Chapter Four
Dara had spent a lot of time on the balcony outside the lantern, staring down. More than once he’d thought about just jumping. But it was high up, and none of the forms he could shift into could fly. He wished he was a kid again, able to change into a swan, just like his dad. He’d have been long gone before Zane knew what was happening.
The morning after Zane’s visit, while staring over the railing, he saw two figures in the distance. They were walking along the shore, close to the cliff line, making them harder to pick out. On instinct, he crouched low, watching. Had they seen him? Was it Zane back early? But the alpha always came alone, near-paranoid that if anyone else knew he was there, they’d get what it was Zane coveted.
It only took a few minutes of watching to confirm what he’d suspected. Whoever they were, they were coming his way. Could they get in? He wasn’t sure how well Zane had fortified the entrance from the outside. He certainly couldn’t leave but he thought Zane was banking on the lighthouse’s isolation rather than on stopping people from getting through the door.
There was nothing he could do. The inside of the door was smooth metal that opened outward. There was nothing big enough or strong enough that he could use to block it. He stayed outside a few more minutes, just long enough to see the two figures peel away from the cliffs and start making their way across the shore toward his tower. Crawling on his hands and knees, he made his way back inside and to the ladder. Where could he hide?
After bringing Henry back to the Cove for safekeeping, they set out again. They took a few wrong turns in the dark and it was early morning before they reached their destination. The lighthouse looked foreboding.
“What would Zane be doing here?” Seth wondered.
“It would be a good place to stash someone away,” Hunter replied. “Look around you, there’s nothing else for miles and miles.”
Seth caught a flash of movement at the top of the tower. “Look, there! Did you see that?”
“Yeah,” Hunter replied. “Someone’s home.”
“Let’s hope it’s Lucas. We can get him safely home then put an end to Zane.”
Hunter didn’t reply but Seth could feel his disapproval.
“What? You know as well as I do that as long as Zane’s alive, he’s a danger to us and I don’t just mean the Cove. Every wolf pack is at risk. And after that, he’ll turn his attention elsewhere. What if he sets his sights on River Den? You’ve got the cubs to think about.”
They reached the base of the lighthouse and circled around, looking carefully for traps or other signs that their arrival was expected. All they found was a metal door, locked and bolted.
“We definitely saw someone up there, right?” Seth said.
“Definitely,” Hunter replied. “Unless it was a seagull shaped like a person.”
There was no mistaking that the door had been sealed shut from the outside, keeping someone in.
They took a lock each, using brute force to break them and drawing back the heavy metal bolts.
Seth dragged open the door, both of them on alert. It could still be a trap.
But there was no one waiting for them on the other side and no one came down to check who was there.
Seth took a chance and called out. “Lucas?”
His voice echoed up the tower, but no one answered.
“There’s someone up there,” Hunter said with more certainty than Seth felt. Hunter’s senses were significantly more acute than Seth’s since his mating with Cade had given him back his ability to shift. More than once Seth had felt like a dumb sidekick to Hunter’s superhero, but he was grateful his cousin was there with him.
“Lucas?” he tried again. Silence. “I guess we go up.”
The winding rickety metal stairs clanged underneath their feet as they climbed upward. The stairs ended on a small landing, a door to one side and a metal ladder leading upward to the lantern on the other.
Hunter put a hand on Seth’s shoulder, listening intently, then he pointed toward the door, nodding, then up the stairs, shaking his head. Someone in the room, no one up the ladder.
“Come out now, or we’re coming in,” Seth yelled, as he and Hunter moved to stand either side of the door. He could hear a shuffling inside the room, but no one replied, and the door stayed shut.
Seth grabbed the handle, counted to three, and yanked the door open. He dived out of the way as something hurtled from the room, smacking against the wall.
“Stay away,” a voice called, angry and fierce. But under the anger was a quaver of fear.
It wasn’t Lucas.
“We’re here for Zane,” Seth called, looking to Hunter. Hunter shrugged.
“Zane’s not here. Get lost.”
“Look, we just want to talk,” Seth said, trying to look through the door. Another object flew through the air toward him and he ducked back out of range. It bounced harmlessly off the wall.
But Seth had seen enough. The door was partially blocked with a piece of furniture about as high as his knees. He could jump it easily. He hadn’t got a good look at whoever was behind the door, but given they were throwing random objects at them, he felt reassured they weren’t facing someone armed with actual weapons.
