by Delta James
“How do you know my name? I didn’t tell you in Belfast.”
“No, and in Belfast I didn’t know who you were. But we’re friends of your sister, Catherine’s.”
“Catherine,” spat Shannon. “She’s no sister of mine. She abandoned me...”
“How can you say that? She’s done everything she could do to find you,” interjected Darby.
Shannon laughed bitterly. “Well, it wasn’t enough and damn sure wasn’t fast enough. But it doesn’t matter, I’m free now.” She nodded at Riley. “And I thank you for keeping your word. But although my DNA may now be like yours, I’m not one of you and never intend to be. So, if you ladies will excuse me...”
Shannon backed away, never taking her eye or her gun muzzle off the women who had come to free her. She got into one of the SUVs and backed out, wheeling it away from the warehouse and out toward the highway.
“Shit,” cried Skylar. “Riley, you, Ava, and Maddie get those two girls to safety. We’re going to see if we can’t catch up with Shannon and talk some sense into her.”
“Go, we’ve got things covered here.”
Darby, Roz, and Skylar jumped into the other vehicle and gave chase.
* * *
Shannon drove away from the warehouse district, glancing in the rearview mirror every few minutes.
Did they really expect her to exchange one form of captivity for another? She had nothing in common with those women other than the fact that she was a freak... no longer human. That had been inflicted on her. She did not choose it for herself as some of them seem to have done. As Catherine seemed to have done.
Shannon ignored the pain that came with thinking of her sister. During her captivity with deMoncada she had become adept at distancing her mind from her body’s response to his handling and fondling. She never allowed it to touch her on any deep level and in much the same way she had taught herself not to think of Catherine. Catherine’s betrayal was the most painful blow of all. Shannon shook her head and willed herself to think what she would do now.
In captivity, as she was subjected to deMoncada’s instruction she learned that these wolf shifters were all over the world. Theirs was a secret society that was completely dominated by men. Women had no say. They were chattel. They had two purposes in life. The first was to bear offspring. The second was to please their mate by providing for his every need, most especially his sexual ones. DeMoncada had repeatedly told her that she could expect to be used both for pleasure and for breeding purposes regularly. And they thought she wouldn’t fight... wouldn’t kill to gain her freedom?
Catherine may have chosen and embraced this new life, but Shannon wanted no part of it. If that meant going underground and hiding for the rest of her life, so be it. She continued to drive with no destination in mind.
Shannon smiled. She wondered yet if they realized that the bag she grabbed along with the gun had contained several passports and a whole lot of cash—some Canadian and some American. She would stay in Canada for now and figure out how to make the best use of what she had. She would build a life for herself... one that had nothing to do with wolves—including her sister.
* * *
The three women, formerly of Bae Diogel, had barely left the area when six very angry alpha males entered the warehouse.
Cameron approached Riley and drew her into his arms, kissing her deeply. He pointed to a chair and commanded, “Sit.”
She smiled. He was pissed. There was no getting around it but she also saw no reason to further annoy him. She did as she was told with a small smile playing around her mouth.
One of the men that had been guarding the perimeter came in.
“She’s a good shot, Alpha. As she drove out, she managed to shoot out one tire on each of our vehicles. By the time we get them changed, she’ll be long gone.”
Darby smiled. “It appears she shares Catherine’s ability for quick thinking. She took the go bag with the money and passports. Any chance that vehicle had some kind of tracking device on it?”
“Perhaps,” said Jean-Michel as he drew his mate close, “but as you say, she is clever like her sister. She will not keep that vehicle long enough for us to make use of it.”
“Now what, ladies?” asked Dylan.
“This isn’t going exactly as planned,” said Riley.
“You don’t say,” remarked Cameron casually but with an edge to his voice. “You thought after being held captive by that monster for a year or so, she’d just trust anybody... especially those that she sees as the enemy due to their shared DNA?”
“All the rest came willingly, Cameron. Don’t be condescending.”
Cameron growled.
“Lighten up, mon ami,” said Jean-Michel. “I understand. You’re angry—we all are. We were played. I for one intend to see my mate understands the full depth of my displeasure at her behavior. But what we need to focus on right now is finding Shannon and getting everyone back to the US. I do not want to tell Catherine we had her sister safely in our hands and somehow let her slip through our fingers and have no plan as to how to find her again.”
They stood quietly for a moment, understanding the enormity of the loss they had just suffered and knowing they would have to burden their friends with the same.
“I agree with Jean-Michel,” said Cameron. “Let’s see what we can do to put out a reward for her safe retrieval or information leading to it...”
“Yes, because that worked so well when you were trying to run me to ground,” offered Riley.
Cameron turned to confront his mate and saw that she was grinning at him. “Not funny, Irish.”
“Not meant to be, cowboy. Seriously, I think the reward is a good idea, but it isn’t going to be what ultimately finds her. We’re going to have to figure out where she’d go to ground.”
“Catherine should be able to help with that,” said Maddie.
