“Brody loves Meg,” Elliot said. “He’ll find her. I’ll wait out here for him to come back. Then we’ll go and get your mate.”
Caleb ached to be doing something. He wanted to be running to Meg’s rescue, but running aimlessly was a waste of his energy. He had known this was going to be a confrontation where he needed to use his strategic advantage to win. He just needed to stay sane while he put everything into place.
“Caleb,” Sean said. “Aiden has gone out to search as well. I’ll tell you as soon as I hear from him.”
“Thank you, Sean. Stay with Kaitlyn, we don’t want Selwyn Graves to use this distraction to come in and take her from you.”
Sean’s growl was low and feral. “Aiden already thought of that. We’re safe.”
“I’ll have Brayden ready to come with us in case we need him,” Prescott said, “but I’m sending Josh and Shane to your ranch.”
Caleb waited and listened as the rest of the pride got into position. The ones that he might need with him were all at locations Brody had previously arranged. The rest of the pride was keeping the town and Kaitlyn safe.
He padded to the dresser and picked up the leather pouch with his mouth. Landon left the room when Caleb’s parent’s arrived. He returned moments later and took off his clothes before shifting.
“We’ll be coming home with both our mates unharmed, Alpha.”
“And with not one single Nephilim left alive.” Caleb did the hardest thing he’d ever had to do since becoming Alpha. He did nothing but wait.
* * * *
“She’s got to be here somewhere. Keep looking,” the man said as he walked below the tree Meg was perched in. She had climbed to the highest branch that would sustain her weight, hoping her scent was lost to them from this high up. So far, it seemed to be working.
“I’m sure she came this way. I can smell her around here somewhere.” The voice of a second man drifted up to her.
Shit. This isn’t good enough. Think, Meg. Think.
“Meg!” Aiden’s voice sounded loudly in her mind. She startled and snow rained down from the branch she was standing on.
“Something moved over here,” the man below said. She heard his footsteps approach again.
“Shit, Shit. Shit. He’s going to find me, Aiden. How can I hide my scent from them?”
“Are you hiding from Nick?” Aiden said.
“No, I haven’t seen him, but there are three other men scouring the forest for me. I ran from an old barn one of them brought me to.”
“I’m getting help for you, Meg,” Aiden said, and then there was silence. She waited as the men came closer. Her heart ached for her mates, scared that she’d never see them again.
“They’re coming.” Meg didn’t have time for this. She wanted her mates. She wanted to be wrapped safe in their arms, not freezing to death while she ran from evil half-angels.
“Water, Meg.” Caleb’s voice in her mind sent shivers through her body. “If you can get yourself into water and stay under they won’t be able to scent you.”
“Caleb?”
“Don’t talk, baby, just listen. Are you near any water?”
Meg closed her eyes and tried to block out the sounds of the men below as they beat at bushes with branches, trying to scare her out. She could hear water. She opened her eyes and saw the small stream not a hundred feet away. It flowed slowly, half of it covered in ice.
“I can see a stream.”
“As soon as you can, go there. Just keep your cute little nose above the water and hang on. We’ll come for you, baby.”
“Now that we have that settled, where the hell are you, honey?” Lachlan said.
“I can see the barn they took me to. It’s all falling down and faded but it used to be blue. It has no doors and the house near it has been burnt down. Only the foundations remain.”
“That’s the old Cottee ranch, just six miles from our ranch,” Prescott said. “I’m about five minutes from you, baby. I’ll draw them away and you run for the stream as fast as you can.”
“Prescott,” Caleb said, “we’ll be with you as soon as we can.”
All the voices went silent, but Meg no longer felt alone. Her mates had linked to her and they were coming. Aiden was a surprise though. She hadn’t know he could do that.
* * * *
Caleb was going to kiss the vampire when he saw him next. Aiden had reached out with his mind and found Meg. Caleb hadn’t even thought to try and link with her. He would kick his own ass later for that oversight. Meg had shifted and now that they were mated he was able to initiate a link to her as her Alpha. Once he’d established their connection, she was able to hear the rest of the pride members if they directed their thoughts to her, including his brothers.
