Jacks looked at Cash and the man looked a little embarrassed. Bas could relate. If he’d done what Cash did, he would have been embarrassed too. When Emma came to them pregnant and in labor, Cash Shifted in front of her to provide proof of Shifters existence. It freaked her out enough for her to pass out. Bas wasn’t privy to his sister’s reaction, but from the look of regret on Wyatt’s face, he would bet it didn’t go over much better between the two of them.
Pop culture movies and books glamorized, glorified, or terrified the populace regarding Were-people, a name given to people who turned into animals. Bas and the others didn’t like it, but there wasn’t a damn thing they could do about it either, it was what it was. They were Shifters, not Were. He chuckled to himself; at least they weren’t sparkly vampires.
“Sorry man, but my Team is pretty loaded down right now,” Kayden responded. “I hate to say it, but maybe our best bet would be to take a page out of Pandora’s playbook and contract a company on the guise of an experiment regarding blood type and try to gather the information without raising a bunch of flags.”
“Yeah, I think that might be the best option at this point. Everyone is just spread too thin,” Senior said. “I’ll look into it. I’ll also get in touch with Zoey about the other stuff, and I plan on contacting Callum and Tristan to assist Mia with the tranquilizer analysis. We need a countermeasure if we’re going to keep advancing on Pandora facilities.”
Bas had heard of and respected Callum. He was an Elder and had a medical degree. Tristan was a bit of an unknown to him. Bas knew the man had a medical degree, one of the few members of the Teams who did. The only other thing he knew about the man was he was a member of Charlie Team. Carter was Charlie’s Alpha and a good guy. Bas hoped Carter had vetted his men as well as Jacks had.
“Agreed,” Jacks answered for the group. “Listen, I almost hate to bring it up, but we also need to talk about all the losses the Teams have been taking lately. Milo has taken some major hits recently. Losing Rock and Greyson in battle was only the tip of the iceberg for that man. Has Matthias made his way through Echo yet? Shit, Charlie lost two as well. Are we planning on bringing more guys into the Teams, and if so, how are we going to go about vetting them?”
Matthias was the boogie man of the Shifter community. He was the only one of their kind who could come and go without detection. Even with their enhanced senses, Matthias was a ghost. No one knew how he did it, and none of them ever got the chance to ask. Bas didn't think even if one of them got that chance, they would ask. The man was legendary. He was the Enforcer for the whole community and had a reputation for taking out his opponents quickly and lethally. If the Alphas or Elders couldn’t take care of someone, Matthias was brought in. Bas had personally never met the man and was grateful he hadn’t. Rumor had it if you met him, your time was up.
Senior rubbed his hand down over his face and answered, “I’m working on that, but you all know the Teams work because of the bond you all have created, most of you since childhood. I'm not sure bringing in replacements is the right answer to the problem. I’m thinking of building a new team. The problem is, unlike the rest of you, this one would be a mix of animals and men. I don’t know if it will work, but I have a man in mind for the Alpha position. If anyone can pull it off, it would be him. I’ll keep you all updated.”
“Sounds good. How about we plan another sit-rep for next week? Maybe by then, we can answer some of the questions brought up here today,” Jacks commented.
“Sorry, but I’m going to have to bow out next week,” Senior said. “Matthias will take my place and give an update on what he has going on.”
Bas heard the gasps and was pretty sure one of those sounds came from his own mouth. All the men around the room, including Kayden, looked shocked. Fuck, it seemed like the boogie man was going to come out of the shadows. Bas didn’t know if he should be scared or relieved. A person couldn’t fight a shadow. The problem was why now? Shit was hitting the fan, and they were all feeling it, but why was the veil finally being lifted? There were too many questions, and Bas knew no answers would be forthcoming anytime soon. He would have to wait, like the rest of them.
They all waited to see if Senior would say anything else. When he didn’t, Jacks ended the meeting, “Okay, then. I guess that’s all for now.”
