by Sydney Addae
Once the building cleared, Callum approached Iris with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Ethan watched the two from the corner of his eye while listening to a few pack members talk to him about rebels. Since it was basically the same information he’d heard from the others, Ethan thanked the couple and sent them on their way. During the meeting he’d had a vision of a cave in the mountains which matched the information he’d received. Tomorrow morning before sunrise he’d track the rebels. Until then he wanted to get a few hours’ sleep.
“Ready?” he asked Callum.
“Yeah, one sec.” Callum went to lift Iris’ bag, but she beat him to it. The pup had a lot to learn about mated couples. Fortunately, Iris knew her mate would be upset to smell another male’s scent on her belongings, even if it was the Alpha’s son.
“It’s a good thing she wants to wait until she’s mated to bond, in the long run it’s better for her and you,” Iris said in a soft, yet firm tone.
“After listening to everything tonight, there were things I never thought about. Like me meeting my mate and having no choice but to be with them, what happens to my pups? I hope to meet someone as cool as La Patron, who’d accept them as their own. But after hearing these guys tonight, I’m not so sure. Do I want to risk that? Is it fair?”
They walked out and the janitor locked the door behind them.
“Very few things in life are fair. None of us asked to be born, life’s a gift to be accepted and enjoyed. Every day we work with life as it’s handed to us. Each person is responsible for what they know. How they process that information makes or breaks a person,” Iris said, her gaze flicked from Callum to Ethan and back.
“True and thank you for answering my questions, I know you’re tired,” Callum said as they stopped in front of a late model Mercedes.
“It’s been a long day, but not so long that I’m not returning to La Patron’s compound to be with my mate until the end of his training.” She smiled, turned, and entered her car.
Ethan waved good-bye as he slid into the front seat. Callum slid in the other side.
Neither said anything as Ethan pulled out of the rocky parking lot and drove down the dirt path. Once they hit a main road, Callum sighed. “We aren’t going home tonight are we?”
“No.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Maybe, depends on how soon I find and take care of the rebels.” Ethan hated dashing the hopeful sound in Callum’s voice, but he’d never lied to the pup before and wouldn’t start now.
“Figured as much when I saw everybody there.” Callum paused. “Iris is beautiful.”
“Yes, she is.”
“I’ve never seen eyes that color, kind of a mix between blue and purple.”
Ethan nodded, wondering where all this was going.
“She didn’t smell mated.”
“She’s mated,” Ethan said in a firm tone.
“I know. But she doesn’t smell mated,” Callum stressed. “That could be a problem if she’s someplace without her mate.”
“Yes, it could,” Ethan said as he turned off the main road onto another rocky path.
“Full-bloods will be attracted to her and it’s not obvious she’s mated. It’s not our fault for sniffing around. So how will they deal with that problem?”
“I don’t know.”
“He had a hard time.”
Ethan glanced at Callum. “Who? Who had a hard time?”
“La Patron. When he first met Jasmine, La Patroness, a lot of full-bloods were after her, but she was in heat. That makes a difference.”
“Yes, a big difference.” Ethan thanked the Goddess he wasn’t one of the full-bloods lusting after La Patron’s mate. That was a death wish in the making.
“Anyway, it stopped once she got pregnant. Which makes all of this so confusing. What if my mate is a breed and other men want her? They could touch her and I’ll smell them on her. That’s not good.”
“Yet you were going to pick up Iris’ bag?” Ethan’s brow rose.
“Goddess… I didn’t even think about that, good thing she stopped me.” They hit a bump in the road and both were tossed up. “Ow, what was that?” Callum looked out the window behind them.
“Don’t know, the house is up ahead, see the lights. Alpha had them prepare it for us.” Seeing the lights, Ethan imagined a cold beer and a firm mattress.
“Looks like a rut,” Callum said, facing forward again. “I didn’t talk to Kat.”
Ethan grunted and stopped in front of the cabin. Inhaling, the only scents he detected were his and Callum’s. Whoever had prepared the house for them must’ve done it much earlier. He reached over the seat and grabbed his bag.
“My stuff’s in the back,” Callum said, stepping out the car.
Ethan popped the trunk and headed toward the house. He hoped Callum didn’t plan on talking about his love life. Ethan wanted to start early searching for the rebels and planned to go to bed. As he reached the porch, he stopped and raised his hand.
Without looking over his shoulder he knew Callum had stopped and now waited. An unfamiliar scent teased Ethan’s nose, soft at first, but it grew stronger as the person drew closer.
When she walked onto the porch, his gaze zeroed in on an old metallic necklace she wore. “Stop,” he said.
She stopped but didn’t remove her hood.
“Why is your scent off? Dampener?” He pointed to the necklace.
“I need to speak with you, it’s important,” she said, her husky tone held an undercurrent of urgency.
“Are you pack?”
She hesitated. “Yes.”
Her pause concerned him. “I’m Ethan, KnightForce for La Patron and Alpha Jayden. Have you pledged loyalty to our Alphas?”
She waved her hand. “Yes. We don’t have a lot of time.” She moved forward and handed him an envelope. “This will explain it.” She turned and walked off.
