Jeremy

by Catherine L. Byrne

  “Adam is still inside with Kylie. They’re in the playpen.”

  Jeremy nodded and rushed inside. The two kids were huddled together in a corner of the playpen, their eyes huge. Jeremy knew Adam was afraid of loud noises, and they didn’t come louder than that damn alarm. He reached for his son and Adam came right away, clutching to him.

  “‘M scared, daddy.”

  “Don’t worry pumpkin. We have to move to one of those rooms with the funny doors, okay?” He had showed the safe rooms to Adam just in the eventuality something like this happened, and Adam had noticed the heavy armored doors. He reached for Kylie next, and sighed in relief when the little girl came to him without fuss.

  They were nearly at the door when Jeremy heard the window behind him shatter. He didn’t turn around, he couldn’t turn around. He had to get the kids out of the door and into the safe room. He knew he wouldn’t make it when a low, menacing growl came from behind him. Still, he had to get the kids out, even if thinking about Adam being all alone like that broke his heart.

  He quickly opened the door and nearly sobbed in relief at the sight of Connie. He pushed Adam in her arms, giving his son one last kiss as he prayed he would see him again. “Get them to the safe room! Run!”

  Connie’s eyes were wide, but Jeremy didn’t stop to check if she was moving. He stepped back and closed the door, his son’s cries echoing in him and making his heart hurt. Slowly, he turned around to face whatever had managed to get in the room, hoping that Connie would find someone and tell them what was happening. Denver wasn’t even in the house, or he would have already been there since he surely could feel Jeremy’s fear and heartbreak. He wished they could communicate mentally like Finn and Bryce, because then he could tell his big man that he loved him. He had never told him, not really.

  A white wolf was standing in front of him. The color of its coat was stunning, even in the dim light of the room, but what Jeremy noticed most of all were the teeth gleaming under the snarling lips. He knew he couldn’t do anything against those. It would have been hard if the wolf had been a real one, but against a shifter, Jeremy had no possibilities at all, and he had no doubt the wolf was a shifter. There was no other way it could have gotten in the house.

  The wolf snarled and lunged at him. He jumped in surprise, managing to avoid the sharp teeth, but he was careful to remain in front of the door. He had to give Connie enough time to get to the safe room. He looked around for something, anything, he could have used as a weapon, but this was a room designed for kids. He obviously couldn’t stab the wolf with a crayon.

  The wolf backed down and the air started to shimmer around him. Jeremy felt his chin hit his chest as he gaped at the sight in front of him. He would have never said Deborah could be so beautiful in her shifter form. He would have thought she would be a hyena or something just as vicious—no offense to real hyenas. It did relieve him to know what type of animal he son might turn into, though.

  His ex-wife was standing in front of him, completely naked and for once without make-up. He had to admit that, yeah, she was hot, but it did nothing for him anymore. He was so completely gone for Denver that she could have given him a lap dance and he wouldn’t have felt anything.

  “Give me the kid!”

  “Shit, Deb, why do you want Adam so much?”

  “I need him!”

  Jeremy shook his head. “Why? You never wanted him. Why now?” He still kept his back to the door, his ears straining to hear if someone was coming.

  “They told me they’d give me a lot of money if I gave them a half-breed.”

  “Half-breed? You mean you want to sell my son?” Jeremy roared. God, he had never wanted to hurt anyone, didn’t think he had the guts to do it, but right now he wanted to strangle her.

  Deborah shrugged. “As you said, he’s nothing to me. I need money, he’s there, why should I have problems with that?”

  “Because he’s your son, bitch! You bore him for nine months, how can you not feel anything for him?”

  “I shouldn’t have listened to you and had that abortion, but now I think you were right. We could share the money, maybe go back to New York and live together.”

  Jeremy was disgusted. It gave him the creeps to think he had been married to that woman and that he had slept with her, maybe even loved her for a while. How could he not have seen her real personality? “Adam is safe. They took him away, and the soldiers are going to get you. You won’t touch him, Deborah, ever. Denver and I will make sure of that.”

