BirthRight (14 page)

Silas looked over the pack. “Is there any
here to challenge Pedro for pack leadership?”

A large black wolf trotted back inside the
gate. Silas remembered him as one of the wolves he’d sent to the
forest.

The wolf sat on his haunches and
transformed. “I’ll challenge him.” The man stood and braced his
feet apart.

“And you are?” Silas asked, smiling at the
growls from Pedro.

“Philippe.”

“A relative or former friend? What are you
doing here?”

“I lived here before Pedro and his bullies
showed up, raping and killing our people. The bastardo cares
nothing for the pack, only his sick fantasies.”

Silas glanced at Theron, instructing him to
take over. These wolves would fall under his direct authority.
Theron shifted.

“What makes you qualified to take on the
pack,” Theron asked as he stood. At six feet five inches tall with
barrel chest, thick muscular arms and legs, the Alpha was one few
dared challenge. Right now, his piercing gray eyes looked over the
pack of wolves as though he could see into their hearts and minds.
With a quick flick of his hand, he brushed his long dark hair away
from his face as he waited for a response.

“I’m not sure I am qualified, but I’m
willing to fight the downward direction the pack’s headed.”

Theron stared a moment longer and nodded.
“Understand, you will be under my supervision and training if you
survive the fight.” He looked at the remaining wolves. “I am Alpha
Theron, La Patron’s Alpha of Texas. Whoever becomes pack leader
here today will be under my supervision. Is that understood?”

Silas released the wolves and they all
changed back to humans with the exception of Pedro. Theron asked
them the question again, except this time he asked in Spanish. The
wolves appeared surprised and then relieved. They began speaking
quickly, asking questions.

“Silence. There is a leadership challenge
that must be dealt with,” Theron said. He turned and addressed the
challenger. “Philippe, do you challenge your pack leader, Pedro,
for pack leadership?”

“Yes, I do.” He shifted into his wolf and
loped forward. He dipped his head to Silas and stepped back. Theron
nodded in approval and spoke to the pack leader. “Pedro, your
leadership has been challenged and you will answer in a fight to
the death.”

Silas released Pedro. He shook himself a few
times, and then pranced down the steps, snarling at the pack and at
his challenger. Philippe returned his snarl and waited for Pedro to
make his move as they circled one another.

Pedro’s pride and anger had him leaping for
the wolf. Philippe sidestepped him and bit his left flank. Pedro
howled and charged again. This time he connected, but Philippe
fought with skill and heart, constantly drawing blood. The fight
drug on longer than Silas would’ve liked. The twins had the three
women seated in one of the rooms and he wanted to question them.
But he needed to stand beside his Alpha and make sure the change in
command went smoothly.

Suddenly, the fight was over. Philippe stood
over Pedro, breathing heavy and bleeding. The wolves cheered and
walked over to the two combatants.

“I’m going to question the women inside.
Gather as much information about this operation as possible. I want
to know if any women left this compound, who took them, and where’d
they go. I have called the wolves from the forest, they return
now,” he told Theron.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Will the pack remain here or will you take
them to Texas?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t know how they’ve been
provided for. I will inform you once Buck and I meet with the
entire pack.”

“Good.” Silas walked into the dim building.
It was cool, well furnished, and in good condition. That’d be a
plus if the pack remained. He rounded the corner, opened a door,
and stepped into what appeared to be a large office. Tyrone and
Tyrese stood near the exits while three human women sat on the
leather sofa and chairs.

“Hello, I’m Silas Knight, how are you ladies
today?” He strode forward and took a seat opposite them. He was
surprised by how young they were. He’d place them all in their
twenties. Not necessarily beautiful, but not bad-looking. The woman
in the chair had an air of entitlement about her and if he had to
guess, he’d say she’d been the one taken upstairs. He eyed her a
little longer.

Dark wavy brown hair flowed down her back.
Large brown eyes in a heart-shaped face, narrow nose with an
upturned tip at the end, and a creamy unblemished complexion
returned his examination. “I am Arianna and I am well, thank you.”
Her voice held a hint of Texas twang and he stiffened.

