Her Wolf Mate

by Hannah Lin

  around, he wasn't so relaxed about what we do. But slowly, I

  saw Carter work on him, and now he's zealous and Carter’s

  Second. Carter may be a big bear of a man, but he's

  cunning.”

  “Hmm.” I started walking toward the barracks. “I better

  get back. I don't want Carter blaming me if Maddie takes off

  again.”

  Simon laughed. “She does what she wants.”

  The memory of how Maddie pushed her chest into mine

  and ground herself against me, filled my mind.

  You don't even know the half of it, I thought.

  CHAPTER 6

  MADDIE

  The next morning, I sat alone in the mess hall, eating my

  breakfast, but this time I didn't feel alone. I lowered my

  head and smiled to myself. Kate was the perfect woman for

  me.

  She entered the mess hall a few minutes after and

  immediately settled into a seat across from me, but not

  directly in front of me. This allowed us the opportunity to

  steal glances at each other. The looks Kate sent me spoke

  volumes.

  Gods, I can't wait to get into bed with her, I thought.

  I took another spoonful of my cereal before looking up to

  find Taylor standing in front of me with his arms crossed. Yet

  again, a mix of emotion rushed through me. I felt guilty for

  how I’d hurt his feelings the day before, but then my hurt

  feelings elbowed their way to the forefront.

  I sighed. Nothing in my family life had ever been simple.

  “Yes?”

  “Uncle Carter wants to see you right now.”

  Taylor delivered the message in an indifferent tone before

  spinning around and leaving the hall. I took a sip of water

  and did my best to force it down my suddenly dry throat.

  Kate's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and I subtly shook my

  head to tell her not to worry.

  My father had neglected to speak to me for weeks. What

  could he possibly have to say to me? Had he found out

  about Kate and me?

  I felt my shoulders curl forward, my chest caving in. My

  father was always having me watched. Kate and I had done

  our best to keep our meetings secret, but my father had

  more men with him here than at the house.

  It was a well-known fact that I loved going on long walks.

  Any of my father's guards would attest to that. Maybe one

  guard here thought it was odd that my walks were longer

  than usual and reported it to my father.

  I pushed the wandering thoughts aside and left the hall.

  Whatever my father had to say to me wouldn't be good, and

  there was no getting around it. I'd played my cards by going

  to the Testean embassy, and now it was time to face the

  music.

  Don't worry, my wolf said. We have Kate now.

  Those words made me smile, and I lifted my chin. That

  was right. Nothing my father had planned for me mattered.

  Kate and I would leave soon. The only thing in question was

  the matter of whether my father and Taylor would be alive

  when that happened or not.

  I knocked on my father's door, and shuffled my feet as I

  waited for a response. Two minutes later, I lifted my hand to

  knock again, when my father's voice boomed through the

  door.

  “Come in.”

  I rolled my eyes. He loved power play, but what he didn't

  know was that I was far from under his thumb. I'd found my

  mate, and together, we'd take my father and his cell down.

  “You asked to see me,” I said, sitting on the chair opposite

  my father's paper filled desk. I leaned back in my seat and

  crossed my legs. If he wanted to play games, then I would

  play along.

  I knew how much my father hated disrespect. Making me

  wait two minutes before answering the door was meant to

  throw me off. My sitting so nonchalantly and yawning would

  do the same to him.

  I held back a laugh when I saw his eye twitch.

  “Did Taylor wake you up?” he asked, his voice terse.

  “Nope. I was in the hall. What's up?”

  My father took a deep breath and folded his arms. “I think

  it's time we had a proper talk about what happened a few

  weeks ago.”

  “Is that why you brought me along? You thought I'd run off

  again and ruin your reputation?”

  He laughed. “You think I'm scared of you? Oh, Maddie. If I

  say you're not going anywhere, then you're not going

  anywhere. None of the guards will be lazy. I made an

  example out of Justin.”

  My stomach roiled. My father was making some serious

  threats and acting like he owned me. How had I been so

  blind to his control and what it meant?

  “What happened to Justin?”

  “Nothing you need to worry about. I just wanted to have

  an honest talk with you, so that we can go back to the way

  things were.”

  I scoffed. “You mean a life where you run around the

  universe kidnapping and killing people, and I stay out of

  your way, and accompany you to key events.”

  “Yes.” My father smiled, and his dark brown eyes seemed

  to glow. “That's exactly what I want to go back to, but I

  realize that things have changed. You now know what I do,

  and I'm not sure Taylor framed things correctly.”

  “The frame doesn't matter. What you do is disgusting.

  That's why it's kept secret. All that bad karma is going to

  come back and bite you in the ass.”

