Storm (Rise of the Pride, Book 12)

by Theresa Hissong

  “Fuck,” she groaned and covered her face for a second.

  “Please don’t be mad at me,” she begged. “I’m worried about him, and I thought maybe I could find a clue as to where he went.”

  “I’m not angry with you, but I have to ask…is he your mate?” Calla was very careful with her words, and Sofia understood.

  “It sure looks that way, doesn’t it?”

  “It kind of does, Sofia,” Calla shrugged, her short, blonde hair bouncing a little as she righted her shoulders.

  “He’s not,” Sofia replied. “I mean, I don’t think he is. We’ve never touched, and I don’t have the desire to do so anytime soon. He’s just my friend.”

  “Thank you for being a friend to my brother,” Calla sighed and motioned for Sofia to follow her to the kitchen. Once they were seated, the female took her hands. “Look, I know my brother is a pain in the ass. He’s been like that since we were rescued. I know you don’t remember it, because you were very young.”

  “I remember when you arrived, but our parents didn’t tell me everything,” she replied and flipped her hand over to squeeze Calla’s. “It’s just…well, Malaki and I get along so well. He’s good to me. He treats me with respect, and he takes his job of being at the clinic with me very seriously.”

  “He’s a good male,” Calla agreed. “He just needs some time alone for now.”

  “So, you don’t know when he’s coming home?”

  “No,” she said sadly. “I don’t, and I have to let him go. Mal has to find his own way back to us. There’s nothing I can say or do to help him with this.”

  “What do we do now, Calla?” Sofia was spent. She was worried about it, but his sister gave her a sad look and lowered her eyes.

  “We just have to let him go, Sofia.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The lights around the warehouse were dim at the corners of the lot; only the brightest ones lit the entrances. Storm knew they were going to create a distraction so the first team could get in with the Protectors to search for females, but his only task was finding Murdock.

  He and Savage were in charge of locating the alpha and getting him out of there before he could order his rogues to attack. It would be tricky, but they had a solid plan. Talon had dismissed a visit from the FBI and the agent working to find Murdock, using the excuse of a traditional shifter holiday to keep them away. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust Tabor. He was on their side, but the humans frowned upon their ways of dealing with the Gadaí.

  Shifter law was in full force. They wouldn’t go by the human’s laws of justice anymore. When Murdock, the wolf alpha, was found, he would be brought to Talon. Talon would be the judge, jury, and executioner from that moment on.

  From Amaya’s observation, there were only ten or so rogues left, but that number could’ve changed since they’d found her. There could be twice as many.

  “You straight?” Savage rumbled as he approached. The most vicious of the Guardians was calm, and that scared Storm more than it eased him. A laidback Savage was dangerous.

  “I’m ready for this to be over,” he admitted, rubbing his arms where his panther was bubbling under his human skin. “I want Murdock’s head.”

  “You’ll get it,” Savage promised. “Talon wants him alive.”

  “Unfortunately,” Storm growled. His beast could already taste the wolf’s blood, and he wanted it…he wanted to bathe in it.

  Although his brothers and sisters were silent as they approached, Storm felt them as they came to a stop. Winter Blue came to his side while his brother, Lucky, and Ranger flanked them in panther form.

  “Everyone needs to partially shift,” Winter whispered just enough for the group of them to hear. “Talon is there, waiting on us for communication. You all know your tasks for tonight. Vans are waiting.”

  Kraven and Axel were in charge of getting the rogues to the airport, and Diesel was in a third vehicle to transport anyone who might be in the middle of their transformation. Storm patted his pockets, feeling the five syringes filled with sedative the healer and Landon had prepared for everyone. They had enough. At least, he prayed they did.

  A white flash off in the distance alerted them to the sheriff’s arrival. He appeared behind the others, giving a nod. He was ready, as well. And just like he promised, the angel wasn’t there as a deputy of the human’s law. He was there to fight.

  “Be in and out in fifteen minutes,” Winter reminded them. “Get into your assigned positions, and watch your backs.”

