by Bryce Evans
“He’s touched you.”
Raven used all her strength and pushed him away from her. “Like you said, Caz, this isn’t going to work out. Your words.”
Lennox and Leo were holding Caz back as he tried to get to her. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. But for some reason, he sure didn’t like Wyatt Benjamin’s scent on her. She continued into the house and went into her bedroom and closed the door.
Before she could get to her bathroom. Her bedroom door crashed against the wall. Her brother stood there glaring at her. “What did you do, Raven?”
“Nothing.”
Slamming the door, he pushed her against the wall. “You smell just like him, Raven. Your mate is out there ready to go to his property and tear him apart. If Lennox and Cosmo hadn’t knocked him out, he would—”
“They knocked him out?” She pushed her brother backward. “If they hurt him…”
“I knew it. I knew you loved him.”
“Is he hurt? Is he okay?” Raven pleaded.
Her brother snorted. “He’ll have a headache, but he will be fine. However, the first time he sees Wyatt Benjamin, he’s going to kill him.”
“Leo, I’m going to tell you a story. But you have to promise me you won’t tell a soul.”
“Where did she go?” Caz asked, rubbing his head. “Who hit me?”
Leo smiled, shaking his head. “Well, the alpha hit you first and then Cosmo hit you again. They said you had the hardest head and wouldn’t go down with the first punch. Hey, if it makes you feel any better, they felt really bad about it.”
“Yeah, I feel how bad they felt. Where is she, Leo?”
“With Haven getting her dress for the masquerade ball tonight.”
Getting up from the bed, he started looking for his pants. Leo watched as he frantically opened his closet pulling out a pair of blue jeans. He could see it all over Caz. He was going to find her. She was his mate and she wasn’t going anywhere near that other man.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Caz glanced up at him. “To get my mate.”
Leo went into the bathroom as Caz dressed and shook up the potion and poured it on a cloth napkin. Without getting Caz’s attention, he grabbed him and pushed the cloth against his nose and mouth. He thought for sure the tiger was going to bust loose, but Caz fell back against him. He softly rolled him over and placed him comfortably on the bed.
“I hope you don’t stay mad at me,” Leo said, closing the door behind him.
Picking up his phone, he called Raven. “Hey, well, he’s out cold right now.”
Leo listened to his sister, rolling his eyes as he changed in his bedroom. The party was in two hours and he needed to be ready to roll out. “I didn’t hit him. Plus, you can’t hurt his big fat head. I will pick you up at the store and we can go from there. No, the alpha doesn’t have a clue. Okay, okay. Got it. Be there in a few.”
“Women,” Leo said out loud. “What part of let me handle this does she not understand.”
Archie was an idiot, but he was a cunning idiot and a liar. They both knew this was a trap, but the only way this would work was to let Raven be taken. They inserted the tracking chip underneath her skin on her left arm. Of course, they would take her phone, but she had another plan. One that included some help. He would let the alpha know, but they had to do some things first.
Opening his door, Lennox was about to knock. “Hey. Have you checked on Caz because he’s still asleep? I didn’t think I hit him hard enough to put him out this long.”
“Uhh, yeah.” Leo stepped forward making his alpha step back. He had to check on the meeting place to make sure the cameras were up. That was supposed to be handled. His alpha stared at him as if he knew something.
“Why are you already dressed for the ball?”
“Oh, well, Raven is getting fitted so I’m going to wait with her and we will go together,” Leo said, but when his alpha narrowed his eyes at him. He knew the jig was up.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because you’re a distrusting kind of person and always believe we are up to something,” Leo said, making his smile bigger than usual.
“Don’t push me—"
Walking backward, Leo laughed and said, “Come on, Alpha. Pretty women will be there tonight. You know I’ve got to scout them out. All of us don’t have a mate, you know.”
“Still don’t believe you,” Lennox said, shaking his head as he watched him leave.
He had to go and go now. Before they woke Caz and before they got to the ball. This had to work because his alpha was going to have his head on a stick when the man found out. And the possibility of this blowing up in his face was huge. Also, losing his sister forever to a bunch of nuts was another problem.
Chapter Nineteen
“Goodness, I knew I was right,” Haven whispered.
Raven glanced up in the mirror. “What? What’s wrong?”
“That you are beautiful in this dress. Look at yourself, woman. The green glistens like the sea water on my honeymoon. The sparkles are just like I remember. Oh, Raven, I will think of my honeymoon every time I see you in this dress.”
She couldn’t help but smile. Haven was such a wonderfully sweet woman. She never got involved in anything, but her power was there, and she had seen what she could do with it. “It’s a beautiful dress, Haven. Thank you for letting me wear it. I will be careful and give it right back to you after the ball.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Haven asked.
“Yes, I promise.”
Haven backed up and stared at her in the mirror. “I made this dress for you, Raven. Nobody else will have another one like it. Oh, I may make one similar, but nobody will have all the details I put into it. And this is your dress to keep.”
“Me. You’re giving it to me...but why?” Raven turned and stared at the woman. This was an expensive dress. It had to be worth thousands of dollars.
