Garrett’s Gift (Broken Shifters #8)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

GARRETT

As I stalk through the trees, searching for that delectable scent I swear I caught a half-mile back, I give in to my wolf, letting him filter through each scent in the thick Wyoming woods.

Rotting leaves, mushrooms, snow-covered dirt, insects, mice.

There’s nothing here that doesn’t belong in the dense area of woods.

Certainly not anything floral, at least not this time of year.

I’d imagined the scent, my mind playing tricks on me yet again.

With a subtle shift of the wind, I catch Callen’s scent. The enforcer’s moved further upwind, east of my position, while Hayden lingers south of us, heading toward the clearing. Whatever had piqued his interest, he didn’t share with the rest of us.

The chill in the air slices through my fur easier than it should for this altitude. Maybe I’m just getting older. Thirty-five and no mate, no family, except a few cousins who have become strangers to me over the last few years.

Don’t need family. I have a pack. That’s all a shifter needs.

My wolf nips me from the inside, reminding me to focus. We agreed a long time ago that when I’m in wolf form, he leads and I wouldn’t distract him. Letting my mind wander is a big fucking distraction when we’re hunting.

No tracks on the ground, no broken branches. Nothing’s been through here.

And yet my hackles rise. My wolf senses danger, and he’s not sharing why. Just like Hayden.

“Nothing here,” Callen calls out, breaking the silence.

“Agreed,” Hayden adds, closer than I realized.

“Let’s head East, toward Bowman’s Pass,” Hayden suggests, oblivious to how my wolf’s hackles remain up.

I’m not ready to leave, and I’m not fucking sure why.

Bones crack and muscles reform as I shift to human form, even as my packmates shift into their wolf form. They reach the stream, but I don’t move an inch.

“These are the coordinates, Hayden.”

He shifts back to human form, an annoyed expression filling his features.

“We never had coordinates. Only the shifter’s description.

” Green eyes survey the area, even though he had agreed with Callen that there’s nothing here, certainly no shifters in distress.

The male always behaves as if he’s expecting to be stabbed in the back.

The faintest whiff of something rather enticing—like sugar caramelizing in a pan—tickles my nose. The scent seems trapped in a small wind eddy, swirling around me instead of drifting toward my packmates.

“I’ll catch up. I need one more look.”

“We’ll wait. Go.”

Even though he’s not originally from our pack, Hayden’s a smart shifter, and a good leader, second only to Damien. He doesn’t discount anyone’s instincts.

I used to be like him. Confident, even when the facts don’t add up. Tragedy will do that to a shifter—fuck with his ability to trust himself. Even his own wolf.

While I review the facts in my head, my wolf stalks forward, looking for any sign that we’re in the right place.

That lone wolf that reached us half-dead held no doubt about where the WSSO had captured him.

The narrowing canyon, the high peaks ahead of us and the frozen river bed east of here…

everything fits. This is definitely the place he described, but we’re days from Devil’s Peak.

The time it took us to find this place gave the humans ample time to flee.

And yet I can scent their presence here—very faint, likely days old—amidst a lot of skunk musk.

Too much, now that I think about it. That probably sent them running.

And with the unexpected surge in temperature, the snow’s melting as soon as it hits the ground, destroying any foot prints they may have left.

“No one’s out here, Garrett.” Callen trails behind me, keeping a respectful distance, but not giving me time to figure out what I can’t let go of this. “We’re heading home.”

“I caught a scent. Female.”

“Your brain’s playing tricks on you. We would have smelled her by now. That shifter—”

“Carter,” I interrupt Callen. “From Greyson’s pack. I never forget a face or name.”

“He said the female’s scent lured him into that trap. If the WSSO is using a female to trap male shifters up here, we would have found it by now.”

“You think he’s lying?”

“Not lying exactly. But something about his story didn’t add up. How’d he get away so easily? Why head toward our pack instead of his own? Sounds more like he’s running from his alpha and used all these recent disappearances as a way of walking into our pack, no questions asked.”

“You see conspiracies everywhere. And incompetency.”

“I have to consider all angles.”

I snort.

Callen’s jaw tightens. “You think because I’m the pack’s enforcer that I can’t feel for some fool shifter who screws up and pisses off his alpha?”

“I’m not incompetent,” I repeat, though I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince at this point, Callen or me.

“Never said you were. But not all shifters tell the truth. Some… make mistakes.”

I whirl on him. “Did I ever say I blamed you for her death? Or Frank. Or anyone?”

