Sword of Mercy (16 page)

When Hawke and Damian met it would be the
first time father and son battled. Damian had passed every in-house
test and a few staged events. In order to determine his
effectiveness in combat, he had to fight Hawke, at least that was
how he pitched this confrontation to the board. The test wasn’t a
matter of strength or cunning.

Hawke had been around much longer and studied
everything under the sun. The wolf was a walking encyclopedia who
would eventually win against any competitor. They needed to see the
reaction between the two. How would Damian respond to his sire and
how would Hawke respond to his pup. The idea of Hawke’s downfall by
the hands of his seed had been too hard to resist.

Boris knew better than most what Hawke was
capable of, one on one, Damian would be destroyed if Hawke could do
it. Boris’ end game was the mental torture Hawke would receive
knowing his son had been raised by the same hands he now despised.
The anger might trip him up long enough for Boris to destroy
him.

“Have you heard from Lord Gordon?” Damian
asked on his way out the room.

“Yes. He will be here soon. His flight landed
a couple hours ago. Make sure his room is ready.” Lancaster waved
him out rather than see the delighted grin covering his face. For
some reason Gordon had taken an immediate liking to the pup and
over the years had shown blatant favoritism to Hawke’s pup. When he
pulled Damian for this assignment, he knew it would piss Gordon
off, that’s why he didn’t bother informing the Liege Lord of the
trip. Pup testing was the only reason Gordon hadn’t dropped
everything and flown over the first day.

Boris glanced at his watch, stood and grabbed
a cup of coffee. Damian returned to the room, glanced at him and
then looked at the entry door as if that would bring Gordon faster.
Lancaster couldn’t imagine anyone had ever done that for him,
couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if they had either. Gordon had been
from the same wealthy social class as Roderick. Both men had
married and lost their families through the years. Gordon said
Damian reminded him of his youngest son and spent a lot of time
with the pup. Lancaster had warned the Lords against tying
themselves with the product. One day those pups would go on
dangerous assignments and may not return.

Gordon always argued on the side of loyalty
being nurtured rather than cold brutality. After Hawke’s betrayal,
Boris agreed with him… to a point. But this didn’t bode well.
Gordon should not rush to Damian’s side. The wolf hadn’t met his
sire and that would be the battle of battles.

Damian moved so quickly, Boris couldn’t track
him. The door stood open and Gordon walked in. Damian knelt and
bowed his head. Gordon stopped and stroked the top of the pup’s
hair.

Boris rolled his eyes as the two talked in
hushed tones. He tossed back the rest of the dark brew and turned
to face the two. Gordon walked toward him with an outstretched
hand, which Boris shook. When had they started the handshaking
instead of the cordial nod?

“Good to see you, Gordon.”

Gordon’s brow rose. They both knew that was a
lie. “If I had known you were coming I would’ve traveled with
you.”

Lancaster shrugged. “The castle fell. Hawke’s
on the loose, Roderick wanted this handled with a small footprint
after the castle deal. So I grabbed Damian and came
over.”

“Small footprint? What do you call what
happened on the side of the highway. It made the news.” Gordon
handed Damian his bag as he took a seat near Lancaster.

“That wasn’t us. Damian stood across the road
watching with his special lens, taking notes. Verrick sent his men
after Hawke and that was the result.”

“Verrick doesn’t own any hybrids. And in his
arrogance would’ve lost all of his men before calling them off in
the middle of a fight. That’s not how wolves fight, your
fingerprint is all over this,” Gordon said.

Boris gritted his teeth and counted to five.
The bastard came across the continent looking to be disagreeable.
“I sent the hybrids, and told Verrick to detain Hawke. I needed to
see what I’d be dealing with.” He met Gordon’s cold gaze with one
of his own.

“How did it go?”

Boris’ gaze flicked to Damian, who stood a
distance away. “According to Damian’s report and the video he
recorded, Hawke is operating above our expectations. The loss of
the computer chip hasn’t diminished his capabilities.”

Gordon smiled and nodded. They all had one
thing in common, the push for excellence in everything they did.
“That’s great to hear. Have you scheduled the confrontation between
Hawke and Damian?”

“Not yet. Roderick wants Hawke’s mate, Angus.
Now that I have the tape and see how they work I can begin to
plan.”

“If you take one the other will follow,”
Gordon said as if that was the easiest thing in the world to
accomplish.

“How much of that footage was on the news?” he
asked.

Gordon’s jaw tightened. “Just the
fire.”

Boris nodded, stretched out his legs and hit
the remote. A large screen on the opposite wall appeared and within
moments displayed the fight between Hawke and the hybrids. “Take
one indeed,” he murmured.

Chapter 16

Hawke sat in front of the monitor sifting
through his notes on LOBO. Asia completed another rep of squats
while wondering what bothered her about the day. Something had been
off but she couldn’t put her finger on it exactly. After grabbing a
bite to eat, she and Hawke left Niall, Chacal, Angus and Granari in
the living area talking. Since the conversation veered from their
assignment, it didn’t interest her.

Her mate immediately went to his laptop while
she showered and changed into a tank top and a thong. When she
finished her last squat, she grabbed a bottle of water from the
mini-fridge and sat on the bed.

“Mistress.”

“How are you, Asia
?”

“Good, thanks
.” She told Jasmine about
their day, the fight, the pups, Granira and Niall. When she
finished Jasmine released a long sigh.

