In the Sniper’s Crosshairs Read online

  After finishing that parting shot, Eion crossed his arms over his chest and lifted one brow. He gave Brennan an imperious look. His youngest brother was a damn fine hunter in his own right, but he and his wolf had never had any trouble tracking and taking down some game—whether he had help or not.

  Eion was the best tracker in his family behind his eldest brother. Cliff was their wolf shifter pack’s head tracker, having taken over from their father, Duncan. Their father had been the head tracker for over two centuries. It was a family position that they’d been able to earn first in Ireland. Then, after Alpha Declan McIntire had taken over the pack from his grandfather, Duncan had spent years learning their new territory in Stone Ridge, Colorado, before sharing his knowledge with each of his children.

  “Then you hunt with Niamh, and I’ll hunt with Cliff.” Brennan crossed his arms over his chest, smirking at him as if daring him to counter his declaration.

  Humming, Eion bit back his chuckle. He nodded slowly. Even after over a hundred years of being siblings, he realized Brennan still hadn’t learned.

  While Cliff was their pack’s lead tracker, Brennan should have taken into account the fact that their brother’s mate was pregnant—very pregnant—with their second child. There was no way that Cliff would be able to focus on a hunt. On top of that, for some reason that Eion had never fathomed, Brennan always believed their sisters weren’t as good at hunting.

  Nothing could have been further from the truth.

  Both Niamh and Brielle—his older and younger sisters respectively—were fantastic hunters. Just because both female shifters had found their mates at an early age and settled down to raise cubs, that didn’t make them weak. Instead, in Eion’s opinion, that made his sisters even tougher.

  As wolf shifters, they would be even better at hunting game, since they would have a driving need not only to feed their pups but also to keep them safe.

  “When are we doing this?” Eion asked, keeping his tone level as he brought his glass of iced tea to his lips. He took a swallow, waiting for his impetuous brother’s answer.

  Grinning, Brennan replied, “This afternoon.”

  Eion couldn’t help but betray his surprise, lifting his left brow. He knew his brother would know from his scent, too.

  Okay.

  “Stakes?” Eion just knew his brother had to want something big for him to push in such a way.

  Brennan’s confidence slipped a bit, and he lowered his arms. He shifted his weight from foot to foot. After a glance to the left, Brennan seemed to catch himself.

  Jutting his chin into the air, Brennan crossed his arms over his chest again. “I get your Harley for an evening.”

  Eion’s initial response was to refuse. No way in hell did he want to allow Brennan to use his motorcycle... for any length of time. The vintage Harley Panhead had been his baby for decades... not to mention that Brennan’s driving sucked—in a car, truck, or otherwise.

  Biting off his initial response, Eion growled, “What the hell do you want with my Panhead?”

  Clearing his throat, Brennan rubbed the back of his neck. Once again, his discomfort came through loud and clear. Then his cheeks took on a pinkish hue.

  “Good grief,” Eion muttered, his mind quickly making an educated guess. “Does this have something to do with you trying to get laid?”

  Brennan opened his mouth, then immediately closed it again. His cheeks darkened further, making his green eyes appear to glow. He cleared his throat but didn’t say anything.

  Eion heaved a deep sigh. “Gods. Seriously? You know my Panhead doesn’t seat two.”

  Well, not comfortably, anyway.

  There was no bitch seat on the bike, although a couple of times over the years, Eion had put a date on his lap. That had been decades ago, however. Back before the government had implemented all kinds of safety laws.

  Not that he wouldn’t do it anyway if he wanted to. The law enforcement around Stone Ridge was mostly fellow shifters. He knew they wouldn’t give him shit about it.

  Of course, Eion didn’t currently have a special someone to feel tempted to break the law with.

  As a wolf shifter, a creature who shared his spirit with a wolf and could change into the animal at will, Eion was considered a paranormal. His kind lived upward of five hundred years. To relieve the possible monotony and loneliness, Fate created a soul mate for them... someone they could bond with and share their life thread with.

  Finding him or her, however, was the trick.

