by R. J. Blain
“It wouldn’t have been legal.”
“It would have been legal the instant Jesse verified he’d threatened to bite her, and you know it. Just like it would be legal to put me down if I threatened to bite Jesse without her permission. Of course, I’ve been goading her into biting for months.” He shrugged. “Wolves could learn from us Siberians. By the time we get to biting, it’s clear both desire the partnership.”
“Also evidenced by you both signing the paperwork without even a second thought on the matter.”
“It protects her.”
I shrugged. “He’s my tiger, and if little pieces of paper help prove that, I will sign the pieces of paper.”
“Well, tonight, do try to properly bite him after we get back from retrieving his clothing.” My aunt pointed at Anatoly’s throat. “You want your bite visible, as you’re making it a very public declaration you own him. That little nip counts, as it scarred rather than healed, but it’s best if you continue to secure your claim. How many times did Noona bite her wolf before she was satisfied, Nate?”
“I stopped counting after five, as I try not to think about my sister mauling some damned wolf.”
“Don’t listen to Nate, Jesse. He likes Gerard, and Noona beats anyone who says anything negative about her chosen wolf. That poor wolf has his hands full, because she loves children, so every time one of theirs gets old enough to start toddling, she’s out for his blood yet again. Nate, you should invite their entire brood to town so they can meet your mate. By that, I mean you should really invite Noona before she invites herself and you earn a beating. I’d rather keep the bloodshed to a minimum.”
My tiger sighed. “I’ll send word as soon as this mess with Ferdinand is resolved.”
“Excellent. Jesse, should Ferdinand look like he intends on becoming violent with any women he’s bitten, use excessive force. While I’d like intel, I won’t have it at the cost of an innocent woman’s life.”
“Understood.”
“Until we learn more, there’s not much left to discuss regarding him. He knows a great deal about the inner workings of the government and mercenary guilds, so he has been classified a significant threat. Do what you can, Jesse, but your safety and the safety of his bitten women come first. Ideally, you’ll be able to play him, dispatch him with little harm to his women, and be done within a week.” My aunt shifted her gaze to Anatoly. “You will do your best to refrain from unnecessary hysterics.”
Todd and Gentry stared at my aunt like she’d lost her mind, and my rabbit of an uncle joined in. My tiger laughed. “You’re asking for a miracle there, Steph. There will be necessary hysterics, and I’ll have them daily until that wolf is dealt with. Jesse should be authorized to attend all mandatory meetings moving forward.”
“Ideally, we flush him out and do a live capture, Nate. That means having her somewhere a little more accessible on the palace grounds or nearby—with a stronger detail. Randal?”
“I’ll have a team put together tonight, including Beverly. I believe Blossom also has some other candidates she thinks might work with the Secret Service.”
“Interview them, and if you think they’re suitable, bring them in for training and see how they do with Jesse. A Siberian and a pride of lionesses will make for a strong team if they work well together. I recommend against putting the lionesses with Anatoly, unless you want Jesse fighting with them constantly.”
“I have some candidates in mind, mostly men to keep Jesse from picking fights with them. The women will be chosen specifically with Jesse’s temper in mind.”
I considered my agent’s concerns, and after a few moments of consideration, I shrugged. “I’m probably going to be unreasonable about this. I should be sorry, but I’m not.”
“You’re supposed to be unreasonable about your mate,” my aunt replied. “Courting pairs are usually trouble, but it’s a simple enough problem to work around. Same-gender teams help. It keeps the in-fighting to a minimum. Typically, we’ll bring in mated wolves or other species to fill out a detail when necessary, as these individuals are less likely to trigger fits of jealousy and general posturing. You’re more laid back than other Siberian women, much to your detail’s general relief. Anatoly is also more accepting of other men around you.”
“I see no need to be jealous of married men with more experience in the Secret Service than most details combined, and I only want the best watching over her.” Anatoly sighed. “We’re essentially inviting Ferdinand to come take her.”
“Essentially, yes. That’s exactly what we’re doing. If we didn’t believe he has a pack of unwilling women, I would deal with him in another way, but for their sake, we need his ego, greed, and attention on Jesse, who is their best bet for escaping relatively unscathed. Jesse, you remember how to contact the Secret Service if needed?”
I wrinkled my nose at the memory of Randal and Simmons taking turns with me on every damned type of phone in existence making certain I knew how to place a call to the emergency line if I got into any trouble without my agents around. “It would take severe head trauma for me to forget at this stage.”
“Good job, Agent Randal, Agent Simmons. If you can teach her other tricks as well, you might even have a good principal before you two flee into retirement.”
My agents laughed, and Simmons dismissed my aunt’s criticism with a wave of his hand. “Her ability to handle solo situations is superior to most principals, and I expect she’ll be a quick study once her shoulder is fully healed. Because of her shoulder, we’ve been focusing on her strengths rather than her weaknesses. Considering what you want her to do, I think we’ve made a good choice with how to handle her training. If your goal is to allow an opening, we should lower her active number of agents conditional to her staying here. That should create the type of opening you require and lessen the risk to active detail members.”
