by Amber Lynn
“Any words of advice? If the whole pack is here, we’re talking three against a hundred. I’m not a mathematician, but those don’t seem like the best odds.”
Jack was right, but I wasn’t going to let any army stand between me and my family. The chances of us getting out of there as quickly as I wanted were slim. I just hoped not everyone wanted to stand in my way.
“That’s probably why Selina suggested we bring some friends. I didn’t have anyone to call, so I neglected to mention that.”
“We’re fine. Most people will serve as spectators, some will even fight with us. The trouble we’re going to run into is the people from my old pack who seem to have a grudge to settle.”
“So it’s not just one scorned lover?”
I’d been gone long enough that I didn’t sense the difference between the people who weren’t supposed to be there and the ones who had been there when I was growing up. I didn’t think there were any strong forces, which surprised me a little.
After learning there were still people following Levi, I figured someone would’ve taken out the knife and he’d be waiting for us. I didn’t feel him anywhere, and even if I had, I didn’t consider him a threat after our fight.
He needed to heal up from the rib damage, and I was pretty sure it was going to take a few days before he was back to his old self.
“She isn’t a scorned lover by any definition of the word lover. We already discussed that earlier, but if you want more clarification, we can talk about it later.”
I didn’t remember him specifically saying they hadn’t been lovers, but I did have some follow-up questions I’d eventually get to on that subject. There were a lot of things I needed to learn about him. All I had was a name, and I didn’t even use it.
“Okay, so maybe we should’ve discussed the different scenarios we could face, and a general strategy, before we were in hearing distance of the enemy.”
Looking at the faces as we drove by, I realized my drive to get my family had only included me finding them and taking them home. I hadn’t really considered what I’d do if an army stood between me and them. I expected I’d kill whoever was behind it, but I thought that amounted to a handful of people.
I was hoping there was maybe something in my mate’s toolbox that made it so he could just teleport in and get Paul and the girls once we knew where they were. Since he hadn’t brought up teleportation, I assumed that wasn’t a possibility.
“All that matters is that we will be walking out of here with them. I don’t know how exactly things are going to go down, but it’s best if you follow my lead for at least a while. I have a little more experience with these people.”
It was convenient that he could communicate that way, even if it was only with me. With how complicated things were getting, I was shockingly okay with letting him take the reins. The fight with Levi hadn’t really taxed my energy reserves, so I was good to go on the punishment for taking what was mine. I just wasn’t in to discussing things, and he seemed to want to say a few words.
Jack parked not far from the house we’d grown up. Nothing at all had changed about the small house. No one in the pack had cute little houses like a human subdivision. They weren’t mud huts, but I didn’t see them winning any awards for aesthetics.
As soon as the car stopped, I finally felt the girls again. Paul was there too, but he didn’t trigger the motherly relief that went through me when I could feel my little girls.
“I’ll let you guys lead us out. Whatever you need me to do, just let me know.”
I needed a few more soldiers willing to follow blindly. I figured Tera was stronger than most wolves if she’d been in battles for a mate. Having spent a little time with her former alpha, I didn’t know if his pack spent all day, every day training like was a requirement of being in Levi’s pack.
“Things are still in the air, but I’m sure we’ll find something for you to do. Let’s start by seeing if we’re able to get out of this without a lot of bloodshed.”
I assumed his reply didn’t include the buckets of blood that would come out of whoever I deemed most responsible for stealing my family. Levi wasn’t totally off the hook, because he made it clear he’d had a say in some of the planning. Usually only one or two people were trusted with the majority of the planning, but I was game to take on as many as I needed.
“Calm down just a little. I get the need to kill everything that moves out there, but once I open this door, we’re going to try to be diplomatic.”
I didn’t reply, because all I had to say was that he was crazy, and I was sure he picked that up loud and clear. Instead, I followed behind him as he pulled my hand after he got the door open. I didn’t think meeting our enemies with us each having a hand indisposed was smart, but he was running things, so I didn’t struggle.
Amazingly enough, the second my feet touched the earth there wasn’t an attack waiting for me. There was a large group of male wolves standing about ten feet in front of us, and not a single one of them made a move.
I even managed to recognize a few of them. It was amazing to me that the years away hadn’t made me forget everyone. My brain had tried, but there were some people who were worth remembering, and two or three of those faces stuck out to me.
“I already know that most of you had nothing to do with the kidnapping, and as long as you stay out of our way, there won’t be any punishment for not reporting the incident, or your lack of respect by doing nothing to stop it.”
I wanted to growl, because I wasn’t sure I agreed with that. Of course I wasn’t going to claim they should be killed for not protecting my family against what I assumed were alpha wolves compared to them. I could come up with some inventive ways to make sure they didn’t make the mistake again.
One of the shorter wolves, who’d been mostly hidden in the back moved forward. He looked over to the left of me where Jack had joined us. He was one of the men I knew, and generally didn’t hate. Harry had grown up with Jack and me, and most of the time Jack and him were best friends.
