Destiny's Choice

by Kimberly Hunter

  “Good. In the meantime, I’m going to take Rivera on a tour.” He got up, pulling Rivera after him and went to the door. Flynn stopped him before he could walk out.

  “Your item is on the table in the foyer.”

  “Excellent.”

  He led Rivera out the office and down the hall to the foyer where he spied his First Mating gift. It was right where Flynn said it was. When they reached the table, he stopped, making sure his True Mate was right in front of him. He then picked up the box.

  “What a beautiful box.”

  “This is more than just a box.” He then explained just how much more.

  “Amazing that after all that time, no one figured it out.”

  “It wasn’t time.” He shrugged. “And even though the history and secret is out now, I would still like to continue using this puzzle box in the tradition it was meant for. Maybe even start a new one with it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Come here.” He beckoned her closer, holding out the box. “There are pressure pieces on the sides. Put your fingers on them” He showed her where then put his own fingers on the others. “On three, we press them at the same time, okay?”

  She nodded, her topaz eyes alight with excitement.

  “One…two…three.”

  As one, they pressed the pieces in, making the top of the box open like a starburst.

  “That is simply fascinating.”

  “Look inside the box, sweetheart.”

  When she spied the object resting on black velvet, she gasped. “Oh, Roan.”

  He pulled the necklace out, making sure the box was safely put back on the table.

  “I saw this on the internet the other day and it made me think of you.” The chain was white gold with a one carat square cut Peridot stone surrounded by round half carat topaz stones. It was also perfect to wear as a wolf. Since Lupus couldn’t wear rings and bracelets, the chain was long enough to stay on during the shift. “Seeing you now, I realize that even though I love the Lupa you have become, it was the Lupa who had these coloured eyes that I fell for. And regardless of their colour now, that woman is still there.”

  She blinked. “You love me?”

  “With everything I am.”

  “Oh, Roan. I…”

  “Shh.” He placed a finger over her lips. “I know its too soon for you, that you’re not ready. But a lot has happened and I promised myself that when you came back to me, I would tell you my feelings regardless of what yours were. So, no pressure, sweetheart. We have plenty of time.”

  Actually, it was seeing the necklace and wanting to gift it to her as a First Mating gift that made confessing his love her for possible. He didn’t want to spring the L word on her out of the blue the moment she came back to him. But he did want to make it special. So when he saw the necklace, it offered the perfect opportunity.

  She smiled behind his finger then took his hand. “Yes. We do.” She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “Now, you going to put your gift on me or keep holding it?”

  “Minx.”

  Holding her hair out of the way, Roan put the necklace around her neck and clasped it in the back. When she dropped her hair, Roan admired the picture she made.

  “Beautiful.”

  He then took her mouth in a blistering kiss, wanting nothing more than to drag her back to their room and make love for the rest of the day. But he promised a tour and a tour he would deliver.

  Pulling back, Rivera groaned. “Mmm. More.”

  “Tour.” He grabbed her hand and led her outside.

  “Do we have to?” She came up behind him and breathed into his neck.

  The hell with it. The whole tour could wait. “Come on. I’ll show you the hayloft first.”

  “Hayloft, huh?” She giggled as they practically ran to the barn. “Do tell.”

  “It’ll be better if I show you.”

  He showed her for nearly two hours before they were sated enough to come down for lunch and finish the tour.

  The next several days were filled with laughter , making love, and making plans. The last due to Rivera finally seeing what happened in the clearing and agreeing about her uncle Phillip. The only thing she said about her parents was that she was glad it was over. It was better than Roan expected and more than Ian and Lillah deserved. She felt bad for Mikeal and his brother, Nicolai. Roan explained that he and Mikeal had finally talked. He didn’t hold Roan responsible for Boone’s death. Boone was the one to blame for that. After killing that young woman, it was like he’d committed suicide. With Pack Law stating he would forfeit his life, it was the same thing. Mikeal was currently with his family, trying to unravel the mess Boone had made. Being one of the ten families, Mikeal and his father were happy to help Roan, in any way they could. And they were glad the families were gone. Mikeal’s father had never liked the responsibility anyway. Steven was with him as back up and because Roan, knew he needed a friend. Roan had also assigned them the task of getting updates from the ten families, Morgan and Kyle, especially. Roan knew Mikeal was feeling guilty about Boone because he felt he could have done something. But Roan wasn’t about to let his friend go down that road. He’d let him stew for a bit, then he was going to put his foot down. As for Phillip, after delivering the proposals from the ten families, he seemed to disappear. Not even his parents knew where he was. But like a bad penny, Roan just knew he would show up sooner or later.

