At first glance, the roof of the long building sagged a little in the middle. That couldn’t be good. The age-worn Sugar Shack sign with bold red paint she remembered from her youth hung on one hinge, the letters faded and peeling. One of the many windows in the front of the building was broken, but the rest looked intact. She shuddered to think of what animals had gone in there to escape the climate during the winters.
She took a second to jot down some notes and pulled out her phone before stepping from the car. She snapped a couple of pictures from where she’d parked, getting the entire building in the shot. Off to the side, right where her grandpa always parked it, the wagon he’d used when conducting his tours sat. One of the big wheels was tilted at an awkward angle. Tall grass and wildflowers surrounded and climbed over it as the earth tried to reclaim the wooden boards that had once been the seats for people to sit on. The sight of it broken down and no longer useful was beautiful in a sad sort of way. Maple took a picture of the wagon, too. The wagon wasn’t worth anything, but she could blow up and frame the picture to put on her wall.
She was about halfway to the building when the wind shifted and the smell of cigarette smoke wafted to her nose. She whirled around, ready to dash back to the car for her rifle, but it was too late. A man with scraggly, grey-blond hair and a cigarette dangling from his lips stood between her and relative safety. His weathered face had a scar bisecting his left cheek.
He didn’t say a word as he walked toward her, his limp making his gait a little unsteady. Maple backed away, never taking her eyes off the man. “You’re trespassing on private property,” she said in the sternest voice she could muster, fully aware that retreating from the man nullified her bravado but not caring one bit. She had no way to get to her car, but she could make it to the building. Maybe she could find something to use as a weapon to protect herself, or at the very least, a spot to hide. She’d found many nooks and crannies as a child, surely one would be large enough to accommodate her adult self.
Rather than waste time and risk tripping over something, she spun on her heels to run, only to crash into what felt like a brick wall. She went down, sprawled on her ass. The man she’d run into sneered at her as he reached down and grabbed her by the arm. His fingers dug into her flesh with bruising force. He growled something she couldn’t understand as he dragged her toward the building. Crap. So much for being safe inside. Think, Maple. She couldn’t let him get her in there. Even if there was no one around, she opened her mouth and took a huge lungful of air before releasing it in a long, loud scream. If nothing else, maybe it would distract the man for a second and she could get away.
The man bared his teeth at her but didn’t stop. She dug in her heels and swung her free arm, hitting him square in the jaw, but he kept going as though she was nothing more than a fly buzzing around him. He slowed long enough to reach for the door and pull it open, but she wasn’t done yet. She screamed again and let herself go down, putting the brunt of her weight on her already sore arm. Unprepared for the move, his grip slipped. As soon as her ass reached the ground, she used her legs, kicking whatever she could reach with all that she had.
The man grunted when her foot came perilously close to his groin, then howled when it connected with his knee. What the hell was that? Whatever it was, it didn’t sound human.
She backpedaled as far as she could, trying to put enough distance between them that she could stand and run, but he was too fast. His big mitt of a hand came flying through the air, striking her in the chin—hard.
Her vision doubled, and black dots floated in her line of sight as pain rocketed through her head, but Maple refused to pass out. If she did, those bastards would win. The man grabbed a hold of her by the shirt and dragged her the rest of the way. Her feet wouldn’t cooperate as dizziness flooded her, and her stomach lurched.
The door slammed shut behind them with a loud clang, then opened again—she could only assume to let the other man in after them. Having been in the bright sun, Maple blinked fast, willing her eyes to adjust to the sudden dimness. How would she get away if she couldn’t see anything?
In the center of the room, toward where the male was dragging her, was a large lump on the floor. Her heart raced, and the moisture in her mouth vanished. A body. It didn’t move. Didn’t make a sound. Crap. Maple renewed her struggle. She didn’t want to wind up like whoever that was.
The man shook her—hard—sending the pain in her head stabbing through her skull. “Enough,” he bellowed.
