The Wolf Fount (23 page)

Morgan
. Cal sighed.
Please don’t let whatever’s going on break you
.

L
aney halted a few feet away from the downed man to stare at Lucas and Jerome. Her brown eyes narrowed, and she impatiently swatted a few strands of dark hair away from them. “You think this Morgan is Cal’s Chimaera?”

“Shh!” Lucas scowled. “Don’t say it out loud. He might hear you.”

“He’s halfway down the runway. Even Cal’s ears aren’t that good. Why do you think that?”

Jerome answered. “Because the boss hasn’t been himself since she showed up. He screwed up handling her first change, dumped on her Thane, and there’s other signs.”

Laney snorted, crossing the remaining space to kneel by the unconscious mechanic. “That doesn’t mean anything. Cal’s not perfect, guys.” She put her hand on the man’s forehead. “Our fearless leader has a habit of thinking with his little head, instead of the one attached to his neck. And I know something you don’t.”

“Do tell.” Lucas crouched down beside her.

She shook her head. Jerome dropped to one knee, joining them around the mechanic. “Come on, Laney. You can’t say something like that and not explain. We’re worried about him.”

“Okay, fine. Cal doesn’t think his Chimaera will ever appear, because he killed the other Founts and their Chimaeras. I don’t know if it’s because he’s the last one standing, but he can do things I can’t even begin to understand with his mind.”

Lucas nodded. “Sure, but...”

“I think he’s unconsciously doing something to prevent his Chimaera from appearing. Maybe even from being born. Punishing himself.” She removed her hand from the mechanic’s forehead. “The goons that brought them here work for some drug dealer. Our missing people weren’t moving when he saw them.”

“Give me the name.”

“Leonard Riscorato. He heard them say she’d stolen some money from him.”

Lucas groaned. “That’s the guy who put out a hit on Morgan.”

“Then it’s time we return the favor.” Jerome surged to his feet and offered Laney a hand up. “Are you up for the hunt?”

“Sure. I want to meet this Morgan.” Laney smiled. “I have the feeling I’ll like her, if she’s capable of working Cal into a frenzy.”

“She scared Jana.”

Laney’s eyebrows rose. “Maybe I don’t want to meet her then.”

C
al stayed where he was, waiting for Laney to finish the walk down the runway. The fact that she was the one sent to get him pushed him to think she hadn’t learned anything from the mechanic. Neither Lucas nor Jerome enjoyed being the bearers of bad news. Once she was close enough, he said, “No go?”

“Lucas is tapping contacts to locate one Leonard Riscorato.”

The name was familiar, and Cal frowned. “That’s...”

“The dealer Morgan stole fifty K from. Sounds like the new girl’s into doing things big.” Laney cocked her head. “How are you holding up, boss man?”

“I’m not the one everyone should be worrying about.”

“Except everyone is. Did you know Sebastian contacted me? He wanted me to come in and stay home for a while.”

Cal blinked. “Why?”

“Because of you. Or maybe ‘because of Morgan’ is more to the point.” Straightening her head, she held out her hand. “Let’s head back, and I’ll fill you in on what everyone’s gossiping about.”

He took her hand, but said, “I know what everyone’s gossiping about: what an asshole I was to Morgan.”

Laney tugged him into motion. “That’s the general consensus, sure, but that’s not the hot gossip. They think she may be your Chimaera, Cal.”

He stopped. “What? She’s not.”

“Are you certain? Sebastian told Jake no one knows anything about Chimaeras’ appearances.” She pulled until he began walking again. “If you don’t know the signs, then how can you tell whether she is or isn’t?”

“I’d know.”
Wouldn’t I
? “She’s only changed to wolf. Nothing else. Not even when she’s been extremely pissed. And how the hell did you pick up on the gossip? You’ve been gone from headquarters for two months.”

Laney chuckled, a low, throaty noise he’d always enjoyed hearing. Even now, with all the stress and worries, he found it soothing. “I always have my sources, boss. Those sources have also informed me that Thane’s grown extremely attached to Morgan.”

“He has.”

“Which is a problem, if she’s your Chimaera.”

“She’s not.”

Laney swung around in front of him and Cal stopped short. She’d released his hand, pointed at his face. “You don’t think she is, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t. You’re the world’s worst about kissing and telling, Cal. You told Sebastian there were weird shocks each time you touched Morgan at first.”

“She could have a psychic ability.”

“Oh, for,” Laney rolled her eyes. “Okay, sure, she could. And I could be the Queen of England. What about the factoid you passed on about the increase in your sexual appetite?”

Cal scowled and pushed her finger down. “Remind me to use my nephew for target practice for a few weeks once this is over.”

“Like that’ll happen.” She put her hands on her hips and smiled. “Do you still want me?”

“Excuse me?”

“Women know, Cal. You wanted me, I said no, but you were still highly attracted to me.”

He studied her face. “I’m still attracted to you.”

“As much as you were? Because I could practically smell the lust pouring from you there for a while.” Laney leaned close and took an exaggerated sniff of his chest. “Not so much now, boss.”

Before he could decide how to respond—
when had she started speaking so bluntly
?—she continued. “And what about Morgan basically terrifying Jana with a look, and the fact that she managed to ignore one of your commands and tried to attack you?”

“She’s obviously quite dominant.” Cal stepped around her while Laney turned to follow him. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s been extremely dominant right off the bat. I’m rusty dealing with such an Awakened one.”

