by Evans, Bryce
“Oh, Jacky, what have they done to you,” she sobbed.
“This is what happens to people who disappoint me. Mr. Jacky here thought I wouldn’t find you but look whom is lying in the bed. Look, Jacky Boy.” Paddock grabbed him by the hair so he could see River strapped to the bed. One of his eyes slightly opened to see River. Jacky Boy struggled to get away when Paddock jerked him up to his feet.
“No, no. Let her go,” Jacky’s tortured voice yelled out. Paddock laughed.
“Let her go. Hmm, let me think about that. Uh NO!” Paddock bit out. “I want you to watch what happens to people when they disappoint me. Look, River.” Paddock’s voice sounded evil.
River didn’t want to look but she knew he would hurt her more if she didn’t. Paddock threw Jacky Boy into the wall putting a big crack in the sheet rock. Jerking Jacky Boy up, he dragged him closer to the bed. She could hear Jacky wheezing as he pulled him closer. Paddock pulled Jacky up then his fingers turned to claws as he sliced into his neck, allowing the blood to run freely out.
“Please, please, Paddock, don’t kill him. Please…” River pleaded with Paddock.
“I’m going to leave just a little blood in him so he can hear each time I suck your blood. I want him to suffer as he listens to what I’m going to do to you. I’m even going to tie him to the chair so he can watch it too.”
River knew now that Paddock was crazy and evil as he untied the rope from her legs and tied Jacky Boy to a chair then set the chair in front of the bed.
Jumping up on the bed, Paddock straddled River’s waist. Then he bent down and bit into her breasts. Taking big drinks each time. He continued to go to a different spot on her body as he sucked her blood out. River’s body couldn’t take anymore. Her heart was beating slower and slower as she closed her eyes. This was it and she was thankful she wouldn’t have to suffer any more of his torture. River’s body began to shut down as her heart stopped beating. Paddock pulled his fangs away from her body and used one of his claws and opened up one of his wrists. Putting it to her mouth, Paddock allowed some of his blood to stream down her throat. He sat on top of her waiting for her heart to start beating again but it didn’t, so Paddock started doing chest compressions on her chest when her heart started slowly beating again.
Jacky Boy started yelling at Paddock as he watched him bring River back to life. “You are an animal. Not fit for this Earth. You fucking piece of sh—” Paddock backhanded, him knocking him and the chair over. Turning where he could see what Paddock was doing, Jacky Boy yelled at him, “You turned her, why, why would you do that. She was special and you made her a vampire.” Paddock picked Jacky Boy up and sat him in front of the bed again.
“Because I wanted to, plus she would be harder to kill too. So I can continue to take her blood. You see, Jacky Boy, I have a plan and that plan includes River. She will be my little pet forever. I will be the strongest vampire and it will be because of River’s blood. So no, I won’t kill her, but I will make her wish she were dead. Just like you.” Paddock walked out of the door as Jacky Boy stared at River’s lifeless body.
*****
Rod opened the door to the conference room, allowing Star and Sky to walk in. Reece watched as Star flinched when she observed him sitting across from Jonas. Larken walked up and introduced himself.
“Come sit down and let’s try to sort this out.” Larken allowed Star and Sky to walk over to the table and sit down. He could see how apprehensive they were to sit down with him.
Jonas watched how Sky looked to his sister to respond first. Larken knew he needed to start this conversation. “Star, I guess you know what we are?” Star didn’t say anything at first then looked back at her brother before she spoke.
“Yes, Alpha, I know you are a werewolf.”
Jonas wondered if Sky could speak. He never grunted or shook his head to agree with his sister. He just methodically watched the men in the room.
“Rod explained to us how you came to live here in Freedom. How do we know you are really River’s sister and brother?” Larken asked.
“She is our sister. I can feel it here.” Star pointed to her heart.
“I will need more than a feeling to believe my mate is your sister,” Reece’s voice was lethal sounding as he spoke.
Star cleared her throat before she spoke. “River can heal people, correct?” Reece looked at Jonas.
