TheAngryDoveAndTheAssassin (2 page)

Caley’s heart beat a little harder, but he didn’t know if it was out of fear or excitement. There was something about this particular Wolf that called to him. Even though he should be more afraid of him than all of the others put together.

“I wouldn’t want to run into him in a dark alley, that’s for sure,” Nico added with a nervous laugh.

That said a lot since there wasn’t much that scared Nico. Caley meanwhile was edging his way through the crowd for a better look. Much to his surprise, the Wolves were more than willing to part way and make room for him. Before he knew it, he had a front row view.

The assassins passed right in front of him, and Caley held his breath as the big Wolf stopped and gazed down at him.

“What’s a Dove like you doing here in the middle of all these Wolves?”

Caley looked up from under his lashes. “Just living.”

Meanwhile his heart beat a million miles an hour. He couldn’t believe that he was actually having a conversation with an assassin and a Wolf one at that. But hey, call him crazy. He was drawn to this guy like a moth to a candle, and damned if he cared if he got burned.

“Aren’t you afraid that you’re going to get eaten?” the assassin asked.

He had yet to turn and give Caley a full look at his face and it was driving Caley crazy. He wanted to know what color the Wolf’s eyes were, if he had any scars, if his lips were really as kissable as he imagined.

“Not yet, but there’s still hope,” Caley replied.

The assassin finally turned, and Caley sucked in a breath. The Wolf was just as handsome as Caley had hoped for and then some. Full lips complemented high cheekbones, and the Wolf had the darkest brown eyes Caley had ever seen. In simple terms, he was everything Caley could ever dream up in a perfect man.

“You’re playing with fire, Dove,” the assassin warned in a low tone.

“I like fire.”

“It can burn your pretty feathers off.”

“They’ll regrow.”

“And if they don’t?”

“I’ll learn how to style my hair around the bald spots.”

The assassin’s lips curled up into what might have been a smile. “Are you always this forward with strangers?”

“Yes.”
Well, the ones who aren’t Wolves, but you don’t need to know that, now do you?

Caley glanced over at Alger who was gaping at him in open-mouthed horror. Caley just gave him a small wave and turned his attention back to his assassin.

Reaching out, Caley fingered his cloak. “This has some tears in it.”

“Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve had a new one.”

“Well, you just happen to be lucky. I’m the clothing designer for the pack. Come see me, and I’ll set you up with a new set. Of course I’ll have to measure you and stuff and that means we’ll have to get up close and personal.”

The assassin cocked a brow. “Does it now?”

“Yes, we have to have a proper fit. By the way, I’m Caley. What’s your name?”

“Grey.”

Caley wrinkled his nose. “It fits you. Well, Grey. I hope to see you soon.”

Chapter Two

Grey walked on with the rest of his assassin team, leaving behind the outrageously flirtatious Dove with the rest of the crowd.

“What in the hell was that about?” Tabitha asked.

The only female in their group, she was a Fox shifter who could kill faster than most people could take a breath. She was also a notorious gossip.

“It was nothing. Just some Dove having fun with the new fish,” Grey drawled, even as he glanced back at Caley. He really was a cute thing with his white-blond hair, slim build, and bright blue eyes. He also looked delicate enough to break in half if somebody weren’t careful enough around him. So Caley sure as hell shouldn’t have been flirting around with just anybody. It was an easy way for him to get hurt or worse.

“It didn’t look like nothing to me,” Toby, a Leopard, said. “That Dove looked two seconds away from climbing you. I thought I was going to have to peel him off you.”

“You’re just jealous because he wasn’t going for you,” Tabitha teased.

“I don’t fuck birds, I eat them,” Toby said with a feral grin.

Grey gave a slight shake of his head. With Toby, there could be no telling if the kid was joking or not. He put the hinged in unhinged. The guy was so messed up that he would have had even Freud crying for his mommy.

“You’ll make nice here or else,” Grey warned him. “Remember, we promised to swear our loyalty to the pack. That’s part of the deal.”

“I never thought I would end up part of a Wolf pack,” Tabitha said.

