Cloaked in Secrecy Read online

  “I am. Arrived the day before last.”

  “I saw you last night, hiding in the shadows. Why the need to spy?”

  “It was you I was uncertain about. But now that we’ve got this in the open, I’ll leave you to your work.” I stepped away from her.

  She grabbed my wrist with icy fingers—damn strong for a human.

  “A few more questions.”

  I shrugged, figuring our talk might provide some insight into the pack and what Maxim had been up to. “Sure.”

  “Do you have a name?”

  “Enre.”

  “Surname, or do you go by one name?”

  “Ulf. Enre Ulf.”

  Movement flashed behind her eyes, faint and fast, but I caught it. The kind confirming that this woman had a mountain of secrets, and for some reason my last name piqued her interest. Of course, the only ones who reacted to my name were wulfkin, because of their awareness of my Varlac heritage. Except Kalina—a human working for Interpol. And if she and Interpol knew about the Varlac, that was dangerous.

  A semitruck thundered down the road in the distance and distracted me, but Kalina’s eyes, almost onyx in color, never left me.

  “Anything else?” I finally broke the silence. “I have places to be, things to do.”

  I had nowhere to be, but the way her gaze locked in on me, as if determining the best way to torture, was disturbing.

  She retrieved a photo from her pocket. “Have you seen this girl anywhere on the premises?”

  The photo was of a young girl in her mid-teens, maybe younger. Blonde, bob-style hair, a tiny nose and mouth, with the deepest green eyes.

  “Her name is Mila Antov,” Kalina said.

  My thoughts returned to Alena and her chase of the wolf girl she had called Mila. My brief encounter with Mila was enough to confirm she was a wulfkin and still in her teens. It was rare for one so young to turn into a wulfkin. But I had no intention of telling this human a thread of information. Why had Alena been tracking Mila in the middle of the city anyway? How could I use this knowledge against the pack? Meeting her gaze, I shrugged and shook my head.

  Kalina shoved a business card into my hand.

  “If you see or hear anything related to Mila, please contact me. Her mother is distraught, and with each passing day, our chances of finding her alive diminish.” Her face never eased from its hard expression. No hint of sympathy or compassion. The churning words rolled from her lips as though she’d said them too many times and they no longer held any emotion.

  “I’ll be in touch,” she said and strolled toward the tent entrance, her elbows tight against her body.

  I doubted it. I planned to keep my distance from the authorities, especially her.

  Turning toward the side of the tent for a quick getaway, I caught a glimpse of someone else. A tall wulfkin wearing a wooly cardigan. She reminded me of a polar bear with stick-like legs. She wore tiny white shorts and knee-length boots, and she had somehow managed to avoid muddying them even though everything in the area was coated. A nest of dreadlocks curled around her head in a crown of reds and browns. She flicked them loose over her shoulder, as she strolled in my direction, hips swinging.

  She reminded me of Lutia—an ex-pack member from Transylvania. Pleasant to stare at but high-maintenance and ready to stab you the moment you turned your back. After infiltrating our pack in Romania, Lutia had taken Sandulf’s side as the alpha female and attempted to kill Daciana. Plus, Lutia had never helped me when I was in the cave with the dracwulf. Add to that the fact that she killed a human to frame Daciana, which broke the number-one Varlac rule and carried a punishment of death if the ruling clan caught her. She ran away in the end, and if I ever crossed paths with her again, she’d wish she were already dead. Gutless weasel.

  “I tell you,” the woman in front of me said, “if that Interpol woman or the police harm any of our pack, I’ll get a machete out and hack them to bits.” She spoke with a lisp.

  “A bit extreme, but effective.” I continued walking away from the front of the circus.

  She stepped alongside me, fiddling with a dreadlock. “I’ve had enough of her kind prying into pack business. The police have followed us for years—” She cupped a hand to her mouth, and her eyes widened.

  Years? Why would the police be watching them for so long?

  “It’s okay, you can talk to me. I won’t cause trouble.”

  “You’re a Varlac. That spells trouble.”

