BirthSign (La Patron, The Alpha's Alpha)

by Addae, Sydney

  Silas stopped talking and moved next to her. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, Tyrese has this mark now. And the children have outlines. Don’t you recognize it?”

  He continued to look. “It’s turned upside down. That’s what threw me off. She said she took it off three times, but it kept returning.”

  Annoyed, she looked up at him. “I am really getting tired of questions with no answers, Silas. Especially when my kids are involved. I know she did not get this mark from either of us, or the twins. The nurses never saw David’s mark because we kept him with us until it faded to the outline and as you say, this one is upside down. So why is it on this portrait and on my thigh?”

  He rubbed her shoulders, easing the tension. She leaned into him. “I don’t know, Sweet Bitch, but we can ask her questions. She is one of the most knowledgeable full-bloods in our nation.”

  Sighing, she nodded and turned back to their guest. The color had leached from the older woman’s face; she sat with her hands tightly clasped in her lap. Jasmine noticed her trembling and sought to put her at ease. Silas stopped her and pulled her with him onto the nearby loveseat.

  “Have you ever seen that mark before?” He asked Maheegan who glanced at them and quickly lowered her eyes.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Her answer surprised Jasmine. They had researched everywhere and hadn’t been able to find anything remotely close.

  “Where?” Silas asked.

  Maheegan licked her lips and swallowed before answering. “As you know I see things… in dreams.”

  Silas nodded. Jasmine had no idea about dreams, but remained quiet.

  “I have this recurring dream about the black wolf. He sits and watches over smaller wolves playing in a field. The dream normally starts that way. At some point in the dream something changes, most times it’s subtle and I have to think really hard what it means. Other times, it’s obvious…”

  “Obvious? Give an example,” Silas said. Jasmine was happy he asked the questions because that was one she would not have thought to ask. But now they would understand what classified as obvious.

  “Once there was a wolf giving birth, and then before the dream ended, new born pups appeared. Other times I saw a lone wolf walking away from the rest of the pups until I could no longer see him. Although pups fight often, when the pups in the dream start to fight, it’s different, more violent and there is blood. There has been recent fighting amongst the pups.”

  Silas nodded. Those would be obvious clues.

  “The first time I saw a mark on one of the pups I was surprised because…well they’re pups. Too small to be branded with a hot iron. I couldn’t understand how the mark showed through the fur, but it did.”

  “Where was the mark?” Jasmine asked.

  “On his bum, near his tail.”

  “Was the pup sick? Did he seem affected by the mark?” Silas asked.

  “No, Sir.” She frowned. “Not that I recall. He seemed a bit rougher than the others, but nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “You saw it again? When?”

  “Well, I saw it in a dream again not long after your pups were born.” Leaning back, she frowned and tapped her lips. “Now this was different. The black wolf did not just sit at a distance, watching, this time he walked amongst the pups. They were excited and running around his legs, yipping. He stopped and bit a pup who’d been lying on the ground watching. That pup yelped and jumped up.” She laughed as though she could see it happening. “The black wolf licked him, the bite area I suppose, and the mark appeared again. I don’t remember much else after that because all of the pups ran about and the dream ended.”

  Jasmine released her breath. “Well…what does all of that mean?”

  “I don’t know yet. I’m a black wolf, but this wolf has been visiting dreams before my birth. So it wasn’t me she saw bite the pup, even though she described what happened with David.”

  “Any other times?”

  Maheegan exhaled. “Yes, Sir. When I began the portrait.” She pointed to the picture in front of them. “I sketched Mistress’ likeness from the picture my Alpha gave me first. For me drawing is an innate talent. Half the time I am not aware how fast my fingers move across the canvas, I see in my mind what I want to see on the paper and…draw. In my mind there was no mark on Mistress’ thigh, but each time I drew her, the mark was there. One night I dreamed and the black wolf appeared. He watched over the playing pups and then he walked into a meadow and stopped. I could hear the pups so I knew they were close. As my vision expanded, legs first and then the bottom half of a human body came into view. Based on the hips and waist, I believed this was a woman. On her upper thigh was this mark. I was so surprised to see a human in the dream, it woke me up.”

