We were loaded into a huge black cargo van. Father sat with me on the floor still afraid to let go of me. Even though I had stopped struggling. They were right, even if I went to Max and ask him to stop killing my family he wouldn’t. He was a crazed maniac. Killing was his game.
At the police station, we were taken underneath the station before they unloaded us. The police station was in the next county. Our little town had a two police officer limit. Once under the station they waited till the tactical team gave the all clear before opening the van doors. Then we were asked to step out.
Father stood up, still holding on to me. I ask for Zeke to hold me. Father didn’t want to let go, but he knew Zeke and I had a connection that sometimes worked to calm one or the other down.
“Zeke, don’t let loose of her for a second.”
“I know. She has calmed down father, but I know. I won’t let her run. Never again. You hear me, Cara? You are never going to anyone else again.”
“Don’t cry Zeke, I’m ok now. I just got upset knowing he killed…”
“I know, little one. I know we are all hurting. We will get him before he can hurt anyone else.”
We were led into a conference room since there were so many of us. Then ask to sit down. Turns out the chief of police was a werewolf himself. We had no idea another pack lived in the next county over from ours.
The chief came in and told his officers to step out. All expects two. They stood by the back door. Then the chief sat at the head of the table next to where my father sat. Marcus was there when we got there. I hadn’t gotten to see him yet. I was sitting down the side of the table several seats away from Marcus. Zeke still had me wrapped in his arms. Rufus on the other side of me.
“I am Chief Rogers. I am sorry for your loss. I understand that the wolf who is responsible for this is named Maxwell Woods. We have been after him for several months. He is involved in a lot of shady businesses. Murder is nothing new to him. I understand Mr. Black that he recently held your daughter captive against her will?”
“Yes, sir. Not only did he keep her locked up he drugged her and shot my son with silver bullets. Then today, there was a bomb on the underneath of one of our pack trucks.”
“Yes, and from what the bomb squad tells me, it was controlled by a remote. Which means he was nearby when the truck exploded. I have men out searching the area. I also have men searching around the school. They did find tracks last I heard and are tracking two sets of prints. Not human not a wolf.”
“He had vampires working for him in Vegas.”
“Yes, he did Princess. And at the hospital asylum where we found my daughter drugged and my son bleeding on the floor with two silver bullets in him.”
“It is so unlike a wolf to hire vampires. But from what we know of Maxwell it doesn’t surprise me.”
“May I ask a question?”
“Certainly, Miss?”
“Cara, please. When he first took off with me he went from city to city picking up packages and envelopes from here or there. He made me stay in the truck while he went in, so I don’t know what was in the packages. Do you know if he was running drugs?”
“The place your father says they found you wasn’t exactly a hospital or asylum. They were making drugs to test on our kind. As you apparently found out the hard way. It is our understanding that he was working on a drug to control the minds or wills of werewolves and other supernaturals. As far as we know he hasn’t perfected it yet.”
“He has on humans. We saw proof of it when we rescued my daughter. He also has a wizard teaching him how to use magic spells. They had some kind of charms on chains around their necks. As long as they wore them they had to do whatever he told them. It had some kind of control on their way of thinking. One of the vampires had gotten his off, but he was the only one who had been able to.”
“I see. So, he has more advances than we were aware of. That is not good. I am not sure what he is trying to do. I get the feeling he is working on making his own army of followers.”
“But why? What could he possibly need an army for?”
“Miss Cara, I can only guess mind you, but he has been a lone wolf all his adult life. I understand his father threw him out of the pack because he liked to be mean to the young pups. Rumor has it three young pups had disappeared. I am talking about four and five-year-old pups. One was a female. It is suspected that Maxwell raped and killed the young female. At the time, he was twelve. Not a usual thing for a werewolf.”
“Oh, my gosh. Well from what I heard about him when he was out of the room he has been known to kill anyone who crosses him. I got the feeling all one really had to do was look at him and he could break their necks. He has a temper.”
“Yes, we know all too well about his temper. What I would suggest Pack Master Black is that your entire pack moves for a little while. Now before you get upset, let me tell you my pack has a place for you all to stay. We will be watching and waiting for Maxwell to show up at your place. We would like permission to leave a few of our pack at your place to make it look like things are normal.”
“My entire pack? I am afraid that wouldn’t work. He has been watching us for months he knows my pack by sight.”
“I see. How about we remove the ones he is most likely to kill or kidnap. Miss Cara is in grave danger of him coming after her. He has never lost anything he claimed as his before. I am sure that has infuriated him beyond anything he ever imagined. He has to be absolutely beside himself with anger.”
“He is going to kill my family one by one. Then I think he will try to kill the rest of the pack. That way once he has me again, there will be no one to come rescue me.”
“I think Miss Cara that you are probably right on the mark. If he thinks that you’re his mate, then he isn’t going to stop till he has you or we kill him, whichever comes first. I prefer to kill him. He has been a menace for a long time. He has gone after more werewolves than anything. However, along the way he left a trail of dead human’s that the human population wants explained.”
