“And the vampires?”
“Gone, sir. The cabin was empty.”
Brynley’s breath caught. Yes! Phineas and Jack were all right! They’d escaped. And they would come looking for her.
The minion kept talking. “We took Kyle’s body back to your ranch. What do you want us to do with it?”
Rhett scoffed. “Dump it back at his brother’s house.”
The window suddenly clicked shut. “What are you doing?” Her father’s clipped voice sounded annoyed.
Brynley straightened. “Enjoying some fresh air.”
“I doubt it.” Caddoc Jones glanced out the window. “Come. The buffet has started.” He took her elbow and steered her toward the dining room. “You defied me when you ran away. Have you ever known me not to punish a member of my pack for disobedience?”
She swallowed hard.
His grip tightened on her arm. “I will forgo punishment this time under one condition. You will go through with the wedding and marry Rhett Bleddyn.”
The prison walls were closing in. “May I join the Hunt tonight?” If she shifted, she could run like hell. The thought of her father’s wolves chasing her down was terrifying, but she was getting desperate enough to take the chance.
“You will remain indoors.” He handed her a plate. “Enjoy your evening.” He turned on his heel and left.
She set the plate back in the stack. She couldn’t eat when she was suffocating. She pivoted, feeling entirely hemmed in by her father’s well-dressed, happy minions.
She spotted one who looked uncomfortable. He was standing in the corner, quietly eating. Thomas, Trudy’s husband. She’d mentioned he would be here.
She eased over in his direction. “Hey, Thomas.”
He inclined his head. “Miss Jones. I didn’t know you had returned.”
“It was . . . unplanned.” She lowered her voice. “Corey’s doing great at school.”
Thomas exhaled with relief, and a brief smile flitted over his face before his guarded expression returned. “You shouldn’t say his name here.”
“Do you have a cell phone on you?”
He gave her a wary look.
She shrugged. “I can’t seem to find a single phone in this entire house. Crazy, isn’t it?”
“Miss Jones, I suggest you do whatever your father tells you to. Excuse me.” He strode from the dining room.
With a groan, she leaned against the wall. What was she doing? Thomas and Trudy were good people. She shouldn’t get them into trouble. She was just so damned frustrated!
“Oh, there you are!” Glynis rushed toward her, grinning. “Guess what? Dad made special plans for us. He ordered all the latest movie releases. We get to have an all-night marathon in the media room!”
With a dozen guards outside the door, no doubt. Phineas, please hurry.
The wedding was in two nights.
Chapter Twenty-two
“This is where you and Brynley grew up?” Phineas asked as he scanned the enormous house. He was with Zoltan and Phil, hidden in the woods behind Caddoc Jones’s ranch house.
They’d arrived ten minutes earlier, a half hour after sunset. Phil had recalled the number for an old phone in the stable. The elderly werewolf who had answered it had been stunned when they teleported in, but Phineas had quickly erased his memory while Zoltan had communicated with the horses to keep them calm.
“This is the main residence,” Phil answered quietly. “There are two more, one in Idaho and one in Wyoming.”
“When do they start shifting?” Zoltan asked.
Phil glanced up at the full moon. “Soon.” He motioned for them to follow. “They’ll shift in the backyard and head straight into these woods. We need to move.”
They kept to the forest, circling around the north side of the house.
So far, Phineas had seen only one guard, and he was relaxing in a lawn chair on the back porch. “They don’t seem too concerned about security.”
Phil snorted. “Who in their right mind would attack a house full of a hundred werewolves? Most of the guards are inside, making sure the guests don’t attack each other. And they’re probably watching Brynley’s every move.”
“If you spot her, even in wolf form, let me know,” Phineas said. “I’ll teleport straight to her and get her out of here.”
Phil shook his head. “I doubt my father will allow her to participate in the Hunt. She’d probably try to run away.”
“Or she might get hunted down and assaulted,” Phineas muttered.
Phil stopped with a jerk. “What are you saying? Did that happen to her?”
