BirthMark Read online

  Silas pulled off his shoes, socks, and pants, wiped himself and then placed the soiled clothes in the basket. He glanced at his pup, pleased the little one had allowed him to spend time with his mate. Now if the pup would sleep long enough that Silas could hold and cuddle his mate until morning, which would be perfect.

  Jasmine walked back in the room a short while later, feeling refreshed. Her heart swelled with love and pride at the picture on the bed. Silas lay sprawled on his back with David on his chest. Silas’s long black wavy hair lay across the beige pillowcase like a dark cloud. Long lashes and perfectly arched brows complemented blue-green eyes that rarely missed anything. The man was gorgeous and big. His body lay diagonally across the bed and there was little space left except on either side of him. She pulled a on a pair of panties and tank top before joining them in bed. She deliberated whether or not to move David from Silas’ chest and lay him beside her so she wouldn’t have to get up when he whimpered later on. But she didn’t want Silas to think she didn’t trust him.

  Initially, she had been terrified for her son’s life. Normally, in wolf culture, if a child was born sick, he would be put down. She had kept David with her at all times, not even allowing Silas to be alone with him.

  During a long discussion, which had covered a lot of new couple problems, he'd given his word that David was safe. Watching the rise and fall of their chests, she offered a small prayer of thanks that they were both hers.

  “Come to bed, I need to hold you,” Silas said, opening his eyes. “And I thank the Goddess for you as well. Now bring that fine ass over here so I can get some sleep.”

  Jasmine chuckled and strode to the bed, ready to fall in his arms. “Hmmm, just so you know, you fail at sweet talking.”

  “Hmph,” he snorted.

  She lay on the custom made bed next to him, her back to his side. His arms pulled her close.

  “I’m going to let Rose deal with the human police detective tomorrow. She’s not Jacques, but she’s doing a decent job running my office. This will give her some practice dealing with the law,” Silas said into the quiet.

  She missed his assistant. Jacques had been with Silas for decades, but once he was compromised by Arianna’s lure, he didn’t trust himself around Silas or the pups. Silas had thought the news of one of his pups being named after Jacques, and that Arianna was dead would be enough for his friend to return. So far, Jacques had turned down all offers to reclaim his old job, but did promise to visit soon to meet his namesake.

  Jasmine thought of her daughter-in-law, Tyrone’s mate, and agreed. “She’s smart, a quick learner, and will represent your interests pretty good. Will she still work here when Tyrone takes over as Alpha? Is there an Alpha house, like a governor’s mansion or something? Where will they live?” She had wondered about those things ever since Silas told her of his decision to promote her son.

  He rubbed her shoulder. “First off, he has been challenged.”

  She stiffened, not liking the sound of that. “Challenged? Explain.”

  Silas’ grip on her shoulder tightened a bit. She knew he didn’t like her tone, but she didn’t care for her son being challenged over something he didn’t ask for.

  “Another wolf wants the Alpha position and is willing to fight for it.”

  “I thought you appointed the Alphas. What happened to that?” She sensed his frustration through their link, but this was her son and she wanted to know why things were being handled differently.

  “I appoint Alphas, but if an Alpha has been trained by me and does not have a position, he can challenge anyone for an open spot. The wolf challenging Tyrone completed Alpha training three years ago and has been serving another Alpha since then. He is within his right to make this challenge.”

  She calmed a bit, but still worried. “This isn’t one of those to the death things is it? Because Rone didn’t ask to be Alpha and he shouldn’t be killed because you offered him the position. You could’ve offered it to one of the Alphas who were waiting around.”

  He released a long sigh but didn’t say anything. There was a lot she didn’t understand about wolf politics, but since she and Silas had this…this connection, she had been trying to ask questions so she wouldn’t be in the dark.

  “You are right. I could’ve chosen one of the other Alphas. There are three who don’t have their own territory, not including Cameron, who would have been my first choice a year ago. But, with the surge of half breeds, plus wanting an Alpha I trust implicitly at my backdoor, I picked Rone. The fight is not to the death, but it will be brutal. Both wolves are highly trained and fight well. Tyrone does not have to accept the challenge; he can step aside and allow the challenger to take the position. However, as the ruling Alpha of this state, the challenger can demand Tyrone leave West Virginia and never return.”

