Chapter 11
Silas and his small group parked outside the tall adobe walls of the Mexican wolves' compound. He’d received a report that these wolves kept human breeders and used them to swell their ranks. He’d requested a meeting with the pack leader who declined.
That was unacceptable.
So far they’d talked to three wolves before receiving correct instructions to this compound.
“Any ideas' how to get inside and find the women,” Tyrone asked. He and Tyrese worked on his security detail. Ever since Silas bedded their mom, things had been tense in the condo. All three of them agreed this break was necessary, and since the mating call had dissipated, Jayden assured him of his ability to keep Jasmine safe.
From what Silas could tell, Callum spent as much time with Jasmine as possible. The teen wolf idolized her.
Silas hadn’t seen or spoken to Jasmine since he’d shut down her mating call. Things had been busy, and he didn’t want her or her sons to think that the sex meant more than it did.
“I’ll call him again and ask for another meeting.” Silas was too far away to grab hold of any of the wolves behind the walls. He pulled out his cell and waited for someone to answer the phone. Once they did, he grabbed hold of the other person’s wolf.
“Open the gate. Don’t allow anything to stop you. Do it now.”
He ignored the startled looks from the twins, Theron, his Alpha for Texas, and Buck, another wolf from the Texas pack.
No one spoke as they waited.
The blistering sun created oven-like temperatures inside their jeeps despite the air conditioning running full blast. Sweat ran down their bodies unchecked, but they remained quiet and resolute. After ten or more minutes, a side door they hadn’t noticed before, opened a crack. Silas threw out a barrier in front of him to protect against surprises, stepped out and headed for the entry.
The twins ran ahead to enter first. They sniffed the air and sent him a report through their mental connection.
“Ambush. There are about twenty wolves hiding inside the walls.”
“Just twenty?” Silas smiled through the link. “They could have made it interesting.” He tapped Tyrone on the shoulder. “Wait for my mark,” he said through their links. Now that he was closer, Silas eyed the inner walls of the complex. There were twenty more wolves inside, making a total of forty plus or minus wolves.
But he didn’t care about them, he searched for the human women. He was about to call off the attack when he sensed the first human heartbeat. It moved, downward. Was there more than one? He continued searching. There was another one, also moving. He smiled, at least the women were in the same place. Just as he was about to deal with the wolves, he sensed another human heartbeat. That made three. Except she moved upward. He wondered at that.
He opened his palm, released a breath, and then squeezed his fist, sending forth a compulsion to do his will.
The first wave of power pulsed through the yard. A cacophony of yelps and whines rose in volume. Silas opened his hand again and closed his fist slower this time, sending power outward to control the wolves. He waited a beat and nodded to the twins.
As they strode through the courtyard, he watched as the wolves lay on their backs exposing their bellies to him. He nodded and continued unchallenged. These wolves were cannon fodder. Silas sent them into the forest with a mental push and command not to return until he called for them. No need to hurt the pups. The ones inside were a different matter. He was prepared to destroy them to get the answers he sought.
One large black wolf whined and circled him. Silas shooed the pup with another command. With a long whine, the pup ran toward the forest.
The twins stood on both sides of the door waiting for his command.
“Knock on the door.”
Tyrone’s brow rose, but he knocked. Footfalls came forward. A small woman opened the door. The terrified omega tried to greet them, but shook too hard.
“Tell your master, La Patron is here to speak with him.”
She nodded, bowed and backed away from the door, her feet almost soundless on the hard floor. Seconds later, Tyrone did a back flip and changed mid-air, landing a few feet away as four wolves ran out the entry. Two veered toward Tyrese.
Silas stopped Theron from interfering; he’d seen the twins in action at the compound. But he wanted to see how they fought other hybrids. Frowning, Silas assumed the wolves from Pedro’s pack were from the humans, but wasn’t sure.
