Martine, Missy - Changing Their Wolfen Heritage [A Wolfen Heritage 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Missy Martine

  “You want me to call and round everybody up?” Latan asked.

  Remus blinked back his tears and gazed over at Latan. He knew their wolf hearing had allowed them to hear both sides of his conversation, so he had no need to repeat what Koril had told him. “Call Vanard and tell him to have everyone meet at the Pack House in two hours.”

  “What about your guards?” Tania asked. “I’ve spent the last few days avoiding the wolves you have watching Kaugh and his men. Where were they when all this went down?” Latan looked at Ethan, who in turn gave Remus a puzzled look.

  “See if you can reach Brenner and have him check it out,” Remus ordered.

  “That won’t work,” Ethan argued. “He said he wouldn’t be back for a few days.”

  “Damn, then have Vanard send one of the men to check on them. They should’ve been in the woods behind Kaugh’s office.” Remus bent over and put his hands on his knees. For a moment, he let the fury race through his body, and then he rose up and punched the wall next to the telephone with his fist, leaving a small hole in the drywall. “Well, hell,” he chuckled, “now I’m in trouble. Maddie will skin me alive when she sees what I’ve done to her wall.”

  “We’ll get her back, bro,” Ethan promised.

  “Before he hurts her, or Michael?” Remus asked. “What the hell kind of Alpha am I? Again, I’ve failed to protect my mate and one of my wolves, no, two of my wolves. You heard him. He said Mali’s unconscious and still in wolf form. For all we know, the damage could be permanent. He could be stuck in shifted form for the rest of his life.” His voice lowered in pain. “They shot my mate, my pregnant mate, with whatever the hell it is. What’s it gonna do to my son?” he cried.

  Ethan put his arms around his older brother. “Come on, man, pull it together. We need to come up with a plan for rescue and implement it. You can fall apart after we get her furry butt home.”

  “We have to find them first, Ethan,” Remus yelled.

  “We already know where they’ll be taken,” Tania said, quietly. “The cottage in the woods that Kaugh purchased.”

  “Damn, of course. I’m not thinking clearly.” Remus looked at Ethan. “We need the blueprints of that place. I know it has a basement, but we need to know the exact layout.”

  “You don’t need the plans,” Tania interrupted. “I was in it yesterday after they moved in a bunch of equipment. I can tell you everything about the place.”

  “Damn it to hell, you went back there alone,” Latan cried, giving her a little shake.

  “Baby, are you trying to get yourself killed?” Ethan asked. “Why couldn’t you’ve trusted us? We could have—”

  “Lay off her, both of you,” Remus demanded. “You can chastise her later, hell, I’ll help hold her down for you to spank her ass, but right now, we need to hear what she has to say.”

  Tania gave him a wide-eyed look and cleared her throat. “They fortified the place with double locks on all the inside bedroom doors and bars on all the windows. There are two large and two small rooms underground, no windows, and the only access is the stairs that lead down from the kitchen.” She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. “One large room is full of equipment and a small fridge with medical vials of something. The other one has two metal cots bolted to the floor with leather straps attached to the frame. The two small rooms are empty.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Remus bellowed.

  “Remus, calm down,” Ethan pleaded.

  “You calm the hell down. He’s gonna strap my mate to a damn bed like an animal and do God knows what to her. What the hell are we gonna do now?”

  “The place is easily defendable, in a small clearing with heavy tree cover on three sides and a stream on the fourth.” Tania hesitated, and then continued. “I could easily sneak in and make my way downstairs and unlock their doors. After I released their restraints, Michael and I could surprise them from below at the same time you mount an attack on the house. The element of surprise could work.”

  “No,” Ethan and Latan cried simultaneously.

  “Yes,” Tania responded in a quiet voice. “It’s my job, and I won’t walk away from it. It’s the last one I’ll ever do for the Council if I’m gonna be your mate.”

