I breathed shallowly, the scent of blood making my stomach roll, and focused the power dancing through me. I’d never felt it this strong before and wondered if this was what it was like for Paige and Gran all the time. I tried to send the magic rolling through me into the wolf to no avail. “Oh come on, Paige does this all time,” I whispered as blood continued to ooze from him, slowing as he lost too much blood. Panic had my heart racing as I glanced at his head, but his eyes were closed. I closed my own eyes, breathing slowly as the magic inside of me coiled, pulsing so strong I was afraid it would kill me if I didn’t release it somehow.
Heat swelled under my palm as I held it to the wound and I tried to contain my excitement as I felt it working. “Come on, big boy,” I mumbled encouragingly as magic flowed into him, stitching together the gunshot wound until a bullet pressed against my hand as the wound closed completely. I curled my fingers around the bullet, glancing at his head hopefully, but his eyes remained shut even as his breathing steadied. “Okay,” I whispered to myself, nodding as the truck accelerated, the lights of a town glowing in the distance and I knew my window to escape was quickly disappearing.
I debated jumping out, but it meant leaving the wolf. I glanced longingly at the forest, desperate to melt into its shadows, I’d done all I could for the wolf, healing it’s wound. I couldn’t exactly force him to wake up. I grabbed the scruff at his neck, shaking him hard, and his eyes cracked open. “Yes! That’s it. Wake up,” I encouraged, leaning forward and getting my first true whiff of him that wasn’t disguised by blood. I sat back, recognizing the scent as one of the wolves who’d come for Caleb. “You’re from his Pack,” I murmured, shaking him again as his eyes drifted closed. There was something odd about them.
He didn’t open them again though and as we came to a break in the tree line, a flickering sign proclaimed we were passing the Wander Inn Motel. I wasn’t familiar with the area, but I figured we had to be either on Pack land or close. The truck didn’t slow though, instead speeding up, and I knew I’d survive a jump, but it’d cost me. The unconscious wolf was another problem. He was huge and difficult to move. It was possible I could levitate him out, but I didn’t want to risk him getting shot again. There was no way the imbeciles in the truck would miss me levitating an enormous wolf out the back of their truck.
“Shit.” I sank back down next to the wolf, patting his shoulder as he remained oblivious to the trouble we were in.
Chapter Sixteen
Caleb
I hugged her, unable to process the fact that she was really there. “Mom,” I murmured again, feeling her wrap her arms around my waist. “What are you doing here?”
I felt her chest vibrate with laughter. “I came to see you, son.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my son?” She pulled back, smiling up at me. “I missed a lot, Caleb. I’d like to make up for lost time.”
“Yeah, okay. I just…no one told me you were here.”
“That was intentional,” she answered, guiding me to the massive sectional left from when Dom had lived there. “I heard from them that you almost died.” I didn’t correct her, figuring she didn’t need to know that I had actually died. “I wanted you to have time to recover before I sprang myself on you.”
“Probably a good idea,” I replied, still stunned at seeing her. She’d returned to her Pack years and years ago when I’d still been a child. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I’d worked up the nerve to visit her, positive she wouldn’t want to see me. I’d been wrong and we’d reconnected, but I couldn’t stay with her Pack since I didn’t intend to join them. It made visits awkward so it’d been a few years since I’d seen her. “How long are you here for?”
She smiled timidly, revealing faint wrinkles around her eyes that I had never noticed. “Well, that’s what I wanted to ask you.”
“Me?”
She reached for my hand, squeezing it, as she said, “I want to come back, Caleb. For good.”
“Wha….what do you mean?” I stuttered in disbelief. “Join my Pack?”
“Exactly. Either Dom or Anna’s Pack.”
“You’d leave your Pack to come back here? With all the bad memories?” I questioned, stunned.
“They weren’t all bad, Caleb. You’ve chosen your Pack and truthfully there’s nothing holding me to my own Pack. I want to spend time with my son and the only way that can happen is if I come back.”
“You would do that? For me?” It seemed impossible that she’d give everything up just to spend time with me, but as she smiled, I could see she would do exactly that.