  “And where is that mate of yours right now? Shouldn’t he be right here, saving your fat ass?”

  “He’s coming, don’t worry.”

  “Oh, I’m not worried. I’ll get Adam, maybe not now, but I will. What do you think your mate will accept to sacrifice to get you back in one piece?” Deborah started walking toward Jeremy, and he couldn’t move. There was virtually no place for him to run, not if he wanted to keep her in this room.

  She jumped, faster than he would have thought. He nearly didn’t see the punch coming at him, but he surely felt it when it hit him square in the jaw. Deborah might be a woman, but she was also a shifter, which meant she was so much stronger than Jeremy. It took her only a few other hits on his head to make him lose control with reality. As the world went black around him, his only thoughts were for Adam and Denver. He knew his man would never give their son to Deborah, not even if it killed Jeremy. He would protect Jeremy’s pumpkin at all cost.

  * * * *

  Denver had been at work when the text message had arrived. The mansion’s alarm was programmed to send every member of the pride a warning when the outside perimeter was breached, and another one if the house itself was broken in. He had gotten both.

  Since he was part of the house’s security, he also knew exactly where whoever had done it had entered, but he hadn’t needed a message to know that. He had felt Jeremy’s fear, then anger, and it had nearly made him throw the car into the drainage ditch that ran on the side of the road.

  Hitting the button on the remote control, Denver swerved through the gate and stopped the car in front of the door. He didn’t even bother to turn the car off and or close the door. He just ran up the stairs and flung the door open. Chaos was reigning inside, but he couldn’t see Jeremy or Adam anywhere. He couldn’t just run around the house to find them, so he went straight to Jeremy’s office.

  The door was open, but Jeremy wasn’t there. Denver turned around and stopped Soren, who was running down the hallway. “Where is Adam? And Jeremy?”

  Soren’s eyes were sad. “You need to go to Adam. He’s in your rooms. We...we can’t find Jeremy, and Adam said that he stayed back in the nursery. That’s where the house got broken into.”

  That meant that Jeremy had been with whoever had entered the mansion, and if he wasn’t there anymore, that person had kidnapped him. Shit! What the fuck was it with bad guys and kidnappings lately? It seemed that Jamie had started a trend—not that it was his fault.

  Denver shook his head. The fear for his mate was so pronounced that he didn’t think he would be able to function if he stopped to think about it. Better to use sarcasm and hide behind it. He would have all the time in the world to break down and cry his eyes out once Jeremy was back home.

  He pushed open the door of his suite, barely making it inside before a small weight landed on his legs, nearly making him topple down. He looked at the red, curly hair and his heart squeezed. Adam was safe. No matter what happened, Adam was safe.

  He grabbed his son and held him close as the kid asked, “Where’s daddy?”

  “I don’t know sweetheart, but I’m going to try and find him, okay?” Denver looked up. He hadn’t checked to see who was staying with Adam yet, and he was relieved to see Jamie and Finn. Jamie was a favorite of Adams, so he would be fine staying with the human.

  “Dominic asked me to tell you to get to his office as soon as you could,” Jamie murmured, pity in his eyes. He knew exa
ctly how it felt to be separated from his mate in these circumstances.

  After a few more cuddles and reassurances, Denver left Adam with the guys and headed out to find Dominic. He itched to get into the nursery and check it out to see if he could find something, but he had to obey his Alpha. Besides, Dominic probably could tell him more than what he already knew. It wouldn’t have been hard for Isaiah to check the cameras and find out who had taken Jeremy, and it could be precious information. He needed to know everything he could before heading out to get his mate back, even if his tiger was snarling and growling that he needed to get out of there—right now.

  He pushed the door open without even knocking, his hands clutched in fists by his side. Dominic was in the room talking with Nate, Isaiah and Joshua. They were looking over Isaiah’s shoulder at the screen of the man’s laptop, and Denver knew he had been right.

  “Who? Who took Jeremy?”

  Dominic gestured to him to get closer and take a look. “I’ve never seen her, but I’m guessing this is Jeremy’s ex-wife, unless he has grudges we don’t know about with other female shifters.”

