Distantly she heard growling, but she could not seem to stop herself. Mine, she whispered. She wanted to sink her fangs in his neck and claim him right there. She wanted the world to know that he was hers. As she opened her mouth, Angel yanked back control. That is enough, pup. You really don’t want me to claim your mate, do you? Well, when you put it that way, hell no.
As Angel backed away from Phoenix, Serenity became more aware of the commotion in the room. Two men were holding another man back whom seemed to be trying to get to Angel and Phoenix, and he was pissed. His eyes were pure wolf and he looked close to shifting. It’s ok, Angel told her. Chase gets a little possessive sometimes. But then, no one likes to watch their mate feel up another man and then try to claim him.
Serenity took one last look at Phoenix as he stood there in confusion. I will make contact after I talk to Rikki, was all she said as she slid back out of Angel’s mind.
Chapter 7
After Serenity broke the connection, Angel walked over to where Chase was struggling to get control of himself. “Stop it, ass hat,” she told him. “That was Serenity, not me. Do you really think I would touch Phoenix like that?” Angel reached out and put her hand on Chase’s chest to try to calm him. She gently stroked his arm with her other hand when she felt him lean into her touch. Chase slowly got control of his wolf and then he turned and walked as far away from Angel as he could get and still be in the room. Uh oh, Angel thought. This could be bad.
Chase was Angel’s mate. Angel had known since the day they met, but she did not want a mate. She had too many issues in her past, too many ghosts, and too many enemies to accept a mate into her life. As much as she wanted to be the woman Chase wanted, she knew she could not. She needed to deny him to keep him safe.
Shaking her head, she turned and went to sit down at the table. “Well, I found out a few things. First of all, Rikki is fine. Serenity was fighting me the whole time, but I got impressions of her somehow healing Rikki. She has an ability that the General is going to be very interested in studying. Second thing, Serenity is strong as hell. She might be tiny, but she is a firecracker. After she finally let me in, she held the link most of the time. It didn’t even seem to drain her. When she asked to see Phoenix, and I let her into my mind, she took over. That was Serenity touching you, Phoenix. She almost had me claim you before I was able to get control back from her. I hate to admit this, but she could be stronger than I am. I don’t think I would have gotten into her mind if she hadn’t decided to let me in.”
“Do you have any idea where they are?” Jeremiah asked. It was obvious he was still having trouble controlling his bear. His mate was missing and he wanted answers yesterday.
“No,” Angel said wearily. “Serenity didn’t know. Seems she just woke up. If she has been out for the whole four days, then her healing ability must take a lot out of her. She is going to talk to Rikki to see if she remembers anything and then get back with me.”
“She can just merge back with you at any time?” Nico wanted to know. “Without even knowing you or having anything of yours with her?”
“What can I say?” Angel shrugged. “The girl’s got skills.”
“Did you learn anything else from her?” Jaxson asked, hoping for some ideas as to where to look next.
“Only that Phoenix is beautiful and she loves his sexy tats,” Angel responded.
Chase got up and headed towards the door. “I need to get back to work. Bran can stay and help you as long as you need him.” Without waiting for a response, Chase was out the door and up the stairs. Angel quickly followed and caught up with him outside by his car. She needed to talk to him. Angel knew he was pissed, and she could not leave things the way they were.
“Chase, stop this,” Angel demanded. “ It wasn’t me and you know it.”
“This time it wasn’t,” Chase growled. “You don’t want this, Angel. You don’t want a mate, and you don’t want me. And I can’t seem to stay the fuck away from you.”
“I just can’t right now, Chase.” Angel whispered. “I need to concentrate on getting Rikki and Serenity home.”
