Chapter Nine #2
Taking care of business was especially easy in a kilt, and I decided that they'd become a staple in my wardrobe. I smiled at the thought as I soaped up my hands at the sink.
"What the fuck are you smiling about?" a familiar voice asked.
Panic squeezed my heart as I jerked my head up, seeing Angus and Joseph behind me in the mirror.
I'd been in a bubble of happiness since I met Callum and didn't even think about my family anymore; let alone the possibility of them being at this festival.
I thought I was free, but my monsters were staring back at me.
"And how the fuck did you get away from those men at the game field?" Angus asked. "We figured you'd be locked away forever for murder."
"I didn't kill anyone," I insisted gruffly. "No matter what you wanted me to do, I'd never hurt anybody. I'll never be like you."
"You bet your arse you're not," Joseph snarled. He gripped my curly hair and jerked my head back before dropping his mouth to my ear. "You're just a stupid little faggot. We saw you with yer boyfriend."
"Paw’s waiting for us outside," Angus added. His lip curled up in a terrifyingly wicked smile, and I knew bad things awaited me. "You never should've let us find you."
Joseph grasped my hair harder and slammed my face into the mirror. Pain burst through my head as tiny shards cut into my skin, and color danced behind my eyes before everything went black.
*****
Callum
“Thank you,” I told the young lady working the food stand. I bought Brodie a large hot chocolate, along with a bag of candy floss since he seemed so excited about dessert. It’d be easy to eat on the go.
I walked back to the bathrooms and waited for my mate to emerge. After a few minutes, I became concerned; something felt off. I didn’t want to barge in and embarrass him if he was indisposed , but I couldn’t fight my need to check in.
“Is everything alright?” I asked through our mental link. When I didn’t receive an answer, my stomach knotted up in fear. I dropped everything in my hands and bolted into the building, praying I was overreacting.
The scene I found was like a punch to the gut; the mirror was shattered and covered in blood - Brodie’s blood.
His scent and terror lingered in the air around me, but he was gone.
The other smells of the festival had overwhelmed my senses outside the building, so I didn’t know my mate was in danger. I let my guard down and I failed him.
Guilt and regret tore through me, but I tamped them down to focus on what needed to be done.
I had to get Brodie back and ensure his safety.
I followed a trail of blood drops left on the concrete floor.
They led out onto the street and into the thick of the festivities.
He must have been carried, and those who saw probably assumed he’d had too much to drink and his friends were helping him out.
The spots became hard to follow in the crowd from being walked on, but I was locked onto my mate’s scent.
I pushed away all other odors and focused all of my energy into following his sweet smell through the streets and out into the grassy field where hundreds of vehicles were parked.
I tracked him to an empty spot between two cars.
Fuck! I retrieved my phone and dialed Lachlan’s number. My friend picked up on the first ring.
“Lach, I need your help,” I told him before he could say a word. “Brodie’s missing.”
“Did he get lost in the crowd?”
“No. He was taken, Lach. He’s hurt. I tracked his scent to the car park, but he was put in a vehicle. He’s gone.”
“Jesus. Okay, stay calm. You need your wits about you.” I took a deep breath and tried to follow his instructions, but it was easier said than done. “There are many coven members at the festival. I’ll call them and tell them to search in every direction. Where are you heading?”
I took another breath and honed in on my gut instincts. “South. I’m leaving now.”
“Good luck.”
I closed the call and ran at top speed to my SUV, not caring if anyone saw.
I jumped into my vehicle and peeled out of the field, sending grass and dirt clumps flying all around.
I screamed and flailed my arms at every passerby until they got out of my way, and I got a clear shot onto the main road.
My speedometer crept up toward one hundred fifty kilometers per hour as I tore up the asphalt. My gut told me I was moving in the right direction, and I prayed it was right. I couldn’t bear the thought of travelling further away from my mate in need.
My heart leapt into my throat when I heard a soft, weak voice in my mind. “Callum?”
“I’m here, Brodie. I can hear you.”
“I’m so scared. They’re going to kill me.”
“No they’re not. I won’t let that happen. Where are you?”
“I don’t know. They threw me in the back of their truck.” I didn’t need to ask ‘who’ to know it was his family.
