by Juniper Hart
I can run somewhere to safety and somehow get a message to Damon.
She heard the door to the tavern open and she froze, listening. No sound of footsteps met her ears, but she waited, silently praying that it was Damon.
She knew it was not. She could sense something darker, more sinister in the tavern with her.
“Damon?” she whispered, slowly creeping forward toward the open door. “Damon, is that you?”
A shadow appeared, and Summer felt the blood rush out of her face.
“No need to get excited, sweetheart,” Ty replied, smirking. “It’s just me.”
Chapter Eight
As always, Nash seemed oblivious to Damon’s stealthy entry to his home, but Damon knew the old wolf had seen him coming for hours.
He knew I would come before I even thought about it, he thought.
He walked through the unlocked side door and into the living room, where Nash pretended to be asleep.
“What do we do in a stalemate?” he asked without preamble.
Nash’s face became a grimace of irritation. “I wish you would call before coming over,” he snapped at Damon, but the younger man did not acknowledge his annoyance.
“You never answer your phone.”
“I never want visitors,” Nash shot back.
Damon ignored him and asked again. “Has there ever been a stalemate?” he demanded. “What does it mean?”
Nash shrugged indifferently. “It means that you are not as powerful as you think you are,” Nash chuckled.
“This is serious, Nash,” Damon snapped. “I have never known anything like this.”
Nash grunted and turned to shuffle toward the kitchen, his hands feeling the walls as he walked.
“It is not my problem any longer, Damon. This is your issue.”
Damon gritted his teeth in frustration.
“There is a girl,” he said suddenly, and Nash snorted from out of his view.
“There always is,” he replied.
“She saw Jake and Ty executing a kill order.”
Nash returned to the living room.
“What a shame. Well, collateral damage happens sometimes,” the old seer replied.
“She’s still alive.”
“I know,” Nash sighed. “I was just hoping that my vision was wrong for once. What are you doing?”
“I must protect her,” Damon said quietly. “I don’t know why, but…”
“You’re in a stalemate with someone who wants to overtake you, Damon. Your girl will not be safe under those circumstances unless…” Nash trailed off and took a sip of his tea, his milky eyes focused on a spot above Damon’s head.
“Unless what?” Damon urged.
“I already told you what you need to do to keep the peace. You are stubborn, Damon, but part of being a good leader is knowing when to fold.”
Damon’s mind shifted to Summer, terrified and alone in the tavern in Mandan.
Did I make a promise to her I can’t keep? Damon wondered, his heart beginning to thud. Will Ty try to hurt her?
“I must go,” he gasped, jumping to his feet.
“I’d hurry if I were you,” Nash called after him. “Ty is with her now.”
Palpable fear coursed through Damon as he raced west on Interstate 94 toward Mandan.
If he does anything to her, I will kill him, he thought, the Bronco speeding through the highway without regard for limits or other vehicles.
There was no time to waste, not when Ty had Summer in his clutches.
Am I truly meant to share my leadership with Ty? The pack will not respect either one of us if I agree to this, but what is the other alternative?
His foot lowered onto the gas and the vehicle leapt forward.
He better not have touched her.
The thought of Ty harming Summer was more than he could bear.
Tires squealing, he pulled into the abandoned building and leapt from the car, reaching for the door. He did not see Ty’s blue pick-up, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t parked it down the road somewhere.
The tavern was locked.
Panic gripped Damon and he fumbled for the keys, half-tempted to rip the door from its frame, but he managed to get himself inside, his breaths escaping his lips in jagged spurts.
“Ty?” he yelled. “Summer?”
When no response came, Damon rushed toward the storage room, a wave of dizziness overcoming him.
Oh, my God, don’t let her be dead, he thought as he pushed open the door with unreasonable force.
Lying on the floor was a mound of ropes, stained with Summer’s blood. They were the bounds he had fastened upon her before she left.
Summer was not there.
I didn’t even give her a chance to fight, he scolded himself, woe filling his bones. I left her there like a lamb for the slaughter, a sacrifice to Ty. How could I have not seen this coming?
He recalled how he had thought he sensed someone earlier in the morning, while he and Summer had been talking.
I shouldn’t have dismissed my instinct. Ty was probably watching us all night, waiting for a chance to make his move.
He had been so captivated by her radiance and her sweetness that he had been numbed to the potential danger lurking outside. Now Summer was forced to pay the price for his negligence.
“Damon?”
He rushed toward the doorway and peered out hopefully at the entrance to the lodge.
“Oh,” he sighed, disappointed. “It’s only you.”
Jake chuckled, his eyebrows raised. “You were expecting someone else?”
“Ty took the girl,” he said flatly, and understanding crossed over Jake’s face.
“I see,” he said slowly. “It’s probably for the best. You couldn’t keep her hidden here forever, anyway.”
Damon stared at him, his green eyes wrought with fury and frustration.
“Find out where he is,” he hissed. “I want his head.”
Jake maintained the bemused expression on his face as he dished out his cell phone.
“I’ll see what I can do, but if he killed the girl against your wishes, I would say he’s probably not going to answer his cell.”
