Chapter Seventeen
Najha was with the warriors on horseback. Her wolves traveled ahead of them and led them toward the mountain. They’d traveled a few miles alone. No law enforcement traveled with them. The horses and search teams had been left alone, so far tonight.
She felt so proud of Cade who’d stayed calm and instructed everyone on how to search for the missing prisoners and her mom. He’d sent them off to follow a lead they’d received.
Najha needed to separate herself from her horse. She didn’t want Lena or Lucien and Opie to be killed. The thing that held her mother she was positive was a rogue or a Bolnav. How she was going to leave Lucien, she had no idea, but it had to happen.
So far, she’d ordered Red to run them around in circles. She’d finally come up with an idea. “Lucien, hold up.” She brought everyone to a stop.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“I need to shift and go trail. Red can’t keep going, he’s worn out.” She smiled gently and reached for Lucien’s hand. Lifting it, she kissed his fingers. “Please trust me on this.”
“You are asking what exactly?”
“That you allow me to track ahead while you wait for me to signal you after I find the place they're holding my mom?”
“No! It’s too dangerous.”
“We can’t all go in there at once. They’ll kill my mother.” Najha knew she had him by the look on his face.
First anger, then his frown and finally, his eyes seemed to tone down, and he smiled at her. “Promise me you won’t go in there without me?”
“I’ll just find her, then come and get you.” Najha couldn’t lie to him. But she didn’t tell him everything. Once she freed her mother, she was going to bring the entire group down upon the evil creature doing this to their people.
“Okay, I trust you. Najha, stay safe. If you go down, so do I.”
Najha didn’t realize bonded mates lost their will to live without the other. Now she remembered hearing this before. She was a strong and powerful lycan who could fight. She knew her strengths would oversee her weaknesses. Stupidity wasn’t on the list. “I’ll stay connected, okay?”
He nodded. Grabbing her hair, he tugged her to him. Their lips sealed, and they kissed. His tongue snaked into her mouth, and he worked his magic on her. With her body on fire and her will to live strong, she separated from him. “I’m leaving Lena with you, Lucien. I love you.” She ran away from him before she changed her mind.
“Wait!” he yelled.
She didn’t dare stop or turn around, Najha knew she would stop and not go. Running swiftly toward the woods, before she reached them she had her leather jacket and t-shirt off, and once inside the trees, she stripped totally.
Red and the other wolves met her, and she shifted. ‘Lucien, I’m sorry. I have to find my mother.’
‘I understand. I’d put myself in the same danger if this were my parents. Run hard, stay safe, and I’ll see you on the other side of the mountain.’
Najha couldn’t believe the great and powerful Lucien had this much trust and faith in her. Once she got to her mom, she would keep her promise to him. Freeing her mom or staying alive for him, she had a choice. But she wasn’t ready to go there quite yet.
She and the wolves traveled a few miles in when Red slowed then stopped. ‘The men you search for are right up ahead.’
‘Take me to them, Red.’ Najha followed the wolf, as the rest of the pack fell behind her. This was Red’s way of keeping everyone safe.
‘Lucien, can you track me?’
‘Yes, I’ve taken your blood for that reason. Why?’ Najha could hear his voice seemed harsher than normal. He showed her in his mind, he was worried. He was on top of Opie leading Lena. They were galloping along the path they’d just traveled.
‘Thank you for trusting me.’
He sent her warmth, and it covered her with a wealth of energy. Her wolf seemed to gain strength being connected to him this way.
‘Mates have to trust each other, or they wouldn’t make it. What do you have?’ Lucien’s true nature always seemed to come out.
‘Why are you so bossy all the time? The men from the prison are up here.’ Najha didn’t mind him bossing her around, she just wished they could spend alone time together. She needed that as much as she needed him with her right now. Separating from him probably wasn’t a smart idea. Her entire body and mind craved his attention.
‘Hold up before you get to those men.’ Lucien’s voice brooked no argument from her.
She didn’t want to give them away by running straight into a trap. They might be the slaves of a turned. ‘Okay, where are you?’ Najha and Red slowed to a trot then a walk. In wolf form, she could get around and through the brush. The smell before they reached it wasn’t as bad as they neared the area where the men were.
Red snarled low enough for her to hear but not loud for the men to hear them.
They were sitting around a small campfire. Two of them seemed fine, but one laid on the ground curled up in a ball. He seemed to be in pain and moaning.
“Shut the hell up, or I’m going to beat in that damn skull of yours,” the bigger of the three yelled out.
“Sorry, Jake, but my guts hurt. It was that shit you made me eat.” The man on the ground moaned again.
“Oh now, it’s the damn food and not that scratch you got from that thing?”
The men seemed to cower slightly.
Najha wanted to go to them and find out as much as she could, but her promise to Lucien made her stay put for the time being.
Red crouched down then dropped his body to the ground.
Najha followed.
The one who’d been talking stood and peered into the dark right at the spot they were in.
Najha held her breath as Red was doing. They couldn’t be detected by these men. Because if the evil one had control of him, he would be far smarter than an average human.
