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  Maybe he should increase the training sessions. They were all working out for two hours a day, sparring and hand-to-hand. Dean and Cray were instructing them in martial arts techniques too. But maybe he should increase that to three hours. The pack had to be ready.

  He looked up as he entered the back yard of the main house, automatically scanning the area. No sign of trouble. Not that he expected any, here on pack territory. He could send Gage with young Jeffrey to watch the store…

  He blew out a breath and trudged across the yard. Maybe he should keep Jeff here. He was just a kid. Scrappy little fighter though. Opening the back door, Lucas wiped his feet before entering the mudroom. He inhaled deeply as he stepped through the door, letting the familiar scents of Pack surround him.

  His tension eased a notch. Inhaling again, he pulled Mari’s delicate fragrance from the tangle— fresh grass and sunlight. His shoulders relaxed a bit more. She was inside the house. Safe. He could hear her upstairs, vacuuming. He pulled out his phone and punched in a text to Jesse.

  Get Boaz and Zeke and meet me in the basement.

  Gage would be down there manning the command center. Or possibly playing pool with Jesse. Or even young Jeff. Which was not a problem. Actually, he would prefer that. The perimeter alarm was set to alert to their cell phones should anything trigger it. But ever since Elizabeth had been abducted, Gage had been acting strange. Stranger than usual, anyway. At first he’d thought it had something to do with Elizabeth being snatched on Gage’s watch, but now he wasn’t so sure.

  Meanwhile, Elizabeth was planning a birthday party for Mari. He shook his head and strode through the living room to the front porch. Gazing out at the valley spread before him, he tried for some semblance of calm. He had a momentary flash of Mari’s brilliant smile at the thought of seeing her sister again—something that monster of a husband of hers had never let her do—and knew he would do everything in his power to make it happen. It was a good thing the man was dead. Not for the first time, Lucas found himself wondering if humans could get the Sickness. Maybe it manifested differently in them.

  Mari’s birthday was at the end of June, so that gave him roughly two months. He just had to find his sister and take down a shadowy pharmaceutical company first. Oh, yes, and keep his fledging pack safe from that rabid-dog Marten. But he had two months. Piece of cake. He felt his mouth tighten in a grim line. A moment later he went back into the house, heading for the basement.

  Chapter 5

  Development, in chess, is the process by which each player deploys their pieces in the beginning of the match to best establish their position—both for attack and for defense. It is easy to spot a more advantageous development. That player will have more pieces deployed, and better control of the center squares.

  — From the Journals of Aster Ardennes

  Dean walked into the great room of the big house—the pack house—and felt his body begin to relax. Most packs had moved toward larger community centers, but there was something deeply comforting about an actual pack house, with an Alpha in residence. He thought about that, trying to define exactly why that was. Maybe it was the family-like atmosphere.

  A mouthwatering aroma coming from the kitchen assailed his senses. Then again, maybe it’s just Elizabeth’s cooking. Dean smiled ruefully and brushed his hair back from his face. Some Lore Master he was. He was really tackling some complex issues.

  The woman in question turned from putting something in the oven. Her cheeks were pink from the heat, and her dark auburn hair shone russet and gold in the late evening sun streaming through the windows.

  “Oh, hey, Dean.” She shot him a warm, generous smile. “Glad you could make it.” Dean couldn’t help smiling back. Thank the Maiden Elizabeth wasn’t one to hold a grudge. He’d been a little nervous about his reception.

  “Hello, Elizabeth. Something smells great.”

  “Rosemary pork chops and roasted potatoes.”

  “And green beans.” Mari’s voice, with its slight Southern drawl, came from inside the pantry. “Don’t forget the green beans.”

  “And green beans,” Elizabeth agreed with a smile as Mari’s petite blonde form stepped into the room.

  “Hey, Mari. How’s it going?”

  “Just fine, Dean.” She raised her eyebrows in emphasis. “How’s the research going? You should poke your head out of that trailer of yours more often. You missed my biscuits last night.”

