Sable's Fire

by Dawn Sullivan

“Yes,” Sable said, rubbing her cheek on the top of the girl’s head. “I was young then, but I remember her. She was so kind and compassionate. She treated all of us pups as if we were hers.”

  “What happened to Titen?”

  “He went rogue after your mother’s death and your abduction, and became very dangerous, even murdering innocent people. A decision had to be made.”

  “He was killed,” Maya said quietly.

  “Yes,” Sable agreed softly. “Chase’s father was alpha at the time, but both he and Chase’s mother were killed in the fight. Chase became alpha, and once everything came to light, and Titen went rogue, he had no choice but to put him down.”

  “It needed to happen.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve seen rogue animals, both wolf and coyote, and what they can do. Your alpha made the only decision that he could. There was no redeeming my father. He made his own choices, and a lot of lives were lost because of it. Chase’s decision to put him down was the only one he could have made.”

  “How did you get to be so wise at such a young age?” Sable whispered.

  Maya shrugged, leaning more into Sable. “I guess I’ve just seen a lot.”

  “And you’ve been through a lot.” It wasn’t a question. It was obvious that the young woman had suffered these past twenty years.

  “Yes,” Maya breathed.

  Closing her eyes tightly, Sable said, “Well, I can promise you that you will be treated like a princess from now on, Maya. Your brothers definitely want you with them. Chase didn’t tell them because he knew they already harbored so much guilt over what Titen did, and there was pain and humiliation along with that guilt. If Xavier and Aiden had known about you, they would have done everything in their power to find you.”

  “Which one is your best friend?”

  Sable smiled, knowing she referred to the conversation they had earlier that day. “Aiden.”

  “He’s a good man?”

  “They are both good men, Maya.”

  “And they won’t hit me?”

  “No one will ever hit you again. I promise you that.”

  Maya nodded, and raised her head to look at her. “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “Yeah,” Maya whispered. “I trust you. If you tell me I’m safe, then I believe you.”

  Sable hugged her close, wiping away the moisture from her cheeks. “You are definitely safe, Maya. Charlotte and Silver are going to take you home now. You will get to meet Xavier, along with his mate, Janie, and their little girl, Laynie. And Aiden will be there, too. They will all be so happy to see you.”

  “What about you?” Maya asked softly. “I feel better when you’re around. Safer.”

  “I will be there before you know it,” Sable promised. Rising to her feet, she pulled Maya up and gave her a quick hug. “Dax and I have something to do first, but he and I will be coming home as soon as we can.”

  Opening the door, her gaze immediately locked on Dax, and her heart stuttered in her chest at the pride that shone in his eyes. Pride for her. A slow smile spread across his face, and she couldn’t help but return it.

  She couldn’t believe she had found her mate. The man that held the other half of her soul. She was looking forward to spending the rest of her life with him, but right now, they had other things they needed to concentrate on. Like finding his sister.

  14

  Dax stared through his binoculars at the campsite below, watching as Jasper stood staring pensively at something off in the distance. It wasn’t long before he saw why. After waiting two days for the General’s men to arrive, they were finally here. “They are coming in from the north,” he muttered through the coms he and Sable wore.

  “I see them. I’m going to try to get a little closer.” Sable’s soft response had him tensing. He’d fallen hard for his mate since meeting her, and it went against everything he believed in to be placing her in danger the way he was. He tried to be open and understanding, knowing that she was an enforcer for her pack and this was what she did, but he was a dragon warrior. The need to protect was ingrained deep inside him.

  “Be careful, Sable,” Dax growled, his hands tightening on the binoculars when he caught a glimpse of her several yards from where she was just five minutes ago.

  “I’m fine, hot pants,” she whispered, and he could hear the laughter in her voice. “I’ll show you how fine later.”

  His groin tightened at the thought of just how his mate would show him. “Fuck.”

  Soft laughter filled the coms, and then, “Hush, my sexy dragon. I need to concentrate.”