There were a few times a broken bone or some female attention caused a slight riff, but they tended to always make up. I wasn’t sure how close they’d been after Jack moved to the city, but Harry looked more ashamed than angry. He also happened to be one of the wolves still humanoid, so it was easy to see that.
“Some of us wanted to call the second we realized what was going on, but one of the little ones told us not to. I’m not exactly sure how she did it, but I’m guessing she’s yours, Vik.”
“She’s been known to cause trouble, and I’m sure she’s going to have a stern talking to by her mother once this is all over. Has anyone been hurt since the newcomers showed up? It sounds like things may have been a little crazy over the last few days.”
“It’s been a little lapse in what you’ve been trying to teach us. We stayed out of the way when Levi invited them in. He likes to think he still has a say, and as long as he doesn’t force the rest of us to continue what he teaches, we’ve been pretending he has some level of power.”
After listening to Harry speak, I wondered how high he’d risen in the ranks. I didn’t think a pack could function without its alpha there holding things together, but I knew they’d probably been without theirs on a full-time basis for a while.
“Sometimes it’s hard for people to let go of things. I understand there’s some who still stand with him, and we’ll discuss that in a little bit. Sorry that we don’t really have time to hash out all of the pack business we need to talk about, but it would seem my kids are being held somewhere underground in that direction.”
He pointed off to the left, towards my least favorite spot in the world. Most of the eyes in front of us moved to follow his finger; mine stayed focused on the people.
“Yeah, they’ve been holed up in some underground bunker over there that most of the pack didn’t even know was there. I think you have to go through Levi’s place to get to it. It’s hard to tell who’s down there as they c
ome and go, because something about it throws off my senses.”
“It’s actually connected to the house?”
I sighed. “Yes, Jack, it’s connected to the house. There’s a hidden tunnel from our parents’ bedroom that leads straight to it. As far as I know, there’s only one way in and out, and that way is about three feet wide.”
I never had a tape measure with me when I was forced to visit the hellhole, but I was pretty sure about the size. If someone didn’t have the ability to see in the dark, they’d probably think it was a vast hole. I saw the dirt walls, filled with tree roots lining the way. Two thirds of the way down, one of those roots jutted from the right side, and it hurt if you were pushed into it.
“What do you say, Vik? You want to come down and get your prize.”
Technically it wasn’t a purr calling out to my mate. Whatever the description is for just below a purr was what she did. It made my stomach turn.
“It’s you issuing the challenge, Tera, so according to every rule I’ve ever heard, you’re going to have to come to us.”
He sounded so nonchalant. I hoped that meant he had a plan in place. Getting her to come out of the hole was a great start in my book. I was surprised we could even hear her, since I’d made a lot of noise during the week I was stuck in there, and no one ever came to my rescue.
“I heard you like to break the rules, and since you’re so busy playing human with your little girlfriend, I figured you’d want to take her place in my challenge. Her father says she’s a little fragile.”
I didn’t feel the need to laugh, but I heard a few chuckles amongst the people who actually knew me. The use of the term girlfriend in her statement was meant to minimize the mate bond. Most women would’ve taken offense; I was sure she would’ve if someone called her someone’s girlfriend.
My reaction was a basic shoulder shrug. I was surprised I even allowed that.
“You could learn a thing or two from Nikki, like when it’s the proper time to be a bitch. Maybe doing a little research on your enemies would be a good idea too. You kidnapped a wolf, who at only two can kill you. Why don’t you send Paul and the girls up here, and then we can deal with the challenge.”
Whether she actually felt threatened by his words, the cackle she started up came closer to us. It was meant to be sexy, I could tell, but I decided without even meeting her that I hated everything about her, so sexy words weren’t going to be used to describe a single thing she did.
I expected her to be as tall as I was, making it difficult to believe someone as little as Selina could kill her. I was fairly certain Selina didn’t pack that big of a punch.
“She does, but it was actually Sierra who bit people for trying to get near her dad.”
That I could see. Selina was too mild mannered to actually attack someone.
“I think I’ll leave the troublemakers where they are for now. I’m sure you wouldn’t want them to get in our way.”
The woman the voice belonged to made her way out the front door of my childhood home. I’d been wrong about her being my height, she was actually a good six inches taller than me. Overall, only our eyes looked similar. She had dark brown hair that fell down over the front of her shoulders, and no one would mistake the two of us.
I was pale, and she most definitely was not. She clearly spent more time in the sun than Jack did. I often thought I had a girl next door thing going on, where I gave the appearance of someone cute and attractive, and for the most part approachable, as shocking as that sounds.
She looked like a runway model, who was actually a princess of some foreign country. She had rich, snooty and glamourous written all over her. It could’ve been the expensive-looking fur cape she was wearing, on a day when the temperature was over eighty degrees, but I thought the cape only added on to her royal appearance.
“And I’m sure they wouldn’t get in our way. Did you really have to bring the whole pack to issue a challenge? Most of the guys trying to win Nikki’s favor have come alone.”
