BirthStone

by Sydney Addae

  “Come on in, we were just having a drink. Let me offer you something.” He waved and moved toward the door.

  “No, I have a date, I’m sorry. If you could just give me the rest of the information, I’d appreciate it.” Even with his wolf silent, the hair had risen on the back of his neck. Going into that house was a bad idea.

  Merriweather eyed him over his shoulder for a moment. “You know, son, I’m not sure where you’re from. But here in West Virginia, we believe in southern hospitality. A man comes to my door, I invite him in and offer him a drink to wipe the dust from his pipes before he gets back on the road again. Now for some reason you’re being real un-neighborly. I want to know why? Has Silas Knight gotten to you? Has he made you promises? Or did he threaten you to make you close this investigation?” By the time Merriweather asked the last question, he had walked down the steps and was in Jennings' face.

  “No and no. I told you I have something else to do. That’s all. If you have the information ready, I’ll take it with me.” He met the other man’s stare without backing down.

  “Okay.” Merriweather nodded, his eyes narrowed into slits. “I’ll get it for you.” Turning, he strode into the house.

  It was all Jennings could do to remain composed. For a moment he thought the older man might hit him, the anger had been wafting off him in waves. Surely his refusal to share a drink with the man wasn’t enough to bring on that type of anger.

  The front door slammed. Merriweather held a flat box straight out in front of him. When he reached Jennings, he offered it to him.

  “Here,” he said when Jennings didn’t remove it from his hand. Jennings took the box and backed off, intending to leave.

  “Aren’t you going to look in it?” Merriweather’s jovial voice had been replaced with one of exasperation.

  “When I get to the station.” He opened his car door and prepared to toss the box in the back seat.

  “You really need to look at it now. If you have any questions, I can answer them for you,” Merriweather’s tone had changed again, this time it was more conciliatory.

  In the back of his mind he heard the captain telling him to get this case closed. If looking into the box at the so-called new evidence would hasten the process, he needed to do it. Exhaling, and since there was no outcry from his wolf, Jennings opened the box. Inside there was a lace satchel with some leaves inside. He picked it up, turned it over, and saw the leaves were dried with some powder. He inhaled “How is this relevant to the case?” he asked glancing at Merriweather and then back at the meager contents of the box.

  A spicy scent tickled his nose. He gazed at Merriweather, who stood on the other side of his car, and was surprised when the man multiplied. At first there were two Merriweathers, then four, then eight, and after that he stopped counting. Tingles raced up and down his spine. The back of his tongue tasted bitter. His face and neck burned.

  “Water,” he whispered through a tight throat.

  “So you want something to drink now, huh Lieutenant?”

  Jennings' head felt heavy. His legs buckled beneath his weight. What the hell did they do to him? The hard earth cushioned his fall. He lay prostrate on the ground looking up at the darkening sky.

  “Move his car around back. Pick him up and take him inside. Wouldn’t have to do all this if he’d a'just come inside and had a nice drink. Stubborn fool,” Merriweather grumbled.

  Chapter 8

  Silas slapped a grinning Dr. Passen on the back. “Great job, Doc. Everything worked without a hitch. I hope your team sent the corrections to the factory; large numbers of those detectors need to be shipped to every Alpha in the nation. Burn the midnight oil so our people will be safe.” The scanners had passed each test flawlessly, sending a wave of relief through him. The added ability to shrink the internalized bombs pleased him as well. With Jasmine’s family on the way, and the upcoming challenge still looming before them, he needed heightened security.

  “Yes, Sir.” Dr. Passen and Matt walked to the exit with Silas. “As the corrections were being made, they were simultaneously being downloaded to the engineers for modifications. From what I’ve been told, they’ve already started on production. Everyone is in agreement about how important this equipment is, Sir.”

  “I ordered enough for the government agencies nearby. Make sure the detection devices are installed in the courthouse, police station, library, and county offices. I’ve already explained to those in charge this would be happening as soon as the devices passed inspection, so they are expecting your team.”

