“We’ll be there in fifteen,” Ben shouted as Ro ended the call.
“I’m sure they’re okay,” he added, taking in Adam’s pale face and the way his hands gripped the edge of his seat. He wasn’t much better himself, with a death grip on the steering wheel.
“You’re right. We won’t panic until we know more.”
The next minutes crawled by, Ben keeping their speed up and his eyes on the road.
Adam was silent next to him, clinging to the phone in his hand. Ben willed it to ring, to end their fears, but it didn’t.
There were a handful of cars parked haphazardly outside their house when they pulled up; doors open, lights on. The house was lit up, the front door open, and Kevin was standing in the driveway.
They climbed out and jogged towards him.
“Lianna is inside, Alicia is with her,” he said to them as they approached.
“The boys?” Ben asked, his heart beating hard in his chest.
“We haven’t found them. There are people out searching the forest.”
Ben pushed past him before he’d finished speaking, seeking answers. Adam was right behind him.
They found Alicia tending to Lianna in the living room. Lianna tried to sit as she saw them come in, Alicia pushing her firmly back down. There was blood covering the left side of her head, neck, and face.
“Lianna, lie still, please,” Alicia said, glancing up at them. “She has a head injury. Probably a concussion.”
“Where are the boys, are they okay?” Adam asked.
“There were two of them,” Lianna managed to say, pushing herself upright again. “I had just put the boys to bed. I heard the front door open, and I thought it was you so I went to say hi but there was no one there. I was hit from behind then I heard their footsteps going towards the boy’s bedroom. I tried to get up, but I couldn’t move. I could hear Noah crying and they stepped over me and went to the door. They were carrying Noah and… and…”
Her eyes rolled back into her head and Alicia lowered her back down.
“I think this may be more severe than a concussion. We’ll have to take her to the hospital.”
Kevin stepped inside. “I’ll help you, Alicia. Ben, Adam, Sebastian is out back.”
With one last look at Lianna, pale and unmoving on the couch, Ben turned, herding Adam ahead of him as they followed the sounds of voices to the back of the house.
“Seb, the boys…” Ben tried to ask but the words wouldn’t come.
“We haven’t found either of them. The attackers scent trail leads out into the woods, heading towards the east road. We suspect they had a vehicle waiting.”
“They’re gone?” Adam asked.
It didn’t make sense to Ben, not Adam’s words, not what Sebastian was saying. There was a sudden shout from inside the woods. Sam’s voice.
Ben took off running towards him, hearing the others at his heels. When he reached him, Sam was crouched next to a thick copse, peering inside.
“He won’t come out for me, you try,” Sam said, stepping back.
Ben crouched and peered in, seeing two familiar wolf eyes staring back at him.
“It’s okay, Xander. You can come on out now, it’s safe. Your Papa and Dada are here.”
Adam was by his side a moment later. “Xander, sweetheart, come on out now, it’s safe.”
The tiny wolf flattened himself against the ground and wiggled under the thick branches until he was close enough for Ben to reach out and tug him free, lifting him into his arms. The pup was cold and damp, shivering against him.
“Let’s get him back to the house.”
“Wait, Noah…” Adam said.
Seb lay a hand on his shoulder, his quiet voice carrying through the silent forest.
“His scent trail went right to the road with the others. He’s gone, Adam. They’ve taken him.”
Adam crumpled, and it took Seb and Ro to catch him and get him to his feet.
The walk back to the house seemed to take forever, Xander whimpering softly in his arms as they walked.
Joel ran ahead of them, meeting them at the edge of the forest with a blanket. “Sam, Alicia is bringing Lianna to the hospital now. You should go with them.”
Sam turned to Seb.
“Yes, of course, Sam. Go with her. Keep us up to date on her condition.”
More cars had arrived, more people. Sebastian and Kevin went to them and Ben could hear them dividing people into groups.
“The night patrol is on alert,” Joel said, “but we think there was a gap of maybe thirty minutes to an hour between the attack and Lianna raising the alarm. She’s been in and out of consciousness since we got here.”
Ben carried Xander into the living room, ignoring the bloodstained towels on the couch and placing Xander on the soft rug that lay in front of the hearth.
Xander clung to him with his claws, his teeth closing around the sleeve of Ben’s jacket. Adam stood motionless in the center of the room, only snapping out of his shock when Joel returned with a clean towel. Adam took it from him, kneeling down next to Ben and gently drying Xander’s damp fur.
“Shh, baby,” he soothed when Xander yelped.
“We need to calm him down and coax him back to human form,” Ben said, keeping his voice soft. “With Lianna unconscious, he’s our best hope to find out what happened.”
“I’ll light a fire,” Joel said. “Getting him warm will be half the battle. It was chilly out there.”
He’d been cold and alone and frightened for who knew how long?
Seb returned as Joel got the fire going.
“We have as many people out as possible. Martin is trying to track the car by the scent of the fuel and the oil. He’ll let us know how far he gets.”
As a tracking method, it was of limited use. Once you reached a road with any level of traffic on it, it became impossible to differentiate one exhaust trail from another, the scents too overwhelming to separate.
