Chapter Fifteen
Najha couldn’t believe how quickly she and her horse had bonded. The wolves ran beside them as they raced over the mountain region. Red led her little group. She appreciated the fact Lena and Opie stayed with her to protect her.
Thorn and the others rode across the state and through the mountains to the other side of the range. Early morning had happened before they reached the other side. Lucien and his men had to take cover to keep their bodies protected from the sun. She hated the fact they weren’t able to help during the day.
They all knew they would get the help of Lucien and his men by controlling the weather and darkening the sky with a storm. But tracking would halt with rain and clouds enough to protect the vampires. They chose not to use that and have the lycan and wolves search.
Najha had tried to contact her mother. She was alive but too weak to do anything other than show her she remained among the living. The lycan were strong individuals, but her mother couldn’t shift because something had been given to her to stop that from happening. She had already suspected her mother had been given some kind of drug or she was held with some type of silver, the only mineral in the world that could cripple and kill a lycan.
Najha watched as Dane and a few of the other lycan ran with her wolves ahead of her. They were tracking the ground because they’d found strong scents of her mother among the leaves. Once they reached the area where she’d found and rescued Red and his siblings all those years ago, she slid down off the horse and knelt down.
Her mother’s blood was dried and on the ground. She lifted it to her nose and scented. “This is hers.”
Red nudged her hand. He whined and pawed her arm.
She knew what he wanted. She quickly connected to Lucien. ‘I’ve found a trail of my mother’s blood.’
‘Don’t go any further, love. Don’t put those animals or the lycan at risk. Wait until dark, when we all can come to aid you.’
‘I can’t leave my mother alone any longer. I’m here. Let me go in and scout around.’
‘No!’
‘Okay, I’ll let Father know. Let’s all meet at the McPeary place?’
‘Sounds like a solid plan. Stay safe out there. If that thing is the same monster who killed my parents, it’s very powerful.’
‘I won’t forget that fact.’ Najha whistled to her pack.
Red and Avalon came up next to her.
‘We rest at the McPeary place.’
Red pawed her then turned toward the north and the large farm that had a single man who lived there. He’d been a human the lycan and vampires could trust. His son had married a lycan and his daughter a vampire. They lived happily among them.
The trees protected them for the most part from the rain that had started earlier in the night. It wasn’t the vampires causing the weather, no this was normal for Washington and Oregon in the springtime. The rain didn’t bother her. Najha didn’t allow the wetness to soak her skin through her coat. She’d draped the heavy leather over Lena’s backside, and it helped keep them dry.
She loved shifting and running as a wolf alongside her brethren. But riding up high on top of the magnificent and strong mare was something new, and she reveled in it. This was the way to search for a missing lycan. Her mother’s scent was all over. She’d put up a fight as they dragged her through these woods.
Her father in wolf form came up beside them. She quickly told him what they’d all decided and he agreed. His massive paws just skimmed the surface as he pushed them all faster and harder.
The Cascades were beautiful this time of the year. The thick foliage, tall meadows, and budding trees protected them as they moved through, hoping to surprise the ones who’d taken her mother. Everyone needed to rest and gain their strength back. Especially, before they approached the evil thing that held her mom.
Thorn shifted, they weren’t shy around each other’s nakedness, but out of respect for Najha, her father carried a pack. He threw on a pair of sweats.
Jayden surprised her by coming up behind them and shifting. She, too, carried a pack.
Najha quickly put on her sports bra and sweats as well while Jayden did the same. Once they were dressed enough, they all sat down to take a short rest while they talked.
Jayden hugged Najha. “Hey, hon, how are you holding up?”
“I’m really worried about my mom. I don’t like what we’re finding. It seems as if they were going around in circles, what do you think?” Najha asked Thorn.
“I’m getting the same idea. I’m not sure what they planned, but this isn’t getting us anywhere, is it?”
Najha shook her head. Her eyes burned from unshed tears and frustration. They weren’t any closer to finding her mom than they had been last night. Over twelve hours into the search and they still hadn’t found the opening to the mountain.
“I think we need to hunt, feed, and get some rest,” Thorn spoke. “Lucien and the others have holed up and are resting the day away. I think it would be a good idea for all of us. The men are coming in from all directions. Someone will find something. What do you think, Jayden?”
His wife nodded. “I think I’m really hungry and tired.”
Najha knew they were right. “Okay, sounds good. Maybe with some rest, I’ll be able to track better and actually find the trail leading into that big old beast over there.” She pointed to the mountain in the near distance.
Dane agreed, he stood and stripped his sweats off. “I’m game, let’s do this.” He shifted.
They all did. Once they spotted an Elk, they all agreed to let Dane, Red, and Thorn take it down. Thorn yipped and nodded.
Through the trees and deep inside the greenery stood the Elk they’d spotted eating from the floor of the forest. It took the three large males long to take down and kill their prey.
Everyone enjoyed their piece of the animal, then took their fill from the river stream of water. They’d traveled more through the day to the McPeary farm, and now everyone was inside the large barn, resting for the rest of the day.
Najha laid down on a shaded area under a tree. She reached out to Lucien. ‘Lucien, are you awake?’
‘Yes, how are you holding up?’
Now that they were joined, she wanted to cry her heart out to him. She felt frustrated and saddened it was taking so long to find her mother. She didn’t know if they were going to keep her alive for them as a trap or would her mother die before they got to her. ‘Lucien, I’m so worried. What if I’m too late?’
‘Don’t think that way. I’m sorry I can’t be with you right now.’
‘You are with me. I can feel you in my heart.’ Najha knew he would be with her if he could.