Ethan grabbed for her hand, but she moved so fast he couldn’t grasp it. “What the?” He looked at the envelope and then at the tail end of her jacket moving in the wind. Then nothing.
“Dude, that was weird. Want me to chase her?” Callum asked as he reached Ethan’s side.
“If it were necessary I’d be after her already,” he said as he stuffed the envelope in his bag and punched in the code to unlock the door.
“Just offered to help. Doing my share. Don’t wanna be here, but I am.” Callum walked around him and headed down the hall.
Ethan played with the idea of apologizing for snapping at the pup and then let it go. Neither of them wanted to be here, both were following Alpha Jayden’s instructions. He dropped onto the first sofa and opened the envelope. “Something really strange about her scent,” he murmured as he pulled out the paper. A crude map had been drawn on it with a couple X’s. Ethan sat up and examined it closely.
“What’d she say?” Callum asked, walking in the room.
“Based on what I was told tonight; our mystery woman just gave us the location of the rebels.”
Chapter 7
Silas Knight, La Patron and leader of the Wolf Nation, strode through the hall and nodded at security stationed every five feet, at least it seemed that way. When he reached the end of the corridor, he entered the den of the mansion he’d rented for their vacation. Jasmine, his mate, Tyrese and his mate Danielle, sat on the short sofa and looked up at his arrival.
“Daddy,” Adam his son cried as he raced toward Silas with his hands raised. Renee, Jackie, and David were slower but ran to greet him as well. He lifted and kissed each one before heading toward Jasmine, whose smile still captivated him as much today as the first time he saw it five years past.
He reached for her. She accepted his hand and stood as he pulled her close. “Missed you,” he said through their mind link.
“Missed you more,” she purred and brushed her lips against his. Never one to deny his mate affection, Silas took control and deepened the kiss, loving the taste and feel of her. No one smelled as good as his Sw
eet Bitch.
They broke for air but remained close. “Are you done for the day? Any more meetings?” she asked.
“I hope not. Cain and Abel believe the military is experimenting on something that involves pack. They’ve sent out trackers, but each time they think they’re close, everything changes. It’s frustrating.”
“I thought the Joint Chief cooperated with you, what happened?”
“Nothing. They still appear to be cooperating and say they have no idea what Cain, Abel, or my Generals are searching for. It’s all a game, they know we smell their lies and yet they continue to deny everything.” He paused while rubbing his hand across her back. “How can I send my Knights to defend this country when they’re seeking ways to destroy us? In hidden rooms and back closets they plan to bring my pack down. I will always believe they supported the Liege financially to gain access to information about full-bloods. Yet they smile and expect our loyalty.”
“No. They don’t expect loyalty from us,” she said. It always warmed his heart when she identified with pack. “They know you know they’re lying, but they can’t do anything about that. Chances are they think we’re doing the same thing they’re doing, preparing to defend ourselves against them in case the need ever arrives.” She stroked his cheek with her fingertips and took a step backward. “The children want to go on the waterslide today, can we take them?”
Silas pulled her close again, placed a kiss on her lips, and looked at his pups. They played some kind of game with Danielle in the corner with Tyrese coaching from the sideline. “With half of the Knight’s training class here as security, they should be able to go anywhere they want.”
Knowing he didn’t mean a word of it, she smiled and didn’t respond.
“Yes. I’ll tell Cain to set it up. What else do they want to do, might as well tell him everything.”
Jasmine’s soft brown eyes twinkled as she leaned into him. “Kids, daddy says we can go to the waterslide; what else do you want to do while we’re on vacation?”
“Museum to see the paintings we talked about in class,” Renee said with such eagerness that Silas knew he’d find a way to get his princess into that place without filling it with security detail. Maybe he’d take her himself. If he did that, he’d have to take Adam to a football game, which he’d been asking to go even though the season was over.
“We can go anywhere we want, daddy?” Jackie asked, her blue eyes brightening as she walked toward him.
“We’re on vacation,” he said. “Plus, I promised you all a treat for doing so well in school this past year. But we have to tell security first so they can make sure everything’s good. So what do you want to do?” He leaned down and cupped Jackie’s cheek. Of all the pups, she looked most like him with her jet black hair, blue-green eyes, and angular face. Renee’s features were changing and she looked more like Jasmine each day. The boys, David and Adam, were an easy mix of him, Jasmine and Victoria, Jasmine’s mother.
“I want to go to the beach,” Jackie said, taking his hand and swinging it from side to side.
“We went to the beach last year,” Adam said, coming to stand next to his sister. “There’s no beach here.”
Although Silas had enjoyed the two-week vacation on his private island with his den last year, he had no wish to go near the water any time soon. Adam had had too many close calls even with Silas and Jarcee in the water with him.
“The waterslide then, and the carnival… and the circus,” Jackie said, turned and skipped back to Danielle.
“Can we go to a baseball game?” Adam asked. His big brown eyes stared up at Silas pleading.
“Yes, we can go to a baseball game before we leave.” He patted the top of Adam’s head and waited for David’s request.
