Chapter 14
Vega knew she was dreaming, but whatever was happening felt like more than a simple dream. She had too much awareness. Her surroundings were hazy, just starting to come into focus in a way that was somehow familiar.
“You’re close now. All you have to do is find me,” a melodic female voice said.
Vega had learned not to ignore voices that spoke to her. During her training with August she’d started to hone her psychic skills and was able to infiltrate dreams. Occasionally waking thoughts. She was very careful about that, however, because she never wanted to inadvertently injure someone. When people were dreaming it was easier to slip into their minds, because they were more vulnerable then.
“Who are you?” she asked, looking around her environment.
Vega was surrounded by lush green hills and a field of flowers. It felt like springtime against her skin. She wasn’t in bed with Gabriel and it wasn’t dark out, but early afternoon. The sky looked wrong, however. She couldn’t figure out why, but something about it was off. Wait…the clouds weren’t moving.
“My name isn’t important. I can feel your power. You are unique. You can help set me free. And I must be free to stop them.”
Okay, that sounded ominous. A voice in her dream asking to set her free. Nope, not creepy at all.
The female laughed. “You are simply delightful.”
Crap, this person can apparently hear my thoughts. “Set you free from what? And stop who?”
“I’ve been trapped in darkness for a long time. Sleeping, mostly. Now…I’m not sure why I can’t awaken. And I need to.”
Vega wondered if the female was a dragon, and as soon as she had the thought, the female answered.
“Yes, I am. I’m surprised you know about my kind. You are not one of us. But you are unique. There is something about your blood that calls to me. You will be able to stop what’s happening.”
Okay then, that was still creepy. “Do you know what year it is?”
There was a long silence and finally the female spoke. “No. I believe I’ve been asleep for thousands of years.”
“Then how are you speaking the same language as me?”
More laughter. “Smart girl.”
Okaaaay. This wasn’t going anywhere and she didn’t like having someone else in her head. “I’d like to end this conversation now.”
There was another moment of silence and Vega prepared herself for psychic battle. She’d engaged in it before, and while it had always been in training, she’d come out on the other side every time. But there was a lot she didn’t know. She was young and wouldn’t get cocky.
“Okay, for now. But I will be back. I need your help.”
Vega immediately felt the connection snap. The unknown individual was definitely gone. This was a whole other level of weird and she would have to tell August about it, but she wouldn’t break silence on this operation for that. Not yet. She would tell Gabriel, however. He was her partner and she was going to treat him as such.
Suddenly Vega’s dream shifted and she realized she wasn’t awake, but still dreaming.
And she was surrounded by…what the heck? It took a moment to take in her surroundings. She was in a huge bed. California king size, if she had to guess. The comforter was lush and throw pillows were everywhere. It was like something out of a cheesy harem scene from a badly made porno.
Looking down she realized she was naked. Nope. She had enough control to change that. She focused all her energy and let out a breath of relief when clothing covered her. Whatever was going on was…weird.
What the hell was going on? Was someone else in her head? She hadn’t dealt with many psychics in her life. Even in training her experience with others like herself had been limited. Mainly because there weren’t many like her in existence.
Maybe this was some weird thing she’d—
“Why are you with a weak male like Gabriel?”
The whispered words in the male’s voice were dark and sensual, echoing in the vast space surrounding the bed. And something about them was insidious. She instinctively understood that the person speaking was trying to be sensual, but chills snaked down her spine.
“You shouldn’t be with a male like him,” he whispered. “You should be with me. Walk down to my room right now and I’ll fuck you the way you want. The way you need.” It was Carson speaking.
She paused for a long moment, willing the bed and pillows to disappear. She was stronger than this bullshit. “You’re pathetic,” she whispered back. “Is that the only way you can get a woman? By violating her mind? Get the fuck out of my head!” she screamed into what was now just a vast shimmering space she’d created.
Colors surrounded her, greens, purples and blues with a billion stars splashed overhead. This was her domain and he would soon realize that.
Carson seemed to understand the mistake he’d made. At least that was the impression she got from him because he didn’t say another word. Instead, he pushed back with a powerful force that she couldn’t see, but felt pressing against her skin.
Gritting her teeth, she opened her arms wide, and though the action was more symbolic than anything, she shoved back at him. She heard his screams in her head and she knew he hadn’t expected it. Hell, she hadn’t expected this.
