by Dena Christy
She turned her face away and he banged on the door again. He knew she would not be able to hear him yelling, and he didn’t want to alert anyone else to his presence down here. She stared at the wall beside him, and he could see she would not look at him again. For a moment he hated her distrust. He knew it was himself he should be hating.
A hand came down to rest on his shoulder and he turned to see Rachel beside him. He pulled her to him and his mouth crashed down on hers. She melted against him, and coiled her arms around his neck. His hands ran down her body until he realized she didn’t have the keys. He found her cell phone in her pocket, and slipped his tongue inside her mouth to distract her as he took the cell phone from her pocket and put it in her own. He pulled away from her and took a step back.
“Well what was that for?” Rachel said as she ran her tongue over her lips.
“I thought it was what you wanted. You’ve been asking for it since I got here.”
“It is, but I thought you weren’t interested. Has seeing how weak your girlfriend is made you decided that a wolf is the only woman for you?”
“Something like that.”
“Well you’ve burned any and all bridges with Hadria after that stunt, not that she’s going to be around for much longer.”
Nick took a step back toward Rachel, but managed to stop himself from grabbing her arm. She seemed more than willing to feed him any information he wanted, as long as she thought she could have him. He reached up and caressed her face. She rested her cheek in the palm of his hand as she looked up at him.
“What’s going to happen to Hadria?” he asked quietly as he brushed hair away from her face.
“Oh, she’s not going to go anywhere. They are going to try to turn her. I don’t know how well that’s going to work, since she isn’t exactly human. If is doesn’t work, I imagine they’ll let one of the wolves finish her off.”
Nick fought to keep his hand from tightening in her hair. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead before stepping away from her.
“I have to go and check on Samara again. I’ll see you later.”
“I’ll wait for you in your room tonight,” she said as she ran her hands up his chest and tilted her head back. He fought the urge to shove her away.
“You do that,” he said as he turned away, glancing one more time through Hadria’s window. Her face was bone white and her lip curled back when she saw him looking at her. He knew she’d witnessed his interaction with Rachel. There was little he could do about it now. He needed to get help, and he couldn’t worry about her hating him when he needed to worry about saving her.
Chapter Sixteen
Eric walked into the house and threw his keys on the table by the door. Nick was no where around. What was it with his brothers that they insisted on disappearing, and why was it he couldn’t find them.
“Samara,” he called as he walked into the living room.
Rowan sat on the couch and looked up at him as he walked in. His face was pale and he looked quickly away. Eric sighed. He didn’t really have time to deal with Rowan’s emo drama right now.
“Is Samara taking a nap?” he asked when he realized she hadn’t answered him. She slept a lot lately. He smiled at the thought of his babies making her sleepy.
“She’s gone. Hadria too,” Rowan said quietly as he stared across the room.
“What do you mean? Where did they go? They didn’t decide to go out and look for Nick on their own did they?” Dammit. He told Samara he didn’t want her leaving the house without him.
“I don’t know where they went. I came home—”
“What do you mean you don’t know where they went? You weren’t supposed to leave them alone. God dammit Rowan, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you. I asked you to do one thing, and you couldn’t even do that. Now I have to go look for them now.”
“Eric, there is something I have to tell you.”
“What?” Eric snapped, his patience with his brother coming to a swift end.
“When I came home there was blood on the floor and I could smell wolves.”
Blood roared in Eric’s ears as his heart pounded frantically in his chest. His brother could not be telling him this. She was fine, just out for a walk. Lying to himself had never done any good, and he could see by the pale set of his brother’s face that he was serious.
He strode over to where his brother sat, and jerked him upright by the front of his shirt. Rowan did nothing to stop him, and remained standing still while Eric crushed the fabric of his shirt in his fists.
“You left my mate to fend for herself, with only her mother here to protect her? And now you’re telling me you found blood and the scent of wolves when you got home, and you’re still here? You didn’t leave immediately to try to find their trail? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Rowan hung his head, and Eric shoved him away. Ever since his twin had come home from the hospital he’d became a pathetic, pale shadow of his former self, and Eric had just about enough.
“Answer me, goddamn it.”
“I only left them for a little while. I thought they would be okay by themselves. I went to the park, and wasn’t gone long. They must have been watching, waiting for me to leave.”
“If your obsession with that park has cost me my mate and my children, we’re done. I won’t ever forgive you. I’ve tried to be patient and understanding, but this is it.” Eric dragged his hand through his hair, his guts churning at the thought of what could happen to his woman. Goddamn Rowan, why did he leave her? He knew that he also shared some blame for this, as did Nick, so he forced himself to calm down.
“It’s where I killed her,” Rowan said as he stared across the room.
“What are you talking about?” Eric grabbed Rowan by the shoulders and turned him to face him. Rowan shook himself as if coming out of a trance.
“The park. It’s where I killed the woman, after I was injected.”
“You know what? I don’t have time for this,” Eric said as he turned away to go toward the door. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked at the display but the number was unfamiliar.
