KnightForce Damian (La Patron's KnightForce Book 4) (2 page)

British raised his arm, and then dropped it with a plop onto the mud. Taking small steps so he wouldn't fall, Damian reached British and stared down at him. "I serve Alpha Bartholomew and La Patron as KnightForce, and your words are treason. How do you plead?"

Coughing, British didn't speak immediately. He tried to rise and fell back onto the ground. He’d need to shift to heal, but that was forbidden in the open like this. He turned his neck to Damian, who accepted his surrender.

Chapter 2

Damian walked out the shower drying his hair and headed toward the kitchen. At the warehouse, darkness had devoured all signs of light. Now the sun peeked over the horizon, banishing clouds as if doling out favors. Leaning against the counter in the kitchen, a bottle of water in hand, Damian watched the battle between the dark and light as sun rays pierced the sky. The sight eased him, reminded him of the balance of life, nature.

"
Angus?
" There was no immediate response.

"
It's too early,
" Angus said, his voice groggy through their mind speak.

"My apologies. I will contact you later, what is a good time?"

"Now, since you woke me. What happened?"

Damian filled him in on last night's activities.

"British changed his mind?"

"Yes, he preferred to live rather than die in the mud."

Angus chuckled. "
They are in detention? For how long?"

"Until Alpha Bart deals with them. He may send his Beta, I'm not sure."

"Have you met his Beta?"

"Not yet. I haven't done much socializing since I've been here. Raoul does enough for both of us.
" He told Angus about Raoul's revolving bedroom door.

"
That was you when you lived here in the compound. I don't think you left any of the lab techs untouched.
"

Damian tossed the bottle into the trash and headed to his bedroom for a nap. "
That was before I took this job. I can't allow anyone to get between me and work. I'm pledged to La Patron remember?"

"Not to be a monk,"
Angus said and then snorted.
"Our beasts need other wolves; you need to meet others who are just as committed to Silas and Bart and build friendships. This strengthens the pack and will make your work better. Lone wolves don't function well; I know we covered that in training"

Frowning, Damian closed the door and stretched across the bed.
"But that dealt with other teammates, I'm supposed to reach out to other agents right?"

"Yes, but there are packs within packs. Right now you are a member of the Florida pack because you live there. All wolves in that state serve Alpha Bart and you're all pack mates. All wolves in the country are a member of the national pack and serve La Patron; he's the Alpha of everyone."

Damian rubbed his eyes. "
I know, that was made clear in training."
He paused, thinking of Raoul's comment in the car and his insistence on going on that mission.
"What I don't understand is what's expected of me as a pack member, that wasn't in training."

After a few seconds, Angus spoke.
"No, it wasn't, because pack life is learned when you're a pup. Your situation is different and we didn't take that into account. Asia's your Captain, I'm just filling in until she and Hawke get back later today from their trip. I'll talk to her about this; see what we can do to help you merge into the pack because it's really important. The wolf community will help with your investigations; over time you'll be able to tell when something’s wrong or right by the attitude of the pack. In order to be more effective to Alpha Bart, you'll need to be sensitive to the needs and emotions of the community."

Damian didn't deny what Angus said. On an intellectual level, it made sense. He just had no idea how to go forward with it. Hanging around people he didn't know or have much in common with seemed odd, but Raoul did it all the time. "
Okay, let me know what you come up with, anything that can help is appreciated
."

Angus disconnected.

Damian rested his forearm over his eyes and tried to get his mind to settle, to rest. The events of this morning rolled, tossed and turned in his thoughts. What could he have done differently to prevent the three from entering the building? Arrived sooner? Parked closer? He didn't know. It had been pitch dark in the area he'd fought the rogues; morphing to his hybrid in the open held its own risks of exposure. He hadn't sensed cameras or any other equipment nearby but with current technology there was always a chance of being caught on film from a distance. He'd mention it to Asia later to see how she'd like him to proceed.

