“She is safe, young Benelli. Your actions will not help. She will jump to your defense and endanger herself to be by your side.”
The Czech werewolf nodded his head. “Yes, I have heard of that killing. What does the witch have to say about that?”
Simon rose to Breanna’s side. “I would request Master Sergeant Welker be treated with the respect a soldier of her rank deserves or Bravo Company will not take part in this Gathering.”
The Belgian werewolves were agitated and yelling threats. The chaotic energy increased in the room and even the vampires were edging forward. The members of Bravo Company took protective positions around Breanna while she stood firm beside Simon.
Shalamon Lisel stood and silence engulfed the room. “Master Sergeant Welker, please accept my apologies for the disrespect of some members of this Divine Council. Your service and dedication to Bravo Company is above reproach.”
She nodded stoically. “Thank you, sir.”
I’d never realized until that moment how difficult it was for her to serve. She risked her life to keep the supernatural world safe and this was the payment she received.
Simon addressed the German werewolves. “Your cousin had attacked, killed, and eaten three humans by the time we caught up with him. Master Sergeant Welker was trying to talk him down, but he charged and she had no choice but to kill him. He had injured four members of Bravo and was out of control. It was a justified measure and, for his crimes, much quicker and humane than a man-killer deserves.”
Ordy turned to the Czech werewolf Divine Council member. “Master Sergeant Welker has saved every werewolf in this unit at one time or another from certain death. She jumped into a freezing river to pull me out of a truck when a bunch of trolls we were chasing blew up a bridge. Sir, threaten her and you threaten all of us and believe me, boy, you don’t want us coming after your ass.”
Christopher stood beside Breanna. He faced the vampire Divine Council Representative. “Master Sergeant Welker is an asset to this company and not one among us would hesitate giving up our lives to protect her.”
The silence was deafening. A werewolf threatening other werewolves and vampires threatening vampires in the name of a witch was unheard of and, if you believed what my father was muttering, unnatural.
“The witch has cursed them, she has them under her control,” my mother screeched.
Breanna turned to see who was screaming and sadness flickered in her eyes before the stoic look returned. She glanced in my direction.
My father would never forgive me but I smiled at her. I had not supported hunting witches before I met Breanna and certainly would not now.
“Someone kill that witch. She is bespelling the son of the Alpha,” the high-pitched, squeaky voice of my mother rang out. “She is evil.”
I glared at my mother and she settled back into her chair. Tessa was shooting daggers at me with her eyes as she took her seat.
“Alpha Benelli,” the Divine Council werewolf representative asked, “do you believe the witch is bespelling your son?”
Breanna resumed her stoic stare even in the midst of the ridiculous accusations. My father lifted his chin.
“No, my son is much too strong for that.”
I tried not to let my reaction show. My father had called me many things. Strong was never one of them. Maybe he was playing the game of perceptions because we were at a gathering of Alphas, but his words made me stand a little taller.
“And he is to be mated to one of the women in my pack. That alone would prevent bespelling by a witch.”
If it was possible to break a jawbone by clenching too tightly, I was about to find out. I looked up to see Breanna staring ahead, her chin trembling slightly. I’d explained my father’s desire for me to mate with Tessa and thought, after the challenge with Ernesto, Josef would drop it. So did Breanna.
Shalamon Lisel cocked a single brow and looked to Breanna. She nodded ever so slightly before her chin lifted and her shoulders squared.
The chair I was leaning on splintered in my hands as my father rambled on about dates and details of my supposed mating with Tessa. When Tessa leaned over and wrapped her arm around mine, it took all my strength not to slam her into the floor. This was all a show and more about hurting Breanna than about what the other Alphas saw.
The Council members finally decided to decline my father’s request for open pack hunts, though the opposition to their decision was boisterously boasting about their plans. I watched with my heart in my throat as Bravo Company marched out the door. Breanna didn’t glance my way as she passed.
When the Council formally ended the meeting, I leaped the row of chairs between me and the door. My father yelled, but I ignored him and headed toward the wolves in camouflage. I had to get to Breanna before she left.
Vampires and werewolves milled about within the ranks of Bravo, but there didn’t seem to be anything going on other than friendly exchanges. I scanned the group. She wasn’t there. Most of the faces weren’t friendly. I couldn’t blame them. They knew Breanna was leaving them to be with me.
“She’s gone, Lucas.” Simon stood a few feet behind me, his hands clasped behind his back. “She needed time to herself.”
I panicked at the thought of her alone in hostile territory. The Council may not have condoned pack kills on witches, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t happen.
“She’s in owl form and wanted me to tell you she’d see you later tonight at home.”
I bit my lip and dropped my head. What had I done?
“She’s okay, Lucas. The talk about you having another mate upset her so much she wanted to formally challenge the woman from your pack. I did not think that would be a good idea given the hostility of this environment so I suggested she take the scenic route back to your home.”
He sounded positive she would be going to my house. I wasn’t so sure. What if I had upset her to the point she didn’t want to see me again?
