by T. Cobbin
“How long do we have?” Brock answered with a question.
“About forty-five minutes.”
“What’s the nearest clan around here?”
Cole pulled his phone out his pocket. Bringing up the internet, he logged into the secret clan site that the bears had. It helped the different clans stay in touch with each other.
“I think the Jeffersons,” Cole said. “We met them once at a clan gathering. Want me to call?”
“Yes. Explain the situation and see if they can offer some help.”
Cole dialed the number for the Ramsgate alpha. After Cole explained their situation, the alpha said he would send six of his best enforcers out. He wasn’t at all pleased that hyena shifters were in his area. Cole thanked him profusely and hung up.
“He’s sending six of his enforcers,” Cole told Brock.
“Great, we might just stand a chance. Bradley, tell me what you know about your old man.”
“He’s a mean son of a bitch.” The young male sighed. “He runs his pack with an iron fist. If things don’t go his way, it’s the highway. The pack enjoys the violence my father encourages. On my thirteenth birthday, he celebrated me becoming a teenager by raiding a small fox clan.” Bradley paled and looked like he was about to spew. “They tore that helpless family apart and took everything of value in their house. Once we were home, my father dumped all their possessions he’d taken in my room and wished me happy birthday.”
Cole watched a lone tear fall down Bradley’s face as he recalled that night.
“I vowed that night as I hid each item in a cupboard, I would run, as far as I could as soon as I could.” Bradley swiped the tear away and looked up straight into Cole’s eyes.
“Your father never realized? He never guessed?” Cole asked, amazed. Shit! If he can keep his thoughts and feelings so quiet that even his alpha father never suspected his son was different, we’d better keep a close eye on him.
Bradley shook his head. “I stayed in the background as much as I could and kept my mouth and emotions shut down tight. It took me another three years before I got the chance to get free.” He lowered his gaze to the ground. Waves of emotional sadness rolled off the male. “But look where it’s got me. I’ve been running for so long I fear I won’t get away. I get the courage to ask for help, and all it’s done is cause you grief. I really am so sorry.” Bradley inhaled deeply and released it in a long, heavy sigh. “I will hand myself over to my father in exchange—”
“No!” Brock barked. Both Cole and Bradley turned to stare at Brock. “No,” Brock repeated more calmly. He opened his mouth to say something else when the scent of another bear shifter drifted toward them. All three males went on alert.
“If I hadn’t heard it with my own ears, I would never have believed it,” a deep male voice said as a huge bear shifter in his human form stepped over. He dropped down into the dune beside the three males. It was the Jefferson’s alpha himself. Marcus Jefferson. “A rogue hyena shifter, and the son of an alpha to boot,” the male said in admiration.
Cole grinned at the alpha as Brock greeted him first, their forearms gripped in a strong embrace. Cole followed. A surprised look over came both bears’ faces when the alpha offered Bradley his forearm. Bradley’s hand wrapped around the alpha’s in greeting.
“I’m glad you can help, sir. I didn’t mean—”
“I heard,” Marcus Jefferson interrupted the young male and released his hold on him.
“It didn’t take you long to get here. Something tells me you already knew some of what is going on.” Brock raised his eyebrows in question at the alpha.
Marcus grinned but didn’t reply. Cole glanced at Brock, and the same thought passed to each other in silent agreement. The alpha already knew.
“My enforcers are waiting nearby, but not too close—we don’t want to alert the fuckers before they get here.”
Cole’s mind was filled with questions for Marcus. How much did he know? Was he going to help before they’d asked him? But Cole knew better than to ask an alpha of a clan questions like that. He didn’t want to sound or look rude. The other thing that had him biting his tongue was if his mother found out he’d questioned an alpha about stuff, he would never hear the end of it. Brock kept quite too.
* * * *
Melanie’s mind woke first from its not so natural slumber. Slowly, she remembered what had happened. Mentally, without opening her eyes, she went over her body. She was lying on her side on something that was soft, lumpy, and smelled awful. She swallowed a few times, refusing to gag at the stench. Her arms hurt from being tied behind her back. The material that held her wrists together was rough and chaffed her skin. She tested her legs by tensing several muscles. She discovered her ankles were tied together too.
