UnMasked

by Yara Gharios

  Satisfied that all’s right with him, I pat him twice on the back. This kind of interaction is weird for me. Then I lay down next to him and close my eyes. Seconds later, I fall asleep again.

  CHAPTER 29

  Sadie

  This is all my fault.

  My sister is in a coma, Dylan is missing, and Logan has gone completely insane, all because of me. If I had just pulled it together, maybe no one would have felt it was necessary to push me to meet some brother I never knew I had. If I was just strong enough to handle it on my own, I wouldn’t have selfishly asked the three of them to be here for me, and none of this would have happened. They would have been okay. Everyone would have been safe and happy, instead of preparing for a war.

  I’ve always known about Logan’s uncle, but I never heard enough to be able to conclude on my own that he’s capable of something like this. I never met him to be able to get a read on him, but I’ve heard only positive things from Logan. Then again, Logan’s only known him a couple of years, and it’s obvious Colton would have hidden his dark side if he wanted to succeed in his plan all along.

  “Don’t,” Cade whispers, holding my hand tightly in his. “I know what you’re thinking. You can’t blame yourself.”

  My tears continue to flow down my cheeks. “Cade–”

  “No, baby,” he insists. “There’s nothing you could have done that would have changed this.”

  I can’t even see anything clearly anymore, it’s all a big blur. “If I hadn’t–”

  He cuts me off. “Jason is in on it,” he reminds me. “He has been working against us from the inside this whole time, and we never knew about it. He told his uncle everything that we were doing, gave him confidential information. Even if they weren’t driving and he didn’t run them off the road, he would have found some other way to get Dylan to Colton.”

  This much I can’t deny. If only it were all that’s wrong.

  “But Zoey…” I cry.

  When I say this, I clutch her hand tighter. She still hasn’t opened her eyes. I keep wishing and praying for her to give me the slightest sign that she is going to be fine, but so far, nothing’s happened. Her hip was severely injured in the crash, because she was laying down sleeping in the backseat and she was thrown against the armrest and broke it on impact. Her arm is also broken, and she has dozens of cuts and bruises on her body. It’s a horrible sight to see.

  “She’s going to be okay, Sade,” Cade tries to reassure me. “Trust me, you guys will be bickering again in no time.”

  I attempt a feeble smile. If he wasn’t here right now, I would probably be hysterical.

  “You should get some sleep,” he tells me.

  I shake my head vehemently. “No way, I’m not leaving her,” I refuse. “Besides, you think I’m going to be able to sleep knowing the danger you’re going to be in come morning?”

  “It’s not going to be like that.”

  “Colton’s got an army that can rival, even outnumber us,” I point out. “He’s got this psychotic obsession with having the strongest and biggest pack our world has ever seen, and he’s always had it in for Cameron, and by extension anyone associated with him. Logan said so himself. That’s why he rounded up so many allies to go up against him.”

  “Logan is not thinking clearly,” Cade argues, although gently. “He’s trying to keep the composure he’s expected to keep as alpha. But his mate’s been taken. This would make any sane man take drastic measures.”

  “So you agree he’s overreacting?”

  “Not overreacting, per se,” he says. “If it was you, I would have done the same. I’m just telling you that you have nothing to worry about. Colton’s pack may outnumber ours alone, but with others at our side, we’ve got the upper hand. That, and the element of surprise. We’re not in any danger, I promise.”

  Chocking back a sob, I reach for his hand and pull him toward me. I bury my face in his chest, clutching his shirt like a lifeline.

  “I can’t lose you, too,” I sob. “Please, promise me you’ll come back to me.”

  He leans down and kisses me long and hard. “I promise.”

  A few seconds later, Dr. Ackhart comes running in, out of breath. “They’re here.”

  “Stay with Zoey,” Cade tells me. “I’ll be right back.”

  For two minutes, I listen to Zoey’s breathing through the machines, the beeping and whooshing. It might sound crazy, but the rhythmic pattern is a bit soothing for me, which is especially necessary when I’m this anxious. Then Cade returns with the Connollies all trailing behind him.

