He reached for his feet, unknotting it much more quickly than I had been able, as he disclosed, “I wanted it to be Anna.” His fingers slipped. “I tried to convince myself it was Anna.”
“You know better now?” I confirmed as he tugged the last knot free. “Cause she’s moved on.”
He shot me a wry smile. “You don’t pull any punches do you? And yes, I know better.” He paused, untangling the rope from his feet. “Now.”
“And she knows you know?” He stared at me. “If you know what I mean.”
“Yes,” he answered, the barest hint of a question in his voice. “We should probably get the hell out of here.”
I nodded, relieved to know he wouldn’t be pining after Anna since I was pretty sure Trent would bury him in the race for her heart.
We got to our feet, Caleb catching my arm when I swayed at the sudden head rush. “I’m also really tired of getting drugged,” I muttered, rubbing my head.
We headed for the open barn doors and Caleb murmured, “They were really confident we wouldn’t escape.”
“Or stupid,” I clarified as we slipped out the door. “I vote for stupid.”
The place was eerily deserted and as we started away from the barn, I also realized it was unfamiliar. “I don’t think this is the compound,” I whispered under my breath as I tried to orient myself. Caleb stopped, waiting for my guidance since he’d never been to the Hanley compound. “This place is abandoned,” I stated, fear trickling through me. Our backup was going to the compound, but we weren’t there. I didn’t know where we were. “I have no idea where we are,” I told him as moonlight washed over the overgrown grounds, revealing a small cabin with the roof partially collapsed.
“Might be a hunting camp or an old abandoned homestead,” Caleb guessed. “Either way, I bet it’s not far from their compound. I don’t think I was out that long from the Taser hit and you came to pretty quick.”
“But we still have no idea which direction to go,” I hissed, the lack of Hanleys making me nervous. I was ready for someone to pop out and shout, “Boo,” any second.
“They got us here so there has to be a road, path, something we can follow.” Caleb scanned the ground, looking for possible tracks and then took a deep breath, his face twisting into a grimace. “Definitely Hanley, can’t mistake the stench.”
“They’re going to come back,” I said, my voice turning urgent. “We need to go.”
“Their scent is strong here. Its hard to tell which way leads out. There are trails everywhere,” Caleb replied, looking hesitant about which direction to take.
“Go with the strongest scent. I don’t care, but we can’t stay,” I pressed, nerves skating up my spine in a tingling wave, and not in a good way. He nodded tightly and went to the left, keeping to the shadows as I followed in his wake. He led us past a corral, its wooden posts bent and falling over, and the smell of something rotting had me taking shallow breaths as I held my nose.
He paused as we came to a clearing, what I suspected had once been a field for crops, and turned in a slow circle. “This isn’t right,” he mumbled as I stayed silent, trusting he had a better chance of guiding us out than I did. “Why are they everywhere?”
The cold press of a barrel against the back of my skull sent fear slamming through me. “Uh, Caleb,” I murmured and he slowly turned back toward me. “I think we have company.”
Chapter Twenty
Dom
Adrenaline surged through me with a sudden rush of overwhelming terror and I jerked upright, chest heaving as I reached for Jess. My hand came up empty and I scanned the room, not recognizing it.
My gaze settled on Dylan, who was rocking back and forth in the corner, watching me. “Dylan, what are you doing?” I asked, careful to keep the gnawing fear from my voice so I didn’t frighten him.
“Watching Dom. Keeping Dom safe,” he muttered, nodding to himself. “Don’t let anyone take Dom.”
“Okay,” I murmured to myself, trying to figure out the source of the fear. It felt like Jess and I fumbled, trying to connect to the bond we shared, but it felt like a moving target. The link was there but muted as if distance and something else had interfered with it. “Dylan, where’s Jess?”