“And then what, Angel? What excuse will you come up with next? You haven’t even been by to see Faith and Hope since you got home. They miss you. Hell, I miss you.” RARE had recently raided one of the General’s facilities where two women and three children were being held. Angel had quickly become attached to two of the children, Faith and Hope. Chase had agreed to let them live with him knowing that Angel was not able to take care of the girls while she was away on missions. However, Angel was to come see them and help care for them when she was home. She hadn’t been by since her last mission had gone to shit. Not only that, but she hadn’t spoken with or seen Chase either.
Angel didn’t know what to say. Chase was her mate. She hadn’t been looking for one. She didn’t want one. But it was hard for mates to be apart. It had been four days since her last mission. That was a long time not to be near each other. The distance was even more difficult to endure as neither Chase nor Angel had been claimed by one another.
“I’m sorry, Angel. I can’t do this anymore,” Chase growled. Reaching out he gently stroked a finger down her face before stepping back. “You get your life in order and if you decide that you can handle me in it, let me know. I might still be around. Until then, this is goodbye.”
Angel’s wolf went crazy. No way in hell was she letting Chase go. Angel growled and she felt her fangs drop. He was hers. What the hell did he mean he might still be around? She moved towards him as he opened his car door. “What do you mean you might be around? Is there someone else, Chase?” she growled.
“What if there was?” he asked. “Would you even care? I doubt it.” As he moved to get in the car, Angel grabbed him and swung him around. Shoving him up against the car, she moved her body in close, caging him in.
“Is there someone else?” she demanded again. There better not be. She would tear her apart limb by limb. He was hers, dammit!
Chase growled low in his throat. He was the Alpha. No one touched him like this. Angel was not backing down, though. Not that her wolf would let her. “There will be no one else, Chase. No one. Ever.”
Chase pushed her away as he turned to get in the car, and Angel could not hold back any longer. Moving quickly she grabbed his arm and swung him around. She pulled his head back, pushed him back harder against the car, and yanking his shirt collar down, she sunk her teeth into his shoulder. Right now all she could think about was staking her claim. She would worry about the consequences later.
“What the fuck,” Chase roared as he grabbed a handful of her hair trying to yank her head back. Angel was not letting go of him or his shoulder. After a moment he just stood there. When Angel pulled back licking at the claiming mark, she suddenly realized how still Chase was. She froze. Oh my God, what had she done? She had just claimed her mate, the Alpha of a wolf pack, up against his car in her driveway and without his permission. But he was her mate; he would want her, right?
She nervously stepped back and looked up at him. He stared at a space over her shoulder. “Chase,” she whispered as she reached out a hand towards him.
“Do not touch me,” he growled, his whole body shaking. Turning, Chase, got in his car and drove away. Well wasn’t that just craptastic? Swearing under her breath, Angel headed back toward the house.
Chapter 8
Serenity sat silently for several minutes with her eyes closed memorizing every detail she could remember of Phoenix. She could still feel the soft stubble of his hair on the palm of her hand. Could still smell his musky, earthy scent that had driven her wolf wild. And his tattoos...Serenity shuddered and let out a small moan. She wanted to lick every one of them, starting with the one on his chest and moving down.
“Are you ok?” she heard Rikki ask. Slowly Serenity shoved her dark hair back out of her face and looked up at Rikki, who was kneeling on the floor in front of her, an expression of concern on her face.
Serenity nod
ded. Swallowing hard, trying not to cry at the feeling of hopelessness that ran through her, she answered. “Yeah. Just took a trip through Angel’s mind and saw Phoenix. Trying to come back to reality.”
Rikki threw a fist pump in the air. “Yes! I knew it was Angel. When are they coming for us? I am ready to get the hell out of here.”
Serenity started shaking her head. “They aren’t, Rikki. They have no idea where we are. Do you remember anything that might help them find us? I was so drugged, all I remember is being put in the helicopter, flying, and then waking up and seeing you in so much pain. Heck, Angel said I was out for four days. I don’t remember anything.”
Rikki thought for a minute and then slowly shook her head. “Not right now. Give me some time to think about it. I remember being shot, and then I must have passed out. I woke up a couple of times in the chopper and again when we landed, but I was pretty out of it. I remember it was hot. I was sweating. But that could have been from a fever.”
