Stephani Hecht Wayne County Wolves 05 The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Sometimes we fear love more than we fear hate.

Years ago, Dove Shifter Caley lost his entire family
to Wolf shifters. When he had to take refuge with
the Wayne County Wolves, he was less than
happy. But he has adjusted—more or less. Then a
war breaks out with another pack, and the Alpha
is forced to hire a group of assassins to help them
out, one of which is a Wolf named Grey—the
biggest, scariest Wolf Caley has ever seen.
Terrified, Caley vows to avoid him, even as he
finds himself strangely attracted to Grey at the
same time.

The moment Grey sees the small, yet sexy,

Dove, he knows he wants him. The problem is the
Dove avoids talking to him, let alone get up close
and personal. Then the pack is attacked, and Caley
is in danger. Will Caley learn to trust Grey in
time? Or will his fear cause him to pay the
ultimate price?

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The Angry Dove and the Assassin

ISBN: 978-1-77111-544-5

Cover art by Angela Waters

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The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Wayne County Wolves Book 5

Stephani Hecht

To Cody, my anchor in life.

Chapter One

aley stood up and put a hand to the small of his
back to work out the kink that had developed

from bending over his worktable for so long. It
was worth it, though. The dress that his client had
ordered was finally done, and it looked better than
even he had imagined it would.

He carefully folded it and put it in box. Just as

he was adding the finishing touch of one of his
signature bows, his friend Alger came rushing into
the workroom.

“Did you hear?”
“Hear what?” Caley asked, not looking up from

his work.

Since he rarely left his studio, he wasn’t privy

to much of the pack gossip. Call him crazy, but as
a Dove shifter, he didn’t feel that comfortable
mixing with a bunch of Wolves. Sure, he was fine
making their clothes when they wanted him to,
and boy did they ever want him to, but when it
came to socializing, that’s where he drew the big,
fat line.

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“The assassins are coming. Isn’t that cool?”

Alger said, bouncing up and down like the Rabbit
shifter he was.

“Since you seem excited, I’m assuming they’re

here to help out with the war against the other
pack, not to kill us,” Caley surmised.

“Boy, you really need to get out more. Didn’t

you hear that Chris was having some assassins
join the pack to help take out Rand and his
goons?”

“Nope, it’s news to me.”
“You work too hard. You need to get out and

hang more.”

Caley shot Alger a narrow-eyed look. “I tend

not to hang out with shifters that look at me like
I’m lunch.”

Alger let out a sigh as he took a seat on one of

the stools. “How many times do I have to tell you
this pack isn’t like that? They’re really nice here.
Didn’t they set up this workroom for you, so you
could sew and stuff?”

Caley hated to admit it, but Alger had a point

there. The Alpha and his wife had gone out of
their way to set up a great workroom for Caley.
They had given him everything he’d needed and
then some. He had the best sewing machines, all
the fabric he could ask for, and all kinds of neat
equipment. Of course, it came with the condition

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

that he would make clothes for the pack, but Caley
had been more than happy with that agreement.

“Yes, they did,” Caley agreed.
“They even let you have extra fabric and stuff,

so you could run your etsy store to have some
extra money in your pocket for the first time in
your life. That has to say something about how
nice they are.”

Caley finally faced his friend fully. He shoved

his hands in his pockets and felt a heat come over
his face. “I know all that. I just can’t help but still
be afraid of them. I mean it was a pack of Wolves
that came in and killed my whole family. It’s kind
of hard to forget that.”

Alger’s face softened. “But this pack is

different.”

“I know. I keep trying to tell myself that, but it’s

hard to forget. I guess I just need a little more
time.”

“Holing yourself up in here isn’t going to help.

It’s only going to make you more afraid.”

“It’s not like I don’t have any interaction at all

with the Wolves. They come in here all the time
for fittings,” Caley pointed out.

“But you’re still taking your meals in here, and

you never come out during movie nights or
anything.”

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Caley idly played with a stray piece of fabric. “I

know, but whenever I come out, I feel like I’m an
entrée in the middle of a bunch of carnivores.”

“You would be, but in a whole different way.

You’re so good looking, you’d have to fight the
guys back,” Alger teased gently. “What happened
to the Caley who used to like to flirt and get some
action? I bet you haven’t had any fun since you’ve
been here. You must be so lonely by now.”

Caley hated to admit it, but Alger did have a

major point there. If Caley didn’t get laid soon, his
balls were going to fall off from being unused. He
hadn’t had a dry spell this long since he’d lost his
virginity and that was a looooooong time ago.

Alger moved in closer, a gleam in his eyes.

“Come on. Why don’t you go out with me now
and see the new assassins? They should be
arriving any minute.”

“I don’t know,” Caley hedged. “I have a ton of

work to do.”

“It’ll still be here when you get back.”
Before Caley could argue any further, Alger

grabbed him by the hand and all but dragged him
out of the workroom. Since Caley knew it was
useless to fight, he just went along with it.

They ran through the crowded hallways of the

pack den, many of the shifters stopping to look at
Caley with curiosity since he never ventured out
of his workshop. They were all friendly enough,

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

waving and calling out hello to him. He returned
the gesture with his free hand.

It wasn’t that the Wolves hadn’t been friendly

to Caley. If anything, they’d gone out of their way
to be extra nice to him. No doubt because of his
skills with the thread. Once word had gotten out
about his clothing, everybody wanted a garment
by him, and they’d been trying to butter him up. It
was just that Caley was having trouble letting go
of his old fears.

They stopped short at a group of Wolves who

had gathered at the opening of the Wolf dwelling.
Alger stood on tiptoe to see over the crowd. “Have
they arrived yet?”

Alger’s mate, Nico, came up from behind and

grabbed Alger by the waist. “Not yet. They should
be arriving any second.”

Alger jumped. “Damn it, you scared me.”
Nico didn’t look chastised in the least as he

began to nuzzle Alger’s neck. “What do you care
about a group of assassins anyway?”

“I’m just curious. That’s all. It’s kind of neat

that we’re going to have a bunch of them working
on our side. Rand is never going to know what hit
him.”

A shudder went through Caley. “I think it’s

kind of scary.”

“Caley!” Alger exclaimed.

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“Well, it’s true. We’re going to be living under

the same roof as hired killers. Think about it.
Doesn’t that freak you out, even a little bit?”

Alger tilted his head to the side. “Hmmm…now

that you put it that way, maybe a little bit.”

Caley rolled his eyes. He didn’t know if it was

all Rabbit shifters or just his friend, but Alger
could be a bit scatterbrained at times. It was a trait
that was both endearing and annoying at the same
time.

“Where are the others?” Caley asked.
“Zaid is training with Ervin. Who knows where

Walsh is, and Hale is out on a run with some pack
members.”

Caley smirked. “So nothing is new then?”
“Nope, same old, same old.”
“Do you think Walsh is doing drugs again?”
Alger got a sad look in his eyes. “I don’t think, I

know.”

“Damn,” Caley breathed.
“I think you guys should tell the Alpha about

it,” Nico interrupted.

Caley blinked up at him in shock. “Why would

the Alpha care about a ferret who has a drug
addiction?”

“Because he’s formally part of the pack now

and under Chris’s protection. That makes him
Chris’s responsibility,” Nico explained simply.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“I don’t know,” Caley hedged. “We’ve always

kept things like that private before. It doesn’t feel
right to air our dirty laundry out there for
outsiders.”

“But we’ve never been part of a pack before and

Chris isn’t an outsider, he’s our Alpha,” Alger
reminded him. “I think we kind of have to tell
Chris about this.”

“But what if he banishes Walsh because of it?”

Caley asked.

The last thing he wanted was to get his friend in

trouble. While Caley might be afraid of the
Wolves, this was the first place where they’d had
security and enough food to eat since…well,
forever. Caley didn’t even want to think of how
Walsh would manage on his own. He wouldn’t
survive a month.

Nico put a comforting hand on Caley’s

shoulder. “Chris would never do that. Our Alpha
isn’t like that. He helps his pack. He doesn’t cull
them or banish them like some other pack leaders
do.”

Caley let out a sigh of relief. While he didn’t

trust many Wolves, Nico was the exception. He’d
been the one who’d not only swept Alger off his
feet but saved the rest of them from their poor
conditions and brought them within the safety of
the pack fold.

“Look! Here they are now!” Alger cried out.

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Now interested himself, Caley stood on tiptoe

so he could see over the heads of the Wolves in
front of him. Walking in the front door was a
small group of hooded figures. There were only
four of them, but there could have easily been a
whole army of them given the imposing vibe they
gave off.

Their cloaks were all a faded black, and the

hoods were pulled up to hide their features,
making them all the more mysterious. They
walked in a tight group, all of them armed to the
hilt. The weapons were a mixture of old weapons,
like long swords and daggers, mixed with newer
ones like grenades and assault rifles.

They didn’t speak to each other or bullshit like

other groups of soldiers did. They walked with a
deadly silence. But Caley could feel their gazes
scanning the crowd, assessing each and every one
of them. A chill went up his spine when he felt
them sizing him up, as well.

Not all of the assassins were the same size. One

was even small and feminine in build, but Caley
could sense that she was just as deadly as the
others. He sniffed the air and detected that she
was a Fox shifter. Interesting, as he hadn’t come
across many of those before, and the ones he had
were mostly docile. They certainly hadn’t been the
hired killer types.

“Look at that one. He’s huge,” Alger breathed.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Caley looked in the direction Alger was

pointing in, and all the air left his lungs. Huge
didn’t even begin to describe the Wolf that was
walking in front of them. Dressed in the assassin
cloak, Caley was just able to make out the man’s
chiseled jawline and full lips, but little else. He
couldn’t even be sure what color his hair was, but
if he had to guess, he would say it was brown
since that was the coloring most Wolves had.

Caley’s heart beat a little harder, but he didn’t

know if it was out of fear or excitement. There was
something about this particular Wolf that called to
him. Even though he should be more afraid of him
than all of the others put together.

“I wouldn’t want to run into him in a dark

alley, that’s for sure,” Nico added with a nervous
laugh.

That said a lot since there wasn’t much that

scared Nico. Caley meanwhile was edging his way
through the crowd for a better look. Much to his
surprise, the Wolves were more than willing to
part way and make room for him. Before he knew
it, he had a front row view.

The assassins passed right in front of him, and

Caley held his breath as the big Wolf stopped and
gazed down at him.

“What’s a Dove like you doing here in the

middle of all these Wolves?”

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Caley looked up from under his lashes. “Just

living.”

Meanwhile his heart beat a million miles an

hour. He couldn’t believe that he was actually
having a conversation with an assassin and a Wolf
one at that. But hey, call him crazy. He was drawn
to this guy like a moth to a candle, and damned if
he cared if he got burned.

“Aren’t you afraid that you’re going to get

eaten?” the assassin asked.

He had yet to turn and give Caley a full look at

his face and it was driving Caley crazy. He wanted
to know what color the Wolf’s eyes were, if he had
any scars, if his lips were really as kissable as he
imagined.

“Not yet, but there’s still hope,” Caley replied.
The assassin finally turned, and Caley sucked

in a breath. The Wolf was just as handsome as
Caley had hoped for and then some. Full lips
complemented high cheekbones, and the Wolf had
the darkest brown eyes Caley had ever seen. In
simple terms, he was everything Caley could ever
dream up in a perfect man.

“You’re playing with fire, Dove,” the assassin

warned in a low tone.

“I like fire.”
“It can burn your pretty feathers off.”
“They’ll regrow.”
“And if they don’t?”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“I’ll learn how to style my hair around the bald

spots.”

The assassin’s lips curled up into what might

have been a smile. “Are you always this forward
with strangers?”

“Yes.” Well, the ones who aren’t Wolves, but you

don’t need to know that, now do you?

Caley glanced over at Alger who was gaping at

him in open-mouthed horror. Caley just gave him
a small wave and turned his attention back to his
assassin.

Reaching out, Caley fingered his cloak. “This

has some tears in it.”

“Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve had a new

one.”

“Well, you just happen to be lucky. I’m the

clothing designer for the pack. Come see me, and
I’ll set you up with a new set. Of course I’ll have to
measure you and stuff and that means we’ll have
to get up close and personal.”

The assassin cocked a brow. “Does it now?”
“Yes, we have to have a proper fit. By the way,

I’m Caley. What’s your name?”

“Grey.”
Caley wrinkled his nose. “It fits you. Well,

Grey. I hope to see you soon.”

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Two

rey walked on with the rest of his assassin
team, leaving behind the outrageously

flirtatious Dove with the rest of the crowd.

“What in the hell was that about?” Tabitha

asked.

The only female in their group, she was a Fox

shifter who could kill faster than most people
could take a breath. She was also a notorious
gossip.

“It was nothing. Just some Dove having fun

with the new fish,” Grey drawled, even as he
glanced back at Caley. He really was a cute thing
with his white-blond hair, slim build, and bright
blue eyes. He also looked delicate enough to break
in half if somebody weren’t careful enough
around him. So Caley sure as hell shouldn’t have
been flirting around with just anybody. It was an
easy way for him to get hurt or worse.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“It didn’t look like nothing to me,” Toby, a

Leopard, said. “That Dove looked two seconds
away from climbing you. I thought I was going to
have to peel him off you.”

“You’re just jealous because he wasn’t going for

you,” Tabitha teased.

“I don’t fuck birds, I eat them,” Toby said with

a feral grin.

Grey gave a slight shake of his head. With

Toby, there could be no telling if the kid was
joking or not. He put the hinged in unhinged. The
guy was so messed up that he would have had
even Freud crying for his mommy.

“You’ll make nice here or else,” Grey warned

him. “Remember, we promised to swear our
loyalty to the pack. That’s part of the deal.”

“I never thought I would end up part of a Wolf

pack,” Tabitha said.

“The pay is good, plus we have a safe place to

sleep and plenty to eat. We could be doing worse,”
Grey pointed out.

In fact, they had done worse. Together since

they’d been infants, they’d been raised by the
same cruel master who had often used food
depravation as a form of punishment. So yeah,
they knew how it went to go without a meal or
three.

“How long do you think we’ll be here?” Simon,

a Tiger, asked.

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He was the most sensitive of the group and

with good reason, since their master had often
picked him out for special treatment. He also
happened to be one of the youngest and one of
Tabitha’s pets. Not that Grey blamed her. The kid
was due some special treatment.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to set down some

roots here for a while,” Grey said.

“That would be kind of nice. I hate having to

move around so much,” Simon replied.

Simon sounded so sweet that it was easy to

forget that he was a stonehearted killer. Just the
night before, Simon had effortless taken out two
Hyena drug dealers and then stopped to clean up
in the nearby river before getting into the van to
go back to the nearby hotel. He’d done it all
without blinking twice, too.

