Table of Contents Title Page To Cody, my anchor in life. Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten About the Author Sometimes we fear love more than we fear hate. Years ago, Dove Shifter Caley lost his entire family to Wolf shifters. When he had to take refuge with the Wayne County Wolves, he was less than happy. But he has adjusted—more or less. Then a war breaks out with another pack, and the Alpha is forced to hire a group of assassins to help them out, one of which is a Wolf named Grey—the biggest, scariest Wolf Caley has ever seen. Terrified, Caley vows to avoid him, even as he finds himself strangely attracted to Grey at the same time. The moment Grey sees the small, yet sexy, Dove, he knows he wants him. The problem is the Dove avoids talking to him, let alone get up close and personal. Then the pack is attacked, and Caley is in danger. Will Caley learn to trust Grey in time? Or will his fear cause him to pay the ultimate price? The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The Angry Dove and the Assassin Copyright © 2013 Stephani Hecht ISBN: 978-1-77111-544-5 Cover art by Angela Waters All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books Look for us online at: www.eXtasybooks.com The Angry Dove and the Assassin Wayne County Wolves Book # By Stephani Hecht To Cody, my anchor in life. Chapter One Caley stood up and put a hand to the small of his back to work out the kink that had developed from bending over his worktable for so long. It was worth it, though. The dress that his client had ordered was finally done, and it looked better than even he had imagined it would. He carefully folded it and put it in box. Just as he was adding the finishing touch of one of his signature bows, his friend Alger came rushing into the workroom. “Did you hear?” “Hear what?” Caley asked, not looking up from his work. Since he rarely left his studio, he wasn’t privy to much of the pack gossip. Call him crazy, but as a Dove shifter, he didn’t feel that comfortable mixing with a bunch of Wolves. Sure, he was fine making their clothes when they wanted him to, and boy did they ever want him to, but when it came to socializing, that’s where he drew the big, fat line. “The assassins are coming. Isn’t that cool?” Alger said, bouncing up and down like the Rabbit shifter he was. “Since you seem excited, I’m assuming they’re here to help out with the war against the other pack, not to kill us,” Caley surmised. “Boy, you really need to get out more. Didn’t you hear that Chris was having some assassins join the pack to help take out Rand and his goons?” “Nope, it’s news to me.” “You work too hard. You need to get out and hang more.” Caley shot Alger a narrow-eyed look. “I tend not to hang out with shifters that look at me like I’m lunch.” Alger let out a sigh as he took a seat on one of the stools. “How many times do I have to tell you this pack isn’t like that? They’re really nice here. Didn’t they set up this workroom for you, so you could sew and stuff?” Caley hated to admit it, but Alger had a point there. The Alpha and his wife had gone out of their way to set up a great workroom for Caley. They had given him everything he’d needed and then some. He had the best sewing machines, all the fabric he could ask for, and all kinds of neat equipment. Of course, it came with the condition that he would make clothes for the pack, but Caley had been more than happy with that agreement. “Yes, they did,” Caley agreed. “They even let you have extra fabric and stuff, so you could run your etsy store to have some extra money in your pocket for the first time in your life. That has to say something about how nice they are.” Caley finally faced his friend fully. He shoved his hands in his pockets and felt a heat come over his face. “I know all that. I just can’t help but still be afraid of them. I mean it was a pack of Wolves that came in and killed my whole family. It’s kind of hard to forget that.” Alger’s face softened. “But this pack is different.” “I know. I keep trying to tell myself that, but it’s hard to forget. I guess I just need a little more time.” “Holing yourself up in here isn’t going to help. It’s only going to make you more afraid.” “It’s not like I don’t have any interaction at all with the Wolves. They come in here all the time for fittings,” Caley pointed out. “But you’re still taking your meals in here, and you never come out during movie nights or anything.” Caley idly played with a stray piece of fabric. “I know, but whenever I come out, I feel like I’m an entrée in the middle of a bunch of carnivores.” “You would be, but in a whole different way. You’re so good looking, you’d have to fight the guys back,” Alger teased gently. “What happened to the Caley who used to like to flirt and get some action? I bet you haven’t had any fun since you’ve been here. You must be so lonely by now.” Caley hated to admit it, but Alger did have a major point there. If Caley didn’t get laid soon, his balls were going to fall off from being unused. He hadn’t had a dry spell this long since he’d lost his virginity and that was a looooooong time ago. Alger moved in closer, a gleam in his eyes. “Come on. Why don’t you go out with me now and see the new assassins? They should be arriving any minute.” “I don’t know,” Caley hedged. “I have a ton of work to do.” “It’ll still be here when you get back.” Before Caley could argue any further, Alger grabbed him by the hand and all but dragged him out of the workroom. Since Caley knew it was useless to fight, he just went along with it. They ran through the crowded hallways of the pack den, many of the shifters stopping to look at Caley with curiosity since he never ventured out of his workshop. They were all friendly enough, waving and calling out hello to him. He returned the gesture with his free hand. It wasn’t that the Wolves hadn’t been friendly to Caley. If anything, they’d gone out of their way to be extra nice to him. No doubt because of his skills with the thread. Once word had gotten out about his clothing, everybody wanted a garment by him, and they’d been trying to butter him up. It was just that Caley was having trouble letting go of his old fears. They stopped short at a group of Wolves who had gathered at the opening of the Wolf dwelling. Alger stood on tiptoe to see over the crowd. “Have they arrived yet?” Alger’s mate, Nico, came up from behind and grabbed Alger by the waist. “Not yet. They should be arriving any second.” Alger jumped. “Damn it, you scared me.” Nico didn’t look chastised in the least as he began to nuzzle Alger’s neck. “What do you care about a group