Reawakening Their Bears: Hidden Realms: A Hot Paranormal Fantasy (Weres and Witches of Silver Lake Book 12)

by Vella Day

  “Thanks. We’ll be waiting.”

  Shit. Felicia was in her exercise class and wouldn’t be back for another forty-five minutes, so Elana couldn’t call to tell her not to rush over. Hopefully, it wouldn’t matter. As soon as Elana arrived at Blooms of Hope, she would put the closed sign on the door, wait on the customers, and then rush home to wait for Kalan’s mom. In the meantime, Elana would leave a message on her phone that she would be home shortly.

  “Kalan,” she telepathed. “Megan is sick, and I have to run to the store for a bit. I don’t want you to worry if you get home, and I’m not there. I will be there as soon as I can.”

  “Not a problem. I hope she is feeling better. Love you,” he shot back.

  Her heart ached for him. “I love you too.”

  *

  As sorry as Kalan was that Elana’s new assistant was ill, he could use the extra time to work on this case. In his gut, he believed they were close to solving it, and he didn’t feel good about leaving right now since everyone but him had been searching for days while he stayed home recovering.

  “Turn here,” Dalton directed, jarring Kalan back to the moment.

  No sooner had they arrived at Sanchez’s house than Kalan’s phone beeped, signaling a message. He handed his cell to Dalton so Kalan could find a place to park. While his Jeep was a common car, he didn’t need Sanchez returning and recognizing the same vehicle that had also been at Bass’ house.

  “Jackson sent the plans for the house,” Dalton said.

  Good. “Anything unusual about the place?” he asked as he pulled around the corner and parked.

  “There’s a basement and a partial attic in Sanchez’s home.”

  Ronan leaned over the backseat to check it out. “If they drugged Sean, there is no way they would carry him up a ladder to the attic. I’d vote for a basement. If they put some big piece of furniture over the entrance door, someone who came in to check out the house wouldn’t think there was a door there. Trust me, I saw it happen in my hometown often enough.”

  “That might be, but there would be windows at the bottom of the house to indicate a lower level. I know my parents’ house has an outside entrance to the basement,” Kalan said. “I don’t see how a piece of furniture would fool anyone.”

  Dalton nodded. “Only one way to find out.”

  “Are we going inside?” Kip asked as he pushed open the Jeep door.

  “Sanchez isn’t home, and even if he were, we don’t have a warrant to check out the place. And we can’t get one without some proof he is responsible for anything. Besides, I don’t want to tip our hand if the Changelings are hiding Sean someplace else, like in some out of the way hut in the woods where no one would find him.” That thought depressed him even more.

  “We have to at least look around,” Kip urged.

  “Fine, but we limit our time to less than five minutes. Regardless of what we learn, we return to the car to regroup.” He turned to Kip. “How about you keep the car running in case we need to get away fast? Honk if you see someone coming.”

  He could tell from the way Kip exhaled quickly that he wasn’t pleased. While this was his friend they were looking for, the man was a team player. “Fine.”

  Now Kalan felt like a shit. “Kip, you can’t shift. These are rabid Changelings we’re dealing with—or so we believe.”

  He blew out a breath. “I get it. Go.”

  Kip wanted was what best for friend, and that helped.

  The three of them headed toward Sanchez’s house. Kalan motioned they split up, looking in windows if possible. The house had two-stories, which meant it would be impossible to check out the top floor.

  Pointing, Ronan indicated he’d look in the basement windows. Dalton took the left side of the house, whereas Kalan checked out the back. Thankfully, this wasn’t their first rodeo, and they were able to communicate easily with hand signals.

  Dalton and Ronan would keep an eye on the front. If something unforeseen occurred—like Sanchez returning—Ronan was told to consider shifting if things turned ugly. If anyone spotted a wolf or two, they would be upset, but they wouldn’t freak. Seeing Dalton in his white tiger form or Kalan as a bear would result in a call to the animal control center, and that would not be good.

  His car was down the side street, so Kip would notify them should he spot Sanchez first.

