Читать книгу A Pack of Two - Jacky Russell - Страница 12

Chapter 8

Lucas

“Trist, I’m telling you, she’s amazing. I’ve never met anybody like her.”

The phone conversation with my best friend of over twenty years had gone on for almost half an hour as he listened to me go on about Breanna.

“Did she say what kind of witch she was?”

“An earth witch.”

“Bet your wolf liked her.”

I swallowed hard, remembering the way my wolf had reacted to her. “Yeah, he did.” It should be a great thing, my wolf liking her, but it scared the shit out of me. My wolf didn’t like anybody.

“Luc? You there, buddy?”

“Call her, Lucas. Call her tonight,” a woman called from the background.

Tristyn laughed. “You hear that? My witch wants you to get your own witch so we can double date.”

When we were agents for the Divine Council, before Tristyn met his mate, we would often double date with human girls. Truthfully, I went along because he felt bad about leaving me at home alone. “Wolves need companionship,” he would say before always adding, “and I promised this girl you would go out with her friend.”

“So, when are you going to tell your dad?” Tristyn asked.

“Not now.”

“No, but it’s only a matter of time and you’ll be head over heels in love with her.”

In love with her? My chest was so tight I could barely breathe.

“Luc? Are you all right?”

“I don’t know. I’ll deal with him when I have to. Do you think Alex could help me with some info on earth witches?”

Tristyn’s mate, Alexandria, was a powerful white witch and the Witch Representative to the Divine Council. She took her job very seriously, especially considering the negative attitude the supernatural world had against her kind. Most supernaturals, werewolves included, didn’t bother to find out if witches were peaceful or evil. They killed them all, usually without repercussion.

In the background Tristyn spoke to his mate before returning to the phone. “Alex said she’d have to make a few inquiries and see what she could find out for you.”

We hung up a few moments later and I headed back to the office to renew my battle with the fax machine. The sidewalks were busy but I did my best to avoid the crowds. I glanced around, hoping Breanna might appear from the darkness, but no such luck. She was gone.

I entered the office building without bothering with the lights. The carpet crunched softly under my shoes as I approached the open door to my office. A surge of adrenaline shot through me, my body tensing at the knowledge someone had been here. There was no strange musk, no vibration of vampire, but there was something different.

Strawberries.

I clicked the light, my heart hammering at the idea Breanna might be here, in my office. The strawberry scent lingered strongest near my nemesis, the fax machine. When I left, the fax machine had demanded paper and had been strangling on the jam I couldn’t reach. Now it was calm and quiet, all red lights off and the paper tray fully loaded. Three incoming faxes waited patiently in the stacker.

I had to see her again. I grabbed my coat on the way out the door.

* * * *

Ten gun-wielding guards watched warily as I approached the brightly lit gate of Camp Ederle. The American base was located near Vicenza and housed soldiers stationed in the United States Army Africa Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. According to Breanna, Bravo Company utilized the base anytime it deployed to Europe.

“I must be out of my mind,” I muttered, rolling down the window as the guards approached. The soldiers at the bar had made it clear they didn’t want me talking to Breanna, yet here I was, asking for her like I was her new best friend.

The human guards agreed to call her. Endless seconds stretched into minutes before the echo of boot stomps made my breath catch. Stepping out of my car, I waited as the heavy steel door beside the gate opened. The smell of musk rolled over me and my wolf took notice of the humans scurrying inside and the flood of werewolves pouring out.

“What the hell do you want?” one of the wolves asked.

Ten of them burst through the door and surrounded me. My wolf surged, demanding control, as I fought to push down the rising bile in my throat. I gave over to the beast within, my own dominance flowing forth. The soldiers backed away a few steps, giving me much-needed breathing room. My wolf wanted total control, to kill these who threatened me.

“I’m here to see Breanna,” I said between gritted teeth.

The blond wolf from the bar marched forward. His fist connected with my chin before I could react. I dropped my head and charged him, catching him in the stomach and slamming him into the iron gates. He pummeled the back of my head, but the pain barely registered as I landed blow after blow to his midsection.

Hands grabbed at me and I reacted, raining blows upon anyone within striking distance. The scent of blood, musk, and rage filled the night air. I was an animal, acting on sheer instinct, the need to survive taking over all rational thought. There was yelling, but nothing came through as words until she spoke my name.

“Lucas.”

I didn’t throw another punch, though a few more landed on me. I didn’t feel anything or see anything except Breanna.

Time stood still as she walked toward me. She was dressed in black fatigues and a US Army sweatshirt. Her brows were raised, a splatter of blood on her cheek, as she reached for my hand. Her lips moved but there was a deafening roaring in my ears now, my wolf furious at the attack.

