Chapter 36
So far, the run had gone smoothly, but now Slate’s wolf had slowed, padding over the rocks gingerly.
Something was bothering him. Suddenly, he stopped short behind several huge boulders and bared his teeth.
They were in danger! Slate went into high alert.
His enforcers were grouped alongside and behind him, awaiting his signal to attack.
But attack what? That was a question Slate had no answer for.
He could smell a faint scent of wolves somewhere on the other side of the boulders but had no idea how many there were, nor any idea of the topography that lay ahead.
We could be trapped in a dead-end canyon with no way to escape?
Thinking over his options, Slate decided retreat would be the best option and chuffing softly to his enforcers, one by one, they backed up until they were in clear surroundings.
Then wheeling around, Slate’s wolf ran swiftly with the others to get as far away from the trap as they could.
~/~/~/~/~
Dylon checked his phone for the umpteenth time hoping to see a message from Steel that Slate was okay.
So far, nothing. Meeting with the enforcers that were waiting when they landed, Dylon told them what he knew, warning that Slate Valentin might be in trouble.
He shuffled them into an empty room at the airport and shared the intel he had about where Slate might be.
Quickly revising his original plan, he decided he and Cody would be accompanied by some of the enforcers in their helicopter while the others would land five kilometers away from the conference site so Arald would not hear them.
Dylon cautioned them about traps meant to alert Arald of their presence.
Stripping himself and Cody of any identifying documents, he handed them over for safe-keeping to Turk, the enforcer Cody had met in Mexico.
Using Cody’s phone, he sent a text to Steel, describing their plan and requested more men.
After instructing Turk to leave one of his men behind to coordinate with the additional enforcers who’d be arriving, he grabbed Cody’s hand and headed to an unmarked chopper waiting to take them to Slate.
“No IDs, right?” he shouted to the waiting enforcers, after which he helped Cody into the helicopter and climbed in after him.
While the other men were boarding, Dylon looked at Cody and their life thread.
What he saw was reassuring; his mate was relaxed, his life thread turned bright shining silver.
Once everyone was on board, he spoke to his mate using their mind link and explained they would be posing as buyers for the auction who wanted to get an early view of the merchandise for sale before other buyers arrived.
Asking his mate if he had any questions, Cody only had one: would they have to produce any proof of their ability to pay.
Dylon nodded ever so slightly and sent a text to Steel to make arrangements for it.
Smiling at Cody, he leaned over and gave him a brief kiss on his lips before sitting back and mentally resuming his mission planning.
Cody loved watching his mate go all ‘G I Joe’ on him; it was one of his favorite toys when he was a boy.
Now, he was on a mission such as he’d envisioned as a kid, seeing himself as part of the elite fighting group at the High Council?that was until he read an article about all the unwanted wolf shifter pups.
That changed him. He smiled as he remembered the hours he, Colton and Carson would play in the woods hiding and ambushing each other.
Now, here he was—living it. Well not exactly but close enough that it brought back all his good memories—and that was something special.
In his headset, Dylon heard the pilot announce they were five minutes away.
Relaying the information to his men, he ordered them not to respond to any questions, as he would handle them.
Looking out the window, he saw how isolated these packs were.
Surrounded by high, rocky mountains, their valley was the only oasis of green you could see unless you crossed the mountains to the next one.
The natural barriers provided Arald with the privacy that allowed his illegal activities to flourish. Fucking greedy asshole!
Cody nudged Dylon and pointed to the welcoming committee waiting to greet them—or not, as the case might be.
He saw a shifter standing apart from the others and concluded it was Arald.
Mean looking son-of-a-bitch! He shifted his eyes and took in the surrounding area, locating the building where the shifters up for auction were being held.
Glancing in the opposite direction, he found the other Alphas’ pack houses surrounded by homes for their members.
Suddenly, he knew they were in terrible trouble.
He had to use his invisibility gift now, before they landed.
