Witch's Mate

by Alicia Montgomery

  Vivianne told them about helping their friends, that they needed some extra help with a few things around the farm. Graham added a word or two every now and then, but for the most part, he let his wife talk.

  “…It’s always nice to see them, of course,” Vivianne turned to Liam. “And you, Alpha, did you have a good visit?”

  “Yes, I enjoyed it very much,” Liam said without missing a beat.

  “And we need to get back to New York,” Lara said, shooting to her feet. She gave Liam a look and cocked her head. “Right, Liam?”

  He nodded. “Of course. I’m ready when you are.”

  “OK then, I’m going to get dressed and packed.” With that, she left the three of them alone. Vivianne gave him a knowing smile, while Graham continued to sip his coffee and read the paper.

  ***

  Another hour passed and soon they were ready for the drive back. Lara seemed reluctant to leave her parents, and Liam couldn’t blame her. The compound was her home, after all. But last night, as they were having dinner, they came to a mutual agreement that it was best if they went back to New York. It was a short, blissful getaway, but both of them had responsibilities and they didn’t know when the mages would strike next. Neither, however, talked about if they were going to continue sleeping together. She didn’t say no, of course, which Liam thought was a victory for him.

  Vivianne and Graham saw them off, with the older witch giving Liam another one of her mysterious smiles. She was smart and she probably knew what went on between him and Lara but said nothing. Maybe she even approved. Of course, there was also Graham. But if he suspected anything, he didn’t give any indication, nor his approval or disapproval on the matter.

  An hour passed by as they drove back to New York City in comfortable silence. Hugo was happily munching away on a bone in the back seat. Glancing over to the passenger side, he saw that Lara was frowning, staring at her phone.

  “What’s the matter?”

  She huffed out a quick breath. “It’s Jade. Her phone, I mean. I’ve been calling her since I left New York. She hasn’t been picking up, and all my calls just go straight to voicemail.” She frowned. “I was hoping she’d cool down after a few days and not be mad at me anymore.”

  “Mad at you? Why would she be mad at you?”

  Lara leaned her head against the cool glass of the window and sighed. “We…we fought just before I left. She was voicing her concern on some…personal matters, and I said some things that were out of line.”

  “Jade seems like a nice person. She’ll forgive you. Maybe she just needs more time.”

  “Yeah, maybe…but I can’t help but feel like something’s off,” Lara huffed. “Or yeah, maybe she hates me.” She looked down at her lap sadly.

  “Sweetheart, don’t be blue,” he reached over and took her hand in his, keeping his other hand on the wheel. “If you’ve really said something horrible, then tell her you’re sorry.”

  She looked at him gratefully, a small smile on her face. “I will.”

  As if on cue, Lara’s phone began to ring. In her excitement, she nearly dropped it on the floor of the SUV but quickly grabbed it. “Hello? Oh, hi Cady, what’s up?”

  Liam kept his eyes on the road, but kept Lara in his peripheral vision.

  “No, I’ve been at the compound. She’s not with me.” Lara chewed her lip, a worried frown on her face. “Yes, try that, give me call when you do. Bye.”

  “What’s wrong?” Liam’s voice turned serious. The look on Lara’s face told him something wasn’t right.

  “That was Cady. She asked if Jade was with me, and I said no. No one’s heard from her since she left the lab last night.”

  “Maybe she slept in? Had a late night?” Liam offered.

  “They’re checking her apartment now.” Lara stared at her phone, her eyes never straying from the dark screen. Then, once again, it started ringing. This time she picked it up before the second ring. “Hello?” Her brows knitted, and she grew silent as she listened to the speaker on the other line.

  Liam pulled over to the side, waiting for Lara to start speaking. “Well?” he asked as soon as she put down the phone.

  She looked at him, her face pale. “She’s been taken.”

  Liam stepped on the gas.

  Chapter Twenty

  They made the drive back to New York City in record time. After dropping off Hugo at Liam’s hotel, they went straight into Fenrir.

