by Kim Schubert
“Shit,” a familiar voice exclaimed. I turned, cranking my head to look back at Nathaniel standing next to the getaway van.
“Don’t let him get away,” I wheezed to Mark. He tore the throat out of the man on top of me before bounding over me. I heard Nathaniel go down with a thud.
Shoving the body of the dead man off of me, I stood. The bellhop, whose wrist I’d crushed, was yelling incoherently on the concrete, writhing in pain. I looked at him for a moment, deciding he wasn’t going anywhere, and turned my attention to Mark.
“It’s too late, the team for Logan was successful,” Nathaniel hissed at me. Sage’s beta. I should have seen this coming. Mark had him pinned under a massive paw, his jaws dripping drool inches from Nathaniel’s face.
I slipped off the concrete pad next to them onto the asphalt.
“Sage is dead,” I reminded him, leaning heavily on my knees. Those fucking tasers hurt.
Nathaniel sneered at me and Mark inched closer, blowing his hair back in a huff. “It doesn’t matter. The show must go on. I may have failed here, but our other teams were successful.”
“Other teams?” Jerry asked behind me.
I turned. “About time you got in on the festivities.”
He huffed, “I don’t have shifter hearing. I got out of the shower to find Mark a drooling mess.”
I grunted, speech seemed like too much work. From the back of my head, tightness was spreading, along with sharp points of pain. I fell to my knees, my vision blacking out.
Logan, his name whispered around my head. I shook my head, pressing a hand against my forehead. Logan. I cried out, falling onto all fours, an awful wrenching twisting my insides. The air coming into my lungs was jaded with fire and I screamed again.
Where was my mate?
The torment was blinding and it wasn’t going away. I had to get control over it, but I couldn’t. They weren’t my emotions to control. I had to stem the flow. I had promised Logan I wouldn’t block the mate bond, but I had no choice. I threw my shields up forcefully, blocking myself from the rest of the pack.
Sweet relief flooded my body. I sagged against Jerry, my air whooshing out. Guilt was the next strong emotion flooding me. My mate was suffering and I wasn’t sharing in it, wasn’t helping him.
“Alright, Nathaniel, you have two options. One, you tell me where Logan is and I kill you quickly. Two, I slice, maim and dismember you for the information, then feed you to Logan.”
Mark snapped his sharp teeth at him and Nathaniel glared at him, unfazed. I’d change that.
“Your pet doesn’t scare me. I rank higher than he does as an Alpha.”
Mark pushed his nose against Nathaniel’s. I moved forward, resting a hand against Mark’s black-with-gray flank.
“While my dear friend makes an exceptionally talented negotiator, you, Nathaniel, are all mine.”
“Not to break the spell of intrigue you two are creating, but we need to go before we are seen,” Jerry reminded me.
“How nice, Nathaniel, you provided transportation.” I hauled him from Mark’s threatening teeth and tossed him into the opened cargo van. Mark followed. I shut the door, turning to Jerry, still on the dock.
“I’ll get our stuff. Call me with a location,” Jerry stated, carefully moving over the piles of dead flesh. A writhing form was still on the docks.
“Hey Jerry, that guy tased Mark.” I pointed at the groaning bellhop.
He stopped, looking down at the asshole’s injured form with a smile.
I turned away, getting into the van, trusting Jerry to handle it. I wasn’t leaving witnesses.
I cranked the engine and turned out of the downtown hotel, searching for a secluded part of Chicago to interrogate Nathaniel.
…
Thirty minutes later, I shut off the engine, looking around at the abandoned blocks of industrial buildings.
Mark had shifted back, finding a spare pair of badly fitting black pants in the back.
“I can’t hear anyone around us,” he announced, listening closely.
“That was faster than I anticipated,” I answered, spinning around in the driver’s seat.
Jerry came to a stop next to us, killing his engine. I moved into the cargo hold with Mark and Nathaniel, opening the driver’s door for Jerry. He slid in, handing a wrapped leather package over my shoulder.
