Billionaire Wolf (The Pack 17) (Nocturne)

by Karen Whiddon

Every twenty minutes or so, when she stretched, she’d make an attempt to locate even a tiny kernel of magic inside of her. Each time she felt only emptiness.

  Polacek returned after she’d been at it a while—might have been hours, she had no way of knowing. Her stomach growled, reminding her she’d had nothing to eat in a long time. Yet just the thought of those nasty-looking grits was enough to banish her hunger.

  “I brought you lunch,” he said, sounding more like the man she’d come to know as Darryl Pride. “I picked up some chicken. I think you’ll like it.” He held up a red-and-white box with a familiar logo on it. Heaven help her, her mouth started to water. The smell alone made her want to swoon.

  “Thank you,” she said, somehow managing to keep from rushing at him and snatching the box out of his grasp. “I really appreciate it.”

  After he placed the box down on the table, he pushed the book away. “Wouldn’t want to get it dirty. Go ahead and dig in.”

  Wondering if, when she reached for the food, he’d jerk it away, she moved slowly. When she opened the top and saw fried chicken, fried okra, and mashed potatoes and gravy, she nearly cried. Not to mention the perfect, mouth-watering biscuit that came with every meal. He also carried a drink, with ice and everything.

  “This is really nice of you,” she told him, still hesitant. When he pulled out a chair and sat next to her, a bit too close, she knew she’d better not move away. A horrible thought occurred to her. Did he think he could so easily buy her with a meal?

  “Eat.” His soft order contained a hint of steel.

  So she did. It was the best chicken she’d ever eaten. Crispy on the outside, moist and tender under the skin. She tried to eat slowly, knowing she’d make herself sick if she gulped her meal, but even though she alternated between the meat and the veggies, it wasn’t long before she had nothing left but bones. And even those she picked clean.

  The drink was diet cola, something she used to love and had weaned herself off of several months ago. It, too, tasted like ambrosia.

  When she’d finally finished, she forced herself to turn and look at him. “Thank you again,” she said, meaning it. “How is Tracey?”

  Just like that, the indulgent look vanished from his face. “Tracey is not your concern.”

  Stunned, she scrambled for an answer. Before she could think of one, the entire building gave a violent shake. Earthquake?

  Cursing, Polacek leaped from his seat.

  “What is it?” she asked, wondering if she was about to die here, after all.

  “No idea,” he snarled, rushing toward the door and unlocking it. She held her breath, hoping in his hurry he might forget to secure her in her room, but then she heard the sound of the key turning in the lock.

  Again the walls and floors shook. This time she also heard a low rumble, like an avalanche or something worse. She stood, knowing she had nowhere to run, no place to hide.

  A screech sounded, so loud she had to cover her ears. And then another. And one more. A fleet of incoming jets approaching? No. Suddenly, she knew that sound. A dragon. More than one.

  The Drakkor Council must have found her. Now they’d battle Polacek.

  Oh, how she needed her magic. She paced and spun, cursed and pleaded. Dug deep within herself time and time again. But whatever he’d done to her still held, and she had a feeling it could not be broken, except by the one thing she didn’t have. True love’s kiss.

  There was another thud, and a huge crack appeared in the cement floor. Not large enough for her to fit through, though she had a feeling if the assault continued walls would soon begin to fall. When they did, she’d need to protect herself and be ready to escape.

  But not without Tracey. She had to find Tracey and get her out to safety.

  * * *

  Amazed and exhilarated, Ryan hung on for dear life as Brandon powered through the night sky. The light rain had ended as soon as they left the coast, and the best that Ryan could tell, they were heading out over the gulf, but in a northeast direction. Louisiana?

  As they flew, Ryan knew he had to stay awake. He didn’t dare sleep and run the risk of falling from the dragon’s back. They flew fairly low, staying out of radar, he supposed. Anytime a ship’s lights appeared on the horizon, Brandon veered and took evasive action.

  The sky remained dark, and even though he’d lost track of time Ryan began to wonder when the sun would start to rise. He figured they’d reach their destination before then, as the Drakkor went to great pains to keep from being seen.