“The pay is good, plus we have a safe place to sleep and plenty to eat. We could be doing worse,” Grey pointed out.

In fact, they had done worse. Together since they’d been infants, they’d been raised by the same cruel master who had often used food depravation as a form of punishment. So yeah, they knew how it went to go without a meal or three.

“How long do you think we’ll be here?” Simon, a Tiger, asked.

He was the most sensitive of the group and with good reason, since their master had often picked him out for
special
treatment. He also happened to be one of the youngest and one of Tabitha’s pets. Not that Grey blamed her. The kid was due some special treatment.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to set down some roots here for a while,” Grey said.

“That would be kind of nice. I hate having to move around so much,” Simon replied.

Simon sounded so sweet that it was easy to forget that he was a stonehearted killer. Just the night before, Simon had effortless taken out two Hyena drug dealers and then stopped to clean up in the nearby river before getting into the van to go back to the nearby hotel. He’d done it all without blinking twice, too.

That’s how Simon sucked them in. They just thought he was some innocent kid—until it was too late, and he was holding their heart in his hand and blinking up at them with those pretty blue peepers of his. His halo of blond hair didn’t hurt his image any, either.

“We need to go speak to the Alpha first and let him know we’re here,” Grey said.

As the oldest of the group, he’d always fallen into the role of the leader, and they’d never challenged it, not even when they’d reached adulthood and gone out on their own. Sometimes Grey wished somebody else would take on the mantle, but the others had always been more comfortable looking up to him for guidance.

After asking for directions to the Alpha’s office, Grey led the way. He politely knocked on the door and waited to be called in. Just because they were raised by a monster didn’t mean that Grey didn’t know his manners.

They walked into an office that could be classified as organized chaos, and Grey immediately felt at home. The Alpha was on the younger side and sat behind a desk piled with papers. His mate, a female Jaguar who was obviously pregnant, sat by his side. She smiled as they walked in.

“You must be Grey. Shane said you would be coming.”

“And you must be Cassie. Shane speaks highly of you.”

Which said something. The assassin didn’t like very many shifters, but Shane had told Grey that he’d kill to keep Cassie safe. He also made Grey promise to protect Cassie at all costs, a promise Grey didn’t make lightly.

Cassie tilted her head to the side. “Shane is a good friend of the family. He’s like a brother to me.”

Simon let out a stifled sound. No doubt in shock that anybody would ever consider somebody like Shane a brother. But Grey had a feeling that Cassie saw a side of Shane that they never had.

Grey and his assassins went on one knee before Chris. “Alpha, we are here to swear our loyalty and service to you. May we be of any help to you in your war against the Rand pack?”

Chris got up and touched each of them on the back of the neck, accepting their show of submission. “Thank you. You are welcome to the pack.”

Once that was settled, Chris returned to his seat, and everybody stood again. Grey gazed at Chris and asked the most important question of all, “Who is this Rand, and how hard is it going to be to kill him?”

“He’s an Alpha whose pack was run off its land by human hunters. Now he’s decided that he wants my land, and he doesn’t care who he has to kill to get it. He’s already attacked us a couple of times. We’ve been able to run him off both times, but not before I’ve lost some of my own Wolves in the process.”

Grey nodded. “So do you want us to track down this Rand and kill him?”

“I don’t think it will be that easy,” Cassie said. “He always keeps himself surrounded by his cronies.”

“Anybody can be killed,” Toby cut in.

“Yeah, but I would like to make sure that I don’t lose any of us in the process,” Grey pointed out.

While he might be an assassin, he did have feelings, and he had developed an attachment to his makeshift family. His former master would have called it a weakness. But then again, that was why he was their
former
master. There was no way that Grey was going to needlessly sacrifice a member of his team.

“Rand likes to play dirty, too. He doesn’t fight directly. He likes to throw bombs and run. He isn’t the type for direct conflicts,” Chris added.

“Then we’ll just have to start playing his game better than him,” Grey said with a wicked smile.

Simon chuckled. The Tiger did love his explosives, and nobody did them better than he did, except maybe Toby. By the time Simon and Toby were done, Rand wouldn’t know what had hit him.