With Najha lying on the ground, she felt it rumble then stop. Shortly afterward, she heard in her mind, ‘Don’t be afraid. It’s just me, I’m coming up to you, love.’
‘Lucien.’ She felt the wolf before she saw him.
His large black wolf slid up beside her, crouching to the ground. He whined slightly, just enough for her to know his wolf.
Her wolf inside her became instantly happy and content to have her mate this close to her. Najha let her love and warmth along with her wolf’s flow in and with her mate. She loved this man more than life itself. A few months ago, she would have marched into that camp and tried to kill those men. Now, it was easier to let Lucien help her.
He shifted and next to her was a very naked man until he waved his hand and clothes appeared on his body. Jeans, t-shirt, black boots, and a leather jacket with his club colors and patch on it. He whispered, “Shift, baby.”
Najha shifted, and within a second, she had on her favorite t-shirt, soft jeans, socks, and her favorite pair of black boots with a newer leather jacket. She turned back to look at the colors and a patch on the jacket. It had his MC patch, but beneath, it said Lucien’s Property. She’d been claimed by the club.
A few days ago, she would have been angry and told him to shove this shit up his ass. She’d always scorned the Ol Lady idea and the way women were looked at by the MCs. But now, she was happy to wear her man’s colors. She kissed his cheek, accepting the gift. “You’re amazing,” she said just soft enough for his vampire ears to hear.
He nodded and smiled, his perfect white teeth showing in the dark as he stood up, reaching down for her hand. She gripped his hand, and he easily pulled her up. “Tell him to stay.” Lucien pointed to Red.
‘Stay, boy, keep watch and have our backs.’ She leaned down and kissed Red’s muzzle.
The wolf didn’t move when Lucien and Najha stepped into the light from the campfire. “Boys,” Lucien murmured.
The one who appeared to be the leader was already standing. “Fuck, I thought I heard someone out there!” He pulled a gun from his waistband and held it up. “What the fuck are you two doing here?”
“Well, me and my lady here were riding, and my motorcycle broke down on the highway. I saw your fire and hoped you’d have a phone I could borrow to call my club.” Lucien pointed to the back of his leather.
“You’re a DT? Fuck, man, it’s good to meet you. I knew a homey of yours in the pen, Pete Andrews.”
Najha turned to Lucien and frowned. She was confused as no vampire or DT club member had done prison time as far as she knew.
Lucien spoke up, “Yeah, we knew Pete, he’s a Ghost, right? Did some deals with the man.” He was now a straight up, club Prez.
Najha couldn’t believe the difference. When they’d been alone, even Lucien’s voice was different, more of a thicker accent from his home country. With this guy, he spoke and acted like an MC from a large city with the slang and all.
“Yeah, that’s what he was saying. Come on you two, have a seat. Don’t have any food or I’d offer you some. It’s been a few days for us.”
Lucien reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of candy bars. Najha knew Lucien was using his magic. “Hey, I got these, you three can share.”
The leader reached over and took the bars from Lucien. “Thanks, man.”
Lucien walked over and rubbed his hands together over the fire while the others stared at him. Then he weaved his hands together, Najha knew exactly what he was doing.
The truth spell he weaved, suddenly had all three men silent and in what appeared to be a trance. The leader sat down hard on the log he’d been using for a stool.
Lucien stepped over to him and knelt down. “What’s your name?”
“Jake.”
“So, Jake, can you tell me what you saw out there earlier today?” Lucien was amazing. The men hadn’t suspected anything at all while he’d easily put them in some kind of spell-trance like state.
Jake shook his head, his face scrunched up, and he spit toward Lucien. “I don’t need to tell you shit.”
It seemed Jake was fighting the trance Lucien had them under. This wasn’t the convict; no this was the turned. Najha was almost positive. They couldn’t use each other’s mind to communicate. It could draw the evil one out of its hiding place.
Lucien calmly reached out and gripped the other man’s neck, he squeezed slightly, then repeated, “Tell me what you saw out there?”
*****
Lucien, above all else, needed to protect his mate. So far, Najha had been silent while he interrogated the escapees. These men had tainted blood and memories. The one lying on the ground was probably the worst of all of them. It was a Bolnav, but there was a rogue to it as well. He wasn’t sure what they were dealing with, but it was a powerful being.
He held the man who went by Jake, clearly the leader, by the neck. The man’s memories were so dark and evil, it made Lucien’s skin crawl. This wasn’t a place for his female. But they’d gone into this together, and he would keep her safe.
He let go of the man’s neck to place both hands on the sides of his head. He stared into the black orbs as this man’s eyes had been replaced by the thing living inside him. He tried to slowly join with the man’s mind, but he immediately felt the tainted. He was immediately sucked in and could barely breathe. Trying to escape was nearly impossible as the thing had ahold of his mind.
The evil inside the man was controlled by an entity not human. It was too late for these humans to be saved. Lucien didn’t care, as they were bad individuals themselves. Murderers, all of them. Raping women and children, human trafficking, drugs, guns, everything in between had been sold by Jake. Even if the turned hadn’t tainted this man’s blood, he was still a corrupt, immoral man.
