“I will not be told to rest while I’m there,” she demanded, glaring at both men. “I will return to work tomorrow afternoon, and if you want a Guardian with me, he better be ready to go when I am.”
“No one is going to hold you prisoner,” Talon assured her. “Please, pack a bag. Liberty is worried sick about you.”
“She worries too much,” Nova sighed. “I have silver bullets for my gun. I don’t see the need to run back to the pride.”
“You have silver bullets?” Winter asked, shocked at her confession.
“Yup, got them from a guy.” She shrugged, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. “Thought I’d keep them on hand. You know, just in case something happened.”
“We are keeping you safe,” Winter said, his voice sounding tired.
“Well, my daddy taught me not to rely on a man and to take care of myself,” she admitted. “So I got these bullets and loaded them up because you never know when you’ll need them.”
“Jesus,” Winter cursed. “You are one little hellcat.”
“Just like her sister,” Talon mumbled.
“Let me pack a bag,” Nova said in defeat. “But I’m taking my gun. If I’m staying with Winter…I might just need it.”
“Great,” Winter grumbled, flinching when Talon slapped him on the back and let out a barking laugh.
Chapter Seven
Nova slid into the driver’s seat of her old car. All of the Guardians headed for their own vehicles, backing out so she could do the same. Before she had time to put the car in reverse, the passenger door opened and Winter folded himself into the small seat.
“You need a damn truck,” he complained, pulling the door closed with an annoyed grunt.
“What are you doing?” she asked, narrowing her eyes on the stubborn Guardian.
“Riding with you,” he said, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms across his chest. “What?”
“Who is going to take your truck?” she asked. “And I don’t need a babysitter. It’s only a five minute drive.”
“You don’t know where my house is on the property and I’m not taking the chance of us getting separated.” Winter resumed looking out the front windshield as if he was just along for a ride to the store. “Are you going to drive or just sit there all night?”
Nova uttered a harsh curse under her breath and backed out of her spot. Oh, he can be such an annoying asshat sometimes!
Talon’s truck was ahead of hers at the end of the driveway and whoever was in Winter’s truck was waiting patiently to follow her out to the road. The ride over to the pride was short and Winter pointed toward the road leading past the big house. “Mine is the second one on the left.”
She followed the small road, taking note of the cabins that were dotted in the wooded area behind the alpha’s home. Each home was unique, a special stamp of the builder was obvious as she drove past them. It was dark, but the little car’s headlights illuminated the area enough that she could tell Winter’s home was modest and beautiful. It was a small two-story cottage, the siding was painted an off white and the shutters framing the widows were black as night. There were no flowers or shrubs against the front of the house.
“Just park next to the garage,” he instructed, resuming his quiet spot next to her.
Nova pulled up where he pointed, killing the engine as soon as the car came to a complete stop. Winter exited the vehicle and pulled her bag from the backseat. Nova grabbed her purse and cell phone, cracking the door open so she could get out. There was a porch light on that cast a path out toward the garage door. She followed Winter inside and gasped when she took in the beautiful home. The interior was done in browns and beiges, a few splashes of red thrown in by way of a rug or picture frame.
The living room was small and cozy, a fireplace was the focal point of the room. A red leather chair sat against the wall to her left and under a large window that looked out into the woods behind his small yard was a beige couch. Above the fireplace was a huge flat screen television. Like the alpha’s home, Winter’s cottage had a loft overlooking the downstairs den. Nova wondered if maybe he’d start a fire on one of the cold nights she’d be staying with him, but didn’t want to impose.
“Come upstairs and I will show you to your room,” he said, clearing his throat. “My room is over there.” Nova followed where his finger pointed. The master bedroom was attached to the living room downstairs and as she followed Winter to a set of stairs, she noticed the kitchen was to the left.
“If you need me for anything, please don’t hesitate to come get me,” he said. Everywhere she looked, Nova could tell Winter’s touch was all over the place. The home suited him perfectly.
“Okay,” she nodded, following him up the wide staircase. At the top of the landing, there was a door straight ahead and one to her left and right. Winter turned toward the right, opening the door to an average sized room with a large bed; a patchwork quilt was folded down, revealing white sheets beneath.
“My room is right under yours,” he told her, moving out of the way so she could enter. “A bathroom is at the top of the stairs.”
“Thank you,” she replied, dropping her bag on the bed. “I’ll probably sleep in so I can go to the bar tomorrow afternoon.”
“Have you talked to your sister about that?” he asked, his eyebrows knitted together.
“No,” she said, already shaking her head. “I need to go in, Winter. Liberty needs to rest. Your healer advised her not to do too much for the next few weeks, and if I’m not there, she will worry and go in to the bar on her own. I don’t want her out there with the wolves still in the area. It’d be better if I went.”
“It’d be better if you both stayed here,” he grumbled.
“I’ll be fine,” she argued. “I have you to watch over me.” She noticed how his eyes darkened at her words and she felt her muscles relax in response to the scent coming off of his body. Whatever that scent was that he produced, Nova had the sudden urge to roll in it.
“And I will,” he promised.