His thoughts drifted to Angus and his comments on community and pack. Raoul mentioned something along those lines earlier but Damian hadn't been listening. Having Raoul along last night was beneficial. Not that Damian couldn't take down the four full-bloods, he could have, but it would've been harder and messier. What if he asked Raoul to teach him about being in a pack?
No
. The idea of Raoul teaching him anything didn't sit right. Maybe they could have casual conversations about it, or long planned talks where Damian asked questions.

He could see Raoul's smug face now.

Rolling onto his side, he pulled the pillow beneath him, wishing it was a warm, willing female. He yawned, banishing thoughts of pack life and decided he'd take Raoul up on the offer to meet the female's friend. It couldn't hurt.

Eyes closed, he accepted he couldn't have done much differently on the job with the rogues and drifted asleep.

"Damian? KnightForce Damian?
" Alpha Bart called through mind speak.

"Sir?
" He didn't bother opening his eyes since he planned to remain in bed longer.

"
Good work on bringing in the rogues last night. The local police commissioner is pack. He’d realized the robberies weren't done by humans and contacted me. With all the tourists in that area, we must be vigilant our secrets remain in place."

Damian covered his yawn. "
Yes, Sir.
"

"Have you given thought how you plan to do that?"

He opened one eye and looked at the clock. 7:15AM. "
A specific plan to keep humans ignorant of our existence?"

"No, that's not your job. What I meant was set a system in place so that no one's tempted to break our laws, like last night."

"I enforce the laws, Sir.
" Creating rules wasn't his job either.

"Yes, yes I know. But... what I'm thinking is this - KnightForce is a new position in our world. It's great and much appreciated, but pack doesn't know what it means or does. I get all kinds of calls for assistance, more now than before since your team is here. Pack members ask for KnightForce to do things, like settle disputes between mates, or pick up pups from school, things you don't do."

Damian rolled on his back and stared at the ceiling. Pick up pups? "
I assure you La Patron didn't have 75 Alpha trained leaders attend a week of training to settle domestic disputes. Perhaps they have confused us with human police. KnightForce is an extension of La Patron's hand sent to assist State Alphas with increased criminal activity."

"Yes, I read the memo and understand your function, but my pack doesn't."

Damian didn't say anything because that problem didn't concern him.

"Never mind, we'll talk about it later. Here's something I need you to check out in your area. There's an outbreak with several cases of a weird itch."

"Itch?"

"Yes, I received a call from Anna Morgan, Health Administrator for that area. Ten cases of full-bloods developing some type of itch and nothing we have fixes it. All ten are in the hospital, miserable with this outbreak."

Damian had no idea what he could do about itching.

"
I've got a call into La Patron to see if there are any threats on the national front or if it's just here."

"Okay. Is there something you'd like me to do?"

"Yes, find out what started this."

"What?
" None of his training had prepared him to trace itching skin.

"
According to Anna, the itch isn't normal. It's some kind of virus that doesn't impact humans, just full-bloods, even half-breeds are immune. The nails on the wolf can't be cut short enough to prevent them from ripping their skin to shreds. Three full-bloods, all hard working pack members with large dens, have torn off patches of skin. Doctors sedated the human side, but the wolf scratches even as they're sleep. If this isn't brought under control, Anna is afraid those three and the ten will die. Since we have no idea how it spreads, the ten are quarantined with half-breed staff only to oversee their care. Russell and Eugene are full-bloods and cannot access the patients or handle this case."

As far as Damian knew, he was full-blood as well.
"I'll talk to Anna; she'll have names of everyone involved."

"Right. La Patron will probably talk to Hawke about this but as your sire; feel free to discuss the case with him. The more information we gather to stop this early the better."

"Alright, I'll contact Anna this afternoon.
" Damian didn't see how itching full-bloods came under the province of KnightForce, but would check it out. Probably someone was playing tricks, out for laughs.

"
Excellent. We need to get a handle on this; the idea of anything attacking our wolf must be dealt with swiftly."

"Yes, Sir."
Damian rolled over and covered his eyes with his arm. His body screamed for rest, but his mind continued doing jumps and sprints. After a few minutes he rolled onto his stomach, dragged the pillow over the back of his head, which blocked wisps of light but not the sounds in his mind.

