by Sydney Addae
He stopped, inhaled, and placed his hand on the bark of a tree. It had been too long since he’d touched a tree for the simple pleasure of enjoying the roughness beneath his fingertips. Eager to run, his beast swatted against his belly.
“Not now, we must find Grandfather before the 24 hours.” He continued deeper into the forest, reveling in the natural scents of nature. The sky vanished almost completely beneath the thick canopy of leaves, only a few fragments of blue could be seen like a large patchwork blanket. Air rich with the fragrance of leaves and loam filled his chest. Trees thick and old with twisted roots and strong. The occasional bird in a tree or a squirrel dashing up a nearby trunk were the only signs of life he saw. An hour later, he came to a fast-moving stream, the sound had a hypnotic quality. Looking around, he knelt and drank some of the cool water from his cupped palm. Standing, he sensed someone behind him.
“Come with me.”
Angus turned and watched the large black wolf who’d visited him in his hotel room lope deeper into the dense foliage. Growing up, Angus spent a lot of time in these woods, but the area Grandfather descended had an ancient, other-worldly feel to it. How had Angus missed this section before? The air chilled as they walked down an incline and turned right onto a rock laden hill. Scents and sounds intensified as they continued through an untouched section of nature. At any minute, he expected to see an extinct animal or something equally as bizarre. Instinctively, Angus sought Silas to share the beauty and met silence.
As they crossed a bubbling stream, the air changed. It seemed charged with something. His beast rose as the hairs on the back of his neck tingled. The entire landscape flipped. Every apocalyptic movie he’d seen could have been filmed here. Everything looked dead or dying. It was as if they’d walked into a combat zone. Had the stream been a dividing line between life and death? Angus looked over his shoulder and saw nothing but decay.
“Here.”
Silence pressed in on him, all he could hear was the constant thump of his own heart as he stared into the darkness below. It was as if the Goddess had turned the dial and amped up the colors of the night. Everything seemed bathed in shiny shades of gray. From the dying leaves on the bent-over limbs, to large rocks that looked as if they’d been repainted by moonlight. The path, if he could call the rocky landscape that, disappeared into a dark canopy of trees. The still air seemed to suck every sound for miles around, nothing moved or could be heard. Even the insects seemed subdued, as if tensed for what was to come.
“Here what?” Angus asked, watching the wolf.
“Now you see the urgency.”
“I don’t see what you see.” Angus turned to look at the rocks that seem to go down a long hilly ravine.
“Your mate is down there. She’s being held prisoner. You must save her.” He turned to face Angus. “Saving her will cost you. Her life will come at a high price. A time will come when you’ll need to make a decision, my hope is it will be the right one.”
Angus thought about it for a moment. He’d lived over 300 years, done most things he’d dreamed of and lived to share the tale. “If saving my mate costs my life, so be it. Where do I find her?”
“Shift, allow your beast to lead you. He’s the only one who can at this point. It’s up to you, I can help no further.” Grandfather sat back on his haunches, watching.
Rather than utter the sarcastic remarks bubbling beneath the surface, Angus nodded. “Thank you, Grandfather. I appreciate your assistance.” He flowed into his beast and inhaled.
“Find your mate, Angus. Time is of the essence,” the old wolf called.
Angus picked his way down the rocky trail a few feet and looked back. Grandfather had gone. On a rocky path headed to nowhere, uncertainty grabbed him by the throat. He sought Silas and came up empty. Just as he convinced himself he’d been sent on a fool’s errand, his beast growled.
“Mate!”
CHAPTER 6
“Mistress, we have a report of human breeders in Texas,” Asia said, walking into Jasmine’s office and sitting in the chair next to the desk.
Jasmine placed her pen aside and looked up at her close friend. For Asia to personally bring it to her, it must have some sort of merit. “Tell me about them.”
