by Jane Perky
“Caramel latte. Wait, no. Cappuccino,” he said. “Sorry. I can’t make up my mind sometimes. I drive Dante nuts on some nights. One time I wanted cookie dough ice cream only to puke it out later on and crave rocky road.”
Mark grimaced. “Man, I’m not looking forward to the puking either. I’ll get both drinks, see what you want, and I’ll take the one you don’t.”
“Thanks.”
Almost close to a month, and Six had gained wonderful, supportive friends to raise hell with and a caring mate who fussed over him. Three weeks ago, all Six had been able to think of was running as far he could to get away from Spike. Seeking out Dante had been a gamble that eventually paid off. These days, Six no longer questioned happiness. He simply cherished each day, made sure he lived them to the fullest.
Six waited for what seemed like an eternity for his turn. The coffee shop only had one cubicle for males and females. The restroom was in a narrow corridor that led to the employee room and curiously, the back door was open. Six didn’t pay it much attention.
He went in, peed, and exited, only to feel his phone vibrating. Six glanced at the queue and sighed. There was no one waiting now. Why did things like this always happened to him? Seeing Dante’s name, he smiled.
He’d once accused his mate of being paranoid. Dante needn’t check on him all the time, thank you very much. Besides, most folks in town knew who his mate was and wouldn’t dream of messing with him. The same went for Mark and the others. He quickly sent his mate a reply.
Six: Don’t worry. Peed at Starbucks. Be there soon.
He added a smiley face and several heart emoticons.
“Six, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a fucking long time,” a low, deep, and strangely familiar voice said.
Six whirled, heart racing, dropping his phone by accident. His wolf panicked inside of him only to feel a wet cloth stuffed into his mouth. Eyes wide, he twisted his head to see familiar leering eyes and a bald head. Spike.
Fear hammered inside of him as Spike stuffed the cloth farther down his mouth and wrapped one muscled arm around his waist. His eyes watered, and his nose finally identified that strange smell. The piece of fabric wasn’t doused with water but chloroform.
He gagged, but it was starting to take effect. Unlike normal werewolves who needed a higher concentration of chloroform to knock them out, Omegas didn’t have that same immunity. His vision swayed. He tried to kick at Spike and spit out the fabric to scream. Mark would come running instantly, or at least be curious enough to check why Six wasn’t back even there was no queue.
A chill went down his spine. What did Spike do to Mark?
“That’s better. I like this fight in you, Six. We’re going to have so much fun, just me and you,” Spike whispered against his ear, breath repulsive.
His wolf struggled inside of him. Six had to fight for his baby, except the chloroform was doing its work. His vision blurred, and his body refused to obey him. He sagged against Spike, hating how helpless he was.
“You’re my property again starting now, bitch. Never forget that.” Those were the last words Six remembered hearing, before his entire world shut down and he fell unconscious.
Chapter Twelve
“That was Magnus,” Lee said, interrupting the conversation. Dante paused from drinking his beer, sensing something was wrong from Lee’s serious expression. “One of his younger vamps, Elisa, works at the Starbucks on Maple Road. Says she found Mark unconscious, shoved in the janitor’s closet.”
A growl rumbled of Crash’s throat. Dante’s stomach plummeted. He had faced down plenty of scary-ass old paranormal immortals in his time, granted mercy to feral shifters who lost control of their animals. Never before had he been this afraid.
“Mark’s with Six,” he said, not recognizing his harsh voice.
“Six is missing. Elisa said she smelled chloroform and the security camera confirmed someone took him, a bald muscled guy,” Lee said.
Something sharp prickled at his hand. He stared down at the plastic fragments sticking out of his bloody skin, at what used to be his phone. Six had sent him a reply only five minutes ago. What the fuck had gone wrong?
“Jesus, Dante.” Atlas began to reach out for his hand, but Dante snarled, close to losing control. His human hand lengthened to claws.
“Dante, Crash, calm the fuck down. We can’t go at this blind. I’ll ask around, see if—” Lee was talking. but Dante didn’t care to listen.