Snarling, Tyrone leapt forward, backing the wolves away from Silas and Theron. He then charged the closest brown wolf, knocking it back, and then whirling on the other wolf, biting its hindquarters. The wolf fell. Tyrone jumped on the first wolf, grabbed it by the neck and shook it. The wolf stopped fighting and lay supine beneath Tyrone’s jaw. The entire time Tyrone held the wolf in his jaw, he watched the other wolf that lay heaving on its side.
Tyrese jumped up, missing the grey wolf by inches who charged him. When he dropped, he changed and swiped his paw across the neck of his challenger, the wolf rolled and lay on its side. The other wolf turned and leapt at Tyrese. With a snap of his jaw, he clamped around the wolf’s throat, shook it a couple of times and then dropped the dead wolf. The fight lasted just a few minutes, much to Silas’ disgust. Those Mexican wolves had made the mistake of thinking the twins were weak links.
Silas never traveled with weak wolves.
Another wolf came out through the opened door and Tyrese growled, waiting for the wolf to clear the porch. Instead of fighting, the wolf whined. Head down, it trotted to the wolf lying on the ground and nudged its head. When the wolf didn’t move, the smaller wolf sat next to it, whining.
Pleased with the fighting prowess of the young wolves, Silas commanded them to stay alert so they could do what they’d come to do. Silas released a breath as the twins howled their victories. He’d need to talk to them about the appropriateness of such gestures when they were in the middle of a take-over.
Silas understood the need to stand your ground, but when a bigger wolf knocked on your door, a certain amount of respect and courtesy should be shown. Silas had received neither.
He looked into the dim hall and pushed a powerful compulsion in his voice. “Pedro, come here.” There were gasps of surprise. Yelps and whines came from inside the building. “Come here now, Pedro.”
The slap of paws on tile filled the air. Seconds later, a large silver wolf stood in the doorway growling and baring teeth with hackles raised.
Silas looked at the pack leader and sighed. “Is today the day you die? So be it, but I did call first to make an appointment. All I wanted was to talk, and you ignored my demand. I have traveled far to gather information. So… you tell me, is today the day you and more of your pack dies?” He looked over his shoulder. Tyrese and Tyrone were still in wolf form standing over their kills. Silas sent a wave of power that dropped the arrogant wolf to his knees.
Eyes wild, the wolf continued to growl and snarl.
Silas shrugged and sent a message to his men. “Change back and move to the side.” The twins phased back and moved to the opposite side of the porch. The next moment the thunder of running wolves filled the air. Pedro’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe his ears. Wolves soon flew out the building to the yard and paced in front of the porch. Their eyes flicked from Pedro to Silas.
“No Alpha puts their pack at risk the way you did.” Silas said before he turned to the pack. “Beta, come forward.” A whine rent the air as another large silver wolf walked as though being dragged against his will.
“You’re not going to work either,” Silas said, looking over the group. He didn’t have time for pack politics. “Tyrese, Tyrone,” he spoke through their link. “They took two women down stairs and one upstairs; find them and bring them here so I can talk to them.”
The two men stepped over Pedro and walked through the entry.
“Show me your bellies,” Silas said. All but three wolves dropped at once.
Theron, the Alpha of Texas shifted into a large silver wolf. He leapt and caught the first wolf by the neck, and turned while holding that wolf, knocking back the other two wolves who’d come at him from the rear. After breaking the neck of the first wolf, he rushed toward one of the others, separating them. He picked the smaller wolf and quickly dispatched him. That left the beta.
The wolves jumped at each other, but Theron was larger and brought the beta to the ground, and snapped at his neck. The wolf backed away before Theron had a grip. The Alpha charged again, and this time overpowered the beta, grabbed him by the neck and snapped it. Theron pranced in front of the pack and then sat on his haunches near Silas.
Silas looked over the pack. “Is there any here to challenge Pedro for pack leadership?”
A large black wolf trotted back inside the gate. Silas remembered him as one of the wolves he’d sent to the forest.
