An Everlasting Bite (9 page)

She wasn’t doing this because she felt she had the right to. Their looks unsettled her.

Danika’s eyes darkened and snapped Rynn back to the present. “She didn’t have a choice. That was our decision. It was done for us and we are happy. She knew it was best for her.”

Arranged marriage—real nice!

Valor sighed again, it was becoming a typical sound from him. Classic Valor really, he either rubbed his hand over his face or sighed. Rynn suddenly realized that Briggs was right. Valor did look tired. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that, a little selfish for keeping Briggs from his duties, but also worry for Valor. The concern a person feels when someone close to them is working too hard. She had the urge to tell him to go home and rest, but this was not the time, nor the situation to suggest such a thing.

After another of his disgruntled sounds, he turned to Hendrix. “Have you found an appropriate suitor?”

Hendrix shrugged. “We had a few in mind.”

“Did she know of them?” Valor asked.

“No,” Danika answered, sharp and curt. “They weren’t going to be unveiled until she was twenty-one.”

“Are you sure she was happy about this decision you made for her?” Briggs asked, his tone held a hint of disgust.

“Of course,” Danika responded without hesitation. “Kali is a respectful wolf. She knew we would always want what is best for her. She understood that doing it this way would mean she would be with a wolf of power, strength and wealth. Lord knows whom she would have been mated to if we hadn’t intervened. He could have been a commoner.”

Rynn met Briggs’ gaze. They were both thinking the same thing. These people were horrible. Even Echo looked a bit put off by her words and gave Danika an
are you for
real
look.

“Besides, once she was bonded by the moon, her destined mate wouldn’t be known to her anyway. Even if she had met him, she’d feel nothing, nor would he.” Danika informed them.

Like that made it any better? Goodness!

“This doesn’t matter.” Hendrix waved his hand to dismiss the conversation. “It makes no sense that she has run off. Furthermore, why would someone be hunting us down? Kali would never agree to that.”

“That is true,” Valor commented with a little nod. “Quite vicious of her to be involved in something such as this, and from the times I have met her, she was too kind to order such an event to take place.”

“So what now?” Hendrix asked, impatient.

“Let’s keep on here,” Valor answered him. “Finding your daughter is still our priority.”

Hendrix and Danika both softened, seemingly relieved the search for their daughter would continue.

On one hand, Rynn could see the girl running away from these control freaks. On the other, why would she be trying to off them all? Just didn’t add up.

As her Pops always told her,
‘when something doesn’t make sense, it’s because
there’s more to it’
.

Rynn wasn’t so sure she wanted to find out what was going on. Not that it was all intriguing. Heck, everyone dreams of a good mystery to get the adrenaline pumping. Now faced with it, she’d rather be sitting in front of the television watching it on the big screen.

“Bo, take Mateo home to his mate. She will want to bury him.” Sayer interrupted the silence and looked to the other pack member who was with him.

Bo nodded and made his way back to where Mateo’s body lay.

“What would you like us to do about these?” Dante asked Valor, as he nodded toward the dead wolves on the ground.

“Leave them. The sheriffs will have animal control remove them.”

In the calm after the storm, Rynn began to process what truly happened. This was the first time she’s seen anything dead—it came as a bit of shock mingled with a lot of yuckiness.

“Not to worry, love,” Briggs’ voice said next to her ear. “We’ll find her.”

He misread her tension. “No it’s not that.” She took a deep breath before she looked up at him. “It’s just they’re dead.”

“Indeed—very dead.”

“Did you kill any of them?” she whispered.

He brushed his fingers across her cheek. “It will take some time for you to understand the way of the wolves. This is quite normal for a situation like this. These wolves put as all in danger. It is not to be treated lightly.”

Was that supposed to settle her? It didn’t. “So you kill a lot?”

Briggs gave a gentle grin. “Only when necessary.”