Damian pushed three full-bloods in front of him. They fell at Boris Lancaster's feet. "Here are the people you sent for, Sir."
His voice rose from the recesses of his mind as the video from that day replayed.

Lancaster walked around the three men and kicked the largest one in the side. A low growl rose from the man's throat and Damian grabbed him by the hair, jerking his head back.

"Disrespect the master again and I'll gut you."

The full-blood's beast showed behind his eyes as he stared at Damian with a look of utter disgust. "Fuck you, I have one Alpha and I'll die before kneeling to a human or a Filch like you."

"Take them to the cage," Lancaster said. "I'll talk with them later." He walked out the room.

Reeling from the derogatory name meaning he had no worth, Damian jerked the full-blood to his feet and stared at the others. They looked at him with pity and distaste. "What are you looking at?"

"A filch, thief and worse, ignorant about it as well."

"He's not pack, I don't recognize his scent," the other one said.

"That's still no excuse," the big one said.

"Shut up," Damian yelled and pushed the three forward to the cages. They turned on him and he shot them with a stunner, knocking them to the ground. Writhing as the electrical currents raced through their systems, he dragged them into the cage and locked the door.

"I'll die with pack before I serve a human, Filch," the larger man ground out as Damian walked away.

"
Die with pack.... Die with pack
..." Damian jerked awake in the dark, sweat rolled down his forehead as he searched the dark for the voices in his head. Heart racing, he leaned to the side and turned on a light. "What was that?" He tried to recall the dream and couldn't. However, an overwhelming amount of shame and guilt clung to his chest.

"What was that?" he asked again.

Chapter 3

With the sun high in the sky few shadows stretched across the road as Damian drove down the highway. Rested, he and Raoul headed to the clinic where Anna Morgan had quarantined the full-bloods. He turned onto the dirt road, checked his coordinates, and continued over bumpy terrain until the farmhouse rose in the distance. He wasn't sure what he expected, perhaps a cross between his contemporary house and farmhouses he'd seen on TV.

Alpha Bart prided himself on moving with the times and having cutting edge technology, so the large two-story structure, straight from the 1900's with a white columned porch and ornate double door entry, threw Damian. The whitewashed walls stood bold, pristine, even in the midst of surrounding trees and crops. With no formal road or address, those seeking sanctuary behind the walls of this place found it by scent and traveled by foot. Since he was here on official KnightForce business, he was allowed to bring his vehicle onto the grounds.

Parking in the designated area, Damian and Raoul entered through the side door and were scanned for weapons by security. He showed his badge, informed the guard that Raoul was with him, and turned a corner. The clinic had that new smell, except it wasn't. Everything that could shine did. Some type of tile lined the floors; framed posters with health care tips brightened the beige walls. The air had a pure fragrance, as if deliberately sterilized to remove all signs of sickness or disinfectants. Background music, strings and horns, played just above a whisper to keep the place from being silent as staff purposely moved patients to various locations. Taking a deep breath, Damian relaxed, everyone in this place was wolf.

"Can I help you?" A male dressed in light blue jumpsuit asked.

Damian glanced at the tool bag in his hand before answering. "I'm looking for Anna Morgan."

"Her office is on the second floor. If you go to that desk there, they'll call her for you."

"Thanks." Damian and Raoul approached the desk.

A male nurse looked at him. "I've contacted Ms. Morgan; she’s in a meeting and asked me to contact Dr. Okla since she's handling those cases."

Damian nodded and moved away from the desk so he could get a better idea of this place.

"
So are we still on for tonight?
" Raoul asked.

"
Yeah, where are we meeting them? Or are they coming to the house?
" He'd given Raoul the green light to hook him up with the friend of the female he'd met at the detention center last night where they'd taken the four rogues for processing.

"
Either way works. Might be nice to get out, go to a club, eat something and see what happens. Or we could just order in and hit it."
He shrugged
. "Just depends on how you want to start. For me, it'll end the same regardless
," Raoul said, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

Similar in height and build, Damian had no doubt the blond Romeo would continue his unassigned quest of bedding as many bitches as possible without committing to anything other than a thank you and a good time.

