Rock This Wolf (ICRA Files: Berlin Book 1) Read online

  Rock This Wolf

  Gaja J. Kos

  Contents

  Kolovrat Universe

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Gaja J. Kos

  Copyright © 2021 by Gaja J. Kos

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Kolovrat Universe

  The ICRA Files: Berlin series is part of the “Future” portion of the Kolovrat universe.

  Each series/standalone title in the Kolovrat universe can be read individually, or as a whole for a more complex insight into the universe where myth and reality blend into one.

  PRESENT

  BLACK WEREWOLVES SERIES

  Urban fantasy

  Novels:

  The Dark Ones

  The 24hourlies

  The Shift

  The Ascension

  Novellas:

  Never Forgotten

  Chased

  Black Werewolves: Books 1–4

  NIGHTWRAITH SERIES

  Paranormal romance

  Windstorm

  Blackstorm

  Nightstorm

  Nightwraith: The Complete Series

  SUCC

  Open relationship standalone paranormal romance

  FUTURE

  PARADISE OF SHADOWS AND DEVOTION

  Standalone paranormal romance

  LOTTE FREUNDENBERGER SERIES

  Urban fantasy romance

  Shadow Moon

  Darkening Moon

  Transient Moon

  Phantom Moon

  Burning Moon

  SHADE ASSASSIN

  Urban fantasy romance

  Shadow World

  Shadow Lies

  Shadow Heart

  Shadow Reign

  ICRA FILES: BERLIN

  Urban fantasy romance

  Rock This Wolf

  Down With Vamps

  Long Gone Witch

  HEAT OF THE NIGHT

  Standalone paranormal romance

  DAWN OF KOLOVRAT

  Urban fantasy standalone novellas

  Destiny Reclaimed - FREE

  For all the fangirls out there. You’re fucking amazing. Don’t let any dickwad tell you otherwise.

  Chapter 1

  I steeled myself for the revolting jolt and traced my fingers along the claw marks embedded deep in the privacy fence, only for reality to hit me far worse than any werewolf repellent magic could.

  Faint. The ward was so faint.

  I curled my fingers into fists and rose to my feet, sucking in the late April air that wove through the oaks and plane trees surrounding the property. The perfectly mundane power of nature soothed my inner wolf, but although I welcomed its presence, it couldn’t truly lessen the shackles tightening around my heart.

  Wrapping my leather jacket around my body like a damn security blanket, I glanced along the length of the gray fence. More claw marks. Dents. Gashes that could have been created by nothing but sharp canine teeth.

  All the characteristics of a rampant werewolf tearing into anything and everything that dared stand in its path. I shuddered. If the protective barrier had been any weaker, if he’d managed to get out…

  No. I wouldn’t allow myself to go there. Turning away from the fence with its cruel reminders, I marched across the land. Grass whisked against my ankles just beneath my rolled-up jeans—another grounding force I latched on to. But as hard as I tried, as much as I godsdamned wanted to, it was impossible to block out the brutal signs assaulting me at nearly every step.

  Slices of brown wounds where mauled earth broke up the expanse of thick, lush green grass. The oaks’ massive trunks peppered with gashes and straight-out missing chunks…

  We’d probably need to take the smaller one on the far-left down. In its state, I doubted it would survive a storm, and the last thing we needed was an oak toppling over.

  A bird’s timid chirping lured my attention from the sight I probably should have gotten used to in nine fucking years, but I knew I never would. The chirping turned into a song, a breath of life that gently loosened the heaviness lingering in the air. Grateful for the reprieve, I halted and searched for the greenfinch.

  Big. Fucking. Mistake.

  As the tiny thing launched from the newly broken pier that dipped into the small lake, all I was left with was the visual of the reinforced cottage resting a short way off the opposite bank.

  I forced myself to move, blinking away the sting of tears that blurred the final stretch of grass separating me from the gate.

  Shit, it wasn’t fair.

  None of this was fucking fair.

  But most of all, I loathed myself for the breath of relief that left my lips when I slipped through the gate and locked it tightly behind me.

  I braced my back against the cool surface, the magic on this side of the fence unable to harm me thanks to a thick safety layer blocking its effect.

  “Pull yourself together, Gina,” I muttered.

  The last thing I needed was to break down now. I’d have plenty of time for that once I returned to Berlin. Not to mention I’d have my blues records and gin and tonic there for support, which was always a plus. There was nothing quite like company that never judged and couldn’t be affected by your woes to get you through a hard time.

