by Jenny May
Darkness had already taken over the large ranch. The moon was high in the sky, and although not full tonight, it was only a matter of days before it peaked. Myles headed to the empty corral. She placed her arms on the bar and lowered her head to rest on them.
The sounds of animals took over her hearing. All around she could sense them, stirring, feeding. She smiled as memories of her childhood flooded her thoughts. Dark Days had practically been her home growing up. Her dad had not only worked here, he’d spent all of his free time hanging around the pack. Even though they had homes, they only ever slept there.
Footsteps crunched behind her, and Myles smiled. She opened her eyes and turned, thinking she was going to see one of her mates. What she saw instead didn’t get her time to react. Pain erupted in her head causing her body to lock up. Blackness dotted her vision, and she could feel herself falling, yet her body wouldn’t react to her commands to run. This was it. This was what Jack had trained her for. She was being taken, and there was nothing she could do about it.
* * * *
An explosion resonated through Logan’s head like he’d never felt before. His knees buckled, and he reached for Ty, but his mate was on the floor. The room around him blurred and a sense of vertigo took over. Bile rose in his throat, and Logan was thankful Jack had been close enough to catch him before he fell.
“What the hell! Hey? You okay, Lo?”
Sounds were going in and out. Logan blinked a few times. “Lo? Please don’t tell me that’s what you just called me.”
“I like nicknames.” Jack lowered to Ty. Mumbling was coming from his mouth. “What’s that, buddy?” Ty’s eyes flew open, and he struggled to stand. Jack held him down, but barely. “Calm down and talk to me.”
“Myles, goddammit! Where’s Myles?” Jack’s head snapped to the barn door. Logan felt as though his heart had stopped. Just like with his wolf, he pushed his human legs to run with power he had no idea he could harbor. He hit darkness and froze as he closed his eyes and tuned into his senses. Instinct kicked in and he followed her trail. Although he could detect her, there was something else there, and it left a sour taste in his mouth. He didn’t stop until he was standing beside the corral.
Ty quickly ran up. “I can smell them. Fuck. Samone wasn’t bluffing.”
Logan had overheard the conversation right along with Myles. This Alpha had said Ty would pay for not coming back, and now it wasn’t just his mate having to pay, but him and Myles, too.
Ty grabbed onto the bar around the top of the corral and slowly removed his hand. A flashlight shone in their path and nearly blinded them. They raised their hands against the light as Jack ran up.
“Is that fucking blood?” Jack grabbed Ty’s hand.
“Oh my God.” Ty quickly turned to the bar he’d rested against. Jack grabbed his hand and sniffed it.
“It’s her. Start talking. I know y’all know something.”
Ty grabbed his shirt, at his stomach, leaving the blood from his mate behind on the material. “It’s Samone. I can smell her. She told me I had to come back with my mate. I told her I couldn’t. She threatened to make me regret my decision, but I figured she was bluffing. I mean, everyone knows you can’t control who you mate with.”
“Samone?” Jack’s face paled. He rubbed his hands over his eyes. “It’s okay. We’ve trained for this sort of thing. Myles will know what to do.”
The crowd from the barn had made their way out, and Logan looked around at all of them. A power he’d never felt before consumed his mind. This pack needed a leader, and he was just that. He was their Alpha, and it was time he acted like it.
“I need your attention.” Logan turned to Ty. “You said you ran patrols, right?”
“Yeah,” Ty nodded. “We make sure no one comes into our territory without permission. That, and a million other things. Packs are set up to handle these situations. But first we need to hold a meeting. See who does what.”
Logan looked at the mix of men and women standing in the crowd. He had no idea how to go about this, but something had to be done, and fast. Every minute they waited was precious time lost.
“All of you who pull patrol or fight, back in the barn!” Logan didn’t wait to see their reaction. Myles was his top priority. Pack rules of order could come later. Right now he needed fighters. Men who could handle their own. He rushed into the barn and took stage at the front of the room. The way everyone rushed in was a pure indication that they knew something was wrong. Jack stood in the crowd and Logan realized that he was letting him take the reins.
