Chapter 14 #2
Pulling on the board, Colton could see it moving. Now he needed something to pry it apart. He spied a rusted pipe lying in the corner. Grabbing it, he wedged it behind the board. Pushing with all his remaining strength, he broke the board in half, leaving an open space he could squeeze through.
~/~/~/~/~
Steel’s phone rang. It was Turk. “Hello, Steel here.”
“Sir, it’s Turk. We have Pablo. What do you want us to do with him?”
“Bring him here. Make sure he can’t shift.
“Yes sir. We’ll be there in 10 minutes.”
Steel hung up and called Slate.
“What’s up?” Slate asked his brother.
“Turk got Pablo at his house. He’s bringing him here. How close are you to his shack?”
“Another ten minutes,” said Slate, “but then we have to walk the rest of the way.”
“Okay. Keep me informed.” Slate hung up. “Turk captured Pablo,” he said to Cody, “and he’s taking him to Steel.”
“Well, finally some good news. Did he make the payment?” asked Cody.
“Shit, I didn’t ask. But it doesn’t matter. If we find Colton, then Steel can cancel the payment.”
“That’s good,” Cody said. “Did my brother enjoy himself while he was here with Dr. Luna?”
“Colton?” asked Slate. “Yeah, he loved it…loves it. Why the fuck didn’t he know what he was?”
“Our father never told him, only Jackson and our mother knew. When Oracle told Ian he was the fated mate of Colton…that’s when the whole story came out.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Slate said, “but didn’t any of you notice his ability to heal by the laying on of his hands?”
“He was just Colton and all we knew was to go to him when someone got hurt,” explained Cody.
“Yup, I can see that. And I also get why your father decided to keep it a secret. By the way, you look just like Colton. If you were side by side, I don’t think I could tell you apart.”
“Add Carson to the mix and you’d really be confused.”
“Is there anyone who can tell who’s who?”
“My brothers can and my mother could. It took Steel awhile but now he can, although I personally think Jackson tells him who’s who by their mind link.”
“We’re here,” Slate said, pulling off the road and hiding his jeep behind some boulders. “Grab some water and let’s go. It’s not far but keep your eyes open in case someone’s around.
~/~/~/~/~
Colton dropped to the floor, turning on his side, and reached through the opening with his hands.
Using them as leverage, he started to push, pull and wiggle his body through the wall.
He had gotten half way through when he heard two people talking in the distance.
He panicked and knew it was now or never.
Using all the adrenaline suddenly coursing through his body, he made one last effort to pull the rest of his body out of the shack.
Standing up he took a quick inventory of his injuries and saw no bloody cuts that would make it easy to track him.
Throwing himself into his shift, he ran up the mountain behind the building.
The terrain was unfamiliar and rugged. Bare rocks, scrub bushes and steep inclines told him he was miles away from where he was taken.
He knew his kidnapper would be after him but thankfully, Mystia hadn’t removed his protection spell.
It would be hard, but the guy could still track him the old-fashioned way—paw prints on the ground.
Up over the mountain he went, skidding down the other side.
Everything was cast in an orange-yellow color that came from the rocks.
Colton continued to run, looking for a stream or river he could use to hide his tracks.
Funny, how those games he played with his brothers as kids were coming back to help him now.
He ran for hours, at least it seemed that way to him, when he finally found a stream of clear, cool water bubbling over the pebbles making up its bed.
He stopped, sniffed the air and saw the shadows beginning to lengthen. Good, nobody close. After drinking his fill, he entered the stream, trotting in it towards the north. He finally figured that wherever he was, it was south of his apartment. How far south was yet unknown.
He ran in the stream for some time, finally jumping out and heading towards an outcropping in the rocks.
He needed to rest and find a safe place, high and hidden from view.
Maybe if he got lucky, he’d find some prey for dinner.
But first things first. Climbing the smooth rock was difficult for his wolf; there was nothing his claws could dig into.
But it would also make it that much harder to track him.
Finally, Colton got to the top where he saw an outcropping over a small opening.
Padding inside, he sniffed and was relieved to find the small cave unused.
He lay down just inside the opening where he could see all approaches to it.
His eyes kept moving, searching for anything out of place even when the sky darkened to night.
He glanced up, as thousands of stars appeared, so close it seemed he could reach up and touch them.
The vision brought memories of the first full moon run at their new home, when Steel led them to a place not unlike where he was lying—with thousands of stars waiting to be plucked.
And that brought Jackson back into Colton’s thoughts.
Jackson was about five months along and was entering his final month of pregnancy.
He knew Dr. Wallace could handle it but dammit this was a once in a lifetime chance he didn’t want to miss.
Soon he’d be an uncle to Jackson’s son. Wondering if they had decided on a name yet, Colton wanted, no, needed to be there for the birth.
Thinking about the pup, his wolf snorted—this pup would be spoiled rotten from the moment of his birth, with seven uncles and two pairs of grandparents.
Hoping Jackson wasn’t freaking out too much, he finally closed his eyes to get some much needed sleep.