Page 21 of Mitchell’s Untamed Mate (More Than Human #2)

E astern European Alps bordering the Siberian Shifters of the Northern Hemisphere

Two weeks later:

Isabella relaxed back in her seat and stared out across the vineyard. She tilted her head when the nearly imperceptible sound of footsteps against marble floors reached her. A serene smile curved her lips.

“You have a visitor, ma’am. Mr. Hyder, ma’am,” Frances introduced.

“Thank you, Frances. Please make some of your special coffee for Mr. Hyder,” Isabella requested.

“Right away, ma’am,” the plump servant said with a curtsy.

“I see you have been as successful as usual,” she commented, not pulling her gaze away from Hyder until he walked over to the refreshment tray Frances had set out. “Please, help yourself.”

Her edge of sarcasm earned her a sharp glare. She picked up her cup of tea and took a sip. A minute later, Hyder sat down across from her. She was a bit surprised by the hostile stare he continued to give her.

“What happened?” she finally demanded when he didn’t say anything.

He sat back in his chair. “Are you saying you don’t know?”

Irritation flared through her and she pursed her lips. “What I know is that I’m out a lot of money and I have nothing to show for it. Your task was to collect two humans for me, one male and one female, and to kill an annoying wolf-shifter. As far as I can tell, you’ve accomplished neither,” she snapped.

“Who did you send to follow me? Who else did you hire to collect the humans?” he demanded.

She gave him a startled look. “Follow you? No one. You said you had the situation under control. Two humans. If my sources are correct, they were right under your nose! Ty Bearclaw’s human female and the male who was captured and taken to the Bearclaw estate. Two, Hyder. I would have thought that would have been an easy assignment for a shifter with your experience.”

“You didn’t send anyone else to follow me?” he pressed, sitting forward and resting his arms on the table.

“Who would I send? Carter? That warthog couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag if I left a trail of France’s famous sweet cakes. I hired you to take care of this,” she insisted.

Her eyes narrowed when he sat back with a muttered curse. She didn’t miss the fact that he hadn’t touched any of the food on his plate. She studied his expression with curiosity.

“What happened?” she asked.

He glanced at her face before looking away. “I called in a favor. Eight shifters, top of the line military training, state-of-the-art equipment, and poof—they were gone.”

She tapped the table impatiently with the tips of her fingers. “What do you mean 'poof, they were gone'? Did they decide not to do the mission? Did you forget to pay them? Did they go rogue?”

Hyder slammed his fist against the table. Isabella jumped with surprise. She steadied her china teacup and stared at Hyder with a growing alarm. She had never seen the man this shook up.

“I mean they were killed right in front of me. Whoever… whatever those things were, they came out of nowhere and?—”

She swallowed when he ran a finger across his throat in a slicing motion. Hyder rose to his feet and walked to the balcony. He didn’t notice when she lifted her hand to stop Frances who had returned with a coffee carafe. She shook her head at the woman, who bowed her head and silently retreated.

“Can they trace you here?” she asked.

He twisted, sighed, and ran his hand down over his face. “No. At least I don’t think so. Hell, I don’t know. I told you. I don’t know who they are. The man… the organization that I contacted isn’t happy. They lost a lot of good men and equipment,” he said.

“I think it is time we ended our acquaintance, Hyder,” she said, rising.

Hyder glared at her. “Well, that’s a bit of a problem. I need somewhere to stay, and this looks like a pretty nice setup you have here,” he announced.

Isabella was about to argue when she thought better of it. Hyder was a desperate man, and desperate men did desperate things. She bowed her head in acquiescence.

“Since you put it that way, I’ll see what is holding Frances up with your coffee and let her know that you will be staying as a guest. Please help yourself to the refreshments. I’ll return shortly,” she said.

Hyder grunted in agreement and returned to his seat. Isabella gave him another serene smile before she retreated into the villa. Frances was standing inside waiting for her.

“We are leaving now,” she stated.

“Yes, ma’am. Would you like me to serve Mr. Hyder his coffee first?” Frances asked.

Isabella looked at the pot of poisoned coffee. She had a feeling it would not be necessary. She shook her head.

“No, we must make haste,” she said.

“This way, ma’am,” Frances said, placing the steaming coffee carafe on the end table before removing her apron and placing it next to it.

Isabella glanced one more time behind her as she and Frances exited the serene villa. She released a sigh of irritation as she slid into the backseat of the Rolls Royce. It had been one of her favorite residences. She hated losing it.

“Do you need me to call the plane, ma’am?” Frances asked, looking in the rearview mirror.

“Yes, please,” she said, leaning back in her seat.

Hyder was finishing his second plate of food when he heard footsteps approaching. He hoped it was Frances with the coffee he liked. He might ask her for something more substantial than the tea cakes and sandwiches. The request died on his lips when he saw the man calmly walking towards him.

