by Sara Dailey
A strong blast of wind blew in from the north and what it carried with it caused chills to come up on my arms and my nose to twitch. I smelled Alli and her scent was strong. I followed my nose to the source of the smell. I was shocked to find that it was the trunk of Gage’s car.
Stunned, I stared down into the trunk. It looked just like all the other trunks that we searched with one exception, my damn alpha ring. My ears started ringing, my pulse quickened, and my vision tunneled. I wanted Gage’s head on a stick, and I wanted to be the one to rip it off. Immediately, people were on me trying to hold me back. Gage looked terrified, and he sure the fuck should have been.
It took both of Allison’s parents to calm me down enough to find out what Gage knew. Gage told us that he had let his friend, Dylan, borrow his car. Dylan, the asshole who was following Alli in the woods. The one whom I warned to leave my estate and never look back. It was time to find that bastard… and kill him.
Chapter 55
Allison
My senses came back to me slowly, and it took me a minute to remember where I was. With my brain still in a bit of a fog, I cracked my eyes open just wide enough to see who was with me, scared that Kendall might inject me again with whatever the hell she used to knock me out the first time. Who knew for how long I was out. It could have been the next day; it could have been three days as far as I could tell.
I saw Dylan sitting in the living room watching television, and he appeared to be alone, so I sat up and looked around, hoping to spot the vile Kendall used to drug me. My movement caught Dylan’s attention, and within no time, he was at my side staring down at me with a wicked grin.
“Slept well?”
“What the hell did she inject me with? That’s so not cool,” I said as I rubbed the tender spot on my neck where the needle had gone in.
“Yeah, to be honest, it kind of shocked me too. She doesn’t mess around, does she? Don’t worry though. It’s nothing that will hurt you. Her uncle keeps the shit around in case they need to tranquilize any unruly werewolves. That’s what she said, anyway.”
He looked around as if to make sure no one else was listening, leaned in, and confided, “Kind of makes you wonder what really goes on at this place, huh?”
Unsure of how to respond, I just sat there staring at him in disbelief. My entire body ached, and more than anything, I wanted to get out of the bed, but that wasn’t going to be an option being that I was tied to it. Without any other option, I lay back and tried to get comfortable, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, it began to throb too. I clinched my eyes shut and reached up to massage my temples. Little beads of sweat started forming on my forehead, and I knew that I must have a fever.
Dylan came over, put his hand on my head, and asked, “Hey, are you alright? You look like hell.”
The sound of his voice made my head pound even worse, and suddenly, it was painful just to speak. “My head hurts. Can I get some water or something? Is there anything to eat in this place?”
He backed up, staring at me in deep thought, then finally spoke, “Yeah, sure. Let me go take a look around.”
I knew he was most likely contemplating whether or not my sudden illness was from the drugs or from being apart from Cade. Surely, he was wondering how much longer they had to keep me around. The longer they kept me here, the riskier their little plan became.
Hearing Dylan banging around in the kitchen, I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing slowly and deeply in and out. Shooting pains, throbbing pains, stabbing pains, you name it, they were present, and seemed to be spreading. Without warning, my stomach clinched, and it felt like a knot the size of Texas was invading my body. If I wasn’t tied up like a chick in a bad skin-flick, I’d curl up in a ball and pray for the pain to stop.
Dylan called out from the kitchen, “I’m getting you some water, but there ain’t shit to eat here. Looks like I’ll have to put a call into the boss-lady. Maybe she will grab us some grub on her way back over.”
Boss-lady? Since when had Kendall become in charge. Here I thought Dylan was the mastermind in this whole scheme. Hearing that one little comment, it became clear what I needed to do. I needed to push the pain aside and take advantage of my time here alone with Dylan. If I was going to get out of here, it would definitely be through him. Kendall wasn’t going to let me go; I’m guessing my release or escape would be over her dead body.
After a few more deep breaths, I asked, “Hey Dylan, can you come in here for a minute?” Now sweating profusely, I knew I must look like utter shit, so while I probably couldn’t count on my seductive nature to win him over, I was hoping my power of persuasion might work. And I was kind of hoping his need for power was stronger than his lust for Kendall.
Giving him a sheepish grin, I asked, “Can you move my hair out of my face, please.” He swept my hair back behind my ears. My throbbing head was making this more difficult, and my acting skills have never been first-rate, but if I was going to get out of here, I needed to try something.
He backed up a bit and said, “There. Is that better?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“You are really sweating. I think you may have a fever. Here drink some water.”
I gulped down the cold water, and it relieved the tightness in my stomach a bit but that only gave way to the nausea. Feeling as if I may puke any second wasn’t helping, but I needed to try something… anything, before Kendall returned.
“So Dylan, why do you need Kendall anyway? I mean, have you really thought this through? She really is an obnoxious bitch. Do you really want to be her mate when all of this is said and done? You know, when you’re alpha, do you really want her by your side? Can you imagine her as a wife? Can you imagine her raising your children?”
He looked at me, clearly shocked by the words coming out of my mouth. When he didn’t respond, I continued, “I just can’t figure out why you are letting her run the show. Why you even need her, really. Once you are alpha, don’t you want to pick your mate? Someone who you really want to be with? Someone more like… oh, I don’t know. Someone like me.”