  Her eyes shot open. “What? That’s not fair. You would allow him to ban Rone?”

  “Allow it? No. But he is within his rights to do so. All of this will be explained to Tyrone tomorrow, well, later today. The choice is his, but I think he will fight. He is mated to a strong bitch and he will not want to appear weak in her eyes.”

  “Weak…” Jasmine sputtered leaning up on her elbow. Her eyes narrowed at him. “How would that make him look weak? He didn’t ask for the position –”

  “His Patron chose him for the position, which is an honor.”

  She snapped her jaw closed, hearing his voice change. They were dabbling in wolf politics and she had somehow stepped into a pile of goo, offending him. Returning to the pillow and the warmth of his side, she remained quiet, her mind in turmoil. Her boys were adults, she understood that, but they were still her sons.

  “He will be fine, sweet bitch,” Silas whispered, spooning her. “Stop worrying.”

  She wiggled closer as she snorted. “Like you’re not worried over Cameron. You send a search party to the woods everyday looking for any sign of him and are dejected every day they return with no news.”

  “That’s because he’s out there somewhere. I feel him but I cannot locate him, it’s frustrating.” His clenched fist rested on her hip and she rubbed it until he relaxed it again.

  “Admit it. There are times when worrying over those we love happens whether it makes sense or not.” She squeezed the arm draped across her chest thinking of David who had been returned to his blanket on the opposite side of the bed. In a little while she’d move him beside her.

  “Perhaps.” He kissed the top of her head.

  Just as she’d thought he had drifted off, he spoke. “The next time you speak to the human breeders, leave our link open. I want to hear what they have to say. Plus, there are some questions I want asked.”

  That surprised her. Not him wanting to eavesdrop, that was becoming their new normal. But him wanting to be involved with her questioning was unusual. “Why haven’t you talked to them yet?” She knew Julie and the other woman had talked to some of the Alphas already. The third woman, Anita, died before they made it back to the compound. According to the others, she had been sick for a long time. The shock of being hit with the tranquilizers, and then falling on the hard unforgiving ground had been too much for her heart. She never woke up.

  “I’ve been waiting for them to settle, to open up more. They talk to you. I know they have been explaining how your body works and other things dealing with human breeders specifically, but I want to get to the bottom of this.”

  She frowned. “Bottom? What do you mean? What do you want me to ask them?”

  “How did this start? Humans and wolves mating, having pups. It’s been going on a long time and I need to know the origins. What’s the purpose of mixing the races? Is there a master plot, some type of end game I should know?”

  She hadn’t thought about that, but then again, for the most part the changes in her body grabbed most of her focus when she talked to the women. They had years of experience and had explained a lot of what she could and couldn’t do. But Silas had a point, maybe they knew mo
re.

  “When I was pregnant, and even when I was attempting to rescue you in the caves, they tried to stop me. They wanted to keep the babies safe for some reason. I need to talk to them about that.”

  “That’s a good place to start, just let me know when you’re going to talk to them…” he yawned. “So I can sit in on the conversation.”

  She nodded. “Give me David.”

  He passed their sleeping son to her and she placed him on the bed next to her before falling asleep.

  Chapter 2

  Submerging his human side, Tyrese stepped into the club and looked around for Brad and Hank, two of Silas’ top security men. He hadn’t walked far or been inside long before the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Someone was scoping him out pretty hard. He inhaled, analyzing scents. There was a mixture of full-bloods and some half-breeds as well as a few humans in the building.

  Cautious, he headed to the bar and ordered a beer. Once he had his drink, he turned and searched for his admirer. His eyes landed on a tall, dark complexioned wolf sitting alone at a table across the room. She tipped her head to him, her long dreads moving slightly across her shoulders. Even from that distance he could tell her eyes were an unusual shade of brown, like sherry or whiskey. If he had time, he’d circle back around and check her out. He nodded and continued his perusal of the place. He felt the beat of the music through the floor, the dimly lit interior was a smoke screen for the humans because wolves had excellent night vision. A mixture of smoke, beer, body musk and …sex filled the air.

