The Gathering (17 page)

Nicolas laughed and the sound was tinged with
what could only be described as a purr. Rayna felt the wolf slide
against her bones then and wondered why it reacted. Was it because
it was another shifter or because Nicolas wasn’t a wolf?

“Not only beautiful but smart.”

She looked back at Nicolas when he spoke.
“Flattery will get you no where unless you’re leading me to the
front door. Want to hold daddy dearest back while I make a run for
it?”

He leaned toward her and his nostrils flared.
“If you weren’t mated I might take you up on it.”

“Can’t blame a girl for trying.” Turning back
to Thaddeus, Rayna crossed her arms under her breast. “How long am
I to be kept here?”

“Until the leaders have gathered. Victor has
a small reception planned for you.”

Rayna rolled her eyes. “Great. It’s Malcolm’s
all over again. Why can’t you people just do what it is you plan to
do instead of dicking around?”

“You sound eager.”

“No. Impatient. I’m tired of looking at the
same four walls. I don’t like being locked up. I don’t like being
in the dark about things and I’m getting a little pissed off at
being treated like a criminal.”

Nicolas chuckled at her and tilted his head
to one side. “You’re eyes have changed color.”

The growl that rumbled in her chest surprised
even her. She felt that familiar fire racing through her limbs
before her fingertips burned. She knew without looking her nails
were growing. Closing her eyes she chased the wolf away, willing it
back inside. The burning stopped a few moments later and when she
opened her eyes, Thaddeus was grinning at her.

“It won’t take much to bring that wolf out,
Ms. Ford. You’ll make the process less painful for yourself if
you’re able to achieve it on your own. I can assure you, Victor
will make it as traumatic as he can. As your breed leader, he will
demand your respect in all things. As of yet, you haven’t shown him
any.”

“And I won’t,” she said.

Thaddeus laughed. “I believe you’ll think
differently when the time comes, Ms. Ford.”

Rayna had a snotty reply ready but Nicolas
gave her a small shake of his head. She looked at him curiously
before turning and walking back into her room. The door was pulled
shut and Thaddeus locked her inside.

The voices coming from the hall were barely
heard but she could tell Thaddeus and Nicolas were arguing about
something. She wondered if Nicolas agreed with what the Breed
leaders were doing. If not, he may be able to help her escape. Of
course, talking to him alone wouldn’t be easy. Convincing him to
help her wouldn’t be either.

She had no one but herself. She looked down
at her hands, at her short clipped fingernails, and wondered if the
wolf was ready to be born. She’d made her presence known a number
of times now when Rayna became agitated. Could she be called at
will?

Concentrating on her, Rayna felt the familiar
burning sensation in her hands and watched as her nails started to
lengthen. Her pulse leaped and when the claws continued to grow and
hair grew thick on the back of her hands, she panicked. She shook
her hands and willed the wolf away. The burning sensation stopped
moments later and her pulse slowed.

When she looked at her hands and saw them
once again normal, Rayna knew she could probably call the wolf on
her own. But knowing she could do it and actually calling the beast
were two very different things. The pain alone made her want to
avoid the entire thing. It was one of the reason she was fighting
the shift.

Sighing, she walked to the bed and fell
across the mattress. The Breed leaders were gathering and by
nightfall tomorrow, their master plan would be revealed. She just
hoped Garrett found her before she was forced to shift in front of
the world. Once humans knew the supernatural existed, all of
mankind would see them destroyed.

* * * *

“If I go any faster, I’ll get pulled
over.”

Garrett clenched his jaw and held back a
biting retort. They were less than twenty minutes away from Bluff’s
Point and the distance seemed to be getting longer instead of
shorter.

He’d spent the entire trip trying to think of
what he would tell Chad when he saw him. The less his old friend
knew about what was really happening, the better off he’d be, but
Garrett knew Chad. Knew he wouldn’t believe any of the lies he was
prepared to tell him. And he’d thought up more than a few, weighing
each one for the most believability.

“Turn here,” he said, pointing to the left.
He wasn’t sure if Chad was at home or still at the police station.
He wasn’t ready to face the people he’d walked out on the day
Carmen had called and informed him Malcolm had Rayna, so he chose
Chad’s home as their meeting place. He just hoped he was there.