Chapter 3
Bas really couldn’t take much more. The meeting had been torture for his bear. He constantly had to adjust his breathing and stance just to maintain. It was now or never. He needed to talk with Jacks and get the hell out of there. Wyatt had slapped him on the shoulder on the way out of the room, and Bas lunged at the man. It was instinct, but the look on Wyatt’s face, like he had hurt him, nearly gutted Bas. He wanted his life back to normal.
The problems with his bear had gotten slightly better when Peyton and Wyatt moved into one of the empty cabins. At least now, Bas was getting a little sleep since he didn't have to listen to their nighttime antics. Sometimes, having enhanced senses sucked. When Peyton would try to talk to him, his beast would smell Wyatt all over her and the fucker would go off, tearing him apart on the inside to change and go after Wyatt. Bas knew he was hurting Peyton's feelings by walking away from her most times, but he didn't have any other choice.
It was almost worse when Wyatt walked into the room. He started avoiding him too, trying his damnedest never to be where either of them was, but that was pretty damn hard when his job required him to have daily contact with Wyatt. Peyton was a little easier to avoid, but he felt like shit for doing it.
The bruin in his body thought of her as a little girl, not a grown woman who was happily mated. As far as the beast was concerned, it wanted to lock her away like a princess in a tower. The whole thing was fucked up, and he was the first one to admit it.
Shit, this whole thing was probably his fault. His mind had created separate boxes for all the things that mattered to him in his life. Peyton was one, his human brothers another, the Team and NAC, then everything else. Maybe if he hadn’t kept everything so separate, his beast would realize how wrong its feelings were.
Wyatt had asked him if he had thoughts about Peyton as anything other than brotherly, and the truth was he didn’t. That’s why his beast’s reaction was freaking him out. Neither the beast nor the man wanted Peyton as a mate, but the beast didn’t want her with anyone else either, and that didn’t make any sense.
Maybe if he had introduced Peyton to the Team sooner, not kept her separate for so long, his bear would’ve had the time to acclimate to others being around his sister. Shit, maybe he should have brought one or two of the guys along on one of his trips to visit her. Bas still felt ashamed of himself for keeping Peyton hidden for so long. The members of Alpha Team were a part of his family, but he also had two other families. One with Peyton and one with his brothers. What he couldn’t figure out was why he had the need to keep them all separate in the first place.
Peyton didn’t even know his human brothers by blood, and they lived less than a half an hour away from the house she’d lived in for years. His brothers knew about her, but kept their distance to appease Bas. His Brothers on Alpha Team met a couple of his blood brothers while in the service, but that was just a fluke. Bas could remember wanting to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible. Not because he was ashamed of any of them, but because he honestly believed all his different lives needed to be separate.
The bitch of it was he never once considered how any of them felt about it either. Ethan had human brothers, and he and the guys often hung out with them if they were in the area. Shit, they’d even spent time with Eli’s brother before the whole betrayal thing. Maybe he needed to work on more than just his beast and figure out why the hell he kept people he cared about at a safe distance.
Bas was afraid his mind was slipping, that the process of going rogue was starting. His first instinct was just to end it before one of his brothers or teammates had to do it for him. His second was to run to get away from the cause of his m
alfunction and try to get a handle on it. His third was to do his best to stick it out and deal with it. The latter one was the one he’d chosen, but he didn’t know how much longer he could keep it up.
His only hope was to get through this meeting without drawing blood and ask for a reassignment for a while. Shit, it didn’t even need to go that far if he could get some leave time. Then, just maybe, he could figure all this out. He hoped his Alpha would understand and agree, but looking at the man currently staring at the ceiling like it held all the answers, Bas honestly doubted it. Jacks had one mission now, and that was to keep the women of Alpha Team safe. Bas believed in the mission himself. Shit, one of them was his very own sister. If he went rogue, Peyton would have to witness it.
