by Michelle Fox
Lia shook her head. "No. Nothing. I'm having a hard time believing it, actually."
"Okay, well let's discuss Adele."
"Do you know why she came out here?"
"Yeah. She's an addict, Lia. A low down, no good, dirty, lyin', thievin' addict." Petra's words carried a fierce anger. "She's dragged you into more trouble than you deserve."
"So she came here looking for drugs?"
"No. She wanted to get clean, but it sounds like she just caused more trouble for you." Petra snorted. "I am not surprised."
"But we're twins, right?"
"Yep, but you're different as the moon and the sun."
"Why did she want to come here to get clean?"
"I don't know. From what you said, she'd found some alternative treatment program. Adele was excited, you were concerned. That's all I know. Where are you?"
"I'm in a town called Hudson, out in Tennessee. They stashed me in a nursing home called Crescent Pines."
"A nursing home?" Petra laughed. "Whatever did you do to deserve that?"
"I forgot what I was, not just who I was," Lia said. "I guess they were worried about me causing trouble."
Petra gave a low whistle. "You got hurt that bad?"
"Yeah. It was bad." She didn't recall the injury at all, but its aftermath had been pretty horrific so far.
"What about your wolf?"
"Knocked clean out of me."
"You lost your shift?"
"It would appear so."
"All right, that settles it. I'm packing my best ass kicking shoes and coming out there. We're going to figure this out together."
Lia flushed. She found the idea of not being alone reassuring, while at the same time being terrified of meeting a friend she couldn't remember. What if she didn't like Petra anymore? "Oh, Petra, that's kind of you but I don't want to bother you. The things you've told me have been a huge help. You have no idea."
"I'm still coming. You did the same for me when I was caught up with that asshole I thought was my fated mate. You came and got me out of a bad situation. I owe you and you shouldn't be alone."
"I'm not alone," Lia protested, even though it was a lie.
"Good. I'll be just one more to add to the party. I'll book a flight and be there tomorrow."
"Hey, Petra?" Lia asked.
"Yeah?"
"Speaking of fated mates, am I, do I—" She trailed off and bit her lip, remembering the scorching heat of Ryder's kiss.
"Have a mate? No. You're single. You and me both."
"Oh." The guilt riding Lia at her attraction to Ryder disappeared. "Good to know."
"Why? Have you met someone?" Petra's tone sharpened with suspicion.
"No," she said as nonchalantly as she could. " I just had no idea if there was anyone home waiting for me."
"It's just you and your sister. Your parents passed about ten years ago in a freak car accident. There was a storm and a big oak tree landed on their car as they were driving. It just...fell out of nowhere. They were gone instantly."
Lia put a hand to her chest. She kept saying 'oh' over and over again, trying to take in the news.
"I'm sorry. I don't know how to make this easier for you."
Regaining some measure of control, she said, "That's okay. I'm just glad someone knows these things. I think I have to learn who I am all over again. I'm not sure my memory will ever come back." Gah. She was a teacher. What if she never remembered how to teach? And what about her parents? Would she ever know who they were, or would they just be a story someone told her?
"I'll do everything I can to help. You're not alone."
Lia sniffed back tears, touched by the support of a friend she didn't even know anymore. "Thank you, Petra."
"Anytime, babe. I'll see you at Crescent Pines tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah. That sounds great." Lia smiled into the phone, and for just a second, she felt more anchored in herself than she had in days.
Chapter Twelve
At loose ends, she tried the sheriff again, but it just rolled into voicemail. She left another message and even sent him a text. Then, not knowing what to do, she grabbed a cup of coffee from the same cafe Ryder had bought his. Settling into a bench, she sipped the warm brew, relishing the jolt it sent through her system, and tried to decide her next step. Maybe she could walk back to the sheriff's bar? That might work, and she even thought she knew the way. If not, the GPS on her phone might be able to guide her.
Relieved to have a course of action, she started to stand up, only to be pressed back by a heavy hand.
"Wh-what the—" she sputtered.
