Angus thought of his litter-mate Silas, the
human equivalent of a brother and agreed. Good, bad or indifferent,
he loved his brother too. Standing, he walked to the
door.
“What about your mom? Your brother?” Henry
called looking around the room.
“I’m going to check on her now. My brother’ll
get here when he does,” he said over his shoulder.
“Thanks for the drink, hope I didn’t run you
off,” Henry said in a sad tone.
Angus turned and looked at the young man. “No,
you didn’t, just reminded me of how important family is and the
things we do for those we love.” He nodded and walked
out.
Chapter 2
Silas hung up the phone, turned in his chair
and looked out the window. Bastards still hadn’t dropped the
charges against him for destroying Lancaster’s labs and had the
nerve to keep asking for his help. He’d told Angus the human
government was on their own and he meant it. Their resources
tripled his; it wasn’t his fault they had management
issues.
“What’s so interesting out the window?”
Jasmine, his mate and mother to his pups, asked walking past him to
stare out the glass. She gazed at him over her shoulder and
smiled.
“You’re goofing off, right?” Her eyes held
warmth. He loved that she loved to tease him. But that went both
ways.
“Just sitting here wondering if I should take
you into the lowest tunnel to our cave where no one can hear you
scream for a few hours.” He grinned when her neck and chin
reddened.
“I don’t scream… loud.” She winked at him,
pulled up a chair and placed her foot on his lap. “Who’d you piss
off, now?”
He grabbed her foot, slipped off her heels and
then pressed his thumb into her arch beginning the massage. His
eyes fell to the shadow between her legs. “I like that dress, is it
new?” Slowly he pulled her legs apart so he could see better. Proof
of her arousal rose like a tantalizing aroma and created an
answering response between his legs. “Black and white, sleeveless,
very nice.” He watched the hem rise as he continued moving and
massaging her foot.
“No, it’s not new, it’s comfortable. Are you
going to tell me what’s wrong or do I need to look for
myself?”
Legs apart on his lap, she spoke as if his dick
wasn’t hard enough to break rocks. “Not now, I want–”
“Baby I want you too. But we both have a lot to
do today with Renee arriving for the baby shower and you getting
everything done so you can attend. When I know something’s off with
you, I come to check on you personally. Tell me I can do that
without us having sex each time. Otherwise, nothing would ever get
done.”
Silas exhaled and rubbed her legs. “I always
want to be balls deep inside you. It’s my favorite place to be. But
you’re right, I have meetings scheduled all day as well. And we
don’t know how to do quickies… or do we?” He wiggled his
brows.
“No.” She laughed and moved her feet from his
lap. Taking his hand, she met his gaze. “Who did you piss
off?”
He chuckled. “One of my Generals at the
Pentagon called. They got the report on Corrina Griggs flesh
covered bombs and want to sit down to talk about it with me and
Hawke.”
Jasmine blinked a few times. “Not a good
idea?”
“Maybe but I’m not going to do that right now.
They want to take and take without giving much in return. They act
as if we are playing chess and they are in a position to call
checkmate when they are not.”
“They can make life uncomfortable for us,
Silas.” She squeezed his hand.
“True, but I can do the same for them. We need
each other but not to survive. If my pack removed our resources it
would cripple this country for a long time. They would be in a
vulnerable position, we both know that. They also know the European
Council has asked if I would be interested in expanding to the
Continent. We are a strong, powerful Nation, with all the
challenges that go along with it. Believe me I understand why the
hair turns gray on every President, there is always something
needing to be done or fire to put out. At last count, my pack was
33 million strong and growing, each of them active and ready to
serve. This country has 10 times that amount.”
“Really, that includes the
half-breeds?”
He nodded. “Yes that’s why the count is on the
low side, well lower than I believe is true. According to Tyrone
only half the breeds are registered, but his team’s working hard to
fix that.” He placed her feet on the floor and pulled her into his
lap. Holding her close he brushed his lips against hers. “You smell
like my pups.”
“Children,” she murmured before placing her
palms on the side of his face, holding him tight and deepening the
kiss. He ran the flat of his palm up her thigh and traced her satin
panties with his fingertip.
“So soft, I like that.” He moved away from her
mouth and dipped lower.
She gasped as he captured the tips of her
nipples through her clothes and pulled. “Silas stop.”
He released her and smiled. “I liked that black
thing you wore to bed the other night, wear it again
tonight.”
She laughed, the sound filled him with
satisfaction. “The black thong? Is that the black thing you’re
talking about?”
“Yeah, that.” He kissed her again, reveling in
the sweetness of her taste. Today the lavender fragrance she wore
complimented her natural scent. His beast howled to taste
her.
“That’s all you ever want me to wear to bed.”
She pouted and pushed back until she stood. Silas held her hand and
looked into sweet brown eyes that reflected the love in his heart
for her. It amazed him how her eye color changed since they mated
to include every shade of brown depending on her mood. Angry? Light
brown to almost white. Happy, content? Hazel to milk chocolate.
Aroused? His favorite, dark brown.
“And your point is? You don’t need anything
other than that small black piece of material. Actually I like you
naked but you like to dress for bed, so…” He shrugged.
Jasmine leaned forward and took another kiss.
“It’s almost time for Renee to arrive. Dinner tonight, baby shower
in two days, plenty of time to get your desk organized. I want you
there, at both.”
“Okay, dinner tonight with Renee… Tyrese and
Danielle picked her up, right?” Silas couldn’t recall since Asia
volunteered as well.
“Yes. They’re on the way back now.” She stepped
away. “The kids are excited and wouldn’t take their naps until I
promised them she wouldn’t leave without seeing them.”