Haven snorted. “Because we’re friends and pack mates. You never dress up and I want this dress to show your beauty that you hide from everyone. Now they will see the true Raven. Look.” Holding a box in her hand, Haven opened the top. “This is your mask. I made it to look like a Raven, but with color. What do you think?”
Her mouth fell open as she looked inside the box. “Haven, this is too much. I can’t possibly take this.”
“Yes, you can, and you will. You are my muse at this ball and I’m going to sell a lot of dresses to some of these people coming from the big cities. They will see you and ask, who is that? Then they will say and who made that dress?” Haven wiggled her eyebrows up and down. “Get my gist?”
Raven lifted the mask out of the box. “They already know who you are Haven Fitzgerald. From what I hear, New York and all the major cities have your clothes in their high-end department stores. You are simply Haven, but I appreciate this more than you know.”
“Your mate is going to flip out when he sees you.”
Looking away, she stepped down and put the mask over her eyes. “He flips out enough. Maybe I just need a calm night. One where he’s not trying to take someone's head off.”
“He loves you, Raven. It’s just the mating pull. I would like to tell you that it gets better but...well, it does but it takes a while. But it never goes away and wait until it starts with you. Anyone who looks at your mate, you, my friend, will want to take their head off. It did for me. Even now it’s hard to see women look at my man. I want to strike out, but I’ve started to calm down and control my temper.”
“It hasn’t hit me like that yet, and to be honest, I don’t want it to. Why would I want to be with him all the time? Do you want to be with Cosmo all the time?”
“Yes, I guess I do, but I do like having time with the girls. And I have to have my time to create my designs. Cosmo never bothers me when I’m in my office. And I understand that he has a job and he’s the beta of the Death Hunters. But if we are away from each other for long periods of time, we both get c
ranky and we’d almost flip out. It took me a while to find my groove, but we are doing pretty good. Now, if you don’t need me anymore. I need to get ready. Hey, you’re going to knock their socks off tonight.”
“This is wonderful. It’s more than I ever could dream of. Thank you, Haven.” She glanced up at her. “Thanks for being my friend.”
“Well, we are,” Haven said, hugging her.
She picked up her box for her mask and placed it inside. She didn’t want to damage it before the ball. Walking out the door, she saw Leo had just pulled up. He slowly got out of the truck and just stared at h
“What?” she stopped and looked down at her dress. “You don’t like it?”
The smile her brother gave her she hardly ever got from him. “You look beautiful. Stunning actually.”
Raven smiled as she looked down at her dress. “You really think so?”
Her brother stood in front of her staring at the dress. “Wow, little sis, when you clean up, you really clean up.”
“Well, big brother, you don’t look so bad yourself.” Fixing his tie, Raven acted like she was picking off a string on his jacket. “Never seen you in a suit before. You look good too.”
“Thanks. Are you ready? We need to do a couple of drive-bys.”
“And Caz, was he okay when you left him?” Raven asked her brother as he opened the door for her.
She watched as he closed the door and walked around the truck. As he got in, he still didn’t say anything. “Why are you stalling?”
“Because he’s going to be pissed off when he wakes up. I doubt he will ask questions first. The man is going to nut up when he sees you in that dress.”
“But...it’s so pretty,” Raven said, staring down at it.
Glancing at her, he placed his hand on top of hers. “No. You misunderstand. He’s going to nut up when he sees all the men in the room staring at you, little sis.”
Blushing, she smiled, then looked out the window, watching the world pass. Quicker than she anticipated, Leo slowed the truck to turn onto the narrow lane.
“Why do you think he picked this road?” she asked.
“Looks pretty dense out here. I don’t get it either. These are the coordinates he sent—"
Raven heard a whistling noise and grabbed the door. She knew something was coming at them and fast. She held on as the truck flipped, crashing it into a tree. They hung upside down. Smoke was making it impossible to breath. She had to get out now. Because she had been double crossed. “Leo?” she yelled.
“I’m here. Get out. They’re coming.” She felt the dart as it hit her in the shoulder and that was the last thing she remembered before it went dark.
Chapter Twenty
Caz shook his head again. He inhaled deeply trying to wake up but the smell of spice was all he inhaled. He could feel tingling all over his body. Immediately, he knew something was wrong. His tiger knew something was wrong. It was Raven.
Then it hit him, Leo had put something over his mouth and nose. The roar left his mouth as the pain speared into his chest. He gasped for air as the banging on his door increased. He stumbled up to open the door and fell to his knees.
His door was kicked open, his alpha and beta both searching the room for danger. “It’s Raven. She’s in trouble.” Helping him up, Lennox tried to calm him down.
“She went to town to get her dress; she’s fine. Leo went to pick her up.”
Grabbing his chest, Caz coughed and tried to take in a deep breath. “No, she’s not.”
Lennox motioned with his head and Cosmo ran out of the room. “She was with Haven at the store. Everything is fine. The plans for tonight at the ball are still on. It’s all covered. Just calm down until—”
“Leo picked her up a while ago. I called both their cell phones and no answer. This is not like them,” Cosmo admitted.
“Alert everyone,” Lennox said.
Grabbing his chest again, Caz could tell that Raven was out. “She’s unconscious. I can feel it. Track their phones.”
