BirthControl

by Sydney Addae

  She leaned back to get a better look at him. “I…I didn’t know that. When you said you didn’t want to mate with me, I—”

  “I never said that.” He sighed and pulled her close so that his forehead touched hers and spoke softly. “The thought that we were mates surprised me. I still don’t know what made Jacque say that. But I think we need to revisit that conversation when I get back, because it’s a real possibility that the Goddess pulled another rabbit out of the hat and we are mated.”

  Her heart pounded with the need to say the words. “Okay. But just so you know, I love you, wolfie.” She captured his lips, nibbled on them a bit and then kissed him.

  He pulled her tight as he deepened the kiss. Pulling apart, they gasped for air. “Thank you, thank you. I was afraid this was one-sided and that I’d be mated alone.” He kissed her again. She moaned into his mouth, exhilarated by his confession.

  Chests heaving, they pulled apart. “I thought I was alone. It made me miserable. Never do that to me again. Promise to tell me what you feel.” She placed kisses all over his face.

  He held her close and whispered into her ear. “My wolf has been crying for weeks, missing you. Promise me you won’t leave me. Not physically. Not emotionally. I need all of you.”

  Tears filled her eyes as she nodded wishing they had more time to discuss the mating thing. “This is not a movie, and you’d better not be telling me all of this in case you don’t come back. You’d better be telling me this to make sure you come back.” She grabbed a fistful of his tee-shirt and stared into his eyes. “Do you understand me, Silas? Because there will be some serious hell to pay if you fail to return. I will go ballistic and fuck some wolves up in a major way. They do not want to test my abilities, whatever they are, over this. But I can tell you, I’m feeling all kinds of things right now over the idea of you being hurt.”

  He nodded. “I know the feeling. I get it every time I think of you and everything that could go wrong.” He placed his hand over hers and removed them from his shirt. “I think its proof that we’re mates. So all I ask is that you do what you know to do and stay safe.”

  Tears rolled down her cheek as she nodded. “You too. I know you need to do this, so I won’t ask you not to go. Come back to me, or I will come to you. Don’t bother telling me not to, I guess it’s a mate thing, you should understand.”

  He laughed and hugged her close. “I love you and I promise to be careful.” He kissed her again, this time long and hard. She ached to hold him longer when he released her. “I have to go, they’re waiting for me.” He stood and walked to the door. Warmth flowed through their link.

  “Love you,” she said as he walked out the front door.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Silas and his small group had run ten miles through the woods. Now they picked their way through dense foliage. Silas found it hard to believe Cameron ran this far from the compound on such rough terrain. Inhaling, he continued forward following his godson’s scent. “Hey sexy man, keep your eyes open and ears alert,” Jasmine said through their link.

  “Thanks for the hourly reminder. We’re getting closer and all is well.” He never broke his focus, but her contacting him at the top of every hour steadied him in ways he’d never experienced before. A foul odor rose before him and he stopped along with the wolves behind him. “What’s that?” Jasmine asked, surprising him again.

  “You smell that?”

  “Yeah. It’s like a poopy diaper, make that ten diapers.”

  “What?”

  “A nasty diaper filled with –“

  “I get it.” He placed his nose close to the ground and sniffed. The other wolves spread out, their noses to the ground, but never going past him.

  Hank barked.

  Silas trotted over to investigate. “Somebody buried rotted cabbage along this area?” Jasmine asked.

  Silas wondered how the mated Alphas got work done if their mates could hear and see everything. “I’m not sure,” he answered after sniffing around more.

  “How far is Cameron?”

  “He’s close, but I’m not able to determine how close.”

  “ Could he be beneath you? You said he fell or rolled somewhere.”

  The idea had merit. He and the other wolves spread out, seeking an entrance to a cave. Five minutes later, Brad yelped as he fell into a ditch. Silas and the other wolves slowly picked their way down to help him. The rocky path downward took precision and time, one of the things Silas feared Brad might not have. The wolf hadn’t moved since he'd landed on the bottom.

