“Patience, La Patron seeks information and
will release you to hunt soon
,” Hawke said.
Asia made small steps in the direction of the
house. “
Someone’s moving around inside
.”
“Hank’s looking for that person on the
security cameras, you’re to wait for Tyrese to
engage
.”
Asia crept closer to the side of the house.
“
Where’s Tyrese
?”
“Are you in the shadows
?” Hawke
asked.
“Not really
.”
“We can’t locate the three men. Stay in the
shadows
,” Hawke said, his voice hard. “
Can you sense
them?”
She ran the few feet to the house, leaned
against the wall and scanned the area for the men. “
I think I
see them
.” She stepped away from the side and looked at the
roof line for the rear of the house. A hazy shape moved but she
couldn’t scent him and was unsure. She took another step to the
right to get a better visual and spun halfway around. Her knee hit
the ground as something hard slammed into her left shoulder.
“
Fuck
,” she said. Holding her arm, she stood slowly scanning
the area for the shooter. “
Hawke, the bastard shot me
.”
Another bullet pierced her right thigh and her leg flew up from
under her. She hit the ground hard. Gasping for air, fire shot
through her body making her light-headed.
“Hawke this is…”
She clawed the ground
pulling herself to the shelter of the wall. When she reached it she
tried to stand.
“Poison
,” he said sending an avalanche
of energy through their link to combat the toxin.
Every nerve-ending in her body vibrated,
tingled and then burned. Her legs trembled, refusing to hold her
weight. She slid down the wall to the ground. Each breath hurt. And
then her chest refused to cooperate and expand as she desperately
tried to inhale. The area in front of her wavered as her vision
blurred. Her left arm lay useless by her side. Chest tightening,
she gasped for air. “
I can’t… I can’t breathe
,” she
whispered clutching her neck.
“Asia,”
Hawke yelled, fear lined his
voice.
A rush of warmth ran down her back, her teeth
chattered, her muscles spasmed and then locked, trapping the scream
of pain in her throat. Her wolf howled as it broke through her skin
in an ungraceful transition. She tried to move but
couldn’t.
“Tyrese is on the way, baby. Breathe with
me, take my breath
,” Hawke begged. His fear fed hers. Things
had to be bad for him to fall apart like this.
“Asia, please. Trust me. Let me
breathe for you.”
Weak, she locked onto Hawke’s energy, going
deep into their link, finding his core and nesting in his heat. A
stream of oxygen filled her lungs, her body shuddered as she
released the air through her scorched throat.
“Forget about everything, just breathe with
me
,” Hawke said his voice softening. The tightness in her chest
eased. Fire coursed through her blood reminding her of the presence
of the devastating poison.
Her beast whimpered.
A twig snapped.
She looked up. Standing a few feet away, a man
pointed a high-powered rifle at her. The fur on her neck rose. Her
heart slammed in her chest as she tried to stand again and
couldn’t. The rancid smell of the poison burned her nose. Growling,
she bared her teeth but couldn’t back up her warning. She watched
him step closer. Human. He pulled the rifle up to his eye and
pointed down.
Froggy died from a diluted dose of the poison.
Two shots of the toxin had her laying on the ground unable to move.
Her beast couldn’t survive another hit of the vile concoction. Asia
shut down her link to Hawke to spare him the pain of her death and
mentally said goodbye. Shards of pain from their separation ripped
through her heart. Laboring to breathe, she lowered her head and
rested them on her paws. Her beast whimpered as she thought of
Sarita and Damian. Love had come late in her life and now she’d
leave them behind. “
Protect my pups
,” she prayed to the
Goddess.
“Asia
,” Jasmine yelled.
“Mistress
.”
Asia jerked as a blast of energy flowed through
her. Her ears rang and her teeth jarred from the impact. Nearby she
heard growling sounds and opened her eyes. A large wolf stood over
a man lying on the ground. Asia blinked a few times to clear her
vision.
“Stand up
,” Jasmine said.
A wave of nausea rolled over Asia as she
attempted to stand. Her body shook, her heart raced and tendrils of
scorching heat flooded her system. She howled from the pain. Tyrese
must have shifted at some point, because he knelt beside her and
placed his hand on her head.
“I took out the shooters, rest easy they won’t
be shooting you with anything else. Mom and Silas are flushing the
poison out of your system,” he said.
Ripples of pain wracked her body as the toxins
attacked her organs. His words sounded as if he were miles away
instead of right next to her.
“Asia,
” Jasmine said. “
You have to
open your link for Hawke. He’s on his way to you and is scared.
Take a deep breath and save your mate from
heartache
.”
Two words registered. Save mate.
“Hawke?”
“Bless the Goddess
,” Hawke said in a
voice she’d never heard before. “
Asia please, please don’t do
that. Don’t shut me out. I can’t…”
his voice broke.
“I can’t
live without you.”
“I know,”
she said as another cold
stream, reminding her of an icy winter mix, coursed through her
body.
“No. You don’t. I would not want to
live without you. Our physiology makes it possible for us to
survive the death of our mates but I… I would not.”
The tone of his voice registered that he said
something important but she couldn’t follow the conversation, not
with the horrific internal attack on her body.
“
Sorry
.”
Hawke continued to breathe for her. Asia heard
Mistress in the background and knew La Patron worked alongside his
mate to rid Asia of the fast-acting poison.
Tyrese leaned close to her ear. “Forensics is
in the lab but there’s someone in that house. I need to check it
out when Hawke gets here.”
Asia wanted to tell him not to go alone because
of the poison. But couldn’t form the words.
