“Within the next fucking hour, you will receive memos,” he snarled. “My mate, my coya, will be making her official vows this spring. And pray to God she’s alive to make them, or every damned one of you will die for being stupid.”
“And you, Alpha?” Cavalier growled furiously. “You did this to her, not those of us who face you now. You placed suspicion on her shoulders by rejecting her. Your men only followed your lead.”
Del-Rey pinned him with primitive fury. “I’ll already be dead, Cavalier,” he informed him. “A man doesn’t live without his soul. Take that woman from me, and that’s what you’ll see. Exactly what the Council strove for. A Coyote without a soul.”
With that, he strode from the infirmary. Fuck this. He knew how to find his mate. He knew her scent unlike anyone else could know it. He knew his mate, her pain and her tears. And that was the scent he followed.
To no avail. Before the night was over, the caverns echoed with his howls of rage. Coyotes were searching the mountain, the heli-jet was in the air, and teams were dispatched to Haven.
Del-Rey’s coya had disappeared along with three of her female Coyote bodyguards. And some feared she had disappeared forever.
CHAPTER 23
Dr. Armani didn’t slip Anya into the main portion of Haven. She met her and the three bodyguards as they pulled to the bottom of the mountain in a stolen all-terrain.
Sharone and Emma helped Anya into the passenger seat before the doctor slid into the back with Ashley and Emma as Sharone drove, lights out, to a hidden entrance into the medical facility.
The cut from the knife that had fallen from the table and grazed Anya’s leg was deeper than she had at first believed. Her wrist was broken and the side of her head ached from its impact with the wall.
Nikki was silent as she applied a skin adhesive over the leg rather than the antiquated stitches used for smaller injuries. Anya’s wrist was placed in a hard plasti-cast and secured in place before the doctor cleaned the abrasion at the side of her head and carefully applied a film of adhesive there as well.
“I can’t believe he allowed this to happen.” Nikki’s voice was rough with unshed tears. “I need to get the lupina in here. She has to see this. There’s no way the Breed tribunal won’t grant you complete safety against those monsters, Anya.”
Anya lifted her head in shock. “It wasn’t their fault, Nikki,” she whispered. “They think I betrayed them.”
“Fuck them!” The harsh fury was followed by a hard grip to Anya’s shoulders as Nikki shook her fiercely, a tear slipping free and running down her dusky cheek. “Look at you, Anya. It doesn’t matter why. Jax laid his hands on a woman. A human woman, weaker than himself, unable to defend herself, and he let her be harmed. That is not Breed honor, that is a monster.”
Anya shook her head. “It was an accident.”
“It was fucking abuse,” Nikki yelled in her face as Sharone, Emma and Ashley paced the room. “Abuse, Anya. There is no excuse; there is no forgiveness.”
Ashley snarled as she jerked the doctor back, her enraged face nose to nose with Nikki’s. “Your hands hurt her. Keep them off her unless you’re treating her.”
Nikki stared back at the younger girl, and Anya saw the torment in her face.
“Ashley, I’m okay, it didn’t hurt,” Anya whispered. “Come here, little sister.”
Ashley was breaking apart on her. The feral animal she fought to keep hidden was breaking free at the rage and pain filling her. Anya hadn’t been the only one betrayed. These young women who had so hoped for a normal life, for freedom and laughter, had been betrayed as well.
The others hurt, but Ashley, who had so depended on Anya’s laughter, her support and affection, had suffered the most.
The younger girl tore herself from the doctor after a last warning look, but rather than coming to Anya, she paced again. As though her slight body contained too much energy, too much power for her to contain.
“Ashley’s right,” Nikki admitted roughly. “I shouldn’t have touched you. It was no better than what that fucking Coyote did.”
Nikki was cursing. It was supposed to be a bad thing when Nikki cursed.
“Doctors Chernov and Sobolova will be at the spa in Advert late tomorrow afternoon.” Anya swallowed back her tears. “Del-Rey is going to be watching for us. We have to get Alpha Gunnar and the lupina there for this meeting and get asylum requested.” She pushed the fingers of one hand through her damp, mussed hair. “Jax messed my plans up.”
