by Morgan Wylie
Alana? he spoke in his mind.
No response.
Alana? Love, can you hear me?
He could hear her gasp through the connection into his mind, and he thought there was nothing as sweet as that moment. She was alive, and now he could find her.
Chapter Twenty
Rylen? Is that you? What’s happening? Why can I hear you?
It’s so good to hear your voice, my love. I’ll explain it all soon. Are you all right?
For now. I’m in a prison of sorts in a basement, but I don’t know where. I was blindfolded. She paused and he could hear the despair in her voice. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have taken off, but I couldn’t let them get Gracie.
We’ll discuss that later. For now, we need to find you.
“Tell her about the device,” Enock whispered next to him.
I can hear Enock. And I hear a low chanting-like sound.
You can hear them? That was news to Rylen, although he didn’t have very much knowledge on the matter.
Yes.
Alana, Gracie slipped a small disc shaped like an octagon into your pocket. It’s a GPS locator. You have to enable it so we can find you.
Smart girl, Alana praised. Then she gasped. She knew?
She knew something, and for now, we will let it slide and deal with it later.
Don’t be too hard on her, Rylen. Her job is the toughest to try and understand, even for herself.
Later. Please hurry, Alana. I need to find you.
I’m with my father’s people—with the Alliance. I’ve heard his voice, but I haven’t seen him. At Rylen’s subtle growl of irritation, she placated him, I’m looking for the GPS thingy, hang on. Aha! Here it is, I’m lucky they didn’t take my jacket away, or I’d be screwed. Alana laughed, but it was more of a terrified realization of the truth that she might not get back to Rylen.
I would have torn Seattle apart looking for you, love, and one way or another, I would have found you. Always.
Because we’re mates.
Because I love you, he clarified.
Thank you. I love you too. She inhaled deeply, so deeply, in fact, Rylen could hear her through their mental connection—must be the same way she heard his ambient noise. Ok, so I don’t see a button… I’m just going to try and squeeze it, I guess… Ouch! It pricked me, stupid little thing, she complained in her mind.
Rylen turned to Poppy. “It poked her, is it supposed to do that?”
“Yes, that’s good. That way, if it gets lost or disabled somehow”—at Rylen’s frown, she amended her words—“it embedded an even tinier locating device under her skin, so she becomes the homing signal.” Poppy beamed with pride at her invention. She obviously thought that was even better than having the small device in the first place.
“Why even have the other thing then?” Enock asked.
“Well, in case she had only enabled it instead of pushing hard enough accidentally to prick herself, we still had a strong shot of finding her. Now, it’s a part of her.” Poppy looked down at another device she held in her hand, studying it intently.
“What’s that?” Mai asked, curious as she looked over Poppy’s shoulder.
“This”—she held out for all to see—“this is what her signal transmits to so we can track it. The signal is there, but it’s very weak. She must be underground or surrounded by a lot of stone or concrete.”
I see a lot of concrete, Alana chimed in, still able to hear the others. But it’s kinda dark. There are no windows that I can see, so I still might be underground. Maybe a bunker of some kind? Do they even have those in Seattle?
Rylen peered around to those in the room, waiting for them to respond only to realize they couldn’t hear her like she could hear them. “Are there any underground-bunker-type places in Seattle? Or where is the nearest place?”
Eyes shifted back and forth as most there didn’t seem to have a clue.
“Oh, for shit’s sake, somebody get on it; look it up online. We need to know our options. Poppy, map your tracking thing or whatever the fuck it is you do with that information, and let’s get together to see what we can find.” He looked over at Poppy. “Does that work?”
“Yes, I’ll get on it right now, Rylen. Whoever is Googling, come with me,” Poppy turned and walked down the hallway never taking her eyes of the device that was their only key to finding their leader’s mate. “We’ll find her, Rylen.”