“You’ll make sure that no innocents get hurt, right?” Cassie interjected.

Simon nodded at her. “Of course, Alpha Mate.”

Grey nodded to Tabitha. “I want you to be Cassie’s personal guard until things calm down. Everywhere she goes, you go. That is, if the Alpha agrees?”

Chris nodded. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”

Cassie frowned. “I can take care of myself.”

“Nobody said you couldn’t, Alpha Mate,” Tabitha soothed, “I will be there just as an added layer of protection. We have the babes to think of.”

Cassie looked shocked. “How did you know I was carrying twins?”

Tabitha pointed to her nose. “It’s a Fox thing. I could sense it.”

Tabitha lowered her hood to reveal her flowing red hair and sparkling green eyes. Without the cloak shielding her, she could have passed for any normal young woman. She even had an innocent smile playing on her lips.

“Please, it would honor me to be your escort during your time of need, Alpha Mate,” Tabitha said with a bow of her head.

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Fine, but only so it will get Chris and my brothers off my back. You would think I was the first woman to ever get pregnant in the world with the way they’re acting. I swear, the first thing I’m doing when I’m done being a baby carrier is kicking all of their asses.”

Grey bit the inside of his cheek to stop from laughing. He could already tell that he was going to like her. She waddled to the door and opened it. “Alan, come show the assassins to their living quarters and don’t talk their ears off while you’re doing it.”

A small Wolf quickly and quietly led them to their living quarters, which turned out to be more of a small apartment with three bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and two bathrooms.

After the small Wolf had left, Simon turned in a small circle. “Okay, this place isn’t half bad. I like it here.”

“Yeah, we’ve had it much worse,” Grey agreed as he sat down in a nearby chair.

They didn’t have much with them, since, as assassins, they’d learned not to carry a lot. Now that they had settled down roots, maybe that would change, and they would actually be able to own a few possessions. A new for them.

Grey looked down at his clothing. The little Dove had been right. He was due for a new set of assassins’s garb. Maybe he would have to make a visit to Caley after all. The prospect excited Grey way more than it should have given the fact that he had never been the kind to form personal attachments of any kind outside of his family. But then again, he couldn’t be going around his new job in rags, could he?

“I still can’t believe that I swore to be part of a Wolf pack,” Toby bitched as he slumped down onto the couch.

Grey gave him a sideways glance. “I know that goes against your badass Leopard self, but get over it. Think of it as a job and nothing more if it makes you feel any better.”

“Did you see the way they were looking at us,” Toby griped. “It was like we were animals on display at the zoo.”

“It’s not every day you see so many assassins in one place,” Simon said with a shrug. “We’re like rock stars to them.”

“We’re freaks to them,” Toby countered angrily.

Simon cocked his head to the side. “There’s a difference?”

Grey let out a sigh. “Enough, both of you. Why don’t we all get cleaned up and ready for tomorrow? It’s going to be a long day.”

Toby and Simon rushed off to do as he ordered, but Tabitha stayed behind. Not that Grey minded, he knew come the next day he would see little of her once she took up her duty as Cassie’s personal guard.

“They’ll adjust. Just give them time,” Tabitha advised.

“I know, but they’re going to drive me crazy in the meantime.” Grey pinched the bridge of his nose, he could feel a headache starting to form, and it had Toby and Simon’s names stamped on it.

She ran a soothing hand over his back. “They’ll realize soon enough that this is good for them. We couldn’t have survived the way we were for much longer.”

“I know, but I just hope that I made the right choice. What if this pack doesn’t work out for us?”

She gave him a gentle smile. “Then we move on until we find a pack or coalition that is the right fit for us. There has to be one out there for us. We just need to find it.”

“I don’t know if putting us in the middle of a war is the best move for us.”

“It’s a job, so it’s what we do.”

“That’s just it. We’ve never had a chance to do anything else. We’ve been killers since practically the day we were born.”

Tabitha let out a soft laugh. “What? Did you want us to make a career change now? Do you honestly see Toby doing anything else? Or you, for that matter?”