Mackenzie McKade

by Black Widow (lit)

  Their eyes met hers as she entered the room. Both men stood, but it was Marcellus who approached to wrap her in his embrace. “My pet.”

  Tammy had missed his sexy French accent, the feel of his hands on her skin, the taste of his lips as they touched hers. When they parted, his eyes burned with desire, awakening her temptress and her hunger. It seemed like forever since she had both men in her bed. Just the thought of being sandwiched between them made her lean into his warmth.

  He cupped her face. “Lanier informs me the heat is gone.” Had Roark told him she was pregnant? Tammy tensed, waiting to gauge Marcellus’s reaction. “We are to be a family,” he said and then smiled.

  Relief spilled from her lungs in a single gush. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

  “Ahhh…Tamanen.” He drew her away from him. “You thought I would be unhappy?” Tammy swallowed hard. “I am elated. You and Lanier have gifted me with an experience I never thought possible. I’ll be a father.” His voice was thick as his gaze met Roark’s. “Thank you.” There was a moment that stretched between both men. They cared for each other. The knowledge touched her to the depths of her soul. They could make this work—this threesome and soon to be five.

  Marcellus cleared his throat. “Now tell me how you are.” He sat down on the couch before pulling her into his lap. She snuggled close, feeling his hard erection press against her ass. He wagged his brows and that mischievous grin slid across his face. “I’ve missed you.”

  Her heart thudded against her chest. “I’ve missed you too.”

  His hand slipped beneath her robe, smoothing up her leg, stopping with the urgent pounding on the door. It flung open before the three of them could get to their feet.

  Wide-eyed and out of breath, Bryant said, “All hell is breaking loose down at town hall.” He didn’t wait for anyone to respond, he just turned and ran.

  Marcellus moved her quickly off his lap and she landed sprawled upon the couch. “Stay here.” It was a demand as he and Roark moved toward the door.

  “But—”

  “I’ll send Franc or Stephen back. Lock the doors and don’t let anyone other than them inside,” Roark tossed over his shoulder as he pulled the door closed behind him.

  Tammy could still feel Roark and Marcellus’s anxiety. Something was wrong. She got to her feet and started pacing. With each step the air thickened and her unease grew. The next series of knocks on the door made her nearly jump out of her skin.

  She ran to the door, fingers folding around the doorknob, and then she paused. A deep breath told her Bryant had returned. She flung the door open and he stepped inside.

  “My queen, Roark asked me to escort you to the hall. If you will dress, I’ll take you to him.”

  Tammy didn’t think twice, calling her magic forth. Her robe and slippers morphed into boots, jeans, and a comfy sweater.

  “That’s amazing,” Bryant said as he pushed the door wide and let her pass.

  “What’s happening?” she asked.

  “Donne brought a constituent of vampires with him. Werewolves don’t play well with the undead—that is until you came along.” There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. She spun on a heel to face him when something hard struck her against the head. Lights burst behind her eyelids as nausea crashed into her. Her knees buckled and everything went dark.

  “Why the hell can’t our people get along?” Roark mumbled as he and Donne pushed through the crowd. Franc and Stephen were both holding Layton as he struggled for release. His cousin’s face was twisted in a mass of hatred. The vampire who curled a come-and-get-me finger taunting him was just as angry.

  Anton and Henri moved to Donne’s side, Deirdre watching his back as he entered behind Roark. “Stand down, Darta,” Donne commanded, waving Anton and Henri to move behind Darta. The tall dark man ignored his leader until Donne released a menacing hiss that not only jerked Darta’s attention to him, but everyone else’s in the room.

  Roark remembered that Darta was one of the men Tammy had nearly killed when she was first converted. Since the altercation included his cousin, Roark knew this couldn’t be good.

  “Donne’s people are guests in our town. As such, they will be treated with respect,” Roark announced with enough strength behind his words to leave no question as to what he expected. “Stephen, please return to my home and tell your queen that all is well. Stay with her until I return.” Stephen released Layton, but Franc’s hold remained.

  “Let me go,” Layton snarled.

  Franc looked to Roark for direction. He shook his head. “Not before you explain what this is all about.”

  “Are you kidding?” Layton grumbled. “We’re overridden with bloodsuckers. Look what mating with one of them has brought about. We’re not safe even in our own homes.”

  “Safety is only an illusion we allowed you to possess, dog.” Darta’s lips parted and he bared his teeth.

  “Enough, Darta.” Donne moved forward to stand beside Roark. “Lanier and I understand that what Fate has bestowed upon us many of you are not pleased with.” That could be the understatement of the year, Roark thought, but remained quiet as Donne continued. “Even if we had a choice in this matter, neither of us would have chosen differently. It is time that we quit fighting each other. Learn to live in harmony.”

  “But she is breeding with that wolf’s mutts.” Donne moved so quickly it was a blur. He held a single hand around Darta’s throat. Slowly he raised the man off his feet so the tip of his toes barely touched the floor.

