Chapter 3

Dawn remembered, ten years before, when Seth and his father had arrived at Sanctuary to claim Taber’s mate, Roni, as their family. She was Aaron Lawrence’s daughter and Seth’s half sister. They had been searching for her for years, and had found her during a newscast that reported that Roni Andrews, a known associate of the Breeds, carried a mark on her neck similar to that which was rumored to be a mating mark.

They had crashed through the gates of Sanctuary, and Cassie Sinclair had run through the Breeds surrounding their limo, careless of her own safety, and jumped inside to ensure that these unknown people were protected.

Dawn and her team had been assigned to guard them in one of the guest houses during that week, and she had gotten to know Seth in a way she had never known another man.

His dominance and power lay beneath the surface of the man. He was steel hard on the inside, but he knew how to smile and how to laugh. He knew how to tease her gently, how to brush against her or touch her without making her stomach contract with terror.

He had been the perfect gentleman, to a point. What he didn’t say or act on was always in his eyes though. A simmering heat, a promise of wicked lusts, of a man that knew all the ways of pleasure.

Dawn didn’t know pleasure. She had never known a lover’s touch, never felt a lover’s kiss, until Seth. Until his lips had brushed against hers and for the first time in her life she had been close to a man without being sick with fear.

And then everything had gone to hell. The chauffeur/bodyguard Seth had with him had been a Council spy, and he’d caught her and Seth by surprise. He had managed to knock Seth out and secure Dawn to a chair under the threat of killing him.

And then he had touched her. While Seth had watched, enraged, he had fondled her breasts, slapped her, taunted Seth and threatened to rape Dawn in front of his eyes.

But it wouldn’t be the first time she had been raped, the man had sneered at her. Wasn’t she no more than a plaything for the guards at the lab she had been created in?

And she had seen Seth’s eyes when he said it. Seen the flash of horror and of pity, and she had hated them both. Before he left, the chauffeur had decided to make certain she was defenseless by hitting her in the head with something. The butt of his weapon she was told. She was unconscious for days. When she awoke, the nightmares began again, and she learned that the simple brushing of Seth’s lips against hers, the touch of his hand against her neck, had begun the mating heat.

And she had cursed it.

Until now.

As she packed her travel bag the next day, a heavy duffel nearly half her size, rage was beating a harsh tattoo in her views. Jonas had sent Mercury, Lawe and Rule, along with the rest of the team he had chosen for her to command, with Seth to his little island estate.

And horrifyingly enough, Dash Sinclair, his wife, Elizabeth, and daughter, Cassie, were going to be in attendance as well. The two-week-long biannual meeting was no more than an excuse for a huge house party. It was going to be a nightmare. Why in the hell Dash would take Elizabeth and Cassie there, she didn’t have a clue.

And tonight, Sanctuary’s heli-jet would fly her in. She would be taking command of the team under the watchful eye of the enigmatic Dash Sinclair, and pulling that one off had taken a lot of fancy talking.

Dash was one of the few Breeds who hadn’t been raised completely within the Council labs they were created in. He had escaped at the tender age of ten, been placed in the foster system and joined the army at eighteen. When he found his mate and her daughter, he had taken the skills he had learned and used them to benefit the Breeds, and Sanctuary. He had been a major force in aligning the Feline, Wolf and rebel Coyotes together into a power that was slowly being accepted within the world.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Dawn?” Callan stood in her open doorway, his expression creased into lines of worry as she swung around to face him.

She shoved an extra weapon inside the bag, and stored the clips of ammo in the side before answering him.

“Ely said he’s not my mate anymore.” She was grieving and she knew it. Just as she knew she had no right to grieve.

She had stayed as far away from him as possible over the past ten years, suffering, knowing he was probably suffering too. Knowing he hadn’t been just pissed her off now. She had suffered alone. Hurt alone. She had been alone, just as she always was.

“Dawn.”

She flinched as he touched her arm, then moved away from him.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked her again. “You’re not focused.”

“I’m second command.” She shrugged. “And with Jonas’s team there, I feel more confident. I…” She swallowed tightly as she avoided his gaze. “I can’t not go.”

“Dawn, why didn’t you tell me what Dayan was doing to you?”

She flinched violently. It was so long ago. In a life she didn’t want to remember. Her pride brother, Dayan. He hadn’t been sane, but he had hid the insanity so well. He had worked them all to one degree or another. Playing Callan against the soldiers sent after him, betraying his whereabouts to them so he spent more and more time away from the home base they had established. And while Callan was gone, he had worked insidiously to destroy her and Sherra.

