The three Breeds he faced came to instant attention then.
A low growl rumbled in Stygian’s throat. Ashley’s gray eyes narrowed, her hand dropping to the knife sheathed to her thigh as she rose slowly to her feet, but it was Rule’s reaction that, despite the genetic tie to Isabelle, still surprised him.
His lips flattened, nostrils flaring as he flexed his fingers against the arms of the fine leather chair he sat in. Rage flashed in his ice blue eyes, burning like a cold flame before Rule managed to quickly bank the emotion.
The battle for control was short, but obviously difficult. Turning his head slowly, the commander flashed Ashley a look as the corner of his lip lifted, flashing a wicked sharp canine as a rumbled snarl vibrated in his chest.
“I have the room two doors down from her,” Ashley stated, her gaze savage as she gave Rule a sharp nod. “Emma is two doors the other way. Trust me, no one will harm her while she’s in her room.”
Malachi and Stygian were both across from her.
And Rule expected him to stay away from her?
His mate?
His mate who carried the scent of fear and of a woman’s soul scarred in one of the worst ways possible?
Did he have the strength? Malachi knew there was no way he could stay away from her for more than a few hours. The hunger for her was throbbing, not just in his cock, but in his chest. The protective fury that had begun building the second he had seen that terror on her face was hardening inside him.
She belonged to him. Her life was now tied to his and vice versa. Her health, her happiness, her pleasure, was now his responsibility. And if Malachi knew one thing, it was how to fulfill his responsibilities.
“Her sister, Chelsea, is in the room connecting to hers, and her friend, Liza, in the one on the other side of her.” Rule returned to the e-pad, pulling up information as he spoke before lifting his gaze to Ashley once more. “I want a report on her and her friends by morning, and I want to know by God what it is she fears.”
“And the other information you wanted me to gather?” Ashley asked.
The information on four young women, two of which could possibly be the two women the Breeds had been searching so desperately for.
“It can wait,” Rule decided. “It’s waited for twelve years now, it can wait another day to begin the search. Lawe should be here within the next two nights and we expect our suspect to arrive tonight, if he’s not already here. At the latest, he’ll arrive either just ahead or behind Lawe and Diane. I rather doubt we’re going to have time to complete our mission as well as his before he arrives.”
Their mission was to receive acceptance by the Navajo Council chief and it’s head advisor to conduct the search for a Breed that had been systematically killing scientists and researchers attached to the Genetics Council and to a pharmaceutical research company tied to Breed testing and research.
Ashley nodded firmly. “It shouldn’t take more than a few hours to get the information on them. They’re well known enough they shouldn’t be able to hide much of their lives.”
But Malachi was already ahead of her. He didn’t play one-up by informing Rule he had this covered. Let the commander play first cousin, he would turn down no help in protecting his mate.
But neither would he ever depend upon others to protect her either.
“The meetings should end about noon tomorrow.” Rule lifted his gaze to Malachi now. “Just in time for Lawe and Diane’s arrival two days from now. Protect her, learn what danger stalks her. But mating her before Lawe arrives is out of the question, Malachi.” The order in his tone was clear. “After that, I can ensure both your protection and have another team in to cover your duties. Until then, for all our sakes, for your mate’s sake, we need to make the mission priority.”
Malachi nodded sharply. He didn’t argue. He wasn’t one to stand and debate or rage, and he sure as hell wasn’t above lying if the situation called for it. He was, after all, a Coyote Breed. They took the path of least resistance whenever possible. Fighting and raging when they could achieve their objectives in a more efficient manner didn’t seem logical. And Malachi in particular had always felt it best to move around an obstacle rather than punching his way through it.
He ignored Rule’s suspicious look. Rule wasn’t a stupid man, and he’d known Malachi long enough to know that it wouldn’t matter the order given where his mate was concerned, Malachi would do as he felt best.
The commander had this night, and this night only, and he had it only because Malachi had promised his mate a sensual little game. A game he was certain she had no idea of the rules. A game that neither of them would lose, because once he caught her, the pleasure would change both their lives.
And they would both win.
Chapter Three
I was here, and I was searching, always knowing somewhere, you waited.
Wait. Why in the hell had he given in to Rule’s request and in to that so-called “head start” his mate had played for?
Dumb ass. His alpha had always said Malachi’s sense of fair play was overrated. The next morning he was beginning to believe him.
The horniness was killing him.
All he could think about was the woman. His mate.