Her happiness and well-being were going to be my main objectives in life. And if she didn’t make it through this…well, there would be big steps taken then, too. I wasn’t living a life without her, so there was just no choice but to get through this and come out the other end.
“We have to seek out information on werewolf sightings. I don’t believe the Loup is moving around. He has a central spot. We have to find it.”
Agustin’s eyes lit up. “Great idea.”
I nodded toward Anton. “It was his.”
My brother, shirtless like me, nodded. He held up the laptop computer on the desk. We needed more than just his tablet and my laptop. I had a pack full of werewolves. They all wanted to participate? Great. I’d put them to work.
“Agustin, take the cars. Go out and buy as many devices as you can on the credit card you’ll find in the drawer over there. It’s my work account. I’ll take up my misuse of the account with the IRS later. Buy the store out. And then order more to be delivered tomorrow. I want everyone on this. We’re seeking a place that keeps reporting werewolf sightings. This might take some time, but it’s doable. I know it is.”
Her brother squeezed my arm. “We’ll save my sister.”
We would. And then we were going to kill this fucker. Slowly.
I did love to play with my prey.
MacKenzie
I walked toward the end of the dock. I’d been stuck here for days. I couldn’t seem to leave. Whenever I turned around to do so, I kept ending up back on this dock. It was so strange. I couldn’t remember getting here, I couldn’t remember even where I’d been before here.
It was like I’d always existed on this dock.
Only, that wasn’t right. It couldn’t be. Could it?
“Why did you leave me to die?”
The man was back. I sniffed the air. He was a werewolf like me.
I’d seen him before. He was frequently on this dock with me. But this was the first time he’d spoken. Or at least, I thought it was. I couldn’t be sure. My memory was…tricky.
“I don’t recall leaving you to die. I’m not sure I know who you are. I’m not sure I know who I am, and it seems…unlikely I left you to die. Right?”
I had the feeling this wasn’t the first time my memory had gone askew. Why would that be? I wasn’t sure.
“You all left me. All of you Omegas. You left me to die”
Omegas? Should I know what that was?
Jarret
My mother used to say the problem with me was that I overthought everything. I couldn’t make decisions because I couldn’t decide what would happen to an absolute certainty. I’d see too many sides of too many issues. If I did A, B would happen, and I wasn’t sure I wanted B. Then I’d decide I did want it, but not outcome C. She used to say that I spent so much time thinking with my head, that I’d made no room for my heart in any decisions.
The sad truth was that my mother was very often wrong, and in this case, she’d gotten that totally off base. The trouble with me wasn’t that I overthought things; it was that I couldn’t stop thinking about them. That came straight from my heart. I never wanted to let anyone down. I wanted to be everything for everyone.
So I couldn’t let things go.
But lately, I’d been convinced that it made me stronger. I understood how to connect to others in a way I wasn’t sure my brothers did.
What was more was that Kenzie didn’t mind those sides of me. She seemed to love me just as I was. Mates really were a miraculous thing.
I chewed on my lip. In my arms, she twitched and muttered unintelligible things. My wolf clawed inside my skin. I’d known it the second Preston and Anton had left the house. I completely understood the inclination. It would feel good to give my animal something to do rather than obsess.
Still, I’d stay right here. They’d have to pry my dead body away from Kenzie. I wasn’t leaving her, not for a second, not until she was better. Even then, it might be hard for her to get me to go.
I’d been lost in my own head when Kenzie had brought me back. There was a certain irony to that. Or maybe not.
Preston had been sent to capture her. He was aggressive, unrelenting. Rainer, he’d been out leading missions to do who knew what. My oldest brother was a natural leader. He could get all of us to do amazing things. Anton, they’d silenced and yet used his brain. He’d managed to beat them at their own game, leaving messages in his published works that Mac and Preston used to free all of us.
But what about me? What did it mean that I’d been so lost in my own head, resistant to what they’d done to me? Did that even matter, or was I, once again, overthinking things?
