The thought agitated my already unhinged wolf and he threw his body at the confines of the mental cage I had locked him into. I was unstable as the man, but my wolf was long past rational thought and reasoning skills at this point. I was a ticking time bomb that knew if the connection with my little Potential didn’t open soon, I wouldn’t be able to hold the savage beast at bay.
“That’s an awful attitude to have, wolf.” As if I had imagined her into existence, her voice flooded my mind. It flowed over every fiber of my being. Like a healing balm, it made my wolf howl with relief. He still fought for the freedom to hunt for her, but withdrew from our dominance struggle for the first time since Chloe’s disappearance.
Her voice was almost foggy. I needed a deep focus in order to understand her muted words. “It is the only one I would have without you, mo mhuinín.” My wolf purred in contentment as our link grew clearer by each passing moment. He was ready to show his belly. I, on the other hand, had not lost all of my frustration and my next question erupted from my mouth with more hostility than I intended. I couldn’t contain my overwhelming emotion. “What were you thinking?”
She was soundless for several seconds. I wanted to apologize for my tone, but I couldn’t. I was pissed…and she needed to know just how dangerous her actions had been. Now, she was gone. I had no ideas on how to find her. My wolf and I were helpless. It was a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time.
“I was thinking that my worst nightmare had come true.” Her voice wasn’t broken or weak like one would expect. It rang with strength. The type of power she had only ever hinted at possessing. I didn’t know what finally made it break free, but I was grateful. She would need this new found attitude to help overcome her fears. “I was thinking that enough was enough. That I couldn’t sit back and allow you to fight my battles if I wasn’t willing to fight them as well.”
“You are…” I didn’t get to finish the thought because my little firecracker wasn’t done.
“And you are mine, Falcon.” Her words were like a salve to my nerves. Contentment worked its way through my veins. It extinguished most of my lingering fury.
“Beidh mé a bheith I gcónaí do, mo ghrá.” My reply was answered with a sigh.
“I never thought I would miss that. You saying beautiful things I don’t even understand? But, I was wrong.” Her tone was filled with mirth and I could almost see her smile. The image consumed me and made my wolf chuff in approval. “I missed that sound too. How long have I been gone?”
Her question was sobering. “A day and a half.”
“Oh?” She huffed. “It felt like I have been trying to connect with you for days.”
“For me as well, mo mhuinín.” Movement by the kitchen entrance pulled my attention in that direction. My brother – caution evident within his submissive stance – took a tentative step into the room.
“Heard about Colt.” He leaned against the doorframe, not making any move to get closer. I narrowed my eyes at him. I wasn’t interested in discussing Colt or anyone else right now.
“I will address that later. Right now I need to get some answered from my mate.” His eyes grew wide and he straightened from the wall.
“Your bond has returned?” With his earlier hesitance long forgotten, he now stood right in front of me. “Where is she?”
I growled at his challenging tone and positon, which cause him to immediately back up a couple steps. He then coughed out an apology as he dropped his gaze. “When I know, you will as well. Now go. Let the others know what’s going on, but keep them away. That includes Aribelle. I will come to her.”
“Mar a deir tú, Béite. As you say.” He spun toward to doorway before peering over his shoulder. “Tell her I’m sorry.” And then he was gone.
“Falcon? Who were you talking to?” Her voice pulled my attention back to exactly where it belonged. “Your mind splintered for a moment.”
“My brother,” I answered. “He was asking about you before I sent him out to tell the others of our reconnection.”
“Oh, he must be so angry with me. Is he okay? Is everyone else? Oh god. My mother!” Chloe was starting to get worked up. Her anxiety had begun to flow through the bond.
“She is fine. They are all okay. Everyone will be better once you are home. Once you are back by my side where you belong.” My wolf began to pace in his cage as I worked on wearing a permanent path into the linoleum floor. “Where are the keeping you, mo mhuinín?”
“I have no clue of my location. All I can tell you is that I am being kept in a cell. It’s housed in the basement of an old farm house.” My anger began to flicker back to life and my wolf snarled. “Easy, wolf. I need you to regain your calm and collective nature, Falcon Tonalee. It is important that you find that inner stoicism that I know you possess and tap into your impeccable control. You need it for what I am about to tell you.”
My wolf immediately conceded to our mate. He was animal. He didn’t recognize the same uneasiness her words brought forth in the man. “What is it that you need to say, little Potential?” My hands fisted at my sides as I tried to keep a level head. She needed me to keep it together and I would do my best not to let her down. She was doing well to keep her thoughts her own. Chloe was new to the bond and had a tendency to project every thought she had. It was endearing and I had foolishly hoped she would never learn to control it. She was using plenty of energy to keep her mind concealed and it only fueled my alarm.
“You can’t come for me.”
18
CHLOE
My mind was reeling after that little “story.” The pain that it caused felt like a knife to the chest. The panthers had taken so much more away from my life – from the lives of those I love – than I would have ever imagined. Every word Cyrus spoke kept replaying over and over in my head. It was a continuous loop that I couldn’t even begin to digest.
