KnightForce Deuces, page 21
Fire leapt through his veins at her words.
She looked down at his rising hardness and clicked her tongue. “Insatiable.”
Moving forward, he leaned against her. His cock against her stomach. “Always for you.”
Jasmine rubbed his chest and met his gaze for a few seconds. “So it’s a date. I’ll meet you at our place and you can show me just how insatiable you are.” She pushed on his chest and he stepped back, allowing her to pass.
“Be ready to take some time off tomorrow. You’ll be sore and lucky to walk straight.”
She looked over her shoulder and gave him a saucy wink. “Looking forward to it… Wolfie.”
He growled.
Laughing, she waved and walked into the nursery.
Silas stared at the spot where she’d been and shook his head. That woman owned him completely and he loved the feeling. Turning, he walked slowly to the elevator. For the past three hours, no one contacted him. The gift of three uninterrupted hours with his mate re-energized him better than anything. With his mind sharper, he contacted Jacques.
“What did Melch want?”
“If you have some time, we can all meet in the conference room. This is something you’ll need KnightForce and Hawke to see,” Jacques said.
“Set it up. I’m on my way.” Silas looked over his shoulder at the nursery. “Are the pups awake?” He asked Jasmine. To be this close and not see them even for a few minutes, seemed wrong.
“Just put them down. Adam’s fighting sleep, the rest were in their beds when I arrived. They had a hard day, I suppose.”
“Alright, I’ll see them later. Jacques is calling for a special meeting in the conference room, that’s where I’m headed.”
“Okay, I’m going to check on Rose and my grandsons when I leave here and then I’ll go to the room and take a nap. Us humans need lots of rest after long hours of love-making.”
Silas snorted. His mate was human with something extra, because humans couldn’t take what he gave his mate for hours. “Wish I could join you.”
“You have a country to run, I’ll be here when you finish your meetings,” she said and he fell in love all over again.
“I’ll let you know how things go.” He stepped into the elevator and headed to the conference room. When he arrived, the twins were there, along with Angus and Asia. Jacques walked in behind him and placed a folder on the table.
“Hawke is on his way,” Asia said taking a seat next to Angus while leaving the other open for her mate.
“Thanks,” Jacques said as he picked up the remote and turned the monitor so they could all see the screen.
Hawke walked in, nodded to everyone and took the seat next to Asia.
Silas looked up at Jacques who stood near the screen and turned it on. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“You received a call from Special Agent Melch.” Jacques looked at Silas. “Two calls actually and then a call came in from General Miller in the Pentagon.”
Silas nodded and wondered what the full-blood officer wanted.
Jacques took a seat near the monitor. “Melch wanted to discuss what they found in the blood of the men who attacked you and Hawke. Seems the men were under the influence of a drug. There were some components the scientist wanted verified.” He paused. “They found traces of canine blood and have questions.”
“They always have questions,” Angus said.
“True but this time I sensed fear and real concern from Melch, especially when he called the second time,” Jacques said, quashing the murmurs in the room.
“What’s going on, Jacques?” Silas snapped, tired of waiting for the point.
“This.” Jacques clicked a button and images of men attacking and fighting filled the screen. Silas sat up and watched the action. Blood poured down the faces of men, yet they continued to battle as if they felt nothing. One man’s chest had been slashed from nipple to right below his sternum and he continued to throw punches. It was a gruesome scene and if Silas didn’t recognize the area behind it, he would have thought it was a Hollywood movie with special effects and actors.
“What the hell?” Tyrone murmured.
“Humans?” Tyrese asked.
“Yes. Melch sent this. He believes they are on that drug along with a few others. His real concern is that these men, now dead, have never been violent, had no police records, and had families and good jobs. They had all been reported missing last week from various states across the south. How they all wound up in Alpha Chan’s territory, I don’t know.”
“Not just his territory,” Silas said watching the screen. “But on Bennett land.”
“That’s Oklahoma?” Hawke asked staring at the old houses in various states of disrepair.
Silas nodded. “I recognize it from my visit there.” He looked at Jacques. “Send Davian to shut down his family legacy. He can sell the land or build houses on it for all I care. But I want that property secured. Have him tear down the houses and put up a fence or something similar. Whoever sent the humans to Bennett land, knows of the connection to here.”
“Yes, Sir,” Jacques said making notes.
“Anything else? You said the general called,” Silas said turning from the disturbing images on the screen.
Jacques nodded. “Yes, he did. He wants to schedule a time to talk with you and Hawke, a personal meeting similar to the one with Melch. This meeting will include high-ranking officials.”
“I asked Melch why they wanted to meet Hawke and he refused to say who told him Hawke was the best at what he does, which makes me wonder if the Liege were in bed with them,” Silas said looking around the room.
“Could be. More like Melch really doesn’t know and is reading a script handed to him,” Angus said. “Here’s what concerns me. Higher ups know about this drug and what it does. If there hadn’t been a security breach when that fool stole the poison there would be no need to celebrate the lives of our pack later tonight.” Angus paused and unclenched his jaw. “Somewhere in the hallowed halls of the Pentagon someone is privately and methodically planning a war against us. Why else create a drug that dampens all smell from our beast? If they feed that shit to breeds, their wolves will eventually die.”
