Chapter Thirty-Three
Ethan glanced in his rearview mirror at the convoy following close behind him on the interstate. They would arrive in Kenwood territory in the next few minutes.
He took the next exit, turning left onto a clay road that led to an orange grove beyond.
Climbing from his car, Ethan waited until everyone had arrived before motioning them forward. “Foster’s compound is approximately a mile through this grove. We go in the rest of the way on foot.”
One of his pack members began removing his shirt, pausing when Ethan shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that, Terry. Shift only if you must. You’ll lose the advantage of your weapons if you go in there in wolf form. And you can bet your ass they’ll be armed to the teeth.”
Terry nodded his agreement. “Let’s go then.”
Ethan sought out his grandfather. “Are you sure you won’t stay here with the vehicles? There’s going to be a lot of weapons firing. If something were to happen to you…”
“I’m coming, Ethan. Whether you approve or not.”
Touching Wallace on the shoulder, Ethan struck out through the groves, his shoes kicking up sand as he ran. Piper was alive and somewhere in that compound. He wasn’t sure how he knew, he only knew that he did.
Shots rang out up ahead as Ethan’s men arrived at the Kenwood border.
The Sorrento pack returned fire, ducking behind trees and boulders along the property’s edge.
The thought of Piper being in the midst of the bullets flying drove Ethan mad with fury.
He hunkered down behind an orange tree next to Gene. “There are approximately twenty shifters on this compound. Half of them are guarding the east side. I’m going around to the south end.”
“Alone?” Gene asked in a surprised tone. “I’ll come with you.”
Ethan shook his head. “I need you to keep them drawing fire. It’s better if I go in alone.”
“They’ll be expecting that,” Gene argued before taking a shot at one of Foster’s men racing across the field.
Ethan quickly ducked as a bullet clipped the side of the tree he hid behind and pulled a handgun from the waistband of his pants. “I know what I’m doing.”
Keeping his head low, Ethan ran back the way he’d come, circling right and skirting the orange groves to the south side of the property.
He spotted two shifters hovering behind some shrubs near a large building while one more stood at the door.
They were decoys, Ethan decided, moving farther south along the fence line.
Several smaller structures were scattered throughout the property in no particular order. Piper would be in one of them.
Moving closer to the fence, Ethan scanned the area for a weakness in their defenses before vaulting over the fence.
Two burly-looking men stepped from a small cabin, opening fire on Ethan as they went.
Ethan dropped to his stomach, firing back with the accuracy of a sniper. Both men fell where they stood.
They were decoys, too, Ethan realized, rolling to his feet and running toward a small cabin with boarded-up windows.
More gunfire erupted from his right, leaving Ethan no choice but to dive behind an old blue car sitting on blocks.
“I knew you would come,” Eric Foster shouted, firing off a shot near Ethan’s leg. “In fact, I’ve been patiently waiting for you to arrive.”
Ethan’s wolf roared to life, rising to the challenge Eric casually tossed at him. “You want me, Foster? Let the girl go. Trade her for me.”
“The girl stays, Seaborn. You, on the other hand, will die.”
Ethan decided to play on Eric’s pride. He knew that the cowardly younger Foster wouldn’t want to appear weak in front of the others.
“You want me, Eric? Put the gun down and fight me. Or are you too much of a coward for that?”
“Get up,” Eric snarled, tossing the gun a few feet in front of him.
Ethan slowly rose to his feet, laying his own weapon on the trunk of the vehicle he stood behind. He skirted the old blue car, unbuttoning his shirt as he went.
“You want the girl?” Eric taunted, watching as Ethan kicked off his shoes. “If she’s so important to you, why haven’t you marked her yet?”
More fury poured through Ethan. “If you’ve touched her, I’ll rip you apart. One limb at a time.”
A manic energy exuded from Eric. He jumped from the porch, shifting before his feet had time to touch the ground. He dove at Ethan in a pile of gray fur and snarling teeth.
Ethan’s wolf exploded from within, hungry and savage, slamming into Eric with all the pent-up fury Ethan had been suppressing since Piper’s disappearance.
Sinking his teeth into the other wolf’s flesh, Ethan shook him, ripping a gash along his shoulder.
Eric howled, leaping back enough to break Ethan’s hold. Even in wolf form, the insanity could be seen in Eric’s eyes.
The distant sounds of gunshots continued to ring out as Ethan circled his opponent.
The gray wolf launched at Ethan once more, only to roar in pain as Ethan’s powerful jaws locked on to his neck.
“Ethan, stop!” a voice shouted from nearby, penetrating Ethan’s rage-fogged brain.
Without releasing Eric’s throat, Ethan lifted his feral gaze to Isaac Foster.
The old man stood on the porch of the same house Eric had come from, his eyes full of fear and sadness. “Please, Ethan. Let him go. Your mate is unharmed.”
Ethan only held on tighter, a low growl rumbling from within.
Isaac lowered the gun. “I’m begging you. Regardless of what he’s done, Eric is your flesh and blood. You don’t want his death on your conscience.”
Ethan disagreed. He bit down harder.
