I decided now was as good a time as any to collect the first batch. I didn’t want to waste any time once the witches were ready. Having a handful of the turned humans at our pack now that some things had settled sounded like a good idea.
“Since the witches are almost done with the reversal spell, how does a road trip sound?” I asked Liam when it was just the two of us. “I don’t want to sit around and do nothing.”
“We could look for a place for us to live…” Liam suggested with a smirk.
“I promise that will happen soon, but not yet. I just got my dad back. I don’t want to send him to an early grave with that news.”
“I get it. Just an idea to think about.”
Oh, I’d definitely thought about it. My hormones were dying for a release and that wouldn’t happen until we had some privacy.
Liam continued, “A road trip sounds like fun. I’d like to see more of your territory now that I’m staying. My brothers will probably want to come, too.”
“Not a bad idea to have a few extras with us anyway, just in case. We have no idea where Declan is, so we can’t be too safe at this point.”
“Let’s do it. We can check in with the others and take off this afternoon if you want. Probably better to get the group furthest away. How far would that be?” Liam asked.
“Just a few hours. We’d be there and back before dark.”
Once we had the plan sorted out, we went in search of my dad and Augie. They couldn’t have gotten far since the meeting ended.
We found them in the first place we looked, holed up in my dad’s office. Augie’s smile while my dad was explaining how the protection rotations and trainings worked made my heart happy. He may be a book nerd on the inside, but I knew he was more than capable of helping to keep our pack safe and I was glad Davis had seen that in Augie as well.
“Hey,” I said from the doorway. “Mind if we interrupt?”
“Not at all. Did we forget something during the meeting?” Dad asked.
I repeated what Liam and I had discussed, and my dad nodded in agreement. “Bringing a few back early isn’t a bad idea. I’ve heard from Joseph’s pack from outside Hood River. One of the humans there has been giving them some grief. Let’s start with them.”
I nodded. It was second furthest so still went with our original plan. “Mind if we bring some others along just in case we run into trouble?”
“Good idea,” Augie said. “Why don’t you take Rick and Sam?”
“Probably just one or the other,” I said. “Caleb and Aiden will likely be joining us as well.”
“Ask Rick first. He needs to get out of here and get his mind on something else. Losing Davis has been hard on him. They were like family,” Dad said. “I checked in with him last night after dinner, but he wasn’t ready to talk.”
“Got it. I’ll check in with you guys when we get back.”
“Keep her safe, Liam,” Dad called out as we turned from the office.
Liam leaned his head back in the doorway. “Always.”
I heard the snicker from Augie, followed by a thump. My dad likely smacked him upside the head, and I smiled, wishing I could have seen it.
We went out to the training facility and found Rick taking his aggressions out on one of the punching bags. His face was beet red and his ebony hair was plastered to his face from sweat.
Liam and I approached slowly and arched around to the front of the punching bag, so we wouldn’t surprise him. Rick threw a few more punches after he saw us, but finally dropped his arms.
“What’s going on?” he asked, out of breath.
“Came to see if you wanted to join us on a run to Hood River. We need to go pick up the humans from Joseph’s pack,” I said.
“Yeah, I can do that. Let me clean up first.”
“Meet us by the SUV when you’re ready and we’ll head out,” Liam said.
Rick nodded, and we left him be. I peeked back before we exited the building to see him walk toward the shower area. His shoulders were tight with tension and his stride stiff. Hopefully, a few hours with us would help ease him some.
“Let’s go get your brothers,” I suggested. “Make sure to warn Caleb to behave himself with Rick. We don’t need him to be pushing buttons right now.”
Liam agreed. When we arrived back at the pack house, we found Aiden downstairs on his laptop, but Caleb wasn’t with him.
“Where’s Caleb?” Liam asked.
“Off with Jamie,” Aiden grumbled. “They went on a hike or something. I only paid partial attention to their conversation. Pretty sure I heard him call her ‘mate’. He’s going soft on us like you did.” Aiden nodded to Liam. “It’s annoying.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out. “I promise you, Liam is anything but soft.”
“TMI, Taya.” Aiden rolled his eyes. “What did you need?”
“We need to head up north and get some of the humans for the witches to work their voodoo on,” Liam said. “Figured you guys would want to go.”
“I’m in. I’ll leave a note for Caleb in our room. Let me put my laptop up and do that.”
We waited on the couch for a few minutes before Aiden appeared back downstairs. “Let’s go.”
“Going a little stir crazy in the house?” I joked.
“Just slightly.”
I patted him on the back. “You can have Liam and Caleb all to yourself tomorrow. I’ll hang out with Jamie, so you boys can go do whatever it is you do when you’re bored.”
“I just decided to officially stay here with you and you’re already trying to get rid of me.” Liam pouted. “That hurts, woman.”
“You’ll get over it,” I teased as we walked out the door.
