by Chant, Zoe
“Now, honey, don’t be scared,” said another voice, this one behind her. “We’re just here to take you home.”
A figured melted out of the woods. She recognized him: one of Victor’s enforcers, Nevin.
“You used to play poker with Michael,” she said, not having to fake the upset anger in her voice. “You guys were friends. What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry about Michael,” he said. She couldn’t tell if he was sincere or not. “But he was a traitor to the pack in the end, Lila. We’re just here to keep you from being the same thing.”
“And suffering the same fate?” she asked, her chin up.
He shook his head and didn’t answer.
Which was fine—Lila was forgetting the plan. She needed to save those questions for Victor.
“I need your phone, Lila,” Nevin said, coming forward. “Right now, please.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll take it away from you, and I don’t want to do that. And neither do you. Phone.” He held out his hand.
Lila didn’t have to fake the tremble in her hand as she held it out to him. She knew Flynn was up above her right now, ready to plunge down through the trees and wreak havoc if she was in any actual danger. She knew it. But there was still something frightening about a large man threatening her. A man who could carry out his threats without any problem at all.
Who’d done worse already.
You people killed my husband, she thought, and hardened her heart against the fear.
Nevin tossed her phone away into the woods. He grinned. “Maybe if they do a trace on it they’ll think you were carried away by wild animals.”
“Nothing but the truth,” Lila shot back. She let her gaze drift away, looking around the woods.
“Don’t try to run away,” Nevin cautioned. “Even if I couldn’t catch you—which I could—there are a couple more of us out there.”
“Just a few,” came another voice from behind her. She couldn’t tell if it was the same one as before.
Of course, it didn’t matter if there were two lions here or three. Or ten. Or one. Lila alone would be just as helpless, and with Flynn there, she would be just as confident that everything would be fine.
“Let’s go, then,” Nevin said, grabbing her arm in a hard grip. “The car’s this way.”
“Car?” Lila asked, feeling a hint of real fear.
“Of course, car,” he said, starting to haul her along by the elbow. She stumbled a little, trying to keep up. “How else do you think we’re going to get you to the city?”
A car. This changed the game. They’d all been assuming that Victor was here, haunting the forest, waiting for his chance at her, and that she’d be brought to wherever he was hiding.
If they were going to drive to the city—
Well, first of all, she’d be stuck in a car with a group of large, violent men. But they wouldn’t hurt her while they were bringing her to Victor, she reasoned. Right?
But secondly—how fast could Flynn fly? She had no idea. They’d seemed to go incredibly fast when she’d been out on his back, but surely it hadn’t been as fast as a car could go. Would he be able to keep up?
Fear gripped her heart as she was hustled along, and she could feel a rising anger from Flynn, above.
I’m okay, she tried to project. Because she didn’t want him to come down yet. The plan wasn’t finished.
Even if she really did want him here, right now, tearing Nevin away from her, putting himself between her and danger.
No, she said to herself. No. You have to be brave. This is a longer game than just tonight. You’re keeping Sophia and Grant safe for the rest of their lives, and you can’t do it if you don’t stick it out. Flynn will keep up. He has to.
She almost tripped a couple of times, and each time Nevin yanked her back up, and Flynn’s anger spiked at the surge of pain in her arm. Not yet, she thought at him.
I’m okay. I’m okay. With every step, she willed it to be true.
Eventually, they made it out of the woods, to a dirt road with a black SUV parked on it. Two other men appeared from the woods, men Lila vaguely recognized from the pack members Michael hadn’t been particular friends with. They each got into the front of the SUV, while Nevin opened the back door and hefted her in, then got in after her.
“Let’s get going,” he said, and smiled at Lila. “Victor’s waiting.”
Chapter 14: Flynn
Flynn drove his wings as hard as he could against the night air, hurling himself forward as fast as he was able.
He’d been alarmed by the sudden spike of fear from Lila after the lions appeared, and had strained to hear the conversation. He’d only been able to catch little snatches of it from up above the tree canopy, though, and only realized what Lila had been afraid of when the car engine started.
Where are they taking you? he’d thought, almost ready to swoop down and snatch Lila away from them, so they couldn’t bundle her in a car and disappear to anywhere they chose.
He’d already had to keep himself from doing that a few times during the walk through the forest, because whoever had hold of Lila hadn’t been too gentle with her. Flynn was going to ask her who that had been when he was finally able to get to her, and that man and Flynn were going to have an—exchange of ideas.
Lila had been firmly projecting determination and a kind of a fearful confidence, as they’d put her in the car and started it up. So Flynn had clamped down on his instincts, forced his screaming griffin to shut up and settle down, as his mate was forced into a vehicle and driven away.
It had been goddamned hard. But he’d done it.
And now it was obvious that they were taking her to Leosville; the SUV was on the road that led basically nowhere else.
So now Flynn had a choice: strain his wings attempting to keep up with the car exactly as it drove, or depart from the road and take the route to Leosville as the crow flew.
