BirthRight (18 page)

The older wolf growled his displeasure,
shifted and stood next to the twins. His wolf snarled just as
aggressively as the other wolves. Silas stepped out the car and
called the wolves hiding in the bush into the light. Struggling
against his compulsion, they yipped and snarled as they came into
the clearing.

Seeing the wolves struggling, the other
wolves lunged toward the twins and Hank. Silas watched the battle
while holding the two wolves hostage. Theron had been right; these
wolves were fast, but not as fast as the twins.

Silas watched as Tyrone and Tyrese shifted,
raced around the wolves in a blazing circle, snipping and taking
swipes with their claws.

One wolf leapt forward outside the circle
and Hank was on it immediately.

The remaining wolves tried to catch one of
the twins, but their speed was unbelievable. Tyrone stepped in and
pushed one of the snarling wolves toward Hank, who bit its leg and
then snapped its neck. Tyrese cut through the remaining three
wolves and pushed another wolf aside. The wolf couldn’t stand
before Hank was on top of it.

“Stop!” A woman’s voice called out as she
strode through the clearing crying with wild eyes. Her hair tumbled
is disarray around her shoulders and down her back. With jerky
movements she turned toward the two wolves Silas held.

“Stop them,” she commanded. One wolf howled,
while the other snapped at the woman. The human jumped back, looked
between the two wolves and the fight with a gleam of horror and
fascination. She fell to her knees with a loud wail as the fight
drew to conclusion.

Tyrese and Tyrone continued, and Silas had
no intention of stopping the massacre.

Once the last of the five wolves were down,
Tyrese, Tyrone, and Hank howled. Blood dripped from their sharp
teeth as they turned their attention to the other two wolves and
the human female who sat on the ground sobbing.

Silas stepped into the clearing. He heard
Theron and his pack approaching, and needed to get some answers
before he allowed the Alpha to extract his own justice. He glanced
at the twins.
“Good job,”
he told them and Hank through
their links. The twins had worked as a synchronized unit that left
their enemy confused. It was a brilliant strategy and he planned to
talk with them about it later.

They howled and circled to come up behind
him.

Silas looked at the two wolves.
“Change.”

Seconds later an older man and woman lay on
the ground in front of him. They looked at the weeping female. The
male made a move as though to comfort her.

Silas growled and he froze.
“Brad, secure
the female.”
He sent the message and his bodyguard sauntered
over to the woman, picked her up, and then dropped her. A long
knife stuck out of Brad’s chest. Silas’ rage boiled over and he
slapped the female with a whip of his power as he strode over to
check on Brad.

Hank and the twins surrounded the couple on
the ground as the male begged Silas to spare the female’s life. The
human female flipped on the ground as though currents of
electricity ripped her apart. Silas hadn’t gone easy on the
woman.

No one attacked his guards. No one.

Kneeling beside Brad, he looked at the man.
“See me.”

Brad’s eyes latched onto his.

With one move, he pulled out the knife.
“Change.” He sent a surge of compulsion in his words to assist the
transformation so the wolf could heal.

Moments later, the rumble of vehicles
signaled the arrival of Theron’s pack. Seconds later they entered
the clearing. Theron changed from a hulking wolf and strode to
Silas. He bowed and looked around.

“You didn’t save much for me.” The man
sounded disappointed.

“The twins got antsy and teamed up with Hank
for some baseball.” He waved off Theron’s frown. “Later, right now
I’m waiting for Brad to stop lying around and stand up.” The wolf
in question lifted his head, and then with some hesitation stood
and moved around, albeit slowly.

Silas tipped his head in the female’s
direction. “She stabbed him.”

Theron growled.

“Yeah. But I want to talk to all three of
them before you mete out justice for your fallen.”

Theron nodded although Silas could tell he
wanted to rip the three apart. His pack had stacked the dead wolves
for transport back to their lands, where they’d dispose of them.
The two remaining wolves were cuffed and stuffed into vehicles.

Theron picked up the female, daring her to
do something. She closed her eyes as he took her to another
vehicle.

Tyrone, Tyrese, and Hank changed at Silas’
command. They watched Brad lope toward the car and change. In
silence Hank slid behind the wheel and pulled out behind the
Alpha’s car. The other cars pulled out behind them. The drive to
the pack lands were in silence, although Silas knew questions
swirled in the minds of the twins. He appreciated that they waited.
One debriefing was more than enough.

Chapter 15

The sprawling two-story Alpha house sat in
the middle of ten thousand acres in the southwestern part of the
state. Theron’s pack lands boasted their own schools, a baseball
and football field, a small hospital, a butcher, dry goods, a bar
and all types of small businesses. There were pastures with
livestock, numerous barns, and large fields of crops. Pools and
playgrounds dotted the landscape, as well as numerous homes in
small communities.

t had been a while since Silas had visited.
He’d always been impressed with how forward thinking Theron and his
mate Shelby, a licensed veterinarian, were. At the mouth of their
lands there was a strip mall that was open to the general public.
That’s where Shelby’s veterinarian practice was located, as well as
a large grocery store, a drug store and small department stores. A
movie theater and karaoke bar was located on opposite ends of the
mall. No one knew the shopping center was pack-owned. All the
employees lived on pack lands. It was also the place where all
shipments to the pack’s stores were delivered. Theron’s strict rule
of ‘pack only’ on their lands was heavily enforced by security
teams.

The prisoners were taken to the small jail
and a doctor was called to check on the female. She hadn’t spoken
since she’d screamed for them to stop killing the wolves. Shelby,
Theron’s mate, strolled into the room where Silas sat talking
quietly to Theron. The Alpha had a smile on his face before she
spoke.

