Breaking the Bonds Read online

  “I haven’t spoken with my colleagues other than a brief phone call on the way here,” Angela continued, “but I feel it in my bones, Mark. Humans aren’t simply responsible for the outward attacks on packs. They’re doing something within them, too.”

  Mark turned in his seat to look at Angela. Her dark hair was disheveled, as though she’d repeatedly run her fingers through the strands, and her eyes were wide with concern behind dark pink glasses. Ever since she’d first visited River Wolf pack compound, the young doctor had been faithful in her desire to help the pack. That desire had expanded over the last couple of years to include all werewolves. Mark made an effort to pull himself together.

  “Okay, let’s hear your thoughts.”

  “Let’s go over the facts,” Angela said. “Omegas are notoriously excellent breeders, yet we’ve got Sawyer almost bleeding out while giving birth to his triplets, and the alpha of Angel Hills pack’s mate Gabriel having two highly difficult pregnancies that almost killed him. I believe Justin also had a difficult pregnancy, which hadn’t happened before when he’d been mated to someone else.”

  Mark nodded. “Stone.” The nasty alpha had been abusive to his mates, and River had kicked him out of the compound. Later, Stone went to Angel Hills and attacked Justin.

  “And Gabriel’s symptoms of lethargy and weakness are similar to those Sam’s complaining of.”

  “Is Sam pregnant?” Mark still felt uncomfortable talking about a man having babies, even though his best friend had done so a few years earlier. Come to think of it, he wondered why Josiah, being an omega, hadn’t had any more children since then. His mind wandered to another omega: Jaime. What would he look like, belly rounded with child? My child? He couldn’t let himself think about it.

  “No, and that right there is what got me suspicious. This is more than pregnancy complications we’re talking about.”

  “How could the humans be causing it, though?” Mark asked. “Is it only omegas? Sam’s last pregnancy was normal, wasn’t it?”

  Angela nodded. Leaning against the desk, she bit her lip and stared past Mark out the window. “It isn’t just the omegas. A beta at Angel Hills is having difficulties. Not with lethargy, but something else. Intercourse is painful for him—another unheard-of occurrence in werewolves.”

  Mark frowned, thinking over what she’d said.

  Angela took a seat in the leather chair opposite the desk and leaned forward, looking up at Mark. “Werewolves normally live their entire lives without having any health issues to speak of. Their wounds heal quickly, and they have astounding immune systems. Sex is so natural to them, they often do it in front of one another. Their bodies are made for it. So, why all the sudden problems in the past decade or more, particularly with reproduction? If it isn’t pregnancies, it’s sex.”

  “Has Sam’s illness got anything to do with sex?”

  Angela sat back. “No…at least not that I know of. I need to speak with him again.”

  “It could be a coincidence,” Mark said.

  Angela shook her head. “It’s happening too much to be coincidence. I know something is going on. We’ve been doing a lot of research the past couple of years, and odd things are popping up all over.” She frowned. “Recently an omega in a Nevada pack died. Suddenly and with no explanation. It’s possible he was in the early stages of pregnancy. I’m waiting to hear.”

  Alarmed and with mounting fear for his friends, Mark could do nothing but stare at the woman for several long seconds before speaking. “If you’re right, how could those involved be doing it?”

  “Possibly a drug. We know the faction you believe to be run by Senator Parker developed something a few years ago capable of repressing a werewolf’s shift. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve also figured out how to bring the shift on. If they can do that, it wouldn’t be a far cry for them to be experimenting with the omegas’ heats, trying to bring them on at will.”

  “But…how? I doubt very much Angel Hills pack members have any contact with humans.”

  “You’re right, I’m one of the few who have been out there. Which means whoever is doing this has to be reaching them in secret somehow.”

  “But the werewolves would sense a human who got anywhere near the pack,” Mark pointed out.