  “You’ll really give it up, stay here with us for good?” Ethan asked.

  Tania smiled at both her mates. “I love you guys, both of you, very much. I wanna be with you. Make a life with you. I just can’t ignore my last responsibility, especially since it involves Maddie. Try to understand.”

  “All right, baby, we’ll go with you to protect you.” Ethan spoke like it was a done deal and she had no choice.

  “You can’t,” Tania replied.

  “Why the hell not?” Latan’s face had taken on an angry, red sheen.

  “Your wolves are too big to sneak in. I can fit through the bars on the windows, plus the big guy with the bushy beard likes me. If I’m caught, he’ll just think the stray cat is scrounging some food.”

  Everyone was quiet for several moments, and then Remus walked over to Ethan. “This is your decision. I’m not gonna order her to do this. She’s your mate, and you need to be okay with whatever goes down.” He watched his brothers stare at each other and knew they were discussing their options across their family mind bond. He didn’t know what he would do if they refused to let her help in the rescue.

  Finally, Ethan sighed and took Tania’s hands in his own. “All right, baby, we’ll do this your way this time. But the minute we have Maddie home, you’re turning in your resignation to the Council. Deal?”

  “Deal.” She smiled.

  Remus was about to suggest they sit down and put together a preliminary plan when he heard a pounding on the front door. All three brothers went swiftly toward the front room. Throwing open the door, Remus stared in shock. Koril stood, struggling under the weight of Mali’s wolf, while Tehran waited behind him with an unconscious Melissa clasped against his chest. Ariane stood quietly at the bottom of the steps. He stood aside as Ethan rushed forward to help Koril carry Mali into the house. “What the hell happened to Melissa, and what are you doing here, Tehran?”

  Koril glanced over his shoulder. “I called him from Michael’s office. I didn’t like the way Mali was breathing. I thought a doctor should check him out before I moved him.”

  “And Melissa?” Remus asked.

  “I’m afraid I’m to blame for her condition,” Tehran spoke up. “She was quite hysterical in the aftermath of everything, so I gave her a sedative to calm her down. She’ll sleep for a few hours now.”

  Remus nodded and stepped back, pointing down the hall. “Put Mali in the first room on the right and Melissa in the second.” He hesitated. “Tehran, come back after you get her settled. I’ve got a couple of questions I need answered.”

  “Will do.” Tehran carried the sedated woman down the hall and disappeared into one of the bedrooms.

  Remus looked at Ariane and held out his arms. She walked into his embrace without a word. “I need you to sit with Melissa until she comes around. Will you do that for me while I get our family back?” Without a word, she turned and followed Tehran down the hall.

  Remus walked back into the kitchen and waited for the others to join him. After a couple of minutes, Tehran walked in and sat down at the table with him. “Is she okay?” he asked the pack’s doctor.

  “She’ll be fine. I left Tania and Ariane watching over her.”

  “Did Koril tell you they gave Mali something that keeps him from shifting even when he’s unconscious?”

  “Yes, but I have to say, I’ve never heard of any such drug.”

  Remus swallowed hard. “Maddie was probably given the same thing. Will it hurt the baby?”

  “I’m sorry, Alpha, there’s no way to know without running some tests on the drug itself. I wish I could say more, but I don’t wanna give you false hope.”

  “I understand, but I had to ask. I guess you don’t know if Mali will be all right either.”

  �
��His vital signs are stable, and if what Melissa heard is true, he’ll be back to normal this time tomorrow. However, if the tranquilizer wears off in a few hours, you’re gonna have one pissed off wolf on your hands, one that can’t shift back to human. He may need,” he coughed, “supervision, until the other drug disappears from his system.”

  “Understood, I’ll leave a guard here with you when we leave. I want you to stick around and keep an eye on them, make sure they stay healthy.” Remus looked up as Koril came through the door, followed closely by Ethan and Latan. “Okay, guys, we need to get over to the Pack House and coordinate this rescue plan with everyone else.”

