It was Beth. I had been around her enough to know her sent. In my heightened bear state, I knew that she had been here. My senses were on full alert with the adrenaline coursing through my body and I was surprised that I was not shifting right then.
It had been three days since Beth went on the run from the cops. There had been rumors and reports of sightings, but no one had heard from her and no one had a clue what she was doing or when she was going to be found. It had to be difficult to catch a bear shifter who didn’t want to be found.
Unless you were also a bear shifter.
The ambulance arrived and took Julia to the hospital. Shortly thereafter I was met by a police officer who came to take my statement. I told him everything I could remember and of course, he told me that they would let me know as soon as they found something. I knew that to mean that this case was unlikely to be solved. There was a reason why this city had such a high missing child problem.
The second the cop left I ran out the door and got in my car. I was going to track Beth down and get my son back.
But I was not going to do it alone.
Chapter Twelve
“I know where she is going,” Derek said.
“How?” I asked excitedly.
The second I left my house I called Tony and Derek both and told them everything I knew. Within twenty minutes we were piled inside of Tony’s Cadillac Escalade driving out of the city towards a small town called Middlefield, which was about two hours’ drive from there.
“Trust me. When we were kids we used to visit my grandparents who lived there and we’d stay there with them for like two weeks in the summer time. They had a huge farm with a big pond, horses, and chickens. It was great. That house has been in my family for six generations. It is a single-story ranch house located completely isolated. It’s at the end of a long driveway, completely hidden from view. Beth always loved it there. She would have lived there if it wasn’t for work and the fact that she has always wanted to be a city girl.”
“Why would she go there?” Tony asked.
"Because that has always been her favorite place. She ran away there a few times when she was in high school after my grandparents passed away."
“Were they both shifters?” I asked. “How did they die?”
“They were not shifters. They were on my dad’s side and it skipped my dad’s father. But my grandma knew about the curse and she didn’t care.”
“I will get us there as fast as possible,” Tony said. “I just hope she doesn’t hurt the baby.”
“I don’t think she wants to hurt the baby; I think she wants to hurt you both.”
“What are you talking about? Why?” Tony asked.
“Like she said when she spoke on the phone. She is deeply in love with you, Tony. She feels that you just didn’t take her seriously and that you are like all the other guys she has known who have just cast her aside.”
“But she agreed we should date other people. She didn’t even seem that upset.”
“Well, that’s Beth for you. She likes to keep things bottled up inside until she explodes. She hardly ever shows anyone her real feelings.” Derek said.
I tried to tune out the conversation. The more they talked about how unstable Beth was the more nervous I became. I just wanted to find my baby safe and sound, to hold him in my arms again. As I thought about it tears rolled down my face. I had never been that scared in my entire life.
Please be ok, baby. Please be ok.
We arrived at the farm about an hour and twenty minutes later, thanks to Tony's crazy driving skills. He must have driven almost one hundred miles an hour the whole time, using his bear senses to feel out if there were cops nearby.
“Ok, what is the plan?” Derek asked.
“You’re right,” Tony said. “We can’t just go in there. We have to catch her off guard, but make sure she is away from the baby or find a way to separate her from him.”
“How many entrances are there to this house?” I asked.
“Three. The front door, the back door, and the basement. It opens up into an old root cellar that has an outside entrance.”
“Ok, I’ll take the cellar. Tony, you take the back door. And Derek you take the front door. She will be less surprised and less alarmed when she sees that it’s you. You will have to talk to her to get her to lower her guard. Then Tony and I will pounce on her.”
“Ok, that is a plan. But we aren’t going to kill her, right? We need to make sure she goes to prison. She can get psychiatric help there,” Derek said.
I swallowed hard. I knew he was right and I didn’t think I could ever kill anyone unless it was in self-defense and I had absolutely no other way out. But she took my child. She took my child and I wanted so badly to rip her lungs out with my bare hands, but I knew that I couldn’t do it.
“Ok,” I said. “We won’t hurt her unless we have to. But I’m getting my baby back one way or another.”
Derek’s eyes met mine. He could see I was serious and I could tell that he totally agreed with me. He loved his sister, but I knew that he would do what was necessary and what was right in the heat of the moment.
Tony leaned over and kissed me just then, his hand brushing my cheek.
“Good luck,” he smiled. “We will get him back.”
In my heart, I knew he was right.
Ten minutes later I was sitting in my place behind the door that rose up from the root cellar. I tiptoed around to the back of the house, quietly opened up the heavy cellar doors and lowered them slow enough that not even the tiniest creak of a hinge was heard.
Once inside it took me just a second for my eyes to adjust to the dark and when they did I could see everything clearly as if it was all being lit up by some faint neon light that cast everything in some crazy, green glow.
I quietly walked up the stairs and stopped in front of the door. I could now hear voices.
It was Derek and Beth. They were talking. And Devon was ok. I could hear his heart beating, and his slight whimpers. He was not crying and he was not hurt; I could tell this just from inhaling his scent and listening to the nature of his cries.
