Bound by Pride

Author's note:

All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy.

Hi everyone,

Here it is… the new story in my Were saga. For new people to my stories I suggest you go back and read the previous stories in the following sequence, Kiss of the Moon, Touch of the Wolf and Freedom of Flight before starting on this story as it will give you background on most of the characters and introduce you to the world I've created.

To those who have been waiting and cursing me for the delay in getting this story out, I am sorry but it was unavoidable. On that note my current editor is having a hard time at the moment and no longer has the time to help me edit the chapters so I am looking for a new editor, if anyone is interested in taking the mantle just send me an email and we'll talk.

So a big thankyou to PS my editor who has helped me through Touch of the Wolf, Terri and Becky, Freedom of Flight and the first chapter of Bound by Pride. May all your endeavours be fruitful.

As usual all feed back is welcome and encouraged, and don't forget to vote.

Have fun

Note: this story starts off slow, so those of you only after sex this story isn't for you.

BOUND BY PRIDE

Chapter 1

~Earth... Three months after Alanna and Sage's abduction.~

Electra walked into her office and plopped herself at her computer. She reached into a pocket and got her inside glasses, which had a slightly different tint to the glasses she wore when she was out side, she had a set of sunglasses for almost every kind of lighting condition. She closed her eyes and swapped the glasses over. She wished that she didn't have to wear glasses, that her eyes were normal but she had learnt a while ago that she could only live with the cards fate had dealt her.

She entered her password and while she waited for her computer to log her onto the network she took off her jacket and hung it across the back of her chair. Underneath her black jacket was a simple white collared shirt; her black jacket went with her black pants. She pulled her gun and holster from her belt, and slid it into her top draw. Her shoulder-length dark brown hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail to keep it out of her way. She clicked on her email account as she dug her phone and wallet from her pockets.

Dave walked into their shared office with coffee in one hand and an apple in the other. He was wearing his grey suit with his tie only slightly loose as if he had tugged at it a few times in frustration. He ran his fingers through his mousy brown fringe to move it away from his grey/blue eyes. His build was that of a runner and one he worked hard on, as he needed to be fit just to keep up with her. He offered the super large cup to her knowing that there was no point in talking to her until she had her hit of coffee. He then proceeded to perch himself on her desk, biting into the apple he was holding in his right hand. Since he quit smoking, due mainly to her constant complaining about his smell whenever they were in a closed room of any size, he had taken to grazing as a means to keep himself from smoking and to keep from becoming overweight; he grazed healthily on fruit and veg.

"So, heard anything from your ma?" He asked while munching on his apple.

She glanced up and if he could see her eyes behind her glasses, he knew they would be glaring at him. "Stop bringing it up. I keep it quiet because I don't want people saying my ma,

THE

Senator Luis, got me into the FBI. Do you know what the press will do? I'm already a poster child for the FBI because I'm Were. I don't need the extra hassles." She told him grumpily, wishing that he had never found out about her family.

"Marks, De Luca, my office!" Their boss barked down the intercom suddenly.

She sighed, got up and grabbed her coffee, sipping at the hot brew as they left their office. They walked down the hall to his office wondering at the reason why their boss was ordering them into his office but coming up blank. Their paper work was up to date so he had no reason to be mad at them.

The few other agents in their small department didn't even raise their heads to see what was going on. There were only ten people in the Pennsylvania branch of the Were and Other department but funnily enough, that was all they needed to do their work as it was becoming more and more rare for hate crimes. Moreover, as Were and Other crimes were mostly dealt with by their own, they mainly worked at keeping good relations and taking cases from Alphas' who couldn't solve it by themselves. They walked into their director's office with a little trepidation, as he was well known for being grumpy in the morning.

"Why am I getting phone calls about a flag I know nothing about? A flag you put out on a person of interest by the name of Smokey Ray??" He demanded the moment Dave closed the door behind them. Director Farrington was a man in his early fifties with grey balding hair and round around the middle. His shirt was rumpled as if it had been slept in; his jacket was tossed across a chair and his tie was half undone with stubble growth across his jaw but he was a good man who just needed a good woman's love.