That’s how Simon sucked them in. They just

thought he was some innocent kid—until it was
too late, and he was holding their heart in his
hand and blinking up at them with those pretty
blue peepers of his. His halo of blond hair didn’t
hurt his image any, either.

“We need to go speak to the Alpha first and let

him know we’re here,” Grey said.

As the oldest of the group, he’d always fallen

into the role of the leader, and they’d never
challenged it, not even when they’d reached
adulthood and gone out on their own. Sometimes

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Grey wished somebody else would take on the
mantle, but the others had always been more
comfortable looking up to him for guidance.

After asking for directions to the Alpha’s office,

Grey led the way. He politely knocked on the door
and waited to be called in. Just because they were
raised by a monster didn’t mean that Grey didn’t
know his manners.

They walked into an office that could be

classified as organized chaos, and Grey
immediately felt at home. The Alpha was on the
younger side and sat behind a desk piled with
papers. His mate, a female Jaguar who was
obviously pregnant, sat by his side. She smiled as
they walked in.

“You must be Grey. Shane said you would be

coming.”

“And you must be Cassie. Shane speaks highly

of you.”

Which said something. The assassin didn’t like

very many shifters, but Shane had told Grey that
he’d kill to keep Cassie safe. He also made Grey
promise to protect Cassie at all costs, a promise
Grey didn’t make lightly.

Cassie tilted her head to the side. “Shane is a

good friend of the family. He’s like a brother to
me.”

Simon let out a stifled sound. No doubt in

shock that anybody would ever consider

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somebody like Shane a brother. But Grey had a
feeling that Cassie saw a side of Shane that they
never had.

Grey and his assassins went on one knee before

Chris. “Alpha, we are here to swear our loyalty
and service to you. May we be of any help to you
in your war against the Rand pack?”

Chris got up and touched each of them on the

back of the neck, accepting their show of
submission. “Thank you. You are welcome to the
pack.”

Once that was settled, Chris returned to his

seat, and everybody stood again. Grey gazed at
Chris and asked the most important question of
all, “Who is this Rand, and how hard is it going to
be to kill him?”

“He’s an Alpha whose pack was run off its land

by human hunters. Now he’s decided that he
wants my land, and he doesn’t care who he has to
kill to get it. He’s already attacked us a couple of
times. We’ve been able to run him off both times,
but not before I’ve lost some of my own Wolves in
the process.”

Grey nodded. “So do you want us to track

down this Rand and kill him?”

“I don’t think it will be that easy,” Cassie said.

“He always keeps himself surrounded by his
cronies.”

“Anybody can be killed,” Toby cut in.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“Yeah, but I would like to make sure that I

don’t lose any of us in the process,” Grey pointed
out.

While he might be an assassin, he did have

feelings, and he had developed an attachment to
his makeshift family. His former master would
have called it a weakness. But then again, that was
why he was their former master. There was no way
that Grey was going to needlessly sacrifice a
member of his team.

“Rand likes to play dirty, too. He doesn’t fight

directly. He likes to throw bombs and run. He isn’t
the type for direct conflicts,” Chris added.

“Then we’ll just have to start playing his game

better than him,” Grey said with a wicked smile.

Simon chuckled. The Tiger did love his

explosives, and nobody did them better than he
did, except maybe Toby. By the time Simon and
Toby were done, Rand wouldn’t know what had
hit him.

“You’ll make sure that no innocents get hurt,

right?” Cassie interjected.

Simon nodded at her. “Of course, Alpha Mate.”
Grey nodded to Tabitha. “I want you to be

Cassie’s personal guard until things calm down.
Everywhere she goes, you go. That is, if the Alpha
agrees?”

Chris nodded. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”
Cassie frowned. “I can take care of myself.”

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“Nobody said you couldn’t, Alpha Mate,”

Tabitha soothed, “I will be there just as an added
layer of protection. We have the babes to think of.”

Cassie looked shocked. “How did you know I

was carrying twins?”

Tabitha pointed to her nose. “It’s a Fox thing. I

could sense it.”

Tabitha lowered her hood to reveal her flowing

red hair and sparkling green eyes. Without the
cloak shielding her, she could have passed for any
normal young woman. She even had an innocent
smile playing on her lips.

“Please, it would honor me to be your escort

during your time of need, Alpha Mate,” Tabitha
said with a bow of her head.

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Fine, but only so it will

get Chris and my brothers off my back. You would
think I was the first woman to ever get pregnant in
the world with the way they’re acting. I swear, the
first thing I’m doing when I’m done being a baby
carrier is kicking all of their asses.”

Grey bit the inside of his cheek to stop from

laughing. He could already tell that he was going
to like her. She waddled to the door and opened it.
“Alan, come show the assassins to their living
quarters and don’t talk their ears off while you’re
doing it.”

A small Wolf quickly and quietly led them to

their living quarters, which turned out to be more

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

of a small apartment with three bedrooms, a
kitchen, a living room and two bathrooms.

After the small Wolf had left, Simon turned in a

small circle. “Okay, this place isn’t half bad. I like
it here.”

“Yeah, we’ve had it much worse,” Grey agreed

as he sat down in a nearby chair.

They didn’t have much with them, since, as

assassins, they’d learned not to carry a lot. Now
that they had settled down roots, maybe that
would change, and they would actually be able to
own a few possessions. A new for them.

Grey looked down at his clothing. The little

Dove had been right. He was due for a new set of
assassins’s garb. Maybe he would have to make a
visit to Caley after all. The prospect excited Grey
way more than it should have given the fact that
he had never been the kind to form personal
attachments of any kind outside of his family. But
then again, he couldn’t be going around his new
job in rags, could he?

“I still can’t believe that I swore to be part of a

Wolf pack,” Toby bitched as he slumped down
onto the couch.

Grey gave him a sideways glance. “I know that

goes against your badass Leopard self, but get
over it. Think of it as a job and nothing more if it
makes you feel any better.”

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“Did you see the way they were looking at us,”

Toby griped. “It was like we were animals on
display at the zoo.”

“It’s not every day you see so many assassins in

one place,” Simon said with a shrug. “We’re like
rock stars to them.”

“We’re freaks to them,” Toby countered

angrily.

Simon cocked his head to the side. “There’s a

difference?”

Grey let out a sigh. “Enough, both of you. Why

don’t we all get cleaned up and ready for
tomorrow? It’s going to be a long day.”

Toby and Simon rushed off to do as he ordered,

but Tabitha stayed behind. Not that Grey minded,
he knew come the next day he would see little of
her once she took up her duty as Cassie’s personal
guard.

“They’ll adjust. Just give them time,” Tabitha

advised.

“I know, but they’re going to drive me crazy in

the meantime.” Grey pinched the bridge of his
nose, he could feel a headache starting to form,
and it had Toby and Simon’s names stamped on it.

She ran a soothing hand over his back. “They’ll

realize soon enough that this is good for them. We
couldn’t have survived the way we were for much
longer.”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“I know, but I just hope that I made the right

choice. What if this pack doesn’t work out for us?”

She gave him a gentle smile. “Then we move on

until we find a pack or coalition that is the right fit
for us. There has to be one out there for us. We just
need to find it.”

“I don’t know if putting us in the middle of a

war is the best move for us.”

“It’s a job, so it’s what we do.”
“That’s just it. We’ve never had a chance to do

anything else. We’ve been killers since practically
the day we were born.”

Tabitha let out a soft laugh. “What? Did you

want us to make a career change now? Do you
honestly see Toby doing anything else? Or you,
for that matter?”

No, Grey didn’t. That didn’t mean he had to

like the circumstances, though.

“Don’t you ever wonder what would have

happened to us if we hadn’t been sold to our
master?” he asked “If we had been raised like
normal children?”

“I used to,” she admitted.
“And what did you imagine?”
“Dangerous things. Things that I could never

have.” She stepped forward and put her hands on
his shoulders. “Look, I know we got dealt a shitty
hand in life, but it’s what we got, and we have to
make do with it. We can’t go around dreaming

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about what may have been. In our world, it’ll only
end up getting us killed. You need to keep your
head in the game. You hear me?”

Grey realized she was right. He also realized

that she was the only one that he would ever
allow to see him weak like this. He would never
have admitted to these kinds of feelings with
anybody else. Not even Simon or Toby.

“I hear you, Tabitha. Don’t worry about me. My

mind is where it’s supposed to be.”

She fingered up his cloak. “Maybe you should

listen to that flirty, little Dove and get a new
uniform. This one is looking pretty sad. When is
the last time you got a new one?”

Grey shrugged. “I don’t even remember.”
She made a face at him. “Then it’s time. Since

we’re going to be here for a while, you may want
to splurge and order a few sets. Lord knows you
have the money. You never spend it on anything
but weapons. Treat yourself to something nice for
once.”

“Thanks, Tabitha. Maybe I’ll do just that.”
She gave him a kiss on the cheek, then went off

to one of the bedrooms. Grey stayed up in the
living room for a bit longer, just getting a feel for
the place. As he did, his mind kept drifting back to
Caley. He wondered if the Dove was that
flirtatious with all men or if he had only been that
way with Grey. For some strange reason, it made

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Grey angry to think of Caley batting those blue
eyes at anybody but him. Which was crazy since
they had only met once, and even then, it had
been briefly.

Grey looked down at his uniform. Yes, first

thing in the morning he was going to seek out
Caley and order some new clothes. It would also
be the perfect excuse to see the Dove again.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Three

he entire morning as Caley worked in his
workshop, he was a bundle of nerves,

wondering if the giant-ass assassin—and try
saying that three times really fast—would be
coming in.

What in the hell had he been thinking when he

had asked the Wolf to come in? What in the hell
had he been thinking when he had flirted with
him? What in the hell had he been thinking when
he had even talked to him in the first place?

Caley should never have let Alger drag him out

of his workshop. His workshop was safe. He
didn’t get into trouble there. There were no big,
bad Wolves here. Or if there were, they were only
there to get clothes, then they left, and Caley
didn’t have to deal with them anymore.

Somehow, Caley felt the same couldn’t be said

about Grey. He didn’t know why, but he had a
nagging suspicion that once he got to know Grey,

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

it wouldn’t be a one-time thing. That the assassin
would be a permanent fixture in his life. It was
just a gut reaction, and Caley had learned a long
time ago to trust his gut.

The door to his shop opened, and he wasn’t

shocked to see that it was Grey. Unlike the
evening before, he had the hood to his cloak
down, and damned if he didn’t look good. Caley
forgot to breathe as he took in the Wolf’s
handsome features. He reminded Caley a bit of
Ranger from Lord of the Rings, only Grey had his
hair cut shorter and was a bit cleaner looking.

“Hello,” Caley said, pleased that his voice

didn’t waver.

Grey smiled and it made him look even better.

“Hey, I’m here about the new uniforms we talked
about last night.”

Caley tilted his head to the side. “Uniforms? As

in more than one?”

“Yeah, Tabitha thought that I should get more

than one since we’ll be here for a while.”

A jolt a jealousy reared its ugly head. “Is

Tabitha your girlfriend or something?”

Grey let out a chuckle and shook his head. “No,

she’s like a sister to me. That’s all.”

“Oh,” Caley replied, more pleased than he had

the right to be. “Well, come on over and we’ll get
you measured.”

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It was then that Caley realized with a mixture

of horror and excitement that he would have to
get up close and personal to Grey in order to get
his

measurements.

Usually,

Caley

was

professional about it and thought nothing of the
process, but he knew this time was going to be
much different, no matter how much he tried to
pretend otherwise.

“If you want to take off your cloak, it will be

easier to measure you with just your pants and top
on,” Caley advised.

When Grey whipped off his cloak to reveal

enough weapons to arm half the pack, Caley
gaped at him. He couldn’t even begin to identify
half of the weapons that were strapped to Grey, let
alone how to use them.

“You’re going to have to take those off, too,”

Caley said, as he raised a shaking finger to point at
a particularly pointy-looking blade.

Grey looked down at them and gave a shrug. “I

guess that makes sense.”

He then began to remove items and set them

down on a nearby table. Caley’s eyes grew wider
as the pile became larger and larger. Damn, that
guy had more hidden pockets than Chris Angel.

“Do you always keep this many weapons on

you?” Caley asked.

“Of course not.”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“Oh.” Caley let out a sigh of relief. Grey must

be on high alert or something because he was at a
new place and didn’t want to let his guard down
until he knew his surroundings.

“I usually carry twice as many when I’m on a

mission.”

Caley nearly swallowed his tongue. “How in

the hell do you manage to walk, let alone fight
while weighed down with so much hardware?”

Grey grinned. “You get used to it.”
Caley didn’t think he could get used to ever

carrying around even half as much. Grey must lift
weights all day long and eat iron for breakfast,
lunch, and dinner. Whatever the case, it had
resulted in a nice set of muscles. Even with the
shirt and pants on, Caley could tell that Grey had
one fine body, one that Caley wouldn’t mind
bouncing off a time or two.

Now that all the weapons were off, Caley

picked up his measuring tape and walked over to
Grey. As soon as he got closer, he was assaulted
by the scent of maple and earth. Caley’s body sang
as he inhaled deeper, savoring the smell. It went
straight to his cock and made his blood hum with
desire.

Oh God, this was going to be the hardest set of

measurements that he’d ever had to take. It didn’t
help matters that Wolves were great at smelling
arousal, too, so Grey was sure to pick up on the

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fact that Caley was turned on. Talk about
embarrassing. The fact that Caley had chosen that
day to wear his skinny jeans, so his erection was
obvious, only added to the humiliation. If he could
have, Caley would have run from the room or
dove under one of his worktables to hide from the
predicament.

Grey, for his part, didn’t comment on Caley’s

obvious situation, showing that he at least had
some tact. Either that or he was mortified that
some Dove was drooling all over him and making
an ass out of himself. Either way, he stayed silent
while Caley took measurements of his arms and
chest. Which wasn’t an easy thing to do, given the
massiveness of Grey’s chest. Caley was tall and he
still had to stand on a stool to reach all the areas.

The silence between them grew awkward as

Caley continued with his measurements. He knew
that Grey knew he was aroused, and Caley just
wanted to find some hole to crawl up into and die
from embarrassment. Which was funny since
Caley was usually the type who didn’t get
flustered over such things. He usually went with
and used them to his advantage.

Then it came time to measure Grey’s inseam.

Caley should have been jumping for joy, but
instead, he felt a heat coming to his face.

No! He could do this. He was a professional,

damn it! He’d measured a million inseams and

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

had never had an incident before. So there should
be no difference now.

Caley hopped down from the stool and began

to measure for the inner seam of Grey’s pants.
That’s when he noticed it—he wasn’t the only one
aroused. Facing him was the unmistakable bulge
of Grey’s hard-on.

Shocked, all Caley could say was, “Why, hello

there.”

