Chapter Twelve
One week later
“See you later.” Tatum yelled over her shoulder. Jett seemed lost in thought as he sat with his head down and planned his next hiking tour. Now was the perfect time to slip out without him giving her the third degree on why she shouldn’t go out alone until those rogue wolves were caught. No one knew what their agenda was, but they all felt it was not good. Jett had either accompanied her everywhere she went and when he couldn’t go, he had another shifter keep an eye on her. Mate or not, he was starting to get on her nerves. Not because he was worried about her, because she thought he was sweet for caring so much. But she could take care of herself. She had a phone in case there was trouble. She wanted to spend some time alone and think. Maybe she could sneak out while Jett was distracted. Jett absentmindedly waved, seemingly lost in thought as Tatum opened the door.
“Hold on!”
Shit. So close, yet still so far. “Yes?” She said sweetly as she fluttered her lashes.
He stood from the chair he was sitting on and walked over to her. “Don’t bat those beautiful eyelashes at me like that. Where do you think you’re going?”
“I am going into town to buy something nice for Eira. The twins are a week late and she’s really upset. She’s been dying for some peanut butter cookies and I think they’ll cheer her up. Then I’m going to go buy the babies a bunch of clothes and you can’t come because you are not allowed to know the twins genders.”
“Those babies have plenty of clothes already and you are not going into town alone I told you.”
“First of all, the twins only have yellow and green clothing.” Tatum stuck her finger in her open mouth. “Gag. They need the proper colors and I’m the only one who knows what they are. Second, I’m a grown woman who can take care of herself. And third, you don’t tell me to do anything.”
“Well, I hate to bust your bubble missy, but until it’s safe to go out alone, you will have an escort.”
“You are not my father.”
“No, but I am your mate. So, it’s your job to keep me happy and content just as I do for you, and what will make me happy right now is knowing you’re safe when you leave this house.”
Tatum squinted her eyes. “That was a low blow.”
“Glad you see things my way. I’ll call Ronin to come get you.”
“I can just meet him at the bakery.”
“I don’t want you to be alone Tatum.”
“I’ll be in the car. Besides, it’s daytime and there are plenty of people out and about. I’ll be fine.” She kissed his cheek and hopped off the porch, darting down the few steps leading to the gravel driveway.
“Tatum!”
She was fully expecting him to run after her, but he stood on the stairs with his phone pressed to his ear; undoubtedly calling Ronin to meet me at the store. Ah. Peace and quiet; at least until she got to town and had to drag her new brother-in-law all over the place. Ronin was fun company though, so she couldn’t complain. They got along so well it was like they’d been friends forever. Speaking of friend, she really missed Jasper. She hated that he was so far away. She couldn’t just jump on her bike and show up at his apartment anytime she wanted to. It was too long of a drive to take on a whim. God, she even missed that hellish walk up those six flights of stairs she dreaded every time she went there. Okay, maybe she didn’t miss those stairs, but she definitely missed her best friend. She should call him. Yeah, he could keep her company on the phone until she got to town.
Tatum reached into her purse and slid her thumb over the screen. She slowed to take a sharp left turn and tapped the contact button when there was a straight stretch of road ahead; though she shouldn’t have been on the phone while she was driving, she was cautious enough to slow down when needed. Driving off the side of a cliff would not be her idea of a fun time. She clicked Jasper’s name a surprisingly he picked right away.”
“Hey Tay! I was just thinking about you.”
“Aww, you were?”
“Always. You’re my best friend. I wish you were here.”
“You mean so I can show up at your place uninvited whenever I want, eat your stale ass breakfast croissants, and shower you with all my awesome complaints for the day.”
“Yes.” He said in a whiny tone. “And don’t hate on my croissants. I don’t see you bringing me anything to eat when you come barging in.”
Tatum laughed. “Hey, I’m your guest, you should be entertaining me, not the other way around.” She slowed again to take another hard-left turn, only that time a gigantic gray wolf ran in front of her car, causing her to swerve. She turned the steering wheel right then left again as she skidded to a stop. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” She screamed out her open window. What was with her and almost running these damn wolves over? And did they always wind up jumping in front of the vehicle she happened to be driving. Tatum heard the faint sound of Jasper’s voice calling her name and she realized she had dropped the phone while trying not to kill a local shifter and herself in the process. She picked up her cell and pressed it to her ear, still sitting parked in the middle of the road.
“Tatum?!”
“Hey, sorry. I dropped my phone.”
“Oh good. I thought you were in an accident.”
“Close to it. I almost hit a fucking wolf.”
“Again?!”
“Right?! Like what the Hell?!”
“Hmm. They’re not as smart as you think they’d be, are they?”
Tatum laughed. “I miss you so much.”
“Soon as I get some time off work, I come and visit you.”
