“In the summer, our hyperness mellows but our bears tend to act out. They become slightly rebellious, like a moody teenager. It’s often hard to keep control over that side of ourselves unless we spend a lot of time in nature while in our human form, which is why the campground means so much to my clan. It helps keep our bears grounded during the season.”
This must be why I’d been able to see the changes happen to Liam’s eyes so frequently. Yes, each time had been tied to an emotion, but it had also been because his bear was feeling rebellious.
“In the fall, our bears mellow even more. In a sense, they become adults. This is when our bears force us to slow down. We tend to stock up on things for winter and become more responsible. And then when winter comes, our bears fade into hibernation mode. We call it the slumber.”
I blinked. “So, your bears sleep the entire winter away?”
“Yeah. We don’t shift and can hardly feel them.”
“You can’t shift in the winter, or is it a choice?” I needed him to clarify. This was all fascinating, and I wanted to be sure I understood.
“We can shift, but our bears don’t like it. At all. They’re really pissy if we have to wake them for something.”
“Crazy,” I said.
My gaze drifted to the next wall of images. They were a series on the Yona Waterfall. The wall beside it was images of his family—his parents, the twins doing cannonballs into the pool, and of others in the clan shucking corn on the front porch of Liam’s cabin. The last wall was a series of images with the mountains as the focal point. They were stunning. The only picture in the room that gave me pause was one atop a stack of freshly printed ones sitting on the desk.
It was of me.
My hair was piled on top of my head in a messy bun. I was wearing shorts, and a faded pink tank top with my scuffed-up Converse. My knees were torn up and my cheek looked like hell, but there was a fierce look in my eyes. A strength I didn’t ever remember having.
“I took that the first day you were here. You smelled so strongly of fear when I first saw you, but also of strength. I’d never met a woman who carried herself the way you did.” He picked the image up and stared at it intently. “You found strength in your weakest moment. After experiencing what you did, most people would smell of anger, bitterness, or a desperate need for revenge. People, when hurt, generally want to inflict pain on those that hurt them. You were different. I didn’t sense revenge or hatred in you. Not even when I asked if Corbin was the one who hurt you. All I sensed was embarrassment. You were embarrassed because you’d let somebody play you like a fool. I could tell.”
I licked my lips, hoping to hide how shocked I was by his words. “I learned at a young age being angry with people for their actions gets me nowhere. All I can do is grow from it. Learn how I’ll never treat someone. Learn how to build better boundaries. And learn from my mistakes while letting go.”
Something shifted through Liam’s eyes as I spoke, but it was gone before I could name it.
“You’re amazing. I don’t know that I could be so forgiving,” he said.
“I didn’t say anything about forgiving. Forgiving someone is totally different from letting what happened go.” I locked eyes with him and cracked a smile. “Karma is a bitch, and she always seeks those worthy of her wrath.”
Liam’s brows lifted to his hairline. “That’s true. Sometimes she catches up with people quickly.” His eyes darkened. “Corbin was a prime example of that.”
“Exactly.” I tried not to let my mind fill with thoughts of what happened to him.
“Do you want to see what I’m working on now?” Liam asked, almost as though he could sense my need to change the subject.
“Sure.”
He stepped to the desk and bent to boot up the computer. I waited while he pulled up a folder labeled suns. When he opened it, the screen filled with images of sunsets and sunrises taken in different places. One was of the mountains. Another was near the pond. There was Yona Waterfall and a scenic area where the view seemed endless. They were so vibrant and colorful they almost didn’t seem real, like someone had painted them instead.
“People always ask which you prefer—sunsets or sunrises—but I don’t think we have to pick. I think we should enjoy them both as they are,” Liam insisted.
“I like the way you think.” I nodded to his computer. “Can I see more?”
“Absolutely.” He clicked around on the computer, his face lighting up with the excitement of sharing more of his passion with me. Once he’d pulled up a new folder, he motioned for me to sit in the chair. When I did, he crossed to the closet and pulled out a folding chair to sit beside me.
