Prime Obsession (29 page)

* * * *

Since no one trusted the food, most of Ilar’s party stuck with bottled Prime beer chilled in a large tub of ice. If Beria and Luka thought that was strange, they didn’t say or do anything to confirm it.

“I think we need to leave before dinner is served,” Mel said. “It would look really obvious if none of us touched our food. We can’t all be on diets or not hungry.” Mel’s stomach chose that moment to growl. “It’s the meatball thingies. The smell is making me hungry.”

Huw chuckled and tucked Nadia’s hand even more tightly against his body. She hissed and glared at him, but said nothing. “Aunt Beria is putting off vibes even I can read.”

“She’s guilty as sin,” Lorinda said, casting her sister-in-law a glare that could kill.

“The longer I’m around you and Wulf, the more I can read the emotions in the room.”

“Mother, I’m pretty sure Melina and Wulf are amplifiers for strong emotions,” Iolyn said, keeping his tones low so Beria and Luka could not overhear their discussion. “I’d read such in books on the battle-mate connection, but because we haven’t had such a couple in several centuries it could never be proven before now.” Lorinda smiled and nodded. “I, too, have read the same theories.”

“So, when do you think they’ll make their move?” Ilar asked as he pulled Lorinda into his side as if to protect her from his sister’s evil thoughts.

Wulf shrugged, his eyes never leaving his aunt and her husband as they gave directions to their house servants. “It could be today—or it could be later on the way home. Or, they could be planning something for the party you and Mother have planned.

Although that venue would be harder for them to control.”

“Or it could be even later, after we let our guard down,” Mel added. “Let’s push the envelope.”

She turned to Nadia and Lia, who both had stuck like glue to Wulf’s brothers.

“Nadia, would you like to repair with me to the ladies’ room?” She smiled at the men and Lorinda. “We’ll keep up the stereotypes of women going to the bathroom together. Lia and Lorinda can follow in, oh, say a couple of minutes to report on any suspicious movements and to check on us.”

Nadia smiled. “I love action. Don’t get to see much of it as a science officer. It’ll be like the old days when we were training together, Mel.”

“What if they
don’t
plan on kidnapping?” hissed Huw. “What if they just shoot you both?”

Wulf growled. “Yeah.”

“I’m not easy to kill. I think I’ve proven this many times since you’ve met me. Plus, Nadia has my back.”

She reached for Nadia’s arm. “Besides, they want to make you suffer a while, Wulf.

They’ll taunt you with my capture. If Beria and Luke are fronting for the rebels, they’ll use me as a means of negotiating for concessions on the purity issue.”

“But that isn’t what Beria really wants,” growled Wulf. “Dammit, she practically admitted her real agenda in the hall earlier. The succession in power is what she is more concerned about.”

“But it’ll be the dupes she has convinced of her purist agenda that will be doing the dirty work,” Mel said in a low voice. “They’ll want concessions. And they’re expendable, if they are captured. Beria and Luka care nothing for the pawns they’re using.” Wulf grunted and nodded. “I agree. But if you’re hurt—one little hair—I will strangle my aunt with my own hands.”

“I’ll help,” Ilar said, his face couched in grim lines.

Mel waved their concerns away. “Even if they do manage to whisk us away, we have all sorts of backup plans in place. After all, we knew this could be a trap,” she added before she walked away with Nadia by her side.

They approached Beria. “Aunt, Nadia and I need to use the ladies’ facilities. Could you direct us, please?”

Beria smiled at them, well, if you could call a slight curving of pruny, thin lips a smile. “Yes, of course. It is the third door on the right after you reach the top of the stairs.”

“Thank you.” Mel followed Nadia.

She felt the eyes of Beria boring into her back the whole way up the stairs. The emotions coming off the woman were many. Gloating. Satisfaction. Anticipation. Fear.

With hate and sick envy underlying them all.
Yes.
The trap would be sprung in the ladies’

room.

