by Sydney Addae
“Not that I know of. But he may have before I arrived.” He looked at Cain and Abel.
“I don’t know of this happening before,” Cain said, watching Jasmine.
“Start searching, there’s something deep going on here that I’m missing. There’s too much on the line to make mistakes,” she told Jacques, who pulled up a keyboard and began his search.
“Cain, you and Abel contact the Alphas from Silas’ office, they’re buzzing in my head trying to contact him. Inform them that Silas is unavailable for the next 18 hours and you and Able are handling communications for him. Take care of what you can, and take good notes. Don’t tell them what’s going on, Silas will handle that when he returns.” Jasmine held both in her gaze.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Both men headed out the door.
Jasmine rubbed her chest and closed her eyes for a few seconds. She ached all over missing their connection. Being a breeder, her need was blunted; she couldn’t begin to imagine what Silas was going through. Bonded full-bloods needed constant connection with their mates. The door opened and her sons entered in a hurry.
“Ma? What happened?” Tyrone asked, Tyrese behind him.
“I can’t reach Silas,” Tyrese said. “What’s going on? Is he okay?”
She opened her arms. Both boys held onto her while she told them what happened.
“What? You attacked the Goddess?” Tyrone asked, staring down at her.
“Is that all you got out of that?” Jasmine snapped, and hit his arm.
“Ow. No, it’s just you’re… I love you and I’m glad I’m on your good side,” Tyrone said, smiling. He kissed her cheek.
“This is hush-hush right now.” She explained what everyone was doing.
“Ethan and I will handle KnightForce, split it in half while Asia works with you. Let me know if you need me or if anything changes,” Tyrese said after Jasmine told him to make sure KnightForce’s administration was in place. He left the room.
“Wow, she took Silas? I didn’t know they could do that,” Tyrone said. “And Angus isn’t here? That’s whack.”
“Huh? What did you say?” Jasmine grabbed his arm.
“I didn’t know they could just take somebody, if they can do that to him —”
Jasmine held up her finger. “No, Angus. He’s not here.” She took a step back, thinking of the odds of two brothers being moved from the same area to another area with their mental links broken. It didn’t wash.
“Mom?”
She shushed him and moved further away. What if it was all connected? Somehow Angus was lured away, completely cut off from everyone, and now the Goddess takes Silas to be her champion. Jasmine frowned. They were brothers, they couldn’t kill each other. What if Silas had to fight Barticus? She rubbed her brow trying to make sense out of this tangle.
“Hawke, where is Barticus?” She asked.
A few moments later, Hawke replied. “Just landing. His people are in position to intercept the plane and his car waits to take him to Plias, where he’ll meet Alpha Ulric.”
Jasmine walked slowly to the table thinking about Angus. “Is it just me or is it strange Angus and Silas are away at the same time and neither have mental links.”
Asia and Hawke stared across the table at her. Jacques leaned back in his chair, tapping his chin with the end of his pen.
“Do you think they’re related?” Tyrone asked.
“If you’re an enemy of La Patron, and could remove him from the compound or country, you’d still need to deal with his beta, who’s just as strong,” Jacques said. “Especially if you didn’t know much about his mate.”
“Silas kept a lid on your abilities, Mom. So, it’s possible people think they have us at a disadvantage here. Is that what you’re thinking?” Tyrone asked.
“I would, except the Goddess took him, and as much as I don’t like the way she does things, I know she loves and protects us. Silas is her choice to lead the wolves, not me. She wouldn’t handicap us like that.” Jasmine picked her way through her scrambled thoughts. “Yet I have a feeling this is all connected somehow, it’s just too much of a coincidence not to be.”
“On the odd chance there’s an enemy lurking about to take advantage of Silas’ and Angus’ absence, should we alert security?” Jacques asked.
“Depends. What would they do differently with an alert?” She looked at Jacques. “I don’t want anyone else to know Silas was taken, is that clear?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Jacques returned to his keyboard.
