Cross Breed (Breeds 23)

“And if she thinks she can control a mating with Rhyzan instead?” Jonas tilted his head, watching him closely.

“Then blood will spill,” Dog promised him. “Rhyzan’s blood. Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll return to Cassie …”

“The moment your mating became known, Cassie lost her place in the Bureau,” Jonas said as Dog turned to leave. “Unless you align yourself with the Breed community immediately and take a stand against the Council, she’ll have to leave the security of the suite and this Bureau.”

Cassie had lost her place within the Bureau

Dog froze at that information. He knew she’d been locked out of her phone and tablet but he’d been unaware it was this extreme. Or perhaps he just hadn’t considered what the electronic wipes had meant.

“Does she know this?” he asked.

Jonas nodded sharply. “Just as she knows she’ll have to leave. I told you, Cassie understands Breed Law better than any of us. She knows what the mating means. For God’s sake, let me go to the alphas at least and reveal what you’ve been doing.”

Dog shook his head firmly. “It’s too soon, Jonas. Far too soon. I want my people out first and I want the information they’ve gathered.”

Now he knew the reason for the tears his mate was holding locked inside her, and the pain tearing her apart.

“She’ll lose her life as she knows it unless you come in, Dog,” Jonas warned him. “And she won’t thank you for keeping this secret from her. I know Cassie. She may not forgive you.”

Unless he came in.

Unless he revealed his secrets and gave up the battle he’d fought for so many damned years. Too many years.

“You are a risk to the security of this Bureau as far as the alphas are concerned, the agents as well as any sensitive information we hold. If it were anyone but Cassie, she wouldn’t have been allowed to stay this long. But this is Cassie. For her, they’ve given me twenty-four hours to fix this; then she’ll have to leave.”

Protecting her wouldn’t be a problem. Revealing any loyalties to the Breed community, even the smallest sign that he wasn’t Council loyal, would unravel every fucking deception he’d worked to build for far too many years, though.

Could he protect her without that tie? Could he, Mutt and Mongrel protect her without the backing of the Breed community and the resources she could call upon until he had his own people in place?

“The alphas may fear you’re willing to risk her life or even turn her over to the Council. According to those I’ve spoken to, they’d be willing to give Rhyzan a chance to test a possible mating for that reason alone,” Jonas warned him.

Dog lifted his lip in a subtle sneer at the director’s suggestion. He’d worked with Jonas over the years; he knew the Breed’s complete dedication to the Breed community. Jonas was a man whose word one could trust, one that tested the temper, but one Dog knew would stand by a bargain.

Jonas wouldn’t reveal his secrets, not unless Cassie’s safety within the Breed community itself was threatened. He wanted that information as badly as Dog did, but Cassie was close to him. She was important to him. But Dog couldn’t risk his people yet. They had to have time to get out. It was something he couldn’t yet reveal.

And there wasn’t a chance in hell he was giving away his mate either.

“Jonas, you don’t want to push me where Cassie’s concerned. Not you, Rhyzan or her parents. Attempt to take what’s mine, and the hell I’ll rain down on you will be apocalyptic.”

He could do it. He’d hate to do it. It would make a few enemies for damned sure, but he’d do it to keep Cassie.

He met the silver gaze locked on him, let the Lion sense his own determination and the truth of his word. Jonas liked to think he knew everything, everyone’s secrets, everyone’s inner core. When it came to him, though, the other man didn’t know shit.

A frown edged Jonas’s brow then, the strange silver gaze deepening as the primal animal he harbored peeked out. No doubt, claws were pricking at the tips of his fingers as the animal rose close to the skin.

Dog let a grin tip his lips. As a Breed, Jonas was one of the more powerful ones, but as a Coyote, Dog had an edge on him.

“Twelve hours, Dog,” Jonas reminded him when Dog said nothing more. “Or allow me to discuss this with the alphas on the Cabinet and reveal the work you’ve been doing. Think beyond yourself on this. Think about Cassie.”

“I’ll be sure to ask my little mate how that’s done,” he drawled. “Seems to me she’s spent too much time thinking about a bunch of dumb-ass Breeds who are all too willing to toss her out when she does something that displeases them. Maybe she can give me some pointers there.”

A hard growl rumbled from Jonas’s chest, one similar to Dog’s when he was getting ready to kick insubordinate ass.

He gave a low, mocking chuckle. “Don’t make that mistake, Director. You don’t want to go head-to-head with me without backup. You don’t like my opinions? I really don’t give a fuck, because I think yours are bullshit as well. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll head out for breakfast for my mate.”

And to make plans.

Where the fuck was Dane Vanderale when he needed him?