Ethan pulled on his own pants and sat down on the bed. “I don’t know what to do. I only know I don’t wanna lose her.” He looked up at Latan. “Are you willing to back off?”
“Hell, no. I can’t even imagine life without her now.” He looked down at his hands, his grip on the back of the chair so tight his knuckles had turned white. “Are you willing to share?”
Rising abruptly, Ethan crossed to Latan and gave him a hug. “It would be my honor to share a mate with you, bro. But I don’t think it’s gonna be that easy.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Latan groaned. “She may not be willing to take either of us now.”
“Won’t the mating fever force her to stay close?” Ethan asked.
“No way to tell since she’s not full-blooded wolf. Hell, we don’t even know what her other part is. The fever may not affect her at all.”
“If that’s our only problem, I’ll be a happy man,” he said dryly. “Unfortunately, I think we’ve got more trouble coming. Do you know what I mean?”
“She’s keeping secrets, and she’s in some kind of trouble. I can feel it.” Latan walked over and started adding small pieces of wood to the fireplace. “The mating bonds had begun to form when she slammed shields into place, kicking me out of her head.”
Running a hand through his hair, Ethan grimaced. “Shit, same here.” He gave Latan a grin. “I was in there long enough to know she has feelings for both of us, and I don’t believe she has anything to do with Kaugh in a bad way.”
“Well, hell, I didn’t think she was working with him before we mated her. She—” The ringing of his cell phone interrupted Latan’s thoughts. “Where the hell did I leave my phone,” he mumbled.
“Here.” Ethan grabbed it off the table and handed it to him.
“Hello,” he barked into the small phone. He listened for several long minutes and then glanced at his brother. “It’s Brenner,” he whispered, before returning his attention to the call. “No, Ethan and I are at the teacher’s cabin, and she’s not here. Come on by and give me what you have.” He closed the phone and smiled. “Brenner did a background check on Tania for Remus. He said he didn’t find much, but he did come up with a little something. Remus isn’t home, and Brenner needs to leave, so he’s coming by here to fill us in so we can pass it on to Remus.”
Ethan laughed. “Isn’t that convenient?”
“I’ll say. He called from the car after he left Remus’s house, so he should be here any minute.”
“Couldn’t be too soon for me,” Ethan declared.
* * * *
“You did well, Marty. Everything’s perfect!” Kaugh walked around the small house, testing the strength of the bars on the windows. He glanced outside and frowned. “The clearing’s too dark at night. Get some floodlights put up on the corners of the house. I want this place lit up like it’s the middle of the day.”
“Sure thing, boss. Do you want motion detector lights?” Marty asked.
“No, I want us to be able to see everything all the time, not just when something comes close enough to set off the sensors. Once we bring the wolves here, we’re gonna have to be extra careful. We may need to bring in some more men to double up on guard duty.” He walked down the steps leading to the underground rooms. “Did you find out when the equipment will be here from California?”
“Yes, sir, it’ll be here first thing in the morning. Do you want us to supervise the delivery?”
“No, I’ll be here to do it. I want to make sure everything is just right before we collect our specimen.” Entering the smaller of the two rooms, he gazed at the pair of small beds. More like army cots, he nodded in approval when he saw the large bolts fastening all four of their legs to the concrete floor. “Excellent,” he murmured. Walking over, he pulled on one of the leather straps hanging from the metal frame. Each bed had three straps spaced so one could be fastened across the chest, one across the waist, and the last one across the legs. They were merely a precaution. He had every intention of keeping his subjects sedated as much as possible.
“What’s so special about this female you’re so anxious to get your hands on?” Marty walked over and sat on one of the beds.
“Truthfully, there’s really not anything special about her. Her biggest draw is she’ll save me years on my research.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Constantine had her as a patient for years. She’s not a pure specimen. Her grandmother was a full-blooded shifter, her father a half-breed. According to Constantine, Maddie never found her own wolf. He experimented over the years with various ways to try and bring it out but never succeeded. She’s also telekinetic, either born that way or she developed the ability after a traumatic accident when she was a child.”
