“Yeah, I do.”
“And?”
I took his hand gently in mine. “Quinten, I promise you, the very second that this is all over, you and I are going to sit down with Ray and arrange everything. I want to be your mate, Quinten; I just don’t want to have something else to think about right now. Plus, I want to actually go out on a date with you, like a normal person.
“I want to get used to thinking of you as something other than just my best friend before we do this. Besides, everything’s up in the air right now. I have one sure thing in my life right now and it’s your friendship. I don’t want that to change. Please say you understand?”
He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I understand, even if I don’t like it. And anyways, if you and I were to become mated now,” he blushed furiously, “It would just give Roger something else to use against you. I don’t want you to get hurt because your mind is on something else.”
I reached up and kissed him on the cheek, pleased at the warmth spreading through me. “I promise. Things are going to work out.”
He nodded. “I know,” he said, taking my hand. He gently rubbed soothing circles over it with his thumb. He took a deep breath. “You mean so much to me, Alanna. I’d use a different word if I didn’t think that it would terrify you.”
Love.
I looked away. “Quinten, right now we just need to focus on keeping each other alive. We’ll talk about all of this later.”
He nodded again. “Alright, let’s go. Ray’s probably been waiting for this forever,” Quinten took my hand in his and it felt…right. It was warm, soft, and perfect for mine.
Ray was seated in the living room chair. He looked up when I cleared my throat, and his eyes zeroed in on our joined hands. There was a second where nobody made any noise.
“It’s about damn time,” he muttered, returning to his book. I smiled and led Quinten over to the couch. “Did you guys talk everything through?”
“Not really. We’re gonna wait to do anything until after this is done. I don’t want anything to get in the way of our survival. It wouldn’t do us much good to be future mates if we don’t live long enough for it to actually happen.”
Ray smiled and nodded. “Good idea. But at least now you know how you feel about each other,” he looked at Quinten. “I agree that you should wait to sort everything out. Best to keep a clear head right now, but I will say this. Quinten, I’ll be proud to call you my son-in-law someday.”
I could practically feel the pleasure radiating off of Quinten. He smiled. “Thank you, sir.”
Ray snorted. “Don’t sir, me. You’re practically family now, and that was before you were going to marry my daughter. You know, it’s kind of strange, but I always expected to hate the father of my future grandbabies.”
“Dad!”
He waved me off. “Don’t you dad me. I’m enjoying what is possibly the only good thing to come out of this horrible week. Don’t go and ruin it for me. And besides, I didn’t say I hated Quinten, I just expected to. He’ll make a great father, I’m sure.”
“Oh, my god,” I held my head in my hands. “Could you please just stop talking now?”
Ray chuckled and I dragged a red-faced Quinten from the living room. “That went well,” he said, breaking the silence.
I stared at him. “It was easier than I thought it’d have to be when I was little. Ray really likes you. I think he’s glad that if I have to be with anyone, it’ll be you. He was right when he said that you were practically family now.”
Quinten didn’t say anything, and I squeezed his hand tightly.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just that…I wanted to ask you that question for so long. Ever since you first told me what you were and I learned about your guys’ mates. I wanted that for us. I just wish I hadn’t waited so long. If I hadn’t,” he turned away from me. “We might have already been mated, and this whole thing with Roger would have never happened.”
“Quinten, I doubt that my having a mate would have stopped his plans for us. He probably would have just killed you and gotten his competition out of the way, never mind what losing you would have done to my soul.”
His hands were dry, but his voice betrayed his nervousness. “Are you sure you wanna wait? We might not make it through this. This could be our only chance to be together.”
He was so close and it felt wonderful feeling so protected and safe. “Quinten, all of those extra emotions will just get in the way, don’t you think? Right now we need to focus on surviving.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t think that’s the only reason you don’t want to do this now. Are you afraid that we won’t bond when we kiss? Is that what you’re worried about?”
I looked at him, and I could tell that he worried about the same thing. What if, after all of this was over and we were finally able to be together, we didn’t bond? Did he have to constantly worry that I would leave him to go looking for my true soul mate?
“Quinten–”
“I mean, I know that you feel the same way I do, or you wouldn’t have agreed to be my mate, but I can’t help but wonder if the day will come when you’ll meet some strange handsome werewolf who isn’t a blind clumsy human, and you’ll get the urge to bond with him. Where does that leave me? I don’t know if I could have you, only to lose you.”
I stared at him. “Quinten, what happens to me when you die? I’ll have you and then lose you forever. I’ll be just like Ray, raising our children as best as I can because it’ll be the closest thing to having you back in my life. Nothing about this is perfect, you have to understand that. I get what you’re worried about, but you don’t need to be worried, because I would never leave you for another man. Werewolves aren’t like that. We mate for life. No matter how long or short that life together is.”
He nodded once. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. I tapped it twice, our signal for him to follow me. “Come on; let’s go find something to do until we can think of a plan.”
