Layla Nash - A Valentine's Chase (City Shifters: the Pride) (11 page)

R
afe paced
and snarled and tore chairs apart with his bare hands until Ruby kicked him out of the meeting and sent him upstairs. The bottle of whiskey he pounded didn't help with his state of mind. Somewhere out there, Meadow needed him. BadCreek had her and he couldn't reach her. When he finally passed out on the couch, he dreamed of Meadow.

She begged for help. She cried out to him and pleaded for him to find her, to rescue her, and in his dreams, he tried. He tried to ask where she was, tried to catch her hand in his, but her fingers slipped away every time. The rage built in his chest until he roared awake and found himself in wolf form, rampaging through the apartment as he tried to burn off the awful desperation of not being able to reach his mate.

Ruby opened the door to her room and watched him for a few seconds, then said, "What happened?"

She had to know. She might not understand what he felt, not being able to reach his mate, but she was his twin sister. And Carter leaned on the doorframe behind her, still looking half-asleep.

Rafe forced the wolf back and shifted to human, though the snarling continued as he searched for clothes to wear. "It's getting worse. She's hurting. I have to get her."

He expected Ruby to argue. He expected her to say something about the Council or the plan or waiting until morning. Instead, she nodded. "Then let's go get her."

That was enough. Rafe found his boots and started lacing while Ruby called one of their betas to rouse the pack. Carter, eyebrows raised in alarm, shuffled into the living room as Ruby and Rafe prepared. "Look, I know this is —"

"This is pack business," Ruby said, not looking at him as she brushed past to retrieve clothes from her room. "If you're not going to help, Carter, stay out of it."

Rafe dragged gear bags out of the closet and unpacked a few of them, searching for weapons and climbing gear and everything else they might need to breach the compound. The wolf settled down as they made progress toward rescuing their mate, regardless of what the lion said. They would free Meadow.

Carter made an aggravated noise and disappeared into the bedroom, talking on his phone. Rafe glanced at his sister. "If he tries to stop me..."

"He won't," Ruby said. "He knows better."

"I'm getting her back tonight." Rafe took a deep breath and shouldered two of the bags, throwing them down the stairs to the sleepy beta who waited below. "Or I'll die trying."

She met his gaze for a long time, not saying anything, and Rafe wanted to explain. There weren't words, so he just waited. Ruby nodded once and squeezed his hand as she headed for the stairs. "We'll get her, brother."

By the time they loaded the pack into five SUVs, the trucks and people bristling with weapons, Carter joined them. He didn't look happy but said, "The rest of the pride will meet us there. The bears are trying to find a babysitter."

Ruby snorted and shook her head. "What about Smith?"

"No one can find him. He's not answering his phone. We left him messages, but no telling if he'll receive them in time to help." Carter frowned as he checked the magazine to his rifle. "Which eliminates whatever advantage we might have had. Rafe, if we just wait, we can —"

"She can't wait. She's hurt. I'm getting her tonight." Rafe stared straight ahead as the city turned to suburbs and then farmland, the snowy hills rolling by peacefully. He wondered how anyone could still be sleeping, dreaming through the awful night, when his life was in such disarray and he couldn't reach his mate.

Carter didn't try to change Rafe's mind again. Rafe closed his eyes as the vehicle's occupants went silent and the only sound was the bumping of the tires against the road and the occasional static from the radios. He focused on Meadow, trying to reassure her even though he knew she couldn't hear him, and tried to calm the wolf. They had to be focused. And part of him knew they wouldn't succeed. He would die trying to breach the fence, and then it would be left to Ruby and Smith to save Meadow. His throat closed around a knot of emotion and Rafe almost ordered them to turn the car around. The lion was right — it was suicide to charge in there. But he couldn't stand the idea of Meadow alone a moment longer.

He caught Ruby's hand, hoping the shadows inside the car would hide it, and held it tightly. Ruby squeezed back. Rafe took a deep breath as the cars slowed to a stop in a stand of trees, the compound's bright lights just behind where they stopped. The driver cleared his throat. "They'll see us if we get any closer, boss. What now?"

What now. Rafe's heart hardened. He was close. He felt Meadow, felt her pain and panic and desperation. He couldn't hesitate. "Everyone get ready."

He got out of the truck and strode to the trees, easing forward until he caught sight of the compound's double fence topped with razor wire, and a few strands of concertina wire coiled between the two in a no man's land. Guards in dark uniforms and wolves trotted around the perimeter. Ruby came up behind him and took a deep breath. "Holy shit. Makes me wish Edgar had actually taken pictures of this place. Seeing it for real is different than looking at the map."

"Yeah." Rafe squinted as he searched for any weakness in the perimeter. "But it doesn't change anything."

Carter stood at his other elbow. "Rafe, man, this is suicide."

Rafe didn't bother to look at him, feeling dead inside. Somewhere behind that fence, Meadow waited for him. "Tell me you would do anything differently if it was Ruby in there, and I might reconsider."

