Author: J.D. Tyler

"Jax! Jesus, wake up!"

The thread snapped and he came back to himself gradually. Sounds of the city at night filtered in, along with the oppressive heat. And the fact that he was no longer kneeling, but slumped backward against a big body. Zander's voice was quiet and anxious next to his ear.

"Scares the hell out of me every time you do that."

"Sorry," he slurred.

"You okay?"

"Think so."

"Get anything?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure what."

He'd have to think about it. Later. God, he was so tired. Always was after he went that deep into a memory. It was much different from the simple flash he'd gotten from the woman a few minutes ago. He wanted nothing more than to sleep until noon tomorrow. Like that would be an option once Nick got wind of their guest.

"Can you get up?"

No. His leg was screaming. "Yes."

"All right. Hang on to me."

Zander stood, hauling him to his feet, steadying him as he blinked away the rest of the fuzziness. Got his bearings. As their surroundings came into focus again, he saw his friends and their new acquaintance staring at him, obviously worried.

Zander patted his cheek. "Hey, you need a turbo boost from the Z-Man?"

Shaking his head, he gave his best friend a lopsided grin. "Naw, I'm good. I'll sleep it off on the way back to the compound."

"How's your leg?"

"Bitching, but I'll be fine."

"If you're sure." He looked doubtful.

"I am."

The act of using his healing ability hit Zan every bit as hard as when Jaxon tapped into his RetroCog mojo. No way would Jaxon let his friend expend his energy over something that would easily pass with some rest.

Ryon pulled up in the SUV just as Aric and Zander got the two dead men situated in the girl's car and shut them inside. Jaxon walked over to their newest addition, a little unsteady on his feet, and took her arm, began to steer her toward their vehicle. Zander followed, but Aric hung back a safe distance from her car, facing it. Preparing to do his thing.

"Don't watch," Jaxon said as she resisted, twisting to look over her shoulder.

"What's he planning to use to start the fire?" she asked, frowning. "There's nothing in his hands. And what the heck happened to you back there?"

"I'll explain-"

"Later." She snorted. "Right. Got it."

"You ask more questions than anyone I've ever met."

"Maybe because so many people you meet end up like them?" she tossed out, waving a hand to indicate her unfortunate attackers. "Just an educated guess."

She had a point. He sighed, thinking this was going to be a long night. And not nearly as much fun as he'd originally planned.

Any retort he might've made was waylaid by a loud whoosh and a blast of heat. Automatically he turned, glancing over his shoulder at the orange and yellow flames that engulfed the car and its occupants. The conflagration shot into the air and spread out to lick at the pavement, erasing all signs of the blood Jaxon had spilled.

Aric was standing with his feet spread and arms outstretched, palms out. The inferno intensified in response to his unspoken command. After another few moments, he lowered his arms to his sides and strode toward the rest of the group.

"Oh, my God! Did he just . . . No, he didn't. That man did not just start a fire with his bare hands!" Kira was staring at Aric, a mixture of disbelief and astonishment etched on her pretty face.

"Well, that'll attract attention," Aric muttered as he reached them. "Let's hit the road."

"Come on." Jaxon pulled his reluctant new charge along, forcing her to abandon goggling at the fire and get moving.

Ryon remained behind the wheel and Zander got in front with him. Aric climbed in back without a word, taking up position to watch their tail, Jaxon knew, and eliminate any pursuers if necessary. A fact he didn't mention to Kira as they took the middle seats, Jaxon behind the driver.

Ryon floored it, getting them away from the scene as fast as he dared without gaining unwanted attention from the Las Vegas PD. By the time faint sirens could be heard in the distance, they were well on their way.

Beside him, Kira cleared her throat. "Where are we going?"

If not for the subtle tremble in her voice, he might've snapped at her. But for some weird reason, it made him want to soothe her worries. Protect her from harm as he'd done earlier. Fuck. "To our plane. We have a private jet and landing strip in a hangar not far outside the city."

"And from there?"

"Wyoming." Silence. He looked over to see her holding the purse on her lap in a death grip, eyes wide. Hoping to ease her fears, he elaborated a bit. "Shoshone National Forest. We'll land at our compound, and you'll stay there with us for the time being."

"I don't get a say?"

"No." The thought of letting her leave burrowed under his skin like a stinging nettle, though he had no clue why. What the hell was wrong with him?

Her voice rose on a note of hysteria. "So I'm going to be held captive at an unknown facility by a group of weird, mind-reading, fire-starting, vicious werewolves?"

"Hey, we're not weird," Ryon protested from the front.

Jaxon ignored him. "You're our guest, not a captive. Besides, would you rather be dead right now at the hands of those guys back there for stealing whatever's in that bag? You want us to put you out and leave you at the mercy of whoever sent them?"

She looked away, swallowing hard. "Of course not."

"Then we're your only option at the moment, so sit back and enjoy the trip. You're in safe hands. Nobody in Alpha Pack will hurt you, including me."

This brought her head around, and she scrutinized his face as though she could read the truth of his words there. "You want me to believe you're the good guys?"

He gave a soft, humorless laugh. "I'm not so sure about that. But we're not the guys you have to worry about. Let's put it that way."