  Sure enough, when Denver took a good look, he recognized the blonde as Deborah, Jeremy’s ex-wife. He also noticed that she shifted into an arctic wolf, and he filed that bit of info for later. It would be good to know for Adam’s sake.

  “Yeah, that’s her.”

  “Okay, come with us.” Denver followed Dominic and Nate outside the office and to the nursery’s door. The Alpha stopped with his hand on the handle and looked back at Denver. “Keep your calm. Remember that we’re going to do anything we can to find your mate, no matter what.” He opened the door and the smell of kids and baby powder assaulted Denver’s nose. “She came here in wolf form, so she would have had to carry Jeremy back to wherever it is she stays. She might be a shifter, but Jeremy’s not a small guy, so I don’t think she went too far. It’s been only about thirty minutes after all.”

  Under the sweet scent of children, Denver smelled something, something he was very familiar with and that made his blood turn to fire in his veins. The smell of Jeremy’s blood hung heavy in the air, and looking down Denver saw several dark spots on the hardwood floor. Now he knew why Nate was here. The jaguar was the pride’s best tracker, and he was going to use Jeremy’s scent to find him.

  Denver nodded and started stripping. The window had been broken from the outside, then, opened so that Deborah could carry Jeremy out. They were going to follow the same route.

  Denver let the shift wash over him, his tiger roaring in the night as he warned the white wolf that he was coming. Now that he was in his animal form, the scent of Jeremy’s blood was easier to catch, and he briefly wondered if Deborah knew they were going to follow their trail. She hadn’t seemed that bright when he had met her, but it was something to consider.

  He followed Nate outside the house and into the woods. Denver wasn’t a tracker by any means, but even he could see the dark dots dirtying the snow. Either Deborah was stupid or she wanted them to find her.

  They followed the traces, Nate stopping every now and then to sniff the air. The she-wolf had only about thirty minutes of advantage, and she had been bearing a heavy weight, so it didn’t take them long to get to her. It couldn’t have been easy to carry Jeremy and walk in the snow barefoot. Yeah, Denver was so, so sorry for her.

  Nate stopped and huffed at Denver, indicating with his head that he was going to round Deborah while Denver was taking her head on. Fine with me. He nodded to tell his Beta that he had understood, and they parted ways.

  She wasn’t even trying to hide. Deborah had found a tiny clearing between the trees and she was waiting there, buck naked with Jeremy slumped at her feet. Denver could see she was shivering from the cold, but he couldn’t have cared less. It was obvious she hadn’t planned her little adventure too well. He was ready to bet anything he had that she had aimed for Adam, not Jeremy, and that when his mate had stopped her she had taken him instead. Jeremy was unconscious and it looked like he had taken a beating, but the wounds weren’t bleeding anymore. He would have several bruises, though, and Denver wanted Jared to check him for concussions but he could tell his mate would be fine if they managed to get him out of the woman’s clutches and out of the cold.

  Denver prowled toward her, a snarl on his face as he emerged from the trees.

  “Stop there, kitty, or I’m going to hurt him.”

  Denver wanted to roll his eyes at the nickname, but the timing didn’t call for it. He could feel his anger rising, and he wanted nothing more than to pound on the woman and tear her throat out, but he had to stay calm. She might be a nut case, but she was still Adam’s mother, and he wanted to find out why she wanted the kid so bad.

  Denver stopped, leaving seven or so feet between them. The woman fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable, but she tried to look brave. “Now, if you want Jeremy back, you’re going to have to bring me Adam. That’s all I want. Bring me the kid and you can both leave in peace.”

  Was she for real? Did she really think Denver would hand Adam over to get Jeremy back? It wasn’t that surprising, though. She had abandoned her son after all.

  Denver growled and took a step forward. Deborah moved and shifted one of her fingers, leaning the claw against Jeremy’s throat. Denver could see the trickle of blood sliding on the skin.

  “I’ll kill him!”