  I put a hand on my chest, glancing at the wulfkin walking next to me, intent on not scaring her away while I gathered more information. “We’re not above our own rules, and all we want is for wulfkin to be safe. So, this police business, it must be hard for the pack to try and conceal their wolf sides all the time. What do you all do for release?”

  Her head cocked to the side, eyes narrowed in my direction. “You tell me first why you’re really in Bulgaria.”

  “Following my father’s orders to see how this pack’s doing. It’s routine business. Anyway, we’re not crazy about humans either. We’re on the same team.” I winked.

  She ran a finger across her lower lip. “I’m Eevi by the way.”

  I stopped and faced her in a quiet spot alongside the big top. The flapping of the tent in the wind echoed around us. “Nice to meet you. I’m—”

  “Enre.” Her mouth split into a smirk. I rewarded her with a smile, fully aware I’d been the main topic of gossip since I arrived.

  Eevi was cute, if you considered chipmunk cheeks and pixie eyes attractive, but not for me. I wasn’t seeking any romantic connection, not with Eevi or Alena, or anyone.

  She kept silent at first and stared at me, but not in the intimidating way Kalina had minutes earlier. Eevi was sizing me up. I was used to it.

  “Everyone’s talking shit about you.”

  I nodded. “What’s the wildest claim they’ve made?”

  Her gaze traveled upward momentarily, while she chewed on the corner of her lower lip. “So many to choose from. Hmm.” Her eyes settled back on me. “That you’re here to steal all the females and force us into mating with you so you can spread your seed.”

  I choked on that one. “Wow. I didn’t expect that.” Running a hand through my hair, I inhaled the cool air.

  “Another claim is that you’re here as a scout so the Varlac can take over,” she said.

  “Trust me, neither of those is true.” I couldn’t attest to the second claim, but the first option had me intrigued.

  Eevi studied me with hooded eyes.

  “Why were the police here?” I asked.

  She shook her head, releasing several of the stiff dreadlocks from their pins and sending them swirling into a merry-go-round. They smacked into the sides of her face, and she slid them away with fingers that blinked blue from the chipped paint clinging to the tips of her fingernails. She glanced quickly behind us. “They told me not to go talkin’ to you.” She fluttered her lashes in my direction.

  Reaching over, I caressed her shoulder and ran a hand down her arm.

  Her breaths hiccupped. “The police found another body several blocks away.”

  “Yeah, I know about the one that got Nicolai caught.”

  “No. This body is apparently a couple of weeks old.” She shook her head, her dreadlocks grazing the back of my hand.

  I picked one up, turning the knotted lock of hair between my fingers, using it as a distraction while my curiosity was heightened by the body they’d found and its connection to the circus.

  Eevi’s posture softened, and her eyes smiled at me. “So, you’re not here to terrorize us?”

  The next inhale stuck in my chest, and my words refused to come at first. I released her dreadlock. “Of course not.” I’d do whatever it took to avoid any wulfkin getting hurt. “Another body then?”

  She shrugged. “No matter where we are, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Serbia, the bodies turn up around the circus.”

  “Who does Maxim think is responsible?”

/>   She ran a hand down my bicep, squeezing lightly. I didn’t flinch. Her gaze focused on my chest. “Well, many of us think—”

  “Eevi, I do hope you’re not feeding our visitor with your wild stories?” Alena’s voice made Eevi recoil. The wulfkin’s cheeks colored, and she pulled one of her dreadlocks across her lips.

  I glanced over my shoulder. Alena approached with a firm expression planted on her face.

  “What were you going to say?” I reached for Eevi’s arm, but she pulled back, sidestepped around me, her chin low to her chest, and then rushed away.

  Damn.

  “I know what you’re doing.” Alena’s accusation was direct and aimed for my throat. Her expression matched her tone: tight mouth, creased brow, and a look on her face that would have anyone running for the hills.

  I admired her style and couldn’t resist grinning. Or the sprint my pulse leapt into. Every part of me yearned to drag her into my arms and make her forget the hostility building in her body language.

  “You plan to seduce every female until you find dirt against us, don’t you?”

  “Never took you for being the jealous kind.”

