by Ranae Rose
“You’ve been dealin’ with these Gruens for years. You got any information that might be useful to us?”
“Some, but I don’t know where she is. If I did, I’d be there now.”
Yeah, Jack would bet a paycheck that he’d be there – for the sake of his own personal revenge-agenda, not for his daughter. Michael’s statement spiked Jack’s ire, but he had to keep a handle on it – for Mandy’s sake, and for the baby’s. He’d deal with this jackass later. “Do you know why they’d take her right out from under my nose without bothering to even try to kill me? That doesn’t seem like typical shifter behavior.”
“I can’t say for sure, but they want me, bad. They’d do anything to get to me. They’re probably using her as bait – next to me, you’re an afterthought. They know you’ll come running to her rescue and probably decided they’d rather gun you down then than bother with you from the get-go.”
Jack drew a deep breath as Michael’s words crashed around him, crushing just about every hope he’d been hanging on to. His stomach might as well have been turning itself inside out, spilling acid into his veins and making him want to vomit. He clenched his jaw, ground his teeth and fought the urge. Up to half a dozen hunters, all of them anticipating the arrival of an angry rescue party? Mandy’s odds didn’t sound good, and yet, Michael was right – Jack would come running to her rescue, no matter what.
“You reckon she’s still alive?” Jack forced himself to ask the question and nearly choked on the bile that had risen into his throat.
“The only good hostage is a living hostage. If they’d only wanted to kill her, they would’ve done it right away, and taken you out too. Seems to me that they’re scheming on a grander scale, and probably using her as bait, maybe even as a bargaining chip.”
God, if only he could be sure that Michael’s words were his honest thoughts and not just an attempt to comfort him or keep him from snapping the neck of the bastard who’d brought this misery down on the pack. He searched Michael’s eyes, seeking out any indication of honesty, though it hurt to look into them because they were so damn similar to Mandy’s. The exact same color, though they were distinctly the eyes of a hunted man, a haunted man, a violent man – not Jack’s sweet mate. “Do you have any idea where they might be?”
“I can only guess, but if they’re really trying to draw me to them, they’re probably somewhere nearby.”
“And probably in a location that puts them at an advantage,” Noah said, stepping forward to stand at Jack’s side. “Somewhere where they’ll be able to see anyone who approaches and stop them before they get there.”
Jack nodded and broke eye contact with Michael. His gaze settled on Kimberly, who stood at Michael’s side for God-knew-what reason. How could she want anything to do with the man who’d abandoned her while she’d been carrying his child and returned to endanger the life of not only her daughter, but her unborn grandbaby? Silent tears were streaming down her cheeks. Maybe Michael had approached her with news of Mandy’s abduction and she’d talked him into coming here instead of running away. Maybe she only wanted to find Mandy and would do whatever it took – just like Jack.
“Some of these structures are on high ground,” Ronnie said, raising the map. “We should check those first.”
Chapter 13
The nail wiggled in its socket like a loose tooth as cramps wracked Mandy’s arms, causing her muscles to bunch and ache as she slowly worked the nail up and down, pulling it out bit by bit. A hard yank might have freed it all at once, but she didn’t dare. If her captors heard the board the nail was stuck in groan or saw it tremble from the outside, they might suspect that she was up to something. So she continued with careful, persistent tugs. It would’ve been so much easier if she’d been pulling on the head-end of the nail instead of the pointed end; as it was, she had to pull the flat head through the board, which was only possible because the wood had rotted so badly.
She erred on the side of caution and stopped working each time her captors came within a short distance of that side of the shack, walking by on their patrols. Presumably, they were waiting, guns at the ready, for someone to show up to try to rescue her. It was a stomach-churning thought, especially when she knew Jack and the rest of the pack had to be looking for her. That was exactly why she needed to free the nail as soon as possible; she’d come up with a plan while bloodying her fingers – a plan that might save the lives of her mate and the other Half Moon shifters.
