“It’ll be difficult.” Nick scratched his chin. “But we could do it.”
“Now, we only have to convince Mr. Creed that the partial truth is enough,” Grant said. “Something tells me that he still won’t agree.”
Liam felt something in his gut, an instinct that told him what might work. “I have an idea. Let me take the lead.” Grant nodded, and they walked over to Sebastian, who was now cozying up to the blonde in one of the corner couches.
“Mr. Creed,” Liam began.
Sebastian looked up at them with a languid look. “Please, call me Sebastian.”
“Call me Liam, then,” he continued. “May we speak alone, Sebastian?”
He whispered something to the blonde and she nodded, then stood up and left. “OK, say what you need to say.”
Liam looked at Grant and Nick. “We’ve talked it over, and we can tell you a little bit more about the asset. But not everything.”
“All or nothing,” he insisted. “And if you fucking lie to me, I’ll know.”
Liam sat next to him and fished out his phone. He opened the screen and pulled up the picture of Jade that Lara sent. “The asset,” he said, sliding it over to him.
Sebastian stared at the picture, his face inscrutable. “Oh, fuck me,” he muttered under his breath, not knowing that Liam could hear him clearly with his enhanced senses.
“Well? Will you help us?”
Sebastian’s face turned dark. “Fine. Sit down, gentlemen.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Alynna sat behind her desk, put on her headphones, and switched on her computer. “Tell me what you have, guys.” She was talking to her three hacker friends, who had helped them previously when Cady had been kidnapped. They were supposedly the best and didn’t always work on the right side of the law, but they got things done quickly.
“Yes…that’s it.” Alynna nodded. After a few seconds, a smile spread on her face. “Good girl! Jade, you are one clever girl!”
Lara shot to her feet. “What is it?”
“Jade was somehow able to keep her phone on her and leave it on,” Alynna said.
“Were they able to track it?” Alex asked.
The Lycan nodded. “Yup, they’re sending us her coordinates as soon as they finish. Now,” she stood up, “let’s pay a visit to Meredith.”
The three of them took the Fenrir private elevators down to the sub-basement level. When they reached the bottom floor, the doors opened up to a small, narrow hallway. At the end was a burly Lycan guard who stood next to a metal door.
“Mrs. Westbrooke, Mr. Westbrooke,” he greeted in a low, gruff voice.
“Hey there, Tank,” Alynna greeted. “How’s our guest?”
“Same as always.”
“Good,” Alynna said as she pressed her palm on the sensor by the door, making it slide open.
The room was sparse, with a twin bed in the corner, a desk with some reading material, and a chair bolted to the floor. There was another door in the corner, probably leading to the bathroom. It certainly wasn’t the Ritz, but it was much less dreary than what Lara had imagined a Lycan prison would be like.
“Hey, Meredith,”Alynna greeted.
The young woman was lying in bed reading a magazine, her feet propped against the wall. There was a large electronic monitoring device wrapped around one of her ankles. “Hey, Alynna,” she said. “Couldn’t you get me something else aside from trashy celeb magazines? Or at least new ones? These are like two weeks old. I think some of these actors may have already divorced in this week’s editions.”
“Sorry Meredith, you know we can’t risk it,” Alynna sat down on the chair.
“It’s not like I can figure out an escape plan using Ryan Reynolds’ photo,” she grumbled. “Oh, you brought some friends along. What can I do for you?”
“So, I know you’ve been cooperating with us fully, but we need to ask you about something else.”
Meredith huffed and swung her feet down. “Well, according to the punishment from the Lycan High Council, I’m bound to your clan for the next decade, to do with as you please. So ask away.”
“If I may say so, that’s what you get for trying to break into an Alpha’s secret lab.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatevs. Now, what is it you wanted to ask me?”
“The Lycan scientist whose lab you broke into. Jade Cross. She’s been kidnapped by the mages.”
Meredith shot to her feet. “I told you! I don’t know anything about mages! I swear!” She grabbed Alynna by the arms. Alex let out a growl and moved towards his wife, but Alynna put a hand up to stop him.
