Chapter Eleven

J aryn stood against a tree deep in the forest outside the perimeter of Broyles' compound. He looked up to the nearly full moon filling the sky. Tomorrow was the zenith, and assuming they didn't end up in a complete goat fuck, he'd be home to run under her beauty with his pack, then go home and make love to his mate till they collapsed in exhaustion. Leaving their bed yesterday while Nicole slept had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He craved the warmth of her small body snuggled up against him in the early dawn hours. Sometimes he watched as the sunlight brought the flames of her hair to life, her delicate morning scent wrapping around them just as the twisted blankets of their bed cocooned their bodies.

Jaryn really wanted to shift, but he needed immediate accessibility to the weapons strapped to him if they encountered unfriendlies. He had a combination of tranquilizing darts and bullets to choose from, depending on what they encountered.

Jaryn heard the barest sound to the east of him. Shaun was positioned to the west, and the others were further to the west of Shaun. There shouldn't be anyone to his east. Jaryn crept silently away from his position, keeping his ears open for the slightest sound. He stopped. The breaths from his lungs were slow and deep. He let his eyesight shift, letting the wolf out just enough to take advantage of his enhanced night vision. Sure enough, there was a distortion in the shadow surrounding a tree approximately twenty feet away. Jaryn stood slightly downwind of the man and immediately recognized him as another wolf shifter.

With all the stealth gained via both his training and his natural ability, Jaryn closed in on the uninvited guest. He smoothly removed the seven-inch combat knife from the sheath attached to his waistband. The nano-material of the handle molded to his grip, and the knife simply became an extension of his being. The steel ghosted through the air without a trace thanks to its flat black finish. One last step and he had the lethal blade poised against the vulnerable carotid artery of the man in front of him.

"Welcome to the party," he whispered. "Now, who the fuck are you?"

"My name is Mac Carmine. The council sent me to observe the compound."

Jaryn pressed the blade a little tighter against the wolf's neck. "Bullshit. You get one more chance to tell me the truth before I slit your throat."

Mac didn't move, didn't swallow. "My brother is being held against his will inside. They took him from our pack six months ago, and I traced his location using some contacts I have in the DOD."

Jaryn pulled the knife away a fraction. "Turn around, extremely slowly."

Mac followed Jaryn's instructions and raised his hands out to the side. "I've been staking out these woods for the last month and a half, gathering intel. I planned to go to the council with my findings and bringing the rain down on that son of a bitch."

"Well, don't bother. I am the council. We have a task force set up throughout these woods. We're hitting the compound in an organized strike at exactly twenty-two hundred." Jaryn looked at the watch on his comm-unit. "That's five minutes from now."

"Let me help. I've got a pretty good idea of the layout."

"Yeah, us too."

"How?"

Jaryn stared into the midnight eyes of the wolf in front of him, refusing to answer. There was no way in hell he'd risk the knowledge of his mate's existence to this unproven entity.

"Fine. Look, there are a few things you may not know about. The compound has an extremely sensitive alert system. You don't know where all the triggers are."

Jaryn hated to admit it, but the wolf had a point. They had a vague idea of Broyles' security system, thanks to Nicole, but his mate had never had the training that Jaryn and his men had. Therefore, she wouldn't have even thought to look for the type of clues they really needed to achieve a complete stealth mission.

"Your point?"

"Use me. I'll set the system off to create a distraction, draw him and his cronies out."

"If you trip their system, they'll put the buildings on lockdown and that'll prevent us from getting inside."

"No, they won't. I've been fucking with Broyles for the past month by tripping the perimeter at random intervals and in all different locations. He knows I'm out here—we've been playing cat and mouse for a while now. The first few times, yeah, they locked the place down, but now he's become so frustrated that he and his men simply race out into the woods half-cocked. And I make excellent bait. He's got such a big ego, he's convinced there's no way he could lose against one man, but he's not expecting an entire squad."

"Sounds like you have experience with this sort of thing."

"Seventy-fifth Ranger. They granted me emergency leave until I bring my brother home."

"Jaryn Chaunterel, former master sergeant. Nowadays, I'm Alpha of Phantom River, and council member of ASC."

"What unit were you with?"

Jaryn smirked as he slid the combat knife back into the nylon sheath attached to his belt.

"One of those, huh?"

Jaryn's head acknowledged with the barest hint of movement and he saw a new respect in the young Ranger's eyes.

"Well, sir, what do you say?"