Marty frowned, clearly confused. “If she never found her wolf, what good is she to your research?”
“Constantine’s last entries in his journal indicated that Maddie had recently mated a full-blooded wolf shifter, the Alpha of the pack here. He felt, with the addition of the wolf’s DNA, and the mating enzyme, some of his older formulas might just work.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Then his research will still save me countless years on my own. I have the physical data and her responses to every experiment he ever ran. I’ll be able to try out all of the new formulas I’m working on, already having a baseline of the subject’s reactions.”
“What about the telekinesis? Won’t it be a problem?” Marty had just a tinge of fear lacing his voice.
“No, the injection I have that prevents shifting should also disable any type of telekinetic activity.”
Marty grinned. “Sounds like you’ve got everything under control.”
“I certainly hope so, Marty.” He narrowed his eyes. “Did you get the locks for both sides of the tunnel doors that I requested?”
“Yes, sir. The door at the end of this hall and the one at the end of the tunnel have double bolt locks on both sides of the doors. I am curious why you wanted locks on both sides.”
“Simple, my friend. The locks will be thrown on the inside of the doors to keep anyone from gaining entrance from the creek tunnel.” He gave a sly grin. “Should we be raided for any reason, we’ll be able to escape through the tunnel, locking the doors with the bolts from the opposite side, slowing down anyone chasing after us. That reminds me, I want you to leave a car at the far end of the tunnel. Hide it in the brush where it’s not easily seen, and leave the keys under the driver’s seat.”
“Wow, you really think of everything, don’t you?”
“I try, Marty, I try. It’s what kept me alive when they raided the facility sixteen years ago. Some lessons you learn the hard way.” He strode toward the door. “Everything’s fine here. Let’s get back to town and get some dinner. I plan to be here bright and early in the morning, and I want to be well rested before we pick up our subject.”
* * * *
Latan yanked open the door almost before the sound of the knock had faded. “Come on in, Brenner.”
Brenner nodded and glanced around the room. “Hey, Ethan.”
“Brenner,” Ethan greeted him. “What’ve you got for us?”
He snorted. “Not a hell of a lot.” Dropping down on the sofa, he sighed. “She’s more than just an ordinary teacher, I can tell you that.”
“What makes you say that?” Latan growled.
Brenner looked startled for a moment and then visibly recovered. “Her past is hidden better than some government types I’ve known. I have a friend, who would prefer to remain nameless, that works in the main office of the National Council. I’ve had him searching for anything he could find on her background, and, my friends, even he was surprised at how little there was.”
“So what did he find?” Ethan asked impatiently.
“She came into the Council’s custody sixteen years ago. She was ten years old then. She’d been rescued in a government funded raid on a secret research facility run by one Dr. Mark
Landry.”
“Never heard of him, have you?” Latan eyed his brother.
“No, what else did he tell you?”
“Landry actually worked for the government but had gone rogue with his own research. He was killed in that raid, but his research lived on in the possession of his assistant, Dr. Vincent Kaugh.”
“Son of a bitch,” Ethan exploded. “You’re telling us Tania is involved with Kaugh.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. They rescued her from the lab, Ethan. She was in a damn cage, like a lab rat.”
Latan felt physically sick. “Dear God, what did they do to her?” He glanced at Ethan and realized his brother was in shock.
Brenner sighed. “My friend couldn’t find any details about what went on at the lab. They either don’t know, or somebody went to a lot of trouble to cover it up. He couldn’t confirm it, but he thinks she was born in the facility.”
“What?” Latan cried.
“Her file indicates she was born in the California facility while it was under the control of Dr. Landry.”
“Did it say who her parents are?” Ethan whispered.