“She made me promise I would assure you she was coming back tonight. She needed to get her thoughts clear and felt you may have pack issues to deal with as well. Gatherings such as these are very stressful for Breanna. She is always concerned one of the other soldiers will get himself into trouble on her behalf.”
And I hadn’t helped her at all. I’d stood by my father as he basically asked for permission to hunt and kill my mate and anyone like her.
Yeah, I was a great mate. Way to stand up for your woman, Benelli.
“She loves you, Lucas. I’ve never seen her so happy and I know it is because of you. Things are complicated now but don’t lose heart. She will stand by you through the storms of hell and I can assure you we will always have her back.”
“Major DuChard, may I ask a question and you give me an honest answer?”
“Of course. What is on your mind?”
I glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, though with werewolf hearing, they could all hear our conversation.
“About the position at Ederle.” I bit my lip as I struggled to find the words. She was giving up her military family for me and that wasn’t right. She shouldn’t have to give up the people she loved for me. Hell, it was dangerous for her on a good day and with things like they were now, it was only a matter of time until things boiled over. “Is that a bad move for her in terms of her career?”
Simon pondered my question for a few moments before responding. “It is a lower pay grade and she is leaving Bravo so, yes, it is a terrible career move.”
“If I wasn’t involved, would she take it?”
Simon didn’t hesitate. “No.”
I let out a breath at the decisiveness in his voice. None of this was right. She had worked so hard to get where she was and now she was going backward because of me.
“I can’t let her do it.”
Simon smirked. “Have you not learned, my dear boy, that once the beautiful Breanna makes up her mind, nothing can deter her?”
“Oh yeah. I’ve noticed.”
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“Lucas, you should know she was AWOL the day she left Wisconsin.” Simon walked toward the darkened tree line and I followed. “Breanna came to me insisting she needed to go to Italy immediately, that you were in danger. The chain of command was not willing to grant her request, regardless of how we phrased it, so she stormed out the door, making her absent without leave. I called Ederle and arranged the interview to give her a legitimate reason, on paper, to be in Italy. I suspected the situation may come to this.”
My mother was right. I was selfish. “She shouldn’t have to choose.”
“I agree. However, it is the nature of the situation at hand. She will never leave you, not with the threat of Malandanti in the area, but at least she will maintain her connection to the military, thus preventing other supernaturals from blatantly attacking her.”
I snapped my fist against the closest tree. The only way out of this dilemma was for my father to release me from the Italian Pack. He’d denied my request again tonight when I’d asked just before we’d left his house. I could petition the Divine Council. Even if they approved, I would have to fight my father. That was the only reason I hadn’t spoken to Breanna about completing our mate bond. The bond would link our life forces. If my father killed me during the challenge, and there was a good chance he would with the power of the pack behind him, Breanna would die as well. That was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. I wasn’t afraid of dying, but she didn’t deserve any of this bullshit.
Simon watched me curiously. “I assume your father denied your request to leave the Italian pack?”
“Four times in the last two weeks,” I answered.
“If you fight him, one of you will die?”
“Probably.”
“And you do not relish the idea of killing your father, though your wolf hates him.”
“Breanna tell you that?”
Simon smiled sadly. “No, she would never betray your trust. I have my sources.”
I stopped punching the tree and looked at him. “You checked on me?”
His face turned to stone. “Breanna is a daughter to me. Yes, I have been checking on you since the night she risked her life to see you safely to the hospital. You think I would allow you near her without knowing who you really are?”
The smell of the vampire’s anger was strong enough to make the wolves at the corner of the clearing look in our direction.
Simon turned his back to me. “Did she tell you how she made it into Bravo?”
“Not really. I know she was seventeen when she joined the Army and it took her several tries to make it into Bravo.” She had never talked much about her past. I knew her parents died when she was young and her grandmother in North Carolina raised her. Anytime the topic came up, Breanna seemed so sad I didn’t push her.
“She had been assigned to an all-human unit in Alaska. When government budget cuts closed the base, she transferred to another all-human unit in Alabama. The area was the territory of a small, hostile group of werewolves. One night they found her in the forest and did their best to kill her. She managed to get away and called the officer who recruited her.”
“The recruiter was a vampire?” I remembered her telling me that.
“Yes. The recruiter called me because he didn’t know what else to do. There is no protocol for dealing with a wounded witch. I went to that dreadful place and to this day I cannot get the image of her out of my mind. She was battered, bruised, cut, and bitten but she snapped to attention and saluted when I walked into her room.”
“Breanna told me it took her several years to break into Bravo.”
Simon stared into the darkness. “She was so determined. I’d never seen anything like her. Positively fearless and bitterly loyal, there was no way I was going to let her be reassigned to a desolate location where she could mysteriously disappear.”
He shook his head and smiled. “She never used her magic when she was trying out for Bravo. She’d go into the ring and battle toe-to-toe with me or whoever was up at the time. The wolves called her names, the vampires shunned her, and no one would train with her.”
“Breanna told me you taught her how to fight.”
“Yes, and she was the best student I’ve ever had. Whatever I said, she would do. I’d find her practicing long after everyone else was gone, over and over, until her technique was perfect. She wanted into Bravo so badly and I wasn’t going to deny her.”