A low growl vibrated outside the window of Tatum’s car. Panic shook her to the core. It was not the kind of growl she was accustomed to hearing. This was definitely a threatening tone and she froze where she sat with the phone still glued to her ear. She wanted to call Jasper’s name but was afraid of what the large beast would do if she did. She thought of just stomping on the gas pedal and hightailing it out of there, but she’d seen how fast wolves could go and he’d no doubt catch up to her before she got a good distance away from him. She decided to take a chance and try to get some help. “Jasper.” She said on a whisper, but that’s all she managed to say before the humongous wolf lunged for her. She dropped the phone, screaming as scurried over to the passenger door. Swinging it open was the easy part, how she was going to get away with all her limbs intact was the million-dollar question. As soon as she took a out of the car, she was pulled to the ground by another gray wolf. He dragged her screaming and kicking down a path off the side of the mountain and into the dense brush of the woods.
When she was finally released, she stood and tried to bolt again until she was cut off by a black wolf. At first, she thought it was Jett, but as he stalked toward her, she realized it wasn’t him at all. Sheer terror skated down her spine as they circled her. “What do you what from me?!”
One of the gray wolves shifted transformed to their human form and Tatum put her hand in front of her face to shield her eyes from his naked body. She was not interested in seeing this man’s junk right now, or ever for that matter.
He approached her slowly, lowering her hand to side. His steel blue eyes sent an icy chill up her arms as his deep voice seemed to vibrate the tree around them. “What I want is you.”
“Me? Why?”
“I need you to lure that mate of yours out here so I can kill him and take over as alpha of the pack.”
“Why don’t you make your own pack?”
He laughed. “It doesn’t work like that sweetheart. You see, your mate has a pretty good setup here and if I kill him, I can take over. He’s one of the last alphas around to be doing so well and believe me we’ve searched for a really long time.”
“Do you really think you’re strong enough to take him on? He’s an alpha for a reason.”
“Trust me. He’s a pansy compared to some of the other wolves I’ve put down. He’s been living up here too long living in the lap of luxury. He’s forgotten what it is to be wild. He’ll be dead soon enough, and then little lady…” He placed his forefinger under her chin and tipped her head back. “...you’ll be mine for the taking.”
Tatum straightened, anger boiling in her gut. She cocked her head back and spit right in his face. “I will not be a pawn in your little game.”
He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand and flashed her an evil grin. “Feisty. Just the way I like them.” Then he slapped her across the face, backhanding her with the same hand he’d wiped off her spit with.
Tatum could feel her cheek beginning to swell already as she snapped her head up to glare at him. She didn’t care what he did to her. There was no way on God’s green earth she was going to allow him to use her to get to Jett.
******
Not ten minutes after getting off the phone with Ronin to tell him to meet Tatum in town, his cell rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and glance at the number flashing across the screen. It wasn’t one he recognized, but he answered the call anyway. “Hello?”
“Jett? This is Jasper.”
That would explain why he didn’t recognize the number. The few times they did talk on the phone, it was on Tatum’s cell. That was another good question. Why would he be calling his phone instead of Tatum’s? “Jasper? Tatum isn’t home. She’s on her way to…”
“Jett! Something is wrong!”
Jett’s blood ran cold at Jasper’s words. “What are you talking about?”
“I was on the phone with her while she was driving and she almost hit a wolf and almost crashed her…”
“Wait! Slow down! Did you say she almost hit a wolf?”
“Yes! Then she screamed, and she was gone!”
“I gotta go Jasper. I’ll call you back.” Jett hung up and immediately called Ronin back. Jasper had to be wrong. Tatum was safe and sound with his brother. She had to be.
Ronin answered on the second ring. “Bro, where the Hell is Tatum? I’ve been standing her for…”
Fuck. Jasper was right after all. Tatum was in serious jeopardy and he had no idea where she was. “Ronin Tatum is in trouble. Jasper was on the phone with her and he said she almost hit a wolf on the road.”
“Again?”
“Ronin!”
“Right. Well, what happened?”
“I don’t know. Jasper said he heard her scream and then she was gone. We have to find her. She could be hurt or worse…”
“Don’t think like that! If anyone is a survivor, it’s Tatum. I think you’re forgetting how tough that chick is. I’m making my way up the road now. Hopefully, I’ll run into her car and get an idea of where she went missing.”
“Okay, I’ll take the woods.”
“Meet you in the middle.”
“Thanks bro.”
“Why are you thanking me? She’s my family too.”
Jett hung up, his heart sinking with every step he took. What if they never found her? What if they did find her; in pieces? No, she was fine. She had to be. More importantly, why was he still in human form? He would never get anywhere like that. Jett morphed into his wolf, taking off at top speed. That was more like it. He could cover ten times more acreage in his present form. His heightened sense of smell could also be used to his advantage. His wolf would find her a whole lot quicker than if he was in human form. A few miles away from the hotel he started to pick up a familiar scent. He would recognize that smell anywhere; motor oil and oranges. Tatum’s unique scent permeated every cell in his nose, beckoning him to her side. He only hoped he wasn’t too late. Jett slowed to a light trot until he saw her standing the foot of the riverbed, alone. What the Hell was she doing out there alone? How could she have everyone sick to death with worry and not let anyone know she was okay. Relieved she was alive, he sped up his pace again. When he neared her, he saw shaking. An ominous tremor shot through him and he knew then it was a trap.
