Boss. Council’s calling. Bennett’s voice rolled through his head.
Shit.
He had sent a bare bones report that they terminated the Freemont chapter of the Sigma Network. Didn’t even mention having vampires’ help because he wanted to stall for time. If they found out E was part of his pack, they might demand the former Agent for punishment. But Rhys’ worst fear? If they found out X was here with him. He had no idea what they’d do with her. Likely use the excuse that she was an Agent to execute her and solve their problem of what to do with her.
X wasn’t the only issue. The final battle with Madame G revealed her to be a hybrid in front of many witnesses. The vampires would have just as vested of an interest in her as the shifters. It wouldn’t be long before someone came to the conclusion she might have family. Then, not only would Sarah and Ronnie be in danger, but their hybrid father, X’s brother John King, would be, too.
Be right there, he replied back to his second in command.
Chapter 5
X shifted uncomfortably in the little kitchen of E’s cabin. She, Ana, and her former partner sat awkwardly at the table. After all the, “Hey, howya doing?” and “Can’t believe we survived” shit, there wasn’t a whole lot to say. It was weird. She and E had been to hell and back together, and now they could barely small talk.
Ana thanked her for being E’s lifeline. X waved her off. She liked E’s mate and the love shining between the two of them warmed her heart and made her want to vomit at the same time. Apparently, her lovey-dovey tolerance wasn’t that high after her years with Sigma.
When Julio ran in, X tried not to yell, “Thank the Sweet Mother!” for his distraction.
“Hey X.” he said, his brown eyes shining.
“’Sup dude?” X checked out how much he’d grown since she’d seen him last.
Madame G captured the kid, and she had him altered, just like his daddy. The madam was hoping he’d turn out just like E. And he did, X thought smugly. Goodness radiated off the kid. Though he was lanky and stronger than he knew what to do with, it was obvious his sharp mind, and good upbringing, would become a complete package of badass when he was older.
“Did you see my Lego masterpiece?” Julio darted off, and X waited to see his creation.
“Holy shit!” She had cussed without thinking when he came back, carting a large platform that housed an intricate plastic building block replica of Sigma’s compound. He even built little Agents. The little bodies appeared to be defending the compound, and losing, against tiny wolves. “This is amazing, Julio.”
The boy beamed under her praise.
For once, her mind wasn’t on her past or present, wasn’t trying to ignore her future, but marveled over Julio’s handiwork. All those little figures…she could teach him maneuvers, strategy…
Ana coughed behind her hand, trying not to laugh at X’s stunned reaction.
“He’s got quite the imagination.” Pride filled E’s voice. “He’s got his mother’s mind. I’m trying to get him to try soccer.”
“Maybe later, Dad,” Julio said distractedly, rearranging the little figures.
X smirked at E, who shook his head. The guy was still getting used to being able to be an active father in Julio’s life. But she got the feeling that even if he’d been able to help raise Julio from the very beginning, the two were so different, he still wouldn’t know what to do with the boy.
“I gotta jet. Catch you b—” X stopped herself before saying bitches. She’d already sworn once in front of the kid. “Catch you later.”
Ana’s eyes twinkled as she waved at X. E walked her to the door.
“What now?” he asked.
“Dunno. You?”
He lifted one shoulder and scanned the woods. “Laying low until either council finds out about me.”
“I doubt you have to worry about the vampires. They had their own people undercover, so it won’t be hard for them to believe you’re not a homicidal tool.”
E nodded in agreement. “Demetrius said he’d take care of it. I think with the civil war rising among vampires, they’re content leaving me to be the shifters’ problem.”
X stayed grimly silent for a few heartbeats. “I don’t anticipate they’ll leave me be—either council. I have an ally in Demetrius, but if he’s not the victor…” X sighed. “My parents were in hiding for a reason. They didn’t trust either council and neither do I. They’ll find out about me soon. Then they’ll go looking for John and his kids.”
