Unstoppable

by R. L. Mathewson

  “Do you smell apples?” Ashley suddenly asked, looking confused as her gaze shifted to the front door and stayed there as she quickly pulled on her shorts.

  “I need you to go downstairs and lock yourself in one of the cells,” Kale said softly as he reached for his bag, moving to grab his gun only to realize that it was already too late when Cuddles stopped roaring.

  “Kale?”

  “Go,” he said, grabbing the Sentinel phone out of his bag and-

  Oh, fuck…

  Realized that the Sentinel network was down. Swallowing hard, he tossed the phone aside and grabbed his personal phone only to realize that they’d blocked the cellphone signal as he said, “Go now.”

  “Kale-”

  “Go!” Kale snapped, grabbing the gun out of his backpack and moved towards the front door when the power suddenly went out.

  When the generator didn’t kick on a few seconds later, Kale’s eyes shifted silver, his vision sharpened as his gaze flickered back to Ashley and saw that her eyes had turned red. As soon as he caught the scent of her fear, he realized why they’d bothered cutting off the electricity. They were trying to scare her so that they could lock on to her scent, Kale thought, moving to get her out of there, only to realize that it was already too late when the first shot rang out.

  Williams Mansion

  “I really like what you did there,” Izzy murmured with a nod as she absently gestured with the half-eaten peanut butter cup in her hand in his direction. “I think it makes you look older.”

  “I want a restraining order,” Marc bit out through clenched teeth as he gave up trying to rub the glitter out of his hair and tossed the towel on the office floor, all while keeping his gaze firmly locked on the woman who’d decided that it was a good idea to buy the little demon red and silver glitter so that she could make Valentine’s Day cards.

  Nodding, Izzy popped the rest of the peanut butter cup in her mouth before reaching for another one as she murmured, “Understandable.”

  “She’s evil,” Marc pointed out, only to sigh heavily when the little girl that was slowly destroying what was left of his sanity decided to take that announcement as an invitation to crawl back onto his lap.

  “And she adores you,” Izzy said with a hopeful smile as Jessica took her time shifting on his lap until finally, she settled back against him with a satisfied sigh and grumbled, “Mine.”

  “She poured two bottles of glue on my head and covered it with glitter while I was sleeping,” he bit out only to roll his eyes when Jessica said, “Pretty.”

  Nodding, Izzy said, “He really did look pretty, baby girl. You do good work.”

  “I’m going to throw away all the junk food in the house,” Marc swore with a nod of his own as he stressed, “All. Of. It.”

  Squishing her face up adorably, Izzy said, “Do you really think that’s a good idea? Especially now that I can hunt you down and beat you senseless if you even think about touching my junk food.”

  “Oh, I think it’s a great idea. In fact, I’m pretty sure that Chris is going to love this plan,” Marc said as he watched Izzy grab her Coke off her workstation and take a sip.

  “Your brother adores me,” Izzy said with a smug little smile that had his lips twitching.

  “True,” Marc murmured, waiting for her to take another sip as he wrapped his arm around the toddler squirming on his lap before adding, “But he also adores his children.”

  He probably shouldn’t break the news to her like this, but then again, she shouldn’t have taken those pictures of him with his hair caked in glitter and sent them to everyone in the house. As he watched Izzy frown in confusion, he reached up and tapped one finger behind his ear and-

  “Oh, god, no…” Izzy murmured weakly as she reached up and touched the raised circle behind her ear that he’d noticed when he was forced to let her wash his hair in the kitchen sink, the mark that let them all know that baby number five was on the way.

  Keeping his eyes locked on her, Marc reached over and plucked the Coke from her limp fingers and said, “It would probably be for the best if Chris didn’t see you with this.”

  “But…my sugar,” Izzy murmured, looking so damn sad that he almost felt bad about doing this to her, that is, until he remembered that she’d suggested they start calling him Sparkles.

  “Refresh my memory. What did Chris try to replace your sugar with during the last pregnancy?” he asked, finishing off her Coke.

  “Tomato juice,” she mumbled weakly as the realization of what was to come slowly sank in and when it did…

  She tore the mini-fridge open, grabbed several Cokes, a bottle of chocolate milk, and a can of buttercream frosting before slamming the small door shut and setting to work on a sugar binge before Chris found out that she was pregnant and got rid of her stash. His brother took being a father very seriously and didn’t play any games when it came to his children, which Izzy normally appreciated unless it involved her precious junk food.

  “He should be back any minute now,” Marc murmured, watching as Izzy visibly panicked as she sent the bag of peanut butter cups on her workstation a wistful look.

  “Marc?” Izzy mumbled sadly.

  “Yeah?”

  “I really hate you right now,” she said, making him chuckle as his attention shifted to the monitors mounted on the walls and felt the smile on his face slowly die away.

  “Izzy?” Marc said, swallowing hard as his grip tightened around Jessica and held her close.

  “Hmmm?” Izzy murmured absently only to follow that up with a heartfelt sigh and a mumbled, “Your brother better not hog this baby,” which normally would have made him laugh, but he didn’t feel like laughing right now.