“You wouldn’t know, would you? You weren’t here for her.”
“She never answered my letters,” Phil insisted. “Never agreed to escape with me. I thought she must be happy here.”
“You thought wrong!”
“Enough,” Zoltan growled. “Keep your voices down or the guards will hear us.”
Phineas took a deep breath. He was having a hard time dealing with the abuse Brynley had suffered. It was wrong of him, but he was taking it out on her brother.
“Look at it,” Phil whispered, pointing at the huge mansion. “I didn’t think she’d be willing to leave that behind. I left here with nothing but the clothes on my back. I nearly starved before I ended up a poor college student, living in the basement of Roman’s townhouse and working during the day as a security guard. I asked Brynley to come away with me, but I didn’t push it. I didn’t think I had much to offer.”
Phineas swallowed hard. He knew that feeling. It was hard to believe Brynley would choose him, a poor Undead guy from the Bronx with an outstanding warrant for his arrest, when she could have luxury and security.
He followed Phil and Zoltan toward the front of the house. They came to the edge of an asphalt road that led to the circular driveway.
“We’ll teleport across.” Zoltan pointed to a wooded area. “Land over there.” He grabbed hold of Phil and vanished.
Phineas joined them. They were a far distance in front of the house now, but with their superior vision they could still see. However, much of their view was blocked by the SUVs, pickups, and campers parked in the driveway.
Phineas pointed up. “Let’s get a better view.”
“Good idea.” Phil walked over to a thick pine with sturdy branches. “I used to climb this as a kid.” He leaped and caught hold of the lowest branch. With a grunt, he swung a leg over the branch and straddled it. Holding on to the trunk, he stood, then reached for the next branch.
Phineas levitated and hovered close by. “Going up?”
Phil gave him a wry look. “Show-off.”
Phineas offered him a hand. “Come on.” When Phil looped an arm around his shoulders, he continued levitating to the top branches of the tree.
“Slowpokes,” Zoltan murmured from the top of a neighboring tree. He must have teleported.
Phineas landed on a sturdy branch and surveyed the house and grounds. One guard stood by the front door. The house sprawled along the top of long hill. On the south side, a garden had been planted where the land sloped down to a flat meadow. Beyond that, there were some pens and then the stable.
“I was wrong,” Phil whispered from a nearby branch. “I should have come here to make sure she was all right. I should have known she couldn’t bear it here any more than I could.”
“Not your fault,” Phineas mumbled. “You didn’t know.”
Phil leaned against the trunk, gazing at the house. “It’s hard to explain what the Lycan world is like to an outsider. On the surface, it all seems perfect. Big ranches, beautiful country, strong families, a really close and supportive community. If one of the men in the pack dies, his widow and children are automatically taken care of. If someone’s house or barn burns down, the pack gathers to rebuild it. There’s a strong sense of pride and security—”
“But no freedom,” Phineas muttered.
Phil sighed. “For me, the cost of staying was too high.”
“Bastard,” Phil snarled. “I should kick his ass.”
“I’d like a swing at him, too, but it looks like Howard wants the honor.” Phineas paused a moment, wondering what the story was there.
“What are your intentions toward my sister?” Phil asked.
That took him by surprise. “I guess it’s obvious I have feelings for her.” He took a deep breath. “I want to be with her if she’ll have me. I’d like to spend my life with her.”
Phil turned to him with wry look. “You sure you can handle her?”
Phineas smiled. “It would be one hell of a thrill ride finding that out.” He motioned toward the house. “Do you know which window is her bedroom?”
“You’re thinking about teleporting in?” Phil asked.
“If I can find her, I’ll teleport her straight to Romatech, and you two guys can follow.”
“She’s probably being guarded,” Phil warned him.
“I’ll go with you,” Zoltan told him. “If you find her, teleport out. I shall return here for Phil.”
Phil pointed. “Second window from the right, upstairs. The curtains are shut.”
