by Leela Ash
Outside, a thin mist shrouded the cluster of rental cabins. No lights in Judith’s room yet. Must be too early. Jamie strode quickly to his cottage to change clothes.
His room was just as he’d left it.
With one addition.
A parchment envelope lay on the cabin’s chintzy linoleum table. Beside it, a palm-sized disk of… what? White chocolate? Ivory?
That envelope, though, was way too fancy for this cheap-ass place. Jamie stepped back to the door and scanned the cluster of buildings. Nothing moved. No one was up.
Strange. After a quick search of the cabin itself, he stepped to the table.
The disk was yellowed wax, not chocolate. An image had been stamped on its surface: a Worm devouring its own tail.
Ouroboros. One of the symbols the Fangs used.
How the hell had they found him? He had to warn Bob, get those women out…
Despite the emergency, he found himself staring fixedly at that amulet. The image – Worm coiled in a circle, destroying itself eternally – fascinated him. Why, he had no idea. He’d seen pictures like it hundreds of times. But in the cabin’s dim light, his eyes traced its unending circle, over and over.
He didn’t have time for this. Jamie forced himself to rip open the letter. Maybe Fowler, that arrogant bastard, would let something slip.
Neat rows of impeccable script marched across the cream-colored paper.
Dear Mr. Wolfe,
It seems my reservations about you were well-founded.
No matter. I believe you will join us, even if that was not your original intent.
Enjoy my gift. I look forward to speaking with you, as a peer, in the near future.
Lucian Fowler
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Jamie eyed the little charm once more, then shook his head sharply.
Who cared? If the Fangs knew they were here, everyone was in danger.
Tossing the letter aside, he grabbed the wax disk and turned…
…And suddenly, the world around him disappeared.
Jamie Wolfe’s still, unmoving body collapsed to the cabin floor.
Chapter 13.
Alone in her shower, Maya let her grief free. It was the perfect place to cry. Lukewarm water washed each tear away. And when her mind idled, caught in the eddies of sorrow, a blast of icy water from its erratic ‘heater’ shocked her out of her grief.
Jamie Wolfe. What a jerk. What an insufferable, self-centered jerk.
And what an idiot she was, for hoping he’d be different.
The most passionate, beautiful, romantic night of her life. Now, the morning sun revealed it for what it truly was. A pointless hook-up. One meaningless evening of fun.
Not the beginning of a new life, as she’d dared to dream.
Mr. Wolfe wasn’t interested in that. Why, she half suspected he was more excited about ‘beating’ his enemies than in rescuing Judith’s family!
Okay, that’s just mean, she chided herself, as she finished cleaning up.
No, the truth was probably more mundane. Jamie was just like other guys. He cared more about his career than a family.
Or love.
Or her.
Once more, she cursed that terrible, enchanting dream. She knew better than to trust some strange man. She knew ‘true love’ didn’t exist. Yet, that dream, the passion and ecstasy that filled it, made her dare to hope.
I should have taken a tip from the way it ended.
Shower finished, the towel wiped away most of the evidence of her tears. Slipping back into yesterday’s dirty clothes was a downer. And, of course, she had no makeup. Nothing to put color back in her cheeks.
Worst of all, a crazy thought wiggled its way into her brooding. Something was terribly wrong. Jamie was in danger.
The very idea was silly. What could possibly hurt a Dragon? And even if some danger existed, how could she know about it? She wasn’t some magical Shifter, like Jamie and Judith. She was… nothing. A dull, boring human woman who couldn’t hold the interest of her ‘Mate.’
Wonderful. The first day of her new life, and she was a mess. Disheveled, dirty, sad, furious, hurt, and…
A sob broke the stillness. A woman, out in the living room.
Judith? Had there been bad news?
The thought of her friend, mourning for her husband and children, suddenly made her own problems seem trivial.
You’ve been dumped. It could be a lot worse!
“Judith?” she called as she headed for the living room. “Is that you?”
Judith was there all right. Huddled in a shivering lump at the end of the couch.
But she wasn’t alone.