“No, the file on her says parents unknown.” He stood up and walked over to the door and then turned and faced Latan, a puzzled look on his face. “There was one other strange thing, but it’s more a rumor than a fact in a file.”
“What is it?” Latan demanded.
“They say her name was given to her by the doctors at the facility.”
“So, what’s so strange about that?” Ethan asked.
“The rumor says the name was meant to be a joke.”
“A joke?” Latan laughed. “If it’s a joke, I don’t get it.”
“No, I didn’t either. I know it’s an unusual name that I’ve never heard before, but I haven’t had time to research it for a meaning.” He opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. “I have to run, guys. Let Remus know what I found out, and tell him I’ll be back in a couple of days, hopefully with a little more information for him.”
“Thanks, Brenner. Be careful, man.” Latan watched as he hurried out to his car then turned and looked at Ethan. “So, what do you make of all that?”
Ethan shook his head and groaned. “I have no idea. How the hell could somebody’s name be a joke?” He thought for a moment and then looked over at the desk in the corner, her computer taking up most of the surface space. In a flash, he was on his feet, heading for the rolling office chair.
“What are you doing?” Latan asked, walking to stand behind his brother.
“I’m gonna see if I can find out what her name means.” The two men watched as the computer booted up.
Latan searched around the desk. “How’s she hooked to the Internet? I don’t see any cables.”
“There’s a satellite hookup here on the mountain. How do you think we have Internet access?”
Latan shrugged. “I don’t know. Guess I never thought about it. Hey, maybe we should check her e-mail. It might give us an idea of what she’s up to.”
Ethan clicked on the icon and then shook his head. “Nope, it’s password protected.” Clicking another icon, he grinned when Explorer came right up. “At least her mail’s the only thing protected.” He started typing. “Now, Google, tell us what you know about Tania.”
Latan peered over Ethan’s shoulder while the two of them read the search engine’s results. After a moment, he stepped back and stared into Ethan’s amused eyes. Before he could think of anything to say, Ethan threw back his head and laughed heartily.
“Oh, my God,” Ethan snorted, “did you see what it says?”
“Yeah,” Latan sighed. “The word’s Australian, and it means ‘fairy queen,’ ‘long awaited,’ or ‘kitten.’” He shook his head, watching his brother nearly fall to the floor, tears of laughter streaming from his eyes.
“All this time, and we never knew.” Ethan dissolved in an undignified fit of giggles again. “No wonder she doesn’t have any cat food or cat toys. She is the damn cat!”
“Oh, no,” Latan groaned.
Ethan grinned up at him. “You are such dead meat, bro.” He snickered. “You think she’ll remember all the times you said you hated cats, or when you told Taynor she’d make a tasty snack? Or, hey, how about when you growled at her, trying to scare her away on our back deck.” Again, he doubled over with laughter.
Latan scowled and began to pace back and forth. “What the hell are we gonna do now?”
After a moment, Ethan pulled himself together enough to answer him. “We find our mate, that’s what we do now.”
“You still wanna share her with me?”
“Of course,” Ethan assured him. “I love her, you love her, and I sense that she loves us, too. I don’t care that she turns into a cat, do you?”
“Of course not, I’m worried that she’s in some kind of trouble, and somehow, Kaugh’s involved.”
“So, we find her, make her tell us everything, and then we protect her.”
“Simple as that, huh?” Latan smiled.
“She’s our mate. The whole pack will back us up.” Ethan looked thoughtful for a moment. “How do you feel about pups? Will it bother you if we can’t carry on the pure Alpha line?”
“No,” Latan snorted, “let Remus carry on the line. Hell, even his children won’t be full-blooded.” He sighed, and stared off into space. “I don’t care if we have wolf pups that purr and have retractable claws or kittens that growl with fangs. I just wanna spend my life with Tania. I wanna grow old with her and fill up our house with a happy family.”
Ethan smiled. “I couldn’t have said it better, bro. Okay, first things first. We need to find her, make her tell us what she’s keeping secret, and we need a plan in place to protect her.” He thought for a moment. “We’re gonna need help.”