‘Thank you, love.’ Lucien showed her he was with his men, in a small cave above a stream. The area they were in was beautiful. A little to the north of them was the Cascade ridge in the mountains, the stream they were next to ran from the mountains to the valley. ‘Get some sleep. I’ll see you soon.’ Lucien broke their path.
Thorn walked up to her and sat down. “How are you holding up?”
“Not very good. I hate this waiting game we have to do.”
“You know, Najha, I’m proud of you. I’ve depended on you to keep an eye on things around Shades Run. It wasn’t fair that I assumed you could be there all the time. I’m sorry about your mom. I’m hoping we can make this right. And of all things, I can’t believe my baby girl has found her mate and him being my best friend on top of that surprise. What are we going to do about Lucien?” Thorn patted her knee with his large callused hand.
“Don’t feel bad, I volunteered to watch over Shades Run. As for Lucien, there’s nothing we can do. He has taken it upon himself to solve this, his way. We need to find out who is behind the evil penetrating these mountains. If we don’t, we can’t protect this area at all.”
The guns and drugs were large enough not to be able to fight those who brought that to the small town, but then you add in the young women who’ve disappeared from their area and now her mom, it just kept getting larger and larger. The lycan and vampires together couldn’t even keep the women safe. Najha knew she would defend those close to her, but it was too much for her. They’d never solved the mystery behind the women disappearing, so they assumed they’d left never to return because of the way things were in town.
Thorn and Lucien demanded strict rules. They’d even set a curfew. Monday through Friday, everyone had to be inside by eleven p.m. and during the weekend at bar closing, which was one thirty a.m.
She felt guilty now because she’d let her mom leave her home without her. The wolves tracked her for a little while until they were distracted by a Bolnav, then Myra had told them to track it while she kept to the fresh trail of Cade’s. She had been near the area they found the body and Cade, only he was gone when Myra arrived.
What the hell was going on around these parts? Najha had never heard of the Bolnav or rogues working together. But her father and Lucien both had told them they seemed to be gathering together for something big. Maybe this was what they’d planned all along. Or was it a single Bolnav doing the deed of taking her mother? She wanted to sleep, but her thoughts and hormones were all jumbled together as if they were in a blender. “Dad?”
“Najha, you’re supposed to try to rest.”
“I know, but I just wanted to ask something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you think the missing girls are somehow tied to Mom? This seems too much of a coincidence.” Najha missed the moments of having her father hold her and rub her back when she didn’t feel good or couldn’t sleep. Being an adult had its faults.
“I think my little girl is all grown up and you have a large amount of responsibility hanging on your shoulders. We need to find your mother, then find out if these are all tied together and help protect our people and the humans who live with and around us. I’ve trained you myself, I do know your skills, and you’re one of my best. As far as Lucien?” He tilted his head then reached out and touched her hand. “I believe we have a bigger issue than it being simple as far as talking to your grandfather. Dante and I are going to go over every book and find out why the law was placed. But, for now, I think I’m going to send you off with Lucien. You two need to go away and hide from all of us. The law is just that, the law.”
“But…”
“If we were to fail and aren’t be able to let you two be together, will you be able to stand alone and keep the darkness at bay?” Thorn had always been good at having Najha figure out her own problems and solve them by asking a question to force her to think about everything.
She was a warrior trained not just by both her parents, but also Cade and Aiden. Now, she had the entire pack and men to help her succeed. “Of course, Daddy, I’ve been trained to stand alone or with my pack of wolves. Remember, they will always be with me no matter what happens between Lucien and I or with your pack. I don’t need to be taken care of. So in answer to your question...yes, I will be able to keep the darkness at bay and live alone.”
“How can I trust you to hold your word?”
“I’ll tell you what you already know. I’m here to protect the people around me, and I will do what it takes. I’ve put my own personal life aside to work for the leader of the lycan. That’s you, Daddy.” A stray tear slipped free. Najha quickly wiped it away. “I’m tired now. I’m going to shift and go to sleep. I like to rest in wolf form, it makes me stronger.”
“All lycan are the same. When you need to rejuvenate, sleeping as your wolf is the only way.” Thorn stood and paced to a small distance away from her, then turned back around.
Thorn was an opposing figure standing over her. His stature huge as if he were a Greek god. His bones massive and his height carried his body well. If she were to guess, she would say six five or six. The last time Najha had asked, he said his weight was three hundred and some change. If she didn’t know him as her father, she’d be pissing her pants right now.
She stood and walked over to him. When she put her arms around his waist, she barely touched her hands together. Leaning her head up against him, her eyes were level with his chest. He stood at least a foot taller than her. Last time she checked, she was five three and one hundred forty pounds. Her dad was a monster and outweighed her, easily over two hundred pounds. Chuckling, she felt her father stir slightly.
He hugged her to him, then asked, “What are you laughing about?”
“Just comparing you to other men, Daddy. You know you’re like the thing that boogeymen run from? Most of my friends, lycan or human, are scared to death of you. I was just thinking about how big you really are.” She leaned back and looked up into his dark eyes. “Yep, I would say even the devil would be afraid of you.” She felt before she heard Thorn’s body shake from laughter.
“You sure know how to make your old man proud of you. Thanks for helping to bring my self-esteem back up.”
She nodded her head and patted his huge bicep. Walking over to Lena and Opie, she said, “I need you to go get Lucien. I need him with me when the sun sets.”
Opie nudged Lena toward her. He whinnied, pawed the ground, and took off at a full gallop leaving them staring after him.
“He sure knows how to make a girl feel left, doesn’t he?” she asked aloud as she smiled. She surrounded the mare’s large neck and hugged her. “I need to get a little nap, how about you, girl?” The horse followed her over to the hay stacked on the side of the barn. She found herself a small pile to curl up onto. She put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes.
Najha honestly didn’t think she would fall asleep. Until she remembered nothing…after closing her eyes.