On the Edge (Adirondack Pack Book 3)

by K. C. Stewart

  Owen knew there was nothing else for them to get out of Robert about Vince. He also knew that Miles was not done. The enforcer was known for this next part. Known for the ruthlessness he had when it came to his lost Mate.

  He pulled a picture out of the folder. Miles looked at it for a second, an aching longing in all of his features. He hardened quickly enough and looked at Robert. “Have you seen this woman,” he asked holding up a picture of his Mate.

  Robert frowned. No recognition. Damn.

  “I don’t-”

  “And I don’t like that answer. Let me ask it again and this time, I better like what you have to say. Monteray Karlsen. Do. You. Know. Her?” With each word, he got closer and closer until he was in Robert’s face.

  The man opened his mouth a few times and darted his eyes back to the picture. He didn’t know Miles’ wife. None of them ever did.

  Miles punched him when he stuttered. “I didn’t like the start of that one. Try again.”

  Owen left. He’d seen this show before. Wasn’t in the mood to see it again.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lee had her bag out and was checking over her supplies. As much as she hated to do it, Robert would need some medical attention when Miles was done. Owen had left a few minutes ago, which told her the interrogation about Vince was done and he had moved on to Monteray. This wasn’t her first time bandaging up one of Miles’ interrogations, but it was the first one she felt no sympathy for.

  A long wail echoed down the hallway. Lee grabbed her bag. That was her call that things had gone on long enough. She went to the first room and slipped inside.

  “Jesus,” she muttered under her breath when she saw Robert and Miles through the window. He had a fat lip with a decent sized cut. Blood had smeared over his chin. One of his hands lay on the table and the wrist was almost doubled in size. Beside it, Robert was barely able to keep his head off the table. Miles grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head himself so he could talk to him. Lee cut him off as she swung open the door and told him to stop.

  “That’s enough Miles.”

  “He knows something!” the man insisted as he pushed Roberts face back into the table.

  Lee walked over and knelt in front of Robert. Miles reached for him again but Lee held out her hand. “Enforcer, enough.”

  Robert had one eye open and on her. He didn’t say anything, which was for the best. Miles would probably start in on him again if he knew Robert could talk. “Get out of here Miles. Clean up or go for a run. Do something, anything, but get away from here. I’ll find you later.”

  Miles was breathing hard, his chest rising and falling in harsh strokes. He watched stone-faced as Lee began to clean and bandage Robert’s cuts. Lee found it hard to work with him staring like that.

  “Look,” she said and dropped her hands pretending to rummage through her bag. “I am doing this because I took an oath to do so. Do I think this piece of shit deserves this care? Hell no. But will I give it to him? Yes, of course. However, if it helps you move on out of this room, think about it this way: if I care for him today, you can beat on him some more tomorrow.” She looked over her shoulder at him. “Ok?”

  His mouth twitched with a smile. “Yeah, ok.”

  “Bye, Enforcer,” she said blandly and went back to patching him up.

  “Goodbye, Doctor.”

  The door opened and closed leaving her with Robert. She tried to ignore who exactly she was working on and only focused on the treatment. He had a broken wrist, cut lip, broken nose and probably a few bruised ribs. Nothing that would kill him. Miles truly knew what he was doing. No real damage beyond the superficial.

  “Thank you,” Robert hissed out over his cut bottom lip.

  Lee’s hand froze for a moment but then continued to clean off the blood from his chin. “Don’t thank me,” she said.

  “You saved me,” he stated.

  This time, Lee dropped her swab and looked him right in the eyes. “I’m doing this because it is my job, if I had it my way, we would all get to play with you as you and your buddies played with Vince. We’d each take turns tearing into your flesh with our teeth, skinning your back with our claws and chasing you through the forest like a game of tag.” Robert tried to move back away from her. She smiled. “Don’t believe for a second that I am doing this for you out of kindness. Now shut up and let me finish this so I can get the hell out of here.”