He stared into Jake’s mind, using his eyes he put his brain through a blender. Barely escaping, Lucien went to the next guy. This man was known as ‘kid’ by all his friends. He’d raped and kidnapped women and made them have sex for hire. This man wasn’t as bad as Jake, but something was in there trying to control him. Lucien worked his way through this man’s memories. Everything had been wiped by the evil one, so this man had nothing to give Lucien either.
He came back to his mate, who’d waited silently behind him. Najha could help him if he got trapped by the turned inside the men’s minds. Before he left this man, he did the same to his brain. Scrambling it, these men would not be able to say their ABCs or make sense of anything. They were rendered harmless by Lucien.
When he turned to Najha, she was frowning. “What’s wrong, love.”
She pitched herself forward and right into his arms. “Oh God, Lucien, I was so scared. You seemed so far away. I tried to help you by connecting us, but you blocked me.”
“No, sweetheart I didn’t. But my mind, soul, and body’s first and only mission is to protect you. If I’m in danger, I will come to you, but I wouldn’t want you to go with me into those evil beings. My mind automatically blocked you out.”
She nodded, as a stray tear crawled its way down her cheek and onto his hand.
He knew he’d scared her. “I’m so sorry.” He pulled her to him and gave her a hug. “I need Opie with me to go into the other’s mind over there.”
Najha turned and looked where he pointed.
The man on the ground had his eyes closed, and he appeared to be dead.
“What about Thorn? He’s nearby and waiting for my command to come in?”
Najha hadn’t disappointed him. She’d called in Thorn but made him wait for backup. She’d trusted him to keep them safe. That alone, made his heart soar with love for her.
With two of the men rendered useless, Lucien wasn’t going to chance it with the one who seemed much more invaded by evil than the others. “Tell him to come in.”
Najha closed her eyes and within seconds opened them again. “Thorn is on his way.”
A few minutes later, Thorn, Aiden, Kaden, and Vlad walked into the camp.
“Men, thank you for coming.” Lucien stepped up to Thorn and gripped his forearms.
Thorn nodded. “It’s time, brother.”
Lucien knew what Thorn was saying. They needed to get into this man’s memories and find out what this thing was that controlled them. He knew it must be connected to his parents’ murders because everything seemed too familiar to that time in his life.
Vlad stepped up. “Are you sure about this, Lucien? This one seems bad.”
“I have no choice,” Lucien replied.
“Yes, you do. I’ll go in.” Vlad touched his shoulder.
Lucien shrugged his hand away. “No, this is something I must finish. My parents’ murders sit heavily on my shoulders. Don’t worry, I got this.” Lucien went over to the man still lying in the fetal position. He knelt and placed his hands on his temples, surrounding his head with both palms and his fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and let his mind float easily into the other’s memories.
He moved around easily enough. He saw a Bolnav had entered the area of the overturned bus. He looked like a young, healthy average hiker carrying a backpack.
When Jake shot the last guard, the driver, one of the escapees yelled out, “Why did you have to kill him? He was a nice guy.”
“Fuck you, dude. They all have to die, or we’re not escaping,” Jake yelled back.
All four escapees grabbed Jake’s arm and pulled. “We have to run, now!”
The guy with the backpack walked over to Jake and the others. “Hey, I saw the accident, you all okay?”
Jake had taken a gun away from the guard lying on the ground with a bullet hole in his forehead and now pointed it at the hiker. “Who the fuck are you?”
“My name is Mohamed; they call me Moe. I mean no harm to any of you. I just wanted to make sure you’re all okay.” He held up a cellphone. “I can call the—”
Jake knocked the phone out of the man’s hands.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Moe, the backpacker, purred the words out. He smiled, then sneered at the men. “You have all been very bad, haven’t you?”
His voice instantly put each of them into a powerful trance.
The first two men went down hard landing on their knees. After each of the men ended up kneeling, they were in a straight line as if a firing squad was going to kill them. None of them could speak or move because the hiker standing behind them was something other than human. Fear raced inside the human backpacker as well.
Lucien needed to know more. He gently moved further into the man’s mind and found what he was looking for. Looking through the hiker’s eyes—he seemed to be a normal human who’d been possessed by a Bolnav. No, there was more, this human was controlled by many Bolnavs. There were so many evil entities in him it was hard to decipher for Lucien to know what was happening.
After the others showed themselves at the overturned bus, Lucien could see through this man’s memories what he’d seen that day. Many Bolnavs walked up to the men all kneeling.
“I want some of these for my soldiers,” the leader dressed in a black suit said loudly to his followers.
This was the leader…was he the Bolnav who killed Lucien’s parents? No way. It wasn’t possible. Lucien moved further into the mind. The evil tainted blood was mixed inside this man’s veins, muscles, and brain. Before Lucien had a chance, the evil one struck out and grabbed his mind and soul.
There was nothing Lucien could do to escape his clutches. He’d been lulled into safety and had been too cocky to realize the trap. He should have known. The evil in this man’s mind was nothing compared to the evil entity that now had a grip on him.
Lucien didn’t want to bring Najha with him, so he forced the walls up to block everyone out. No others would die tonight. If this were what had to happen—he would protect them all.