Homecoming

by Heath Stallcup

  “But they aren’t yours.”

  “They could be.” She smiled at him then spun around. “This one is much younger.”

  “Are you trying to convince me because you want to keep this one, or are you testing my resolve?” He pulled her close and bit her lightly along the collar bone.

  “Maybe both?” She kissed him hard and pierced his lip with her fang. He hissed and pulled her tongue into his mouth, deepening the kiss. When he finally pulled away, he pushed her against the crates and wrapped his arms around her waist. “What now, lover?”

  “Now the choice is yours, my darling.” He pulled the cover from the wooden crate and removed the filler from the top. “We can continue our search or we can torch these. You decide.”

  She visibly stiffened and her eyes grew wide. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that if you truly wish to keep that body, then keep it. But there’s no going back.” His voice was low and husky in her ear. “Otherwise we stick to the plan.”

  She spun on him and stared at his blood covered naked body. “Why would you give me such an ultimatum?”

  “Because one way or the other, I intend to spend the rest of eternity with you.” His eyes pierced her as he spoke, and she felt something inside that she hadn’t felt in millennia. “But you need to be the one to decide.”

  She shook her head. “Maybe I want to sleep on it.” She smiled at him, her indecision evident.

  “No.” He pinned her against the crate again. “I’ve seen the real you. I fell in love with the real you.” His voice had dropped to barely a whisper. “I’ll still love you no matter what, but the decision is yours. Yes, this body is close. It looks a lot like you did, but…”

  “But what?” She searched his eyes for some underlying truth.

  “But it’s not you.”

  She pulled him into her embrace and stroked his hair. “It could be.”

  He nodded. “If that’s what you want, yes. And I’d still love you like no other.”

  “So why decide now?”

  He pushed away and stared into her eyes once more. “Either we stick to the plan and restore you completely…the real you…or you decide to go with…” he lifted her heavy breast in his hand and squeezed, “your idea of ‘new and improved’. Either way, it’s your decision.”

  She lowered her eyes and sighed. “Damien, I’m just so tired. It’s been so long.”

  “We’ve only been looking for a few months. Compare that to how long you went without a body at all.”

  She nodded and he could almost swear he saw a tear roll down her cheek. She suddenly turned and stuck her hand into the crate. “Let’s see what all has been delivered, shall we? Maybe that will help me make up my mind.”

  Damien approached her from behind and stroked her hair. “We have a little more than half now. We’re very close.”

  She turned and buried her face into his chest. “What if we can’t recover it all?” she sobbed.

  He pulled her close and held her tightly. “We will.”

  “What if it’s too badly damaged, or pieces are missing or—”

  “Shh, don’t think like that.” He pulled her closer. “Worst case scenario, you get to keep your ‘new and improved’ top heavy body.” He shot her a smirk and she fought a tear streaked chuckle.

  “Hard to imagine I’m the unholy scourge of the earth when I can’t keep my shit together, huh?” She rested her head against his shoulder as he rubbed her back.

  “You’ll always be my holy terror,” he whispered.

  “You say the sweetest things sometimes.”

  3

  Colonel Matt Mitchell tossed his bag into the corner of his office and collapsed into his chair. The flight back from Belize was terrible, and the short time he was in the South American country was even worse. As he flipped on the coffee pot behind his desk, he felt his body creak and pop in protest from lack of sleep.

  He no sooner heard the machine start to drip the dark nectar when his door opened and Laura stuck her head in, “You’re back?”

  “And my front,” Matt groaned. “They both hurt.”

  She stepped into his office and stood opposite him. “How was the trip?”

  “Fruitless.”

  She took the chair across from his desk and studied him. He appeared to have aged over the last few weeks, and she knew it was from lack of rest. “No sign of her?”

  “None that I could find.” Matt pulled his coffee mug from across the desk and blew the dust from the bottom of it. “Either our spotters are getting worse, or she’s really good at hiding.”

  “Any chance she knew you were coming?”