Sherra had been stronger though. She’d had the memories of her mate, Kane, to hold on to. Dawn had only the nightmares that Dayan had preyed upon. And the fear.

“I didn’t know what he was doing to me,” she finally whispered, lifting her head, feeling the shame that filled her as Callan’s amber eyes darkened painfully. “The Council taught him well, Callan. That wasn’t your fault. You can’t take the blame for what he did anymore.”

For how Dayan had maneuvered the men of the pride, how he had built upon her and Sherra’s fears. Sherra had her memories though; Dawn had somehow managed to repress hers, and nothing she did now revealed them.

“He didn’t rape me, Callan,” she whispered.

“Yes, he did,” he said heavily. “He raped your mind, Dawn. If I could kill him daily for the rest of my life, I would. I’d make him suffer as he never could have imagined.”

Dayan had been his pride brother. Callan had risked his life for all of them, gave his life for them in the years he had protected them. All of them. And Dayan had betrayed him at every turn.

“It doesn’t matter.” She drew in a hard, deep breath. “The heli-jet’s waiting on me. I have to go.”

“Dawn.” His voice sharpened, stopping her as she moved to jerk the duffel from her bed.

“What, Callan?” she snapped back. “What more do you want me to say?”

“He’s going to want more from you than that part of you that refuses to let him go,” he warned her harshly. “Do you understand me? Seth isn’t a monk. He won’t take vows of celibacy for you. And running to him, restarting the mating process without the clear intention of sleeping with that man is wrong. I have half a mind to order you to stay here.” He pushed his hands through his hair in frustration. “Dammit, he doesn’t deserve this any more than you do.”

“He’s mine!” The cry ripped from her throat.

“And he will demand your presence in his bed,” he snarled. “I’m a mate, Dawn, I know what the mating heat does to a man. And God’s truth, I would have committed suicide rather than do to my mate what Seth knows he’s going to do to you. Let him go.”

“Is this why you’re here?” She felt her face contort in pain, her chest tighten with it, as she waved her hand at him in agitation. “To order me away from him?”

“He’s making a life for himself. A chance to be a man, Dawn. A husband. A father.”

She froze as she read the truth in his eyes.

“He has a lover.” Her throat felt closed off, as though she were strangling on her own pain and rage.

Oh God, he was touching another woman? Sleeping with her? Holding her.

“Dawn—”

She jerked her hands up, shaking, the pain rising inside her until she was surprised it didn’t bring her to her knees, didn’t send her into an agony so intense she was screaming from it.

Her flesh, every cell in her body, was raging in denial. It couldn’t happen. It wouldn’t happen. He was her mate.

“He intends to announce his engagement during the gathering at Lawrence Island,” he told her softly. “He didn’t want to hurt you. He didn’t want to make this painful for you, Dawn. I want you to stay here. I want you to let him go.”

Callan stepped back slowly at the expression that contorted Dawn’s face, and the furious, inhuman growl that left her throat. She was shaking. He could see the muscles in her upper arms and chest twitching beneath the skin. Her upper lip curled back at one corner to flash those small, delicate canines.

Everything about Dawn was delicate, except the rage and pain that he saw flashing in her eyes, in her expression. Tears gathered and fell down her cheeks, and he stared at the sight in awe. Dawn had never cried. From the night he had carried her from the labs, to this second, Dawn had never shed a tear.

But two eased slowly down her cheeks now and he doubted she even realized it.

He could see the sense of betrayal she felt, and the agony. He knew himself as Merinus’s mate—if he ever realized the mating had reversed and she longed for another, he would have shed blood. His and the man who held his mate’s heart. It would be too much to be borne. And it was because of this that he and Jonas had decided to wait until Seth left to tell her what they had learned. What Seth hadn’t told them until he learned Dawn would be on Lawrence Island.

As he watched, her expression stilled, froze, and he expected her to do as she had always done. Go hunting. Go chasing explosives in caves or council soldiers somewhere else. He didn’t expect what came.

“My mate,” she said coldly. “He might have a lover now, but he won’t have one for long.”

She jerked her duffel bag from the bed.

“And if he loves her, Dawn? What then? Do you love Seth enough to let him go? Or just enough to make both of you miserable?”

She paused, her back to him, the muscles jumping beneath the skin.

“Would you walk away?” she asked. “Could you?”

He debated lying to her. She sounded lost, lonely, more so than he believed he had ever heard in her voice. She deserved nothing less than the truth.

Callan sighed wearily. “If Merinus had suffered the hell you’ve suffered, I wouldn’t have a choice. Her happiness would mean more to me than the knowledge that I could claim her without giving her the benefits of that claiming.”

