by R. E. Butler
No one was going to fuck with her baby.
Gripping the box, she shoved upward, fast and hard, hitting Leon in the jaw. His grip loosened on her arm as his head jerked back with a grunt. She kicked up with her legs, nailing him in the groin with her shin. He made a strange squealing sound and clutched his crotch with one hand, slashing out at her with his claws. She deflected the blow with the box and he stumbled sideways. She took advantage of his momentary weakness, knowing she might never get another opportunity. Protecting the baby was her priority now. She hoped like hell that her mates were coming for her. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up.
* * * * *
Wes listened as Ray held his phone up so everyone could hear Joe’s voice over the speaker. “We’ve got their location. They’re fifty minutes west of Ashland.”
“Not that we’re not grateful, but how the hell do you know that?” Ray demanded.
“Because before we banished them, we put trackers on their phones. We knew they’d check for trackers, so we didn’t try to hide them, but on two phones we put two trackers. The other trackers were removed, but not those two. We’ve been monitoring them, but those two guys didn’t move at all so I suspect Quentin left them wherever they are right now and only took a small group of his wolves to capture her.”
James grunted. “He was probably watching the house the whole damn time.”
“They were probably watching us from the woods and we were sitting here like assholes,” Jericho said. “Don said we needed to put security measures up in our territory, too.”
“Blame each other later,” Joe said. “We’re on our way. I’m emailing you the link to the feed. Let’s get our baby sister to safety.”
The call ended and Wes’s stomach filled with lead. He’d never felt so hopeless and furious at the same time. Scarlett had been taken from the safety of their home while he and Ray were working on the other side of town. He was angry at himself for leaving her unprotected.
Hunter grabbed Wes’s shoulders and stared down at him. “I’m sorry we were sleeping. If we’d been up, then we would have been downstairs where the girls were and she wouldn’t have been taken.”
“You don’t know that,” James said. “No one knows what might have been, okay? Let’s get the hell in the vehicles and get our pride member back.”
The pride dispersed quickly to their vehicles. Wes and Ray rode with Hunter, Dylan, and Chase in Dylan’s SUV. Ray opened the link that Joe had sent and called directions out to Dylan. His voice was strong and laced with anger, but Wes knew his brother was a fucked-up mess inside because Wes felt the same way. He wouldn’t feel anything but fear and anger until he saw that Scarlett was okay. Even then he wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t also feel guilt for the rest of his life.
* * * * *
Scarlett pushed herself off the floor as she battered Leon with the box. The corner caught his eye, then his nose. She kneed him hard, and he grabbed the box, his claws digging into the sides and tearing it. She screamed and kicked at him as the box split apart.
The horse statue clattered to the floor as she found herself holding only a piece of torn cardboard and not a heavy box. Leon growled and the sound sent shivers down her spine. He swept his leg under her, and she hit the floor with a bang, her eyes watering with the pain that swept through her. Vaguely she heard the cheers of the wolves and wondered if they thought that Leon was just being rough with her. That they liked it, that no one would help her – not even the males who had known her since she was a child – made her heart heavy.
Her body was tired and aching, and she wanted to just lie on the floor, close her eyes, and sleep. But the reminder that Leon and more than a dozen other wolves wanted a taste of her body, wanted to kill her baby and take her away from her mates, drove her to her feet.
Leon rolled to all fours and shook his head. Her hands closed around her precious horse statue as she stood. With every ounce of power she had left, with all the rage and helplessness she felt in that moment, she swung the solid wood horse down on the back of his head. It impacted and her arms tingled with the force. Leon grunted and went down. Lifting the horse again, she smashed it onto his head in the same spot. Red flew around her like colorful raindrops, and she felt the heat of them as they splashed on her skin. She hit him again, and again, screaming with each blow. The horse cracked in her hands, and she kicked Leon, shoving him onto his side. She raised one portion of the horse high, shouting as she lowered it fast, hammering at his head until he wasn’t moving anymore and the only thing she could hear were her sobs.