  The group broke into threes. The first group would make a distraction at the front of the building, and the other two groups would go in the back and side doors. Thankfully, Amaya had been aware of the times they would come and go from the warehouse. It was an hour after they were to return, and the five vehicles in the lot assured Storm all of the rogues were accounted for.

  The witching hour was upon them as he heard the glass shatter at the front. Murdock’s men must’ve seen them coming, because the sounds of fighting started immediately. The cameras above the side door Storm was waiting to ambush blinked green. They were recording, but his hope was the rogues were too busy with the team up front to notice them rush the door.

  Savage produced a crowbar and used his strength to pry the door open in a matter of seconds. Lucky and Ranger, in their panther forms, surged ahead, using their extra senses to look for danger. His brother’s panther jerked his head, indicating it was okay to proceed.

  The side door entered into a massive room filled with cages; much like they’d found with the Community of religious freaks who’d tried to capture shifters to study. But this was different. Inside the cages, shifters in their human forms cowered in corners, hiding their naked bodies. The panthers snarled, gaining their attention. When one of them recognized who they were, she began to cry out, “Please! Save us!”

  Savage sprinted to the rear door by the loading dock and pushed it open for the remaining Guardians and Protectors to enter. Immediately, Hope, Evie, and Jade ran toward the cages with females, breaking their locks with bolt cutters.

  Storm scented the air and when he caught Murdock’s scent, he followed it to an unmarked door. Savage and the two panthers followed him as he pulled the door open wide. The corridor that met him had three doors on either side. He’d break down every single one of them until he found the Gadaí alpha.

  The first two were empty. The next two were sleeping rooms for his males. The last two scented highly of Murdock, and it was obvious one was his quarters, while the other one was the dark room Amaya had told him about. There were no windows, and Storm was praying the male was inside.

  Savage took the room to the left, and Storm prepared to kick in the last one. The panthers were poised and ready to attack. On a whispered count to three, both males used their boot to splinter the door at the threshold.

  Savage barked an “all clear” the second Storm saw the male they’d been hunting, preparing to feed his blood to a male rogue.

  “Stand down, Murdock,” Storm ordered. “You are being charged with crimes against the species.”

  The agent and wolf alpha, snarled, his face changing…shifting. “Fuck you, Storm. The plan has been set in place. You won’t ever get ahead of it. My people will always be waiting in the wings. There are other alphas out there, doing my bidding.”

  “Back away from the human,” Storm replied, knowing he needed to get the innocent male away from Murdock, but he didn’t have a chance. The human male struggled; his eyes wild with fear.

  Murdock narrowed his hazy yellow eyes and tucked his chin. Multiple low growls sounded from the darkness of the room. One by one, wolves moved out of the shadows, closing in around their leader. The sound of bullets chambering into six weapons echoed through the room as the males charged.

  Savage and Booth’s only task was to get Murdock. The room erupted, but Storm’s focus was on the alpha. He backed into the darkness, trying to hide. They already knew there was no other exit from their rese
arch the night before. Murdock was cornered.

  The wolves separated, raising their guns, but Winter was faster, taking one of them down. The shifted males attacked, knowing the wolf’s weapons wouldn’t do too much damage to them as long as they didn’t get shot in the head or heart.

  That didn’t stop them from trying. One shot rang off into the darkness, only the flash of the bullet leaving the chamber brightening the room. Yelps and growls, followed by the sound of fists meeting flesh, indicated the panthers had found their chosen opponents.

  Storm whipped past the human male, using his extended claws to rip at the black hanging curtains. Murdock had backed himself into the corner, cowering when he and Savage approached.

  The older male charged, his face shifting. He was calling out to his males, but it didn’t matter to Storm. He’d take them all on if it meant vengeance for his mate.

  Savage used the heels of his palms to shove Murdock back. Storm reached for the syringe and collar, waiting for his partner to subdue the alpha.