She bit her lip for a moment, then sighed. "So are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

She seemed genuinely interested, and he hoped that boded well for how the next few days would shape up. He didn't want her to be afraid. "Sure. The guy driving is Ryon Hunter, and next to him is Zander Cole." The pair said their hellos, and flashed her charming smiles over their shoulders. "The warm and cuddly pup in the back is Aric Savage."

"Fuck you, man," the redhead responded, but with less rancor than before.

Kira smiled nervously at Jaxon. "Nice."

Jaxon stared at her, struck speechless for a few seconds. He could see in the dark just fine, and the shadows did little to hide how her smile lit the inside of the SUV, which tightened his groin into a painful knot. She wasn't just pretty-she was incredible.

"I suppose I can look forward to more intros when we arrive?"

"Um, yeah. You'll meet our boss and another teammate, as well as a bunch of doctors and scientists who live and work there."

Her brow furrowed. "All of you live on-site?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Hmm. Your compound is located in Shoshone National Forest," she said slowly. "That's government property."

"Right again."

"And if your facility is there, and everyone resides there as well . . . You all work for the government, then. Top Secret stuff. Special Ops?"

"Something along those lines." He grinned at her. "You're quick, Miss Locke."

"Kira, please." She caught his gaze, held it.

The air thickened, the moment stretching taut. To his surprise, he was the first to look away. Even his wolf was overwhelmed, in addition to being aroused to the point of madness. He cleared his throat. "Call me Jaxon, or Jax," he said. "And before you ask, yes, the 'Top Secret stuff' you mentioned includes the abilities you've witnessed in us so far."

"Something tells me what I've seen barely scrapes the surface."

"You're batting a thousand."

At that, she went silent and stared pensively out the window at nothing, because there was literally nothing to see other than the blanket of stars crowning the desert sky.

Jaxon had just begun to be lulled to sleep by the darkness and the motion of the vehicle when they arrived at the landing strip. Ryon hit the opener for the wide door, pulled the SUV straight into the hangar, and the overhead lights came on, activated by motion sensors.

Jaxon straightened as a sudden thought hit him. "Our bags are at the hotel."

"No, they're back here," Aric said. "Z-Man must've worked his charm on the concierge to get 'em so fast."

Zan snickered. "She owed me a favor. I collected."

Ryon parked and Aric handed their bags forward. Jaxon took his and shouldered it as he got out of the SUV, and then headed toward the jet. A cheery blip sounded from behind him as Ryon locked the vehicle, and the clomping of boots on concrete filled the cavernous space.

As they walked, Jaxon noted that Kira stayed close to him. Which pleased him to no end, and confounded him as his every reaction to her had so far. It didn't make sense, this need to protect, to place himself not only between her and danger, but between her and the men he loved like brothers. He barely restrained himself from snarling at Zan, who took her hand and politely helped her step into the plane before Jaxon thought to offer.

And her scent is still driving me freaking insane. I'm losing it.

Kira's voice broke into his musings. "Where's the pilot?"

Aric climbed in and grinned at her. "That would be me, sugar britches. Still feel safe?"

She leveled him with a frosty glare. "I have a name. It's Kira. And I never said I felt safe-he said I should feel safe." The look was pointed as she glanced at Jaxon.

Aric laughed and headed for the pilot's chair. "Yep, you've got a live one, pal. Have a blast with your new babysitting gig."

"If anyone needs a babysitter it's you," she shot back. "Or a spanking, more like."

Jaxon winced. She'd walked right into that one.

His friend pounced on the opening. "Don't threaten me with a good time unless you plan to follow through. Whenever, wherever you want me to drop trou, say the word, sugar britches-oops, Kira." He winked, completely ignoring the lip she curled at him in disgust, then turned in his seat and fired up the engine.

"Don't mind him," Ryon advised her as he and Zan took seats behind her and Jaxon. "He's so immature he still hikes his leg on the sofa."

That cracked up everyone. Except Aric, who shot the finger to the passengers in general as he taxied the plane from the hangar.

"Is he always so cranky?" Kira asked in a low voice.

Jaxon shrugged. "Nah, Aric's a good guy. Don't know what's up, except maybe he's not too happy about our aborted weekend off."

"Oh." She grimaced. "Sorry about that."

"Not a problem."

As Aric guided the craft into position at the end of the runway and hit the juice, Jaxon was surprised by how sincerely he'd meant what he said. It wasn't a problem-for him, anyway. He should be at least a little annoyed to be on his way back to their isolated outpost rather than enjoying a two-day romp in Sin City. On the contrary, he just didn't care.

And that was what really bothered him.

He was hardly aware of the plane lifting off. Instead, he conjured a memory of the last time he'd spent a weekend with Alexa in his bed. The bottle blonde on her hands and knees as he thrust into her heat. How hard he'd been, unable to get enough. The delicious throb as he held off coming, wanting it to last.

But here and now. . . The memory shriveled his dick and filled him with a sense of repugnance. As did thoughts of tonight, when she'd rubbed against him like a cat in heat, and he'd responded. Had allowed the call girl to lead him to a dark corner and suck his cock, with the intention of doing so much more.