“He’s mine,” she whispered again and he heard the tears he knew she was now hiding from him.

Her voice was ripping his heart in half though. God, she was the baby of their family, the one most abused, the one he had wanted to shelter the most. She was more to him than a sister, nearly as dear to him as his own son. And the broken, agonized sound of her voice made him plead to God to ease her path, because he knew she wouldn’t.

“Dawn. He deserves more than a claiming,” he said gently, hating Seth Lawrence now more than he had ever hated him, for the pain Dawn suffered over him. But the man deserved more, just as Dawn did. Unfortunately, Callan feared Dawn would break rather than accept the memories she hid from.

“He started it,” she cried out, and the sound of her voice was painful to hear. “He touched when he was warned not to. He touched when I whispered the risks to him. He touched me…” Her voice broke. “Now he can suffer as well, by God. Because I’ll be damned if another woman will steal what’s mine.”

She jerked the strap of the duffel over her shoulder and strode from the room. The little warrior, that was how he always thought of her. Dressed in her uniform, too delicate to do the things he knew she did. She fought full-grown Breed males and she could put a hurting on them. She faced explosives and Council soldiers and drew blood with a sneer. But she couldn’t face her own past.

He lowered his head and shook it before moving from the room and entering the hall. There he saw Jonas, standing silent and solemn as he watched the stairs Dawn had disappeared down.

The other man sighed heavily, ran his hands over his short black hair and shook his head as though weariness had settled over him.

“Call Dash,” Callan ordered the other man. “I don’t want this getting out of control.”

“I should have killed Lawrence ten years ago,” Jonas bit out. “I nearly did. I had him in my sights and had my finger on the trigger. I could have saved her from this. I wanted to save her from this.”

Callan felt a chill race up his back. He knew Jonas could be cold, efficient, and took the preservation of the Breed society as a whole with exacting seriousness. Seeing it though, hearing him speak so easily of killing an innocent man, grated on Callan’s sense of honor.

Jonas looked at him and smiled mockingly. “You would have never known, and neither would she. But she wouldn’t be suffering now. And neither would you.”

With that, Jonas followed behind Dawn as he jerked his sat-phone from the clip at his hip and contacted Dash.

Callan stood where he was, feeling Merinus near him, then feeling her arms sliding around his waist, her head settling comfortingly against his back.

“I can’t save her this time.” His voice was rough, husky with the knowledge that Dawn had to save herself now.

“She’s grown, Callan.” Her hands tightened against his stomach, holding him close to her. “Let her do what she has to. She’ll never forgive you otherwise.”

He turned to her slowly. “How do I forgive myself if she fails?”

Merinus’s lips trembled as she reached up and cupped his jaw. “You won’t,” she admitted. “But you’ll know you did all you could to protect her. Everything you could, Callan. A man can’t ask any more of himself than that.”

A man couldn’t ask more of himself than his own honesty, honor and pride.

Seth stood on the upper balcony of the two-story, sprawling mansion situated in the middle of Lawrence Island, just off the California coast, and stared into the ocean of blue that surrounded them.

He was a man who had everything other men wanted, but the core of sadness that had cemented inside his soul never abated. The mating heat had gone away; the torturous arousal for a woman he couldn’t have was no longer like a cancer growing inside him. But a man didn’t stop loving with the same ease. And Seth had never stopped.

Ten years was a long time to grieve over the loss of one woman. A long time to obsess over the things he couldn’t have. Though, he admitted, she had grown in those ten years. She hadn’t been timid during that meeting at Sanctuary. She had been strong—a smart-ass, but strong. And it had turned him on. Even without the mating heat, with nothing abnormal or preternatural, he had been so fucking hot for her he’d nearly melted his chair.

But those shadows were still in her eyes, and there was still a hint of fear there. And she was still the one woman he couldn’t have. All he had now was this and, maybe, the hope of someone to leave it to later. A child perhaps rather than a fucking board of directors.

The island was lushly vegetated, private and fairly large. Cliffs fell into the ocean from the north, while the southern edge was a tropical paradise ringed by white sand beaches.

Helicopters were landing on the eastern edge, along the helipads, and the additional house servants were collecting the guests in four-wheel-drive all-terrains, which would negotiate the rough roads to the house.

Except for once every two years, Lawrence Island was a retreat rather than an entertainment center. Then, every two years, each room in the mansion and outer guest buildings was filled.

They were filling up now, even as he watched. The pool behind the house was already in use, the billiards and cinema center being prepared for the arrival of the families of the board members, as well as the guests invited to enjoy the island.

