by Dena Christy
“I’ll tell you what’s going on,” Cadric said, his Norse accent thickening, showing just how angry he was. “I got a phone call last night from our agent at Horn’s compound, who said Alex arrived. What I want to know is why. I’m going to ask you again, did you send him after Samara?”
“No I didn’t. I have no idea what he’s doing there. The last thing I knew he was going out of town to attend to a family emergency.”
Cadric sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again there was an intense light there.
“I was afraid this would be the case. We have a situation on our hands, and we have to be careful how we handle it. I won’t have this mission jeopardized. Both of you know how much is riding on this. Have you heard from Eric at all?” Cadric shifted his gaze to Nick.
“The last time I heard from him, it was after the werewolf attack on Samara and when she went through the change. He did phone to tell me that she had survived it, but I haven’t heard from him since.”
“Okay. They may not know what Alex is up to. I need the two of you to take a team to the compound, and make sure they are safe. I think we can all agree that Alex has no legitimate reason to be at that compound. He has betrayed us. I’ll make arrangements for the jet to leave Norman Roger’s airport in about two hours. The team will be waiting for you there. Do whatever is necessary to see that this mission does not fail.”
Hadria stood and walked out of Cadric’s office feeling sick. She continued down the hall, fighting for control over her emotions. She wanted to scream in anger and weep at Alex’s betrayal. Her curse had struck again. She had hoped Alex would be different, but it turned out he wasn’t.
She looked up, startled when Nick placed his hand on her arm and pulled her to a halt.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concern evident in his eyes, but she had to resist the urge to turn away from him, lest he betray her too.
“I’m doing great, Nick,” she said, her voice overflowing with sarcasm. “My lover has betrayed us all, and my adopted child’s life is in danger and could be forfeit if we don’t get there in time.”
“If you need to take you frustration out on me, that’s fine. Just remember we are on the same team and that I have a brother there who’s in just as much danger as Samara is.”
Hadria closed her eyes at Nick’s quiet words, remorse filling her. She wasn’t being fair to him.
“It’s my fault Alex has betrayed us,” she said, needing to share with him why she had to keep him at a distance. “Centuries ago, I refused a werewolf’s entry into Valhalla. One of Loki’s tests, to see if I would accept a child of Fenrir the Wolf. I failed, and Loki cursed me. He said I would fall in love with the children of Fenrir, and they would betray me. So you see, that’s why Alex has betrayed the Order. It’s because of my curse.”
“As far as I’m concerned, Alex is capable of making his own decisions, and he has decided to go against the Order. It has nothing to do with you and some centuries-old curse. Now let’s go save your daughter and my brother,” he said as he strode down the hall.
Hadria followed behind, trying to take comfort from his words, but she knew that they weren’t true. She was cursed and if she stayed around Nick too long it would only be a matter of time before he betrayed her too.
CHAPTER 16
Samara and Eric arrived at the compound at about three in the afternoon, and drove up to the guard booth. Eric pulled to a stop and rolled down the window.
“Are you expected?” the guard said with a glance at both of them.
“No. I’m here to see James Horn. Tell him it’s Eric Johnson.”
Eric watched the guard pick up a phone and speak to someone on the other end. Both he and Samara knew how important it was for them to get inside. Although it wasn’t said out loud, they both wondered if Horn would refuse them admittance.
The guard put the phone down, and the gate attached to the fence enclosing the compound swung open.
“You may proceed. Someone will meet you at the house.”
Eric drove the car through the gate and made his way up the long drive leading to the main house. There were several smaller buildings dotting the compound.
“Well that’s the first test passed,” Samara said, the tension still evident in her voice.
Eric looked at all the buildings as they approached the biggest, which he knew to be Horn’s residence.
“I wonder where he keeps the formula and his research,” Samara said as she looked out the window. “If we have to search all these building it’s going to take forever.”
“We won’t have to search them. Horn will keep his research close to him, so we’ll find it in the house.”
Eric pulled into a small parking lot beside the house. He and Samara got out of the car, and he went to the back to retrieve their luggage. They made their way to the house, where a tall blond man was waiting for them. Surprised, Eric saw it was James Horn himself.
“Eric, how are you?” he said as he strode forward to shake Eric’s hand. Eric forced himself to relax as he looked at the man he believed responsible for what happened to Rowan. He wanted to rip him apart, but he couldn’t’ do that until they’d gotten what they came for.
“I’m doing well,” he said, glad his voice came out sounding normal. “I’d like to you to meet my mate, Samara. Samara, this is James Horn.”
“I’m delighted to meet you, Mr. Horn,” Samara said as she reached her hand out toward James. He took it with an eager smile upon his face. Eric had to suppress his urge to snatch her hand away from the other wolf.
“Please, call me James,” he said as he dropped Samara’s hand. “Let’s get you two settled into a room.”
Eric and Samara followed behind their host and looked around the house. It looked quite ordinary, albeit large. Eric could see no evidence of a laboratory. He suspected James would not put it where all could see it upon entering the house.
