As she stomped her feet on the porch to shake off the ice, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She was mildly startled – her phone reception out here had been laughable the moment she arrived.
Checking the caller ID, she was even more surprised to see May-May’s name popping up.
“May-May? Hi!”
“Haley, that you?” The line was fuzzy, but she could just make out May-May’s agitated tone as if from the end of a long tunnel.
“It’s me May-May! It’s so nice to hear your voice, are you okay?”
“I’m fine girl – it’s you that’s not.” The line crackled.
“What? May-May hang on – I’m going to get to a better spot.”
Haley stepped back off the porch and back to the water’s edge where she thought there might be less interference.
“Can you hear me May-May?”
“Haley – listen to me. You’re in danger girl.”
“May-May, what are you taking about? I’ve got so much to tell you – the cards were right; I have met a man -”
“Haley Dubois, stop your jabberin’! I know what been going on, I’m not a psychic for nothin’ – and I’m telling you, I did a card reading for you this morning, and something dark is comin’ your way Haley, something dark, evil and black.”
“May-May, stop it, you’re scaring me.” Haley tried to sound firm; May-May sometimes got a little erratic – claiming to see spirits, crossing herself when she bumped into certain people on the street. Haley wouldn’t stand for it.
“You should be scared! Haley, I mean it – somethin’ coming for you. Where are you now? Where’s that polar bear man of yours?”
“I’m outside the house, May-May – everything’s fine. Wyatt’s at a meeting, he’ll be back soon, we’re going to look for stuff for the nursery, isn’t that great?”
“Haley – don’t go back into the house. Get into the truck, and get the hell outta there.” May-May’s voice sounded frantic, “Please Haley -”
The phone went dead.
“May-May? Can you hear me?” Haley tried to call back, but the signal on her phone showed no reception bars.
Damn. Haley could feel her heard palpitating. May-May had scared her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, listening to the stillness around her. Moments ago it had been peaceful, now it was eerily quiet.
That crazy-ass woman! Haley stomped on the porch again, determined to go back inside and end this nonsense. She was letting her imagination run away with her, and it was ridiculous. How the hell she’d even known Wyatt was a shifter was a complete mystery.
She shoved her boots and coat off, leaving them by the door and slammed it shut. The warmth of the house, and the smell of their breakfast comforted her. There was nothing to be afraid of, she was safe, and warm, and May-May was a batty old lady with too much time on her hands.
Haley flicked the kettle on, and went in search of a mug. She wondered if Wyatt had a stereo somewhere; the silence of the house was starting to become deafening. Every sound she made seemed amplified, every creak, groan and electric hum of the house made her tense. You are being stupid!
Haley tried to shake off the unwelcome anxiety, but her heartbeat wasn’t calming. This anxiety wasn’t good for the baby. She needed to get outside and into civilization. Wyatt would probably think she was a crazy woman, but if her, and her baby’s health, was at stake then it was worth it.
Wyatt had left in the truck this morning, but he still had an SUV parked outside in the drive. It was a better option than wandering off in the cold – it was too isolated here for that. She just needed to find the keys.
She checked by the house phone and the table in the foyer, but found nothing. On her snooping afternoon, Haley had stumbled on the basement entrance – it hadn’t held much interest for her, it looked more like a workshop, smelling of dust and faint traces of gasoline. If Wyatt didn’t use the SUV all that much, then the keys might be down there.
In her current state of mind, a trip to the basement didn’t sound too appealing, but it was means to an end then she would just pull herself together and do what needed to be done.
She located the door. It was stiff, and she shoved against it. It creaked loudly as it swung open, and Haley had to pause for a moment to calm herself down. You are behaving like a child! She scolded herself.
She pulled on the light switch hanging by the entrance, relieved that she didn’t have to walk down into the darkness. A naked power-saver bulb lit the room dimly, casting shadows where bits of machinery lay against the walls and a couple of larder fridges stood humming away.
