Rogue Alpha (Jacky Leon Book 7), page 23
As I left the office, I knew the gas was taking effect, so I tried to move quickly. My legs were shaking as I tried to get to the front door. My vision blurred, and I bumped into walls and opened doors, stumbling on a body that hadn’t been there before. A werewolf had died. I nearly went to my knees, a yawn trying to come over me as the door came into view. Fenris was waiting there, and he looked undecided as I leaned on the wall, trying to walk. He took the ten steps I needed, grabbed my elbow, and dragged me out of the house.
“Breathe the fresh air,” he growled. “It was lingering and thick. We would have needed another hour in the basement for it to fade.”
“Yeah,” I said, my eyesight trying to clear. I rubbed my eyes, hoping I wouldn’t fall asleep on the lawn. “Truck. Heath’s truck. We can get to it.”
“Yup.” He grabbed one of my arms and threw it over his shoulder.
“I can walk,” I mumbled.
“Just tell me where his truck is,” Fenris growled. “And a phone. I’ll have Landon come get your dumb ass.”
“Got to get Heath back,” I disagreed, trying to sound strong. I didn’t need to be drowsy around this wolf. He’d leave me for dead or maybe just kill me once my eyes closed.
“The damn truck… never mind,” he snapped. “I’ll just follow your scent on the road.” He kept my arm over his shoulders and one of his around my waist, but I kept my eyes open for the entire walk. He saw the truck and opened the driver’s door without even considering there might be an alarm.
“He left the keys, just like he always does,” Fenris mumbled. Picking me up, he threw me into the truck, then shoved me aside, so he could get behind the wheel. “Put a seatbelt on, find your damn phone, and call Landon before you pass out. The pain won’t keep you awake any longer. Being a werecat must help you fight it more.”
I found my phone in the glove box and started the call. I yawned as Landon’s name lit up my screen after he missed the call and called me back. I fell asleep as I tried to answer it.
28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
I didn’t dream. When my eyes finally opened, I knew the sleep had been unnatural.
“Oh, you’re up!” Oliver said, leaning over me. “Jacky, we were worried!”
“Where am I?” I asked, glad to see the human as everything from before my unnatural sleep came back to me—the pack house, Tywin, Shamus, Heath, Fenris, sleep gas, witches.
Where I am is the least of my worries if Oliver is here.
“Your house.”
Of course. It looks like my house, and Oliver is here.
“How—”
“You’ve been back with Fenris for ten hours,” Landon said, coming into view. “He’s explained everything you told him and his own problems with the Dallas pack. Since you’ve been asleep, I almost killed Fenris when he and Dirk nearly chewed on each other. Teagan got him and the rest of us to calm down… for a minute. Pa hasn’t called. Tywin hasn’t sent anyone. Shamus hasn’t gotten in touch. Stacy, Kody, and Mike made it here after Fenris dragged your ass here. Apparently, they couldn’t find a direct route that was safe or cheap. They went all the way to Stacy’s place and had to get her car. It was an hour walk.”
“Fuck,” I groaned, trying to push myself up. “I’m not injured, just…”
“Fenris explained the sleep gas,” Landon said, moving to my free side and sitting on the side of the bed. “He also said you were one mean bitch. Made him feel like a tiny, insignificant piece of shit.”
“He’s a spineless bastard,” I muttered, pushing off the blankets. “We need to find Heath.”
“No one I’ve ever met called Fenris a coward and lived,” Landon whispered, stopping me from getting up. “And you’re a werecat. You’re lucky to be alive, Jacky.”
“He was going to leave the pack and let the innocent members rot. If he doesn’t want to be called a spineless coward, he shouldn’t fucking act like one.” Remembering Fenris’ cowardly behavior and having Landon try to keep me in bed had my temper flaring. “I don’t care about him. Heath wanted me to help him, so I did. He kept me from helping…” My tongue grew thick in my mouth, and I closed my eyes. “Why is he stronger than me? How is Fenris that…”
“He’s broken,” Landon answered, talking in a cool, calm, and collected fashion that scratched at my temper. “But he did the smart thing. If you two had run out of the basement, you would have been worthless to help my father. In fact, you probably would have been captured or worse, killed. Fenris, while he was self-serving, didn’t make the wrong decision.”
