Dawn Released

Jan understood Thomas's fascination with vampire blood and its healing properties. There would be no need for hospitals, no sick or dying, if the secret got out. Which was exactly why it had to remain a secret. People died because they had to die. Altering the natural order of things was too risky and not without consequences. The vampires understood that. Thomas still struggled with the concept. She hung her hopes on science not on magic, someday humanity would discover its own cures and she'd be out of a job. Jan pushed her cell phone and her worries back into her pocket. She'd think about her problems later, after she'd given those entrusted to her care, all that she had to give until the day humanity put her out of a job for good.

Chapter 12

Carter cursed as the tires landed in a deep rut and spun. He slid the gears and gave the car just a little more gas, inching into the garage. He should have driven something more serviceable. The compound was off the main highway, nestled deep in the woods amongst a twisting narrow gravel road with a maze of dead ends and curves. He hadn't thought much about the storm last night. The city streets and the interstate were blessedly free from snow. Mounds of filthy white snow had been carted away and neatly tucked out of sight till the spring thaw. Out here, the roads were barely passable and his brand new Porsche had really taken a beating.

He unfolded his long lanky frame from behind the steering wheel and stretched, shaking out his tangled chin length mass of unruly blond waves. He straightened his wrinkled he shirt and tucked the hem neatly into a pair of low-riding jeans that clung to his long legs and narrow hips. His eyes were the color of a cloudless blue sky, narrowing into slits from the glare of the overhead garage lights as he pulled off the darkly tinted lenses that were necessary for daytime travel.

He looked ok for a guy of his age, better than any human his age. Primarily because there weren't any, alive, at least that he knew of. He relied on his looks to blend in with the nameless faceless masses and to score an occasional meal when he was in a bind. The old ways were hard to forget and the lessons he'd learned from them he never forgot. He was a predator to his very core, despite the lengths that he exerted to control the beast inside of him with his pretty external wrapper. As much as he wanted to be, he wasn't as committed to the Sons' cause as he ought to be. None of the Guardians were.

Humans were, in as many ways as he and his followers protected them and cherished them, dinner. Plainly and simply, humans were soft and cuddly, but they were food. Of course, they didn't kill. Murder was against the law, punishable by death, and completely and utterly unnecessarily, brutal and wasteful. Humans killed their food. A vampire, a wise one anyway, did not.

After all, in a few days, a human would replenish what the vampire took and be no worse for wear. There was no need to pluck the fruit from the tree. That's what made the Rogues such a threat, not only did they harvest the fruit, taking more than their share. They didn't know when to nor did they want to stop.

The differences between the Guardians and the Sons weren't hard to forget. The Sons had an aroma, sweet and earthy. He smelled exactly like a vampire should, like a rogue. Perhaps, his scent was why the Great Father had enlisted his aid on this venture. The brotherhood's distinctive scent would alert every Rogue within a ten-mile radius to their presence. They'd attract unnecessary attention. The wolves would attract enough attention. They looked human, much like a vampire, but they certainly didn't smell like one. They smelled of predators and dark forests, of wild and the musk of their wolf. The rogues would hunt the wolves down out of curiosity if for no other reason.

He could, as usual, blend in. Just like he pretended to be human when the occasion called. Just like he pretended to be good and altruistic when he was rotted through to the marrow of his bones. Just like, he pretended to buy into all the propaganda the Sons shoveled down his throat when he actually did not. Just like the Great Father pretended that he believed Carter. When he knew better. Deep inside where it was hidden from everyone else, except to him and Carter. The Great Father knew exactly what the Guardians were, exactly what Carter was. Predators, with nothing but a thin barrier of morality separating him from the rogues they fought.

"Carter! Good to see you again old friend." Drew slid around the front of the car and reached out to clamp his fingers tightly around Carter's bicep. "It seems I will never be out of your debt. Thank you for helping me once again."

Carter returned the gesture, clamping his fingers around Drew's massive bicep in return. "Great Father, the honor is mine." He flinched from the aura of the Great Father's power. In his own home, Drew did not try to contain what he was. Carter was a powerful master in his own right. But, Drew was something entirely different, something Carter didn't even have a name for.

