Matt: Tales of the Were (Redstone Clan Book 5) (21 page)

At that point, they began making phone calls to the werewolves and vampire troops that had come at Marc’s command, telling them where to meet and what to look out for. They also took reports and collated information. Matt called some of his people directly and began to make notes, which Morgan helped him organize. The calls took only about five minutes once everyone knew who to call and what to tell them, and then, they began comparing field reports they’d gotten from the people they’d called.

The priestess Hilda was out of the picture, for now. She had a serious concussion and was at the hospital, under observation. Unlike shifters or vamps, human mages could still use regular doctors and medical facilities because their differences from other humans weren’t visible to medical science. Magic was something hidden deep within and didn’t cause physiological differences that would identify them to human doctors.

“Some of the wolves will be in wolf form,” Matt told the group when it was his turn. “It’s easier for them to prowl in their fur, and those without two-legged combat training will be much more effective on paws rather than feet. My brother, Steve, and his mate, Trisha, are on their way up here with reinforcements—all trained fighters—but they won’t be here for hours, yet.”

“For the rest of the night, the Brotherhood will patrol alongside and in cooperation with the shifters,” Marc confirmed. “When the sun comes up, it’ll all be up to your people, Matt.”

Matt nodded. “We can handle it. I’ll be positioned in the mine itself. On the fault. If our target gets past all the patrols and sentries at the mine entrances, I’ll be the last line of defense.”

“And I’ll be with you, laddie,” Cam said. “I can transport in at the first sign of trouble.”

Morgan hadn’t known of Matt’s plan, but she saw the reason for it. He was the strongest of the shifters present—the highest ranking of the few Alphas on-site. He would have to be posted where there was the most potential for danger.

Morgan didn’t want to go back into that deep part of the mine. Hell, she didn’t even want to go a foot into any of the surface entrances. But, if Matt was going, she would go with him. No matter what happened, they belonged together now. In danger and in good times.

“We know a bit more about our target from going through his apartment. He didn’t leave much behind, but we at least know his name. It’s probably an alias, but the name on his lease is Sonny Sidwell,” Atticus reported. “A search of records indicates that Mr. Sidwell was born in Georgia fifty-two years ago. Both of his parents are deceased, and he has no other relatives.”

“He looks really good for his age,” Morgan observed. “He didn’t look a day over thirty-five.”

“Blood magic can do that. It’s an evil business,” Cam said, an air of disgust in his tone. “They siphon off their victims’ youth along with their blood and take it for themselves. It’s possible this Sidwell is much older than the name he is using. Based on the kind of magic he has displayed, to this point, I believe he is at least part fey.”

Every eye in the place turned to regard Cameron.

“What makes you say that?” Marc finally asked.

“The ability to transport instantaneously is something very rare among human mages. In fact, I do not know of any in this generation that can wield such power—although I admit I do not know every mage, everywhere. But, in general, strong power calls to me, and I end up meeting or at least observing many of the strong, young human mages before they fully harness their power. I like to keep track of them, in case they stumble too near one of the gateways or otherwise get themselves into trouble before they’ve gained some control of their abilities.”

Cam’s voice had taken on a lecturing tone, and Morgan was fascinated by this glimpse into his thoughts.

“It is very likely that Sidwell is an identity this mage has adopted. Probably one of many. I believe bloodletters are familiar with the concept of taking over the identity of someone who died at a young age with no relatives. It can be useful, when trying to exist in this modern world, to blend in by having the proper documentation for birth, social security, driver’s license, etc.”

Morgan wanted to chuckle at the idea of Cam having a driver’s license. For all she knew, he probably did. Though, in all likelihood, it was under some other name. Probably one assumed the way the man using Sonny Sidwell’s name had likely assumed that identity.

“So, how much magic do you think we’re dealing with here?” Marc asked. “Do you think it’s possible that Sidwell could do real damage to the fault all by himself?”