“Whatever happens, I’m with you, X.” E’s determined gaze met hers.
“No, Biggie. Whatever happens, you finally get to be with Ana and Julio.” E was about to argue, but she gave him a talk-to-the-hand. “They come first. I’m not going to worry about the shitstorm coming my way until I can smell it. By the way, when I get a car, you get to clean it. I totally won the bet about Madame G’s shoes.”
E rolled his eyes. “Prove it.”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t look when I took her down. I know you were in the trees with the rest.”
He narrowed his eyes, trying to hide a smile. “Maybe.”
She gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder before she left and headed out into the woods. Her mind wandered. She had felt edgy when she woke up. After seeing E, the feeling intensified. It was great viewing him in his new little home with his beautiful family. It was everything they had fought for.
So why did she feel so…restless?
Squinting up through the leaves, she headed toward a familiar tract of land that bordered the Guardians’ property. The sun was bright and the air crisp enough that if she stopped, she’d get cold. Her bare feet enjoyed maneuvering through the brittle undergrowth, while her eyes savored the shade of the multicolored autumn leaves.
It was fucking gorgeous. Her heart twisted as an unbidden memory rose. Her father, laughing next to her one late summer day, as they wandered in the trees around the house she’d grown up in. They each had a camera and took pictures of the turning leaves for her vampire mother, since she couldn’t be out in daylight. It hadn’t been significant to her then, just something sweet her father had done for her mother. Now, she marveled at how accepting her dad had been of her mom’s nature. Two beings, from two separate worlds, trying to raise a happy, healthy family.
And they had succeeded, X thought mournfully. Her brother John had found his mate in a human woman who was willing to live in secrecy with him and raise their kids. Some of X’s fondest moments were of running around, playing games with little Sarah and Ron.
Then one dark day, it was all taken away from them.
X frowned, barely noticing where her feet stepped, just following her senses, lost in thought.
She and her parents had been heading back to their house in the country. They had driven far out on nearly forgotten roads to shift and run their wolves without being seen or sensed by others. It was after dark, so her vampire mother could run with them.
The ambush had been sudden and devastating.
Agents rammed their car. Taking advantage of their disorientation, they pumped silver bullets into both of her parents before beheading them. She tried getting away, but an eighteen-year-old stood little chance against trained fighters.
Her mom had just fed from her father after their run and smelled like a shifter. Madame G never suspected X was the hybrid she’d been searching for, just a little shifter prize for her to torment.
Agents hid the murder by burning the bodies in the car, then pushing it deep into the trees. It had all happened in such a remote place, X wondered if they were ever found. Not that whoever found the scene of the crime could make out any details. The Agents had made sure of it.
It had been pure stubbornness that she didn’t cave to Madame G’s every demand those first two years she was captive. Stubbornness and cleverness. She had remained astute enough to hypnotize the males Madame G sent her way and take their blood. Yes, she could’ve mesmerized them into leaving her alone, but then she
would’ve been caught. So she sacrificed her body for her mind.
Why the fuck was she treading down memory lane? Those memories hadn’t plagued her for over a decade.
X strode through woods, making little noise. It was not that she was trying to act like a stalking predator, it was just automatic at this point. She came upon a clearing in the trees and sensed her target working in the gardens.
A straw hat hovered a few feet off the ground as the slight body underneath was picked the last of the harvest.
Sarah Young tensed when she sensed another presence, but the young hybrid straightened with a big smile on her face.
She squealed and ran toward X. “Auntie Allie!”
X couldn’t help but grin. Sarah used to do the same thing when she five. Now twenty years later, it was like nothing had changed.
Her niece flung herself into X’s arms. Laughing sobs were muffled by X’s shirt.
“I’m sorry.” Sarah drew back, wiping at her eyes. “I just didn’t think you’d want to see me.”
X’s brow drew down in confusion. “Why the hell not?”
Sarah blinked. “It’s just that, you know, we wrote you off as dead.”