He started to shake his head, upset, and a jumbled set of images poured into my mind. I saw myself on the ground, two men trying to drag me, Caleb sprawled next to me, but no Jess. In the next image, I was standing over my own body, guarding it. “You protected me,” I stated carefully as Dylan tried to tell me in his own way what happened. “Men attacked us,” I said, piecing together the events. “They shot me.” I remembered the pinpricks and the almost instant effect. I’d tried to shift but collapsed before I could. “They tried to take me, but you stopped them?” I left a hint of question in my voice and he nodded, staring at me with huge eyes. “They took Jess and Caleb?” He nodded again and my heart threatened to burst from my chest. The wild fear pumping through me was starting to make sense. “Where is everyone?”
I pushed myself upright, setting my feet on the ground, but had to hold my head as the room gave a sickening spin.
“Go,” Dylan said, making a walking motion with his fingers. “Re-rescue.” He stammered over the word, but I caught it.
“They went to rescue Jess,” I muttered, trying to concentrate on the threadbare link that was my bond to Jess. I needed to reestablish the link, strengthen it, but my mind was fuzzy. “What did they shoot me with?” I mumbled under my breath, not expecting an answer.
“Five tranqs,” Sam replied, her tone matter of fact, giving a shrug as she added, “At least that’s how many I pulled from your ass.” She paused in the door, giving me a critical stare. “I can’t believe you’re awake to be honest. I figured you’d be out for hours.”
I shook my head and then stopped as my stomach rolled. “Jess….she’s scared,” I managed before having to swallow back a sudden flood of spit. “I can feel her fear.”
Sam hurried toward me, a wet cloth in one hand and a glass of water in the other. “Small sips,” she ordered and laid the cold washcloth over my neck. “Trent was able to talk to her through the Pack bond,” she smacked my shoulder, thankfully avoiding my head as she grumbled, “And thanks for not telling your sister you have your own Pack, jackass.” I closed my eyes, taking slow sips, and using my pain to my advantage as I moaned. “You need to lie down,” she fussed, trying ineffectually to push me into a lying position. “We don’t know what they gave you, but it would be enough to down an elephant.”
“Good thing I’m a wolf then,” I replied, raising my head. “Where are they?”
“Headed to the Hanley compound,” Sam answered, her eyes worried. “Jess told them to bring guns and finish it once and for all.”
“They’re not at the compound,” I responded instantly, not sure how I knew that but absolutely positive. “They’re searching for them in the wrong place.”
“Jess and Caleb were going to try and escape, meet up with our group,” Sam explained, sitting next to me. She nodded to Dylan, “He was left to guard you and me,” she added with a shrug. “The others are on their way. I’m not sure how to reach them,” she admitted. “Unless you can?”
I winced, shaking my head, as I was forced to admit, “No, my head is foggy, I can’t focus.”
She held my head, inspecting me. “Your pupils are dilated, must have been something in what they gave you.”
“I’ve got to warn them, find Jess,” I muttered, forcing myself up, but it was too much too soon as my knees buckled and I landed heavily on the bed. “Fuck,” I shouted, barely keeping myself from puking all over the floor.
“Hurt, Dom hurt,” Dylan said, tapping his head. “You need medicine.” Something in how he said it made me think he’d heard this many times.
“Yes,” I forced out. “I need medicine. Do you know what kind of medicine?” I kept the inquiry easy, not wanting to pressure him and was rewarded by an image, but it was nothing I recognized. A glass jar, brown
liquid filling it halfway, but no labels. “Do you know where I can get it?”
“Wren,” he answered and I perked up, my gaze going to Sam, but she shook her head.
“Wren went with them,” she informed me and my eyebrows lifted. “She insisted, told them they might need her to find it.”
I attempted a nod, but grunted instead. “Small bottle,” I held my fingers two inches apart. “Brown liquid.” I leaned forward, breathing shallowly, as nausea welled. “Search for it.” She nodded, darting from the room, leaving the door open when she went, and a gust of cold air filled the room and I shivered. “Why am I cold?” I muttered to myself, my teeth chattering before it dawned on me that Jess must be cold. As a shifter, I didn’t feel the cold like a normal human, a faster metabolism coupled with my size kept my internal temperature regulated.
