by Lora Leigh
“Like everyone else does?” Cassie sighed. “Everyone goes away so you can think, so you can work, so you can sleep and so you can dream alone. Even Seth went away, didn’t he?”
Dawn stilled. She felt something inside her, something that had been relaxing, freeze. She didn’t want to hear about Seth, she didn’t want to think about Seth. He was better off away from Sanctuary and away from her.
“What does Seth have to do with anything?”
Seth Lawrence of Lawrence Industries, one of the Breeds’ greatest proponents and supporters, and he was one man she couldn’t afford to think about.
“He was here the other day, arguing with Jonas. Did you hear?” Cassie tilted her head to the side. “He doesn’t like Jonas much, you know.”
“No one likes Jonas much.” Dawn inhaled slowly, the irrational terror slowly easing inside her.
“Everyone likes Seth though.” Cassie waggled her brows as she uncurled from the chair and moved to the bed.
Dawn watched as Cassie Sinclair plopped at the bottom of the bed, crossed her legs and leaned forward intently.
“Seth is hawt,” she drawled.
Dawn winced. “Seth is too old for you, Cassie.” She forced herself to keep her voice calm, unemotional. What the hell did she care who found Seth sexy? It was nothing to her. She wouldn’t let it become something to her.
“He’s still hot.” Cassie wrinkled her nose. “For an old man.”
“He’s not an old man.” And Dawn assured herself she hadn’t just gritted the words out.
“Give it up.” Cassie laughed. “Though I have to give him credit: He doesn’t look like he’s aged a day in the last ten years. You know, he was voted one of the world’s most eligible bachelors last month on one of those society shows I saw on television.”
Dawn clenched her teeth. She didn’t need to know that. At the very mention of Seth’s name her entire body seemed to respond. Her flesh felt more sensitive, her tongue itched and the tiny hairs along her body lifted almost sensually.
And fear knotted her stomach.
She knew what Seth Lawrence was to her, and to her body. She also knew what he was to her mind. He could break her like nothing that had ever happened in the past.
“I don’t want to talk about Seth, Cassie.” She rose from the bed and moved to the closet, where she pulled out her uniform for the day. Snug black mission pants and a matching tank top.
“You never want to talk about Seth,” Cassie said then. “He asks about you though. Every time he sees me he asks how you’re doing.”
Dawn froze. Cassie always knew more than others. She saw or sensed things no one else could.
“And what do you tell him?” she asked almost fearfully.
“I usually tell him the same thing. You haven’t awoken yet.”
“You tell him I’m asleep?” She turned back to the child incredulously.
“I tell him you haven’t awoken yet,” she repeated, a mysterious smile playing about her lips. “It’s enough for him.”
“And what did you tell him this time?” Dawn tilted her head, not certain why she asked.
Cassie watched her for long seconds before answering.
“This time, I told him I was certain you would be awake soon.” She frowned and looked down at her hot chocolate. “Sometimes though, it doesn’t matter if you wake up, does it?”
She shrugged her thin shoulders before giving her head a shake and sipping at the chocolate.
“Cassie, are you trying to tell me something?” Sometimes, Cassie talked in riddles. A person had to know when she was doing it or they would walk around with more confusion than they needed.
“It’s time to wake up,” Cassie said softly, looking toward the window, and the faint hint of dawn that peeked through the curtains, before turning back to Dawn. “The nightmares are getting worse, and so is the mating heat.”
Dawn turned away and stalked to her dresser, where she jerked serviceable black panties from one drawer and a bra from another. There was nothing fancy, nothing seductive. Black socks followed, and after she showered and dressed, she would lace black hiking boots on her feet. She was a Breed Enforcer. Inside and out. She was strong, powerful; she commanded and she led. She no longer whimpered and cowered from the horror of whatever she fought to keep hidden within her own mind. Or the man that haunted her like one of Cassie’s ghosts.