“I don’t like so many people getting
involved. How long will they be in the house
?”

Asia agreed but was surprised Jasmine felt
that way about Hawke’s brother given the way her Mistress felt
about family. “
I’m not sure. We plan to return to Alpha Radoff’s
tomorrow to discuss breaking the contract and stop Liege access on
pack land. We could leave them there.”

“That sounds good. I don’t like
the coincidences of them below ground while you were there. The
lies of who she is and then the pups being released. Too many
inconsistencies for me. Make sure no one learns your identity, not
even Hawke’s brother. He’s a liar and cannot be
trusted.”

“I agree. We’re in our bedroom and
it’s warded so the only ones who can enter is Hawke or myself. No
one comes in here when we’re gone, we clean up our own
mess.”

“In this instance, that’s a good thing.
I’ll tell Silas, bring him current. The fire did make the news over
here, they don’t know who or what started it, but there were too
many bodies to do much else I suppose.
”

Asia heard the question and answered. “
Yes,
Ma’am. We needed to leave the area, but couldn’t allow the bodies
to be examined by humans. Fire was the only option.”

“By the time the police arrived there
wasn’t enough left to identify the bodies, so I doubt there will be
an autopsy.
” Jasmine paused. “
Take care of Hawke, this is
not his fault, although I’m sure he feels it is. Alpha men tend to
take more than their shoulders can carry, that’s why we step in to
help. He’s going to need you more than ever in the coming days as
more and more of the Goddess’s mission is revealed. How you handle
your mate will determine how he handles all the things thrown at
him. I went through that with Silas, and still do on some days.
It’s not easy, but it’s what mates do for each other. Become his
hiding place. A place he can rest and be himself.”

Asia’ heart thumped in her chest at the visual
Jasmine’s words produced. Her chest hurt. She blinked fast a few
times and swallowed hard. “
Yes…yes, Ma’am
.” She looked at
Hawke as his fingers flew over the keyboard and he stared at the
monitor. Earlier, during the discussion on LOBO, the heat of his
disappointment in himself scorched her. Merged, the pain and
disillusionment from his work threatened to pull her under the
tidal wave of his misery. He struggled beneath the blame of his
actions when enslaved for the Liege.

“I will definitely do that. He needs
me
.” The sound of the words echoed, and expanded until they
filled her chest, leaving no room for doubt. She would help him
through this.

“Yes, he does. I can tell you see and
believe it, which gives me hope. Because nothing works for our men
until we are in the right head space. Our love and acceptance
anchors them, keeps them tethered like a string to their
purpose
.”

Asia saw and understood. “
Yes. That’s true.
Sometimes he forgets all the good he’s done and wallows in the
wrong. It frustrates me. And after I remind him he seems… surprised
and then he gets better, on the right track again. I hadn’t thought
of it in the way you said, but it makes so much sense. A lot of
sense
.”

“That’s good. You’re the key in this Asia.
Keep him focused, if you need me, call
.”

Asia continued staring at Hawke as Jasmine’s
words circled her mind. When had it happened? Could she recall the
exact moment he ceased being her mate and became her world? The
idea or thought of him in pain or accused unjustly sent her wolf
into a tailspin. Jasmine vocalized what Asia experienced each day
without giving it a name. Hawke, her do-over had crystallized into
her everything.

“Hawke,” she whispered his name in her mind as
her feelings for him collided and coalesced into one bright shining
light eclipsing the dark corners of her life. He looked at her,
stopped typing and moved onto the bed enveloping her in his
arms.

“It’s going to be okay, baby. We’ll beat this,
just hang in there with me,” he murmured stroking her back. Her tee
moved down her arm exposing her shoulder. He placed a soft kiss
there.

She shook her head, and realized tears fell
from her eyes. Goddess help, she couldn’t remember the last time
she cried. Now she couldn’t stop to tell him she wasn’t worried
about the crap happening all around them. She wanted to tell him
she couldn’t contain the love in her heart for him and it burst
from her restraints creating this emotional overflow.

“I…I…” A few words, so simple, and she wanted
to say them, but couldn’t push them past her lips. They swirled in
her mind trying to break free. “I’m… I…” she choked on her tears
and cried harder. He held her cheeks in his palms, his forehead
wrinkled in concern. His eyes darkened to the color of dull gold as
he stared into her gaze.

“Asia, baby… what’s wrong. Whatever it is, I
promise we’ll fix it. We’ll work it out. Tell me, don’t shut me
out, please, tell me what’s wrong.” He placed a kiss on her
forehead and held her close to his chest. His heartbeat thundered
in her ears as he stroked her back. Fear from him leaked down the
halls of their link. She cursed her inability to break the chains
that kept her emotions superficial, making it harder to speak her
heart.

Eyes closed, she tried to stop the tears from
soaking his shirt, and could not. The harder she cried, the tighter
he held onto her as if she’d slip away. His fear for them snaked
beneath the foundation of her past and wiggled through the cracks
of discontent until the walls of her prison shifted, crumbled and
fell.

Inexplicable light bathed her, dissolved the
burden of her shame, melted her hurt of past betrayals, and blotted
out her humiliation of being used. The dark corners of her mind
cleared beneath each stroke of his hand on her skin.

Calm, like the ebb and flow of the ocean on a
moonlit night covered her. This… this was what Jasmine spoke of.
The complete giving of oneself to another no longer terrified her.
Hawke had proven worthy to hold her heart and her
secrets.