This whole thing was a trap—he knew it absolutely because he’d seen the outcome in one of his visions.
Quickly relaying the information to Dylon, Cody waited for instructions.
Hearing Cody in his mind link, he changed his plan and instructed his men to disembark first, and then line up across from each other to form an honor guard for him and Cody to walk between.
Dylon told Cody through their mind link that while everyone’s attention would be on the enforcers, Cody would turn invisible in the helicopter, out of sight from everyone on the ground.
Just as they were landing, Dylon sent a text to Turk about the trap, warning him to be alert and another to Steel letting him know what was happening.
Then he deleted all his texts and all other information linking him to Dire Enterprises, just as the rotors stopped.
As the enforcers climbed out of the helicopter, Dylon stood and moved in front of Cody. Just before the last enforcer exited, Dylon said in a very low voice, “Now, do it now!”
Cody said, “I am invisible,” and he was encased in a shimmer of light seen only by him.
Dylon heard the words and when he turned his head mere moments later, his mate was gone.
Smirking to himself, he moved to the door and climbed out of the helicopter.
He was now looking at Arald who was standing at the other end of the two lines of enforcers.
Moving forward a few steps to give Cody room to disembark, he assessed the situation.
They were outnumbered five to one and he had no doubt Arald had more of his enforcers nearby just in case he needed them.
Boldly staring at the man, Dylon kept his eyes on Arald, lowering them just before his stare would be considered a challenge. Tilting his head slightly for a moment, then said, “Hello, who do I have the pleasure of meeting?”
“Nobody at the moment. Who are you and why are you in my territory without permission?”
“Dylon. I’m representing a client who wishes me to acquire some of your merchandise in the upcoming auction. My client ordered me to arrive early to check it out and negotiate for his choice of the items you have for sale before the auction occurs.”
“Why doesn’t he want to wait until the auction?”
“Shall we say, he doesn’t like to gamble.”
“Well. I don’t know, what could your client offer me to give up my chance for a very large payday?”
“If the merchandise meets with his approval as to the quality of what he’s looking for, then you can name your price.”
“How do I know you have the money?”
“I can arrange to have 100 million dollars in a trust account in your name within the next few hours. If that is not enough, please tell me what sum would give you assurances that my client is serious.”
Arald thought about what Dylon was offering and saw no reason to reject the offer. With that amount of money, he would have control over this valley and any others, if he so desired. “You have two hours to show me proof of the funds. Until then, you and your men can wait in my pack house.”
Dylon didn’t like that idea but at least Cody could get inside to look around without much trouble. Hearing Cody agree with him through their mind link, Dylon responded, “Thank you, Alpha… I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”
Ignoring Dylon’s comment, Arald said to his men, “Let them pass. But guard their helicopter.” Then he added, “If you will follow me,” and turned around striding to his fortress without bothering to see if Dylon and his men were following.
Holding the front door open, he waited for Dylon and his men to enter.
Once inside, he locked and bolted the door before turning back to Dylon.
“I’ll show you an office you can use to make the arrangements. Your men can wait in the living room.”
After seeing to his men, Dylon followed Arald down a hallway to a door.
After entering, he heard the door close and a lock click, verifying his suspicions about Arald’s intent.
Sitting at the desk, he sent a series of texts to Turk and Steel, making the arrangements he needed.
Then he sat back, examining their life thread—so far, so good.
Reaching out to his mate through their mind link, Dylon asked Cody where he was.
I’m heading downstairs right now. After Arald left you, he left some men guarding your men while he went outside. I checked out the floor you are on and found steps leading upstairs and some heading down, I decided to go down first. Have you gotten hold of Steel and Turk?
Yes, all the arrangements are being made. What do you see so far?
A series of doors bolted from the outside. Fuck! Does it stink down here!
Is there any way you can see inside the room without opening the doors?
Yes, some of them have small barred openings. Just a minute.