“Fine, how about the fact she was in the final stage of Awakening for so long?”

“Maybe she was fighting it. She’s a stubborn woman.”

“Oh, Cal. You’re,” Laney shook her head. “You’re determined to keep punishing yourself.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?” He spotted Lucas leaving the hangar. Jerome followed after a few seconds.

“Signs, boss man. Have you ever felt those shocks before? Have you ever had a female wolf able to break your command before? What about the sexual factor? Have you ever wanted another woman that badly, so quickly after meeting her? Especially one with as bad an attitude as Morgan reportedly has? Or have you ever gotten so bent out of shape over a woman, ever?”

No, I haven’t
. He wasn’t going to admit it to Laney, and didn’t need to say anything out loud because she shot him a look that said she’d heard the thought. “She hates me.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you about that, but I do think you’d better start considering the possibility that Morgan is your Chimaera. If she is, you’re going to have to fix things with her. Even if she isn’t, you’re going to have to fix things with her.” Laney lowered her voice. “You don’t want her becoming a figurehead for those who haven’t forgiven you, Cal.”

A chill slipped down his spine. “What have you heard?”

“Older Weres of the other species are rabble rousing about the past. And it’s getting louder. All they need is someone to hoist on their shoulders, and they’ll rebel against you.” Laney scowled. “There’s even talk of going public.”

“I want names.” He did not need that kind of problem, now or ever.

“Check your email, boss. I sent you a list.”

Cal slid his arm around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head. “You’re my favorite operative.”

Laney rolled her eyes again, but laughed.

T
hane fought for partial consciousness, only to relax as he felt Morgan’s now-familiar body next to his. She was warm. It was quiet. For a few minutes, that was enough for him, until prior events began to resurface in his memory.

Not immediately opening his eyes, he tested the air for scents. Morgan, clean sheets, and the unmistakable, though faint, mustiness of vampire. Thane slowly opened his eyes. The lighting was dim, but they were in a bed, in a strange bedroom. The walls were stone, and the door metal. There weren’t any windows.

We’re still prisoners
. Accepting that for the moment, he slowly sat up and looked at Morgan. She looked much better than the last time he’d seen her. Her face was a green and yellow rainbow of old bruising, scabs dotted across it, and her lips were little more than solid scabbing, but most of the swelling was gone. There was an IV line attached to the back of her left hand, and she was obviously as nude under the sheet covering them both as he was.

He felt fine, and upon checking, saw no signs of trauma other than a shiny pink spot in the middle of his chest. The new skin was sensitive, and felt delicate, but the only sensation coming from it was an itch. Thane resisted scratching it in favor of gently checking Morgan’s jaw. It was properly in place.

He squinted at the bag hanging from a hook on the wall and recognized the liquid it contained: some super mix of nutrients one of Cal’s scientific geniuses had whipped up to help speed healing for Weres even more. Not something just anyone could get their hands on. Less time could’ve passed than he thought then, if he’d been given the same treatment.
Maybe we’re not prisoners anymore
.

Except he’d never seen such a room before that he could remember, not at any of Cal’s homes or any of the organization’s holdings. And there was that faint vampire smell.
It could be from Sebastian
. All vampires smelled alike, under whatever colognes or perfumes they used. He sniffed again, but didn’t smell Sebastian’s preferred cologne.

Remembering the threats made toward Morgan, Thane lifted the sheet slightly and took a deep sniff of her scent. Though someone had obviously washed them both, he picked up the odor of old blood. He didn’t smell anything that indicated someone had raped her after he had been shot.

One less nightmare for her to deal with
. He lowered the sheet and touched her hair before leaving the bed. The stone floor felt cool under his feet.
First things first
. Thane began to carefully stretch, working out the stiffness he always felt after healing from major trauma.

Goosebumps broke out all over him as he scanned the room while stretching. Calling it a bedroom was generous, as the bed and an old-fashioned chamber pot in one corner were the only furnishings. It was a cell. A stone cage. Seventy-one years had passed since the were-liger had last spent time in a cell, and that one had been on the lowest level of headquarters.

It hadn’t been so bad. Cal had slowly furnished it, piece by piece, allowing Thane time to grow accustomed to each change before adding something new. The First had visited twice daily, eating breakfast and dinner with him. He smiled, remembering Cal’s patience with teaching him how to use a fork and knife properly, and his delight in introducing Thane to new foods.

The memory calmed the were-liger; the goosebumps faded. He walked the perimeter of the room, checked for loose stones, and tried the door. It was locked, but there were two potential openings: a small square a jailer could open to look through, and a slot at the bottom to push things through. Both were covered and locked down. He took a slow deep breath, released it more slowly, and went back to stand beside the bed to look at Morgan.
I can’t panic. She needs me to be strong until we figure a way out of here
.

Or maybe she didn’t. She’d proven herself plenty strong, making her first vampire kill alone, and then acting to let those men know the two of them weren’t helpless just because they’d been chained. Morgan hadn’t cried or begged when Fig was beating her either.

Why were we moved? Who has us
? Thane slid back under the covers to sit, turning his attention to the ceiling to look for signs someone was watching or listening. Nothing obvious to see; no cameras or microphones, unless they were too well-disguised. He glanced at the IV bag, which was two-thirds empty. Someone would have to come and change it, or remove it, soon. When someone did, he’d learn more.