Rikki's Awakening Read online

  Jerret’s lips peeled back from his teeth in a snarl. “No, but since you aren’t out there getting laid, I figured there must be something wrong with ya.”

  “What’s it to you who I fuck?” Jeremiah questioned, raising an eyebrow.

  Jerret was quiet for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed. Clapping Jeremiah on the shoulder, he said, “Just giving you shit, man. Thought maybe something had to be wrong with ya if you didn’t find that little fox sexy as hell like the rest of us.”

  Shaking his head in disgust, Jeremiah turned and walked back to his cot. “Naw, just prefer blondes.” A lie. He preferred a dark-haired beauty with deep brown eyes and full, pouty lips, but they didn’t need to know that.

  “Not me,” the little punk, Jimmy Wilson, said with a wide grin. “I love the redheads. They like to fight ya. Turns me the fuck on.” He’d been working for the General for just over a year now, and Jeremiah hated the prick just as much as the first day he met him, if not more. He was a vile bastard who made it his mission to make all of the prisoners’ lives miserable, both male and female. He wanted to beat the hell out of all of the men and have sex with the women. He didn’t get to the female prisoners; the General wouldn’t have allowed it because he lacked any special psychic abilities. However, the males were a different story. Neither the General, nor anyone working for him, gave a shit who roughed them up. It made Jeremiah sick. He never personally laid a hand on them, but the others didn’t realize it. He took great care in making sure it looked as if he was a part of everything that went on. He didn’t have a choice. If they found out how deep undercover he was, so deep he’d even cut himself off from his FBI handler, he would be stuck in a cage and on the other side of those fists.

  Jeremiah ignored him, glancing at his watch. “My shift starts soon. I’m gonna take a walk first.” It was either that or knock the fucker out. Knowing he couldn’t get by with that right now, Jeremiah strode from the room, calling back, “Meet ya up front in fifteen, Kyle.” He was working with Jerret that night, which was a good thing. He’d probably kill Jimmy if he had to be around him much longer.

  Shoving a hand through his thick, brown hair, Jeremiah let his thoughts turn back to the one person in this world that he cared about right now. His mate. Rikki. He felt his fangs punch through his gums at the thought of his woman lying in a hospital bed, oblivious to what was going on around her. He wanted to be with her, not getting ready to patrol the grounds of the facility he was currently stationed in. The General was dead. What the hell was he still doing there? But even as he asked himself the question, Jeremiah knew the answer. The General’s death didn’t mean the end to the chaos his organization caused. With his daughter, Ebony, taking over, it actually caused a lot more issues than in the beginning. She was more evil than her father, if that were possible. He was going to have a bigger war on his hands than he’d anticipated. One he couldn’t fight sitting at his mate’s side in the hospital, even if everything in him was telling him that was where he should be right now.

  A low growl left his throat, but he forced his fangs to recede, reining in his emotions. He had a mission to accomplish. He needed to focus. Everything he was doing was for Rikki. She was his, and he would do whatever it took to protect her, even if it meant he had to be away from her a little while longer.

  Gritting his teeth, Jeremiah nodded to one of the scientists he passed in the hall. Yes, he would bide his time… for now.

  3

  Rikki woke to the sound of hushed voices in the room, but she lay in silence for a moment with her eyes closed, listening as she tried to acclimate herself to everything going on around her. The sounds and smells in the room were nearly overwhelming, but she fought to stay calm. Breathing deeply in long, slow breaths, she blocked everything out as she forced her racing pulse to slow. She felt a presence in her mind, but refused to panic. She’d felt it before, the last time she woke, and knew what it was, even if she was having a hard time admitting it to herself. There was what felt like a light brush of fur, and then the presence slowly seemed to slip back as if waiting for something.

  “Oh! She’s awake.”