  When he reached the bottom, he shifted and made Brad shift as well. Feeling a faint pulse, Silas sent out a call for wolves nearby to come to his aide. He returned Brad to his wolf and waited. Ten minutes later, five men lowered a stretcher. Silas placed Brad on the canvas. He whined as Silas strapped him in.

  Placing his hand on Brad’s head, Silas sent him into a deep healing sleep. “Thank you my friend. I will see you when I return,” Silas said before waving to the men above to pull him up. Once Brad cleared the top, Silas changed, retook the lead and trotted forward.

  They’d traveled through two caverns before Silas reached Cameron. If it wasn’t for their blood-bond, Silas wasn’t sure he’d have recognized the man lying on the ground in front of him. Cameron wore a full beard and his hair hung matted down his back. His pants were ripped and a long limb was tied to the side of his right leg.

  Silas smelled Arianna and shifted. He took the supplies from the slings on the backs of two wolves and sent them all back into the forest.

  “Cameron?”

  The man lying on the ground opened his eyes. Silas noted the dilated pupils and wondered if Cameron had been drugged.

  “Patron?” Cameron blinked. “Are you real or is this a dream?”

  Silas kneeled and opened the pack. He took a cup of soup and held it to Cameron’s lips. Cameron inhaled and then turned his face. “No, feed her and my pups first.” Silas felt Arianna’s presence and shielded himself from an attack. He glanced over his shoulder. She stood naked with a tiny bump.

  “After. I’ll give her something after you eat and grow stronger.” He compelled Cameron to swallow the soup. When the cup was empty, Silas stood and handed Arianna a cup as well. She gulped it down without taking her eyes off him.

  Returning his attention to Cameron, Silas fed him pieces of bread and medicine. “What did you take?”

  “I ate some berries. That probably wasn’t the best idea.” Cameron leaned back and winced.

  “What happened to your leg?” Silas asked as he removed the stick.

  “I broke it and was too weak to shift. I didn’t want it to heal wrong.” He yelled as Silas poked the break.

  “Hold still, I need to reset it.” Silas poured water to clean the skin, then pushed the bone back in place and held it, commanding Cameron to shift.

  Cameron howled and lay panting on the ground. Silas kept his hand in place a few seconds more and then reversed the change. Cameron looked at him through heavy lids as he moved his leg.

  “Thank you.”

  Silas nodded. It was time to go. “Do you have clothes for her, we need to leave before dark.” He extended a hand to Cameron and helped him up.

  “Yes.” He nodded to Arianna and she walked off, returning a few moments later in a long dress. “But we need to talk about her. There’s a bounty on her head. We’ve been chased everywhere we’ve gone, that’s why I came back here. She’s carrying my litter. My first litter. So I’m asking. No, begging for her life.”

  Rage bubbled up in Silas so quickly, a strong wind blew in the cave.

  “Calm down, Silas. He’s asking for the same thing you asked for,” Jasmine said, easing him.

  “Do you realize how many men died because of her? Jacque is gone. She had them torture Jayden and Theron.” He stared at Cameron, wondering if this was indeed his godson. “Are you asking me to forgive all of that?”

  Cameron looked at Arianna and then back at him. �
�At least until after the pups are born.”

  Arianna’s eyes widened and then narrowed at Cameron. “You fool,” she spat. “I would have spared you, but you are like the others, liars, takers.” She stepped forward, a cruel twist to her lips. Silas was certain she’d finally gone mad.

  “Get out of there right now, Silas. Something’s going to happen,” Jasmine yelled through their link.

  Arianna pointed at Cameron and laughed. “These are not your pups. You killed their father to sleep with me, remember?”

  “Silas, get out of there or I’m coming to you,” Jasmine warned.

  Cameron’s guilty gaze caught his. “It was an accident. Felipe challenged me. I was returning to the compound and he picked a fight. I didn’t mean to kill him.”

  “Damn you, Silas, at least cover yourself,” Jasmine yelled.

  Silas ran to Cameron, hugged him, and threw a layer of protection over them at the same time an explosion knocked him a few feet away. The cave crumpled like paper and he lay beneath tons of earth. He should’ve listened to his mate.

  “Silas. Silas? Answer me, damn it.”