“Thought you would need those.” I could hear the smile in Jerry’s voice.
I smiled, letting my fingers trail over my knives. “You know me so well.”
“And while I know you both love a good torture session, I have to ask why you don’t just read his mind,” he questioned.
I groaned, “Crap, you’re right. I should have thought of that sooner.”
I sighed, “Alright, this is going to hurt.”
I dropped all my shields; at this point, I was losing track of how many I had. White hot searing pain closed down my airway. My vision gone, I could hardly feel my body.
I forced myself to see the pack structure, the golden threads that I knew were my pack.
Blackness was starting to trickle down into the threads. Shit.
Back to my current issues.
“Where is Logan?” I asked, or tried to or hoped.
Please let this work, Mark thought.
I’ll never tell the bitch he’s so close to her home.
I slammed my shields up, drawing a pain-free breath. How the fuck did he know where I lived?
“We’re heading home. Leave the van, let’s move him into the SUV.”
They obeyed my commands, securing Nathaniel in the backseat with handcuffs.
“Call for backup. I have to keep the darkness from spreading.”
Mark nodded, reaching out a hand to my shoulder from the backseat. Jerry was driving and I was riding shotgun. Hope glowed in Mark’s eyes.
I nodded, letting my focus turn away from the physical word. I reached for Logan, feeling his agony, pain, and hopelessness.
Hold on, Logan. We are coming.
There was no answer, not even an indication he heard me. I dropped my head against my knees, drew my legs to my chest, and pulled. Blackness coated the inside of my mouth, halting my ability to breathe. Still I pulled the darkness away from Logan, funneling it into myself, letting it fill every deep, dark, crevice inside my broken soul.
I may not have much or be much, but I wouldn’t let the shifters lose Logan. Even if it killed me, he would take care of my kids.
I tilted my head back, my jaw locking with the overflow.
…
“Olie,” Jerry was rocking me. My body was spent. I was hanging on to consciousness by a thin thread.
“She’s stemming the flow of insanity from Logan,” Mark explained.
I rolled my head down, a breath hissing between my lips. It was a slow process building the walls back up until I was mildly conscious.
It took a few long blinks for me to be able to focus on the situation around me. I had been moved from the SUV and had an arm slung around Jerry’s shoulder. I dropped it, standing on my own, surrounded by an impressive number of shifters. Darkness swarmed around us. Behind the imposing small army of shifters was an outdated, pea green metal building, three floors high.
“Nathaniel?” I hissed.
“He is here,” Bear answered. Now that’s the kind of backup we needed.
“Good, keep him alive. I want to feed him to the Alpha. How did you find this place? Are we sure Logan is in there?”
Jerry nodded. “You kept chanting ‘close to home,’ so we drove around until Mark heard him.”
“He alive?” Caleb asked, his eyes hopeful. “I’m having a hard time feeling around your blocking.”
“Yes, no one’s fucking dying on my watch. Well, except for Nathaniel. And Sage.”
Bear’s eyes widened. “Yeah, that’s another story.” I rubbed my temples. “Okay, give me the situation.”
“Our recon shows only humans inside. From heartbeats, maybe twenty,” Cale
b dictated.
I nodded, Nathaniel laughed.
“Bring him forward.” My voice dropped deadly.
The shifters parted to reveal Nathaniel, his hands bound together in front of him. Bear reached and fisted the back of Nathaniel’s shirt, yanking him down. He landed hard on the pavement, his head bouncing.
I stepped between his legs, applying enough pressure to get his attention.
“What are you hiding?”
He hissed, “Do what you will to me. The pain you are delivering is nothing compared to what he is doing to Logan. Since you left your mate, he’s been tortured for the last seven hours. You are a pathetic choice for a partner.”
I pressed my foot to the ground.
“Who is torturing him?” And bitch I just killed your partner without you so much as making an appearance. I dropped my walls and in my own ears it sounded loud, crashing around me.
Zachariah.
I shook my head from the effort to delve into his mind, building my walls back up rapidly, willing Logan to hang on.