“You mean like the man left in his own back yard that had been mauled to death?”
“I see you have heard of some of his doings. Miss Cara, I don’t know how much you know probably enough to scare you to death. I promise you this, I will do whatever it takes to keep you and your family safe.”
“May I ask you a personal question?”
“Of course, Miss Cara.”
“You’re a werewolf, Pack Master I suspect. Why would you be willing to help another pack?”
“Miss Cara that is a very normal question to ask don’t be embarrassed. I know it is very rare for werewolves to work together. My pack and I are working to change that. We have helped other packs as I intend to help yours. If we could learn to work together, then maybe we will live longer. I am afraid at the rate our breed is dying out we will become extinct in no time. It is already so rare for a female to be born full blood that most packs are dying out. I understand for your pack you’re the first female in over sixty years. My own pack has had only two born in the past hundred years. So, you see we are a dying breed already. Your pack is the first I have come across in many years to have a female of breeding age alive. I am sure you know just how valuable you are to your pack.”
“So, they tell me.”
“Yes, my Princess is very valuable to us.” My father said proudly.
“I am surprised you’re not already mated.”
“It isn’t for lack of us trying to get her to choose. My young males have been fighting for a very long time for her, but she has been reluctant to accept any of them.”
“Why is that? None of them good enough fighters?”
“No, of course, that isn’t it. It’s that we have so many to choose from I am afraid to choose one. I mean I don’t want to hurt the other’s feelings.”
“Finally, she speaks the truth.”
“Rufus, please. Princess, soon you will have no choice the matter has been taken from your hands.”
“I know. If I had accepted my fate already then Max would never have come into our pack and killed my brothers.” The tears start pouring. My father stands up and tries to get to me. Rufus and Zeke both have their arms around me. Duncan and Kyle are behind me holding on to my shoulders.
“I assure you, Miss Cara, that would not have changed a thing. Even if you had a mate when Max saw you and took it in his head he wanted you, it wouldn’t have slowed him down. He would simply have killed your mate first. I assure you nothing you could have done would have changed his mind. As for your brothers, it is not your fault. Maxwell Wood is a murderer who enjoys killing. It’s just that simple.”
The Chief turns to my father. “Pack Master Black do you accept my help?”
“Under the circumstances, I think it would be wise to accept. I just don’t think it will work if you are trying to lure him to our den. Like I said he knows most of my pack. If he doesn’t see us, there he will suspect something is up.”
“Yes, but we have a makeup artist who will take a picture of your daughter and make one of our human officers up to look like her. Then some of the others will be made up to look like your pack members.”
“I have several good fighters in my pack, would it not be wise to let them stay behind to help pull this off?”
“I will think about that. It would be a big help if he saw some of the ones he is most familiar with.”
“I will stay. I owe it to him to kill him. He tried to take my mate. Princess, I will get revenge for you. For what he did to you.”
“I will stay I owe her as well. And she isn’t your mate yet Rufus.”
“Stop. Kyle don’t say it. Chief I appreciate my pack for wanting to do this, but I don’t think I can stand to lose any of them. My family and my pack have already lost so much. This whole damn thing is because of me. If anyone stays it will be me. I will sit in the yard so he can see me. He will come for me. You and your men will be ready for him. It’s just that simple.”
My entire pack is on their feet yelling at me for even suggesting such a thing. Rufus is yelling he won’t allow it. Duncan is yelling, no way. Kyle is telling me he won’t let me be such a fool. My father and brothers are screaming. It is bringing officers running through the door. The chief is on his feet trying to get control of the room. The officers who had been at the door or now trying to separate my pack to calm them down. I am in the middle.
As they continue to argue I manage to slide under the table and crawl out the other side. Now my family and pack are arguing with each other and once again I have slipped away unnoticed. The chief catches me by the arm as I stand up. “I think I understand you’re not wanting to choose a mate. Are they always this way when it comes to you?”
“Yeah. Now you understand why l left?”
“What do you mean you left?”
“Oh boy, we didn’t get to that did we. My pack was fighting over who was going to be my mate. The males had started fighting every time they walked by one another. My father had them form a circle, then let the fights begin.”
“Last one standing was to be your mate. Normal for werewolves.”
“Yes, I guess. But I want to be with someone because they love me, not because they won me like some prize. I know that isn’t how it is done. Anyway, while they were fighting my father had been forcing me to watch the fights. I sort of snuck off when they were fighting, and no one was watching.”
“Kind of like just now?”
“Yeah, but as I was running Max drove up beside me and ask me to get in. At that time, I had only seen him twice. Once at the mall and once on the street. I had only spoken to him once. I didn’t understand why I was being pulled toward him. I still can’t say I understand. But I thought because I felt this pull toward him that I wanted to get to know him. So, when he just happened by while I was running away, I got in that damn truck. Its worst mistake of my life.”
“You know if he has a wizard working for him? He very likely had a spell made to attract you to him. It wasn’t necessarily your choice.”