“Hello, Hyder,” Eric greeted.

“Fuck,” Hyder murmured.

His mouth went dry as he stared into the cold, empty eyes of the rhino-shifter. Eric walked over to the table, set down a white coffee carafe, and slid onto the cushioned chair across from him. Hyder’s eyes followed Eric’s movements when the General lifted the carafe and filled a delicate porcelain cup with the steaming brew. His stomach tightened with suspicion when Eric pushed the cup and saucer across the table without pouring himself a cup. Sweat beaded on his brow as he stared at the dark brown liquid with growing dread.

“Yes, you truly are—fucked. But first, I want to know what happened to my men,” Eric replied.

Nightsky Estate:

“Talon.”

Talon turned away from the window. He bowed his head in greeting when Danielle entered the study and raised an eyebrow of inquiry when he noticed she was alone. She chuckled and motioned behind her.

“The others are coming. Sofia is saying goodnight to your grandfather. Mateo is trying to bait Xavier into showing off some of his new moves. Miles is taking care of some business, and Juliette is refreshing herself before she joins us,” she explained.

“It is good to have everyone together,” he said.

He motioned to a chair in front of the fireplace. Danielle walked over and sat down. He poured a glass of white wine for her and refilled his glass with bourbon. Walking over, he held it out to her.

“Thank you.” She leaned her head back against the back of the chair. “What have you heard?”

He sank down into the chair next to her, stretched out his legs, and stared at the fire dancing in the hearth. A low chuckle slipped from him. Of course Danielle wouldn’t have missed his quiet withdrawal from the group. A call had come in from the SBSI unit regarding the blood samples that had been collected.

“I told you this is where he kept the good stuff,” Miles said, entering the study and making a beeline for the bar.

“Does he have any whiskey?” Mateo asked.

“Make that two, please, Miles,” Juliette said with a smile.

“Xavier?” Miles held up the bottle of whiskey.

“I’d prefer a cup of tea,” Xavier said.

“Xavier, you are going to give us superheroes a bad name if they discover you are drinking tea,” Mateo complained.

“I’ll make you some. I think tea would be nice,” Sofia said.

Talon waited until the group settled onto the plush couches and chairs that formed a semi-circle in front of the massive fireplace. Despite the late hour, they were all still reflecting on their new positions as Protectors. The last few months had changed all of their lives.

“It took some digging, but we have matches for the team on the mountain,” he said.

Silence fell around the room as everyone turned their attention to him. He studied each of their faces. Mateo had a cut along his cheek. Juliette had a bandage around her hand. Those were the only signs that they had been in a battle.

“They were all ex-military. According to their files, they were either declared dead or missing-in-action between two and six years before today. I have a team working on finding out how that happened and what they’ve been doing since,” he said.

Danielle raised a delicate eyebrow. “It takes a lot of money to play dead, especially for that long,” she observed.

“Yes, it does. Xavier?—”

“I can assure you they are dead this time. Mateo, Miles, and I made sure that no bodies will be found,” Xavier replied.

Miles barked out a laugh. “At least not for a few centuries.”

“What I want to know is who sent them and how did they know where to look?” Sofia said with a concerned expression.

“They had no phones on them, only the radio,” Mateo said.

“There was a satellite image in one of the helicopters. They didn’t want to give it up without a fight,” Juliette said, lifting her bandaged hand.

“Was there any information on the helicopters themselves? Those were military grade despite looking like civilian aircraft,” Danielle said.

Miles grinned. “I just got off the phone with a friend who did a little research. Thanks for that info, Juliette. He said they belonged to a private oil and gas outfit out of Canada.”

“Send me the information you have and I’ll see what I can find out,” Talon requested.

“Already did,” Miles said.

“Thanks.”

“It feels strange. I’ve spent my entire life searching for clues about the existence of humans, and now... now I’m not sure what to do.” She looked down at the wine glass in her hand, turning it in a circle as she watched the champagne-colored liquid swirl before she looked up. “What do we do next?” Danielle asked, studying the group.

It was a question they were all asking themselves. It was the same question he had been pondering as he stared out the window a short while ago. His grandfather must have anticipated their reaction because it had dawned on him that Thaddeus had already answered the question of what was their purpose now in his own, unique way.

“We continue our search. If there was one group of humans able to survive undetected, then there may be more. There is also something else we need to consider.”

“What?” Mateo asked, leaning forward in his seat.

Talon rose and walked over to the fireplace. He studied the flames as he focused on how he was going to frame his next words. He thought of the report he had been sent earlier. His plan was to do more research before he presented the information to the group, but he realized that time was of the essence. There were moles in his agency. He wasn’t sure how deep or how far they had burrowed. He turned to face the group.

“That King Or’Ang was more than a child’s tale,” he said.