  Speed was paramount, since there was no way of knowing how long Sanchez would be at Bass’ house. The food in the car implied he wouldn’t be long. Why he saw the need to visit John Bass in person rather than call seemed a bit suspicious, but Kalan would worry about that later.

  He rushed to the back of the house where a single car garage opened onto an alley. That structure, along with a couple of downed trashcans were the only thing between the house and the gravel road.

  After checking there were no security cameras pointing to the garage, Kalan stepped onto the back porch and looked into the window. He noted a rather nice kitchen and what looked like a den off to the side. He could see there was more of the main house through an open doorway to the right, but he only had a partial view. Kalan debated knocking, but even if someone answered, what would he say? I’m here to find a prisoner.

  It was possible Thomas Sanchez had a wife or maybe even another relative living with him. Kalan couldn’t afford to alert the person that two cops and a private eye were snooping around.

  Not having found anything incriminating, Kalan headed around to the side. Just then, garage door hinges squeaked implying Sanchez had returned. He must not have driven past Kip, or their lookout would have signaled them. Time to go.

  As Kalan rounded the corner to the side of the house, he nearly ran into Ronan—literally.

  “I heard some moaning and maybe some cursing,” Ronan said, pointing to the basement window. “It sounded human.”

  While Kalan was excited, they didn’t have time to check it out at that moment. “Sanchez is back. Tell Dalton we have to go.”

  Thankfully, Ronan didn’t argue. He dashed off to warn him. As Kalan reached the street, both men met him coming from the other side of the house. As casually as they could, they hoofed it back to his car on the side street.

  “Anything?” Kip asked when the three of them slid into Kalan’s car.

  “Go,” Kalan said.

  Not demanding answers or attracting any attention, Kip took off.

  “Ronan heard something,” Kalan said.

  Kip briefly looked at Kalan. “Tell me everything.”

  “The windows were covered in what looked like newspaper,” Ronan said from the backseat. “I didn’t sense any shifter signature, but I did hear a noise. I placed my ear to the window and heard a moan and then a curse. I couldn’t be sure, but I would say it sounded like metal scraping against metal.”

  “Like chains?” Kip asked.

  “Could be. I tapped on the window to let whoever was down there know that someone was aware of him. Yes, yes, I know. For all we know someone associated with Sanchez could have heard me, but I would have sensed a shifter.”

  “You’re right,” Kip said. “The tapping would have boosted Sean’s spirits—assuming he is down there.”

  Kalan’s mind raced. “We need a plan to see who or what is there without alerting Sanchez.” Kalan tried not to think about their failure at the bunker.

  “That’s easy,” Ronan said. “Once it’s dark, we return with a glass cutter. I’m quite good with one by the way. All I have to do is cut one hole, reach my hand in, and open the window from the inside. If I can see in, I’d know whether anyone is down there—or rather if it is Sean.”

  Kalan liked the plan, other than the fact that breaking and entering went against every police procedure he’d learned though. If someone reported seeing them, it was possible Kalan would not only lose his job, he’d land in jail—and he couldn’t let that happen for Elana and the kids’ sake.

  His mind spun through possible solutions. “I’m wondering if we should tell the chief tha
t we have good information that a man is being held prisoner in Sanchez’s home. I’ll say someone was walking by and heard moans and curses coming from the basement, and then he called me while we were working our own murder case.”

  “I like it,” Ronan said.

  “You can say that I stopped by this afternoon to report my friend missing who was last seen near Sanchez’s house. Instead of trying to rescue my friend, Kip called the sheriff’s department to investigate.”

  “That could work,” Dalton chimed in. “If we do end up capturing Sanchez, we can’t take him to the precinct though. No telling if he’d shift just to piss off the world.”

  This rescue was unraveling. “There are ways around that. We’ve had shifters in jail before, but that would require a bit of intervention by a certain Wendayan.”

  “Ophelia,” Dalton said.

  “Yes, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. If no neighbor reports us, we’ll take him to Harden Prison where he can be tried. I’ll make sure the judge knows that he’s to keep Sanchez away from Wes.”