“I’m not talking about Seth.” And she sure as hell wasn’t talking about mating heat.
“Fine.” Cassie shrugged. “We’ll talk about Styx. Or we could talk about Stygian. They’re totally hot too. Though I have to be careful if Dad is around. He gets pretty pissed when Styx flirts with me.”
Dawn wanted to shake her head at the abrupt change of the conversation.
“He wouldn’t flirt if you didn’t force him into begging for that chocolate you carry around.”
Cassie’s smile was all woman now. A hint of mystery, of feminine knowledge. “He could get chocolate elsewhere if he wanted to.”
The red-haired, bolder-than-brass Scottish Wolf Breed was a shameless flirt. He had been inducted into the Bureau of Breed Affairs months before and had been assigned to Dawn’s team just weeks ago.
“Styx isn’t the serious type, Cassie.”
“I’m eighteen. I’m not a child any longer, Dawn,” Cassie pointed out.
“Tell that to your dad, not to me.” Dash Sinclair was serious about protecting his daughter. Both her physical safety and her heart.
“As if Dad would listen.” Cassie shrugged then rose from the bed and glanced at the window again before turning back to Dawn. “Dawn is awakening,” she said again, and a chill swept over Dawn. “Are you ready for it?”
Dawn licked her lips, glanced at the window, then back at Cassie.
“What’s going to happen, Cassie?” she finally asked, knowing, sensing that the girl knew so much more than she was saying.
“An adventure.” Cassie suddenly smiled. “Come on, Dawn. It’s a new day. And we’re going to have lots of fun.”
Fun. Dawn stared at the girl as though she had lost her mind. “Cassie, I’m going to work.”
“For now.” She tossed her head, throwing the long, loose curls behind her shoulder as she moved for the door, ethereal in her long gown, like a precocious fairy. “You’re working for now, Dawn. But…” Cassie glanced to the window once again before turning back to her. “It’s time to wake up.”
With those last words eerie Cassandra Sinclair slipped out of her bedroom and closed the door behind her, leaving Dawn alone.
Just as Seth had left her alone.
Time to wake up, her ass. Well, she was sure as hell awake now and madder than hell. Men. She hated men. Men were a plague on the female species and their arrogant, know-it-all attitudes were hampering her job on every side. And now. Now, to add insult to injury, her own brother, Callan, was joining their detestable ranks.
Dawn slammed into the communications bunker set into the mountain that rose above Sanctuary and slammed the heavy metal door behind her. Inside, radar, infrared, electronic maps and locator pinpoints beeped and flashed along the walls. There was a map of the mountain, the town, the surrounding lands and even a display of the cave system that ran within the mountains surrounding them. One of those systems was incomplete and getting more incomplete by the day.
“Micah, move into position.”
Dawn’s head swung around at the sound of Callan’s voice, a spurt of surprise filling her that he seemed to be overseeing a mission. Callan rarely had time to involve himself in the actual missions that Breeds now hired themselves out for. Yet it seemed he had made time for one.
She moved closer, remaining quiet as she stared at the image displayed on the viewing screen in front of him.
The girl that had been kidnapped in the Middle East, she remembered now. She was the daughter of one of the Tyler Clan’s friends, family of Callan’s mate and wife, Merinus. A Breed unit had been sent in to rescue her.
&n
bsp; “Flint, you have a go,” Callan murmured into the communication link, a slender mic that curved around his cheek and attached to the ear-bud receiver at his ear.
“I have a visual.” The Breed’s voice echoed hollowly from the communications speaker at the side of the viewing screen.
Onscreen another image popped in alongside the main image. The image was hazy, but they could see the inside of a cell and the small, huddled form of the young woman.
“Guards are out.” Another voice came through. “I’m on the locks.”
Dawn watched as the small team moved with coordinated control. The cell door opened slowly and the young woman’s frightened whimpers into the filthy mattress where she was huddled echoed through the intercom.
