Alpha Pack 7 - Chase the Darkness (21 page)

Aric agreed. “Me, too.”

“I should’ve protected them,” Blue said, clearly ashamed.

Jacee? Baby, where are you?
No answer.

Micah shook his head, rage building. “You couldn’t help what happened. But we’re going to get them back. Did you see which way he went? Did he say anything?”

“No. But I believe Jacee got some of my blood on her after I was shot, when she grabbed me. If she did, we can trace her that way. Or, rather, a Sorcerer can.”

From the other side of the car, Kalen nodded. “His blood is a Fae element we share, and I can track the source. If she’s got some on her, we’ll find her.”

“Then do your thing,” Micah said. “I’ve got a monster to kill.”

Mac and Noah tried to get Blue to go to the infirmary, but he refused, waving them off and climbing out of the car under his own steam. Kalen touched the blood on his brother’s shirt, spread it on his fingers, and closed his eyes. Then he began to chant a spell, his voice hypnotic. Micah had seen him work a few times, and it never failed to awe him.

A few moments later, the Sorcerer’s eyes opened. “Six miles from here, in the forest. I’ve got her pinpointed.”

Quickly, they loaded up in the SUVs. Aric refused to be left behind, and nobody blamed him. A couple of measly gunshot wounds were not enough to keep a wolf from his mate.

Blue took to the sky, following them that way. Micah knew the prince must have felt horrible. He never joined in on missions unless specifically called, claiming he was a lover, not a fighter—even though he was, ironically, probably the deadliest of them all.

It didn’t take long to find the road Kalen directed them to and, a few miles beyond that, the ramshackle cabin almost obscured by undergrowth. Careful to park a good distance away, they set off on foot. Not fucking around this time, Micah had already shifted into wolf form by the Escalade, as had several others. His wolf was stronger and faster. More lethal.

That would be what counted.

He was going to tear Parker Anderson into very small pieces. There wouldn’t even be enough left of him to feed the worms.

*   *   *

Jacee awoke to find herself bound with her hands behind her back, sitting in a corner of the main room of a filthy cabin. Thankfully, Rowan was right beside her, and a glance showed that her friend was pissed as hell at their captor. If her brown eyes could kill, the creature would have been dead.

But crazy people didn’t care. Parker was one of those special kinds of insane bastards who got off on seeing others suffer for the hell of it.

At the moment, he was smiling to himself, showing yellowed teeth, singing a song with garbled lyrics that made sense to nobody but him. He was sitting at a table, puttering with some objects on top of it, arranging. Rearranging. Picking one up, inspecting it. Putting it down and selecting another.

Jacee frowned until she realized what he was looking at—tools. Pliers, wrenches, hammers. A couple of small handsaws. Garage tools of all kinds. Suddenly she felt as though she’d been dropped into a terrible episode of
Criminal Minds
. And she wanted out. Now.

A glance at Rowan showed her friend had made the same realization, and some of her anger had bled to fear as well.

“Your mates won’t think you’re so pretty by the time they get you back—if they get you back.” Parker picked up a pair of pliers. “I think this one will do for a start! Who’s first?”

*   *   *

Micah crept through the foliage to a low window, careful not to disturb so much as one leaf or twig. His Pack was equally stealthy. They listened, hard. For any sound, any movement at all.

The plan was to get a bead on the monster. Wait until he was in a different room from the women and then strike.

But when Micah heard Jacee’s bloodcurdling scream, that plan went to hell.

Without a second thought, he backed up, got a running start at the window, and let his feet fly, digging into the turf. He hit full force, shattering the glass into a million shards, not even feeling the pain on his muzzle.

What he saw took the rage in his heart, blackened it, and boiled it over, like tar.

Parker was holding a pair of pliers, twisting a vulnerable piece of flesh at the curve of Jacee’s exposed breast. Torturing her, as so many of the women had been tortured under Bowman’s rule back then.

No. No more. This ends here, and now!

Parker’s face twisted in anger at the interruption, and he shifted into his monstrous form just as Micah launched himself across the cabin. Jacee scrambled out of harm’s way, and the battle was on.