  He looked up, the structure had a second floor and the patrons on that level danced close to the rails. At least he thought it was dancing, the more he watched the less certain he became. Many of the participants wore strips of clothing and some were naked. Inhaling again, he realized the scent of sex came from upstairs.

  “Nice place, huh?”

  Tyrese glanced at the short red-headed bitch standing next to him. By the smell of things, she was either in heat or close to it.

  “It’s okay,” he said in a non-committal tone as his eyes flicked over the band of cloth covering the tips of her breasts while the other strip covered her ass and pussy. There was no question why she was here tonight; she was headed to the second floor.

  She inched closer, her body heat and heady scent teased him. “Going upstairs?” she asked in a sultry voice that had him considering taking a climb to the second level.

  “Maybe. I’m waiting for some friends.” His eyes flicked over her once again; he was interested but not enough to forgo his plans. Tonight he and Silas’ bodyguards were putting their pro-active plans in action. Hank and Brad still blamed themselves for not protecting Silas when the caves which he had been rescuing Cameron from had collapsed and he was pinned beneath the earth. Now they were all on high alert, searching out potential threats to the Patron and his family.

  “I’ll see you up there,” she whispered huskily as she scraped her fingernails across his chest. He watched her swing her ass, barely covered by the cloth, slowly toward the stairs and stop. Slowly he dragged his eyes up to her face to see her smiling at him. Taking another pull of his beer, he winked. He’d give Hank ten minutes, if they hadn’t made it by then, he was going upstairs.

  “What are you doing here?” An unknown voice hissed the question from beside him.

  He eyed the man standing next to him before dismissing him, positive the bug-eyed man wasn’t addressing him.

  “So, they don’t trust me. I’m not forgiven. They sent you to watch me,” the bug-eyed man said in a frustrated tone as he looked around the room as though waiting for someone to emerge from the shadows.

  Tyrese still hadn’t responded. He glanced at the khaki pants and white short-sleeved shirt the dude wore and was reminded of elementary school uniforms. The gelled back hair, pasty white skin and hook nose promised this guy would stand out in any crowd. He moved a few steps over to distance himself. The stranger rolled his eyes and followed him. Who the hell was this dude? Just as Tyrese was about to tell the guy to piss off, he spoke.

  “Okay, okay… I’m Boggs. Sorry about the attitude. I don’t know much about this area, so they were probably right to send one of their own to keep an eye out.” This time he eyed Tyrese. “I thought I'd met all the Bennetts, but I don’t know you. You’re not from Oklahoma are you?”

  Hearing his last name on the lips of a weird acting stranger grabbed Tyrese' attention. Boggs had been in contact with the Bennett pack, that wasn’t a good thing even if they were Tyrese’ kin on his father’s side. The Bennetts had gone rogue and were out to destroy the Patron and his family. That meant they were Tyrese’ enemies.

  “No.” Tyrese scanned the man to see if he could detect a lie. He inhaled deeper to catch a scent of deception and came up empty both times. This guy truly believed the crap he spouted.

  “But you smell like a Bennett. Where’d they dig you up from?” The omega acted as if they were friends and Tyrese had no clue who the full blood was.

  What were the odds of being picked out of a crowd and identified as rebel kin on the one rare occasion he walked into a club. Slim, yet that’s what just happened. It reeked of subterfuge and Tyrese wanted no part of it. He took another two steps to the side.

  “I’m not going to stand here and chat with you,” Tyrese said roughly.

  “Right…right. Sorry about that.” He looked around. “The contact’s supposed to meet me here in a few minutes. I guess I’ll just grab a seat and wait.”

  Contact? What contact? What meeting? Were the rebels planning something in West Virginia, this close to the compound? Tyrese wondered. Although alarm bells blared in his mind, he knew he had to follow this lead if he had the opportunity. That was the real reason he was here in the first place. Instead of asking what the meeting was about, he said, “Stand here. They’ll come to you.”