Using her training and her natural gift, she reared back and pushed again, straining with the effort to shove him out of her head. Fuck him. She’d get in his head. Screaming under the effort, she slammed her fist forward and the panorama in front of her split down the middle, ripping open like a movie screen.
Suddenly she found herself standing in a forest with a bright moon overhead. This was Carson’s head. He was thinking of this place.
She focused on what she needed, ignoring Carson as he tried to push her out. She didn’t belong here and he was very aware of her presence. His panic and fear of her wrapped around her, nearly smothering her under the weight of it.
The forest shifted slightly, the trees taking on an ominous appearance, as if something out of a horror movie. The branches were gnarled and twisted, reaching out to her like fingers. She ignored them, focused on what she needed to do. Seize the unexpected opportunity given her.
“Where is the one place you don’t want me to look?” she whispered. “Where are you hiding all that information you stole?”
“Get out,” he gritted.
She shoved again, feeling the strain of it. She needed to wake up. This was dangerous, she knew that. But she couldn’t stop until she… She saw an image of Carson poring over information, memorizing it, then destroying— There was no flash drive! He’d memorized everything. Fuck. He held all the information on August’s agents in his head.
The ground shifted beneath her and suddenly, as if being tugged by an invisible force, she started running. The moon itself was a beacon, shining down on a cluster of trees in the distance. There was a huge clearing up ahead. Tree branches reached for her, their fingers sharp and deadly, trying to stop her from reaching her destination. She dodged them. She had to see what he didn’t want her to see.
The ground rumbled and shook beneath her but she kept stumbling along.
As she reached the trio of trees, in the clearing she saw a huge oak pushing high into the night sky. The middle of its trunk was a gnarled knot, the tree clearly having been tied that way when it was a sapling. Yet still it grew strong and had weathered many years. When she looked up she heard a familiar sound in the background… A helicopter.
“Bitch!” he screamed in her head, before she felt another push against her psyche.
Knowing that she’d gotten what she’d come for, she brutally sliced the tether to his mind and opened her eyes.
“Vega!” Gabriel’s voice was panicked as he held on to her shoulders.
She blinked a few times, sweat running down between her breasts as she stared into Gabriel’s concerned face. His normally green eyes had gone pure wolf. “There’s no flash drive,” she said, panting. That had been intense. “All the information is in Carson’s head. He memorized everything so no one could take it from him. And he has an extraction lined up. Or at least that’s what I think. He didn’t want me to see it, kept trying to push me out. But there’s a big clearing and I think he has a chopper lined up to extract him. I could hear rotor blades in the distance. I…don’t know if he projected that or not. One thing’s for sure, he knows I was in his head.”
“I can’t believe you were in his head!” Gabriel snapped even as he ripped off his own shirt and held it under her nose where she only now realized she was bleeding.
Hell, it was all over her chest and the sheets. Holding the shirt to her face, she jumped out of bed and ignored the way she stumbled. “We have to get to him before he tries to escape.”
Before she could respond, Gabriel stormed out of the room, his claws fully out. Dropping the shirt, she raced after him down the hall and watched him slam his foot against Carson’s door. Wood splintered everywhere as he disappeared inside. Before she’d made it down the hallway, he stepped back out, his expression dark. “He’s gone.”
A couple wolves came out of their rooms, but didn’t say anything as Gabriel stalked back toward her.
“We’re going to see my cousin now,” Gabriel snapped, stepping back into their room with her. “Why did you get into Carson’s head when I told you not to?”
“I didn’t get into his head. He got into mine. He tried to tell me that I didn’t belong with you, that I should come down to his room and let him…fuck me.”
At her words, Gabriel’s face partially shifted. She’d never seen someone so angry before, never seen a wolf do that. Just as quickly, he was full human and grabbing a clean shirt from his suitcase. “Get dressed. Now.”
Understanding the urgency of the situation, she tossed on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black sweater. They would be telling Judoc everything now. At least that’s what Vega assumed. She just hoped the Alpha didn’t try to get in their way when they hunted Carson down. She grabbed her burner phone as an afterthought and shoved it in her back pocket. She needed to call August.
Because if it came down to it, she would call not only August, but her father, and go to war with Judoc. They had to get Carson and stop him.
* * *
Gabriel fought the animal rage surging through him. After what Vega had told him, some things clicked into place. Things he would think about later. Not now.
Not until after he’d hunted down Carson and ripped his throat out. He was going to make sure that wolf didn’t live out the next day.
He paused outside his cousin’s door, surprised there was a sentry standing there. Maybe it was because of the way he’d just busted down another wolf’s door. He was actually surprised he hadn’t been stopped on the way here.
