Sword of Mercy Read online

  Asia chuckled through their link while gathering all her things. She noticed Niall helped Granira do the same. Their glances met and the older woman nodded, but continued pushing things into her bag.

  “No, I love them. I have my eye on the big red and black one near the road. Are we expecting bluebirds, hybrids or something new?”

  “I don’t know what new toys Lancaster has brought to field test. We’ll know in a few moments. I’m surprised she told Niall about Lancaster and not us.” Hawke waved Asia and the others closer to him before standing in front. Asia stood behind Niall and Granira to watch Hawke’s back.

  “The last few weeks were too quiet I suppose,” Hawke said. The full-bloods moved closer, and surrounded the car. No one opened the door or hood to start searching. In an unsurprising move, the full-bloods went into frenzy and tore the car apart. The wolf who’d spoken to Hawke stood away from the others watching Hawke with a smirk.

  Asia rotated her neck and then her arms. Granira looked at her with a concerned gaze. “How well do you ride motorcycles?” Asia asked, causing a few of the full-bloods to stop mid-destruction and look at her.

  Granira’s face lit with understanding. “Quite well, thank you.” The male who’d been smiling at Hawke frowned as Hawke bulked to his hybrid and attacked. He picked up two full-bloods and slammed them together like cymbals. The sound of breaking bones filled the air as he ripped off their heads and through them at the Beta’s feet. The man jumped back in surprise and shifted.

  Asia bulked and stood in front of Niall and Granira, sending a message to their rivals. A few full-bloods thought she’d be easier than Hawke and ran at her. Before they could blink, she pulled out her sword and the whistle from her swing was followed by the sound of three heads hitting the ground. Some shifted and sprung forward. Asia used her sword with precision to decapitate the beasts. She jumped up to avoid a wolf and kicked him beneath his jaw, sending him flying and impaling on a jagged piece of metal on the car. Hawke’s lethal claws cut through flesh and bone, separating heads from bodies.

  “Pull back!” the beta who’d spoken to Hawke yelled to the remaining full-bloods. Asia dropped-kicked a four legged beast so hard he hit a tree and broke his neck.

  “Bluebirds or Hybrid or other?” Chest heaving, Asia asked.

  “I’m not sure, but that was a nice appetizer. They left plenty of bikes to choose from. Nice of them.” Hawke said as the remaining full-bloods took off on their cycles and parked a short distance down the road. “Should we take the bikes or wait a few minutes for the main course.”

  “Let’s wait. Whatever he sends, Lancaster is somewhere watching. Asshole’s probably recording a marketing video. It’d be nice to disable the cameras first. Any ideas?” Asia asked.

  “Hybrids, heads off. Bluebirds, heads off. If there is something new? Heads off.”

  “Your consistency is sexy.” She hefted her sword, rested it by her side and settled into her mental quiet spot in preparation.

  “Niall just asked why we were waiting. If he pisses in his pants, it’s because of the answer I gave him. It was pretty graphic. I told him to stay out of the way.”

  “Good. I don’t think you need to worry about Granira, she’s tough.” Tingles raced down Asia’s back. “Incoming.” She jumped, twisted in the air and swung, her sword cut through the cords of the hybrid’s neck, sending it flying toward the road while the remainder of the body fell in front of Niall and Granira. Asia turned to attack the next hybrid and noticed the older woman held Niall close covering his mouth.

  The bloody fight took longer than Asia anticipated. The Liege had made some improvements to the hybrids, their movements weren’t as predictable as before. Her fist no longer penetrated their eye sockets with ease. Hawke cut through the hybrids without bulking to his super size or using his sword. Instead, he ripped off heads or sliced them with his razor sharp nails. Breathing hard, she looked around at the pile of bodies littered around the wrecked car.

  “Who’s that?” she asked Hawke. Across the street a full-blood sat on a motorcycle watching them. He wore sunglasses and remained cool while surveying the carnage.

