“One day, I can buy my own chocolate,” she finally sighed. “You better bring me chocolate back, Dash, or I might have to tell Momma how you bargain for ways to stay out of trouble.”
Elizabeth was watching Dash, saw his eyes narrow, though his lips tipped into a grin.
“We might have to see about an allowance when we get back,” he finally said as though she had won. “Little girls need their chocolate money.”
Cassie turned back to her mother, her smile sweetly innocent. “He will make a good daddy, Momma. I told you he would.”
Elizabeth snorted. “Why? Because you can twist him around your little finger?”
Cassie sighed. “That’s where all good daddies live, Momma. The fairy said so. We need to talk when you come get me. I could tell you all about it.”
She looked so serious. Elizabeth blinked down at her daughter, not for the first time, amazed at the little girl’s insights.
“We definitely will,” she promised. “Does this mean you’ll go?”
“Fine.” She pouted. “But they better hope they have chocolate. And they better remember, wolfs eat cats for dinner. They better not mess with me.”
Before Elizabeth could get past her shock her daughter was off her lap and stalking to the stairs. She turned back at the first step. “And I want to take my pretty clothes, too. And my gown. And my bear Dash bought me. And you better come back for me, Momma, or I’ll hunt you like the big wolfs and when I catch you, I’ll bite you.”
She stomped off, in full temper, as Elizabeth sighed roughly. “Well, at least she isn’t crying.” She sighed. “But I really don’t envy any of you. Cassie in a temper is not always a pretty sight to see.”
“I love her,” Kane suddenly remarked from the other side of the room. “God bless her heart. I love her.” He was chuckling wickedly as he looked back at the Felines staring at him. “Wolves eat cats for dinner. By God, I wanna be a wolf.” He looked at Sherra and growled.
Elizabeth looked at Dash. “Good God. This man is going to be watching my daughter?” A flash of pure motherly fear rushed through her. Cassie and Kane Tyler together would be a catastrophe.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Colder,” Sherra finally said coolly. “For the most part, we keep him leashed and gagged. We only let him free when the cute little animal jokes are needed.”
“Kane,” Callan said warningly. “Leave Sherra alone.”
Kane sighed. “I’m going to have to discuss this with Cassie. I bet she could help.” He started for the stairs as he turned back to the others. “I’ll just uhhh…help her pack her chocolate.”
“No.” Elizabeth was on her feet in a flash. She turned back to Dash worriedly. “Are you sure he’s…” she swallowed, “sane?”
“Oh, he’s sane enough.” Dash laughed as he shook his head. “And he’s just trying to rile Sherra. I hear he does that a lot. Elizabeth will get Cassie packed, Kane. I need to talk to you and Callan in the study. If you don’t mind.”
His voice assured them he really didn’t give a damn if they did mind.
“Sure.” Kane sighed as though disappointed. “I bet she knows some good wolf tricks, though. Shame on you, Dash, not letting your old buddy know about those savage little genes running loose in your body. I could have used some pointers over the last few months.” He turned and followed Dash as Elizabeth shook her head in amazement.
“He’s really harmless,” Sherra assured her drolly. “But we wouldn’t want his humor to infect Cassie, so we promise to keep them separated.”
“Yeah,” Elizabeth breathed out slowly. “That might be a very, very good idea.”
Chapter Sixteen
Kane hadn’t changed much, Dash thought as he led the way into Mike’s study. He was still as sarcastic and hell-bent on causing trouble wherever possible. The little Feline Breed, Sherra, seemed to be the night’s main course for him. Strangely enough though, Dash detected a strong undercurrent of dangerous anger where the woman was concerned. He had known Kane for a long time, had fought with him, covered his back and had his own covered by the man, but he had never seen Kane Tyler quite like this. A mocking, sarcastic Kane was often a sure sign of just how dangerous he was at that moment. If the cute retorts were any indication, the little snow leopard had seriously been on his wrong side for quite a while now.
“She’s a cute kid,” Kane remarked as they closed the door behind him. “She looks like you, Dash. Sure they didn’t use your little soldiers for the experiment?”
Short and mocking, Kane had little regard for formalities or pleasantries when he was pissed.
Dash snorted. “They didn’t have time to sample my little soldiers, Kane,” he grunted. “I haven’t been in the labs since I was ten years old.”