  “This isn’t jealousy.” The sexy black corset tapering down to her thin waist snagged my attention. The cargo pants and boots she wore had me picturing her wearing only the corset. My wolf, now roused, rolled inside me. Did Alena realize how much sexiness she radiated, especially when angry?

  She arched an eyebrow.

  “We chatted. Most of the pack isn’t overly welcoming. It was nice to have someone to talk to, but if you insist on keeping me all to yourself, then I suggest we spend a bit more time in your trailer.” I winked.

  Her frown and thin lips broadcasted her rage. “Eevi’s dated nearly every wulfkin in this pack. And she’s always searching for her next victim. Anyway, I’m sure you’re getting what you want with the police here. You’ll be returning to your clan soon to report us. It’s what Varlac do, isn’t it? Make shit up and punish the innocent.”

  “Harsh. You really hate us, huh?” I slouched on my good leg, waiting for a comeback. She offered none. “Haven’t seen any behavior worth reporting yet. Unless there’s a sin you wish to share.” Unintentionally, my voice dipped low and gravelly.

  She pursed her lips. “Father wants to speak to you later, once the police leave.”

  Alena turned away. I stepped after her. “Any chance of getting more of your magical healing?”

  Her limited time healing me last night was enough to make a difference. I imagined if she did it for an hour or so … I’d be strong again in no time.

  Glaring back at me, a crease captured her nose, as if I’d asked her to my trailer for casual sex. Well, I had, but still.

  “I don’t have time today.” She stomped away.

  Unable to tear my gaze from her round butt and thinking what I’d love to do with it, I reminded myself to rein my wolf in. The short time I’d spent in her trailer had intensified how much I desired her, which meant I had to cut the strings. What could I offer a wulfkin like her anyway? I potentially threatened her father and concealed the real reason for my visit to Bulgaria. I could ask her to accompany me to the Transylvanian pack, except I wasn’t even their alpha. Fuck. That reminded me that soon my father would have every right to finish me off if I didn’t have my own pack. Maybe this pack was my chance—once and for all—to be rid of my father’s threats.

  I’d only been at the circus less than two days, and already my situation had become more complicated. Though, the dead bodies connected to the circus intrigued me. What if Maxim was protecting someone who was on a human-killing spree? Then he would have broken the number-one rule: Never kill a human. And it was punishable with a swift death at the hands of a Varlac.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ALENA

  “Alena Novac, this way, please.” A detention center guard opened the metal door in the visitors’ room. My stomach had knotted the moment I stepped onto police grounds, praying no one recognized me.

  I trailed behind the guard into an area four times the size of my trailer. The stink of urine and old sweat saturated the air. The visitors’ room was underneath the police station, and the dim bulbs barely lit the place.

  Two of the three small tables were occupied. Sitting at one table was a young man, and at a second was a businessman, or maybe a lawyer there to visit a client. Their heads turned in my direction without so much as a smile, but their gazes trailed down my body and reminded me of the way certain spectators at the circus stared at me.

  A second officer stood in the far corner, a baton in one hand, and the other resting on the butt of a gun strapped to his waist. His gaze lingered on me long enough to cause chills up my spine.

  I took a seat at the empty table to my left. The guard dumped the parcel of beef jerky I’d brought Nicolai in front of me. Wrapping my gift back up with shaky hands, I sat with my brother’s heavy jacket across my lap and waited. Would he forgive me for leaving him back in the alley when the police turned up? I’d done the only thing I could at the time—run away. Goddess, give me strength. The incident had been little more than a day ago, but it seemed as if a lifetime had passed since then.

  I noticed another metal door across from me, no doubt where prisoners emerged. My gaze caught the Gestapo-like guard in the corner, wearing a twisted smirk. I’d been stupid enough to wear leather pants sitting low on my hips and a tight, V-neck top. He gawked at me and licked his lips.

  The concrete walls were covered with peeling paint, and the fluorescent light overhead flickered, threatening to go out. If it did, I wouldn’t hesitate to strike the leering pervert before he reached me.

