BirthStone (10 page)

A spicy scent tickled his nose. He gazed at
Merriweather, who stood on the other side of his car, and was
surprised when the man multiplied. At first there were two
Merriweathers, then four, then eight, and after that he stopped
counting. Tingles raced up and down his spine. The back of his
tongue tasted bitter. His face and neck burned.

“Water,” he whispered through a tight
throat.

“So you want something to drink now, huh
Lieutenant?”

Jennings' head felt heavy. His legs buckled
beneath his weight. What the hell did they do to him? The hard
earth cushioned his fall. He lay prostrate on the ground looking up
at the darkening sky.

“Move his car around back. Pick him up and
take him inside. Wouldn’t have to do all this if he’d a'just come
inside and had a nice drink. Stubborn fool,” Merriweather
grumbled.

Chapter 8

Silas slapped a grinning Dr. Passen on the
back. “Great job, Doc. Everything worked without a hitch. I hope
your team sent the corrections to the factory; large numbers of
those detectors need to be shipped to every Alpha in the nation.
Burn the midnight oil so our people will be safe.” The scanners had
passed each test flawlessly, sending a wave of relief through him.
The added ability to shrink the internalized bombs pleased him as
well. With Jasmine’s family on the way, and the upcoming challenge
still looming before them, he needed heightened security.

“Yes, Sir.” Dr. Passen and Matt walked to
the exit with Silas. “As the corrections were being made, they were
simultaneously being downloaded to the engineers for modifications.
From what I’ve been told, they’ve already started on production.
Everyone is in agreement about how important this equipment is,
Sir.”

“I ordered enough for the government
agencies nearby. Make sure the detection devices are installed in
the courthouse, police station, library, and county offices. I’ve
already explained to those in charge this would be happening as
soon as the devices passed inspection, so they are expecting your
team.”

Dr. Passen nodded. “Will do, Sir.” He turned
to Matt. “I want you to look at Asia’s blood work and see what La
Patron discovered.” He then proceeded to bring both Matt and Silas
current.

“She’s over a hundred?” Silas asked to be
sure. He hadn’t suspected Asia was that old. Arianna, another
breeder he had met in Mexico, who'd turned out to be crazy, had
been over a hundred but looked to be in her twenties, so he knew it
was possible.

“That was her first response, it surprised
her,” Dr. Passen said, agreeing with Silas’ unspoken
assessment.

“Well… if she had that many surgeries and
they tampered with her mind, who knows what’s real and what’s
fantasy,” Matt said, voicing another of Silas’ concerns.

“Asia believes if she doesn’t think about
what to say or not say, the answers come freely without the pain.
It’s possible there are certain words that act as triggers to
prevent her from revealing classified information,” Dr. Passen
said. “I’ve heard of a study where this actually happened. It’s
been a few years back, I’ll have one of my assistants research it
so we can read the results.” He pulled out his phone, typed a few
instructions, and then returned it to his pocket.

“Plus,” Matt said, glancing at Silas, “she
has no idea who she is. They stripped her of her identity and gave
her so many others that it’s hard to take anything we get from her
seriously.”

“That’s part of the plan,” Silas said,
thinking hard. “Asia is extremely valuable to them, whoever they
are, especially if she is as old as she said. Arianna was over a
hundred. I don’t have to remind you how powerful she was. Must be
something about being one of the first,” he said, gazing at
Matt.

Arianna had come to West Virginia with one
goal in mind, to breed with Silas regardless of his mated
connection. When she discovered he would never accept her, she'd
released a mating call and made slaves of hundreds of wolves hungry
to answer her summons. The bloody deaths from her foolish actions
were unprecedented outside of war. Killing her had been high on his
agenda; pity she could only die once.

“Leon, nor any of the other men we brought
in, had the mental safeguards she has. Her eyes, her mind, her arm,
her legs, being the recipient of those types of surgeries means
they want to keep her around.” He gazed at Doctor Passen. “She fell
from an airplane?”

The other man nodded. “That’s what she said.
Shattered her arm and leg, should’ve killed her.” He met Silas’
stare. “You’re right, Sir. They want her and will probably send
someone to take her again. What should we do?”

Silas had been thinking along those lines as
well. He welcomed the confrontation. “I’ll handle security. But she
stays in her room. Right now, she’s sleeping and eating well. Her
headaches are few because we're not pressuring her for information.
I like the code idea. Build on that. When I talk to her, I want the
coded names to press for specific data. I have someone coming who
will be able to connect the dots, it helps to make sure the
information he’s processing is accurate.” He nodded, thinking fast.
Pieces were falling into place. They were on the right path.

“I want Matt to go over everything we have
discovered about her.” Matt’s eyes widened. Silas continued, going
with his gut. “Asia is our key to designing a winning defense. I
know she is a full-blood on steroids, but there is something
special about her. Look for these answers. First off, why her? What
makes her genetic make-up such that she has survived all the
operations? Why not move to another wolf or breed, even? They kept
coming back to her, I want to know why.”

A spark of interest lit Matt’s green eyes.
Silas knew the man wouldn’t be able to resist this type of
challenge. Energized, he gazed at each man with the intention they
catch his sense of urgency. “They placed metal inside a wolf and
she can still shift and fight. How the hell is that possible? They
made her an altered wolf, yet her wolf responds to me. When she
shifts, what happens to the metal? Is it in the wolf? Does it make
the wolf faster, stronger? What are the benefits?”

The spark of interest turned into a volcanic
blaze. Matt’s fingers were rubbing together and Silas knew the only
reason the man remained in the hall was because he had not
dismissed them. “Here’s another thing. If we are going to be faced
with altered wolves, how do we stop them? I want answers, I want
them now,” Silas demanded.