“Get out. Jump out and run as fast as you can. Don’t stop running and I’ll find you.”
“I can’t; they have me tied up.”
“Motherfuckers!” I punched out my window in an attempt to release some of my rage, but it only made me more furious when my wounds instantly healed. Sweet Brodie would heal more quickly than ever before, but it would still take some time, and he’d still be in pain.
“Wait; we’re stopping,” Brodie spoke again.
“Tell me everything you see.”
He was quiet for a long moment before saying in barely a whisper, “Trees...old...well...house…” and he fell silent again.
I could only imagine what they were doing to him.
I roared so loudly with anguish that my passenger window exploded and sent glass shards raining over the floor.
There was only one positive thought in my mind; I knew this area well, and also knew that there was an abandoned well house still standing, not more than five kilometers away from my location.
I pressed the gas pedal to the floor and gripped the steering wheel as my engine revved.
My tires slid when I jerked my vehicle onto an overgrown path, surrounded by trees and foliage. My heart thumped wildly when I saw a beater truck in the distance. It sat in front of the stone well house, which was covered in moss and ivy and dilapidated from time gone by.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Lachlan again as I sped down the short path. “Any news?” he asked quickly.
I said nothing more than, “Grady Well House,” before tossing my phone onto the glass-covered seat beside me and slamming my vehicle into park.
I bolted towards the door, noting the thick chain that once kept trespassers out now lay in a pile on the ground. Before I reached the entrance, I heard a gruff voice from inside.
“You’ve shamed this family for the last time. You’re not even worth keeping as a slave. I should have done this a long time ago.”
A loud smack pierced the air just as I reached the wooden door.
I let out a deafening growl as I gripped its sides and ripped it clean off its hinges.
My blood boiled when I saw three men; two a little older than Brodie and one twice his age, looming over my mate.
Brodie was slouched unconscious against the side of the well.
Blood streamed from his nose and matted his hair, and his skin was blackened beneath both eyes.
“The fuck?” one of the younger men asked before stepping closer to me with his finger pointed in my face. “Get out of here ya fuckin’ buftie, or I’ll-”
I had no interest in hearing his threats.
Before he could finish his sentence, I swung the wooden door I still held like a ball bat and rammed it into the side of his face, hitting him so hard that his head spun around backwards.
When his limp body crumpled to the floor, I tossed the door to the side and turned my attention to the other two men.
“You...you killed him!” the other young man exclaimed.
“You fucking killed him!” His look of disbelief turned into one of rage, and he pulled a pistol from the waistband of his jeans.
He fired several shots into my abdomen as I charged him; the bullets stung, but my wounds healed rapidly.
He kept shooting until I was toe to toe with him and his empty gun only clicked.
“Please,” he begged, though his words fell on deaf ears. “Please don’t kill me.”
I halted his pleas as I covered his mouth with one large hand; my fingers reached from ear to ear.
I let all of my power flow into my fingertips, and then I squeezed.
The man dropped his gun onto the ground and clawed desperately at my wrist, but I didn’t falter.
His jaw bones splintered and his teeth shattered under my strength.
Blood pooled beneath his eyes, blackening them like he’d done to my Brodie.
It was satisfying, but not deadly, so I wrapped my other hand over the crown of his head and squeezed just as violently.
He whimpered and gurgled as his skull crumbled and turned to pudding in my palm.
I pressed my hands together, folding his face until brain matter protruded from his nostrils.
I dropped his corpse next to his brother’s, and turned around just in time to see the old man trying to sneak out the entryway.
I lunged at him and gripped him by the back of the leg, sending him hurtling face first into the ground. I dragged him back inside; this is where he planned on taking my mate’s life, and where he’d pay with his own.
I tucked my hand beneath his stomach, grappling for his belt buckle when he began flailing and kicking, screaming, “Keep your filthy hands off of my willy!” I just rolled my eyes, not even dignifying his words with a response.
It truly showed what type of man he was, though; he’d just seen two of his sons killed after attempting to kill his third by his own hand, and yet his biggest concern was another man touching his cock.