“Greetings, La Patron.” She offered a small
bow with a large smile. She was a petite redhead with emerald green
eyes that flashed fire when she was angry. He remembered when
Theron was courting the firebrand her eyes flashed all the time.
She hadn’t wanted to give up her schooling and move to the country.
A wolf’s major strategy was to tire their opponents. Theron had
been relentless in his pursuit and in the end won his prize.

Silas took her tanned hand and placed a kiss
on the back of it. “Finally the light has come into this dreary
place.” He smiled as her cheeks reddened. “You are still beautiful,
Shelby. It is a pleasure to see you again. I wish the circumstances
were better, but…”

She nodded and glanced at her mate. He
reached for her. She stepped into his arms and kissed her hard.
Silas looked over their heads at the twins. They were in the middle
of a discussion with Hank while Brad sat in a chair nearby,
listening.

“The female is fine, a little shaken, but
otherwise still angry and mouthing curses. We found this in the
bushes. The camera had been engaged.

Silas looked at the cell phone. “Have you
tracked her last call?”

“It went to an untraceable phone. But she’d
taken pictures of the fight, probably sent them as well,” Theron
said looking at the device. Silas shrugged. “What about your
wolves? The ones who suffered from the earlier attack?”

“They are healing.” She chuckled. “Although
Philippe has decided to pass on the Alpha position.”

Silas looked between the two, wondering what
he’d missed. “Why?”

Theron pulled his mate close and looked at
him. “When we arrived, they couldn’t believe packs live like this.
Within moments of eating a full meal in the hall, they all asked to
join our pack and not return to Mexico. Philippe was the first to
ask.”

Silas nodded. “You’ve done well. There is a
sense of growth and security here. I understand that most of your
young return from college to either work here on the lands or in
your shopping areas.”

Theron nodded. “Yes, we’re building a few
office buildings here for some of the businesses. Shelby has
approved the business plans of ten pack members. We’ll build
another building near the strip mall for businesses that will
appeal to both sides of our nature.”

“That’s excellent,” he said with pride. “I’d
love to hear more about that tomorrow, now I’d like to talk to the
wolves. And then the female.”

Shelby nodded.

“Yes, Sir. This way please. The jail has a
holding section for the injured. The wolves are down this hall,”
Theron said, leading the way.

The wolves were chained to the walls, but
lowered their heads when Silas and Theron walked in alone. Silas
watched the mated pair and wondered what their connection to the
human female was.

“Did your pack attack this pack earlier
today as they crossed the border?” Silas asked.

The wolves frowned. “No. We are a small
pack. To attack an Alpha is suicide.”

“Yet you put one of your drivers in my car
and had him take me to a side location. You didn’t think that was
suicide?”

The male blanched. “We didn’t know who… she
just said to take the car, to bring the car to the clearing.”

“Who? Who told you to take the car?” How did
they know he was coming, Silas wondered.

“Mar—”

The female stopped mid-sentence and looked
at her mate. She snarled. “Even now you would protect her. After
what she has done?”

“She didn’t know…”

“Of course she didn’t, yet they are all
dead. Dead because you chose to follow her instructions instead of
listening to me. Me, your mate.” She tried to swipe at him but her
chains prevented the domestic brawl from escalating

Silas’ brow rose. “This is the last time I
will ask. Who told you to kidnap my car and how did you know I was
coming?”

Theron tensed at the last question. It had
been a long night and Silas forgave the Alpha for not realizing
that important fact.

“It was Marguerite. The pack whore,” she
spat. “She’s the human who’s been breeding for my mate and some of
the older wolves for the past fifty years. I’ve never been able to
breed, and when one of the wolves brought her to the pack, she was
received as a gift from the goddess and given everything her heart
desired. After a few deliveries, she started making suggestions on
pack activities. Instead of questioning her knowledge, the males
jumped and did as she suggested.”

“They were good ideas,” her mate said, his
face reddening as she spoke of him in a disrespectful tone. “You
said nothing at the time.”

Her head whipped around and she snarled. “I
did. I questioned who she was and her ability to birth pups. That’s
not natural, damn you. Nor is it natural for you to mate with her,
but you swore the goddess favored you and allowed you to copulate
with that bitch, and she bore you sons. She became your mate in all
but name.”

Silas heard the pain in the bitch’s voice.
The mating bond was sacrosanct. To hear that it had flaws, that it
had been broken, sent a wave of trepidation through him. These
humans threatened their existence in a way that no enemy had
before.

“You violated your mating vows?” Theron
asked, his voice deep, gravelly.

The male wolf jerked and stared a moment,
before lowering his head. “I…At the time I didn’t see it that way.
I only thought of having pups. Nothing more. I…I failed my mate and
my pack.”

“Where are the pups?” Silas couldn’t believe
that the five they’d disposed of earlier were all there were after
fifty years.

“Half were born malformed and were killed
outright,” the bitch said with some sorrow. “Some were killed in
fights, and others left to find their way in the world. The ones…
the ones from tonight were all that were left.”

“What about the older wolves? The ones who
brought her to the pack? What happened to them?” Theron asked.

“Over time they died.”

“You killed them, or had them killed,” his
mate snapped, disgust dripping from her tone. “You wanted no one
else to fuck that bitch and got rid of them all.”

“Yet you allowed your mate to live?” Silas
asked, watching the male closely.

“I am a fool. I saw a gold ring and reached
for it. I thought… I thought I had been given a second chance. I
was wrong and my people paid for it.” He turned to his mate. “You
have hated me for a long time, I’m surprised you never killed
her.”