by Jo Larue
With his eyes still closed, Sylas reached for his mother’s hand and shot up into a sitting position. He pleaded with his mother. “They took her, but I can’t sense her! Please tell me she is still alive.”
Sylas opened his eyes slowly and took in his surroundings. Jack finally released the air he had been holding. He looked around the site again and was shocked to see other shifters standing in a loose circle just outside the tree line. They all were in human form with their heads bowed, as if in prayer. He could not scent all their animal forms, but he could tell that there were many different animals represented.
Jack tore his gaze back to Sylas and Lachesis when he heard her begin to speak. “She is alive, my son, but she has been drugged as you were. You will not be able to sense her or mind speak with her until allowed to come off them.” Zeus helped them both to their feet and Jack followed suit.
Zeus looked at his son with love in his eyes. He raised his hand and motioned to all the shifters at the tree line. “I have called for all of the Alpha’s from the immediate area clans to come here for you. It is time for this to end. This Alpha male and his Beta have pushed too far. We have done what we can. It is now up to you to finish this, Son.”
Jack and Sylas bowed their heads in reverence. Lachesis stepped over and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. Looking at Sylas and then at Jack, she smiled and kissed them both on the cheek.
“I know this is hard on you both, but all will be well. Never give up your faith, either of you. Be well, my sons.” They watched as Zeus took her hand as they slowly shimmered away.
Chance Found ~ Chapter 1
“How did they find us here, Jack? I don’t understand it.”
Sylas paced the ground in front of him, stopping only long enough to ask the question and scrub his face with his hands in frustration. When he removed his hands and finally looked at, he stopped. Jack was pale and slightly shaking, but from what he wasn’t sure. He hadn’t seen him this pale since his mate died and it suddenly dawned on him. In his worry about Chance, he hadn’t considered what his best friend was going through. Sylas reached out a hand and clapped it on his shoulder.
“I get it, Jack. We will find her and we will both exact revenge on what they’ve done. I need you to help me keep my shit together. Okay, Bro? Remember what I told you long ago? I am truly immortal and so is Chance. Neither of us can die from mortal wounds. ”
Sylas watched as Jack nodded and took a deep breath, pulling his thoughts together and back into the game. He could tell he was going to be okay when his color deepened, returning almost back to normal. They both seemed to remember at the same time they had an audience and as one they turned towards the tree line. Sylas stepped forward first, with Jack following as his Beta. Once they reached the tree line, the Alpha’s nodded their heads in respect and waited for him to begin speaking.
“Thank you for heeding my father’s call. I know by now many of you have heard rumors of the wolf Alpha, Craven, and his pack of rogues. Most of what you’ve heard is truth.”
The other clan Alpha’s shifted uncomfortably at this news and a few in the back were murmuring quietly. Sylas gave them time to let his news sink in. He wanted their full attention and this was the only way to get it. All shifters knew defiance of the Enforcer was an open declaration and a death sentence. One that 99 percent of the population did not want. Craven defied him and now would pay, and these shifters would jump at a shot to help bring him down. Bringing attention to their existence could mean a death sentence for all of them and they knew it.
“I need to enlist all of you to help me track this Alpha down. He took from me the one thing I care for the most, my mate.”
More murmurs broke out, but this time Sylas didn’t pause. “I need tracking specialists from each group. I know he will run. I was left for dead by his Beta, but I know Craven and he won’t chance getting caught. I need the fastest of you to head to their compound in an effort to catch him before he can.”
Heads turned towards the woods and Sylas heard movement as their companions left to do their bidding.
“I will need some to stand watch on her property and not disturb the construction there.” More heads turned and more orders were obeyed.
“Mostly I need the word spread throughout the lower 48 and Canada that no one is to give him a place of harbor. I will consider those clans part of the enemy and justice will be dealt swiftly. I want my mate back in one piece. I’m sure you understand my meaning.”
The birds hit the air and mammals the ground.
“I need her back as quickly and safely as possible. Craven is sadistic and it is not beyond him to try and use her as a shield. Keep this in mind if you confront him. Thank you again. Jack and I are heading to his compound first. Those that wish to join us are welcome.”
