Alpha Hunter (29 page)

“Then ask.”

She paused to lick her lips then rushed on, “Did you find out about my father?”

“I did. Are you sure you want to know the details?”

Her throat was suddenly tight as well as dry, but she managed to nod.

“Your father was apprehended during our mission and returned to Ontariese.”

“Then he’s still alive?”

He shook his head. His features were tense with suppressed emotion and his end of their link was carefully shielded. “He was killed during an attempt to escape from the detention center on the City of Tears.”

“Did you expect that to upset me? I didn’t care one way or the other. I just wanted to know for sure.”

He started to speak then shook his head and
whispered, “Glad I could be of service.”

“What’s wrong? Is there more to the story? You’re acting really strange.” She knew him well enough to sense that he was hiding something important.

“Your father and both his brothers were part of the dirty dozen. His older brother’s name was Garrod. He was the renegade who arranged the ambush that killed Larria.”

“I’m so sorry. I guess I should have
asked Lor to look into it.”

“I’m not upset and Lor would have told me. The past can only exert as much control over us as we allow.”

She let the concept resonate for a moment. Their present was still filled with challenges, but Blayne was right. She was no longer a prisoner to the past. She felt wonderfully unencumbered for the first time in her adult life. “So how do we shape our future?”

“Personally or professionally?”
His tone became playful again.

“
Unfortunately one seems to trump the other. We might want to frolic naked on a beach all day, but you have obligations.”

He laughed. “I’m pretty sure I have never frolicked on a beach or otherwise.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I have obligations on Earth and you need more training. Neither of those facts will affect our happiness unless our priorities are incorrect.”

She glanced away from his handsome face. It was too easy to believe everything he said without question when she looked into his eyes. “I know you’ll be here until the Shadow Assassins are all apprehended, but what happens after that?”

“I go back to Ontariese and forget all about you?” His warm fingers curved around her chin and turned her face back around. “Is that really what frightens you?”

“No.” She answered so quickly that it didn’t sound believable. He lowered his arm, resting his hand on the bed on the far side of her legs. “Maybe a little. I know you love me. I feel it each time we touch, but it’s still hard for me to believe this won’t burn out.”

“
If we’re honest with each other and continually feed the flames, our love will just burn brighter. The rest is logistics. After the Shadow Assassins threat is neutralized we can do whatever we want, go wherever we want. We can stay here. I’ll become a world-famous illusionist and you can read minds.”

She laughed. “That would actually work
frighteningly well, but life on Earth seems pretty limiting now. I’d like to see Ontariese and more of Bilarri than Lord Drakkin’s lodge.”

“Then I’ll show you that and more.
I don’t think you realize it yet but temporal farseers are in high demand. Your future can be whatever you want it to be.”

“
Our
future. That’s the only thing I’m certain about. I want you there with me.”

He pulled her onto his lap, tangling the bedding around her legs. “I will never leave you. You are the other half of my soul.” He kissed her deeply, slowly, reassuring her with each brush of his lips and each tender stroke of his tongue. She returned the kiss with equal fervor. Their link was open wide.

She was breathless and giddy by the time he eased his mouth away. “When we get to Ontariese, I’d like to meet your mother. Can you arrange that for me?”

His gaze narrowed and he tilted his head. “Why?”

“Because the reconciliation has to start somewhere and I can be pretty compelling when I want to be.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “She’s a formidable adversary. Why would you subject yourself to someone like that?”

“Because she’s hurting the man I love.”

He smiled and kissed her mouth. “I will never tire of hearing those words.”

Rather than indulge him, she asked, “Now that we’re lovers, do I need to find another mentor?”

“We are
life mates.” He growled. “I need to hear you say it.”

“Now that we are
life mates
, do I need a different mentor?”

He smiled, clearly pleased by her
easy surrender. “We’re not at the Conservatory. We can do whatever we want. However, there are two of the best Mystics I know right here on this ship. You would benefit greatly from different training techniques.”

“You want me to train with Odintar and Lor?” Her stomach did a little flip and tension curled through her belly.
Surely he wasn’t suggesting…

He
laughed and pinched her behind. “Training with them will not mean what it meant with us. You have greater control over your abilities than you did when we began. I’m the only one allowed to give you pleasure.”

“Odintar will be so disappointed.” She managed to keep a straight face and was rewarded with
more of his laughter. She loved the sound, so rich and warm.

“
To borrow one of your sister’s favorite sayings, Odintar will just have to deal.” He shifted her back to the bed and stood.

“Speaking of Tori.
I’ll tell her she needs to—”

“There’s no need. She stopped me yesterday and apologized for what she said. She was terrified and worried. I understand. It’s
forgotten.”

“Good. Now hopefully your family will be as reasonable.”

He shook his head with a mirthless smile. “I’m not holding my breath, but it means everything that you’re willing to try. Now, do you feel strong enough to dress? Lor is going to brief everyone during the evening meal.”

“I’ll give it a shot, but I might need your help.”

“As always, I am entirely at your service.”

Knowing Odintar intended to release
Angie, Tori had provided a fresh uniform. Angie took a quick shower then donned the simple clothes. “Back to commando,” she muttered as she came out of the tiny bathroom.

Blayne’s gaze narrowed and desire surged across their link. “You know what
happens when I know you’re not wearing underwear. You shouldn’t have said anything.”

She raised her brow in silent challenge. “Maybe I want to keep you smoldering for the rest of the night.”