  “Speak of my family like that again and I will kill you.” The menace in Donne’s tone sent a shiver up Roark’s back. There was no doubt Donne meant every word.

  A heaviness developed in Roark’s chest. It squeezed even harder when Stephen burst into the room announcing, “She’s gone.”

  Marcellus’s knees almost buckled as he released Darta and the man fell to the floor. Marcellus had suffered being apart from Tamanen this last couple of days. Cranky and short-tempered, his nights had become a trial of arguing with his people and trying to reassure them that his mate meant them no harm. The loneliness and need to hold her had been unbearable. He was like an addict—his fix—Tamanen.

  Now she was gone.

  He turned to Lanier and saw the same despair that squeezed his chest reflected upon the wolf’s face. “We have to find her.” They said loneliness made the heart grow fonder. In his case, it had led to the discovery that he loved her. How it happened he didn’t know. When it occurred? The first time he laid eyes on her.

  “We will,” Lanier said as he moved hastily from the room. A handful of his guards followed, as well as Marcellus and his several of his sentries.

  His gaze darted around taking in the open space. He was unfamiliar with this territory. Unusual scents bombarded him, confusing him or was it just the thought that he would never see Tamanen again?

  Damn. He had never felt so helpless.

  With preternatural speed they made their way back to Lanier’s empty cabin. The door was shut as they stepped onto the porch. Deirdre and Lanier were the first to enter the cabin. As the rest of them entered, several guards split in all directions, some heading up the stairs, other toward the kitchen. Lanier called out her name, the quietness ripped through Marcellus like a knife. Inside the scent of violence from the night before lingered, but there was nothing new to guide them as they made their way back outside.

  The moon draped the landscape with blue shadows. For a moment, he longed for the city, lights, noises, and scents. But most of all, he needed Tamanen in his arms. The woman had awakened his heart. She was the link between Lanier and him. Without her— He didn’t want to think of the answer.

  Immediately, several of Lanier’s people took wolf form. They sniffed the air, while the rest of them scoured the country side for footprints or any sign of which direction she might have been taken. Old Man Winter was not their friend. Each second that past, the wind increased in volume stirring up the snow so th
at it ruffled the ground and covered any evidence that might be left behind. It also appeared to confuse the wolves as they once again raised their noses to the sky.

  Marcellus’s own people glanced at him as if awaiting his command. For all the power he possessed he had no idea which direction to start their search. He reached out to Tamanen on their mind path, but either she was too far away, unconscious, or—

  Dammit. Marcellus refused to think the worse. They had to find her and soon. “Spread out. Search everywhere.”

  The lonesome howl of a wolf jerked Lanier’s gaze toward the trees. “Franc has found something.”

  Lightning speed carried them to the tree line where Franc in wolf form sat beside a slight hollowing in the snow. From the spot drag indications were evident, but too soon the marks disappeared beyond the trees.

  Thank God. At least they now knew where to begin their search. Marcellus couldn’t remember the last time he had prayed or asked the divine Master above for help. But as they trekked through the trees, over one hill and then other, he prayed for assistance in finding Tamanen—prayed that they would find her before it was too late.

  * * *

  A dusty scent penetrated Tammy’s nostrils as the curtain of consciousness rose and her stomach pitched. Her head felt as if it was spinning on an axis. The vertigo didn’t stop when she forced her eyes to open—it got worse. Her surroundings whirled, she felt her legs give. A sudden yank and the muscles in her arms tightened, pain splintering in her wrists. Déjà vu hit her hard. She was shackled by her neck, wrists and ankles, but this time in a damp cave. The rocky surface scraped up her back as she found her footing. She muffled her cry of pain, clenching her jaws together.

  Angry voices and echoing footsteps faded above the pounding of her heart. She tried to clear her head, hear what they were saying, but it was useless. Bryant and whoever else had abducted her were gone. The only sound was the distant hollow dripping of water.

  Tammy wasn’t a fool. There was no leaving this place alive unless a miracle happened. What she needed was to calm down and think. Yet the more she attempted to control her racing pulse, the faster it pumped clouding her thoughts. Fear for her unborn children sent ice through her veins and she found the energy to pull against her bindings, but they didn’t budge.

  “Roark? Marcellus?” She reached for them mentally. When no response came, a cry squeezed from her lips. How long had she been unconscious? Distance broke the connection between them, which meant she had to be far away from the town.

  God help her.

  When the earth shook and bits of rock fell brutally against her skin, scraping and digging into her, a scream pushed from the top of her lungs. Although it seemed a long time, the shaking actually lasted only a fraction of a minute, and then it started anew. The floor lurch beneath her feet, seemingly to wave and buck. She barely stayed afoot as the ground and walls surrounding her shook violently. From within the bowels of the earth a low moan began. The rumble that followed became a deafening roar as the walls and ceiling imploded suddenly and violently.

  In a handful of seconds, she was torn from the wall and knocked forward several feet by a blast of air that flung her like a rag doll. Above, below, and all around her an unending series of sonic booms caused her to scramble, trying to get back on her feet, but it was impossible to stand. The floor of the cave turned into an ocean of waves rolling and churning, except it wasn’t water but soil and rock.

