BirthMark (29 page)

Silas watched the blackened screen unsure of his feelings. There was a certain amount of truth in the words. He hadn’t been aware of the breeding program, it had caught him unprepared. A queasy feeling filled his gut at the possible number of wolves it had taken to perfect the cross breeding process. He was late to the game.

But you are here now,”
the soft words from his mate blew across the acrid places in his soul, watering and softening the landscape.
” Your heart beats true. You govern the wolves from a position of service to your Goddess. You must trust that you were kept unaware for a reason and continue to serve with the same commitment
,” Jasmine whispered through their link. “
You are a man of honor. My man of honor
,” she continued. Her words filled his mind, healing his bruised heart. “
Don’t stop being the baddest wolf around because of someone who hides behind vague expressions.
”

He smiled. Her words strengthened his determination to finish this fight. Knowing she believed in him, believed he had done his best to serve his people, girded him up in ways nothing else could. Her unwavering faith soothed his battered ego and lifted his flailing spirits.

“
You are good man, a great leader and an awesome father to your children. Do
not
allow assholes who don’t know you to cause you grief. Put that bullshit where it belongs, in the toilet, so we can kick their asses.
”

His smile morphed into laughter. The screen blanked and the dim interior of the mine returned.
“Bloodthirsty bitch.”

“
Only when my man or family comes under attack. You have my permission to eliminate their asses in any manner you wish. Just come back to me in one piece.”

“
Yes, Ma’am.”

“
Rese, how’s it going
?” Silas asked, and then frowned when there was no response. He glanced behind him at Tyrone. “I just tried to contact Rese but it didn’t go through.”

“I know. There’s been interference since that bullshit rolled up. I’ve been trying to reach him and Dad. No luck with either of them.”

Silas panned the camera and saw the five of them standing near the van. Asia was talking to the communications person, while Davian and Tyrese stood to the side chatting. Silas rebooted the laptop; the video came on immediately, but still there was no audio, and no way to contact the wolves. Stunned, Silas watched with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. More bullshit was on the way and he couldn’t warn his people.

Shit.

<<<<>>>>

“I can’t reach, Rone,” Tyrese said to his dad, hoping he would realize that meant he couldn’t connect with the Patron either.

“I’ve been trying to reach him too, but all I get is static,” Davian said, picking up his gun and moving away from the noises coming from the outside. “Let’s move up so until we’re sure those are friends out there.” He nodded to the small space above the beams connected to the steel posts, which helped the ceiling remain in place.

Tyrese eyed the beams with uncertainty; they didn’t look steady or strong enough to hold him or his dad. Asia pulled her rife across her shoulder, and after a series of jumps landed gracefully on the side of a beam, pulled herself over, laid down with her weapon pointed at the opening.

The breeds' eyes widened as they watched Davian do the same thing on the opposite side of the clearing. Tyrese slung his weapon onto his back and picked up the breeds, one beneath each arm. He leapt over the short ledge and landed on the platform that housed the communications area. He set them down and pointed to the small space beneath the console.

“Wait here, remain still, and don’t talk.” They huddled close together and leaned as close to the makeshift wall as possible. Satisfied he had done all he could for them, he turned and leapt up. The rocks on the wall were unstable and fell beneath his weight. He landed hard on the ground with a grunt.

Winded, he leaned up on both arms, and shook his head, realizing he wasn’t back to one hundred percent yet.

“
You okay?”
his dad asked through their link.

He pushed up and stood slowly. “
Yeah, just a bit disoriented. Give me a sec.”

“
We don’t have a second,”
his dad said as the rapid fire of guns split the air. Tyrese was slammed backward as he was hit, and he fell on top of the tumbled wall. Another bullet hit his chest, and then several more hit his arms and legs. Each entry point burned and he smelled the stench of his seared flesh.

He sought Tyrone and there was nothing but static. In the background, he heard the battle ensue but had no idea what was going on. “
Hold on, Rese
,” his father said.

“
Okay,”
he said automatically, not sure how to carry out that demand. He closed his eyes to distance himself from the agonizing pain in his body. His wolf snapped and snarled at the invading pieces of silver. Tyrese’s thoughts went to his mother. She was going to be so pissed. The thought brought a smile to his lips. If she had any idea he was laying on the ground, full of bullets, bleeding out, there would be hell to pay. Her love eased his pain. Knowing how distraught she would be strengthened his determination to not die on the dirty floor of an abandoned mine.

Rough hands grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up. He bit his lip to keep from screaming in pain. Someone grabbed his jaw and shook his face. Opening his eyes, he looked into a dark pair that looked eerily familiar.

“So this is the son of La Patron?” the man sneered and then spit in Tyrese’s face. Next, he punched Tyrese in the stomach so hard he lost his breath and the world went black for a moment. The next hit to his jaw had Tyrese spitting out blood.

“Stop, if you kill him, we all die,” someone yelled from behind the man holding him.

“Then I die and take a piece of La Patron with me.” Out of the corner of his eye, Tyrese saw the glint of steel and stiffened.

“Stop,” Davian’s voice rang out.

Tyrese inhaled a bit as the hold on his arm loosened slightly. “What the hell?” the man whispered as if shock. “Davie?”

His father stood a few feet from them. Tyrese met his agonized gaze and swallowed hard.

“What? ...they told us you were dead. Why didn’t you contact us? Let us know you were alive all this time?” The man sounded happy and angry at the same time.

Tyrese’s mind raced even as it filled in the blanks. The man holding him was kin, a Bennett. “
Don’t tell him I’m not Patron’s son. Please
,” he said to his dad. “
I have to protect my brothers
.”

