Sword of Mercy (2 page)

He glanced at Damian. The young wolf favored
his sire, but lacked the mental sharpness and strong will of Hawke.
Boris couldn’t think of a more fitting end, Hawke destroyed by his
son’s hand.

He pulled out a private cell phone and placed
the call. “I’m here. Pick up the package so we can finish this. No
failure, no excuses, no second chances.”

Chapter 2

Dark clouds rolled into the room like an
impending storm. Cold blocks of concrete made up the walls in the
dank, dingy room. A lone window near the ceiling allowed slivers of
moonlight to brighten the space. A scratching sound against the
cobblestone floor grabbed his attention. A lone black pup cowered
in the corner, shaking and shrinking as far back as it could in the
shadows. A large masculine hand grabbed its front paws, lifted it
and without mercy threw it back on the ground. The pup’s side rose
and fell in slow, deep movements to breathe.

The hand placed a leash around the pup’s neck,
causing the pup to bark and struggle to break free. The leash
tightened and pulled the pup along the dirty floor without waiting
for the pup to stand.

Painful whimpering from the pup speared
Hawke’s gut. He reached forward to remove the leash. The pup
increased to the size of an adult wolf and snapped at his hand. He
jumped back, confused by the waves of hate rolling off the
wolf.

A nearby sound caught his attention. A large
Black Wolf walked in front of him and sat a few feet away. The lone
black pup had returned to the size of a pup and sat shaking while
watching the large black wolf. In time the pup inched forward until
it reached the Black Wolf and rested against him. The Black Wolf
looked over his shoulder at Hawke, his green gaze penetrated his
mind.

“W
rongs must be righted, soon you will
understand
.”

Hawke jackknifed in the bed. Sweat poured from
his forehead wetting his chest and the bed. Asia’s hand fell from
his chest as he gulped down air. What the hell? Dust from his dream
hit the back of his tongue, the scraping sound of the pup rang in
his ears and the fierce green gaze of the majestic black wolf
seared his mind. Had it been a dream? It seemed so real.

“What’s wrong?”

Sleep filled fuzziness filtered through their
link as he gazed down at her. “I’m not sure. This dream… I don’t
know what it means, but I think I should.” Her hand rubbed up and
down his chest as she sent warm comforting waves of peace through
him. When his breathing stabilized, he pulled her close and kissed
the top of her head. The green gaze remained front and center in
his mind while he tried to relax. Hawke’s heartbeat refused to slow
down and his thoughts continued flying at a rapid pace. Something
happened, something that would impact him in some way. Over the
past three and a half decades living beneath Liege rule, he needed
a break before dealing with cosmic drama and puzzles.

“Tell me about it,” Asia said after placing
the side of her face on his chest and rubbing the middle of his
ribcage with her index finger.

He looked around the room they had been
sharing as Chacal’s guests for the past month and exhaled. How to
explain the unexplainable? Fortunately the Goddess had blessed him
with a mate who understood his past and everything he had gone
through living with the Liege. Without fanfare, he told her of his
dream and waited for her to explain it to him.

“Could mean a lot of things,” she said when he
finished. “We’ve been tracking down leads to find the missing black
pups since the castle fell. It shouldn’t be a surprise you’re
dreaming of one.”

She had a point, but he couldn’t let it go.
“Except this had a personal feel to it, like it was a personal
message from Alpha Black Wolf. A wrong being righted. And the pup,
first small and then when I tried to help free it, it was full
sized and then small again.”

Her head moved against his chest and he ran
his palm up and down her arm. “You’re right. That does sound
personal. Have you ever seen a room like that? Maybe we can find
the location, maybe the pup wants you to find him.”

“Or her.” He placed a kiss on her soft,
fragrant hair.

Her head lifted and she looked at him.
“Her?”

He shrugged. “Just saying the pup could’ve
been a bitch. I don’t know. I didn’t get a sense of gender at all.
Which was strange now that I think about it. What if there are two
pups? One full grown and the other still a pup? The adult wolf
hated me for some reason.” The hate disturbed him on a visceral
level he couldn’t explain. Hawke was certain he’d never seen the
pup or the wolf before and yet they disliked him. Was the Liege
involved in some way? He didn’t see a connection but that didn’t
mean much. That group specialized in remaining in the shadows until
they wanted to be seen.

“Two pups would be stretching it, don’t you
think? Maybe the adult wolf had been the pup and sought comfort
from the Black Alpha?” Asia said, returning to her spot on his
chest and placed a kiss near his nipple, derailing his thoughts for
a moment.

“Could be. I don’t know what any of it means,
the Black Alpha says I will understand soon.” He rolled over on top
of her and slanted his lips over her mouth, taking a kiss. “No need
worrying about it now when we could be doing this.” He placed
kisses all over her face and then kissed her long and hard
again.

Her hands wrapped around his neck, holding him
close. He reveled in her scent. No one on the planet smelled as
mouth-wateringly good as his mate. He rested between her legs and
held her close. “Have I told you today how much I love you?” he
whispered against her ear delighting in the shiver that ran through
her.

“Yes.” She cleared her throat and burrowed her
head into his shoulder. “But I don’t mind hearing you say it
again.”

