Stolen By The Warrior

by C. J. Brookes

  “My cookbooks. I have a bunch.” She pointed to a stack of cookbooks centered on the kitchen counter. “I definitely want those. I’m going to start cooking again.”

  “We have a master chef.” The wealthier Houses had full staffs that lived in their wings. Aodhan’s skills had made him very wealthy, indeed.

  “And I am one. It was a hobby I got started in right after my mother died. Our housekeeper was wonderful, but she could not cook at all. Emily’s mother taught me simple things, and it grew from that. I took lessons in high school from a master chef.”

  He’d have her the best set of cooking pans and utensils sent to the suite as soon as he could. Anything she wanted, he’d get. “Do you have any supplies you wish to take back with you?”

  “I’ll get them next time. Right now, I’m not even sure where I’d put things. Your suite doesn’t have much of a kitchen. And I need to study the dietary differences of Dardaptoans. When I’m not at the lab, of course.”

  She sounded enthusiastic about it. Aodhan smiled and wrapped his arms around her. “I can always have the kitchen remodeled to suit you, kitten.”

  She smiled at him, her eyes finally lacking that wary sadness that he’d seen in her for so long. “I would like that. Would like that a lot.”

  It wasn’t just the kitchen that made him happy—it was that she’d just given him hope.

  Aodhan scooped her up, right in her kitchen like he had before. “Now…which bed is yours? I cannot help but remember my first thought when I saw you. I wish to act it out, please.”

  “And what was that?”

  He just grinned at her and showed her.

  47

  Mallory drove her car along the stretch of Colorado highway with Aodhan in the van fifteen feet behind her at all times. Her cousin’s one-eyed cat, Maury, sat in the passenger seat beside her, mewing at her occasionally.

  She’d picked him up at the main house, Emily’s one request other than her personal laptop. She and that cat were deeply bonded, and her cousin had been missing him.

  Her father and sister hadn’t been at the main house when she’d taken Aodhan there to meet them. Claudette, the housekeeper—after nearly squeezing the life out of Mallory—had told her that her cousin Mitch had fetched her father the day after Mallory had disappeared. Claudette hadn’t seen him since. She’d sounded a bit put out by that, but Mallory understood it. Claudette had long favored Mallory’s father over the rest of his brothers, and not having him where she could fuss would definitely bother her.

  Claudette thought Becca was with them, but couldn’t say for sure. Everything had been chaotic for a little while there. No one knew whether they’d left—or been abducted. The family had told her they’d gone on vacation, but Claudette wasn’t stupid. She’d known it was more than that. Mallory had hugged Claudette again and given her the contact information for the resort in case Claudette or anyone else on the family’s main property needed her.

  Then she’d grabbed Maury, as he was shy of everyone, and carried him to her car.

  Aodhan had asked her if she wanted to follow him back, but Mallory had refused. She didn’t want him leading her back to her new life; she wanted to be the one controlling how fast she got there. Silly, trivial; who arrived at the resort portico first didn’t matter in the grander scheme of things, but it did to her.

  It was her choice to drive back. Her choice to accept him and his world. And his place in hers. She was contemplating those changes as she drove.

  48

  She almost missed the two women limping alongside the road. The sun was setting; their dark clothing blended in well with the landscape around them.

  One woman jumped into the highway and waved her arms. Mallory slammed on the brakes. The setting sun turned the woman’s hair to flames.

  It was the same shade as Mallory’s. The face, so similar to Mickey’s.

  She threw the car onto the shoulder and into park, unhooked her seatbelt, jumped from her seat and slammed the door in Maury’s face. Aodhan’s breaks squealed. Then he was seconds behind her.

  “What is it?”

  But Mallory ignored his questions, her attention on the filthy woman in front of her. “Becca! Becca! What happened to you?”

  Her youngest sister nearly fell to the ground in front of her, but since Becca was supporting the other young woman she managed to stop herself just in time. “Mal! I knew you’d be on the road now. I knew it. Help me.”

  Her sister was practically sobbing.