Gritting his teeth, he got out from his seat and started walking for the exit. Rage thickened in his vision. His wolf wanted out, to go on a hunt and retrieve their mate.
“Dante, I’m coming with you,” Crash said, easily meeting his stride.
Dante glowered. “Are you going to tell me to stop, too?”
Crash smiled, showing a mouth lined with sharp teeth. Dante peeled his lips back, but realized this wasn’t some kind of dominance battle. Crash was on his side.
“I don’t like people who think they can get away hurting my mate,” Crash said, eyes completely yellow, like his. “I don’t like it either, when they think they can take my best friend’s pregnant mate.”
“We’re in agreement then.” Dante had a feeling he knew who was behind this.
“Yeah.”
Nothing else needed to be said. Fury rippled through him, and Dante let his wolf come out. Not bothering to strip his clothes, he changed forms. Fur covered his shoulders and body. Bones cracked, reformed. Organs rearranged themselves. and once he was on fours, he broke into a run. Crash followed at his heels. Passerby who were in their way wisely stepped aside for two massive wolves the size of horses.
His human mind knew Lee made an excellent point, but Lee’s mate wasn’t in danger. His Six wasn’t a powerful vampire king either. Fuck. The things he was going to do to Spike, if Six or their baby was harmed. A howl poured out of him, full of rage, and Crash answered his wolf call with a growl of his own. It was good to have Crash beside him.
Dante and Crash found the Starbucks instantly. He let Crash comfort his mate, while he found the faint scent of Six in the back corridor leading to the alleyway. Dante flared his nostrils. Another unfamiliar scent of another shifter joined his Six. This could only be Spike. No other scents. Was Spike working alone?
“Hey, asshole, wait up,” another voice yelled behind him. It was Atlas in human form, slightly out of breath. A car engine sounded nearby, and he had a feeling that was Lee and Colton.
“A witness mentioned seeing a bald, muscled guy dragging Six into the trunk of his car. The witness noted down the car model and the few letters of the guy’s plates,” Atlas said quickly. “Lee called Magnus for help, and his vampires are helping us track Six. I’ve called up my friend in the police office to track who that plate belongs to. It’s only a matter of time before we find your mate, Dante.”
His wolf grumbled in approval. Dante made a mistake of thinking he could do this on his own. He might have eventually tracked down his mate, but what if refusing the aid of his friends meant life and death for his mate?
* * * *
Six came to consciousness, groggy and unsure of where he was. He only knew it was dark, the room smelled of mold and dust. Some kind of restraints cut into his ankles and wrists. He was tied down to some kind of chair.
“I was wondering when you’d wake,” said a familiar oily voice which sent a bolt of fear down his spine.
Six peeled his eyes open, knowing he couldn’t keep pretending to be asleep forever. Spike stood by the curtained window. Beyond the window, woods stared back at him. Six told himself not to panic, that doing so wouldn’t get him anywhere. He breathed in and out, studying his surroundings.
Spike had taken him to some kind of inn, but where? Out of town? In between? Six didn’t sense any other werewolves nearby. Spike must have been on his own, given the pack wanted to do nothing with Six.
That Spike acted on his own should have given him some measure of relief, except Spike was crafty. He’d hea
rd nasty rumors of Spike picking up strangers back in their home town, mostly shifters with no packs or groups of their own. Those men and women were never heard from again.
This time, though, Spike made one massive mistake. There were people who cared about Six now. He refused to be like those nameless victims.
“I wonder,” Spike mused out loud, “what’s going on in that little head of yours.”
“My mate and friends will find me,” he said with unwavering confidence.
“Really? I’m good at covering my tracks, Six. In case you didn’t know, I’ve been doing this for years and no one has ever come close to uncovering my fun and games.”
“You’re talking about Randall and members of a pack too scared to go against him, so they keep their mouths shut.”
Six hoped that by keeping Spike talking, he could stall for enough time for Dante to arrive. Still, a nagging voice in his head wondered if perhaps Spike might not be just bragging, but there might be a truth to his words, too.
