“Is it also the same reason why you keep my true identity even from me?”
She felt so annoyed. It was like there were these imaginary binds holding her back, restraining her from making her own choices.
Saxton looked at Tango then to Melena.
“You know we have always done what we felt was best for you. We must stick to the plan. This could be some smoke screen and revealing your identity too soon could make matters worse,” Saxton said.
She rolled her eyes in annoyance. It wasn’t like she was important to the survival of the circle. She was a minor piece in an extremely large and complicated puzzle.
Julius, the vampire, popped into her head. She eased herself back down into the chair then took a sip from her coffee.
“Tell me about Julius.”
It was quite clear they appeared taken aback at her statement Saxton crunched his eyebrows at her.
“He is not in your destiny,” Saxton said.
“He is dangerous, Melena. He has no allegiance to anyone but himself,” Tango added.
She held Saxton’s gaze then lowered her eyes as she ran the tip of her finger along the ceramic rim of the mug.
“It seems that I can’t get him out of my mind.”
“Well get him out of your mind. He has the power to destroy you,” Saxton said.
“I felt him last night, while I was sleeping.”
“Was he there? In your room?” Tango asked with teeth clenched as his face began to redden.
“I’m not certain, but I felt him,” she lied. Boy was he there. She could still feel him somehow.
“Bastard!” Saxton stated.
“He probably snuck into her room in one of his many forms,” Tango said toward Saxton.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Vampires are very powerful and resourceful beings. Julius is old, experienced, and accustomed to taking whatever he wants no matter what the consequence.”
“He didn’t look old, Saxton.” She remembered his dark hair and strikingly handsome features and of course, his long, thick fingers as they stroked her breasts and her cunt. He had large wide shoulders and a slim waist. Even though he was sort of pale looking, he was appealing and she had felt the attraction to him immediately. As she thought of him now, she felt the tiny goose bumps travel along her skin. She couldn’t help but wonder if he were here, in the room right now.
She looked around the room, and Saxton and Tango seemed to follow her line of thinking.
“He is not here now,” Saxton stated.
“How do you know?”
“We would smell his stench from a mile away,” Tango added with attitude.
Well you didn’t smell it last night and both of you were right next door.
She didn’t dare egg them on. It seemed that Saxton and Tango were quite angry right now. But she did have more questions.
“I want to know more about him. I feel he is of importance to this operation. Last night he appeared in the crowd and he and the others spoke of an exchange. He may somehow be connected to those missing jewels. Julius was sporting a mighty fine pendant below his black jacket.”
“You see what we mean about him being dangerous? For all we know he could be assisting Morago right now,” Tango said.
“I don’t think so. He was annoyed but not overly angry. More like inconvenienced. When I was alone with him, in his limo, he mentioned a moral dilemma.”
Saxton and Tango exchanged glances.
“I wouldn’t worry about Julius. Once your mates get a hold of you, no other men will be allowed near you.” Saxton poured his cup of coffee down the drain.
That statement really angered her. Especially after allowing Julius to touch her so intimately last night. She wanted to see him again. She didn’t want anything to do with Dolberg Pack or their animalistic desires.
“As I mentioned earlier, that is not going to happen. Now, I would like more information on the vamp and the Dolberg Pack. If I am going to evade them, then I need to know everything I can about them. First, I will call Xavier.” She stood up and walked toward the sink.
Tango took her hand and the minute he was shoulder to shoulder with her he inhaled. His eyes scrunched up and he stared at her in an odd way. She felt immediately guilty and on the defensive.
“What?”
“Nothing. Go get ready, make the call and then we’ll discuss the plan.”
She walked away feeling like Saxton looked at her differently than ever before.
* * * *
“What was wrong?” Tango asked Saxton after Melena left the room.
“I fucking smelled the vamp on her. I smelled Julius and I don’t like where the scent became stronger.”
Tango widened his eyes.
“Do you think he took advantage of her while she slept?”
“He did something and she felt it. Why do you think she had all those questions about Julius and not her mates?”
“Fuck, Saxton. Like it’s not bad enough that Melena is mate to those ginormous men, but now a vampire, Julius, no less, is interested in her. Her father was concerned about this years ago. I thought he had threatened Julius? What are we going to do?”
“Zeikele warned Julius away from his daughter because he thought Julius was only interested in staking a claim to the circle by joining the family bloodline. Julius has proven himself of good nature for decades. That was Zeikele being overprotective and suspicious of everyone. We may just need to allow her mates to handle this. It will be their job anyway, once she seals the mating bond with them. Let’s do what we can to protect her while she is still under our protection. You know Melena as well as I do. This is not going to go smoothly at all.”
“How can you give her up so easily, Saxton? When I think about Dolberg Pack and how crazy those wolves are, it concerns me. Melena is tough, but she is not an Alpha wolf. Gideon and Edric are huge and their tempers and attitudes are—”
“All Alpha, the way they should be. Mano, Chordeo, and Chance are no different. If that’s who the gods have chosen for her, then there isn’t anything we can do about it.”
