“I just approved it. You’ll be accompanying me to my own appointment so we might as well make it a girls’ day out. Have our security team advised and make certain the detail is comprised of at least as many of the soldiers that came out of Russia with us as it is of Del-Rey’s men. Ensure that the other half are men who have been on that detail with us before. I want no complications.”
“Fuck,” Sharone hissed. “Now isn’t the time for this, Coya.”
“We can’t wait forever,” she told them. “Once our appointment is set, I’ll need you to find an excuse to go into town, make contact and give them details. I’ll talk to Armani this afternoon.”
“The conception hormone is an excuse then?” Ashley asked.
Anya breathed in roughly. “I made a choice,” she whispered. “It’s a choice I believe in—to let this play out without the hormones. But that mangy Coyote tried to manipulate me. He tried to play me. Let’s see how he likes playing his own game.” She turned to Ashley then. “How long do you think Brim will give us?”
Ashley’s smile was deadly. “I saw his face when we left. He’ll wait until the last possible moment before telling the alpha. I’d guess, half an hour lead time as long as no one else blabs.”
“No one blabs on the coya,” Sharone grunted.
“Team is in place. We have five men, all are from the alpha’s original team, ready and waiting at the south exit. They have an all-terrain ready to roll.”
Anya changed direction. It wasn’t necessary to change clothes before going to Haven. Jeans, boots and long-sleeved shirts were standard attire there.
“There’s snow moving in,” Sharone reported. “We may not make it back tonight. All we have are the all-terrains; the heli-jet is still in tech getting repairs, but one is on loan from the military.”
Wouldn’t it just be too bad if the alpha didn’t have his little sex toy to play with tonight, Anya thought furiously as they rushed to the waiting escort. Why, that just might break her heart.
Not.
CHAPTER 19
Anya stepped into the examination room and faced the Wolf Breed doctor silently for long moments. Dr. Armani was exhausted. There were darker shadows beneath her chocolate brown eyes, and for once, her long, silky mane of black hair was tied into a ponytail rather than braided into all those tiny braids that normally covered her head.
She was a beautiful woman. Like many of the Breed specialists still living, she wasn’t very old and was incredibly intelligent, with an above-genius ability in genetic engineering. The Council had spent years trying to blackmail her or force her into their ranks. She had spent just as many years in hiding, trying to escape them.
“Shots ready,” Armani said quickly as she prepared the injection. “The hormone to prevent conception isn’t complicated and it works quickly. I just need to take a few tests to make certain you haven’t conceived.”
“I don’t need the test, Nikki,” she said quietly. “I need to talk to you.”
Nikki swung around, her brow wrinkling in a frown. “Is there a problem? Have you been experiencing any other symptoms that we didn’t discuss?”
“No.” Anya moved across the room slowly and took a seat at the end of the examination table. “This has nothing to do with mating heat.”
Nikki’s eyes narrowed. “What does it have to do with?”
She licked her lips slowly. “Treason.”
Nikki stopped cold. “Are you going to kill that Coyote mate of yours?”
Anya let a smile tip her lips. “I haven’t come to that yet.”
“How serious is this, Anya?” Nikki pulled her stool closer and sat down. “I assume its fairly serious for you to make an excuse to see me.”
“How desperate are you for Coyote specialists?”
Nikki’s eyes widened. “I’d give my ass right now for just a few detailed notes. You don’t want to know what I’d do for specialists. But why would I need them if you have them? Base would—”
Anya shook her head. “He refuses to allow Council-trained specialists into Base. He’s made a career of killing them, Nikki. The ones he didn’t kill, the Council did. With the psychologists and medical specialists coming in from the Bureau, specialist backing could make a difference in determining some of the anomalies in the Coyote Breeds. Am I correct?”
Nikki nodded slowly.
“Would Haven give them asylum over the alpha Coyote leader’s objections?”
“Whoa!” Nikki’s head jerked back in surprise. “You have some? Not just one?”