  “Oh,” Dean put a hand to his heart, going for comedy. “I understand that’s a real tragedy.” But he felt a tiny pang of alarm. If Mari was going to start calling him to task— he glanced around nervously for Lucas. “The research is moving along, but it is time-consuming. Thanks for asking.”

  Mari gave him a sweet smile that didn’t fool him for a second. In some ways she reminded him of Aster, with her slight frame and her quick, precise movements. Although Aster was several inches taller, with legs that seemed to go on forever—

  Right. Enough. He nodded to the women. “I’m honored you ladies let me back into your kitchen after last time.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Elizabeth said. “It’s everyone’s kitchen. And I’ve learned my lesson. I was just about to send Jeff off to find you.”

  She didn’t look angry, but Dean had to hide a wince at the reminder. His lateness had been responsible for throwing off the very delicate timing for London broil last time he’d joined them for dinner. Apparently, dry London broil was not something Elizabeth tolerated in her kitchen. And woe to he that causeth it.

  “You want a beer?” Elizabeth asked, flipping open the fridge. “Cray’s out on the porch. Dinner in twenty minutes.” She gave him a playful smile. “You’re early.”

  “Learned my lesson,” he said, taking the Labatt’s she handed him with what he hoped was a charming smile. “Thanks.”

  Elizabeth nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent. I knew you were trainable.”

  Dean felt himself flush slightly. He took the beer and beat a hasty retreat, but couldn’t help a rueful smile. Elizabeth was no pushover. But she was also a very pretty woman. And she looked happy. Cray was a lucky man.

  Dean squashed a little spurt of envy. Just because he’d foolishly set his sights on the impossible didn’t mean Cray shouldn’t be happy. He took a sip of beer and stepped out onto the porch.

  Cray stood with his back to the house, gazing out at the Rabbit River and the lush green valley beyond. One hand rested on the railing and the other held his beer. His scent was the deep contentment of the happily mated. Naturally. It took on a slight element of concern as he turned.

  “Dean,” he lifted his beer in salute, “I heard you found another lab.”

  “Yeah, I think so. Jesse is taking Boaz and Zeke later tonight to check it out.”

  “Same fertility stuff?”

  Dean shook his head. “I’m not sure. From what I can decipher from the notes, the research looks similar. But they seem to be working on a different part of the genetic strand.” He took a sip of his beer, letting the cool liquid slide down his throat. “If I had to guess…” he trailed off, not wanting to sound ridiculous. But this was Cray. He lowered his voice. “I can’t get the idea out of my mind that it might have something to do with the Sickness.”

  “No shit.” Cray looked grave and took a deep pull on his beer. He sank down into one of the Adirondack chairs and indicated the one next to him with his chin.

  Dean settled into the other chair, feeling the tight muscles in his back begin to unclench. Maybe Lucas had a point. This was much more comfortable.

  “You mention this to Lucas?”

  “Not yet. It’s just a… hunch, maybe. I can’t even put my finger on why I think that. I mean— why? What could the humans possibly know about the Sickness?”

  “That right there is a very disturbing question.” Cray ran a hand down the back of his head. “I haven’t noticed anything in the news. No reports of animal attacks.” He made a face. “I haven’t been exactly vigilant lately thou
gh.” He glanced through the front windows into the house, and Dean followed his gaze. Elizabeth and Mari bustling around the kitchen at the far end of the great room made a very attractive domestic image.

  “Understandable.” Dean could detect a small hint of guilt in his friend’s scent and wanted to quash it. “I have computer alerts for that kind of thing. There’s nothing in the news, so you can relax.” Dean knew just how seriously Cray took his job— and how much it took out of him. He deserved a little happiness.

  Cray rubbed his hands on his jeans, that slight hint of anxiety still present in his scent. He cast another quick glance through the window, and then turned back to Dean.

  “I’d offer to go with them, but…”

  Dean shook his head. “No need. I showed Jesse and Zeke how to collect the samples, and Boaz is going to get the computer files. They can handle it.”

  Cray nodded, the anxiety in his scent decreasing slightly. Dean was surprised, and he had to admit, touched that Cray would even mention it. This was probably the farthest he’d been from Elizabeth since her abduction. He tried not to imagine how those few terrifying hours had affected his friend. He doubted Cray had let her out of his sight yet.