  Nick, Cady, Alex, and Alynna were already there waiting for them in Grant’s office. No one said a word, but the tension was palpable. A few minutes later, Grant walked in, massaging his temple, his phone glued to his ear.

  “Frankie, sweetheart, please just do as I say…yes, I know the restaurant is important, but I want you at The Enclave now, OK?” He looked at the people gathered in his office and put up a hand. “I need you there. Mika’s, there too, so I want you there with her. Yes, thank you. Fine, fine. Yes, I love you, see you later.” Without missing a beat, he sat down on his chair. “Where are we?”

  “Jade clocked out of the lab at 7:05 p.m,” Alynna began.

  “You weren’t with her?” Grant looked at Lara accusingly. The witch paled and shook her head.

  “Watch it,” Liam growled, standing in front of Lara. “It’s not her fault.”

  “Hold on there,” Alynna said. “Can we put the Alpha shit on hold here? We have more important things to worry about.”

  Grant sighed. “I’m not mad at you Lara. Not at all.” He gave Liam a wary glance then looked back at Lara. “I apologize for my outburst.”

  “No, it’s fine…” Lara looked like she was on the verge of tears. “I…I decided I missed home and asked for a few days off. I last saw her the day I left.”

  “OK, then, how do we know she was taken?” Grant turned back to Alynna.

  The brunette took out her pad. “We checked everywhere, all the places she could possibly be, which isn’t really a lot. She only goes to Fenrir, the supermarket, a few cafes and restaurants, and her apartment of course. Never even leaves Midtown.” She gave her tablet a few taps. “Last night, as far as we could tell, she went straight home. We were able to grab footage from the security camera from her building.” Alynna turned the tablet towards them.

  A grainy CCTV video on the screen showed the street in front of Jade’s apartment building. A few seconds into it, the young Lycan scientist could be seen crossing the street. As she stepped on the sidewalk in front of her building, two dark-colored vans pulled up behind her. The doors slid open, and about a dozen men leapt out, surrounding Jade. Two of them grabbed her, and Jade struggled, but they overpowered her. They carried her, kicking and screaming, put her into the van, and the vehicles sped away.

  Lara let out a small cry, and Cady moved beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “She…she and I had a fight before I left…I said some mean things.”

  “I think it’s obvious who took Jade,” Grant said. “But why her?”

  “And how do we get her back?” Liam asked.

  “I don’t know.” Alynna shook her head. “Did the mages know what she was doing? About her research? Or did they just pick her at random? I’m not sure. But we’re working on finding her. I have my hacker friends on this.”

  “How about that Lone Wolf? What’s her name again?” Grant asked.

  “Meredith?” Alynna supplied. “What about her?”

  “Well, she’s your project,” her brother stated. “What do you think? Can she be involved in this? She did break into Jade’s lab.”

  “My gut tells me no,” Alynna said. “She’s been cooperative for the last couple of days. Gave us everything she had on us and how she broke in. Meredith sure is something, a genius and very talented, but I don’t think she’s evil. Besides, she’s had no communication with the outside world.”

  “But you should still interrogate her,” Grant said. “I mean it.”

  Alynna frowned but nodded. “Fine, I will.�
�

  “There’s one more thing, Primul,” Alex said as he took the tablet from his wife’s hand and replayed the footage. “Look at these guys. These aren’t just ordinary men. They were well-prepared and knew exactly what to do. Probably Military-trained. In full Lycan form, Jade would have killed half of them. Even in her human form, with her enhanced strength, she would have given one or two men some trouble. But they knew where she was going to be, and what she was. No one sends a dozen well-trained men after one tiny scientist.”

  “So you think they knew she’s a Lycan?”

  Alex nodded. “And I think they wanted us to find this. Wanted to show us their full force.”

  “Shit,” Nick cursed. “With the people we have right now, we could probably take on these guys. But if they have more, we’re going to need some reinforcements.”

  Grant let out a long sigh. “I have an idea. It’s a long shot, but it might be the only one we have.”