Both men stared at him in surprise. Explanation time. Damn, he had thought this day would never happen. Briefly, he explained his escape at ten. Being as small as he was, slipping into one of the supply vans and hiding hadn’t been hard. He had managed to work his way from the small lab in the Colorado Mountains to Missouri in less than six months and after that, life got easy.
Foster care had seen him through school, then after graduation he had enlisted in the Army. The recessed genetics had never shown up in blood tests or in physicals, and from there, it had just been a matter of keeping his secrets and doing his job.
Both had been fairly easy. Dash had known what awaited him if the Council ever learned he had escaped and lived. They had been known to get possessive where their creations were concerned.
“You haven’t mated yet?” Callan asked him softly as he and Kane faced Dash from the couch.
“Had sex?” Dash asked, surprised. “Getting a little personal there, aren’t you, Lyons?” That was definitely none of the Breed’s business.
“No.” Callan grinned, shaking his head.
“You haven’t yet marked the woman, Elizabeth, or I would have smelled it. Which means you haven’t taken her sexually yet. Correct?”
Once again, none of his business, Dash thought. Damn. He was unaware that finding Cassie protection meant questions regarding his sex life. Especially the lack thereof with Elizabeth.
Dash frowned warningly. “What does that have to do with Cassie?”
“With Cassie, not much.” Callan shrugged. “With you and the mother, perhaps much. Your recessed genetics may allow you a merciful escape from what Taber and I had learned. As for the Wolf Breeds, we can only assume it’s the same, since we have yet to find any who have mated.”
Which didn’t explain the reasons for the questions, as far as he was concerned. His relationship with Elizabeth had nothing to do with Cassie or her protection.
Dash shook his head. “What the hell are you getting at?”
Callan leaned forward slowly. “The Feline Breed males seem to have a tendency to show their relationship to our animal cousins in a unique way.”
“That’s a nice way of saying it,” Kane snorted mockingly. “Didn’t know you could beat around the bush so well, Callan.”
Callan flashed him an irate glance before turning back to Dash. “Have you noticed anything unusual during sex with any other female?”
Dash flushed as he looked between the two men. Hell. Since when did a personal interrogation come with the agreement to help?
He finally shook his head as he watched the other man in bemusement. “Like what?”
Kane stared up at the ceiling as though the conversation was now beyond his control or his interest.
Callan sighed roughly. “When Taber and I found our mates, we learned that our bodies have a very unique reaction to them during sex.”
Kane grunted but kept quiet.
“Such as?” Dash asked in confusion.
Callan cleared his throat as a slight grin edged his lips. “Our cocks produced a phenomena resembling the barb that actual felines have. It’s blunt rather than sharp, but locks us into our women for long minutes after ejaculation. It’s possible a similar phenomena occurs in the Wolf Breeds.”
Dash stared at the man in shock. Felines had barbs, canines had… He grinned and looked at Kane. “He’s joking. Right?” He had to be joking. Elizabeth was an amazingly steady woman, but he wasn’t certain how she would take such an animalistic reaction. Hell, he didn’t know how he would handle it.
Kane shrugged, frowning. “Hell if I know. And I have no intention of finding out.”
“He mated your sister,” Dash pointed out.
Kane frowned heavily. “I do not discuss sex with my baby sister,” he gritted out. “And I don’t want to hear about the particulars, either.” He gave Callan a warning look.
“Then leave.” Callan shrugged before turning back to Dash. “Whatever the reactions each Breed has during mating is an issue we must be honest about. The frenzy isn’t a comfortable matter, Kane, and could affect their ability to triumph over Grange.”
“Frenzy?” Dash was lost.
Callan explained in clear, concise terms the ”frenzy” he was talking about as Dash sat and watched him in shock.
“Damn,” he finally breathed out roughly, checking his tongue for any swelling. “Okay. No gland issue there.”
Now this he didn’t need. Not that he wouldn’t mind having Elizabeth pinned under his body until she conceived the child he had only dreamed of as his own, but he was sure she wouldn’t appreciate the experience. Enjoy it, yes. Thank him for it? She might well kill him for it.