Two rangy men stood by the cabin door. Another lurked just outside her room and caught Maya’s arm as she opened it.
And Lucian Fowler sat across from Judith, waiting patiently.
“Ah, Ms. Graham. How nice of you to join us at last.”
Maya wrenched her arm back. Her captor didn’t budge at all. In fact, her struggles sparked an eager, gloating light in his eyes. A look that made her stomach twist.
“Please. Have a seat.”
The bruiser dragged her to the couch, shoved her down beside Judith, and then took up a position looming over her. In case she had any delusions that she could successfully run the thug gauntlet and escape outside.
No way she could get out of this mess on her own. At least Jamie got away. Looked like it was up to him to stage a rescue.
But he can’t. He’s in his cabin and in terrible danger.
Dammit! What was wrong with her! Why couldn’t she shake this stupid…
…premonition? Omen? Warning?
Magic? If Dragons could sense when their Mates were in danger, was the opposite true too?
If so, they might all be screwed.
Start thinking, stop panicking. Stick to the facts.
“How’d you find us?” Talking would give Jamie time – if her hunch was wrong.
“Judith called me.”
No. She couldn’t believe that. She was her friend. She’d risked her life to help her. The Hare would never…
Then Judith dissolved in tears, proving Lucian right. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! My children, I… It was the only way to save them!”
She’d betrayed them… to save the lives of her family. Maya swallowed, fighting back rage. It would be easy to hate the Hare. To judge her weak and cowardly. But she didn’t have children of her own. If she did – and if their lives were in danger – what would she do to protect them?
She couldn’t answer that question. Answers would have to come later, when they were safe. For now, the goal was mere survival.
“What now?” Not a hint of her fear colored those words, she was pleased to note.
“Now, I kill you.”
Dumbfounded, Maya fell silent. All her thoughts, her half-baked plans died, destroyed by that blunt threat. Fowler leaned back, savoring the shock and terror that flashed across her face. A couple of his goons chuckled with delight.
“No!” Judith wailed. “You promised you’d let her go!”
“I lied. Get used to that. It happens a lot.”
With a gulp, Maya found her tongue again. “W-why kill me? That’s stupid.”
“Stupid? I don’t usually get called that.” Pleased as a cat with a mouse, he began to toy with her. “Explain yourself.”
“You’ve been sitting out here, waiting for me to get dressed. Why would you do that if you just wanted me dead? Don’t tell me your thugs are too polite to shoot a naked woman in her shower.”
“Ah, but proper pacing is everything. I wanted to give Judith time to meditate on her betrayal. A few minutes where she could hope that somehow, by her crime, she’d manage to save you. Only to have that delusion shatter at the last instant. Some say that Hope is mankind’s salvation. We in the Fangs know Hope is a weapon. A hidden dagger, always ready to drive into your heart. Hope is mankind’s doom.”
For a moment, the memory of th
e Rite surfaced – and her grief when Jamie proved its promises false.
There was a ring of truth to the Worm’s words.
And a whole hell of a lot of despair, which would kill her if she gave into it. “Am I not still useful? I haven’t found the Beverwyck site you wanted.”
“You are,” he admitted with a shrug. “But the cost-benefit analysis doesn’t add up. If you had family or children that I could send to Criehaven, I might consider it. You don’t, though, so my leverage would be weak. On top of that, you now know about the Fangs. The quality of your work would, no doubt, plummet.”
“Yes, but I’ll also know that I’ll die if I don’t produce results. Which is a huge motivator.” Maya had no intention of helping these monsters. Every moment that passed, though, gave another chance to Jamie and that Rat, Bob.
I’m waiting for a Rat to burst in and save me? All is lost.
Fowler appreciated her retort. “It most certainly does motivate minions. Alas, Judith once again is your downfall. You see…” His eyes narrowed, and an inky darkness filled them, like the touch of an endless void. “Ms. Little annoyed me, badly. I want her to watch you die and to know that it was her stupidity, her treachery, that killed you.”
“Please no. Please don’t!” Judith sobbed.
