The Great Wolf: A Legacy of Kilkenny Novel Book Three (The Legacy of Kilkenny Saga) (10 page)

“What’s wrong Abe?” 
Pru’s panicked voice asks.

“Oh nothing, I shifted and everyone dropped to their
knees.  I’m standing in a clearing and they’re all on the ground.”

“Cute.  Now get them to find me!”

“So bossy today!”

“Ha! Ha!  You know I love you.  I don’t have anything new
to tell you, have you called?”

“I’ll get you, can you do your dream thing with Quinney?”

“I’ll see if I can do a conscience walk, but he has to be
open for it, I’ll try.  Abel?”

“Yeah?”

“This isn’t going to end well.  The vibes I’m getting are
evil.”

“Don’t think that way, I’ll get to you.” 
I pause a
moment before I decide to give the group a nod to let them know to stand up.

****************

Without warning, my head is filled with the voices of all
the wolves.  I can’t talk with my own pack, but I can hear everyone who’s in
the Seeker game.  They’re only able to communicate with their pack mate and
me.  Twenty-two wolves, all shapes and sizes are sitting on their haunches,
facing forward and waiting on my lead.

“I need six wolves to go searching for the rest of the
competitors.  We’re on high alert, there’s someone penetrating the safety
features of the Olympics.” 
I pause as I decide how we’ll proceed from
here.  “
You, on the back row…you’ll go find them.  They aren’t in wolf form
or I’d be able to hear them.  There are four more weres out there, find
them…and get to safety.”

Marc emerges from the bushes to my right.  His face is
twisted up in a smirk.  He steps towards me and my hackles go up.  Marc lifts
his hands in a defensive motion and it occurs to me that my eyes are probably
glowing.  He drops to his knees and lowers his head in respect.  I return the
nod and eye him as he shifts into his wolf.
 

“
Marc, did you get any clues as to who has Brianna?”

Marc’s wolf turns to me at the sound of my voice.  “
No, I
couldn’t find anything.  What are you planning?”

“We need to get back to our packs, we can’t leave them in
the dark or someone else will be hurt.”
  I raise my nose into the air and
let my wolf gather the information to get us out of here. 
“Everyone…..follow
me!  Marc, flank me on my left, you’ll serve as my beta until I can get to my
own pack.  Let’s go!”

“Abel, you need to hurry, something is about to happen.”
Pru’s voice comes through loud and clear.
  “No matter what you do, don’t
come after me unarmed.  These guys have a lot of hardware on them.  From what I
can tell, everyone is packing heat.  I can fight hand to hand, but I’m still no
Superman.  You aren’t either.”

“Don’t provoke them, Pru,”
I whisper
.

“Damn, we can’t go anywhere without a bunch of drama.”

“You’re telling me!  Keep me apprised.”

We head back the way I came through the maze.  The bushes
are about six feet apart, barely enough for two wolves to run side by side.  I
call out to everyone as a sound off to keep track of them.  I can’t turn around
and check if they’re behind me, so we do a cadence.  I pick up my trail and
follow each turn as though I’ve run it a thousand times over.  When I get to
the end, I pick up the scent of a human.  We can’t all stop to investigate, I
have two of the wolves memorize the scent and send it to me via memory.

The sound of voices is approaching; we must be close to the
entrance.  We slow down so we don’t trample anyone. 

Eyes grow wide as Marc and me come through first.  Oakley is
yelling something, I tune to his voice and he’s freaking out because Pru isn’t
with me.  The rest of the wolves all take steps backwards since many of them
have never seen me as a wolf before this moment.  A woman to my right faints. 
The rest of my pack is telling people to calm down and step back to give us
room.  Oakley comes over to me and he’s trying with everything in him to
communicate to me but he can’t.  Dolly is yelling for someone to get the
antidote and administer it to everyone. 

The building doors are open and cleared out for my pack and
Marc.  I shift back to tell them everything that happened.  Surprising enough,
Marc wasn’t acting like a dick and was rather helpful.  He called his dad and
brother into the meeting and we kept the room closed off to everyone else. 

The sound of Storm’s voice interrupts the room.  “Uncle
Abel, Pru needs us.  She says a bad man has your friend Brianna and he is not
being nice.”

“Storm, you can hear Aunt Pru?”  Sapphire asks calmly.

“Yes Mommy, she said it is because I’m a Super-wolf.  I
kinda fell asleep, but not really, and she was in my dream.  Aunt Pru is a
Super-wolf too you know.” 