“I’m going in,” he said to Hunter.
The bear nodded. “I’ve got your back.”
Seth gave himself to a count of three then crouched and jumped, vaulting over the furniture and into the room. He narrowly dodged another object that hit the wall behind him, sending a burst of color across the drab stone bricks. Paint? He was throwing paint?
He searched out the missile flinger, finding him hidden behind the base of a bed turned onto its side.
“Stay back,” the voice called again, more fear than anger this time.
“I’m just here to talk,” he said, catching the flash of movement before another bottle of paint sailed across the room. He dodged it, hearing it slam into the wall outside.
“That’s a pretty good aim you’ve got there.”
“Fuck off.”
Seth winced.
“Listen, I’m sorry if we scared you. I’m looking for my brother, Lucas.”
“You need to go. If Zane finds you here—”
“Wait, Zane? He’s been here recently?”
Silence.
“This would be a lot easier if we could talk face-to-face.” He stepped forward, trying to get a better look at the cornered man.
“Stay away from me.”
It looked like he’d run out of things to throw.
“How about I take a seat right here,” he tried, setting himself down on an upturned wooden crate. “I’m Seth, by the way.”
Two eyes peered out at him.
“What do you want?”
Seth decided to be honest.
“I’m searching for my little brother, Lucas. He’s just a kid. Zane took him.
“He’s not here.”
“Zane or Lucas?”
“Both. Either. No one’s here.”
“You’re here.” No reply to that. “What’s your name?”
“I’m no one.”
“You’ve got a good aim, no one.”
He waited a few seconds to see if he’d get another reply.
“When was Zane last here?” No answer.
“Do you know when he’s coming back?”
Seth looked toward the door. Hunter was standing just outside, watching but not wading in.
When he glanced back at the man behind the bed, he saw that he’d moved, standing up out of his crouch to get a better look at Seth. Only when he saw Hunter loitering by the door, he ducked down again.
“Get lost!”
“Too late for that. We’re already sort of lost. And as much as I’d like to leave, get out of your hair and let you get back to your painting and decorating, you’re now our only link to Zane. We need your help.”
“I can’t help you.”
Gone was the anger, the voice quiet, defeated.
“Well, maybe we could help you.”
The eyes were back, watching him carefully.
“Help me how?”
“The door’s open now. You can get out of here.”
The man shook his head. “No. I can’t go anywhere. I have to stay. I—”
“Whoa, hey, okay.” Seth held up both hands, palms out. “It was just a suggestion. You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to.”
Slowly, he got to his feet. This back and forth wasn’t getting them anywhere. He’d barely gotten a glimpse of the paint-throwing tyrant.
“What are you doing?” the man asked, sounding panicked, as Seth skirted around the edge of the room toward him. “No, stay back!”
“It’s okay,” Seth said again. “I’m just gonna come a little closer. It’d be nice to see who I’m talking to.”
Just like that, the eyes were gone, the man scrambling back across the floor. Only there was nowhere to go. He was backed into a corner.
The man finally came into view, pushed right back against the wall. The sight of him distracted Seth, so much so that he saw too late the object thrown at him. It hit his shoulder and burst open, sending a cascade of blue paint down his T-shirt.
He looked back at the shifter, seeing him now empty-handed.
“Blue is definitely my color,” he quipped.
“Don’t come any closer,” the man said, pushing himself up onto his feet and bracing himself against the wall with one hand. The other hand was wrapped protectively around his stomach and there was no mistaking the bump there.
An omega, huh? That was Hunter’s territory. He waved the alpha in, turning back to the omega. “This is my friend, Hunter, he—”
The shifter’s panicked eyes flicked rapidly from Seth to Hunter. “No, stay back.”
In a move Seth hadn’t anticipated, he sprang up and jumped over the upturned bed frame, running for the door. Hunter easily blocked him, simply stepping in front of the open doorway. The omega skidded to a halt, turning back to look at Seth.
“You’re wrong. Blue is not your color.”
His eyes rolled back into his head and he fainted. Hunter dived forward, but Seth was quicker, catching him and easing him down to the ground.
“Damn,” was all he said.
“He’s right,” Hunter replied. “Blue washes you out.”
“Time and a place, Hunter. Time and a place.”