Wolf's Surrender: Part of the Immortal Ops World (Shadow Agents / PSI-Ops Book 1) (2 page)

The first time he went through a full shift during the first full moon that occurred during puberty, he’d thought he was dying. That he was being ripped apart from the inside out. It had felt as if every bone in his body had snapped, and he’d believed his skin was going to tear clean off him during it all. The horror of it had made matters worse. Not that the ordeal needed any help. His shifts had gotten easier with age, but his first had been brutal—more so because of his fear and the fact he’d tried to fight it with all he had.

He hadn’t understood what was going on. He’d been fine one minute and the next he’d fallen to his knees as his bones felt as if they were breaking one by one, his body contorting, his skin shifting. It had seemed like hours, but looking back it had only taken minutes. And when he’d found himself stuck in the form of an animal, terror had gripped him. He hadn’t known if it was permanent and if he was a monster.
 

If it hadn’t been for Vic, Brad would have felt completely and utterly alone in the world. Like a monster spawned forth from the great unknown. Something that should have been hunted and put down. Thankfully, like had attracted like and his best friend had undergone the same changes. The same pain. The same fear. The same worry that they were the only ones.
 

Until recently, they’d still believed that to be true. They’d managed to go all through school, join the military, serve their country as Navy SEALs and then work on getting degrees, all while thinking they were freaks—totally alone in the world. And all while doing unthinkable things to hide their secrets from others, from humans. But they weren’t the only ones.

There were others out there.

Other men and women who could change forms and shift into animals. Stuff he didn’t think could possibly be real was—like vampires and magiks and so much more. He’d learned the truth of it a short time ago and still couldn’t stop thinking about it.
 
Learning they each weren’t alone was a game changer for both Brad and Vic
.

Now, the quest to find a boring career and hide away was no more. The crippling doubt both men had lived with was gone, replaced with hope. They could be part of something finally. Have a family of sorts even—something neither had known in their lives. And soon enough Brad would be back to doing what he’d been trained to do. He’d be back in the field, back doing what he was good at and he’d be done trying to be something he wasn’t.

A quiet egghead.

Sighing, he glanced at Vic and lifted a brow as the guide rambled on about the animals who were supposedly known to roam the rainforest area. When the guide got to lions, Brad had to bite his tongue to keep from commenting. The guide was full of shit and seemed to enjoy trying to get one over on his unsuspecting group of tourists.

Vic had suggested they eat the guide twice already. Neither would. The guide smelled like he’d given up bathing some time ago. Not to mention Brad and his friend didn’t make a habit of eating humans. Though, there had been an incident while they were in the Middle East that they tended not to bring up much anymore. The guy over there was a sick bastard who had tortured and killed young girls for sport. Vic had lost his shit, shifted forms and made a midnight snack of the asshole.
 

Jerk had it coming.

“Be careful or the lions will wake and come and kill us all,” the guide said, pulling Brad from his thoughts once more. He groaned, and Vic laughed. Unless there were shapeshifters in the area, the tourists were safe from any roaming lions while in the rainforest.
 

“We better be on guard,” joked Vic. “Wait until he finds out there really are wolves here now.”

That brought a chuckle from Brad. They’d been tempted to shift forms late at night and run through the jungle to blow off steam, but had been worried they might scare the rest of their tour group should they be spotted. For sure they’d make the guide wet himself. That was nearly enough to make them do it.

The guide in question started in on polar bears being near and Brad couldn’t take it anymore. The few people in the group who were still paying attention to the long-winded man actually snorted and made snide comments. The guide tried his best to convince them the polar bear sightings were legit, but it was then he lost what little remaining credibility he’d had with the group.

Vic did a rather fake cough while saying the word “bullshit” and then nudged Brad, motioning in the direction of their fellow classmate, Kim. She’d been one of a large part of the group who had stopped listening to the guide’s long talks within the first two days of their arrival. She was currently swatting at another mosquito as she stared miserably around at the wilderness surrounding them. It was plain to see she was not at one with nature, despite her college major being one that would leave her studying plants for life. He snickered as she silently cursed another bug under her breath. He could see a sterile laboratory in her future.