“I’m going to be brutally honest with all of you. I know nothing on how to lead a pack. The rules aren’t clear, and I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.” The crowd just stared at him as he began to pace. “But I do know this. My mate, and a woman who is dear to a lot of people here, was taken tonight. Samone’s scent was out there and with Ty previously being a part of her pack I think it’s safe for us to say that she’s the one responsible for taking Myles. We need to devise a plan to get her back. The faster, the better.”
He watched as the pack began to talk and plan amongst themselves. Jack was standing with his arms across his chest, staring at him. The look was a challenging one. He could feel how Jack wanted to step up to take the lead, and he was not about to let that happen.
Logan felt his blood boil. They were apparently shutting him out and that was not going to happen. A growl tore from his throat. “Enough of this! I am your Alpha and you will not disregard me. If I need to prove that right here and right now, then so be it. But let’s get this shit over with. I want Myles back. Now! And I am not going to put up with your political bullshit to get that accomplished.”
The shirt fell to the ground as Logan pulled it over his head. He kicked off his shoes and looked around. “Who’s first?” No one moved. “Come on! You don’t want to take orders from me, fine. I’ll give you all what you want. I’ll fight. I’ll prove to you all why I should lead.”
He narrowed his eyes and scanned the crowd, ready for anything. The beast pushed against his insides, ready to consume every human action he possessed.
Jack walked to the front and stood next to Ty. One by one Logan watched as men slowly began to follow.
“We can feel the power of your wolf,” Jack said. “There’s no need to fight. Let’s send out some intelligence and see what we can come up with. I feel like the best bet would be to send Ty in with them. He knows the land better than anyone. Maybe they’ll get lucky and can bring Myles back without being seen. I doubt it, but it’s worth a shot. This of course is my opinion on what we should do, and the final word will come from you.” Jack bowed his head, and Logan felt his wolf retreat.
“No, I think it sounds like an excellent idea. Thank you.” The two words sounded so simple, but Jack would probably never know how much he meant them. The gratitude he owed his sister’s twin would take a while to repay.
Logan scanned the group. “Ty.” He motioned his mate over. “We need a map of the pack’s land. Where they meet up, if there’s any spotters, where they’d hide out. Jack,” Logan called. “Do we have any large paper and something to write with?” A smile filled the former Alpha’s face. “You bet I do. But I think I know where you’re headed, and I might already have you covered. Gentry, bring out the board.”
A big board made of cork was wheeled out from one of the stalls. A huge map was centered, surrounded by labeled pictures on one side and papers on the other. Ty’s jaw dropped upon seeing it.
“This one is for Samone’s pack. We have one on Sebastian, Dag, Nikolas, and Bentley, too. You wouldn’t believe the secret information we’ve obtained over the years,” Jack said, excitedly. “I have them all memorized.” He lowered his voice to Logan. “I’d suggest you do the same.”
“Will do.” The board came to stop in front of him. Logan stared at the large map in the middle. It was an outline of Samone’s pack’s territory, starting with the divider shortly west of Fort Stockton. The entire
region stretched all the way to El Paso, ending at both borders of New Mexico, and down south to the country of Mexico. The expanse was vast. It covered hundreds of miles of what Logan assumed was nothing but dirt and rolling hills.
Ty stepped closer and shook his head slowly. “Now look at that. This is amazing.” He turned to Jack. “How in the world did you get this information?”
“We have our sources within Samone’s pack. She’s not really favored among her wolves.”
“I can understand that,” Ty said, laughing. “Her social skills are a bit off.” He pointed north of the dividing line separating the two territories. “Okay, Whiskey River Ranch is correct for our meeting place. I bet Samone won’t be expecting you to know that. She’s tried to make it look as though Wheeler Ranch is where we all gather.”
Ty’s finger moved around the pins that marked where the lead patrol lived. “Geez, this is a little scary. There’s my old house.” He turned to Jack. “We had nothing like this in our pack. You have seriously got shit together here.”