I shook my head. No, I wasn’t. I had to trust myself. I knew more than I’d ever imagined I did.
I could connect to people. I was good at it.
Could I do that with Kenzie right now?
Could I reach her?
With Rainer away, there was no one I had to ask before I tried. He’d never appointed a second, and although Preston might be it by default, I doubted he wanted the role. Leading wasn’t really his thing.
I sat up, drawing her closer to me. As gently as I could, I pressed our foreheads together. “Kenzie, you are a healer. You reached me in the darkest of places. Brought me back. Now, if there is any part of you that can feel me, any part of you that still has your power, still has the ability to hear me, bring me to you.”
Nothing happened. I supposed the smart thing to do, the sensible next step, would be to stop. To get on with getting on. But I couldn’t do that.
“Come on, Kenzie. Let me in. Please.”
I’d beg if it would help. Get down on my knees and plead for hours. Days. Years.
For a second, I felt like I floated. A long tunnel led to a dock… A dock? I looked around. Where was I? That was when I spotted her.
She stood at the end of the dock, someone next to her.
I rushed forward, or attempted to. My legs wouldn’t work. I fought against my immobility, desperate to reach my love. Still, nothing changed. Wherever this was, I couldn’t walk around here.
“Kenzie,” I shouted out, hoping she’d hear me, holding out my arms to her. “Kenzie.”
She and the man standing with her both turned. He narrowed his gaze at me, while she stared at me blankly, not saying a word.
“What are you doing here?” he yelled. “You don’t belong here.”
With a rush, I was back in my body, the dock, Kenzie, and that man all gone. I panted like I’d been running. Anton stared down at me, his shirt half on, concern evident on his features. He held up his tablet.
You okay? I was worried about you. The mechanical voice spoke for him.
“I was with her. On a dock.” It was hard to explain.
Dreaming?
I shook my head quickly. “No, I asked her to bring me where she was. She did. I could see her. Not get to her. But speak to her. She’s there with some man. I bet it’s Ross Morgan. And she had no idea what was going on, or maybe even who I was. Anton, it was real.”
I’m going to go tell Preston. We’re working on locating him. Maybe the dock is real. Maybe we should be trying to look for places with bodies of water. Good work.
Anton rushed off. I smiled. Maybe I had helped. Maybe I’d done something to make things better. I kissed Kenzie’s hand, loving the feel of her soft skin. “We’re coming for you. I swear that we are. Stay there and wait for us.”
Only silence and her moving mouth, lost to her madness, answered me. When I found Ross Morgan, I was going to drown him in that water. After I let him bleed for a while for taking what was mine.
Chapter 2
Rainer
“You okay, Alpha?”
I blinked. Took me a hot second to realize he was talking to me. That was going to take some getting used to. I’d never aimed to be anyone’s Alpha, ever. Not even when I’d been the golden boy looking just like my Alpha bio-father. Kevin was Alpha. I was happy being just me. Hell, the truth was I wasn’t Alpha.
I might get to lead because I was the oldest Lejeune brother, but MacKenzie was our leader. Hands down. She was the Omega, and that pretty much made her Alpha in my book. Whatever she wanted, whatever she needed. Her word was my law. Except when I had to yank her back in battle.
My mate couldn’t be at risk. First and foremost, because I loved her more than I loved anything. Second, because she was the only living Omega. But she was brave and stubborn. Wanted me to be the Alpha I’d been born to be, lowered her eyes when it suited her, and fought me like hell when it didn’t. I smiled at the thought. I loved her fucking spirit.
“I’m fine. Lots on my mind. Thanks for checking.”
He nodded. The boy was nervous. I could smell it. He didn’t know quite what to do, had never shifted, wanted it more than he wanted to breathe, and now needed me to instruct him how. In normal circumstances, I’d love this more than anything. Training our people how to be who they were always supposed to be seemed like a worthy life for me. If I could figure out how to cook for people, too, while loving on my mate every possible second, that would be all I needed in life.
