Primal Desires (14 page)

C
athy's captors kept spraying themselves and her with the stuff that blocked out scent. It made her eyes water and she kept sneezing. She knew an allergic reaction was the least of her problems. As time crept by, Cathy also tried to keep her mind off the bad things that could happen to Sofia.

Sofia was an innocent mortal in town simply to meet family. Cathy was terrified her cousin would walk into an ambush and be turned into a werewolf, just as she had been.

She tried to assuage her guilt over involving Sofia in this by envisioning all the ways she'd savage and mutilate her captors as soon as she broke free, but such thoughts only made her want to gnaw at her shackled wrist to facilitate her escape. Two things kept her from the stupid move. One was the fact that she was still a sane human being until the moon was full and not a raging, insane werewolf.

Come the full moon, though…She kept unconsciously smiling about that, and flexing her fingers as though they already sported strong, sharp claws.

The other drawback was that if she somehow managed to bite off her own hand, she would still be locked inside a cage. And oh, yeah, bleeding to death.

She tried not to believe any of the things Eric had told her about his plans, her people, and especially her werewolf and vampire friends. But his ideas gnawed at her.

Don't think about gnawing.

Her only distraction came from studying everything around her. There were a great many people coming and going from the warehouse. They were bringing in supplies and loading them into shiny new vans and trucks and Hummers, while Eric supervised and gave orders like a general preparing a campaign. Some of those supplies were weapons and ammo, which gave her a very bad feeling.

“What do werewolves need with guns?” she asked as Eric strolled her way after slapping a subordinate.

“It takes more than werewolves to take over the world, darling,” he told her.

“Superpowers have nuclear weapons,” she said. “What have you got? Fleas?”

He grinned at her. “I take my Top Spot every month. We're working on getting the nukes.”

Cathy's heart sank. “You're joking.”

“Only about the flea medicine.”

She got the distinct impression that he wanted her to be proud of his plans for world domination.

“Am I supposed to bat my eyelashes and say, ‘Oh, you're so alpha'?”

He laughed. “Oh, no. I want you to know that I'm worthy of having an alpha bitch like you for myself.”

In a werewolf way, this was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her. Mike certainly never—

“Do you really believe you and I are members of the master race?” she asked. “Or are you just power hungry?”

“Yes,” he answered, flashing that sharp-toothed grin again. “And we won't
be
the master race until we wipe out the naturals and then the vampires, but one thing at a time. First we absorb the Hunyara genetics into our own. Then we must build up our ranks and expand our territory. We must gain more allies and exploit their weaknesses when they are no longer useful. The war hasn't begun yet, but the buildup is well under way.” He looked at his watch. “I wonder what's taking Walt so long.” He chuckled. “He's probably taking his time with a female he knows he's not fit to bed in her proper state. I would do the same, if I knew it was my only chance with an alpha female. Not that I'll let him breed her. Or you,” he added to Cathy.

“I love it when you talk like that,” she said, but doubted Eric recognized her sarcasm.

Their conversation was interrupted by the warehouse door swinging open to allow a new van to drive inside. Eric went over to greet the newcomers.

“We got a couple of them!” a bearded man shouted as he got out of the van. He gave a triumphant laugh. “It was as easy as you said it would be. All we had to do was follow those natural-borns and they led us to the Hunyara hideout. After the naturals gave up and left, a pair of Hunyara males came slinking back to the house. They're as feral as we are and put up a good fight. We stunned them and came straight here.” He glanced toward a second man who'd come around from the passenger side and looked sheepish. “Well, not quite straight back.”

“I stopped for a girlfriend along the way,” the other man said. He faced Eric squarely, making eye contact for a few crucial seconds. When Eric didn't slap him down, he went on. “Nobody saw the pickup. She won't be missed. We can always eat her if she doesn't take to being turned.”

Cathy fought down the urge to throw up.

“We sprayed everybody down mostly,” the first man went on.

“What the hell does that mean?” Eric demanded.

“We ran out of deodorant, but not until everybody'd been sprayed,” the other man answered. “At least enough.”

“Define
enough
?” Eric asked, voice low and threatening. All activity had stopped, and his people stared at him. “Pack up,” he ordered. People sprang into action without any questions, while Eric turned his attention back to the newcomers. “That was good work snatching the Hunyaras,” he said, getting grateful looks from the pair. “But did it occur to you that the natural-borns might have returned to the Hunyara house, too? Maybe they're trailing the Hunyaras right now. If they are, and there's the faintest trace of scent to follow, you'd be leading them back here.”

