Chapter 53

Rose

A rough-looking man walks in behind Eli, and I can't help but stare at him. Mav growls and jumps to his feet. "Get him out of here," he orders, moving in front of me. I put my hand on his back, trying to settle him.

"I just want to help," the man says. His voice is raspy and irritated, like he hasn't spoken with it in a while. I know who the red-haired man with the long hair and grown-out beard is without asking. He's the leader of the rogues.

"Mav, stand down," Cade orders, joining in the chaos.

"He has answers," Eli says, shooting a warning glance at Maverick.

"I don't care," Mav growls. "Get him out of here."

"Wait," I say, stepping forward. Mav growls low, but I ignore it. "I need to talk to him." I step forward, or at least I try to; but Mav blocks my path.

What are you doing, Mate?" His words come through our bond.

The wolf said I need to talk to him. Mav is silent, and I put my hand on his stomach. I need to do this. I meet his eyes. I know you'll protect me.

That's the second time you've said that to me. His eyes are intense as they bore into mine.

I cock my head to the side. Well, if I keep saying it enough, maybe you'll finally start believing it.

I can tell the moment he caves. Stay close to me.

I give him a bright smile. Not a problem. He shakes his head and leans forward to give me a kiss before wrapping an arm around me and pulling me into his side.

Cade takes that as a good sign. "Let's move this meeting across the hall." He kisses Amber and motions us out. Across the hall, we're joined by Van and Carl. Eli and Cade both sit across from the redhead. Maverick and I sit further down the table, closer to the door. Mav takes my hand in his and puts it on his thigh. I feel the hard muscle there and wonder if this is going to be a bad idea. I am so not going to be able to concentrate.

The redhead leans forward, and everybody in the room tenses as his eyes lock with mine. "I'm sorry, Healer." Mav makes a low sound of aggression, but I squeeze his hand. "I never intended to hurt you."

"I accept your apology," I tell him, and he looks somewhat relieved, though he still looks wary.

Smart man. There's at least one male in here that wants to kill him and probably more. I take a breath and put my arms on the table. "I know the guys have already talked to you..."

He grunts, sending a dark look around the table; and I realize the error of my words. They probably did a lot more than talking, but I choose not to think about that right now. I forge ahead. "I need to know a few things." The redhead gives me a hard look and crosses his hands over his chest. Mav stares him down, and I realize I need to take control of the situation before it spirals out of control. "You don't have to talk to us if you don't want to," I tell him, earning me a look from the enforcers. "But then I can't guarantee that I can heal the others that came with you," I tell him with a shrug.

The redhead growls, and Mav leans forward, muscles bunching. I squeeze his hand again and wait out the redhead. He finally meets my eyes. "What do you want to know?"

Bingo. " First, what's your name?"

"Jackson."

"All right, Jackson. How were you taken by vampires? You obviously seem like a pretty strong guy." I ignore Mav's low growl.

The expression on Jackson's face darkens. "They injected me with something before I even knew what was happening. It knocked me out cold. When I woke up, I was in the vampire facility and couldn't call my wolf to me."

"You were by yourself?" I can't help but push him a little; we need these answers.

He gives me a dark look, but I hold my ground. "Yes." He says no more, and I don't push. I have a feeling that's all we're going to get about why he was alone.

I press on. "And you couldn't feel your wolf?"

"I could, but the connection was weak." He doesn't offer any more than that, and I don't pry.

"So, the serum they injected you with. You couldn't shift. What else?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know, but it's...dark. It makes us feel like we're losing our humanity; or maybe that's because we can't connect with our wolves."

Cade turns to me. "You think it's..."

"Vampire power," I say at the same time he does.

Jackson sits back in his chair. "Congratulations," he says dryly. "I didn't realize I was working with geniuses."

Eli stands up, but a look from Cade makes him back down. He doesn't sit, though. He moves to stand next to the wall. I ignore the snide remarks. "I've had vampire power in me, and I know what it's like." That catches Jackson's attention. "That's how I knew how to heal you; I've healed others with vampire power."

"Wolves?" he asks.

I shake my head, not offering any more than that. "Are you and your wolves responsible somehow for the strychnine poisoning?"

He gives me a cool look. "While we were in our wolf form?"

Okay, yeah that was a dumb question. " Do you know who's responsible?"

He shakes his head, and I feel a headache coming on. "I don't, but I would be willing to help you find out." F or a price. He doesn't say the words, but we pick up on his unspoken words. He leans forward. "Heal the rest of my pack, and we'll help you." Mav's arms tighten around mine, but he stays quiet.

"Okay." I say the word quickly before anybody in this room can disagree.

"Do we have your word?" I ask. Jackson nods. I ponder my next question carefully. "Do you know why somebody would come after the Orlando pack and try to kill them off?"

