[COMPLETED NOVELLA]
Nathan Allen, born Nassor Jelani, is an orphan. He's never met one of his own kind, having been adopted by an American couple. One full moon while on a mission in Kenya, he comes upon a werelioness. His beast bungles the meeting...
"Ha!" Akinyi barked. He was far too relaxed for Nate's liking. "A common occurrence in these troubled times."
I just need to complete this deal, Nate reminded himself. Then, they'd track the weapons and take out those enemies as well. Once his mission was complete, then Nate was free to leave the team and kill Zaire.
"I can see you are not one for chit-chat," Akinyi continued as Nate, and his men stopped ten feet from the seated man. "Very well, tell me what you have to offer, and we will see if it's what I need."
After some haggling over Nate's stock and the prices, Akinyi built his wish list. He agreed to purchase thirty Tomahawk Block V missiles, two-hundred M4 machine guns, one-hundred grenade launchers, and fifty m224 mortars. They were to be delivered within three days. After a final inspection, Zaire would authorize the payment.
It was too long of a wait in Nate's estimation. He'd have to cool his heels for that much longer before he challenged his long-time nemesis. He couldn't do so until the weapons were shipped off to Zaire's cohorts. Then, the team could find their other enemies and perhaps the one the African First was working for. After that, Nate would be free to pursue his vengeance.
"So, how did it go?" Mills asked as they pulled away from the warehouse.
"Well," Everett answered. "Make sure we aren't followed," he finished.
"Yes, sir." Surprisingly, Dick didn't follow that up with a smart-assed comment.
As they drove back to base camp, Brice called their commander and refilled Jaeger in on what transpired. The First Lieutenant heard all that went on through their earpieces, but it was always best to get a firsthand account to fill in any holes that might have been missed.
Redundancy, thy name is military, Nate thought as he and the rest of the team went to Jaeger's tent. After the more formal debriefing, he left to find Ife. Of course, she was in Doc's foundry. Discovering her there wasn't a shock. What was surprising was the sight of the shaman behind Ife, leaning forward with his arms bracketing her waist.
The full moon was close, Nate had just met with his lifelong enemy, and his relationship with Ife was on rocky ground. It was little wonder he snapped.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
An angry yowl behind her made Ife straighten. The sudden move had her knocking heads with Owen. Then, the shaman vanished.
"You've gone too far," Nate roared. Ife turned in time to see his meaty fist connect with Owen's jaw.
"What are you doing?" Ife yelled. "Have you gone mad?"
Grabbing the healer by the throat, Nate addressed Ife. "You let him put his arms around you," he accused.
Owen broke free and threw his own punch. Nate doubled over as air whooshed out between his lips. Those condemning, gold-rimmed chocolate eyes bored into Ife's.
