by Bryce Evans
“Doesn’t matter. When I get done, she will have another one to add, one right across her neck.”
“Look,” one of his guys yelled out from the back seat. “That’s her.” They watched as a red car stopped at the one and only red light in town.
“Holy shit, that is her. She’s going behind the store,” Danny said, starting the car.
“Go, go, this is our chance,” Oliver said beating on the dash. “You have a place to take her,” he glanced at his beta, “right?”
“Yeah, yeah, we found it yesterday. Looked like nobody had been there in a long time.”
Oliver squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep himself calm. He had waited a long time for this. This is it, Shelby. I will finally get our revenge, baby.
Jade drove until she hit the city limits. It was already starting to get dark as she passed through downtown. The bakery and Southern Treasures were beautifully decorated for fall. She especially loved twilight. The stores had closed, and all the twinkling lights were on. Quinn had planted the fall flowers in the pots outside and placed the pumpkins and decorations. It was magical.
There were already ten stores that wanted the vacant lot next to Southern Treasures and Gooey Goodness Bakery. Everything was decorated and appealed to passersby. It was perfect. Jade drove around back and sat in the car staring up at the apartment. How was she going to fix this?
Jade got out of the car and sat on the bottom step. Her heart was breaking into a million pieces. She had fallen for the Death Hunter. She wasn’t strong enough to fight her own battles and it showed today. He even admitted it. Gasping for breath, she leaned forward dropping to her knees. She couldn’t lose him.
“You are such a fool. You wasted so much time,” Jade cried out. “But what if he doesn’t want you.”
“I’m banking on him wanting you.”
Jade jumped as she stared at the men standing beside her car.
“What…I’m…” Jade wiped her face and stood. “Sorry, but you can’t be behind the store. We are closed.” Her wolf was clawing at her to run. This…these men were bad men.
“Well, not to worry, we won’t be here but a few minutes. I found exactly what I’m looking for.” The man smiled, but she could see the wolf inside him. His teeth elongated and she knew she had to get out of there.
Slowly, Jade stepped up the stairs putting herself as far away from the men as she could. All she needed was to get into the apartment. It had an alarm in it.
“Look, my brother and mate will be here in a few minutes, so you need to go and come back tomorrow when the store is open.” Jade continued to move backward up the stairs.
“You see, my nose tells me something different.” The man smiled. “I can smell a lie. You’re alone, and remember, nobody wants you.” He clapped his hands together. “This couldn’t have gone better if I had planned it. I thought I would have to go through all kinds of hoops to get you alone, but here you are.”
Jade wanted to panic. That’s what she would have done in the past, but Cosmo had trained her. At least they had a couple lessons before it ended, and it was all about what to do in situations like this. She would have to rely on that because this wasn’t going to end well if she panicked. Do not panic, Jade.
“That’s where you are wrong. I’m very wanted and my mate is the Alpha of the Death Hunters. He is on his way along with my brother who is the beta of the Dixon pack. You are so fucked.”
Jade continued up the stairs until she heard the thump and behind her at the top of the stairs was another man.
“Ah, now you see, you have nowhere to go. Be a good little girl and come back down the stairs or we can do this the hard way.” The man smiled as seven other males started walking toward the stairs. The other man was close and she had to fight him if she was going to get to the alarm.
She reached down inside herself. Energy coursed through her lower extremities and the urge to jump as high as she could consumed her. With her back still to the man, she sprang up and flipped over the man’s head, kicking him forward when she landed behind him. Dang, that was straight out of a kung fu movie. The guy sailed through the air, then hit each stair on his way down.
She only had a few seconds to get into the apartment and hit the alarm. No time for keys, Jade kicked the door as hard as she could, but it didn’t come open. She glanced behind her. The men were wrestling to get over the fallen man. “Come on, wolf.” Jade kicked again, and this time it cracked. She continued to kick until the door flew open. Jade ran in and hit the alarm before she was slammed hard against the wall.