“Get the fucking rope,” he said to the other man, who had come up behind them.
No, no, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. She swung her leg back, ready to resume her assault, when a click sounded to her side.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the other male finally spoke, his voice a deep rasp that sent shudders down her spine. He tossed a length of rope to his partner, then lifted a handgun, pointing it straight at her head.
Maple froze. Getting beaten was one thing. Being shot was another. A yelp tore from her throat when her left arm was yanked back, then her right, nearly taking her shoulders out of their sockets. The rough rope scraped her skin as the man wound it around her wrists, tightening it to the point that her fingers tingled. Once he was done, he shoved her to the floor. She landed hard on top of the unconscious man, who groaned as her weight crushed him.
One look at him, and her heart shattered. “Uncle Peter?” She scurried off him as well as she could, trying to keep from hurting him more. Even if she could manage to get on her feet to try and run, there was no way she could leave him there to die.
“Why are you doing this?” she yelled as the man who’d tied her wrists grabbed her ankle and flipped her onto her back.
She tried kicking him away from her, but his grip was too strong. The cool metal of the gun pressed into her forehead, stopping her struggles in an instant. “What did I tell you about that?” the man yelled, spit spraying out over her, making her want to retch.
“I don’t know why you don’t finish them off so we can be done with this,” the other man said as he looped more rope around her ankles. “The old lady will be easy once they’re gone.”
Maple’s heart stuttered. They wanted to go after Grandma?
“Can’t you smell it?” the one holding the gun asked. “The Alpha will come for his bitch. Once he’s dead, we won’t need this land—we’ll have the whole damned town.”
The other man grunted.
“Please, let us go. We haven’t done anything to you,” she begged, panic making her voice shaky. “Tell me what you want. It’s yours. Just let us go.”
Seventeen
“What do you mean, she left forty minutes ago?” Jaxon all but screamed into his mobile. He hadn’t gotten a call, that was for damned sure. He’d had it with him the whole time. There’s no way he would have missed it.
“We sent her home. We had some trouble with a couple of guys at the diner, and we thought it would be safer for her there. I’ve been trying to call her to make sure she made it okay, but she’s not answering,” Bonnie said in a rush, her voice rising in distress. “I was hoping that maybe she’d gone to see you instead.”
“She’s not with me.” Jaxon sprinted into the shop. Emmet came out from under the car he’d been working on at his approach.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure what to do. Those men wanted her, Jax. They meant business, but they’re in custody now. Tate and his boys showed up and took care of it. I’m sure she must be fine.”
The words were meant to soothe him, but the worry lacing them did nothing but rile the beast inside him. His skin burned with the fur bristling below the surface as his wolf fought to emerge. “I’m heading out there now.”
“What’s going on?” Emmet asked the moment Jaxon disconnected the call.
“A couple of wolves tried to grab Maple from the diner a while ago. Tate and his enforcers took them into custody, but now she’s not answering her phone. Bonnie sent her home. She should h
ave been there by now.”
Emmet tossed the rag he’d been using to wipe the oil off his hands to the side and grabbed his keys to lock up the shop. “Maybe she stopped somewhere on the way?”
“If she were still in town, she’d answer her cell.” Maple wasn’t the type to let people worry for nothing, which only increased his unease. If she could call him, she would.
“It’s probably nothing,” his brother tried to reassure him.
“You drive,” Jaxon said, climbing into the passenger side of Emmet’s truck. “I’ll keep trying to get a hold of her.”
Other than his grumbled curse every time he tried Maple’s number and the call went unanswered, neither of them spoke as they ate up the miles between the town and the cabin. Each second that passed without hearing from her had his wolf prowling closer to the surface. If anything happened to her…
He shook his head and took a steadying breath. She was fine. She probably decided to do something outside and couldn’t hear the phone.
He hit redial, but the reception was gone. He cursed again.
