by Leeda Vada
Grabbing Calli’s hand and pulling her a few steps away from Zuri, Dakota turned her to face him. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’m observing,” Calli said. “It’s part of my training with Smoke.”
Eyes raised in mockery, mouth set in a tight line, Dakota frowned into defiant charcoal eyes. She was a father’s nightmare with sable tresses in soft, layered curls down her back. The floor-length, ruby-red gown she was wearing had an open neckline drawing the eye to her tiny waist. A wide black silk band sat right above her navel.
When she walked—her right hand on her hip—every male eye in the room was riveted on her signature parallel slits that ran from her hip to just above the floor. Each male hoping to catch a glimpse of her thighs as she purposely walked with strides just wide enough to tantalize.
“You know damn well, little girl, that I am not leaving you in this place. You are coming with me now,” he insisted, starting toward the nearest exit.
“Wait a minute, Dakota,” Zuri approached with two of the other Flames in tow. “Not so fast. Calli is under my authority tonight. You cannot legally require her to leave with you.”
“The hell I can’t.”
“You’re correct. The hell you can’t,” Zuri challenged him, her voice soft but firm.
“I don’t know what you’re doing with her here, Zuri, but you agreed not to involve her in any dangerous assignments.”
“Ah, that was when she was underage, Dakota. Calli is a grown woman and a certified Enforcer, with all the rights that entail. She volunteered for this assignment, was deemed the best candidate, and is working it. Now back off,” she demanded.
Still not releasing his hold on Calli, he said, “I am not leaving her here with you, Zuri. You’re using her as bait in one of your schemes, flaunting her in front of these sharks as if she were a piece of meat.”
Jamming her heel into the toe of Dakota’s boot, Calli pulled her arm free and stepped behind Zuri. “You have no authority over me, Dakota. Go home. I am staying here.”
“Dakota, Calli’s safety is top priority,” said Elu, one of Zuri’s lieutenants, trying to allay some of his concern. “You trained her. Now trust that training. We won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Then make me a part of your team, Zuri, because I am not leaving.”
#
Xavier watched the tense little scene play out. Not a stupid man, he realized that he was the fly in this elaborate spider web. But what attractive lure. A ripe virgin, ready for the plucking, and not just a virgin, but a hybrid Canid princess: strong, intelligent, incomparable bloodlines, and sexy as hell.
His staff had come to full alert as soon as she had entered the room. When Zuri had flaunted her under his nose, he had watched her every move, inhaled her ginger orange scent, and almost lost his way in the dark, mysterious clouds of her eyes.
What a mate she would make him! Think of the children they would have.
He also knew that she had been selected for the next lupine Alpha, but he could change that. And it was rumored that she and her brothers carried the shifter gene. What an asset to have in his line. Even if she were not a shifter, just the thought of planting his seed inside her womb was enough to make her acquisition well worth the effort.
Zuri was daring him, daring him to come for her, to test his skills against those of the Smoke Team Flames.
What was stopping him? He liked and respected Canaan Powhatan. But, hey, all’s fair in love and war.
#
Later that night, Xavier sat and watched the rhythm of her chest moving up and down and was captivated by the faint snore that escaped her parted lips. She symbolized the goodness that was forever lost to him. Through her he could touch it again in the children she would bear him. That was the only dream left open to him.
Still, his hand stilled before it reached her waist. Calli moved her hand to brush her nose, just as Onatah used to do when she was a little girl.
Coming to his senses, he quickly wrote the note and slipped it in the pink pocket of Calli’s pajama top, before leaning through the open window. “Careless, my Canid friends. Careless,” he repeated as he grabbed the ladder that would pull him up into his copter.
Chapter Ten
Three years later
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Eshe yelled, accosting her sister Adonna as she came out of the shower, towel drying her long, coarse, brown braids. “I can’t believe it. Calli passed the entrance exam for Warrior training, the first female Canid of our generation to do so.”
