Chapter Eighteen
Attack
Outside the camp
Three raggedy looking wolves circled Lucas. No wonder they were looking for DNA from his magnificent sister. Too bad they didn’t realize this was a foolhardy way to go about it. The only future these mutants faced was death at Lucas’s jaws.
Multiple silver eyes flashed in the dim shadows. The outcome of the fight was certain. Who would make the first move remained a mystery.
He knew who would make the last.
The muscles twitched in his back. The clash was inevitable. Their leader entered the clearing to his right. A full-blooded shifter, not deformed like the others…he, at least, would make a worthy opponent.
Guttural growls filled the clearing, growing louder and more ferocious with each passing moment.
Lucas had no sooner dispatched the rogue leader when the rest surrendered.
“Lucas, help,” Laurel’s voice called out. “I know you’re there. I have Grace and CiCi.”
His heart lightened until he saw his sister. Her usually beautiful hair hung, dirty, matted, and snarled, around her face. She’d lost weight and worse, she was bruised. Usually robust, she should be healing. Her condition appeared critically unstable, he suspected due to the blood loss.
When she stumbled on the way down the stairs, he hustled to Grace’s side and swore beneath his breath to make Slater Hall pay.
He held Grace up securely and gently hugged her as Laurel hurried back inside, shouting over her shoulder, “My knapsack is hidden in the scrub brush by the huge live oak tree you passed.”
“A live oak?”
“The big tree with the Spanish moss—gray, hanging moss that looks like hair. The one I marked with my aura. Bring the bag right away and call Derek if you can get a signal. Slater has Ty at the Fort Myers facilities somewhere. Tell him to have the men keep looking.”
Grace struggled for breath. Distracting him from Laurel.
“When the drugs wore off, I eavesdropped on the guards’ conversations. They mentioned vi…visection. …one of Slater’s favorite experiments.” She whispered in her brother’s ear, “I-I am okay. Let me sit. …and he-elp Laurel.”
“What’s she doing in the RV?”
“CiCi’s…inside…injured. …needs attention.” Grace inhaled deeply, gathering her strength. “Get the bag. Quickly. I’m sure my bright little guard has something in her magic bag that will…make CiCi feel better.”
“Don’t worry, lass. Just sit and catch your breath.” He hated seeing Grace so weak she could barely speak.
“Lucas?”
“Aye?”
“Derek needs to rescue Ty…immediately. I can sense what he feels, and they are already torturing him. His pain is weakening me through our connection.”
“I’ve got this, Grace. No worries, aye?” Lucas jumped up as Laurel struggled down the metal steps with CiCi over her shoulder. “Lass, let me help you with her.”
“I need my bag.”
“You need a safe place away from here first.” Before he went for the bag, Lucas quickly moved his sister and CiCi to one of the trucks. “Laurel, get in, stay out of sight, and lock the doors. If the guard comes back now, he’ll follow my scent before he discovers you missing. I’ll circle around a few times to throw him off, and then I’ll be right back.”
He removed his clothing and put it aside before shifting. He could travel faster and find the bag easier in his wolf form. On the way back to the clearing, he caught the fresh scent of a single rogue guard pacing the perimeter. It was showtime. He had to attack fast and get the women to safety before the others returned. There was no time to waste.
Lucas approached from behind and launched into the air just as the guard approached the trailer. The guard’s head hit the wooden railing with a thunk and he dropped unconscious to the ground beneath Lucas’s massive jaws. There was nothing more to do.
As soon as Lucas shifted back and dressed, he entered the driver’s side door, making barely a sound in case there were more wolves in the area.
He tossed the bag in the backseat. Laurel had CiCi crouched low in the back seat, and Grace was slouched low below the dashboard. Lucas put the gear into neutral and pushed the vehicle away from the clearing. Once beyond the deeper brush, the service road forked, and he asked, “Which way?”
“Start the engine and take the right fork. Put the pedal to the metal.”
Damn Slater and Julie and the rest. Could the whole Fort Myers pack be in on this, or did Starwood control it? In any case, Lucas wasn’t leaving before they rounded up every one of the monsters. He couldn’t leave his sister or Laurel in this nest of vipers until they’d been burned out. The phone signal kicked in, and he was able to finally speak to Derek. When he finished, Laurel asked for the phone and updated the alpha on everyone’s condition while he told her they’d located Ty.
By the time they got to town, Laurel’s herbs and the good news worked wonders on Grace and CiCi.
Once Derek cleaned up the area, they would figure out how to keep things safe for everyone in the future. For now, Lucas just wanted to relax.
***
As everything settled, Grace turned to Lucas. “You’ll be wanting to introduce your lassie to good Scottish whiskey, I take it.”
Maybe before he decided their future, he should invite Laurel to dinner…take her on a proper date. “Aye. whiskey and haggis sound like a heavenly idea to me right now. Do you know of a good restaurant?”
“I have the name of just the place.”
The alpha met them at Laurel’s place with Ty, and filled everyone in on the team’s progress. Grace couldn’t wait to leave with her mate, and CiCi asked Derek if he could drop her by her parents’ cottage.
Derek glanced at Lucas. “What about you? You need a ride anywhere?”
Lucas shifted his gaze in Laurel’s direction and, without saying a word, made a point of letting Derek know he would be staying with her.
Laurel wasn’t as reserved. “I’ll take him home later when he’s ready,” she said firmly, staking her claim and letting the alpha know she would not be keeping a professional distance from him.
Lucas took her hand and wove his fingers with hers. Then they both squeezed.