Their Wild One

by Lacey Thorn

  The hunter thought he was in his element. The one in charge. He was about to find out differently. Derrick was already mostly healed, definitely strong enough to take on the two fuckers in front of him on his own.

  “In another minute, you’re going to hear gunfire while my boys take out yours. Then they’re going to spill into this room, and I’m going to let these two here give you a taste of your own medicine.” Mitch glanced toward Derrick.

  Derrick growled. “Maybe, we should test those saws out for you.”

  Jack literally pissed his pants.

  “Fuck,” Mason sneered, taking a step away from the younger man.

  Before anything else could be said, Mitch’s minute expired, and things unfolded quickly. Jack jumped as gunfire surrounded them. Mason’s gaze narrowed further.

  “You fucking bastard,” he sneered, and Derrick wasn’t sure if it was meant for him, Adrian, or Mitch. Probably all of them.

  “Temper, temper,” Mitch warned with a smile as both doors were pushed open. Two men stepped into each entrance, guns raised and pointed at Mason and Jack.

  “Everything clear?” Mitch asked.

  “Affirmative,” one of his men replied. “But we need to move quickly.”

  “Wait a minute,” Derrick said and stepped forward. Quick as a blur, he punched Mason with all his force in the stomach, enjoying the way the other man’s body lifted with the momentum and the explosion of air from his lips as his lungs emptied. He dropped to his knees, falling forward onto his hands as he fought to draw breath. Derrick didn’t care if he managed or not.

  “Holy god,” Jack squawked as Derrick turned on him, but Adrian beat him to it, slamming his fist into the other man’s face. There was no missing the crunch of bone as Jack’s nose broke and blood sprayed. He fell back on his ass and didn’t move.

  “One punch a piece,” Derrick said when Mitch sighed. “I’d say that’s generous.”

  Mason had managed to suck in some air, but Jack wasn’t moving. Derrick didn’t give a shit if they’d killed them both. It was no less than they deserved. Fuck, at least, they hadn’t sawed them in half.

  One of Mitch’s guys stepped forward and put his fingers against Jack’s throat. After a pause, he glanced up and shook his head.

  “We have time to finish this one?” Derrick asked, stepping forward.

  “Not this time,” Mitch interjected.

  “Got a group heading our way,” one of his men said. “We need to move, boss.”

  Mitch nodded.

  Derrick stepped forward and grabbed Mason’s hair, jerking his face up. He’d been ready to toss out a warning. Something along the lines of telling Mason to watch his back. That they’d be coming for him.

  Instead, a knife swung toward his face. The man must have had it hidden on him. Derrick easily diverted it and watched startled surprise replace hate as the blade entered the side of Mason’s throat and lodged there.

  “Let’s go,” Mitch snapped, and they all moved to follow two of his men out the doorway he’d been leading them toward originally. The other two men followed on their heels.

  As much as Derrick wanted to stay and lay waste to the rest of the hunters, he understood the necessity of getting the hell out of dodge. Plus, there was the driving need to see Jess and assure himself that she was safe. She was definitely a voice of reason even when she wasn’t at his side.

  He waited until they’d made their way out of the camp and to the vehicles Mitch and his group had hidden.

  “We need a phone,” Derrick said as soon as they were clear. “If Michael didn’t reach you, then we need to check in. It’s been too long. They’ll be going nuts with worry.”

  “Mostly, our mate,” Adrian added.

  “Yeah. I thought that was what you said. How is that even possible?” Mitch asked. “For the two of you to share a mate.”

  “The four of us,” Derrick replied. “She’s mated to all of us.”

  Several throats cleared, and Jonah spoke up then.

  “I thought that was against all that testosterone you guys have. No sharing mates and all that.”

  “Completely possessive,” Mitch added.

  Derrick shared a look with Adrian. “She fits each of us perfectly. There’s no jealousy. No conflict when it comes to loving her.”

  “She strengthens our bond,” Adrian continued.