Cathy could only hope.

The driver shook his head. “No way. We got the stink off of all of us. But it wouldn't hurt to spray everything down again anyway.”

“You do that,” Eric said. “Everything and everyone.” He rubbed his hands across his face and rolled his head to relieve tense muscles. “Things are moving faster than I'd like, but we'll be okay.” He gestured two men over. “Tanner, I want you to get the caravan moving north, right away. Call Nathan when you're out of the city to give an update on the situation. Make sure you get the Hunyaras back to base in good shape. John, your team and two vehicles will remain here with me. Make sure at least one of the team can operate the vampire zapper, and break out some silver rounds for one of the modified AKs. We've got one more delivery. I'll wait here for it. Send out a couple of men to track down Walt.”

Cathy did not like this evidence of her captors' efficiency.

Tanner gestured toward her. “Do we take her?”

“I'm not trusting transporting the bitches to anyone but me. Get moving.”

Cathy watched the increased activity with growing dread. One of the men came over and sprayed her cage full of the deodorant chemical, and she started to cough and sneeze, her eyes watering so much that everything became blurred.

To get her mind off the discomfort, she focused her attention deep inside. Maybe, if she tried hard enough, she could figure out how to shape-shift on her own before the full moon forced the change—whether she wanted it or not.

Y
ou didn't have to break into my truck,” Jason complained as Mike entered the office. “I would have given you the keys.”

The big werewolf ignored the Prime and looked Sid's way. “Status?” he growled.

She was more interested in what Mike might have learned, but she saw that he wanted time to get his seething anger at Jason under control. Since he was a dear friend, and she didn't want the office wrecked if the Tracker and Prime got into it, she answered his question.

“Harry and Joe decided to follow the trails of any Hunyara werewolves they can find.”

“None of my relatives know where Cathy is, either,” Sofia spoke up. She was sitting at Cathy's desk, with Daniel standing next to her.

“But we'd still like to talk to them,” Sid told her.

“Oh, yes,” Mike said softly, focusing his blue laser stare on her. “I certainly intend to talk to them.”

Fear crossed the mortal's face, followed by a flash of determination. Sid wondered if Mike was deliberately trying to make an enemy of a woman who could control werefolk. More than likely he was still upset about what he'd had to do to the feral werewolf, and was taking it out on Sofia.

“What do you mean by that?” Sofia demanded of Mike.

“Daniel has been showing Sofia what he does,” Sid continued quickly.
Keep it together, Tracker,
she sent telepathically. “And Sofia and Jason have been trying to see if the glimpses of the past he pulls up make any sense to them.”

“Nothing so far,” Daniel said.

Mike continued to glare at the mortal. The Prime didn't like it. Damn, this could go bad.

“Still no word from Laurent,” Sid went on. “I sent Eden home to be with Toni—more on that situation later. And I have been catching up on our casework while waiting for you.”
I have also been telepathically looking for Cathy,
she telepathically told Mike.
But I think whoever has her is using a psychic damping device like the vampire hunters use.

Do you think those Purist bastards have her?

I certainly hope not. Are you calm enough to talk yet?

“No.” Mike turned toward Jason. “Why the hell didn't you tell me about these Hunyara ferals?”

Jason rose and faced the Tracker's fury quite calmly. “They're a very private people, and it's not my story to tell. What did
you
find out from the feral?”

“
Everything
about werefolk is my business,” Mike growled. “What am I supposed to tell the governing council about a gang of mavericks we've never heard of before? What do we do about them?”

“The Hunyara aren't the problem,” Jason said. “It's the ferals that are preying on the Hunyara that are our problem. What did the feral tell you?”

Mike's fists clenched at his sides. “My species has been put at risk and—”

“Cathy! Remember her?” Sofia suddenly put herself between Mike and Jason. “I thought you cared about her. I know she cares about you, but you aren't doing anything at the moment to show me why she should.”

Mike's attention switched to the small mortal woman, and the tension that flowed between them filled the room.

Sid saw how Jason prepared to spring forward to protect his woman. She admired the Prime's effort at restraint. He had Sofia's back, but encouraged her independence. She liked that in a Prime, especially since it didn't come naturally to them.

At least a minute stretched out before Mike scratched his jaw and nodded to Sofia. She nodded back. Air came back into the room, and Jason stepped forward to put his hand on Sofia's shoulder.