“Damn straight we will,” he mumbled. Still, Rylen had nothing to do, which made him edgy, but at least he had his connection to Alana. It could never be taken away unless one of them died. He prayed that was still a far way off. He just got her, and he would follow her into the grave if he had to to stay with her.
We will find you, love, he soothed Alana through their bond.
I know you will.
He could feel her smile through their connection. A beautiful and amazing connection he never thought he’d find in all his years, and now he had her… well, in some respects.
Mai moved to say something in Mather’s ear, to which he frowned and whispered something back. To say it was distracting would be an understatement when all he wanted to do was bask in Alana’s essence in his mind and heart.
A throat cleared. Suddenly, Mai and Mather stood before him. Had he closed his eyes? Rylen was too in tune with Alana at the moment—it was all so new, he wasn’t aware he was missing things in his own surroundings. He would have to learn to control this new gift. He narrowed his eyes on Mather and then on Mai.
“Speak.”
“She’s been…”
Mai cut him off with a glare, her eyebrow arched sharply over her dark eyes. “She can speak for herself, thank you. I’ve been contacted by you know who,” she said, her voice lowering with the last part to keep what she had been involved with on the down low until they were able to come up with a plan to deal with Black Widow for her subterfuge.
“Now?” Rylen asked, almost exasperated, then literally shook off his frustration by quickly rolling his shoulders and his neck. “Ok. Let’s do what we have to do. Where do we need to be, Mai? Don’t break routine; do what is expected of you.”
Mai nodded deeply. “In a vacant room upstairs in the hotel.”
“Mather and I will both go with you.” Rylen looked up and around the room. “I need everyone stationed here at the Lair ready to go when we have something. Get everyone back here who’s available… everyone who’s not, too. I want them ready to go,” Rylen directed as he strode toward the door. “Mather and Mai with me. Enock has command.” Rylen looked over at Enock, who nodded his acceptance of the position, knowing what the situation would be if Rylen left with Mai to do something. They had strategized for this exact moment. “Luc, you have the Lair.”
Leaning his shoulder against the wall near the door with his arms folded across his chest, Lucius barely looked up, but Rylen saw the affirmation in his eyes. He would protect the Lair, specifically one vulnerable Oracle—whether she wanted it or not. It almost made Rylen smirk to visualize Gracie’s face all scrunched up in defiance once she was relegated to her room once more, but he didn’t want her to be unhappy living there either—he just wanted her to be safe. He wanted them all to be safe.
Alana? I have to take care of something, so I’ll close off my side, but I’ll still be able to hear you if you need me.
Rylen, is everything ok?
Yes, just chasing down a lead. Stay strong. We’ll find you soon.
~~~~~
“She won’t be able to sense you as much as she can when we’re on the video in Headquarters, but stay out of sight and do not make a sound,” Mai reiterated for the second time since entering the hotel room that Mai held under a pseudonym, her nerves coming through in a way Mather had never seen before. Mai was always cool, calm, and in control—the epitome of an expert in her field of martial arts, a true ninja in Mather’s eyes. He truly respected her, even though they had never truly bonded with friendship. He knew in battle she would have his
back as he would hers, but in regular life, she pretty much kept to herself, remaining closed off, even to the other females in the Lair.
“How does that work?” Mather indicated toward the bundle of fabric she pulled out of her satchel.
“It’s called a twin stone, and we helped her get it.” She turned her head toward Rylen, her eyes full of regret. “It’s the stone we stole from Triumph at her request. It’s been at the Lair the entire time. She has the twin, and with her particular kind of magic, she’s able to connect the two, like television screens or two-way glass, to view what’s on the other side. That is why she wanted us to get it. Between this”—she waved the bundle in the air,—“and the spiders is how I suspect she’s getting her information.”
Rylen and Mather both frowned so deeply the lines on their foreheads threatened to become permanent features.
“Shit!” Mather spewed.
Rylen remained silent but pensive.
“I’m sorry, Rylen.” Mai’s expression softened.
