“Olga wanted to turn you into a Manchurian candidate assassin?”
He grinned in deep satisfaction. “I turned the table on her. I mind-controlled her instead. She’s retired, but to this day, her memories of me are of an obedient spy following her orders.”
“No kidding?”
“Even the contact I just talked to thinks I’m a spy on an important mission.”
“Wait. Don’t you need eye contact to do your mesmerism thing?”
“Alpha werewolves require eye contact presence, but I’m an exception to the rule.”
She frowned. “Just don’t even think of turning me into a puppet.”
“Trust me. We are not allowed to mind control a fellow pack member.”
“Can you control lycans like the ones that tried to abduct me?”
“On betas and lower ranks, yes, but alphas are more of a challenge.” He tilted his head. “Our ride is here.”
“Talk about fast.”
Chapter 15
Rachel boarded a small jet on a private airfield near Kathmandu. Not knowing what to expect, she scanned the inside of the plane. It looked more like a billionaire’s private jet than the fighter jet she had expected, probably because LIA sounded so military rather than Wall Street rich. Lev mentioned their headquarters had their own private landing strip and several helipads. They didn’t skimp on amenities. Nice leather seats with a dining table, a big screen TV and a mini bar in the back.
“Buckle up, Rachel, while I have a word with the pilot.”
The tall attractive woman pilot talked to Lev and he nodded. She then had her copilot close the door and they both entered the cockpit.
Sudden irrational dread crawled up her spine. Could Lev be the enemy? Did he save her life for a nefarious reason? If only she could have talked to her father.
The engines roared to life.
Rachel couldn’t just leave the plane. Escape Lev? No way. She felt safe, which made her too damn vulnerable for her taste. She’d always been in charge of taking care of herself and others. Now she depended on some biologically superior werewolf to protect her from other superior lycans. Would the danger ever end and her life take on some level of normalcy? If they thought she’d be some sort of human pet, they had another thing coming. Certainly, Howard wouldn’t be able to put up with that shit. Then again, her memories of a strong father might have been false.
Lev sat across from her and buckled up. “Since this flight was last minute, we will serve ourselves once the pilot gives us her okay.”
“I’m not hungry yet, but a drink will be nice.”
He shot her a concerned look. “You look worried, are you afraid of flying?”
“No. I’ve been on hundreds of planes. But afraid of big bad wolves…yes.”
Lev reached for her hand and kissed it. He let go and sighed. “You still don’t trust me?”
“I do, but, I don’t know. I feel like I’ve been ripped from reality and everything I’ve known and loved is gone.”
He furrowed his brow. “For example?”
You have to be kidding me. He’d no clue being around werewolves, once real wolves, would be a bit disconcerting? “I don’t know, do you lycans go to movies, eat pizza…have picnics.”
“Of course, we do. I promise, we’ll order pizza once we arrive.”
“As long as you don’t eat the delivery guy.”
Lev laughed. “It’s good you have a sense of humor. You will need it.”
“Since this will be a long flight, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you questions about living in a lycan community. The so-called status behavior code.”