Jaryn scented determination and earnestness in the wolf. He believed that the young warrior was here to rescue a family member. Family was all that mattered when it came down to it. Wasn't that why he was here? Not only to take down a significant threat to his species but also to avenge the treatment of his mate at the hands of the bastard hiding within the walls of the grand limestone building that glowed under the nearly full moon.

"Let's go find your brother." He keyed up his comm-unit that broadcasted on a secured frequency to the other task force members. "Be advised, we have a new guest at the party. Clark and Grant, wait for my signal before launching the confetti cannons."

Jaryn waited to hear an acknowledgement from all the team members before slowly backing away into the forest. Just before he knew the darkness would swallow him up, he flashed a smile at Mac. "All right, kid, do your thing."

Mac snapped a salute at Jaryn. "Yes, sir!"

Jaryn turned and moved back to his original position. He waited, motionless, for Mac's diversion. He had no idea what the kid was going to do, and that made the nerves under his skin dance. Normally in these types of operations, Jaryn hated any kind of surprise, but they didn't have a lot of time on their hands. He had to trust that Mac knew what he was talking about. The team had, of course, expected to find some type of perimeter alarm at the compound, but despite their best efforts, they could not determine exactly what kind of setup Broyles had. If Mac had been truthful—and Jaryn had detected nothing but sincerity from the Ranger—then they now had the last tactical advantage they'd needed in order to make this mission a success.

Nicole had told Jaryn that Broyles had an inner circle he used as guardsmen around the compound, but she said most of them appeared to be nothing more than brutes and sharks.

Each member of the force they'd compiled had a job to do. Shaun and the two coyotes were to release the hostages from the cells located in the buildings on the back of the property. The two cougars, Clark and Grant, were to take out the guard hub that controlled all the security cameras and could trip the security lockdown of the main house. According to Nicole, if the house security was tripped, they'd have zero chance of getting to Broyles inside.

He checked his watch. Thirty seconds to go before their scheduled time of infiltration. Clark and Grant would strike first, and when they gave the all clear, the rest of the team would make their way towards their targets. Jaryn had a clear line of sight to the house, and his enhanced night vision cut through the darkness with ease. The side door to the mansion opened and several bodies ran out into the night. Nicole had given Jaryn a description of Broyles, and judging by the shapes running out into the forest, he didn't think one of those men was his target.

That was good because Jaryn wanted the wolf all to himself. "We have a green light. Execute, execute, execute," he ordered into the mic.

If the coyotes did their job right, then they'd complete this mission with a precision strike within the next thirty seconds. Jaryn waited, counting down the seconds. He kept his ears open for any sounds in the forest surrounding him. Where Mac planned on tripping the alarms, he didn't know, therefore the other wolf's location or the whereabouts of those he'd lured away from the mansion were also a mystery.

Clark's deep voice came over the comm-unit, signaling that they deactivated the security system. Jaryn took nothing for granted as he stealthily made his way inside the perimeter. He wouldn't put it past Broyles to have some type of a backup system in place. The hardest part would be making his way across the open land between the tree line and the house. He'd made it about halfway when Shaun's voice rumbled in his ear.

"We've reached the barracks. Breach of the portal in five. Damn, they've got fucking three stage biometrics on these goddamn doors. This may take a little longer than we expected."

He paused in his tracks and took cover behind a hedge ten yards from the building. "Just get the job done," Jaryn said.

"Have you ever known me not to?"

"Nope."

"Nice to hear the love, Alpha. I crave your effusive praise."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't help but smile at his Beta's sarcastic sense of humor. He peered around the edge of the hedge and spied the portico he was aiming for, which led to one of the entrances. Seeing that the area was still clear, Jaryn rounded the limestone balustrade, made his way across the pavers, then ducked under the arches. He breathed a sigh of relief as he plastered his body against the exterior of the mansion.

Beside him was a large window, behind which, according to Nicole, was Broyles' office. Jaryn turned his head to see inside, but a pair of heavy drapes blocked his view. There was a strip of white in the center of the drapes, and Jaryn crept a few steps to the side to get past the opaque material. The room was dark, and he didn't see anyone inside. He took a breath and dashed past the glass panels. At the end of the portico, was a set of French doors. According to their research, a reclusive billionaire had built this house on the shores of Lake Michigan at the end of the nineteenth century. The opulent Italian Renaissance-style structure was the Midwest's answer to the palatial estates of the Vanderbilt's on the East Coast. How Broyles got his hands on it was unknown. The one piece of good news was because of the sheer size and historic nature of the building, not all the entrances had updated scan systems. Jaryn had targeted this set of doors because Nicole had informed him they used an old-fashioned lock system.

