Chapter 12
She’s not here! Barron thought at Brandt.
Brandt was sitting in front of his television, snacking on handfuls of popcorn, feeling sorry for himself that his mate still wasn’t home. There was no way he’d let her know how miserable he was though. He wanted her to be able to visit her family whenever she wanted to. So he bore his loneliness in silence.
Then he received Barron’s thoughts and jumped to his feet so fast he spilled popcorn all over the sofa. Who’s not where? he thought back urgently.
Emmalyn! She’s not here. The place is a mess. Remi is tracking something or somebody.
Where are you?!
Hellen’s.
I’m coming. Brandt rushed out of his house and ran all the way to Hellen’s house through the woods, rather than taking the roads. He burst out of the woods at a full run and crossed the large back yard of Hellen’s house only minutes later. He saw the lights on inside and went to the back door, pushing it open but not stepping inside. “Barron!” he shouted.
“Here!” Barron answered.
Brandt entered Hellen’s house, carefully walking through, making note of every single thing he noticed. He was standing just outside the kitchen, taking it all in when he heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the house.
“I can’t find her! She’s not here. Her things are in one of the bedrooms. But she’s not there. Where the hell is she?” Barron asked with no small amount of trepidation bleeding through his voice as he walked toward Brandt.
“I don’t know. But we’ll find her,” Brandt assured him.
“I should have fucking broken down the door and forced her to come back to my house.”
“Nobody’s breaking down a door and making her do a damn thing she doesn’t want to do. It’s Emmalyn, remember?”
Barron didn’t reply, just keep glancing from one part of the house to another.
“Did you find anything out of place anywhere else?” Brandt asked.
“No. Just the kitchen and the living room.”
“Come on. Let’s go back in the living room and see if there’s anything we’ve missed. So far what we’ve got here is a broken crock pot, food spilled down the island and all over the floor, and footprints leading back into the living room.”
Barron led the way, taking care not to step on the smudged partial prints.
Brandt leaned over and picked up the spoon, then the bowl that were knocked over near the sofa. He lifted them to his nose and inhaled. “Smells like Emmalyn, and roast.”
Barron picked up the blankets and made to put them back on the edge of the sofa, but a piece of fabric poked out from under it as he pushed it further back onto the sofa. “What’s this?” he asked, lifting the blanket more to get a better look at whatever it was sticking out of the blanket.
He went pale, and his breath left him, making him feel like he’d been punched in the chest. “It’s a pajama top,” he said shakily, lifting it to his face and inhaling deeply. “It smells like Em.”
“Can I see it?” Brandt asked.
Barron handed it to him.
“It’s torn, Barron,” Brandt said, holding up the top.
Barron stalked away through the house shouting her name. “Emmalyn! Em! Where are you?” He yanked open doors, pulled things out of closets. Tore the linens off beds so he could better see beneath them, and Brandt was right beside him, helping.
When they’d determined once again what they already knew, that she was nowhere to be found, they ended up back in the kitchen.
Barron started opening cabinets and peering inside.
“She can’t fit in a cabinet, Barron.”
“I have to check everywhere!” Barron roared.
“You’re panicking. Stop and take a deep breath. See if you can feel her, connect with her through your bond,” Brandt said. “I’ve been trying. I get nothing. But it’s not like she’s got me blocked. It’s different.”
Barron concentrated and sent out a nudge, hoping like hell he’d get a response of any type from Emmalyn. He didn’t. Instead, he felt… cold. Just cold. “I get nothing. But it’s almost like I feel physically cold when I try.” He walked across the kitchen again, then frustratedly slammed the last cabinet closed. “Fuck!” he screamed. Then his gaze landed on the door leading out to the garage.
“You looked in the garage?” Brandt said, watching Barron’s gaze stop on the garage door.
“Turned on the light and glanced inside. There’s nothing there.”
“Let’s look again.”
Barron nodded and led the way. He opened the door and they stepped inside.
“Not even footprints out here. The guy obviously didn’t come out here.”
“At least not after he spilled the food,” Barron said.
They walked around the garage, looking down at the ground, up at the ceiling, looking for anything out of place. Brandt was examining the garage doors themselves for any sign of entry.
