Sword of Mercy (19 page)

“LOBO you mean. That behavior optimization
bullshit,” Hawke said, looking everywhere except the dais or altar.
Pain radiated on the edges of his mind, but he refused to give into
it this time.

“True. But can you imagine how such an offer
would sound to the Alphas back then? Each Alpha would present a pup
and the Liege would choose one from the group. The Alphas required
the Liege proved their theories with one pup first before
committing to more.”

Hawke tensed. His heart beat in an irregular
pattern. Anger turned to fire, bubbled in his gut, and shot liquid
flames through his system. “They chose me?” He slapped his chest.
“My sire really gave me up to the Liege?” Asia laced her fingers
with his and sent tendrils of understanding through their
link.

“Your Alpha. Each Alpha agreed in advance to
present a pup from their den, so the sacrifice would be equal. Two
men, Lancaster and Gordon, studied the pups for a week and then
made the choice. Based on everything we found in the journals, your
sire was proud you were chosen.”

A cold breeze slid down Hawke’s chest and
settled until he felt nothing. He’d been picked like cattle being
led to the slaughter. They had no idea of what he suffered at the
hands of Lancaster. He’d been removed from the warmth of a dent to
the cold, sterile walls of the castle. Day after day he’d been
beaten, starved of food and affection, and cut off from all
contact. For a pack animal the last had been what eventually broke
him. To hear “good job” was better than the silence screaming in
his mind.

“Proud?” he snorted his disgust. “It’s just as
well he did not live to see what I’ve become, he would see he
received coal instead of a gift.”

“He would be proud, Hawke, as I am to call you
friend. In spite of everything you experienced you are smart,
strong, a fighter with no equal, and you possess things they could
never teach you. Loyalty, honor, empathy and dignity. No one can
take those from you.” Radoff touched Hawke’s shoulder for a few
seconds and then walked further into the room.

“He’s right. Your sire would be proud. I
am
,” Asia said and moved into his arms.

Hawke held her close, hoping the heat of her
love would thaw the cold anger swelling in him. Memories from the
past rose in a violent hiss, volleying back and forth, filling his
mind. Images from his youth rolled across his vision on a constant
loop. Hate, hot and putrid, suppressed for decades bubbled beneath
the surface, cracking his control, his confidence, and his
conscience.

Emotions locked for decades broke free from
their confinement and took charge. “That Alpha gave me away like
bartered goods and never came to visit. If he had come to check he
would’ve known Lancaster’s goal was to break my wolf not strengthen
him. He would’ve seen me change into a monster with arms and legs
of steel. If he had come once…. just once in thirty years he would
know I had a fucking computer chip in my brain that controlled my
actions to the point I crippled and destroyed the lives I’d been
sent to save.”

Jaw tight, he pulled away separating from his
mate and clenched his fist. Blood and dirt covered his hands. He
could see it now, him in the lab, destroying his brethren in the
name of science. And for what? A super wolf? How did they fall for
that? If his mate had not saved him, he would have turned on the
pack and destroyed all of them without a smidgeon of
conscience.

Radoff looked at him and then turned away. “In
hindsight, I agree with you. And although I was not involved with
the council, as an Alpha responsible for hundreds of lives I also
understand what prompted them to try.”

Hawke’s gut churned. “And it was just one pup,
right? Just one lucky pup who gave up his life for the pack? Is
that it?” Hawke looked around the room as if talking to the ghosts
of the Alphas who agreed to his enslavement. “Not much of a
sacrifice to the whole pack, right? Who the fuck cares about one
pup?” he yelled and kicked a chair across the room. It crashed into
the wall and broke to pieces.

The immediate area darkened as the room shrank
to that small airless room he remained in, chained to a wall for
years in the castle. Footsteps approached his door, but hunger had
stolen his energy and he couldn’t see who entered to place the slop
on the floor in front of him. The stench of the food burned his
nostrils and he lashed out to get rid of it. He heard a crash in
the distance, but remained locked in this nightmare. Harsh laughter
mocked his attempts to break the chain. No matter how hard he
pulled to break free he couldn’t. Moving forward, he kicked
everything from his path as he stretched and pulled to break the
chains. The laughter grew louder. Lancaster pointed at him in the
distance and then swung the cane across his back. The thwacking
sound of the wood jolted him. He jerked and reached for the man,
determined to stop the next swing.

“Hawke!” He fell backward and hit the ground
with a loud thump. “
Hawke
?”

His chest expanded to take in more air to
clear the darkness in his mind. The cold from the cobblestone floor
seeped into his skin. Hawke blinked and squinted against the light
above him.

“Open your eyes now, dammit
!” Hands
gripped his shirt and lifted his head from the floor. Her warm
breath flowed across his face. “
Now, open your eyes
,” Asia
yelled and shook him.

He opened his eyes. Even in another skin he
saw the fear, concern and then relief in her gaze. “
You blocked
me
,” she said in a cross tone.

“Huh
?” He pushed against the floor and
sat upright. “
What
?”

“You blocked me, closed me out of our link.
Why did you do that
?” her voice cracked.

“I didn’t. I mean I didn’t try to block
you
.” He thought back and couldn’t recall anything other than
the blinding rage that overtook him. “
It just hit me. After all
these years, being in this place where I was sold into slavery… I
didn’t think. Just reacted
.” He pulled her close, heard the
racing of her heart. Goddess, he must’ve scared her pretty bad for
her to react this way.