“Once upon a time there was a small, yet overly powerful wolf pack. For as long as anyone could remember, the wolves had reigned over the shifter world. The pack did not earn such prestige but were gifted their great power.” Connell had told us – when we first met them – that they were the only survivors of their original pack. He had said that the O’Reilly pack was the only known wolf pack in existence.
“The Alpha of the largest group of panther shifters did not agree that the wolves should be handed such power any longer. He reached out to his brethren and the five alphas converged. A great battle had been fought. Many lives were lost, but the pack had suffered the highest of casualties.
Their Alpha had fallen. A sure victory for the feline shifters. But see, the dog’s son – whom was thought to be killed as well – escaped with a small fraction of the packs members. Being the heir, he gained his Alpha status as his father took his dying breath. It was unknown how they were able to escape the melee, but they retreated from the old country to parts unknown.” At first I had thought he was referring to Connell, Falcon and the boys. When he spoke of the “old country” I knew this went deeper. It went farther back in pack history. The son that had escaped the battle had been Connell’s father. The Alpha that died had been his grandfather.
“The surviving pack had vanished and the five Alpha’s were displeased. The head Alpha knew that the war wouldn’t end until every last mutt was hunted down and disposed of.”
“Why?” I interrupted. My voice was hoarse and I quickly swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. “Why kill all of the wolves? They were gone.”
“For absolute power, of course.”
“What made them so powerful?” This had something to do with what I was. Whatever the purpose of the Potentials was the catalyst for the destruction brought upon the pack’s families. “Why would a small group of wolves be so threatening to such a victorious group of panthers?”
“Ah, ah, ah,” he tsked. “No teasers. You are getting ahead of the story, precious.” My stomach tried to revolt at the sound of his endearment and had there been any contents, it would h
ave ended up on the cement floor. I willed the bile to stay down where it belonged as I continued to stare his way.
“Where was I?” He tapped his finger along his thin lips. “Oh, that’s right. A handful of dogs eluded their deaths – for the time being. The real prize had been what they left behind.”
He paused – as if he expected me to interrupt again. I said nothing. With every ounce of strength I could scrounge up, I kept my outward expression as limited as possible. The longer this story went on, the harder it was to do so.
“They left behind their historical archives which dictated the source of their power. An ongoing prophecy that had been kept secret from the rest of us.” His anger seemed to grow as he continued on. “The discovery of those documents had been very insightful for the alphas and they began to make preparations.”
“Preparations for what exactly?” I tried to sound bored by his story, hoping that my lack of interest would cause him to divulge more. I just prayed that my voice wouldn’t quiver from the waves of emotion that crashed inside.
“To hunt the surviving wolves and secure the transfer of power to our kind. A task that was thought to have been completed eight years ago. When the last of the mighty O’Reilly pack had been located and burned.” My quick intake of breath caught his attention. A wide grin stretched across his angular face. He had finally gotten to me and he knew it. “Obviously, there were five mutts that were able to somehow avoid detection. It truly is an unfortunate circumstance, but it will soon be rectified.”
“No.” The word erupted from me. He was talking about the death of my new family as nonchalant as one would discuss the weather. Fire licked at my veins as rage began to consume me. My back straightened and my shoulders pulled back. “You’re wrong. Dead wrong.”
If my eyes hadn’t been locked onto his I would have missed the split second of surprise that passed through them as he acknowledged my bold stance. He chuckled darkly. “I think that our story time is over for today, precious mate.” His hands dropped to his sides as his evil yellow eyes made one more pass over my entire body. “What do you say? Tomorrow? Same time, same place?”
I watched his movements carefully as he began to retreat from my cage. Unanswered questions clattered around in my brain. His story had been an informative history lesson that somehow didn’t disclosed any clear facts. There was so much more I needed to know and I knew that the only way to get the answers needed to defeat these monsters once and for all was if I stayed right where I was.
As he finally disappeared through the basement door, only one thought kept replaying over and over in my mind. My existence, and the existence of the other Potentials, were what caused the near total destruction of Falcon’s family. His parents. Everyone he ever knew and loved.
My despair was hard to get past and my heart was heavy. But, my earlier fury had yet to dissipate as well. It was as if my emotions were playing a game of tug-of-war. I had never felt that level of anger all at once. Lowering myself onto the cot, I tried some deep breathing. I had hoped that Cyrus’s departure would be enough to ease the tension from my body, but no matter how much I attempted to calm myself in that moment I couldn’t.
I searched within myself and tried to pinpoint the origin of the emotional onslaught. When I exposed to cause, my heart beat began to race. The anger that was bombarding my psyche were not all my own. My link to Falcon had begun to reform while Cyrus spoke. Being in his presence had my insides tied into so many emotional knots that I didn’t recognize that my bond had rejuvenated.
When I focused all of my energy on Falcon and our connection, I began to feel more. It was hazy, as if our bond had been deposited into a fog bank, but I was able to tune in to some of his clipped thoughts. Thoughts that I didn’t like hearing, but their existence flooded me with happiness none the less. I could feel him again. I could actually feel him.
