by D. Fischer
“What about fishing? We could go fishing. The creatures of the pond need to be thinned out,” Flint suggests. “Kenna, do you fish?”
“Not unless I’m forced to,” she says grumpily. I smile at her. Only fishing when I am forced to as well, I understand her aversion to it. I just don’t have the patience to sit in one spot all day and stare at a pole.
“When was the last time we went for a Pack run? We could do that instead of fish,” Bre suggests.
Now that the Pack is complete with two Alphas, the atmosphere of the Pack itself is full of anticipation. It seems that they want to do things together as a whole. It makes me smile that Kenna has brought the feeling of family and unity to us. They are healing and it makes me happy that she provided that.
“I’d like to add on to the gym. Maybe put down some mats and mirrors so we can spar in there. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to start some Krav Maga since we are earning some enemies,” Ben says, looking at me pointedly.
I learned Krav Maga in the FBI and had taught Ben when I became Alpha. We haven’t started teaching the rest of the Pack yet, though it’s been talked about. We never really had the room before.
Bre snorts at Ben. “You would.” She seems a little hostile toward Ben this evening. Though Ben often surrounded himself with Beta duties, fitness and Krav Maga have become a part of him that helps control his anger. He can have a wicked temper when he loses that control. But since Bre is in love with Ben and he isn’t seeing that, it has caused some irrational emotions from Bre.
“That’s not a bad idea,” I supply, doing my best to ignore Bre’s irritation. Now that the Pack financials are getting better, we can afford to add on.
“You think the Gray Pack will actually retaliate?” Kelsey asks as she brings a fresh pan of garlic Texas toast to the table. Everyone thanks her as they grab a second helping.
“I do. The Alpha was pissed that I wouldn’t let him deal with this on his own.”
Kenna frowns while looking around. “Where’d Jazz go?” I can feel her anxiety about not having tabs on the woman she feels is a threat.
“She was just in the kitchen. Told me she was headed out,” Kelsey explains while perching herself on the edge of the table.
“What the fuck? She really plans on not helping the Pack tonight?” Kenna asks.
“Of course she isn’t,” Kelsey replies, gracefully nibbling on a piece of garlic toast. Even though she looks calm, cool, and collected, I can feel her anger at Jazz, just like the rest of the Pack.
“I’ll have a talk when her tomorrow morning,” I say. I am at a loss as to why she doesn’t plan on helping the Pack in any way tonight. Maybe she doesn’t want to be stuck at the house with Kenna. She is still a wolf of this Pack and should feel obligated to protect it.
Chapter Thirteen
Makenna Goldwin
I sit on the porch swing with Kelsey as I watch them drive away, sipping my tea.
Jazz’s emotions and behavior are puzzling but I will have to sort that out later. I don’t like seeing my mate leave Pack territory without me. Especially if he is off to do some wolf hunting. It doesn’t sit well with me at all and it is all that occupies my mind. I don’t have space in my thoughts to worry about what that bitch is up to.
“How does it feel to be mated?” Kelsey asks, trying to distract me as I continue to watch where the cars have disappeared to.
I turn, angling my body to face hers. “Different, but in a very good way. I can feel him in my mind and heart. It’s indescribable.” I snort. “He’s loving my gift, though. He’s found a whole new hobby with reading people’s emotions.” Kelsey laughs.
Being mated to that man is more than I expected. Even now, with the distance between Evo and me, I can feel his heart beat, which matches my own. I can feel his mood and emotions in a tiny pocket of my mind. He doesn’t feel right about leaving me either.
“That’s exactly what I tell people when they ask me what it’s like—that it’s indescribable, because it is. How do you describe two people meshing together to be one?”
I nod. “You can’t know unless you experience it firsthand.”
Her eyes drift to my neck where the claiming mark is. “Did you faint?” At my blush, she laughs. “Don’t feel embarrassed. Jeremy fainted, too.”
I laugh with her as a mental picture forms. I can see her trying to slap Jeremy awake. It would be just like her to do that.
