The Chase: Book 2 in The Hunt Series

by Alainna MacPherson

  “What the hell?” I spat. Confused beyond belief, I watched as Liam slowly stepped closer to the two. Stepping in a little further, ready for anything that might go down. As I got closer, I saw that Gearden’s fangs had shifted and were now elongated and opened wide over Ro’s throat. To his credit, Ro kept his gaze down and he remained still.

  “Gearden, let him go,” Liam directed, his voice calm and precise, but Gearden didn’t heed. Instead he jerked his mouth closer to Ro, the sharp points of his teeth hovering over the vulnerable skin on his brother’s neck.

  I spotted a scared Maeleigh, standing stock still in the center of the room. Waving a hand out of Gearden’s peripheral, I got her attention.

  When she looked at me, I signed, “WHAT HAPPENED?”

  She held her hands out and shrugged in a universal sign for “no clue.”

  “Gearden,” Liam’s voice called to the wolf in me, just as, I’m sure, it did for Gearden. It demanded obedience. My wolf forced me to look away and the pull to show my belly was a little overwhelming, but I resisted. Gearden on the other hand…

  He finally looked away from his prey, meeting his father’s eyes. Something only another alpha would be able to do.

  “Let him go,” Liam repeated, softer now that he had his son’s attention.

  Then, as if he’d been splashed with cold water, Gearden looked at Ro with new eyes. Horrified, he leapt back, leaving Ro to slump a little against the wall. Smartly though, he kept his gaze fixed to the floor.

  Keeping my gaze on Gearden, at the ready, I watched as Maeleigh moved to stand in front of Gearden.

  “Don’t!” Liam held a cautionary hand out for Maeleigh to stop. Luckily, she caught it and stepped back again.

  “Ro, what happened?” Liam asked.

  “I came in to tell them it was close to seven,” Ro said, then quickly glanced over at Gearden before switching over to Liam again. “And he just attacked me.”

  Liam looked at the couple to study them for a moment before turning back to Ro. “What were they doing?”

  Ro had the decency to look sheepish when he told their father that they were, “Kissing.”

  Maeleigh caught the word and blushed, but Gearden’s expression seemed to harden in challenge. At Liam.

  To say I was surprised at the blatant invitation towards the alpha, was putting it lightly. But Liam didn’t take the bait. He kept his gaze locked on his son’s when he said, “Go on and wait for Maeleigh’s father, Ro.”

  Ro snuck one last wary look in Gearden’s direction before hurrying out.

  “Bri.”

  I looked at Liam.

  “Keep your distance,” he warned me.

  I nodded and reached a hand towards Maeleigh, thinking to take her out of here until Gear calmed down.

  “No,” he snapped, and I looked at him. “From Maeleigh,” he clarified.

  Stunned, I looked back at Maeleigh as I took a step back. She was just as confused as I was, if not more so, having probably not seen what Liam said.

  “What’s going on, Liam?” I asked.

  “He’s in a mating frenzy,” he supplied.

  At his words, Gearden looked down at Maeleigh and studied her.

  “Maybe a run, wasn’t what you needed, Gearden,” said his dad.

  Chapter Six

  Maeleigh

  “What the hell is going on?” I demanded, hoping our super powered mating mind connection would get the crazy shock behind my words.

  He didn’t answer, but I know from the way his chin ticked down in my direction, that he heard me.

  Moving around him, I looked up. Right away, I saw his eyes round again with a flicker of tensed anger to his father. I realized then; it was me. Whatever it was, all of this, was in large part because of me. Setting aside my questions, I reached up and grasped his face in both of my hands, trying to force his gaze to mine. It took him a moment, but he did eventually tear it away from Liam and met me.

  “Listen to me,” I told him.

  Again, he didn’t say anything, but I saw him draw air deeply through his flared nostrils. His chest rose and finally fell, the slow puff blowing through my hair.

  “Do you hear me?” I demanded.

  He nodded. There, I had him finally.

  “Whatever is going on, I’m fine. They won’t hurt me.”

  “Take you from me,” he said. But it wasn’t him speaking, not really. It was gravelly, animalistic. That’s when I realized I was speaking first to his wolf. It all started to make sense.