  My father’s voice was crisp. “Like you did when you tried

  to betray me and your planet?”

  I shook my head. “No. That was nothing. I'm talking about

  real karma, the kind you can't run away from.”

  “I don't believe in karma. We all make our way, and I'm

  helping to secure a future for Zov, the planet that you claim

  to love so much.”

  “Okay.” I leaned back in my seat. “Let's pretend that's

  true. Let's pretend that Zov has enemies who would love

  nothing more than to see us wiped out. There must be

  another way to protect ourselves. What world will we live in

  when they create a suicide bomber cell of their own? Will

  you expand your cell? Is that the future we have to look

  forward to?”

  He smirked. “You're so naïve. Just like your mother. The

  sheltered life you've lived has you thinking that people play

  by rules. That we sit down at negotiating tables and come

  up with compromises. Allow me to burst that little bubble.”

  My father placed his elbows on the table and leaned

  forward. “Blood, sweat, and tears built the world you live in.

  Promises of peace and unity only exist to control civilians so

  that the best of the best can wage a concerted effort to get

  the job done.

  “There is no real peace. Every day, people like me work in

  the shadows to secure the false sense of safety you have. At

  any moment, Testea could dump an army of dragons and

  mages on us and wipe us out. The only thing that's keeping

  that from happening is the work that men like me do.

  Securing allies for Zov, while undermining Testea's.

&
nbsp; “You go to work every day to help those weaker than you,

  forgetting that the work I do makes it possible for you to

  pretend that hope, love, and kindness can fix everything. So

  yes, this is the game we play. If Testea creates a suicide

  bomber cell, then I will create a bigger one, and more and

  more people will die so that the majority lives,” he spat.

  My father’s intensity took my breath away. I realized that

  I'd never really known him. I had always believed that his

  coldness toward me stemmed from his general lack of

  affection, but now I saw I was nothing but a pawn that had

  stepped out of line for him. He wasn't a man that got

  saddled with a child that he had to raise alone; he was a

  cold, calculating beast that wanted to enforce his will on the

  world.

  I fought back the tears that threatened to spill down my

  face. My father was a monster. One who truly believed in his

  cause. No one had made him this way. He just was the way

  he was, and nothing anyone else said or did would change

  his mind.

  My father and I sat in our respective seats, staring at each

  other. It was as if we were seeing each other for who we

  were for the first time. My face was full of sadness, my

  father’s something close to disgust.

  A knock on the door interrupted the stalemate. My father

  got up and pointed at me. “Stay here,” he commanded as

  he rose to meet whoever was on the other side of the office

  door.

  When he left, I slouched in my chair. “Gods! How can he

  really believe all that?”

  Quick, my wolf whispered. The papers. Kate needs to

  know what's on them.

  My eyes went wide, and I shot up, careful to tiptoe around

  the desk. My father was a lost cause who'd get what was

  coming to him. In fact, I didn't see him as my father

  anymore. He was just a man that had given me money and

  a place to live. While I was grateful for my privilege, I

  couldn't find it within myself to beg Kate to spare him. He

  knew the game he was playing well, and it was time he got

  what was coming to him.

  Keep repeating that until you believe it, I encouraged

  myself.

  I skimmed through the papers at the top of the pile. They

  were receipts for all kinds of chemicals. If I had to guess,

  that was the stuff they’d used to make the bombs. My

  father's voice rose just outside the door, and I froze. When

  he lowered it to its usual level, I got my head down and

  doubled my pace.

  I lifted the first papers off the pile and read through the

  rest. There were reports of the daily routines of Mabos's

  different leaders. I swallowed thickly as I saw the details of

  the weaknesses in their security, placed into an opportunity

  vs. threat table.

  I did my best to move through each of the reports, trying

  to memorize any information that might be useful to Kate.

  Then I came to a blue file labeled “couriers.”

  My hand shook as I flipped open the file. When the first

  picture I saw was of a ten-year-old boy, I dropped the file

  and slapped a hand over my mouth as a scream tore from

  my throat. The door to the office flew open, and my father

  stood before me, calmly staring me down.

  “You know it's not polite to look through other people's

  things,” he said.

  I placed a shaky hand on my chest and whimpered.

  “Children. You're using children.”

  My father took a step forward. “Of course we are. They

  make excellent couriers. People take little notice of them.

  But then again, there are places that children can't frequent,

  which is why we have to use some undesirable couriers.”

  “Wait.” I said, squinting my eyes shut. “You're telling me

  that most of the couriers on your missions have been

  children?”

  “About eighty percent,” he said, easily.

  I broke out into a sweat as blood rushed to my ears. My

  hands shook as I tried to wipe my forehead, and my legs

  wobbled when I took a step towards the door.