Dawn flinched at the sound, echoes of it drifting through her head. She could feel her chest clenching at the remembered feel of her dreams, and that very sound tearing from her own lips.
“You’re safe.” Flint McCain moved into position beside her and quickly tested the area and the woman for explosives. “We’re clear.”
He turned the girl over, putting his fingers to her lips before she could cry out. “Your father sent us. Can you walk?”
Her clothing was torn. The T-shirt was ripped down one shoulder, and her jeans were crusted with dirt and what appeared to be blood along one side.
She nodded quickly. Her face was heavily bruised, one eye nearly swollen shut as she tried to scramble to her feet.
Her leg gave out from under her. Before she could cry out in pain, a black-clad hand covered her lips and the Breed pulled her against him.
“They’ll tie you to my back,” he whispered into her ear, the words drifting through the intercom. “Then we’re good to go, okay? Your dad is waiting back at base. Just a quick little run around the block then we’ll jump into a jazzy little jet we have waiting. We’re out of here.”
He kept talking as two other Breeds quickly strapped her to his back; then they were easing out of the block cell and fading into the night.
Callan pulled the earpiece from his ear, tossed it to the table and turned to his brother-in-law and the head of Sanctuary’s security, Kane Tyler.
“Keep me up to date,” he told Kane quietly. “I want to know the second they reach base. Have them cancel layover there and head straight back here. We’re going to need them.”
Kane moved into Callan’s position with a nod of his dark head, his expression intent as he watched the images that flipped in and out in their own small boxes within the screen.
“You’re with me,” he told Dawn as he turned away.
He was angry with her. She always knew when Callan was angry. Before, the thought of that anger would have had her heart knocking in terror. Now it had her lips tightening in frustration. She didn’t have time to deal with his irked mood.
“What the hell is going on?” she hissed as they made their way through the long steel-and-cement bunker beneath the ground. “I was halfway through those caves when you pulled me out. Do you have any idea how long it’s taken us to clear out those explosives and lay the sensors through there?”
“I’m aware of the order I gave you a week ago to find another project,” he growled as they turned from the main bunker and headed down a short corridor to another large map and imaging room. “Do you think we need to lose six of our women, our sisters, to those fucking explosives, Dawn? Son of a bitch, what the hell has gotten into you?”
“You pulled me out because we’re women?” Outrage raced through her. “That is so damned bogus, Callan.”
“You’re damned right I pulled you out because you’re women. The fact that you’re not the only one that would suffer if you died didn’t occur to you, did it, Dawn?” he snarled. “You hide your head in the shadows and try to pretend it’s just you. What happens to your mate if you die?”
“I haven’t mated.”
“And I don’t want to hear your lies to yourself,” he snapped as they turned again.
This was Mission Central. It was larger than the other room; the murmur of voices—electronic, Breed and human—filtered through it as they strode along the central walkway.
She bit back the enraged words trembling on her lips and fought to use logic instead. He liked logic. It had swayed him before.
“My team is specifically trained for just what they’re doing,” she hissed. “Those are still my people, my team, Callan.”
“I need those women elsewhere. They were to be trained for new missions and you knew it,” he growled as they stood aside for the black-clad operators working to get one of the viewing screens operational.
“That’s my team, you agreed. And those caves were my project.”
They moved into another corridor, heading she knew for the top secret mission control room. Here, the operations going out weren’t mercenary in nature, but those of national security.
“Those women need to learn to work with the male members of this community and I’m tired of asking you nicely to obey those commands,” Callan snapped, his head swinging around to glare at her. “You don’t make the decisions around here, little sister. I do. I needed you to train a new team—”
“Of men,” she sneered. “Come on, Callan, you know that’s not going to work.”
“I know you have no choice now.” He stopped at a metal door, slid the secured card along the sensor and stepped inside when the door unlocked. “I’m short on teams and we have an emergency. That means you’re up. And, by God, you better hope you’re ready for it, because failure on this one is not an option.”