Briggs kept Rynn’s hand tight in his as he followed Valor up the pathway to a house in a quiet neighborhood. Located on
Oakland Lane
, it was a community for the middle class, and a thirty-minute car ride from Minnesota Lake—on foot, it took well over an hour. Dante was off to arrange accommodations for the group, and the others had split up, each taking a scent to investigate.

So far, none of their leads had panned out. One path led to a young woman who had taken her dog to the lake for a swim. Sayer and Echo’s lead brought them to an elderly couple. Hendrix and Danika had yet to make contact. Briggs could only assume they’d found nothing that looked suspicious or would give any aid in locating Kali’s whereabouts.

Briggs stood before an average little bungalow. Teal colored wood paneling made up the exterior with dark green shutters on the two front windows. In fair condition, neatly trimmed grass, tailored gardens, he suspected this home didn’t hold the abductor they were looking for.

“What are we going to do?” Rynn’s tone was full of skepticism. “Just go up and knock on the door?”

“That’s the plan.” Briggs winked, gave a little pull of his hand so she’d follow in behind him. Even still, he could hear her feet dragging against the pavement. A smile rose on his face, but he didn’t dare look back. No need to get her all fired up. Although, he’d be sure to do it later. Rynn was usually so quiet, very timid, but her reaction to him about the money showed a completely new side to her. As much as it shouldn’t amuse him to see her livid, it did just that. A little fire behind her eyes appealed to him, in more ways than one.

At the door, Valor put his hand on Rynn’s shoulder. “Just stay behind us and you will do fine.”

Briggs felt her apprehension through their bond, and understood it, but this needed to be done. If he thought this dangerous, she wouldn’t have joined them. He doubted any of these trails would lead them directly to the abductor. For selfish reasons, he just couldn’t leave her behind. He needed her close.

Valor opened the outer glass door, and knocked hard a few times. A second passed before footsteps came barreling toward the door. It didn’t sound like a grown wolf—the steps quick and light. When the door opened, it was apparent why.

A teenage punk rocker kid stood before them. Bright blue Mohawk, dark eyeliner surrounding his eyes, even had the red lips too. Briggs eyed him with disgust, as did Valor. What the hell kind of look was this?

Rynn let out a laugh—he was sure at their reaction—but he was too busy looking at this kid’s hair to respond to her. How did it stay up like that?

The kid glanced at them all, his gaze widened when he recognized Valor. “Valor

…ah…oh…hello.”

Valor smiled. “Are your parents home, son?”

The kid shook his head. “Nah, they’re at work.” He opened the door further. “Wanna come in?”

Valor nodded and stepped into the house. Briggs followed and gave Rynn a little tug.

When he felt her resistance, he looked back at her, surprised to find her smiling.

“I take it wolves don’t rock it out,” she said.

“No,” he said, tone firm. He’d never seen wolves dress this way, and had to wonder what he would do if his child ever came home looking like this. He suspected it’d be a conversation that wouldn’t end well.

Briggs closed the front door behind Rynn, then turned back around. A leather couch sat against the far wall in the room with a couple of wood end tables, a television rested in the corner with a lazy boy chair angled toward it The kid sat down in the lazy boy, which creaked loudly. “Are you here to see Mom and Dad?”

Valor sat on the couch, Briggs and Rynn followed. “What is your name, son?”

“Toby,” he answered, grabbed a handful of mixed nuts out of a bowl and tossed them into his mouth.

“No, Toby we are not here to see your parents, we are here to see you,” Valor said.

“We have some questions for you and I expect you to answer honestly. Understand?”

Toby’s face shifted to nervous. “Okay,” he said slowly, dropped the rest of the nuts he had in his hand back into the bowl.

“Were you at Medicine Lake recently?” Valor asked.

Toby nodded. “Yeah, just the other night.”

Briggs nearly laughed, but held it in. Toby’s expression tightened, probably tried to think back on what he had done, to remember what he was about to get in trouble for.

“Why were you there?” Valor asked.