I became lost in his pictures.
I wasn’t sure what would happen come daybreak when we’d made our way to the old sawmill where I was sure Ezra was keeping Penny and any others, but I knew I wanted to enjoy this moment with Liam for everything that it was. So, I pushed thoughts of everything to come from my mind and did just that.
Chapter Ten
We were thirty minutes away from Opal Pine when my stomach decided to twist into knots the size of my fist and my palms grew slick with sweat. I’d been fine up to this point, but as I gazed out the passenger window, my chest tightened. I tried not to think of the horrible things I might find at the old sawmill or the things Penny might have had to endure.
I couldn’t force the thoughts away, though.
No matter how hard I tried, the images continued to fill my head. They increased in their gruesomeness the closer to town we came. I pulled in a deep breath and leaned back in my seat, resting my head against the headrest.
“You’re going to take a right up here,” I said, giving Liam ample time before we made our first turn. “Exit two.”
I wished he had let me drive. I’d asked to, but he’d said no. Apparently, Liam never let anyone drive him places.
“Okay.” He cast a quick glance my way. I was sure it was because he could pick up on the way I was feeling. Him and the others. Thankfully, no one had called me out on it.
“Are we almost there?” Billie asked from the backseat. There was a level of anticipation in her tone. One I wished I felt even a fraction of.
I should. After all, coming here had all been my idea. It was my friend we were rescuing. However, all I felt was an overwhelming sensation of dread.
“Not much farther,” I said without looking at her. “Maybe another twenty minutes.”
I rattled off the next turn for Liam and then tried to get my head right. Going into this situation freaked out would only cause me to screw up. I knew this. Yet, I didn’t know how to feel anything different.
“It’s going to be fine,” Liam said. He stared at me while we sat at a traffic light, waiting for it to turn green. “Just stick to the plan. That’s all you have to do. That’s all any of us have to do.”
“Yep. I know.” I struggled to paste a neutral expression onto my face, even though I knew it wouldn’t hide the emotions rippling off me they could all sense.
The plan was simple. I liked simple. I just hoped it worked.
Liam, Rafe, and Billie were supposed to drop me and Cato off at the beginning of the gravel road that led to the old sawmill. We were going to sneak around back while they spoke with Ezra and whoever else about Corbin’s unwelcome attack on their territory. Cato and I would go through the back door and safely get Penny and any others out.
Similar to Liam’s clan, Ezra’s pack was small. There were only six of them. Five, now that Corbin was gone. My hope was that, once they heard Liam talking, they’d all head to the front of the building to see what was going on and leave Penny and any others unattended. I didn’t know how many girls might be held there, but I didn’t think there could be many. Opal Pine was a small town, too many girls missing at once would have people noticing.
I absently played with the bracelet Natalie had given me before we left while my thoughts continued to spin. It was a silver chain with a toggle clasp closu
re and a few clear quartz crystals attached throughout. I wasn’t typically the type to wear much jewelry, but it was pretty. There was something delicate about it. Also, Natalie had claimed it held power. She said it would help protect me and aid in hiding my being a beacon, which might help us keep the element of surprise.
Wearing it offered me a slight amount of comfort, but it didn’t send away all my nerves. Not even the knife strapped to my ankle Liam had insisted I take did.
It wasn’t long before we were less than five minutes from the old sawmill. The radio had been turned down while I gave directions, and now the SUV was silent. My skin crawled.
“Take the gravel road on the right,” I said, trying to ignore the way my stomach churned from being back on these crappy, pothole-riddled roads again. Flashbacks from being crammed into Ezra’s trunk flickered through my head. I tried not to give into them. “You’ll follow it all the way back. It dead-ends at the old sawmill.”