“Goodnight, Winter,” she said, turning to open her bag. When she looked over her shoulder, he’d already left the room and the door was left cracked open.
Nova climbed into the bed, covering herself with the thick quilt, then closed her eyes and fell asleep, content and unafraid.
Malaki held his baby sister as she cried. Knowing they were both getting weak because of lack of food and the absence of an alpha, he chewed on his bottom lip as he thought of a plan to get them out of there without Calla getting hurt.
“Please, Mal,” she whispered. “I’m dying. I can’t take this anymore. You have to let them kill me.” Her eyes closed from exhaustion. His beautiful baby sister didn’t look anything like the young, vibrant child he once knew. These months in captivity had done a number, not only on her body, but her mind. Living in fear would slowly kill anyone.
“Never,” he snarled, feeling his panther push forward. Thankfully, the panther knew not to shift because of the collar they had around his human neck. The thing was impregnated with sharp spikes that would kill him immediately upon shifting.
The door to their secured room flew open, the leader of the wolves was standing in the doorway looking tall and menacing. His gray hair was in disarray. The stench of cigarette smoke drifted into the room and Malaki could smell the alcohol on his breath from ten feet away.
“I need you to find that alpha’s bitch,” he snarled.
“Okay,” Malaki replied. He didn’t want to show how frightened he truly was around this monster. Any scent of fear from him would only put him at a disadvantage.
Malaki moved slightly to his left, blocking the older man from looking at his baby sister. He knew she was at her weakest, and he also knew he had to get them out of there before it was too late. The time was now. He had to do something if he was going to save them both.
“You have three hours to get the information,” the alpha ordered. “My man will drop you close to the bar and will pick you up in
the same location. If you don’t show, I will kill her.” The man leered at Calla, licking his lips as if he were looking forward to whatever he had planned. Malaki wasn’t stupid…he knew what they would do to her.
Malaki nodded and waited for the man to remove his collar. His panther pushed forward as soon as the bonds were free, but Malaki was able to calm his beast by thinking of getting them out of there. He turned his head from side to side, working out the stiffness from being bound for so long. Had it been two weeks already? Maybe longer?
One of the wolves waited outside in an old maroon Buick, the engine running loudly. The damn car smelled of wolf and sweat.
“Come on, boy,” the man grunted as he placed a blindfold over Malaki’s eyes. He was as old as the alpha of the pack, but from what Malaki could tell, he was very low in the ranks. It seemed like this guy did a lot of the grunt work, since he was the one who usually dropped him off where the alpha wanted Malaki to search for information on the pride.
“Three hours,” the man reminded when the car came to a stop.
“I’ll be here,” he replied, stepping from the vehicle. They’d pulled onto a side road just off the two lane highway that ran in front of the bar. Dusk would be settling in soon and Malaki could use the cover of night to do his work.
Little did the wolves know, Malaki was going to finally make contact with the pride and hope like hell they didn’t kill him or his sister for his role in the kidnapping of the alpha’s mate and the young woman from the pride.
Winter took a long pull off of his beer, his eyes roaming the bar. The dinner rush had just started and the place was pretty full for the middle of the week. He’d left the office at five and rushed down to the bar to give Dane the night off. It still pissed him off that the Guardian was watching over Nova while he was busy working with the sheriff’s office to find the boy who’d been reported missing in eastern Tennessee.
The missing teen had been seen in town by a trusted resident and local farmer two weeks ago. Apparently, the boy, Malaki, had been reported missing by a friend of the family after the kid’s parents and baby sister had been killed in a house fire over a month ago. Winter and Noah had been asking around town, but no one else had come forward. Tonight, they’d shift and search for scents on the farmer’s land once darkness fell over the area.
“Are you hungry?” Nova asked, stepping up to his side, but not close enough to touch. She’d been staying a few feet away from him since the day at the alpha’s house when he almost kissed her.
“Yes,” he replied. Winter couldn’t help it. His eyes roamed her body, taking in every inch of her petite frame. She was so little compared to him.
“What can I get you?” she asked, her eyes fluttering as a heavy sigh left her lips.
“Whatever is fine,” he replied, tracing her lips with his eyes. Damn, they were full and inviting. The dark color was natural and he didn’t think he’d ever seen her with lipstick or much makeup on the entire time they’d known each other.
“I’ll have Moe whip something up for you,” she said, turning on her heel so she could march off to the kitchen.
Winter wouldn’t call himself much of a gentleman by the way he watched Nova’s hips swing from side to side in those tight denim jeans she wore. Her tank top sported the bar’s name across the front and damn if her large breasts weren’t enhanced by the material. She’d braided her hair today and Winter had the urge to wrap it tightly around his fist as he mounted her from behind.
“Fuck,” he mumbled under his breath.
As the evening progressed, Winter ended up helping the bartender, Cole, stock the cooler. There’d been no sign of any wolves and he was starting to wonder if the Guardians Talon had sent out had found anything. They were going to be searching Nova’s property while she was at work. Booth, Savage, and Ranger were supposed to be combing every inch of the woods for scents or any identifying marks of the wolves. It seemed that they had just disappeared into thin air.