Sylas turned to Jack and nodded. No words were needed. They both shifted and hit the ground running as fast as their legs could carry them. Sylas took a second to glance behind him. It appeared that all of the Alpha’s were with him and he smiled inwardly. He would need them all to accomplish his goal. He could hear the beating of wings above him, but he didn’t need to see them to know the birds were moving ahead of them at break neck speed. It had been centuries since all of the clans had come together like this and it gave him hope.
The miles between were covered in record time. Sylas didn’t slow until he was almost to the compound. He caught a whiff of wolf in the air but the scent was familiar. As they rounded a stand of trees, he saw a man standing in a clearing apparently waiting on them. Sylas stopped and shifted. He motioned the rest to continue on without him.
Jack took the lead and the rest followed. As he moved closer, he took in his appearance. He was dressed in black western attire from his hat to his boots. He wore long black hair and his eyes were silver gray. The man raised his hands, palms up, in supplication but kept his eyes on Sylas. When he got within five feet of the man, he stopped and waited for him to speak.
“I know you, Enforcer, and I know for whom you are searching. My name is Dakota and we need to talk before you go to the compound. Please, spare me a minute?”
“You have two and I suggest you not waste them.”
“To the point then. I just learned recently that you’ve met my father, John, the Indian dowser from the property next door. I also learned my children, once thought dead for many years, are still alive. Your mate, Chance, is one of them… my daughter.”
Sylas looked at the man closely. He could see a resemblance. He also remembered what John said that day on the property. He called Chance his granddaughter. John was not a shifter, but a human shaman. He didn’t understand how this could be. He could smell the truth in Dakota’s words, but it wasn’t adding up, because obviously the man was a wolf shifter.
“I can see your confusion, Enforcer, but I don’t have time to explain everything now. We both have a common goal and that is to get Chance back safely. I am the best tracker in the country. Stick with me and we will get her back together. Deal?”
Dakota reached out his hand and Sylas took it. He would get his answers later. Sylas shifted and Dakota followed suit. Together they continued towards the compound, black leopard and wolf running in tandem.
Once they reached the cabin, Sylas took in the controlled chaos as he shifted back to human form. Jack was shouting orders to round up the rogues into a nearby barn. When he saw Jack’s face, he knew they arrived too late to catch Craven. The anger and frustration he saw there was palpable.
Sylas turned back to speak to Dakota, but the man was running into the cabin and he couldn’t help but follow. He watched as the man sniffed the air and literally followed his nose down a darkened hallway. He opened a door at the end and saw the man disappear down a set of stairs. Sylas took note of several cameras and put it in his mind to find the computer equipment in hopes of garnering more information. He heard a commotion coming from the stairwell and rushed down to help. What he saw in that room made his heart stop.
Dakota lowered him gently to the floor and then whipped out a phone. He made a quick call to John and hung up. Bending back down over the hurt man, Dakota started talking to him. Sylas had backed up to give him space, but he could still hear him.
“Trey? Can you hear me? Nod, if you understand.”
Sylas watched as the man on the floor gave an almost imperceptible nod. In the state he was in, Sylas guessed that he had been drugged and had been chained in this room for days. Sylas went back up the stairs and found several unopened bottles of water in the kitchen area. He took them back down and handed one to Dakota after opening it.
“Give it to him slowly. There is no telling how long he has been without. He also appears to have been drugged. I’m a medic. May I look him over for major injuries?”
Dakota nodded his thanks and permission. Sylas checked him over and found nothing more than flesh wounds from the shackles. He had been trussed up with spikes to prevent shifting. Once he was able to shift, they would heal quickly. He looked at Trey’s face and felt as if he knew him from somewhere, but for the life of him, he couldn’t place him. His scent was familiar and it hit him suddenly.
This was the wolf that attacked Chance in her home. His scent was distinctive and he knew something was off. Sylas went back up the stairs and called for Jack. He asked for men to help carry this man, Trey, up the stairs. Jack went out and came right back with a couple of bear shifters. They went down and brought him up with Dakota right on their heels.
Sylas pulled Dakota to the side as they laid Trey out on a couch. He handed Jack the other bottle of water and nodded towards him. Sylas noticed the reluctance in Jacks demeanor. They both knew this was the one behind some of this mess. Jack took it and gave Trey more water while Sylas asked Dakota the burning question on his mind.
“Who is this Trey? I recognize his scent from my mate’s home and if he’s the man I think he is, then he has some major explaining to do when he comes around.”