“That’s strange,” Barron said.
Brandt turned to see what he’d found.
Barron walked over to the shelves and pointed. “Why are there three shelves of frozen food sitting here defrosting?” he asked.
Brandt walked over to see for himself. “It’s still frozen and just showing signs of thawing.”
“So it hasn’t been out long.”
They turned and met each other’s stare. “The freezer!” they both shouted. They each turned in circles, looking this way and that.
“Where the hell is Hellen’s freezer?”, Barron demanded.
“Maybe here?” he asked, pulling the blanket off of what he’d thought was just more boxes or a work bench, to reveal a large, white deep freezer.
Barron grabbed its dented lid and despite its damaged hinges, forced it open, cracking the metal of the hinges in half.
The moment Barron raised it enough for him to see inside the freezer, he and Brandt both leaned closer to the small opening anxious to get a look inside.
A sound unlike anything Brandt had ever heard poured from Barron’s chest when he focused on what seemed like endless dark brown hair and ankles and feet so cold they were tinged blue.
“Get her out, get her out!” Brandt shouted, grabbing the freezer lid and helping to pry it open and keep it that way while Barron did his best to get Emmalyn out of the freezer.
“Is she alive?” Brandt asked impatiently.
“I don’t know,” Barron answered in a hoarse, broken voice, as he carefully lifted her head and gently rested it in the crook of his left arm while he reached into the freezer and slid his other arm beneath her legs. He lifted her partially out of the freezer, then adjusted his hold so her head was resting on his chest and his arms were beneath her knees and behind her back. He held her tightly against his body as he rushed back into the house.
Brandt glanced down into the freezer to be sure nothing else demanded their attention, then let the lid drop as he scooped the blanket up off the cement floor and hurried off to follow Barron. “Be careful! Don’t fall in the food on the floor!” he called out.
Barron altered his steps just a bit to avoid the mess, and went directly into the living room.
Brandt hurriedly wrapped the blanket around Emmalyn’s body as best he could as Barron sank down to the floor and cradled her on his lap as he rocked her, sobbing mournfully.
“Barron! Barron, I need you to listen to me.”
Barron continued rocking and sobbing as his hand smoothed the blanket over Emmalyn’s head and shoulders.
“She needs to get warm, Barron. Take off your clothes!”
Barron didn’t give any indication that he’d heard Brandt.
Brandt grabbed the back of Barron’s shirt, tearing it from his body.
Barron growled and turned his icy gaze, so reminiscent of Delilah’s, on Brandt. This was not a good thing. Barron was a Bear shifter, like his father. His eyes were normally the color of his Bear, golden-brown, but when he was pushed to the point of losing control, he had the ability to breathe Dragon’s fire, like his mother. The ice blue eyes indicated he was about to lose control.
“She needs to get warm. Take your clothes off so your body heat can warm her. I’m going to get more blankets and turn on the heater.”
Barron’s eyes shone icy blue for only a split second more before fading when he seemed to grasp what Brandt was saying. He gently moved Emmalyn off his lap and quickly stripped down, then picked her up and put her back on his lap before wrapping them both in the blanket Brandt had brought with them from the garage.
Brandt was back almost immediately with all the covers they’d stripped from Hellen’s bed earlier and left in a pile.
“This blanket… it smells like Hellen, but not,” Barron said, pushing the blanket Brandt had brought in from the garage, away from himself and Emmalyn.
“What do you mean?”
Brandt picked it up with one hand and held it to his face. “It even smells like Hellen’s soap…” he shook his head as he held out the suspicious smelling blanket. “This is the reason we couldn’t find the bastard!” he said angrily, realizing what had happened. “He’s been hiding out here, in Hellen’s house, using Hellen’s shower. Obviously even using this blanket, that already smells like Hellen. He unintentionally masked his scent by hiding out here in Hellen’s home and using her stuff!” Brandt snarled, tossing the blanket away from him.
“How would he know to alter his scent?” Barron asked.
“He didn’t! He just fucking lucked into it while hiding out here!” Brandt growled.
“She’s cold,” Barron said, trying to hold Emmalyn closer, more concerned about Emmalyn than figuring out why they couldn’t scent the stalker.
