"They're rogues living in your house. You're feeling territorial."

"But I asked them here. Why would I want to kill them?"

Taggert snorted. "You wouldn't have killed them. You would've shown them who was alpha, and they would've respected you for it."

Disturbed by his explanation, she bent to help collect the items to their little experiment. Taggert waved her away.

She thought about the last few days, trying to riddle out what bothered her the most about someone targeting her and came up with no satisfying answers. "Why am I being singled out by the rogues?"

Taggert took so long to answer that it chilled her to realize he had to sort out so many possibilities.

"You made yourself known at the club when you defended me, you're also working with the police. You brought down a ring of humans hunting shifters. It might not have made the human news, but it spread like wildfire through the shifter community. Not to mention rogues are living on your land."

"But nothing that deserves their retaliation."

Taggert paused in folding the blanket. "They could be testing you."

"By trying to kill me?" She brushed away his reply. "I mean, I understand that rogues hire themselves out. I understand territory and fear. I can even understand the self-preservation of Vivian's attack, but my death won't really gain them anything. Someone else will just take my place. It makes no sense."

"At the core, shifters are animals. They react and trust instincts."

"So they see me as a threat?" She hated politics. They twisted things about in a way that she had no hope of navigating.

"You're an alpha. They might have enhanced your abilities in the labs, but you're a natural born alpha. You instill a terrible hope and a devastating fear in all rogues. Their beasts will want to please you. You can control them and for that, some rogues will hate you on sight."

Her cellphone rang, startling Raven. The phone so rarely worked, she'd forgotten she worn it. She fumbled to answer it.

"Hello?" No one replied. She listened, using her other senses, and heard labored breathing. Not like a prank call, but more like the person couldn't gather enough air into their lungs. "Speak to me. Give me something to help find you."

"Injured." Jamie's voice cut in and out, distorted by the background noise.

Raven gripped the phone, hurrying toward the house. He wouldn't be calling unless there was trouble. "Where are you?"

"Old Lake Front Street." He panted from pain...or the middle of a shift. Neither option was an acceptable alternative in public. If caught in beast form without a collar and tags, he would be arrested, if not outright killed. If he was so injured that he wasn't healing, it could only mean the worse.

"I'm on my way." But he'd already disconnected...or fell unconscious. Taggert followed her to the house. "Grab my weapon and badge."

It took them twenty minutes, even with her speeding, to reach the far side of the city. The new car London had purchased ate up the miles quickly. She pulled up to the abandoned street. The windows of the worn-down buildings were boarded up, the people kept clear, knowing better than to get involved in something that could be detrimental to their health...like a police investigation.

She pulled out her phone and hit the re-dial. No one answered.

"Call again." Taggert rolled down his window.

She did as told, and Taggert held up his hand. "He's near. I can hear the ringing."

Raven veered to the curb, slammed the vehicle in park and hopped out before the engine stopped rumbling. A chime sounded.

Distant.

Muffled.

Raven cocked her head then took off running, Taggert hot on her heels. She turned the corner to the alley and skidded to a stop. Jamie lay sprawled in the shadows where the falling sun couldn't reach, only his shoes visible from the sidewalk.

"Jamie?" She hurried to his side when Taggert placed a hand on her shoulder to halt her.

"I smell blood. Be careful. An injured animal can react to the pain before they're aware of their surroundings."

Raven nodded and carefully knelt. Jamie was unconscious when she rolled him onto his side. It was only then that she spotted his injuries. From the grievous wounds all over his torso, she was amazed he'd managed to stay conscious long enough to call her, let alone remain breathing.

Then she recognized the wound pattern.

The same injuries that the woman trapped in the car at her last crime scene had carried. Her head shot up, and she peered into the shadows.

Liquid saturated the stone walls of the buildings.

Raven nearly jumped out of her skin when Jamie grabbed her arm. His mouth moved, but no sound emerged. She leaned forward.