"Hello, Lia," said a warm, deep voice as a large man sat next to her. "Don't get up. We need to talk."
Lia looked to her side, finding a tall, wide man with short dark hair and eyes black as coal. He wore a grey pinstripe suit and a big gold ring on his finger set with a ruby. She panicked as she recognized him. "Mason?"
The man settled onto the bench next to her and offered a hand. "The one and the same."
She jumped up and backed away. This was the man whose name had made her gut clench ever since she first heard it. And he was the reason why Ryder had been snatched away. Nothing good would come of this.
He remained on the bench, his expression calm, although his gaze was calculating. Raising his hand, he beckoned to someone off to her side. Turning her head, she saw several men respond to his signal and head toward her. Looking the other way, she saw even more men. They were closing in on her and blocking any chance of escape.
"What are you doing?" she asked. A smell she recognized as shifter filled her nose as the men gathered around her.
"You want to see your sister, don't you?"
Her heart stopped for a second. "You know where Adele is?"
"Of course I do." He smiled. "She's my client."
Lia gaped at the man. "You're the reason she came out here?"
He nodded and stood up, smoothing his jacket lapel. "Shall we go see her?"
She looked to her right and then her left before going back to Mason. "Do I have a choice?"
"No. Not really." He strode off, waving for her to follow. When she didn't move, rough hands grabbed each of her arms and dragged her along. It all happened so quickly, no one around them noticed. Or if they did, they didn't care that Lia was being taken against her will. She tried to make eye contact with people, but they were too caught up in their own lives, and she was being hustled along so fast that it was easy to miss what was really happening.
Should she scream? Fight? Lia considered her options. She didn't want to go with Mason, but he appeared to be the only connection to Adele she had. Plus, he knew where Ryder was.
But what if Mason was the one who'd almost killed her that night? Had he come back to finish the job?
That made her want to run, but it was too late. They were outside and she was boxed in by muscle bound shifters, who herded her so closely she kept bumping into their huge biceps. Yet another black SUV sat at the curb, waiting for them, a sleek town car idling in front of it. "Did you have a coupon or something?"
Mason ignored her. "Put her in the car with me." Pointing at one of the men, he added, "You ride up front. The rest of you take the SUV."
The men shoved Lia into the backseat of the car before dispersing as instructed. Mason settled into the seat next to her.
"How far away is my sister?"
"Not far," he said. "Give me your hand."
She started to obey, but stopped short. "Why?"
With an aggravated sigh, he reached out and caught her by the arm. "So you don't make any trouble." A metallic snick sounded as cold metal encircled her wrist.
She looked down and gasped at the handcuff that now adorned her wrist. The sensation of cold gave way to a hot, stinging buzz.
Yanking her roughly toward him, he captured her other hand and slapped the cuff on. "There, that should hold you. They're silver, by the way. You won't be shifting any time soon."
"Why do yo
u need handcuffs? I'm not a criminal." She didn't tell him she couldn't shift anyway. Her wolf was still MIA, but her gut instinct was to keep as much information from Mason as possible. She tried to pull the cuffs apart, but they held tight and just dug deeper into her skin which made the stinging worse.
"I know, but you see, I am a criminal and I can't have you running around messing up my business. You and Ryder have been pains in my ass for the last several days. I've had enough." He leaned forward and tapped the driver's shoulder. "Let's go."
The driver nodded and pulled away from the curb. Swinging the wheel, he made a tight U-turn, aiming the car for the nearest parking lot exit.
"Is Adele even alive?" she asked. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a black SUV tailing them. Was Ryder in there, or was this a second SUV? She wished she knew.
"I don't kill people. There's not enough money in it." Mason shot her an offended look. "Your sister is alive."
"What about Ryder, then? You want him dead, don't you?"
"Ryder is a different ball of fur."
"What happened that night at the Rowdy Howl?" she asked.
Mason's lips tightened. "There was a disagreement."
"What kind of disagreement?" she pressed.