“You think Melena is going to accept this just because these wolves tell her it is so?”
Saxton shook his head then snorted.
“Those wolves are in for hell. Melena doesn’t abide by her ancestors’ rules. It will take some major convincing to get her to accept her fate. What concerns me more is what has yet to come. Dolberg are cousins with Fagan Pack. Their mate, Dani, now assists with investigations into criminal activity amongst were. They’ll find out that Melena is the daughter of Zeikele Mahalan. That will place Melena in more danger than anything we could protect her from alone.”
“Looks like we’d better prepare ourselves best we can for the invasion of Dolberg Pack.”
Chapter 8
“Who is this woman, that no one on my team can find her?” Count Divanni asked as his main guards gathered around him.
“We have looked everywhere. We have people watching the offices at the city council building downtown,” Colin told Divanni.
“I don’t understand it. She’s human. She is weak.”
“She’s working for Xavier Dolberg. His nephews are searching for her, too.”
“What? Why?”
“Not quite sure. My sources believe that she is of importance to the city council because of some special project she has been working on. I am trying to get more information without making it obvious.”
Divanni rubbed his chin and stared off toward the window.
“A special project, you say? I wonder if this has anything to do with Kordosky?”
“Um, that’s another thing sir. The last person seen with the woman was the vamp,” Wilton, one of his guards, informed him.
“Damn. How does a human know a vampire like Kordosky? He is a loner, a bloodletter that avoids any type of relationship, business or otherwise.”
“Maybe Togar Filletto may know. It seems that Lance had taken a liking to t
he blonde as well,” Wilton said.
Divanni felt his hackles rise. “Filletto has Zera. There is no way he would give up an Alpha female for a human female. No matter how well-endowed the blonde is. Lance is the one to watch out for. It may have seemed that he was interested in the blonde for his boss, but you know Lance’s tastes are a bit on the extreme side. The blonde wouldn’t survive the torture. I want you all to discreetly watch the city council building, Xavier Dolberg, and his nephews. If you can track Kordosky, then follow him, too. One of these men will lead us to her and we will be able to find out exactly who she is. In the interim, Wilton, you have a job to do. Everyone else, go and find this woman.”
The room cleared out, leaving Wilton and Divanni.
“Wilton, I need you to get in touch with Mercer Collette. Lay on the pressure and get that wolf to submit to giving up information on this secret operation taking place with the city council. I need to make sure that Xavier Dolberg, his nephews, and Fagan Pack are not onto our little exploratory operation. We cannot have were investigators catching wind of this operation. If Samantha or Lord Crespin, never mind anyone associated with the circle of elders, catches on to my near discovery, then we could lose everything I have been working to achieve. I will not head to the islands to dig with these wolves or vampires over my shoulders. This is mine. I am meant to rule and pick the new members of the circle of elders. We could have lost even more when they discovered the warehouse and the documents that were there.”
“Sir, I will take care of it. My men are already stationed secretly amongst the city council building, in the town where Samantha and Lord Crespin reside as well as in the department that Dani and Fagan Pack work out of. If there is anything that even remotely indicates that they are onto you, I will be made aware of it as well as Colin. Also, I tried to confiscate the silver knife that was used by the woman to kill Phillip. Dolberg Pack beat me to it. I did get a picture of it on my cell phone.”
Wilton passed over his phone to the count.
“That looks like part of the set that was stolen from the warehouse office. How could this woman possess it?”
“Are you sure, sir?”
“Not a hundred percent. It doesn’t make any sense. The questions about this woman are growing. Find her, so we can move on with the plan.”
“I’ll let you know when things seem secure.”
“Excellent. If this location is correct, I will hold the Book of Founding Fathers in my hands and truly prove once and for all that Divanni was amongst the first leaders of the circle of elders. Add in the bonus of the jewels, and no man, or wolf would ever have enough money or power to defeat me.”
Chapter 9
“It would be wise to come back to work so we can discuss what happened the other night, Melena,” Xavier Dolberg said as he leaned back in his chair by his desk.
“I’m sorry, Xavier, but the other night scared me. There were men shifting, a vampire tried to take me back to his estate, another man tried to bite me, so I stuck him with a silver knife and five huge men were after me as well. I believe they were your nephews.”
“I heard about the wolf who attempted to mark you. He was one of Filletto’s men. In regards to the vampire, I will speak with Julius today. Now, my nephews are a completely different story. They would not bring any harm to you, Melena. In fact, they would protect you like no one else.”
He heard her snort of disbelief.
“I doubt that. I may not be a wolf, but I do know how you men, especially, operate. It was a mistake to attend the event. I prefer to remain in the background, doing the research and investigative stuff. I want to do the job that you hired me to do and to just be left alone. I prefer it this way.”
“You have done amazing work for the city. I need you by my side to continue developing the project. It’s crucial that we have the right people involved and it seems you have a knack for choosing them. Despite the scare that Julius caused, he hadn’t actually harmed you in any way, am I correct?”
“I supposed him licking my neck and trying to enter my mind isn’t too harmful.”
