Wolf Six's Salvation A Shifter Love Story - Krista Lakes

Krista Lakes - Wolf Six's Salvation: A Shifter Love Story

Chapter 1

Jackson Wolfe's body radiated heat. His sweat was staining the sheets of his bed. He thrashed around in his bed violently. Once again, this would be a restless night for him.

Not again, he thought. Not the dream again...

***

Sergeant Dearden looked over at Wolfe as he drove. "Nice day for a drive, isn't it, sir?"

Captain Wolfe didn't answer him.

Dearden cocked his head. "Hey, Six, is this thing on?" he asked, tapping the microphone on his headset. "I'm talking to you. What's the matter?"

Wolfe smiled briefly. Wolf Six was his call-sign on the radio, and as the leader of Wolf Squad, it was important that he maintain communication, even when he didn't feel like it. "Your mic is fine, Sarge. It's always a nice day when you're in the Army."

"Damn straight," Dearden said, turning back to the road. "But, seriously, what's bothering you? I know you ain't got a girl back home, so it can't have been a 'Dear John' letter."

Wolfe looked at the desolate landscape Afghanistan was a harsh place to live, but he had become quite familiar with it over the last few months. "The intel that we got today. Got it from an unreliable source. Can't say why, but I expect trouble. I want you to be on your guard today."

Dearden chuckled. "You know me, Cap'n. I'd never let anything happen to you or the other men. Still, I'll let them know not to slack off today."

Wolfe smiled as he looked back out the window. He heard Dearden's voice go out on the radio, letting the men know in code to be extra watchful today.

As they rolled up to the village of mud huts, Wolfe opened the door to the huge army vehicle that he was riding in. As he jumped out, though, he felt himself falling, falling, falling...

***

Falling all the way to the floor. Jackson screamed as he hit the ground, scrabbling for a place to find cover. When he realized he was in his room, safe in the United States, he screamed again. At least the dream didn't make it to its conclusion this time, but he knew in his heart that he'd never be able to leave those memories behind.

He could see clearly, even in the dark, and he looked at his hands to make sure. Still human, he thought. This time.

As he felt his heart practically beat out of his chest, he looked at the clock. 0230. He'd never make it back to sleep, and if he did, he'd just dream the dream again. He booted his laptop, the same one from that fateful tour. He spent the rest of the night looking at pictures. There were pictures of camel spiders, of fields of opium, of beautiful sunsets. He might as well have deleted all of those, because he never looked at those anymore.

He just looked at pictures of those nine brave men who lost their lives under his command.

Chapter 2

"Check Fort Baskerville."

The words had run in her ears the entire day, making it hard to concentrate on her work. Fort Baskerville. She had to find him and now, after six months of searching, she finally had a clue.

Chloe Madison walked into her small apartment and dumped her backpack unceremoniously on the floor by the door, dropping her winter coat on top of it. Her shoes were off in a second and she stretched her arms up over head, groaning with feeling the freedom of being home. As a graduate student of the prestigious Hudson University Genetics program, being home with her shoes off was a luxury.

She rolled her head from side to side, relaxing the tense muscles and letting her shoulders drop from their permanent position up around her ears. Chloe walked over to the refrigerator and opened up the heavy white door. There was a bowl of soup from the night before, a ridiculous amount of condiments and salad dressing, and what was left of half a gallon of milk. She closed the door and opened the pantry to find the selection there wasn't much better.

Between her graduate studies and the investigation that she had started, she hadn't had much of a social life. She hadn't had much in the way of healthy eating, either. With a sigh, she rummaged through the junk drawer to search for a pen and paper to start a grocery list.

The pen of course didn't work, so she chucked it in the trash, noting that she really should take