The Ancients Series

by Christine M. Butler

  “Don’t. Jack wouldn’t have had it any other way. I can hear him now. He would have pointed out that you have two daughters to worry about, and while he’ll miss his mate dearly, you still have work to do as a father.”

  “You know, he actually said something similar to me when I told the boys I was going out with them. He thought I should hang back, and lead from the rear.”

  “I spoke to him, after…” Avery stilled then. “You were kneeling beside him, applying pressure to the wound, but I could see it, when his eyes…” I sucked in a deep breath then and closed my eyes, reliving the moment for one more torturous time. “He told me to tell his family he loved them, and that he wanted his sending off to be at the lake. I didn’t even get the chance to tell anyone that. He would have been crying like a baby if he’d seen us celebrate him in the old way.”

  “I’m sure he did, Jess.”

  “Yeah.” While we’d been talking I heard voices raising a bit in the other room, but I had been tuning it out for the most part, because I thought it was just people grieving. There was an authoritative voice in the din that caught my attention though. “What the hell?” I got up and walked to the doorway to peer into the living room. Antoine stood there talking to my father, giving his condolences from what I was hearing. Malachai was there too, and he seemed to be having a heated discussion with Mikael near the front door.

  Mikael was filled with tension. I didn’t have to be bonded to know it either, his shoulders were held stiff, jaw working on itself, and fingers clenching at his sides, balling into fists as Malachai spoke. Mikael said something to him that I couldn’t hear over the voices mingling together in a mishmash through the room. He started across the room for me though, and pulled me straight back into the kitchen, out of earshot of the others. “They weren’t aware of Jack’s death until they got here. They came looking for me.”

  “Why?” I was worried now, because Mikael hadn’t lost the edge to his body that set in when he was speaking with his brother. “Malachai says that Zach and his merry band of miscreants has Evan held captive. Apparently, they thought it might draw you out. I guess they weren’t aware of the recent changes.”

  My gut clenched tight. “So, it’s a trap, for me?”

  “Yeah, seems so.”

  “You have to go because he’s your brother, I get that, but you know it’s a trap…”

  “Jess, they’re looking for you to show up, not me. I will be careful. Malachai says he’s already been by to check things out, and he’s pretty pissed off that he had to come get me in person.”

  “Mikael, I can’t…” I stopped myself in my tracks before I finished the sentence. “Please, I don’t know what I would do if…” I didn’t want him to go. I couldn’t let him end up like Jack.

  Mikael pulled me into his arms, and hugged me tight. “I promise you…”

  “No. Avery promised me that Jack would come home too. Don’t make me promises, Mikael. Just come home to me. Go, get your brother out of there, and come back to me.” I looked up at him then, and he leaned down and kissed me sweetly.

  “Jess, I love you.”

  “I love you too.” He kissed me again, and then he let go, slowly, and turned to leave, meeting his brother in the living room and heading out quickly. Antoine finished making his rounds, taking in all the grieving parties gathered in my family’s living room, and then he followed his sons out the door.

  Asriel watched them go, checked on Ashley, who was still sitting with her parents, and then headed my way. It struck me a little odd that Asi was still here when Evan was in trouble though. I moved back into the kitchen as he approached so that we wouldn’t disturb everyone else. Avery must have seen Asi headed in the kitchen though, because he was hot on his heels and followed closely by my father.

  “What’s going on, Jess?” Asi asked me, not really concerned with the other men who had entered the room.

  “Antoine and Malachai came to get Mikael. Apparently Zach and his bunch have gotten a hold of Evan, and are holding him captive somewhere. They apparently didn’t’ know that Evan and I are no longer an item, because it appears to be a trap to lure me out.”

  Asi held a skeptical look, and was shaking his head no as he reached in his back pocket for his phone. He pulled it out and hit the speed dial for Evan’s phone. “Something’s not right here, Jess. Evan’s not even in the country.”

  “Well, that’s what Ashley told me a couple days ago, but maybe he came back?”