Liam nodded as he turned down the road and then brought the SUV to a stop. “Stick to the plan, okay? Get your friend and any others out as fast as you can. Don’t go against any of the coyotes; that’s why Cato is going with you. Use your knife if you need it, but if things get too crazy, you get out of there,” Liam insisted. His words were low, but his voice was firm. His eyes brightened and I could sense that his bear was as uneasy as he was about leaving my side.
I flashed Liam a smile but didn’t make any promises. I couldn’t because, if things got crazy, I knew I wouldn’t run and hide like he wanted. I’d go down fighting like the rest of them instead.
Cato and I slipped out of the SUV and into the thick foliage and trees near the side of the road. Liam pulled away and my heart pounded as I listened to everything around me, suddenly hyperaware of my surroundings.
This was it; there was no turning back now.
Who was I kidding? I couldn’t turn back even if I wanted to, rescuing Penny, and any others was too important. I made my way across the uneven ground pitted with rocks and roots of nearby trees, trying not to make any noise. Birds circled overhead in the early morning light and all I could do was wonder if any of them were shifters, ready and waiting to give our location to Ezra and his pack. Sweat beaded across my skin. I hated this. Every noise made me jump. I worried Ezra would have someone patrolling the way Liam had and they’d sneak up on me.
All I wanted to do was get Penny and any others and get the heck out of there.
As we neared the old sawmill, Cato tensed. I paused and glanced around, wondering what had captured his attention. Nothing stood out to me. When he glanced over his shoulder and motioned for me to keep moving, I relaxed a little. Until he placed his index finger to his lips, the universal signal to be quiet. My heart rate kicked into overdrive because I knew that if he could hear them, they could hear us. Minutes later, I was able to hear voices as well. It was a little while more before I could distinguish what was being said.
“Haven’t you already done that, though?” Ezra’s voice chilled me to the core. “You killed the one who attacked one of yours already. Blood has already been spilled. We owe you nothing.”
“Exactly,” a guy chimed in. It had to be Marshall. He was always shoved up Ezra’s ass. If Ezra told him to jump, he asked how high.
Cato paused, causing me to do the same. I thought he was wanting to listen to how this exchange panned out, but instead, he seemed to be waiting for me to take the lead. I stepped forward, and the uneasy feeling in my stomach expanded.
Please let Penny be okay.
“As alpha, his life was mine to take after his random attack on a member of my clan,” Liam insisted. His words pulsed with authority. I imagined his eyes were blazing bright as his bear lay just a scratch away, ready to tear into Ezra. “I had every right to end him. Same as I have every right to be here, asking for blood to be spilled.”
I led Cato in a wide arc around the old sawmill to the back of the building. He remained close, so close I could almost feel his breath on the back of my neck.
“Was it random though?” Ezra asked, and I froze, waiting for him to mention me.
“Yes,” Liam insisted.
“To my knowledge, he was there looking for his girlfriend,” Ezra said. “Tris is her name, but I don’t need to tell you that now do I? You know who she is. You know all about her, don’t you? Like how she belongs to me and my pack.”
Cato nudged me, prompting me to continue forward. I did, but it was hard because there was a large part of me that wanted to continue listening to their conversation.
“I suggest you forget about her,” Liam insisted. His voice barely sounded human as it tore through the air. Chills crept up my spine.
Shit was about to hit the fan. I could hear it in Liam’s tone. If we were going to rescue Penny and any others it needed to be now.
I led Cato to the side of the building, and then continued making my way around back. For as old as the place was, its bones still seemed intact. What few windows it had were boarded up, and there were a few holes in the old shiplap walls, but the place still seemed structurally sound.
“That would be impossible,” Ezra chuckled. It was the sound of pure evil. “Considering what she is.”
“She’s not your concern,” Liam insisted.
“And that’s where you’re wrong,” Ezra snarled. The sound had my stomach twisting. I wasn’t ready for them to fight yet. I hadn’t even made it inside yet. Things between them were happening too fast. “She’s the Mystic. Of course she’s my concern. She’s everyone’s concern.”
