The meeting had become a complete disaster. Men were a pain in my ass and didn’t listen for shit. I was about to lose my cool if they didn’t all calm the hell down. I grimaced as they continued to argue with each other over crap that didn’t even matter. Poor, proud alphas were upset that they hadn’t been brought in sooner. Well, boo-fucking-hoo. Get over it!
“ENOUGH!” I finally yelled and slammed my fists on the table. “This is not some pissing competition. What’s done is done. I don’t want another man grumbling about how he could have stopped this if he had known sooner. We cannot change the past, but we can do something about the future. Pull your head out of your ass and let’s work together!”
Silence descended upon the room. I had everyone’s undivided attention. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not, but it had to be better than what I’d been listening to for the last hour. Davis grinned at Augie and patted my leg from under the table. I was pretty sure they had been waiting for me to explode. Jerks.
“My father is the chief councilman. He was appointed to that position because he is the best for the job. He is strong and smart. Declan is also smart. If he hadn’t disappeared and we didn’t have two girls downstairs right now proving everything Davis told you, then you never would have believed my father. Our family could have risked losing a lot more than just Cord. Don’t lie to me and tell me it wouldn’t have worked out that way. I may be new to all this,” I gestured in front of me regarding the meeting, “but I’ve been an alpha’s daughter my whole life. I know enough about how the politics work around here.”
Davis stood next to me, tall and proud. “She’s right, and we’re wasting time. We need to start working together. Do any of your packs still have contact with any covens?”
Noah, alpha from the Southwest territory spoke up first. “We haven’t seen any witches in decades. There are rumors, but we never wanted to poke the bear. Ya’ll sure it’s necessary to bring them in?”
“If we have any hope of waking Gerald, it most certainly is,” Elijah said. “The witches will understand once they learn there is a sorceress involved.”
“What if they don’t?” Samuel, alpha from the Midwest territory asked. “Are we supposed to risk our packs facing witch retaliation to save just one?”
Blood. Boiling. I growled low and leveled my gaze at him. “We are not just saving one shifter. We are saving humans and potentially our whole race. Do you think for one second that Declan is creating more shifters for anything other than the purpose of growing his army? If we don’t stop him now, then he’ll come for each of our packs. Feel free to walk away now and keep your pack out of it, but when blood spills on your land, it will be on you.”
I pushed back from the table we sat around and stormed out of the room. I was done with these people. I needed air. I needed to run and let the chilly night calm me down. I slammed the door behind me as I headed back downstairs. I heard the entrance to the meeting room open and close again and assumed it was Augie. I trusted him to know exactly where I was going.
I was halfway across the training field when I began flinging my clothes off and preparing to shift. I didn’t care. It was dark, and even if it wasn’t, after the day I’d had, I probably still wouldn’t care. I’d come back for everything later. My shirt was off, and I’d just unbuttoned my pants when I heard my name called.
I froze. Shit. It was not Augie’s voice.
I didn’t turn around to watch him approach, but I did start looking for my shirt, which was nowhere to be found. Perfect. Just perfect.
“Taya,” Liam’s low voice called out once more, and much closer than before. Too close. “I’m sorry. They were out of line back there. Are you okay?”
I turned around to face him, squared my shoulders, and pretended I wasn’t half-naked in front of a sexy man I was attempting to keep out of my head and heart. At least I had been able to button up my pants, and I hadn’t thrown my bra off yet. “I’m fine. I just wanted to go for a run and cool down. If I stayed in there any longer, I was going to explode and tear someone’s head off. Literally.”
Liam did this half-smile thing, making my insides turn to putty. “You handled it better than most seasoned alphas would and earned a lot of respect back there. They will help. It just takes us stubborn men a while to get our heads on straight sometimes. Try not to worry about it.”
He stepped closer to me, and I felt heat roll off his body, causing my own to shiver in response. If he touched me, I was going to be in deep shit. I watched as several emotions danced across his face: concern, amusement, stress, attraction. It was about the time he usually said something to make me remember how much he irritated me. I held my breath, waiting for the moment to come, but it never did.