I finally got his belt undone and yanked the leather strip free of his jeans. I stood upright and held him in place with a foot on his back while I slipped the belt under his throat. He tried and failed to crawl away; my weight and strength were too great for him to fight.
I pulled up on both ends of the leather belt, which was cradled beneath his throat like a sling.
His breathing turned to strangled whistles as he clawed at the ground until his fingers bled, but I didn’t let up.
He’d terrorized my sweet mate his whole life with this very instrument, and I got sick pleasure from watching him squirm.
But I wanted to get to Brodie. So, to speed things up, I pressed my other foot to the back of his neck, flattening his trachea.
His body shuddered beneath me and his lungs gave one last wheeze before he lay still.
I dropped the belt to the ground and spat on the old man’s head before hustling over to Brodie.
He was still knocked out, and his hands and feet were bound together. I dropped to my knees, shredded the rope which held him in one tug, and gently patted his cheeks.
“Brodie?” I pushed all of the love and positive thoughts I had into him. “Brodie, please wake up.”
His eyelids fluttered and slowly opened, and his pupils were slightly unfocused when he looked at me. “Callum?”
“Yes, my love. I’m here.” Brodie burst into tears and I gently took him into my arms, careful not to injure him further.
“It’s okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you.” I buried my nose into his hair and filled my lungs with his sweet scent.
“Oh Brodie, I’m so sorry. I never should have left you alone. This is all my fault.”
“No,” he sobbed into my chest. “I should have called for you. I was just so scared and I didn’t think.” He sniffled hard and added in a quiet voice, “It hurts.”
“I’m so, so, sorry. It will be over soon, I promise. I’m going to get you home and take care of you, and I swear on my life no one will ever hurt you again.”
He looked up at me with big, watery eyes. “Are they…?”
“They’re gone.” Brodie started to turn his head, but I kept it still and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
“Don’t look around.” I didn’t want him to see the mangled bodies and become even more terrified than he already was.
“I’m going to get you out of here. Close your eyes for me, okay?
” He nodded and let his eyes fall shut again.
“Here we go.” I cradled him in my arms and eased up onto my feet.
My heart was finally able to beat again, knowing that my mate was secure and in my arms. But his small body shook in my hold, and I cursed myself for not hunting down his family the day I learned they’d put a finger on him.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered to him as I carried him out of the well house. “You’re safe now.”
“I love you so much,” he whispered back, squeezing me around the neck. My heart was glad; his strength was already returning.
“I love you too, m’anam.”
We’d barely made it three steps into the night when the cavalry arrived; nearly a dozen vehicles whipped into the clearing surrounding us. Brodie gasped and trembled again, but I soothed him with gentle shushing sounds.
“It’s okay, my love; it’s our friends.”
He raised his head to watch as coven members sprang from their cars and ran towards us, with Lachlan at the head of the pack.
“Thank god,” he sighed, throwing his arms around both of us. “Is everyone okay?” He released us from his embrace and checked the injuries to Brodie’s face.
“I’m already starting to feel better,” my mate replied, even giving a little smile. “Callum saved me.”
“I’ll say he did,” Lachlan exclaimed as he looked behind us, into the well house. He then turned his wide eyes onto me. “Holy fuck, Cal.” I understood his surprise; not since the days of war had I used such brutality.
“I was protecting my mate,” I defended, but Lachlan just smirked.
“I wasn’t scolding you; I’m impressed as hell.
” He patted my back and offered, “Take Brodie home and we’ll get things cleaned up here.
” I peeked at my mate’s reaction to his words, but Brodie was unaffected.
“Oh, and here; take my car. I saw yours on the way in; I don’t want Brodie getting cut on all of that glass.
” He handed over his keys and Brodie stirred in my arms.
“What does he mean ‘all that glass’? Were you in an accident?”
Lachlan snorted as he walked towards the well house and I gave Brodie a tight smile. “Not exactly. I’ll explain everything later, m’anam. Right now, I just want to get you home.”
I gently buckled him into Lachlan’s car and eased back out onto the main road.
I trusted my friends and coven members to take care of the bodies and erase any evidence of the scene.
It allowed me to put all of my attention into caring for my mate.
I fully planned on spoiling him, pampering him, and never letting him out of my sight again.