Blooded Mate

Chapter 39 - Angry Wolves

Six hours later, the twin-engine Learjet touched down in Gray Oaks territory. Under the bright floodlights of the tarmac, nothing short of twenty-four unmarked SUVs and twice that number in police escort bikes were waiting to receive them. Almost all the people who stood by the vehicles had a musky canine scent.

Eyeing the cars, Louie whispered. "Maybe we should have sneaked in like the last time."

Jan disagreed. "We don't have the element of surprise here. They would be expecting us because of Ethan. Besides, Canada is seventy percent wolf territory. Chances of avoiding them here are low."

"Mr. Skyvar?" A suited woman approached them. She was human, and she smelled of gunpowder.

Humans and their toys. Jan stepped forward.

"Hi, I'm Agent Elizbeth Brew. I'll be your escort. Please, this way." She led them to one of the cars parked some ways from the rest, getting into the driver's seat after them.

Agent Brew drove them miles out of the city and into a forested area, then they turned off the highway onto a dirt road. The car stopped in front of a bunker-style entrance leading to a tunnel. The entire forest smelled of wolves as if the mongrels had peed on every stone and rubbed each leaf against their fur.

"What is this place?" Ivan asked, his narrowed eyes glancing around the dark trees.

Besides the floodlights mounted on the concrete gates, there were no other lights around. Even the waning moon's rays could not pierce the thick canopy. Vampires were unwelcome in Lycan territories, but Jan had not expected to be sent straight to prison on his arrival.

The agent responded. "It's one of our training facilities. Ethan is being held here because it's the safest-"

"Held?" Jan's eyes whipped back to the woman. "What do you mean by 'held'?"

"She means he's been locked up in one of the concrete rooms underground," Zyga answered, walking out of the tunnel. In the wintry night weather, the old wolf wore only a pair of jeans and no shoes. He bore several scratches and cuts. A deep one in his hair bled down his back.

Ethan's scent was heavy on Zyga, and Jan's heart skipped a beat. "What did you do to him?"

The tracker's eyes grew hard. "I did nothing. You did this! Your previous and current stupidity caused this."

Jan's already incensed mood ignited. He glared at Zyga as he tamped down his anger into cold white fury. Behind his lips, his gums itched as his fangs peeked out. He would love to rip out the tracker's useless tongue, but Ethan may not be happy with that.

Ivan stepped between. His brother knew him well enough to guess that Jan would be weighing the pros and cons of killing the wolf before them.

"I think," Ivan started, drawing the tracker's stare away from Jan. "It would be best to explain what is happening so we can figure out how to resolve it."

Zyga did not look kindly at Ivan either, but his face softened, seeming less inclined to kill him than Jan.

"Ethan is unstable. He can't control his wolf yet. Combined with his incomplete bond," the tracker threw a poisonous look at Jan before continuing, "the strain affected him. I see your brother isn't faring better himself. Yesterday, he found out about your glorious past at Chesapeake. One of his ancestors was killed there. He hasn't been able to calm down since then."

Jan remembered that war. It had been within the early decades of his arrival in America. He could not say he regretted his actions; it was a bad solution to a horrible situation, and someone had to do it. But he could understand why Ethan was upset. He had to explain the circumstances, at least.

He stepped forward, intending to go to the young Lycan.

"Before you go in," the old man blocked his way, "let me remind you to control your rage this time. I'm sure you can tell that the forest is filled with wolves. I don't give a rat's ass what happens to you, but I don't want my boy killed because of you."

"And let me remind you that it's your claim that your son is my mate. By Gaia's laws, if I die, my mate dies with me. So you remind your wolves to stay away from me and mine." Jan retorted, his fury freezing his words to a lethal tone.

Louie glanced at him. Jan's mind tripped when he realized he had just referred to Ethan as 'mine,' but his gaze remained steady and betrayed none of his hesitations.

Zyga took a threatening step forward.

"Jan, we did not come to fight." Ivan laid a hand on his shoulder. He switched to Russian. "Go handle the pup. By dawn, the European Council could be here. We need to deal with this quickly."

In English, Ivan directed his words to the old wolf. "Lead us to the boy. Jan would try talking to him. He promises to keep himself in check."

Zyga looked like he had more words to say, but Ivan preempted him. "We would also be there to ensure nothing happens."

The old wolf did not look satisfied, but with Ivan's attempts to keep the peace, any delay on his part put him in the wrong. He spat on the floor, turning to lead the way in.

Ethan had scored more scratches on Zyga's back. A half-smile tugged on Jan's lips, and pride sprung in him when he remembered Ivan's words: Ethan is a fighter.

The tunnel widened into an immense cavern underground. The musky smell here was so overwhelming, it blotted out Ethan's scent. Louie held a perfumed handkerchief against his nose, and Jan wanted to crawl out into the fresh air. Instead, he focused on exploring his surroundings, detecting all the gauges and cracks in the walls, the wolves around him, and the facility's layout.

Almost to the end of the cavern, sixteen wolves stood around a door. Two held tranquilizer guns. The group watched them approach with hard eyes, but no one made a move.

"Eric. His mate is here." Zyga called out. A tall, dark man stepped forward to meet them.

Zyga stopped next to him. There was a moment of silence, and then the tracker turned and nodded in Jan's direction. Of course, they were communicating using their pack link.

Ivan and Jan shared a look. The vampire's limited ability to send pings and inferential information paled in comparison to the wolves' uncanny skill of carrying a full-blown conversation mentally.

It had led to the vampire saying, "Every wolf carries the eyes of his pack."

The group moved back, creating a path to the door for the new arrivals. The other guard wolves were twitchy and tense.

Jan was not impressed. This deep in wolf territory, he would not be surprised if some had never even met a Dhampir, let alone three vampires at the same time. He turned to the two carrying the guns. "Did you use those on him?"

The two shifted, eyes flicking left to the dark man for guidance. Jan guessed he must be the one in charge of this squad. The towering werewolf answered, "Not yet."

Jan stared at the man, fighting the impulse to grab the guns and shove them down his throat. Most tranquilizers for werewolves contained paralytic drugs that needed to act fast. And the dosage required was so high that they risked causing permanent damage. He knew this because he had funded some of the companies that had designed them.

Jan had never had to worry about the adverse effects of the weapons until today.

A/N

Hi lovelies, thanks for reading.If you loved it don't forget to vote, comment and add to your library.

When I was going over this chapter during edit, all I could think of was: Zyga really is a badass!

I would love to here your feedback on the story in general and this chapter in particular.

What did you like?

And what didn't you like?

What did you think about the characters?

Next chapter is already being edited. I will post it in a couple of days.

Ciao!