BirthControl (25 page)

“Why’d you join the fight?”

“What?” Rose frowned.

“Tyrese said the other wolf had him on the ground and you and your brother came and knocked the wolf off. Thank you, by the way.”

Rose smiled and nodded.

“I just wanted to know what made you do that.”

“I…I don’t know. One minute, Thorn and I were walking back to the hospital. The next, a feeling came over me, I shifted and ran. When I saw what was happening, my wolf took over.”

Jasmine nodded. “Where’s Lilly?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to reach her, but she hasn’t returned my calls. She may have returned home to Massachusetts, but I can’t imagine why. We never liked it there. I thought she would’ve been here by now. She’ll show up sooner or later. She always does.”

“Maybe she took your mom home for burial?” Jasmine wondered why no one had mentioned a funeral yet.

“Mom was cremated. From what I understand, all breeders are cremated, something about not allowing anyone to study them.” She shrugged. “Anyway we had strict instructions that she never go into the ground.”

That surprised Jasmine. She sensed Silas’ surprise as well. “Really, I hadn’t heard that. Seems someone has a rule book and forgot to send me a copy. Are there any other breeder rules I should know?”

“I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Rose sat back in the chair and looked away.

“No…please. I need your help.”

Rose looked at her with skepticism.

Jasmine nodded. “Seriously. This is new to me. I just discovered I was a breeder a few months ago.”

“What?” Rose searched her face.

“Long story, we’ll have years to discuss it. But I just don’t want you to feel… awkward about sharing information. I want you to tell me anything you know about breeders.” Jasmine sighed. “I really don’t like that term, but, it is what it is.”

She refused to look at Silas. Tyrone and Tyrese smiled.

Rose laughed. “I will. I promise. As I remember things I’ll tell you.”

“Thanks, you are a sweetheart. Was your mom meeting with the other breeders nearby?”

“I’m not sure. Sometimes she’d leave and not tell us where she was going. But I do know she came to West Virginia because of some other breeders. They were getting together and convinced mom to get involved. This morning she got a call to go to the hospital and meet Samantha. Lilly and I didn’t want her to go, but she thought it was important. I went with her. Thorn and Lilly stayed behind. I called my sister to pick us up when we left the emergency waiting room. I had convinced mom to leave those women alone, we were on our way back to the hotel.”

“They’ve been trying to convince me to come and meet with them. What do you think?”

Rose shook her head. “I wouldn’t. They’re fanatics. They only care about their own agenda, everything else, like my mom being dragged out the car and beaten, is collateral damage. Fodder for the propaganda machine,” she said with a bite in her voice.

Pleased with the answer and high level of animosity, Jasmine looked at Tyrone and Tyrese. “I need you to leave until I call you.” When they didn’t move immediately, she gave them the eye until they walked off.

When they’d closed the door behind them, Jasmine looked at Rose. “I’m going to ask you a question, think about it and then answer me, okay?”

“I like them both. I don’t know which one is my mate,” Rose said, speaking fast. “
Silas shut it down. I know they’re asking you questions.”
She spoke through their link without bothering to look at him, she knew her sons.

“Rose, I understand, but my question is this, is it possible that you’re confused because they’re twins and your feelings bleed from one to the other? Can your wolf tell the difference between them?”

Rose’s mouth opened and then closed. She bracketed the bridge of her nose with her fingertips and shook her head. “It’s possible, but I don’t know.”

“Okay. That’s good. I’d like to try an experiment if you’re alright with it. I’ll blindfold you and call them back in here. Then I’d like you to inhale and scent your mate. Would that be alright?”

Rose bit her lip and nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“Good.” Jasmine stood and retrieved a scarf from her room, her mind on the breeders and their rules. Was it possible the women reaching out to her were trying to teach her? She tied the scarf. “Can you see anything?”

“No.”

“Call them back in,” she said to Silas, avoiding his gaze.

Tyrone and Tyrese returned with a wary expression. “I want you to pull yourselves out of each other. No more mixing, it’s confusing her and I suspect, you as well.”

Their eyes widened and she wanted to smack them for not thinking of it earlier. “Have you done it?”

They nodded. She waved them forward and had them stand close to Rose. Tyrese smiled wide and yelled. He slapped a silent Tyrone on the back. “Congratulations, baby bro.”

Rose pulled off the scarf and stared hungrily at Tyrone. “It’s you.”

He nodded and walked slowly to her. “Yes, and it’s you.” He pulled her close and kissed her.

Jasmine looked at a relieved Tyrese and shook her head. “You are so bad,” she mouthed to him.

He nodded and left the room.

Chapter Eighteen

“The last item on my agenda is an announcement,” Silas said to his Alphas. He cleared his throat and looked into the monitor. “The Goddess has blessed me with my first litter of pups.” Silence, followed by enthusiastic applause and well wishes trailed his announcement.

Smiling, he held up his hand. “In light of the increased rebel attacks against half-breeds and human breeders, you should know my litter is from a human female.”

The silence, coupled with the look of shock and distaste on some of the faces of his Alphas, disappointed him. Jayden was the first to clap, then Theron, Lyle, and pretty soon all of his Alphas were clapping, but it lacked the enthusiasm of the initial announcement.

“You are over three hundred years old, La Patron and the Goddess has rewarded you with pups. It doesn’t matter to me if they are breeds. I celebrate your gifts with you and stand with you against any opposition,” Jayden said.

There were nods of agreement, although many faces were filled with apprehension.