Instead, he raised his hand to my face, gently cradling it in his rough hand. His touch was like fire against my skin, heating me up. I wanted more, even though I knew it had the power to ruin me. My wolf urged me forward, but I wouldn’t budge. Liam made the decision for me, closing the distance, and pressed his lips to my forehead in the kindest, yet most romantic way. “Do you want to be left alone?” he whispered.
My head shook ‘no’ in response, but a soft ‘yes’ left my lips. I needed to get better control of myself around him.
He grinned at me. “Which is it, Taya?”
I took too long to answer, and before I knew it, his lips were pressed against mine, and his tongue was demanding entry into my mouth. His hands blazed a trail of heat down my back as he pulled me closer to him. I gave up. There was no more fighting it. My lips opened for him and my hands tangled in his hair. Low growls could be heard between us, but I couldn’t tell if they were from me, him, or both of us.
After what felt like an infinite amount of time, we finally pulled apart. My breathing was ragged, and my heart raced. I’d never been kissed so thoroughly in my life, and I needed more. Immediately.
“You should probably put a shirt on before I lose the last bit of my self-control,” Liam whispered as he placed small kisses along my neck and shoulder.
I nodded but didn’t move a muscle. I was extremely curious about what would happen if he lost control. I wondered how far I could push him before he did. I trailed my fingertips down his chest, circling around each of his defined muscles. His skin twitched beneath mine, and I marveled at the effect I had on him.
When my nails traced the dip of his hip, he grasped my hands and held them tightly behind me. “How about we go for that run you were wanting?” His voice was strained, and I enjoyed the torture I was causing him a little more than I probably should have.
I pushed away from him and finished undressing so I could shift. Unlike earlier, I was completely comfortable with it, because I knew there was no point in denying our attraction for one another. Liam’s scorching stare stayed on me the entire time, making it feel more like a strip-tease. When I was done, I smiled sweetly at him. “Are you joining me or not?”
I turned away and began my shift. I heard him muttering something about a crazy woman and being the death of him. Mission complete. Once my change was finished, I turned back and waited for him, enjoying the view.
When he was ready, we let our wolves take charge, and I let my worries slip away for the time being. For the next hour, we ran and got to know each other a little more as our other halves. I had a feeling we needed to enjoy it while we could. Something big was coming. I could feel it deep inside me, and if I was honest with myself, it scared the shit out of me.
***
The following morning was peculiar. The visiting alphas left first thing. They all promised to begin their own searches for any coven they could come across. Finding our old witch’s coven would be preferable since she knew my dad, but I wasn’t going to be picky. If any witch was willing to help us, I would take it. For now, we’d keep searching and hope that my dad was able to hang in there long enough.
Even after my nighttime run with Liam, I had assumed he, Caleb, and Aiden would leave with their dad, but they were still here, and things were a bit awkward after the night before. It wasn’t like Liam was suddenly something more to me just because I’d had the best kiss of my life with him.
After we had kissed and decided to go for a run, we didn’t really talk again. Once our run was over, we dressed, kissed a little more, and then went our separate ways when we heard someone approaching. Since nothing was really talked about, I wasn’t sure how to act around him, so I attempted to ignore him as I had done before last night.
After saying goodbye to the alphas, I ventured into the kitchen for food. I found Caleb and Augie in there already eating and talking, but as soon as they noticed me, their conversation ceased.
“Oh, look, it’s Taya.” Augie grinned.
“Hey, Firecracker.” Caleb winked. “How was your evening?”
I glanced at the two of them, very curious about why they were suddenly so chummy. “It was fine, thanks for asking.”
I went for the cinnamon rolls on the counter and began making myself a plate until I heard Caleb humming a tune which sounded a lot like a playground song kids would sing. I ignored him, hoping I was wrong, until he became more vocal and Augie joined in.
“Taya and Liam, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love –”
“Really?” I glared at them both. “Are the two of you five?”
Augie shrugged. “This is what happens when you tell your best friend nothing is going on and this guy over here says he caught the two of you making out last night.”
I guess we didn’t have to wonder who we had heard approaching. It figured that Caleb would be the one to catch us.
