“Daniel, what is it?”
“It's an ambush. I’ve got a drone overhead. It looks like about thirty people are ascending there. Seth and the others are inside.”
“Shit, we’re on the way.” I run back up the stairs sprinting back to the car.
“The old Duvall farm,” I shout.
“Why?” Mick asks worriedly.
“It’s an ambush.”
“Shit,” Ryan curses.
Chapter 39
Dani
I’d received a text from Daniel about an hour ago. He informed me that the packs were out on a mission tonight, and my father was meeting his supplier first thing in the morning. All I had to do, is stay out of Drake's way till morning, and hopefully, if all went to plan, my father would be arrested, and my contract would be over.
Picking up my phone, I try ringing Lacey. It’s late, and I have no doubt she will be sleeping, but I’m too excited. I want to tell her that she’d been right all along about Lautner, and that in just a few hours, my father would no longer be able to control me. I listen to the phone ring continuously before switching to voicemail.
Snuggled in Lautner's hoodie, I leave my room, heading downstairs towards the bar. I was restless tonight. I know I won’t be able to sleep. There’s too much going on. I just wanted for this all to be over, so I can be with Lautner without having to hide.
I could go see Daniel. But I know he is working hard keeping the packs safe on their mission tonight, and I don’t want to distract him. Instead, I grab a bottle of Lautner’s favorite whiskey from behind the bar, pouring myself a shot. I scrunch up my face as I take a sip, wondering how the hell he drinks this stuff all the time. I pour myself another—anything to help me feel closer to him. I hated not seeing him properly before he left. I’d watched him go from my window, his eyes glancing up to meet mine for the briefest second. I know it’s for the best. We need to keep a low profile until tomorrow, but it doesn’t stop me from missing him. In just a few days, he’d become my everything.
Finishing my drink, I head back upstairs. I hadn't taken two steps back into my room before a hand covers my mouth, cutting off my scream.
“Didn’t I give you a direct order for tonight?” My father growls as he uncovers my mouth, pulling me tighter into the cold of his body. I feel a sharp prick at the side of my neck as my father pulls away a syringe.
“What are you … I- I thought the packs were out tonight,” I stutter, clutching my neck, terrified to think of what he’d just injected me with.
“They are. But Drake and I had other business to attend. Now, sit down,” My father orders, walking away from me. I look around the room, but the only place to sit is the bed, where Drake is now patting the empty spot beside him.
“We haven’t got all night, Danika,” my father warns.
I go sit at the far end of the bed, away from Drake.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t know? After all, didn’t I warn you not to do anything stupid? You should have listened to me, Danika. Everything that happens now, you have brought it on yourself.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about?” I say as I feel the first stab of fear starting to take hold.
“I think you do.” His hand goes into his pockets as he pulls out some photos. My hands shake as I reach out, taking them from him. The pictures are of Lautner and me on the first night we met at the Warehouse. As I look through them, a cold shiver works its way up my spine.
I look between Drake and my father. Their cold eyes staring back at me. “You knew all along, didn’t you?” I hiss. “You knew Lautner was my mate? That’s why you brought me here. You knew this would happen?”
My father laughs. “Of course I did. You both thought you could play me for a fool. Lautner almost surprised me for a minute. I really thought he might keep rejecting you, but then you had to wander off and get yourself into trouble. If you hadn’t of, Lautner might never have given in, and that would have messed up my plans.”
“I won't do it. I won’t betray him,” I say, knowing where this conversation is heading.
“You don’t have a choice,” my father replies coldly. “Tomorrow morning in front of the packs, you will inform everyone that you and Drake are to be married as soon as possible. That you just can't wait.” He smiles wickedly.
“He wears my mark. The mate bond has already begun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is already on the way here.” I smile, praying that he could feel my fear right now.
“I don’t think so,” my father replies, pointing towards the injection. “You think I didn’t know all about your plans. It only works when your wolf is awake, and trust me, with the amount of valium I've just hit you up with, that’s not going to happen for a very long time.”