“He let your father be taken!” I roared, grabbing Landon’s shirt in fury and frustration. Landon didn’t seem surprised. My eyes went wide when he grabbed my wrists and proved Fenris wasn’t the only wolf in my house stronger than me. He put my hands down on the bed, holding them there as I tried to pull away. It was a struggle for both of us, but he was winning.
When did this happen?
“He’s not the only broken werewolf,” Landon said softly, keeping the professional coolness, but there was a wolf in his eyes now. “He said you didn’t know what I am and had a good laugh about it. I guess the only reason I never told you and my father probably didn’t was we assumed you already knew. I’m an Enforcer, as other werewolves like to call us.” I kept my mouth shut while he calmly explained what Fenris had mentioned earlier. “We’re stronger than werewolves of similar age and dominance. A normal werewolf the same size would only be about half as strong. There aren’t many of us. In modern times, I’m one of a few dedicated to an Alpha, and those of us who are, always take the position of second. Everyone is happy when werewolves like me have someone to answer to, be it an Alpha or an organization we can’t defeat.
“We’re dangerous as lone wolves with our own agendas because we’re missing boundaries other werewolves have. Broken. Somewhere along the way, we were stripped of those boundaries. We don’t bond well to community like a werewolf naturally does. We can’t become Alphas. Every werewolf, no matter what, can someday become an Alpha if they have the time and the need, except us. It’s a… curse. I can act like one if my father needs, but actually being one is impossible. I can’t claim people into a pack or anything else an Alpha can do.”
“Oh.” I sat back a little. “Is it like being a Beta? You’re just… different?”
“Yes and no, but now isn’t the time to get into it.”
“Give me a run-down of what you have time to tell me because, once again, I am in the dark.” I rubbed my temples, angry with myself, angry with Hasan, angry with everything. I had skipped six years of education with Hasan because he lied to me. I was playing catch up every day, and even after more than three years of trying to catch up, I was still behind, still in the dark about things.
“The Enforcer phenomenon has only been recognized the last thousand years or so, and it wasn’t until the war with the werecats that werewolves discovered we’re a product of our lives. We’re not born or natural the way a Beta is. We’re broken. Something about how we grew up or our lives as werewolves made us what we are. I wasn’t officially recognized as an Enforcer until after my father became an Alpha. Pa, Richard, and I knew, but we kept it a secret.” Landon gave me a sad expression. “Our Alpha at the time would have put me down because I wasn’t loyal enough to him.” He released my wrists and put his hands in his lap.
“I need you to remain calm, Jacky. Not for everyone else, fuck them for the most part, but for me, and Carey. She knows Pa was taken. You’re his mate, and if I can’t be loyal to him, I’m going to be loyal to you and what he would have wanted. Pa jokes I would be a great lone wolf, but I need him as my Alpha, and he’s not here right now, and I don’t know if he’s coming back. If he doesn’t, I’ll need you, Dirk, and Carey to keep me from becoming like Fenris.”
I took a deep breath, letting it out after a count to ten.
“What else does Fenris know that we could find useful?” I asked. “And can I get out of bed? I really don’t need to be on bed rest. I’m fine. The gas the witches used just put me to sleep.”
Landon got up to help me up. I didn’t need it, but if he was trying to cling to civility, there was no reason to be pissy with him. While we talked, Oliver had escaped the room. Landon looked away as I changed into a fresh set of clothing, but he didn’t leave.
“Are you really going to hover?” I asked.
“Would my father leave while you were changing?”
“No,” I mumbled, knowing how this conversation was going to end.
“Then, yes, I’m going to hover.”
Yup, saw that coming.
“We need to find him,” I said as I walked to the door. “I don’t know anything. I didn’t even see the witches. Fenris—”
“Fenris wasn’t the person with the important intel,” Landon said, following me as I started down the stairs.