  Hell had been unleashed upon her.

  Tammy struggled to breathe with the crescendo of air pressure and atmospheric vibrations. The loudest sound mankind had ever made nearly burst her eardrums. She curled her arms around her head and prayed her death would come swiftly. Once more the earth rose up and shattered spraying debris in all directions pelting her with rubble and pinning her to the ground.

  Then her world fell silent.

  The roar was devastating as the blast threw Roark, Donne, and the rest of the scouting party to the ground. Roark had never heard or experienced anything like the sudden force of wind, dirt and rock that pummeled them. Arms sheltering his head, he prayed the explosion had nothing to do with Tammy, although he knew it was a lie.

  As they crawled cautiously to their feet, Franc said, “That was no earthquake.”

  Roark looked toward the underground caverns and even in the dark of night saw the cloud of dust that filled the sky. Blood froze in his veins. For a moment, he couldn’t breathe. His legs wouldn’t move. The thought of Tammy buried beneath the mountain was more than he could stand. His body began to tremble. His world became blurry through misty eyes. When he found Bryant he would tear him apart, one limb at a time. His trusted guard had almost gotten away with his betrayal. After hours of searching and finding no trail, masked beneath the smells of a variety of animal’s droppings he had recognized Bryant’s as well as Tammy’s scent.

  The question remained—why? And was Roark too late to save Tammy?

  Stephen wrapped an arm around Roark’s shoulders to steady him. “We’ll find her.”

  Roark attempted to suck in air that felt too heavy to ingest. The dusty atmosphere choked Tammy’s perfume from his nostrils. He was losing her bit by bit. Swaying, he shrugged out of Stephen’s grasp. Despair made him throw back his head and howl. The cry ripped from his diaphragm, taking with it his energy as he crumbled to his knees. He couldn’t live without her. Even now his beast wept for hers.

  Donne’s face was drawn and pale as he knelt beside Roark. “Our mate is a survivor. Don’t give up on her.” Spoken with confidence, but the vampire’s composure wasn’t much better than Roark’s. Donne’s hand trembled as he placed it on Roark’s back. Together they rose and headed for the mountain.

  How much time passed Roark didn’t know, but morning would arrive soon. As they exited yet another cavern, Anton and Henri glanced at the mountain range to the east. Their unease was obvious as they stirred nervously. They had joined the search party when the explosions began.

  Every cave opening they had searched came to a dead end, causing them to waste more time as they retraced their steps. There were so many places Tammy could be. The task seemed insurmountable, but Roark would not give up until he found her.

  Dead or alive.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Blinded by a wall of dust, Tammy tried to move and almost fainted. If the pain in her chest didn’t confirm she had broken several ribs, the agonizing pain that ravished her with each breath did. She held motionless, willing herself to take only small breaths. Yet the undertone of discomfort remained. In the minutes that passed she thought of the children she carried.

  When lying there and dying was no longer an option, she began to slowly dig out of the mountain of rock pressing atop her. Each movement sent daggers of fire through her ribcage. Every rock she moved brought ten more like it down upon her. It seemed hopeless, but she wouldn’t give up. She had too much to live for.

  It felt like an eternity, but little by little she saw progress. Finally Tammy could move her legs and she carefully rolled over only to cringe in pain. Slowly she pulled her legs and arms beneath her and tried to rise. Pain and nausea slammed into her out of nowhere. She fought the darkness that threatened to close in on her. When she could breathe again she resorted to crawling on her hands and knees. Rocks and debris sliced into her skin. The scent of her own blood made her incisors push through bone and gums.

  She was hungry and tired and hurt.

  When her beast cried out in rage, she allowed it to take control and let the change sweep over her. She lay on her side, half-covered in her shirt and jeans, feeling her bones knit together. Her feet slipped out of the ankle and wrist manacles, but the one around her neck remained. Half-crazed laughter spilled from her dry lips. If she’d only thought of this earlier.

  Tammy knew if she was to survive she needed to pace herself and allow the change to heal and rejuvenate her. It was difficult, but she lay perfectly still, when what she wanted was to run to safety—to Roark and Ma
rcellus. When she couldn’t stand it any longer, Tammy carefully pushed to all fours. The bearable ache that throbbed in her chest, she chose to ignore. Instead, she padded across the rocky surface heading for where, she had no idea.

  One path led her to a mountain of stone. She attempted to dig past it, but in the end felt the need to reserve her strength, resorting to backtracking and heading down a different passageway. The chain dragging behind her caught on a pile of rocks and jerked her off her feet. She yelped, striking the ground hard enough to take her breath away. After that she picked the chain up in her mouth to carry it.

  A rumbling in the earth made her quicken her pace. As she ran, stones, large and small, fell from the ceiling, some striking her to make her yip in pain and drop the chain. Others rocks barely missed her; one particularly large boulder struck her in the flank and she skidded across the unforgiving floor of the cave.