“Your chip goes on and off, did you know that?” she asked through their link.
To his credit he didn’t run off the road even though she sensed his surprise. “No. I did not. How do you know?”
“I can hear it.”
He glanced at her and then back at the road. “You can hear it?”
“Yes, it ticks. While you slept there was no sound. The sound restarted when you woke, but went off again before you went into the bathroom. Something is short circuiting it.”
He didn’t say anything for a while. “The disruption must be our mating. That’s the only thing different. When I’m with you, I’m stronger. My beast is stronger; we have taken my body back.”
Asia didn’t say anything. He could be right. The next time she talked to Mistress she’d ask. In the meantime she scanned the country side, and tried to keep her mind clear of what she’d learned this morning.
“Do we turn right or left?”
Asia glanced at the instructions she’d written from memory, and then at the map she had purchased last night when she checked into the hotel. “Left.” She pointed in that direction.
He turned, and the ride continued in silence, each of them locked in their own thoughts.
“How did you learn to drive?” she asked curious about how much freedom Lord Boris allowed, especially after what she had seen.
“I don’t remember the exact situation.” Hawke frowned in concentration. “I saw a vehicle in an article somewhere, inquired about it and requested permission to learn to operate one. Lord Boris approved and I’ve known how to drive since then. It’s been a while since I’ve sat in this seat.” He glanced at her, winked and then smiled. “I like driving.”
She nodded and looked out the window suppressing a yawn. The short nap she had taken last night after sex wasn’t enough. Asia should have slept but couldn’t. Not in an unfamiliar place with so many strangers. There were too many variables beyond her control to sleep easy. The lull of the ride pulled on her. Her eyelids grew heavy.
Hawke glanced at Asia and smiled. Based on what he’d seen on the map, from this point on, it was a straight drive. A hundred miles or so, another left turn and then a right turn would place them on Chacal land. He took in the scenery; so much had changed in the past decades. But then again, so had he. By a quirk of fate, the Goddess mated him with Asia Montgomery, a true mystery in the scientific community. For years, Lord Boris tried everything to replicate the success they’d found in her and for the most part failed.
They had tried to embed the camera behind his eyes and failed. Hawke recalled reading a report after they embedded a computer chip, and a locator chip in her brain, it had been a miracle she survived the surgery. Not only did she survive, the mechanical devices worked better than they imagined. Lord Boris bragged of the twenty-four hour access they had to everything she saw and heard, which made her the ultimate undercover operative. According to the data he had received, Asia Montgomery represented the crème de la crème of Liege research and yet she sat asleep next to him. They had lost her. Somehow she’d been able to outsmart them and went off the grid.
He could imagine the scene between Lord Boris and his cronies over her defection. They would be rabid, foaming at the mouth. For whatever reason the Goddess gifted him with this unique creature, he would be forever grateful and would protect her with his life. Perhaps everything that happened to him in life was preparation for this new chapter. Hawke grinned liking the sound and simplicity of that plan.
The road ahead narrowed a bit as they crossed a small bridge. A sharp, blinding pain lanced his skull. He pushed the accelerator. The car shot forward, crossed the bridge and hit something solid.
Chapter 17
The jeep skittered to the side. Hawke turned the steering wheel hard. The car spun and hit something again and then stopped. Before he could speak, Asia still in male human form, hopped out the jeep and took on two full-blood wolves.
Enraged at the sight of his mate under attack, Hawke jumped out, shifted to his hybrid, pulled one of the wolves off her, and broke its neck. Another wolf leapt on his back and bit his upper arm, hitting the metal bone. Hawke reached over, grabbed the beast and used it as a bat to hit two other wolves who raced out the woods at them.
He stepped aside, picked up another wolf and slammed it into the ground breaking its bones before tossing it into the trees. Another wolf leapt at his throat, he ducked and then punched the beast in the side sending it flying into a tree.