When we arrived back outside and to the SUV we’d be taking, Rick was already waiting for us. He was showered and changed, but the haunted look was still clear as day on his face. Once he saw us, he slid into the very back row. Aiden hopped in the driver’s seat, while Liam took passenger and I had the middle to myself.
I stretched out my legs across the seat and smiled at Rick, but he ignored me and stared out the window. Instead of pushing him before he was ready, I gave Aiden the address of the other pack, then pulled some earbuds out of the bag I had brought. I plugged them into my phone and turned on some music. The night before was finally catching up to me and a nap sounded fantastic. I leaned my head back against the window and closed my eyes.
Sometime later, I heard Liam and Aiden arguing. I opened my eyes and found we were in the middle of a raging storm. Oregon was known for its summer storms and it looked as though this one was going to be fierce. Sleet pounded on the roof of the SUV, making it hard to hear anything, and the rain was coming down so thick and fast, I could only see a few feet in front of us.
“Where are we?” I yelled over the rain.
“We don’t know,” Liam answered. “Storm is messing with the GPS. We have to pull over.”
I nodded and watched as Aiden maneuvered us through the heavy winds.
I glanced back at Rick. “Glad you came with us?”
“Never a dull moment when you’re around,” he replied with a small smile.
Well, that was more than we got from him earlier. Progress in any size was good, in my opinion. I went back to watching out the window. We were in the middle of nowhere, but Aiden managed to get us off the highway and to a closed-down truck stop. We pulled under an awning where the truckers would have parked and could finally see out the windows more than a few feet.
No lights were on and no other vehicles were in the parking lot. We were the only crazies out there in the storm. I should have checked the weather before we left. Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, the storm blocked out the sun and it felt like early evening.
“Well, I guess we just sit here and wait out the storm,” I said to no one in particular.
“Agreed. I’m not driving in that rain if I don’t have to,” Aiden replied.
Typically, storms like the one we were experiencing passed through within an hour or less. I kept my fingers crossed this time would be no different and that the awning above us held. I could hear it creaking under the pressure of the storm and wondered if taking cover beneath it was such a great idea.
“Mind if I get out and stretch my legs?” Rick asked.
“Not at all. Just be careful out there and don’t go too far.” I moved over so the seat could fold down and let him out.
“How long did we have left before the GPS went out?” I asked.
“About an hour,” Liam answered.
We wouldn’t be home before dark now, but that was okay. It wouldn’t be the first time things didn’t work out the way we planned. I pulled my phone out to call my dad and let him know, but there was no service. Damn it. We’d have to use a phone when we got to the Hood River pack.
Another ten minutes passed, and Rick wasn’t back yet, but the rain was letting up. I was getting worried, so I asked Liam to go look for him.
“Sure, I’ll be right back.”
I reached in the back seat and handed him a flashlight. “Here, take this. Visibility still isn’t great out there.”
“Thanks.” He took the flashlight and hopped out of the SUV.
I watched the light bounce around as he jogged out into the rain to look for Rick. I began tapping my fingers on the window as I waited for some sign Liam was headed back this way, preferably with Rick right behind him.
“He’s a big boy. You don’t need to worry about him,” Aiden said.
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I won’t.”
He huffed. “And this is why I’m content without a mate.”
“Oh, Aiden. We’ll soften your broody heart one of these days.”
He grunted at me, but didn’t say anything more. I went back to staring out the window until I finally saw Liam coming our way. Relief ran through me until I noticed the large form in his arms.
“He needs help,” I said urgently as I swung the door open. I ran toward Liam with Aiden right behind me. Rick hung limp in his arms with a gash on his head. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. I found him at the edge of the awning, laying on the ground. There was a rock next to him with some blood, but the rain washed a lot of it away. I couldn’t tell if he fell and landed on it or if someone hit him. Let’s get him in the back.”
I jogged ahead and opened the back door again while Aiden helped Liam slide Rick inside. He was soaking wet and completely knocked out. The cut on his head was bloody and messy. Liam took his shirt off, since it was already ruined, and pressed it to the wound.
Aiden went around the back and grabbed his bag from the trunk. He pulled out a medical kit, and we both began cleaning Rick up while Liam got a new shirt and cleaned up.
Once the cut was bandaged, Aiden used a smelling salt capsule to wake him up. Rick came to with a jolt, jerking his head from side to side. “What happened?” he asked.
“We wanted to ask you the same thing,” I said. “Liam found you knocked out, lying in the rain. You don’t remember?”
Rick shook his head and grimaced. “No, I must have slipped. I never saw anyone out there.”
“Well, whatever happened, you’re okay now. If someone did hurt you, we would have a hell of a time tracking them in this weather. The storm’s let up a little, so visibility is good enough to drive in, but any tracks are long washed away. Let’s just get on the road,” Aiden said.