  Daniel is the only one who runs to Zoey’s hospital bed and clutches her hand. Tears glisten in his eyes, and his voice quivers with barely contained emotion. He calls out her name once before breaking down into sobs.

  Dylan’s other brothers all have somber expressions mixed with a determination to take action against their sister’s kidnapper. Her mother, Brooke, is openly crying as well, though she seems to have a better handle on her feelings than Danny. Dylan’s father, however, is just furious. I’ve never seen someone look so angry that it discourages me from even saying ‘hello’ to them.

  “Where are we meeting?” he asks Cade in a clipped tone.

  Cade senses the urgency in Steven’s voice, one that might lead to irrational behavior. “We have to wait for Logan’s order, sir.”

  “I don’t give a damn about taking orders right now, I want my daughter back!” he barks, proving my point.

  That’s when Logan walks in. “We’ll get her back,” he says, slowly. “Nobody takes my mate from me and gets away with it.”

  His voice is low, steady and clear. A very deadly combination. I’ve only ever seen him this way once, and that was when his father died. When he thought Dylan had betrayed him, he came pretty close to being in this state, too. Logan’s the kind of guy that is usually calm, but when his anger takes over, he is frightening. Right now, the way he is standing with his knuckles fisted so hard at his sides that they’re turning red, his shoulders slumped tensely and a permanent frown etched on his face, he is too livid to even try to reason with.

  This is a whole other kind of intimidating. Steven’s reaction might have been a bit softened, because he also felt guilty that he couldn’t protect his daughter the way he swore he would when she was born a girl. But Logan’s emotions are dominated by a single one: his rage. He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

  CHAPTER 30

  Dylan

  The sun is just barely up when I am rudely awakened by Jason.

  “Get up,” he barks.

  It’s time, I think with unimaginable dread.

  “Resist and I will personally break your arm in a way that it won’t grow back to normal,” he threatens.

  It has no effect on me. He may be used to Reena fearing his very presence, let alone a threat from him, but I am not one to be affected by verbal threats.

  Suddenly, it hits me when I wake from my dream and just before I open my eyes. I’m very alert. Nobody injected me with anything during the night. I can feel myself stronger than I was yesterday. The drug I was last given lingers just enough to hinder my ability to shift, but it’s faint, which means it should wear off soon. If Colton or Jason find out about this, they will immediately inject me with more. I’m going to have to play high until the effects wear off and I can shift and get away. In the meantime, I need to stall and hopefully find the exit.

  Groaning, I turn my back on Jason. “Five more minutes, mommy.”

  “I said get up,” Jason snaps and kicks his leg against the bars.

  I put my hands over my forehead and grimace. “Oh come on, not so loud,” I complain. “My head hurts.”

  “Do you want me to drag you up there?” he warns.

  “That would be great, actually.”

  Pause. “Are you kidding me?”

  I groan. “Does it look like I can walk to wherever you’re taking me? I can barely crawl over to the door.”
/>   He huffs and stomps over to open the prison. “Fine.”

  Success!

  When he lifts me up over his shoulder, it takes every bit of my willpower not to kick his ass then and there. I still have to figure out where the front door is in this place before making a getaway. He takes me up one flight of stairs before I spot a kitchen. That’s usually close to where the front door is, except that the more I see of this place, the more I start to conclude its real age.

  Still, knowing the location of the kitchen is better than nothing, because at least I have something to go on. Now all I have to do is wait for the drug to wear off. Jason takes me up a second flight of stairs and into the first room on the left. I don’t get much of a look before he throws me roughly on a bed. It’s kind of comfortable, to be honest, and bouncy.

  Oh my God! I did not just think that!

  Instead of leaving immediately, Jason sticks around, hovering next to the bed and staring down at me with a smirk. “You know, throw in the right stuff, and you could really be something to look at.”