“There’s a master vampire here also,” I croaked out, leaning on Jerry again. Dammit, I straightened up.
Nathaniel’s eyes widened, and I leaned down, releasing my foot. “I’ll make good on my promise. They will eat you alive.”
I drew back from the piece of shit, forcing my spine straight. “You ready?” I asked Bear.
He smiled, nodding.
“Lead the first charge, I’ll be right behind you.” I wasn’t admitting I was too weak to lead to this bitch.
Bear leaned closer, resting his forehead against my own. Wait until it’s safe, Mate. We need you.
I smiled, relieved. “Always. Thank you.” I checked my shields, finding massive holes from my exhausted state.
Mark hauled up Nathaniel. “I’ll stay with you.”
I nodded. Bear led the shifters into the darkness. If Zachariah was paying attention, he’d hear us. I hoped he wasn’t. Caleb reached out, resting his hands against my biceps, leaning his forehead against my own.
“Stay safe, Mate,” he whispered. It was a high sign of respect and I was honored.
“You as well.”
I watched my pack disappear into the shadows. I wanted to lead the charge, I wanted my mate back. I needed Logan on a fundamental level.
I loved the motherfucker. Dammit all.
“They’re gone, Olie, come sit down.” Jerry helped me to the back of the SUV and I sat down heavily.
An explosion ripped through the air. I was up instantly, searching the building, running golden threads through my mind.
“Easy, Olie, Bear planned it.”
I nodded, still watching. Still needing to be sure my pack was okay.
“Can you hear what’s happening?” I asked Mark.
“Bear has shifted.” He chuckled, “He apparently thinks he can take everyone out himself.”
…
After fifteen minutes I followed Mark in, Nathaniel in front of him and Jerry behind me.
Bear had shifted back, a long bloody streak on his stomach healing as I watched.
“Where is he?” I asked, needing him.
Bear braced his hands on my shoulders. “Olivia.” The word was loaded with hesitation and worry.
“I don’t care how bad it is, Bear. He. Is. Mine.”
Bear searched my face before nodding. “Follow me.”
“Zachariah?” I asked.
“Gone. We never saw him.”
Dammit. I needed proof he was here.
The warehouse was dark. The humans were contained. I moved behind Bear to the room where Logan was being held.
Mark backed slowly out of the room, his fear rank.
“You can’t go in there,” he whispered, turning wide eyes to me.
Chains rattled and pulled. A desperate howl erupted.
Resting a hand on his shoulder, I smiled. “Keep everyone out until I say.”
He wanted to deny me, the fear evident in his gaze, but I was bound to the Alpha and Mark would obey me. That would take some getting used to.
As I crossed the threshold, the scent of urine and dead things assaulted my nose. Steeling my nerves, I waited for my eyes to adjust. In a dark corner where the light in the center didn’t penetrate was Logan. I didn’t need to see him. I could feel him just fine, pressing against the shields in my head.
Exhaling, I focused, dropping my guards. The pain was dimmed but ever-present. Zachariah hadn’t had long with Logan, but it had been enough.
“Here, Kitty Kitty,” I called him. Probably not my best idea to taunt him, but it was my favorite nickname and it made light of a situation that was kinda scary. Seriously, I’ll never admit that. I kept my steps even as I passed through the shadows and to Logan.
He launched from the darkness, his chains pulling taut and jaws snapping. Still I moved forward. He re-grouped within the small space, turning as best he could in his lion form and bounding at me again.
His heavy paws landed on my shoulders and we went down to the concrete with a thud.
“Missed you, too,” I grunted, fisting his fur to touch the skin beneath.
He roared, fangs extended. Dropping his head with force, he sank them into the skin of my neck.
“Fucking hell! You already marked me,” I hissed at him, my stomach muscles contracting. Pulling my head closer to him, I stayed there, blowing out a ragged breath.
“Easy baby, I’m here,” I whispered.