Spike snarled, suddenly in front of him. The angry crazy werewolf whipped something from his jacket, and Six flinched at the flash of something sharp and wicked—a pocket knife. Without warning, Spike clamped one meaty hand around his throat and pointed the edge of the knife to his left cheekbone. Blood welled.
Six swallowed, heart racing, lungs struggling to push air as Spike tightened his grip on Six’s windpipe.
Spike dug the blade a little further, splitting more skin. Six cried out, blood dripping down his cheek, but Spike pulled back, momentarily satisfied by his scream. The wound didn’t close up immediately, telling him the blade was made of silver, deadly to shifters.
Spike dragged the knife lower, yanking out each button of his shirt with deliberate slowness, until Six’s chest was exposed. He let out a ragged, protesting groan, but he refused to beg for mercy, not to a monster like Spike. But when Spike dragged the tip down his chest and stopped by his stomach, Six froze.
Fear washed over him in waves, until he was barely aware of the room or the ropes cutting into his skin.
“No!” He jerked back, but the chair he was tied to held firm.
“Finally. I’m going to make you scream so much you can’t talk anymore and no one’s going to bother us. The motel’s practically empty, and I paid the guy at the counter to not pay any attention to any noises from this room.” Spike’s lips curled into a sinister smile. “I’m going to gut you open like a fish, and once that horrendous thing inside of you is gone, it’s my turn to finally rut you.”
Glass broke, shattering the tension of the moment. Snarling, Spike jerked his head but fell backward, a crimson stain blooming over his left shoulder. The door burst open, and a jet-black wolf the size of a horse burst in, yellow eyes full of fury.
“Dante,” Six whispered.
Spike clambered to his feet and began to shift, almost completing the process halfway, when Dante crashed into him. The two werewolves fought, except it wasn’t much of a fight. Dante, fueled by range, was stronger and faster and, in moments, held Spike’s neck between his wickedly sharp teeth.
Pleasure filled Six at the crunch of bone and the sight of Spike struggling until he fell limp. A corpse was no longer a threat. Six wasn’t usually bloodthirsty, but this monster had threatened his baby. He would never forget Spike’s mad eyes and knew that if Spike had somehow gotten away, he would never have stopped hunting Six and his baby down.
Dante dropped the corpse and went to him. Colton entered the room next, holding a shotgun, so Six assumed he must have fired the shot.
“Dante, Atlas and Crash confirmed there are no other threats,” Colton said, then nodded to Six. Jerry’s mate didn’t speak much, but he was a good ally to have. “I’m glad you’re safe, Six. I’ll tell Jerry and the others you’re safe.”
“Let me guess. They insisted on coming?” he asked, finding his voice. Part of his mind was still reeling from what had just happened.
The quiet Alpha grimaced. “I’ll update the others.”
Still in wolf form, Dante bit off the ropes, but even so, Six knew his mate was careful not to hurt him. Once his hands were freed, he buried his fingers into Dante’s fur and pulled his mate for a tight hug. Fur receded, and instead of a huge wolf, a man, his wonderful mate, took the wolf’s place.
Dante untangled himself and studied him carefully, frowning. The Alpha touched the tiny cut on his cheek and the prick of blood on his belly with a snarl.
“I’m okay. Just a couple of bruises,” Six said, reassuring his mate.
Dante tugged him up and embraced him. He hugged back fiercely, not wanting to let go anytime soon. Dante smoothed back strands of hair that fell across his face.
“I knew you’d come,” Six whispered, looking up into Dante’s still golden eyes.
“I would kiss you, but my mouth still tastes of that fucker’s blood.”
“How about this?” Six kissed Dante on one unshaven cheek.
“Or this?” Dante teased him by rubbing his shaft against the denim of his jeans.
He groaned. “You’re terrible.”
Dante looked deathly serious again. “We had Magnus’ entire coven and the other Alphas looking, but it was dumb luck Atlas’ human police friend discovered Spike used his credit card at the gas station near this motel. Even if he hadn’t, we would have eventually tracked you down, but it might be too late.”
