BirthSign (La Patron, The Alpha's Alpha)

by Addae, Sydney

  She disregarded the aggravated look that flashed across his face. She was the bride, of sorts, this was the wedding she never had, kind of, and everything was supposed to go her way.

  “I have read the reports on human reproduction and understand your hormones are not normal right now, you are prone to mood swings. I understand and will grant you some leeway with your complaints. But we have discussed your sister not attending this ceremony too many times to go into it again. She could be claimed by a wolf as a mate. Her mate could be a male or female, we have no way of knowing. Most importantly, she cannot know about our nation or the role you play as my bitch. It is too dangerous. You know this.”

  Jasmine bit her lower lip to keep the pout from forming. “I just want my family with me on the most important day of my life.”

  He sat back and met her gaze. For a moment she thought he would give in as he normally did.

  “I understand, but you do not want to put her life at risk, do you?” he asked.

  She closed her eyes, hating her hormones that made her a water faucet. “No, I don’t. I love my sister. I don’t want anything bad to happen to her because of me. That’s not being a good sister, even though I really wish she was here with me right now.” She couldn’t help giving that last request, even though she knew it was best for everyone for Renee to remain away.

  “I know, but she has a visit planned after we return home. She and Mandy will be staying four days. You will have fun with her then,” he said, his voice low and comforting.

  She brightened in remembrance and looked at him again. “Yes, that’s right.”

  He nodded but did not look away.

  The silence reminded her that he hadn’t explained why he had received the call from the Pentagon. She frowned at his continued stare. “What’s wrong?”

  “I received the call from the Joint Chiefs, there is a situation that will impact all wolves, they asked for my help.”

  Her heart plummeted. “You’re leaving? We have to put off the ceremony?”

  He jerked like she’d punched him in the face, because a slap would garner no response. His eyebrows lowered into that weird slash he always got that clearly meant someone said or did something ridiculously stupid. “What? No. I’m not going anywhere, Rese is.”

  It took a moment for his words to settle, but when they did, she shook her head to clear it and then met his clear gaze. “What?” she yelled and then held her head as the room spun. “What did you say?” she asked in a lowered voice.

  He took her hand in his and rubbed her palm with his thumb in a circular motion. He repeated the details of the call and his conversation with Tyrese. She snatched her hand from his and stared into his eyes. She couldn’t believe he was okay with this, that he expected her to be okay with this. After all this time, didn’t he know her at all?

  “My son is leaving to rescue someone today? He’s going to fight wolves halfway around the world? By himself? Are you fucking kidding me?” She hadn’t believed her day could get any worse, but he had just proven her wrong. A throbbing pain started at the base of her neck, each second it inched up a millimeter.

  “No, sweet bitch. I would never joke about something this serious.” He leaned forward without releasing her gaze. “Tyrese is preparing to leave. I believe he is excited. I know you are disappointed, but do not allow your feelings to be a distraction for him. He needs to leave here feeling positive so he can complete his mission and return in three days.”

  Her gaze narrowed. Her stomach quivered at his impossible request. “I’m not accepting that.” Despite the low throbbing pain, she shook her head. “Nope, you are not going to lay a guilt trip on me over my feelings. I’m not a wolf, I’m human. That’s my son walking into a deadly situation for someone he does not know. Damn, if I’m going to smile, pat him on the back to ease your conscious. Not happening.”

  The temperature in the room dropped. Goosebumps flew across her arms from the chill. Without releasing him from her gaze, she wrapped her arms around herself and pulled warmth from her core. The heat rose slowly to counteract the cold. She refused to allow him to intimidate her. This was her son they were talking about, and she refused to agree for him to become a sacrificial lamb.

  “You are not concerned over humans knowing full-blooded wolves killed innocents? Full-blooded wolves like me, like your ex-husband, like all of my Alphas and their mates? That does not concern you?”