“You are lying!” exclaimed Adonna. “How in the hell did that happen? Odin must be shitting bricks! Awesome!” High-fiving Eshe with a resounding smack, she said, “Way to go, Calli.” Pausing suddenly, she gave Eshe a sobering look. “Wait until Mom finds out.”
“She already knows,” responded Eshe. “I just heard her talking to Vesta on the phone.”
“Well, this will liven things up around here.”
“I wonder what made Calli do it,” Adonna questioned. “What else could she want? She has Canaan and every other male in Bakari panting after her as it is. I guess if she is a Warrior, she won’t have to worry about deciding on just one. She will get to tussle and roll around with all of them. She should have gotten enough of that with her Enforcer training and her stint with the Smoke team.”
“Your green is showing,” cautioned Eshe. “Hurry and get dressed, so we can hit the quad and hear all the scuttlebutt.”
#
Apollo and Duncan were in his office reviewing the layout of a newly-discovered Hounds of God lab. Duncan’s Red Team had done the initial reconnaissance and was now giving a final briefing to Odin’s Minquan Squad before tonight’s assault.
They both looked up as Belen entered, her face flushed and her eyes spitting fire.
“How could you let this happen?” she shouted, getting in Duncan’s face. “What were you thinking?”
“Hold on, Lupa,” Duncan responded, raising his hands as if to ward off a physical attack. “What are you talking about? What have I done?”
Taking her arm and turning her toward him, Apollo queried, “Belen, what is wrong?”
“He,” indicating Duncan, “apparently allowed Calli to apply for Warrior training, and she passed.”
Apollo looked at Duncan, incredulous. “Is this true?”
“Seems so,” Duncan replied, shrugging his shoulders. “No big deal. Why are you so upset, Belen? All Canid upon reaching twenty-one can apply for Warrior training. You know that.”
“But not Canaan’s mate. If she dies in battle, so will Canaan’s chance of securing the line,” Belen protested.
“We had to do something to distract her from the escalating Etrus symptoms she’s presenting. The effectiveness of the enzyme blockers was diminishing. You were the main one against removing all restraints and allowing nature to take its course,” Duncan reminded her. “You can’t have it both ways,” he continued. “The symptoms are tearing her apart. This situation has already cost you your friendship with Laura. How much more are you willing to sacrifice? In response to the incident between Canaan and Calli after the Christmas party,” he continued, “I met privately with Odin and Laura, and we made the decision to encourage Calli to pursue a military career along with her medical training,” he told her and an incredulous Apollo. “And I could not ignore the growing signs warning of Berserker status surfacing more frequently in Canaan during his missions in Afghanistan. As head of Canid intelligence, securing the welfare of the Prime Family is my responsibility.”
“And what about your obligation to keep your Alpha and Lupa informed?” challenged an angry Apollo.
“With all due respect, your objectivity where Calli is concerned is questionable, especially yours, Lupa.”
Grabbing Belen’s hand before it reached Duncan’s face, Apollo stared at the Stealth Commander in exasperation, but could not find it in his conscience to disagree with his assessment.
Both he and Belen continually struggled
with what to do about the situation between their son and his perspective mate. Though Apollo had accepted the inevitability of the match, he knew that Belen had not.
“What’s done is done,” Apollo said, resignedly. “It is what it is. Let’s pray that your decision will not come back to haunt us all, Duncan.”
#
Niger Brong, Alpha of the Mandingo clan, called an East Coast meeting of Supreme Alphas as soon as word reached him of Calli’s qualification for Warrior training.
The Powhatan Clan had formed a tenuous pact with Ibrahim Meherrin, Alpha of the Chokwe clan, but the Mandingos in the east were another matter altogether.
Niger saw Canaan’s efforts at assimilation as a major threat, efforts supported by Apollo with the Powhatan Alpha’s refusal to curtail his son’s actions. Therefore, he was tenacious in his efforts to thwart any attempt to change the status quo. Needless to say, he saw allowing females to assume traditional male roles as the first step to Armageddon.