James led them up the stairs and down a long corridor until they reached the third door on the left.
“We always keep rooms ready for visitors,” James said as he unlocked the door and motioned for them to precede him into the room. Eric placed their luggage on the floor inside the door.
“We’ll talk later, once you’ve had a chance to settle in and relax,” James said before he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Eric waited a few minutes to make sure he was gone before reaching out to twist the lock on the door.
The guest room could have rivalled that of a five-star hotel. A king-size bed sat in the middle of the room. The room was large enough not only for the bed, but for a love seat and chairs as well. Glass French doors led to a balcony and sunlight poured into the room.
Eric watched Samara cross the room over to the doors, pulling back the curtain to look outside. The afternoon sun shone on her, its light bouncing off the smooth sheen of her hair. She turned to look at him, the light kissing her pale skin and making her green eyes luminous. Eric hesitated for a moment before taking a step toward her. She looked like an angel standing there in the light, and he was afraid for a moment that if he reached out she would disappear.
He stroked one finger down her cheek as he drank in the sheer perfection of her beauty. Desire swirled around them as he touched the petal softness of her skin.
“You’ve ensnared me with your beauty. Is what I feel for you real or is it a succubus trick?” he asked as he trailed his finger down her throat.
“It’s real, Eric. I haven’t been able to use my powers against you. This is no trick,” she said, reaching up to place her hand against the side of his face. “The night we met, I tried to get you to go with me, that’s why I kept touching you. You resisted me, and I finally ended up goading you.”
“I’m glad this is real,” he said as he leaned down to brush his lips against hers. Before their passion could take hold, he pulled back. “We shouldn’t do this. We have to come up with a plan.”
“I think it best to wait unti
l tonight, after everyone is asleep, before we explore the house. There will be less chance of getting caught then. The question is, what are we going to do in the meantime?” she said. She looked up at him, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
“Oh, I can think of something,” he said as he drew her down to the bed and kissed her with all the pent-up passion he was feeling at that moment.
HADRIA WINCED as she looked down at her ragged fingernail, and stuck it in her mouth. She’d bitten it down to the quick without realizing it. They were on their way to the compound, and it wasn’t fast enough. A sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach at the thought of Samara in danger. Hadria could not have loved her more if she’d given birth to her. The thought of her in danger because Alex had betrayed them was almost more than she could take. It was her fault, her curse had caused this. If something happened to Samara she did not think she could live with herself.
She jumped when a large, masculine hand came to rest on her arm. Nick was sitting beside her on the plane, and had been silent for the duration of the trip.
“We’ll get there in time. She’ll be fine,” he said quietly. Hadria eased her finger out of her mouth and looked over at him.
“Can you read minds? How did you know what I was thinking?” she asked.
“I can’t read minds, but I can read you. A line appears between your eyebrows when you’re worried,” he said, reaching up to smooth the line with his fingers. “You also bite your nails when you’re stressed.”
Hadria pulled back and felt a small twinge of regret at the disappointed look on his face. His hand fell to his side. It was always this way with her. One wolf betrays her and she’s ready to move on to the next one. It was a cycle she had lived through for over a thousand years. It couldn’t happen again, so she put up a mental wall to keep Nick out.
“How much longer do you think it will take to get there?” she asked, saying the first thing she could think of to distract him.
“It should only be a few more hours. We’ll have to wait until nightfall, when we can let the vamps out.”
Hadria glanced over her shoulder toward the back of the private jet. A special compartment housed the five vampire members of their team. It didn’t allow any sunlight to penetrate and touch the sleeping vampires loaded in hours ago. They’d gone to the airport from the Order’s headquarters in a custom-built van that kept out the sun. Hadria knew Cadric had selected the team, and that the vamps were good at what they did. She wished they didn’t have to wait until dark to get into the compound. She wanted to go as soon as they arrived and get Samara and Eric out. The longer they waited, the more risk to Samara’s and Eric’s lives.
“If Alex needs to be taken out, will you be able to do it?” Nick asked beside her, and Hadria felt a quick flash of anger at his question.
“Are you suggesting that I can’t do my job?” she asked, her eyes narrowing in a glare.
“No, I’m not suggesting that. You are good at what you do. I’m just wondering if you still have feelings for him that could get in the way. Be honest with me, Hadria. I don’t want any surprises when we get there.”
“Alex betrayed me and put Samara in danger. I will kill him if I get my hands on him. Does that answer your question?” she asked before turning her head away and closing her eyes. She felt him put his hand on her arm, but she jerked it away.
She managed to maintain her anger for several hours. It was what she needed to keep him at a distance.
“EXPLAIN to me again why we have allowed them into the compound. Their presence here could compromise everything. I won’t have my research sacrificed.”
Alex looked over at James Horn, and could not believe he had to put up with such a weak man. It was hard to believe that he was a werewolf, for he acted like a pathetic human most of the time. All he cared about was his lab and his precious research.
