Jana Leigh & Bryce Evans (3 page)

When Vander walked out of the
commander’s office, and before leaving the building, he assigned a detective to find his mother.  He gave him the last known address and information he had, then walked out of the building.  This whole shit had thrown him for a loop.  He was going to have to call his aunt and find out if she knew anything.

His
aunt Miriam had raised him, taught him that not everyone was a selfish whore who walked away from her kid on a whim like his mother.  He held so many mixed emotions about the woman who gave birth to him.  There were times when he just focused on the good times with her since he had so few.  That's when he would remember that love had been there for her, if only for a short time.  When he was first left with his aunt, he wondered what he had done to make her leave him behind because the change in her had been overnight.  But his aunt Miriam had been the rock he had needed in his life, the one who molded him.  She had stuck with him, even when he was a prick and tested her to see if she would leave.  She didn’t, and for that, he would always be grateful.

When his mother walked out it had been devastating, and his aunt had picked up the pieces and they moved on.  He worried about finding someone who could put u
p with his abandonment issues.  Most of his exes said he had been planning for their break up on their first date.  Having mates meant commitment, something he wasn’t sure he could do.

He felt dizzy being in the room with Kane and all the chatter about mates. 
He thinks I’m his mate.  Not fucking gonna happen unless he wants a fucked up mate.
Vander walked outside into the smoking area and sat down at one of the tables.  Even though the smoking area was outside, he could still smell the smoke in the air.  He was alone for a few minutes until the urge got to one of his co-workers.  He never understood the reason people smoked but today he felt the urge to light one up, something, anything to take his mind away from Kane and Waverly.

Vander felt tired from the lack of sleep, actually
for him even considering smoking should have been the first clue.  He wanted to go home and crawl in his bed and sleep for a week.  On the other hand, maybe he didn’t, his sleeping habits sucked lately.

He had been having nightmares of the same woman being tortured
, now he knew it was Waverly, something he hadn’t told Jewel.  The dream always started with Waverly strapped to a steel table without any clothes on.  The nightmare followed the same patterns as the Josh Campbell murders, or whatever the fuck his name was. 

Josh Campbell was not his real name,
just one he had assumed.  For now, they were calling him The Redeemer since that is what he liked to call himself.  Until they sorted out who the fuck he was they were stuck calling him that, although Van liked to secretly call him The Prick, after what he had discovered about him.  Maybe he would suggest that to Jewel. When he said The Redeemer it stuck in his throat, the sick bastard didn’t deserve a fucking title like that.  It was sad when the media named these fuckers, serial killers got off on getting people to name them something like The Redeemer. 
It gave them power, because the name struck fear in people
.

He wondered if his imagination was
becoming something sicker, maybe more evil considering who his mother was involved with.  Hell, he could only wonder if her weakness for serial killers had been something that could be passed on.  Maybe it was a psychological issue, passed on through the generations.  He had yet to go and speak to the Redeemer about his mother.  First off, he refused to give the guy an ounce of satisfaction knowing how freaked out he was that Diane was involved.  No way did he was want to dig up those old wounds.  His mother left him, plain and simple, now she was nothing to him.  Vander refused to think about that, instead he focused on the dreams and how much was real.

Always the same, Waverly
strapped to the table with tape over her mouth.  The victim was being sliced with a knife, allowed to heal, then cut again.  Vander could see the fear and pain in her eyes.  She would tilt her head and it appeared she was looking right into his eyes.  Vander shuddered from the nightmare that continued to play in his head.  He didn’t know how to help her, and that made it even more of a nightmare. 

Is that why he was having the visions, could he somehow be able to tap into her thoughts?  Damn it, he was driving himself crazy, instead of just askin
g the fucking questions he let them roll around in his head and drive him crazy.

Why him?  Why does Kane think they are mates?  Vander couldn
’t grasp this idea.  Vander thought it was crazy back when Kane told him he was his mate and the woman in the picture was their other mate.  He still thought they were all crazy, shit.  But maybe it wasn’t crazy.  What if it was true, Kane, Waverly, and him.  What if he was having these dreams and he could somehow communicate with Waverly, maybe they stood a chance at saving her.