“Just find him!” Damon roared. “And don’t tell him I am looking for him.”
I need to find where he put her body, he thought dully. And give her a proper burial.
“He’s not answering his phone,” Jake said, ending the call. “But I know his usual haunts. I can go looking if you want, boss. You gonna be here?”
Damon sank onto the dilapidated brown sofa and nodded.
“I’ll be here in case he comes back,” he muttered. “Keep me posted.”
Jake nodded, vanishing out the front door and leaving Damon alone with his thoughts.
He won’t hurt her; there is no benefit to him defying me. The pack will still back me up. He would only serve to banish himself, at minimum.
They adhered to a strict code, which forbade them from killing one another, but Damon was worried he would not be able to contain himself if Ty had really killed Summer.
He must know that, Damon considered grimly. But he doesn’t care. He wants me to try to kill him so I will face the council. He hopes he will be named alpha if I’m gone.
The realization filled him with rage and helplessness as he thought of Summer dying at Ty’s hands. Throwing his head back, he released a howl of unadulterated pain, a sound that shook the glass in the windows.
No matter what the consequences, Ty would pay.
It was two hours before there was any word from Jake, and when his cell finally rang, Damon snatched up the phone expectantly.
“Where is he?” Damon growled.
There was a deep sigh.
“I don’t know, boss,” Jake answered, sounding distraught. “I have looked everywhere, but I can’t seem to find him. No one’s seen him.”
“Go to the girl’s workplace,” Damon urged. “Maybe he went there.”
There was a slight pause a
nd Jake cleared his throat.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea, boss? She’s missing, after all, and I don’t want to put myself in the middle of an active investigation.”
“If I wasn’t sure, Jake, I wouldn’t have said it!” he snarled. “Go to her work and see if he’s there.”
“Okay,” Jake relented. “I’ll keep you posted.”
As they ended their calls, Damon fleetingly entertained the thought of turning Ty in for Summer’s disappearance. However, he immediately dismissed the idea, embarrassed it had crossed his mind.
That is not the Lycan way. We take care of things by our own laws.
The waiting was driving him over the edge. He was not sure how much more he could take of not knowing where Summer was.
She is the one, he understood.
Never had he been so overcome with such a desire to protect someone than he had with Summer. He didn’t understand it, but he knew better than to question the feelings. He’d heard stories about Lycans finally finding their fated mates after roaming the earth for hundreds of years. The connection was instant and unquestioned. If Summer was his soul mate, he would be one of the fortunate ones; he was only ninety-six years old.
Some go their entire lives without ever knowing their fated mates. I have met mine and Ty has wrenched her away from me.
His mind turned over and over, twisting between love for Summer and loathing for Ty.
Finally, Damon could take no more of his inner turmoil, and he raced toward the door. He needed to escape the confines of the tavern and do something before he went mad.
As his hand closed about the handle and he jerked the door backward, he stumbled back in surprise.
Ty stood, seeming just as surprised when he saw Damon standing there.
“Where is she?” Damon screamed, his body transitioning as the lava in his blood flowed. “Where did you take her?”
Ty threw his hands back and smirked.
“Whoa!” he laughed. “Easy there, big—”
Ty did not have time to finish his sentence. Damon had attacked, his fangs elongated into sharp points of rage. He sunk his teeth into Ty’s forearm, which had been raised to protect his face.
“Damon!” he shrieked. “Stop!”
But there was no stopping the pack leader as he howled in anguish, determined to end Ty’s miserable existence.
“Stop!” Ty screeched again as Damon tried to gnash at his throat. Suddenly, Damon was flying backward through the air and Ty had shifted into his dark, furry form, snarling ferociously.
Instantly, Damon was on his feet, circling his underling, but Ty was ready for him. The two squared off, their eyes an identical shade of yellow.
Stop this, Ty told him silently. You are fighting the wrong—
Damon did not allow him to finish, lunging for his face.
Where is she? Damon snarled internally, keeping his jaws locked on Ty’s snout. Where is Summer?
Ty yelped in pain, wrenching his head back as he struggled to untangle himself from Damon’s clutches.
She’s—
“Damon, stop!”
Damon dropped Ty on the ground and whirled to look at Summer, who stood in the doorway.
His body sagged with relief as he recognized her unscathed, but appearing terrified as she watched the scene before her eyes.
Slowly, his body shifted back, and he stood staring at her, sweat pouring from his forehead as Ty whimpered in the corner, licking his wounds.
“You’re safe!” he breathed, rushing toward her, but she flinched as though she was worried he was going to harm her. “You’re okay!”
She nodded, biting on her lower lip.
“I’m okay,” she echoed.
“What did he do to you?”
“Nothing!” she declared, hurrying inside to tend to Ty.
He had begun transitioning back, but he was bleeding badly about his face. She extended a hand to help him up. Ty was hurt mor, his breathing erratic as he stared at Damon.
“Are you okay?” Summer murmured at him as Ty lumbered to his feet.
Damon snorted contemptuously. “He’s fine,” he snapped.
