by Jen L. Grey
"We're going to keep an eye on him." Her head turned in my direction. "Honestly, it's you we wanted to see."
"That figures," Simon grumbled.
"Me?" That made no sense. As far as they knew, I wasn't part of the council other than being Liam's mate.
"Yeah, we've heard about what the council has tried to do to you." She tilted her head in Liam's direction. "But you and your mate have given them a run for their money."
"It wasn't just us." I refused to take the credit. "It was a whole team effort."
"Fine. But only because we heard about what all of you did in the cities you just recently visited." She squared her shoulders at me. "This was your first test."
"Our first test?" Bree parroted the words. "But I'm already part of it."
"Yes, you are, but you're also tied to them." She gestured to the heirs. "We can't be too careful about who we trust right now. Yes, the rebellion is small, but we're growing. If we were able to truly count on the heirs to join the fight, it would make things grow exponentially faster."
"How so?" I asked. If people were feeling oppressed, why wouldn't they rally to stand?
"Because their fathers are feared, which makes recruiting harder." She raised her head, but the hood cascaded over her face. "They fear that the next in line are going to be the same way, so we're hoping to rally to catch their attention. But if you were part of the fight, people wouldn't be so hesitant since their future leaders were on the same page as them."
"In less than a year, we'll be ascending The Blood Council." Liam took a step in her direction. "So why not wait till then?"
"You guys have no clue, do you?" She shook her head and chuckled. "Your fathers are already asking the regional alphas how they would react if they stayed on for an extra year. They're citing your recent travel as evidence that you still aren't fit to lead."
"What?" Simon's voice was high pitched. "You've got to be messing with us."
"How would you know that?" Liam's brows furrowed.
"Because they have spies." Evan ran a hand over his face. "This has been going on for a lot longer than we realized, hasn't it?"
"Very smart." The girl pointed at Evan. "Not only are you strong but intuitive."
"Wait, how long has this been going on?" Micah glanced from one heir to the other.
"I've told you enough for today." The girl moved away from us. "Here's your next test. They have someone imprisoned near the school grounds. Someone important to our mission. We need you to track down where they're being held."
"How are we supposed to figure that out?" Micah asked.
"Not my problem." The girl walked backward to the door. "Once you have the info, give it to Bree. She knows how to contact us."
“If we find this, we are part of the mission too.” Evan stared her down.
“That’s not part of the plan,” she growled.
“I guess we won’t be telling you then.” Liam narrowed his eyes siding with his friend.
“Ugh. Fine.” She huffed.
Echoes of footsteps began moving once more.
"Wait until we're gone before leaving." She opened the door and paused before stepping through. "We'll know if you don't." Then, she disappeared.
Another howl sounded from far off, alerting all their people to leave.
"We should go out there and see how many are involved." Simon turned to leave, but Sherry grabbed his arm.
"Don't even think about it." Her tone was strong and commanding. "If you mess this up, I will take you down."
I'd expected Simon to stomp and throw a tantrum, but he remained silent.
I didn't expect that. This wasn't the Simon I knew all too well.
Neither did I. Liam took my hand and pulled me against him. But I'll take it. Let's give them a few more minutes before we leave.
"Does anyone have a clue where they might keep this prisoner?" Micah stared off as if he was in deep thought.
"I might know of somewhere," Evan said as he glanced at Micah. "But let's not talk about it until we're out of here. We only need to tell them what they want to know."
"That's a good premise." Micah nodded and grinned.
"What if they attack us when we're leaving?" Simon's voice raised in hysteria. "We might not make it out of here."
"If they were going to, they would've done it right away." Sherry closed her eyes. "Now, let’s be quiet and listen for when they're all gone."
In only a matter of moments, the silence descended around us once more. We slowly headed toward the window we came in through that took us back to our car. The faint scent of wolves was still there, but they were gone.
Evan climbed out through the window first, and the rest of us followed. I held my breath until we were in the Escalade and pulling out of the parking lot.
The adrenaline rush was dissipating after everything that had happened back there.
The Wolf Moon Academy entrance rose in front of us. The large black cast iron gates were open and the guard nodded at us as we pulled through the gate.
"So, are we going to talk about what happened back there?" Sherry scanned around the car. "They have to be hiding somewhere around here."
"Maybe." Evan cleared his throat. "But I'm not entirely sure yet."
"Well, let's go check it out." Bree pulled her phone from her pocket like she was going to call someone.
"No, don't tell them yet." Evan glared. "We have to make sure we give them good information and not a general hunch, or they aren't going to believe us."
"I think it's bullshit that they're trying to test us at all." Simon watched out the window from the backseat. "I mean, we're heirs, for God's sakes."
"Uh... that's exactly why." Sherry pushed him in the arm. "You act like being tied to the council is a good thing."
"Well, it is." Simon patted his chest. "We're the strongest of our kind. They should be ecstatic that we even want to meet with them."
"Dude, I don't know." Micah leaned against the car door. "I'm thinking this is more a curse than a blessing lately."
