Heather gasped.
“As soon as my head cleared, I was able to figure out my grandfather was a quack. At least that’s what I assumed at the time. He seemed harmless enough. Just some old guy who thought I needed steroids or something. I took control of my own life, joined a gym, and got stronger on my own. I’m sure nature had a hand in it also.”
“How old are you now?” Jerome asked.
“Twenty-six.”
“So it’s been over six years since you were under the influence of his drugs?” Marcus could tell Jerome fought hard to keep from leaping up and pacing the room in frustration, and he appreciated the sentiment. It was more than he’d ever gotten from his own father.
“With the exception of one other incident, yes. But I’ll come back to that.” He glanced at Drake, hating what he needed to tell the man. “I moved out of my parents’ home when I was twenty, got a job in construction, and assumed a normal life. At least until about a month ago.”
Jerome nodded. He didn’t interrupt. Everyone else sat very still. They must have been shocked. Marcus couldn’t blame them.
“I’ve always been in contact with my parents, especially my mother. My father, Carl, tends to think like my grandfather. Nevertheless, I ignored their idiosyncrasies most of my adult life. So, that particular Sunday afternoon I headed to my parents’ home for dinner and arrived in time to overhear them talking to my grandfather in the living room. Instead of entering the house, I eavesdropped from the porch and got an earful I’ll never forget.”
“I’ll bet. This is huge. Do you know that?” Jerome asked.
“I assumed.”
“So, Cunningham is the mole everyone’s been looking for within The Head Council.”
“Yes. I’m sure he is. The man runs that secret organization called the Romulus.”
When everyone nodded, he went on. They all knew about the Romulus. Probably far more than he knew.
“He’s grooming ordinary shifters to become some kind of superwolves.”
Jerome cocked one eyebrow. “He’s way past that, son. He’s been abundantly successful.”
Marcus nodded. “I gathered that when you all mentioned superwolves this morning. I assume you’ve seen them?”
Jerome shook his head. “Son, we’ve fought against them on this ranch.”
“I figured. Anyway, my grandfather’s goal that particular Sunday was to convince my mother he needed to bring me into the fold. I’m his only heir. He specifically mentioned some new research that would alter my genes and make me part of his army.”
Drake gasped. “I wonder if he’s found a way to alter shifters who don’t have the correct gene sequence. Did you get the impression he already had the capability?”
“Not sure, but he did say he had the financial backing of someone very wealthy, and he intended to use the man’s money to build his army and in return provide the manpower to do whatever the guy needed. It scared the fuck out of me.”
“How did you find us?”
“My grandfather told my parents that your family was harboring women who had been kidnapped from their mates.”
Jerome scowled. “You’re shitting me. That bastard. Those Romulus assholes were the ones who did the kidnapping. NAR went in to rescue those women, none of whom were mated.”
“Yeah, I gathered that. That’s why I came here. Took me a while, and when I arrived, I spent several days hanging back watching to make sure I hadn’t misjudged you.” Marcus glanced at Heather. Her eyes were huge saucers, and her mouth was open.
“Shit.” Jerome stood now. He ran a hand through his hair. “I need to call Jerard.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you do. That’s the most important part I know. But there’s more. You make your call first. I’m sure Jerard needs to know posthaste. The rest is personal.”
Everyone waited while Jerome place the call to Jerard and then repeated the information to someone named Evan and another guy named Daniel who Marcus realized was the Spencers’ other son and a member of NAR.
The most important thing Marcus learned from listening to Jerome’s half of the conversation was although many wolves had been transformed into superwolves, apparently not all shifters had the gene that permitted the transformation. Marcus shivered when he realized his grandfather had been speaking of altering Marcus’s own DNA to allow for the change.
When Jerome finally hung up, he was restless.
Natalie spoke first. “Was he shocked?”
“In a sense. But he knew there was a mole, and he’d suspected Cunningham for a while. The man is odd, let’s just say.”