His father had begun the tradition of inviting more than just board members to the island during the meetings, and it was one Seth knew he wouldn’t keep up long. He was already looking at scheduling the next meeting at the home offices of Lawrence Industries in New York City rather than using the island any longer.

He leaned his arms against the smooth railing that ran the length of the upper story, clasped his hands and watched as the Breed heli-jet settled on the private helipad closer to the house.

Dash Sinclair and his family were arriving. He watched as Cassie climbed out behind her father, the waist-length trails of thick curls whipping in the wind as she stared up at the house.

He couldn’t see her expression, but he knew she was staring directly back at him. Next came Elizabeth. Seth knew the Breed had left his young son at Sanctuary, his preferred location for the protection of his children when needed. He couldn’t understand why he had brought his daughter.

He wiped a hand over his face and fought back the regret that burned through his mind like wildfire. Dawn could have been here, where he had dreamed of seeing her over the years. She could have filled his mansion with her spirit, and her haunted sadness.

Fuck. Ten years.

He stared out at the ocean again, the blue so intense it almost hurt the eyes, and imagined her there with him as he had a thousand times over. By his side. In his bed. Sharing his life and his passion. That had been his dream, his hope, and it had followed him even after those horrifying minutes that he had stood and watched the graphic, nightmarish proof of the life she had led in those labs.

Which was one of the reasons the board members were now bucking the amount of time and money Seth was putting into Sanctuary and the fight against the supremacist groups rising against them. Because of what he had seen. Because of what he had lost.

He moved a hand to his chest and rubbed at it absently. Right there over his heart, where the ache centered. Where he couldn’t forget the years he had spent so tied to her that his flesh had crawled with the need for her touch.

“Darling, your guests are arriving. We should greet them.”

He didn’t tense when Caroline moved to him and pressed her barely covered breasts against his back, her arms snaking around his waist and burrowing beneath the loose white cotton shirt he wore.

His flesh no longer crawled at another woman’s touch, and he no longer stalked away, unable to draw so much as an ounce of interest in a sexual relationship with another woman.

In ten years he hadn’t aged, but the other effects of the mysterious mating heat had slowly worn away with the absence of the woman who had initiated it.

Caroline was but one woman among many that he had taken to his bed in the past years. Someone to warm the nights, to spend the excessive sexual release he needed more often than he had before meeting Dawn.

He was considering a more permanent relationship with her. He had given himself these two weeks as his deadline to make that decision.

She was young enough to have children, was socially adept, and would be an asset among his business contacts. If he could only force himself to actually spend a full night in her bed rather than just a few hours.

He moved from her touch, placing several inches between them, unconsciously drawing away from her even as he caught himself.

And she noticed it as well. She always noticed it. Her lips tightened in anger, and rather than deal with the tantrum he could feel brewing, he placed his hand at the small of her back and led her toward the outside staircase to the first floor.

“Why are all these Breeds arriving, Seth?” There was a snap to her voice as Lawe and Rule discreetly moved in protectively.

“The Breeds provide security for all my functions; you know this, Caroline.” He restrained his impatience.

He reminded himself that Caroline was no different than millions of other people who were uncomfortable with the Breeds’ presence, especially those who had foolishly or unknowingly supported the Genetics Council that created them.

It was one of the reasons he was having so much trouble with the board of directors now. They wanted the funding toward the Breeds halted and for Lawrence Industries, and Seth in particular, to break ties with them. Only a few of those members backed Seth at the moment. He was hoping to draw more to his side before the two weeks were out.

“Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Vanderale and Mr. Desalvo have arrived. You asked me to notify you when they reached the house.” The house steward stepped from the path leading to the front of the house, his bland expression belying the excitement in his hazel eyes.

Richard loved the house parties.

“Thank you, Richard.” He nodded as he turned Caroline toward the path leading around the house. “We’ll be right in.”

Richard hurried ahead of them as Lawe and Rule came in behind them. Caroline’s body was tense now, offended sensibilities clearly demonstrated in the tap of her heels against the stone walk.

“We should have been awaiting them in the foyer,” she snapped. “This does not make a good impression, Seth. And you haven’t even changed clothes yet.”

He restrained his sigh. Women always bitched about changing clothes and the right impression, didn’t they? He seemed to remember that.

“I’m sure Dane won’t mind the casual attitude,” he assured her.

“Of course not. Dane Vanderale and his little sidekick are known for their eccentricities. It doesn’t mean you have to follow suit,” she hissed.