The door clanged shut as one particular scent threatened to overwhelm Dawn’s senses. She stared across the room, unable to move, to speak, to do anything but soak in the heat, the nectar of his scent and the regret that filled her.
“Hello, Dawn.” Seth Lawrence rose from the long table in the center of the room. “It’s been a while.”
CHAPTER 2
Dawn’s Awakening.
Dawn stared at Seth, and felt the animalistic side of her nature give a slow, sensual, mental stretch. Her body tensed as her muscles wanted to soften. She tightened her thighs as they threatened to weaken. But nothing could shut down the scent of him moving through her pores.
He stood across the room, dressed elegantly. A silk suit, dark of course. Today it was a dark gray, to match his eyes. Thick dark brown hair was conservatively cut; he was clean shaven, the strong planes and angles of his face showing arrogant aristocracy. The sharp blade of his nose, the strong set of his chin, the hewn lines of his jaw.
Beneath the silk his body was powerfully corded. She could sense it. She could feel his strength pouring off him, and the female animal inside her responded to it. He was a strong, able mate. He would be a protector and a partner. He was virile, he would have endurance. He would breed strong children and ride her through the storm that mating heat brewed inside her body.
Her breath shortened. She felt as though she couldn’t drag enough air into her lungs, she couldn’t focus, couldn’t see anything but the man watching her so solemnly from across the shadowed room.
“Why is he here?” She was amazed that her voice sounded so calm, so confident as Callan moved around her.
“If you had hung around the house the last week instead of deliberately defying me, you would know,” he snorted. “Come over here. I’ll explain everything.”
She flushed at the subtle ass-chewing but did as she was ordered. Callan could be pushed sometimes. When it came to family, he had an incredible amount of patience. But she knew she had pushed him as far as she dared. And she knew she wouldn’t be here unless something was about to go seriously wrong.
Moving across the room, she took the seat farthest from Seth, and closest to the vent that provided ventilation and air-conditioning. His scent wasn’t as strong here, the elusive smell of an aroused male, powerful and in his sexual prime, didn’t torment her as it would farther down the table.
There were others in the room; she knew they
were there, her senses picked them up and identified them. But she only saw Seth, even as she forced her eyes to lower, she kept sight of him from the corner of her eyes.
Jonas was at a smaller viewing screen farther back in the room, talking on a link. Mercury Warrant, Lawe Justice and Rule Breaker, his personal security force, stood silently, not far from him.
Styx was there. Stygian Black, the huge, dark black Wolf Breed, stood beside him. Stygian was darker skinned than most Breeds, his DNA having come from a rogue black wolf it was said, and possibly a voodoo priestess from New Orleans. The records found in the lab he nearly destroyed bare-handed had hinted at a broad selection of DNA mixed into his genetics.
One of Dawn’s Lionesses was in attendance, Moira Calhoun. She was Irish, and a hellion if ever there was one. And standing closest to the door was Noble Chavin, a mysterious, less-than-social Jaguar.
“Meet your new team, Dawn.” Callan waved toward the Breeds her senses had picked up.
Dawn glanced at the four then stared back at Callan.
“I’m command?” She rarely commanded men. They rarely got along with her, and she sure didn’t get along with them.
“You’re command.” He nodded his head, his long hair feathering over his shoulders, more like a lion’s mane than a man’s head of hair. But he was pride leader for a reason.
“And we’re here why?” She pushed back her anger, showing him the respect he deserved while in front of others.
“Because every other team is currently out busting their asses around the world and we have a major situation on our hands.” Jonas moved forward as the other Breeds took their seats around the table.
Dawn slid her PDA from the protective holster at her side, jacked it into the connector set within the table and waited for the mission information to load.
She scanned the stats as they came in, fighting to keep her eyes off Seth as he watched her. She could feel his eyes caressing her.
