Death is Creeping Closer

Josiah gnashed his teeth as he stood in the hallway listening to the discussion on the other side of the door. Since the day P.O.A.H had hired him to find Nicolette, nothing had gone as planned.

His record had been spotless before Nikki. He always recovered his targets using everything at his disposal, including his cover job as a detective.

Right from the start he knew this case was different. It was the first time the target was a teenage girl and also the first time they wanted a live recovery.

As soon as he saw her picture his whole world spun on its axis. The alpha wolf in him that had been dormant for so long sprung awake. Nicolette Winspere was his mate! How could that be when she is human?!

When he had caught up with her in Chicago, five years ago, he had despaired about how he was going to let her escape without painting a target on his back.

It was a pure stroke of luck that she was in the company of Keith D'Vanni, a royal member of the vampire race.

It had given him a legitimate reason to allow her to escape. It had hurt; allowing his mate to head off to parts unknown but it was for the best. At least she would be safe.

What he hadn't counted on was meeting her again in Phoenix.

It was entirely accidental, and following the draw of the mate-bond, he couldn't resist introducing himself and then spending time with her. It nearly broke him when she found out about his job as a detective and cut him out of her life. Still he let her go because he knew it was necessary for her safety.

Somehow it didn't work and P.O.A.H had found her. They were doing everything they could to force her into their hands and she was falling into the trap.

Something wasn't right! The organization was too desperate to get a hold of her. He needed to find out why. Now to top it off, there was something going on with Nikki.

When they first met and during their later encounters, her scent had been a mixture of human, an occasional whiff of werewolf, and a sickly-sweet smell.

He had always brushed it off; figuring that someone in her life was a werewolf. But he realized just how wrong he was after what he witnessed yesterday and not too long ago.

The scent had been coming from her all along. She seemed to be transforming into a werewolf which should have been impossible. The creation of werewolves was strictly forbidden and anyway, she smelled like a natural wolf not an infected one.

Nothing was adding up. This meant only one thing, he had to go to P.O.A.H headquarters to find out what was going on. After he saw her safely off to Boston, that was.

With a heavy heart, he walked away from her door and got into his car. He immediately called in a favor so he could track her credit cards and bank accounts for any airline purchases.

"Are you sure about this Nikki?" Tianna asked for the hundredth time. Annoyance fluttered through me. I knew that T was just worried about me it but her concern only added to my feelings of uncertainty.

I wasn't sure going to Boston was really a good idea but what could I do. "No T; but what choice do I have?" Heaving another sigh, my millionth of the day, I sunk completely into the first-class seat and closed my eyes.

We had managed to get a red-eye flight from Phoenix to Boston. It was a 5 ½ hour flight and I needed to rest if I was going to deal with my parents.

As I was sinking into the blissful release of sleep, I had the same question that had swirled around my mind all day. Was going to Boston a wise choice?

Grey eyes, filled with excitement, watched as the plane took off for Boston. A manicured finger pressed a key and the phone dialed a preprogrammed number. The call connected but the person on the receiving end didn't say a word. This was normal. I was meant to just give updates. "She is on the way." The call immediately disconnected. A few seconds later my phone beeped with an incoming text message. "You've been booked on the next flight. It's time." She had spent the last 5 years searching for the failed experiment and now she would be able to eliminate the threat that was Nicolette Winspere.