Chapter 2

Dawn’s Awakening.

Dawn stared at Seth, and felt the animalistic side of her nature give a slow, sensual, mental stretch. Her body tensed as her muscles wanted to soften. She tightened her thighs as they threatened to weaken. But nothing could shut down the scent of him moving through her pores.

He stood across the room, dressed elegantly. A silk suit, dark of course. Today it was a dark gray, to match his eyes. Thick dark brown hair was conservatively cut; he was clean shaven, the strong planes and angles of his face showing arrogant aristocracy. The sharp blade of his nose, the strong set of his chin, the hewn lines of his jaw.

Beneath the silk his body was powerfully corded. She could sense it. She could feel his strength pouring off him, and the female animal inside her responded to it. He was a strong, able mate. He would be a protector and a partner. He was virile, he would have endurance. He would breed strong children and ride her through the storm that mating heat brewed inside her body.

Her breath shortened. She felt as though she couldn’t drag enough air into her lungs, she couldn’t focus, couldn’t see anything but the man watching her so solemnly from across the shadowed room.

“Why is he here?” She was amazed that her voice sounded so calm, so confident as Callan moved around her.

“If you had hung around the house the last week instead of deliberately defying me, you would know,” he snorted. “Come over here. I’ll explain everything.”

She flushed at the subtle ass-chewing but did as she was ordered. Callan could be pushed sometimes. When it came to family, he had an incredible amount of patience. But she knew she had pushed him as far as she dared. And she knew she wouldn’t be here unless something was about to go seriously wrong.

Moving across the room, she took the seat farthest from Seth, and closest to the vent that provided ventilation and air-conditioning. His scent wasn’t as strong here, the elusive smell of an aroused male, powerful and in his sexual prime, didn’t torment her as it would farther down the table.

There were others in the room; she knew they were there, her senses picked them up and identified them. But she only saw Seth, even as she forced her eyes to lower, she kept sight of him from the corner of her eyes.

Jonas was at a smaller viewing screen farther back in the room, talking on a link. Mercury Warrant, Lawe Justice and Rule Breaker, his personal security force, stood silently, not far from him.

Styx was there. Stygian Black, the huge, dark black Wolf Breed, stood beside him. Stygian was darker skinned than most Breeds, his DNA having come from a rogue black wolf it was said, and possibly a voodoo priestess from New Orleans. The records found in the lab he nearly destroyed bare-handed had hinted at a broad selection of DNA mixed into his genetics.

One of Dawn’s Lionesses was in attendance, Moira Calhoun. She was Irish, and a hellion if ever there was one. And standing closest to the door was Noble Chavin, a mysterious, less-than-social Jaguar.

“Meet your new team, Dawn.” Callan waved toward the Breeds her senses had picked up.

Dawn glanced at the four then stared back at Callan.

“I’m command?” She rarely commanded men. They rarely got along with her, and she sure didn’t get along with them.

“You’re command.” He nodded his head, his long hair feathering over his shoulders, more like a lion’s mane than a man’s head of hair. But he was pride leader for a reason.

“And we’re here why?” She pushed back her anger, showing him the respect he deserved while in front of others.

“Because every other team is currently out busting their asses around the world and we have a major situation on our hands.” Jonas moved forward as the other Breeds took their seats around the table.

Dawn slid her PDA from the protective holster at her side, jacked it into the connector set within the table and waited for the mission information to load.

She scanned the stats as they came in, fighting to keep her eyes off Seth as he watched her. She could feel his eyes caressing her.

Then the information loading into the small, palm-sized screen had her stiffening, restraining a growl and fighting back primal fury.

Her eyes lifted to Seth, her gaze tracking over him, making certain he was unharmed, that nothing showed of the attack that had been made on him. Her gaze rolled over his face, his shoulders; she inhaled carefully, desperate now to detect any sign of injury.

“As you’re seeing, the situation is pretty damned imperative,” Jonas bit out. “We’ve had one attempt made on Mr. Lawrence in the last week, and intel has come in that we can expect another.”

“Cancel the meeting.” Dawn didn’t look at anyone else. She made the demand of Seth, her voice resonating with the fury building inside her. “You can’t afford to take this chance.”

“And if I hide now, then I may as well lock myself into a bunker and hide for the rest of my life.” Those sensual, seductive lips curled in disgust. “The meeting stands.”

