Page 4 of Blood Pack Beginning (Pack #5)
CHAPTER THREE
Sasha leaned against a wall as the boss questioned the wolves she’d brought back, one by one.
It was about time.
Not long after her team arrived at the compound with the dogs, she received a message from Thaddeus that he’d been ambushed merely ten miles away. He and his wolves had worked together to take out Morpheus, leaving Sasha with a begrudging respect for the Lycans. Perhaps they could be useful, after all.
She’d locked up the Moon Dew Lycans and arrived on the scene in time to handle clean-up, not only of Morpheus’s remains but also those of the foul experiments he’d brought along. Her team torched the ghouls, leaving behind no remains, but they returned Morpheus’ body—minus the heart Thaddeus took—to the compound to ash in the sun. Morpheus’ remains would be distributed, ensuring his vampiric essence wasn’t lost, for they only had a finite amount to go around. Most likely Thaddeus would insist she partake of some. She hoped it wouldn’t leave too nasty an aftertaste. Most times ingested remains simply increased a vampire’s strength, but there was always a chance the imbiber might be plagued with memories best left forgotten.
Then she had to wait for Thaddeus to tend to his other business. That being, mating with the two wolves he’d chosen to love.
She wrinkled her nose at the thought of it. Never in the history of their kind had the two species joined together. But Sasha, ever loyal to her sire, had no choice but to accept it—but that didn’t mean she had to like it.
A smug-looking Thaddeus eventually emerged from his bedroom and told Sasha to make her report quick. She apprised him of the Lycans she’d captured and their claims of innocence. It led to Thaddeus grumbling in annoyance at not being able to immediately return to his mates.
“Want me to take them into the woods and get rid of them?” Sasha offered.
“No. Bring them to me, one at a time.” Thaddeus’ impatience meant he didn’t waste time. As soon as a dog walked into his presence, using the gift he’d inherited from ingesting Roderick’s essence, he whammied, putting the Lycans in a trance like state. Then, through a series of questions that had to be answered truthfully, confirmed not only their story, but ensured they weren’t under another’s influence. By the time he’d finished with the fourth—Omar, the weakest of the bunch—the boss was sighing.
“They’re clean,” Thaddeus announced. “No sign of a compulsion on them. They survived what happened in Moon Dew only by pure chance, and not because Morpheus had his people leave them behind as a Trojan wolf.”
“Doesn’t mean we can trust them.” Sasha found their story a tad too convenient.
“No, however, they could probably be persuaded to join our cause. After all, they saw their whole town wiped out. They want vengeance, especially the big one.”
“Amir.” She murmured his name. Of them all, he’d caught her eye first. Big, burly, and surly. Just the way she liked her men. Then there was Diego with the flirty eyes and winks. Even Cyrus with the hot temper intrigued. The only one of the four that didn’t get her libido dancing was Omar. He was timid, rolling over too easily to show his belly, and she was pretty sure women weren’t his thing.
“If we could recruit them to our side, they could prove useful,” Thaddeus insisted. “Just look at what an asset Toni and Marc have been.”
Her brow arched. “You really think these new ones will want to be our allies, seeing how we kidnapped, questioned, and are holding them prisoner?”
“With good reason. I’m sure you can make them understand the necessity.”
“You expect me to charm them?”
Thaddeus snorted. “What a terrifying thought. More like, explain the situation. Tell them about Roderick and the issues some packs have encountered. Prepare them for what is still yet to come.”
“Which is what, exactly?” Sasha asked. “With Morpheus dead, it doesn’t really concern us anymore, does it?”
“You say ‘us,’ meaning vampires, but you forget that ‘us’ has expanded. Marc and Toni aren’t going anywhere, nor are the wolves we’ve picked up. Part of starting a new Pack Order is accepting that vampire and Lycan business will be intertwined from here on out. Also, there’s the fact Morpheus, with his last breath, said this isn’t over.”
“I’d say the fact he’s dead kind of does.”
Thaddeus’ lips tightened into a thin line. “Morpheus claimed to have a master who would avenge him.”
The revelation rounded Sasha’s eyes. “Wait, he was working on someone else’s orders?”
Thaddeus nodded. “Someone who will likely pick up the cause where Morpheus left off. And before you ask, I don’t know to whom he was referring. Morpheus’ sire was thought long dead. I don’t know who he would have claimed as master, but I intend to find out. In the meantime, having your four join our cause would be a good thing.”
