He picked up the phone again, noted the strange number and looked at her. “You sure?”
She nodded, her hands roved up and down his back pulling him closer.
“Yeah?” he said.
“Tyrese Bennett?”
“Yeah?” The voice sounded familiar, but he could not place it.
“This is Major Townsend; I have been trying to reach you.”
Tyrese stilled as the voice of his former commander resonated. His twin, Tyrone had died from a wound in Afghanistan. Tyrese had sent his strength and energy to revive his brother, which caused him to black out in the middle of a critical operation. He had been given an honorable discharge and now worked for Silas. This was the man who sent him home.
“You have?” he pushed Opal’s hand to the side and held them both in one hand. She pouted. He increased the pressure, she grinned.
“Yes. We need your services for a special operation.”
If he hadn’t been sitting down he would have fallen. He noticed Opal had stopped moving and gazed wide eyed at him. Damn, he’d forgotten she could hear both ends of the conversation.
“One second.” He sat up and looked over his shoulder at the slender, fair complexioned beauty. “I need to take this call. I’ll be right back, okay?”
She lay back on her elbows, her eyelids at a lazy half-mast, her tongue trekked turtle-slow across her lips before she nodded. “I’ll be right here, super-soldier,” she purred batting her eyes.
He shook his head at her antics and stood. “Good.” Naked, he stepped out of his room and walked outside to the courtyard. It was early, the sun had just peaked over the mountains, the smell of meat cooking and bread baking in the kitchen filled the air. Curious about the call, he sat on a metal bench to say no, to see if he could gain more information. Why did they want him? Did the Marines know he was a half-breed?
“I’m afraid I cannot help, my schedule is full.” He had no intention of leaving his mom or siblings while they were so far from home. Silas could protect his den, there was no question about that, but as the head of the wolf nation, he had many obligations. Tyrese had one, to protect his family.
There was silence on the line for a beat. “When you were discharged, it was with the condition that you would serve when an emergency situation arose. I am telling you we are in an emergency situation.”
Tyrese’ brow rose. He hadn’t known there were conditions on his release. Did Tyrone know about this? “Really?” As responses went, his was lame but he’d been too surprised to think of anything else.
“I don’t have time to fiddle around with this, lives are at stake and every second we dance about, someone dies. You are to report to duty in eleven-hundred hours. A car will pick you up.” The call disconnected.
Three hours? First off, how did they know where he was? Or how to contact him? He stared at the phone as if it were a diseased limb. His mom and Silas’s mating ceremony was tonight. His brothers and sisters would be presented to the wolf nation. Silas expected him and Tyrone to be presented as well. There was no way he could leave, not with so many wolves in attendance. Not with the rebels warring against half-breeds. The Major’s timing sucked.
Tyrese sat on the bench, thinking, wondering, and delaying the inevitable. He had to talk to Silas. If a condition regarding his discharge had been made, then La Patron would know. Torn between a sense of duty to both worlds, Tyrese pushed down the sizzle of excitement lingering in the background of his mind. The idea of holding a weapon in battle again, working with a team using his wits and wolf skills tempted and teased. With enormous effort he shook off the enticing sensations.
Tonight, his mom would mate with the most powerful wolf in the country, possibly the world. He needed to be here. Not in some dark hole across the globe. He glanced at his phone, an hour had passed.
Idly he wondered if Opal still waited for him.
Silas glanced at his phone in the middle of his meeting with Jacques, Angus, his brother, Alpha Chase of Colorado, Alpha Theron of Texas, and Alpha Jayden of Maryland, his core team. “Excuse me; I need to take this call.”
“Yes, Sir,” all but Angus chorused. His brother nodded, but watched him leave the room.
“I hope this is vital, I am in the middle of an important meeting,” Silas said to Lieutenant General McNeill, the director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Of course, Sir. We would not bother you otherwise. However, a sensitive situation has arisen and we need to call in a favor.”
Hearing, “We and Sir,” Silas knew something significant had happened. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking of the horrible timing. His mate was sick, unable to get out of bed. A few rebels caused a disturbance fifty miles away in a small rural town, much too close with his pups in the mansion. More wolves had arrived in town than expected, creating traffic jams and a shortage of supplies.
“What do you need, Jim?” His voice resigned, unenthusiastic.
“I need to reactivate one of your men for a special assignment. Should take no more than three days, we need him to go in, extract the package, drop it off, and then return.”
Nothing was ever as simple as the man said. When Jim’s successor had introduced them, Silas appreciated the man’s no nonsense approach and for the past three years they had worked well together. Jim had been instrumental in getting Cameron shipped stateside and discharged within days of his accident. In a way Silas owed the man. “Okay, who and when?”
“Tyrese Bennett. A car will be at your location to pick him up at eleven hundred hours.”
Silas’ jaw clenched at the name. “No. Pick someone else.”
“The window is too short, his former team is already in place, and there is no time to send in or set up another team. Lives have already been lost, too many. We need his expertise to end this now.”