  Her mouth opened and then snapped shut. Damn. She wanted to scream hell no she was not concerned, but he’d know she lied. The ripple effect would sweep everyone she loved into a blood-red sea of pain. All of her children were half-bred wolves and would be impacted in a bad way if people decided to hunt down wolves.

  It wasn’t fair her son had to leave, and on her wedding day to boot. He could be hurt. But that’s what he trained for, her mind argued. Back and forth, her thoughts battled her emotions over this new situation. If she didn’t love Silas with everything inside her, she would hate him for putting her in the middle of this emotional tsunami. There were no good solutions. The situation stank and smelled rotten, but she didn’t know what else could be done.

  “I’m concerned, not on the same level as you, apparently. I don’t want a witch hunt; people I love would be hurt. But I’m not going to act as if I am happy my son is going on what could be nothing more than a fake tip either. This sounds like a load of convenient bullshit. It’s too pact, too convenient, too rushed. Besides Tyrese knows me well enough that he wouldn’t fall for anything other than a long face from me. I’m pissed, disappointed, hurt, and I ache in places I won’t mention.” She moaned as a strong cramp rolled through her.

  “Your cramping has returned?” He frowned and moved onto the bed slowly.

  She nodded and took shallow breaths until the pain subsided. Eyes closed she couldn’t believe all of this was happening, not today of all days. “You think this is some sort of sign?” Maybe the Goddess was telling them in non-verbal ways the timing was wrong. Maybe they should delay the mating ceremony.

  He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her gently into his arms, her hand lay on his chest. The extra heat from his body and the slow, solid thump of his heart stabilized her.

  “Sign? What do you mean?”

  Her tongue swept across her lips, moistening them. “I mean… look at everything happening. Out of the blue I get my period. I haven’t had one in what… over a year. And I start cramping the night before we’re mated.”

  “We are mated regardless, sweet bitch. The ceremony is for my pack, so they can see my blessing from the Goddess, you are her gift to me. I see this has caused you a lot of stress, which was never my intention. We’ll change things around so you can rest and get better.”

  She grabbed his shirt and bunched the material in her fist. Their gazes clashed. In a culture where strength trumped everything, his pack would never understand the reason for her difficulty in standing long hours. They would judge her pathetic, unfitting, and inadequate as head bitch.

  “No.” She shook her head at his frown. “I mean, don’t change things yet, or unless I physically cannot stand later. I hate for your people to see me like this, weak and clingy. It plays into the inferior-human BS that’s floating around, and I can hold my own… except in this.” She squeezed her eyes tight and tensed as another cramp rolled through.

  “I don’t care what they think. You’re my mate and I will lend my strength to yours any time you allow it. That’s the only sign I see. We’re one, have been one for a long time and will always be one.” His lips brushed against the top of her head. “I love you, my bitch. We will do this together or not at all. I need you with me, and I need to be with you. Either way is fine, we simply must be together.”

  She rubbed her face against his chest, falling deeper in love with him. For someone who didn’t think he was a romantic, he never failed to say exactly what she needed to hear, when she needed to hear it.

  “I love you, Silas. I’m not
happy about Rese leaving so soon. It does not sit right with me. I just want us to be clear on that. Something smells rank about the whole thing, but I trust you and if you think it’s necessary, then I won’t object…too loudly. Like everything else, I’ll adapt. I don’t suppose you’ll reconsider and fly Renee up here since my son is leaving, huh?”

  “No.” He tapped her nose.

  She snuggled closer into him. “Just thought I’d ask. I want to see Rese before he leaves. Take me into the shower so I can get cleaned up and put on clean clothes.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, Ma’am. You know I love to get you naked.”

  Chapter 4

  Tyrese strolled through Heathrow airport on his way to the bathroom. Someone was supposed to meet him in the baggage area but the flight arrived early. With one carry-on it hadn’t taken him long to leave the plane and then clear customs. He glanced at his watch. His contact should be here in ten minutes to take him to an airfield for the final leg of his flight. Soon he’d be back in a uniform, something he never thought he’d ever do again. Of course he didn’t know the deal Silas made with the military to have him and Rone released so quickly. Now, it was more than possible that he would serve the military on small ops for years to come. Years to come? He frowned and made a mental note to ask Silas how long was the deal he had made. He exhaled to clear his thoughts.