“What can you do?” Jonas asked, cutting her questions off. He wanted some answers now. If they could help, then he wanted to get started looking for River.
“We both are healers and I know how to use some magic. We just don’t know what else we can do yet. We try to keep it on the down low so nobody asks us any questions. But the moment I saw River in town, I just knew she was our sister,” Star explained.
“Magic? Do you think you could help us find her?” Reece asked.
“We will do whatever you need us to do. I can try, but you need a powerful wizard or witch to do a finding spell,” said Star. Reece looked over at Jonas and Larken.
“Damn. Get Jansen in here.” Larken ran out of the room to find Jansen as Reece got up, pacing the floor.
“You love my sister, don’t you?” Star asked as she watched Reece.
Stopping in front of Star, Reece turned to face her. “Yes, I do. I love her so much it hurts and like you, I can feel it in here.” Reece pointed toward his heart. Star smiled then looked over at Sky who stayed quiet the whole time, staring at him.
“We both love her.” Jonas smiled at Reece for including him.
Larken ran in the room with Jansen. “Can you do a finding spell?” Reece asked as they all stared at the wizard.
“Damn. I didn’t think of that. Yes, I can do it, but I will need some of her hair to really do it right.” Jansen glanced over at Star and finally noticed her and the young man standing beside her.
“You look like River,” Jansen commented.
“This is her sister and brother.” Jansen looked up at Reece because he was told that River was an orphan.
Peeling his eyes from Star, Jansen looked at Reece when Reece said, “We don’t have any. She packed all her stuff and took it with her before she left.” Jansen nodded trying to think of something else he could use.
Reaching out and grabbing Reece’s arm, Jonas spurted out, “Her hat, the lime green hat. She left it in your car.” Reece ran out the door to his vehicle looking for River’s hat and coat. He ran inside and handed the hat to Jansen.
“This will do. I found a couple of them.” Jansen pulled the hairs he got from River’s hat and placed them in a glass bowl. “I need some apple vinegar, a sprig of rue, some lavender, mint, and wormwood. And some salt too.” Jansen asked for the ingredients like they were every day products.
“Wormwood?” Larken yelled. “Where the hell do I get that?”
“I have some here.” Star grabbed her pocketbook off the floor and rummaged around in it then pulled out some bottles. It looked more like a suitcase instead of a pocketbook. “I don’t have any apple vinegar with me.” Larken and the others just stared at Star. Wondering why she carried around those ingredients in her pocketbook.
Looking up, Star looked back and forth at Larken and Reece. “What? I told you I could do some magic. They use a lot of the same ingredients in a lot of the spells.”
Ash called and asked the staff to send some apple vinegar to the conference room immediately. Jansen smiled as he put the ingredients in the bowl then pulled out a lighter. A few minutes later, a staff member ran in with a bottle of apple vinegar. Jansen poured the vinegar into the bowl. Looking up at Star, Jansen asked for her help. “When you see my hands light up, light the ingredients in the bowl. Please don’t talk to me while I’m doing the spell.” Jansen didn’t wait for anyone’s answer. He placed his hands over the bowl and started chanting.
Nobody had a clue what Jansen was chanting. The words were not English and sounded like Latin. They all watched curiously as Jansen’s hands glowed over the bowl. Star did what
Jansen asked and pushed the lighter, holding it to the flame. Smoke and flames flew up as Jansen chanted. As the flame grew higher a cloud of smoke appeared. Inside the flame a picture started to appear. At first the picture was distorted and unfocused. Everyone moved closer to the flame as the picture became clearer. Ash put her hand to her mouth as River appeared tied to the bed. Her shirt had been ripped from her body with bite marks all over her upper body. Her face was bloody. She lay lifeless tied to the bed.
“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill him,” Reece roared. Reece’s and Jonas’s bodies shook with rage as they watched their mate’s lifeless body.
Then the picture ran up the stairs out the door to the yard then toward an old broken down farmhouse. “That’s the old Sutter’s Farm house,” Larken advised.