  “Good…that’s good.” The man inhaled. “I’m a little nervous. This is my first job and I want to prove my loyalty to the pack. So when I got this tip, I offered to follow through, you know what I mean? If this information is good, it could tip the scale in our favor, you know what I mean?”

  “Hmmm,” Tyrese said, thinking fast. He needed to get word to Hank and Brad to stay away so he could follow this lead. He reached out to Tyrone.

  “Rone? I need you to contact Brad and Hank, tell them to take a seat somewhere in the club, check around to see if they hear anything, but don’t come near me, okay?”

  “It’s late, Rese.”

  “I know. I’m meeting them at a club. Get the message to them. I don’t want this to blow up in my face.”

  “What? What’s going on?” Tyrone asked, alert.

  “Can’t say right now. Get the message to them.”

  “Okay, but stay open. I’m monitoring and if you shut down, I’ll be on my way with an angry Rose.”

  Tyrese sighed through the link. “Cut the jokes, I’ll leave it open. You might hear something I miss. But my wolf is live, human down.”

  “Okay.”

  “Hey, you wanna dance?” The dark female who’d been eyeing him earlier asked the guy standing next to him. Her whiskey-colored eyes flashed at Tyrese and then returned to Boggs. Tyrese wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did. This woman was the contact.

  “Only if you’re doing the monkey.”

  Tyrese wanted to roll his eyes at the corny line.

  “Who’s your friend?” She tipped her chin at Tyrese.

  The guy looked at him for a moment and then spoke. “Bennett. Call him Bennett.”

  She gave Tyrese another long look and nodded. “Come over here, we can talk.” She turned and walked at a quick clip toward the back of the club and then down a long hall. The sounds of revelry became muted and the clicking of her heels were amplified on the concrete floor. Her reddish-black dreads were in some twisty style that brushed against her shoulder blades. Tyrese eyed her firm round cheeks in appreciation. Muscular, well-formed thighs and calves were encased in tight-fit
ting jeans. She stopped in front of a door and opened it.

  Boggs entered first, and Tyrese waited for her to enter. They stared at each other for a moment, but he wasn’t going in that room until she walked in. Finally, with a thoughtful look, she strode into the room and took a seat at the short rectangular plastic white table.

  Immediately, Tyrese checked for listening devices, escape routes, and any signs of danger. He’d once been trapped in a small room in the local hospital. Silas had constructed the room in such a way that Tyrese had been able to stand in a small space behind a wall. He’d seen and heard everything that took place in the larger adjoining area without anyone in that room knowing he was there. He knew from firsthand experience that things were not always as they seemed.

  Instead of taking a seat, Tyrese crossed his arms and stood next to the door they’d walked through. Not for a moment did he believe it was the only exit, but it was the only one he knew of right then.

  She glanced at him and then gazed at the younger man seated at the table. “Talk to me.”

  “Whoa, wait a minute.” Boggs threw up his hands and shook his head. “We’re supposed to exchange information, not me give up what I have with nothing to show for it. I’ve come a long way, and they’re counting on me to give a full report later on. What do you have?”

  She glanced at Tyrese again. He remained passive, didn’t move or acknowledge her furtive glances. “He’s making me nervous. Can he step out?” Yeah, like Tyrese believed that. This woman was a pro who would play Boggs like a new guitar if he weren’t in the room.

  Boggs laughed. “He’s a Bennett, they are all like that. I know you’ve heard of them.” He looked at Tyrese.

  Tyrese shook his head, signifying he wasn’t going anywhere. There was a chance he’d learn something worthwhile. “His pack sent him along to make sure everything went smooth.” He paused, leaned back in his chair. "Now what information do you have for me?”

  “There’s going to be an Alpha challenge soon. The Patron wanted a breed to take over the spot and we’re not going to allow that to happen. There’s a plan in place to make sure the breed dies even though this isn’t supposed to be a fight to the death.”