Aiden was right. If it had been one of Declan’s guys or someone we needed to worry about, they wouldn’t have left Rick alive. I was leaning toward the assumption of him slipping.
I crawled in the very back, so Rick didn’t have to move, even though he was probably already halfway healed. Liam surprised me by joining me in the back as Aiden hopped into the driver’s seat and we took off again.
The weather cleared as we drove further north. We must have driven right into the storm and hit the worst of it. Within twenty minutes, there were blue skies for miles. Typical Oregon weather.
We arrived outside Hood River and were welcome by the pack alpha Joseph. “I was getting worried about you guys. I thought you’d be here a while ago.”
“We got caught up in a storm and had to wait it out,” Liam said as he shook the alpha’s hand. “I’m Liam. This is my brother Aiden. I’m sure you know Taya and Rick.”
“Nice to meet you and yes, how are you doing, Taya? I heard your dad woke up.”
“We’re doing good. Dad’s as healthy and strong as ever and right back to business. Nothing can keep him down for long. Even douchebags like Declan.”
Joseph let out a deep laugh. “You’ve always had a way with words. Well, let me show you to the humans. One of them has been rather difficult. I hope you’re prepared for a long drive home.”
Aiden raised his bag. “I brought something for that.”
I rolled my eyes. He was such a boy scout, always prepared. Though, I doubted he followed very many rules. He screamed ‘bad boy’.
Joseph led the way to the humans. We kept small talk to a minimum. I was anxious to get back to my dad. I didn’t like being so far away from him so soon after getting him back.
He brought us to a room in their pack house, using a key to unlock the door from the outside. I eyed him curiously.
“We tried to let them socialize, but it was too dangerous. There’s a guy in there named Sean who put a decent hurtin’ on several of my men. I couldn’t take the chance anymore. One of my guys likely would have killed him and I wouldn’t have punished them for it, either. The other two were more trusting, but I figured it was best to leave them together.”
“Thank you,” I said. “You didn’t have to take them on and it helped us to focus on other important matters. We’re sorry it was such a hassle.”
“Not a problem. Just glad it sounds like you have a resolution now.”
“You and us both.” I smiled.
Joseph opened the door. Inside were three beds, a TV, and bathroom. One very cranky guy sat in the corner of his bed and another guy and girl sat on another bed looking pretty cozy. Joseph introduced the other two as Yvette and Chris. Sean didn’t say anything as Aiden approached him, syringe in hand.
“There are more of us than there are of you. Are you going to make this difficult?” Aiden’s tone was rough and deep. His eyes narrowed, and he was downright scary. Sean shook his head, eyes wide. “Good.”
Aiden leaned forward and pulled up Sean’s sleeve before sticking him with the needle. Yvette and Chris sat trembling on one of the beds in the corner.
I sat next to them and smiled. “Do you plan on fighting us when we take you back to our pack?” I assumed they recognized us from when we rescued them. They shook their heads quickly. “Then you don’t need to worry about that guy over there. I promise he won’t hurt you. We just had to make sure Sean didn’t do something stupid and get himself hurt.”
“We understand,” Chris said. “You won’t find any trouble from us. Do we get to go home now?”
I glanced at each of them. “Hopefully, really soon. We’re doing everything we can to make that possible for you.”
Aiden and Liam carried Sean out of the room while the other two followed us back to the SUV. Rick sat in the back with the unconscious Sean while Chris and Yvette joined me in the middle. Liam fought me a little on sitting with them, but I assured him I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself if they decided to do something stupid.
I spent the trip home chatting with Yvette. I really liked her and was sad she wouldn’t remember her time or getting to know Chris. They had become close during their time in captivity, but we couldn’t risk them staying in contact and taking a chance that one or both of them would remember their time with any of the packs. I felt horrible for it, but it was what was safest for the wolves and I would always put them first.
It was almost ten by the time we got home. Sean had needed two more doses of whatever sedative Aiden had brought, but for the most part, the trip was uneventful. Chris and Yvette stayed with Tricia in her cabin, and we left Sean with the witches. They were happy to work on him first, which made me almost feel bad for him, but not quite.
Once everyone was settled, I checked in on my dad and Augie. They hadn’t learned anything new, so Liam and I headed up to my room. I plopped down on the bed and laid back without even removing my shoes. It had been a long-ass day in the car, and the lack of activity made me feel like crap. Tomorrow, we were going to have to go for a run to shake off the funk I was currently feeling.
Liam hovered above me and began taking my shoes off before moving onto my clothes. Once my pants and shirt were off, he rolled me over. “Relax, Mate. Today was a good day.”
I mumbled incoherently into the bed as he used his hands to lull me to sleep. I would have agreed with whatever he said just so he’d keep rubbing my back.
“Sleep. I’ve got you now,” he whispered.
I trusted that Liam truly did have my back, and I drifted off to sleep without another care.