He moved before she could react and struck her with his uninjured forearm.
Pain exploded in the side of her cheek. The force of the blow sent her flying backward, and she hit something—probably the coffee table—and landed on the hardwood floor.
He crouched next to her as she stared back, stunned. “Kale is getting the enforcer position. They sent me to the outer border patrol because of you!” He snarled the words. “Now it’s my turn to get even.”
Shay tried to roll way, her face throbbing and her head hurting.
He hit her again. The blow landed on the back of her head, making her forehead strike the hardwood floor, and she nearly passed out. Her limbs didn’t want to work as she was lifted, thrown over his shoulder, and then they were moving. She heard him slam her front door then he leapt off her porch, her stomach painfully colliding with his shoulder.
She finally lost consciousness when he began to run.
* * * * *
Trayis knocked on the door again. “Shay?”
She wasn’t answering. It worried him. Had she freaked out by changing her mind about leaving with him? He pulled out his cell phone and dialed her sister.
Marcia answered on the second ring, sounding out of breath. “Who is this?”
“It’s Trayis. Is Shay with you?”
“No. She’s at the cabin.”
“She’s not answering her door. I’m here now.”
“Maybe she’s taking a shower.” Marcia lowered her voice. “I know the door code. Just punch in the numbers. You’re her mate now, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.” She told him the digits he needed.
He punched them in, the lock clicked, and he entered the cabin—then froze. “Shit!”
“What? Don’t tell me she got that human cold feet thing? Just ignore her and tell her to shut it.”
Trayis crouched, staring at the broken coffee table and a few drops of blood. He pressed his finger to one of them and lifted it to his nose. Then he tasted it. “The coffee table is broken and Shay’s blood is on the floor. She’s not here.” He knew that without having to check the loft. He inhaled. “I smell a male. It’s faint, but not a scent I know.”
“I’m on my way!” Marcia disconnected.
He called Arlis.
“Hey, brother. Are you on your way to say goodbye? We’re at the house.”
“I need you and your enforcers at Shay’s cabin now.”
“What’s wrong?” Arlis’s voice deepened, going tense.
“She’s gone. The coffee table is smashed like someone landed on it. Her blood is on the floor. There’s an unknown male scent lingering and Shay is missing. I think someone took her.” He rose quickly and closed the door, hoping to trap the male’s scent inside before the fresh air could destroy it.
“We’re on our way.”
Trayis searched the cabin quickly. Her packed bags were near the door with her purse, but no Shay. Then he waited by the door, time seeming to pass very slowly.
Who would take Shay? It wasn’t her family. He’d met Rod that morning, and had spent time with Dean and Sylvia. The remaining foster siblings had no reason to hurt her.
He heard voices and waited until he identified his brother’s from the porch before opening the door. “Get inside and sniff. You know everyone in your pack. We need to find out if this was one of yours or if her grandparents sent an outsider after Shay.”
Martin and Arlis entered. He caught a glimpse of Marcia running out of the woods but closed the door before she reached them. He held his breath, watching as his brother and his head enforcer took in the broken table, the blood drops, and both sniffed around.
Martin snarled and glared at Arlis. “Tegan. He smells of dirt, but under that, I know the bastard’s smell.”
Arlis grimly nodded. “Agreed.”
“The one who attacked her before?” Rage filled Trayis. “Where is he?”
The door lock clicked and Marcia rushed inside. “What’s going on?” She saw the damaged table and rushed forward, crouched and sniffed. “Shay’s blood. Fuck—is that Tegan’s scent?” She stood fast. “I’m going to fucking rip his balls off and make him choke on them! That bastard hurt her. Where is she?”
“Calm,” Arlis ordered.
Trayis wanted to roar in fury. A pack male had hurt Shay, and now she was missing.
