Tanner’s blood boiled as he listened to the conversation. They had to be talking about his Hannah. She was the only female around. The mere thought of someone else marking his mate made his stomach churn. There would be hell to pay for the harm they inflicted on her.
“What the fuck? I thought you said he was out. Looks to me like he found a way to escape.”
“We wrapped silver around his neck. That should have held him till we got back. Someone had to have helped him.”
“Whatever. He’s as good as dead anyway. Let that fucker try to come for the girl—I’ll kill her the second he shows up.”
“I must admit your plan is fucking brilliant.”
Tanner saw red. He wanted his mate safe. If only he’d been able to mark Hannah, they would share a mating connection that he would be able to speak to her through it. He would have known exactly where she was and what he had to do to get her to safety. Instead, he had to wait for the jackoffs to think about the location where they kept her hidden.
Tanner was barely able to keep his violent urges contained as thoughts of ripping the heads from their bodies poured through his mind. But he had to wait. He had to know where they’d taken his Hannah. His unfamiliarity with the area left him at a huge disadvantage.
“If Scott wakes up anytime soon, he’ll have the girl to keep himself occupied till we get back.”
The other man laughed. “He’ll break her in good for me.”
“The broken ones are always the best.”
“Remember the marks he left on the last girl? Those were pretty sweet.”
Oh, fuck this. He only needed one alive that he could pry the information from. Tanner snarled as he jumped from behind a tree, landing directly on top of one of the men and knocking him to the ground. Going right for the man’s throat, he ripped it out instantly. Blood covered his face and neck. The other man looked down in horror before shifting into his wolf form and growling at Tanner.
Tanner’s wolf dwarfed the other wolf easily. There was no doubt who would walk away from a fight, and who would not.
The wolf lunged at Tanner and missed. He lunged again, and this time Tanner caught the back of his neck with his canines, drawing blood. The wolf held it together, remaining in wolf form and lunging a third time.
Tired of playing games, Tanner spun, grabbing the wolf by his hind leg and tearing through the muscle with ease. The pain broke his opponent’s will and he immediately shifted back to human form. Screams of agony filled the air all around them.
“Tell me where she is, you piece of shit, and I’ll consider letting you live.”
“Fuck you. If you kill me, you’ll never find her.”
Tanner pulled out his cell phone to call Barbara. He wanted to be the first to tell Barbara that her niece was missing. Within minutes he was surrounded by the Wolfes’.
Chapter Twelve
“What the hell happened?” Barbara shouted as she and her mate Tristian reached Tanner’s position in the woods. “Where’s my Hannah?”
“I don’t know. They’ve taken her somewhere and this punk won’t tell me where.” Tanner kicked the man on the ground.
“How did this happen?” Tristian asked.
“I was out for a run earlier when I found these two pieces of shit, along with one of their buddies. They were busy torturing a young girl. Hannah showed up and freed the girl while I fought them off. I didn’t want to kill them, so I just knocked them out. I thought they’d be unconscious longer than they were. Then it all happened.”
“All what happened?” Barbara asked.
A blush crept over Tanner’s face. “I didn’t expect to find her. Or that she would be my mate. I turned around and there she was.”
Tristian looked at Tanner like he’d grown a second tail.
“I was so distracted by the fact that I’d found my mate, I forgot about everything else, including the three I’d just fought. Next thing I knew, I woke up with a bloody head and a silver chain wrapped around my neck. I managed to free myself just as these two came back. I heard them talking about their plans to hurt Hannah, and my wolf got the best of me. I killed one of them, and by the grace of Odin I managed to keep the other one alive. It took all of my willpower not to kill this one too.” Tanner motioned to the man writhing in agony on the ground.
Tristian approached the man. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but you need to tell me where my niece is.”
“Fuck off.”
Tanner motioned for Tristian and Barbara to step away for a brief second. He needed to speak to them in private, out of the range from the injured man’s ears. “If we can get him to think about the location where he and his friends took Hannah, I can pull the thoughts directly from his mind.”