Latan grinned. “What are Alphas for?”
* * * *
“You did what?” Remus growled.
Ethan glanced at Latan and then back to his Alpha. “We mated Tania last night.”
“Both of you, together?” Remus asked incredulously.
Latan sighed. “Yes, you heard right, together. But there’s a problem, and we need your help.”
Remus snorted. “There’s more than one damn problem, little brother. Three wolves cannot mate together.”
“And exactly where is that written, oh, great Alpha?” Ethan sounded disgusted.
“Well, it’s, uh, it’s…”
“Hey, guys, what’s going on?” Maddie padded into the kitchen, her brow wrinkled in concern.
“It’s nothing, baby,” Remus replied before his brothers could say anything. “Just some pack business I need to handle with Ethan and Latan.”
“Okay,” she smiled, “what business?”
“Don’t worry about it, baby. I don’t want you upset. It wouldn’t be good for you in your condition.” Remus cringed when he saw the fire of anger flash in her eyes.
“My condition is just fine and will stay that way as long as certain people stop trying to hide things from me. I’m the Alpha Femm of the Wind River Pack, and I demand to know what’s going on,” she growled.
Remus sighed and then glared at his brothers. He rolled his eyes and then waved his arm, giving them his permission to tell her their news.
“Ethan and I mated with Tania last night,” Latan stated.
“Ahhh,” she screeched, and then hurried over to hug both their necks. “That’s so great! I really like her. It’ll be great having her in the family.”
“Are you crazy?” Remus asked through gritted teeth.
Maddie laughed. “No, I’m not, so lighten up, Alpha. It’s great news, for everyone. The pack could use a little shake-up every once in a while, and a ménage marriage between two wolves and a cat ought to do the trick.”
“What?” Remus cried.
“How the hell did you know she’s a cat?” Ethan asked.
“You mean it’s true?” Remus felt like his world was spinning out of control.
His gaze shot to Ethan.
“Yeah, it’s true. We just found out tonight.” He turned to Maddie. “How did you know she isn’t a wolf?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Actually, I think she’s both. My sense of smell is a lot more sensitive since I got pregnant. I can scent both wolf and cat on her, but the cat is quite a bit stronger.” She looked up into Ethan’s eyes. “Do you love her?”
“Absolutely,” Ethan replied without hesitation.
“Do you?” Maddie repeated her question to Latan.
“With all my heart,” he vowed.
She gazed into Latan’s eyes for a full minute then turned and repeated the process with Ethan. Apparently pleased with what she saw, she smiled, and stepped back. “Okay, what can we do to help?”
For the next half hour, Remus and Maddie listened as Latan and Ethan filled them in on everything they’d learned from Brenner.
“So, we need help to protect our mate. We both know, from the mating bond, that she’s not connected to Kaugh in a bad way, but we also both believe he’s the reason she’s in danger,” Latan explained.
“So,” Ethan asked, “will you help us?”
Even though he wasn’t convinced in Tania’s total innocence, Remus’s answer was immediate. “Of course I’ll help you, we’re family, and that’s what families do.” He smiled at his beaming mate and then returned his gaze to his brothers. “Go back to her cabin and wait for her. She’s bound to turn up there, sooner rather than later. Don’t let her get away again. Bring her here so we can question her together and find out what’s going on. If she needs protection, it would be better to keep her and Maddie together and focus our manpower.”
Ethan nodded, and turned his attention to Latan. “Let’s get going, bro. She could be back any minute.”
“Thanks, Remus,” Latan added. “We’re grateful for you help.” He walked over and kissed Maddie on the cheek. “Take care, little momma-to-be.”
Ethan grinned and kissed her other cheek. “Thanks for sticking up for us, little sister.”
Martine, Missy - Changing Their Wolfen Heritage [A Wolfen Heritage 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 15