by Chloe Cole
She considered mentally reaching out to Jax again, but first she had to focus and piece together some clues, figure out what was going on and where she was. Leading her pack into a trap was not an option.
She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, her sensitive nose capturing a medley of aromas. The scent of evergreens, ponderosa pines, and dripping sap coalesced to form an oh-so familiar bouquet.
She was in the deep woods.
The revelation comforted her to some small degree. If she could get out of the shackles, there would be no stopping her. She could change without fear of being seen and then she’d be home free. There wasn’t a man alive who could catch her in the woods if she didn’t want to be caught.
She opened her eyes and surveyed the room again more closely. Although it was dim, she could see it was very sparsely furnished. Small with unfinished oak walls, it was clearly one room of a rustic cabin. She’d run through probably a hundred miles of woods in the Pray area and seen as many cabins that would fit the bill.
Frustrated, she again closed her eyes and this time listened, allowing the sounds to permeate her consciousness. A myriad of forest creatures created a cacophony, but nothing stood out that would be helpful in narrowing down her possible location.
She was about to give up when she heard it: the babble of nearby moving water.
All right, so she was in the forest, in a small cabin surrounded by evergreens and pines, and within twenty-five yards or so of a brook or stream. She must have been transported by car and, even if they’d traveled quickly, her assailant would have spent a considerable amount of time getting her into and out of the vehicle. Not to mention the time it took to chain her up.
Even if she’d been unconscious for an hour, she would still have to be within fifteen miles or so of Amber’s house considering all of the factors that would have slowed her kidnapper down.
It wasn’t much, but it was something. Now at least she could give her pack-mates a couple of clues to work with.
She focused her mind and, casting her energy outward, once again tried to reach for Jax.
Chapter Nine
By the time Amber’s door burst open more than an hour later, her throat was raw from screaming. Three giant men barreled into her kitchen, Jax in the lead. When she looked into his wild, furious eyes, she should have been afraid for her life. Instead, all she felt was relief.
He swore under his breath and quickly went around, untying the cloth that gagged her.
Before he said anything, words tumbled from her in a rush. “You have to get her. Jesus, Jax, he took Chandra. I am so sorry. I’ll do anything, anything to help you. He’s crazy. Burglars or not, what he did to her… I didn’t know, I swear, I didn’t know—” Her babbling confession stopped as the lump in her throat choked off any further words. Her chest heaved as she began to sob.
Jax bent low to face her, his voice tight voice. “You need to calm the fuck down and talk to me, Amber. Who? Who took her?” he demanded.
She tried to speak, but all that came out were more, wracking sobs. How could she have done this? If Chandra died, the woman’s blood was on her hands. And with as insane as Tobias had looked? Death wasn’t even the most terrifying fate possible. She hung her head in despair, the shock of it all finally setting in.
“Stop it. Stop crying and fucking talk to me,” Jax growled, voice shaking with unchecked fury.
A tall, dark man with the golden eyes stepped in. “That’s not going to help Chandra. You need to calm down, Jax.” He took his friend’s arm and pulled him upright, his calm control a welcomed presence in a room filled with chaotic emotion. “Come with me, let’s search the house and grounds for clues and let Billy speak to Amber.”
Jax’s jaw went tense and it seemed like he would argue but instead he gave a clipped nod and the two moved toward the hallway, speaking in low, urgent voices as they began their search.
The one they’d referred to as Billy walked over to her. He reached toward her and she flinched involuntarily.
“I’m just going to untie you now, all right?”
He didn’t wait for an answer but bent behind her and, with one, swift jerk, snapped the ropes that bound her. He slipped one of his thickly muscled arms around her shoulders and the other behind her knees and lifted her easily from the chair.
The warmth of his body seeped into her, and she instinctively curled closer to him. The chills that had wracked her began to subside as she allowed the false sense of security to take the edge off her shock and terror. She needed to get it together if she was going to help them save their friend.
He carried her to the living room and sat her in an oversized recliner. Why was he being so damn nice? She’d made an awful, terrible mistake that could cost Chandra her life and he was treating her like she was the victim.
Fresh, guilty tears sprang to her eyes, and she bit her lip hard to keep them from spilling out.
Billy laid a blanket over her and sat on the floor next to her, rubbing her arm, giving her a chance to compose herself.
She took a deep, shuddering breath. “He told me you were burglars. He told me I was helping.”
“Burglars?”
Her stomach bottomed out as the baffled expression on her face told her what she’d already begun to suspect. Tobias Wheeler was not only a psychopath, he was also a liar.
“Start from the beginning, Amber,” he encouraged.
She told him about her initial meeting with Wheeler, how they’d come to their agreement, and what she had done. “We need to call the police. He said I shouldn’t because I’ll be in trouble too, but I don’t care. We need to call them right now. I don’t know what he’s going to do with her.”
“We can’t call the police. It’s…complicated.”
“What do you mean? Your friend has been kidnapped.”
So maybe they weren’t thieves, but clearly they’d been doing something illegal. Why else would he be so against contacting the authorities?