  Denver could see the claw penetrating the flesh, and he was frozen by fear. The only thing he could do was try to stop her, but she could kill Jeremy before he even got there.

  He didn’t even see Nate until the man had already latched on Deborah’s back, his jaw around her throat. The woman shrieked and Denver’s heart skipped a beat when he saw her hands move. He quickly shifted back, not even feeling the cold as he ran to his mate. He let out the breath he had held back only when he saw that the wound on Jeremy’s throat was just superficial. Jeremy was freezing, though, and he had to take him back home as soon as he could. Denver wanted to thank all the gods he knew and a bunch he didn’t. A relieved sob escaped his mouth when he gathered his lover in his arms. Only when Jeremy was safely tucked into his body did he turned around to see what was happening. He shouldn’t have worried.

  Deborah had shifted in her wolf form, but it hadn’t done her any good. Right now she was lying on her back, her belly exposed in a submissive gesture as Nate’s teeth were clamped around her throat.

  “I’m heading back. Do you want me to send someone?”

  The air shimmered around Nate as he shifted back and gripped the wolf’s scruff. “No, we’re going to take a walk with you. It’s not that far.”

  Yeah, it might not have been far, but they were still going to freeze their nuts off.

  * * * *

  Jeremy burrowed farther into the blankets and reached for Denver, but his hand came back empty. Where was his mate?

  That’s when he remembered about the break in and Deborah. He shot out of the bed, tangling his legs into the covers and nearly falling flat on the floor, his eyes frantically searching around the room. A searing pain shot in his head, and he remembered the way Deborah had beaten him. Raising his hand to his face, he winced. Yeah, that would leave a bruise. He could feel most of his face was swollen, and there were some wounds, but they were already closed. Denver had said it would happen, that Jeremy would heal faster, and he was damn glad right now.

  Looking around at a more moderated pace, he recognized the room, and he wasn’t sure what motive Deborah could have had to put him in his bed. It would seem he was back at home, so it probably meant that the shifters had stopped Deborah and taken him back.

  “Hey, babe. How are you feeling?”

  Denver’s booming voice startled Jeremy, but he had never been so happy to hear it. Taking care to keep his movements easy, he turned toward the voice and smiled at his gentle giant. “You got me back.”

  “Of course I did.”

  “You’re going to tell me what happened
as soon as I come back from my trip to the bathroom.”

  “Okay, I’ll go get you something to eat and tell Adam that his daddy’s fine.”

  “He’s fine, right? She didn’t hurt him?”

  Denver’s eyes softened. “He’s fine. You kept her occupied and she didn’t have the time to look for him, so she kidnapped you instead.”

  Jeremy held his hand up. “Bathroom, then you tell me.” He didn’t know how long he had been unconscious, but from the state of his bladder, it had been a while.

  He was the first one to return to the bedroom after he took care of business, so he got back into bed and closed his eyes. It wasn’t long after that that he heard the telltale sign that his son was approaching—the sounds of his footsteps as he stomped toward Jeremy. The bed shifted as he climbed on it and Jeremy opened his eyes and his arms. Adam immediately cuddled into his embrace and Jeremy finally was able to breathe easier. He was safe, his son was safe, and Deborah wouldn’t be a problem anymore, or at least he hoped so. He didn’t know what had happened to her, though, but he planned on finding out really soon.

  Just as soon as he ate whatever smelled so good on the tray Denver had just entered the room with. He watched as his mate put it on the nightstand before lying down next to Jeremy and grab Adam. Jeremy had no idea what time it was, but the sky outside was dark, and since Adam was still awake, even if barely, it couldn’t be that late. Still, his son’s eyes were slowly closing as he reclined against Denver, and the sight made something flutter in Jeremy’s stomach.

  “So, are you going to tell me?”

  “There’s nothing much to say, really. I got the message someone had entered the mansion, I came home and we checked the cameras. I recognized Deborah and Nate followed your blood trail until we found the two of you in the forest. She tried to bargain you for Adam, but Nate jumped her from behind and neutralized her. Right now she’s in one of the cells Dominic had to have built not far from here. That’s all.”