A moment later, Oreo’s tail began to shake as the knockout gas sprayed from beneath it. Jake immediately began to feel dizzy as he fought to stay conscious. He saw Oreo scurry away unharmed, but when he blinked at Drake, the shifter didn’t appear to be affected at all. As he fell to the ground, his last thoughts were—so much for plan O.
Shadow was beside himself as he watched along with the others on the monitor in the SUV. When Jake fell to the ground unconscious, the other shifter had remained standing. “Why is he still awake?” Sparky asked.
“We need to get in there now,” Blaze ordered as he grabbed his gas mask and jumped from the SUV. The others followed. They had agreed ahead of time that Blaze and Falcon would go in first with the gas masks on. Sparky and Tank were heading toward the back of the barn to prevent Drake from escaping. Dove, Artemus, and Shadow would guard the front.
It took them less than two minutes to reach the barn doors. Blaze and Falcon slowly opened the door and entered. A moment later Blaze’s voice came over the intercom, “They’re gone. Tank have you got them?”
“No sign of them out here and I don’t scent anyone coming this way either,” Tank replied.
“I’ll check the left side, Shadow is already heading for the right,” Dove’s voice came over the comlink.
Shadow looked around and didn’t see any opening on his side of the barn. He lifted his nose and didn’t scent anyone coming this way either. “No sign of them on the right, what about you, Dove?” Shadow asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
“Nope, nada on this side. Do you think he had magical help?” Dove asked.
“Not again—why does everything lately involve magic?” Sparky groaned but quickly added, “present magi excepted of course.”
Shadow heard Artemus chuckle over the comlink. “No problem, Sparky, as soon as the air clears inside I can go see if I can find a magical signature. I didn’t sense anything out here, but that doesn’t mean magic wasn’t involved.”
“Everyone meet up outside in the front,” Blaze ordered. “We’re opening up the doors to air it out quicker. Dove go back and rewind the recording to see what we may have missed.”
Jake’s head was spinning and not in a good way. He groaned softly as he tried to get his bearings. The first thing he noticed was he was no longer in the barn on his old property. He wrinkled his nose at the odor he’d come to associate with Drake—or whatever was impersonating the former shifter.
“Get up, we have to leave,” Drake’s voice echoed in the empty building. Jake shook his head and tried to sit, but the gas apparently hadn’t worn off enough yet. He yelped as the shifter jerked him to his feet.
“I’m not going anywhere with you! What the hell are you anyway?” Jake growled as he swayed slightly on his feet. He was going to have a talk with Mack about the gas he used. If he was going to feel hung over, then he’d at least like to have the fun of getting drunk first.
“You are going to take me to Sammy, or I’ll kill you. I know where she is, and I’ll go there the hard way if I have to,” Drake snarled. Jake looked around and finally realized where they were. How had he gotten to the old barn on Drake’s homestead? He took a step and was glad it was steady. He’d need to run when the opportunity presented itself.
“And just how do you think we’re going to get there? You left my truck at my place.” Jake wondered how long it would take the others to find him. By now he was sure Shadow was going crazy. The one good thing in all of this was, his sister was safe. He shuddered to think what would have happened if Sammy had come instead of him. Obviously, they weren’t dealing with something natural here.
Drake shrugged, “We’ll walk.”
“Are you crazy, that’s hundreds of miles away.” Jake shook his head. Great, he had just come back from a long trek through the wilderness when they rescued Sammy. The last thing he wanted was another one. He glared at Drake, “Besides, if you think Alpha Grant will let you just walk into his pack lands without a challenge; you’re crazier than I am.”
“He’ll let me in, or you’ll die,” Drake replied as he grabbed Jake’s arm and began to pull him toward the barn door. The shifter paused to look outside before he opened the door. Jake lifted his nose slightly, hoping to catch Shadow’s scent, but there was nothing but the smell of decay. “Come on we don’t have much time,” Drake growled as he pulled Jake from the barn. All he could do was hope the others found him before he had to walk all the way back home—again.
