“Ah Goddess.” He squeezed his eyes closed. Her words killed him. So filled with loneliness and regret. A longing as deep as his own. Since he’d left Los Lobos, he’d been in a similar position, a mated wolf without his mate. Believing his mate had been mated to another. “No one else, Jules?”
“No one else. All this wasted time. It’s only ever been you.”
“For me, too, baby.” He tensed, the start of the orgasm shooting upward from the tingling base of his spine throughout his entire body. All his muscles went rigid. His cock filled, heavy and aching with the need for release. Another deep thrust and Julie stiffened under him, her inner muscles clutching at him, tightening and grabbing, as he sent her over the edge. He came inside her a moment later, the orgasm so intense it blotted out thought. He could do no more than shake and thrust, driving into her and shouting out his passion, roaring her name. His seed continued to spurt into her and he remained hard, even though her inner muscles clenched, milking him dry. He leaned his head against the back of her shoulder, exhausted, his hips still rocketing forward and back like a mindless machine. Holy hell. Nothing had ever felt so good, so powerful, so fucking erotic, so right.
“My Jewel,” he murmured, what emerged of his voice when he could breathe again little more than a harsh, ragged rasp. He rolled off her and collapsed against the pillows. Curling an arm around her, he dragged her with him, fitting her under his shoulder, against his ribs.
Tears dribbled down her cheeks. He brushed at the wetness with his thumb, appalled. What the fuck had he done? The best sex, the best moment of his goddamned life…and he’d upset her?
“What is it, Jules? Wasn’t it good for you?”
She swatted his taut belly. “You did not seriously ask me that. You know it was fucking awesome. I might never recover. I for sure won’t be able to walk.”
“What then? What are these for?” He stroked the path of her tears.
“I don’t even know,” she mumbled. “I’ve never been so thrilled and happy. But sad, too. At all our wasted time. You didn’t mark me, Chance. What am I supposed to make of that?”
“I—hell, woman.”
He pondered her question, scrabbling to select his next words with care, sensing how much hung on his answer. If he fumbled—
A weird array of screeching ring tones suddenly cut through his thoughts, a cacophony of his cell and Julie’s land line and cell. He looked around for his jeans and retrieved the phone from his pocket.
He turned back to glance across the rumpled bed at Julie. She looked back at him, her expression frozen and stark with terror, a phone to her ear.
“What?” he snapped into the annoying piece of oblong plastic.
“Need your help.” His brother’s voice rang taut with fear. “It’s my kids. They’re gone.”
Chance squeezed his eyes shut, his gut clenching. Those cute, rambunctious little twins. Not again. Not fucking again.
“What happened?’
“They were playing on the porch,” Brick said. “I went inside to get them some juice. Couldn’t have been gone more than twenty seconds. When I came outside…they’d vanished. From my own fucking house. They were just…gone.”
“I’ll be right there.”
All over Los Lobos, wolves began to howl.
Chapter Five
Half the pack had already gathered in the center of town when Chance got there, and more continued to arrive. If Brick’s precocious twins were anywhere in the territory, they’d be found. Unless….
“No, unlesses,” Gee growled, sneaking up on him in quite a feat for the massive bear. “Not yet. Useless. Your brother’s already beside himself. Don’t add to it.”
Chance nodded, not even wondering how Gee had guessed his thoughts. They were written plainly on everyone’s faces. Brick’s scruffy chocolate-colored hair stood on end in weird places, as if he’d been running his hands through it ceaselessly. His eyes were wild.
“They still toddle, so they couldn’t have gotten far…on their own,” Brick said, his voice steady even though he kept shifting his weight from foot to foot, as if anxious to start the hunt. “Summer and I searched everywhere nearby the lodge. Inside, outside, even the lake. They had to have been taken. The sickly stench on the porch made us think animal at first…but we’ve revised our initial assessment to man. Not human. Wolf. No one we recognize. Evil, though. Something really off about it. So we’ve got to get going. The sooner the better.”