  They talked for a few more minutes, trying to divide the work and get the rescue operation underway. Lara offered to go with Cady, Alynna, and Alex to try and see if she could do anything to help find Jade. On the off chance that they could figure out a way to track her down, Lara also sent everyone her most recent picture of the scientist. It was a candid picture she took of her friend while they were in San Francisco. She was facing the camera but looking in the distance, a slight smile on her face, her brown hair tumbling over her shoulders.

  Liam tried to talk to Lara before they left but couldn’t figure out what to say. He wanted to comfort her and tell her everything was going to be all right. But, he couldn’t, not with everyone around. Before she left, however, the witch gave him a weak smile and a nod, which he returned. Her worry and pain left a gnawing ache in his middle, and he vowed to do whatever was necessary to find Jade.

  “I was out of line, Grant,” Liam said as soon as the others left. “I apologize.”

  Nick and Grant looked at each other. “It’s all right, Liam, I was stressed out, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on Lara. Jade is my responsibility. I should have insisted she live in The Enclave,” he said, referring to the New York Lycan compound where most of the shifters in the city lived.

  “Now, tell me what I can do to help.”

  The New York Alpha turned to his Beta. “Nick, do you remember that thing I asked you to look into a few weeks ago? Discreetly?”

  “Of course. I have the file in my office.”

  “Bring it and meet us downstairs.” Nick nodded and left them.

  “Where are we going?” Liam asked as Grant stood up and walked towards the door.

  “We’re going to get some help,” the other Alpha said cryptically.

  ***

  The three men met at the private garage in the lower basement of Fenrir. The town car was waiting and soon they were on their way downtown. They drove in silence, and 20 minutes later the car stopped in front of a tall, sleek building.

  Nick gave instructions to their driver, then they all exited the vehicle. They went inside the lobby, which looked like any luxury hotel in New York City, and headed towards the elevator. Grant took out a black metal card from his wallet, tapped it on the sensor, and pressed the button for the penthouse.

  “What is this place?” Liam asked as they walked out of the elevator car. The small hallway led right into a larger room which took up the entire top floor of the building.

  It was obviously a high end establishment, decorated in black and gold. In the middle was a large onyx-colored bar, and behind it, top shelf bottles of liquor lined the glass wall. There was no name at the entrance, nor other types of marketing or promotional material anywhere that advertised its name. Yet, the place reeked of money. It wasn’t just the decor that made it classy, but also the well-dressed, beautiful men and woman everywhere, perched on the stainless steel stools and draped over the couches and booths lining the sides. Even the bartenders and waitstaff looked like models.

  “This is Luxe,” Grant said.

  “You’re taking us drinking at a time like this?” Liam asked incredulously.

  “Patience, Alpha,” Nick said as his eyes scanned the place. He nudged Grant towards the far end of the bar.

  With a nod, Grant led them across the room, approaching a large figure hunched over the bar. Feeling eyes on him, the figure swung around.

  “Well, hello trouble.” The man smiled at Grant, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

  “Hello, Sebastian,” Grant greeted. “Alone for tonight?”

  “Not for long.” He rubbed his hand over his thick, but neatly trimmed beard and his gaze slid towards a blonde in a skimpy silver dress across the bar. The blonde peered at him from over her fruity drink, returning his heated look. “But before I move on to tonight’s entertainment, tell me, where have you been? What happened to you?”

  Grant smiled. “Something worse.”

  The man laughed. “Really?”

  “Oh, yeah. Baby on the way too.”

  “Well, shit.” He gestured to the bartender. “A round of bourbon for my friends here. On me.” As the bartender prepared the drinks, he turned back to Grant. “But we’re not here to celebrate your doom, are we?”

  Grant took the file from Nick and put it on the bar. “Sebastian Creed. CEO of Creed Securities. You enlisted in the Marines as soon as you turned eighteen, went all the way to Spec Ops. Discharged honorably after ten years, then you started your own security firm. Hit it big when you got some military contracts, and now Creed Securities is one of the biggest military and private security companies in the world.”