  Robert swallowed painfully as she picked up a bandage fixed it around his wrist. She finished her work in silence and left him chained to the table. Someone else would take care of him from here. Her part was done.

  She stashed her bag in the small clinic in the house. She didn’t bother with the lights. No need to alert anyone she was around. Lee had an office there where she kept the records of all past and present pack members. She dropped her bag on the desk and kicked off her shoes. She had unbuttoned her jeans and was pushing them off when the outside door opened.

  “Lee?”

  Her shoulders fell. So much for going for a run. She pulled up her pants when Mira walked into her office.

  “Lee? Oh, hi. Oh geez. I’m interrupting something. Sorry.”

  She flicked a glance to Sadie’s sister and then turned her back to finish dressing. “No. It’s fine. I was just going to run. What do you need?”

  That wasn’t the question she wanted to ask. What the hell are you doing here? Sounded a bit more truthful. Lee had actively avoided Mira since she came back with Owen. She had screwed up and knew that she owed the woman an apology but just could never find the words. Just as she could never find the words for Owen, Sadie and Tyson. They were they running rampant in her head but when the time came, everything went silent. She was on her own.

  “I was thinking,” she stated.

  Lee looked over her shoulder as she buttoned her pants. So she can think? Good for her.

  Her chest sunk in disappointment. Lee had to stop being a snarky bitch to Mira. Even if it was only her inner monolog, it wasn’t helping things.

  “What were you thinking about, Mira?” she said solemnly and turned toward her. Just this once she wasn’t going to run. She’d find that strength that had gotten her through life so far and squeeze the last bit of life from it.

  “Vince,” Mira stated with an excited smile. “See I was thinking of where else Canidae could be keeping him but we’ve checked and rechecked everywhere. So what if it wasn’t Canidae? I mean, I know they hunted him and whatnot but, what if what Robert said was true? What if they ran away and the humans took Vince?”

  That was a possibility but one they had already considered. The problem was that they had no idea who these humans were. “Mira…”

  “Wait.” She held up a hand to silence her. “I’m not done. I know Owen checked the hospitals but Vince wasn’t registered. No one was admitted with his suspected injuries that night or even week, but what if we were checking the wrong hospitals?”

  Lee was confused. “I don’t get it. What do you mean the wrong hospitals?”

  “I mean, what if he was a wolf when the humans came upon him? We didn’t check the local vets, shelters or rescues.”

  Lee sat back onto the edge of her desk. She was right. They hadn’t looked into anywhere a wolf would have gone if injured.

  “I made a list of statewide places they could have taken a wolf to get medical help.” Mira handed her a couple pages of addresses. “This could be a dead end-”

  “No. This is great.” Lee was flipping through the pages looking at all the possibilities. “Thank you. What did Owen and Miles say about this?”

  When she didn’t respond, Lee glanced up to find Mira looking guilty. “I didn’t exactly tell them.”

  “Why not?” Lee asked surprised. She was withholding information about Vince from Owen. Did she have a death wish?

  “Well, I just thought that this could be a kind of peace offering.”

  Lee sighed and looked back to the papers in her hand. Mira didn’t owe her a pe
ace offering. It was the other way around. “You don’t owe me anything.”

  “I know,” she said with a twist of sarcasm. “But it was obvious you weren’t going to make the first move anytime soon. Owen and Sadie have tried to talk to you but you push them away. I was the only one who you could not deny talking to because of your guilt.”

  “Sneaky.” Lee swallowed. “I’m sorry, you know. I never meant…well, I only wanted Owen to be safe and happy.”

  Mira was smiling. “He is,” she said confidently.

  She looked up at her with a small smirk. “Yeah, I can see that.”

  “So can we just move on from this? Your apology has been accepted. We have a peace offering,” she said motioning to the papers Lee was fisting. “And we actually talked. He misses you. They all do actually. Sadie, Tyson and the majority of the pack. They are worried about you. I doubt you see it since you have removed yourself, but they love you, Lee.” Mira smiled and nodded to herself. Job done. She turned to leave when Lee didn’t respond but stopped in the doorway. “They have forgiven you, Lee. When are you going to forgive you?”