A cloud of dust rose as Emmet brought the truck to a skidding halt in the drive. Maple’s car wasn’t there. “I’m going to check inside,” he yelled as he ran across the yard to the door.
It only took a second to spot the note she’d left. Dread churned in his gut as he ran out again. Emmet was sprinting back to the truck.
“She went to the Sugar Shack.”
Emmet nodded, his expression grim as he gunned the engine. “Her tracks aren’t the only ones going in that direction.”
“Fuck!” Jaxon slammed his fist on the dash. He never should have left her alone with something brewing in town. He couldn’t even be angry with her for putting herself in harm’s way. She didn’t know about the shifters, much less the rogues that were hanging around.
He hadn’t been to the old building in his human form in years. The road was rough, but that didn’t stop Emmet from driving like his ass was on fire to get there faster, which was fine by him.
“Let me off here,” he said as they approached the last wide curve leading to the place.
Emmet didn’t question him. He slowed the truck and let him out.
“Don’t get yourself killed,” his brother said leaving him in a small cloud of dust.
Cutting through the forest, he approached the building from the east. A big, black SUV sat in the drive, blocking Maple’s little car in. And behind it, Emmet’s truck. His brother didn’t bother trying to be quiet. If Jaxon had to guess, he’d say he was drawing attention to himself as he let the truck door slam good and loud.
The faint scent of Maple’s blood floated in the air, driving his beast mad. The wolf growled low and mean, demanding they charge in and get his mate, but Jaxon held on, if only by a thread. He had to be smart about it. Both their lives depended on him keeping his head on straight.
***
Both men grinned at the sound of another vehicle approaching. Their sinister smiles had Maple’s heart pounding and fear skittering down her spine. The eldest of the two hobbled to the window to peer outside.
“That’s the older one. He’s mine. The Alpha won’t be far behind. He’ll come for her. Probably shifted. Be ready,” he warned the younger male.
“Buck and Morris are close. James is guarding the immediate yard. The bastard won’t get close without us knowing about it.” He went to a window a little farther down and peered outside.
Maple listened to every word, but none of it made sense. Next to her, her uncle stirred. She could hardly recognize him for all the swelling and the bruises covering his face. The one eye that wasn’t completely swollen shut opened. He blinked slowly a few times, his brow furrowing.
“Maple?”
She shushed him quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to them.
“Listen to me. If you get the chance to run, I want you to take it. Do you understand me?” her uncle said in a hoarse whisper.
“I won’t leave you.”
“You will. These aren’t just bad men. They’re werewolves. Killing you would be a mercy compared to letting you live in their captivity.” A soft wheeze escaped his lips with each of his shallow breaths.
Werewolves? Now she knew her uncle was delirious. She looked over at the men. They were unkempt and mean, but they didn’t have fur covering their bodies. Memories of her grandfather’s stories surfaced, but she pushed them back. Now wasn’t the time to let her imagination get the best of her.
The long, eerie howl of a wolf sounded, and it was close.
“Looks like James found someone in the woods. What did I tell you? Have some faith, old man,” the younger of the two said, and was rewarded with a scathing look.
“Show some fucking respect, asshole. It never pays to underestimate your enemy.” The man lit another cigarette, puffing the smoke out in a cloud around him.
The younger of the two snorted and went back to looking out the window. “He’s coming in.”
Just like he had when he’d advanced on Maple, the man held his cigarette between his lips and raised the gun, pointing it toward the door. He squinted his eyes against the smoke, but held the gun steady. “Let him.”
Eighteen
Jaxon found a busted window at the back. It was barely wide enough to accommodate his shoulders, but he squeezed himself in. The sting of a fresh cut from the broken glass on his back was nothing compared to the fury roaring inside him.
Crouching behind one of the large woodstoves once used for boiling the tree sap, he bided his time. He had yet to lay eyes on Maple, but his nose identified her easily. Luckily for him, the older wolf with a gun pointed at the front door couldn’t smell a damned thing. His smoking habit wouldn’t let him filter out his scent. Jaxon could only hope that the smelly cloud snaking through the air was also making the other male nose blind.