“Ben, no one so far has recognized the scents of the attackers. We need both you and Adam to check. This seems to have been a targeted attack, so it stands to reason you might know who has done this.”
With difficulty, Ben handed a clingy Xander to Adam and followed Seb out the door. As soon as they were out of earshot of Adam, Ben asked. “Was there blood?”
Seb looked startled. “What?”
“Was there blood on the trail? Any sign that they’d hurt Noah?”
“No, no blood except Lianna’s and some near where we found Xander, probably scrapes from branches.”
He nodded at Seb's words, feeling some relief that their plan seemed to have been to take Noah, rather than hurt him.
Stepping towards the twins’ room, Ben inhaled deeply, taking in the scents, their unfamiliarity as odd as the upside-down world he had found himself in.
“No, I’ve never met these shifters before.”
Seb sighed. “I was afraid of that. I’ll ask Adam to try but I don’t hold out much hope.”
Ben returned to the living room, kneeling next to his mate and child.
“He’s too scared to change back,” Adam said. The boys were only just beginning to get some semblance of control over their shifting and strong emotion was something that still affected it.
“Seb’s outside. He needs you for a minute.”
Adam nodded, stroking a hand across Xander’s head before he stood and walked from the room. There was some warmth from the fire now but Xander was still curled up tightly, his eyes watching Adam as he left.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be back soon.” Ben stroked a hand along Xander’s fur under the blanket.
“We need you to be a little boy again, Xander. So you can help us find your brother. Noah’s out there, lost and scared. You’ve been so brave and I need you to be brave for a little while longer.”
Xander covered his eyes with his paw.
“Come on, buddy. I know you can do this,” Ben cajoled, lifting Xander into his arms and holding him tight a
gainst his chest, letting his warmth seep into the cold bundle of fur.
Xander buried his nose against Ben’s neck, his tongue peeking out and licking the skin.
“Come on, Xander, I’ve got you. You’re safe with me.”
The wolf in his arms shuddered, body curling inward. Ben loosened his hold and put Xander down on the rug as the change began, giving Xander’s body space to grow. Then his son’s wide brown eyes were peering up at him, brimming with tears. Ben wrapped the blanket around him and picked him up, Xander laying a head on his shoulder as he sobbed.
When Adam returned a minute later, Xander reached out with one tiny hand and pulled him closer until all three were pressed together in a tight hug.
Ben listened as Adam gently coaxed Xander into telling them what had happened. How he’d had a fun day playing with Chloe. How Noah wouldn’t play with them and stayed inside with Sam and Lianna. Then Lianna had taken them home, read them a bedtime story, and said goodnight.
He had fallen right to sleep but woke when he heard a noise. Noah had been out of his crib, standing beside the open door and he had disappeared out into the corridor.
He’d heard a cry and had scrambled out of bed to follow Noah. But then there’d been lots of shouting and he had hidden.
A stranger had come into the room and almost found him but there'd been lots of noise and he’d left again. Noah had cried from outside and Xander had left his hiding place to find him but when he peeked out the door, Noah and the man were gone. He had shifted and chased after them, but the forest was big and dark and he got lost.
“Our brave boy,” Adam said as Ben rocked Xander back and forth in his arms.
Chapter Three
Jay had been out in the woods for two days. Byron was up to his eyes in contracts, and traveling to and from the hotel for meetings. He kept expecting to meet the young wolf each time he returned. Jay was nowhere to be seen but food was disappearing at regular intervals.
He did that sometimes, when things became too much for him; his dreams, the people. He always came back but sometimes Byron went to look for him. Not tonight, though. It was already dark, and he had no doubt Jay was sleeping somewhere safe in the woods.
Sometime in the early hours, he heard his door creak open, then silence.
With a groan, he pulled back the covers.
“Climb in,” he called softly.
A cold body slipped in next to him.
“Jay! You’re half-frozen.”
Jay didn’t answer, curling up in the bed beside him. At the best of times, he was a shifter of few words.
When the Omega didn’t move, Byron did instead, sliding closer across the sheets and taking Jay into his arms.
The Omega’s cold nose nuzzled against his neck.
“Bad dream?” he asked.
He thought Jay wasn’t going to answer, but the Omega nodded his head.
“I’m glad you came to me.”
Jay shivered against him.
“Hold on, I think we could do with another blanket.”
Jay made a sound of protest as Byron climbed out of the bed, going to the chest of drawers and pulling out the blanket he knew Jay favored. It was a heavy, soft, fleecy material that was like being enveloped in warmth. He lay it over Jay, climbing under it himself and wrapping it around them both. Jay hummed against him as the heat built.
“I was back in my forest.”
The quiet words were unexpected and Byron went still, afraid if he moved it would break the spell.
“There were wolves chasing me and they caught me in a net.” Which, as far as Byron could work out, was what had actually happened to Jay when the traffickers picked him up.
“Then they threw me in the river and I was all tangled up in the net and I couldn’t break free and I kept sinking and it was so dark.”
Jay lapsed into silence and Byron could see his eyes were open, staring at nothing.
“It was just a dream,” he said, laying a comforting hand across Jay’s cheek.