“Where the hell is everybody?” The wind blew the words along with the strong scent of lilacs in and I glanced up to see her standing there, agitated. “We need to go rescue my daughter. Now,” she emphasized, her tone imperious, and reminding me so much of Jess, my chest literally ached. Not that I would ever tell Jess anything about her mother reminded me of her. I wasn’t suicidal after all.
“They’re out trying to save Jess,” I snapped, remembering the disappearing act Vivian had pulled. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be far away from this town by now.”
She eyed me narrowly, stalking forward, and grabbing my chin to twist my face so she could check my eyes. My reflexes were so slow, I barely batted her hands. “They hit you hard,” she murmured. “If they gave you what I think they did, you’re lucky to be alive.”
“What do you know about it?” I asked, the words slurring slightly as my vision doubled. Somehow I was getting worse instead of better.
“They used to give it to the women,” she replied, releasing my chin with a shove. “Easier to rape them when they didn’t fight.”
“This is the only thing I could find that matched your description,” Sam said as she gasped, skidding to a stop when she saw Jess’ mom. “Oh, hi.” She waved awkwardly and Vivian yanked the bottle out of her hand.
“Where did you get this?” She demanded, her voice so authoritative, Sam answered automatically.
“Wren’s room.”
Vivian blinked, something in her expression cracking before it hardened once again and she brought the bottle to me. “Take it all.” She shook her head. “I’m not sure how you knew about this but it’s your lucky day.”
I unscrewed the top, forcing back an instinctive need to gag at the unpleasant smell, and downed the bottle.
Sam watched her like a hawk, standing in the door and I knew it was to make sure Vivian didn’t leave. “Dylan told him,” she explained, pointing to the mute teenager. Vivian stared at him in shock, her hand coming up to point at him as she said, “He’s a –”
I cut her off, wiping my mouth as I told her, “He’s Wren’s brother and my friend.” This time when I stood, my legs held me and I glanced at the little bottle in disbelief. “What’s in this?”
“You don’t want to know,” she replied. “We need to hurry. It took me longer to get back here than I thought it would.”
“Where did you go?”
“I was here when they attacked you,” she answered impatiently. “I saw them take Jess so I followed them since you had a guard dog.” Her gaze flickered to Dylan and I heard her inhale sharply as she realized Dylan was a shifter. Her gaze came back to me as she chose to ignore the implications of his existence. “They’re at an old farm a few miles away. We need to hurry.” Her face was drawn and desperate, and I spared a second to try and strengthen my link to Jess. An image of Caleb in wolf form flickered before slipping away.
“What are they planning?” I demanded as I prowled toward the door, the bitter wind no longer bothering me.
“They are planning to use Jess to force your young Alpha into a challenge with my brother,” she answered tartly. “One that boy will lose in some misplaced desire to try and save her.”
“It’s not misplaced,” I growled.
“Trust me, he’d be kinder to kill her himself,” she replied flatly. A glance at my sister saw her gaze drop and my heart slammed as I realized she agreed with Vivian. “He’s doing her no favors by prolonging her life and that’s if he’s foolish enough to believe my brother would actually kill a breeding female after losing so many.”
I grimaced, knowing she was correct. Caleb would do what he thought was right, and it might cost the Navarre Pack and Jess their lives.
“You know where they are?” I asked again.
“Yes,” she hissed angrily. “And we’re wasting time.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” I glared at her, remembering the hitch in Jess’ voice when she realized her mom had taken off.
“Because I am her mother and I will kill the fucking devil himself to save her,” she snarled, her eyes glittering dangerously as I blocked her way. “Now, you either help me or get the hell out of my way.”