Serenity looked over at the cot and back at Rikki. She wanted to rest, but didn’t know how to ask Rikki to watch over her. It had been years since she had trusted anyone to do anything for her. Asking someone to protect her while she slept was scary as hell. But then, hadn’t Rikki already been doing that for the last four days?
Before she could say anything, Rikki gestured towards the cot. Lowering her voice Rikki said, “Rest, girl. I know you still aren’t 100 percent and connecting with Angel had to have taken a lot out of you. We need you to get better if we are going to escape from here, wherever here is. We can’t afford to sit around and wait for RARE to save us. Get some sleep.”
Smiling weakly at Rikki, Serenity moved to the cot and climbed up onto it. Rikki settled down beside the cot so that she was within reach if Serenity needed her. “What’s up with the gloves?” Serenity asked as she reached out and lightly touched one of Rikki’s gloved hands. Rikki shook her head once and looked away. Understanding dawned on Serenity as her eyes widened. They still did not know if they were being watched. Neither of them had thought about that as Serenity had connected to Angel.
Thinking back, she decided that even if the scientists had been watching, unless they could hear what was being said, they would not have known what was going on. The whole time she had been speaking with Angel, Serenity’s head had been down on her knees giving nothing away.
Praying that there weren’t any listening devices in the room, Serenity finally let herself drift off to sleep dreaming of Phoenix’s beautiful bright blue eyes.
~
As Rikki guarded Serenity, she tried to remember any little detail that would help her team find them. There had to be something that she could tell them, she just had to remember. She thought back to the day they were taken and remembered shoving Nico down the ridge. Then there was a sharp pain in her chest. The bullet had hit her closer to her shoulder then her chest, but the fiery pain had engulfed both areas. She had passed out and when she had regained consciousness she was in the chopper. The pain had been excruciating. She remembered trying to breathe through it while looking around to get an idea of where she was. She saw the pilot up front with the General. Serenity was in the back with Rikki and two guards. Then she had passed out again. She came to one more time on the chopper and then again when they had landed in the desert. Holy shit, she and Serenity were in a desert.
Chapter 9
Phoenix sat on Angel’s back porch quickly sketching a picture in his notebook. She had beautiful long dark hair flowing down her back, with tiny porcelain-like facial features, eyes closed. Her eyes were always closed when he sketched her. He had never seen them open. Her head was tilted back and her mouth slightly open. She had been so still.
He felt someone enter the room as he started shading in Serenity’s hair. It was just one of several notebooks he had filled with sketches of her over the past few days. He had even sketched several pictures of wolves, trying to capture what she might look like in wolf form. He was going with dark brown or black because of her dark hair. Serenity had become his obsession.
Nico walked in from the kitchen and placed a hand on Phoenix’s shoulder. “We are going to get her back, my brother. Angel talked to her, man. She’s damn strong. If she could take over Angel even for a minute, she is one strong woman. A woman you can be proud of. She is going to fight to get to you, Phoenix.”
Phoenix raised his head and glared at Nico. “Don’t you think I know that, Nico? She is strong. She is smart. She is also at the mercy of that monster, the General. It doesn’t matter how strong she is. If he wants to hurt her, he will.”
Nico tightened his grip on Phoenix’s shoulder. “You just remember what happened in that basement a little bit ago, Phoenix. Your mate not only took over Angel’s mind to connect with you physically, she almost had Angel mark you. That is one determined wolf. She wants you, and nothing is going to stand in her way. If she can take over Angel like that, who knows what else she can do?”
Phoenix froze as he thought back. Serenity had actually made Angel touch him. She had forced her will on Angel. If she could do that to Angel, then maybe she could influence the people holding her. Just then, the porch door slammed against the wall as Angel walked in.