Pinning the girl with a stern look, she asked, “Do you hold it against me that they went after you, thinking you were the hybrid they were hunting while I was under their nose the whole time?”
“Of course not,” Sarah said horrified.
Her niece sniffled and stood awkwardly, and yeah, this totally was the theme to X’s day. Awkward.
“You’ve really grown, kid.”
Sarah grinned. “Yeah.”
X scanned the little farm that Sarah and her brother cared for. “So…Bennett Young, huh?”
A pretty blush stained Sarah’s obviously happy face. “Yeah.”
“Isn’t he kind of a dick?”
Sarah’s grin widened. “Yeah.” She sounded completely, hopelessly in love.
Squinting even more, now that she was clear of the trees, X wished she thought to bring a pair of sunglasses for her sensitive hybrid eyes. She didn’t turn to ash like full-blooded vampires, but she would require a little extra blood from the sun damage. Rhys would willingly give it; it would be an erotic experience. And X didn’t really want to revisit that anytime soon.
Why not?
Good question. Erotic was an understatement. Being in that male’s arms was…earth-shattering. And they’d both been fully clothed. The thought of doing it again should make her feel heady, powerful, but it made her feel panicked.
X eyed her niece. “How do you stand it, working out in the sun all day?”
They were polar opposites. Sarah was much shorter, with sun-bleached honey-brown hair. X could see a lot of her brother in Sarah’s features.
“Well,” Sarah gestured up to her wide-brimmed straw hat, “this helps. I used to keep a couple of cows around to feed from, but now that I have Bennett…” Another smile plastered her face. “We keep Bessie and Tulip around for Ronnie. He bitches about it, but I know he’d rather bite through leather than have to risk finding a human vein.”
“How is Ron?” X had kept tabs on him after he had come to Freemont. Madame G hunted him, trying to get to Sarah, but he was a crafty bastard and got himself committed to a psyche ward to keep out of her clutches. After Bennett found Sarah, they busted Ron out of the mental hospital, and X had breathed a sigh of relief.
“He’s in the house if you want to see him.” Sarah pointed to the newly-built house on the property. The original structure had burned to the ground when Sigma had tried to capture Sarah. “He’s pickling peppers and canning salsa to sell at the market.”
As X searched for her nephew, she decided she might go for a run afterward. She wanted to say hey to Ron, but she also wanted to get the hell out of there and go somewhere else. Somewhere with no people.
She entered the kitchen in time to hear a male voice say, “Pop my little pretties. Pop!”
Ron stood at the counter with his arms raised over some mason jars filled with salsa. They had just been taken out of their canning bath. He spun around when he heard the door shut. A giant German shepherd charged her, barking ferociously.
“Apollo, stop.” The mighty dog skidded to a halt at Ron’s command, studying X warily.
She eyed him back before turning her attention to her nephew. He was a man, but he had such boyish features, it was easy to remember the fun little boy he used to be.
“Aunt Allie…Agent…uh, X?” He finally gave up.
“Whatevs. Except for the Agent bit. We can leave that off.”
He nodded and they stood—wait for it—awkwardly, only the pops of the jars sealing themselves made any sound.
X finally filled in the silence. “Just came to say he-eeey.”
“Hey,” Ron said back, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Do Mom and Dad know you’re alive yet?”
Shit. Did they? “I haven’t talked to them. Maybe it’d be better coming from you or Sarah.” And fuck. If the meet and greets today were nearly unbearable to get through, then what would reuniting with her brother and his wife be like?
And these were the people who used to love her. Maybe they still did, but in all fairness, they didn’t really know her any more. What would coming across the Guardians be like? Or worse, the son of the seer who was killed?
Time to go.
“Nice to see you again, Ron.”
He bobbed his shaggy yellow-blond mop of hair. “You too, X.”
She almost sighed. Not even two minutes together and he used her letter, too. He associated that with her, more than the aunt who had twirled him around when he was a toddler.
Maybe a run in the woods would clear her head.