“No telling what she’ll bring them this time,
laptops?” he asked. Jasmine’s sister, an anthropologist, taught at
a university and wanted the kids’ IQs tested. She swore they were
geniuses and sent all types of advanced puzzles and games for them.
Silas had no idea what half of the cubes or boxes did but Jacki and
David loved them. Adam got frustrated and threw his down. Renee’s
interest lay in anything with color, otherwise she paid it no
attention.
“Maybe, who knows? It’ll be good to see her; I
just hate her visit is so short this time. But she wants to come
back after mom has her babies and is saving time for
then.”
Since Silas didn’t care if Renee never visited,
he remained silent. Jasmine knew his feelings toward her
smart-mouthed sister but as long as he kept his thoughts private,
there were no problems.
Jasmine flicked his shoulder as she walked pass
him. “Be nice, Wolfie.”
“I’m always nice… to your sister.”
Laughing, she left his office with a wave
goodbye.
“Hawke
?” he called through their mental
connection.
“Sir?”
“Are you at a point you can break
off and come to my office? The Pentagon called.”
“Give me 15 minutes to wrap this up
and I’ll be there.”
“Solid. Rose is still out, so come
on back when you get here. I’ll be in the conference
room.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Silas turned in his seat and pulled up the
monitor in his office. After a few clicks, he sent Alpha Chase a
message. A few moments later the Alpha appeared on the
screen.
“Please forgive my tardiness, Sir. I’m in the
car on my way to a meeting with the Governor. How may I assist you,
Sir?”
“Have you heard anything from Angus since he
arrived?” Silas didn’t want to call his litter-mate every hour but
that last visit to Colorado when he was captured still made him
nervous.
“No, Sir. But there hasn’t been any news of
unexplained bloodshed either, so it’s not a bad thing.” Chase
smiled which eased the tension in Silas’ gut.
“True. How is the situation with the rebels?”
Silas had sent Asia, Tyrese and Angus to the Rocky Mountains of
Colorado to squash a rebel uprising last week. Angus had been
taken, almost drained of blood and left to fend for himself by two
humans seeking proof werewolves were real.
“Nothing since KnightForce dealt that blow last
week but we’re keeping an eye out for them, Sir.”
“Angus believes the rebels are receiving wrong
information about the national pack and how we plan to move
forward. We cannot punish them without an equal attempt to speak
the truth then they can decide to submit to their state Alpha or
become outliers like the rebels. Hawke’s been working on a method
that will allow us to do that in a way that cannot be altered or
intercepted.”
“That’s wonderful news, Sir. Glad we are
addressing that issue head-on. Many half-breeds are scared to join
the Nation because of all the lies. I look forward to the day the
integration of the two is behind us. My workload has doubled but I
have more pack to ease the load as well,” he rushed to
say.
“Growth brings change and change is never
easy,” Silas said looking at Hawke in the doorway. He waved him
inside. “My appointment has arrived, we will talk soon.”
Silas disconnected and looked at the file Hawke
held. “Your news first, I hope it’s good.”
Hawke grinned. “I believe you will be pleased.”
He opened the file. A solitary disk lay inside. “The Alphas must
make some adjustments on their radio station equipment to get the
right pitch for the airways. Messages are recorded on this disk and
then played two-three times a day, rotating the times each day.
It’ll work. ”
Silas picked up the disk and looked at it. “You
tested it?”
Hawke nodded. “The only difficulty I see is if
the radio stations haven’t updated their equipment. This is
cutting-edge and requires matching equipment.”
Silas replaced the disk. “If everything is
ready I will alert my Alphas of this new method of communication.”
Silas paused and then told Hawke about his earlier conversation
with the Pentagon General.
“Strange they asked for me and not Dr. Passen
who was here when the bombs detonated. All of my information is
secondhand, whereas he has firsthand knowledge.”
“Good point. I told them you were working on a
priority project for me and unavailable,” Silas said. “Plus, I
don’t trust them.”
“There is no reason to trust them. Although
we’re not enemies, we’re like distant cousins forced to share the
same space. No doubt they are aware of our population increase and
the knowledge that some human women can bear our pups. That
probably didn’t go over well. Throw in the longevity of our lives,
compared to theirs and our ability to protect our young, there will
never be complete trust between our nations. They want what you
have and some in our pack want the freedoms the humans
have.”
Silas agreed. “Eventually we will meet with
them about the research on the bombs but it will be on my terms and
when I’m ready.” He stood. “I’d like to see a demonstration of the
disk and then I’d like to make a recording for
distribution.”
Chapter 3
Tyrese sat facing Asia at the long, polished
mahogany conference room table. The past three hours, they had
sorted through the list of former Alpha trainees trying to match
them to Alphas and areas across the country. In two hours, he and
Danielle would head out to pick up Aunt Renee from the airport.
Dani’s excitement over meeting his aunt pleased him. She and his
aunt had spoken on the phone numerous times finding common ground
in their love for travel and various customs of people in different
countries. This morning Danielle reminded him of the time they’d
leave for the airport. And a few minutes ago she gave another
reminder.
“
Crescent Blue.” Asia’s lip
quirked as she read the name on the file and then opened it. Tyrese
continued reading the credentials of the trainee in the file in
front of him.
“Interesting name,” he said without looking
up.
“Born in Canada, moved to Philadelphia,
graduated from MIT,” she said slowly. “Made high marks in training,
graduated in the top five percent. Unmated.” She paused for a few
minutes. “Looks good, where do we put him?”
“With an Alpha in the north, he’s used to the
cold,” Tyrese said looking at the photo of the dark-skinned trainee
from his file. The man reminded him of the rap star turned actor,
LL Cool J.