13. Darius
DARIUS
Vivianna slept in my lap the whole way to the safe house.
We drove two hours to get to the helicopters, then it took another hour to get to the secret location of the safe house.
I had several of these scattered around my home country for a situation like this.
You never know when you’re going to need a hideout until it’s too late.
I’d wrapped another blanket around her when we got into the helicopter, but when I tried to move her out of my lap and into a seat, she clutched onto my shirt and wouldn’t let go.
She began to whimper in her sleep, breaking my heart.
My wolf pushed his way to the surface of my consciousness, feeling the need to be on high alert.
My wolf and I had always had a very symbiotic relationship.
We both respected the other, so when he asserted himself, it was quite unusual.
I’d decided a long time ago that I was never going to take a mate.
When my mother died in childbirth and my father lost his will to live, I knew I couldn’t go through that.
He became a shell of a man, taking risks because he felt his life had no meaning.
Eventually, he’d committed suicide of sorts by participating in one of Dr. Faulk’s early experiments.
I’d tried to talk him out of it, but nothing I said made a difference; my father was lost without my mother.
But that didn’t mean that I shirked my alpha duties in keeping the werewolf gene alive.
I had plenty of sexual partners, though none of them had produced any children.
It wasn’t for lack of trying, though. I’d been checked out and was more than capable of having children, but I think because my wolf wasn’t sold on my no-mate plan, he wasn’t letting children happen.
I, of course, had no idea if this was correct or not, but it was my running theory.
It was all different with Vivianna, though.
My wolf was drawn to her as if her wolf were calling out to him. I saw it happening to Tav as well.
We had so much to learn about alpha females.
I was going to have to reach out to the elders of the werewolf community and see what intel we could gather.
I wondered if we had any old texts on the matter.
I held a vast amount of knowledge at my fingertips, but if it wasn’t digital, I was at a loss.
That was Tav and Rik’s department; they liked to feel the words as they read them.
I just needed them to be easily accessible wherever I was.
When we landed outside the safe house, I had to hand her off to Rik to get out of the helicopter.
For the first time since I picked her up, she opened her eyes and looked around at all of us.
She didn’t say anything, just took it all in with her intelligent eyes.
Whatever decision she made about the situation, we may never know, but she simply closed her eyes again and leaned into Rik.
Rik looked up at me with a quirked eyebrow, and I just shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t have any answers for him.
“Let's get her inside and to a bed,” I directed, leading the way into the house.
I stopped at the front door and placed my palm on the scanner, then punched in the seven-digit code to open the door.
On the surface, the safe house looked like a simple two-story European farmhouse.
It looked lived in, but nothing about it was remarkable.
The weathered porch had some rotting boards, the window shutters had peeling paint, and the driveway had deep ruts in it from repeated use.
The wolves that had maintained the place made sure to keep up the garden, tend the sheep and goats, and collect eggs from the chickens.
All in all, no one would feel the need to stop by for any reason.
It was just another run-of-the-mill house in the countryside.
The inside, however, was a different story.
The living room furniture was leather, large, and inviting.
A large flat-screen TV was mounted to the wall with a stereo system to go with it.
The kitchen had top-of-the-line appliances and a fridge that was always stocked with the basics.
The eating area was on the other side of the kitchen, containing a table that could seat eight comfortably.
There were two bedrooms on the ground floor, one of which was filled with all the security screens and equipment monitoring the whole property.
Upstairs, there were four bedrooms, each set up a little differently.
I led Rik to the room at the end of the hall; it had a large king-sized bed and a little sitting area off to the side.
I picked this room because it was the only one with a private bathroom, and I felt it was only appropriate for her.
While Rik settled her on the bed, I went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt.
Every safe house was fully stocked with clothes, knowing that the potential that a werewolf on the run would be in wolf form was very high.
I set them on the trunk at the base of the bed, clearly visible for her when she decided she wanted them.
Jerking my head to Rik, he followed me out of the room, neither of us saying a word.
Once downstairs, I shut the soundproof door to the stairwell and let out a rush of breath, dragging both hands through my hair. “What the hell happened to her?”
“From what Koit and I saw, Vadik tossed her around quite a bit. It looked like they were trying to put some sort of collar on her,” Rik said, slumping into one of the kitchen chairs.
Koit was in the kitchen, rummaging around and pulling out mugs from a cabinet. “I’m going to need some coffee after spending the past few hours covering our tracks. No one’s going to find us unless they have a magic genie. Anyone else want a cup?”
“Just make a whole pot, I’m sure someone will drink it by the end of the night,” I said, taking a seat across from Rik. “What did you do with Faulk?” I asked over my shoulder.
“I have to admit, you thought of everything at this safe house. Are all of them like this?” Koit asked, scooping coffee grounds into the coffee maker.