As for her father, she hardly shared her kidnappers’ faith that he’d make an appearance. If he’d cared about her at all, he wouldn’t have led her captors to her, and she was pretty sure that was what he’d done. After all, he’d described his pursuers as violent and ruthless, monsters who’d kill women and children in a heartbeat. At the time, she hadn’t realized that they were still after him. Clearly, they were, and he’d known. He’d led them right to her, and for what? To satisfy his curiosity – to get a glimpse of the daughter he’d heard was living in the Smokies? Maybe all those years of running and hiding had worn him down; maybe he’d simply stopped caring about the family he’d left behind, and maybe – no, definitely – there was a hell of a lot more to his story than she knew.
Her hands slipped, and the sharp end of the nail sliced through the pad of one finger. It didn’t matter – she almost had it. Wincing, she gripped the narrow steel shaft between her sore fingers and pulled with steady, fierce pressure.
It popped free with a last weak snap of splintering wood and she froze, her heart picking up speed as she strained her ears for any sign that she’d been heard.
None came; she could hear her captors’ footsteps, about halfway through the looping patterns of their patrol routes, if she wasn’t mistaken. She waited for them to creep a little farther away, not daring to pause for even a moment to celebrate her bloody little victory before she proceeded with the next step in her plan.
After taking a deep breath, filling her lungs with precious oxygen, she did what her kidnappers clearly thought she was too smart to try – she shifted.
The entire transformation from human to wolf took place in the blink of an eye; in less than a second, every muscle and bone in her neck was screaming with pain. Her eyes bulged and watered as the collar dug into her throat, choking her brutally. She focused as best she could through the pain, moving as quickly and desperately as possible, shaking the rope bonds so they’d slide over her paws. The knotted coils dropped easily off of her front paws, but the ties around her back legs were more stubborn. She jerked and flailed, losing balance and toppling onto her side. With a desperate kick, she managed to free one foot, and promptly shifted back into her human form.
The ordeal had left her lying on her side in the dirt, her robe gaping open and her eyes streaming with tears. Her neck ached and throbbed as if she’d just been strangled within an inch of death, which she very nearly had been. She exhaled and took a deep breath, drawing fresh air into her burning lungs and reveling in the fact that she was free. Her joints popped as she flexed her wrists and ankles fully for the first time since she’d been abducted. A loose loop of rope hung around one of her ankles; she pulled it off quickly and shoved it against the wall, along with the other one. Then she sat up, hiding them with her body. She left the tape over her mouth too – removing it would’ve been a dead giveaway to her abductors.
Sitting with her legs folded beneath her body was uncomfortable and put her at an increased risk for blood clots, but she had no choice; the position was the only way she could hide the fact that her ankles were free. Concealing her wrists was easy – she only had to hold them behind her back, just as they’d been tied. Before she did so, she raised her hands to her aching throat, exploring the collar that circled her neck. It was made of thick leather, just as she’d suspected, and was unfortunately secured with a small, sturdy padlock. She’d counted on that, the worst case scenario. Calmly, she lowered her hands and began combing the dirt behind her back. It didn’t take long to find the nai
l she’d dropped, and when she did she gripped it tightly in one fist, holding her hands against the small of her back so that when one of her captors entered the shack, he wouldn’t suspect a thing.
****
Jack’s heart seemed to stop for what must’ve been the hundredth time that day as he approached the cave that gaped from the face of a steep cliff somewhere in the heart of a mountain several miles outside of Half Moon territory. Though he was practically going crazy with the urge to see inside, he’d circled around and was slinking with one furry shoulder brushing the rock face, stepping carefully as he inched his way up a narrow ledge. Noah and April were behind him, following carefully and silently.
Ronnie waited below, crouched behind a bush in his human form, his rifle trained on the cave opening, ready to sniper off anyone who might appear – other than Mandy, of course.
Michael and Kimberly were also crouched below in the bushes – a fact that set Jack’s teeth on edge and made him want to snap his fangs in irritation. Without Mandy’s father and her unfortunate mother, the search group would’ve divided evenly into two competent teams of four. Michael had absolutely refused to let Kimberly out of his sight for fear that she’d be taken too.