His instincts were clamoring to stay as close to his mate as possible. He wanted to be right by that car, ready to land if anything was happening.
But his human mind had to override that with a more reasonable perspective. Lila was smart. She wasn’t going to provoke anybody into a fight in a moving car. And there was absolutely no reason for them to do anything to her on the way to taking her to Victor.
And, even if he was departing from the road, he could be right there in a few minutes.
Okay? he thought at Lila, trying to project the sense of questioning as loudly as possible. He had yet to hear any words from Lila through their mate-bond, but the sense of how she was feeling was so strong at times that he felt like they could communicate at least rudimentary ideas.
And almost immediately, he got back a further sense of determination and confidence. Okay, it said, as clearly as if she’d said the exact word.
Okay. He was going to trust his mate. Because if he strained himself for hours trying to keep up with a car, he’d arrive at the scene of the confrontation exhausted, not ready for the sort of fight that might be waiting for him there.
He saw a winged shape hovering in the air at the border to the town, and made the decision. Letting the SUV wend its way along the road through the mountainous forest, he broke away and met up with Malachi in the air. They spiraled down together into the woods, and Flynn shifted for a brief moment to say, “They’re taking her to the city.”
Malachi nodded grimly. “Same plan?”
“Same plan,” Flynn confirmed. “Wouldn’t hurt to have some backup, though.”
“I’ll get the others. You stay with them.”
Flynn nodded, not bothering to say anything else, just shifting and leaping into the air again.
This time, he took a straight line over the trees towards so-called civilization. His griffin was furious with him.
Stay with our mate! it shrilled in his chest. Don’t let her alone! She’s in danger! Go to her!
We’re going to her, Flynn tried to explain. We’re go
ing to where she’s going to be. We’re helping her do what she wants to do.
Protecting is most important, his griffin maintained stubbornly.
Flynn kept himself on the straight track, keeping his attention on the bright, warm spot that was Lila, winding through the trees.
God, she was so brave. Flynn had known brave women in the military—Aidan’s mother had been one of them, a fierce soldier who’d never known fear a day in her life—but this was a completely different situation. Lila had never trained for danger, had never prepared for it the way a soldier had. Flynn couldn’t imagine doing what she was doing, stepping into a dangerous situation with no way of defending yourself, no recourse if things went wrong. Depending totally on someone else to help you if you needed it. It was braver than anything he’d ever seen.
And he wasn’t going to let her down.
Chapter 15: Lila
The trip seemed to take forever.
Lila kept quiet. She was afraid that if she tried to talk, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from accusing Nevin of killing Michael. From telling all these men what she really thought of them and their criminal boss.
And that wouldn’t be very helpful. So she stayed quiet.
But it was agonizing. The trip to the city took hours, even at the speed the SUV was going. At least Lila could still feel Flynn. Further away, not right above them—it was strange how she could tell—but keeping pace. Always there. She gave the warm place in her chest a mental caress, thinking about the feeling of his arms around her.
After this, they were going to be so happy. She held on to that knowledge, firm and real. They’d live in their house together, and play ninja princess dinosaur assassin or whatever Sophia wanted this week, and help Grant learn to talk, and eat spaghetti, and take walks in the woods.
More than that: they’d watch the kids grow up together. Flynn could teach them how to ride bikes—it was past time for Sophia to learn, and Lila had no doubt that she’d be an absolute terror on a bike. She’d start losing teeth soon, and they could sneak money under her pillow together...
She blinked hard, pushing back tears. It was going to happen, and it would be wonderful.
She just had to get through the next few hours. That was all.
It was after one o’clock in the morning when they finally got to the city limits. The streets were deserted—Leosville wasn’t big enough to have the kind of nightlife that would have people out on a Sunday night. Lila shivered at the feeling that the SUV was alone in the city, that the lions were the only people around, having taken over the city in its entirety.
Of course, they weren’t the only people there.
Flynn had drifted closer and further throughout the drive. Lila had eventually figured out that he had to be taking a straight route over the forest, while the SUV had to drive through the switchbacks and detours that the mountainous territory demanded. So even though the driver had been speeding the whole way, enough that Lila had occasionally worried about having an accident on the dark, winding road, Flynn had still been able to keep up.
And now he was here. Somewhere above the city, camouflaged against the pitch-black sky. There weren’t even any stars for him to be a dark shape against; it was overcast, no moon. No one would be able to see him past the glare of the streetlights.
He was close. Getting closer as they slowed on the urban streets. Closer, closer still—
Right there. He was right above them. Lila could tell, could feel it in her chest. Her shoulders relaxed, and the future where they raised their kids together without any threat of Victor’s retribution seemed real enough to touch.
The SUV pulled up to the pack house. Lila took a deep breath. Showtime.
The doors opening and slamming shut sounded impossibly loud after the silence of the car ride. But still nobody spoke as Nevin dragged Lila out of the car—she tried to keep up, and show that she didn’t need any dragging, but he seemed really determined to drag. The only sound was the stumble of her footsteps on the asphalt of the driveway.