Turning, I gave Koit a look, letting him know I wasn’t going to repeat myself. When I asked a question, I expected an answer, and quickly.
Koit rolled his eyes, hitting the ‘on’ button. “He’s in one of the holding rooms that you have in the basement. There’s a guard outside the door, and they told me there is a video feed on the room so we can keep an eye on him at all times.”
I grunted and turned back to Rik. “Has she said anything to you? She hasn’t spoken to me at all, and I didn’t have a chance to check in with Tav before we sent him to get his wound checked.”
“No. When I interacted with her, she was still in her wolf form,” Rik said, frowning and rubbing his beard. “Have you heard of a golden werewolf before?”
I paused, thinking. “No, I can’t remember finding anything about a normal golden wolf, let alone a werewolf. How do you know that’s what she is?”
We really needed Tavas for this conversation. He’d done extensive study on the history of wolves and pack life for his psychology degree. Plus, he could help give us some insight into what might be going on in her head right now.
“Good old Dr. Faulk shared that with us,” Koit said, finally joining us at the table with his coffee. “Correction—we were eavesdropping before we found the right moment to spring our lovely captive.”
“This whole thing has Faulk’s name written all over it,” Rik said, clenching his hands into fists. “I can’t believe her father would give his daughter over to such depraved people. This confirms that he’s no longer someone we want to associate with as The Collective.”
“I agree. If Ambassador Beck is on equal footing with a tyrant like Vadik, then we need to cut all ties,” I said, leaning my forearms on the table.
“So how do we keep her safe from both of them? There’s no way she can go back to the United Kingdom or anywhere in Russia.
Even being this close to the border has me on edge. ”
“We can’t bring her into the main city; it would just bring the fight right to home base. It’s better to keep her out amongst the remote packs while she’s adjusting to her new life,” Rik said.
“Keeping her hidden is the best plan. We don’t know what The Collective will do with the fact that she’s an alpha.
When you got them to agree to this, we didn’t even know if she was going to live through the transition.
If we tell them that not only did she survive, but she’s strong and the first female alpha in over two centuries, it will cause mayhem,” I said firmly, and my wolf barked his agreement subconsciously.
“I think we need to keep her out of the public eye and safe here until she adjusts.”
“The support of a pack will make the adjustment easier. That’s how we’ve always helped newly shifted wolves,” Rik challenged. “Why should we treat her any differently? If we bring her up into the mountains with my pack, no one in The Collective will be the wiser.”
“I know you think your wolves are loyal to you, but would you bet her life on them keeping it a secret from The Collective? Yes, you are their alpha, but in some wolves’ minds, The Collective outranks us.
That’s our biggest difference in how we manage our packs.
I know that my wolves see me as their true alpha, not The Collective,” I said, trying to get him to understand the danger.
Rik scoffed. “My wolves know I’m their alpha, I trust any of my wolves with my life—”
I raised a hand to stop him. “What I asked was, do you trust them with Vivianna’s life, not your own. She’s a wolf they don’t know, who’s equal in power with their alpha, entering their territory. That is a whole different scenario.”
Rik stiffened, and I could see his hackles rising as he started to growl at me. No alpha liked to be challenged or questioned, but the trick was when you did it, you couldn’t back down. If I relaxed even an inch, Rik would sense my weakness and pounce.
The Collective was a new way of thinking that went against every natural instinct for our wolves.
For a hundred years, we’d been able to work alongside one another because we saw the greater good.
Sadly, it’d only take one wolf to change their mind and topple this whole empire.
Confidently, I knew Rik wouldn’t be that wolf—not today, at least.
“If I might interject,” Koit said, clearing his throat. “I know I’m just a beta here, but why don’t we ask Vivianna, see if she has any thoughts on the matter. My guess is a female that is dominant won’t appreciate you alphas plotting out her life.”
Rik and I both froze and turned to him. It was very dangerous for a beta, even as strong as Koit was, to butt in on an alpha dispute.
Koit added to the fire by sitting with his feet propped up on the table, sipping his coffee, gaze bouncing between us.
My wolf bristled at the lack of respect he had for our space.
He was a guest here and was tolerated—barely.
Now he had the balls to put his muddy boots on the table that the pack would eat at?
I was just about to knock his feet off the table and him out of the chair when the stairs creaked and the door opened.
I turned, surprised to see Vivianna standing frozen in the doorway.
She was in oversized sweats, and her damp hair was spreading her scent throughout the kitchen.
I took a deep breath of her natural fragrance; it was pure and addictive.
My wolf rumbled his approval as I fought against its lure.
Rik stood slowly, drawing her wary gaze. He walked up to her and stopped, giving her plenty of space. “Hello, Vivianna, it’s nice to see you again.”