The men returned to human. Jasper came inside
to remove them. They ran out the room without looking
back.
“Alpha Chase, these two are dependent on you
for their lives,” Silas said.
Chase walked to Brennan and looked him in the
eye. “As your Alpha you will not lie to me. Did you kidnap the
half-breeds?”
Brennan’s jaw trembled as if he would hold the
word back. “No.”
“Do you know where the half-breeds are being
held?” Chase asked.
Brennan’s body shook violently. “Yes,” he spat
as if the word was ripped from his throat.
“What?” Peaches yelled. Slack-jawed, she stared
at Brennan.
“Tell me now,” Chase commanded, his voice
deeper with a velvety feel.
Brennan doubled over, screaming in pain as he
gave the coordinates.
Eyes wide, fear enveloped Peaches like a cloud.
“What? How would he know anything? Shit.” She backed up shaking her
head. “I don’t know anything about this, didn’t know he was
involved.”
Angus leaned against the door watching
everything. She met his gaze and stopped. “Honest, I didn’t know he
was involved. He was just a guy working the bar.” Angus pulled out
his phone, punched in the coordinates and searched for the best
route before snapping it shut.
Alpha Chase dispatched Jasper and a team to
find the half-breeds based on Brennan’s information.
“I need to make sure no rebels leave
alive
,” Angus said to Silas changing the plan. He would be
returning to the compound at first light rather than infiltrate the
rebels. With the information he received from Brennan, he had a
better idea of how the rebels organized and could monitor from
their home base.
“You’re going to be difficult about
this
?”
“That’s not my intention but
I won’t
be able to work knowing what’s happening at home
,” Angus said.
“
If Asia is with Hawke, who’s watching the pups? And yes, I know
Jasmine can and would remove the state of West Virginia from the
map if someone went after her babies but that is my
job
.”
“Let me know when you have the half-breeds.
Scan the rebels first, some are like those last three and are not
to be terminated
,” Silas said.
“If they’re like Brennan
?” Angus asked
looking at Chase and Brennan in the corner.
“Terminate
,” Silas said.
“Consider it done
,” Angus replied,
reading the satisfaction in Chase’s gaze. Angus assumed he would
use Brennan to display his personal brand of justice to his
pack.
Turning, Angus left the room and jogged
upstairs, his mind on the upcoming hunt. Jasper and four others met
him at the front door. Angus glanced at them, shifted and ran into
the pre-dawn light. According to Brennan’s directions, the
half-breeds had been taken to an area in the foothills that would
take two hours by car to reach. Spurred by his desire to complete
this mission satisfactorily and return home, he intended to arrive
within the hour.
Alpha Chase’s estate backed to the forest,
Angus had spent some time hunting with Chase through these woods
but didn’t know them as well as Jasper.
“Take the lead,” he told the Beta and followed
as Jasper passed him. They traveled deeper into the woods. Several
times his wolf wanted to stop and chase smaller prey but he
continued with the pack.
Angus saw lights through the trees ahead.
“
We are almost there, how do you want to do this?
” Jasper
asked.
“The rebels must be scanned, if
there are some like the three we released earlier, they are not to
be destroyed. But anyone who fully understood they struck against
Silas and his Alpha will be terminated.”
“How will we know the difference
?”
Jasper asked.
“I’ll know and I’ll tell
you.”
“Yes, Sir
,” Jasper said with a new level
of respect in his voice. Angus imagined the Beta assumed Silas gave
him some type of special powers. Especially after what Silas did to
Brennan.
Angus stopped. “
Incoming
.” That was the
only warning he gave before they were attacked from above and
behind.
Why hadn’t he smelled them before they struck?
The thought flew through his mind as he shifted to his hybrid form
and swiped two attackers across their throats, partially
decapitating them. Two wolves leapt toward him, holding his arms
together, he batted one and then the other, on the return spring,
into a large tree breaking their necks. Turning, he pulled two
rebels off one of Chase’s pack members and then slammed their heads
together, breaking them like coconuts. He threw them on top of a
wolf springing toward him.
After thinning the number of attacking rebels
down to six, Angus noticed not all the rebels fought alike. In his
animal form, he couldn’t scan them with the bracelet.
“Jasper,
those over there that aren’t fighting, have one of your men shift
and cuff them. I’ll talk with them later. But those fighting hard,
destroy them. I’m going after the hostages
.”
“Yes, Sir
,” Jasper said and then broke
the neck of the wolf he’d been fighting. Inhaling, Angus released a
breath.
“Silas, I’ve located the
half-breeds. We were attacked by rebels which delayed the
rescue.”
“Stop
.” Silas said.
Angus stopped. His heart raced from the
excitement of the hunt. His beast craved more.
“Stop so I can scan the location. There’s
been a lot of bombs lately
.”
Angus stared at the three cabins with wood
siding and a flat tin roof. Heat rose through their link as Silas
scanned the area. Angus morphed to human and waited.
“The half-breeds are alive but sedated with
something. I’ll contact Chase and have him send vans or trucks to
carry them out of there. The doors are coded. Wrong code and there
can be an issue
.”
“What if I don’t use the door? If I shift to
hybrid, I can remove the roof and peel away the back wall
,”
Angus said looking at the small square buildings. “
I’m sensing
the half-breeds are in one cabin but there’s only four heartbeats
not five.”
“You’re right.
” Silas growled, his
frustration filled their link. “
When you rescue the teens, ask
about the other one. That’s the best we can do right
now
.”
“There was one other thing
,” Angus noted
then told Silas about the rebel attack and his inability to scent
them.