“Would someone mind filling me in on what really happened with the kidnapped women?” Marcus asked. “I’m confused about the sequence of events.”
Jerome spoke. “Twelve women had been kidnapped by the Romulus and taken to remote locations. They were injected with various drugs, or in some cases given pills. One other woman, Ashley, was rescued after four years of captivity. That was a year ago, long before this latest mission. She was the first to be recovered. Her mate, Evan—”
“Wait. She was mated?”
“Well, not until after she was rescued. In fact Evan was the private investigator hired by her family to find her. She lives with him in St. Louis now.”
“God.” Marcus gripped his thighs as he listened to the unbelievable tale.
“Anyway,” Jerome continued, “Evan was hired by Jerard to find other missing women. He organized a sting, and all twelve were rescued at the same time. They were brought here over the next few days when we offered our ranch as a refuge for them to recover and get the counseling they needed. They reunited with their families here.”
Marcus looked at Heather. “You were one of those women, weren’t you?”
She nodded.
“Shit. My grandfather is quite a piece of work. No wonder I was confused. He said the women were all happily mated living normal lives until The Head Council kidnapped them.” He shook his head. “I knew for a fact something was out of whack when I realized Heather wasn’t mated to someone else. In fact, I don’t even think my parents know the true story behind it all. They seem only privileged to whatever info my grandfather has fed them. And most of what he says is lies.”
“It’s an enormous disaster, for sure.” Jerome paced again as he spoke. “So, in a nutshell, the women came here, we figured out half of them had GPS tracking devices imbedded in their necks, removed the chips, and then had to move them to other safe houses. It’s unfortunate. We’d hoped they could stay here and recover. But it wasn’t safe.
“In fact, NAR descended on us to provide protection, and we ended up in a small war against the unbelievable Romulus right here on our property. You will be very shocked when you see the results of your grandfather’s little project. Somehow he has tampered with their DNA and produced an entire army of superwolves. They’re huge, and they’re strong. They also heal faster than ordinary wolves.”
Marcus was stunned. “And now my grandfather has apparently bumped that up a step and found a way to transform even those shifters who don’t have the correct DNA sequence to become superwolves. That must have been what he intended to do to me.”
Jerome nodded. “Sounds that way.”
Marcus turned to his mate. “You stayed here on the ranch.”
She nodded. “I didn’t want to go back to my family in Oregon. They live in a small town. It gave me the willies all my life. After I was kidnapped, I never wanted to return. The Spencers were gracious enough to offer me a home until I could get my feet under me. I have a degree in nursing. I’ve been applying around the country…and then you showed up.” She tipped her head to one side, but her expression was unreadable.
Marcus didn’t want to burden her by asking about her kidnapping experience right then, but he would want the details later. Even though her tale might make him vomit, or decide to personally kill his own flesh and blood.
He turned to Jerome. “Where’s your other son? Daniel, right?”
“Yes.
One of the rescued women, Allison, turned out to be his mate. She’s of some unknown importance to the Romulus. Daniel is a member of NAR. They’re in Seattle where both The Head Council and the main military hub is located. Well, maybe they are. Allison is in a safe house. It could be anywhere.”
Marcus ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t wrap my mind around all this.”
“Neither can we,” Jerome said. “But bless you for coming here and providing us with the most valuable breakthrough we’ve had yet.”
“You’re welcome, of course.” Marcus had an idea. “Oh my God. I have to go back.” He jumped from his seat.
“What are you talking about? Go back where?” Heather asked.
Marcus looked at Jerome, meeting his gaze eye to eye as the man realized his meaning. He shook his head. “No one would ask that of you.”
“No one did. But you know it’s the only way.”
“What?” Heather stood now and stepped forward. “Someone please tell me what you’re talking about.” Her voice rose to a new level.
Drake cleared his throat. “He means he’s going to go undercover. As a spy.”