More wolves raced toward them. The more full-bloods they destroyed, others took their place. Tired of the game and aware of their time constraints, Hawke bulked his hybrid, roared and swatted the wolves with his longer claws. Most lost their heads, others bled out through slit necks. He turned and watched Asia jump high and land on the back of a wolf with her elbow. The loud snap of broken bones settled the matter. The wolf dropped to the ground, dead.
Breathing hard, her chest heaved as she looked around the area. Hawke followed her gaze. This wasn’t a random attack. Not this many wolves.
“I counted eighteen,” she said in between breaths. “These aren’t from Greggor, someone else joined the party.”
He tossed the carcasses of the wolves to the side of the road so they could drive through and then returned to his normal size. “Am I ticking?” He looked at her.
Asia stared at him a few seconds before answering. “Not right now. Why?”
“A sharp pain hit me right before they attacked. I think they pinpointed me and that’s what I felt. Hurt like a bitch.”
She chuckled. “Watch it, I’m a bitch.”
He winked and slid into the driver’s seat. “I know.”
She closed her door, looked out the window at the dead wolves as they drove down the road. “Perhaps we will be there before noon if we don’t have any more company.”
“The pain hit right before they did. I couldn’t give any warning, sorry about that.”
“The way you swerved the car worked fine. I knew something was wrong. Who do you think sent those wolves? Did you recognize any of them?”
Hawke had been too busy destroying them to learn much. “No, I should’ve paid more attention, gathered information to help untangle this puzzle instead of killing them outright. My beast is operating in primal mode and doesn’t think rationally when you’re involved.”
Her brow rose. The feminine gesture looked strange on the face of the man. “Yeah?”
“Yes. We’re mated. For us, your ability to beat a pack of wolves or hybrids or soldiers with guns does not matter. If there is a threat to our mate, the threat must be destroyed. There is no gray area, none at all.” He glanced over to see how she took his confession. She wore a thoughtful expression, but hadn’t made light of the situation. That was a good sign and a good start for open communication.
“Mates protect each other. Not just one watching out for the other, this goes both ways, Hawke. I feel the same as you.” Asia looked at him. “Can you understand that?”
On one level he did, but his wolf balked. “Yes, I hear you, but as an Alpha male wolf, my beast will never allow you to be in danger and not react on primal instincts. I will destroy any threat to you and cannot change that Asia.”
“Well, I’m a fucked up bitch with my own way of handling things. I protect mine as well. We’ll find a balance to work together.” She looked at him with a wry expression. “Because there is no way I can allow Lord Boris and the Liege to take you again. My wolf and I cannot allow that either. In this we are in agreement. No one fucks with our mates.”
Warmth filled his chest and eased the tension he’d sensed when they started this discussion. “I agree with you. My wolf will never allow anyone to take control again.” Hawk would rather die first.
Asia nodded, and he knew she understood. Death was preferable to captivity. They drove the rest of the way in silence until she pointed to a side road.
“Turn here.”
Hawke made the turn down the pave
d road and continued forward.
“I wonder why your chip goes on and off,” she said with a thoughtful expression. “Is there something we can do to keep it turned off?”
He shrugged. “Is it on now?” He couldn’t hear the ticks as she called them.
“No. Which means right now they can’t lock onto you. I’d prefer to keep them away from Chacal’s property. The man is an associate of La Patron and is allowing you to use his computer system as a courtesy. I don’t want anything to happen to him or his home because of this visit.”
“Yes I agree, but I don’t know how or why the chip is short-circuiting. The thing never has before, not until you came along anyway. Maybe it has something to do with our mating. When you showed up in the castle, our link burned in my mind dragging my wolf forward.”
“Burned in mine too. Perhaps it’s the link?”
“Could be, or the sex, or just being close or all of it. I don’t know.”
“We’ll do a simple experiment. The next time you’re ticking I’ll link with you, maybe tell it to stop ticking or something like that to see if it works.”