  Koril moved forward. “I got a call from Sortee a few minutes before we got here. He watched them carry Maddie and Michael into the cottage a little while ago, right before they brought in Elcor and Janis, also unconscious.”

  “They were assigned to watch Kaugh’s office and follow him if he left, weren’t they?” Remus growled.

  “Yes, Alpha. I don’t know if they’ve been shot with the same drug, or killed.” Koril lowered his head and bared his throat in submission.

  “Forget it, Koril. It’s not your fault.” Remus glanced around. “Let’s get moving. The faster we get our plan organized, the faster my mate will be home.”

  Chapter 7

  Maddie drifted toward consciousness, the sound of her name breaking through the silent void she’d been floating in. A pounding in her head kept her eyes closed while she struggled to lift the dead weight of her arms. What’s wrong with me? Am I sick?

  “Maddie, wake up!”

  She recognized Michael’s voice and slowly tried to turn her head in the direction she thought it came from. “Michael,” she whispered. Slowly, she opened her eyes and then immediately closed them, groaning softly.

  “Honey, you’re gonna be okay. The dizziness only lasts for a couple of minutes, and then it’s not so bad. Try to open your eyes for me, please.”

  Determined to find out what had happened to her, Maddie opened her eyes again. Swallowing hard, she waited for the room to come into focus. What she saw made her wonder if she was still asleep, having a nightmare. Michael was lying on a bed a few feet away, dressed in something that looked like a hospital gown. There were large, black bands around his arms, stomach, and legs, literally holding him prisoner on the thin mattress. Fearful for his safety, she tried to sit up, to go release him from his bindings, only to discover the same type of straps held her tightly.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  She glanced over at the concerned look on his face. “I think so. Where are we?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know. There hasn’t been anyone around since I woke up. Do you remember what happened?”

  Maddie thought carefully. “We were at your office, waiting for Koril and Ariane to get back so we could go to lunch. Do you think they’re here somewhere?” she asked fearfully.

  “There’s no way to know. I’ve tried reaching her with our mate bond, but it’s like she’s not there.”

  Concentrating, Maddie tried to hear Remus’s thoughts. “No, I can’t hear Remus, either.”

  “Yeah, well, it gets worse. I can’t bring my wolf.”

  “What!”

  “I’ve tried over and over again to shift, and I can’t find the magic. Give it a try.”

  Reaching down, deep inside herself, Maddie searched for the magic that would allow her to shift into her wolf. A tear escaped her eye when she felt only emptiness. “What’s happening, Michael? What’ve they done to us?”

  “I don’t know, babe. A man walked through the door and shot us with something.”

  Maddie gasped. “What about the baby?”

  “Calm down, honey. We don’t know anything for sure, so let’s not assume the worst. What about your other gift? There are a couple of glasses on that table over there. See if you can get mad enough to move them.”

  “I won’t have any trouble getting mad.” Maddie snorted. She stared at the two glasses and thought about her baby being in danger. After several minutes, she cursed loudly. “Nothing’s working.”

  “Okay, you tried, now we just need to calm down and think of something else.” He was quiet for a moment and then turned and frowned at his sister. “Maddie, I need to ask you something that doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  “Okay.” She laughed harshly. “Whatever it is should fit right in with everything that’s happening today. Oh, God, how long do you think we’ve been here?”

  “I don’t think much time at all. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been lying on this bed for long.”

  “Okay, what did you wanna ask me?”

  “What happened between you and Dr. Constantine?”

  Maddie gasped and peered over at her brother. “What made you ask about him?”

  “Look, I remember the day he came with me to the cabin. He wanted to take you back to his clinic, and Remus arrived and talked him out of it. Then he was killed in a car accident a couple of days later.”

  “Okay, I didn’t hear a question in there anywhere.”