  “I don’t know what to hope for, that it is connected to the Sickness, and there might be something that would help you with your research, or that the humans have never even heard of the Sickness.”

  Dean sighed. “I know what you mean.”

  Cray was every bit as invested in finding a cure as Dean was. In this they were united. Dean knew Cray felt deeply for those lonely, lost souls he had to put out of their misery. It was a heavy burden.

  Cray took a slow swallow of his beer and set it down on the armrest of his chair. He wiped his hands on his jeans and turned to Dean. “So let me ask you something.”

  “Go on.”

  “This fertility thing. This is a big issue for humans?”

  “It can be.” Dean had an idea he knew where this was going. “A growing percentage of humans are having trouble conceiving, especially if they wait past their mid-thirties to try.”

  Dean could tell Cray was chewing on the inside of his cheek. Something he only did when he was very reluctant to express his next thought. But he and Cray had been friends forever. Two misfits with no one else to turn to. He’d been a geeky eight year old when Cray’s family joined the Mont-Tremblant Pack. Cray had been ten, and virtually ostracized by the rest of the kids because of his human mother. Over the years they’d come to rely on each other. He knew all Cray’s secrets. And Cray knew his.

  “Elizabeth and I have been mated for almost three months. She’s still not pregnant. You don’t think she has this— problem, do you? I know that would break her heart. She smells fine…” He trailed off and then added in a mutter, “more than fine—” He clamped his mouth shut.

  Dean rubbed his nose to hide his smile. “I don’t think you have to worry about that yet. Her body is still adjusting to the bond. Give it time. As you said, she smells fine.” Now he did smile, wickedly. “Definitely fertile. Anyone can smell that.”

  He leapt up and raced into the house, laughing, Cray hot on his heels. Both women looked up, startled, as they burst in. Cray gritted his teeth in a terrible parody of a smile.

  “Need another beer,” he growled.

  Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it, but refrained from comment.

  “Stop smelling my woman,” he hissed as they headed for the fridge.

  “What can I do? I have a nose.”

  Dean felt the last of his tension melt away. It would be back, he knew that. But he felt lighter than he had in a long time.

  Maybe Lucas was right. Maybe he should come to dinner more often.

  ***

  Marten sat by the fire regarding Bill over the top of his whiskey glass. Bill had been with him since almost the first, and the man was loyal, but Marten had to admit, he wasn’t necessarily the smartest member of his pack.

  “Tell me again why you thought it was a good idea to start shooting in a human store?”

  It had cost him a hell of a lot of money to post bail for him and Larry—money that he wouldn’t be getting back, since neither one of them would be showing up for their trial—and he was furious at having to waste pack resources like that. Not to mention the possibility of exposure prison time would have meant. Only a complete bonehead would take such a risk. Even so, something inside him had eased once he and Larry were back on pack territory. Safe.

  “It was that behemoth, Aaron. He came at me like a freight train. We only meant to use the guns to scare the human, get her to cooperate so we wouldn’t risk a scene. Next thing I know, Zeke is there, smelling like that prick Lucas, the old alpha’s son, and spouting nonsense. I was planning to shut him up—I wasn’t going to fire—but when that giant rushed me, the gun went off. It was reflex.”

  Bill was sweating and babbling, with good cause. Marten was as angry as he could ever remember being. But—

  “Wait a minute. What do you mean Zeke smelled like Lucas? You never told me Lucas was there.”

  “No. I never saw him. But they all smelled of him. Zeke, Aaron and even the woman. And Eli, when he came in at the end.”

  Anger surged through Marten. A blinding tide of rage that had him on his feet before he knew what he was doing.

  “Are you telling me that pup is stealing my pack members?” Never mind that Lucas was older than Marten by at least ten years, he hadn’t spent the last twenty scrabbling for survival—trying desperately to keep a group of castoffs alive—

  “He’s starting a pack?” Marten’s words were deadly quiet in the stillness of the cabin. He realized he was looming over Bill, who was crouched back in his chair, not even breathing.

