Forever Is Not Enough [Council Enforcers 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (7 page)

“What?” Ryan said.

“Why the hell did you bring her here, Ben?” Mitch growled.

“No, he isn’t,” Ken quietly mumbled.

Jacqueline ignored Ben’s growl as he came up behind her with Nico still in his arm and wrapped his other around her. The comments from the other two were exactly what she expected to hear, but it was Ken’s statement that had caught her off guard.

“What do you mean he isn’t my father?” she asked Ken.

“You don’t smell of shifter. You’re one hundred percent human. There is no way that man can be your father.”

Jacqueline sat dawn heavily in her chair. “I don’t understand. How can he not be my father? He’s all I’ve ever known.”

“Where’s your mother?” Tessa rubbed her back as she asked the question.

“Dead. My father told me she died when I was two. I’ve never even seen a picture of her.”

“Jacqi, don’t you think that’s strange? Why wouldn’t Percival at least have one picture of your mother?”

Jacqueline laughed. “You don’t know my father. The man is beyond cruel. He made it a point of letting me know growing up how much he hated my mother and how lucky I was that he kept me instead of giving me away. The man is not, nor has he ever been, sentimental, so, no, I don’t think it’s strange he doesn’t have any pictures.”

A growl had her snapping her head up. She knew it came from Ken, but it hadn’t been directed at her. He was looking at her with sympathy on his face. His mate, Ryan, was rubbing his arm, comforting him. Mitch sat staring at her with an annoyed look that she was starting to believe he used on everyone except his mate and cub.

“I’m starved. Let’s eat.”

She was glad when Ben changed the subject then sat next to her and squeezed her hand. Jacqueline wasn’t used to all the attention being focused on her. In her world, attention was not a good thing. Flying under the radar and going unnoticed was the safest way to stay alive.

Jacqueline ate lunch in silence as she watched everyone at the table interact with each other. They teased and joked, but it was all in fun and not meant to be cruel. She didn’t think she had ever heard so much laughter in one place. Even little Nico laughed along, although she had a feeling he didn’t have a clue what they were laughing at. They all showed concern for Ben and his health. Tessa made sure he had enough to eat as she fussed over him, and even Mitch took the time to ask him if he was okay. Her guilt rose a notch each time Ben brushed off their concerns and didn’t mention what she had done to him. She didn’t understand how he could even be in the same room with her, let alone sit next to her after what she had done.

“Jacqi, are you okay?”

She smiled and nodded at Ben, not wanting to tell him what she was thinking. “It’s Jacqueline, by the way, not Jacqi.” Ben just waved off her comment and smirked. She had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes at the man. It seemed he refused to call her by her correct name.

“What’s wrong? I smelled sadness and despair.”

“You can smell that?” she asked in shock. “What else can you smell?”

“Shifters have a very acute sense of smell. We can smell just about anything.” Ben frowned. “You don’t know very much about shifters, do you?”

“All I know is what my father taught me—which wasn’t much because I tried to stay as far away from the man as possible—and what I observed for myself from his guards.” The group at the table were staring at her as though waiting for her to explain herself, and Jacqueline had a feeling lunch was over. Ben grabbed her hand and squeezed, and she accepted the comfort he was trying to give.

“First off, I should tell you the drug that turns shifters rogue… that came from me. I created it.” Jacqueline waited for the fangs and claws to come out and for them to attack, but no one moved or said anything. No one looked angry or ready to kill her, so she continued. “For as long as I can remember, my father and I constantly moved around. One minute we would be somewhere, and without warning, we would pack up and move halfway around the world. Wherever we moved, my father always set up a lab when we got there. It was usually the first thing he did.

“When I was about sixteen, I got curious about why it was so important to my father, so I went into the lab. I watched the guys working for hours and didn’t even know what they were doing, but I was fascinated. When they all left for the night, I snuck in and began messing around. Unfortunately, my father caught me. Needless to say, he was beyond angry, but after he eventually calmed down, he told me that if I was going to be there then I needed to be taught properly.”

Jacqueline thought back on that day. She had been so eager to do anything to gain a few moments of her father’s attention and approval. For the longest time, she’d felt as though she had signed her soul over to the devil that day, and she didn’t even have a clue what she was selling it for.

“For some insane reason, I excelled at chemistry. My father was so proud of me I didn’t even question him when he asked me to create a serum that would make shifters stronger. I would have done anything to continue receiving his praises rather than slaps across the face.” She didn’t even realize she was crying until Tessa handed her a tissue. After wiping her eyes and blowing her nose, Jacqueline continued. “With each test run, my father would send me back to the lab and demand me to make them even stronger, and I would go back and rework the formula. One night I overheard my father talking on the phone. He was telling someone about his plan to turn shifters rogue using my formula as soon as I perfected it. He was saying how he wanted them super strong but also mindless beasts that only answered to him.”

“Wait.” Ben stopped her. “I don’t understand how you went from increased strength to mindless killing machines.”

“After what I heard, I went back to the lab, and I worked day and night. I realized my father had been using me all along, so I decided to give him exactly what he wanted, but on my terms.”

“What does that mean, on your terms?” Mitch asked.

“I gave him the mindless beast he wanted. They answered only to him, but I made them docile. They weren’t the rogue killing machines he expected. I made them like dogs. They did his bidding, but they had to be trained. Instead of go fetch, they had to be trained to kill.”

Ben doubled over laughing, which confused Jacqueline. The last thing she had expected when she told her story was laughter. The yelling and name-calling she could have handled, but laughing? She didn’t have a clue about how to handle that, so she waited patiently until he was finished.

“Damn, I would have loved to see that little weasel’s face when he finally got his rogue serum. I bet it was priceless,” Ben said in between laughter.

