Primal Law (Alpha Pack #1)(25)

"What about food? Clothing and bedding?"

"He won't eat. He's become increasingly despondent and a few days ago things finally reached a breaking point."

"What do you mean?"

Jaxon said quietly, "He used the chain on his collar to try and hang himself."

"Oh my God!" she cried. "Poor thing. That's why there's nothing in his cell-so he can't use anything else to try it again."

"I'm afraid so," Nick confirmed. "His wrists are bound for that reason, but the silver mesh gloves prevent him from tossing spells at us. Or whatever he does."

Kira slumped back in her chair, clearly upset. "There must be a way to reach him."

"You're welcome to try. Just be careful."

"What type of being is he?"

Jaxon answered. "Best we can figure, given his physical characteristics, powers, and the fact that he was found in Ireland? Possibly Fae."

"Fae . . . as in a faery?" Her eyes widened.

"Yep. Specifically Seelie, because of his physical beauty and his unwillingness to do us any real harm, which are typical traits of his kind. How he ended up on our plane of existence is anyone's guess. Unless you can get him to talk."

"Jeez," she muttered. "No pressure or anything."

Nick chuckled. "A lot to take in, huh? The important thing is not to rush him, or any of them. I think you'll do fine."

"What about the black wolf? I think he's going to be my toughest challenge."

The boss's humor died. "You're right about that. Raven is completely feral, but we haven't given up on him. We can't."

"Why not? I'm all for rehabbing, but if there's no hope it seems cruel to let him pace that cell day after day, going mad."

Jaxon cleared his throat, which had suddenly gone tight. "We can't give up because Raven is one of us. Five and a half years ago, he was the finest SEAL we'd ever known. After we were attacked by rogue weres in Afghanistan, he turned wolf. Unlike the rest of us survivors, he never came back."

Kira's head reeled with the overload of information Nick and Jaxon were dropping in her lap. Never had she imagined having such a bizarre conversation with anyone.

Fae. A Seelie running scared through Ireland.

A maddened wolf with his human counterpart stuck inside.

Weirder and weirder.

Which led to the obvious question. "What about the others? The snake and the furry gremlin thing?"

Jaxon folded his arms, causing his biceps to bunch enticingly. "The furry guy is just what he appears-a little pain in the ass. He bites. Ask me how I know," he deadpanned, causing Nick to laugh. "The snake isn't your typical garden variety, as you no doubt noted by his size. But it's not just the fact that he's the size of a small horse. He's a basilisk. And before you ask, forget almost everything you've read in the legends about them."

"I haven't heard much. Just that they're extremely venomous and supposedly kill with a glance. Fairy-tale stuff."

"The venomous part is correct, but they can't, or don't, kill with their gaze or everyone in the compound would be dead. The most interesting thing is that he can take human form."

Of course he can. "So he's a shifter. Does he talk?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Jax curled his lip. "Belial is . . . Well, you'll see for yourself."

"What?" She glanced between the men. "Is he hideous or something?"

"No, quite the opposite. His power is seduction and he knows how to wield it. He's a sly son of a bitch, and that makes him more dangerous than anything. I can't get a vision of his past. Even Nick can't get a good reading on whether he'd hurt anyone in the future, though he swears he wouldn't."

"Despite biting and nearly killing Ryon," Nick added, his voice hard. "The only reason he wasn't terminated is he insists he never would've struck if he wasn't terrified when we tried to take him in."

"With all due respect . . . most of us mere mortals will never know if we can truly trust the most sinceresounding person not to hurt us. We have to abide our neighbors because we have no choice. We can't go around locking people up just because we're not sure. Is it really fair to hold this person to a different standard just because he's a basilisk and he rubs you the wrong way?"

Both men had the decency to look guilty at that statement. Still, Nick wasn't totally sold. "Most people can't swallow you whole while you're sleeping."

She sighed. Seemed she had a lot of work to do with her new charges before they could even begin to be integrated into life at the compound. But she was looking forward to the challenge more than she had anything in ages. Sure beat working for Bowman, the jackass.

"Okay, I'll make a prediction," she began, watching their reactions. "Within one month, I'll have them ready to socialize with kings. Well, maybe not kings, but a bunch of flea-bitten wolves and the occasional human."

Jaxon gave her a smoldering look that made her nerves tingle, but didn't rise to the teasing "flea-bitten" remark. "I say it can't be done within a month. Six months, if you're persistent."

"Wanna bet?"

"You're on. If it takes you longer than one month from today, you have to do the entire team's nasty, sweaty laundry for six weeks." He grinned at the idea.