“Even a wolf can’t have gotten far,” Drew said. “Some of us can outrace lightning, not to mention vehicles. The fastest of you will be the outriders. Ryker will get you organized. We’ll search in four-person groups, in a grid, from Brick’s and Summer’s place outward.”
Chance shuddered as Brick started distributing the twins’ tiny T-shirts and other pieces of their clothing so the searchers could get snoots full of the children’s scents.
“I can’t tell you what it means to Summer and me…you all turned out so fast. I won’t forget it. Ever. Anytime any of you needs anything…I’m there. Those kids are everything to us. Everything. I don’t know what we’ll do….” His deep voice broke, his anguish palpable. “Those twins are my life. My heart. It’ll freakin’ stop beating if anything happens to them.”
The crowd murmured, making suitable pack noises. A few offered him sympathetic hugs and pats on the back.
“Summer’s at the lodge,” he said. “She’s not in great shape, as you might expect. I’d be there with her but I’ve got to search for my babies. Got to find them. I can’t…I can’t comfort her the way I should right now. All I can think about is the twins. Anyone wants to go stay with her, I’d appreciate it.”
“We’ve already put some protectors around the cabin,” Ryker said. “In case any calls come in. Brick’s place is now command central. Anyone hears anything or sees anything, report in. Let’s get going.”
Drew held up a hand. “Just one more thing.” He looked at each pack member in turn, his gaze resting on a few longer than on the others. “Brick and I have already been in touch with Cal Seven, the Alpha in Shady Heart.” He quickly stifled a few of the muffled groans in the crowd. “He’s Summer’s uncle and he’s those kids’ great-uncle and he adores them. He wants to help and he’s got every right to. I’ve given him leave to enter our territory with two of his lieutenants. We’d want him to agree to the same if the positions were reversed. I want Brick and Chance on the cats like glue at all times, though. Gee and Ryker, too. Anyone sees them snooping around where they shouldn’t be, let us know ASAP. Otherwise, suck it up and work with them. We can use all the help we can get.”
Chance scanned the crowd for signs of Julie, but she still hadn’t arrived. He’d taken off, giving her time to shower and dress.
He took out his cell and hit speed dial. Cell service in Los Lobos remained spotty at best. He breathed a sigh of relief when she answered. “How you doing, Jules?”
“I’ve already talked to Summer. She’s a wreck. I’m going to head straight to their cabin. I’m fixing some sandwiches and such for the searchers, but I’ll be leaving in a minute.” She paused and sucked in a deep breath. “Find them, Chance. Please find them. And…be safe. I couldn’t bear it if I lost you again.”
***
“So touching I want to puke.”
A fetid stench suddenly filled the room, as the menacing voice emanated from the bedroom doorway.
Julie hung up the phone and whirled around.
Ozzie, the evil bastard Magnum had tried to mate her to, stood in the kitchen doorway, his scarred face lit up with an insane glow as he leered at her. Holy blue moon. Wasn’t the despicable scent masker supposed to be dead? Was that why she hadn’t heard or scented the sick presence of the male in her house? She tightened the towel around her naked body.
He clucked his tongue at her. “Too late, whore. I’ve already seen all there is to see of you and your lover boy, also. Didn’t see me in the room when
you were fucking like rabbits, did you? Made me want to rip my clothes off and join you in the bed. But no worries. I had a good time, anyway.”
He indicated his groin area and Julie notice the gruesome wet stain in the vicinity of his fly. Great Mother Luna. Her stomach turned over. She didn’t know which more made her want to heave, the idea of this evil son of a bitch intruding on her intimate interlude with Chance, or that he’d gotten so excited by what he’d witnessed he’d come in his pants. Chance would have gone on full belligerent dominant male alert if he’d gotten any hint of another male lurking nearby. The psycho had done a good job of masking his scent, his presence.
She gripped the edge of her night table to keep from falling as she doubled over, retching.
“Oh, hey now, whore. Don’t say I’ve offended your delicate sensibilities. I mean, there you were, fucking some other guy when you’re mated to me.”