"I trust you haven't left Keene too much to do?" Drew asked. He had sent Keene to the city as a precautionary measure. The Guardians were rogues turned tame by threat and their sense of loyalty to Carter. Bianca, Carter's second was a capable woman. But, she was perhaps the most dangerous one of them all. Sometimes, devils made interesting deals. Carter didn't trust Bianca any more than he did. How he managed his Guardians was not Drew's concern, but he would never place someone he didn't trust in a position of power. Carter had though and damned if Drew knew why.

Carter was a master vampire. Easily over five hundred years old if the power radiating off of him were anything to go by. Drew sensed things about Carter perhaps, the man didn't even realize about himself. Carter was capable of amazing things. He had done truly incredible things. During the dark days when the city was thrown into chaos, Carter had banded the rogues together, led them, shaped them, and molded them to become the Guardians, the sole protectors of the sprawling city they called home.

The old ways were such a lure to the young, and sometimes, to the old. Without Carter present and in command of his Guardians, the city could be overrun with vampires seeking a rebirth of the old ways within a matter of hours. Drew couldn't allow that. And he would not let Carter return to his home to find it in ruins. As a precaution, he'd sent Keene to oversee the Guardians in Carter's absence, especially, to monitor Bianca. The Guardians respected and feared Keene, as a Son and as one of their own. For over a century, Keene had worked hard at earning his reputation. A bad reputation that preceded him wherever he went. He had served the former Rogue Master Roark until the bastard's untimely death with ruthlessness. He could handle the rogues quite well in Carter's absence.

Carter chuckled a nervous laugh. There was meaning in Drew's expression and it was not lost on Carter. Keene obeyed orders. And the Great Father had given Keene just one directive to follow. Enforce the law at any cost. "He'll be bored. The city has been quiet for a while now."

"You don't trust it."

"It's merely the calm before the storm, I'm afraid." Carter followed Drew to a SUV and slid into the passenger side. He cast a long, wavering stare at his beautiful silver Porsche, wondering when he'd see her again. He traveled light. He carried nothing but the clothes on his back and a dark leather jacket with him. His mission for the journey was simple. Keep the wolves alive and bring them home in one piece. His duty did not necessitate being burdened down by luggage. If things turned to complete shit, and with the brotherhood and the wolves involved, they usually did. He wanted no traces left behind that could link him to the city or his former master.

Drew took Carter's quiet contemplation to heart. "Do you expect trouble?"

Carter flicked a glance at Drew. "In the city, no. Not yet. On the mission, undoubtedly." They were going to be traveling dangerously close to O'Sullivan's territory. That in itself was trouble enough. Eric controlled the western portion of the United States and he had no small amount of holdings in the Southwest. O'Sullivan liked to cover all his bases. Carter had tangled with him before, but he'd managed to get the wolves in and out of California without any trouble. However, he was not an idiot. He got them out and got himself out because Eric had allowed it. Why Eric had allowed them to leave was a bigger question with a more far-reaching answer than Carter wanted to consider. Eric O'Sullivan was not a man to be played with. He was a bastard. He was powerful. Older than any vampire Carter had ever had the misfortune of crossing paths with, and he was his maker.

Drew said no more. Out of habit, he put on a pair of dark lenses. He didn't really need them. What he was beneath his human exterior and his fangs was something he was still trying desperately to come to terms with. He'd obtained a certain measure of acceptance of the gifts he'd gotten from Tala's blood. He could eat. He could drink things other than blood. He could enjoy the sunsets and sunrises that he'd been forced to cower from for two hundred years.

But, there was more to it than just his hybrid tri-nature. He often thought about what that 'more' might be. He could, perhaps, do something no vampire on his side of the grave had ever done and it was a secret he held close to his heart. What vampire, Guardian, Son, or Rogue, wouldn't kill to father a child? The temptation of it was too great and it put the wolves in grave danger.

"I'll introduce you to the wolves you'll be accompanying to Texas. Nash, their leader, is anxious to leave as soon as the briefing is completed."

"I too am anxious to get this over with." Carter slid on his shades and glanced up into the rearview mirror. Barren snow covered limbs stretched up to meet a perfectly clear blue sky instead of the highrises and towers of concrete he was so used to seeing. Every mile took him farther and farther away from his home and into dangerous territories, patches of land controlled by the Rogues, that he knew more about than he cared to admit.

