Lora Leigh - Bengal's Heart

“Cassa’s been sighted, Cabal. She’s alive. Patrick Wallace has made a deal with Watts according to the information our spy within the group had gotten to us. He’s trading Cassa to Watts for information on a missing son.”

“What missing kid?” he snarled into the link.

“The Valentine’s night massacre,” Jonas relayed. “Wallace’s mate was in labor when the Dozen found her. She was alone with the midwife. Both his mate and the midwife were killed. Her child was cut from her body and taken. Watts took the boy. Wallace is hunting for his child.”

Then he should have come to Jonas. Hell, he could have come to Cabal at any time and received every resource they could use to find Wallace’s missing child.

No, what this man had done was insanity. He had killed, risked the Breed community and then dared to attempt to trade Cassa for information.

He was a dead man, Cabal promised himself. There was no way in hell Cabal was going to allow such mercilessness to survive.

“Cabal, we have a team moving in,” Jonas informed him. “Brimstone is commander of the Coyotes that broke Watts out of the prison. That team is not to be touched. Those Coyotes are friendly. I repeat, they’re friendly. Do not engage. Son of a bitch, you stubborn-assed Bengal. I know what the fuck I’m doing here!” Jonas finally yelled in frustration when Cabal didn’t respond.

Engage, his ass. Then they better not get in his damned way. He liked Brimstone just fine. Second-in-command of the Coyotes that had joined the Wolf community of Haven, he was a fine man. He was a damned good Breed. But if he stood in Cabal’s way, then he was going to be a damned good dead Breed. It was that simple.

Patrick Wallace didn’t touch her, Cassa had to give him that. He made certain she was given breathing room, she wasn’t crowded in the van that he, Walt, Keith and David rode in.

David didn’t continue the full distance. They met another vehicle not far down the mountain.

“Protection,” Patrick murmured as Cassa watched the several Breeds from the other vehicle help David Banks into the four-wheel-drive. “David has proof and information against the members of the Dozen that have been identified so far. It’s been a process of elimination for the past few years.”

Cassa turned and stared at his profile. His expression was quiet, reflective. His face was cast in shadow in the low light of the dash, giving him a somber, dark-angel appearance.

“You won’t find the identities of the final four,” she told him quietly. “Cabal will kill you for this, Patrick.”

She was shaking inside. She could feel the fear moving through her, building in her mind. If Cabal didn’t find her soon, and she knew he was looking for her, then she was screwed. God only knew what Douglas would do to her once he got his hands on her. From the videos she had seen of those hunts, it was something she didn’t want to contemplate.

Patrick shook his head slowly.

“My mate betrayed me and mine to those hunters,” he said quietly. “My best fighters were massacred. The females of my pride were either killed or returned to their labs. I learned then: You do what you have to do. My loyalty is to my fallen pride and those who still survive. You’re a pawn, Ms. Hawkins. Cabal was a pawn. And Watts will become a fatality. However I have to effect that end, that is what he will be. Whether you live or die all depends on how intelligent you are, and whether or not you’ve learned how to fight in the past eleven years.” She stared back at him, knowing there was going to be no mercy here. He might not want to hurt her himself, but if she was harmed, he wouldn’t cry over it.

“I hope this is worth the hell Cabal will ensure you endure,” she whispered.

“There is no hell greater than the one I’ve already endured.” He sighed as he slid the vehicle into gear and drove the van out of the wide spot he’d used to pull off on.

Cassa was certain a worse hell awaited her though if she didn’t find a way to escape it. What had he said? Her ability to survive this depended on her own intelligence. And what exactly did he mean by that?

“Rick, everyone’s in place,” Walt informed him quietly as he disconnected the sat phone he had held to his ear for long moments. “Watts is moving into the meeting area.”

Patrick nodded. “Keith?” He glanced at the Breed in the back.

“In place.” Keith was quiet, his voice rough. “The players are all heading to the field.”

The tension mounted in the van now.

“Don’t do this,” she whispered again.

“I was born to do this,” he said heavily. “Live or die. It ends with Watts tonight.”

Cassa stared into the darkness that gathered around the van as they drove deeper into the mountains. The bare trees danced in the wind as snow began to swirl in the air. The chill outside seemed to seep inside the vehicle, to sink into her flesh.

She needed Cabal. She ached to burrow against him, to feel the warmth of him just once more. She should have told him, she thought. She should have told him that this mating meant so much more to her than she had ever imagined it would. That through the years she had run from him, just as hard as he had run from her, because she had been frightened. Because she had been afraid he could never forgive her for the deaths of his family.

Not just his pride. Those Breeds were more: They were brothers and sisters, born of the same mother, bred from the same genetics.

She loved him. She had always loved him. That night as she stared into his eyes, feeling his fingers wrapped around her throat and seeing the amber rage in his gaze, she had also seen the mercy. The struggle within himself. The certainty that he would never hurt her, no matter the fury that tore through him.

He hadn’t left the first mark on her. Not a single fingerprint or bruise. He hadn’t hurt her. He would never hurt her. In that single moment a part of her heart had opened and Cabal had filled it.

And now she could lose that forever.

Where was he? She stared out into the night, knowing he was there somewhere. He was looking for her. He was fighting to save her. She might have to save herself for a while first though.

She could do that. Whatever it took to ensure that she had the future she had always dreamed of with Cabal. Whatever it took to ensure that she didn’t have to live so much as another hour without knowing that he understood the faith and the trust she placed in him.

Had she ever told him that? She hadn’t. God, this had all happened so fast. The mating, learning to adjust to a heat that really wasn’t as bad as she had heard it was. Actually, she thought and frowned, it was rather tame when compared to the trials she knew other mates had faced.

Though the physical symptoms were lighter than with other mates because of the hormones, she could still feel the bonding. She could feel the need to be close to him, the need for his warmth, not just his lovemaking. She needed Cabal, just because he was Cabal. Her wild Bengal Breed.

“Get ready,” Patrick warned them as they pulled into the wide clearing she had used herself when searching for the valley where Alonzo had died.

Get ready to die.

Cassa could feel the tension rising inside her. As Patrick stepped out of the van and slid open the door by her seat, she met his gaze calmly.

“You can’t trust Douglas,” she told him. “He always has a backup plan.”

“As do I.” He shrugged. “Let’s go. We’ll get this taken care of as quickly as possible. Perhaps you’ll get lucky and you’ll see your mate before the night is over.”

Cassa inhaled slowly and stepped into the cold. She could feel it wrapping around her, prickling over her flesh despite the coat Walt had given her to wear.