Cody heard someone wheeling a cart over the damp, stone floor.
While waiting to see who it was, he peered into the room in front of him.
A small gasp escaped him as he saw one of the men in his visions.
Cody felt his anger rise as he examined the condition inside the room.
Dark and damp, the only light came from an overhead bare bulb which was so weak, most of the room remained in the dark.
A man was shackled to the wall with barely enough chain to lie down on a filthy cot.
Over in one dark corner, he could smell the toilet which didn’t appear to be working.
The approaching person was now closer and Cody stepped back to see who it was.
As the shifter walked under the overhead light hanging from the ceiling, Cody quickly held his hand over his mouth as he recognized a young man who’d been whipped and beaten so many times in his visions.
Pain broke through the wall in his mind and he felt the horror of his visions all over again.
Dylon saw their life thread turn dark and he knew what was happening. Cody! Cody, answer me! Now, ma moitié! Come back to me! I need you!
Finally, his mate’s voice broke through the pain and Cody felt the strength and love Dylon was sending him.
He was able to break the cycle, allowing him to again lock the pain behind the wall in his mind.
I’m okay, babe. Really, I’m fine. It was just a small lapse but the pain is back behind the wall.
Someone is coming with food for the prisoner.
I’m going to follow him to see who’s being kept prisoner and where. Are you still safe where you are?
Yes, I’m fine. Please keep talking to me about what you discover.
Okay, will do. Right now, I’m in a hallway that I’m pretty sure is carved out of the mountain.
The only way in is the way I came. There are a number of small rooms …
no, that’s not right…prison cells down here.
In one room I looked in, I saw one of the men in my visions.
Dylon, he’s in bad shape. The young man who’s bringing the food is the one who’s always getting whipped.
Dylon could see their life thread varying in brightness as Cody saw more people from his visions. Ma moitié, how are you doing? I’m worried that what you are seeing will trigger more pain. You can come upstairs now. We know where the prisoners are.
No, I need to see who else is down here.
Just a minute, he’s opening another door.
Cody stood in the doorway and watched as the young man gave the prisoner a bowl of gruel, then reaching into his pocket of his apron fishing out two fresh rolls lavished with butter.
Refilling the water jug in the cell, he smiled at the prisoner before leaving and bolting the door.
Cody watched in amazement as he repeated these actions with each prisoner, showing that someone cared about them.
Cody was sure none of the prisoners knew that the young man was often beaten and whipped about the missing food.
After he had fed all the prisoners, Cody followed him upstairs to the kitchen where he watched him prepare baby food and bottles.
When he was finished, he loaded up his cart and headed to another hallway leading away from the living room.
Cody remembered Zane telling him about the babies included in the auction and guessed that’s where the food was headed.
Finally, the young man stopped at an old wooden door and took out a set of keys.
Finding the right one, he opened it and rolled his cart in.
Babe, I’m upstairs now and I think I found where the babies scheduled for the auction are. Same floor as you but opposite end of the house.
How many are there?
Twelve.
I thought Zane said ten?
Yeah, he did but there are twelve cribs.
Just a minute, I want to check the babies to see what condition they’re in.
Cody walked around the room, smiling at each one; they reminded him of Daniel.
Pleased with what he saw, Cody turned to watch the young man as he quickly changed and fed each baby while humming and smiling, making it fun for the pups.
He was so absorbed with what he saw, it was a few minutes before Cody glanced at the young man’s face. Holy shit!
What? What’s the matter?
Oh, nothing. Sorry, babe, I was amazed at how beautiful this young man is when he smiles. Cody heard his mate growl. Oh, stop it babe! I was just surprised at how a smile changed his features. You know I chose you.
I know, just momentary jealousy. What conditions are the pups in? Will we need any medical personnel?
Nope. The good thing is all the pups are healthy and doing well. Oops, gotta go, he’s heading out. I’ll let you know where he goes next.