*****
The next morning, we were sitting around planning for the inevitable fight between us and Roger, when the phone rang. My first thought was that it would be Roger calling to offer me another deal, but then I quickly realized how stupid that was. I was dead to Roger now, and nothing was going to be able to change that. If he was calling, it would be to tell me he was going to kill me.
I got up and answered the phone, aware that everyone was listening closely. “Hello?”
“Hello there, my name is Miss Johnson. I’m a secretary in the school office. Who am I speaking to?”
“Alanna Moore,” I said, shrugging at Ray and Jax’s confused stares.
“I’m calling about your sister, Ilene–”
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I was hoping that you could tell me,” Miss Johnson sounded surprised. “She didn’t show up for school today, and I was just calling to check if she was sick this morning.”
I looked over at Ray, who was frowning. “No, Ilene wasn’t sick this morning. She left for school before I got up today. She’s really not there?”
“No, I’m afraid not. Have you noticed any changes in her behavior recently? Anything that might indicate where’s she’s disappeared to?”
Does changing into a gigantic beast count?
“I’m sure she just decided to play hooky with some friends. She’s been threatening to do it for a while, to be honest I’m surprised it’s taken this long,” I said, forcing myself to laugh as if my baby sister went missing everyday. “Don’t worry, she’ll be in class tomorrow, I promise.”
I could almost feel Miss Johnson’s disapproval. “She’d better be. I’ll have you know, Miss Moore, that we take truancy very seriously here. If this happens again someone will be notified.”
“Yes, I understand. Thank you.”
She hung up before I’d even finished speaking.
/>
“Ilene didn’t show up for school?” Ray asked, getting to his feet.
“Dad, where are you going?”
“To kick down that bastard’s front door and get my daughter back.”
“Ray, we don’t actually know for sure whether Roger has her or not. If you show up there yelling like a raving lunatic, I’m sure he could find some way to use that against us. Just be calm and we’ll figure this out,” Jax said, trying to force Ray to sit.
I shook my head and went to our bedroom. “Maybe she left us a note or something.”
I searched through the entire bedroom and, when I was searching around her bed, finally found a folded piece of paper that had been left under Ilene’s pillow. Well, that’s not a good place to leave a note, I thought to myself.
I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and, as I unfolded the paper, that feeling got worse.
Hello, love. You’re wrong if you think that our little spat earlier means I’m done with you. I told you the other night that I’m good at getting what I want. You didn’t seriously think that I got to where I am by playing nice, do you? Sometimes you have to put aside any misgivings you might have, and just do what needs to be done.
Misgivings? Doing what needs to be done?
As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, Ilene’s not where she’s supposed to be. It was easy to snatch her from your bedroom. Everybody was busy fawning over you just like they always do. When I threatened to kill you, she didn’t even make a sound. She must still really love you deep down.
That bastard! How could he have taken her without being noticed though?
In case you were wondering, I’ve been watching your house. I have been ever since our fight. It just wouldn’t do for you all to pack up and leave me behind. If you want to see your sister alive, you’ll meet me at my place at one o’clock. Come alone or she dies. Tell anyone and she dies.
Remember Alanna, I’m watching you…
The note wasn’t signed and it didn’t need to be. I’d never really understood how in the movies anyone could actually keep something like this a secret from those they loved, but the second I saw those words…I’m watching you…I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I couldn’t tell Ray about the note. He’d take off to Roger’s house and get himself killed.
What was I supposed to do?
I’d just broken their faith in me by going out on my own. How disappointed would Ray be with me? What about Quinten? Would they ever forgive me?
I folded the note and tucked it into the pocket of my jeans and headed back out into the living room. “I’m sure she’s fine dad,” I said, forcing myself to lie. “She’s angry at everything and everyone; I doubt attending school is her top priority right now.”
“Did any of you see her leave this morning?” Ray demanded.
“No, Ray, I didn’t,” Jax admitted. “I just assumed she took off before we all got up this morning.”
Ray sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. I studied him while he thought. In the years since mom had died, his face had changed. Even though he didn’t age physically, his face had definitely gotten more tired looking. There were lines around his face that hadn’t been there when was mom was alive.
“Ray, what do you wanna do?” Jax asked.
“I don’t know. If she’s not home by the end of the school day, I’ll go out and look for her.”
The note in my pocket felt like it weighed a ton, and I felt even more ashamed than ever before. I almost told Ray, but decided to hold my tongue. There was nothing they could do except march up to Roger’s home and demand that he give Ilene back. That would only give Roger a chance to kill everyone that I loved. I couldn’t let that happen.
I spent the rest of the day helping Ray and Jax come up with some sort of game plan about Roger and Ilene. It didn’t do much good though; it seemed like we sat around doing nothing but planning. If we hadn’t come up with anything by now, we weren’t going to, simple as that.
When five o’clock came around and Ilene still hadn’t returned home, Ray went out to search for her. He took one of her old shirts out to the front porch, shifted, and took a deep whiff of it.
He shook his head to clear it and, darting off into the woods, began to follow Ilene’s scent. In human form I couldn’t tell how fresh the scent was, and I hoped it didn’t lead to Roger’s mansion.