  “She fits what you’re trying to build,” Mitch stated with a nod. “You’re all together now. Not just speaking of change and acceptance, but showing it by what you’re building for yourselves.”

  “Exactly,” Derrick agreed. “Phone?”

  “Here, use mine,” Jonah offered, holding his phone out to them.

  Derrick passed it to Adrian. “Call Michael. Let him know we’re okay.” He turned to Mitch. “Where are you guys headed now?”

  “We’ll give you a ride back to the cabin. You can take it from there.”

  “What about you?” Derrick asked while Adrian called.

  “We’ll be moving out.” Mitch shared a look with Jonah. “We got a call yesterday. If not for what was going on here, we’d have already left.”

  “Shifters?” Derrick questioned.

  “No, this one’s personal,” Mitch offered, shrugging one shoulder. Derrick knew Mitch’s tattoo from his time in the Army Rangers was located there. “There’s more than one type of hate in the world.”

  “You need us?” Derrick offered.

  “Sounds as if you’ve got your hands full,” Jonah offered with a chuckle.

  “We’ve got this one,” Mitch stated. “But I’ll let you know if that changes.”

  Derrick nodded then turned and caught the last of Adrian’s conversation with Michael.

  “He’s there? Good. That’s good. We’ll tell you all about it when we get there.” He glanced after Mitch then turned to Derrick as he disconnected. “Professor Mueller’s at the den with Jess.”

  “How’d that happen?” Derrick asked.

  “Michael said they’d fill us in when they saw us. They’re at the cabin. Seems a few of the Huntleys went back to make sure the fire was set. It’s out now, but there’s quite a bit of damage to the cabin. Good thing you got her stuff out when you did.”

  “Wait. So Jess and her dad are alone at the den?” Derrick asked. “Cody left the two of them there, with full access to his lab, unsupervised?”

  Adrian laughed. “Think he’ll regret it?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Derrick said. Either way, he was ready to head home. He and Adrian were both still healing. He glanced down, remembering they were still in only their underwear. Not exactly how he’d planned to meet Jess’ dad.

  “Have any clothes to spare?” Derrick asked the guys riding with them, who chuckled, throwing out ribald comments about them being mostly naked.

  Any remaining tension dissipated. Derrick was past ready to get home to Jess. He needed to feel her in his arms, to make love with her. One glance at Adrian and he knew his buddy felt the same way. They needed their mate and the reaffirmation she was unharmed in any way.

  “Time to head home,” Adrian murmured.

  “Yeah,” Derrick agreed. “Let’s go home.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jess was so angry she could barely focus on her father. She couldn’t believe he was with her. She’d cleaned up his head, made sure he didn’t need stitches, and was keeping an eye on him for a concussion. Anything to distract her from the fact Michael and Cody had left her alone while her back was turned. Oh, there’d be hell to pay for that. Especially with what she’d overheard about hunters.

  “I told you I’m fine,” her father stated, waving her away when she went to check his head again. “Now, when do we go after those men of yours?”

  “Men of mine?” She swallowed as she looked anywhere but at him.

  He laughed then brought his hand to his head as he cut if off.

  “Dad.”

  “I’m fine,” he said as he waved her away again. “And smart. I�
��ve listened to you talk about each one of them. I hear the love, Jess. For all of them.”

  “You’re okay with me having four men as my—”

  “There are some things a dad doesn’t need to know,” he interrupted. “As long as your happy and safe, that’s all that matters to me. But after today. Are you sure you’re going to be safe here? With them?”

  “I am. I will be. I’m sitting here right now with you, completely unscathed. I trust them, Dad. Besides with Dr. Driven’s involvement it’s easy to see this trouble followed me here. Not the other way around.” Which meant she’d brought trouble right to her men’s door.

  “They followed me here, Jess. Not you.”

  “It started with me,” she countered.

  “From what you said, it started long before you were in the picture. Driven was duped, and he knew it when they knocked me out.”