Dylan rolled his eyes at me and then turned away. I hoped that he was thinking about it, but I had a feeling that he was going to stick with her.
With his back to me, he said, “I don’t need to explain things to you. I have my reasons for needing Kendall, so you can stop trying to get me to turn on her. It isn’t going to work.”
Though I couldn’t see his face, the tone of his voice told me I had hit a nerve. “Just sayin’. I hope you’ve thought your little plan through. This could end quite badly, you know.”
Dylan walked out of the room, but before he left, he said, “I’ll call Kendall and see if we can get you some food.”
With Dylan gone, I laid back and stared at the ceiling. I definitely had a fever, needed badly to throw up, and my head felt like it had a jackhammer in it. Things were looking pretty hopeless, especially if I was only going to get worse being away from Cade. My only hope was that he finds me, and soon.
Chapter 56
Kendall
The next morning when I woke up, I needed to get away from my house, away from my mother, away from anything that would remind me of how badly I have screwed everything up. It would be a miracle if Dylan and I got away with our plan, which was becoming more and more screwed up by the minute. One wrong step could send our whole scheme crashing down, and until the search parties stop their investigation of the estate, I won’t be able to breathe.
I could only begin to imagine what my mother would do if Dylan and I were caught, and I damaged her status in the pack further. She wouldn’t care less what would become of me, just like she all but forgot about my father when he was sent away for his “misconduct.” She rarely spoke of him, hardly a word since he left. And only then, it was to remind me of how horribly he screwed up our lives.
I snuck out of the house, knowing Mom would be sleeping off a hangover, and went straight to Shari’s. Surely, she’d have some quest
ions, I had yet to face her since I busted out of the pack meeting, but I didn’t know where else to go. I considered heading over to check on Dylan, but I figured it was best to stay away from there as much as possible. I had to trust that Dylan was taking care of things.
As I pulled into Shari’s driveway, I grabbed my phone out of my purse to check for any texts. Nothing new. With my phone in hand, I headed up to the door, but before I could knock, Shari swung open the front door and pulled me inside.
“Thank God you’re here. What is going on? You stormed out of the meeting like a bat out of hell, and I was waiting for you to call. I thought you might need some time to digest everything, but I was just about to go find you,” Shari exclaimed as she pulled me by the arm all the way over to the couch in her living room.
I sat down, placing my purse and phone on the coffee table. It was time to be honest… well sort of honest, anyway. “What is going on is that I’m totally screwed. If Cade and Allison are really true mates, then that means that we are really finished. For good. It’s over Shari. Really over.” Just hearing those words made my eyes water, but I refused to cry, even if it was the first time that I admitted out loud that Cade and I were over. Things were never going to be the same, and if things worked out the way they were supposed to, Cade would be dead soon and the real work would begin.
Did I really want Cade dead? It was the first time I really thought about it. Could I actually go through with this?
Shari’s words interrupted my thoughts. “I’m so sorry Kendall. Have you seen him? Cade, I mean. Did he say anything to you?”
I looked away, trying to hide the fact that what I wanted more than anything was to just sit there and cry. Cry because I had really lost Cade, cry because deep in my heart, I knew that I should have never gotten involved with Dylan, cry because nothing would ever be the same again no matter how this whole thing turned out.
What is wrong with me? I need to get it together. I can do this! I have to do this. There isn’t any other option now. Dylan and I have to get rid of Allison and Cade. No excuses! It is too damn late to turn back now.
Without looking back in her direction, I admitted, “No… I haven’t talked to him, but I knew something was going on. I just didn’t want to say anything. You understand, don’t you?”
When I turned back, she was smiling reassuringly. “Sure, I get it. This really sucks, huh?”
Shari couldn’t have said it better. “Yes, it really does,” I whined. And with that, Shari threw her arm over my shoulder, giving me a little squeeze. “Well, I know what makes me feel better when everything else around me seems completely sucky. How about we get out of here, go eat an enormously fattening breakfast, and shop the day away?”
Just then, footsteps pounded their way down the stairs. Within seconds, Shari’s mom found us in the living room and frantically exclaimed, “You won’t believe it! The search is off. Cade’s alpha ring was found in the truck of Gage’s car! But it wasn’t Gage. Noel told me that it was someone named Dylan. Apparently, this guy borrowed Gage’s car a few nights ago. The same night that Allison went missing! They are pretty sure they are on the right track. Now they just need to find him, which shouldn’t be too hard for a pack of werewolves.”
As soon as Shari’s mom paused to take a breath, Shari said, “Oh my God, Mom! Do they have any idea where this Dylan guy could be? They’ve got to find him fast before he does something to Allison.”
Now, Shari was in a panic. I needed to channel my inner actress and fast! I jumped up from the couch and shouted, “I can’t believe they finally have a lead. That is great news! Are they searching for him now?”
“Yes, both search parties are teaming up right now to make a plan of attack and decide whether or not to alert the authorities at this point. So, it won’t be long before they begin their hunt.”