"Smokey Ray is one of half a dozen men who helped in the abduction of Alanna and Sage Luis, boss. I gave you the report almost three months ago. It's right…" Electra started to shuffle through the stack of files on his desk. Her boss was a good man and very good at his job. He just sucked at filing, paperwork and keeping track of everyone else in the department. "…here." She said as she finally got hold of it and passed it to him.

"Oh…" he said, a little bashful at being caught out not knowing what is going on with his teams. "Why didn't the press get a hold of this?" He asked, surprised when he saw crime scene photos.

"Because ma got there first." She said… then cursed herself. She is definitely not at her best first thing in the morning.

"Ma…" He caught, blinking in surprise. He scratched at his balding head and wondered how he hadn't made the connection before. "Senator Luis is your mother? Why didn't I know about that?" He asked incredulously.

"Because I wanted to stand on my own two feet, Boss." Electra said firmly, stubbornly, as she wanted to advance her career and not have people advance it for her because they wanted a favour from her influential mother.

He studied her, noting the truth in her statement then nodded understandingly as he knew what the FBI would do to their already poster child. He quickly returned the conversation back to business. "Fill me in now… what is the situation? Has Senator Luis got her girls back?"

"Not quite," she answered, shaking her head with her brown ponytail brushing each side of her neck. "Sage, as you know, is Nephalim. A Gephalim lord was behind the abduction. He classes Were as inferior so he greatly underestimated Sage's Were abilities. Sage told her father Dominic…"

"I thought Wolfgang was her father." He interrupted, a crease forming on his brow as he tried to nut this out. "What's a Gephalim?" he added.

"Gephalim are related to Nephalim." She explained a little, "and he is…" she paused then began again. Not many people understood how Sage could have two fathers. "When her mother died she asked ma to raise her, to keep her in touch with her Were half so Wolfgang is her father… adopted father while Dominic is her biological one. Back to what happened. He gathered an army, stormed the castle and freed Alanna and Sage. They are on Sogol, the Da'Vaila home world. Until a portal opens, they are under Dominic's protection. So right now, they are safe but ma doesn't have them back yet. The man I put a flag on helped the Gephalim kidnap Alanna and Sage. The man responsible for the abduction is dead, his house obliterated. I have all the evidence, names, descriptions and statements. Before you ask, a phoenix delivered the statements to me." She finished, hoping that now one of the men had surfaced so that she would have more luck hunting down the others.

"So… he just popped up?" Dave asked, turning his head to his partner. They had been waiting for this break. With one to question, they would be able to find the others much faster.

"Yes... but sadly, he was found headless. Apparently he had been dead a while." Was director Farrington's response to Dave query.

"The blood in the crime scene photos came from a man decapitated by the Gephalim lord. They took the body with them." She added disappointedly. It left them where they started: nowhere. "Are we going?"

He nodded, "Yes... they are holding the scene for you. You might find out some things. But the moment you cross the line and start making this personal, I'm taking you off the case." He warned.

She nodded in understanding.

"Nevada, Vegas. CSI have started processing the scene but they are waiting for you." He continued. "Keep me up to date or I'll have your badges."

They nodded and left the office quickly. They went to their homes and quickly packed, as they knew they were booked on the closest first flight to Vegas.

****

Electra ducked under the crime scene tape followed by Dave, later that night. Electra took several deep breaths to try to pick up any suspicious scents but too many people had been here for her to pick up anything of use. She flashed her badge at the officers and approached the body.

"Ma'am, it isn't pretty." An officer warned in a lazy drawl. Electra ignored him and approached the bloated, headless body. She knelt next to the ME. "Can you check for signs of being frozen?"

"Yes, why?" The ME asked, bemused.

"Simple. I already know how he died, where and when. What I need to know now is how he got here." She stood and left the crime scene.