  Matt’s eyes met hers, and she could almost see the gears turning. “You mean like an informant?”

  Laura shook her head. “Negative, sir, I mean like maybe she smelled you coming? Or possibly sensed you somehow?”

  Matt placed his coffee cup where the pot had been, allowing the brew to fill the cup rather than wait for the machine to finish. “Do you really think I smell that bad, Laura? You do realize that I shower frequently.” He tried not to smile, but the edges of his mouth betrayed him.

  “I understand, sir, but keep in mind that she is a natural born wolf, and her senses are much keener than your average person…”

  “And remember what Jack and Nadia said about the Fates mating the two of us and all that,” Matt interrupted.

  “There is that as well. I don’t know if that allows her to somehow sense your presence or not, but it seems to me that she somehow knows when you’re around.” Laura shifted in her seat and watched him closely. “I mean, this is like the…what? Fifth time since you got out of the hospital that she’s given you the slip?”

  Matt pulled his mug from under the brewer and slipped the coffee pot back in place. Nodding to Laura he sipped the hot liquid. “Yeah, she’s gotten pretty good at disappearing at a moment’s notice.”

  Laura stretched her neck and sighed. “We know that her family comes from money. We also know that she hasn’t attempted to make contact.”

  “That’s why we think she has her own money set up somewhere. Maybe a trust or something.”

  “Either way, if she can travel wherever she wants and has the ability to sense you coming…”

  “I get the feeling you’re going somewhere with this.” Matt leaned back in his chair and studied her.

  Laura nodded and leaned forward, “Sir, since it seems like I’m never going to be allowed to actually quit my job until you catch this bitch…err, female fugitive, I do have a suggestion.”

  Matt waved her on with his hand. “Continue.”

  “She obviously knows your scent or something. Somehow, she knows when you’re on to her. And she splits, leaves town, hides out, whatever. But she doesn’t know my scent.”

  “No!” Matt sat upright in his chair, suddenly much more alert. “Absolutely not.”

  Laura held her hands up in her own defense. “Matt, I’m not stupid. I’m not saying I can take her on one-on-one. I wouldn’t even dream of it. She’s a wolf for crying out loud.”

  Matt allowed himself to relax somewhat and listen more. “What are you suggesting?”

  “Well, since you insist on doing this yourself and not allowing the teams to nab her…”

  He stood up this time, “No, no teams.” He paced behind his desk. “The last time we bagged her, I used a team and…” he met Laura’s gaze as his mind raced back in time to when they tracked the blonde haired girl down and he shot her in the face. “Just, no. I won’t go there. If I can’t bring her in by talking to her, then so be it.” He could feel his inner wolf howling at the idea of giving up, and it set his nerves on end.

  “So let me go and see if I can track her. We have a photo of her. Surely somebody saw her.”

  “I tried that.”

  “Yeah, a big, scary looking man with an agenda. Who knows who she may have paid off to say that she wasn’t there?”

  Matt sat back down and mull
ed the idea around. “So what would you do? Just observe?”

  “Until I knew for sure it was her, yes.”

  “And then what?” Matt’s eyes pierced her.

  “Then I’d call you and see what you wanted me to do.”

  The gears were spinning in his mind. As much as he wanted to be the one to try to talk her into coming back, he knew that their last ‘meeting’ ended badly. The young lady shifted on him and nearly killed him. Had he not already been infected by the wolf virus, he would surely have died from the encounter. “I’ll give it some thought.”

  “Give it some serious thought, please?” Laura pleaded with him. “You have no idea how badly I want out of here. And if it means field work hunting down your Fated One, then so be it.”

  Matt grunted just as his door opened again. “I thought I heard voices.” Mark Tufo leaned against the doorframe and raised a brow at the pair. “And any accusations she may have made against Hank while you were gone are totally unsubstantiated. She has no proof.”

  Laura rolled her eyes as she remembered the pudgy little demon that continued to crap on her carpet and hike on her furniture. “If he pisses on my stuff again, I’m tying his pecker in a knot.”