“No,” Heather screamed. She jerked her gaze up, her eyes wide with fear. She shook her head. “You can’t. You just got here.” She shook.
Marcus smiled at her, extremely relieved by her vehemence concerning him. It was the first indication he had that she might be able to move forward with him even though he was related to the enemy. Of course there was more she didn’t know. And some of it was almost worse. But this couldn’t be helped. “I know, baby. But this is important. The survival of our species could depend on my ability to infiltrate the Romulus and stop them from ruining our way of life.”
She still shook her head. “No. Someone else can do it.”
“There’s no one else.”
She shook, her entire body quivering. She wrapped her arms around her middle and hugged herself. Marcus wanted to go to her and hold her. But he couldn’t. Not yet.
“Let’s not get carried away,” Jerome said. “No one’s going anywhere right this minute. It will take a few days to plan. We’d need to meet with several people. The Head Council would want to gather and fill Marcus in on everything. Don’t panic yet. But Marcus is right. The plan might be our best shot. Did you say your grandfather had come to your parents’ house to bring you into the fold?”
“Yes.” Marcus nodded. “That’s precisely why this will work. I’ll go back, let them bring me in, and then gather all the information I can.” Marcus met Heather’s gaze as she pursed her lips, no longer protesting, at least not out loud.
He took a deep breath. “There’s one more thing I have to tell you.” He turned toward Drake. “And it concerns you.”
“Me?” Drake pointed at himself.
Everyone calmed down and quieted.
“I told you there was one instance when I was drugged in the last six years. I need to explain that day, and you aren’t going to like it.” Marcus kept his gaze locked on Drake’s. “It was at The Gathering last year. My grandfather nagged me to find a mate. I don’t know what his motives were yet, nor do I understand why he picked the particular women he chose, but he injected me with some mind-altering drug. He caught me off guard and stabbed me with a needle so fast I couldn’t stop him.
“And then he proceeded to brainwash me, filling my head with all sorts of crazy ideas. He kept insisting I find a mate. I grew more confused under the influence of the drug as the weekend wore on.”
Drake gasped. He gripped the arms of his chair, but he didn’t interrupt.
Marcus saw the moment Drake knew where this story was going, but he continued. He needed to say everything out loud. And he needed everyone in the room to have a fair opportunity to assess his behavior.
Including Heather. Especially Heather. Whatever future Marcus may have with her hinged on this information and her ability to overlook his transgressions. He couldn’t imagine how she could continue to make eye contact with him after she heard the rest. “Eventually he convinced me one particular woman was destined to be mine. I didn’t give it much thought. I had only one thing on my mind as I approached her, and that was getting laid.”
Heather flinched. And she should. There was no use sugarcoating it.
“It’s true. I guess the drug was some sort of aphrodisiac. I couldn’t seem to stop myself from taking what my grandfather said was mine.”
“Kenzie.” The one word came out of Drake’s mouth on a sigh.
Marcus nodded. “And then her sister, Kathleen.” He paused. “I’m terribly sorry for the trauma I caused your mate and her sister. I don’t expect either of them to forgive me, but that day has haunted me for fifteen months. I want to personally apologize for my behavior.”
Drake nodded. Silence ensued for several heartbeats.
Drake finally spoke again. “My mate is not the type to harbor a grudge. Even when she told me about you later that day, she insinuated you weren’t in your right mind. She was shook up from your attempted advances, but she didn’t suffer long. I came along and wiped you from her memory.” He smiled.
Marcus’s chest pounded. How could this man be so kind about what Marcus had done to his mate?
“You didn’t mean it.” He glanced toward the soft voice of his own mate. Her eyes were glazed with tears, but he realized she was crying with him, not about him. She hurt for the man who’d been drugged and brainwashed. She wasn’t angry. She didn’t hate him. A long exhale escaped his lips. “I need a moment.”
