by Sydney Addae
“Seems like the Liege took the suggestion of helping shifters to a whole new level with LOBO.” Chacal said flipping the page of the documents.
“LOBO? What’s that?” Asia asked in between bites of food.
“Liege Organized–”
“Behavioral Optimization,” Hawke finished with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He glanced at the document in Chacal’s hand and then at Asia.
“What?” she asked into the cool silence in their link.
“I created that plan or large portions of it. But it was to help adult wolves grow stronger, better. Not pups. Pups cannot survive the things I put into that manual. Oh shit… what the hell was I thinking?”
“You weren’t. The computer chip, programmed by the Liege, did all the thinking for you,” Asia stressed.
“But if a pup survives training in LOBO, they’ll be little more than machines when they leave. It calls for numerous surgeries, including all metal limbs, metallic layered skins, sharpened fangs, everything.”
“In other words, they’ll be like you?” She looked at him and touched his hand. “From where I’m sitting that’s not a bad thing. Once they find their mates the Liege’s influence dies over them and they can help the pack.”
He shook his head and looked at his hands in disgust. “The Goddess sent you to me, it could be decades before they find their mates and until then they’ll destroy whoever the Liege tells them to destroy. It never entered my mind to resist, not until you came along.”
“How’d you know that, Hawke?” Angus asked. “Have you seen it before?”
Hawke looked at Angus. “Something similar, behavioral optimization is code for absolute obedience. In the mind of Lancaster and his cronies, that is the golden standard.”
“Were you obedient?” Granira asked.
“How do you know about LOBO?” Asia asked Angus, ignoring Granira.
“Yesterday we checked out two locations,” Angus said. “One was a lab from Hawkes’ list. That’s where we found the pages on LOBO and another smaller building not far from here.” Angus explained the bar, their impressions of the surrounding area and the building. He paused and stared at Asia.
“There was another location purchased by the same corporation the Liege used for other transactions within thirty minutes from here.” He met Hawke’s gaze. “It wasn’t on your list. Once we got there we understood why. The charred remains of animals, including wolves, filled a large incinerator, filthy, stacked cages lined three rooms. Based on the smell of things, the deaths were fairly recent, the place stank. We didn’t check all the rooms, but the ones we saw were bad.”
Granira gasped and covered her mouth.
A bitter taste hit the back of Hawke’s tongue as if he were in that room with Angus. His nose itched from the imagined smell. This could not continue. Whatever role he needed to play to correct the damage he’d unwittingly created, he would.
“Let’s just say, it was bad enough that Chacal changed his mind about remaining on the sidelines,” Angus said in a low voice.
“The things they are doing… it’s inhumane and not allowed per this agreement. If they feel they are operating in the gray areas, they’re wrong. They have violated everything these pages stand for.” Chacal placed the papers on the table next to his chair.
“What I saw in the camp wasn’t science, or behavioral modifications. It was murder, bordering on genocide of our people. No one should stand on the sidelines and allow outsiders to destroy them. I certainly cannot,” Chacal said with more heat and emotion than Hawke had seen in the month they’d stayed in the man’s home. Hawke glanced at Asia’s stunned expression and touched her arm.
“Well, damn, someone found the button to his conscience.”
Hawke shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.” Once everyone discovered he wrote most of the LOBO manual that animosity would be turned toward him. He and Asia could move to the hotel in town or to Alpha Radoff’s pack lands to finish this job. He exhaled beneath the heavy weight of shame. Not once had he ever considered the experiments wrong. Quite the opposite, learning new things, perfecting his body, stretching his abilities had been the nourishment that kept him going. Now, sitting on this side of the fence, he saw, understood why the test wolves hated him and thought of him as a butcher and a quack.
“Hawke, don’t do this,” Asia said, lacing her fingers through his. “There is always another side to consider.”
“Don’t you understand? The reason they’re stealing the pups is because of me. I gave them that damn manual.”