Jasmine released a breath and placed her hand on her chest again, trying to ease the ache. “I’ll talk to Hank and Jarcee later. Right now, I have more questions than answers and the clock is ticking for Silas.” She turned to Jacques. “Is it possible Silas and Angus are both in Plias? Search to see if there are any records of any gods having championship fights or whatever they call them in that area.”
“Mistress, you don’t think Angus and La Patron will fight, do you?” Asia asked, looking up from her monitor.
“Lots of stuff going round in my head right now, just tossing them out to try and make sense of this BS,” Jasmine said.
“Who could fight Silas in a challenge and have a shot at winning?” Tyrone asked.
Jasmine met his curious gaze and then looked at Asia. “Barticus?”
Asia shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s good, but in all honesty, I cannot imagine anyone who can defeat La Patron.”
“What if…” Jasmine struggled to get the words right. “If Silas didn’t have help from the Goddess? I mean if he were an ordinary wolf without her enhancements.”
“From what I understand, she gave him a wolf spirit. It’s an Alpha thing but doesn’t interfere with his fighting skills, that would be cheating. If the day comes and he cannot defeat a challenger, then he’s no longer Alpha,” Jacques said.
Everyone stared at him. When his words sunk in, Jacques’ cheeks reddened. “But that may not be what’s going on here. I haven’t… I mean… there’s no evidence of a challenge,” Jacques stammered.
Certainty hit Jasmine’s gut. Someone had challenged Silas for the pack. What did that mean for her and the children? Their Nation? Even the dear people seated in this room? She shook her head to toss the images of a world without Silas aside. Now the Goddess’ actions, her remaining behind to speak to Jasmine, made sense. “Just because we don’t know of an Alpha challenge doesn’t mean there’s not one.” She met Asia’s gaze. “Did we just lead Barticus into a trap or does he know about this?”
“I don’t know if he’s aware, we can ask,” Asia said.
“Ask him.” Jasmine sat back, her chaotic thoughts bounced in irregular patterns. When Hawke dropped his forehead into his hand, she sat up. “Get Barticus on the phone right now. I want to talk to him.”
“Yes, Mistress.” Asia pulled out her phone, tapped in the number and handed it to Jasmine.
It rang once before Barticus answered. “Jasmine, the only thing I know about gods and challenges is what I learned from an old high priest whose name I swore never to repeat. There’s something going on between the Goddess and Nicromja, a lesser god who’d been given care over male wolves. He failed and she took over the job. When I saw him, and yes, he’s real, he was searching for someone to be his champion. Even tried to take my grandson, Damian. He told the priests not to call him again unless they had someone worthy like Damian.” He paused. “The high priest I knew is dead and buried, I saw to that myself. But there are other sects, worshipers around the world, who may be active.”
“What about the Goddess? Does she do this kind of thing? Cockfights between men to do what? Prove what? Who’s stronger? Smarter? Better? Who does this in this day and age? With the world going to pot in a handbasket this is how gods occupy their time?” Jasmine snapped.
“I have no idea about the Goddess. If she’s involved, it makes sense Silas would represent her.”
“Is this type thing to the death or just a good beating?” In her heart, she knew
the answer but needed to hear it.
“Blood always binds contracts, for gods anyway. If I were betting, I’d say to the death. But don’t worry, Silas is the best fighter around. I don’t think I could win against him,” Barticus said.
“What about Angus?” she asked, and held her breath.
“Angus? What does he have to do with this?”
“He’s missing and his link’s broken. What if he’s Nicromja’s champion?” she asked softly, holding her forehead in one hand and the cell phone tight in the other.
Silence met her question. The weight of the eyes of everyone in the room pressed against her. In the pit of her stomach butterflies took flight as it clenched in frustration.
“That would not be a good thing. I think they are evenly matched. Worse, neither would participate in such a battle without a solid reason. Silas has his den, his pack.”