So Jack had allowed them both to accompany his team. Kimberly was a liability that he needed like he needed a hole in the head, but he needed Michael’s knowledge of the Gruens, and it was true that Kimberly needed protecting. Plus, he wanted to make sure Michael was around when the ordeal came to an end so he could personally rip him to pieces. If Mandy and the baby both survived and escaped with no serious injuries, he might just let the jerk live. Barely.
A breeze drifted through the forest, blowing over the cliff face and combing through Jack’s coat. He sniffed, on red-alert for any whiff of Mandy that the wind might carry as it rushed past the cave mouth. All he caught was a faint odor of dampness. Unsure of whether to be deeply disappointed that he hadn’t scented her or relieved that he hadn’t smelled anything damning, like death or blood, he continued. He wasn’t going to turn around without seeing the interior of the cave with his own eyes. If he had to, he’d roam each ever-loving mile of the Smoky Mountains, checking every nook and cranny and overturning every last rock until he dropped dead.
With his next step, his paw dislodged a pebble that rolled off the ledge and bounced down the cliff face. No one rushed out of the cave or even poked a head out to see what had made the soft sound. It was going to be empty. That was ninety-nine percent certain, but his stomach was a hard ball of nerves anyway as he crept closer, approaching the edge of the opening. Every muscle in his body tensed, ready for action as he extended his muzzle, scenting the air as he rounded a corner of jagged rock and stepped into the mouth of the cave.
The odors of dampness and staleness flooded his senses, but nothing else. Still, he continued forward as Noah and April’s toenails clicked on the stone behind him. They walked at his flanks, following him into the darkness.
The cave was shallow and just as empty as Jack felt as he exited it, making his way back down the ledge as quickly as he could without slipping and tumbling over the edge. When he reached the bushes where the others waited, Ronnie placed a hand firmly on Jack’s shoulder, saying nothing as he slung his rifle over his back again with the other.
Jack met Ronnie’s gaze for the briefest of moments and saw the disappointment he felt reflected in his friend’s eyes. Ronnie was a good friend, like a brother to him and every bit as much a part of the pack as the others. Jack was lucky to have him on the search, and fortunate to have Will leading the other team. Had they found anything yet?
No, they hadn’t – they would’ve given the agreed-upon signal if they had. The teams purposely avoided straying farther than a few miles from each other, and if one found something, they were to signify their discovery with a long howl so that the others could rush to the scene. The woods were silent as Ronnie removed his hand from Jack’s coat and led the way toward the next location circled in red ink on their map.
****
The scent of a man had Jack’s stomach in knots and his nerves on a razor-sharp edge. He inhaled slowly, examining the smell that had been carried down a wooded slope by a light breeze. The odor was unfamiliar – not that of the man who’d taken Mandy. But it could belong to any of the other Gruens. Silently, he paced around the slope, heading in the direction the smell seemed to be coming from and carefully scenting the air for more.
The others followed behind him, their paws rustling the leaves quietly, almost silently – and in Ronnie and Kimberly’s case, their boots crunching softly through the underbrush. Jack would have to find a suitable place to make Michael and Kimberly hide while he investigated wherever and whoever the human scent was coming from. This could be it – this whiff of human male on the wind was both the most encouraging and the most frightening thing he’d encountered all day. His entire body tingled with a potent cocktail of nervousness and violence as he proceeded, and when the next scent hit him, his gut cramped as if he’d been punched in the stomach.
There was a second man. A familiar man. The man who’d taken Mandy. His heart sped until he could feel it beating in every pulse point, hammering against his temple and echoing in every limb. With a sharp look over his shoulder and the lowest of growls, he stopped the others in their tracks.
He’d shared the kidnapper’s scent trail with the pack. As they breathed, their eyes grew wide and met his, their gazes fixed as they awaited his next command. Good. Nobody was trying to flout his authority and mess this up. Now, he just had to get Michael and Kimberly out of the way.