“It’s two weeks,” she snapped. “How can you possibly expect us to cover you during the house party from hell, Seth?”

“I don’t, Dawn,” he admitted frankly. “The team is Jonas and Callan’s idea. I won’t back down. The board of directors to Lawrence Industries meets biannually to discuss the policies of the company as well as any other issues that come up. This year, a motion to dismiss the funding of Sanctuary is on the table by several of the older members. If we cancel the meeting, you can bet that funding will be placed on hold until the next meeting.”

Could Sanctuary do without that funding?

“Jonas, there’s no way to do this.” She glared back at the director of the Bureau of Breed Affairs. “Not one team alone, and not with the area laid out to defend against.” She waved her hand to the property that showed up on the viewing screen across the room.

“Lawrence Estate is reasonably secure—”

“It’s a security nightmare,” Dawn bit out.

Seth let a mocking smile curl his lips as he tilted his head in acknowledgment.

“Be that as it may, if I alter the location or the current plans, it will be a sign of weakness. If the Breeds’ enemies want to get rid of me, they’ll have to come to me. Jonas’s intel suggests they’ll make the attempt during this time. It’s our best chance to control the outcome and learn why they’ve decided the support of Lawrence Industries to the Breeds is a threat to them.”

“And it could be someone totally unrelated to the company that just doesn’t want you supporting Sanctuary,” Dawn argued.

Seth shook his head. “This is about someone within Lawrence Industries or close to it. Someone who believes they can take control if they can kill me.”

“And you’re playing right into their hands,” she snapped.

“Enough.” Callan’s voice was calm, but the warning edge to it wasn’t lost on Dawn. It wasn’t lost, but it was ignored.

“Cancel the meeting, Seth.”

He pursed his lips and watched her for a few moments, his long, powerful fingers tapping silently against the table before he slowly shook his head. “Canceling the meeting will only allow my assassins to catch me by surprise. If I’m going to die, Dawn, I’m going to face my murderers.” He turned to Jonas then. “But she won’t be part of the operation. Choose someone else or the deal is off.”

He rose to his feet as though it were a board meeting. As though he could decide whether she was there or not.

“Choose someone else and I’ll shoot him myself,” Dawn snarled, jumping to her feet and slapping her palms against the table as she glared back at Seth. “What’s wrong with me heading this operation?”

He tilted his head and stared back at her as he buttoned his jacket casually, his movements unconsciously graceful.

“You’re a woman,” he stated. “This isn’t a mission I want a woman involved in.”

“Well isn’t that just too bad for you, sweetcheeks.” She threw her hip to the side, propped her hand on it and regarded him with mocking sweetness as she wrinkled her nose back at him insultingly. “If you’re insane enough to go through with your own execution, then I want to at least watch. I haven’t seen a good comedy flick in a while.”

His eyes narrowed back at her.

“Dawn, sit down,” Callan ordered.

“When he does.”

“As far as I’m concerned, this meeting is over.” Seth turned to Jonas. “When you have the proper team formed, let me know.”

“Callan, have an enforcer collect my travel bag, I’ll be heading out with Mr. Lawrence.”

She was insane, that was all there was to it. Where the hell were these words coming from? Shooting out of her mouth as though she somehow controlled the situation.

No one spoke. Dawn could feel the tension building in the room as all eyes settled on her and Seth.

“You will not—”

“Let you walk out of here into a firing squad,” she snapped.

“Dammit, Dawn, I know what I’m doing,” he snapped back.

“Oh, do you?” she drawled. “Well, Seth, why don’t you just instruct little ole me and my team while you’re doing it. Because you’re not doing it alone. And you’re not doing it with another team.”

She wanted to be as far away from him as possible. Being in the same country with him was bad enough. Being stuck on an island, a sultry, heated island, was going to be hell. Dawn could feel the sweat beginning to crawl down her back, the fear that knotted her stomach and the arousal that throbbed deep inside her sex.

And she felt fear. Fear that someone, that something, would take him out of this world and then she really would be alone.

His lips tightened as his eyes swirled with anger, the gray darkening like a violent thundercloud.

“You heard me, Jonas,” he stated, his voice commanding.

“Callan, have you sent that enforcer after my travel bag yet?” she asked.

No one spoke, and she didn’t risk tearing her gaze from Seth’s long enough to see how far she had pissed her pride leader off.