That’s why he was standing in the conference room, looking down at his feet, trying to get the courage to tell Jacks what was going on. Bas needed advice and guidance, he just felt like a pantywaist for having to ask. Bas wanted to go to Cash, but the fucker was acting all strange and broody. That left him with only one option, Jacks.
The bastard was an excellent Alpha, but besides his mate, Ryleigh, he had zero compassion. His motto was and always had been, take it like a man. Bas usually got behind that, but this time taking it like a man meant hurting both his best friend and his sister. How the fuck was he supposed to deal with that?
Bas needed a second before he approached Jacks and made his request. Not wanting to look at the man in question while he gathered his thoughts, Bas focused on his scuffed-up combat boots. After a few moments, Bas looked up and noticed that Jacks was watching him, but had remained quiet, allowing Bas the time to make up his mind about what he was going to do. He had two choices; ask or leave, and Jacks wasn't going to influence his decision either way. The fucker didn’t say anything, just raised his eyebrow, like he was saying, “get on with it or get the fuck out.” Typical Jacks.
Damn, he knew Jacks wasn’t going to make this easy. Once Bas told him what he had planned, he was pretty sure the big guy was going to go off. Jacks had one main thing on his mind lately, Ryleigh, how to protect her and keep her safe. He had even been willing to let Dalton give up his true mate, Emma, to make that happen. How was he going to feel about Bas’ little problem?
“What’s going on, Bas? I can feel your beast, and I got to tell you, I’m not liking the aggressive vibes he’s putting off. I thought if I gave you enough time, you would get it under control, but that doesn’t seem to be happening.”
Time to nut up, Bas thought to himself. Fuck, this was going to suck.
“Yeah, about that… Listen, I know we’re on lockdown and that all the girls are a priority right now, but I need to take some time away.”
The fucker looked at Bas with that scowl like he was trying to figure out if he was insane or something. The truth was that Bas wasn’t that far off from thinking the same thing.
“I get it the timing sucks, but if I don’t get out of here one of two things is going to happen. Here’s the deal. I’m not stable, and if I stay here, blood will flow, or you’re going to have to take matters into your own hands. My bear is tearing me apart.”
“What do you mean,” Jacks demanded. “Why is your bear tearing you apart and why in the hell would we harm Wy? Fuck, you two have always been close all your life, and you gave those two your blessing. What the hell, man, do you have a thing for your sister?”
“Fuck no, asshole! I fucking knew this was a mistake.” Bas turned around to leave, but couldn’t get his feet to move; he needed this. He needed Jacks to understand and agree with what he had planned.
“Peyton is my sister, and I don’t have any other feelings for her beyond that. It’s the fucking beast. He thinks of her as his in a very platonic way. I don’t get it either, but I need a fucking break. The walls around this place aren’t that thick, and every time I hear them together, or shit, when one of them walks into the fucking room, it takes everything I have in me to keep the beast under control. I don’t expect you to get it. Fuck, I don’t get it. I just know if I can’t break this tension with the beast soon, the alternatives will be much worse. Get me?”
Jacks rubbed the back of his neck and started shaking his head. Bas was just about to leave the room. Goddam Alpha, always thinking he knew better.
“Okay, why don’t you head on down to see your brothers for a week or so,” Jacks suggested. “You can even hitch a ride with Cash and Ryleigh. They’re headed that way in the morning, anyway. Mia and Ryleigh have some tests they want to run on the baby, and they need to document the pregnancy or some shit. They can’t do that here because our supplies and equipment are limited. It will make me feel better with two of my men in the area since I have to stay back here with Kenna.
“You could also check up on a lead we have of a possible Franklin creation. Her name is Shelby Thomas. She’s in that general area. Maybe you can kill two birds with one stone. Get your time away and see if we’re on the right track with hunting these women down.”