“He’s served us well. He’s proven his allegiance.” Rhys addressed the council on the computer monitor. For being such a crusty, old-fashioned lot, they certainly didn’t mind using technology to rag on his ass.
“And who does Agent E hold allegiance to?” Councilman Seether asked silkily.
All five council members were glaring through the monitor at Rhys.
“Me. And he’s no longer an Agent.”
Murmurs erupted and a few of the members sat back.
Councilmen Wallace, the father of the twins in Rhys’ pack, spoke next. “I don’t know that it’s a good idea to have one such as this former Agent at your disposal. He’s committed atrocities against our people.”
Rhys expected that argument. “The alleged crimes committed against our kind were reported to be in regards to rogue or feral shifters, or those working as spies for the Sigma Network. There have been no reports of E killing an innocent shifter.” Hurting maybe, but X and her partner had ridden a fine line.
“That may be so,” Councilman Seether replied, “but only Guardians are allowed to deal with those transgressions. He is neither shifter, nor Guardian. In fact, he is an abomination created by a mad, deranged vampire.”
The councilman’s tone suggested that he, and the rest of the council, thought that an abomination should be eradicated.
“Julio Esposito Senior is an altered human who worked diligently for over a decade to overthrow Madame G. He and his family have become part of this pack.”
Sharp inhales hissed through the monitor. Only human mates were allowed to become part of a pack. It was unheard of to adopt an entire human family into a shifter pack. What the council didn’t know was that Ana and Julio were also no longer entirely human.
“Unmated humans can’t belong to a pack,” Councilman Seether spit out.
Was he disgusted because of the unmated part or the human part? Rhys and his pack more than suspected that the council was behind certain acts that would keep the shifter species pure and free from human interbreeding to keep shifter blood strong.
“E has been shown to carry shifter genetics. I would prefer to honor the shifters who died in Madame G’s captivity by not throwing away E’s life.”
“Honor?” Councilman Wallace snorted. Like
Seether, he was a distinguished-looking male, graying around the temples, with fierce eyes. “To honor them would be throw Agent E behind bars for the rest of his life, at the very least.”
Before Rhys could reply, another member of the council spoke up. A quiet male, but very shrewd from the way he narrowed in on Rhys. “Agent E carries both shifter and vampire genes. A hybrid of sorts. That brings up an interesting rumor we heard.”
Ice crystals settled into Rhys’ veins. How did they find out about X so soon? Was it the vampires, or one of the shifter captives they released? He didn’t think Demetrius would sink so low as to use X to get the Lycan Council off his back while he battled his own vampire leadership. But the vampire was a self-serving ass, so maybe…
“A pure hybrid of a vampire and shifter mating,” Councilman Hargrath continued, “one who was at Madame G’s disposal?”
The council sure didn’t seem surprised that there was a real hybrid running around. All his long life, Rhys had been taught it was genetically impossible. Vampires and shifters hated each other. Yet the council’s lack of surprise, and the way X’s family had lived in secrecy, made Rhys think that there were no hybrids because they were either prevented or destroyed.
He knew it would come to this; he couldn’t hide her existence forever.
“The former Agent X has displayed abilities of both vampire and shifter. She is still recovering from the final battle. Until she’s healed, I won’t know more.” He had pre-chosen his words, extremely grateful the council couldn’t smell his deceit in a video conference.
“She’s extremely dangerous,” Councilman Seether hissed.
“Like E, she was also working against Sigma. According to the seer before she died, X was targeted because she signaled the downfall of Madame G.”
“You will interrogate the female?” Councilman Hargrath sat forward, glaring into the monitor.
Stark relief draped over Rhys. The council didn’t know, yet, that X was his mate. Shit would hit the fan when the council discovered it. Then, Rhys’ credibility regarding X and her partner would be shredded, and they would want to deal with the former Agents themselves. For now, he could act as a buffer and stall for time.
The Sigma Menace Collection Page 74