Then the information loading into the small, palm-sized screen had her stiffening, restraining a growl and fighting back primal fury.
Her eyes lifted to Seth, her gaze tracking over him, making certain he was unharmed, that nothing showed of the attack that had been made on him. Her gaze rolled over his face, his shoulders; she inhaled carefully, desperate now to detect any sign of injury.
“As you’re seeing, the situation is pretty damned imperative,” Jonas bit out. “We’ve had one attempt made on Mr. Lawrence in the last week, and intel has come in that we can expect another.”
“Cancel the meeting.” Dawn didn’t look at anyone else. She made the demand of Seth, her voice resonating with the fury building inside her. “You can’t afford to take this chance.”
“And if I hide now, then I may as well lock myself into a bunker and hide for the rest of my life.” Those sensual, seductive lips curled in disgust. “The meeting stands.”
“It’s two weeks,” she snapped. “How can you possibly expect us to cover you during the house party from hell, Seth?”
“I don’t, Dawn,” he admitted frankly. “The team is Jonas and Callan’s idea. I won’t back down. The board of directors to Lawrence Industries meets biannually to discuss the policies of the company as well as any other issues that come up. This year, a motion to dismiss the funding of Sanctuary is on the table by several of the older members. If we cancel the meeting, you can bet that funding will be placed on hold until the next meeting.”
Could Sanctuary do without that funding?
“Jonas, there’s no way to do this.” She glared back at the director of the Bureau of Breed Affairs. “Not one team alone, and not with the area laid out to defend against.” She waved her hand to the property that showed up on the viewing screen across the room.
“Lawrence Estate is reasonably secure—”
“It’s a security nightmare,” Dawn bit out.
Seth let a mocking smile curl his lips as he tilted his head in acknowledgment.
“Be that as it may, if I alter the location or the current plans, it will be a sign of weakness. If the Breeds’ enemies want to get rid of me, they’ll have to come to me. Jonas’s intel suggests they’ll make the attempt during this time. It’s our best chance to control the outcome and learn why they’ve decided the support of Lawrence Industries to the Breeds is a threat to them.”
“And it could be someone totally unrelated to the company that just doesn’t want you supporting Sanctuary,” Dawn argued.
Seth shook his head. “This is about someone within Lawrence Industries or close to it. Someone who believes they can take control if they can kill me.”
“And you’re playing right into their hands,” she snapped.
“Enough.” Callan’s voice was calm, but the warning edge to it wasn’t lost on Dawn. It wasn’t lost, but it was ignored.
“Cancel the meeting, Seth.”
He pursed his lips and watched her for a few moments, his long, powerful fingers tapping silently against the table before he slowly shook his head. “Canceling the meeting will only allow my assassins to catch me by surprise. If I’m going to die, Dawn, I’m going to face my murderers.” He turned to Jonas then. “But she won’t be part of the operation. Choose someone else or the deal is off.”
He rose to his feet as though it were a board meeting. As though he could decide whether she was there or not.
“Choose someone else and I’ll shoot him myself,” Dawn snarled, jumping to her feet and slapping her palms against the table as she glared back at Seth. “What’s wrong with me heading this operation?”
He tilted his head and stared back at her as he buttoned his jacket casually, his movements unconsciously graceful.
“You’re a woman,” he stated. “This isn’t a mission I want a woman involved in.”
“Well isn’t that just too bad for you, sweetcheeks.” She threw her hip to the side, propped her hand on it and regarded him with mocking sweetness as she wrinkled her nose back at him insultingly. “If you’re insane enough to go through with your own execution, then I want to at least watch. I haven’t seen a good comedy flick in a while.”
His eyes narrowed back at her.
“Dawn, sit down,” Callan ordered.
“When he does.”
“As far as I’m concerned, this meeting is over.” Seth turned to Jonas. “When you have the proper team formed, let me know.”
“Callan, have an enforcer collect my travel bag, I’ll be heading out with Mr. Lawrence.”