Sword of Inquest (La Patron's Sword Book 1) (26 page)

Chapter 39

Lord Boris sat in the chair staring at the blank monitor as the camera from Councilman Connall flickered and died. Connall was dead. Four bluebirds, the last of their stock, destroyed. Alpha Andrei, dead. Even Greggor, the worthless mutt, died in service to the Liege. After a century of service Lancaster Castle was no more.

The moment Connall’s heart stopped the explosives in his body activated. That explosion triggered another, more deadly one in the base of the building. Boris did not need to watch the
news channels to see the destruction of his castle; he sensed the end of an era in his bones.

Seconds turned into minutes and then hours as he waited for the circulation to return to his limbs and mind.
Impossible
. How did Hawke know? What made him suspect Connall as the answer to the riddle? The Councilman should have bought them more time to set things in place. Instead, the castle fell before Boris’ team arrived. The taste of failure was indeed bitter and one he had little acquaintance with.

He stiffened at the sound of footsteps moving toward
the room and turned on the computer.

“Boris.” Roderick’s
deep voice scratched against Boris’ tattered nerves. Rather than allow his comrades to sense the depth of his desolation, his brow rose in greeting.

“Roderick.”
Boris’ fingers flew across the keyboard, re-running sequences and re-closing files, anything to appear too busy to answer questions or admit the failure of Lancaster Castle.

“Conna
ll is dead.”

“Yes. I know,” Boris said without turning or looking in Roderick’s direction. “I received notice of his termination earlier.”

Roderick moved further into the room and sat across from him. “My men arrived to find Alpha Andrei missing and later dead. Angus and Hawke are still missing.” He paused. “We have lost much these past few days. A high ranking council member, a loyal alpha, a facility we have used for a century and our bluebirds, all gone.”

With each reminder, Boris nodded, ashamed.

Roderick slammed his palm against the table.

Boris’ head
snapped up and then he looked away from the anger and derision in Roderick’s gaze.

“Are you trying to ruin our
organization?”

“No… no of course not. I made a few bad decisions, but I am working to make things right.”

Roderick snorted. Boris did not blame him, that comment sounded ridiculous.

“How comrade? How will you make this right?”

Boris cleared his throat. “Hawke had help. There was someone else involved, a player we have not identified yet.” He glanced at Roderick and then returned to the keyboard.

“True. Why is this person of interest?”

“Hawke is analytical and would still be running probabilities and sequences if left to him. Someone changed that dynamic. Can that happen with other test subjects? How do we maintain a high level of quality for our customers if anyone can change basic components in our product?”

Roderick stared at him for a few seconds and then started clapping. “Bravo.
Bullshit but your delivery was excellent.” He pointed at Boris with a cruel twist of lips. “Do you know why I am here? Alone? The others are angry. Your thoughtless actions have set us back for months and before a vote of credibility is taken, the others want you to step down from Lobo. They no longer feel you should be trusted with such a serious project.”

Boris mouth dropped open and then snapped shut. “What? A credibility vote? Over this? That is absurd.” He refused to believe anyone with half a brain questioned his loyalty to the group. Until recently his
exemplary record shined brighter than anyone else, Roderick included. The Lobo project was his creation. How dare they expect him to relinquish control when his team was on the brink of a major breakthrough?

Roderick sat back in the chair and laced his fingers on his lap. “Absurd? If memory serves me correctly, and I am sure it does, you petitioned this type
of vote for far less infractions from the other Lords, including myself.”

Boris mouth went dry
. He tried to defend his previous actions. “No, that is not true. Well it may be true but at the time the situation was critical.”

“The others believe the
current situation is critical. You removed creatures with major deficiencies to fight a battle for you before they were ready. Now we must start from the beginning with that project without Hawke. According to the lab his files are riddled with errors. That sounds critical to me, comrade.”

“Yes, but at the time we all agreed the bluebirds were the best weapon to capture Angus and return Hawke to the lab. I did not make that decision alone and
refuse to shoulder the full responsibility.”

“Perhaps.
But, our warehouses are almost empty. We have lost capable researchers. For now, we must fill the orders to replenish our coffers. The others feel and I agree, you must take a break from seeking vengeance.”

“Vengeance? When?” Boris
stalled, unable to believe anyone saw through his motives. He had covered his tracks well.

Roderick waved a hand. “Tell me you are not plotting revenge on Hawke and this person who helped him? You are a creature of habit, mean, nasty and vindictive. It makes you a great Liege
Lord. You were too focused on your personal battles and lost sight of the broader vision which serves and impacts us all.”

“Hawke is a key, just as Asia is a key. Hawke unlocked many mysteries of the Black wolf. To merge beast and man without a melt-down, the study must continue or we have lost the battle.”

“That has never been the battle for the Liege. It has always been your crusade and as long as profits flowed, we agreed. Now, the reins must be pulled back so that we can regroup and prioritize.”

Boris
listened in horrified silence as years of personal sacrifice were whitewashed with the equivalent of a gold watch retirement speech. Roderick couldn’t be serious. Pull the reins? On his research? He was the reason these men lived long lives and now they wanted him to stop? He could not. More to the point, he would not.

“I trust we can agree that the needs of the group rank higher than the individual
.” Roderick repeated a phrase Boris always used to justify disciplinary actions amongst them.

“Do you believe continued research of the Black wolf is in opposition to future success of this organization?” Boris asked while staring at Roderick. The man had no idea what lengths Boris would tread to reach the brass ring. For him, that ring meant the merger of man and beast at will. He refused to allow anyone to interfere.