Ray returned later, with a defeated look on his face. “I couldn’t find her. It looks like she made it to school, then left before first period. I lost her scent after that. Not that I could have followed her through town anyways.”
Something didn’t feel right about all of this. If Roger had managed to snatch Ilene from our room, right from under our noses, how did her scent wind up in town? Was Ray following an older scent?
He would have been able to tell, right?
Chapter Nine
When the alarm clock by my bedside table showed eleven thirty, I dressed as quietly as possible, hoping not to disturb Ray. It had taken Jax, Quinten, and I to keep him from charging after Roger and getting himself killed. He wasn’t happy about waiting, but we convinced him that it was the only thing to do. He would hopefully understand later.
I climbed out through my bedroom window, and dropped silently to the ground. I snuck around the front porch, and stopped.
Quinten sat there on the front steps. His head was cocked to one side, and I knew that he was listening for the slightest sound that would end up giving me away in the surrounding silence. How he’d known that I was sneaking out tonight I had no idea. I was sure that I’d managed to keep my plans a secret.
I stopped beside him; it was no use trying to sneak past him. He’d most likely hear any of my movements.
His head tilted a fraction towards me. “Where do you think you’re sneaking off alone to in the middle of the night?”
“Roger kidnapped Ilene. He left me a note saying to meet him at his place at one o’clock, alone.” It was amazing how calm I sounded. “I didn’t want Ray and Jax to follow me. He’d kill them, and Ilene.”
“So you were just planning to sacrifice yourself…again…after you and Ray just had your talk? Alanna, you’re stupid,” Quinten said.
I flinched, and took a seat on the porch step beside him. I didn’t really have the time to spare, but we needed to have this talk or I’d never get away in time for the meeting with Roger.
“Quinten, I have to do this. She’s been acting up lately, but she’s still my sister. She’s just going through a rough patch. Roger’s note said that she didn’t even scream when he grabbed her because he threatened to hurt me. She’s not as far gone as I thought.”
He sighed. “Go back inside, wake everyone up, and tell them. Ray and Jax can back you up.”
“I can’t! Don’t you understand?” I whispered fiercely. “If I do, he’ll kill Ilene. He’ll let her go after I give myself up. I have to save her, I have to.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Alanna, don’t do this, please,” he pleaded.
“Quinten, if I have to knock you out to get away tonight, I will. I don’t want to hurt you, but doing this is important to me.”
“Alanna–”
“If you care about me, you’ll let me do this.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute, and I sighed.
“Quinten, please.”
“I’m coming with you,” he said finally.
“No, you’re not.”
He glared in my general direction. “Dammit Alanna, if you don’t let me come with you, I’ll wake up Ray and Jax, and they can drag you back here kicking and screaming if he has to.”
I studied him in the moonlight; he was dead serious. If I tried to leave him behind, he’d get Ray, and then I would never be able to go anywhere. What would happen to Ilene if I didn’t show up at Roger’s place in a little over an hour?
I thought of something that might just get him to stay behind. “You can’t keep up with me. If I don’t arrive at midnight, he might kill her.”
“That’s a chance you’re going to have to take,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not letting you go alone. I’d rather you take Ray or Jax with you, but he’d probably just consider them as threats. If you show up with me, he’ll probably just laugh.”
I sighed, seeing no other possible way around this. “Alright. If you can’t keep up with me though, I’m going to leave you behind,” I threatened, knowing that I’d do no such thing.
Quinten struggled to keep up with me in the darkness of the forest, and I had to stop repeatedly to grab his hand and help him to his feet. As much as I should have hated having him with me, his cool hand felt reassuring in my hot sweaty nervous one.
I was glad to have company tonight.
But, what was going to happen when we arrived? Would Quinten be able to just watch helplessly as I traded myself for Ilene? Was there a chance that he’d do something drastic and stupid to get himself killed?
It took us almost an hour to get to Roger’s, and I got more and more anxious as we neared the mansion. By the time we arrived, the moon was high above the trees, highlighting the large mansion in front of us. All of the lights were off and it looked ominous. A bad feeling settled in the pit of my stomach for the second time that day, and I hesitated.
“What’s wrong?”
“The lights are all off, and I’ve got this really weird feeling.”
“Me, too.”
I looked up at him. “Really?”
He nodded once. “Listen. There isn’t a single sound around this place other than us. Even the wind isn’t making any noise.”
I shuddered, realizing he was right. The crickets were silent, the usual owls were noiseless, and the wind was quiet as it blew through the trees. The whole scene made me more uncomfortable as the seconds wore on.
Stealing another moment to settle my nerves, I gave Quinten’s hand a reassuring squeeze and tugged him toward Roger’s mansion. The closer we got to the house, the worse the bad feeling got. It was like my every gut instinct was telling me to run and get as far away from this deadly quiet place as possible.
We walked around to the back of the mansion, looking for any sign as to where Roger might be holding Ilene.
Arena Wars Trilogy Page 10