  “No,” I told it firmly. “No one’s taking me from you.”

  “You’re mine.” The growl behind the words caused me to flinch, surprised by its aggression. I could see from the corner of my eye that when I did, it had Bri jumping too. I silently willed her to remain where she was.

  “Yes, I’m yours.” I affirmed. I saw it, Gearden, relax a little. Taking to opportunity, I softly asked, “Can I speak with Gearden now? You’re scaring everyone. You’re scaring me. I need Gearden now.”

  It didn’t say anything, but I could see the cloudiness fade from Gearden’s eyes and his thoughts clear. I smiled at him, relieved.

  “Maeleigh?” He was confused, and in a moment, I was sure it would all come to him what just happened. On tip toe, I wrapped my arms around his neck and held tight. He buried his nose in my neck and we stood there as the tension in the room alleviated.

  “Oh my god,” he groaned in my mind.

  “It’s alright. You’re back,” I tried to reassure him before he beat himself up too bad. Before I could say anymore though, his eyes jerked up to look over my head. Turning, I saw Liam standing there, his posture and body language telling me that this wasn’t entirely over yet.

  “MAELEIGH,” I saw Bri step forward, signing my name.

  Gearden gave me a squeeze but he let me go when Bri held her hand out, beckoning me to go with her.

  Reluctantly, I did, all the while, watching Liam stare down at his son.

  Chapter Seven

  Brianna

  I pulled Maeleigh into her room and shut the door. In broken sign and speech, I asked her, “What was that?”

  She held a hand up for me to wait, then walked to the desk in the corner of the room and grabbed the tablet there. Turning it on she selected an app and quickly typed. As she did, an artificial female voice read out loud, “I’m not sure. But I think it had something to do with us being mates.”

  It was so weird to hear the computerized, Alexa sounding, voice say “mating,” but I kept it together. No doubt it was probably just my nerves being wound so tight that had a giggle tickling the back of my throat before I stomped it out.

  She set the tablet down on the bed and I tapped the speech button, “Liam said it was ‘mating frenzy.’ I’ve only heard about it. Never seen it before.” As I spoke, typed words appeared in the text box that Maeleigh read over my shoulder.

  “Did he say anything to you?” I asked.

  She frowned before answering, using the tablet, “Not him. His wolf.”

  “What?” I said out loud.

  She saw and nodded, continuing to type. “His wolf spoke to me. He was worried you would take me from him: Ro, his dad, you.”

  My eyes were wide as I let it all sink in. After a minute they went blurry and I finally blinked them into focus. Maeleigh was sitting on the edge of the bed now. I could smell Gearden in here, on the bed. Glancing at the window, I surmised that he was more than likely visiting regularly and not quite as under the radar as she hoped. Liam was just as good a tracker as I was, if not better, which meant he’d be able to scent his son in this room before he passed by in the hall every day.

  “What do you think his dad is saying to him?” The computerized voice cut in my thoughts and I looked to see Maeleigh hovering over the tablet again.

  I shrug and tell her, “I have no idea. This is a new one for me.”

  We didn’t have time to hash it out any further, Ro came and got us a few minutes later, Ben had ar
rived.

  Gearden and Liam met us at the top of the stairs. Gearden didn’t touch Maeleigh and I can see she was a little unsure herself from her awkwardness. I followed Liam down the stairs, Gearden and Maeleigh not far behind.

  As we entered the family room, I took my cue from Liam, when he sat, so did I, though farther away and nearer to Maeleigh, making it clear who’s corner I was in.

  Ben smiled at Maeleigh, who barely met his eye, then briefly glanced at Gearden. Sitting alone on the loveseat, he faced the rest of us as Gear moved Maeleigh to sit between us, a united front, while Liam sat in the long wingback chair. Liam didn’t let Ben settle in for long before asking, “Maeleigh has told me that she wishes for you to tell the rest of us what it is you wanted to say to her. So, if you wouldn’t mind speaking as you sign, please.” Ben bristled but only nodded and looked at Maeleigh.