"We should report to the office." Dave said right behind her.

"No, I need to present myself to the Alpha or I'll get my arse kicked. I get a little leeway because of ma but I really should have gone to him the moment I got off the plane." She told him firmly.

"Where to?" He asked, not bothering to argue with her, as he knew it was pointless. She always won these types of arguments.

"A club called Anarchy." She pulled a card out of her pocket and entered the address into the navigator.

They pulled up at an old warehouse that had been retro fitted to be a multi level cub. Anarchy glowed in red letters across the front of the building with spotlights waving wildly into the air. They got out after they parked in a vacant spot. After getting a first impression, Dave gave Electra a slightly worried look as the place definitely looked like it lived up to its name. She, however, ignored the look and walked pass the people who were lined up to get in, him following like a lost puppy. Anarchy catered to a mixed crowd from Goths to perky blonds and from business people to drag queens. They walked along the side of the line, earning themselves evil looks from those waiting to gain admittance to the rave club. "Hey, back of the line!" Someone called but it was ignored as they walked up to the two burly bouncers who stood before the door.

"Need to present." She told them.

The taller of the two leant in close to her neck and took a breath, then stepped aside to let her in. Dave went to follow but the bouncer stepped back into his spot before he could follow. Electra, noticing this, tapped him on the shoulder.

Let him in or the FBI will be raiding the place in less than an hour.

She warned him silently. He looked at Dave warily then back at her before he stepped aside for Dave.

As they stepped into the club, the deep throb of music washed over them. Electra walked to the bar, not bothering to change her glasses. From nowhere, a beast of a man stepped up to her and attempted to press his nose to her throat. Right before he was able to do so, she grabbed his privates in the palm of her right hand and gave them a twist. He quickly released her and tried to step back so she would release him.

"Got the message?" She growled.

"Yes, yes." He agreed hastily, eyes wide with alarm.

Electra released him and continued to the bar. She leant over to the bartender and shouted to him to be heard over the music. "Alpha." The bartender, after checking her out pointed to the heavy door protected by two bouncers. Electra nodded her thanks then made her way to the door while Dave stayed at the bar. He knew the drill: if he went to join her she wouldn't get the Alpha's complete support. He flashed his badge at the bartender and was given water.

Another set of bouncers sniffed her before they let her in behind the door. She walked up a flight of stairs and into an office; the desk was further up the back of the room with large comfortable chairs, which were currently occupied. Electra waited patiently, although she was secretly annoyed, as the Alpha was having his cock sucked by a pretty little woman with vibrant blue hair, in the comfortable chairs before her. She dispassionately thought that the woman giving the blowjob might be a tiger or some kind of cat by the way she wiggled her body in delight whenever he touched her, seeing as Sage also showed delight the same way whenever her hair was stroked.

He turned as he heard the door open, he didn't have the time to do anything else but look at her as he felt his climax build, the tingling sensation at the base of his spine. He tensed a moment later and growled as he came. He breathed deeply as she continued to suck and clean him. When she was finished, she pushed herself up to kiss him. She then got up and walked into a side room; not even acknowledging that Electra had even been there as public sex was the norm in Were culture and nothing to make a fuss over.

He stood pulling his pants up, tucked himself in and did his pants up. "What can I do for you?" He asked as he walked to his desk stretching, happy and relaxed now that he had relieved some of his tension. He was dressed all in black, from his black jeans to his tight black cotton shirt, which made his light blond hair, and light hazel eyes stand out.

"I am presenting myself." She said as she sat in the chair opposite the desk.

"Purpose of your visit?" He requested as he grabbed some paper to make note of her being here.

"Official." Electra threw her badge onto the table.

He studied the badge for a moment then nodded. "What brings you into my territory, Ms Luis?" He thought he had recognised her when she first walked in and had regained most of his mind. All the Alphas knew Amy's oldest daughter was in the FBI.

"Did you hear about the abduction of Alanna and Sage?"