“What I understand is you’re the only person who knows what those assholes are doing and how. I understand that you have the blueprint for their weaknesses as well as strengths in that incredible brain of yours. Where you see failure, baby, I see success and that’s what the Goddess is talking about. You know those bastards and can guess what they’ll do next. We need you to guide us into the dark paths of their minds and game plans. So don’t be upset by the things you’ve done, I’m not. We’ll use your knowledge about them, against them and destroy them.”
Hawke stared at her and checked their link. She was serious. Interesting. He did know how the Liege thought, or at least how they thought when he’d been under their domination. Most of the plans he worked on were stored in his personal cloud. Even if they made changes, he still had the core. Could that be what the Goddess meant? Between him and Asia, they knew enough about the Liege to shake that organization, and possibly bring it to its knees.
He smiled and squeezed his mate’s hand. “Thank you. As usual, you are right. The image of Lancaster on his knees feels good.”
Chapter 15
The transmission of the fight wasn’t as good as those transmitted through the cams embedded in the eye, but since Damian lacked that device, the one mounted in his sunglasses had to suffice. Boris Lancaster watched the screen until it went blank. Inwardly he battled pride, sadness, loss and anger at the scene he’d just seen. Hawke looked good. His pet protégé appeared to be thriving outside the castle. Boris had hoped to see a weakened and confused Hawke which would spell disaster for their research, but would have soothed the ache of loss in his chest.
The bleep on the monitor pulled him from those ridiculous thoughts. Even without the computer chip in his brain, Hawke operated with clear thoughts and excellent movement of his limbs. Throwing the motorcycle had been over the top, but it allowed Boris to see the quality of their work. Superb. He saved the video to the cloud and sent a copy to Lord Roderick. They’d share a glass of champagne later over the successful implementation of their technology.
He’d have Lord Phineas, Griffin’s former assistant, cut segments of this tape for a promotional piece for potential clients. There were a few bugs that would need to be worked out and information to be omitted, such as what happened if the product came into the proximity of its mate. But overall, LOBO proved successful.
Rubbing his hands together, he re-watched the footage and stopped on the image of the other shifter. Angus, Hawke’s mate. Zooming onto the face he looked for signs of the black wolf. After long, frustrating moments, he admitted failure. Roderick might be onto something with that chameleon bracelet.
He tapped his fingertips on the desk while staring at the monitor. The power they could wield by taking over the bodies of men and women in high places. It tickled his imagination to think of sitting in Buckingham Palace or the White House. Oh… to be able to show all those people who teased and taunted him when he was a young lad with speech problems. His chest expanded with imagined pride. For a moment he basked in the glory of being the leader of the world.
They could control or topple kingdoms and do things that left a mark in history without a hint of identity theft. The more he thought of the possibilities, the more he wanted that bracelet. Then, they could leave the wolves behind without fear of retribution from that damn contract. He’d be the first to admit over the past two decades, they had been skating on thin ice, and there had been times
he’d been certain Konstantin would blast them from wherever he rested in eternal bliss with the damn curse, but so far luck favored them.
But if he could discover the secret of the bracelet he could change his fortunes and destiny. Roderick hadn’t said much about the bracelet other than Angus Black Wolf was the key. Lancaster rubbed his chin and stared at the face on the monitor. Perhaps he could seek more answers while bringing Hawke down. Catching one would bring the other and before he turned Angus over to Roderick he would set about securing his fortune. It was something to consider after watching Hawke.
The door opened and Damian walked in. Boris turned off the monitor and faced his new protégé.
“Report.”
“I watched the confrontation. The hybrids are still slower than the black wolf. I timed his blows and they were always faster and more precise than the hybrid. The addition of the metal around the face to protect the chips seemed effective. However, the steel rings around the neck did not prevent decapitation. The sword severed the head from the body and did nothing to stop the twisting of the head. Since there is no regeneration after decapitation, I suggest researching that area.”