His dad gave him a subtle nod. Tyrese sought Tyrone again and received static. He needed an energy boost to dispel the bullets so he could shift and heal. His wolf snapped again, snarling and howling louder, gaining his attention. That’s when it dawned on him that he was no longer bleeding. The silver tips of the bullets should’ve prevented his body from healing. An inexplicable heat swept through him, his stomach clenched and he was sure he was going to be sick. Beads of sweat popped on his forehead as the temperature in his body increased. He gritted his teeth against the firestorm racing through him. Bit by bit, his wounds healed and the pain dissipated. His wolf snapped and growled, demanding release. Confused by what had just happened, Tyrese looked up and noticed his father on the ground on his knees, hands behind his head with a gun to his forehead. Operating on instinct, Tyrese grabbed the knife from the man in front of him who was spewing vile, hateful words to this father, threw it and hit the man holding the gun on Davian right between the eyes.

Tyrese spun in and kicked one of the men holding him and punched the other. Both hit rock solid walls with a crunch and slid down, their necks broken.

“Fuck!” The man who had punched him yelled, trying to grab him from behind. But Tyrese avoided his arms by jumping over him and landing behind him. He wrapped his arms around the thick neck in a choke hold and squeezed until the man went limp. Then he grabbed his head, twisted and broke his neck. Bending down, he grabbed the rifle and ammo and returned fire.

Some of the men shifted and Tyrese noticed his dad had as well. The small space stank of blood and death. Three wolves jumped over a pile of debris toward him and Tyrese shifted. Only instead of a full wolf shift, his body stopped midway. Or at least that’s what it felt like. He was much taller and wider. His claws were twice as long and his teeth crowded his elongated jaw. He didn’t have any time to wonder what his body was doing; his wolf took charge and swung his large paw at the first wolf. The animal flew across the room with gaping holes in its side, and hit the wall. The next two wolves attempted to attack him from different sides. He waited until they came at him, and jumped up. The wolves hit each other and were stunned. Landing, he grabbed them by their necks, breaking them before tossing them aside. Tyrese waded full throttle into the fight. Although it was just him and his dad, together they literally destroyed the other pack until there was only one man left heaving on the ground.

Tyrese called his wolf and shifted to all fours. To say he was relieved was an understatement. It had been in the back of his mind that he might never be able to run on four legs again.

He released a howl. There were echoes of his howl beyond the walls of the mine. The honor guard was close. He released another howl. This one was answered by his dad, Asia, and the two breeds.

Returning to his human form, he realized his dad stood looking down at the man on the ground. Curious, he walked over to see what the delay was. The man looked at him through hate-filled hazel eyes.

“What’s up?” he asked as Asia landed next to him, her weapon on her arm.

“That’s Josh. Joshua Bennett,” Davian said, glancing at him. “
My father
,” he added through their link.

Tyrese clapped his dad on his shoulder. “
Whatever you decide to do is fine with me.”
He stepped back to find a place to sit. Now that the fight was over, his system was on overload. Adrenaline pumped through him like a train. His eyes burned, his skin itched. He needed to run or fuck. He eyed Asia; she met his look with a glimmer of a smile.

Good.

The half-breed guard walked toward him slowly and stopped. “I’m Hamus. This is Shaun,” he said in a low voice. Wide-eyed, they bowed to him.

Confused, Tyrese crossed his arms and waited for them to explain. “What’re you doing?”

“You must be La Patron’s son. No one has ever done what you did except the Patron,” Shaun said.

“Keep it quiet, we don’t want anyone to know, okay?” Tyrese said, going into damage control mode. As soon as he returned he would have Matt check him out. Obviously the shot altered him in somehow, but he wasn’t exactly sure how just yet.

Both young men nodded seriously as though they had just passed some type of initiation and were in an exclusive club.

A lone shot rang out and Tyrese spun around, his gun aimed toward the sound. His dad stood at the far side of the mine. Asia held the gun on Josh and then broke his neck. The look she sent Tyrese clearly said, 'he wasn’t related to me and he had to die.' Silas had said no survivors.

His heart went out to his dad and once his father said he was okay, he left him alone. It was one thing to turn your back on your pack and family. But quite another to see your former pack and relatives dead by your hands on a dirty mine floor.

Tyrese couldn’t grieve for his kin, he didn’t know them. Besides, there was no doubt in his mind they would have still killed him for being a breed even if they knew he was Davian’s son. Fuck them.

He looked at Asia and waved her over. He was still jacked from the fight. His body was on fire, he needed to lose himself between the coolness of her thighs.

Laughing, she shook her head. “Wait, I’m too dirty.”

He looked around; he had seen some bottled water earlier. When he found the pallet, most of the bottles had been squashed beneath the debris. Lifting five bottles, he waved them at her with a grin. She moved in his direction. His eyes were glued to her swinging full hips and the vee between her thighs.

“Up here is where you’ll find my answer,” she said once she reached him.

“I know your answer. I’m working out the details.”

“You went through a serious shift. I’ve never seen that before. You need to get checked out, make sure you’re okay.”

He frowned. She sounded like his mom. He didn’t need or want her in that capacity. “Right now I need to fuck or fight. I prefer to fuck. You game?” He’d never begged a bitch or human for sex and today would not be the first. Her arousal teased his nostrils, she was game.

She released a long sigh, picked up the remaining bottles of water and headed toward the van. Like a damn puppy on a leash, he followed her rolling hips to the vehicle, fully prepared to help her clean herself.

Frowning, Davian looked up at them. His eyes widened when Tyrese held up the water bottles. “
I need a release
.” His dad smiled nodding and headed to the other side with Shaun and Hamus to wait.

Chapter 18