Ashley snarled viciously, a primal, animal sound that caused Anya to wince. “And Ashley needs her nails done. She gets rabid when they chip.”
Poor Ashley, her nails were bare and natural, the polish gone, the pretty little designs painted on them had disappeared. They had been filed to sharp little points that were strong enough to lay open flesh.
“I should have killed him rather than cutting the side of his ear off,” Ashley bit out. “I should have done what Cavalier was unwilling to do and sliced his throat.”
“That wasn’t what I wanted, Ashley,” Anya whispered. “The alliance has to stand. We agreed to that; it’s the only safety for the Coyotes.”
“Anya, once Wolfe sees this, there will be an inquisition,” Nikki told her fiercely. “This will not pass. If Del-Rey doesn’t control his men, then Haven will break the alliance. You know this as well as I do.”
Anya shook her head. “It was only one.”
“Bullshit!” Emma burst out in an uncharacteristic display of feral defiance. “It was all of his men. His men, not ours. Do you know the trouble we got from the team leaders for trying to cover you? They disobeyed even their pack leaders and assigned the Russian Coyotes as far as possible from you. This was not just a few men. It was his entire fucking base of rabid mongrels.”
Anya lowered her head and shook it wearily. Even her bodyguards didn’t see what Anya had known.
“They’re soldiers,” she whispered. “Completely dedicated to their alpha, just as the three of you are to me. They believed I had betrayed Del-Rey and the base. Their only safety.” She lifted her head and stared back at them painfully. “Jax didn’t mean to hurt me. I slipped and everything went to hell from there. It would have never happened if they hadn’t been certain Del-Rey was rejecting me rather than attempting to protect me.”
“You’re a fucking bleeding heart,” Nikki muttered. “You’d die for any of those bastards.”
“Yes. I would,” Anya sighed. “Their freedom is worth dying for, Nikki. I know them. I know Jax. He was protecting Del-Rey and the packs. He would have never deliberately hurt me.”
She tried to convince herself of that. Wanted to, but she had been terrified as she faced him.
“What time is that damned fucking meeting?” Nikki cussed again.
“At three,” Anya told her. “Coyotes will be all over the place soon. We’re going to have a hell of a time getting out of Haven.”
“Then we better move you out of here before they start swarming like flies over the dead,” she snapped, turning to Sharone. “There’s a vehicle in the back, get it ready to roll. There are weapons in the locker of the garage, easy to find. I have a safe house. I’ll take the four of you there, then come back here and talk to the alpha and the lupina.”
Anya didn’t want to be here for that conversation. She caught Nikki’s arm, glaring back at her fiercely. “This was an accident, Nikki. I wouldn’t lie to you about it.”
“Yes, you would,” Nikki snapped. “Remember, you said it, Coya, you think they’re worth dying for.”
Anya stared back at her intently. “You listen to me, Dr. Armani. If you tell Alpha Gunnar I was abused, I will deny it. I’ll scream it. I don’t lie, even for my people. Freedom isn’t served by lying, and the freedom of my people is more important than a lie for a single Breed that could bring it all down.”
Nikki’s lips tightened. “Sharone, get that vehicle ready to roll. I’m making a call. Three female Wolves I know will protect Anya wi
th their lives. They’re our best. They’ll drive you out of here, and no one will question them or think to follow them.”
Anya released her wrist.
“Alpha and Lupina Gunnar will be at that meeting as well as every Wolf Breed ready and able to roll.”
Anya nodded as she slipped off the examination table.
“Del-Rey will be here,” she whispered.
“Delgado can get fucked,” Nikki snarled. “I’m so pissed off with him I could shoot that bastard myself. Damned stupid men. I hate Breed males. I fucking hate them.”
Nikki stomped to the counter, slipped her comm link over her ear and made her call as Anya wrapped her arms over her chest.
She was cold again. So cold. The arousal wasn’t back though, and honestly, Nikki’s examination hadn’t hurt. Evidently the cycle for the mating heat was easing. If she was lucky, she’d get through the next day without too much difficulty.