Having sent out a quick alert to the pack, Cosmo brought in his laptop and fired it up. As soon as it came alive, his fingers danced across the keys. Lennox was on the phone as he watched and waited to get a signal.
“Dixon and Crenshaw are sending out scouts now. We just need a place to search,” Lennox said, holding the phone out waiting for Cosmo to give him an address.
They both listened as Cosmo’s fingers pounded on his laptop. “Both are at…” He leaned in closer. “Old Tuscan County Road. Never heard of it.”
He heard Dixon say, “The road was washed out by a flood five years ago and nothing is there now. Nobody goes there. I’ve got guards going out now. I’ve put the pack on alert and guards at the store. You need to let Calum know.”
Caz already had his phone out and called his sister. He explained what was happening. “I want to help. We want to help. Tell us what to do,” Riley said.
“Let me talk to Calum.” Caz waited and his brother-in-law got on the other line. “Brother, Boris has been here the whole time and he never once used his phone. I don’t think it’s him.”
“Then that leaves one other.” Caz looked at his alpha.
“I’ll drive. You just concentrate on your breathing. You will know the moment she wakes. I feel a direct connection to my people and they are both unconscious. I feel it. Yours, however, will be stronger to Raven,” Lennox said. They helped him to his feet and out the door.
It didn’t take long to get to Wyatt Benjamin’s residence, but what had him concerned was the number of armed guards he had at the gate. Lennox demanded to see Benjamin and was immediately welcomed inside.
Caz never once felt Raven’s presence on the property. But she had been the day before. He was going to kill the man no matter what. He only needed him alive long enough to find out where he took his mate.
“Look at me,” Lennox commanded. Caz blinked and looked at his alpha. “Let me do the talking, Caz. If you want to get the information, then let me handle this. Do you understand?”
Caz stared at his alpha, not planning on obeying. That was until he felt it. The vibes from the alpha’s power rolled through. The demand in Lennox’s voice made him answer. “Yes.”
Wyatt walked outside. He already had a suit on and was getting ready for the party. As they approached, Caz only remembered the shirt she had on and he couldn’t see straight and ran for him. Even without shifting, Caz knew he would do some damage to the human and he didn’t care. All he cared about was his mate. And he was sure Wyatt knew something about what happened.
However, his body was flipped over and over as he slid into the yard. He shook his head and stared at the man who was supposed to be human, but had shifter strength.
Lennox and Cosmo both stood in front of him with their hands up. They looked around and they were all surrounded. Some armed, but most were not. The hissing sound was powerful as Wyatt came to stand in front of them.
“Why?” was the only word he used.
“Where is my mate? She’s been taken,” Caz shouted.
Wyatt’s head tilted to the side, looking confused. He glanced at his sister and she ran to the house. “She’s not here. We had a plan.” Turning to his people, he ordered, “Shift and find Raven. Conceal yourself as best as you can. It will be turning dark soon. Now go.”
Caz and his alpha watched as the ones surrounding them shifted into the biggest eagles they had ever seen. The wind from their enormous wings blew across their faces making it hard to watch as they took to the sky.
“I thought your kind were all dead,” Lennox said.
“Almost. This is the last. When the wars started and almost took us all out, we went into hiding. We are growing, but we’re tired of hiding and moving. Once I learned that you had moved here and were surrounded by other shifters, I knew this was the place we were meant to be.”
“Where’s my mate?” Caz growled.
Wyatt looked at him. He was growing impatient. “I don’t know.
Come inside and I will explain.”
Calum and Riley pulled up as they were walking onto the back deck. Wyatt tried to get him to sit but he couldn’t. Until he found Raven and had her safe in his arms, his beast wouldn’t settle down. All he wanted to do was kill someone.
Riley rushed to her brother’s side. “Have you heard anything?”
“We were just about to hear what the eagle here knows. You were saying,” Caz said, but he was already growling.
“My wife and Boris’s wife were best friends. Two years ago, we were both on business trips and our wives and my son were going to the mountains for a weekend trip. They were ambushed and taken. Not one witness was found but it was made to look like a car accident and the vehicle had burst into flames.
“But we knew it would be impossible for that to happen. It was raining and whoever it was made mistakes. They used accelerant to make the car catch fire. Their phones were found in the car. When an autopsy was done by my people, we learned that none of the bodies were my wife and son or Boris’s wife. They were kidnapped.
“At first, we thought they were after money, but a call never came demanding cash for their return. Humans wouldn’t have lived against our wives. They were both trained well as we all are. Then we started hearing rumors of a place humans and possibly shifters were taking shifters and vampires hunting them. When you killed the Strong brothers, we thought we were close. Then Boris got another lead about Archie Peebottom. One night, he was drunk and told someone about his job. He was making a lot of money and spending it too. We also heard that Raven and Leo had caught Archie before us and we decided to watch them for our next lead. But Raven—”
“What about her?”
“She reminds me of my mate. She looks like her...and no, I would never take your mate. However, Raven isn’t dumb, and she came to my property upset yesterday. I knew I could trust her with my secret and she trusted me with hers.”