“They are here because she is now half wolf. She will be invaluable as breeding stock. Just think of the sons she will produce. She was strong enough to go through the change and I’m positive that strength will pass on to her children, to my children.”
“Oh, so you have plans to use her yourself? Her beauty is spectacular, I’ve not see anyone like her. I’m sure you will have to fight to keep her for your mate.”
“Don’t worry about that. I will kill anyone who tries to take her from me. My sons will be part of a superior breed of wolf. They won’t be the pathetic whelps that wolves have produced with humans,” Alex said, his disdain evident as he spoke. As far as he was concerned, wolves that came from human mothers didn’t even deserve to be called wolves. Half of them didn’t survive their first turning. His sons would be different. Samara would produce children who would surpass anything that had ever come before. Then he wouldn’t need the useless wolf in front of him. He would be able to produce strong enhanced wolves all on his own.
“You’re forgetting one thing. What do we do with him?”
“We kill him,” Alex said, his tone suggesting that he was speaking to an idiot.
“And you think Eric is going to go like a lamb to the slaughter, then?”
“I’m sure they will separate to look for the lab. When they do, I’ll come to him and convince him that she is in danger, that he needs to come with me. I’ll lure him away from the compound and then I’ll kill him.”
“You seem rather sure of yourself. How can you be certain he trusts you?”
“He doesn’t have to trust me. She is his weakness, and he will come if he thinks there is even a possibility of her being in danger.”
Alex sat back in his chair, a feeling of satisfaction coming over him. Everything was coming together and finally Samara would be his. He had coveted her for years, becoming involved with Hadria to be closer to her. She had looked on him as a friend and nothing more. Once he got her away from Eric and Hadria, she would come to see him as that man for her. It would be pure pleasure breeding strong sons on her.
He rubbed his cheek, feeling a slight itching on his skin. He looked over at Horn and at that very moment a look of horror came over the other wolf’s face.
“What is your problem?” Alex asked, wondering why the hell Horn was looking at him like that.
“Your cheek. Something is happening to your face,” Horn said, the terror in his voice matching the look on his face. Alex got up and walked over the mirror. He could see the skin on his cheek changing color, until a broken circle appeared to burn itself bright red into his skin.
“Fuck,” he ground out, spinning away from the mirror in agitation. “It appears Cadric has discovered my betrayal. Our plans have changed. It appears we don’t have the leisure of time anymore.”
“How do you know?” Horn asked, his voice mirroring the puzzlement on his face.
“Do you see this mark?” Alex said as he indicated his damaged cheek. “Once Samara sees this, we won’t be able to lure her or Eric anywhere. We have to act now and we have to act fast. Cadric must already have a team on the way here.”
Alex looked out the window to see dusk was arriving. He needed to deal with Eric and Samara now, because if Cadric sent a team with vamps they would mobilize by full dark.
“What are we going to do?” Horn asked, his voice still holding a frightened edge. If it hadn’t been for Horn’s brilliant mind when it came to genetic research, Alex would have killed him long ago. Alex couldn’t stand weakness of any kind, and Horn marinated in it. Once he’d used James for all he could, he would get rid of him with pleasure.
“Get some of your guards together. We’re going to have to do something about Eric and Samara before the Order gets here. Then I want you to go to the lab and make sure your research cannot be found. I want all of the formula destroyed except for one vial. Put that into a syringe.”
“What are you going to do with it?” Horn asked as he rushed to the phone on the other side of the room. Alex waited for him to finish barking orders into the handset before answering his question.
“I’m going to kill Eric and I’m going to use the Order to do it. Once he’s injected with the formula they will be unable to stop his madness and will have to kill him.”
“Why can’t we just get out of here before they come?” Horn asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow, before running his hand down the leg of his khaki pants. Disgust burned in Alex’s gut, and he gritted his teeth.
“I don’t like leaving loose ends. I want the woman for myself and as long as Eric is alive he will be one step behind me.”
“I don’t like this, Alex. I could lose everything I’ve worked for.”
“You can set up another lab anywhere, and as long as you have your research you lose nothing. If you don’t do something now, you could lose your life because I will end it for you.” Alex smiled in satisfaction when James swallowed, and he knew the other wolf would no longer balk at anything he said. Being intimidating had its uses, especially with a wolf as frightened as James.
Six guards arrived and stepped into the room. They oozed strength, and Alex intended to use that strength to bring Eric down and subdue Samara.
“We’re going to take care of the couple who arrived here earlier today. Under no circumstances do I want the woman harmed,” Alex ordered as he looked at the wolves assembled before him.
“What do you want us to do with her?” asked one of the guards.
“Restrain her while we take care of her lover. Once I deal with him, I’ll take care of her. You must be careful to touch her as little as possible. Under no circumstance are you to allow her to touch you. She is a succubus and if she manages to get her hands on you, you will be powerless to resist her. Wear gloves when you restrain her,” Alex said. He hated the change of plans. He hated making a move before he had thought out every angle, but there was no time left for him to think. He needed to act now.
“Let’s go,” he growled as he led the way out of the room.