  That was the question, wasn’t it?

  *****

  He waited an hour after the last worker went by. It was almost midnight before he moved. Vince tried to set a brisk pace through one of the trails the other wolves had created but his ribs and back leg hurt enough to slow him down to a jog. So far he hadn’t tried to change. If Owen was here, he probably could have because the Alpha could help take some of the pain away. But Vince was on his own here. And it was going to hurt like a bitch.

  Vince walked to the middle of the pen. He had studied his new home relentlessly these past few weeks. He had lucked out a little in all this, his enclosure was one of the farthest from the main building. Hopefully, no one would hear him tonight. He stopped in a thick section of trees. Tonight was just going to be a test run to see what kind of shape he was in. It was the first step in getting his ass out of there and back home.

  Depending on the injury, shifting could typically help. He wasn’t a doctor so he wasn’t sure the reasoning behind it. Probably something to do with the magic that allowed them to shift. When he got home, he’d ask Lee.

  It was just the when that worried him.

  There were two sets of eyes that glowed in the moonlight. His adopted pack was curious. He really didn’t care what they saw. Both were just wolves. They had gotten along without him before and they would do so again once he left.

  Vince turned his back on the onlookers and focused on shifting. Usually, he didn’t have to do more than think it before it was happening and that was even pushing it. Shifting was like turning a head or jumping up and down. You just did it.

  This time was a bit harder, though. He really had to think about it because his body was protesting the shift. It started as a warmth in his chest which quickly spread to a searing heat spreading down his limbs. Vince groaned in agony as his bones tried to change, lengthen, bend and break.

  He eased off. Breathing heavily he let his heart calm a bit before trying again. His legs had given out at some point leaving him lying on his side in a puddle of sweat. There was no turning back at this point even if he wanted. Vince was half changed. He needed to go one way or another. This time, when he pushed, he knew what to expect. However, just knowing didn’t prepare him for the pain.

  He couldn’t contain the sounds that came out of him as the pain gripped his chest and burned within. The growls of the beast soon turned to the moans of a man. He pushed harder after hearing the sounds of his voice. He pushed even as the edges of his vision clouded with black. Pushed while his fur sank into his skin, as his tail withered and shrank away, as his face contorted.

  He woke later, naked and weak. His body trembled while his mind ached. The eyes of his pack were gone now. Probably scared away from the sight of him changing. He made no move to sit up. Just changing was enough for tonight. Tomorrow, maybe, he’d see if he could stand.

  “Alright,” he panted. “Now to change back.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Where are you off to?”

  “Owen! Shit. You scared me,” Lee said looking more guilty than scared.

  He had been on a walk when Lee came skittering out of the house like a mouse on the run.

  “Sorry.”

  She plastered on a smile. “It’s ok. See ya.” Lee tried to make a break for it but this was the most he had seen her act like the old Lee in months. Owen wasn’t letting this go so easily. And the distraction was a welcome one.

  “So, where are you going in such a hurry?” He asked again.

  She froze mid step. “Just checking out a hunch.” Her weight shifted to her left foot as she began to pick up her right but it couldn’t get off the ground. After a moment of silent struggle, she relented and turned toward him.

  “Mmmhmmm,” he hummed around a smirk. Owen crossed his arms over his chest. He tilted his head as he watched her squirm. “And would this hunch have anything to do with where you have been sneaking off to the last few days?”

  The look on her face told him that she thought she had been sneaky about that. Well, she hadn’t. At least not to him, who had her under surveillance.

  Lee didn’t say anything.

  It was her old defense back in action. She knew that if she opened her mouth, she would have to answer the question her alpha asked her. So she just wouldn’t open her mouth. It used to entertain him when she used it on his father and then infuriate him when it was his turn. He could order her to talk but he already put enough of a command into the question. He hated making his people do anything they didn’t want to do. But when one of his pack was missing, all bets were off.