  “To save some heartache, I could just kill him,” Ronan chimed in.

  “That works too.” Changelings. Kalan really wanted to wipe their kind off the face of the Earth. “Too bad murder is illegal.”

  “Not if he starts it,” Ronan said.

  “True.”

  “Let’s refocus. We need to figure out a more detailed plan. For starters, we’ll dress all in black to have a smaller chance of being spotted,” Dalton added.

  Dalton did love the cloak and dagger stuff. “Sounds good,” Kalan said. “But if we cut open the window, shine a flashlight down there and see no one, we regroup. Got it?”

  “Yes,” they said in unison.

  He looked in his rearview mirror at Ronan. “Could you tell how close the sound was to the wall?”

  “Close.”

  “Good. Why don’t you two get whatever tools you need and meet me in front of the station at two a.m.? I’ll ask Jackson to hook us up with Coms so we can communicate with each other, as well as with Jackson.” He thought it sounded like a feasible plan. “Call if you think we need to take a different tact.”

  “What can I do?” Kip asked. “I want to be there if you find Sean.”

  “I understand. Dress in black. We’ll figure it out when we return here.”

  “In the meantime, I need to speak with the chief,” Kalan said. “I don’t want him to be blindsided if something goes terribly wrong.

  *

  Elana was never so happy as when the last customer left the store so she could return home. Anna had finally been able to take a rather sick Megan to the Emergency Room. While Aiden appeared content to play with the toys she had on hand in the back room, Ian was fussing. It was past both of their feeding times, and she couldn’t blame him for wanting food. She’d already changed his diaper, so it must be from hunger.

  Her mind raced, trying to develop the best plan. She’d rush home—hopefully before Kalan and his mom arrived—and feed both boys, all while trying not to stress.

  “Let’s put on your jacket, Aiden. Time to go home.”

  “I like it here. It smells good.”

  She smiled, trying to put on a brave face. “Yes, it does.”

  It took a bit of convincing, but finally Aiden and Ian were dressed and ready to go. Once she locked the doors and set the alarm, she hurried out. When Elana looked at the time, she realized she would be cutting it close. Without rushing, she made it home before Kalan, but not before Felicia. Crap. Thankfully, she’d given Kalan’s mom a heads up that she might be late.

  Elana cut the engine, removed both kids from their car seats, and hurried over to Felicia, who was sitting in her car. She shut off her engine and eased out.

  “I hope you didn’t wait long,” Elana said, feeling quite guilty.

  “Not at all. I just got here. Let me take that diaper bag.”

  Elana didn’t know what she’d do without Kalan’s mom. Once inside, Aiden made a beeline for his room. “Grab something to drink while I pack a few things for them.”

  Felicia slipped the baby from her arms. “I’ll do it. You look a bit flushed. Why don’t you wash up? I know Kalan will be home soon.”

  If that wasn’t a hint that she was a mess, she didn’t know what would be. “Thank you.”

  As Elana headed to the master bath, she telepathed Kalan to ask if he was going to make it home in time to go shopping.

  “I’m just finishing up with the chief. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  She sighed. He sounded almost excited. “Great.”

  Elana had no sooner washed her face than Kalan stepped into the bathroom. She spun around. “You made it!”

  His eyes widened. “I said I would.” Kalan held up a hand. “Correction. I said I would come as soon as I could.”

  She wouldn’t go there. He often tried to come home for dinner and would be called into work at the last minute. “I know. Ready to shop until we drop?” Elana asked.

  Kalan chuckled. “Give me a sec to change.”

  While Elana always enjoyed watching her mate take off his clothes, now wasn’t the best time. No telling when her animal would insist they take a quick break. With his mom in the house, that could prove disastrous.

  “While you do, I’ll check on the kids to make sure they aren’t giving your mom trouble.”

  Elana hurried down the hall and stepped into the boys’ room. Felicia was feeding Ian while Aiden was playing with his stuffed dinosaurs. All looked good. “I’m hoping we won’t be long.”