“They’re not mine, ” Sasha protested. “And let’s say they can be swayed. I’m not sure what good they’ll do. Their fighting skills were less than adequate when we faced them in Moon Dew.”
“So train them to be better fighters.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Seriously? Why me? You know I hate dogs.”
“I’d be careful saying that.” His cold measured reply.
“Sorry, boss.” A quick apology, not that she feared Thaddeus. He’d never harm her without good reason.
“Just so you know, I don’t think it will be long before we have a veritable pound here comprised of the strays Nathan has turned away. He’s been killing on sight any rogue he believes might have been touched by Roderick and refusing sanctuary to anyone who has been away from a Pack for an extended period of time.”
The thought of the compound overrun by dogs had her suppressing a shudder. “I’ll see if our guests can be swayed to our side and, if they agree, see what tricks they can be taught.”
“Good. Start by assessing their skill level. At least three of them have the muscle and they’re Lycan, meaning strength and quick reflexes, so they shouldn’t be too hard to train.”
“As you command,” her sassy reply.
“And by train, I don’t mean humiliate by handing them their asses.”
Sasha’s lips curved. “Would I do that?”
“Yes.”
A deep throaty laugh emerged. “What can I say? Sometimes it’s the only way to be taken seriously.”
“If you must spank them, then try and do so without causing permanent damage or humiliation. Injured pride fosters resentment.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” She mock-saluted before leaving Thaddeus, her pace brisk. How annoying. Babysitting canines. Teaching them tricks. Then again, perhaps it wouldn’t be all bad. The flirty one smelled tasty, and she’d not had fresh blood in a while. The bagged stuff didn’t taste the same, but the boss insisted they use it in lieu of random strangers.
The wolves were being kept in a panic room, which could be locked only from the inside with a key—a key currently in her pocket. Not a problem for Sasha, who’d been the one to engage the mechanism without touch. While her compulsion skills might be lacking, she had other strengths: using telekinesis to lock and unlock doors being one of them.
She stood a few paces away before concentrating on the device holding the thick steel door shut. The bolts in it clanged as she released them. She crossed her arms as she then used her power to give the door a push.
It opened and out rushed three of the wolves.
Amir, Diego, and Cyrus. No real surprise. Although their expressions proved amusing as they realized she didn’t stand as close as expected, not that it stopped their wolfish dash. Amir had a slight lead, having emerged first, and she quickly stepped to the side as he lunged, grabbing his arm while hooking her foot around his ankle. With a hard yank, she pulled him off balance and heaved him… barely. The man had some heft to him.
She couldn’t enjoy his landing, as she ducked to avoid Cyrus’ flying fist next. Before he could recover from his swing, she’d popped up and clocked him in the nose, hard enough it cracked and bled, which led to him hollering, “Ow, fuck. She broke my nose.”
Diego wisely skidded to a stop and gave her a droll smile. “I’m thinking perhaps we should rethink our plan to escape.”
“Did you really think this would work?” Sasha eyed the three men; glowering Amir, sulking Cyrus, and the overly-charming-to-avoid-getting-his ass-whipped Diego.
“You can’t blame us for trying,” Amir growled.
“I don’t, which is why I won’t punish you.”
“Now that we’ve met with your boss, are you setting us free?” Omar had crept to the threshold and eyed her with trepidation. He was so unlike the other Lycans she’d encountered that if it weren’t for his scent, she’d have thought him human.
“Free to go where?” She cocked her head. “Your town is gone.” Literally. Tim had started a fire at the gas station upon leaving to ensure the whole place got wiped, lest the massacre bring unwanted attention.
“Me and Diego have a Pack to return to,” Cyrus replied. “And Amir’s got friends in the city who would take him and Omar in.”
“Going to pretend nothing happened?” Sasha riposted. “Don’t want to avenge the deaths of the people you knew?”
Amir’s jaw locked. “Trust me, we’d love to mete out some justice, but from what you’ve said, we’d be outnumbered, assuming we could even find those responsible.”
“What if you had some help?”
“From you?” Cyrus blurted out with a shake of his head.
“Got a problem working with a woman?” Her tart reply.
“No,” Diego replied. “It’s the whole ‘I want to suck your blood’ bit that’s freaking him out. Even if movies are fiction, your kind don’t exactly have the best reputation.” His lips quirked, and he cocked an eyebrow at her. While Cyrus might have a problem with her nature, Diego appeared accepting and curious. So was she, as it turned out. The man had a fine ass.
