• CHAPTER 5 •

Cassie awoke just before dawn the next morning, alone, all too aware that she shouldn’t be. The clock on the bedside table assured her that she hadn’t slept for more than a few hours despite the fact that her internal clock assured her it was time to wake up.

She’d spent most of the evening and night completing reports and ensuring that her Bureau files were ready for whomever Jonas chose to take her place among the agents who worked to pull in information concerning the Genetics Council’s attempts to sabotage the Breed community. Establishing a base on Navajo lands hadn’t come easy. Ensuring it survived would be even more difficult if they weren’t diligent in keeping the Council out of it.

As she’d filed the reports before lying down, there had been a heavy regret, though. She’d enjoyed working with Jonas and the agents he’d assigned to her. Stepping away from it hurt. But better to do it willingly, her head held high, than to be forced to relinquish her job.

Breed Law itself wouldn’t allow her to hold the position. Her mate wasn’t part of the established Breed community. He was actually considered “rogue,” a Breed who refused to declare his loyalty to the Breed community and worked often with the Council.

Smothering a yawn, she sat up in the bed, aware of her nakedness, the sensitivity of her skin, and the tenderness between her thighs and at her breasts. Just as she was aware that her mate wasn’t in the suite with her.

So, where the hell was he? she wondered, rising from the bed and heading for the bathroom. She hadn’t heard him leave. Hell, he hadn’t even told her that he would be leaving.

Genetics Council business? she wondered bitterly as she washed her face.

Twenty-four years of achievements, of ensuring everyone could overlook her Coyote genetics, if not forget about them, and what did she go and do? She hadn’t just mated a Coyote, she’d mated one known for the fact that he often worked for the very monsters who created and tortured Breeds for so many decades.

And not just any Council Coyote either. Hell no, she’d mated one of the most notorious, lethally dangerous Coyotes known. A hell of a way to convince Breeds and humans alike that her Coyote genetics didn’t matter.

She applied her makeup quickly, paying close attention to the shadows under eyes before she brushed her hair back and secured it with a clip. She pulled on black silk slacks and a sleeveless violet blouse. Pushing her feet into black heels, she checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror.

At least she looked no different than she had the day before, she told herself silently as she strode through her bedroom and into the living area of the suite. Dog’s pack still sat next to the door, though he’d at least cleaned up the beer bottles and remains of the sandwich he’d had the night before.

According to Anya, Coya of the Coyote packs in Citadel, she often had to threaten the Coyotes there to get them to pick up after themselves in the community rooms.

Striding to the desk on the other side of the room, she picked up her mobile phone and activated the power.

When the screen came up she stared at the message displayed with a sense of disbelief.

ACCESS DENIED

She could feel her throat tightening, a band of impending anger forming in her forehead as she placed the phone carefully on the desk and picked up the tablet next to it.

ACCESS DENIED

The message displayed when she powered it up had her fingers tightening on the device before she carefully replaced it on the desk and turned toward her laptop and powered it on. The same message again. Picking up the slender black purse at the edge of the desk, she retrieved her personal mobile phone, activated it, and stared down at it with such a sense of overwhelming betrayal that that she had to fight to process it.

ACCESS DENIED

“Well, that didn’t take long, did it,” she muttered bitterly.

Turning on her heel, she moved back to her bedroom and went to the small jewelry box she kept on the dresser there. There, she extracted her watch and latched the leather band around her wrist.

She was often teased about the piece of jewelry whenever she wore it, but no one would give it a second thought. More to the point, when she passed through the scanners outside the elevator in the lobby, the small chip hidden within it would be undetectable. If worse came to worst she’d be able to send an emergency signal to her father. But other than that, she was now unprotected. She had no idea where her security detail was, or her parents for that matter. And she wouldn’t be able to roam the Bureau searching for them. Furthermore, she’d be damned if she’d beg anyone to contact them.

Collecting her purse, she left both her work phone and her personal phone lying on the desk next to the tablet and strode quickly to the door. Opening it, she nearly betrayed her shock at the two Breed Enforcers outside her door.

She was now considered such a risk that guards were securing her room?

Wolf Breed Enforcers. Wonderful. And two she didn’t recognize.

She could sense the instant distrust and instinctive aggression they kept in check. It was in their gazes, in the hint of censure in their expressions. And telling herself it was natural, even instinctive, didn’t help. When it was all said and done, it was her own fault. She’d allowed herself to be mated to a Coyote no one, even his own species, trusted. She could blame no one but herself.

Keeping her head high, she turned to the elevators, aware she was being followed by one of the enforcers. Stepping into the elevator, she ignored the Breed as he followed.

“Lobby,” she spoke to the automated control.