  “The screen,” Marc said hollowly, wondering why the alarms weren’t going off as he watched werewolves circling the house as armed men moved past them and-

  “That looks like it hurts,” Izzy murmured as they watched Chris step up behind one of the men and quickly disarmed him before driving a knife into the back of his skull.

  “Why didn’t the alarms go off?” Marc asked as he watched Trace, Ethan, and the rest of the men quickly take down the men and werewolves before they could reach the house.

  “Good question,” Izzy said as she pulled up the system and-

  “This isn’t right,” she mumbled absently as Marc shifted his gaze to the videos of the nursery and felt himself relax when he saw his baby brothers along with the rest of the babies of the house sound asleep in their cribs with Charlie watching the door. Knowing that the large German Shepherd would attack anyone that made the mistake of stepping foot in that nursery, he shifted his gaze back to what was going on outside.

  “What’s not right?”

  “Everything’s down,” Izzy said, making him frown.

  “What about Kale and Ashley?”

  “I can’t get through to him,” Izzy said as he swallowed hard as he tried to tell himself that Ashley was okay. Kale would never let anything bad happen to her. Besides, she was a Pyte and a shifter and was-

  Too damn nice.

  Chapter 69

  Everything was going to be fine, Ashley told herself as she swallowed hard, unable to look away from Kale as she watched blood continue to pool beneath him. Willing her hands to stop trembling, she reached for him only to go still when the man pointing the gun at Kale’s chest said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

  Releasing a shaky breath, Ashley pulled her handcuffed hands back and glanced from Kale, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her since he’d been forced to his knees when they’d threatened to shoot her, to the man that smelled like apples as she struggled to make sense out of what was happening. One minute, Kale was telling her to run and the next…

  They shot him only to shoot him again when she made the mistake of trying to go to him, forcing her to stand there, afraid to so much as breathe as she watched more blood pool onto the kitchen floor beneath Kale even as his silver eyes pleaded with her to run.

>   She couldn’t run.

  She couldn’t move, Ashley inwardly screamed at herself as she risked a glance at the man that smelled like apples as he kept his gun aimed at Kale, letting her know that he would shoot Kale again if she tried to move. She needed to figure a way out of this before it was too late, Ashley thought as she glanced back at the front door and watched several more men walk into the house as the unmistakable scent of shifter reached her just as the power was turned back on.

  A few minutes later, a man smaller than the rest of the men walked in the house wearing a cocky grin. His scent was weaker than Kale’s and Jacob’s, she thought only to realize that he wasn’t an Alpha as she watched him turn Kale’s favorite chair around and dropped down in it with a satisfied sigh.

  “Kale Quinn, we meet at last,” the shifter said, smiling hugely as Ashley’s gaze flickered back to Kale to find him glaring at the newcomer.

  “Andrew Vane,” Kale bit out coldly as he moved to stand up only to go still when a second gun was aimed at her.

  “You are not an easy man to find, but thankfully, I was able to make a deal with a Master who wants something that you have,” Andrew said, gesturing for the men flanking him to proceed.

  “Don’t fucking touch her,” Kale bit out, moving to stop them when the men aiming their guns at her head lowered their guns so that they were pointing them at her stomach.

  “It’s okay,” Ashley said, trying for a reassuring smile and failing miserably as she stood there, watching the men move closer as the urge to shift had her clenching her hands into fists, knowing that they would kill Kale if she did.

  “Listen to your mate, Kale,” Andrew said mockingly as he gestured for them to continue. Keeping his gaze locked on her, the man closest to her put his weapon away and pulled out a syringe filled with what looked like blood.

  “Wh-What is that?” Ashley asked, swallowing nervously as she watched him remove the cap off the syringe.

  “Don’t fucking do it,” Kale bit out as she was forced to stand there as he came closer, the scent of apples becoming thicker as he grabbed her arm and slid the needle into her bicep.

  “It’s just something to stop you from doing anything stupid,” he said only to add, “Don’t worry. It shouldn’t hurt the baby,” as he injected whatever was in the syringe into her arm and-

  “I…I don’t feel so good,” Ashley mumbled in a daze as her legs suddenly gave out, dropping her to the floor as a cold sensation traveled up her arm, causing her head to start spinning as pain shot up her spine only to settle in her stomach. “What did you give me?” she asked, her head dropping forward as she was forced to close her eyes.

  “Human blood mixed with enough narcotics to make sure that we’re not going to have any problems,” Andrew murmured absently before asking, “Where’s your father, Ashley?”

  “I don’t know,” she mumbled, struggling to focus as the sounds that she’d been able to block out since she woke up suddenly slammed into her head.

  “Where’s your father?” Kale countered, sounding pissed.

  “Most likely in his office waiting for the call letting him know that you’re dead,” Andrew said, shrugging it off as he shifted his focus back on her. “I really hope that you’re not lying to me, Ashley.”

  “I don’t know where he is,” Ashley said, pressing her hands against her ears as she was forced to rest her forehead against the kitchen floor as the scent of apples, shifters, blood, and so many other scents that she couldn’t make out slammed into her head, forcing her to close her eyes as she struggled not to shift.

