Passing security, Jonas paused outside the secured safe room and waited until Merinus opened the door once again.
Rachel's scent hit him immediately. Her head turned from where she had been watching her child sleep in her arms, then she stood quickly and moved toward him.
She still wore the evening gown, minus the shoes. Her hair had slipped from its upswept style, and heavy strands fell to her shoulders.
Her face was pale, tearstained, the baby clutched in her arms. She had never looked more beautiful, or as sexy.
"Callan, Leo and Kane are cleaning up," he told Merinus and Sherra as he passed them to meet Rachel in the middle of the room. "They'll be returning soon."
He felt their relief, felt the love that seemed to fill the room. The children were all here, along with Leo's specially trained Enforcers, Breeds trained in the care and protection of the children should they have to escape with them.
The children themselves were calm. At eleven, Kane and Sherra's son appeared much more mature as he kept an eye on Leo and Elizabeth's newborns while Dawn talked to two of the Breed guards.
Tanner and Scheme's twins, ten months old, were playing quietly on a specially designed floor mat that held a variety of activities to entertain them. Merinus's newborn lay sleeping peacefully in one of the cribs set up in the room.
Only David, Callan and Merinus's thirteen-year-old son, appeared less than peaceful, and who could blame the boy?
Jonas would have approached the child, and had all intentions of doing so, until Merinus moved closer to him, blocking him from David.
"David asked to be left alone until he could talk to Callan." Her dark brown eyes were filled with pain. "I don't know what to do, Jonas."
This wasn't the Prima; this was the mother. She was uncertain, fighting to make sense of the danger this world provided and how best to protect her children.
"Then I would suggest respecting his wishes," Jonas stated quietly as he glanced to one of the Breed guards closest to David and gave him a silent nod toward the boy.
The Breed would be available if he felt David was becoming overly distressed.
"He needs to talk about it," she whispered as she crossed her arms over her breasts and tried to calm herself. "David doesn't do well when he broods over things."
"Sometimes a man has to brood," Jonas answered her, knowing the boy could overhear their conversation well. "He's being forced to grow up, Merinus, and as sad as that is, it's not something we can halt. David is well-adjusted, and he knows his father is willing to listen to whatever problems he wants to bring to him. Give Callan a chance to help his child the proper way."
The message was for David as well. He could discuss the issues with Callan, or Jonas would ensure the boy discussed them with his father. And David rarely liked Jonas's forced discussions.
"Rachel and I will be returning to the cabin now," he told the Prima. "If you need me, you have only to call the sat phone."
"Is the cabin safe?" Merinus asked worriedly as she glanced at a sleeping Amber. "Stay here, Jonas. One of the lower-level suites can be prepared quickly."
The lower-level suites were beneath the house, part of the design of the labs and taken for couples in mating heat that were forced to stay at the estate house for safety's sake.
Jonas shook his head. "I have adequate security, and it seems the danger has passed, for tonight. Besides, I know Rachel will be more comfortable with time alone with her child."
Rachel remained silent, thankfully. Jonas had no desire to stay there, where he could and would be disturbed at every chance. The animal inside him was already pacing in impatience to, at the very least, be alone with his family.
His family.
As they left the house, Jonas couldn't help but be amazed at the thought. He had been created to father children, and had been considered a failure by the scientists. Jonas knew what they didn't: He wasn't a failure, he just hadn't found his mate.
Now that he had, he feared the results.
Nothing mattered but protecting his mate and the child he had claimed as his own. The problem with that was, any child he would sire would be in even greater danger. He would be the child who would truly bridge Breed and man, to create a being that both races would ultimately fear.
CHAPTER 10
A fire was burning brightly in the fireplace when Jonas escorted Rachel into the cabin. Mordecai sat on his haunches in front of it. The four-legged Coyote that traveled at his side was lying in front of it, black eyes watching as Jonas and Rachel entered the room.
Amber was sleeping peacefully after the formula Rachel had given her before they left the estate house, yet still, the Coyote Mordecai called "Cote" came to its feet, narrowed his eyes on the child and tilted his head as though attempting to figure out exactly what it was.
"The perimeter of the cabin is secure." Mordecai came to his feet as he wiped his hands down the front of his jeans, his blue gray gaze meeting Jonas's before he shrugged his broad shoulders.
There was an edge of discomfort whenever he was around Rachel, which Jonas hadn't yet figured out.
"Contact me immediately if you so much as sense anything," Jonas ordered him. "I'll be working tonight, then Rachel and I have to fly back to D.C. tomorrow afternoon for a meeting with the House Appropriations Committee concerning satellite usage. I want the heli-jet and Alpha Team One providing security for the trip and the meeting, as well as the return."
Mordecai gave a sharp nod as Rachel moved toward her and Amber's room. As Rachel's door closed, Mordecai turned back to him.
"What?" Jonas questioned as Mordecai stared at him silently.
"Merinus was forced to leave the safe room just after the male mates left. She was in the hall for long moments. While there, David became very agitated. He was pacing the room, and though he was fighting to hold them back, I could hear the tiny growls rumbling in his chest. He had all the appearances of adolescent feral fever, Jonas."
Jonas's jaw clenched. "I'll talk to Callan and Ely and see what they think."
Mordecai nodded. "He's a good boy. I'd hate to see his head messed with feral fever."
As Mordecai left the cabin, Jonas blew out a hard, silent breath. Feral fever had caused the scientists to kill too many young Breeds while they were still in the labs. Jonas had hoped the hybrid Breeds would be immune to it.
Moving to the kitchen, he quickly pulled a prepared meal from the freezer and shoved it in the oven. He hated damned microwaves.
Setting the temperature, he moved to the coffeemaker and flipped the switch to start the brewing process for the already measured grounds of coffee, then set out two cups, bowls and spoons.
Chili was one of the few things he could prepare well. That and coffee.
Turning at the sound of the bedroom door opening, he watched as Rachel reentered the room. She had taken off the exquisite dress and replaced it with soft cashmere lounging pants and a top. Her feet were covered with pristine white socks, her long red hair brushed until it fell down her back in a soft, satiny ribbon.
Seeing her dressed more comfortably, her face devoid of makeup, her demeanor softer than it was in the office, gave her an even more delicate, petite appearance.
She barely cleared his chest at five foot six inches. In heels, she went no taller than his shoulders. She was so damned tiny he was almost scared to touch her.
Fear was something he wasn't used to feeling either, not in any regard. Confidence was, at times, a fault where he was concerned, and he knew it. When it came to Rachel though, confidence was something he invariably found himself lacking.
"Is Amber sleeping comfortably?" he asked as she made her way into the kitchen.
"Like a baby." Her lips tilted up in amusement. "That child could sleep through a bomb, I believe. As long as her diaper is dry and her belly is full."