“Are you two going to sit there holding fucking hands all day, or are we going to do something to get Rikki and Serenity back?” Nico’s eyebrows shot up as he inhaled deeply.
“Not a word. Not a fucking word,” Angel ground out as she stormed past. “In the basement now.”
As Nico rose to follow Angel back downstairs, Phoenix reached out a hand and lightly traced the facial features he had drawn of Serenity. “I am coming for you, Beauty. I’m coming.”
When they were all once again in the conference room, Angel picked up the necklace and looked at it. It was made of brown leather and had an intricate design of a phoenix in black with flames behind it. It was just plain kick ass. As Phoenix watched, Angel sat down, held the necklace tightly in her hands and closed her eyes. About five minutes later she came back to them mad as hell.
“I can’t get through,” she growled as she stood up and started pacing. “I don’t know why, but she isn’t responding.” All of the sudden she swung around and kicked her chair. It flew up off the floor and hit the wall leaving a hole where the wheel on the chair leg hit it.
“Calm down, Angel,” Jaxson said. Angel grabbed him and swung him around, slamming him against the wall and baring her teeth at him. Jaxson barely controlled his wolf’s response. His wolf was ready to fight, but this was Angel, his alpha. He did not know what he had done to piss her off, but as his alpha, she deserved his respect.
Jaxson tilted his head to the side, bared his neck in submission and waited. There was complete silence in the room. Nobody moved. Finally, Angel seemed to get control of her wolf. She let go of Jaxson and turned to walk out of the room. As she passed Phoenix, she handed him the necklace. No one followed her. They knew better. They all wanted to keep their balls intact, thank you very much.
Phoenix clenched the necklace in his hand, shutting his eyes tightly. He wished he could connect with Serenity. He wanted to hear her voice and to know that she was ok. He wanted to feel her hand on him again, without Angel in the way this time. Slowly he unclenched his hand and then slipped the necklace on. He would keep it safe for her until she could wear it again. Soon, he promised himself. Soon.
Chapter 10
Serenity woke up to the sound of angry voices in the room. “You are not getting near her again,” she heard Rikki say. “You have stolen enough of her blood. You don’t need anymore. Now get out.”
“Look,” she heard a placating voice whisper urgently. “I just need a little bit more. The General wants....”
“Does it look like I care what the General wants? No, you will get the fuck out of this room, now,” Rikki told the scientist.
Holy shit, was Rikki really going up against the General? For her? But she was human, they would hurt her. Serenity could not let that happen
. Keeping her eyes closed and her breathing even so it looked like she was still asleep, Serenity silently slipped into the scientist’s mind with the intentions of making her leave empty-handed. She hated entering someone’s personal space without permission after what Malcolm had done to her, but she would do whatever it took to keep Rikki safe.
Instantly, Serenity felt the raw terror in the young scientist’s mind. The woman was so scared of the darkness that was to come if she could not get the blood from Serenity. The General threatened to put her back in the hole if she did not follow through with his orders. The scientist had spent most of her life in the hole and did not want to go back. Besides, if she did not get the blood, he would just send someone else to do it. Someone that would hurt one of the women, and she really did not want that. But the woman refused to ask for one of the guards to help. She would take her punishment before personally bringing pain to anyone.
She had such a kind and gentle soul. The soul of an omega. Omega wolves did not have a violent or dominant nature. They were able to feel the other people’s emotions and their presence alone calmed them. There was no way in hell Serenity was letting the General send this woman back into the darkness.
Serenity pulled quietly back out of the young scientist’s mind, and then opened her eyes and sat up. Rikki immediately moved over next to Serenity offering silent support and protection. Serenity motioned the scientist forward and rested her arm out, elbow up so she could get to the vein. Surprise flashed across the woman’s face, but then she moved slowly forward and knelt down beside Serenity. “I am so sorry,” she whispered as she got the needle ready.
Phoenix's Fate (RARE Series, #2) Page 3