“A message came from the Alpha’s mate, Shelby. One of the women who work in their grocery store noticed a human woman with a full-blood. The man acted strangely so she called it in. Shelby was working in the area and went to check them out. When she entered the store, the full-blood ignored her direct command to stop. Being the Alpha’s mate, things took a nasty turn when the full-blood tried to leave. They have both the female and the full-blood in their office for questioning.”
“What’s going on in Texas?” Jasmine asked, wondering about the incident.
Asia shook her head. “Not sure yet, want me to go down and question them?”
“No, we’re already short Angus. KnightForce needs at least two captains available. When are Ethan and Vanessa arriving?” Jasmine asked.
“Later tonight. I’m looking forward to spending a little more time with Vanessa. She and I talked a bit at her wedding reception. Her energy is strong, bright and refreshing. Do you plan to have her work here with you?”
Jasmine hadn’t thought about Ethan or Vanessa, but the idea had merit. “She can. Do you need help in your office?”
“Maybe, I’ll let you know. Shelby is waiting for your instructions,” Asia said.
“Have KnightForce, no that’s right, no men,” Jasmine said as she sat back in her chair. “Let me talk to Shelby.” She pushed the school reports aside and turned to face her monitor. Asia set up the call and a few moments later, Shelby was on the screen.
“La Patroness, thank you for getting back to me so quickly. The female’s name is Doria, I mean Daria. Daria Williams. She lives in Miami Beach and claims to be on her way to California. I think she’s a breeder, although I can’t be sure. The full-blood servant is under her control although she claims he’s her boyfriend. When I told her to release him, she said she couldn’t. Theron is with him now.”
Jasmine wasn’t sure what to make of this. “Is she alone? Part of a group? What’s she doing in Texas so far from US 10?”
“She gives the appearance of cooperating, but I sense she’s not. One thing is certain, she knows of our nation, protocols, breeders, everything. Never argued or put up a fight, nothing,” Shelby said, looking at her notes.
“Do you think she was surprised by how quickly we handled things?” Asia asked.
“Yeah, maybe she’s done this before with no problems,” Jasmine said.
“Could be. I’ll ask Marisa, the cashier who called it in,” Shelby said, and paused.
“Mistress, are you sure you don’t want me to go and see check this one out. I could try to read her thoughts, find out if there’s some kind of plot going on,” Asia said.
“Angus said some breeders couldn’t be read,” Jasmine countered, although she was tempted to allow Asia to go.
“He’s a man. What if that barrier doesn’t work with females? It’s good information to know either way. I could leave in an hour or two, question the breeder, and return before nightfall, barring any emergencies.” Asia continued, looking at Jasmine.
“La Patroness, Marisa said the breeder did look surprised when she asked her a question, something like if this was her first time in the area. Daria stuttered and said no, she’d been through before. Marisa said the breeder didn’t talk anymore and gathered her supplies quickly after that.”
“What did she buy?” Jasmine wondered what the breeder wanted from the pack’s grocery store.
“We make private label snacks that can only be purchased here, she had ten packs of high energy bars, chips, and a 12-pack of cola.”
“Make sure the breeder and the full-blood are scanned for bombs and anything that could harm the pack before placing them both in isolation. Asia will be there in a couple of hours to interview Daria and the full-blood. We’ll decide what to d
o afterward.” Jasmine watched Asia stand, no doubt telling her mate of this trip and giving instructions for him and Sarita, their daughter, for later.
Jasmine disconnected the call and pointed at Asia. “Do a thorough scan and disable her. Also, get what you can from the full-blood, places they’ve been, people he’s talked to on her behalf, let’s get as much information as possible so I can pass a complete report on to Silas.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Asia turned to go.
“Be back here tonight. No heroics, no getting hurt, no emergencies. I agree we need to know what’s going on and your methods of using the bracelet to gather that information is the fastest, but that’s all I want you to do. Alpha Theron, Shelby, and KnightForce will handle things after we submit a report.” Jasmine held the other woman’s gaze until a smile crept up Asia’s face.
“I won’t kill anyone, Mistress.”