“Just think, Lautner will end up insane, just like his father. Everything he has ever feared. I think we both know he would end his own life before that happens. That’s all thanks to you.” Drake smiles in victory.
I close my eyes, praying this is all a nightmare. How could I not have known that my father had been playing me all along? But he hadn’t mentioned anything about the pills. If he didn’t know, then there’s still a chance to catch my father out tomorrow. “What if I say no? You have nothing here to hold over me,” I say, determined to keep believing that their plan could work.
“That was my other business tonight. Tell me, when was the last time you spoke to Lacey?”
“What have you done?” I ask, overcome with worry for my friend.
“Only what I needed to, to keep you in line,” he replies, heading towards my bedroom door.
“Don’t do this,” I beg. Standing up, I go to meet him across the room. Wishing I’d told Lautner to kill him earlier when I had the chance.
“It’s too late. It's already done. She’s alive, for now. But for her to stay that way, you will do as I say.”
“He will know I'm lying. He won't give me up easily,” I say with determination.
“For Lacey's sake, you better hope he does. And by the way, you won't be needing any more pills tomorrow. It's just no fun now that you’ve figured it all out,” he smirks, hitting the final nail into my coffin. “She’s all yours, Drake,” he calls out as he leaves the room, closing the door behind us.
The sound of Drake's boots coming to a stop behind me is my only warning before he pulls me flush against his body. His fingers sliding down the front of my jeans and touching my bare flesh. I ram my elbow hard into his ribs, trying to break free. He grunts in pain but doesn’t let go. Instead, he brings his free hand up to cover my mouth. “You let that fucking bastard touch what is mine,” he says forcibly, ramming two fingers inside of me. I’m still sore from earlier today, and the pain it causes has tears streaming down my face.
“This is how I always pictured it, Dani,” he whispers, “You, crying while I take whatever I want from you. I don’t care if that is him I can feel you wet with up there. It will always be me that touches you last. You will never escape me, no matter how hard you try.” His hips pound against my ass as he continues to assault me with his fingers. After a few more thrusts, I feel him sigh against my neck, and I don’t need to turn around to know that he has released in his pants.
“That’s just a little preview of our future together.” His hands let me go as I fall to the floor. “I'm saving the actual fun for tomorrow after I watch Lautner’s face at your rejection.”
“He will kill you, Drake,” I promise.
“Maybe, he will,” he smiles. “But Lautner’s not going to want a damn thing to do with you now, Dani. You're tainted. For just a minute, you had it all—everything you ever wanted. Everything fate ever wanted for you. And now, you have nothing.”
As I hear the door slam behind him, my throat burns as I quickly scramble off the floor and make it to the bathroom in time before throwing up. After a few minutes, I start the shower, needing to rid my body of Drake’s touch. I pick up my phone, dialing Lacey’s number one last time, needing to hear her vo
ice,
“Hi, you’ve reached Lacey- “
I end the call, closing my eyes. My father didn’t make idle threats. If I wanted to keep Lacey alive, I’ve no other choice. I would have to break every promise to Lautner I’d just made, inevitably damning us both.
Chapter 40
Lautner
I try Seth’s phone, but there’s no answer.
“Lautner,” Mick calls out from the backseat. “When we get there, I want you to head straight for the house, you hear me. Find Seth. We’ll patrol the outside. If they’re cornered, I need you to flush them out, where we’ll be waiting.” I nod at my alpha’s instructions. It’s our best plan. There’s only three of us, and we can’t leave our alpha unprotected. That’s our beta’s job.
Ryan slows down as I leap out, keeping close to the fence line. I spot a few humans as they scurry about, holding their AK47’s close to their chest, barking out orders. I look up towards the shattered windows catching a glimpse of movement as I ring Daniel.
“Is Seth still in the house?”
