Page 29 of Hayden's Haven
“That’s—”
“Not far from where you were,” Damien finished for him. “What you saw was the fifty-mile perimeter block the government set up to contain the virus.”
“Damn him!” Hayden practically jumped out of his chair. He needed to move, to get away from everyone to think. Testing the virus on the small group of backpackers that had trespassed onto his territory was bad enough, but this was a wide-scale massacre with the potential to turn into a pandemic. Had his brother finally lost what little hold he had on reality? The government would slaughter every last shifter when they discovered shifters were behind this. “What provoked him?”
“What do you mean what ‘provoked him’?” Mila asked. “That alpha’s family is full of psychopaths, except for Kate. No doubt she takes after her mother’s side.”
Hayden hissed at her words, drawing not only her but everyone’s attention. He shoved his hand through his hair and paced. Talking about Drake had never been easy for him. But this here, listening to Mila talk about his family with such revulsion made him cringe.
“I’ve seen Drake in action.” She shivered noticeably.
All the males in this room had at one point or another risked their lives for Hayden, as he had done for them, but they still didn’t talk about his family connections. The family curse, as Hayden referred to it.
What would Mila say when she found out Drake was his brother, that Hayden was part of thatfamily of psychopaths?
Anna’s eyes clouded with tears, no doubt her memories rising to the forefront of her mind by this conversation. Blade pulled her into his loving embrace. She had suffered the most of anyone here, and Hayden hadn’t had the courage to tell her why yet. He dragged his hand over his face. So much misery and pain caused by his brother, his family, and he could never make it right, no matter what he did.
There was an exchange of looks between all the shifters, though no one dared look at him, which left Mila looking more confused. She was observant, his beauty.
“Sorry,” Mila said with a look of contrition as she sought Callen’s eye. “I don’t mean to insult Kate, far from it. I’m just saying, you can’t apply the usual logic and sense of motive when it comes to a psychopath like Drake.”
‘You and I aren’t well-suited.’
Hayden had started thinking her hesitation was because the virus had destroyed her bridge and she couldn’t shift. Anna had a fix for that, one that had worked on Tess. Hayden had planned to tell Mila that after the meeting, and he still would, but this inherent hatred she had of white wolves—of his family in particular—gave her words the backing they had previously lacked. Not well-suited, indeed.
Sooner or later, someone here would mention Drake was Hayden’s brother. It was a constant topic of conversation among Damien’s pack, of how Hayden had betrayed his former alpha and could never truly be trusted. Mila would never be able to accept him once she learned of his connection.
Getting to know Mila better wasn’t meant to be, but Hayden still had a job as Damien’s second. That meant doing whatever was in his power to protect the pack, including taking Drake down, if necessary.
“You didn’t answer me, Damien. What provoked Drake?”
“I don’t know. I sent a messenger to Liam, to advise him of the latest and see what if any insight he could get from Drake.” Damien sighed, as his eyes drifted to Tess. She smiled at him, a silent exchange that always gave Damien strength when he appeared to be faltering. The bastard was lucky to have her.
“Any progress on the vaccine, Doctor?” Damien asked. “I know it won’t help us if the government decides to shell us into oblivion, but we need that vaccine now more than ever. The government won’t want to destroy the national parks and spread fires that will wipe out human towns, not when they can use the SEV-2 virus to kill us off more efficiently, with less cleanup. It wouldn’t take much for them to seize control of the WSSO’s stockpile and unleash the virus on us, full scale. Once they realize shifters are behind the HEV1, they’ll start using helicopters and crop dusters to dispense the virus, maybe even use dispersal bombs on every forest in the country. Or worse, contaminate our water supply.”
Mila sat forward on the sofa, “Why not approach the government, tell them exactly who’s behind this so they can get ahead of the spread of the HEV1, even stop it? They can contain Drake. Take him out for you.”
Damien looked to Hayden. “Do you want to field this one?”
Hayden placed his hands on his hips as he stared down at Mila. God, she was so lovely and full of life, and she had no fucking clue who they were dealing with.
“Drake is a strategist when he’s thinking straight. He either has something in place to prevent us from making any such move and we’re just not seeing it, or the second we make that move, he’ll shut us down through some form of retaliation that will wipe us out. When he unleashed the HEV1 on this pack, infecting us, it wasn’t by accident. He counted on us spreading the virus for him, making us complicit and therefore tying us to his destiny. We were fortunate Anna developed the cure, but we can’t assume anything when it comes to Drake. We’re better off learning what he’s planning before we make any moves.”
“Which is why I want to send someone in. You and Blade can’t go.”
“Where’s Kate?” He just realized she was missing. Damien should have included her since she was the resident hacker. Granted, they weren’t connected to the internet or WIFI up here, but Devil’s Peak was only an hour away by truck.
Callen’s eyes shot up at the question. “Running an errand for you. Why?”
Hell, Hayden had forgotten all about the shipment. She had probably gone to town with Mason and Frank to ensure the transaction went smoothly. Damien had put her in charge of managing the accounts for the pack, and Kate had eagerly accepted. Any chance to hook up to the internet whenever possible. Hayden worried about that girl. She definitely had a penchant for finding trouble.
“After Blade, Kate’s the best choice,” Hayden said.
Callen rose. Yellow flared in his brown eyes. “Are you crazy?”
Crazy, maybe. He was a white wolf, after all. Wrong, no.
“Drake has a soft spot for her. If she’s captured, he’ll likely buy any story she gives. She never turned against him. And Drake would expect us to send in a scout, a guard, even you, Callen. Anyone with fighting capability. Kate is not a threat.”