"I've got to agree with him." Liam glanced in the rearview mirror as he pulled into the dorm’s parking lot. "I don't blame them for being leery of us."
"It's gotten late." Bree checked her phone. "It's after ten, and we all have classes tomorrow. Our best bet is to relax some and come up with a plan tomorrow."
"I'm down with that," Sherry said.
It wasn't long before we were all out of the car and heading back to the dorms.
After changing into my pajamas and getting ready for bed, I crawled in next to Liam, who was pretending to watch television.
You okay? I turned toward him and snuggled into the crook of his arm.
Tonight was a little crazy. He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. For a second, I was afraid we were being attacked and I might lose you.
Hey, I'm right here. His concern and love flowed through our mate bond. Nothing bad happened.
Not yet, at least. He reached over and turned the television off before moving his body toward me. I can't handle seeing you get into situations like that. It hurts so damn much.
It's not like I sought them out. Every situation I'd gotten into was due to The Blood Council. In all reality, they'd been interfering with my life even before I was born. Do you think they killed my father?
I'd love to say no. His fingers brushed his fingertips along my arm. But the more I see of the council’s handiwork, the less I'm beginning to doubt it.
That's what I was afraid you were going to say. I took a deep breath. We have to help these people and find justice for my father. Are you okay with that? It might take implicating his own father in order to achieve all of that.
I'm not thrilled about it since it proves how heartless they've all become. Liam kissed my lips. But we will do what needs to be done for our packs and for your father.
His lips were warm and soft against mine. I opened my mouth, enjoying his taste. We'd only been together for a month, but it felt like we'
d been together for an eternity. He knew what I liked and just where to touch.
My hand traveled down his bare chest, enjoying the feel of my fingertips trailing his hardened muscle.
Damn, that feels good. He groaned, and his hand slipped slowly underneath my shirt.
As he touched me, all of the stress from the day began to melt away. In this moment, it felt like it was only him and me in the world.
He shifted so he was hovering over me and took hold of the edges of my shirt, removing it from my body. He gradually kissed down my neck toward my breasts.
I slid my hand under the waistband of his pajama bottoms and pulled them down.
He used his legs to kick them completely off of his feet while his tongue didn’t miss a beat in its mission. He slipped his hands between my legs and gently rubbed.
Right when pleasure was about to wash over me, I snatched his hand and moved it away from my body. I need you.
Without any more encouragement, he slipped between my legs and rocked into me.
I gasped as he hit the right place inside me over and over again.
His mouth lowered to mine, and he kissed me as our bodies moved together in sync.
It wasn't long until we were both climaxing at the same time. His body shuddered as he thrust into me one last time, finishing with me.
He dropped his body next to mine and pulled me into his arms. I love you.
I love you too. Those words from him would never get old. It'd taken us a while to get to this point, but now it was forever.
The front door opened and then shut, bringing us back to the present. The clock read eleven at night. "What's Evan going out so late for? The restaurant is closed, so why is he leaving?"
"I bet he's going to look for the captive." Liam stiffened. "Come on, let's go. He can't do it alone. He'll get caught."
I jumped to my feet, feeling jittery. We had to stop him before something went wrong.
Chapter Four
"Dammit, he's not answering his phone," Liam said as we exited the dorm room.
"We should be able to catch up with him." We were only a minute or two behind at most. We'd thrown our clothes on as we were rushing out the door. "Let's take the stairs. Maybe we can catch up with him that way." I turned and circled the room. "Wait, where are the stairs?" I'd never taken them since we always rode the elevator.
A grin spread across Liam's face as he turned and ran down the hallway toward the stairwell. "Let's hurry."
We took the last door on the left that I'd assumed was another dorm room and ran down the stairs.
When we got to the bottom, we rushed out into the main lobby as the front doors shut after Evan’s retreating back. His scent was fresh. These were some of the moments I was glad the elevators took a little while to run.
We rushed out the door after him.
"Hey," Liam called out, causing Evan to stop in his tracks.
He kept his back to us, and his shoulders deflated. "I was hoping you got the message when I didn't answer your call." He turned around to face us, wearing a frown on his face.
"You shouldn't go out there all by yourself." If something happened to him and we knew what he was doing, I wasn't sure if I could live with myself. "Why don't you let us tag along?"
"Because you always seem to get yourself into danger." Evan lifted a hand at me. "And if I'd asked Liam to come, you'd force us to include you."
"He does have a point." Liam jostled my shoulder.
"Doesn't matter. We are a team now." They needed to start thinking of us as friends, if not family, and not as potential competition. "I take it you're going to go check out a place."
"Yeah." Evan glanced at the moon. "It'll be better to do it now instead of during daylight hours."
"That's true, but the gates are closed." Liam motioned to the gate.
"I know, which is why it's the best time to go." Evan pointed to the woods. "I'm going to tap into my wolf and run. It's not too far away."
"Where is this place?" I didn't know the surrounding area, but the woods went on for miles.
"It's about ten miles from school." Evan waved us on. "Let’s go before someone sees us out here."