Her eyes locked onto mine, her lips continuing to move as she stood mere inches from my face. I was gasping for air, desperate to calm my wolf, but unwilling to let go of the power he gave me. She came closer, until the warmth of her body pressed against mine.

She touched my jaw and my wolf retreated, leaving a trail of pain from the beating I had taken. For the first time I noticed the other wolves, now watching me warily, some on the ground while the others were leaning against the gate. One sprawled on the hood of my truck.

“Lucas, can you hear me?”

I nodded, not yet trusting my voice to stay steady. My body trembled under her fingers and I did what I could to pull myself together. This was not at all what I wanted her to see.

“C’mon in and I’ll get you cleaned up,” Breanna said softly as she turned my hands over to examine bloody knuckles.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I rasped. The others were watching us, their eyes swirling with silver.

“Fuck them,” she snarled, leading me past two wolves who were holding their ribs. “I’ll deal with them later. Right now, I need to get you taken care of.”

We passed the human guards and she told them to pull my truck inside the gates. They saluted her and dashed toward the front entrance.

“I’m sorry about all that,” she said as she led me into a room filled with medical supplies. She nodded toward a small examining bed and I pulled myself onto the paper-covered mattress.

“Seems every time you get around me, you end up getting hurt,” she said with a smile.

I ducked my head, my face getting hot. I must have looked like a weakling to her. I pushed off the bed, no longer willing to buy into the fantasy I had created. A woman like this didn’t want damaged goods like me.

“Hey, where you going?” She stood between me and the door.

The genuine pain on her face sucked the life from my soul. None of the kicks or punches hurt nearly as much as the way she was looking at me right now.

“I shouldn’t have come here,” I said lamely.

“Why did you come?” she asked. There was no accusation or anger in her voice, only concern.

“I wanted to thank you for fixing the fax.”

She took a deep breath, the rise and fall of her breasts making my own breath catch. She turned her back, busying herself with bandages.

“You could have called,” she said before spinning around to face me.

My hand that was resting on the door handle fell limply by my side. As much as I knew how this would turn out, I didn’t want to leave her.

“I wanted to see you again,” I answered, giving her the opportunity to call me on my ridiculous obsession.

“I wanted to see you, too.”

I gulped for air like a fish out of water.

She stepped toward me, taking my hand in hers. “Now that we are both equally uncomfortable, can I clean you up a bit?”

Her smile was friendly, so sincere it turned me to mush. The way I kept losing my ability to talk, Breanna would probably think I had some type of speech impediment.

She apologized over and over for the actions of the werewolves at the gate as she wiped the blood from my knuckles and face. She insisted on bandaging my ribs and holding ice to the blossoming bruises around my eye.

The powerful vibration of a master vampire preceded a vigorous knock at the door.

“Sergeant Welker?”

“Come on in, Sime.”

A tall, blond vampire marched into the room. Breanna didn’t flinch as she maintained the icepack against my cheek. Nothing in her scent suggested she was afraid of the vampire now scrutinizing us.

“Lucas Benelli, this is Major Simon DuChard, my CO.”

The vampire nodded eloquently. “Are you injured, Mr. Benelli?” He sounded French.

“Yes, he’s injured,” Breanna snapped. “Ten against one isn’t exactly fair.”

The fact she was defending me made me warm inside. Not a lot of people defended me.

“Nothing vital, Major DuChard. It was a misunderstanding,” I answered.

Breanna’s eyes lit up. “Misunderstanding, my ass. Aaron and them were being shithead bullies and they got their asses kicked.” She paused to adjust the ice bag. “And they’ll get them kicked again when I’m done.”

The vampire scowled. “Sergeant Welker, may I speak with you outside?”

“Not now.”

The vampire’s shoulders slumped, his irritation flooding the room. I’d already caused enough trouble and didn’t need to add to it.

“I’m okay,” I said, forcing a smile. “Go ahead and talk to him.”

She took my hand and placed it against the ice pack. “Hold this. I’ll be right back.” She snorted before walking past the vampire and out the door. God, she was beautiful when she was angry.

Breanna brooded over my scrapes and bruises for almost an hour before she walked me to my truck. Her unit was departing in a few hours and rather than getting rest, she was fussing over me. Major DuChard assured me Breanna was in no danger of retaliation from the soldiers I had fought. Actually, he’d insisted he would be protecting the werewolves from her.

I made it to work on time and was putting the final touches on the new estimates when Alpha power shook the building. Bull-like breathing announced my father’s presence on the hall.

“Lucas!”

I was rolling up the blueprint and placing the estimates in the folder as the door flew open. Josef should have been pleased. We were coming in under budget.

“Alpha,” I answered, his power threatening to suffocate me.