“Some of it happened,” Jay said with insistence, his eyes meeting Byrons. Byron stroked his thumb across Jay’s skin.
“It did, long ago now. You’re with me, here, and you’re safe.”
“Because you’re my Alpha?”
And that was a fact Jay sought constant reassurance around. He hadn’t yet gone into heat and nothing Byron could say completely eased his fears of being left alone again.
“Because I’m your Alpha.”
That settled him for a few minutes, Jay laying his head down and closing his eyes. Just when Byron thought he had fallen back asleep, Jay spoke again.
“What’s tomorrow?”
“Business breakfast meeting, business lunch, afternoon meeting at the hotel.” A full day. He’d be lucky to get home before dark.
“Can I come?” Jay often opted not to, unsuited for hanging around with nothing to keep him occupied.
“Of course you can, but are you sure you want to? It’s going to be long and boring.”
Boring was one of Jay’s most hated words.
“I’ll come. I’ll sit quietly,” Jay promised.
And that ratcheted Byron’s concern up a notch. It must have been a bad dream to have Jay making those kinds of promises.
“No need. Odin will be there, and you and he can play pool or go swimming.”
He winced the second the words were out, Jay going tense in his arms. Usually, his Omega loved swimming, but the nightmare had really spooked him.
“There was a man.” Jay’s words were a whisper.
“A man?”
“Standing by the water, looking down at me as I sank.”
This was new.
“One of the traffickers? Mike or Brett?”
Jay shook his head.
“From before.”
“From before they took you? Someone you met in the forest.”
Jay shook his head again, harder this time.
“Before.”
“From before the forest. Back when you lived with other people?”
Jay had been eight when he’d been abandoned, that much Byron knew. But he rarely spoke of the time before that. Byron suspected he didn’t remember much of it.
“He watched.”
“Watched? Watched you?”
Jay nodded.
“Why?”
Jay buried his head in the crook of Byron’s neck and didn’t answer, his body trembling.
“Shh, I’ve got you, you’re safe,” Byron said, repeating the soft words over and over until Jay stopped shaking and lay still against him. He wasn’t asleep, Byron could feel the tension within him. Rubbing circles across Jay’s back, he started telling an old Pack story, one he’d told Jay many times, knowing its familiarity would be comforting. There were no dark shadows in this story, only a wolf with fur as white as snow.
Jay seemed in brighter spirits the next morning, waking early, before Byron, and cooking breakfast for him. As they sat at the table, Byron got the sense there was something the Omega wanted to talk about. More about what he was saying last night, perhaps?
Jay picked the most awkward moment to begin, just after Byron had eaten a large forkful of scrambled egg.
"What will I do, once we're mated?"
Byron chewed and swallowed, before trying to get a sense of what Jay was actually asking.
"What do you mean?"
"When we're Alpha and Omega, we'll be a partnership. Work together. But what will I actually do? What if I don't know how to do anything?"
"You know how to do plenty of things."
"But not business things. Not important things. I won't be a very good mate for you."
Byron set down his fork. Jay was looking out the window, avoiding his gaze.
"I don't want a mate who does business things. They are not what's important to me. Those nights we spend together on the couch, ours runs in the woods, when you cook me breakfast. That's what important to me. Anyone can do business stuff for me. Only you can
make me feel the way I feel. You make even the darkest day a bit brighter."
His words pulled Jay's eyes back to his.
"Is that love?"
"That's love. I love you more than anyone else in the world."
Jay tapped his chest above his heart. "I love you, too. Right here."
"Well, I'm very glad." He picked up his fork and resumed eating. "Are there things you'd like to learn? It doesn't have to be business things."
He could see Jay was mulling that over, the Omega stirring his eggs with his fork.
"I want to learn things Odin knows."
That was a broad statement. Odin knew a little about everything.
"Anything in particular?"
"How to keep you safe."
Not quite the answer Byron expected, yet he should have. Jay had been protective of him almost from the moment they'd met.
"You want to learn security?"
That was technically Odin's job, personal security for Byron when he needed it. It helped that they had long been friends. Odin's presence never felt like an intrusion.
Jay nodded, waiting for his reaction.
"I think that's a really great idea. I'll talk to Odin about it. I know he's been teaching you bits and pieces but maybe we can make it more formal."
A smile spread across Jay's face but it faded quickly. Was his nightmare still weighing on his mind or was there something else? Whatever it was, Jay would come out with it in his own time.
"Come on, let's wash up and get dressed. We can share a shower if you like."
That brought the smile back, as Jay bounded to his feet.
"But no kissing or we'll never get out of the house in time for my meeting."
Jay groaned then grabbed his hand, dragging him laughing from the room.
Chapter Four
Odin had tried to encourage him from the room a handful of times already but Jay had decided that he wasn’t budging. They were sitting off to the side and he had a tablet and a set of earphones but he couldn’t focus on what was on the screen for very long. He could see Byron from where he sat but still felt the need to constantly check the Alpha was there. Byron’s business associates had given Jay a wide berth when they came in. Jay was used to that, but he thought it a little unfair. There hadn’t been an incident in months.
The Alpha's Kiss: Lost Omegas Book Six: A M/M Shifter Romance Page 2