  Finally, the water of the gulf gave way to land. Brandon continued to fly, keeping above the treetops, massive head swinging left and right as if looking for something. Ryan hoped he hadn’t lost his way.

  More time passed. An hour? Two? No longer sure of his bearings, Ryan tried to guess where they were, but failed. Brandon stayed away from larger cities or towns, though judging by the lights in the home windows, the topography had become hilly. Oklahoma? Arkansas?

  Finally, they landed in an empty lot, in a downtrodden, dangerous-looking area of whatever town they were in. The nearest building, made of cinder block and corrugated metal, had boarded-up windows and graffiti scrawled all over the front.

  He’d expected the Drakkor to do battle as dragons, but the instant he climbed off Brandon he began a swift change back to human. Micah and Roger stepped from the shadows of the building and handed him clothing. While Brandon hurriedly dressed, Micah walked up to Ryan and smiled at him. “I’m glad you came. You’re going to come in handy pretty soon. I do need to ask you to stay out of the way so you don’t get hurt.”

  “I can fight,” Ryan told him, letting a bit of the anger show through in his voice. “Even though I’m not Drakkor, I’m a good shot.” He let the other man see his pistol, which he kept holstered on his belt.

  Micah’s silver brows rose, but he nodded. “How quickly can you change?”

  “Not as fast as you,” Ryan responded. “But fast enough. Do you think I can help more as wolf?”

  “I’m not sure. This will be an intense battle. Our primary weapon is magic. Once it begins, Polacek will only be expecting magic. He will not anticipate you, whether you’re man or wolf. Keep watch and the instant you see an opening, take it.”

  “Understood. Is this the place?” Ryan asked, pointing at the abandoned factory.

  “Yes.” Micah spun and strode away, head up, shoulders back, in the manner of a general about to lead his troops to war.

  He reached the other two men. In unison, they faced the building and raised their hands.

  An explosion of light and fire, oddly silent, lit up the darkness. The building shook so badly some of the boards fell from the windows. Ryan started forward, but Micah barked out his name, stopping him. “Not yet.”

  Again the mages moved as one, stepping closer and once again raising their arms. More light, more fire, though this time something dark swirled over the brightness and attempted to extinguish it.

  “He fights back,” Micah said, his grim voice nonetheless determined. “We will need to increase our efforts.”

  It was three against one, which meant this Polacek must be powerful with magic, indeed. Despite this, Ryan hoped he could be the one to find him and make him pay for what he’d done to Maria.

  Even thinking of this made his blood boil.

  All three Drakkor had their arms up, battling the swirling black mist. At first it appeared they were at a standstill, but gradually their light began to push it back. And somehow they did all this in silence, apparently so the battle wouldn’t alert any humans who might be nearby.

  Again Ryan moved closer to the building, watching Micah for a signal. If Micah didn’t give one soon, Ryan planned to go anyway. No way was he staying on the sidelines while the woman he loved was in danger.

  “When you find Maria,” Micah yelled. “Kiss her before you do anything else. Do you understand me?”

  Mystified, impatient, Ryan nodded. “Tell me when to go in.”

 
; “Now!”

  Blood pounding, Ryan went. Darting in between one of the cracks in the metal, Ryan saw that this place had once been some kind of manufacturing plant. A rat scurried by, no doubt terrified by the shaking.

  He did a quick check. As far as he could tell, there was no place here to hide a prisoner. He eyed the black smoke, illuminated by the light it battled, noting the way it rose from a hole in the floor. He realized there had to be a basement, which meant they were way farther north than he’d originally guessed. The damp soil and low freeze depth made the construction of basements impossible in the Deep South. Four feet down and the builders would hit water.

  The building shook again. Wood rained down on him, along with damp pieces of something. Crouching low, he ran toward the place where the smoke seemed to originate. A tiny hole in the floor. Not big enough to be any sort of entrance. Which meant there had to be a door and a staircase somewhere.

  There. On the other side of the room, ten feet from the other wall. A door. Behind it, Ryan suspected he’d find a staircase.