“Why did you cut short the meeting with Burlesconi? I spoke to him this morning and he said you left your dinner meeting without an agreement.”

My wolf bristled at the accusatory tone. “Something came up. I called and rescheduled the meeting. He didn’t sound upset.”

Josef turned and stalked to the door, his body shaking. “What came up?”

I opened my mouth to answer as he turned back and stormed to my desk.

“And why were you on the military base? You have no business there.” The desk shook with the force of his rage. “Is that what happened to your face? A human teach you a lesson for being with his whore since you seem incapable of satisfying a woman of your own kind?” And then he delivered the dagger to my heart. “You were with a woman, I hope.”

Why was I doing this? Nothing I said would be the right answer. “I think it’s time I leave Italy. This isn’t working and we both know it isn’t going to get any better.”

He stared out the window. “You can’t run from everything, Lucas. It is time you took your role in this pack. I have neither the time nor the desire to fight you every step of the way. I gave you the most desirable woman in the pack as your mate, yet you refuse her. I offered you a place as my second-in-command and you parade your disrespect by not bothering to attend any pack functions.”

“Not going to pack functions has nothing to do with disrespect for you. I don’t want to be a part of this pack. I don’t know how many times I have to say it for you to understand. I only came home to help you with Benelli Enterprises, period.”

He didn’t bother to turn around. “I hope whatever was so important last night was worth it, because you cost this company a twenty-million-dollar contract. Your brother would have never done something so selfish and irresponsible.”

He walked out the door and I grabbed the edges of my desk to keep from chasing him. Why did I keep doing this? I should throw my clothes in a bag and catch a plane to somewhere, anywhere but here.

When I was working as an agent for the Divine Council, I had the legal right to move freely from pack territory to pack territory. Now, because I lived in Italy, I was a member of the Italian Pack and not welcome on other pack territory. My father wouldn’t release me to join another pack and the life expectancy of a lone wolf was less than a year.

Maybe lone wolf wasn’t a bad idea after all. I’d be a target for other Alphas angry with my father and he had plenty of enemies. At least I’d be away from here. The way my mom had been acting, she wouldn’t miss me either.

Pent-up rage bubbled to the surface as I flipped the desk, sending papers and pens flying. My phone slid across the floor to safety but my laptop wasn’t so lucky. I sank into my chair and buried my head in my hands, the desk flipping incident not making me feel any better.

“Mr. Benelli?” Clara asked, peeking around the corner. “Are you all right?”

She frowned at me like a kid who had broken a window. She leaned down and retrieved the blueprint. Maybe she didn’t see the silver flakes in my eyes but she knew I had lost control again.

“I’m sorry, Clara.”

“Mr. Benelli, I may be out of line and you may certainly fire me if you so choose, but I think you should go back to your Divine Council job. This business is not for you. You are not happy and no matter what you do, your father will never be satisfied.”

Her words crashed on my head like a brick wall. “I was stupid to come back.”

Cloth rustled as Clara crossed the room toward me. “Not stupid, just not in your best interest. You’ve never been a pack wolf, Mr. Benelli. Why did you think things would be any different this time?”

I couldn’t look at her face. “I didn’t think things would be different. I only came back to help with Benelli Enterprises. I wasn’t exactly a joy as a child, so I thought I owed it to my parents to help.”

She stood to the full height of her five-foot-one frame. “You owe them nothing, particularly your mother.” Tiny flickers of silver flecked her eyes as she swiped a handful of pens from the floor. Clara patted me on the shoulder and I did my best not to flinch. My wolf did not approve of her touch, even in kindness.

“You will never be happy in Italy.”

She was right but I couldn’t walk away. I didn’t care about the pack, but I did wish my father and I could get along. We’d never be as close as he and Nic had been, but I’d hoped we could at least eat dinner together without arguing. So far, that had not happened and it didn’t look good.

I grudgingly returned my desk to its upright position and gathered the broken laptop.

“I’ll take care of this, Mr. Benelli. You should take the blueprints to your father. He’s meeting the client at Coraleon’s.”

My wolf rumbled at the thought of being in the same room with my father. Clara held out the roll of blueprints and I took them gingerly. Coraleon’s was only a ten-minute walk and fresh air would be good. Clara was gathering up my mess as I flashed out the door.

“Mr. Benelli?” she called before I rounded the corner.

I glanced over my shoulder.

“Be sure to check your messages.”

“Thanks, Clara. Will do.”

After dropping off the prints to my surprised father, I drove out to my house for lunch and a run. My wolf needed to kill something other than my father.

Almost forgetting Clara’s advice, I quickly checked my messages and found several. Only one mattered. Breanna had called. Bravo Company pulled out early this morning and she’d called to say goodbye.

Now I really needed to kill something.