He nodded once at the female sentry. She had on cargo pants and a sweater and she was armed to the teeth. “Is Judoc available?”
Before she could answer, the door opened and his cousin stood there frowning. “It’s three in the morning. And I hear you owe me for property damage.”
“This can’t wait.”
“Come on.” Judoc sighed, stepping back so they could enter.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Gabriel said, “I need to say some things that are going to be hard for you to hear.”
His frown deepening, Judoc rubbed a hand over his already ruffled dark hair. “Come this way.”
They stepped into a small room attached to the bedroom. His cousin’s office.
“This place is completely insulated,” Judoc said as he shut the door. He motioned for the two of them to sit but neither Gabriel nor Vega did so.
“Carson is a psychic,” Gabriel said bluntly.
Surprise and something else entirely ricocheted off his cousin. He didn’t say anything, just leaned against the front of his desk and listened.
“He just attacked Vega in her dream. I’m not going to get into what he did because it’s not important right now. But the reason Vega and I are here isn’t because I chased her into this territory. We’re hunting Carson. He stole a file on a bunch of supernatural agents stationed throughout the world. He’s getting ready to sell the information to the highest bidder. We have to stop him. Vega is also psychic, and when he attacked her, she fought back and saw where he’s planning to make his escape. It’s on your land. We need to go there now. And I am asking you to lift Carson’s protection. That’s the favor I want.”
Gabriel laid out everything for his cousin as quickly and succinctly as possible. He was clearly controlling his rage, however, knowing that Carson had been inside Vega’s head. That he’d been pushing her for— No. Not now.
Judoc stared at Gabriel for a long moment after he finished. Shoving up from his desk, Judoc’s own wolf was in his eyes.
Gabriel tensed, ready to fight him if necessary.
His cousin seemed to read his expression and frowned. “I believe you. Why didn’t you just ask me to withdraw his protection before…”
“You always had a soft spot for him.” Judoc had to remember how he’d been with Carson all those years ago. Now Gabriel understood why. It was possible that Carson had manipulated his way into Judoc’s head. It would be hard to do it with an Alpha, but they’d been linked since childhood.
“I did have a soft spot for him. But when he left, things somehow became clearer. And now that he’s been back I haven’t been sleeping well. Suddenly that makes a lot of sense. I’ve been annoyed with him. Agitated, and I’m wondering if he tried to get into my head and couldn’t. I’m a hell of a lot stronger than I was even a decade ago.” It looked as if he wanted to say more but he stopped, shook his head.
“We need to lock him down and I have to get that information. Hundreds of lives are at stake. Our people are at stake.”
Judoc picked up his phone and made a call even as he motioned for them to step out of the office with him.
Finally, Gabriel felt like they were doing something. He realized that only minutes had passed and he was forcing himself not to race after Carson. He’d had to have Judoc’s approval. Gabriel might be strong but he couldn’t act like a crazed wolf rampaging after one of Judoc’s protected.
As they stepped out into the hall, Judoc shoved his phone back in his pocket and cursed. “He’s in the woods now. One of my sentries saw him running, thought he was just out for exercise.”
Gabriel allowed his own claws to extend before he quickly retracted them. “He’s going to make a run for it.”
“He won’t get off my property.”
Unfortunately that might not be true. “If he’s got a helicopter coming for him—”
“We’ll shoot it out of the fucking sky,” Judoc snarled.
“I can tell you exactly what the trio of trees looks like near that clearing,” Vega said as the three of them hurried down the hallway. “The one in the middle was an oak with a giant knot in it.”
Gabriel knew exactly what she was talking about even before his cousin nodded.
“I know exactly where that is,” Gabriel said. It was distinctive enough that their pack used it as a marker for the territory. “It’s about twenty miles from here.” And it would be a rough run through that terrain.
Nothing would stop him, however.
“I’ve got a few guys on four-wheelers and ATVs,” Judoc said, shouting out orders to packmates who’d started stepping out of their rooms.
“I’ll run,” Gabriel said, looking at Vega. “Go in one of the—”
She actually snarled at him, her eyes pure wolf. “Don’t finish that thought. He attacked me. I’m helping bring him down.” There was pure steel and determination in her voice.
Though he wanted to tell her to stay back, to keep her safe, he knew it wouldn’t happen. The only reason he was remotely okay with this was that it wasn’t a blood moon right now.
And he had her back. Always.