  Dr. Passen nodded. “Will do, Sir.” He turned to Matt. “I want you to look at Asia’s blood work and see what La Patron discovered.” He then proceeded to bring both Matt and Silas current.

  “She’s over a hundred?” Silas asked to be sure. He hadn’t suspected Asia was that old. Arianna, another breeder he had met in Mexico, who'd turned out to be crazy, had been over a hundred but looked to be in her twenties, so he knew it was possible.

  “That was her first response, it surprised her,” Dr. Passen said, agreeing with Silas’ unspoken assessment.

  “Well… if she had that many surgeries and they tampered with her mind, who knows what’s real and what’s fantasy,” Matt said, voicing another of Silas’ concerns.

  “Asia believes if she doesn’t think about what to say or not say, the answers come freely without the pain. It’s possible there are certain words that act as triggers to prevent her from revealing classified information,” Dr. Passen said. “I’ve heard of a study where this actually happened. It’s been a few years back, I’ll have one of my assistants research it so we can read the results.” He pulled out his phone, typed a few instructions, and then returned it to his pocket.

  “Plus,” Matt said, glancing at Silas, “she has no idea who she is. They stripped her of her identity and gave her so many others that it’s hard to take anything we get from her seriously.”

  “That’s part of the plan,” Silas said, thinking hard. “Asia is extremely valuable to them, whoever they are, especially if she is as old as she said. Arianna was over a hundred. I don’t have to remind you how powerful she was. Must be something about being one of the first,” he said, gazing at Matt.

  Arianna had come to West Virginia with one goal in mind, to breed with Silas regardless of his mated connection. When she discovered he would never accept her, she'd released a mating call and made slaves of hundreds of wolves hungry to answer her summons. The bloody deaths from her foolish actions were unprecedented outside of war. Killing her had been high on his agenda; pity she could only die once.

  “Leon, nor any of the other men we brought in, had the mental safeguards she has. Her eyes, her mind, her arm, her legs, being the recipient of those types of surgeries means they want to keep her around.” He gazed at Doctor Passen. “She fell from an airplane?”

  The other man nodded. “That’s what she said. Shattered her arm and leg, should’ve killed her.” He met Silas’ stare. “You’re right, Sir. They want her and will probably send someone to take her again. What should we do?”

  Silas had been thinking along those lines as well. He welcomed the confrontation. “I’ll handle security. But she stays in her room. Right now, she’s sleeping and eating well. Her headaches are few because we're not pressuring her for information. I like the code idea. Build on that. When I talk to her, I want the coded names to press for specific data. I have someone coming who will be able to connect the dots, it helps to make sure the information he’s processing is accurate.” He nodded, thinking fast. Pieces were falling into place. They were on the right path.

  “I want Matt to go over everything we have discovered about her.” Matt’s eyes widened. Silas continued, going with his gut. “Asia is our key to designing a winning defense. I know she is a full-blood on steroids, but there is something special about her. Look for these answers. First off, why her? What makes her genetic make-up such that she has survived all the operations? Why not move to another
wolf or breed, even? They kept coming back to her, I want to know why.”

  A spark of interest lit Matt’s green eyes. Silas knew the man wouldn’t be able to resist this type of challenge. Energized, he gazed at each man with the intention they catch his sense of urgency. “They placed metal inside a wolf and she can still shift and fight. How the hell is that possible? They made her an altered wolf, yet her wolf responds to me. When she shifts, what happens to the metal? Is it in the wolf? Does it make the wolf faster, stronger? What are the benefits?”

  The spark of interest turned into a volcanic blaze. Matt’s fingers were rubbing together and Silas knew the only reason the man remained in the hall was because he had not dismissed them. “Here’s another thing. If we are going to be faced with altered wolves, how do we stop them? I want answers, I want them now,” Silas demanded.

  “The metal remains with the shift,” Dr. Passen said, frowning. “We took x-rays of her in wolf form when she was first brought in. I’ll need permission to take her to the gym to run on the machine to test her speed.”