“Agent Randal?” my aunt asked.
“We can use the opportunity to train her proper detail, assuming this goes to plan. With the Hope Diamond’s inclination to protect her, she’s probably safest with this change to her detail. Simmons, you want to take her next shift? That’ll free me to make plans and track our quarry’s associates.”
“I’ll take her primary shift, and we’ll have some of the night owls work the evening shift. Madam President, how many openings do you want us to leave in security?”
“Enough to allow her to sneak out to her favorite bar and offer opportunities for any conspirators during the short walk,” my aunt ordered. “Try to use your new freedoms somewhat responsibly, Jesse.”
I huffed, as there was nothing responsible about deliberately turning myself into a target for a damned wolf I already wanted to disembowel given a single opportunity. As disemboweling would take too long and hurt too much, I’d have to settle with ripping the bastard’s throat out, but I’d savor the final seconds of the bastard’s life. “That means I can’t take my tiger with me.”
“You would be correct. Outside of the Secret Service and close friends who come here often, few are aware you’re being heavily courted by your mate, so chances are, Ferdinand is unaware of your relationship developments. That works to your advantage. Don’t draw attention to any of Nate’s bite marks. The same applies to you, Nate. Use makeup to cover yours as needed.”
“I don’t want to cover—”
“Cover it,” my aunt ordered.
“But—”
“Cover it.”
“You can’t win, tiger. Just surrender, or be beaten by two grizzlies, a rabbit, a stallion, and some Secret Service agents. That’s how they operate here. I’ve learned this from months of them hovering over me. I suspect some of them are wanting to have some mat time with you because you fell on my teeth today.”
“I hate how right you are,” my tiger grumbled. “Fine. I’ll cover it. For now. I’m doing this under protest. Also, can I fall on your teeth again tonight?”
“Really, Ana?”
“I enjoyed such a good nap
after I fell onto your teeth. If I sleep that well again tonight, I might be functional tomorrow.”
When I thought about it, he had a very good point. “You might be onto something. We’ll talk about it tonight.”
“With our teeth?”
“Sure, with our teeth, you idiot tiger.”
He laughed.
My aunt heaved a sigh and rubbed at her temple. “If you could stop trying to find ways to get my niece to bite you again at the dinner table, I would appreciate it. Anyway, you’re supposed to be going along with this under protest. You wouldn’t be a suitable mate for my niece if you liked the idea of her handling this one solo. I don’t like the idea, either, but I understand the necessity of it—and that she’s our best chance to rescue his other victims. If there weren’t innocent women involved, likely bite victims, I would have a bounty out for his head already. Your can posture after Ferdinand is dealt with.”
“I’d rather deal with him myself.” Anatoly huffed. “But he’d just run, because he’s a cowardly wolf and knows I don’t like him.”
“Now that we’ve talked about that unpleasant business, there’s the issue of the missing Starfall stones. Jesse, should you cross paths with Steel Heart again, try to keep a hold on it. The Blade Clan has been the quietest about their missing stone, especially as it presents itself for its smithing duties, but the other clans are not as fortunate. They want their stones back, and they want their stones back now. A lot of meetings have been about trying to figure out how—and why—all of those stones disappeared at the same time. It’s speculated that someone has stolen them, but we haven’t determined for what purpose.”
I shrugged, as it seemed obvious enough to me. “If you have a rebellion in the works, they want the stones to forge weapons. That’s the obvious answer.”
“Except the stones typically will not function for someone who is not of the appropriate bloodline,” my aunt replied.
“But how many people actually know that?” I countered.
Everyone stared at me, and I rolled my eyes at their blatant oversight. “You missed what was right in front of you, haven’t you? For most people, researching Starfall stones is pointless. We know what they do, we know they can randomly burst, and we know they create magic. Beyond that, nobody really cares about specific stones unless they’re turning them in for a reward. Why would anyone care about the clan Starfall stones outside of their use to create excellent weapons? Even the books that do identify and discuss the stones don’t mention a lot about who can make them burst. You have to do high-level research—or be a member of the clan—to have access to that information. I’m assuming the upper branches of the government have done the research required, especially if the clans are requesting help to recover their Starfall stones.”
My mate snickered. “I’ll confess, it hadn’t occurred to me to think of it from that angle—mostly because everyone is always after the damned things and the clans are notorious about protecting them. Nobody actually considers how the stones are typically attuned to someone of the appropriate bloodline. But that does beg a question.”
“What question?”
“Why you? Why not another member of the Blade Clan? Why does Steel Heart seem to show up where you go?”
“How the hell should I know? It just shows up and makes a mess of my day. Mostly. I’ll give it some credit, if it hadn’t wandered into that bar, I probably wouldn’t have made use of my tattoo kit.”
“I rather like the stone for that, really.”
My aunt sighed. “You’re hopeless, Nate.”
“I will admit, I had a bad moment or two when I realized I’d gotten branded with an assassin’s mark, but I do rather appreciate what the ink means at this stage of my life. Granted, it could mean she’s waiting to kill me off herself, but some risks are worth taking.”