“We’ve tried hard to stay ahead of others. It makes me happy to hear we’ve succeeded in that.” Jack turned to Logan. “So what do you think? You ready to take all of this on?”
Logan had a hard time tearing his eyes away from Samone’s picture. The blonde, Barbie-looking woman had Myles, and she’d hurt her enough to draw blood. There were no words to describe the anger her felt toward this girl. And that’s exactly what she looked like. A mere girl, no older than her early twenties. How in the world did she become Alpha of an entire pack?
“I’m more than ready.” Logan pointed. “How old is she?”
Jack and Ty both burst out laughing. “Young, right?” Jack shook his head. “I couldn’t understand when she took over, either. Ty, you want to take this one on? Maybe you can enlighten both of us.”
A sigh came from Ty. “You wouldn’t believe it until you saw her firsthand. She’s faster than you could imagine. The power isn’t necessarily equivalent to a usual leader, but her speed makes up for it. Before you can blink she’ll be on you. And she fights dirty. She’ll try to claw out your eyes. That’s one of her favorite moves. She’s blinded four wolves since she took control three years ago. Then, of course, she has the dungeon. But I have never seen what she does down there.”
“My God!” Logan shook his head. “Brutal.”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Ty said. “Truthfully, I’m surprised she’s lasted this long, but she has her ways. The men seem to adore her. And the ones who don’t, let’s just say, things mysteriously happen, accidentwise. I’m not so sure she has them as wrapped around her fingers as it appears, but it’s hard to tell when no one will talk about it.”
“If you knew this, why didn’t you do something about it?” Logan asked curiously.
Ty shrugged. “I don’t know. I tried to stay out of it as much as I could. It’s not like I could just leave and join another pack. Taking her down was out of the question. I may be strong, but she has her cronies. She’s protected by a good half a dozen wolves, if not more, at all times. Plus, I grew up with everyone there. No one would have imagined Samone would have become the leader she did, but shit happens. We all looked the other way, and dreaded anything concerning the pack.”
“Well, regardless, I think we all know it’s time. She’s gone too far by taking Myles. I don’t care how upset she was that Ty wouldn’t come back.” Logan looked over the area surrounding the ranch. “There’s mountains pretty much surrounding the back of the place. Is that going to be a problem? I noticed that there are pegs here. Does that mean that’s where the spotters sit?”
Ty snorted. “I wouldn’t call those mountains. More like some big-ass hills. But yeah, I’d say it’s going to be a big problem. They’ll see us coming from a mile away. Especially tonight. They’re going to be expecting us. You can bet your ass every wolf in the pack is pulling guard.”
The sounds of Logan’s fingers cracking in his fist broke the silence as he clenched them over and over. With every obstacle that appeared in their path, a lot more anger took over. “You said there were people who couldn’t stand Samone. Would they help you get in?”
“Ahh.” Jack shook his head.
“I’m talking to Ty,” Logan snapped.
“I don’t give a shit who you’re talking to. Do you know how risky that could be? What if it was a trap? How well can you truly trust someone? I have connections there, but you can bet your ass I’m not going to try to use them for this. It’s way too dangerous.”
“He’s right,” Ty broke in. “They might view me as a traitor. I don’t think we should do it.”
“Dammit!” Logan ran his fingers through his hair and began to pace. His wolf seemed to be doing this same thing. The queasiness from his flip-flopped stomach was almost too much. Every part of his being wanted to jump in the truck and haul ass out to Whiskey River Ranch, but he wasn’t stupid. He needed to think about the safety of those he led. There was no way someone was going to die on his watch.
“We’re going to have to wait a few days. I hate the thought. It literally makes me sick, but it has to be done. It’s the only way I know to throw them off. They’re going to be waiting, expecting us to make a move, and when we don’t it’ll confuse them.”
“Wise decision,” Jack agreed.