Eric’s cowardly whine was nearly drowned out by the fearful beating of his heart.
Isaac turned toward the house, reached inside the door, and pulled Piper out by the arm.
Ethan’s heart stuttered. The sight of Piper standing there with her chin held high, attempting to hide the fear he saw swimming in her eyes had to be the most beautiful image he’d ever beheld.
She stared straight ahead as if avoiding looking at him.
“Let Eric go,” Isaac bit out, pulling Piper closer to his side, “and you can have her.”
Tossing the piece of shit Eric away from him, Ethan stalked toward the porch, his lips peeled back over his teeth. If Isaac made any sudden movements, Ethan would kill him without a thought.
Ethan slowly approached Piper, a soft sound coming from his throat.
She shrank back from him, her gaze briefly flicking to him before returning to stare straight ahead.
He could see her hands trembling, noticed the hint of moisture appearing in her eyes, and his soul shattered. He’d done this to her. It was his fault she’d been taken. He was to blame for her fear and uncertainty.
With a growl of surrender, Ethan forced his wolf down enough to free the man inside.
Naked and bloodied, he stood before her, his eyes pleading with her to forgive him.
She made a strangled sound, her body stiffening as he reached for her.
Ethan’s heart cracked. He lowered his hand, his gaze shifting to Isaac. “You crossed the line, old man.”
“I had no part in her abduction, Ethan. But it’s been brought to my attention that she carries my heir in her belly. I—”
Piper’s cry cut off the rest of Isaac’s words as a naked Eric snatched up his gun and pointed it toward Ethan. “You win, huh, Ethan? You even have my father’s love, a love he never freely gave me.”
Pulling the hammer back, Eric continued. “Well, that’s fine with me. My face will be the last thing you see before you die. Fitting since your mother died by my hand as well.”
“What did you say?” Ethan growled, easing his body in front of Piper’s.
Eric grinned to reveal a broken front tooth. “You heard me. She died with you thinking she’d killed herself.” He laughed, a hideous sound. “The poison I put in the dinner she’d cooked that night was meant for you. But you didn’t come home, and so she ate without you. Pity. I kind of liked dear old Ruth.” He pulled the trigger.
“Noooooo!” Isaac roared, throwing himself in front of Ethan. His body jerked forward, and he dropped to his knees at Ethan’s feet.
Ethan’s arms flew behind him to cover Piper as Eric lifted his arm once again.
A lone brown wolf suddenly rounded the house, leaping through the air and slamming into Eric with the force of a truck.
Ethan watched in disbelief and more than a little pride as Wallace Seaborn attacked Eric, shaking his body around like a ragdoll before ripping out his throat.
The large brown alpha threw back his head and howled, Eric’s blood dripping from his teeth.
Swinging around, Ethan scooped Piper up into his arms and took her inside the cabin. He gently deposited her in a chair in the small kitchen. “Are you hurt?”
She didn’t answer, simply stared straight ahead in shock.
He cupped her face in his hands, tilting it up to look into her eyes. “Piper? Are you injured?”
The tears he saw there tore at his heart. “Answer me.”
“He could have killed you,” she whispered in a small voice.
Ethan pressed his lips to her forehead before meeting her gaze once more. “But he didn’t. Now, I need you to stay put while I check on Isaac.”
Piper didn’t respond. Her beautiful pale eyes were glassed over in disbelief.
With more than a little regret, Ethan released his hold on her face and rushed back out onto the porch.
He dropped to his knees next to Isaac. “Foster?”
The old man’s eyes fluttered open. He attempted to reach up and touch Ethan’s face, but his arm fell heavily at his side. “I’m sorry for everything…”
“Don’t try to talk,” Ethan ordered, pressing his palm against the wound in Isaac’s chest to slow the bleeding. “We’ll get you some help.”
The distant sounds of gunfire grew less and less until they stopped all together.
“You’re not going to die,” Ethan assured Foster, pity replacing his earlier rage.
Half a dozen Kenwood shifters rounded the house with their hands in the air and Ethan’s pack tight on their heels.
Billy spoke first. “Where is Wallace?”
A low growl echoed from the yard, telling Billy without words that Wallace wasn’t far.
Isaac coughed, his mouth slowly moving. “Sit…me…up.”
Ethan slid his arm behind the older man’s head, lifting him into a half-sitting position.
Foster turned his unfocused gaze toward what was left of his pack. He coughed once more before speaking. “Ethan Seaborn...is your rightful…alpha. My…grandson... My…blood. You will honor…him.” His eyes slid closed, and his body went limp.
A foreign emotion stirred inside Ethan’s chest, feelings for the old man he’d never acknowledged until that moment.
Since learning of the Fosters’ existence, Ethan had been telling himself he didn’t need his father’s people, didn’t want their approval. Yet, now as he stared down into Isaac’s pale, lifeless face, Ethan realized that some part of him had always sought acceptance.
Eric had killed Ruth, and in turn had died by her father’s hand.
Fitting, Ethan thought as he watched what remained of the Kenwood pack reverently lower to their knees.