“Good, our watcher’s group is too new to become vigilantes. Just remove or disable her ability to enslave our men and let her go.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Asia left, leaving Jasmine sitting at her desk in silence.
“Please don’t let this Daria be a real problem,” she muttered and glanced at the clock. Three hours before the children would be home and she’d be done working today. Her fingertips grazed the documents she needed to approve for the school’s new project and a few other things. But her thoughts remained on the breeder in Texas.
“Silas?”
“Yes?”
“We have a breeder in Texas, Shelby called it in.” She spent the next few minutes updating him on what she discovered and ended with Asia on her way to disarm the woman.
“Disarm? What do you mean?”
“She’ll scramble or disconnect the woman’s ability to enslave our men.”
“Can that be done without killing the female? I thought it was something built into the fabric or DNA of the breeder,” he said.
“Why did you think that?” she asked, curious. “You’ve lived with a breeder for a while now, you’re something of an expert on how we work.”
Silas snorted. “No one knows much about how breeders work, only that some are stronger than others and that you have innate defenses to protect you.”
“We can handle a wolf, sexually that is. We heal relatively fast and don’t age as fast, either. Unmated breeders can call wolves when they are in heat. Some of us are loving, loyal, and lusty wenches, perfect mates for full-bloods.” She chuckled.
“What you say is true, Sweet Bitch. But there is always a flip side. Good to bad, dark to light, empty to full. That’s the challenge we have with these breeders. We don’t know how dark or empty or bad they can be. If there is a counterpart to your goodness, we are in trouble.”
“Perhaps. But we will deal with that when the time comes.”
“Indeed.”
“To answer your question, I don’t know if Asia can short-circuit the breeder’s capabilities. I do know she will try. That’s all we can hope for.”
“Good job. By the way, Ethan and Vanessa will be here within the hour. They were cleaning out Vanessa’s storage unit near her old home when he got the message. They’re on the way.”
Jasmine’s heart lifted. “That’s great, invite them to dinner, I’ll have some rooms prepared for them. Do you think I should have Vanessa work on the Outlook project along with Rose and Asia, or help out in KnightForce offices?”
“Either would be good.” Silas paused. “Or you could turn over those school project proposals to her and let her advise you on them.”
Jasmine looked at the stacks of paper and grinned. “I love you, Wolfie. That’s a perfect idea, she’s a great teacher and should be able to bring a different perspective. You have just saved me hours of work.” She pushed away from her desk and stood. “I’m headed out to oversee the room preparations and dinner. The kids will join us, send Cameron a message.”
“I will, but you should also give Lilly a personal invitation, just as you’ll tell Rose and your mom.”
“You’re right, I’ll do that right now. I’m excited. Vanessa’s funny and I really enjoyed talking to her at her wedding.”
Silas chuckled. “Behave, Sweet Bitch, don’t scare Ethan’s mate tonight, wait until tomorrow.”
“Bye.” Jasmine disconnected and headed to the elevator. Rose and Tyrone walked toward her.
“Hey, Mom,” Tyrone, her son, said, leaning forward and brushing a kiss against her cheek.
“Morning, Mom,” Rose said, kissing Jasmine’s other cheek.
“Hello, you two, you headed to work?” Rose, her daughter-in-law worked as Silas’ administrative assistant and Tyrone’s office was down the hall from Silas’.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Tyrone said. “Just finished lunch. Where are you headed?”
“Upstairs to make sure the rooms are ready for Vanessa and Ethan. Oh, dinner tonight, six o’clock at our place, bring my grandsons.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Rose said as she and Tyrone continued down the hall holding hands.
“Where’s Rese? Danielle?” Jasmine asked as she waited for the elevator.
“I’m here,” Tyrese, Tyrone’s twin, said, sticking his head out of a doorway down the hall.
“Dinner at our place tonight at six,” Jasmine yelled as she stepped into the elevator.