“You have to turn yourself in,” Derek was saying. “There is no other way. I found you here; the cops will too.”
“Did you already call them? The cops? That would be the only way they would ever find me here,” Beth said.
“No, I didn’t call the cops. You are my sister. I wanted to speak to you first,” Derek said.
“Oh, that is sweet. You’ve never wanted to talk to me before. Why start now? Because I killed some nobody?”
“How can you talk like that? That nobody had a name. She had a family. She had a life and you took it. Why? Because you were pissed that your boyfriend dumped you? That is insane.”
“I am not insane!” Beth yelled.
She was getting irate now. What the hell was Derek doing? He was supposed to keep her calm.
“Why did you take the baby? Why? What the hell were you thinking?” Derek asked.
Beth was getting thrown off balance by the change in direction in the conversation. Maybe that was Derek’s plan.
I had to be able to see so I would know when to make a move. I was going to grab the baby and Derek and Tony would fight off Beth when she went for me. That was the plan. It sounded like it just might work.
“I wanted someone in the world who might really love me. I wanted someone who would appreciate who I really am. And I wanted to punish that bitch, Jackie Banks. She doesn’t deserve to be a mother. She is nothing but a man stealing snake in the grass.”
Derek was shaking his head.
“Sis, this is the wrong way to go about things. You have to give this up. Let me have the baby. I will take it back. I won’t tell anyone where you are. I would never do that to my sister. You know that.”
Beth was silent for a few minutes. She was thinking things over. I could tell that she was emotionally done. She was totally spent and was at the end of her rope.
I leaped forward bursting through the door and in a flash I had Devon wrapped in my arms.
Beth was only inches from me, snarling and trying to force the shift to happen, her eyes red as a demon’s and her teeth, long and sharp protruding down from her gums, ready to rip me to shreds.
But Derek and Tony were both pulling her back. She was strong, but no match for the two of them working together. They pulled her all the way to the other side of the room, pinning her against the wall as she writhed and tried to jerk free.
I wondered if there was any way in hell that she could get free, but as I walked into the kitchen to get farther away from her I could see the shame and the pain in her eyes. She would soon be admitting defeat.
“Do it!” I heard Derek shout.
Derek suddenly changed his position on Beth’s right arm to struggling with Beth one on one while Tony quickly pulled the serum out of his pocket and injected it into Beth’s neck. Within seconds the fight started to go out of her more and more.
The serum was the same thing that Tony injected into himself to keep the shift at bay and to put him into a sleep state on the nights of the full moon. He had given her almost twice the dose that he took. It would knock her out for hours.
That was the plan, though.
As I checked baby Devon to make sure he was ok I found myself overrun with emotions. He was fine and smiling at me, thankful to have his momma back. I knew that he realized I'd been gone and he had been in the arms of a stranger. My sweet baby missed me and needed me. And now he was bursting with joy to have me back. But even with all of this, I don't think he had cried much. He was so strong and serious. He reminded me too much of me sometimes.
I held him close to me softly, inhaling his sweetness and thanking my lucky stars that my baby was back in my arms safe and sound.
“Now that is a beautiful thing,” Tony said wrapping his arms around me.
He kissed me softly on the forehead before I laid my head on his shoulder.
That moment of total relief was perfect.
“Ok, I think I have everything I need,” the pretty, blonde deputy said. As she wrote on her pad I noticed her shirt said Deputy Lewis.
“Well, did you get my phone number, right?” Derek asked. “I had better double check just to make sure. I mean if you didn’t get it right then it would be a total travesty.”
I almost rolled my eyes at the absurdity, but the sexy, female cop that Derek was currently talking with, was definitely being drawn in by his charms. His flirting technique was working out for him for once.
And I couldn’t have been happier for him.
“Yes,” Deputy Lewis said throwing back her head and running a couple of fingers through her long, blonde hair. “I’m sure I got it right.”
“Great,” Derek said.
“But how about I give you my number also,” the deputy replied. “That way you can call me in a day or so and tell me where you are taking me to dinner Friday night.”
I thought Derek’s jaw was going to fall on the floor and stay there. It was great.
She typed her number into his phone quickly.
“Alright, that sounds fantastic,” Derek replied.
The officer walked away to hand the report to the sheriff who was conducting a quick story for the eleven o’clock news. It was amazing how the media had got there so fast.
Derek sauntered over to us and gave Tony a high five. I shook my head. I never thought in a million years I would see those two guys becoming friends, but it was happening. Baby Devon could cause miracles, it was true.
“So, what happens now?” Tony asked.
“Well, they are taking Beth back to the city. She will stand trial for murder and kidnapping. But pending a psyche evaluation I’m not sure she will be declared competent to stand trial.”
“I’m sure it will all work out ok,” I said. “You just got to have faith.”
Derek smiled and nodded. I knew that my words would not fix everything, but it was a start.
Epilogue
Six months later
I threw the bouquet behind me hoping to cover the entire span of the large room. I’d tried to keep my eyes closed, but part of being a shifter was that even with my eyes closed I can still see pretty well.
