“You forget,” Becca replied, gritting her teeth at his mistrust, “I used to work for the bastard. I know a little bit more about how his mind works. What makes him tick. He’s from Washington. That’s where he grew up. It would make sense that he would go back there after you demolished the one place he felt safe in Alaska. He’s hiding. But he would want to see Chase and the girls personally, to make sure they were really captured. Then he will move them.”
“How the hell would you know all of that?” Phoenix snarled. “The General doesn’t seem like the type who would confide in someone else, especially about his personal life.”
“He didn’t,” she shrugged, her eyes trained on her computer, “but you all aren’t the only ones with…gifts.”
“You’ve been keeping some secrets of your own,” Angel said quietly.
Becca glanced at Jaxson, then up to her. “It’s safer that way,” she whispered.
“We will talk about this later,” Angel said, touching her lightly on the shoulder. She stiffened, but didn’t pull away. Angel caught a glimpse of Becca covering a small body cowering in a corner, blood streaming down her back from the lashes of a whip, a beating she’d taken for the person she was protecting, and then there was nothing. Becca had shoved her out of her mind, and locked it down tight.
Taking a step back, Angel looked at Jaxson. “You and Becca dig deep into all three places, and find the right one. We don’t have time to fly to one, just to find out we picked wrong.”
“On it, boss.”
There was a low buzz in the room as everyone began to talk at once, excitement beginning to build now that they were finally narrowing things down. Angel was itching to get on the road. She was so close, she could almost taste it.
Angel? Mom, can you hear me? I need you. The words whispered through Angel’s mind, so soft and distant that she almost missed them. She froze, holding up a hand for silence, and everyone in the room instantly became still.
Mom, please. Please be there.
It was Jade. The sound of her daughter’s voice brought tears to her eyes. She’d tried so hard to reach both Jade and Chase since they were taken, but was unable to. There had been no answer, and she was unable to merge with them. I’m right here, sweetheart, she said urgently. Talk to me, Jade. Where are you? “Come on, baby,” she said out loud, “talk to me.”
I don’t know for sure. The response was so faint, and she could feel Jade’s exhaustion through their link. I think I’m somewhere in Washington, near the Seattle area. The last sign I saw said North Bend, but I didn’t stop. We can’t stop. I have to put distance between us. I have to keep my sisters safe. I promised, she stumbled over her words, tears evident in her voice, I promised Chase.
Chase isn’t with you? Angel asked, already knowing the answer. If Jade promised Chase she would keep Faith and Hope safe, then he wasn’t there to do it himself.
No.
It was just one word, but it spoke volumes. The pain, the total agony enveloping her daughter, made its way through the thread that held them together and into Angel, suffocating her and putting her to her knees. Nico was instantly kneeling beside her, clasping her hand tightly in his, but he did not say a word. He knew better than to interrupt when she was linked to somebody. Is he? She couldn’t finish her question. It hurt too much, and she was unable to get the words out.
I don’t know, Jade replied. I’m so sorry, Mom. I just did what he told me to, and got the girls away. It was what he wanted.
Angel swallowed hard, gripping Nico’s hand tightly in hers. As you should have, she said. You did good, baby. She felt someone else kneel on the other side of her, and knew instantly that it was Steele. Reaching out, she covered his hand with hers, squeezing hard as she whispered to Jade, Your dad and I are coming for you, Jade.
I can’t hold the link any longer, Jade whispered.
It’s okay, baby. We’re on our way. Find somewhere to hide, and I will contact you again when our plane touches down.
I’m so scared, Mom. Not for me, but for my sisters. The General can’t get them.
I know, Jade, but you have to be strong. You have to keep them safe until we get there.
Mom.
Yes?
Tell Trace, she hesitated, tell him how much I love him.
He already knows, baby, but I will.
The link was severed before she could say more, and Jade was gone. As a shudder ran through her, she stayed quiet for a moment, fighting to get control of her emotions. Finally, she let go of Nico and Steele and rose, curling her fingers into fists, her nails digging into her palms. Glancing around the room, she said, “Jade has Faith and Hope. They’ve escaped. Becca was right. They are in Washington, somewhere near Seattle, close to a small town I’ve never heard of.”