  “No, she can never leave this area.” Silas shook his head and thought how to proceed. To get the answers they needed he would need to improvise. “I’ll have the equipment set up on this level. Make a list of all the equipment you need and I’ll have it delivered. But she will never leave this area until I destroy her and our enemies,” Silas vowed.

  “Her blood-line,” Matt said slowly. Silas turned toward him. “Full-blooded bitches over a hundred aren’t that surprising, but the number of surgeries she’s had is. She shouldn’t be as agile as she is. We age, become slower. Asia looks like a twenty-something, but claims to be almost one hundred and fifty, either that’s some serious genetics or those scientists found the fountain of youth.”

  Silas stilled. “What?” His mind raced over the implications of that statement. Humans were obsessed with looking young, remaining young, and never growing old. Part of the attraction to interact with his nation had always been their longer lifespans. To date, he had not heard of full-bloods being used to fuel this obsession of the humans.

  Matt straightened and met Silas’ gaze. “There is a hell of lot more going on than we thought, isn’t there?” he whispered, his face chalky white.

  “Hell…what the fuck?” Dr. Passen said, running his fingers through his hair. “This just got real fucked. If she can regenerate, if they have found a formula that works on her to make her appear young…to remain strong, healthy…they need to reclaim her. Or destroy her to keep others from finding out what they can do.” He shook his head.

  “They've probably have done the same tests on others, but she’s the poster girl. The original model. The one who wouldn’t die. Probably worked for years,” Matt said slowly, his brows puckered into a deep frown.

  “Or couldn’t die,” Silas said into the silence, as another thought, more wicked than the first slid through his mind. “Remember, they shipped her out as a hired gun for years. She’s battle tested. Imagine what someone like her would be worth to any military.”

  Dr. Passen snorted. “Anyone with enemies would immediately see her worth and pay millions for her skills.” He paused and shook his head. “So she was right, they have made others like her. To raise money to continue research or to build an army?” He looked at Silas.

  “Probably both,” Silas answered as the situation settled on his shoulders. “Are they using full-bloods or breeds?” He glanced at Dr. Passen before his gaze moved to Matt. They moved into a small room and locked the door for privacy.

  “Full-bloods are pack animals,” Matt said. “My money says they are taking breeds from the cradle and training them before their wolves develop. By the time they are old enough to shift, the wolf is not the same type of partner as a full-blood, more like a prop used for speed, healing properties, vision, that type of thing. But not the guiding force of a full-blood.”

  Silas nodded. As much as he hated to admit it, Matt was probably right. No one spoke for a moment. Knowing an enemy had come into his back yard and abused his people was a bitter pill. They'd caught him off his game and that rubbed him wrong. During the past twenty years he had complained to Jacques of boredom. His agenda had consisted of inspecting schools, meeting with heads of state, intervening in small squabbles between his Alphas, nothing more exciting. And during that time, his enemies were violating his people. Shame, thick and vile, rose up, choking him. He stood and turned away from the others.

  “Silas?"

  “Not now, Jasmine."

  “What’s wrong?"

  He knew she could search him and replay the past few minutes, but she granted him a measure of privacy. “Just coming to some realizations. Pride is a monster and it does go before the fall."

  “Okay. You’re arrogant and proud, I knew that when I met you. Why does that bother you now?"

  He should’ve known she wouldn’t sugarcoat anything for him. “It never occurred to me that humans would be bold enough to attack wolves, to experiment on us. We’re stronger, meaner, and in a one-on-one fight, we could rip them apart. Never occurred to me that those I saw as inferior would instigate a war that could destroy my world... and the reason it never crossed my mind is pride."

  “What made you open your eyes to all of this?" There was no judgment, agreement or disagreement in her voice, and that eased him somewhat.

  “Just going over the information from Asia." He shook his head. “It’s deep."

