Wolf shifters needed a pack, needed to feel part of something. It was different from other groups of shifters, who mostly lived together for protection and convenience. It was instinct, and being a lone wolf wasn’t an easy thing. It still amazed Kameron that Jonah had managed to be on his own for more than two months, but he could understand it. The man had lost faith in his pack.
Kameron walked to the second door and opened it, walking into the cell hallway. He peeked through the small openings of the metal doors until he found Stan. He was going to start with him, if only because he wanted to know where the man had found the pills Zach had taken for so many years.
The cell’s door creaked when Kameron opened it, the sound ominous in the otherwise silent cement structure.
Stan was sitting on his small bed, looking at his hands, but his eyes snapped up when he heard the door. He tried to hide the fear he was feeling, but he didn’t do a good job of it. Even from the distance, Kameron could smell the acrid scent of it. Stan’s eyes were quickly moving around as if he was looking for a way out, and he probably was. He had to know Kameron wouldn’t go easy on him, not after he had kept his mate hidden from him for seven years. Stan probably thought Kameron was going to hurt him, but then he didn’t know better, not after the twenty plus years Erskine had been in charge.
Kameron remained close to the door, crossing his arms on his chest and narrowing his eyes at Stan. “Your wife is fine.”
The man didn’t deserve to know that, not after what he had done, but Kameron wanted to see if he was going to react to that. There had to be a reason why Stan had done what he had to get Ellie, although Kameron thought it was probably something akin to a child wanting a toy. Ellie had been merely a possession for Stan.
When Stan didn’t answer, Kameron decided to get right to the point. He had no time to lose with this man, especially when he could be at home with his mate right now. “Where did you get the pills, Stan?”
Stan looked up, his eyes a little wider than before. “What pills?”
Kameron raised a brow. “Don’t act stupid, wolf. You know what pills I’m talking about. They kept Zach from me for years.”
Stan hesitated and Kameron growled, just to show him how serious he was.
“Are you going to have me executed?”
“No. I’m not Erskine. Even if what you did would have earned you just that, I won’t do it.”
“Even if I don’t answer your questions?”
Kameron narrowed his eyes. “Even then, but you might want to answer anyway. I’m going to have you transferred into the council’s jail, and you don’t know what you’ll find there, do you?”
Stan tried to keep a blank expression, but his mask was crumbling, piece by piece. He probably had never expected to be in this position, and he clearly wasn’t prepared for it. “Erskine gave them to me.”
“Erskine? He knew Zach is my mate?”
“Yeah. I told him. I thought he would use it against you, but he didn’t.”
“Why?”
Stan shrugged. “Who knows? It’s not like he told any of us what he was up to and why he did what he did. I just know I told him about Zach and you and he gave me the pills. He knew I wanted Ellie, so he suggested that I ask for her in exchange.”
“So Zach really wouldn’t have needed the pills if Erskine already knew.”
“Yeah. It got me what I wanted, though.”
Kameron ground his teeth in an attempt to stop himself from grabbing Stan and slamming him against the wall. “Where did he get them?”
“The labs. The company we sold shifters to gave us other things in return, not only money.”
Kameron spent the next few hours interrogating both Stan and Bud on what they used to do for Erskine and on what they had been up to since his death. Apart from what they had done to Zach and Ellie, it was nothing he hadn’t known. Petty thefts from other pack members, bullying, and intimidation. Nothing he wouldn’t have expected from them. It was a relief to think that he could finally get rid of them.
Now the only one missing was Tom, and Kameron didn’t like that.
* * * *
Zach quickly got ready for bed, not that he had a lot to do to achieve that. He was already clean, so really he just had to brush his teeth and change.
Kameron hadn’t come home yet, but it wasn’t surprising. Zach knew he was interrogating Bud, Stan and Tom, but he had hoped that someone would have told him something. He sure hoped things changed a bit once they mated, because he didn’t like staying at home without knowing if something had happened to Kameron.
Not that he thought Kameron was hurt or anything, but he longed to hear the man’s voice, just to reassure his wolf. They had been apart for so long that now that Zach had his mate, he didn’t want to let go. Plus, he really wanted to know what Kameron was going to do with the bastards who had hurt him and his sister.
Zach knew Kameron probably wouldn’t hurt them—much—but he had no idea what was going to happen to them. During Erskine’s time, even the smaller infraction to pack rules or to Erskine’s personal rules had been severely punished. As for before, well, Zach was only twenty-one. He had known only Erskine, so he wouldn’t know.
He did know that Kameron wasn’t the type of man to hurt someone if it wasn’t needed, and that the circumstances where it was needed had to be very serious, so he thought Kameron would probably lock the three men away.
He wasn’t sure of it, though, if only because he didn’t think the small jail Erskine had built in the pack territory was suitable to have long-term prisoners. Then there was the fact that he really didn’t want them so close to where he was going to live, but in the end, it wasn’t Zach’s choice, and he didn’t want it to be.
Zach didn’t have what was needed to be in the Alpha position. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep a cool head under all that pressure, and to be honest, he wasn’t sure he would do well even in the Alpha mate position. When he was a teen, he used to dream about Kameron, about what their relationship would be like, their future together, but he had never imagined Kameron would be the Alpha.
