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shot through me, and straight into Todd where we were joined. His entire body stiffened,
only the whites of his eyes showing, as he was wrenched away from me, and flung
halfway across the room.
I scrambled to his side, my heart stopping for a beat, when I couldn t tell if he was
breathing or not. Then he shuddered and raised his head, his unfocused gaze searching
me out. He managed to concentrate on my face, and his eyes narrowed to a squint.
 That really hurt, he said, then dropped his head back to the floor.
I reached for him, barely brushing the tips of my fingers over his stomach.
 Get away from me, J.C. I really don t want to hurt you, but I m not letting you zap
me again.
I could understand that, so I found my pants and undies, and dressed.  I ll just leave
you alone then.
 Good. He hadn t moved.
I made my way back to the armory, not at all surprised to see that no one had hung
around. Pulling my bra and shirt on, I armed myself for the night.
I still hadn t seen Todd when I headed for the garage.
* * * *
Reynolds, Nick, and Todd were absent from the meeting. A couple of the guys
eyeballed me, frowning. Dryden, in his role of second, asked me what I d done with
Todd.
I leaned close to him and whispered.  I had to find out, Dryden. So I asked him to,
you know, fuck me.
Dryden narrowed his eyes.  You didn t kill him, did you?
I gaped at the man.  No.
 Tell me you didn t zap his cock.
I looked down at my feet and shuffled them around.
 You blasted Todd s cock? His voice had risen, the men closest to us wincing.
 I had to know! I insisted, but it sounded lame, even to me.
Dryden gave me a harsh look.  Don t fuck anyone else on the team until you get that
problem fixed.
 Uh&  I didn t even know what was causing the problem; how could he expect me
to fix it?  Okay.
He nodded, satisfied with my answer, and moved off.
I sat on the couch next to Sean, his sudden fascination with me a bit unnerving. We
both reached forward at the same time for a piece of pizza, and our hands bumped.
He slid a grin at me.
 Why? I raised an eyebrow at him.
 I can t stop wondering what would happen if I kissed you. His voice lowered, his
eyes dropping to my lips.  If I slid a finger into your tight wet pussy. He leaned
closer, and was whispering in my ear.  If I drove my cock deep inside of you.
He flattened me against the back of the couch, capturing my mouth with his.
Thrusting his tongue between my lips, he ravaged me with his kiss. Until he was shocked
off my face, only to land unceremoniously in the middle of a pizza.
Grinning, he shook the food off, scooped it back into the box, then headed for the
kitchen. I couldn t help but shake my head at him.
 Think you re up to working with Indor tonight? Dryden asked, having taken over
for Reynolds usual partner planning as well.
 No. I snagged a piece of pepperoni, then took a giant bite.
 Good. Just take it easy on him, will you? Dryden laughed as I tried to chew fast
enough so I could tell him to go to hell.
Reinhold cleared his throat, and everybody stopped talking.
 All three of the local pack leaders have reported unusual rogue activity in the area.
He cleared his throat again, this time with a nervous gesture.  I ve picked up
something drawing them to the southeast quadrant. I d like to be more specific, but I ve
honestly never felt anything like it before.
 Best guess, Dryden barked.
 Slightly demon, but not as greasy feeling, just wet. Reinhold shrugged.
An image flashed into my mind of a seven-foot tall male with webbed feet. Then it
was gone.
 Everybody have a holy item? Dryden let his gaze touch everyone in the group.
Then he nodded, satisfied.  Move out then. Bailey, Rhodes, and Myron take the southeast
quadrant, together.
Indor moved to my side, and I stared at him for a moment, letting my senses expand.
 No offense, Brackston, but I m going to probe you before I ll partner you.
He inclined his head, then rested on one hip, waiting for me to get on with it.
I managed to do a surface scan, fairly easy, the next few layers increasingly harder to
breach. What I really wanted to see remained locked solidly behind his shields.
 Let me in, Brackston, I growled at him.
 I will, if you will, he countered.
Planting a scowl on my face, and my hands on my hips, I squared off with the man.
 Look, Indor, my loyalties are not under question here. You, however, have yet to prove
yourself to this team. Your refusing a thorough scan leads me to believe you re hiding
something. What are you hiding, Indor? What is it you don t want your partner, the
person who is risking her life to work with you, to know?
He blinked at me, a bead of sweat forming at his right temple. It expanded, then
traced a shiny, telling path down the side of his face.
 Dryden, I think we ve got a problem. I reached out instinctively to the soil on the
other side of the wall, drawing on the earth, fortifying my shields.  Sean, Myron, Big,
back me up here. We ve got an unknown.
The edges of Brackston s form wavered, then held. If I hadn t been absolutely
focused on the man, I would have missed it. I also saw the irises of his eyes flickering as
his mind worked.
I felt the rest of the team forming a circle around the two of us. Felt magics, different
from my own joining together, enclosing us in a safety net.
Reinhold moved to my left side, knowing I handled my weapons with my right. He
was sending calming waves of energy directly at the newest member of our team.
In a quiet voice, without taking his attention off the man, he spoke.  Let s force him
into his natural state.
I glanced to my left when I felt a surge of power coming from that direction, and was
surprised to find it was Dave wielding that magic. Someone on the other side of the circle
joined his power to Dave s, the two forces flaring brightly for a second, then coalescing.
A third source fed into the other two, and soon Brackston s image began to shimmer.
The man s hair receded as his skin tone darkened, glistening wetly. Spikes rose from
the top of his head as his body expanded, stretching in height and breadth.
 What is he? I heard one of the team ask.
No one answered.
I stepped closer to Brackston, pausing only when he grinned, his eyes lighting with
an unholy blue fire.
 Attender� meh, little vessel. Brackston s long, webbed fingers reached for me.
A bolt of power passed over my skin, breaking me out of my inaction. I added
energy to the magic I felt flooding into the creature before me. I was shaken when he
stared directly into my eyes, his smile fading a little.
 Ah, well. At least I have tried, he said.
Then he winked out.
Not believing he was so easily taken care of, I opened my senses wide, searching
everything around me, and finally accepting the fact that I couldn t feel him, that he was
truly gone, whether by our actions or his.
 Dryden, what made you pair me with Brackston tonight? When I didn t get an
answer, I spun around to glare at the man.
My breath caught in my throat as I found him collapsed on the floor. His head was
flung back at a painful angle, his eyes wide. A white, foamy substance filled his mouth
and ran down his chin. The stuff wasn t moving, as it should have been were he
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