Sword of Mercy (9 page)

“I said, the Goddess spoke to
Jasmine about Asia and Hawke. They’re important in winning this
thing. I marked him earlier.”

“Marked him?”
Angus straightened in his
seat. “
What do you mean?”

“He agreed to serve and I marked
him with a sword on his chest.”

“You drew it?”
He frowned, trying to
understand.

“No. Well, in a way. What’s important is I
can link with him and stay in the loop. He and Asia are in Romania
with another Alpha. They found something interesting
.” Silas
told Angus what the two had discovered.

“What? Un-fucking-believable. I’ve
heard stories about the Alpha Black Wolf for decades but I’ve never
heard of this Alpha Nikola one. Hard to swallow, we started as
friends with the Liege, but it makes sense in a weird way. The tone
of this section comes off as a benevolent act to the
pups.”

“Hawke’s translating the journals
to see if there is anything we can use to beat the bastards. I hope
he finds something. I shut the compound down and started a
war.”

“With Jasmine?
” Angus couldn’t imagine
his sister-in-law pissed at not being able to leave if it was
dangerous.

“No, my pups took exception.
” He told
Angus about the circus and everything they’d done to prep the kids
to go.

“Even David
?” Angus couldn’t imagine
that one getting upset over anything.

“No, he stared at me for a few minutes and
then gave me his back
.” Silas laughed. Angus didn’t blame
him.

“He’s going to be a force when
he’s older.”

“Yes, I believe you are right. I
sent Leon and Brix to track down and eliminate any Liege Lord they
find in this country. They are not welcome on this
continent.”

Angus’ brow rose. “
Continent? You claiming
all of it now?”

“Where the safety of my pups and
every pup in my pack is concerned, yes. For what they have done,
their days are numbered.”

“Understood. We are headed to
Chacal’s to do some research on LOBO and will keep you
updated.”

“Send copies of what you have so I
can see it. I need to talk with my alphas, we need to plan and
prepare.”

“Okay, will do
.” Angus disconnected and
stared at the page.

Project LOBO: Liege Organized Behavior
Optimization. What the hell did that involve?

Chapter 9

Silas strode from the lab and headed to his
office. He’d put it off as long as he could. Rose sat behind the
desk, her extended belly made it impossible for her to get any
closer.

“You doing okay today?” he asked as he did
every day.

“Yes, we’re doing good. I left a stack of
messages on your desk, mostly Alphas requesting
call-backs.”

He nodded. “I’m about to do a conference call.
Set it up. Have Rone and Rese meet me in five minutes.”

She nodded and got busy.

“How are things
?” He asked Jasmine once
he settled in his chair. He’d left her to deal with the pups and
knew she’d be pissed. But he couldn’t take the tears on Renee and
Jackie’s faces. He had almost changed his mind and offered to take
them himself. Which may become his last option.

“Hmmm, feeling guilty
?”

He closed his eyes and swallowed a grimace at
the bite in her voice. “
No. Yes. Just a little. I didn’t expect
them to react like that. Goddess, did you see David turn his back
on me? Unbelievable.”

“No. The unbelievable part was looking for
you to stand up to your children and not finding you anywhere. You
created this mess and didn’t stick around to clean it
up
.”

Silas rubbed his forehead with his fingers.
“
I know, you’re right. My princesses, Renee and Jackie got to
me, I couldn’t take it. What are they doing now? Still
crying?”

“Go check.”

He released a long sigh. “
I have a meeting
with my Alphas in a few minutes, otherwise I would.”

“What happened,
” she asked in a
no-nonsense tone.

“Angus came across some papers
about a Project LOBO that the Liege have for pups.”

“What?”

Silas told her what he’d been told, Tyrone and
Tyrese knocked and entered. “
The twins are here, we need to get
ready to brief the Alphas on what’s happening. I’m sorry I left you
in the midst of battle and will do better next
time.”

“Hope so.”

Silas exhaled and left his office. Rone and
Rese stood nearby talking. “How’s Danielle,” Silas asked about
Rese’ mate.

“She’s fine and on her way back with Maheegan.
They should arrive in an hour.”

“Okay, come with me. You’ll need to leave to
pick them up, but I want you to hear most of this.”

Tyrese nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Maheegan will be leaving soon, I need her to
do some research in Romania. She got the message just as she was
boarding. Did your mate tell you?” Silas asked as he closed the
door to the conference room. The large screen on the wall filled
with Alphas logging online.

“Dani said you were sending her nana
somewhere, but didn’t say much more than that.”

“Good, as long as she knows. I forgot to tell
Angus, but Asia knows. I’ll tell him later.” He looked at the
monitor and the number forty-three flashing beneath it, after seven
more Alphas checked in he would start. “Have a seat,” he said to
the twins who took a chair on each side of him. One day all six of
his pups would share this table with him. His chest expanded with
that thought.

