Styx's Storm (Breeds 16)

"We captured her easily enough last night ..."

"You were lucky last night," Jonas broke in. "If the woman that has continually stepped in and interfered with my efforts over the years whenever I was close enough to help her was there, then you wouldn't have had the chance to get close to her. We suspect Gena Waters is with the Council, but Storme doesn't know or want to believe that, and until she betrays Storme, there's nothing I can do."

Styx shook his head, before striding to the counter and the forgotten chocolate coffee. He pushed it into the microwave and nuked it, before drawing the steaming liquid from the appliance and sipping at it.

He could feel the anger building, brewing. Anger was something he tried to keep out of his little world. It served no purpose; getting even was far better. But there was no one here that he could get even with.

"Where is Waters, then? Have you found her?" he finally asked, knowing Jonas wasn't just standing there tormenting the hell out of him. He would have men searching for Gena Waters, tracking her, and learning where her orders originated from.

Gena Waters had latched onto Storme six years before, during a time when the Breeds had lost track of her. In those six years she had seemed to be slowly gaining Storme's trust. Though she hadn't yet gained enough of it to acquire the data chip the Council was so desperate to acquire.

"I have Rule and Lawe on her," Jonas said and nodded. "They should have something soon. But catching her won't ensure Storme's safety. Until she gives up that data chip her father gave her, then she'll never be safe, Styx."

And that was no less than the truth. The Council had been chasing her for ten years now; they weren't going to give up just because she was currently under Breed protection. They would wait, knowing that eventually the Breeds would have to blink. And when they blinked, the Council would strike.

"She's not going to give us that data chip," Styx said and sighed.

"No, she's not," Jonas agreed. "That leaves only one option."

Styx lifted a brow curiously. "There's an option?"

"One." Jonas nodded as a grin tugged at his lips.

Hell, seeing Jonas almost grin was damned scary. He'd only been doing it since his mating, and that just wasn't enough time to get used to it.

"So tell me what it is already," Styx growled.

"Show her who and what we are," Jonas stated. "Show her, Styx, the Wolf Breeds, the Coyotes, and the Felines here at Haven. Show her the good, let her see we're not all monsters."

Styx shook his head. "That's not enough."

She would need more.

"A woman who has been running since she was a teenager, no more than a child," he mused. "Her friends were killed or attacked before they were even friends. The Council left her no one but Gena Waters, a cold, unfeeling person who likely had no idea the affection a woman of Storme's temperament would need. There are few ways to get to the heart of such a woman."

Jonas nodded slowly. "Then give her affection, Styx. Give her warmth, and maybe, just maybe, in return, she'll give us the key to her own safety."

Styx stared back at him silently. "And you'll stay away from her until I've completed this."

"I didn't say that."

"I said you will," Styx demanded. "You won't harass "I said you will," Styx demanded. "You won't harass my mate, Jonas."

Jonas rolled his eyes. "Wolf, you know the signs of mating heat. Do you have them?"

"The symptoms are there," Styx growled, the sensitivity of his tongue an itchy irritation, the need to kiss his mate, to share a hormone that refused to release from the glands, a frustration that would likely drive him crazy.

"The mating mark isn't there, the mating scent isn't there, therefore there is no mating," Jonas said and shrugged negligently, as though he could possibly have the final word.

"Don't piss me off, Jonas," Styx warned him as he picked up the chef's knife and began chopping the vegetables for the soup.

"It's been enough time, you've had skin-to-skin contact." Jonas shrugged again. "I refuse to accept a mating without it."

Styx grinned. A real grin. One of anticipation and challenge.

"Weel then, I'd guess we can be workin' with that, can't we, Director?" he mused, feeling the playfulness returning. "We can work wi' that right well. I promise you, you'll learn I don't accept threats to what's mine."

And to that, Jonas nodded, as he gave another of those smiles that never failed to make Styx suspicious. "You know, Styx, I had a feeling you were going to be difficult about this."