After calming him as much as possible and making sure the rest of our family was safe and uninjured, I informed him that I didn’t want to be found. The mighty growl that shook my brain would have brought me to my knees had I not been sitting already. As it was, I was surprised his powerful sound didn’t break through me and poor out into the room. His wolf surged with more power than I had ever felt him wield. I was afraid that Falcon would lose full control over the hyped-up beast, but I pushed the worry aside.
“Falcon,” My voice quivered some. The soft plea seemed to snag my furious mate’s attention away from his impending melt down. “Please. Hear me out before you go off the handle on me. I need you to listen.”
The Beta wolf grew quiet. Almost too quiet and I would have been lying if I said that it didn’t make me a little nervous.
“There is more going on here than just some psycho with an obsession.” He continued to remain silent. “I need to be here to get answers.”
“Answers are not important if they come at the expense of your safety, Chloe.” He sounded as if he were talking through clenched teeth. Teeth that were gritted so tight they could break at any moment. His tension bled through the bond and into my own muscles. My body was on the brink of explosion, which told me that he would rip through his human skin at any moment. I needed to make him understand my decision to stay captive was the right one to make. Both for myself and the others involved.
“They have another girl, Falcon. A possible Potential that they are holding at some other unknown location. She is probably terrified. Taken from her home. If I have any chance of finding her I need to be here.” My vision became glassy thinking of the other girl. I had been in her shoes – more than once – but I was privy to the supernatural world. I wasn’t completely alone. At first I had my mother and Aribelle. Now I had my connection with Falcon. I couldn’t imagine facing these monsters alone with no understanding of what you had witnessed. “She could belong with Colt, or your brother. We need to find her.”
“I need to find you, mo mhuinín.” His intensity had calmed marginally when I mentioned the captive girl, but his voice was still deeper than its normal gruffness.
“I know that you do, wolf.” I pushed all of my faith and love through our bond. I had no doubt that he would find me, but he needed to be cautious about it. “I know you will. You can’t come for me...not yet.”
He growled again, but I cut him off quickly. “This is so much bigger than we ever knew.” I couldn’t keep the tremor out of my voice anymore. I was afraid of what I had learned and just as terrified of what I was yet to find out.
“Tá mé anseo in éineacht leat, mo mhuinín. I am here with you.” I felt his consciousness caress my own as if he were giving me a loving embrace. “Tell me what is causing you so much dismay.”
“Cyrus isn’t the leader. He is an Alpha, but a cat named Malcolm is calling the shots. Apparently there are five Alphas that have banded together and he is the head kitty in charge.”
Remembering the scowl that Cyrus gave when I had questioned his leadership almost filled me with joy, but the story he had told put a quick stop to the sensation. I needed to tell Falcon about the attacks on his pack. I didn’t know how to start.
“Come back to me, little Potential.” Falcon’s voice wrapped me like a warm blanket. I must have been lost in my own head for a moment. “Tell me what has created the deep sadness that had devastated you.”
“Cyrus was here.” My mate snarled as I spoke. “He talked about your pack’s history.”
“Show me.” A tear escaped past my eyelid and trekked down my cheek as I opened my mind to the memory of Cyrus’s visit and the story he told. As the memory played through, I felt the presence of his wolf grow in strength as Falcon’s control slipped away with every word he recalled from my mind. By the time the memory came to an end, his connection had become hazy once again. This time it was because of a completely different reason. I could feel as his wolf crashed through the confines of his mind and pushed to be released. I felt like he was clawing his way out of my skin as well when Falcon relinquished his control and allowed the chan
ge to happen.
My tears flowed freely as I experienced my mate’s turmoil consume him. I was so overwhelmed by the sensationsthat crashed through my entire existence. Darkness began to close in and as unconsciousness claimed me, a savage howl ripped through my mind and pierced my very soul.
A Note from M.L. Ridener
Thank you for reading Intended. I hope you enjoyed the story! Don’t worry! This isn’t the last we will hear from Chloe or Fal. It’s just the beginning guys, but I want to know what you think so please leave a review.
Next up will be Destined. A Potential Series novella where Mazie and Conner will get their voices as the flash back to recent happenings, as well as, trying to navigate through the holiday season! This book is scheduled to be released November 29th, 2016!!!
I love to hear from my readers! If you want to know what’s next from M.L. Ridener you can like me on Facebook or follow me on twitter @MLRidener.
About M.L. Ridener
M.L. Ridener lives in Kentucky with her husband, three children, four dogs, and one ornery cat. She is a full time stay at home mother. When she isn't chasing after toddlers, picking up messes, changing diapers, or playing a daily game of twenty questions with a four-year-old, she loves to get wrapped up in a book. Her favorite genre's to read are Paranormal Romance and Contemporary Romance novels. When she decided it was time to tell her own stories The Potential Series was created.
Intended (The Potential Series Book 2) Page 10