Jasmine cleared her throat. “What if Angus found his mate and she was used as leverage.” She pulled the phone from her ear as Barticus let loose several expletives.
“They would do that,” Barticus snapped. “They did it to me, those bastards. Now that I have a better idea what’s going on, I’ll send out searches for temples. Damn them! I’ll need to get more pack over here to cover as much ground as possible. This is really pissing me off. The goddess needs to get rid of Nicromja’s worthless ass.”
“As Silas’ mate is there anything I can do to protect him?”
“I don’t know. My mate refused to serve him and I followed her lead. Maybe that’s why he let me go, I’m not sure. At the time, we were both so happy to live through his anger we never checked out the mechanics. Asia was there, maybe she remembers more,” Barticus said.
“Thank you and keep us apprised of what’s happening,” Jasmine said when she couldn’t think of anything else to ask.
“Hawke and I are in constant communication, he’ll pass everything along.” Barticus wished her well and disconnected.
“Well, we know Barticus isn’t anyone’s champion,” Jasmine said, handing Asia the phone.
“Nicromja desperately wants to win against the Goddess,” Asia said. “He dislikes women. I can see him using La Patron’s brother against him.”
“But they cannot kill each other,” Jacques said, frowning. “Who would go through all of this trouble and not know that?”
“Someone who doesn’t know,” Tyrone said.
“Or care,” Hawke added. “The priest we met would not have allowed anything to stop him from bringing Asia, her mom or sire, to that temple. They are very determined.”
Jasmine straightened in her chair. “So am I.” She looked at Asia. “Did we learn anything from Daria’s past that could give us some insight on where this challenge takes place?”
“Not really. She worked part time for a group of breeders who paid someone to deliver men so they could enslave them. We have not discovered the name of the group selling rebels. I doubt she or anyone else working this circle of compromising and selling full-bloods knows the real person in charge. It’s well organized,” Asia answered.
“So are we. Contact the Alpha for that state, I want information, sales records, phone conversations, any correspondence that connects the dots. Get me the names of the supplier. I want to know who’s picking off rebels and why? Do I need to add I want that operation shut down and the women involved taken into custody?”
“We’re going after humans?” Tyrone asked, sounding surprised.
“If they have knowledge I can use, we hit them hard and deal with the fallout later.” She nodded and returned her attention to Hawke. “Have Cain or Abel get that started since they are already in contact with the Alphas.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” He stood and left the room.
Angus and Silas. What would Silas do? Out of habit she reached for him through their link. Nothing. She slammed her fist against the table and stood. “What do we do? If the goddess believes this may break Silas, it will. But what? They can’t kill each other. So, what’s going to happen?” She placed both fists on her forehead, closed her eyes tight to block out the noise and focused. “What can I do as his mate to stop this?” she thought.
“Jasmine, I can’t find anything new about mates,” Jacques said. “No one and nothing comes between mates. Mates cannot be blocked by each other. Mates give their lives for each other both figuratively and physically. Basically, a bonded mate has a lot of power to deal with their mates. I don’t know if that helps or not.”
“Just another piece of a puzzle, although I’m not sure which puzzle. Thanks, Jacques.” Jasmine tapped her fingertips on the desk. “Here’s another thought. What if there’s more than one rebel group and one group sells members from the opposing group to raise money and get rid of the competition?”
“That’s possible,” Tyrone said. “But what if rebels aren’t selling rebels to the breeders? That leaves a bigger question. First, how are they able to identify and capture these people when our efforts have been semi-successful? Second, if rebels aren’t selling their opposition, who is? A rogue wolf? Human? Half-breed? None of those answers are good.”
“True. How does the selling of rebels connect to Silas’ and Angus’ challenge?” Jasmine asked, bringing the conversation back to their current problem.
“I don’t know. As soon as we get more information on Daria’s group and their clientele, we’ll know more,” Tyrone said.