“I’ve found them,” Brody said. He appeared between Landon and Caleb, his face flushed and pink from the cold.
Caleb didn’t want to shift and cut his link with Meg, but he had too much to tell Brody. Dropping the leather pouch on the ground he pushed down his furious cougar and shifted.
“She’s at the Cottee farm. Aiden found her, she's shifted and got away from three other Nephilim,” Caleb said. He pulled on a pair of sweats and picked up the leather pouch.
“I didn’t see Meg. But I know there were four Nephilim there. Nick is there somewhere with the other three.” Landon growled and nudged Brody with his head. Brody staggered back and fell on his ass.
Caleb held out his hand and helped Brody to stand. “Easy, Landon, you don’t want to break him,” Caleb said. “Prescott is probably already there. Can you take Landon and me there then collect Elliot and Lachlan? Lachlan is in the clearing with the lightening burnt tree.
Brody had named all the rendezvous spots with things he could remember, so Caleb stuck to the names Brody had given them. Brody nodded, took Caleb’s hand, and in the next breath he and Landon were standing behind the old Cottee barn.
“Fucking hell,” Caleb said. “That is one strange way to travel.”
Landon shook his head and quietly moved to the door of the barn. A loud roar sounded to the left and Caleb guessed that Prescott had arrived. Leaving his brother to distract the Nephilim looking for Meg, Caleb followed Landon into the barn. Elliot appeared behind them and stalked silently beside him, despite his massive size.
The air was freezing and dark clouds loomed low in the sky, more snow was coming. The barn carried a strong scent of burnt flesh. The same smell Nicholas had left behind two days ago when Brody had sent a ball of fire raining down on him.
Nicholas was here. Brody and Lachlan appeared at Caleb’s side. Lachlan shifted back and Caleb swiftly handed him one of the daggers from the pouch. They would not let this Nicholas get away again, not now they had the means to end this and make Meg safe.
“And who do we have sneaking in to see us, Nick?”
* * * *
Meg heard Prescott’s roar and watched as the men below moved off in his direction. Caleb had told her to head to the water, but she desperately wanted to go and help them. She jumped slowly from branch to branch, trying not to shake too much snow loose.
As she reached the lowest branch, she heard another loud roar. Prescott might need my help. She wouldn’t endanger her men by doing something stupid. She’d failed to trust them before and she’d nearly been killed back in San Diego. I’ll do exactly what Caleb told me to do.
She reluctantly turned toward the stream and ran as fast as she could to the very edge before lowering herself silently into the frigid water. The current was stronger than it had looked, and she was swept quickly downstream. Her body was pushed painfully against the ice edging both sides of the stream, but she paddled slowly to keep herself afloat while trying to remain silent.
Just when her rising panic of being drowned was about to overwhelm her, her rear paws snagged a submerged branch. She pushed down, embedding her claws into the soft wood. The water flowed past her, but she was no longer being swept along.
Now that she no lo
nger feared drowning and had stopped paddling, the freezing temperature of the water became more obvious. She lowered her head until only her nose was above the water and used her front paws to find more purchase on the branch. She was too cold to even shiver. The temperature quickly cooled her warm shifter blood to the point where her bones were hurting.
She’d never felt so cold before. But she’d wait for her mates to come get her. She’d gone against every instinct to be here, that’s how much she trusted them.
* * * *
Aiden was running in the direction Sean had sent him. He’d left Meg’s mind to allow her to focus on her mates and he was now running to help them. He heard the roar of a cat, and reached out his mind. Prescott. He was trying to distract the ones searching for Meg and he’d succeeded, he had two of the Nephilim walking toward him.
Prescott roared again as one of the Nephilim pulled out a lighter. Just as the Nephilim ran his thumb over the wheel, Aiden finally reached Prescott and ran the cougar away from the rolling ball of fire the Nephilim sent roaring toward him.