“Yeah,” he snapped when he answered the phone.
“It’s me.”
Eric heard Nick’s voice come over the phone and relief mixed with anger flooded his veins.
“It’s nice to finally hear from you,” he said, sarcasms laying heavy in his voice. “But I’m a little busy right now.”
“Samara and Hadria are with me.”
“You fucker. If you’re the one responsible for kidnapping my woman, I swear to God I’ll kill you.”
“I don’t have much time either so could you be a stupid ass some other time? I’m going to give you directions to where we are. You need to call Cadric so he can send some people here to shut this place down.”
“Where are you?”
Eric quickly wrote down the directions his bother gave him, and ended the call when Nick finished speaking. He shoved his phone in his pocket and swept up his jacket and car keys. He looked at Rowan, who wore an expectant look on his face.
“That was Nick. Samara’s with him. You gonna come with me, Sally?” he threw over his shoulder as he walked out the door.
“Where are we going?” Rowan hurried over and walked out the door behind him.
“We’re going to get my woman back. Think you can handle it?” Eric looked at Rowan, trying to assess if his brother was up for what needed to be done. Rowan had put on some much needed weight since he’d been home, although he still carried a haunted look. Eric hoped he would be able to focus on what needed to be done.
“I know I haven’t been reliable lately, but I swear I’ll do whatever it takes to get both women back.”
“Good because it will just be you and me going in there. I need you to be at a hundred percent.”
“I will be, but why didn’t Nick ask you to call the Order for back up?”
“He did, but we aren’t calling them
just yet. I’ll wait until we get closer to where the are. I don’t want to take any chances on Samara getting hurt when the cavalry arrives, so we are going to do this my way.” Eric turned the ignition and revved the truck’s engine. “You sure you’re up for this?”
Eric didn’t miss the tightening of Rowan’s mouth as he threw the truck in gear and pulled out of the driveway.
“For the last time I’ll be fine. And don’t call me Sally.”
“Whatever you say.” Eric stared down the road, the nervousness in the pit of his stomach easing. It was almost like old times with Rowan, and he was confident that he and his brothers could free the women. And God help the wolves responsible, because there wouldn’t be much left of them once he was finished with them.
***
Hadria sat in the corner of her cell, staring at the wall, tying to block out the images of Nick kissing that bitch Rachel. She should have known that those two were in on it together, that they’d both betrayed the Order. She let out an infuriated screech, and the noise bounced off the walls and echoed back to her.
She still couldn’t quite believe it, that he’d really done it. A part of her had still held out hope that she was wrong, that he hadn’t turned on her like every other wolf in her past. The mark on his face and his embracing Rachel had proved her wrong.
With a sound of frustration Hadria sprang to her feet, and paced the confines of her cell. She’d had just about enough of feeling sorry for herself. She was a Valkyrie, a shield maiden from the halls of Valhalla, not some whining little girl. She’d stood tall among Gods for a thousand years, and she wasn’t going to give up like this. So a man had betrayed her and she was locked in her cell. So what. She’d find a way out of this hole and then she’d kick that skank Rachel’s ass, and Nick’s too.
A quick search of her cell proved there was no way out of it. She blew the hair away from her face when she heard the key turning in the lock of her cell door. She turned and braced herself, seeing one of the burly men who’d kidnapped her standing there.
“Come with me,” he said as he reached out and grabbed her arm.
“Where are you taking me?” Hadria demanded and she struggled against his hold. If she could some how get loose then perhaps she could get away and find Samara.
“Stop talking and get moving,” he growled as he steered her toward the door. Hadria sagged against him, dropping to her knees. The force of her body dropping forced him to relinquish his grip to keep from falling down, and she drew back her arm and slammed her fist into his groin.
“You bitch,” the guard gritted out as his knees buckled. Hadria shot to her feet, but he managed to reach out and grab her ankle, jerking her leg. She fell face first into the floor, and tried to turn onto her back. He pressed his body against her, and she could hear his ragged breath as he tried to recover himself.
He got back on his feet, pulling her with him. She twisted in his hold, trying to break free. He slammed his fist into the back of her head, and stars exploded in front of her eyes. She staggered, her legs turning to the consistency of jelly.
“Move,” he ordered as he dragged her from the cell and down the hall. She tried to steady her legs enough to get down the hall under her own power, but her head spun and the man holding her half dragged, half carried her, to another locked cell. Grasping her with one hand, he unlocked the door, opening it wide enough to shove her inside and slam it shut behind her.
She fetched up against the wall, and slowly her knees melted as she slid to the floor. Christ, he’d hit her harder than she thought. Shaking her head, trying to clear it enough to think straight, she closed her eyes until she felt the dizziness pass. The hair on her arms stood on end, and she felt a presence in the room with her. Every muscle in her body tensed as she opened her eyes, to stare into the feverish gaze of a strung out looking man on the other side of the room.