Maya gritted her teeth, fighting not to weep herself. She had always known Lucian Fowler was a jerk. An abuser, a harasser and a skunk. But this… This was evil, pure and complete. A malevolent sadism of monstrous proportions.
“Rollins.”
One of the guards at the door stepped forward, drawing a gun from beneath his vest.
The time for talk was over. Maya sprang to her feet, twisting to the side away from her guard.
And an arm like a steel bar clubbed her to the floor. Dazed, she fought to rise, to scramble away as the gunman aimed at her and…
“Stop!” Judith screamed. “She’s Wolfe’s Mate!”
“Rollins!”
Like a perfectly trained dog, the guard froze. Maya crouched, panting, and readied for another futile run.
A speculative gleam glittered in Fowler’s black eyes. “That does change the cost-benefit analysis. Significantly.”
Judith dropped to her knees before him, head bowed in submission. “Mr. Fowler, she gives you an incredible leverage over him. Over a Dragon.”
They didn’t realize the truth: Jamie Wolfe didn’t give a damn about his ‘Mate’. Maya kept that titbit to herself, however, and studied the three guards. Hoping, against the odds, to find some way to escape.
“Mmm, no. You’ve never seen a Dragon go berserk.” Fowler steepled his fingers and stared pensively into space. “They’re not rational. You can’t intimidate or negotiate with them. If you threaten their Mate, they will tear the world apart to find you and destroy you. No subtlety whatsoever. Just pure, focused rage.”
So why wasn’t Jamie here now?
A moment later, Fowler gave her the answer she feared. “Wolfe would be crawling over here right now. If he could move.”
The last shreds of hope melted away. What could cripple a Dragon? And how did she stand any chance against a power that could lay a Dragon low?
Despite everything, Judith still fought to save her. “True but think of all the things that could be learned from her. Does anyone really know what the Rite of Claiming is? How it works?”
Fowler sighed as he came to a decision. “No. But we do know how dangerous Dragons are. If she’s his Mate, it’s far too dangerous to keep her alive.”
Great. Looked like running the thug-gauntlet was her only hope. Once more, she shifted her weight to her toes and prepared for a mad dash.
“So, unless Ms. Graham has some other value you haven’t mentioned? No?” He turned to Rollins.
“Wait!”
“Yes?”
Judith squirmed, her face twisted in horror. “She… I can’t.”
“If you don’t,” Fowler reminded her with lethal patience, “she dies.”
A very good point. “It’s okay, Judith,” Maya assured her friend. “Tell him.” After all, it wasn’t like she had any secrets.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry… Maya is…” Tears flooded down her cheeks as she hung her head in defeat. “She’s pregnant. With Wolfe’s child.”
One flash of joy for that tiny seed of life she held… and then the horror hit her. If Fowler killed her, she wouldn’t die alone. She’d take an innocent child with her. No one could help her. No one was coming to save her.
Everything depended on her. Her life. Her child’s. Even Jamie’s, though he didn’t love her.
Unless Judith was lying? After all, how could she know? It had only been hours since they made love.
Fowler, however, didn’t doubt the Hare. “That does change things,” he breathed, his words thick with greed.
Greed for her child. A wave of revulsion and maternal rage swept over Maya. Never in all her life had she hated someone. Despised them so fiercely, so completely, that she wanted them dead.
Until now. If she had a gun, she’d shoot Lucian Fowler. Right in his smug, gloating, vile face.
“Odds are, the child is only Dragon Kin. Still, if it’s a true Dragon… one that could be raised by the Fangs, with our values. Turned without Falling…”
Over her dead body. Watching him, lost in his sick daydreams, Maya made her child a promise: I will not let him have you. Even if it costs us both of our lives.
“Sold, Ms. Little.” The shadows drained from Fowler’s eyes. “Congratulations. You’ve saved your friend’s life. Though, I’m not sure she’ll thank you for that.”
Maya did. The Worm might think Hope was a weapon, but she still had faith in it. The fight wasn’t over.