Arlis pulled out his cell and made a call. “Alert all sentries and every member of our pack to be on the lookout for Tegan. It seems he’s taken Shay.” He paused. “Yes, Darlene. I’m serious. Shay’s missing, there’s blood in her cabin, and Tegan’s scent is here. Wide alert to every phone right now except his. I want him found!” He disconnected and faced Trayis. “I assigned him to outer patrol duty. He isn’t supposed to be here. Hell, he should be too hurt still to do something like this.”
“He’ll know the schedules and patrol routes of the sentries.” Martin looked equally pissed. “He would know how to sneak to the cabin and snatch Shay without being caught. Fuck! I knew we should have killed him.”
“Why would he go after Shay?” Trayis would kill Tegan. It was a done deal. He just needed to find the bastard first. “Where would he take her?”
Arlis shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“He’s an immature asshole who never could take responsibility for his own fuckups,” Martin snarled. “He probably blames Shay for his punishment.”
“Enough,” Arlis growled. “We’ll find them. He’ll have known to avoid the sentries, since he’s familiar with their routes, but a tasker might have seen him.”
“What kind of tasker?”
“We have people who clean up trash, collect food, and check traps we’ve set up to catch game.” Arlis paused. “He’ll avoid the cameras, since he knows all their locations.”
His brother’s phone rang, and he answered it. “What?”
Trayis stepped closer, picking up a female’s voice. She spoke too low for him to hear her words.
Arlis hung up. “Tegan was seen less than an hour ago near the river by our north border. A trash gatherer called when the alert came in. Brad said he saw him there yesterday, too.” Arlis looked at Martin.
“That’s up where he’s assigned. It’s remote, few of our pack venture there, and it would be a good place to hide a female.”
Or to kill one—taking his time, without worry about interruption.
Trayis shoved that thought out of his head. He turned, yanked open the door, and saw that a dozen members of his brother’s pack waited outside. A few of them were Arlis’s enforcers.
Arlis stopped next to him and tore off his shirt, also kicking off his shoes. “It will be quicker to shift and run. I’m not as fast as you but I know the way. Let me lead. We’ll find Shay, and then Tegan is all yours.”
“I’m killing him for harming Shay.” Trayis would go insane if anything happened to her. She was his.
He never should have left her alone to pack her bags. He knew some of her pack were assholes to her. He’d just never suspected one of them would physically harm her in any way.
Everyone stripped. They shifted and Arlis took the lead. It was tough on Trayis not to dart ahead. He could move faster than any Lycan, but his brother knew his territory better.
Chapter Thirteen
Shay woke in an unfamiliar room. It stank of mildew, dirt, and rotted wood. Her back was against a coarse wall, her hands painfully bound near her butt. She lifted her head and saw light filtering through some cracks in the wood planks. It took her a moment to realize she seemed to be in an old shack.
The floor under her had suffered water damage. It was a small space, maybe eight feet square from wall to wall. There was a half door, more like a wooden hatch, across from her. No furniture or anything else in the room. It was possible it was a storage shed instead of a shack.
Her head hurt, near her temple. She couldn’t see or feel what was wrong but her memories returned fast. She’d been attacked. That’s why her head hurt.
Tegan had done i
t.
But Tegan wasn’t with her now. She lifted her chin and stared at the ceiling. There was more water damage in the wooden slats. In the corner, some of them had fallen in, revealing a hint of rusted metal above, which would be the roof.
“Shed,” she whispered.
A sturdy breeze hit the wall she leaned against and her eyes grew wide when the entire shed moved in a subtle swaying motion. The wind died down and the shed stilled.
“What in the hell?”
She tried to wiggle away from the wall but the rope binding her hands grew taut. She twisted, adjusted her ass on the damaged floor, and was able to see behind her. There was a tiny hole in the wall. The rope attached to her ran out that hole. She gave it a hard tug but the rope held. It seemed she’d been tethered to something outside.
“Tegan?” She stared at the hatch. “Hello?”
He didn’t respond.