“I know you’re awake, woman.” A deep, husky voice broke through her thoughts. “I can smell your fear, and it’s turning me on.”
Melanie opened her eyes, disgusted. “You are nothing but scum,” she hissed.
From what she could see, she was lying on a double, unmade mattress in the back of a filthy caravanette. A large, muscled male with long, dark, greasy hair was sitting on the end of the bed staring at her. He was wearing an old, holey wife-beater. In her opinion it wasn’t worth wearing with that many holes in it. And he had on a pair of khaki shorts that ended halfway up his hairy thighs.
“Where am I? What did you do with Brock? What are you going to do with me?” Questions tumbled out of her mouth, her mind suddenly frantic as to where she was and where her mate was.
“Shut up before I gag you. You ain’t getting no answers from me. I drew the short straw in watching over you. Now, if I were allowed to touch you…” His words trailed off, a nasty gleam growing in his eyes.
Oh God! Melanie curled herself as much as she could into a ball. She had no idea where she was or what had happened to Brock. What if they had killed him? She’d only just found him. Memories of the brief time they had spent together flittered through her mind. Tears welled up in her eyes, making everything go blurry.
Nope, she thought, swallowing back her sorrow. You’ve been through worse stuff than this. Hadn’t she? She searched through her mind and came up blank. No! No, I can do this. I’ve never given in, and I’m not going to start now. With a heavy heart, she blinked away the unshed tears. If they did kill Brock, I still have Cole, and we will help each other through this. She inhaled deeply, wishing with every bone in her body that Brock was alive and well.
With the heavily built male currently occupied by sticking his finger in his ear and examining the contents, she took the opportunity to visually search the room, trying to see if there was something she might be able to use to free herself.
Chapter 19
Melanie felt right assuming they were in a caravanette. The bed she was lying on filled the tiny room. It looked like the ones she’d seen in magazine pictures and in films. Three small windows covered half of the three thin walls. She couldn’t see outside, however, as the rather dingy curtains were closed. Above the bed and windows were long cupboards. There could be something helpful inside them, but with the male so close and her hands tied behind her back, she wouldn’t be able to get to them. She felt despair seeing nothing around to help her. The bulk of the male’s body on the bed hid anything beyond the doorway.
She could probably kick the male off the end of the bed, and with a bit of luck he would crack his head against the doorframe. But more than likely, it would just make him angry and get herself hurt. No, she was going to have to wait for the right moment, and this wasn’t it.
Listening, she couldn’t hear anything but the long screech of a bird. She couldn’t even tell where they were currently parked. With another deep sigh, she stared at the open doorway, waiting for something to happen.
She didn’t have to wait long. The vehicle shook when a side door was opened and a large body entered.
“She awakes then?” a deep, foreboding voice asked.
She looked
at the male walking down the hallway. His looks resembled Bradley’s, and she guessed it was his father. Small trembles shivered through her body, and her heart picked up to a pounding beat.
“Move,” he ordered the male who was sitting on the end of the bed.
The man shuffled past the alpha as fast as he could, then walked toward the front of the van. Now that he had moved, Melanie could see the steering wheel and front seats of the van. She’d been right. Through the front window, she made out that it was still night. A hand touching her ankle broke her from her thoughts.
“Yes, you are going to give me fine cubs. I’m going to enjoy making them with you.” The alpha stared at her, his hand roaming higher to her thigh.
Her men had told her a little about shifters already, their heightened sense of smell and hearing. Melanie knew if she could detect scents like her bears, she’d probably smell oodles of lust coming off the male. He would enjoy raping her, she could see it in his eyes. A shiver of disgust rippled through her at the thought of this male on top of her, inside her. Her stomach churned, and nausea seeped up from the center of her body. Please, please, Brock and Cole, find me, she begged mentally.