“No, I agree we need to continue research. The merger can happen and when we perfect the transition, the world will be ours. Imagine mass production of our shining star, Asia, at will. Or Hawke.”

Boris frowned and glanced at the computer screen again. “Asia… have we located her?”

“No? Why?” Roderick sat forward.

“What if?” Boris pulled up clips from the previous fights with the bluebirds, and Greggor and stared. Could it be?

“What?” Roderick demanded.

“What if Asia is on the continent?” He glanced at Roderick and enjoyed the look of shock on his face.

“What?”

“What if she met Hawke and helped him escape?”

Slack-jawed Roderick slumped in his chair. “How? How would she have done that?”

Pleased to have Roderick’s attention diverted, Boris keyed in Asia’s file and ran a probability study. The odds were not in her favor but he could not let go of the idea she was somehow involved in this recent setback.

“Angus Black Wolf wears a bracelet…”

“Yes a chameleon. I am not certain all that it does but he alters his appearance.”

Boris deflated. The odds were Angus helped Hawke. But why? They were not from the same clan. According to his spies, Angus arrived after Hawke left the castle. None of this made sense.

“What are you thinking?” Roderick asked.

Boris explained the twists and turns of events.

“Makes more sense that Angus helped Hawke. But how does that explain the chip? Alpha Andrei said Hawke’s mate could stop the chip from functioning.”

The two men looked at each other.

Roderick smiled. “Hawke and Angus? Mates?”

Boris’ heart sped as he ran another probability study using Angus’ information. He grinned. “Yes, there is a high probability on that match. That explains why Angus is here; he came to rescue his mate. The bond is strong.” Boris congratulated himself for revealing an important piece of information.

“I want that bracelet,” Roderick said looking at Boris with a calculating smile. “Imagine being anyone in the world. We could run governments and raise an army for our bidding.”

Boris nodded with understanding. Now he wondered if he had been played by a masterful hand. Had the others sent Roderick? Or had the cunning man seen his current failures as an opportunity to barter a deal?

“If the bracelet delivers as you believe then it would indeed be worth whatever is involved to retrieve such a prize.” Boris waited for Roderick to make an offer.

“It does indeed.” Roderick frowned. “There is a problem with how it works but I am sure we can work around that.” His eyes narrowed while looking at Boris.

“
If we take Angus or Hawke, one will bring the other. This time go and oversee the operation yourself. No more Alphas or hybrids. You need to be on the continent working this coup.”

Boris didn’t want to leave in the middle of his research but the lure of outwitting Hawke proved too strong. The bonus of seeing Hawke fall apart over the loss of his mate would be icing on the cake.

“I see that gleam in your eyes. Alive, not dead. A dead Angus is of no value.”

Boris smiled. Accidents always happened. “Hawke is mine.”

Roderick nodded. “True. That black wolf always belonged to you.”

Boris stood
to prepare for the trip. Several possibilities to trap Hawke filtered through his mind. Chess had always been Hawke’s strong point. Boris filed that information to beat Hawke at his own game.

<<<<>>>>

Coming soon….

Sword of
Mercy

In their quest to discover more information on Project Lobo and the missing black pups, Asia and Hawke slam into Hawke’s past. Asia must keep Hawke from destroying the family who sold him into slavery while maintaining their focus on their current task and to survive numerous assassination attempts from the Liege.

Another Liege Lord decides he will rise to the forefront of power by single
handedly bringing in both Asia and Hawke. His greed and ambition keeps the newly mated pair on their toes.  More black pups disappear and Silas is more concerned than ever, he sends Brix and Leon as backup for Asia and Hawke.

Asia and Hawke learn how difficult it is to extend Mercy when they see the emotional scars each mate bears, but realize the importance of forgiveness for the future of their relationship.

Sword of Mercy
– La Patron’s Sword – Book two - December 2014

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to read
the first book in the La Patron’s Sword series. I love paranormal books and characters in general and shifter stories in particular. Throw in the romantic element, strong Alpha characters who bend beneath the power of love and I’m over the moon. Sighs…

In her quest to learn her past, Asia bumps into her future. The Liege is stealing black wolf pups for research. Silas Knight, La Patron, has four black pups in his den and is determined to stop the Liege before they attempt to take his pups. Asia and Hawke are chosen to discover the Liege’s plans and shut it down. First Asia must learn to trust someone other than Jasmine. Next she must merge with Hawke as a cohesive unit to infiltrate and take down the Lancaster Castle which belongs to the Liege. The Liege refuses to go down without a fight. They have been operating for centuries and have no intention of stopping, even if two of their most prized products are the ones gunning for them.

You’re invited to journey with me through all the books in this series. If you like fast paced action, suspense and great love connections like me, you won’t be disappointed. Feel free to drop me a line,
[email protected]
  or join my Facebook group, La Patron’s Den, where discussions regarding Silas and the Wolf nation abound.  Also you can find me at my website, SydneyAddae.com.

La Patron, the Alpha’s Alpha is my first paranormal series and I’d like to ask a favor. When you finish reading, please leave a review, whatever your opinion, I assure you I appreciate it.

The following books are in the La Patron Series, enjoy!

Thanks again

Sydney

 
BirthRight(La Patron, the Alphas Alpha Book 1
)
 

 
BirthControl (La Patron, the Alphas Alpha Book 2)

 
BirthMark (La Patron, the Alphas Alpha Book 3)

 
BirthStone (LaPatron, the Alphas Alpha Book 4)

  
BirthDate (La Patron, the Alphas Alpha Book 5)

  
BirthSign (La Patron, the Alphas Alpha Book 6)