  Over the last decade or so, Eion had watched many of the shifters around Stone Ridge find their fated mate. He hadn’t been that fortunate, yet. Eion hoped that would change someday soon.

  “I’m not gonna take her on the bike,” Brennan claimed. “I just wanna impress her.” His eyes narrowed as he peered over Eion’s shoulder. “She thinks they’re cool.”

  Eion inhaled slowly, then let the breath out just as slowly. “Gods, you’re lying to me,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “Your scent is totally giving you away.” Shaking his head, Eion scowled at his brother. “You’ve been spending too much time with humans.” He knew Brennan spent a lot of his spare time with his co-workers as opposed to family. “You lie to your buddies like that, too?”

  He was more than happy to call out his baby brother.

  Huffing a sigh, Brennan rolled his eyes. He fisted his hands as he put them on his hips, rolling his shoulders and hunching a little. After mumbling an apology, he glanced at Eion through his lashes.

  “Well, what do I get?” Eion asked, deciding to change the subject. He had no desire to give his brother shit. However, he did make a mental note to ask his other siblings if they had any idea what was going on with Brennan.

  If anyone knows, it’ll be Brielle.

  She and Brennan were less than a year apart. Until she’d mated years before, they’d been close.

  Perhaps that’s the issue. Brennan is trying to find someone to replace his relationship with our sister.

  Hmmm...

  “Well, uh...” Brennan’s gaze darted around the area again. “Um.”

  His wide-eyed expression and the uncertain scent made Eion think Brennan hadn’t thought that far ahead.

  Good grief.

  “You clean my bathroom every week for three months,” Eion offered. Seeing Brennan’s jaw sag open, he arched one brow imperiously. “Seems a fair bet if you want me to agree with you riding my Harley.”

  Everyone in his family knew he hated dealing with cleaning toilets.

  Huffing a sigh, Brennan nodded. “Fine.”

  From his brother’s tone, Eion knew Brennan didn’t think he would lose. That was fine. He would prove him wrong.

  “Very well. Have you already talked with Cliff and Niamh?” Eion asked before taking another sip of his tea.

  “Yeah, they agreed,” Brennan claimed, rising to his feet. He put his own glass of tea on the flat edge of an upturned cable spool that Eion used as a make-shift side table. “They said they’d meet us at the Bear Point Lake trailhead.”

  Eion nodded as he rose. After downing the last couple gulps of his tea, he picked up Brennan’s glass and headed into his small one-bedroom cabin. His place was tucked well back in the trees. While he only owned five acres, like many of the secluded shifter homes, the plot backed up to BLM land.

  After placing both glasses in the sink, Eion walked into his bedroom. He pulled on a pair of socks before returning to the front door. Sliding his feet into a pair of hiking boots, he laced them up, then straightened.

  “All right then,” Eion stated, exiting the cabin and closing the door securely behind him. After locking it, he shoved the keys into his pocket and smiled at his brother. “Did you text them, then?” Eion waggled his eyebrows as he gave Brennan a cheeky grin. “Ready to clean my bathroom for months?”

  Brennan returned his cheek with a playful sneer. “I can’t wait to enjoy driving your Harley through town.
”

  Eion laughed as he headed to his quad-cab pick-up. As he climbed behind the wheel, he watched through his mirrors as Brennan jogged to his own vehicle. Once his brother had hopped inside the old Jeep, Eion brought his truck roaring to life.

  Following Brennan, Eion looked forward to running and hunting as a wolf, especially with family. He hadn’t been out in a couple of weeks. Work at Kade’s mechanic shop had kept him busy.

  Everyone seemed to have the same idea—it’s spring, so let’s get our motorcycles tuned up, so we can ride.

  Eion had completed more oil changes and tune-ups in the last two weeks than he had in the prior month. Still, working at the fellow wolf shifter’s shop made for less misunderstandings. His occasional snarl or growl didn’t alarm his employer.

  Hell, as an enforcer, Kade offered more than his fair share of mutterings... especially when he’d been away from his mate too long—a human named Tom.