  Mark’s eyes bulged. “You wouldn’t do that to him. Would you?”

  “No, I’d do it to you,” she deadpanned.

  “That’s enough, both of you.” Matt downed his coffee and poured another cup. “If you can’t play well together then I’ll have to separate you two.”

  “Please?” Laura practically begged. “I hate that his office is so close. His damned dog uses my office as his personal latrine.”

  “No proof,” Mark whispered.

  “And no more,” Matt said. “Laura, pack your bags. I’ll get you the file I have on her.”

  She fought the urge to smile and failed. “Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.”

  “Where’s she going?” Mark asked as Laura stepped past him.

  “Hunting.” Matt waved his XO into the office. “What have I missed?”

  “Nothing of importance.” Mark flopped into the chair that Laura had vacated. “I pushed some papers, the teams have been bored, but they’ve had a few missions. Briefings are in your IN basket.” Mark fidgeted with his fingernails. “Same old, same old.”

  “Why do I get the feeling that you’re not telling me something?” Matt’s gaze narrowed on the smaller man.

  Mark shrugged. “Beats me, it’s been the same old drill while you were out.”

  “Bull cookies. Spill it.” Matt leaned in closer hoping to intimidate his junior officer.

  Mark shook his head. “Seriously. We didn’t burn down the hangar. Nobody is dead or missing. Hank didn’t really do any of the evil things that Laura is accusing him of and—”

  A shriek from outside the office had them both on their feet and at the door in an instant. They found Laura standing at the end of the hall and pointing into her office. “He did it again!”

  Mark’s shoulders slumped, and he walked back to Matt’s desk. “This doesn’t prove anything.” He pulled a couple of tissues from a Kleenex box and walked down the hall toward Laura’s office. “Seriously, Miss Youngblood, Hank doesn’t have thumbs. There’s no way he could have…” Mark’s voice trailed off as he stared at her floor. “Good lord, Hank. What did you eat?” He rushed back up the hall and picked up the entire box of Kleenex. Matt simply raised an eyebrow at him. Mark paused at the door then picked up a waste basket as well. “I’ll replace this stuff.”

  “You’d better.”

  *****

  Rufus stepped into the library to find Jack amidst numerous papers scattered upon the many tables. He watched as the man studied the different architectural drawings and weather patterns surrounding the building in question. He rapped lightly on the door and waited for Jack to acknowledge him. Jack didn’t look up but waved him in.

  When he did look up, he was somewhat taken aback that it was Rufus and not one of his security detail. “Sorry, I thought…”

  “I did not wish to interrupt when you appeared so deep in thought.” Rufus motioned at the papers scattered about. “Have you come up with a viable plan?”

  “The only way that it will work short of a full out assault is to come in through the roof. That means a HALO jump. Otherwise, they’ll hear the plane. We can’t risk that.”

  “Oui, that could be very bad.”

  “The worst part is, my men aren’t trained for HALO jumps. They’ve had some jump training, but this is different.” Jack fell into the chair next to him and rubbed at his eyes. “No matter how I look at this, I just don’t see it happening any other way.”

  “So then, it’s diplomacy or nothing.”

  Jack sat up in his chair, suddenly more alert, “I didn’t say that. I still have an ace up my sleeve. I just hate to play it so soon.”

  “An ace?” Rufus studied him, hoping for more of an answer.

  “Yeah, there’s still a chance I can get a team on the roof.” Jack stood and pointed out the characteristics of the building. “If I can get a team inserted here and here, they can come through the skylights and catch them by surprise.”

  “And you will be leading this team?” Rufus felt a certain unease settle in as he studied Jack’s plan.

  “Nope, I’ll be right next to you. They’d expect nothing less.” He caught Rufus’ eye. “I am your Second, right?”

  “Oui.”

  “Then they’ll expect me to be right beside you.” Jack pointed to the blueprints again. “If they’re using this large room as their council chamber, then we’d be coming in through this stairwell. The skylight is directly over this section. My team can fast rope into the room in seconds.”