The wolf sat on his haunches and transformed. “I’ll challenge him.” The man stood and braced his feet apart.
“And you are?” Silas asked, smiling at the growls from Pedro.
“Philippe.”
“A relative or former friend? What are you doing here?”
“I lived here before Pedro and his bullies showed up, raping and killing our people. The bastardo cares nothing for the pack, just his sick fantasies.”
Silas glanced at Theron, instructing him to handle things. These wolves would fall under his direct authority. Theron shifted.
“What makes you qualified to take on the pack,” Theron asked as he stood. At six feet five inches tall with barrel chest, thick muscular arms and legs, the Alpha was one few dared challenge. Right now, his piercing gray eyes looked over the pack of wolves as though he could see into their hearts and minds. With a quick flick of his hand, he brushed his long dark hair away from his face as he waited for a response.
“I’m not sure I am qualified, but I’m willing to fight the downward direction the pack’s headed.”
Theron stared a moment longer and nodded. “Understand, you will be under my supervision and training if you survive the fight.” He looked at the remaining wolves. “I am Alpha Theron, La Patron’s Alpha of Texas. Whoever becomes pack leader here today will be under my supervision. Is that understood?”
Silas released the wolves, and they all changed back to humans except Pedro. Theron asked them the question again, except this time he asked in Spanish. The wolves appeared surprised and then relieved. They began speaking at once, asking questions.
“Silence. There is a leadership challenge that must be dealt with,” Theron said. He turned and addressed the challenger. “Philippe, do you challenge your pack leader, Pedro, for pack leadership?”
“Yes, I do.” He shifted into his wolf and loped forward. He dipped his head to Silas and stepped back. Theron nodded in approval and spoke to the pack leader. “Pedro, there is a challenge to your leadership and you will answer in a fight to the death.”
Silas released Pedro. He shook himself a few times, and then pranced down the steps, snarling at the pack and at his challenger. Philippe returned his snarl and waited for Pedro to make his move as they circled one another.
Pedro’s pride and anger had him leaping for the wolf. Philippe sidestepped him and bit his left flank. Pedro howled and charged again. This time he connected, but Philippe fought with skill and heart drawing blood. The fight dragged on longer than Silas would’ve liked. The twins had the three women seated in one of the rooms and he wanted to question them. But he needed to stand beside his Alpha and make sure the change in command went without more bloodshed.
Minutes later, Philippe stood over Pedro, breathing heavy and bleeding. The wolves cheered and walked over to the two combatants.
“I’m going inside to question the women. Gather as much information about this operation as possible. I want to know if any women left this compound, who took them, and where’d they go. I have called the wolves from the forest, they return now,” he told Theron.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Will the pack stay here or will you take them to Texas?”
“I’m not sure of their skill sets. Once Buck and I meet with the entire pack I’ll inform you of my decision.”
“Good.” Silas walked into the dim building. It was cool, well furnished, and in good condition. That’d be a plus if the pack remained. He rounded the corner, opened a door, and stepped into what appeared to be a large office. Tyrone and Tyrese stood near the exits while three human women sat on the leather sofa and chairs.
“Hello, I’m Silas Knight, how are you ladies today?” He strode forward and took a seat opposite them. Surprised by how young they were, he’d place them all in their twenties. They weren’t beautiful, but not bad-looking. The woman in the chair had an air of entitlement about her and if he had to guess, he’d say she’d been the one taken upstairs. He eyed her a little longer.
Dark wavy brown hair flowed down her back. Large brown eyes in a heart-shaped face, narrow nose with an upturned tip at the end, and a creamy unblemished complexion returned his examination. “I am Arianna and I am well, thank you.” Her voice held a hint of Texas twang and he stiffened.
Had the wolves kidnapped an American? He nodded and decided to get to that later. Turning to the other women, he waited for them to introduce themselves.