  “Who is this?” Mallory wrapped her arms around Becca and held her sister up. It was obvious she was injured. Aodhan’s hands went to the blonde. He scooped her up easily, ignoring how she cried out.

  “The Lupoiux. Werewolves, Mal. You have to take her now. I have to go back. To help Matt.”

  Mallory’s blood chilled. Becca shouldn’t know anything about Lupoiux. And there were scratches and bite marks on her sister. “Bec—”

  “He’s in trouble, and he’s hurt!” Becca tried to get free. Mallory finally let go, afraid her sister would hurt herself. “Matt’s hurt!”

  Becca was never this frantic. Not over anything. Her sister was the calmest of the four siblings. By far.

  “Matt? Tell me, little sister,” Aodhan demanded of Becca. “Do you mean Matthuin?”

  Becca’s body straightened, and her eyes narrowed. All of her focus shifted to Aodhan and she slipped in front of Mallory quickly. Protectively. “Who are you?”

  Aodhan studied Mallory’s young sister a moment. The blonde rested her head against his shoulder and sighed. “I see how it is. Little sister, I am Matthuin’s favorite cousin, Aodhan.”

  Becca stared at him, then back at Mallory.

  “You can trust him. Would he be with me if you couldn’t? Would I be alone with him?” Mallory asked, her attention turning toward the woman Aodhan held. “Who is she?”

  “I think she’s our aunt. Or Jade’s sister. Maybe both. I’ll explain it later. Right now, I have to go help him. The Lupoiux pack found me and took me back to their camp this morning. Matt saved me, and her. I had to leave him in order to help her. But he needs me. He needs me right now.” Becca was both demanding and pleading. Mallory had never seen her little sister so upset—or terrified. “Please! I have to get to him!”

  “We will fetch my cousin, little wolfling. I promise you he has survived many such situations and shall survive this one as well. He is fierce, strong, and brave. And arrogantly annoying, if I may say so. Mallory, you are to take this girl back to Barlaam. He will care for her. I suspect she is indeed Jade’s sister. Barlaam will assume responsibility for her care. The resemblance is too uncanny. You will send Cormac and Rydere to meet me if I don’t return in half an hour after you. Do you understand me? I need your sister to guide me, as I don’t have Tajic to track Matthuin for me. And he is not ever easily followed.” Aodhan loaded the girl into Mallory’s car next to the disgruntled cat.

  “But…what if the Lupoiux hurt you? Maybe we should just call for help.” The thought of him against a band of werewolves terrified her.

  “I can’t leave my cousin in danger any more than you could leave one of yours. Now, go. I will keep your sister safe. And will return to you shortly.”

  He was asking her to send one of her little sisters into certain danger—with only him to protect her. Just how much she truly trusted him sank in in that moment. “I’m trusting you to do just that.”

  49

  The girl moved fast through the woods at the base of the mountains. But then again, his youngest sister-in-law was no longer human. “Tell me, girl. Did they bite you, or did my cousin?”

  Matthuin was more wolf than he was Dardaptoan.

  Her worry was strong, and even in the rapidly darkening twilight, Aodhan could see how much she cared for Matthuin. A young Lupoiux female. And intense worry for a half-Lupoiux/quarter-Dardaptoan/quarter-Druid male. It was starting to add up quickly for him.

  “They did. I met him a week ago, right aft
er I was bitten.”

  “And you were taken by the Lupoiux when?” He hoped to the three hells they hadn’t hurt her yet. Some Lupoiux would steal females they thought were compatible with their Kind and force them into mating. Or they would kill those females’ mates and pups and force the females to carry more pups of their abductors.

  He hoped Mallory’s young sister had not endured that.

  “Late last night or early this morning. The second time. Matthuin and I got separated, and they found me again. I spent last night in their camp. That’s where I found her. They had her tied up in a damned cave.”

  “Was she bitten?”

  “Yes. Sometime yesterday. I don’t know how long they’ve had her. I think she’s sick, too. She hasn’t spoken much, and they just left us there while they hunted. Why are you with my sister?”