  She couldn’t do it.

  They’ll hurt Kale, Ashley told herself over and over again, forcing herself to open her eyes as she turned her head and met Kale’s silver gaze. “Shift,” he mouthed, his expression pained and she knew that it had nothing to do with the silver that was slowly starting to kill him.

  “No,” she mouthed back, struggling not to cry as she watched blood continue to pool onto the kitchen floor around him.

  “Who’s your father, Ashley?” Andrew asked as she stared at Kale, silently pleading with him to shift.

  He needed to shift, but she knew that he wouldn’t do it and she couldn’t get close enough to him to give him some of her blood. God, he was stubborn, Ashley thought as she answered, “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?” Andrew murmured, sounding thoughtful as Ashley struggled to keep it together, but…

  They were going to kill him and she just…she just…

  “Let him go and I’ll tell you,” Ashley said, releasing a shaky breath, praying that they let him go before it was too late.

  “I’m afraid that I can’t do that. He’s got information that I need,” Andrew explained.

  “You’re going to let her go or I’m going to rip your fucking throat out,” Kale bit out coldly.

  “We could do that,” Andrew drawled before adding, “or we could try this another way.”

  Chapter 70

  “Did you know that Sentinels usually die within months of losing their mates?” Michael asked as he carefully placed the tip of the syringe against the small chest of the little boy that never should have been born as he glanced up to find Caine watching his every move through bright red eyes as he struggled to stay where he was.

  “Yes,” Caine said hoarsely, swallowing hard as his gaze locked on the needle pressed right above his son’s heart.

  Nodding, Michael began pacing the room even as he couldn’t help but smile sadly down at the little boy in his arms. “I should have died years ago, but I couldn’t let you get away with what you did to my mate, but you don’t remember her, do you?” he asked, watching as Caine was forced to reach over and stop Danni when she moved to climb off the bed.

  “What the hell did you do?” Noah demanded, moving to go after him only to stop when Caine bit out, “Don’t,” before the human could do something that would put a stop to this before it even had a chance to start.

  “You didn’t answer my question, Caine. Do you remember her?” Michael asked, shifting his attention back to the Pyte that had haunted his dreams for over a century.

  “No,” Caine said harshly, his gaze never leaving his son as he took Danni’s trembling hand in his and murmured, “It’s going to be okay,” as she struggled to stay in control.

  “No, it’s not,” Danni mumbled weakly.

  Smart girl, Michael thought, wishing that he’d been able to keep her out of this. She didn’t deserve this, not after everything that she went through, but she’d sealed her own fate when she’d fallen in love with the asshole that was going to know what it felt like to lose everything.

  “How many Sentinels have you killed, Caine?” Michael asked, watching as Danni’s beautiful gray eyes turned red and decided that they should probably get started before she had a chance to go into bloodlust. “Drink the blood, Danni.”

  “What did you do to the blood?” Caine asked, his murderous gaze flickering to the bags of blood on the bed next to his mate before quickly returning to the needle pressed against his son’s chest.

  “The same thing that I did to the demon blood,” Michael said, unable to help but smile sadly down at the small baby in his arms.

  So many times over the years, he’d found himself imagining what it would have been like to hold his son, wondering if his son would have had Julia’s beautiful blue eyes, her curly black hair, and infectious smile only to feel his heart break every time he remembered the way she’d begged him to save their son as she took her last breath. He never got to hold his son, never got to find out what color his eyes were or watch him grow up and raise a family of his own, and it was all because of the Pyte watching his every move.

  “You made the cancer come back,” Noah said, shaking his head in disbelief as his gaze shifted to the bags of blood and-

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Michael said, noting the calculating look in the human’s eyes.

  “The cancer was gone,” Danni said hollowl
y as she pulled her hand away from Caine’s and reached for the blood that he’d injected with the remainder of Danni’s cancerous blood.

  For years, he’d waited for the perfect time to strike, knowing that there was nothing that he could do to make the Pyte pay for what he did. If he’d been any other man, Michael would have killed him, but Caine wasn’t like other men. He was impossible to kill and hadn’t cared about anything or anyone, leaving Michael with no choice but to wait, and while he did, he found out everything that he could about Pytes. He’d spent years searching through the Council’s library, reading every scroll, book, and journal that he could get his hands on, looking for answers and when that wasn’t enough, he decided to get his own answers and he found them in a small boy named William.

  He’d heard stories of a fourteen-year-old boy who’d stopped growing sometime before he’d turned ten and whose mother had died a horrifying death during his birth. He’d found the boy living in the street, covered in bruises, nursing a broken arm, and terrified of his own shadow. It had taken time to gain William’s trust, earning shy smiles as the boy slowly began to trust him, allowing him to take him under his wing, teaching him how to read, and gave him a purpose in life.

  In time, Michael had grown very fond of the boy. Watching William go into his transition had been bittersweet for him, but he knew that it would only be a matter of time before it happened. When William turned sixteen and fell into a coma, he’d stayed by the boy’s side for the first two weeks, holding his hand while he’d watched the changes occur until finally, he’d resigned himself to do what needed to be done.