Chapter 2

Osiris POV

From a distance, I watch through binoculars as a small figure clad in black leather makes its way into the warehouse.  I smirk to myself, knowing that the trap that we set for the Lycan King's assassin has worked.  I will have to send a thank you basket to my plant within Lycan City. 

I wait in silence for my cue.  Today is the day that we put an end to the Lycan King's tyrannical rule over the rogues in this country.  Once I take out the assassin, he will no longer be able to infiltrate my warehouses and camps.  Then hopefully, we can live in peace. 

The lights of the warehouse flicker twice, and that is my signal to move.  Quickly, I make my way down the hill and toward the warehouse.  I have planned to take out the assassin myself and send his head to the Lycan King in a gift-wrapped package.  It will be a message that the Rogue Alpha and his people are not to be trifled with.  But none of this will happen until I milk the assassin for all the information he has on the Lycan King.  Until today the assassin hasn't completed a mission alone.       

Not much is known about the Lycan King’s assassin.  He only takes jobs under the cover of darkness and kills only his mark. Leaving no traces of himself behind.  He has no scent.  He has no fingerprints.  Each kill is different.  There is no rhyme or reason to his kills, only that they end up dead.  It is like he is a ghost.  

But as soon as I enter the warehouse, all of my plans fly right out of the window.  This time things are different.  The scent of wintergreen is thick in the air.  I have never smelled anything so delicious in my life.  My wolf, King, is howling in my head.  Begging me to find the source of the smell.  It is driving him crazy, and I am unable to keep him at bay.

I can feel King pushing forward in my mind trying to force the shift so he can hunt down the source of the scent.  

Lifting my nose into the air, I inhale deeply.  "Do you smell that?" I ask one of my men as he stands silently beside me.

The man lifts his nose into the air and sniffs quickly.  "No, Alpha," he says awkwardly.  "I only smell our men."   

'Forget the mission,' King growls in my head.

'We don't have time for this,' I grumble back at him.  'The assassin is within our grasp.' 

'Our mate is nearby,' King whines. 

'Don't be ridiculous,' I tell King.  'The only people in this warehouse are our men and the assassin.' 

King gives me a huff and retreats to the back of my mind.  While I refuse to admit it.  The thick scent of wintergreen is alluring.  It makes me wonder if King could be right.

The sound of a muffled gun echoes through the warehouse, and I pick up the pace as I make my way through the aisles of boxes and large crates.  A loud commotion is coming from the back of the warehouse, and I am afraid that I am not going to make it in time.  We need the assassin alive, and while Razor and Todd are tough, they aren't the sharpest tools in the shed. 

As I approach the back of the warehouse, I slow my steps.  The struggle is happening just an aisle over.  Peering through the boxes on the shelf, I cannot believe what I am seeing.  

Todd has a little blonde she-wolf pinned to the ground loosely.  “I don’t want to hit a girl, but I will,” I hear him say, but the blonde doesn’t seem to care.  She spits in his eyes, causing him to lose focus, and she is able to wiggle free.

Looking around me, I find that I am alone.  My men have stayed at their posts as instructed, so this little assassin cannot get away.  I look back at the fight and watch as the little blonde leaps over Todd’s head and stabs a dagger into the side of his neck.  

I know that I should not intervene, but I can’t take my eyes off her.  I am both horrified and mesmerized but her tactics.  Despite her small stature, she is strong yet graceful. She pulls the knife from his neck, and blood splatters over her face.  She wipes the blood from her cheeks, unphased.  This isn't her first kill, and I am almost certain that it won't be her last.  Is it really possible that this little woman is the great assassin we have been hunting down?

'She is our mate,' King says proudly in my mind. 

'If she is our mate, why does she not recognize our scent?' I challenge King. 

'She is human,' King says with an air of satisfaction. 

'There is no way a human just massacred two of my men,' I tell King, but he isn't listening.  He is positive this woman is our mate. 

She looks around the warehouse, and her eyes land on the shelf of boxes that I am hiding behind.  Her bright blue eyes stand out from the bright red blood that is spread across her face.  Under all of the blood, I recognize the little woman.  She is indeed human.  I believe her name is Willow. She is the King's aide.  I have seen her face in the papers many times, standing at the Lycan King’s side.

My men come running to my aid, and I turn to them and signal for them to remain quiet.  I keep a close eye on their faces, but none of them dare to look in her direction.  They all have their eyes glued to my face, waiting for instructions.  I turn my attention back to my little mate.    

   

Her face remains calm as she hears the footsteps of the rest of my men running up behind me.  The little minx takes off out of the back door of the warehouse. 

Holding my fist up, I motion for them to stop.  "Give her a head start," I say with a smirk on my face.  If the little rabbit wants a chase, I will give her one.  “In fact, make her think you are searching for her, but let her go." 

"But Alpha," one of my men begins to protest.  "She killed two of our best warriors." 

"Razor and Todd got what was coming to them if they couldn't handle a little girl," I say harshly.  “Does anyone have anything else to say about my orders?”  I look around the warehouse, and no one is looking in my direction.  “I didn’t think so,” I say angrily.   

I walk back toward the front of the warehouse with only half of my men following me.  My Beta, Matthew, comes running up beside me with a concerned look on his face.  "We finally had the assassin in our grasp, and you let him go," he says in a judgemental tone. 

“Her,” I correct him.  “I let her go.”  

“The assassin is a woman?” Matthew sounds astonished.  “Are you sure?”  

“Positive,” I grin as I think about her ass running away in her tight leather pants.  

“So, why did you let her go?” Matthew demands to know.  

"I have decided that we have another interest," I tell Matthew.  "I need you to pull up all the information on the King's main aide."

"Why the sudden interest in her?" Matthew eyes me suspiciously.  "I thought we were just in Colorado to kill the Lycan King's assassin." 

"Plans have changed," I say simply, not wanting to divulge too much information to my Beta just yet.  “We will be staying in Colorado a little bit longer.”   

Matthew glares at me, but he doesn't question my orders.  "What of the warehouse?"

"Burn it to the ground," I command.  "Let the Lycan King think that he did something productive here tonight." 

"But Alpha," Matthew interjects.  "A quarter of our product is in this building."         

"It doesn't matter," I wave my hand in dismissal.  "We can always grow and make more." 

Matthew gives me a dissatisfied grunt, but he clears the warehouse and burns it to the ground, just like I asked him to do.  Covering my nose and mouth with a handkerchief, I am careful not to breathe in any of the smoke as I make my way to the car that is waiting for me. 

Pulling out my burner phone, I dial the one number I have saved in it. 

A gruff voice on the other end of the phone answers.  "Hello?" 

"I think it is time we meet in person," I say with a bit of a chuckle in my voice.  "I will be at your office tomorrow morning." 

Without another word, I hang up the call and toss the phone out of the window as I drive away.