  Angela rubbed her eyes tiredly. “I know. And that has me wondering if someone within the pack is helping, or if maybe the anti-were faction has developed a compound of some sort that disguises their scents.” She sighed. “Today I noticed something on Sam’s neck—a possible injection sight. He told me he’d been feeling unwell since the full moon run, and I suspect it happened then. What better time for an ambush than when a werewolf’s off his compound and easily separated from the pack?”

  Unease raised the hairs on Mark’s body. “Are you saying someone injected Sam with something while he was in wolf form?”

  “All it would take was a moment when one wolf disengaged from those he’s running with long enough to be darted. It would feel like an insect bite, and the darts can be made to fall off as soon as they release their contents. Sam made me a map of where he ran that night, and I was hoping you could spare a team to go looking for the dart. If they find it, I can have it analyzed.”

  “I can do that. Will the drug eventually kill the weres?” Mark asked, heart thumping hard as he thought of Josiah, and, oh God, Jaime.

  “We don’t know enough to be sure. Gabriel and Sawyer seem to be fine when they aren’t pregnant, which could simply be due to the fact that they’d been carrying when injected, and the changes in their bodies after giving birth may have sent the effects of the drug into dormancy, only to rear up again the next time they became pregnant.”

  “That means they should avoid getting pregnant in future,” Mark said.

  “Right. Gabriel’s mates have already come to that conclusion, and today I spoke with Sawyer and his mate about avoiding conception until we can figure this out. The Angel Hills beta’s symptoms manifested in pain when being penetrated. Perhaps he will be unable to produce a child. Possibly that’s one of the intended effects—sterility and infertility in the packs. These werewolves may be guinea pigs in a much larger plan to stop the werewolves from reproducing entirely while using the omegas’ heats for sex trafficking.”

  Mark sagged back into his chair. “Oh, my God. Jax mentioned having similar suspicions.”

  “Let’s hope he can get to the bottom of this. We’ll want to get working on an antidote as soon as possible.

  Chapter 8: David

  David froze at the corner of the building and stepped backward to where he’d be partially concealed by the dip of the awning. His heart felt like it was about to be ripped out of his chest. He sniffed the air, and as soon as he picked up the familiar scent, he let out a groan that caught the attention of several passersby who hurried their steps to move away from him.

  David squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. He hadn’t seen the man he loved in so long. Over a fucking year. Afraid Jax had moved on down the street while David wasn’t looking, the alpha quickly opened them again. But no, there Jax stood, his back partially turned, talking to a man outside a tobacco shop.

  He looked good, shoulders even broader than they’d once been and arms corded with muscle. David was glad Jax hadn’t lost weight or shown any other outer sign of suffering, but at the same time the alpha was jealous as hell. He hated that Jax was legally tied to another man and spent every night in that man’s arms. And why did he have to look so damned good? David wanted to find Blake Parker and rip the fucker’s head off.

  David had to remind himself that what Jax was doing was by choice, and that life hadn’t been perfect before he’d left them. Jax hadn’t been willing to take the bite and become a werewolf, and the difficulties of a human living with the pack had taken a toll on his relationship with David and Brooks. If David were honest with himself, it had always been a question of when it would all end, not if it would. Brooks’ pregnancy had only added to their problems,
as David had been unable to control his raging protective instincts for the man carrying his child and had pushed Jax away.

  Still, that Jax had given himself over to living a lie to protect the werewolves was testament to the depth of his feelings for David and Brooks. David hadn’t seen Jax since the night Jax had come to the Cascade City pack plantation house and announced, to solidify his lie with Blake, he’d asked Mark to include his name with those guilty of plotting against the werewolves at the Congress, and since then, David had gotten only bits and pieces of information out of Mark about his ex-lover.

  The alpha stood drinking in the man’s every feature, struggling with the need to go to him, but David couldn’t ruin all Jax’s hard work out of selfish need.

  The alpha stood watching until Jax finished talking, heart picking up when he turned and began walking David’s way. The alpha knew he should turn around until the human passed. Jax wasn’t a werewolf; he wouldn’t scent David. Likely, he’d walk by without incident. But David couldn’t tear his eyes away.