  The quiet voice interrupted her thoughts, and Rikki stiffened, her brow furrowing in concentration. She knew that voice. It was familiar to her, even though it didn’t belong to one of the members of her team. It wasn’t Jenna or Jade. The voice was soft, sweet, always full of joy and excitement. Except when she was talking about the General. Then, she was quiet and the fear crept in. Her body trembled as she remembered the low tone, coated in terror as she talked about him. A low growl filled the room, and Rikki was shocked to discover it was coming from her.

  “Rikki, you need to calm down.”

  She recognized Chase’s stern tone, but couldn’t seem to stop. She couldn’t let go of the protective instincts that had risen with the sweet voice, the need to go after the bastard who had hurt the woman rising in her.

  “Hey, little sister. We’re here. You’re safe.”

  The words reached her, shoving past the intense feeling of anger that consumed her, and she breathed in deeply, inhaling his scent. Phoenix. Her brother. One of the few people in the world that she trusted. But he didn’t seem to understand. She wasn’t worried about her safety.

  Her eyes springing open, Rikki gazed wildly around the room until her eyes connected with Phoenix’s. “Safe. Must keep her safe,” she gasped, struggling into a sitting position.

  “Who?” Phoenix asked in confusion.

  “Can’t let the General hurt her again.”

  “You mean Serenity?” Phoenix slipped his arm around the waist of the beautiful woman standing next to him, her eyes filled with concern as she stared at Rikki. “She and the baby are fine. No one is going to get to them,” he promised, his eyes hard as steel.

  Rikki’s gaze connected with Serenity’s, and then her eyes lowered to where Serenity’s hand sat protectively over the large mound of her stomach. She gasped, her eyes widening in surprise. Not only was Phoenix’s mate pregnant, but she looked as if she was about to give birth any day now.

  “I…” Rikki paused. What was she supposed to say? She was… lost. She knew Serenity was pregnant, but how was she suddenly so far along? “I’m so confused.”

  “Of course, you are. You’ve been asleep for a long time.”

  There! That was the voice she was looking for. Rikki’s gaze swung to the woman, and the growl came again, this time from deep within her chest. She was the one that needed protection. She’d been hurt, tortured by the General’s men. Held captive and experimented on for so long. Rikki frowned, her eyes trailing over the stranger. Long blonde hair mixed with red. Amber eyes. Petite frame. She looked unfamiliar, but she wasn’t. Rikki knew her. Knew so much about her. How?

  “Raven.” The name left her lips, and she struggled to slide her legs over the side of the bed. What the hell was wrong with her? Her movements were sluggish when she needed to be on guard. She had to protect her friend.

  Rikki heard the gasp of surprise, but ignored it. She had to get the hell out of bed. Raven needed her.

  “You know my name?”

  Frowning, Rikki paused and looked over at the woman. It took a moment for the shock on Raven’s face to register, and then another for her to realize she had somehow sprouted damn claws again. And… were those fangs? Touching the tip of her tongue to her suddenly large incisors, Rikki froze.

  “Rikki, it’s good to see you are finally back with the land of the living.” Doc Josie strode into the room, flashing them a distracted smile as she came to a stop by the bed. “How are you feeling? And why are you trying to get out of bed?”

  When the doctor raised an eyebrow and seemed to be waiting for an answer, Rikki’s gaze went back to Raven. “Have to protect her from the General,” she tried to explain, unsure why she had such a powerful urge to guard the woman. Hell, she didn’t even know her, did she?

  “Me?” Raven whispered, taking a step toward her, her eyes sparkling with
unshed tears. “You want to protect me?”

  “He can’t have you back,” Rikki insisted, once again attempting to rise.

  “You’re right,” Chase cut in, appearing at her side, gently cupping her shoulders and settling her back down on her pillows. “But that’s nothing you need to worry about, little wolf. The General is dead. He won’t be coming for her.”

  “What?” Looking over at Raven, Rikki weakly held a hand out to her. “He’s gone? You’re sure?”

  Raven smiled through her tears, quickly crossing the room to slide her hand in Rikki’s. “Yes, he’s dead. My mate killed him.”