What a fucking dumb asshole. He should have known better, of course it was. There were three wolves travelling together, looking for the most opportune time to strike and Jett handed them all over to the rogues on a silver platter. His thought process had been completely clouded because he was so worried about Tatum not being safe.
He slowly strode over to the clearing where Tatum was standing and when she turned her head, he saw the mark on her beautiful face. Blinding, white hot rage coursed through him as he raced over to her.
“Don’t! It’s a trap!” Tatum yelled, holding up her hands for him to stop.
Of course he already knew that, but that fact wasn’t going to stop him from being by her side. A gray wolf cut him off, but he was ready for him and dodged his attack. Jett kept running, not slowing down until he got to Tatum. Another gray wolf came out of nowhere, ramming Jett in the side and knocking him to the hard soil. Jett quickly recovered, but now he was surrounded by the rogue wolves. They circled him like a bunch of starving vultures ready to scavenge their last meal.
Jett sized them up and was positive he could take them all down. The only one that might give him trouble was the black wolf facing him now. He sensed he was their leader and he had nothing to lose by fighting Jett. Jett, on the other hand, had plenty to lose. Losing his position in the pack as alpha was nothing compared to the loss he would have to endure if he didn’t have Tatum. If these assholes found a way to kill him, Tatum would literally be left to the dogs and that outcome was not acceptable to him. Fuck that shit.
The black wolf snarled, and his two henchmen began nipping the air, trying to scare Jett into submission, but there was no way Jett was ever going to back down from this fight. This fight was to the death and one or more wolf would not see the light of another day.
When Jett turned to face the two gray wolves, the black one bit his backside, and Jett spun to tackle him. They rolled on the ground, over and over, and over until they reached the river. Jett latched onto the rogue’s neck, slamming him into the water. He snuck in a quick glance at Tatum to make sure she was okay and spotted Ronin, sliding down the hillside toward the other two wolves. Before he had a chance to make his way back to land the river rushed him and his opponent downstream. Jett inwardly cursed. This was not good. This was not...fucking...good...at all. They were headed straight to the waterfall, which wouldn’t have been that bad, except that the water wasn’t deep enough to carry the splash of a three-hundred-and-fifty-pound wolf from five hundred feet in the air. That would hurt...a lot.
Jett began to swim, well doggie paddle to the edge of the water to try and grab onto something with his teeth, but that wasn’t working out for him so well. He had to shift back into human form if he had any chance of coming out of this disaster alive. Since that was his only option he had to make it work. Once he was transformed he would be far too exhausted to change back into animal form and if Ronin still needed his help when he got back there they’d all be fucked. Shit. Shit. Shit. He had to make a decision and fast before it was too late.
Jett used what little energy he had left and morphed back into human form. He swam his heart out, against the current, and against all odds of surviving, grasping at the one root that happened to be floating in the water. For the first time in his life, Jett prayed. He prayed that floating root was attached to the bottom of the tree it was under. He stretched his arm out as far as he could. He made several attempts to grab it, but he failed each time. Pushing himself to the limit of exhaustion, he tried one more time and gripped it in his fist. His excitement was short lived when he realized he was not stationary. Instead, he floated further down the river and was now careening toward a fallen tree that looked as thick as river was wide. Great, just what he needed. It wasn’t enough he was almost ripped apart by rogue wolves and almost drowned. Now, he could look forward to slamming his head against that tree and suffer a concussion before falling down the waterfall to his imminent death. He should just drown himself and get it over with to end his suffering.
No, he had to do something. Tatum was still out there and she needed him; his brother needed him. Jett steadied his breathing. When he was almost to the tree, he raised his arms above his head and crashed into it. He dug his blunt nails into the hard bark, holding on for dear life as the water dragged him under. The only thing that was keeping him latched to that tree hope and sheer determination to make it through to see his family.
Reaching deep inside himself he found the strength to claw his way above the water and onto to the sodden dirt of the riverbed. Jett lay sprawled on his back, desperately gasping for air. He didn’t think he could move, let alone run or walk back to where Tatum and his brother were. One thing he knew for sure though, he would crawl his ass over there if he had to.
Naked and soaked to the bone, Jett staggered all the way back to the two most important people in his life. When he came to a nearby tree, he leaned against it to rest for just a minute. That minute was going to cost him however. Lifting his heavy lids, he spotted his brother bleeding on the ground and one gray wolf darting toward Tatum who was scrunched by the base of a tree. Jett tried to scream to warn her, but no voice would come out. His energy had been so depleted he could barely stand on his own. He had to get to Tatum before it was too late.
Jett held his breath as he watched the gray wolf leap into the air. Tatum was done for and he couldn’t do a thing to save her now. He collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees bowing his head in shame and disgust with himself. His family was dead. His brother and his mate were both gone, and he had no idea how he could go on without them. As a single tear streamed down his cold face a loud yelp ripped through the air. Snapping his head up, Jett caught sight of Tatum sitting with her back against the tree and a gray wolf lying on the ground next to her with a very large stick jutting out of his chest.