"He wasn't rogue. If the shifters believe rogues are behind the deaths, they'll purge all rogues to protect themselves."

The news was shocking. Then another thought threatened to knock her on her ass. "Where is Dominic? The big black wolf I had trailing you. Did you see him?"

Jamie cracked a smile, revealing blood stained teeth. "Caught him the first night. Left him to watch the rogues."

He coughed heavily, blood speckling his lips. Raven grabbed his hand when it trembled, and she noticed the same tattoo on his hand that the woman had worn. "Where did you get this?"

She received no answer. He'd already fallen back into unconsciousness. Concern clutched at her chest. She concentrated until she heard the beat of his heart pounding reassuringly if a little unsteady. She glanced at Taggert for confirmation of her diagnosis.

"His wounds are severe. He needs all his energy to heal."

"So he'll be all right?"

Taggert hesitated, his eyes stark with the truth. "He's still alive."

But not for long went unsaid. Raven pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the stamp on his hand, then stood. Her first priority was to get Jamie to safety.

He was alive. He would stay that way until she could get him to the privacy of her home and the help he needed. "I want you to take Jamie and leave. I need to call the police and stay until they arrived."

"I haven't driven a day in my life." Taggert crossed his arms. "And I'll not leave you alone at the site of a murder."

Raven cursed, having forgotten that as a slave, Taggert wasn't allowed behind the wheel of a vehicle. "Jamie can't be found here. The police will take him into custody. Since he has no affiliations, I'm not sure how long they'll detain him. With his injuries..." She trailed off. Nothing more needed to be said, they both knew he'd never see another sunrise if taken into custody. She pulled out her phone and snapped a dozen pictures of the alleyway.

Taggert conceded her point, but not enough to relent. "I'll take him to the car and park around the block. We'll wait for you there."

"He needs to be seen by a doctor."

"Then hurry. I'll call Digger and put him on alert." Taggert bent and lifted Jamie with an ease that surprised her as the man was nearly twice his own weight. Before she could protest either of his commands, they were gone.

Taking a deep breath, Raven dialed Scotts.

Chapter Twenty-three.

"Why didn't you call before entering the scene?" Suspicion coated Scott's voice, the same suspicion that had shown up when she'd first started hanging around the wrong group, as he put it.

He'd meant shifters.

Raven bit back her response and nodded toward the alley. Without the falling sun, there was nothing but shadows. "What do you see?"

Scotts rubbed a hand over his scalp. "Point taken." Pale light from a few flashlights traced across the stained bricks, the techs still setting up their equipment.

Scotts scraped the tip of his toe over the spot where Jamie had lain, a pool of his blood still discoloring the cement. She waited for him to question her, but he didn't say a word.

"What did you see?"

His question caught her off guard. "Nothing. Once I knew it was a crime, I secured the scene. I didn't want to ruin evidence before forensics arrived."

"And how did you come to find," he waved his arm toward the slaughter, "him?"

His attitude was beginning to piss her off. "A tip that came through." She gave him a tight smile. "Someone smelled something and called. They didn't leave a name, but I suspect it was a shifter."

She wasn't necessarily lying. Jamie did call, and he was a shifter. What she didn't admit was to taking pictures of the crime scene. She needed answers now instead of waiting for the police to analyze everything and decide what they wanted to share with her. She wasn't sure when she'd stopped trusting Scotts, thinking of him as a normal instead of a cop.

He looked doubtful but took her words at face value. "Then let's look now."

Scotts was a big man. She wasn't able to fit her steps into his without looking like she was trying to play a game of Twister with shoe print. What remained of the body was spattered over a five-foot diameter. Tatters of a shirt lay scattered everywhere, half hidden in the gore. The jeans were harder to destroy, remaining mostly intact, including a pair of boots that were a little worse for wear.