She started to walk down the stairs, heading for the worktop that had various keys dangling from nails above it. One of them was sure to be the SUV key. She began to sing softly, stringing together nonsense words, telling herself it was to reassure her little blob. Yeah, right.
She inspected the keys, finding two that had Ford key chains. One of these might be it. She placed them both in the pocket of the sweater she was wearing, and turned to walk back up the stairs.
Leaning against part of the wall by the banister was a large sheet of metal. Haley jumped on seeing her own reflection in it. She rolled her eyes at her stupidity, feeling calmer with the keys in her pocket.
As she was walking past it, she saw a black figure moving in the corner of the room. Her stomach plummeted. She lost control of her legs, as if they would collapse beneath her. Frozen with fear she couldn’t run forward, she couldn’t turn around, she could only look at her silent, distorted scream of horror in the reflection of the metal and the figure moving closer toward her.
Her senses jolted. Run!
Before she could act on her command, a damp cloth was forcefully shoved across her mouth and nose. She struggled against the arm that griped her, inhaling the noxious fumes of the cloth in rapid breaths. The room started to blur, swimming softly in front of her vision before everything went black.
Her last thought was of Wyatt and the smile he’d given her last night as he’d placed his palm across little blob.
Chapter seventeen
“Thanks for coming.” Wyatt nodded at Joe as the old man joined them at the table.
“What you lookin’ so smug about?” inquired Joe, disgruntled as always to be taken away from his easy chair and trailer.
“I’m taking the position. I’m announcing my bid for Alpha in the next few weeks.” Wyatt announced to the room.
Tucker cheered loudly and whopped, Colton just sat in the chair looking self-satisfied.
“Finally,” Joe retorted. He relaxed back in the chair as if a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders. It had been a long time coming, but clearly Wyatt had finally got his act together.
“I need to give Haley some time to feel ready for the pair-bond, it’s too soon to do it now – we need to wait a few weeks. That okay with everyone?”
Wyatt turned to Tucker; he was the one with the line to Drake.
“Should be fine,” agreed Tucker, “Been quiet on that front lately.”
Colton cleared his throat, smirking as he waited for Wyatt to acknowledge his orchestration of a perfect plan. Wyatt cocked an eyebrow at him and pursed his lips. His reluctance made the moment all the sweeter for Colton.
“Yeah, alright – you got a lucky break.” Wyatt murmured in his direction.
“What? You should be thanking me brother, loudly, and with feeling.”
“Hell, Colton – you just got lucky. It was a miracle that Haley responded to your ad. I’m not crediting you with a miracle.”
“Jesus. If that’s all the thanks I’m gonna get…” he trailed off, rolling his eyes. At least Hannah would be pleased with him that it had all worked out well.
“I take it it’s going well then – you calling her a miracle and all.” Tucker smiled, lightly teasing his elder brother.
Wyatt smirked. He wasn’t going to divulge the details of his relationship with these morons. He had, however, asked the receptionist to bring through so
me champagne. He was grateful to Colton and Tucker for helping him the last few months, there was just no way on earth that he’d let Colton know it.
When the sharp rap on the door came, Wyatt thought it was the champagne. He was as surprised as the rest of them when Drake walked through the door.
“Sorry to interrupt. I need to talk to you.”
He looked at Wyatt. Drake’s usual mask of indifference had slipped. He looked panicked, and as if he’d driven here in a hurry – truck keys still clutched in his hand.
“What’s up?” Wyatt asked.
“I think Simeon’s been watching your house. Word is that you’ve got a new mate there, one that’s going to be your ticket to Clan leadership.”
Wyatt’s stomach lurched. Haley.
“How the fuck?” Wyatt burst out.
“I don’t know. Don’t know the details – but, where is she? Simeon’s going to stop at nothing to block your rise to Alpha.”
Wyatt didn’t need to hear another word. Why the hell had he left her at home? He started running toward the door, his brothers calling out after him.
“Let him go.” Drake commanded.
“We need to go too.” Colton replied, jumping up from his chair.
“I think I know where they might be taking her – but I’m not sure. I’ll point you in the general direction and you’ll have to start tracking from there.”