“Now, what to do with you all.” He tapped a finger on his lips, thoughtfully. “Rollins, I assume Wolfe’s Rat hasn’t been caught.”
“Nope.”
“Of course not. He is a Rat, after all. Ah, hell.” Offering a sigh rich with fake sadness, he shrugged. “It’s your lucky day, Ms. Little. You’re going to get to see your family. Rollins, call transport and get that Dragon ready to move.”
“You’re taking a Dragon to Criehaven?”
The relief in Judith’s face made Maya’s eyes burn with tears. No, at the end of the day, she couldn’t blame her for saving her children.
“Do I have a choice? How good are you at catching Rats?” As the thug frowned, Fowler shook his head. “Criehaven’s the only place I know that thing can’t follow us.”
All three guards burst into guffaws. “Oh c’mon, boss,” Rollins chuckled. “You don’t think a Rat would have the balls to hunt a pack of Wolves like us, do you?”
“I don’t see why not. Our Rats track free Wolves all the time. And being a coward, like all Rats, he’s probably already called the First Flight. In a fight with them, you lot will be less than useless.”
Scowls and rumbled growls greeted that assessment – but not one of the Shifters disagreed.
Maya sent a silent prayer of thanks to Bob the Rat, wherever he might be.
So, I’ll finally find Criehaven. Let’s hope I can find a way off it!
Thirty minutes later, a helicopter whisked them away. She and Judith were handcuffed. Jamie lay in a death-like stillness. No one bothered to restrain him, a fact that worried her deeply.
The chopper quickly rose above the low cloud cover, obscuring any landmarks. From the sun, it seemed they headed east. But by the time any cloud breaks appeared, they were over the Atlantic. Even Maya’s sense of time was useless. Caught in worry and fear, every minute seemed to last forever.
Time passed. Three hours? Four? She couldn’t say. Eventually, though, they descended through the clouds and Maya caught her first glimpse of the elusive compound.
Criehaven was a low island carved from pinkish granite. Small pine trees clung to its top, stunted by poor soil and fierce winds. A half dozen rocky ledges jutted out of the ocean around it. Nothing lived on them at this time of the year,
though a white sheen of guano hinted they were the breeding grounds that gave Criehaven its name.
A tiny harbor sheltered one large yacht. Guards stood watch on its docks. On the slope above them stood several low, plain barracks and row after row of tiny huts, like drab holiday cottages. Dozens of people milled about, guarded by a much smaller number of wardens. Some tended gardens, others cooked. A number looked after the scores of children that played nearby. Youngsters seemed to outnumber adults by two to one, a fact that sickened Maya.
What disturbed Maya the most, though, was what she didn’t see.
No walls, no fences. And no mainland. No matter which way she turned, she saw no sign of land.
At sea level, you could see twelve miles. From a helicopter flying low…
We must be at least twenty miles from shore!
No wonder the Fangs of Apophis didn’t need prisons. By itself, Criehaven was safer than Alcatraz!
Mercenaries jogged out to meet them as the chopper touched down. Fowler jerked a thumb at Jamie’s unmoving form. “Take him to the Manor. Rollins, lock our two new guests in Unit 1. I don’t want them mixing with the general population yet.”
And with that, they were dragged off in different directions. Jamie’s limp body was carted toward that large house while she and Judith were marched to one of the barracks. A single great, open room, Unit 1’s walls were lined with bunk beds. At one end, stood three cages. No walls, no privacy. Nothing except a few blankets and a pot.
To her horror, she and Judith were each shoved into one of these cells.
This was the end, then. Locked in a public cell. Surrounded by armed mercenaries. Trapped on a remote island.
Alone.
How could she possibly save herself, her child, and Jamie?
Chapter 14.
To the victor goes the spoils.
Surrounded by pounding music, Jamie stretched out along his booth and surveyed the dance floor with a deep, profound satisfaction. Shifters thronged, lost in the pulse and flashing lights. Wolves, wild with joy. The slender forms of the beautiful Hares. Even a few Bears, bouncing in place with glee.