Page 17 of Beginnings

Chapter 5

Ember

I grabbed my bag,my hand shaking. The bus stopped and I jumped off, running as soon as my feet hit the ground. Our house blazed brightly, every window lit up from within. Around the outside blue lights flashed, illuminating the darkness with that ominous glow that meant pain and trouble.

Police were everywhere, their cars and at least one riot van were parked haphazardly across the roads. I swallowed, my heart thumping wildly when I noticed four black range rovers with the SBI emblem on the side. The monstrous cars were blocking the driveway. Either to stop people getting in—or perhaps to stop someone or something from getting out?

My stomach lurched. Was it Connor? Had they found him? Since Rawson had promised Lyss he’d drop his search for Connor about two months ago, he’d been home more and was so attentive, it had become almost irritating. I suspected he hadn’t really stopped his search for Connor, but whatever he did, he did it discreetly. The day of my Primis, Doherty had given him a warning. Apparently, it wasn’t acceptable to use SBI resources or their technical support and weapons for personal use.

I’d tried to stay out of trouble, too, and behaved during my training, though being submissive and toeing the line grated on my last nerve most of the time. I always ensured I did slightly worse than Shannon in my assessments just to keep her off my back. In turn, she ignored me. It seemed Connor not being around had made me insignificant to her. I was, by all accounts, invisible. Not that I gave a shit about Shannon or the programme, not really. Out of the limelight and in the shadows was where I was happiest. At home, I trained alone or went for long runs as my wolf. Lyss had gone back to work as a counsellor, so I spent most of my time either alone or working for Som.

That’s where I’d been tonight. It had been too early to run back from the outskirts of London as my wolf. I hadn’t wanted to be seen, so the bus was my only option.

I ran up to the first policeman who stood guard.

“What’s going on!?”

“Nothing to concern yourself with, Miss. Run along home, now.”

I frowned at the kindly yet condescending way he spoke.

“I live here. I need to get in!”

“Really?” He looked me up and down, his gaze eventually resting on my face. “Well, okay then, you just wait right here with me…” His fingers snaked out and clamped hold of my arm as he made eye contact with another policeman, who nodded and walked hurriedly up the drive and towards the house.

I yanked my arm out of his grasp and sprinted over to the nearest SBI agent.

“No one’s getting in here,” this one told me. “But if you live here, Director Doherty will want to speak to you. Stay right there.”

My stomach sank. Something was very wrong. If they’d found Connor the human police wouldn’t be here; it was something else; something bad enough to have both the SBI and the police involved.

My instincts yelled at me to get the hell out of there. I grunted in reply to the agent, but as soon as he turned away and opened his mouth to shout something to the agent guarding the front door, I ran.

No fucking way was I waiting for Shannon’s crazy-assed dad to grab me. The guy was just plain creepy. I sprinted down the drive, back out into the street and kept going straight before darting left. Thankfully the moon was waning and not even a sliver of light was visible. Light-footed and quick, I sprinted along the pitch black lane. I could hear loud shouts and the echo of booted feet. My heart pounded as I leaped off the road and ran through the fields next to the lane. These agents were shifters, they would scent me just as I could smell their wolves, and there was no way I’d lead them straight to the bushes behind Rawson’s, so I jumped into a small stream. Cold water splashed up my legs, soaking my jeans and helping cover my scent. Ignoring the freezing cold, I dashed up the opposite bank, ran a few steps, doubled back and grabbed an overhead branch. With a grunt of effort, I flung myself back into the water as far upstream as possible. Not pausing for a second, I ran through the water until I reached a small bridge. I peered above and along the lane, careful not to make any sudden moves. There were no headlights or shadows of looming vehicles parked in the nearby darkness. In a smooth move, I pulled myself up onto the road. Expanding my lungs as much as possible, I tried to recover my breath. Staying on the verge and in the shadows, I ran back down towards the bushes at the back of my home. My heart thundered and my throat was raw, but I didn’t stop. Fear for Rawson and Lyss drove me on. Only a short way off, my footsteps slowed. I halted and cocked my head, listening carefully. I could hear male voices coming from the garden but none in the lane. I guessed they knew how vigilant Rawson was about his security. Almost as careful as Connor…

I inched forward, ensuring the lane was still clear. Quietly, I scurried across the road and bent down onto my haunches, ignoring where my wet jeans had chaffed my thighs. Sharp sticks and thorns scratched my exposed skin as I edged my way through the spiky bushes that I’d painstakingly created a path in. I stopped and took a few quiet, deep breaths. I couldn’t creep past any guards when I was breathing like a steam train. Thanks to all the running I’d done recently, I was fit, and soon got my breathing under some control, though my heart still raced.

If there was such a security presence at the front of the house, the back would be no different, especially now that I’d been seen and had bolted from their grasp. Thankfully, none of these people knew about the little tunnel I’d created for myself. Over the years, I’d dug down under Rawson's security fence, careful not to upset his systems. This was my emergency way in and out of this house. I used it to sneak in and out of the house when Lyss and Rawson thought I was in bed. I often visited Som, or if he had no work for me, I prowled the London streets, watching and waiting for a chance to strike against those who preyed upon the vulnerable. Supernatural or human, it made no difference to me.

I crawled past the dead rats that I’d placed in strategic positions. No agents would pick up my scent over the rot of those things. I smirked as I peered out from the base of the bushes, using the shadows to hide me. All the SBI personnel were steering clear of this area. I had to agree, the stench was repulsive, so it was good that Lyss and Rawson hardly ever spent time in their garden, or my tunnel being discovered was inevitable.

Light from the kitchen door and window fell on the nearest pair of agents and my breath hitched. They weren’t ordinary agents; the agents that the rest of the world saw on the news. No, these carried special issue automatic multifunction handguns, exclusive to the special ops division Connor had worked in. Their huge bodies were decked in armour, their faces completely covered. Thank god they didn’t have night vision equipment. I sent a short prayer of thanks to the mother wolf while I studied their weapons. They had stun capability and tranquilliser settings as well as bullets.

A shudder rippled down my spine.

After rubbing the stink of the rotting rat flesh over my shirt sleeves and wet jeans, I pressed my lips together, gagging, and continued to crawl through the bushes that marked the border of Rawson’s home. There was a small vent next to the wall of the house just in front of the base of the bushes. I’d found it not long after I’d moved in. No one else seemed to know it was there, not even Connor.

It was quiet and pitch black around this side of the house. I tugged on my wolf, begging for her help. Gladly she gifted me some of her power. My eyesight sharpened and my nails grew, along with my teeth.

Enough, I commanded and my shift halted. I had learned many things since my last shift. Full and partial shifting on demand being two of the most useful.

Right now, my heightened senses and extra strength were what I needed. I crawled from beneath the bush and hooked my fingers under the hatch where I’d bent the metal settings it rested on. I lifted the metal, careful not to make any noise. I was well practiced at sneaking in this way. Head first, I dropped into the space. Twisting my body to close the hatch was awkward but I managed it. Ignoring the discomfort, I wriggled on my belly alongside the pipe work. When I got beneath the training room storage cupboard I stopped. Voices reached me. My blood froze, my heart thundering.

There was the thud of fist against flesh. Bile surged up my throat.

“You’re an evil bastard.” Rawson’s voice gurgled and he panted, clearly in pain.

There was another thud, followed by a grunt.

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