Hawke chuckled at her hesitant admission. A
month ago, he wondered if they would ever get to this place of easy
camaraderie. Asia was a warrior through and through with sharp
edges who didn’t believe in softer emotions or second chances. What
did her Mistress call him? Asia’s do-over. He liked the sound of
that. Their mating had been fast and with trust issues. Both of
them had enough emotional luggage to fill a dump truck yet they’d
waded through the muck of past failures and evil deeds to find joy
in each other’s embrace. For that he thanked the Goddess every
moment of the day.

“I am in love with you, Asia
,” he said
through their link releasing his feeling so she understood what
words could never express. The warmth of his love touched off a
firestorm of need and he took her lips again.

“I love you too
.” The words flowed
through their link in slow motion, wrapping around him and holding
on tight. His mate didn’t use those words often and whenever she
spoke them he treasured the gift of their offering. This time she
released her tightly held chest of emotions, linking them with his.
Heart racing, he shuddered beneath the onslaught of pride, love and
appreciation twisting around him as bright colored
ribbons.

“Asia,” he murmured before taking another
kiss, softer, gentler this time.

“I never thought this would happen to me,” she
murmured holding him tight against her. “But I’m glad you’re mine,
and in my life. Thanks for loving and believing in me.”

He nibbled on her bottom lip and then kissed
it when she tried to push him away. Just as he pressed against her,
there was a knock on the door.

“Angus,” Asia said as if he didn’t recognize
the man’s scent. Hawke rolled over and took a deep breath to calm
his raging libido.

“Something’s happened,” Angus said and walked
off.

Asia patted his chest, rose on her elbow and
kissed him. “Later, I promise.”

Nodding, he prolonged the kiss a little
longer, tormenting himself in the process. “I’ll remind you.”
Hearing the same words from Angus that he’d thought seconds ago
cooled his ardor. Remnants from the dream re-emerged and he
wondered at the warning and the timing.

She grinned, stood and strode toward the
bathroom. “I’m sure. Whatever’s happened must be serious otherwise
he would’ve waited.”

Still thinking of the green-eyed Alpha, Hawke
agreed and pulled on a pair of pants and tee shirt. Asia walked
out, looked at him and shook her head. “What?”

“Why didn’t I think to put on the clothes I
wore yesterday instead of showering and brushing my teeth,” she
called as he headed to the bathroom for a quick hygiene
routine.

“Don’t know. It’s an early unplanned meeting,
this is as good as he gets,” Hawke said. A few moments later they
met Angus and Chacal in the den. To see an expression on Chacal’s
face was a surprise, let alone one of concern.

“What happened?” Asia asked, taking a seat
facing Angus. Hawke sat next to her.

“Another pup was taken from inside a den. No
scent, no alarm, nothing.”

“Which pack?”

“Ulric’s,” Angus said and Hawke heard the pain
in his voice.

“I’ve noticed the disappearances are
centralized in certain areas. In northern Egypt and on pack lands
in the Ukraine, Romania and Russia. Have the packs considered
moving?” Asia asked.

“The land in Egypt has belonged to the Black
Clan for centuries, I doubt they would leave now, but I will
discuss it with Ulric as a temporary measure. Moving alone won’t
solve the problem. Those pups need to be returned to their dens.
They are too young for this separation.”

“That brings the count to three in the past
two weeks. It seems they are escalating,” Chacal said in a
thoughtful tone.

Hawke thought of his dream and wondered if he
should share it.

“Yes, I agree,” Angus said, looking at Hawke.
“We have searched three of the locations you’ve given us of former
Liege compounds and labs for clues. All of them have been vacated
and empty for years. We plan to head out to another one later
today, have you remembered any others that may help us understand
what’s going on? Some place recent? My Alpha grows more concerned
each day I don’t have answers.”

“I’ve written down all the locations I could
recall. And it’s possible I was never given access to information
regarding the pups. I’ve never seen another black wolf until
you.”

“Not even to mate with?” Asia asked
frowning.

“The first time I mated was on my tenth
anniversary date and as far back as I remember I never mated with a
black bitch.”

“Tenth? You were ten?” Asia asked,

Hawke shrugged. “No one knew the exact date of
my birth. That was the tenth year with the Liege, so I was older
than ten. There was a celebration and they brought a bitch in heat
to my room. After that, a bitch came once a month for the next five
years and then every week.”

“They wanted to breed you. I remember hearing
them mention you impregnating the wolves. Something about you
having a pup and them wanting more.”

“The black wolf gene is dominant, I could
produce black pups with any bitch. As far as I know my seed never
took root. Lancaster said I was sterile and useless in that area.”
He looked at her. “
But with you it will be different,”
he
said through their link.

“Or half-breed,” Asia murmured.

Angus looked at her.

“What?” Hawke asked.

She shook her head. “Just trying to wrap my
mind around motive and opportunity. I don’t understand how they are
accessing the den without detection.” Asia looked at Hawke. “Were
you working on a cloaking device or something? Maybe like the
chameleon, but different?”

Hawke searched his memory. “No. I remember
being ticked when I figured out you had access to new technology I
hadn’t heard of. Whatever or however they are doing this never came
across my desk or I would’ve made notes in my personal files.
Angus? You created the bracelets is there a chance the Liege could
have modified what you’ve done?”

“No. Plus the thefts happened long before I
created the bracelets. Like Chacal said, they’re speeding up for
some reason. It’s like they know we are aware of what’s happening
and they’re not trying to hide or be subtle anymore.”