“The metal remains with the shift,” Dr.
Passen said, frowning. “We took x-rays of her in wolf form when she
was first brought in. I’ll need permission to take her to the gym
to run on the machine to test her speed.”

“No, she can never leave this area.” Silas
shook his head and thought how to proceed. To get the answers they
needed he would need to improvise. “I’ll have the equipment set up
on this level. Make a list of all the equipment you need and I’ll
have it delivered. But she will never leave this area until I
destroy her and our enemies,” Silas vowed.

“Her blood-line,” Matt said slowly. Silas
turned toward him. “Full-blooded bitches over a hundred aren’t that
surprising, but the number of surgeries she’s had is. She shouldn’t
be as agile as she is. We age, become slower. Asia looks like a
twenty-something, but claims to be almost one hundred and fifty,
either that’s some serious genetics or those scientists found the
fountain of youth.”

Silas stilled. “What?” His mind raced over
the implications of that statement. Humans were obsessed with
looking young, remaining young, and never growing old. Part of the
attraction to interact with his nation had always been their longer
lifespans. To date, he had not heard of full-bloods being used to
fuel this obsession of the humans.

Matt straightened and met Silas’ gaze.
“There is a hell of lot more going on than we thought, isn’t
there?” he whispered, his face chalky white.

“Hell…what the fuck?” Dr. Passen said,
running his fingers through his hair. “This just got real fucked.
If she can regenerate, if they have found a formula that works on
her to make her appear young…to remain strong, healthy…they need to
reclaim her. Or destroy her to keep others from finding out what
they can do.” He shook his head.

“They've probably have done the same tests
on others, but she’s the poster girl. The original model. The one
who wouldn’t die. Probably worked for years,” Matt said slowly, his
brows puckered into a deep frown.

“Or couldn’t die,” Silas said into the
silence, as another thought, more wicked than the first slid
through his mind. “Remember, they shipped her out as a hired gun
for years. She’s battle tested. Imagine what someone like her would
be worth to any military.”

Dr. Passen snorted. “Anyone with enemies
would immediately see her worth and pay millions for her skills.”
He paused and shook his head. “So she was right, they have made
others like her. To raise money to continue research or to build an
army?” He looked at Silas.

“Probably both,” Silas answered as the
situation settled on his shoulders. “Are they using full-bloods or
breeds?” He glanced at Dr. Passen before his gaze moved to Matt.
They moved into a small room and locked the door for privacy.

“Full-bloods are pack animals,” Matt said.
“My money says they are taking breeds from the cradle and training
them before their wolves develop. By the time they are old enough
to shift, the wolf is not the same type of partner as a full-blood,
more like a prop used for speed, healing properties, vision, that
type of thing. But not the guiding force of a full-blood.”

Silas nodded. As much as he hated to admit
it, Matt was probably right. No one spoke for a moment. Knowing an
enemy had come into his back yard and abused his people was a
bitter pill. They'd caught him off his game and that rubbed him
wrong. During the past twenty years he had complained to Jacques of
boredom. His agenda had consisted of inspecting schools, meeting
with heads of state, intervening in small squabbles between his
Alphas, nothing more exciting. And during that time, his enemies
were violating his people. Shame, thick and vile, rose up, choking
him. He stood and turned away from the others.

“
Silas?"

“
Not now, Jasmine."

“
What’s wrong?"

He knew she could search him and replay the
past few minutes, but she granted him a measure of privacy.
“
Just coming to some realizations. Pride is a monster and it
does go before the fall."

“
Okay. You’re arrogant and proud, I knew
that when I met you. Why does that bother you now?"

He should’ve known she wouldn’t sugarcoat
anything for him. “
It never occurred to me that humans would be
bold enough to attack wolves, to experiment on us. We’re stronger,
meaner, and in a one-on-one fight, we could rip them apart. Never
occurred to me that those I saw as inferior would instigate a war
that could destroy my world... and the reason it never crossed my
mind is pride."

“
What made you open your eyes to all of
this?"
There was no judgment, agreement or disagreement in her
voice, and that eased him somewhat.

“
Just going over the information from
Asia."
He shook his head. “
It’s deep."

“
Okay, the boys are fighting and I have
to intervene. But remember this, yesterday’s lessons are guideposts
for today and tomorrow. Learn from that and change accordingly. No
matter what, I love you, arrogance and all."

He smiled. “
Thanks,
he said dryly.
Moments later he turned from the wall, fully aware that he had
dropped the ball. But the game was not over yet. “Asia’s a
full-blood with pack mentality, why allow her to get close to me?
As the leader of all wolves, I could control her wolf, and through
the bitch I control the human. They placed her in a risky position,
why? What did they gain? Are they still using her in some way?”

Dr. Passen pushed his glasses up the bridge
of his nose. “It was a risk. You’ve disabled the camera so they see
nothing. It’s no secret she’s here in the compound. Can they hear
anything?”

“I don’t know, but I doubt they are getting
any decent signal from where she is below ground.” Silas said,
thinking through every test and conversation he'd had with the
bitch.

“Don’t forget, according to her, their lab
is also below ground. Probably lots of steel and concrete, so they
may have found a way to receive transmissions through all of that,”
Matt said.

Silas agreed. Given the amount of money and
knowledge invested in Asia, he knew her creators hadn’t given up on
her. It was only a matter of time before they attempted to retrieve
her, and he would be ready. “I need both of you on top of this.
Let’s get some answers and find a way to defend against attacks.
Asia is willing to help, use her as a resource, but nothing that
will cause permanent harm or death. Is that understood?”