“Look, whatever you’re into and whatever trouble it may cause you to have that revealed, we still need to call the cops. What if he kills her? Or worse.” Her insides cramped as she again contemplated all the horrors Chandra might face.
“We’re no criminals, Amber. I don’t have time to get into it with you, but at the very least you need to trust that. This man…Wheeler…he’s the villain here. And my friends and I need to find him. Give us twenty-four hours to save her. If we fail, you can call in the police and tell them everything. Please.” His voice grew soft. “Her life might depend on it.”
His deep green eyes shined with sincerity and something else—something a little dangerous.
Then she thought of Wheeler and, in that instant, she made her decision. Billy and his friends might be a little shady, but Tobias Wheeler was insane. If she had to make a deal with the devil to get Chandra away from him, she would.
Because if Chandra died, it would haunt her for the rest of her life.
“Okay. How can I help?”
“What can you tell me about him? What does he look like? Did he ever give you any indication of where he lived or why he took Chandra?”
She filled him in on every detail she could think of, but when he was about to go, she stopped him.
“Something else weird. He said that I did a good job. That he figured I would get some interesting photos but deep down had hoped one of you would follow me back here.” She wrung her hands in her lap and tried again to block out what she’d seen at that house. “Then he…” She paused and swallowed hard. “He said that she was an amazing specimen. Probably the ranting of a lunatic but-”
“Shit.” Billy’s faced turned bone white as his eyes narrowed into slits.
If she had doubted that he was dangerous before, she doubted no more.
***
Jax and Liam had gone through the house quickly and finished walking the perimeter, having found only some footprints and tire tracks for their troubles. But they’d caught Chandra’s
scent as well as that of the human male, so they couldn’t have been gone long, an hour or so at most.
He tried not to think about what could be happening to her, tried to focus on it as if it was a job—finding something that was lost.
Something that meant everything to him.
They moved purposefully back toward the house, but Jax stopped short when his head started to hum.
“Chan?” he breathed, his heart knocking painfully against his ribs. She was reaching out to him. He pressed back, strengthening their link. Are you okay?
I’m okay, but I’m chained and can’t get free. Something real bad is going down.
Do you know where you are?
Deep woods, near a brook. Amber…she might be hurt. I don’t know what her role was in this, but I don’t think she’s dangerous. I was at her house. He came there for me. I’m within twenty miles of there, I think.
A vision of a cramped, dimly lit room permeated his thoughts, and he knew that Chandra was showing him her prison. He could see her legs and ankles bound by thick chains. His gut twisted with rage. His vision blurred, and his bones began to shift, but he fought it, dragging in a deep lungful of air.
Amber’s fine. We need to focus on you. More information. I need more. Come on, think! He pushed, letting his desperation get the better of him.
I don’t have any more.
The sharp edge of her panic-laced fear sliced through him. He pulled back a bit and tried to calm her.
Okay, it’s okay. We’re going to find you. Me, Liam, and Billy are going to come get you. Hold tight, I’ll stay with you as long as I can. Who is he, Chan? Have you seen him before?
Oh my God, he’s coming. Jax, he’s coming.
The link wavered as her concentration faltered. All he could feel was her icy terror.
Stay with me, damn it! Let me see him.
The link was fuzzy, like the grainy footage of an old movie, but he saw the door to the dingy room open and man step through holding a gun. He was tall, in his late forties, wearing jeans, a flannel shirt, and a satisfied grin.
He looked so normal, lean build, thinning brown hair, plain face. Then Jax noticed something white hooked to his belt buckle. Too large to be a rabbit’s foot, it was—
Agony ripped through him as he bent at the waist, the urge to vomit overwhelming.
Sara.
Her lovely white paw on a chain around his belt loop. The vision shuddered and was gone.
“No!” he shouted. He felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him.
Liam stared, but Jax could not speak. They linked briefly and, as Liam saw what Jax had seen, his face crumpled in grief. Billy walked out of the house a moment later, his cheeks ashen.
“It’s him,” he said, voice stark with pain. “It’s the same guy.”
Jax lifted his head and met his Liam’s eyes with his own. “I won’t let him take her from me, too. Do you hear me? I won’t.” He’d failed Sara, but he wouldn’t fail Chandra. Not when he’d led this trouble to their door.
His alpha gave him a grim nod. “Let’s go.”
They moved, almost as one, toward the woods surrounding Amber’s house.
A selfless soul, even from the beyond, Sara had unwittingly given them a clue to Chandra’s whereabouts. She’d been killed about ten miles from where they stood. They had combed those woods many times since her death and knew the dozen or so cabins in that area. In all likelihood, Chandra was in one of those cabins. If they could get there quickly, they could still catch her scent and have a chance of finding her.
Unable to contain himself another moment, Jax began to run full speed. He leaped high in the air and burst into wolf form, still in flight, Liam and Billy a few steps behind.
Somebody was going to die tonight, and it wouldn’t be a member of his pack.
Not this time.
***
Chandra fought hysteria as she stared at the paw. She only hoped she’d broken the link between her and Jax before he saw it too. Seeing his mate’s paw like that, being treated as a trophy, would rip his heart out.
