The Breed Casstiel's Vow (26 page)

“Why’d you bring the whore?” the hunter spat in her
direction.

She winced slightly but kept her face poker
straight,
she couldn’t let it get to her.

“The girl is here to record what we’re saying,” he
replied coolly, not at all surprised by the man’s lack of respect.

“All this fancy shit you got here and you need a cunt
with a pen to record us?” the hunter scoffed.

If she had had a gun she would have shot him. Rage made
her hands tremble and her teeth grind as she looked over at the thing sitting
across from her.

“Ready?” Sebastian asked, his eyes probing.

If she gave the slightest hint of discomfort or fear,
she knew he would pull her out.

She nodded letting the insults roll off as she focused
and sent the tendrils of her gift out like invisible wisps of smoke, searching
for the hunters consciousness, and easily slithering inside.

As soon as she was in, she began furiously writing down
every berated word.

Breed cock with your fancy fucking suit trying to blend
in with the humans. When we take over we’ll brand you all! Big fuckin X’s on
all your foreheads, there won’t be any
disgusin
’ then.

“Why were you in the subway the day we captured you?”
Sebastian started the tempo off light and easy.

“I told you, we were waiting for our train ride and went
for a little walk,” he smirked.

Like I’d tell you anything! You’re a genetic mutant with
a
faggy
little pony tail… at least that other guy looked
intimidating. 

“The device you had, it can tell you if someone is
Breed
or not, where and how did you come across this
technology?” Sebastian plowed on.

“Oh you like that do you? Yeah we’ve got all sorts of
new toys now,” he licked his cracked lips and leaned back in his chair.

Better be worried! Now that we’ve got the big boys
helping us you’re fucked!

“But the hunters didn’t invent this, so who did?” he
pressed.

“I don’t know, they just gave it to me,” the hunter
shrugged.

Your mother gave it to us you sub human piece of trash!

 “Did you know that when you ended up in the sewer,
we were looking for someone? Do you know Quinn Roberts?”

“Never heard of him,” he muttered.

So number 117’s name is Quinn Roberts…I don’t need a
name I need a location! Give me his location you useless piece of shit!

“So it’s a coincidence that you, and the Breed and this
man all ended up in the subway together?” he stared so hard at the hunter,
Tessa thought for a moment he could read his mind.

“Right,” he smiled, showing yellow cigarette stained
teeth.

Is this really who they send in to question me? I’m a
hunter! They should have their best men in here right now trying to suck my
cock to get answers!

“So you have no idea who Quinn Roberts is, or where he
could be?” he narrowed his eyes.

“No,” he replied, and Tessa noticed a thin sheen of
sweat breaking out across his forehead.

Why do they want him so badly? They couldn’t possibly
know could they? No… we were too careful…

Tessa’s head popped up and she did her best to signal to
Sebastian to keep pressing.

 “Quinn and his pack disappeared from the Breed
quite a while back, the hunters wouldn’t happen to know anything about the
disappearance would they?” he steepled his fingers and leaned forward in his chair.

“You’ve got us so well monitored wouldn’t you know if we
did?” the hunter smiled nastily.

Your times of watching us are over Breed scum. We come
and go as we please right under your noses now.

“Well you somehow slipped our monitoring to get into the
subway, so you could have slipped it to capture some of our members,” he
pressed.

“And what would we want with filthy little Breed
members?” he looked highly offended.

Filthy disgusting animals!

 “It appears that the hunters have been receiving
help from someone, who
is it
?” he studied him
carefully.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” his voice was
painfully tight as he responded.

All that matters is that the rightful rulers of this
earth will be
restored,
the hunters will reign over
this planet.

“Has someone from our ranks betrayed us, or are you not
high enough in line to know?” Sebastian jabbed.

“I am a very high ranking member and I’m not
tellin
you SHIT!” the hunter exploded into a tirade of
insults.

“Enough,” he cut off the hateful slurs, “If you upset
our guest with your
rantings
I’ll be forced to ask
her to leave so I can have a private talk with you. Don’t make me show you just
how scared you should really be.”

For a moment the hunter’s eyes practically popped out of
his head, then his facial features slowly relaxed and he took a steadying
breath.

 “Answer the question,” he demanded.

“I don’t know anything,”
came
the monotone response.

Work with sub human creatures like the Breed? Don’t
flatter yourself pony tail…

 “And you don’t have the other members of his
pack?” Sebastian pushed again.

“No,” he snapped, then closed his eyes and let out a
deep breath
.

The lord tasked us with ridding the world of these
vermin to prove our strength to him. Once we have succeeded he will finally
return to the earth and bless all those who fought for him and smite down all
those who stood with the abominations. I will be with the lord on that day.