  “I abducted her a few weeks ago. We came here today to get her clothes and her cookbooks. She was missing them.”

  She growled. “You kidnapped her, but you’re getting her clothes?”

  “It’s complicated. She will explain more to you later. Just know this—I love your sister and will always protect her. How far are we from Matthuin?”

  “Less than a mile. It took me longer to get away. I had to drag her part of the way.”

  Aodhan respected how she downplayed what must have been a terrifying ordeal for her. She reminded him greatly of his Rajni, and not just in looks. She would be a good mate for his cousin. Matthuin was a rare breed of Dardaptoan. His mother was half Dardaptoan, half Druid, his father a quarter Dardaptoan and three-quarters Lupoiux. The strange combination had given him a mess of gifts that made him unique among their Kinds. He blended in with all Kinds, able to appear as full-blooded in any Kind. It had served him and Aodhan well.

  Aodhan had assigned Matthuin the task of infiltrating the Taniss Industries’ staff. He was supposed to appear human, not get himself taken hostage by Lupoiux. “How badly is Matthuin hurt?”

  “I don’t know. He was fighting them so that we could get away.” Her breath hitched, the only hint that she was scared and holding back tears. What had Mallory said? This girl was only twenty-two or -three. So young. “I didn’t think I’d ever find help. But I just sensed help would be on that highway.”

  “Well, you have. And rest assured, I’ve gotten Matthuin out of trouble more than a time or two.”

  They said little more as they hiked through the woods. Aodhan would have left her with her sister, but what he’d told Mallory was true—he needed the girl to lead him to his cousin.

  She led him straight to the edge of a camp of ragged and filthy Lupoiux. Thirty wolves in all were visible—half women and children. The males looked like complete degenerates. They looked more like petty thieves and criminals. He suspected they were the ones who had targeted the Taniss vacation home after young Jade had arrived. Proximity made it likely.

  Well, well, well.

  He was going to have some fun now.

  Aodhan studied them carefully. Matthuin was nowhere to be seen. A small hand wrapped around his wrist and slid down his arm to his palm. His little sister-in-law finger-spelled c-a-v-e on his hand until he nodded.

  He pulled her close enough to whisper his intentions. “I’ll get him out. You stay here and quiet. Wait five minutes, then head back to the van. Do you think you can find your way?” She nodded. He handed her the keys. If he had to carry his cousin, he would have to be prepared to move as quickly as possible. “Meet me there. Have it running. When I bring him, we’ll have to move quickly. We’re forty minutes at the most from our home. If we can get there in time, I can have my team take care of this pack.”

  Her whisper was low. “Most of the women are not here by choice. They were kidnapped and raped, their sons killed right in front of them. Don’t hurt them, please.”

  Aodhan suppressed the hiss that wanted to escape. Lupoiux females could be taken captive and bred by Lupoiux other than their mates once they’d initially been with their mates. It was common practice among some of the viler bands of dogs to steal newly mated females and keep them as breeders. No doubt that was what they’d had in mind for Mallory’s little sister. No doubt that’s why a band of these Redd Gothan wolves had surrounded the Taniss property so quickly as well. They’d wanted Jierra and would have stopped at nothing to get her. If not her, they would have taken Jade just because she had been there and alone. She would have been bitten and raped in the hopes she could carry Lupoiux pups. If she couldn’t, they would have kept her as a slave for a few years—then sold her to demon slavers or into one of the other worlds. “They will hurt them no more. I can promise you that.”

  The only question Aodhan still had was why Matthuin hadn’t killed the male wolves yet. Fifteen slovenly wolves were no real threat to the other male. Not as powerful as Matthuin was. Very few Dardaptoans were as strong as Matthuin.

  Aodhan figured the most likely answer was one of strategy. Matthuin was waiting, to give her time to get to freedom. Then the other male would annihilate the dogs who’d threatened his Rajni.

  Aodhan would just have to give him a hand with that. But it would necessitate a small change in plans. “Go back to the van right now. We can fit them all in it if we have to. Even with your sister’s things inside. Have it ready and warm. Matthuin and I will meet you there. Understand?”