“I’m starting to think she smears honey on herself,” said Brad with a lopsided grin. “How else do you explain how much the bugs like her?”

“Mmm, smearing honey on her,” Vic murmured, looking far away in thought as he faced Kim.

“Dude, hang it up. In the year we’ve known her, she has never once looked at you like you stood a chance in the romance department. I’m pretty sure you got friend-zoned within week one.”

Vic flashed a wide smile. “Doesn’t mean I can’t daydream.”

“Horndog.”

“Asshole.”

Brad grinned. “Thanks.”

Vic kept staring in Kim’s direction. “I feel bad for her. She’s covered in bites. At least she listened to you about tucking her pants into her sock tops today. She looked like she had chicken pox yesterday
,
she was so bit up all over her legs from wearing shorts.”

“I’m
sure
your concern for her has a little something to do with her being a hot, black-haired beauty.”

Vic grinned. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“Right.” Brad snorted. Vic had a type and Kim was it. Tall, leggy and brunette. “Go back to daydreaming about her covered in honey. Like that will ever happen.”

Vic shrugged. “Hey, if there was a stacked redhead down here with us
,
you’d be thinking the same things.”

“Damn straight,” added Brad with a grin. He had a type too. Hot redheads with big boobs were it. He didn’t care how bad it was to admit, he liked a certain type of woman and wasn’t ashamed of the fact. His cock twitched at the idea of a sexy little redheaded number making her way to their corner of the rainforest.

Damn.

It had been too long since he’d last had sex. When they got back stateside, he’d head to a bar, hook up with a hottie, didn’t matter the color of her hair, and he’d find release. Vic would need to do the same. They’d learned long ago to never push too long without sex. Controlling their animal sides became harder the more time they put between sexual escapades. And neither wanted to come to after a long shift to find out they accidentally ate someone who didn’t deserve it.

He grimaced at the idea.

Glancing around, Brad took a deep breath, drawing in the scents of what was near them. He tensed as new smells assaulted him. Their group wasn’t large and was filled mostly with other classmates from the university. The few guides they had were now familiar to his senses, and there was, of course, Professor Krauss, who had put together the trip to Brazil to start with. Whatever Brad had gotten a whiff of was not what he’d grown accustomed to on their trip. It was different and not in a good way. It set his wolf on edge, making it want to uncoil from a deep sleep within him. He had to tamp it down for fear of shifting for all to see.

“Everything okay?” asked Vic.

Brad stilled and took in another deep breath, the smell all but gone, and then glanced to his friend. “Yeah. Thought I caught the scent of something, but it was nothing. Guess the heat is getting to me more than I thought.”

He could have sworn he sensed a threat near them. It wasn’t like him to have false feelings of danger.

“Smelling the lions and polar bears?” Chuckling, Vic stepped closer to him.

Brad laughed. “And then some.”

The guide got the show on the road again. Their stops for rest and water were getting longer and longer as of late. Brad and Vic took the lead once more as they were the strongest men in the group and could slice through the thick vines with relative ease compared to the others. Plus
,
the added exercise went a long way into wearing their animals out.

Kim moved in close behind Vic and Brad knew his buddy was pleased. He also knew Vic wouldn’t really make a play for Kim. She’d managed to become something of a friend to them both
,
and that was rare. They didn’t let many people in for fear of their secret being discovered, but there was something about Kim that made them both feel slightly protective of her. Neither guy would dream of screwing that up, not when they had so few friends as it was.

Brad wasn’t sure how much time had passed before they came to a clearing and were able to stop cutting vines and branches. It felt as if the jungle was going to close up behind them, instantly regrowing everything they’d just cleared. He looked towards Vic and found him sipping from his canteen and then offering a drink to Kim, who declined. She was still swatting at insects landing on her.
 

Poor girl. She’d be eaten alive soon.

“Ten-minute break,” called the guide.

Vic approached. “Bet this stretches into thirty minutes of his tall tales.”