Emmet had given him a few minutes grace, he just had to wait and see what his brother would do. He didn’t have to wait long.
The front door clanged against the wall as it was thrown open. He stood there, framed by the sunlight outside, not saying a word. His wolf’s vision would adjust quickly. He could almost see Emmet taking the scene in. His gaze drifted to the left, beyond a pile of crates Jaxon couldn’t see past. That had to be where Maple was.
“You’re on Wassookeag land. Surrender now, or die. Your choice,” Emmet said, his tone hard and cold. It was no wonder he could strike fear into his opponents when he’d been Alpha.
The older wolf sneered, then spit at Emmet’s feet. “My men already have your Alpha in custody. They’re on their way here now. By the time this day is over, this property and his whole fucking pack will be ours. I hear the women here are soft and pretty. We’ll enjoy breaking them in.”
“You’re sure that howl you heard was your man in the forest? That he got Jaxon?” Emmet goaded. The howl they’d heard was Luca, not the enemy. It had been victorious. Whoever was out there wasn’t going to interfere.
With both men’s attention on his brother, Jaxon moved across to the pile of crates. Twenty feet away, in the center of the large room, Maple lay facing in his direction, her neck craned to the side to see what was going on, her eyes wide with fear. Even from where he hid, he could see her shaking. An older man lay next to her, his body beaten. He wished he could reassure her, but he couldn’t take the risk.
“Shut the fuck up and get over there,” the man said after a long, pregnant pause. He flicked his cigarette to the floor and ground it out with his boot.
“No,” Emmet said with a lethal growl. If Jaxon didn’t do something, fast, his brother was going to get his ass shot.
Glass shattered as a wolf crashed into the area directly behind him. It bared its teeth in a wicked snarl before lunging forward.
Jaxon heard Maple’s gasp, but he couldn’t focus on her right then. It only took seconds for him to shift, tearing through his clothes as though they were made of tissue, but it was time enough for the other wolf to reach him. Sharp
teeth pierced his left flank as claws dug into his gut.
The wolf was big, but Jaxon was bigger. He flung the enemy off him, then circled around, growling a warning. If the male didn’t back down, he would die.
The superficial injury in Jaxon’s side dripped blood at his feet, making the floor slick, but when the wolf pounced again, he dug his claws into the worn planks and met him mid-air. They landed on the floor in a tangle of limbs and fur, teeth snapping and claws tearing. Jaxon closed his jaws on one of its front paws, clamping his teeth tight, breaking bone. It tore free, ripping its own flesh in the process. The beast fought hard, not stopping even though its injuries made it slow. When it leaped again, Jaxon was ready. His big body pinned the other wolf down as his jaws closed around its neck. He gave one last growl in warning, but the beast didn’t relent. Its struggles slowly eased as the wolf went still, its life draining from its body.
By the door, Emmet lunged for the older male. The gun rang loud in the room, and Maple screamed. The smell of fresh blood reached his nose, but he couldn’t stop to see who’d been injured.
The younger male had Maple plastered to his chest. One meaty fist gripped her hair while his other arm pinned her to him. Fear came off her in waves. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. Her chest rose and fell in quick, little breaths as her fear escalated, but he couldn’t back down. With his teeth bared and the other wolf’s blood still on his jaw, Jaxon snarled as he approached. A deep purple bruise covered one side of her face. He would tear the bastard to pieces for daring to lay a hand on his mate. Every single scratch on her body was one more nail in his coffin.
Jaxon’s gaze never left the man’s eyes as he scrambled backward toward a door to the side. Did he think he’d get to walk out with the one woman that Jaxon couldn’t live without? Not a fucking chance in hell.
Sassy Ever After: Northern Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Sugar Shack Book 1) Page 8