  “That was unusual?” Jasmine asked, wondering why that would be such a surprise given the history she and Silas learned of the black wolf. Because of his early involvement with human women, he was the father of half-bred wolves.

  Maheegan’s eyes widened. “Yes Mistress. I have been having these dreams since I was a child. The black wolf gives me insight at times that allows our pack to prepare for certain events.” She glanced at Silas.

  He nodded.

  Maheegan clasped her hands tight in her lap again and continued. “Most packs have someone who dreams or reads dreams. And I have never heard of a human in any black wolf dream. Never.”

  “Okay.” Jasmine nodded at Maheegan. “Any idea what this means?”

  The older woman exhaled and seemed to center herself. “I would think it means someone of importance to our nation wears the mark. Perhaps it is a designation of some sort or a sign of things to come.” She lifted her shoulders in a there-you-have-it gesture. “Sometimes I see things and have no idea what they mean; I only know they mean something.”

  Silas nodded.

  Jasmine gazed at the portrait. “Silas! Look.”

  They watched the mark fade from the portrait leaving them more confused than ever.

  Chapter 15

  Tyrese grabbed Danielle’s hand and ran. Angus had only brought one other bracelet thinking Tyrese would be alone. Consequently, neither he nor his mate had chameleon capabilities which would make it harder to leave the continent. Throw in his burning need to ride between her thighs and this rescue had serious challenges.

  Brix and Leon brought up the rear. Asia had fallen behind, but he knew she was on the job wherever she was. Angus held up his hand.

  They stopped. “What?” Tyrese asked Leon who walked around near a tree looking for something.

  “We left the jeep here, it’s missing.” He looked at Angus who searched the ground and followed the tire tracks into the woods. They all followed.

  “Someone’s coming,” Brix said turning. Leon stood next to him and bulked. Angus touched Tyrese’s shoulder and tipped his head toward his mate.

  Tyrese looked at Danielle, her dress had small rips, she had lost her belt somewhere during their run and small twigs and leaves were in her hair. He pulled her close and took the leaves from her hair. She smelled incredible. He met her steady gaze. “Hi, I’m Tyrese Bennett.”

  She nodded. “Nice to meet you, I’m Danielle Brindle.”

  He glanced up as a large hybrid crashed into the opening. Brindle, Brix and Leon leapt on the beast. Asia had sent word through his mom and then through Silas how to destroy the hybrids quickly… but quickly was a subjective term. Brix brought their opponent to his knees with a few correctly placed punches and then Leon drove a slim rod into the hybrid’s eye and pinned him to the ground. Brix then smashed the beast’s face with the heel of his boot a few times.

  Tyrese pulled his mate close so she wouldn’t see the gory sight. Although she leaned against him, she watched as they pulled out the chip and then destroyed it. She wasn’t squeamish and that made her even sexier.

  Asia walked into the clearing a few seconds later. “Where’s the jeep?”

  “We were tracking it when he showed up,” Angus sai
d pointing at the hybrid. “My guess is someone moved it. I am talking to La Patron now. He’s setting something up with another pack to get us out of here.”

  “The military is still nearby,” Asia said, turning in a circle. “I don’t like us out here in the open like this. We return to the camp or find a neutral place until the pack comes, but staying here; this close to Lyrill isn’t a good idea.”

  Angus took off his jacket and handed it to Tyrese, who wore strips of off-white material from his fights. “For your mate.”

  “Thanks.” He draped the jacket around Danielle.

  “Thank you,” she murmured toward Angus and slid her arms through the jacket. Tyrese pulled her close and ran his hand down her back and cupped her ass. He needed more.

