Chapter Thirteen
“We need to destroy and break up whatever the fuck is out there, people.”
Thorn’s announcement had Najha turning her body to observe a real Alpha leader gathering his pack together to go on a hunt and possible battle with who knows what the hell.
All she knew was they had her mother. Najha let Thorn do what he was good at—leading. She closed her eyes and focused on her special bonding and path to her mother. ‘Mom, I need you…’
She waited a few seconds. All other thoughts cleared from her mind. No Lucien, no friends or family, only her mom. She tried again, ‘Mom?’
‘Nah…’ Her mom’s faint voice was so quiet, she almost missed it.
‘Mom, we’re gathering everyone. My mate, Lucien, is joining with his men and the horses. Can you help me by opening your eyes to show me maybe where you are?’
A few seconds then through a slit in her mom’s eyesight, she spotted rock. Nothing but brown and gray stone in front of Myra. ‘Are you inside a cave?’
She recalled the Cascade Range on the other side of the mountain where she’d found Red and his siblings alone, scared, and motherless. There was a small opening in the eastern side of the mountain. When she found the pups, there was something else over there that didn’t belong. At the time, she’d been young and wasn’t supposed to be there, so grabbing the litter and making a mad dash out of there had been a necessity. Going back there had been her plan as she’d matured into an adult, but Red had warned her not to go over there though.
‘Yeah,’ her mom’s faint voice echoed in her mind.
When she disconnected quickly, Najha had felt the pain her mother was in. It was as if she were on fire and being burned alive. What the hell did they have on my mom to cause that? Silver chains? She looked around, Najha saw that there were quite a few new members. A prospect stood by the door with a woman by his side, crying and holding onto his hand. She had to smile, it looked like Hunter, the prospect, might have found his mate. She remembered this woman. She had been a wife of a human MC Vice President, ‘Snake’ Kyle Anderson. He’d raped and beat his wife until she’d almost died. Thorn had saved her by taking her to Myra who healed her, and he helped her by removing the threat and moving her to a boarding house set up by Miss Marie, who ran the local brothel. She took in women who worked as actresses for porn or high-end women who dated for money. Those businesses helped keep the Lycan MC in money for their people. This certain girl, she couldn’t remember her name, had been so grateful, she helped the lycan now, with anything they needed.
Thorn tried to protect the town from the unsavory humans. If a woman chose to escape their association, Thorn or Lucien would help them and put them up with housing and food. A job if they needed one and anything else they needed. He, especially, helped get their children and bring their family back together. The abuser was taken care of by the MC. Mayhem usually had to come to remove the threat permanently. Najha knew her father only called up the code word of Mayhem to his men, using execution if the human refused to listen.
Najha joined the group standing at the door waiting for Thorn’s final command to ride. She moved closer to Thorn and told him where she felt her mother was.
As she moved back, she thought of her man out in the field, preparing to help find her mother. She wore a smile, even though her heart was breaking, knowing her mother was being kept somewhere inside the mountain. She prayed they would make it in time.
*****
Lucien rode his motorcycle down the lonely highway, his men behind him. He thought about their mission to help Najha find her mother. Without their help, the lycan could possibly be headed into a trap of the unknown. He thought of the past hunt the entire lycan and vampires had to join up on. That one hadn’t ended so well. He’d found his parents beaten, his mother raped, and both were dead. He prayed Myra would be found before it was too late for her.
Same kind of situation. They called for help, and the entire group of men went out and tried to track them. The evidence all led to a lycan doing the killing. They hadn’t found a rogue or another lycan guilty. The few that had been reported missing were reported as taking their own lives, instead of turning into the thing nightmares were made from. His father had been hacked into pieces with his heart missing. He remembered the argument he’d had with Thorn and Thorn’s father. They expected him to trust and believe them. Thorn had asked him to depend on their friendship. They didn’t know whom or what had done this.
The lycan promised to hunt for their killer, and he’d kept that commitment. Thorn, still to this day, searched for new evidence and proof of the killer of his parents. Maybe this new threat would be the answers they searched for. It had been many years or more since then. Lucien honestly couldn’t remember how much time had gone by since he’d last seen his parents alive and well.
Thorn had a good argument. In the history of the lycan and vampires, no lycan rogue could have killed his father. They just weren’t strong enough. Lucien’s father had been a strong warrior and couldn’t have possibly been beaten. Especially being with his mate, a very powerful and mystical woman, his mother. She was a powerful gypsy turned vampire when she mated with his father. The couple together were too powerful for anything in this world to kill.
Something had never added up. But he didn’t want to continue to dwell on the past. Particularly, with his mate being Najha, the princess and daughter of the Lycan Alpha leader here in the United States. Her grandfather was still alive and the only elder old enough to help Lucien and Najha with their problem. Her grandfather and his father, Lucius, had been there when the laws were made. No lycan or vampire could breed or mate. Nobody here knew the answers, so after they rescued Myra, Lucien was going to ask Eric to help him fly to the Ukraine and have a talk with the old man.
Maybe there was something they missed? He’d be sure to ask Thorn if they found something tonight. The moon was high in the sky which would make it a lot easier for them to see where they were going. Giving the bike more gas, he flew along the dark highway heading toward his estate. Many of his men were with him on the dark ride. They were preparing mentally to fight and bring home the lycan.
He just hoped it wasn’t too late for Myra. He wasn’t sure what Najha would do if her mother were murdered. The young woman he now knew intimately and mentally, would kill the soul who’d hurt her mother, that he knew for sure. He hadn’t seen her fighting skills but the way she carried the sword, he could see she was familiar with how to use it, of this he was certain.
If they couldn’t settle the dispute between the lycan and vampires over who killed his parents, Lucien doubted he would be supported by the elders who advised him on the leadership of his people. There would be no way they would allow him to mate with a lycan princess.
With that important thought in his mind, he turned the bike onto the road leading back to his estate. The others went their own way to their homes and horses. It was going to be a few long days so they would find cover to stay under during the days until they could return back to their lairs. The vampires were used to finding a way to stay gone, even if they were injured. He prayed this wasn’t going to happen this time, but there was always the chance one of them might die.