The Covert Wolf

“Glamour.” Shaymore rubbed his eyes, as if weary. “The Darksider Fae gave the demons their ability to glamour in return for a higher position in the netherworld. The glamour only holds for a few minutes—”

“Long enough,” Parker cut in. “But if they get the Orb, they’ll be able to hold it longer.”

The possibilities were horrifying. Bile, hot and acid, rose in her throat.

The Draicon looked tight and deadly as a honed blade. “A Darksider Fae bought intel about me and my buddy from the slime who stole the Orb. Then he glamoured himself as our C.O. and ordered us on a mission. The demons waited until the marines in our convoy passed. The jarheads weren’t the target. We were. The Fae set us up.”

A low growl rumbled from his throat. “Because of that, my best friend died in agony. If I find the Fae who did this, they won’t need a demon to get to hell. I’ll send them there myself.”

His rage was luminous, raising the room temperature and warming her cheeks. Every instinct urged her to get up, get out and away from this dangerous Draicon. Sienna’s eyes widened as he dragged his fingertips across the wood table, scoring it with claws that suddenly emerged.

“Whoa, L.T.,” Shaymore said. “I don’t have the money to cover damages for this room.”

“Easy, Dakota,” the lieutenant commander murmured. “The Fae who impersonated the major general was caught. He’s been taken care of. We’ve established new security measures around all key personnel.”

Sympathy filled her. She knew how it felt to be helpless and enraged. Sienna watched the Draicon rein in his control. Sweat popped out on his forehead, but his claws retreated.

“This mission is crucial, Miss McClare,” Curtis told her. “If the pyro demons get the Orb, they’ll discover the identity of every member of the Phoenix Force, and our associated powers. And use it to kill my men, who are the last defense against them.”

“Not going to happen,” Parker grated out. “I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m not going to let innocent civilians be torched like my buddy was.”

A horrific image came to mind. Streets lined with bodies, burned and twisted. Mothers, fathers, children. Not a tiny village on the edge of a desert, but a city filled with living people. Turned to a charred wasteland where the silent screams of the victims still floated in the air …

Nausea rolled in her stomach. She could no longer hold it at bay.

“Will you please excuse me?”

Somehow she made it down the hallway, into the bathroom, running the water to cover the sounds of her retching. It was worse than she’d been led to believe. With shaking hands, she twisted the tap, splashing water on her face. She took several deep breaths, dried off.

Voices raised in anger. In the corridor she paused outside the living room, out of eyesight.

“You can’t even mention his name.” Parker sounded anguished.

“You know the rules, Dakota. He’s gone.”

“Damn it, I know the rules. He was my buddy. He fought bravely for his country. We can’t even speak of him. Everyone who knew him had their memories of him as a SEAL erased.” Parker hissed out a breath. “Adam deserves better. He deserves to be remembered.”

“And he will.”

She peeked around the corner. Curtis emerged from the kitchen, clutching three amber bottles. He handed one to each man. They raised the bottles, clinked.

“To Adam,” Curtis said.

“To Wildcat,” echoed Shaymore. “A damn fine warrior.”

“To Chief Petty Officer Adam Barstow, the bravest soldier I’ve ever known. The best buddy I ever had. May the spirits guide you to the Other Side as you live on forever in our memories.”

The men drank. Parker tipped his back and took a long pull, his throat muscles working. He wiped his mouth with the back of one hand, set down the drink. Glass cracked beneath the pressure of his squeezed fist.

“Matt,” the lieutenant commander said gently.

“It should have been me. I sensed there was something off….”

He twisted and turned, his nostrils flaring. “Spying on us?”

Sienna walked into the room, her heart pounding. Anger and grief etched Parker’s face. She knew all about grief, how it ate you up inside. And to not even be permitted to remember a lost one …

“His name was Chief Petty Officer Adam Barstow.” A statement, not a question.

“You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

Fear skidded along her spine as she saw Parker’s cold expression. This Draicon wasn’t only a deadly wolf who ripped prey apart, but a trained navy SEAL as dangerous as the weapons he wielded. More than six feet of muscle and deadly force regarded her with cold blue eyes. She eyed the pistol holstered to his hip.

The lieutenant’s jaw tightened. “His name isn’t to be mentioned outside his team.”

She kept her voice low and gentle. “Are you going to shoot me? At least grant me the courtesy of saying his name. He was a man who died for his country. Everyone deserves to be remembered after they die. What makes him so different that his name is top secret?”

“Because it is,” Parker said, but she caught the flash of deep grief shadowing his face.

Both the lieutenant commander and Shaymore stood. “Thank you, Miss McClare, for your condolences.” Curtis gave Parker a meaningful look. “Matt, I’ll leave this to your discretion. Knock on the door when you’re finished.”

The connecting door closed behind the men. Do what? Kiss her? Or kill her? Wild thoughts surged through her. Sienna studied Matthew Parker’s full, firm mouth, set now in a grim line. “What’s going on?”

The lieutenant ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. “I’m going to wipe your memory of what you overheard. It’s easier if there’s no one else in the room.”

Her jaw unhinged. “What? Why?”

Grief shadowed his expression. “It’s a condition of being a SEAL on ST21. If we die, any memories of us as SEALs are erased. Our families are allowed to remember us, but there’s no recollection of us being SEALs. You weren’t supposed to know about Adam.”

As he reached into his pocket and withdrew what looked like a cell phone, panic surged.

“You can’t!”

Sienna’s stomach pitched and rolled. Pushing back from his chair, Parker approached her, power shimmering in the air. His broad shoulders blocked out the overhead light. She tensed and held out a hand.

“You’re not going to let me remember anything about your unit after we’re done?” She tried to keep her voice from trembling.

“It’s all right. It won’t hurt. The NeuroBlaster targets specific memory centers. You won’t feel a thing.” Parker’s voice was low and soothing.

Deep inside, a door was locked and she’d tried pushing it open for a long, long time. Sienna suspected it was a long-buried memory.

“Please don’t do this,” she whispered.

“I must.”

But it could wipe out the memory she desperately longed to surface. Sienna shrank back as he approached. Magick shimmered around him, pushing at the air. He looked regretful as he pressed buttons on the NeuroBlaster.

“If you’re going to erase my memories when this is over, why now erase the memory of the SEAL who died? When knowing what the demons did to him may help us pinpoint who stole the Orb? I need all the information I can get. This doesn’t concern only him, Lieutenant. You’re gambling with the lives of countless innocent civilians.”