times she inhaled deeply through her nose and blew all of the air out through her mouth, the way her heart raced couldn’t be normal.
When she tried to sit up, a wave of nausea washed over her. She didn’t have any food in her stomach, but it still protested when she reached her bathroom. Gods, this had to stop. She couldn’t keep up with her brother’s hatred toward the only male who’d believed in her when she was training. If she stayed away from Taze, Malaki was calm, but anytime the male was mentioned, her brother liked to remind her of Taze’s troubles when she had started training.
Granted, Taze had been an asshole in the beginning, but something had changed for him after the alpha had set him straight. Calla always wondered what Talon had said to him that day. She guessed it didn’t matter, because she had grown from his teachings in that training facility.
She missed training, but she wanted her degree more. The pull of her nature and her brain, along with the males in her life always at war with each other, was wearing her thin.
The nausea passed, and she was finally able to get to her kitchen for a glass of water. The panic in her mind finally eased, and she leaned against the countertop and crossed her arms. She couldn’t think of their differences. The alpha had asked her to do a bit of tracking on Holden Manzelli, and she had a lot of work ahead of her.
She had to find the connection between the Amburo brother and sister, Holden, and Agent Murdock. So far, she’d found nothing on the latter two. The agent would be the hardest to dig up any information on seeing as he worked for the government. The best she could come up with would be an address and phone number, but those were all public knowledge.
Once she changed out of her clothes, she grabbed a book she’d been trying to read for the past month. It was getting late and she needed to sleep, but a few chapters of reading wouldn’t hurt.
The rumble of Taze’s truck passing her house on his way off the pride’s land was becoming a nightly thing. Calla had gotten to the point where she anticipated it and couldn’t go to bed until he’d been on his way.
She didn’t want to look too far into her new routine, but she’d be kidding herself if she didn’t admit the sound was somehow soothing to her. It was a sick, sordid routine to have, knowing he was on his way out to fight and possibly get hurt protecting the species.
After helping the Protectors with the females they’d rescued a few months ago, Calla finally realized the war they were fighting was a real threat to their species and the humans involved. She’d knuckled down and started her search for Holden Manzelli, and it had led her to the brother and sister who were possibly bringing Khat into the area.
Everyone reminded her of her excellent tracking skills, but she had her doubts. Sometimes, it was easy to find who she was looking for when it came to her job at the lawyer’s office, but she had some serious doubts when it came to tracking a shifter on foot. Savage and Taze had assured her she had the possibility to be one of the best in the species after months of practicing during her training. She could scent rather well, and her mind would calculate the person’s next move as easily as if there was a road map laid out in front of her.
So, why couldn’t she find Holden Manzelli? The male had to be using an alias. There was no other explanation for the lack of information, and she had a bad feeling he was doing that for a very good reason, but she didn’t know why.
Chapter Three
The two-story house loomed over the darkened street; a lone light shone from a room on the upper level. Taze used his nose to scent for any wolves, but there was only trash and the stench of the sewer from the street below.
Yet again, they found themselves in one of the seedier parts of south Memphis. There were more vacant homes than livable ones. Those World War II era houses were in a decaying state, and from the intel they’d received, it fit the perfect description of a dealer’s hideaway.
“Everyone into place,” Tabor whispered as he adjusted his bulletproof vest. He was