“I’m just glad you’re here now. I don’t think Spike would have killed me instantly. He wanted to—” He couldn’t bring himself to say it. Six started shaking, but Dante stroked his spine, calming him.
“Is it really over?” he whispered. “Randall won’t be happy to find out Spike is dead, and I’m not sure we can keep the information a secret for long either.”
Dante shook his head. “I have no intention of hiding this from Randall. Tomorrow night, I’m driving over to the Ridgeback Pack compound, but I’m not going alone. Some of the other Alphas are coming with me along with a representative of the Nightshade Coven.”
Six thought on Dante’s words carefully. “You’re threatening Randall?”
“I’m warning him,” Dante corrected. “Reminding him that if retaliation is worth it, it means facing down five Alphas and an entire vampire coven.”
A chill went down his spine. “Magnus and the others would do that for me?”
Dante looked at him strangely. “Of course. We’re family, aren’t we? We stick together.”
Those words warmed him to the core.
“Can I request one thing?”
“What’s that, baby?”
“I want to come.”
Chapter Thirteen
“I don’t want you to come,” Dante said bluntly, but the words came from his heart.
Crash, Lee, Six, and he were in the main receiving room of the Nightshade Coven, chatting, waiting for the sun to set and the vampires to wake. At this period, mostly trusted human and hired shifter security wandered the coven house. Magnus, it seemed, didn’t take the safety of his people lightly.
Six let out an exasperated breath. Conversation between Crash and Lee stopped. Dante’s wolf still felt on edge inside of him, still not liking that Six and their pup could have died yesterday. Everyone told him no one could have anticipated Spike would make his move, that it was easy to assume Spike had given up, but Dante took yesterday’s events as a hard lesson.
It was never going to happen again. Period. Randall had been surprised by his call that morning, even more by his insistence on a meeting, and he wasn’t just going as a lone Alpha werewolf with no pack but as a representative of the Emerald Valley Coalition.
Once, he and his friends had returned to town to solve a simple murder, but it was useless denying they were just normal town folk who wanted to be left alone. Five Alphas taking up residence in town wasn’t normal; neither was a vampire coven and a werewolf pack residing in the same territory.
Magnus said he was working on a mutual alliance with the Lunar Fire Pack, and this time,
Dante and the others had been invited by Blake, the Alpha of the Lunar Fire Pack, to help decide who was the next Alpha.
So many events were in motion, but Dante knew political matters in town couldn’t remain stagnant forever.
Six must have gathered his thoughts, because he gripped Dante’s hands and gave them a squeeze. Shit. Why did Dante have a feeling Six was going to win this one? Fire blazed in Six’s eyes.
“Me being there, beside you and the others, can be a powerful message. It can give the other Omegas in the Ridgeback Pack hope there’s life beyond the borders of the compound. If I could do it, so could they.”
Dante didn’t tell his mate that not everyone had Six’s strength, but he considered Six’s words. This meant a lot to Six. Since Six was his mate; he could give this one gift to his mate. Dante had to put his old fears and insecurities aside. True, yesterday’s kidnapping made him more wary, possessive, but Six made an excellent point.
“Fine,” he said slowly.
Six squealed and practically leapt at him, linking his arms around his neck. Dante tipped Six’s head and took his mate’s tempting lips. Yummy. Last night, Six had been exhausted from the ordeal, so they had gone straight to bed. Maybe after their negotiations with Randall, they could do something fun.
Well, Dante didn’t really see it as a negotiation, because they were there to make a point. It was fortunate that Magnus was practical, when it came to making business deals. The vampire king wanted other neighboring paranormal groups to know the Emerald Valley Coalition wasn’t a group to be trifled with.
“Everyone’s here early,” Magnus commented, appearing by the doorway, trailed by his second, Aloysius.
Aloysius was the vampire’s main representative. They all agreed someone had to hold the fort just in case something happened during their absence. That was why Colton and Atlas had chosen to remain behind. Their party numbered eight in total, four shifters and four vampires.