The two of them collided, opposing forces with years of pent-up hatred consuming them. The huge, awful bird was a strong enemy. A deadly fighter. He countered Micah’s moves, blocked his attempts to go for the neck. They crashed around the small space, tearing up furniture, cracking the walls, breaking windows.

Micah rolled, getting in a good rip on the creature’s leg with his teeth, enjoying its screech of pain. Talons sank into his back, and he cried out and rolled again, dislodging them. The tide turned when his Pack joined the battle, distracting the monster.

They tore and bit at the creature. Came at him from every angle, and soon he was strictly on the defensive, unable to get in any more good blows. For all the creature’s strength and hate, he was missing two vital things—

Love and Pack.

Without those things, an enemy was doomed. Parker seemed to realize this and, too late, tried to double his efforts. It was in vain.

When the creature fended off a strike from Aric, Micah finally got his opening. He leapt onto the bird, taking it to the floor. Clamping his jaws around its neck, he ripped out the monster’s throat.

And he kept tearing, ripping at the body after its eyes went cold and dead to make sure. Really fucking sure it could never hurt him or his mate again ever. At last he became aware of a soft whine and a warm body nudging him.

My mate, come back to me. He’s dead, and he can’t hurt us anymore.

Whirling, his wolf found his beloved coyote standing there, gazing at him with love and understanding. She yipped at him in joy, and he realized it was over. They could start their lives together, follow their dreams, with no threats hanging over them. Only good things in their future.

For his mate, even more good things than she realized.

Yes, let’s go home.

They stayed in their shifted form, curled up together in the back of one of the SUVs all the way back to the compound. Everyone left them alone.

In fact, they didn’t surface for a solid two days, most of that time spent making love.

Micah’s cravings for myst were almost completely gone, and when the urge came, it was a mere echo now, thanks to the love and support of his mate. His life was good.

And that was just about as close to paradise as he’d ever been.

*   *   *

Defeat a bad guy, throw a party.

Jacee was beginning to sense that was a theme with the Pack, and that was fine by her. The mood outside was festive as some of the guys and girls played football. Sariel and Kalen argued, as usual, over who’d get to hold baby Kai, the doting uncle or the daddy, and of course Sariel won.

Kira had finally introduced Jacee to a little creature called Chup-Chup, who looked like an adorable gremlin but was prone to biting when scared of strangers, so Jacee made sure to hold out her hand so he could sniff her thoroughly, letting him decide she was a friend before scratching his ears. After that, and Jacee sneaking him a piece of hot dog, they were golden.

Some of Calla’s family attended, and Jacee had to admit to her mate that she was fascinated by the vampires. Especially the extremely sexy Prince Tarron Romanoff, who was single, but not for lack of several females vying for his attention.

Micah snorted, eyeing the vampire. “What’s he got that I don’t have?”

She rolled her eyes. First Sariel and now the vampire prince. “Nothing, sweetie. You’re my main man—you know that.”

“Your
only
man.”

“That’s right.” She made kissy faces at him, and he laughed.

Her mate lapsed into thoughtful silence, plucking at the grass. Why did Micah keep checking his phone? Finally, he said, “Can you wait right here? I’ve got something I have to do.”

“What?” she pouted. “Right now? We’re enjoying this nice day together.”

“Yes, we are. But I promise I’ll be right back. I have, um, sort of a surprise for you.”

She brightened. “Oh! Well, in that case, carry on. We like surprises. Especially if they’re chocolate.”

His brown eyes sparkled with happiness. “Oh, this is better than chocolate, I assure you.”

“If you say so.”

Sitting on their picnic blanket under the trees, she watched him disappear into the crowd. For a time, she simply let contentment wash over her. She’d lost so much in her life, but she’d gained this new family. These people, the Pack, were wonderful. In spite of the rough start and history with Jax, they’d accepted her. They’d saved her life, in more ways than one.

“Jacee?”

She thought, at first, that the woman’s voice was a figment of her imagination. That she’d conjured the ghost because of her thoughts, and somehow her sister was here to watch over her in spirit. But then she looked up.

And if she hadn’t been sitting, she would’ve fallen. Passed out.