  “Lee,” he said unamused at her silence.

  She shook her head.

  Owen rolled his eyes. “Well, it’s good to see you acting more like yourself, even if it annoys the crap out of me.”

  She smirked.

  “Ok, at least tell me this. Does it have to do with Vince?”

  Lee nodded and gave a solid, “Yes.”

  Progress. “Alright, do you need help?”

  “No.”

  “Will you call if you do need help?”

  Her eyes softened just a little, just enough for his nerves to ease. “Yes, of course.”

  “Go on then.”

  Surprised, Lee started to walk away but then stopped and turned. “Thank you. For not pushing. So far my hunch has been a dud but I’ve still got a few more places to look.”

  “Lee, you don’t have to explain. Go follow your gut and then come back and tell me what you are up to. I’m not going to stop you. I just want to help if I can.”

  She set her lips in a straight determined line and nodded once. “I can do that.”

  “Good luck.”

  She ran off and he silently wished her well. Hunches were all they had at this point. It was why he was setting aside Vince for the moment, even though it pained him to do so, and going find his Rabbit. So much had happened all at once. As they all focused on Vince’s disappearance, Mira was forced to figure things out on her own. It was unfair to her after everything her mother had said. They needed to have a very real, very serious discussion about what her parentage could mean for her and for them. Problem was, she had a knack for avoiding him.

  They spent fewer nights together lately. She was too efficient at her job and only had to come in two, three times tops, a week. And being the sneak she was, Mira knew when he was at his busiest to come in so they wouldn’t have to talk anything serious.

  It wasn’t just about her possible shifter genes that he wanted to talk to her about. Owen missed her. He had brought her back here to be together and she still lived in a room above the Wick, and when the topic was brought up, she still danced around the idea of moving in with him. He wanted more for them but she was digging her heels into the ground and not letting go to what was easy. Her sassy attitude and smirking shell hid a deeply embedded fear of change.

&nb
sp; So today, Owen was putting aside his pack obligations and taking a personal day. Mira was in her office, a small room off of his that used to be storage. She said she didn’t need an office, just a desk and computer, but he insisted. Her mind was wired for business. She had a brilliant way with numbers. He was going to slowly start introducing her to more than just their finances and for that, she needed an office.

  Her bouncing red pumps caught his eye first. Under her desk, one foot swayed to a melody unheard by anyone but Mira. Her white dress was cinched in the middle with a thick red belt exposing the curves he adored. His traveling eyes got stuck at her strawberry red lips like they always do. It was the very first thing he had fallen in love with and they would always stop him dead in his tracks.

  The plump temptations tilted up into a smirk. “Owen, you’re staring,” she said.

  He tore his eyes from her mouth and smiled at her. “Tantalizing red lips tend to do that to a man.”

  She blew him a kiss.

  Owen stumbled and grabbed his chest dramatically. “Careful Rabbit, you could kill a man with those.”

  Those wing-tipped eyes of hers rolled upward. Mira set down the pen she had been playing with to rest her elbows on the desk and interlace her fingers, giving her chin something to rest on. “So what brings you here?”

  Owen walked around her desk and held out his hand. Mira raised an eyebrow, he wasn’t fooling her, she knew this was a trap, but one she went into willingly. Her hand settled softly in his. “I heard a beautiful woman was here staring at numbers instead of kissing me and had to put an end to it.”

  He pulled her up and into his arms.

  “Is that so? Well, tell me when you find her. I might want to get some of these kisses too,” she quipped.

  “Funny. I’m here to steal you for the day,” Owen said kissing her lips lightly.

  “And do what with me?” Her flirty smile was infectious.

  Owen gave her ass a squeeze. “I could think of a number of things but mainly I’m going to horde you all to myself. I haven’t seen you near enough lately.”