“I hate when we sit on the floor, seriously, do you know where we are? This is like the lab, you know where they do experiments, and do you know what could be on the floor? Hell, we could catch some weird freaky disease Cherri is mutating. And then we would be in the hospital dying, and the moms would be totally freaking, and then…” Rissa said, slipping down the wall.
“Rissa, take a deep breath, when was the last time you slept?” Calli said.
“Uh, like I don’t know, maybe yesterday,” Rissa said and shrugged.
“You need a nap,” Calli said and then Cherri threw up her hands and yelled at her friends.
“You guys SUCK! When I said 'problem', I was referring to ME!”
Calli and Rissa looked at her confused. “Well duh, sitting on a disease infested floor remember, now what is the problemo?” Rissa said and motioned with her hand for Cherri to get on with it.
“Okay, so Country thinks he's my mate,” Cherri said slowly.
“Wait, who the hell is Country?” Rissa said while holding up her hand like they were still in school.
Calli smacked her on the back of the head and said, “Keep up with the program. Cherri came into the lab and this hot guy was here; we all came guns a blazing cause we didn’t know who he was. Turns out he's the new Lab Director, and Cherri didn’t know anything about it. He has this awesomely, sexy, Texanish accent. Hell, I was ready to sing my favorite oldie “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy,”” Calli drawled.
Rissa mouth formed a perfect ‘O’, and then she turned to Cherri. “Cool, a cowboy, are we gonna hear like ‘yee haw’ all night or what? Wait, why the hell wasn’t I informed there was a breach in security? I am, after all, the HEAD OF SECURITY!" Rissa said and pulled out her communicator and pushed the button on the side. “Not cool, oh master of the Com Center. You're gonna have to stand in the corner.”
“Ma’am, yes, ma’am,” a young male voice came over the small device.
“When I say, any alert that involves Calli, Cherri, or Kade, I mean ANY! Now get busy and check all the links,” Rissa barked into the phone uncharacteristically. “Jeeze, I hate the newbies, he's like one hundred and a baby. We gotta talk to Ms. Patron about the hiring.”
Cherri and Calli laughed and then Cherri sobered quickly. “Seriously, as my BFF’s, you're required to listen and then sympathize with me here.”
“Okay,” Rissa said happily.
She took a deep breath and said, “I'm not a virgin.”
There was silence in the room and then Rissa and Calli burst out laughing. Cherri glared at them and folded her hands over her chest and waited for her friends to stop laughing. The nerve, she was being completely serious and they were laughing at her. Trina was even standing in the hallway trying to keep a straight face.
Chapter 2
The President sat in his chair and ran a hand over his eyes and looked around the office he had once loved. So much had changed since he took office, so much he wanted to accomplish, and yet he never seemed to quite make it there.
He picked up the phone and called for his secretary to show the appointment in he had been dreading. This was not something he wanted, not something he thought was best for the people, but something he was at a loss to stop.
He stood and straightened out his jacket and tie, now he wished his wife were here to help him make sure he looked presentable. At least that was one thing she cared about when it came to their relationship.
“Mr. President,” his secretary said as she held open the door to his office. “Ms. Praton and Mr. Brooks are here.”
The President watched the two people walking into the room with admiration. He knew they had done good things for the humans all these years. The news he was giving them was not going to go over well.
Ms. Praton held out her hand and said, “Sir, it is a pleasure as always.” He shook her hand and then Mr. Brooks' hand before urging them to sit down in the small sitting area.
“I'm going to get down to business, and I really hope you understand what I'm saying here. Unbeknownst to me, the Senate has apparently been seeking to replace the Drekinn Agency. They feel that Drekinn has been too lax in their duties, since the rise of violence over the last few years. What was presented to me was that you have grown too big to effectively do your job. I don’t agree, however, there has been a rise in situations. So they are opening up the vetting process for other Agencies to bid the work. The vote is not for another few weeks.”
Ms. Praton smiled calmly, although she could feel the outrage coming from Brooks. “I was expecting this sometime. Although Drekinn has been doing this for decades, we still have competition. So, who are the other agencies that you are looking at?”
The President looked around the group and said quietly, “The Prentiss Agency is the forerunner. I know little about them, although they have become very active in the last few years on the hill. I will support you in whatever your decision is, I know Drekinn has many other subsidiaries and will still be an active member working with us to regulate the shifters.”
Ms. Praton nodded and then looked at Brooks. “Well, we will certainly keep this in mind; I suspect you shall be hearing from us in the next few days in order to get our bid in. Now if you will excuse us, we need to go and get prepared.”
The three stood up and the President refused to shrink back from the heated gaze from Brooks. He knew they were pissed and had every right to be.
***
“Back stabbing humans,” Brooks muttered and walked out of the large office. “So, what the hell was that about?”
“Someone is trying to take over,” Ms. Praton said smoothly and looked at the city flying by, refusing to talk over the situation right then. They had planning to do. If she wasn't mistaken, the dreams she had been having were actually coming to fruition, the Hunters will become the Hunted.