“Yeah, Seth and Terry are holed up on the second floor. They’ve killed a few hunters inside, but they just keep coming.”
“What about Cortez and Drake?”
“I don’t know. Their signal went down about thirty minutes ago, and I haven’t been able to get it back.”
“Shit.”
“I’ll keep trying, and I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything,” Daniel replies as I hear his fingers tapping furiously at the keyboard.
“Get word to Seth. I’m going to find a way in. Keep searching for Drake and Cortez,” I demand, ending the call. Fuck. I knew they had something planned, but I can’t think about that yet. Dani is back home, and she’s safe for now. I need to focus on getting Seth and the rest of Ridgeway out of there.
Sneaking around the back, I head towards the old barn, finding their vehicles hidden inside. I quickly rummage through their bags before finding what I needed. I pick up two hand grenades as I make my way towards the door, carefully taking out one of the pins. As soon as I hit the door, I throw it behind me, running as fast as I can. The explosion deafens me as I watch the hunters racing towards the fire. A couple of men stay behind as I advance up behind them. Within minutes, I have three dead hunters at my feet, without breaking a sweat.
The door creaks open as I ease my way in. The air inside is thick with the coppery scent of blood, as I find a young woman on the floor with her throat ripped out. Her face, watching me, forever frozen in a mask of fear.
“Motherfucker,” a man calls out behind me. I turn around just in time to catch a bat that is aimed at my head. Growling, I snatch the bat from his hand, returning the favor as I hear the satisfying snap of his neck at my swing.
Shit. This is bad. I creep forward, heading for the stairs, keeping the wall at my back. I turn the corner to find bloody handprints lining the walls as if leading the way.
There are six doors up here, each one shut tight. I start forward, my feet gliding across the old wood, barely making a sound. I can hear the erratic heartbeat of a man, and I can instantly tell he is human. I kick the door with as much force as I can, hearing a satisfying grunt and the sound of metal hitting the floor. I catch the man by his neck, slamming him against the wall.
“Where’s Seth,” I growl. The man struggles against my hold, kicking out with his feet. I punch him twice in the face, as blood runs from the corner of his eye and his nose.
“I’m not telling you anything, motherfucker.”
I start to shift. The man’s eyes stare wildly as the hand that holds him spurts fur, and my sharp claws pierce his neck.
“Lautner.” I hear Seth panting heavily from another room close by.
“Looks like I don’t need you after all,” I say to the shocked man. I slash my claw across his jugular, letting him fall into a pool of his own blood.
I walk into the next room, finding Seth on the floor, a silver spear protruding from his thigh. Terry is crouching beside him.
“What happened?” I ask.
“Some fucker hit me with a spear gun,” he groans as I look at the damage. The thing went clear through to the other side. There’s no way to remove it, not yet. He would bleed out before we ever got back home.
“It’s nothing. Come on, we’ve got to get you out of here.” I pull his arm over my shoulders as I help him to his feet, calling out to Terry. “Where are the others?”
He shakes his head. “I have no idea. As soon as we entered, they were waiting for us. Logan and Sid were downstairs with us, but when Seth got hit, I dragged him up here.”
“You did the right thing. Go ahead and clear a path. The car is parked about a mile up the road. We need to get him back, fast.”
He nods, taking off before me.
Another explosion erupts outside as we reach the front door. I peer out first, looking for any signs of an attack before making a break for it.
“I’m sorry, Lautner. It was too late. They were waiting for us,” he grunts.
“It’s alright, you did good.”
I half carry, half drag Seth as we hobble down the road to safety. “It's all clear,” Terry calls out, catching up to us and taking Seth’s other side. “Most of them are heading towards the trees. Your alpha and beta are right behind them.”
“I tried to keep an eye on them,” Seth’s spits out as I help him into the back seat, “but I don’t know where they went.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll find them.”
