Page 16 of Act of Command

“Fuck!”

His beast was there, on edge, waiting for any opening it could seize to take control. It didn’t understand that Corbin was trying to get to Mae. It wasn’t putting paws to pavement, the wind in its hair as he ran wild and free towards her, therefore, in its mind no progress was being made.

His cell rang and he grabbed it without looking at who was calling. The moment he heard his mother’s voice, he cringed.

“Corbin, did you happen to reach Mae?” she asked, worry in her voice. “I managed to get in touch with Ellen and they said they’ve been trying to connect with Mae for days, but that she’s not responding to their messages.”

He lived the type of life that required him to keep a great number of secrets. This was one. He knew the information would be termed classified, but he didn’t care. “Mother, I need you to keep her parents calm. Can you do that?”

He didn’t want to be calm. He wanted to rip people’s throats out, but he didn’t need frantic parents getting involved. Not yet.

His mother gasped. “Something has happened to her, hasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“And you are unable to give me details,” she pointed out, already knowing how his job worked.

He tensed as emotions slammed into him. For a brief second he felt like the child his mother often treated him as. “Mother, she’s in danger. It’s very bad. I’m going to find her and I’m going to rip apart every motherfucking piece of shit who dared to touch her.”

He sighed, waiting for his mother to comment on his language. She liked to blame his time in America for his mouth. His mother made a choked sound and he realized she was crying. “I was right, wasn’t I?”

He didn’t respond because he didn’t understand the question.

“She sent me a picture of her newest sculpture, Corbin,” she said, growing quiet for a long moment. “When I saw it, I just knew. It’s you, darling.Allof you. It’s why I pushed for a blind date. Deep down I knew she’s yours, son. Isn’t she?”

His gut churned. He wanted to say no and deny everything. After all, denial was what alpha males did best when presented with the reality of mates. “I think so. Yes. She is.”

His mother gasped and he knew for sure she was crying. “I’ll do what I can to keep Ellen and her husband off this for now. You make this right, Corbin.”

“I will.”

“Son?”

He swallowed hard. “Yes?”

“Be safe. And if she is yours, don’t let anything stop you from being with her. You rip every one of those bastards apart. Got it?”

“Yes, Mother.” He hung up, unable to talk more. His emotions were all over the place and he didn’t trust himself. Not after what had happened back at headquarters. When he’d finished gearing up with the men for the mission, he’d feared they’d do something stupid and lock him in a room to keep him from endangering anyone while they went off to try to help Mae. He’d been relieved when they’d all taken a location and handed him one as well.

Tipping his head, he thought harder on how easily they’d accepted his loss of control and how quickly they’d handed him a location. He was already over an hour from headquarters with only around twenty minutes left to his destination according to the navigational system. His men were a mix of mated and unmated, meaning they were more than familiar with the control issues often suffered by alpha males when their mates were in danger. And they’d always done their best isolate and minimize each other when one of their beasts got out of hand.

A mix of panic and fury assailed him as the realization of what they’d done washed over him. They’d guided him in the wrong direction on purpose.

“Bloody fools!” Corbin slammed on the brakes and steered off to the side of the road. No cars were in sight as far as the eye could see in any direction. His headlights were the only light that pierced the darkness as he threw his door open and rushed out, his adrenaline on overdrive. “They sent me off to get me out of the way.”

He would have done the same thing if roles were reversed. That didn’t mean he liked it one bit. Dragging his hands over his face, Corbin tried to keep his lion caged. His gums burned as his teeth began to change, morphing into the beast. He put his palms on the side of the SUV and shook his head, willing his beast to understand that if he didn’t stay in control, they might never locate Mae.

“No,” he pushed out from misshapen teeth, making it hard for him to speak.

His lion reared back and began its version of pacing deep within him. It wanted him to know it was there, at the ready, and if he didn’t handle the matter, the beast would. His teeth returned to normal and he bent his head, closing his eyes, catching his breath and gathering his thoughts.

His mind went instantly to Mae. On her dark gaze meeting his from across the campus even for the briefest of seconds. He’d felt the connection then, but he hadn’t understood what it was. Who she was.

He closed his eyes tighter, his chest compressing, worry for her holding him in its firm grip. He shook and kept his head bent, knowing he needed to regain full control before he dare try to find her.

“Take a deep breath and then go to the location given to you,” he said to himself. “You might get lucky. She may be there.”

As the words left his mouth the strangest of sensations started deep in his gut. The urge to pull out the map he’d brought hit him hard. He obeyed it, going to the passenger side and opening the door, finding the map on the seat. He unfolded it and found his location with ease.

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