  The clock ticked away, and my knees refused to stop bouncing beneath the table. The lawyer’s client came and went—twenty minutes. My butt ached and turned numb from the uncomfortable wooden chair. I’d been promised forty minutes with Nicolai, so this waiting time better not be included. I shifted in my seat for the hundredth time. Then the door in front of me creaked open. My pulse sped up threefold. A tattooed inmate shuffled into the room, his ankles and wrists chained. He grinned at me, and I lowered my gaze. Then he sat in front of the young man at one of the other tables.

  I angled myself sideways on my seat and strained for any sign of Nicolai. The door shut.

  What’s going on? I glanced around, hoping to meet gazes with one of the two guards, but neither looked my way. If Nicolai didn’t show up soon, I’d throw this table at someone.

  The grating of metal against cement had my head snapping up. My insides melted at every hobbled step Nicolai took in chains. No shoes. He held up his pants with one hand, but he smiled when he spotted me.

  He slid into the seat across from me; a layer of dirt coated his face. The side of his mouth was swollen and bruised.

  My next breath hitched. “Oh, Nic.” I slid out a slice of dried meat, but he shook his head at it, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “I’m sorry I left you with the cops. I wanted to come back for you, but—”

  “Then you’d be in here too. Am I getting out on bail?”

  “It got denied.” Nicolai’s expression fell. It twisted my stomach. “But Father knows someone who’ll get you out soon.”

  “Thought you were the Interpol woman again.”

  “Kalina, the one who’s been at the circus?”

  “Yeah, she paid me a visit this morning.” He lowered his voice and leaned over the table toward me. “She accused me of murder but said if I told her where Mila was, she’d ensure I didn’t get the death sentence and maybe even shorten my term.” He snorted and struggled to wipe his mouth, handcuffs clanging. “She asked a million questions about Father and you, why the circus never returned to a town twice, and why we’ve stayed in Ruse so long. She even said something about human trafficking. Hell, where are they getting this bullshit from?”

  Father was aware the police had been watching us for years, but now Interpol too … This meant they’d been studying our every
move because of the dead bodies. A shiver rippled down my back.

  “The way she stared at me was like”—he did a quick scan of the room and lowered his voice further—“like she knew what I was.” He shook his head. “That’s crazy, right?”

  “You’re paranoid.”

  His eyes widened, and his fingers gripped the edge of the table. “I can’t stay here. I have no right to a phone call, no heat, no hot water, not even two meals a day. The damn guards took my shoelaces and belt. An inmate took my shoes. It’ll be a full moon in a week. They’ll kill me.”

  I reached over and clutched his hand. It was frozen beneath my touch. My throat constricted. “Father has a plan. He knows someone inside the prison system. Just hold on.”

  “No. I want to leave now.” His words resonated, drawing the officers’ attention in our direction.

  “What did Father teach us?” My voice strangled as I attempted to hide signs of my unease. Every part of me yearned to break him out right now, regardless of the consequences.

  Nicolai’s terrified gaze swept the room.

  “He said never show your fear. Be strong, and he’ll come for you. Hold it together.” I squeezed his hand in mine, never wanting to release him.

  “Not sure I can. I’m in the cell for twenty-three hours a day and get only one hour to go outside. I’m going insane. And there are so many roaches. If the prisoners don’t kill me, or the police during the full moon, the roaches will.” His chest heaved with each strained breath, and again his stare darted around the room. “I want out. It’s a tomb in there.”

  My insides quivered. I wasn’t sure how I’d survive in his place, and it killed me to know I couldn’t take him home today. Plus, all this talk of roaches had my skin crawling.

  “Please.” His eyes glistened, and his stomach pressed against the table. “Please, take me with you. Don’t leave me here. I’ll die if I stay another night.”

  Dread crawled through every inch of my soul. Words jammed in my throat. Nothing I could say would ease the terror he was living. The last time I’d seen Nicolai this distraught and on the verge of crying was at the age of five. A bear had cornered him in the woods. It took him months to get over the trauma. The more drawn-out his stay in prison, the more likely they’d break his spirit. He wasn’t a fighter, or a leader. But he was my brother, and I loved him.