They went up the walk. In the door. Down the hall to Victor’s office, a big room that Lila had only been in once or twice before.
Inside, Victor was sitting in a big leather chair behind his enormous desk. His expression was forbidding, but not angry. Victor never lost control; he was always careful, always witty, always in charge.
Nevin plunked Lila down in the chair opposite.
Sliding her hand into her pocket, she took a deep breath and said, “Hello, Victor.”
“Lila,” said Victor, leaning forward. “So good to see you. I’m very sorry it had to be under these circumstances.”
“So am I,” Lila said steadily. “Since we’re both so sorry, how about you just let me go?”
“Oh, Lila, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Victor said. “Unless you’d be willing to surrender your little cubs. You could walk away a free woman.”
For long moment, Lila was speechless.
When she got her voice back, she managed, “You want me to—to give you my children?”
Victor spread his hands. “They’ll do better raised here, in the pack house, where they can learn who they are. You’re welcome to be here with them, but you aren’t a shifter, after all. You’ll never understand a fundamental part of them.”
How dare you! She bit her lip to keep from spitting the words into his face.
No, she had to keep her cool. They were acting out a plan, here. She couldn’t just let her feelings run wild.
No matter how powerful they were right now.
She took a deep breath, and drew in strength from Flynn’s presence. He was close, she could tell—maybe on the roof? Very, very close.
“What if I don’t want you to have my children?” she asked carefully. Clearly. “What if I want to take them and go live somewhere else? That’s what we’re talking about here, right?”
“Well,” Victor said, “that would be a poor decision on your part.”
That wasn’t good enough. She needed something concrete.
“I’m a grown woman,” she tried again. “I can make my own decisions. And I will. I’ll take my kids and fly away somewhere you’ll never find us.”
“Oh, Lila,” Victor said, sounding amused. “I can find you anywhere.”
Was that good enough?
She lifted her chin. “And what? You’re going to carry me and the kids kicking and screaming through the streets?”
Victor looked around. “I don’t see any kicking and screaming. Or any streets.”
“Or any kids,” Lila shot back. “What are you going to do to them? They’re safe.”
“No one can guard them every moment,” Victor said. “Even with your silly little bodyguards. We proved that tonight, didn’t we? There will always be those moments when they’re vulnerable, and that’s when I’ll be there. Face it, Lila. It’s much easier to surrender. Tell me where your children are.”
“No,” Lila said. “Why are you even doing this? You can’t want pack members who hate you, and that’s what this will get you.”
Victor waved a hand. “Your children are too young to understand what’s happening. They’ll be raised here in the pack house, where they’ll learn what’s truly important. Loyalty.”
“And what about me?” Lila asked quietly.
“Well,” Victor said, “that will depend on your own cooperation.”
God, this was chilling. Victor had really become a complete megalomaniac. Why had she never seen this before? She’d always thought he was a little bit of a control freak but that he cared about his pack and just wanted it to succeed.
Which, she supposed, was all true. Just on a scale she hadn’t understood, before.
She could feel rage rising inside her. Her fists wanted to clench, her chest heave, her muscles tighten. She breathed. Calm. Stay calm.
“Will you kill me if I don’t cooperate?” she asked, trying to sound frightened instead of furious.
“Now, Lila,” Victor said.
“I truly don’t want to have to do that. You’re a lovely woman. All you have to do is stay here, at your home, and everything will be fine.”
“And if I don’t, you will kill me?”
Victor raised his eyebrows. Then he smiled. “Yes.”
Now, Lila thought.
She felt Flynn’s tension release in a huge wave of anger.
Crash.
At the noise of glass shattering somewhere across the house, Lila hid her smile.
Victor, on the other hand, leapt up from his seat immediately. “What are you trying to pull?” he asked her, striding around his desk.
Oh, no. Lila saw him starting to shift, and got up and dashed for the door, hoping to get there before he could finish changing into his lion form.
But Nevin was still standing there—she’d forgotten about him entirely during the conversation. Lila practically ran right into his chest.
He caught her in his arms. His grip was iron-strong, clamping tight around her torso, making it impossible to move.
She felt lion’s breath at her back.
“Flynn!” she screamed.
The door burst in.
Flynn was a little too big for the doorframe, she thought dazedly as he hurtled inside. But it didn’t matter, because the doorframe was in splinters.
Then her thoughts scattered at a hot stab of pain in her shoulder—Victor’s teeth, oh God, he was going to maul her before Flynn could—
The teeth disappeared.
A ball of golden-brindled fur, yellow fur, claws, and feathers hit the far wall. Nevin released her, tossing her aside—a white-hot flash of pain lanced through her shoulder as he bounded forward, shifting as he went.
When Lila was able to focus her eyes again, she saw that Flynn was locked in combat with the two lions. Even from her unpracticed perspective, it was clear that this was going to be a harder fight than the one in the forest. Victor’s lion form was bigger than any of his henchmen’s, and the enclosed space meant that Flynn couldn’t get into the air, couldn’t use his size in the same way as when he had more room.