  “I didn’t tell you everything the other day,” he told her. “You wouldn’t let me—“

  Just when Maeleigh looked like she’d argue, Liam spoke up instead. “Mr. Thompson, I don’t believe Maeleigh is in the mind right now to have THAT conversation.” To make sure, he glanced at her. Confused, she looked at Gearden for a moment, then back to his dad to nod. It didn’t take a genius to figure she was getting translations from him. The whole mating thing was certainly full of wonder.

  Ben looked perturbed but relented and moved on. “Maeleigh, your mother was a survivor of the last war with the Hunters.”

  Interest peaked; Liam’s back straightened as I leaned forward. Maeleigh signed, “What?”

  “The Hunter war was thirty something years back. Druids and Lycan have been fighting and running from Hunters for a very long time. Mostly running. It wasn’t uncommon for them to take prisoners and…” he hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “Study them. Experiment on, at times.”

  Maeleigh started to sign and just before I felt like no one would understand, Gearden picked up the role of translator. Because, of course he did. “And my mother survived that?”

  Ben nodded. “She did. The facility she was held in at the time was raided and she was rescued.”

  She thought on that for a moment, then asked, “What does that have to do with me being both a Druid and a wolf?”

  “You see the Hunters fear and kill us because they can’t control us,” he explained. “When they heard of the Omega Prophecy, they were determined to find it first, in effort to control us.”

  “What prophecy?” She asked, Gearden translating for the rest of us.

  “Those are only stories,” Liam said, brushing off his words.

  “I’ve been around a lot longer than you, O’Connell,” Ben groused, causing Liam’s eyes to narrow. “There are far more things you believe to be myth, that I know to be fact.”

  Liam didn’t say any more, but I could tell he wanted nothing more than to reach across the coffee table between them and deck the older Druid.

  “I’m a historian, of sorts, in Druid and Lycan. Trust me on this, the prophecy is very real. Told by the disciple of Danu herself: ‘Not Druid nor wolf, a child will bear the blood of both. All reigns will fall when it comes to call.’”

  “That story has been lost in translation many times over,” Liam chimed in.

  Ben only spared him a bored look. Sighing, he looked back to Maeleigh. “The Hunters believed it as truth and tried to find this child. They even tried to create one by experimenting with genetic experimentation, but they were unsuccessful. Or so I thought.”

  Maeleigh frowned and the whole room went quiet, even Liam.

  “It’s possible they were able to alter your mother’s DNA just enough,” Ben told her. Then stood, walking around the table towards Maeleigh. Gearden, most likely still amped up from earlier, quickly stood and moved to place himself between them but Maeleigh tugged on his wrist, stopping him.

  The message was received though, and Ben stopped a couple feet away from his daughter. “There’s an…old acquaintance of mine, who knows more about this than I do. But he’s…shy.” His lips quirked up with the last word and told me that this person was anything but “shy.”

  Liam looked at Maeleigh, who sensed it and gazed back at him. “What do you think, Maeleigh?”

  Glancing up at Gearden, she nodded, and he answered for her, “She wants to meet him.”

  Liam nodded and looked back to Ben as he stood himself. “Very well. Can you organize a meeting with this “acquaintance” of yours?”

  Ben pressed his lips together. “He works differently. He’ll come for a trade.”

  Eyes narrowed and all business, Liam asked, “What trade, pray tell?”

  “He’s in need of some wolf’s blood,” Ben said reluctantly.

  “No,” Gearden growled.

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” I protested, standing myself.

  Ben held placating hands out to both of us. “You don’t understand. He’s…” I could tell he chose his words very carefully which told me there was a lot to this character he spoke of than he was letting on. “He’s fae.”

  “Fae?” Liam breathed; the fight suddenly drained from him.

  Gearden started to speak but Liam held a hand up, silencing him. “The fae haven’t walked the surface in centuries,” he argued.

  “You’re mostly correct,” Ben said. “There are still a few who walk among us. The king and queen use them for intel.”

  “We’ll not be dealing with anyone from the courts,” Liam growled, only confusing the rest of us even more.

  Ben didn’t seem put off by the alpha’s hackles being up. “This one has his own agenda. He—” I could see it now, the ominous hesitation of whatever bomb he was about to drop. “A bounty hunter of sorts.”

