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THE NEXT MORNING, JACQUES walked into Silas’ office holding a piece of stiff paper. “The invitation arrived. Came by special courier. Can’t say you didn’t get it this time.” Jacques smiled as he handed it over to Silas. “This one is for later this week. Wonder what’s the rush?”

Silas wondered the same thing. “Thanks, I need to talk to Jasmine.” He paused. “How many can I take with me?”

“I’ll check.”

“Hold off until I speak with Jasmine, then you can discuss the protocols for this President. Things may have changed since we visited there last.”

“Let me know and I’ll get on it.” He stood in front of Silas’ desk a few seconds longer.

“What?” Silas asked glancing at him.

“Vacation. It seems there’s something in the air. Victoria wants us to go on a cruise with Renee and Melange next month. She understands my availability is limited but also mentioned the twins and Cameron going away—”

“When do you want off? How long?” Silas said not wanting to hear Victoria’s logic. She could be extremely self-centered at times.

Jacques groaned and sat slumped in the chair. “Are you sure you don’t need me here? With all that’s going on, maybe the next three months aren’t the best time to be traveling.” He looked so forlorn, Silas laughed.

Jacques frowned. “How can you make fun of my suffering?”

“Relax. You’ll have fun and enjoy yourself.”

“Hmm, I’ve wondered why Renee asked Victoria and not Jasmine. Am I wrong in assuming we were second string?” He eyed Silas sideways.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, what’s second string?”

Jacques stood. “I’ll give Rose the dates when she returns. Let me know when you’re ready to respond to the invitation.” He left the office.

Silas looked at the invitation for a few seconds and then at the artist renditions of the full-bloods who recruited the two Canadian men.

Jasmine walked in and sat on his lap. She brushed a kiss against his lips and he forgot about the drawings.

“Hey, sexy man.”

He smiled. “Hey, sexy lady.” He pulled her close and kissed her hard. They broke apart on a gasp.

“That never gets old.” She ran her fingertip across his lip while staring into his eyes. “Thinking about you still excites me.”

“Ah, Sweet Bitch, you’re playing with fire. I’ll take you right here, don’t doubt it.”

“I should be able to tell you how I feel without having sex, Silas. I love you and wanted to tell you.”

He released a stream of air and forced down his erection. She was right, they had a lot to do today, meetings on top of meetings with critical decisions hanging in the balance.

“The invitation came.” He tipped his head in the direction of the card.

Jasmine read it and nodded. “Well, it’s shy of the 30 days by a long shot. Let’s get it over and done with. Hopefully, he’ll behave and everything will go smoothly. He’ll want to know how many are in the pack, you’ll give him a few fictitious numbers. He’ll ask for Knights to protect him or for your vote, by that I mean the entire pack to vote for him, or something else that you’ll say no in a kind way and we’ll come home.”

Silas snorted. “Nothing ever goes as smoothly as we think. We can only hope. If you’re sure, I’ll tell Jacques to accept on our behalf and find out how many we can take with us. I want Hawke and Asia, Angus for sure.”

“That sounds good. They may be able to gather information from his inner circle.”

Silas chuckled. “You’re sounding like an intelligence agent.”

“Working on it. Did I show you the pictures David sent of the Canadian mountains? They’re absolutely breathtaking. Makes me wish I was there.”

“Show them to me later. Barticus is looking into the possibility of another organization similar to the Liege being involved with this latest BS with the military. He doesn’t think so but is running a check and promised to get back with me within the hour. I’m expecting to hear from him soon.”

“Tell him I said hi. I’m not having much luck finding anyone who had been involved with the breeding operation in Texas before it went to Canada. The women are asking around but so far nothing. We’ll keep at it,” she said.

“It was a long shot, but who knows we might get lucky. Samuel and Jayden sent the facial drawings of the full-blood who hired the 48. Looks like two different men. I sent Cain and David the images for them to be aware.”

“Two different men? That sucks. It would’ve been a lot easier if it was one person in the same location,” she said.

“These men live in different parts of Canada, so it’s not surprising they dealt with different recruiters,” Silas said.