“Today is –”
“The day you marry his mother, we are aware of that complication and if there was any other plausible solution, we would take it. But the situation has turned worse; the enemy used Lupine forces and killed innocent humans in the town. They are holding two hostages that must be retrieved. That’s all I can tell you right now.”
Silas froze.
“Lupine? Wolves? You’re telling me humans are fighting against full-blood wolves?” He sat down slowly digesting this news. It went against everything every wolf had always been taught. Secrecy had been their mainstay for centuries. Humans suspected, whispered, but were never sure. The worldwide impact of humans gaining proof they existed slammed into him. Especially with some humans’ ability to birth wolves, it would create havoc on a worldwide scale.
“Yes. That is what the footage shows.”
His thoughts raced. How had this happened? He was the gatekeeper on this continent; other parts of the world were not as organized and lacked discipline. Even his rebels were cautious against discovery, to a point. Each of his Alphas had experienced techs that cleaned up evidence of their existence, yet… Could this blatant act be a part of the Liege Lords plan? Force them into the open? No…that had been Griggs. The Lords operated and depended on secrecy.
He reined in his free-flying thoughts and re-focused on the conversation. “There are men from my pack already in the field, why don’t you use them? Why Tyrese? What makes you think he can do what you need him to do?”
There was a pause and then Jim cleared his throat. “As I stated earlier, his old team is already in place, Tyrese worked with these men and they best perform as a unit. Also, we have seen footage of what he is capable of, it was apprehended from one of our field agents.”
“What?” Silas roared. “You did not mention this before now. I want to see the damn tape and then I want it destroyed. You cannot keep information like that in your database; it is a violation of our agreement.”
“It came into our possession last week, it’s not in our database, and no one other than the Chiefs has seen it or the one with a female from your pack, Asia.”
Silas gritted his tee
th to keep from lashing out. “You crossed a line.”
“We are protecting our country. The country where you and your people live in peace. We do that by any means necessary, you know that, Sir.” Jim sounded apologetic but Silas knew the man would do it again if he thought the nation was at risk.
“He cannot come today. Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow will not work, he must leave when the car comes for him….that is the condition of his discharge. You and I have an agreement that he would still serve when needed, we need him now. Today.”
Silas thought of Jasmine and her disappointment. She would be devastated. On top of everything else she had been through, he simply could not do this to her.
“La Patron,” Jim said in an urgent tone. “A group of human-wolves killed humans in a remote part of the world. Right now, no one knows about the wolves, we have kept that secret. We kept your secret. But they killed humans. That must stop. You and I both know Tyrese can solve this problem quickly, quietly, and efficiently. We are running out of time. If we do not stop them the world will know what happened.”
Silas exhaled, understanding the understated threat for what it was. Either he allowed Tyrese to do this mission or they would release the footage exposing wolves to the world. He did not think for one moment that this recent attack was the only proof they had at their disposal. They probably had thousands of documented instances from over the years. Years of keeping his people safe from exposure was his top priority and these gentlemen knew that. They played the right card, and he folded.
“I agree, send me those tapes. But Jim… this is my son. My son… you don’t want anything to happen to him. Believe me there is no excuse you could give…nothing you could say if he fails to return. Understand I will hold each of you personally responsible. Are we clear?”
Silas could imagine the looks passing between them as the weight of his words spread through the room and rested on each of their shoulders.
“Yes, Sir, we understand,” Jim said after a lengthy pause. “You will have the tapes today along with a briefing on this matter. It is in everyone’s best interest that you are involved from this point forward. We appreciate any advice you choose to give regarding the Lupine forces.”
Silas grunted at the groveling, peace-making tone. He would have Jacques research the situation and determine his next move. He would only become involved if his people were at risk. “Tyrese will need to return within three days before the last day of the celebration and we return to West Virginia. He needs to be involved in some part of the celebration before it ends.”
“Yes, of course, Sir. We will do our best to have him home in time.”
Unspoken was the phrase, barring any unforeseen problems, and there were always glitches and problems. Both men knew that, but pretended otherwise. It was the best he could do under the situation.
Silas hated being out-maneuvered. “I will remember this, Jim.” He moved to the window where he saw Tyrese sitting on a bench outside.
Jim sighed, long and hard. “I know Sir and that grieves me the most. I have no choice, but I understand.”
Silas disconnected and looked out the window for another moment. He needed to talk to Jasmine first. Her pain filled face through the long night filled his mind. His gut clenched. He had sought to ease her pain and joined with her. He prayed to the Goddess to never experience the debilitating stomach cramps again. They had stolen his breath. It was inconceivable to believe human females were tortured in this manner every month.
“Jasmine?” he called through their link heading in her direction. He returned to his suite, waved for the men to retake their seats and opened his bedroom door.
Victoria sat in the chair next to the bed reading a magazine. She glanced up at him, smiling. “She’s asleep.”
Pleased, she finally rested, and disappointed over the delay in telling her of Tyrese’ departure, he nodded and backed out the room.
“I need a word with you, Sir,” Tyrese said through their link.
Silas closed his eyes at the despondency in Tyrese’ voice. Someone must have called the pup first. That made sense. He turned to the men seated. “Something has come up and I must take care of it right now. I think we have enough to work on, we can continue this after lunch.”
