Chapter 1

1

The silent street unfurled in front of them like black ribbon, cold and glittering as the pair followed the trail. Behind the tract homes, the Nevada desert mocked their slow progress, but neither man nor beast allowed themselves to be hurried in their task. The objective was too important. They had been searching for two very long years for her. They would not rush at this point, only to lose her yet again.

Cameron Koster kept his head high, sniffing out the frigid January air for her scent. Every once in a while, he would lower his nose to the road, pausing for a moment as he sought another clue, another fragment of a trail, and when he caught the musk again, he resumed his path, his padded feet silent on the cement. Choosing the form of a German shepherd was proving the best decision he and Josh had made yet on this trip. In this body, Cam could track as easily as breathing.

There was no doubt she was here. They could be separated for decades, and Cam would never forget her scent.

Josh shivered at his side, the man’s entire body shaking with the force of the cold. He had opted to wear nothing but a thin jacket, but to his credit, he hadn’t made a sound or voiced a single complaint.

“Is she here?” Josh breathed.

The inability to answer Josh with words was the only disadvantage to shifting. Without breaking stride, Cam closed the distance between them and nuzzled the top of his head against Josh’s hand.

Josh’s fingers curled in acknowledgement, his hand resting for a moment between Cam’s ears. “I can’t see a thing.”

He wished he could tell Josh he saw perfectly well, but he knew he had to settle for a brief brush of his nose against Josh’s hip before pulling out in front again. There was no time for dallying. The cold was an unforgiving mistress, and he was not prepared to lose Josh too.

They had only walked another twenty yards when the trail changed. Cam stopped dead in his tracks, ears sharpening, his heart quickening from its slow pace. Undercurrents of civilization coated the air—motor oil and perfume and human bodies too many to count—but now, a new aroma mingled with hers, something metallic that made his form’s natural instincts come alive.

Blood.

Hers.

He broke into a run.

Cam wasn’t worried about Josh. He heard the rhythmic sound of Josh’s breathing and the soft slap of his shoes against the pavement, but Josh couldn’t keep up with Cam’s long strides. Soon, Cam left him behind, following the smell of blood like a bright red rope, winding through the blackness.

He stopped short outside an innocuous house that looked like every other house on the long road. There were no lights, no signs of life, no cars in the short driveway, nothing to indicate the house wasn’t abandoned. Nothing except for the sickening, gut-twisting cloud hanging over the entire building—the pungent smell of something more than blood, something darker.

Josh caught up with him, his breath coming in shallow gasps. Cam stood at the door, prepared to shift, but Josh put a hand on the scruff of his neck.

“Not yet. There could be somebody waiting behind the door.”

Cam growled in frustration. Josh had a point, but when they reached her, he wanted to be able to take her in his arms, feel her body against his, hold her as he’d been denied for the past two years. He couldn’t hold her in this form.

But if there were others, he would be far more lethal as a German shepherd. With a duck of his head, Cam stepped out of the way, waiting for Josh to get them inside.

Josh had anticipated the locked door. He pulled a small case of tools out of his jacket pocket and held a small flashlight between his teeth. Cam paced back and forth while Josh picked the lock, understanding it would be best to slip in and out of the house quietly, but frustrated that he had to wait. Plus, having the flashlight, no matter how small, was a risk.

His ears perked forward as the lock clicked, and Josh slowly turned the knob to push the door open. They both braced themselves for an immediate response, but the house remained completely silent.

It was also dark. Josh’s hesitation was the only impetus Cam needed to slip noiselessly inside first.

He waited on the other side of the threshold for Josh to enter. Though his muscles screamed at him to bolt forward, he didn’t move until he felt the familiar touch at his shoulder, but even then, it wasn’t the frantic pace he would have preferred. He guided Josh through the empty front room, leading him straight for the kitchen in the back. His nails clicked against the tiled floor, but he didn’t stop until they reached the closed door leading to the basement.