He mentally cursed. It better be the right decision because if anything happened to his mate, he was going to display the biggest bloodbath ever known to man. Samone wouldn’t stand a chance against the wrath he’d place on her. With that verbal agreement he called the wolves closer. “It’s time to see what we’re working with. Everyone get ready to spar.”
Chapter 12
An aching deep within Myles’s shoulders awoke her. The chains she was being held in were mounted to the high cement ceiling. The room looked like every dungeon she had ever imagined, down to the iron-barred cells and the hay lying in the corner as a makeshift bed. Urine perforated the air so thick Myles count taste it.
Pain shot through her neck as she raised her head to look at the two confined men. Although she was underground with them, Samone hadn’t put her in a cage. Myles was in the middle of the large room, hanging from the ceiling as though she were on display.
Vision was practically gone on her left side due to the swelling, and she was pretty sure the side of her face was as big as a basketball. The torture had begun immediately, and continued every couple of hours since she’d been taken. She’d tried to track how long she’d been gone, but after a while she knew the hours had somehow grown into days.
“Just tell her what she wants to know,” one of the prisoners pleaded.
If Myles could muster the strength to speak she would have told him telling Samone anything was pointless. The woman knew who she was. That alone was a prize. As far as the Alpha was concerned, Jack was still her leader.
Footsteps pattered down the hallway, and she could place the sound of those heels from anywhere. What Alpha wore stilettos? Well, duh, she thought. One who probably wanted to gorge her enemies’ eyes out with them.
“Pumpkin, how are you this lovely morning?”
Myles fought the urge to let her head fall. She was so weak she could hardly maintain her strength. As she opened her mouth, the thick sponginess of her tongue almost made it impossible to say anything, but she gave it all she had. “Fucking peachy. And you?”
Samone came to stand before her. “Truthfully, I’m a little ticked off. I’m not sure why your good-for-nothing pack hasn’t come to rescue you. Doesn’t your brother miss you?” She clicked her nails together as her eyes narrowed. “Maybe you aren’t that valuable after all.”
“I could have told you that before you kidnapped me. I’m nothing in the pack. Pointless.” Every word was harder than the last, but Myles was not about to let Samone see that.
“Yes, but you see, I’m not so sure of that. We haven’t officially met on the lines, but I’m pretty positive you’re Jack’s sister. I mean, you’re twins for cr
ying out loud. That’s obvious.”
Myles laughed. “Lady, you have the wrong person. Jack may be my Alpha, but twins we are not. I told you. My name is Patricia—”
The backhanded slap came just like Myles knew it would.
“I told you to stop lying to me. You are not Patricia Sherman, and you sure as hell aren’t from Sydney. Now”—Samone wiped the blood on the shirt of the guard that was standing next to her—“tell me what you know about Ty.”
Myles’s heart exploded in her chest. Was it possible that Samone didn’t know they were mated? “Give me some water and I’ll tell you.”
An evil smile came to the Alpha’s face. “You want water, you shall have it. Henry.” The long nails protruding from Samone’s fingers looked extremely dangerous as she motioned at the guard. He walked around the corner and pulled a hose forward. What felt like needles pierced her skin as the pressure blasted against her body. Myles took in as much water as she could, but it wasn’t nearly enough. She started to shake as the drenched clothes clung to her skin.
“That’s enough water.” Samone crossed her arms over her chest. “I kept my part of the bargain, now you keep yours. Tell me about the new member y’all just got named Ty.”
Myles’s teeth began to chatter. “He came to us about a week or two ago, I guess. Said he was mated to a girl and her husband. He seemed nice, I guess. Said he was from the city, wanted to go by the name Tyrone.”
“Tyrone? Really.” Samone’s hands went to her hips. “What else do you know about this Tyrone? Who is this couple he’s mated to?”
“I don’t know much. I barely caught a glimpse of him. As for the couple, he didn’t say their names. At least not that I could hear.”
She sighed. “Well, tell me what he looked like, then.”
Myles closed her eyes and tried to think what the opposite of Ty’s appearance would be. “Blond hair. Slightly on the slim side.”