Grey let out a small growl. “What do you

expect with all those do-me vibes you’re putting
out?”

Caley stood up straight. “I can’t help it. You

come in here looking like a modern day warrior
from an action flick. How am I supposed to
react?”

“So this is my fault?”
Caley was glad to see that Grey was seeing

things his way. “Exactly!”

Grey gave him an are-you-crazy stare. “Are you

mental, or is it just a Dove thing?”

Okay, so maybe Grey wasn’t seeing things

Caley’s way after all. “I’m perfectly sane, thank
you very much. At least I take responsibility for
my own erections.”

Grey let out another one of his growls—which

were pretty damn hot—and walked forward,
forcing Caley to backpedal until his spine was
flush against the wall.

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Moving in until they were mere inches apart,

Grey said, “Are you always this mouthy?”

“Pretty much.”
“Then maybe it’s time we put that mouth to

better use.”

“That’s one of the worst lines I’ve—”
Caley was cut short when Grey crushed their

lips together in a scorching kiss. At first, Caley
stiffened, shocked by and a bit offended by the
intrusion, but then Grey slipped in his tongue.
Caley got a good taste of the Wolf, and he turned
to putty. Letting out a happy sigh, he slipped his
arms around Grey’s neck and surrendered to the
kiss, happy to let Grey lead the way.

Grey picked Caley up and sat him down on a

nearby worktable so they could continue the kiss.
Caley, ever the slut, wrapped his legs around
Grey’s waist and brought him in even closer so
their cocks rubbed together, the friction sending
sparks of pleasure up Caley’s body.

“More. More,” Caley moaned as he tilted his

head back to give Grey access to his throat.

“Yes, you’ll get more, baby,” Gray promised as

he began to rain love bites down Caley’s neck.

Caley knew he would have all kinds of

interesting marks left behind, and he didn’t give a
damn. The fact that he had fair skin, and it would
make them show up all the more didn’t even

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

matter to him, either. All he cared about at the
moment was Grey and what he was doing to him.

A loud explosion sounded from the back of the

dwelling, jarring them both from the moment.
Caley jumped a mile, while Grey just let out a
curse. “Damn their timing. They couldn’t have
waited another half hour for their attack.”

Before Caley could even think of a snarky

remark to that comment, Grey moved away from
him and began to strap his weapons back on at a
speed that was quite frankly amazing.

“What’s going on?” Caley asked.
“We’re under attack! You stay put here and

don’t move. You’ll should be safe enough here.”

“Is it Rand’s Wolves?”
“Do you know of anyone else that has a beef

with Chris?”

“Well, the human hunters, but they’ve pretty

much left us alone since Chris warned them
away.” Caley got down from the table on shaky
legs.

“Then my guess is it’s Rand.”
Grey grabbed his cloak and put it on, making

him look every bit the assassin he was. “I mean it,
Caley. Stay here. Don’t go running off anywhere. I
don’t want you to get hurt.”

Caley put up his hands. “Don’t worry about

that. I’m a lover, not a fighter. I leave that up to

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you guys. I’ll stay in my shop where it’s nice and
protected.”

Grey stopped on his way out to give Caley one

last kiss. “Stay safe, little Dove.”

“You, too,” Caley said.
Another explosion sounded, this one was

followed by sirens. Caley could hear the shouts
and screams from the pack members outside the
door as they scrambled around to get into position
or ran to safety. His heart went out to them. While
he might still be a bit afraid of them, a part of him
had grown to care for some of them, and it hurt
him to see them suffering this way.

Damn Rand! Damn his goons! And damn this

war! Why couldn’t he just go away and leave them
alone? They’d never done anything to him. If he
wanted land so badly, let him go find some
somewhere else instead of having to come and
steal theirs.

Caley shut the door after Grey left and locked it

for good measure. He then wrapped his hands
around himself and wondered about his friends.
He hoped that Alger and the others had found a
safe place to hide out until this blew over. Caley
wished, not for the first time, that they had cell
phones, so they could call each other. He made a
mental note that first thing tomorrow he was
going to go out and buy them all some. He had
enough saved up from his sales. That way they

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

could always keep tabs on each other in situations
like this.

Another explosion sounded, this one much

closer. Caley jumped under one of his worktables.
He wished he had somebody there with him. It
was scary enough going through one of these
attacks with his friends, but doing it alone was
sheer torture. Caley drew his knees up to his chest
and began to tremble. While he didn’t like to think
of himself as a coward, just sitting there and
hoping that the next bomb didn’t land on top of
his workshop was terrifying.

Then the next explosion came, and damned if it

didn’t land on his workshop. Glass, wood, fabric
and other debris went everywhere, all his hard
work flying into the air. The table proved to be
little use as cover at all, since Caley went through
the air, too. He hit a nearby wall and then slid to
the floor in a heap.

Sitting up, all he could hear was a horrible

ringing in his ears. He shook his head, trying to
clear away the sound, but it wouldn’t stop. He got
to his feet and staggered a bit as pain shot through
his body. It seemed as if every inch of him hurt.
Glancing down, he could see blood covering his
torn clothing.

Well, that can’t be good.
Realizing, he needed to get help, Caley

staggered out of his workshop. He was met with

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mass chaos. The bombs had damaged a good part
of the pack dwelling. Small fires dotted the area
with wounded and dead scattered all about.
Caley’s stomach sunk as he wondered if his
friends were among them.

He did a quick scan and didn’t see anyone he

knew, but he couldn’t do a real thorough search
because it was getting harder to keep himself
standing. He began to use the nearby wall for
support, his hand leaving bloody prints behind
him.

Out of desperation, he tried to shift, only to find

that he was too injured to do so. Letting out a
muttered curse, he continued to walk, his
destination—the infirmary. There they would be
able to help him. That was if they weren’t already
too overwhelmed with patients.

Another explosion slammed into the building.

This one was the biggest and hardest of them all.
Caley was thrown to the ground. He let out a cry
of pain as his wounds were jolted.

He lay there for several moments, catching his

breath and gathering his strength before he
managed to get to his feet again. This time, he
could barely walk. All he could manage was a
strange-looking shuffle.

“Caley! Oh my God! What happened to you?”

Hales came running over.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Caley nearly cried, never before had he been so

happy to see the Beagle shifter. Hales’s brown hair
was covered in drywall dust and he had other
debris on him, but otherwise he looked fine. He
put an arm around Caley’s shoulder to steady
him.

“A bomb hit my workshop,” Caley explained.
“You look like shit.”
“I feel like it, too.”
“Let’s get you to the infirmary.”
Caley leaned all his weight on Hales. Never

before had he been so glad to have his friend.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Four

rey couldn’t believe the amount of weaponry
the other Wolf pack rained down on them.

Where in the hell had they got their hands on that
kind of hardware? Most important, how much
more did they have?

He was out front with Simon and Toby, doing

what little bit of damage control they could by
shooting into the darkness. If they could only find
out where the bombs were coming from, they
might have a chance. Toby was a sharpshooter
who could take out a target a mile away.

“This is seriously beginning to piss me off,”

Toby snarled. “The cowards are refusing to show
their faces so I can shoot them off.”

“It really is inconsiderate of them if you ask

me,” Simon added. “Maybe if you asked them
nicely, they would be a bit more accommodating.”

They all winced as another bomb went

streaking through the air and hit the compound.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Grey’s heart clenched when he noted that it
looked like it was in the direction of the workshop.
He prayed that Caley was okay. While he’d just
met the Dove, the blond had already managed to
work his way under Grey’s skin, and it would cut
deep if something happened to him.

“What do you think they’re using?” a young

Wolf asked.

“A rocket launcher,” Grey said. “For all we

know, it could just be one guy out there doing all
this damage. Rand may not even be there.”

Grey motioned to Simon and Toby, and they

peeled off, going silently into the woods. They
walked without making a sound, years of training
teaching them to step soundlessly.

It seemed to take forever to track down the

shooter. For one thing, he didn’t fire often, and
another, he moved each time he shot. He was
smart that way. Too bad for him, the assassins
tracking him were smarter. Before long, they had
the Wolf in their sights.

He wasn’t alone, but he didn’t have many

helpers with him, either. There were only about a
half dozen other Wolves. Which, in Grey’s mind,
made the odds just about even.

Toby lifted his gun and took out the shooter

with one clean shot between the eyes. He was
dead before he ever hit the ground. That left the

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helpers for Grey and the other assassins to deal
with.

Since Grey preferred steel to guns, he pulled

out a pair of blade and spun them around. “You
boys really picked the wrong night to piss me off.”

Two of the Wolves charged him at once. Not

that Grey cared, as it just saved him time rather
than taking them out one by one. One of them had
a long sword, which he swung down. Grey
crossed the blade, blocking the blow. He then
twisted them out, unbalancing the Wolf. While the
Wolf stumbled, Grey stabbed him in the throat,
taking him out.

The other Wolf was on him before the first had

even fallen to the ground. This one had a small
dagger in his hand. For a few minutes, he and
Grey simply circled each other. Grey bided his
time, knowing his combatant would soon lose
patience.

Sure enough, after about three minutes, the

Wolf let out a snarl and charged. Never losing his
calm, Grey swung his blade around and sliced the
guy’s neck open. The Wolf’s eyes opened in shock
as he dropped his blade and grabbed at his throat,
as if he could hold the gaping wound closed.

He dropped to his knees, blood pouring from

between his fingers, then fell face forward to the
ground and didn’t move again. A puddle of blood
formed around him, making for a muddy mixture.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Grey glanced over to see if Simon or Toby

needed any help, but they were dispatching their
final enemies and putting their weapons away.
Toby had a small scratch on his face, but that
seemed to be the only injury they had sustained
on their side. All-in-all, it was a good day for
them.

Simon went over and, even though the rocket

launcher guy was dead and couldn’t feel it, gave
him a kick. “That’s for ruining the nap I was
taking, you fucker.”

Grey wanted to give the guy a kick himself

because he had ruined a whole lot more than just a
nap for him. That made him think of Caley, and
Grey felt a driving need to get back to the pack
dwelling to check up on the Dove. But
unfortunately, duty called first.

“Let’s get out of here. We need to report back to

Chris and ask him what he wants us to do with
the bodies,” Grey said.

“We should put them on spikes and display

them at the front gates. Maybe then Rand will
think twice before he sends out more of his men,”
Toby growled.

The sad thing was, Toby was serious about his

suggestion. Gotta love Leopard shifters. They
were a breed of their own. Unstable at best and
bloodthirsty as hell, there was a reason why they
made for the best assassins.

Stephani Hecht

“We can’t do that,” Grey said.
“Why not?” Toby asked.
“It would scare the humans who drove by.”
“Why? Humans do that kind of thing all the

time, too. All you have to do is read a history book
to know that.”

Sad thing was Grey couldn’t think of an

argument to that one because the history books
were chock-full of human civilizations that had
been guilty of that crime. Grey sighed. “We’re just
not going to do it. Okay?”

“Fine. But I still think it’s a good idea.”
“Duly noted. Now let’s get going.”
They left the woods and went back to the pack

dwelling. Grey was mortified by all the damage
the bombs had left behind. It made him angry
with himself that they had not been able to find
the shooter sooner. If they had, then maybe they
could have saved some lives.

They found Chris trying to calm down pack

members and restore some order. When he saw
them, he asked, “Did you get them?”

“Yes, they’re all eliminated.”
“Good,” Chris said with a snarl. “We lost a

dozen of our pack members to those bastards.”

“What do you want us to do with the bodies?”

Grey asked.

“Can we put them on spikes?” Toby butted in.
Chris gave him an are-you-crazy look.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“Sorry about that, sir. He’s a Leopard,” Grey

said as if that explained all—which it really did.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. It sounds like

something Shane would say.” Chris ran his hand
through his hair, leaving behind a streak of soot
on his forehead. “Leave them for now. Is there any
way that you guys can find out where Rand is
hiding out?”

Grey gave a slight shrug. “We can start asking

around with our contacts. Why?”

“Well, for one thing, I would feel much better

knowing where he is. But most of all, I think it
would be nice of us to return his men to him.
Don’t you think?”

Grey’s lips curled up into a grin. “I like the way

you think. We can start asking around right away
if you want.”

“First, I need your help here in restoring order.

People are scared, and if they see you guys, it may
help calm them down.”

“As you wish, Alpha.”
Grey was more than happy to accommodate

that order, since it would give him a chance to find
Caley and check up on his wellbeing. The longer
time went by without seeing the Dove, the more
concerned he became.

Somebody called Chris’s name, and the Alpha

glanced away, then nodded before giving the
assassins his attention again. “I have to go take

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care of this. Are you going to be okay on your
own?”

“Yeah, we’ll find plenty to do, I’m sure,” Grey

said with a dismissive wave.

As soon as Chris took off, Grey turned and

began to make his way toward Caley’s workshop.
Simon and Toby only hesitated a moment before
they followed.

“You want to tell us where we’re going?”

Simon asked.

“I need to check up on Caley.”
“Who’s Caley?”
“The Dove shifter from yesterday.”
“Since when are you friends with him?” Toby

demanded.

“I was with him this morning when the attack

started. I left him in his workroom, and I want to
make sure he’s okay.”

“It didn’t take you long to get up close and

personal with the natives,” Simon said with a low
whistle.

“It’s not like that,” Grey protested. Then he

thought about what he and Caley had been doing
before the attack and corrected himself. “Okay,
maybe it is like that, but it’s not just a fling. Caley
is really nice, and I’m worried about him.”

“Dude!” Simon exclaimed. “You just met him

yesterday. What’s next? You guys getting
matching tattoos or something?”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“No, he just seems like a decent person is all.”
In truth, Grey couldn’t even explain to himself

why he was so fixated on Caley. It was true. He’d
only spoken to the Dove on two occasions and
already he had an obsession with the other man. It
was so unlike Grey that he didn’t know what was
going on with himself.

That didn’t stop him from nearly running to the

workroom. When he got there and found it utterly
destroyed, his stomach dropped to his knees. Oh
shit! And he had been the one who had told Caley
to stay there, too.

“Caley!” Grey called out into the mess.
Toby raised his nose into the air. “He’s not here.

I can’t smell him.”

“Then where is he?” Grey asked frantically.
Toby knelt down to the ground and fingered a

small puddle of blood. “He fell here, then got up
and walked out.”

They all rushed in that direction. It was then

that Grey noticed the bloody handprints on the
wall. They followed them until they disappeared.
Toby once again knelt down and studied the
ground. He wasn’t known as a master tracker for
nothing.

“He fell again and then somebody came and

helped him walk the rest of the way,” Toby said.

“The rest of the way where?” Grey asked.

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“My guess would be the infirmary since it’s

only a few feet from here, and Caley was
wounded. If I were hurt, that’s where I would
head,” Simon interjected.