“For sure,” offered Brad as he sipped from his own canteen.

“Seems like we were only just here. Hard to believe it’s been a few years now, isn’t it?”

Brad stiffened at the thought of their active-duty time. There had been a certain thrill to it all—a level of excitement his current area of study lacked in a big way. “Do you miss it?”

Vic glanced away and nodded.

Brad tensed. “What do you think PSI will be like?”

Vic looked around as if worried someone would overhear. Brad wasn’t too concerned. It wasn’t like anyone with them would even know what PSI stood for. Paranormal Security and Intelligence was a government agency he’d only just learned existed. Humans certainly weren’t privy to its presence. Brad was still having a hard time wrapping his head around a clandestine organization consisting of all supernaturals being real
,
and he was a friggin’ shifter.

He and Vic had been approached two months before heading to South America by a recruiter for PSI named Vepkhia. Neither of them had been able to believe a supernatural military agency was real. They’d spent so long hiding in plain sight that they’d been blindsided by the truth of it all. Vepkhia had explained PSI in detail and talked them through everything they needed to know to be brought into the fold. They were excited.

There were many more men and women like them. They were not alone, and it turned out there was a whole policing force dedicated to nothing but the supernatural. It was still surreal. So was the fact that both Brad and Vic had agreed to sign on with PSI. Vepkhia had explained that they’d enter as scientists, able to function as operatives as well. It would be different from their past as SEALs. From what they’d been told they’d be policing supernaturals both locally and abroad. It would be nice to be around others like them and to not have to hide who and what they were.

A refreshing change of pace.
 

Plus, PSI had been sold to them as being something of a family. A group of men like them. It would be nice to really, truly belong to something and not just pretend. Vic was like a brother to him. They’d grown up together, forming a friendship early on, first out of necessity and then out of loyalty. They’d not been like other children in the foster-care system. And both seemed to have an inborn knowledge that they had to hide the changes they’d started experiencing around the same age they’d first met. A kid didn’t need to be brilliant to know that suddenly being able to change into an animal wasn’t something one should let others find out about.

Brad still wasn’t sure how he’d gotten so lucky as to cross paths with Vic back then, but he had. They’d stayed close, helped one another through the transitioning period and clawed their way out of poverty together. They’d graduated early and joined up with the military, hoping to find a place they’d fit in—where their alpha urges to protect and kill if need be would be useful, not a liability. They’d gone through boot camp and then later BUD/S training together. And now here they were, working on getting their degrees in a field no one would have ever guessed they’d have an interest in—pharmacognosy. He didn’t exactly look like the type of guy who wanted to study plants or other natural sources in order to create effective medicines, but he was. That was how they’d ended up in South America, yet again, but this time working under the direction of a brilliant but moody professor
.

Professor Krauss had been relatively mild-mannered back at the University, but on this trip he’d been irritable and at times belligerent to Brad and Vic. Neither paid the short, fat man much mind when he started to rant or rave. They could both take him with ease, not that they’d have much of a reason to beat up an old guy. The man was brilliant in his various fields of study, so they overlooked some of his eccentric behavior.

“Break is over,” yelled the guide.

Vic groaned as the guide headed down a section of the jungle that he’d sworn earlier was going to be fairly clear. From the heavy amount of vines and overgrowth, the guide was either lost or didn’t understand the meaning of clear.

Either way, they’d be cutting their way through the brush once more. Brad stepped forward, ready to do what was needed. Vic moved up and stood beside him.

“If this guy is walking in circles, I’m gonna use this machete on him,” said Vic with a grin.

Brad shook his head. “Go check on Kim. I’m going to refill our canteens.”
 

With a nod Vic headed off in Kim’s direction, tossing his canteen back to Brad as he did. Catching it with one hand, Brad grinned and then pivoted, walking towards the stream he could hear running through the dense tree line. He made it a few paces before there was a sharp pinch in his upper left shoulder. At first he thought the mosquitoes had finally decided he would be good pickings. It wasn’t until three more sharp pinches happened on his back that he looked over his shoulder to find small red darts protruding out of his skin.