Warriors of Poseidon 01 - Atlantis Rising

Looks like it's family reunion week," he called out.
     
    He held out his hand to Conlan. "Jack Shepherd. I help out."
     
    Quinn walked out of a small door behind Jack, arguing with somebody on the telephone. "No, it's now or never. I need that stuff tonight. Or by morning at the latest."
     
    She held her hand over the receiver, nodded to Riley, looked at Jack. "Dawn?"
     
    He nodded, body radiating a fierce tension. "Dawn. If your friends agree that it's better to hit the bloodsuckers at daylight?"
     
    Conlan inhaled deeply, subtly called power. The elements sang to him, but the earth's song was the most piercing. He looked at Jack. "And how about you? Is it better for you and the other shapeshifters to hit at dawn, too?"

Chapter 34
    While Ven and the Seven made nice with Quinn's strike force, Conlan, Riley, and Quinn and her buddy the alpha werewolf sat around a scarred metal table on chipped and battered wooden chairs.
     
    Quinn looked at Conlan. "He's not."
     
    "He's not what?"
     
    "He's not a werewolf, if that's what you were thinking. He's… Jack, is it okay if I tell them?"
     
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    Jack shot a hard, measuring stare at Conlan. Oh, yeah. The man was definitely a warrior, no matter what kind of animal he turned into under the moon's pull.
     
    "Fine. I guess knowing about Atlantis is about as tit for tat as we can get on this op," he said.
     
    Quinn smiled briefly. "He's a weretiger. Not indigenous to North America. But when the vamps—"
     
    "When the bloodsuckers destroyed my entire streak—my family group—I decided they were going to die. And the best way to take them down was to come to the source,"
    Jack said, voice bleak.
     
    Riley sent an affirmation through the bond. The man was telling the truth. That was good enough for Conlan. "We need to recover the Trident. Its power in the hands of Barrabas or—gods help us—Anubisa could well signal the beginning of the next Cataclysm."
     
    Quinn nodded. "They have your people, too. Daniel told us he's planning a coup, and we—"
     
    "Daniel?" Riley interrupted. "Who is he, and why do we trust him?"
     
    "Good question," Jack growled. "He's one of Barrabas's top generals, and I don't trust him. Ask your crazy sister what the hell she's thinking."
     
    A dark, swirling shadow swept through the room, driving an icy wind before it. Before he'd even materialized, Quinn stood up, hands outstretched. "Alaric."
     
    He swept down, took her hands, and pushed her back and away from the shapeshifter.
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    Jack obviously didn't care for that at all. He was on his feet, gun in hand, in the blink of an eye. Conlan had nearly forgotten how fast shapeshifters could move.
     
    From the look of it, maybe weretigers were the fastest of the bunch.
     
    "Step away from the lady, magic boy," he growled, in a low, rumbling roar.
     
    Next to him, Riley shivered at the jungle sound resonating through the small room.
    Conlan jumped up, flashed across the table to face Jack. "Calm down, he's with us."
     
    "I don't care who he is, he needs to keep his hands off my partner, or he's going to be fertilizer." Jack's eyes glowed an eerie yellow-green shade and the pupils lengthened to slits.
     
    Quinn's voice came from behind Conlan. "Jack, stop it. This is Alaric, and he healed me from that gunshot wound. He has… civility issues."
     
    Heat and light shot through the room, and Conlan didn't have to turn around to know who was generating it. "Alaric! A little control, if you please. We've got a lot to deal with, here."
     
    Alaric's voice was rusty, strained. "A word, if you would, my lady. I need—I need—" He broke off, breathing harshly.
     
    Riley started to go to Quinn, but Conlan stopped her with a hand on her arm. This was something Quinn and Alaric had to figure out before they could all work as a team to storm the Primus. Riley glared at him, then felt his emotions and signaled that she understood. Nodded and sat back down.
     
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    Quinn finally spoke, her voice unbearably weary. "Yes. We need to talk. Especially since that's all we will ever do with each other. Come with me. The rest of you, please just wait. Get to know each other."
     
    She laughed. "Eat a cookie."
     
    As Quinn and Alaric left the room, Conlan achieved a moment of clarity. The realization that Quinn had trapped Alaric