“Let’s go get our girl,” Jonas growled to Reece. His eyes changed to a vibrant yellow color. Glowing with rage, Jonas started for the door.
Jansen threw his hand to the door as it slammed shut. “First we need a plan before you go running in without knowing what we are up against. They have been taking her blood and now they are stronger than you will be. We will be slaughtered.”
Sky put his hands over his ears as Jonas growled so loud the tables shook. “Calm down, Jonas,” Larken yelled.
“We are going to get our mate and nobody will stop us,” Jonas growled out.
“Nobody is trying to stop you, but we want to do this the right way because you getting yourself killed isn’t going to help River. She would be pissed knowing you were going off half-cocked,” Larken muttered. He put his hands on Jonas’s shoulders as Jonas closed his yellow eyes trying to calm down.
“Okay let’s make a plan,” Jonas whispered as he inhaled deeply.
*****
River opened her eyes then closed them again. Her body ached but she couldn’t move. She fought to keep them open but she was so tired she slipped deeper into sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jacky Boy could hear Paddock telling Ricky they were going to drive to the county line to get some of his clan members. They had driven up from New Mexico for the battle Paddock was going to start.
Jacky Boy held his head up trying to see through one eye. He looked over to check on River. The change should have taken affect, but her body didn’t look better. She should have healed some but her body still looked the same. Her face was pale because she didn’t have a lot of blood in her. Her body was running on Paddock’s blood. Jacky Boy couldn’t see any movement from her as he tried to stay awake, but the darkness eventually overtook him.
Some time later, Jacky Boy wasn’t sure how long he was out, but he was awaken to Paddock’s fist slamming into his face. He was having a problem spitting the blood from his mouth as Paddock untied his arms and legs then jerked him up from the seat. He was able to look over and see that River was awake, finally.
“Just to let you know what will happen to you if you try to escape again,” Paddock said to River as she watched Paddock’s nails turned to claws. He grabbed a hold of Jacky Boy’s head and dug deeply into his neck with his claws then jerked his hands until she heard a pop then blood poured out around Jacky’s neck.
Screaming at the top of her lungs, River begged Paddock to stop. Paddock smiled then jerked one final time until Jacky Boy’s head came off. Throwing his body to the floor, Paddock left it there for River to look at.
Shaking her head back and forth crying uncontrollable, River screamed as Paddock walked out of the room.
*****
“You will need to drink some of my blood to get stronger,” Star advised Jonas and Reece.
“What…I can’t drink your blood,” Reece said angrily.
“You can if you want to get your mate back alive. She will need our blood to help her survive. She will need you to keep it together and use your head. So you will drink my blood to make that happen,” Star advised.
“We want our sister back,” Sky whispered. Everybody turned to stare at the young man. He hadn’t spoken a word since he walked into the lodge.
Reece and Jonas looked back at Star. Something had passed between the mates. No words were spoken but they knew what they needed to do. “Okay, Star, how do we do it.” Star blew out a breath. She was relieved they had finally come to their senses. She could feel their anger flowing through the air.
“When you are ready, I will let you bite me. I will let you know when it is enough. While you are gone, I will eat and sleep until my sister gets back and we will set up an IV so Sky and my blood can replenish her body. It will take some time but we can do it. We have to do it,” Star whispered the last part but everyone heard how scared she was if this didn’t work. The tension was so thick in the air one could cut a knife with it. Star went and sat down. She pulled her hair to the side.
“It is closer to my heart and it will flow into your system quicker if you use the neck vein.” Reece blew out his breath and looked over at Jonas who nodded. Reece walked closer and Star moved her hair away from her neck. Pulling her closer, Star looked at Reece and smiled. “It will be okay. I promise.” Jansen was standing now and when Reece put his arm around Star, the growling started. Star turned and glared at the wizard. He walked closer until he was behind Star. She could feel him behind her but didn’t mind. Star turned her neck then Reece bit down. Her gasp was of shock and not of too much pain. Jansen had moved to the side of her. His eyes stared back at her. He was the most handsome looking man she had ever seen. Watching him didn’t make it so bad as Reece drank from her. She could tell Jansen didn’t like the fact that Reece was sucking her blood. She had just met the man, but she felt close to him already.