  She didn’t know if her former boss was alive or not. Part of her cared. He was stupid, but not necessarily a bad person, and she couldn’t shake the worry she’d brought him into all this, as well. After all, according to what her dad had shared, they’d been watching her for a while.

  “How were hunters watching me? I never knew. Never suspected a thing.” And it galled her to know she’d been so clueless. Never again, and not merely due to her increased senses. She had a newfound awareness of what was around her. She’d make sure her mates trained her on how to use her abilities to their fullest potential. Just as soon as they all came home to her. Safe.

  “From listening to some of the conversations around me, I know you showed up in several places where they were hunting. Apparently, you interfered once. Kept them from getting to a suspected shifter. They thought you were a watcher. These are all things I came across in my research with Abby. Hunters, watchers, shifters. There are journals. Thousands of them I’ve collected over the years. Seems they were more than just stories written for entertainment. I’m glad I followed my instinctive need to collect them.”

  “Thousands of them?” Jess questioned then shook her head. “Wait.” She thought back to the bound papers, journals, and notebooks he’d collected over the years. Many were from the trips they’d taken together. She’d read a few. “I’ve read some of them. I don’t remember anything like this.”

  “That’s because it was almost all in the ones about cats. You didn’t really look at those,” he offered.

  “I skimmed through a few,” she admitted, but no, she hadn’t read them cover to cover as she’d read the ones about her wolves. Though she’d been intrigued by the idea of feline shifters, cats had always been Abby’s dream. Never Jess’.

  “We should tell Abby,” her father began again, but she shook her head.

  “No. I won’t pull her into this when I have no destination to give her. She already believes feline shifters exist. Until I can offer her something more concrete, a direction or a name or anything along those lines, I have to keep silent. My wolves’ lives depend on it. If she finds it on her own, that’s another thing. I’ll gladly celebrate with her and do everything in my power to help her protect the ones she loves. Do you understand that? Can you appreciate what I’m saying and hold your tongue? For me? For my mates?”

  She knew how important Abby was to her father. The other woman was like a sister to Jess, which meant Jess would do everything in her power to protect Abby. She’d keep her eyes open and her lips shut until she had something to share.

  “Of course,” her father agreed. “Despite the journey that brought us here, we’re just entering their world. It makes sense to acclimate, to get our bearings, before bringing anyone else along for the ride. But I don’t think Abby will stay in the dark for long. And I believe if you’ve found your dream, then hers is just around the corner, as well.”

  “And we’ll be there for her, Dad. We’ll help her every step of the way,” Jess agreed.

  “We will. Both of our lives will change now.” His eyes twinkled with excitement. How could he be excited after what he’d just been through? Because of her?

  “God, your life, Dad. You’ll need to distance yourself…” She broke off as his gaze turned sharp with disapproval.

  “My life is with you. Always. No matter where that road leads us.”

  She’d known that. Had warned her mates of exactly that. She loved her father, knew he loved her, and still, hearing his words brought tears to her eyes.

  “If…” She stopped. “When they find out about me, my connection, they’ll use you. To strike at me and through me, them.”

  “Then we’ll come up with a plan. If or when it happens. We’ll have a plan in place, and do what needs to be done.” He was matter of fact, which was so like him. “For right now, I’m here with you. There’s work to be done. I’ll need to do some research. Find out what we’re dealing with. Huntley. I’ll find everything I can there. Look through the journals I have for any mention.”

  “I’ll help with that. I want to read them all. Whether they pertain to felines or wolves or whatever, they’re about shifters, and I need to know everything I can. Knowledge is power. The more we know, the more we can prepare for whatever is thrown at us.”

  “We will. Plus, I’ll want to take a look at Michael’s bloodwork while I’m here. Take some fresh samples. I have a few tests in mind. Actually, I’d like to look at some from all of them. Think you can talk them into it.”

  “Definitely,” she agreed. They’d do it to try and make amends for leaving her behind.

  Oh, god. What would she do if something happened to one of them? Michael had already been hit with a dart once. He might not be able to handle another dose of the same thing. What if one of the other’s was hit? What if they all were? Any earlier temper was gone, washed away by concern.