“Which one?” Jaxson asked.
“North Bend.”
“And Chase?” Sable questioned, the worry evident in her voice.
“I don’t know,” Angel admitted. “All Jade could tell me was that he wasn’t with her.”
“Someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Trigger growled. When Angel’s eyes narrowed on him, he looked around the room. “Are you all psychics or something?”
Shit. Angel had forgotten that not all members of the pack knew about the gifts she and her team possessed, along with several other members that had joined the White River Wolves in the past year. Before she could respond, Sable shook her head, “Bran or I will fill them in later. Finding Jade and the girls is more important.”
“You know?”
“Yes, but I will never give up your secrets, and neither will anyone else in this room. I trust them with my life.”
“Thank you,” she told the woman quietly, before turning to Nico. “Call the airport and make sure the plane is ready. We leave now.”
“I want to go,” Bran said, stepping forward.
“Not going to happen, Bran. I need you here.”
“Dammit, we have to find Chase!”
“And we will,” Angel promised, “but right now I need you here. As pack beta, I’m leaving you in charge.”
“I understand.” Even though he agreed, she could tell he wasn’t happy about it. His alpha was out there somewhere, and he was stuck in the compound, unable to help find him.
“Bran, I need you to keep Alanna and Fallon safe. The council is counting on us to watch over them, and they are now a part of our pack. Remember, above all else, we protect what is ours.”
Bran bowed his head, then nodded, “Yes, Alpha.”
She had never thought about what it would mean when she and Chase mated. They were both alphas, leaders, and used to being in charge. Had she thought they would go on being alphas of their own packs? Divided as they had been for a year now? She was finding out quickly that doing things the old way wasn’t going to be an option. The White River Wolves now looked to her for guidance, and it would seem she and Chase would be united together, alphas to one large pack.
Angel froze, wasn’t that what Chase had been trying to tell her since the very beginning? That they would be stronger together, united as one? She had done nothing but continue to deny him, thinking she needed to bring the General down so that she knew for sure her children were safe before she followed her own happiness. She had been so wrong.
“My team goes with me,” she said, “but there is not enough room on the plane for everyone.” She could tell the White River Wolves were not happy. Their alpha’s life was on the line, and they wanted to be there, too. “I have room for two more. Slade and Sable will come with me. The rest of you are needed here. Stay vigilant and guard the pack. We have no idea what the General will do now that he doesn’t have my children any longer.”
“Shit,” Bran muttered, “I didn’t think about that. What if he retaliates?”
“Then you fight,” Angel said simply.
15
Five hours later, Angel and her team were making their way stealthily to an old abandoned barn approximately two
miles outside of a small town, a good two hours from Seattle. We are here, Jade.
Mom?
We have the building surrounded, and have cased the perimeter. There is no one here. It is safe to show yourself.
Angel watched, her heart in her throat, as a white wolf, so similar to her own, emerged from the dilapidated building, stopping to scan the area intently, before her gaze settled on Angel. The girls won’t come out. They are terrified.
Of course, they were. They had spent their entire life as prisoners of the General, until RARE rescued them. After everything they were put through, they would be scared to death at the idea of returning to that life. They don’t have to. I’m coming to them. Knowing there would be no holding Trace back, and that Steele would want to be near his daughter, she murmured through her comms, “Steele, Storm, and Trace, you are with me. The rest of you stay alert.”
They quickly made their way to Jade, and Trace reached down and scooped her into his arms, burying his face into the soft fur at her neck. “Let’s get her out of the open, Trace,” Angel urged, moving past them to enter the dimly lit barn. She’d just stepped inside when there was a loud whine and then two balls of fluff came flying at her. Falling to the ground, she caught them both in her arms, holding them close, tears flowing down her cheeks. “It’s okay, babies, I’m here now. Everything is going to be okay.”
It was several moments before Faith shifted, and looked at her with wide, solemn eyes. “It is not okay. They killed daddy.”