The team snapped pictures, set lights and secured samples. After twenty minutes, Raven couldn't take it anymore. Jamie needed a doctor sooner rather than later. "I need to speak with a few of my contacts to see if I can find any leads."

Scotts waved her off, not taking his attention away from what one of the techs was unearthing. "Don't forget that you have to take your turn to man the desk at the office as well."

Taking that as permission, Raven shot out of the alley at a near run. She turned the block, relieved to find the car still waiting. Taggert was leaning over the front seat, tending to Jamie.

"We should hurry."

His voice sent her heart skipping a beat and fear crawled up her spine. Not waiting to confirm his condition herself, she shoved the car into gear. The ride home seemed interminable. Each second, she expected to hear the raspy breathing cease.

When the lights of the house finally came into view, she didn't take her eyes away from the beacon of hope.

They would make it.

Even as they pulled up, the door opened and Digger rushed toward them. All that was missing was to see his coattails flapping. He opened the door and examined the patient like any seasoned ER doctor. She hadn't even seen London follow until he nudged the doctor out of the way and extracted Jamie's too still body.

The line to the house reminded her too much of a funeral procession for comfort. "What can you tell me?"

Digger's shook his head. "I won't know until I can examine him closer."

Raven follow them into the house, and Digger waved her away from the basement. "We'll inform you of any changes."

"But-"

The door snicked shut in her face, leaving her staring at the wall with a helpless feeling she knew all too well. She clenched and unclenched her fists only then noticing Taggert had remained at her side.

"It's a good sign that he's still alive. Digger will keep him that way."

She didn't know why she cared. He was just a rogue. He didn't matter. Or that's what everyone kept telling her. "Where the hell was Griffin? He was supposed to be watching the rogues. I want to know what happened."

She whirled, her beasts rising with her agitation, and she had no idea how to calm them.

"I'm here."

She crossed the floor to Griffin and grabbed him by the neck before he could react. He seized her wrist, but couldn't force her hand away without ripping out his own throat.

Raven dropped her beasts. She wouldn't be able to win that way. They were both too alpha to give way. Electricity poured over her in welcoming waves. She took Jackson's advice and didn't try to control current, but let it wash over them.

Griffin grunted as if she'd struck him, and he dropped to his knees. The grip on her wrist tightened, but the expected pain never came. She felt nothing but rage at the thought of him betraying his own kind. That he would betray her. "What game are you playing at with these people?"

His brilliant green and yellow eyes stared up at her. Sweat beaded his hairline as her energy snaked around him seeking answers. "No game. Trying to save."

The scar on the back of his hand reminded her of all that he'd lost. "You're an alpha in your own right. Why bother with these rogues? You're not one of them. Not really."

"You're right. Partially right." His smile was more of a grimace. Despite her control, he struggled to his feet, surprising her with his will not to be seen as weak. "I volunteered to infiltrate them and find out who was hunting shifters. Then, when rogues started to die," he raised his fist to show his scar. "I decided that I might as well make use of this."

She dropped her hold. The energy reluctantly retreated, leaving a sting in its wake. She'd almost swear that the lash was more of a caress.

As if the creature sensed her watching and listening, it settled down content just to be noticed. No matter how much she wanted to explore this new phenomenon, she had more pressing issues.

"And the story of how you became a rogue? Was any of it true?"

Every emotions shut down. "Every word."

"And Jamie?"

"He was following a lead."

"So he was helping you?"

"You might say we had an unsteady truce." Griffin paused, debating what to share. "He knows little of my past, but he also knows that without help, the rogues will suffer."

"Maybe it's time you tell me what's happening." It wasn't a question.

Griffin did smile then. "I know little more than you. There is a drug on the market that's making shifters act like alphas, but there are side effects. I'm not sure if they're caused by the drug or if the addicts were targeted. Maybe both. I'm trying to narrow it down."

"And getting nowhere." Raven couldn't help be suspicious if he really wanted the drug shut down or if he just wanted it for himself.