Brandt nodded as he started piling all the rest of the bedding from Hellen’s bed on and around Barron and Emmalyn. He tucked them in tightly. “There you go. That should start warming her.”
The last thing in his arms was a lightweight decorative bed spread he’d grabbed along with all the rest when gathering the bedding they’d pulled off Hellen’s bed. Brandt draped it over their heads, completely enclosing them. “Hold her close. Use your hands to rub her skin. Especially her fingers and toes. They will have gotten coldest,” he said as he rushed around the living room opening all the vents so the heated air would pour into the room.
Barron didn’t answer, but Brandt could see movement beneath the mountain of blankets and comforters he’d piled on top of them and knew Barron was trying.
“Shower?” Barron’s muffled voice asked from beneath the blankets.
“I’m afraid it would damage her skin if it’s frozen. Can you feel her heartbeat?”
After a few moments of quietness, Barron answered. “No,” he whispered.
“I’m calling Daisy. She’s a healer.”
“Call Bam. Call Tempest. Call every fucking body!” Barron bellowed, as he held her more tightly to himself and began rocking and sobbing again.
Brandt sent out the call, and it wasn’t long before everybody, and I do mean everybody from both generations answered it.
Havoc and Analise arrived almost immediately with Ronan in tow.
Brandt looked behind them, then at Havoc questioningly.
“My Mom and Dad were at the house. They’ve got Harley.”
“I want to see my sister, let me see if I can wake her,” Analise said tearfully.
Brandt shook his head, as Havoc held her back. “Not now. Barron’s trying to warm her. Best you can do is wait,” Havoc said.
Analise’s face turned to tears and she started crying.
Kiernan and his brother tapped lightly on the door then opened it and stepped inside.
“What can we do?” Kiernan asked.
“Stay with your family. Make sure they’re safe,” Brandt said.
“No. This is our clan now, too. We’re not standing by while everybody else keeps us safe.”
“Alright. Remi’s hunting whoever did this. Let him know you’re coming. See if you can help,” Brandt said.
“I’ll go stay with your family until you get back,” Ronan offered.
Kiernan nodded and shook Ronan’s hand. “Appreciate it.”
Havoc had been holding Analise. He gently lifted her chin so she’d look at him. “I’m going to help find this fucker. You stay here. Where Brandt goes, you go. If everybody disperses, let my parents know where you are. If you call to me, I may not hear you for a while, I’ll be hunting.”
“Make him hurt,” Analise said through her tears, a soft growl in her voice.
“I promise,” Havoc said.
Havoc kissed Analise quickly, nodded at Brandt, then walked out of the back door with Kiernan and Shawn right behind him.
Bam arrived, running as quickly as he could, a battle cry to stop your heart accompanying his every step. He charged into the living room, crying, growling, snarling. He quickly took in the situation and realized that Emmalyn was beneath the blankets. He reached for one after the other to try to get to her.
“Stop! She’s freezing cold. We’re trying to warm her up!” Brandt yelled.
“I’m gonna heal her!” Bam bellowed, ignoring the warning snarl from Barron still beneath the blankets with Emmalyn.
Somewhere in Barron’s psyche he realized Bam was there and started trying to shove aside the blanket covering their heads. Brandt reached out and lifted the blanket to reveal Emmalyn’s hair and the frozen blood stuck to the back of it and her still blue-tinged lips and eyelids.
“I don’t feel a heartbeat,” Barron rasped out, his eyes begging Bam for help.
Bam fell to his knees, still crying, and placed his hands on Emmalyn’s head. Just as he closed his eyes and his healer Bear started feeling for Emmalyn’s Bear, Everly arrived. She’d driven over instead of running in a panic as Bam had done, and left her car running and the door open when she jumped out to get into the house as quickly as she could. She slammed a hand over her mouth to keep her cries from being voiced when she saw Emmalyn’s unconscious head lolling on Barron’s shoulder and Bam trying to heal her. She watched her husband trying to save their daughter, and just barely noticed their other daughter, Analise, when she wrapped her arms around her.
Bane, Janie and Daisy showed up, and Daisy didn’t hesitate to quickly kneel beside her Uncle Bam and add her healing powers to his.