He chanted the verse in his mind as though it was some
twisted version of a prayer.

 “Where are the hunters located?” Sebastian changed
tracks.

“You know where we’re located; you’ve got every one of
our locations monitored,”  the hunter sighed, feigning boredom with the
conversation, but even Tessa could read through the front and see the tension
now edging his face.

The eerie calm that suddenly flooded through the room
unnerved her, and she held her breath.

“You have no new locations?” Sebastian asked, barely
above a whisper.

“No,” his upper lip quivered as he answered.

“Then how are you getting out?”

“We walk right out the front door,” the hunter snapped,
his eyes wild.

I’m.
not
.
Telling.
You.
Shit. If the big military guy who punches like a
freight train can’t get me to talk, what makes you think you can? You’re a joke.

Tessa let out a grunt of frustration. If only he had
thought about a location, she just needed land marks and she was sure they
could find it.

“Do you know why we don’t just enter your compounds and
kill you all, ending this war tonight?” Sebastian asked leaning forward in his
chair.

“Because you value the lives of whores and children more
than you do the end of the war. You’re scared that if you come into our
compounds you’re going to have to kill a lot more people than you bargained
for, and you’re right,” the hunter let out a sadistic laugh, making Tessa’s
stomach churn, “you’ll have to slit the throat of every woman we own before you
even make it to the first man in the compound.”

 The hunter’s voice was dark and filled with
poison. He was telling the truth, and with the insane look in his eyes while he
laughed, Tessa realized he was proud.

A shiver ran up her spine and she tried hard not to
think about the poor abused women locked away in hunter compounds, brain washed
into believing their life was the only way to live.

“That’s right,” the hunter slowly turned his eyes to
her, “in our compounds women know their rightful places. They do what they’re
told: cooking, cleaning, raising the children and satisfying their husbands. We
buy them like cows from their fathers when they’re ripe for plucking and-”

“Enough, she doesn’t need to know your disgusting ways,
she’s not here to study you,” Sebastian cut in, his face full of fury.

“That’s one of the first things we’ll change when we
take over, the women out here are spoiled. Allowed to get fat, make decisions,
and disobey their men,” he spat at her, “no one disciplines them,
all
they need is a good hard-”

Suddenly she was lifted out of her chair by Sebastian's
surprisingly strong hands.

“Time to go, can’t hold my temper,” he grunted through
clenched teeth.

 “Enjoy it while it lasts bitch! When the hunters
take over you’ll spend your lives like our women, in the fields all day and on
your knees all night!” he screamed after her.

 Tessa was passed, feet never touching the ground,
into Memphis’ waiting arms.

Sebastian whipped his suit coat jacket off so violently
she heard the ripping sound over the commotion of feet trampling in different
directions.

She turned back to see his fangs fully extended, eyes
glowing with rage as he hissed venomously at the hunter.

“Take his cuffs off and leave the room,” he commanded,
his voice cold fury, “I’m going to give him a lesson on how to treat women.”

Memphis carried her away like a small child, but before
they reached the end of the holding cells an ear splitting scream erupted from
behind them.

           
Memphis finally set Tessa down outside the doors of the defense department.

“You didn’t have to carry me, I told you I’m fine,” she
awkwardly tugged at the draw strings of her blue hoodie.

“I know you are, I’m proud of you,” he replied
seriously, catching her off guard, “You’re a lot tougher than I gave you credit
for.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled staring down at her converse
shoes.

“Ready to see your man?”

“Yes,” she sighed in relief.

“You guys are the real deal huh?” he gave a small
chuckle at her reaction, “Well you did
good
, you
couldn’t have picked a better man.”

As soon as she walked in Cass was all over her; checking
her over for injuries, then kissing her cheeks and forehead when he realized
she was ok.

He spent so long fussing over her that she hadn’t even
noticed Nora sitting at one of the desks impatiently waiting for her turn to
chat.

“Well?” she asked, sounding anxious and stressed, “How’d
it go?”

“I can’t make too much sense out of his thoughts, But I
do know that if all the hunters are like that guy in there, the worlds a darker
place than I thought,” she replied seriously as a cold shiver ran up her spine.

She filled them in on everything he had told her, her
voice growing darker with disgust as she went on.

 “We need to go rescue them,” Nora stood up so
abruptly she knocked her chair over.

 “We’ve tried,” Casstiel sighed raking his hands
through his thick hair, “many times, and we’ve never been successful. They are
completely brainwashed and have literally fought us tooth and nail when we
tried to convince them to leave. Attempting to go back wouldn’t do any good.”