  Now that he was on land again, his mom’s face ran a continuous loop in the forefront of his mind. She had cried through their good-byes, the entire time La Patron held her securely as she complained about his leaving so soon, his missing the ceremony and him being in danger. None of that surprised him. She had said the same type things when he left for his last deployment. Of course that hadn’t turned out well. This time, however, genuine fear emanated from her that hadn’t been there before. It had unnerved him seeing her so upset. He had changed his mind, and refused to leave for his mission.

  For a moment her expression changed, she seemed hopeful. La Patron quickly over-ruled his emotional decision and reminded him his mom had not been feeling well. Her face crumbled, she turned and hid in Silas’s chest. There seemed to be more going on but he hadn’t wanted to probe or prolong their discussion. It was evident she wasn’t feeling her best.

  Still…it bothered him to walk away when the car came for him precisely at eleven. He said goodbye to her and Silas, kissed his baby brothers and sisters and left their private floor. He had already kissed his grandmother and said bye to Jacques. Angus, Tyrone, and Rose stood on the porch to see him off while Silas took care of his mom. Leaving had been one of the hardest things he had done and he didn’t understand why.

  That first car took him to Peterson Air Force base, where he received preliminary information, uniform and supplies. Another car took him to Denver’s airport. On the London flight he’d spent the first few hours reading pages of documents the base commander had provided. The file contained information regarding his former team-mates. Three had died in conflicts the past year. He listened to tapes, memorized names and locations. He understood, to a point, why the threat needed to be neutralized. But why him? Why now? Based on the information he’d read, this wasn’t the first time the small militia used wolves. It appeared the use of full-bloods had escalated, yet the Pentagon had just informed Silas this morning. There had to be more going on than what they shared. He uploaded the information and sent it to Jacques so he could plug it into their database. There was no question Silas would be informed as soon as it was received.

  Hands washed, he stepped out onto the concourse and headed for the baggage area. A tall, thin white man in a cheap black suit, complete with white shirt, black shoes and sunglasses stood near the carousels holding a large piece of paper. The image of Will Smith in his black suit popped into his mind as he read his name. Holding his recently issued duffel-bag, he headed for the man in black, withheld a smile and nodded.

  “Bennett.” He waited for the man to identify himself. Instead of speaking the man nodded, turned and walked toward the exit door. Tyrese stared at the retreating back and looked around the bustling area. A few moments later the man returned and stood in front of him.

  “You are supposed to follow me.” The man sounded irritated.

  “Who the hell are you? You didn’t identify yourself.”

  “Adolfo. I apologize; I thought you were given information regarding your connections.”

  Tyrese nodded. “Maybe so, but I can’t recognize you dressed like that. You need to identify yourself in some way,” he said in a low tone, trying to remember if this man was one of the names he had memorized.

  “Yes, Sir. This way, please.” He turned and walked off, this time Tyrese followed ready to get to his final destination. Another gentleman similarly dressed in black stood next to a dark car. Seeing them approach, he slid into the driver’s seat.

  Adolfo held the back door open and waited.

  Tyrese’ foot froze mid-step. His wolf rose swiftly and locked down his human-side. Like a puppet, he stepped backward in acknowledgment of his wolf’s demand and turned in a slow-semi circle. He strained to identify and locate the scent sending a rush of fire through his body, scorching his cynical mind and massaging his closed heart. His heart did more than race; it double-timed giving him an adrenaline rush that could fuel him into tomorrow.

  Inhaling deeply, he lurched forward like a drunken sailor in search of his next bottle, the feminine scent was fading. His wolf whined from the loss. Somewhere in the airport a female smelled incredibly decadent. She smelled like flowers and sunshine, she smelled of home and hearth, she smelled like his.