  With that in mind, I released a steadying breath, then drew on the training I received when I joined the Interspecies Crimes and Relations Agency. I closed my eyes, and, focusing on the late-morning sun and the whisperings of nature, cleansed myself of all wayward emotion. There was no convenient switch to flip, no sudden change of a shift that liberated me from the pitfalls of human consciousness. Only my own will soothed the currents and reshaped them into a stream that flowed calmly within the confines of its riverbank.

  Once I was confident my scent wouldn’t project how shaken I truly was, I pushed away from the gate and walked up to the converted farmhouse. The aroma of freshly baked banana bread drifted through the open porch door, though its potency couldn’t conceal the variety of numerous other threads that lurked beneath. Britta might have acted like everything was all right when I first showed up at the house this morning, but if that were true, she wouldn’t be in the middle of baking enough goods to feed half of Rheinsberg.

  I climbed up the three weatherworn steps. The last one groaned a little under my weight, but right as I tested the wood for any issues just waitin
g to spring up, Aunt Meli strode outside, balancing a tray with two coffees and a mug of green tea perched upon its sky-blue surface.

  “Just in time.” She smiled as she set the tray on the table, though shadows continued to lurk in her otherwise-warm hazel eyes. “Britta should be out in a few.”

  I sank into my usual seat while my aunt claimed the wicker chair beside me. She passed over my coffee, black and extra strong, just how I liked it, then unloaded the other mugs before wedging the tray among two potted snake plants perched atop the freestanding shelves tucked up against the house. After an unnecessary tug to make sure the tray would remain in place, Meli turned toward me with a tight smile, fidgeting with the hem of her long cardigan.

  I reached for her hand. “How are you holding up?”

  “Oh, fine.” Her slender fingers clenched around mine. “It’s nice to finally have a reprieve from all the rain. Got to put some of the houseplants outside to soak up the sun.”

  I didn’t care about the damn plants. No, that was a lie. I cared. I loved listening to her and Britta’s proud plant mama talks. Just not when Meli was using her green babies as a distraction, playing all innocent and ignoring what we had to talk about.

  “Meli…”

  My aunt ignored me. “I saw there’s a Whiskey Jet Preachers concert coming up soon. Do you already have your ticket?”

  Now that was a low blow even for her. Dangling talk of my favorite band in front of me like some damn bone she knew I’d gnaw on so I’d leave her be.

  Not today.

  “Meli, come on.”

  A hint of something that smelled a lot like my favorite strudel drifted from the house. It swirled against my senses as the banana bread’s aroma lost some of its potency.

  Meli placed her free hand atop mine as she closed her eyes. Maybe it was the distraught embedded in the rich aroma of her wife’s baking that spurred on the realization, or perhaps Meli just concluded that putting the conversation off would only prolong everyone’s suffering all on her own. Still, when she opened her eyes, she didn’t bother to hide the sorrow any longer.

  And for that, I was grateful.

  “I’m shaken up, Gina. Britta and I both are.” Her thin shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. She withdrew her hands to cradle her cup of tea. “We weren’t expecting another episode so soon.”

  That was an understatement. Twice in one month. I still remembered the last time I got Meli's call and rushed up here to check on Dominik.

  I reached for my coffee. “I saw the damage. We’ll need to bring in someone to repair the fence. And the wards. I doubt they’ll last through another round.”

  “Don’t you worry about that.” She blew into her tea, scattering the steam. “Britta and I have it covered.”

  Gods, not this again. I sipped my coffee to calm that damn inner river again, then set the cup on the table and gripped the armrest of the wicker chair as I turned toward my aunt. “Meli, I love you, you know that, but you’re stubborn.”

  She opened her mouth, but Britta chose that exact second to breeze out onto the porch with a massive tray of assorted baked goods. Cherry pie. Apple strudel. Banana bread. Even homemade pretzels. I was willing to bet she’d timed her appearance to give Meli a breather in the argument we were about to have, yet, at the same time, the shock of just how much stuff Britta had baked in one morning made it impossible not to fall victim to her tactics.

  “Meli is right, Gina.” Britta sat in the chair opposite mine, then shifted it a bit when I squinted at the sun that created a halo around her blonde head. “I landed a few new clients recently. We can handle the repairs.”

  While I was thrilled that she had new clients, I couldn’t just will the facts out of existence. Even as good of a baker as Britta was, her jobs could never cover the cost of putting up such a complex ward all over again. On the witch’s last visit, she’d warned that she wouldn’t be able to continue patching the magic. Next time, she would need to build it from the ground up.