“Werewolves aren’t exactly esteemed either,” she pointed out as a rebuttal.
“Why should we even trust you?” Cyrus interjected.
“I could ask the same,” she countered. “I’ll be honest. I’m not sure we’re cut out to be allies, but my boss has different thoughts on the matter.”
“You don’t agree?” Cyrus caught her hesitation.
“No, but it’s not my decision, hence why I’m supposed to ask if you’ll join our cause. Help us fight those who would hurt not just vampire but Lycan. Whose actions risk exposing us to the world.”
“Not sure what we can do to help. You guys kicked our asses.” Amir’s wry reply came with a roll of those big shoulders. “Meaning you you just want us as cannon fodder, making you no better than the other side.”
“Hardly,” she scoffed. “Roderick and Morpheus managed to turn wolves into mindless drones. We’re not compelling anyone. In fact, we believe that all you need is a bit of training and you’ll fare better next time you face one of us.”
“Training by who? You?” Cyrus eyed her with a sneer as he looked her up and down. Though he appeared surly, she noticed his gaze lingered on her curves.
“Yes, me.” She placed a hand on her hip and popped it out, drawing his attention. His eyebrows furrowed, and he abruptly looked away. It amused her to know that he was rankled by his primal attraction toward her. The fact he fought it made her all the more determined to have him succumb to her wiles.
Vampire, human, or Lycan, a man was a man.
Amir shook his head. “We ain’t fighting a woman. It’s not right.”
A reminder that Lycans were also a chauvinist society.
She let out a laugh before countering, “You didn’t have a problem when you rushed out of the room and tried to tackle me.”
“I held back once I saw it was you.” His huffed defense.
“Now who’s bullshitting?” Sasha snorted.
“I’m twice your size,” Amir pointed out.
“Didn’t seem to matter when I threw you across the room,” she reminded him.
Amir’s lips pursed. Nice lips. Pity they were perpetually set in a scowl. “You got lucky.”
“Did I? Shall I do it again?”
Amir hesitated, and Omar rushed in to be his cheerleader. “I’d like to see you try. My brother is badass. He would totally crush you if you weren’t a girl.”
“One, I’m not a girl. I am a woman. Two, I’m also a vampire. Three, only one person has ever bested me in hand-to-hand combat, and you just met him.”
“I’ll do it.” Cyrus thrust back his shoulders. “But don’t expect me to go easy on you.”
“Ooh, promise to give it to me hard? I’m shivering in excitement.” Sasha crooned and winked.
“Right now?” Diego exclaimed, eyeing his buddy skeptically. “We’ve barely slept what with all the shit going on.”
“Does the puppy need another nap?” she teased, referring to the tranqs she’d given them when she needed to leave and clean up the Morpheus mess.
“I’m good,” Cyrus insisted.
“All right, but there’s one rule: no shifting.”
The men balked, and Cyrus asked, “Why the hell not?”
“Because you’re facing a new kind of enemy, one you can’t rely on your old tactics to defeat. Look what happened back in Moon Dew. You had no time to shift, correct?”
The grumbles suggested they wanted to make excuses.
“The training is going to teach you to not depend on your canine side.”
“Is this some kind of anti-Lycan thing?” Once more Cyrus assumed the worse.
“No, it’s an assuming you already know how to fight in your wolf form thing. Fight as a wolf all you want when you’re out there on your own for all I care. But are dog fights all you want to be good for? If not, then come with me.”
The men looked at each other. Three seemed unconvinced, but Diego appeared ready to prove himself. “Let’s go.”
“Very well. Follow me, puppies.”
“Where are you taking us?” Amir asked. The big guy hadn’t yet said if he’d give wrestling her a shot.
“Can’t exactly fight inside. Boss gets peeved when we break his shit. We’ve got a training yard, which is the fancy title for a grassy spot with no breakable objects.”
It also had lights ringing it, and as it was night, it was currently illuminated, although Sasha tended to practice with them off, as well. Seeing the enemy was one way of fighting, but she also liked to keep her other senses honed for the times when shadows might prevail.
As they stepped onto the grass, Cyrus began stretching and rolling his limbs while the other three hung back to observe.
Meanwhile, Sasha removed her shirt because she happened to like it and would prefer to avoid grass stains, on the off chance one of them got lucky.