 “It’s true,” Memphis confirmed soberly, “I busted
into a compound in Mobile a few decades ago, I did everything I could to try
and convince those women to come with me, but they  said I was sent from
the devil to test their loyalty, and refused. It still eats me up.”

“How can you just let it go?” Nora demanded, “We’ll
kidnap them if we have to.”

“You can’t do anything about it; you can’t save those
girls, just like you can’t stop world hunger, you can’t catch every murderer,
and you can’t give justice to every person who deserves it,” Memphis softly
wrapped his arms around her, “you can’t save someone if they don’t want to be
saved.”

Memphis was right, and she hated it.

“You ok?” Casstiel grabbed her hand and squeezed.

“Yeah, just wish this nightmare was over. I wish I had
my brother back, and I wish we could wipe out every hunter,” she sighed,
realizing what a long journey that would be. Even if they found Quinn tomorrow,
someone in the Breed had betrayed them and it could take years to find out who,
and how to stop them.

“Me too,” he kissed the side of her forehead.

Her heart fluttered at the small contact, and it
reminded her that through all the struggles that were coming, at least she had
him by her side.

Nora stayed in Memphis arms for a while longer, her
posture ridged, but her mood slowly calming.

Ghost was the first to arrive back, his leather trench
swishing as he came through the door. He didn’t say a word to anyone, but the
tension and excitement of his mood buzzed through the air like electricity.

Jax and Kain walked in looking equal parts impressed and
amazed.

 “Your brother is my idol,” Kain sighed. In place
of his usual serious stony face was a wide set grin.

“I understand why he’s a legend in the Breed now,” Jax
added, looking impressed.

Cass rolled his eyes and went back to studying the note
pad she had given him.

Sebastian stormed in looking feral, his expensive dress
shirt torn and bloodstained.

“Where is it?” he demanded.

As Cass handed over the note pad she noticed long jagged
scratch marks healing along his arms and neck.

“This is garbage,” he growled, sounding ready to strike
out at something.

He thrust the notepad into Ghosts chest and began
prowling around the squad room, looking every bit a panther ready to pounce.

“They want my brother specifically for something, we
need to figure out why he’s so important to them,” Tessa spoke up, refusing to
let her gift go to waste.

“117?” Jax asked aloud as the notepad finally made its
way around to him, “the big boys? It’s like he’s speaking code in his own mind.”

“He’s not, it wouldn’t make sense for him to do that,
those are terms he’s used to using on a daily basis,” Casstiel cut in, sitting
down at his desk.

“Doesn’t sound like this guy is too high up the food
chain, or he’d call the people helping them something more familiar,” Memphis
added.

“He seemed honestly offended at the suggestion that this
new help is coming from a Breed member,” Tessa piped up, nervously fidgeting
with her draw strings again.

“Of course not, that goes against everything the hunters
are supposed to stand for, if that came out they would lose most of their
members,” Ghost agreed with her, “They are probably selling their members
stories about rich humans wanting to help them but not get their hands dirty.”

“Just another corrupt governing system,” Kain scoffed as
he leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms over his head.

“The question now is what to do with this information?
Go public, inform every embassy that there are traitors amongst us and hope
that by doing so we flush them out, or keep this between us, sending moles to
the different embassies and try to silently take care of this?” Casstiel asked
,
looking like either option was going to be strenuous and
take more time and attention to detail than he wanted to give.

“If we announce it, it gives the traitor the ability to
hide themselves or flee, but trying to do all of this on our own is going to be
a monumental task. It could take years and by then who knows where we’ll be
with the war,” Memphis sighed, knowing either way they were screwed.

“If they’ve slipped our monitors and are being funded by
people in the Breed it’s only a matter of time before they launch a full scale
attack on us, and we don’t know what they’re working with anymore. At this
point they could have built up a massive army and weapons catalog,” Kain added,
sitting forward.

 “Doing this by stealth is our only choice,”
Sebastian cut in, “we have to do this silently and as quickly as possible. We
will need the help of members of the other embassies, but we have to ensure we
can trust them first.”

“With the option of attack from them so great we can’t
leave this embassy unprotected, but we can’t leave the other embassies
vulnerable either. We’re going to have to split up, do this in shifts, we’ll
have to go out to the other embassies and figure out who we can trust. We’ll
also have to have someone go to the packs and covens that don’t live within the
embassies,” Casstiel ordered out.

His air was that of a captain at the helm of his war
ship. He commanded the room, and when you looked into his eyes you could see
that he fully intended to steer them out of danger.

Tessa watched the faces of his men all staring at him.
Each gaze held approval, loyalty, trust and admiration.

“What about Quinn?” she asked, knowing the odds were
slim that there was anything else they could do to try and find him.

Nora visibly stiffened, her eyes brightening with hope,
and she was once again grateful for having a best friend that was always in her
corner.