“I know, Meredith. You’ve been really cooperative,” Alynna soothed, prying Meredith’s hands off her. “But this can’t be a coincidence. You breaking into her lab and now the mages kidnap her?”
“I haven’t talked to anyone except you since you caught me,” she said. “How would they know anything about that secret lab of yours?”
“Did you talk to anyone else while you were staking out the place? Did you already have buyers for whatever you wanted to steal?”
She shook her head. “No. I couldn’t risk it, not without knowing what was in there. I was planning to take whatever I could and find buyers afterwards.”
“How can we believe that?” Alynna asked, crossing her arms.
“I haven’t lied to you about anything else!” She sat back down on the bed. “Dr. Cross…is she…do you know where they’ve taken her?”
Alynna nodded. “We do.” She paused, looking at the woman’s reaction. “We’re going to go rescue her as soon as we figure out a plan.”
“Let me help,” Meredith said. “You know I’d be useful.”
“I don’t know…”
“Look,” she stood up and began to pace. “I’ve been trapped here for days. I’m going crazy, I need to go out and be useful. I’m bound to the New York clan for ten years of servitude. There’s no place I can hide where you won’t find me. Nowhere that I’d want to stay anyway, because there’s no way I’m going to hole up in some cave somewhere without plumbing or WiFi. Plus, you have this.” She pointed to the ankle monitor. “Mr. Vrost explained that this isn’t an ordinary monitor. I’m well aware that you could blow my leg off from anywhere on the planet if you detonated it. Also,” she looked at Lara, “I’m sure the witch would blow me off the face of the earth if I even touched a hair on her friend’s head.”
Alynna sighed. “I’ll talk to Grant.”
***
“This is crazy, right?” Alex asked as they were sitting inside an unmarked van currently speeding along the New Jersey Turnpike.
“You’re turning into my brother.” Alynna rolled her eyes. “Don’t you trust me?”
“I do.” Alex frowned. “It’s her I don’t trust.” His eyes flickered to Meredith. The Lycan was sitting across from them, wearing a bored expression on her face. She was wearing the cat suit she’d been wearing when they caught her, but no other weapons. “Don’t need ‘em,” she said. Meanwhile, the rest of the team was dressed in full combat gear, specially designed for the Lycans so they could take them off quickly in case they needed to shift into their wolf form.
Lara shook her head. This was really happening. Her thoughts drifted back to a few hours ago.
After Grant, Nick, and Liam had returned from their errand, they all met up back at Fenrir. Alynna’s hackers found Jade’s cellphone signal just in time before the battery died. They traced her to an abandoned warehouse somewhere on the border of Philadelphia and New Jersey.
“Not really original,” Alynna scoffed. “Maybe we should start going to all these abandoned warehouses and factories, and maybe we’ll eventually find all the mage hidey-holes.”
The Lycans had obviously poured a lot of their resources into defending themselves against the mages, because they already had plans in place for all kinds of scenarios, including kidnappings. They were able to use satellite images to pinpoint the exact location of the warehouse and found old blueprin
ts of what it looked like inside. They had a few guesses of where they could be holding Jade, but they wouldn’t know exactly where she’d be until they got there. The most recent satellite photos, however, also showed the Lycans what they feared - the mages definitely had the place locked up tight and it was crawling with human guards.
Grant had explained that they had secured the services of some private security contractor to help them with the rescue. “Creed Securities will be providing the manpower. Once we have our plan in place, Mr. Creed will be instructed on what we need done.”
The plan was simple. Stake out the warehouse, try to figure out where Jade was and get her out. Creed and his team would take the lead and disable as many of the human guards as they could, while Nick, Liam, Alynna, Alex, Lara, and Meredith would go and find Jade. They were not to harm the humans, nor shift or display their powers if they could help it.
They worked all night on the plan, catching a few naps here and there. A few times, Lara looked longingly at Liam as he lay on the couch or worked on the computer but knew she couldn’t go to him. No. Jade was top priority now.