“I’m Leara.” The petite dark-haired woman said, looking at him from beneath her lids. Although all three women appeared around the same age, the actions of the women on the sofa made them seem younger.
“I’m Leann,” the other woman said. Both females on the couch sat with their heads down and their hands clasped in their laps. He sensed there’d been no abuse. They appeared healthy.
“Tell me how you got here.” He looked at the woman in the chair.
The woman threw back her head and laughed, it was dark, sultry. “So it’s true, you want conversation, nothing more?”
Silas leaned back in his seat, crossed one leg over his knee and looked at her. The more he looked, the lovelier she appeared. “Yes. I want to understand how human women give birth to wolves.”
“He’s such a fool. He didn’t believe your request was genuine, he thought you came to take us from him.” She waved her hand toward the other women and then rested it on her stomach, drawing Silas’ gaze.
“You are pregnant?”
She nodded. “We all are.” She waved to the other women. “He gets crazy when we’re in this condition.” She paused and then shrugged. “Ah well. Your question. Let me think, it has been years and no one bothers to ask these things anymore.”
“Years?” Silas frowned. “How long have you been like this?”
She closed her eyes, her lips moved as though she were counting sheep. “A hundred and twenty-eight years, I believe, give or take a few.”
It took a lot to surprise Silas, but she’d just won the Oscar with her announcement. “Impossible,” he whispered. She didn’t look a day over twenty-five.
She shrugged. “Before the rape, blacks had to sit on the back of the bus. Mexico was in the midst of a civil war, and women couldn’t vote. A lot has changed over the years.”
Silas blinked. A chill slid down his back. “Raped? Is that what bought about this change in you?” As far as he knew, Jasmine was born this way. Her husband had been her first sexual partner and until a few days ago, her only partner.
She sighed as she pulled her legs beneath her and leaned back. “I think that was it. Married, I had two boys already. My husband was an abusive ass. I shouldn’t have been out at night buying milk and food, but…” she shrugged. “Anyway, someone raped me. I went home and told him. He didn’t believe me of course. He knocked me around a bit for being late and that was it.”
“Did the man who raped you, bite you?” Silas wondered how the change in her body took place.
She thrust forward her arm. “You mean like this?” Healed teeth marks ran up and down her arm.
Mesmerized by the amount of marks, he rose from his seat to get a better look. She pulled her top to the side. His eyes widened at the marks on her neck, shoulders and upper arm. She’d been someone’s chew toy.
Tyrone and Tyrese had stepped closer for a better look, and then moved back. He heard the surprise and concern in their minds.
Silas fingered one of the more ragged scars. “Yes, did he bite you as he raped you?”
Her eyes fluttered closed and a sigh of pleasure rose from her lips. Silas returned to his seat. His wolf hadn’t stirred although his cock had sprung to life at her actions. When she opened her eyes, she appeared disappointed.
“No. If he had, I might’ve been able to convince my husband what happened. Six or seven months later I gave birth to twin girls. They weren’t my husband's.”
“How can you be so sure?” Silas asked.
“I hated him and never allowed his seed to enter me. I did other things for him; as long as he reached his peak, he didn’t care. The alcohol made him believe anything I told him,” she said as though she discussed the weather.
“Where are your daughters?”
She shrugged. “Someone stole one when she was thirteen, and then took me soon after that. I never heard anything about my family again.”
A throbbing pain built behind Silas’ eyes. This whole impossible situation was worse than he’d thought. “Who stole you? Pedro?”
She laughed and shook her head. It sounded rusty as though she never used her vocal chords in that manner. “No. Pedro is one of a few. The first pack leader took me someplace cold, up north I believe.” She rubbed her forehead. “It has been years. He was kind in a gruff way. I gave him many sons.”
“Over the years, any idea how many girls you’ve birthed?” The women were the key and someone, an enemy no doubt, realized this, and set them loose in his back yard.