Unexpected exhaustion hits me and I yawn. I take another gulp of tea to try to get more caffeine in my system. I have no plans to go to bed before Evo gets back. I don’t want to wait until morning to hear what happened and I want to be awake to feel him in case something does happen. Letting my shoulders slump—they feel heavier than normal with this exhaustion—I feel concern come from Kelsey.
“Don’t worry, honey. They’ll be alright. There’s four of them and only one of Chris. Even if Chris is a crazy Rogue, he’s still no match for any one of them. Ben and Evo have trained us well in combat.”
“And what about the girlfriend?” I ask.
“If she’s human, Evo will get her out of the way. He’ll probably use the Alpha Command or something. If she’s another wolf, they’ll probably bring her back here and decide what to do with her after they find out who she is and where she came from.”
I nod and empty my tea, which is having absolutely no effect on me. Looking into my empty cup, I ask, “Is this decaf?”
She frowns. “No. Here,” she takes my cup from me, “let me go brew you a strong cup of joe.”
“Oh, you know the way to my heart, don’t you?” I smile up at her as she stands from the porch swing and makes her way into the house.
Seeing Jeremy’s wolf cross the lawn and enter into the other side of the woods, I let my head fall back and close my eyes for a minute. I am so exhausted and I swear it is getting worse. Just a few minutes of shut eye and I should be right as rain.
Jumping at the sound of glass shattering in the house, I turn and look into the window behind me, trying to see inside. “You okay, Kelsey?”
When she doesn’t answer, I hoist myself off the swing and open the door. Holding onto the doorframe for a moment, I struggle with my legs that feel sluggish.
“What the hell?” I whisper. I’ve been tired before, but I don’t recall having my limbs refusing to function from exhaustion.
I grit my teeth and slowly continue forward. “Kelsey, something’s wrong.”
Holding onto the wall as I make my way into the kitchen, I stop dead when my blurry, tired vision lands on a broken mug on the wood floor.
Frowning, I call out, “Kelsey? You okay?”
I don’t see blood, but I smell it. For a moment, I think maybe her absence is because she cut herself trying to pick up the pieces of the coffee cup. If there are no visible droplets of blood, that can’t be a correct assumption. Where the hell is she?
Rounding the corner to the dining room, I come to halt. Anger boils over me at the sight I take in. Jazz has an unconscious Kelsey tied to a chair and a gun held to her head.
I hear a very distant yelp from outside and that’s when realization hits me. The drink Jazz gave me—it was spiked with drugs. The distant yelp—that was Jeremy, probably making his way back to the house when he felt Kelsey’s pain through their mind connection. And Kelsey, with a large gash on her forehead, is tied to a chair while being held with rope and under gun point. We are under attack.
What a perfect time to do it. The Pack territory holds so few wolves to protect it. But Jazz can’t be working alone. Oh, no; if she is, there’s no way she could be here with Kelsey and out in the woods to injure Jeremy at the same time.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I ask.
Unable to hold myself upright any longer, my body slides to the floor along the wall. I try to contact Evo telepathically, but the sedative makes it impossible to get through. My heart thuds in fear. There’s no way I can defend myself, Kelsey, Jerem
y, Bre, and the territory in my current state. I am fighting hard enough just to stay conscious.
I won’t be able to contact Bre if I can’t contact Evo. What if she is already hurt, captured, or worse, dead?
“You bitch. What the fuck did you give me?”
“You’re right, I am.” Jazz giggles. “How’s that iced tea treating you? It’s my special little blend. I bought it just for you.”
I glare at her. “What the fuck are you doing?”
She continues to smile at me, switching the gun to her other hand. “Well, you see, Evo was my ticket to be the Alpha female and you took that from me. I’ve been denied what’s mine and I want it back. Now, I’m going to have the entire Pack watch as I take it for myself. Starting with ridding the Pack of you. Not much of a Queen, now are you?”
I laugh weakly. “That’s a mighty plan you have there—drugging me because you know I can kill you before you blink an eye. A real genius, you are. You’re aware that you have to be an Alpha to run a Pack, right? Who plans to help you with your fantasies? Who are you working with?”