  When Eion reached the trailhead, he spotted both Cliff and Niamh’s vehicles. His siblings were standing beside each other, chatting amicably. After parking and exiting his vehicle, Eion waved while calling a greeting.

  “How’d he rope you into this?” Niamh asked, laughing good-naturedly. Her hazel eyes twinkled, and she winked. “What could he possibly have offered you for the use of your Harley?”

  Eion shrugged as he rested his hands on his hips. “When I asked Brennan, he looked confused,” he admitted with a shake of his head. Upon seeing Niamh’s lifted brows, he chuckled. “So I told him when I won the hunt, he would need to clean my bathroom weekly for three months.”

  Niamh barked a laugh, grinning widely as she turned her attention to Brennan. “Really? You didn’t come up with something before Eion made his demands?”

  Brennan’s cheeks took on a pinkish hue as he whipped his shirt over his head. “Come on,” he demanded as he tossed it onto the seat of his Jeep. “Let’s do this.”

  While they all began stripping in preparation of shifting, Cliff asked, “Do we have a time frame?” After a glance at his phone before setting it on the floorboard of Brennan’s vehicle, he added, “I need to be home by eight to help Lisa put Abigail to bed.”

  Eion bit back a knowing smile as he exchanged a look with Niamh. Yep, Cliff’s heart isn’t gonna be in this. His attention returned to his brothers when he heard Brennan whine, “Come on, Cliff. This is important.”

  In response, Cliff growled in warning. “You never did say why this was so important.”

  Spotting Brennan’s annoyed glare directed at Cliff, Eion clenched his jaw. He realized there was definitely something going on with his youngest brother for him to give their pack’s head tracker such a challenging look—family or not. With Lisa being pregnant, Cliff was already on edge.

  Surely this isn’t just about a girl.

  “Let’s say be back here when the sun is hanging over The Cragg,” Eion cut in as he pointed to the west, reaffirming his decision to look into it later. Even from within the trees, they would be able to make out when the sun was near the cliff-face that was popular with rock climbers. “That should be about six-thirty or so, and you’ll have plenty of time to get home to Lisa.”

  “Okay. Be back here by then,” Cliff agreed.

  While Brennan agreed, his expression still appeared a bit mutinous.

  Oh well.

  Shucking the rest of his clothes, Brennan placed everything on the floorboard of his pick-up. He nodded once to Niamh, then crouched and called to his wolf. His body immediately began to change. His skin rippled as his fur sprouted. He felt the push-pull sensation of his bones sliding and realigning within him. The pop and snap of his muscles and tendons felt like a fantastic stretch.

  Eion opened his eyes and peered around. While on four paws, his perception of the world was different. His vision had grown sharper, and his nostrils were assailed with odors.

  Shivering with excitement, Eion bounced forward and barreled playfully into Niamh. His sister chuffed as she snapped at him, lightly nipping his foreleg. The bite wasn’t hard enough to get through his fur, but Eion growled back anyway.

  Then he barked before bouncing away and pouncing on Brennan, who was rubbing against Cliff. Obviously, as a wolf, his brother wanted reassurance from the most dominant of them. For several minutes, the four wolves scuffled and played.

  Finally, Cliff barked an order, and they split up to hunt. In wolf form, Eion had even less understanding of the point of the bet. Still, he was all for hunting.

  Loping alongside Niamh, Eion tipped his nose into the wind, scenting the air. He caught the musky fragrance of a moose but dismissed it just as quickly. The animal was too big for just the two of them.

  When Niamh slowed, her nose sniffing along the ground, Eion did the same. The pleasant odor of hare caused his mouth to water. While he didn’t think the large rabbit would win the bet, it would make an enjoyable snack to fuel them for bringing down bigger game.

  Eion exchanged a glance with Niamh, who tipped her muzzle toward the left, so he circled in that direction. Finding a log to hide behind, he waited, excitement pulsing through him. Tension thrummed through his body.

  When the big hare bounded out from beneath the brush, bobbing and weaving, Niamh in hot pursuit, Eion judged the prey animal’s next leap and lunged, landing directly in front of it. The rabbit’s scent stank of fear as it jumped to the right.