Immediately, she noticed three of the wolves staring, while trying to appear like they weren’t. Glancing at her upper body clad in only a sports bra then quickly away. Then looking back again.
Not Omar. He stared at Monty, a semi-regular visiting vampire who was doing pushups on the edge of the yard.
“Ready when you are, Grouchy,” she called out.
Cyrus scowled as he held out his arms in invitation. “Anytime, Shorty.”
She almost laughed. At least some of the wolves had some spirit. She crooked her fingers and beckoned. “Let’s see what you’ve got, Grouchy.”
He didn’t immediately rush her, rather pacing slowly, gaze intent. When he did start to lunge, putting all his weight on his left, despite being a righty, she didn’t fall for the ruse. She stepped quickly to the side, grabbed his arm, and wrenched it up behind his back, drawing a sharp gasp.
“Gotcha,” she crooned.
“Again,” he growled.
They separated back to their starting positions. Once more, he watched her, warier, tenser. This time, rather than try to lunge and tackle, he chose to swing, apparently losing his fear of hitting a woman. Well, not exactly hit. His fist never landed. She caught it and twisted, wrenching his arm hard enough he hit the ground on his knees.
She then yawned. “Boring. It’s like you’re not even trying.”
“Let me have a whirl,” Amir called out, to Sasha’s delight. Perhaps Cyrus wasn’t the only spirited dog among them after all.
She released Cyrus and went back to her starting point, a baiting smile on her lips. The big man took the scowling Cyrus’ place and watched her for so long she chose to dart in. He reached to grab her, and she let him, allowing those thick arms to wrap tight.
He grunted, “Gotcha.”
She head-butted him, and he yelped, releasing her at once.
“Is your head okay?” she taunted. “I figured it was a safe place to hit, since it’s so hard.”
And now she had two disgruntled wolves. She pointed to Diego. “Let’s go, pretty boy. Might as well have a turn.”
“I’d rather make love, not war,” Diego declared, even as he kicked off his shoes to go barefoot in the grass.
“As if you could handle me,” she purred.
“I’d be into that challenge,” his quick reply.
“Are you angling for an invitation to my bed?” she asked, stepping close to him with a smile.
“Bed. Lawn. Bent over a desk. On a counter.” Diego winked. “You’re petite enough I’m thinking I could just bounce you on my cock.”
She traced a finger down his chest. “With an audience, or without? I hear wolves are into sharing.”
His nostrils flared. “Not something I’ve tried, but I’m always open to new experiences.”
“I’ve never fucked a Lycan, but have to say, the three of you are tempting. I do hope you don’t slobber when you kiss.”
“Only when my tongue is buried between thighs.”
Sasha felt an unexpected quiver at the words. Blame the fact he was sexy and she’d been a while without a lover.
“We’re supposed to be sparring,” she reminded.
He grabbed her and dragged her close, pulling her up onto her tiptoes. “Does verbal not count?” He lowered his head and captured her lips. Instant heat filled her veins and shot through her body. It felt nice enough she let it go on for a few seconds before she grabbed him by the balls in a firm grip and twisted.
Diego howled and hit the grass cradling his nuts, moaning.
She planted her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Guess now would be a good time to mention vampires will fight dirty.”
To her surprise, Cyrus laughed. “Holy bruised ego. I don’t think anyone’s ever rejected Diego before.”
The statement had Diego glaring. “Not funny.”
“What did you expect? That a cold-blooded vampire would fall for your charm?” Amir snorted in disdain.
“Let this be a lesson that vampires are not emotionally swayed. We don’t play fair either. We fight to win.”
She glanced at Omar, who’d stayed well out of reach. “I’m guessing you’re not taking a turn.”
The violent shake of his head almost toppled him. No surprise. He reeked of cowardice. If she couldn’t smell the Lycan in his blood, she’d have thought him a human.
“Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let me ask again: would you like me to teach you to fight?”
“When you say fight, exactly who would we be using these skills against?” Amir questioned. “Because if it’s other Lycans, then it should be noted, when shifted, I’m considered one of the toughest.”
“If you ally with us, then you will be going up against the rogues that the other side controls, but they won’t necessarily be in their wolf shape. As you saw in Moon Dew, they resorted to using knives as well as claws.”
“I really don’t see how any amount of training is going to give us an advantage when you have speed and strength we can’t compare to,” Cyrus pointed out.
“It will give you experience so you’re better able to predict our movements, though, most likely, I or one of the other vamps will handle our kind.”