  He ran toward the terminal on the opposite side of the airport searching for trails of the scent. Not caring that people cursed, honked their horns or tried to stop him as he ran in a jig-zagged pattern across the pavement. His wolf would not be denied.

  He stopped in the front of a building and looked up. Terminal one. Nose up, he spun three-hundred-sixty degrees to find a clear direction of her fragrance. Damn. His wolf growled, demanding to be set free to search and claim. Tyrese bent forward, hands on his knees, and took large gulps of air. Now was not the time for his wolf to set out to find their mate. Not in the airport. Not when there were so many people and cameras. Not when he had a mission to complete.

  Howls of despair bounced around his ribcage, his wolf fought to be free. Glad no one heard the sad sounds; Tyrese walked inside the terminal, noticed all the passengers checking in for flights and groaned. He strode to one end of the concourse to the other, went upstairs and then returned to the pickup area trying to locate the luscious fragrance, half afraid of what he would do if he did find it.

  Adolfo had followed him to the terminal, stood nearby and cleared his throat. “Sir?”

  He held up a finger while negotiating with his wolf. The scent evaporated as if it had never been. Had she caught a flight? If so, where? Or taken a train to another part of Europe? He was sure she had been in this terminal, but that was all he knew. Frustrated, his wolf whined, straining for release. Later he promised, they would search later. Had she scented him? He doubted it; he was human deep meaning other shifters could not tell he was a wolf. They would only sense his human side. But that hadn’t stopped his wolf from rising at her scent. He battled his wolf; he needed to lock this side of him down before he was questioned by the territorial Alpha for crossing without permission. It wasn’t easy, but his beast quieted.

  He breathed in one last time to gather his bearings. That’s when he noticed two security officers standing nearby, hands on what appeared to be Tasers. He stood slowly meeting their gazes and nodded. “Gentlemen.”

  They nodded but watched him with steely suspicion. He turned, ignored Adolfo’s questioning glance and headed toward the car. The reality of the moment slammed into him, knocking him off kilter. He had a mate and wasn’t sure how he felt about it. His love-sick wolf had no concerns, but the female already caused him problems and they hadn’t even met. Now he had to deal with a temperamental
wolf over a female who could be anywhere in the world, on top of leaving for a military assignment. Today turned out to be shitty all around.

  Resigned to follow through this assignment first, he slid into the car. A laptop lay on the back seat.

  Adolfo handed him a packet. “Is everything okay?” he asked in a skeptical tone.

  Tyrese took the packet, opened it and pulled out the pictures of two women. One looked older than the other, although both were young. He’d peg the green eyed, mahogany hair woman in her early twenties. The other had long blond hair and blue eyes; he pegged her at sixteen or seventeen. They were princesses of a small country he had recently heard on the news. The country was rich in some unique minerals that the US was in the midst of rights negotiations. Negotiations that would fall through if these two females were not rescued and returned.

  Determined to complete this mission quickly in order to start one of his own, he flipped through the pictures, committing them to memory. Although small in land size and population, the country was one of the most beautiful places Tyrese had ever seen. If the grass was half as green as the pictures depicted, it was a hidden wonderland. He glanced at his watch and then at the schedule he’d just received. It would take another forty minutes to reach the airstrip. He picked up the laptop.

  By the time they entered the gate where a military plane waited, Tyrese was certain of three things. One, he would rescue these two girls, two, he would eventually find his mate, three, he promised his mama he would return to Colorado before the last day of the mating ceremony and he would.

  Tyrese stepped out the car with his bag. Throughout the long drive his wolf growled and whined, insistent they return and search for their mate. It had been a test of wills and his human side barely won by promising to find the woman right after this job was done. Even now, each step toward the aircraft was a struggle. Never had he been so torn. Never had his wolf fought his decision. Never had he been so afraid to board an aircraft.