Chapter 13

The team huddled around a map of Texas. Kacie stared down at the spider web of interstates and highway that would take her home. Getting there wasn't going to be a problem. Getting in was. "The pack has a large territory. We should be able to get inside the outer perimeter without detection," Catcher said. He drew a square on the map with wide heavy strokes of his highlighter. His brother and he began discussing strategies as soon as Nash had approached them with the offer to accompany him on the mission. They didn't have much planning to do. Seff was too unpredictable.

"The risk becomes greater once we get closer to the center, where the pack lives. We will have to scout out the area. See if anyone remains faithful to our mistress and will help us. Otherwise, we'll have to look for another way in," Tracker said as he studied the map. "The terrain is mostly wasteland, woods, and flat planes. We'll have to pack camping gear and supplies. From the outer border to the center is about one day's travel on foot."

Nash stared down at the huge square marked in yellow highlighter that indicated the boundaries of Eloise's pack lands. No wonder Seff wanted the marriage between Jan and his son so badly. His pack was not exactly destitute as far as lands and holdings, but the green square that highlighted his territory was half the size of her yellow square. If he had control of both packs and both territories, a great deal of South Texas would be his for the taking.

"She's my mother. Who would stop me from walking up to her doorstep and paying her a visit?" Kacie huffed. She knew every inch of this map like the back of her hand. They were plotting and looking for ways to sneak in. The only thing she wanted was her mother. "My loyalty to the pack has never been in question before, why should it now? They'll let me in."

"Kacie, the pack may not be the same pack you left. Things have changed since then. We can't trust them until we know the situation and they may not trust you. The pack knows exactly where your loyalty is, and it's with your mother, not necessarily with them. Seff knows this. We don't know if the pack is a friend or an enemy and until we do, we lay low and look for another way, besides storming to her front door, to get in," Nash answered.

Kacie shrugged off Tristen's reassuring hand. All this planning was delaying their departure. All this planning was stealing time away from her mother. It was time that her mother might not have. Right or not, she wasn't going to wait for much longer before she went out on her own. She understood that her pack didn't know about Tristen's family and there was no way to know what could happen if they learned that they weren't the only pack on the planet. Seff was obviously a power hungry nut job. He might just be crazy enough to lead a garrison up here and try to take over Nash's pack as well. She knew Seff was crazy. She just never stopped to consider that her friends, the people who were as close to her as any of her family, her pack, might be right there with him.

"What about any known Rogue cells? I'll want to take every precaution to avoid them," Nash asked.

Carter flinched when all eyes turned to him. "There's a large cell in Saint Louis and another in Dallas. Other than that, I can't be for certain. We'll avoid areas where Rogues are likely to be. Mostly crowded, rundown areas of dense urban populations: bus stations and train stations, airports, truck stops. Places were lots of people are gathered, but no one would really notice or care if someone went missing. It only takes a few minutes and someplace to stash a body...." He clamped his mouth shut as their eyes blinked in disbelief at the matter of fact way he described a murder. "Sorry. You get the idea though.

"We should be able to smell a rogue before one gets close enough to cause us any trouble. If we bump into one, let me handle it. I find it highly unlikely that any rogue has encountered your kind before. The fact that they don't know what you are only that you don't smell human might pique their curiosity. We'll have to be careful."

"Ok then," Nash said as he carefully folded the map. "I guess we have a plan. Lets load up and move out. Tristen, I'd like to speak with you alone."

Tristen stopped in his tracks. Not liking how closely the Omegas followed behind Kacie. He watched her leave with a scowl etched across his face.

"You know you are only being allowed to come because of Kacie right? Your job is to keep her out of danger. I promised her mother that I would keep her safe and I intend to keep that promise. Do you understand? Don't let her wander off alone. I can't do what needs to be done if I have to chase after her."

"Don't worry, Grandpa. Leave the chasing to me."

"That's what makes me nervous." Nash palmed the map and stopped to plant a kiss on the top of Mouse's perfectly parted black braids. "You're in charge while I'm gone."