“How could you let this happen, Apollo?” Niger charged. “This is the result of you and your Lupa’s philosophy of more independence for females. We warned you. This nontraditional role will take them outside the Canid community.”
“What are her chances, Apollo? Does she have the skills to pass the training?” asked the Meherrin Alpha, Ibrahim.
“What do you think, Ibrahim?” shouted Niger. “Her father is Odin, for Christ’s sake. He has been training her since she was born alongside his sons. Add to that her mother Laura’s rumored Amazon background, and we’ve got trouble.”
“I agree, Niger,” said Ibrahim. “I’ve seen Calli in exhibitions and her skills are extraordinary. She has the grace, flow, and swiftness of the lupine. Add to that her intelligence, confidence, and fearlessness bordering on recklessness, and she is a formidable candidate.”
Niger interjected, “And just as significant is the element of sensuality that seems to be at a very intense level in her person. I don’t know if that is a natural part of who she is or an element she inherited from her maternal side.”
“Why is this trouble for you and yours?” questioned Apollo.
“Because it will open the door for more of our females wanting to be Warriors,” Niger responded. “We have too few Canid females as it is, so now we’re supposed to send them out into battle?”
“It’s not as if we don’t have females as part of our security forces already,” Ibrahim reminded Niger.
“But not a third-generation Canid female,” Niger countered. “Canid have fought and died to ensure a safe environment where our wives and children can grow and thrive. Now, we’re supposed to risk all our progress because one rebellious spoiled little Canid wants to stick it to her Papa.” Disgusted, he dropped into the nearest chair and drained his tumbler of Chivas Regal.
Ibrahim took the chair next to him. “Insulting Apollo is not going to help the situation, Brong, so chill out. Let’s look at this rationally.”
“That’s not relevant,” Apollo protested.
“I disagree, Apollo,” Niger countered. “Her heightened sensuality will affect the performance of every male she faces in training, add to that her connection to Canaan, and we have the possibility of a disaster on our hands, a disaster caused by your hands.”
Ibrahim turned to Apollo, “What are the odds of changing her mind, steering her into some other field?”
“Zero and none. She’s truly Odin’s daughter. Proud and stubborn as hell. She will not back down.”
“Then you and your other council members better have a plan, one that keeps her out of combat. We trusted you to handle the situation with your son and his young mate. You allowed the contact that initiated the mating response in a girl too young to handle it. Now it is your responsibility to do damage control,” charged Niger.
Apollo clenched his hands. “I don’t take threats well.”
“I don’t threaten,” Niger responded.
Moving to stand in front of the Mandingo Alpha, Apollo spoke, “Hear me, Niger. I will interpret any attempt on anyone’s part to harm either my son or his mate as an act of war.”
Chapter Eleven
One year later
Having graduated second in her class, Calli was ecstatic. She had proven the naysayers wrong.
Her father would have no other choice but to recognize her Warrior status. The other Council members had to respect her as more than a perspective Lupa for Apollo’s heir apparent.
In addition, in a broader sense, she had made a definite crack in the glass ceiling that kept aspiring third-generation Canid females from attaining Warrior status. Now, more of them would be able to go into combat with their male counterparts rather than be delegated to supporting roles as glorified clerical and technical personnel.
Calli meant no disrespect to her female peers who elected to fill those positions. She did not mean to minimize the importance of their work. All young girls should be able to pursue whatever career path they wanted without facing resistance or discrimination. They were not second-class citizens.
The ceremony began, and Calli joined the queue organized by class rank. For the first time, she felt acceptance as an equal to the males in her class.
Hey, she had come within three points of beating Duncan Montauk’s son, Khan. Three points. That fact alone was worth all the blood, sweat, and tears of Spartan Odin Warrior training. Her brother, Nathan, was third, but Calli suspected he held back in the last hurdle to allow herself and Khan to outrun him. Nathan knew how much this competition meant to them. Secure in who he was and the superior level of his skills, Nathan had nothing to prove, whereas the other two did or at least thought they did.