Running behind the two Nephilim, Aiden dropped Prescott behind one and reached for the other one, bending him in half so quickly that his spine snapped in half. He dropped the disabled Nephilim and turned to help Prescott.
The cougar dropped the man’s head on the ground where it landed with a thud, the body sliding down beside it with a sickening squelch.
“Are they dead?” Prescott said. The bodies of both Nephilim twitched where they lay.
“Yours definitely is, but mine will be able to travel as soon as his spine heals. Then we’ll lose him.”
Prescott stepped up to the other Nephilim and wrapped his jaws around its head. With a shake, the Nephilim’s head was wrenched free and Prescott dropped it next to the other one.
“You’re cleaning that up yourself,” Aiden said. He turned and ran for the barn to help Brody and the others.
“I’m going to find Meg,” Prescott said. “Thank you, Aiden.”
Aiden had reached out for Meg as he ran and sent an urgent message back to Prescott. “She did as Caleb instructed, but the water is freezing. If she stays in there much longer, she’s going to freeze to death.”
Aiden tried to get Meg to answer him, but the only thought going through her mind was cold.
He left Meg’s mind and focused on Lachlan’s and Landon’s as they were in more immediate danger. They had found Nicholas Thomson, and he had more help than they’d anticipated. He’d brought demons with him as well.
Chapter 16
“We have a little demon here to play with as well, Nick.” A tall man with dark hair and olive skin stood next to the charred looking Nicholas in the center of the barn.
Stealth had become unnecessary when they’d been discovered. Caleb stood beside his brother while Landon and Elliot stood as their bears, each towering over ten feet high as they reared on their hind legs on either side of Brody.
Caleb had the bone knife concealed in his hand, as did Lachlan, but until they could get close enough to the Nephilim to use them, they were useless.
“Those two,” Nicholas said, his voice coming out as a dry croak. He pointed the blackened stump of a finger at Caleb and then Lachlan. “They reek of my Meg. I want to kill them myself.”
“I like the little demon,” said the man behind them. “He’s pretty. I want him for a pet.”
Landon roared, and the side wall of the barn collapsed. Dust rose and the roof collapsed. Caleb ducked instinctively, but when nothing rained down on him, he looked up. The roof was in pieces as it hovered several feet above their heads. It was suspended motionless in the air.
“Child’s play,” said the man in front of them. He flicked his hand and the roof moved to the side before sliding harmlessly to the ground.
“Once I’ve had my Meg, I’ll be as strong as these demons,” Nicholas said. “My wounds will be gone and I’ll have another few hundred years of life to look forward to.”
Caleb hadn’t realized how much power the man thought to gain from Meg. He glanced at Brody who quickly nodded. No wonder Nicholas didn’t want to let Meg go.
Landon swept out a paw as the demon behind them moved closer to Brody. The demon was gone before Landon could strike him. He appeared at Lachlan’s side and Lachlan rose into the air to hover ten feet above them.
Brody looked directly at Nicholas. Caleb could feel the demon’s power begin to charge the air. He prepared himself for whatever opportunity Brody might give him. Lachlan suddenly vanished and the familiar scent of vampire filled the air. Caleb directed his focus solely on Brody.
“I’m taking my demon pet now.” The demon who had attacked Lachlan appeared at Brody’s side, his hands outstretched.
The air filled with the roar of bears and the shrieks of pain. Caleb felt the heat on his skin and he watched as the ground began to boil in pools at the feet of both demons’ and Nicholas. They were sinking into the earth like they were standing on molten lava.
Caleb didn’t wait. He ran at preternatural speed to Nicholas and plunged the dagger into his heart. He didn’t know what he’d expected, apart from the man’s death, but it certainly wasn’t the explosion of flesh and bone that showered over him.
Ignoring the dripping gore, he plunged the bloody knife into the chest of the sinking, screaming demon who’d been standing beside Nicholas. The explosion was even more spectacular, the remains showering over the entire barn.
