No part of him was interested in revenge, at least not on her. The way he saw it, she was as much a victim as he was. Someone had already signed her death warrant without knowing all the facts. Or worse, they knew and were setting her up to take the fall for their failed assassination attempt. He spent another hour combing her neighborhood and asking around, knowing full well word would spread to the Agency that the wolf was looking for her. With any luck, it would ferret out whoever had attacked him.
Later when he'd stood on Reagan's doorstep bleeding from a wound he couldn’t even see, he almost laughed at how perfectly his plan had worked out. Now he had the psychic bastard in his head, and even though the wound was not physical, it was bad enough that the blood had manifested itself in the physical world. Ever since the Special Agent had opened up his mind, something had changed in him. He could see the world she’d seen and was unable to turn it off. He saw his attacker, he felt the pain even though it was in his mind. The weapon of choice this time was a crystal shard that the attacker had stabbed him with while they wrangled in the strange plane of existence that psychics called the Mindscape. The crystal shard inside his mind would eventually kill him, and yet minus the unexplainable blood, he’d look as though no physical harm had happened to him. With his string of bad luck today it would probably all be placed squarely on the shoulders of the young woman he was waiting for.
When she’d opened the door and eventually agreed to help him, he felt his beast stir. The wolf wanted the poor woman more than it wanted to hunt or run free. And when she touched him the man in him growled right alongside his beast. There weren’t many things Liam was certain about in this life. He could count them all on one hand. One, his world had collapsed with the death of his wife. Two, leading his pack was all he was good at. And three, nothing in his life had felt as good as the feeling of Reagan resting her soft hands against his temples as she slipped into his mind. Long locks of chestnut brown hair tumbled over her shoulders and brushed against his face making his nose twitch. As she’d closed her eyes he longed to have her look at him with those deep blue pools that hid behind thick dark lashes. He reveled in the warmth that rushed between them and the sweet scent of heather and lavender that filled his senses as she hovered over him. Pure heaven. He wanted to hold on to it for as long as possible. It gave him peace that he'd not known in years.
His thoughts had always been erratic, but since his first contact with Reagan everything was calm and focused. That thought chilled him to the bone. He regretted asking her to leave his mind, and he was resentful that she'd gone away so willingly. But worse than anything was when the vampire arrived.
Looking back on the moment, Liam growled. Should he have eavesdropped on their argument? No, but there was no way he wasn't going to listen. He'd sworn to himself to protect her, without rhyme or reason, his one sole purpose after leaving the Agency that afternoon had been to find her and protect her. But the conversation between the vampire and Reagan would haunt him. What was buried in her past? Why did she hate his kind so much? It was obvious by their previous conversation that hate might actually be an understatement.
Something had happened. Something deeply personal that twisted her with so much hatred that even her closest friend believed that she would cross that moral boundary and try to commit murder.
The longing pleas from the vampire had made the wolf bristle against Liam's insides. "Reagan, I love you."
The vampire’s sentiment was met with a low guttural growl from both sides of him. Anger wasn’t the right word to describe it. The reaction was utterly blinding. Something so insignificant as a vampire's infatuation shouldn't eat at him, but there was no denying it. His wolf howled on the inside and Liam did his best to chalk it up to his need to protect her, nothing more. In what he could only call a childish move he had leapt into action when the vampire asked if he was still there and pulled off his shirt before opening the door to her bedroom. The look on the other male’s face was priceless, but the reaction from Reagan stunned him and gave him and his beast the urge to chase her. She was tempted by him, and god knew with the way his cock was straining against his zipper he was tempted just as much by her. His chest puffed out a bit more than usual with pride then the vampire tucked tail and left. Liam’s grin said it all: Wolf-one, vampire-zero.
As she'd packed her bags after agreeing to the terms of their business arrangement Liam had excused himself long enough to make a call. He’d pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, pressing call as soon as he found the one he was looking for. "Get Celeste on standby. If all goes well, I'll have someone I'll need her to meet. And find out anything and everything you can on Special Agent Reagan Silas."
The voice on the other end of the phone paused. "Silas?"
"Yes, is there a problem with that?"
“No, sir, but maybe you should talk to--"
"I am the Alpha, you either do as I say or I'll find someone who can. Do you understand me?"
"I understand, sir." The man paused. "Consider it done."
"And make up the spare room. The one closest to mine. We'll be having a guest."
"Ms. Silas, I presume?”
Liam grinned and hung up. Secrets could only stay hidden for so long, and his beast was itching to find out hers. He wanted her as much as Liam did. But the beast enjoyed the chase, the man inside him wasn't nearly as patient.
The drive to his compound was made in silence, but he could feel her tense as they drove past a small huddle of humans holding signs. It was the same thing every day, protesters, marches against their collective kind. His own pack members had recently been attacked while taking one of the pups to school. The unprovoked assault was barely covered in the news, and in the end the pack had decided to pull the young ones out of their school and enroll them in a private academy that would be much more tolerant of their kind.