A second later, Phineas materialized in a large, dark bedroom. He pivoted, scanning the room. No one there.
Zoltan appeared beside him. After a quick look around, he opened a door. “Bathroom,” he whispered, and went inside.
Phineas zipped over to another door and peered inside. A walk-in closet. Mostly empty, except for a row of pretty dresses and some high-heeled shoes. Brynley had obviously taken her casual clothes with her when she’d run away. Something long and white caught his eye, and he ventured closer. Shit. It was a wedding dress in a clear plastic bag. Lots of lace and beads and crap. A lot more expensive than he could ever afford.
He closed the closet door and surveyed the room. The wrought-iron bed was neatly made up with a blue and green quilt. It didn’t look like it had been slept in. A white box underneath the bed drew his attention. What would she hide beneath her bed? Old photos of her mom or Phil? Memorabilia from happier days?
He dashed over and pulled out the box. Red letters on top read “Big Boy 1000 EXTREME!” He opened it and winced.
“Damn.” Nestled in red velvet was a flesh-colored rubber phallus. He plucked it out.
“Damn.” It was a big boy. He felt himself shrinking, just looking at the damned thing.
“Nothing in the bathroom.” Zoltan exited, closing the door behind him.
Phineas whipped the Big Boy behind his back, but the movement must have hit a button because it suddenly came alive, vibrating and wiggling against his lower back. He arched and shifted his weight, trying to look nonchalant.
Zoltan peered around the room. “Do you hear that?”
“No.”
“Sounds like a bee.” He gave Phineas a speculative look. “Are your clothes buzzing?”
He shrugged. “Brynley’s not here, so we might as well leave.”
Zoltan looked him over again, then glanced at the bed. “Okay.”
“You first. I’ll bring up the”—he winced as the damned thing wiggled against his rear—“uh, rear.”
Zoltan’s mouth twitched, then he teleported away.
“Damn.” Phineas turned the Big Boy off, then noticed he’d left the box on the bed. Damn, had Zoltan seen it? He stuffed the phallus back into the box, but must have jammed too hard, for it started wiggling again.
“Stop it.” He punched a button, but it merely increased its speed, the tip spiraling in wild circles.
Damn! He watched in horror. It was like a whirlybird on steroids! How could a man compete with that? He ripped the balls off it and emptied out the batteries. “Die, you freakin’ dildo, die!”
“I think I hear something in there,” a voice said in the hallway.
“Then check it out,” another voice demanded.
Phineas tossed the box back under the bed and teleported away.
He landed back in the tree. “Whew. Safe again.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Zoltan muttered from his tree and pointed to the ground.
“It arrived right after you guys left,” Phil added.
Phineas glanced down at the big black bear. It reared up on its hind legs and clawed at the tree, shaking it. Phineas held on tight to the trunk.
“I could shift and try to chase it away,” Phil offered. “But it’s a long way down for me to jump.”
“I could try communicating with it mentally,” Zoltan suggested.
“Or I could just talk to him,” Phineas added dryly. He levitated down a bit. “Digger, what are you doing here?”
The bear shifted into a large, naked man. “How did you know it was me?”
Phineas gestured to the yellow dog sitting under a nearby tree with the foil-covered football helmet. “Your sidekick is one of a kind.”
“That’s right,” Digger said proudly. “My Jake is purty special.”
“Your dog could be in danger once the Hunt begins,” Phil called down.
Digger narrowed his eyes as he gazed up the tree. “You a shifter?”
“Werewolf. Philupus Jones.”
“Caddoc’s son? I heard you were dead.”
Phil snorted. “Is that what they’re saying? I was banished twelve years ago.”
Digger motioned to Zoltan. “What about that one? He has funny eyes. Could be an alien.”
“He’s Zoltan, a vampire like me,” Phineas explained.
“Are you sure? Zoltan sounds like an alien planet.”
Zoltan chuckled.
“What brings you here, Digger?” Phineas asked.