“You’re the most important person in my life, son. Of course I’d do that.” She brushed a lock of hair from my forehead, the gesture a familiar one from my childhood, and I had to blink hard. “I missed so much. I don’t want to miss anymore. I want to see you become a dad, be a grandmother to your children, and see the amazing man you’ve become without me.”
“With you,” I replied. “You’ve always been with me.” I touched my chest as the memories I’d buried deep fought to resurface – the nightly bedtime stories, the gentleness of her touch, and her broken expression when she’d been forced to leave me. “I would love it if you stayed,” I said belatedly. “There’s someone I want you to meet,” I added eagerly.
She smiled, tilting her head as she met my gaze. “Is it a special someone?”
I nodded. “Very special,” I agreed, my expression softening. “She’s everything I ever wanted.”
Mom stroked my cheek. “I’m glad to hear that.” Her eyes grew damp. “All I wanted was for you to be happy.”
“I am,” I assured her. “I’ll be happier when I can bring her home, but just knowing she’s out there gives me peace.”
The door burst open, slamming against the wall so hard it splintered. Monster stood there, completely naked as he panted. “I need your help.” He sucked in a deep breath as I leaped to my feet, his voice coming to me over the Pack link. Two men shot Dylan. They took him in their truck. I followed, but I couldn’t stop them. I came to get help.
Good, you did the right thing, I replied. Can you pick up their scent?
He nodded, a red flush highlighting the freckles across the bridge of his nose. I glanced back at Mom and she waved her hands, urging me to go. “I’ll alert the others. Go.”
I can’t reach Dylan, Monster admitted and I gripped his shoulder.
He’s okay, I told him, searching the connection until I felt the faint pulse of his life. He’s alive. Monster nodded, swiping at his eyes as we left the cabin, and headed to a familiar jacked up Jeep. I hopped into the driver’s seat, nodding at him. You tell me where to go.
I popped it into gear, peeling down the dirt road that connected our little community to the outside world. I gunned the engine as the road straightened out, and when we hit a bump in the road, the tires left the ground. We bounced as we came back down, fishtailing a little as I took a turn faster than I should, and had to steer us straight as Monster sat tensely next to me. “South,” he muttered as I came to the road, but before I could make the turn, someone stepped in our path.
“Shit,” I shouted, slamming on the brakes, the back tires spinning as we skidded to a halt sideways. My heart thumped as Trent walked toward us. “What the hell?” I yelled as he swung himself in the back since the top wasn’t on. “I could have hit you.”
“Good thing the brakes work,” he answered mildly and I glanced at Monster, who only shrugged. “We going?”
I hit the gas again, muttering under my breath as we hit the road, leaving black marks as I made the turn too fast. “How’d you know?”
“I don’t trust you.” He glanced at Monster. “Either of you.” He held onto the roll bar as I flew through the only stoplight in town. “I was waiting for you to do something stupid.”
“Somebody has Dylan,” Monster growled and Trent bent down toward him.
“And how di
d they get him? Weren’t you supposed to be at home sleeping?”
I shot a sideways glance at Monster in time to see the guilt flash across his face. “What were you doing?” I snapped, my tempter starting to flare. “Theo, answer me.”
“We were going to the Ghost Pack. I wanted to talk to Paige,” he admitted, not looking at us. “But Dylan…he went racing the other way, to the road. I couldn’t make sense of his thoughts, but he ran right into the road.”
“He knows better,” Trent said needlessly. “Dylan is careful. He wouldn’t leave your side.”
“I know that,” Monster burst out. “But something about that truck set him off. I couldn’t keep up with him and then I heard a shot.” Monster’s expression turned to one of self-disgust. “By the time I got there, they had him in the truck. All I could do was follow them.” He rubbed his face.
“How many?” Trent questioned as I pressed the accelerator a little harder, shifting gears as we left the town of Banks in the rearview mirror.
“Two,” Monster paused. “I think. There might have been someone in the back of the truck.” He swallowed, shaking his head. “We have to hurry. Dylan….”