“Never,” she whispered. “Chance is my mate. I was never mated to you.”
“Magnum promised you to me.”
“Magnum’s dead,” she spit. “You’re a fucking liar.”
“Afraid not, whore.”
“He’s alive?” she all but screeched.
“Hell, no, and ain’t that a shame? That asshole Drew Tao made sure he killed his dear old daddy deader than a blown fuse. Still, a deal’s a deal. Magnum was going to forcibly give you to me if Chance Northridge stuck around Los Lobos, but the old Alpha would find some other mate for you, maybe even allow you to choose your own, if—and only if—your lover boy stopped pestering him about the rest of the Northridge family, left Los Lobos, and never returned. Chance agreed. Should have known better than to deal with the devil. Anyway, now he’s back, so the way I see it, their bargain’s null and void and you’re mine.”
Julie went lightheaded and sensed the blood draining from her face. Did Chance think he was saving her so long ago? Was that why he’d left? All this time. All these years. If only she’d known. No fucking way in hell would she ever have mated the heinous male confronting her. They could have stood up to Magnum together. Her family might have helped. Or maybe they could have left Los Lobos together. Some alternative to what they’d both endured. Except….
“What did you say about Chance’s family?”
“All in good time, whore. Or should I say, ‘my love’? A cock’s a cock, right? You can fuck me the way you fucked him. Hell, from what I saw, you’re some damn shewolf in the sack. A prime piece of ass. So since the idiot Chance Northridge was stupid enough to return to Los Lobos, all agreements are cancelled and you now belong to me, toots.”
“A madman’s agreement. Luckily for us all, the madman’s dead and can’t reach out from the grave. Anyway, I wouldn’t have abided you or any questionable bargain back then and I sure as hell won’t now.”
“We’ll see.” He raised the automatic weapons he held in each hand and pointed both directly at Julie on the other side of the room.
How decent a shot was he? Dare she chance a sudden evasive move? She could shift and jump him, but if he caught her with a bullet mid-shift, she might never recover.
“You’re as insane as your crazy leader was,” she told him. “I’ll never go anywhere with you, you sick, demented bastard.”
“Not even to help out your lover?”
“He’ll rip your throat out when he gets back.”
“Oh, we’ll be long gone by then, toots, don’t you worry.”
“You may as well shoot me. There’s nothing you can do or say to make me take one step with you.”
Ozzie sighed dramatically. “Well, there’s a pity, especially after I’ve already gone to all this trouble, building us such a sweet little ready-made family and all.”
A freezing chill turned her blood to ice. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, yeah, didn’t I mention my little tidbit? I’ve stolen those wailing twin brats everyone’s searching for. I’ve got ’em stashed at my secret hideaway at the compound.”
Secret hideaway? Compound?
He grinned at her and the smirk spreading across his hideous mug reminded her of raw sewage spilled into a river. “Yeah, those pain-in-the-ass brats have been almost more trouble than they’re worth. Look what one of them did to me.” He rolled up a sleeve to reveal two long, angry scratch marks and a small puncture wound. “Typical Northridges. Clawing and biting, crying and howling their heads off for their new mommy. I’m sure you don’t want to let them down.”
***
Chance beat the underbrush along with the twins’ distraught father and their great-uncle. One of Cal’s lieutenants had opted to maintain sentry duty around the cabin where the little ones had been snatched and the other, with Ryker’s okay, stationed himself with a couple of Los Lobos protectors along the western edge of Highway 385, which bordered wolf territory, to track—and stop, if necessary—any suspicious vehicles rolling by.
Every few steps Brick would stop, listening intently and sniffing the air. He called his kids’ names until he had no voice left. After a few hours, all he could do was growl and howl and he shifted, his wolf’s senses more finely honed, his ability to link with his family greater. Chance’s heart broke for him. He’d been without his true mate for ten years, but this…he couldn’t even imagine the devastating grief of losing a child.