He kneeled outside the wood and glass-paneled door and examined the handle. There was no obvious locking mechanism on the outside. That meant Jaryn would have to get through the glass to reach inside and unlatch the lock. Upon opening his kit, he took out a small packet. He opened it and unfolded the translucent sheet within until he held a flat round disc lined with nanobots in his hand. He stripped away the protective shield from the backside, then placed the disc on the glass panel next to the inner door frame with the handle. In seconds, the glass appeared to dissolve. When the hole achieved a large enough circumference for Jaryn to get his hand inside, he deactivated the magnetic field of the disc, thereby disabling the nanobots source of power. He stripped the disc from the remaining glass and folded its wrapping back around it, replacing it in his kit.

Jaryn slipped his hand through the dessert-plate sized hole and blindly fumbled for the lock. His fingers skimmed the knob and when he turned it counter-clockwise, he heard the telltale click that spelled success. Not wanting to waste any more time, he quickly withdrew his hand, pushed the handle down, then slid inside the opened door. He paused for a moment to get his bearings. He knew if he went straight, he would reach the dining room. Through the great hall and off to the right was Broyles' office, and up the grand staircase were the bedrooms. The kitchen was located beyond the dining room. When he'd sneaked by Broyles' office, it had appeared empty, but Jaryn thought he should still check it out.

"Alpha, we've breached the barracks door. There appear to be about fifteen cells inside. The foxes are hacking into the locking system to get them open now."

Jaryn didn't want to speak and potentially give away his position, so he double-tapped the microphone to let Shaun know he'd heard the transmission. He slinked his way towards Broyles' office. The man had to be here somewhere. He was sure Mac would have told him if Broyles had left the compound, since the man said he'd been monitoring the place for the last month.

Jaryn lifted his weapon from the holster strapped around his shoulders. The bullets loaded into it wouldn't discriminate whether Jaryn met a man or wolf in the dark. He reached the office door. He had no way of knowing what was inside unless he opened the carved wooden panel.

God, what I wouldn't give for X-Ray vision right about now .

Slowly, he turned the knob. He pushed open the door a few inches, waiting for either an assault from inside or the voice of his nemesis to beckon him to his death. When nothing happened, Jaryn slid inside Broyles' sanctuary. Despite the hulking furnishings, there was nothing else in the room. Nothing other than the lingering odor of Broyles' scent. Now that Jaryn had his adversaries' signature, it would be easier to detect him as he continued his search. One room down, thirty-nine more to go. Of course, that was assuming that Broyles didn't know about his presence and stayed in one spot. If they began circling each other in this monstrosity of a home, it'd become a strategic game of chess, and Jaryn would have to find a way of drawing Broyles out for the checkmate. Difficult, given that fact that he was on the other man's home turf.

He exited the office, debating what area to head for next. It was late at night. Maybe Broyles would be in bed? Jaryn silently crossed the marbled floor and climbed the first several steps of the grand staircase. He swore the coldness that permeated the house leeched through the black leather covering his body, and an icy chill snaked down his spine.

When he reached the landing, he turned left towards the west wing of the house. Nicole had told him that was where Broyles' suite was located. As Jaryn passed each door, he looked for some trace of light shining from within, but there was nothing except darkness. The oppressive silence of the house was eerie. There wasn't a single creak or groan. No drip of water from a leaky faucet or whisper of music. Grand paintings hung on the walls, their inhabitants keeping silent watch over anyone who trespassed along their corridor. Jaryn felt their eyes on him with every step closer to his destination.

Finally, he reached the double doors at the end of the hall that led to Broyles' rooms. Jaryn took a deep breath and slowly reached for the long gold handle. The second he opened this door, one of three things would probably happen. Either someone would shoot him, a wolf would attack him, or nothing would happen at all. The uncertainty kept his alertness at triple intensity. He pushed the lever down and opened the door a fraction of an inch. He let the air from the room float through the crack. Broyles' scent was definitely present, but Jaryn couldn't determine how fresh it was. Was the man inside, or was Jaryn moments too late?

He took a deep, slow breath and slid inside the room, keeping his back to the other half of the set of doors. He scanned the space and found what appeared to be a sitting room of some kind. There were a couple of couches and club chairs. The shadow of an antique writing desk sat in front of a group of windows. A soft fluttering sound came from his right and his eyes found a long, sheer curtain floating into the room. The air in the room was warm, so it couldn't be from an open window. There must be some kind of heat vent over there.