Lancaster nodded. They’d spent millions already on research. Hawke’s report had been clear and concise. Unless you placed body armor around the neck there was no way to protect it. But the armor would prevent the wearer from fluid movement and cause their death against an opponent.
“What did you think of Hawke?”
Damian frowned. “Hawke?” His face cleared. “The one who threw the cycle?”
Lancaster noted the sparkle in his eyes as he mentioned the bike. “Yes.”
“He is very fast, strong and level-headed. Even when angered he didn’t bother to charge instead he acted in a manner that would give him information about an unknown. No matter if the bike hit me or not he would’ve learned something of my nature. I applaud his thinking.”
“Good. I am sure the two of you will meet again.” Lancaster watched to see if there were any signs of recognition and was pleased with what he saw.
When Hawke and Damian met it would be the first time father and son battled. Damian had passed every in-house test and a few staged events. In order to determine his effectiveness in combat, he had to fight Hawke, at least that was how he pitched this confrontation to the board. The test wasn’t a matter of strength or cunning.
Hawke had been around much longer and studied everything under the sun. The wolf was a walking encyclopedia who would eventually win against any competitor. They needed to see the reaction between the two. How would Damian respond to his sire and how would Hawke respond to his pup. The idea of Hawke’s downfall by the hands of his seed had been too hard to resist.
Boris knew better than most what Hawke was capable of, one on one, Damian would be destroyed if Hawke could do it. Boris’ end game was the mental torture Hawke would receive knowing his son had been raised by the same hands he now despised. The anger might trip him up long enough for Boris to destroy him.
“Have you heard from Lord Gordon?” Damian asked on his way out the room.
“Yes. He will be here soon. His flight landed a couple hours ago. Make sure his room is ready.” Lancaster waved him out rather than see the delighted grin covering his face. For some reason Gordon had taken an immediate liking to the pup and over the years had shown blatant favoritism to Hawke’s pup. When he pulled Damian for this assignment, he knew it would piss Gordon off, that’s why he didn’t bother informing the Liege Lord of the trip. Pup testing was the only reason Gordon hadn’t dropped everything and flown over the first day.
Boris glanced at his watch, stood and grabbed a cup of coffee. Damian returned to the room, glanced at him and then looked at the entry door as if that would bring Gordon faster. Lancaster couldn’t imagine anyone had ever done that for him, couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if they had either. Gordon had been from the same wealthy social class as Roderick. Both men had married and lost their families through the years. Gordon said Damian reminded him of his youngest son and spent a lot of time with the pup. Lancaster had warned the Lords against tying themselves with the product. One day those pups would go on dangerous assignments and may not return.
Gordon always argued on the side of loyalty being nurtured rather than cold brutality. After Hawke’s betrayal, Boris agreed with him… to a point. But this didn’t bode well. Gordon should not rush to Damian’s side. The wolf hadn’t met his sire and that would be the battle of battles.
Damian moved so quickly, Boris couldn’t track him. The door stood open and Gordon walked in. Damian knelt and bowed his head. Gordon stopped and stroked the top of the pup’s hair.
Boris rolled his eyes as the two talked in hushed tones. He tossed back the rest of the dark brew and turned to face the two. Gordon walked toward him with an outstretched hand, which Boris shook. When had they started the handshaking instead of the cordial nod?
“Good to see you, Gordon.”
Gordon’s brow rose. They both knew that was a lie. “If I had known you were coming I would’ve traveled with you.”
Lancaster shrugged. “The castle fell. Hawke’s on the loose, Roderick wanted this handled with a small footprint after the castle deal. So I grabbed Damian and came over.”
“Small footprint? What do you call what happened on the side of the highway. It made the news.” Gordon handed Damian his bag as he took a seat near Lancaster.
“That wasn’t us. Damian stood across the road watching with his special lens, taking notes. Verrick sent his men after Hawke and that was the result.”
“Verrick doesn’t own any hybrids. And in his arrogance would’ve lost all of his men before calling them off in the middle of a fight. That’s not how wolves fight, your fingerprint is all over this,” Gordon said.