“Yeah, we know.” There was no telling what Dylan might do. He was unpredictable and if he had been shot, he might not be able to shift to heal himself. “Can you reach him?” I asked Monster, who shook his head, his expression tight. “Keep trying,” I ordered.
The Jeep rocketed down the dark road as I steered us south. There were no other roads so eventually we had to catch up to them, but I started to get nervous as we kept going with no sign of them. “They went this way,” I double checked and Monster nodded.
Another few miles and then Trent shouted, “Up ahead.” He pointed and I squinted, slowing the Jeep as a truck came into view, the front of it crumpled against a tree, no one in sight. “Is that the truck?”
“Yeah,” Monster answered, already leaning out the door of the Jeep in preparation when I stopped. I snagged his arm and he shot me an angry glare.
“We don’t know what we’re walking into,” I reminded him. “Don’t go running off.”
He nodded and I brought the Jeep to a stop behind the wrecked truck.
“You smell that?” Trent asked and we nodded, catching the scent of blood. “Dylan was definitely here.”
Wind swirled the leaves on the ground around us, bringing another scent and I jerked forward as I recognized it. Trent reached for me, but I stumbled out of his reach, walking toward the truck like a zombie, my throat working as my mouth formed a single word, “Dru.”
Chapter Seventeen
Dru
The wolf twitched as the truck sped through a tiny town and a spurt of hope shot through me, but he didn’t open his eyes. I didn’t know where we were going, but our chances of escape decreased with every mile. If they managed to get us to this auction they kept talking about, it would be impossible to escape. Right now, idiots held us but I had a feeling that would change once we got to our destination.
I reached for the wolf’s feet, tickling them and he jerked reflexively but didn’t wake and I sighed. I was running out of ideas and time, since I didn’t know how long it would take to get wherever we were going, and I couldn’t wait any longer for the wolf to regain consciousness.
An impenetrable wall of trees lined both sides of the road and there were no other vehicles in sight. I braced myself against the side of the truck, one hand on the wolf as I worked up my nerve. I had one shot at this and there was no margin for error. A deep breath and the truck’s tires continued to spin, but there was nothing for them to grab as we went airborne. Chuck panicked, just like I knew he would, jerking the wheel and I released the truck in time for us to slam into a tree.
The impact sent me flying, my hand still locked around the wolf’s leg so he went with me, both of us landing somewhere in front of the truck. I gasped, trying and failing to suck air into my lungs. Round eyes met mine and I realized the wolf was awake. I opened my mouth, starting to feel desperate as my lungs refused to work, and his snout nudged my cheek. My eyes drifted closed as he tried to comfort me and as I relaxed, a little bit of air entered my lungs. Each breath came a little easier until I could take a full breath.
I assessed my body, searching for broken bones or hidden damage, but there was nothing. I eased into an upright position to find the wolf sitting on his haunches staring at me unblinkingly. “You okay?” I asked, not expecting a response and I didn’t get one. “Thank you,” I added gratefully, my gaze straying to the pickup truck currently smooshed into a tree. “I need to see what happened to them.” I gestured to the truck but still didn’t get any type of response. “Can you shift?”
He blinked and a second later, a man sat there, his distinctive round eyes explaining why he’d been so uncommunicative. “You made that look easy,” I grumbled, scrambling to my feet as I tried to avoid looking at anything below his neck. “Blink and you’re a man. Another blink and you’re a wolf.” I limped my way over to the truck, my body protesting the movement, as he trailed behind me silently, and the intensity of his stare made my shoulders twitch.
The kid, Luke, was unconscious, blood trickling down his temple, but old Chuck was wide awake and started screaming when he saw me. “Don’t kill me. Please. Turn me into one of you,” he begged and I shook my head. “Please, my leg.”