  Hawke looked at the guy and shrugged. “A full-blood. Probably Lancaster’s eyes and ears for this bullshit.” Hawke picked up a bike sat on it and then got off. He glanced over his shoulder at the young wolf, grabbed the bike and threw it. The full-blood jumped out of the way with lightening reflexes and laughed as the bike slammed into a tree on the other side of the road. He looked at the bike, then at Hawke and then he clapped.

  “Well done, old man. Well done. Thanks for the show. Lord Lancaster sends his regards and will see you soon.”

  Before Hawke or Asia could catch the next breath, the full-blood took off down the road leaving dust in his wake.

  “Well,” Asia said a few moments later. “Seems like the new Hawke model just made an appearance.”

  “Yeah.” He looked at her as she helped Granira stand. “Did he seem familiar to you?”

  Asia paused and thought of the fleeting glimpses of the young full blood. “No, but I didn’t really look that hard, your brother … well he didn’t handle this well. I hope he can sit on a bike. We have a ways to go to get to Chacal’s.”

  “Hmm, okay. I suppose we take them with us. Granira needs to explain what happened to the pups and how she masks scents so well.”

  Asia nodded and strode to the red and black bike she’d picked out earlier. They rode out a few minutes later, leaving a blazing fire on the side of the road.

  Chapter 14

  Hawke, Asia and their two guests rode into Chacal’s compound and parked. Hawke waited for Chacal to open the door and ask questions about Granira and Niall or his car. Asia parked her bike, got off and headed to the door.

  “Chacal’s inside, why hasn’t he come to the door to check out these two?” Hawke asked as he dismounted.

  “Maybe he trusts us… on some level at least.” She opened the door and walked in. Hawke brought up the rear.

  “Where are we?” Niall asked, looking around the foyer at all the artwork.

  “You’ll see,” Hawke said, pushing him forward.

  Granira remained silent and walked steadily ahead. She stopped, smiled and increased her pace.

  “Nira? What are you doing here?” Angus said, walking into the hall and lifting the older woman off her feet. “Not that I’m complaining, it’s always good to feel you.”

  “Who is this?” Niall asked, staring at Angus. “Why are you calling her Nira? That’s not her name.”

  “I’m Angus, who are you?” He looked over his shoulder at Niall without releasing Granira who seemed glued to his side. The woman looked quite content to remain in Angus’ arms.

  “Niall. I… we just rescued Granira from Alpha Verrick.” He pointed and then his arm dropped while he stared at the two.

  Angus looked at Hawke and then Asia before walking to a sofa holding Granira’s hand. “This is our host Chacal. Chacal, this is Niall and Granira, I’m sure I’ve mentioned her over the years. She’s in the Farkas clan quite a distance from here.” The comment held a question. Hawke wondered if Angus would be more specific or would Granira give him an answer.

  Chacal nodded and remained quiet.

  Angus sat, and pulled her with him. “What happened? Why were you at Verrick’s? And no tricks, Nira. I can smell through that dampener you wear and will know if you are lying.”

  “Dampener?” Hawke took Asia’s hand and sat across from Angus. Chacal remained quiet and seated in his usual chair while Niall sat perched on the arm of the sofa near Granira.

  “We knew something was off. She must have given Niall some as well because he lied.”

  The older woman wet her lips and met Angus’ gaze. “A lot has happened since you left, Angus. There are so few strong black wolves left to fight the darkness, we needed you here.”

  “I’m here now, Nira. What’s going on?”

  “Before you left, the Roundtable or Liege Lords s
o they call themselves now, were taking pups claiming to improve the lives of the full-blood.”

  “I know,” Angus said, watching the woman intently.

  “Did you know the high council gave them permission to do that?”

  “No.” Angus’ voiced dropped an octave as he faced her fully. Hawke sensed Chacal became more alert as well.

  She exhaled. “There’s an old agreement that states the Roundtable will always seek ways to enhance the life of the wolf. Which grants them rights to pack lands, and packs.”

  “Have you read the agreement?” Hawke asked, curious of her recollection.