  “No,” Liam said again. “You can’t trust the fae. They’ll— “

  “Liam.” Maeleigh cut him off.

  He looked at her pleading gaze for a moment then, finally, nodded. “Fine,” he relented. Then, “Tell your man he has a deal, but only if he comes alone and vows not to involve magic.”

  Ben nodded and started to approach Maeleigh, intent to say more, but she stood and looked at him for a moment before she purposefully walked out of the room and into the hallway. Ro followed a few seconds behind and Gearden placed himself clearly in Ben’s path should he decide to follow.

  Message received, Ben nodded reluctantly and looked to Liam. “I’ll set up the meeting. He’s in town, so it shouldn’t be long.”

  Liam nodded and, as if he felt pity for him, from one father to another, he reached a hand out, which Ben briefly shook before exiting the room, the front door opening and closing after him a minute later.

  I was speechless. There weren’t many times that I didn’t know how to respond with pack business. Dad had taught me from the moment I could sit on my own how to work in the society of a pack. Where I sat in the presence of the alpha. What to say when given a directive. How to stand when among allies or foes. But this, this was new territory. I grew up believing the fae were just fairy tales. Stories told around the fire during out monthly McIntire run. That all went up in smoke a few minutes ago. Now we had a new player in all of this and by Liam’s response to Ben’s suggestion of bringing them in to our territory, I felt like I should be weary. Should I be weary?

  “So,” I broke the silence, the tension in the room still heavy. “Fae are real then?”

  Liam glanced at me and I could tell, whatever he was going to say, he would say it as alpha to an inferior, not a child, which had me standing straighter. “Yes, they are, Brianna.”

  “And we should be on our guard?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he said and then sighed deeply. “Most definitely be on your guard around the fae.”

  He left the room then, leaving Gearden and I alone.

  “That was some crazy,” I told him.

  He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah. I mean, who knew that shit, right?”

  I blinked up at him for a second and he dropped his hand, confused. “What
?” He asked.

  “I meant what happened with Ro.”

  There it was, the shamed look on his face followed by a devious one that the wolf slipped out. I heard about these too: Berserker. What ancient Celts prided themselves on in the winning of the wars against the romans. Out of control and with only one goal. Whatever that goal was, all who got in their way of it, perished. Horrifically. He was displaying the tells of what Dad’s books said to look out for. Dire wolf was one of them, when the human part was able to co-exist with the wolf on the outside. Your classic werewolf you’d see in the movies, half-man, half-wolf. Eight feet of hairy beast with razor sharp fangs and clawed hands and feet. They were rare because the instant one demonstrated any symptoms; they were put down. A Lycan case of rabies, to put it simpler.

  “I was lost,” he said. “We were kissing, and it got really heavy. I had to have her. After that run, I guess the wolf didn’t want to go back in just yet. So, when Ro came in, it snapped. I couldn’t control it. Not until she spoke to it. Maeleigh told it that she was his.” I couldn’t pick my mouth off from the floor as he told me all this.

  “Bri,” he gasped, eyes pained as he spoke now. “I think she accepted the mating.”

  “Oh, shit.”

  Chapter Eight

  Maeleigh

  My head hurt, and it didn’t have anything to do with my Druid blood. Or wolf. Damn, maybe it did. I don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference. For a few minutes I sat in Rowen’s room and played with the wide selection of dolls she had. They were having a tea party and discussing something “scandalous.” She had to interpret what it was the dolls were saying, of course. Something to do with a bad man stealing someone’s pony from market. Ro stood outside the opened door, talking to Jolleen. Purposefully, I kept my head down and my attention on Ms. Terry and Mrs. Crabtree. I didn’t want to know what they were saying, but I’m pretty sure the topic was myself and my dad. Which, I’m pretty sure, was the reason my stomach was doing flip flops. I had no idea what Dad was going to come talk to us about, just that it had to do with me. The last time he revealed something about me, probably the biggest secret he’s kept so far, was that I was his biological daughter and that he was druid. And not just any druid, a pretty powerful one, I’d assumed. If the hunters were after him and my biological mother when I was a baby, it must have been for a really good reason.