Boris gritted his teeth and counted to five. The bastard came across the continent looking to be disagreeable. “I sent the hybrids, and told Verrick to detain Hawke. I needed to see what I’d be dealing with.” He met Gordon’s cold gaze with one of his own.
“How did it go?”
Boris’ gaze flicked to Damian, who stood a distance away. “According to Damian’s report and the video he recorded, Hawke is operating above our expectations. The loss of the computer chip hasn’t diminished his capabilities.”
Gordon smiled and nodded. They all had one thing in common, the push for excellence in everything they did. “That’s great to hear. Have you scheduled the confrontation between Hawke and Damian?”
“Not yet. Roderick wants Hawke’s mate, Angus. Now that I have the tape and see how they work I can begin to plan.”
“If you take one the other will follow,” Gordon said as if that was the easiest thing in the world to accomplish.
“How much of that footage was on the news?” he asked.
Gordon’s jaw tightened. “Just the fire.”
Boris nodded, stretched out his legs and hit the remote. A large screen on the opposite wall appeared and within moments displayed the fight between Hawke and the hybrids. “Take one indeed,” he murmured.
Chapter 16
Hawke sat in front of the monitor sifting through his notes on LOBO. Asia completed another rep of squats while wondering what bothered her about the day. Something had been off but she couldn’t put her finger on it exactly. After grabbing a bite to eat, she and Hawke left Niall, Chacal, Angus and Granari in the living area talking. Since the conversation veered from their assignment, it didn’t interest her.
Her mate immediately went to his laptop while she showered and changed into a tank top and a thong. When she finished her last squat, she grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and sat on the bed.
“Mistress.”
“How are you, Asia?”
“Good, thanks.” She told Jasmine about their day, the fight, the pups, Granira and Niall. When she finished Jasmine released a long sigh.
“I don’t like so many people getting involved. How long will they be in the hous
e?”
Asia agreed but was surprised Jasmine felt that way about Hawke’s brother given the way her Mistress felt about family. “I’m not sure. We plan to return to Alpha Radoff’s tomorrow to discuss breaking the contract and stop Liege access on pack land. We could leave them there.”
“That sounds good. I don’t like the coincidences of them below ground while you were there. The lies of who she is and then the pups being released. Too many inconsistencies for me. Make sure no one learns your identity, not even Hawke’s brother. He’s a liar and cannot be trusted.”
“I agree. We’re in our bedroom and it’s warded so the only ones who can enter is Hawke or myself. No one comes in here when we’re gone, we clean up our own mess.”
“In this instance, that’s a good thing. I’ll tell Silas, bring him current. The fire did make the news over here, they don’t know who or what started it, but there were too many bodies to do much else I suppose.”
Asia heard the question and answered. “Yes, Ma’am. We needed to leave the area, but couldn’t allow the bodies to be examined by humans. Fire was the only option.”
“By the time the police arrived there wasn’t enough left to identify the bodies, so I doubt there will be an autopsy.” Jasmine paused. “Take care of Hawke, this is not his fault, although I’m sure he feels it is. Alpha men tend to take more than their shoulders can carry, that’s why we step in to help. He’s going to need you more than ever in the coming days as more and more of the Goddess’s mission is revealed. How you handle your mate will determine how he handles all the things thrown at him. I went through that with Silas, and still do on some days. It’s not easy, but it’s what mates do for each other. Become his hiding place. A place he can rest and be himself.”
Asia’ heart thumped in her chest at the visual Jasmine’s words produced. Her chest hurt. She blinked fast a few times and swallowed hard. “Yes…yes, Ma’am.” She looked at Hawke as his fingers flew over the keyboard and he stared at the monitor. Earlier, during the discussion on LOBO, the heat of his disappointment in himself scorched her. Merged, the pain and disillusionment from his work threatened to pull her under the tidal wave of his misery. He struggled beneath the blame of his actions when enslaved for the Liege.