“I remember running into a few of the rogues the night we blew up your father’s mansion. At the time, I remember wondering why they were acting so strange. Now, it all makes sense.” Ben squeezed her hand again. “You have one devious little mind.”

Jacqueline wondered if he would think that or find it so funny when he found out the secret she was keeping. Unless she found a way to finish the antidote, Ben was going to die. The rogue serum she created was engineered to self-destruct. It was a failsafe she had designed just in case her father decided she wasn’t useful anymore and turned to someone else to perfect her serum. If that happened, she couldn’t let her creation be unleashed into the world. Without the antidote, the shifters who took the rogue serum would die within six months of taking it. Ben had three months left and he would hate her when he found out.

Looking around the table at everyone and seeing the love they all had for each other, Jacqueline knew they would all hate her once they found out. Knowing she was taking Ben away from his family devastated her. She looked at Ben just as the first sob escaped. “I’m so sorry.” That was all she could get out before Ben pulled her into his arms, and then the sobs took over.

Ben sat his little mate in his lap and held her as she cried. The sound of her sobs and the smell of her despair were killing him, but he was powerless to do anything about them. He had no idea why she was crying. From what she had just told them, Jacqi’s life had been hell, but he had a feeling that wasn’t what had upset her. His mate was strong to go through all of that and not come out just as crazy and devious as the man she called her father. Whatever was upsetting her now was something huge, but he decided not to push it. He just hoped his mate would eventually tell them what it was.

Maybe I should lick her face.

Ben kept his laugh to himself not wanting to hurt his wolf’s feelings.
I don’t think many people like being slobbered on, pup. Sorry.

But she’s our mate. She should like anything we do to her.

Ben hoped his wolf was right. Holding Jacqi in his arms and breathing in her sweet scent, he shared his wolf’s urge to lick her from head to toe as well. Instead, he held her until her breathing evened out and she drifted off to sleep. His little mate was obviously worn out if she was able to fall asleep in a room full of strangers. But, based on the responsibilities she had taken on from her father and the huge amount of guilt she was carrying around, he was surprised she hadn’t collapsed sooner.

Ben leaned down and kissed her forehead. When he looked up, he froze when he saw everyone at the table was staring at him. “What?”

“I never thought I would see the day when Benjamin Sullivan became a whipped man.” Ryan leaned back against his overly large mate’s chest and smirked as he said it.

Ben scoffed and hoped his friends didn’t smell his lie. “I’m not whipped. I just didn’t know having a mate would feel like this.” He looked down at his mate. For someone who had vowed never to mate, he couldn’t imagine going back to his life without her, even considering the short amount of time they’d been together.

“You’re stuck with her now, buddy, so get used to it.” Mitch grumbled when Tessa jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “They come in and eat all of your food, they wake you up from your naps at all hours of the day, and then they steal your spot in the sunshine.”

Ben laughed at Mitch. The lion was always in a bad mood. He preferred to be alone rather than in a pride, but Ben knew he wouldn’t give up his mate or cub for anything in the world. “For someone who ran away from home to get away from being in a pride, you sure are adding to yours awfully fast. When were you going to tell me Tessa was pregnant?”

That got a huge grin out of Mitch. “It was my glorious mane. She couldn’t resist it.”

Tessa snorted, but Ben noticed her rubbing her fingers through Mitch’s hair at the nape of his neck. “Congrats to you guys. I’m truly happy for you.”

Ben looked down at his mate cradled in his arms.
What
would it be like if she was carrying my pups?

His wolf agreed.
Yeah, let’s do that. Then I could have lots of little wolves to play with.

The thought didn’t send Ben running and screaming from commitment like he’d thought it would. His mate was beautiful, and he could only imagine a daughter with the dark chocolate hair and thick eyelashes fanning her cheeks. He hoped she would have her mother’s violet eyes as well. Ben could imagine himself and all his friends standing around growling and glaring at any male who thought he was worthy of dating his daughter.

Smiling, Ben decided that was what he wanted. He wanted to go out on missions and then return home to his mate and pups waiting for him at the door. In order to do that, he needed to eliminate Percival. “Okay, guys, we need to figure out Percival’s next move. I have a feeling he is going to stop at nothing to get his top chemist back, and I can’t let that happen. I’m not letting my mate go without a fight.”

His wolf agreed.
She’s ours. Nobody can have her.

“You know we’ll do anything we can to help.” Mitch looked him directly in the eyes. “You protected my mate without question when I needed you to. I would do the same for you in a heartbeat.”

Ben nodded. Mitch was known as a notoriously selfish bastard in the shifter world, but there was no one else Ben would have rather had by his side. Ken and Ryan were a close second. “Okay, first off, we need to find out if we can track Percival to where he’s hiding now. He’s more than likely moved from the bunker he held me in by now because he wouldn’t risk me coming back with more enforcers. Ryan, do you think you can get on the computer and pull up any records of land he owns or bought recently? The file from all the information I found on him should still be there.” When Ryan nodded, Ben continued. “Mitch, I need you to go through the information in Jacqi’s bag. She said she had flash drives in there with all of her work saved on them and files from Percival’s computer. See if you can find out what his next big plan is.”

Ben looked at Ken. He was more of the silent warrior type. He never said much, but the man was a genius. If anyone could do this next task it would be him. “We all know there is no way Jacqueline is Percival’s daughter. The question is how did he get her? Something tells me we aren’t going to like the answer, but I still need you to find out what you can.”

When Ken nodded, Ben stood with his mate in his arms. “I’m going to go put her in bed. When I get back, we will come up with a plan to take this bastard down.” He carried her up the stairs, amazed at how small she felt in his arms. Compared to him she was tiny, but she fit perfectly. If he had his way, he would never put her down.