Gripping the intact portion of the horse, she scurried to the far corner of the van behind the passenger seat and curled her arms around her knees. Leon said she only had an hour until Quentin unlocked the door, but wolves had excellent hearing. They would know what she’d done, if they hadn’t been able to see it through the front window. They’d know the sounds coming from the van weren’t those of a wolf raping a female, but of a female protecting herself and her unborn child.
Tears formed and she closed her eyes, dropping her head onto her knees. She was so tired. She knew she wouldn’t have the strength to fight another wolf, and she knew without a doubt that Quentin would punish her severely for what she’d done to Leon.
The forelegs of the horse pressed into her skin and she managed a wry laugh at the thought of a powerful beta being taken down by a Breeding Queen with a horse statue.
Then she began to cry.
Chapter 13
Ray stared at the two dots on the screen as the pride walked silently through the woods. They’d parked a mile back, not wanting to alert the wolves to their presence. Jericho, who had been an enforcer for his king bear father before he mated Lachlyn, was leading them. He stopped every few feet and listened intently, changing their direction slightly from time to time. It felt like it took an hour to go the mile, but in reality it took far less time. Ray’s worry for Scarlett’s safety made him want to move faster, to rush to her side and protect her from whatever her father was doing, but he trusted Jericho to get them to her.
Judging by how fast they’d driven to get to the wolves in the woods, he didn’t think they were too far behind them. Maybe a half hour or less. He prayed that Scarlett had been able to get away, but he could scent nothing except the woods around them. He could feel her fear through their mating connection. His heart hurt in a sharp way, and he knew that it wasn’t his own fear for her safety, but her fear that he could feel. He felt like she was calling for him, desperate and terrified, and his cat wanted to be let free.
Jericho stopped suddenly and growled softly, and then he straightened and turned to the right. “It’s her family,” he whispered.
Ray turned and was surprised to see six males stealing quickly through the woods toward them, Manix among them.
He recognized Joe when he spoke as they drew close. “The wolves are going to be taken into our pack’s custody and dealt with. I’ve got pack members moving around them now. The important thing is to find Scarlett and get her safely away.”
“The pride is here to help,” Jericho said.
“If you want to shift into your bear form, that would be totally kick-ass,” Joe said.
Nodding, Jericho moved away and stripped fast.
Joe looked at Ray and Wes, nodded, and then turned toward their destination. He lifted his phone to his lips and said something softly, and then he motioned to his brothers, who moved swiftly away.
The pride, led by a giant bear, raced forward.
Please be safe, please be safe, Ray chanted in his mind as the distance between them and the wolves who had taken his mate grew smaller.
* * * * *
When the pride found a delivery van surrounded by wolves, they clearly had taken the wolves by surprise. Wolves from Joe’s pack moved from the trees in dark blurs, and Jericho’s big bear form barreled through the line of wolves, taking them down with powerful swipes of his claws.
Wes and Ray raced for th
e van, knowing without a doubt that their mate was there. The bellowing war cries of Joe’s pack and the pride males who fought with them mingled with the screams of the males who fell.
Looking inside the driver’s door, Wes could see that the doors were locked. He and Ray moved to the back door and saw a padlock. As Ray reached for it, a male knocked him away from it with a growl. Quentin landed on top of Ray and swung a clawed hand at him.
“Get the fucking door open, Wes!” Ray shouted as he blocked the claws and arched up, swinging his legs and knocking Quentin off.
Wes grabbed the padlock, glancing around quickly for a key but finding none. He couldn’t hear anything in the van, and he didn’t know what that meant. He felt like Scarlett was alive because of their mate connection, but he didn’t know if she was unconscious or hurt. He squeezed the lock in his hand and began to twist it. It wasn’t a thick lock, but it wasn’t a tiny one either. Calling on his cat, he felt his body strengthen as he focused on helping their mate. His muscles bunched as he twisted the lock, putting one foot on the bumper to give himself leverage. He growled loudly, his hand slicing open as the corner of the lock dug into his flesh, but he didn’t stop. He didn’t stop twisting and pulling until the entire lock splintered off the door and he stumbled backward.
