Spectral Justice: Shifter Squad Next Gen, #6

By J.C. Diem

While testing her skills as a pickpocket, Alex learns she has talents no one could have anticipated. The spells that prevent her from reaching her full potential have an unexpected side effect. While the enchantments are a curse, they're also proving to be surprisingly useful.

 

The fae emissary they've been waiting for finally arrives to whisk Alex and Crowmon to the faery realm. They need to find out all they can about the old gods that they suspect are stirring. Their main goal is to find out where they're being imprisoned, so they can make sure it's still secure. If the ancient deities escape, all realms will be in peril.

 

Agent Steel sends two of his colleagues to assess Alex's new abilities. They will aid the team to solve a mission involving several lone female werewolves who have gone missing. The squad will need to be on full alert with so many enemies lurking around, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seize The Night Agency
• Release date: Jan 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201094232

Book preview

Chapter One

WHILE IT WAS A RELIEF to have Sydney back safe and sound after the Rex had kidnapped her, a treacherous part of my mind churned with jealousy. I wouldn’t wish being imprisoned, abused and humiliated on anyone. No one should have to go through an ordeal like that, but it was the unfairness of it all that grated on me. The werecougar had been gone for six days and had endured horrible torment, but she’d come out of her torment with her true mate at her side.

I watched Syd and Harlan sitting together as they finished telling us about the revenge they’d gotten on Colton. The weretiger was clearly devoted to her and I had to work to keep a smile on my face. I’d suffered through eighteen years of harrowing hell and I didn’t have anyone to comfort me at night. The felines had found each other and had clicked straight away. It was obvious they were inseparable. Meanwhile, the man I was supposed to be with couldn’t even remember who I was.

Yas sent a quick glance at me and I clamped down harder on my emotions. Who wants coffee? I asked. Hands rose and I pushed myself to my feet. Emma hunkered on my shoulder as I sauntered into the kitchen. She was sensitive to my moods and huddled against my neck to offer me comfort.

Crowmon followed in my wake. How are you feeling, lass? he asked.

I arched an eyebrow in surprise at his question as he watched me prepare the coffee machine. I’m fine. Why do you ask?

He gave a half-shrug and seemed to be on the verge of telling me something. Laughter rang out in the living room, drawing his attention away from me for a moment. I just had a feeling you aren’t as perky as you seem, the deity said quietly.

I snorted out a laugh. Perky? Is that meant to be an insult?

He smiled, but his pale green eyes remained shrewd. I can’t read minds, but I can tell when someone isn’t happy.

I’m fine, I repeated. I’m glad Syd is back and that she’s found her mate.

Aye, he agreed, turning to survey the new couple. The timing of their meeting is rather amazing.

Do you really think Fate is messing with us now? I asked.

His brow furrowed in thought. I’ve never dealt with Fate before. I can’t say whether she’s involving herself in our business or not.

His answer was evasive, but I didn’t pry. It hurt to see someone so happy with their one true love, but I didn’t begrudge Sydney her happiness. It was easy to see why she’d fallen for the tiger. Harlan was just as tall, fit and handsome as the twins. His hair was a lighter shade of brown than theirs, his eyes were green and he had a slightly leaner build. At least someone on our team has found their match, I said. She’ll have someone to watch her back and to look out for her.

Does that make me your true mate? Yas asked with a grin, suddenly appearing beside me. I hate to break it to you, but I don’t swing that way.

Neither do I, I said with an eyeroll. You’re my bestie, not my girlfriend.

Bestie, Crowmon said parroted with a grin. How language evolves over time. It’s hard to keep up with all the modern vernacular.

Did they have different sayings on your world? the vampire asked as I made myself a cup of tea.

I can’t remember, lass. Some words and phrases sound strange to my ears, but most of them make sense to me.

Gamma’s head poked out of one of Yasmine’s pockets. His black fur blended in with the vampire’s black leather outfit. I picked up a thought from the mouse. Gamma is looking forward to going on another mission, I told her.

Yas looked down at her zombie and stroked his tiny head. He was awesome at snatching up Colton’s guards and transporting them to our compounds.

All of our mice did well, Liam agreed from his seat in the living room. None of the targets stood a chance against us with our new team members helping us out.