“We’re not gonna give up hope on him baby girl,” Memphis
soothed, “but with no leads there’s not really anything we can do at the
moment.”

~

Casstiel clenched his jaw painfully and looked away from
Tessa’s disappointed face. She didn’t say a word, or look to him for support,
but he could feel that she was utterly crushed. When the meeting with his men
was over he would pull her aside and make plans of his own.

He could go down into the subway again and see if there
were any clues left behind, maybe he could find something down there to give
her a little hope; he would do anything to keep her from being so devastated.

After a moment’s pause he shook his head and forced
himself back into the game.

 “We’ll need to play to our strengths, we don’t
have time for anybody to be making new friends, so if you already have ties in
the other embassies expect to get temporarily shipped out,” he laid down the
law, “we’ll send someone out for a few months while everyone else stays here.”

“Well I know the big fish to fry is weeding through the
embassies, but when you’re ready to start going through the individual packs
I’m your guy, just let me know,” Memphis volunteered immediately.

Casstiel gave him a nod of thanks and moved on through
the room.

“Ghost you’re from the L.A. embassy, so I’ll need you to
head there, and Kain I know your father isn’t your favorite person, but he’s
running the Portland embassy now, so I’ll need you to get over there,” he began
drawing up battle plans.

 “I’m leaving first,” Sebastian announced.

“To where brother?”
Casstiel
asked, knowing that Sebastian would not have made the decision lightly.

“The Charleston embassy first, I’d like to check in on
Marcus, he’s an old friend, after that I’ll investigate the nearby covens,” he
replied firmly, “I’ll leave tonight.”

 “Thank you brother,” if anyone could get the job
done it was Sebastian.

He was a master at seeing the truth in people’s eyes and
being able to weed out the
bullshitters
from the true
villains; and despite how he presented himself to Casstiel’s men, when he
wanted to, he could be a real charmer.

 “When Sebastian get’s back we’ll get together
and-” screeching sirens exploded over head and a female’s voice boomed through
the intercom system.

“Casstiel!
We’ve got an
emergency situation at the gates!” Thallia screamed.

Immediately everyone in the room burst into action;
Memphis pushed Tessa and Nora low to the ground, Jax and Kain took a sniper’s
view in front of the windows, while Casstiel, Sebastian and Ghost pulled up the
camera’s monitoring the front of the embassy.

“Talk to us Thallia,” Casstiel demanded as they tried to
find the problem on the screens.

“A man came to the intercom demanding to see you, but he
had a gun and it looked like he was bleeding, so I told him he’d have to wait
until I could confirm with you, he… he went ballistic and started screaming, he
ripped the intercom out of the ground and headed our way. I… I panicked and
pulled the alarm…” Thallia stuttered, clearly shaken.

“There,” Ghost pointed to someone climbing the fifteen
foot fence into the embassy.

“Holy shit,” Casstiel gaped in
amazement,
someone was not only climbing the fence but dragging themselves through the
barbed wire, their blood speckling the camera, “Thallia put us under complete
lockdown.”

Within seconds steel grates began grinding out of their
shutters and slowly sinking over the windows and outgoing doors.

“Jax, Kain sniper posts on the roof,” the boys were gone
before he finished the sentence, “Memphis take the girls up to Nora’s room,
then meet us at the front entrance,
it’s
still
daylight.”

Not for the first time in his life Casstiel felt the
curse of helplessness that being a vampire brought. He was the leader of this
embassy, but would have to stand in the shadows and watch helplessly as the
werewolves of his team took care of the enemy at the gates.

If he took one step into the sunlight he would be burnt
alive.

“Wait a minute!” Tessa screamed through the scuffling of
feet, “That’s Quinn!”

As the man on the camera finally pulled himself through
the barbed wire, the side of his face swam into view, and there was no doubt
that it was Quinn Roberts. 

“Son of a bitch!
Get her out of
here now!” he screamed, knowing that things had just become a thousand times
more complicated.

“Casstiel!” she screamed, struggling with all her might
in Memphis’ arms, “Don’t kill him! Please don’t kill him!”

Casstiel closed the distance between them in less than a
heartbeat.

“Tessa I’m going to do what I can for your brother,” he
grabbed the sides of her face and forced her to look at him, “but he has a gun,
and if he shoots, if he puts this embassy at risk, I don’t have a choice.”

“Please don’t hurt my brother,” she whimpered as tears
poured down her face.

“I’m going to try for you, I swear,” he kissed her
forehead and let go, “get her out of here.”

As Memphis dragged the girls off, Casstiel, Sebastian
and Ghost bolted for the stairways heading down to the entrance of the embassy.