The Covert Wolf Read Online Free PDF Page A

if they get the Orb, they’ll be able to hold it longer.”
    The possibilities were horrifying. Bile, hot and acid, rose in her throat.
    The Draicon looked tight and deadly as a honed blade. “A Darksider Fae bought intel about me and my buddy from the slime who stole the Orb. Then he glamoured himself as our C.O. and ordered us on a mission. The demons waited until the marines in our convoy passed. The jarheads weren’t the target. We were. The Fae set us up.”
    A low growl rumbled from his throat. “Because of that, my best friend died in agony. If I find the Fae who did this, they won’t need a demon to get to hell. I’ll send them there myself.”
    His rage was luminous, raising the room temperature and warming her cheeks. Every instinct urged her to get up, get out and away from this dangerous Draicon. Sienna’s eyes widened as he dragged his fingertips across the wood table, scoring it with claws that suddenly emerged.
    “Whoa, L.T.,” Shaymore said. “I don’t have the money to cover damages for this room.”
    “Easy, Dakota,” the lieutenant commander murmured. “The Fae who impersonated the major general was caught. He’s been taken care of. We’ve established new security measures around all key personnel.”
    Sympathy filled her. She knew how it felt to be helpless and enraged. Sienna watched the Draicon rein in his control. Sweat popped out on his forehead, but his claws retreated.
    “This mission is crucial, Miss McClare,” Curtis told her. “If the pyro demons get the Orb, they’ll discover the identity of every member of the Phoenix Force, and our associated powers. And use it to kill my men, who are the last defense against them.”
    “Not going to happen,” Parker grated out. “I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m not going to let innocent civilians be torched like my buddy was.”
    A horrific image came to mind. Streets lined with bodies, burned and twisted. Mothers, fathers, children. Not a tiny village on the edge of a desert, but a city filled with living people. Turned to a charred wasteland where the silent screams of the victims still floated in the air…
    Nausea rolled in her stomach. She could no longer hold it at bay.
    “Will you please excuse me?”
    Somehow she made it down the hallway, into the bathroom, running the water to cover the sounds of her retching. It was worse than she’d been led to believe. With shaking hands, she twisted the tap, splashing water on her face. She took several deep breaths, dried off.
    Voices raised in anger. In the corridor she paused outside the living room, out of eyesight.
    “You can’t even mention his name.” Parker sounded anguished.
    “You know the rules, Dakota. He’s gone.”
    “Damn it, I know the rules. He was my buddy. He fought bravely for his country. We can’t even speak of him. Everyone who knew him had their memories of him as a SEAL erased.” Parker hissed out a breath. “Adam deserves better. He deserves to be remembered.”
    “And he will.”
    She peeked around the corner. Curtis emerged from the kitchen, clutching three amber bottles. He handed one to each man. They raised the bottles, clinked.
    “To Adam,” Curtis said.
    “To Wildcat,” echoed Shaymore. “A damn fine warrior.”
    “To Chief Petty Officer Adam Barstow, the bravest soldier I’ve ever known. The best buddy I ever had. May the spirits guide you to the Other Side as you live on forever in our memories.”
    The men drank. Parker tipped his back and took a long pull, his throat muscles working. He wiped his mouth with the back of one hand, set down the drink. Glass cracked beneath the pressure of his squeezed fist.
    “Matt,” the lieutenant commander said gently.
    “It should have been me. I sensed there was something off….”
    He twisted and turned, his nostrils flaring. “Spying on us?”
    Sienna walked into the room, her heart pounding. Anger and grief etched Parker’s face. She knew all about grief, how it ate you up inside. And to