The rest of the drive felt like torture. The
familiar landmarks he remembered caused his wolf to stir. They were
closer to finding Rayna now.

He’d tried not to think about what the
Collective was doing to her. What they’d done to her. Thinking
about it only fueled the beast. It howled inside his head and
pushed against his skin. The wolf was still restless and it took
every ounce of strength Garrett had to hold him back. Bloodlust was
quick to rise and he knew if he let the wolf feed off his anger,
there would be no controlling it. His mate had been taken from him
and for that alone they all deserved to feel the beast’s wrath.

He was prepared to fight to get Rayna back
but fight how many? What species? Wolves were aggressive when
threatened but no more than the other shifters were. He’d had
little dealings with them. Most breeds didn’t mingle. There was no
need to. He’d met a few, scented them in a crowd, but couldn’t
distinguish what breed they were. A wolf, he knew, the others, not
so much.

Chad’s house came into view and Garrett
almost jumped from the car when he saw the lights on. He waited,
his foot bouncing in anticipation after directing Gavin to the
house. They’d barely rolled to a stop before he was out of the car
and hurrying toward the door. It opened as he reached it.

“Well, that didn’t take long,” Chad said.
“Either Wolf’s Creek isn’t that far away or you broke every speed
law known to man between there to here.”

“A little bit of both, actually.” Garrett
turned to look over his shoulder at the others. They were all
standing by the SUV, stretching their legs. “I need the address
where Rayna’s being held.”

Chad glanced at the others and smiled. “Bring
your friends, Garrett. I’ve got something to show you.” He turned
and walked back inside the house, leaving Garrett on the front
porch, alone. Garrett clenched his jaw. Why did he think this would
be easy? Or quick?

He turned, motioned for the others, and
followed Chad into the house.

Chad’s place hadn’t changed much. It was
still clean, smelled of stale beer and dirty clothes and was the
quintessential, Man Den.

A large screen TV sat along the far wall in
the living room. A sofa, loveseat and two recliners faced the
entertainment center. Bookshelves lined the wall by the television,
the shelves filled with movies, and a computer desk stacked with
papers and books stood behind the recliners.

The only difference he saw from the last time
he’d been there was the mutt standing in the center of the room. He
didn’t look friendly. His wiry brown hair was bristled, ears laid
back. The dog lowered his head before growling.

Garrett nodded toward the mutt. “Nice
addition. Doesn’t exactly go with the furniture, though.”

Chad grinned and rubbed the dog’s head. “Calm
down, boy.”

The others walked inside and the dog lunged.
Chad wasn’t fast enough to grab him. Judith was the one to take the
brunt of impact. She staggered back, caught the dog with both hands
and to everyone’s surprise, one look from her, and the dog whined,
sat, and looked up at her with guilt shining in his eyes.

No one moved for long moments. Chad was the
first to recover and crossed the room to where the dog sat. “How
the hell did you do that?”

Judith straightened her shirt, pulling her
shirtsleeves back down. “You just have to show them who is more
dominant.”

Chad grabbed the dog by his collar and looked
up at Judith. They stared at one another for long moments and
Garrett raised an eyebrow at them before clearing his throat.
“Chad, this is Judith.”

Judith smiled. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Oh, the pleasure is all mine.” Chad gave her
a long look from head to toe before raising his head back up to
meet her gaze.

For the first time since meeting Judith,
Garrett saw her cheeks redden. She was blushing like a schoolgirl
and averted her gaze. She cleared her throat and nodded to the dog.
“He doesn’t seem to like strangers.”

“He doesn’t like anybody. He’s never bitten
anyone but he can be a ornery old cuss when he wants to be. He
reminded me of you, Garrett,” he said, turning his head to look at
him. “I named him after you.”

Garrett scowled. “You named your dog,
Garrett?”

“Yes.”

Chad’s laughter reminded Garrett of how much
he’d missed his friend. “I didn’t know you’d miss me so much.”

“I don’t. It’s just fun ordering the dog
around and actually have him listen.”

