responded, a wolfish gleam in his eyes.
Two could play at that game. Her blood boiled, but whether with irritation or lust was beyond her. She lowered her lashes. “Come on now, you won’t do it for me?” she asked, her voice husky as she unleashed all the pent-up desire in her gaze.
Finn near veered off the road. The tires screeched as he zeroed back in on the asphalt ahead and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
Navi let out a snort, the pretense dropped. “Might want to put some of that focus on driving.”
Finn lifted a brow. “Woman, you’re pure evil.”
He drummed his fingertips over the steering wheel while they zoomed along the highway. The breezes brought the scent of grass, buttercups and diesel, an intoxicating draw to enhance this sunlit day. For a moment, Navi could pretend she wasn’t on some mandated mission for the Tribe. Like she could go on a casual drive with a guy who’d piqued her interest. Except, that was a whole crock of fanciful bullshit, because her chain always squeezed tight.
Her panther stirred within her, his presence making her want to mark, to claim. She’d never felt this frenzied reaction before to any of the men she’d slept with and it wasn’t just because Finn Kelly was a handsome bastard. In the distance, the three or four store stretch that made up this Podunk town cropped into view, yet another slice of Pennsyltucky.
“You’re going to head in front and ask questions, use some of your charm on the owner, while I snoop around back,” Navi said, clinging to the comfort of command. After endless operations like this one, she doled out orders with zero effort.
“What if the owner’s a guy?” Finn teased. “Are you saying you want me to flirt with him too?”
“Guy, girl, stick—I don’t care who you flirt with,” she responded. “Just get a pulse on who’s running the operation through their storefront.”
“I feel so used.” Finn smirked as he pulled in front of the general store, titled just that. Even though he caused her heart to race and her body responded to him in a way that made her heart want to follow suit, their night together hadn’t meant anything.
If only telling herself that didn’t feel so hollow. The sooner they resolved this Landslider problem and she was on the road and out of this town, the better.