Oh, wait. She had done that before. And gotten away with it.
“Leave the food and go,” he growled. Was anything going to go right today?
He saw the tears darken her lashes, but the sight didn’t bother him.
Without a word, she turned and left. Travis walked over to the stove and finished the food, setting it on the table. He wasn’t hungry, but the betas were due to arrive, and he figured they would be. His friends were always hungry.
He hadn’t seen Vanessa yet that morning, but that wasn’t new. She was rarely noticed around the house, preferring to keep to herself. For the moment, he allowed it, but it wouldn’t be permanent. He just had to find a way…
A way to what? Convince her to kill her child?
He shook his head, calling himself a fool ten times over. No mother worth her fur would ever consider such a thing. And after everything she had been through, the fact that she had conceived at all was a miracle.
He heard footsteps on the porch and headed towards his office.
Time to be the Alpha, he thought.
Vanessa was done. Her window was cracked for air, and she nudged it further up, giving her enough space to leap out. She glanced around the empty yard before making a dart for the woods. There was too much on her mind. Too much that could go wrong. Everything hit her at once, and she just wanted to run. It was nearing dusk, but she had a few hours of daylight left, and she was going to use them.
She dashed off, her legs eating up the hard ground, making her way past the creek and the thick trees. Out of breath, she finally skidded to a stop, her sides heaving. The silence penetrated the air. Cocking her head, she strained to hear past her ragged breathing.
She cursed again when she glanced around.
Haven’t I fucking learned yet?
She could feel the eyes, the menacing advance of the trespassers. Alone and vulnerable, she tired of being hunted. If she died, she was taking some of the fuckers with her.
She waited and watched, her stomach rolling with nausea. Alert, she scanned the moving shadows. They had lost the power of the surprise, and they knew it. Now, it was just a matter of time.
She sniffed the air and froze. She knew that smell.
Suddenly, it wasn’t the forest surrounding her. She saw metal before her. The cages, the ring, the dark eyes in front of her.
It was the warehouse smell.
Dominic.
Her paw slid back, the leaves and branches breaking beneath her weight as she stepped backwards. Spying the wolf enter the small clearing, she froze, her heart racing. From the corner of her eyes, she saw three more surround her.
Fuck!
It wasn’t Dominic, but their smell was familiar. He had sent them.
She stayed still, alert and tense as they came closer, encircling her. Their fangs grew; their eyes glowed. She didn’t recognize them, even from her time held captive, but that wasn’t saying much with the amount of drugs she had been on. Her muscles tightened; her heart raced. The house wasn’t far behind her, but it might as well have been miles away. She was outnumbered, and if she weren’t pregnant, it wouldn’t have bothered her, but so much could go wrong.
Who are you?
Her low growl drifted towards them as the tremendous wolf in front of her took a step closer. The lips over his canines drew back, revealing the pearl whites of those sharp points.
A feeling of dread and sickening horror crawled along his skin. Tension ran through him, and his face tightened. Small patches of fur burst through the side of his cheeks—his wolf dangerously close to the surface. As his gut tightened even more, his heart hammered against his chest. His wolf paced along the edges of his mind, vicious growls rattled around inside of him. Travis stilled, staring out the window of his office, his fist tight by his side. Something was wrong, but what?
The men left after the meeting, though very little had been resolved, and not to any of their satisfaction. They still didn’t have a trail or lead on the head of the fighting ring.
His eyes scanned the yard, the darkness of the night closing in. Nothing moved, the flat plains of the land meeting his dark gaze, and yet something was off.
He walked back over to his desk and grabbed his cell that was laying on the gleaming surface. He waited impatiently for his man to answer.
“Yeah?”
“What’s the patrol like look?”
“Everything looks good, quiet,” Patrick answered.
Travis nodded and, after a few more words, hung up. He wasn’t satisfied, not by any means.
Frowning, he left the office and headed upstairs, his footsteps silent on the hardwood floors. A door creaked, and his sister appeared in the hallway, a small frown on her own face.
“What’s wrong?” Travis asked.
Sam chewed her lip, the worried expression deepening. She shook her head.
“I don’t know. Something feels off.”
Their eyes locked. Travis hated the taste of fear that coated his tongue, and his wolf wasn’t too fond of it either. It didn’t happen very often, but when it did, he never ignored it.
His cell vibrated against his leg, and he quickly answered still staring over at his sister.
“Travis, there are tracks beneath Vanessa’s window leading away from the house and out towards the woods. They’re wolf,” Patrick said grimly. “Is she in the house?”
His heart stopped. “I’ll check.”
He quickly walked over to her door and knocked, his sister right behind him. He could smell her fear and knew the same scent was rolling off of him. The hard knock pushed open the door.
The room was empty.
Heart pounding, he took a sniff.
“She hasn’t been in here for hours,” Sam said.
Travis agreed. He could barely smell her. He walked over to the window. Dialing his phone, he called Patrick back.
“She’s gone. Get the pack together and follow those tracks, now!”