***
"How did your meeting go, darling?” the President’s wife said smoothly and ran her hand over his shoulder. It was the first time she had touched him in weeks, so she must want to know something, he thought.
“Fine,” he said briskly.
“Hmmm, well, you did what you had to do; I certainly wouldn’t lose sleep over it. We can’t have the animals running the streets like they have been. Now, the head of the Prentiss Agency will be here for dinner tomorrow. I think we should put our best foot forward since they will be the new Agency in charge,” his wife said.
When he met her ten years ago, just before he took office, the President had been happy. She was everything he wanted. Beautiful, smart, funny. But it was all a façade, he thought, and looked at his perfectly styled and made-up wife. She wanted power, and he gave it to her.
“How well do you know this Prentiss Agency head?” he asked.
She frowned and then smiled at him. “Not well at all, I only know what the Senator's wives have been saying, and they think they are the future. I just want you to be in place for the next election, darling. You have to align yourself with the most powerful Agency. Drekinn has become too big; I agree with the Senators who are worried that they might try to make power play for control. We can’t let that happen again.”
The President looked at his wife and narrowed his eyes. There was something there. He noticed how she pulled a link out of her pocket when she left the room. The President was going to have to keep a closer eye on his lovely wife; she may be neck deep into something that could destroy him. He would not allow that to happen.
Chapter 3
Declan complied with everything they asked him to do, but he was quickly losing his patience with all this shit. He was minding his own business, doing his job, then all of sudden there were guns and chaos, and his mate—he wanted his mate. His wolf was getting pissed, pacing and occasionally scratching at him. It really didn’t matter if the large man, who he now knew was Kade Malaren, and the Head Enforcer with his mate, Calli, wanted him to talk. He wanted his mate and soon.
The female who had first drawn on him in the first place
was Sabrina, her Enforcer partner was Thomas. He felt like he was in grade school, and everyone was telling a little about themselves. What the hell was going on? He really didn’t care to be introduced to any more people other than his luscious mate.
They were slowly trying to explain things to him, since they found out he was on the up and up from Brooks. Kade was standing over him acting like a paranoid father, and that was beginning to annoy him. There was more going on than met the eye. And where was the boss lady? She was the one who said she would meet him here this morning.
***
“So you're from Texas and you have no siblings. Your parents left you their ranch, which you still own, and you have a Doctorate in Microbiology. You have been hired to take over the lab so Cherri can focus on the medical research side,” Kade repeated.
“Yes, this is the third time we have gone over it, and it won’t change the fourth time. I hate to point out we're all sitting in here going over a bunch of shit that I already went over with Ms. Praton, why don’t you just bring her in here, and we can all go about our day? I really have a lot to do now,” Declan said calmly, his wolf pushing him, making his tone harsher than what it should have been. For some reason, his wolf was trying to submit to this man as his Alpha. He had read about it in books, and his father explained when he was younger about Alphas and their behaviors. Since his parent’s death, he hadn't had to worry about that, he was technically the Alpha of his family, until he decided to join another. It was like his wolf was making a decision without him, but it had to be impossible. He was a Lone Wolf; he had no desire to join a family yet.
Kade ran a hand through his hair. “Do you by any chance have your family’s history? Like a family tree or a book?”
Declan looked up surprised, and said, “Uh, is that part of the job requirement, because I'm pretty sure I wasn’t told I had to provide that? Is this like a background check or something? ‘Cause I can tell you I lead a boring life, man. Out on the fucking Texas plains there isn’t much to do unless you can get into the city.”
Kade looked over his shoulder at the two Enforcers, who were still standing in the room. The man kept checking his watch and looking toward the door. “Thomas, go check on him, and then come back and give me a report. Hey, stop by the lab and tell my mate to hurry her ass up.”
“Cherri messaged a minute ago; she thinks she has something that will work,” Thomas said and looked at Kade.
The Enforcer was feeling the guilt of being Kiki’s guard and for watching him get shot and almost killed right in front of him, Kade thought. Or his mate was right and there was something else going on, hell all these years and now he was having to watch for touchy, feely shit. Kade ran his hand over his face and almost swore out loud.
They had to find out if this wolf was really Cherri’s mate. If he was, then somewhere in his ancestors he had to be related to one of the Chosen, or their Senate. They needed to know which one. Kade and Calli had come up with this theory, and they were trying to piece together the Chosen’s background in order to understand what the hell they were supposed to do. It was not going real well, since at every turn there was drama and shit.
The Pack members they kept finding were moving into the large apartment building his mate and friends owned. Kade had made sure there were no red flags raised when they all began to move into the same building by having the building marked as a housing unit for the Drekinn Agency. That was not unusual, but these apartments were a little more posh than what the dorms were, so they were registered as the instructors and administration housing. It also explained Ms. Praton moving in. No one knew who or what she really was, except him and his mate. They had to protect her secret.
Ms. Praton was a dragon, and not nearly as old as she seemed. In fact, she used her magic to cloak herself. Ms. Praton was actually a beautiful, young woman, who used her shielding to protect her true self. As far as she knew, she was the only dragon in existence. If there was another dragon, they were related. Ms. Praton knew that dragons, since being very rare, would not show themselves to anyone.