“Are you old enough to be in here, boy?” Della, the waitress, drawled, gaining Winter’s attention.
“I need to see a Guardian,” the boy announced. Winter’s neck prickled when the scent of the foreign shifter crossed his senses. His panther pushed forward as he lunged from his seat. The scent of this panther was the same one that they’d found on Nova and Liberty’s land the night of the equinox two months prior.
“Who are you?” Winter demanded, grabbing the young panther by his collar. The patrons in the bar gasped but his mind was on the young man and what he was doing in the bar.
“M…my name is Malaki,” the boy stuttered. The poor boy looked like he’d been starved. His dirty blonde hair was in need of a good wash, his clothes were also covered in dirt and grime.
“Malaki?” Winter paused. “Are you the boy they’ve been looking for in Tennessee?”
“Yes,” he swallowed. “The wolves…”
“Let’s go somewhere where we can talk in private,” Winter whispered, casting a look at the humans over his shoulder. He released the boy’s collar, but grasped his elbow, steering him toward the back of the bar.
“Winter?” Nova inquired, turning from the kitchen, a tray in her hand.
“I need your office,” he growled, knowing his eyes were glowing.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Go out to the front of the bar, Nova,” Winter ordered, flashing his fangs.
“Not until you tell me what the hell is going on,” she said, sliding the tray back into the kitchen window.
Winter’s panther was on edge. He had the rogue cat by the elbow and his female was within distance for this guy to hurt her…and she wasn’t listening to him. He felt his mouth changing, his panther pushing forward along with his anger. When he looked over his shoulder, Nova gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.
“I. Said. To. Go!” he snarled, the words garbled by his partially shifted mouth.
Nova scurried away, the tray forgotten. Winter tugged on Malaki’s arm, pulling him down the hallway. As soon as they entered the office, he kicked the door closed and released the boy.
“Talk,” he ordered, taking a stance in front of the door, knowing the kid couldn’t get through him.
“I can’t stay here long,” the kid began, looking around the room nervously. “The wolves killed our family and took me and my sister. I didn’t know where we were when we finally woke up. They had these collars around our throats.” The boy paused and pulled down his shirt, exposing his neck. There were dried specs of blood around his throat. Those were the same marks Evie had had from the collar she was wearing the night they’d rescued her and Liberty from the cabin in the woods.
“Your sister has been reported dead, along with your parents,” Winter told him. He inhaled deep, tracing the scents in the room. A shifter could smell a lie, but this kid was telling the truth.
“No,” Malaki said, gritting his teeth. “They are keeping her caged in a house and I have to do their snooping.”
“Why were you on the female’s land?” Winter pressed.
“They are looking for your alpha and his mate. They want the alpha for outing the shifters. His mate is just for them to play with to anger him.” Malaki sagged, taking a seat on the couch. “The wolves have been masking their scents with some type of oil. I don’t know what it is or how it works, but it does.”
“Fuck,” Winter cursed. Then why did he smell the wolves the other night when they were on Nova’s land?
“I need your help,” Malaki begged. “My sister is dying. We need an alpha.”
“Where is she?” Winter asked.
“I don’t know,” the boy replied, defeat written all over his filthy face. “They drive me here and dump me up the road. I have three hours to look for the alpha and his mate before they take me back. I keep sending them off their trail, saying I can’t find any information, but they are getting aggravated with me.”
“How much longer do you have before they come back?” Winter ask
ed.
“An hour and fifteen minutes,” the boy replied after looking at the clock on the wall. “Please help me. My sister will be hurt if they know that I’ve talked to you. They said they’d make me watch.”
“Son of a bitch!” Winter roared. Malaki stiffened but didn’t cower down. Winter had to feel sorry for the boy. He’d recently lost his family and was the only thing keeping his sister alive. “Be calm, son. I’m calling my alpha.”
Chapter Eight
Talon sat in the chair, watching his mate sleep. Liberty had been restless the past few days and she’d not been eating well. The stress over her sister being hurt, plus the pregnancy, was taking a toll on her. The healer had been by an hour ago to check on his mate and he said she was doing fine but needed to consume more protein. She’d finally eaten a hearty meal prepared for her by his mother and had fallen fast asleep. He couldn’t bring himself to leave her side for any length of time, but he knew he needed to get out to help the others find those damn wolves.
He jumped when his phone vibrated in his pocket. It took a moment for him to retrieve it from his pocket as he quietly left the room. As soon as he was down the hallway, he answered it before it went to voicemail.
“Winter?” he answered, seeing his second in command’s name on the screen.
“I found your rogue,” he answered as a way of greeting.
Talon’s panther lunged forward, his canines growing thick in his mouth. He took a deep breath, promising his cat that he’d get his time with the panther who’d been on Liberty’s land.
“Where?” Talon snarled.
“We are at the bar,” Winter replied. “It’s not quite what you think, boss.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Talon barked, rushing down the stairs so he could head out to get his own questions answered.
“It seems the kid that went missing in Tennessee is also one of us.” Winter sighed. “Talon, they are holding his sister hostage, threatening this kid to do their dirty work.”
Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) Page 7