The wind began to blow again, hitting the wall behind her, and the entire structure swayed once more. Shay closed her eyes, focusing on the movement. Had the bastard somehow hoisted the shed off the ground? It would account for how the wind could make it move so much, including the floor beneath her.
Shay opened her eyes, studying the ceiling again, then the walls. The entire place looked as if it was about to fall apart any second.
She used her fingers to brush against the wall behind her. “Ouch!” She rubbed her thumb over the slight injury and felt a splinter. “Shit…”
The other walls seemed to be literally falling apart. Water and time had done damage to the structure. She hoped the one behind her was just as weak. Shay adjusted her body to bend her legs up and to the side, to get her feet closer to the wall behind her. Fortunately, Tegan hadn’t removed her shoes. After scooting around on her butt, she managed to bend and twist enough to get her shoes against the wall.
She pushed, but the wall only creaked. It was tough with her legs bent and twisted to the side the way they were, but she managed to kick the wall a few times. The brittle wood cracked. On the third kick, a chunk of the wall completely broke. She pulled her feet back and wiggled around again to peer out of that small hole where light poured in.
And saw the tops of trees.
Her mouth fell open, stunned. It had to be a mistake. She adjusted again, rolling onto her side as far as the rope would allow, and inched closer to see out of the hole she’d made. Fresh air blew in when the wind began to stir and the shed swayed again.
What she saw filled her with absolute terror. She was somehow suspended high up in the air, overlooking the woods below. It wasn’t a trick of her imagination. The hole also revealed more than treetops as she twisted her head at an uncomfortable angle to get a better view.
The river was directly below, twisting for miles. And she hung hundreds of feet above it.
“How? Where in the hell am I? How did he get a shed up here?”
She faced forward, her neck beginning to ache from having it twisted to the side to see out, and rested her cheek on the rough wooden floor. The wind blew again, the small building swaying, and fresh terror filled her. She needed to think and figure out how to escape.
Little time passed before she heard an odd sound. She struggled to sit up, using the rope to help her since she couldn’t use her hands to balance well, and the weird half door creaked open.
She stared at Tegan, taking in his bruised face. He didn’t enter but instead just glared at her. She could only see his head, shoulders, and the arm he used to hold the door open.
“You’re awake.” His gaze shifted from her face to the small hole she’d made. “I wouldn’t mess with those walls, you stupid bitch. I won’t have to be the one to kill you if you do it yourself.”
“Why did you attack me, Tegan? Where am I?”
Anger contorted his features. “I got demoted because of you.”
She gawked at him but recovered quickly from the shock. “You got demoted because you took drugs.”
“Because you, Marcia, and that fucking Kale were plotting against me until I needed something to calm me down! I should be an enforcer. Not that asshole. Then our cold-hearted fucking alpha sent me out here after doing this.” He released the door and held up a bandaged hand. Some blood soaked it now. It hadn’t been that way before. “Arlis broke my fingers because of you. They were healing until I had to tie you up. Now they’re hurt all over again.”
“Tegan…where am I?”
“Doesn’t matter. There’s nothing for miles. All the old lookouts for hunting parties are in this fucking condition. I have to shift and sleep in fur to stay warm, but I’ve got broken fucking bones. That means rewrapping my arms and hands to hold the bones in place each time I shift. Would you like to do that, Shay? Me either. How ’bout if the weather turns? Would you like to sleep in here? Knowing it could fall out of this tree at any time?”
She pulled together the information in her head. “This is an old pack treehouse?”
He snorted. “More like a deathtrap. This one just hasn’t crumbled apart yet. Some of the others have.”
She felt sick to her stomach. They were old lookout spots. The pack used to post sentries in locations where they could see for miles to give their people plenty of warning when large groups of human hunters went after wolves. It had been a huge problem about forty years before.
“Tegan, please just let me go. I wasn’t plotting with Marcia and Kale against you. I didn’t even know they were together until you told me. I swear.”
“Bullshit!”