“Catherine is the last person she’ll turn to for help. Anything Catherine can offer as a place to look probably needs to be discounted. The last thing Shannon wants is anything to do with her sister,” said Riley.
“What did they do to her?” whispered Maddie. “I honestly believed she’d have gunned any of us down. We’re going to have to be careful if and when we find her.”
Riley nodded. “She’s in a very dark place. I suspect she had to find that place and inhabit it frequently in order to survive her ordeal.”
There was silence except for the quick and quiet clicking of a computer keyboard.
Riley watched as Declan approached Ava, who had tuned them out and was intent on her own purpose.
“Sweetheart,” he said gently, “whatcha doin’?”
“Shit!” she spat at the keyboard and then realized Declan had addressed her. “Not you. Damn it. Whatever tracking device they used is encrypted, but I’ll beat those bastards at their own game. Did they ever give you any kind of injection that wasn’t in a vein or that they didn’t explain?”
“Yes,” said Nichole. “They held me down right before that monster picked us up to come to Montreal and injected me. I thought it was going to be some kind of drug to keep me calm or increase my libido, but I felt nothing other than the discomfort of the needle.”
“Where did they do it?” asked Ava kindly. “Would you mind if I ran the scanner over that area of your body?”
“Not at all,” she said, seeming to start to break free of the fear in which she had been living.
She indicated her flank and Ava’s scanner picked up the chip. She smiled at her. The girl returned her smile.
“If they chipped us, surely they chipped her,” said Nichole.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” said Ava. “Now I just have to break the damn encryption code. Declan, I’ll need more firepower than my laptop. We need to get home.”
Dylan shook his head. “I think we need to split up. Jean-Michel, Oliver, and I will wait for Mason Daniels and then start trying to find Shannon without whatever Ava can find with the tracking
device.”
Declan looked at his watch. “Marco and Catherine should be at Wolf Storm. We need to get word to him and have him meet us as well.”
With everyone in agreement, they dispersed.
Chapter Twelve
Wolf Storm—Declan and Ava’s Estate in Maine
“Why haven’t we heard something?” Catherine said as she paced the floor, her long, casual skirt lapping against her legs. “What if everything has gone horribly wrong?”
Marco enfolded her in his embrace, keeping her there even when she struggled against him. He rumbled a low, soothing sound to her.
“I’m so scared, Marco.”
“I know, tesoro, but we will get her back. At least we know she is alive. And Cameron said she looked healthy.”
“But the women we’ve taken in. They’re so lost... so broken. And most of them have only had to endure captivity for months. Shannon’s been missing for more than a year. I should have done something more.”
“You did everything you could do. We both did.”
She laid her head against his chest, as comforted by the sound of his heart as the reassuring sounds he made that could be felt as well as heard and by the man himself. Her love for her mate was beyond measure and she loved him with every fiber of her being. But Shannon was her sister. They had shared a close bond. There were times Catherine felt guilty that she had found such happiness while her sister was held by a madman.
“It will be all right. And even if it isn’t to start, we will make it so. Come, my Catherine—do you know of anyone who could stand against the two of us?”
She smiled and drew his mouth to hers to seek refuge in the passion and love she knew she would always find with him.
“No one. But I’m telling you, Marco, deMoncada is mine. I will kill him.”
“He will die, my Catherine, but not by your hand. I will not have his evil touch you in any way.”
Catherine felt it was best not to argue with him. She knew that she was not the only one who carried the burden of having found true happiness, love, and joy while Shannon had been gone. Marco too felt that weight almost as keenly as she did. It was part of the reason she had joined her life with his and willingly left behind her humanity behind.
Greg, physician to the Hamptons pack, had brought word that Shannon had been found alive and liberated from deMoncada’s grasp. Catherine’s elation at that revelation was dashed when told her sister had leveled a gun at her friends, threatening to kill them if they tried to stop her from leaving.
“Shannon?” she’d said in disbelief.
“Understandable,” said Marco, causing his mate to look at him in dismay. “She has been a captive for over a year. She was turned without her consent and I would lay odds that deMoncada tortured her.”
Catherine gasped and reached for Marco, who brought her hand up to his lips.
“Not as I was tortured, but he would have abused her and most likely used a number of psychological techniques to try and break her. It is not all together surprising that at her first chance of freedom, your sister bolted. What now?”
“I’m so sorry, Catherine. Cameron has Riley and the other two hostages. He has taken them and his men back to Wolf Meadow. The rest have split into two groups. Griffin and Declan are headed back here with the women. Marco,” he said, turning the powerful alpha, “they’d like you to join them. I assure you your Catherine will be safe here and well-guarded.”
“He doesn’t need your assurances; his Catherine isn’t going to be here.”
Marco growled at his mate. “You will be where I tell you to be. And Declan’s home is safe. Your choice is do you remain here while I go and fetch your sister back to you or I send you home under heavy guard and you wait an additional half day for us to join you there.”
Catherine started to say something but thought better of it when Marco growled again.
“You won’t change your mind?” she asked.
“I will not and you will behave lest you have to greet your sister standing up. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” she seethed.