A scraping sound across the room grabbed his
attention. Radoff struggled to stand from beneath the crushed dais.
“Radoff? What happened? Are you… Goddess, what did I
do?”

The room looked as if a tornado had ripped
through. Every chair and table lay smashed to pieces on the floor.
Artwork hung in crooked angles. The dais was gone. The altar and
podium destroyed and Radoff was half covered in the
debris.

Hawke blinked a couple times to make sure he
saw things correctly. How had this happened? He couldn’t recall
moving, not much anyway. Had he been angry long enough to cause
this kind of damage?

“Hawke, look at me.” Asia turned his face
toward her with her fingertips. “
Look at me
.”

He met her gaze. “
What happened
?” Had
he turned into the monster the Liege created? A beast operating
without control, destroying everything in his path? Goddess,
no!

“You blacked out
.”

That surprised him. “
What
?”

“Your eyes, they went black, I couldn’t
reach you. You were talking, and moving in a blur while destroying
the room. I shifted to stop you because I wasn’t sure how much the
beams holding the basement could take
.” Her tongue ran across
her lips and he wished she was in her female form. He wanted to
feel her softness, needed her comfort, and needed her to tell him
he wasn’t a lost cause.

“For a few seconds, you were lost to me. I
could not reach you at all. How can that happen between
mates
?”

Hawke had no idea. “
We’re mated that’s all
I know. Something about this place got to me. It happened the first
time we came down here, remember?”

“You were on the floor in pain, I remember.
No pain this time
?”

He shook his head slowly. “
No, just red hot
anger. It came out of nowhere, I exploded. Didn’t think. I… I
didn’t hurt you, did I
?”

She released a long stream of air. “
No.
Quite the opposite. The area I stood was never touched. Every place
else, you tore apart. That’s what makes it so strange, even though
you lost control, you were in control enough to protect me. We’ll
ask Maheegan or Jacques if they ever heard of anything like this
happening before.
” She looked over her shoulder and placed a
kiss on his lips, but it was too brief and set him aflame. He
needed her and rolled his hips so she could get a better feel of
his hard cock beneath her.

Asia turned and met his gaze. “
Not now.
Later, I promise
.” She pressed against him and stood. Hawke
grabbed her hand, holding her in place.

“You sure you’re okay? You haven’t changed
your mind about us
?”

Her eyes softened and the tight coil in his
belly relaxed. “
Never. You’re stuck with me through
eternity.”

He released her hand and stood. “
I can live
with that
.”

She grinned and turned toward Radoff who
brushed dirt and wood chips off his pants. Torn skin healed and he
glanced at them.

“I just found my mate, I’m not ready to meet
the Goddess, thank you very much.” He smiled and walked toward
Hawke who stood a short distance from Asia. “Based on what you said
I imagine you’ve held a lot of stuff in a long time. How’re you
feeling now that you’ve got it out?”

Hawke ran his hand through his hair and looked
at the destruction he caused. “Better I guess. The air is lighter,
not as foul. No pain, no headaches or darkness. Guess it worked
kind’a like an exorcism. Sorry about this mess, I’ll help clean it
out.”

Radoff waved down his comments. “Forget it, I
was going to throw it all out anyway.” He paused. “No one thought
of what the exchange would do to you. I’m sorry it happened the way
it did. But I have to say, watching you rip through this room while
talking and making sense at that, was quite impressive. The only
wolf I can imagine giving you any competition would be your mate,
and La Patron.”

Hawke stared at him. “What are you
saying?”

Radoff crossed his arms and met Hawke’s gaze.
“The Liege created a super wolf, you. Their techniques were
unorthodox and they never meant to lose control of you. By your own
admission, your mate disabled the computer chip and set you free of
them. My concern is this, if they duplicate you with other
full-blood pups, we won’t be able to stop them. Just now, your mate
was the only person who could stop you. What if these pups in LOBO
receive the same training you did and never break free of Liege
control? What happens to our world? Will we be forced to serve the
Liege to survive?”

Hawke hadn’t thought that far, but what Radoff
said made sense and struck a nerve. “I see your concern. The only
thing I can say is stop the Liege, now before these pups are too
far into the program. For those fully indoctrinated, we will meet
them one at a time and either destroy them or help them as much as
possible.”

“How do we help them? Could we have helped
you?” Asia asked, watching him and knowing the answer.

“No. No one but you could’ve helped or stopped
me. Not after thirty years, but we can stop them. Lancaster is
somewhere in the country, why not start with him?”

Chapter 19

Hawke, Asia and Radoff discussed different
strategies to locate Lancaster and destroy him. The hybrids that
traveled with the man would attract attention, which meant they
were not in a crowded area. Ulric mentioned Lancaster arriving with
one person, the smart ass on the side of the road seemed likely,
they’d have Angus contact Ulric for more information to find
Lancaster.

Afterward, they would track down and destroy
every Liege Lord until LOBO fell apart. No more chasing down labs,
or false leads. They’d wasted enough time. Radoff’s questions and
the lack of answers, lit the fire of urgency beneath them. Asia had
no problems killing the weasel Lancaster, especially after hearing
what he had done to Hawke. The man deserved to die a long, painful
death which she volunteered to administer. The door at the top of
the basement opened and they stopped talking
mid-sentence.