  “Yes. A long time ago, we were all in agreement because of the Hungarian’s constant good deeds to our people.” Her shoulders slumped and her gaze lowered. “At that time, food was scarce, we were hunted and lost many of our kind before Konstantin purchased lands for us and set up safe havens for our non-shifting brethren. We trusted him and did not think beyond the century. Our short-sightedness on human behavior set this dark twist in motion.”

  No one spoke as the words settled.

  “What exactly are you saying?” Angus asked in a low growl. “That we, full-bloods, gave the Liege permission to do what they are doing to our young? That we agreed to the deaths of thousands of our kin? Or their usage in experimentation?” The heat of anger from his words brushed against Hawke.

  Granira took Angus’ hand. He shook her off. She sighed and held her head down for a moment before speaking. “The permission to enter pack lands at will, yes, that was given in this agreement. When I tried to remind a few of the newer Alphas of this, they didn’t believe me, called me a witch, rather than try to understand the history of our pack. None of the Alphas and leaders who agreed the original agreement are alive. Mistakes were made and we now suffer because of that.”

  “Were they killed?” Asia asked.

  “What?” Granira said, frowning.

  “Those who agreed to allow this bullshit; did the Liege kill them over time to keep the rest of the full-bloods ignorant while they destroyed lives?” Asia asked what Hawke had been thinking. Neither Radoff nor Ulric had knowledge of any type agreement in place.

  “They… they died. Some were killed in challenges or in battle, but they are all gone.”

  “My mentor, Gunnolf, did he agree with this?” Asia asked. Hawke rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand to ease the distress this question caused her.

  “Gunnolf? Yes… yes, he was in agreement, but things were different then. No one saw this gross abuse of power these men wield now. The millions of dollars Konstantin left were never to destroy wolf life, but to make things better.”

  “Do you have a copy of the contract?” Chacal asked into the sudden silence.

  “Yes, I keep it locked away. Niall also scanned it for me so that it’s in an electronic place that cannot be destroyed.” She looked up at the young man and patted his cheek.

  Hawke didn’t understand what was going on with his litter-mate and the older woman, right now he needed to focus on the conversation, but he planned to have a long talk with Niall soon.

  “I would like to look at it,” Chacal said, looking at Niall and then Granira.

  She looked at Angus, who nodded and then at Niall. “Download it for him, please and print Hawke a copy. He should read it as well.”

  Surprised, but pleased Hawke met her gaze and nodded. “I’d like that, thanks.” She continued staring at him.

  “You are the product of that agreement, it’s only right you understand what happened and why. Although after that display on the side of the road today, I’m not as convinced as I was before that everything the Liege has done is evil. You saved our lives today. Those altered full-bloods would have killed us in seconds.” Her gaze flicked to Asia and then back to him. “Both of you have been altered by the Liege and fight as well as any large pack.” She looked at Angus for a few seconds. “Do you shift into a larger hybrid as well?”

  “I have another form, yes. Most black wolves do.”

  She shook her head. “No, they don’t. Only a few the Goddess smiled on. And they came through a specific line. The Black Alpha’s line. Nikolas was a descendant and I believe your sire was as well.”

  Angus nodded, but didn’t speak.

  “Watching Hawke today, I understand why they’re targeting black pups who are direct descendants. He is phenomenal and so is his mate. The ones who were not black pups and were changed by the Liege… they were machines. I looked into the eyes of those monsters and saw nothing. Blank slates with written instructions obeyed blindly without thought. Those beasts are no longer full-bloods, no longer our brethren, and the line crossed by the Liege.” Her face brightened and she smiled.

  Angus frowned.

  “They broke the agreement, we can cancel it and keep them out of our lands.” Her eyes glowed with righteous fervor.

  “They broke the agreement a long time ago, Nira. What’s new about that?” Angus asked.

  “First off you had no idea there was an agreement. Second, I only knew pups were missing, I never saw what the Liege did with them until today. They modified them in a way I never suspected. With Hawke they amped his existing qualities. But the others, they stripped them of their identity, which, among other things the Liege is sworn to protect.”

  “I wish they hadn’t. If someone had asked I would never have participated in that hell for thirty plus years. No one should go through what I went through. No one,” Hawke spat.