By morning they had a solid plan of action. Obviously, the Lycans wanted to rescue Jade right away, but Creed suggested they wait until nightfall.
And so now they were on the way to the warehouse. It was a three-hour drive, and they took two vans. Grant, Nick, and Dr. Faulkner, their resident Lycan medical doctor, were in one van, while Alex, Alynna, Liam, Lara, and Meredith were in the other. Nick and Grant were not happy about letting the Lycan thief come along but knew that they could use every bit of help they could get. Nick, however, warned Meredith that he had the trigger to her ankle monitor close by, to which the blonde cheekily replied, “Noted. With thanks.”
“So guys, remember,” Alynna began. “No S-H-I-F-T-I-N-G if you can help it, OK?”
“Why are you spelling?’ Alex asked.
“I’m practicing for the H-U-M-A-N-S,” Alynna stated.
“I’m pretty sure all humans can spell,” Meredith retorted.
Lara couldn’t help but grin. Beside her, Liam cracked a smile, too, which only made her want to kiss him more. He’d been so tense since they got back. They all were. But seeing that smile on his face brought back memories of their time at the compound.
The van stopped, shaking Lara out of her thoughts.
“Looks like we’re here,” Liam said. The van’s door opened, and they all filed out.
“This is the meet up point,” Nick said as everyone gathered around him and Grant. “It’s about a 20-minute hike behind that hill to the back of the warehouse,” he explained. “Creed’s team will move in first and take down any human guards. He had people scout ahead and he says that there are approximately two dozen guys guarding the place.”
“Do we know if there are any mages around?”
Nick shook his head. “We can’t be sure. But we’ll have to be careful not to shift around the humans. While Creed and his guys distract the guards, we sneak in and find Jade. You know the plan, right?”
Lara nodded. They were all paired up - Alex and Nick, Liam and Lara, and Alynna and Meredith - and they had assigned areas to look for Jade. Sebastian Creed had actually offered advice on where Jade was likely being held, based on how secure each area was. “All right, Creed’s here, let’s go meet with them.”
Lara straightened her back, trying to seem more confident. Dressed in dark combat gear and wearing a tactical helmet, her face and form were well hidden. However, in front of the humans, she and the rest of the Lycan team had to look the part, so they didn’t suspect anything was off.
Two more vans pulled up behind them. The front passenger door of the lead vehicle swung open and a man stepped out. He was possibly one of the largest men Lara had ever seen, taller than any of the Lycans. Keen eyes scanned the area, as if looking for danger. His large hand went up to his face, rubbing the thick, ruddy beard covering the lower part of his face. He was also dressed in full combat gear, heavy boots, and various weapons strapped all over his body. Lara thought he could be handsome, if it wasn’t for the fierce scowl on his face.
“Mr. Creed.” Nick gave the man a curt nod.
“Mr. Vrost,” he replied, his voice low. “Are we all here?”
“Yes.”
Sebastian Creed looked at the Lycans, but if he thought there was anything off about them, he said nothing. “Fine. We’ll try to keep out of each other’s way.” He turned to his team. There were about eight men assembling behind him, all dressed similarly.
“Wait, this is your team?” Grant asked. “There are two dozen guys in there, possibly more, and you brought…eight guys?”
“Nine, including me,” Sebastian huffed. “Trust me, my guys are the best. We can handle them.”
“And no one gets, hurt, right?”
Sebastian nodded and held up one of the guns from his holster. “These are special weapons, should knock them out quick once the rounds hit them.” He put the gun back in his holster. “However, some of my guys are definitely carrying real ones. If shit goes down, I’m not taking any chances.”
“Fine,” Grant said, checking his watch. “Let’s go.”
***
The Lycan force hung back behind the cover of some trees as Sebastian’s team went ahead. The plan was for his guys to take out the guards in the back so they could get in easily without alarming everyone else. Once the Lycans and Lara were inside, they would start creating a distraction in front to draw everyone out.