“
Hey, buddy.  You okay?”  Vander slowly opened his eyes at Jewel standing at the door.  He could see the concern on her face as she walked outside.  He knew Jewel wouldn’t push him in regards to the mate issue with Kane, but he knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t stay out of it either.  She was going to ask questions about his mother, it was bound to come up, and soon.

“
Yeah, just needed some air.”  Vander stood, masking his emotions.  “I am trying to make sense of shit running around in my head.”

Jewel looked at him closely.  “
Such as?”

“
Is it possible that I can communicate with Waverly, you know, before we are mated?” Vander asked slowly.

“
What haven’t you told me?” Jewel asked tightly.

Vander sighed, yep he was about to piss off his b
est friend, but he had to know.  It was bugging the shit out of him.  “I have been having dreams.”

“
Dreams?  What kind of dreams?” Jewel asked sharply.

“
Before we even knew about Waverly, I had a dream of a woman being tortured.  Back when we were in New York, I figured it was because the case was intense and it involved you, anyway.  It is always the same, she is being tortured, but the weird part is—she looks right at me, I mean as if she knows I am there, helping her, keeping her strong.  It is weird,” Vander said and ran his hands through his hair.

“
Have you talked to her?” Jewel asked.

“
No, each time I just stand there, and stare at her.  Hell, I don’t even look at what he is doing or where she is.  It’s like I am there only for her to look at.  I am so focused, but I can feel her pain, feel that she is pissed and refusing to let them know that she is hurting.  It gives them power, and she won’t do it, so she just keeps it inside,” Vander said.

“
Okay, I have no clue if this is even possible.  I mean I have never heard of it before, but it doesn’t mean that what you are feeling is wrong or anything.  When you mate there is a connection, you know like I told you.  You can feel where they are, if they are upset, or in trouble.  But that is always after the claiming, maybe it is different with Omegas, I have never actually spoken to anyone about it,” Jewel said and pulled out her phone.  “Let me call Ret.”

Vander paced as his friend called her mate.  He wanted someone to tell him
he wasn’t crazy, but the more he thought about it, the more he wondered.  There was no way the dreams were real.  He was going to be checking into the loony bin soon.  That is what his friend was going to tell him, she had a one-way ticket to the funny farm with his name on it.

“
I got good news and bad news,” Jewel said briskly as she hung up the phone. 

Vander turned and looked at his friend
, she didn’t look like she was pulling out the cuffs to secure him so maybe there was some hope.

“
Okay, give me the bad news first,” Vander said.

“
The dreams are real, and Omegas can project to her mates, images and feelings, before they are mated.  However, in order to do it, she has to have seen you at one time or another and recognized you on some level as her mate. The only problem is that since she has bonded at least on some level with you, if she dies, you will go crazy,” Jewel said.

“
Huh?” Vander said stunned.

“
Okay, I lied, maybe I should have said, bad news and then more bad news.”  Jewel shrugged.

"Will you s
ay it," Vander was in no mood for jokes, he needed to understand. 

“Once an Omega has made the connection with either of her mates, they will go feral if they don’t complete the bond in a certain amount of time,” Jewel said.

“
Shit, how long?” Vander said.

“
No one knows, it is usually the Omega who initiates the process since they have the power to do it,” Jewel said.

“
Fuck, let’s go and meet her father, I will explain to Kane on the way,” Vander said.

“
Yeah, looks like ready or not you are going to be the mate to the Omega of the Atlanta Pack.”  Jewel grinned.

“
What about Kane?” Vander asked.

“
No worries, Ret said the longer you are with Kane, the more likelihood of Waverly sensing her other mate,” Jewel said and patted his arm.  “You won’t be alone if you go crazy.  That should give you comfort.”

"Yeah, just loads."

Vander drove down the road he had driven a thousand times
, the Pack compound was on the same road as his house. When Jewel told him to take the next road to the right he wanted to laugh.  His new house was right behind the Pack’s land.  He wondered if that was where Waverly had seen him. 