But those weren’t options.
No, I had to figure out how to save MacKenzie from a Loup who had it out for her, and I was going to have to lead a bunch of werewolves who thought I was their Alpha because I was with her. My hands itched. I wanted—no, needed—to shift, but it wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon. I had to sit in this car because that stupid human-controlling Loup was making our life hell.
My fangs threatened to descend, and I held them back. This wasn’t what I was made for. Give me a target, and I’d take it down. But this whole larger than life thing with an enemy I couldn’t touch… I didn’t know how to do this.
“Now might be the wrong time to tell you this, kid. But we’re under constant attack, and there’s a Loup who is somehow like the Lex Luthor of Loups and is making everything hell. He’s got my mate, who is the Omega, trapped in madness. And he’s controlling humans and wolves alike to attack us all the time. If you don’t want to step into this, it might be the time to drop me and go.”
He shook his head. “Oh…no I’m in. But…is a… What’s it called?”
I didn’t have the slightest idea what he was talking about. “Sorry, I’m not following.”
“Is he an Alpha who went Loup? Because my mother used to call that the Alpha Loup. She told it to me like it was a fairy tale, right? Or like humans talk about their ancestors. Once upon a time in the old country kind of a thing. I don’t know much about it, just that those were considered to be really, really bad. Because they have all the Alpha qualities. But they’re also Loup, so they’re out of control.”
My mind whirled. I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard this story. We weren’t a really big storytelling family. Even when we’d lived in the swamp, we’d been sort of political. Handling everybody’s problems in the pack. Threats. My mother wasn’t ever the huggy, kissy type who rocked us to sleep with stories. An Alpha going Loup? How did that even work? It was lone wolves who went Loup. An Alpha?
“Can I use your phone again?”
He handed it back to me, and I nodded at him in thanks. But before I picked it up, I owed this kid thanks and the courtesy of at least learning his name. “Remind me your name. I should know it. I’ve never been great with names. It’s a problem, I know. I can promise you that I’ll always know your scent.”
To a non-shifter, that would sound weird. Truth was the way the guy carried the scent of motor oil and mint, coupled with his natural aroma, would stay with me. It had always been that way for me, but now that I was regularly shifting again, it was even more so.
“I don’t know that I ever told you, actually. I’m Donovan.”
I’d remember it now. “Donovan, you may have saved the day. Maybe.”
My mind churned. An Alpha becoming a Loup? I dialed Preston and waited. He didn’t answer. Fuck me. Did I know Jarret’s number? I hoped I did. It was amazing I knew Preston’s, considering how little we’d spoken over the last years. The good news about Preston was he so rarely changed anything. He’d had the same one since he first got the phone. Not that it was doing me any fucking good right now.
I dialed what I hoped was Jarret’s number, and after two rings he picked up. “Hello?”
He sounded like I’d woken him. “Sleeping?”
“Not really. I was… I kind of broke into Kenzie’s head. It’s hard to describe. She drew me in. I saw her. With a man on a dock. Where are you?”
I looked around, not entirely sure how to answer that. “In the car. Probably about an hour out.”
“Good. We need you. I don’t know exactly what we’re doing, but I know we need you.”
His words panged what I would have at one time called my nonexistent heart. We’d never been close. I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure I understood Jarret. There were parts of him I’d never get. But MacKenzie seemed to understand him, and for that, I was grateful. When I was doing hard time, I certainly never thought my brothers would need me or want me around. Our mate had saved us all.
“Do you know anything about Alphas becoming Loups?”
He was quiet for a second. “No. Not at all. Why? This is a thing? Is Ross an Alpha?”
“Dude, I don’t know.” I sighed. “Who would know?”
“Oh.” I could practically hear Jarret sitting up as he spoke. “Miranda’s here. She’s driving Preston crazy. Wants to talk. You know Pres, he doesn’t want to talk.”
No, he really didn’t want to, hardly ever. “She’s perfect. You have the number?”