  “They can react in less time than that.”

  “Not if I pop a flash bang grenade and catch them off guard.” Jack waited for Rufus to counter his argument. “Trust me, if it comes to the point where we have to make a tactical insertion, a flash bang won’t make them any less angry.”

  Rufus nodded as he looked at the drawings. “And if they don’t need to come in?”

  “They simply repel off the side of the building. Any outside guards can be distracted while they make their exfil.”

  “And no one is harmed in our departure?”

  “Nope, not unless we need to.” Jack watched while Rufus ran through the many different variables in his own mind. Slowly the vampire nodded in agreement.

  “Parfait!” Rufus seemed genuinely pleased. “As long as your team knows to wait for some kind of signal to proceed, then this shall be sufficient.”

  Jack tried not to take offense. Rufus didn’t know yet what ‘team’ Jack had in mind. Heck, at this point, he wasn’t even sure if he could get the team he needed. He simply added, “They’re professionals. They’ll wait for the signal.” Jack began rolling up the different drawings that he had spread out in the library. “Any idea what sort of time frame we’re talking about here?”

  “Non. I sent an emissary to speak with the council on our behalf.”

  Jack paused and turned a wary eye to Rufus. “You sent an envoy already?”

  Rufus had stood and was pouring a cognac. “Oui, a wolf.”

  “Aren’t you just a wee bit afraid that they’ll torture him to find out where we are?” Jack suddenly glanced to door. “I need to notify our security team to—”

  “Non!” Rufus held up a hand to stay him. “I telephoned Viktor and explained the situation. He sent a wolf who does not know our location and would not tell if he did. The council will know this when he arrives and once they have rendered a decision, they will tell the emissary who will in turn telephone Viktor who will in turn…”

  Jack held up his hands and stopped him. “Okay, okay, I see what you’ve done. Still, I wish you had said something to me first. I’d have liked to have been included in something that has the potential to be a security threat.”

  Rufus chuckled and clasped his shoulder. “Mon ami, Viktor would no soone
r risk us than his own daughter.”

  Jack’s attention suddenly sharpened at the mention of Nadia. “I don’t guess he mentioned how she was doing?”

  “She is well. Natashia is doting over her every desire.” Rufus lowered his voice, “And I think it pained Viktor somewhat to say that Nadia loves and misses you.”

  Jack sighed and allowed a little tension out of his shoulders. “It wasn’t my idea to have her go to the pack.”

  “Oui, I know. But it is good for her to be with them until the child is born.”

  “Yeah, I get that,” Jack grumbled. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  “Soon enough, mon ami. We shall have the pitter patter of tiny feet echoing off these walls.”

  Jack smiled as he thought of that very thing.

  *****

  “You wanted to see me?” Little John stood outside of the closet sized room that Apollo was forced to use as a squad leader’s office.

  Apollo looked up from the paperwork he was trying to fill out and waved him in. “Yeah, I did. Take a seat.” He indicated the lone chair across from him, and Little John questioned whether the two large men could fit in the tiny space.

  Wedging himself into the seat, John turned to Apollo and tried to appear relaxed. With his shoulders scrunched together and the strained look on his face, it was obvious he wasn’t. Apollo finished what he was doing and closed the file, his eyes finally meeting John’s. He immediately noticed the large man’s inability to fit in the tiny space and sighed.

  “How about we step outside in case we need to change our mind?” John nodded and squeezed out of the chair. “I swear, I don’t know why they shove me in there. That’s gotta be the tiniest damned room in the place and they shove me of all people in there.” He glanced at John and cracked a toothy smile. “Government efficiency, eh?”

  John fell into step behind the other large man. They worked their way to the gym and, once Apollo was certain they were alone, he invited John to have a seat so the two could talk. “Look, I know it’s not time for you to cycle through to the other squad yet, but I talked to Spanky and he’s willing to take you on the next mission.”