  Chapter Ten

  Rolling over, Roan reached out to pull Rivera close. He came up empty. Sitting up, he noticed the covers thrown back on her side of the bed and the bedroom door open. He smiled, getting out of bed thinking she may have gone down to the kitchen for a late night snack. Feeling a little peckish himself, he followed her scent to the kitchen only to be brought up short by a scent that didn’t belong.

  “Roan!”

  Quickly sending out a mental call to everyone in the house, Roan raced to the front door. Not bothering to open it, he used his power to push it out of the way. Once on the front porch, he spotted Rivera’s limp body slung over Phillip St. Paul’s shoulder. There were two small wolves him. One black and one brown. Along with two large men he’d never seen before. They smelled almost like Pack, but Roan would have remembered these two if they were. Phillip was about to put Rivera in his car when Roan shouted.

  “Phillip!”

  “Oh, dear.” He laid Rivera down gently on the hood of his car. The two large men flanked him, the two wolves moving far to the right side and out of the way. “I was so hoping my little concoction would’ve worked better. But then, smoke is not the best carrier. Back to the drawing board.” He shrugged.

  Through their bond, Roan couldn’t tell if Rivera was hurt, but he did know that her sleep was not natural. Whatever “concoction” Phillip talked about was probably the cause. Roan hoped it didn’t cause any damage. Phillip was already on dangerous ground as it was for taking her. If she was hurt, the man would die.

  “Return my True Mate and you’ll live this night, Phillip,” he growled as the others joined him on the porch.

  “Seems the gangs all here,” he quipped.

  “Give Rivera back. You know what I’m capable of, Phillip,” he warned.

  “I’ve seen what you can do, yes. But you have no idea just what I’m capable of, do you?” His smile was pure evil.

  It was that smile and the unknown that had Roan staying his hand. Even with all his abilities and those of the others behind him that he was closest to, none could stop a bullet. Or a bomb. Phillip could have either or both. With all the bodies and the wind, his nose couldn’t pick up anything. He needed to discover just what Phillip’s agenda was. Maybe when he let his guard down, the muscle at his side distracted, Rivera could be rescued. Until then, he needed to be calm and smart about this. He felt anything but.

  “I see kidnapping with a little B and E are skills acquired somewhere. As for the rest, no. No clue.” He crossed his arms, going for casual. And to keep from tearing into the man. />
  “Kidnapping is such an ugly term.” Phillip’s frown was mocking. “I prefer the term borrow. Or in this case, leverage.”

  “Leverage for what?”

  “Well, you froze all my accounts.” Eyes so like Rivera’s widened, Phillip’s chiding tone belying the anger Roan knew he felt. He was catching whiffs on the ever shifting wind. “I can’t very well finish my research without money. And considering Rivera was my first test subject, well…I thought I’d kill two birds as it were.”

  The gasps and growls behind him made the outrage Roan felt but couldn’t show all the more poignant. Phillip wanted him to lose his temper, to try something. Roan wasn’t going to oblige him. He wasn’t about to risk Rivera’s safety over what may or may not be true. But if it was…Before he could finish that thought or even respond to Phillip, the little brown wolf raced up to Phillip with hackles raised.

  “She’s the first?” He snarled. “You said I was the first. The only one of the lot to survive. You said I was special!” His voice was that of a young male.

  Phillip let out a long suffering sigh. “Oh, Bailey. I always had a feeling that naivety would be your downfall. A shame really.” He shook his head.