Had the wolves kidnapped an American? He
nodded and decided to get to that later. Turning to the other
women, he waited for them to introduce themselves.

“I’m Leara.” The petite dark-haired woman
said, looking at him from beneath her lids. Although all three
women appeared around the same age, the actions of the women on the
sofa made them seem younger.

“I’m Leann,” the other woman said. Both
females on the couch sat with their heads down and their hands
clasped in their laps. He sensed they hadn’t been abused, they
appeared healthy and well-cared for.

“Tell me how you got here.” He looked at the
woman in the chair.

The woman threw back her head and laughed,
it was dark, sultry. “So it’s true, you want conversation, nothing
more?”

Silas leaned back in his seat, crossed one
leg over his knee and looked at her. The more he looked, the
lovelier she appeared. “Yes. I want to understand how human women
give birth to wolves.”

“He’s such a fool. He didn’t believe your
request was genuine, he thought you came to take us from him.” She
waved her hand toward the other women and then rested it on her
stomach, drawing Silas’ gaze.

“You are pregnant?”

She nodded. “We all are.” She waved to the
other women. “He gets crazy when we’re in this condition.” She
paused and then shrugged. “Ah well. Your question. Let me think, it
has been years and no one bothers to ask these things anymore.”

“Years?” Silas frowned. “How long have you
been like this?”

She closed her eyes, her lips moved as
though she were counting sheep. “A hundred and twenty-eight years,
I believe, give or take a few.”

It took a lot to surprise Silas, but she’d
just won the Oscar with her announcement. “Impossible,” he
whispered. She didn’t look a day over twenty-five.

She shrugged. “When I was raped, blacks had
to sit on the back of the bus. Mexico was in the midst of a civil
war, and women couldn’t vote. A lot has changed over the
years.”

Silas blinked. A chill slid down his back.
“You were raped? Is that what bought about this change in you? You
weren’t born with this ability?” As far as he knew, Jasmine was
born this way. Her husband had been her first sexual partner and
until a few days ago, her only partner.

She sighed as she pulled her legs beneath
her and leaned back. “I think that was it. I was married, had two
boys already. My husband was an abusive ass. I shouldn’t have been
out at night buying milk and food, but…” she shrugged. “Anyway, I
was raped, went home and told him. He didn’t believe me of course.
He knocked me around a bit for being late and that was it.”

“Did the man who raped you, bite you?” Silas
wondered how the change in her body took place.

She thrust forward her arm. “You mean like
this?” Her arm was filled with healed teeth marks.

Mesmerized by the amount of marks on her
arm, he rose from his seat to get a better look. She pulled her top
to the side. His eyes widened at the marks on her neck, shoulders
and upper arm. She’d been someone’s chew toy.

Tyrone and Tyrese had stepped closer for a
better look, and then moved back. He heard the surprise and concern
in their minds.

Silas fingered one of the more ragged scars.
“Yes, did he bite you as he raped you?”

Her eyes fluttered closed and a sigh of
pleasure rose from her lips. Silas returned to his seat. His wolf
hadn’t stirred although his cock had sprung to life at her actions.
When she opened her eyes, she appeared disappointed.

“No. If he had, I might’ve been able to
convince my husband of what happened. Six or seven months later I
gave birth to twin girls. They weren’t my husband’s.”

“How can you be so sure?” Silas asked.

“I hated him and never allowed his seed to
enter me. I did other things for him; as long as he reached his
peak, he didn’t care. The alcohol made him believe anything I told
him,” she said as pleasantly as though she discussed the
weather.

“Where are your daughters?”

She shrugged. “One was stolen from us when
she was thirteen, and I was taken soon after that. I never heard
anything about my family again.”

A throbbing pain built behind Silas’ eyes.
This whole impossible situation was worse than he’d thought. “Who
stole you? Pedro?”

She laughed. It sounded rusty as though her
vocal chords were rarely used in that manner as she shook her head.
“No. Pedro is one of a few. The first pack leader took me someplace
cold, up north I believe.” She rubbed her forehead. “It has been
years. He was kind in a gruff way. I gave him many sons.”