  “I’m sorry. You’re right, of course,” Granira said looking down.

  “What did you do with the pups you took?” Asia asked.

  “What?” Granira looked at her.

  Asia repeated her question.

  “I released them to their parents.”

  Angus exhaled and grabbed her arm. “What did you do with the pups? Tell the truth.”

  She snatched her arm from his grasp. “I released them, sent them on their way.”

  Hawke sat back and stared at her. “How old were the pups?”

  “Six and seven with well developed senses. They told me their father lived nearby and took off.”

  “Verrick’s stealing pups?” Hawke asked. He didn’t see it, but stranger things were happening. Like that arrogant pup on the road earlier. Hawke hadn’t been able to get the pup out of his mind.

  “I don’t think so. From what I heard he picked those two up as a peace offering for Lancaster. All the remaining Alphas are bending over backwards to get into his good graces while he’s here. So far he’s ignored them all. Some say he blames them indirectly for the fall of his castle.” She glanced at Hawke and smiled.

  “Which brings me full circle,” Angus said. “What were you doing in Verrick’s holdings? Don’t bother telling me that kidnapping stuff either, I know better. Few hunt or fight better than you. If you were taken it was by your own design. What are you up too?”

  “They’re getting bolder and sloppier. I heard Verrick had some type serum the Liege used on full-bloods to change them. I wanted to see it. We’ve got to get in front of them and stop this or they’ll destroy our future.”

  “Did you find the serum?” Angus asked, watching her closely.

  “Yes. It took a bit of doing, but I exchanged a sample this morning. Niall is the only other person I trusted to get me out of there. He came once before, but I hadn’t secured the sample yet, so I sent him away and called for him once I knew I was close to retrieving it. I saw the pups by accident yesterday and couldn’t leave them behind.”

  “Did Verrick harm them?” Angus growled.

  She patted his arm and rested it there. “No. They were scared and treated well, but still prisoners.”

  “Is that the same serum the Liege used against Tyrese.” Asia asked Angus.

  “Probably.” He turned to Granira. “Let Hawke take a look at the serum, it’s unstable and does more harm than good.”

  Granira nodded. “I’ll need to dig it out of my bag and give it to you later.
”

  Hawke didn’t have anything to test the serum and wondered why Angus wanted him to look at it. “Sounds good.”

  Angus glanced at him. “I’m testing her to make sure she’s honest. Chances are she has it.”

  Between Angus, Asia and Hawke’s questions they got a clearer idea on the state of things. It didn’t look good. Not as long as the Liege had access.

  “What if the packs moved until we fix this?” Asia asked the question they’d discussed before. “Explain the prior agreement to Ulric, let him see the document so he’ll understand the pups in his pack are targeted. I’m not saying move forever, just move for a short period of time.”

  “If you can fix the problem in ninety days they can move,” Chacal said returning to the room holding papers. “Any longer than that and the Liege can claim it as abandoned and reassign the land to another pack. Which we know they’ll give it to Alphas, they control like Verrick.” Chacal sat in his chair and continued reading. Niall walked in eating a sandwich.

  Hawke’s stomach growled in anticipation.

  “After what I saw today, I’m sure my brother and his mate can have this fixed within three months.” He looked at Hawke with a large smile. “Right, bro?”

  Hawke growled, took Niall’s sandwich and popped it in his mouth.

  “Hey!” Niall yelled. “That’s rude.”

  Asia chuckled and left the room.

  “So is lying, yet you continue to do it so well.” Hawke swiped his lips with his tongue.

  Niall left the room, muttering as Asia returned with a tray of meat and sandwiches. “Here, eat this,” she said and left again. He’d finished one sandwich when she returned with a liter of water.

  “Thanks baby.”

  She nodded and chuckled. “You know Granira is wondering what you see in this short, average looking man.”

  Hawke grabbed her lapel and pulled her closer. His lips brushed against hers and tasted like ambrosia to him. He would never grow tired of her taste. “I don’t give a damn what anyone says about you. I love you in every form.”