This was the monster that had killed Sara.
“Hey, there, missy. Awake now, finally? I gave you enough juice to kill a rhino, and it only kept you down for an hour. I’m very impressed. That’s a good thing.” His tone was upbeat and excited, which chilled Chandra to the bone. “The more you impress me, the more incentive I’ll have to keep you around,” he continued. “We’re going to be doing a lot of tests over the coming weeks to see what exactly you are capable of. We can do it the hard way, or we can do it the easy way. Your choice.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, you sick bastard. What did you do with Amber?” Chandra asked, relieved that her voice didn’t reveal her shock and fear. Jax had said the other woman was all right, but who knew if he was just trying to placate her and keep her calm.
Her captor had the nerve to look affronted. “She’s fine. I tied her up and left her there. She’s no threat to me. She doesn’t even know my real name. Besides, I wouldn’t hurt a woman. What do you take me for, some kind of animal?”
“What the hell do you call this?” she asked incredulously, gesturing at her shackles with her a nod of her head.
“You can’t fool me.” His voice dropped to whisper as he moved into the room, never lowering the gun. “See, I know what you really are. I always knew you existed, but I could never prove it. Then, I saw it with my own eyes.” He smacked his lips in satisfaction. “A little one. I watched them hunt for a while through my binoculars, him and the white wolf. And the damnedest thing happened. He changed! Changed. Into a human, for just a second.”
Chandra’s hands started to shake as the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.
“I was all set to take him and started to move in close for the shot, but the white one came out of nowhere. I had no choice. It was her or me. Once I got her back here I did some tests, tried to salvage some proof, but by that point she was nothing more than a dead wolf.”
He paced, warming to the topic. “I knew then that I needed a live one. So I watched and waited and did my research. Saw the men from your place searching the woods around the spot where I killed her. Could’ve been a coincidence, but when I looked into your living arrangements and began to watch the strange comings and goings, I was pretty sure. Your security setup made it difficult to find proof, but I got my little spy. After that, it was child’s play.” He pulled out her shredded sports bra from his pants pocket. “This and some pictures of the barn, and I knew I had the right folks. Amber made the perfect bait.”
He absently rubbed the paw at his hip, sighed with regret, then shook off his reverie, giving her a broad smile. “Shame. But no matter, though. I have you, and soon enough everyone will know the truth. I’ll finally get the credit I deserve and all those people who laughed at me will bow at my feet.”
Chandra tried to think of anything but Sara’s fate and her sweet, now-motherless child Ryan, and tried to think.
“You need to see a doctor.” She forced the words past her numb lips, managing to affect a pitying tone despite her growing fury. “Clearly, I’m nothing more than a normal woman. Surely you can see that?” she implored. “I don’t know anything about a wolf being killed. Hunting isn’t a crime, but kidnapping is, and it’s taken very seriously by the police. If you let me go now, we can forget this ever happened.”
She forced tears to well in her eyes, hoping she looked pitiful while she bit back her anger. Maybe if he could see her as a human being, like him…
His hand shook slightly, and his voice took on an edge of hysteria as he spoke. “I wish people would stop saying that to me. I don’t need a doctor. I am a doctor. And you are a monster. A clever one, I’ll give you that, but a monster nonetheless. Now, you and I are going to get to know each other a little better. I’d hoped you would cooperate, hoped maybe you would even want me to try to cure you, but if you won’t be nice…”
He walked toward her, pulling a wi
cked looking needle from his pocket.
As Wheeler moved toward her, Chandra knew she had no choice. She had to risk changing as she could not—would not—allow him to drug her and perform God knows what grisly experiments on her.
Hoping buy herself a moment or two with shock value, she burst into wolf form in an instant, steeling herself for the pain in her wrists and ankles.
Three of the four shackles gave way. The fourth was still on her right hind leg, stuck tight, above the joint. She rolled to her side desperate to get out of the submissive position she was in and stood on the bed using her three good legs. A low growl worked its way from deep in her throat.
The doctor had stopped mid-stride and stared in awe. “Amazing. I knew it. I knew it!” He lowered the needle, putting it back into his pocket, and instead aimed the gun at her. “I was going to give you something mild this time, but I can see that isn’t going to work.” He closed one eye and fixed her in his sights.
She would not allow him to render her helpless again. Chandra steeled herself and wrenched her body hard to the side just as she heard the gun go off. The bone in her hind leg snapped, and she howled in pain. Fighting through the agony, she pulled her limp, malleable leg from the chain.
She looked up to see him struggling to get another cartridge into the gun and set up for second shot, but she wasted no time. His wild eyes met hers, and she leaped from the bed, snarling as her jaws closed over his gun-wielding arm like a steel trap. He screamed, and the gun clattered to the floor.
A sharp sting in her side registered through the fury, and she looked down in despair to see the doctor’s needle protruding from between her ribs.
She’d gambled and failed. Not only was she helpless, she’d also exposed her pack to a madman. She should have let him kill her.
As her vision grew blurry, she reached for Jax one last time before slipping into oblivion.