The opening chords of Coyote's “Tempting Fate” began to play, and Sid quickly answered her cell phone. That was the ringtone she'd programmed for Tony Crowe.

Everybody looked her way.

“Hi, Dad. I can't talk right—”

“I asked Dr. Casmerek about that thing you wanted to know about,” Tony interrupted. He sounded cranky. “I didn't like it, but I asked.”

“Thank you.” She couldn't keep from looking Jason over. Sofia noticed. “What was his response?”

“He said it's possible. He wants you to give him a call. Don't.”

“You know I have to.”

“You're a stubborn child.”

She wanted to dance with elation. She wondered if Jason would let her lead. She smiled. “Thanks for doing this for me. I'll get back to him as soon as I can.”

“What's that about?” Mike asked when she hung up. Werewolves' hearing might possibly be better than vampires.

“Nothing involved with any of our cases,” Sid answered. She folded her hands on top of her desk, all prim, proper, and professional. “What did you learn from the feral?”

Mike concentrated on Sofia. “He was sent to bring you over to his kind, the way they did with Cathy. They want female ferals.”

“I suggest you moderate your tone,” Jason said. “You sound like you're blaming the victims.”

Mike gave Jason a long, hard look, but went on coolly. “He didn't know where they're keeping Cathy. They kept him out of that loop by blindfolding him and driving him everywhere—just in case he got caught. I learned a lot of things from him, but not how to find Cathy. We'll discuss those things after we find her,” he told Sofia.

S
ofia did not like this guy, and couldn't see why Cathy constantly raved about Mike in her e-mails. Okay, he was big and strong and handsome, but he wasn't very nice. Was Cathy's life in danger from him now?

“Do you want to find her because she's your friend, or because she's a danger to your species?”

Mike walked away without answering and went to talk quietly with Sid.

Sofia watched him carefully, worried.

On the drive to the Bleythin office, Jason had told Sofia what he knew about natural-born werewolf society, and how hard her family had worked to keep their existence from the natural-borns. He explained that the werefolk consisted of all sorts of shape-shifting predators—foxes, cougars, bears, and more—but werewolves were at the top of the food chain. The natural-borns were a paranoid lot with
rules,
and Mike Bleythin's job was to enforce them.

Though she was new to the idea of having a family, she'd developed a fierce need to protect all the Hunyara. Now she might have to protect them from Mike Bleythin, the Tracker, as well as from these ferals out to use the Hunyara family for their own purposes.

“Cathy first,” Jason said.

He put his arm around her waist and she drew comfort from being near him, comfort from the way he knew her mind.

“I wish we hadn't come here,” she whispered to Jason.

For one thing, she didn't like the way Sid kept looking at Jason with blatant, hungry interest that sent waves of jealousy through her.

I'm not interested in her,
Jason thought at her.

You're flattered, though,
she thought back.

I can't help it, sweetheart. I'm a Prime, and she's a female of our species. We Primes are vain—we love it when the ladies take notice. It doesn't mean anything.

Maybe not to him, but it sure distracted her. Finding out that Sid Wolf was also a vampire had shocked her, but she adjusted to the idea quicker than she would have a few hours before.

Detaching herself from Jason's touch—and bothered by how hard it was to do—she went back to stand by Daniel. Jason went over to Mike and Sid.

“Tell me about your father,” Daniel said when she reached him. He adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses on his nose. “He and Cathy's mother are twins, aren't they? Multiple births are common in werefolk families.”

“My
father.
Oh, my God!”

Sofia staggered to a seat as the room spun sickeningly around her. She was vaguely aware of Jason coming toward her, and of his turning to face the door when it opened.

• • •

She knows,
Jason realized. Sofia's heartbreak ached in his chest. Her head dropped into her hands and he could almost taste the sudden tears welling from her eyes.

But when a pair of vampires entered, he automatically put himself between his mate and any potential danger. He relaxed when he recognized Sid's mother and the Snake Clan Prime he'd met at the Matri's party.

Sofia looked up, wiped the back of her hand across her eyes, and put her feelings aside. Jason admired her resilience, but feared someday she was going to break apart.

“I came to renew my offer of help,” David Berus said.

Sid stood and gave the Prime a wan smile. “Thank you. And Mom—”

Another Prime came through the doorway before she could finish. He radiated excitement and all eyes turned his way.