of assassins anyway?” “I’m just curious. That’s all. It’s kind of neat that we’re going to have a bunch of them working on our side. Rand is never going to know what hit him.” A shudder went through Caley. “I think it’s kind of scary.” “Caley!” Alger exclaimed. “Well, it’s true. We’re going to be living under the same roof as hired killers. Think about it. Doesn’t that freak you out, even a little bit?” Alger tilted his head to the side. “Hmmm…now that you put it that way, maybe a little bit.” Caley rolled his eyes. He didn’t know if it was all Rabbit shifters or just his friend, but Alger could be a bit scatterbrained at times. It was a trait that was both endearing and annoying at the same time. “Where are the others?” Caley asked. “Zaid is training with Ervin. Who knows where Walsh is, and Hale is out on a run with some pack members.” Caley smirked. “So nothing is new then?” “Nope, same old, same old.” “Do you think Walsh is doing drugs again?” Alger got a sad look in his eyes. “I don’t think, I know.” “Damn,” Caley breathed. “I think you guys should tell the Alpha about it,” Nico interrupted. Caley blinked up at him in shock. “Why would the Alpha care about a ferret who has a drug addiction?” “Because he’s formally part of the pack now and under Chris’s protection. That makes him Chris’s responsibility,” Nico explained simply. “I don’t know,” Caley hedged. “We’ve always kept things like that private before. It doesn’t feel right to air our dirty laundry out there for outsiders.” “But we’ve never been part of a pack before and Chris isn’t an outsider, he’s our Alpha,” Alger reminded him. “I think we kind of have to tell Chris about this.” “But what if he banishes Walsh because of it?” Caley asked. The last thing he wanted was to get his friend in trouble. While Caley might be afraid of the Wolves, this was the first place where they’d had security and enough food to eat since…well, forever. Caley didn’t even want to think of how Walsh would manage on his own. He wouldn’t survive a month. Nico put a comforting hand on Caley’s shoulder. “Chris would never do that. Our Alpha isn’t like that. He helps his pack. He doesn’t cull them or banish them like some other pack leaders do.” Caley let out a sigh of relief. While he didn’t trust many Wolves, Nico was the exception. He’d been the one who’d not only swept Alger off his feet but saved the rest of them from their poor conditions and brought them within the safety of the pack fold. “Look! Here they are now!” Alger cried out. Now interested himself, Caley stood on tiptoe so he could see over the heads of the Wolves in front of him. Walking in the front door was a small group of hooded figures. There were only four of them, but there could have easily been a whole army of them given the imposing vibe they gave off. Their cloaks were all a faded black, and the hoods were pulled up to hide their features, making them all the more mysterious. They walked in a tight group, all of them armed to the hilt. The weapons were a mixture of old weapons, like long swords and daggers, mixed with newer ones like grenades and assault rifles. They didn’t speak to each other or bullshit like other groups of soldiers did. They walked with a deadly silence. But Caley could feel their gazes scanning the crowd, assessing each and every one of them. A chill went up his spine when he felt them sizing him up, as well. Not all of the assassins were the same size. One was even small and feminine in build, but Caley could sense that she was just as deadly as the others. He sniffed the air and detected that she was a Fox shifter. Interesting, as he hadn’t come across many of those before, and the ones he had were mostly docile. They certainly hadn’t been the hired killer types. “Look at that one. He’s huge,” Alger breathed. Caley looked in the direction Alger was pointing in, and all the air left his lungs. Huge didn’t even begin to describe the Wolf that was walking in front of them. Dressed in the assassin cloak, Caley was just able to make out the man’s chiseled jawline and full lips, but little else. He couldn’t even be sure what color his hair was, but if he had to guess, he would say it was brown since that was the coloring most Wolves had. Caley’s heart beat a little harder, but he didn’t know if it was out of fear or excitement. There was something about this particular Wolf that called to him. Even though he should be more afraid of him than all of the others put together. “I wouldn’t want to run into him in a dark alley, that’s for sure,” Nico added with a nervous laugh. That said a lot since there wasn’t much that scared Nico. Caley meanwhile was edging his way through the crowd for a better look. Much to his surprise, the Wolves were more than willing to part way and make room for him. Before he knew it, he had a front row view. The assassins passed right in front of him, and Caley held his breath as the big Wolf stopped and gazed down at him. “What’s a Dove like you doing here in the middle of all these Wolves?” Caley looked up from under his lashes. “Just living.” Meanwhile his heart beat a million miles an hour. He couldn’t believe that he was actually having a conversation with an assassin and a Wolf one at that. But hey, call him crazy. He was drawn to this guy like a moth to a candle, and damned if he cared if he got burned. “Aren’t you afraid that you’re going to get eaten?” the assassin asked. He had yet to turn and give Caley a full look at his face and it was driving Caley crazy. He wanted to know what color the Wolf’s eyes were, if he had any scars, if his lips were really as kissable as he imagined. “Not yet, but there’s still hope,” Caley replied. The assassin finally turned, and Caley sucked in a breath. The Wolf was just as handsome as Caley had hoped for and then some. Full lips complemented high cheekbones, and the Wolf had the darkest brown eyes Caley had ever seen. In simple terms, he was everything Caley could ever dream up in a perfect man. “You’re playing with fire, Dove,” the assassin warned in a low tone. “I like fire.” “It can burn your pretty feathers off.” “They’ll regrow.” “And if they don’t?” “I’ll learn how to style my hair around the bald spots.” The assassin’s lips curled up into what might have been a smile. “Are you always this forward with strangers?” “Yes.” Well, the ones who aren’t Wolves, but you don’t need to know that, now do you? Caley glanced over at Alger who was gaping at him in open-mouthed horror. Caley just gave him a small wave and turned his attention back to his assassin. Reaching out, Caley fingered his cloak. “This has some tears in it.”