“Of course, that makes perfect sense,” Grey

said.

They raced to the infirmary where they were

met with even more chaos. Cots with wounded sat
everywhere. The screams and cries of the
wounded filled the air. Medic, doctors, nurses and
other medical staff ran about as they tried to keep
up with the sheer amount of patients. The air
reeked of blood and burnt flesh.

“Shit, this makes me wish I made the shooter

suffer before he died,” Simon said as he gazed
over the injured.

“You and me both,” Grey agreed.
He scanned the crowd, and his heart leaped

when he finally spotted Caley. He was lying on
one of the cots, and a Beagle shifter was by his
side. Caley was covered in blood, his clothing was
torn in several places, but he looked to be alive.

“Found him,” Grey said, already walking in the

right direction. He walked up to Caley and knelt
down to by the cot. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

Caley gave him a weak smile. “Like I got hit by

a bomb. Oh, and by the way, this is my friend,
Hales. Hales this is Grey.”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Grey nodded to Hales before he said, “I am so

sorry I told you to stay put there. I thought for
sure you would be safe there.”

“It’s not your fault. You had no way of

knowing that a big-ass bomb would fall right on
top of it.”

A flicker of agony passed over his face, and

Grey looked around for a doctor. “Have they
given you anything for the pain?”

Hales gave him a grim look. “There are so

many wounded that they haven’t had a chance to
even get to Caley yet.”

Toby reached out and grabbed the nearest

doctor. “Our little friend here needs something for
his pain. Make sure he gets it.”

The doctor looked like he was about to argue,

then he took one look at the other assassins and
nodded. “I’ll go get him something right away.”

After the doctor left, Caley let out a small laugh.

“That wasn’t very nice.”

“But it got the job done, didn’t it?” Toby

smirked.

“Is he always this charming?” Caley asked

Grey.

“No, he’s usually much grumpier,” Grey

replied.

A few minutes later, the doctor came back with

a syringe in his hand. “This is just something to

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take the edge off until we can further evaluate
him.”

“How long is that going to take?” Grey snarled.
The doctor paused. “I guess I could do it now

since I’m here.”

They all stood back a bit, so the doctor could do

his work. Once he was finished, he stood up. “I
think he has a few broken bones and some
contusions, but nothing that some rest and a few
shifts can’t heal.”

“I tried to shift earlier but couldn’t,” Caley

argued.

“Give it an hour or two, and you should be able

to,” the doctor advised. “If not, come back and see
me. I’ll admit, I’m not used to treating Doves, so
things may be a different with you guys. But I
think you’re going to be okay.”

“Okay,” Caley mumbled, his lids already

getting droopy.

“I hope I didn’t give him too much pain

medicine,” the doctor worried. “It’s so tricky to
figure out different doses with different breeds.”

“Are you saying you OD’d him?” Grey

growled.

The doctor rolled his eyes. “Not enough to kill

him. It’ll just knock him out for the rest of the
day.”

Before Grey could threaten him further, the

doctor ran off to treat the rest of the wounded.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Grey gazed down at Caley in concern, but he
seemed to be breathing okay. He was just out for
the count.

“So, when did you and Caley become such

good buddies?” the Beagle asked.

“We’re really not that close, we’ve only talked a

few times,” Grey said.

“Yet, you almost tore that doctor’s head off.”
Damn Beagles and their nosiness. If the guy

hadn’t obviously been such a good friend of
Caley’s, Grey would have told him to fuck off and
mind his own business.

“Caley seems like a nice guy, and I want to

make sure he’s taken care of,” Grey said.

“Funny, Caley usually hates any Wolf that he

meets.”

“Why is that?” Grey asked as Caley had been

nothing but nice to him.

“Well, because Wolves killed off his entire

family. Didn’t he tell you that?”

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Five

he first thing Caley did when released from
the infirmary was go to his workshop so he

could assess the damage. When he saw the mess
that waited for him there, a small whimper passed
his lips.

Fabric and equipment lay everywhere. Most of

the benches and tables were upended. Some of
them were broken and in splinters. He didn’t even
want to think about the condition that his sewing
machines might be in.

Alger and Hales came up behind him. Alger let

out a low whistle. “This place got hit bad.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll help you clean up,” Hales

assured him.

“I don’t even know if there is anything worth

cleaning up,” Caley said as he brought his hand to
his stomach.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“We won’t know unless we try,” Alger pointed

out, ever the reasonable one. “Now where do you
want us to start?”

“I guess with the fabric. We can see what is

salvageable, then work from there.”

Hales and Alger began to pick through the

fabric. Folding the good stuff and tossing the
charred pieces to the side. Meanwhile, Caley
shuffled over to one of his machines and began to
look it over.

He was still as sore as hell, but he felt a lot

better than the day before. At least he was able to
function without pain meds. He hated how they
made him feel.

He looked the machine over, pleased to see that

it would be okay with just some simple repairs.
Maybe things wouldn’t be a total loss after all. He
would hate for Cassie and the Alpha to lose out
after they had invested so much in the shop. He
knew the pack wasn’t exactly swimming in cash.

“How are the fabrics looking?” he asked.
“Not too bad. Some of them may need to be

washed, but overall I don’t think you lost much.
The place just needs to be cleaned,” Alger
answered.

“You were really lucky. The library took a

direct hit, and they lost everything,” Hales added.

Caley was sorry to hear that. He’d really liked

the library. It had been one of the few places

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where he’d felt comfortable enough to take refuge.
Now it was gone, thanks to Rand and his stupid
pack. And for what? Just a stupid piece of land.
Wolves could be so damn stupid at times.

“At least Grey and the assassins were able to

take out the bastards responsible for bombing this
place,” Caley said with a bit of pride.

“Speaking of Grey, what’s going on with you

two?” Hales asked.

Caley smiled to himself, it hadn’t taken long for

the dog to latch on to that bone. In fact, he was
amazed his friend had held out for as long as he
did. Hales wasn’t known for his discretion.

“Grey and I are just friends, that’s all,” Caley

said.

Alger snorted. “Nice try.”
“What do you mean?” Caley asked in his most

innocent voice.

“First off, you’re never just friends with any

guy, and second, when you were hurt, Grey
looked like he was ready to rip somebody’s head
off. So you wanna try that one again?”

Caley grinned. “Okay, we may have kissed a

bit, but that was all, I swear. The attack
interrupted us before we could do anything more.
The only reason he was here in the first place was
to order some new uniforms.”

Alger made a face. “Do you always make out

with your clients?”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“Of course not. I’d get nothing done then,”

Caley said.

A knock at the door interrupted them. Caley

turned, and horror went through him when he
saw Grey standing there with his fellow assassins,
Simon and Toby. Going by the grins on the faces
of Toby and Simon, they had heard at least part of
the conversation, too.

“I am so going to kill you guys,” Caley

muttered out of the side of his mouth to Alger and
Hales.

“Hey, don’t blame me that you’re a slut,” Alger

whispered back.

Caley wanted to crawl under one of his tables

and hide, but they were all flipped over.
Everybody knew that assassins had great hearing.

Caley plastered a smile on his face. “Can I help

you guys with something? I can take your
measurements if you need new uniforms, too, but
it may take me a bit longer than usual to get the
orders finished since my shop is in a bit of
disarray.”

“A bit?” Toby echoed. “It looks like a bomb hit

it.”

“Well, that’s because one did,” Caley

deadpanned.

“Be nice,” Grey warned the Leopard.
“I am. I never mentioned anything about the

slut comment,” Toby retorted.

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Grey let out a sigh. “You’ll have to excuse him.

He’s lacking in people skills.”

“That’s okay. It seems to be catching today,”

Caley said, shooting Alger and Hales a look.

Alger and Hales had the gall to smile at him.

Caley made a mental note to give them both a kick
in the can later on. That was if he could catch
them, as both of them could move fast when they
wanted to.

“We do need new uniforms, but we came to see

if we could help with the cleanup. We also wanted
to meet you,” Simon said as he brushed past Grey
and walked into the shop.

“But you already met me,” Caley replied.
The situation was getting crazier and crazier

with each passing moment. Caley decided that it
wasn’t a good idea to mix his and Grey’s friends.
They were just too crazy.

“Yes, but you were hurt and all drugged up

then. We want to meet the Caley that Grey talks
about,” Simon said.

Caley blinked in surprise. “Grey talks about

me?”

“Yes, he does—alllllllllll the time. It actually

gets to be a bit tiresome.”

“Don’t make me have to kill you in your sleep.

Tabitha would be upset since she’s so attached to
you,” Grey growled at Simon.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Simon ignored him. “I don’t share a room with

him, but I bet he even talks about you in his
sleep.”

Hales let out a laugh. “Are all assassins as fun

as you?”

“No,” Toby answered. “As a general rule, most

of us are assholes and all around general jerks. It’s
in our makeup, so we can’t help it. It comes with
the uniform.”

“I like you,” Hales said.
“I’m so flattered,” Toby drawled, like he

couldn’t give a damn in the world.

Grey just looked at them and said, “Leopard.”

Like that explained it all, which it really did. But
that still didn’t seem to deter Hales at all. He kept
looking at Toby as if the guy had hung the moon.
Toby, on the other hand, just looked annoyed as
hell.

“Why don’t you let us help you clean up in

here?” Grey offered.

“Are you sure?” Caley asked. “I don’t want to

keep you from your own duties.”

Actually, he was thrilled at the prospect of

spending some more time with the Wolf, even if
he had to be around Toby to do it. As for Simon,
he was actually kind of nice for an assassin.

Grey gave that smile that did all kinds of funny

things to Caley’s insides. “We don’t have anything

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to do until tonight, so it won’t be a problem. Will
it, guys?”

“No problem at all,” Simon said with a grin.

“Can I have fun and chase around the Rabbit
after? I promise not to eat him if I catch him.”

“I already have a mate, thank you,” Alger said.
Simon made a tsking noise. “All the cute ones

are taken. Oh well, I’ll just have to find another
small creature to chase around for fun.”

“You are a strange creature,” Alger said.
“This coming from a bunny that lives with a

Wolf pack?” Simon shot back.

They began to work, the assassins doing most

of the heavy lifting, while Alger and Hales
continued to go through the fabric. Caley kept
looking through his equipment to see what was
salvageable and what was going to have to go to
the trash heap. When he got to his favorite pair of
scissors and found them a bent mess, he let out a
cry of dismay.

“What’s wrong?” Grey asked, rushing to his

side.

When Caley held them up, Grey winced. “Let

me guess, they were your favorite.”

“How did you know?”
“I would act the same way if it was my best

dagger.”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Caley gave a small smile. He should have

realized Grey would understand. “So, you don’t
think that I’m overreacting?”

“No, not at all.”
“I hate this stupid war,” Caley said as he kicked

at broken stool. “And what is it over? Just some
stupid piece of land.”

“Land is a big deal to Wolves. It’s all we have at

times,” Grey said.

“That’s what they killed my family for. They

wanted the land that our house was on.”

Grey reached out and brushed away a lock of

Caley’s hair. “I’m really sorry to hear that, Dove.
Do you want me to hunt them down and kill them
for you?”

“You would really do that for me, wouldn’t

you?” Caley asked, a little breathlessly.

“Of course he would, it’s what he does for a

living,” Toby called out with an irritated voice.

“How is it that you guys became assassins in

the first place?” Hales asked.

For the first time ever, Caley was glad that his

friend was so nosey because that question had
been nagging him for a while as well. It wasn’t
like there was an assassin academy or anything.
Or was there?

“We were all sold to the same master when

were young. He raised us to be assassins, so when

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we were older he could make a profit off us,” Grey
explained in a matter of fact tone.

Horror went through Caley. He couldn’t

imagine any parent that would willingly part with
their child, let alone make a profit off it. His own
parents had died protecting him.

“And did he make a profit off you?” Alger

asked.

“For a while,” Toby answered before he gave a

smile that was so cold it sent chills down Caley’s
spine. “Then we decided to go freelance.”

“So he just let you go?” Alger said.
“No. We killed him,” Toby said in a perfectly

calm voice.

“You…what?” Alger stammered.
Toby blinked at him. “Oh, don’t looked so

surprised, bunny. The bastard asked for it and
then some. He wasn’t fatherly toward us while we
were growing up. Do you want me to strip down,
so I can show you the most interesting scars he left
on my body? Or should I just leave it up to your
imagination?”

“What Toby is trying to say is that our master

wasn’t very kind,” Simon interjected. “So we kind
of turned on him.”

“There’s no kind of about it, Simon, as we

ripped him to shreds and enjoyed every second of
it. I’m just the only one who is willing to admit it,”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Toby said before he turned around and walked
from the room.

“Is he always like that?” Caley asked.
“Like I said, he’s a Leopard. They’re not known

for being very social. Sometimes I wonder why he
even stays with us,” Grey said.

“I think in his own way, he cares for us,” Simon

answered.

“If you say so,” Grey responded.
“I think he’s neat,” Hales piped, a look of

worship on his face.

“Sorry, doggy, but you are literally barking up

the wrong tree with that one,” Grey drawled.

Hales frowned. “Why? Is he straight?”
“No, but Toby doesn’t do relationships. He

doesn’t feel anything inside. It’s like he’s a dead
man walking.”

Hales shook his head. “I don’t believe that.

Everybody has the ability to care.”

“Not Toby,” Simon said firmly.
“So how did you guys end up together?” Grey

asked in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

“Zaid,” Caley answered simply.
“Who’s Zaid?” Grey demanded, a sharp bite of

jealousy in his voice.

Caley bit back his smile. If Grey only knew that

there had never been anything between Caley and
Zaid. To Caley, Zaid had never been anything but
a surrogate big brother.

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“Zaid is the one who found us and took us in.

He didn’t find us all at once, of course, but one by
one,” Hales explained. “He found me first. I was
wandering around, acting like a stray, after my
pack was all killed off by a Hyena attack. I was
only fifteen at the time and starving. He gave me a
place to stay and fed me.”

“And he didn’t ask for anything in return?”

Simon asked in a suspicious tone.

“Nope, that’s the way Zaid is. Zaid is an

African Wild Dog, and he lost his pack, too, so he
knows how it is to be alone and hungry,” Alger
said. “So he made a vow to help others in the same
situation, no matter what breed they are.”

“So if he’s so helpful, where is this Zaid right

now?” Grey asked.

“He’s with the pack soldiers, helping to clean

up the mess outside. As soon as we came here, the
first thing he did was join up with Chris’s pack.
He’s determined to earn our keep here,” Caley
explained, quick to defend his mentor.

To him, Zaid was more than his savior. He was

the replacement to the family he’d lost. The same
could be same for Walsh, Hales, and Alger.
Although, Caley didn’t even want to think of
where Walsh could be at the moment. He was
withdrawing from them more and more. To the
point days would go by when they didn’t see him.
When they did get a glimpse of him, he looked

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

like crap. Zaid had been trying to intervene but
with little success, and Caley was beginning to
worry that they were going to lose their friend to
his drug addiction if something drastic wasn’t
done soon.