Jansen felt the urge to protect this woman. He didn’t understand why, at least that was what he was telling himself. Watching, Jansen placed his hands on her back so she wouldn’t fall over. Star padded Reece on the back telling him it was enough.
Her blood was like River’s and it was the best thing he ever tasted. He thought of River as he drank her sister’s blood. He never would have done such a thing unless it was an emergency. This would consist of an emergency. Reece released Star immediately when she patted him on the back. He licked the wounds closing the holes he had made.
“Thank you, Star. I’m sorry I had to do it so quickly. I didn’t want to cause you more pain.”
Star smiled at Reece’s concern. She never had that with anyone except Sky. Her sister had picked well. Reece was one of a kind.
Before Reece backed away he kissed Star on the forehead. Feeling a little lightheaded, her knees buckled as Jansen caught her before she could hit the ground. “I’m okay. Just need something to eat and some orange juice. Then Jonas can—” Star tried but Jonas interrupted her.
“No, Star. I can’t take any more of your blood. It’s not right and my bite will hurt unless you are my mate. I don’t want to hurt you.” Jonas backed away as Star tried to get up. She fell back into Jansen’s arms from getting up too quickly.
Sky jumped up and walked over to Jonas. “You can take my blood. I can handle the pain. I’m used to it.” The pain could be heard in Sky’s voice. It broke everyone’s heart in the room to hear the young man speak. He had a scar that started from his left eye to ear. Somebody had cut him deliberately. The cut had to hurt while it was being done. The pain the young man had to go through during his young life.
“No, no, no—” Jonas said as he shook his head.
“Yes, Jonas. My sister’s life and your mate need you and this is the only way.”
Jonas lowered his head. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to be strong when he met Paddock and his men, but he couldn’t take blood from his mate’s younger brother.
“For once, I want to help and if this the only thing I can do that makes a difference then you have to take my blood.” Jonas still shook his head no. “Please, Jonas. Please. Do it for River.” Jonas stepped forward before he lost the edge to change his mind. He grabbed Sky then let his wolf take over and lowered his teeth the
n bit into Sky’s neck. No sound could be heard from Sky. He had trained himself to not make a noise. Seeing the pain edged on his face brought tears to Ash’s and Star’s eyes. The kid had been through the ringer and everyone in the room knew he had probably been beaten, most likely tortured, in his life.
Sky allowed his body to relax letting Jonas drink his blood. He wanted them strong for the battle he knew was going to happen. Sky tapped Jonas on the arm and Jonas immediately released him. Jonas helped him to the chair to sit down. Ash had already called for some food and orange juice.
Reece and Jonas felt the surge of strength flow into their body as they drank their mate’s sister and brother’s blood. Ash and Larken looked over at Reece and Jonas who appeared to look bigger with even more muscle mass showing.
“Now we go get our mate. Is Larsen ready with the pack and guards?” Jonas asked.
“Yes, we are ready,” Larken said then kissed his mate before he left with them out the door.
Looking at each other, Ash knew her mates would be careful but she feared for them all.
“Go to the command post and keep us posted. We will take the cameras and place them so you can see what is going on. If you see or hear anything let us know,” Larken said then walked out the door before he kissed his wife again. He could see the fear in her eyes for him and his brother.
Jansen reluctantly put Star down in the chair and walked out the door. He did it with such care that her heart beat faster as she felt his embrace leave her. Ash asked if they wanted to go with her to the command post.
“Yes, we do. We want to know what is going on,” Star added.
Someone knocked on the door as Ash opened it. It was the food and orange juice for Star and Sky. “Bring it to the command post.” The waiter and member of Larken’s pack acknowledged Ash as they followed them to the next room. Star waved for her to go ahead then followed Ash out of the room.