  He yanked it open, barely pausing as he crept down the steps. If not for the magical battle waging above him, he would have been trying to make his way in total darkness.

  Hoping Polacek would remain occupied by the fight, Ryan went looking for Maria.

  * * *

  No sign of Polacek. So far, so good. A huge fissure had cracked open in the wall, allowing Maria to escape. The only problem was light. As in, there was none outside of her room.

  Creeping along, she tried to stay away from the walls, afraid they’d collapse on her. What she’d give for her magic back, as not only would magical ability aid in finding Tracey, but once she had, she could join in the battle to take Polacek down.

  Since she had no magic, all she could do was try and locate the other woman and get her to safety.

  A high-pitched keening sound made her grimace. Tracey? Daring to use her voice could be dicey. On the one hand, she might accidently alert her captor to her location. On the other, if Tracey were semiconscious, perhaps she could make a sound so Maria could find her.

  “Tracey?” Her whisper sounded as loud as a shout. Luckily, another great shudder shook the ground, and she heard a roar as whatever was above them collapsed.

  Great. Praying she hadn’t just been trapped in here, she continued her forward motion.

  “Tracey?” She tried again, a little louder. This time a muffled whimper rewarded her. That way, she thought. Another crash shook the ground and she crouched low, crab walking until she thought it was safe to stand. The complete darkness made it impossible to see and she considered attempting a change into dragon so at least she’d have her fiery breath for light, but decided against it. She had no way of knowing if there were any gas leaks due to the battle and the last thing she wanted was for the entire building to explode.

  So she continued on, feeling her way along step by step, until her fingers encountered what appeared to be an opening. A doorway?

  “Tracey? If you can hear me, make a sound. Any sound. I’m trying to reach you but I need some help.”

  Silence. Maria held her breath. And then, another tiny whimper, sounding as if it came from the opening right in front of Maria’s hand.

  Exhaling, Maria counted to three and then dove inside, clearing the opening as more cement and metal rained down on where she’d been standing.

  Maria inched forward, praying she didn’t encounter spiders, or worse, rats. “I’m right here,” she said, aware that she had no actual plan of action once she found the other woman. If Tracey had been able to walk...

  “Maria?” Tracey’s voice sounded stronger this time. Maybe Polacek had actually been feeding her. “Where are you?”

  “Judging from your voice, around five feet away. Have you regained your strength?”

  “A little. He’s brought me edible food ever since you shamed him. I’ve tried to eat. I feel a little better, a lot less weak.”

  “Great.” Again, Maria moved closer. She wondered if she’d be able to help Tracey up and support her if they made a break for it. Hopefully so.

  “How’d you get out?” Yep, definitely sturdier. “And, Maria, what on earth is going on?”

  “I don’t know. From the sound of it, Polacek is under attack. I’m thinking they came to rescue us. So I need to ask you, can you access your magic?”

  “My what?” Tracey’s voice wobbled. “I have no magic.”

  “You do. We all do. I don’t have time to explain too much, but I need you to reach inside and see if you can access it.”

  “I can’t,” Tracey responded instantly, telling Maria she hadn’t even made an attempt.

  “Do you want to live?” Maria had no choice but to speak harshly. “We have no other options, unless you think you can jump up and run. Can you do that?”

  Silence. Tracey finally responded in a very small voice. “No. But I swear to you, I don’t have any magic. At all.”

  Speaking quickly, Maria gave the other woman an abbreviated version of what had happened to her. “The male Drakkor worked hard to convince us we were less, somehow. Just like the fertility issue,” she finished.

  Another loud crash, and then the entire building seemed to groan. “We’re running out of time. I need you to reach deep inside yourself and yank your magic into life. And then I need you to connect to the other Drakkor outside and find out what needs to be done.”

  “I can’t,” Tracey began.

  “You will,” Maria interrupted. “Do it. Do it now.”

  Just like that, the darkness that had enveloped them vanished, lit by a glowing light emanating from Tracey’s trembling fingertips. Wearing a stunned expression, Tracey looked at Maria and grimaced. “Wow.”