He had thought about going to the Alpha with

the problem, but he feared that if he did, it would
get Walsh exiled. He’d heard of other packs doing
that to drug addicts. While he didn’t like to think
Chris would be the type to do that, Caley was
afraid of taking the risk.

“We better get going, it’s getting late, and the

bars will be opening.” Simon said.

Caley was confused. What did the bars have to

do with the mission the assassins had to go on? He
decided not to ask. The less he knew about that
end of the business, the better.

Grey nodded. “You’re right. We should get

moving, so we can hit as many of them as
possible.”

He started to leave, but stopped and turned to

Caley. Wrapping one arm around Caley’s waist,
he brought him in for one quick, hard kiss. Then
without saying another word, Grey walked out of
the room.

Alger let out a low whistle. “You are in so much

trouble.”

“Why?” Caley asked, still a little light-headed

from the kiss.

Stephani Hecht

“You know how I said Wolves can be territorial

about land?”

“Yeah?”
“The same can be said about potential mates,

and he just all but marked you.”

For some reason, that didn’t scare Caley at all.

Instead, it gave him a heady thrill of excitement.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Chapter Six

hey found him at the second bar they went
to—Axel, a Weasel shifter who was the

biggest…well, weasel in town. Not only did he
have a toe in every illegal activity in the area, but
he had his oily little nose in every criminal’s
business. Which was exactly why Grey wanted to
have a little chat with him.

The bar, if it could even could be called that,

was situated between two shifter-run restaurants.
It was as seedy as hell. The floors were warped
from years of use and from the various spills of
both drinks and bodily fluids. The walls were full
of patchwork drywall repairs along with holes
that had yet to be repaired. The tables and chairs
were all mismatched and looked like garage sale
rejects. The bar, which was situated in the front,
was nothing more than a worn wood plank with a
flickering neon sign behind it. The lone bartender
looked like he could eat nails and spit them back

Stephani Hecht

out at anyone who dared to mess with him. A
handful of waitresses moved around, dodging the
hands of the patrons of the bar. More than one of
the servers was armed with daggers, which they
weren’t afraid to use, going by the fresh
bloodstains on the floor.

All-in-all, it was far from the Ritz.
Grey nodded over to Axel. Simon and Toby

nodded back to indicate that they saw him, too,
and knew what needed to be done. They then
entered the door and made their way toward his
table.

As soon as the three assassins entered the bar, a

hushed fear settled over the place. Everyone in the
shifter community recognized the assassin
uniform and knew what it meant. They all feared
it, too. So to see it coming their way was not a
good thing for them.

As they came closer to Axel’s table, it looked for

a moment like the Weasel was going to make a
run for it. A slight shake of Grey’s head put an end
to any of those thoughts. The Weasel let out a
resigned sigh and settled into his chair. He then
pasted on the most disgusting, oily smile Grey had
ever seen.

“Grey! Why it’s been forever since I’ve seen

you. And you have Toby and Simon with you, too.
How wonderful,” Axel oozed out the charm.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“Can it, Axel. You know we’re not here to talk

about the wife and kids. We need some
information, and you’re going to give it to us,”
Grey snapped.

He took a seat next to Axel, while Toby sat on

the other side. Simon sat directly opposite of him.
So even if Axel did try to make a break for it, there
was nowhere he could go without having to pass
an assassin. He was in a position that nobody ever
wanted to find themselves in.

Axel spread out his fingers and leaned back in

his chair before crossing his legs, looking all
comfortable, but Grey could smell the fear oozing
off the guy. Axel had thinning hair he wore in an
unsuccessful comb-over. His attire for the evening
consisted of a powder blue suit that looked like it
had come directly off the racks of some
consignment shop. Under it he wore a cheap
holster with an equally cheap gun strapped to it.
In other words, he was trying hard to look the part
of a gangster and failing badly. While he might
have wanted to look like a Michael, he really was
nothing more than a Fredo and never would be.
The Godfather would have been so disappointed.

“I don’t know what little old me could possibly

know that would be of help to you fine
gentlemen,” Axel said.

“We’re here to ask you about a Wolf named

Rand,” Grey stated firmly.

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Axel might have tried to keep his face

emotionless, but he failed miserably. Or at least,
he did for somebody with Grey’s training. It was
only the slightest of twitches, but it was there.
Axel knew Rand alright, and he had information
on the bastard. Now all Grey had to do was get
the Weasel to spill.

“Never heard of him,” Axel said much too

quickly.

“Boy, you are really stupid,” Toby said. “Don’t

you know I can smell the lie on you? It reeks like
shit and pisses me off. Do you know what
happens when I get pissed off?”

Axel let out a soft whimper. “I’m not lying.”
Grey slammed his hand on the table. “Toby

asked you a question. Do you know what happens
when he gets pissed off? Now, answer him.”

Axel began to shake so violently that the table

moved. “No, what happens when he gets pissed
off?”

Simon tilted his head to the side. “People begin

to lose body parts. And Toby, selfish little bastard
that he is, doesn’t give them back. He likes to
collect them. Personally, I’d prefer if he’d collect
something less disgusting like say Beanie Babies,
but you know how Leopards are. They just love
their gore. So we have put up with the stench of
rotting flesh. You know how tiresome that is at
times. And now you’re going to add to it. Which is

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

going to piss me off. And you don’t want two
assassins pissed off at you, do you?”

Axel shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t know

anything.”

Simon let out an exaggerated sigh and sank his

head. “Okay, I’ll give you ten good reasons why
you’re going to tell us everything you know.”

Before Axel could ask what they were, Toby

reached out, snatched Axel’s hand, and slammed
it palm down on the table. Toby then took out his
sharpest dagger and pressed the blade against
Axel’s index finger. He didn’t cut all the way
through, but he did go deep enough to draw
blood.

“Now, are you going to tell us about Rand?”

Grey asked in a falsely sweet voice.

The smell of urine filled the air. Simon wrinkled

his nose. “Dude, you could have at least waited to
do that until we started cutting. It’s a bit
premature to lose control, don’t you think?”

“Okay. Okay. I’ll tell you what you want to

know. Just don’t cut me up,” Axel pleaded.

“Where is Rand?” Grey asked.
“That, I honestly don’t know,” Axel said. “He

keeps moving around. He’s afraid that Chris will
send you guys to finish him off.”

“I don’t know if I believe him,” Simon said,

before he nodded to Toby.

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Toby dug the dagger in deeper, and the blood

really began to flow, the crimson fluid dripping on
the already dirty table.

“Please! Don’t!” Axel squealed.
“Then give us something we can work with,”

Grey said, not feeling sorry for the guy one bit.

“I know where one of their camps is. Maybe

Rand is there,” Axel said.

It wasn’t much, but it would have to do for

now. Once they got their hands on one of Rand’s
men, Toby would be able to convince him to tell
them a bit more. Toby was good at that.

“Where? And if I find out that you’re lying to

us, Toby here, will be paying you a home visit.
Trust me when I say that you don’t want that,”
Grey promised.

“It’s at that old State Park a few miles up north

from here. You know the one they closed down
for lack of funding?”

Yeah, Grey knew exactly what Axel was talking

about. It was now a place where the homeless and
drug addicts hung out. Or at least they used to. If
Rand had indeed taken it over, he’d probably
chased them all away.

“Is that all you wanted to know?” Axel asked

hopefully.

“Not quite. Rand is using some pretty high-end

weapons. Where is he getting them?” Grey asked.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

When Axel hesitated, Grey nodded to Toby.

Toby made a tsking sound as he dug the blade in
deeper. By this point, Axel was in serious danger
of losing his finger. Grey really hoped it didn’t
come to that because Toby would insist on taking
it with him. Simon hadn’t been bullshitting when
he’d said that Toby liked to collect gory things.
Gotta love having a Leopard in the family.

“If I tell you, I’ll lose more than just a finger,”

Axel sniveled.

“If you don’t tell us, I’ll off you,” Toby said.

“And I like to play with my prey before I go in for
the kill. I’m quirky like that.”

“Oh God.”
“He’s not here to help you. It’s just you and me,

Weasel,” Toby said in a dead voice.

It was at times like this Grey was glad Toby

was on their side. Because while he, Simon, and
Tabitha might have some mad skills of their own,
they were nothing compared to Toby’s cold-
hearted brutality. Simon had been right when he
said Toby was a dead man walking. Nothing
seemed to touch him emotionally.

“It’s an arms dealer named Thorn. But he’s so

big not even you guys can touch him. There’s talk
that he even works for the government.”

“Where does he deal out of?” Grey asked.
“Oh, shit. He’s going to know I told you,” Axel

sobbed.

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“That’s not our problem. We’re not the ones

who tried to play with the big boys. That was
you,” Simon said. “Now it’s come back to bite you
in your sleazy ass. You want us to feel sorry for
you? You should have seen what those weapons
did to Alpha Chris’s Pack dwelling. There are
women and children in there, you fuckhead. So
don’t color me sad that your sorry head is now on
the chopping block. In fact, count yourself lucky
that I don’t just gut you myself right now.”

Grey was shocked by Simon’s passionate

speech. He hadn’t realized that Simon was already
that attached to the pack in the few short days that
they’d been there. He’d known out of all them
Simon had wanted to find permanent roots, but he
hadn’t realized how much until that moment.

“He deals out of an abandoned warehouse on

the Detroit River,” Axel answered.

“Give us an address,” Grey said. “There are

dozens of places like that on the river.”

Axel rattled off an address Simon wrote down.

Once he was finished, Grey nodded to Toby who
moved the dagger away, but not before making a
big show of licking the blade clean.

“You know how gross that is?” Simon asked.

“It’s a good way to get Weasel cooties.”

“I’m immune to them,” Toby said as he put his

blade away.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Axel jerked his hand back and pulled it close to

his chest. “I hope you guys are happy. Now I’m
going to have to leave town or else they’re going
to kill me.”

“Oh no, Axel! We’re going to miss you so

much,” Simon declared with mock horror.

“Fuck you,” Axel growled.
“Not even on a dare,” Simon retorted. “My dick

would probably rot and fall off.”

Axel got up and all but ran away from the table,

leaving behind a puddle of pee and a smaller
puddle of blood. The three assassins watched him
go before turning to each other.

“So, where do we go first?” Simon asked once

they were alone.

“The camp. I want to get what weapons they

already have before they have a chance to use
them on the pack again. Then we go after the
warehouse and blow it sky-high,” Grey said.

Toby smiled. “I like the sound of that plan. You

know how I love to make things go boom.”

It took them over an hour to locate the camp.

They spent another hour scouting it out,
determining how many Wolves were there. Much
to Grey’s disappointment, Axel was right about
one thing, Rand wasn’t among the inhabitants.

It wasn’t even a good camp. There were a few

threadbare tents, but that was all the shelter that

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Rand had offered his men. A small fire sat in the
center and a few Wolves were huddled around it.
Some of them were drinking bottles of illegal
shifter booze, while a few more were off to the
side, fighting with each other. The ground was
littered with garbage, leftover deer carcasses, and
dirty clothing.

The men were all dressed in even dirtier

clothing. Grey’s nose twitched, telling him that
none of them had bathed in a good week or so.
Not that he was usually judgmental about things
like that, but there was a perfectly good clean lake
several yards away, for cripe’s sake.

Grey nodded to Simon and Toby, and they

moved out. They wanted to circle the camp before
moving in on it. Grey estimated that the camp had
about twenty men in it, so they would have to use
stealth as their main weapon.

Since they only needed one man alive, they

worked their way in, silently taking out the men
who had been assigned to guard the perimeter.
Those Wolves were killed before they even had a
chance to issue a warning. Hell, they were killed
before they were aware that there was a danger
coming their way.

Next, the assassins picked off the stragglers, the

ones who weren’t huddled around the fire. Grey
took out one guy mid-leak. The guy looked over at
Grey, opened his mouth to scream, but died before

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

he could get a sound out. Grey wiped his blade
clean on the Wolf’s dirty shirt before glancing
around for his next victim.

Damn, it was a kid who couldn’t be a day

above eighteen. Why in the hell would Rand put a
pup that young out in the field? The kid spotted
Grey and froze, a look of pure horror on his young
face.

Grey knew there was no way he could kill him.

He might be an assassin, but he wasn’t heartless.
He walked over to the kid and applied a firm
pinch to the pressure point on his neck. The kid’s
eyes rolled up in his head, and he passed out. He
would wake up with one hell of a headache, but at
least he would still be alive.

Grey stepped over the body and moved

inward, looking for his next victim, only to find
that all that were left were the six Wolves who
were left huddled around the fire. Grey spotted
Toby hiding out in the brush directly across from
him. He nodded to the Leopard.

Toby lifted his sniper rifle and squeezed off five

precise and quick shots. Five of the six Wolves fell
forward, dead from bullet wounds in the center of
their heads. The one Wolf left began to panic. He
picked up his rifle and shot randomly into the
woods. His eyes were wide with terror, and even
from a distance, Grey could smell his fear. In other

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words, they had him right where they wanted
him.

Toby fired one more time, but this time it was

to shoot the rifle out of the Wolf’s hand. The Wolf
let out a howl as he brought his injured wrist to
his chest. Blood poured from the wound, mixing
with the dirt on the ground.

The assassins came out of the shadows and

converged on the lone Wolf. As soon as he saw
them, his eyes grew wider. “I’m not telling you
anything.”

Then before they could do anything, he reached

with his good hand into his pocket, grabbed a pill
and popped it into in his mouth. Biting down on
it, he instantly went into convulsions. Before any
of them could reach him, the Wolf dropped over
dead.

“Well, shit,” said Toby. “I didn’t see that one

coming.”

Grey looked over to where he’d left the kid only

to see that he was gone. Damn! Shit! And double
damn! Now they had nobody to question. This
was not how he had wanted this mission to end.
Letting out a roar of frustration, he punched the
nearest tree.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Chapter Seven

rey was not looking forward to having to tell
the Alpha that their mission had only been half

successful, but he knew he had no choice but to
report in. So once they arrived back to the pack
dwelling, the first thing the assassins did was
report to Chris’s office.

Once he bade them to come inside, they entered

to find Chris, Cassie and Tabitha inside. Great,
Tabitha was sure to ride them about their failure
once she heard about it. She was never going to let
them live this one down.

“How did it go?” Chris asked.
Grey gave him a detailed run down of

everything that had happened, ending with the
suicide of the remaining Wolf at the camp.
Cassie’s mouth parted in shock.

“He killed himself rather than face you guys?”
“Either that or so he wouldn’t betray Rand and

give up his location,” Grey said.