“The priests need security and Nicromja will need a small army to deal with the fall-out.” Asia raised her hand to stop them from talking. “This is from the priest’s perspective. They believe Nicromja will win, which means they must think beyond the challenge. The need for drone-like security fits the bill.”
“Why not take full-bloods from the continent?” Jasmine asked.
“Since they aren’t as structured as we are here, they don’t have the same rebel problem like here. And after the Liege, full-bloods on the continent are harder to catch unawares,” Asia said.
“Are there Nicromja worshipers here in the states, do they have temples?” Tyrone asked.
Asia looked at the monitor, tapped a few keys and nodded. “Yes. There is one in Arizona, not far from where we made the drop-off.” She smiled. “We can send Alpha Paxon to investigate, he was really pissed that they were in his backyard doing shady business against pack.”
Jasmine waved her hand. “Tell Hawke to send an investigative team to the temple. Same thing. I want everything, names, addresses of members, phone and bank records. I want those things as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Chest aflame, Jasmine pushed away from the table and walked toward the corner with her hand on her chest. Tyrone placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. The pain of Silas’ absence sat in her gut like a slow-burning fire. Closing her eyes, she rested in her son’s loving embrace as her brain flooded with pictures of Silas. His arrogant face softening as he looked at her. His eyes twinkling with laughter at something the children did, and his eyes darkening with hunger as he touched her. Silent tears rolled down her cheek onto her lips, salty and cold. Fear that she’d be too late to help Silas seized her stomach and gripped her mind. Her breath caught and she swayed slightly.
“Mom?”
“One minute,” she said, pulling strength from her core to assist her. Silas needed her to work this out, she couldn’t lose or disappoint him. Energy raced up her spine, jerking her upright. Goosebumps exploded across her skin and tingles chased the butterflies in her stomach away.
Tyrone dropped his arm and stepped aside. “Mom, you’re glowing.”
She looked at him and smiled. “What?”
He blinked and shook his head. “A second ago you were glowing. What happened?”
She patted his cheek. “Come, we need to find and rescue my mate.”
CHAPTER 19
Angus sat next to Shyla, rubbing her arm, infusing her with his energy. Still she lay unresponsive. Despair and pain gripped his chest as he looked
at her face. “What if they lied and she never woke? Nicromja didn’t mention waking Shyla. An hour or more had passed since the god made his proclamation and left. Initially, the monks were so excited that Nicromja actually showed up, they were hugging and wiping tears away. As time passed, there was less conversation and more worried glances.
One of the monks, he identified himself as Cancer, walked over and gave Angus a bottle of water. “You need to remain hydrated.” He tried to press the bottle into Angus’ hand.
“If my mate cannot hydrate, how can I?” He turned his back on the man.
“She is not the one fighting for her life, you are fighting for both of your lives. If you lose, she will be left at Nicromja’s mercy and he cares nothing for females. No telling what he will do.”
Anger ripped through Angus. His beast growled at the idea of harm befalling their mate. He stood so fast, Cancer fell backward and hit the ground. “Right now, you, all of you, think you have won. You think I’m alone. But I’m not. Win or lose, my mate will be free or all of you will die. That you can bank on.” Somewhere, Silas, Jasmine, Jacques, Asia, Hawke, the twins, they were working on freeing him. He knew that as sure as he knew his name. When they cut the mental connection between him and Silas, he was certain his brother knew something was wrong and started working on a solution.
“If you’re dead, that won’t help you any, will it?” Scorpio said as Cancer stood. He left the bottled water on the altar and strode away.
“Death is just a different kind of existence. You have no idea what it’s about.” Angus turned his back on them and ran his fingertip down Shyla’s cheek.
“What do you know about it?” Scorpio asked.
“I’ve already said what I know,” Angus said.
“How is it a different existence? Have you died before and resurrected like the Christ?” Scorpio asked in a taunting tone as he looked over his shoulder at the other monks.
Seizing an opportunity to learn more about these men, Angus shrugged. “Crystals.”
