Chapter Eighteen
Wren
Leaving to work for her mom was the hardest thing.
She didn’t want to leave Cage. It sucked. But he had kissed her goodbye and let her know he would be by to see her later.
For lunch.
He had given her a pointed look when he said that, and she blushed.
He wouldn’t be there to eat food. Just her. He told her in her head and it made her breathless and she waited all day in anticipation.
But as the hours dragged on, and lunch passed with no sign of him, she started to worry.
“Mom? I have to check on something at Cage’s. Okay?”
Donna came out of her office, “Okay? Have fun. I’m so glad he finally figured it out.”
She laughed and Wren walked out to her car and called Cage, but his phone went to voicemail.
That was weird. She sent him a few texts and they stayed on unread.
All of them had. Since the one she sent of her cleavage this morning.
He hadn’t opened a single one.
She knew their relationship was still new, but she didn’t think he wouldn’t answer her texts.
She called Ever, “Have you seen Cage today?”
“I haven’t. The last time I saw him he was going to talk to Tegan and Kol. That was a few hours ago. But no one has seen any of them.”
Wren felt a shiver snake up her spine, “Are you at the cabins? Will you go check?”
“I can. Let me check with Ryke and see if he is close too.”
Wren put her foot to the gas and drove as quickly as she could when she heard Ever’s gasp.
“Ever? What’s wrong?”
Ever’s phone sounded like she was rubbing it up against something and then Ever’s voice sounded far away.
“Tegan? Tegan! Wake up! Oh my God! Tegan! Please wake up! Fuck!”
The phone went dead and Wren broke every single traffic law there was getting to the cabins.
She sprayed gravel as she made the turn and her car fishtailed for a second and then went straight and as soon as she was in front of Cage’s cabin, she put her car in park and then ran, didn’t even bother taking the keys out or shut the door.
She sprinted toward Tegan’s shop and when she got there, most of the guys from the crew were there, and yet, the one man she wanted to see was absent.
She looked around and found Ryke kneeling on the ground with Tegan in his arms and Tegan dangerously pale, his lungs barely lifting his chest.
He had a pool of blood around him and she saw that it was coming from his neck.
Ryke bit into his arm and let drops of his blood get on Tegan’s wound and she heard Ryke say over and over, “Please work. Please be okay. Please Teg. I need you. Please.”
The last bit was a sob and Wren pushed closer and Ever pulled her in for a hug, “I came in here and he was on the ground with blood all around him. I don’t know how long he has been here like that. Oh god, what if he dies? Oh Wren, it would kill Ryke.”
Wren nodded over and over, swallowing hard, “It’s okay. They will figure it out. It’s okay.”
Ryke kept biting his wrist and putting more blood on Tegan’s neck and giving it to him down his throat.
“This has to work. It has to. Please live. Please live.”
Tegan sucked at Ryke’s wrist for a second and then pulled in a harsh breath and then another, and the color slowly returned to his face.
He couldn’t move on his own, but he was breathing and slowly looking better.
He blinked and Wren wanted to sob when he turned toward Ryke and whispered, “I’m okay Ryke. I’m okay.”
Ever did start sobbing, her knees collapsing and Wren held her up, knowing that if she hadn’t Ever would have collapsed to the ground.
Ryke buried his face in Tegan’s shoulder and his shoulders shook with sobs as he held his little brother close.
Wren could see the wound on Tegan’s neck close and she hated that he got it in the first place.
Tegan shut his eyes and lay still in Ryke’s arms and the rest of the guys let out breaths of relief.
“Where is Kol?” Someone asked, and she looked to find Croy stepping forward, “I thought he was here. He and Tegan are always together.”
Tegan took a shuddering breath, “I was out getting a few new pieces of wood out of my shed and someone came up behind me and bit my neck, and drank my blood. They tried to get in my head, but Kol taught me how to block anyone out of my head, and he let me go. I came in here to warn them, but before I could, I collapsed and I thought I was going to die.”
Wren went still, “Cage is gone? What?”
Tegan turned his eyes toward the sound of her voice and nodded slightly, “I think they took him and Kol. I don’t know where they went though. I’m sorry Wren.”
Wren let go of Ever and dropped to her knees in front of Tegan and held his hand, “Don’t you dare apologize to me. You got attacked. You had nothing to do with it and you almost died! You will never apologize again.”
Tegan blinked at her vehemence and she knew she was right. She looked around the circle of men, “Did anyone see anything?”
Everyone shook their heads, “We weren’t here. We all just got back for the day and heard Ever’s scream.” Croy said and she shut her eyes. “Fuck.”
She opened them and something caught her eye. She reached under one of the tables and found Cage’s phone.
All of her messages were there, and so were ones from Ryke, Croy and Deacon. Asking where he was.
“None of you thought it was strange that he didn’t answer you? Or come to help out?”
Ryke looked up, “He is newly mated. Logan left the worksite a few times to be with Raina, and so has Deacon. I have too. We thought he was with you. We didn’t want to push it. And Tegan doesn’t always hear his phone when he is working. I get it. Kol doesn’t really know how to use his phone, so we never text him. This has to change. To stop. I’m fucking sick and tired of people coming in here and hurting the ones I love. I’m done. Let’s try to find these bastards.”