He cursed the Goddess. For years, voices and visions had bombarded his brother. Now, when he most needed them to hint at his babies’ whereabouts, the whispers and disturbing images had seemingly deserted him. Perhaps the kids were still too young to have the ability to call out to their parents from a distance if they needed help. Chance didn’t know about such things. All he knew was, they had to find Clay and Autumn or Brick’s whole world would crumble.
They kept at it all day, going without food or water, the relentless sun baking down on their heads, as did the rest of the pack, most of who prowled and searched in wolf form. They all knew if night fell, though they possessed the night vision of shifters—particularly Cal, a nocturnal panther—the chances of finding the children unscathed diminished.
Three males, who’d once been at odds with each other, united now in a single, all-encompassing purpose. A rare bond had formed between them. He found new respect and something to admire in the cat Alpha, Cal Seven. Love and pride filled him as he weighed the worthy man his younger brother had become in his absence. He only hoped one day he might prove as worthy. He’d do anything, risk anything to be as necessary to his mate, his family, his pack.
Brick called on his bond with Summer from time to time, checking in, drawing comfort from his mate, providing strength and reassurance to her. He suddenly shifted back in order to speak.
“Julie never got there.”
“What?” Chance rose to his feet. He’d been on his hands and knees in the deep part of the forest, peering inside a hollow log, in case the inquisitive toddlers had somehow managed to wriggle their way inside.
“Julie never showed up at the cabin. She’s not home, either. No one in Los Lobos has seen her or knows where she is.”
Chance froze, his body turned to a pillar of icy stone. A bad vibe had nagged at him all day, but he’d chalked it up to his anxiety and fear for his little niece and nephew. Now Julie was missing, too? What were the odds?
“It’s too much of a coincidence,” he muttered, his heart torn between continuing the search for the missing kids and finding Julie.
“You believe in coincidences, gambler?” Cal demanded.
“No.” He spat the word flatly. He hadn’t been as successful at the tables as he had been, believing in coincidences.
“Neither do I, Lucky Chance. Neither do I.” No, of course, the head honcho of the Graymarket Saloon and Casino wouldn’t accept such a development at face value.
Brick stared from his brother to his uncle-in-law and back. “Sorry about Julie, bro, but this might actually be a good break for us. Are you mated?”
“Mated. Not claimed.”
“Yeah, I’d think so.” After the hours they’d spent together, she should have been drenched in his scent.
“She’s one of us, then. A Northridge.”
“What are you driving at, Brick?”
“I’m getting the same creeped-out sensation I used to get when Magnum was still alive. The hairs on the back of my neck standing up, my guts churning. He’s dead, right?”
“Yeah, he’s dead.”
“Well, this has got his sick stench all over it.”
Chance nodded and examined his memories. The situation reminded him more and more of the days before he’d fled Los Lobos. Of the time he couldn’t rescue his family or save the woman he loved. He vowed this time would be different. “I’d bet everything I own whoever snatched your kids has Julie, too.”
“So would I,” said Cal.
“Agreed,” Brick said. “We find Julie, we find the twins.”
Chance stood stock still and, for the first time in his adult life, tested his fragile, incomplete mate bond. Find. Protect. Faint, very faint. A mental image began to take shape. Julie. Mate.
“Yeah,” he growled. “They’re together. Not clear, but I think I’ve got ’em. This way.”
He shifted into his wolf and let out an earth-splitting howl, designed to reach his Alpha and the other members of the pack. From every direction, corresponding howls filled the air.
In the next electric second, the two men standing beside him vanished, a sleek black panther and chocolate-colored wolf taking their places. With a jerk of his head, he bounded off. Chance’s brother and the cat alpha raced with him, matching him stride for stride.
Chapter Six
Julie wriggled in the rickety folding chair Ozzie had tied her to. Subpar would be a kind word for the skanky thug’s intelligence. He hadn’t stuck a gag in her mouth or done much more to restrain her except for duct-taping her hands behind her back and her ankles to the legs of the chair.
Another Chance Page 6