“I’ll tell you what we will do.” Callan rose to his feet slowly. “We’ll leave you two alone to discuss this for a few moments before we return to finalize the mission.” His voice was carefully bland as the others rose to their feet and began to move toward the door.

Dawn could feel the amusement. Male amusement, of course, as she continued to face down Seth. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him, couldn’t make herself back down.

How long had it been since she had been close enough to really smell him? So close that his scent was almost a taste against her tongue.

So long. Too long. She had avoided him during the rare visits he made to Sanctuary. She had refused the occasional missions that would have placed her anywhere close to him. She had fought her need for him, her body’s need for him, and every demand that roiled inside her that she rub against him, stroke him and share the hunger that ate her alive.

She could have continued to avoid him, she told herself. This meant nothing. She was just concerned about him. He was her sister-in-law’s brother. That was it. She latched on to the excuse like a life preserver. Seth was family. She had to protect him. She would never forgive herself otherwise and neither would Roni ever forgive her.

Seth had to live. The thought of anything less terrified her.

As the door to the room closed, leaving her and Seth alone, she continued to stare back at him, refusing to break eye contact or the connection she could feel inside her. Even furious with her, he was connected to her. Why hadn’t she known that before? All the years she had watched him from afar, hoping to catch a glimpse of him even as she told herself she didn’t want or need him, why hadn’t she known what she was feeling when their eyes locked as they were now?

Instinct fought a battle with her conscious mind, the animal and the woman struggling to agree on their needs, what they could and couldn’t have. She couldn’t have him. But that instinctive part of herself, the animal, screamed out for the man it knew was her mate.

“You’ve grown more stubborn,” he said softly, breaking that contact, and she drew in a harsh breath at the loss of it.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers and regarded her solemnly. “You know this isn’t going to work, Dawn.” He shook his head, as though regretting that fact. “I would be too busy trying to protect you. Too busy worrying about you. I won’t be focused.”

“Then we’ll die together.” She shrugged as though it didn’t matter.

She could feel the waves of anger pouring off him, despite his calm. Yeah, Seth was controlled. Nearly as controlled as she was, perhaps more. He was steel, inside and out, hard and strong, and sometimes, she thought, invincible. But he was still human. Still flesh and blood. And he could still die.

“You say that so casually,” he drawled. “We’ll die together. Excuse me while I sneer, sweetheart, but I think you’ve been watching too much television.”

“I don’t watch television.” She shrugged. “I don’t listen to romantic music, and I don’t tell ghost stories around campfires. What I do, and what I do well, is protection. You’ll not be the first spoiled little rich boy I’ve had to babysit.”

She expected an explosion with that one.

“I won’t be the one to get you killed either,” he stated coldly. “I’ll inform Jonas the mission is off.”

She stared at him furiously as he turned and moved to the door, something inside her breaking at the knowledge that he was serious.

Heedless of the consequences, Dawn moved around the table quickly and reached for him. But before she could touch, before she could feel, the warmth of his flesh through his clothes, he turned on her.

Dawn stared back at his face in fascination. The anger that tightened his features, the pure fury that darkened his eyes.

“Don’t touch me, Dawn.” His eyes were as cold as ice. “I’ve spent ten years getting over the effect you have on me. Ten years getting my own life back. I won’t allow you to destroy the progress I made.”

And it hit her then. She inhaled, her lips parting as she realized Seth was no longer in mating heat.

Dawn stumbled back at half step, the breath suddenly slicing into her lungs at the realization that she had lost him. Completely lost him.

“That’s not possible,” she whispered, suddenly horrified. “Mating heat doesn’t just go away.”

His lips twisted mockingly. “Not when mates are together, perhaps. Not when they touch, when they love. Not when there’s something more binding them together than the brief little contacts we had, Dawn.” His gaze flickered over her, regret shimmering within the anger. “There wasn’t even a kiss to bind us, was there, sweetheart? Just my determination and arrogance. That doesn’t get a man far, does it?”

But she was still his mate. The thought was disjointed, unconnected, as her gaze went over him, her senses reaching for him. There was none of her scent on him, no sign of the mating heat or of arousal. She was only barely aware of the furious little growl that came from her throat.

“There you go. Another reason you won’t be part of this operation. Because I’ll be damned if I let your effect on me destroy me again. Do us both a favor, Agent Daniels. Stay the hell away from me.”