  “Your mate?” Damn, she was so confused. So tired. By the sounds of it, all she’d been doing lately was sleeping, so why was she utterly exhausted?

  “Jaxson.”

  Rikki’s brow furrowed as she fought to recall everything she seemed to be forgetting. “I’m tired,” she finally whispered, holding tightly to Raven’s hand as her eyes went to the doctor. “Why am I so tired?”

  “You’ve been through a lot, Rikki,” Doc Josie explained quietly as she placed a stethoscope to her chest to listen. “It’s to be expected. You just need some rest.”

  “Sounds like I’ve done enough sleeping,” Rikki rasped, letting her head fall back against the pillows. “I want to get up. Move around.”

  “You know as well as I do that you will fall flat on your face if you get out of that bed,” the doctor said, chuckling as she moved the stethoscope around. “Just give it some time. With a little physical therapy and a couple of times shifting, you will be good as new.”

  “Shifting?” Rikki squeaked, looking at her in horror. What the hell was Josie talking about? She couldn’t shift… could she? Refusing to acknowledge the way her teeth and nails had already grown, Rikki shook her head. The part of her that was still human — had always been human — couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of changing into an animal. Even if she had seen many others shift in the past. “I’m not ready for anything like that.”

  “Well, you better get ready, because your wolf isn’t going to wait much longer.”

  Rikki closed her eyes, struggling to understand everything that was happening. She heard the light rumble from the presence in the back of her mind, knew it was her wolf, but shut her out. She couldn’t handle anything else right now.

  A light touch settled on her head, and then stroked gently down her head. “Let her rest a little while longer,” Raven told them. “She just needs a little time.”

  “I don’t think she has much more time, dragoness. Her wolf is ready to make an appearance.”

  Dragoness? Rikki raised her eyelids, looking at Raven through mere slits. No fucking way. “You’re a dragon?” she breathed, her hand tightening on the other woman’s. “They exist?”

  A soft smile covered Raven’s lips, and she nodded. “Yes, I am; and they do.”

  “I had no idea.” She wanted to stay awake. Wanted to talk more about this new phenomenon, but couldn’t seem to make her eyes stay open. “Raven…”

  “I’m right here,” Raven replied, sitting down on the bed next to her, holding one hand as she stroked her hair with the other.

  “Don’t leave.”

  “I won’t,” Raven promised.

  Rikki let her eyes drift shut again, snuggling deeper into the covers. She heard the conversation going on around her, but it was as if she were listening from a distance. She couldn’t respond, couldn’t interact, could only listen.

  “Why has she latched onto Raven the way she has?” Phoenix questioned. “She doesn’t know her. Has never even met her.”

  “That’s incorrect, Phoenix,” Doc Josie said quietly. “She may not have ever actually met Raven before, but she knows her very well. You forget, Raven spends more time with her right now than anyone else. She comes here once, sometimes twice a day, and sits for hours talking to her. It doesn’t matter that they haven’t actually met in person, Rikki knows everything she’s heard about her. She remembers.”

  That made sense, Rikki thought, feeling herself drift a little more. She did know the woman’s voice. Knew so many things about her. Where she was from, that she had a brother named Dax, and a sister, Rubi. And, now that she thought about it, she had also known Raven was a dragon. The thought had just slipped her mind before. She even knew about the dragon king, even though, according to Raven, not many people outside of their own kind knew he existed.

  “You have become sort of a guideline to her, Raven. Keeping her centered here.”

  “No,” Rikki whispered, shaking her head slowly, surprised she’d managed to get the word out.

  “What?”

  “Friend,” Rikki murmured.

  “Ah,” Doc Josie said in comprehension. “She is telling me that I am wrong. She considers you her friend, not just someone holding her to us.”

  “Oh!” She heard the surprise in Raven’s voice, and then the pleasure as she went on, “I’m glad. Jaxson has told me so much about her. I want to be her friend, and I’m honored she considers me one.”