  Time seemed to stop as Jax got closer and closer to the corner where David stood, looking neither left nor right, and for a moment David was sure he would walk on, oblivious to David being so close. David held his breath, steeling himself for that eventuality, at the same time exhilarated by being so near to the man he’d yearned for for so many long months.

  Jax passed, and David let out the breath he’d been holding. Before he could stop himself, he opened his mouth. “Jax.”

  It should have been too low for Jax to hear, but the man stopped as though a transfer truck had passed in front of him, causing a man behind him to almost run into him and the crowd on the sidewalk to divide. David stared at Jax’s broad, tense shoulders. Finally, Jax turned, and David waited for the startling gray eyes to light upon him, but Jax didn’t look around as he retraced his last few steps, passing David and turning abruptly into an alleyway without glancing back.

  David took a deep breath and hurried after him, sure Jax would berate him for initiating the encounter, but when the alpha turned the corner, Jax grabbed the werewolf by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. When Jax’s hot mouth covered David’s, hungry tongue breaching the alpha’s trembling lips, David moaned and grabbed a handful of long, soft dreads on each side of Jax’s head. Holding on, the alpha met Jax kiss for kiss, pressing the length of his body against the human’s, shaking with emotion as they locked together like puzzle pieces.

  Jax’s fingers curled around David’s neck as he continued ravishing the alpha’s mouth with long, wet explorations of his tongue. David let go of Jax’s hair and wrapped his arms around the human’s neck, giving himself over—something he never did with Brooks or any other man. Only Jax.

  Jax pressed David against the cold brick wall, heart beating against the alpha werewolf’s. They stood far enough in the shadows as not to be seen from the street, and David wanted Jax to take him, push into him and mark the alpha with his seed. The idea was crazy, but if Jax had made a move to do so, David would have eagerly followed. As it was, Jax just kept kissing David until the alpha’s knees weakened, and his breath stuttered in his chest.

  “Oh God, oh God, it’s really you,” Jax muttered against David’s mouth, and David couldn’t speak for the tears rising in his throat.

  Jax suddenly tensed and pulled back enough to look into the alpha’s eyes. “Is everything okay? Brooks? Jarrod-Grant?”

  David’s lips tingled at the loss of pressure. He nodded. “Their fine. I just saw you there, and I couldn’t…” he left off, unsure how to voice it.

  Jax’s eyes took in every nuance of David’s face before he leaned in and placed a kiss to the alpha’s forehead and then to each cheek. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard you call my name.”

  “I couldn’t let you go,” David said brokenly, all the emotion of the past months getting the best of him.

  “Shh.” Jax pressed more kisses to David’s face. “I get it. I’m glad you did it.”

  “You are?” David whispered, going still.

  “Of course. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of you, Brooks, and the baby. How is Jarrod-Grant?”

  David smiled. “He’s doing well. We talk about you to him all the time.”

  It was Jax’s turn to look stunned.

  “You’re one of his dads, Jax.”

  Jax swallowed, looking like he didn’t know what to say.

  “Are you doing okay?” David asked, pushing stray hair from Jax’s face.

  “As well as could be expected.”

  Jax glanced toward the mouth of the alleyway. “I’m close, David. Blake’s father is controlling it all, and it goes deeper than we ever thought.”

  “How do you mean?”

  Jax licked his lips, eyes avoiding David’s. “They’re stealing omegas. Using them as sex slaves.”

  David drew in a breath. That was worse than he’d imagined. “Are you sure?”

  Jax only nodded. He stepped away, and David mourned the warmth that went with him.

  “Tell Mark,” Jax said. “I was going to call him, but now I won’t have to. Tell him I don’t know where the place is. I was blindfolded. But Blake’s begun to trust me more, and hopefully his father will follow. We’ll be going back to the place soon.”

  David reached out and grabbed Jax’s arm before the human could turn and leave.

  “Sam’s sick.”

  Jax raised his eyes to that. “What? How?”

  “We don’t know what’s wrong with him, just that he’s lost energy. Angela thinks they’re poisoning some of us somehow. Trying to make us sterile, unable to shift, or to lose our babies.”

