by RJ Blain
Wendy laughed. “I warned Charles, Sanders. I told him the first night Richard stayed with us there would be a murder or a marriage. It’s his fault he didn’t listen.”
“You helped him steal my daughter,” Desmond growled.
While Wendy wouldn’t look her mate in the eyes, her scent was rich with her amusement. “Ignore him, Richard. He’s too shy to admit how happy it makes him to have two such fine wolves as his sons. Come on, puppy. Let’s get you home, settled in, and fed. Maybe you can trick my old, cranky mate, but you can’t fool me. You’re all worn out, and what you need is some coddling and some tender loving care, which I will provide, of course. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from Charles. Now, up!”
“You’re forgetting something, Wendy,” Desmond grumbled.
“What am I forgetting?”
“The plane?”
“Show it to him when he has hands to properly admire it. We’re taking our puppy home.” Wendy bounced to her feet, holding onto my leash, shifting her weight foot to foot. Her eyes burned a bright amber. “If we play our cards right, we might get both our daughters to come visit, Charles!”
“I’m so sorry, Richard. I swear he made me help. It’s not my fault. There really is a plane, though. It’s horrible. You’ll love it.”
I flattened my ears back and wondered how Desmond had taken advantage of my desire to buy a new plane—and who had told him I was in the market for one. Until the Alpha relented and allowed me to shift back to human, I’d have to wait for answers.
I had a vague memory of hopping into the back of Desmond’s silver SUV. Everything after was a blur, and when I regained awareness of my surroundings, I was flopped on Desmond’s couch with my head nestled on Wendy’s lap.
My phone was ringing somewhere nearby, and I huffed my annoyance.
“Easy, Richard. It’s just your phone,” Wendy murmured, scratching me behind one of my ears. “Is it one of our daughters, Charles?”
“It’s Frank.”
“Answer it! Answer it! Then we can make ransom demands.”
“I can’t believe you’re holding Richard hostage to get your daughters to visit you,” Sanders muttered.
“Shut up. I didn’t ask you. You’re a hostage, too. I just haven’t decided which of your koi I want to adopt yet,” Desmond growled. The Alpha snatched my phone off the coffee table, held the device out so I could watch him put it on speaker phone, and answered, “I have ransom demands for the safe return of your Alpha.”
“Desmond?” The disbelief in Frank’s tone soothed me a little, reassuring me my Third hadn’t been involved with the ambush. “You have Richard?”
“I sure do. I’m not giving him back until my demands are met.”
“I’m pretty sure the Shadow Pope isn’t going to like that, Mr. Desmond.”
“He knows. I growled and said something about holding your Alpha hostage in my basement and hung up on him. When he called back, he said something about leaving the son of a bitch alive. I thought those terms were tolerable. So, I have demands.”
“Lisa, your father kidnapped Richard,” Frank bellowed. “What do you want me to do?”
I heard the faint murmur of conversation, and the first twinges of alarm stabbed at me through the pack bonds. A whine worked its way out of my throat, and Wendy scratched under my chin to quiet me.
My shameless wolf adored her attention.
“What are you doing, Dad?”
“My demands are simple. I want you, your sister, and your mate to come to Seattle in exchange for this rotten thieving Alpha I’ve stolen.” Desmond grinned, perching on the arm of the couch beside Wendy, reaching down to stroke his hand over my head. “I will give you a week to meet my demands.”
“Dad, are you ill? You really have Richard?”
“Sedated with ketamine and wolfsbane, mine to do with as I please.”
“You’re serious.”
“Very much so. You know my demands. I trust you remember where I live? One week.” Desmond hung up, leaned over, and set my phone on the coffee table. “I haven’t had this much fun in ages.”
I groaned and covered my muzzle with my paws.
My phone rang again.
“It’s Amber this time.”
Wendy laughed, snatched my phone, and like her mate, she enabled the speaker before answering, “Hello?”
“Mrs. Desmond?” Amber blurted.
“One and the same.”