  “Later for that, Tyrese, we need to go, now,” Asia said and took off. They followed her. Of all of them she had the best instincts when it came to evading an enemy on the run. He appreciated her skills, especially now that he had to care for his mate. Danielle hadn’t said much and he wondered what she thought of the whole mating thing. Was she disappointed? Their meeting hadn’t been ideal. But she hadn’t complained or asked any questions, not yet. His wolf was in protect mode, which meant Angus had to keep his distance from Danielle. Brix and Leon were mated and not a threat. Inexplicably, he sensed no aggression from Danielle’s wolf toward Asia, another bitch. But she had growled low in her belly when Miriam had tried to talk to him after they tried to poison him. Possessive women always turned him off, until now. It was different, not only did he take care of her, but she seemed determined to care for him.

  When the fight moved inside, she had been right behind him and refused to leave when the honor guard tried to clear the building. He could only imagine what she did or said to make them leave her alone. Once he had defeated the last full-blood, she had walked over to him, handed him a bottle of water and then some napkins. His body had repaired itself while he drank both bottles she had for him. She had just opened her mouth to say something when the rogue Alpha walked in and started talking bullshit about using him as a hostage. While that fool argued with the Prime Minister, Angus told him about the military action about to go down. According to Angus, Silas was in a deadly rage over the military involvement. No telling how that would eventually play out. Those dudes in the Pentagon had grabbed the wolf by the tail and would definitely feel his bite.

  Asia slowed and held up a balled fist. They slowed, and spread out. It took a moment, but then the scent hit him, humans. The extra metallic smell indicated soldiers. He took Danielle’s arm, led her beneath a copse of trees and then covered her. The others could hide; merge with the trees through their bracelets. But if the soldiers used thermal imaging gear, and he was sure they would, he and his mate would instantly be spotted, if they hadn’t been already. He bit his lip and looked down at his mate, trusting others to keep them both safe didn’t sit well with him. But he had little choice.

  There was little sound, but he picked up their heartbeats and knew they were near and heading in their direction. Asia leapt and landed on a high branch above them. Brix and Leon did the same, becoming one with the tree and forming a semi-circle. Angus touched the tree shielding Tyrese and Danielle. His skin immediately changed matching the bark. He bulked until he covered them completely, and appeared as a part of the base of the tree.

  Footsteps grew closer. Tyrese bulked a bit. He felt a small hand on his back. Glancing over his shoulder, his mate, she took his hand, easing his wolf. The next moment he heard whispers of sound, three men stood near, their weapons pointed at him and Danielle. The first one dropped to his knees, and fell sideways onto the ground. The other two fell in a domino effect.

  There had been no sound, but he knew Asia or one of the others had taken out these soldiers. A thumping sound and then another and a short yell before a loud thump penetrated the silence. Tyrese did not need to see exactly what was happening to know Asia was on the move, clearing a path. Poor bastards probably hadn’t even seen her coming.

  A few moments later Angus returned to normal and stepped aside. Asia stood in front of them, and looked him over.

  “Danielle?” she said seeking his mate.

  Danielle stepped to his side and smiled. “I’m okay.”

  Asia nodded, turned and ran through the foliage. Angus was behind her, he and Danielle fell in line behind him and Brix and Leon brought up the rear. They had been moving steadily for a while and entered the clearing where Captain Browning had met them earlier. Everything had been removed. The only sign that a temporary command post had been set up in this area were broken limbs and twigs.

  They had to leave this region before the military or the Prime Minister or Alpha Milque’s pack caught up with them. Angus strode to the side to get instructions from Silas. Asia walked a few steps and leapt up landing on a sturdy tree branch. She looked around and began moving from tree to tree until he no longer saw her.

  “He is good. I haven’t climbed a tree in years, but even when I did, I couldn’t jump like that.”

  “She,” Tyrese corrected, his gaze returning to his mate. He thumbed a smudge of dirt from her cheek. “Asia is female.”

  Danielle’s eyes widened. “Really…the name is feminine, but she looks… well, I assumed.” She paused. “Okay, if you say so.”