  Just as planned, Niamh was there to stop it. She sank her sharp teeth into the hare’s neck, lifted it off the ground, and shook her head. The snap of the animal’s neck could barely be heard over her aggressive growl.

  Plopping onto his butt, Eion tipped his head back and howled their victory. Niamh joined him for a moment, then lowered her muzzle to the dead animal and pushed it onto its back. Utilizing her sharp canines, she tore into the animal’s gut.

  Eion crept forward, nosing closer, gaging his sister’s receptiveness. When she tensed, he paused. Then the other wolf tore out another chunk of the belly before taking a step back to chew it.

  Accepting Niamh’s offer, Eion placed his paw on the rabbit’s torso and sank his teeth into its haunch. He tore off a large chunk. Crunching through the meat and bone, he savored the warm, oozing flesh.

  While Eion licked his chops, he watched Niamh tear off another piece of the hare.

  Just when she backed away to offer him another bite, Eion paused as a new scent reached his nostrils. He whipped his head around, searching for the source. His body vibrated with excitement as heat simmered through his veins.

  Niamh cocked her head as she chewed, her expression one of interest.

  Unable to explain while in wolf form, Eion let out a soft whine. He rose to his feet and lifted his nose to the wind. Trotting through the forest, he stalked the source of the smell.

  Vaguely, Eion saw that Niamh followed. While she carried the rest of the hare in her mouth, even in canine form, her expression betrayed her confusion.

  Eion realized he recognized the area. There was a trailhead a couple of miles away, although it was rarely used. His pack liked it that way because part of the trail came a little closer to where the pack enjoyed running than they would have liked.

  Slinking forward, Eion scented carefully as he followed the enticing aroma. He had his suspicions due to the way he was reacting, but he really wanted to see the object of his hunt to be certain. Anticipation thrummed through him, none-the-less.

  Finally, Eion spotted a big, broad blond kneeling on a rock. He held a huge-ass rifle, resting his elbow on his upturned thigh. His focus remained on the scope, but he didn’t have his finger on the trigger.

  Instead, the guy appeared to be panning over the area.

  To Eion’s surprise, the stranger was peering in the direction of Alpha Declan’s home, which was only a few miles down the steep terrain.

  The intensity of the human’s scent verified Eion’s suspicion.

  Hot damn! Finally!

  Niamh recovere
d first, obviously jumping to the conclusion that the guy was spying on their alpha. Dropping the hare, she leaped out of the brush. She snarled and growled angrily as she stalked forward.

  The human twisted and fell on his ass, shock flowing from him, sharpening his scent. The move caused his gun to swing wide, and he juggled the weapon. He muttered something in a language Eion didn’t recognize, but he easily guessed he was cussing.

  Not wanting his sister and the human to come to blows—or for him to be terrorized further—Eion lunged forward, following her from the thicket. As soon as his paws hit the dirt, he shifted. Pushing himself, he managed to change faster than he’d ever done before, fear for the big human’s safety driving him.

  “Wait,” Eion panted as soon as he had a human mouth that could form words. “Niamh, please.” He rocked up onto his knees and lifted his hands in placation.

  While his sister had stopped growling, she still had her attention pinned on the human.

  “Niamh, please,” Eion said again, glancing between her and the clearly shocked, gaping human. “He’s my mate.”

  In the next instant, the human pointed a trembling hand at him while stuttering in another tongue. Whatever he was trying to get out, he didn’t manage it before he crumpled.

  “Well shit,” Eion muttered.

  That hadn’t gone as planned.

  Chapter Three

  Like a switch being flipped—one second Castrose was asleep and the next he was awake. It had been that way ever since he could remember. No leisurely wake-ups for him.

  Except, usually he recognized where he was even before he opened his eyes. Not so, this time around. Lying on a soft mattress wouldn’t have been new, but feeling the heat of the sun on his face definitely was. He always closed the blinds, so no one would be able to see into the room. On top of that, the smell of pine and cleaner teased his nostrils, combining with a clearly masculine aroma.