“You’d better believe that, if he can transport, he can cause havoc with that fault,” Cam said in a grim tone. “It feels like he needed Irma to get on the property and learn about the construction schedule. I have little doubt, that’s why he involved her and her husband in the first place. He probably kept them around because they were strong mages in their own right, but in all likelihood, he doesn’t need them to complete the work they’d planned in the mine.”

“Then our mission is clear,” Matt observed. “We’ll just have to cut him off at the pass. Sidwell must not be allowed to do his evil work.”

“Agreed,” Marc intoned in a voice that sent shivers down Morgan’s spine. Sidwell had no idea what kind of fury awaited him if he tried anything in the mine now that they were on guard for him.

* * *

Morgan really, really,
really
didn’t want to go back into the mine, but she would go wherever Matt went. She wouldn’t wimp out. She was a strong woman. Matt claimed she was an Alpha female. She had to live up to the faith he had put in her.

And it wasn’t as if he didn’t know how hard this was for her. He took her hand as they walked through the entrance, pausing to look at her.

“If you want to stay up top, I understand.” Sweet Mother of All, he was giving her an out, and she was tempted, for a split second, to take it, but Morgan hadn’t gotten where she was by being a wuss. Her mate was going into danger, and she would be at his side—come hell or cave-ins. “Until my brother arrives with the reinforcements, I have to be down there.”

“It’s okay. Where you go, I go,” she promised him.

Well, at least she sounded brave. Now if only she felt that way.

Cameron came toward them, already inside the mine, apparently. He smiled and seemed to let a little of his inner radiance shine through. For a moment, she could’ve sworn she saw him wearing armor. Glowing armor that made him look invincible.

Then she blinked, and the image faded, but the impression stayed with her. He was a knight, after all. Maybe it wasn’t that farfetched to believe he had some kind of glowing, magical armor that she couldn’t normally see. And maybe…just maybe…he’d given her a glimpse of it to help shore up her flagging courage.

“I’ll be with you too, though you wilna always see me. If you get into trouble like the last time, I swear on my honor that I will get you out.” Cam came right up to Morgan and held her gaze. He was dead serious, and she appreciated the solemnity of his vow.

“Thank you,” she said, just as seriously. It meant a lot to her that this fey warrior would consider her feelings. She trusted him to help them, should they need it again.

But she trusted Matt more. She knew he would do all in his power to protect her—as she would for him. She might not be the most heavily trained shifter in the world, but
Sensei
Hiro had taught her a thing or two in the past. She could hold her own if it came down to a hand-to-hand fight, and she would fight side-by-side with her mate. He could count on her.

The magical thing was more concerning. They’d been trapped in that other tunnel before, due to magic that caused the very earth to quake. She didn’t know what she could do against something like that, which was why it was good to have some seriously heavy magical firepower on their side in the form of the fey knight.

But Cameron couldn’t be everywhere at once. He needed the eyes and ears of the shifters and bloodletters to watch and wait. The surveillance net would drop when the enemy was sighted, and an alert would go out to Cameron, wherever he was, to tell him exactly where trouble was brewing.

It was hoped that, between him and the shifters and vampires, they would be able to disable Sidwell. They didn’t necessarily want him dead. For one thing, he’d be a good person to interrogate. But they would fight him, and if he died in battle, then so be it. That was the way it had gone for Irma and Carlos. If it went that way for Sidwell too, nobody was going to cry over it.

In fact, Morgan’s inner cat wanted to taste Sidwell’s blood. Badly. It wanted to slash and claw and eliminate any threat to her mate, and her friends. In that order.

That was new. Before meeting Matt, her friends, and especially Marc, had come first in her loyalty. But throw her new mate into the mix, and he came out on top. Always.

Which felt right. As it should be. As it had been for Marc, when he discovered Kelly. And Atticus, when he had met Lissa. And yes…for Sebastian, when he had finally claimed Christy and learned she was his One.

The fact that Matt had slept with Christy still itched like a burr in Morgan’s fur when she thought about it, but slowly, she was coming to terms with it. Seeing Sebastian and Christy together helped. If Sebastian could get past what he’d done—what he’d orchestrated from all accounts—in asking his One to dine on Matt’s blood and, inevitably, have sex with him, then Morgan could too. Vamps were just as possessive of their mates as shifters were.

