by Kym Grosso
Kalli’s stomach lurched as she thought about Tristan, Logan and the others going after the Wallace pack. Merciless, they’d go for the kill every time. While she was confident that Tristan could best Gerald one to one, they played dirty, often employing human weapons that could injure wolves, weakening their prey. Maybe Tristan thought her going wasn’t an option, but losing him wasn’t an option either. Quietly, she resolved to try and talk him into taking her after she checked the horses.
“Stop worrying,” Tristan ordered as he pulled the car in front of the barn. “Seriously, you’ve got to let it go and trust that I will handle this. I’ve got news for you; it’s not my first time to the rodeo. I won’t be able to do my job if you’re there with me. It’s literally impossible to concentrate when I’m within five feet of you.” He gave her a small smile. “Now go take care of my baby…my big four-legged baby, that is.”
“Baby, huh?”
“Jellybean’s the one who’s sick. She’s a sweet girl, picked her out myself. And yes, she’s my baby. So go give her a look, would you? Janie can give you a ride back if you want.”
“Nah, I think a walk back to the house would do me good. I’ll take the path you showed me yesterday. Should only take me about ten minutes, right?”
“Yep, the cabin’s open. I should be done in a few hours, okay?”
Kalli leaned over, giving him a brief kiss on the lips. As she contemplated kissing him more deeply, she ran her tongue across the seam of his lips. He reluctantly resisted, softly laughing.
“If you keep this up, I swear I’ll have you up in that hay loft within five seconds. I don’t think Janie would appreciate us going like rabbits in her stables.”
She smiled against his lips. “Later. You owe me,” she teased seductively.
With a peck to his cheek, she opened the car door, shut it and walked into the barn. Janie, a pixie-sized woman with red cropped hair, waved her over. Looking around, Kalli considered maybe taking a ride, but regretfully, she hadn’t thought about it when dressing in a pair of shorts. She admired the neatly kept facilities. The stable already housed around twelve horses, and it appeared as if it could easily hold twelve more.
“Janie?” Kalli asked, extending her hand.
“Kalli?” They shook hands and she quickly ushered Kalli toward Jellybean’s stall. She was a beautiful palomino American Quarter Horse, standing fourteen hands high with a small refined head and strong muscular body.
Slowly approaching her, Kalli flattened her palm, letting the horse sniff her before gently stroking her neck. “That’s a girl. Now what seems to be wrong? You a sick baby?” she crooned.
Janie shot her a broad smile. “You really are Tristan’s mate, aren’t you?”
Kalli nodded, smiling in kind. “Yes, I am. Or, I should say that I will be. Why?”
“They’re his babies too, you know. I’m glad to have you in the pack. He needs a good woman,” she offered. “And I couldn’t be happier now that we’ve got ourselves a pack veterinarian.”
“I’d love to help with them when we’re here, but I’m more of a generalist. Not a lot of expertise with these big babies, I’m afraid. But I’d be happy to check her vitals. What did Dr. Evans say?”
“He said she was doing better. She had been diagnosed with influenza. She seems all right, but I get worried, ya know. She’s been on stall rest, isolated. I figured since you were here, you could give her a looksee.”
“I’d love to. Got a stethoscope handy?” Kalli happily opened the stall and began her exam.
After checking all of Jellybean’s vitals, she was happy to report that the big girl was making a speedy recovery. Janie and Kalli talked horses for over an hour before she decided to get home. Promising to return later in the day for a ride, she took off toward the path.
Enjoying the warm afternoon, Kalli took her time on the trails, thrilled that she actually remembered her way through the forest after their run. Approaching the spring, she sat on a rock, trying to decide the best way to convince Tristan to take her with him to South Carolina. She was sure she could help him, even if she agreed to stay in the car. Perhaps if she remotely assisted via a wire, she could feed them information about location.
Deep in thought, she heard a branch snap. Her lupine senses, having returned to normal, didn’t detect any kind of animal or wolf. She sniffed into the air again, wondering if perhaps she was mistaken. The altogether familiar scent of a human wafted into her nostrils. She knew that sometimes humans came onto the compound to bring in supplies to the clubhouse or help with the horses, but was also certain that none should be in the forest.