“Get her.”
Jade felt something crack in her shoulder and head, then the pain echoed throughout her body. She couldn’t stop now even as blood dripped down the side of her face. Suck it up buttercup, she thought to herself. It’s time girl. She shifted calling her wolf into action just like Cosmo taught her. And for the first time, she let her wolf take over.
The first man who tried to grab her lost badly. Jade bit into his hand and used it like a chew toy. She did exactly what Cosmo told her; she jerked him around tearing the skin until finally she bit down hard enough and the man’s hand came off. His screams were all she could hear. She let the sound of his pain wash over her. It was what she needed, giving her more strength to fight them off. Spitting the man’s hand to the floor, Jade went for the next male.
The others looked shocked and didn’t expect her small wolf to do this much damage and that gave her time to run for the bedroom. That’s what Cosmo told her to do, bite and get them off their game, then run.
Her paws chewed up the hardwood floor as she tried to get traction. “Get her, now.”
Before she could slam the door with her nose, all the men jumped on top of her. She tried to claw at them, but she couldn’t breathe. All she could feel was pressure as each of the men tried to wrap their arms around her. Subduing her was what they were trying to do. Gasping, her wolf was going crazy as they squeezed harder. It felt like when the bear had jumped on top of her. She couldn’t suck in a breath. Clawing her way from under the men, blood and screams erupted as Jade did everything that Cosmo taught her. She had almost made it as her head broke free and that’s when she watched the man pick up a lamp. Jade’s wolf froze in terror as the man slammed it against her head and everything went black.
Chapter Seventeen
“Fuck!” Lennox slammed his hand against the porch steps.
“She won’t answer?” Cosmo asked concerned.
“No. I’ve called at least fifteen times now. I know she’s mad but to let me call that many times. She’s just trying to torture me now.”
“You deserve it,” Cosmo said, staring at the pack house.
“What?” Lennox glared at his best friend.
“First, you should have let her attack Raven. She deserved it.”
“Raven would have killed her.”
“I think you don’t give your mate enough credit. She may have lost, but I guarantee, Raven would have more respect for her, instead, you picked her up and held her in your arms. Shielding her from danger. Instead of letting her fight her own battles.” Cosmo said shaking his finger back and forth. “Second, you just let her run off, pissed, I might add. Now you have a raging wolf who knows how to destroy trees.”
“How do you think she did that?” Lennox asked, thinking back at how Jade punched the tree and split it open enough that it fell to the ground. “It was a big tree, Cosmo.”
“You know they have always said not to piss off a woman. And look at you, you have really pissed this one off. She’s mad, mad, mad.”
“I hate you right now.”
“I know, but deep down you really love me. Plus, without me, what would you do?”
Shaking his head, Lennox sat on the edge of the porch.
Lennox glanced at Cosmo’s phone when it beeped. “Is it Jade?”
“Why would Jade be calling me? It’s Bane Cross.”
“What does he want?”
“Probably t
elling you he is going to kill you because you pissed off his sister.” Cosmo answered the phone. “Hello, Death Hunters hotline.”
Something didn’t feel right. His bear was uneasy, panting hard inside him. What was this feeling and where was it coming from? Was it because of Jade?
Lennox looked up as Cosmo put his phone in his pocket.
“What’s going on?” Lennox asked, rubbing the middle of his chest.
“Jade left an hour ago to drive around. Bane said she was upset and needed time to clear her head. But now he can’t get in touch with her on the phone. I’m sure it’s nothing. You know how protective he is of her.”
Lennox jumped down and ran for the truck. Holding his chest, he fell against the door. Cosmo put his hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Just drive. It’s Jade. She’s in trouble.” Lennox opened the truck door and got in. “She would have answered her phone for Bane.”
“Can you feel her link?”