  “No, he didn’t. I was supposed to go meet him at the end of the week.” Asi stopped talking and gave his attention over to the phone that was at his ear. “Hey man, I was just checking on you. Is everything okay?” I couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end of the line, but Asi looked up directly into my eyes and I saw the concern register there. “Why did the red rooster crow?”

  I looked at Asi oddly, thinking that was a weird thing to be asking someone at a time like this, but my father and Avery seemed to approve of whatever was happening.

  “A crow to signal dawn is upon us.” Evan answered, this time I heard him, because a hush seemed to fall over the room. “What the hell is going on there, Asi?”

  “You’re going to have to hold on while I get the whole story, but it appears Mikael was just kidnapped by your brother and father.”

  “WHAT?” I heard myself shout it out as Evan echoed my sentiment on the other line.

  “I’m not sure how else to describe it, but I need to put you on speaker phone while I get to the bottom of this, hang on.” Asi took the phone away from his ear, and placed it on the table. “Evan, late last night, Jack Reynolds was killed by two rogue wolves that were working with Zach Brighton. All three of them got away, but Avery Daniels, the leader of the Daniels Clan was there when it happened.”

  “I was there too,” I added.

  “What the hell were you doing there, Jess? Jesus, are you okay? What is going on? I leave and the whole place goes to hell in a hand basket.” Anger and concern for his brother were evident in the tirade Evan was letting loose.

  “I was there in spirit only. It’s a white wolf thing. I saw what happened. Andy caught wind of Zach’s sent, and Jack caught it too, and shifted immediately. He ran ahead of Andy and Avery, chasing the scent. When they cleared the side of the rock cliffs and rounded into the thick of the forest a black wolf dove out and took Jack down. Zach zipped out of the forest, and Andy took off after him, just as a large silver wolf with a black striped down his back bound out and… and…” It was so vivid in my mind. I couldn’t bring myself to finish speaking out loud about what happened to Jack.

  “The silver wolf ripped into Jack’s neck, and then stood guard over his body momentarily, so I couldn’t get to him without threat of tearing more pieces from him,” Avery went on to explain. “The wolf, he had excessively long teeth. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t natural for our kind.”

  Asi and Evan were both swearing under the breath. Well, Asi was swearing under his breath, and Evan was letting loose a string of curse words to shame a sailor. “My father will pay for what he’s done, rest assured.”

  “Your father?” I questioned, not quite putting two and two together.

  “Silver wolf, black stripe, unnaturally large canines, you just described my father in his wolf form perfectly,” Evan finished.

  “Oh, God, Mikael! They have Mikael, Evan!”

  “Do not go after them yet! Asi, do you hear me?”

  “I hear you, but we can’t sit here and do nothing.”

  “I’m hopping on the plane tonight. As soon as I hang up, I’ll have them prep the jet. They won’t kill him. Try to find out where they’ve got him, but don’t get close.” He cleared his throat then, “Jess, have the two of you bonded?” He sounded pained when he asked, and I looked to Asi to see if I should answer that honestly.

  “Yes.”

  “Shit!” He yelped. “Shit! Is Jameson there?”

  “I’m here,” my father spoke up.

&n
bsp; “Keep a close eye on Jess. They may try tampering with the bond. I don’t know if they’ll use it to try to kill her or make her come try to free Mikael so they can trap her.”

  “Don’t worry, Jess isn’t going anywhere.” My father’s voice thickened up, “if they are attempting to break her bond with him, there won’t be anything we can do to help though, unless we can find them before it’s done.”

  “I’m on my way. I’ll be in touch with Asi when we take off.”

  “We’ll try to track them down. At least, now we know who and what we’re really up against.” Avery was saying as he put his big meaty hand back up on my shoulder. I slumped underneath the weight. It was all too much, first Jack, and now this. It was far too much.