Like a deer on alert, she stilled, scanning the trees. Seeing nothing, she decided to shift. At the very least, she’d get home more quickly. At worst, she’d outrun any human predator. Crouching down into a defensive stance, she readied to shift, calling her wolf to the surface. But as she went to lift her shirt in an effort to strip, a dark covering fell over her. Struggling to remove it, she hissed in pain. Laced in silver, she’d been effectively blinded and trapped. Strong arms wrapped around her as she fought to escape. The silver restrained her from shifting, weakening her entire body. Screaming for help and writhing, she jerked as a sharp needle pierced her thigh. Tranquilizer. Mouthing Tristan’s name in silence, she hit the forest floor, enveloped in darkness
They’d spent hours reviewing intel, including maps and names, in preparation for their attack. Logan, in charge of weapons, had worked with Declan to load the plane and procure the necessary bulletproof equipment. While Tristan normally didn’t do weapons, he was aware that Gerald liked guns. And he planned on taking him out by any means possible.
‘Do you know where Kalli is?’ buzzed across his cell phone screen as he finished up with the wolves. The text from Janie didn’t automatically send him into a panic, until he realized it was nearly five o’clock in the afternoon and he’d been gone for four hours.
Tapping Janie’s mobile number, he waited. “Where is she?” he barked when Janie picked up the line.
“I don’t know, Tris. We were supposed to go for a ride hours ago. I tried calling the house, but no answer. I was hoping she was with you.”
“Lock up the barn, Janie. Lock all the doors until Simeon comes for you.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Just do it. Don’t let anyone in. Grab the shotgun in the office and wait for Simeon now.”
Ending the call, he yelled over to the group. “Logan! Kalli’s missing. Simeon, over to the barn, now! Take Declan. Go wolf when you get there, start running the property. Something’s wrong. I feel it. Logan, car! Let’s get over to the cabin now. Call Mira; tell her we’re on lockdown. All wolves need to be inside and ready to shift.”
Running out of the building, Tristan and Logan jumped into his car and sped up to the cabin. By the time they got there, Tristan was furious. They tore through the cabin, but he could tell by the scents that she hadn’t been home since the morning. She was gone.
Tristan began pacing like a caged tiger, working through where she could be, who’d taken her. “Goddammit, Logan. How’d they breach our property? There’s no way in hell any foreign pack could make one step on our land without someone scenting them. The only way anyone could have gotten in is as human. What deliveries did we have today?”
“There was a scheduled food delivery early this morning, but if anything had been wrong, the food service manager would have called us. But you’re right; a human has to have done this. The wolves would know if another wolf breached our property. And if someone did go after her, why wouldn’t Kalli shift? She should be able to shift on demand by now…after last night,” Logan reasoned.
“A human. A fucking human. Or…” He stilled as the horrifying possibility ran through his mind. “A wolf pretending to be a human. The CLI. No one would have scented them. They could have taken her over the fence just about anywhere. We’ve gotta run the perimeter. Fuck!” He pounded his fist into the wall in frustration.
&
nbsp; “And if they silvered her, maybe drugged her, they could stop her shift,” Logan added.
Tristan felt as if someone had reached into his chest and pulled out his heart by its bloody roots. They’d come into Lyceum Wolves and taken her. His blood pumped in rage. Stripping off his clothes, he instantly transformed, sprinting off across the yard and into the field. Logan followed in pursuit. By the time they reached the furthest boundary, they’d almost given up hope, but soon Tristan screeched to a dead stop and shifted back to human. Running over to the fence, he peeled off a small scrap of red flannel. Holding it to his nose, he breathed deeply, memorizing every last molecule of its odor.
“Wolf. Not ours,” he barked out, raking his fingers through his hair. Handing it off to Logan, he peered over the fence that led into a thin patch of woods next to a small road. No car. No trash. No clues. It didn’t matter, because he knew where they’d taken her. And he knew for certain who exactly took her. When he found Gerald, he swore he’d rip his throat out vein by vein. If he weren’t a dead man before, he’d just signed his own death warrant.