It was scary when she shimmered and changed. Kade and Calli freaked the first time, but now that they knew, and had discovered she was actually part of their Pack, she had moved in under her real persona. Only when they arrived at the Agency would she travel to the elevator and shimmer in there. So far, no one knew, and they were going to keep that under their belts.
There was too much shit going on for the girls to have a meltdown right now, they needed to get their asses in here. “And you believe that Cherri is your mate?” It would make him one of the Betas of the Pack.
Kade looked him over. For a Lab Geek he was built, there was no way he was only a geek. Working on his parent's ranch had to have helped him buff up a lot. His shoulders were huge, and Kade was sure that he would be able to protect Cherri, as well as the other members of the Pack, if needed. He wasn’t sure what the Betas were supposed to be doing. He had a feeling when he saw the wolf that he would end up being close to him; he felt the connection between wolves. Not like a weird and freaky sexual one, more like 'this guy was gonna be my second' kind of one. Damn, now he was trying to convince himself of the warm fuzzies crap. He needed to have a beer, and watch some sports.
Maybe this would work out. Kade had enough trouble keeping his mate in line, let alone her two friends who seemed to have a mind of their own when it came to following the rules. He had read up on the Alphas of a Pack, they were the ones who made the guidelines for their Pack. So this week he had started, and so far everyone seemed to follow them, all but his mate and her friends. They just went wherever they liked, without telling anyone. Kade feared soon he would have to bail them out of a sticky situation. Some of the ones he had heard about from the other Enforcers had pissed him off.
Each of the girls had been kidnapped, shot at, been in multiple fights. Although his wolf was impressed with their impressive track record, the man was pissed his mate had put herself in that much danger. Things were going to change. He looked at the Beta in front of him and hoped he was up for the challenge. They may have to start planning a guy’s retreat in order to recoup after some of their adventures.
The wolf in front of him put his hands on the table and raised a little and leaned forward toward him. Sabrina put her hand on her side arm, but Kade held up his hand for her to stand-down.
“I don’t think she's my mate, I know. And to be honest with you, we're gonna have a few issues if she doesn’t get her ass in here soon,” Declan said.
Kade laughed and said, “Yeah, about that, you better get used to the fact that when the three of them are together, there's no hurrying them. They will come when they're damn good and ready. Also, you should know they tend to be a little over zealous when they're trying to investigate something.”
Declan sat back down and put his head in his hands and shook his head. “Why can’t I have a normal mate?”
“Shit, I ask myself that like ten times a day. But back to the family tree thing, I have a few things to explain about that.”
***
Cherri was getting pissed, every time her friends tried to stop laughing, they ended up busting out again when she tried to explain what she meant. Finally, getting frustrated enough; she reached behind her and held up a spray. Both of her friends instantly sobered.
“Not cool, bitch,” Calli said, knowing exactly what was in the spray.
“What, which one is that?” Rissa said worriedly, she knew Cherri had devised several sprays that worked on shifters. They had used them a few times to subdue one of the Ulfer they were chasing.
Calli sighed. “It's the neuro spray, and she will make us piss our pants if we don’t watch it.”
Rissa groaned and said, “Cherri, come on. Let’s talk about this. It's just your mate, and I'm sure he realizes you have been with other men before. I mean, duh, we are like a hundred.”
“No, that's not what I meant, you dumbasses. I mean yes, I'm not a virgin, pfft, but what I w
as trying to explain was my mother. You know what the woman is like; she has tried for the last fifty years to plan my wedding. Every time I go home to visit, it's like ‘Cherri, sweetie, you're still wearing white at the wedding, right? I mean, I was pure when I met your father, and I know that you have dabbled, what wolf wouldn’t, but you haven’t, you know, sullied yourself.’" Cherri mimicked and Calli groaned. “Girls, I'm gonna have to tell her that I should be wearing bright freakin’ red, and she's gonna freak all over my ass.”
“Please, like she doesn’t know you've had sex.” Calli smirked.
“Seriously, I swear, I have paid off my doctor to even tell her every year I'm still pure. She's like fucking obsessed. You know what they're like. Hell Calli, your mom thought you were a virgin until you met Kade.” Cherri laughed.
“The hell you say!” Calli said and folded her arms. “I'm quite sure my mom gets that I have had sex before.”
“Um, nope, I have to agree with Cherri on this; the moms have it in their heads we all waited,” Rissa said, looking down at her papers.
“What? They think we waited for like a hundred years to actually do it?” Calli said incredulously. “Wait, I think maybe I have talked to her about this.”
“Once again, nope. The Mob Mas' really don’t know,” Cherri said. “Shit, I don’t care that I met my mate, hell he was fucking hot. I still have things to do right now, but when I'm done; sure, I will consider it. Wouldn’t mind sharing the same bed though.”
The girls laughed and Calli said, “I still think you're wrong. Rissa, you're in charge of calling the moms and finding out if they know, be subtle, and don’t let them know about Cherri yet.”