“Chuck, we’re not vampires. It doesn’t work that way.” His eyes widened when he spotted the wolf shifter he’d shot standing behind me and he whimpered. “Besides, even if it did work that way I’d never turn you. I don’t like you.” I rested my arms on the window of the truck, surveying the damage. “But I will do something for you.” Hope flared to life behind his eyes and I smiled. “I’ll put you out of your misery.” Chuck’s head snapped back as the wolf shifter moved faster than I’d ever seen, breaking his neck with no compunction. “I was going to do that,” I protested and he lowered his head apologetically and I waved my hand. “It’s alright. Dead is dead.” The shifter moved, reaching for Luke and I shook my head. “Not him.”
The rumble of an engine reached my ears and I moved instantly, dragging Luke out of the truck and awkwardly shuffling to the tree line. “A little help?” I whistled, snapping my fingers at the other shifter as he stood there, staring down the black road. “Hey, I don’t want to get caught out here by some Good Samaritan.” He lumbered after me, lifting the unconscious man with ease and this time I followed him as we went into the trees, but he wouldn’t budge after a few feet. His gaze kept straying back to the road and in an effort to distract him, I asked, “What’s your name? I’m Dru.”
He stared at me for a second, then said, “Dy-lan.”
“Dylan, nice. It’s really nice to meet you, Dylan.” I leaned over Luke, searching for any injuries, but besides the goose egg on his forehead, he mainly had bruises since the truck had hit on the driver’s side. “I’m going to try to heal him,” I explained, not wanting to try and make my way through the woods with an unconscious guy and unknown shifter. He just watched me, those innocent eyes curious, as warmth built underneath my hand and Luke’s bleeding stopped. A few seconds later, his eyes opened and I saw the instant he recognized me because pure terror glazed his eyes. “I’m not going to hurt you –”
He scrambled backwards, straight into Dylan, and his mouth opened but before he could scream I held out my hand and said, “Silence.” His mouth sealed shut and if it was possible he looked even more terrified, and I stared at my hand in surprise. I hadn’t really thought that would work. Magic wasn’t my gift, I was a wolf shifter, but somehow, something had changed. I slowly opened and closed my hand as Dylan watched me, his gaze surprisingly observant.
The engine rumbled closer, close enough now I could see headlights, and hear as it started to slow down, no doubt seeing the wrecked vehicle. “Stay quiet, okay?” I asked and Dylan sat down next to Luke with a thump, his lips pressed together. “I’m not going to do to you what I did to him,” I tried to reassur
e him, but it didn’t seem to help and I sighed. “Okay, good job terrifying people, Dru.”
The 4x4 vehicle rolled to a stop and three men got out, the headlights turning them into shadows and the wind blew away from me so I couldn’t detect their scent. Friend or foe, I had no idea until I heard a single word whispered on the wind, “Dru.”
I was on my feet without realizing it. “Caleb.” I started to run, sliding down the embankment and he was there, catching me. “Caleb,” I whispered again, burying my face into his neck. “You’re here.” Strong arms wrapped around me, cradling me gently.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded, the words stuck in my throat.
“Dylan! Dylan,” I heard someone cry out and I lifted my head. “Dylan, are you here?”
I pointed to the trees and the other guy launched himself up the hill. “He’s okay?” Caleb asked and I nodded again. “I had no idea you were in that truck,” he admitted, his voice thick with emotion. “We were trying to save Dylan.”
“Luck,” I croaked and his arms tightened around me.
“Fate,” he corrected and I couldn’t exactly argue.
Dylan, Monster and Luke made their way back down to the road as the other guy with them walked up to me and Caleb. He dipped his head to me and I managed a wan smile. The night was catching up to me, the power I’d used saving Dylan and crashing the truck, revealing it’s toll and I swayed, only upright because Caleb held me. “Okay, we need to get you home,” he decided, scooping me up.
“What do we do with him?” Trent pointed to Luke, who stared at us, his lips sealed shut. “He won’t say anything.”
“Bring him,” I murmured and Caleb shrugged.
“You heard her,” he stated and Trent dragged Luke toward the Jeep. Once there, it was quickly apparent there were not enough seats to go around. Monster and Dylan came to the side of the Jeep, as Trent stuffed Luke in the back and Caleb climbed in, settling me on his lap.
Lone Wolf (The Pack Book 5) Page 16