Lara jumped in surprise as a hand slipped into hers but relaxed when she realized it was Liam. In the dark, his eyes glowed like orbs of blue light.
“We’ll get her back,” Liam whispered.
“I know,” Lara said. “We have to.”
“OK, we need silence now,” Grant’s voice crackled through the earpiece she was wearing. The Lycan team was using communicators, and Grant stayed behind to coordinate their efforts with the Creed Security team. Sebastian’s guys also had communicators, but it would be too confusing to have everyone on the same frequency. He and Grant would be the main connection between the two teams, but if everything went well, there would be minimal need for the two teams to communicate.
“Creed’s team is ready,” Grant whispered. “OK, sniper’s in position…and the guards are down! Go, go, go!”
Liam grabbed Lara’s hand and tugged her along. They were about 20 yards away from the back entrance and they quickly went in, side stepping the four guards lying on the ground. A few minutes later, shouts and screams came from the other side of the warehouse. The sound of boots thudding on the ground were like thunder, but it was a sign that most, if not all of the guards had gone outside to see what the commotion was about.
“We’re in,” Nick whispered. He looked at them and then began to point to where they would start looking.
Liam and Lara headed up the stairs. There was a room in the back of the old office that was built like a bank vault. It was one of the more secure rooms in the facility, and if Liam couldn’t get it open, Lara would use her powers to blow down the door.
Lara suddenly stopped. Liam turned around and mouthed Are you OK to her, but she didn’t know what to say. There was something strange about the place. There was a heaviness in the air, a weight in the atmosphere that didn’t seem right. Taking a mental deep breath, she nodded and then pointed forward.
They walked carefully, quickly searching through all the rooms leading to the back room, just in case. Liam was turning his head, trying to see if he could pick up Jade’s scent.
“Isn’t it strange that there’s no one else here?” Meredith whispered through the comms. “Did everyone just leave?”
“There’s something not quite right here, guys,” Alynna said.
A strange feeling blasted through Lara, but before she could chime in, she found herself facing the barrel of a gun. Her heart thudded against her chest, but on instinct she waved her hands, sending the man with the weapon flying across the wall. Behind h
er, Liam let out a growl and sprang in front of her, knocking down a second assailant.
“Liam!” she screamed. Through the comms, she heard the shouts and screams of her friends.
“They had more men hiding somewhere! They just popped out of nowhere,” Grant bellowed in her ear. “Fuck! Do what you can, fight them off.”
Loud growls, gnashing of teeth, and a howl sounded through the comms. More boots in the hallway. Behind her Liam had overpowered the other man and cocked him cold with his own gun.
“Liam,” she called. “You have to shift. They’re coming!”
Three men marched into the hallway, and she waved her hand, pushing the first two backwards. They tumbled down the stairs, knocking the last guy down. However, he stood up and continued to march towards her. He raised his weapon and aimed at her.
A chill went through her. Then her temple started throbbing and she felt like she swallowed a large rock, the heaviness in her stomach weighing her down. It was blood magic. Those men…their eyes were cold and inhuman.
A ripping sound and a growl came from behind as a dark blur lunged past her, knocking down the man coming at her. It was Liam’s wolf, and he was scrabbling at the man. The guard was relentless, however, as if he didn’t care for his own safety. Even with his weapon knocked down, he didn’t seem to fear the giant beast. He clawed and kicked, even as the wolf pinned him down with its large paws. The man was bleeding, a large claw mark down his face, but he wouldn’t stop moving.
“Liam!” she screamed. “Keep him down!”
She took a small vial from her pocket. It was a special knockout potion made by the witches in her coven. “Hold your breath,” she told the wolf and then threw the bottle at the man’s head. Blue smoke exploded as the glass shattered. Liam’s wolf hopped off the man. The burly guard flailed for a few seconds, then his head rolled back and he closed his eyes.
“Thank God!” she cried out.
“Fuck, is everyone OK?” Grant’s voice strained through the comms.
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