It didn’t really matter. He wouldn’t turn down his mate, Alpha position or not, but he wasn’t sure he would be able to help Kameron with what he had to do. It wasn’t even normal pack problems he was thinking about. So much had happened in the past six months or so, and pack problems were only the tip of the iceberg of Kameron’s problems. He was a council member. As such, it was expected from him that he helped make decisions about the future of shifters as a whole.
Kameron also had to deal with the Glass Research Company and its labs, and he had briefly talked about a wendigo problem, too. All those things added up and made Zach’s head swirl. He didn’t know how Kameron had managed to do everything on his own, but from now on, he was going to help, and so was Nick, now that he had the Beta position.
Zach slid between the sheets of Kameron’s bed and leaned his head on his mate’s pillow. The scent that surrounded him was all male and woods, spices and wilderness. All Kameron. It made Zach’s wolf settle in his mind, and Zach felt the moment his animal counterpart fell asleep, happily curled into a corner of his mind.
He wished it was so easy for him to sleep as well, but between the problems that were twirling through his head and the fact that he had slept more than a bit that afternoon, he just couldn’t sleep.
The result was that he tossed and turned, pushed away the covers before pulling them up again, then hit the pillow a few times before finally lying back down and closing his eyes again.
Sleep still wasn’t coming, so when Zach heard the door downstairs open and close again, he was more than happy to know Kameron was home.
He got up and headed for the stairs even as he heard more doors opening, and he wondered what Kameron was doing. Was he looking for something? Maybe he didn’t think Zach would sleep in his bed and was checking the guest rooms.
“Kam? I’m upstairs.” Zach stopped
at the top of the stairs and waited for Kameron to appear, but the house was completely silent now, creepily so. Doubt crept in Zach’s mind. If the person downstairs had been Kameron, he would have said something, called back.
It could be a pack member who just needed a place to sleep for the night, even if that didn’t happen often, but even if that was the case, they would have made themselves known by then.
Zach hesitated. He wasn’t up for a fight, but it was improbable that the person down there was dangerous. The old inner circle was in jail and being interrogated right then. Maybe it was one of the kids the pack had taken in from the last lab? Maybe the kid needed to get away from his family? And Kameron’s house was the first place they had been once they had gotten out of the lab.
Zach slowly made his way downstairs, wincing a bit as he moved. He was already better, but still a bit stiff, especially now that he had been in bed for some time. He just needed the muscles to heat up a bit, and he would be fine.
The stairs creaked under Zach’s weight, the sound incredibly loud in the silent house. Zach hadn’t bothered to turn on a light, thinking that Kameron would have. However, only the dim light of a thin moon illuminated his way. He still could see more than a human, of course, but it added to the general oppressive feeling the house was giving him at that moment.
Once at the bottom of the stairs, Zach walked down the hallway, thinking that if it was Kameron who was in the house, he would probably be in his office.
He pushed the door open, smiling when he noticed the lamp on the desk was on. Just as he opened his mouth to greet his mate home, movement made him turn his head toward the space between the two windows right in front of him.
The light coming from the desk was enough that Zach immediately recognized the man in front of him, and his heart stopped in his chest. Tom was supposed to be in the pack’s jail, not in Kameron’s office, not in front of Zach.
A smirk deformed the man’s face as he looked utterly comfortable leaning against the wall. “So this is where you’ve been hiding, mutt.”
“What are you doing here?” Zach looked around, trying to find a way to escape, but he knew the only way was to go back from where he had come from. He briefly wondered where the guards who should have been around the Alpha’s house where, because Tom shouldn’t have been able to get past them, but he really had more important things to think about right then.
He knew he wouldn’t be fast enough to outrun Tom. He was wounded, in pain, and he was slower than the man in front of him, even in optimal conditions.
Zach twirled around. He wasn’t stupid enough to try to talk to Tom, because he knew him too well. Nothing would stop him if he wanted Zach. While Zach hoped he wasn’t there for him, he had little doubt that now that he had seen him, he would try to get him, if only to hurt Kameron.
He rushed for the front door, slamming the office’s door shut behind him. He could hear it open again only a few seconds later, then someone running after him.
Zach hobbled along the hallway, pushing the small table where Kameron left his mail in the middle of it as he passed, to try to slow Tom down, but he didn’t know how much good it would do.
A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him backward, and he knew he had failed.
Tom had gotten to him.
Zach turned around, swinging his arm up. Pain shot in his hand as it made contact with Tom’s face, and Zach felt incredibly smug for about ten seconds. Then he saw the murderous gleam in Tom’s eyes, and he knew the man was angry with him.
It didn’t matter.
Even as Tom grabbed his wrist, he raised his other hand and punched him right in the eye, hopefully giving him a matching pair of black eyes. Tom howled and let him go, grabbing his face.
Zach moved back, trying to get to the door as fast as he could, but Tom was already behind him, grabbing his waist and pushing him against the wall. Zach didn’t know where Tom had taken the cords he used to tie him up, and as much as he fought, he couldn’t stop him. When Tom grabbed a scarf that was hanging near the door and tied it around Zach’s mouth, a sob escaped him. Tom had thought of everything.