  “Where do you think you're going?” my father asked,

  blocking my path.

  “I can't stand to be around you.” A sob escaped my

  mouth, and my chest heaved as I tried to gain control of

  myself. “You make me sick.”

  “And there it is,” he said. “The line in the sand. I'm glad

  this moment has come so that I can stop hearing stupid

  reports about what you're doing and who you're seeing.

  Now, you and I can stand on solid ground with no pretense.”

  He took two steps forward and lowered his face to look

  right into my eyes. I flinched and took a step back. His eyes

  had always been dark, but now they were almost black, and

  something sinister danced behind them.

  “Your mother is not on Testea. She's dead. I killed her right

  after she betrayed me, and I'll do the same to you if you

  dare pull a stunt like you did a few weeks ago. I never

  wanted a family. I only had one because the generals of old

  believed in that crap, and I needed their backing to run this

  organization. Now, things have changed. Men like me are in

  power. You are nothing more than the result of a calculated

  night of sex. Place one foot wrong, and I will kill you.”

  My jaw dropped, and I forced shaky breaths into my chest.

  My father was insane, and he'd taken away the one person

  I'd needed all my life.

  “Get out,” he barked.

  I jumped and ran out of the room, barely stopping to open

  the door, before I tore across the building and out into the

  woods surrounding the barracks. I ran blindly, my tears

  blurring everything in sight before my legs gave out. I

  dropped to my knees in sobs.

  My father had murdered my mother. All my life, even my

  very existence, had been a lie. Taylor was right when he

  said no one would stand by my grave and weep. The

  darkness that had always hung around caved in on me. I

  lowered my head and welcomed it.

  Then warm, powerful arms wrapped around me, and

  Kate's scent surrounded me. “What's wrong?” she asked,

  her breath ragged. “Did your father hurt you?”

  The darkness seemed repulsed by Kate’s presence and

  retreated immediately. Someone cared about me, would

  always care: my mate.

  “Never leave me,” I choked out before the tears overtook

  me again.

  “I won’t,” Kate promised, kissing my neck. “I'll always be

  here.”

  CHAPTER 7

  KATE

  Several nights later, I lined up with all but three of

  Carter's men at the edge of the forest outside our barracks.

  While this was an excellent opportunity for me to learn more

  about Carter and his operation, I found it hard to play the

  role of an eager recruit.

  A few days earlier, I'd seen Maddie tear across the open

  space in front of the barracks, looking upset. I immediately

  ran after her, and when I caught up to her, what I witnessed

  strength
ened my resolve.

  Carter told Maddie that he had killed her mother and

  threatened to do the same to her. I clenched my fists as

  Maddie's broken words, mixed with sobs, replayed in my

  mind. Everything in me wanted to make Carter pay for his

  horrible crime, but I knew my feelings didn't line up with my

  mission.

  I hated choosing the logical, responsible path, but there

  were other people involved. There were the couriers who

  needed safe extraction to Testea, before being sent home.

  There was also the fact that if I attacked without a plan, I

  could end up getting both Kai and me killed, and then all the

  time we’d spent undercover would be for naught.

  I turned to see my Second standing dangerously close to

  Taylor. I pursed my lips and shook my head. I didn't even

  have to talk to Kai to know that something had happened or

  was about to happen between him and Taylor. I had warned

  the silver-haired dragon repeatedly, but he couldn't fight his

  nature.

  “Hand them out,” Carter said to Simon, stepping out of

  the barracks. Simon followed behind him, carrying swords

  and daggers.

  I took the dagger handed to me with great trepidation.

  The one thing I hadn't planned for was a fight. Should I have

  gone along with whatever the operation was, to save face?

  Or should I have risked giving up my cover, to keep from

  killing an innocent?

  I turned to look at Kai and saw a mixture of emotions in

  his gray eyes. I nodded once, discreetly, then looked away.

  We would both have to make our own decisions, the kind

  that we could live with. I didn't even have to decide. I did

  not want innocent blood on my hands.

  Over the years, I'd fought in all kinds of situations. The

  one thing that let me sleep peacefully at night was the

  knowledge that every person I killed was on the wrong side

  of things. I would have to get creative, but I would not let

  Carter rob me of my peaceful nights.

  “Okay, here's the situation,” Carter said. “Two of our

  couriers aren't responding to our suppression potion.

  They're too big of a liability, and we can't use them. The

  date for our mission is fast approaching, so I can't waste

  time arranging for reentry to Brade for you to source more.”

  Carter clapped his hands together and rubbed them with

  glee. “So, what we're going to do is source a few couriers

  from Earth.”