“Yes, it has to be her. I’ve never felt this with anyone. Even when one of you were hurt, it didn’t feel like this.” Lennox leaned forward as Cosmo drove down the road. He could breathe better, but he couldn’t feel her anymore.
“What?” Cosmo asked.
“Nothing.” Lennox closed his eyes, letting his bear search outward trying to pick up any signal on his mate. If she was dead, he would know, but it was almost like she was asleep.
“Is she alive?” Cosmo asked louder, looking at him.
“Yes, but…”
“But what?”
“There isn’t any more pain…It’s like she’s asleep or—”
“Knocked out,” they both said at the same time.
“Where would she go?” Lennox asked, rubbing his hand against his chest, praying he would feel her again.
“She was mad…I should have gone after her and made it right, but I was…She’s not equipped to defend herself.”
Cosmo blew out a deep breath. “Look, she’s going to be okay, Lennox. She knows more than you think.”
“No…no, you’re wrong. She told me herself that she had no training, none.”
“Well…that was before—” Cosmo cringed, scratching the side of his beard.
“What did you do?”
“She wanted to learn how to fight and I taught her some things. Just enough to help her if something happened. We didn’t get many lessons in, but she learns quickly. She’s pretty damn good and once we have more lessons she will be pretty bad ass,” Cosmo said, smiling until he glanced at him.
Clearing his throat, Cosmo muttered, “We thought it best not to tell you right now. Knowing how you would take it, but you should be proud of her. That’s why I know she’s going to be okay.”
“We’ll talk about that later. Step on it. She may not have much time.” Lennox couldn’t stop the pressure in his chest. It was back, not as bad but he knew she was hurt.
Cosmo picked up his phone and dialed a number, “Get everyone activated. I don’t know, it’s Jade. She’s missing. Get Leo and Raven to town. We may need them too.” Cosmo hung up his phone as they approached the gate. It was open as the guards waved them into the Dixon pack land. Lennox didn’t see Jade’s vehicle anywhere. He had hoped she had returned before they got there.
Arden, Quinn, and the whole pack were waiting outside. He jumped out before Cosmo could stop the vehicle.
“Where did she go?”
“She was upset. Asking if I thought she was weak. I just figured she would drive around a few minutes then come back but she hasn’t. That’s not like her. She would have come home,” Bane explained.
“She’s in trouble.”
“Why do you think something is wrong?” Arden demanded.
“I could feel her pain. Something is wrong. She couldn’t breathe. We have to find her,” Lennox demanded.
“We have called her, but she hasn’t answered. We’re tracking her car,” Arden said as a guard ran outside.
“Alpha, she’s at the store apartment.”
“Let’s go.” Lennox and Cosmo jumped back into the truck and pulled out. The Dixon pack was right behind them.
“See, she’s at the store. People are still in town. I’m sure she’s just mad and that’s what you’re feeling. That’s it.” Cosmo said, but Lennox heard it in his voice. He wasn’t sure, and neither was Cosmo. She would have answered someone. She loved her pack and she would have answered.
“Wake up, wake up.”
Jade could barely open her eyes. Then the pain seared the side of her head. Clenching her eyes together, Jade felt dizzy.
“I said open your eyes. I know you’re awake.” Jade felt another pain as someone hit her in the back.
Opening her eyes, she glanced up as her body swayed back and forth above the ground. Her arms were tied above her head, dangling from a tree limb.
Then she remembered. . .the men at the store, the fight, and then the lamp smashed over her head. All the pain came crashing down on top of her as she gasped for air.
“Calm down, little wolf, before you hyperventilate. I would have thought that you, being the alpha’s mate…” the man gave her a dismissive wave of his hand, “you could handle this kind of stuff. Huh, guess I was wrong.”
“What do you want?” Jade gritted her teeth trying to calm herself. Her wolf was quiet for some reason. Not even in protection mode. Traitor.
“Well…let’s see…I want your mate’s head on a stick, but before I do that, I’m going to make him suffer.”