  “Yes, wow.” More explosions sounded. It seemed as if the battle might be getting more intense and drawing closer. “Now, please do as I asked and reach out toward whatever Drakkor are outside. Just be careful and don’t let Polacek know you’re doing it.”

  “I’m not sure exactly how I can—” Tracey began. Something she saw in Maria’s face stopped her. She jerked her head in a quick nod. “I’ll try.”

  The light wavered and wobbled as Tracey closed her eyes, apparently to better concentrate. Though she hadn’t been trained at all, desperate times called for desperate measures and Maria hoped she’d manage to make it work.

  An immense roar sounded outside, echoing all around them. Tracey’s eyes popped open. “I think I did it,” she whispered, her voice amazed and ragged. “There are three of them. Ancient and powerful Drakkor. Now that they know where we are, they will try to get to us.”

  “We’re not going to wait for them,” Maria told her. “I need you to try and stand. You and I are getting out of here right now.”

  “Maria?” Another voice, so familiar and beloved that for a heartbeat Maria thought she might be hallucinating.

  “Ryan?” She gasped out his name, wondering if this was yet another of Polacek’s cruel jokes. “Ryan, are you really here?”

  He rushed through the doorway, yanking her against him for one hard and fast hug. Glancing at Tracey, who barely sat upright, he took in the situation.

  “We don’t have much time. Can you walk?”

  Instead of answering, Tracey tried to push herself to her feet. She failed miserably.

  “Come on.” Ryan didn’t hesitate. Slipping one arm under Tracey’s, he helped her to her feet. Maria hurried over and did the same on the other side.

  “How long can you keep up projecting that light?” he asked as they moved out of the doorway and turned left.

  “I don’t know,” Tracey answered. “I guess until it stops.”

  “What about Polacek?” Maria asked.

  “I think he’s pretty busy at the moment.” Ryan flashed a grin.

  They rounded one corner and then another. Maria vaguely recognized the area—she’d been there with Polacek when he’d first let her out of the concrete cell.

  “Stairs,” Rya
n said, pointing. “This is going to be the hard part.”

  They’d managed to shift and shuffle and push Tracey up halfway before a mighty roar made the wooden staircase tremble.

  “Get. Back. Here. Now.” Polacek appeared, hair disheveled, expression crazed. “Those are my women. Mine. I’ll kill you for even daring to touch them.”

  Ryan glanced at Maria. “Can you use your magic?” he asked. When she shook her head, his eyes widened.

  “Oh, yeah,” he said. “I forgot. Micah told me to do this.” And he leaned in and kissed her. Just once, a quick press of his mouth on hers, but it was enough.

  Chapter 17

  Power filled her. So much, so strong, Maria felt as if her entire body had begun to glow. Just like that, her magic had returned. She used it to send both Ryan and Tracey the rest of the way up the stairs, ignoring Ryan’s struggles to resist. “Go,” she ordered, moving them all the way outside where the others waited. And then she turned to face Polacek. Alone.

  “You fool,” he sneered, clearly unimpressed. “Thinking that tiny display you somehow engineered using Tracey’s puny magic to help you will be able to stop me. After I deal with you, I’ll just bring them back—along with the others.”

  She smiled. “You think?”

  At the sight of her confident smile, rage mottled his skin. “Oh, you’re going to suffer for this. And now, the others will writhe with pain, as well. I’ve already taken down those idiot Drakkor who thought to try and stop me. And now you’ve just earned yourself a long stay in a concrete cell.”

  “Really?” Cocking her head, she waited for him to draw closer. He’d just given her an idea. Her magic might be strong, but she knew the Drakkor from Eyrie would make her stronger, if they could combine theirs with hers. So she reached out and connected with Micah, who’d already linked to Brandon and Roger. Quickly he let her know that they’d pulled back and were waiting for Ryan to get Tracey and Maria out before obliterating the building and Polacek. When she let him know what she needed, he agreed instantly.

  As Polacek neared, all three mages poured their strength into Maria. She continued to smile, waiting for Polacek to touch her. Somehow she knew he’d prefer his hand on her skin first, so he could physically subdue her before using his magic.