Vander silently listened to the conversation between Jewel and Kane as he drov
e to meet the Alpha of the Atlanta Pack.  Kane had taken what Vander told him pretty well, although the man was a little pissed that Vander hadn’t shared before.  Not that he said anything, but he could tell by the way Kane’s jaw tensed and his lips tightened.  And didn’t that just freak him out; Vander noticed Kane’s mouth, because the sudden urge to kiss away the aggravation had been intense. 
Yep, definitely looking like this shit could be true, 'cause if he noticed another man's mouth, crazy was where he was headed.  Well, damn.

It took him a moment to realize that Jewel had asked him a question when he blinked a couple of times then stuttered, “
Um…  What did you say?”  Vander looked quickly over at Jewel who was sitting next to him frowning.

“
Maybe I should drive the rest of the way,” Jewel said with her eyes narrowing, trying to figure out if her partner was going crazy. Jewel was going to drive him crazy until they found Waverly.  She had agreed to keep it under wraps as along as Vander came to her with each instance that Waverly made contact.  The whole thing with his mother also in the mix and he was a little messed up.  Maybe they should have settled things with his mother at least, talked about it and shit, but Vander had blown her off saying that he would deal with it when the time came.  Now, she wasn’t so sure of that idea, maybe she should lock him in a room until he talked, they could have a hug in, just the two of them.  Work out all of the issues that were preventing Vander from accepting the mating.

Vander sighed trying to reign
his temper in, he hated that Jewel was questioning his abilities.  Well, since everything was pissing him off lately, it wasn’t his abilities, more like just him. Jewel didn’t deserve his wraith, but damn it someone did.  “I was thinking of the case.  I can drive, Jewel.”  From the way she looked at him, she must be worried about him.  Jewel turned back and faced the road then pointed at the road ahead.

“
Take the next road to the right and stop at the gate.”  Jewel was good at not bringing stuff up in front of other people.  She would wait until she got him alone to torture him, have their little touchy feely moment.

Vander slowed the car down as they pulled up to a beautiful gate that surrounded the property
.  The fence alone cost more than Vander had made in his life.  Retten Wexford was rich he knew, but were all werewolves?  Vander watched as the six foot three monster of a man walked up to his car.  Vander knew the expression on his face must have been “Holy Shit” because the man was freaking huge.  Jewel snickered and that's when he figured she heard the words come out of his mouth. 

She leaned over so the guard could see who she was.  “
Well hey there, handsome.”  The freaking giant smiled as he looked down into the window at Jewel. 

“
Hello, beautiful.  Heard you got hitched and let me tell you that hearts are breaking all over the pack house.”  Jewel smiled.  “Hey, Butch.  Yep, got hitched to two of them.”

“
Well if I known you were looking, I would have definitely offered my services.”  Jewel cackled as the giant squatted down so he could see Jewel in the window better.  “For what it’s worth, Butch, I finally met my mates.”  The giant named Butch smiled showing off his white teeth.

“
That’s great, beautiful.”  Straightening, the giant stood slowly then looked at Vander then at Kane in the backseat sizing them up.  “Go on in.  The Alpha is waiting for you.  And, Jewel?”  The giant leaned down again.  “We need her found.”  Vander didn’t have to wonder who ‘her’ was.  He was talking about Waverly.  Vander could see the love he had for the Omega of the pack.

Jewel nodded.  “
We are trying, Butch.”  He nodded then waved at the other man inside at the guard post.  The fence opened up allowing them to drive through. 

Vander looked in the rearview window as the giant watched him pull off.  The expression on his face was of a trained killer.  Vander had seen a few of them in his time and knew the expression. 

As he drove further up the driveway, Vander stared as the breathtaking landscape passed by.  The grounds were perfectly manicured with lots of flowers surrounding the trees.  Horses lounged in the sun as they munched on grass.  Vander was looking at everything when he jerked the car back on the road.  “Whoa there, hoss.  You act like you have never seen horses before.  Do I need to drive?”