“If they feed it to any wolf, their beast will die,” Silas corrected.
Angus nodded. “Right. No disrespect intended.” He looked at the twins and focused on Tyrone. “But a large portion of breeds don’t interact with their wolf, they are more susceptible to wrong information and the perfect patsies in my opinion.”
Tyrone agreed. “That’s the main hurdle for me and my team. Getting half-breeds to come out of hiding so they can receive help and proper information to move forward. So many have hidden and lived in fear for so long, it’s hard for them to trust now. The recent kidnappings and murders don’t help.” He looked at Silas. “I’m not sure the message is getting through. Any suggestions?” He looked around the table. “Anybody have ideas?”
“Give me some time to play with it and I’ll get back to you,” Angus said.
“Same here,” Jacques said.
“I already gave you my idea,” Tyrese said and then chuckled at Tyrone’s aggravated expression. “Sex sells with all species. You want half-breeds to come forward? Suggest they find bliss in the arms of their mates and that they need to register to start the process.”
No one spoke and then Asia laughed. Hawke laughed.
“Bliss? Really? You reading romance novels now?” Asia asked.
Silas smiled at the strained smile on Tyrese’s face.
“Bliss is what my mate calls it,” Tyrese said and sat back in his chair.
“And there you have it, a glowing testimonial guaranteed to increase half-breed registrations in every state,” Jacques said smiling at Tyrese.
“Thanks Rese, we are already using your idea on a modified scale,” Tyrone said.
“Let’s get back to the General,” Silas said before they continued in a different direction. “Since a full-blood general requested it, schedule a video meeting with Miller and make sure another full-blood is at that meeting as well. We can meet later tonight or tomorrow noon. But I want visuals of everyone with monitor access. No shadows, if they cannot show their faces for a conversation, we talk on a speaker phone.”
“Yes, Sir,” Jacques said writing on a pad. “You received a letter from an attorney representing Ollie Brown, the recently deceased.” He pulled an envelope from the folder and removed the letter.
“Who?” Silas asked. The name meant nothing to him.
“The scumbag who owned the house and lab we raided the other night,” Tyrese said.
“What do they want?” Silas asked.
“Return any properties removed or prepare to be sued, the normal legal stuff.” Jacques looked at Silas. “Turn it over to Legal?”
“Yes, let them handle it. We disabled the cameras right?” Silas looked at Tyrese knowing none of the bodies would ever be found again.
“Everyone we found and I scanned it completely. If a copy went to a cloud and the attorney has access, that’s different. No doubt someone reported the vehicle tags from the vans leaving and turned it in,” Tyrese said, explaining why Silas was targeted instead of him or Hawke who were at the property.
“Give it to Legal. Let Brown’s attorney prove I took anything,” Silas said.
“That looks familiar,” Asia said pointing to the screen. “Is that Alpha Chase’s offices in the background?”
Silas stared at the men fighting. It was a vicious, bloody street fight. The cops were trying to break it up and at one point someone threw a police officer to the side. The man bounced twice and lay still.
“Shit, I’ll be damned,” Angus said pointing at the screen. “That little shit, he gave them the drug. He must have had more somewhere.”
“Who?” Silas asked unable to turn away from the brutality.
“The guy who stole my blood, the one that died, that’s his brother Henry standing in the corner watching. Looks like he’s recording the fight,” Angus said, his voice dripping with disgust.
“So you think these fighters received wolf blood and the others got something else?” Silas asked. “Because as bad as that other fight was, this is worse. This is full-blood, hardcore without the wolf.”
“Thought I took everything from their place, I must have missed some,” Angus said with a hint of confusion in his voice.
On the screen, one of the fighters picked up a man and slammed him across his knee. The snapping sound resonated in the room. The man tossed the broken man to the side like garbage and rejoined the fray.
“Why is Melch is sending these tapes?” Angus asked Jacques.
Jacques picked up his cell and read the text. “Same thing, wants to know if it’s possibly connected to the case at the government building. He wants to get ahead of this and appreciates any comments or feedback.”
“Look at that,” Asia said, sounding surprised as she pointed to the screen. The men who had been fighting so brutal moments before, were on their knees puking a bloody mix. Some rolled on the ground, yelling as if they were being consumed from the inside. The screams of pain and agony scraped across Silas’ skin.
“I want every Alpha to see this,” Silas said as the blood from the bodies drenched the ground. “Make sure they find a way to share it with their pack, especially their leaders. Whatever this shit is, it’s toxic to humans, maybe breeds and full-bloods too.”
“From what I’ve been able to determine, the drug uses a compound created in a Liege lab which allows certain canine attributes to pass through human cells. Somehow the combination of these chemicals prevents human antibodies from casting them aside or going into arrest.” Hawke leaned forward on the table, his eyes alight with enthusiasm. “It’s fascinating, actually. The compound takes on a dominant role within the human and ramps up everything. For a few days, their hearing, vision and musculature tone increases.” He paused and swallowed. “Problem is that same solution robs them of everything necessary to survive. Organs aren’t receiving the right amount of air or nutrition they need, they cannot sleep or rest and eventually their heart and everything is destroyed.”