Cussing ended the call, and Travis took off. He didn’t bother going back out the way he had come. He opened the window and jumped out, Samantha right behind him.
As one, brother and sister shifted and took off for the woods, following the tracks into the dense vegetation of the thick trees.
Travis picked up the trail pretty quickly as they ran, their long legs hammering the ground as they sped towards the woods.
His pack to soon be behind him, he followed the smell. It went in circles.
He stumbled to a stop, his heart racing with fear. He didn’t have long until Vanessa was gone, and he refused to allow that to happen.
She’s in trouble.
I know, Travis replied to his sister, his thoughts grim.
We’re going in circles. Fuck. Let’s split up and—.
Suddenly, he heard it, a faint motor running.
They leaped into action, a blur of silent motion missed by the human eye. The engine sound was fading, and Travis pushed himself, fighting against the urge to howl with fury. He spied two pairs of headlights heading away from where they were, away from the pack.
He was out of time. They had Vanessa.
With no plan in mind, he ran after the vehicles. He didn’t bother looking behind him. Samantha and Patrick ran alongside him.
He jumped over the first truck, a black shadow that had the men inside cursing as they slammed on their breaks.
He landed on his feet and faced the trespassers, his chest heaving.
Tires squealed, and men tumbled out of the jeeps, shifting before their own feet could hit the ground.
Travis was ready. He could smell her breath in the stench left behind from the drugs they had shot her with.
They will die.
Samantha, he murmured, his eyes meeting the first wolf to step in his path.
I’m on it.
She disappeared, slinking back into the forest, melting into the darkness. He tensed, his incisors lengthening even more as glowing eyes surrounded him and Patrick.
They crou
ched down, low growls echoing into the night. The enemies attacked all at once. Patrick and Travis dodged the fangs and claws.
He went for the first throat, and bone crunched beneath the pressure, blood matting the fur of his face. He jerked back as the body fell just as he felt fangs take hold of his back leg. He howled and whirled. His claws came down, hitting their mark as the flesh around the eyes collapsed, rich red liquid oozing from the now-empty eye sockets.
Yelping, the wolf jerked back, and Travis went in for the kill. One by one, they went down, but the bastards seemed to be multiplying from the woods. He heard Patrick’s furious snarl just as two more lupines jumped him, one landing on his back. He bucked, but the canines sank in, striking the bone of his shoulder.
Travis let out his own growl. Where the fuck was the pack?
He spun, trying to throw the fucker off. The hold was intense, teeth lodged into his ribs. He rammed up against a thick tree that was followed with a painful yelp and an almost human grunt. The fangs left his flesh, and he rolled away. In a flash, he was on the prick, tearing out his throat.
The taste of metal fueled his rage. Blood coated his fur, the open gashes immersed and long. Patrick didn’t look any better.
Growls and yelps filled the air. Blood stained the grass in splatters.
Suddenly, more wolves jumped through the woods. His pack causing confusion among the enemy.
Travis pushed past the pain and took down another wolf. Taking advantage of their hesitancy, he went in from behind, tackling the legs. He tossed the animal hard against the tree and didn’t pause to see if it were dead.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw his mother take down a wolf twice her size, her fury evident in her red eyes that pierced the black. Beside her, his little sister held her own. They both had gashes and blood along their bodies, but neither paused in the fight.
Distracted by his thoughts, Travis felt the claws and fangs sink into his flesh from both sides. Two wolves were trying to take him down together, which would be the only way he was going down.
Baying loudly, he hit the ground hard, his vision faded for a split second as the two wolves held on and began to twist and chew. He tried to get up, to kick, but his legs were going numb as the nerves were bitten into.
Through the tangled bodies and black spots, Travis saw Vanessa fly, her fangs dripping with blood. Her aim proved true as she landed on the one closest to her. The other wolf, distracted, loosened its grip and he jerked, tearing Travis’s flesh.
Pushing the pain back, he forced himself up; not knowing where he found the strength, but he did. The world tilted as he tried to find his balance, the agony returning once again. Before the enemy wolf could recover, Vanessa was on him. Travis went in for the kill, the metallic taste of blood thick as it ran down the back of his throat.
She jumped back, landing on her feet as her green eyes met his, looking like murderous emeralds. They stared at each other, their gazes locked as the furious sounds of the dogfight surrounded them. The battling faded, and his pack closed in around them all covered in blood and gashes but alive.
Let’s get to the house.
As one, the small pack left the bodies where they lay littered throughout the clearing, leaving the jeeps’ doors opened and headlights cutting through the dark.
Chapter 13
Dominic stared over at the two men. The urge to rip their throats out almost making him do something he might not regret. If there was one thing he couldn’t take, wouldn’t tolerate, it was failure. And the fuckers standing by the door looking as if they would run at the least possible movement from him were the definition of failure.
His eyes hardened as he worked to control the rage threatening the blood of the pieces of shit before him. He clenched his fists tight, barely able to hold it in. Regardless of his urge, he still needed the idiots, at least for the moment.