“What?” A pain like no other filled her, and she felt a scream of agony fighting its way up her throat. Chase was dead?
“No, Hope, we don’t know that,” Jade said, from where she had also shifted and was now wrapped tightly in her mate’s arms, covered in a blanket.
“They shot him so many times,” Faith whispered.
“Oh, God,” Angel moaned, her body beginning to shake. She knew she needed to be strong, but she also knew that if Chase really was gone from this world, it would break her, and there would be no coming back from it.
She felt someone near, and then arms slipped around her. “He’s alive. I know it. I feel it.”
Struggling to breathe, her chest heaving as she fought to hold the howls of rage and pain inside, Angel rasped, “You feel him? You can connect to him?” She had tried so many times, but there was always just dark nothingness.
“No,” Jade admitted, “I can’t. But you should have seen him, Mom. He took out most of the General’s men to save us, with his hands bound in chains.”
“What?” Steele asked, turning from where he stood by the door. He’d stayed back this whole time, keeping a lookout for enemies.
Angel looked up at Jade, clutching Faith and Hope tightly to her. “He was drawing their attention from you.”
“I’ve never seen anyone fight like him,” Jade said, her eyes wide with awe. “He fell down, but just got back up and went after the next one. They put bullet after bullet in him, but he didn’t stop. It was like he had nothing to lose.”
“No,” Storm said from where she stood by her mate, “it wasn’t that he had nothing to lose, Jade. There is nothing more dangerous than a man with everything to lose. He considers you girls his daughters, his to protect. He loves you.”
Jade nodded, her emerald eyes full of tears. “He does. He told me that we are all his, even Jinx.” Rubbing the wetness from her eyes, she whispered, “They took us to this place out in the middle of nowhere. There was a helicopter, and the driver said we better say our final goodbyes because we were going to be split up when we got to wherever it was they were taking us. Chase wouldn’t let that happen. He told us to shift, and that I was to take care of my sisters, and get them to Mom. When I told him that I didn’t want to leave him, that I was afraid we would never be able to find him, he said Angel would find him.”
The howl of pain she had barely been preventing escaped; long, loud, and full of misery. Chase was out there somewhere, hurt, possibly even dying. He was counting on her to find him, and she had no idea where to start. What was she going to do? Her mate needed her, and she didn’t know where to turn.
16
“He’s a stubborn bastard, and strong as hell,” Chase heard someone mutter.
“Is he going to make it?” The voice was low and emotionless.
“It is too soon to tell, General. I will do my best, but I am a scientist, not a doctor.” General. The fucking General was there. The bastard who wanted to take everything he loved from him. Chase moved his hands experimentally, and then his arms, not enough to attract attention, but just enough to tell he was not bound down. They thought he was hurt so badly that he was incapacitated. That was their first mistake.
“I suggest you do better than that,” the General commanded darkly, “if you want to live, that is.”
“Yes, sir.” The quiver in his voice almost made Chase feel sorry for the guy…almost. What stopped him was the way the man was brutally removing the bullets from his body. Digging around in Chase’s flesh as if he didn’t care if it hurt or not. He was not someone to feel compassion for, as the feeling was not mutual.
Chase opened his eyes just a crack, peeking through narrow slits to look at the men who stood over him. The one digging into his shoulder was short, scrawny, and a thin layer of sweat dotted his brow. He reached up to wipe it away, and then went back to mutilating Chase’s shoulder. It fucking burned where the scalpel sliced into his skin, but Chase stayed silent. He refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing him suffer.
The other man was bigger, and he knew immediately it was the one they called the General, but he was not as large as Chase had imagined him. However, there was no doubt in his mind that he was the one he needed to watch. He gave off a feeling of power, and Chase could tell he would be a force to be reckoned with, but he wasn’t afraid. The General had threatened his family, kidnapped his children, and was the reason Chase had spent months alone, without the woman he loved more than life itself. No, he was a lot of things, but afraid wasn’t one of them.
