by Kim Fox
Logan ran a hand through his long black hair as his alpha appeared in the doorway of his bedroom. Grant looked disappointed as he leaned on the casing and crossed his arms.
“We’re leaving.”
Logan jerked his head back in surprise. “Leaving? Where?”
“We’re going to try and find Bryce,” he answered. “You would have known that if you bothered to get out of bed in the past few days.”
Logan dropped his eyes under his alpha’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Where is he?”
“We still don’t know that,” Grant answered with a sigh. “But we have to do something. Grease had told us about a secret facility up north where General Hunt experimented on shifters. It was where he was held and modified.”
‘Modified’ was definitely an understatement. General Hunt had turned Grease’s inner polar bear into a monster with huge hulking muscles and six long spikes along his spine that retracted in and out of his body. The crew had learned the hard way how powerful the General had made him when they had tried to bring him in.
“You found out where the facility is?”
Grant shook his head. “No. But we know where the nearby town is. It’s a small whaling town in northern Canada in the North West Territories, or at least it was a town before General Hunt annihilated everyone in it. We’re heading up there to check it out and see if we can find anything that leads to Bryce. It’s not much to go on, but it’s all we’ve got.”
Logan’s stomach churned as he watched his alpha. He wasn’t up for getting out of bed, let alone traveling through Canada.
“You’ll be staying here.”
Logan felt his heart thundering in his chest with every beat.
“It’s clear you’re not up for it,” Grant said with a hard look. “And we need you for something else.”
“What?”
“Amélie is coming with us,” he said, taking a deep breath as he turned away. He looked like he still wasn’t sure if what he was about to say was a good idea. “But her mother and her sister are staying here. They don’t have their passports anymore so they’re stuck here for the time being.”
“What about Amélie? She doesn’t have her passport. How is she going to get into Canada?”
“She’s going to phase into her panther and cross the border through the mountains. We’ll pick her up on the other side and continue north.” Grant swallowed hard before continuing. “Can you take care of Elodie and her mother, Louise?”
“What if General Hunt and his shifters come back? I won’t be able to handle them like this?”
“I talked to Maximus next door,” Grant answered. “He and the Grisly Grizzlies will be on full alert while we’re gone. Just give them a ring and they’ll be right over. There’s also the firehouse shifters, the forest rangers, and mountain rescue. Just call whoever you need. Hunt got the wand. I don’t think he’ll be back, but just in case…”
Silence hung in the thick air as uneasiness filled Logan.
“I need your help, Logan,” he continued. “I know you think you’re useless to the crew now, but I do need you.”
“To babysit.”
“To protect my mate’s family,” he snapped. “Will you do that for me?”
Logan inhaled deep and then nodded.
“Thank you.” Grant looked relieved.
“Do they even speak English?” Logan hadn’t gotten around to talking to either of them yet.
“Elodie speaks perfect English,” Grant answered. “She went to English school, and Louise is perfectly bilingual as well.” He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “There’s something else. The Governor, William Reyes.”
Logan clenched his jaw at the mention of his name. The sleazy Governor of Montana was ruthless in his attempt to gain control of the Clayton Rock Ranch. He had thrown every estate tax, penalty, and fine in an effort to seize the land that had been in Grant’s family for hundreds of years. Reyes wanted to re-zone the land for a massive real estate project that would net him millions and would destroy the Clayton family heirloom.
If Mr. Reyes ever got his greedy hands on this land it would be chopped up and sold to the highest bidders. Condo developers would tear down the gorgeous forests and mining companies would hollow out the breathtaking mountains.
“He’s been putting more and more pressure on me,” Grant explained as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I spent the last of our money to help those people we freed from General Hunt escape. I had to max out our credit cards to pay for those bus tickets and the bank account is empty. Amélie and her family have a little bit of money that they’ve generously given us to make our way up north. Elodie has kept some for you guys. It’s enough for food, clothes, and some other stuff, but if William Reyes comes collecting, we’re screwed. I need you to try and hold him off until I get back. Tell him that I’m working on a big job or that I have some money coming in or something, anything. Make something up.”
“I’ll do my best, Grant.”
“I know you will. We’re driving so it’s going to take a while. We’ll be gone for a few days, maybe even a few weeks.”
They both turned their heads toward the front door when they heard a truck pull into the ranch. Caleb’s muffled voice came through the walls.
“Shit,” Grant said, rubbing his eyes. “It’s Caleb and Abigail.”
Abigail was Bryce’s older sister and the mate of Caleb from the Grisly Grizzlies. She had been worried sick about her brother and all of the reassurances from Grant over the past week hadn’t stopped her from being an anxious wreck.
“I better go.”
Logan tossed the sheet off of his body and climbed out of bed. “I’ll come with you.”
“Logan,” Abigail said, gasping as her hand flew to her mouth when she saw them walk out of the cabin. “Your arm. It’s true.”
Caleb looked shaken as he stared at his fellow bandmate. Caleb was the guitarist in Predatone.
Without a word, Caleb walked over and wrapped his strong arms around Logan, holding him in a tight hug. “I’m sorry, brother. Grant told us, but I didn’t want to believe it was true.”