The entire room went quiet. They all turned to stare at the chief. None of us had thought of that. My father also just realized I had moved out of the middle of the pack. He stepped around the table and stood in front of me facing the chief.
“You mean he could have paid his wizard for a spell that would make her think she was his soul mate?”
“Exactly. It has been done before.”
“Princess that would make a lot of sense. See, none of this was your fault. You cannot put your life on the line. I won’t let you. I forbid it.”
“But father, he isn’t going to stop killing until he is dead. He won’t hurt me physically. He wants me. I will be perfectly safe. And father, I am a perfectly good fighter myself. Now that I know I don’t want to be his mate I am capable of fighting him.”
“NO!”
“Pack Master Black, I understand your concern, I promise you she will be perfectly safe. My team are all well-trained fighters as well as we have human sharpshooters that will be there.”
“If she is staying then so am I.”
“No Rufus. No Duncan. No Kyle. Look, I know you three especial think this is your fight, but it’s not. It’s my fight. I don’t want you three there. If you are there, he is going to do everything he can to kill you. Just like the chief, Max has shooters who work for him. The school was proof of that. To tell you the truth, I want a face to face with him. I need the chance to take him down myself. After everything he has done, I need to tear him apart in order to move on with my life. Please, I know father you and the pack don’t understand, but I can’t move on till I have dealt with him. Zeke, please help me. Tell them everything I have done and how it feels, how I feel.”
“Why would Zeke be able to tell them this?” The Chief asks.
“Zeke is my twin. He felt everything I felt. Maybe not as strong, but he knows how I feel.”
Zeke stepped away from the crowd and walked over to me. He stood in front of me and held both my hands in front of me. “Even though I know how you felt then and how you feel right now, I can’t go along with you. I am so sorry. Cara, if I lost you I would die literally. I don’t want to live without you. Sis think about this. I am begging you don’t do it. Please for me?”
I look down at the floor. If the role were reversed and it was Zeke putting his life on the line, I would fight him. I couldn’t let him do it. I understand his way of thinking.
“But Zeke what if it is the only way?”
“How about this, you let the chief do his thing. If in a month, he hasn’t caught Max, then we talk about doing it your way. Please Cara, think about it?”
“Zeke, I love you. I will let the police give it their best shot, but in a couple of weeks if they haven’t caught him then I will.”
“Will what?”
I have to push Rufus back. “Rufus stay out of this.”
“No, I won’t sit by and let you even think about putting your life out there. Princess, I love you and I want you to be my mate. There is no way I am going to lose you again.” He has come around the table to stand by me. I put my hand on his chest to keep him at bay.
“I cannot and will not take a mate while Max is still alive. It would make that mate a target more so than anyone else. Rufus, I know how you feel. Boy, do I. Just as I know how the rest of you feel. But this is non-negotiable. Chief, do you think your decoy will work?”
“I think so. You would for sure, but I understand your pack’s concerns. I will hide you and your family. My office will do their very best to kill Maxwell Wood. If you will give us a couple weeks, I think we can make it happen using your pack’s den. I guarantee he is going to be watching for you there.” He gave me a reassuring smile.
“If our officer can pull off looking like you, then he will fall for the bait. Up till now we have always been a step behind him. For the first time, we have the upper hand. We have you.”
Father and the chief went over the plan. Then
over where our pack would stay. The chief had six black vans under the station gassed and ready to take us out to his pack’s land. He had two houses set up for us to use.
He did request that I stay inside as much as possible and away from his young males. He said while they knew they weren’t supposed to bother other packs, I was the first female of breeding age to stay in their territory.
“I would appreciate it if our males didn’t try to kill each other over you. While I can warn my pack, I can’t control the scent your putting off or their hormones.”
“I understand. Will there be any way I can run with my pack without it causing trouble?”
“I will arrange for your pack to have a certain area to run in, that should keep my pack at a distance. Miss Cara, you’re a very brave young wolf. Thank you for wanting to help put this maniac away.”
“Chief, you have no idea what all he did to me. Kidnapping, forcing me to stay, forcing me to do other things I can’t talk about, drugging me, killing my brothers, I think he owes me one damn well-deserved fight. I would love nothing more than to have ten minutes alone with him.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“You will not! Cara?”
“Rufus keep your pants on. The chief knows what I mean, and I know what he means. Chief happy hunting.”
“Miss Cara I will do my best to bring him down. I only wish we had a place to keep him penned up and let you do to him what all he did to you. You deserve the peace of mind.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at him grateful he was going to try and find Max and kill him.
We were taken to the basement and loaded into the six vans. The vans would take different routes to get to the pack’s land. That way if Max were watching he wouldn’t see who was in what van. At some point, we would change vans along the way. The chief had a few plans to keep Max guessing.
He wanted to protect us, but he also had his own pack to protect. It would take us a couple of days to get where we were going. It turns out the Chief’s pack had more than one location. He said that way they didn’t deplete the game they hunted.
One Princess One Pack One Villain Page 19