Chapter Nineteen
When Killian woke up, his head was throbbing like someone had put a jackhammer against his skull and went to town. He had only experienced this once before, so he knew there had to be magic at work. Were the evil mages back? No—they had destroyed them and their leader, Stefan. Of course, witches and warlocks also wielded magic, but that didn’t make sense. As far as he knew, he had no enemies in the magical community.
He opened his eyes, but his vision remained dark and he realized there was no light source anywhere. His enhanced eyesight took some time to adjust, but eventually the room came into focus. Not that there was anything to see. He was sitting on a chair inside a storage room, piles of boxes and old furniture around him. When he tried to move his hands, he realized they were cuffed behind him, his feet cuffed to the chair’s legs.
Despite the musty smell permeating the air, the trace of a scent hit his nose. It was familiar for some reason. Something briny. A Lycan had been in here, he was sure of it. But, except for the New York clan, he rarely had any contact with others of his kind.
He didn’t know why a Lycan would kidnap him, but he had to get out of here. Whoever took him knew about Luna. Why else would they make him think they had her? And they also knew she was his True Mate. Were these the men who tried to kill her?
He took a deep breath, calling his inner wolf. Shifting into his Lycan form would be enough to break the metal cuffs. It would hurt like hell, but he’d heal.
The door suddenly opened and the sound of a gun cocking made him pause. “Uh-uh. I don’t think so. Not unless you want me to pump you full of bullets while in mid-shift?”
Another Lycan. He smelled like mint. “I could try,” he replied.
The Lycan laughed. “You could. But, you don’t want us to kill your mate, do you?”
“I’m not falling for that one again.”
“We really do have her this time. Your brothers and sister too.” The Lycan walked into the room and pressed his gun to Killian’s temple. “Get him out.”
Two more men—no, Lycans too—walked behind him. The cuffs around his ankles came off, and then a pair of hands looped under his arms and hauled him out of the chair. Pain shot through his shoulder as he twisted his torso away trying to get away from them.
“Don’t fuck with me!” The butt of a gun slammed against his forehead, and he saw stars. “We still have some of that confounding potion. I’ll use it if I have to.”
“Asshole,” Killian muttered.
“Shut up.”
The two Lycans hauled him away and he shut his eyes as the light assaulted his vision for a moment. His eyes adjusted as he let them drag him away. Dread pooled in his stomach. He had a very bad feeling about this.
His instinct was right. When the Lycans pushed him into the next room down the hallway, his eyes were immediately drawn to the four figures in the middle. Connor. Quinn. Meredith. Daric. They were all sitting in chairs, their hands behind them, probably cuffed as he had been. Killian frowned. The Lycan said he also had Luna.
“Finally awake,” a voice said. “That confounding potion was a little strong, but that’s to compensate for Lycan metabolism.”
Killian slowly turned his head, the pool of dread growing. Luna was standing on the other side of the room and there was a figure behind her, pointing a gun at her head. Her violet eyes were wide, filled with fear and her breath came in short gasps.
When he made a move to come closer, the man pushed the muzzle against her temple. “Stay where you are, Killian.” The man’s face was in the shadow, but there was something about that voice that was familiar.
“Who the hell are you? And why did you bring me here? Did you kidnap my family and my mate, too?”
“No, they came here on their own, on some foolish mission to rescue you.” The man walked closer, pushing Luna along.
Killian’s blood froze in his veins. He knew that voice, as well as the scent of brine drifted into his nostrils.
“Is it coming back? You were so young, but surely you must remember me, boy.” As he came to the light, the Lycan’s mouth twisted into a mocking smile. He had dirty blonde hair cropped close to his scalp and an ugly nose, probably broken too many times. The Lycan was large, but still shorter than Killian, though he was built like a linebacker with wide shoulders and powerful arms.
“You.” Killian swallowed and sweat beaded at his temple. He tried to clamp down the memories that were flooding back into his mind. Blood and smoke. Being lifted up into beefy arms. The smell of brine. And dirty sheets over a thin mattress in a single room. “You took me. You killed my clan.”
He laughed. “That’s right, boy.”
Killian gritted his teeth. “Ray.” That was his name. He heard one of the men call him that, which earned him a smack from Ray. They weren’t supposed to use names. All these memories were coming back to him. The other children from his clan—all gone. “You killed my clan and kept us in that place. Then when I escaped, you killed the other kids.”
“Almost correct.” Ray’s smile turned feral. “I did kill your entire clan. But when that man took you, I didn’t have a choice. I took the kids with me and burned that facility to the ground.”
“Why did you take us?”
Ray spat on the ground. “I was going to build up my training facility and have all you pups whipped into shape. A Lycan army, trained by the best from childhood.” He huffed. “That yellow-bellied fool, Rodrigo Baeles. He was my partner in this little venture. But, he got nervous when you escaped and scrapped my plan.”
“And the kids?”
“Why, who do you think’s been helping me all this time, boy?”
Killian looked at him. The three Lycans who took him from the room. Probably more, guarding the facility. Ray had somehow twisted them up and turned them into his own personal Lycan army.