Carter growled and stormed away, once more on his phone as he demanded his brothers hurry. From the sounds of it, he'd mobilized the entire Chase clan: the lion brothers, their shifter mates, and even the half-gorgon medusa mate who could paralyze people from a distance. She was useful in a fight, but only if she got there in time. Rafe glanced at his sister, keeping his voice low. "Take the pack, create a diversion. I'll get through the gates and start looking for her. I'll call when I find her."

"The gates are too well-guarded," she said, shaking her head, and pulled a pair of small binoculars from her pocket, aiming at the gate. "You wouldn't make it inside, much less into the buildings."

Rafe started to pull off his jacket and sweater, handing his rifle over to another pack member. "I'll go in as a wolf, blend in. It'll be fine."

They both knew he was lying. Rafe bent to unlace his boots but paused as Ruby swore under her breath and reached for his arm, trying to hand over the binoculars. "Something's happening."

He straightened and grabbed the glasses, struggling to focus as his hands shook. Floodlights began to sweep the perimeter between the fences, and the guards deviated from their precise routes, scattering into a search pattern. He thought he heard sirens.

In a heartbeat, he knew it was Meadow. She knew. She was trying to escape, and those sons of bitches were going to catch her before she reached him. His wolf snarled and Rafe tossed the binoculars back to his sister. "That's her. We have to go now."

Ruby started ordering the pack into formation, breaking into two groups to aggravate and distract the guards and challenge the gates, and grabbed Rafe long enough to point toward the only possible place he might be able to break through. "Give us five minutes. Then go. When you get her, call me. We'll kill the spotlights as soon as we can."

Rafe nodded, then hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Ruby. Make sure she's safe. Swear to me — you'll get her out of here as soon as we get her."

"I promise, brother. Your mate will be safe." Ruby hugged him back, her lips compressed into a thin line as she turned and walked away. She touched Carter's chest briefly, as if to reassure herself that her mate was still within reach, and Rafe met the lion's gaze, unflinching.

Carter took a deep breath and leaned forward to shake his hand. "Good luck, Rafe. The reinforcements are on their way. Just hold on as long as you can."

Rafe nodded and returned his attention to the compound as the guards scurried like ants from a kicked mound. The wolf snarled and the world broke apart, and he dropped to four paws. The air grew crisper, sounds louder, and the ache of missing Meadow strengthened until it nearly knocked him down. Rafe shook it off and trotted to the edge of the trees, searching the compound and the air for any hint of her. He would find her. He would have her back soon. His lip curled until he could taste his vengeance. BadCreek didn't know what they'd done when they stole his mate. He would make them pay in blood.

I
waited
until the lights went out in the hall outside to move. I peered through the window and didn't see anyone guarding my door. They must have assumed that the lock was enough, and that I was resigned to being stuck in the crazy ward. I gripped the cane and rested the end of it against the door handle, taking a deep breath as I concentrated all of my energy on getting out. Getting free. Getting back to Rafe.

The cane warmed in my hands and a sharp burning scent made me sneeze, but when I tried the door handle, it opened. I held my breath and peeked into the hall, my heart racing. I suddenly really needed to pee. But there wasn't time. No telling when the next guard would come through, or that bastard West would find me and dose me with something horrible. I clenched my hands around the cane and prayed, begged the universe and Smith and Rafe to help me. I needed to get outside. If I could get outside, I would know where I was and then I'd know how to get back to Rafe. And safety.

My leg dragged as I hobbled down the hall, sticking close to the wall as I tried to figure out how the hell to get out of there. Everything looked the same — gray and white and bland, a bunch of doors in a corridor that connected to another corridor full of doors. Footsteps approached and I froze, clutching the cane and focusing everything on not being seen.
Don't see me
became a mantra on repeat in my mind. It wasn't exactly how the book described it, but I didn't need finesse. I just needed it to work. And muses could inspire people to look away.

I held my breath as a tall man wearing the dark uniform of a guard strode past at a near-jog, clearly headed somewhere. Against my better judgment, I followed him, using the cane as I hopped to keep up. It hurt. I bit my lip to keep from crying out as my cast stubbed against a doorstop and I almost fell on my face. The guard paused, looking around, and I shrank back, redoubling my efforts to remain unremarkable and invisible. He continued but I turned down a different hall, hobbling along toward what looked like an exit. Finally, I thought I saw the night sky.

I took a deep breath, ready for the cold winter air, and ran into something. Someone. I stared up at Nick, his scar buckling in a frown, and he caught my shoulders. "You're not supposed to be out here."

My mind raced, trying to come up with an excuse, but nothing registered. I could only stare at him. He looked around, down the halls, then took hold of my arm. "Come with me."

"No," I said, though it squeaked out. I couldn't fight him but maybe I could inspire him. "L-let me go. You have to let me go. Show me the way out. Take me to the gate."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "You'll never get past the gate; there are too many people trying to keep you in."