“Then why the hell you let Wyatt go off on a wild goose chase?” Colton asked him angrily.
“Because I’m hoping that I got here in time. She could be at home for all I know. I’ve just got a really uneasy feeling about this.”
Tucker nodded, “Thanks, Drake. We appreciate it.” He turned to Colton, “We need to talk about security afterwards – there must be a leak somewhere in the Clan.”
Colton nodded.
“Joe, go and alert the rest of the Clan. I want them all on standby,” said Colton, “This could escalate quickly if we don’t get to Haley in time.”
It was a sobering thought. The three men left the office at a half run, down the corridor to their waiting vehicles. The receptionist looked stunned and flustered as they stormed past her, a bottle of chilled champagne on her tray.
“We need to drive up to Pavlutsky Point. We’ll park out of sight and then track,” Drake shouted over his shoulder.
“Wait,” Tucker commanded, “Drake – you should go and talk to your Pack. If Simeon sees you helping us out, and his plan’s successful, the first thing he’s going to do is come after you. Let me and Colton handle it from here.”
Drake nodded, “Appreciate it. Alright. Good luck.”
Tucker nodded and then ran to his truck. Colton got in the passenger seat, and they sped off.
Chapter eighteen
As soon as he opened the truck door to step out, the rank odor of wolf hit him. They had been here.
He ran to the front door, yelling Haley’s name. It was locked. He fumbled for his keys, noticing his shaking hands. Forcing the key into the door he yanked it open. The house was still. The only sound he could hear was the blood rushing in his own ears.
“Haley!” he yelled again. Nothing but silence.
He searched the house, looking for evidence – a smashed window, a forced door. Nothing. He paused. He needed to follow the scent, not wildly lose his head running in circles.
Closing his eyes, he tried to summon his primal instincts to the fore. Haley. He could smell her fear. It pervaded the house, making it strong enough to track. He could sense wafts of it mixing in with the smell of fried bacon in the kitchen, sullying their cozy breakfast scene only hours earlier, but the most potent concentration came from the hallway. The basement.
He ran down the stairs. Here. It had happened here. Beneath the reek of wolf, he could smell pure, undiluted fear. His heart broke. She had been so afraid, so, so afraid. And he hadn’t been here to stop it.
He could also smell a strong element of chloroform. His blood boiled over and rage drenched him. He would annihilate the men that took her.
Wyatt ran from the house. Outside he could see what he’d missed before, a shattered window by the ground – one large enough for someone to crawl through. He could see footprints in the snow, and followed them down to the bottom of the drive. They had carried her. Where the fuck were they now?
He could see no sign of a vehicle – there would be tire marks somewhere on the road. Which meant that they were on foot. The tarmac had been salted countless times over the winter so he couldn’t make out any footprints, but he could just about grasp the scent.
He looked around. Focus. On the other side of the road the land dipped sharply down to the port; there was nothing for miles – and it was a truly long trek to get down to the water. He scanned the landscape, only noting a flat slope covered in ice and snow. If they’d gone that way he’d be able to see prints.
The only other alternative was going up; a few miles from his house the journey up to Pavlutsky Point began, a steep incline that led to the cliff edge, then a sharp drop straight into the ocean. They’re going to kill her.
A sharp, technicolor image flashed through his mind; a graceful body, long hair as black as a ravens, falling, falling through the white sky, spinning and dancing in the wind before it hit the icy depths of the ocean.
Wyatt started to run.
He willed himself to shift. Usually the small primal tug within him would take a few seconds to spread throughout his body. This time it was instant; his bear wanted to be unleashed, wanted to rescue his mate. His human fear, rage and bloodlust were amplified as his animal form shook off the reservations of humanity and let instinct take over.
As soon as he reached the start of the incline, he saw snow mobile tracks marked in the snow. He emitted a low growl. It would mean they were travelling faster than he would have hoped, but they’d also made it easy for Wyatt to trail them.