“I’m almost there
,” Hawke
said.
“Help Tyrese
,” Asia whispered to Hawke
as she watched Tyrese walk toward the house, stop and look at the
window.
“I’m not alone. Tyrese will have
help
.”
Asia closed her eyes as a tortuous vice gripped
her skull and pressed downward. Pinpricks riddled her flesh as
poison bled through her skin, matting her fur. The scent of her
mate eased her discomfort. His cool palm rested on her head and
then stroked her back.
“Mistress and La Patron are working
together, hot and then cold to destroy the poison. I know it’s
uncomfortable but it’s the fastest way to remove the toxin from
your system,”
he said.
She opened her eyes and read the concern and
relief in his. “
You shouldn’t be this close, you can become
infected again.”
“No I can’t but we’ll talk about
that later, right now, continue to allow me to breathe for
you.”
Asia closed her eyes. Assisted by her wolf’s
innate ability to heal, whatever La Patron and Mistress were doing,
worked. The pain had become manageable. Hawke continued stroking
her head.
“I’m going to stand
,” she said. She
wondered what role the titanium metal in her legs had to do with
her fast recovery. When this was over she’d ask Hawke.
He paused and released a breath.
“
Okay
.”
She stood, shaking constantly as if she would
collapse to the ground any moment. The longer she remained upright,
the shaking slowed as her strength returned. When the pain subsided
to a constant throb she rubbed her face against Hawke’s
legs.
He rubbed her head, calming her. “
Ready to
breathe on your own
?” he asked.
Asia tested her legs by walking around him in a
tight circle, stopping now and then to lick his hand.
“
Yes
.”
She gasped as air flowed through her nostrils
and down her throat filling her lungs. Sitting on her haunches, she
looked up at him to clear her vision.
“Better
?”
“Not sure. Mistress is still working on me.
I see three of you from time to time
.” She looked around the
dark yard and then toward the back of the house. “
Tyrese went
inside
?”
“Yes. Hank gave him a shot to protect
against the poison before they went inside to look around. Whoever
was on the first floor ran off once Tyrese took out those three
assholes. That’s who they’re searching for now
.”
Asia wondered if that person had been the one
in charge of this entire operation - the poison, the drugs using
wolf blood and the attack on Angus. She wondered what Angus would
say about all of this.
“We’re supposed to head to the lab
when you can walk. La Patron wants you inside and in the van when
they’re finished.”
“When can I shift?”
she asked wishing
she were in human form to hold onto him for a few
moments.
“Not for a while, La Patron wants to monitor
you in this form.”
He took a step toward the building.
“
Ready
?”
Asia stood, took a couple steps and passed him.
“
Yes, which way
?”
He walked toward the back of the building,
passed a large pond that extended across the property, a copse of
tall trees and then walked across a long driveway. “
Not much
further, how you feeling?
” he asked.
Each step pulled on the healing wounds, making
it hard to walk. “
A little dizzy but I’ll make it,”
she
said
.
“Tyrese hasn’t found whoever was in the
house,”
Hawke said stopping in front of a metal door on the
lower level of the house. He walked inside first and then waved her
in. They moved down the corridor toward the forensics team. The
door to the lab stood open. Asia glanced at the two body bags
stacked to the side on the floor. Tyrese entered from a door on the
opposite side and headed toward them. Asia sat and watched the
activity.
“Couldn’t find whoever it was. Son of a bitch
disappeared,” Tyrese said, frowning and looking around the lab.
“Look at this shit. These assholes had a business set up here using
our blood. Makes no sense, it would eventually kill
them.”
“But for a while they would feel invincible,”
Hawke said checking out the equipment. “That’s worth something to
some people.”
“Losers perhaps who had nothing going for
them.” Tyrese ran his hand through his cropped hair. Tired from the
short walk to the lab, Asia lay down with her head on her paws as
Jasmine continued to push the poison from her system.
“How are you feeling?” Tyrese asked
her.
She raised her head, met his gaze and lay her
head back down.
“Your mom and La Patron are still working on
her, those two direct hits were potent. I think the presence of the
metal slowed down their progression but I’m not sure,” Hawke said
and waved Hank over. “How much longer will this take? I want to get
my mate to our den.”
“A few more hours but there’s enough to send to
the compound in the first van. You can drive that one back and
we’ll come in the next van or with Tyrese.”
Chapter 23
Asia closed her eyes as sounds of activity
flowed around her. Forensics moved slowly through the lab, taking
specimens and pictures of everything before boxing items for
transport. After a few moments, the background noise faded. Her
thoughts floated replaying the events from earlier. Someone had
been in the house, they hadn’t moved until she moved close to the
building. Had she been the target all along? They used
tranquilizers on Tyrese but used two shots of poison on her, more
than enough to kill twice the amount of full-bloods.
“Once we’re back at the compound, we’ll work
on figuring this out. Rest, your body has to recover,
” Hawke
said.
“What did you mean about the poison not
affecting you
?” she asked Hawke trying to ignore pinpricks of
energy running beneath her skin.
“I created a blocker that’ll slow down the
toxic properties of the serum shot into your system. When most of
the poison’s removed, I’ll give it to you so if you come in contact
with that poison again it won’t affect you the same
either
.”
“If it only slows it down, how does that
protect me?”
She opened her eyes and met his gaze.
“The problem with this poison is it moves so
fast our wolf antibodies can’t stop them in time. But when the
poison moves at a slower pace through our system, it’s eradicated
like everything else and then our bodies can heal
.”