“Once it’s known that La Patron’s litter, his first litter, is not full-bloods, it will fuel the rebels rage. We need to prepare for more violence,” Theron said. “The half-breeds on my lands are a part of my pack. Also, I have half-breed packs in my territory who work beside the full-bloods to make a better life for all wolves.”

“Things will get worse before they get better,” Silas said. “I will say this once and only to you and those in this room. It was not my intention to breed with the human, but it happened. I do not understand why now after all these years or why with this particular human. I have bedded humans before in my youth. They are supposed to be safe.”

“There are those in my territory who will never accept this,” Alpha Chan from Oklahoma said. “You’ve visited and know the history of some of the packs there. I celebrate your gift, Sir, but I see more bloodshed.”

“Davian Bennett was thrown out of his Oklahoma pack for impregnating a teenaged human over twenty years ago. He was beaten and left for dead. I’d say blood has been shed over mixed breeding for a long time,” Silas said.

“Understood, Sir,” Alpha Chan said nodding. “But the Bennett’s are vicious predators who’ll turn against anything or anyone they feel threatens them. Half-breeds threaten them. The idea that one of their own created breeds embarrassed them. That shame turned to anger, and now vengeance. They have left my territory to join the rebels. From what I know of them, they will not rest until half-breeds are all dead. Kinfolk will destroy kinfolk to stop this change, that’s unstoppable. All life comes from the Goddess, I know that. We all know that. But the rebels are scared and fight to remain the same.”

“I agree, Alpha. That is the core of the protest. The Goddess says change is the one thing that is definite, and that it comes with a time of testing. I submit to all of you, this is our time of testing. We do not challenge the Goddess who gives us life. We protect her creations whether they are full-bloods or half-breeds. We all belong to her. Those who defy her will suffer her punishment.” He stared into the monitor. “This is our mission, our mandate. Uphold the Goddess’ wishes in all things.”

“Yes, Sir.” The enthusiasm had returned to their voices.

“Is she your mate?” Alpha Chase asked, causing a hush to settle in the room.

“Can wolves mate with humans?” another asked.

Silas released a breath. “I understand only mated wolves breed, but the mated pair we met in Texas proved that theory false. The male impregnated the human female and his mate was aware of his transgression. To answer your question, I don’t know.”

“There’s more to being a mate than the ability to procreate,” Alpha Chase said. “It’s important that we know if there’s a possibility of her being your mate, La Patron.”

Silas nodded in agreement. “I’ve never had a mate, so walk me through it, and if those elements exist within my relationship, I can give a better answer.” Silas checked the minds of his Alphas, most were more concerned over the human breeder than the pups. Given Arianna’s flagrant display of birth-control, he understood.

“Mates have no sexual desire for other females. His life is intertwined with his mate. He becomes a part of her and she, him. They hear one another’s thoughts, feel their emotions, a mate is the true definition of two becoming one. That’s why if one dies, so does the other.” Chase paused. “She’s human and the likelihood of her surviving an attack is slim. If she’s your mate, she’d take you with her.”

Silas felt the sadness and disappointment through his connection. Tyrese and Tyrone stood near the door. They’d been surprised by the line of questions. He sensed their curiosity. Chase’s definition of a mate matched Silas’ side of the equation, but he had no idea if Jasmine was intertwined with him. It took both of them being connected to the other, didn’t it? Since the conversation with Jacque, she’d changed toward him.

“On the flip side,” Silas said into the quiet, “she has access to all that I am and cannot do me or mine any harm. I am not an easy target and I cannot accept the Goddess would allow my seed to flourish inside a womb, any womb that was defective. As for her being my mate, I only know of me, not her.”

“If she were your mate, you would know. Your wolf would tell you,” an Alpha said.

“I know,” Silas said and cleared his throat. “Thanks for your support, I appreciate it. I am excited and nervous about having pups. It’s a new experience that I’m grateful for. So far they are healthy and should arrive on time. I plan to make a public announcement after their birth, I ask that you wait to do the same.”

“Yes, Sir,” they said.

He adjourned the meeting.

* * * *

Jacque had been gone for six weeks. There was still no sign of Arianna or Cameron. Silas had increased the search even as he wondered if Cameron’s mind had snapped and he was lost in the woods somewhere. It was that possibility that had him combing hundreds of acres for a clue.

Rose walked in his office and handed him some files. She and Tyrone lived in a suite in the north wing. Together, with Tyrone, she handled Jacque's former job.

“Those are the latest numbers of registered wolves, including half-breeds. You have messages from the Alphas of Tennessee, Colorado and Wyoming. I sent them to you. Also, Alpha Jayden and Alpha Lyle would like a conference call with you sometime today.”

He flipped open the file. “Thanks, Rose. Have you heard from your sister?” He didn’t know why he asked her the same question every day, but she always smiled as she said no.

While reading about the state of his financial affairs, his mind drifted to Jasmine. Ever since Jacque claimed they were mates, things had been different between them. She no longer allowed him into her deeper areas, where her true feelings lay. The most he got these days were a superficial smile that rarely reached her eyes. Did the fact that he missed that intimate connection mean they were mated?

Every night they slept in the same bed, and she only turned to him in her sleep. His wolf was saddened by the distance between them, but he didn’t know how to fix this. In a few weeks Jasmine would birth his first litter and he wasn’t sure if she’d move out or stay. Would she kick him out of her bed? Her life? The possibility that she would, made his wolf anxious. Rubbing his forehead, he came to a decision. They would talk tonight.