Greg cleared his throat. “Jean-Michel has sent his plane. It should be arriving momentarily at the airstrip here on the estate. One of them will meet you at the airport.”
“Marco, please...” Catherine pleaded.
He kissed her gently. “Here or home, my Catherine?”
A few moments later, one of Oliver’s men arrived at the front door with a vehicle to take him up to the private airstrip.
“Behave yourself, my beloved,” rumbled the Italian alpha.
“Be safe and bring yourself and my sister back to me.”
Marco left and Greg went back into the house. Bess, the housekeeper at the estate, had joined them on the front stairs.
“You have no intention of staying behind, do you?” she asked the beautiful Madonna to the DeMedici.
“None whatsoever,” replied Catherine.
* * *
James and Will had found no trace of any of the missing girls. They had, however, found that deMoncada had taken a suite at the Ritz-Carlton Montreal. James had almost forgotten how charming and unintimidating Will could be. It didn’t take much for him to convince the maid on deMoncada’s floor that they were friends of the Spaniard and allow them access to his room.
As soon as she left, James quietly entered the room while Will stood guard in the hall. James could hear deMoncada groaning and grunting as well as the sounds of a woman being pleasured and the bed creaking. James entered the bedroom of the suite to see deMoncada fucking the ass of the woman before him on her knees. Normally that sight wouldn’t have bothered him. He’d been in plenty of clubs where one could be a participant or a voyeur. But this time, the woman looked eerily like his Shannon. It wasn’t her, but James knew it was no coincidence that she resembled her.
“I believe you owe me a woman,” said James, startling deMoncada.
DeMoncada plunged into the woman’s ass several more times before climaxing, shooting some of his load into her and then pulling out to spray the rest on her back.
“I’m glad to see you are alive. Make yourself comfortable in the other room. Let me take a quick shower and I will join you in a few minutes.” He turned back to the woman on the bed, who had wrapped the sheet around her. DeMoncada tore the sheet from her grasp. “You do not cover yourself unless you are given permission.” He turned back to James. “If you would like, I have yet to fuck her cunt and you are welcome to do so. As you heard, she’s been well trained to please. Or she could provide you with some relief with her mouth.”
James shook his head. The Spaniard really was a bastard.
“Thanks, I’ll pass. I’m not much on sharing with others.”
“Suit yourself,” said deMoncada as he went into the bathroom.
James surprised himself by approaching the woman, handing her the sheet, gently helping her to her feet, and leading her out of the bedroom. He opened the hall door.
“Will, get her out of here. Get her someplace safe.”
Will wrapped his arm around the shivering girl. “He still lives?”
James nodded. “Yes. I thought about it. I really did. But I decided that I might need him at some point in the future to help me find Shannon. But once I have her safe and sound, he’s a dead man.”
Will turned back to the frightened girl. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you someplace you can shower and get dressed...”
James returned to the sitting room, poured a whiskey, and made himself comfortable on the couch. DeMoncada joined him, smiling as he did so.
“I take it you whisked my plaything away?”
“I took that poor girl out of your reach.”
“I have a long reach, James. You would do well to remember that.”
“Perhaps, but I don’t think it’s as long as it once was. Not sure who that estate belonged to but it’s pretty much nonexistent. You would know that had you stuck around to see if any of us lived.”
>
“How many of you got out?”
“Not many,” admitted James. “My friend Will and one or two others. Fortunately for you, the other two winning bidders were among those that perished. I, however, mean to collect on what you owe me.”
“You had purchased the girl; the money was transferred. The girl was yours. That you could not hold her is not my problem.”
James shook his head. “So, I will be able to label you as one who does not live up to his obligations as well as a coward. As I said, I fear your power and influence are quickly evaporating. Know this, as you say, I bought and paid for Shannon. She belongs to no one but me. I will declare her as such with the Ruling Councils of Canada, the UK, and Western Europe. If you ever touch her again, I’ll kill you.”
DeMoncada went to say something more as James stood. As deMoncada opened his mouth, James’ fist found its way to his nose, completely obliterating it and causing deMoncada to swear from the intensity of the pain.
“Stay away from Shannon and from me. If you ever cross either of our paths again, you will not live to see another sunrise.”
James spun on his heel and strode from the hotel room. He headed down to the front desk and booked himself a two-bedroom suite on a different and higher floor than deMoncada. Once inside he texted Will to let him know he had secured a base of operations for them. Will had replied that he had taken the girl they’d removed from deMoncada’s grasp to the airport and put her on a plane for the Outer Banks of North Carolina. A wolf who had left his pack had become beta to a new pack there and assured him the girl would be safe.
James walked out onto the private balcony and allowed himself to howl his grief and longing for his lost mate. Not lost, he thought, merely missing. The thought of her being in danger or afraid clawed at his gut. This was not a feeling he had ever experienced before. Part of him didn’t want to feel it now. He smiled to himself as he realized that his reaction to the feeling was not that he wished he had never known it, but that he could find her quickly and convince her of what he knew. She was his fated mate and she would be his.