“Yeah, it came up on my phone. Whose number is it anyway?”
I smiled. Leave it to Jarret to just clue in. “His name is Donovan. Can you give this number to Miranda and ask her to call me?”
“On it.”
I hung up and sat back in the car. I was Alpha-ing in the car. It was like modern Alphahood or some shit. Donovan was clearly a smart kid. He kept his mouth shut and drove. He’d given me information I might or might not be able to use, and I was grateful to him.
There was a lot to uncover here. At some time, I was going to ask Jarret to better describe what he meant by being dragged into MacKenzie’s dreams. What did that even mean? How had she done that? One of the last things she’d told us was that she was losing her powers. Was that not true?
The phone rang, and I picked it up, even though it was Donovan’s. Maybe I had more Alpha in me than I thought. Technically, if I was his Alpha, then all he had belonged to me anyway. Not that I’d ever take people’s stuff just to have it. What a repugnant thought.
“Hello?” I stared out the window, hoping I wasn’t about to have to talk to Donovan’s mother.
“Rainer? You okay?” It was Miranda’s voice.
All right, now we were getting somewhere. “I got through it. I think the men I talked to are somewhat confused, but they’ll do what humans always do and get on with it, not thinking too much about what they don’t understand. Humans are great about forgetting.”
“You’ve got that right. Unfortunately, those who don’t are also great about killing.”
I grunted my consent. “You’re fine?”
Pleasantries weren’t really my thing, but she was an Alpha. I couldn’t talk to her with anything but respect. “Everyone is agog here, researching Loup sightings that correlate with bodies of water. Although it might just be a tiny lake here, so we’re probably chasing our tails, so to speak.”
I rolled my eyes at the imagery. I’d never chased my tail in my life. “I have a question.”
“Go on,” she said fast.
Well, I would have done that if she hadn’t interrupted me to begin with. “Do you know any legends about Alpha Loups?”
“Of course, but they’re just legends. Alphas don’t become Loups. Only lone wolves.”
I took a long breath. “What if that’s not true? What if the fact that this one can do all the things he can do is because he never was your typical Loup to b
egin with? What if he was an Alpha to begin with? All the ways you can control your pack, all the ways that you do things, take the Loup factor and you have Ross. Alphas can live a long time. Maybe that’s how he’s done this… Like, he’s Louped all of us. Alpha’d all of us or some shit.”
She was so quiet, I wondered if she’d lost the connection, but at last, she spoke. “My skin is tingling. I think you’re right. I think this is right. You’re really on to something here. How did you come upon this?”
I stared at Donovan driving. “It’s good to have pack.”
“It sure is. You know what this means, right?” I could hear conversation going on in the background. I needed to be there, not in this car. Patience had never been my strong suit.
“No, Miranda. I don’t know, unfortunately.” I wasn’t really annoyed at her, but keeping it from seeping into my voice was going to be a test I was unfortunately losing.
A car passed us fast on the right. I growled. We were going eighty miles an hour. That asshole was going to kill someone. She finally answered me. “He needs to be Alpha challenged.”
“Well, as soon as we find him, you can go ahead and do that, Miranda. I’ll even applaud.”
She laughed, a loud sound that stopped all the talking behind her. “Oh no, darling Rainer. This one? This one belongs to you.”
I hung up the phone. She was right. This one was mine. I was taking down that Loup. Alpha to Alpha. I might not have wanted the job, but now that I had it, I’d eat him alive. Drinking his blood while I did so. My mouth watered.
MacKenzie
I watched the shouting man I didn’t know as he disappeared. I had no idea who he was. Or did I? I rubbed my eyes. Things were sort of confusing. Still, I was having sort of an important conversation, and as long as I had to be caught here, I might as well finish having it.
“What do you mean, we let you down? How did we do that?” I reached out to touch the man’s arm. He was in pain. I burned to do something to help him, but I wasn’t sure what that was exactly. What could I do?
Caught: A Paranormal Romance (The Swamp Book 3) Page 2