The trip down was made quickly, but not quickly enough to hide the scent of the Wolf Breed’s distaste and resentment.

When the door opened, she wasn’t certain which of them was more relieved: her or the enforcer.

“Miss Sinclair.” The Breed manning the scanners was cool, polite, where he’d always been friendly in the past.

She passed through the scanner and didn’t pause as she moved for the entrance.

Never had she been unable to contact her security detail before leaving the Bureau, or anywhere else for that matter. Walking through the doors of the Bureau took more courage than she actually wanted to admit to. To face the fact that if—when—a Council Breed realized she was alone, she’d have no one to depend on but herself.

As she stepped through the glass door and let it swing closed behind her, she refused to allow herself to give in to the uncertainties she could feel building inside her. The area outside the Bureau wasn’t exactly deserted. At this time of the morning, shifts were changing for communications and clerical staff. Meetings would be beginning soon, the business day just gearing up for the Breeds and humans milling about the front of the buildings.

Striding through the workers coming and going, she made her way to the curb and lifted her arm to signal one of the cabs idling in a waiting area well beyond the entrance to the building.

As her arm went up, she was suddenly jostled from behind, thrown to the side into a male’s hard body. His hand gripped her arm, the hold like fire against her flesh. Cassie jerked back with a cry, only to have her head collide with something much harder.

“Council whore …” Pain collided with her side, stealing her breath and taking her to her knees as her vision dimmed and she felt herself toppling to the ground.

They would attack her now? Her own people?

As she felt consciousness slip away, she could have sworn she heard Dog screaming her name, her father’s enraged voice joining it.

 • • • 

He was crazy to have let his lust and possessiveness for his little halfling get the best of him, Dog thought as he pulled the Dragoon in among the sedans, SUVs and pickups in the parking lot. The instinctive animal senses he’d possessed had gone insane at the thought of another Breed so close to her that the essence of his scent had been left on her. He’d made that damned bargain with her, believed he could have her without sparking the Mating Heat, and now, he’d only complicated both their lives and ensured a lack of trust from not just his mate, but those Breeds that his mate depended upon.

And there wasn’t a damned thing he could do to fix it. At least not yet.

The meeting scheduled with Mutt and Mongrel for an update on the extraction of their people from various Genetics Council holdings had taken longer than he expected. There were more than two dozen Breeds, male as well as female, working for suspected and known Genetics Council associates, risking their lives to complete the evacuation. That had been only one of deceptions he’d been working on; the other was the identification of those funding the labs. The search for the identities of the twelve-member Council had been ongoing for more than two decades, and because he couldn’t stay away from his mate, it was over.

Not that they were any closer to those identities than they had been when he’d begun his own search ten years ago. But according to the reports coming in, several of the Breeds working with him had gotten out with downloads of encrypted information from several select locations.

So far, the mission was progressing with no apparent suspicion from the wrong people. There were no teams of Council soldiers or Breeds being gathered together or sent out; everything was business as usual.

He could only pray it continued as smoothly, though he knew once word of his mating with Cassie made it to the higher ranks within the Council, notice would be taken.

So far, there were no reports of it coming through their normal channels, though.

Reaching across the console, he grabbed the bag filled with breakfast to share with his mate, pushed the door open and stepped out of the Dragoon, very well aware of the Wolf Breeds slipping along both sides of the vehicle.

Pushing the door closed, he faced Cassie’s father, Dash Sinclair, and six of his highly trained Wolf Breeds.

Brown eyes lit with amber and a hint of hazel narrowed on him from between black lashes. Thick black hair was neatly trimmed, almost military short, though he’d been out of the military a good fifteen years. At six-four, Sinclair matched him in height, and no doubt when it came to pure mean gutter fighting, Dog wouldn’t find it easy to defeat him without releasing the demented fury of the creature lurking inside him.

Son of a bitch. If he got into a fight with his mate’s father, or the Breeds who followed him, then she wasn’t going to be happy in the least. She loved her parents, and a fight with this Breed was guaranteed to piss her off. Or worse yet, it would hurt her, cause her to distrust him if her father were harmed.

Hell, if they struck, he was going to have to let them kick his ass. She would never countenance him striking her father, and he hadn’t secured her emotions yet, let alone enough loyalty to balance out her anger for him. “Well, fuck, get it over with,” he growled, lifting his lip in a disgusted sneer. “But I promise you, I’m going to make her feel so sorry for every bruise and broken bone that it will be years before she forgives you.”

Taking a beating was something he’d never done in his life. Even during his very brief time in a Council lab. He’d never allowed it. Knowing he was going to have to allow it now was making his ass itch for sure.

Sinclair crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the side, surprise flickering across his expression.