“Hawke’s brother used a dampening
device sometimes. Have Jasper search for devices, it’ll be
interesting to know how that many wolves were able to hide their
presence from you.”
“Yes. Have you contacted Chase? Are
the vehicles on the way?”
“Yes, he’s sending pack members who
live a few miles from there to take them to the nearest shifter
hospital. They should be there in a few minutes.”
“Okay, I’ll go for
them.”
Angus shifted and walked toward the
half-breeds. He heard the slight click. The next second he was
airborne as the building with the breeds exploded, incinerating the
next building which caused another explosion then a third with the
last building destroyed and in flames.
Dazed, Angus looked into the concerned eyes of
Jasper who lifted and removed him to the line of trees.
“What the hell was that
?” Silas
asked.
“A bomb,”
Angus sadly said watching the
buildings burn.
Chapter 17
Silas slumped in his chair staring at the
monitor. How had he missed… four more deaths, more blood on his
hands. He looked at his fingertips, his chest squeezed, his eyes
blurred - he'd never been so conflicted in his life. Helpless, sad,
grateful, angry - he wasn’t sure which emotion to pick. Closing his
eyes he cried out to the Goddess for help; he didn’t know what to
do. He waited, hoping she would grant him an audience for
guidance.
“Silas
?”
Ashamed of his latest failure, he didn’t answer
his mate. Instead he continued to seek a meeting with the Goddess.
These were her people and he needed help on how to go
forward.
“Silas? What’s wrong baby
?” Jasmine
asked.
“Nothing
.”
“This lying, is it new? Is it because we’re
in a crisis situation and you feel lying is okay
?”
He growled, not wanting to argue or talk. Every
joint in his body screamed for rest. But he couldn’t, not until he
knew which direction to take his pack.
“I’ll be there in a few
minutes
.”
Her words sent a jolt of pleasure through him.
“
No. Stop it woman. You can’t come here yet
,” he said
half-afraid she’d listen to him.
“Too late; you lied to me and we never lie
to each other. That means my marriage is in trouble and you’re
going to tell me to my face what’s wrong
.”
“Don’t do this, Jasmine. I could be
infected like Hawke.”
“If you are, we’ll fix it. I’m at the
elevator, I’ll meet you in the living room
.”
Silas frowned.
“Living room?”
“I’m going to our place, Silas. Where we
live, meet me there. I’m in the elevator going to our floor. Don’t
keep me waiting
.”
He stood and left his office. Rather than use
the elevator, he took the stairs. The moment he entered their floor
from the stairwell, his wolf leapt at her scent. With each step
taking him closer to her, his spirits lifted and his energy
surged.
Jasmine met him at the door and took his hand.
His gaze roamed over her face, her neck, hunger leapt in his breast
as he looked at every part of her. In silence, they walked toward
the sofas, his eyes glued to the soft sway of her hips. Recalling
the feel of her ass cheeks beneath his palm, his heart beat faster.
Is this what he needed? Wrong question, he always needed Jasmine
but being with her calmed both sides of him.
She took a seat and he took the one in front of
her. His wolf growled in displeasure at the distance but he
couldn’t sit next to her without sliding between her legs and
making love. The look on her face said not now.
“You lied to me,” she said frowning at him. “I
thought mates couldn’t lie to each other.”
“We can’t. One reason is we can tap into what
the other is thinking which makes lying a waste of time. Unless
your mate is a breeder. In that case she must give her permission
to listen in.” That would always be a sore spot with
him.
“Basically I need to read your thoughts to keep
you honest? Is that what you’re saying?” she crossed her arms and
stared at him.
Holding her gaze, Silas leaned back on the
sofa. He couldn’t spar with her, not now. “Do you have any idea
what the past 36 hours have been like for me?”
“Only what you shared.”
He closed his eyes, opened his links and shared
every detail with her. The gasps she made and sounds of compassion,
even the sorrow wafting across the room, eased his ache but not the
ever-increasing, heavy burden he carried.
The sofa dipped next to him. The cool pads of
her fingertips traced his forehead lightly. “We lost Froggy, Lopren
and Gerri, precious members of our pack here.”
With each name his heart clenched.
“But you didn’t fail them. You’re not God.
Despite how good you are, baby you can’t have every base covered.
There is just one of you and you can only be in one place at a
time.” She paused. “Let me correct that. Physically, your body
cannot be in more than one place.” Her fingertip tapped his
lips.
He tried to catch it with his teeth but she
moved it out of the way. “Now, let’s go through the list of things
that caused you to lie to me.”
Silas opened one eye and looked at her. “First
I didn’t lie, nothing you didn’t know about was wrong. Second, I’m
tired and not in the mood to go over everything.”
Their gazes met and then she stood. “You need a
nap.” She extended her hand.
Snorting, he took it and stood. “Nap? My pups
take naps, I’m going to rest.”
“When your pups don’t take naps, they’re
grumpy.” She looked at him. “Like you.”
They entered their bedroom, fatigue washed over
him, weighing him down. He fell face down onto the bed and waited
for her to join him. When he heard the bedroom door close, he
looked over his shoulder and realized she had left.
“Jasmine?”
“Rest Silas. I’ll wake you if there’s an
emergency but we all need you alert and at your best. As your mate,
my job is to make sure you get what you need to do your
job
.”
Darkness pulled at him. “
Wake me in two
hours. That’s all I need.”
“No, Wolfie. You’ll wake on your
own, when your body is ready.”
“Two hours
.” His voice trailed off and
she shook her head.