  “Oh, my God,” Jax whispered. “It’s possible. Totally possible. I wouldn’t put anything past that man. He’s run it all from the very beginning. He was behind Bart Davis and every bit of harm that man tried to do.”

  David nodded. “The drug they gave me and Brooks that prevented us from shifting was only the beginning.” He and Brooks had been kidnapped by the former vice-president of the Congress and would have been killed had the others not saved them. “What are we going to do?”

  Jax placed his palm against David’s cheek, and the alpha automatically leaned into it. “Leave it to me. I’m getting there. The bill against human harm to the werewolves was the first step. Now all we need is proof that Senator Parker’s behind these things.”

  “And you’re going to get that proof. Be careful, Jax.”

  Jax leaned in for one more searing kiss, and then was gone, leaving David alone in the cool darkness of the alley.

  Chapter 9: Josiah

  Although he knew he was in the right, Josiah felt guilty. Jaime had been withdrawn since Mark’s visit, and every attempt Josiah had made to draw out the other omega had failed miserably. Josiah thought Jaime was angry, but he wasn’t sure if the anger was directed at him or at Mark. Probably both.

  “Was I wrong?” Josiah asked Sam as they reclined in the warm, sweet-smelling grass, laughter and shouting all around them as the children played in the sunshine. Leo insisted his omega get some sun every day, and Josiah tried to help by joining his friend when he could. Thankfully, Sam looked better than he had. Angela had given him some vitamin supplements and had told him to rest as much as possible and not to go on any moon runs. Still, Sam took frequent naps and didn’t have the energy he should. She visited weekly to draw blood from him and the others, which she was putting through tests in the hospital lab.

  Sam frowned. “About what?”

  “Sorry, I was thinking out loud. About warning Mark off Jaime. I’m only trying to save them from eventual heartache.”

  “I’m not a good one to ask,” Sam said. “I always want true love to win out.”

  Josiah shook his head. “I just think it would be a mistake for those two to get together. I can’t imagine how it would work.”

  “Maybe Mark and Jaime should be allowed to find that out for themselves.”

  Josiah made a f
rustrated noise. “I’m not forbidding them from seeing each other! I only laid out the problem for Mark, and he made the decision to stay away.”

  Sam met Josiah’s gaze. “Did you make it sound like he was going to hurt Jaime?”

  Josiah didn’t answer because of course he had, and Sam didn’t push. Both omegas returned their attention to the children. Sawyer’s triplets, Paul James, Allen John, and Liam Junior (or PJ, AJ, and LJ), were particularly full of energy and chased the other children around the field in a spirited game of tag. Sophie’s and Sadie’s shrieks filled the air as they dodged the boys’ lunges. Soon, Jimmy and Jarrod-Grant lost interest and flopped to the ground to examine bugs.

  That night they would run under the moon. Sam would stay behind with the children, along with Diego and Kane. Josiah was considering staying, too, as he thought his heat might be coming on, and River was worried about what Angela had said about the possibility of darts. None had been found at the sight, but it was still a possibility.

  Josiah looked over his shoulder at the sound of a car rolling up the long gravel drive.

  “It’s Mark,” Josiah said. He shouted and waved as his friend exited the car, and Mark redirected his steps toward the field.

  “Nice day.” He flopped down on the grass beside the two omegas, even though he was dressed for work.

  “Yeah, we’re enjoying it while we can. Rain’s in the forecast,” Sam said.

  Mark stretched out his long legs and leaned back on his arms. “How’re you feeling?”

  Sam smiled. “Better, thanks.”

  “Have you spoken to Angela again?” Josiah asked.

  “Yeah. Similarities in Sam’s and Sawyer’s blood have sent her out to Angel Hills to take blood samples there. You planning on coming in to work this week?”

  “I think I’m about to go into heat. I’ll come in as soon as it’s over.” Josiah’s cheeks warmed. It still embarrassed him to talk about his heats with Mark.