Artemus stood in the barn and closed his eyes. Shadow watched as the man searched for any kind of magical signature. He had spent his time in his wolf’s form, trying to catch his future mate’s scent. There were two strong scents in the barn. One was Jake’s but the other one smelled off to him—sort of like yesterday’s garbage. One thing was for sure; he couldn’t scent another shifter.
He started to follow the other scent when Dove burst into the barn. “There’s got to be a trap door in the end stall. Why didn’t Jake tell us about it?” Dove growled. “That little detail would have been nice to know about. Who wasn’t in the right position to see it clearly. However, when Drake disappeared with Jake over his shoulder after entering the stall, it was kind of hard to miss. One moment he stood in the entrance to the stall and then they were gone!”
“Who wasn’t in the right position?” Artemus asked as he came out of the trance he’d been in.
“That’s what I said, Who wasn’t in the right position,” Dove replied. Shadow shook his head at the confused look on the magi’s face. He pointed up at the owl that still sat quietly on the rafters as if it was sleeping.
“Who would name an owl, ‘Who’?” Artemus grumbled before he continued, shaking his head, “Never mind, I should have guessed knowing the source.” Artemus turned to look at Shadow, “I don’t sense the use of any magic, but there is still something here. It’s very slight as if the being held a small amount of magic but I can’t figure out what it could be.”
“We’re heading back, all of you wait until we get there—no one goes into the tunnel,” Blaze ordered.
Shadow growled. “Every minute we wait, Jake could be in more trouble.” What would happen if Jake refused to do what Drake wanted? Would the being torture him or worse, kill him? He didn’t think he could wait to find out.
“I said wait, Shadow. You remember what happened the last time you and Jake went into a tunnel?” Blaze said over the comlink. Shadow did remember that someone had rigged explosives in the tunnel from the asylum. Of course, he wasn’t going to say it was Jake who had rushed in against his warning while he had followed like a novice. He understood what it was like to lose those you love and had wanted to help the shifter find his twin sister.
But it didn’t excuse either of them rushing in without making sure it was safe first. “How far out are you?” Shadow responded instead.
“We’ll be there in less than five—Dove, get our travel packs ready. We’re going hunting as soon as we return from our recon,” Blaze ordered. “Also, use one of your little critters to search for any unpleasant surprises.”
“Got it, Boss, Frack is ready and able!” Dove turned and left the barn. Shadow glanced at Artemus before he walked toward the last stall. The two men stood for a moment and examined the floor in the stall. After a moment, Shadow could see the faint outline of a door. He reached down and carefully searched the edges before he slowly opened the trap door in the back of the stall.
He sighed with relief when no trip wires appeared. He pulled the door fully open and glanced down into the darkness below. Artemus closed his eyes and began the strange soft mumbling Shadow had heard before.
“Anything?” Shadow asked as he tried to gaze into the darkness below.
“Just the same strange trace of magic. But I won’t be able to sense explosives,” he hurried to add. “It’s strange, though. If we hadn’t had the video feed from Who,” the magi chuckled as he shook his head at the strange name, “I would have thought Jake was here alone.”
“All I can smell is a strange odor. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a shifter or any other paranormal being I’ve ever scented before. I didn’t pick up on any magic scent either.” Shadow responded.
“Well, whatever it is, we’ll find it,” Blaze’s voice echoed in the barn. “And this time I don’t care if we take it alive.”
Chapter 13
Jake walked in front of Drake as they continued to head toward the nearest town. At least whatever this thing was, it wasn’t stupid enough to think they could get all the way back to the Windy River pack lands on foot. Unfortunately, they were walking in human form, which made no sense. Because, hello, two naked men wandering into town might not get noticed. Besides, even walking at shifter speed, it would take them most of the day to reach Birchwood.
He glanced up at the sky and wondered how far behind Shadow and the others would be. He knew they had figured out quickly where they were headed. Especially since Drake was doing nothing to hide their tracks. It was strange, in some ways the being acted a lot like his former friend but in others, he seemed to be missing important characteristics. Drake had been a good enforcer for the pack but right now he was acting more like a pup in training.
