He kissed me, then sat up on the side of the bed, resting with his elbows on his knees. “Fuck, I hate leaving you.” He ran his hands down his face.
I didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t sound like a pussy. In the end, I stayed silent, knowing he needed me to be strong. I was strong, damn it. I’d taken a lashing that would’ve killed most. No child should suffer beatings and have the scars to show for it. My back hit the headboard, eyes lifting to his. “Go. I’ll find Lyric, and we’ll get reacquainted or some shit.”
His eyes flared. “You’re sexy when you swear.” My gaze jerked down to his lap, widening at the sight of his erection bobbing at attention.
“You really need to be going, or Kellen will be storming in here. Imagine him finding us fucking like bunnies.”
Xan stood up laughing. “That’s Rowan’s fantasy, not mine.” He grinned. “When he changed for the first time, my sister explained some of the things a shifter goes through after they shift. The need to hunt, eat, and fuck. He so eloquently asked if he was going to hunt Bambi, want to fuck it, and then eat it.” The last was said with a chuckle.
I stared as my mate bent and began getting dressed, wishing he didn’t have to leave so soon. Gods, but the man had to have the best body this side of everywhere.
“You checking me out, mate?” He asked, snapping the button on a pair of snug denim.
A yawn overtook me before I could answer. “Well, yes, yes, I am.” I covered my mouth as another yawn broke free.
“Why don’t you skip chatting with Lyric and get some rest. I’ll let your brothers and father know to watch our door. Nobody but me in or out.” I raised my eyebrows, prompting him to add a little addendum that I could come and go as well.
Snuggling down into the still-warm bed, I watched warily as he rose and left the room. The sound of him leaving left a small ache, but I knew he’d be back before I woke, and besides, we could always reach each other through our mate connection, I reassured myself. I closed my eyes, falling into a deep sleep almost immediately.
Stepping into what I was going to start calling the war room, I couldn’t believe what had changed in the hours I’d been gone. Kellen and his once laid-back office with the black leather couches and recliners, where we’d fucked and done more debauchery than I cared to think about, was now filled with computers and other electronic devices. Rowan and his Phantom Team were gathered around the machines, while the alpha was lounging behind his big ass desk.
I shook my head. “What the fuck is going on that I had to leave my mate?” I waved my arm in the direction of Rowan. “What’s all this?”
“That, my friend, is harshing my mello.” Kellen rubbed his temple.
Rowan raised his arm, middle finger extended, but didn’t say a word, nor turn around. “See that? Insubordination. I’m yourfucking alpha. Don’t give me the middle finger, asshole.” Kellen pointed his highball glass filled with amber liquid toward the men’s backs.
I scoffed. “Again, why am I here, instead of buried in my mate?” I poured myself a drink.
“Is that all you think about, wolfman?” Coyle asked, standing up from his slouched position. The big man’s dark skin with tattoos would rival any of the Iron Wolves.
I tilted my head, studying the other man before answering. “Here’s the way of it. We have a code. When a man is fucking his mate cause she’s in mating heat, you don’t fuck with them. Period. Unless it’s a really good reason.” I tilted my head back, swallowing the liquid in one drink, sure I wasn’t going to like what they said next.
“Damn, I like that code. Unfortunately, this couldn’t wait.” He indicated the monitors. Coyle made room for me to see the images they were looking at.
“That’s near where we found Breezy and the bitch.” Kayan glanced at me. “Across the street. The CCV monitor picked up these guys an hour after we left. I was able to track their movements by doing a little playing with the satellites.”
According to the law, I was sure that wasn’t legal, but the Iron Wolves and I didn’t live by human laws. Hell, we were the law. The two vehicles that had come to the site, clearly searching for their lost one, were careful not to let onlookers know. If I hadn’t known, I’d have thought they were regular men. Well, maybe notregularwith the camo they wore and shit they carried, but lots of guys preferred to dress in that type of clothing. I just wasn’t one of them.
A glance at the five men with Rowan, and I was sure they had a closet full of camo in some form. “Do we know where their final destination is, or what? I’m really about the end, not the middle shit here, boys. I’ve got better things to be doing than watchingsome dead men driving. Feel me?” I checked the time, frowning at the hour. “It’s close to midnight. If we head out now, we can hit while they are all either in bed or tired.”
Rowan turned, black eyes unblinking. “I’ve called in a few markers. We’ll have some backup who will attack north of their borders, and we’ll go in on the south side. From what I can see, which by the way isn’t a whole hell of a lot, they have a pretty nice hunk of land. Satellite pictures show several barracks-style buildings, a dozen or so vehicles, and a large apartment-style building. Nothing fancy, almost military in its making. When I checked, there were no bases, nor was there any paperwork that suggested it was owned by the government. The name on the land is a Sanderson Iceland.” Pure steel laced his tone.
“Did you find out anything about this dude Sanderson and why he has a hard-on for Breezy?” I knew it was because he was a thwarted lover. Maybe he’d wanted Breezy but realized he couldn’t have her. I dismissed that, too.
“Nothing. The man didn’t exist until about ten years ago when he bought the property,” Tay informed us.
Kellen studied the screens but didn’t say a word for a long moment. “Do you trust the men you have meeting us? Do they know what they are possibly coming up against? The bitch is a shifter, which would mean there might possibly be a whole pack of the fucks there.” He growled, his voice so rough, the wolf in him closer to the surface than I’d heard in a long time.
A knock on the door had the men standing, covering the screens with their backs. The petite form of Laikyn entered. “I got the results back from the blood work on Breezy. I figured you’d want to know first.” She stared at a point above Kellen’s head.
I walked over to her, impatient to know whatever had been in my mate’s body. “What is it?” I placed my hands on hershoulders. A deep growl behind me had me pausing, my gaze going back to see that Kellen had taken a few steps toward us.
“They used a paralytic agent. When the vet sent me the codes, he had no clue what they meant, so I sent them to a colleague of mine at Johns Hopkins. He said it was a trial drug still in development. I had to do some fast talking and a lot of promising to get him to believe I had come across some research that included the material. From the studies so far, there are no adverse effects to the subjects, but they haven’t used it on humans.” Laikyn stopped, staring at Kellen, who’d come up beside us, chest heaving.
“You are not bartering sex for information from Dr. Dickweed.” The hand he grabbed the little doctor with had morphed, black claws tipped his fingers, yet he was careful when he pulled her to him.
“Alpha, I can and will do what is necessary for the pack, or what I want with my body.” Her breathy voice might have been convincing if she hadn’t shivered for all to see.