Halfway down, I saw the crowd camping in my living room. Fenris was sprawled on my couch, his eyes closed. Ranger wasn’t around, but I had a feeling he had been chased off by the angry old asshole. Stacy and Kody were sitting at the coffee table, a deck of cards between them. Teagan was sitting at my dining table with Dirk and the two teen boys I hadn’t met.
I’m an embarrassment to all werecats. I have nine werewolves in my house, one who wants me dead, and I don’t know two of their names. Hasan would be ashamed… if he wasn’t already.
“How is everyone?” I asked loudly, finishing my descent. “Landon, you were saying someone has intel I could use?”
“It’s already been used,” Dirk said, coming out from the new addition to my house. He lifted a sheet of paper. “A property Tywin has been visiting recently with his lover. He’s taken some of the pack there for full moon runs. It’s not in his name or Madison’s. Evidently, they wanted it off the books.”
“How did you find it?” I asked, taking the paper from him. It was a printout of a large farm two hours west of Dallas.
“Kody and I have been there,” Stacy said as she stood. “We memorized the address, so did our dad, and all promised we would investigate it if we got the chance. Um…” Stacy rubbed her temples.
“It’s fine, Stacy. Sit down and relax. We’ve got it from here. Stacy told us Madison said her maternal grandmother and maternal great-aunt owned the property together.” Landon leaned down to my ear as the young werewolf backed up and sat down in the living room again. Fenris, not actually asleep, reached out and rubbed her head. “Stacy is getting headaches,” Landon said softly. “Kody gets them, too. Common backlash when a werewolf is coming out of orders of that nature. Same for things like a geas, though I’m certain there’s more they both want to say that they can’t. I’m almost positive someone tampered with their memories, and if so, Shamus would have the same issue.”
“So, we know where they might have taken Heath. They’re several hours ahead of us, at least twelve.” I looked at the farm Dirk had printed out. “But we know Heath isn’t dead, right?”
“Yes, we know that. A pack knows when its Alpha dies,” Landon confirmed. “Teagan will tell us when Tywin dies, and if he doesn’t immediately switch to my father, we’ll have more reasons to be concerned. Let’s sit in your office and talk about it. Dirk, come with us.”
“Never thought I would see the day when a werewolf would treat a werecat as if she’s his Alpha,” Fenris said, sounding amused, annoyed, and pissed off, all the same time.
“I don’t need the opinion of Fenris the Cowardly Dog,” I said, heading for my office. His snarl bounced off the walls, which Landon and Dirk returned in kind. I was getting a headache of my own. I shut us in my office, needing some semblance of separation from the rest of the house.
“Fenris the Cowardly Dog.” Dirk chuckled darkly. “Damn, Jacky, just make everyone hate you.”
“Fenris can get hit by a car and die in a ditch,” I snarled, moving to stand behind my desk, but I didn’t want to sit down. I wanted to run to my car and get Heath back. Everything in me needed to do that. Before I could say any more, Landon put something in front of me.
A ring box.
I picked it up and looked inside, remembering Heath’s promise. I needed him back. I hadn’t planned on losing him in Dallas. It hadn’t even crossed my mind it could happen. I made my silent promise to him as I closed the box before I looked at Landon.
“When did you get stronger than me?” I asked, needing the truth from the werewolf who had lived in my territory for so long.
“I don’t know exactly since we don’t fight. I know Pa is able to hold his own with you now,” he said, sitting down in front of me. “I would have been stronger than you before he realized he could do that. It’s what we do as werewolves. We grow more dominant; therefore, we grow more powerful. It’s not… Pa and I have been on the fast track. I’m on a different scale than other werewolves. We live in open defiance of the NAWC, Callahan, and Corissa, everyone we’re supposed to answer to. It was bound to happen, but even to us, it’s been shocking.
“I’m more powerful than my father, or I was. He and I don’t get into many fights or pissing contests, so I couldn’t tell you if that’s still accurate.” Landon sighed as he shook his head. “Generally, werewolves don’t break this down. To us, it’s a natural evolution that happens in the background. The important thing is… do you trust my father?”