Now that she was settling into the bedroom next to his, he had a moment to clear his head. Being around her made him feel possessive, something he hadn't experienced in over sixty years. Inner turmoils that he'd thought were dead and buried were roaring to life along with inner accusations of betrayal. He was on his fourth glass of whiskey when Seamus walked in. "Sir, I have as much information as I could gather right now, but I think there are more files, I just--"
"You just what?"
"I can't get them yet."
Liam growled. "Why not?"
"Because your father has forbidden access to the lower vaults where he keeps his personal items and his Syndicate files.”
“Find another way.”
“There is no other way, maybe you should just call Dugan yourself and ask,” Seamus paused and added, “Politely.”
“No.”
“Liam, come on. This female is trouble, I know it. And I know there’ll be something in those files. Just ask him.”
Liam narrowed his eyes. “How do you know, Seamus?”
“I remember hearing the name Silas. It was years ago, around the time my father died. I’m begging you, as your friend not as your beta, please, call the old man—“
The Alpha wolf ran his hands through his hair and let out a long sigh. “Seamus, old friend, your mind is still cluttered with grief over the loss of your father. We all still ache from his death, but this girl is far too young to have been involved. Let it go, I won’t involve my father or the Syndicate Council. This is pack business.”
“And what about the Agency? You were attacked in their building, that makes it Syndicate business. And your father is a council member.”
Liam placed his glass on the desk as steadily as possible. His father, Dugan, seemed to be a constant pain in Liam’s ass ever since the old wolf handed over the pack to him so that he could sit on the Syndicate Council that controlled all of the mob families. The fact that Liam’s Beta and best friend was suddenly having a major hard-on for their former Alpha was just another irritant itching to drive him crazy tonight. "What’s with the sudden interest in the old man, Seamus
?"
"Well, you see..." The werewolf who looked no older than late twenties at the oldest swallowed hard. "Everything I found is just surface stuff, but there might be more info in the Alpha's vault. It might be worth it to ask him."
"We aren't asking him shit. This is my show and I'm running it. There is nothing my father could have that would be relevant to this woman. She's not old enough to have known him when he led the pack, and he was already out of power by the time she'd be of any significance. Drop it, that’s an order.”
"Very well, sir." He pointed at the file. "Then there is everything you requested."
"Thank you."
Seamus made his way to the door and paused. "It's not pretty, Liam. She's damaged goods, best to cut her loose now before she endangers the pack."
"I'll be the judge of that." He sat down behind his desk and took a sip of whiskey. "Who's with her now?"
A wide grin spread from ear to ear across Seamus's face. "Katriona."
Liam spat out his drink and leaned forward. "What?"
"Kat decided she'd take the first shift." Seamus tried to stifle his laugh, "Is there a problem?"
"You know damn well there's a problem." Liam was on his feet and out the door before his right-hand man could keep up. Bounding up the stairs two or three at a time, it took only seconds for him to reach the top landing. He paused in a crouch and leaped when he heard a scream coming from Reagan's bedroom. His shoulder caught the sturdy door and burst it open. With a roar he shouted, "Get away from her, Katriona!"
Both women looked up from the bed, Reagan was sitting crossed legged clutching her chest, eyes wide, and heart racing. Kat was laying on her stomach with something in her hand and holding back a giggle.
Liam blinked and shook his head, but the female wolf suddenly narrowed her eyes. "What the hell is your problem? You're going to have to move her to another room now, jackass."
“The hell I will."
"You broke her door. Move her."
"I'll fix it."
She stood up and snarled. "And just what did you think I was doing, big brother?"
"I know you well enough to be suspicious." His gaze moved from Kat to Reagan and a familiar movement stirred inside him. His voice went deadly soft. "You will not hurt her."
The female wolf circled her elder and she flexed her clawed fingers. "Is that an order from my alpha?"
"Yes."
She shrugged. ”Well, just so you know, you’re an ass. I wasn’t hurting her. Unlike you, I was actually taking time to get to know her." She tossed her long auburn hair over her shoulder and looked at Reagan, "Sorry to leave you with the jerk, but I have a feeling my brother wants to make sure every hair on your head is perfectly intact."
As soon as the room was quiet, Reagan sat up on her knees and moved to the edge of the bed while running her fingers through her hair. The sight made Liam shake. He wanted to grab her, throw her down and rip the clothes from her body. Putting her in the room next to his was a huge mistake. Standing in the room with her was an even bigger mistake. "What is the problem? Your sister was just showing me old pictures."
"Why did you scream then?"
She laughed and held up the item in her hand revealing an old photograph of him and Kat as children with faces painted like cats and Liam, unfortunately, standing out with his hair permed in the style his mother insisted on when he was younger. He couldn't help but smile. "You think that's funny, huh?"
She bit her lip and nodded. “You, in a perm. It's hilarious."
His hands encircled her wrists and pulled her closer. Reagan’s face went white as a sheet and fear clouded her eyes. Releasing her wrists he took a step back. “I apologize, I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that.”
She was already on the other side of the bed. Her fear of his kind couldn’t be clearer than it was at that moment. “No, you shouldn’t have. Don’t ever do it again.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry. I want us to work together, I don’t want to be enemies.”