“Stay here,” I say to Terry as I swiftly move past him, going in search of Mick and Ryan. I’m not halfway back to the house before they find me with Logan and Sid in tow. All of them are naked and bleeding as we make our way back to the escalade.
“Where’s Drake and Cortez,” I demand to Sid and Logan, who only shake their heads.
“We don’t know. They left before the rest of the hunters got here,” Sid replies.
“Shit.” I ring Daniel.
“Where the fuck are Drake and Cortez!” I shout down the phone.
“I don’t know,” he replies, and I can hear the worry in his voice.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” I seethe.
“I can't find them.”
“We’re on the way home now. Go find Dani, and do not move from her sight until I get there. You got that?”
“I got it,” he snaps as the line goes dead.
“Seth's hurt,” I say to Ryan just as we reach the car.
He nods as he gets in the back. I wait for everyone to get in the car before jumping behind the wheel.
Seth screams from the back seat as Ryan pulls the silver spear from his thigh before applying a makeshift tourniquet.
Slamming my hand against the wheel, I hit my foot on the gas, careening us forward.
“Hang on, Seth,” I call out as I race down the old dirt tracks trying my best not to kill us all. I’m coming, Dani.
Chapter 41
Lautner
As soon as we get back, she’s waiting in the bar, but something isn’t right. I stride towards her, the heavy clunk of my boots the only sound in the room.
“Dani,” I call out. She sits ramrod straight wedged between her father and Drake, and she doesn’t look over.
“Don’t come any closer,” Drake warns, standing up, blocking her from my view.
“Dani, are you alright?” I ignore Drake, looking around him as she finally turns, and I see the glassy look in her eyes.
“What have they done to you,” I growl.
“I’m fine, Lautner,” she replies, turning away quickly, “It’s no business of yours.”
“What happened?” I demand, wondering why she won’t even look at me. It’d only been a few hours ago that she’d sworn to be mine, and now, I feel like she is a million miles away. My hand automatically goes to her mark, but there’s nothing there. It’s like the connection we had is gone, and once again, I’m alone. I look between the three of them before once again resting my gaze on Da
ni. “Remember what I told you? You only need to say the word,” I promise.
“It’s nothing, please leave me alone. I’m not yours. I never was. I’m Drake’s.”
Drake smiles coldly at her words, pulling her into a tight embrace, yet she does nothing. She won't even look at me.
“Get your hands off my mate,” I threaten, but he only smiles wider. “Dani,” I try again, hating the almost pleading tone of my voice. I’d never been so weak, so unsure of what to do. The Alpha in me wanted nothing more than to kill Drake and drag Dani kicking and screaming from this room. I would force her into submission with long hard strokes of my cock until she finally relents, telling me the truth.
Finally, she lifts her head, and I feel like I don’t recognize the woman staring back at me. “Yesterday was a mistake. I used you, Lautner. It was always Drake. I choose Drake,” she replies coldly.
“You’re fucking lying, Dani. Just tell me the truth. I promise I will keep you safe.”
“Keep her safe,” Cortez snarls. “All you’ve done since we got here is put her in danger. Is it any wonder she wants nothing to do with you? You're just like your father. Pathetic.”
I clench my fists at my side. “You know fuck all about my father,” I growl.
“I know when your mom died, he dragged you away to live among the strays before going mad. Now, you get to do the same. You might as well do your pack a favor and end it now before you end up hurting them. You heard her. She wants nothing to do with you. I suggest you leave her and her fiancé alone from now on. Are you really going to start a war over someone who clearly thinks you’re a monster?”
“Fuck this, you’ve done something to her,” I demand, rushing at Cortez. But it's Mick’s hand that holds me back. I’m aware of the rest of my pack in the room. I can hear Seth grunting in pain as Ryan lays him down across the seats, attending to his wounds, but none of it matters.
“Dani, whatever they have said to you, tell me,” I plead. “I won’t let them take you from me. I promised you that.”
Lautner: A Dark Fated Mates Romance Page 17