Not that he was complaining because it would make it easier for the others to find him. He couldn’t wait to get back to the pack lands. The first thing he was going to do was let Shadow take him. If he was lucky, by the time they finished he’d be wearing his mark. The past few days had brought some clarity into his thinking. He had spent so much time worrying about tomorrow he’d never lived for today.
It no longer seemed important on how others viewed him. He’d lived with the Windy River pack for months and knew they didn’t care about same-sex pairings. Hell, the alpha’s mate was a human male. But he’d still worried about how he’d be treated by other pack members. It was clear he worried for nothing. He chuckled to himself. Too bad he was coming completely out of the closet in the middle of the woods with a psychopathic being.
“So, what exactly are you?” Jake tried again to get the imposter to give him a clue. “You’re not magi unless your magic is so weak I can’t scent it.” He glanced back at Drake. “At first I thought you were using some kind of glamour, but I’d be able to smell your magic.” The imposter remained silent.
“Well, you’re not a vampire or one of the fae. Oh wait, I know,” Jake stopped and looked back at the being. “I bet you’re a gelding, a low-level magi who has to have others help them with magic. I’m right, aren’t I? Someone else is pulling your strings.”
Drake growled and pushed Jake forward. “More walking and less talking or I’ll rip your tongue out.”
Jake winced as the being hit his still sore arm. It wouldn’t do to have the idiot re-injure it, so he turned around and began to walk again. “If you rip my tongue out, I can’t help you get to Sammy, now can I?” He didn’t know why he was pushing the guy other than to try to see if he’d let something slip. So far, this venture had produced nothing but sore feet. They were no closer to knowing what Alpha Clifton was up to than before he’d met with Drake.
“So, gelding or would you prefer Pinocchio. You know what, I think that’s what I’ll call you from now on because I know you’re not Drake. I’m not sure who is pulling your strings, but he or she won’t succeed.” Jake stopped again and turned to glare at the shifter behind him. “You’re going to kill me anyway, so why not spill.”
The being cocked his head to the side. “I am Drake, and I want Sammy. She will be my mate,” he growled as he grabbed Jake’s arm again. Before he could react, the imposter turned him and pulled his bad arm up. He heard the limb snap and felt a sharp pain. Jake fell to his knees cradling the injured arm to his chest.
“You don’t need your arms to talk or to walk. Now move before I start on the other one,” Drake said without a trace of emotion. Jake struggled to his feet and glared at the being. For a moment he thought about shifting but with three legs, he’d be at a disadvantage. Besides, he still had no idea what he was up against.
The wounds on his ribs still burned. Yet the deep claw marks he’d managed to place on the imposter’s upper shoulder still hadn’t bled and obviously didn’t slow the thing down any. No, he had to bide his time and hope reinforcements came sooner rather than later. The truly sucky part of the whole thing though was the asshat had broken the arm that had just finished healing. It just wasn’t his day.
Dove sent his rat into the tunnel and then glanced at the app on his cell phone to see what the critter saw. Shadow had to admit Mack certainly came up with innovative tools to give them an advantage. Using animals as weapons and for surveillance was genius. Not many of their kind paid attention to the birds or other small animals in the forest. Unless of course, they were looking for a quick snack. But most wouldn’t waste their time on a rat or a bird.
“It looks good so far, Blaze. The tunnel appears to be heading west. Do you want me to send Frack all the way to the end?” Dove asked.
Blaze looked thoughtful for a moment before he pulled out his phone. Shadow listened as the shifter asked to speak to Sammy. He put the phone on speaker as she came to the phone.
“What happened? Is Jake okay?” Sammy’s worried voice came over the line. Shadow was glad it wasn’t him who had to tell her what happened. He’d seen the she-wolf in action and never wanted to be on her bad side. Blaze quickly brought her up to speed with the others who were listening in on her end. As he finished, he asked, “Did you know there was a trap door in the barn?”