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“I’m more inclined to believe the latter,” Chris

replied. “Rand’s men are dedicated to him to a
fault. They are also terrified of him. He knew that
if Rand found out he talked he would be as good
as dead.”

“And if he didn’t talk to us, he would have

wished he was dead,” Toby added with a fierce
grin.

“You really need to get a hobby to work out

some of your aggression,” Cassie said with a
shake of her head.

“We tried that before. It just made him

grumpier,” Simon informed her.

“We’re sorry we failed you and didn’t get the

information on Rand,” Grey said.

Grey had wanted their first mission out to be a

complete success. That way he could prove their
worth to the Alpha and show what an asset they
could be for the pack.

“I wouldn’t call it a failure,” Chris said. “You

found out that Rand isn’t staying at one camp, so
we know that he’s traveling, plus you found out
who their arms dealer is. That’s a big deal.”

“So what do you want us to do about the

warehouse?” Grey asked. “If you want, we can go
and blow it to fuck and back for you.”

“Thank you, but I think the entire pack needs to

be involved in this. After all, each of us suffered
thanks to those weapons. I’ll mobilize some teams

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

right away, and we’ll attack tomorrow. Maybe
then in the future, others will think twice before
dealing with Rand, knowing that he’ll be using the
weapons against us.”

Grey’s admiration for the Alpha went up with

each word he spoke. It would have been much
easier to just send out the assassins, but he was
willing to put his own ass on the line to send out
the message. There weren’t many Alphas out there
that would be willing to do that.

“As you will, Alpha. We will be ready to assist

you in any way,” Grey said.

“Now, why don’t you guys go get some food

and rest? You more than earned it,” Chris
suggested.

Grey was hungry and tired, but there was one

thing he wanted to do first. Check up on Caley.
All he had been able to think of since he got back
to the dwelling was how his Dove was doing.

They left the office, and he turned to Toby and

Simon. “You guys go on ahead. I’ll catch up in a
few minutes.”

Simon gave a knowing grin. “Tell Caley we said

hello.”

Grey didn’t even bother to deny it. “I will.”
He turned around and made his way to the

workshop. It was late, and he had no way of
knowing that Caley would still be there. For all he
knew, the Dove could have closed for the night,

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but Grey still wanted to check. When he got there
and found the lights still on, a thrill went through
him, just like he was some high school boy with a
crush or something.

He knocked on the door, even though it was

open, before walking in. He found Caley hard at
work at one of the sewing machines. The shop was
pretty much put back together, save for one
corner, which had a small pile of debris in it.

Caley looked up in surprise but smiled when he

saw Grey. The sight of that grin made Grey feel so
much better. It was as if it washed away all the
gore and death he’d witnessed that night.

“Hey, I didn’t expect to see you again tonight,”

Caley said.

“I just wanted to see how you were feeling.”
Grey walked in and stood next to Caley,

breathing in his sweet scent. It was so much better
than blood and death, the smells that Grey was so
used to working with. He could get used to
coming home to this every day.

Caley stretched, wincing a bit. “I’m still a little

sore, but I’ve shifted a few more times, and it’s
helped.”

Grey reached down and brushed away a stray

strand of Caley’s hair. “You look fantastic, if that’s
anything.”

Caley gave him a flirtatious look. “Are you

always this flattering to guys?”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“No, I usually don’t give a damn, to tell you the

truth.”

“Then what’s changed?”
Grey had to think that one over. What was it

about Caley that was so different from the other
men? Grey found that he couldn’t put it to words,
but the Dove was unique. So much so, that even
though they had just met, Grey would do
anything do make Caley his.

What was going on with him? Why was he so

possessive of this Dove? Why was Caley so
different from all the others?

Finally, Grey just said, “I don’t know. All I do

know for certain is that I would kill anyone that
harmed you.”

Caley tilted his head to the side. “Well, since

you kill for a living, that doesn’t say much.”

Grey let out a slight chuckle. “I guess I should

say that you’ve touched me like no other has.”

“How can you say that when you just met me?

For all you know, I could be some melodramatic
bitch who has weird fetishes.”

“I would still want you.”
Caley stood up from the sewing machine,

making it so they were only inches apart. “I guess
I shouldn’t bash you. Usually, I hate or fear
Wolves, but with you it’s different.”

Grey’s heart skipped a beat. “How so?”

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“I just can’t stop thinking about you or wanting

to be with you. I don’t know why that is, either.”

Grey reached out and snagged Caley’s waist

and brought him in closer. “Maybe that’s because
fate meant us to be together.”

Caley tilted his head up so he was looking at

Grey with those beautiful blue eyes of his. “I don’t
believe in fate.”

“I never did before, either, but how else do you

explain this?”

“I don’t know,” Caley said with a sigh.
“So what are we going to do about it?”
“I don’t know that either, but can we start it

with a kiss?”

“Sure, that’s one thing you never have to ask

twice for.”

Grey dipped his head down and brushed their

lips together. He only meant it to be a brief kiss,
but as soon as he got a taste of Caley’s sweetness,
he had to have more. Caley parted his lips with a
moan, and Grey slipped his tongue inside, licking
the depths of his lover’s mouth.

Caley pulled back and said, “Just wait a

second.”

He ran over and locked the door to his

workroom. “Let’s hope this time we don’t get
interrupted by a bomb, because if you don’t fuck
me soon, I’m going to burst.”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“Well, we can’t have that,” Grey said, desire

shooting through his body and going straight to
his cock.

Caley slowly came over, his hips swaying just a

bit. Grey almost swallowed his tongue. He
couldn’t believe that this beautiful creature was
his to do with what he wanted to.

“I should warn you, I used to be a bit of a slut,”

Caley said.

A low growl built up in the back of Grey’s

throat as jealousy ripped through him.

Caley went on, “But it’s been a long time since

I’ve been with anybody. So, I hope you’ll be gentle
with me.”

Some of Grey’s jealousy died down. “From now

on, you won’t be with anybody but me.”

“Just you, I promise.”
Caley took off his shirt, revealing his gloriously

smooth chest. Next, he knelt down and took off
his shoes and socks, so he was only wearing his
jeans. He undid the top button of those, but left
them on for the moment.

“You do realize if we do this, you will belong to

me from now on,” Grey warned.

“I kind of got the gist of that.”
Finally, Caley was within reaching distance,

Grey snagged him and pulled him in close.
“You’re ready for that kind of commitment, even
though I’m a Wolf?”

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“A week ago, I would have said there was no

way in hell I would tie myself to a Wolf, but now I
can’t think of anybody I could want besides you.
Which is crazy because I never believed that
somebody could fall that fast for a person.”

Grey began to rain kisses down the side of

Caley’s neck, reveling in how soft the Dove’s skin
was. It was masculine, yet silky at the same time.
Grey found himself instantly addicted and knew
that he could spend the rest of his life tasting it.

Caley let out a groan as he tilted his head back,

at the same time thrusting his hips forward so his
cock rubbed against Grey’s thigh. Even through
his jeans, Grey could feel that his Dove had a
pretty impressive-sized dick. It made him hungry
to get his hands on it.

Reaching down, Grey worked the zipper down

on Caley’s pants. He was both shocked and
thrilled to find that Caley didn’t have any
underwear on. Caley let out a throaty laugh.

“I was hoping you would come back to see me,

and I wanted to have as few layers as possible for
us to work with,” he said.

“Why do I have the feeling that you’re always

going to keep me on my toes?” Grey asked.

“You wouldn’t want life to be boring, would

you?”

Grey reached in and took out Caley’s cock. Just

as he had suspected, it was large and thick. Grey

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

wrapped his hand around it and gave a good
squeeze, earning a moan from Caley.

“No, boring isn’t fun at all,” Grey agreed.
He ran his thumb over the tip of Caley’s cock

and collected some pre-cum before he pumped his
hand up and down a few times. Caley let out a
gasp as he jacked his hips forward.

“Oh God, you’re really good with your hands,”

he exclaimed.

“So I’ve been told.”
Caley’s head whipped down. “By who?”
Grey hid a smile. It was nice to know that he

wasn’t the only who could be jealous. He stepped
back and took off his shirt, but left his pants on.
“Take off you pat and hop on the table.”

Caley did as instructed. His face was flushed

with passion, and he’d never looked more
beautiful. He reached down and stroked his own
cock. “I don’t have any lube here, but if you look
over on the table over there, I have some hand
lotion. That will be good enough for now.”

Grey looked over and found the bottle, wincing

when he saw that it was citrus flavored. Oh well, it
could have been worse. At least it wasn’t floral. He
could just hear the remarks from Simon if Grey
came back smelling like a flower garden.

Grey pumped some on his fingers then told

Caley, “Lay back on the table.”

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Caley gave him an aren’t-you-the-bossy-one

look, but complied. Once he was there, Grey
began to jack him off again. He then used his other
hand to spread the lotion out a bit, to warm it up.
Once he was sure it was the right temperature, he
circled Caley’s hole with one finger before slowly
thrusting it in.

Caley let out a moan. “That feels so good.”
“I’m glad you like it. It’s not too much?”
“No, it’s perfect,” Caley said, rolling the r’s like

a cat shifter would.

Grey continued to stroke Caley’s cock while he

worked the finger in and out, taking his time and
mindful of the fact that it had been a while since
Caley’d had sex. It wasn’t until Caley was totally
relaxed that Grey added a second finger. All the
while, he was watching Caley for any signs of
discomfort.

Caley let out a hiss, but going by the half-smile

on his face, Grey knew it was from pleasure, not
from pain. A bit of pre-cum had developed on the
tip of Caley’s cock. Still pumping his hand up and
down, Grey leaned down and licked it clean.

It was as if he’d sent an electrical jolt through

Caley. The Dove shifter arched off the table as he
screamed out Grey’s name. Since Caley was so
overcome with passion, Grey knew it would be a
good time to add a third finger. So he did, at the

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

same time twisting his wrist so he pegged Caley’s
sweet spot.

Sensing that Caley was near the edge, Grey

took only a few more moments to stretch him out
before removing his fingers. Unzipping his pants,
Grey pulled out his aching cock and slicked it up
then lined it up to Caley’s hole.

“Mine,” Grey declared as he thrust in.
Caley let out a sound that might have been a

word, but was too garbled to tell. By that time,
Grey was too caught up in his passion to care.

Caley was so tight—so hot, that it was all Grey

could do not to pound into him hard and fast. But
he didn’t want to hurt the Dove. Not only was
Caley still recovering from his injuries, it had been
a long time since he’d had sex.

Then Caley grabbed Grey by the wrist and said,

“Give it to me.”

“But I don’t want hurt you.”
“I can take it. I promise you.”
“Okay, but if it hurts at any time, you let me

know.”

“Trust me, I will. I’m not into pain.”
Grey pulled back and thrust hard and fast into

Caley, just as he’d been dying to do. Instead of
crying out in pain, Caley met him halfway. Little
whimpers of pleasure coming from between his
parted lips.

“Yes, Grey, just like that.”

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All too soon, a tingling at Grey’s spine told him

that he was getting close. Determined not to find
his pleasure until his lover did, Grey reached
down and began to stroke Caley’s cock in time
with the thrusts. Caley let out a cry and came,
thick ropes of cum covering Grey’s hand.

Knowing that he had pleased his lover pushed

Grey over the edge. Throwing back his head, he
moaned out Caley’s name and came, his cock
filling Caley’s ass. As he lowered his head, he
kissed Caley, content in the knowledge that he
had claimed the Dove as his.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

Chapter Eight

rey, Simon, and Toby waited with the soldiers
from the Wolf pack for Chris’s word to attack.

Off in the distance was their target—the
warehouse that stored the kind of weapons that
were used against the pack den.

All around him, Grey could feel the angry

simmering from the Wolves. Not that he could
blame them. Many of them had lost loved ones in
the assault, and for what? So this asshole inside
could make some money by selling illegal
weapons to Rand and his pack.

Grey hoped that they could all keep their cool

once the battle began. While his old master had
been a brutal bastard, he had taught some good
things to Grey. One of them was that you could be
your own worst enemy in a fight. If you went in
there and let your emotions get the better of you in
a battle, you could lose before the fray even began.

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Chris held up his hand. “You all need to keep

your heads on straight when you get in there. I
know you’re angry, and you have every right to
be, but if you go in there all jacked up, you’re not
going to be of any good to yourselves, let alone the
pack.”

Proof yet again that Chris was a good Alpha.

Grey was once again glad that Shane had found
them and convinced them to work for Chris’s
pack. While at first Grey had done it for the pay,
now he was staying out of respect and loyalty for
the Wolf. He turned and could see the same
admiration in Simon’s gaze. Even Toby seemed
impressed and that said a lot.

Chris raised his hand. “Okay, ready. Attack!”
They all moved as one, some of them in their

human form, others as Wolves. There were guards
stationed outside, but the pack was so quick and
vicious that they didn’t have time to call out much
of a warning before they were taken down and
ripped apart. They left the bodies behind them
and forced their way inside the warehouse.

More men were inside, and they were armed to

the teeth, too. They fired off several shots. Grey
dodged a bullet before he took one of an enemy
down with a slice of his dagger. The man fell with
a gurgling sound.

Grey didn’t know if they were suffering any

casualties on their side, but he knew the arms

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

dealers were going down fast. The ones that
weren’t being killed by weapons were being
mauled to death by Wolves. Soon the only one left
was the leader. They all stood back and let Chris
take care of him. As the Alpha, it was his right.

Chris walked up to the man. The arms dealer

was small in stature and seemed to grow smaller
the closer Chris got to him. For some reason, the
dealer was unarmed, which was the biggest irony
of all.

“Your weapons killed a lot of my people,”

Chris said in a deadly calm voice.

“I swear I didn’t know what he was going to do

with them,” the dealer whined.

“The fact that you know who I’m here about

tells me that you’re lying,” Chris growled back.

He then shifted into his Wolf form. Grey let out

a low whistle. Chris was one hell of a big Wolf. He
sure wouldn’t want to tangle with him. The dealer
let out a scream and covered his face, but it did
little to protect him. Chris attacked, going for the
man’s jugular. Within seconds, he was dead.

Chris transformed back to human, wiping away

the blood from his mouth and making a face as if
the blood was the foulest tasting thing in the
world. “Blow this place the fuck up. Let it send a
warning to anybody else who may be thinking of
doing business with Rand in the future.”

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“Will do, Alpha,” Toby said with a respectful

nod of his head.

He and Simon began to move around the room,

setting up explosives in various areas. Grey rolled
his eyes since he could almost smell the giddiness
wafting off the pair of them. It was like Christmas
had come early or something.

Once they had the charges all in place, Toby

turned to the group, “Okay, we have ten minutes
to clear out of here before everything goes boom.”

“Won’t the local PD and Fire be pissed at you?”