“Back to the clubhouse. I want every wolf there. I want to make sure no one else is missing and if anyone saw anything,” Tristan ordered.
Silently, Logan nodded. His Alpha was about to go on a tear, and he prayed they’d find Kalli. Cursing his damn visions, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen this coming.
Pack members filled the large all-purpose room in the clubhouse. A hum of nervous conversation echoed off the cedar walls. After a quick change of clothes in the locker room, an agitated Tristan entered the open area, parting the sea of people. Instantly it became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone sat, cautiously watching their Alpha.
Looking to Logan, who’d dressed quickly as well, Tristan assessed the situation. “All wolves accounted for?”
“Yeah, everyone’s here except for Simeon. I sent him to the airstrip to make sure the jet was ready tonight, and to change flight plans. We’re set to go.”
“Listen up everyone,” Tristan began in a deadly serious tone. “We’ve suffered a security breach this afternoon. We believe that at least two persons, possibly wolves taking CLI, came onto Lyceum Wolves’ property via the north gate. Somewhere between the barn and my cabin, they abducted Kalli.”
The crowd released a small roar of murmurs at the news.
“Settle down,” he ordered. “Now I know that most of you noticed her on last night’s run…at the spring. I was planning on a formal introduction to the pack later this week, but now it seems there’s no other way for me to do this. So for those who haven’t been listening to gossip, she’s mine; I’ve claimed her.”
A few gasps could be heard. Tristan nodded in response. While most wolves knew he’d claimed Kalli, it seemed as if a few hadn’t heard the news. Most of the pack was still happily surprised that he’d found someone after leading Lyceum Wolves for over fifty years as a single wolf.
“And she’s my mate,” he added, as the room fell silent once again. They all registered the seriousness of the situation. An Alpha’s mate kidnapped. Tristan and the pack would suffer enormously if anything happened to her. He would simply not recover from such a loss. While he would assuredly go on without her, he’d probably have to step down as Alpha due to the excruciating grief. There’d be infighting and challenges for his position, despite Logan’s status.
“Like I said, I planned to formally introduce her to you after we took down the Wallace pack. We were going to complete our mating afterward. But now…” His words temporarily trailed off as the thought of Kalli dead raced through his mind. It killed him, but he refused to show weakness in front of his pack. As always, they needed him to be a rock, and he never disappointed them. “Tonight we go in to take out Wallace. But before that happens, I want to know who was on the property today. Ellie said the clubhouse was locked up tight. No humans were there after the morning food delivery. Janie told me Doc Evans was out of town; that’s why she called on Kalli to check the horses. Somebody here must have seen something, scented something. If you’ve got anything to say, now’s the time. I want the truth,” he demanded.
A barely audible cough came from the back of the room as Julie stood. “Alpha.” She lowered her eyes. “Coming back from town in my car, I passed the stables. I noticed the mares were in the south field. The boys were in the northern field. I saw two men near them, but I just assumed they were Doc Evan’s workers. The interns, you know. They come with him sometimes. I didn’t stop. I should have stopped. I…I’m so sorry.” A tear escaped at the realization she could have seen the intruders.
“Were they going toward the barn or the field?”
“Toward the fields, into the woods.”
“Julie, this is really important.” Tristan fixed her with his stare. “What else do you remember? What were they doing?”
“Just walking. They had on backpacks, but again, sometimes Doc has a pack too. I had the windows down, and smelled the humans. Nothing appeared strange…so I kept driving,” she muttered.
“Did you see or scent anyone else besides Janie, Kalli or the horses? Humans? Wolves? Animals?”
Recognition flashed across her face. Her eyes darted across the room and then to the floor.
Tristan rushed to her, taking her by the arms. “Look at me, Julie,” he insisted forcefully. “Who else was at the barn?”
Julie raised her gaze to his, then her eyes settled on Mira, who’d been sitting up toward the front of the room. Inspecting her perfectly manicured nails, she pretended to ignore Julie.
“Are you sure?” Tristan spat out; his voice rose.