My tiger would drive me crazy one of these days. “What is the probability the weapon clans are part of the growing rebellion risk?”
The First Gentleman shook his head. “None. They want their Starfall stone back, and the mercenary companies won’t work with traitors, and they’ve been hiring them left and right; whomever returns the stones will get a weapon forged with their clan’s stone. If they were part of the rebellion, they would be forging weapons for it, not chasing down their stones and trying to prevent someone else from using them, losing them their place as premier warriors for hire. Now, the possibility does exist that they’ll be coerced into participation, but so far, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
Well, that was something. “And the Council?”
“The Council is scrambling because there’s talks about integrating a representative from every class of mystic into the group for better representation; it would allow the Council to be more effective, rather than making guesses at what the mystics need from the government. Right now, mystic requests come through me, and I present them to the Council and various branches of government as required. It’s impractical. The shifters have an edge in legislative matters because they’re organized. The mystics would need to elect a representative for each grouping of magic, but it’s something we’ve been discussing. The next election will bring the matter up for vote, and there will be a special election should the measure pass for the mystics to vote in their specific local officials. The local government will then select who represents them in the Council.”
That sounded like a nightmare, and I considered how I might best rescue my tiger from his responsibilities. “This is going to make a great deal more work for the Council, isn’t it?”
Once again, my lecherous rabbit of an uncle shook his head. “Not as much as you think. After everyone settles, it should save a great deal of time. I expect Henry or Cleo will ultimately represent healer mystics, as they both have an excellent reputation. It’ll likely be Henry, because Henry is a known entity. Depending on who is voted in, I wouldn’t be surprised if Cleo was given the nod to represent evocative mystics; while he is primarily a healing type, his combustion talents are the most stable among mystics, and he understands the delicate balance required to control evocation abilities on a government level. His work with mercenaries would make him an ideal representative.”
I foresaw a disaster in future meetings. “But how would the local mystic representatives even know to suggest either one of them?”
“Henry travels with your tiger often, and he handles mystic affairs when his healing services aren’t needed; he’s a known entity among many city mystic circles. As for Cleo, while Todd typically stays close to Charlotte, he does have a reputation, and Cleo is often part of that reputation, especially as he’s a donkey male in a horse herd. That has a certain status, as he’s the only adult equine male who is a full part of the herd as a full adult. After age twenty-five, Todd’s colts tend to band together in a male-only herd until they establish herds of their own. How many of your colts are part of a familial herd now, Todd?” the First Gentleman asked.
“They’re thirty strong, although two of my colts are looking to form their own herds soon. We’re allied herds as well, which is somewhat against herd tradition. We’re stronger together, and we all know it. I also give my colts access to Cleo as needed.”
“Where are Henry and Cleo, anyway?”
Todd laughed. “Probably at home enjoying the rest of their night off. After dealing with you two lazing about, they were ready to blow their tops, so we sent them off to do whatever it is mystics do when they’re not taking care of their obnoxious charges. I’m sure they’ll be back in the morning to bother you and check for new bite marks. Try not to maul each other too severely tonight.”
“I’ll try to limit falling onto her teeth to once or twice. I wouldn’t want to tire her out too much.”
Tigers. “How can I get a sedative for a tiger if they went home? I think this tiger needs a sedative.”
Todd leered at me. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”
“Please keep your perverted ways to yourself, Todd. D
are I ask if there’s anything else I should know about?”
“Beyond the typical idiots upset they got on the wrong side of the law, nothing special. Same shit, different day,” my aunt replied. “It just happens today’s shit also has a dose of Ferdinand and the possibility of rebellion to add some spice to our lives. Spice I could live without, mind you. Just be careful, Jesse. I trust your judgment.”
I directed my attention to my lecherous uncle. “If she thinks my judgment is sound when I view another living being as a dessert for my enjoyment and have issues with marking his person without his permission, she probably needs a vacation. As for Ferdinand, should he show up, I’ll make sure any of his plans die with him,” I swore.
If I had anything to say about the situation, all Ferdinand would become was a bitter memory.
Chapter Seven
Anatoly needed to retrieve things from the Council meeting hall, and in a bid to keep from wasting extra time, I took my new moccasins, feather, and beads to my suite, intending to meet everyone else at the bridge spanning the lake surrounding the mausoleum I now called home.
It amazed me how much could change. While I had built a home in Cheyenne, I’d never viewed it as anything more than a place to stay with the comfort of having the tribe nearby. The former mayoral palace, transformed into the seat of power for the entire United States, had somehow become a central pillar in my life.
Randal went with my tiger, and Simmons kept close. As everyone seemed to believe my tiger would create problems somehow, they went with him, giving me breathing space. I regarded my agent with a raised brow. “I’ve lost most of my shadows, but I don’t even have an urge to run away this time.”
“You were promised beer, and you have a tiger to warm your bed tonight. It’s all about having the right incentive. Frankly, I’m amazed it took this long for new arrangements to be made.”
“You knew?”