Grey asked Chris.

Chris grunted. “Let them be. It’ll teach them for

not keeping a better watch on this area and letting
this operation run right under their noses. They
should be thanking us for shutting it down.”

They all regrouped, grabbed their wounded,

then got the hell out of there. They had gotten into
their vehicles and hit the freeway when a loud
explosion filled the air.

* * * *

Caley continued to pace the floor of the common
room as he waited for Grey and the others to
return from the mission. He was worried sick
about the Wolf, and time seemed to crawl by at a
snail’s pace. He put a hand to his stomach as he
wondered how much longer it would be.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“I don’t know how you guys do this all the

time,” he said to Alger and the other mates who
were gathered to wait with him.

Alger gave a shrug. “I wish I could tell you that

it gets easier, but it doesn’t.”

“If anything, it gets harder,” Miles said.
“Yeah, I still feel sick whenever Wright leaves,”

Braxton added.

“If this is supposed to be a pep talk, it really

isn’t working, guys,” Caley groused.

“Sorry, we’re just telling you the truth,” Alger

apologized with a half-smile.

“I just wish they would get back,” Caley said as

he wrapped his arms around himself.

“Why are you so worked up anyway? You just

met Grey,” Alger asked with a curious expression
on his face.

Caley paused mid-pace. Why did he care so

much? He had only known the Wolf a few days,
yet Caley knew that if Grey didn’t come back, he
would be devastated. Caley also knew that so long
as he had Grey in his life, no other man would do.
In fact, he didn’t want a life without Grey.

“I care a lot about him,” Caley finally admitted.
“How can you when you just met him?” Alger

asked.

“You knew right away with Nico, so don’t act

like it can’t happen,” Caley snapped.

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Alger held his hands up in way of apology.

“Okay, sorry. I just never thought that it would
happen to somebody like you, and with a Wolf, no
less.”

“Why not?”
“Well, you are a bit jaded when it comes to us,”

Miles said.

Caley started to argue that one but realized that

he couldn’t. He then came to the startling
conclusion that he’d painted all Wolves with the
same blood-coated brush just because of what had
happened to his family. Here this pack had taken
him in, given him his own work studio to work
out of, and he had continued to shun them. All
because he couldn’t let go of his past hang up.
Suddenly, Caley felt like a big jerk.

“You’re right. I have been, and I shouldn’t have

been that way. I’m sorry,” Caley told the Wolves
in the room.

Miles gave him a hug. “It’s okay. If we had the

same thing happen to our family, we would
probably react the same way.”

“Maybe, but it still doesn’t make what I did

right.”

“No, but at least you were man enough to

admit that you were wrong. That’s more than a lot
of people would do,” Braxton said.

“So, how do I make it up to the pack?” Caley

asked.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

“I would just start hanging out here and other

places more. Don’t keep yourself cooped up in
your workroom all the time,” Alger said.

“You could also offer to teach some sewing

classes. I’ll bet there are a lot of pack members that
would love to learn from you,” Braxton added.

“I know I would take some classes from you,”

Miles cut in. “I can’t even sew on a button.”

“I would love to be able to sew my mate’s

uniforms,” a female Wolf cut in.

“So would I,” another added.
“Really?” Caley asked.
Several of the Wolves in the room nodded.

Caley could hardly believe it. Even though he had
been a snob to them all, they still wanted to learn
from him and were being friendly toward him. It
just showed him how wrong he had been about
them all along.

“I would love to teach you,” Caley said,

surprised that he meant it.

“We’ve always liked you, Caley. We know that

you were just afraid of us,” a small male Wolf
said.

“What’s your name?” Caley asked.
“Fabian.”
Fabian didn’t look to be a day over twenty. He

had dark hair like most of the other Wolves did,
but he’d chosen to put red streaks through his,

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making him unique. What did make him different
was his eyes weren’t brown, they were amber.

“Why aren’t you out fighting with the other

soldiers?” Caley asked.

Fabian blushed. “I’m not that good at fighting.

Computers are my thing. They’re teaching me to
be part of the communications team, but until
then, they left me here to guard the mates. Not
that I would be much good if anybody were to
attack. But I would protect you all with my life.”

Somehow Caley could see the small Wolf doing

just that. Caley could also see himself becoming
good friends with Fabian, too. “You need to come
to my workshop. We could make up some really
cool things to go with your hair.”

Fabian smiled. “You think so? I was thinking

about updating my wardrobe. What I have now is
pretty boring.”

“Trust me, when I’m done with you, boring will

be the last thing people will say when they look at
you.”

“Thanks, I’d like that.”
Soon after that, other Wolves came up and

introduced themselves. While Caley had always
had work before, he soon found himself
overwhelmed by even more orders. He didn’t
know how he was going to keep up until another
Wolf stepped closer. This one wasn’t much bigger
than Fabian. He had longer dark hair that hung in

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

his face, and he looked so timid that it seemed he
would run if Caley raised his voice to him.

“Hi, I’m Darius. I was wondering if you were

looking for any help or an apprentice of sorts?”

The suggestion was so unexpected that Caley

didn’t know what to say at first, then he thought
about all the new orders he had and he jumped at
the offer. “Of course I am. Do you have any
experience?”

Darius nodded. “My grandmother taught me

how to sew. I’m not as good as you, but I’m not
bad, either. With you teaching me, I’m sure I could
become great.”

Caley smiled, liking the young Wolf’s spunk.

“Well then, consider yourself hired. You can start
tomorrow morning.”

Darius grinned. “Thank you. I promise not to

let you down.”

Caley turned to Alger. “Can you believe this?”
Alger cocked a brow at him. “Look what

happens when you come out of your cave. You
actually start making friends.”

Before Caley could think of a smartass remark

to that, a flurry of activity from the front of the
room alerted him to the fact that the soldiers had
returned. Rushing forward, he craned his neck for
any sign of Grey.

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As soon as he spotted the assassin, Caley didn’t

even think. He just ran forward and threw himself
into Grey’s arms. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“If this is the kind of greeting I’m going to get,

I’m going to go on missions more often,” Grey
said, returning the embrace.

“Don’t even say that,” Caley said.
“Gag!” Simon called out.
Without even looking at the Tiger, Caley gave

him a one-finger salute. He hugged Grey for a few
moments longer before pulling away and looking
up at him. “Come with me, I have a surprise for
you.”

Grey cocked a brow. “What kind of surprise?”
“Not that kind, you dirty-minded Wolf.

Although I’m not saying we won’t be doing plenty
of that later on. This is something different.”

Taking Grey by the hand, Caley led him

through the crowded room and back to his
workshop. Once they got there, Caley couldn’t
help but look at the very table where they had first
made love. He would never forget that moment,
even if he lived to be a thousand years old.

“What is this big surprise?” Grey asked.
“Here it is.”
Caley pulled out a new assassin uniform that

he’d stayed up all night working on. Grey walked
over and gently ran his fingers over it. “It’s

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

beautiful. I think it’s the best one I’ve ever
owned.”

“Of course it is. I made it. Nothing is too good

for my man.”

Grey glanced up. “Your man?”
Caley felt a heat come over his face as he

realized he’d just had a major case of slip of the
tongue. “What I meant was…I just…oh, shit.”

Grey reached out and pulled Caley into an

embrace, then kissed him even more senseless.
Pulling back so their lips were only inches apart,
Grey said, “If it’s any consolation, I feel the same
way about you, Dove.”

“What are we going to do about it? We’ve just

met each other. We can’t be this serious about each
other already.”

“Let’s just take it one day at a time and see

where it goes.”

That sounded just fine to Caley.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Nine

t’d been a month since Grey arrived at the
pack, and things were going well. While they

still couldn’t find Rand, they had him running in
circles enough that there weren’t any more attacks
on the dwelling. More importantly, he hadn’t
shown his face or issued any more challenges to
Chris. Grey was beginning to hope that maybe the
Wolf had decided to move on and pick someplace
else to terrorize.

In the meantime, he and Caley grew closer than

ever. While neither one of them had said the mate
word yet, Grey had a feeling it was just a matter of
time and that it wouldn’t be long before the Dove
moved in. Or at least, he hoped so. Every time he
brought up the topic, Caley changed it. He
worried that the Dove was having second
thoughts. But Caley seemed as affectionate and
devoted as ever. So maybe he was just having

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

trouble making that one final step of leaving the
living quarters he shared with his friends.

All-in-all, things were going pretty good.

Which was why Grey should have known trouble
was coming their way. In the shifter world, things
never, ever stay rosy for long.

He, Simon, and Toby were on patrol when they

found it. And boy, was it bad.

The three walked the perimeter of the dwelling,

just checking to make sure that Rand didn’t have
any of his lackeys hanging around. Not that there
had been any of those lately. The last one had been
a week after the warehouse bombing. Toby had
taken that guy out and left him where he’d killed
him as a warning to others. So far, it had worked
to keep anymore from coming.

Only this time, it wasn’t lackeys that they

found. It was two bodies. They had been hung
from two adjacent trees. At first, Grey couldn’t
even make out who they were. They were just
silhouetted against the darkening sky, the bodies
swaying in the wind.

As they got closer, Grey recognized one of them

as Axel, their informant. His face was purple, his
tongue protruding from his mouth. The other was
a male Wolf that Grey had never seen before, his
face was pretty much in the same condition.

Stephani Hecht

“Call it in. Have the Alpha come out so he can

see this for himself and maybe ID the other body,”
Grey told Simon.

Simon nodded and did as told. Toby climbed

the tree and examined the rope that was used to
hang them from. When Grey heard a curse, he
knew it wasn’t good. It took a lot to rile Toby up.

“What is it?” he asked.
“It’s not rope. It’s spider’s webbing.”
Grey could feel his blood begin to boil. This

wasn’t just a hanging, this was an assassination,
and there were only a handful of spider assassins
out there. Did that mean Rand had gotten his own
hired killers? And if so, how many? These were
questions that Grey needed answered quickly.

The crunching of grass behind him announced

the arrival of the Alpha. Grey turned, not
surprised to see Cassie and Tabitha with them.
While he wished that the Alpha mate wasn’t there,
he knew she would insist on being there. The one
thing he had learned in his time being there was
how stubborn she could be.

Grey nodded his head to them. “Alpha. Alpha

mate.”

“What’s going on?” Chris asked, getting right

to the heart of the matter.

Grey pointed to the bodies. “We found these on

our patrol. The first is Axel, our informant. We

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

know he was killed for talking to us. The other
body we have no idea who he is.”

Chris moved closer and inspected it. “It’s

Argus. He was a member of the pack until two
months ago, when he left to make his own way in
the world. Rand must not have cared that he was
an ex-member. He killed him anyway. What’s
holding them up? It doesn’t look like regular
rope.”

“It’s spider web, isn’t it?” Cassie asked with a

shiver. “I’ve seen it before.”

“Give the lady a gold star,” Toby said. “Our

Alpha mate is smart.”

Grey almost did a double-take. Toby giving

compliments? What was next, clowns driving big
SUVs instead of those tiny cars?

“What do you think it means?” Chris asked.
“I think that Rand is striking back by hiring at

least one assassin of his own, if not more,” Grey
announced.

“How can we know for sure?” Cassie asked.
“Toby, Simon, and I are going to have to go out

tonight and have a talk with one of our
informants,” Grey said.

“Will this informant end up like your last one?”

Chris gestured to Axel.

Grey let out a dark laugh. “Trust me, nobody in

their right mind will try anything like this with
her.”

Stephani Hecht

100

Later that night, the trio of assassins walked

into an upscale shifter nightclub. Unlike the bar
where they had found Axel, this place was high-
end all the way, from the glossy dance floor to the
multi-colored lights that flashed off the walls. The
waitresses were scantily clad in lingerie-type
uniforms and wore slave collars while the entire
back end was manned covered with a bar by male
shifter who were just as scantily dressed.

The booths were either black or red, depending

on what side of the club one was on. There were
two floors, the upper one being standing room
only. Everywhere people were either dancing or
dry humping together. While all clothes seemed to
be in place, the air still reeked of sex.

“Tell me again why we don’t come here more

often?” Simon asked as they were let in by a
bouncer who gave them a wary look.

Why was it nobody liked assassins? You kill a

few dozen people, and they want to slap a label of
troublemaker on you. Go figure.

“I don’t know. Clubbing just isn’t our thing,”

Grey said as he snarled at a Hyena who got too
close.

“You really need to work on your people

skills,” Simon replied.

The fact that Simon was fingering up a blade as

he spoke probably went completely over the

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

101

idiot’s head. Simon might be a smartass, but he
didn’t have any better social skills than Toby.
They hadn’t been raised to make friends. They’d
been raised to do one thing, and they did it well.

“There she is,” Toby said, nodding to a nearby

table.

The female they’d come searching for sat in a

red booth. She wore all black leather, from her
tight-as-sin top to her fuck-me boots that went up
to her thighs. Her glossy, raven hair was free from
any bindings, the length reaching the top of her
finely shaped ass. That was, if Grey gave a damn
about a female’s ass. Even with her blood red eyes,
she was a thing of beauty, and she knew it and
used it to her advantage.

She turned to them as they approached the

table. Smiling she said, “Boys! I was wondering
how long it would be before I saw you three. Sit,
let’s chat for a while.”

“Belinda, you charm us so. Allowing us to have

the privilege of your company,” Grey returned
with a grin of his own.

“And don’t you forget it.” She scooted over to

make room for them.

As soon as they sat down, she said, “Let me

guess, this is about my bitch of a cousin, Razor.”

She gave a shudder then asked, “Really, what

kind of woman gives herself that kind of a
nickname? It’s completely stupid if you ask me,

Stephani Hecht

102

but then again, she’s never been known to be that
bright. Although don’t be mistaken, she’s a vicious
little thing when she wants to be.”

“So is it true, then? Is she working for Rand?”

Grey asked.

That question earned another shudder. “Yes.

Why she would work for that disgusting specimen
of a Wolf, I have no idea. The bounty must be
huge. As for me, you couldn’t pay me enough to
even talk to him.”

“Do you know if she’s working for him alone or

does she have others with her?” Grey asked.

He held his breath while he waited for her

answer. Belinda gave him a coy smile.

“Why should I tell you that?” she asked as she

reached across the table and grabbed Simon’s
hand.

Simon gave her a bored look. It was no big

secret that she’d always had it bad for Simon. Too
bad for her, it was also no big secret that Simon
was gay. It didn’t stop her from barking up that
tree every chance she got, however.

Simon jerked his hand away. “Stop playing coy

and just tell us. You know you want to.”

“Why?” she asked with a mock pout.
“Because it will give you a chance to screw

Razor over, and we all know how you love to do
that,” Simon said with a tilt of his head.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

103

Belinda pursed her lips. “That is true. I do love

to stick it to that bitch whenever I have the chance.
Okay, I’ll tell you what I know. What’s more, I
won’t even charge you for the information, just
because I’m feeling charitable tonight.”

