Fang Chronicles: Zenya's Story (27 page)

“When will you first feel the baby?”

“Maybe in a couple of weeks.” 

“Do you think it’s a girl?”

“No, actually I think it’s a boy.”

“Why?”

“Because I feel differently than I did when I carried my daughter.” Zenya couldn’t help the catch in her throat when she spoke of her dead child.

“Was she beautiful?”

“Yes, she was incredibly perfect.”

“I want a child someday.”

“You will have many children, Talya. I picture you as a mother.”

“What shall you name this one?”

“I’m not sure. His father will have a say.”

“What about Michael?”

“Why Michael?”

“It was my brother’s name. He died protecting me when my arm was cut off.”

“I didn’t know.”

“He was incredibly brave and Raykon killed the cat that killed my brother. Raykon wanted strong males to follow him and my brother was one of his favorites.”

Zenya understood. She-cats felt their worthlessness almost from birth. Male children, on the other hand, were revered. “Someday, Raykon will die, too. He must.”

“Yes, and I hope I’m there to watch.”

Zenya shook her head to help snap her out of her melancholy. “Enough of this moping. We need Columbus’s pack to think we’re joyful and not unhappy our alpha is gone for a day or two.”

“They think he will be gone for only a day?”

“We hope. Nicolas needs to be in South America before they figure out the deception.”

“Who do you think the traitor is?”

“I have no idea, but I think we could put out a few tidbits to individual wolves and eventually discover the truth.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Yes, I believe this person is highly dangerous.”

“Can we start now?”

“Let’s go to the gym and learn more about protecting ourselves and our pack. The wolves like joining us and we can put this plan into action.”

Nikka’s words entered Zenya’s mind, “You play a dangerous game.”

Zenya answered in kind, “Yes, but it’s the only way I can help my mate.”

“Your mate wants you safe.”

“And having the traitor in our midst makes us safe?”

“No, but we will protect you.”

Zenya’s eyes flashed and she deepened her voice like she’d heard Nicolas do, “I will protect me and our pack, too.”

“Yes, Zenya, it is your right.”

Some of the southern wolves already occupied the gym. Zenya and Talya discussed different things to mention to different wolves. Zenya knew them all and gave Talya tidbits to relay to certain individual men. Keeping track of who was told what would be the hard part, but sooner or later the enemy would betray himself.

***

The flight was short and they arrived at their first destination quickly. Honey and Korep of the bear clan waited patiently. They had more interaction with wolves than most of Dmitri’s bears and there would be less trouble with the two. Hopefully. Bears were as crazy as, or crazier than, cats; also larger and possibly deadlier.

Honey spoke little, but Korep and his humor made up for the other bear’s silence.

Esta wrinkled her nose and whispered into Nicolas’s mind, “They stink worse than wolves.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It wasn’t.”

“Regardless, it’s high praise from you.”

“I’m trying not to like you, alpha.”

“It’s okay, Esta. I love you and all my pack.”

She didn’t speak again during the trip and stayed as far away from Aster as possible. Aster and the bears were old friends and he remained near them talking about the she-cats of his new clan.

Nicolas thought of Zenya and his child. For the first time ever, he resented being alpha and having to leave the ones he loved. Someone else would take over his fighting duty after his return—at least until a few months after the birth of his child.

The flight to Mexico City took several hours. They were all edgy and wanted to start the hunt. Samson had two trucks waiting and they began another trek toward the jungle. Hours later they left the vehicles and slipped into the humid heat and unforgiving foliage that swallowed them ten yards in. Four wolves, one cat, and two bears moved with fast determination to rescue the she-cats and kill as many of their enemy as possible. All they carried was water and weapons. Their smell would give them away if cats came across their trail; it was impossible to hide, so they planned to shift and hunt when they needed food.

Several hours into the journey, they came across an enemy camp. The odor of decaying bodies clued them in to what they’d find before they arrived. Wild animals eating the dead scattered away when they walked into the blood bath. It took little time to figure out what happened.

“Vampires,” Aster’s hushed voice sounded nervous.

Esta discovered nine dead she-cats, two of them female children and then unexpectedly a dead vamp. “Some are vamp kills, but some are cat.”

“Do you suppose the dead men here didn’t want the women murdered?” Nicolas looked at Esta.

“I doubt they cared. But this worries me for the ones we are looking for.”

“We’re not close, but this may be what we find there, too.”

Honey kicked the vamp’s head, which was already separated from the body. “Vamps and beastkind that kill innocent women and children need to die.”