“You’re a mind reader?” Barbara asked as a light blush stained her cheeks.
“Yes, ma’am. It was a gift from the gods that I was born with. It’s funny, all my life I thought of it as a curse, until now—when I need it the most, and haven’t been able to use it. I don’t think I’ll ever complain again about being able to hear other people’s thoughts.”
“What about Hannah? Can you hear her thoughts? Do you know where she is?” Barbara asked.
“No, as a matter of fact. I couldn’t hear her thoughts at all, which is strange, because I’ve always been able to hear everyone else, under any circumstance. No matter what. I figured maybe it had something to do with the drive to mark and claim my mate. I’ve never been so distracted in my life. It was like every thought, every emotion, every feeling was about Hannah.”
A knowing smile passed across Barbara’s face, but Tristian looked less than amused.
Tanner shifted his gaze to Tristian. “One thing Hannah did mention was that Barbara had a hand in secretly setting us up.”
Tristian looked at his wife and smiled. “That sure sounds like my wife, meddling again.”
“Does it really matter? What’s important right now is that we find Hannah before anything happens to her. We can discuss the logistics later.” Barbara motioned for the men to hurry it along.
Tanner’s attention snapped back to the man on the ground just as he was trying to sit up. “Oh no you don’t. You’re not going anywhere. You’re going to tell me where the fuck my mate is or I’m going to rip your goddamned throat out.” Tanner was ready to make good on his threat.
Tristian approached the man again, kneeling down in front of him. Grabbing the guy by the throat, Tristian unleashed the power of his Alpha. The man screamed in pain at the surge of raw energy flowing through him from Tristian.
“We just wanted to have a little fun with her. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“Maybe you should just kill him and be done with it,” Tanner suggested. “If he doesn’t tell us where Hannah is, I’m going to kill him myself.”
If Tanner were home at Black Paw, the situation would’ve been much different. It wasn’t that long ago that he’d watched Rafe strip a wolf from his human. The sad and disgusting sight would be forever burned into his mind. Normally, he would never wish that kind of pain or life on a fellow wolf, but this one had it coming.
“So where did you take Hannah?” Tanner asked again.
This time he was able to pick up the man’s thoughts. “He’s thinking about a small, rustic cabin deep in the woods.” Tanner turned his head and closed his eyes, concentrating on the images running through the guy’s head. “I see a stream nearby, and a large clearing. I’m not seeing much of anything else. Does this place ring a bell for either of you?”
Tristian was the first answer. “There are several old outbuildings around the property, and all along the edge of town. However, there are only two places that I know of with streams nearby. Let’s start with those.”
“Sounds like a plan. What do you want to do with him?” Tanner asked.
“I sent a text for some of our enforcers to come pick him up. They should be here any second,” Barbara replied.
“I’m going to shif
t to see if I can locate Hannah’s scent.”
Barbara and Tristian nodded.
With all of his injuries healed, the transition from man to wolf was seamless, and he thanked Odin for that. He reveled in the power that surged through his muscles as his wolf took command.
“Holy fuck! What do they feed you at Black Paw? Steroids?” Tristian’s mouth nearly hit the ground.
Barbara chuckled. “Grace wasn’t kidding, was she? She told me over the phone that you were roughly the size of a bear. I honestly thought she was exaggerating, trying to make her pack look better.”
“So you did know about this?” Tristian glanced over at his wife.
“Well, only a little bit. Grace said she had something she wanted to send me for the Scenting Ceremony. I really didn’t think he’d be that big.”
“Wait. What?”
Barbara’s eyes widened, a warning, in their private code, for him to stop talking. “I’ll explain later.”
As usual Tanner felt awkward because of his size. It wasn’t something he could help; it wasn’t like he was fat or overweight. His parents had always told him that his size came from his berserker.