  “Since I woke up from my little enforced nap, I’m remembering a totally different scenario. I don’t remember everything perfectly, but I can picture being on a road with you in his car in front of me. There were dozens of wolves blocking the road, and Remus was there. Constantine was trying to take you off the mountain, and Remus and the wolves stopped him. I don’t know where these thoughts are coming from, but they seem awfully damn real.”

  “That’s because they are real, Michael. Constantine was an evil man. He knew about the shape-shifters on the mountain and about our family history in particular. He’d been doing research on me all the years Dad left me locked up in his clinic. When he found out I’d mated with Remus, he became desperate to get me back under his control. I think he knew I would be able to find my wolf, eventually.”

  “But why do I remember all the wolves on the road?”

  “Constantine was kidnapping me. Remus and the pack had to forcibly stop him from taking me off the mountain.”

  “Why didn’t I remember any of this before now?”

  Maddie didn’t like the hurt tone in his voice. “You didn’t know about the shape-shifters at that point, and I didn’t think you were ready to find out. To keep our secrets safe, Remus had the Elders alter your memories of the day. We always knew it would be temporary and, someday, the truth would come out.” She sighed. “I’m really sorry it had to be like this.”

  “What happened to Constantine, Maddie? The truth,” Michael asked coldly.

  “I can’t answer that except to say that the pack took care of the problem.”

  “Did Remus kill him?”

  “I don’t honestly know, Michael, but I don’t think so. At least not personally. He had the problem handled, which is what Alphas do. He never told me the details, and I never asked.”

  “Damn it, Maddie. You let them fuck with my brain,” he yelled.

  “Don’t be an ass, Michael. Your brain was never in danger. They gave you a hypnotic suggestion to alter the way you remembered one afternoon, a suggestion that couldn’t even be permanent.”

  “I don’t appreciate—” Michael’s words stopped when they heard someone walking outside the door. “Someone’s out there,” he whispered. The sound of locks thrown sounded loud in the small, enclosed room.

  * * * *

  Vincent Kaugh listened to his associates argue as he gathered the supplies he would need to begin his workup on the sibling test subjects presently unconscious in the other room. “Gentlemen, we need to remain focused on our primary goal. Calvin, did you get the sensors placed around the compound?”

  “Yes, sir. They’re all operating perfectly. There’s no way a human, or a wolf, could slip in without setting off an alarm.”

  “Excellent! That doesn’t mean we can be lax about standing guard. Set up a rotation so that someone is always watching the two doors into the house.” Kaugh finished collecting the necessary bl
ood vials and then reached into the refrigerator and grabbed a container of the inhibiting serum.

  “What about the two shifters we’ve got upstairs?” Marty pulled a gun from his shoulder holster. “You want me to get rid of them?”

  “No, absolutely not. I don’t want them harmed in any way.”

  “What are we gonna do with them?” Calvin asked.

  “They’re prime specimens, Calvin. We can use their DNA back in the lab for crossbreeding.” Kaugh looked over everything on his cart. “Looks like I have everything I need for now. I’m going to be busy for a while with some preliminary blood work and a few other simple tests. Keep a close watch, and let me know if you see anything unusual.” He motioned for Sean to come forward. “Help me move this equipment into the other room.”

  Sean’s face broke into a huge, evil grin. “Happy to give you a hand, doc.”

  “You sure that’s wise, Dr. Kaugh? He’s already been mouthing off about what a looker the female is,” Marty said in disgust.

  “Not to worry, I don’t plan on leaving him alone with her.”

  Sean scowled, pushing the loaded cart toward the door. “Why don’t you mind your own damn business, Marty?”

  Kaugh laughed and followed the big man out into the hall. Taking a deep breath, he reached up and threw open the first of the two bolt locks on the door. Excitement filled him as he reached for the final lock, visions of his work racing through his mind. Swinging the door open, he stepped inside and stopped short at the angry gazes of the brother and sister strapped to the beds.