He jerked the door open and stalked out of the room, brushing past the others while she stared at his back in horrified awareness.

He wasn’t her mate any longer. She felt her nails biting into her palm as Jonas turned slowly to stare at her.

“Delay his departure,” she snarled.

The corners of his eyes twitched, as though he had only barely held back the widening of them.

“If he’s refusing protection, Dawn, there’s nothing we can do,” he told her reasonably.

Dawn didn’t want to hear reasonable. She didn’t want logic and she didn’t want an argument.

“Delay his departure an hour. Let him think he won. Lie to him, I don’t care, you’re good at that. But do something.”

“And where will you be?” he asked.

“I have to talk to Ely.” She had to stop shuddering. It wasn’t showing on the outside, but on the inside she was coming apart and she couldn’t handle it. “I have to talk to her now.”

She brushed past the group, barely restraining a flinch each time her flesh came into contact with their bodies, reminding her that Seth might have gotten over her, but she was a long way from being cured.

She was aware of his eyes on her as she stalked through Mission Control. She knew exactly where he was, standing to the side, where he discussed one of the satellites he had given the Breeds free use of. His voice was low, but she heard him. Heard him beneath the other voices that filled the cavernous room as she hurried through it.

When had this happened? When had Seth stopped reacting to the mating heat that she had been warned had begun in him ten years before? It had to have been recently. As Cassie had stated, he hadn’t aged a day in ten years. The mating heat slowed down the aging process considerably. He still looked in his early thirties. He was still strong and powerful, but he no longer carried her scent.

It was all she could do to keep from running from the communications bunker back to the estate. When she reached it, she slammed into the back door, ignoring the women sitting at the table, the children laughing and playing as they ate.

There were three Breed children now, and Tanner’s wife and mate was carrying twins to add to them. Dawn hadn’t thought she would want children, had never given them consideration. But regret sliced deep as well. She felt bombarded from all sides, rage and pain, regret and aching need racing through her as she made her way to the basement level of the estate house and pushed her way into Dr. Elyiana Morrey’s office.

Ely looked up in surprise from the files she was reading as Dawn slammed the door behind her.

“It’s not time for another treatment, Dawn.”

It had become a battle between them. The hormonal treatments had had to be adjusted almost weekly to keep the effects of the mating heat from driving Dawn insane.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” The words rasped from her throat, hollow and filled with pain.

Ely blinked back at her. “Tell you what?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that you had found a cure for my mate?” she sneered, enraged. “You can cure him but you can’t cure me?” The accusation was unfounded, and it wasn’t the point.

The animal part of her was screaming in pain, in rage. It didn’t want a cure. It wanted the mate. The touch, the bond, the connection to what belonged to it. To her.

Ely sighed heavily and shook her head as she rose to her feet and carried a file to the large wood cabinet on the other side of the room.

“I didn’t think you would be interested, just to start with.” She shrugged before brushing the thick strands of her dark brunette hair back from her face and adjusting her glasses on her face. “And it’s an anomaly I’m still studying.”

“How long have you known?” Something inside her was breaking apart, shattering.

Ely took a deep breath. “Almost a year for certain. The hormonal levels began leveling off in him nearly four years ago. There are only minute quantities showing up in his system now. Within a few months, I expect his system will be completely free of the heat.”

Dawn sat down slowly in the upholstered chair closest to her and stared back at Ely. “Why not in me?” she whispered, feeling strangely hollow now, alone, in a way she hadn’t felt in ten years.

“I don’t know, Dawn,” Ely said softly. “I suspect it’s because it began in you. Your Breed physiology may not allow for the hormone levels to recede.”

She stared back at Ely, her breathing rough, while inside—inside she felt the Cougar that so often lay dormant rising furiously. It snarled. Rage tore through the instinctive Breed synapses and shot through the woman’s mind.

She wasn’t just a woman. A woman who had lain alone, ached and fought the nightmares of a past that she couldn’t escape. She was also a mate, and the man she had claimed so long ago was breaking the bonds that held them together.

“Dawn, you should be happy for this,” Ely told her gently. “I know it’s bothered you that Seth suffers…”

“He’s mine!” She came out of the chair in a burst of furious energy.

Ely stared back at her in surprise for long seconds. “Not any longer, Dawn. Seth is no longer your mate. And hopefully, in time, the mating heat will recede from your system as well.”