Garrett ignored Chad when he laughed again
and introduced him to Gavin, Dillon, Ethan and Henry. The dog was
still weary, watching the others, and Garrett knew he smelled the
wolf. It’s why he’d attacked. Judith just happened to be the
closest.

Chad put the dog away, closing him off in a
bedroom before re-joining them in the living room.

“The address, Chad. I’m running out of
time.”

“Keep your pants on.” He walked to a desk on
the far wall. “Look at this.” He pulled a map up on the computer
and clicked a few times until a picture came into focus. He waited
until the image cleared and zoomed in. “Have you ever seen that
place before?”

Garrett looked at the house on the screen. It
was large, three stories tall, and surrounded by acres of fields
and a thick forest of trees on all four sides. “No. Should I
have?”

“Not necessarily.” A few mouse clicks and the
picture zoomed in again. There were people outside, flanking the
house at various spots. “It’s guarded like a fortress,” Chad said.
“I’ve been checking this thing for hours now and every time it
updates, the men are still there.” He moved the curser, focusing on
the back of the house. Seven cars were parked near what looked like
a garage. More men were stationed around the back of the
property.

“Okay,” Garrett said, impatiently. “What does
this have to do with Rayna?”

Chad leaned back in his chair and crossed his
arms over his chest. “That’s the address of the number I
traced.”

Garrett’s wolf slid against his bones and he
gritted his teeth. Images of Rayna filled his minds eye. Images of
her there, somewhere in that house. Alone. Unprotected. He stared
at the computer screen, counting the men he saw, the number of
cars, and tried to find the entrances.

A glance at Chad and Garrett knew he wouldn’t
just let things go. He hadn’t expected him to look into anything
after they’d talked. Why he was surprised he did, he wasn’t sure.
Chad was a detective, just as he had been.

Chad grabbed a small black notebook of the
edge of the desk. “The house belongs to a man by the name of Victor
Carroll. He’s older than dirt and has enough money to buy the town
of Bluff’s Point six times over.”

Gavin whistled and walked closer to the
computer. “How the hell are we going to get in there?”

“Good question,” Dillon said. “With that many
men guarding the house, getting inside unnoticed will be
impossible.”

“There has to be a way in.” Garrett studied
the layout of the property, trying to find the best way to get onto
the grounds. He wasn’t going to let the Collective use Rayna for
their coming out party. If he had to fight his way through those
men, he would.

Dillon pointed to the screen and said, “Zoom
in on those trees.” He waited until Chad had enlarged an area near
the forest at the back of the house. “There. What is that?”

Garrett leaned forward and squinted.
Something was standing near the trees. He couldn’t make it out. It
was large and dark in color but that was about all he could tell.
It didn’t look like a wolf, though. It was on two feet but the head
was too large for a wolf. It also looked as if it were slick. There
wasn’t any hair on it that he could see.

The picture refreshed again and the thing had
stepped out of the shadow of the trees. Garrett’s heart skipped a
beat. It was a demon. The curling horns on the things head gave it
away. Although the picture was fuzzy, Garrett knew without being
told it was eight foot tall with scales. A Kriladon. He’d seen that
Breed in Seattle when he first left the pack. The stench those
things gave off took your breath away. They were rare, hired
themselves out as executioners, and were deadly. They killed
without mercy and ate what was left of you when they were
through.

He glanced at Gavin and shook his head, no.
He didn’t want any of them to say anything with Chad in the room.
Of course, his old friend was too smart for his own good.

“Does that thing have horns?” Chad leaned
forward, refreshing the screen again. The moonlight lit the
creature and Chad sat back quickly. “What the fuck is that?”

Garrett ran his hand over his face and
sighed. “Give me the address, Chad.”

“Are you insane?” Chad turned in his chair to
look at him. He pointed to the computer screen, his eyes slightly
wide. “Did you see all those men? That… thing, hiding in the
woods?”

“I did and I still need the address.”

Chad stared at him for long minutes before he
stood up. “You know, we’ve seen some weird shit in this town,
Garrett, and I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re not
telling me something. Now is one of those times.”