There was silence at the other end for a moment before Sammy replied, “Sure, I knew about it. But the tunnel was filled in when Drake’s father discovered us using it. He was afraid Alpha Clifton would find out and punish his family for having a hidden passage.”
“Are you sure it was blocked?” Blaze asked.
“Well, it was as far as I know, but I suppose Drake could have re-opened it without telling me. If he did open it up, then he will be at the barn on his old homestead. It’s about five miles due west of our property. Just follow the road in front of our house and turn left at the next road.” Sammy sighed. “I never should have let Jake do this.”
Shadow spoke up for the first time. “He did what he had to do to protect you and the pups as well as his new pack. You know your brother; he’ll wait for a chance to escape or find a way to leave a trail for us to follow.” He paused as he looked at the solemn faces of the men around him, “We’ll find him and bring him back to you.”
He stepped back and stood near the entrance to the tunnel. Now that they knew where it ended, they could get there much faster by SUV’s. He jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder. “You shouldn’t have made that kind of promise,” Falcon said softly.
“Why not? I mean to keep it,” Shadow replied as he turned to walk out of the barn. He quickly got into the SUV he’d come in and waited as the others loaded up. No one said a word as they quickly drove to the place Sammy had described.
Their vehicles pulled up close to the barn that looked almost the same as the one they had left. This property appeared to be in a little better shape than Jake’s, but it also had been abandoned when they disbanded the pack. Shadow wondered if any of the shifters had joined the Windy River pack or had they all died. It seemed a shame in a way to allow the land to go fallow.
He was dragged from his thoughts as the others began to exit the vans. He immediately began to scent the air and this time he picked up Jake’s scent. “He was here,” Shadow said quietly. He had to keep his emotions under control. If he didn’t, Blaze would force him to sit with the vehicles. Not to mention he still wasn’t a hundred percent. His hip complained at the prolonged activity, but he refused to let the others see it. Like he told Jake, a good warrior learned to use his head.
“Grab the packs and let’s go men. I want everyone in wolf form. Artemus, you can ride on me. Don’t approach them until we can assess the situation. As much as I’d like to kill the son of a bitch, we should still try to
take him alive if we can. But if we can’t…” Blaze didn’t need to finish the sentence because they all knew what he meant.
Without another word, they all shifted and took off into the forest. Shadow was up front with Blaze as they followed Jake’s scent. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be too far behind. As they continued, he began to worry. So far, the trail was easy to follow—too easy.
He glanced at Blaze and saw the same concern reflected back at him. They slowed for a moment and stopped. Artemus jumped down from the large gray wolf. There was a slight shimmer in the air as Blaze appeared in his human form.
Normally they would have used their commlinks, but Jason had warned them to use them sparingly until he could work with Mack to make them hack-proof. Somehow the bastards were tapping into their communications. It was the only thing that made sense. Twice now they had located Sammy using a phone.
Too bad they couldn’t communicate telepathically. It was the one bad thing about being shifters. They could only communicate verbally in their human forms. Although he’d heard that Semme’ mates could mind speak. But as with their counterparts in the wild, the wolf shifters used basic signals to hunt their prey.
“We should be getting close since we couldn’t be more than an hour behind them. Be careful. It doesn’t look like Drake is trying to hide their tracks, so it could be a trap. When we spot them, encircle them but don’t engage until I say.” Blaze glanced down at Shadow for a moment before he quickly shifted back to his wolf form. Artemus climbed back on, and they were off once again.
They ran for another twenty minutes before Shadow heard Jake. He saw Blaze stop and wait for Artemus to dismount. They slowly crept forward until they saw the two shifters in the middle of a meadow.
“And I said I can’t walk another step. So, either you carry me or…” Jake stepped back as the other shifter moved forward. It took everything Shadow had to not rush into the clearing. Blaze once again shifted back into his human form while Artemus appeared to be trying to get a little closer without being seen.
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