  “She’s going to need a lot of help in her recovery process,” the doctor said softly. “She needs her friends and family close.”

  “We’ll be here,” Phoenix said gruffly. “She’s ours. There isn’t anything we wouldn’t do for her.”

  Rikki felt herself drifting away again until she heard, “She needs her mate.”

  “Jeremiah is in the middle of a mission right now.”

  Her mate. Jeremiah. Her wolf stirred in her mind, and Rikki struggled to open her eyes. What did they mean he was on a mission? Jeremiah didn’t go on missions. He had been with the FBI for several years now, and was far enough up in the chain of command that he sent people out on missions but didn’t participate in them himself. That’s what she did, not him.

  “You need to contact him and get his ass home,” Josie ordered.

  “We can’t,” Chase said quietly. “He’s worked himself so deep undercover, we don’t know how to find him.”

  “Not only that, but what he is doing, he’s doing for Rikki. He won’t come back until his mission is complete,” Phoenix muttered.

  What the hell were they talking about? Where was Jeremiah?

  “That is unacceptable,” the doctor growled, and Rikki swore she heard a foot stomp. “You get that damn bear back here, now!”

  Rikki fully agreed, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to force her eyes to open, or the words through her lips. She felt a tear slip free and slide down her cheek, then that gentle hand was back on her hair. “It’s okay, Rikki. Sshhh, it’s all going to be all right. Your mate will be home before you know it, and until then, we will be here for you.”

  Jeremiah! She needed to find him. Where was he? Was he safe? He better be, or all hell was going to break loose when she got to him. His name was a soft breath on her lips as she finally succumbed to the darkness that had been threatening to overtake her for a while now, terrified that she may not wake up again. Jeremiah!

  4

  Ebony stood looking out the window of the high-rise suite she was staying in for the next couple of days. She was finally free. Free of her father, free to make her own decisions, free to do whatever the hell she wanted, to a certain extent. It had taken her five years of careful planning to put everything into effect. She’d been the General’s puppet all of her life, or so he’d thought. In that time, he had molded her into a version of himself; cold, hard, manipulative. Unfortunately, for him, she’d not only excelled, but had become so much more. Her ambition to be the one calling the shots led her to where she was today. Standing in nothing but a short, silky black teddy in front of a row of floor to ceiling windows in the penthouse apartment of one of the leading men in the organization the General had worked for. Some may think she had slept her way to the top. She’d done way more than that. There was so much death and destruction on her hands that she had trouble looking in the mirror sometimes, but it was a price she was willing to pay to be in
the position she now held.

  “Come back to bed, my darling.”

  The deep, gravelly voice grated on her nerves. Gavin Denowsky was a very dangerous man, one even she had hesitated in messing with at first, but she’d needed a way in, and he was it. The youngest person on the list of people in the top tier of the organization at fifty-one, Gavin was also single, and male. He was also someone who wouldn’t think twice about slitting your throat in your sleep if he thought you were even remotely deserving of it. She treaded very lightly around him, but still used everything available to her advantage.

  Turning from the amazing view, Ebony glided across the room in his direction, her gaze raking over his naked body. The man definitely had a superb physique for his age, one she didn’t mind playing with in the slightest. Reaching him, she trailed her fingertips lightly over his chest, then down over his stomach, and lower to grasp his already straining cock. Her lips turning up into a sensual grin, she purred, “We don’t need a bed for what I have in mind.”

  His pale blue eyes darkened in desire, and he shoved a hand in the dark strands of her hair, cupping the back of her head and guiding her mouth to his. He wasn’t gentle, which was fine with her. She didn’t do sweet or slow. She liked it fast, hard, and sometimes with a bite of pain. Ebony moaned as their tongues tangled, and she began to pump his cock. Gavin groaned, his hands sliding under the negligée and yanking it up over her head. Finding her breasts, he tweaked the nipples roughly before ducking his head and capturing one in his mouth, biting down on the end of it.