“Laurent!” Sid said eagerly. “You've got something.”

“Who's the elf lord?” Jason heard Sofia ask Daniel.

“I think we're beginning to need a flowchart,” he whispered back.

“I've got some information,” the newcomer said. He flashed a charming smile at Sofia. “Don't be alarmed, miss, I work here. If I take the time to hit on you, as politeness requires, my sister over there will be annoyed, so I'll get on with what I have to say. Is that a wolf sleeping under my desk or a relative of yours, Mike?”

“You're easily distracted, aren't you?” Sofia asked.

He pushed hair out of his face. “I haven't slept in days, and I'm down a couple of quarts. Deprivation definitely affects me.”

“What information, Laurent?” Mike demanded. “Where's Cathy?”

“I don't know.”

Mike took an angry step forward. “You don—”

“Let me finish. I believe Cathy's disappearance is part of a much bigger plan.” He paused for a moment for dramatic effect. “There's a werewolf revolution afoot.”

“I know,” Mike said.

Laurent lost some of his bright enthusiasm. “What do you mean, you know?”

“Never mind how he knows,” Sid said. “Tell us what you found out.”

“I found out that local illegal arms dealers have been doing a lot of business with some hard-core biker types in the last few days. I've convinced one of them to let us do a ride-along on a delivery.”

“You used telepathy on this man?” David Berus asked.

Laurent gave Berus an incredulous look. “Hell, no, I bribed him.”

Jason liked this Laurent. When Berus threw back his head and laughed, Jason decided he liked him as well.

Sofia was not amused. “How is this going to help us find my cousin?”

“The bikers are holed up in a warehouse,” Laurent answered. “We find the warehouse, we find Cathy.”

Sid's phone rang before anyone could ask more questions.

“Hello, Harry. I'm going to put you on speakerphone so everyone can hear.”

“We had the scent of a couple of the Hunyara family,” Harry Bleythin said, “but their trail disappeared. Then we picked up a faint whiff, followed that, then it was gone again. I remembered how there was absolutely no trace of the feral at the motel when we were within a few feet of him. So I want to ask Mike if he has any information about how the feral managed that.”

Mike said, “They've developed a chemical they spray on themselves that completely masks all scent. They must've used it on Cathy when they picked her up at her apartment.”

“And now I suspect they've used this chemical on the Hunyaras.”

“Cathy's a Hunyara,” Sofia reminded them. “They kidnapped her, tried to get me, and now they've abducted more of my family.”

“That's my conclusion,” Harry said. “But I think this lack of scent is finally starting to work against them—now that I know what not to sniff for.”

“I'm having a brilliant idea,” Laurent spoke up.

“You usually do,” Harry said. “What is it?”

“We come at them from both angles.” He quickly filled Harry in on his information, then outlined his plan.

When Laurent was done, Harry said, “Roger that. We'll be in touch when we're in position.”

“Count me in on this rescue,” David Berus said.

“The more the merrier,” Laurent said.

“I'm in,” Antonia said.

Laurent, Sid, and Mike nodded without showing the least surprise, so Jason didn't think it was his place to protest the involvement of either female. They were Clan after all, and he was Family. Their customs were not his, although his own Matri would never permit a female to put herself in harm's way.

David spoke up. “Lady Antonia, is that wise?”

“I don't have to be wise,” she answered with a gentle smile. “I'm a grown-up. I get to make up my own mind.”

He put his hands on her shoulders. “But…”

They gazed into each other's eyes.

Everyone else looked on and forgot to breathe while the silence stretched out to eternity. The pair smiled at each other, and their expressions were identical, totally in harmony, totally content.

“I think I've been in mourning long enough,” he said.

“So have I.” Antonia put her hand on his cheek, and David turned his head to kiss her palm. It sealed a promise.

And broke the moment.

“I see where your daughter gets her independence,” David said. “I like it.”

Antonia chuckled. “It seems that you're going to have to get used to it.”

“Mom?” Laurent and Sid asked.

So that's what the beginning of a bond looks like,
Jason thought.
Beautiful.

He wanted to pick up Sofia, whirl her around, and kiss her until they were both crazy with desire. He wanted to lay her down and give her all the pleasure she deserved. He wanted to hold her close to his heart and make promises and plans, and simply just be with her. But now was not the time.

“We'll get back to this later,” David said. With his arm around her waist, he turned Antonia toward her gaping children. “Right now we've got a rescue to carry out.”