His paws pounded the icy earth breaking the ground as his claws acted like ice picks, making the incline easier for him than it would be on his enemies – the drag on the machines would slow them down. He moved swiftly, his size no disadvantage to his speed, as his brute strength tore against the oncoming wind.
It wasn’t long before he spotted them in the distance. They were still driving, not yet at the precipice. He increased his pace. They wouldn’t be able to drive all the way to the edge of the cliff; they would have to get off and walk soon – the shifting rock level made it impossible to get to any other way but on foot. That would be his advantage.
Soon he was so close he was inhaling their gasoline. One of the men turned around, yelling to his partner as he saw Wyatt. They were almost at the edge. Wyatt wanted their attention now.
He rose onto his hindquarters, the snow-white fur of his polar bear quivering. Lifting his muzzle to the sky he roared. The ground trembled beneath him as the reverberations shook the mountain, ice breaking in deference to the sound of fury and vengeance echoing across the wilderness, the cry of one of Alaska’s most ancient and majestic creatures.
Two of the men yanked their snowmobiles to a halt. The third, carrying the limp form of his mate, carried on.
They shifted, becoming two snarling, wretched and malnourished wolves. They blocked his path to Haley, circling him slowly, keeping their front haunches low on the ground, ready to leap.
Wyatt didn’t have time to wait for their brutal, short attacks designed to wear him down by repeating to launch then retreat in quick succession. He wanted blood.
He leapt forward, pinning one of the wolves down with his claws outstretched. It whimpered beneath him, and then latched its teeth into his front leg. Wyatt slammed his paw down on the head of the wolf, loosening his grip. Wyatt launched his muzzle down to the wolf’s neck, ready to rip out its throat.
Before he could finish the beast off, the second wolf leapt onto Wyatt’s back, tearing into the muscles at his shoulder blades. Wyatt reared backward, trying to fling the creature off. As he did so, the wolf beneath him foll
owed him upward, jaw parted, trying to get his teeth into Wyatt’s neck.
Wyatt spun; avoiding the open jaws of the wolf in front and launched himself on the one behind him. Wyatt had knocked him to the ground, and he lay on his back, panting. Wyatt swiped his face with outstretched claws. The wolf whimpered and lay still.
The other wolf began to circle him again. Wyatt had hoped that he would retreat with his fellow pack member; if the wolf got the proper treatment now, he would probably survive. As Wyatt looked into the creature’s eyes, he realized it was a foolish hope. This wolf wanted Wyatt dead.
He didn’t have any time. The human carrying Haley’s body had now disembarked from the snowmobile and was making his way to the edge of the cliff. He couldn’t afford to let his panic make him clumsy.
The wolf jumped. Flying through the air toward him, claws outstretched, his jaw wide and rabid-looking in its hunger.
Standing on his hind legs, Wyatt welcomed the dog into his embrace. Its claws dug into his chest tearing at his skin and fur. His jaw plunged into Wyatt’s shoulder, biting deeply, crimson blood erupting onto Wyatt’s white fur.
Wyatt ducked his head down and in one fluid motion he ripped the muscle, flesh and jugular out of the wolf’s neck. It sunk to the icy ground, blood pooling around it.
Wyatt thundered toward the cliff edge.
Haley was still in the human’s arms. The wind was ferocious now, whipping at the pair as they approached the precipice, the kidnapper lowered his torso and bent his knees in order to struggle onward to his destination. Wyatt was going to be too late.
With his sight set so firmly on his mate, he didn’t notice the black shapes approaching the ridge from the left side of the mountain. They had been moving slowly, keeping their trail by the snowdrift formations that edged the cliff. Keeping their eyes on their prey.
The human stopped dead in his tracks. Wyatt thought he had reached the edge, and bellowed out a roar of agony and torment. He pushed himself to increase his pace, blood seeping out of him with every movement his muscles made.
BOX SET: Shifter 4-Pack Vol 2 (Wolf Shifter, Dragon Shifter, Mafia, Billionaire, BBW, Alpha) (Werewolf Weredragon Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection) Page 41