“So long as the bloodsucker whammying wolves into obeying doesn’t get inside our heads and turn us against you.”
“That won’t be a problem,” she stated confidently. “You’ve been made impervious.”
“Dare I ask how?” Diego queried.
“The food we gave you contained the ashes of the vampire-Lycan hybrid I mentioned. Ingestion made you immune.”
Diego’s brow lifted as his lips curled in disgust. “You fed us a dead vamp?”
“Would it help if I said Roderick was Lycan first?”
“No!” Amir bristled. “What the fuck? We’re not cannibals.”
“Calm your fur. You should be thanking us, seeing as how we don’t have a ton of Roderick’s ashes left. By ingesting them, we’ve made it so you can’t be turned into a puppet. You’re welcome, by the way.” She didn’t mention the fact that Thaddeus had also tampered a bit with their minds to ensure no one else could.
Amir growled. Sexy. She wondered if he made that sound in bed.
“What’s wrong, Puppy Chow?”
“What’s wrong is you being so flippant about fucking with our bodies. Not to mention, the blackmail. ‘Join us or else.’”
“I never said ‘or else,’” she pointed out.
“Oh, really? So if we told you to shove it and tried to walk out?”
“I’d let you. Heck, I’ll even drive you to the nearest town.”
“I hear a but,” Cyrus murmured.
“When those killer rogues catch up to you—and they will—and discover you can’t be swayed by compulsion, they will murder you all.”
“What if we want to join them?” Omar ventured to ask.
Her gaze slewed to him, and her smile might have rivalled that of a croc’s as she sweetly replied, “Then I’ll be the one removing your heads. I guess, either way, you’re fucked.”
“You’re assuming these rogues would find us. We’ve managed to stay out of the Lycan Council’s purview. Surely we can steer clear of a pack of crazy loners,” Amir argued.
“For a while, maybe. But you don’t seem to grasp the fact that there is a vampire-led faction determined to wipe out the Packs. It began with mysterious disappearances. One here or there, not enough to draw notice, but more recently, there’s been violence. Several packs have been hit. Although Moon Dew is the first to have a good chunk of its population murdered.”
“How come we’ve not heard of any trouble?” Amir questioned, his jaw rigid.
“The Alphas know, but they’ve been told by the Lycan Council to keep quiet to prevent panic.”
“According to you,” Amir scoffed.
“Don’t believe me? Your prerogative, but my claim can be verified by Nathan himself.”
“Who?” Amir frowned, but Cyrus nodded.
“Nathan runs one of the biggest packs in North America, and he’s currently leading the Lycan Council.”
“I can put you in touch with him if you want to check out what I’ve told you.”
“He won’t talk to me,” Amir grumbled. “I’m rogue.”
“I’m not, though,” Cyrus interjected. “I’ll talk to him.”
Sasha pulled her cell phone from her back pocket, dialed the number Thaddeus had given her, and handed it to Cyrus. He wandered off to murmur quietly. Kind of useless, since she heard everything.
The conversation took a few minutes. First for Cyrus to confirm the person on the other end was actually Nathan, then for Cyrus to exchange info and ask his questions, followed by a bleak expression as the reality hit.
Cyrus, face rigid with determination, handed back the phone to Sasha, and Amir barked, “Well? What did he say?”
“Nathan confirmed everything and more. It’s bad. While the Lycan Council has always had it out for rogues, the current order is to kill rogues on sight. None are allowed to come anywhere close to the packs. As well, anyone who’s left their pack for any length of time will be quarantined.”
“What? Why?” Diego exclaimed. “We don’t carry disease.”
“Something about possibly carrying a taint.” Cyrus frowned. “It didn’t make much sense to me, but one thing is clear. Bad shit is happening, and it involves vampire and Lycans. Nathan advised us to return to our pack and to remain there to provide protection.”
“You mean hide?” Amir said the word with a sneer.
“He phrased it as protect, but I don’t know. Seems to me sitting back and waiting for something to happen isn’t the best idea.” Cyrus shook his head.
“Nathan’s experienced more of this conflict than most and has chosen a defensive approach.” Sasha kept her words and tone somewhat respectful, even as she struggled with a supposed Alpha choosing to hide like a coward rather than hunt and fight the threat.
Amir pursed his lips. “Fuck sitting around waiting for something to happen.” He eyed Sasha. “What can we do to help?”
“So glad you asked,” she purred.