“You pulled me out because we’re women?” Outrage raced through her. “That is so damned bogus, Callan.”
“You’re damned right I pulled you out because you’re women. The fact that you’re not the only one that would suffer if you died didn’t occur to you, did it, Dawn?” he snarled. “You hide your head in the shadows and try to pretend it’s just you. What happens to your mate if you die?”
“I haven’t mated.”
“And I don’t want to hear your lies to yourself,” he snapped as they turned again. This was Mission Central. It was larger than the other room; the murmur of voices—electronic, Breed and human—filtered through it as they strode along the central walkway. She bit back the enraged words trembling on her lips and fought to use logic instead. He liked logic. It had swayed him before.
“My team is specifically trained for just what they’re doing,” she hissed. “Those are still my people, my team, Callan.”
“I need those women elsewhere. They were to be trained for new missions and you knew it,” he growled as they stood aside for the black-clad operators working to get one of the viewing screens operational.
“That’s my team, you agreed. And those caves were my project.”
They moved into another corridor, heading she knew for the top secret mission control room. Here, the operations going out weren’t mercenary in nature, but those of national security.
“Those women need to learn to work with the male members of this community and I’m tired of asking you nicely to obey those commands,” Callan snapped, his head swinging around to glare at her. “You don’t make the decisions around here, little sister. I do. I needed you to train a new team—”
“Of men,” she sneered. “Come on, Callan, you know that’s not going to work.”
“I know you have no choice now.” He stopped at a metal door, slid the secured card along the sensor and stepped inside when the door unlocked. “I’m short on teams and we have an emergency. That means you’re up. And, by God, you better hope you’re ready for it, because failure on this one is not an option.”
The door clanged shut as one particular scent threatened to overwhelm Dawn’s senses. She stared across the room, unable to move, to speak, to do anything but soak in the heat, the nectar of his scent and the regret that filled her.
“Hello, Dawn.” Seth Lawrence rose from the long table in the center of the room. “It’s been a while.”
CHAPTER 2
Dawn’s Awakening.
Dawn stared at Seth, and felt the animalistic side of her nature give a slow, sensual, mental stretch. Her body tensed as her muscles wanted to soften. She tightened her thighs as they threatened to weaken. But nothing could shut down the scent of him moving through her pores. He stood across the room, dressed elegantly. A silk suit, dark of course. Today it was a dark gray, to match his eyes. Thick dark brown hair was conservatively cut; he was clean shaven, the strong planes and angles of his face showing arrogant aristocracy. The sharp blade of his nose, the strong set of his chin, the hewn lines of his jaw.
Beneath the silk his body was powerfully corded. She could sense it. She could feel his strength pouring off him, and the female animal inside her responded to it. He was a strong, able mate. He would be a protector and a partner. He was virile, he would have endurance. He would breed strong children and ride her through the storm that mating heat brewed inside her body. Her breath shortened. She felt as though she couldn’t drag enough air into her lungs, she couldn’t focus, couldn’t see anything but the man watching her so solemnly from across the shadowed room.
“Why is he here?” She was amazed that her voice sounded so calm, so confident as Callan moved around her.
“If you had hung around the house the last week instead of deliberately defying me, you would know,” he snorted. “Come over here. I’ll explain everything.”
She flushed at the subtle ass-chewing but did as she was ordered. Callan could be pushed sometimes. When it came to family, he had an incredible amount of patience. But she knew she had pushed him as far as she dared. And she knew she wouldn’t be here unless something was about to go seriously wrong. Moving across the room, she took the seat farthest from Seth, and closest to the vent that provided ventilation and air-conditioning. His scent wasn’t as strong here, the elusive smell of an aroused male, powerful and in his sexual prime, didn’t torment her as it would farther down the table. There were others in the room; she knew they were there, her senses picked them up and identified them. But she only saw Seth, even as she forced her eyes to lower, she kept sight of him from the corner of her eyes.
Jonas was at a smaller viewing screen farther back in the room, talking on a link. Mercury Warrant, Lawe Justice and Rule Breaker, his personal security force, stood silently, not far from him. Styx was there. Stygian Black, the huge, dark black Wolf Breed, stood beside him. Stygian was darker skinned than most Breeds, his DNA having come from a rogue black wolf it was said, and possibly a voodoo priestess from New Orleans. The records found in the lab he nearly destroyed bare-handed had hinted at a broad selection of DNA mixed into his genetics. One of Dawn’s Lionesses was in attendance, Moira Calhoun. She was Irish, and a hellion if ever there was one. And standing closest to the door was Noble Chavin, a mysterious, less-than-social Jaguar.
“Meet your new team, Dawn.” Callan waved toward the Breeds her senses had picked up. Dawn glanced at the four then stared back at Callan.
“I’m command?” She rarely commanded men. They rarely got along with her, and she sure didn’t get along with them.
“You’re command.” He nodded his head, his long hair feathering over his shoulders, more like a lion’s mane than a man’s head of hair. But he was pride leader for a reason.
“And we’re here why?” She pushed back her anger, showing him the respect he deserved while in front of others.
“Because every other team is currently out busting their asses around the world and we have a major situation on our hands.” Jonas moved forward as the other Breeds took their seats around the table. Dawn slid her PDA from the protective holster at her side, jacked it into the connector set within the table and waited for the mission information to load.
She scanned the stats as they came in, fighting to keep her eyes off Seth as he watched her. She could feel his eyes caressing her.
Then the information loading into the small, palm-sized screen had her stiffening, restraining a growl and fighting back primal fury.
Her eyes lifted to Seth, her gaze tracking over him, making certain he was unharmed, that nothing showed of the attack that had been made on him. Her gaze rolled over his face, his shoulders; she inhaled carefully, desperate now to detect any sign of injury.
“As you’re seeing, the situation is pretty damned imperative,” Jonas bit out. “We’ve had one attempt made on Mr. Lawrence in the last week, and intel has come in that we can expect another.”