“Other than these two?” She nodded to the women on the couch.
Uneasy, Silas nodded. He’d detected human heartbeats from those women.
She closed her eyes again, her lips moved as she counted.
Silas glanced at Tyrone and Tyrese. They stared at the woman with a frown. Today they would discover how fortunate they’d been having a loving mother, whether that special care affected the wolf-pack or not, Silas couldn’t say.
“I’m going to say at least twenty. Since the rape, I’ve always had multiple births, always the same sex.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked toward the ceiling, shaking her head. “That seems about right, nine or ten pregnancies with females over the years.”
“How old were you when you changed?” He mulled over the implications. Did the women keep their human form and the male wolves turn into wolves? The idea was too over the top to voice. He half-listened while his mind processed his unspoken questions.
“Around twenty-four.” The woman smiled at him and flipped her hair over her shoulders.
“So… this process keeps you from aging?”
“I guess. How old are you, Leara?” she asked, looking toward the sofa.
“I’m twenty-five.”
Silas couldn’t believe it. There was no record of this infraction anywhere. How had this been kept quiet for so long. His thoughts returned to the book of warfare and the biblical strategy. It fit, but didn’t make sense. More important, who was the enemy who had set this atrocity in motion?
“Let’s get back on track. Someone raped you, then you had female twins. One disappeared in her teens. You don’t know what happened to the other because wolves took you somewhere up north. How long did you stay there?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. The pack lived far in the mountains. When they stole me from that pack, I remember being surprised that women wore pants, smoked, and drove cars. The next pack took me down south, near the river that cuts through the country. The bitches in that pack didn’t appreciate me giving birth to pups while they had to wait to find mates before they could get pregnant. They attacked me all the time. I heard they killed my pups.” She shrugged, although her voice had saddened. “The fighting got old. The pack leader sent me to another pack near Mexico. Pedro stole me from there. They were my next litter.” She tipped her head to the women on the sofa. “I have been here since then.”
“You fought wolf bitches?” Tyrone asked.
She shrugged. “Yeah. It was a surprise. I’m no wolf, can’t change or anything. But I heal faster than a wolf. I’m fast and strong. Surprised the shit out of everyone the first time I knocked a bitch out. Stopped them from picking on me so much, until they started ganging up on me. One I could handle, but not more than that.”
Silas met Tyrone’s stare. He had no doubt they were both thinking of their hellcat of a mother. She didn’t need a lot of extra anything, she was already tough.
He turned back to Arianna and wondered if that was her birth name. They’d need her original name to check out her story, but he’d let Theron deal with that later.
“How long are your pregnancies?”
She squinted and looked at the other two. “Six – seven months, wouldn’t you say?”
Leann nodded. “About that for twins anyway. Shorter for quads.”
“Have you ever given birth to human babies?” Silas asked the women on the couch.
“No. I don’t think I’ve ever met a human,” Leara said.
“Me neither,” Leann said, nodding.
Silas tented his fingertips beneath his lips. “I sensed three human heartbeats before entering this compound. Leara, you say you’ve never met a human, yet you appear to be human.” He ignored her scared wide eyes as she looked at him and then at Arianna.
“You too, Leann.” His gaze swung to Arianna. “Who were their fathers?” His eyes blazed, daring her to lie.
Arianna shrugged unconcerned. “I don’t remember, maybe Pedro or Miguel the beta. When I first arrived, he refused to allow anyone else near me. Ask Anna, the housekeeper, she knows everything that happens here.”
He released a long sigh as he contacted Theron through their link. “Send Anna the housekeeper to the office.”
Silas gritted his teeth in aggravation. “This is bullshit. Who the hell is messing with the natural order of things? A rape that took place over one hundred years ago has snowballed with serious repercussions. And you may not have been the first or the last.” He raked his hand through his hair.
A knock sounded.