Caleb turned, prepared to run to the demon beside Brody, but found it wasn’t necessary. Landon had ripped the demon in half. He presented the severed torso to Lachlan, who plunged the other bone dagger into the demon’s heart. The torso erupted in a similar fashion to the other demon, showering them all in pieces of the demon.
Landon shifted and scooped his mate into his arms. He sat down as though his legs had collapsed, holding Brody tightly to his chest. Elliot shifted and sat beside Landon. He wrapped his big arm around Brody’s slim shoulders.
“I’m not sure it was necessary to stab him, Lachlan,” Brody said. He wriggled in Landon’s arms and pulled pieces of flesh from his hair. “I think you killed him twice.”
Aiden didn’t smile as Caleb and Lachlan did at Brody’s joke. Caleb’s heart thudded painfully in his chest. “Prescott?”
“He’s gone to find Meg. She did as you said and went into the water. She’s freezing to death.”
Brody disappeared as Caleb and Lachlan shifted and ran from the barn. I told her to hide in the water. What was I thinking? When they’d used that trick as children to evade each other in games it had been summer. Have I saved Meg from Nicholas just to kill her myself?
* * * *
Prescott easily found the spot where Meg had entered the water, her tracks and scent led him there in minutes. He walked beside the stream, looking for her as a leopard or human, but after five minutes he’d still not found her and he began to panic.
He stayed shifted so he could keep calling her in case she had stayed shifted, but she hadn’t answered him yet. “Meg. Please baby, you can get out of the water. I’m here to protect you now.” The current was strong, and he continued looking for her, hoping with every step that she’d answer or he’d see her snowy white fur below the surface of the water.
“It’s over,” Aiden said. “Help is on the way, Prescott.”
“How long has she been in the water now?”
Prescott roared when Caleb answered his question. “From when you roared and drew the Nephilim away from her.” He felt Caleb’s guilt and fear drip from every word.
Caleb could beat himself up later over his decision to send Meg into the stream. Right now, Prescott needed to find his mate. He considered going back upstream in case he’d missed her, but decided to trust himself and not give in to the dread and fear that threatened to cripple him.
With each step, he scanned the water, looking for any ripple, any sign that his leopard was hiding below the surface. After another few minutes of slow pacing, he was ready
to turn back, certain she couldn’t have travelled so far from her entry point. Then a small white patch below the water ahead caught his eye. The water flowed around it making small eddy’s in the otherwise uninterrupted current of water.
Uncaring of the water’s temperature, he shifted and dived into the stream. He swam underwater toward the obstruction and nearly wept when his hands encountered Meg’s unmistakable soft fur.
He planted his feet and found the water was only chest-high. Meg’s nose was still above the surface, but when he tried lifting her out she failed to move. He dove back under, and found she’d dug her claws into a submerged log. “Clever girl, Meg. But you need to let go now.”
He knew she was unconscious, and the cold would have put her into a coma a long time ago, but talking to her calmed him. It assured him she was alive.
“You found her,” Brody said. “Why can’t you get her out of the water? She’s over here,” Brody then yelled.
“I’m trying, Brody. Come on, baby. Work with me here.” Prescott dived under the water again and let Meg go. He used both hands to painstakingly pry each claw from the wood one at a time.
By the time he’d freed three of her paws, he was able to finally jerk her free. He waded to the stream’s edge where Brody stood wringing his hands, and placed Meg on the cold bank. He quickly pulled himself out and checked her breathing.
“She’s not breathing,” Prescott said. The words choked him and he shivered uncontrollably. His shaking wasn’t caused by the cold. “I don’t know what to do.”
* * * *
Brody was not going to lose the first person who had ever treated him kindly in the whole of his life.
“Well move aside and let me at her until you work your shit out.” He pushed the unresisting man aside and knelt by Meg.
He knew exactly what to do if she were human, so he’d just do that. He opened her mouth and let the water flow out. Then he pushed on her chest where he guessed her heart may be for a minute or so before closing her mouth and breathing into her nose.
Fighting Heaven for Love [Pine Falls 2] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) Page 12