"
Whatever you want to do is fine with me
," Damian said, having no preference as long as a willing female lay beneath him tonight.

"
Cool."

"Mr. Farkas?"

Damian turned and stared down into the confident gaze of a female wearing the name tag, 'Doctor Gem Okla.' The top of her head reached his chest, she was small for a bitch. Then he remembered all personnel dealing with this outbreak were half-breeds.

"Yes. I'm here about the outbreak."

Warm, light brown eyes returned his gaze and he thought of La Patroness and Asia. "Anna will explained, please come with me."

Raoul reached forward and touched the back of her hand. "I'm Raoul, his assistant."

Her smile brightened as if his touch were an electrical outlet. "Nice to meet you, please come with me."

"
What was that?
" Damian asked as they walked through a set of double doors to another area. There were no stethoscopes or other trappings familiar in human hospitals. No bed held one person, it was common to see four or more people piled onto one bed resting, stroking, and offering comfort. Damian had never seen anything like it and wondered about the comfort factor of being surrounded by so many people.

"
When I touched her?
"

They went up a flight of stairs. "
Yeah."

"It's a pack thing."

"How?"

"
A simple touch let her know I see her, we're pack, and if she needs anything, I'm here."

Damian looked at Raoul over his shoulder. "A
ll of that with a touch?"

"Yeah, it's not that complicated
."

They finally reached a metal door, sealed tight, nothing visible behind it from the hall.

Dr. Okla stopped, looked at him, her face once friendly, was now sober, as if dreading what stood behind the door. Damian still didn't think itching merited this investigation, but the serious look, mingled with pity made him rethink his position.

"Here we are," she said as she typed in a code on the security panel and opened the door.

Unlike downstairs, there was no music, no posters lined the walls reminding these curled in agony how to remain healthy, and the stench of suffering pinched his nostrils. Medical staff moved quietly around the room. A nurse stood next to a hospital bed, attaching an IV, heart monitor, and oxygen to an older male with sunken eyes and sallow skin.

Drawn by his misery, Damian left the doctor and Raoul at the door and stood by silently as the nurse finished her duties. Not once did the man open his eyes or stop moaning as if tormented by an unseen hand deep inside his body. His hands and feet were taped in thick, heavy gauze and strapped down to the bed. Even in restraints, the nurse held his arm still to slide the needle into his arm.

"Tell me what you're feeling," Damian said, leaning closer to the man.

"Hot, comes in waves, rises to the top trying to get out, itches." Sweat glistened on his gaunt features as he thrashed in the bed held securely by the metal. "Please, please, scratching doesn't help; it’s inside trying to get out." 

Damian glanced at the nurse, their gazes met; he read the sympathy and sorrow in hers before she turned to complete her tasks.

Dr. Okla reached his side and stood silently for a few seconds. The nurse stuck a needle into the IV tube. "If you have any more questions for him, ask now before he's taken under."

"Where were you when the itching started?"

Rheumy eyes met his gaze. "Who are you?"

"KnightForce."

The full-blood winced, and then exhaled. "Home, cooking for my pups. My bitch works late tonight. Just..." His face tightened, his body shook as he tried to break free and then as if all the air left his system, he deflated. "Started under my arm, scratched my skin off, blood everywhere. Scared the pups, my bitch sent me here."

"When did you first experience the itching?" Damian asked.

"Two days ago." His words slurred a bit.

"Did you eat anything different? Come in contact with anything different?" Damian sped up the questions.

"No, same things."

"What about your pups? Did they bring anything home different? Are they impacted?"

"Don't know." His head rolled to the side and he stopped moving.

Doctor Okla touched his arm and backed away. "The only thing we can do at this point is make them comfortable, unfortunately that means putting them under."

Damian moved past other beds, noting some patients moved violently even though their eyes were closed. He stopped and watched a female thrashing on the bed. "She's drugged?"

"Yes. But her wolf is impacted by the virus and attempting to eject it from her system, but can't. So it tries to wake her so they can fight together. She's my worst case because her beast is so hostile. If she were awake, she'd peel off her skin thinking it'd give her relief."