“With everything I am,” I whispered.
“Then you can trust me,” Landon said, bearing an earnest honesty on his face. “I would never go against someone my father loves. I am his most loyal werewolf. I give him hell as his son, but I would never do anything he wouldn’t be okay with. I give you hell, well… because you’re family.”
“Then let’s help your father.” I felt better, Landon’s honesty making me feel more comfortable.
“Landon caught me up on what I missed while I was, uh, down,” Dirk said, sitting next to him. I looked between them and saw how they slowly leaned toward each other as though magnetized. “I ran the address.”
“What do you think we need before we head out?” I asked.
“A lot of things we can’t get you,” Landon muttered. “I can get you weapons, but I can’t get you protection against spells, not for this sort of danger. You’ll go in with all the weapons you can carry, Jacky.”
“I’m more effective in my werecat form.”
“If they have Pa and other werewolves in cages, you need to be in human form. You’re smaller and stealthier in human form. Shoot them from a distance. It’s a lot safer when dealing with witches. You can’t rush in like you’re going to war.”
“You’re talking as if you won’t be there,” I said, putting the ring box down. I needed backup. Landon was that backup. “Landon—”
“I can’t,” Landon growled. “I’m under the impression Tywin is completely under the control of those witches. If they got Pa like that, I’ll be turned against everyone here because he’s my Alpha. We do not want that. I can’t go. Dirk can’t, either. He’s too new. Teagan is Tywin’s, and it’s the same problem, except Teagan isn’t much of a fighter unless he has to be. We’d be sending him to be killed, and there’s not a wolf in this house who could deal with that. Stacy and Kody are practically children. He’s only twenty-one, and she’s twenty-three. They’re traumatized by captivity and betrayal from their own Alpha and have very little experience with this. They were both human during the coup. But you’ll have a partner, don’t worry. Tywin can’t actually control him, so it’s safer…in a sense.”
I sat down slowly as I hit the only name he never said.
“You want to send me alone with Fenris,” I said, my jaw slack.
“He’s the only option,” Landon said, rubbing his eyes as if he had the same headache that seemed to plague everyone in the house. When he dropped his hand, he gave me a rueful smile. “Someone keeps calling him a coward, so he has something to prove.”
29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
I nearly laughed. Landon called in Fenris, and the scarred, angry son-of-a-bitch walked into my office, looking around like he was planning to steal something. I grabbed the ring box and put it in the top drawer of my desk.
“So, you told her,” Fenris said, smiling at Landon, then at me. “We’re going to go save some Alphas.”
“May the gods have mercy on me,” I muttered bitterly. “Like I can trust you—”
“You’ll trust me because you, a fucking werecat, dared to fucking challenge my honor,” Fenris snarled. “You need help. I’m the help.”
“It’s really not that hard,” I retorted, curling my lip in anger. “The only thing that would make it even remotely difficult would be to find honor that could be challenged.”
Landon grabbed Fenris and shoved him in the wall farthest from me.
“Enough, you two,” Landon snarled. “Fenris, you are one of the fucking best werewolves in the country, if not the world. I get you fought in the War, but if you attack Jacky, I’ll put you down, and you won’t get back up. She didn’t fight in the War. She’s been nothing but our friend and ally since the day she walked into Dallas. She’s done nothing but help werewolves if they’ve needed it.”
“Just like your father,” Fenris growled. “She needs to keep her mouth shut. I don’t care if she’s your father’s w—”
Landon’s hand clamped over Fenris’s mouth and slammed his head into the wall again, cracking the drywall. I went wide-eyed when Landon squeezed as Fenris snarled and growled, trying to pull off Landon’s hand.
“My father loves her,” Landon growled in Fenris’s ear. “You will not call her anything that disgraces or besmirches her character in any way, are we clear? My father loves her, so you will treat her with the respect and dignity she deserves. I don’t give two fucks about what she says to or about you. Jacky speaks her mind, and if those words cut you, maybe you shouldn’t have given her a reason to say them.”