  “Are all mates this bossy?”

  “Only when their other halves are stubborn. The twins and I are headed for the tunnel”. A few minutes later she returned. “Okay, we are all in the rooms watching the monitors. There are hundreds of rebels at the gates trying to get in. Tyrone said no matter what they do, the damage will be minimal, is that right?”

  He appreciated her attempt at light-hearted conversation but he felt her turbulent emotions. She was scared and angry. “Right, just furniture. All the important stuff is in the vaults, and those will blow up if anyone other than me tries to access them.” He felt around and touched Cameron. He was hurt but still alive. Reaching out, he sensed an Alpha nearby. It was McAllister, of West Virginia. The man was leading a group of wolves down the ravine, but it wasn’t to rescue. The intent Silas read in the wolf was vengeance. Silas contacted Jayden, gave him an update. No matter what happened, McAllister would lose his tattoo today.

  “I’m going to add my strength to yours so you can break free a bit and get comfortable until Jayden comes for you,” Jasmine said.

  “What?”

  “You know, the twins merge and share strength all the time. Let me help.”

  “No. Just take care of yourself and the babies.”

  She gasped. “Thank you.”

  “ Are you crying? Don’t cry. I promise I’m okay, just regenerating my strength to get out of here.”

  “No…you called them babies. That’s the first time you’ve done that.”

  Silas closed his eyes and basked in the pleasure she received from a few words. “I should’ve said it sooner, I didn’t understand how much it meant to you.”

  “Yeah, it does. Now, I’m going to join my forces with yours so you can get rid of some pressure.”

  “Jasmine,” he said right before a jolt of energy filled him. He moved two large boulders and pulled Cameron from beneath another. He couldn’t stand, but he could sit comfortably and the food bag was within reach.

  “Thanks, we’re good. Now pull out, get some food and rest.” Bereft at her departure, he turned his energy to dealing with his rogue Alpha. McAllister was close by. Silas took control of the Alpha’s wolf and ran him straight over the nearby cliff. The drop was at least fifty feet and should break McAllister’s neck, especially if Silas didn’t repair him.

  Seconds later the connection they’d had for fifty years was severed. Silas checked Cameron, nothing seemed broken, yet he hadn’t opened his eyes since the explosion. Leaning against the wall, Silas strengthened security at the compound and sent sexual thoughts to his mate. The next explosion caught them all by surprise.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Silas,” Jasmine yelled, jumping from the bed. Tyrone, Tyrese, Rose and Thorn ran into her room, wide-eyed, searching for a threat.

  “Silas?” Heart racing, she looked at her sons. “I can’t…I can’t reach him.”

  “Mom?” Tyrese held his palms up as he took a step forward. “Reach him how?”

  She spun around the room looking for a pair of boots. She needed boots to search for him.

  “Mom,” Tyrese yelled. “I can’t reach Silas either. But I don’t understand why you can’t.” Rose pushed him aside and opened the closet. “They’re mated and she’s going to find him.”

  “No,” Tyrone said as he caught Rose around the waist and held her close.

  Tyrese shook his head. “Mom, please… please don’t do this. There are wolves out there who detonated a bomb to kill Silas so they could get to you and his pups. Honor him by keeping his litter safe. Please stay here, stay safe.”

  Jasmine slumped on the bed as the words penetrated her bubble of despair. The tears started slow and then she couldn’t control it. Life just refused to give her a break. She’d lost both of her children's fathers? How was that fair? She lay on the bed crying when Rose climbed behind her and hugged tight. Tyrone lay behind Rose, and Tyrese lay on his side in front of her. Thorn laid across the foot of the king-sized bed and they all hugged, offering her comfort.

  “I’m going to find him,” Jasmine said with determination in her voice.

  “What if we go look for him? Bring him back,” Tyrese said, watching her closely.

  “Then that’ll be two more reason, I’ll go crazy.”

  “And me,” Rose added.

  “And me,” Thorne said.