Jacee couldn’t breathe. The young woman in front of her was a pale vision of beauty. Too thin, almost as if a strong wind would blow her away. But she was real, long chestnut hair blowing gently around her face, wearing jeans and a pink blouse.

Slowly, shaking, Jacee stood, hand going over her pounding heart. “Faith?”

The woman nodded, crystal eyes flooding with tears. She tried to smile, but her face crumpled. “I’ve missed you so.”

And then they were in each other’s arms, hugging and bawling, barely aware of the attention they were attracting. Jacee didn’t care. “This is a miracle. A miracle.”

“Yes.”

Jacee repeated it, over and over. Cried her heart out, for all the loneliness and pain they’d suffered apart. When they managed to pull themselves together, Jacee took her sister’s hand and urged her to sit on the blanket with her.

“I can’t stop looking at you,” she breathed, staring at Faith. “Where have you been?”

“Like I told Micah, the Hunters took me that night.”

“Wait. You told Micah?”

“Don’t be angry with him,” her sister urged. “That night he came in so badly hurt, he saw me in Sanctuary, where I’ve been staying. He was so out of it, and he thought I was you.”

“Oh, my God.”

“Yeah, I guess it was fate, because it led him to find me and bring us back together.”

“But that was days ago. Why didn’t he tell me? Or why didn’t you come see me?”

That hurt.

“Please, don’t be upset.” Faith gazed at her, earnest. “I asked him to give me a little more time. I’ve been through a lot, and I was afraid . . . you’d be ashamed of me.”

“Never, honey,” Jacee said firmly, wiping her sister’s face clean of tears. “Nothing that’s happened since the night we were torn from each other has been our fault. What happened when you were taken by the Hunters?”

“They told me you were dead, and then they used me. Forced me into service for them as a prostitute.”

“But you were just a kid!” Jacee was horrified.

“You see why I needed time? I was rescued by Prince Tarron’s men, brought here to heal. Then I learn you’re here, successful and mated to a handsome wolf who’s part of this really cool team, and I just felt like this broken, used-up
thing
.”

“Baby, you’re anything but. You’re beautiful and strong. And we’re going to help you heal, every step of the way.”

“We?” That one word was full of hope.

“Yes, we. Will you stay?”

“At the compound, yes. But I’ll ask Nick for my own room once I’m released from Sanctuary. I’m not going to intrude when you’re newly mated, and that’s final. And before you protest, I really don’t want to hear you guys going at it, so yeah. My own place.”

Jacee blushed. “Well, when you put it like that . . .”

“But I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere for the time being. That’s the important thing.”

“Yes, it is.” They hugged again, until a shadow loomed over them.

“Did I give you enough time to recover from my surprise?”

Jacee smiled up at her wonderful mate. “I don’t know if I’ll ever quite recover from this one, but you’re forgiven. Forever.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that.” He smiled at Faith. “How about we introduce you to some of our friends?”

She smiled shyly. “I’d like that.”

For someone who’d spent the last few years trapped in her own special brand of hell, Faith was very good with people, and they loved her right away.

Especially a certain vampire prince, who couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her.

Jacee filed that information away for another day.

She was so happy and couldn’t remember when she’d ever felt so blessed. After Faith had gone back to her room at Sanctuary, and the party died down, Jacee finally stole her mate away and showed him just how happy she was.

They made love long into night.

“Micah?” she murmured later. “When we build our house, can Faith live there if she wants?”

“Yes, sweetheart.” He kissed her lips. “She’s family. She can stay with us, if she wants, or wherever, as long as she wants. Don’t you know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make you happy?”

She did know.

And she planned to spend the rest of her life making her wolf smile, too.

Several weeks later . . .

*   *   *

Cold. So cold. Thirsty.

Starving.

Can’t make it.

Yes, you can. One more step.

Another. Keep going.

The wolf panted, so thin his bones rattled in his body. His fur was matted, dirty. Skin covered in sores, paw pads bloody. He’d traveled for so long, but now was in such bad shape, he moved purely on instinct. On will.

As if there was a homing device in his brain, he’d know when to stop.