"Help me leave," I whispered, as the world got slow and swirly and the cane warmed in my hands. "Tell me how to get free."

Nick flinched, the muscle in his jaw jumping, and his grip gentled on my arm. He looked around the halls, then tilted his head at another hall. "This way."

I shouldn't have trusted him. I knew I shouldn't have. But the cane gave me enough confidence to follow Nick down the hall and into a small vestibule with an unremarkable door. I held my breath as he held a card up to a silver box next to the door, and the light over it turned green. He opened it and held the door for me. "Go straight. There's a door in the fence. Head south and you'll find the road."

"Th-thank you," I said, and started to move past him.

But Nick caught my arm again and dropped his voice, his gaze intense. "If you get out of here, tell the alphas that they have allies here."

"What?" I stared at him, my heart thudding in my ears. The cold winter air cut through the scrubs I wore and prickled my skin, and I dreaded having to run across the open ground to get the road. "What are you talking about? You should forget you saw me here."

"Right." The scar buckled again in a deeper sneer, and his dark eyes reflected gray for a moment. "I don't know what you are but that voodoo doesn't work on me. That's why West wanted us paired."

Something in the air changed as I stared at him, and red lights in the halls lit up and began swinging around in alert. Nick looked behind me and his expression tightened. "They've discovered you're missing. You'll never make it to the fence now."

"I'm leaving." I gripped the cane and headed for the door, despite the squirm of doubt in my stomach. What if he told the truth? What if he wanted to work against whoever kidnapped me, and Rafe would have a use for him?

"You can't now," Nick said, reaching for me and the door. "You'll never..."

Shouts rose down the hall and he muttered as a siren went off. Outside flooded with lights. Nick tried to pull me back inside. "We can come up with a story and you can escape later —"

I shoved the cane against his chest and said, "No. I'm going back to Rafe," and he crumpled bonelessly to the floor. I stood over him for a split second, debating, then heard the trample of running boots and bolted. Well, hobbled.

I focused on the fence and prayed no one noticed me. I put all my energy into it, until the cane burned against my palm and I stared at the fence until it nearly disappeared from my vision. It was so close. Almost within reach. I could almost touch the door in the first fence when all the light in the world landed on me and everything turned too bright to see. I froze, staring around, and someone yelled. Dogs barked. Panic surged in my chest and I flung the door open, trying to run. Spotted. Damn it. I was almost there. If I could just make it past the fence...

Snarling rose behind me and I cried out, swinging the cane and trying to drag that damned cast. I could see a stand of trees beyond the fence, beckoning. I would be safe there. I could hide there until Rafe found me. I just had to get past that fence. Something cracked through the night, like a gun shot, and I looked around wildly. A guard tower to my right housed a man with a long gun in his hands, and my heart leapt to my throat. They shot at me? I tripped, fell, and my knees slammed into the hard ground and snow. Pain shot all the way through me and I struggled up, using the cane, but something large and hairy bowled into me from the side.

I screamed, more in anger than pain, and lurched to my feet to face down the wolves. They circled, trying to herd me back to the first fence, but the cane kept them at a safe distance. It started to glow as my desperation built, and I clenched my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering. I was so cold. And scared. I didn't want to go back inside. I didn't want them to tell me Rafe wasn't real. I needed him to be real.

I kept backing up, limping and dragging both my feet against spikes of agony from my heels to my back, and stumbled again. Fell again. Crawled backward and prayed I wouldn't die in a wolf's jaws. My hands shook but I knew I would fight. I wasn't crazy. I wasn't. And I damn well wouldn't let them tell me that anymore. I knew magic existed. I knew it. The magic cane saved me, helped me, and that was enough. I shoved to my feet and headed for the fence, whacking at least two wolves as I reached it and fumbled at the lock. My back pressed against the fence so I could watch the wolves as I used the cane on the lock, desperate for it to work again, but it didn't warm. The glow softened. The wolves growled and edged closer, heads low and saliva dripping from their teeth. Men in dark uniforms ran towards us, carrying weapons and chains, and my lungs constricted. Freezing air made it difficult to breathe, but not as much as the despair.

I wouldn't go back. I had to fight. I gripped the cane and ignored the shouting from the guard tower, ignored when the floodlights redirected. Ignored snarling from a distance and motion behind me. The door wouldn't open. I was stuck.

I braced to fight off the wolves and told Rafe I loved him. I would reach him eventually. I wouldn't stop fighting. And Smith. I needed Smith as well; he was the only family I had. A fierce wind built up and swirled the snow in great tornados, making it difficult to see, and the noise behind me grew louder. I dared look away from the wolves creeping closer for just a moment and my breath caught.

A strange green glow burned in the field beyond the fence, and shadows raced around it. Small glowing figures detached from the main pillar and scattered, swarming over the compound and the guard towers and the fence, and the lights went out.

The entire field plunged into darkness, except for the glowing man, and my cane. I held it up and swung it against the fence, sending sparks cascading through the night. And far away, I heard Rafe howl my name.