Xavier straightened from where he had been standing. “You think he was real?”

Talon nodded. “Yes. I do. And I think these humans may hold a key to the location of Or’Ang’s kingdom.”

“Thank the bloody hell. I was afraid we’d be turned into glorified babysitters,” Miles muttered, draining his glass of whiskey.

Bearclaw Estate:

Mitchell woke from a sound slumber. The events of the day had been exhausting. He had stayed behind with Cyrus and Elaina after it was determined the elder needed immediate medical attention.

Connell, Thomas, and Jace had taken over with help from Tracy’s brother, Ty. There had been a mixture of elation and fear among his people, the mix surprisingly divided between the young and old and those in-between.

Baskets had been lowered from the helicopters, and each person was lifted into the hovering aircrafts. Chaz had rebelled at first, fearing for his daughter and Timmy, but Tracy had promised that she would ride with Timmy and Hallie up to the helicopter.

Jace’s loud curses still rang in his ears. The memory made him grin. His smile faded as he thought of Jayden. She had watched from the cave entrance. She was stubborn as hell.

“She’ll be alright,” Tracy murmured.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said.

She chuckled. “Your thoughts are pretty loud sometimes,” she teased.

He kissed the top of her head and studied the shadow of light dancing along the floor and ceiling. The balcony doors were open and a light breeze provided a crisp, refreshing chill to the air. She slid her hands along his forearms until she covered his.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” she asked.

He sighed. “Jayden, Cyrus, feeling guilty about leaving them to come here… the list goes on and on,” he confessed.

She scooted far enough so she could roll over to face him. He turned his head and smiled when she caressed his cheek and gave him that intense, pointed look that he was beginning to recognize. She kissed him and continued to trace his cheek with her fingers.

“If I remember correctly, it was Anna and Mallory who told you to leave, that Connell had everything under control. Jayden will come around. I have Van and Peterson keeping an eye on her,” she reminded him.

“I’m glad she went with Elaina and Cyrus to the hospital,” he relented.

She nodded. “That surprised me. I thought for sure she was going to insist on remaining on the mountain.”

“She would have if not for Cyrus asking her to be there,” he replied in a gruff tone.

“Everything will be alright. You saw the temporary compound. It’s large, secluded, and everyone has their own space,” she murmured.

“I know we did the right thing. It is a big change and it’s going to take time to adjust,” he confessed.

She sat up and twisted until she was sitting on him. His breath caught at the beauty of her in the moonlight with her hair streaming down over her bare shoulders and back. He slid his hands over her thighs, up her hips to her breasts.

“I love you, Mitchell. I’ll be beside you every step of the way. Here, at your clan’s new home, or in the mountains, I’d follow you to the moon and back,” she promised, leaning into his hands.

“That’s a long way,” he teased.

“Not when it comes to loving you.”

He reached up, pulling her down to his chest, and adjusted his hips between her parted thighs. She moaned and moved until they fitted together. They were made for each other.

“I love you, Tracy. You are my wild, untamed mate,” he murmured, rocking his hips.

“You have no idea just how untamed I can be,” she whispered near his ear.

Neither of them noticed the barred owl perched protectively outside the open doors. With a sweep of its long wings, it lifted off and soared over the guards patrolling the grounds. It glided through the woods and over the stone fence that surrounded the estate. Passing through the shadows of a tree, the owl vanished and a man stepped out of the darkness.

“The estate is secure,” he stated.

A man dressed all in black stepped out into a sliver of moonlight and tossed him a long coat. He slipped the coat over his nude form. Both men turned when two more figures stepped out of the shadows a moment later.

“Ajax. Were you able to see if the human was wearing the key?” the woman asked.

“He was,” he replied.

The Commander bowed her head at his answer. “The old man was taken to the hospital. I want you to keep an eye on his granddaughter. Don’t let her know who, or what, you are. Keep her safe.”

Ajax nodded. “What about the wolf-shifters?”

“If they become a problem, eliminate them. There has been a… new development that we need to monitor. It is of the utmost importance that you not be discovered. We have captured the shifter who was tracking the humans. Once he has been interrogated, we’ll have a better idea of how much whoever is tracking the humans knows,” the Commander said.

“Yes, Commander. What about the humans here?” he asked, looking back in the direction of the Bearclaw estate.

“Additional agents have been assigned. Your priority is to protect the girl and find out what she knows,” the Commander stated.

“Yes, Commander.”

Ajax waited until the Commander disappeared before he slid the coat off his shoulders and handed it back to the shifter who had given it to him. Without another word, he transformed into his owl form. He ignored the twinge of pain, a reminder of a wound that would have killed him if not for the kind act of a human, and soared into the sky.

The time of the humans and shifters had arrived. The question racing through his mind was—was the world ready for them?