  “Take your time,” Kalan’s mom said.

  “This might be our only chance to shop. Aiden is probably hungry too.”

  “Don’t you worry about a thing. I raised three children. I know how to feed kids.”

  Elana laughed. She hoped she could be as good a mother as Felicia. As soon as Elana returned to the living room, Kalan came down the hallway. He had on a pair of black boots, light blue jeans, and a green and blue plaid shirt. “You look hot,” she said.

  He grinned. “Don’t say things like that. We might never buy any presents for the kids.”

  “How true.” They did seem to be unable to keep their hands off each other, especially as of late.

  He wrapped an arm around her waist. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Sixteen

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  Kalan was thrilled he’d been able to convince Elana that at least Aiden was ready for a jungle gym. Their son could play on it when he wasn’t in his bear form, which might keep him out of trouble. His son had a lot of excess energy—just like he used to have at that age. They had also purchased his first bike. It had training wheels, but considering how coordinated his son was, Kalan was certain Aiden would be tooling around the neighborhood on two-wheels in no time.

  Even though Ian probably wouldn’t be aware of how many presents Aiden received, Elana didn’t want to leave Ian out. After much debate, they decided on a small slide. While he wouldn’t be using it right away, it would be nice when summer arrived. By then Ian would be over a year old and hopefully able to enjoy it.

  Once home from a quick shopping expedition, Kalan thanked his mom for stopping over. “How were they?” Kalan asked.

  “They were angels, like always.”

  He doubted that, but he was happy no disaster had occurred. Most likely his mom was comparing Aiden and Ian to how he and Jackson were at that age. “Say hi to Dad.”

  “Will do, but you can tell him yourself if you stop by.”

  He was guilty enough for not spending enough time with his mate and children. “I’ll try.” Kalan leaned over and kissed her cheek.

  Once she left, Kalan sighed. He could finally relax for a bit—assuming he could stop thinking about their mission tonight. With both kids in bed, Kalan wanted to take advantage of their small window of alone time with Elana.

  “How was your day?” he asked wanting to put the focus back on his wonderful mate.

  “Great until
the incident with Megan.”

  He’d totally forgotten about Anna’s panicked call. Elana had told him that she’d had to run to the store to close up so Anna could get help for their new hire. “I hope she is feeling better.”

  “Me too. You said Ronan thought he might have heard someone in the basement of that Changeling’s house?”

  So much for focusing only on Elana and trying not to think about his immediate problem. “Ronan heard a moan—or at least he thought he did. It wasn’t like we could break a window and barge in. We need a warrant.”

  “That’s not fair. A man’s life might be at stake.”

  “I know, but we need proof he’s there before we do anything. That’s why I spoke with the chief this evening and told him a few of us would be investigating tonight.” He held his breath. Elana always worried whenever he went out on a call.

  “You’re going out tonight? When?”

  Her anxiety level almost hurt him. “At two in the morning. Nothing will happen to us, I promise.” He explained that Ronan would cut a hole in the basement window and check to see if anyone was inside.

  “What if nothing is down there?”

  Their plan wasn’t totally worked out yet. “Ah, he’ll tape it up and then we’ll leave.”

  She shook her head. “What if this Sanchez guy hears you? He might call the police.”

  Kalan snapped his fingers. “You are a genius.”

  Her eyes widened. “I am?”

  “I don’t know why we didn’t think of it before. The only noise we might make is when we are outside. He might come out of his house to investigate. I’ll ask Sam to come with us. It will be easy for him to do his mind-bending trick on Sanchez and convince him he heard nothing.”

  Elana blew out a breath. “Okay. Let’s take the other scenario. Suppose you do see Sean in the basement, tied up in chains, like Ronan seems to think. Then what?”

  “We’ll knock on the man’s door and say we know he is keeping someone hostage. He’ll deny it and say we need a warrant to search his house. We’ll tell him we’ll be back in the morning.”

  Her brows scrunched. “What good will that do? You can’t leave Sean chained up—assuming he’s down there. That man would surely move him.”