“Trey is my son and your mate’s full brother.”
Sylas kept waiting on the punch line that never came. He eyed Dakota for signs of deception and found none. He ran his hands through his hair and let out a big whoosh of air.
“You’re telling me the man who attacked my mate in her home is her brother? She almost killed him! Hell, if he’s who I think he is, I almost killed him! Could this situation get any more fucked up? Jack… JACK!” Sylas felt his last thread of sanity slowly unraveling and he needed to take a walk to clear his mind.
“Dakota meet Jack. Jack, Dakota. Dakota, please tell Jack everything you told me and everything you haven’t. I’m going outside for air before I do kill someone. Jack…”
“I got your back, Sy. Just go. I got this.”
Sylas walked away as Dakota started his story. He wanted to hear it, but right now was not the time. He wanted to try and contact Chance mentally. He needed a clear head for it and that was not going to happen listening to their conversation. Sylas walked outside and saw the Alpha’s had everything under control, including interrogations of the prisoners.
Sylas pulled one to the side and gave him instructions that none were to be harmed. According to his mother, they were innocents and to be treated as such. Wrong place, wrong time scenario. After he was given the promise that all were being kept under guard, he wandered off to find a place to calm his mind.
Searching until he found a large boulder in the shape of a giant chair sitting under a large oak, Sylas finally sat down and crossed his legs in a meditative position. It took everything in him to clear his racing thoughts. It seemed like it took forever, but was actually only minutes later when he reached out a feeler for Chance. Nothing was coming to him, so he dug deeper and reached out farther. Next thing he knew, Sylas was assailed with excruciating pain and darkness. He gasped from the intensity of the feelings she was sending him. As suddenly as the pain hit him, it was gone.
Sylas tried for several more minutes to reach her and failed. Craven must have drugged her again and Sylas seethed with anger. He vowed that Craven would suffer before he killed him. If it was the last thing he did on this earth, the man would pay.
There are many people I would like to thank for making my dream become reality. First and foremost, my family, without whom any of this would be possible. Their patience and tolerance (most of the time) of my disappearing behind a computer to write has made this possible.
My Dream Team of miracle workers, Cristina Frey, Francesca Klinger, Amanda Graves, Amanda Hamlin-Maneke, Lisa Harkenrider, Barbi Rumfield, Tanya Hahn, Macee Fay, Jillian Reed Young, Shawn Proveaux, Lois Lane, Natasha Post, Erika McDonald, and Ken McBride. All of you may not have wanted credit, but you deserve it and so much more. Without all of you, this would not be happening. I Heart all of you with a capital H!
My real job co-workers, Claude, Carey, and Sheila, who took the time to let me pester you into reading chapter after chapter. Thank you to Casey, Rick, Branden, Joyce, Lisa, and Ellie for allowing me to edit while working and for answering my 1000 & 1 questions about the book and covers. You all are the best people I have had the honor to work with.
Special thank you: To Hank Irwin for his publishing advice. To authors Karen A. Thompson and Elle Casey for all your help with advice on where and how to become my own person in this strange new world. Imoan Braxton, thank you for wanting to publish my book, and accepting my wish to do this on my own.
Ken McBride for volunteering to do my covers. Best almost stalker a girl could ever have. Thank you to Amy Wels for bringing his almost stalking self to me. I <3 you too!
Last but never least to my extended family for believing in me.
You all are the best aunts and cousins a girl could ever have. I inherited my love of reading and writing from my late Grandma
Drew. I know she is up there watching me with a smile on her
face. She would never approve of the story content, but I know she would be proud of my accomplishments.
Index
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
About The Author
Teaser: Chance Found
About the Author
Jo LaRue has kept stories in her head all her life, but never put any down on paper until recently. Her favorite genres are Fantasy Fiction and Paranormal Romances of any type, be they for teens (YA) or erotica (NA).
Jo lives in northeast GA with her hubby of 20 years, their son, and a small menagerie of neighborhood kids. They have an Amazon parrot, Honey, who will mor
e than likely outlive the lot. They are also owned by a wonderful 80 lb. rescue dog, Calypso, who is afraid of her own shadow, except when it counts.
Jo still has many stories to share, so keep a watch out for more and hopefully they will pleasantly surprise you.