“Vehicles and weapons are ready.” Sharone stepped back into the room, her expression hard, composed as she stared back at Nikki. “Our coya needs to eat. She hasn’t had anything since morning.”
“There’s food at the safe house.” Nikki nodded. “Satin or one of her enforcers can go for takeout if you prefer.”
Anya nodded wearily. She didn’t care about the food. She was exhausted. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to curl into Del-Rey’s arms and she wanted to be warm, and it was never going to happen again. After tomorrow, he would reject her in truth for betraying him.
The Coyote Breed scientists had tried to strip the Coyotes of their humanity in ways often more destructive than what had been done to the other Breeds. Psychologically, their scars were so deep, so bloody, that Anya knew they would never attain the quiet surety the Wolves and Felines had attained.
Coyotes would always be rougher, the baddest of the bad boys. They didn’t just struggle with the two opposing sides of their genetics, animal and man; they also struggled with the very idea of their humanity. They were created to be animals, thinking, walking, talking animals, whereas the other Breeds were created to be stragetists, thinkers, plotters and killers.
The Coyote was created simply to kill other Breeds. To track them, hunt them, torture them. That was all. It had bred distrust among the packs and prides before the alliance was ever formed. A charge of abuse from one of those Coyotes could decimate that alliance.
“Del-Rey should have protected you,” Emma hissed, turning to her. “He shouldn’t have had us pulled from your protection.”
Anya shook her head. She understood his reasons. Neither of them had considered the chance that one of the Coyotes would believe she was a traitor. Del-Rey would have never left her undefended if he had thought, even briefly, that such a thing would happen.
The result of it was breaking her heart in two. It was leaving gouging wounds in her soul, and fighting back that pain was killing her. She wanted to scream out at the injustice of it, the unfairness of everything she was losing. And she wanted Del-Rey to hold her, just one more time. Just one last kiss. Just something to hold on to.
Del-Rey strode into the alpha residence, stopping just inside the door as Brim, Jax, Cavalier and six other enforcer-level Coyote Breeds stepped in behind him.
Alpha Gunnar was waiting for him, along with Jonas Wyatt and Dash Sinclair.
“Bring two men with you.” Wolfe’s amber eyes were icy with contempt and rage. “And that one stays outside my home.” He punched his finger in Jax’s direction. “I’d suggest he protect himself in an all-terrain.”
Del-Rey’s jaw tightened, but he turned and nodded to the others, leaving Brim and Cavalier at his side. Wolfe’s eyes narrowed at the Russian Coyote before he nodded in approval and turned away, leading the way into his office.
Lupina Gunnar was waiting in the corner behind her mate’s desk, standing, arms crossed over her breasts, her blue eyes glaring at Del-Rey.
“I tracked my coya to Dr. Armani’s medical facility,” Del-Rey stated as the door closed behind them. “She refuses to inform me where Anya went from there.”
Wolfe took his seat as Jonas and Dash stood ready and prepared at each side of the desk and Del-Rey and his men faced them.
“So you want me to order my doctor to turn over information on your abused coya?” Wolfe’s voice throbbed with power, with fury. “Then you insult me by bringing that man into my home where my mate, my lupina, resides?”
Del-Rey could feel the shame curling through him, and the fury. He’d fucked up. He’d not just hurt his mate, but he’d endangered her, left her without his protection or the protection of the women who would have prevented this. Out of his ignorance and his belief that his men would never treat her any differently than they ever had, he had endangered her.
“The fault was mine, Alpha Gunnar,” he bit out. “I take responsibility for it and will face whatever inquisition comes after I locate my coya. So yes, I insist that you order your doctor to give me the location where she has hidden my mate.” By the time he finished, the growl in his voice was primal.
“Alpha Delgado,” Dash spoke quietly, “Anya’s injuries weren’t piddling. A gash in her thigh from a blade. A broken wrist. A possible concussion. Injuries delivered by your man in response to your rejection of her status as coya. This is an animalistic society. You rejected your mate, what did you think your men would believe?”
“We are not just animals,” he snarled. “Jax realizes what he’s done and punitive measures will be taken in accordance to Breed Law. I stand by the alliance we signed. Unless you refuse me access again, to my mate.”