She points the gun at me as someone walks into the dining room. He bends down and familiar, insanity-filled, eyes look into mine.
My hatred roars and I can feel my wolf trying to find the strength to surface and defend, but she can’t muster any more energy than I can. I can’t even move my limbs to kill the sick bastard a few inches from my face, so how can she surface to do the same? Our only hope is to bide some time until either the drug wears off or someone comes to the rescue.
God, I hate being rescued. I’m supposed to be independent, damn it.
“Not yet, Jazzy, my love. You promised I’d get to have a little fun first, before we killed the Alpha,” Chris Kenner says sweetly.
“My love?” I looked from a sick and twisted face of Chris to Jazz’s. “–What … are you two psychos an item?” Realization dawns on me. She’s the blond chick that Chad saw Chris sucking face with at the bar.
She snarls at me. “He’s my mate, you bitch.”
I have to admit, my shock is genuine. But I shouldn’t be surprised. Evo’s puzzle analogy comes to mind. What an ugly picture they make.
Jazz pulls her hooded sweatshirt away from her neck and exposes her claiming mark as evidence. The mating is complete. Shit. Double shit.
“You two are a match made in heaven,” I say sarcastically, fighting to keep it above a whisper. The drugs are beginning to take me under. I can’t be unconscious. Not now, with crazy bitch and cannibal fuck-tard in the same room as me.
“Mmm. But we are, aren’t we, darling.” He bends down and picks up my arm. Dragging me to a chair, he roughly sits me in it.
“I’ve heard you haven’t been nice to my mate.” He sits eye level with me, laying out a palm-sized folded leather piece from his pocket and sets it on the table.
I feel Jazz grab my arms and wrap them around the back of the chair, tying them together. This isn’t going to be good. I can barely move them to protest. Once she finishes tying my hands together, I won’t be getting out.
At the sight of his shiny tools being exposed, my heart rate thuds faster, fear coursing through my veins as my wolf tries frantically to muster up strength.
“What exactly is your idea of fun?” I try to pick up my limbs and see if I could try to escape this, but they aren’t listening. My voice is barely above a whisper, so I know I can’t use the Command to make them stop. I’ve never even used the Alpha Command before, so I wouldn’t know how, anyway. I am in trouble and I know it.
“I must admit, it was a surprise to learn you were a wolf. But it’s of no matter.” He waves his hand in the air. “You’ve been a particularly difficult woman to kill, Makenna. After sending the vampire after you, you went off the radar. That is, until I met my Jazzy at a bar in town. She had all sorts of information on you. In fact, my darling is the one who came up with this idea. She knew your Pack would soon be out searching for me and when that opportunity came, I would slip in, taking care of you and giving my mate what she wants—to be Alpha. At the same time, I get what I want. By killing you, I’ll be killing your mate. Two birds, one stone.”
“You really think this Pack will listen to Jazz?” I need to bide my time. With every hope that Bre is still out there, I know she is my only chance at this point. Kelsey doesn’t look to be waking any time soon and she will be in absolutely no shape to figure a way out of here better than I can.
I also know Jazz doesn’t know that Bre planned to stay behind and guard the territory. Bre had just announced it during supper while Jazz was gone. If she is still out there and not unconscious, she can contact Evo.
Watching as Chris is examining what looks to be a scalpel, I frantically think of ways to distract these loons long enough to live, because that simple little knife looks mighty sharp. I am not naive enough to think that I’m not about to go through a world of pain. But knowing if I die, Evo will die with me—which was clearly their plan—I have to come up with something to gain more time.
Evo can’t die. I just can’t imagine a world without him in it. This Pack needs him. To fall under the hands of these two sadistic fucks would be a tragedy.
“Oh, they’ll listen. Or die. Whichever they prefer. I sure hope they pick the latter. I have a new flay knife I’m dying to try out,” Chris says cheerfully. I feel goosebumps rise on my skin at his glee.