  Tyrese rolled over on his back. “Mom, Silas wanted you safe no matter what. I’m not mated, so –”

  “I am,” Rose said leaning up on her elbow. “If that was Rone out there, you couldn’t stop me from going after him. Logic has no place in this, Rese. Right, honey?” She glanced over her shoulder at her mate.

  Tyrone sighed. “She’s right. If that were Rose out there…” His breath hitched. “No. Nothing would stop me from trying to find her.

  “Silas will kill us if something happens to mom or his pups,” Tyrese said.

  “Silas isn’t the one you have to deal with right now, your mom is,” Rose said. “How can we help you?”

  Jasmine patted her daughter-in-law’s shoulder, glad for her support. “I’m not stupid. I know I have to be careful because of the babies. But something inside is pushing me to act, to find him. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t know I could really help him.” She paused, ignored the skepticism on her son’s faces and pushed on.”The cave’s about ten miles from here, aboveground. But I don’t think it’s that far beneath.”

  “Beneath? What do you mean?” Tyrone asked.

  “If I search for him through the caves, it might be faster. Something tells me he’s not that far.”

  “Caves? What caves?” Rose asked, leaning up on her elbow.

  “I can access the caves through the bathroom.” She pushed to get up. “I’m going to see if I can get a read on him, it might give me an idea how far away he is.”

  “Mom?” Tyrese said, watching her clear the bed.

  “Huh?”

  “Promise me one thing.”

  “What?”

  “That you won’t try and take off on your own. You have to do this, okay. Silas will understand. Plus, if you’re mated, he dies, you die. I definitely don’t want that to happen.” Tyrese inhaled. “Just promise me we’ll do this together as a family. I’m not ready to lose you or Silas. I…I couldn’t take it if you just left and I wasn’t with you. I won’t be able to get past that.”

  Seeing the moisture in his eyes, she leaned down, cupped his face and kissed his forehead. Sometimes she forgot that these grown men were still her babies and it was a two-way street. “I promise.” She looked over at Tyrone and Rose. “We’ll do this as a family.”

  Tyrese nodded and held her tight for a moment before releasing her. Tyrone wiped his eye and pulled Rose close. Thorne nodded and turned away.

  She went to the master bedroom, placed her palm on the panel. It slid open and closed behind her. With quick
strides, she reached the bathroom door and went inside. The moss-lined walls and fragrant earth smell welcomed her. Placing her hands on the walls, she sought her mate. I know you are in the belly of the earth. Show me where, how can I reach you from here? Closing her eyes, she pictured the last place she saw Silas and inhaled. I need to find you from here, show me. She focused harder on his face and the cave where she’d lent her energy to him, and it came to her in a burst of light.

  “He’s close.” She laughed, giddy with excitement as she saw the path through tunnels and paths. Inhaling, she sent warmth to Silas, assuring him help was on the way. Some of the Alphas were on their way and would deal with the rebels aboveground while she and her family reached him from below.

  She spun and searched the closets. There was a pair of boots and a variety of clothes to choose from. She sent thanks to Jacque for his foresight and wished him well. After she changed, she returned to find Tyrone, Tyrese, Rose and Thorne dressed with backpacks. She hadn’t thought of supplies and was glad they were coming with her.

  “You got a pack for me?” she asked, looking around.

  “Yes.” Thorne handed her a much smaller pack. She looked inside and found bottles of water and a flashlight. “I’m assuming your packs have food and medical supplies.” Her eyes flicked over each of them.

  “Yeah, and weapons,” Thorne said.

  “I left my gun upstairs,” she said, looking at Tyrese.

  “You know we cannot leave the tunnel the same way we came. Only Silas can release us, so no, I’m not going to get your gun.”

  “Do you have an extra one I can use?”

  “Mom.”

  “Do you?” She held out her hand.

  He zipped open a pocket on his jacket and handed her a small pistol. She checked to make sure the safety was on and then placed it in her pocket. “Let’s go.” She turned and headed for the master bedroom. At first, she placed her palm on the panel and walked through, but no one else was able to follow her inside.

  “Wait. I’ll keep my hand here and each of you walk in.” Tyrese was the first to enter, then Thorne, Rose and Tyrone. She entered last and headed for the bathroom.