  As Dax watched, a large, black SUV pulled into the camp, followed by two more. Driving right past the coyote alpha, they stopped in front of the barn. The back doors of the first vehicle opened simultaneously, and two men got out, immediately heading for the building. The General’s men flooded out of the other two SUVs, and they quickly surrounded the small village.

  “There are several of them, Sable,” he warned quietly, as Ebony appeared from the passenger side of the vehicle. The driver’s door opened, and an intimidating looking male stepped out, slamming the door shut behind him. Dax’s jaw clenched tightly as he took in the cold, calculating eyes of the man through his binoculars. They were hard, showing no mercy. He was strapped with several knives and at least three guns that Dax could see, and he had a sword in a scabbard on his back. There was no doubt in Dax’s mind that he would be a force to be reckoned with.

  “I see them,” Sable murmured after a moment.

  “The man that stayed with Ebony is the one we need to worry about,” Dax growled, his eyes never leaving the male. Dark brown eyes surveyed the woods around them slowly, skipping over where Dax lay hidden, but he had a feeling his presence was known already by the soldier.

  “His name’s Jinx,” came the soft response. “He’s one of the General’s top assassins.”

  “Shit.”

  “He’s also on our side. Well, as much as he can be.”

  Dax stiffened when Jinx’s gaze once again raked over the area, pausing about ten feet away from where he lay, and then moving on. “Explain,” was his clipped response. The man before him was deadly. It was written all over his body. If they tangled, dragon or not, he would be in for one hell of a fight.

  “He’s Chase and Angel’s son.”

  “Your alphas?” Dax asked in surprise.

  Sable sighed softly through the coms. “Yeah. It’s a long story, but what you need to know now, is that we can trust him.”

  “Trust one of the General’s men?” Dax growled darkly. “I don’t give a fuck whose son he is, Sable, he works for the man who is holding my sister hostage. Hell, he’s probably had a hand in torturing her!”

  “Dax, get a hold of yourself,” Sable snapped. “Right now. Jinx is with the General because he has no choice. He’s a good man.”

  “There is always a choice,” Dax snarled, his chest heaving in anger.

  “No,” his mate whispered softly, “there isn’t. Trust me, Dax. Please. Before you get us both killed. I promise to explain it all to you later.”

  Dax stiffened, the threat to his mate’s life pulling him out of his red haze of rage. She was right. He was becoming reckless in his anger, which could draw attention to them at any time. “I’m sorry, baby,” he muttered, taking a deep breath and letting his gaze settle back on the scene below. “I do trust you.”

  “Good,” she breathed into his ear. “Time to be silent. I’m moving closer.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  She was already close enough. She was going to accidentally alert the enemy of her presence if she wasn’t careful. When she didn’t reply, he clenched his jaw tightly shut, unwilling to put her in any more danger than she already was.

  Sable carefully crept toward the camp as quietly as possible, until she was close enough to hear their voices. Her heart thundered in her chest, but she refused to turn back. She was going to help Dax find his si
ster, no matter what.

  “We’re here for the prisoners,” Ebony stated, flipping her long hair over her shoulder as her gaze slowly raked around the area.

  “We have a problem,” Jasper told her, wiping his palms on his jeans nervously.

  Ebony placed her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow. “What exactly is the problem?”

  “They’re kinda gone.” Jasper’s mate said, clinging tightly to his arm.

  “What do you mean they are kind of gone?” Ebony asked coldly. “They either are, or they aren’t.”

  “They’re gone, boss,” one of the General’s men said as he exited the barn. “The place is empty. Just a lot of blood in the middle of the barn floor.”

  “Whose blood?” Ebony demanded, glaring at Jasper. When he didn’t respond right away, Ebony stepped closer to him, her hand going to a gun at her waist.

  “A couple of my men,” Jasper admitted, the stench of his fear filling the area.

  Jinx cracked a smile, then threw his head back and laughed. “So, they got the jump on you, huh? Your men couldn’t handle two people who were starved, beaten, and chained up?”

  “They had help,” Jasper’s mate said, moving closer to him. “They had to have, because that other bitch is missing, too.”