He was glad to see the end of the path and the wide front porch where Dane leaned casually against the railing, a slim cigar clenched between his teeth.

Dane Vanderale was an enigma, even among enigmas. With his rough, almost savage good looks, overly long light brown hair and mocking brown eyes, he could have been a Breed himself, instead of merely a supporter. Beside him, darker brown and lazily relaxed, his bodyguard and friend, Ryan Desalvo, watched as Seth and Caroline stepped onto the porch.

“Caro, sweetheart, you get prettier every time.” Dane flashed her a smile before pulling her to him, smacking a kiss on her glossy red lips and smearing the brilliant lipstick.

“Really, Dane!” She pushed away from his chest, but the offended tone of her voice held a shade more interest than Seth was certain she wanted known. “You’re insane.”

Dane replaced the cigar between his teeth and chuckled before holding his hand out to Seth and glancing over his shoulder at the Breeds.

“Pulled in reinforcements, did you?” he questioned. “I wondered if you would.”

Dane was one of the few people aware of the attempts on Seth’s life over the past months.

Seth grinned back at the Breeds, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

“It’s good to see you, Dane.” Seth restrained his own grin at Caroline’s obvious attraction to Dane.

“Seth, sweetheart, I’m going to go make certain everyone is settling in. I’ll see you later.” She reached up, kissed his cheek and moved to the opened doors leading into the mansion.

Seth’s jaw clenched at the feel of her lipstick against his skin. He couldn’t wipe it off fast enough, though he pretended nonchalance as he did just that.

Dane watched closely, his eyes narrowed. “Made up your mind yet?” he asked, and Seth knew what he was talking about.

“I might as well.” He shifted his shoulders loosely. “I’m not getting any younger.”

Dane shook his head slowly. “Some things a man has to fight for, Seth.”

“And sometimes a man has to know when the battle is done,” Seth said softly.

“I bet Dawn would be beautiful here.”

Seth swung around, his eyes narrowing as Cassie stepped onto the landing to the porch, dressed in jeans and a tank top, her parents following close behind.

He heard the emphasis on “Dawn.” She wasn’t talking about the fucking sunrise.

“Cassie. Dash, Elizabeth, meet Dane Vanderale, heir to the Vanderale Legacy in Africa. His sometimes bodyguard and friend Ryan Desalvo.”

Cassie paused in front of Dane, her eyes so blue they glowed as a little smile tugged at her lips and Dane seemed to tense.

“Hello, Cassie,” he drawled, the African accent thickening his words and giving them a lazy, almost sensual sound. “Dash Sinclair. We met at Scheme and Tanner’s engagement party. And his lovely wife, Elizabeth.” He shook Dash’s hand, but he was careful to not touch Elizabeth as he made a show of brushing her cheek with his lips.

“Dane, you’re a flirt.” Elizabeth smiled as Dash’s dark face creased into a scowl.

Dash was a Breed. Fully mated. But even fully mated Breeds were known to be intensely jealous over their women.

“He likes to live dangerously,” Dash commented mockingly, though he pulled Cassie back as she edged closer to the other man.

Cassie flipped her hair over her shoulder and shot her father a frown that had Seth grinning. Cassie was inquisitive, sometimes too much. And Seth hadn’t missed it.

“So I’ve been told regularly,” Dane laughed. He flipped the fire off the end of the cigar and tapped it into his palm before sliding it into the worn pocket of his bush shirt. “And I believe we’ll let the delectable little Caro show us to our rooms now. We’ll catch up with you later, Seth. Dash.” He nodded to both of them before strolling back into the house.

All eyes turned to Cassie as she narrowed her gaze and watched him silently. The girl often saw things…

“He’s like, cute. For an old man.” Her brows lifted as she quickly sidestepped her father’s swatting hand and laughed in delight.

“Richard.” Seth motioned to the house steward lingering close by. “The Sinclairs are very special guests. Make certain they’re comfortable.”

“Seth.” Dash nodded in acceptance of the compliment. “We’ll talk later.”

Yeah, they would.

Seth inhaled and turned back to stare out along the private drive and the vehicles rolling to a stop. Another Breed heli-jet flew overhead. Hopefully a few additional security members, Seth thought. Damn, he didn’t like this. The threat, the intel that another attempt would come here, within his own private fortress. And he had pushed Dawn away.

Ten fucking years he had dreamed of her, dreamed of having her here, by his side. Letting it go was the hardest thing he had ever done.

“Seth.” Lawe stepped up to him, his expression somber, but his eyes gleaming. “Dawn’s just arrived to take command of the group. Good luck, man.”