No one spoke.
“Does this drug pose a threat to my pack?” Silas asked Hawke.
Hawke placed a finger across his lip before speaking. “If the purpose of that exercise was to show the differences in canine blood, then as you said, the wolf blood is more potent. And harder to secure. In that instance there would be a danger to the pack.”
“Blood-robbing is no joke, do you know what they used to knock me out?” Angus asked Hawke.
“No. There weren’t any traces in your blood by the time I examined you. In case you’re wondering how they chose you from everyone else, there’s a device that allowed the Liege to distinguish a full-blood from a human. Seems they shared it with the government and others.”
“What kind of device?” Angus asked watching Hawke.
“How do we know if a full-blood is nearby or within five miles?” Hawke asked.
“Mostly scent,” Angus said.
“Right and that’s what this device does; it scans the person and uses a combination of highly sensitive filters to lock in on the scent of the wolf. It doesn’t take long, just a few seconds and you have a reading,” Hawke said.
“That’s something you created, isn’t it?” Asia asked.
Hawked nodded slowly. “Yes, I did.”
“It’s brilliant actually,” Angus said. “We should get together and see if we can make some modifications to help locate rebels.”
“Yes, that would be good. However, this drug is not mine. Someone created it without thought or care to life. And they could have minimized damage if they chose but didn’t,” Hawke said watching Asia.
She placed her hand on top of his and patted it. “Are you saying there is a way to remove scents without destroying the wolf?”
Hawke nodded slowly, his brows in a deep furrow. “The ability to scent the wolf in another is a gift from our wolf. There is no way to remove scents without involving our beasts. What I said is they could’ve minimized damage.”
“To deliberately damage our wolf is treason,” Silas said not liking the idea at all.
“I agree,” Hawke said and lapsed into silence.
“General Miller just contacted me again. He suggested a conference call tonight after the celebration?” Jacques asked and then looked away from his tablet at Silas.
“Yes that’s good for me. Hawke?” Silas looked across the table.
“That’s fine,” Hawke said.
Jacques frowned and clicked the monitor. A newscaster ran the tape of the first fight. No one spoke as she talked about the police, the confusion, the men and their families and the victims. Witnesses were in shock and didn’t understand what just happened. One moment the men were fine, the next they were violent beasts.
Silas exhaled at the use of that word ‘beast’ and the immediate image of his wolf. He met Angus’ gaze and recalled his earlier comments in the office regarding the game the government played. He stood.
“If that’s all, we need to prepare to send our pack members off with dignity,” Silas said breaking his gaze with Angus and looked around the room. “All of us should arrive early and get in place before the doors open.”
Everyone stood and headed toward the door. “Meet me at my place so I can go over what you’ll be doing,” Silas told the twins.
Both nodded and headed out. Jacques remained and gathered his file and notes. Silas closed the door and waited for him to speak.
“Eventually we’re going to bail them out of this too,” Jacques said. “They continue to mess with nature and cannot afford to pay the price of their disrespect. What we saw today is the tip of the iceberg. The first time a video of a shifter hits the airwaves, humans will come after us. You know that.”
“I’m aware that can happen. But I’m not ready to bail them out this time. They’ve gone too far. We both know these drugs are the result of bad experiments going on in some back room in the Pentagon. They’re funding this, in fact started this so they could be ahead and are falling behind.”
Jacques sighed and shook his head slowly. “After all these years, they haven’t learned it’s never a good idea to play around with genetics and blood. Things always go off the rail when you do.”
Silas slapped him on the shoulder in agreement. “I’m sending notices to my Alphas. I want everything locked down and separate. Right now this is a problem amongst humans and does not concern us unless the fools go searching for wolf blood.”
“Makes sense. Every time they have a problem we cannot solve it for them. They must become self-sufficient. I’ll see you at the celebration of life service.” Jacques left the room, leaving Silas alone with his thoughts.
No matter how he looked at the issue with the drugs in the long run, he could not see how his pack would remain uninvolved. He stared at the long, polished, mahogany table. If they had to assist in this battle and his gut said they would, then he needed to gain additional assurances for the safety of his pack.
“Silas?” Jasmine called.
“Yes?”
“We need to get ready and explain to the children about the celebration of life.”
Thinking of Froggy and the others, he left the room with a heavy heart and went upstairs. It was time to train his pups in the sadder part of being a leader.
Chapter 28
Silas and Hawke sat at the shiny, oblong white table while the monitor flicked on. With his hands clasped tightly in front of him, Silas’ thoughts were on Froggy and the two others they’d laid to rest. The celebration had been simple and poignant. No question his old friend would have approved the rehashing of his life with a raised glass and hearty laughter. Froggy had been one of a kind and would be missed daily.
Hawke cleared his throat drawing Silas’ attention. They hadn’t said much, he appreciated Hawke’s quiet and thoughtful demeanor. The man rarely said anything without meaning.
“That was the first one for me. Sarita and Damian as well. Damian did better than I expected but it was because of the words you spoke about living a life that remains in the hearts of others. We all need to be reminded of that from time to time,” Hawke said in a low voice.