  “But you lied. You said I was first. That I was special,” Bailey whined.

  Phillip sighed again then looked to the large male on his right. “Max.”

  In a move belying the big man’s size, Max grabbed Bailey by the throat and began to slowly choke him.

  “No!”

  Before Dane could use his powers or even run to the young wolf’s rescue, it was over. Max snapped Bailey’s neck then threw the body to the ground like so much garbage.

  “What a pity,” Phillip tsked as he shook his head again.

  “I see I can add murder to that list of skills. Though I have the distinct feeling you’ve honed that skill quite well.”

  Roan could feel the rage bubbling under his skin. The door to his powers were wide open. It wouldn’t take much to concentrate that power and burst the bastard’s heart. But something was off about all this. His instincts were screaming it. And this whole kidnapping. Now that he really thought about it, it was as if Phillip wanted to get caught. Freezing his accounts aside, the man was resourceful. The amount of money and how he accumulated it attested to that fact. Yes, there was definitely something more going on here than kidnapping. He just needed to be patient. And after that. All bets were off.

  “Murder? That’s quite harsh considering the blood on your hands. Alpha,” Phillip sneered. “But then, I don’t have Pack Law to hide behind when it’s time to take out the trash.”

  Roan felt the others stiffen with affront, a few low snarls coming out. He sent them soothing thoughts, letting them also know he had the situation well in hand.

  “My conscience is perfectly clear on what’s best for the Pack, Phillip,” Roan calmly replied. “But this little show of yours isn’t about me, is it? So let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Why are you here?”

  Phillip cackled. “Always the direct approach. It’s one of the main things I’ve admired about you, Roan. Very few could pull it off without sounding ridiculous.”

  “I’ve had plenty of practice,” he said dryly with a shrug.

  “I bet.” Phillip snickered. “As for putting on a show, you’re half right. The kidnapping was real, of course. When you said Rivera was in the Pre-Transformation coma, I was intrigued. But then I found out that not only had she survived, but gotten stronger, well, I just couldn’t resist. She is my first success after all.”

  “So you mentioned. Though I fail to see how you could be responsible for her parents conceiving.” His tone was chiding.

  “Oh, not in the way would you would think,” his reply was condescending. “You see, my dear departed sister had a thing for human males. Rivera wasn’t the only child she conceived. There were four others from three different males. Unfortunately, Rivera was the only one to survive. As a stipulation for keeping that little secret, Lillah and Ian agreed to let me conduct a few tests.”

  “You were responsible for the torture she went through?” Roan tried to keep the growl out of his voice. He really tried. But seeing as this piece of waste was responsible for his True Mate’s pain and suffering, he couldn’t manage it.

  “Please. I’m a scientist.” He stood straighter and sniffed disdainfully. “Everything I’ve done has been for my research. If others got hurt along the way, well, sacrifices must be made.”

  “Ruining and destroying innocent lives isn’t a sacrifice, Phillip. It’s called playing God no matter your so call research. And that’s a position you have no right to assume.”

  “Don’t lecture me about having a God complex, Roan LeGuer,” Phillip snapped angrily. “Every Alpha ever born has played that role for the good of the Pack for ages. Some were just better at hiding it than others. But the outcome has still been the same. I’ve just gone in a different direction instead of using Pack Law and Pack responsibilities to keep all the good little wolves in line.”

  “And just what direction would that be?”

  “Why, making my own Pack using human/Lupus hybrids.”

  If Phillip had announced he was an alien sent to Earth it would have been no where near as shocking as what he just admitted.

  “That was the plan until you had all my assets frozen. I clearly can’t finish my work without money. But plans change. Sometimes for the better.” He shrugged with seeming nonchalance.

  “Is that why you’ve been so forthcoming? Why this little show and bringing your…associates?”

  Whatever the real reason, Roan was sure more lives would be at stake. Phillip had shown such a casual disregard for killing that Roan was more dismayed than he let on. Being a sociopath was not a trait he had ever come up against in their culture. But one thing he did know. He needed to get Rivera away, and soon. He just hoped the price for her rescue wasn’t a high one.