"Ok, Grandpa." Marianne smiled up at her grandfather. She was worried for him and her brother. She was trying to be brave and not let her concern show. "I'll keep Daniel in line while you and Tristen are gone."

"I'm counting on it."

"Are you going to marry Kacie someday?" Marianne asked her brother.

"Maybe."

"I hope so. I hope you bring her mom back too."

"Me too." He bent and gave his little sister a tight hug. "Keep Daniel out of my room." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and tugged affectionately on the end of her braid before releasing her.

"I will."

Daniel finished stuffing the last of the camping equipment into the back of the spacious nine-passenger SUV. He didn't say anything when his Grandpa tucked a shotgun, loaded and ready for action beneath the driver's seat and another one under the backseat. He watched as Tristen holstered a handgun and a pair of matching daggers onto a holster at his hip and helped Kacie weapon up. Tracker and Catcher were checking one another's stash of weaponry. The blond vampire, who looked as if he should be lounging around on the beach, was armed with a pair of lethal looking long, thin bladed daggers strapped across his back.

Everyone was armed, or arming up, as if they were going into battle. The packs he'd loaded into the SUV were crammed tightly with ammo and enough provisions to survive a couple of weeks in the wilderness. He wished he were old enough to get in on the action. He missed everything. Tristen gave him a nod before sliding in the middle seat beside Kacie. Daniel was worried about his grandpa and his brother, but he was too much of a man to say so. Instead, he waved them off and watched the taillights disappear down the long lane. Maybe this time, judging by the grim looks on their faces, missing the action wasn't a bad thing.

Gina gave Hunter a tight squeeze around the waist. It was difficult for him to watch his father and his son load up weapons for the trip. Even harder for him to watch the casual way Tristen checked the chamber of a gun and parked the Sig Sauer into the holster beneath his arm, as if he'd been born to do it. Hunter wanted to be on the mission. Staying behind and waiting for Tristen's and Nash's safe return while he did nothing but keep the home fires burning was not in his nature.

Hunter was a master of weapons and war. This mission though required subtlety and covertness. Not two things her husband was necessarily good at. He was more a go in guns blazing and save the day or die trying to kind of man. Subterfuge was not in his nature. He'd done his part for the pack, for God and country more than any man ever should have to. While Gina understood the brutality of the world she'd accepted as her own. She was grateful Nash had left Hunter out of it.

The kids were fine. Tristen, so eager to prove himself an adult had jumped at the chance to go on a dangerous mission. The best Gina could do was to pray he came back safe and whole. Daniel was slowly coming around. At the age of sixteen, she'd expected his resistance and mistrust of his father and of her. Little Mouse, the girl was her best friend. Not that she could tell all her secrets to a twelve year old. She had Claire for that.

Although, Hunter obviously did not agree and thought he should be hauling ass to Texas. Gina understood why Nash had opted him out of the running for the job. The kids were fine, but they were far from healed. Their father had been absent most of his life and now that a kind of peace had been achieved in the family. Nash was smart enough not to risk it. The kids, especially Daniel, needed their father now more than ever.

Hunter bristled at the thought of being left behind. Oh, he understood why his father had chosen to force him to cool his heels. The nightmares didn't come as often as they had in the beginning, but they still came. He was torn between his duty to his pack, to his wife, and to his family. Mouse and Tristen had forgiven him for his twelve year hiatus from life. It was just that when Marianne died bringing Mouse into the world, he hadn't known how to go on. Wasn't sure if he could.

Gina had shown him there was more to life than his grief. He lived, truly lived for her. The days of suffering at the hands of a maniac had forged a bond between the two of them that transcended that of a husband to his wife. The nightmares came for her too. In the dark of the night when sleep wouldn't come, they held one another and sheltered each other from the mental replay of the horrors they'd endured.

Both Gina and he agreed. Tristen and Mouse were going to be ok. Daniel was the one they needed to watch out for. He was, after all, his father's son and he'd inherited every dark part of him from Hunter. He was slow to trust, reluctant to believe any promise that came out of Hunter's mouth, and begrudging with his emotions. Especially those feelings that had anything to do with love. Daniel was at a dangerous point in his young life, hovering between man and boy and belonging as part of the group or leaving it because he was too terrified he'd never fit in.