The name had my back up instantly. My muscles bunched, readying for action. The hairs at the back of my neck prickled in preparation for the change.
Jordan and I were part of a secret, special operations team called the Alpha Division, commanded by Teij and fronted by the U.S. government. There were quite a few of us stationed around the world, trying to live under the radar and ready to go at a moment's notice. And every one of us was out of the ordinary.
"Mission?"
"Possible mission, but you haven't been called on."
My brow wrinkled. "Why?"
"Teij got a call from Mark,” he said, purposely misunderstanding my question.
My brow wrinkled, as I thought about whom that was. "Mark? You mean Markus Stone?"
The name brought back harsh memories. We both grew up with Mark in the small town of Wilde Mountain, Virginia, but he was far from a childhood friend.
He nodded an affirmative.
"Explain."
"Seems things aren't going so well back home."
I snorted. "Doesn't surprise me."
Things were never going well back home. Somehow, both Jordan and I got the short end of the stick when it came down to fathers. Jordan’s father, Lee Hunt, was a nasty man that used his fists on his wife and child whenever a drop of alcohol passed his lips. Unfortunately, the man downed his liquor more often than not, and his wife stood up for him time and time again.
My father, however, never laid a hand on me. No, he would never dirty his hands or reputation in such a way. Alexander James Wright Sr. was a model citizen and politician. His only goal in life was to be a leader in the small community. Too bad his wife was a loose drunk and his son a perpetual failure.
No, my body never took the brunt of his fists, but my mind almost snapped at the emotional abuse hurled at me day after day. Jordan and I had not wasted time leaving that hell hole. We had been gone sixteen years and had not heard a word from anyone from our past, until now.
"Yeah, well, it’s gotten a whole lot worse." Jordan walked over to his desk and sat on the corner facing me. "From what I gathered, it seems that after we left, new laws were announced in Wilde Mountain. One was no outsiders."
“Humans were never welcome outside of marriage, but what about spouses?"
"Nope, they sent them away. The children too, if they took after their human parent and weren’t able to shift."
Our kind was wary of humans. The few that did find and marry a human mate were treated as lower class. Both Jordan and I had a mixed heritage. Our mothers were human and our fathers were were-cats, jaguars to be exact. We knew all too well how cruel the full bloods of our community could be.
I never understood why my father chose to mate with a human, Jordan’s father either. Both men made no secret of how they felt about humans and half bloods. They considered us nothing but scum on the bottom of their shoes.
Not all families acted that way. Most full bloods that mated with a human were happy, respectful spouses. Many of the more prominent shifters in the community looked down upon them.
However, even with the harsh treatment from the unsupportive full bloods, those mixed couples stayed. They thought it would be easier for the cubs to grow up with their own kind. Now, it seemed, those families were being ripped apart.
"My God, why would they do such a thing?" My gaze narrowed. "What does this have to do with a mission? And why am I not being called in?"
Jordan ignored my last question. Instead, answered the first. Of course, he knew I wouldn't give up so easily, but I wanted all the information I could get.
"Mark told Teij that after we left, a committee was assembled. They believed associating with humans was weakening the race and voted that to become more powerful, they needed stronger blood."
My mouth dropped in horror. "You mean…"
"Yep, they're practically forcing incest, in a way. There are not that many of us anymore." He paused, "There aren't that many full bloods, I mean."
We sat in silence a moment, thinking of the implications of such a law. I shuddered in disgust. Those families must have been in pure hell. To be separated from your loved ones…
"Why haven't they just left?" I asked. "When the human spouses and children were kicked out, why didn't their families go with them?"
"Not allowed. The law says no full blood may leave Wilde Mountain. Mark said they had a few try, and the punishment was severe."
"Damn, I always hated that place, but I never thought they would resort to such cruelty."
"I didn't either."
I raked my fingers through my hair in frustration. “Isn’t the community the least bit concerned that these humans will start talking? They have to be angry enough.”
Most of those humans I would consider good people, but the way they were treated could very well mean trouble for our kind. Our secret must be kept. The whole of the human race was not ready to know what lay in their back yard. Not yet.
"So what’s our mission?"