Sebastian had allowed the liaison to make Christy stronger. Matt had explained his reasons, and they made sense too. He’d done it out of a desire to help a woman face her past and her abusive ex-husband. He’d enjoyed it too—of that Morgan had no doubt. Vampires had a certain mojo when they seduced a victim that was said to be the ultimate pleasure. Morgan had never experienced it—and she never wanted to. Nothing could top making love with her mate. Nothing. Not even vampire mojo.

They set off at a brisk pace down the mine shaft, heading for the lowest point in the mine where they had seen the sorcerers at work before. Matt was so freaking proud of Morgan. She was with him, standing by him and overcoming her fears.

He still felt bad about making her come down here, but something inside him said this was where they needed to be. He’d learned to trust his inner voice—his intuition—over the years. Although the others didn’t believe it, Matt had the feeling that the showdown with Sidwell was going to happen sooner rather than later.

They didn’t have time to waste. And he feared his brother and the cavalry being sent post haste from Las Vegas wouldn’t arrive in time. Neither would Jesse Moore’s commandos that Marc had hired. This shit was going to go down, and it was going to go down soon. He could feel it, though he prayed he was wrong.

They rounded the curve that would take them to the area where they’d seen the sorcerers before. They moved cautiously, spaced out about ten feet apart in case of an ambush, but none came. When the arrived at the spot where they’d watched from, there was nobody in evidence, though the lights were on.

“Looks like they’ve got these lights set on a motion sensor system. They came on when we moved into range,” Matt observed, pointing to the small device that had been rigged into the old wire on the ceiling from which dangled antique light fixtures every few yards. “The lighting system itself is old, but the sensor is new. High tech.”

“For the moment, we are alone,” Cam said, looking around at the area. “Can you show me where they were working and go over what you saw? It might help me learn more about what we’re dealing with in terms of magic here.”

Matt nodded to Morgan. “Sweetheart, take him over there. I’ll stand watch. Just make it quick. We might have company, any time now.”

Ideally, he would’ve liked to have a platoon of his brothers’ Green Beret friends at his back, securing the perimeter, but that wasn’t meant to be. Not yet. Jesse Moore’s special ops group was on the way, but they were still an hour out or more based on the last report. More help was coming up from Vegas, but they were also a couple of hours away. Matt sincerely hoped they got there in time for the party, but the way he was feeling, he didn’t think they had that kind of time.

Matt watched as Morgan, efficient as ever, took Cam over to the exact location where they’d seen the
Venifucus
mages at work. He felt some satisfaction knowing that two of the three were no more. They wouldn’t be back to stir up the fault and possibly kill millions of people. Good riddance.

Morgan was thorough, but quick, as he’d hoped. His mate had proved over and over to be a smart, feisty, sexy lady, who was perfect for him in just about every way imaginable. The sex was amazing. That went without saying. But he felt a much deeper connection to Morgan than just the physical.

He respected her. He admired her. He couldn’t get enough of her—in bed or out. He just wanted to be around her all the time, just to watch her smile or make her laugh. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her because…he loved her.

Matt had to take a deep breath as that realization finally jelled in his mind. He’d seen how his brothers had reacted to finding their mates, but it really hadn’t prepared him for this depth of emotion, this soul-deep connection. He’d never really been so close to a woman before, and now, looking back at the small connection he’d shared with Christy when he witnessed the bond between her and Sebastian, he understood fully, for the first time, everything they’d felt.

He thought he’d known what it was like after seeing the way Sebastian bonded to Christy, but he hadn’t expected it would be the same for shifters as it was for bloodletters. Vampires were so…old. Matt figured the fact that those guys had to wait centuries for their One meant they were closer to the edge. More emotional. Or something.

Matt’s reasoning had been full of shit. He saw that now. He felt every bit as intensely about Morgan as Sebastian had about Christy. Or as his brothers felt about their mates, for that matter. He realized so much now that he’d been in denial about before.