  I glare at him for a second, before I remember that I’m supposed to be high right now. I feign exhaustion and close my eyes.

  “Don’t get too comfortable looking,” I pathetically protest. “When I am out of here–”

  “Ha! Don’t make me laugh,” he mocks. “No one even knows you’re here to come rescue you, and there’s no way you can get past Colton’s pack. It’s bigger than–”

  The door swings open and cuts him off. Colton stares at his nephew from the door with something like a glare.

  “You did your part,” he dismissed Jason.

  “Yes, Uncle,” the latter says submissively.

  “Now leave.”

  Quickly, he obeys and marches out the door, which Colton closes behind him.

  My heart starts beating fast with fear, but I force myself not to move when Colton approaches the bed, his wide and creepy eyes on me, like I’m some sandwich he can’t wait to devour.

  Ew! Even the analogy makes me want to puke.

  “You know, maybe if you wait a couple of years, get to know me, take me out a few times and treat me well, this might not constitute as rape,” I suggest as a last attempt at talking my way out of this.

  “I need an heir or a daughter, now,” he counters.

  Any minute now, I will be able to shift. I can sense it. Still, I play the part and let my eyes droop, crawling backwards on the bed until I hit a nightstand.

  “That’s going to be a problem. See, I don’t know how much experience you have in these things, but it usually takes nine months to really–”

  “Be quiet,” he cuts me off, sounding annoyed.

  That’s when he sits down on the bed, and my heart jumps in terror. My fingers search the stand behind me, and I come in contact with something metallic and round.

  “Please, you don’t have to do this,” I beg, a last resort.

  The metallic thing turns out to be a lamp. I discreetly try to search for its handle and grasp it after a few tries. This is the only thing I could use as a weapon in this place, and it’ll have to do.

  Three things happen simultaneously in that instant. First, Colton puts his hand on the inside of my thigh. Second, a wolf howls from just outside the manor walls. And third, the drug wears off completely. Fortunately for me, Colton focuses on the howling. It continues as sounds of intense struggle between a lot of people are also heard.

  Distracted, Colton frowns. “What the hell?”

  This is my opening. With all my might, I swing the lamp and hit Colton on the head with it, ripping it right out of the wall. He falls off the bed with a thud. I got lucky. I got so lucky. My heart hammering in my chest, I stand up without taking my eyes off him and slowly go to his side of the bed, making sure that he’s really unconscious.

  After that, I run out the hell out of there.

  CHAPTER 31

  Logan

  It takes an entire day after we made the call for everyone to come. The wait slowly chips away my sanity, since that’s another day for Dylan to be out there on her own with a monster. But the one thing that keeps me going is knowing that Colton is waiting for the morning of Dylan’s birthday. It means, if Colton is not lying, we still have time.

  We gather at the meeting point around six in the morning. Five packs have responded to my call for aid, and sent a total of nineteen additional fighters to the twenty from my pack that came. That’s enough to match Colton’s pack’s numbers, with a few extras on our side. More than enough to guarantee we win.

  He is going to pay. I trusted him, when I first met him, because he’s my uncle. I was the one who first told him about my dad’s research, so it’s not like he approached me and started asking questions about it. That might have been suspicious. But then not only does he betray me, he also takes away the one person that means more to me than my own life. He’s not only going to pay, he’s going to suffer for what he did. And I want to be the one to do it.

  “Thank you all for coming,” I address everyone, speaking loudly so they could hear. “As you all know by now, my uncle kidnapped my mate a few days ago, and he’s been holding her hostage ever since. What you don’t know is that she is a werewolf.”

  Murmurs of astonishment run across the crowd as they all take in what I just revealed. “A female werewolf?” someone asks.

  “Yes, the first female werewolf our world has seen in centuries, which is why Colton wants her in the first place. But she is mine. My. True. Mate,” I enunciate to get my point across. “Now I know you’ve all been very valuable allies to my father when he was alpha. I hope that tonight, I can earn some of the loyalty you felt for him, and he for you. But I need you all to trust me for one day, and you can decide afterwards whether I’ve earned your respect or not. I need to know right now. Can I count on you to help me save my mate?”

