Page 42 of Old Secrets

“It’s an instinct for us,” my mother added. “We women tend to be difficult when being convinced it is time to have a litter, but once we are convinced, we are even more difficult to restrain. Or, once in the later stages of fertility, exceptionally docile with our chosen male. I will warn you now. Any interloping male will be lucky to survive her wrath in her current state. We are extreme beings, and our docility is matched—and sometimes surpassed—by our ferocity should someone come between us and our mating partner. And we do not warn before we strike in those circumstances. I would warn your kind so that there are not any mistakes—or be prepared to restrain her should you happen to like the male who stirred her ire.”

Well, that would add the wrong kind of spice to our lives. “Does that apply to interloping females?”

“Doubly so. A wise vixen steers clear of a mating vixen’s male.”

“And if the female happens to be a friend?”

“Bouts of crippling self-esteem and despondence,” my father stated, and he raised a brow at my mother. “Even after our long years together, she will lose that war and mope mightily should she think a mutual female friend has designs on me.”

Well, that explained a lot about how I reacted to Mellisa sometimes. “Jake, it seems my issues are, indeed, genetic.”

“Well, now that we know about them, we can work around them. I’m going to need some time to get used to the idea of several years of pregnancy hormones before we have an entire litter. And considering the situation, we’re going to need a strong pack willing to stay on guard for a long time, because our children will likely take after you in terms of aging.”

“Yes, it is quite the responsibility.” My mother sighed. “You’ll adapt to being older than you believed, but I know the true date of your birth, and I can work with this Inquisition so you have those documents mortals do enjoy. They’ve also promised your children will be protected as much as they can. You will not share our fate. And perhaps, one day, there will be many foxes living within the forests and on the mountains of the world, watching over humanity and witnessing the Earth’s growth.”

I understood what she did not say.

She would not stop until Greenwich fell, but she would not fight that battle alone. Revenge would be hers, justice would be mine, and we would free the future of the group’s corruption and influence. For the moment, the how of it was yet another secret piled upon many. While I hadn’t understood then how right I had been, we would find answers in China—and once we dealt with the situation in China, onward to Tibet.

Then, there would be one final location we would need to go to receive true closure: home.

There was no time better than the present. I turned my attention to Aiko, who did an admirable job of pretending to be a statue. “Aiko-san, would China be willing to host the Japanese for this fight?”

While she hesitated, she offered a bow. “We don’t have many fighters, Karma-sama. I am not certain how much help we will be.”

It pained me that I’d become better at reading between the lines, not needing long to comprehended what she tried to tell me. I allowed myself to smile. “If I were in need of swords or guns, that might be an issue, but I think we need ideas from those who have been burned by Greenwich. Not all plans need fighters, but if they are willing to fight if needed, that would be ideal. I can’t promise safety, but if we can catch their trail, I can promise a chance for vengeance and justice.”

“I will see what I can do, but China is our ally in this, and I do not see any reason for them to refuse this request. How many would you like to accompany you?”

“As many as are willing to come.” I rose to my feet, clasped my hands together, and bowed as she had. “You give my family a gift that can never be repaid.”

“It is our honor, Karma-sama.”

TWELVE

I enjoyed bashing heads together as needed.

In the wee hours of the morning, Jake and I returned to our hotel room. Grateful to be too tired to think, I went to bed. I resisted the idea of getting up using my teeth, resulting in my mate being bitten more than a few times. Had I been sufficiently coherent, I would have remembered Jake liked when I got rough with him.

As he enjoyed showing off his strength, he captured my wrists in one of his hands, laughed at my attempts to escape him, and waited until I wore myself out to begin his campaign to indulge before returning to work. Our hosts, as promised, left us to our own devices until we came out of our room of our own volition.

If anyone wondered why my hair had seen better days and Jake had a few new bite marks on his arm, nobody questioned us about it. After a robust lunch, as we’d missed breakfast altogether, we met with Aiko in the lobby, and she escorted us to a limousine waiting outside at the valet.

She joined us in the back, and she picked a briefcase up off the seat, set it on her lap, and opened it. “Tonight, you will be staying at one of Tokyo’s finest hotels for an evening of indulgence, as our primary concerns in the area have been eliminated. Our agents have not found any evidence of activity from other suspected members of Greenwich. The day after tomorrow, you will fly to China, where the Chinese Inquisition will assist you in going to the sanctuary in Tibet.”

I wondered why Aiko called the place a sanctuary.

Everything I’d learned indicated it was a prison and a graveyard, one filled with nothing but bad memories. I understood wanting to return to even a bad situation, as hope had a way of digging in deep tendrils and refusing to let go.

For me and Jake, we’d turned that dim hope into something, although it had taken a great deal of help to accomplish.

Not everyone got as lucky. Not everyone even emerged from their situations alive. I understood that from my work within the FBI. I supposed my reluctance to quit had stemmed from my understanding that while Jake was many things, and not all of them good, he would always do his best to undo the damage and right the wrongs.

He’d been far more of a prisoner than I.

He still remained, in many ways, a prisoner, where I’d learned to run free and leave the chains that had bound me behind, picking and choosing which ones I kept and clung to. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I focused on the important matter of bringing an end to Greenwich. “Have the Chinese learned anything?”

“After receiving the trail of when you originally went to the United States, yes. Your case has done a lot of good. They’ve uncovered an illegal trafficking ring targeting unwanted children in China. While you were not sold to this organization, the organization ultimately assisted in your journey to the United States. They’re the one who falsified your birth certificate at your aunt’s request. It seems one of them owed her a debt, and they paid that debt off through making certain you were placed in the United States.” Aiko’s expression soured. “Unfortunately, the individuals in question are not Normals, and this has created a problem. The Inquisition, being grateful for their assistance in this matter, is opting for a more merciful route, assuming the agents are willing to tell us what they know about Greenwich, their operations, and any children they bought. They have one strike left, and if they return to their old ways, they will be executed. They may receive full pardons if they work at preventing such abuses again in the future.”