Jonas sat down slowly on the corner of the desk, his gaze going to Cavalier. “You witnessed what happened?”
“I came in as he grabbed her.” Cavalier nodded. “She slipped, causing a blade that had been laid at the side of the table to slice her leg. Jax tripped and, as he tried to right himself, more or less threw her across the room. I admit, it was an accident. There was no clear intent to harm, only to frighten.”
A growl rumbled in Del-Rey’s throat. “And that is still unacceptable,” he snapped. “No man on my base has leave to touch a female in any such way, no matter the reason. Jax knew this, and he knows the punishment for it. He will be dealt with.”
“And you have him with you in your search for your coya,” Wolfe pointed out, his voice ice.
“Because he’s the best fucking tracker I have,” Del-Rey snapped. “He found her. A vehicle left the house and left Haven’s grounds. I want to know where my coya is.”
“Safe.” Hope spoke up. “From you and from your men until such time as she deems herself ready to face you again. Go back to Base, Del-Rey,” she said scathingly. “Maybe her absence will make your heart grow fonder.”
He stared back at her silently, long enough that the male Breeds in front of him began to bristle. His fingers ached to curl into fists beneath the leather of his gloves, and he could feel his hackles rising as he faced off with the other men seconds later.
“Do you know where my coya is?” he asked one last time.
Breaking the alliance wasn’t something he wanted to do, but he’d be damned if these Breeds were going to rule his life.
Wolfe stared back at him unblinkingly.
“You kidnapped your mate,” Del-Rey snarled. “I’ve heard the tales, Wolfe. You tied her to your bed and kept her there until you killed her demon mother in front of her eyes. Should I read into that what I want to? Should I decide you raped your mate and forced her compliance? Don’t forget, Alpha Gunnar, I know well the ways of twisting words and events to suit my own designs. Don’t play this game with me and don’t consider yourself more than my equal in this game we’re playing within the alliance. You will not control me simply because you think you control my mate.”
Jonas and Dash turned to Wolfe as he stared relentlessly back at Del-Rey. Finally the Wolf Breed alpha sighed. “Nikki won’t even tell Hope where she’s located. All we know is she’s safe and protected outside Haven. Where you ca
n’t reach her.”
“Where I can’t reach her,” Del-Rey repeated, staring back at the other men with a sneer. “Fuck the three of you. To my knowledge out of this whole damned society Dash Sinclair is the only Breed to have treated his mate with any honor once he came in contact with her. I did my research. You can rail at me as you wish. Anya and I will feel our way through this mating the same as you were given the chance to. Unless your damned doctor manages to get her killed first.”
Wolf winced and looked at his wife. Hope was still glaring at Del-Rey, still furious.
“She came to us hurt and requested our help,” Hope snarled. “Did you expect me to simply send her back to you?”
“I expected you to allow me to see that my fucking mate was safe!” He throttled the demented screams that built in his throat. “I expected a chance to clean out my base and fix this problem. The same as any Wolf pack leader would be given. You have no right to do this.”
“She needed medical care.” Hope shrugged as though unconcerned, though he could smell her concern. It was thick, fierce. “You don’t have medical in that base that would safely treat a mate in mating heat. Her bodyguards brought her to a doctor who could treat her. She requested protection for a period of twenty-four hours.” Her smile was mocking. “I’m lupina. Trusted. My alpha’s equal where my responsibilities are concerned. I have the authority to grant that protection for a short amount of time.” She tipped her head to the side inquisitively. “Did your coya have even enough authority to order your man’s hands off her?”
No, she didn’t, because of his stupidity, because of his lack of knowledge in what he had done by stripping her of status in his attempt to protect her.
“The second I learned of her confrontation with Jax, her status was reinstated,” he growled. “The second, Lupina. Whoever the traitor is that I’ve been tracking in my base, he is now aware of her importance to me. Two attempts have already been made on her life. She was safe as long as she had no status outside my lover. Is she safe now that she’s in your care?”
Wolfe reached out and caught his wife’s hand. His fingers twined with hers as her lips thinned and he turned his gaze back to Del-Rey.
