Free The Lycan Society (The Flux Age Book 1) by Steven J Shelley Page B

showing off for the pretty girl with platinum hair who wore her new wolf pendant with pride.
    Florence suspected they were wasting their time. Judging from the way Yasmin stood close to Jack as he showed her a special kind of grappling hook, she only had eyes for one man. Perhaps the Mother was right - it was dangerous to leave the girl in his hands. He was a churn and burn type of guy, a real narcissistic type. The sooner Yasmin realized that the better.
    “Getting your hooks into our new recruit, eh?” Florence quipped as she approached the pair. Jack rolled his eyes, no doubt annoyed to have his manly explanations interrupted.
    “I was just instructing Yasmin in closed urban equipment,” he said defensively. “You know, the type of thing that might save our lives in Berlin.”
    “We all appreciate your dedication, Jack, but I’m afraid Yasmin’s with me. Mother’s orders.”
    Jack looked as though he’d been punched in the guts. He shot Florence an accusing look, as if she had somehow taken Yasmin from him.
    “Yeah, well, I’ll be leading the attack I guess.”
    Florence was about to retort when she spotted Naomi wandering up behind them.
    “Speaking of which,” the receiving operative said. “I have a briefing to deliver.”
    Florence grinned at Naomi and wrapped her in a bear hug. It just felt right - she hadn’t seen her since the recent mission.
    “Sorry about Martin,” Naomi said in her ear. “That can’t have been easy to see.”
    Florence stepped away with a sad smile. “All part of the job.”
    Naomi nodded understandingly before blowing on a small wooden tube. It was a wolf flute - lycans had been using them for centuries. The advantage of wolf flutes was that only lycans could hear them.
    Florence watched Yasmin closely. She only turned to face Naomi when Jack did. Florence suspected she didn’t hear the sound, but then she hadn’t connected with her spirit beast yet. It was only fair to give her time.
    “I’ll keep this short and sweet,” Naomi said as the other lycans came swinging down off their ropes. Florence wrinkled her nose. Male werewolves smelled like blood and aggression. Their pheromones were extremely intimidating. These guys would probably stay shifted for the whole briefing, just for kicks.
    They all stood behind Florence, making her squirm uncomfortably. She’d been putting up with this low-grade bullying for years. As the only female werewolf in her Chapter, there wasn’t much she could do. To make a big deal of it would only make things worse.
    She glanced over her shoulder to see who was coming along to Berlin.
    The tall one with the jet black fur was Max. A fearsome fighter. The brown-white one was Eddison. Slightly more bearable than the others. Well versed in lycan lore. The grey-white was Paulie, Jack’s best friend. He was probably the worst of the lot. Always bitchy, always looking to raise himself by pushing others down. A real piece of work, and a classic example of someone who failed to live by the Lycan Code of Honor.
    Well, now she knew who was on the Berlin strike force. Mother Arena was throwing everything at the Berlin Club - these werewolves were the best in the Chapter.
    Naomi ripped open a sealed file and began handing out plane tickets.
    “United Flight 542 out of JFK, 7am tomorrow morning.”
    Naomi glanced at Jack. “You’d want to be tucked in early tonight, Foley.”
    “We’ll see,” Jack said complacently. Florence resisted the urge to clock him in the jaw. That would sort him out.
    “For security reasons you will not be seated together,” Naomi went on. “On touchdown at Schonefeld Airport you will proceed directly to the Hotel Brandenburg, where the Berlin Chapter will contact you.”
    “We aren’t staying at the Chapter?” Paulie asked. As a werewolf his voice sounded like knives on steel.
    “Mother Androska has politely refused our request for sanctuary,” Naomi said hesitantly. “They understandably fear reprisals from the