“I was trying to call Richard. I must have gotten the wrong number?”
“No, this is Richard’s phone, dear. We’ve kidnapped him. He’s currently sedated and unable to answer the phone.”
“You’re serious.”
“Lisa said the same thing for some reason,” Desmond muttered. “Is it so difficult to believe?”
“No, sir. I’m simply confirming, so when I have to write your cause of death down, I can be accurate.” Amber sighed. “This explains everything. Why did you kidnap Richard?”
“He stole my daughter!”
“Are you surprised, Mr. Desmond? A strong, smart Alpha like Richard would want your daughter in his pack. However, I was under the impression Lisa has been part of his pack for several years now.”
“My other daughter,” Desmond snarled.
Wendy laughed. “Our demands are simple. Bring our daughter home, and we’ll consider releasing the Alpha. You have a week.”
“What happens if she doesn’t show? She’s busy right now.”
When Desmond growled, trouble was coming for someone; I flattened my head against Wendy’s leg and whined. “Not too busy to rescue her mate. I will not release him until she comes and claims him.”
Reaching over, my mate’s father hung up. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he dialed a number and held the device to his ear. “Put me through to Topside. It’s Charles Desmond.”
I slinked off the couch, wobbled my way into the dining room, and hid under the table to wait for the ax to fall—or Nicolina to show up and either kill me or take pity on me. I suspected she’d go with the former, but I’d hope for the best.
When Desmond wasn’t making me dance to his tune, he kept me in his basement in a silver cage, one decorated with metal old enough it repelled me and my wolf. If I came into contact with it, it’d probably burn me in seconds.
I couldn’t figure out how he, who had far less resistance to silver than I did, could go near the cage without being burned.
I considered myself fortunate he left me enough room to curl up without getting singed. In the short term, such close proximity wouldn’t do much harm, but after two days of spending most of my time caged, the silver had sapped my strength.
By the third day, I slept, waking only when Desmond ordered me out of the cage, although I had little recollection of my time upstairs.
I couldn’t remember the fourth day at all.
The fifth day, Desmond prodded me awake and ordered me out of the cage. I dredged up the will to snarl while he collared and muzzled me before taking me to his living room. I fought him every step of the way, but he dragged me along as though I weighed nothing.
Wendy leaned out of the kitchen to get a good look at me. “He’s going to be so angry with you later, Charles.”
“I’m doing him a favor.”
“You’ve kept the poor puppy sedated to the point of incoherency for days. How is that doing him a favor?”
“His pack’s in a nice frenzy to get him back. That’s how I’m doing him a favor. He’s been in the US for so long they’ve probably forgotten what he looks like. Despite popular belief, I do listen when people tell me things, and when the Shadow Pope tells me he’s concerned because his strongest pack Alpha has been on auto-pilot for years, it’s an open invitation for me to do something about it.”
I twisted my ears back. My work had been the only thing I had maintained, careful to ensure the Inquisition’s finances—and my personal projects—thrived. Without any of my usual spending, including fixing busted-up jets an
d airplanes, my wealth had grown. Like everything else, the numbers didn’t mean all that much to me, not like they once had.
The thrill of the hunt had lost its shine, and I didn’t care about competing with Desmond or anyone else.
“It’s not his fault, Charles.”
Desmond dragged me to his couch, snapped his fingers, and pointed at the cushion. Still under the influence of wolfsbane, I obeyed, although I growled my discontent. He sat beside me and patted his lap. “Come lie down, Richard.”
I warbled my complaints but flopped across Desmond’s lap.
“Was muzzling him necessary?”
“Yes. I’m expecting company—company who needs to see him muzzled.” Desmond chuckled and stroked his hand along the length of my back. “I view him as suitably punished for failing to request permission to mate with my daughter. I will be expecting a wedding, one entirely for my benefit. Until I get it, I will be harassing you at every opportunity. I’m so looking forward to it, son.”