“He’s stronger than you. It won’t work,” Jade said, smiling.
The man laughed. “One would think that, but you see, I have the one thing that will bring Superman to his knees.”
Jade wanted to throw up. He was using her as bait, but it wouldn’t work. He knew all these tricks and wouldn’t allow himself to be used. “Obviously, you didn’t hear me earlier when I said he doesn’t want me. I’m not his mate. He made a mistake and you will realize that when he doesn’t show up.” Her head started to throb, spots swimming back and forth across her eyes. She tried to say something but her voice sounded funny even to her. Then her head dropped forward as she blacked out.
Chapter Eighteen
“Shit…wake up,” Oliver shouted. “I need you to be awake when I call him. He won’t come if you don’t talk to him. Fuck!” Oliver shoved her body as it swung back and forth.
Danny, his beta watched from a tree. “You hit her too hard in the head. She may die before he even gets here.”
“I don’t care if she dies. Just as long as she speaks to him and he hears her voice. Then he will do exactly what I say or she dies,” Oliver said, pacing. “I’ve waited to get Lennox Bartley right where I want him. I can’t afford for something to go wrong now.”
“Something doesn’t feel right, man. We’re not in our territory and if someone knows we’re here. We won’t have another shot because we all will be dead.”
“Are you questioning my decision?” Oliver got right in his face. No one questioned him. This was for Shelby. This was for his mate who was taken from him.
“No, Alpha…This is what you have been waiting for. I just don’t want them to get suspicious of her missing and start a hunt to find her. We’re out numbered.”
“Doesn’t matter. We have something they all want and as long as we have her…they can’t touch us.” Oliver walked back to the girl and tried to wake her, but she was still out. He would give her a few minutes then try to wake her again. Then it didn’t matter if she died. She was dead anyway.
Lennox felt relief when he saw Jade’s vehicle parked behind the store. He raced up the steps and froze when he saw the door had been kicked open. He could see the struggle with chairs turned over in the room.
Panicking, Lennox yelled out, “Jade. Jade?”
“Where is she?” Arden demanded.
Lennox held up his hand for everyone to stop. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, letting his bear pick up several different scents. He could smell the
wolves and fear. It was Jade’s scent. There was one scent that he recognized before. He moved across the room, letting his bear tell him what had happened. Searching his mind, Lennox remembered.
Turning around, he looked up at Arden. “I’m going to kill that wolf.”
“Who? What’s going on?”
“Oliver Park, Alpha of the Park wolves. I had to put his mate down after she started hunting humans,” Lennox explained.
“God, please no.” Arden closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. “He wants to kill Jade for revenge?”
“Yes, I believe so. He always said he would get me back. I never worried about it before.” Lennox leaned his head against the wall. “I didn’t have a mate or expected to find one.”
“Do you feel a connection to her? Look at me, Lennox, dig deep, and find her. Find your mate.” Arden turned to Tate and the other members of the Dixon pack. “Check with everybody in town. Somebody had to have seen someone new lurking around. Check with Milton to see if his camera system outside is still working. Call in everyone and Ben Crenshaw. They’re close by. They wouldn’t have left town.” Arden put his hand on Lennox’s shoulder. “He will contact you soon. We have to be prepared when he does. He will want you to come alone.”
“I know. We have to find them first. I don’t want Jade to be hurt, but I feel her pain. She’s hurting, but she’s alive,” Lennox said, opening his eyes, staring at the bedroom floor. Cosmo kneeled, picking up a lamp off the floor, sniffing it.
“She put up one hell of a fight.” Walking over to the side of the bed, Cosmo picked up a hand covered in blood. “From what it looks like, Jade was giving them hell.”
“Is that a hand?” Arden asked, rushing over.
“It’s not hers. But she did exactly what I taught her. Looks like she was holding them off until—” Cosmo pointed to the lamp lying on the floor. “Someone slammed the lamp against her head.”