It was all getting clearer now. “That’s not what you were supposed to do, was it? That’s why you are here, commanding Bravo Company rather than a general somewhere. You helped her and it hurt your career.”
The vampire shrugged and his face softened. “Taking an elf maiden as my mate didn’t help my career either but you are correct, Breanna was not supposed to become a member of Bravo.”
“They love her, every one of those wolves adores her. I saw it in their eyes tonight when they surrounded her. How did you do that, get them to accept her?”
“Ah, yes, that is another story. Once Breanna did make it into Bravo, the soldiers rebelled, led by one Ezekiel Trenton.”
“He’s in the Wisconsin Pack, isn’t he?”
Simon nodded. “Yes, he is the one who threatened her and you attacked.”
Oh yeah, the night my wolf took over. I remembered Trenton now. “He had a brother.”
Simon bit his lip. “That wasn’t Breanna’s fault. She almost drowned herself trying to save those werewolves. I told Isaac not to drive on that bridge but he would not take orders from a vampire.”
Simon took a few seconds and regained his composure.
“That was the beginning of the Combat Unit. Technically they are a part of Bravo, though they don’t claim the affiliation to us. All the werewolves joined the Combat Unit and the two vampires left the military altogether. Breanna and I were able to rebuild Bravo to what it is today.”
Simon tipped his head to the sky. “As to your question, they love her because she loves them. She has proven herself so many times, they would gladly lay down their lives for her just as she’s done for them.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets. I wasn’t worthy of this woman. “Has she ever saved you?”
“Once, several years ago. A group of witches had taken my precious Celeste.” A faraway look clouded the vampire’s face before he continued. “Breanna almost died that night. None of us knew one of her powers was the ability to absorb black magic. She tried to shield the wolves from the spells, but her magic wasn’t strong enough so she dropped her defenses and took the magic into her body.”
Simon turned away, his voice cracking.
“She was so sick, bleeding profusely from her nose and mouth, and unconscious by the time it was over. She spent a week in the hospital on fluids to regain her strength, never complaining or asking for anything other than cheesy fries from Steak and Bake.”
I laughed softly. She loved her cheesy fries.
“I understand the situation with your father is delicate and so does Breanna. She will never push you to leave your family, but you must know it is in her best interest for the two of you to live in America.”
“I know. I’ve requested release from the Italian Pack. My father won’t budge and going lone wolf is too dangerous for Breanna.”
“She’ll do whatever it takes to protect the ones she loves. Never forget that, Wolf. Never underestimate what Breanna will do.”
Chapter 33
Breanna
The leaf burst into flames. Good. Die. I needed to burn something and the leaf was the least-living combustible thing I could find. How dare that blond bimbo bitch of a werewolf put her hands on Lucas?
Another leaf met an ashy demise. I’d wanted to stomp her ass there in the parking lot but Simon said no. He was worried about public perception.
“Public perception, my ass.” I wanted it very clear to her and anyone else that Lucas belonged to me. Guess the werewolves weren’t the only territorial supernaturals.
The worst part was I didn�
�t want to leave Bravo. I loved the guys, loved being a part of something so important, and loved the adrenaline rush of tackling danger head-on.
“Stupid werewolf bullshit,” I snarled as I fried more leaves. It shouldn’t have been this hard. Lucas should be able to live with me in America. He didn’t want to be in Italy any more than I did. Backward-ass werewolf law screwed up everything.
I loved him. I knew that, but did I love him enough not to hate him in a few years when I was going insane without Bravo? None of this was his fault, yet he’d be the one I blamed. I knew how I was. Forgiveness was not my strongpoint.
I leaped off my rock and quickly stomped the decent-size brush fire. A little rainstorm might be needed one to take care of the last few embers.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it.” I kicked the pile to make sure I’d killed all the sparks.
“Hello, Breanna.”
Damn vampire, sneaking up on people. “Stagi, that better be you ’cause I’m in the mood to kill something.”
Istagio Serendelli appeared from the darkness. Handsome as ever, the master vampire had long had a thing for me. At one time I’d had a thing for him too. Now the sight of his ultra-magnificent self didn’t stir a single hormone.
“You follow me?”
He smiled his most sexy, seductive smile. A few months ago that smile would have made me think seriously how luscious he was beneath his finely tailored suit. Tonight I only noticed how starkly white his teeth were.
“I wanted to speak with you after the Gathering but you rushed away.” He stepped soundlessly toward me.
I shrugged and took a step back. I might not have wanted to jump his bones anymore, but that didn’t mean I wanted him up close and personal either. He didn’t take the hint. Actually he seemed to take my shuffle backward as a challenge.
“I have heard rumors your heart now belongs to a werewolf?”
Yep. He’d taken it as a challenge. “Who told you that? Simon?”
Istagio crinkled his nose. He and Simon weren’t exactly best friends. Stagi and I had dated a few times and Simon, who generally did not get involved in my business, had not approved and had voiced his concern.
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