  She nodded and he felt the movement more than saw it. “I’m going. I’m trusting you to get him out safely.”

  “I will. I will not leave without him. Now go.”

  Aodhan waited until she started back up the path they’d taken, carefully avoiding the slacking sentries. The female had maneuvered around them at least twice that Aodhan knew of, once leading an injured girl, yet the two wolves patrolling the edge of the camp hadn’t seen her. Either they were extremely complacent, or the girl was just that skilled.

  No doubt her brother had taught her to take care of herself in any situation, just like he had Mallory.

  He took the cautious route and just assumed Mallory’s sister had the training from her brother and Mallory to know how to defend herself in whatever situation she found herself in. He counted to two hundred slowly to give her some distance between Aodhan’s position and hers.

  Seconds could mean the difference for survival of any of them.

  He did not take that lightly, not with the knowledge that he held Mallory’s life in his hands forever now.

  It took him two minutes to remove the threat of the sentries, permanently. For wolves, they hadn’t even heard him coming. For mercenaries, they seemed remarkably careless.

  Pitiful, the lack of training the males exhibited. Aodhan trained his own warriors to always expect a battle.

  Someone had to be controlling these beasts, especially those that had threatened the well-protected Equa of the Dardanos tribe.

  He wanted answers.

  Aodhan slipped between two green tents and to the center of the camp. It wasn’t guarded. That told him someone thought Matthuin wasn’t much of a threat.

  Or Matthuin was dead.

  He hoped to the three hells Matthuin’s wasn’t the soul the Beansidhe had sought. He did not want to tell that young female she’d have to raise Matthuin’s pups alone. She was so young to face that. If she’d even survive without her mate for long.

  If that was the situation Aodhan was about to find, he would ensure Matthuin’s pups were protected. They would be Aodhan’s cousins, and Mallory’s nieces or nephews. They would be well cared for.

  Aodhan ensured his footsteps were silent as he approached the back of the lone sentry. A simple blow had the youth of about twenty years falling to the cave floor.

  The prisoner looked up. He smirked. “Cousin, I thought I recognized your scent. What brings you to this area? On a picnic?”

  “I was out for an afternoon drive with my new Rajni when we happened upon a pair of young freshly turned Lupoiux females. Imagine my surprise when my female identified one as her precious baby sister, Rebecc
a. I was then informed my flea-ridden cousin had found himself in a spot of trouble. And gotten himself mated.” Aodhan cut through the ropes binding his cousin. Matthuin stood quickly. “Naturally, I had to come see for myself. Hello, brother-in-law. Theo has taken the middle sister to mate, by the way. We’re one big happy family.”

  “I am grateful to you, Aodhan. For my female’s sake. I take it she’s safe? I have things to do here.”

  “She is about ten minutes away from us, I think. I sent her back to the van where my female Mallory waits. They favor each other, our Rajnis. Same hair of fire. She should be waiting for us and the females who are being kept hostage here. I take it you know what needs to be done?”

  “Yes. I’ve studied the group, when not kept here in this den, that is. There are sixteen females and nineteen children. Of those, only four of the women are here voluntarily. Their males leave them in charge of the other females and children. Those males are currently out sniffing around Rebecca’s home. She had a cousin there a week or so ago that they have spoken about. We need to find and protect her. Fourteen males are out of camp now. Hunting for her.”

  “That cousin has been claimed by Barlaam. She is safe with him now, already bedeviling him. So which of these females need to come with us when we leave and which will be a problem?”

  “I will round those females up, personally. They took great enjoyment in tormenting my mate and the other girl.”

  Aodhan understood. “And the children? How many need to go with us?”

  “All but six, who belong to the women I’ve mentioned.”

  “Leave those females and their children, then. We can tie the females and leave them among their dead. It will serve as a clear message to the pack. This is the second time they have threatened someone close to me. They went after Jierra and Kindara while you have been missing.” Had the camp been exclusively filled with adult male wolves, Aodhan would have just wiped them out, eliminated the threat they presented. But with children present, that could not be done.