Tera was flanked by two women, who stood a foot or so back from her. After that, a group of seven guys fell into place to form a triangle. The fact that they were evenly spaced, and it seemed choreographed, added to my initial impressions of Tera.
“Well, you know I hate travelling alone. I do hope you aren’t planning to stand around and bore me with speeches all day. Things have been remarkably less tedious since you left.”
“Then why in the world are you here screwing with us?”
I’d gone on as long as I could without saying anything. I didn’t want to spend more time away from the girls, but a part of me wanted to know exactly why the delusional woman had appeared to cause us trouble.
“Oh, she does speak. I was beginning to think you’d put a muzzle on her.”
“No, he’s just apparently more attuned to your craziness, so he thought he’d do the talking.”
After making the grand entrance I was sure lived up to her wildest dreams, the triangle group hadn’t moved any closer, which meant they were blocking my immediate access to the dungeon.
“Hmm, funny you should say that. After talking with your father, I found what he said made you seem rather crazy. You were to be the leader of your pack as soon as he stepped out of the way, and yet you left the pack to go live with the humans.”
She stood eerily still, causing me to think she had something up her sleeve. I knew there were more members of her pack out there somewhere based on my mate’s earlier claim. I couldn’t tell how many of them were in the dungeon with my family, though.
Selina made it so I could feel our family, but whatever had always kept it a secret when I was down there was still in place. I based that on the fact that I couldn’t feel Princess Looney until after she’d left the dungeon.
“Let’s just get on with the challenge so your pack can mourn your loss and I can get on with my life. I don’t need anyone to fight for me, I’m more than capable of taking you on myself.”
She wasn’t going to leave the area alive. I hadn’t met another woman who could take me in a battle, and if my mate was kind enough to feed me her thoughts, things would be easier than normal.
“That would be fine and dandy, but I really don’t want to challenge for Vik. If I won, I’d be stuck with him and he’s already humiliated me enough this lifetime. I was told you’d believe that was the reason I was here if I thought it was, so I decided I’d play along.”
No other information seemed forthcoming, and without my patchy telepathy turned on, I wasn’t putting two and two together. I’d used it for half a second and I was already expecting it to help me out.
“She’s being careful about her thoughts, but the others with her aren’t as disciplined. They’re trying to buy time while the twenty wolves who were supposed to attack us where Levi sent us hurry to get here.”
Tera huffed and looked behind her. She seemed to focus in on a particular person, evidently the weak link in her outfit.
“I’ll deal with you later.” She turned back around and quickly worked to contain her annoyance. “If you would have just done as you were told and walked into my trap, we wouldn’t have this issue.”
She was looking right at me, as if everything in the world was my fault. I was happy to be labeled the problem.
“I’ll shed a few tears for how things all went wrong for you later. Since you don’t want to challenge me for my mate, I invoke my right for penance.”
Other than in training, wolves didn’t always go around fighting each other, it just seemed that way because training was practically an all-day event. If another party wasn’t willing to fight outside of training, you had to invoke a challenge of some sort, with most of those challenges tied to wanting a mate who didn’t belong to you.
She’d already said she didn’t want to fight for him, so the fact that she’d wronged me by stealing my property, even if they were actually people, meant I could challenge her without any great dishonor, like the dishonor really mattere
d to me.
Chapter Twenty-One
We stared at each other as she tried to size me up. It was a little late for her to come up with a strategy. As far as I was concerned, the fight had already played out in my head, and she didn’t have a very nice outcome when everything was said and done.
“Shouldn’t it be me asking for some kind of penance? You did steal the man promised to me.”
“Really? If you’ve got a problem with that, you can take it up with whoever decided to make us slaves to our wolves from time-to-time. It’s not like we met and decided to screw you out of your ticket to the top of the pack. You did purposefully steal my family, though, therefore my claim needs to be seen to.”
She finally moved away from the cluster of people around her. A few of them made a move to follow, but she held out her hand to indicate they shouldn’t.
After about five steps, she stopped, leaving barely any of the distance between us covered. It was hard to tell if she was still buying time for the reinforcements to get there, or if she was just doing things to drive me crazy.
“I’m surprised you don’t wear contacts to hide your eyes. I was under the assumption you had assimilated with the humans.”
Definitely stalling, and the fact that her eyes hadn’t changed was just eerie. Not even seeing the man who’d walked away from her without batting an eye with the woman he mated to was enough for her eyes to brighten from their somewhat dull hue.
I was fairly certain my eyes hadn’t dimmed from the moment we found out the abduction happened. As much as I hate to admit it, emotions have always had a hand in ruling my life.
“Are you that scared of me that you’re going for the talking me to death approach? Backup isn’t coming, at least not in time to save you.”
She laughed. I didn’t know exactly what was wrong with her, but she was way past delusional.
“It’s amazing how when you think you know something, you focus on that and don’t pick up on the alternatives. I’m not buying time for backup.”