The third triplet, Rand, had successfully completed the training, but left Bakari two weeks earlier to pursue his dream of a career in diplomacy.
On the dais, Lupa Belen was first in the reception line. After announcing their names, she handed the new Warriors of Odinn their certificates. Commander Odin Lakota was next, pinning the signal wolf badge to their uniforms. Alpha Apollo waited at the end and shook the hands of the newest members of the pack’s security forces.
Calli thought that Belen’s smile in her direction did not seem as warm as the one she had given the other candidates. Never mind. She would not let that fact dampen her spirit.
As Belen watched her son’s mate, she was overwhelmed by a strong sense of foreboding. She struggled to keep her face impassive.
Most in the audience knew that Belen had not supported Calli’s foray into the male-dominated Warrior ranks. And she certainly had not wanted to risk the future mother of her grandchildren being killed in battle because of her selfish refusal to accept her responsibilities as a mate and mother.
When the other Council members had overridden her protests, Belen had no choice but to accept the majority decision. The premonition of danger she had just felt only reinforced her belief that this step was in the wrong direction.
All her life, she had been assailed by intermittent moments of premonitions, warnings that had always proven valid. So she had no doubt that this one would too. Though she had lost this battle, she would not—could not—lose the war.
#
At 10:00 the following morning, the Assembly Hall was packed once again. After the previous evening of celebration, the new Warriors of Odinn could barely contain their excitement as they awaited their assignments. The most coveted spots, of course, were with the three security teams: Apollo’s Shielders, Duncan’s Stealth Squad, and Odin’s Warriors.
Calli did not think the Council would place her on her father’s squad, but she had hopes of an assignment as one of the two Warriors assigned to guard the first family twins, Adonna and Eshe. The twins would be spending the next three months interning with the Mandingo clan at their stronghold on Buffalo Mountain in Floyd County.
Odin began reading the assignments: Nathan was assigned a position on Canaan’s Mestizo team, and Khan received a post on Odin’s Minquan squad.
As the a
ssignments continued to ring out, the omission of Calli’s name started to become obvious.
Her anxiety only grew as the list narrowed to three, two, and then one.
Her name was not called.
Apollo joined Odin on the dais. He paused to command the crowd’s attention.
“As you are all aware, we made history yesterday and will continue to do so today. Calli Lakota became the first certified Canid female of her generation to graduate with Warrior status. Adding to that honor, she graduated in the top five percent of her class. We honor her accomplishment as symbolic, illustrating that there are no limits to what our Canid female partners can accomplish. Commander Odin. Will you read Warrior Lakota’s assignment?”
Odin turned to face his daughter.
“Warrior Calli Lakota has been assigned as liaison with Chandler Electronic Security Systems.”
The announcement was met with a spattering of applause accompanied by surprised and puzzled expressions.
“No!” Calli’s voice rang out. She was shaking her head, as if in shock. “No! There must be some mistake. You want me to work inside Bakari?” she asked in astonishment. “You have to be kidding.”
“Warrior Lakota,” came Duncan’s warning.
Calli didn’t seem to hear him, her eyes trying to penetrate the implacable wall of her father’s gaze. “You can’t do this. I have trained too hard to be confined inside Bakari. I want to fight. To go into combat. To be a real Warrior.”
“Warrior Lakota!” Odin warned. “Hold your tongue. You have not been given permission to speak.”
“I will not hold my tongue. I will not accept an assignment that is an insult.”
“Warrior Lakota,” interjected Lupa Belen. “Are you saying that an assignment to secure the safety of the first family and all other residents and visitors to Bakari is an insult?”
Calli stepped forward to face her Lupa. “If it were given to me to keep me in my place, in an already protected setting where I would not be in danger, then yes, I am.”
“You disrespect your father and your Alpha with your comments!” Belen reprimanded her. Turning to Apollo, she said softly, “No other Warrior would dare question an assignment.”