“You think I’d damage my daughter’s mate?” The rumble of displeasure in the alpha’s voice was unmistakable.

“I think you’d kill me if she wouldn’t suffer for it,” he grunted, placing the bag of food on the hood of the Dragoon.

Sinclair’s lips quirked in mocking acknowledgment.

“Did you know before you met with my daughter that you were her mate?” Dash asked then. “And before you answer, let me tell you, I’ve already spoken to Styx.”

Well now, he bet that conversation was damned interesting.

“And what does that Scots bastard have to do with any of this?” Dog snapped, still more jealous of that redheaded fool than he liked to admit.

“Styx caught a hint of your scent in that atrium six years ago, and he didn’t forget it. Your scent. You knew Cassie was your mate and you tricked her into meeting you, didn’t you?” No one could accuse this Breed of a lack of intelligence.

“‘“Tricked’ is a rather strong word,” he admitted with a cocky grin. “I merely suggested a meeting.” The snarl that pulled at his lips wasn’t entirely voluntary. “I waited six years to claim her; you were damned lucky I didn’t do it then.”

“Does she know you’re also the bastard that nearly killed her on that island?” The guttural tone, rough with the animal rising inside the Breed, was indicative of the anger brewing inside him.

“She knows.” Dog had made certain she knew several years ago during one of the infrequent phone calls he’d bargained for.

“Goddammit,” Dash muttered, grimacing at the weapon he thought he’d have, though what good he thought it would do, Dog wasn’t certain.

As the other Breed cursed, a subtle, faint scent caught his attention. Cassie’s scent.

Turning toward the entrance of the Bureau, he searched for her, certain he had to be wrong. She wouldn’t be out in the general public when the smell of her Heat was impossible to miss.

Surely to God she knew better …

Son of a bitch, she didn’t know better.

She moved across the concrete concourse as graceful as life itself. Head held high, her expression placid as she stepped for the curb and as Dog cursed and moved quickly for her. Behind him, the Wolf Breeds followed as her father caught sight of her as well.

As she paused, a group crossing the street blocked his view of her for precious seconds. But he still heard her cry as it drifted from within the group. When they parted, he snarled in fury, running to get to her, screaming her name as he watched her hit her knees, then slowly topple to the side.

He caught her before her head hit the cement.

“Follow them,” he heard Dash yell out to his men.

Swinging Cassie into his arms, he ignored her father, ignored the chase for the group of Breeds racing from the area and rushed for the entrance to the Bureau.

“The labs,” Dash snapped as they headed for the security scanners. “Take the stairs.”

Pushing past the Breeds and humans as they paused, watching them in shock, Dog rushed through the scanners, only to find his way blocked by six Bureau Enforcers.

“She no longer has clearance, and you damned sure don’t,” the Wolf Breed Enforcer facing him sneered as he glanced down at Cassie’s unconscious form.

Before Dog could snarl back, or her father could push in front of them, the Wolf Breed was thrown aside, along with the two enforcers flanking him.

“By God I do,” Styx Mackenzie snarled, canines flashing. “Get the fuck out of the way, morons.”

Dog rushed past, heading to the door one of the Coyote females was holding open for him, her expression filled with concern.

“We saw the attack on the monitor,” Ashley snapped as he and Dash rushed past her. “Sobolova and Armani have been notified you’re bring her down.”

“Get her mother,” Dash ordered the Breed. “Now.”

“She’s on her way; she was notified immediately along with Jonas,” Ashley assured him as Dog rushed down the stairs to the medical area of the Bureau’s offices.

Cassie lay limp in his arms, unmoving, her face pale. She barely appeared alive. His heart was in his throat, rage pounding in his head. He was only barely aware of the growls leaving his throat or the savagery that echoed in them.

That attack wasn’t meant to capture her; it wouldn’t have been Council ordered. It was meant to hurt. A spur-of-the-moment attack by Breeds. More than one. He caught their scent on her clothes, drew it in, memorized it.

He turned the corner to the medical facility to see the doctors were already there, shouting questions, directing Dog to a gurney placed just inside the room.

“She’s not moving,” he growled, laying her gently on the bed. “Do something. She’s not moving.”

His hand stroked her face and he swore it was on the verge of trembling.

“You have to move, Dog.” Sobolova ordered him firmly.

“She’s not fucking moving.” Rage filled the vicious snarl that left his lips as they pulled back from his canines and he glared down at the Coyote specialist.

“Dog, you have to let them get to her. They can’t help her if you don’t move,” Dash snapped, pushing him back, fully expecting the powerful Coyote to attempt to take his throat out. Any touch other than a mate’s could cause extreme reaction in some male Breeds.