Everyone nodded and Wren knelt beside Ryke, and put Tegan’s head in her lap. “I got this. You go find my man and bring him home.”
Ryke nodded and he stood, “Croy, you search the west woods. If you scent anything, scream. Calder, you get the east. Griffin, you and Easton search the skies and go as wide as you can. Circle around, see if there is anything out of the ordinary. I don’t care what it is, if the fucking wind knocked a tree over, I want to know.”
Easton and Griffin nodded and they took off their shirts and sprinted from the building, as did Croy and Calder.
“Knox, you need to do a perimeter search. If there are any scents you don’t recognize, you come back immediately or roar. I will hear you. Deacon, you search to the north. Logan, you and Quinn take the south. Get out there and find our brother.”
Everyone nodded and Ryke looked at the girls, “You stay here and protect my brother. Ever, if you want to come with me, then we need to fly. If not, that’s fine. I would rather know that you are safe with Tegan and Wren.”
Ever stood, kissing Ryke, “I got this. Nothing will get through me.”
He nodded, kissing her back, “I love you.”
Ever gulped, “I love you too. Go find Cage.”
Ryke gave a salute, “Will do.”
Then he walked from the building and Ever shut the door and locked it. Doing the same to the other door.
She texted Raina and Riley, letting them know what was going on, and told them to keep an eye out for Kol or Cage.
Raina called two seconds later, “Is Tegan okay? Oh god. Oh god. I am coming right now. Riley, shut everything down, I need to get there.”
Ever said, “Rain, it’s okay. Tegan is weak, but talking. Ryke gave him blood and he is looking better.”
Tegan looked toward Ever, “I’m okay Rain. Really.”
Raina burst into tears, “You better be. You are one of my best friends in this world
. And my brother. I need you. Please be okay. I’m on my way.”
Tegan smiled lightly, “I will be fine Rain. Really. Just give me a bit. I still have shifter healing, even if it’s not as good as the others.”
Raina cried into the phone, “I don’t care. I’m coming. Riley and Layla are shutting the bakery down and will be there too. Is Logan okay?”
Ever gave a tiny smile, “Logan is out looking for Cage. For any sign of Kol or Cage.”
Raina sighed, “Good. I’m almost there. Let me in.”
They heard a car screech to a halt outside of the building and Wren knew Raina had sped the entire way.
Ever hurried to let Raina in and Raina was to Wren’s side seconds later, collapsing over Tegan as she cried.
Tegan awkwardly hugged her with one arm and Raina sat up, “I’m so glad you are okay. I couldn’t handle it if you died.”
Tegan smiled, “I’m fine. It hurt like a bitch, but I will be fine.”
Raina smiled, “Good.”
Wren loved how close Tegan and Raina had gotten when they fixed up the bakery and knew that Raina considered Tegan her little brother.
Tegan also considered Raina his big sister and they had that close bond.
Tegan was a good man and Wren hated that he got hurt.
That Cage was gone and that he could be hurt.
She shut her eyes, trying to keep her tears at bay.
She just got him. Finally. After all these fucking stupid years, he was hers. And now this?
If he came back with so much as a scratch, she would hunt down the people that took him and rip their throats out with her bare hands.
Her wolf nudged inside her head, that she would help.
Wren hadn’t paid much attention to her wolf, it felt as if she was always there.
But she did now. The wolf was part of her. Loved her and wanted their mate back as much as she did.
She also wasn’t afraid of bloodshed.
And though Wren wasn’t the girl to want to cause others pain, she would now.
She opened her eyes and knew that they were flashing back and forth to her wolf.
They heard a panther’s scream and she went still, “Raina, I have to go out there. I have to see.”
Raina nodded and put Tegan’s head in her lap, and Wren stood, looking at Ever, who was biting her lip.
“Are you sure you should go out there?”
Wren nodded, “He is my mate. I won’t just sit here and wait.”
Ever nodded, “I will protect them. Go get him back.”
Wren nodded again and hugged Ever quickly and then was to the door and outside in seconds.
She pulled her clothes off and changed to her wolf in seconds as well.
Like they hadn’t had the issue of changing before.
And she was running to where she heard Croy’s call and she got there and Ryke was in his human form, naked.
He turned and looked at her and Croy changed back in seconds, “There is a scent. It’s a few hours old, but it’s Cage’s scent and it has a slight hint of stain. I know Kol doesn’t have a natural scent, but he is around stain so much that he ends up smelling like it. There aren’t any other scents, but they aren’t alone. Something weird is going on.”
She started sniffing around and she went into the bushes and sure enough, the scents were a few hours old, but it was Cage.
He had been through here early, and she looked at the ground and saw a slight depression, like he was dragged.
She let out a small howl and Ryke and Croy were there, and she pointed with her nose what she had found.
Ryke went on alert, searching the woods and walking to a spot a little further down.
There was a drag mark, and Ryke looked around, “Croy, call for them. They need to come see if there are more.”
