Haven was attacked often, though this was the first time Breeds had been attacked in the small town that resided outside the lands the government had granted the Wolf Breeds. And with each call sent to the army base outside the pack lands, delays had resulted.
Typical, he thought tiredly. So typical. Prejudice had found a new focus when the Breeds revealed themselves. Humans who had no acceptable scapegoat to hate had found one with the mysterious new beings that had been created without their knowledge. They’d found something to fight against, something else to fear. And Del-Rey often wondered if they wouldn’t, in time, find another war to fight in their battle to destroy what they didn’t understand.
No divine deity had given the Breeds life; therefore, they could have no soul. That was what the Breeds were taught, and that was how many saw them. Creations shouldn’t have rights. They shouldn’t have freedom, and there were those that would take every freedom, every right the Breeds had managed to acquire and steal it from under them.
That was the battle they faced, and Del-Rey often wondered if there was a way that the Breeds could ever triumph.
With that thought in his mind, he let sleep take him. The healing process came with its drawbacks. Twenty-four to seventy-two hours of complete weakness and weariness. The need to sleep. That weakness had hampered the Genetics Council several times as they tried to fix what they considered a defect in the Coyote genetics.
Del-Rey had, at times, considered it a blessing. It was the only time he slept deeply, the only time he didn’t awaken searching for the warmth and the sweet relief that only his mate could give him.
CHAPTER 13
“We still have four pack leaders working against each other,” Anya mused as she went over the notes she had made through the hours Del-Rey slept. “Teams one and two, Del-Rey and Brim’s personal teams, are working efficiently, though not at peak, in Security and Communications. We still have a rivalry with teams three and four, though they’re working together in those areas. Team five seems to be the most efficient at the moment, medical and joint administrative, with team six working perimeter patrol. Too few of the soldiers have achieved enforcer status though.”
There were six pack leaders, a total of only sixty-four Coyotes. There were more coming in, a possible ten to twenty that had managed to escape a facility in the Middle East. The pack leader there had agreed to step down and aid his group in the integration into the packs that were already established here at Base.
Tapping the electronic pen against the side of the e-pad, Anya bit her lip and considered that information. Over the years, she’d dealt with several administrators of various labs and facilities. If she wasn’t mistaken, the facilities in the Middle East had been training surgical and scientific personnel from those Breeds that showed a predisposition to medical knowledge, rather than killing them, as many other facilities did. Coyotes were bred to kill, not to save lives, even those of their own kind. A predisposition to such talents, the Council had feared, was also a disposition toward mercy. That wasn’t what they wanted or needed in this species.
She made a note to check into that before going to Del-Rey with this information. They could use any medical personnel that could be acquired, or even kidnapped at this point.
“Coya, the pack leaders have all promised a full report on their team areas, duties and complaints within the next seventy-two.” Ashley turned to her from where she’d stood, her back turned, talking to the pack leaders via the internal base link. “They’re so cute, have I mentioned that?”
“I think you might have.” Anya grinned at Emma, who was rolling her eyes.
“Has med tech sent their report on Del-Rey’s condition?” She turned to Sharone who was working frantically on her PDA.
“His condition is stable and healing,” Sharone told her. “Brim reported he’s sleeping like the dead and promises you his team report once he can leave the alpha and resume his regular duties.”
Ashley snorted. “She’s supposed to be in there watching over him, not covering Base while Brim sits on his tush and does her job. Cute though it may be.” She waggled her brows.
“Emma, make a note to watch the dye that goes in Ashley’s hair the next time she bleaches it,” Anya ordered. “I think it’s beginning to hamper cognitive abilities.”
Ashley snapped her teeth at Anya playfully before going back to work.
“She’s right,” Sharone hissed furiously, her voice low. “You’re supposed to be gathering reports and watching out for the alpha at this point. This makes us look bad.”
Anya clenched her teeth. “I know what I’m supposed to be doing, Sharone,” she bit out. “He wanted Brim with him. I’m not going to go beg.”
“Who says beg?” Sharone told her. “Go in and be the coya. Damn, have we wasted our time all these months teaching you how to take over?”
Had they? Anya looked up from the e-pad and considered those options. She was aware of the Coyotes in command center sneaking her covert looks. She was well aware that this was Brim’s job now that he was on base, not hers. It was a job that needed doing though, and Brim was busy with her duties.
She was also aware of her own bodyguards watching her thoughtfully. They’d had enough belief in her that they had trained her even as she hadn’t realized she was being trained.
She tapped the e-pad closed and turned to glance around the command center.
“Let’s go!” She turned and moved from the electronic center and began making her way through the tunnels toward Del-Rey’s quarters.
She’d been putting this off. She hadn’t slept since the night before, and her own temper was fraying. She was out of sorts, frustrated, and there was a slow, simmering burn between her thighs from her inability not to remember exactly what she and Del-Rey had been doing before that ambush.
Her lips wrapped around the head of his cock, tasting the essence of his lust as it spilled between her lips, feeling him, taut and hard, growls rumbling in his throat as the arrogant alpha was replaced by the seducer.
Now, nearly eight hours after his return to Base, weariness was dragging at her and the need to see him was eating her alive. Even if he was just sleeping.
But he hadn’t asked for her. He hadn’t sent for her.
He was healing, she told herself. The healing process was exhausting for Coyotes, even more so than other Breeds.