Saskia finally spoke up. “That may be true, Roxie, but you aren’t exactly just any other pregnant woman. You’re the foretold one. We already know Miles will do anything to get his hands on you. We also know he’s recovered from the loss of his last headquarters. His new one we have yet to find, but he’s still recruiting lone wolves.
Remember Jager managed to corner one of his men before the lone wolf got away. You being pregnant means we’ll have to be extra vigilant.”
Daylen cringed inside when she heard Saskia mention Jager confronting the lone wolf. It was because of her that Miles’ man had gotten away. Now able to see the sword fight from Jager’s standpoint, Daylen realized she’d caused the Protectors to lose out on some valuable information. Since she was now technically one of them because she and Jager were mated, she figured her skills as a police officer could be used to help them find where Miles’ new headquarters were.
Before Roxie could reply to Saskia, Daylen asked, “Who is Miles?”
Saskia answered her. “Miles is my true brother. At one time, he was one of us, one of the foretold one’s Protectors. He left vowing to find the foretold one for himself when I was chosen to be the Protectors’ leader. Miles figured it should have been him.”
“What’s his last name?”
“It’s Jensen.”
“Can you give me a description of him?”
“Miles is just about as tall as Jager, has the same hair and eye color as me, and has similar features.”
“Where was the location of his last headquarters?”
Saskia rattled off an address in San Francisco’s older warehouse district. She then said, “I’m not sure why you need all this information about Miles. And the warehouse is no longer there. Miles blew it up because we got too close to him.”
“It was my fault the lone wolf got away from Jager. If not for me, you probably would already have the location of Miles’ new headquarters. I’m going to fix that.”
Daylen then asked the room at large, “Do one of you have a cell phone I can use?”
“You can use mine.” Dirk pulled one out of the front pocket of his jeans and tossed it to her.
Daylen caught it and flipped it open. She punched in the number to her police station. Once the other end picked up, she said, “Hey, Carey, it’s Daylen. Can you put me through to Ted’s line?” She then waited for Ted to pick up. When he did, she said, “Hi, Ted. I was wondering if you could use your amazing police detective skills and dig some information up for me.”
Ted chuckled. “Anything for you, Daylen. What do you need?”
“I need whatever info you can get on a man named Miles Jensen.” She then gave Ted a description of Miles. “I also need you to look up who was listed as owning a warehouse that blew up some months back in the old warehouse district.” Daylen quickly gave Ted the address Saskia had given her.
“No problem. I’ll see what I can find and call you back at home.”
“I’m not at home right now. I’m over at a friend’s place. You can call me at this number.” Daylen looked at Dirk who told her the number to his cell. Daylen repeated it for Ted.
“This may take me a while, especially finding the information you want about the warehouse.”
“That’s okay. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be here for most of the day.”
After Daylen hung up with Ted, she snapped the cell phone closed and tossed it back to Dirk. “Ted is one of the detectives at my station. He has a knack for finding information about people and places that others can’t. If he can find out who owned the warehouse, he may be able to trace it to another property that Miles may have recently purchased.”
“Damn,” Kye said. “Having a cop in the family is going to have some fringe benefits.”
Daylen smiled. “I figure since I’m now a Protector too I might as well start pulling my weight.”
Jager started shaking his head. “Whoa, slow down there. You’re my mate. I never said anything about you becoming one of Roxie’s Protectors. You haven’t even said whether or not you want Roxie to turn you yet. A mortal doesn’t stand a chance against a werewolf. We’re a lot faster and stronger than your kind.”
Daylen narrowed her eyes. “My kind? Well this mortal has gotten the jump on you more than once.”
“That’s only because you caught me off guard each time.”
“Oh, really? Shall we test out your theory and see if I can still take you down head-on?”
“We don’t just fight with our fists, Daylen. We fight with our swords, and if need be, in our wolf forms. As a mortal, you wouldn’t be able to defend yourself against one of Miles’ men.”
“What’s the matter, Jager?” she taunted. “Are you afraid I’ll prove you wrong?”
Leif jumped up. “You’ve got him now, Daylen. That’s one thing Jager can never pass up on—a direct challenge.”
Jager crossed his arms over his wide chest. “All right, Daylen. You want to do this, then let’s see who has the right of it. I’d rather you found out here how much of a disadvantage you have than while facing down one of Miles’ men out on the street. I’ll go get my sword, and I’ll meet you down in the basement.”
After Jager left the living room, Daylen and the others in the room made their way down to the basement. Daylen took in the weights and large open space. The mansion’s basement had been set up as a training room. She moved to stand in the middle of the open space while everyone else went to stand off to the side.
It didn’t take Jager long to join them. He carried his unsheathed sword in his hand.
Once he stood in front of her, he said, “Remember, I don’t like to lose. I won’t take it easy on you.”
She smiled. “I wouldn’t expect you to.”
Without giving her any warning, Jager swung at her with his sword. She jumped out of the way. Daylen may not have the speed of a werewolf, but she was still pretty quick on her feet. She then spent the next few minutes dodging Jager’s blows while striking out at him with her hands and feet. Since Jager was doing most of the work, Daylen knew it would only be a matter of time before he started to tire enough for her to make her move.
When the opportunity came, she quickly moved in and kicked out in a karate move that sent Jager’s sword flying out of his hand. The triumphant smile that spread across Daylen’s lips faded when Jager launched himself at her, shifting in mid-air to his wolf form. Jumping out of the way, she just managed to avoid his sharp teeth.
Jager stalked her as he growled and snapped his teeth. Daylen took up a karate stance and waited for Jager to go on the attack. This time she would be ready for him. When he leapt at her, she kicked out with a roundhouse kick that caught Jager right across the muzzle. He landed hard on the floor. Before he could get back up on his paws, Daylen jumped onto his back and used her weight to pin him to the floor while she wrapped her hands around his muzzle to stop him from trying to use his teeth to free himself.
“Well,” Daylen said while she panted. “Do you admit defeat?” Jager let out a whine.
Taking that as a yes, she let go of his muzzle and stood. His wolf form blurred and shimmered as Jager shifted.
Daylen let her gaze touch on each of the other people in the room. They all were beaming at her. Roxie stood under the shelter of Beowulf’s arm and clapped. “Way to go, Daylen,” she said.
Saskia left her mate’s side and moved to stand in front of Daylen. “Now that I’ve seen your fighting skills, I think you’re more than qualified to be considered a Protector.
Being a cop, you definitely have the background for it.”
Daylen smiled. “Thanks.”