  “My associates.” He snickered. “Oh, I like that. But Max and Cesar here aren’t associates.” He nodded first to the blond, the one who had killed Bailey, then to the brown haired guy. Both were massive in height and muscle. And both looked as if they knew how to use it. “They, along with a few others, I turned for added strength and assorted odd jobs. Bailey had been my seventh attempt at a hybrid. Milo,” He glanced at the black wolf lurking at the front of the car. “He was my sixteenth attempt. Bailey survived his First Transformation. But Milo.” Phillip sighed deeply, giving the small black wolf a negligent wave. “I’m afraid any humanity he had was lost in the shift. Unfortunate, but he may still have a use.” He grinned. “I’d like to thank your brother, Roan, for his insight and help. Without his notes and samples from Sasha and Rivera, Bailey and Milo may never have shifted at all.”

  “You stole my files?” Flynn was already pissed. Hearing a lunatic stole his work made him even angrier.

  “Do calm yourself, doctor. It was all in the name of science.” He flipped a hand, waving away Flynn’s outrage. “If it’s any consolation, your big, red headed partner put up quite the fight to protect the information. Alas, I’m afraid he lost.”

  A gasp sounded from Cole. When Roan turned his way, he was sheet white.

  “Joel.” Cole’s hazel eyes were glowing with fear and anger.

  Roan didn’t hesitate. “Go.”

  In a blink, he was gone. Melting into the night.

  “Roan.”

  Looking back at his brother, Roan could see he was conflicted. But Roan knew where he needed to be. “Take your daughter and our mother and go.”

  Flynn nodded as their mother gave Roan a gimlet eye.

  “I know, mother.”

  She gave him another pointed stare then raced into the house. No doubt to grab Tala.

  “No crazy stunts, woman,” Flynn told his True Mate as he leaned down to kiss her.

  “No worries, love. You take care of our daughter and make sure Joel’s okay.” Sasha returned the kiss, giving him a tight smile.

  With
a last look at Roan, he too fled back into the house. Moments later, the sounds of doors slamming and an engine revving could be heard. A black Rover then sped by the house and down the drive. Its tail lights were gone in seconds.

  “He wreaks that car and I’ll kick his ass,” Sasha growled.

  “With Charlie in the passenger seat, you won’t have to,” Dane snickered.

  “My apologies for your friend, Roan. But again, sacrifices.” His cruel smile said he wasn’t the least bit sorry.

  “Enough of the diversions and posturing, Phillip,” Roan demanded as he slowly walked down the porch steps. He stopped once he was ground level. The two goons beside Phillip stood a little straighter with the move, but otherwise didn’t do anything else. “What do you want?”

  Roan couldn’t stomach the game Phillip was playing anymore. One innocent was already dead, maybe another, and countless others before them. All in the name of Phillip’s, so called science. On top of it all, Rivera was still out cold. He was getting a little from their bond, but not enough to tell him if she was okay. He needed to end this. Now.

  Phillip clicked his tongue. “Such a spoil sport you are. Don’t you read suspense novels? The mad scientist always draws out his plans before springing a trap for the hero.”

  “This isn’t some story, Phillip. And while the mad scientist part is accurate, I think you’ve drawn this out long enough.” Way too long.

  “Touché.” Phillip bowed his head a little with a smarmy grin. “Alright. I want all my accounts unfrozen so I can continue my work.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  An expression of pure evil descended over Phillip’s features. “Then the fifteen hybrids I have scattered across this country, including your True Mate, will die a very nasty and painful death at the end of the next full moon.”

  “You bastard,” Roan snarled, taking a step toward Phillip. He had every intention of gutting the son of a bitch. But not before he found out just what Phillip had done to Rivera.

  Phillip’s two goons closed ranks as Phillip held up a hand. “Not so fast, Alpha. I’m the one holding all the cards here. Understand?” His smirk was full of satisfaction.