Dominic waited until the hair on his face receded, and his claws retracted, leaving his knuckles bloody. He ignored the few specks of crimson that dripped to the brown carpet at his feet. A few more droplets wouldn’t hurt the color. If a UV light had been shone in any part of his mansion, it would look like a bloodbath had occurred.
And it had.
Composed, he took a deep breath.
“So let me see if I understand this. Fourteen of my wolves were sent to capture one small woman, and they failed, saving me the trouble of killing them when they returned. Have I missed anything?”
He saw Mitch pale even more and drew a little satisfaction from that. It would have to do. The terrified man’s throat had bobbed before he answered.
“Y-yes, Alpha.”
Dominic had to take another breath to keep calm. It was just a small setback, he told himself. He would have her again. Soon. Then he would make sure she paid for making him wait.
Even if I have to go get the bitch myself, he thought, the growl working its way up his throat.
“Get out,” he snarled. “And send Kami in.”
He thought about the multiple ways to make his mate suffer for her disobedience and grew hard at the thought.
Yeah, Kami wasn’t going to like him much after he finished with her, and by the look on her face as she appeared in the doorway of his office just then, she knew it.
Three hours later, Dominic left the woman bloody and laying on the office floor crying. Unwound, the rage hidden, he walked out and headed towards his truck. He had shit to do. Mainly, kill a few wolves and get the bitch back where she belonged.
She was his, and no one fucked with what was his.
He had told her he wasn’t done with her yet. And when he was, no one else would have her either. He intended to see those emerald eyes lying on his floor in a pool of her own blood.
Vanessa felt the baby kick and opened her eyes. She looked around as the events of the previous night flashed through her mind, remembering the ambush, the burst of pain, the thought of her baby, and then darkness. The next thing she knew, she was waking up to Samantha in wolf form beside her, tearing at the bonds on her legs followed by the memories of the fighting that occurred.
Her heart hammered as the images became clear, zipping by in startling contrast to the fear that made her stomach roll, the nausea threatening to send her stomach heaving.
Travis. Is Travis okay?
Before she could jump up and run to find out what was going on, a light scratching came from the door. She tensed and elevated her head. Sniffing the air, she relaxed and gave a soft bark just as Travis nudged open the door and walked in.
His blue eyes honed in on her laying on top of the covers, her lean body stretched out with her rounded belly to the side.
Are you okay? he asked softly, scanning her from top to bottom. For some reason, it didn’t make her feel uncomfortable.
She nodded. Yes.
Hesitation grabbed her, but the question took over her mind, and she wanted to know.
How did you know?
How did he know she had been in trouble? How did he know how to find her?
Travis stared up at her, his eyes piercing.
The bond.
Her heart pounded, and her breath stuttered to a stop. Confusion clouded her eyes.
The bond?
Between us.
Calmness radiated from him, enveloping her in the gentle warmth. It was as if a link existed between them, but that wasn’t possible! For the first time since meeting him, she felt it, could almost see the glimmer. She sat up but didn’t break her gaze.
I’m mated to Dominic.
Travis shook his head.
I know, but it’s not a real bond between the two of you. You weren’t willing, and therefore, the connection is extremely tenuous.
It was true. Vanessa inadvertently remembered being held down by her throat. The pain of his bite had been vicious, tearing into the back of her shoulder. She fought but had been weak from hunger and battling in the ring. It had no doubt been like a struggle with a sick kitten. She didn’t doubt that she
would still have the mark once she was human again.
If I make it past the delivery…she projected with a grimace.
Don’t think that!
Her eyes shot up to Travis as he showed her his fangs, his lips pulled back as he glared at her.
The possibility is there, she said, her voice dim. It was a reminder she lived with but refused to alter her course.
No, he growled. You’ll be fine.
She waited for him to mention killing her baby again, but he didn’t, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t changed her mind, but the fear was real, and it would be nice to have someone in her corner.
The bond is weak, he reminded as if he could read her mind. It can be broken.
Her eyes met his again, and for the first time in her life, her heart didn’t pound from fear, uncertainty, or terror. It pounded with hope, which could be just as bad, she realized.
Seeing his eyes soften with understanding, her throat tightened.
It can be broken. Travis took a step closer as he repeated it again, gently.
Vanessa wasn’t convinced, but her optimism grew. Once the mate bond was made, only death could break it, and she didn’t know if she were strong enough. As she started to say something, a slight noise from the door drew both of their attention. Samantha stood in the doorway, their mother behind her with a plate of food. Vanessa’s mouth watered at the sight of the bloody rabbit, and her stomach growled. Three pairs of eyes shot down to her belly, and she knew that if she had been human, her face would have been redder than a tomato.
Travis took a step back as the woman entered.
I’ll let you eat. Rest for today. Tomorrow is soon enough to tell me what happened.
Sighing, she nodded and watched as he walked out the door.
Chapter 14
Aiden sat at a long table in the back and took a sip of beer as he waited for his lead to show up. He had been tracking the fighting ring for months with no results so far, but he wouldn’t give up. Not after what the fuckers had done to his sister. He usually didn’t take pleasure in drawing blood, but this time, he was making an exception.
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