“Wulf? Did you get all that?”

“Got it. Be careful.”

“Hey, careful is my middle name—just ask my crew.”
Wulf’s snort made her smile.

Mel was eager to move forward. This would be the first step in stopping the rebels and their destructive movement against the future of the Prime people. With Beria and Luka out of the picture, the rebels would have no money to hire costly mercenaries to do their dirty work and no power at the highest levels of Prime government to distort the truth with council members on the edge on the subject.

“Be ready, Nadia,” Mel warned. “Beria is way too happy and excited about us going to the bathroom.”

Nadia leaned over as they counted doors. “What do you think? Someone waiting in the room to attack us?” Her science officer reached for the weapon under the back of her flowing top.

“No.”

Mel paused outside of door number three. “The room is empty.” She swept the hallway with her senses. “They’re in one of the other rooms.” Mel opened the door slightly. “Maybe they plan is to come in after we enter.” Nadia nodded at her. “Go. I will cover you. And I’ll lock the door behind us. That should slow them down if they try to enter later.”

They walked into the room. It was a bedroom with doors onto the terrace that circled the house. The bathroom was off to the side, the door open and a light on the vanity to welcome guests into the room.

Mel looked at Nadia and shrugged, then signaled that she’d check out the closet while Nadia checked the rest of the room. After locking the door into the hall, Nadia went to the doors leading to the terrace and locked them, after looking around outside.

Mel left the closet, then looked over at Nadia who shook her head. Mel shrugged and gestured that she would check out the bathroom. Nadia shooed her on and indicated she’d remain in the room on guard.

“Wulf. No one in this room. We locked all the accesses. I sensed tension from some
of the other rooms on this floor, but am not sure how they mean to get to us. I’m betting
on cameras in the room at the very least. So now they know we’re being cautious.

Hopefully, they chalk our checking out the room to our being Alliance soldiers and being
in a strange place.”

“I don’t like this. Hurry up and get back down here. I’m sending Lia and Lorinda
up.”

“Okay.”

Mel glanced around the bathroom. Since her excuse had been made up, she really didn’t need to use the facilities—and didn’t. Just as she was about to leave the bathroom, a thud from the other room caused her to draw her laser pistol from the holster at the back of her waist.

“Wulf. It’s going down.”

“Nadia?”

Mel sidled into the room. Nadia lay on the floor unconscious. There was no sign of her attacker anywhere that Mel could see.

Moving into the room, her gun in a two-handed grip, Mel turned in a circle, looking for the origin of the shot or hit that had taken out an Alliance-trained soldier. As she turned, the room began to swim around her. Too late she realized what had happened.

“Gas. Wulf…”

*

“
Ansu bhau
. They used gas. Nadia and Melina are down,” Wulf snarled. “Iolyn, make sure the men are ready to follow anyone leaving this property.” Wulf’s angry gaze swept the room and didn’t see either his aunt or Luka. “Father, get some of our men in here to find and secure Beria and Luka.” His father nodded, then he spoke softly into the com unit he removed from his pocket.

Wulf found Huw at his elbow. “Let’s go. We need to stop Lia and Lorinda before they, too, are captured.”

“What about Nadia and Melina?” Huw asked.

“We’ll join the surveillance teams once they check in with their report on who left the building.”

Huw nodded, although Wulf sensed his brother wanted to do something more proactive. Wulf felt the same. But the plan had been to lure the rebels into making a move. Since the plan had worked, they had to play it out to the end and hope their suppositions were correct as to the fate of Melina and Nadia in the scenario.

Just as he and Huw turned to leave the room, Lia, followed by his mother, ran into the room. Lia was disheveled. His mother had blood on her face.

Wulf and his father roared at the same time.

“Lorinda, my love,” his father shouted as he pulled his wife into his arms. “What happened?”

Wulf’s mother just shook her head and then laid it on his father’s chest and cried.