  But as Murdock fell, time seemed to slow. Savage barked out a warning when the alpha reached inside his coat jacket. Storm tried to drop to his knees to slide across the floor, hoping he was low enough to be out of range of the gun suddenly pointed right at him.

  He didn’t make it.

  His ears rang as a pain bloomed in the center of his chest. Growls and more gunshots sounded, but he couldn’t make out anything. Was he looking at the ceiling, blackened by the sheets they’d hung to make the room more menacing? Or was his vision gone?

  “Amaya,” he gasped. His only thought was of his mate, and she was his mate, regardless if they’d touched.

  Blood filled his lungs.

  Breathing was harder.

  Sounds were fading.

  A brightness flashed before his eyes, or maybe it was in his mind. Whatever it was, he didn’t care, because the few seconds before he fell asleep, he saw her…his mate…the woman he knew he already loved.

  Amaya.

  Amaya couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned, even though she felt like she belonged in Storm’s bed. It didn’t matter that his sheets scented of him. With the wolf alpha still out there and the Guardian’s plan to get into the warehouse, she was worried.

  And scared.

  She felt the pull of the coming full moon three nights away, and she would have to shift. Storm hadn’t told her what she already knew during all of his Shifter 101 teaching lessons. At least, the wolves who held her captive had given her that bit of information.

  A glance at the clock said it was after three in the morning. She had Luna’s number, but didn’t want to wake her in the middle of the night. She’d save that for the morning when she could ask the only other wolf if she would shift and run with her.

  Amaya’s thoughts went back to the female she’d turned. Emery was surely already in Colorado, starting her new life. The female was angry and had every right to be. Amaya didn’t know if the wolves, or panthers for that matter, believed in God, or if they had their own deities, but she said a prayer to her human one, asking that Emery be given guidance in her new future.

  Her eyes closed softly, sleep finally coming. There was a point where she didn’t know if she’d fallen asleep or had just put herself into a twilight type of nap before she heard the front door to the cabin open.

  Tossing the sheets aside, Amaya hurried to the front room, gasping when several Guardians entered. “Where’s Storm?” Thankfully, she’d slept in the only sweatpants and cotton shirt she owned.

  She didn’t remember all of their names, but she did recognize the alpha’s second-in-command, Winter, at the front. A fear pierced through her heart when his eyes softened. “Where is he? What’s wrong?”

  “Amaya, please, dress warm and come to the healer’s home with us,” he said in a rush, but her ears were ringing too loud to really understand what he was saying. “Storm is in surgery. There was an incident tonight.”

  Her legs wobbled, and she caught herself on the back of the couch. A commotion at the door had every head turning. Tears fell from her eyes when the female Protector, Hope, barged in, making the males separate and jump back enough to give her room.

  She was covered in blood, but still grabbed Amaya, hugging her with all of her strength. “Males, leave. I will bring her.”

  The Guardians mumbled their apologies and disappeared as Hope leaned back just enough to take Amaya’s face in her hands. “Amaya, I need you to be strong…stronger than you’ve ever been before. Storm was shot tonight. It’s very close to his heart. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but we…the pride are going to be there for you.”

  “Oh God,” she cried, almost crumbling to the floor. Hope held her up, then grabbed a jacket off the peg behind the door.

  “Come on, girl,” Hope urged. “You need to be there for him. We need to go.”

  Amaya shivered as the cold blast of wind hit her in the face. The healer’s home was across the gravel road and down a few houses from Storm’s, and she had no problem seeing the entire pride gathering on the lawn.

  Her worry turned into fear, and that fear made her break away from Hope and run toward the house. When she arrived, everyone parted so she could get through. The alpha met her at the door.

  “Any word?” she panted.

  “Not yet,” Talon replied. The leader was concentrating, his eyes losing focus. Amaya started to ask him what the hell was happening, but Liberty was there to pull her away.

  “Talon is sending his magical mojo to Storm to help him heal,” she explained, pulling Amaya down on a couch. A pair of socks were pushed into her hands, and she looked up at Evie who was also covered in blood.