We’re lucky to have a necromancer on our squad, Harlan said with a warm smile in my direction.

Alex rocks, Brynn agreed. Where’s my coffee, wolf girl? she added.

It’s coming, snake girl, I replied in mock annoyance. Keep your scales on.

Snickers broke out at my quip. It was nice to be able to speak my mind without fearing I’d be beaten and locked in the cellar for my impertinence.

I can’t wait to see you in your wereconstrictor form during the next full moon, Harlan said.

You might be able to see me through the gaps in the trees, Brynn said. But you won’t remember it.

That’s true, the tiger said. Do you have any footage of what you look like?

Haven’t you seen the old news reports from the war? Nick asked. Uncle Flynn was caught on camera a few times. Brynn looks just like him.

Syd picked up on something her mate was thinking and gave him a look of concern as he replied. I mostly avoided shifters and anything to do with the supernatural community, Harlan confessed. I guess it’s because I was shunned by my family.

Do you want me to hunt your dad down and rip his arms off? Yas asked as she carried a tray holding the coffee mugs into the living room for me.

Harlan grinned, knowing she was mostly joking. Not right now. Maybe some other time.

My offer remains open, my bestie said, then placed the tray on the largest coffee table.

I ambled into the room with my tea, while Crowmon carried a huge plate of cookies into the room. Hands snatched up the food almost before he’d put it down. You’re like a mob of ravenous piranhas, he complained as he took his favorite seat.

We can’t help having fast metabolisms, Syd said with her mouth full.

Harlan smiled at her and dusted cookie crumbs off his leg. He didn’t care that she had no table manners to speak of. He loved her just the way she was. To prove it, he handed her one of his cookies.

My heart clenched at the heated look the cougar gave her mate. I mourned on the inside, while keeping my expression bland. Jaxon Remington should have sitting on the seat beside me. He was supposed to be my mate and instead he was living in a Shifter Corps base in Georgia. We could only be together in my dreams and it was tearing me apart.

Emma could feel some of my anguish that I was trying so hard to suppress. The squirrel gently patted my face with her tiny paw, doing her best to offer me solace again. Liam frowned, but he didn’t say anything. He probably thought I was thinking about the abuse Syd had suffered. He had no idea I was thinking about Jax. No one knew about my longing for the missing werewolf. He’d left a gigantic hole in my life when he’d been taken from me. That void wasn’t going to go away. It would only grow larger the longer he was gone.

Let’s go to the coms room and I’ll show you what Brynn looks like in her wereconstrictor form, Liam said to our newest member.

Liam and Harlan stood up and Syd went with them. She held Harlan’s hand as if she never wanted to let it go. My eyes tracked the trio as they ascended the spiral staircase.

I wasn’t the only one who was affected by the new couple. Brynn stared after them wistfully. Our eyes met for a second and we shared a bleak smile that none of the others noticed.

Chapter Two

IT WAS LONG PAST MY usual bedtime when I finished my tea, but I was too keyed up to sleep yet. The others decided to call it a night once Harlan had watched footage of us all in our wereforms. Liam had figured it would be a good idea for the weretiger to see all of us in our bestial glory. My oldest brother and I didn’t look like normal werewolves. We shared our parents’ black fur and other characteristics. Nick had less vampire in his system and had the usual silver pelt when he shifted.

Are you going to bed now? Yas asked when I lingered in the kitchen to rinse our dishes and place them in the dishwasher.

In a minute, I replied. She nodded, then flashed up the stairs.

Crowmon was engrossed in watching something on TV. He flicked a look at me when I opened the door to the front yard, proving he was paying attention. Don’t wander off, lass, he warned me.

I know, the curse could get me, I said in a long-suffering tone.

The witch is still out there, the jester reminded me.

Ike and the herd will protect me, I said confidently. Emma yanked on my hair in affront at being left out. Ow! Emma will look out for me, too, I added ruefully.

Crowmon’s snicker was cut off when I stepped outside and closed the door. Ike turned to look at me from his position near the door. The concrete cell in my head didn’t seem to block my emotions from my zombies. Every animal and skeleton I’d raised emerged from the ground and moved to surround me. The mice stayed inside with the rest of the team, but I felt them reach out to me mentally.