The alpha’s hand moved from her body and he stood up. “First, however, we need to kill my son and your mates. Leave no witnesses behind.” With a leering grin, he turned his back to her and exited the van, leaving Melanie to plead over and over in her mind for her mates to find her.
* * * *
Brock could feel his little female’s panic. He hated he couldn’t get to her just yet. They had been waiting now for about half an hour, and as each minute went past, his patience grew shorter.
“We have movement on the east side.” Marcus suddenly spoke.
Brock looked along the beach but saw nothing. He sent a quick, questioning glance toward the alpha. How the fuck does he know that? Marcus shrugged then turned his head and pointed at an earbud in his ear. He was keeping in contact with his clan through technology. Smart! Brock nodded before turning back toward the beach. Soon enough, he spotted movement. Six males, one of them carrying a bundle over his shoulder.
“Six?” whispered Brock. “I bet there is a damn sight more around here.”
Marcus nodded, agreeing with him. “We have three coming from the west, three from behind us, and from what my enforcers say, three mobile homes just pulled up and stopped in a car park just behind us too.”
“Well, that just answered my question,” Cole muttered, frowning.
“They aren’t coming to bring our mate back. They aim to kill us and keep her,” Brock growled. He’d guessed that before coming there but hadn’t said anything.
“Perhaps if I gi—”
“Shut up,” Marcus ordered, interrupting Bradley. “It wouldn’t make a difference.” He placed a finger on the earbud. “Incapacitate those in the vans first. Then move to take out those that are hiding. Us four will take the main group of six out.” Marcus waited while someone spoke to him. Again he placed a finger on the earbud and spoke. “Don’t worry about the female. If that is who they’re carrying, I’m sure her mates will take care of her.”
The group of six males stopped and stood together chatting. The one that was carrying a bundle over his shoulder shifted his load. It looked like he was carrying a huge potato sack. Being so far away from them, Brock couldn’t scent or hear anything, but from the way the bundle moved as he shifted it, it didn’t look like a body. It irked Brock, because he couldn’t be sure. He growled out another frustrated snarl.
Cole placed a hand on his shoulder, calming him. Laying one of his hands on top of Cole’s, he gave it a reassuring squeeze. Don’t worry, I won’t lose it. But all he wanted to do was rush those bastards and tear them apart for putting their hands on his mate.
A tiny chuckle came from beside them, and Brock turned to the alpha in both annoyance and question. Why the fuck had he laughed at this?
Marcus was smirking. “It would seem your little mate is safe, sound, and swearing the air blue.”
“What?” Brock answered, surprised at the man’s words.
“She was in one of the vans, and when my bears entered she kicked out at the male watching her before my team got to her. He’s out for the count.”
Relief washed through Brock.
“Is she okay?” Cole asked.
Brock held his breath as he waited for the answer, praying she hadn’t been injured, or even worse, raped.
“She’s fine, and she can’t wait to see you. She’s glad Brock is alive but says he will probably find…his arse superglued?”
Brock chuckled, knowing then that their little female was fine. Cole blew out a relieved breath.
“Go to her,” Brock ordered Cole.
“The car park is directly behind us,” Marcus told Cole as he disappeared over the dune top.
With ever fiber in Brock’s body, he wanted to follow Cole. He wanted both of his mates in his arms. But he forced himself to stay put. First, he would make sure he got retribution for his female.
“The area is clear,” Marcus informed them after he’d finished communicating with his enforcers. “You go in first with Bradley. We’ll be close behind. That okay?” Marcus asked.
Brock studied Bradley for a second. The young male, although pale and scared, nodded and snorted. “If I die today, at least I had a few months to feel…normal?”
Brock stood, stiffened his shoulders, and headed to the beach with Bradley following. They made sure steps across the sand to the six waiting hyena shifters. Six pairs of eyes turned to them and stared. Brock inhaled and exhaled, his heart thrumming, not with fear but with excitement. His beast was baring his teeth and snarling. Touch mate. Kill! With back-up close behind them, Brock knew he might stand a chance of making it until morning and seeing his mates again.