“You two are ridiculous. It was just a kiss. I’d been upset, and Liam calmed me down. Nothing to it.” Right? I asked myself.
Liam was training to be alpha of a territory that couldn’t be any further from me unless he left the country. Nothing else could happen. We each had our own responsibilities, and the pack needed me now more than ever. I couldn’t lose sight of that because of a guy.
“Whatever you say, Firecracker.”
“We need to go see the two females Davis brought back from Declan’s pack,” I said, effectively changing the subject. “Do you know where they’re staying?”
“They’re in one of the guest cabins,” Augie answered. “Figured giving them some space was better than having them in the pack house where they might be overwhelmed.”
“What if we can’t trust them? Are you sure it’s good to have them somewhere unsupervised?” I felt like an asshole questioning him after I said that, but I couldn’t help it. The girls had likely been through hell already, but maybe they’d signed up for it. Humans could be unpredictable. There were some interesting ones out there who believed in the paranormal, though they mostly believed in the stuff they read in books or saw in movies. Some of it was close, but most of it was ridiculous.
I’d yet to speak with either of them myself, but Davis had and that had been good enough for the time being.
“I’ve got Tommy and Rick keeping watch,” Augie said. “They’ll let me know immediately if they try to leave. So far, they haven’t wanted to stray from the cabin even when they’ve been invited to.”
Hmm, that was interesting. Hopefully, they’d be willing to talk to me, and we could learn something from them.
Liam and Aiden joined us in the kitchen. Even though our kitchen was big enough to fit twenty people, I suddenly felt claustrophobic. Liam walked closer to me, leaning across me to reach the cinnamon rolls. His chest pressed against my side and I held my breath, waiting for him to back away.
Augie broke the spell as he began humming the stupid song from earlier, and I pushed away from the counter, needing space. “I’ll be back shortly.”
“Where are you going?” Liam asked. His expression was unreadable, which was driving me a little crazy.
“I’m going to talk to the humans from Declan’s pack.”
“Want some help?” he asked casually.
I shook my head. “Probably better if they didn’t have daunting men staring at them while I ask questions.”
Caleb laughed. “Everyone loves me. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I ignored his statement and headed for the door. They could enjoy some guy time while I handled it. I was glad to see Augie was taking the time to get to know them, as it didn’t seem like they planned on leaving anytime soon. After last night, I wasn’t sure I was going to complain about it. When Augie had been annoyed with them at the beginning, I was a little worried. It certainly made things more comfortable when everyone was getting along.
I made my way to the guest cabins and, just like Augie had said, Rick was stationed outside the cabin. “How’s it going, Taya?”
“Good. Just came to check on them.” I nodded toward the cabin.
“They’re awake, and Courtney already brought them breakfast, so you should be good to go in.”
I nodded and knocked on the door. Rustling and whispering could be heard inside, but finally, a petite brunette opened the door. She hid halfway behind it with fear in her hazel eyes. I assumed she was Tricia from what I had heard already.
“Hi, I’m Taya. Can I come in?” I asked softly.
She nodded and opened the door further, letting me in. The other girl was blonde, tall, and curvier. If I remembered correctly, her name was Jamie. She seemed to have a bit of an attitude about her. It was good she had a backbone. She needed it to get through whatever happened next. I made a mental note to also ask the witches when we found them if there was a way to change the turned ones back to human. It wasn’t fair to force them into our world if they didn’t want to be here. It wasn’t the natural order of things.
“Hi.” I waved to the blonde. “Mind if I join you?”
“Do we really have a choice?” she asked with little emotion.
I sat next to her at the table before answering. “You do here. I was told that had been explained to you. I know it’s a lot to take in, but not all shifters are like Declan. You’re safe here, I promise.”
“When can we go home?” Tricia asked.
“How old are you, Tricia?” I asked before answering her.
“Seventeen.”
Oh, what had Declan done? She was technically only a year younger than me, but it seemed as though we were worlds apart mentally. She appeared as more of a scared preteen to me.