“For the moment, your coya is safe, of that I have no doubt,” he sighed. “But you’re right, Alpha Delgado, you have the right to ascertain that yourself. I’ll talk to Dr. Armani myself and see if we can’t learn her location. We’ll go in together.”
Del-Rey’s lips twisted mockingly. “I have forty Coyotes heading to Advert. Be kind enough to give your Wolves guarding my mate the order not to shoot them on sight.” His expression hardened. “I hear Satin and her enforcers believe the only good Coyote is a dead Coyote. I’d hate to see one of my men die because of her trigger-happy little fingers.”
“If you know where she’s at and who she’s with, then why come here?” Wolfe asked.
“The alliance bylaws demand it,” Del-Rey informed him. “That alliance means everything to me, and to my mate, as well as our people. You’ve been informed, Alpha Gunnar, I’m going to find my mate.”
He turned and stalked from the office, Brim and Cavalier following silently as they left the house.
Jonas turned to Wolfe. “Do you know where she’s at?”
Wolfe shook his head. “Nikki isn’t saying. We have a meeting scheduled for this afternoon, but she hasn’t given us the location yet.”
“She’s a rogue,” Jonas bit out. “She needs to be reined in.”
Wolfe snorted at that. “Sure, Wyatt, you go for reining her. Let me know how that works out for you.”
“We need our own men in Advert,” Dash stated then. “Cassie’s afraid this is going to end in bloodshed. She’s pacing the floors, Wolfe.”
Wolfe grimaced. Cassie, or Cassandra, Sinclair knew things she shouldn’t know. She saw things she shouldn’t see, and if she was scared, then there was a hell of a risk.
“I want every enforcer available,” he told Jonas. “Feline, Wolf, Coyote, I don’t give a shit. Get them ready. I want half sent to Advert and half ready to fly with us. Whatever the hell is going on, we need to be prepared.”
“Doctors,” Hope whispered.
Wolfe looked up at her with a frown.
“She’s meeting with two council scientists she helped hide in Russia. The very two Nikki has been searching for to bring to Haven. Chernov and Sobolova. Her father is bringing them into Advert. She requested asylum for them.”
“Did you grant it?” Wolfe asked carefully.
Hope shook her head. “Nikki just told me before Del-Rey showed up. But that’s why Anya ran. She’s afraid Del-Rey will kill them. He expressly forbade her to contact them. She’s breaking Breed Law and she knows it. She contacted Council scientists without the express permission of one of the alphas of the ruling cabinet.”
Jonas cursed, Dash breathed out roughly, and Wolfe felt a sigh of regret pass his lips. They had no choice but to give asylum to the doctors. Giving asylum to Anya wouldn’t be as uncomplicated.
“She had my permission.” Jonas shrugged, as though surprised. “Didn’t you get that memo?”
Wolfe’s head jerked up. Only one alpha had to be contacted. Responsibility then went to that alpha to contact the others.
“We’ve had server problems,” Wolfe said softly. “Had to shut everything down.”
“Ah.” Jonas’s eyes widened as he spread his hands. “Well, that explains it. Consider yourselves informed.”
“You informed Alpha Delgado?” Wolfe asked.
“Same memo.” Jonas smiled.
Wolfe chuckled.
“Manipulating bastard.” Dash accused him with a grin. “Remind me to watch the two of you more carefully in the future.”
“Hmm,” Hope murmured. “Dash is put out. He must not have gotten his memo either.”
Male chuckles filled the room, but there was a hint of worry there as well. The Coyote alliance was important to the Breed society as a whole, but more than that, Del-Rey and Anya were their friends. Their future was important to them too.
“Let’s get it together,” Wolfe said moments later. “Find out where Satin and her women are holding the coya and get a message to her. Let’s see if we can do this without killing anyone.”
“Let’s pray we can get this done without any of us getting killed,” Jonas sighed as he moved for the door. “It would look damned bad on the Bureau if we have to wade out of a war in Advert.”
And it would plain piss Jonas off, because war was the last thing the Breeds needed right now.
CHAPTER 24
Daylight was riding the mountains as the all-terrain moved over back roads, followin