Zach was pushed on the floor facedown. Tom quickly tied his ankles, the rough rope biting into Zach’s skin, then left him there while he walked away somewhere in the house. Hope flared in Zach. Maybe Tom would leave him in the house when he left. Maybe he was just making sure Zach couldn’t tell anyone he was there at the moment. Still, he had to try to get free.
He twisted and tried to pry his hands apart, but his only result was to cause himself more pain. Tom obviously knew what he was doing with the ropes and knots, but Zach wouldn’t give up.
He didn’t know how long Tom left him on the wooden floor, but it wasn’t long enough for him to get out of the ropes that held him. When Tom came back with a smug smile on his face, he hauled Zach up and slung him on his shoulder, knocking the air out of him. Pain flared along Zach’s ribs, making him whimper into the scarf.
Zach punched Tom’s back, he wriggled around and tried to make the man fall. But after only a few minutes, he was thrown into the back seat of a car. He tried to open the door as soon as Tom slammed it close, but the thing wouldn’t move, and Zach felt a tear come down his cheek as Kameron’s house disappeared from his sight.
* * * *
It was so late when Kameron finally left the jail that the sun was already peeking at the horizon.
He stretched, wincing at the cracks that came from his neck. Man, he was getting old. How was he supposed to keep up with a twenty-one-year-old like Zach?
Kameron chuckled. He didn’t really think he would have a problem with that. He felt better now that he had dealt with Bud and Stan, but the fact that Tom was nowhere to be found bothered him. Tom was the most dangerous one of the bunch, and god only knew what he was up to. Kameron didn’t think it was a coincidence that the man had disappeared just before Duncan could find him.
It made him wonder who had managed to warn him. He didn’t think Rick had done it, not after the talk they’d had, but maybe Roland had if he had somehow managed to find out what was going on. Tom had probably known something like this would have happened someday, and he had ran as soon as it had been possible.
“You’re going home?” Thomas asked from behind Kameron.
Kameron turned and smiled. “Yeah, and you should, too. I slept in the afternoon, but you guys didn’t.”
Thomas shrugged. The big blond would never admit he was tired. He would never admit he had weaknesses, even if it was ridiculous, but who was Kameron to talk to him about it?
“I was wondering if I could sleep at your house.”
Kameron cocked a brown at his friend. “How come?”
“Wife’s not happy with me.” He didn’t elaborate, making Kameron that much more curious.
“Sure. You know you’re welcome any time you want.”
“I wouldn’t have said that if I were you. You might see me a lot more than you want to.”
“Want to talk about it?”
Thomas shrugged again. “Not right now.”
Kameron needed a run, and he knew Thomas would be up for it.
He took a soft cotton bag out of his pocket and took his T-shirt off, pushing it inside the bag. Thomas immediately moved to do the same, and soon they were both naked. Kameron put down his bag and shifted, the aches of a too-long day disappearing as he became a wolf.
He shook out his fur, reveling in the scents that came from the forest. He had barely had the time to run during the last few days, and he had missed it.
Kameron grabbed the bag that held his clothes and shoes and started running through the forest, knowing Thomas was right beside him. He could see the other wolf running, his odd-colored fur making his location obvious even in the dim light.
Kameron had never seen another wolf with a fur like that. Thomas was... spotted. His base fur was dark blond, much like his hair in human form, but the light color was interrupted
by splashes of light brown. Most of the time it was hard to see the difference in colors, especially in the sunlight, but in the soft dawn light, the darker spots were more evident.
Kameron remembered that Thomas has been laughed at when he was young, but that had changed when he had grown. Once he had reached a certain height, the other kids had stopped, even if people around the pack still wondered how Thomas’ fur was possible, especially since both his parents had been light colored. The recurring joke was that Thomas was the milkman’s son, and Thomas was less than pleased with it.
The run didn’t last long, but Kameron felt better after it. He hopped up the stairs and stopped on the porch, shifting after letting go of his bag. After putting on his clothes, Kameron opened the door. He wondered if Zach was awake yet, but since he didn’t hear anything, chances were that he wasn’t.
“You know where the guest rooms are. I’ll see you in a few hours,” he told Thomas before climbing the stairs. He was eager to be with his mate, even if Zach was still sleeping.
Kameron reached the door to his room and froze when he saw the bed was empty. The sheets were rumpled, so Zach had slept, but when he touched them, they were cold. “Zach?”
Kameron walked down the hallway, opening all the doors he encountered in the hope that Zach had somehow ended up sleeping in one of those.
They were all empty.
“Kam? Something wrong?” Thomas asked from the lower floor and Kameron walked down the stairs.
“I can’t find Zach.”
“Maybe he’s in the kitchen.” Thomas didn’t look convinced, and neither did Kameron. There was no sound in the house except for those the two of them were making. He would have heard Zach.
They searched the rest of the house, but Zach was nowhere to be found.
Kameron heart stopped beating.
Sure, he knew it hadn’t really stopped, but that was what it felt like. The pain was like a vise around it, squeezing it until it bled.
Zach Page 7