  “Okay, the boys are fighting and I have to intervene. But remember this, yesterday’s lessons are guideposts for today and tomorrow. Learn from that and change accordingly. No matter what, I love you, arrogance and all."

  He smiled. “Thanks, he said dryly. Moments later he turned from the wall, fully aware that he had dropped the ball. But the game was not over yet. “Asia’s a full-blood with pack mentality, why allow her to get close to me? As the leader of all wolves, I could control her wolf, and through the bitch I control the human. They placed her in a risky position, why? What did they gain? Are they still using her in some way?”

  Dr. Passen pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “It was a risk. You’ve disabled the camera so they see nothing. It’s no secret she’s here in the compound. Can they hear anything?”

  “I don’t know, but I doubt they are getting any decent signal from where she is below ground.” Silas said, thinking through every test and conversation he'd had with the bitch.

  “Don’t forget, according to her, their lab is also below ground. Probably lots of steel and concrete, so they may have found a way to receive transmissions through all of that,” Matt said.

  Silas agreed. Given the amount of money and knowledge invested in Asia, he knew her creators hadn’t given up on her. It was only a matter of time before they attempted to retrieve her, and he would be ready. “I need both of you on top of this. Let’s get some answers and find a way to defend against attacks. Asia is willing to help, use her as a resource, but nothing that will cause permanent harm or death. Is that understood?”

  Matt and Dr. Passen stood. “Yes, Sir. I’ll get started on the reports and then catch up with Passen to sketch out a plan of action.” Matt rubbed his hands together. “Is it okay if Davian returns and stays in my old quarters here? Something tells me this project will take most of my time.”

  Matt was mated to Davian Bennett, father of the twins and Jasmine’s ex-husband. She had thought he was dead and was not happy when she discovered her deceased husband was alive and living with his mate. Former husband and wife had met and made peace, but Silas’ wolf would never allow her to spend too much time in close proximity to the man.

  Silas nodded. “That’s good. Let me know so I can scan him.” Silas would explain the limits of his generosity to Davian, which would satisfy his wolf.

  Matt nodded as he moved to the exit and glanced back at Dr. Passen. “I still have the same office area?”

  “Yes.” Dr. Passen nodded and followed behind him. “I downloaded the files and s
ent them to you earlier after we talked. I look forward to our discussion after you’ve read the data. This is exciting. I think we are on the brink of something great for our people.”

  Silas leaned against the wall thinking of the repercussions of what he believed was happening. Asia was in danger. If they could kill her, they would have by now. Obviously, they couldn’t destroy her from a distance.

  He exhaled. That meant they planned to send someone for her. This was the absolute worse time for Jasmine’s family and the minister to visit. Security would need to be on steroids. His phone beeped. Alpha Jayden sent a message regarding the upcoming challenge battle.

  “Will Cameron compete?"

  Silas stared at the words on the screen. Cameron wanted to fight for the Alpha position, but Silas thought his desire to lead was for all the wrong reasons. He’d had several conversations with his godson over the past few weeks and nothing he said had dissuaded the young wolf. Silas knew Lilly, Cameron’s mate and Rose’s twin, pushed Cameron behind the scenes. That in of itself was not a bad thing. He would be the first to agree that having a mate in your corner, pushing you to be the best you could be, was part of the mate’s creed. But the job of Alpha was about serving wolves beneath your care, not having the number one spot for prestige. And that was the problem he had with Cameron’s mate.

  Lilly wanted Cameron to have the top dog spot in the state. Silas believed, despite what Jasmine said to the contrary, that the young bitch wanted the live in the Alpha house, to step into the position of first family for West Virginia. Lilly had no idea the type of work required of Cameron. Silas worried she might bail when she realized being first bitch was not all that glamorous; rather it was hard work, long hours, and very public. And then she would convince Cameron to leave the post once reality set in.

  He and Jasmine were split over his decision. She believed Cameron would do well and Lilly would make a great First Bitch. The challenge was coming up soon and he had to approve the combatants.