"Hostages are clear. Count forty-five. We've got shifters, vamps, and you won't believe who else we found."

Shaun's voice came over the microphone, and Jaryn released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He did not know what Shaun's cryptic remark meant, but Jaryn didn't have time to think about that for now. Shaun was in charge of the hostages, and he trusted his Beta to do his job and get them to safety. Jaryn didn't particularly care if one of them had horns coming out of their head and spoke in tongues.

There were no doors on the right side of the room, so Jaryn turned to his left. It seemed he had three choices. Jaryn went for door number one. Weapon at the ready, he opened the door and found a coat closet. He pushed aside the heavy fabric to make sure there was nothing behind them. Satisfied this door was clear, he shut the door silently. He saw the outline of the second door panel clearly with the help of his enhanced night vision. Finding it not latched, he tapped the panel and watched it swing inward. It was the bathroom. The space wasn't big, but embodied the epitome of gilded luxury. Leaded glazed windows, candelabras on either side of the pedestal sink, crystal chandeliers, and detailed trim adorned the space. The only place a person could hide was the deep claw-foot tub, and Jaryn quickly peeked over the edge of the porcelain. He spied a door in the right wall. Should he go through there or retrace his steps to the sitting room? He hadn't heard anything, but what if Broyles had come in while Jaryn was clearing the bathroom? If he went backwards, he could walk into a trap. Decision made, Jaryn went forwards.

He stepped through the door and found himself in the bedroom. The size of the space struck Jaryn stupid for a moment. His eyes followed the beams of moonlight shining through the easily twenty-foot tall wall of windows and landed on the massive four-poster canopy bed. The entire room had carved wood paneling and all the large furniture screamed masculinity.

Broyles' scent was stronger in here, so this was most certainly his bedroom. In fact, the smell was so strong that Jaryn would have sworn that Broyles was in the room with him at that moment, but there was no obvious sign of him. Foot by foot, Jaryn searched the space, trying to ferret out his nemesis.

"Fuck. Where are you, you bastard?" he whispered.

"I'm right here."

Jaryn spun around, weapon raised, finger on the trigger. Broyles stood in an open section of wall that had been a solid panel a moment ago. Son of a bitch had secret fucking passages.

"And what are you going to do with that thing, Chaunterel?"

Hell, if the man didn't know his name, Jaryn would have found it surprising.

"I'm going to fuck your shit up."

"With a gun? I'm rather disappointed in you. I thought we'd be able to settle this little disagreement between us honourably."

"Disagreement? I'd hardly call this situation something so mundane."

"I take it you have a much more noble reason, then, for breaking into my home?"

"Give it up, Broyles. We've already released your hostages and eliminated your mod squad. It's time to turn yourself over to the council for the crimes you've committed."

Jaryn really hoped that Mac had taken care of the men who'd run out into the forest after him. He didn't want any unexpected surprises.

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about. I've provided a home for all kinds of lost souls, out of the goodness of my heart. They were free to leave if they wanted to."

"Really? That's why they were being held in cells, and there was a biometric lock on the outside of the barracks?"

"We live in the country. I'm very protective of those under my care. Surely you can understand that, Chaunterel? You live in the wilds of Montana, and I know you take precautions to guard those near you." Adam stepped into the bedroom, keeping his eyes locked on Jaryn's. "Even if they belong to another."

"I assume you talking about Nicole. Funny thing about that. She's my mate. My true mate. Our love is not some part I tried to coerce her into." Jaryn took a step towards Broyles. "I guess in a way I really should thank you. If you hadn't been such a sick fuck, she never would have run and it may have been who knows how long before I found her."

Adam smirked and took a couple of more steps forward. "Nicole is mine. I've already taken steps to ensure that, and there's nothing you can do to prevent it. How's she been feeling lately?"

Jaryn's finger tightened a fraction on the trigger. His hand was steady and his sight never wavered from the pale target of Broyles' forehead.

"She hasn't been restless or anything, has she? Hearing voices?" Adam looked out the windows that filled the wall up to the high vaulted ceiling of the bedroom. "The moon is nearly full. I can feel its pull, as I'm sure you can. I bet sweet Nicole is sitting in your home, all tucked in nice and tight, staring up into the sky and wondering why the urge to walk into midnight's embrace has filled her body."