He frowned at her, his gaze dark. "Do you question your alpha at home like this? I'm this close," he held up his thumb and finger, "to showing you how I deal with little wolves who don't know their place."
"Were you the one who bashed in my skull?" Lia asked, refusing to be cowed.
Mason's eyes widened briefly and then narrowed again. "No."
"Did you see who did? What happened that night?"
"It's none of your business."
"Really? I almost died."
His hand whipped out and wrapped around her throat. Yanking her close to him, he said, "I don't answer to you. You keep asking questions and you're going to get hurt." He threw her back into her seat.
Lia took a second to catch her breath and undeterred, she asked, "Where are we going? Can I ask that?" Outside her window, the business district of downtown Hudson gave way to country road.
"You'll see soon enough." He pulled out a cell phone, and started texting back-and-forth with someone. She tried to peer over his shoulder, but when he caught her looking, he gave her a rough shove back to her side of the car. "This is the last time I'm going to tell you. Back off."
"You're not my alpha. I'll back off when I find my sister," she said. She paused for a beat, her mind racing. Mason knew everything. She just needed him to talk. "So, criminal, huh? Are you proud of that?"
He glared at her out of the side of his eyes. "My pack was on the brink of bankruptcy, thanks to our previous alphas. I've brought us back to prosperity and do you know what I get for that?"
She shook her head.
"Grief. Complaints. And your friend Ryder leads the pack of rabid mongrels trying to tear me down. I won't have it." A low growl boomed through his chest.
"What are you going to do about Ryder?"
"If he hadn't pissed me off so much, I could've made a good amount of money off him. As it stands now, I'll be issuing a challenge in front of the pack. Some of them need to remember I'm the alpha. I decide who lives or dies. No one gets to start a new pack behind my back. No one."
He loosened his tie, and grabbing her by the nape of her neck, he brought her head down to his lap. Lia fought him, bucking underneath him like a wild animal who knew they were cornered and in a fight for their life, but Mason was bigger and stronger. Pinning her in place with a sharp elbow to her back, he forced the tie in her mouth, and knotted it behind her head.
This time, when he pushed her back to her side of the car, he did it hard enough that she slammed into the door and her head bounced off the passenger window. Lia groaned as pain exploded inside her skull.
"I warned you," Mason said as he returned to his phone. "That was as gentle as I'll be. Damaged goods still hold some appeal. I can punish you and still make money. I win either way. So you decide what shape you want to be in."
She glared at him, but remained silent. Turning her attention to the view out the window, she tried to determine where they were going. They'd left Hudson already and now ventured up into the trees and hills of Appalachia, and it hit her that she had no real idea where they were. Even if she could escape, where would she run to? Home? Where was that?
Sinking back into her seat, she tried not to give into the helplessness washing over her. The sheriff knew about her. Dixon had gotten into her phone and the best friend she couldn't remember was coming into town. Surely between the three of them, someone would find her. She just had to hang on until then.
Chapter Thirteen
"Hey, fighter boy, wake up."
Something cold splashed in Ryder's face and he sputtered as he opened his eyes. The fluid dripped into his mouth and he swallowed, tasting beer. "Did you run out of water?" he asked. "Not that I'm complaining. This is good beer." He made a show of licking his lips.
A fist slammed into his jaw, flinging his head back. "Smart mouths get bruises," a low voice snarled.
Ryder blinked away stars and brought his neck into alignment. He wished he could reach back and rub it, but they'd tied his hands behind him. Flexing his shoulders he tested the bonds and found them unbreakable. On top of that, his skin throbbed, as if someone had been snapping his wrists with a large rubber band. This meant they'd used silver to tie him up. Not good news.
As his vision cleared, he saw that Trent had been the one to last taunt him. He was Mason's second and ran as fiery as his red hair. The second could always be counted on for an extra vicious kick when a wolf was down and out.
"Hello, Trent."
"Shithead." Trent smirked and raised his beer bottle in a salute.