“Perhaps she is not your mate,” Callan suggested. “We’ve found the changes to only occur with one person. Women, in Taber’s case and mine, who complimented us in every way. It’s a mating. There is no other word for it. She could be the wrong woman.”
Dash growled in protest. “Or perhaps the Wolf Breeds don’t have this reaction,” he pointed out. “And we also have to consider the recession of the genetics in my case. The scientists were going to kill me because I was human rather than animal. This discussion could be a waste of time.”
He really hoped this discussion was a waste of time. He couldn’t see himself explaining this to Elizabeth as such a change occurred in his own body. But the thought of it was so incredibly erotic that it caused his cock to twitch in reaction. Her slender body beneath him, locked to him, unable to escape, unable to do anything but tremble in pleasure as her body soaked up his seed.
“And your genetics can change overnight,” Callan assured him, shrugging. “It is something you should be aware of. Something that other Wolf Breeds will need to know about, should it occur. We have a few at the Feline compound, but not many as of yet. We are still uncertain if the original Pack in Mexico survived.”
Dash’s Pack. He shook his head wearily as he remembered the small group of children he had left behind in Colorado, just before the prepared move. At the time, he had no idea where they would go, and had been unable to find them later. “If anyone could save them, it would be Wolfe. He was a born leader, even as a child. I won’t believe he’s dead until I hear they found the body. As far as I’ve heard, they can’t be certain either way at this point, which tells me they escaped.”
He had suspected all along that they had escaped but hadn’t made attempts to try to track them down since learning of the location of the lab. His life had been too consumed with finding Elizabeth and Cassie. Finding his Pack could come later.
“We have lines of communication open,” Kane said firmly. “I have several men checking on some leads. If we hear anything, we’ll let you know when you get back.”
Dash nodded. “I expect at least a month before we can return. I need a week, perhaps two, to run Elizabeth through some basic training before we go after Grange. I want her ready to fight in case it’s needed.”
Callan frowned. “You should allow her to come to the compound as well. Take some of my men, Dash, and take care of Grange. There is no reason to endanger the woman.”
“She’s my woman, Callan.” Dash shook his head. “If she stays, life won’t always be easy. I won’t be hemmed up in a compound unless I have to be. Elizabeth and Cassie will both have to learn how to protect themselves. You get government acceptance for Cassie and I’ll take care of Grange. The rest we’ll take care of as we have to.”
“Grange won’t be easy,” Kane warned him. “I checked him out before heading in. He has several high-level government friends, which is why he’s running around without a leash. He knows of Cassie’s genetics; he’ll know the minute we put in for government acceptance of her.”
“I thought of that.” Dash shook his head. “All a child needs is the father’s name,” he reminded them. “List my name alone and leave mother and child’s names blank, as well as the ages. After the papers come back, you have six months to return them with the name of the mother and child.” It was a safety measure the Felines had demanded for any minor Breeds found. “I’ll claim parentage. That’s all we need.”
Callan nodded and turned to Kane. “Can you get the papers together before we leave?”
“I brought the laptop.” Kane nodded. “I’ll contact Merinus and have her send the file immediately. All he has to do is sign the government copy. Elizabeth has to sign our copy and I’ll notarize them. We can have it done within the hour.”
Dash nodded. “Let’s do it then. I want to get Cassie out of here as fast as possible and get on the road. We’re safe enough here, but I don’t like taking chances.”
“Very well,” Callan said as they all rose to their feet. He extended his hand to Dash. “Welcome to my Pride, Dash Sinclair. It’s good to include you.”
Dash accepted the handshake, feeling more than just a binding of an agreement. For the first time in his life, it was almost like having a family.
———
Elizabeth signed her name slowly to the papers. In them, she agreed that Dash Sinclair was the paternal parent of her daughter, Cassidy Paige Colder, and as such, she had agreed to legally accept the change of name for her daughter from her birth name to that of Cassandra Angelica Sinclair. The name was picked by Cassie, of course.
“Cassandra Angelica is what my fairy thinks.” She had nodded firmly when Elizabeth informed her of what they were doing and why. “And I like having Dash for my daddy. I think I deserve chocolate. This matchmaking stuff is hard work.”
She didn’t get chocolate, but she did get a daddy. Dash signed his own name firmly beside Elizabeth’s and handed the papers over to Kane to notarize.