“Do you think Nicolina would lower herself to requesting your permission for anything? The poor puppy was doomed the instant she decided she wanted him. I knew the second he caught sight of her there’d be a marriage or a murder.” Wendy grinned, walked out of the kitchen, and came over to kiss the top of my head. “And anyway, he confessed to me. I suggested the happy couple keep playing their games to find out how long they could pull the wool over everyone’s eyes.”
“You could have told me, Wendy.”
“We’ve been over this. You say you’re so smart and clever, so I assumed you would have figured it out for yourself.”
“That’s not fair.”
“And anyway, after what happened to Nicolina, I wasn’t going to stir things even more. Richard’s been distressed enough without us adding to it. He dealt with it his own way, and he’s been doing a fine job watching over our daughters.”
“At the cost of his pack,” Desmond snarled.
“No, his pack brought it on themselves when Nicolina was attacked. They deserved Richard’s distance. Lisa did well cleaning up the problem, and Alex and Frank have done well by the pack. Richard could bow out without making many ripples in Yellowknife.” Wendy sat beside Desmond’s feet and leaned against the couch, the back of her head pressing against my shoulder. “It’d let him transfer to Los Angeles to recover.”
The thought of just packing up and leaving had crossed my mind so many times over the years, but like so many other things, I hadn’t been able to muster the effort to actually do it. Unless Nicolina wanted me near her, I wouldn’t approach. I’d already almost lost her once, and the thought of her turning away again was enough to sicken me.
I sighed.
“I’m pretty sure I’d get in trouble if I aided and abetted an Alpha abandoning his pack and running for the hills, Wendy.”
“You were given permission to hold him hostage in our basement for a week.”
“Ignoring it isn’t exactly permission.”
The rattle of keys and the click of the lock drew my attention to the front door, and Desmond’s chuckle warned me of trouble.
“The fun begins,” the Alpha murmured, securing his grip on my leash. “Put on your best submission act, Richard. I want to watch the fallout.”
Under the influence of wolfsbane, my wolf was essentially helpless, and I was unable to disobey despite wanting to. I lowered my head and whined with every breath.
Desmond twitched.
“You’re an idiot, Charles.” Wendy got to her feet in time for the front door to bang open.
My mate and her twin sister jostled each other on their way into the house. Together, they snarled, “Where is he?”
My world narrowed to my mate, and I breathed in deep to catch her winter-crisp scent. Her presence soothed me, and if my wolf hadn’t been drugged into a stupor, I was certain he would’ve been soothed, too.
“I believe my terms were both of you and that other Murphy male.” Desmond’s scent sweetened with his amusement, contrasting with the cold neutrality of his tone.
My brother poked his head through the doorway. “Hello, Desmond. Did my brother give you any trouble this week?”
“Not at all. He slept most of the time in the basement. I have a nice silver cage just for him. Tested it out, and it sure does work great. It’s my gift to Yellowknife for the next time he runs wild. Puts him right to sleep and keeps him that way. I’m sure he’ll perk up in a few hours.” Desmond chuckled and gave my leash a tug. “Look at this nice collar and muzzle set I had made just for him, too. You should be thanking me, Alex. Now you can contain your brother without losing a fortune in property. Even better, it’s an attuned set, so even another Fenerec can handle it without getting silver burns. He just can’t take it off or maul anyone while wearing it. Apparently, this is the latest and greatest in Fenerec restraints, and this set is just for Richard. Aren’t I considerate?”
“I would be mad, except I can see that coming in really, really handy. You have a silver cage that can actually hold him?”
My traitorous brother grinned at me, and I snarled and snapped my teeth at him.
“I do. I’ll even give it to your pack, free of charge, if you can actually take this mutt back to Yellowknife where he belongs. I caught him trying to purchase a plane fit for travel with minimal work.”
Alex straightened, and his eyes narrowed. “Richard’s flown three times in four years.”
Desmond grabbed my cell, unlocked it, and offered it to my brother while my mate and her sister gaped at their father. “Here is all the text-based evidence you might require.”