Ryder took in his surroundings, noting the wood floor he sat on, the battered tables and chairs with a long bar at the side. "The Rowdy Howl, right? Is this an off night? The place seems kind of empty."
"There's a private party." Trent set down his beer and cracked his knuckles one by one. "Let's get this done. We don't have much time."
"Get what done?" Ryder asked as rough hands yanked him up to his feet. "Hey, Kurt. Hey, Erik," Ryder said as friendly as he could. The moon knew he was short on allies and he'd known most of the men in the room since they were kids. He'd been particularly close to Erik. "Remember when I saved your ass? When I got between you and these," he nodded to some of the other men, "assholes? They haven't changed and I'm not surprised, but I never thought you'd join them. Does your wolf even know its ass from a hole in the ground?"
Erik remained stone faced.
"Mason has challenged you." Trent looked at Clint, another one of Mason's lackey's. "You make the call?"
"Yeah. They know." Clint, lean and tall in tight jeans and cowboy boots, flashed a predatory smile at Ryder. "The pack will be here for the main event." He sliced a finger across his throat and laughed. "They'll learn what happens to traitors."
"I'm not a traitor," Ryder said. "It's not treason to start a new pack."
Trent became a blur as he lunged in and sank a fist into Ryder's stomach. The air whooshed out of Ryder's lungs. He tried to double over to make breathing easier but the men holding him forced him to stay upright. "In our pack, it is."
"Okay, fine," Ryder growled once he could talk again. "I'll take the challenge. You don't have to tie me up. I'll do it." The timing sucked, but it couldn't be helped. Mason wouldn't wait. "I just hope you guys have figured out who the next alpha is going to be."
"Mason, asshole. You're not walking out of here alive." This time Trent punched him on the other side of the jaw.
"Thanks for keeping it even. I hate it when the bruises are just on the one side of my body." Ryder flashed a 'fuck you' smile. "Now, like I said, I accept the challenge. You can untie me now. I'd like to be able to feel my arms when I'm fighting Mason."
Trent snorted. "No."
"What do you mean 'no'? The challenge rules state
you can't keep me prisoner. Not like this." Ryder looked at each of the men in turn, trying to read their faces, but their expressions were closed and malice glittered in their eyes. A shiver went up his spine.
"Yeah, well the challenge rules don't take into account an upstart with a professional fighting background, do they?" Trent took a long swig from his beer and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Hold him tight, boys." Waving forward the other men, he said, "Have at him. Mason wants him nice and soft for the challenge tonight."
"Yeah, if you can't win, just play dirty until you do, right?" Ryder let a snarl roll through his throat.
Trent didn't say anything in response, but the knee he slammed into Ryder's stomach spoke volumes. Ryder doubled over only to be yanked back upright in time for one of the other men to launch a fist into his stomach.
Fighting to breathe, Ryder gasped out, "You assholes ever think this kind of bullshit is why someone would want to start another pack?"
"Hold him down, " Trent said pulling a slender case from his back pocket. "Mason has arranged for a special surprise." He opened the case and pulled out a pre-loaded syringe.
"What is that? Truth serum?"
"We already know the truth. You're a traitor and traitors must die. This will just help you along."
Ryder strained with everything he had to break free of the men holding him down, but between the silver and their sheer numbers, he wasn't going anywhere. Shit. This wasn't how it was supposed to go down. Give him a fair fight and every single one of Mason's crew would be dead, but they'd turned out to be good cheats.
Trent pressed the air out of the syringe and a little bit of liquid squirted into the air. "Now, just relax. You don't have to fight anymore. You've already lost."
Ryder screamed as Trent jabbed the needle into his upper arm. The burning was immediate, like he was being set on fire from the inside. "Silver? You're injecting me with silver? What the hell is wrong with you? This is murder." His heart contracted hard in his chest as the silver hit. It would eat his body from the inside out, leaving him weak and an easy kill for Mason.
"Not if you're a traitor."
"You're the ones who've betrayed everything a pack stands for," he spat at them. "And I won't forget. None of you gets away from this. I'll make sure of it."