“You stopped him from doing it.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because, if you hadn’t and if Julius really wanted to feast on you, you would still be with him in his bed right now.”
“My God, you wolves and vampires are awfully cocky. I did escape from him.”
“He could have caught you just as easily. That doesn’t matter. I know Julius well. He is a good person to have on our side. Now, will you please come back to work? I need your help.”
He heard her sigh and he hoped that he was convincing her to come back. He already spoke to his nephews and staff about providing extra security for her. He couldn’t believe that the address she gave as her place of residence was false. He should be greatly concerned that she was one of the bad guys, yet every instinct both were and man, told him she was trustworthy and to allow the events to unfold.
“I am used to being alone and handling things on my own. I prefer my privacy and I don’t want a bunch of were men sniffing around, trying to choose me for their entertainment. I’ve heard the stories.”
He cleared his throat. “I can assure you that you will be left alone to do your job. We have so much to do. This group needs to be tight, organized, and trustworthy. I need your help, Melena. I wouldn’t even trust someone else to take this over or even enter your system of organization.”
She chuckled. She was an organized mess. One look in her office and he wondered how the hell she even knew where anything was.
“I will try to come by, but please ensure that I am not bothered. There are things that need to be done before finalizing the fifth choice.”
“I understand. Be safe and call me if you need anything at all.”
Xavier hung up the phone and stared at his nephew Gideon.
Gideon stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest and his teeth clenched.
“She’s hiding something, Uncle. I can’t believe that Julius licked her.”
Xavier leaned forward, placed his hands on his desk and stood up.
“I’m afraid that she is hiding something, too. But I still feel that she can be trusted. Whatever she is hiding must be personal to keep her alone and so weary of relationships and trust. Julius’s interest in her and the fact that he didn’t just take what he wanted says an awful lot. Too much if you ask me.”
“I agree. He was quite cryptic the last time I spoke with him. If you do not trust her to confide in you, then how come you have her working on something so crucial to our safety as were and the safety of the circle of elders?” Gideon asked.
“She can be trusted. I know this. My gut is insistent that she is important to this development and that any reservations or distrust she has is personal. Her personal life was not even important to me until you and your brothers told me that you believe her to be your mate. It was all business, but if she is going to be family, then she will need to learn to trust each of us.”
“My gut is tied up in knots and I don’t feel too confident in the gods’ choice. She has gained the interest of my enemies. Our enemies, and because she is more human than were, she could be persuaded the wrong way.”
“Then it’s our job to ensure that she gets all the right information and that we keep her out of the hands of the enemy. Eventually she will come around.”
“Unfortunately, Uncle, that is going to be utter hell and torture for me and my brothers. Our wolves need to claim her and secure her beside us. Being that we are not so tamed, for lack of a better word, we could scare the crap out of her. Right now my skin is crawling, just egging my wolf to shift and howl for the simple fact that she was on the phone with you and I could hear her voice. My wolf knows that she is mine. My brothers and I already lost one mate. We will not lose Melena.”
“You will need to control those urges. She is, as you say, more human than were. I think the best thing to do is to see if Melena shows up for work. W
e need to make her feel safe.”
“Agreed. But one of us will be here to speak with her. She will need to learn about us, as men, as wolves, and as her mates.”
* * * *
“So what do you think these letters stand for?” Melena asked Saxton and Tango as they looked over the pictures of the documents she confiscated from the warehouse.
“I never heard of anything called TAMW. Perhaps it’s an acronym for something,” Saxton said.
“Maybe we should Google search it or Bing it? That is bound to give us something,” Tango said.
“Not if it’s a secret code for some kind of group or operation. Aren’t either of your wolf senses picking up on anything?” Melena asked with a bit of sarcasm.
“What’s with the wolf senses comment?” Saxon asked.
“Nothing. I’m just frustrated. I mean, let’s say that I do have some were blood in me. Why can’t I pull from that power and use it? If I could come in tune to my inner wolf senses, then I could have smelled what packs were at that warehouse or even recognized more things.”
“It’s not like that, Melena. This is not like a fiction novel. There is much more to our capabilities as wolves,” Saxton said.
“Yeah, there’s this inner power and sensation that goes beyond gut instincts. Acknowledging those sensations and emotions places one in tune to their wolf. You have great natural instincts,” Tango told her.
“Yeah, but not like a wolf does. Perhaps if you two would share more facts about my life and identity, it could help clear up some confusion here?”
“Hey, look at this picture. Do you see that, Saxton?” Tango asked, conveniently changing the subject, as he pointed to the picture of a desk with papers and business cards on it. To the side was a handwritten note with a symbol.
Saxton looked at it and growled low.
“What? What is it?” Melena asked.
“That’s Donovan Kylton’s business symbol for his chain of banks,” Saxton replied.
“Donovan is a member of the circle. I saw him at the event the other night. He was very friendly with the Dolberg men and spoke with Count Divanni.”
Goddess of the Circle [The Men of Five-0 #5] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) Page 8