Jaryn closed the distance between him and Broyles. One last foot and the barrel of his weapon would create in impression on the son of a bitch's forehead. "What are you talking about?"

"By now, the results of one of my experiments should be in. You can't expect me to believe that you never noticed the scar on the back of Nicole's neck. I wanted Nicole for my own, but how would it look if I, Alpha of the Northwoods, took a mere human as a mate? So, I took the liberty of scheduling Nicole for a minor procedure. It was nothing, really. Some women want a bigger rack, some want a nose job or a little fat sucked away. A little gene therapy magic and presto—I had a bitch for a mate, in the truest sense of the word."

The growl that emanated from Jaryn's chest rumbled throughout the room. How dare this monster change a single hair on his mate's head, let alone alter her genetics to suit his twisted desires? He wanted to deny Broyles' taunts, but unfortunately, what he said explained a few things. His baby had to be so confused about what was happening inside her. Now that he had answers, he was still helpless to soothe her since he was hundreds of miles away.

"By my calculations, this full moon is the third since her procedure. My scientists predicted it would take this long for her DNA to completely accept the change, and for her beast to emerge." Adam took the last step, separating him from Jaryn. He leaned into the muzzle of Jaryn's weapon. "So what are you going to do now, Alpha," he sneered. "Are you going to shoot me? My men already have Nicole in their possession. My men assured me they have placed the bitch in her cage and are ready to transport her back to where she belongs, based on my word. Then again, if they don't hear from me, they have the authority to put her down—out of compassion, you understand. Without her mate, she'll succumb to the madness of the moon. I programmed her that way. The only way to keep her sane is the injection of her mate's DNA with each full moon."

"Then it's a good thing I'm her mate."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Are you willing to risk her life with your certainty? A lot of changes are taking place in her body right now. Biological changes that are… let's face it, not exactly natural. All manipulated by yours truly." He smirked. "Who's to say that when Nicole's wolf emerges, she'll even recognize you anymore? Her wolf may despise you. Her wolf may very well want… me."

". The mating bond represents the meeting of two spirits, two souls destined for one another. It's sacred among our people, and not all about biology. So yes, I'm sure I am Nicole's mate, as she is mine. I don't care what kind of voodoo you performed, we belong to each other."

"Then shoot me. Kill me and end it here. Take your revenge." He leaned harder against the muzzle. "Go ahead… do it," Adam dared. "If you are one hundred percent certain that you'll never need me to tell you what to do if something went wrong… then pull that fucking trigger."

Jaryn's finger squeezed the small lever. The metal dug into his skin despite the leather gloves. He stared into Broyles' dark eyes. There was no emotion in the dark orbs. No humanity existed in his soul. Jaryn had killed before. In the military, he'd taken more lives than he'd ever really been comfortable with. Sometimes the situation had even required him to look into his opponent's eyes as he made the kill, but it had never been like this. Never in cold blood. Never without the sanction of his government, never without orders. However, this thing had toyed with not only his love's psyche, but her health, her well-being, her safety.

Jaryn felt the wolf creep closer to the surface. This man was a threat to everything he held dear. We should take him out, wipe him from the face of the planet, and send him to burn in the fires of hell from which he came.

"You might also consider that Nicole was a guinea pig in our little endeavor. I've done a lot of experiments over the years, with varying levels of success, but Nicole is the first human I turned wolf. How often have you heard of these kinds of things going right on the first try? Keep that in mind as you're making your decision."

"Jaryn, we've breached the house. There's something here you really need to see."

Shaun's voice echoed in Jaryn's ear, distracting him for a fraction of a second. It was all the prepared wolf in front of him needed. In the time it took Jaryn to blink, an icy hot pain pierced his lower back. He stumbled a few steps. Broyles spun and gave Jaryn a hard kick to his head. His weapon hit the floor, and he lost his balance. The floor loomed up at him, and he twisted to land on his front to avoid whatever Broyles had embedded in his body. He watched as the son of a bitch disappeared through the same passageway he'd hidden in earlier.

White spots danced behind Jaryn's eyelids. He pressed the button for the microphone of his comm-unit. "Shaun. Master bedroom. Second level. West wing. North corner. I need you."

Jaryn stared at the moon low in the sky outside the wall of windows. He prayed Cooper was looking out for Nicole and that everything Broyles had said to Jaryn was to rile him. But just in case it wasn't and Nicole really was in the hands of Broyles henchmen, her mind slowly losing its grip on reality…

He closed his eyes and opened their link with the last of his strength.

"I love you …"