“I know, honey.  Thank you for telling us, you’re very
brave,” Sapphire says as she strokes his black hair.

“I’m a werewolf, we’re all brave.”

A pounding on the door brings us back to reality.  Bryon
opens the door and Quinney walks in.  Pru must have been able to get in touch
with him.  He gives me a look, the kind that tells me things have gone south.

“They’ve tied her to a torture rack and they’ve gone to get
that girl from the Dublin pack.  She thinks they’re going to….” He turns and
sees Storm and stops what he’s saying.

“It’s okay Mr. Quinney, I know they plan on hurting Brianna,
but Aunt Pru will figure out how to save her,” Storm says with confidence.

Marc sits still, his body is rigid and I see his muscles
flexing in his arms.

“Marc, we’ll get to her.  Sapphire, if you don’t mind, will
you take our Super-wolf to my mom and dad?”

We all watch as they leave the room and we can talk openly.

“If they took her by helicopter, how can we be sure we’ll
get to her in time?” Marc demands.

“That’s a good question.  Pru was able to communicate with
me within moments of being taken.  I’m able to converse with my pack when I’m
human.  This is not common knowledge and I’d prefer it to stay that way. 
They’re not far, but since we’re not from here, we can’t be sure where they’d take
her.  Go grab your dad, maybe he can help us with the logistics.”

“I’ll be right back.”

The room goes silent as we all take in the seriousness of
the situation.  The aroma of coffee reminds me I haven’t had anything to eat
since this morning.  Out of the blue a tray of sandwiches is delivered.

“I can’t eat,” Shaynie says.

“
Abel, are you there?”
Pru’s voice is faint but
clear.

“
Are you okay?  Quinney was just here and said you’re
with Brianna, what’s going on?”

“Abe, it’s not good.  They’re threatening to give me
Amytal Sodium.”

“Can you fight it?  What do you know that they want to
know?”

“Your weaknesses.  They want you, and they’re going to
any length possible to get you.”

“It’s okay, we’ll get you.” 
I’m not sure how to find
her, but I won’t give up until she’s safe.

“
They’re going to kill Brianna.  You need to save her
Abel, she’s your person.  She’s your mate, your wolf won’t rest without her.”

“What have they done to you Pru?  You’re not one to talk
like that, what happened?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“What did they do to you?”

“My leg is broken, they took a tire iron and broke my
femur.”

“Oh God… I’ll get there…. Don’t give up!”

I look into the pensive face of Dolly, not knowing how to
tell her about her only daughter and the fate she faces.  The room is silent
and my heart is breaking in a million pieces.

“I want everyone to leave the room except for, Marc, Dolly,
Parker and Oakley.  Hurry up, we’re wasting time.”

There
is
one expectation, and only one, the alpha
will protect his wolves.  I’m that alpha, and now I’m faced with two dilemmas,
the girl I’m drawn to, or the girl who taught me who I am.  No one said it
would be easy, but they didn’t tell me it would be my own brethren who would be
in danger.

“Because we’ve taken the drug to keep us from communicating,
Pru is able to talk to me and dream walk.   Before anyone freaks out, listen to
the facts.  Pru is hurt, they’ve broken her femur and because of the torture
rack, she’s unable to heal.  Her legs are pulled far enough apart to keep the
bone separated.  Brianna is with her, they intend to kill her or draw me out.” 
Marc starts to say something but Dolly rests her hand on his.  “They’re going
to inject Pru with Amytal Sodium.”

“What’s that?” Oakley asks.

“Basically, it’s a truth serum.  They intend to mess with
her head enough to get her to tell secrets about my abilities.  She says
Brianna is my mate, but the abductors don’t know how my wolf feels about Brianna. 
They know we’ve been out a couple of times, that is why their intention is to
torture and kill her.”

Oakley’s face is turning red and his hands are gripping the
side to the table. 

“I have an idea, I need to make a couple of phone calls
though.  Someone needs to get me the antidote.  Not being able to communicate
with everyone while I’m human is starting to get on my nerves.  Dolly, I want
you to get in touch with Chrissy, get her here to heal Pru.  She’s going to
need supernatural and human medicine.  I think she may need to heal Brianna
too.  Spare no expense.  I’m going to call Allie and have her get Arien.  He’s
been able to communicate with her before; he might be able to find her.”  Oakley
will hate involving a vampire, especially Arien, but he’d do anything to save
Pru.  “Parker, talk to Quinney and see if he can get us in the general area of
the torture site.  I’m taking Shaynie and Marc with me.  Before I do anything,
I need a minute alone, I need to try to  talk to Pru before she passes out. 
Marc and Shaynie, I’ll meet you outside of these doors.  Stay in touch, and if
you believe in prayer, now’s the time to do it.”