A male standing close to the alpha began flapping his arms like wings and making chicken noises. “The son of the alpha returns, hiding behind a bear, with his tail between his legs. Bwok!”
“I come with my head held high. I am not ashamed of who I am,” Bradley called out. Even Brock could hear the shake in the male’s voice, but Brock admired him for trying to sound brave.
“Where is my mate?” Brock asked, stopping a few feet away from the group of hyenas.
The male carrying the bundle dropped it at his feet and kicked it. The bundle huffed. Brock nearly allowed a laugh to leave him. Were these fucking men simple? The bundle didn’t only look too small to be Melanie, but the huff that came from it was not a female’s.
Keeping a straight face, Brock kept up the facade and warned the male, “Kick it again and I’ll break your neck.”
The male sneered but backed off.
“I brought your son, Alpha.” Brock worded his sentence carefully. He wanted to let the alpha know he knew Bradley was his son. “Give me my mate and I’ll walk away.”
The long wrinkles beside the alpha’s eyes deepened. “You think we’re letting you go after you harbored that...” He pointed toward Bradley. “...fucking chicken who walked away from his pack? He is no son of mine,” he shouted and spat on the ground at Bradley’s feet.
Then the alpha flicked a finger in the air and spun it around in a circle. The males on either side of him moved to encircle both Bradley and Brock. Brock’s bear was so close to the surface now that fur intermittently shifted in and out through the pores of his skin.
The alpha hyena shifter kicked the bundle on the ground. “Get up, boy,” he ordered.
Small but sharp claws ripped the bag in half and a small teenage lad climbed out. With a flick of the alpha’s head, the boy ran away from them, across the beach and into the distance.
“You think I’d be daft enough to bring my prize possession here?” The alpha sneered. “She’s mine now. And boy, am I going to have such a fine time making me some more kin. Ones that don’t think they’re better than their daddy is.” He glared over Brock’s shoulder at Bradley.
You think I fell for your stupid p
lan? Brock growled and hunched his shoulders. Be ready, my friend, he told his bear.
“I’m not playing your sick games anymore. You think we didn’t already know that wasn’t my female?” Brock snorted. “You had three vans in the car park not far from here, and my mate was in one of them. She’s now safely tucked up with our other mate.” Brock grinned, showing his elongated fangs. “You lose this time, hyena. You have bitten off more than you can chew. Take a look around, and you will find that you are the ones surrounded.”
Brock watched the alpha as he did just that. Several bears showed themselves.
Turning back to Brock, the male sneered. “You bears wouldn’t fucking dare start a fight here in your animal forms. Too many eyes from humans.”
“There isn’t a soul around at this precise moment. Now, you have one last chance, take your motley crew, without Bradley, and leave.” Brock didn’t want to say ‘without your son’, because as far as he was concerned, if Bradley wanted to distance himself from his pack and father, he no longer had a sire.
“The boy will die by my hands tonight, as a traitor to his kind.” The alpha growled and began shifting.
Brock quickly followed suit, giving his bear free rein. Within seconds a nine-hundred-pound grizzly bear stood in front of a pathetic hundred-and-fifty-pound filthy hyena. Both with tattered pieces of clothing falling to the ground by their paws. The hyena laughed and lunged over his shoulder straight for Bradley.
With a twist of his huge head Brock’s bear caught hold of the animal’s hind leg. A long yelp filled the air then the thump of the animal hitting the ground. The alpha’s yelp was followed by several others. Bears and hyenas fought together as the Jefferson clan join Brock and Bradley on the beach.
The alpha hyena tried over and over to get to Bradley, swiping claws over the grizzly bear’s coat and skin, his teeth biting into Brock’s paws and legs. He had the advantage of being slightly faster than the bear’s bulky movements.
Brock managed to get in a nice hefty swipe along the hyena’s hind legs, buckling the male for a few seconds. As Brock turned he was surprised to see another hyena suddenly pounce on the alpha male. Seeing the two fiercely fighting, Brock guessed the new hyena had to be Bradley. Yowls and hyena laughs from each beast filled the air.