“A bunch of my buds and I were having a bush party.”

“A bush party?” Valor glanced at Briggs for clarification, but he had never heard of the term either. He shrugged.

“Yeah, you know, a bonfire, alcohol…” Toby explained. He hesitated and fear filled his gaze. “This is because I was drinking isn’t it? Listen, I won’t do it again—promise.”

Briggs let out his chuckle, unable to withhold it any longer. “You honestly believe Valor would come to your home to punish you for underage drinking?”

“Punish me?” The kid looked completely frightened now.

“No one is going hurt you, Toby,” Rynn said. Briggs sent his harsh unhappiness through their bond. Having Toby fearful wasn’t a bad thing, it kept him honest. She visibly shuddered, her breath gasped out. Quickly, she glanced at Briggs.

“There’s no point scaring him if he is being honest.” Her gaze fell back on Toby.

“Besides, he knows he’ll be a dead pup if he lies.”

Toby gulped.

Briggs winked at her. His little mate’s quick mouth pleased him. It surprised him how fast she understood his emotions through the bond. Being a new wolf, he hadn’t expected that from her and was thrilled their connection had deepened so soon.

“Your drinking doesn’t concern me,” Valor told Toby. “How many were there with you that night?”

Toby raised his fingers, one by one, as he reconciled the names in his mind. “Six of us, I think.”

Briggs exchanged a frustrated look with Valor. This might not be the lead they all hoped for. The numbers dwindled down.

Since Hendrix hadn’t been in contact, they suspected he was at a dead end too.

Which meant, unless one of these teenagers had abducted her they had nothing to go on.

“Was a young girl with you?” Valor asked. “About twenty—pretty, not from this area?”

Toby nodded. “Yeah, there was this new girl. Hmmm…what was her name?” He tapped his lip. “Kallin, Kay…”

“Kali?”

“Yup, that’s it, Kali,” Toby replied, reached over to grab more nuts from the bowl.

“She was there with a friend of mine, Orion.”

A little hope sprang to life. Maybe this was going to lead them in the right direction.

Briggs tore his gaze from the nuts in Toby’s hands to meet his gaze. “How does Orion know her?”

Toby shrugged. “Never said.”

Briggs pondered that, as much as he hoped this would bring them right to Kali, he doubted it would. These kids were too young to plan an abduction of the daughter of an Alpha. Needless to say, they didn’t posses the strength needed to subdue her. They needed to talk with Orion. “Where can we find him?”

“At home,” Toby answered with slight hesitation. “He lives across town.” He was worried—for his friend, Kali and himself—all three probably held an equal importance in his mind.

Valor took his phone from the front pocket of his plaid dress shirt, typed quickly then looked back at Toby. “Will he be there now?”

“Is Orion in some kind of trouble?” Toby asked.

“It is not him we are looking for. It is the girl, Kali.” He gave Toby a look that demanded honesty. “Did she seem frightened when you saw her?”

“Frightened,” Toby laughed. “No. She and Orion were tight that night.” He crossed his fingers to prove his point.

“All right.” Valor stood from the couch. “What’s his address?”

“Don’t know the house number, but it’s on Twenty-Sixth Avenue. You can’t miss it.

It’s the house on the corner, big and white.”

Valor nodded. “I’ll ask you, Toby, not to inform him that we are coming. Do not speak of this visit to anyone. Am I understood?”

Toby pretended to zip his lip and threw away the key. “Locked in the vault.”

Valor picked Toby up so he was standing in front of him. “Why are you dressed like this?”

Rynn laughed softly.

“Cause its cool,” Toby responded.

Valor touched his spikes. “How does this hold up like that?”

Apparently, Briggs wasn’t the only one who couldn’t wrap his head about Toby’s hair. Valor asked the question he’d be wondering.

“Hairspray.” Toby beamed. “Lots of it.”

“The ozone is failing because of this one’s hair,” Briggs grumbled.