  “What other bitch?” Ebony ground out, taking a step in her direction.

  “A wolf that’s been living with us since she was a pup. She’s useless. Worthless. One of the old ladies here felt sorry for her and kept her around. She’s nobody.”

  “Well, obviously she is somebody,” Ebony interrupted. “If not, my prisoners would still be here, chained in that fucking barn where I left them.”

  The woman swallowed noticeably before replying, “She’s just a scared, docile wolf.”

  “It wasn’t just them,” Jasper interjected. “There were other scents in the barn. More wolves.”

  “Did you trail them?’

  “We tried. We tracked them through the woods to the road, but then we lost them.”

  Sable was having a hard time hearing, so digging her elbows into the dirt, she army crawled a little closer.

  “That’s enough,” Dax hissed through the coms.

  Stiffening at the direct order from her mate, Sable stopped, her eyes on the woman not far from her.

  “Obviously, your mangy mutts don’t know what the fuck they are doing then,” Ebony snarled, turning to Jinx. “Take a couple of the men and sweep the area! Find out where they went. Now!”

  Jinx raised an eyebrow at her, then leaned back against the SUV, crossing his arms over his chest and spreading his legs out slightly in front of him. “I don’t take orders from you, Ebony.”

  “Dammit, Jinx,” Ebony snapped, stomping her foot in anger, “I am the General’s daughter!”

  “That means absolutely nothing to me,” Jinx drawled, his gaze leaving her to canvas the area. A shiver ran up Sable’s spine at the power that seemed to flow from him. Even though she knew he was on their side, he still scared her, almost as much as he pissed her off sometimes. There was no doubt in her mind that he not only knew that she and Dax were there, but also knew exactly where they both were. She also knew that he wouldn’t give them away unless he had no choice. That, she was positive of. She hated that he worked for their biggest enemy, but she also understood why he did it. Without him on the inside, they would have lost a lot of their people already. If anyone could take that bastard down, it would be Jinx.

  Suddenly, Ebony stiffened, and turned slowly to sweep the area with a dark, cold gaze. When she stopped, her eyes falling to where Sable lay hidden under a brush pile, Sable knew she’d been made. “Dax, I’m so sorry,” she whispered softly. “I think I fucked up.”

  15

  Dax cursed darkly, trading his binoculars for the Glock hooked to his side when Ebony’s voice rang out, reaching him clearly. “If you want to live, you will surrender now.” When Sable didn’t move, Ebony raised her gun, waving it around in the air. “Let’s try this one more time. Show yourself, and you may get the chance to walk away from this.”

  “Bullshit,” Dax snarled lowly, his entire body taunt with tension. There was no way that bitch was going to let Sable go free if she found her. “I’m coming your way, Sable. Move back toward me, slowly.”

  “Dax, stand down. We may never be able to track down Raven if you show yourself.”

  “We will find out where they are keeping her another way.”

  “How? What if there is no other way? Maybe if I let them catch me, they will take me to wherever she is being held. Then you could follow.”

  “No way in hell,” Dax snapped. “That is not an option, Sable!”

  “But, Dax, your sister…”

  “No.” He would have to find his sister another way. There was no way he would allow Sable to be captured. Who knew what she would go through before he could get to her again? As much as he hated the thought of leaving his sister in hell for a while longer, he didn’t see any other option. “I’ll be there soon. Start backing up to me, Sable.”

  “It’s too late, Dax. She knows exactly where I am.”

  “How the hell would she know that?” he demanded, trying to keep his voice low. “I can’t even tell where you are, and I know the direction you were moving when you left me and put yourself in danger!”

  “Let me show you what happens to people who don’t listen to me, shall I?” Ebony drawled, before turning and pointing her gun toward Jasper.

  “No!” his mate cried, clinging tightly to him. “He has done everything the General’s asked of him! He can find you more men and women. He’s valuable to you.”

  Ebony shrugged, the side of her mouth kicking up in a grin. “You’re right.” There was a loud crack as Ebony pulled the trigger. A bullet left the chamber of her gun, finding a home in the middle of the woman’s forehead. “Jasper is valuable to the General, but you aren’t.”