“Remind me never to piss you off,” Tristian joked when he glanced back to Tanner. “I may be an Alpha, but I wouldn’t want to meet you under a full moon.
Tanner huffed before putting his nose to the ground, setting off in search of Hannah’s scent.
Chapter Thirteen
It had been hours since the two men had left Hannah alone with their friend, who was passed out on the floor. At first she worried that he was dead, until he started tossing and turning, making noises in his sleep. Then she worried about him waking up.
Was he an asshole like his friends? It was a rhetorical question, but still one she really didn’t want to find out the answer to.
Hannah felt like she could sleep for three days straight, but she had to find a way out of the mess she was in. She tried shifting positions to see if she could work the deadly silver free from her body. Twisting and rotating, choking back a slew of profanities, all she managed to do was wrap the dreaded silver even tighter around her.
Anxiety flooded her body. Hannah felt like she was being strangled by the thin silver chain that seared her neck. Sucking in a shallow breath to calm herself before she freaked the fuck out, she tried to find a distraction for herself and her wolf from the unbelievably jacked-up situation.
Closing her eyes and breathing slowly, Hannah thought about the first time she’d seen Tanner. Gods, he was hotter than hell. Seeing him take on the bad guys in the forest had sent shivers through her body. And her wolf had been excited by the very thought of mating with him.
At the time, Hannah had still needed a bit of convincing, but she couldn’t argue with her wolf: Their mate was easy on the eyes. Seeing his transformation to human form left her weak at the knees and wanting to lick every inch of his body. Twice.
Hannah sighed. Unfortunately, she had been too distracted by her big strong mate to see the threat coming right at them.
She imagined being anywhere other than trapped in a dusty rotting hell-hole, imagined his scent enveloping her in a cocoon of safety. Guilt tore through her, making her feel even worse.
If only she hadn’t lost her shit when she’d found her mate, the day could’ve ended so much differently. If she had allowed him to mark her as he had wanted, she would be able to communicate with him now. Not only that, but she wouldn’t have the mark of another on her neck.
Hannah swore to God that once she was free from this situation, she’d never let him out of her sight again.
If he’s still alive. Her wolf chose the most inopportune time to speak up.
He has to be alive. There has to be a way out of this situation. A lone tear streaked down her face. I just found him. The Fates couldn’t be that cruel. Could they?
Hannah knew better than to ask that question. Of course they could. She’d known many wolves who’d lost their mates just as they’d found them. She knew exactly how cruel the Fates could be.
What was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life had turned into a nightmare in the blink of an eye. Hannah had no idea if her true mate was alive or dead, and it scared the shit out of her.
Remembering what Tanner had said about his Nordic background, Hannah did something she’d never done. She prayed to Skuld for the future she wanted and deserved with her mate. Then she prayed to Freyja for the strength she needed to break free from the silver.
Her ears perked up when she heard wolves howling in the distance. Her instinct told her to respond, but her wolf kept her mouth firmly shut, not knowing who it was. She held her breath as the man on the couch sat up and looked at her. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog.
Hannah watched as he tried to stand, and grimaced as he fell back onto the tattered coushins. “You’ve been injured. Pretty badly at that. I think you should try and rest a little more to get your energy back.”
“What the fuck? Why are you being nice to him?”
“I’m trying to use a little reverse psychology. Maybe if we’re nice to him, he’ll get this silver off of us and not kill us.”
“You saw what he did to the woman in the woods. You can’t possibly have forgotten the marks they left on her. What makes you think he’ll spare us?”
“Call it a hunch or whatever you want, but I have to try. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
“Sure you can. It’s easy. Just close your mouth and act like he doesn’t exist.”
Hannah chose to ignore her wolf’s criticism. She was out of options and time.