“If the other camp is destroyed we will seek out cats and make our presence felt, I promise you.” Nicolas assured his team.

“Good. My hands need blood.” Honey’s wild eyes let them all know he meant business.

Esta gave the bear a long look. Aster growled softly until she looked over her shoulder at him in exasperation. “He wants to kill cats and he has the body to do it. You, on the other hand, might have a hard time.”

“Do you want the bear dead?” Aster’s gaze left Esta and turned to Honey.

“I think you could try, wolf, but I have no interest in your female. My heart is spoken for and after this mission I will stay close to my mate.”

Korep looked at his friend strangely, and then glanced back at the wolf threatening Honey. For once he kept his thoughts to himself.

Esta spoke up, “We’re here to kill cats, not each other. If you insist on being a pain in my ass because I look at other men, I’ll just keep my eyes on our alpha and you can tangle with him.”

“No, we kill cats.”

Aster looked glum, but Nicolas thought he saw a twitch at the corner of his lip. “Let’s go.”

Their trek began again. They slept several hours after darkness fell and then continued. They came upon the second camp when the sun rose. They didn’t smell death, but they didn’t hear anyone either.

“The trail out of the camp is fresh and it includes she-cats. Do you think they are trying to escape the cats and vamps that killed the others?” Reece asked.

“It’s possible. This trail leads further into the jungle. Does everyone agree to follow? Samson will arrive at the rendezvous three days from now and if we aren’t there, he will leave us.”

“We follow,” Korep said with barely controlled eagerness.

Everyone else nodded.

Two hours later they knew they were close.

They had already planned their attack. Korep and Honey would attack as bears. Esta and Reece would remain human while Nicolas, Aster, and Bernard would be in wolf skin. Esta with Korep as her bodyguard would search for the women. The rest would kill cats.

Nicolas couldn’t notify Vorlyk, but he knew the vampire awaited his summons.

Nicolas and Aster planned to take out the trailing guards, but Nicolas ordered Aster and Bernard to hold when he spotted them. The guards were young men, barely teenagers. “Don’t kill yet. Something’s off.”

The three wolves shifted to human, quietly approached, and knocked the two unsuspecting cats unconscious. It was a risk, because if they woke they could summon a vamp.

“Bernard, stay with these two and make sure they don’t come at us from behind.” Nicolas and Aster shifted to wolf and began their search with Honey trailing.

Esta and Korep came across two women, one holding a young child. The women looked terrified, and when they saw the bear they began running. They were easy to catch and subdue. Esta stood over them while they cowered on the jungle floor.

“Please, not the child.”

“We aren’t here to hurt you or your child. We only wish to help. How many of you are there?”

The woman holding the child covered the baby with her body and didn’t speak, only cried. The other she-cat looked at Esta in defiance trying hard to hide her fear.

Esta tried to soften her voice but her impatience still came through, “If we wanted you dead, you would be dead. Your own kind hunts you and killed nine women and children a day’s walk from here. We’ve come to rescue you. You need to help yourselves.”

Green eyes pleaded for mercy and her voice trembled, “We had six and two babies, but if you killed the boys we are four adults,” she said in a thick British accent.

Esta silently relayed the information to Nicolas.

“We have two more women and one child. We’re heading to your location,” he responded.

She looked back at the female who had spoken up. “Where are your men?”

The she-cat looked at her friend, trying to reassure her with a nod of her head, and then gazed at Esta. “They heard other cats were coming and they left us to die.”

“Cowards.” Esta spit out.

The woman didn’t say anything, but they all turned when Nicolas walked closer, naked, and holding one of the women in his arms. “She passed out.” He laid her gently beside the other two she-cats.

Honey and Aster walked behind the fourth woman. They were terrified and it took Esta twenty minutes to make them understand they weren’t there to harm them. Exasperation hung heavily in her words and finally Nicolas spoke up.

“I have a clan of cats and wolves. If you don’t wish to be part of my pack, you will have safe passage to Canada. It’s what Esta wanted,” he said as he looked over at the disgruntled she-cat then back at the women. “Esta decided to stay. She is my second. We want to take you out of here, but we haven’t much time. Make your decision now.”

Bernard herded the two teenage boys to the women and it helped them make the decision in favor of taking the offered help.

Bernard looked to his alpha. “What about the boys?”

Nicolas gazed at the two youngsters. They couldn’t be more than twelve or thirteen. “Why did you stay with the women?”

“They needed our help,” one of the boys said bravely, though his voice trembled.

Esta stared at them both. “Why do you care?”

The same boy answered, “They’ve been good to us, and the babies are our siblings.”