Tears burned Logan’s eyes as he fought to hold them back.
Caleb released him and Abigail jumped in next, wrapping her arms around him. “I’m sorry about your brother,” he whispered. This time he couldn’t hold the tears in. They trickled down his cheeks onto her back.
“I know you guys loved Bryce and did whatever you could to protect him,” she whispered in his ear as she held him tight. “And I know we’ll all work together to get him back.”
A stab of guilt pierced Logan’s chest. They were all working together. He wasn’t doing much of anything these days.
They pulled away from each other and Logan saw how bad Abigail actually looked. Dark bags hung below her bloodshot eyes and her black hair was a wild mess. She was slumped over, looking like she hadn’t slept in days, which she probably hadn’t, given the circumstances.
“I want to go with you guys,” Caleb said, turning to Grant. “If Bryce is there, then I want to go.”
“We don’t know if he’s there,” Grant answered, looking just as exhausted as Abigail. “We don’t even know if there’s anything there. We’re only looking. Once we find him, we’ll call you for help.”
Caleb didn’t look ready to back off. It was his mate’s brother after all.
“It could be nothing,” Grant continued. “I need you and your crew to stay here in case the General returns and Logan needs some backup.”
Caleb reluctantly agreed.
The crew began emerging from their cabins with their bags, ready for the trip up north. Ryder came first, holding his and Tempest’s bags. He tossed them into the back of the pickup truck and walked over.
Both Caleb and Abigail’s bodies tightened as tension suddenly filled the air. Logan turned where they were looking and saw Mack leaving his cabin.
Caleb and Mack had fought once the year before, and it was because o
f Bryce. The young lion had attacked Mack, and Caleb had to step in and fight Mack to protect his mate’s reckless brother.
Abigail’s jaw tensed as she watched him walk to the truck.
“You already tried to kill the kid once,” she shouted, unable to hold her tongue any longer. “You had to go and finish him off?”
Mack’s head dropped, looking like he was going to crumble in on himself.
“Abigail!” Caleb shouted as she charged at him. He raced after her.
“First you try to kill my mate,” she screamed as she got in his face. “Now you kill my brother?”
She slapped Mack as hard as she could and then grabbed her hand, wincing in pain. Mack just stood there like a broken man, the shame slowly consuming him.
He couldn’t even look her in the eyes as Caleb pulled her away. Grant rushed over, trying to explain that it wasn’t Mack’s fault, but neither Abigail, or Mack for that matter, seemed to believe him.
Mack continued to the truck with hunched shoulders and tossed his bag into the back. He climbed into the passenger’s side without saying a word.
Abigail was sobbing by the time that Caleb put his arm around her and guided her back to their truck, helping her inside.
“Good luck, guys,” he said to Grant and Ryder. “If you get any word you call me.”
“We will.”
“Immediately.”
Grant nodded. “We will.”
Caleb stared at them for an extra moment before turning to Logan. “I’ll come back in a few days with the band.”
“You don’t have to…”
“We’ll be here in a few days,” Caleb said in a firm voice, “and we’ll figure out how to move forward.”
“I won’t be moving forward with Predatone.” Logan’s heart broke as he said the words. He could never imagine leaving the band that was like a second family to him, but what other choice did he have? With one arm, he was as useless as a guitar with no strings.
Caleb locked eyes with him. “We’ll be here in a few days.”
Logan’s stomach churned as he got into the truck and they left.
Amélie came out next, followed by Elodie and her mother, Louise. Elodie was watching him the entire time. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably, wishing he had trimmed his beard or at least put on a clean shirt.
He watched as Amélie said her tearful goodbyes to them both and then took her place beside Grant.
“Who’s left?” Amélie asked.
“Who do you think?” Ryder said with a shake of his head. “Tempest! Let’s go!”
“I’ll be out in a second!” Tempest hollered from inside the cabin.
“She’s worried how effective she’ll be as a bounty hunter without the wand,” Ryder whispered. “She told me she has a plan, so brace yourselves.”
They all watched as Tempest emerged from her cabin in her new bounty hunter outfit.
“Oh my god,” Ryder groaned as he shook his head.
Tempest was covered in throwing axes. They were strapped to every inch of her body.
“What the hell is that?” Grant asked as they watched her awkwardly walk toward them. The two throwing axes strapped to her inner thighs were making her walk bow-legged.
“Pretty badass, right?” Tempest said as she carefully spun around. “Who needs a magic wand when I have nineteen throwing axes at my disposal?”
“Yeah, but aren’t you extremely clumsy?” Amélie asked.
“I wouldn’t say extremely,” Tempest said, looking offended. “Maybe a little bit.”
“A lot,” Ryder corrected as he walked over to her. “Do you really think it’s safe to carry sharp blades all over you when you’re prone to falling?”
“That’s why I have two band-aids in my back pocket in case of an emergency,” Tempest said, nodding proudly.
“Not going to happen,” Ryder said as he began pulling the axes off of her. “What is this? Velcro?”