After tossing the lock away, he jerked the doors open, ready to kill anyone who had put their hands on Scarlett. He found her immediately, her arms covered in blood, something strangely shaped and bloody in one hand as she trembled with her forehead pressed to her knees. She was tucked tightly into the far corner of the van, against the passenger seat.
Two males lay unmoving on the floor of the van, surrounded by packages dotted with crimson. He rushed into the van and stopped just short of touching her.
“Scarlett? It’s me, baby.”
She lifted her head slowly and stared at him. Her eyes were glossy with pain and her tears had made tracks through the blood on her cheeks.
Her voice cracked as she whispered his name.
“Yeah, baby, it’s okay, we’re here now.”
She moved and made a whimpering sound of pain that cut him to the quick. He scooped her up as gently as he could, his soul flaying with each pain-filled sound she made. He carried her to the open doors and saw Ray standing next to Joe, with Quentin unconscious on the ground.
Wes eased out of the van and Ray looked at him in relief.
“Hey, sweetness,” Ray said as he moved quickly to join them. “You’re safe now.”
She smiled slightly and then her head lolled to the side as she went limp. Ray’s fingers touched her throat and he said, “I think she just passed out, but we should get her to the hospital.”
“Bobby’s an EMT, and he’s got his medical bag in the car. I’ll send one of the wolves to get it,” Joe said.
Ray nodded. “Thank you.”
Joe called over one of his wolves and sent him to get Bobby’s bag, and then he looked past them to the interior of the van. “I think she killed Leon. That was our dad’s second in command.” He whistled in surprise with a hint of pride. “Hell hath no fury like a momma bear in danger.”
Several minutes later, Bobby directed them to lay Scarlett down. Wes and Ray took off their jackets so she wasn’t lying on the cold ground. Her clothes were torn and bloody, she had claw marks on her face and arms and lots of bruising, but she appeared to be okay. No broken bones, no serious wounds.
Bobby said, “How far along is she?”
“About ten weeks,” Wes answered.
Bobby poked around in his bag and pulled out a small device. “Let’s see if we can hear the baby’s heartbeat. Then we can get her to the hospital to make sure she and the baby are really okay.”
He pressed the small device to her stomach as Ray bared her midriff. Wes was aware of the silence in the woods. He glanced up and found the pride and some wolves he didn’t know standing around them. Jericho snuffled quietly between James and Eryx.
A faint thump-thump sound came over the speaker in the ultrasound device. Wes’s eyes stung with tears and he squeezed Scarlett’s hand gently. They were hearing the sound of their baby’s heartbeat for the first time.
“That’s the most beautiful fucking sound,” Ray said roughly.
“It sure is,” Wes agreed.
The group cheered quietly so they didn’t wake Scarlett, and Wes grinned at his brother. Then he lifted Scarlett from the ground and Ray grabbed their coats.
“Our vehicles are closer,” Bobby said. “I’ll take you guys to the hospital.”
“Thanks,” Wes said.
Ray looked at the people standing around them and said, “Wes and I want to thank you for helping us get our mate.”
Joe clapped Ray on the back. “We’re family. Pride or pack, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that Scarlett is going to be okay. You let us worry about the rest.”
“We’ll meet you at the hospital,” James said, rubbing at a bruise on his jaw.
Wes tried not to start crying like a baby. He was moved by the show of support. As he carried their mate through the woods, led by Bobby, Wes said, “We’ve fought four other times against people who wanted to hurt the pride.”
Bobby glanced over his shoulder. “Four? You guys have a lot of enemies or something?”
Ray shook his head. “Just the females, really. They came after the kids once and tried to kill Melody, but then Jericho’s dad tried to kill his mate and Rue’s uncle tried to kill both her and her son.”
