“He’s very clever with words,” Cassandra murmured under her breath.
“He is at that,” Anya said sadly. “He’s very good at twisting words.”
“I also noticed that Ms. Kobrin was decidedly less honest in her answer to that same question,” Del-Rey pointed out then.
“Ms. Kobrin has the right to request that her emotions not be questioned,” Cassandra argued. “Mating heat and the proven psychological effects are clear bases that she not be questioned regarding emotions that she may not be clear on at this moment.”
Del-Rey’s lips quirked mockingly, his black eyes gleamed in knowledge as Anya lifted her head and stared back at him.
“If I hadn’t wounded her family and made it look like a clear attempt to harm them, then they’d be dead,” he stated then. “The Council would have killed them and I knew it. But, I will admit, even without that risk, they would have felt my wrath. They endangered her from childhood to the moment I kidnapped her. Their lack of concern for her well-being would have been punished. That was the decision behind my actions, right or wrong. If I knew then what I know now, would I have done it? I have to say yes,” he continued. “I claimed her and I claimed all right to exact vengeance in her name. Her tender emotions and lack of understanding of men of war clearly show that she had no idea how little her welfare was considered by those she loved.” With that, he leaned forward. “She wants a petition of separation. Very well. She has it. I’ll be damned if I’ll take a mate or a woman who claims that the bonds between us are no more than rape.” He turned to Jonas at his side. “Director Wyatt, I accept your offer as enforcer with the Bureau on the condition that while I’m risking my ass for her freedom, again, that she be required to stay at Base and oversee the Coyote Breeds that look to her for support. Those men and women we took out of there will need time to acclimate and she’s a guiding force they look to.”
Jonas’s brows arched. “How long do you believe this acclimation is needed?” he asked. “I’m certain Ms. Kobrin would like a set timeline. She seems rather talented in the area of setting boundaries.”
“One year,” Del-Rey stated. “She’ll receive advance notice of my returns to oversee the military and financial concerns of the packs between missions. You stated you needed more men for the swift strikes being made against facilities and enemy groups.” He grinned. “Looks like I’m your man.”
“Those are dangerous assignments,” Jonas growled as Anya stared at him in shock. “Mates don’t take those missions.”
Del-Rey gave a hard, cold laugh as he rose to his feet. “Looks like I’m no longer a mate, Director Wyatt. I’m just the poor bastard with the hard-on.”
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.