Kaid and Delilah joined them shortly after, as did Daniel, Avaleigh and Angelle.
Delilah slowly approached Barron, and sat down beside him. “We’re here,” she said softly. “What can I do to help?”
Barron looked at his mother. “I don’t know. I can’t feel her heart beat.”
Delilah looked lovingly at the girl she’d watched grow up and become her son’s world. She called to her Dragon to listen for any minute sound at all. Any trace of respiration. Finally she opened her eyes. “She’s inside there. My Dragon can feel her.”
“Are you sure?” Barron asked.
“I’m sure. Do you want me to examine her?”
“No, I want to get her warm,” Barron said.
“Okay. We’re right here with you. Do what you need to.”
“Where’s Remi?” Daniel asked.
“Hunting,” Brandt growled. “Havoc, Kiernan, and Shawn are helping. Ronan is with Kiernan’s family.”
Daniel glanced around the room. He, Kaid, and Bane were the only others there. They knew Maverik and Valerie were with Harley, and Bam wasn’t going to be able to do a thing to protect anyone if necessary. “You want us hunting, or here?”
“Here. Unless we hear Remi and Havoc need help,” Brandt said.
“Not likely,” Kaid said.
“Truth,” Bane agreed. “We’ll stay here for whatever you need.”
Daniel noticed there was wood in the fireplace, dusty, and probably left over from winter, but wood nonetheless, and walked over to it. He moved the screen aside and opened the flue, then gently blew his Dragon’s fire onto the logs. They crackled and burst into flames.
Bam opened his eyes and briefly searched for Everly. “Delilah’s right. She’s in there.”
Everybody seemed to release the collective breath they’d been holding.
Analise and Everly began crying again, while Avaleigh and Angelle both stood near them and did their best to comfort them.
Barron held Emmalyn tighter, telling her how sorry he was over and over again.
“Move her over here by the fire place,” Daniel said.
“What about a hot shower?” Bane asked.
“I think I remember hearing somewhere that it’s not a good thing to do,” Brandt said.
“I never worked trauma, but I know that it’s common practice to gradually warm hypothermia victims,” Delilah said.
Avaleigh whipped out her phone and called Vince’s house.
Vince answered the phone. “How is she?”
“I don’t know. I need to ask Natalie a question,” Avaleigh said.
Seconds later Natalie was on the phone. “Avaleigh?” she asked.
“Hey. If someone has hypothermia, like, serious hypothermia, can a hot shower help?”
“No! Warm them slowly. Gradually. If you warm them too quickly it can shock their heart, cause more damage to them and it will be extremely painful. Slow and steady is best.”
“Natalie says slow and steady is best. Nothing too fast,” Avaleigh said.
Brandt nodded.
“Thank you,” Avaleigh said.
“We’ll be there soon,” Natalie said.
“Drive safe,” Avaleigh said.
Barron gathered Emmalyn up in his arms again, holding her more tightly against his body and started scooting backwards toward the fireplace.
Bam and Daisy both waited for him to get settled, then took their positions right beside him so they could both help heal Emmalyn.
Daisy opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder at Brandt. “She’s drugged. Heavily. And that’s complicating the rest of the issues.”
“And she’s got the head injury on top of the hypothermia,” Brandt said.
“Do you have any idea how long she was in the freezer?” Daisy asked.
“Barron?” Brandt asked.
“Maybe an hour from when Remi took out after the guy. No way to know how long before that,” Barron said, his voice subdued.
“Her Bear put her in hibernation mode to try to save them,” Bam said, smiling through his tears.
“Is she going to be okay?” Analise asked.
Bam and Daisy were back to trying to heal Emmalyn and didn’t answer. Truth was, they didn’t know, anyway.
A green mist began to form in the middle of the room. It made some of them uneasy though for Brandt it signified relief — his mate was home. Tempest’s form began to take shape. As soon as she was standing there in front of him, he grabbed her and hugged her. “What’s happening?”
“Emmalyn,” he said, gesturing toward the group huddled on the floor trying to warm her, wake her, heal her. He sent her quick visual images of how they’d found her so she’d understand.