Callen holds up two hands. “Woah, where did that come from?”

The snow’s coming down heavier now, a stark reminder of that night.

I leave Callen in my wake, saying nothing as I surge forward, desperate to find the source of that scent… desperate to leave the past behind.

“Your wolf needs stability, Gare. This can’t go on much longer not without disastrous results,” Callen calls after me, but he doesn’t follow. Good thing given how agitated my wolf’s turning, though I’m not sure if he’s echoing my emotions or something else.

A twig snaps nearby and I stop moving. I’m about to shift to my wolf form when a woman steps out from behind a tree.

Fuck, she’s gorgeous. Long blonde hair flowing over the curve of sizeable breasts and an otherwise lean torso, and striking blue eyes, as brilliant as a Colorado summer sky.

Graceful arms move forward, covering the apex of her thighs. Shy, then.

Or worried because she’s a lone female in a woods where she’s no doubt caught the scent of several male shifters.

Which makes me wonder why my team hasn’t caught her scent.

“You’re safe with us,” I say slowly, softly. The fear in her eyes, her face, speaks volumes. What the fuck is she doing out here alone?

Suddenly, I’m on high alert again, scenting the wind, searching for any other scents, in case she isn’t as alone as she appears.

Her eyes dart right and left, anywhere but at me. “Leave.” A single word, filled with strength. I nearly miss the tremble in her lips. That single contradiction keeps me from leaving.

“Are you alone?” I wince. Even if she were, she wouldn’t admit it.

“My… situation… is none of your business, shifter.”

“Garrett.”

A slight nod eases the tension between us somewhat, but doesn’t answer my question. “I’d like to take your word on that, but it’s not often we find a lone female out here.”

“We?”

“A few packmates. We’re hunting humans. WSSO.”

Her expression tightens. “There are no humans here.”

“I… we… can escort you to your pack. We’re from Damien Black’s pack north of Devil’s Peak, Colorado.”

“Never heard of them.” Her eyes continually scan the woods around me. The fear in her face isn’t because of me then…

The second I step forward, to approach her, her eyes widen. “Does your alpha steal women for breeding?”

“Breeding… Fuck, you have bad intel. If anything, you’re thinking of the Novak pack. White Wolves, south of us. We do take in lone wolves though.” If they can prove their worth. Their loyalty.

“What’s your name, female?”

“You don’t need my name.”

“Sure I do, or I’ll end up calling you something you probably won’t like.”

She tilts her head, a slight grin surfacing. “What would you call me?”

“You have a dangerous streak, don’t you?”

“More like curiosity.”

“Blue. For your eyes. They’re rather… calming.” They calmed my wolf. He hasn’t bitten me once during this exchange.

“Angelina.”

“No last name?”

“You haven’t earned that.”

This female’s not easy, and yet I like that about her. I lift a foot, one fucking foot to approach her, and she retreats behind the tree.

“Okay, Angelina with no last name, let’s try this again. I can’t just walk away and leave you here.”

“Sure you can. In fact, you’d be better off.”

“Is that a threat?”

A slight shake of her head sends those gorgeous locks to the side, revealing the side of a shapely breast. I shouldn’t stare when she’s naked but, damn…it’s hard not admiring her beauty. I force my eyes higher, given what’s at stake here.

A lone female in the middle of the woods… not good.

“I never threaten.” The corners of her mouth lift slowly. “But, I don’t beg either. Please, shifter, return to your pack. I’m here for a reason and it doesn’t concern you. Thank you for your offer to help me, but your presence is actually hindering me.”

She’s so sincere that I’m about to relent. My wolf jabs me with a single claw, which is similar to getting sucker punched. I suck in air, riding out the pain.

Angelina lifts a brow, noticing my discomfort. “Even your wolf agrees.” She’s fucking observant, this woman. “He wants you to leave. Listen to him.”

I’m not convinced that’s what he’s saying, but we haven’t exactly been in sync for some time, so it’s possible he’s agreeing with her. Wouldn’t surprise me, in fact. The asshole sides with everyone but me.

“I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want, Angelina, but don’t pretend to understand my wolf. Or me.” I don’t bother hiding the growl that follows. A growl she doesn’t deserve.

My instincts say not to leave her and I don’t fucking know why. Even my wolf knows I’ve been off. Have been for too fucking long.

Before I can tell her I’m not leaving—not until I’m convinced she can make it back to her pack safely—her eyes shoot over my shoulder. Two familiar scents reach me. Hayden and Callen. They must have caught her scent or heard us talking.