“I was just thinking how the pride really does stand together,” Wes mused. He’d known it in a way already, because he and Ray had always been willing to stand up for the pride and the mates. It was humbling to have the pride stand up with them.
“You don’t owe us anything, or your pride, either,” Bobby said. “You support family because family is everything. They stand by you and you stand by them, no matter the odds. My brothers and I spent Scarlett’s life idly watching as our father planned to use her for his own gain. We could have stood up to him years ago and saved her from this bullshit. She could have died today, and that’s going to haunt all of us for the rest of our lives.”
“She’s safe now. She wouldn’t want you to feel guilty.”
Bobby glanced over his shoulder. “Are you taking your own advice?”
Wes’s hands tightened fractionally on Scarlett’s body and he forced himself to relax so he didn’t hurt her. “No,” he answered honestly.
“She’ll forgive you and I know that she’ll forgive us, too, but we’ll have to forgive ourselves. How about we work on that, brothers?”
“Sounds good to us,” Ray said.
Bobby unlocked the passenger door of a black sedan. Ray sat down and Wes gently set Scarlett in his lap. After shutting the door, he moved around to the other side and sat down next to his brother, putting his hand on Scarlett’s neck so he could feel the thrum of her pulse.
He kept telling himself that she was alive and safe, but he knew he wouldn’t trust his own words until she woke up.
* * * * *
Ray carried Scarlett into the hospital. Bobby knew the staff, and two nurses hustled the four of them into the emergency room, where they directed him to lay Scarlett down on a bed. As one nurse pulled the curtain closed around them, the other cut Scarlett’s clothes off and dressed her in a gown. Ray and Wes stood back with Bobby, who kept his eyes glued to his phone as he texted with his family.
“Mom’s on the way with Christian. We had Christian and a handful of wolves standing guard with Mom, just in case Dad tried something with Scarlett’s kidnapping.”
“Scarlett will be glad to see her again,” Wes said.
Ray tried not to growl when a male doctor came into the curtained area. He reminded his cat that the doctor was only helping her.
“What happened?” the doctor asked.
Ray told him what they knew, which was actually very little aside from her kidnapping. They only knew what her wounds told them. That she wasn’t
more injured was a miracle.
“When she wakes up, I’m sure she’ll be able to tell us everything. After I examine her, we’ll do an ultrasound to check on the baby. Depending on how she feels when she wakes up, and the extent of any injuries, you may be able to take her home tonight.”
Wes and Ray both thanked the doctor and Ray looked over as Bobby said, “I’m going to meet Mom in the waiting room. Give me your cell number so I can text you when they’re here. Let me know when Scarlett is awake so they can see her, and I’ll text when the pride shows up.”
Ray grabbed his arm. “Thank you, Bobby.”
Bobby nodded, glanced at Scarlett once more, and ducked out of the area.
Scarlett woke up half an hour later as an obstetrician prepared to give her an ultrasound. She thrashed awake and Ray and Wes gently stilled her, talking in soft voices to draw her out of her fear. She lay still while the ultrasound was being performed and Wes brushed the tears from her cheeks as Ray held her hand.
“There you go. He or she is doing just fine,” the doctor said after several minutes.
The doctor pointed out the baby’s head and body, and then pressed a button so they could hear the heartbeat.
“Oh, listen to that,” Scarlett whispered thickly. “He’s not hurt? Not at all?”
“No, everything looks great. I do recommend you go visit your OB as soon as possible and get started with regular visits. If you have any bleeding or cramping, go to the emergency room right away. The womb is designed to protect the baby, and yours did what it was supposed to do.”
The doctor smiled at them and then went back to taking measurements of the baby.
Wes brushed the hair back from Scarlett’s forehead and said, “You said ‘him’. You’re sure it’s a boy?”
“I don’t know. It just feels like a boy. If it turns out she’s a girl, then hopefully she won’t be psychologically scarred for life because I want to paint the baby’s room blue.”