Toby scowled at him. “I use ozone free products…”

“Keep in mind young Toby, we have an example to set,” Valor cut him off. “Dress as you like but lead accordingly. Underage drinking and silly behavior as this will only lead to the wrong path in life.”

Toby responded as any typical teenager would. “Yeah, yeah.” He waved his hand as to dismiss him.

Briggs nearly laughed. He wasn’t talking to his parents—this was Valor.

As he suspected, Valor leaned in very close to Toby’s face, gave him the look that would send an Alpha to run away with his tail between his legs. “If I hear of any trouble with you, you will answer to me directly. Do I make myself clear?”

Toby gulped deeply and gave a shaky nod. “Very clear, sir.”

Valor spun on his heels without another word and made his way to the door. Briggs smiled at Rynn as she said goodbye to Toby and followed her out. When they exited the house, Dante waited in a big black SUV that sat parked in the driveway.

Rynn chuckled. “I’m beginning to feel like I’m living in an episode of CSI.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Just call me Agent Calleigh Duquesne.”

Briggs winked, opened the door and Rynn scooted into the backseat. He followed in behind next to her. He looked toward Valor who sat in the passenger seat. His mind swirled with the current situation. “An odd thing—how would Kali meet Orion? It seems unlikely that she has started a relationship with someone outside of her pack. Considering the restraint her parents have on her, how would they have met?”

“Very unusual.” Valor agreed.

“A kid has her?” Dante asked, his eyes looked at Briggs in the rearview mirror.

“It appears so. She has been seen with him.”

Rynn clipped her seatbelt, then added, “Not only that, but could teenagers really have hired hit men?”

Briggs nodded, rested his hand on her thigh. He was very proud of her. She might make jokes about her involvement here, but clearly, she was taking more of an interest then she thought she was. Her assumption was dead on. “Quite unlikely.”

He ran his hand along her thigh, felt her muscles tense and shudder. She looked at him, desire in her eyes. He enjoyed knowing that with just a simple touch, her scent of arousal flew so rich through the air.

Her desire titillated his senses, very delicious. His groin throbbed in anticipation. The reaction so new to her, made it stronger and full of heat. He knew why she was affected so deeply, he just wanted her to ask. Letting her discover her senses first was ideal, then he would provide her with any explanations she needed.

Rynn opened her mouth, breathed through the intensity. He suspected, she did it because if she caught his equal scent of arousal while she was feeling so heated, she didn’t hold the ability to control herself. A thought that only added strength to his erection.

Briggs gave her thigh a squeeze, delivered the message that soon he would enjoy her.

Their desire kicked up a notch as their gazes stayed locked within the fervor of arousal.

Through the whole ride, they stared, smoldered, fantasized.

When the car came to a quick halt, Rynn gasped and Briggs chuckled. He turned and glanced out the window. Valor exited the car with Dante behind him. A strong hold on his arm had him turning to Rynn.

“Why am I reacting like that?” she asked hurried.

“Couple reasons, darlin’. First, I’m your mate—the wolf in you is hungry. Second, the full moon is coming.”

Her brows grew together in the sweet look he was growing all too fond of. “What’s the full moon gotta do with it?”

He wanted to say,
you’ll be craving my dick till your body aches from my thrusts.

Instead, he gave her a smoother answer. “Our
appetite
increases as the full moon draws closer.”

She took a moment to process that, then asked, “I experienced the full moon before and it’s never been like this. Why do I feel it now?”

“We hadn’t completed the mating before.” Briggs opened the car door, and got out, then reached his hand in to help her out. “Wolves are sensual creatures, love. What you’re feeling is completely normal. Fighting it is useless.” He let the yearning he felt show on his face. “Besides, your body is just anticipating all the things I have yet to show you.”

Her confusion melted away into a sexy grin. “Okay, but stop touching me.” She slapped his hand away and made her way toward Valor and Dante who approached the house. “Focus, focus, focus.”