  “Where’s your phone, Dad? I’ve got a charger here. Michael took his, and Derrick and Adrian went today to pick up the one you shipped me.”

  “I don’t have mine on me. I don’t have anything on me. Everything was left at the cabin when I stumbled away. Maybe, your guys could teach me a thing or two, as well.”

  She grabbed him and clung tight at the reminder she could have lost him. He gave her a good, hard squeeze back.

  “What do you say we head toward the cabin?” he asked. “That Alisha said the hunters went to the sawmill. We’ll scout out the cabin. Make sure it’s all clear. Then if the coast is clear, we can grab my stuff and use the phone to contact one of your guys. I have all their numbers saved in my phone. Cody gave them to me.”

  “We’re locked in. I don’t know how the alarms and stuff work,” she admitted.

  “I do.” Her father tapped his head. “I watched when they brought me here. Piece of cake.”

  She wanted to, but she also understood the danger involved. More now than ever. Still, that phone would be a lifeline right now. She was cut off, with no way to reach them. She didn’t like it. Instead, she was left with a feeling of unease. Her worry was topped with a huge helping of fear. She needed to see them. All of them. To make sure they were okay.

  “We’ll be cautious. Smart,” she offered, making up her mind. “Any indication things aren’t okay, and we leave. Head straight back here. No questions, Dad.”

  “Agreed. Quick but careful. Any indication that things aren’t as they should be, and we’re back here. Locked up tight.”

  She nodded and went about getting ready to leave. She’d had a gun in her pack from when they’d first brought her here, and the guys had left it there. She grabbed the bag, rummaged through and made sure she had anything they might need. Gun, fully loaded. Check. Knife with ankle sheath. Check. She’d wear that one. Multipurpose tool for her front pocket. Check. Those were all the weapons she had. Other than at the firing range, she’d never shot the gun. Never used the knife. Her multipurpose? It had the wear and tear to show she’d used it often.

  “Ready to go?” her father asked from the doorway.

  She held the gun out to him. “Take this. In case.”

  He p
ointed to his head. “The last time I did that, I got it taken away from me. I’ll leave the weapons to others and rely on my wits from now on. It’s never let me down or been used against me.”

  At the reminder of his head wound, she paused. “Are you sure you’re up to this? We can wait it out here.”

  “And watch you pace the floors with worry when it could all be relieved by one simple phone call? I’m okay, honey. I promise. Us Muellers are made of sterner stuff than that.”

  “And you’re sure you know how to get us there?” Still, she’d hiked the woods around the cabin enough she figured she’d be able to get her bearings pretty quickly once they were outdoors.

  “Piece of cake. I made note of my surroundings in case I needed to head back. I’ll get us there. We’ll grab the phone. Call your mates. Then come back here to wait for them.”

  She waffled a moment longer then took his hand and let him lead them out of the den, up into the inside of a rock pile. It was clever. The hidden entrance. Easy to overlook when you had no idea what to look for. It merged seamlessly with its surroundings.

  Slow and easy, they ventured forward, creeping from the hidden interior and stepping into the shade of the towering trees around them. Her father immediately took the lead. She opened her senses, trying not to be overwhelmed by all she heard. She’d have to learn how to filter through and focus on what she was looking for. Her vision was better also. As was her sense of smell. Altogether the increase was overwhelming, causing more confusion than giving any type of aid. But having opened them up, she wasn’t sure how to shut them down. Nor did she know how to pull them back. It was like moving through a thick molasses of sound and smell. Overstimulating to the extreme.

  She followed her father, watching his back, watching in front of him, trying to stay attuned for any signs they weren’t alone. It wasn’t as easy as it had seemed in theory. The farther they moved from the den, the more she thought about going back. Yet, in the same vein, the farther they got away, the closer their goal became. Still, she found herself putting one foot in front of the other, moving forward. If the phone became her holy grail, then that was that.