  I was ready to leave, to go after him, but I knew the moment I stood up that I wouldn’t be going anywhere. Every man in the room had their eyes on me, and Asi’s muscles were flinching, readying themselves to take off after me if need be. I paced the room, instead of bolting the way I wanted to, but I was thinking as I did so. There had to be a way. I could feel him in my bones. My connection with Mikael was still bright, and I knew he was safe for now, probably hadn’t even realized he was the one in trouble yet. “He’s not worried yet. He doesn’t even know what’s happening. They must still be traveling. So, they’re what? Twenty minutes away by car now? Is someone timing it? This will help later.”

  “How do you know, Jess?”

  “I can feel him. He’s worried about his brother, that hasn’t changed, but there’s no concern for himself or me right now.”

  “Jessica, it’s not possible to feel that, not for mates, and not from great distances.” My father was probably right, but after my last talk with the ancient white wolf women, I had to believe that it was possible, and I wasn’t just fooling myself.

  “It is quite possible, Jameson. She is a white wolf. They have always had a sixth sense about things, and while there hasn’t been one in long while, there are ancient texts describing the incredible bond a white wolf had with her mate. She’s a spirit walker too. She was there, with us, last night. I have no doubt because what she described was exactly what happened. Maybe she’s tapped into that on some level, right now.”

  “That’s it!” I stopped my pacing, and stood looking at Avery, excited now. “I need to get to sleep, to induce a vision. Maybe I can see what’s happening were Mikael is, and somehow let you know as I do it, or come back out of the vision with a location.”

  “Jess, I’m not sure that’s a wise idea either. We don’t know how all this vision stuff works.”

  “But, last night I was able to control it,” I added, hoping that would help them to see that I needed to find a way to do this.

  “How so? I thought you said you couldn’t do anything about what happened?” It was Ashley, who was standing in the doorway now.

  “I couldn’t change the world I was seeing. I could just change how I saw it. When I first went into the vision last night, I was thrown in down by the lake. It was the memory of Jack and Sierra bonding. It was his last memory, before…” I sighed and changed course there, like I had last night. “I got angry, when I realized he was hurt and I was seeing his memories, so I yelled for the vision to stop, and to show me what happened, from the beginning. It was like the world rewound itself. Everything blurred out, and I was standing there as Avery was telling the guys how things would go. At first, I couldn’t hear anything in my visions. I never can unless the white wolves are speaking directly to me. Anyway, I spoke out loud in the vision, telling it that I needed to hear too, and then I suddenly had audio.”

  “Mikael was with you last night, right?” Avery asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Did he hear you, when you were talking out loud?”

  “I don’t think so. He didn’t wake up until I came out of the vision and sat up crying this morning.”

  “Okay, so that means we probably won’t be able to hear you relay anything to us. What if you get stuck there, in the vision, because of what you see?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Jess, you may not want to leave Mikael, if you see he’s being hurt. If you are being hurt as a result of what is done to him.” My father spoke softly, “what if you can’t come back out to tell us where to look?”

  “Arrgghh!” I screamed out in frustration. A few minutes later my mom came in the kitchen as well.

  “What is going on in here? You do know there’s a grieving family out in our living room, right? Our family! Our pack!”

  “Eileen, it was Antoine and Malachai. The wolves who attacked Jack last night.”

  “WHAT?” Ashley hadn’t come into the room in time to figure out just what we were talking about.

  “They came here to take Mikael. No doubt to lure me away.”

  “They were just here!” My mom’s hand was covering her mouth as the shock settled deep down inside of her. “He consoled Jack’s parents. He…”

  “He took Mikael, is what he did, so let’s figure out how to find them!” I was yelling at everyone now.

  “I know this is probably not my place, but how do we know that Mikael isn’t involved too? Maybe this was a recovery of their asset, and not a kidnapping to lure you out.” Avery spoke carefully, but his words stung all the same. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that wasn’t true. Now, though, everyone would be wondering. He’d just planted a dangerous seed among my family about my mate.