I stared at her for a heartbeat, not allowing a flicker of admiration to show as I barked, “Dylan, you’re coming with us.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Jess
The cold barrel pressed tightly against my head as the hand at my back shoved me roughly forward. We moved in an awkward shuffle, Caleb’s eyes tracking every movement looking for an opening to attack the guy. I wanted to tell him not to bother. I knew the guy holding me wouldn’t kill me. Knock me out, maybe, but my fucking ovaries were too valuable to just kill me.
We walked back to the corral, ushered in with sharp jabs, stumbling to a stop in front of Nicholas Hanley himself. The icy wind cut through my insufficient jacket and I shuddered from the cold.
A quick glance around revealed four other men besides the Alpha and I wondered if they had more men hidden out of sight.
“Finally,” he muttered in satisfaction, avarice gleaming in his eyes as he studied us. “I can take the Navarre Pack and add a new female to the rotation.”
I almost gagged when I realized what he meant and Caleb let out vicious growl. “What a perv,” I spit at the Hanley Alpha, not even willing to consider acknowledging him as my uncle in my thoughts. “I’ll enjoy watching you die.”
He roared with laughter, eyeing me with a disturbing eagerness when he finally calmed. “I always enjoy the fighters,” he told me and Caleb struggled against the guy holding him. A click as the guy behind me cocked the gun against my head froze him though.
“Go ahead and rip his throat out, Caleb,” I urged, my gaze locked in a battle of wills with the Hanley Alpha. “He said it himself, he likes the fighters, he’s not going to kill me. Not until he gets a taste.”
“So true,” the Hanley Alpha sang. “Maybe our young Alpha would like to watch me have a taste.”
I jerked back, knocking my head into the gun as I let out a growl. Caleb twisted, hate burning in his gaze as he fought. “You’ll never have the Navarre Pack if you do,” he swore, his voice promising retribution. “I’ll make sure of it and I’ll kill her before I let you get your filthy hands on her.” Violence throbbed in the air and for a second I could almost see Caleb’s wolf under his skin as it fought for dominance. I knew Caleb would do what he promised and so did the Hanley Alpha.
“I want the Navarre Pack,” Hanley demanded, his hand out like he expected Caleb to hand it to him on a platter. “Give it to me and I’ll release you.”
“You want it?” Caleb asked, chest heaving as he strained against the two men holding him. “You’ll have to take it,” he spat, throwing down a challenge of his own. “Unless you’re too weak?”
The taunt worked as the guy behind me moved restlessly. There weren’t many men here but they all chose to be there, I knew that from the lust in their eyes, their need to see blood, to take what wasn’t theirs. If the Hanley Alpha backed down and didn’t accept Caleb’s implied challenge, someone else would.
Hanley eyed the other men, comi
ng to the same conclusion as he jerked his head up and down. “You think you can beat me, pup?” He sneered, leaning in to look at Caleb’s battered face. “You’re welcome to try,” he roared, lifting his arms up into the air and the other men cheered as I met Caleb’s eyes. He lifted his shoulders slightly, his expression telling me he was buying us time, but how much time we didn’t know.
We’re not at the compound, I sent over the Pack bond and my link to Dom gave a little pulse. Dom? I questioned but the sudden surge in our connection had already disappeared. Cold fear crept through me as I wondered if our bond would ever be the same again.
We know, Trent answered, sounding unhappy. We made it to the compound, only to find a few women and children, and men too old or too young to fight. I felt a hint of his apprehension. They didn’t seem eager to fight us either, more like relieved to see us, he added, his voice carefully neutral.
There are four men here and the Hanley Alpha, I told him, fear hiccupping through me as I realized help wasn’t on its way. The Hanley Alpha challenged Caleb. He wants the Navarre Pack.
Growls ripped through the Pack link, reverberating in my head until I shouted, Stop. They silenced immediately and I took a deep breath. Does anyone there know where we are? Is there any way for you to track us?
Let me find out, Trent answered, hesitating before continuing. Stay alive, he commanded, his voice brooking no argument. Whatever happens, survive.
The Alpha (The Pack Book 3) Page 17