“You’re a werewolf—”
Liam cut her off and finished her sentence. “I’ll always be your enemy.” When she nodded in agreement he headed for the door. “Seamus will get a new door installed, it shouldn’t take long. I’ll send Kat up to get you when dinner is ready.”
He exited the room and headed straight for his office, eyeing the file on his desk he swiped it into the trash can and slumped back in his chair. The witch would never see him as anything more than her enemy, giving the file one last look he poured himself another glass of whiskey and downed it. He’d leave her past alone, whatever her reasons for hating him they could stay buried in the past. His wolf urged him to look at the papers, but Liam growled back at the beast inside him. “It’s none of our business, she doesn’t belong with our kind.”
Kat tapped her foot under the table as Reagan took her seat at the dinner table. She found herself sandwiched between Liam at the head of the table, Kat who sat on her left, and directly across from her at Liam’s right was the wolf she’d been introduced to as Seamus, Liam’s beta. He eyed her suspiciously, but given the fact that other two people seated at the table minus the host and Kat were doing the same thing she figured she’d just have to get used to it. A young man sat next to Seamus, he looked to be late teens and the female sitting next to him matched him in age and description. Both had sandy blonde hair, green eyes, and a deep tan tone to their skin. Both seemed to be unhappy with Reagan sitting at the table from the low growl the man would give her every time their eyes met. These people disliked her as much as she disliked them. She could live with that. Her job was to stop some psychic from killing their alpha, nothing said she had to like them or that they had to like her.
The only thing required would be a little bit of civility, which she was currently digging deep to find. Kat was easy enough to get along with. There was something about her that put Reagan at ease, it was almost as if the young she-wolf held the same reservations about her kind that Reagan did. And she didn’t need to be psychic to know it. It was evident in the way Kat’s eyes rested on the staff who were clearly all bitten wolves given their station of servitude. Something was there, something that none of the wolves could see, but Reagan could almost taste the anger in the room when the young male at the table snapped angrily at one of the servers who hadn’t given them enough food on their plate.
Reagan kept a stone cold face but smiled on the inside. Kat was just as bothered by these archaic traditions as she was. Maybe before she left this place she’d be able to stir up a rebellion and some little ounce of change could be made. Quietly she poked at her food, shuffling it around the plate. Unable to eat with multiple sets of eyes watching her she finally laid her fork down and leaned back in her chair.
Liam stopped mid-bite and turned to her. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“I, um…”
A male wolf at the other end of the table growled. “She thinks she’s too good to eat with us. Why do we have this outsider sitting at our table?”
Liam pushed his chair back and stood up. “This is my table, Keagan, and I’ll have anyone I choose sit here for a meal. If you wish to challenge me then, by all means, make it a formal request and we can settle this in the arena.”
The young male set his jaw, stood up and nodded. “I make a formal request to challenge your decision of bringing an outsider in among us.”
Liam looked around the table not seeming bothered at all by this turn of events. “Is there a second to this motion?”
Kat hopped to her feet grinning ear to ear. “I second it.”
Reagan’s mouth fell open, and she leaned over as soon as the woman sat down. “Why would you do that?”
She shrugged. “Because it’ll be fun. Besides,” her gaze shifted from side to side for a minute. “When there is a fight going on other things can go unnoticed.” She winked. “Remember that.”
Everyone at the table stood up, leaving Reagan sitting while the beasts hidden inside the males and females se
emed to be gearing up to break free. This was exactly what she didn’t need right now. Never in her life did she want to witness wolves transforming. It was one of her biggest fears.
As the group started to move for the door another person came running in holding something small in their arms. The man was out of breath but managed three words. “Krysten needs help.”
The pack that had been moving as one stopped as one. Liam peaked into the bundle in the man’s arms and growled sending the group into a similar response and the bundle in the man’s arms started to wail. Without another thought, Reagan leaped to her feet staring at Liam. The alpha made eye contact with her and pointed her out to the man. “Leave Sophia with my guest. She will keep the child calm. Krysten will need your help as well.”
Before the man could protest Kat had snatched the child from his arms and headed toward Reagan. “Watch her,”
“I don’t know—”
Kat bent down and whispered. “Do this and they will learn to trust you and my brother won’t have to answer any more challenges. Show them you are on our side, even if you hate us, it will make your time here easier if they think you will protect them and our alpha.”
Reagan nodded and held out her arms. The small child still cried, but the sound was softening as the little ones tears started to subside. There was no training from her father or the Agency on how to deal with children, her exposure to them was limited, but at best she could hold the little beast until it fell asleep or maybe even rock her back and forth like she’d seen on TV. Kat led the man out while the two young wolves watched her.
Liam snapped his fingers at Keegan, “Take your sister with you out to the arena, we aren’t finished with your challenge.” The two of them skittered out the door without protest and Seamus stood at the door clearly waiting for the Alpha. Liam strode over to Reagan while brushing his hair out of his face. “Will you be okay with her?”
“Yeah, I mean I’ll figure it out. You should go help whoever is in trouble.”
Code Name: Fox / Mind Games (Syndicate Series Book 1) Page 12