He eased himself off the cot he’d been sitting on and down onto the floor.
“Stay back,” she said as she pressed herself hard against the wall. She cursed herself for showing him her fear, and she took a deep breath and tried to inject some steel into her spine. “I mean it. I don’t want to have to hurt you.”
“Some one must hate you,” he rasped out as he crept toward her, staying low to the floor. He hunched over as if standing upright was painful and she wondered what was wrong with him. “Usually they are given a sporting chance, but you have been hand delivered, with no chance at all.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked as she tried to shrink away from the hand he extended toward her. He grasped a lock of her hair, running his fingers over it before bringing it up to his nose.
“The women we hunt are usually given to us out in the open, where at least they have the chance of running. You’ve been put in here with me, where there is nowhere for you to go. Like I said, someone must hate you.”
Waves of revulsion crawled over her skin when he pressed close to her, burying his face in her neck. She braced her fists against his shoulders and shoved. He moved back and she suspected that he allowed her to move him.
“There’s something different about you. You don’t smell human.” He sat on the floor and cocked his head at her. A feeling of unreality came over her. He had to be the weirdest attacker she’d ever had met, but she wasn’t about to prompt him to get on with it.
“I’m not a human. I’m a Valkyrie.” She spoke to him quietly, not wanting to disturb his rather tranquil mood. The longer she could forestall his attack, if that is what he intended to do, the more chance she had of getting out of it.
“I read in a book once that you can shape shift? Can you turn into a wolf?” he asked, interest clearing the hazy look in his eyes.
“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Can you change quickly if you have to, or do you need a few minutes like I do?”
“The process for my change is different than yours, it takes magic and I can change in the time it takes to blink.”
A grin stretched across his face as he looked at her. “Does blood loss prevent it from happening?”
Alarm flashed through Hadria as she watched him edge away from her. Why was he asking her these questions. “As long as I’m alive I can change.” She’d never had the occasion to test this theory, but she supposed it was true.
“Excellent. I have an idea but I need you to cooperate in order for it to work. Will you do that?”
“I guess so,” she said, before she took a good look at what was in his hand. He held a piece of metal that had been fashioned into a makeshift knife. It glinted in the florescent light overhead as he moved back toward her. “What are you going to do with that?”
“I told you I have a plan, but we need blood, your blood to be exact. Now shut up and listen to what I have to say.”
Chapter Seventeen
Nick stood in the shadows of the building as he waited for a team from the Order to arrive. He wanted to get the women out now but realized there were too many people in the building to contend with. He wasn’t sure he could get Hadria and Samara out unharmed by himself, so it was better to wait for back up. Besides while he was certain Samara would come with him willingly, he couldn't say the same for Hadria.
A set of headlights cut a wide arch at the far end of the road, and Nick narrowed his eyes to see if he could see more. He couldn’t. The headlights cut out as the vehicle approached, and he could hear only one softly purring engine. Surely Cadric would have sent more men than what would fit in a single vehicle. The vehicle came to a halt near where Nick stood, and any caution he might have used to approach ended when he saw Eric and Rowan get out of the SUV.
Jesus Christ, no wonder there were no other vehicles behind them. That idiot probably didn’t even call Cadric.
“So were you planning on riding in here like the lone ranger? And you,” he snarled as he turned on Rowan, “you just let him come here with no thought for back up.”
“Relax,” Eric said as h
e stood toe to toe with him, “Cadric’s sending back up. We just got here first. Now you better show me where my woman is or I’m going to put you through the parking lot.”
“Oh really?” Nick snarled as he stepped up closer to Eric. He couldn’t believe his brother's stupidity.
“Listen you two,” Rowan interjected as he stepped between them. “You can both act like hot headed assholes, or we can get in there and get your women out. Now what’s it going to be?”
“Fine, getting the women out is our priority, but remind me to kick your ass when this is over,” Nick said to Eric as he shoved him back.
“Any place, any time Nancy. I owe you a beating for taking off and getting Samara and Hadria embroiled in this situation.”
“Would you two cut it out,” Rowan said, his voice fierce. “Your women are vulnerable in that building, and you want to stand here and argue about who needs their ass kicked more? Get a hold of yourselves and let’s get them out safe.”
Nick looked over at Rowan in surprise, getting a glimpse of the wolf he’d been before he’d gone through hell with the Dark Wolf formula. He was right, and Nick’s face burned hot for a moment at his own behavior.
“Right, come on this way. Keep your voices down. The entrances and exits aren’t guarded since this is a research and holding facility, but there are a few guards here to keep the inmates in line, so we’ll have to be careful not to draw too much attention to ourselves.”
Nick walked over to the door, with his brothers close behind him, and entered in the code. The lock disengaged and they walked inside.
“Where’s Samara?” Eric growled, his agitation showing at the separation between him and his mate.
“In the infirmary,” Nick said and he saw the blood drain from Eric’s face. “She’s fine. It was just a precaution since they used a stun gun on her several times before she was brought here.”