“I’m all for going down to see my brothers that was my plan, anyway,” Bas responded. “Helping out with Rye would be a bonus. But I gotta ask what do you want me to do about this woman? It’s not like I can just walk up to her and say, hey, mind giving me a blood sample so I can forward it to my friend? What exactly are we talking about here Jacks?”
“Damn, you’re all turning into fucking drama queens,” Jacks snapped. “Fuck no, I don't want you to go up to her and ask for a blood sample. I want you to watch her and observe her movements. Do the fucking job you’re paid to do and surveille the woman. The plan about bringing in an outside agency to obtain the blood samples has potential, but I want to get a read on one of these women. Figure out if she’s the real thing or another plant like the woman Kayden is currently dealing with. And while you’re at it, get a fucking attitude adjustment. I’m giving you leeway here, but that only goes so far. Get me?”
“Yeah, I’ll grab the chick’s file and come up with a plan of attack,” Bas assured. Before he left the room, Bas walked over to Jacks and extended his hand. When Jacks stood and took it, Bas pulled him, slapped his back. “I appreciate this, Jacks. I know it’s not the best time, but I need this. I’ll get what you need on the girl and get my shit together, Alpha. Thanks.”
Jacks did the same half hug thing, slapping Bas on the back and then pushed him away to stare him down.
“Not a problem, dude, but I expect you to do your job and get your shit together while you’re doing it. We have too much at stake and are going to be a man down. I’ll give you this time to try to figure it all out on your own. But know this, if you can’t, I’ll take matters into my own hands.”
“Understood,” Bas responded. “I’ll get with Cash and help finalize all the details.”
Chapter 4
Jacks left the conference room, not liking the way he was feeling. His team was a mess. Ryleigh was leaving for a couple of days, and he didn’t like it one bit. It seemed like every time the woman left his line of sight, something happened. He also was struggling that he couldn’t go with her with Kenna threatening to Shift at any time, and an Alpha had to be present at all times. Declan was out on a mission and Kayden was knee deep in his own issues. Calling in Kayden was a last resort anyways. So, left with no choice, he had to agree.
Ryleigh and Mia had noted anomalies with Ryleigh’s pregnancy that were concerning. The pregnancy was healthy for all intents and purposes, but she had elevated hormone levels and the baby measured on the small side. The other significant thing was the baby was showing signs of being one hundred percent human. Ryleigh had reached her six-month mark with no indication of imminent delivery in sight. All Shifter children were born between five and a half to six months’ gestation.
Jacks didn’t care about any of that. All he wanted was for Ryleigh and his son to be happy and healthy. He didn’t care either way and was almost relieved his son wouldn’t go through the same things he had to go through in his life because of his differences.
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nbsp; Walking down the hall, Jacks’ mood started to lighten with the enjoyable thought that soon he was going to be a father. It was an amazing thing to him, never having thought he would mate, let alone have the chance to have a child of his own. He had vowed at one time he would never allow himself to procreate because of the potential downfalls. Shifter males only bonded with other Shifters, and until the discovery of Franklin’s children, that hadn’t been in the cards for any of them.
Opening the door to his and Ryleigh's room, Jacks tried to enter as quietly as possible. He knew that Rye needed her sleep and he wasn't going to take the risk of waking her up. Jacks took a couple of seconds to admire what was waiting for him, bringing a smile to his face. Ryleigh was cuddled up on the bed hugging his pillow to her chest. Her head was on the pillow, her red hair glowing off the stark white pillowcase, and the moonlight was shining on her, giving her an ethereal glow. Jacks wasn’t a particularly religious man, but at that moment he knew he had seen Heaven. Ryleigh was his angel, and he loved her more than life itself.
Stripping down as quickly and quietly as possible and walking to the other side of the bed, he slipped under the covers, cuddling up to his mate’s back. Placing his hand on her swollen stomach, he thanked the fates and anything and everything above for this moment in time. Ryleigh and this child meant everything to him. Placing a small kiss on her temple, Jacks was content to be present and in the moment with his mate.
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 86