“You did what you needed to, Mai. I don’t fault you that. You were compromised when you learned of your brother’s abduction. I just wish I had understood sooner. We just need to take care of business now.” Rylen’s expression was unreadable, a mask of determination to end this—or at least to understand some of it.
Mather was certain Rylen felt the sting of betrayal, but he also had been around long enough to understand how the manipulation of human emotions and vulnerabilities could be worked against you. Human liabilities, like mates and caring for others, could be used against you. His brother, Enock, and Rylen could all fend for themselves—he had no problem caring for and bonding with them in brotherhood. But the females in the Lair—they could string their hearts along and grip his brothers in ways that could make them vulnerable to their enemies. He had witnessed what had happened with Rylen and Alana in such a short time—what was still happening. He couldn’t let that happen to him, not again. Those were liabilities he couldn’t have right now, not if he was going to be all he needed to be for his leader and his PAC.
His wolf would just have to get over Poppy. Poppy. His wolf grumbled at their discord when it came to her. He tried not to even think her name—the feelings that stirred his wolf from her name alone almost crippled him. He couldn’t imagine what being bonded and mated to her would mean if something were to happen to her. The fact alone that something had already happened to her, that he wasn’t there when she needed someone to be and how he had to walk away because of her stubborn belief in her job and her ability to help, just about brought him to his knees with the desperate feeling of impotence and helplessness. Bringing his wolf back into focus, he heard Rylen’s last words instructing Mai not to change anything, to not give Black Widow any reason to believe they were on to her. If anyone could do that, it would be Mai. She was disciplined with her emotions, expressions, and understanding of the plan.
“Ok, so when I pull the stone out—which I had to pull out of Enock’s laundry hamper after we stole it, by the way… that was not fun.” Mather practically swallowed his tongue at Mai’s uncharacteristically humorous remark, but it got the response she was looking for. The mood in the room relaxed. “So my holding it will alert her to my being ready, and she will connect us, however it is she does that. Rylen, be careful not to leak out any magic, it seems sensitive, and she will sense your presence.”
“Got it. No magic.” Rylen nodded for her to continue.
Both men nearly overwhelmed the semi-small room with their large intimidating presence. Mai closed her eyes to them, shutting them out of her peripheral space, and focused on her breathing, keeping it level and smooth. Her many years of meditation and practice at her craft allowed her to enter a state of calm relatively quickly despite her surroundings. Before she opened her eyes, she inhaled slowly and exhaled even slower, “Could you please sit out of sight or even spy from the closet or behind the bathroom door?” Her voice was flat and monotone as she held her calm. Rylen moved to stand by the front door behind a wall that housed the small hotel closet while Mather grabbed a pillow off one of the double beds and threw it on the floor in between the bathroom wall and the bed, totally out of sight, but still able to see Rylen from his line of sight. Opening her eyes, Mai ensured neither of them was visible in the mirror cemented to the wall. She nodded, not making contact with either of them. She was ready.
Unwrapping the stone gently from the fabric layered around it, she pulled out the dulled red stone cut with many facets. Nothing too spectacular stuck out about the rock, but as soon as Mai enclosed it with her hands and focused on Black Widow, it changed. Lifting her top hand off, the once dull stone was now a brilliant shining ruby red. She sighed and looked into the stone. Mai jerked back as Black Widow’s face abruptly came into view, startling her only slightly. Recovering quickly, she set the stone on the dresser and pointed it to the mirror as she had been previously instructed to do. The mirror reflected the red light coming from the stone, then, not even a moment later, Black Widow’s face grew to fill the entire mirror. Mai’s would do the same on the opposite end.
Black Widow took stock of as much of the room as she could see from the mirror—the reason Mai took great care in making sure neither of the guys could be seen from it. The leader of the entire network of The Web cocked her head with an otherworldly essence about her, examining what she could see and that which she could not.