“Sarita’s grandparents took her to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower,” David said.
Silas nodded. “Yes, Asia and Hawke told me.”
“I want to see it,” David said, his gaze never left Silas’.
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do. You won’t see it the same as Sarita, but I think we can work something out before we leave.” He pulled David close and rubbed his head. Of all the pups, David concerned him the most. His attachment to Sarita for one thing. It was uncanny how the two of them operated and this past school year had been a test and trial when they were in separate classes. He’d suggested having them in the same class, but Jasmine said the other kids had been separated and functioned well. David didn’t seem interested in making new friends and remained apart from his classmates. Instead, he turned his energies into learning and made the top scores in the school. The pup’s lack of social skills created problems, especially as the Alpha’s son. Silas wasn’t sure what to do or how to help, Jasmine didn’t see the problem and assured him David was fine.
“Thank you,” David said, and looked over his shoulder at the others.
“Thank you Daddy,” Renee yelled from the corner of the room without looking up.
“Thanks Daddy,” Adam said.
Jackie ran to him and threw her arms around him. “Thank you Daddy.”
“Welcome, Princess.” Silas rubbed her back a few seconds and glanced at David, who sat next to Tyrese.
“Still worried about him?” Jasmine asked with a hint of pride.
“Yes. He’s definitely Alpha material, I just hope he becomes more sociable.”
“Like Adam?”
Silas snorted and looked at his other son. “No. One Adam on the planet is enough, thank you.”
“Is he Alpha material too?” Jasmine asked as they sat on the sofa.
“Yes. With maturity he’ll settle down, at least I hope he will.” He squeezed her shoulder, leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead.
“Both girls would make great Alphas,” Jasmine said.
Silas nodded. “Cain needs to talk to me. I’ll have Security set up the outing to the waterslide, a trip to the museum, talk with Alpha Antwan about setting up a baseball game on pack grounds near Charlotte, and see if one of the European Alphas can do a live feed of the Eiffel Tower.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
She wiped her thumb across his lips. “Yes. Be well rested for tonight.”
His beast growled in pleasure. “Never too tired for you Sweet Bitch.”
“Good.” She pushed him back a step, stood, and walked toward the kids.
Silas’ eyes remained glued to her hips until he heard Tyrese chuckle and Danielle snicker. Jasmine winked at him and took the paper Renee handed her.
“I’ll be back soon and then we’ll head to the slides,” he called over his shoulder and left the room. “Cain?”
“Out front. I want you to see this.”
Silas changed directions and headed toward the main entrance. “Goddess, I’d like to spend one week alone with my mate and pups without the Nation crashing in.”
“I’m not the Goddess,” Jasmine said. “But I’m sure she heard you.”
He smiled and stepped out into the cool North Carolina morning. Cain and two Knights stood near a backpack. Curious, Silas headed in their direction while giving instructions to Jarcee regarding the day’s outing.
“What do you want me to see?” He glanced at Cain, and then the bag.
“Remember one of the Knights went on reconnaissance to a location we thought might be hot?”
Silas recalled Cain’s belief they’d found evidence the military had been making plans to attack their nation. “Yes.”
“This is what he brought back, blood samples, several tubes of serum that went missing from test sites, and pictures of women. Including Victoria, La Patroness’ mother.”
Silas’ gaze met Cain’s. “Jacque’s mate.”
Cain nodded.
“Did you check the status of the women?” Silas asked although he suspected the answer.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Walk with me.” Silas turned and walked toward the woodline of the property. The mansion sat in the middle of 50 a
cres, with an orchard, vegetable and formal gardens. With 15 bedrooms, it was large enough to host his den and security team, but if the women were who Silas thought they were, complete privacy was needed for this discussion.
“Tell me about the women,” Silas said as they continued moving.
“Most came from a line similar to Victoria, rape victims and survivors. The Rapist is thought to be from a strange line of full-bloods with the ability to impregnate human females. Just a theory since no one has ever found the guy, hell, it could be several guys. We just don’t know. But all of these females are breeders.”
“Like my mate.”
“Yes, Sir. Like your mate.”
Silas wasn’t sure what it all meant, but he didn’t like the fact someone was interested in human breeders. “We still don’t know much about what these women can do.” He thought of Arianna. “Except they can go crazy over time. Some were unbalanced, tried to kill me, believed in some type of cult. Jasmine tried to learn more from them until they tried to get her to leave me.”
Cain snorted.
“Exactly. That ended that. Put your best on discovering as much as possible about human breeders, what sets them apart? What can they do? Can’t do? My mate shares my abilities, but she has her own fire. Jacques noticed the same about Victoria. I’ll have Jacques release information the Alphas gathered when we realized breeders lived among us, see if there’s a common thread.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“What’s your take on all of this?” The two men faced each other. Similar in height, Silas met Cain’s serious gaze.
“Well, if I wanted to build an army of super-soldiers, why not breed them?”
Chapter 8
In the dark early morning hours, Ethan and Callum crept forward into the dark mine shaft, inhaling, searching for rebels. Once again his vision of the place, plus the information from last night, proved true.