Their voices faded as Cato and I made our way to the back of the building. The door I remembered being there came into view, sending relief trickling through me. It died the instant I spotted a padlock securing it.
Crap.
As we neared the door, I motioned to it, but Cato didn’t seem worried. He moved in front of me, flashing me a smile and winked as though the lock was a challenge he was up for. He pulled a swiss army knife from his pocket and went to work, picking the lock. It fell away seconds later. I cringed, waiting for someone to lunge at us after hearing the noise, but no one did. Exactly as I’d hoped, they all seemed to be intrigued by the confrontation happening between Ezra and Liam out front.
“And she has already been claimed. She belongs to me and my clan,” Liam insisted. Tension radiated through his words, and I knew it was because he was on the verge of losing his cool. Ezra was getting under his skin, and I was willing to bet his bear desperately wanted out because of it.
“Is that so?” Ezra asked.
I didn’t hear Liam’s response because Cato swung the door to the sawmill open, and all I could focus on was the nightmarish scene in front of me and the coppery scent of blood that filled my nose.
Chapter Eleven
I stepped inside. No lights were on, but there was enough early morning sunlight filtering through the holes in the walls for me to see. Dust danced across the floor in the light, adding to the place’s creepy factor. Cato entered behind me. The door creaked shut behind him, and I flinched. I was seriously on edge, waiting for someone to jump out at us inside this dungeon of doom.
Cato positioned himself in front of me, taking the lead as we walked through the long building. I didn’t protest. The wooden boards of the floor moaned and creaked as we walked and I swore if anyone in here hadn’t known we were here before, they would now. Long tables along the wall to my left caught my eye. Something dark and wet covered more than one. I knew it was blood. It had to be. I could smell its metallic scent lingering in the air. Cato came to a sudden standstill, and I nearly walked into him.
“Jesus. These people are sick,” he whispered before nodding to something. “Is one of them your friend?”
I followed his gaze to see what he was talking about. My stomach somersaulted at the sight. Four girls were strapped to tables by their wrists and ankles. The tables were each propped up at an angle and buckets were positioned beneath each girl.
These girls wer
e being drained.
My gaze trailed over each of their faces. None of them were Penny. I released the breath I hadn’t been aware I’d been holding and shook my head. “No.”
Thank God.
Before I could truly feel a sense of relief, my mind reminded me that I could be too late. Penny could have already been on one of those tables, tilted in a way to make her blood drain faster.
The air around Cato shimmered and became charged with a sensation I recognized now. His bear was threatening to surface.
“Okay,” he ground out as he stepped forward toward the girls. I watched as he checked for a pulse on the girl closest to him. “She’s still alive. Help me untie her.”
Adrenaline surged through me. I hadn’t thought any of them would be alive. How could someone survive something so horrific?
I moved to her other side, wedging my way between the table nearly pressed against hers. The girl on it didn’t look as though she’d made it. Her lips were blue and there was a paleness to her that seemed unnatural. My heart lurched when I realized it was Leanne.
“Hurry and untie her,” Cato demanded. “I’ll get her out of here and to the woods.”
At the snap of his words, I pulled at the knot securing the girl’s wrist, ignoring how familiar it felt against my fingertips. Was it the same rope Corbin and Chase had used to tie me up? Most likely. It didn’t take long before I was able to get her wrist free. Cato had already moved to her ankle, using his swiss army knife to cut through the rope.
“Use the knife Liam gave you,” he said, reminding me of it. I bent at the waist to retrieve it. “Cut the others free. I’ll be back.” He hoisted the girl up from the table carefully and left the way we’d come.
I stood there, holding my knife, unmoving. Sweat beaded across my skin. It was too hot in here. My stomach churned, and for a second, I thought I might vomit. The smell was getting to me. How the hell could anyone do this? What was wrong with Ezra? What was wrong with all of them? How could they take part in something this awful?
CAPTURED: GEM CREEK BEARS, BOOK TWO Page 8