  I picked up a pot and slung it around at Avery. My father intercepted it before it got to him. “Jessica! You may not like to hear it, but it’s something we have to consider.”

  “It is not. He has the blessings of the white wolves. We are a true bonded pair, in the ways of old. Our souls are shared. I know what he knows in his heart, and he is not a part of this!”

  “Soul-sharing?” Avery was in awe now, my attempt to knock his head off with a sauce pot apparently expected and forgiven. “That’s been unheard of for ages.”

  “It’s not unheard of. There are pairings that are soul-shares. It just doesn’t present in the ways of old anymore for most, because the ability was dying out. It has been recovered.”

  “She speaks the truth. The day of her bonding, she came home glowing like an angel sent from heaven. It was all around her, and astounding to look upon.” My mom offered up, awe still coating her words as she spoke of it.

  “Even if that is the case,” my father began, “we have no way of knowing the scope of what’s going on. Let’s face it, Mikael didn’t start out on any of our good sides, considering what happened with Ashley. Now we had the royals come into our house, look in our faces, and give condolences for a boy they killed, as if they had no responsibility in it.” My father shook his head. “None of this will stand. Jack was a son to me, and they are after my daughter. I won’t sit back and do nothing, but I will not allow you to delve blindingly into something none of us understands, Jess.”

  “Fortunately, for me, you don’t get a say in what I do now. I have the blessing of the white wolves, and I will take my place. Let this be the first of my actions as white wolf ruler. I will find Mikael, and get him back, because I do know his heart. I don’t need you to believe that. I believe it, and that is enough.”

  “Jessica!” My father was shaking, as he tried to resist my command, and it was indeed a command. “I will find Mikael. I will not force you to help, but I will not have you getting in my way, dad. If they hurt him, they hurt me. That should be enough for you to want to get him back safely.”

  “You’re right.” His head hung low, and as I looked around, I noticed everyone else was down on their knees. They had all bowed before me when I acknowledged my place as ruler.

  “Please, don’t bow before me. Just find a way to help me. I need Mikael. I need him whole and intact, and with me. I need our bond to remain that way too. So, help me find him before they do something to attack that. And when we do find him, hopefully we find his father and brother, so we can get justice for Jack and f
or Tom.”

  “How far away is Evan?” My father asked as he turned to Asi.

  “It will take him a few hours to get back here once they get the jet ready.”

  “Well, we can’t sit around and wait for him to get here. We need someone to check out De’ Lune’s and see if they’ve gone there, though I doubt it.”

  “I’ll send my men to scour the places we’ve been finding Zach’s trail. Somehow I doubt they’d go to any of those places, but we need to cover all our bases.” Avery left the room then to get in touch with his pack.

  “Asi, I never did find out where Antoine and Malachai were staying while they were here. I had assumed a hotel or something, since they were in such a hurry to get back home. If you know, now would be a good time to let us in on those locations.” My father was eyeing Asi suspiciously too, I realized. He didn’t trust any of the Ancients at this point. I couldn’t say that I blamed him.

  Asi gave him the address for the house the family had been renting, and my dad organized a group to check on the house and the club. Then he looked at me, worried, before he asked his next question. “Jess, we need to check Mikael’s place too.” I just nodded, knowing it was possible that they took him there, or that there was a clue as to where they’d take him.

  “While they look, I’m going to need your help, mom.” I took her hand and started leading her out of the kitchen, and up the stairs to the bedroom there. Somehow, my old room didn’t feel like it belonged to me anymore. No more than it would any other guest who came to stay. “I have to figure out how to get to Mikael in a vision the way I did with Jack last night.” I was explaining to her, but another voice answered back.

  “Jess, how do you plan on doing that? I mean, you just said yourself, last night was the first time you had any control, and what you saw…” Ashley’s voice grew strained. “What if you see Mikael, in trouble?”

  “We don’t have a whole lot of options in front of us, right now. I need to sleep, to talk to the white wolves. Maybe they can guide me.”