Hawke nodded. “Is this the turn or keep going straight?”
“No, turn here and press the intercom at the gate, then say our names.”
He followed her instructions and then drove through the gate after it opened. The voice instructed them to follow the cobblestoned pavement up to the house. After driving another mile up the winding road, a large white contemporary structure came into view.
Hawke’s hand tightened on the wheel as they reached the drive in front of the house. He stepped out, went to assist Asia, but she stepped out before he rounded the car and headed up the stairs. They needed to work on how to approach unfamiliar areas because his wolf gave him fits over her walking ahead into possible danger.
“Asia.”
She stopped and looked over her shoulder.
“Let me go first.” He had explained as much as he could and hoped she didn’t fight him on this.
Asia stared at him a few seconds and then nodded. Exhaling in relief, he took her hand, and walked to the door. The door opened before Hawke knocked. Surprised at seeing the tall distinguished looking gentleman with golden brown eyes wearing a deep purple long sleeved shirt with ruffles at the cuffs and a drawstring around the collar that reached the top of his thighs, Hawke nodded.
Tight, dark brown pants stuffed in black knee high boots completed the unusual attire. An angular shaped face with a long thin nose, pointy chin and blackish-brown hair falling straight from a widow’s peak to his shoulders reminded Hawke of a model Renaissance man.
Chacal didn’t speak, or smile, or invite them inside the house. Instead, he stepped back turned and walked down the hall. Hawke stepped inside and looked back at Asia when she didn’t follow.
“That man smells different. I don’t think I’ve ever smelled a wolf like him. Mothballs, he’s real old.”
Hawke touched her mind with urgency. “We can discuss that later. First, I need to get to the files in the cloud before time runs out.”
Asia exhaled and followed.
He picked up Chacal’s scent and followed the trail to a wood covered steel door which blended well with the interior wall panels. The house was much larger than it appeared from the outside. Chacal stood nearby watching them.
“Chacal thinks you’re a man.”
“Yeah, I know. Does it bother you to hold hands with a man in front of him?” He heard the laughter in Asia’s voice.
“No. I’ll hold you anywhere in any shape or form.” She chuckled and squeezed his hand.
They waited for Chacal’s instructions. He pointed to the door. There was a clicking sound, and the door slid open. Hawke peered inside and then looked at his host.
“Is the system down here?”
Chacal nodded.
“Thoughts?” he asked Asia while looking into the well-lit area.
“I’m not sensing anything other than equipment.”
Hawke led her through the door and down the stairs. Organized electronic equipment filled the well ventilated room. Hawke rubbed his hands together in pleasure. True, he had been a prisoner for decades, but he loved learning and the knowledge he had acquired over the years had been his narcotic of choice.
Eager, he strode to the long table with keyboards situated in front of three thirty-five inch sized monitors. He typed in a few codes to prepare the system for what he needed. The system accepted his codes. Next, he ran a few tests to see what traps, if any, were resident.
Hawke sensed Chacal behind him as he continued creating a system within this system so that it couldn’t be traced to this location. Entering the cloud took longer than he planned but after thirty minutes he accessed his files in the cloud.
“I’m in.”
“Good.” Asia sat in a chair next to him.
First, he concentrated on the test wolves, pulled each file and deactivated every kill chip. Some were already dead by other means, but most still lived. Once their chips shut down, so did the tracking beacons. Greggor wouldn’t be able to locate them any longer; Lord Boris’ power over the wolves was now dead. Exhilarated over righting that wrong, he eyed Asia and smiled.
“The wolves are safe, thank you for this. At least one weight’s removed from my conscience. It will take years to lighten the stain of blood from my hands; this is a good first step.”
Next he encoded his research files so that no one other than him could read or understand the documents. A lot of the research came from prior studies of his mate. For a split second he wondered how she would feel about that backdoor connection, and decided to wait until much later to discuss his exact duties in the lab. Once she understood his thirst for knowledge, his actions should be seen in a better light. At least he hoped that would be the outcome. One never knew with Asia.