“Yes, as wolf. I didn’t see her, but I scented her at the barn. I’m certain,” Julie confessed, shaking her head.
The atmosphere in the room crackled with a surge of fear as if they were waiting for a volcano to erupt.
Tristan closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he contemplated the scenarios of Mira’s involvement. It couldn’t be possible. She’d been mad about Kalli from the very beginning, jealous even. The public submission at the springs had only served to stoke her anger. But they’d been friends for so long. She knew he’d claimed her. It would crush him, but by Goddess, he needed to know if she was involved in the abduction.
“Mira!” Tristan yelled as the others cowered slightly. Every wolf could sense the powerful waves of anger emanating off of their Alpha.
Mira’s head snapped to attention upon hearing her name. With a confident stance, she stood up and faced him, placing a hand to her hip. Inwardly she shook in fright, but she couldn’t let them know. She’d done the right thing in sending her away. Kalli was a half breed whore who’d pollute the pack. She didn’t belong in Lyceum Wolves. He’d thank her eventually.
“Yes,” Mira responded flatly.
“Mira, you’ve been my friend for a very long time, but I’m only going to ask you this question once. I expect truth. Do you understand?” Tristan growled.
Lowering her gaze slightly but still maintaining eye contact, she nodded. “Yes, Tristan. As always.”
Logan started to approach the pair, but Tristan held up a hand, halting him. He shot him a warning look and then narrowed his eyes on Mira once again.
“Were you involved in Kalli’s abduction?” Tristan asked in a low menacing voice.
“I…I was just out running. I didn’t do anything,” she protested.
Sensing deception, Tristan did something he normally didn’t do. Opening himself, he let his mind touch Mira’s. He wanted her to feel a mere sliver of the sheer wrath that pulsed throughout his being.
As it hit her, Mira gasped in pain. “Tristan, don’t,” she pleaded.
Logan ran forward. As beta, Tristan’s emotions ran through him as if he were experiencing them himself. Tristan held up his palm again, stopping him from moving, all the while never taking his eyes off Mira.
“Stand down, Logan. Do not challenge me,” he ordered. “Mira, what did you do?”
Looking t
o the floor, she shook her head back and forth in denial, yet she felt compelled to tell him. He’d know. There was no way to lie to him. Surely he’d understand that she’d done this for the pack. Steeling her nerves, she looked directly into his eyes. “No, I did not take her personally. But yes, I called them to take her. She’s not pack.”
As the words hit him, the slicing agony of betrayal cut at his heart.
On your knees!” he commanded, enraged by what she’d done to him. When she refused to listen, his power discharged, spilling over, forcing her to the floor. Standing back, he held his fisted hands at his sides. “Why Mira? We’ve been friends for over a century. How could you do this to me? To the pack?”
Mira stumbled to the ground, submitting. Tristan’s surge of anger held her at the carpet.
“I did this for the pack! She doesn’t belong here,” she cried in defiance. “I am Lyceum Wolves. Daughter of Alpha. I know how things should be. You wouldn’t listen. Something had to be done. She has her own pack! And now she’s there! You’ll never get her back!”
“Correction, Mira. You were the daughter of Alpha. You were Lyceum Wolves. I can’t believe you’d let others come onto our territory…take my mate. But you betrayed me. The pack. You put everyone at risk. I can’t understand this.” Tristan shook his head, still unable to believe that his best friend had done this to him. Petty jealously was one thing; questioning his leadership was a direct challenge. None of it could go unpunished.
“Mira, if you were a male, I’d kill you on the spot for treason. But in deference to our friendship, I hereby strip you of your lineage.”
Mira screamed as she realized what he was about to do to her. “No Tristan! You can’t!”
“Silence!” he bellowed, delivering another wave of his power, muting her defiance. “Not only have you engaged in treason by inviting dangerous enemies onto our land, you’ve challenged your Alpha. In a physical challenge, it’d be unlikely you’d survive. Therefore, I must consider a suitable alternative. You will start a new life in another pack. I will notify other possible Alphas this evening. In the meantime, you will be confined to your cabin and are not allowed to leave this compound. Tomorrow, I’ll inform you of your new location.”