Nevertheless, I was even surprised to see that Sara Lewis, Deputy Sara Lewis, had caught it.
I could not stifle a "Yes! Yes!" as I jumped off my perch and delivered an impromptu cheer complete with a goofy dance that I have no idea that I knew. But there it was retrieved somewhere from my subconscious to make me look like an idiot.
But that was ok. It was my wedding and I could be as silly as I felt like. And besides, no one ever looked dorky in a wedding dress doing anything.
Sitting beside her was Derek. I watched his reaction carefully and I was happy as could be to see him hug Sara and give her a huge kiss. The two had started dating right after the night of the abduction and they had fallen head over heels in love.
When I looked at Derek and what a great friend he’d been and how much he deserved to be with someone special tears of joy came to my eyes. I was so happy for my good friend.
“Well, that is very fitting,” Tony said as I sat down beside him.
“Yea, it’s perfect,” I said.
I heard a soft coo and a little gurgle coming from my left. Little Devon was sitting on Tony’s mother’s lap. She had taken to him almost immediately and she was everything that grandmothers are supposed to be. She was sweet, kind, wise, and loved to spoil little ones. I was perfectly happy to let her spoil my kid rotten.
“So, did everything turn out the way you wanted it?” Tony asked me.
I looked around at how perfect everything was and smiled, before leaning over and giving him a sweet kiss.
“Yes, baby. It’s all perfect,” I said. “How about you?”
“Well, you are here. And you are happy. That is all I’ve ever cared about.”
“You’re right,” I replied. “I am probably the happiest woman in the world right now.”
I have never felt more alive.
*****
THE END
About Jasmine Wylder
Jasmine Wylder is a Real Estate Agent by day and an emerging Paranormal Romance Author & Adventurer by night. Hailing from California, her passion for sultry stories, steamy scenes, and all-things romance began early on and it has stayed with her ever since.
When she isn’t creating captivating storylines, Jasmine loves spending time in the great outdoors, practicing yoga, painting, and treating herself to fine cuisine. She is also an avid animal lover (dogs in particular) and is the proud owner of a Husky named Luna and a Yorkie named Anya.
Whether it’s out-of-this-world love (literally), dragon shifters setting your heart ablaze, or unquenchable vampiric desire, Jasmine has you covered!
Currently, Jasmine is in the midst of crafting paranormal romances and tries to escape to the countryside every so often to get the full writer’s experience.
Want more of Jasmine Wylder?
Check out her Author Page or follow her on Facebook.
Jasmine’s Other Books
Alpha’s Desire
(Rocky Mountain Shifters Series, Book 1)
Description
He swore he’d never do it. She vowed to work alone. But circumstances have changed, and sacrifices must be made.
Sienna Blaine is not your typical lone wolf. Cast out of her pack by 17 vindictive Alphas, she vowed to make her own rules and stay one step ahead of the game – no matter the price. Skilled at discerning fact from fiction, she’s fully capable of keeping potential threats at bay. But for all her strengths, she has a weakness – one that compromises her ability to trust.
Alpha wolf Brody McAllister earned the nickname “Broody Brody” for a reason. His stone-faced, take-no-prisoners attitude separates h
im from the rest, but when one of his pack members goes missing, his less-than-animated personality is put to the ultimate test. Anger turns to desperation as he struggles to maintain control and unravel the mystery behind the young woman’s disappearance.
Sparks fly as Sienna’s carefree lifestyle threatens to crack Brody’s perfectly polished control, but when the Kodiak den threatens her life, Brody’s wolf is poised to rip throats and take names to keep her safe from harm.
Chances are Brody and Sienna could be fated mates, but is that a chance either is willing to take?
Beta’s Destiny
(Rocky Mountain Shifters Series, Book 2)
Description
I don’t need a babysitter. I can handle the danger on my own. Even though I have to admit, his dominant demeanor and rock-hard body did get my attention.
Sassy, smart-mouthed shifter Emery Wilkins needs to lay low, when she points the finger at a dangerous criminal who put her father in jail. And now she has to play by the rules of Sage, her newly assigned personal bodyguard. But, will she?
Sage Blaine takes care of others and that is what he does best. Although Emery is giving him a hard time, he is feeling that inner force pulling him towards her. He has to focus on his job to keep Emery safe, and shouldn‘t be distracted by his inner desires.
Things heat up with the Kodiak bear shifters still seeking revenge, and a dangerous criminal looking for Emery. Will they make it safely through their journey and give into their feelings? Or, will their stubborn natures and outside forces keep this duo from finding their own happily-ever after?
Alpha’s Love
(Rocky Mountain Shifters Series, Book 3)
Description
Opposites attract, right?
Voluptuous Liesel Gaytan is a survivor. After being abducted by rogue bear shifters almost two years ago, Liesel lives for the moment and makes the most out of every second she has. Now playing by the rules of sexy alpha Grayson Anders in order to be safe doesn’t give her the satisfaction she is looking for, even though there is an instant attraction when she sees Grayson. She has to keep things professional no matter how much she keeps imagining how he looks underneath that tight clothes.
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