“What do you want, Ray?” he asked. “Why go to all this trouble to kidnap me?”
“Do you think what I did was going to stay under the radar for long? With the council unraveling Rodrigo’s treachery, he was bound to name me and tell them what I did. I knew I had to silence the only other willing witness and victim. You.” Ray laughed. “I’ve been keeping tabs on you, boy. And I know about this one,” he pulled Luna by the arm, making her whimper in pain. “Your True Mate. She’s got that pup of yours in her. I ran her over myself to make sure.”
“Monster!” Luna cried.
Ray pushed her down on the floor to her knees. “Shut up, bitch!” He turned to Killian. “I was going to kidnap her to lure you here too. But those humans I hired were no match for you.”
“You already have me,” Killian said. “Let them go. You can do what you want with me.”
“You think I’m going to let you all go? You’re stupider than I thought. I can’t do that. I’ll have the Alpha of New York and the Creed Dragon on my ass.” He tsked and looked at the others. “You shouldn’t have followed him. Now I’m going to have to kill you all.” He looked at Luna. “Starting with you.”
“Bastard!” Killian’s wolf was seething, wanting to be let out. But he couldn’t risk it. Even if Luna and Meredith survived, he could still kill Connor, Daric, and Quinn.
“Hey, dickweed!” Meredith called. “You can’t hurt her, remember? She’s a pregnant True Mate. And so am I.”
“Oh yeah?” Ray cocked his gun. “Do you think a True Mate could survive having her brains splattered all over the floor? At this range, her brain will turn to mush before it could heal itself.” He laughed. “Of course, if she does survive, I’m sure I could find other ways to torture her.”
“Fucking asshole! You touch her and I’ll…” Killian lunged for Ray, but the two Lycans beside him grabbed his arm and pulled him to his knees.
Ray snickered. “I don’t think so, boy. Don’t even think about shifting!”
The muscles under Killian’s skin began to move and ripple. The threat to Luna and the pup was agitating his inner wolf, and he struggled to break free.
“Control yourself! I don’t have to kill her to hurt her!”
“Daric, now!”
Ray’s eyes grew wide in shock as the gun disappeared from his hand. Seizing the opening, Killian let the wolf rip from his skin and lunged for Ray. Luna rolled to the side, shielding herself as the massive black wolf leaped over her. Ray himself was beginning to shift into wolf form, but Killian’s teeth sank into his middle, slowing him down. The other Lycan let out a blood-curdling scream as claws and fangs ripped into his skin. Rivers of red ran down the wolf’s jaw, but he kept going. Around him, snarls and howls of other wolves rang through the abandoned mansion. His family. They were protecting each other.
As Ray let out his last breaths, Killian backed away. The bastard was finally dead. Despite not knowing that Ray had been stalking him his whole life, Killian felt a sense of relief.
He turned, searching for his mate. Luna was huddled in a corner, tears streaming down her cheeks and clutching her stomach. The look of fear in her eyes was something he would never forget and only added to the guilt he felt. She wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him.
“Killian!” Meredith called. “It’s over.”
He swung his head around. Two of the Lycans were down, naked in their human forms and clutching at their wounds. Quinn had a scrap of fabric over a bite on his shoulder to stop it from bleeding out, but the wound was nothing a few days of rest wouldn’t heal. Connor was still in wolf form, his massive paws holding one of them down. The feral wolf was spitting and gnashing at his victim, and as he prepared to sink his teeth into his victim, Meredith stopped him.
“Stop! Connor! He’s done!” She sprinted toward Connor, planting herself next to him.
The feral wolf roared in Meredith’s face, but she remained still, back stiff and hands on her hips in a show of bravery. The animal let out a last growl and backed away, slowly retreating.
Killian turned back to Luna who was getting to her feet. He called his wolf, pushing it back until his inky black fur began to recede and his long limbs shortened.
“Killian,” Luna whispered, her eyes roaming over his human body.
He waited for her to recoil, but was caught off guard when she launched herself into his arms. Her sweet scent filled his senses, and the tension left his body. His hand went immediately to her stomach, and he felt the flutter of movement there. Relief and happiness washed over him. Luna was alive and their child was safe.
“I don’t…what happened?” she murmured against his chest.
“Ray didn’t know Daric was a warlock,” Meredith supplied.
“It took some time, but I was able to turn the metal into something more breakable while Ray was distracted,” Daric added, nodding to where they had been bound to the chairs. Shards of glass lay on the floor. “And then it was simply a matter of transporting the gun from his hand and sending it somewhere else.”
“Connor?” Killian asked as he looked around for his brother.
Quinn shrugged. “You know him. He needs some time to change back.”
“Right.” He looked down at Luna, who still clung to him. “Let’s sort this out. Daric, can you conjure something up to restrain those other Lycans?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” the warlock answered.
“Quinn—contact Sebastian and Grant. They’ll want to know what happened.” His brother nodded and fished his phone out of his pocket.
As they walked out of the room, Killian shielded Luna’s eyes from looking at Ray’s dead body on the floor. No, she didn’t have to see that. And if he had his way, she would never be caught in the crossfire like that again.