“Are you alone, my dear?” Black Widow asked suspiciously serene.
“Of course, madam,” Mai lied smoothly with no hint of deceit. “How is my brother today?” Mai asked every time they spoke. Black Widow had to show Mai proof of life each time to ensure her cooperation. Little did she know of the subterfuge taking place right under her nose… It was probably good she couldn’t use any physical senses though the stone viewer.
“See for yourself,” she crooned as she rotated her head in an awkward direction, indicating Mai look behind her. Her brother was there sitting, his hands and feet bound to a chair. He had something tied around his head, covering his mouth, and a bruised eye. His clothes were slightly tattered. However, nothing looked much worse than the last time they spoke. He was her kid brother, but he was strong, and she could see his determination and defiance steeled in his eyes as they bore into hers, sending the message for her to stop cooperating with him. He could take care of himself. What he didn’t know was that Black Widow would do more than kill him, and she couldn’t bear the thought of what that might all entail—not to her brother. As it was, she would probably kill him anyway unless they could get to him first.
Mai’s shoulders straightened, and her chin lifted, conveying her own message in return. Her brother kept eye contact for a moment longer then was pushed out of view by Black Widow. Garbed in black leather pants and a tight black bodice covered with lace, she moved oddly, almost like her limbs were stiff from disuse. Black curly ringlets, piled high and haphazardly on the top of her head, were only segregated by the evil swath of red that streaked down the center of her head. Her skin was chalky and pallid, similar to a creature who’s never seen the sun, a creature of the dark. Her complexion was a stark contrast to the red lipstick she wore and her inhumanly large black orbs that took up most of the whites of her eyes. Seeing her own reflection in Black Widow’s eyes, Mai breathed slowly, resurrecting the calm she had worked hard to keep intact.
Black Widow made no indication she was in a hurry, taking her time watching, studying Mai—assessing her. “Satisfied?” she asked after a moment.
Mai nodded. “He looks well.”
“Down to business, then,” Black Widow instructed, her head tilting the opposite way in another odd angle. “My servant told me of your meeting and your information.” She paused.
Mai knew better than to speak before she was asked a question.
“To assess the validity of your information, I have scried to see if it is indeed true. Watch with me, won’t you?” Black Widow sneered as she fluttered the fingers of one han
d, waving her shiny black-as-night nails in the air. As she did, the image wavered on the mirror in front of Mai.
Mai’s shoulder tightened indistinctly, she wasn’t expecting this and had no idea what she would see, but she braced herself to respond accordingly.
The image shifted as Black Widow’s face slowly disintegrated and another image solidified in her place. Sitting in a concrete cell in front of her was Gracie, well Alana posing as Gracie. From anyone’s outside view, she looked just like Gracie with her petite frame, light Nordic complexion, and blonde hair. Huddled in on herself, she sat on the ground, shivering, even though she had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Alana/Gracie’s blue eyes popped open, and she looked up, slowly searching the cell around her as if she sensed she was being watched.
Mai could feel the tension radiating from Rylen at the other end of the room and prayed he remained in control and as silent as the dead.
Alana/Gracie relaxed back against the wall, unable to find the source of her unease, but her eyes still shifted about.
“Very well, indeed,” came Black Widow’s voice through the mirror even though she was hidden behind the image of the scene in front of them. “It seems your information is accurate.”
Rylen’s eyes shifted to Mather’s, each wide with surprise. So Black Widow already knew about Gracie.
Something happened to the image as Gracie… Alana seized, letting out a grunt of pain. Her face contorted in misery and her image wavered—not the image on the mirror as the cell and everything around her was intact, but her very own image. Mai gasped. Alana was fading again, and it was destroying her glamour spell. The image of Gracie flickered with Alana’s own image. Back and forth, out of control.
“What is this trickery?” Black Widow seethed.
“I… I don’t understand what’s happening,” Mai explained, not even so much as a lie was traceable in those words.