Parker walks over to me and whispers, “I’m going to kill
every single one of them.”

It wasn’t a threat, it was a statement.  Parker will go
through with it too, he’s known for his brute strength and fierce punishment. 
It isn’t my place to stop him, it’s my place to make sure I stand behind my
pack and protect them.

****************

“Abel, it’s time to make a statement to the pack.  We can’t
keep everyone in the dark,” Parker’s voice is stern.

I exhale the breath I didn’t realize I was holding and nod. 
“No one has been in touch with her in two hours.  What do I tell them?  That
I’m a failure?  I can’t even keep track of the one person who’s had my back
since day one!”

I’ve been at the table for the last thirty minutes, waiting
on word from the I.T. people here in Ireland.  They’ve been working on getting
satellite images of the helicopter arriving and leaving, hopeful for a hint as
to where they’ve been taken to be tortured.  The last communication was with
Quinney, he said she was weak and her spirit was down.  Why shouldn’t her
spirit be broken, I’ve failed to save her. 

“Go get Bryon for me, I’m going to assign him as the
spokesperson for the pack.  I don’t want to face the hundreds of werewolves out
there,” I say and point to the window.  Everyone who’s come to the Olympics is
gathered outside, waiting for a glimpse of me, to hear me give them words of
wisdom and hope. 

“Okay, I’ll get him, but you must talk to our pack and
reassure them that we’re going to find Pru,” Parker demands as he walks out of
the room.

My sister said she’d get word to Arien but I haven’t heard
from either one of them.  For all I know, the vampires are behind the
abduction.

I don’t know how much time had passed.  Maybe a minute,
maybe ten.  The door opens and in walks public enemy number one, Arien.

“So sits the Great Wolf, the leader of all werewolf-kind,
and you’re calling on a vampire to save your ass.” Says Arien, arrogant as
always and dressed like a wealthy businessman. 

The door flies open with Oakley rushing into the room.  His
eyes are wild with fear for Pru.  She’s his ‘person’, which makes her his
priority.

“Sit, I don’t have it in me to witness a pissing contest
between you two,” I demand.  Both of them reluctantly obey.

“Listen to the big wolf giving orders like a true alpha, I’m
impressed,” Arien gloats.

Without giving him any ammunition, I press forward for
information.  “You’ve been able to get in touch with her?”

“I’ve done better than that; I know where she’s located.”

“Where?” Oakley and I say at the same time.

Arien sits back in his chair and presses his fingertips
together in a triangle.  I’d like to knock the smug look off his face, but it
isn’t the time to piss off the vamp.

“I’ll give you the information but it will come at a price,”
Arien says.

I don’t need the antidote to figure out what Oakley’s thinking;
he’s mentally calming himself down.

“What do you want?”  I ask.

“There are two conditions, the first is easy, I will go with
you and he won’t,” Arien points at Oakley.  “The second condition is for you to
postpone your wedding for a year to allow Pru the chance to date other
people.”  His eyebrow lifts as he finishes his demands, his lip twitches fighting
to smile.

“Like hell I will!” Oakley yells and leaps up from the table. 
I’m on my feet in an instant to stop him from killing Arien…before we find out
where Pru is located.

My wolf is growling in my chest and by the smirk on Arien’s
face, my eyes have gone wolf.

“Those are my conditions, take it or leave it.”

I grab Oakley by the elbow and escort him to the door. 
“Oak, come out here and let me talk to you for a minute.”

“Take your time wolfy. Tick. Tock.”

We storm down the hall to the men’s restroom.  The smell of
bleach and lemons tickle my nose.

“Oakley, we have to do it, there’s no other way.  Nothing
has come through so far,” I exclaim.  My chest is heavy with the burdens ahead,
knowing Pru will freak out when she discovers what I’ve done.  What promises
I’ve made.  How I’ve screwed her wedding plans.

“You’re okay with the idea of her dating that blood sucking
leech?  What the hell is wrong with you?”  Oakley starts pacing back and forth,
pausing briefly to punch a stall door here and there.

“Of course it’s not okay with me, but it’s my decision. 
Pru’s never going to go out with him and you can stay here to protect Dolly.  I
don’t have time to debate this with you.  If she’s dead, you’ll never get
married.”  What I didn’t say was Brianna is with her too.