“I severely underestimated you, Chase Montgomery,” the General said, taking a step closer to where Chase lay. “I will not make that mistake again.”
You just did, Chase thought, feeling his fangs drop and his claws shoot out his fingertips as he partially shifted. Rising quickly, he ignored the sudden dizziness that swamped him, and pushed himself off the cold metal exam table. He let out a roar of fury as he sank his teeth into the scientist’s neck and sliced at the General’s jugular with a claw. The General moved just in time, evading the killing blow, but screaming as Chase’s claw sliced his cheek wide open, catching his eye as well. Chase felt a sharp sting in the side of his neck, and another in his arm, as he dropped the dead scientist to the floor and staggered forward, taking another swipe at the General.
“Son of a bitch,” the General yelled, grabbing his arm where a piece of flesh now hung from it. “Someone stop him!”
Chase felt two more tranquilizer darts enter his body, and he snarled as he struggled forward on leaden feet for one last try. The General had made his life hell for so long, the bastard deserved to pay. Baring his teeth, he fell forward just as he was tackled from behind, and landed on the General. He sank his teeth deep into the man’s shoulder, grinning in satisfaction at the sound of the General’s screams. “Get him off me! Get him the hell away from me!”
Chase bit down harder, refusing to let go, even as he felt two more darts pierce his skin. It might be enough to kill him, but all Chase could think about was ending his mate’s misery. She didn’t deserve the hell she had been put through. Neither did his children. The drugs were working their way through his system, his entire body becoming numb, but he still didn’t let go. The General hit him over and over in the head with his good fist, but Chase wouldn’t budge. He’d taken his babies! And he still had Jinx under his control. Chase had to get him out of there. He needed to be home with his family, not doing the General’s bidding.
Two of the
soldiers grabbed Chase by his arms, trying to pull him off. He growled, locking his hands around the General’s throat and squeezing. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the fogginess, reveling in the scream that tore from the General’s lips when his fangs dug even deeper.
Who are you? Chase wasn’t psychic, but hearing the voice in his mind was nothing new to him. He’d spoken to Angel this way, along with others. Nothing surprised him anymore. Why are you trying to save me?
Chase paused, struggling to clear his head so that he could finish what he started. The drugs were so far in his system now, that he knew it wouldn’t be long before he passed out. Dammit, who are you? The voice demanded again, louder this time.
The General’s screams had stopped now, and he lay beneath Chase unmoving. But his heart still beat. Chase could feel it. Snarling again, he tried to finish it, to kill the bastard who had hurt his family, but the darkness was coming for him, and he was unable to fight it any longer. I’ve failed you this time, son, he whispered, but it won’t happen again. This isn’t the end. We will leave this place together. I will bring you home. I promise.
Son? He heard the confusion in the man’s voice. Home?
Chase could not respond, and he closed his eyes as he felt Jinx enter his mind impatiently, trying to get his answers his own way. The last thing he heard was Jinx’s loud curse as he succumbed to the darkness.
Jinx slammed his fist into the wall of his hotel room, watching in satisfaction as a small section of the drywall crumbled to the floor, before swinging around and stalking over to the bed to sit on the end of it. Resting his elbows on his knees, he lowered his head and shoved his hands into his dark hair, clutching it in his fists. How the hell had the General captured Chase Montgomery, the alpha of the White River Wolves? Hell, the man was his mother’s mate. He’d seen brief glimpses in Chase’s mind before he passed out, images of him with his jaws wrapped tightly around the General’s shoulder, and blood flowing everywhere. There was so much of it, and he couldn’t tell what was from Chase and what belonged to the General. What was clear in the alpha’s mind though, was that he did what he did for one reason only, his family. And that family included Jinx. The man claimed Jinx as his son, even though he had never met him, and he would give his life for him. Jade had tried to tell him that Chase felt that way about him, but he hadn’t believed her. What kind of man would want to claim someone like him as a son? His own father didn’t have a choice, but Chase? Jinx swallowed hard, clenching his hands tightly into fists. Chase was unlike any other person Jinx had ever met.
Angel's Destiny Page 9