“
Jewel!  Lay off me okay.  I was just looking around.”  Jewel didn’t smile, and for a moment, she looked like she felt sorry for him.  Vander continued down the road as the house came into view.  House was a freaking understatement.  Fucking mansion for how many people lived here.

“
Dear God, how many people live here?” Vander muttered.

“
Well the Alpha, Beta, Waverly, and three of his Protectors live in this home.  But the grounds also have the pack house and there are a lot that live there,” Jewel explained.  The closer Vander got to the house the wider his mouth opened.

Fuck me
,
Vander thought to himself. 
How could I be a mate to someone who lives here?  She probably makes more money in a year then I will in a fucking lifetime.

Vander pulled up to a circular driveway in front of the mansion and put the car in park.  Vander could tell Jewel and Kane were staring at him since he was so qui
et.  “Hey, buddy, if you don’t mind let me do most of the talking.  Okay?” Jewel said slowly. 

Vander nev
er answered Jewel but opened the car door and got out.  Jewel looked back at Kane and mouthed, “Shit.”  Kane shook his head in acknowledgement but didn't reply back to Jewel, his eyes followed Vander.  He'd hardly spoke at all on the way.

Jewel and Kane got out and waited for Vander to come up beside them.  Jewel rang the doorbell as Vander continued to look around at the grounds.  The door came open and an older man looked at Jewe
l.  “Hello, Detective Campbell.  Welcome back to Grant House.  The Alpha and Flynn are waiting for you in the study.”

“
Thank you, Martin.”  Jewel smiled as Martin Grain directed Jewel and the others down a long hallway.  Vander looked around at the staircase that could only be described as art.  The grand staircase was made out of mahogany wood.  The color was a deep rich brown and the woodwork had detailed carvings of wolves on it.  Vander thought the staircase was luxurious, but something about it made it feel like home.  The room had a homey feel to him.  Vander shrugged it off as they came to a closed door at the end of the hallway.  Martin knocked on the door but waited until the door opened. 

Vander watched as the six foot four man sm
iled when he saw Jewel.  He grabbed Jewel and hugged her in a big bear hug. He could have sworn the man was an actual bear as well.  He was freaking huge with a freakishly good-looking face. 
He had long dark hair and could have been a fucking model
, Van thought sourly.

“
Let me down you beast.”  Jewel giggled as she hugged the man back.

“
I have missed you, little one.  I hear the good news and I approve.  I like the Alpha and Lex.  You have picked two fine mates.”  Flynn Mitchell looked over at Kane and Vander, slowly putting Jewel back on her feet.  “So, Jewel, who do you have with you?” 

Jewel swung her hand back at Vander and Kane.  “
Flynn Mitchell, this is my partner, Vander Collins, and before you say anything, Vander is my best friend and knows so don’t worry about him and this is his mat—” before Jewel finished her statement Vander interrupted thrusting his hand out to the Beta. 

“
I’m Detective Vander Collins.  Nice to meet you.”  Jewel smirked knowing Vander didn’t want introduced as Kane’s mate yet.  He wanted to tell the Alpha everything that was going on first.  Flynn Mitchell hesitated then looked over at Jewel who smiled.  Flynn shook Vander’s hand then looked over at Kane.

“
Hello, Beta, I’m Kane Foster.”  Flynn could smell that Kane was a wolf but his handshake would have gave it away anyway.  All wolves with authority have a certain handshake, a more confident and secure one. 

“
Mr. Foster, are you on protection detail for the Alpha?” 

Kane looked at Jewel t
hen made eye contact with Flynn before answering the large man.  Normally, he would have stood back and waited for his Alpha without introducing himself.  However, this wasn’t the same thing, yes, he was guarding his Alpha female, but he was also here to find out about his mate.  No one, not even the stubborn ass who refused to admit they were mates, was going to stop him.

“
Yes, sir.  Where she goes I go,” Kane said and then looked at the wolf and added, “but there is another reason I am here as well.” Kane knew he was more powerful than the other wolf. He was the mate to Vander and the Omega of the Pack, and even though he was the Beta to Ret and Lex, Kane could have been the Alpha of his own Pack; he had chosen to stay with the two men he respected more than any others.