  “Well?” he roared.

  Bill jumped and swallowed. His scent went from nervous anxiety to outright terror. Maiden’s blood! Marten spun on his heel and stormed over to the counter, slamming his drink down on it. The glass shattered and amber liquid splashed across its surface.

  “Answer me,” he said without turning around. He braced his hands against the slick surface of the stone countertop, breathing hard.

  “I , um… I think maybe. The um… the lure woman smelled mostly like Aaron, but Aaron definitely carried a different pack-scent. I would say it was Lucas’s. And as I said, his brothers Zeke and Eli had been in contact.”

  Marten’s hands closed around the edge of the countertop, squeezing hard. It wasn’t enough that his pack had respected that weak Alpha Gavin more than him, it wasn’t enough that Gavin’s daughter was making him a laughingstock. Now the son—the anointed heir apparent—who never had to work for anything in his life, was quietly stealing away his members one and two at a time?

  It was too much. He’d have to teach Lucas a lesson. That wannabe thought he could stand against him? Marten had over seventy loyal males in their fighting prime. What did the puppy have, five or six? Ten at the most. Unless… Were all the families that left going to him?

  No. Not all. He knew for a fact the Tyler family hadn’t.

  It didn’t matter. Marten could still take him down. Swat him like a fly. Like the annoying insect he was. But first he was going to get his hands on the sister. Let’s see how you like it.

  Marten narrowed his eyes. Lucas and Gage had been searching for Aster just as long as he had. Wouldn’t it feel good to steal her right out from under them? And he had a little surprise in store for the princess. He smiled, thinking about the clue he’d left her, that little piece of evidence he’d convinced Dr. Evans to insert into the files. It was worth the information on the Tyler family. They’d left the pack anyway. And the good doctor was always looking for ways to test the product…

  ***

  Jesse carefully inserted the hypodermic needle into the vial and extracted two cc’s of the liquid, just as Dean had shown him. The darkened lab smelled like cleaning fluids, disinfectants and humans. One of them smelled really good. She must be ovulating… It
was distracting as hell.

  Jesse shook his head and concentrated on the task at hand. He estimated he had another four or so to go in this fridge, and then he’d be done. Which would be good, because they’d already been here for almost an hour, and he wanted to get the hell out.

  He glanced over at Zeke, who was performing a similar task halfway down the lab. Two of these fridges had been padlocked closed, something he hadn’t seen at any the other locations, and picking the locks had added at least ten minutes to the operation. He felt his lips twitch in a little half-smile. Who knew the skills he’d picked up in his misspent youth would prove so valuable to his new pack? They certainly hadn’t been appreciated by the pack he’d been born to. That thought wiped the smile from his face.

  “How you coming with those computer files, Boaz?”

  “Another five minutes. Maybe seven. I’ve got just about everything copied.”

  Jesse glanced down at the remaining vials in front of him. After half an hour of this, he had the steps down to a precise, seamless procedure. He should be done by then too.

  “How ‘bout you, Zeke? About done there?”

  “Just about. Maybe ten minutes.”

  “Good. I want to get out of here. I can’t help feeling we’ve overstayed our welcome.”

  “You got it,” came Zeke’s reply. Cheerful as ever.

  Boaz grunted, but that was his only response. Aaron’s oldest brother wasn’t known for his scintillating conversation. Unlike the two youngest ones, especially Zeke. The whole ride down Zeke had peppered him with questions, eager as a pup anticipating his first run with the pack.

  Jesse felt his lips twitch again. The two brothers couldn’t be more different. Never mind the strong family resemblance. All the Masters brothers were big and blond. Although Aaron and Boaz were definitely the biggest. Zeke and Eli were, well… not lean, but leaner.

  Jesse felt a little stab of envy and squelched it. In spite of their differences, he hadn’t missed the way the two brothers worked seamlessly together, both knowing where the other would be, communicating with brief hand signals during the stakeout and break-in portion of the evening. What would it have been like to grow up knowing that three other people had your back like that? Without even needing to speak.