“Good point. See not ready for James Bond, yet.” She winked and stood. “Whatever shall I wear? Are we still going dressed in black?”

“Did my coat arrive?” he asked.

She frowned. “No, but it may get here before the date.” She held up her hands. “Fingers crossed. That would be a lot of fun.” She walked to the exit.

“I can think of a lot of things to call a visit to dinner at that place, fun doesn’t make the cut.”

Jasmine waved as she left.

He stared at the door for a few seconds, inhaling the trail of her scent. How blessed he was to have a mate who satisfied him completely in every way. She wasn’t perfect, neither was he. But she was his and life was so much better because of her.

###

BARTICUS CONTACTED Silas an hour later than their agreed upon time. “Sorry for the delay, my friend but I wanted to be certain of my information before sharing it with you.”

“Thanks, much appreciated.” Silas set aside the notes from Humphrey’s files and leaned back in his chair.

“There has been heavy recruiting for U.S. jobs by way of Canada in the past six months. The reason it escaped my notice is because they were headed to Canada instead of the States and as you know there are no major packs there. Once they arrived in Canada they were told the jobs were on your lands, in the States. I personally talked to one of the men who turned down work there. According to him, most turned it down. No one wanted to cross you. Plus, the idea of working for humans as a group turned the rest. This recruiting operation has been going on for a while.”

“Before I went to Honduras,” Silas murmured.

“Yeah. They’re trying to keep it quiet but that operation in the States wasn’t the first. They had another training camp in Canada a few months ago. I don’t have the exact locations where it took place but according to my sources, it did happen. Who knows where those trainees are now.”

Silas released a long breath. Jasmine was right. This is who they are and from this point forward he would be more vigilant. “Any idea who’s funding this?” Following the money was always a good idea. All packs and militia needed money to make things work.

“Nothing definitive. My bet is government money, the whole operation smacks of it.”

Silas agreed but didn’t say. “Basically, they outsourced the job to build a full-blood army to do what? Wipe me out? Take over my pack?” It made no sense.

“Fuck ‘em.”

Silas laughed.

“That’s singing in the wind thinking, but who knows. They’ll do what they feel they need and we’ll keep living the best we can. Keep an eye out on that side of the pond and I’ll do the same here. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks and same here,” Silas said before disconnecting. A training camp? This thing was sounding more and more like Taurus was a bigger player than Silas realized.

“Miller.” Silas reached out to his general.

“Sir.”

Silas informed him that he and Jasmine would be dining with the President later that week and for him to pass the information along to Admiral Blue and General Williams. If it was possible he’d like to see them.

General Miller sounded enthusiastic and hoped Silas could meet with his supporters. “Things have been really glum with Bents being arrested and denied bail over General Lee’s murder. Some of the Joint Chiefs are taking it pretty hard. I hope you’ll be able to meet with them.”

“If I can’t I can set it up for my Beta or Chief Administrator to meet with them,” Silas said.

“That would be perfect,” Miller said. “I’ll be sure and tell them. It’s possible they’ll want to set up a meeting with either of them rather than wait and hope to be invited to dinner with you and the President.”

Silas agreed.

“There will be two of my representatives talking to the Joint Chiefs at all times. Make sure they understand that.”

“Of course, they should be honored. I’ll inform them.”

“Also, I’ve learned some distressing news regarding the recruits that were training to take the place of the Knights. It seems someone has been recruiting mercenaries and soldiers in Europe to join that team for the past six months.”

“While the Knights were active?”

“Yes. Maybe they planned to use them in a training exercise, I don’t know.” The moment Silas said it, he wondered if it was true. Had the Knights fought the trainees in Canada? He would ask Cain.

“Sir, I don’t know what to say. I’ve served this organization for decades and have never seen or heard of such villainy.”

Miller was relatively new. Silas had been there when the first military against the English was formed, took part in the victory and knew many of the former Patriots by their first names. The military had a long, sometimes dark history, much of which was hidden from the public.

“I will ask to meet the Joint Chiefs specifically, tell General Williams I want you there,” Silas said.

“It would be an honor, Sir.”