  “What the fuck!” Jasper yelled, catching his mate’s lifeless body as she fell to the ground. “Darla! Darla!”

  “Quit blubbering like an idiot,” Ebony ordered, “or you will be next.”

  Jasper turned grief-stricken eyes in her direction, and slowly laid Darla onto the ground. Rising, he bared his fangs as he reached for his gun, and growled, “I will fucking kill you for this.”

  Shaking her head, Ebony raised her weapon and fired again. Jasper’s eyes widened in surprise, and a moment later he was on the ground, next to his mate, his sightless gaze staring off into nothingness.

  “That woman is a bitch,” Dax muttered, crouching as low as he could, and slowly beginning to make his way to where Sable still hid. “I’m coming for you, baby,” he promised. “Stay down, and don’t respond to her.”

  “That isn’t going to work if she starts firing over here,” Sable said dryly.

  “She can’t know exactly where you are.”

  “She can if she has psychic abilities,” Sable argued. “And if she is the General’s daughter, she has to have some gifts. That’s what he specializes in. Breeding future soldiers from people who have shifter genes and psychic gifts.”

  Dax frowned, moving quietly through the trees, careful to stay hidden the entire time. “Does that mean she is a shifter, too?” He didn’t remember smelling an animal on her.

  “No, I don’t think so, which means she has to be psychic in some way.”

  “Come out, come out wherever you are,” Ebony sang, moving closer to where Sable lay.

  “You’re fucking crazy, you know that right?” Jinx drawled, shaking his head.

  Dax paused, his eyes narrowed on the man, waiting for him to make a move. When all he did was stare at Ebony, Dax slipped forward a few more steps.

  “But, like you remind me on a daily basis, you are the General’s daughter.”

  Ebony swung around, her revolver now pointed at Jinx. “Maybe I should put the next bullet in you instead.”

  Jinx raised an eyebrow, and slowly straightened away from the SUV. “Do you real
ly want to go there, Ebony?”

  “He’s giving us a chance to get out of here,” Sable whispered.

  “Are you sure?” Dax paused, Glock in hand, as he waited for Jinx’s next move.

  “I’m not afraid of you,” Ebony snapped, taking a step closer to Jinx, keeping her weapon trained on him.

  “You should be,” Jinx said, and then he moved so fast, Dax almost missed it when he swiftly removed the sword from his back and sliced the blade down, right into Ebony’s gun, knocking it to the ground. As Ebony stared in shock, Jinx slid the sword back into the scabbard, and then closed the distance between them, until they were nose to nose. “If you ever pull a gun on me again, you better be prepared to use it.”

  Ebony shook with fury, and she raised a fist as if to strike Jinx.

  “Do you really want to do that?” Jinx’s tone was ice cold, and Dax froze when he saw the man’s eyes flash from their normal brown to a bright green as he glared at Ebony.

  “Please tell me you are close,” Dax muttered into the coms, his gaze never leaving what was happening between Jinx and Ebony.

  “I’m coming,” Sable assured him, just as Ebony let out a string of curse words that would make a sailor proud.

  Grabbing a gun at her back, Ebony swung around and pulled the trigger several times, aiming right where he was sure his mate had just been. At least, he hoped she wasn’t still there.

  “Sable,” Dax snarled, grasping the Glock in his hand tightly, ready to rush everyone in the camp to save his woman.

  “Shit, Dax.” Her voice was filled with pain, and something he hadn’t heard from her since they met. Fear. Rage filled him when she cried out in agony. Not giving a shit how many of the General’s men saw him coming, Dax took off at a dead run through the trees, fighting to get to his mate.

  “I got you, bitch!” Ebony screamed, firing again.

  “Dax,” Sable gasped, a low moan filling his ear. “Can’t move. Hit too many times.”

  When she cried out again, Dax let out a roar that echoed throughout the forest. Giving in to the urge to shift and protect the woman who was his world now, he let his claws lengthen, and sliced through his shirt and then the side of his jeans.