"My bet would be on the vampires," he says, leaning back in his chair.

"Why?" I ask.

He makes a point of looking around the room. "The vampire site is less than two hours from here." His words make me flinch. "Everything here is opulent. Vampires love shiny, expensive things. Why wouldn't they want this property that's completely private, miles away from civilization? Why not just kill off the pack and take it over?"

"All of that is conjecture," Cade points out. Jackson just shrugs.

I ask a question that I've been dying to ask. "If you're rogue wolves, how did you even form a pack?"

"I got free." He doesn't explain how, and I'm not sure if I really want to know. "There were twenty-one other wolves in that facility besides me. We all got out. Seven didn't survive. There are fifteen of us here now."

His words have no emotion in them, and yet I can't imagine what he's thinking and feeling. Seven wolves . I feel like I'm going to be sick. My head pain intensifies. Mav reaches up and puts his hand around the back of my neck, squeezing and massaging the muscles there. I blink back the tears as I look Jackson in the eye once again. "I'm sorry for your losses."

"How is it even possible, what they're doing?" Cade asks in a low voice. "And why?"

Jackson turns his gaze to the alpha. "You struck a fatal blow with the war, but they're still out there. Did you think they were just going to sit back and be content with fading out of existence?"

"Kinda hoped," I say softly.

"How do the wolves help their cause? Why would they try to turn wolves into vampires?" Cade asks the question we've all been thinking.

Jackson sits back in his chair. "That part I can't figure out."

"Why her?" Mav says in a low voice.

Jackson stills. "What?"

"Why were you trying to get to my mate? The kid said you wanted her?" The room goes eerily still, and I hold my breath.

"The kid's name is Jesse," Jackson bites out. "And he didn't mean it the way it sounded. Yes, I wanted the healer." A fierce growl explodes from Maverick's chest. "To heal us," he adds determinedly. "Nothing more. When we escaped, I knew we had to find a healer."

"How did you know to come here?" Cade asks intensely.

Jackson glances over at him, and I shudder at the look in his eyes. This is a man that doesn't have a lot to lose. "You have a pack member by the name of Jacob?" Mav goes predatorily still next to me, and my breath catches in my lungs. Jackson looks around the room.

"What about him?" It's Eli that asks.

"He was working with them."

And with those words, I can feel the physical impact it has on the men in this room. "How do you know?" Mav's words are like ice.

Jackson gives him a look. "Just because I was in wolf form doesn't mean that I wasn't fully conscious of everything going on. This Jacob guy came and went enough times that I figured out he was from this pack. That's also how I figured out you had healers here. I knew when we got free that this was where we needed to go."

"Why would Jacob work with them?" I ask when nobody else does.

Jackson shrugs. "They're very convincing, especially their leader. He could have promised money; they could have gotten in his head and controlled him."

I feel sick to my stomach. "They can do that?" My voice is barely a whisper.

"Vampires have the power of compulsion," Mav says quietly.

I mean, I guess I knew that at a basic level. But being reminded of it...A shudder runs through me, and Mav wraps an arm around me and pulls me into his side.

You're safe; I won't let anything happen to you.

I know, I respond through our bond. And I do, but it doesn't mean that it's not terrifying thinking about a vampire controlling your thoughts and actions. "What about the healers?" I finally find my voice.

Jackson turns to me. "What do you mean?"

"I get why the wolves are after the healers. They can be healed by them. But why do the vampires want the healers? I don't understand that part."

Jackson gives a wicked grin that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. "Because they're trying to capture and keep wolves. Ever seen a wolf backed into a corner or captured? It's not pretty."

I suck in a breath. I can only imagine .

"They need healers on hand all the time."

"How many healers are there now?" I ask, feeling sick to my stomach.

Jackson's voice is quiet. "I only saw two, but that doesn't mean there weren't more in another part of the building."

I face Cade. "We have to get them out."

His face is resolute. "We will." He stands to his feet, indicating that this meeting is over...for now anyway.

Jackson stands as well. "I kept my end of the deal," he says looking at me.

I straighten and nod. "And I will keep my end of the deal as well, but I have to warn you. I won't be able to heal them all at once. It will take several days."

He doesn't look happy with the news, but he nods anyway. "Eli and Van will take you to your room," Cade says.

Jackson smirks. "Yes, the one surrounded by enforcers."

"You don't have to stay here at all," Cade returns in a hard voice.

Jackson's smirk slips. "Fine."

Eli and Van follow Jackson out of the room, and the other enforcers follow as well, leaving Cade, Mav, and I in the room. Cade turns to us. "Any thoughts?"

Before we can say anything, Stu bursts into the room with his laptop in hand. "I've got it!"