The men stood, all but Angus who lounged on the sofa watching.
“Yes, Sir,” his Alphas said and filed out the room.
Jacques hung behind and looked toward the bedroom. “Sir, my mate would like to stay with her daughter longer if that meets your approval.”
“Meet me in the library,” Silas told Tyrese, his thoughts on their upcoming meeting. He sent Tyrone a similar message. Turning to Jacques, he nodded. “I want her to stay with Jasmine until I return.”
“Yes, Sir.” Jacques re-took his seat on the sofa and re-opened his laptop.
“I will come with you,” Angus said standing, the look in his eye said he would not be deterred. Over the past few weeks, Silas had been amazed over his ability to read his litter mate’s moods and deep emotional thoughts. Most of their knowledge of each other during the centuries they had been apart was never discussed. Instead, they tapped into one another’s mental databases to learn and acknowledge triumphs and tragedies. Silas was not surprise Angus picked up on his inner turmoil.
He nodded and walked out toward the library.
“What happened?” Angus asked through their link.
“Some wolves attacked a village in some country, killed humans; the military is re-activating Tyrese for this mission.”
Angus shrugged. “That’s not too bad; the pup is a lethal fighter, quick on his feet and meshes well with that population.”
“They are picking him up in two hours.”
Angus’ mouth dropped. “What? Today?” he sputtered. “But he can’t go today. Mistress will… oh shit.”
“Yeah, that about sums it up. I went to talk to her first, but she’s asleep and considering she did not sleep well last night, I don’t want to wake her.”
“But you will wake her before he leaves. He cannot leave here without talking to Jasmine, you know that.”
Silas hated the censure in his brother’s voice, worst he hated knowing he had considered doing just that. She had been miserable all night and deserved this rest. But she might cancel the celebration if he allowed her son to leave without saying goodbye; he would not take that chance. “If she is still asleep I will wake her to spend time with him before he leaves, what do you think I am, selfish?”
Angus’ brow rose, but he didn’t answer.
Silas stepped into the library, Angus on his heels. The twins were already in the room, sitting next to each other, quiet.
“Tyrese?” Silas said to get the conversation going. He sat in a leather wingback chair and crossed his leg over his knee.
Tyrese cleared his throat and stood, chest out, head straight. “Sir, I received a call from my former commander requesting I return to active duty for a special assignment. I declined. My place is here watching over my brothers and sisters. He refused to accept my response and is sending a car for me at eleven hundred hours.”
Silas glanced at Tyrone who sat without looking up. Silas needed to word his comments in such a way the two understood everyone’s life was at risk from exposure. He did not want these two linking up in defiance, acting as one. Silas needed to prepare Tyrese for his task which meant he would be sharing information regarding his connections to the Pentagon.
“Your commanding officer contacted you. I received a call from the Joint Chief of Staff a few moments ago. It seems they believe you are critical to the success of this mission.”
Tyrese’ head whipped around. Wide-eyed, he stared at him. “What? Joint…what is going on? Did they say?”
“Not much, other than your former team is already in place, they need you, and they’ve seen recent tapes of what you and Asia can do.”
“What?” Tyrone jumped up standing near Tyrese. “How? How’d they get that? Do
they know he is a wolf? Of course they know…is that why they want him? Because he’s part wolf?”
Silas watched the twins closely. Although Tyrone asked the questions he suspected Tyrese wanted the answers. These two had a connection he had only seen in mated pairs. It was amazing. “I am sharing information with the three of you that should never be repeated.”
The twins straightened and offered him a precise military nod. Angus took a seat opposite him and slouched in the chair. Silas told them about the wolf attack in the village and the hostages.
“That’s terrible,” Tyrone said. “But what do they expect Rese to do? I’m the only team player he’s ever had with his wolf. The marine’s in his group have no idea how to interact with that part of his nature.”
“They will send me in for the extraction and the others will handle the transport. Simple. Neat.” Tyrese spoke exactly, looked at Silas and there was a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.
Silas released a breath, the pup wanted to do this. “I don’t know how the op will run, but that might be the skeleton. You up for it?”
Tyrese nodded. “I need to go over security with my replacement, who will you use?”
Silas gave the matter some thought and looked at Angus. “I think you’ll be here tonight in spirit if not body. Explain how the chameleon bracelets work.”
Angus crossed his hands over his stomach and glanced at the twins before returning his attention to Silas. “I craft each one and determine what it can and cannot do. I have created chameleons that are simple and will only mimic another person’s outer appearance. There are no memories or anything else, just a simple look at someone and then change. There are degrees after that.”
“Degrees?” Tyrone asked.
“Yes. I can create bracelets that will take everything from a person, their physical, mental and emotional baggage so that if you asked a personal question, I would be able to access the individual’s memories to answer. This type of chameleon is best suited for intelligence work.”
“Is that what Brix used to infiltrate the Liege Lords?” Silas asked, impressed.
BirthSign (La Patron, The Alpha's Alpha) Page 2