  He smiled. “There is a lot to go over, but now is not the time and this is not the place.” He looked over his shoulder. “Angus… what’s the plan?” He and Tyrone had lost their connection when his brother zoned out and fell asleep. He was too far to make connections on his own; fortunately Angus did not have those limitations.

  “Alpha Frederick is sending a group to get us out of here, but we need to meet them at some point south of here. The land we are on is in dispute, three Alphas are claiming ownership and since there is no La Patron on this continent, the only way to settle it is to kill the other two.”

  “Lovely,” Brix said, shaking his head. “We are in the middle of a territorial war?”

  “Yes, so the British Alpha is not willing to trespass. We need to leave the area and they will pick us up and get us to the airport to go home. Sounds easy…right?” He laughed, shaking his head.

  “You have the coordinates where we need to go?” Leon asked, stepping next to Brix rubbing the taller man's back.

  “He is getting them from the Alpha and will send them in a few moments. He wants us to sit tight until then.”

  “It would be better to wait up there, off the ground,” Brix said glancing at Tyrese.

  Tyrese nodded and bent next to Danielle’s ear. She rubbed her cheek against his chest and he would swear she made a purring sound.

  A tremor shot through him. He shook it off. “We need to hide up in the trees. Can you jump?”

  She stopped moving against him, he was tempted to beg her to continue. Soon, he promised his wolf.

  “I can try. But I will need to stair case it, one level at a time until we get where we need to be.” She looked at the surrounding trees and pointed to one with a branch that wasn’t low but it was lower than most of the others. “Let’s start with that one.”

  He nodded, impressed by the way she thought and didn’t pretend she could do things that she couldn’t.

  She ran and leapt. His heart dropped watching her swing and pull herself onto the first limb. Then she climbed a bit and pulled onto the next limb. He stood beneath the tree prepared to assist if needed. By the time she was near the top of the tree, he exhaled and leapt onto the nearby tree. “You did good,” he said, settling on his limb while she did the same in her tree. Once again he wondered what she thought about all of this. They had been moving so fast neither of them had an opportunity to really talk. He had so many questions.

  Danielle sat gingerly against the rough bark of the tree and placed her forehead on her raised knees. Her heart beat like an out of tune drum. Lord, she was out of shape. She needed to release her wolf and let her rip. Afraid her mate could hear her fast heart rate; she inha
led deeply and counted to ten in slow measures. Through the corner of her eye, she watched him sit easily on the branch with his head leaning against the bark.

  She was mated… the knowledge comforted and terrified her. The range of emotions she had felt since seeing Tyrese on the stage this morning ran the gamut of extreme lust, to territorial blood rage, something she had only heard about before. She would never forget the red mist that consumed her when she recognized his wolf standing on the platform. Her wolf went wild. She was sure it was shock that held her in place while her human side tried to reason with her beast. It had been a wasted effort.

  A part of her she hadn’t known existed rose up the moment she recognized her mate actually stood next to another woman. He was hers! When she saw the needle sticking out his side, one moment she was on the make-shift balcony, the next she was on the platform fuming that they dared to hurt her mate. Years of hiding her dual nature kept her from shifting, although her claws sprang through her nails. She had planned to rip the bastards to shreds.

  It wasn’t until she heard him talking to the crowd that she calmed. His voice, his explanation and him not giving a damn about the shot worked together to walk her back from the brink of insanity. Insanity? Yeah, the red mist thing had been that bad, she prayed never to experience anything like that ever again.

  This mating thing had her acting all out of character. Why else would she meekly follow this man into danger? After his explanation, not once did she consider shifting to fight her way out of the situation. Her wolf had turned into a diva, wanting him to prove himself capable of taking care of her and she had to give it to him… he was one bad brother. She couldn’t recall ever seeing anyone move as fast as him. His quick reflexes and powerful punches had been amazing to watch. All bitches loved a good fight, especially when you were the one your mate protected.

  So far he was a good protector, she’d give him that. But what about everything else? La Patron sent him to do what? That part was still fuzzy.