He tossed them into a pile on the ground as she complained. “Here,” he said, holding up the last ax, a bright golden one. “You can carry one ax, if you promise to be extremely careful with it.”
She wrapped her hand around the handle and nodded. “I promise.”
Ryder reluctantly let go and she hooked it to her belt. “Ow,” she said, jerking her finger up as a drop of blood emerged from her skin. “I cut myself.”
“Imagine that,” Ryder said, shaking his head as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her to the truck.
Logan had been watching the entire event, feeling distant. Normally, he would have been laughing along with his crew, but now he just felt like an outsider. They were all going on a mission together and he was staying back. The coach had benched him, but who could blame him? Logan wasn’t the star player he once was, and he didn’t think he’d ever get there again.
“Grant,” he called out as everyone climbed into the truck.
Logan took a deep breath as his alpha walked over. “I want to leave the crew.”
Grant let out a long sigh as he ran his hand over his shaved head. “I’ll be back in a few days,” he finally said. “Think about it and we’ll talk when I get back.”
Logan lowered his head and nodded. “All right.”
Grant hugged him and then took one last look at him. “Take care of the girls.”
A minute later, they were in the truck and driving off the ranch.
Logan turned to the girls who were standing together waving. Louise looked uncomfortable as their eyes met, and she quickly looked away.
Once the truck was on the main road, driving away, Logan turned back to his cabin. He was halfway there when footsteps came racing up beside him.
“Hi!” It was Elodie. She was walking alongside him.
Logan didn’t answer.
“We’re making my mother’s famous lasagna for lunch,” she said as she quickened her pace to keep up with him. “It’s her special recipe and it’s really good.”
Logan kept walking, wondering why this girl was following him.
“Would you like to come and join us?” she finally asked. “We haven’t gotten to know you at all and since we’re going to be staying together, I thought—”
“No thanks,” Logan grunted as he arrived at the steps to his cabin.
He wasn’t going to be in this crew for much longer so there wasn’t much of a point in getting to know the new members. Plus, all he really wanted to do was have a strong drink and go to sleep.
“You sure?” Elodie asked as he opened the door. “It’s really good?”
“I’m sure,” Logan said.
He closed the door without turning around.
Chapter Three
Elodie
“Don’t hold out on me, Maman,” Elodie said as she held up her plate for more.
Her mother smiled and dropped another heaping spoonful of lasagna onto her plate. The pasta was steaming hot and the cheese was refusing to break as her mother scooped a couple of spoonfuls for herself.
“The worst part of captivity,” Elodie said as she held the plate up to her nose and inhaled deep, “was the lack of your famous lasagna.”
“Remember that time I tried to make it out of Raman noodles and powdered cheese?”
Elodie shook her head. She remembered too well. It was Christmas day and they had tried to make something special, but the taste was so bad that it only made everything worse.
But now things were looking up. They were free and they were taking advantage of it. This was the third day in a row that Elodie’s mother had made lasagna and Elodie was beginning to seriously wonder if she could ever get sick of this delicious meal. So far, all signs pointed to no.
“Did you ask Logan if he wanted to join us?”
Elodie’s stomach tightened at the mention of his name. “Yeah. He won’t be joining us.” And he probably never will.
“More for us,” her mother said as she raised her fork. The cheese was so thick that the noodles
on her fork looked like they were still stuck to the plate with spiderwebs.
“More for us,” Elodie repeated under her breath, although she kind of wished he took her up on her offer.
Elodie loved her mother to death, but they had been locked in a cell for a year and a half together and she was craving some conversation with someone, anyone else.
They sat in silence, savoring the food for a few bites until her mother finally talked first. “Did you have any nightmares last night?”
“I don’t think so,” Elodie lied. They were there. They were always there, every night without fail. She had nightmares about being kidnapped again, about Bryce dying, and about men turning into vicious animals. She awoke deep in the night, still hearing the horrifying screams that echoed down the halls from the facility that she was held captive in. She heard the sad sounds of innocent men and women being experimented on as she clutched the blankets to her chest and cried.
Last night she had heard wolves howling in the mountains and she woke up with a gasp, terrified that it was General Hunt’s evil shifters coming after her.
“How about you?” Elodie asked. “Any nightmares?”
Her mother shook her head, but her mouth was pulled into a tight line. “Not for me.” It was a clear lie. After a year and a half of being together every second of the day, Elodie could read her mother perfectly. She was still having nightmares too.
“Are you worried? About Amélie?”
Her mother lowered her fork as the energy seemed to rush out of her. “I’m always worried about Amélie. I’m always worried about you too. I’m a mother. That’s what we do.”
Amélie was Elodie’s older sister and she was the strongest, toughest girl that she had ever met. Amélie was smart as hell and as fast and athletic as any shifter out there, but Elodie was still worried about her too. She really didn’t want Amélie to go along with Grant and his crew. The thought of her picking a fight with the General and all of his enhanced creatures was making her sick with worry.
“I still don’t understand why she went,” Elodie said, no longer hungry for her lunch. “We just finally got back together and she leaves.”