“You’re so good to us,” Grey said with a tight

grin.

“You’ll thank me once you hear what I have to

say, because it may just end up saving your lives.”
She ran her finger around the rim of her glass. “If
you were sane, you would leave Chris and his
pack and get out of town.”

“Since when have you ever known us to run

from a fight?” Toby asked with a slight snarl to his
voice.

“Cool down, Leopard. I said if you were sane,

which we all know none of you are. I know you
wouldn’t leave. Not especially since Grey here has
found himself a little lover.”

Grey let out a growl at the mere thought of

Caley being brought into the conversation. “How
did you hear about him?”

Belinda gave him a sideways glance. “You

know how our world works. Word gets around. If
I were you, I would keep close tabs on him. You
have a lot of enemies in the world.”

“Then put the word out. Anybody that touches

Grey’s mate deals with me,” Toby said in a deadly
calm voice.

Stephani Hecht

104

Grey was taken aback that Toby would step

forward and get all protective over Caley. Then he
realized that in his own way, Toby did care about
Grey, and this was his way of showing it. Yet
people said Toby was dead inside. Little did they
know that once in a while there was a spark of
humanity that did come through.

Belinda cocked a brow. “I’ll let the masses

know.”

“Now, tell us, is Razor working alone or does

she have others with her?” Grey repeated.

“She has three other assassins with her.”
“Who are they?” Grey demanded.
“Slate, Thorn, and Demos.”
Grey felt his blood grow colder with each name.

He knew each of them, and they were all stone-
cold killers. Worse, they didn’t have any morals
and wouldn’t hesitate to kill, be it woman or child.
Things couldn’t have possibly gotten worse for
them.

Belinda smiled. “Just think about it. This war

has just gotten a lot more interesting. Assassin
against assassin. I don’t think we’ve ever seen
anything like it in our lifetime. I can’t wait to see
how it turns out. Do you know they already have
betting pools going on for it? I have two thousand
on you guys. Don’t let me down, boys.”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

105

As soon as they got back to the dwelling, they

went straight to Chris’s office. The information
they had was too important to wait. Grey just
hoped the Alpha would be there at such a late
hour. When he knocked on the door, he was
pleased to hear the Alpha call him in.

Once inside, he was shocked to see Shane there

along with Mitchell, the leader of the feline
coalition. Even Mitchell’s mate Dean was there.
Which was odd, since they usually came in the
day for their visits.

“What news do you have, Grey?” Chris asked.
“I’m afraid it’s not good, Alpha,” Grey replied.
“You may as well just spit it out and get it over

with. I find it’s always easier that way,” Cassie
said.

“Rand has hired his own assassins.”
A long silence filled the room after that

announcement.

“Do you know who they are?” Shane finally

asked.

“Razor, Slate, Thorn, and Demos,” Simon

informed them with a grim look on his face.

Shane let out a low curse.
“Is it that bad?” Chris asked.
“Yes, they are four of the worst, cutthroat

bastards out there. They’re vicious even for our
kind. So much so, that most other assassins refuse
to work with them,” Shane said.

Stephani Hecht

106

“They once went into a Fox leash and killed off

the entire population. They didn’t spare anybody,
not even the children,” Simon said, his voice
dripping with venom. “Just because we’re
assassins doesn’t mean we don’t have mercy. They
give all of us a bad name.”

“And now they are coming after us. At the

worst possible time, too,” Chris said.

“What do you mean?” Grey asked.
“We just had an ultrasound and blood work

done on Cassie, and we found out what breed of
twins she’s carrying.”

A cold pit formed in Grey’s stomach as he

suddenly realized why Dean and Mitchell were
there. Crap, Chris hadn’t been lying when he said
this couldn’t be happening at a worst time.

“One of them is Wolf, while the other is

Jaguar,” Cassie said.

“So, what you’re saying is she is basically

carrying the future leaders of both the pack and
the coalition,” Simon said, his eyes growing wide
with awe.

“Which means that more than Rand is going to

be gunning for her. Once word of this gets out—
and word will get out no matter how hard we try
to hide it—all our enemies will be after her,” Chris
said grimly.

“So now all of us have to do everything we can

to protect her,” Mitchell added.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

107

“Protect her against the Ravens, the Snakes, the

Spiders, the Hyenas, the human hunters, and just
about every other breed that has a beef against us?
No big deal,” Shane said with a shrug.

Grey exchanged glances with Simon, Toby, and

Tabitha. He only wished he could be so confident.
He did know one thing for sure. His job had just
gotten one hundred times harder.

Stephani Hecht

108

Chapter Ten

hen Grey got out of his meeting, he was so
unsettled that he went back to his living

quarters and right to his bedroom. Not that he
expected to get any sleep. But he just needed to get
away from everybody for a while. He would turn
to Caley, but he knew that his Dove would have
long ago sought out his own bed, and Grey didn’t
want to wake him.

So when Grey turned on the lights and found

Caley asleep in Grey’s bed, a piece of his heart
melted. How Caley knew that Grey needed him,
Grey didn’t know. Maybe Caley didn’t even know
and had just chosen that night by chance.
Whatever the reason, Caley couldn’t have picked a
better night to surprise him.

Caley sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Hey, I was

wondering when you were going to get home.
You’re late.”

“I had a lot to do tonight.”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

109

He then stripped down, got into bed with an

equally naked Caley, spooned him to his chest,
and proceeded to tell him everything that had
gone down that night. Caley, for his part, was a
good listener. He didn’t interrupt once, but he just
continued to stroke Grey’s hand and take it all in.
It wasn’t until Grey had finished that Caley finally
spoke.

“These new assassins, are they really

dangerous?” he asked.

“Yes, they are some of the worse,” Grey

affirmed.

“I don’t suppose that I could convince you to

run away with me to someplace that’s safe?”
Caley’s voice warbled just a bit.

Grey’s heart skipped a beat at hearing the

worry in Caley’s voice. “You know I can’t do that.
I gave loyalty to Chris. Besides, would you really
want to leave your loved ones and friends
behind?”

“Of course I would.”
“Why?”
Caley whipped around so he faced Grey.

“Because you’re my mate.”

Grey froze as those words sank into his thick

skull. “Funny, you never told me before.”

Caley nipped at his bottom lip. “Well, I thought

it was a given, and we didn’t have to get all
flowery and crap like other couples.”

Stephani Hecht

110

Reaching down, Grey pulled at Caley’s chin

and freed his lip so he didn’t chap it. “Maybe not,
but it would be good if we communicated on the
bigger things, and this is pretty big.”

“Don’t you feel the same way about me?” Caley

looked up from under the fringe of his bangs.

“Yes, I have for a long time, but I was worried

about rushing things and scaring you away. Hell,
every time I even mentioned you moving in with
me, you freaked out.”

“I wanted to make sure that you weren’t going

to change your mind about me,” Caley explained.

Grey brushed their lips together in a brief kiss.

“I can assure you of one thing. I will never, ever
change my mind about you, Caley. I love you and
always will.”

Caley gazed up at him, a tiny smile on his

beautiful face. “I love you, too.”

Happiness unlike any other that he had felt

before soared through Grey and so did a bit of
relief. “You do?”

“Yes, I think I have since the moment you came

into my workshop, and I took your
measurements.”

Grey cocked a brow. “They were that amazing,

huh?”

Caley laughed and smacked Grey on the chest.

“You know what I mean.”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

111

Grey grabbed Caley’s hand and pressed a kiss

to the palm. “Yes, I do, because that’s when I fell
for you, too.”

Caley used his free hand to slip it under the

cover and seek out Grey’s cock. “So does that
mean that you’re going to fuck me?”

Rolling them over so Caley was on the bottom,

Grey said, “No, but I will make love to you, my
mate.”

“Mate,” Caley moaned as he stretched out his

body. “I like the sounds of that.”

“Well, you better get used to it, because you’re

going to be hearing a lot of it.”

“That makes you my mate, too.”
“Yes, it does,” Grey replied as he began to rain

kisses down Caley’s throat.

“Then I better never see you flirting with any of

those groupies of yours.”

Grey paused mid-kiss. “I don’t have any

groupies.”

“Oh, yes, you do. There are all kinds of sluts

that would love to bag themselves an assassin.
You should see the way they slobber all over you,
Simon, and Toby.”

“Hmmm…I never noticed.”
“You better keep it that way too. I may only be

a Dove, but I can get vicious if I have to.”

“No, worries, babe. I only have eyes for you.”

Stephani Hecht

112

Grey got back to work, kissing his way down

Caley’s body. When the blankets got in the way,
Grey simply pushed them to the side, revealing
his lover’s wonderful body to his view. Grey took
a moment to gaze down at it. Caley was thin, but
that didn’t mean he was scrawny by any means.
He had muscles in all the right places. They were
just less defined, leading to a more lithe build. It
was so sensual that Grey could come just from
looking at it.

“I am so lucky to have you,” Grey said, as he

ran a finger down Caley’s chest.

“No, I’m the lucky one. You opened my eyes to

a whole new world,” Caley said as he gazed up at
Grey.

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing about

you.”

“Then it’s a good thing we found each other.”
Grey leaned down and licked Caley’s nipple.

“Yes, it is.”

Caley let out a hiss as his body arched from the

bed. His nipples were a particularly erogenous
zone and Grey knew it. Which was why he always
went for them whenever they made love. He liked
nothing more than to get the Dove good and
worked up before they got to the good stuff.

“You’re going to drive me crazy again, aren’t

you?” Caley asked.

“You know you like it.”

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

113

“Oh, God!”
Caley threaded his fingers through Grey’s hair

and moaned as Grey sucked on one nipple before
moving on and giving the other one the same
attention. Only then did he work his way down
Caley’s body.

First, he kissed a path southward on his

stomach before coming dangerously close to his
groin. But being the tease that Grey was, he didn’t
touch Caley’s cock. He purposely kissed his way
around it again and again.

It wasn’t until Caley tugged him forcefully by

the hair and said in a rough voice, “Give it to me.”
That Grey finally gave in. He parted his lips and
slowly sucked in Caley’s cock, but even then he
only took in the tip.

Caley pounded on the mattress in frustration.

“If you don’t suck me off right, I’m going to use
your favorite dagger against you.”

Grey chuckled, loving how vicious his little

Dove could be. “Now if you did that, then I
wouldn’t be able to do this.”

Before Caley could even ask what this was,

Grey swallowed his cock all the way down to the
root. Caley let out a cry as he clawed at the sheets,
his body arching up to thrust even deeper into
Grey’s mouth.

Grey put a hand on Caley’s hip to gain control

of the situation again. At the same time, he began

Stephani Hecht

114

to bob his head up and down, setting a rhythm
that was sure to drive his mate crazy. Just as
expected, he soon had Caley babbling and
pleading for release.

Letting Caley’s cock slipped from his mouth,

Grey moved up and pressed his lips to Caley’s.
They made out for several moments, their tongues
dueling for control.

Finally, Caley hitched a leg around Grey’s hips

and said, “Make love to me…please.”

Grey reached into the nightstand and grabbed

the bottle of lubricant that they always kept in
there. He opened it and spread some of the liquid
on his fingers before tossing the bottle to the side.

“Put your legs over my shoulders,” Grey

ordered.

Caley did, opening himself up further for Grey.

Since that fine cock was right there for the taking,
Grey couldn’t resist stroking Caley off a few times.
Caley let out a string of small whimpers as he
rocked against Grey’s hand.

“You really are evil,” Caley said.
“Yes, and you love it,” Grey said as he circled

Caley’s hole with his finger.

He slowly inserted the finger, letting Caley’s

body stretch and relax around him before he
thrust in then out. Once Caley was ready, Grey
added a second one, curling them both so they hit
Caley’s sweet spot.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

115

“Grey, please. Make love to me,” Caley begged,

his cheeks flushed with passion.

Like Grey could continue to deny that request.

Pulling his fingers out, he used the rest of the lube
to slick up his cock. He then thrust inside Caley
with one fluid motion.

Caley let out a gasp as his tight ass stretched to

accommodate Grey’s thick cock. Grey paused a
moment to give Caley some time to get adjusted. It
wasn’t until Caley gave him a small smile and a
nod that Grey began to move.

Grey started at a gentle rhythm, wanting the

moment to last as long as it could. This was a
special time for both of them. It was the first time
that they were having sex as mates. The first time
that they were truly making love to one another.

Caley seemed to feel the same way, because he

didn’t rush things, either. He rode out the thrusts
as if they were gentle waves. His expression
tender as he gazed up at Grey.

“I love you,” Caley said.
“I love you, too,” Grey answered.
Then Caley came, untouched, his cock spurting

hot ropes of cum between their two bodies. That
pushed Grey over the edge and he came too, his
semen filling Caley’s tight ass.

Once they were finished, Grey got up and went

to the bathroom for a washcloth then wet it with
warm water. He came back and tenderly cleaned

Stephani Hecht

116

up his mate and himself before tossing the cloth
aside to deal with the next day. Afterward, he
climbed into bed and pulled Caley close to his
chest.

“That was wonderful,” Caley said, snuggling in

deep.

Grey didn’t want to ruin the moment, but he

had to know, “Since you just said you loved me
and admitted that we were mates, does this mean
that you’ll finally move in with me?”

Caley turned to face him. “You sure the others

won’t mind having me around?”

“No, why would they?”
“Somehow I don’t see somebody like Toby

wanting to live with a fashion designer like me,”
Caley said wryly.

“Believe it or not, Toby only cares that I’m

happy, and that means being with you.”

Caley stared up at him for several moments

before finally smiling. “I would love to live with
you. That is, if you’re crazy enough to put up with
me.”

Grey kissed him. “I already live with Simon.

Nobody can get worse than him.”

“I guess you have a point there.” Caley

laughed.

“Good, then we can move you in tomorrow?”

Grey asked, hoping he wasn’t pushing things.

The Angry Dove and the Assassin

117

“Ah, Grey,” Caley nipped on his bottom lip. “I

kind of already moved my stuff here. Why do you
think I was in your bed when you got here?”

Grey let out a laugh. He should have known

better. Caley was always going to keep him on his
toes.

Holding Caley close, Grey couldn’t help but

feel happy. Sure, they might have danger on the
horizon, but who couldn’t be grateful when they
had such a wonderful mate?

About the Author

Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of
two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all
things about the state, from the frigid winters to
the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. Go Wings!
You can usually find her snuggled up to her
laptop, creating her next book.

Contact her at:

Email Address: stephani@stephanihecht.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephaniHecht
FaceBook:http://www.facebook.com/profile.p

hp?ref=profile&id=110935385

tumblr:http://rainbowsandmish-

mash.tumblr.com

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