  “Put those on so your feet don’t get cold.” Evie nodded toward her feet, and Amaya realized she had run without shoes on. She hadn’t even noticed. Jade hurried over with a sweatshirt, thrusting it into her hands. She was shaking too hard to put it on, but the females helped her.

  “Tell me exactly what happened,” she stated, trying to remember to stay calm. A million and one scenarios played through her head, but she had a feeling none of them would prepare her for what had happened.

  “Storm was shot in the chest,” Evie announced, grabbing for the tops of Amaya’s arms as she tried to bolt from the couch. “He’s in surgery, and we don’t know the extent of the damage. Harold and Landon are working to get his body repaired enough to shift and heal.”

  “Is the wound life threatening?” When no one answered, she yelled so she was heard, “Is the wound life threatening!”

  “We don’t know yet,” Evie whispered as she wiped at her eyes. “You have to trust in the healer. He knows what he’s doing.”

  Amaya couldn’t do anything other than nod. The other Guardians were standing as far away from her and the other females as they could given the tight quarters of the healer’s living room. There had to be fifteen males standing guard.

  “Did they…did they catch him?” Amaya finally spoke, even though her voice cracked.

  “They did,” Hope replied, coming over to sit cross-legged on the floor at Amaya’s feet. “He’s being held until Talon can deliver his punishment.”

  “Good,” she sighed, feeling a second of relief, but it was short lived when Landon exited the room where they were working on Storm. His eyes fell on her, and Amaya shot up from her seat, crossing the floor with a speed she didn’t realize her human side possessed. Landon held up his hands, halting her before she plowed right into him. “Come to the office so we can talk.”

  Amaya followed him, wishing he’d move at a faster pace. She loved her friend, but he was always so calm about everything. “Take a seat.”

  “Tell me what the fuck is going on, Landon,” she snarled. The wolf inside her was growling loudly. She had to push at it to get the animal to quiet so she could hear what he had to say.

  “First of all, he’s stable,” Landon began, ripping off the surgical mask he’d pulled below his chin on the way out of the small ope
rating room in the clinic.

  “Thank God,” she said as tears filled her vision.

  “He was shot really close to his heart, but we were able to repair the damage,” Landon continued. “He’s going to need to shift for a long time, Amaya.”

  “Okay, that’s fine. That’s doable,” she agreed, remembering her own time spent going between forms to hurry the healing.

  “That’s the problem.” Landon paused and gave her a sad look. “He’s going to have to be forced to shift for a few hours.”

  “Forced?” she asked, frowning when he rubbed his forehead. What the hell did it mean to be forced?

  “Until he and his panther can do it on their own, Talon will have to use his powers to make him shift, and it’s going to be painful for the first few hours.”

  “I’ll stay with him,” she promised, standing. “Where is he now? Can we start his shifting?”

  “Sit down, Amaya,” he sighed. “I need to inform you of what’s going to happen. There are still things you haven’t learned about being a shifter. Fuck, it took me a while to understand everything myself.”

  “What are you talking about?” Amaya was starting to get agitated with Landon, and she felt her canines thickening in her mouth. The wolf was angry, too.

  “Have you two touched yet? Are you mates?”

  “No, not yet,” she answered. What the hell was going on?

  “Mates have a hard time seeing their significant others in pain,” he cursed. “It can make you go feral, and we can’t have that while we are taking care of the injured mate.”

  “You think I’m going to go feral?” she balked.

  “We don’t know,” he admitted. “You and Storm are close, and assuming you are destined mates, we can’t be sure how you will react. Harold agrees with me in allowing you to be there, but I have to warn you, if you show signs of going feral, we will sedate you.”

  “Excuse me?” she gasped, narrowing her eyes. “I will not go feral, Landon. I’ve already been through that once when I was being forced against my will. I assure you, this time, I won’t. My only focus is making sure Storm survives this.”