Marcus left the room to step out the front door and gasp for oxygen. Even in the late evening, the air was too warm, suffocating him. He bent at the waist, afraid he would hyperventilate. Setting his hands on his knees, he dipped his head and tried to breathe normally.
Soft hands wrapped around him from behind. He smelled his mate before he saw her. Somehow she’d followed him without him hearing the door. Or maybe he’d never shut it behind him. He’d been so hell-bent on gasping for breath.
Her tiny hands grasped him around the waist, and she leaned in to lay her face on his back. “I’m so sorry that happened to you,” she whispered. “It’s unconscionable what your grandfather did. I hope I never make his acquaintance. But no one here is going to blame you for actions beyond your control.” She held him for long minutes.
Finally Marcus managed to turn in her arms and wrap his hands around her, pressing her head to his chest and burying his face in her hair. He breathed her floral-scented shampoo deep into his lungs.
He was one lucky bastard. She smelled like heaven, and having her in his arms was a dream.
•●•
Heather held on to her mate for long minutes, not willing to let go for a second. Now that she’d finally touched him, she couldn’t break the contact for anything in the world.
But they were on the front porch. Not a good place to fuck. “Let’s go back inside. We need some time alone.” She lifted her gaze to meet his, feeling the grip of his hand buried in her hair.
He nodded and held her against his side as they reentered the house and made their way toward the bedroom she’d been using for several weeks. The Spencers had gone out the back apparently. The house was quiet.
Heather wasn’t surprised. Obviously Heather and Marcus had a lot to consider privately.
Marcus shut the bedroom door behind him and leaned against it. Immediately Heather felt a heightened awareness of his presence in the confined space, a room he’d already filled with his scent in both human and wolf form. Her entire body tingled as it came alive.
He held her at arm’s length and met her gaze, his expression serious. “I don’t expect you to let me claim you.”
“I expect you to stop talking and get on with it.” She grinned, batting her eyes playfully.
“Heather…” Marcus rolled his eyes. “This is serious. I’m a blood relative of the man running this crazy attempt to ruin all that we have worked for centuries to maintain as a species.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but Marcus set a finger on her lips.
“Baby, listen to me.”
Her toes curled when he called her that. A shiver raced up her spine, and she gripped his biceps where he held on to her shoulders.
“I’ve not always been drug free. I don’t even know what’s been in my system.”
“Whatever it was, it’s not there now. It’s not controlling you, Marcus, and you know it.”
He hesitated. “I nearly forced myself on Mackenzie, and she lives on this ranch.”
“You can’t be held accountable for that.”
Marcus opened his mouth but appeared to be out of arguments.
Heather was glad. She leaned forward, in part to stop him from saying more, but also because her body swayed in his direction of its own accord. She needed to kiss him. Taste him. Know the feel of his lips on hers.
But Marcus had other ideas. He righted himself and backed her up until she hit the bed. He sat her down and kneeled in front of her, bringing his face level with hers. He stared at her long moments, a smile forming on the corners of his mouth. “Am I really this lucky?”
She couldn’t speak. But he didn’t continue, either. It didn’t matter. Words were superfluous at the moment.
Finally he set both hands on her knees and trailed them up her thighs.
Heather gasped as she gripped his shoulders.
“Are you sure?”
“Never been more positive.”
He continued up her waist until he held her beneath her chest, his thumbs grazing the undersides of her breasts. He stood, leaning closer. He eased her onto her back, scooting her farther across the mattress with his grip and climbing over her at the same time.
When he lowered his body onto her, she let out a long moan, unable to stop it, instantly feeling the flames creep up her cheeks at her reaction.
His smile widened as he nestled between her legs and lowered his lips to hers.
Slowly. So slowly he advanced. Too damn slow.
She licked her dry mouth, her gaze following his plump lips as they reached her, and he finally closed the distance. The kiss was tentative at first. One hand trailed up her body and held her face, causing her to meet his gaze.
Betrayed (Wolf Gatherings Book 6) Page 6