I wasn’t gentle, assaulting him with safety and tranquility. The shifters were picking up his anger and discontent from afar through the pack bonds. It wouldn’t be long before the weaker ones succumbed to pure beast.
I envisioned our first kiss, well, the first kiss I remember. His soft hands cradling my face, his long, strong body pressed against me. Warm lips slowly caressing my own before his tongue demanded entrance into my mouth. I let the feelings of peace and safety he inspired in me coat his body. The joy I felt at being included in his family gatherings.
The gratitude I felt when he helped me take care of Patricia Bellarosa. The comfort of his steadfast support when the sex tape was leaked. Everything I poured into him, and the tears showed up on their own, trickling down my face.
“Come back to me,” I whispered. “I need you.”
I had never uttered truer words. We might have been thrown together in this situation without full control, and without my consenting to be his mate, but I was in it now for better or worse.
The fangs in my shoulder pulled back and I felt the warm blood flowing. The popping of bones followed the brush of magic as furry Logan turned into human Logan.
“I’m here,” came the faint reply, his voice rough as he leaned his forehead against my own.
“Horrible things,” he whispered to me. I felt his shift of emotions flowing through the rest of the pack. I could see how each member related to him, was bound to him, and how they shared his pain.
My mind knew what to do. Before I realized what was happening, blocks were being installed around Logan’s memories. Only a trickle of emotion was going to leak, enough to assure everyone he was alive but not enough to influence them.
I felt the collective sigh when I was done.
“Look at me,” Logan demanded
“I have something in my eyes,” I muttered, opening them so he could see the tears. “I’m so sorry it took me so long to find you,” I whispered.
He shook his head back up. “How did you find me?”
“The mate bond.” Well, kinda. That was the romantic answer, anyways.
“I never taught you how to use it.”
“Good thing I didn’t wait for you to. I had to block you for a bit, but it all worked out.”
Logan moved off of me and I stood, careful of my new neck wound.
“Mark, you can unlock the cuffs and bring in the bitch.”
Mark and Bear marched Nathaniel in, careful not to meet Logan’s gaze.
“Meet the traitor,” I told him. Well, t
he traitor I left alive.
“Bitch, you do not belong with us, we are stronger without your kind—“ He would have continued, but I stepped up and punched him across his jaw, breaking it.
“I hope you’ve enjoyed your last few minutes alive.” I turned to Logan. “I wanted to kill him or at least maim him, but I think that honor belongs to you.”
His eyes glowing, he waited for Mark to finish with the last restraint before he pounced. I would like to say he prolonged Nathaniel’s misery, but the kill was quick. The mutilation took a while.
“I have more,” I announced when Logan finished. He was breathing heavily, blood staining his face and naked body. I reached out to cup his cheek with a smile, so grateful to have him back. He pressed into my touch, drawing me near.
“Follow me,” Mark beckoned, moving in front of us, but not before throwing Logan a pair of sweats.
I nodded to another shifter who was placing C4 around the place to blow it sky high.
“Bombs?” Logan asked.
“Our official story is a group of fanatic shifters blew themselves up in protest to the new Alpha Queen because if I’m here, they didn’t want to be.”
We rounded the corner and I watched his face light up at the humans bound in rope. “It feels like cheating,” he whispered.
“It’s not, but I can free one if you want. I need their limbs to stay attached, but do what you want to the flesh.”
Logan wanted to go but stayed close, touching me.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I assured him.
He shook his head, looking down at me. “I want to be here with you.”
I smiled, nodding. We moved outside, leaving and trusting the others to handle the bombs and humans.
I turned to Logan when I couldn’t wait any longer. “Was it Zachariah?” I asked, needing confirmation.
Logan shook his head, his eyes clouding over. “I don’t know. I never saw his face.”
“Smell?”
“Wolfsbane.”
“He covered his bases.”
Logan put a thick arm around my shoulders.
“Let’s go home.”
Chapter 18
I stood at our window holding Ginny, swaying as I cooed to her. Logan was taking his time in the shower. We hadn’t talked much on the short ride home. His shields were in place while mine had been dropped.