Jack had listened to all Michael had told him about the Gruens’ fighting techniques – apparently, they liked firepower, and plenty of it. They were conniving and vicious, as anyone had to be to hunt a wolf shifter, but were limited as all shifter hunters were by the desire to preserve their kills’ carcasses for trophy purposes. Jack could only hope that their greed for trophies wouldn’t be overshadowed by their desire to finally end Michael. There were a million ways to kill a wolf if you didn’t care what happened to the body, but shooting one through the heart with a silver bullet required a certain carefulness that might allow the pack enough time to break through their defenses, regardless of the intense firepower Jack had been warned to expect.
He motioned for the others to follow again and slunk forward, ears pricked and nose twitching. The scents were drifting from a higher elevation; Ronnie was right, they’d taken high ground. He’d never seen the little hunting shack Ronnie had said would be in the area, but that must be where they’d taken her.
The scents grew stronger when the wind picked up, giving Jack a clearer idea of where they were coming from with each breeze. It was too bad the rest of the pack wasn’t there, but he didn’t dare howl yet – doing so would give their presence away to Mandy’s captors.
As they rounded a sloping section of forest, circling higher ground, a third scent reached Jack, sweet, fresh and exactly what he’d been hoping and praying to detect for the better part of twenty-four hours. He froze and breathed deeply, inhaling Mandy’s wildflower-and-rain smell. It was fainter than the odors of her captors – did they have her locked away? Restrained inside the little building while they waited outside? Michael’s suspicions that they’d taken her for the sake of luring him to them seemed awfully possible, and as sickening as that was, Jack was insanely grateful that he smelled her, not death or decay.
She was alive. And she was bleeding. He could smell blood, a faint coppery taint on the breeze. His stomach lurched at the scent, and though a dozen terrifying possibilities tumbled through his mind, there was one that really stood out – had she lost the baby? An involuntary growl began rumbling in the pit of his chest. He wanted to – had to – hold her, and at the same time, he wanted to rip everyone who was responsible for harming her into a million little ribbons of flesh. That included Michael. If the baby had been hurt, if they’d caused her to miscarry or go into premature labor or whatever the l
oss would be considered at this point…
God, she might be in so much pain, suffering this very moment in a crappy little shed, alone. Not knowing that she was about to be rescued. They had to hurry, and yet, they had to be careful – had to make sure that her captors didn’t hurt her again or kill her when they realized that they’d managed to attract several wolves and a bear shifter. Because after she’d served her purpose as bait, she’d be expendable. Shifter hunters would never purposely allow a shifter to go free, pregnant or not.
Noah nudged Jack’s shoulder lightly with his nose, snapping Jack out of a violent fantasy.
Noah’s eyes were a bright hazel like his own, and gleaming with concern. Even wolves had facial expressions; Noah’s looked grim and determined and hopeful at the same time. A shared thread of emotion seemed to have woven its way through the pack; as Jack met the gazes of his packmates one by one, he saw his own feelings reflected in their eyes.
He refused to look directly at the brown, blue-eyed wolf at the back of the group – Michael looked too much like Mandy when she was in her wolf form. Instead he snapped his teeth, releasing a low growl as he tipped his head in the direction of a thicket several yards away. The vegetation wouldn’t offer any protection from flying ammunition, but it would camouflage Michael and Kimberly, and it was far enough away from where the scents were coming from that they should be safe anyway.
Michael shook his head and took a deliberate step forward.
Jack snapped his fangs. He would kill Michael if he slowed them down, if he refused to co-operate. Kimberly needed to be protected, especially since they’d only scented two of the hunters so far and knew that there were probably more somewhere. For all they knew, they could be sneaking up from downwind, and would take or kill Kimberly if she was left alone. He wasn’t about to do that to Mandy’s mother or let Michael’s defiance shave another precious second off of their window of opportunity. Somebody had to stay with Kimberly, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be Jack. And he wasn’t about to ask either Noah or April to come with him while the other one stayed behind, forced to babysit a human while their mate faced potentially lethal danger. As for Ronnie, they needed his knowledge of the terrain and sharp-shooting skills. There was no way around it – Michael was the one who’d have to stay behind.