Tyrone opened the door. The tiny woman who’d greeted them earlier stepped in, her eyes round with fear. She frowned when she noticed the women sitting quiet. “Yes?”
Silas pointed to another chair. “Please, have a seat. I have questions to ask you. I’d appreciate any help you can give me.”
She swallowed hard and took a seat. “I’ll do my best.”
Silas noticed her lack of Spanish accent and wondered about her origins. But he had more pressing matters. “Do you know who sired Leann and Leara?”
“Yes, Sir. Pedro.”
“What happened to the other female pups she birthed?” He tipped his head in Arianna’s direction. It was a waste of time to discuss biology with the women. Somehow, the women showed up as humans even though they were half wolf. It didn’t make sense. None of this made sense.
“Yes, Sir. Pedro sold them.”
A flare of anger flashed through Silas and the women screamed. He calmed himself. “Everything okay?” Theron asked through their link.
“Yes. Is Pedro dead?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I’d like to kill him.” Silas broke the link. The small woman was shaking in the chair. He hadn’t meant to frighten her.
“Anna? That’s your name, right?”
Her head jerked up and then down.
“I apologize for frightening you. I am angry that Pedro sold the woman, that’s all. Can you tell me what happened?”
After taking three deep breaths, the woman spoke. “Pedro told me to get rooms ready, we were having guests. Important guests. When the men came, they talked for a while. Had a meal and then went to the two rooms I'd prepared for them. He sent Stephanie and Maria to spend the night with them. The guests stayed a week. When they left, they took the girls with them because they were breeding.”
“Breeding?” Silas wanted to be sure. “Pregnant with babies inside their stomachs?”
Anna shrugged. “I don’t know what to call them, but they were breeding when they left.”
“Leann and Leara were unmated wolves with the ability to give birth, another anomaly. We need to know how they felt when this happened, where were they when they realized they had the potential to give birth. Were they raised by the wolves? Or are the female hybrids given special treatment? Tyrese interview Leann. I want you to get her life story. They are half wolves, do they shift? Or is that ability lost? Get personal, we need to know everything. Tyrone, you’re on Leara. I’ll finish with Arianna and we’ll compare notes later,” he told them through their links. They needed to make up time.
Silas ushered Anna closer so the three of them could talk. In his experience, servants saw and knew more than people gave them credit.
The next hour and a half, the light buzz of conversation filled the room. Silas discovered Pedro dabbled in criminal activity, something he told Theron immediately. He learned once the women birthed the pups the wolves raised them. The human breeders did not interact with the pups. He thought that was strange, but listened rather than question their motives.
All in all, Silas discovered the breeders healed fast and could accommodate the roughest wolf without breaking. There was something about giving birth that kept them young and viable with the ability to keep reproducing. If it didn’t violate so many laws of nature, he’d clap his hands in awe. But he’d lived long enough to know rules might be stretched without much penalty, but when broken, there was always hell to pay.
Standing, Silas brought all conversations to a halt. “Thank you for your help. We have just learned of your existence and required more information. Pedro is dead. Philippe won the leadership challenge and will be the new pack leader under Alpha Theron. He will meet with all of you later. You are free to live wherever you please. You can stay with this pack or I will send you anywhere you want.” He looked at each of them. “The choice is yours.”
“I will go with you,” Arianna spoke into the silence. “I will help you build your pack.”
Leann and Leara bit their lips and turned away, but Silas saw the laughter in their eyes.
Anna rolled her eyes. The servant had been helpful filling in the blanks and he knew she saw more than many realized. He’d make sure Theron placed her in a position in the midst of the wolves.
“I think you misunderstood. I have no pack,” Silas said as he straightened his shirt and brushed off his pants.
“You have many sons?” Arianna asked, frowning.
“I guess you can say that. But I have no pack, so choose somewhere else or stay here. It’s up to you.” He turned to leave when she spoke.
“I would serve you well, Silas Knight. Take me with you.”
He ignored her and walked out the room.