With that, he moved from the table, stalking past the table Anya sat at, his imposing features savage, tight with anger, as he stalked to the wide double doors, lifted his hands and slammed through them.
The crash of metal against metal as the doors bounced into the walls had her flinching violently as she stared at his back.
“He’s crazy,” she whispered.
Cassandra snorted. “Yeah. That’s a Coyote for you. We’ve never accused them of being sane.”
“Can he do this?” she asked. “He accepted mate status. This is supposed be against the rules or something, isn’t it?”
Cassandra stared back at her archly. “Or something,” she sighed. “Oh well, look on the bright side, maybe he won’t be back very often.”
She grabbed Cassandra’s arm, glaring at her furiously. “He could be killed.”
“We could all be killed, Anya,” Cassandra told her, her voice cool now. “We’re Breeds. We weren’t meant to be free, remember? We’re all at risk. He’s just accepting a risk other mated males are forced to relinquish. The order of separation changes those rules. He can do whatever the hell he wants to now.”
Even risk his life. Anya turned back and let her gaze find Sharone’s. Her friend was torn, she could tell. Torn between pack loyalty and friendship. Then, Sharone’s expression cleared and a little smile touched her lips as she stared back at Anya. One of triumph. One Anya understood even less than she understood Del-Rey’s decision to leave.
CHAPTER 3
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
Del-Rey stared out at the night as the heli-jet neared Haven. The sky was clear; stars studded the midnight expanse and a full moon shone down on the land with vibrant golden rays.
Forests ringed the nearly two hundred acres of valley that the Wolf Breeds now commanded, a far cry from the less than a dozen acres they had held before. Federal land had been granted to them as yet more government officials within the U.S. had been proven to be part of the Genetics Council’s lower ranks. Top secret files obtained from select agencies had shown an influx of money through those channels as well as weapons and military trainers.
Two hundred acres of Uncompahgre National Forest, so far, had been deeded to the Wolf Breeds, with another five hundred acres expected to be ceded to them within the next year.
The valley the Wolf Breeds claimed as home was within full sight of the cliff peak that the Coyote Breeds had invaded a little over eight months before. That single mountain had been given to the Coyotes due to the fact that it represented a threat to the valley below and hadn’t been in the original land given to Haven. It was a home Del-Rey was now determined to return to.
He’d just finished an investigation into Engalls Pharmaceuticals and a division of that company, Brandenmore Research. The two companies were working covertly on a drug that would control a Breed’s free will. The investigation had taken longer than he had originally believed it would. He hadn’t been back to Base in over two months.
He hadn’t smelled his mate in two months. He’d had too much time to think and too damned much time to regret. And he was sick of being away from Base, being away from his mate.
“Where do you think we’re headed next?” Brim smothered a yawn as the pilot contacted Haven’s base and neared their airspace.
“We’re not going back out,” Del-Rey stated, his gaze still narrowed on the night sky.
Brim’s silence lasted a little too long.
“You promised the tribunal a year,” Brim reminded him quietly.
“I know what I said,” he growled. “We’ll go f**k off at the beach for a few weeks here and there. Hell, take the girls to f**king Disneyland or some shit. I’ve had it, Brim. This is bullshit. My mate runs my f**king base better than I do, and on top of it”—he turned to his second-in-command and bodyguard—“did you read that f**king report Sharone finally got around to sending to us? This is a disaster waiting to happen.”
He was going to start sweating again. Hell, when he’d read the original report, he swore his hands had shook. His mate was too damned brave, courageous and daring, and those female bodyguards he had allowed her were just as damned bad.
He ran his hand over his face and shook his head. Eight months. A man could do a lot of thinking, conniving and planning in eight months. When it came right down to it though, he knew when he’d reached his limit. Del-Rey’s limit had been reached.
“Should be easy enough to put another team on Engalls and Brandenmore with our information,” Brim stated. “All we need is the proof now.”
“Proof better come soon,” Del-Rey snarled.
Brandenmore and Engalls, CEOs of the two companies they were investigating, had nearly been the cause of several Breeds’ deaths as well as a librarian in Virginia who had overhead their plot. Being forced to release them to gain information had left a bad taste in Del-Rey’s mouth. Information had come in. Information that would save a young woman’s life, and enough medical knowledge to prepare a fail-safe in case another Breed was infected with the drug. But damn if he hadn’t wanted to kill the bastards still walking the streets. Smug, superior, Phillip Brandenmore and Horace Engalls were the worst that humanity could produce. And they called Breeds animals, he snorted silently.
The black heli-jet came in, full stealth, and settled on the landing pad above the two-story welcome entrance at the gates of the Wolf Breed compound, Haven. The doors slid open silently, and figures, tall, dark and silent, stepped from the craft and moved with lethal precision to the steps that led down to the side of the building and the entrance door.
Del-Rey and his team didn’t make a sound as they entered the secured building, moved through the security protocols, then entered the enclosed Wolf Breed compound through a lower door.
“Alpha Leader Delgado, we have a vehicle awaiting you and your men.” A Wolf Breed escort stepped forward in the low light that surrounded the outside of the structure. “Alpha Leader Gunnar and the Wolf Breed Cabinet have assembled as per your request.”
Del-Rey gave a sharp nod. He motioned two of his men with him, the other two he gave a silent signal to return to their own base within the cliffs that rose high above the peaceful valley.
With him was Brimstone and another member of his team who was also part of his security as alpha: Cavalier, the Breed Anya had helped him to rescue before the main facility rescue.