“You’ll be lucky to make it through dinner.” He reached for her and she twisted away, but the room spun around her and she nearly lost her footing. He steadied her until the vertigo abated. “Damn it. You’re still really weak. We both need to behave or you’ll end up back in bed.”

“Not until
after
dinner.”

With the entire crew assembled, the galley was overly crowded. The three soldiers had activated the retractable seats, Lor stood, which left the booth for the
other two Mystics, plus Tori and Angie.

“This is going to be cozy,” Blayne predicted as everyone scooted together to make room for Angie and him.

“We better eat after the briefing or we’ll all end up wearing our food,” Lor decided.

“If you’re willing to share
, let’s put the females on the table and we can all eat now,” Odintar cheerfully suggested.

The soldiers laughed while Blayne and Lor glared at their comrade.

“In your dreams,” Tori volleyed.

“A time or two,” Odintar agreed
with a rakish smile.

Angie had never seen Tori banter with a man, much less a man who was not her mate. It was a wonderful change and she couldn’t help but smile.

“The best strategy is just to ignore him,” Blayne told her.

“We’re going to be here all night unless you settle down.” Lor’s voice snapped with authority and warning.

“Copy that,” Odintar grumbled then he winked at Angie and added, “We’ll all eat after the briefing.”

Lor rolled his eyes then went on as if Odintar hadn’t spoken. “
Doctor Porffer confirmed that their primary purpose is to transfer the hunters’ abilities into their mates.”

“What made them think that was even possible?” Dekker asked. He was seated between the other two soldiers and was frequently their spokesperson.
“Mystics can’t transfer their powers to others, can they?”

“
No,” Lor assured him. “But Shadow Assassins have a unique physiology. When one claims his mate, he triggers a biological change that makes her more likely to get pregnant. The Rodytes are trying to transfer other genetic information during that process.”

“Are their nanites responsible for this change or is it spontaneous?”
the soldier persisted.

“We’re not sure,” Lor admitted. “We’ve only been able to study the result, not the actual transformation.”

Angie shivered. “Is that what Nazerel was doing when we located him, ‘studying’ the transformation?”

Only Blayne understood her question, so he wrapped his arm around her and
squeezed her shoulder. “That’s what we’re trying to prevent.”

“We knew all this,” Odintar prompted. “Did this doctor tell us anything new?”

“She admitted that none of the transfers have been successful, which is damn good news.” Lor shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he continued. “Now for the not so good news. Porffer thought she’d found a way to circumvent the men’s involvement in the process.”

Dekker snickered. “The females were going to double-cross the hunters? I bet that went over well.”

“Porffer is pretty sure the hunters don’t know about it, mainly because Sevrin is still alive,” Lor explained. “So Sevrin is back to having reluctant allies. They’d all rather stab each other in the back, but they need each other too much right now.”

“I understand why Sevrin needs the hunters, but why do they need her?” Dekker asked. “They’re skilled warriors. Mercenaries can always find work.”

“Without Sevrin, they can claim mates and likely father children, but I suspect they would rather have mates empowered with their abilities.” Lor remained patient despite all the interruptions.

“Wouldn’t you?” Odintar challenged. “If I could transfer my power to you and then you could transfer it to your life mate, wouldn’t it be worth putting up with a bossy female for a while?”

“Point taken,” Dekker grumbled, obviously irritated by having his lack of Mystic abilities pointed out. “So what’s next?” He shifted his gaze back to Lor.

“
According to Porffer, there’s one last team house in the Las Vegas area. We’re going to find it and shut it down.”

“One?
You raided the Team North house and the motel/lab. What happened to the other team houses?” Angie asked.

“
When Team North’s alpha was interrogated we learned the location of Team South’s house and Sevrin’s headquarters. Unfortunately, both had been abandoned by the time we arrived. We’ve also confirmed that Team East has moved out of state. Porffer gave us a list of possible locations, but Sevrin refused to tell her which she had chosen. They’re all mid-size college towns and Morgan has a team working on narrowing the list down. For now, we focus on the Team West house which is here in Las Vegas.”

“Can’t Zacharous tell us where his house is?” Blayne asked. “He’s the
Team West alpha.”

“The interrogators can’t get through his shields. Director
dar Aune even called in his specialist and she couldn’t reach his memories either. It’s the first time she’s failed. Surprised the hell out of everyone.”

“
The two guards Lor captured at the motel were Rodyte,” Blayne mused. “Which means Team West is without a leader.”

“And Team South is without a house.” Lor obviously anticipated where Blayne was headed. “I’m right there with you. I think Nazerel will absorb Zacharous’ men into Team South
and take over the last Las Vegas location.”

“That will give him eight hunters on his team instead of four,” Angie realized. “Is that an advantage or disadvantage?”

“Shouldn’t matter. If we can find the house, we can finally capture Nazerel?” Dekker sounded hopeful.

“Angie found him once before,” Kris said. “Can she do it again?”

Every eye in the room shifted to Angie and she wanted to melt into the floor. The last time she’d found Nazerel, he’d very nearly killed her.

“She’s much too weak to even try,” Blayne insisted.

“I agree,” Odintar stressed. “We’re stuck with conventional methods. We get out there and pound the pavement. End of story.”

His stanch defense caught Angie
off guard. Blayne was morally and emotionally obligated to protect his mate. Odintar’s vehemence, on the other hand, was a nice surprise. “I’m sorry, Kris. I’d help if I could.”