"Which would kill her," Raoul said softly.

"Eventually, yes."

"Is it possible they're having a reaction to something they ate, drank, or is in the air?" Damian asked. A close friend of his, Frog, died from drinking tainted water.

"We've tested everything and nothing comes back positive, although that doesn't negate the possibility of something latent or hiding in their systems, we don't think that's it. There aren't any accompanying rashes or other symptoms that often bond with chemical reactions. Before you ask, kidneys, liver, and all major organs are fine."

He glanced at Raoul, who hid a quick smile and moved down the aisle to other beds.

"Thank you, Doctor." He paused. "I'm full-blood."

"Yes, so is Raoul. Anna's given you permission to be here, she said you were aware of the risks."

Damian's brow rose. "Risks?"

Her brow furrowed. "This virus is specifically targeted to older full-bloods, mostly males. As you can see, she's the only female here. It attacks their blood stream in such a way it mimics bile, a salty waste from the liver, beneath the skin, causing it to itch unmercifully to the point it radiates waves of heat and pain."

"Okay." He rocked on his heels a few seconds, then moved to another bed and watched a patient. "
Hawke?
" he called through their mental connection.

"
Hey Damian, how's it going?"
Hawke, his father and lead scientist for the Wolf Nation, asked.

"
Not good. I've been exposed to some kind of itching virus that attacks full-bloods
." He told Hawke everything he knew while walking around looking at each patient.

"
La Patron mentioned that briefly this morning, but I'm working on something with the military right now and didn't pay much attention. I didn't realize you were involved. Who authorized you to mix with the quarantined patients
?"

"
Alpha Bart. So far I feel okay, could be the metal in my arms and legs, I don't know. At first I didn't think this whole itching thing was a big deal, but seeing these guys, the way they're suffering... this isn't right. But I have no idea how to track a virus. I wasn't much help when the water at the compound had been tampered with."

"If the virus is chemically induced I would've heard about it, and I haven't, which means the blood work isn't showing chemical compounds or the possibility of hidden compounds. There are other tests that need to be taken, I'll contact the lab in that area and coordinate testing. In the meantime, look for anomalies. Find common threads, something is connecting the victims. It could be they shop at the same place, or ate at the same restaurant, something.
"

"
What if there's nothing... common that is?"

"Then you have a cluster fuck of major proportions on your hands, Asia will need to get involved."

Damian bit back a groan; he didn't want to go to Ma’am every time things got hard. "
I'd prefer to solve this on my own if possible."

Hawke sighed
. "I know, but if this spreads and can't be contained, La Patron will expect her to oversee it. That's how it works, if you were in Angus' area, he'd expect Angus to step in as well. "

"I know."
He paused realizing Hawke was right, but he didn't like it.
"Thanks, I'll look through the files to see if there's anything tying them together.
" He paused. "
You think this is a real problem?"
Damian still wasn't sure if this rated a national threat or just a regional batch of poor produce.

"Alpha Bartholomew reported it to La Patron, which makes it national. With everything you've told me, I think my office needs to get involved at this level as well. If you need anything, or come across any information that could help break down the virus, let me know, I'll make sure it gets to the proper channels."

"Will do. How's Sarita?"
Damian asked about his younger sister.

Hawke chuckled. "
Still with Barticus and Amynta, they bought a place in town. She should be home later for school tomorrow. She loved the amusement park, Asia and I saw her once the entire time we were all there. She didn't want to leave her grandparents."

"Can't blame her. Glad everyone had fun, and got some rest. Tell Asia and Sarita I said hello and send my love. Talk with them soon."

"Will do and call your grandparents, they worry about you
."

Pleased, Damian smiled thinking of Amynta and Barticus. Intent on strengthening the bond with Asia after recently reconnecting with their only child they lived six months near the compound, and six on European pack lands. "
Will do
."

"
You thought of something?
" Raoul asked, watching him.

"Yeah, we need to go through the files of each patient to find a common thread and then talk to their families. Something ties these cases together."