  Meli’s expression as she watched Britta was filled with so much love it all but broke my heart to voice the harsh truth.

  “You know that’s not nearly enough.” I tried not to let the sharp look Meli shot my way slice too deep. “We’re all in this together. You’re taking care of Dominik every single day while I’m in Berlin. Please don’t make me feel more rotten than I already do.”

  The words had the desired effect. Something softened in both women, that knack for bickering over finances taking a backseat.

  I swallowed a mouthful of coffee, then said, “We’re all doing our best, all right? And speaking of work, there’s a senior agent position ICRA’s looking to fill. I have all the qualifications.”

  “You applied?” Britta broke off a piece of the banana bread and chewed, observing me with those bright blue eyes that now possessed at least a ghost of that spark I was used to.

  “I did. I won’t know if I got the job for another month or so while the higher-ups decide who’s the best candidate, but everyone thinks I have more than a fair shot.”

  The pride rolling off my aunts nearly knocked me out of my seat. If their love were a force of nature, nothing dark could hope to stand in its way and survive. They’d always rooted for me, stood by me unconditionally as I pulled myself together piece-after-pissed-off, devastated piece when I’d lost my parents in the War just shy of nine years ago. Even though I was seventeen, almost eighteen at the time—a full-blown adult in wolf-terms—the loss hit me hard. And with my brother…

  Exhaling, I squared my shoulders. “We’ll get through this. Together.”

  Britta held back tears that glistened in her eyes as she nodded, and Meli squeezed my leg above the knee.

  “Do you want to go to him before lunch?” she asked.

  “Lunch?” I glanced at the basically untouched goods dominating the table.

  “That’s just, you know…” Britta waved her hands. “Stress snacks.”

  A laugh I wouldn’t have thought myself capable of even minutes ago burst from my lips.

  With the unexpected surge of good vibes that permeated the atmosphere, even asking about Dominik came easier. “He changed back around five in the morning?”

  When Meli nodded, I threw back the last of my coffee and rose. Dominik remained bedridden for an entire day after one of his episodes, but he should at least be conscious by now.

  “I’ll be back for lunch,” I told my aunts. “And we can talk about plants and music and that non-existent love life of mine you keep expecting to change.”

  Britta actually giggled while Meli arched a perfect eyebrow. “It’s been more than a year since Kerstin, Gina. You can’t let all those goods”—she gestured at me with a hand—“go to waste.”

  I snorted, leaning one shoulder against the beam by the stairs. “I’m not hung up on Kerstin. Our breakup was mutual, and they’re cheering me on even worse than you.” I peered at Meli through narrowed eyes. “I’m just busy with work, that’s all.”

  “Work.” Meli pursed her full lips and glanced at Britta. “Front-row, eye-candy-watching work.”

  “Hard work.” Britta nodded solemnly as she grabbed a pretzel.

  I threw my hands up. “Can’t a werewolf just have some fun?”

  “Some smooth-voice, sexy-legs vampire fun?” Meli asked, though her act was fraying by the second with that grin doing its best to take over.

  “You’re impossible,” I scoffed.

  Britta pointed at me with the pretzel. “We scoured the net for videos, darling niece. If I were younger and single, and—”

  “And if that singer of yours were a woman,” Meli chipped in.

  Britta acknowledged the comment with a dip of her head, then carried on, “I’d be all over that vamp. It’s a wonder he doesn’t wrap up the shows buried under a mountain of panties.”

  Gods. “And just how is that supposed to relate to my love life?”

  Meli clicked her tongue as if I were acting silly. “The mountain of panties would b
e yours, of course.”

  “All right”—I tapped the beam with the palm of my hand—“that’s definitely my cue to go.”

  The banter was exactly what I needed to get me through this next part, but I wasn’t about to thank my aunts for it and give them a blank pass for all future teasing. No way. Instead, I shook my head and strode toward the warded-off section of the property, leaving my busybody aunts on the porch. I keyed myself into the enclosure, then crossed over to the cottage beyond the lake.

  An eerie silence surrounded the building—the lack of birds and small critters marking the domain of a predator. I used my body as a weapon to slice across the unnatural still, then entered the cottage.

  Though the interior had been modified into a fairly open plan with only the necessary reinforced walls made to take a beating, shadows dominated the space. Either Britta or Meli must have drawn the curtains. I knew it was just another means to ease Dominik’s recovery, but the stuffy, constrained setting never failed to unsettle me.

  I padded toward the bedroom on silent feet. Dominik’s scent saturated the air, only a single open window letting in the fresh April breeze.