Vander turned around
as the Alpha walked into the room.  He was the biggest son of a bitch he had ever seen.  Ret was big, but this man was freaking huge.  He had to be six foot five and all muscles, his long black hair was the exact shade of Waverly’s, but Vander could see no other resemblance.  The man was built like a lumberjack, and Vander could feel the power pulsing out of the Alpha, but Ret and Lex had just as much power, and if he wasn’t mistaken, so did Kane.  He may look like a homegrown country boy, but this was a dangerous man.  The frown he wore matched his attitude until he saw Jewel.  Then the huge man smiled as she walked toward him.  He grabbed her up into a big bear hug then stuck his nose into her neck.  “You mated well, little one.”  Jewel nodded and hugged the Alpha back.

“
Thank you, Alpha.”  Marcus Grant’s knowledgeable eyes looked over at Vander and Kane.  Vander watched as the Alpha’s nose tilted up and then back down.  It told him everything he needed to know.  Vander was a human and Kane was a wolf, and that should have been the end of it.

“
Alpha this is…”  Before Jewel could tell the Alpha who Vander and Kane were, Marcus Grant spoke as he walked over to his desk and sat down.  Jewel and Vander had decided they would tell Marcus what was going on only after the man shared his information.  He figured the big wolf would be a little pissed about the whole mating thing and he wanted to avoid that conversation until Kane and he had a few moments alone.

“
What can you do to help me find my daughter, Detective Collins?” he demanded, Vander never flinched as the Alpha watched him closely.

“
Tell me everything about your daughter, even the Omega stuff,” Vander replied quickly, challenging the demanding tone, Marcus’s eyes narrowed as Vander spoke.  Vander knew he had touched a nerve but he didn’t care, Waverly had come to him not her father in her dreams.  This whole pomp and circumstance was driving him nuts. If the Alpha wanted Vander’s help, then he needed to get over his arrogant self and tell Vander what he needed to know.  Vander stared at the Alpha waiting for him to answer.  He watched as the Alpha looked over at Flynn then nodded. 

Flynn reached behind him and grabbed the file folder lying on a table.  He brought it over to Vander and Jewel the
n opened it for them, handing them the paperwork from inside.  “Waverly was last seen four days ago.  She was taking a cruise to get away.  She needed it; the pack has been draining her.  She tries to be a hardass and take on more than she should, but it was getting to her.  We could all see it.  We could hear her when the nightmares continued to come at night until she finally stopped sleeping at all.  The Alpha wanted her far away from the pack so she could heal.  He told her she didn’t have a choice whether or not she went on the cruise because she didn’t want to go and be away from the pack.”  Vander could see the Alpha’s expression as he looked down at his desk.  He could tell the man was torn up about his missing daughter as Flynn continued. 

“
She left here around four in the morning leaving for the airport.  She went alone and that was the only way she would go.  Damn woman.  She was always trying to be independent.  We waited to file a report thinking that she was having such a great time that she forgot to call but when she didn’t call the next day, we knew something was wrong.  I called the company that sold the package deal to us, they checked with the cruise line, and she never checked in before the ship left the port.  That isn’t Waverly.  She would never make her father worry like this.”  Vander flipped through the pictures of Waverly Grant.  She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Even in his dreams he had thought that, but looking at pictures of her happy and smiling, Vander felt a tug inside him, like something had awakened.

“
Alpha, tell us what type of problems Waverly was having?”  Marcus looked up at Vander as he stared at him when he asked that question.  For a minute Vander thought he wasn’t going to answer.  He was being an asshole and he knew it.  If Vander could have taken it back, he would have.  Looking at the anger in the larger man’s eyes, Vander also knew he was going to be yelled at by Jewel when all this was done.  They just didn’t talk to victim’s families like this.  Vander was struggling, the Alpha finally spoke, and Vander was grateful he had not completely fucked this up.