Not good! I had to get the hell out of there and get to Dylan immediately. Before anything else was said, I looked down at my watch, grabbed my purse, and hurried toward the door. “Sorry guys but I got to go. I completely forgot that I had plans with my mom. I need to tell her the news. She might want to help. Shari, call me later, okay? Especially if there is any new info about the search.” I closed the door behind me before they could respond and ran out to my car. I needed to get to Dylan before someone else did.
Chapter 57
Cade
I didn’t know what the elders were thinking. How did they expect me to sit here and be civil? They knew that it went against everything that I was feeling, everything that was natural. My mate had been kidnapped by a guest on our estate, and my body was twitching and begging me to let my instincts take over and hunt the bastard down. I was doing my best to stay in control, but I was not sure how much longer I could wait.
After realizing that it was Dylan Christianson that we were looking for, the elders called for an immediate pack meeting at the Lodge to plan our next move. Half of the pack wanted to involve the local authorities and turn the search over to them. The other half felt that since Dylan was a were, we should handle this ordeal ourselves. Personally, I wanted to take care of him all by myself, but I knew that the elders would never let that happen.
There were so many conversations going on at the same time, it made it hard to listen in on any one in particular, so I didn’t mind when Shari came over and sat down next to me.
“Hey, Cade, how are you holding up?” Shari asked tapping me on the knee.
Trying my best to smile, I said, “I’m hanging in there, thanks for asking. I know things are pretty weird around here.”
“You can say that again. So, is Allison your true mate, really?”
“Yeah, she is,” I told her as I looked down at my hands.
“Wow, I didn’t know that still happened. I mean, it’s been a really long time since someone around here actually mated. That must be awesome, you know, for you and Alli.”
I hate awkward silences. Apparently, so did Shari.
“Hey, is Kendall here? Have you seen her?” she asked.
“I don’t think that she’s here.” I paused. “Shari, I swear I never meant to hurt Kendall. You know I would never do that, right?” I asked hoping that she would understand.
“I know you didn’t. I just feel so bad for her, you know? She’s been so frazzled lately. She even left my house today in such a rush that she forgot her phone. Kendall never goes anywhere without her phone,” Shari said holding out Kendall’s pink jeweled phone.
When I didn’t say anything more, Shari got up and went to sit with her family. The meeting finally began with a lengthy discussion about our options. We didn’t know where Dylan was or even where to start looking, but the few who knew him, offered some suggestions. We did know that he probably wasn’t too far since he was seen on the estate just a few days ago, and most of the elders agreed that there had to be some reason that he abducted Allison, so it was likely he would stay nearby.
Again the pack was split up into search parties, and again my father tried to keep me here. My involvement in the search sparked yet another heated debate among the pack. I sat there quietly, the rage building inside me.
I can’t believe for one second that anyone in this room doesn’t realize that I’m going, whether they agree or not. Allison is my mate. If anyone is going to go searching for her, I am. Sick or not!
“That’s enough!” yelled Mrs. Wright. “We are wasting valuable time here. My daughter has been kidnapped and gone for days. I don’t care how we do this, but I want her found.”
Finally, the arguing ended and the room became quiet… quiet until Kendall’s phone began to ring. I looked over at Shari, who was frantically trying to silence the stupid phone. You could tell she was completely humiliated and from the look on her mom’s face, words would be exchanged after the meeting. Cell phones were off limits in the Lodge.
The next time I glanced at Shari, she was up and heading in my direction.
“Cade, I need to talk to you outside,” she whispered
.
“Can’t it wait, Shari?” I asked.
“No, I don’t think it can,” she said with a worried expression on her face. She got up and headed to the back exit.
I tapped Aiden on the shoulder and told him where I was going. He asked if he could come with me, claiming that he needed some fresh air, but I suspected that Mrs. Wright had asked him to keep an eye on me. She has been checking on me every few hours. All I could figure was that she hoped that as long as I was okay that Alli would be too. Little did she know I was doing my very best to put on a brave face; otherwise, I knew the elders, mainly my father, wouldn’t allow me to participate in the search. The truth was my entire body felt like my insides were attacking each other. It was like the Civil War was taking place inside me.
At first I didn’t see Shari outside, but then she came out from behind the supply shed and scared the piss out of me.
“Jesus Shari. What’s with the black ops shit? I nearly had a heart attack,” Aiden said grabbing his chest.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t want anyone to see us. What if I’m wrong? I don’t know… it’s probably nothing, but… just look,” Shari said handing me Kendall’s cell phone.
Bring snacks to the cabin our little friend is hungry
I read the text twice, not wanting to think what I was thinking. Kendall couldn’t be involved in this. Could she? I knew that she was pissed and she probably hated me now, but she was not an evil person. Was she?
Aiden took the phone from me and read the text out loud.
“Do you two think this is about Al?” Aiden asked.
When nobody answered him, he said, “Okay, well, where is this cabin?”
That’s when it clicked. Kendall’s mom had a ski cabin just outside of the estate. We used to sneak out there when we were younger. It was only about fifteen minutes from where we were standing. I took Kendall’s phone from Aiden and put it in my pocket. My body was failing me and my mind seemed to be having a panic attack.