What do you need? Ike asked. With his slim build, grizzled face, faded light blue eyes and slightly raspy voice, he looked exactly like the bad guy he’d been before he’d been shot in the back.

My mate, I replied sadly. But I can’t have him, I added before my army could take me to Georgia.

Give me the word and I’ll retrieve the werewolf for you, the undead mobster offered, reading my thoughts and pinpointing Jax as the man I longed for. He would break the doors to the base down with his bare hands if he had to.

Thanks, Ike, but he’ll be safer if I just leave him alone. It would hurt my mate if I reminded him of who I was. The spell that suppressed Jax’s memory was designed to cause him pain. It was just like the one that prevented me from seeing my parents. On the surface, it looked like Irene Dawson was responsible. After a recent visit from Flynn Bailey and his wife Sabine, I wasn’t so sure that the witch was behind it now.

I’d run into Jax when I’d taken Brynn’s parents for a drive to show them my skills. They’d smelled his scent when we’d stopped, yet they hadn’t told me he was in the area. I’d had the insidious sense that they were trying to keep us apart.

I felt a presence trying to invade my mind and scowled. You can’t see through my eyes anymore, Irene, I muttered and glanced at the bracelet on my wrist. It had a charm of a woman wearing a blindfold dangling from it. Crowmon had boosted the spell to keep others from being able to scry through me as well.

A nightbird screeched in warning and Ike snapped to attention. He sank into the earth and I linked myself to his mind. The zombie emerged from the ground near one of the sections of the fence that wasn’t covered by one of the cameras. The enchanted deer was back. It was once again trying to entice someone from the team to follow it.

Do you want me to track it? Ike asked out loud, knowing I could hear him with both my ears and my mind.

No, I decided uneasily when the deer whirled around and took off at the sound of his voice. It’s obviously trying to lead us to a trap. I don’t want you to end up in the witch’s clutches.

Nick opened the door just in time to overhear me. Who are you talking to?

Ike, I replied as he ambled over. At my mental order, the herd returned to their patrol of the compound.

What’s going on? my brother asked in concern.

The deer just showed up, I told him. The witch tried to scry through me again a few seconds before she sent the deer here.

Ike returned to us, but I knew he wanted to go after the deer. If I hadn’t had such a tight hold over him, the ex-gangster would have chased it to the far ends of the planet if he’d needed to.

She’s not going to stop trying to get you back, Nick figured dourly. I still don’t get why she tried to make the SUV crash when you girls were on your way to Cerendy.

We’d gone grocery shopping and the deer had bounded in front of our vehicle. If I’d been driving rather than Brynn, I might not have been able to swerve away in time. Who knows what that crazy cow is thinking? I muttered.

Are you okay? Nick asked.

Sure. Why do you ask?

You seemed kind of sad earlier.

I hadn’t realized he’d been watching me. As the youngest twin, Nick seemed more frivolous and easygoing than Liam. If he’d picked up on my sorrow, that meant he was more astute than I’d realized. I feel bad for what Syd went through, I said. I’m glad she and the other thralls made Colton pay for what he did to them.

The Rex got what he deserved, Nick agreed grimly.

He’s an ex-Rex now, I reminded him with a smirk. Colton doesn’t have the power to enthrall anyone.

I wonder how Cole is going to deal with his son? Nick mused. Colton is a spoiled brat. He’s going to be insufferable now that he’s just a normal lion without a pride of his own to boss around.

Maybe this is the penance Cole has to pay for what he did to Syd’s mom, I figured. He enthralled Kala against her will and his son grew up hearing about the harem his dad used to own. Colton believed it was his right to have a harem of his own when he became a Rex. He was incapable of knowing right from wrong, or so it seems.

It’ll be interesting to see if the incubus really did fix Colton’s mental defect, Nick said. He shouldn’t be hidden away in a PIA facility if he can cure issues like that. He should be a doctor.

Maybe Agent Steel will see that Xander gets the medical training he’ll need to become a doctor, I suggested, then covered my yawn with my hand.

You’re all tuckered out, Nick said with a grin. You should go to bed.

Okay, dad, I joked, glad the spells didn’t kick in and punish me. I’d have to call him my brother before they would flare up.