He nodded. All the Alphas knew and because of that, no one wanted to annoy her further at this stage.

"We tracked down one of the humans who helped to here."

He nodded again. "I will put my lead investigator at your disposal if you like."

"No… well… actually they might be able to help." She said, quickly changing her mind. She knew the investigator would be following her so why not use the home turf advantage he could give her.

"I will call him in." He turned and pressed a button. "Jeff, get your arse in here." He took his finger off the button then considered whether to give his own new unsolved case to her. "How long are you going to be in town?"

She shrugged, as she honestly didn't know. "Depends on whether I can find anything on the others. Why?"

"Two of my pride have gone missing, one an eighteen year old the other a twelve year old, both girls. We haven't been able to find them." He pulled out the files and handed them to her. She frowned as she saw similarities between this case and others which had been passed onto Shia's other FBI representative. Her mind furiously tried to piece together what she knew from other such cases and what was right before her; it seemed instinctively important to her.

"Wait… Shia is missing three of his pride, all men and all under the age of fifteen, all in the last few weeks. Let me call ma and get her to talk to the other packs and prides, see if any more are missing. I've got a very bad feeling about this." She stood up and quickly dialled her mother.

"Electra, what's up?" Amy answered, having seen Electra's name on the callers ID.

"Not much. In Vegas chasing up on a lead on one of the guys who helped kidnap Sage and Alanna. But we have another problem. Joel just told me he's got two girls missing, along with the three from Shia's… I'm beginning to sense a pattern. All are under legal age for Were." Electra explained.

"Okay, I'll call around. Call you when I know something."

"Ma is anyone missing from the pack?" Electra quickly slid in before her mother could hang up on her.

"No one would dare piss me or Wolfgang off at the moment, not after the stunt with Sage and Alanna. We would likely take matters into our own hands and make the ones involved simply disappear."

Electra had to concede to the truth of her mother's statement, everyone at home had been treading lightly around her parents not wanting to add to their already stressed state of minds. "Bye, ma."

"Bye." She hung up.

Joel stood as his investigator walked in. "Jeff, Electra, give her all the aide she needs. She's going to help us find your little sister."

Jeff offered his hand and Electra shook it. Jeff was, in a word, non-descript, from his standard hair cut to his plain clothes. He was dressed to blend, to disappear and remain invisible like any good investigator should.

"Joel, you really need a pride FBI agent. I'm assigned to my pack area and it would be advisable." She told him.

"Why? I have Enforcers and Investigators." He asked, having had a representative from the FBI telling him the same thing only a few weeks ago.

"What happens if those girls turn out to be in another's territory? The Alphas have agreed to allow non-pack or pride members reign to their territory if they are FBI. You are forbidden under the Were alliance to send enforcers or investigators into another's territory. The only reason you handed this to me is because you think they have been taken off your land and you can't do anything to find them, and I just so happen to be conveniently here."

He watched her carefully, not responding to the accuracy of her statement.

After allowing a pause to let him think, she soldiered on. "I know you wouldn't have taken this to the FBI. As a last resort, you may have handed it to my mother who would then have handed it to me but that might have been too late."

"Okay… but if I find someone willing, the FBI might post them somewhere else." He conceded, showing her his concern for his members who would be put in that situation.

Electra shook her head. "No, the FBI quickly learnt that wasn't a good idea. You remember when I went over to LA to help catch a rogue Were?"

He nodded as it was heavily reported in the media.

"I couldn't function. I couldn't work with the pack because I was only used to my pack and you know everyone works a little differently. I would never have to present myself to you if I entered my parent's pack. They would have had an enforcer there to meet me as I got off the plane."

He nodded again to indicate he was following.

"As soon as that case was done, I was taken back to my pack to investigate a bout of hate crimes against Were children. They saw first-hand how quickly I could get information. I had that case solved the day I got back. Then they quickly made it a rule: if Were or Others joined, they would always be stationed in their pack or pride. I get shifted around a bit because there aren't enough Were agents to cover every territory."