“Over the years, any idea how many females
you’ve birthed?” The women were the key and someone, an enemy no
doubt, realized this, and set them loose in his back yard.

“Other than these two?” She nodded to the
females on the couch.

Uneasy, Silas nodded slowly. He’d detected
human heartbeats from those women.

She closed her eyes again, her lips moved as
she counted.

Silas glanced at Tyrone and Tyrese. They
stared at the woman with a frown. Today they would discover how
fortunate they’d been having a loving mother, whether that special
care impacted the wolf-pack or not, Silas was unsure.

“I’m going to say at least twenty. Since the
rape, I’ve always had multiple births, always the same sex.” Her
eyes narrowed as she looked toward the ceiling, shaking her head.
“That seems about right, nine or ten pregnancies with females over
the years.”

“How old were you when you changed?” He
mulled over the implications. Did the women retain their human form
and the male wolves turn into wolves? The idea was too over the top
to voice. He half-listened while his mind processed his unspoken
questions.

“Around twenty-four.” The woman smiled at
him and flipped her hair over her shoulders.

“So…this process keeps you from aging?”

“I guess. How old are you, Leara?” she
asked, looking toward the sofa.

“I’m twenty-five.”

Silas was stumped. There was no record of
this infraction anywhere. How had this been kept quiet for so long.
His thoughts returned to the book of warfare and the biblical
strategy. It fit, but didn’t make sense. More important, who was
the enemy who had set this atrocity in motion?

“Let’s get back on track. You were raped.
Had female twins. One was taken in her teens. You don’t know what
happened to the other because you were taken somewhere up north by
wolves. How long did you stay there?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. The pack lived
far in the mountains. When I was stolen from that pack, I remember
being surprised that women wore pants, smoked, and drove cars. The
next pack took me down south, near the river that cuts through the
country. The bitches in that pack didn’t appreciate me giving birth
to pups while they had to wait to find mates before they could get
pregnant. They attacked me all the time. I heard they killed some
of the pups. She shrugged, although her voice had saddened. “The
fighting got old. Finally the pack leader sent me to another pack
near Mexico. Pedro stole me from there. They were my next litter.”
She tipped her head to the women on the sofa. “I have been here
since.”

“You fought wolf bitches?” Tyrone asked.

She shrugged. “Yeah. It was a surprise. I’m
no wolf, can’t change or anything. But I heal faster than a wolf.
I’m fast and strong. Surprised the shit out of everyone the first
time I knocked a bitch out. Stopped them from picking on me so
much, until they started ganging up on me. One I could handle, but
not more than that.”

Silas met Tyrone’s stare. He had no doubt
they were both thinking of their hellcat of a mother. She didn’t
need a whole lot of extra anything, she was already tough.

He turned back to Arianna and wondered if
that was her birth name. They’d need her original name to check out
her story, but he’d let Theron deal with that later.

“How long are your pregnancies?”

Squinting, she looked at the other two
females. “Six – seven months, wouldn’t you say?”

Leann nodded. “About that for twins anyway.
Shorter for quads.”

“Have you ever given birth to human babies?”
Silas asked the females on the couch.

“No. I don’t think I’ve ever met a human,”
Leara said.

“Me neither,” Leann said, nodding.

Silas tented his fingertips beneath his
lips. “I sensed three human heartbeats before entering this
compound. Leara, you say you’ve never met a human, yet you appear
to be human.” He ignored her scared wide eyes as she looked at him
and then at Arianna.

“You too, Leann.” His gaze swung to Arianna.
“Who were their fathers?” His eyes blazed, daring her not to
lie.

Arianna shrugged unconcerned. “I don’t
remember, maybe Pedro or Miguel the beta. When I first arrived, he
refused to allow anyone else near me. Ask Anna, the housekeeper,
she knows everything that happens here.”

He released a long sigh as he contacted
Theron through their link. “Send Anna the housekeeper to the
office.”

Silas gritted his teeth in aggravation.
“This is bullshit. Who the hell is messing with the natural order
of things? A rape that took place over one hundred years ago has
snowballed with serious repercussions. And you may not have been
the first or the last.” He raked his hand through his hair.