Clouds had gathered and I could smell rain in the air. So could Ike and he followed us inside. He knew Crowmon didn’t like it when he stood motionless next to the door, so he crossed to the dining table and took a seat. His head was facing the TV, but his mind was connected to the herd. He scanned through their eyes and minds to keep watch for trouble.

I climbed up to my bedroom and took a shower before turning in. We’d had a long day and now I just wanted to sleep. Emma curled up in a ball next to me when I lay down on my bed. I petted her as she fell into the weird doze that passed for her version of sleep. It took me a lot longer to succumb to my tiredness. I’d hoped to dream about Jax. Instead, I dreamed I was back in the woods near Wrenvale, being hunted by the malevolent witch.

Chapter Three

LIAM WAS UP BEFORE me when I rose. I heard the deer was back last night, he said from his seat at the computer table when I ambled into the coms room. Nick told me the witch tried to scry through you again?

I nodded in confirmation, then settled Emma onto her usual spot on my shoulder. I don’t know why she keeps trying, I said in annoyance. Doesn’t she realize I’m wearing a spell that keeps her out of my head?

She knows about Nancy and the other wiccans, so she must have figured out that they cast a spell to stop her from using you to spy on us, he figured. Maybe she’s just trying to prod you into doing something reckless.

Like chasing after the deer and running straight into her trap? I said wryly and shook my head. I know exactly how sick and deranged that witch is. I’m not stupid enough to let her get her hands on me again.

He smiled and stood up to give me a hug. You’re obviously the smartest one in our pack, he said in approval.

It was as close as he could get to saying I was a part of his family without setting off the spells.

Was that ever in doubt? Brynn asked as she sauntered out of the hallway to join us.

Liam rolled his eyes, then jerked his thumb towards the kitchen. Ike is making us breakfast. Do you want to help him out?

My zombie had sensed it the moment I’d woken up. He didn’t always make me tea when I rose, but he was in the mood to be domestic today.

What are you cooking, Old Bony? Brynn asked as she descended the stairs.

Yas loped into view and snickered at the nickname the former skeleton had been given. That just never gets old, she murmured.

Bacon, sausages, eggs, hashbrowns and toast, Ike replied without taking his eyes away from the frying pan. He’d changed into a dark gray t-shirt and black jeans.

Did you ask him to cook this feast? Liam asked as we followed the lamia downstairs.

I shook my head. Ike’s in the mood to cook today.

That’s so freaky, I heard Syd whisper to Harlan as the new couple left their bedroom.

Do her zombies really have personalities? the tiger whispered just as quietly.

Yeah and it shouldn’t be possible, Syd replied. Not even my big sister can make her zombies retain their former personalities. It isn’t normal.

What about Zeus? Nick said as he joined the pair. They’d forgotten my hearing was far sharper now. They had no idea I was listening to them. So was Yas from the way her head was slightly cocked to the side.

He still has his soul, the werecougar reminded him. None of Alex’s zombies have their souls.

Your sister is a very talented necromancer, Harlan said to Nick.

My spells flared bright red and I hissed in pain. It was impossible to hide my reaction and Liam turned to glare up at the coms room. Alex can hear you whispering, he said in annoyance.

So can I, Yas added with a glower at the cougar, tiger and wolf. You need to be more careful about what you say. By the way, Alex’s zombies might not be ‘normal’. She held her fingers up in quotation marks and said the word with heavy sarcasm. But they’re still pretty freaking awesome, she added.

It’s okay, I said to soothe my best friend and to stop Syd, Harlan and Nick from looking so guilty. I know I’m different from other necromancers. I’ve been thinking about why my zombies have personalities and maybe it’s because of these, I said and pointed at the tattoos on my right arm.

Crowmon turned to look at me speculatively. I hadn’t thought of that, he said in a musing tone. I’m not an expert on necromancy, but I thought you were different because you were born a hybrid.

Is it possible the spells have altered her necromancy? Liam asked.

The Queen of the fae sensed that the spells permeate Alex’s mind and body, the clown said. It would be hard for them not to affect the girl if that is the case.

Sorry, Alex, Nick said and jogged over to give me a hug. We didn’t mean to set off the spells.

Syd and Harlan both gave me a brief hug as well. I wasn’t used to the affection, but it would be rude to refuse them. I need to learn when to keep my mouth shut, Sydney said with a grimace.

It was my fault, her mate said guiltily. "I was the