  Glances are exchanged until, one by one, every single werewolf confirms his support in one manner or the other. It starts with nodding, then a few grunt in approval. In the end, people are cheering and yelling in excitement.

  After I’m satisfied of their loyalty, I get right down to explaining the plan to them. Cade and I planned it before everyone arrived, because I knew we wouldn’t have time to discuss strategy with the rest once they showed up.

  “Now let’s get going,” I declare, just before shifting right then and there.

  Clothes ripping are the least of my problems right now. We can’t travel by vehicle because we don’t have enough to transport us all, and besides, it would cost us the element of surprise. Running in wolf form is the fastest way possible. Colton’s pack lives in an old manor about twenty minutes away by car. It takes us half an hour to get there while running. We stay hidden as much as possible, although being spotted by humans this early in the morning is a bit unlikely. My mind races from one battle plan to another, remembering every single fighting technique I know and running through the plan of how and when to use them.

  We hide in the distance, and quietly examine the surroundings. The manor is gothic in its structure. This is due to Colton’s fondness of what he calls ‘the old days.’

  From the first look, I recognize Tyler as one of the guards. My vision turns red. I almost leap at him, if not for Cade nudging me to stick to the plan. Since we’re hidden from their sight for now, and we’re too far to reach them with just a few steps. Lunging at him would give them time to alert the rest of the pack. Instead, Cade and I go around the side to sneak up on both unsuspecting guards.

  “Did you hear something?” Tyler asks his partner when we’re close enough for them to hear our footsteps, no matter how light they are.

  Simultaneously, Cade and I freeze in place. Tyler takes a few steps forward and throws a quick glance across the clearing outside the gate. Just when he’s about to face his partner again, I pounce at him and pin him to the ground, growling, while Cade does the same with the other guy. Before he could shift, I turn back to human form, not even caring what I look
like. I lift Tyler by the neck and press him hard against the wall.

  “Where is she?” I ask in a low voice.

  “Logan?! How did you…?”

  “Where. Is. She?” I repeat.

  My grip on his throat tightens. It would be so easy right now to snap his neck. Just a flick. But I can’t think that way, not yet.

  “Logan, I swear,” he gasps for breath, “I didn’t want to be a part of this. But Jason, man he’s got a temper, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  “WHERE IS SHE?” I growl.

  Tyler winces and struggles to get some air into his lungs. I loosen my hand pressed against his windpipe just enough to allow him to speak.

  “She’s… probably in Colton’s room by now.”

  My entire body goes cold. For a moment, I black out. Next thing I know, Tyler is passed out on the ground with a bleeding nose, and I’m shifting into wolf form in mid-air. I lift my head up, and let out one single long howl to signal the others that it’s time. Then I run through the gate and into the manor, praying with everything I have that I’m not too late.

  My forces have rallied behind me, and we charge all at the same time through the now abandoned gate. Though the battle begins in confusion, resistance meets us pretty quickly. They heard my warning howl, and shifted before we entered. Given the number of wolves lying in wait behind the front door, Colton must not believe in allowing his men to sleep, especially not when he’s doing something so irrevocably evil that he realizes it won’t go unpunished by the rest of our community. Fortunately for us, we have several advantages other than the opposing side’s lack of sleep.

  From the corner of my eye, I see everyone getting into separate fights. Cade and Steven face off with an older wolf, while one of Dylan’s brothers join forces with a man from our ally packs against three others. Soon enough, I’m too distracted by my own match to see what each of my men is doing.

  An ash grey wolf takes an offensive stance in front of me, barring his teeth in a menacing growl. I skip the growling dance and immediately attack, going for muzzle with my claw. He ducks away, which gives me an opening to grab him by the leg, and throw him over my shoulder with all my strength. He yelps when my teeth sink into his flesh, and crashes into a wall, unconscious.