Tempest nodded her understanding and tried to gently pull away from Brandt.
“No! You take on the illnesses of those you heal. Will you take on the injuries, too?” Brandt asked.
“Well, yes, but I can survive them more easily.”
Brandt looked over at Emmalyn again, then at Tempest, but kept a firm hand on her arm. “You can’t.”
She understood his concern, she had concerns of her own, but she couldn’t not try to help. “Trust me,” she said.
He hesitated, but let her go.
Tempest walked over to where Bam and Daisy were trying to heal her, and laid a hand on each of them. “Can I help?” she asked.
Bam looked up at her, his eyes still wet with tears. “Please help her.”
“It’s going to be okay. I’m going to add my strength to your own. She’ll be just fine,” Tempest said, squatting down beside them.
Tempest smiled up at Brandt as he watched her closely. She’d found a compromise. Instead of taking the injuries into herself. She’d just boost the healing powers Daisy and Bam naturally had. She closed her eyes and swirls of green mist began to rise from her fingertips where they laid on Bam and Daisy.
Bam opened his eyes again when he felt the warmth suffuse his body.
“Just giving you a little boost,” she said.
He nodded and closed his eyes.
Daisy didn’t seem to notice, except that she adjusted her hands to rest one on the back of Emmalyn’s head and another on her neck, particularly her jugular vein.
“Very smart,” Tempest said.
“Try to warm her blood more quickly,” Daisy said.
Tempest nodded, but stayed where she was until she began to feel the customary drain that overtook her when she healed someone. It wasn’t as strong as usual, but she’d not given as much of her own energies this time, either. When it was apparent that Bam and Daisy were as fresh as when they first started, she knew she’d done all she could for now short of taking Emmalyn’s injuries and the drugs and their residue into herself. Brandt was right, it just wasn’t a possibility right now. If Emmalyn was any closer to death, she’d have had to, but luckily between Bam, Daisy and herself, they’d formed a strong enough front to give Emmalyn the help she needed without Tempest having to take on her injuries personally.
Tempest straightened up and moved the few steps to stand with Brandt again.
He immediately embraced her. “Is she okay?”
“She will be. It’ll take a little time, but she’ll be fine.”
“Are you?”
“I’m fine. Just a little tired, but nothing like usual.”
Brandt took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, releasing his fears with it. “We couldn’t find her heartbeat. We didn’t know if we were too late until Delilah and Bam told us she was in there, but even then we didn’t know if she’d make it.”
“If it had been any longer before you found her, or the drugs were any stronger, I’d have had to take more drastic measures to make sure she’d survive, but she’s in there fighting, too. Her Bear is protecting her, and she’s fighting. Between all of us helping her fight, she’ll be okay.”
Some time later, Barron lifted his head from where it rested against Emmalyn’s. “I feel her heartbeat,” he said with a trace of a smile.
“Thank heavens,” Delilah said.
“Or hells, or whoever. Just thank all the powers that be,” Avaleigh said.
Everly blinked back her tears and patted Analise’s arms where they embraced her. “She’s going to be okay.”
A soft little moan from Emmalyn surprised them all and had them moving a little closer.
“Shhh, it’s okay. You’re safe. I’ve got you, Em. It’s me. I’ve got you, you’re safe” Barron said, kissing her forehead and her face, smoothing her hair back while being careful of the back of her head.
She didn’t open her eyes, but tears began to leak from beneath her lids.
“I’ve got you. I’m never letting go. You will always be safe,” Barron vowed in a powerful voice.
“Barron, do you want to get her home?” Tempest asked, knowing that she was stable enough to begin reacting, she was stable enough to travel.
Barron looked up at Tempest and she waved her fingers, causing little green wisps to float away from her fingertips.
Barron nodded, “Let’s get her home.”
“We’ll meet you there,” Brandt said.
Tempest wrapped her arms around Bam, Daisy, Barron and Emmalyn. “Nobody let go,” she said, then gathered her mists, and they all faded from sight in a pale green swirl.
“Let’s lock this place up, and get over to Barron’s. Everybody that wants to anyway,” Brandt said.
“You seriously think any of us are going home?” Bane asked.