My brother strode across the room, took my phone, and read through the texts. “Richard, were you planning on flying the coop?”
I turned my head so I wouldn’t have to look at my Second.
“Richard,” Alex snarled.
“Is it safe to come in?” Frank asked, peeking in through the doorway. “Sorry we’re late, Desmond. Nicolina couldn’t get away from filming until yesterday. She refused to get anywhere near a plane, so Amber drove her, and she kept throwing up in the car.”
“You didn’t have to tell them that!” my mate hissed.
The fire witch in question shoved Frank into the house. “I’ve never seen a worse case of ritual sickness in my life. It worked out with the timing of her shoots, since Nicole’s character is supposed to look like death warmed over, but the cast has been less than thrilled with the fact she’s actually sick. I had to call in Dr. Cerimino to convince them it wasn’t contagious. We’re calling it a complication of a throat operation to help cover the changes to her voice.”
“It’s safe to come in. I’m glad you tagged along, Frank. It’ll save time this way. Make yourselves comfortable. Want something to drink?”
Nicolina’s gaze fixed on me. “Why is he muzzled?”
“Got a problem with it?” her father challenged.
With wide eyes, my mate glanced at her twin, resumed staring at me, and floundered.
I understood; if she said anything, she’d reveal more about us than she was ready to accept. If the pressure from her father forced her into rejecting me and my wolf, I didn’t know what I’d do.
I had promised her—us—so much, and I’d failed us both.
Whining, I scrambled back, pulling against the leash, which Desmond held in a firm grip.
“He’s like a giant puppy,” my mate breathed, her eyes widening.
“He’s gotten even softer over the years, too. Come touch him. You can even boss him around all you want. He’s heavily dosed with wolfsbane, so he’ll do whatever you want.”
My mate narrowed her eyes. “Really?”
“Really. Go on, give him an order.”
When I got out of the muzzle, I was going to bite Desmond. I showed him my teeth in a silent promise of violence.
“Richard, come here.”
Unable to disobey and rather grateful I could escape from her father, I hopped off the couch and approached her, pricking m
y ears forward. Desmond released my leash, and I hurried out of his reach, crowding against Nicolina’s legs to avoid being recaptured by her father.
“You’ve really been traumatizing my brother this week, haven’t you?” Alex sighed, shook his head, and bent over to take my leash. “Sorry, Richard. I would have come sooner, but we had some things to take care of at the lodge first. You got us all here, Desmond. What did you actually want?”
“Dinner to start with would be nice.”
“We came all this way to have dinner?” my brother blurted.
“And to discuss your brother’s marital status. Over dinner.”
My mate sucked in a breath, and Amber tensed.
The open door tempted me, and ripping the leash out of my brother’s hands, I made a break for freedom.
Disguising silver fur in the forest took effort, and I rolled in mud and leaves to dull my coat before hunting for a place to hide. I picked a hollow beneath an old tree, cramming into the gap to wait, growling at the confines of the muzzle.
Unless I found a way to get it off, I wouldn’t last long before exhaustion and hunger defeated me. Until then, I’d wait and hope to avoid detection.
The last thing I needed was for my mate to be put on exhibit for having married me. My wolf and I wanted her, but until she wanted me—us—back, I’d keep running until Desmond grew tired of the hunt and gave up. I doubted he would, but I’d hope for it.
I’d also hope my mate would openly desire me, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath. Progress had been made. Asking for more would likely do more harm than good.
I closed my eyes, sighed, and settled in to wait. The wolfsbane in my system distorted time, and while I heard someone approach, the drug made it difficult to care.
Someone nudged my neck below the muzzle with their shoe.
“I haven’t seen you this miserable since that time you got grabbed for ransom. You really don’t take public humiliation very well. Can’t say I blame you. I’d be a flight risk, too, if Desmond caged me in his basement.” Frank sighed, sat on the ground beside me, and went to work on the muzzle’s buckle. “I like this muzzle. I’m not getting the shit burned out of my fingers getting it off you.”