“It doesn’t have to be this way, Chris. You’ve found your mate. You two can go start your own Pack and be happy. No one has to die.”
He looks at me thoughtfully. “But I like Jazz’s idea much better. Her way sounds more exciting.” He turns to look at Jazz who is behind me. “Is she secure, darling?”
“Yes, baby.” Her purr makes me want to vomit. They are well suited for each other. Psycho and Psycho.
“What did you do with all the people you abducted?” I question, trying to keep this guy’s attention off using his tiny sharp toy on me.
“I believe you already know the answer to that, little Queen.” At my shock, he laughs. “Yes, I know about that. My Jazzy doesn’t keep things from me. Including everything said or speculated about me within your Pack.”
I want to vomit. Between my drugged body and the confirmed suspicions on what Chris was doing with the people he abducted, my stomach is rolling. He is eating people. Actually eating them. It is one thing to suspect, but a whole other situation to have it confirmed.
“And you’re okay with this?” I ask Jazz. “Eating people is now your thing, too?” She doesn’t answer me.
Chris smiles at me. “Now, Makenna. Did you know my favorite color is red? Not a normal red. I enjoy the red that comes from a deep vein.” He lets the scalpel tickle the skin on my arm, my breath becoming quicker at the impending pain. “The dark red—it’s such a soothing color, don’t you think? It tastes so lovely and slides down the tongue with such a slick ease.”
He slowly presses the knife into my upper arm until it splits my skin and drags it along halfway down my arm as I moan from the pain. My wolf musters up snarls inside my head, angry that she can’t be set free. I can feel the warm blood ooze down my skin. Not wanting to watch myself be butchered, I close my eyes until I feel the blade lift from my flesh.
“See that color, Jazzy, darling? Isn’t it as beautiful as I said it would be?” He touches his finger to the flow of blood that is making its way down my skin and brings it to his lips, tasting. Panting from the pain, I watch as his eyes glow wolf and he hums as he swallows.
“You’re a sick fuck.”
“Insulting me will get you nowhere, Makenna,” Chris whispers. Those words are the same words that I told Evo that first night I met him as Chris was being escorted from the police station. He had heard them and is now throwing them back at me.
Eyes still glowing, he pierces my skin on my other arm, creating the same injury. He is completely consumed with the taste of my blood. Gritting my teeth as hard as I can, sounds of pai
n leave my throat as I try to remain conscious.
Evo Johnson
The pound of the music, the sight of the strobe lights, the swell and flow of bodies, the assault of so many emotions—it dulls all my senses. I don’t know how Kenna does this and stays sane. No wonder she used to live in her own. Nobody with this gift would live with a group of humans.
“This place is a mad house,” Dyson screams over the music.
We have just entered the bar and fan out in pairs. Ben and Flint are on the other side of the bar’s island and Dyson and I sit on stools closest to the main entrance. If we have any hope of catching Chris, the best bet is to stay near the entrance. Unless he is already here, which is why Ben and Flint are on the other side. Chris will have to order a drink or two if he plans to blend in.
You can’t just go around and snatch people without looking like you belong first. He has to be approachable.
It is a good system, but the problem is that finding Chris in this massive flow of bodies may prove to be difficult. It would be a perfect place for him to find a victim and stay undetectable.
Unsuspectingly, my heart begins thudding faster and my wolf begins pacing inside me. I am at a loss to explain the reasoning. Sure, I am anxious to get this over with and get back to Kenna, but my heart wasn’t pounding before now. My wolf wasn’t this anxious before now, either. He is usually calm and confident before any form of challenge.
“How are we going to find him in here?” Dyson asks.
“Just keep your eyes open. He may not even be here. There are plenty of bars in town with plenty of places to snatch people.”
“How do we even know he plans to go out tonight?”
“We don’t.” This is all by guess. However, we can’t sit at home any longer and pretend he isn’t out here abducting women and potentially exposing our race. If the police end up catching him before we do, more people will get hurt and our entire way of life will be uprooted. It would be disastrous.