“My truck. I left it about a mile down the road.”
Phineas tried again. “Why are you here?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking about what you said about that bad werewolf, Rhett, that’s trying to force the little lady to marry him, and then I thought maybe I should have a word with Cad about it, see if he could stop that bad fella from pestering his daughter. We used to be friends, Cad and me, about a hundred years ago.”
“I’m afraid my father knows about Rhett,” Phil said. “And he’s trying to force the wedding, too.”
“Dagnabbit!” Digger slapped his thigh. “That ain’t right. I’m telling you, there’s some bad things going on around here. I saw two of them aliens beaming down in the backyard about five minutes ago.”
“You saw aliens?” Zoltan asked.
“A male and a female. They headed over to the stable. Really fast. They ain’t human, that’s for sure.”
Dimitri and Corky? Phineas glanced up at Zoltan. “Can you see them?”
From the top of his tree, Zoltan surveyed the area. “They must already be inside. A group of people are gathering in the backyard, starting to strip.”
“They’re getting ready for the Hunt,” Phil said.
“Do you see him?” Zoltan pointed. “A man in a tuxedo. He’s headed toward the stable in a hurry.”
Phineas levitated up to where he could see. “That’s Rhett Bleddyn. And that looks like Dimitri at the stable door.”
“Let’s go hear what they have to say,” Zoltan suggested.
“An alien powwow. I’ll meet you over there.” Digger and Jake trotted through the woods toward the stable.
Phineas, Phil, and Zoltan materialized at the back of the stable, then teleported into the hayloft.
Two voices were speaking below: Corky and Rhett. Corky was screaming so loud the horses were growing agitated.
Zoltan closed his eyes and mouthed some words.
Phineas gave him a questioning look, but when the horses settled down, he realized what Zoltan had been doing. He eased forward on his stomach to peek over the edge.
“It was terrible!” Corky shouted. “Dimitri and I barely escaped!”
&
nbsp; “Calm down,” Rhett told her. “What happened?”
“It was those wretched MacKay men! They attacked us! The vampires had swords and guns, and there was a huge bear and a tiger!”
“They had shifters with them?”
“Yes! And they were ripping your werewolves into dog food. Dimitri and I barely made it out in time.”
Rhett stiffened. “You’re saying my men lost?”
Corky waved a dismissive hand. “They were falling like flies. I’ve never seen such a bunch of useless—”
“My men lost?” Rhett shouted.
“Yes! Have you been listening?” Corky screeched. “Those bloody MacKay bastards took over your ranch. Now where on earth am I supposed to do my death-sleep?”
Rhett dragged a hand through his hair. “I’ll find a place for you here.”
Corky huffed. “Let’s just go back to Alaska. You have plenty of land there.”
“I need more!” Rhett’s eyes gleamed. “I need more wolves. I need more power. And I’m so damned close. I’ll get more men down here quick. The wedding is in two nights.”
“I don’t want you to marry that bitch!” Corky screamed. “You’re mine.”
“Get a grip, Corky,” he hissed. “It’s just a damned formality so the land can transfer to me legally. Once I’m married to the Jones girl, we’ll kill her and the entire family. Then I’ll inherit it all.”
Phineas flinched and exchanged a look with Phil.
“Just two more days.” Rhett pulled Corky into his arms. “We’ll have it all. I’ll have thousands of pack members in four states following my every command.”
Corky wrapped her arms around his neck. “And I’ll have the governors under my control.”
Dimitri yelped and ran toward them. “There’s a bear charging toward us!”
“Quick!” Rhett ordered. “Take me to the house.”
They vanished just as Digger loped into the stable, followed by Jake. The horses went crazy, rearing up and kicking at their stalls.
“Calm yourselves,” Zoltan told them. “It will not harm you.”
The bear shifted, and the horses returned to normal.
Phineas jumped down to the ground. “Dammit, Digger!”
“What’s wrong?” He scratched at his beard. “Am I too late?”
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