“Who the fuck are you?” The burly man’s voice was harsh and unsteady. Three rotted teeth greeted her when he spoke. Even before Tanner had handed the guy his ass, he looked like he’d seen better days. His graying hair was shaggy and unkempt. He was definitely not up to any of the personal hygiene standards set by her pack.
If all that wasn’t enough to give her the heebie-jeebies, his clothes did. His classy ensemble consisted of a pair of grimy ripped jeans and a stained, slightly torn, used-to-be-white-long-long-ago wife-beater. Then there were the blaze orange suspenders holding the whole mess together.
Honestly, she’d seen beggars dressed better.
“My—my name is Hannah. What’s yours?”
“Scott. What happened? Did you do this to me? Is that why Mac and Jimmy brought you here?”
“Hardly.” Hannah swallowed the bile rising in the back of her throat. She couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “I’m Mac’s mate. See?” Hannah turned her head, showing him the vicious mating mark she had been given. “Besides, I’m only a quarter of your size. There’s no way I could have inflicted that much damage.”
Trying to sound like the voice of reason, Hannah decided that now was not the best time to mention that the second she got free, she was going to kick his ass up around his eyeballs, then lop off his balls for shits and giggles.
Scott eyed her warily. She could almost see the hamsters running on the wheel in his head as he tried to process what she’d told him. She imagined him playing a game of eenie-meenie-miney-mo in that enormous revolting head of his, trying to decide if she was telling the truth or not.
Hannah guessed that he would want to believe her, because if he didn’t, he’d have to hang his head in shame at being beaten by a woman who was a quarter of his size. That would be a hard pill for any man to swallow, and Hannah surmised it would be even harder for someone like Papa Redneck.
“Why would Mac restrain his mate with silver?”
“I was scared at first when he claimed me. Maybe he thought I was going to run? Either way, it’s all a huge misunderstanding.”
“How did he find you?”
“I stumbled upon this giant wolf in the woods. It looked like he was trying to attack everyone around him. I tried to run away from the fight, but Mac captured me.”
“Lies, lies, lies.”
“Would you hush? He do
esn’t know what happened. He was out cold. Why not pretend to be innocent? Maybe we can use it to our advantage.”
“Let’s hope you’re right.”
Hannah’s wolf perked up as the howling started up again, this time closer to their location.
“He’s coming for us,” her wolf warned.
“Who?”
“Tanner. And he’s bringing company.”
“You’re lying to me.” Scott struggled to stand once again, and this attempt proved to be successful. He pressed one hand against the wall for balance. Sneering in pain, he closed his eyes and forced his shift in order to heal his wounds.
Once Scott was in his wolf form, he crept deliberately towards Hannah. A snarl covered his hideous, mangled face and strings of saliva dripped from his misshapen mouth. She had no idea why the gashes on the side of his head hadn’t fully healed with his shift, but one thing was crystal clear—unless there was a divine intervention, Hannah would not survive. Tanner and whomever he had with him would not be in time to save her.
Saying a few dozen prayers, Hannah closed her eyes and prepared for the worst. The last thing she wanted to see was Scott’s snaggle-toothed face coming at her with the intent of ending her life.
Chapter Fourteen
Tristian shifted back to human form so he could speak to Tanner. Yeah, it was a bitch, but there was no way around it: They couldn’t communicate via the standard pack link because they were from two very different packs. “The cabin should be just ahead. I still can’t pick up her scent. Can you?”
Tanner shook his head and whined. His nose worked strenuously trying to locate the sweet strawberry scent of his mate, but he found nothing, not even a tiny whiff of her deliciousness. Wherever she had been taken, her feet had never touched the ground. If they had, he would have picked up her scent in a heartbeat.
“If you had left me in charge, we would have already marked and claimed her. And we’d know exactly where the fuck she was.” Tanner’s wolf was not a happy camper. He was seconds away from unleashing his berserker and killing anyone who got in the way of finding his mate, along with anyone who dared to look at him wrong.
Sassy Ever After: A Hot Piece Of Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 6