Styx and three of the Wolf Breed alphas who followed him from Colorado moved to restrain the Coyote, knowing the enraged scent pouring from Dog would result in an explosion of violence.

And it nearly did. Dog tensed, his arms bunching, the scent of the Coyote strengthening with unusual sharpness as the steel gray eyes that met Dash’s flashed to a near black.

As their gazes met, the animal rose inside the other Dog with such unusual strength, Dash paused. He watched the Coyote’s gaze flicker, felt the battle waging inside him, before the black receded to gray and the animal slowly retreated, leaving the Breed tense but no longer in a killing fury.

“Let me go.” That voice, though; Dash had heard a similar sound once or twice, though that Breed had been feline, not Coyote.

And the Breed he’d heard it from was unlike any other he’d ever met.

“What are you?” Dash kept his voice low, nearly soundless. “What the fuck are you?”

But he had feeling he knew.

“Her mate.” His head jerked in Cassie’s direction as the gray of his eyes darkened, then lightened again. “Her fucking mate.”

Dog jerked away from him, his gaze moving to Cassie again as Dash watched, and his expression tightened. Then his jaw bunched before he turned and stalked from the examination room, leaving Dash to stare after him in shock.

 • • • 

Control. Never had it been so difficult to maintain, to leash the animal clawing at him. As he fought the rising fury he was aware of the ever-sharpening strength of his eye sight, his sense of smell. So much so that when he slammed out of the lobby doors, leaving a crack in the reinforced glass, he knew exactly where Mutt and Mongrel awaited him as well as the scent trail of Cassie’s attackers.

Breeds and humans alike scattered out of his way, their wary looks and instinctive awareness of danger rising at the sight of him.

His eyes would be black, the color threatening to bleed into the whites surrounding the pupil. His muscles were harder, his flesh tight, absorbing nuances of the air itself as the fine, nearly invisible hairs covering his covering his body lifted, picking up the most subtle shifts in the air. Power infused him, filling him in ever increasing waves, pushing at his mind, his flesh, clawing at his senses as the creature threatened to push past the human consciousness and take control.

He was aware of Mutt and Mongrel moving to his side, following silently, wariness filling them as he followed the scent trail the two Wolf Breeds had left as they’d run.

Wolf. They were Breeds he’d often seen about the Bureau. They were known for their loyalty to the Breed cause and their strength. They were Breeds who would be sworn to Cassie’s protection. Instead, they’d become her enemy, a threat he couldn’t allow to remain living. They had struck his mate, harmed her, they could have killed her. The strength of those blows would have taken the life of a human, and they wouldn’t have cared if their attack had taken her life.

“Dog, man pull back,” Mongrel muttered as they entered the corridor between the Bureau headquarters and the Enforcer apartments., separated by the parking areas. “You’re going to give yourself away. That’s only going to risk your mate.”

Nothing mattered but his mate. Protecting her, surrounding her with his strength. Nothing mattered but ensuring the danger didn’t touch her, that nothing, not human nor Breed harmed her.

Without Cassie, he was nothing. His very existence was without meaning.

The creature acknowledged that as did the Breed. If his secrets were discovered then it could ensure her death.

He felt that knowledge, felt the enraged animal pull back just enough to avoid detection while still maintaining the power that hummed through his body.

“You can’t kill them, Dog,” Mutt warned him from his other side. “You’ll risk your mate if they can enact Breed Law on you.”

A growl tore from him throat, savage and enraged. Instantly, the Breeds at his side tensed further. He couldn’t kill them? They attacked his mate. All bets were off as far as he was concerned.

As they pushed into the lobby of the Enforcer apartments he came to a stop, glaring at the elevators as they opened and half a dozen Coyote and Wolf Enforcers stepped out, flanking the two he’d come for himself. Leading them was Jonas Wyatt.

The silver mercury of the Lion Breeds eyes attested to the strength of the Primal he possessed and how close to the surface it walked. The Primal, the third force of Breed genetics. The human and animal genetics combining with such force that it became an animal all its own.

Dog pulled back further, pushing the creature within him to the depths of his consciousness, keeping it shadowed, hidden.

The Breeds who had attacked Cassie were in restraints, heads lowered, but he could feel the strength of their hatred for him, for Cassie. He had no choice but to allow them to live, for the moment. But he’d ensure that time came to an end soon.

Stepping aside he watched as the Enforcers escorted the two Breeds from the building leaving Jonas alone with them.

“I have this,” he told Dog, the command in his voice firm. “They’ll pay for what they did.”

Dog merely grunted at the claim.

“Ensure they do, Director,” he growled. “Because I’ll be waiting for them. I promise you that. I’ll be waiting for them.”