CHAPTER 7
In the darkness of dreams, Shyla’s mind conjured magical beasts with jaws honed with razor sharp teeth, large fire breathing dragons, fairies and other magical folk. Troubled dreams were nothing new to Shyla, she was Mengistia and had read thousands of books detailing countless secrets, some pleasant, most not.
But this dream had a strange flavor to it. She lay on a steel table in the middle of a dark room, even with her beast’s assistance she couldn’t see her chest or feet. The air was heavy as if it held a thousand moans in check, with one long sigh slipping through every few seconds. A peculiar mix of jasmine and mint teased her nostrils.
Nothing tangible held her on the table but she couldn’t rise or move no matter how hard she tried. Sounds of crickets from the forest danced in the air.
Shyla tried to call out, but instead of words, she whistled. Confused, she continued trying to ask for help and wound up doing nothing more than what amounted to bird calls.
Coldness seeped into her skin, within minutes her muscles shook and teeth rattled. Cool breezes flowed over her skin, sending jolts of pain through her body. Gasping for her next breath, she opened her eyes and wrapped her arms around her stomach to remain steady. Nausea gripped her as she ducked her head, praying for several minutes not to be sick. As her belly calmed, she realized she stood in darkness. A dull spotlight shone down on her, highlighting her sweat suit and ankle boots. Good, they hadn’t touched her, well, she wasn’t naked. But she couldn’t move.
Fear grabbed her. The hair on the back of her head rose as she tried to look around. Horrified by the vast stretch of emptiness, her stomach clenched and water filled her eyes.
No matter how hard she tried, just as in her dream, her gaze could not penetrate the darkness beyond the dim light, regardless which way she looked. Inexplicable gloom with a sense of menace laced the air. This depth of dark wasn’t good or normal.
Shyla concentrated on her faith in the Goddess, La Patron, and her Alpha. She replayed memories over and over, taking comfort in pack to beat back fear. In the distance, muffled voices from her left and from behind her arose. Invisible bonds loosened and she could turn in a circle, but not leave it. Desperate for answers, she called out, releasing a series of whistles instead of asking where she was and the purpose of her being held.
Waves of condemnation and rejection swept through her like the steady stream of a waterfall. What was going on? Why was she here? She’d done nothing wrong.
“Is this the Mengistia you spoke of?” a voice said in the darkness. Shyla tried in vain to see who spoke.
“Yes. She has taken the book, we’ve looked everywhere and cannot find it.”
�
��What book?” Shyla wondered.
“Leave us, I will deal with her.”
A cold sweat left her shaking and wide-eyed, a prisoner of her nightmare as she waited for her jailer. Whoever it was stood outside the small circle of light, she couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman.
“Why did you take the book? Where is it? Did you read it?”
Shyla tried to swallow and couldn’t. “What book?” she whispered. Pleased she could speak, she had a few questions of her own. “Where am I? Why am I here?”
“It was a small red book in the stacks. Security says you broke in and took the book, that’s a crime punishable by death.”
Shyla tried to quell the loud hammering in her chest. “What? I was at home and was sucked in here somehow. I saw a red book but I don’t have it, and I’ve been here the entire time. It’s probably still there.” She tried to leave but couldn’t.
“Sucked here? Explain.”
Shyla repeated what happened at home and ended with her now standing in front of the entity.
“What was on the scroll, do you recall?”
“I had a hard time pronouncing the words, I tried a few different variations and then poof.”
Neither spoke for a few moments. “It seems there is trouble afoot. Did you read the book?”
Unsure if there was a good or bad answer, Shyla hedged. “I read four or five books earlier, I’m not sure which one —”
“Cease with the games, you know I speak of the small red one. Did you read it?”
“I think so. I was tired and falling asleep, I can’t be sure.”
“It has been opened. That is why I am here. Because someone opened the Red Tabloid.”
Shyla’s stomach dropped and she couldn’t, wouldn’t, dig the hole deeper for herself. Reading calmed her better than anything. Whenever she got nervous, she read. This time it may have cost her life.
“Were you seeking it?”