She tried to remain calm but he was quickly angering her with his stupid paranoia. “You give me a lot of credit, but the truth is, I’m the lowest member in our pack. No one gives a shit about what I think, and they sure wouldn’t listen if I came up with some plan to hurt you. But I didn’t. The fact that you stole drugs got you into this mess more than anything else. Then you attacked me in the office.”
“I picked up wifi when I snuck into our territory to grab you, and got my text messages.” He glared at her. “Do you want to know what people were telling me?”
She had a bad feeling she could guess. “What?”
“The alpha’s freak of a half-brother is fucking you. I bet he’ll be pissed if what our alpha did to me gets you killed.”
He really was stupid. “You think Trayis will blame Arlis for you taking me because you were punished? Are you still on drugs? That doesn’t even make sense, Tegan.”
He snarled, looking enraged. “I deserved to become an enforcer!”
“Sure you do,” she placated. “This isn’t the way to get it, though. I’m sure another spot will open. Just let me go and I’ll never tell anyone about this. It will stay between us. You don’t want to ruin your chances.”
He turned his head, staring off at something. Then he glared at her again. “Nineteen years.”
Now he was making even less sense. “What does that mean?”
“That’s the last time a spot opened. Nineteen fucking years ago. I’m not waiting two fucking decades for another chance to become an enforcer. A new alpha will mean new enforcers he trusts being assigned.”
She couldn’t wrap her head around his thinking. He had to be certifiably insane. “Trayis isn’t going to kill Arlis over me.”
“He will. Greif is a terrible thing. I’ve seen it. The freak will blame everyone he holds accountable when you die.”
She was done trying to be reasonable. He was beyond that. She went for fear instead. “That would be you, Tegan. Trayis will kill you. You’ll never become an enforcer. The only future you’ll have will include your body being torched once he’s done tearing you apart. Let me go if you want to live. I’ll ask for your life to be spared. You need help. You’re not well.”
He snarled, rage twisting his features into a hideous mask, and fur sprouted over his cheeks.
“Trayis asked me to become his mate. Did the gossips tell you that in those texts? I’m supposed to leave with him today. He should have come to get me by now, and he’
ll realize I’ve been taken. He’ll be looking for me. You have one pissed-off VampLycan hunting me right now, Tegan. Let me go, or you’ll literally have no future. You kill me and you’re dead.”
“Lies!” he roared.
“I’m not lying.”
He turned his head again. She had no idea what he kept looking at. Then he smiled, the insanity showing in his eyes as he met her gaze once more. “If that’s true, I could make Trayis kill Arlis in exchange for your life.”
He was totally insane if he thought that would happen. The only one Trayis would kill would be Tegan. She didn’t point that out to him. It seemed anything she said, he twisted it into something crazy.
“I’m checking my texts again to see if you’re telling the truth. If you’re being mated, someone will have told me. I’ll be back soon. And I’d advise you not to move around. This thing is barely holding together. You won’t survive the fall if it goes—and I want it to be my choice if you live or die.”
He slammed the small hatch closed and small wood chips flew inward from the force. She heard soft wood creaking and Tegan muttering words she couldn’t understand, but all sound faded as he climbed lower on what must be a ladder somewhere outside.
Shay struggled with the rope but, unlike the structure around her, it wasn’t weakened by age or water damage. Once again, not being able to shift had left her in a bad situation. Stupid thumbs prevented her from being able to wiggle out of the rope holding her wrists.
She stilled, thinking about that carefully.
Then she took some deep breaths, pulled her hand back as far as she could, and slammed it against the wall behind her.
It hurt, but the wood broke instead of her thumb. Pieces of the plank splintered and imbedded into her skin. “Shit! Ouch!”
She used her uninjured hand to feel around and found a large sliver of wood, and she tried to saw at the rope. The wood crumbled, too weakened from water damage, but that didn’t mean she was giving up. Tears of frustration filled her eyes but she blinked them back.
Trayis (VLG Series Book 11) Page 17