1 Chapter 1

1

Thaddeus Ezax stared at Captain Kol Jaecar, dread curling in his gut. His hands shook as he wrapped his fingers around the cool, too-thin manila folder.

“You can’t be serious.” Wulfric ‘Ric’ Hunter leaned against the desk, scowling at Jaecar.

Ric was head of the shifter team—there wasn’t an official shifter team, but when he spoke, the shifters working in the department obeyed. Except for Jaecar, of course. It always fascinated Thad. If anyone else objected to what Ric said, there’d be hell to pay, but if Jaecar so much as looked at him, Ric fell in line.

“We want to solve the case, don’t we? You can’t give it to the psychs.” Ric’s eyes flashed in the icy blue of his wolf.

Thad swallowed the objection wanting to be voiced. He was a magic user, but he didn’t have any psychic abilities, not one. His partner, Elora Long, was a clairvoyant, so he kept his mouth shut. Plus it never did any good to get into a discussion with Ric.

Werewolves were so stupid. It was amazing they could carry on a conversation at all—thickheaded, crack-brained, cocky, idiotic wolves—they always thought muscles and a good nose solved everything.

Thad looked away so he didn’t get caught staring at Ric’s broad shoulders and strong arms. He’d lost himself in a daydream while watching him on his first day working in the department. Never would he forget how Ric’s eyes had shifted to icy wolf blue before he’d announced to the entire floor that Thad was a fag who lusted after him.

It wasn’t his fault Ric was heart-stoppingly hot.

It had been a nightmarish first day, but he’d had worse days since then.

Ric might look like a wet dream come true, but looks weren’t everything, and since he was an utter ass, Thad had mostly forgotten he’d once found him attractive.

Most people, both humans and magical beings, feared Ric. Thad didn’t, and he’d almost managed to make himself believe it, too. If things went bad, he could always turn him into a toad, and Ric knew it. Though he was a lousy wizard, and if Ric wanted to rip his throat out, he’d do it before Thad could cast a spell.

Slumping on his chair, he did nothing to try to muffle his sigh.

Jaecar straightened his back and stared Ric in the eyes—not many did for more than a second, but Jaecar didn’t lower his gaze for anyone. A sizzle went through Thad. There was so much power hidden beneath the disheveled surface.

Jaecar was a shifter too, but Thad had no idea what his animal was. Something solitary since he didn’t belong to a pack, pride, or family group.

“If I’m not mistaken, you’ve requested a couple days of vacation, starting about half an hour ago.” Jaecar’s voice was cool and controlled, and while Ric didn’t move a muscle, it was as if he deflated.

“Yeah, but a woman’s life is in danger.”

“And Ezax and Long are looking into it.”

Ric snorted. “Might as well tell her family to contact the funeral service, those two will never solve a case. They’re fucking useless.”

Jaecar didn’t respond, but Thad suspected he agreed with Ric. He chanced a glance at Elora who had shrunk several inches during the conversation. Elora couldn’t afford to lose inches, she was short for a woman, and Thad, who was relatively average in the height department, appeared tiny next to the shifters.

Elora was a curvy, quiet woman in her early thirties with skin like melted chocolate and black, close-cropped hair. Thad liked her, a lot, but none of them had any brawn, none of them had the nose of a shifter, and therefore not the tracking ability of one either.

Thad could’ve cast a tracking spell if he’d been more powerful. Had he been anywhere near as powerful as the rest of the members of the Ezax bloodline, he’d be able to find the woman within minutes. Now they had to solve this case like the mundanes did because there was no way in hell he’d admit Ric was right and that it would be better to hand the case over to the shifters.

He glanced at Elora again. Perhaps she’d be able to pick up on something. For once the odds might be in their favor—they never were. He was being unfair. Elora was clairvoyant, Thad had seen it happen, but she never got any clues as to find missing people or murderers on the run. She was formidable at finding a lost glove or sock, which might have been good if she’d worked as a dry cleaner or something. If she accidentally touched a dropped chopstick in a restaurant, she instantly knew where its mate was, but it didn’t mean she’d find missing people.