First, he needed to insure every pup in the
pack was safe from the Liege’s grasp and optimizing project. The
need for retribution burned deep inside, too many of his kind lost
their lives and mates in those experiments for him to ever allow
the Liege to get off lightly. Each one would pay dearly for what
they had done. He’d make sure of it.

When the counter beneath the screen reached
fifty, Silas spoke. “I have important news to share with you
concerning the Liege and the threat they represent to our pack.”
For the next two hours, Silas answered questions, eased fears and
concerns, and stopped a lynching party packed and ready to head to
Romania.

Chapter 10

Beams of the morning sun filtered through the
curtains of the hotel room. Asia rolled on her side and rested her
leg on top of her mate’s thigh. His palm cupped her ass and
squeezed. She hadn’t loved him when they mated. Fond of him? Yes.
Interested? Yes. But this gut-wrenching need to be joined with him
at all times? No. This was new. And now she understood the often
misused and misunderstood term, falling in love.

“Morning,” he said against her forehead. The
warmth of his words slid down her back and nestled in her core.
After the many times he’d taken her and she’d taken him last night,
the press of his hardness against his belly soothed her.

“I’m sore.” She snuggled closer.

“Me too.” He rubbed his cock against
her.

“Seriously, you wore me out last night. I
might not be able to walk today.” She bit his nipple causing him to
moan.

“I’ll carry you wherever you need to go. You
can always count on me to fix anything I break, with you that is.”
He chuckled and she enjoyed the movement of his chest against
hers.

She rolled on top of him and looked into his
face. Her fingertip traced the scar near his mouth and then his
lips. He drew her finger into his mouth and sucked on it for a bit
sending giddy tingles through her body. His hazel eyes glowed with
sexual intent.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said,
tapping the tip of his narrow nose.

Hawke placed his hands beneath his head,
leaving himself to her mercy. “No you don’t.”

His long black hair spilled on the white
pillowcase providing a striking contrast, not only with colors, but
hard and soft as well. She picked up a few silky strands and played
with them while watching him.

“You want to get started translating those
journals so we can finish and leave this place,” she teased when he
frowned and then laughed.

“That was not on my mind.” He paused until he
captured her gaze. “Kiss me.”

Her heart fluttered at the softly uttered
command. Her wolf went wild and pushed her forward. Asia placed her
palms on the mattress next to each of his ears, leaned forward and
brushed her lips against his. Firm, yet pliable, she slid her
tongue along the seam of his mouth asking for access and he
complied. Kissing Hawke had become her favorite pastime. The man
didn’t just invite her into the kiss. When they kissed, he opened
himself to her emotionally and everything he felt for her resonated
in the simple touching of mouth and tongue. Their kisses always
left her panting and breathless, wanting more. Her core clenched in
need as he rolled her to the side, deepening their kiss. Heart
soaring, she embraced his commitment to love and cherish her
forever. He called her his sun. She named him her moon. The two
dependent on each other for balance.

Instead of giving her words of love, he showed
her how much she meant to him and how empty he was until she came
into his life. She accepted his love and returned it on the wings
of an equal pledge to love and honor him with her life. He colored
her world and completed her in ways she never imagined.

“You are my today and all of my tomorrows,”
she gasped when they broke apart. He pulled her tight and held her
close. Sunlight and roses burst through the link warming her as he
rolled her onto her back.

“My everything,” he whispered and plunged into
her. Her nails dug into his arms as he thrust repeatedly into her,
taking her higher.

“Merge with me,” she whispered and met him in
the halls of their link. Bright, and strong, his energy rolled
forward meeting hers, twisting and intertwining them together as he
continued driving into her snug warmth.

“My everything,” he said again, this time
their energies changed and became one color, a bright white that
spilled over and out of their link. Asia held onto his arms as he
sped up and lifted her higher until the brightness surrounded them.
She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop. More she wanted more of
him.

“Hawke,” she called and rose on her toes
beneath him and then flew apart. Her body shook as waves of
pleasure rolled through her. Thoughts couldn’t land. She couldn’t
speak. Small tremors continued shooting through her as she tried to
breathe.

After a few more strokes, he roared and held
her hips so tight, she winced in pain. When his breathing
normalized, he sent warm energy through her system easing her
aches. His thoughtfulness tugged at her heart and she melted into
his embrace.

“I only have two more journals to translate,”
he spoke into the silence.

Too wiped to speak, she nodded.

“There are a few outbuildings around the
castle. I’d like to look through them before we head
back.”

She nodded and rubbed her hand across his
chest, flicking his nipple.