As he spoke, Ty’s wounds began to heal, and Summer watched on in fascination.
“Where did he take you?” Damon demanded.
“He took me to deal with some business,” Summer murmured quietly, looking away, and Damon was suddenly filled with apprehension.
“What kind of business?”
“Why don’t you ask him instead of attacking him?” Summer shot back. Her eyes turned beseechingly to Ty.
What is going on here? Damon thought, looking at Ty for clarification.
Ty opened his mouth to respond, fully transformed into his human form, but before he could speak, Jake appeared in the doorway.
“Oh, good, you found him,” Jake breathed happily. “I was worried I would never see you two together again.”
“Yeah, we found each other,” Damon snarled from between clenched teeth. “I am just about to learn where they have been together.”
“I can tell you where,” Jake offered conversationally. “They were out doing your bidding, like good underlings should.”
Damon barely acknowledged him, turning his attention back to Ty, but as he did, he saw Ty’s eyes widen in shock. Damon whirled back to look just as Jake fired off a shot from a revolver aimed directly at Summer’s heart.
Chapter Nine
Six Hours Earlier
Summer opened her mouth to scream, but Ty moved so quickly, she didn’t see him coming, and he slapped a hand over her lips.
“Don’t scream, Summer,” he told her. “Just shut up and listen.” She stared at him with wide, horrified eyes. “I am going to take my hand away, but I want you to stay quiet. Nod if you understand.”
She nodded slowly, her gaze fixated on his face as her mind whirled over what to do.
Desperately, she looked around the small storage area for a weapon, but she knew anything she found would be useless against Ty’s supernatural abilities.
Damon was wrong. He is going to kill me. Damon can’t protect me.
“I’ve had my eye on you for a long time,” Ty told her, slowly removing his hand from her mouth. “Months, really.”
She swallowed her fear, but did not respond.
Why would he be following me for months? Dread loomed heavy in her stomach. She silently begged Damon to hurry back, but she knew that Damon could not save her. She was at Ty’s mercy and there was little she could do about it.
“Come with me,” he said, waving a hand. “And if you try anything stupid, you’ll regret it.”
Numbly, she followed, believing his threat. There was no way to send a message to Damon, no way to warn him about Ty.
“Damon will be back,” she whispered. “He’ll know you took me.”
Ty turned and leered at her.
“And?” he demanded. “So what if he does?”
Summer had no answer for that, her head growing light with terror as they walked from the cabin and toward Ty’s Chevy pick-up.
He’s going to tell him I escaped and then bury my body the same place they put all the other bodies. How many hundreds of bodies will be there?
She hoped her death would be painless, but she didn’t have high hopes for such an end. Ty seemed like the sadistic type.
“Get in,” he ordered, and she obligingly slipped into the passenger seat as Ty mounted the driver’s.
“Where are we going?” she whispered, afraid to hear the answer.
Ty grinned, but he didn’t answer as the truck sped down the road.
It was the first time Summer had seen the area where she had been taken, and she slowly began to recognize her surroundings.
In case he brings me back here and I need to know where I’m going, Summer thought, but in the back of her mind, she knew that the only reason that Ty was allowing her to see anything was because she would never see the place again. It will probably be the last place I e
ver see.
She idly wondered why he didn’t just kill her in the tavern. It would make the most sense if he wanted Damon to see what he had done.
Unless he has something else planned for me. Shivers of terror raced up and down her spine as they reached the interstate.
“Where are we going?” she asked, but she didn’t receive a response.
The answer was soon evident, puzzling, and horrific as Summer stared out the window at the bungalow on East Boulevard Avenue, gasping in shock. They were outside the place she shared with Lara.
“What are we doing here?” she mewled, her heart racing.
“We’re waiting for someone to come home,” he replied, shutting off the truck. He reached behind the passenger seat and pulled up a handbag, thrusting it onto her lap. Summer stared at it blankly, trying to remember the last time she had held it in her hands.
“Tonya says she hopes you feel better. I had one of the guys tell her that he was your cousin and that you are really sick.”
“But she’s seen you at the bar. She knows we aren’t related.”
“That’s why I had one of the other guys do it,” he smirked.
Dread wreaked havoc on her insides and the gravity of the situation fully hit home with her for the first time.
No one is looking for me. They have ensured that no one will miss me when I disappear forever. I will be as noticeable in death as I have been in life.
Tears of self-pity sprung to her eyes. Life was so unfair.
How can you have shown me someone as intense and protective as Damon, only to wrench that security clear away from me? How can you tease me with the prospect of love and end my life?
Ty pushed her inside the doorway, slamming the door behind him, and the two continued a few steps down the center hallway to the kitchen, where Ty flopped unceremoniously onto a chair. Summer eyed him balefully from the threshold.
“Stop glaring at me and sit down,” he snapped. “Got any coffee in this house?”
Summer gnawed on her lower lip before reluctantly making coffee for her uninvited guest.
“What do you want with Lara?” she finally dared to ask after the percolator started to run.
Ty eyed her, drumming his fingers on the table. “What has good old Damon told you about his little arrangement with us?”