Lia explained between gasps for breath. “Four large, heavily armed men … dressed in black with hoods over their heads. As we reached the top of the stairs, they kicked in the door to the room where Nadia and Mel were. They carried them off.” Lia’s eyes were filled with anguish as she turned them up to Wulf. “We tried to stop them, but failed.” She swayed a bit, but managed to stay standing.

“Iolyn, help Lia,” Wulf ordered.

Iolyn came to Lia, his arms outstretched as if to pick her up. She waved him off.

“I’m fine. I need to see to Lorinda’s cut. One of the assholes hit her with a cudgel of some sort.”

Beria and Luka entered the room at that point and approached them, false concern on their faces.

Wulf strode to meet his aunt. When he reached her, he picked her up by her clothing and shook her. “Where are they taking them?”

“What? You can’t think I had anything to do with this outrage?” Her look of shock was not very well done. Wulf saw the gleam of satisfaction in her muddy yellow eyes, sensed the gratification of a job well-done in her emotions.

“Aunt, we know you planned this. Trust me, we
KNOW
.” He shook her once more.

“If anything happens to my
gemate
. I’ll kill you with my own hands.”

“You don’t know anything. I’m a victim as much as you or your mate.” She shrugged his hands off her and backed away. “That this outrage should occur in my home. It is unthinkable.”

Wulf’s father left his wife in Lia’s hands and came to stand beside Wulf. “Beria, we know. All the evidence from the attacks of the
Galanti,
targeting Wulf and Melina led to someone in the immediate family. Shots were fired just today from your terrace. And Wulf and Melina confirmed your guilt once they entered this house and read it in your emotions.”

Luka choked, then coughed in the back round. “They can’t do that. Only warriors in battle can sense the strongest emotions—and even then they aren’t accurate.”

“Not true.” Wulf glared at his uncle and aunt. “Since my bonding with Melina, I have her abilities added to mine. We are battle-mates. We read your guilt as soon as we entered the room.
You
are the instigators of the purist rebellion.”

“Your purpose is leadership change,” Wulf’s father stated, his eyes sad. “You always hated that I was the eldest male, didn’t you, sister?”

“I should have been born a man. I would have been the better leader.” Beria sneered as she drew herself up to her full height. “You’ll never find your mate or her friend, Wulf. I told them to kill the bitches as soon as they were away from the house.” She laughed. “The nice thing about fanatics—once they are pointed at an objective, they never stop.”

Luka attacked as soon as she finished speaking. “You stupid bitch.” He slapped her across the face. “They had nothing. Why did you confess?” Wulf’s father pulled the irate man away from Beria.

“Stop trying to act the man for a change,” sneered Beria. “I confessed since a battle-mate oath is absolute proof. Even I can see they are fully bonded—and that damn Maren family carried the battle-mate gene.”

She shrugged as she sat in the closest chair. “Plus, the rebels are out of my control.

Have been for a long time. Eliminating me will not stop them.”

“Who leads them, Beria?” Ilar asked.

“I don’t know. We always used small fish as go betweens. It could be anybody.” She laughed, a crazy, high-pitched cackle. “Who would’ve thought when we started this all that Wulf would find a bond-mate—and have her be a battle-mate on top of that?” Her laughter grew more and more shrill until she fell off the chair to the ground, her body shaking with the hysteria that had overtaken her, white froth coming from her mouth.

“Take her away,” growled Wulf to a Council security officer summoned by his father. “Lock her up in our guardhouse until we can take her in front of the Council.” The man nodded and grabbed Beria’s arm and pulled her up, then marched her out of the room.

Wulf’s father shoved Luka into another officer’s hands. “Put him in a separate room.

I wouldn’t trust him not to strangle her.” His father turned toward him. “Son? Can you touch Melina’s mind?”

Wulf shook his head. “She is unconscious and unaware of what is going on. Once she awakens. I’ll know it.” Wulf turned to Huw and Iolyn. “What are the surveillance teams reporting?”