  Sebastian remained cool and collected, but his eyes glinted like hard steel. “You know when I take a shit, too?”

  “I like to get to know my friends well, Sebastian,” Grant smirked.

  “So do I,” he said, taking a slow sip of his bourbon. “Mr. Grant Anderson, CEO of Fenrir Corp.”

  The Alpha didn’t even blink. “You’ve been doing some research, too, I see.”

  “You think you can run a background check on me and I wouldn’t find out? Your guys are pretty good, but mine are better.” Sebastian Creed stood up, stretching to his full height. He was taller than Nick and Liam, standing about 6’5” tall. He probably outweighed them by fifty pounds at least, and his shoulders were broad and his arms massive. The fabric of his white shirt strained against his chest, and the sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, showing off the sleeve tattoo on his left forearm. “Now,” he said calmly, “What do you want?”

  Nick spoke first, his voice cool. “We want to hire your firm, Mr. Creed.”

  The giant kept his stance but swung his head towards Nick. “And you are?”

  “Nick Vrost. Fenrir Corporation’s Head of Security.” Neither men held out their hands.

  “And you?”

  “I’m one of Grant’s partners, Liam Henney.” He held his hand out, which Sebastian shook, his grip firm.

  “So this is business,” Sebastian sat back down. “So, let’s talk business. What can I do for you gentlemen?”

  “We have a missing…asset,” Grant began as he sat next to Sebastian. “The asset was taken from us by force, and we need he— it back.”

  “So, standard corporate espionage stuff, huh?” Sebastian took a swig of his drink. “And you want me to retrieve your asset?”

  “We will retrieve the asset. We’re narrowing down its location, but we already know that we’ll need muscle to infiltrate the facility. Now, we’ve done research on your firm.” Grant accepted the drink from the bartender and took a sip. “You’re the best, and you’re also discreet.”

  “Of course. Discretion is part of the game. But first you’ll have to tell me what this asset is, and why it’s so important to you.”

  “No,” Nick interjected. “It’s on a need to know basis only. My team will take care of retrieval. You just need to make sure we can get in and out safely.”

  “Then we have no deal,” Sebastian said coolly. “Have a good evening, gentlem
en.”

  “I’ll pay whatever you want. Double what you usually charge,” Grant offered.

  “Look, Grant.” Sebastian looked at him straight in the eye. “My company is used to handling secrets. Classified stuff, even, so you can be sure your secret is safe with me. But, I need to know exactly what I’m getting into.”

  “I’ve seen your record, Creed. Your company has run operations far more dangerous than what we’re asking.”

  “The answer is still no.”

  “You’d turn away millions of dollars to do one small job, just because we won’t tell you what it is we want you to retrieve?” Nick asked in an annoyed voice.

  “Listen, Mr. Vrost, right?” Sebastian’s eyes turned hard. “Money, I got. Lots of it. But you know what I can’t replace with money, Mr. Vrost? The lives of good men and women. If I went in blind, I’d be risking the lives of my employees. Good, loyal people who’ve been to hell and back with me. And for what? The prototype for a fancy new gadget? A miracle pill that promises weight loss without the hard work? No. That’s how people get hurt, and I don’t do business with anyone who would treat my people like disposable toys. So, goodnight, gentlemen.” He grabbed his glass and walked away.

  “We’ll find someone else,” Nick said when Sebastian was out of earshot.

  “There is no one else,” Grant rubbed his hand down his face. “He’s the best, you know that.”

  Liam watched the man retreat. If Grant said he was the best, then he might be the only one who could help them rescue Jade. “Grant, what’s the harm in telling him the truth? At least part of the truth anyway?”

  Grant frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Look, we just tell him Jade is a researcher in your R and D department and she’s been kidnapped by a rival for the tech she’s developed. It’s kind of the truth,” Liam reasoned. “Worst case scenario? We’ll have to use some confusion potion if they see anything.”

  “We’ll have to come up with some sort of plan to isolate his team from ours. Make sure they only tangle with the human forces.”