“I’m sorry this happened to you. I don’t know when you can go home, but I promise we are doing everything we can to make this right.” That was as honest of an answer as I could give her for the time being. “I was hoping you two could tell me a little about where you come from and how you came to be in Declan’s possession. The more information we have, the quicker we can help you.”
“Why should we trust you?” Jamie asked. Good girl. I liked that she was questioning me. She should. I was nobody to her, and she’d never survive being on her own if she didn’t ask anything or think for herself.
“You shouldn’t.” My answer shocked them, and I enjoyed their jaw-dropping looks. “You shouldn’t trust anyone until they’ve proven themselves to you. If you can do that, it will go a long way in making sure you survive the foreseeable future.”
Tricia seemed even more frightened, but Jamie smiled. Whatever I had said must have been the right thing. “I was the first one,” she said. “They took me when I was walking home from work one evening. I was drugged, so I don’t remember how they got me back, but I was caged when I woke up and already changed.”
Interesting. I guess it made sense for them to keep people unconscious for the most part. It didn’t help us any, though. Jamie nudged Tricia, urging her to go next. I felt awful for making them relive what was probably the worst experience of their life, but there was no other way to get the information.
Tricia straightened her shoulders and cleared her throat before beginning. “I had snuck out one night to go to a party. I was on my way to meet my friends when two guys drove by me and asked if I needed a ride. I said ‘no’ and started walking faster.
“Their eyes were dark, and they wore black sweatshirts with the hoods up. I just knew they were trouble. I heard the car park and doors open, so I ran as fast as I could, but they were faster. I was drugged when they took me, too. I don’t remember being changed, but when I was finally completely coherent, I felt something stirring inside me. I was scared and alone. The more my anxiety increased, the more the thing inside me grew. Days later, the agony grew to be too much, and I changed. My body contorted on the ground and I passed out from the shift. When I woke again, I was a wolf.”
Holy fuckery. I couldn’t believe this. My heart ached for her, and my wolf howled in pain for what they went through.
“A guy appeared when I was still a wolf. He was pleased but left quickly. When he came back, a woman was with him. He tossed food and clothes at me before leaving again. She watched me and demanded I shift back to human. I didn’t know how, and she wasn’t telling me how. The voice inside me told me to calm down, but I was so afraid. Hours later, I finally shifted back to human, and I haven’t been a wolf since. I think that was almost a month ago.”
I placed my hand on top of hers on the table. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. No one, wolf or human, should have to experience what you two have. My friends and I will stop at nothing to save the rest of you.”
Tears ran down Tricia’s face, while Jamie’s smile lit up the room. We needed to find Declan soon.
“Do you know how many others there are?” I asked.
Jamie nodded. “Once they knew we could shift, we were kept in a large basement. When we left, there were thirty-four of us. Only eight women and the rest males.”
Okay, we could deal with that. We’d get a team ready to help as soon as we found them. “Did you ever hear anyone talk about other locations? Unfortunately, we’ve sent some others to Declan’s, and it’s been cleaned out. We couldn’t find anyone there except shifters who have lived there for their whole lives.”
Tricia and Jamie’s faces fell in devastation. Jamie seemed to be nervous about something suddenly. She opened her mouth to say something but quickly decided against it.
“We mostly only saw guards, and they never spoke unless they were yelling at us,” Tricia said when Jamie didn’t speak up.
“That’s okay. We’ll figure it out.” I smiled at them, hoping to make them feel better. “How about you ladies come get some fresh air? I’d love to show you around. We really do want you to feel comfortable here. This could be your new home if you wanted.”
“We’re not sure where we want to stay yet, but a tour would be nice.” Jamie smiled warmly. All nervousness seemed to be gone again.
“You got it. Why don’t you two get ready and meet me outside?”
They both nodded and got up from the table. I stood as well and headed outside. I hoped we could offer these two girls the safety and security they deserved.
I’d be speaking with Davis about making sure another team was one hundred percent focused on searching for Declan’s newest location while I searched for the witches with Liam, Caleb, and Aiden. I didn’t want any time wasted.
My blood boiled as I thought of what the others were going through, wherever they might be. The longer it took us to find Declan, the more torture the others would surely endure.