Croy nodded and shifted into his panther, screaming out over and over.
Within minutes, the rest of the men were there, all in their animal forms and Ryke said, “Croy scented Cage and Wren found traces of him too. It looks like he was dragged through here.”
Deacon changed back to his human form, “He was dragged? What the fuck?”
Ryke nodded, “I don’t know. We need to look for more depressions in the dirt. I don’t care if you are in your animal form or human, but look closely through the woods around here. There has to be more.”
Everyone nodded and several of the men changed to human form and she averted her gaze away from all of them.
So many naked men. So many dicks. She had no wish to see any of them though, and turned to trying to find her man.
The light was slowly fading from the sky and she knew that a lot of them could see perfectly fine in the dark and was glad she was one.
They hadn’t found another mark, but as they got further from the cabins and closer to the road, there were depressions from several sets of feet and she could scent Cage again.
She let out a howl and Ryke ran to her side, and took a look around.
“Fuck! There are more than one set of footprints here. And look,” he pointed to another depression that led to an incline to the road.
He raced up it, with her at his side and cursed again. The footprints ended and there were tire tracks there.
Cage’s scent still lingered on the ground and she hated that he had been put in a car or something and she didn’t know where he could be.
It was now fully dark outside and she changed, “He is gone. Whoever took him put him in a car! How are we supposed to find him now?”
Ryke pulled at his black hair, “I don’t know.”
She felt her knees give out, and locked them to keep standing. “Is that it then? We just stop looking?”
Ryke looked over at her, studying her face, “I’m going to fly above and see if I can find where they went. But it’s almost impossible. This road could go anywhere and they could have turned off somewhere or something. I don’t know, but I will try.”
She nodded and he took a few steps away from her and his dragon burst free and he took to the sky with a massive flap of his wings.
Easton and Griffin did the same and she stood, watching as they flew into the night.
She couldn’t break down. Not now. She had to stay strong and she would.
She changed back into her wolf and sat on the side of the road for who knew how long.
It could have been hours or minutes as she watched for a giant form in the sky.
The rest of the men were gathered around her in a protective circle and Knox’s tiger stood, his eyes studying the sky.
She stood too and saw a massive form flying above them, along with two smaller ones.
Ryke’s dragon dropped to the ground and he changed back in a heartbeat, “We found a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. It was burned to the ground. There were remains inside though. Of two humans.”
She swayed as a wolf and changed back, her mind too unfocused to stay a wolf.
“Were they ones we knew?”
Ryke slowly shook his head, “But Cage’s scent was on both of them. There was a battle. Something happened. The roof was torn off and there were footprints of several people running away from the building. And it seems like Cage got free. He wasn’t there and neither was Kol. It seems like he is heading back this way.”
She looked up at him, “Are you serious?”
Ryke nodded, “I believe so.”
Griffin changed back, “It smelled like he left right before we got there.”
She sank to the ground and shut her eyes. Then she looked up at the sky in thanks.
She turned to the men, “Let’s go home. I need to get back when he does.”
Everyone nodded and she changed back and raced back to the cabins.
She ran to where she had left her clothes and got dressed quickly.
Then she knocked on the door of Tegan’s shop and Ever opened it and relief crossed her sister’s features.
“Did you find him?”
Wren shook her h
ead, “We didn’t find him per say, but he is on his way back here.”
Ever let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. Come on, Tegan is doing so much better. We are going to move him to his cabin.”
Wren nodded and turned when she heard a sound behind her, and saw Cage step through the trees, in his animal form.
She let out a cry of relief and ran at him, jumping in his arms and having him catch her and wrap himself around her.
She cried against his throat while everyone in the crew came out, their voices excited and yelling in happiness.
She felt them slap his back and when she lifted her head, he looked down at her, the love in his eyes clear.
*Are you okay?* He asked and she looked up at him in shock, “Am I okay? You were the one who got taken. Are you okay?*
He nodded, *It was an eye opening experience. Come on, I want to get you out of this cold.*
She loved him so much. Always thinking of her.
He carried her over to their cabin, with everyone trailing behind and he put her on her feet when they got inside.
He changed back to human form and grabbed a pair of sweatpants and put them on and everyone settled in chairs, much like they had the night before.
Girls were pulled into the laps of their mates and Tegan sat in a big chair with a blanket over him and Ryke next to him, with Ever in Ryke’s arms.
Wren looked around at all the beloved faces of Cage’s crew and she knew deep inside that he was a lucky man.
She looked over at Kol and went to his side and hugged him.
Kol looked down at her in shock and she kissed his cheek, “Thank you for keeping my mate safe. I know you had something to do with it.”
Kol gave her an awkward pat on her back, “You are welcome.”
Then Cage pulled her into his arms and they sat down as everyone got settled.
Chapter Nineteen
Cage
Looking around his cabin, he knew how lucky he was. All of his friends. No, they weren’t just his friends. They were his family. And they were all sitting there in his cabin.
Everyone waited for them to tell the story and he looked at Kol, who was still covered in blood and soot. He looked down, “Sorry, I didn’t have the time to clean up. I can if you wish.”
Cage Page 15