Hawke’s primary role had been to duplicate Asia’s experiences and modify the techniques so that a broader range of wolves could accept some of her changes. To date, the chip implants were his only success. None of the wolves, other than him, could accept metal bones. If he could destroy the research files he would, but Lord Boris set the protocols and Hawke hadn’t had the time or clearance to change those yet. Instead, he settled for coding them so the records would have no value in their present condition.
It took several hours to make all the changes, to close all the doors, to erase his footprint and to clean up the system he’d borrowed. By the time Hawke finished, hunger and fatigue lay heavy on his shoulders. Asia had sat quiet next to him the entire time. Chacal remained nearby seated in a chair.
When the system accepted Hawke’s last command, he laced his fingers, stretched, and smiled at Asia. “Done.”
She grinned, but he read the weariness in her gaze. They both needed to regroup before heading toward the pickup point. Hawke stood and offered his hand. She accepted and stood. Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against hers, pleased by the flash of desire in her eyes.
He winked and turned to their host. “Thank you for the hospitality and the use of your system.”
Chacal nodded and rose and headed toward another door on the same floor. Assuming it was another exit to outside, they followed. Instead of outside, they entered a luxurious dining and living room combination.
Hawke’s gaze bypassed the sparkling crystal chandelier, the thick Persian rug beneath the long mahogany polished table, exquisite signed artwork gracing the walls, statutes and statuettes on various surfaces all of which he knew denoted certain points in history.
Instead, his stomach growled in appreciation of the table laden with bountiful aromatic meats, steaming vegetables, stews, and platters of sliced cakes or bread.
“Smells great,” Asia said as she dropped his hand and headed for the table.
Hawke met Chacal’s gaze, and nodded. “Thank you. Is there a bathroom I can use?”
The older man turned and moved in the opposite direction. The movement was so smooth Chacal appeared
to float down the hall. He stopped and pointed to a door. Hawke nodded, and stepped inside the large, space.
Asia took a plate from the sideboard and placed slices of medium rare beef, a turkey leg and other goodies on her plate, scanning for danger the entire time. She didn’t trust anyone who refused to speak. Chacal’s random heartbeat mystified her. The entire time Hawke worked on the computer she’d monitored their host. “Mistress?”
“Asia.”
“We are at Chacal’s. Hawke has disabled the chip. The test wolves are free.”
“Okay, I’ll tell Silas. How are you and Hawke doing?”
“Good. Somehow our mating interrupted the chip in his brain, have you ever heard of that happening?”
“No, I’ll ask Silas. That’s great if it works out that way. Because as long as he has the chip, they can track him and you’re not safe. You’re still using the chameleon to disguise yourself, right?”
“Yes and I appreciate you looking into that for us. If we can figure out how to short circuit it more, then we should be able to neutralize it completely.”
“Good point. I’ll ask Jacque and Matt as well, some things may have come across their desks while doing research that can answer that question.”
Asia ate while listening to Jasmine and monitoring her link with Hawke. “Chacal is old.”
“Huh? Why do you say that?”
“I’m reading him. And he’s old like La Patron, maybe older. It’s obvious in the way he moves, and doesn’t speak.”
“What do you mean doesn’t speak? He talked to Angus.”
Asia stopped eating and placed the fork on the table. “The man has not spoken an audible word since we arrived. Is there a way to verify he is Chacal?” She exhaled to calm her beast. Hawke was taking a long time in the bathroom. If he didn’t surface soon she’d go find him.
“Angus says he will talk when he chooses and yes he’s old, an eccentric. He may not speak but he will watch everything and make his own decision how to interact with you. Chacal has already contacted him with an update. Right now you should be at a table eating, are you?”
Sword of Inquest (La Patron's Sword Book 1) Page 9