He gave in fast. He didn't put up as big of a fight as I expected. He was stubborn, so it surprised me.
Because he knew that he couldn't leave without us throwing a fit. Liam winked at me.
Evan took off once we reached the woods, and I tapped into my wolf just to keep up with him. I thought we'd follow the road, but he was taking us farther into the heart of the woods.
The moon rose above our heads, and the forest was quiet except for the owls that would hoot every now and then. It was nice to run in the forest even if I wasn't on all fours. Our animal side was meant to be in nature, and we didn't embrace it nearly as much as we should between school and everything else. So these fleeting moments were peaceful.
As a gravel road came into view, Evan slowed his pace, coming to a stop. He turned in our direction as we caught up to him.
"We need to stay in the woods and follow this gravel trail," he said as he pointed down the opposite way from where it connected with a main road. "It's a good location because it's in the middle of nowhere and near a paved road that isn't traveled on all the time."
"What the hell is this place?" Liam glanced around and frowned.
"It's a secret building that the council owns." Evan grimaced.
"If that is the case, then why the hell do I not know about it?" Liam's eyes glowed as his wolf surged forward.
"Because it's only used for things that the council doesn't want anyone finding out about." Evan gestured toward the tree line again. "We need to stay hidden, but since you tagged along, I wanted you both to see this place in case something happens to me."
"Nothing is going to happen to you." If he thought we were doing a recon mission tonight, he was about to learn otherwise. "We’re only here to scout it out and let the rebellion know."
"We'll see." Evan's voice was filled with determination. "I need her to know that we're on her side."
That was something strange to say. "Um... it's better if we make sure none of us dies. What do you think would happen if one of the heirs passed away? It wouldn't be good."
"She's right. We're only here to take a look and head back." Liam straightened his shoulders. "Otherwise, I'll take matters into my own hands, and you don't want that."
"Fine." Evan's jaw clenched. "That's why I wanted to come here alone."
"I still don't understand how you know about this, but I don't." Liam frowned. "Do the other two know?"
"I don't think so." Evan shook his head as we followed the road deeper into the woods. "One night, I had to help my dad deal with a problem." His gray eyes turned to silver. "Now, I realize what he meant by that."
"Did you know who it was?" I had a feeling I knew how Mr. Rafferty dealt with problems.
"Not a clue." Evan sighed. "But that's when we didn't know to ask questions and accepted our fathers at their word. The guy kept begging for forgiveness, said he was only trying to feed his family. I'd thought he was full of shit at the time. I mean, we take care of our own."
"Or so we thought," Liam said, and regret bled through our bond.
You can't beat yourself up for that. I hated that he had moments of regret for his decisions. You did the best you could with the knowledge at hand. If you were still making those same decisions now that you know, it'd be a different story.
I understood that a child doesn't want to think ill of their father. We all grow up following their actions and decisions since they were our biggest influence.
"We're getting close." Evan cleared his throat, clearly not wanting to have this conversation here. "Be quiet."
"Remember, we're only going to look and not take action." I wanted to repeat that to him since he seemed determined to prove his worth to this girl. It didn't make any sense.
"Fine." He walked fast through the woods, careful not to make a sound.
/> We followed suit again, wondering what the hell we were going to see.
It only took a few minutes before a building came into view. It was about the size of a small apartment, and as we approached, we spotted a large, sliding glass door that was open.
I blinked my eyes once again and couldn't believe what I saw. Tripp was tied up in a chair in the center of the room. His mouth was taped over, and his blond hair was askew with his large jade eyes open wide. He was petrified.
The room was empty except for a table sitting across from Tripp, butting up against a wall, and four chairs were scattered across the room.
"Oh, come on." Amber stood in front of him, her long, straight, blonde hair was tied into a low ponytail, and her amber eyes lit with excitement. She licked the bottom of her red lips as a sickening smile filled her face. "Did you really think I wanted to date you?"
He shook his head since he obviously couldn't respond.
"Oh, fine. I love to hear you all beg." She ripped the tape from his mouth, causing him to wince.
"Ow!" Tripp opened and closed his mouth. "That hurt."
"Did you seriously expect it to feel good?" Amber giggled.
"Well, no, but damn." He opened his mouth wide one more time and closed it.
"Was that necessary?" The voice of a man I didn't recognize sounded behind Amber. "He could try to scream." The man stepped out from the shadows, followed by two other men. All three were tall and wore dark clothing with huge guns at their disposal.
"Oh, shut it." Amber turned to look at the men. "You report to me right now anyway, or do I need to call Mr. Hale to prove a point."
"No, but if he starts screaming, I'm taping his mouth back up." The man growled as he stepped outside the sliding glass door to scan the area.
I had to save Tripp. I moved when both Liam and Evan grabbed my shoulders.
If we get any closer, they're going to smell us. Liam linked to my mind. I know he's your friend, but we have to do this smart or we'll just wind up making things worse.
He was right. We'd just given a similar lecture to Evan earlier, but that was before I knew who it was.
